Environmental IoT device and communication system

Abstract

An environmental internet of things (IoT) device includes an energy harvesting module to harvest energy from an environmental energy source, a universal integrated circuit card (UICC)-based module powered by the energy harvested by the energy harvesting module to protect user information, and a power management logic or module electrically coupled to the UICC-based module to control power consumption of the UICC-based module.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to wireless communication, and more specifically, to an environmental Internet of Things (IoT) device and a communication system. Background Technology

[0002] Communication systems and networks have evolved towards broadband and mobile systems. In cellular wireless communication systems developed by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), user equipment (UE) connects to the radio access network (RAN) via radio links. The RAN comprises a set of base stations (BS) and interfaces connecting to the core network (CN). The BS provides radio links to UEs located within the cells covered by the base stations, while the CN provides overall network control. It should be understood that the RAN and CN each perform corresponding functions related to the overall network. 3GPP has developed the so-called Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, namely the Evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunication System Territorial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN) for mobile access networks. In the mobile access network, one or more macro cells are supported by base stations called evolved NodeBs (eNodeBs or eNBs). Evolving from LTE is the so-called fifth-generation mobile communication (5G) or new radio (NR) system, in which one or more cells are supported by base stations called gNBs.

[0003] The 5G NR standard supports a variety of different services, each with distinct requirements. These services include: enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) for high data rate transmission; ultra-reliable low latency communication (URLLC) for devices requiring low latency and high link reliability; and massive machine-type communication (mMTC) to support a large number of low-power devices for long lifespans, thus requiring energy-efficient communication.

[0004] A universal integrated circuit card (UICC) is a fundamental component in mobile communications. At its core is the integrated circuit card, designed to securely store user-specific data, such as the International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) and associated encryption keys. This data is essential for identifying and verifying the user's identity on the mobile device, ensuring the privacy of communications conducted over mobile networks. UICCs have evolved to support a variety of mobile communication systems, including GSM, UMTS, LTE, 5G, and other emerging platforms.

[0005] UICC can also serve as a hardware platform to support a range of applications. For example, UICC supports the Universal Subscriber Identity Module (USIM) for LTE and 5G as specified in TS 31.102 and the IP Multimedia Services Identity Module (ISIM) for IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) context as specified in TS 31.103.

[0006] As described in TR 21.905, a UE is essentially a device that facilitates user access to network services. A UE can be divided into different domains based on a specific reference point. The main domains for a UE are the UICC domain and the mobile equipment (ME) domain. The ME domain can be further subdivided into multiple components, particularly the mobile termination (MT) and terminal equipment (TE). Existing technology allows the UICC to be either non-removable (embedded) or removable on the UE.

[0007] 3GPP introduced a new type of IoT device in TR 22.840. These devices are unique in that they draw power from the surrounding environment, such as sunlight and ambient radio frequency (RF), rather than from conventional batteries. These devices may employ simpler energy storage methods, such as capacitors. These environmental IoT devices are simple in design, have fewer functions compared to other 3GPP IoT devices, and have an extremely long lifespan, potentially operating for over ten years without maintenance.

[0008] There is a need in the industry to support the integration of UICC modules with environmental IoT devices. Summary of the Invention

[0009] In a first aspect, embodiments of this disclosure provide an environmental Internet of Things (IoT) device, including an energy harvesting module, a universal integrated circuit card (UICC)-based module, and a power management logic or module. The energy harvesting module is used to harvest energy from an environmental energy source; the UICC-based module is powered by the energy harvested by the energy harvesting module and is used to protect user information; the power management logic or module is electrically coupled to the UICC-based module and is used to control the power consumption of the UICC-based module.

[0010] Secondly, embodiments of this disclosure provide a communication system including an environmental IoT device and an environmental IoT reader / writer. The environmental IoT device includes an energy harvesting module for harvesting energy from an environmental energy source; the environmental IoT reader / writer is housed within a device distinct from and wirelessly communicating with the environmental IoT device. The environmental IoT reader / writer includes a UICC-based module, on which resides an environmental IoT subscriber identity module (SIM) application. This environmental IoT SIM application enables the environmental IoT device to access environmental IoT services via a cellular network. Attached Figure Description

[0011] To more clearly illustrate the embodiments or related technologies of this disclosure, the accompanying drawings described in the embodiments will be briefly described below. Obviously, the drawings are only some embodiments of this disclosure, and those skilled in the art can obtain other drawings based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0012] Figure 1 This is a block diagram of an environmental IoT device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0013] Figure 2 This is a block diagram of an environment IoT device / user equipment (UE) with a Universal Integrated Circuit Card-Lite (UICC-Lite) module according to an embodiment of this disclosure.

