Sidelink positioning group operation via pairwise managed multicast reply

Abstract

Techniques for wireless communications are disclosed. In an aspect, a target user equipment (UE) receives, from an initiating UE, a first groupcast message for a sidelink group comprising a plurality of UEs including the target UE and the initiating UE, where the first groupcast message includes a groupcast destination identifier indicating that the first groupcast message is intended for all of the plurality of UEs of the sidelink group; and transmits, to the initiating UE, a second groupcast message, where the second groupcast message includes a pairwise groupcast destination identifier that is based on a first identifier common to the initiating UE and the target UE and a second identifier specific to the target UE and known to the target UE and the initiating UE, and where the pairwise groupcast destination identifier indicates that the second groupcast message is intended only for the initiating UE.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] All aspects of this disclosure relate to wireless communications. Background Technology

[0002] Wireless communication systems have evolved through many generations, including first-generation analog radiotelephone service (1G), second-generation (2G) digital radiotelephone service (including transitional 2.5G and 2.75G networks), third-generation (3G) high-speed data, wireless services with internet capabilities, and fourth-generation (4G) services (e.g., Long Term Evolution (LTE) or WiMax). Currently, many different types of wireless communication systems are in use, including cellular systems and Personal Communication Services (PCS) systems. Known examples of cellular systems include cellular analog Advanced Mobile Phone Systems (AMPS), as well as digital cellular systems based on Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), and others.

[0003] The fifth-generation (5G) wireless standard, known as New Radio (NR), delivers higher data speeds, more connections, better coverage, and other improvements. According to the Next Generation Mobile Networks Alliance, the 5G standard is designed to provide higher data rates, more accurate positioning (e.g., based on positioning reference signals (RS-P), such as downlink, uplink, or sidelink positioning reference signals (PRS)), and other technological enhancements compared to previous standards.

[0004] Furthermore, leveraging 5G's increased data rates and reduced latency, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication technology is being implemented to support autonomous driving applications, such as wireless communication between vehicles, between vehicles and roadside infrastructure, and between vehicles and pedestrians. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The following is a simplified summary of the invention relating to one or more aspects disclosed herein. Therefore, this summary should not be considered an exhaustive overview relating to all conceived aspects, nor should it be considered to identify key or decisive elements relating to all conceived aspects or to depict the scope associated with any particular aspect. Thus, the sole purpose of this summary is to present, in a concise form, certain concepts relating to one or more aspects involving the mechanisms disclosed herein, prior to the detailed description presented below.

[0006] In one aspect, a wireless communication method performed by a target user equipment (UE) includes: receiving from an initiating UE a first multicast message for a sidelink group including the target UE and a plurality of UEs of the initiating UE, wherein the first multicast message includes a multicast destination identifier indicating that the first multicast message is intended for use by all UEs of the plurality of UEs in the sidelink group; and sending to the initiating UE a second multicast message, wherein the second multicast message includes a pair of multicast destination identifiers based on a first identifier shared by the initiating UE and the target UE and a second identifier specific to the target UE and known to both the target UE and the initiating UE, and wherein the pair of multicast destination identifiers indicate that the second multicast message is intended for use only by the initiating UE.

[0007] In one aspect, a wireless communication method performed by an initiating user equipment (UE) includes: sending a first multicast message to a plurality of UEs in a sidelink group, wherein the first multicast message includes a multicast destination identifier indicating that the first multicast message is intended for use by all UEs in the plurality of UEs in the sidelink group; and receiving a second multicast message from a target UE among the plurality of UEs, wherein the second multicast message includes a pairwise multicast destination identifier based on a first identifier shared by the initiating UE and the target UE and a second identifier specific to the target UE and known to both the target UE and the initiating UE, and wherein the pairwise multicast destination identifier indicates that the second multicast message is intended for use only by the initiating UE.

[0008] In one aspect, a target user equipment (UE) includes: one or more memories; one or more transceivers; and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the one or more memories and the one or more transceivers, the one or more processors being individually or in combination configured to: receive, via the one or more transceivers, a first multicast message from an initiating UE for a sidelink group including the target UE and a plurality of UEs of the initiating UE, wherein the first multicast message includes a multicast destination identifier indicating that the first multicast message is intended for use by all UEs of the plurality of UEs in the sidelink group; and transmit a second multicast message to the initiating UE via the one or more transceivers, wherein the second multicast message includes a pair of multicast destination identifiers based on a first identifier shared by the initiating UE and the target UE and a second identifier specific to the target UE and known to both the target UE and the initiating UE, and wherein the pair of multicast destination identifiers indicate that the second multicast message is intended for use only by the initiating UE.

[0009] In one aspect, an initiating user equipment (UE) includes: one or more memories; one or more transceivers; and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the one or more memories and the one or more transceivers, the one or more processors being individually or in combination configured to: transmit a first multicast message via the one or more transceivers to a plurality of UEs in a sidelink group, wherein the first multicast message includes a multicast destination identifier indicating that the first multicast message is intended for use by all UEs in the plurality of UEs in the sidelink group; and receive a second multicast message via the one or more transceivers from a target UE among the plurality of UEs, wherein the second multicast message includes a pair of multicast destination identifiers based on a first identifier shared by the initiating UE and the target UE and a second identifier specific to the target UE and known to both the target UE and the initiating UE, and wherein the pair of multicast destination identifiers indicate that the second multicast message is intended for use only by the initiating UE.

[0010] In one aspect, a target user equipment (UE) includes: components for: receiving from an initiating UE a first multicast message for a sidelink group including the target UE and a plurality of UEs of the initiating UE, wherein the first multicast message includes a multicast destination identifier indicating that the first multicast message is intended for use by all UEs of the plurality of UEs in the sidelink group; and components for: sending a second multicast message to the initiating UE, wherein the second multicast message includes a pair of multicast destination identifiers based on a first identifier shared by the initiating UE and the target UE and a second identifier specific to the target UE and known to both the target UE and the initiating UE, and wherein the pair of multicast destination identifiers indicate that the second multicast message is intended for use only by the initiating UE.

[0011] In one aspect, an initiating user equipment (UE) includes: components for: sending a first multicast message to a plurality of UEs in a sidelink group, wherein the first multicast message includes a multicast destination identifier indicating that the first multicast message is intended for use by all UEs in the plurality of UEs in the sidelink group; and components for: receiving a second multicast message from a target UE among the plurality of UEs, wherein the second multicast message includes a pair of multicast destination identifiers based on a first identifier shared by the initiating UE and the target UE and a second identifier specific to the target UE and known to both the target UE and the initiating UE, and wherein the pair of multicast destination identifiers indicate that the second multicast message is intended for use only by the initiating UE.

[0012] In one aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium stores computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a target user equipment (UE), cause the target UE to: receive from an initiating UE a first multicast message for a sidelink group comprising the target UE and a plurality of UEs including the initiating UE, wherein the first multicast message includes a multicast destination identifier indicating that the first multicast message is intended for use by all UEs in the plurality of UEs in the sidelink group; and send to the initiating UE a second multicast message, wherein the second multicast message includes a pair of multicast destination identifiers based on a first identifier shared by the initiating UE and the target UE and a second identifier specific to the target UE and known to both the target UE and the initiating UE, and wherein the pair of multicast destination identifiers indicate that the second multicast message is intended for use only by the initiating UE.

[0013] In one aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium stores computer-executable instructions that, when executed by an initiating user equipment (UE), cause the initiating UE to: send a first multicast message to a plurality of UEs in a sidelink group, wherein the first multicast message includes a multicast destination identifier indicating that the first multicast message is intended for use by all UEs in the plurality of UEs in the sidelink group; and receive a second multicast message from a target UE among the plurality of UEs, wherein the second multicast message includes a pair of multicast destination identifiers based on a first identifier shared by the initiating UE and the target UE and a second identifier specific to the target UE and known to both the target UE and the initiating UE, and wherein the pair of multicast destination identifiers indicate that the second multicast message is intended for use only by the initiating UE.

[0014] Based on the accompanying drawings and detailed description, other objects and advantages associated with the aspects disclosed herein will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Attached Figure Description

[0015] The accompanying drawings are provided to help describe various aspects of this disclosure, and are provided for illustrative purposes only and not to limit the aspects.

[0016] Figure 1 Example wireless communication systems according to various aspects of this disclosure are illustrated.

[0017] Figure 2A and Figure 2B Example wireless network architectures based on various aspects of this disclosure are illustrated.

[0018] Figure 3A , Figure 3B and Figure 3CIt is a simplified block diagram of several examples of components that can be used in user equipment (UE), base stations and network entities and configured to support communications as taught herein.

[0019] Figure 4 This is a diagram illustrating an example sidelink ranging and positioning process according to various aspects of this disclosure.

[0020] Figure 5A and Figure 5B Example logic diagrams for using managed multicast pair responses for sidelink localization are illustrated according to various aspects of this disclosure.

[0021] Figure 6 This is a diagram illustrating an example of sidelink positioning via managed multicast according to various aspects of this disclosure.

[0022] Figure 7 This is another illustration of an example of sidelink positioning via managed multicast according to various aspects of this disclosure.

[0023] Figure 8 This is another illustration of an example of sidelink positioning via managed multicast according to various aspects of this disclosure.

[0024] Figure 9 Example information elements for indicating the response type of managed multicast according to various aspects of this disclosure are illustrated.

[0025] Figure 10 and Figure 11 Example methods of wireless communication according to various aspects of this disclosure are illustrated. Detailed Implementation

[0026] Various aspects of this disclosure are provided below in the description and accompanying drawings of various examples provided for illustrative purposes. Alternative aspects may be devised without departing from the scope of this disclosure. Additionally, well-known elements of this disclosure will not be described in detail or will be omitted so as not to obscure the relevant details of this disclosure.

[0027] Various aspects are involved in sidelink communication as a whole. Some aspects are more specifically involved in sidelink location group operations via paired managed multicast replies. In some examples, paired multicast messages are exchanged between the initiating user equipment (UE) and the target UE using identifiers (IDs) derived from: 1) an identifier shared by both the initiating and target UEs and 2) a target UE-specific identifier (known to both the target and initiating UEs). The exposed paired multicast can be enabled via a message in which the initiating UE instructs the target UE to reply via paired multicast.

[0028] Specific aspects of the subject matter described in this disclosure may be implemented to achieve one or more of the following potential advantages. In some examples, by enabling the target UE to reply to the initiating UE in a pairwise multicast message instead of a regular multicast message, the described techniques can be used to reduce unnecessary UE processing or air resource utilization, since only the initiating UE decodes the response message, and other UEs can ignore the response message if they determine that a pairwise destination ID is not supported.

[0029] The terms “exemplary” and / or “example” are used herein to mean “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any aspect described herein as “exemplary” and / or “example” is not necessarily to be construed as superior to or better than other aspects. Similarly, the term “aspects of this disclosure” does not require that all aspects of this disclosure include the features, advantages, or modes of operation discussed.

[0030] Those skilled in the art will understand that any of a variety of different techniques and methods can be used to represent the information and signals described below. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be mentioned throughout the following description can be represented by voltage, current, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, light fields or optical particles, or any combination thereof, depending in part on the specific application, in part on the desired design, in part on the corresponding technology, and so on.

[0031] Furthermore, many aspects are described according to a sequence of actions to be performed by elements of, for example, a computing device. It will be appreciated that the various actions described herein can be performed by specific circuitry (e.g., an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC)), by program instructions executed by one or more processors, or by a combination of both. Additionally, the sequence of actions described herein can be considered to be entirely embodied in any form of non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a corresponding set of computer instructions that, when executed, will cause or command the associated processor of the device to perform the functionality described herein. Therefore, various aspects of this disclosure can be embodied in a variety of different forms, all of which are contemplated within the scope of the claimed subject matter. Furthermore, for each aspect described herein, any corresponding form of any such aspect may be described herein as, for example, "logic configured to perform the described actions."

[0032] As used herein, the terms “user equipment” (UE), “vehicle UE” (V-UE), “pedestrian UE” (P-UE), and “base station” are not intended to be specific to or otherwise limited to any particular radio access technology (RAT) unless otherwise stated. In general, a UE can be any wireless communication device used by a user to communicate over a wireless communication network (e.g., vehicle onboard computer, vehicle navigation device, mobile phone, router, tablet computer, laptop computer, asset location device, wearable device (e.g., smartwatch, glasses, augmented reality (AR) / virtual reality (VR) headset, etc.), vehicle (e.g., car, motorcycle, bicycle, etc.), Internet of Things (IoT) device, etc.). A UE can be mobile or can (e.g., at certain times) be stationary and can communicate with a radio access network (RAN). As used herein, the term “UE” can be interchangeably referred to as “mobile device,” “access terminal” or “AT,” “client device,” “wireless device,” “subscriber equipment,” “subscriber terminal,” “subscriber station,” “user terminal” or UT,” “mobile terminal,” “mobile station,” or variations thereof.

[0033] V-UE is a type of UE and can be any in-vehicle wireless communication device, such as a navigation system, alarm system, head-up display (HUD), onboard computer, in-vehicle infotainment system, automated driving system (ADS), advanced driver assistance system (ADAS), etc. Alternatively, V-UE can be a portable wireless communication device (e.g., cellular phone, tablet computer, etc.) carried by the driver or occupant of a vehicle. The term "V-UE" can refer to the in-vehicle wireless communication device or the vehicle itself, depending on the context. P-UE is a type of UE and can be a portable wireless communication device carried by a pedestrian (i.e., a user who is not driving or riding in a vehicle). Generally, the UE can communicate with the core network via the RAN, and through the core network, the UE can connect to external networks such as the Internet and to other UEs. Of course, other mechanisms for connecting to the core network and / or the Internet are also possible for the UE, such as through wired access networks, wireless local area network (WLAN) networks (e.g., based on IEEE 802.11, etc.).

[0034] A base station can communicate with a UE by operating under one of several RATs based on the network in which it is deployed, and may alternatively be referred to as an Access Point (AP), Network Node, Node B, Evolved Node B (eNB), Next Generation eNB (ng-eNB), New Radio (NR) Node B (also known as gNB or gNodeB), etc. The base station is primarily used to support the UE's radio access, including supporting the UE's data, voice, and / or signaling connections. In some systems, the base station may only provide edge node signaling functions, while in others, it may provide additional control and / or network management functions. The communication link through which the UE can transmit signals to the base station is called an uplink (UL) channel (e.g., reverse traffic channel, reverse control channel, access channel, etc.). The communication link through which the base station can transmit signals to the UE is called a downlink (DL) or forward link channel (e.g., paging channel, control channel, broadcast channel, forward traffic channel, etc.). As used herein, the term Traffic Channel (TCH) may refer to either the UL / reverse or DL / forward traffic channel.

[0035] The term "base station" can refer to a single physical transmit / receive point (TRP) or multiple physical TRPs that may or may not be co-located. For example, when the term "base station" refers to a single physical TRP, the physical TRP can be the antenna of a base station corresponding to a cell (or several cell sectors) of the base station. When the term "base station" refers to multiple co-located physical TRPs, the physical TRP can be the antenna array of the base station (e.g., as in a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system or where the base station employs beamforming). When the term "base station" refers to multiple non-co-located physical TRPs, the physical TRP can be a distributed antenna system (DAS) (a network of spatially separated antennas connected via a transmission medium to a common source) or a remote radio headend (RRH) (a remote base station connected to a serving base station). Alternatively, a non-co-located physical TRP can be the serving base station from which the UE receives measurement reports and a neighboring base station where the UE is measuring its reference radio frequency (RF) signal. Because, as used herein, a TRP is the point by which a base station transmits and receives radio signals, references to transmitting from or receiving at a base station should be understood to refer to a specific TRP of the base station.

[0036] In some specific implementations supporting UE positioning, the base station may not support the UE's radio access (e.g., it may not support the UE's data, voice, and / or signaling connections). Instead, it may send a reference RF signal to the UE for measurement by the UE, and / or receive and measure signals sent by the UE. Such a base station may be referred to as a positioning beacon (e.g., in the case of sending RF signals to the UE) and / or as a location measurement unit (e.g., in the case of receiving and measuring RF signals from the UE).

