Methods, systems, and apparatus, for multi-user downlink cooperative sensing using spectrum sensing

Abstract

The network node receives, from a set of sensing RX nodes, sensing feedback from each sensing RX node indicating respective sensing measurement values obtained by the sensing RX node for the transmitted downlink sensing signal for respective measurement windows, each measurement window having a respective window spectrum and time window for sensing, each respective window spectrum corresponding to a respective sub-portion of a total frequency bandwidth of the downlink sensing signal. The sensing feedback is processed to fuse the respective sensing measurement values obtained for the respective measurement windows into a fused sensing measurement value corresponding to a collective spectrum of the respective measurement windows.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure generally relates to wireless communication, and in certain embodiments to sensing, and even more specifically to multi-user downlink cooperative sensing using spectrum sensing. Background Technology

[0002] The next generation of wireless communication systems can be called "fifth generation (5G)" or "sixth generation (6G)" communication systems. In the next generation of wireless communication systems, it is expected that nodes, including network nodes and user equipments (UEs), will be able to perform communication and sensing functions while maintaining relatively high spectrum efficiency.

[0003] Many envisioned sensing-related applications and use cases for next-generation wireless communication systems are expected to benefit from meeting stringent key performance indicator (KPI) thresholds. These KPI thresholds may involve, for example, accuracy, reliability, latency, update rate, low power requirements, and availability. It is evident that current 5G systems neither support nor provide certain sensing information, such as three-dimensional orientation. Furthermore, it can be seen that current 5G systems cannot detect the shape of objects in an environmental map. It can also be seen that current 5G systems fail to meet most of the stringent KPI thresholds for envisioned sensing applications. For example, considering positioning as sensing information, according to 3GPP Technical Report R1-2009842 TR 38 857 v0.4.0 on 5G positioning (which is incorporated herein by reference), synchronized 5G systems in outdoor environments can barely provide positioning accuracies of 2.99 meters and 1.11 meters respectively using positioning methods operating in frequency range 1 (FR1) and frequency range 2 (FR2). Furthermore, for asynchronous 5G systems, accuracy will decrease significantly, making it difficult for asynchronous 5G systems to achieve positioning accuracy of 10.9 meters and 9.11 meters respectively in outdoor environments using positioning methods that work in FR1 and FR2.

[0004] However, many sensing-related applications and use cases in next-generation wireless communication systems will require relatively high temporal resolution channel information. For exampleThis includes channel state information (CSI) at the transmitter and / or receiver, and power delay profile (PDP). It can be seen that the same high temporal resolution channel information will be used in most use cases, whether they are sense-based (e.g., localization) or communication-based (e.g., sense-assisted communication applications (e.g., sense-assisted beamforming)).

[0005] It can be seen that obtaining relatively high temporal resolution information involves allocating relatively large bandwidths to all nodes involved in the sensing process. In bistatic sensing applications, the nodes involved in the sensing process can be, for example, sensing transmit (TX) node 602 and sensing receive (RX) node 604. In the localization example (where the objective is to estimate the localization of two targets 10 cm apart), it can be seen that receiving at least three pilot signals from three different sensing TX nodes 602, each with a bandwidth of at least 3 GHz. In the sensing-assisted communication example (where the objective is to resolve two channel paths with a so-called inter-path delay of 1 ns), it can be seen that receiving a signal with a bandwidth of at least 1 GHz is beneficial. It can be seen that the resolvability of the primary channel path affects the performance of the beamforming process because different channel paths may have different orientations and therefore different beamforming orientations.

[0006] Due to the known scarcity of wireless spectrum and the ever-increasing number of users / nodes sharing spectrum, transmitting, receiving, and processing ultra-high bandwidth signals may not always be within the capacity of a given network node. It can be seen that due to power limitations ( example like Processing ultra-high bandwidth signals at high-end UEs (in low-power mode) is not feasible. It can be seen that processing ultra-high bandwidth signals at low-end UEs is infeasible due to the limited capabilities of the hardware circuitry defined for them. Furthermore, it can be seen that utilizing such ultra-high bandwidth signals introduces large biases and distortions into the transmitted or received sensing signals. These biases and distortions significantly reduce performance gains due to the use of relatively large bandwidths. Another problem with processing ultra-high bandwidth signals arises when sensing is coupled with massively multi-input multiple-output (MIMO) transmitters and / or massively multi-output receivers. This processing can cause a spatial-wideband effect, defined by the delay across the antenna aperture equivalent to the symbol time. This spatial-wideband effect can produce spatial-temporal selectivity that reduces overall performance.