[0014] Figure 3 This is a flowchart of adaptive power management for an environmental IoT device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0015] Figure 4This is a block diagram of an environment IoT reader / writer equipped with a UICC running an AIoT subscriber identity module (SIM) application, according to an embodiment of this disclosure. Detailed Implementation

[0016] The embodiments of this disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings, including technical details, structural features, implementation objectives, and effects. Specifically, the terminology used in the embodiments of this application is only used to describe the purpose of a particular embodiment and is not intended to limit the content of this disclosure.

[0017] In this document, combinations such as "at least one of A, B or C", "one or more of A, B or C", "at least one of A, B and C", "one or more of A, B and C" or "A, B and / or C" can be A only, B only, C only, A and B, A and C, B and C, or A and B and C, where any combination can contain one or more members of A, B or C.

[0018] It should be noted that in the following description, the 5G system is used only to illustrate this disclosure. However, this disclosure can be applied to any cellular communication system or network, including next-generation cellular networks or any newly developed cellular networks, and is not limited to 5G systems.

[0019] The terms used in this article can be understood through the explanations listed in the table below, but are not limited thereto.

[0020]

[0021] Environmental IoT devices are designed for use in smart homes, smart cities, utilities, healthcare, and wearable technologies. These scenarios present a pressing need for security. UICC plays a crucial role in user authentication and verification, while ensuring the confidentiality of user communications.

[0022] UICCs are designed for and commonly found in user equipment (UE), and are not subject to the same power limitations as environmental IoT devices. Therefore, integrating traditional UICC configurations into environmental IoT devices is challenging and requires sophisticated design and adaptive power management strategies.

[0023] This disclosure provides an environmental IoT device. See also Figure 1 , Figure 1 This is a block diagram of an environmental IoT device 1 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 1 As shown, the environmental IoT device 1 includes multiple environmental IoT components 11, 12, ..., 13 and a UICC-based module 20.

[0024] Module 20, based on a UICC, is a UICC-based module. As is well known, a UICC is a fundamental component in mobile communications, designed to protect user information, such as securely storing user-specific data like the International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) and associated encryption keys. Module 20 based on a UICC can be a standard UICC, an embedded UICC (eUICC), or more specifically, a UICC-Lite as defined above. When Module 20 is a UICC-Lite, a more compact variant can be implemented, retaining only the essential components.

[0025] The multiple environmental IoT components 11, 12, ..., 13 may specifically include an energy harvesting module 101 and a power management logic or module 102. The energy harvesting module 101 is used to harvest energy from environmental energy sources. The environmental IoT device 1 may include an antenna for harvesting radio frequency (RF) energy from environmental electromagnetic wave sources, and / or a transducer for gathering energy from renewable energy sources. The UICC-based module 20 is powered by the energy harvested by the energy harvesting module 101. The power management logic or module 102 is coupled to the UICC-based module 20 and is used to control the power consumption of the UICC-based module 20. That is, the power consumption of the environmental IoT device 1 is controlled by the power management logic or module 102, including the power consumption of the UICC-based module 20. It should be noted that the multiple environmental IoT components 11, 12, ..., 13 can be implemented through hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof, while the UICC-based module 20, as a hardware platform, can support one or more applications.

[0026] This disclosure enables the integration of UICC modules with ambient-powered IoT devices.

[0027] Optionally, the UICC-based module is the UICC-Lite module.

[0028] Optionally, UICC-based modules include processors, memory, and communication interfaces.

[0029] Optionally, environmental IoT devices also include: An environmental IoT SIM application resides on a UICC-based module, which provides environmental IoT services via a cellular network.

[0030] Optionally, environmental IoT devices also include: Antenna, used to perform at least one of RF energy harvesting or data transmission; and The RF controller, coupled to the antenna, is used to control the antenna.

[0031] Optionally, the RF controller is used to determine which antenna to use to collect RF energy and which antenna to use to transmit data.

[0032] Optionally, the RF controller controls multiple antennas for RF energy harvesting or for data transmission.

[0033] Optionally, the environmental energy sources from which the energy harvesting module harvests energy include environmental electromagnetic wave sources.

[0034] Optionally, the energy harvesting module is coupled to a multi-antenna array or directional antenna with beamforming capabilities to perform energy harvesting.

[0035] Optionally, the environmental energy source includes an RF power transmitter with a frequency band dedicated to environmental IoT devices.

[0036] Optionally, the environmental power source includes a wireless power transmitter equipped on a wireless router, customer premises equipment (CPE), or gateway, which has a frequency band dedicated to environmental IoT devices.

[0037] Optionally, the environmental energy sources from which the energy harvesting module harvests energy include renewable energy sources.

[0038] Optionally, the energy harvesting module combines RF energy harvesting with renewable forms of energy harvesting.

[0039] Optionally, RF energy harvesting can be carried out in parallel or simultaneously with renewable energy harvesting.

[0040] Optionally, RF energy harvesting and renewable energy harvesting can be carried out at different times.