[0037] An “RF signal” refers to an electromagnetic wave of a given frequency that transmits information across the space between a transmitter and a receiver. As used herein, a transmitter may send a single “RF signal” or multiple “RF signals” to a receiver. However, due to the propagation characteristics of RF signals through multipath channels, a receiver may receive multiple “RF signals” corresponding to each transmitted RF signal. The same transmitted RF signal on different paths between the transmitter and receiver may be referred to as a “multipath” RF signal. As used herein, where the context clearly indicates that the term “signal” refers to a wireless signal or RF signal, an RF signal may also be referred to as a “wireless signal” or simply a “signal.”

[0038] Figure 1 An example wireless communication system 100 according to various aspects of this disclosure is illustrated. The wireless communication system 100 (which may also be referred to as a wireless wide area network (WWAN)) may include various base stations 102 (labeled "BS") and various UEs 104. Base station 102 may include macro cell base stations (high-power cellular base stations) and / or small cell base stations (low-power cellular base stations). In one aspect, macro cell base station 102 may include eNB and / or ng-eNB (wherein wireless communication system 100 corresponds to an LTE network) or gNB (wherein wireless communication system 100 corresponds to an NR network) or a combination of both, and small cell base stations may include femtocells, picocells, microcells, etc.

[0039] Base station 102 can collectively form a RAN and interface with core network 170 (e.g., evolved packet core (EPC) or 5G core (5GC)) via backhaul link 122, and interface with one or more location servers 172 (e.g., location management function (LMF) or secure user plane positioning (SUPL) positioning platform (SLP)) via core network 170. Location server 172 can be part of core network 170 or can be external to core network 170. Location server 172 can be integrated with base station 102. UE 104 can communicate with location server 172 directly or indirectly. For example, UE 104 can communicate with location server 172 via base station 102 currently serving UE 104. UE 104 can also communicate with location server 172 via another path, such as via application server (not shown), via another network, such as via wireless local area network (WLAN) access point (AP) (e.g., AP 150 described below), etc. For signaling purposes, communication between UE 104 and location server 172 can be represented as an indirect connection (e.g., via core network 170, etc.) or a direct connection (e.g., as shown via direct connection 128), wherein intermediate nodes (if present) are omitted from the signaling diagram for clarity.

[0040] In addition to other functions, base station 102 may perform functions associated with one or more of the following: transmitting user data, radio channel encryption and decryption, integrity protection, header compression, mobility control functions (e.g., handover, dual connectivity), inter-cell interference coordination, connection establishment and release, load balancing, distribution of Non-Access Stratum (NAS) messages, NAS node selection, synchronization, RAN sharing, Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service (MBMS), subscriber and equipment tracking, RAN Information Management (RIM), paging, location, and delivery of warning messages. Base stations 102 may communicate with each other directly or indirectly (e.g., via EPC / 5GC) on backhaul link 134, which may be wired or wireless.

[0041] Base station 102 can wirelessly communicate with UE 104. Each base station in base station 102 can provide communication coverage for a corresponding geographic coverage area 110. In one aspect, one or more cells can be supported by base station 102 in each geographic coverage area 110. A “cell” is a logical communication entity used to communicate with a base station (e.g., via a frequency resource, which is referred to as a carrier frequency, component carrier, carrier, frequency band, etc.) and can be associated with an identifier (e.g., Physical Cell Identifier (PCI), Enhanced Cell Identifier (ECI), Virtual Cell Identifier (VCI), Cell Global Identifier (CGI), etc.) used to distinguish cells operating via the same or different carrier frequencies. In some cases, different cells can be configured according to different protocol types that can provide access for different types of UEs (e.g., Machine Type Communication (MTC), Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT), Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB), or other protocol types). Because a cell is supported by a specific base station, the term “cell” can refer to one or both of the logical communication entity and the base station that supports it, depending on the context. In some cases, the term "cell" can also refer to the geographic coverage area of ​​a base station (e.g., a sector), as long as the carrier frequency can be detected and used for communication within a portion of the geographic coverage area 110.

[0042] While the geographic coverage areas 110 of adjacent macro cell base stations 102 may partially overlap (e.g., in handover areas), some areas within geographic coverage areas 110 may substantially overlap with larger geographic coverage areas 110. For example, a small cell base station 102' (labeled "SC" for "small cell") may have a geographic coverage area 110' that substantially overlaps with the geographic coverage areas 110 of one or more macro cell base stations 102. A network that includes both small cell base stations and macro cell base stations may be referred to as a heterogeneous network. A heterogeneous network may also include a home eNB (HeNB) that can provide service to a restricted group referred to as a Closed Subscriber Group (CSG).

[0043] The communication link 120 between base station 102 and UE 104 may include uplink (also known as reverse link) transmission from UE 104 to base station 102 and / or downlink (DL) (also known as forward link) transmission from base station 102 to UE 104. The communication link 120 may use MIMO antenna techniques, including spatial multiplexing, beamforming, and / or transmit diversity. The communication link 120 may use one or more carrier frequencies. Carrier allocation may be asymmetric for the downlink and uplink (e.g., more or fewer carriers may be allocated to the downlink compared to the uplink).

[0044] The wireless communication system 100 may also include a WLAN access point (AP) 150 that communicates with a wireless local area network (WLAN) station (STA) 152 via a communication link 154 in unlicensed spectrum (e.g., 5 GHz). When communicating in unlicensed spectrum, the WLAN STA 152 and / or WLAN AP 150 may perform a free channel assessment (CCA) or listen-before-talk (LBT) process before communication to determine whether the channel is available.

[0045] Small cell base station 102' can operate in licensed and / or unlicensed spectrum. When operating in unlicensed spectrum, small cell base station 102' can employ LTE or NR technology and use the same 5GHz unlicensed spectrum as WLAN AP 150. Small cell base station 102' employing LTE / 5G in unlicensed spectrum can improve the coverage and / or increase the capacity of the access network. NR in unlicensed spectrum may be referred to as NR-U. LTE in unlicensed spectrum may be referred to as LTE-U, Licensed Assisted Access (LAA), or MULTEFIRE. ® .

[0046] The wireless communication system 100 may also include an mmW base station 180, which can operate in millimeter-wave (mmW) frequencies and / or near-mmW frequencies to communicate with the UE 182. Extremely high frequency (EHF) is a portion of the electromagnetic spectrum that contains radio frequency (RF). EHF has a range of 30 GHz to 300 GHz, with wavelengths between 1 mm and 10 mm. Radio waves in this band are referred to as millimeter waves. Near-mmW extends down to 3 GHz with wavelengths of 100 mm. Ultra-high frequency (SHF) bands extend between 3 GHz and 30 GHz, and are also referred to as centimeter waves. Communication using mmW / near-mmW radio bands has high path loss and relatively short range. The mmW base station 180 and the UE 182 can utilize beamforming (transmit and / or receive) on the mmW communication link 184 to compensate for the extremely high path loss and short range. Furthermore, it should be understood that in alternative configurations, one or more base stations 102 may also use mmW or near-mmW and beamforming for transmission. Therefore, it should be understood that the foregoing examples are merely illustrative and should not be construed as limiting the various aspects disclosed herein.

[0047] Transmit beamforming is a technique used to focus RF signals in a specific direction. Traditionally, when a network node (e.g., a base station) broadcasts an RF signal, it broadcasts the signal in all directions (omnidirectionally). Using transmit beamforming, the network node determines where a given target device (e.g., a UE) is located (relative to the transmitting network node) and projects a stronger downlink RF signal in that specific direction, thus providing the receiving device with a faster and stronger RF signal (in terms of data rate). To change the directivity of the RF signal during transmission, the network node can control the phase and relative amplitude of the RF signal at each of one or more transmitters broadcasting the RF signal. For example, the network node can use an array of antennas (called a "phased array" or "antenna array") that forms an RF beam that can be "manipulated" to be pointed in different directions without actually moving the antennas. Specifically, RF currents from the transmitters are fed to individual antennas with the correct phase relationship, such that radio waves from the individual antennas add up in the desired direction to increase radiation, while canceling out in the undesired direction to suppress radiation.

[0048] Transmit beams can be quasi-co-located, meaning they appear to the receiver (e.g., the UE) as having the same parameters regardless of whether the network node's own transmit antennas are physically co-located. In NR, there are four types of quasi-co-located (QCL) relationships. Specifically, a given type of QCL relationship means that certain parameters of a second reference RF signal on a second beam can be derived based on information about the source reference RF signal on the source beam. Therefore, if the source reference RF signal is QCL type A, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift, Doppler spread, average delay, and delay spread of the second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL type B, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift and Doppler spread of the second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL type C, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift and average delay of the second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is of type QCL D, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the spatial reception parameters of a second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel.

[0049] In receive beamforming, a receiver uses a receive beam to amplify an RF signal detected on a given channel. For example, the receiver may increase the gain setting of an antenna array in a particular direction and / or adjust the phase setting of the antenna array in a particular direction to amplify the RF signal received from that direction (e.g., increase its gain level). Therefore, when a receiver is described as performing beamforming in a certain direction, it means that the beam gain in that direction is high relative to the beam gain along other directions, or that the beam gain in that direction is the highest compared to the beam gain of all other receive beams available to the receiver in that direction. This results in a stronger received signal strength (e.g., reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR), etc.) of the RF signal received from that direction.

[0050] The transmit and receive beams can be spatially correlated. Spatial correlation means that parameters for a second beam (e.g., transmit or receive beam) for a second reference signal can be derived based on information about a first beam (e.g., receive or transmit beam) for a first reference signal. For example, a UE can use a specific receive beam to receive a reference downlink reference signal (e.g., a synchronization signal block (SSB)) from a base station. The UE can then form a transmit beam for transmitting an uplink reference signal (e.g., a sounding reference signal (SRS)) to that base station based on the parameters of the receive beam.

[0051] It is important to note that, depending on the entity forming the "downlink" beam, the beam can be either a transmit beam or a receive beam. For example, if the base station is forming a downlink beam to transmit a reference signal to the UE, the downlink beam is a transmit beam. However, if the UE is forming a downlink beam, the downlink beam is a receive beam for receiving the downlink reference signal. Similarly, depending on the entity forming the "uplink" beam, the beam can be either a transmit beam or a receive beam. For example, if the base station is forming an uplink beam, the uplink beam is an uplink receive beam, while if the UE is forming an uplink beam, the uplink beam is an uplink transmit beam.

[0052] The electromagnetic spectrum is typically subdivided into various categories, bands, channels, etc., based on frequency / wavelength. In 5G NR, two initial operating bands have been designated as frequency ranges FR1 (410MHz to 7.125GHz) and FR2 (24.25GHz to 52.6GHz). It should be understood that although a portion of FR1 is greater than 6GHz, in various documents and articles, FR1 is often (interchangeably) referred to as the "sub-6GHz" band. A similar naming issue sometimes occurs with FR2, which is often (interchangeably) referred to as the "millimeter wave" band in documents and articles, although this differs from the designation used by the International Telecommunication Union. ® Extremely high frequency (EHF) bands (30 GHz to 300 GHz) are designated as “millimeter wave” bands.

[0053] The frequencies between FR1 and FR2 are generally referred to as mid-band frequencies. Recent 5G NR studies have identified the operating bands used for these mid-band frequencies as the frequency range designation FR3 (7.125 GHz to 24.25 GHz). Bands falling within FR3 can inherit FR1 and / or FR2 characteristics, thus effectively extending the features of FR1 and / or FR2 to mid-band frequencies. Additionally, higher frequency bands are currently being explored to extend 5G NR operation beyond 52.6 GHz. For example, three higher operating frequency bands have been identified as the frequency range designations FR4a or FR4-1 (52.6 GHz to 71 GHz), FR4 (52.6 GHz to 114.25 GHz), and FR5 (114.25 GHz to 300 GHz). Each of these higher frequency bands falls within the EHF band.

[0054] In light of the foregoing, unless otherwise specifically stated, it should be understood that, as used herein, the term "below 6 GHz" and the like can broadly refer to frequencies less than 6 GHz, within FR1, or including intermediate frequency band frequencies. Furthermore, unless otherwise specifically stated, it should be understood that, as used herein, the term "millimeter wave" and the like can broadly refer to frequencies that can include intermediate frequency band frequencies, within FR2, FR4, FR4-a or FR4-1 and / or FR5, or within the EHF band.

[0055] In multi-carrier systems such as 5G, one of the carrier frequencies is referred to as the "primary carrier," "anchor carrier," "primary serving cell," or "PCell," and the remaining carrier frequencies are referred to as "secondary carriers," "secondary serving cells," or "SCell." In carrier aggregation, the anchor carrier is the carrier operating on the primary frequency (e.g., FR1) utilized by UE 104 / 182 and the cell, where UE 104 / 182 performs an initial Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection establishment procedure or initiates an RRC connection re-establishment procedure. The primary carrier carries all common and UE-specific control channels and can be a carrier on a licensed frequency (however, this is not always the case). The secondary carrier is a carrier operating on a second frequency (e.g., FR2) that can be configured and used to provide additional radio resources once an RRC connection is established between UE 104 and the anchor carrier. In some cases, the secondary carrier can be a carrier on an unlicensed frequency. Secondary carriers may contain only the necessary signaling information and signals. For example, since the primary uplink and primary downlink carriers are typically UE-specific, the UE-specific signaling information and signals may not be present in the secondary carrier. This means that different UEs 104 / 182 within a cell can have different downlink primary carriers. The same applies to the uplink primary carrier. The network can change the primary carrier of any UE 104 / 182 at any time. This is done, for example, to balance the load on different carriers. Since a "serving cell" (whether PCell or SCell) corresponds to the carrier frequency / component carrier through which a base station communicates, the terms "cell," "serving cell," "component carrier," and "carrier frequency" can be used interchangeably.

[0056] For example, still refer to Figure 1One of the frequencies used by the macro cell base station 102 can be an anchor carrier (or "PCell"), and the other frequencies used by the macro cell base station 102 and / or the mmW base station 180 can be secondary carriers ("SCell"). Simultaneous transmission and / or reception on multiple carriers allows the UE 104 / 182 to significantly increase its data transmission and / or data reception rates. For example, compared to the data rate obtained by a single 20MHz carrier, two aggregated 20MHz carriers in a multi-carrier system would theoretically result in a doubling of the data rate (i.e., 40MHz).

[0057] exist Figure 1 In the example, the UE shown (for simplicity, in) Figure 1 Any UE (shown as a single UE 104) can receive signal 124 from one or more Earth-orbiting spacecraft (SV) 112 (e.g., satellites). In one aspect, SV 112 may be part of a satellite positioning system that allows UE 104 to use as an independent source of location information. Satellite positioning systems typically include a system of transmitters (e.g., SV 112) positioned such that a receiver (e.g., UE 104) can determine its location on or above the Earth based at least in part on positioning signals (e.g., signal 124) received from the transmitters. Such transmitters typically transmit signals marked with a set number of repeating pseudo-random noise (PN) codes. While typically located in SV 112, transmitters may sometimes be located at ground-based control stations, base stations 102, and / or other UEs 104. UE 104 may include one or more dedicated receivers specifically designed to receive signal 124 in order to derive geographic location information from SV 112.

[0058] In a satellite positioning system, the use of signal 124 can be enhanced by various satellite-based augmentation systems (SBAS), which may be associated with or otherwise made capable of being used with one or more global and / or regional navigation satellite systems. For example, SBAS may include augmentation systems that provide integrity information, differential correction, etc., such as Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS), European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS), Multifunctional Satellite Augmentation System (MSAS), and / or GPS-assisted geographic augmentation navigation or GPS and geographic augmentation navigation system (GAGAN). Therefore, as used herein, a satellite positioning system may include any combination of one or more global and / or regional navigation satellites associated with such one or more satellite positioning systems.

