Codebook-based reconfigurable intelligent surface (ris) assisted near field sensing

Abstract

Techniques for wireless sensing are disclosed. In one aspect, a transmitter sensing node receives a capability message associated with a reconfigurable smart surface (RIS), the capability message instructing the RIS to reflect sensing signals according to a near-field reflection codebook, or one or more near-field reflection codewords, to be configured to the RIS, wherein each of the one or more near-field reflection codewords includes a plurality of near-field reflection codeword parameters.

Description

Background Technology 1. Technical Field

[0002] All aspects of this disclosure relate to wireless technology.

[0003] 2. Description of relevant technologies

[0004] 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.

[0005] The fifth-generation (5G) wireless standard, known as New Radio (NR), delivers higher data transfer speeds, more connections, better coverage, and other improvements. According to the Next Generation Mobile Networks Alliance (NGC), 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. These enhancements, along with the use of higher frequency bands, advancements in the PRS process and technology, and the high-density deployment of 5G, enable high-accuracy positioning based on 5G. Summary of the Invention

[0006] 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 simplified form, certain concepts relating to one or more aspects involving the mechanisms disclosed herein, prior to the detailed description presented below.

[0007] In one aspect, the wireless sensing method performed by the transmitter sensing node includes: receiving a capability message associated with a reconfigurable smart surface (RIS), the capability message instructing the RIS to reflect one or more capabilities of a sensing signal according to a near-field reflection codebook; and configuring one or more near-field reflection codewords of the near-field reflection codebook to the RIS, wherein each of the one or more near-field reflection codewords includes a plurality of near-field reflection codeword parameters.

[0008] In one aspect, the wireless sensing method performed by the receiver sensing node includes: receiving a configuration of one or more near-field reflection codewords of a near-field reflection codebook of a reconfigurable smart surface (RIS), wherein each of the one or more near-field reflection codewords includes a plurality of near-field reflection codeword parameters; obtaining one or more sensing measurements of one or more sensing signals reflected by the RIS according to the near-field reflection codeword for each of the one or more near-field reflection codewords; and sending a near-field sensing result report.

[0009] In one aspect, the transmitter sensing node 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 capability messages associated with a reconfigurable smart surface (RIS) via the one or more transceivers, the capability messages instructing the RIS to reflect sensing signals according to a near-field reflection codebook; and configure one or more near-field reflection codewords of the near-field reflection codebook to the RIS, wherein each of the one or more near-field reflection codewords includes a plurality of near-field reflection codeword parameters.

[0010] In one aspect, the receiver sensing node 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 configuration of one or more near-field reflection codewords of a near-field reflection codebook of a reconfigurable smart surface (RIS), wherein each of the one or more near-field reflection codewords includes a plurality of near-field reflection codeword parameters; obtain one or more sensing measurements for each of the one or more near-field reflection codewords by which the RIS reflects one or more sensing signals according to the near-field reflection codewords; and transmit near-field sensing result reports via the one or more transceivers.

[0011] In one aspect, the transmitter sensing node includes: a component for receiving a capability message associated with a reconfigurable smart surface (RIS), the capability message indicating one or more capabilities of the RIS to reflect sensing signals according to a near-field reflection codebook; and a component for configuring one or more near-field reflection codewords of the near-field reflection codebook to the RIS, wherein each of the one or more near-field reflection codewords includes a plurality of near-field reflection codeword parameters.

[0012] In one aspect, the receiver sensing node includes: components for configuring one or more near-field reflection codewords of a near-field reflection codebook of a reconfigurable smart surface (RIS), wherein each of the one or more near-field reflection codewords includes a plurality of near-field reflection codeword parameters; components for obtaining one or more sensing measurements for each of the one or more near-field reflection codewords by which the RIS reflects one or more sensing signals according to the near-field reflection codewords; and components for transmitting a near-field sensing result report.

[0013] On one hand, a non-transitory computer-readable medium stores computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a transmitter sensing node, cause the transmitter sensing node to: receive a capability message associated with a reconfigurable smart surface (RIS), the capability message instructing the RIS to reflect one or more capabilities of a sensing signal according to a near-field reflection codebook; and configure one or more near-field reflection codewords of the near-field reflection codebook to the RIS, wherein each of the one or more near-field reflection codewords includes a plurality of near-field reflection codeword parameters.

[0014] On one hand, a non-transitory computer-readable medium stores computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a receiver sensing node, cause the receiver sensing node to: receive a configuration of one or more near-field reflection codewords of a near-field reflection codebook of a reconfigurable smart surface (RIS), wherein each of the one or more near-field reflection codewords includes a plurality of near-field reflection codeword parameters; obtain one or more sensing measurements of one or more sensing signals reflected by the RIS according to the near-field reflection codeword for each of the one or more near-field reflection codewords; and send a near-field sensing result report.

[0015] 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

[0016] 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.

[0017] Figure 1 Example wireless communication systems according to various aspects of this disclosure are illustrated.

[0018] Figure 2A , Figure 2B and Figure 2C Example wireless network architectures based on various aspects of this disclosure are illustrated.

[0019] 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.

[0020] Figure 4A and Figure 4B Different types of wireless sensing according to various aspects of this disclosure are illustrated.

[0021] Figure 5 An example call flow is illustrated for a New Radio (NR)-based sensing process in which sensing parameters are configured for network configuration, according to various aspects of this disclosure.

[0022] Figure 6 Example systems for wireless communication using reconfigurable smart surfaces (RIS) are illustrated according to various aspects of this disclosure.

[0023] Figure 7 This is a diagram illustrating an example architecture of RIS based on various aspects of this disclosure.

[0024] Figure 8 Example scenarios of reflecting RIS and sending RIS according to various aspects of this disclosure are illustrated.

[0025] Figure 9 Examples of reflected beamforming performed by RIS according to various aspects of this disclosure are illustrated.

[0026] Figure 10 These are illustrations of Rayleigh and Fresnel distances for near-field and far-field distances, according to various aspects of this disclosure.

[0027] Figure 11 A comparison between far-field and near-field codebooks according to various aspects of this disclosure is illustrated.

[0028] Figure 12 A comparison of non-uniform and uniform distribution of distances according to various aspects of this disclosure is illustrated.

[0029] Based on all aspects of this disclosure, Figure 13A An example single-station sensing use case is illustrated, and Figure 13B An example dual-site use case is shown.

[0030] Figure 14 This is a diagram illustrating an example signaling flow for single-station sensing according to various aspects of this disclosure.

[0031] Figure 15 This is a diagram illustrating the parameters of a near-field to near-field (NF-NF) near-field codebook for three-dimensional reflection according to various aspects of this disclosure.

[0032] Figure 16This is an illustration of examples of absolute indices of forward reflection codewords and relative indices of backward reflection codewords according to various aspects of this disclosure.

[0033] Figure 17 This is a diagram illustrating an example signaling flow for dual-station sensing according to various aspects of this disclosure.

[0034] Figure 18 and Figure 19 Example methods of wireless sensing according to various aspects of this disclosure are illustrated. Detailed Implementation

[0035] Various aspects of this disclosure are provided in the following 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.

[0036] The overall scope involves wireless sensing across various aspects. Some aspects are more specifically related to near-field sensing based on reconfigurable smart surfaces (RIS). In some examples, codebooks and signaling messages are used for RIS-based near-field sensing. Sensor devices can configure the parameters of the codebook to the RIS by selecting one or more near-field codewords or codeword pairs to the RIS. The codebook can be a two-dimensional codebook or a three-dimensional codebook.

[0037] Specific aspects of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented to achieve one or more of the following potential advantages. In some examples, by configuring parameters of the codebook to the RIS and selecting one or more near-field codewords or codeword pairs therefrom, the described techniques can be used to implement codebook-based RIS-based near-field sensing, thereby reducing signaling overhead and improving positioning performance.

[0038] 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.

[0039] Those skilled in the art will understand that any of the various techniques and skills available 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.

[0040] 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."

[0041] As used herein, unless otherwise specified, the terms “User Equipment” (UE) and “Base Station” are not intended to be specific or otherwise limited to any particular Radio Access Technology (RAT). Generally, a UE can be any wireless communication device used by a user to communicate over a wireless communication network (e.g., mobile phone, router, tablet computer, laptop computer, consumer asset positioning 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 “Access Terminal” or “AT,” “Client Equipment,” “Wireless Equipment,” “Subscriber Equipment,” “Subscriber Terminal,” “Subscriber Station,” “User Terminal” or “UT,” “Mobile Equipment,” “Mobile Terminal,” “Mobile Station,” or variations thereof. Generally, a UE can communicate with a core network via the RAN, and through the core network, a 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 the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard, etc.).

[0042] A base station may operate according to one of several RATs to communicate with the UE, depending 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 referred to as gNB or gNodeB), etc. The base station may primarily be used to support the UE's radio access, including supporting data, voice, and / or signaling connections for the supported UE. 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 an uplink / reverse traffic channel or a downlink / forward traffic channel.

[0043] 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.

[0044] In some specific implementations supporting UE positioning, the base station may not support the UE's radio access (e.g., it may not support data, voice, and / or signaling connections for the UE), but may instead transmit reference signals to the UE for measurement and / or receive and measure signals transmitted by the UE. Such a base station may be referred to as a positioning beacon (e.g., in the case of transmitting signals to the UE) and / or as a location measurement unit (e.g., in the case of receiving and measuring signals from the UE).

[0045] 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, an RF signal may also be referred to as a “wireless signal” or simply a “signal” where the context clearly indicates that the term “signal” refers to a wireless signal or an RF signal.

[0046] 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, the macro cell base station may include an eNB and / or an ng-eNB (wherein the wireless communication system 100 corresponds to an LTE network), or a gNB (wherein the wireless communication system 100 corresponds to an NR network), or a combination of both, and the small cell base station may include femtocells, picocells, microcells, etc.

[0047] 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 location (SUPL) location 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.

[0048] 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.

[0049] 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 either or both of the logical communication entity and the base station supporting the logical communication entity, depending on the context. Furthermore, since the TRP is typically the physical transmission point of a cell, the terms "cell" and "TRP" can be used interchangeably. In some cases, the term "cell" can also refer to the geographical 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 geographical coverage area 110.

[0050] 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 can 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).

[0051] 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).

[0052] 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.

[0053] 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. ® .

[0054] The wireless communication system 100 may also include a millimeter-wave (mmW) base station 180, which can operate at mmW 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 frequencies of 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.

[0055] 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.

[0056] 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.

[0057] 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.

[0058] 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.

[0059] 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.

[0060] 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.

[0061] The frequencies between FR1 and FR2 are generally referred to as mid-band frequencies. Recent 5G NR studies have designated the operating bands 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 bands have been designated 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.

[0062] 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.

[0063] 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) used 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.

[0064] For example, still refer to Figure 1One of the frequencies used by macro cell base station 102 can be an anchor carrier (or "PCell"), and the other frequencies used by macro cell base station 102 and / or mmW base station 180 can be secondary carriers ("SCell"). Simultaneous transmission and / or reception on multiple carriers allows UE 104 / 182 to significantly increase its data transmission and / or 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).

[0065] The wireless communication system 100 may also include a UE 164, which can communicate with the macro cell base station 102 via communication link 120 and / or with the mmW base station 180 via mmW communication link 184. For example, the macro cell base station 102 may support PCells and one or more SCells for the UE 164, and the mmW base station 180 may support one or more SCells for the UE 164.

[0066] In some cases, UE 164 and UE 182 may be able to communicate via sidelink. A sidelink-capable UE (SL-UE) can communicate with base station 102 via communication link 120 using the Uu interface (i.e., the air interface between the UE and the base station). SL-UEs (e.g., UE 164, UE 182) can also communicate directly with each other via radio sidelink 160 using the PC5 interface (i.e., the air interface between sidelink-capable UEs). Radio 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 the need for communication through a base station. Sidelink communication can be unicast or multicast and can be used for device-to-device (D2D) media sharing, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication (e.g., cellular V2X (cV2X) communication, enhanced V2X (eV2X) communication, emergency rescue applications, etc. One or more SL-UEs in a group of SL-UEs utilizing sidelink communication may be located within the geographical coverage area 110 of base station 102. Other SL-UEs in this group may be outside the geographical 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 SL-UEs communicating via sidelink communication may utilize a one-to-many (1:M) system, where each SL-UE transmits to every other SL-UE in the group. In some cases, base station 102 facilitates the scheduling of resources used for sidelink communication. In other cases, sidelink communication is performed between the individual SL-UEs without involving base station 102.

[0067] On one hand, the sidelink 160 can operate via a wireless communication medium of interest that can be shared with other vehicles and / or infrastructure access points and other RATs for wireless communication. "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. On another hand, 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 extended their operation 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.

[0068] It should be noted that, although Figure 1 Only two of these UEs are exemplified as SL-UEs (i.e., UE 164 and UE 182), but any UE exemplified can be an SL-UE. Furthermore, although only UE 182 is described as capable of beamforming, any UE exemplified (including UE 164) can be capable of beamforming. When SL-UEs are capable of beamforming, they can beamform towards each other (i.e., towards other SL-UEs), towards other UEs (e.g., UE 104), towards base stations (e.g., base station 102, base station 180, small cell 102', access point 150), etc. Therefore, in some cases, UE 164 and UE 182 can utilize beamforming via sidelink 160.