[0041] Optionally, the power management logic or module is used for: Get the maximum power consumption; Monitor the current power state of environmental IoT devices, which is represented by the current energy level and the current power consumption level; and Determine the session execution time level based on the current energy level and current power consumption level.

[0042] Optionally, the power management logic or module is also used for: Based on the current power consumption level, current energy level, or session execution time level, obtain potential action paths.

[0043] Optionally, the power management logic or module obtains potential action paths to perform one of the following operations: Power is maintained only for specific UICC functions; Turn off environmental IoT devices; Allow environmental IoT devices to operate in passive mode, disabling UICC-based modules; or Pause the ongoing application session.

[0044] Optionally, the session execution time level is used by a UICC-based module to determine the security algorithm or authentication procedure during the handshake operation.

[0045] Optionally, the power management logic or module is also used for: Relay session execution time levels to the network to allow devices in the network to optimize energy-aware operations.

[0046] Optionally, the power management logic or module receives instructions from the network to perform power management functions.

[0047] Optionally, the power management function includes starting or stopping power supply to one or more modules or components of the environmental IoT device.

[0048] Optionally, after the initial registration phase, the power management logic or module instructs the UICC-based module to shut down or switch to power-saving mode.

[0049] Optionally, the Environmental IoT SIM application includes credentials and identifiers for securing environmental IoT services on the cellular network.

[0050] Optionally, the environmental IoT SIM application includes at least one of the following documents: Environmental IoT identity, environmental IoT certificate, environmental IoT service provider identifier, environmental IoT service provider domain name, home operator network domain name, environmental IoT access rule reference, environmental IoT SIM service table, environmental IoT service provider information, environmental IoT boot parameters, environmental IoT key management system address, environmental IoT short message service information, environmental IoT configuration data or environmental IoT user equipment route selection policy (URSP).

[0051] Optionally, the environmental IoT SIM application recognizes at least one of the following commands: AUTHENTICATE, GET CHALLENGE, GET IDENTITY, SUSPEND, or SHUTDOWN.

[0052] Optionally, the environmental IoT SIM application recognizes a shutdown command, which is used to power off the UICC-based module.

[0053] This disclosure also provides a communication system, including: Environmental IoT devices, including energy harvesting modules for harvesting energy from environmental energy sources; and An environmental IoT reader is housed within a separate device from the environmental IoT device and communicates wirelessly with the environmental IoT device. The environmental IoT reader includes a UICC-based module on which an environmental IoT SIM application resides. The environmental IoT SIM application enables the environmental IoT device to access environmental IoT services via a cellular network.

[0054] Further details of this disclosure are provided below.

[0055] Environmental IoT devices (e.g., 5G AIoT devices) are a class of IoT devices that primarily harvest energy from the environment. They typically: It may operate without batteries or have a very small energy storage capacity, such as a capacitor.

[0056] It exhibits lower complexity.

[0057] It consumes less power than other 3GPP IoT devices, such as Narrow Band IoT (NB-IoT), enhanced machine-type communication (eMTC), and reduced capability (RedCap) devices.

[0058] It can potentially run for more than ten years without maintenance.

[0059] These devices are suitable for applications requiring secure communication via 3GPP networks. Therefore, they require UICC to obtain secure network access non-access stratum (NAS) signaling support.

[0060] The demand for IoT devices in a 5G environment may include: Data storage units, such as non-volatile memory, random access memory (RAM), or read-only memory (ROM).

[0061] A tamper-proof encryption module is used to securely store the root key.

[0062] A system-on-a-chip (SoC) or processor used for NAS signaling.

[0063] UICC is used to ensure secure network access, communication, and data storage.

[0064] Given the compact structure and power constraints of environmental IoT devices, efficient component integration is crucial. In some embodiments of this disclosure, redundant modules on environmental IoT devices are minimized by allowing these devices to share storage, encryption features, and input / output (I / O) interfaces with UICCs. This not only ensures energy efficiency but also guarantees compatibility with existing 3GPP UICC operations.

[0065] The standard UICC includes a microprocessor that works in conjunction with ROM, RAM, and electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM). These components work together to manage data storage, processing, and I / O functions.

[0066] In some embodiments of this disclosure, environmental IoT devices require a more streamlined UICC. Therefore, a compact variant is proposed that retains only essential components while keeping power consumption below 10 milliwatts. This design ensures secure data storage and enables communication between the device and the UICC via a standardized interface.

[0067] 1. Integration of UICC-Lite with Environmental IoT Devices This embodiment discloses a method for integrating a streamlined UICC-Lite module into an environmental IoT device. Designed for efficiency, the UICC-Lite retains only the necessary components. A dedicated power management module ensures that the UICC-Lite's power consumption remains below a maximum threshold and is capable of collecting sufficient energy to power the environmental IoT device.

[0068] UICC-Lite is optimized for minimalism, equipping only with essential components: a processor, memory, and necessary communication interfaces, with the aim of keeping power consumption below 10 milliwatts.