[0059] On one hand, SV 112 may additionally or alternatively be part of one or more non-terrestrial networks (NTNs). In an NTN, SV 112 connects to an earth station (also referred to as a ground station, NTN gateway, or gateway), which in turn connects to elements in the 5G network, such as a modified base station 102 (without a ground antenna) or a network node in a 5GC. This element, in turn, provides access to other elements in the 5G network and ultimately to entities outside the 5G network, such as internet web servers and other user equipment. Thus, as a replacement or supplement to communication signals from ground base station 102, UE 104 can receive communication signals (e.g., signal 124) from SV 112.

[0060] Leveraging the increased data rates and reduced latency of NR (Radio Frequency I / O), vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication technology is being implemented to support Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) applications, such as wireless communication between vehicles (V2V), between vehicles and roadside infrastructure (V2I), and between vehicles and pedestrians (V2P). The goal is to enable vehicles to sense their surroundings and communicate that information to other vehicles, infrastructure, and personal mobile devices. This type of vehicle communication will achieve safety, mobility, and environmental improvements that current technologies cannot provide. Once fully realized, this technology is expected to reduce collisions involving undamaged vehicles by 80%.

[0061] Still referencing Figure 1The wireless communication system 100 may include multiple V-UEs 160, which can communicate with base station 102 on communication link 120 using a Uu interface (i.e., the air interface between the UE and the base station). V-UEs 160 can also communicate directly with each other on wireless sidelink 162, with roadside unit (RSU) 164 (roadside access point) on wireless sidelink 166, or with sidelink-capable UE 104 on wireless sidelink 168 using a PC5 interface (i.e., the air interface between UEs with sidelink capability). A wireless sidelink (or simply "sidelink") is an adaptation of core cellular network (e.g., LTE, NR) standards that allows direct communication between two or more UEs without requiring communication through a base station. Sidelink communication can be unicast or multicast and can be used for device-to-device (D2D) media sharing, V2V communication, V2X communication (e.g., cellular V2X (cV2X) communication, enhanced V2X (eV2X) communication, emergency rescue applications, etc. One or more V-UEs in a group of V-UEs 160 utilizing sidelink communication may be within the geographic coverage area 110 of base station 102. Other V-UEs 160 in such a group may be outside the geographic coverage area 110 of base station 102, or may be unable to receive transmissions from base station 102 for other reasons. In some cases, the groups of V-UEs 160 communicating via sidelink communication may utilize a one-to-many (1:M) system, where each V-UE 160 transmits to every other V-UE 160 in the group. In some cases, base station 102 facilitates the scheduling of resources for sidelink communication. In other cases, sidelink communication is performed between V-UEs 160 without involving base station 102.

[0062] On one hand, sidelinks 162, 166, and 168 can operate via a wireless communication medium of interest, which can be shared with other vehicles and / or infrastructure access points and other wireless communications between RATs. “Medium” can include one or more time, frequency, and / or space communication resources (e.g., covering one or more channels across one or more carriers) associated with wireless communication between one or more transmitter / receiver pairs.

[0063] On one hand, sidelinks 162, 166, and 168 can be cV2X links. First-generation cV2X has been standardized in LTE, and the next generation is expected to be defined in NR. cV2X is a cellular technology that also enables device-to-device communication. In the United States and Europe, cV2X is expected to operate in licensed ITS bands below 6 GHz. Other bands may be allocated in other countries. Thus, as a specific example, the medium of interest utilized by sidelinks 162, 166, and 168 may correspond to at least a portion of licensed ITS bands below 6 GHz. However, this disclosure is not limited to this band or cellular technology.

[0064] On one hand, sidelinks 162, 166, and 168 can be Dedicated Short-Range Communications (DSRC) links. DSRC is a one-way or two-way short-to-medium-range wireless communication protocol that uses the Vehicle Environment Wireless Access (WAVE) protocol (also known as IEEE 802.11p) for V2V, V2I, and V2P communications. IEEE 802.11p is an approved modification of the IEEE 802.11 standard and operates in the licensed ITS band of 5.9 GHz (5.85 GHz to 5.925 GHz) in the United States. In Europe, IEEE 802.11p operates in the ITS G5A band (5.875 GHz to 5.905 MHz). Other bands may be allocated in other countries. The V2V communications briefly described above occur on a secure channel, which in the United States is typically a 10 MHz channel dedicated to security purposes. The remainder of the DSRC band (total bandwidth of 75MHz) is intended for other services of interest to drivers, such as road rules, toll collection, parking automation, etc. Therefore, as a specific example, the media of interest utilized by side links 162, 166, and 168 may correspond to at least a portion of the licensed ITS band at 5.9GHz.

[0065] Alternatively, the medium of interest may correspond to at least a portion of unlicensed frequency bands shared among various RATs. While different licensed frequency bands have been reserved for certain communication systems (e.g., by government entities such as the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC), these systems (particularly those employing small cell access points) have recently expanded their operations to unlicensed National Information Infrastructure (U-NII) bands used by wireless local area network (WLAN) technologies, most notably the IEEE 802.11x WLAN technology commonly referred to as "Wi-Fi"). Example systems of this type include various variants of CDMA, TDMA, FDMA, orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA), single-carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA), and so on.

[0066] Communication between V-UEs 160 is referred to as V2V communication, communication between V-UE 160 and one or more RSUs 164 is referred to as V2I communication, and communication between V-UE 160 and one or more UEs 104 (where these UEs 104 are P-UEs) is referred to as V2P communication. V2V communication between V-UEs 160 may include information such as the location, speed, acceleration, heading, and other vehicle data of these V-UEs 160. V2I information received at a V-UE 160 from the one or more RSUs 164 may include, for example, road rules, parking automation information, etc. V2P communication between V-UE 160 and UE 104 may include information such as the location, speed, acceleration, and heading of V-UE 160, and the location, speed (e.g., in the case where UE 104 is carried by a cyclist), and heading of UE 104.

[0067] It should be noted that, although Figure 1 Only two UEs in the UE list are exemplified as V-UEs (V-UE 160), but any UE in the exemplified UEs (e.g., UE 104, 152, 182, 190) can be V-UEs. Furthermore, although only these V-UEs 160 and a single UE 104 have been exemplified as connected via a sidelink, Figure 1 Any of the illustrated UEs, whether V-UE, P-UE, etc., may be capable of sidelink communication. Furthermore, although only UE 182 is described as capable of beamforming, any of the illustrated UEs (including V-UE 160) may be capable of beamforming. When V-UE 160 is capable of beamforming, it can beamform towards each other (i.e., towards other V-UEs 160), towards RSU 164, towards other UEs (e.g., UEs 104, 152, 182, 190), etc. Therefore, in some cases, V-UE 160 may utilize beamforming on sidelinks 162, 166, and 168.

[0068] The wireless communication system 100 may also include one or more UEs (such as UE 190) indirectly connected to one or more communication networks via one or more device-to-device (D2D) peer-to-peer (P2P) links. Figure 1In one example, UE 190 has a D2D P2P link 192 with one of UEs 104 connected to one of the base stations 102 (e.g., UE 190 can indirectly obtain cellular connectivity through this D2D P2P link), and a D2D P2P link 194 with a WLANSTA 152 connected to a WLAN AP 150 (UE 190 can indirectly obtain WLAN-based Internet connectivity through this D2D P2P link). In one example, D2D P2P links 192 and 194 can utilize any known D2D RAT (such as LTE Direct (LTE-D), Wi-Fi Direct). ® ,Bluetooth ® (etc.) to support it. As another example, D2D P2P link 192 and D2D P2P link 194 can be side links, as described above with reference to side links 162, 166 and 168.

[0069] Figure 2A An example wireless network architecture 200 is illustrated. For instance, the 5GC 210 (also referred to as the Next Generation Core (NGC)) can be functionally viewed as control plane (C-plane) functions 214 (e.g., UE registration, authentication, network access, gateway selection, etc.) and user plane (U-plane) functions 212 (e.g., UE gateway functions, access to data networks, IP routing, etc.), which work together to form the core network. The user plane interface (NG-U) 213 and the control plane interface (NG-C) 215 connect the gNB 222 to the 5GC 210, specifically to user plane functions 212 and control plane functions 214, respectively. In an additional configuration, the ng-eNB 224 can also connect to the 5GC 210 via the NG-C 215 to the control plane function 214 and the NG-U 213 to the user plane function 212. Furthermore, the ng-eNB 224 can communicate directly with the gNB 222 via a backhaul connection 223. In some configurations, the next-generation RAN (NG-RAN) 220 may have one or more gNBs 222, while other configurations include one or more of both ng-eNBs 224 and gNBs 222. Either or both of the gNBs 222 or ng-eNBs 224 can communicate with one or more UEs 204 (e.g., any of the UEs described herein).

[0070] Another optional aspect may include a location server 230 that can communicate with the 5GC 210 to provide location assistance to the UE 204. The location server 230 may be implemented as multiple separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules distributed across multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternatively, each may correspond to a single server. The location server 230 may be configured to support one or more location services for the UE 204 that can be connected to the location server 230 via the core network, the 5GC 210, and / or via the Internet (not illustrated). Furthermore, the location server 230 may be integrated into a component of the core network, or alternatively, may be located outside the core network (e.g., a third-party server, such as an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) server or a service server).

[0071] Figure 2B Another example wireless network architecture 240.5GC 260 is illustrated (which can be used with...). Figure 2AThe 5GC 210 (corresponding to 5GC 210) can be functionally considered as a control plane function provided by the Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 264 and a user plane function provided by the User Plane Function (UPF) 262, which work together to form the core network (i.e., 5GC 260). The functions of AMF 264 include: registration management, connection management, reachability management, mobility management, lawful interception, transmission of session management (SM) messages between one or more UEs 204 (e.g., any of the UEs described herein) and the Session Management Function (SMF) 266, a transparent proxy service for routing SM messages, access authentication and access authorization, transmission of short message service (SMS) messages between UE 204 and the Short Message Service Function (SMSF) (not shown), and Secure Anchoring Functionality (SEAF). AMF 264 also interacts with the Authentication Server Function (AUSF) (not shown) and UE 204 and receives an intermediate key established as a result of the UE 204's authentication process. In the case of UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) Subscriber Identity Module (USIM) authentication, AMF 264 retrieves security material from the AMF. AMF 264 also includes Security Context Management (SCM). The SCM receives a key from the SEAF and uses this key to derive an access network-specific key. AMF 264 functionality also includes location service management for regulatory services, transmission of location service messages between UE 204 and Location Management Function (LMF) 270 (which acts as location server 230), transmission of location service messages between NG-RAN 220 and LMF 270, Evolved Packet System (EPS) bearer identifier allocation for EPS interoperability, and UE 204 mobility event notification. Furthermore, AMF 264 also supports non-3GPP... ® (Third Generation Partner Program) Access network functionality.

[0072] The functions of UPF 262 include: acting as an anchor point for intra-RAT / inter-RAT mobility (where applicable), acting as an external Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session point interconnecting to a data network (not shown), providing packet routing and forwarding, packet inspection, user plane policy rule enforcement (e.g., strobing, redirection, traffic steering), lawful eavesdropping (user plane collection), traffic usage reporting, quality of service (QoS) processing for the user plane (e.g., uplink / downlink rate enforcement, reflective QoS marking in the downlink), uplink traffic verification (Service Data Flow (SDF) to QoS flow mapping), transport-level packet marking in the uplink and downlink, downlink packet buffering and downlink data notification triggering, and delivering and forwarding one or more "end markers" to the source RAN node. UPF 262 can also support the delivery of location service messages between UE 204 and location servers (such as SLP 272) on the user plane.

[0073] The functions of SMF 266 include session management, UE Internet Protocol (IP) address allocation and management, selection and control of user plane functions, service orientation configuration at UPF 262 for routing services to the correct destination, partial control of policy enforcement and QoS, and downlink data notification. The interface through which SMF 266 communicates with AMF 264 is called the N11 interface.

[0074] Another optional aspect may include an LMF 270, which can communicate with the 5GC 260 to provide location assistance to the UE 204. The LMF 270 can be implemented as multiple separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules distributed across multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternatively, each can correspond to a single server. The LMF 270 can be configured to support one or more location services for the UE 204, which can connect to the LMF 270 via the core network, the 5GC 260, and / or via the Internet (not illustrated). SLP 272 can support similar functions to LMF 270, but while LMF 270 can communicate with AMF 264, NG-RAN 220, and UE 204 on the control plane (e.g., using interfaces and protocols designed to transmit signaling messages rather than voice or data), SLP 272 can communicate with UE 204 and external clients (e.g., third-party server 274) on the user plane (e.g., using protocols designed to carry voice and / or data, such as Transmit Control Protocol (TCP) and / or IP).

[0075] Another optional aspect may include a third-party server 274 that can communicate with LMF 270, SLP 272, 5GC 260 (e.g., via AMF 264 and / or UPF 262), NG-RAN 220, and / or UE 204 to obtain location information (e.g., location estimation) of UE 204. Therefore, in some cases, the third-party server 274 may be referred to as a Location Services (LCS) client or an external client. The third-party server 274 may be implemented as multiple separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules distributed across multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternatively, each may correspond to a single server.

[0076] User plane interface 263 and control plane interface 265 connect 5GC 260, and specifically connect UPF 262 and AMF 264 to one or more gNB 222 and / or ng-eNB 224 in NG-RAN 220. The interface between gNB 222 and / or ng-eNB 224 and AMF 264 is referred to as the "N2" interface, while the interface between gNB 222 and / or ng-eNB 224 and UPF 262 is referred to as the "N3" interface. The gNB 222 and / or ng-eNB 224 of NG-RAN 220 can communicate directly with each other via backhaul connection 223, referred to as the "Xn-C" interface. One or more of gNB 222 and / or ng-eNB 224 can communicate with one or more UEs 204 via a radio interface referred to as the "Uu" interface.

[0077] The functionality of the gNB 222 can be divided among the gNB Central Unit (gNB-CU) 226, one or more gNB Distributed Units (gNB-DU) 228, and one or more gNB Radio Units (gNB-RU) 229. The gNB-CU 226 is a logical node that includes base station functions other than those specifically allocated to the gNB-DU 228, including user data delivery, mobility control, radio access network sharing, location, session management, etc. More specifically, the gNB-CU 226 typically hosts the Radio Resource Control (RRC), Serving Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP), and Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) protocols of the gNB 222. The gNB-DU 228 is a logical node that typically hosts the Radio Link Control (RLC) and Media Access Control (MAC) layers of the gNB 222. Its operation is controlled by the gNB-CU 226. One gNB-DU 228 can support one or more cells, and a cell is supported by only one gNB-DU 228. The interface 232 between gNB-CU 226 and one or more gNB-DU 228 is referred to as the "F1" interface. The physical (PHY) layer functionality of gNB 222 is typically managed by one or more independent gNB-RU 229s, which perform functions such as power amplification and signal transmission / reception. The interface between gNB-DU 228 and gNB-RU 229 is referred to as the "Fx" interface. Therefore, UE 204 communicates with gNB-CU 226 via the RRC, SDAP, and PDCP layers, with gNB-DU 228 via the RLC and MAC layers, and with gNB-RU 229 via the PHY layer.

[0078] Figure 3A , Figure 3B and Figure 3C Several example components (represented by corresponding boxes) are illustrated, which can be incorporated into UE 302 (which may correspond to any UE described herein), base station 304 (which may correspond to any base station described herein), and network entity 306 (which may correspond to or embody any network function described herein, including location server 230 and LMF 270, or alternatively may be independent of UE 302). Figure 2A and Figure 2BThe NG-RAN 220 and / or 5GC 210 / 260 infrastructures depicted herein (such as dedicated networks) support the operations described herein. It should be understood that these components can be implemented in different specific implementations in different types of devices (e.g., in ASICs, in System-on-Chip (SoCs), etc.). The illustrated components can also be incorporated into other devices in the communication system. For example, other devices in the system may include components similar to those described as providing similar functionality. Furthermore, a given device may contain one or more of these components. For example, a device may include multiple transceiver components that enable the device to operate on multiple carriers and / or communicate via different technologies.