[0069] exist Figure 1 In the example, the UE shown (for simplicity, in) Figure 1Any 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.

[0070] 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 Overlap Service (EGNOS), Multifunctional Satellite Augmentation System (MSAS), 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.

[0071] 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 the modified base station 102 (without a ground antenna) or network nodes 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 the ground base station 102, UE 104 can receive communication signals (e.g., signal 124) from SV 112.

[0072] The wireless communication system 100 may also include one or more UEs, such as UE 190, which are indirectly connected to one or more communication networks via one or more device-to-device (D2D) peer-to-peer (P2P) links (referred to as "side links"). Figure 1 In 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 has a D2D P2P link 194 with a WLAN STA 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.

[0073] 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).

[0074] Another optional aspect may include a location server 230, which 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, which may 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).

[0075] 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.

[0076] 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.

[0077] 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.

[0078] 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).

[0079] Another optional aspect may include a third-party server 274, which 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.

[0080] 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.

[0081] The functionality of the gNB 222 is 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.

[0082] The deployment of communication systems such as 5G NR systems can be arranged in a variety of ways using various components or parts. In a 5G NR system or network, network nodes, network entities, network mobility elements, RAN nodes, core network nodes, network elements, or network equipment (such as base stations or one or more units (or components) performing base station functions) can be implemented in aggregated or decomposed architectures. For example, base stations (such as Node B (NB), evolved NB (eNB), NR base stations, 5GNB, AP, TRP, cells, etc.) can be implemented as aggregated base stations (also known as standalone base stations or monolithic base stations) or decomposed base stations.

[0083] Aggregated base stations can be configured to utilize a radio protocol stack that is physically or logically integrated within a single RAN node. Decentralized base stations can be configured to utilize a protocol stack that is physically or logically distributed across two or more units, such as one or more central or centralized units (CUs), one or more distributed units (DUs), or one or more radio units (RUs). In some respects, the CU may be implemented within a RAN node, and one or more DUs may co-located with the CU, or alternatively, may be geographically or virtually distributed across one or more other RAN nodes. DUs may be implemented to communicate with one or more RUs. Each of the CUs, DUs, and RUs may also be implemented as a virtual unit, namely a virtual central unit (VCU), a virtual distributed unit (VDU), or a virtual radio unit (VRU).

[0084] Base station type operation or network design can consider the aggregation characteristics of base station functionality. For example, decomposed base stations can be used in Integrated Access Backhaul (IAB) networks, Open Radio Access Networks (O-RAN) (such as those developed by the O-RAN Alliance), and other similar networks. ® This can be used in proposed network configurations or virtualized radio access networks (vRAN, also known as cloud radio access networks (C-RAN)). Decomposition can include distributing functionality across two or more units in various physical locations, as well as virtually distributing the functionality of at least one unit, which allows for flexibility in network design. Various units in a decomposed base station or decomposed RAN architecture can be configured to communicate wirelessly with at least one other unit.

[0085] Figure 2C An example disaggregated base station architecture 250 according to various aspects of this disclosure is illustrated. The disaggregated base station architecture 250 may include one or more central units (CUs) 280 (e.g., gNB-CU 226) that can communicate directly with the core network 267 (e.g., 5GC 210, 5GC 260) via a backhaul link, or indirectly with the core network 267 via one or more disaggregated base station units (such as a near real-time (near-RT) RAN intelligent controller (RIC) 259 via an E2 link or a non-real-time (non-RT) RIC 257 associated with a Service Management and Orchestration (SMO) framework 255, or both). CUs 280 may communicate with one or more duplex units (DUs) 285 (e.g., gNB-DU 228) via a corresponding midhaul link (e.g., an F1 interface). DUs 285 may communicate with one or more radio units (RUs) 287 (e.g., gNB-RU 229) via a corresponding fronthaul link. RU 287 can communicate with the corresponding UE 204 via one or more radio frequency (RF) access links. In some implementations, UE 204 can be served by multiple RU 287s simultaneously.

[0086] Each of the units (i.e., CU 280, DU 285, RU 287, and near-RT RIC 259, non-RT RIC 257, and SMO frame 255) may include or be coupled to one or more interfaces configured to receive or transmit signals, data, or information (collectively, signals) via wired or wireless transmission media. Each of the units, or an associated processor or controller providing instructions to the communication interfaces of these units, may be configured to communicate with one or more other units via transmission media. For example, these units may include wired interfaces configured to receive signals or transmit signals to one or more other units via wired transmission media. Additionally, these units may include wireless interfaces that may include receivers, transmitters, or transceivers (such as RF transceivers) configured to receive signals or transmit signals to one or more other units, or both, via wireless transmission media.

[0087] In some aspects, the CU 280 can host one or more higher-level control functions. Such control functions may include RRC, PDCP, Serving Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP), etc. Each control function can be implemented using an interface configured to signal to other control functions hosted by the CU 280. The CU 280 can be configured to handle user plane functionality (i.e., Central Unit-User Plane (CU-UP)), control plane functionality (i.e., Central Unit-Control Plane (CU-CP)), or a combination thereof. In some implementations, the CU 280 can be logically split into one or more CU-UP units and one or more CU-CP units. When implemented in an O-RAN configuration, the CU-UP units can communicate bidirectionally with the CU-CP units via an interface such as an E1 interface. The CU 280 can be implemented to communicate with the DU 285 for network control and signaling, as needed.

[0088] DU 285 may correspond to a logic unit that includes one or more base station functions for controlling the operation of one or more RU 287s. In some aspects, DU 285 may be at least partially based on functional partitioning (such as that provided by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP)). ®The DU285 is functionally partitioned to host one or more of the RLC layer, MAC layer, and one or more high-PHY layers (such as modules for forward error correction (FEC) encoding and decoding, scrambling, modulation, and demodulation). In some respects, the DU285 may further host one or more low-PHY layers. Each layer (or module) may be implemented using an interface configured to communicate signals with other layers (and modules) hosted by the DU285 or with control functions hosted by the CU280.

[0089] Lower-layer functionality can be implemented by one or more RU 287s. In some deployments, an RU287 controlled by a DU 285 may correspond to a logical node that hosts RF processing functions or low-PHY layer functions (such as performing Fast Fourier Transform (FFT), Inverse FFT (iFFT), digital beamforming, Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) extraction and filtering, or both, based at least in part on functional decomposition (such as lower-layer functional decomposition). In such architectures, the RU 287 may be implemented to handle over-the-air (OTA) communications with one or more UE 204s. In some specific implementations, the real-time and non-real-time aspects of control plane and user plane communications with the RU 287 may be controlled by the corresponding DU 285. In some scenarios, this configuration enables the implementation of the DU 285 and CU 280 in cloud-based RAN architectures such as vRAN architectures.

[0090] SMO framework 255 can be configured to support RAN deployment and provisioning of both non-virtualized and virtualized network elements. For non-virtualized network elements, SMO framework 255 can be configured to support the deployment of dedicated physical resources for RAN coverage requirements, which can be managed via operation and maintenance interfaces such as the O1 interface. For virtualized network elements, SMO framework 255 can be configured to interact with cloud computing platforms such as Open Cloud (O-Cloud) 269 to perform network element lifecycle management (such as instantiating virtualized network elements) via cloud computing platform interfaces such as the O2 interface. Such virtualized network elements may include, but are not limited to, CU 280, DU 285, RU 287, and near-RT RIC 259. In some implementations, SMO framework 255 can communicate with the hardware aspects of the 4G RAN (such as Open eNB (O-eNB) 261) via the O1 interface. Additionally, in some implementations, SMO framework 255 can communicate directly with one or more RU 287s via the O1 interface. SMO framework 255 may also include a non-RT RIC 257 configured to support the functionality of SMO framework 255.

[0091] The non-RT RIC 257 can be configured to include logical functions enabling non-real-time control and optimization of RAN elements and resources, including artificial intelligence / machine learning (AI / ML) workflows for model training and updates, or policy-based guidance for applications / features in the near-RT RIC 259. The non-RT RIC 257 can be coupled to or communicate with the near-RT RIC 259, such as via an A1 interface. The near-RT RIC 259 can be configured to include logical functions enabling near real-time control and optimization of RAN elements and resources via an interface, such as an E2 interface, through data collection and action, connecting one or more CU 280s, one or more DU 285s, or both, and O-eNBs to the near-RT RIC 259.

[0092] In some implementations, to generate AI / ML models to be deployed in the near-RT RIC 259, the non-RT RIC 257 may receive parameters or external enrichment information from an external server. This information can be utilized by the near-RT RIC 259 and may be received from non-network data sources or network functions at the SMO framework 255 or the non-RT RIC 257. In some examples, the non-RT RIC 257 or the near-RT RIC 259 may be configured to tune RAN behavior or performance. For example, the non-RT RIC 257 may monitor long-term trends and patterns in performance and use AI / ML models to perform corrective actions via the SMO framework 255 (such as reconfiguration via O1) or by creating RAN management policies (such as A1 policies).

[0093] 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) are used to 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.

[0094] 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, components for blocking transmission, etc.) for communication 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 communication 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.

[0095] In at least some cases, UE 302 and base station 304 each further include one or more short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360, respectively. Short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 can be connected to one or more antennas 326 and 366, respectively, and provide access 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 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.) respectively according to a specified RAT, and conversely, to receive and decode signals 328 and 368 (e.g., messages, indications, information, pilots, etc.) respectively. Specifically, the short-range wireless transceiver 320 and short-range wireless transceiver 360 each include: one or more transmitters 324 and 364 respectively for transmitting and encoding signals 328 and 368, and one or more receivers 322 and 362 respectively for receiving and decoding signals 328 and 368. As a specific example, the short-range wireless transceiver 320 and short-range wireless transceiver 360 can 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.

[0096] 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.

[0097] 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.

[0098] 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.

[0099] 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.

[0100] 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 transceiver 380 and network transceiver 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.

[0101] 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) may generally be described 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.

[0102] UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 also include other components that can be used in conjunction with the operation 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.

[0103] 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 sensing components 348, 388, and 398. Sensing 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 respects, sensing 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, sensing 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 a 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 of sensing component 348 are illustrated. The sensing 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 of sensing component 388 are illustrated. The sensing 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 of sensing component 398 are illustrated. The sensing 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.

[0104] 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.

[0105] 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.

[0106] 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 processing, and logical channel priority ordering.

[0107] 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-quadrature amplitude modulation (M-QAM)). The decoded and modulated symbols can then be split 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 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 a channel estimator can be used to determine the decoding and modulation scheme, as well as for spatial processing. These 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.

[0108] 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.

[0109] 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.

[0110] 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 processing, and logical channel priority ordering.

[0111] 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.

[0112] 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.

[0113] 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.

[0114] 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). ® (Without cellular capability), or 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.

[0115] 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 logical entities.

[0116] 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, it should be understood that 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, memory 340, 386 and 396, sensing components 348, 388 and 398, etc.).

[0117] 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).

[0118] Wireless communication signals transmitted between the UE and the base station (e.g., radio frequency (RF) signals configured to carry orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols according to wireless communication standards such as LTE, NR, etc.) can be used for environmental sensing (also known as "RF sensing" or "radar"). Environmental sensing using wireless communication signals can be considered as consumer-grade radar with advanced detection capabilities, enabling contactless / device-free interaction with devices / systems, etc. Wireless communication signals can be cellular communication signals, such as LTE or NR signals, WLAN signals such as Wi-Fi signals, etc. As a specific example, wireless communication signals can be OFDM waveforms as utilized in LTE and NR. High-frequency communication signals, such as millimeter-wave (mmW) RF signals, are particularly advantageous for use as sensing signals because higher frequencies provide at least more accurate ranging (distance) detection.

[0119] Possible use cases for RF sensing include: health monitoring use cases, such as heart rate detection and respiratory rate monitoring; gesture recognition use cases, such as human activity recognition, keystroke detection, and sign language recognition; context information acquisition use cases, such as location detection / tracking, direction finding, and distance estimation; and automotive sensing use cases, such as intelligent cruise control and collision avoidance.

[0120] There are different types of sensing, including single-station sensing (also known as "active sensing") and dual-station sensing (also known as "passive sensing"). Figure 4A and Figure 4B These different types of sensing are illustrated. Specifically, Figure 4A This is illustration 400 illustrating a single-station sensing scenario, and Figure 4B This is illustration 430, illustrating a dual-station sensing scenario. Figure 4A In this configuration, the transmitter (Tx) and receiver (Rx) are co-located in the same sensing device 404 (e.g., a UE). The sensing device 404 transmits one or more RF sensing signals 434 (e.g., uplink or sidelink positioning reference signals (PRS) in the case of a UE), and some of the RF sensing signals 434 are reflected from a target object 406. The sensing device 404 can measure various properties of the reflection 436 of the RF sensing signals 434 (e.g., time of arrival (ToA), angle of arrival (AoA), phase shift, etc.) to determine the characteristics of the target object 406 (e.g., size, shape, speed, motion state, etc.).

[0121] exist Figure 4B In this architecture, the transmitter (Tx) and receiver (Rx) are not co-located; that is, they are separate devices (e.g., the UE and the base station). It should be noted that although... Figure 4BThe example illustrates the use of a downlink RF signal as the RF sensing signal 432, but uplink or sidelink RF signals can also be used as the RF sensing signal 432. In the downlink scenario, as shown in the figure, the transmitter is the base station and the receiver is the UE, while in the uplink scenario, the transmitter is the UE and the receiver is the base station.