[0007] One option for achieving high-resolution sensing performance is to provide a collaborative platform that leverages nodes with "ultra" sensing capabilities (in terms of transmitting / processing ultra-wideband signals), where low-capability sensing nodes can utilize the high-resolution sensing information provided by high-capability sensing nodes. However, this approach requires significant signaling overhead and substantial centralized processing at the querying sensing node. This can be another bottleneck in obtaining high-resolution sensing information in an environment.

[0008] Multi-band stitching has been used in applications such as time-of-flight (ToF) estimation, channel sensing, and object and human tracking. This stitching is applied to different frequency bands and technologies, such as WiFi, Bluetooth, and ultra-wideband (UWB), through sequential frequency hopping across the entire required bandwidth, which requires solving complex optimization problems. Known multi-band stitching schemes suffer from high latency and high signaling overhead.

[0009] Therefore, resource-efficient multi-band splicing schemes that can provide high-resolution sensing information in integrated communication and sensing applications (also known as integrated communication and sensing, joint communication and sensing, and other similar names) are an ideal feature in communication systems. Summary of the Invention

[0010] Various aspects of this disclosure relate to the application of multi-band splicing to enable the fusion of multiple measurements acquired across different frequency time slots, thereby increasing the effective bandwidth of the aggregated measurements. In an exemplary implementation, a single ultrawideband measurement may be replaced with multiple low-bandwidth measurements.

[0011] In an exemplary implementation, downlink sensing signals can be transmitted from a sensing TX node and received at multiple sensing RX nodes, each of which performs measurements for a corresponding low-bandwidth frequency block. These frequency blocks may be associated with different frequency carriers and / or different sensing frequency layers. These low-bandwidth frequency block measurements are fed back to the sensing TX node. The sensing TX node fuses the low-bandwidth frequency block measurements to obtain an ultra-wideband measurement. It can be seen that the fusion of the low-bandwidth frequency block measurements increases the resolution of the sensing measurement values ​​obtainable by processing these measurements. Furthermore, since each sensing RX node only needs to obtain sensing measurements for low-bandwidth frequency blocks, the scheme can be applied even with sensing RX nodes having limited bandwidth processing capabilities. This allows sensing RX nodes with one or more of limited processing capabilities, limited storage, and limited power resources to be used in a scheme providing high-resolution sensing measurement values. In at least some examples, no sidelink signaling is required between the sensing RX nodes to implement the scheme.

[0012] According to a first exemplary aspect, a sensing method is disclosed, comprising: receiving sensing feedback from each of a set of sensing RX nodes, the sensing feedback from each sensing RX node indicating a corresponding sensing measurement value obtained by the sensing RX node for a corresponding measurement window regarding a transmitted downlink sensing signal, each measurement window having a corresponding window spectrum and a time window for sensing, each corresponding window spectrum corresponding to a corresponding sub-part of the total frequency bandwidth of the downlink sensing signal; and processing the sensing feedback to fuse the corresponding sensing measurement value obtained for the corresponding measurement window into a fused sensing measurement value corresponding to a set spectrum of the corresponding measurement window.

[0013] In some examples, each of the corresponding sensed measurements includes a corresponding power delay profile (PDP), and the fused sensed measurement includes a fused PDP, which is a fusion of at least some of the corresponding PDPs.

[0014] In one or more of the foregoing examples, the processing of the sensing feedback includes time shifting prior to fusion to align the PDPs, thereby compensating for one or more of the following: (i) the time difference between the measurement windows; (ii) the relative time offlight (TOF) difference in the arrival of the transmitted downlink sensing signals at the sensing RX nodes; and (iii) the timing synchronization offset between the sensing RX nodes.

[0015] In one or more of the foregoing examples, time-shifting the PDP includes: identifying similar features for at least some of the corresponding PDPs; time-shifting the at least some of the corresponding PDPs by a corresponding amount based on the identified similar features; and fusing the time-shifted PDPs to obtain the fused PDP.

[0016] In one or more of the foregoing examples, the similar feature includes the location of the peak power in the corresponding PDP.