[0069] The UICC-Lite can support AIoT SIM applications, as described in more detail in Section 1.8. When used in conjunction with the AIoT SIM application suite, this facilitates OTA configuration and provisioning of the UICC-Lite.

[0070] In terms of compatibility, the UICC-Lite interface should be a subset of the European Telecommunication Standards Institute (ETSI) TS 102 221 standard specification. While the UICC-Lite interface supports a simplified data interface, its physical and electrical characteristics differ somewhat from the full UICC functionality described in ETSI TS 102 221. These adjustments, combined with other components of the environmental IoT device, ensure that the total power consumption of the device does not exceed 10 milliwatts.

[0071] As a hardware feature, UICC-Lite is non-removable and directly embedded into environmental IoT devices.

[0072] The UICC-Lite will not support the universal serial bus (USB) interface according to ETSI TS 102 600 and will be designed with a compact size to minimize space footprint.

[0073] like Figure 2 As shown, the environmental IoT device (or UE) includes multiple functional modules: 1.1 Antenna and RF Controller Antennas in environmental IoT devices are used to harvest energy, perform data transmission, or both; their design affects range, frequency, and orientation. On the other hand, RF controllers provide intelligent antenna control. In some designs, the RF controller determines which antenna harvests RF energy and which transmits data. RF controllers can also improve energy efficiency by controlling multiple antennas for RF energy harvesting or increase data throughput by managing multiple antennas for data transmission.

[0074] 1.2 Multimodal Energy Harvester In one embodiment, the energy harvester can utilize energy collected from various environmental electromagnetic sources, such as mobile base stations, digital television broadcasting stations, wireless routers, Bluetooth devices, etc. Energy harvesting efficiency can be further improved by utilizing antenna elements, particularly multi-antenna arrays, beamforming, and directional antennas.

[0075] In another embodiment, a dedicated local RF power transmitter can be deployed to provide an energy harvesting source for IoT devices in the vicinity. Bands such as the ultra-high frequency (UHF) industrial, scientific, and medical (ISM) bands and short-range device (SRD) bands have proven to be the most efficient because these bands achieve a balance between antenna size and path loss.

[0076] In another embodiment, a dedicated wireless power transmitter can be equipped on a home wireless router or 5G fixed wireless access CPE, 5G residential gateway (5G-RG), or fixed network router gateway (FN-RG) to power IoT devices in the nearby smart home environment.

[0077] In yet another embodiment, the multimodal energy harvester can harvest energy from renewable energy sources, such as wind, solar, air thermal, geothermal, hydrothermal, ocean, water, biomass, landfill gas, wastewater treatment plant gas, biogas, etc.

[0078] In another embodiment, the multimodal energy harvester can combine RF energy harvesting with renewable forms of energy harvesting, such as solar cells, to form an integrated power supply solution. This provides an economical and environmentally friendly solution for battery-free devices, particularly suitable for scenarios where a single energy source may be limited or unstable. This mode also ensures a stable and resilient power input, flexibly adapting to fluctuating environmental conditions.

[0079] Various combinations are possible, but in one embodiment, this design allows IoT devices / tags in specific environments to use solar energy during peak 5G system hours in the daytime when power consumption needs to be prioritized for eMBB communication services. At night, the multimodal energy harvester can switch to RF energy harvesting operation.

[0080] In another embodiment, the solar cells and RF energy harvesting can operate in parallel, allowing the device to utilize both ambient electromagnetic waves and solar energy in sunlight conditions.

[0081] 1.3 Energy storage, power management, rectifiers and voltage regulators Environmental IoT devices can be equipped with rectifiers that convert the alternating current (AC) output from the energy harvesting module into direct current (DC). This DC power supplies the internal circuitry of the environmental IoT device. Additionally, a voltage regulator can be included to adjust the rectified DC voltage to an optimal level, ensuring stable power delivery.

[0082] The energy storage / power management module is responsible for efficiently storing and utilizing the collected energy.

[0083] Under the guidance of the device-side power management logic, the power management module efficiently distributes power to specific components of IoT devices in battery-less environments. This logic can run within the UICC-Lite processor or in a dedicated ultra-low-power circuit, ensuring seamless execution of the adaptive power management mechanism. Furthermore, the power management module or power management logic can receive instructions from the base station or network via a secure communication channel, enabling it to start or stop powering specific modules or perform other power management functions.

[0084] In one embodiment, after the initial registration phase, the power management logic may instruct the UICC-Lite module to shut down or switch to a power-saving mode to conserve energy.

[0085] Figure 3 An example of an adaptive power management mechanism for an environmental IoT device is shown when P_max and T_sl are stored in EF_UMPC.

[0086] EF_UMPC stores detailed information about the maximum power consumption of UICC-Lite, which specifies the maximum power allocated to the UICC-Lite module.