[0122] For more detailed information, please refer to [link / reference]. Figure 4B Transmitter device 402 sends RF sensing signals 432 and 434 (e.g., positioning reference signal (PRS)) to sensing device 404, but some of the RF sensing signals 434 are reflected from the target object 406. Sensing device 404 (also referred to as "sensing device") can measure the time of arrival (ToA) of the RF sensing signal 432 received directly from the transmitter device and the time of reflection 436 of the RF sensing signal 434 reflected from the target object 406.

[0123] More specifically, as described above, a transmitter device (e.g., a base station) may transmit a single RF signal or multiple RF signals to a sensing device (e.g., a UE). 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. Each path may be associated with a cluster of one or more channel taps. Typically, the time when the receiver detects the first channel tap cluster is considered to be the ToA of the RF signal on the site line (LOS) path (i.e., the shortest path between the transmitter and receiver). Subsequent channel tap clusters are considered to have been reflected by objects between the transmitter and receiver, and therefore have been along a non-LOS (NLOS) path between the transmitter and receiver.

[0124] Therefore, re-reference Figure 4B RF sensing signal 432 follows the LOS path between transmitter device 402 and sensing device 404, while RF sensing signal 434 follows the NLOS path between transmitter device 402 and sensing device 404 due to reflection from target object 406. Transmitter device 402 may have transmitted multiple RF sensing signals 432 and 434, some of which follow the LOS path and others follow the NLOS path. Alternatively, transmitter device 402 may have transmitted a single RF sensing signal in a sufficiently wide beam, a portion of which follows the LOS path (RF sensing signal 432) and a portion of which follows the NLOS path (RF sensing signal 434).

[0125] Based on the ToA of the LOS path, the ToA of the NLOS path, and the speed of light, sensing device 404 can determine the distance to a target object. For example, sensing device 404 can calculate the distance to the target object as the difference between the ToA of the LOS path and the ToA of the NLOS path multiplied by the speed of light. Furthermore, if sensing device 404 is capable of receiving beamforming, it can determine the approximate direction to the target object as the direction (angle) of the receiving beam that receives the RF sensing signal following the NLOS path. That is, sensing device 404 can determine the direction to the target object as the angle of arrival (AoA) of the RF sensing signal, which is the angle of the receiving beam used to receive the RF sensing signal. Sensing device 404 can then optionally report this information to transmitter device 402, its serving base station, an application server associated with the core network, an external client, a third-party application, or another sensing entity. Alternatively, sensing device 404 may report the ToA measurement to transmitter device 402 or other sensing entities (e.g., if sensing device 404 itself does not have the processing capability to perform the calculation), and transmitter device 402 may determine the distance to target object 406 and optionally determine the direction to the target object.

[0126] It should be noted that if the RF sensing signal is an uplink RF signal sent by the UE to the base station, the base station will perform object detection based on the uplink RF signal, just as the UE does based on the downlink RF signal.

[0127] Similar to conventional radar, wireless communication-based sensing signals can be used to estimate the range (distance), velocity (Doppler), and angle (AoA) of a target. However, performance (e.g., resolution and maximum values ​​of range, velocity, and angle) can depend on the design of the reference signal.

[0128] Figure 5 An example call flow 500 illustrates an NR-based sensing process (e.g., a dual-site sensing process) for configuring sensing parameters in a network, according to various aspects of this disclosure. Although Figure 5 The example illustrates a network-coordinated sensing process, but this sensing process can be coordinated via a sidelink channel.

[0129] At stage 505, the sensing server 570 (e.g., internal or external to the core network) transmits a request for network (NW) information to the gNB 522 (e.g., the serving gNB of UE 504). This request may be for a list of the serving cell and any neighboring cells of UE 504. At stage 510, the gNB 522 transmits the requested information to the sensing server 570. At stage 515, the sensing server 570 transmits a request for sensing capabilities to UE 504. At stage 520, UE 504 provides its sensing capabilities to the sensing server 570.

[0130] At phase 525, the sensing server 570 transmits to the UE 504 a configuration indicating one or more reference signal (RS) resources to be transmitted for sensing. The reference signal resources may be transmitted by the serving cell and / or neighboring cells identified at phase 510. In some cases, Figure 5 The illustrated NR-based sensing process can be a sensing-only process or a Joint Communication and Sensing (JCS) process. In the case of a sensing-only process, the reference signal resource can be a reference signal resource specifically configured for sensing purposes. In the case of a JCS process, the reference signal resource can be a reference signal resource used for communication, which can also be used for sensing purposes. Alternatively, the reference signal resource used for sensing can be multiplexed with the reference signal resource used for communication (e.g., time-division multiplexing). For example, the reference signal resource used for communication can be an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) waveform, while the reference signal resource used for sensing can be a frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) waveform.

[0131] At stage 530, the sensing server 570 sends a request for sensing information to the UE 504. Then, the UE 504 measures the transmitted reference signal and, at stage 535, transmits the measurement or any sensing results determined based on the measurement to the sensing server 570.

[0132] On one hand, communication between UE 504 and sensing server 570 can be conducted via LTE positioning protocol (LPP). Communication between sensing server 570 and gNB can be conducted via NR positioning protocol type A (NRPPa).

[0133] Figure 6An example system 600 for wireless communication using a reconfigurable smart surface (RIS) 610 according to various aspects of this disclosure is illustrated. The RIS (e.g., RIS 610) is a two-dimensional surface comprising a large number of low-cost, low-power near-passive reflective elements whose properties are reconfigurable (e.g., via software or control signals) rather than static. For example, the scattering, absorption, reflection, and diffraction properties of the RIS can be changed over time by carefully tuning the phase shift of the reflective elements (e.g., using software or control signals). In this way, the electromagnetic (EM) properties of the RIS can be engineered to collect wireless signals from a transmitter (e.g., a base station, UE, etc.) and passively beamform them toward a target receiver (e.g., another base station, another UE, etc.). Figure 6 In the example, the first base station 602-1 controls the reflection characteristics of the RIS 610 in order to communicate with the first UE 604-1.

[0134] The goal of RIS technology is to create intelligent radio environments where wireless propagation conditions are co-engineered with physical layer signaling. This enhanced functionality of System 600 can provide technical benefits in multiple scenarios.

[0135] As a first example scenario, such as Figure 6 As shown, a first base station 602-1 (e.g., any base station described herein) attempts to transmit downlink radio signals to a first UE 604-1 and a second UE 604-2 (e.g., any two UEs described herein, collectively referred to as UE 604) on multiple downlink transmit beams (labeled “0”, “1”, “2”, and “3”). However, unlike the second UE 604-2, because the first UE 604-1 is behind an obstacle 620 (e.g., a building, hill, or other type of obstacle), the first UE cannot receive radio signals on what would normally be the line-of-sight (LOS) beam from the first base station 602-1 (i.e., the downlink transmit beam labeled “2”). In this scenario, the first base station 602-1 may instead use the downlink transmit beam labeled “1” to transmit radio signals to the RIS 610, and configure the RIS 610 to reflect / beamform the incoming radio signal toward the first UE 604-1. Thus, the first base station 602-1 can transmit wireless signals around the obstacle 620.

[0136] It should be noted that the first base station 602-1 can also configure the RIS 610 for use by the first UE 604-1 in the uplink. In this case, the first base station 602-1 can configure the RIS 610 to reflect uplink signals from the first UE 604-1 back to the first base station 602-1, thereby enabling the first UE 604-1 to transmit uplink signals around the obstacle 620.

[0137] As another example scenario where system 600 can provide a technological advantage, the first base station 602-1 can be aware that obstacle 620 can create a "blind zone," that is, a geographical area where the downlink radio signal from the first base station 602-1 is attenuated too much to be reliably detected by a UE (e.g., the first UE 604-1) within that area. In this scenario, the first base station 602-1 can configure RIS 610 to reflect the downlink radio signal into the blind zone to provide coverage to UEs that may be located there (including UEs unknown to the first base station 602-1).

[0138] A RIS (e.g., RIS 610) can be designed to operate in either a first mode (referred to as "Mode 1") or a second mode (referred to as "Mode 2"). In Mode 1, the RIS operates as a reconfigurable mirror, and in Mode 2, the RIS operates as both a receiver and transmitter (similar to the amplification and forwarding functionality of a relay node). Some RISs can be designed to operate in either Mode 1 or Mode 2, while others can be designed to operate only in either Mode 1 or Mode 2. Assume that a Mode 1 RIS has negligible hardware set latency, while a Mode 2 RIS has non-negligible hardware set latency due to its limited baseband processing capabilities. Because a Mode 2 RIS has greater processing capabilities than a Mode 1 RIS, in some cases the latter may be able to calculate and report its transmit-to-receive (Tx-Rx) time difference measurement (i.e., the difference between the time it takes for a signal to be reflected towards the UE and the time it takes to receive the signal returned from the UE). Figure 6 In the example, RIS 610 can be either Mode 1 RIS or Mode 2 RIS.

[0139] Figure 6A second base station 602-2 is also illustrated, capable of transmitting downlink radio signals to one or both UEs 604. As an example, the first base station 602-1 may be the serving base station of UE 604, and the second base station 602-2 may be a neighboring base station. The second base station 602-2 may transmit downlink positioning reference signals to one or both UEs 604 as part of a positioning process involving UE 604. Alternatively or additionally, the second base station 602-2 may be a secondary cell for one or both UEs 604. In some cases, the second base station 602-2 may also be able to reconfigure the RIS 610, assuming that the RIS was not controlled by the first base station 602-1 at that time.

[0140] It should be noted that, although Figure 6 An example is shown of a RIS 610 and a base station (i.e., a first base station 602-1) that controls the RIS 610, but the first base station 602-1 can control multiple RIS 610s. In addition, the RIS 610 can be controlled by multiple base stations 602 (e.g., both the first base station 602-1 and the second base station 602-2, and possibly more base stations).

[0141] Figure 7 This is a diagram illustrating an example architecture of the RIS 700 based on various aspects of this disclosure. The RIS 700 (which may correspond to...) Figure 6 The RIS 610 in the text can be a Mode 1 RIS. For example... Figure 7 As shown, the RIS 700 mainly consists of a flat surface 710 and a controller 720. The flat surface 710 may be composed of one or more material layers. Figure 7 In this example, the flat surface 710 may consist of three layers. In this case, the outer layer has a large number of reflective elements 712 printed on a dielectric substrate to directly act on the incident signal. The middle layer is a copper plate to prevent signal / energy leakage. The last layer is a circuit board used to tune the reflection coefficient of the reflective elements 712 and operated by a controller 720. The controller 720 may be a low-power processor, such as a field-programmable gate array (FPGA).

[0142] In typical operating scenarios, the optimal reflectivity of the RIS 700 is at the base station (e.g., Figure 6 The reflection coefficient is calculated at the first base station 602-1 and then transmitted to the controller 720 via a dedicated feedback link. The design of the reflection coefficient depends on the channel state information (CSI), which is updated only when the CSI changes, and the CSI change is on a much longer timescale than the duration of the data symbol. Therefore, low-rate information exchange is sufficient for the dedicated control link, which can be implemented using low-cost copper wire or a simple, cost-effective wireless transceiver.

[0143] Each reflective element 712 is coupled to a positive-intrinsic-negative (PIN) diode 714. Additionally, a bias line 716 connects each reflective element 712 in the column to a controller 720. By controlling the voltage across the bias line 716, the PIN diode 714 can be switched between an "on" and an "off" mode. This achieves a phase shift difference of radians π (pi). To increase the number of phase shift levels, more PIN diodes 714 can be coupled to each reflective element 712. Alternatively, the reflective elements 712 can be grouped into subsets of reflective elements, which may be referred to as sub-panels. In this case, the reflective characteristics of the RIS 700 can be controllable on a sub-panel basis, where each sub-panel can be considered a micro-RIS co-located with other sub-panels.

[0144] RIS (such as the RIS 700) offer significant advantages for practical implementation. For example, the reflective element 712 passively reflects the incoming signal without requiring any complex signal processing operations that would otherwise necessitate RF transceiver hardware. Therefore, the RIS 700 can operate at several orders of magnitude lower costs in terms of hardware and power consumption compared to conventional active transmitters. Additionally, due to the passive nature of the reflective element 712, the RIS 700 can be manufactured with a lightweight design and limited layer thickness, and thus can be easily mounted on walls, ceilings, signs, streetlights, etc. Furthermore, the RIS 700 operates in full-duplex (FD) mode without self-interference or thermal noise. Therefore, it achieves higher spectral efficiency than active half-duplex (HD) repeaters, although its signal processing complexity is lower than that of active FD repeaters requiring complex self-interference cancellation.

[0145] RIS can be used to assist sensing operations. For example, because RIS consumes less power compared to a base station, RIS-based sensing can be used to bypass LOS obstacles (e.g., obstacle 620), add positioning reference points, and / or extend the range of sensing operations. RIS-based sensing can also improve spatial resolution (e.g., because RIS can reflect narrow beams in specific directions) and enable the identification of object shapes and movements (e.g., hand or body poses). Therefore, there are multiple RIS-based sensing deployment scenarios, including vehicle / pedestrian sensing, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) sensing, indoor sensing, and / or outdoor-to-indoor sensing.