[0017] In one or more of the foregoing examples, the time shift may be based on the received location information about the sensing RX node.

[0018] In one or more of the foregoing examples, the sensing feedback from each sensing RX node further indicates a common window sensing measurement value obtained by the sensing RX node for the transmitted downlink sensing signal with respect to a common measurement window, the common measurement window having a corresponding common window spectrum and a common time window common to the set of sensing RX nodes, and wherein processing the sensing feedback to fuse the corresponding sensing measurement value is performed based on a comparison of the common window sensing measurement values ​​obtained by the sensing RX node.

[0019] In one or more of the foregoing examples, processing the perceptual feedback to fuse the corresponding perceptual measurements includes: selecting the subset of the corresponding perceptual measurements for fusion when the comparison of the perceptual measurements in the common window indicates that the subset of the corresponding perceptual measurements is suitable for fusion.

[0020] In one or more of the foregoing examples, the method includes: sending a downlink sensing signal by a sensing TX node before receiving and processing the sensing feedback from each sensing RX node, wherein receiving and processing the sensing feedback from each sensing RX node is performed at the sensing TX node.

[0021] In one or more of the foregoing examples, the method includes: receiving a capability report from a plurality of sensing RX nodes; selecting a group of sensing RX nodes from the plurality of RX nodes to participate in a sensing process for measuring the downlink sensing signal based on the capability report; assigning a corresponding measurement window to each of the sensing RX nodes in the group of sensing RX nodes; and sending configuration information for the sensing RX nodes in the group of sensing RX nodes, the configuration information indicating the assignment of the corresponding measurement window.

[0022] In one or more of the foregoing examples, the configuration information also includes an indication of a common measurement window for sensing by all of the sensing RX nodes in the set of sensing RX nodes during the sensing process.

[0023] In one or more of the foregoing examples, the method includes: determining, based on the capability report, whether to perform the sensing process in a first mode or a second mode. When the sensing process will be performed in the second mode, the configuration information includes a second mode indicator indicating a common measurement window for sensing by all of the sensing RX nodes in the set of sensing RX nodes during the sensing process. When the sensing process will be performed in the first mode, the configuration information includes a first mode indicator indicating that no common measurement window will be sensed.

[0024] In one or more of the foregoing examples, receiving the capability report, selecting the set of sensing RX nodes, allocating the corresponding measurement window, and sending the configuration information are all performed at the sensing TX node.

[0025] In one or more of the foregoing examples, receiving the capability report, selecting the set of sensing RX nodes, allocating the corresponding measurement windows, and sending the configuration information are all performed at the network node used to perform the sensing management function.

[0026] In one or more of the foregoing examples, the configuration information is embedded in a portion of the downlink sensing signal associated with the common measurement window.

[0027] In one or more of the foregoing examples, the sensing TX node is a base station of a wireless communication network, and at least some of the sensing RX nodes are mobile electronic devices registered in the wireless communication network.

[0028] In one or more of the foregoing examples, the method includes: generating a map of physical objects within a region of interest based on the fused sensory measurements.

[0029] In one or more of the foregoing examples, the method includes storing the sensed measurement value together with corresponding location information indicating the location where the sensed measurement value was obtained.

[0030] In one or more of the foregoing examples, the method includes: at each of the set of sensing RX nodes, obtaining a corresponding sensing measurement value for the corresponding measurement window of the sensing RX node, and the sensing RX node sending a corresponding feedback signal for the sensing TX node.

[0031] In one or more of the foregoing examples, at least some portions of the window spectrum and / or time window of the corresponding measurement window overlap.

[0032] In one or more of the foregoing examples, the downlink sensing signal includes a set of sensing signal components, each spanning a common spectrum and occupying a different time slot, and at least some of the corresponding measurement windows each have a different time window corresponding to a different sensing signal component in the set of sensing signal components.

[0033] According to a second exemplary aspect, a method for execution at a sensing RX node is disclosed, the method comprising: receiving configuration information indicating a corresponding measurement window for the sensing RX node to sense a downlink sensing signal, the corresponding measurement window defining a corresponding spectral window and a time window for the sensing, the corresponding spectral window corresponding to a sub-part of the total frequency bandwidth of the downlink sensing signal; sensing the downlink sensing signal during the corresponding measurement window; calculating a power delay profile (PDP) of the downlink sensing signal within the corresponding measurement window based on the sensing; and sending an indication of the PDP to a network node.