[0087] After activating UICC-Lite via a cold reset, the power management logic reads the maximum power consumption P_max from EF_UMPC. The power management logic continuously monitors the current power state of the surrounding IoT devices and collects data on the current energy level and current power consumption level: E_current (in microjoules, uJ) and P_current (in microwatts, uW). Using this information, the power management logic predicts the expected session execution time of the UICC-Lite application. Then, the power management logic maps this execution time value to a level, for example, a level specified by a 4-bit value, T_sl, which is the UICC-Lite application session execution time level.

[0088] EF_UMPC is a mandatory elementary file (EF) on UICC. In this disclosure, EF_UMPC is used for UICC-Lite, with necessary modifications to support the operation of the power management module on environmental IoT devices. On UICC, bytes 4 and 5 of EF_UMPC are currently reserved for future use (RFU) fields, which can be used to store information related to the UICC-Lite application session execution time level T_sl. This specific information element can be, for example, a 4-bit field. Different UICC-Lite application session execution times required to run on this type of environmental IoT device at this specific level or type can be mapped to one of 16 values ​​represented by this 4-bit field.

[0089] After setting this 4-bit value in EF_UMPC, the power management logic can also relay this value to the AIoT reader or network, allowing them to optimize their respective energy sensing operations.

[0090] In another embodiment, T_sl can be a value represented by a shorter or longer bit length in the memory cell, but its purpose is similar.

[0091] The logic used for AIoT SIM application initialization can check the T_sl value to determine if there is enough power to run the application.

[0092] Some security mechanisms employed by UICC-Lite may refer to the T_sl value to determine the appropriate security algorithm or verification procedure during the handshake operation.

[0093] Based on the comparison of the values ​​of P_current with P_max, E_current, or T_sl, the power management logic evaluates potential action paths. If, according to operator-defined standards, the value of P_current is close to the value of P_max, or the value of E_current is extremely low, or the value of T_sl is extremely low, then the power management logic itself, or through the power management module, performs certain internal and external operations, thereby: Power is maintained only for critical UICC-Lite functions specified by the operator, while requesting energy harvesting. The power management module continuously monitors the values ​​of P_current and E_current at a set interval T_interval.

[0094] Alternatively, shut down the environmental IoT devices until the AIoT reader or network initiates subsequent energy harvesting operations.

[0095] Alternatively, allow environmental IoT devices to operate in passive mode by disabling the UICC-Lite module.

[0096] Alternatively, it can pause an ongoing application session while requesting energy harvesting. If the application session cannot be completed due to extremely low E_current, it can be paused while waiting for energy harvesting to provide sufficient E_current for the environmental IoT devices to allow the application session to resume operation.

[0097] In another embodiment, if the application session has not ended when the value of T_sl reaches an extremely low level, the session should be paused. The pause will continue until energy harvesting provides the AIoT device with a sufficient E_current value, allowing the application session to resume operation.

[0098] 1.4 Sensors and Actuators Environmental IoT devices are typically equipped with sensors to collect environmental metrics such as temperature, humidity, or illuminance. In one embodiment, these sensors play an indispensable role in applications that require both identification and real-time environmental data, such as monitoring perishable goods during transportation.

[0099] Sensors play a passive role in data collection, while actuators take a more proactive approach. These components are designed to perform pre-programmed tasks, thereby enhancing device functionality, such as adjusting environmental conditions or triggering specific responses based on sensor data.

[0100] 1.5 Oscillator / Clock The oscillator generates a stable clock signal to synchronize processes within the environmental IoT device and ensure accurate data exchange with other nodes.

[0101] In one embodiment, the clock signal can be extracted directly from the received carrier wave. This eliminates the need for a separate local oscillator, further reducing power consumption.

[0102] In another embodiment, the clock signal cannot be extracted from the input signal, and the device must rely on an onboard oscillator to maintain synchronization.

[0103] 1.6 Encoder and Decoder The encoder converts the raw data into a structured format suitable for modulation and ensures that it is optimized for RF transmission.

[0104] Upon receiving the RF signal, the decoder processes the signal from the demodulated data. After decoding, the data is sent to UICC-Lite for further processing, parsing, and corresponding operations.

[0105] 1.7 Modulator / Demodulator The demodulator is responsible for detecting the modulated signal from the AIoT reader node. To balance energy efficiency, simplicity, and performance, the envelope detection method is typically chosen for demodulation.

[0106] The modulator prepares data for ambient backscatter communication. When ambient IoT devices operate as active RF transceivers, especially in wirelessly powered communications, the modulator may need to support specific modulation formats tailored to the communication protocol. For example, when deployed in a 5G system, ambient IoT devices may need to support specific 5G modulation / demodulation formats specified by 3GPP.