[0079] UE 302 and base station 304 each include one or more Wireless Wide Area Network (WWAN) transceivers 310 and 350, which provide components (e.g., components for transmitting, components for receiving, components for measuring, components for tuning, and / or components for blocking transmission, etc.) for communicating via one or more wireless communication networks (not shown), such as NR networks, LTE networks, GSM networks, etc. WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 may each be connected to one or more antennas 316 and 356 for communicating with other network nodes (such as other UEs, access points, base stations (e.g., eNB, gNB), etc.) via at least one designated RAT (e.g., NR, LTE, GSM, etc.) through a wireless communication medium of interest (e.g., a time / frequency resource set in a specific spectrum). WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 can be configured in different ways to transmit and encode signals 318 and 358 (e.g., messages, indications, information, etc.) according to a specified RAT, and conversely, to receive and decode signals 318 and 358 (e.g., messages, indications, information, pilots, etc.). Specifically, WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 each include: one or more transmitters 314 and 354 for transmitting and encoding signals 318 and 358, respectively; and one or more receivers 312 and 352 for receiving and decoding signals 318 and 358, respectively.

[0080] In at least some cases, UE 302 and base station 304 each further include one or more short-range radio transceivers 320 and 360, respectively. The short-range radio transceivers 320 and 360 can be connected to one or more antennas 326 and 366, respectively, and provide the capability to communicate over a wireless communication medium of interest via at least one designated RAT (e.g., Wi-Fi, LTE Direct, Bluetooth). ® ZIGBEE ® Z-WAVE ®Components (e.g., components for transmitting, components for receiving, components for measuring, components for tuning, components for blocking transmission, etc.) that enable communication between short-range transceivers 320 and 360 and other network nodes (such as other UEs, access points, base stations, etc.) in various ways. These components include PC5, Dedicated Short Range Communication (DSRC), Wireless Access for Vehicle Environments (WAVE), Near Field Communication (NFC), Ultra Wideband (UWB), etc.) and other network nodes (such as other UEs, access points, base stations, etc.). Short-range transceivers 320 and 360 can be configured in different ways to transmit and encode signals 328 and 368 (e.g., messages, indications, information, etc.) according to a specified RAT, and conversely, to receive and decode signals 328 and 368 (e.g., messages, indications, information, pilots, etc.) respectively. Specifically, short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 each include: one or more transmitters 324 and 364 for transmitting and encoding signals 328 and 368, respectively; and one or more receivers 322 and 362 for receiving and decoding signals 328 and 368, respectively. As a specific example, short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 may be Wi-Fi transceivers, Bluetooth transceivers, etc. ® Transceiver, Zigbee ® and / or Z-WAVE ® Transceivers, NFC transceivers, UWB transceivers, or vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and / or vehicle-to-everything (V2X) transceivers.

[0081] In at least some cases, UE 302 and base station 304 also include satellite signal interfaces 330 and 370, each satellite signal interface including one or more satellite signal receivers 332 and 372, and optionally including one or more satellite signal transmitters 334 and 374, respectively. In some cases, base station 304 may be a terrestrial base station that can communicate with a spacecraft (e.g., spacecraft 112) via satellite signal interface 370. In other cases, base station 304 may be a spacecraft (or other non-terrestrial entity) that uses satellite signal interface 370 to communicate with terrestrial networks and / or other spacecraft.

[0082] Satellite signal receivers 332 and 372 can be connected to one or more antennas 336 and 376, respectively, and can provide components for receiving and / or measuring satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378, respectively. When satellite signal receivers 332 and 372 are satellite positioning system receivers, satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378 can be Global Positioning System (GPS) signals, Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS) signals, Galileo signals, BeiDou signals, Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (NAVIC), Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS) signals, etc. When satellite signal receivers 332 and 372 are non-terrestrial network (NTN) receivers, satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378 can be communication signals originating from a 5G network (e.g., carrying control and / or user data). Satellite signal receivers 332 and 372 can include any suitable hardware and / or software for receiving and processing satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378, respectively. Satellite signal receivers 332 and 372 may request appropriate information and operations from other systems, and in at least some cases, use measurements obtained by any suitable satellite positioning system algorithm to perform calculations to determine the locations of UE 302 and base station 304, respectively.

[0083] Optional satellite signal transmitters 334 and 374 (when present) can be connected to one or more antennas 336 and 376, respectively, and can be provided with components for transmitting satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378, respectively. When satellite signal transmitter 374 is a satellite positioning system transmitter, the satellite positioning / communication signal 378 can be a GPS signal, GLONASS signal, etc. ® Signals include Galileo signals, BeiDou signals, NAVIC signals, and QZSS signals. When satellite signal transmitters 334 and 374 are NTN transmitters, satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378 can be communication signals originating from a 5G network (e.g., carrying control and / or user data). Satellite signal transmitters 334 and 374 can include any suitable hardware and / or software for transmitting satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378, respectively. Satellite signal transmitters 334 and 374 can request appropriate information and operations from other systems.

[0084] Base station 304 and network entity 306 each include one or more network transceivers 380 and 390, which provide components (e.g., transmitting components, receiving components, etc.) for communicating with other network entities (e.g., other base stations 304, other network entities 306). For example, base station 304 may use one or more network transceivers 380 to communicate with other base stations 304 or network entities 306 via one or more wired or wireless backhaul links. Similarly, network entity 306 may use one or more network transceivers 390 to communicate with one or more base stations 304 via one or more wired or wireless backhaul links, or to communicate with other network entities 306 via one or more wired or wireless core network interfaces.

[0085] Transceivers can be configured to communicate via wired or wireless links. A transceiver (whether wired or wireless) includes transmitter circuitry (e.g., transmitters 314, 324, 354, 364) and receiver circuitry (e.g., receivers 312, 322, 352, 362). In some embodiments, the transceiver may be an integrated device (e.g., implementing transmitter and receiver circuitry in a single device), in some embodiments it may include separate transmitter and receiver circuitry, or in other embodiments it may be implemented in a different manner. The transmitter and receiver circuitry of a wired transceiver (e.g., network transceivers 380 and 390 in some embodiments) may be coupled to one or more wired network interface ports. Wireless transmitter circuitry (e.g., transmitters 314, 324, 354, 364) may include or be coupled to multiple antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), such as an antenna array, which allows the corresponding device (e.g., UE 302, base station 304) to perform transmit beamforming, as described herein. Similarly, wireless receiver circuitry (e.g., receivers 312, 322, 352, 362) may include or be coupled to multiple antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), such as an antenna array, which allows the corresponding device (e.g., UE 302, base station 304) to perform receive beamforming, as described herein. In one aspect, the transmitter and receiver circuitry may share the same multiple antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), such that the corresponding device may perform only receive or only transmit at a given time, rather than both receive and transmit simultaneously. Wireless transceivers (e.g., WWAN transceivers 310 and 350, short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360) may also include network listening modules (NLMs) for performing various measurements.

[0086] As used herein, various wireless transceivers (e.g., transceivers 310, 320, 350, and 360 in some specific embodiments, and network transceivers 380 and 390) and wired transceivers (e.g., network transceivers 380 and 390 in some specific embodiments) are generally referred to as "transceiver," "at least one transceiver," or "one or more transceivers." Therefore, whether a particular transceiver is a wired or wireless transceiver can be inferred from the type of communication performed. For example, backhaul communication between network devices or servers typically involves signaling via a wired transceiver, while wireless communication between a UE (e.g., UE 302) and a base station (e.g., base station 304) will typically involve signaling via a wireless transceiver.

[0087] UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 also include other components that can be used in conjunction with the operations disclosed herein. UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 each include one or more processors 342, 384, and 394 for providing functionality related to, for example, wireless communication and for providing other processing functionality. Thus, processors 342, 384, and 394 may provide components for processing, such as components for determining, components for calculating, components for receiving, components for transmitting, components for indicating, etc. In one aspect, processors 342, 384, and 394 may include, for example, one or more general-purpose processors, multi-core processors, central processing units (CPUs), ASICs, digital signal processors (DSPs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), other programmable logic devices or processing circuits, or various combinations thereof.

[0088] UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 each include memory circuitry implementing memories 340, 386, and 396 (e.g., each including a memory device) for maintaining information (e.g., information indicating reserved resources, thresholds, parameters, etc.). Therefore, memories 340, 386, and 396 can provide components for storage, retrieval, maintenance, etc. In some cases, UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 may each include positioning components 348, 388, and 398. Positioning components 348, 388, and 398 may be hardware circuitry that is part of or coupled to processors 342, 384, and 394, respectively, which, when executed, enable UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 to perform the functionality described herein. In other aspects, positioning components 348, 388, and 398 may be external to processors 342, 384, and 394 (e.g., part of a modem processing system, integrated with another processing system, etc.). Alternatively, positioning components 348, 388, and 398 may be memory modules stored in memories 340, 386, and 396, respectively, which, when executed by processors 342, 384, and 394 (or modem processing system, another processing system, etc.), enable UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 to perform the functionality described herein. Figure 3A Possible locations for the positioning component 348 are illustrated. The positioning component may be part of, for example, one or more WWAN transceivers 310, memory 340, one or more processors 342, or any combination thereof, or may be a standalone component. Figure 3B Possible locations for the positioning component 388 are illustrated. The positioning component may be part of, for example, one or more WWAN transceivers 350, memory 386, one or more processors 384, or any combination thereof, or may be a standalone component. Figure 3C Possible locations for the positioning component 398 are illustrated. The positioning component may be part of, for example, one or more network transceivers 390, memory 396, one or more processors 394, or any combination thereof, or may be a standalone component.

[0089] UE 302 may include one or more sensors 344 coupled to one or more processors 342 to provide components for sensing or detecting motion and / or orientation information independent of motion data derived from signals received by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more short-range wireless transceivers 320, and / or satellite signal interfaces 330. By way of example, sensor 344 may include accelerometers (e.g., microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) devices), gyroscopes, geomagnetic sensors (e.g., compasses), altimeters (e.g., barometric altimeters), and / or any other type of motion detection sensor. Furthermore, sensor 344 may include multiple different types of devices and combine their outputs to provide motion information. For example, sensor 344 may use a combination of multi-axis accelerometers and orientation sensors to provide the ability to calculate positioning in two-dimensional (2D) and / or three-dimensional (3D) coordinate systems.

[0090] In addition, UE 302 includes a user interface 346 that provides components for providing instructions to a user (e.g., audible and / or visual instructions) and / or for receiving user input (e.g., when the user actuates a sensing device such as a keypad, touchscreen, microphone, etc.). Although not shown, base station 304 and network entity 306 may also include user interfaces.

[0091] Referring more specifically to one or more processors 384, in the downlink, IP packets from network entity 306 can be provided to processor 384. One or more processors 384 can implement functionality for the RRC layer, Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer, Radio Link Control (RLC) layer, and Media Access Control (MAC) layer. One or more processors 384 may provide: RRC layer functionality associated with broadcasting system information (e.g., Master Information Block (MIB), System Information Block (SIB)), RRC connection control (e.g., RRC connection paging, RRC connection establishment, RRC connection modification, and RRC connection release), inter-RAT mobility, and measurement configuration for UE measurement reporting; PDCP layer functionality associated with header compression / decompression, security (encryption, decryption, integrity protection, integrity verification), and handover support functions; RLC layer functionality associated with the delivery of upper-layer PDUs, error correction via Automatic Repeat Request (ARQ), concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC Service Data Units (SDUs), resegmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functionality associated with mapping between logical channels and transport channels, scheduling information reporting, error correction, priority handling, and logical channel priority ordering.

[0092] Transmitter 354 and receiver 352 implement Layer 1 (L1) functionality associated with various signal processing functions. Layer 1, including the physical (PHY) layer, may include: error detection on the transport channel, forward error correction (FEC) decoding / decoding of the transport channel, interleaving, rate matching, mapping to the physical channel, modulation / demodulation of the physical channel, and MIMO antenna processing. Transmitter 354 processes the mapping to the signal constellation based on various modulation schemes (e.g., Binary Phase Shift Keying (BPSK), Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK), M-Phase Shift Keying (M-PSK), M-QAM). The decoded and modulated symbols can then be divided into parallel streams. Each stream can then be mapped to Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) subcarriers, multiplexed with a reference signal (e.g., pilot) in the time and / or frequency domains, and then combined using an Inverse Fast Fourier Transform (IFFT) to produce a physical channel carrying a stream of time-domain OFDM symbols. The OFDM symbol stream is spatially pre-decoded to generate multiple spatial streams. Channel estimates from the channel estimator can be used to determine the decoding and modulation schemes, as well as for spatial processing. The channel estimates can be derived from a reference signal transmitted by UE 302 and / or channel condition feedback. Each spatial stream can then be provided to one or more different antennas 356. Transmitter 354 can use the corresponding spatial stream to modulate an RF carrier for transmission.

[0093] At UE 302, receiver 312 receives signals via its corresponding antenna 316. Receiver 312 recovers the information modulated onto the RF carrier and provides this information to one or more processors 342. Transmitter 314 and receiver 312 implement Layer 1 functionality associated with various signal processing functions. Receiver 312 can perform spatial processing on the information to recover any spatial stream destined for UE 302. If multiple spatial streams are destined for UE 302, they can be combined by receiver 312 into a single OFDM symbol stream. Receiver 312 then uses a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) to transform the OFDM symbol stream from the time domain to the frequency domain. The frequency domain signal includes a separate OFDM symbol stream for each subcarrier of the OFDM signal. The symbols on each subcarrier, along with the reference signal, are recovered and demodulated by determining the most probable signal constellation points transmitted by base station 304. These soft decisions can be based on channel estimates calculated by a channel estimator. The soft decisions are then decoded and deinterleaved to recover the data and control signals originally transmitted by base station 304 on the physical channel. Then, data and control signals are provided to one or more processors 342, which implement layer 3 (L3) and layer 2 (L2) functionality.

[0094] In the downlink, one or more processors 342 provide demultiplexing, packet reassembly, decryption, header decompression, and control signal processing between the transport and logical channels to recover IP packets from the core network. One or more processors 342 are also responsible for error detection.

[0095] Similar to the functionality described in conjunction with downlink transmissions performed by base station 304, one or more processors 342 provide: RRC layer functionality associated with system information (e.g., MIB, SIB) acquisition, RRC connectivity, and measurement reporting; PDCP layer functionality associated with header compression / decompression and security (encryption, decryption, integrity protection, integrity verification); RLC layer functionality associated with the delivery of upper-layer PDUs, error correction via ARQ, concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC SDUs, resegmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functionality associated with mapping between logical channels and transport channels, multiplexing of MAC SDUs onto transport blocks (TBs), demultiplexing of MAC SDUs from TBs, scheduling information reporting, error correction via Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ), priority handling, and logical channel priority ordering.

[0096] The channel estimate derived by the channel estimator from the reference signal or feedback transmitted by the base station 304 can be used by the transmitter 314 to select an appropriate decoding and modulation scheme and facilitate spatial processing. The spatial stream generated by the transmitter 314 can be provided to different antennas 316. The transmitter 314 can use the corresponding spatial stream to modulate the RF carrier for transmission.

[0097] Uplink transmissions are processed at base station 304 in a manner similar to that described in conjunction with the receiver function at UE 302. Receiver 352 receives signals via its corresponding antenna 356. Receiver 352 recovers the information modulated onto the RF carrier and provides this information to one or more processors 384.

[0098] In the uplink, one or more processors 384 provide demultiplexing, packet reassembly, decryption, header decompression, and control signal processing between the transport channel and the logical channel to recover IP packets from UE 302. IP packets from one or more processors 384 can be provided to the core network. One or more processors 384 are also responsible for error detection.