[0034] In some examples, the configuration information indicates a common measurement window that is different from the corresponding measurement used by the sensing RX node to sense the downlink sensing signal. The method further includes: sensing the downlink sensing signal during the common measurement window; calculating a common window PDP for the downlink sensing signal based on the sensing; and sending an indication of the common window PDP to the network node.

[0035] According to a third exemplary aspect, a method is disclosed, comprising: receiving a capability report from a plurality of sensing RX nodes; selecting a group of sensing RX nodes from the plurality of RX nodes based on the capability report to participate in a sensing process for measuring transmitted downlink sensing signals; allocating a corresponding measurement window to each of the sensing RX nodes in the group of sensing RX nodes, each measurement window defining a corresponding spectrum and duration for sensing during the sensing process, each corresponding spectrum corresponding to a corresponding sub-part of the total frequency bandwidth of the downlink sensing signal; and transmitting configuration information for the sensing RX nodes in the group of sensing RX nodes via a network, the configuration information indicating the allocation of the corresponding measurement window.

[0036] According to an example of the third and second exemplary aspects, the configuration information also includes an indication of a common measurement window for sensing by all of the sensing RX nodes in the set of sensing RX nodes during the sensing process, the common measurement window defining a common spectrum and a common duration.

[0037] According to an example of the third exemplary aspect, the method includes: determining, based on the capability report, whether the sensing process will be performed in a first mode or a second mode; and when the sensing process will be performed in the second mode, including in the configuration information a second mode indicator indicating a common measurement window for sensing by all of the sensing RX nodes in the set of sensing RX nodes during the sensing process, the common measurement window defining a common spectrum and a common duration; and when the sensing process will be performed in the first mode, including in the configuration information a first mode indicator indicating that no common measurement window will be sensed.

[0038] According to a fourth exemplary aspect, an apparatus is disclosed comprising: a processor and a memory storing instructions, wherein executing the instructions causes the processor to perform a method according to any one of the first exemplary aspect, the second exemplary aspect, and the third exemplary aspect.

[0039] According to a fifth exemplary aspect, a computer-readable medium storing instructions is disclosed, wherein the instructions, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform a method according to any one of the first, second, and third exemplary aspects. Attached Figure Description

[0040] To gain a more complete understanding of the embodiments and advantages of this disclosure, reference is now made to the following description taken by way of example, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a communication system that can be implemented according to embodiments of the present disclosure is shown, the communication system including a plurality of exemplary electronic devices and a plurality of exemplary transmitting and receiving points, as well as various networks; Figure 2 It shows Figure 1 A block diagram of a communication system, which includes multiple exemplary electronic devices, exemplary ground transmitting and receiving points and exemplary non-ground transmitting and receiving points, and various networks; Figure 3 The various aspects shown in this disclosure are as follows Figure 2 Components of an exemplary electronic device Figure 2 Components of an exemplary ground transmitting and receiving point and Figure 2 A block diagram of the components of an exemplary non-ground transmitting and receiving point; Figure 4 Block diagrams are shown of various modules that may be included in exemplary electronic devices, exemplary ground transmitting and receiving points, and exemplary non-ground transmitting and receiving points according to various aspects of this disclosure; Figure 5A block diagram illustrating the perception management functions according to various aspects of this disclosure is shown; Figure 6 A network comprising multiple sensing transmission (TX) nodes, sensing reception (RX) nodes, sensing management functions, and environmental objects is shown according to various aspects of this disclosure; Figure 7 A graphical representation of the sensed signal according to various aspects of this disclosure is shown; Figure 8 A signal flow diagram illustrating information, sensed signals, and feedback flows according to various aspects of this disclosure is shown; Figure 9 A graphical representation of the measurement window according to various aspects of this disclosure is shown; Figure 10 A graphical representation of the allocation of measurement windows superimposed on the sensed signal according to various aspects of this disclosure is shown; Figure 11 Multiple power delay distributions and corresponding multiple relative power delay distributions according to various aspects of this disclosure are shown; Figure 12 A graphical representation of the measurement window allocation superimposed on the sensing signal according to various aspects of this disclosure is shown. Detailed Implementation

[0041] For illustrative purposes, specific exemplary embodiments will now be explained in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0042] The embodiments described herein constitute sufficient information to practice the claimed subject matter, and illustrate ways to practice such subject matter. Upon reading the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, those skilled in the art will understand the concepts of the claimed subject matter and will recognize that the application of these concepts is not specifically mentioned herein. It should be understood that these concepts and applications fall within the scope of this disclosure and the appended claims.