[0107] 1.8 Environmental IoT SIM The Environmental IoT SIM, or AIoT SIM, is a dedicated application residing on UICC or UICC-Lite. This framework is designed for 5G environmental IoT systems, facilitating the delivery of environmental IoT services over 5G networks. The AIoT SIM contains the necessary credentials and identifiers, essential information crucial for ensuring secure and seamless environmental IoT services over 5G networks.

[0108] At the AIoT SIM master file (MF) level, the elementary files directory (EF_DIR), the elementary integrated circuit card identification (EF_ICCID), the elementary preferred language (EF_PL), and EF_UMPC are all mandatory. Support for language preferences in EF_PL is optional.

[0109] At the AIoT SIM application-dedicated file (ADF) level, there exists a specific dedicated file (DF) containing all DFs and EFs. These files contain the services and network data necessary for environmental IoT devices to operate within the environmental IoT system, providing comprehensive support for environmental IoT services. Some of these files include: Environmental IoT Identity Environmental IoT Certificate Environmental IoT service provider identification Environmental IoT service provider domain Network domain name belonging to the operator Environmental IoT Access Rules Reference Environmental IoT SIM Service Table Environmental IoT service provider information Environmental IoT bootstrap parameters Environmental IoT Key Management System Address Environmental IoT SMS Service Information Environmental IoT configuration data Environmental IoT URSP The AIoT SIM should recognize the following commands: Authenticate Get a random number (GET CHALLENGE) Get IDENTITY Suspend Shutdown It should be noted that the SHUTDOWN command is a new addition that can power down the UICC or UICC-Lite, thereby saving energy.

[0110] 2. AIoT reader / writer equipped with UICC running AIoT SIM applications. In this embodiment, as Figure 4 As shown, the Environmental IoT component and UICC-Lite are different and housed in two different devices. The Environmental IoT component resides within the Environmental IoT device, while the functionality of UICC-Lite resides on the Environmental IoT reader / writer.

[0111] While most of the descriptions of functional modules in Section 1 still apply, there are some exceptions: UICCs residing on environmental IoT readers can be available in a variety of sizes, including various iterations of the UICC described in Section 1, eUICC, or UICC-Lite.

[0112] As disclosed in Section 1.8, the environmental IoT SIM application should run on the aforementioned UICC module or multiple iterations of UICC, including eUICC, UICC-Lite, or other emerging size specifications.

[0113] In this scenario, the 5G control plane (CP) / user plane (UP) functions are delegated to the environmental IoT reader.

[0114] In this embodiment, the environmental IoT device is equipped with on-device non-volatile memory, ROM, RAM, tamper-proof encryption unit (if necessary), and digital logic to assist in device operation.

[0115] The power management logic on IoT devices in the environment, as described in Section 1.3, should be implemented using ultra-low power circuitry. This is to ensure that the adaptive power management logic, as detailed in Section 1.3, can be implemented seamlessly.

[0116] The advantages of this disclosure are explained below.

[0117] This disclosure relates to the integration of IoT devices in 5G environments with a simplified version of the UICC module on the device, which extends support for RFID-like battery-free devices to a wider range of 5G infrastructure coverage, thereby generating a large number of applications and use cases.

[0118] More importantly, this disclosure demonstrates that environmental IoT devices can be used in scenarios with extremely high security requirements.

[0119] The field of environmental IoT is rapidly developing, with diverse applications across multiple industries. In healthcare, environmental IoT devices can be used for remote patient monitoring, asset tracking, and healthcare operations optimization. These devices enable healthcare providers to deliver better patient care, reduce costs, and improve overall operational efficiency.

[0120] Manufacturing industries can leverage environmental IoT devices to achieve real-time monitoring and control of production processes, predictive maintenance, and supply chain optimization. By integrating environmental IoT-enabled devices, manufacturing operations can achieve higher productivity, minimize downtime, and facilitate seamless operational integration.

[0121] Logistics and transportation companies can significantly benefit from using environmental IoT devices for asset tracking, cargo monitoring, route optimization, and overall fleet management. These applications enable streamlined operations, shorter delivery times, and increased customer satisfaction.

[0122] In agriculture, environmental IoT devices play a crucial role in precision agriculture, environmental monitoring, and optimized irrigation and fertilization. By adopting environmental IoT agricultural solutions, farmers can adopt sustainable farming practices, conserve resources, and increase crop yields.

[0123] Furthermore, the emerging market for environmentally powered IoT devices presents significant opportunities. Devices capable of harnessing energy from environmental sources such as solar, kinetic, or thermal power eliminate the need for traditional power sources or frequent battery replacements. This enables the deployment of environmental IoT devices in remote or inaccessible areas with limited power infrastructure. Environmental monitoring, asset tracking, and smart infrastructure are just a few examples of areas where environmentally powered IoT devices can significantly benefit.

[0124] Furthermore, given the large number of goods in stores, the demand for environmental IoT tags in the chain retail market is expected to be enormous.