[0099] For convenience, UE 302, base station 304 and / or network entity 306 are in Figure 3A , Figure 3B and Figure 3CThe document is shown as including various components that can be configured according to the various examples described herein. However, it should be understood that the illustrated components may have different functionalities in different designs. In particular, Figures 3A to 3C Various components are optional in alternative configurations, and various aspects include configurations that can vary due to design choices, cost, equipment usage, or other considerations. For example, in Figure 3A In certain cases, specific implementations of UE 302 may omit WWAN transceiver 310 (e.g., wearable devices, tablets, personal computers (PCs), or laptops may have Wi-Fi and / or Bluetooth). ® The short-range wireless transceiver 320 can be omitted (e.g., cellular only), or the satellite signal interface 330 can be omitted, or the sensor 344 can be omitted, etc. In another example, in Figure 3B In certain cases, specific implementations of base station 304 may omit WWAN transceiver 350 (e.g., a Wi-Fi "hotspot" access point without cellular capabilities), or short-range wireless transceiver 360 (e.g., cellular only), or satellite signal interface 370, etc. For the sake of brevity, examples of various alternative configurations are not provided herein, but will be readily understood by those skilled in the art.

[0100] Various components of UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 can be communicatively coupled to each other via data buses 308, 382, ​​and 392, respectively. In one aspect, data buses 308, 382, ​​and 392 can form or be part of the communication interfaces of UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306, respectively. For example, in cases where different logical entities are embodied in the same device (e.g., gNB and location server functionality integrated into the same base station 304), data buses 308, 382, ​​and 392 can provide communication between these different logical entities.

[0101] Figure 3A , Figure 3B and Figure 3C The components can be implemented in various ways. In some specific implementations, Figure 3A , Figure 3B and Figure 3CThe components can be implemented in one or more circuits, such as, for example, one or more processors and / or one or more ASICs (which may include one or more processors). Here, each circuit may use and / or combine at least one memory component for storing information or executable code used by the circuit to provide that functionality. For example, some or all of the functionalities represented by blocks 310 to 346 may be implemented by the processor and memory components of UE 302 (e.g., by executing appropriate code and / or by appropriate configuration of the processor components). Similarly, some or all of the functionalities represented by blocks 350 to 388 may be implemented by the processor and memory components of base station 304 (e.g., by executing appropriate code and / or by appropriate configuration of the processor components). Moreover, some or all of the functionalities represented by blocks 390 to 398 may be implemented by the processor and memory components of network entity 306 (e.g., by executing appropriate code and / or by appropriate configuration of the processor components). For simplicity, various operations, actions, and / or functions are described herein as being performed "by the UE," "by the base station," "by the network entity," etc. However, as will be understood, such operations, actions and / or functions can actually be performed by specific components or combinations of components of the UE 302, base station 304, network entity 306, etc. (such as processors 342, 384, 394, transceivers 310, 320, 350 and 360, memories 340, 386 and 396, positioning components 348, 388 and 398, etc.).

[0102] In some designs, network entity 306 may be implemented as a core network component. In other designs, network entity 306 may operate differently from the network operator or cellular network infrastructure (e.g., NG RAN 220 and / or 5GC 210 / 260). For example, network entity 306 may be a component of a private network that can be configured to communicate with UE 302 via base station 304 or independently of base station 304 (e.g., via a non-cellular communication link such as Wi-Fi).

[0103] NR supports various sidelink ranging techniques. Sidelink-based ranging and positioning (SLRP) enables the determination of relative distances between UEs, and optionally their absolute positions if the absolute positions of at least one of the involved UEs are known. This technique is valuable in situations where Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) positioning is degraded or unavailable (e.g., tunnels, urban canyons, etc.), and can also enhance ranging and positioning accuracy when GNSS is available.

[0104] SLRP is based on the inter-UE round-trip time (RTT) measurement, calculated from the transmission and reception times of the Sidelink Positioning Reference Signal (SL-PRS), a broadband positioning signal defined for sidelink-based positioning. Each UE reports its RTT measurement along with its location (if known) to all other participating UEs. For UEs that do not know their location at all or do not know it accurately, the RTT procedure generates the inter-UE distance between the involved UEs. For UEs that know their location accurately, this distance generates absolute positioning.

[0105] Figure 4 An example of a sidelink-based ranging and positioning (SLRP) procedure 400 according to various aspects of this disclosure is illustrated. The Sidelink Positioning Protocol (SLPP) is used to establish the SLRP procedure 400 to identify participating UEs, perform session establishment, and exchange measurements and measurement results. SLPP reuses the basic Long Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP) message structures for requesting / providing capabilities, requesting / providing auxiliary data, and requesting / providing location information.

[0106] SLRP enables the simultaneous determination of the relative distance and absolute location of multiple UEs across all broadcast types (e.g., unicast, multicast, broadcast), providing range and location measurements in the absence of GNSS and enhancing the accuracy of range and location measurements when GNSS is available. SLRP procedure 400 (or session) begins when the target UE 204-2 (a UE attempting to be located with an unknown or inaccurate location) sends an SLPP request capability message at phase 405 requesting capability information from one or more peer UEs. Figure 4 As shown, at least one peer UE (UE 204-1) can become the anchor UE in SLRP procedure 400. Therefore, at stage 410, anchor UE 204-1 responds with an SLPP provision capability message that includes an indication that the anchor UE can become the anchor UE in SLRP procedure 400. The SLPP provision capability message may also include the location of anchor UE 204-1, or the location may be provided later.

[0107] At phase 415, after the initial capability exchange, anchor UE 204-1 sends an SLPP request auxiliary data message to target UE 204-2. At phase 420, target UE 204-2 sends an SLPP provide auxiliary data message to anchor UE 204-1, which may include configuration to be sent by anchor UE 204-1 for use by target UE 204-2 for one or more SL-PRS resources measured by SLRP procedure 400. Alternatively or additionally, the SLPP provide auxiliary data message may include configuration information to be sent by target UE 204-2 for use by anchor UE 204-1 for one or more SL-PRS resources measured by anchor UE 204-1. In some cases (not shown), target UE 204-2 may send an SLPP request auxiliary data message to anchor UE 204-1 to obtain configuration information sent by anchor UE 204-1 for use by target UE 204-2 for one or more SL-PRS resources measured by target UE 204-2. The target UE 204-2 provides the requested configuration information in the SLPP Provide Auxiliary Data Message. In some cases, the corresponding UE 204 may not send an SLPP Request Auxiliary Data Message, but only an SLPP Provide Auxiliary Data Message.

[0108] At stages 425 and 430, the involved peer UEs 204 transmit the configured SL-PRS resources to each other. Alternatively, only the anchor UE 204-1 of the target UE 204-2 may transmit SL-PRS resources (e.g., in the case of a sidelink time difference of arrival (SL-TDOA) procedure). Resources on which SL-PRS can be transmitted can be configured during the auxiliary data exchange at stages 415 and 420. The anchor UE 204-1 measures the receive-transmit (Tx-Rx) time difference between the transmission time of the SL-PRS resources at stage 425 and the reception time of the SL-PRS resources at stage 430. Similarly, the target UE 204-2 measures the Rx-Tx time difference between the reception time of the SL-PRS resources at stage 425 and the transmission time of the SL-PRS resources at stage 430. It should be noted that, although Figure 4 The example shows that anchor UE 204-1 sends SL-PRS first, but target UE 204-2 may instead send PRS first.

[0109] At stage 435, target UE 204-2 sends an SLPP request location information message to anchor UE 204-1. At stage 440, anchor UE 204-1 responds with an SLPP provide location information message including an Rx-Tx time difference measurement obtained by anchor UE 204-1. Alternatively or additionally (not shown), anchor UE 204-1 may send an SLPP request location information message to target UE 204-2, and target UE 204-2 may respond with an SLPP provide location information message including an Rx-Tx time difference measurement obtained by target UE 204-2. If anchor UE 204-1 has not yet provided its location to target UE 204-2, it does so at this time.

[0110] Then, the target UE 204-2 can determine its own RTT (Round-Tight Time) and that of the anchor UE 204-1 based on the Rx-Tx time difference measurement. Based on the RTT measurement and the speed of light, the target UE 204-2 can then estimate the distance (or ranging value) between the two UEs 204. If the target UE 204-2 also has the absolute positions (e.g., geographic coordinates) of the anchor UE 204-1 and two or more additional anchor UEs 204-1, the target UE 204-2 can use that position and the distance to the anchor UE 204-1 to determine its own absolute position (based on trilateration).

[0111] It should be noted that, although Figure 4 An example of an anchor UE 204-1 is shown, but a target UE 204-2 can perform or attempt to perform an SLRP procedure 400 with multiple anchor UEs 204-1. Furthermore, although... Figure 4 This example illustrates that SLPP request location information is sent after SL-PRS resources are sent, but the SLPP request location information can be sent before SL-PRS is sent.

[0112] There are two types of multicast defined for communication between sidelink UEs: "Application Layer Managed Multicast" (also simply "Managed Multicast") and "Application Layer Connectionless Multicast" (also known as "Application Layer Unmanaged Multicast," "Connectionless Multicast," or "Unmanaged Multicast"). When managed multicast is used for sidelink positioning, the application layer provides group information consisting of a group ID, group size, and member IDs to the lower layer (i.e., SLPP). All UEs in the managed group translate the group ID into a multicast destination Layer 2 ID (Layer 2 is the data link layer) for multicast sending / receiving of SLPP messages. A UE (e.g., a positioning server UE) initiates an SLPP session by sending an SLPP message to the multicast destination Layer 2 ID of the managed group.

[0113] A target UE in a managed group responding to an SLPP request can reply using the multicast destination Layer 2 ID of the managed group. However, if only the UE initiating the session (e.g., the location server UE) needs to reply with information (e.g., the target UE's capabilities), multicast transmission results in unnecessary processing by other UEs in the managed group, and may lead to unnecessary transmissions if any ACK or NACK retransmissions are invoked. Alternatively, the target UE can respond via unicast, but this incurs sidelink unicast link establishment latency and overhead.

[0114] Enabling the target UE to respond to the initiating UE via multicast in a paired manner (i.e., a group consisting of the target UE and the initiating UE) reduces the processing of all UEs in the managed group and reduces air resource utilization, thereby resulting in more bandwidth-efficient and processing-efficient sidelink positioning. Therefore, this disclosure provides techniques for sidelink positioning group operations via paired managed multicast responses.

[0115] Figure 5A and Figure 5B Example logic diagram 500 for using managed multicast pairwise responses for sidelink localization, according to various aspects of this disclosure, is illustrated. At block 510, an application-layer managed group is established for a set of UEs. All UEs in the managed group are aware of group information, including group ID, group size, and member ID. All UEs in the managed group convert the group ID and UE member ID into a multicast destination layer 2 ID for that group.

[0116] At box 520, the initiating UE (a group member within a group) initiates an SLPP session by sending an SLPP message to the multicast destination layer 2 ID of the managed group. The initiating UE may assign a session ID and an SLPP UEID to the SLPP session. The initiating UE may further indicate the type of response to be used by the target UE in the managed group. Specifically, the initiating UE may instruct the target UE to respond to all group members (“respond to all multicast” or simply “multicast”) or to respond only to the initiating UE (paired multicast).

[0117] If the initiating UE determines that group members should respond using a full multicast reply, then at box 530, the initiating UE can indicate this reply type in the SLPP message multicast within the SLPP session. For example, the SLPP message could be an SLPP request capability message (e.g., as in...). Figure 4 (at stage 405), SLPP provides auxiliary data messages (e.g., as in...) Figure 4 (at stage 420), SLPP request location information message (e.g., as in...) Figure 4This could be at stage 435, or some other SLPP message, such as an SLPP message specifically designed to provide such indications (e.g., an SLPP session communication mode message). Indications included in an SLPP message can be binary values ​​(e.g., flags).

[0118] At box 540, member / target UEs use the managed group destination tier 2 ID to reply to any SLPP messages sent in the SLPP session via multicast.

[0119] However, if the initiating UE determines that group members should respond using pairwise multicast, then at box 550, the initiating UE can use a flag in the SLPP message multicast within the SLPP session to indicate the response type. For example, as at box 530, the SLPP message could be an SLPP request capability message (e.g., as in...). Figure 4 (at stage 405), SLPP provides auxiliary data messages (e.g., as in...) Figure 4 (at stage 420), SLPP request location information message (e.g., as in...) Figure 4 (e.g., at stage 435), or some other SLPP message, such as an SLPP message specifically designed to provide such indications (e.g., an SLPP session communication mode message). The flags included in the SLPP message can be binary values.

[0120] At box 560, the initiating UE indicates the input used to generate the pairwise multicast destination tier 2 ID. Specifically, the pairwise multicast destination tier 2 ID can be derived based on information shared by the initiating UE and the target UE. The multicast destination tier 2 ID used for pairwise multicast by the initiating UE and the target UE can be derived by the initiating UE and the target UE without over-the-air transmission. Specifically, two pieces of information can be combined for multicast tier 2 ID generation: (1) an identifier shared by the initiating UE and the target UE; and (2) a target UE-specific identifier (known to both the target UE and the initiating UE).

[0121] Regarding identifiers shared by the initiating UE and the target UE, examples of shared identifiers include: (1) the application layer managed multicast group ID; (2) the application layer managed multicast group size; (3) the SLPP session ID assigned by the initiating UE to the location session (assigned to all UEs in the session); and (4) the timestamp of the SLPP message indicating a pairwise multicast response transmitted to the target UE or any other SLPP message transmitted to the participants via multicast.

[0122] Regarding the target UE-specific identifier (known to both the target UE and the initiating UE), examples of such identifiers include: (1) the target UE's member ID (i.e., the application layer managed multicast member ID), (2) the target UE's SLPP UEID assigned by the initiating UE (if the initiating UE assigns a UE-specific ID for each UE in the sidelink positioning session), and (3) the UE's application layer ID.

[0123] The initiating UE may signal to the target UE in the same message indicating the use of a paired response which pair of common and UE-specific identifiers to use. Both the initiating and target UEs may derive the multicast destination Layer 2 ID using the procedure defined in 3GPP Technical Specification (TS) 24.587 (which is publicly available and incorporated herein by reference in its entirety). This is the same procedure used by all UEs in an application-layer managed group to derive the multicast destination Layer 2 ID for the managed group. Alternatively, the initiating UE may indicate a paired response but may not specify the pair of common and UE-specific identifiers to use. Instead, which identifiers to use may be specified in the applicable wireless communication standard or pre-configured to the UE, etc.

[0124] At box 570, member / target UEs use pairwise multicast destination layer 2 IDs to reply to any SLPP messages sent in the SLPP session via pairwise multicast.

[0125] Figure 6 Figure 600 illustrates an example of sidelink positioning via managed multicast according to various aspects of this disclosure. Figure 6 In the example, four UEs (labeled UE-A, UE-B, UE-C, and UE-D) are members of a managed group used for sidelink location. UE-B is the initiating UE, and the remaining UEs are the target UEs.

[0126] At Phase 0, the application layer of UE-B provides a managed group definition to the SLPP layer of UE-B for sidelink location via managed multicast. The managed group definition includes the identifiers of the managed group members (UE-A, UE-B, UE-C, UE-D), the group ID, and the group size (four). All UEs (UE-A, UE-B, UE-C, UE-D) in the managed group use the group ID to derive the multicast destination layer 2 ID of the managed group.

[0127] For replying to all multicast operations (corresponding to) Figure 5A Boxes 530 and 540 describe Figure 6 The following stages. In stage 1, UE-B sends an SLPP request capability message via multicast to the target UEs (UE-A, UE-C, UE-D) (e.g., as in...). Figure 4(At stage 405). The SLPP request capability message is sent to the multicast destination layer 2 ID of the managed group. Figure 6 In the example, the SLPP request capability message may include a flag / field indicating that the target UE should respond using a full multicast response (e.g., as in...). Figure 5A (See box 530). In other words, the target UE should respond using the multicast destination layer 2 ID of the managed group. Alternatively, omitting the response type indicator flag / field may indicate that the entire multicast should be used for the response.

[0128] At phase 2, each target UE (UE-A, UE-C, UE-D) sends a reply via multicast to the multicast destination layer 2 ID of the managed group (e.g., as in...). Figure 5A (at box 540). Here, the response is an SLPP-provided capability message (e.g., as in...). Figure 4 (410 stages).