[0043] Furthermore, it should be understood that any module, component, or device disclosing the executable instructions herein may include or otherwise access one or more non-transitory computer / processor-readable storage media for storing information, such as computer / processor-readable instructions, data structures, program modules, and / or other data. A non-exhaustive list of examples of non-transitory computer / processor-readable storage media includes magnetic tape cassettes, magnetic tape, disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, optical discs (e.g., compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), digital video disc or digital versatile disc (DVD), Blu-ray Disc™ or other optical storage), volatile and non-volatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology, random-access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory or other memory technologies. Any such non-transitory computer / processor storage medium may be part of a device or have access to or be connected to that device. Computer / processor-readable / executable instructions used to implement the applications or modules described herein may be stored by such non-transitory computer / processor-readable storage media or otherwise preserved.

[0044] refer to Figure 1 As a non-limiting illustrative example, a simplified schematic diagram of a communication system is provided. Communication system 100 includes a radio access network 120. Radio access network 120 may be a next-generation (e.g., "sixth generation, 6G" or later) radio access network, or a traditional (e.g., 5G, 4G, 3G, or 2G) radio access network. One or more electronic devices (EDs) 110a, 110b, 110c, 110d, 110e, 110f, 110g, 110h, 110i, 110j (collectively referred to as 110) may interconnect with each other or be connected to one or more network nodes (170a, 170b, collectively referred to as 170) within radio access network 120. Core network 130 may be part of the communication system and may depend on or be independent of the radio access technology used in communication system 100. In addition, the communication system 100 includes a public switched telephone network (PSTN) 140, the Internet 150, and other networks 160.

[0045] Figure 2 An exemplary communication system 100 is illustrated. Typically, the communication system 100 enables multiple wireless or wired components to transmit data and other content. The purpose of the communication system 100 may be to provide content such as voice, data, video, and / or text via broadcast, multicast, and unicast. The communication system 100 can operate by sharing resources (e.g., carrier spectrum bandwidth) among its constituent components. The communication system 100 may include terrestrial communication systems and / or non-terrestrial communication systems. The communication system 100 can provide a wide variety of communication services and applications (e.g., earth monitoring, remote sensing, passive sensing and positioning, navigation and tracking, autonomous delivery and mobility, etc.). The communication system 100 can provide high availability and robustness through the joint operation of terrestrial and non-terrestrial communication systems. For example, integrating a non-terrestrial communication system (or components thereof) into a terrestrial communication system can create a heterogeneous network that can be viewed as comprising multiple layers. Compared to traditional communication networks, heterogeneous networks can achieve better overall performance through efficient multi-link joint operation between terrestrial and non-terrestrial networks, more flexible function sharing, and faster physical layer link switching.

[0046] Terrestrial communication systems and non-terrestrial communication systems can be considered subsystems of a communication system. Figure 2 In the example shown, communication system 100 includes electronic devices (EDs) 110a, 110b, 110c, and 110d (collectively referred to as ED 110), radio access networks (RANs) 120a and 120b, a non-terrestrial communication network 120c, a core network 130, a public switched telephone network (PSTN) 140, the Internet 150, and other networks 160. RANs 120a and 120b include corresponding base stations (BSs) 170a and 170b, which can be collectively referred to as terrestrial transmit and receive points (T-TRPs) 170a and 170b. The non-terrestrial communication network 120c includes access nodes 172, which can be collectively referred to as non-terrestrial transmit and receive points (NT-TRPs) 172.

[0047] Any ED 110 can be used alternatively or additionally to interface, access, or communicate with any T-TRP 170a, 170b, and NT-TRP 172, Internet 150, Core Network 130, PSTN 140, other network 160, or any combination thereof. In some examples, ED 110a can communicate uplink and / or downlink with T-TRP 170a via terrestrial air interface 190a. In some examples, ED 110a, 110b, 110c, and 110d can also communicate directly with each other via one or more sidelink air interfaces 190b. In some examples, ED 110d can communicate uplink and / or downlink with NT-TRP 172 via non-terrestrial air interface 190c.