[0125] In summary, the 5G environmental IoT devices disclosed herein demonstrate broad market opportunities across multiple industries and sectors. The continued expansion of the Internet of Things (IoT) field, combined with the emerging market for environmentally powered IoT devices, further increases the potential for innovative applications and widespread adoption of IoT technology.

[0126] The concept disclosed herein involves: Integrate the UICC-Lite framework into environmental IoT; Mechanism for switching active environmental IoT devices to passive mode to continue operating while saving power; The mechanism of adaptive power management logic; A method for controlling data transmission and RF energy harvesting using an intelligent RF controller, and improving efficiency by using one or more antennas; Supports multimodal mechanisms for stable energy harvesting; UICC is used as an environmental IoT computing and storage platform to store 5G network credentials and run network security and access applications in a secure and trusted environment. Incorporate Environmental IoT SIM as one of the UICC applications; A new SHUTDOWN command has been added, allowing UICC to be shut down to conserve available power for IoT devices in the environment. A mechanism for storing environment IoT-related policies in the AIoT SIM residing on the UICC installed on environment IoT devices; AIoT SIM information list; The mechanism for coordinating the Universal Subscriber Identity Module (USIM) application in the UICC residing on the UE with the IoT SIM application in the runtime environment; A mechanism for communication between environmental IoT readers and environmental IoT devices is supported by utilizing a subset of the existing UICC interface; Mechanisms that allow UICC or environmental IoT SIM to operate using energy harvested from the environment; An example of disabling the ambient IoT SIM application to save power.

[0127] Although not shown in detail, any device or apparatus forming part of the network may include at least a processor, a storage unit, and a communication interface. The processor, storage unit, and communication interface are used to perform the methods of any aspect of this disclosure. Further options and choices will be described below.

[0128] Furthermore, the concepts disclosed herein can be applied to any circuit within a network element that performs signal processing functions. It is also conceivable, for example, that semiconductor manufacturers can apply the concepts disclosed herein to the design of stand-alone devices, such as microcontrollers for digital signal processors (DSPs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), and / or any other subsystem elements.

[0129] It should be understood that, for clarity, the above description illustrates embodiments of the present disclosure with reference to a single processing logic. However, the concepts of the present disclosure can also be implemented by a number of different functional units and processors to provide signal processing functionality. Therefore, references to specific functional units should only be considered as references to suitable means for providing the described functionality, and not as indications of a strict logical or physical structure or organization.

[0130] The various solutions disclosed herein can be implemented in any suitable form, including hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. This disclosure may optionally be implemented, at least in part, as computer software running on one or more data processors and / or digital signal processors, or as configurable modular components such as field-programmable gate array (FPGA) devices.

[0131] Therefore, the elements and components of the embodiments of this disclosure can be implemented physically, functionally, and logically in any suitable manner. In fact, the functionality may be implemented in a single unit, in multiple units, or as part of other functional units. Although this disclosure has been described in conjunction with some embodiments, it is not limited to the specific forms set forth herein. Rather, the scope of this disclosure is defined only by the appended claims. Furthermore, although a feature may appear to be described in conjunction with a particular embodiment, those skilled in the art will recognize that various features of the described embodiments can be combined according to this disclosure. In the claims, the term "comprising" does not exclude the presence of other elements or steps.

[0132] Furthermore, although multiple means, elements, or method steps are listed separately, they may be implemented by, for example, a single unit or processor. Additionally, although individual features may be included in different claims, these features may be advantageously combined, and the inclusion of these features in different claims does not imply that such combinations are infeasible and / or disadvantageous. Moreover, the inclusion of a feature in one class of claims does not imply limitation to that class, but rather indicates that the feature is equally applicable to other claim classes when appropriate.

[0133] Furthermore, the order of features in the claims does not imply that these features must be performed in a specific order, especially the order of steps in a method claim does not imply that these steps must be performed in that order. On the contrary, the steps can be performed in any suitable order. Additionally, singular reference does not exclude plural; therefore, references to "an," "first," "second," etc., do not exclude plural forms.

[0134] Although this disclosure has been described in conjunction with embodiments considered to be most practical and preferred, it should be understood that this disclosure is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but is intended to cover a variety of arrangements without departing from the broadest interpretation of the appended claims.

Claims

1. An environmental Internet of Things (IoT) device, comprising: An energy harvesting module is used to harvest energy from environmental energy sources. The module is based on a Universal Integrated Circuit Card (UICC) and is powered by the energy collected by the energy harvesting module to protect user information. and A power management logic or module, electrically coupled to the UICC-based module, is used to control the power consumption of the UICC-based module.

2. The environmental IoT device according to claim 1, wherein, The UICC-based module is the UICC Lite module.

3. The environmental IoT device according to claim 1, wherein, The UICC-based module includes a processor, memory, and communication interface.