[0129] At phase 3, UE-B sends an SLPP (Supplementary Support Data Message) via multicast to the target UEs (UE-A, UE-C, UE-D) (e.g., as in...). Figure 4 (At stage 420). At stage 4, UE-B sends an SLPP request location information message via multicast to the target UEs (UE-A, UE-C, UE-D) (e.g., as in...). Figure 4 (At phase 435). At phase 5, each UE (UE-A, UE-B, UE-C, UE-D) in the managed group sends and measures SL-PRS (e.g., as in...). Figure 4 (At stages 425 and 430). At stage 6, each target UE (UE-A, UE-C, UE-D) sends an SLPP-provided location information message via multicast to the multicast destination layer 2 ID of the managed group (e.g., as in...). Figure 4 (440 stages).

[0130] At phase 7, the initiating UE (UE-B) uses the target UE capabilities reported by the target UE and SL-PRS measurements to determine range and location information. At phase 8, the SLPP session is terminated.

[0131] Only the initiating UE (e.g., UE-B) needs capability and measurement information from the target UEs (e.g., UE-A, UE-C, UE-D). However, since all UEs in the managed group (via multicast destination layer 2 ID) send to all other UEs in the managed group, all UEs in the managed group receive all the transmissions. This results in unnecessary message processing and unnecessary over-the-air resource utilization by the target UEs.

[0132] Figure 7Figure 700 illustrates an example of sidelink positioning via managed multicast according to various aspects of this disclosure. (As in...) Figure 6 In the example, Figure 7 In the example, four UEs (labeled UE-A, UE-B, UE-C, and UE-D) are members of a managed group used for sidelink location. UE-B is the initiating UE, and the remaining UEs are the target UEs.

[0133] At Phase 0, the application layer of UE-B provides a managed group definition to the SLPP layer of UE-B for sidelink location via managed multicast. The managed group definition includes the identifiers of the managed group members (UE-A, UE-B, UE-C, UE-D), the group ID, and the group size (four). All UEs (UE-A, UE-B, UE-C, UE-D) in the managed group use the group ID to derive the multicast destination layer 2 ID of the managed group.

[0134] The following describes pairwise multicast operations (corresponding to boxes 550 to 570 in Figure 5). Figure 7 The following stages. In stage 1, the initiating UE (UE-B) sends an SLPP request capability message via multicast to the target UEs (UE-A, UE-C, UE-D) (e.g., as in...). Figure 4 (At stage 405). The SLPP request capability message is sent to the multicast destination layer 2 ID of the managed group. Here, the SLPP request capability message may include flags / fields indicating that the target UE should respond using pairwise multicast (e.g., as in...). Figure 5B (at box 550). Therefore, the SLPP request capability message may further indicate two input identifiers that each target UE should use to derive the pairwise multicast destination layer 2 ID for the pairwise group consisting of the initiating UE (UE-B) and each target UE (e.g., as in...). Figure 5B (At position 560 in the box). That is to say, at... Figure 7 In the example, there are three pairs of UE-B and UE-A with their corresponding pairwise multicast destination layer 2 IDs: (1) UE-B and UE-A, (2) UE-B and UE-C, and (3) UE-B and UE-D.

[0135] At phase 2, each target UE (UE-A, UE-C, UE-D) sends a reply via pairwise multicast to its corresponding pairwise multicast destination layer 2 ID for a pairwise group of data for that target UE and the initiating UE (UE-B) (e.g., as in...). Figure 5B (See box 570). Here, the response is an SLPP-provided capability message.

[0136] At phase 3, UE-B sends an SLPP (Supplementary Support Data Message) via multicast to the target UEs (UE-A, UE-C, UE-D) (e.g., as in...). Figure 4 (At stage 420). At stage 4, UE-B sends an SLPP request location information message via multicast to the target UEs (UE-A, UE-C, UE-D) (e.g., as in...). Figure 4 (At phase 435). At phase 5, each UE (UE-A, UE-B, UE-C, UE-D) in the managed group sends and measures SL-PRS (e.g., as in...). Figure 4 At phases 425 and 430). At phase 6, each target UE (UE-A, UE-C, UE-D) sends an SLPP providing location information message via pairwise multicast to the corresponding pairwise multicast destination layer 2 ID of the pairwise multicast group (e.g., (1) UE-B and UE-A, (2) UE-B and UE-C, and (3) UE-B and UE-D). Figure 4 (440 stages).

[0137] At phase 7, the initiating UE (UE-B) uses the target UE capabilities reported by the target UE and SL-PRS measurements to determine range and location information. At phase 8, the SLPP session is terminated.

[0138] Reference Figure 7 In the described pairwise multicast example, since only the initiating UE (UE-B) receives capability and measurement information from the target UEs (UE-A, UE-C, UE-D), no unnecessary UE processing or over-the-air resource utilization is caused.

[0139] It should be noted that, although Figure 6 and Figure 7 The initiating UE (UE-B) is described as sending a response indication in an SLPP request capability message (as noted above), but the initiating UE may alternatively send the indication in an SLPP provide auxiliary data message (phase 3) or an SLPP request location information message (phase 4).

[0140] Figure 8 Figure 800 illustrates an example of sidelink positioning via managed multicast according to various aspects of this disclosure. Figure 8 In the example, four UEs (labeled UE-A, UE-B, UE-C, and UE-D) are members of a managed group used for sidelink location. UE-B is the initiating UE, and the remaining UEs are the target UEs.

[0141] Reference Figure 7The paired multicast example discussed herein is reversed; at phase 1b, the initiating UE (UE-B) sends a separate SLPP message to the multicast destination layer 2 ID of the managed group. This separate SLPP message instructs the target UE to respond using paired multicast (e.g., as in...). Figure 5B (At position 550 in the box). Figure 7 The examples are different, in Figure 8 The SLPP message sent at phase 1b is not an SLPP request capability message, an SLPP provide auxiliary data message, or an SLPP request location information message. Instead, it is a specially configured (or dedicated) SLPP message indicating the type of response to be used for multicast messages.

[0142] However, with Figure 7 The SLPP capability request message sent at stage 1 is similar to that sent in phase 1. Figure 8 The SLPP message sent at phase 1b may include flags / fields instructing the target UE to respond using pairwise multicast. The SLPP message may further instruct two input identifiers that each target UE should use to derive the pairwise multicast destination layer 2 ID for the pairwise group consisting of the initiating UE (UE-B) and each target UE (e.g., as in...). Figure 5B (At position 560 in the box). That is to say, at... Figure 8 In the example, there are three pairs of groups with their corresponding pair of multicast destination layer 2 IDs: (1) UE-B and UE-A, (2) UE-B and UE-C, and (3) UE-B and UE-D.

[0143] Figure 8 The remaining stages and Figure 7 The stages are the same, so for the sake of brevity, these stages will not be described again. However, it should be noted that although... Figure 8 An example is shown of sending a response type indicator SLPP message after an SLPP request capability message; however, as will be understood, this SLPP message may be sent at any time before a response from the target UE (UE-A, UE-C, UE-D) is sent.

[0144] Similar to a reference Figure 7 The described pairwise multicast example is in the reference Figure 8 In the described pairwise multicast example, since only the initiating UE (UE-B) receives capability and measurement information from the target UEs (UE-A, UE-C, UE-D), no unnecessary UE processing or over-the-air resource utilization is caused.

[0145] Figure 9Example information element 900 for indicating the type of response to a managed multicast according to various aspects of this disclosure is illustrated. Example information element 900 is labeled “sl-SLPPGroupcastReplyParameters”, but as will be understood, this is merely an example and other names are possible. The “sl-SLPPGroupcastReplyParameters” information element may be included in SLPP request capability messages (e.g., in…). Figure 7 At stage 1), SLPP provides auxiliary data messages, SLPP requests location information messages, or dedicated SLPP response type indicator messages (e.g., in...). Figure 8 In stage 1b).

[0146] The “sl-SLPPGroupcastReplyParameters” information element provides managed multicast group information, including the multicast reply type (reply all or paired replies), and in the case of paired replies, provides an identifier for deriving the Layer 2 ID of the paired multicast destination.

[0147] The following table provides the field descriptors for the "sl-SLPPGroupcastReplyParameters" information element:

[0148]

[0149] Table 1

[0150] Figure 10 An example method 1000 for wireless communication according to various aspects of this disclosure is illustrated. In one aspect, method 1000 may be performed by a target UE (e.g., any UE described herein).

[0151] At 1010, the target UE receives a first multicast message from the initiating UE (e.g., any other UE among the UEs described herein) for a sidelink group comprising the target UE and the initiating UE, wherein the first multicast message includes a multicast destination identifier indicating that the first multicast message is intended for all UEs in the sidelink group. In one aspect, operation 1010 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more short-range wireless transceivers 320, one or more processors 342, memory 340, and / or positioning components 348, any or all of which may be considered as components for performing the operation.

[0152] At 1020, the target UE sends a second multicast message to the initiating UE, wherein the second multicast message includes a pairwise multicast destination identifier, which is based on a first identifier shared by both the initiating UE and the target UE and a second identifier specific to the target UE and known to both the target UE and the initiating UE, and wherein the pairwise multicast destination identifier indicates that the second multicast message is intended only for use by the initiating UE. In one aspect, operation 1020 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more short-range wireless transceivers 320, one or more processors 342, memory 340, and / or positioning components 348, any or all of which may be considered as components for performing the operation.

[0153] Figure 11 An example method 1100 for wireless communication according to various aspects of this disclosure is illustrated. In one aspect, method 1100 may be performed by an initiating UE (e.g., any UE described herein).

[0154] At 1110, the initiating UE sends a first multicast message to multiple UEs in the sidelink group, wherein the first multicast message includes a multicast destination identifier indicating that the first multicast message is intended for all UEs in the multiple UEs of the sidelink group. In one aspect, operation 1110 can be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more short-range wireless transceivers 320, one or more processors 342, memory 340, and / or positioning components 348, any or all of which can be considered as components for performing the operation.

[0155] At 1120, the initiating UE receives a second multicast message from a target UE among a plurality of UEs, wherein the second multicast message includes a pairwise multicast destination identifier, the pairwise multicast destination identifier being based on a first identifier shared by the initiating UE and the target UE and a second identifier specific to the target UE and known to both the target UE and the initiating UE, and wherein the pairwise multicast destination identifier indicates that the second multicast message is intended only for use by the initiating UE. In one aspect, operation 1120 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more short-range wireless transceivers 320, one or more processors 342, memory 340, and / or positioning components 348, any or all of which may be considered as components for performing the operation.

[0156] As will be understood, the technical advantages of methods 1000 and 1100 are reduced unnecessary UE processing and air resource utilization. The reduced processing and signaling also reduce the total time required to perform sidelink positioning transactions.

[0157] As can be seen in the detailed description above, different features are grouped together in the examples. This manner of disclosure should not be construed as an intention to have more features than those explicitly mentioned in each clause. Rather, the various aspects of this disclosure may include fewer features than those in the individual example clauses disclosed. Therefore, the following clauses should be regarded accordingly as incorporated into the description, where each clause may serve as a separate example. Although each dependent clause may refer in the clause to a specific combination with one of the other clauses, the aspect of that dependent clause is not limited to that specific combination. It should be understood that other example clauses may also include combinations of aspects of a dependent clause with the subject matter of any other dependent or independent clause, or combinations of any feature with other dependent and independent clauses. The various aspects disclosed herein explicitly include these combinations unless explicitly stated or readily inferred that a particular combination is not intended for use (e.g., contradictory aspects, such as defining an element as both an electrical insulator and an electrical conductor). Furthermore, it is contemplated that aspects of a clause may be included in any other independent clause, even if that clause does not directly depend on the independent clause.

[0158] Specific implementation examples are described in the following numbered clauses:

[0159] Clause 1. A method of wireless communication performed by a target user equipment (UE), the method comprising: receiving from an initiating UE a first multicast message for a sidelink group including the target UE and a plurality of UEs of the initiating UE, wherein the first multicast message includes a multicast destination identifier indicating that the first multicast message is intended for use by all UEs of the plurality of UEs in the sidelink group; and sending to the initiating UE a second multicast message, wherein the second multicast message includes a pairwise multicast destination identifier based on a first identifier shared by the initiating UE and the target UE and a second identifier specific to the target UE and known to both the target UE and the initiating UE, and wherein the pairwise multicast destination identifier indicates that the second multicast message is intended for use only by the initiating UE.

[0160] Clause 2. The method according to Clause 1, wherein the first identifier includes: an application layer managed multicast group identifier, an application layer managed multicast group size, a session identifier assigned by the initiating UE to all UEs of the plurality of UEs, a timestamp of a multicast message received from the initiating UE including an indication to use a pairwise multicast reply, or any combination thereof.

[0161] Clause 3. The method described in Clause 2, wherein the session identifier is a Side Link Location Protocol (SLPP) session identifier.

[0162] Clause 4. The method according to any one of Clauses 2 to 3, wherein the multicast message is: an SLPP request capability message, an SLPP provide auxiliary data message, an SLPP request location information message, or another SLPP message including the indicated capability.

[0163] Clause 5. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 4, wherein the second identifier comprises: the member identifier of the target UE in the sidelink group, the SLPP UE ID of the target UE assigned by the initiating UE, the UE application layer identifier of the target UE, or any combination thereof.

[0164] Clause 6. The method according to Clause 5, wherein the member identifier is an application-layer managed multicast member identifier.

[0165] Clause 7. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 6, the method further comprising: receiving instructions for an identifier to be used as the first identifier and an identifier to be used as the second identifier.

[0166] Clause 8. The method according to Clause 7, wherein the instruction is received in the first multicast message.

[0167] Clause 9. The method according to any one of Clauses 7 to 8, wherein the indication is received in one of the following: an SLPP request capability message, an SLPP provide auxiliary data message, an SLPP request location information message, or another SLPP message including the indication.

[0168] Clause 10. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 9, the method further comprising: determining the pairwise multicast destination identifier based on the first identifier and the second identifier.

[0169] Clause 11. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 10, the method further comprising: receiving from the initiating UE an indication for using the pairwise multicast destination identifier in response to the first multicast message.

[0170] Clause 12. The method according to Clause 11, wherein the instruction is received in the first multicast message.

[0171] Clause 13. The method according to any one of Clauses 11 to 12, wherein the indication is received in one of the following: an SLPP request capability message, an SLPP provide auxiliary data message, an SLPP request location information message, or another SLPP message including the indication.

[0172] Clause 14. The method according to any one of Clauses 11 to 13, wherein the indication is a Boolean value.

[0173] Clause 15. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 14, wherein: the multicast destination identifier is an application layer managed group multicast destination layer 2 identifier (ID), and the pairwise multicast destination identifier is an application layer managed group pairwise multicast destination layer 2 ID.

[0174] Clause 16. A method of wireless communication performed by an initiating user equipment (UE), the method comprising: sending a first multicast message to a plurality of UEs in a sidelink group, wherein the first multicast message includes a multicast destination identifier indicating that the first multicast message is intended for use by all UEs in the plurality of UEs in the sidelink group; and receiving a second multicast message from a target UE among the plurality of UEs, wherein the second multicast message includes a pairwise multicast destination identifier based on a first identifier shared by the initiating UE and the target UE and a second identifier specific to the target UE and known to both the target UE and the initiating UE, and wherein the pairwise multicast destination identifier indicates that the second multicast message is intended for use only by the initiating UE.

[0175] Clause 17. The method according to Clause 16, wherein the first identifier includes: an application layer managed multicast group identifier, an application layer managed multicast group size, a session identifier assigned by the initiating UE to all UEs of the plurality of UEs, a timestamp of a multicast message received from the initiating UE indicating a pairwise multicast reply, or any combination thereof.

[0176] Clause 18. The method according to any one of Clauses 16 to 17, wherein the second identifier comprises: a member identifier of the target UE in the sidelink group, an SLPP UEID of the target UE assigned by the initiating UE, a UE application layer identifier of the target UE, or any combination thereof.