[0048] Air interfaces 190a and 190b can use similar communication technologies, such as any suitable wireless access technology. For example, communication system 100 can implement one or more channel access methods in air interfaces 190a and 190b, such as code division multiple access (CDMA), space division multiple access (SDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA), and single-carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA, also known as discrete fourier transform spread OFDMA, DFT-s-OFDMA). Air interfaces 190a and 190b can utilize other higher-dimensional signal spaces, which may involve combinations of orthogonal and / or non-orthogonal dimensions.

[0049] The non-terrestrial air interface 190c can enable communication between the ED 110d and one or more NT-TRP 172s via a wireless link (or simply a link). For some examples, the link is a dedicated connection for unicast transmission, a connection for broadcast transmission, or a connection for multicast transmission between a group of ED 110s and one or more NT-TRP 172s.

[0050] RANs 120a and 120b communicate with the core network 130 to provide various services, such as voice, data, and other services, to EDs 110a, 110b, and 110c. RANs 120a and 120b and / or the core network 130 may communicate directly or indirectly with one or more other RANs (not shown), which may or may not be directly served by the core network 130, and may or may not use the same radio access technology as RANs 120a, RAN 120b, or both. The core network 130 may also serve as a gateway access between (i) RANs 120a and 120b or EDs 110a, 110b, 110c, or both and (ii) other networks (e.g., PSTN 140, Internet 150, and other networks 160). Additionally, some or all of EDs 110a, 110b, and 110c may include the ability to communicate with different wireless networks via different radio links using different radio technologies and / or protocols. Instead of wireless communication (or other than wireless communication), ED 110a, 110b, and 110c can also communicate with service providers or exchanges (not shown) via wired communication channels and with the Internet 150. PSTN 140 may include a circuit-switched telephone network for providing plain old telephone service (POTS). The Internet 150 may include computer networks and subnets (internal networks) or both, and incorporate protocols such as Internet Protocol (IP), Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), and User Datagram Protocol (UDP). ED 110a, 110b, and 110c can be multimode devices capable of operating under various wireless access technologies and can incorporate multiple transceivers necessary to support such operation.

[0051] Figure 3Another example of the ED 110 and T-TRP 170a, 170b and / or 170c is shown. The ED 110 is used to connect people, objects, machines, etc. The ED 110 can be widely used in a variety of scenarios, including, for example, cellular communication, device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-everything (V2X), peer-to-peer (P2P), machine-to-machine (M2M), machine-type communication (MTC), Internet of Things (IoT), virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), mixed reality (MR), metaverse, digital twins, industrial control, autonomous driving, telemedicine, smart grids, smart furniture, smart offices, smart wearable devices, smart transportation, smart cities, drones, robots, remote sensing, passive sensing, positioning, navigation and tracking, autonomous delivery and mobility, etc.

[0052] Each ED 110 represents any suitable end-user equipment for wireless operation and may include (or be referred to as): user equipment / device (UE), wireless transmit / receive unit (WTRU), mobile station, fixed or mobile subscriber unit, cellular phone, station (STA), machine type communication (MTC) device, personal digital assistant (PDA), smartphone, laptop, computer, tablet, wireless sensor, consumer electronics, wearable device (e.g., watch, head-mounted device, glasses), smart book, vehicle, car, truck, bus, train, or IoT device, industrial equipment, or a device comprising or including the foregoing (e.g., communication module, modem, or chip), etc. Future generations of ED110 may be referred to using other terms. Base stations 170a and 170b are each T-TRP and will be referred to as T-TRP170 below. Similarly, Figure 3As shown, NT-TRP will be referred to as NT-TRP 172 below. Each ED 110 connected to T-TRP 170 and / or NT-TRP 172 can be dynamically or semi-statically turned on (i.e., established, activated, or enabled), turned off (i.e., released, deactivated, or disabled), and / or configured in response to one or more of the following: connectivity availability; and connectivity necessity.