[0146] A RIS can have a large number of densely packed reconfigurable meta-elements that can reflect or refract electromagnetic waves in the target direction. A RIS can be reflective only, transmissive only (refractive), or both reflective and transmissive (called a hybrid RIS or omnidirectional RIS). Figure 8Example scenarios of reflecting and transmitting RIS according to various aspects of this disclosure are illustrated. Specifically, Figure 800 illustrates an example scenario involving a reflecting RIS, and Figure 850 illustrates an example scenario involving a transmitting RIS.

[0147] like Figure 8 As shown, TRP 802 (e.g., any TRP described herein) is attempting to transmit a downlink radio signal to UE 804 (e.g., any UE described herein). However, because UE 804 is behind an obstacle 820 (e.g., a building, hill, or another type of obstacle), the UE cannot receive the radio signal on the LOS beam that would normally come from TRP 802. In this scenario, TRP 802 may instead transmit the radio signal to RIS 810, and RIS 810 may be configured to reflect / beamform the incoming radio signal toward UE 804. TRP 802 can thus transmit the radio signal around the obstacle 820 (as shown in Figure 800) or through the obstacle (as shown in Figure 850).

[0148] It should be noted that TRP 802 can also configure RIS 810 for use by UE 804 in the uplink. In this case, TRP 802 can configure RIS 810 to reflect uplink signals from UE 804 back to TRP 802, thereby enabling UE 804 to transmit uplink signals around obstacle 820.

[0149] Figure 9 Examples of reflected beamforming performed by a RIS according to various aspects of this disclosure are illustrated. Figure 900 illustrates an example of a general model (for near and far fields) of reflected beamforming performed by a RIS (e.g., RIS 810). In the general model, for the incident angle... and reflection angle The reflection gain (h) of RIS is given by the following formula:

[0150]

[0151] In the above formula, the term is the reflection coefficient of superelement n. The variable d is the distance between the centers of the superelement in the RIS. The variable λ (λ) represents the wavelength of the reflected signal.

[0152] Figure 950 illustrates an example of a far-field model of reflected beamforming performed by a RIS (e.g., RIS 810). In the far-field model, for the incident angle... and reflection angle The reflection gain (h) of RIS is given by the following formula:

[0153]

[0154] In the above formula, the term is the reflection coefficient of superelement n. The variable d is the distance between the centers of the superelement in the RIS. The variable λ (λ) represents the wavelength of the reflected signal.

[0155] Ideally, , However, during implementation, It is based on supercomponents and derived from enumeration sets. The following table provides examples of enumeration sets:

[0156]

[0157] Table 1

[0158] Near-field sensing offers higher accuracy and precision than far-field sensing. When the RIS has a larger size and operates in a higher frequency spectrum, its near-field has a large coverage area. Consider the following Taylor series of near-field distances:

[0159]

[0160]

[0161] Figure 10 This is a diagram 1000 illustrating Rayleigh and Fresnel distances for near-field and far-field distances according to various aspects of this disclosure. Rayleigh and Fresnel distances are defined as the minimum distances such that the maximum phase error caused by approximations is no greater than π / 8.

[0162] A codebook for near-field uplink reception has been proposed. Due to downlink and uplink reciprocity, this codebook can also be used for downlink transmission. Each codeword in this codebook is associated with a direction angle. and the distance from the center of the antenna panel Related, among which , , , It is the maximum near-field communication distance. It is the length of the sending panel, and This is the distance between antenna elements. Therefore, the codeword can be represented as... (For those with) A uniform linear array (ULA) antenna panel for each antenna. ,in It is the first The distance between each antenna element and the center of the panel. Considering and , If If it is an odd number, then , or if If it is an even number, then .

[0163] Figure 11 A comparison between far-field and near-field codebooks according to various aspects of this disclosure is illustrated. Specifically, as shown in Figure 1100, the far-field codebook covers only the beam direction, while as shown in Figure 1150, the near-field codebook covers both the range and direction. For the far-field codebook (Figure 1100). and For the near-field codebook (Figure 1150), the near-field codebook consists of many near-field steering vectors. Composition, in which distance and angle It is sampled from the entire angle-distance domain. Here, and .

[0164] For near-field codeword coverage arrangements, non-uniform distribution over distance has better coverage performance than uniform distribution over distance. Figure 12 A comparison of non-uniform and uniform distance distributions according to various aspects of this disclosure is illustrated. Specifically, Figure 1200 illustrates an example of a non-uniform distance distribution, and Figure 1250 illustrates an example of a uniform distance distribution. Regarding non-uniform distance distributions, For a uniform distribution over distance, .

[0165] This enables both codebook-based and non-codebook-based RIS-assisted sensing. For codebook-based RIS-assisted sensing, the network (e.g., gNB or Sensing Management Function (SnMF)) can pre-configure a codebook, such as a reflection codebook, into the RIS. In some cases, the codebook can be a two-dimensional or three-dimensional near-field reflection codebook. Then, for each sensing task, the network can configure the RIS with information about the codewords in the codebook. For non-codebook-based RIS-assisted sensing, for each sensing task, the network needs to configure the RIS with information about the sensing orientation / locality. In contrast, codebook-based methods offer standardized behavior and have lower signaling overhead.

[0166] The technology disclosed herein has multiple use cases. Due to the large surface size and high signal frequency, the near-field region of the RIS has a large size. For example, the RIS can be deployed in a room (indoor), a plaza (outdoor), or a window (from outside to inside). This disclosure considers the target object to be located in the near field of the RIS, while the sensor (e.g., gNB or UE) can be in the far field or near field of the RIS.

[0167] Based on all aspects of this disclosure, Figure 13A An example single-station sensing use case is illustrated, and Figure 13B An example dual-site use case is illustrated. For single-site sensing scenarios, such as... Figure 13A As illustrated, the sensing signal travels from the sensor (e.g., gNB or UE) to the RIS, from the RIS to the target object, from the target object back to the RIS, and from the RIS back to the sensor. Figure 1310 illustrates an example scenario where the sensor is in the far field of the RIS and the target is in the near field of the RIS. Figure 1330 illustrates an example scenario where both the sensor and the target are in the near field of the RIS. Figure 1350 illustrates an example scenario where both the sensor and the target are in the near field of the RIS and the RIS is capable of surface splitting between receiving and transmitting (as opposed to simultaneous transmitting and receiving).

[0168] For dual-station sensing, the sensing signal can travel from the sensor transmitter to the RIS, from the RIS to the target object, from the target object to the RIS, and from the RIS to the sensor receiver, as illustrated in Figure 1370. Alternatively, the sensing signal can travel from the sensor transmitter to the RIS, then from the RIS to the target object, and from the target object to the sensor receiver, as illustrated in Figure 1390.

[0169] In these use cases, the RIS performs one or two reflections, where at least the path to the target object is in the near field. If the RIS reflections are reciprocal, monostation sensing does not require RIS surface splitting. Otherwise, monostation sensing requires RIS surface splitting. If the sensor is in the far field of the RIS, the transmitter and receiver are in the same orientation. Similarly, if the sensor is in the near field, the transmitter and receiver are in the same location.

[0170] The bistatic sensing scenario illustrated in Figure 1370 requires RIS surface decomposition. In this case, near-field reflections are performed on each sub-surface. Here, the target localization for forward reflections and the source localization for backward reflections are the same.

[0171] The codebook used for gNB near-field uplink reception or downlink transmission cannot be directly used for RIS near-field reflection in sensing. This is because the RIS reflection codebook requires parameterization with two orientations / positions: (1) incident orientation / position and (2) reflection orientation / position. In contrast, the gNB codebook only requires parameterization with one orientation / position. Furthermore, the current codebook is only used in a two-dimensional plane, while RIS reflection occurs in three-dimensional space.

[0172] Another problem is that when searching the region, the RIS needs to be configured with multiple RIS reflection codewords, but a single RIS 3D near-field reflection codeword has many (e.g., six) parameters. Therefore, individually indicating the configured codewords consumes significant overhead. To address these issues, this disclosure provides protocols and signaling for implementing / improving codebook-based RIS-assisted near-field sensing.

[0173] Figure 14 Figure 1400 illustrates an example signaling flow for single-site sensing according to various aspects of this disclosure. The following signaling flow provides a high-level overview of some of the techniques of this disclosure.

[0174] At stage 1405, RIS 1404 reports its ability to reflect sensed signals based on the near-field reflection codebook. At stage 1410, sensor 1402 (e.g., gNB or UE) configures near-field reflection codebook parameters to RIS 1404. Sensor 1402 also configures sensed reference signal (RS) resources to RIS 1404. At stage 1415, sensor 1402 configures codeword selection to RIS 1404. Specifically, sensor 1402 configures near-field codewords or sets of codeword pairs to RIS 1404.

[0175] At stage 1420, RIS 1404 generates a reflection coefficient based on a near-field codeword or near-field codeword pair from a configured codeword or codeword pair. At stage 1425, sensor 1402 transmits a sensing reference signal configured at stage 1410. At stage 1430, sensor 1402 measures the reflection of the sensing reference signal reflected from target object 1406. At stage 1435, sensor 1402 determines the location of target object 1406 based on the measurement result and the selected near-field codeword or codeword pair.

[0176] Note that stages 1420 and 1425 can be repeated for each near-field codeword or codeword pair in each configuration.

[0177] In dual-station sensing, as discussed in more detail below, the sensor transmitter (e.g., gNB) also configures the above information to the sensor receiver (e.g., UE) for target location estimation.

[0178] This disclosure utilizes two-dimensional and three-dimensional codebooks for RIS-based near-field sensing. The two-dimensional codebook is suitable for scenarios where the sensor, RIS, and target object are in a single plane, such as when a vehicle uses a ground-based RIS to sense another vehicle. The three-dimensional codebook is suitable for scenarios where the sensor, RIS, and target object are not in a single plane, such as when a UAV uses a building-mounted RIS to sense a vehicle.

[0179] Based on the distances relative to the RIS (Relationship between the source localization (i.e., the sensor's location) and the target localization (i.e., the target object's location), there are three types of codebooks. The first type is a near-field (NF) to near-field (NF) codebook (denoted as "NF-NF"). The second type is a far-field (FF) to near-field (NF) codebook (denoted as "FF-NF"). The third type is a near-field (NF) to far-field (FF) codebook (denoted as "NF-FF").

[0180] Referring to an NF-NF near-field codebook for two-dimensional reflection (e.g., illustrated in Figure 1330), in this case, the RIS reflection coefficient vector is an element-wise multiplication of two component weight vectors. If the reflecting target is localized (with parameters...) , In the near field of RIS, the RIS target component weight vector is represented as... ,in Therefore, in the end, , , If the reflection source is located (with parameters) , In the near field of RIS, the RIS source component weight vector is represented as... ,in Therefore, in the end, , , .

[0181] Therefore, if both target reflection localization and source reflection localization are in the near field of the RIS, then the complete RIS reflection coefficient vector... ,in This refers to element-wise multiplication. Overall, there exists... One codeword. Integer. or Used to represent a quad ( So, the codebook is... .

[0182] Referring to an FF-NF near-field codebook for two-dimensional reflection (e.g., illustrated in Figure 1310), in this case, if the reflection source is located in the far field of the RIS (e.g., forward reflection from a monostation sensing), only the orientation (with parameters) is considered in the far-field link. In this case, the RIS source component weight vector is represented as... , RIS target component weight vector The codebook is identical to that of the NF-NF RIS near-field codebook. Therefore, if the reflecting target is located in the near field and the reflecting source is located in the far field of the RIS, the complete RIS reflection coefficient vector is: Overall, there is One codeword. Integer. or Used to represent a triplet ( So, the codebook is... .

[0183] Referring to the NF-FF near-field codebook for two-dimensional reflection, in this case, if the reflecting target is located in the far field of the RIS (e.g., back reflection from monostation sensing), only the orientation (with parameters) is considered in the far-field link. In this case, the RIS target component weight vector is represented as... , RIS source component weight vector The codebook is identical to that of the NF-NF near-field codebook. Therefore, if the reflecting source is located in the near field and the reflecting target is located in the far field of the RIS, the complete RIS reflection coefficient vector is: Overall, there is One codeword. Integer. or Used to represent a triplet ( So, the codebook is... .

[0184] Referring to the NF-NF near-field codebook for three-dimensional reflection, in this case, if the location of the reflection source and the location of the reflection target are not at the same height as the RIS, a three-dimensional codebook should be used. Each three-dimensional direction includes the azimuth angle. and elevation angle Each location is represented by a distance, therefore a near-field reflection is parameterized by six parameters: (1) for the location of the reflecting target , (2) For the location of the reflection source , , .in this case, , ; , , , ; , ; , , , . Figure 15 Figure 1500 illustrates the parameters of an NF-NF near-field codebook for three-dimensional reflection according to various aspects of this disclosure.

[0185] Continuing to refer to the three-dimensional near-field reflection codebook, the first in RIS The location of a superelement can be represented as So, for the target component weight vector, And for the source component weight vector, Note that if the target or source component weight vector is for the far field, then... or RIS target component weight vector RIS source component weight vector And the complete RIS reflection coefficient vector .