[0177] Clause 19. The method according to any one of Clauses 16 to 18, the method further comprising: sending to the plurality of UEs of the sidelink group an indication of an identifier to be used as the first identifier and an identifier to be used as the second identifier.

[0178] Clause 20. The method according to Clause 19, wherein the instruction is sent in the first multicast message.

[0179] Clause 21. The method according to any one of Clauses 19 to 20, wherein the indication is sent in one of the following: an SLPP request capability message, an SLPP provide auxiliary data message, an SLPP request location information message, or another SLPP message including the indication.

[0180] Clause 22. The method according to any one of Clauses 16 to 21, the method further comprising: sending to the plurality of UEs of the sidelink group an indication to use the pairwise multicast destination identifier in response to the first multicast message.

[0181] Clause 23. The method according to Clause 22, wherein the instruction is sent in the first multicast message.

[0182] Clause 24. The method according to any one of Clauses 22 to 23, wherein the indication is sent in one of the following: an SLPP request capability message, an SLPP provide auxiliary data message, an SLPP request location information message, or another SLPP message including the indication.

[0183] Clause 25. The method according to any one of Clauses 22 to 24, wherein the indication is a Boolean value.

[0184] Clause 26. The method according to any one of Clauses 16 to 25, wherein: the multicast destination identifier is an application layer managed group multicast destination layer 2 identifier (ID), and the pairwise multicast destination identifier is an application layer managed group pairwise multicast destination layer 2 ID.

[0185] Clause 27. A target user equipment (UE) comprising: one or more memories; one or more transceivers; and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the one or more memories and the one or more transceivers, the one or more processors being individually or in combination configured to: receive, via the one or more transceivers, a first multicast message from an initiating UE for a sidelink group including the target UE and a plurality of UEs of the initiating UE, wherein the first multicast message includes a multicast destination identifier indicating that the first multicast message is intended for use by all UEs of the plurality of UEs in the sidelink group; and transmit a second multicast message to the initiating UE via the one or more transceivers, wherein the second multicast message includes a pair of multicast destination identifiers based on a first identifier shared by the initiating UE and the target UE and a second identifier specific to the target UE and known to both the target UE and the initiating UE, and wherein the pair of multicast destination identifiers indicate that the second multicast message is intended for use only by the initiating UE.

[0186] Clause 28. The target UE as described in Clause 27, wherein the first identifier includes: an application-layer managed multicast group identifier, an application-layer managed multicast group size, a session identifier assigned by the initiating UE to all UEs among the plurality of UEs, a timestamp of a multicast message received from the initiating UE including an indication to use a pairwise multicast reply, or any combination thereof.

[0187] Clause 29. The target UE as described in Clause 28, wherein the session identifier is a Side Link Location Protocol (SLPP) session identifier.

[0188] Clause 30. The target UE pursuant to any one of Clauses 28 to 29, wherein the multicast message is: an SLPP request capability message, an SLPP provide auxiliary data message, an SLPP request location information message, or another SLPP message including the indicated capability.

[0189] Clause 31. The target UE pursuant to any one of Clauses 27 to 30, wherein the second identifier comprises: the target UE's member identifier in the sidelink group, the SLPP UEID of the target UE assigned by the initiating UE, the UE application layer identifier of the target UE, or any combination thereof.

[0190] Clause 32. The target UE as described in Clause 31, wherein the member identifier is an application layer managed multicast member identifier.

[0191] Clause 33. The target UE according to any one of Clauses 27 to 32, wherein the one or more processors are further configured individually or in combination to receive, via the one or more transceivers, an indication of an identifier to be used as the first identifier and an identifier to be used as the second identifier.

[0192] Clause 34. The target UE as described in Clause 33, wherein the indication is received in the first multicast message.

[0193] Clause 35. The target UE pursuant to any one of Clauses 33 to 34, wherein the indication is received in one of the following: an SLPP request capability message, an SLPP provide auxiliary data message, an SLPP request location information message, or another SLPP message including the indication.

[0194] Clause 36. The target UE according to any one of Clauses 27 to 35, wherein the one or more processors are further configured individually or in combination to determine the pairwise multicast destination identifier based on the first identifier and the second identifier.

[0195] Clause 37. The target UE according to any one of Clauses 27 to 36, wherein the one or more processors are further configured individually or in combination to receive, via the one or more transceivers, an indication to use the pairwise multicast destination identifier in response to the first multicast message from the initiating UE.

[0196] Clause 38. The target UE as described in Clause 37, wherein the indication is received in the first multicast message.

[0197] Clause 39. The target UE pursuant to any one of Clauses 37 to 38, wherein the indication is received in one of the following: an SLPP request capability message, an SLPP provide auxiliary data message, an SLPP request location information message, or another SLPP message including the indication.

[0198] Clause 40. The target UE pursuant to any one of Clauses 37 to 39, wherein the indication is a Boolean value.

[0199] Clause 41. The target UE according to any one of Clauses 27 to 40, wherein: the multicast destination identifier is an application layer managed group multicast destination layer 2 identifier (ID), and the pairwise multicast destination identifier is an application layer managed group pairwise multicast destination layer 2 ID.

[0200] Clause 42. An initiating user equipment (UE) comprising: one or more memories; one or more transceivers; and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the one or more memories and the one or more transceivers, the one or more processors being individually or in combination configured to: transmit a first multicast message via the one or more transceivers to a plurality of UEs in a sidelink group, wherein the first multicast message includes a multicast destination identifier indicating that the first multicast message is intended for use by all UEs in the plurality of UEs in the sidelink group; and receive a second multicast message via the one or more transceivers from a target UE among the plurality of UEs, wherein the second multicast message includes a pairwise multicast destination identifier based on a first identifier shared by the initiating UE and the target UE and a second identifier specific to the target UE and known to both the target UE and the initiating UE, and wherein the pairwise multicast destination identifier indicates that the second multicast message is intended for use only by the initiating UE.

[0201] Clause 43. The initiating UE as described in Clause 42, wherein the first identifier includes: an application-layer managed multicast group identifier, an application-layer managed multicast group size, a session identifier assigned by the initiating UE to all UEs among the plurality of UEs, a timestamp of a multicast message received from the initiating UE indicating a pairwise multicast reply, or any combination thereof.

[0202] Clause 44. The initiating UE according to any one of Clauses 42 to 43, wherein the second identifier includes: the target UE's member identifier in the sidelink group, the SLPPUE ID of the target UE assigned by the initiating UE, the UE application layer identifier of the target UE, or any combination thereof.

[0203] Clause 45. The initiating UE according to any one of Clauses 42 to 44, wherein the one or more processors are further configured individually or in combination to: transmit, via the one or more transceivers, indications to the plurality of UEs in the sidelink group of an identifier to be used as the first identifier and an identifier to be used as the second identifier.

[0204] Clause 46. The initiating UE as described in Clause 45, wherein the indication is sent in the first multicast message.

[0205] Clause 47. The initiating UE pursuant to any one of Clauses 45 to 46, wherein the indication is sent in one of the following: an SLPP request capability message, an SLPP provide auxiliary data message, an SLPP request location information message, or another SLPP message including the indication.

[0206] Clause 48. The initiating UE according to any one of Clauses 42 to 47, wherein the one or more processors are further configured individually or in combination to: send, via the one or more transceivers, an indication to the plurality of UEs in the sidelink group to use the pairwise multicast destination identifier in response to the first multicast message.

[0207] Clause 49. The initiating UE as described in Clause 48, wherein the indication is sent in the first multicast message.

[0208] Clause 50. The initiating UE pursuant to any one of Clauses 48 to 49, wherein the indication is sent in one of the following: an SLPP request capability message, an SLPP provide auxiliary data message, an SLPP request location information message, or another SLPP message including the indication.

[0209] Clause 51. The initiating UE pursuant to any one of Clauses 48 to 50, wherein the indication is a Boolean value.

[0210] Clause 52. The initiating UE according to any one of Clauses 42 to 51, wherein: the multicast destination identifier is an application layer managed group multicast destination layer 2 identifier (ID), and the pairwise multicast destination identifier is an application layer managed group pairwise multicast destination layer 2 ID.

[0211] Clause 53. A target user equipment (UE) comprising: components for: receiving from an initiating UE a first multicast message for a sidelink group including the target UE and a plurality of UEs of the initiating UE, wherein the first multicast message includes a multicast destination identifier indicating that the first multicast message is intended for use by all UEs of the plurality of UEs in the sidelink group; and components for: sending a second multicast message to the initiating UE, wherein the second multicast message includes a pair of multicast destination identifiers based on a first identifier shared by the initiating UE and the target UE and a second identifier specific to the target UE and known to both the target UE and the initiating UE, and wherein the pair of multicast destination identifiers indicate that the second multicast message is intended for use only by the initiating UE.

[0212] Clause 54. The target UE as described in Clause 53, wherein the first identifier includes: an application layer managed multicast group identifier, an application layer managed multicast group size, a session identifier assigned by the initiating UE to all UEs among the plurality of UEs, a timestamp of a multicast message received from the initiating UE including an indication to use a pairwise multicast reply, or any combination thereof.

[0213] Clause 55. The target UE as described in Clause 54, wherein the session identifier is a Side Link Location Protocol (SLPP) session identifier.

[0214] Clause 56. The target UE pursuant to any one of Clauses 54 to 55, wherein the multicast message is: an SLPP request capability message, an SLPP provide auxiliary data message, an SLPP request location information message, or another SLPP message including the indicated capability.

[0215] Clause 57. The target UE pursuant to any one of Clauses 53 to 56, wherein the second identifier comprises: the target UE's member identifier in the sidelink group, the SLPP UEID of the target UE assigned by the initiating UE, the UE application layer identifier of the target UE, or any combination thereof.

[0216] Clause 58. The target UE as described in Clause 57, wherein the member identifier is an application layer managed multicast member identifier.

[0217] Clause 59. The target UE according to any one of Clauses 53 to 58, the target UE further comprising: a component for operating to receive an indication of an identifier to be used as the first identifier and an identifier to be used as the second identifier.

[0218] Clause 60. The target UE as described in Clause 59, wherein the indication is received in the first multicast message.

[0219] Clause 61. The target UE pursuant to any one of Clauses 59 to 60, wherein the indication is received in one of the following: an SLPP request capability message, an SLPP provide auxiliary data message, an SLPP request location information message, or another SLPP message including the indication.

[0220] Clause 62. The target UE according to any one of Clauses 53 to 61, the target UE further comprising: a component for determining the pairwise multicast destination identifier based on the first identifier and the second identifier.

[0221] Clause 63. The target UE according to any one of Clauses 53 to 62, the target UE further comprising: a component for operating to receive from the initiating UE an indication to use the pairwise multicast destination identifier in response to the first multicast message.

[0222] Clause 64. The target UE as described in Clause 63, wherein the indication is received in the first multicast message.

[0223] Clause 65. The target UE pursuant to any one of Clauses 63 to 64, wherein the indication is received in one of the following: an SLPP request capability message, an SLPP provide auxiliary data message, an SLPP request location information message, or another SLPP message including the indication.

[0224] Clause 66. The target UE pursuant to any one of Clauses 63 to 65, wherein the indication is a Boolean value.

[0225] Clause 67. The target UE according to any one of Clauses 53 to 66, wherein: the multicast destination identifier is an application layer managed group multicast destination layer 2 identifier (ID), and the pairwise multicast destination identifier is an application layer managed group pairwise multicast destination layer 2 ID.

[0226] Clause 68. An initiating user equipment (UE) comprising: components for: sending a first multicast message to a plurality of UEs in a sidelink group, wherein the first multicast message includes a multicast destination identifier indicating that the first multicast message is intended for use by all UEs in the plurality of UEs in the sidelink group; and components for: receiving a second multicast message from a target UE among the plurality of UEs, wherein the second multicast message includes a pairwise multicast destination identifier based on a first identifier shared by the initiating UE and the target UE and a second identifier specific to the target UE and known to both the target UE and the initiating UE, and wherein the pairwise multicast destination identifier indicates that the second multicast message is intended for use only by the initiating UE.

[0227] Clause 69. The initiating UE as described in Clause 68, wherein the first identifier includes: an application-layer managed multicast group identifier, an application-layer managed multicast group size, a session identifier assigned by the initiating UE to all of the plurality of UEs, a timestamp of a multicast message received from the initiating UE indicating a pairwise multicast reply, or any combination thereof.

[0228] Clause 70. The initiating UE pursuant to any one of Clauses 68 to 69, wherein the second identifier comprises: the target UE's member identifier in the sidelink group, the SLPPUE ID of the target UE assigned by the initiating UE, the UE application layer identifier of the target UE, or any combination thereof.

[0229] Clause 71. The initiating UE according to any one of Clauses 68 to 70, the initiating UE further comprising: a component for: sending instructions to the plurality of UEs in the sidelink group for an identifier to be used as the first identifier and an identifier to be used as the second identifier.

[0230] Clause 72. The initiating UE as described in Clause 71, wherein the indication is sent in the first multicast message.

[0231] Clause 73. The initiating UE pursuant to any one of Clauses 71 to 72, wherein the indication is sent in one of the following: an SLPP request capability message, an SLPP provide auxiliary data message, an SLPP request location information message, or another SLPP message including the indication.

[0232] Clause 74. The initiating UE according to any one of Clauses 68 to 73, the initiating UE further comprising: a component for: sending an indication to the plurality of UEs in the sidelink group for using the pairwise multicast destination identifier in response to the first multicast message.

[0233] Clause 75. The initiating UE as described in Clause 74, wherein the indication is sent in the first multicast message.

[0234] Clause 76. The initiating UE pursuant to any one of Clauses 74 to 75, wherein the indication is sent in one of the following: an SLPP request capability message, an SLPP provide auxiliary data message, an SLPP request location information message, or another SLPP message including the indication.

[0235] Clause 77. The initiating UE pursuant to any one of Clauses 74 to 76, wherein the indication is a Boolean value.

[0236] Clause 78. The initiating UE according to any one of Clauses 68 to 77, wherein: the multicast destination identifier is an application layer managed group multicast destination layer 2 identifier (ID), and the pairwise multicast destination identifier is an application layer managed group pairwise multicast destination layer 2 ID.

[0237] Clause 79. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions, which, when executed by a target user equipment (UE), cause the target UE to: receive from an initiating UE a first multicast message for a sidelink group including the target UE and a plurality of UEs of the initiating UE, wherein the first multicast message includes a multicast destination identifier indicating that the first multicast message is intended for use by all UEs of the plurality of UEs in the sidelink group; and send to the initiating UE a second multicast message, wherein the second multicast message includes a pair of multicast destination identifiers based on a first identifier shared by the initiating UE and the target UE and a second identifier specific to the target UE and known to both the target UE and the initiating UE, and wherein the pair of multicast destination identifiers indicate that the second multicast message is intended for use only by the initiating UE.

[0238] Clause 80. The non-transitory computer-readable medium as described in Clause 79, wherein the first identifier comprises: an application-layer managed multicast group identifier, an application-layer managed multicast group size, a session identifier assigned by the initiating UE to all of the plurality of UEs, a timestamp of a multicast message received from the initiating UE including an indication to use a pairwise multicast reply, or any combination thereof.

[0239] Clause 81. The non-transitory computer-readable medium as described in Clause 80, wherein the session identifier is a Side Link Location Protocol (SLPP) session identifier.

[0240] Clause 82. A non-transitory computer-readable medium pursuant to any one of Clauses 80 to 81, wherein the multicast message is: an SLPP request capability message, an SLPP provide auxiliary data message, an SLPP request location information message, or another SLPP message including the indicated capability.

[0241] Clause 83. A nontransitory computer-readable medium pursuant to any one of Clauses 79 to 82, wherein the second identifier comprises: a member identifier of the target UE in the sidelink group, an SLPP UE ID of the target UE assigned by the initiating UE, a UE application layer identifier of the target UE, or any combination thereof.

[0242] Clause 84. The non-transitory computer-readable medium as described in Clause 83, wherein the member identifier is an application-layer managed multicast member identifier.