4. The environmental IoT device according to claim 1, further comprising: An Environment IoT User Identity Module (SIM) application residing on the UICC-based module, wherein the Environment IoT SIM application implements environment IoT services via a cellular network.

5. The environmental IoT device according to claim 1, further comprising: An antenna used for at least one of harvesting radio frequency (RF) energy or performing data transmission; and An RF controller, coupled to the antenna, is used to control the antenna.

6. The environmental IoT device according to claim 5, wherein, The RF controller is used to determine which antenna to use to collect RF energy and which antenna to use to transmit data.

7. The environmental IoT device according to claim 5, wherein, The RF controller controls multiple antennas for RF energy harvesting or for data transmission.

8. The environmental IoT device according to claim 1, wherein, The environmental energy sources from which the energy harvesting module collects energy include environmental electromagnetic wave sources.

9. The environmental IoT device according to claim 8, wherein, The energy harvesting module is coupled to a multi-antenna array or directional antenna with beamforming capability to perform the energy harvesting.

10. The environmental IoT device according to claim 8, wherein, The environmental energy source includes an RF power transmitter, the frequency band of which is dedicated to the environmental IoT device.

11. The environmental IoT device according to claim 8, wherein, The ambient energy source includes a wireless power transmitter equipped on a wireless router, customer premises equipment (CPE), or gateway, the frequency band of which is dedicated to the ambient IoT device.

12. The environmental IoT device according to claim 1, wherein, The environmental energy sources from which the energy harvesting module harvests energy include renewable energy sources.

13. The environmental IoT device according to claim 1, wherein, The energy harvesting module combines RF energy harvesting with renewable energy harvesting.

14. The environmental IoT device according to claim 13, wherein, The RF energy harvesting is performed in parallel or simultaneously with the renewable energy harvesting.

15. The environmental IoT device according to claim 13, wherein, The RF energy harvesting and the renewable energy harvesting were carried out at different time periods.

16. The environmental IoT device according to claim 1, wherein, The power management logic or module is used for: Get the maximum power consumption; Monitor the current power state of the environmental IoT devices, the current power state being represented by the current energy level and the current power consumption level; and Based on the current energy level and the current power consumption level, the session execution time level is determined.

17. The environmental IoT device according to claim 16, wherein, The power management logic or module is also used for: Based on the current power consumption level, the current energy level, or the session execution time level, obtain potential action paths.

18. The environmental IoT device according to claim 17, wherein, The power management logic or module obtains the potential action path to perform one of the following operations: Power is maintained only for specific UICC functions; Turn off the IoT devices in the environment; Allow the IoT devices in the environment to operate in passive mode, and disable the UICC-based module; or Pause the ongoing application session.

19. The environmental IoT device according to claim 16, wherein, The session execution time level is used by the UICC-based module to determine the security algorithm or verification procedure during the handshake operation.

20. The environmental IoT device according to claim 16, wherein, The power management logic or module is also used for: The session execution time level is relayed to the network to allow devices in the network to optimize energy-aware operation.

21. The environmental IoT device according to claim 1, wherein, The power management logic or module receives instructions from the network to perform power management functions.

22. The environmental IoT device according to claim 21, wherein, The power management function includes starting or stopping power supply to one or more modules or components of the IoT device in the environment.

23. The environmental IoT device according to claim 1, wherein, After the initial registration phase, the power management logic or module instructs the UICC-based module to shut down or switch to power-saving mode.

24. The environmental IoT device according to claim 4, wherein, The environmental IoT SIM application includes credentials and identifiers for protecting the environmental IoT services on the cellular network.

25. The environmental IoT device according to claim 4, wherein, The environmental IoT SIM application includes at least one of the following documents: Environmental IoT identity, environmental IoT certificate, environmental IoT service provider ID, environmental IoT service provider domain name, home operator network domain name, environmental IoT access rule reference, environmental IoT SIM service table, environmental IoT service provider information, environmental IoT bootstrap parameters, environmental IoT key management system address, environmental IoT short message service information, environmental IoT configuration data, or environmental IoT user equipment route selection policy (URSP).

26. The environmental IoT device according to claim 4, wherein, The environment IoT SIM application recognizes at least one of the following commands: AUTHENTICATE, GET CHALLENGE, GET IDENTITY, SUSPEND, or SHUTDOWN.

27. The environmental IoT device according to claim 4, wherein, The environment IoT SIM application recognizes a shutdown command, which is used to power off the UICC-based module.

28. A communication system, comprising: An environmental Internet of Things (IoT) device includes an energy harvesting module for harvesting energy from environmental energy sources; and An environmental IoT reader / writer, housed within a device distinct from and wirelessly communicating with the environmental IoT device, includes a Universal Integrated Circuit Card (UICC)-based module on which an Environmental IoT User Identity Module (SIM) application resides. The Environmental IoT SIM application enables the Environmental IoT device to access Environmental IoT services via a cellular network.

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