[0186] Re-reference Figure 14 In stage 1410, the sensor transmitter (e.g., sensor 1402) or SnMF configures parameters for a two-dimensional or three-dimensional near-field reflection codebook to the RIS. These parameters include the selection of the codebook, denoted as... , or If an NF-NF codebook is selected, then for the QR codebook, the parameters include... For the 3D codebook, the parameters include If the FF-NF codebook is selected, then for the QR codebook, the parameters include... And for the 3D codebook, the parameters include If the NF-FF codebook is selected, then for the QR codebook, the parameters include... And for the 3D codebook, the parameters include .

[0187] Re-reference Figure 14 In stage 1415, the sensor transmitter (e.g., sensor 1402) or SnMF configures a near-field codeword or a set of codeword pairs to the RIS. If RIS surface splitting is not performed, such as in a single-station sensing scenario with downlink / uplink reciprocity or a bi-station sensing scenario illustrated in Figure 1390, the sensor or SnMF configures a set of near-field codewords to the RIS. If RIS surface splitting is performed, such as in a single-station sensing scenario without downlink / uplink reciprocity or a bi-station sensing scenario illustrated in Figure 1370, the sensor / SnMF configures a set of near-field codeword pairs to the RIS. For each codeword pair, one codeword is used for forward propagation of the sensing signal (i.e., from sensor to RIS to target object), and the other codeword is used for backward propagation of the sensing signal (i.e., from target object to RIS to sensor).

[0188] Because the target object location is unknown, multiple codewords / codeword pairs may need to be configured for target object search, with each codeword having up to six parameters. To reduce signaling overhead, the following configuration message format can be utilized. First, when these codewords are consecutive in the codebook, only the codeword start index and codeword end index (or codeword count) are configured. Second, in the case of RIS surface splitting, an index of one codeword is configured for forward propagation, and a flag indicating whether backward propagation is the opposite of forward propagation is configured. In this case, the flag can be set to "true" (e.g., "1") for single-station sensing without downlink / uplink reciprocity, or "false" (e.g., "0") for the two-station sensing scenario illustrated in Figure 1370, or "none" (e.g., not present) for single-station sensing with downlink / uplink reciprocity or the two-station sensing scenario illustrated in Figure 1390.

[0189] Continuing with reference to bistationary sensing with surface splitting (as illustrated in Figure 1370), the codeword pairs can reduce signaling overhead in the following manner. First, the absolute index of the codeword used for forward reflection is indicated. Second, the relative index of the codeword used for backward reflection is indicated with reference to the "codeword group where the source location equals the forward reflection target location". Figure 16 Figure 1600 illustrates examples of absolute indices of forward-reflection codewords and relative indices of backward-reflection codewords according to various aspects of this disclosure.

[0190] Continuing with single-station sensing, for each RIS near-field reflection coefficient codeword, the sensor (e.g., gNB or UE) receives / measures the sensed signal reflected from the RIS (e.g., as at stages 1425 and 1430). Different options exist for sensor result processing / reporting. As a first option, the sensor may report signal strength information (e.g., RSRP) for all codewords to the sensing entity (e.g., SnMF), and the sensing entity may estimate the target object location based on the signal strength measurements and knowledge of the near-field codebook. As a second option, the sensor may select one or more codewords (but not all codewords) with the highest signal strength and report the indices of these codewords and their corresponding signal strengths to the sensing entity. The sensing entity then estimates the target object location.

[0191] As a third option, the sensor can estimate the target object's location based on the received sensing signal and the position and orientation of the RIS (e.g., as at stage 1435). For example, the target object's location can be determined to be within the coverage area of ​​the codeword with the maximum received signal strength. In some cases, higher precision and accuracy can be achieved using more advanced algorithms, for example, based on spatial domain processing (near-field localization) and temporal domain processing (where the target object is considered to be within a circle centered on the RIS). The sensor then reports the estimated target object location to the sensing entity (e.g., SnMF).

[0192] Figure 17 This is a diagram 1700 illustrating an example signaling flow for dual-station sensing according to various aspects of this disclosure.

[0193] At stage 1705, RIS 1704 reports its ability to reflect the sensed signal based on the near-field reflection codebook. At stage 1710, sensor transmitter (Tx) 1702 (e.g., gNB or UE) configures sensed reference signal (RS) resources to sensor receiver (Rx) 1708. Sensor transmitter 1702 can optionally configure RIS near-field codebook parameters, as well as RIS positioning and orientation, to sensor receiver 1708 so that sensor receiver 1708 can estimate the positioning of target object 1706. At stage 1715, sensor transmitter 1702 configures near-field reflection codebook parameters to RIS 1704. Sensor transmitter 1702 also configures sensed reference signal resources to RIS 1704. At stage 1720, sensor transmitter 1702 configures codeword selection to RIS 1704. Specifically, sensor transmitter 1702 configures near-field codewords or sets of codeword pairs to RIS 1704.

[0194] At stage 1725, RIS 1704 generates a reflection coefficient based on the near-field codeword or near-field codeword pair in the configured codeword or codeword pair. At stage 1730, sensor transmitter 1702 transmits the sensing reference signal configured at stages 1710 and 1715. At stage 1735, sensor receiver 1708 measures the reflection of the sensing reference signal reflected from the target object 1706. Note that stages 1725 through 1735 can be repeated for each configured near-field codeword or codeword pair.

[0195] At stage 1740, sensor receiver 1708 determines the location of target object 1706 based on the measurement results and the selected near-field codeword or codeword pair. In some cases, sensor receiver 1708 may use time-domain processing (where target object 1706 is in a circle centered on RIS 1704 or in an ellipse with RIS 1704 and sensor receiver 1708 as foci) to determine the target object location. At stage 1745, sensor receiver 1708 reports the near-field measurement / sensing results to sensor transmitter 1702. For example, sensor receiver 1708 reports the index of the codeword with the strongest received signal strength or the estimated target object location.

[0196] Figure 18 An example method 1800 for wireless sensing according to various aspects of this disclosure is illustrated. In one aspect, method 1800 may be performed by a transmitter sensing node (e.g., sensor 1402, sensor transmitter 1702).

[0197] At 1810, the transmitter sensing node receives a capability message associated with a RIS (e.g., RIS 1404 at stage 1405, or RIS 1704 at stage 1705), which indicates one or more capabilities of the RIS to reflect the sensing signal according to the near-field reflection codebook.

[0198] In one aspect, when operation 1810 is performed by the UE, operation 1810 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more short-range radio transceivers 320, one or more processors 342, memory 340, and / or sensing components 348, any or all of which may be considered as components for performing the operation. When operation 1810 is performed by the base station / TRP, operation 1810 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 350, one or more short-range radio transceivers 360, one or more processors 384, memory 386, and / or sensing components 388, any or all of which may be considered as components for performing the operation.

[0199] At 1820, the transmitter sensing node configures one or more near-field reflection codewords of the near-field reflection codebook to the RIS, as at stage 1415 or stage 1720, wherein each of the one or more near-field reflection codewords includes multiple near-field reflection codeword parameters (e.g., as configured at stage 1410 or 1715).

[0200] In one aspect, when operation 1820 is performed by the UE, operation 1810 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more short-range radio transceivers 320, one or more processors 342, memory 340, and / or sensing components 348, any or all of which can be considered as components for performing the operation. When operation 1820 is performed by the base station / TRP, operation 1810 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 350, one or more short-range radio transceivers 360, one or more processors 384, memory 386, and / or sensing components 388, any or all of which can be considered as components for performing the operation.

[0201] Figure 19 An example method 1900 for wireless sensing according to various aspects of this disclosure is illustrated. In one aspect, method 1900 may be performed by a receiver sensing node (e.g., sensor receiver 1708).

[0202] At 1910, the receiver sensing node receives the configuration of one or more near-field reflection codewords of the near-field reflection codebook of the RIS (e.g., RIS 1704), as at stage 1710, wherein each of the one or more near-field reflection codewords includes a plurality of near-field reflection codeword parameters.

[0203] In one aspect, when operation 1910 is performed by the UE, operation 1810 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more short-range radio transceivers 320, one or more processors 342, memory 340, and / or sensing components 348, any one or all of which can be considered as components for performing the operation. When operation 1910 is performed by the base station / TRP, operation 1810 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 350, one or more short-range radio transceivers 360, one or more processors 384, memory 386, and / or sensing components 388, any one or all of which can be considered as components for performing the operation.

[0204] At 1920, the receiver sensing node obtains one or more sensing measurements of one or more sensing signals reflected by the RIS according to the near-field reflection codeword for each of one or more near-field reflection codewords, as at stage 1735.

[0205] In one instance, when operation 1920 is performed by the UE, operation 1810 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more short-range radio transceivers 320, one or more processors 342, memory 340, and / or sensing components 348, any or all of which may be considered as components for performing the operation. When operation 1920 is performed by the base station / TRP, operation 1810 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 350, one or more short-range radio transceivers 360, one or more processors 384, memory 386, and / or sensing components 388, any or all of which may be considered as components for performing the operation.

[0206] At 1930, the receiver sensing node sends a near-field sensing result report, as at stage 1745.

[0207] In one instance, when operation 1930 is performed by the UE, operation 1810 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more short-range transceivers 320, one or more processors 342, memory 340, and / or sensing components 348, any or all of which may be considered as components for performing the operation. When operation 130 is performed by the base station / TRP, operation 1810 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 350, one or more short-range transceivers 360, one or more processors 384, memory 386, and / or sensing components 388, any or all of which may be considered as components for performing the operation.

[0208] As will be understood, the technical advantage of methods 1800 and 1900 is that they enable codebook-based RIS-based near-field sensing, thereby reducing signaling overhead and improving positioning performance.

[0209] 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.

[0210] Specific implementation examples are described in the following numbered clauses:

[0211] Clause 1. A method of wireless sensing performed by a transmitter sensing node, the method comprising: receiving a capability message associated with a reconfigurable smart surface (RIS), the capability message indicating one or more capabilities of the RIS to reflect a sensing signal according to a near-field reflection codebook; and configuring one or more near-field reflection codewords of the near-field reflection codebook to the RIS, wherein each of the one or more near-field reflection codewords includes a plurality of near-field reflection codeword parameters.

[0212] Clause 2. The method according to Clause 1, wherein the near-field reflection codebook includes: a two-dimensional near-field reflection codebook or a three-dimensional near-field reflection codebook.

[0213] Clause 3. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 2, wherein the one or more near-field reflection codewords indicate that the near-field reflection codebook is: a near-field source to near-field target reflection codebook, a far-field source to near-field target reflection codebook, or a near-field source to far-field target reflection codebook.

[0214] Clause 4. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 3, wherein: the near-field reflection codebook is a two-dimensional near-field source to near-field target reflection codebook, and the plurality of near-field reflection codeword parameters of each of the one or more near-field reflection codewords include: a first parameter indicating the angle of the source of the sensing signal, a second parameter indicating the range of the source of the sensing signal, a third parameter indicating the angle of the target of the sensing signal, and a fourth parameter indicating the range of the target of the sensing signal.

[0215] Clause 5. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 3, wherein: the near-field reflection codebook is a three-dimensional near-field source to near-field target reflection codebook, and the plurality of near-field reflection codeword parameters of each of the one or more near-field reflection codewords include: a first parameter indicating the elevation angle of the source of the sensing signal, a second parameter indicating the azimuth angle of the source of the sensing signal, a third parameter indicating the range of the source of the sensing signal, a fourth parameter indicating the elevation angle of the target of the sensing signal, a fifth parameter indicating the azimuth angle of the target of the sensing signal, and a sixth parameter indicating the range of the target of the sensing signal.

[0216] Clause 6. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 3, wherein: the near-field reflection codebook is a two-dimensional far-field source to near-field target reflection codebook, and the plurality of near-field reflection codeword parameters of each of the one or more near-field reflection codewords include: a first parameter indicating the angle of the source of the sensing signal, a second parameter indicating the angle of the target of the sensing signal, and a third parameter indicating the range of the target of the sensing signal.

[0217] Clause 7. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 3, wherein: the near-field reflection codebook is a three-dimensional far-field source to near-field target reflection codebook, and the plurality of near-field reflection codeword parameters of each of the one or more near-field reflection codewords include: a first parameter indicating the elevation angle of the source of the sensing signal, a second parameter indicating the azimuth angle of the source of the sensing signal, a third parameter indicating the elevation angle of the target of the sensing signal, a fourth parameter indicating the azimuth angle of the target of the sensing signal, and a fifth parameter indicating the range of the target of the sensing signal.

[0218] Clause 8. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 3, wherein: the near-field reflection codebook is a two-dimensional near-field source to far-field target reflection codebook, and the plurality of near-field reflection codeword parameters of each of the one or more near-field reflection codewords include: a first parameter indicating the angle of the source of the sensing signal, a second parameter indicating the range of the source of the sensing signal, and a third parameter indicating the angle of the target of the sensing signal.

[0219] Clause 9. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 3, wherein: the near-field reflection codebook is a three-dimensional near-field source to far-field target reflection codebook, and the plurality of near-field reflection codeword parameters of each of the one or more near-field reflection codewords include: a first parameter indicating the elevation angle of the source of the sensing signal, a second parameter indicating the azimuth angle of the source of the sensing signal, a third parameter indicating the range of the source of the sensing signal, a fourth parameter indicating the elevation angle of the target of the sensing signal, and a fifth parameter indicating the azimuth angle of the target of the sensing signal.