[0243] Clause 85. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 79 to 84, the non-transitory computer-readable medium further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the target UE, cause the target UE to: receive indications for an identifier to be used as the first identifier and an identifier to be used as the second identifier.

[0244] Clause 86. The non-transitory computer-readable medium as described in Clause 85, wherein the instruction is received in the first multicast message.

[0245] Clause 87. A non-transitory computer-readable medium pursuant to any one of Clauses 85 to 86, wherein the indication is received in one of the following: an SLPP request capability message, an SLPP provide auxiliary data message, an SLPP request location information message, or another SLPP message including the indication.

[0246] Clause 88. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 79 to 87, the non-transitory computer-readable medium further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the target UE, cause the target UE to: determine the pairwise multicast destination identifier based on the first identifier and the second identifier.

[0247] Clause 89. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 79 to 88, the non-transitory computer-readable medium further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the target UE, cause the target UE to: receive from the initiating UE an instruction to use the pairwise multicast destination identifier in response to the first multicast message.

[0248] Clause 90. The non-transitory computer-readable medium as described in Clause 89, wherein the instruction is received in the first multicast message.

[0249] Clause 91. A non-transitory computer-readable medium pursuant to any one of Clauses 89 to 90, wherein the instruction is received in one of the following: an SLPP request capability message, an SLPP provide auxiliary data message, an SLPP request location information message, or another SLPP message including the instruction.

[0250] Clause 92. A non-transitory computer-readable medium pursuant to any one of Clauses 89 to 91, wherein the indication is a Boolean value.

[0251] Clause 93. A nontransitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 79 to 92, wherein: the multicast destination identifier is an application layer managed group multicast destination layer 2 identifier (ID), and the pairwise multicast destination identifier is an application layer managed group pairwise multicast destination layer 2 ID.

[0252] Clause 94. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions, which, when executed by an initiating user equipment (UE), cause the initiating UE to: send a first multicast message to a plurality of UEs in a sidelink group, wherein the first multicast message includes a multicast destination identifier indicating that the first multicast message is intended for use by all UEs in the plurality of UEs in the sidelink group; and receive a second multicast message from a target UE among the plurality of UEs, wherein the second multicast message includes a pairwise multicast destination identifier based on a first identifier shared by the initiating UE and the target UE and a second identifier specific to the target UE and known to both the target UE and the initiating UE, and wherein the pairwise multicast destination identifier indicates that the second multicast message is intended for use only by the initiating UE.

[0253] Clause 95. The non-transitory computer-readable medium as described in Clause 94, wherein the first identifier comprises: an application-layer managed multicast group identifier, an application-layer managed multicast group size, a session identifier assigned by the initiating UE to all of the plurality of UEs, a timestamp of a multicast message received from the initiating UE indicating a pairwise multicast reply, or any combination thereof.

[0254] Clause 96. A nontransitory computer-readable medium pursuant to any one of Clauses 94 to 95, wherein the second identifier comprises: a member identifier of the target UE in the sidelink group, an SLPP UE ID of the target UE assigned by the initiating UE, a UE application layer identifier of the target UE, or any combination thereof.

[0255] Clause 97. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 94 to 96, the non-transitory computer-readable medium further comprising computer-executable instructions, which, when executed by the initiating UE, cause the initiating UE to: send to the plurality of UEs in the sidelink group an indication of an identifier to be used as the first identifier and an identifier to be used as the second identifier.

[0256] Clause 98. The non-transitory computer-readable medium as described in Clause 97, wherein the instruction is sent in the first multicast message.

[0257] Clause 99. A non-transitory computer-readable medium pursuant to any one of Clauses 97 to 98, wherein the instruction is transmitted in one of the following: an SLPP request capability message, an SLPP provide auxiliary data message, an SLPP request location information message, or another SLPP message including the instruction.

[0258] Clause 100. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 94 to 99, the non-transitory computer-readable medium further comprising computer-executable instructions, which, when executed by the initiating UE, cause the initiating UE to: send to the plurality of UEs in the sidelink group an indication to use the pairwise multicast destination identifier in response to the first multicast message.

[0259] Clause 101. The non-transitory computer-readable medium as described in Clause 100, wherein the instruction is sent in the first multicast message.

[0260] Clause 102. A non-transitory computer-readable medium pursuant to any one of Clauses 100 to 101, wherein the instruction is transmitted in one of the following: an SLPP request capability message, an SLPP provide auxiliary data message, an SLPP request location information message, or another SLPP message including the instruction.

[0261] Clause 103. A non-transitory computer-readable medium pursuant to any one of Clauses 100 to 102, wherein the indication is a Boolean value.

[0262] Clause 104. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 94 to 103, wherein: the multicast destination identifier is an application layer managed group multicast destination layer 2 identifier (ID), and the pairwise multicast destination identifier is an application layer managed group pairwise multicast destination layer 2 ID.

[0263] Those skilled in the art will understand that information and signals can be represented using any of a variety of different techniques and arts. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be mentioned throughout the above description can be represented by voltage, current, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, light fields or optical particles, or any combination thereof.

[0264] Furthermore, those skilled in the art will understand that the various exemplary logic blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein can be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or a combination of both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability between hardware and software, various exemplary components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been described above in general terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends on the specific application and the design constraints imposed on the overall system. Those skilled in the art can implement the described functionality in different ways for each specific application, but such specific implementation decisions should not be construed as departing from the scope of this disclosure.

[0265] The various exemplary logic blocks, modules, and circuits described in conjunction with the aspects disclosed herein may be implemented or performed using a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an ASIC, a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic components, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in alternative embodiments, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. The processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, such as a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors combined with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

[0266] The methods, sequences, and / or algorithms described in conjunction with the aspects disclosed herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or a combination of both. The software module may reside in random access memory (RAM), flash memory, read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable ROM (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), registers, hard disks, removable disks, CD-ROMs, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. Example storage media are coupled to a processor such that the processor can read information from and write information to the storage medium. Alternatively, the storage medium may be integral with the processor. The processor and storage medium may reside in an ASIC. The ASIC may reside in a user terminal (e.g., a UE). Alternatively, the processor and storage medium may reside as discrete components in the user terminal.

[0267] In one or more examples, the described functionality may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the functionality may be stored as one or more instructions or code on or transmitted via a computer-readable medium. A computer-readable medium includes both computer storage media and communication media, which includes any medium that facilitates the transfer of a computer program from one place to another. A storage medium may be any available medium accessible to a computer. By way of example and not limitation, such computer-readable media may include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disc storage, disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store the desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and is accessible to a computer. Furthermore, any connection is appropriately referred to as a computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, then coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included within the definition of a medium. As used herein, disks and optical discs include: compact optical discs (CDs), laser discs, optical discs, digital versatile discs (DVDs), floppy disks, and Blu-ray discs. Disks typically reproduce data magnetically, while optical discs reproduce data optically using lasers. Combinations of these should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0268] While the foregoing disclosure illustrates exemplary aspects of this disclosure, it should be noted that various changes and modifications may be made herein without departing from the scope of this disclosure as defined by the appended claims. For example, the functions, steps, and / or actions of the method claims according to aspects of this disclosure described herein need not be performed in any particular order. Furthermore, no component, function, action, or instruction described or claimed herein should be construed as critical or essential unless explicitly stated otherwise. Additionally, as used herein, the terms “set,” “group,” etc., are intended to include one or more of the stated elements. Furthermore, as used herein, the terms “having,” “comprising,” “including,” etc., do not exclude the presence of one or more additional elements (e.g., element “having” A may also have B). Furthermore, the phrase “based on” is intended to mean “at least partially based on” unless otherwise explicitly stated. Furthermore, as used herein, the term “or” is intended to be open-ended when used in a series and is interchangeable with “and / or” unless otherwise expressly stated (e.g., if used in conjunction with “any” or “only one”), or these alternatives are mutually exclusive (e.g., “one or more” should not be interpreted as “one and more”). Additionally, although components, functions, actions, and instructions may be described or claimed in the singular, plural forms may also be considered unless expressly stated as limited to the singular. Therefore, as used herein, the articles “a,” “an,” “the,” and “described” are intended to include one or more of the stated elements. Additionally, as used herein, the terms “at least one” and “one or more” include “one” component, function, action, or instruction that performs or is capable of performing the described or claimed functionality, and also include “two or more” components, functions, actions, or instructions that perform or are capable of performing the described or claimed functionality in combination.

Claims

1. A target user equipment (UE), the target user equipment (UE) comprising: One or more memory units; One or more transceivers; and One or more processors, communicatively coupled to one or more memories and one or more transceivers, wherein the one or more processors are configured individually or in combination to: Receive a first multicast message from an initiating UE via the one or more transceivers for a sidelink group including the target UE and a plurality of UEs of the initiating UE, wherein the first multicast message includes a multicast destination identifier indicating that the first multicast message is intended for use with all of the plurality of UEs in the sidelink group; as well as A second multicast message is sent to the initiating UE via the one or more transceivers, wherein the second multicast message includes a pair of multicast destination identifiers, the pair of multicast destination identifiers being based on a first identifier shared by the initiating UE and the target UE and a second identifier specific to the target UE and known to both the target UE and the initiating UE, and wherein the pair of multicast destination identifiers indicate that the second multicast message is intended only for the initiating UE.

2. The target UE according to claim 1, wherein the first identifier includes: Application layer managed multicast group identifier, Application layer managed multicast group size The session identifier assigned by the initiating UE to all UEs among the plurality of UEs. The timestamp of the multicast message received from the initiating UE, including an indication to use a pairwise multicast reply, or Any combination of them.

3. The target UE according to claim 2, wherein the session identifier is a Side Link Positioning Protocol (SLPP) session identifier.

4. The target UE according to claim 2, wherein the multicast message is: SLPP request capability message, SLPP provides auxiliary data messages. SLPP request for location information message, or Another SLPP message including the aforementioned indication.

5. The target UE according to claim 1, wherein the second identifier comprises: The member identifier of the target UE in the sidelink group The SLPP UE ID assigned to the target UE by the initiating UE. The UE application layer identifier of the target UE, or Any combination of them.

6. The target UE according to claim 5, wherein the member identifier is an application layer managed multicast member identifier.

7. The target UE according to claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured individually or in combination to: Instructions are received via the one or more transceivers for an identifier to be used as the first identifier and an identifier to be used as the second identifier.

8. The target UE according to claim 7, wherein the indication is received in the first multicast message.

9. The target UE of claim 7, wherein the indication is received in the following: SLPP request capability message, SLPP provides auxiliary data messages. SLPP request for location information message, or Another SLPP message including the aforementioned indication.

10. The target UE of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured individually or in combination to: The pairwise multicast destination identifier is determined based on the first identifier and the second identifier.

11. The target UE according to claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured individually or in combination to: The initiating UE receives an indication via the one or more transceivers to use the pairwise multicast destination identifier in response to the first multicast message.

12. The target UE of claim 11, wherein the indication is received in the first multicast message.

13. The target UE of claim 11, wherein the indication is received in the following: SLPP request capability message, SLPP provides auxiliary data messages. SLPP request for location information message, or Another SLPP message including the aforementioned indication.

14. The target UE according to claim 11, wherein the indication is a Boolean value.

15. The target UE according to claim 1, wherein: The multicast destination identifier is an application-layer managed group multicast destination layer 2 identifier (ID), and The pairwise multicast destination identifier is the application layer managed group pairwise multicast destination layer 2 ID.

16. An initiating user equipment (UE), the initiating user equipment (UE) comprising: One or more memory units; One or more transceivers; and One or more processors, communicatively coupled to one or more memories and one or more transceivers, wherein the one or more processors are configured individually or in combination to: A first multicast message is sent to multiple UEs in a sidelink group via the one or more transceivers, wherein the first multicast message includes a multicast destination identifier, the multicast destination identifier indicating that the first multicast message is intended for all UEs in the multiple UEs in the sidelink group; as well as A second multicast message is received from a target UE among the plurality of UEs via the one or more transceivers, wherein the second multicast message includes a pair of multicast destination identifiers, the pair of multicast destination identifiers being based on a first identifier shared by the initiating UE and the target UE and a second identifier specific to the target UE and known to both the target UE and the initiating UE, and wherein the pair of multicast destination identifiers indicate that the second multicast message is intended only for the initiating UE.

17. The initiating UE according to claim 16, wherein the first identifier comprises: Application layer managed multicast group identifier, Application layer managed multicast group size The session identifier assigned by the initiating UE to all UEs among the plurality of UEs. The timestamp of the multicast message indicating a pairwise multicast reply received from the initiating UE, or Any combination of them.

18. The initiating UE according to claim 16, wherein the second identifier comprises: The member identifier of the target UE in the sidelink group The SLPP UE ID assigned to the target UE by the initiating UE. The UE application layer identifier of the target UE, or Any combination of them.

19. The initiating UE of claim 16, wherein the one or more processors are further configured individually or in combination to: Instructions are sent via the one or more transceivers to the plurality of UEs in the sidelink group to indicate the identifier to be used as the first identifier and the identifier to be used as the second identifier.

20. The initiating UE of claim 19, wherein the indication is sent in the first multicast message.

21. The initiating UE of claim 19, wherein the indication is sent in the following: SLPP request capability message, SLPP provides auxiliary data messages. SLPP request for location information message, or Another SLPP message including the aforementioned indication.

22. The initiating UE of claim 16, wherein the one or more processors are further configured individually or in combination to: The one or more transceivers send an indication to the plurality of UEs in the sidelink group to use the pairwise multicast destination identifier in response to the first multicast message.

23. The initiating UE of claim 22, wherein the indication is sent in the first multicast message.

24. The initiating UE of claim 22, wherein the indication is sent in the following: SLPP request capability message, SLPP provides auxiliary data messages. SLPP request for location information message, or Another SLPP message including the aforementioned indication.

25. The initiating UE of claim 22, wherein the indication is a Boolean value.

26. The initiating UE according to claim 16, wherein: The multicast destination identifier is an application-layer managed group multicast destination layer 2 identifier (ID), and The pairwise multicast destination identifier is the application layer managed group pairwise multicast destination layer 2 ID.

27. A method for wireless communication performed by a target user equipment (UE), the method comprising: Receives a first multicast message from the initiating UE for a sidelink group including the target UE and a plurality of UEs of the initiating UE, wherein the first multicast message includes a multicast destination identifier indicating that the first multicast message is intended for all UEs of the plurality of UEs in the sidelink group; as well as A second multicast message is sent to the initiating UE, wherein the second multicast message includes a pair of multicast destination identifiers, the pair of multicast destination identifiers being based on a first identifier shared by the initiating UE and the target UE and a second identifier specific to the target UE and known to both the target UE and the initiating UE, and wherein the pair of multicast destination identifiers indicate that the second multicast message is intended only for the initiating UE.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein the first identifier comprises: Application layer managed multicast group identifier, Application layer managed multicast group size The session identifier assigned by the initiating UE to all UEs among the plurality of UEs. The timestamp of the multicast message received from the initiating UE, including an indication to use a pairwise multicast reply, or Any combination of them.

29. The method of claim 27, wherein the second identifier comprises: The member identifier of the target UE in the sidelink group The SLPP UE ID assigned to the target UE by the initiating UE. The UE application layer identifier of the target UE, or Any combination of them.

30. A method for wireless communication performed by an initiating user equipment (UE), the method comprising: Send a first multicast message to multiple UEs in a sidelink group, wherein the first multicast message includes a multicast destination identifier, the multicast destination identifier indicating that the first multicast message is intended for all UEs in the multiple UEs in the sidelink group; as well as A second multicast message is received from a target UE among the plurality of UEs, wherein the second multicast message includes a pair of multicast destination identifiers, the pair of multicast destination identifiers being based on a first identifier shared by the initiating UE and the target UE and a second identifier specific to the target UE and known to both the target UE and the initiating UE, and wherein the pair of multicast destination identifiers indicate that the second multicast message is intended only for the initiating UE.

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