[0220] Clause 10. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 9, wherein configuring the one or more near-field reflection codewords comprises: configuring a start index value for the one or more near-field reflection codewords; and configuring an end index value or a number of codewords for the one or more near-field reflection codewords.

[0221] Clause 11. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 10, wherein: a first portion of the surface of the RIS is configured for forward propagation of the sensing signal, and a second portion of the surface of the RIS is configured for backward propagation of the sensing signal, the one or more near-field reflection codewords comprising a set of codeword pairs, a first codeword in each pair of the set of codeword pairs indicating forward propagation parameters of the first portion of the surface of the RIS, and a second codeword in each pair of the set of codeword pairs indicating backward propagation parameters of the second portion of the surface of the RIS.

[0222] Clause 12. The method according to Clause 11, wherein configuring the one or more near-field reflection codewords comprises: configuring an absolute index value for the first codeword in the set of codeword pairs; and configuring a relative index value for the second codeword in the set of codeword pairs.

[0223] Clause 13. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 12, the method further comprising: transmitting at least one sensing signal for each of the one or more configured near-field reflection codewords.

[0224] Clause 14. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 13, the method further comprising: transmitting the one or more near-field reflection codewords to a receiver sensing node.

[0225] Clause 15. The method according to Clause 14, the method further comprising: receiving a sensing result message from the receiver sensing node, the sensing result message indicating one or more near-field sensing results obtained by the receiver sensing node at least in part based on the one or more near-field reflection codewords.

[0226] Clause 16. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 15, wherein the transmitter sensing node is: user equipment (UE) or transmit-receive point (TRP).

[0227] Clause 17. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 16, wherein the capability message is received from: the RIS, a base station associated with the RIS, or a server associated with the RIS.

[0228] Clause 18. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 17, wherein configuring the one or more near-field reflection codewords to the RIS comprises: sending the one or more near-field reflection codewords to the RIS; sending the one or more near-field reflection codewords to a base station associated with the RIS; or sending the one or more near-field reflection codewords to a server associated with the RIS.

[0229] Clause 19. A method of wireless sensing performed by a receiver sensing node, the method comprising: receiving configuration of one or more near-field reflection codewords of a near-field reflection codebook of a reconfigurable smart surface (RIS), wherein each of the one or more near-field reflection codewords includes a plurality of near-field reflection codeword parameters; obtaining one or more sensing measurements for each of the one or more near-field reflection codewords of the RIS reflecting one or more sensing signals according to the near-field reflection codewords; and transmitting a near-field sensing result report.

[0230] Clause 20. The method described in Clause 19, wherein the one or more sensing measurements are one or more signal strength measurements.

[0231] Clause 21. The method according to Clause 20, wherein: the near-field sensing result report includes the one or more sensing measurements for each of the one or more near-field reflection codewords, or the near-field sensing result report includes the one or more sensing measurements for each of the one or more near-field reflection codewords having a signal strength above a threshold.

[0232] Clause 22. The method according to any one of Clauses 19 to 21, wherein the near-field sensing result report includes an identifier of the one or more near-field reflection codewords.

[0233] Clause 23. The method according to any one of Clauses 19 to 22, the method further comprising: estimating the position of the target object based at least in part on the orientation or positioning corresponding to the near-field reflection codeword having the highest signal strength.

[0234] Clause 24. The method according to Clause 23, wherein the near-field sensing result includes the location of the target object, an identifier of the near-field reflection codeword having the highest signal strength, or both.

[0235] Clause 25. The method according to any one of Clauses 19 to 24, wherein the receiver sensing node is: user equipment (UE) or transmit receiving point (TRP).

[0236] Clause 26. The method according to any one of Clauses 19 to 25, wherein the configuration is received from: a transmitter sensing node, a base station, a sensing management function, or a server.

[0237] Clause 27. The method according to Clause 26, wherein the transmitter sensing node is: user equipment (UE) or transmit-receive point (TRP).

[0238] Clause 28. The method according to any one of Clauses 19 to 27, wherein the near-field sensing result report is sent to: a transmitter sensing node, a base station, a sensing management function, or a server.

[0239] Clause 29. A transmitter sensing node 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 capability message associated with a reconfigurable smart surface (RIS), the capability message indicating one or more capabilities of the RIS to reflect a sensing signal according to a near-field reflection codebook; and configure one or more near-field reflection codewords of the near-field reflection codebook to the RIS, wherein each of the one or more near-field reflection codewords includes a plurality of near-field reflection codeword parameters.

[0240] Clause 30. The transmitter sensing node as described in Clause 29, wherein the near-field reflection codebook includes: a two-dimensional near-field reflection codebook, or a three-dimensional near-field reflection codebook.

[0241] Clause 31. A transmitter sensing node according to any one of Clauses 29 to 30, wherein the one or more near-field reflection codewords indicate that the near-field reflection codebook is: a near-field source to near-field target reflection codebook, a far-field source to near-field target reflection codebook, or a near-field source to far-field target reflection codebook.

[0242] Clause 32. A transmitter sensing node according to any one of Clauses 29 to 31, wherein: the near-field reflection codebook is a two-dimensional near-field source to near-field target reflection codebook, and the plurality of near-field reflection codeword parameters of each of the one or more near-field reflection codewords include: a first parameter indicating the angle of the source of the sensing signal, a second parameter indicating the range of the source of the sensing signal, a third parameter indicating the angle of the target of the sensing signal, and a fourth parameter indicating the range of the target of the sensing signal.

[0243] Clause 33. A transmitter sensing node according to any one of Clauses 29 to 31, wherein: the near-field reflection codebook is a three-dimensional near-field source to near-field target reflection codebook, and the plurality of near-field reflection codeword parameters of each of the one or more near-field reflection codewords include: a first parameter indicating the elevation angle of the source of the sensing signal, a second parameter indicating the azimuth angle of the source of the sensing signal, a third parameter indicating the range of the source of the sensing signal, a fourth parameter indicating the elevation angle of the target of the sensing signal, a fifth parameter indicating the azimuth angle of the target of the sensing signal, and a sixth parameter indicating the range of the target of the sensing signal.

[0244] Clause 34. A transmitter sensing node according to any one of Clauses 29 to 31, wherein: the near-field reflection codebook is a two-dimensional far-field source to near-field target reflection codebook, and the plurality of near-field reflection codeword parameters of each of the one or more near-field reflection codewords include: a first parameter indicating the angle of the source of the sensing signal, a second parameter indicating the angle of the target of the sensing signal, and a third parameter indicating the range of the target of the sensing signal.

[0245] Clause 35. A transmitter sensing node according to any one of Clauses 29 to 31, wherein: the near-field reflection codebook is a three-dimensional far-field source to near-field target reflection codebook, and the plurality of near-field reflection codeword parameters of each of the one or more near-field reflection codewords include: a first parameter indicating the elevation angle of the source of the sensing signal, a second parameter indicating the azimuth angle of the source of the sensing signal, a third parameter indicating the elevation angle of the target of the sensing signal, a fourth parameter indicating the azimuth angle of the target of the sensing signal, and a fifth parameter indicating the range of the target of the sensing signal.

[0246] Clause 36. A transmitter sensing node according to any one of Clauses 29 to 31, wherein: the near-field reflection codebook is a two-dimensional near-field source to far-field target reflection codebook, and the plurality of near-field reflection codeword parameters of each of the one or more near-field reflection codewords include: a first parameter indicating the angle of the source of the sensing signal, a second parameter indicating the range of the source of the sensing signal, and a third parameter indicating the angle of the target of the sensing signal.

[0247] Clause 37. A transmitter sensing node according to any one of Clauses 29 to 31, wherein: the near-field reflection codebook is a three-dimensional near-field source to far-field target reflection codebook, and the plurality of near-field reflection codeword parameters of each of the one or more near-field reflection codewords include: a first parameter indicating the elevation angle of the source of the sensing signal, a second parameter indicating the azimuth angle of the source of the sensing signal, a third parameter indicating the range of the source of the sensing signal, a fourth parameter indicating the elevation angle of the target of the sensing signal, and a fifth parameter indicating the azimuth angle of the target of the sensing signal.

[0248] Clause 38. A transmitter sensing node according to any one of Clauses 29 to 37, wherein the one or more processors configured to configure the one or more near-field reflection codewords include the one or more processors configured individually or in combination to perform: configuring a start index value for the one or more near-field reflection codewords; and configuring an end index value or a number of codewords for the one or more near-field reflection codewords.

[0249] Clause 39. A transmitter sensing node according to any one of Clauses 29 to 38, wherein: a first portion of the surface of the RIS is configured for forward propagation of the sensing signal, and a second portion of the surface of the RIS is configured for backward propagation of the sensing signal, the one or more near-field reflection codewords comprising a set of codeword pairs, a first codeword in each pair of the set of codeword pairs indicating forward propagation parameters of the first portion of the surface of the RIS, and a second codeword in each pair of the set of codeword pairs indicating backward propagation parameters of the second portion of the surface of the RIS.

[0250] Clause 40. The transmitter sensing node according to Clause 39, wherein the one or more processors configured to configure the one or more near-field reflection codewords include the one or more processors configured individually or in combination to perform: configuring an absolute index value for the first codeword in each codeword pair set; and configuring a relative index value for the second codeword in each codeword pair set.

[0251] Clause 41. A transmitter sensing node according to any one of Clauses 29 to 40, wherein the one or more processors are further configured individually or in combination to transmit at least one sensing signal for each of the one or more configured near-field reflection codewords via the one or more transceivers.

[0252] Clause 42. A transmitter sensing node according to any one of Clauses 29 to 41, wherein the one or more processors are further configured individually or in combination to transmit the one or more near-field reflection codewords to a receiver sensing node via the one or more transceivers.

[0253] Clause 43. The transmitter sensing node according to Clause 42, wherein the one or more processors are further configured individually or in combination to receive a sensing result message from the receiver sensing node via the one or more transceivers, the sensing result message indicating one or more near-field sensing results obtained by the receiver sensing node at least in part based on the one or more near-field reflection codewords.

[0254] Clause 44. A transmitter sensing node according to any one of Clauses 29 to 43, wherein the transmitter sensing node is: a user equipment (UE) or a transmit-receive point (TRP).

[0255] Clause 45. A transmitter sensing node according to any one of Clauses 29 to 44, wherein the capability message is received from: the RIS, a base station associated with the RIS, or a server associated with the RIS.

[0256] Clause 46. A transmitter sensing node according to any one of Clauses 29 to 45, wherein the one or more processors configured to configure the one or more near-field reflection codewords to the RIS includes the one or more processors configured individually or in combination to: transmit the one or more near-field reflection codewords to the RIS via the one or more transceivers; transmit the one or more near-field reflection codewords to a base station associated with the RIS via the one or more transceivers; or transmit the one or more near-field reflection codewords to a server associated with the RIS via the one or more transceivers.

[0257] Clause 47. A receiver sensing node 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 configuration of one or more near-field reflection codewords of a near-field reflection codebook of a reconfigurable smart surface (RIS), each of the one or more near-field reflection codewords including a plurality of near-field reflection codeword parameters; for each of the one or more near-field reflection codewords, obtain one or more sensing measurements of one or more sensing signals reflected by the RIS according to the near-field reflection codeword; and transmit a near-field sensing result report via the one or more transceivers.

[0258] Clause 48. The receiver sensing node as described in Clause 47, wherein the one or more sensing measurements are one or more signal strength measurements.

[0259] Clause 49. The receiver sensing node according to Clause 48, wherein: the near-field sensing result report includes the one or more sensing measurements for each of the one or more near-field reflection codewords, or the near-field sensing result report includes the one or more sensing measurements for each of the one or more near-field reflection codewords having a signal strength above a threshold.

[0260] Clause 50. A receiver sensing node according to any one of Clauses 47 to 49, wherein the near-field sensing result report includes an identifier of the one or more near-field reflection codewords.

[0261] Clause 51. The receiver sensing node according to any one of Clauses 47 to 50, wherein the one or more processors are further configured individually or in combination to estimate the position of the target object based at least in part on the orientation or positioning corresponding to the near-field reflection codeword with the highest signal strength.

[0262] Clause 52. The receiver sensing node according to Clause 51, wherein the near-field sensing result includes the location of the target object, an identifier of the near-field reflection codeword having the highest signal strength, or both.

[0263] Clause 53. A receiver sensing node according to any one of Clauses 47 to 52, wherein the receiver sensing node is: a user equipment (UE) or a transmit / receive point (TRP).

[0264] Clause 54. A receiver sensing node according to any one of Clauses 47 to 53, wherein the configuration is received from a transmitter sensing node, a base station, a sensing management function, or a server.

[0265] Clause 55. The receiver sensing node as described in Clause 54, wherein the transmitter sensing node is: user equipment (UE) or transmit-receive point (TRP).

[0266] Clause 56. A receiver sensing node according to any one of Clauses 47 to 55, wherein the near-field sensing result report is sent to: a transmitter sensing node, a base station, a sensing management function, or a server.

[0267] Clause 57. A transmitter sensing node comprising: means for receiving a capability message associated with a reconfigurable smart surface (RIS), the capability message indicating one or more capabilities of the RIS to reflect a sensing signal according to a near-field reflection codebook; and means for configuring one or more near-field reflection codewords of the near-field reflection codebook to the RIS, wherein each of the one or more near-field reflection codewords includes a plurality of near-field reflection codeword parameters.

[0268] Clause 58. The transmitter sensing node as described in Clause 57, wherein the near-field reflection codebook includes: a two-dimensional near-field reflection codebook, or a three-dimensional near-field reflection codebook.

[0269] Clause 59. A transmitter sensing node according to any one of Clauses 57 to 58, wherein the one or more near-field reflection codewords indicate that the near-field reflection codebook is: a near-field source to near-field target reflection codebook, a far-field source to near-field target reflection codebook, or a near-field source to far-field target reflection codebook.

[0270] Clause 60. A transmitter sensing node according to any one of Clauses 57 to 59, wherein: the near-field reflection codebook is a two-dimensional near-field source to near-field target reflection codebook, and the plurality of near-field reflection codeword parameters of each of the one or more near-field reflection codewords include: a first parameter indicating the angle of the source of the sensing signal, a second parameter indicating the range of the source of the sensing signal, a third parameter indicating the angle of the target of the sensing signal, and a fourth parameter indicating the range of the target of the sensing signal.

[0271] Clause 61. A transmitter sensing node according to any one of Clauses 57 to 59, wherein: the near-field reflection codebook is a three-dimensional near-field source to near-field target reflection codebook, and the plurality of near-field reflection codeword parameters of each of the one or more near-field reflection codewords include: a first parameter indicating the elevation angle of the source of the sensing signal, a second parameter indicating the azimuth angle of the source of the sensing signal, a third parameter indicating the range of the source of the sensing signal, a fourth parameter indicating the elevation angle of the target of the sensing signal, a fifth parameter indicating the azimuth angle of the target of the sensing signal, and a sixth parameter indicating the range of the target of the sensing signal.

[0272] Clause 62. A transmitter sensing node according to any one of Clauses 57 to 59, wherein: the near-field reflection codebook is a two-dimensional far-field source-to-near-field target reflection codebook, and the plurality of near-field reflection codeword parameters of each of the one or more near-field reflection codewords include: a first parameter indicating the angle of the source of the sensing signal, a second parameter indicating the angle of the target of the sensing signal, and a third parameter indicating the range of the target of the sensing signal.

[0273] Clause 63. A transmitter sensing node according to any one of Clauses 57 to 59, wherein: the near-field reflection codebook is a three-dimensional far-field source to near-field target reflection codebook, and the plurality of near-field reflection codeword parameters of each of the one or more near-field reflection codewords include: a first parameter indicating the elevation angle of the source of the sensing signal, a second parameter indicating the azimuth angle of the source of the sensing signal, a third parameter indicating the elevation angle of the target of the sensing signal, a fourth parameter indicating the azimuth angle of the target of the sensing signal, and a fifth parameter indicating the range of the target of the sensing signal.

[0274] Clause 64. A transmitter sensing node according to any one of Clauses 57 to 59, wherein: the near-field reflection codebook is a two-dimensional near-field source to far-field target reflection codebook, and the plurality of near-field reflection codeword parameters of each of the one or more near-field reflection codewords include: a first parameter indicating the angle of the source of the sensing signal, a second parameter indicating the range of the source of the sensing signal, and a third parameter indicating the angle of the target of the sensing signal.

[0275] Clause 65. A transmitter sensing node according to any one of Clauses 57 to 59, wherein: the near-field reflection codebook is a three-dimensional near-field source to far-field target reflection codebook, and the plurality of near-field reflection codeword parameters of each of the one or more near-field reflection codewords include: a first parameter indicating the elevation angle of the source of the sensing signal, a second parameter indicating the azimuth angle of the source of the sensing signal, a third parameter indicating the range of the source of the sensing signal, a fourth parameter indicating the elevation angle of the target of the sensing signal, and a fifth parameter indicating the azimuth angle of the target of the sensing signal.

[0276] Clause 66. The transmitter sensing node according to any one of Clauses 57 to 65, wherein the components for configuring the one or more near-field reflection codewords include: components for configuring a start index value for the one or more near-field reflection codewords; and components for configuring an end index value or a number of codewords for the one or more near-field reflection codewords.

[0277] Clause 67. A transmitter sensing node according to any one of Clauses 57 to 66, wherein: a first portion of the surface of the RIS is configured for forward propagation of the sensing signal, and a second portion of the surface of the RIS is configured for backward propagation of the sensing signal, the one or more near-field reflection codewords comprising a set of codeword pairs, a first codeword in each pair indicating forward propagation parameters of the first portion of the surface of the RIS, and a second codeword in each pair indicating backward propagation parameters of the second portion of the surface of the RIS.

[0278] Clause 68. The transmitter sensing node according to Clause 67, wherein the components for configuring the one or more near-field reflection codewords include: components for configuring an absolute index value of the first codeword in each codeword pair set; and components for configuring a relative index value of the second codeword in each codeword pair set.

[0279] Clause 69. The transmitter sensing node according to any one of Clauses 57 to 68, the transmitter sensing node further comprising: a component for transmitting at least one sensing signal for each of the one or more configured near-field reflection codewords.

[0280] Clause 70. The transmitter sensing node according to any one of Clauses 57 to 69, the transmitter sensing node further comprising: a component for transmitting the one or more near-field reflection codewords to the receiver sensing node.

[0281] Clause 71. The transmitter sensing node according to Clause 70, further comprising: a component for receiving a sensing result message from the receiver sensing node, the sensing result message indicating one or more near-field sensing results obtained by the receiver sensing node at least in part based on the one or more near-field reflection codewords.

[0282] Clause 72. A transmitter sensing node according to any one of Clauses 57 to 71, wherein the transmitter sensing node is: a user equipment (UE) or a transmit-receive point (TRP).

[0283] Clause 73. A transmitter sensing node according to any one of Clauses 57 to 72, wherein the capability message is received from: the RIS, a base station associated with the RIS, or a server associated with the RIS.

[0284] Clause 74. A transmitter sensing node according to any one of Clauses 57 to 73, wherein the components for configuring the one or more near-field reflection codewords to the RIS include: components for transmitting the one or more near-field reflection codewords to the RIS; components for transmitting the one or more near-field reflection codewords to a base station associated with the RIS; or components for transmitting the one or more near-field reflection codewords to a server associated with the RIS.

[0285] Clause 75. A receiver sensing node comprising: means for configuring one or more near-field reflection codewords of a near-field reflection codebook of a reconfigurable smart surface (RIS), wherein each of the one or more near-field reflection codewords includes a plurality of near-field reflection codeword parameters; means for obtaining one or more sensing measurements for each of the one or more near-field reflection codewords of the RIS reflecting one or more sensing signals according to the near-field reflection codeword; and means for transmitting a near-field sensing result report.

[0286] Clause 76. The receiver sensing node as described in Clause 75, wherein the one or more sensing measurements are one or more signal strength measurements.

[0287] Clause 77. The receiver sensing node according to Clause 76, wherein: the near-field sensing result report includes the one or more sensing measurements for each of the one or more near-field reflection codewords, or the near-field sensing result report includes the one or more sensing measurements for each of the one or more near-field reflection codewords having a signal strength above a threshold.

[0288] Clause 78. A receiver sensing node according to any one of Clauses 75 to 77, wherein the near-field sensing result report includes an identifier of the one or more near-field reflection codewords.

[0289] Clause 79. The receiver sensing node according to any one of Clauses 75 to 78, the receiver sensing node further comprising: a component for estimating the position of a target object based at least in part on an orientation or positioning corresponding to a near-field reflection codeword having the highest signal strength.

[0290] Clause 80. The receiver sensing node as described in Clause 79, wherein the near-field sensing result includes the location of the target object, an identifier of the near-field reflection codeword having the highest signal strength, or both.

[0291] Clause 81. A receiver sensing node according to any one of Clauses 75 to 80, wherein the receiver sensing node is: a user equipment (UE) or a transmit / receive point (TRP).

[0292] Clause 82. A receiver sensing node according to any one of Clauses 75 to 81, wherein the configuration is received from: a transmitter sensing node, a base station, a sensing management function, or a server.

[0293] Clause 83. The receiver sensing node as described in Clause 82, wherein the transmitter sensing node is: user equipment (UE) or transmit-receive point (TRP).

[0294] Clause 84. A receiver sensing node according to any one of Clauses 75 to 83, wherein the near-field sensing result report is sent to: a transmitter sensing node, a base station, a sensing management function, or a server.

[0295] Clause 85. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions, which, when executed by a transmitter sensing node, cause the transmitter sensing node to: receive a capability message associated with a reconfigurable smart surface (RIS), the capability message indicating one or more capabilities of the RIS to reflect sensing signals according to a near-field reflection codebook; and configure one or more near-field reflection codewords of the near-field reflection codebook to the RIS, wherein each of the one or more near-field reflection codewords includes a plurality of near-field reflection codeword parameters.

[0296] Clause 86. The non-transitory computer-readable medium as described in Clause 85, wherein the near-field reflection codebook includes: a two-dimensional near-field reflection codebook or a three-dimensional near-field reflection codebook.

[0297] Clause 87. A non-transitory computer-readable medium pursuant to any one of Clauses 85 to 86, wherein the one or more near-field reflection codewords indicate that the near-field reflection codebook is: a near-field source to near-field target reflection codebook, a far-field source to near-field target reflection codebook, or a near-field source to far-field target reflection codebook.

[0298] Clause 88. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 85 to 87, wherein: the near-field reflection codebook is a two-dimensional near-field source to near-field target reflection codebook, and the plurality of near-field reflection codeword parameters of each of the one or more near-field reflection codewords include: a first parameter indicating the angle of the source of the sensed signal, a second parameter indicating the range of the source of the sensed signal, a third parameter indicating the angle of the target of the sensed signal, and a fourth parameter indicating the range of the target of the sensed signal.

[0299] Clause 89. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 85 to 87, wherein: the near-field reflection codebook is a three-dimensional near-field source-to-near-field target reflection codebook, and the plurality of near-field reflection codeword parameters of each of the one or more near-field reflection codewords include: a first parameter indicating the elevation angle of the source of the sensed signal, a second parameter indicating the azimuth angle of the source of the sensed signal, a third parameter indicating the range of the source of the sensed signal, a fourth parameter indicating the elevation angle of the target of the sensed signal, a fifth parameter indicating the azimuth angle of the target of the sensed signal, and a sixth parameter indicating the range of the target of the sensed signal.

[0300] Clause 90. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 85 to 87, wherein: the near-field reflection codebook is a two-dimensional far-field source-to-near-field target reflection codebook, and the plurality of near-field reflection codeword parameters of each of the one or more near-field reflection codewords include: a first parameter indicating the angle of the source of the sensed signal, a second parameter indicating the angle of the target of the sensed signal, and a third parameter indicating the range of the target of the sensed signal.

[0301] Clause 91. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 85 to 87, wherein: the near-field reflection codebook is a three-dimensional far-field source-to-near-field target reflection codebook, and the plurality of near-field reflection codeword parameters of each of the one or more near-field reflection codewords include: a first parameter indicating the elevation angle of the source of the sensed signal, a second parameter indicating the azimuth angle of the source of the sensed signal, a third parameter indicating the elevation angle of the target of the sensed signal, a fourth parameter indicating the azimuth angle of the target of the sensed signal, and a fifth parameter indicating the range of the target of the sensed signal.

[0302] Clause 92. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 85 to 87, wherein: the near-field reflection codebook is a two-dimensional near-field source to far-field target reflection codebook, and the plurality of near-field reflection codeword parameters of each of the one or more near-field reflection codewords include: a first parameter indicating the angle of the source of the sensed signal, a second parameter indicating the range of the source of the sensed signal, and a third parameter indicating the angle of the target of the sensed signal.

[0303] Clause 93. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 85 to 87, wherein: the near-field reflection codebook is a three-dimensional near-field source to far-field target reflection codebook, and the plurality of near-field reflection codeword parameters of each of the one or more near-field reflection codewords include: a first parameter indicating the elevation angle of the source of the sensed signal, a second parameter indicating the azimuth angle of the source of the sensed signal, a third parameter indicating the range of the source of the sensed signal, a fourth parameter indicating the elevation angle of the target of the sensed signal, and a fifth parameter indicating the azimuth angle of the target of the sensed signal.

[0304] Clause 94. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 85 to 93, wherein the computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the transmitter sensing node, cause the transmitter sensing node to configure the one or more near-field reflection codewords include computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the transmitter sensing node, cause the transmitter sensing node to: configure a start index value for the one or more near-field reflection codewords; and configure an end index value or a number of codewords for the one or more near-field reflection codewords.

[0305] Clause 95. A nontransitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 85 to 94, wherein: a first portion of the surface of the RIS is configured for forward propagation of the sensing signal, and a second portion of the surface of the RIS is configured for backward propagation of the sensing signal, the one or more near-field reflection codewords comprising a set of codeword pairs, a first codeword in each pair of the set of codeword pairs indicating forward propagation parameters of the first portion of the surface of the RIS, and a second codeword in each pair of the set of codeword pairs indicating backward propagation parameters of the second portion of the surface of the RIS.

[0306] Clause 96. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to Clause 95, wherein the computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the transmitter sensing node, cause the transmitter sensing node to configure the one or more near-field reflection codewords include computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the transmitter sensing node, cause the transmitter sensing node to: configure an absolute index value for the first codeword in each codeword pair set; and configure a relative index value for the second codeword in each codeword pair set.

[0307] Clause 97. A nontransitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 85 to 96, the nontransitory computer-readable medium further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the transmitter sensing node, cause the transmitter sensing node to: transmit at least one sensing signal for each of the one or more configured near-field reflection codewords.

[0308] Clause 98. A nontransitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 85 to 97, the nontransitory computer-readable medium further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the transmitter sensing node, cause the transmitter sensing node to: transmit the one or more near-field reflection codewords to the receiver sensing node.

[0309] Clause 99. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to Clause 98 further includes computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the transmitter sensing node, cause the transmitter sensing node to: receive a sensing result message from the receiver sensing node, the sensing result message indicating one or more near-field sensing results obtained by the receiver sensing node at least in part based on the one or more near-field reflection codewords.

[0310] Clause 100. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 85 to 99, wherein the transmitter sensing node is: a user equipment (UE) or a transmit-receive point (TRP).

[0311] Clause 101. A non-transitory computer-readable medium pursuant to any one of Clauses 85 to 100, wherein the capability message is received from: the RIS, a base station associated with the RIS, or a server associated with the RIS.

[0312] Clause 102. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 85 to 101, wherein the computer-executable instructions, when executed by the transmitter sensing node, cause the transmitter sensing node to configure the one or more near-field reflection codewords to the RIS, include computer-executable instructions, when executed by the transmitter sensing node, causing the transmitter sensing node to: send the one or more near-field reflection codewords to the RIS; send the one or more near-field reflection codewords to a base station associated with the RIS; or send the one or more near-field reflection codewords to a server associated with the RIS.

[0313] Clause 103. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions, which, when executed by a receiver sensing node, cause the receiver sensing node to: receive configuration of one or more near-field reflection codewords of a near-field reflection codebook of a reconfigurable smart surface (RIS), wherein each of the one or more near-field reflection codewords includes a plurality of near-field reflection codeword parameters; obtain one or more sensing measurements of one or more sensing signals reflected by the RIS according to the near-field reflection codeword for each of the one or more near-field reflection codewords; and send a near-field sensing result report.

[0314] Clause 104. The non-transitory computer-readable medium as described in Clause 103, wherein the one or more sensing measurements are one or more signal strength measurements.

[0315] Clause 105. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to Clause 104, wherein: the near-field sensing result report includes the one or more sensing measurements for each of the one or more near-field reflection codewords, or the near-field sensing result report includes the one or more sensing measurements for each of the one or more near-field reflection codewords having a signal strength above a threshold.

[0316] Clause 106. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 103 to 105, wherein the near-field sensing result report includes an identifier of the one or more near-field reflection codewords.

[0317] Clause 107. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 103 to 106, the non-transitory computer-readable medium further comprising computer-executable instructions, which, when executed by the receiver sensing node, cause the receiver sensing node to: estimate the position of the target object at least in part based on an orientation or positioning corresponding to a near-field reflection codeword having the highest signal strength.

[0318] Clause 108. The non-transitory computer-readable medium as described in Clause 107, wherein the near-field sensing result includes the location of the target object, an identifier of the near-field reflection codeword having the highest signal strength, or both.

[0319] Clause 109. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 103 to 108, wherein the receiver sensing node is: a user equipment (UE) or a transmit-receive point (TRP).

[0320] Clause 110. A non-transitory computer-readable medium pursuant to any one of Clauses 103 to 109, wherein the configuration is received from a transmitter sensing node, a base station, a sensing management function, or a server.

[0321] Clause 111. The non-transitory computer-readable medium as described in Clause 110, wherein the transmitter sensing node is: a user equipment (UE) or a transmit-receive point (TRP).

[0322] Clause 112. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 103 to 111, wherein the near-field sensing result report is sent to: a transmitter sensing node, a base station, a sensing management function, or a server.

[0323] 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.

[0324] 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 may implement the described functionality in different ways for each specific application, but such implementation decisions should not be construed as departing from the scope of this disclosure.

[0325] 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.

[0326] 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.

[0327] 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.

[0328] 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 explicitly 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 explicitly stated as singular. Thus, 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 transmitter sensing node, the transmitter sensing node 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: The capability message associated with the reconfigurable smart surface (RIS) is received via the one or more transceivers, the capability message indicating one or more capabilities of the RIS to reflect sensing signals according to a near-field reflection codebook; as well as Configure one or more near-field reflection codewords of the near-field reflection codebook to the RIS, wherein each of the one or more near-field reflection codewords includes a plurality of near-field reflection codeword parameters.

2. The transmitter sensing node according to claim 1, wherein the near-field reflection codebook comprises: Two-dimensional near-field reflection codebook, or Three-dimensional near-field reflection codebook.

3. The transmitter sensing node according to claim 1, wherein the one or more near-field reflection codewords indicate that the near-field reflection codebook is: Near-field source to near-field target reflection codebook, The codebook reflected from a far-field source to a near-field target, or Near-field source to far-field target reflection codebook.

4. The transmitter sensing node according to claim 1, wherein: The near-field reflection codebook is a two-dimensional near-field source-to-near-field target reflection codebook, and The plurality of near-field reflection codeword parameters for each of the one or more near-field reflection codewords include: A first parameter indicating the angle of the source of the sensed signal. A second parameter indicating the range of the source of the sensed signal. A third parameter indicating the angle of the target of the sensed signal, and A fourth parameter indicating the range of the target of the sensed signal.

5. The transmitter sensing node according to claim 1, wherein: The near-field reflection codebook is a three-dimensional near-field source to near-field target reflection codebook, and The plurality of near-field reflection codeword parameters for each of the one or more near-field reflection codewords include: A first parameter indicating the elevation angle of the source of the sensed signal. A second parameter indicating the azimuth angle of the source of the sensed signal. A third parameter indicating the range of the source of the sensed signal. A fourth parameter indicating the elevation angle of the target in the sensed signal. A fifth parameter indicating the azimuth angle of the target in the sensed signal, and A sixth parameter indicating the range of the target of the sensed signal.

6. The transmitter sensing node according to claim 1, wherein: The near-field reflection codebook is a two-dimensional far-field source to near-field target reflection codebook, and The plurality of near-field reflection codeword parameters for each of the one or more near-field reflection codewords include: A first parameter indicating the angle of the source of the sensed signal. A second parameter indicating the angle of the target of the sensed signal, and A third parameter indicating the range of the target of the sensed signal.

7. The transmitter sensing node according to claim 1, wherein: The near-field reflection codebook is a three-dimensional far-field source to near-field target reflection codebook, and The plurality of near-field reflection codeword parameters for each of the one or more near-field reflection codewords include: A first parameter indicating the elevation angle of the source of the sensed signal. A second parameter indicating the azimuth angle of the source of the sensed signal. A third parameter indicating the elevation angle of the target in the sensed signal. A fourth parameter indicating the azimuth angle of the target in the sensed signal, and A fifth parameter indicating the range of the target of the sensed signal.

8. The transmitter sensing node according to claim 1, wherein: The near-field reflection codebook is a two-dimensional near-field source to far-field target reflection codebook, and The plurality of near-field reflection codeword parameters for each of the one or more near-field reflection codewords include: A first parameter indicating the angle of the source of the sensed signal. A second parameter indicating the range of the source of the sensed signal. A third parameter indicating the angle of the target of the sensed signal.

9. The transmitter sensing node according to claim 1, wherein: The near-field reflection codebook is a three-dimensional near-field source to far-field target reflection codebook, and The plurality of near-field reflection codeword parameters for each of the one or more near-field reflection codewords include: A first parameter indicating the elevation angle of the source of the sensed signal. A second parameter indicating the azimuth angle of the source of the sensed signal. A third parameter indicating the range of the source of the sensed signal. A fourth parameter indicating the elevation angle of the target in the sensed signal. A fifth parameter indicating the azimuth angle of the target in the sensed signal.

10. The transmitter sensing node of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors configured to configure the one or more near-field reflection codewords include the one or more processors individually or in combination configured to perform the following operations: Configure the starting index value of the one or more near-field reflection codewords; and Configure the end index value or number of codewords for the one or more near-field reflection codewords.

11. The transmitter sensing node according to claim 1, wherein: A first portion of the surface of the RIS is configured for forward propagation of the sensing signal, and a second portion of the surface of the RIS is configured for backward propagation of the sensing signal. The one or more near-field reflection codewords include a set of codeword pairs. The first codeword in each pair of the codeword pair set indicates the forward propagation parameters of the first portion of the surface of the RIS, and The second codeword in each pair of the codeword pair set indicates the backpropagation parameters of the second portion of the surface of the RIS.

12. The transmitter sensing node of claim 11, wherein the one or more processors configured to configure the one or more near-field reflection codewords include the one or more processors individually or in combination configured to perform the following operations: Configure the absolute index value of the first codeword in the set for each codeword pair; and Configure the relative index value of the second codeword in each codeword pair set.

13. The transmitter sensing node of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured individually or in combination to: At least one sensing signal is transmitted via the one or more transceivers for each configured near-field reflection codeword in the one or more near-field reflection codewords.

14. The transmitter sensing node of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured individually or in combination to: The one or more near-field reflection codewords are transmitted to the receiver sensing node via the one or more transceivers.

15. The transmitter sensing node of claim 14, wherein the one or more processors are further configured individually or in combination to: Sensing result messages are received from the receiver sensing node via the one or more transceivers, the sensing result messages indicating one or more near-field sensing results obtained by the receiver sensing node at least in part based on the one or more near-field reflection codewords.

16. The transmitter sensing node according to claim 1, wherein the transmitter sensing node is: User Equipment (UE), or Transmitter / Receiver Point (TRP).

17. The transmitter sensing node of claim 1, wherein the capability message is received from: The RIS, The base station associated with the RIS, or The server associated with the RIS.

18. The transmitter sensing node of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors configured to configure the one or more near-field reflection codewords to the RIS includes the one or more processors individually or in combination configured to perform the following operations: The one or more near-field reflection codewords are sent to the RIS via the one or more transceivers; The one or more near-field reflection codewords are transmitted to the base station associated with the RIS via the one or more transceivers; or The one or more near-field reflection codewords are sent to the server associated with the RIS via the one or more transceivers.

19. A receiver sensing node, the receiver sensing node 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: Configuration of one or more near-field reflection codewords of a near-field reflection codebook of a reconfigurable smart surface (RIS) via the one or more transceivers, wherein each of the one or more near-field reflection codewords includes a plurality of near-field reflection codeword parameters; For each of the one or more near-field reflection codewords, obtain one or more sensing measurements of one or more sensing signals reflected by the RIS according to the near-field reflection codeword; as well as Near-field sensing result reports are transmitted via the one or more transceivers.

20. The receiver sensing node of claim 19, wherein the one or more sensing measurements are one or more signal strength measurements.

21. The receiver sensing node according to claim 20, wherein: The near-field sensing result report includes the one or more sensing measurements for each of the one or more near-field reflection codewords, or The near-field sensing results report includes the one or more sensing measurements for each of the one or more near-field reflection codewords having a signal strength above a threshold.

22. The receiver sensing node of claim 19, wherein the near-field sensing result report includes an identifier of the one or more near-field reflection codewords.

23. The receiver sensing node of claim 19, wherein the one or more processors are further configured individually or in combination to: The location of the target object is estimated at least in part based on the orientation or positioning corresponding to the near-field reflection codeword with the highest signal strength.

24. The receiver sensing node of claim 23, wherein the near-field sensing result includes the location of the target object, an identifier of the near-field reflection codeword having the highest signal strength, or both.

25. The receiver sensing node according to claim 19, wherein the receiver sensing node is: User Equipment (UE), or Transmitter / Receiver Point (TRP).

26. The receiver sensing node of claim 19, wherein the configuration is received from: Transmitter sensing node, Base station Sensing management function, or server.

27. The receiver sensing node of claim 26, wherein the transmitter sensing node is: User Equipment (UE), or Transmitter / Receiver Point (TRP).

28. The receiver sensing node of claim 19, wherein the near-field sensing result report is sent to: Transmitter sensing node, Base station Sensing management function, or server.

29. A method for wireless sensing performed by a transmitter sensing node, the method comprising: Receive capability messages associated with a reconfigurable smart surface (RIS), the capability messages indicating one or more capabilities of the RIS to reflect sensing signals according to a near-field reflection codebook; as well as Configure one or more near-field reflection codewords of the near-field reflection codebook to the RIS, wherein each of the one or more near-field reflection codewords includes a plurality of near-field reflection codeword parameters.

30. A method for wireless sensing performed by a receiver sensing node, the method comprising: Configuration of one or more near-field reflection codewords of a near-field reflection codebook of a reconfigurable smart surface (RIS), wherein each of the one or more near-field reflection codewords includes a plurality of near-field reflection codeword parameters; For each of one or more near-field reflection codewords, obtain one or more sensing measurements of one or more sensing signals reflected by the RIS according to the near-field reflection codeword; as well as Send a report of near-field sensing results.

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