[0053] ED 110 includes a transmitter 201 and a receiver 203 coupled to one or more antennas 204. Only one antenna 204 is shown in the figure to avoid congestion. Alternatively, one, some, or all of the antennas 204 may be panels. The transmitter 201 and receiver 203 may, for example, be integrated as a transceiver. The transceiver is used to modulate data or other content for transmission by at least one antenna 204 or a network interface controller (NIC). The transceiver may also be used to demodulate data or other content received by at least one antenna 204. Each transceiver includes any suitable structure for generating signals for wireless or wired transmission and / or processing signals received wirelessly or wiredly. Each antenna 204 includes any suitable structure for transmitting and / or receiving wireless or wired signals.

[0054] ED 110 includes at least one memory 208. Memory 208 stores instructions and data used, generated, or acquired by ED 110. For example, memory 208 may store software instructions or modules for implementing some or all of the functions and / or embodiments described herein and executed by one or more processing units (e.g., processor 210). Each memory 208 includes any suitable volatile and / or non-volatile storage and retrieval device. Any suitable type of memory can be used, such as random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), hard disk, optical disk, subscriber identity module (SIM) card, memory stick, secure digital (SD) memory card, and on-processor cache, etc.

[0055] ED 110 may also include one or more input / output devices (not shown) or interfaces (e.g., connected to...). Figure 1(Wired interface of Internet 150 in the network). Input / output devices or interfaces support interaction with users or other devices in the network. Each input / output device or interface includes any suitable structure for providing or receiving information from the user and / or for network interface communication. Suitable structures include, for example, speakers, microphones, keypads, keyboards, displays, or touchscreens.

[0056] ED 110 includes a processor 210 for performing operations including: operations related to transmissions to NT-TRP 172 and / or T-TRP 170 prepared for uplink transmissions; operations related to processing downlink transmissions received from NT-TRP 172 and / or T-TRP 170; and operations related to processing bidirectional sidelink transmissions with another ED 110. Processing operations related to transmissions prepared for uplink transmissions may include, for example, encoding, modulation, transmit beamforming, and generating symbols for transmission. Processing operations related to processing downlink transmissions may include, for example, receive beamforming, demodulating received symbols, and decoding received symbols. According to this embodiment, the downlink transmissions may be received by receiver 203 (possibly using receive beamforming), and processor 210 may extract signaling from the downlink transmissions (e.g., by detecting and / or decoding signaling). Examples of signaling may be reference signals transmitted by NT-TRP 172 and / or T-TRP 170. In some embodiments, processor 210 performs transmit beamforming and / or receive beamforming based on beam direction indications (e.g., beam angle information (BAI)) received from T-TRP 170. In some embodiments, processor 210 may perform operations related to network access (e.g., initial access) and / or downlink synchronization, such as operations related to detecting synchronization sequences, decoding, and obtaining system information. In some embodiments, processor 210 may perform channel estimation, for example, using reference signals received from NT-TRP 172 and / or from T-TRP 170.

[0057] Although not shown, processor 210 may form part of transmitter 201 and / or receiver 203. Although not shown, memory 208 may form part of processor 210.

[0058] The processing components of processor 210, transmitter 201, and receiver 203 may each be implemented using one or more processors, which may be the same or different, to execute instructions stored in memory (e.g., memory 208). Alternatively, some or all of the processing components of processor 210, transmitter 201, and receiver 203 may each be implemented using dedicated circuitry such as a programmable field-programmable gate array (FPGA), application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or hardware accelerator (e.g., a graphics processing unit (GPU) or artificial intelligence (AI) accelerator).

[0059] In some implementations, the T-TRP 170 can have other names, such as base station, base transceiver station (BTS), wireless base station, network node, network device, network-side device, transmit / receive node, Node B, evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB), home eNodeB, next-generation NodeB (gNB), transmission point (TP), site controller, access point (AP), wireless router, relay station, remote radio head, ground node, ground network device, ground base station, base band unit (BBU), remote radio unit (RRU), active antenna unit (AAU), remote radio head (RRH), central unit (CU), distributed unit (DU), positioning node, etc. The T-TRP 170 can be a macro BS, pico BS, relay node, or donor node, or a combination thereof. T-TRP 170 may refer to the aforementioned device or a component of the aforementioned device (e.g., a communication module, modem, or chip).

[0060] In some embodiments, the portions of T-TRP 170 may be distributed. For example, some modules of T-TRP 170 may be located remotely from the device housing the antenna 256 for T-TRP 170 and may be coupled to the device housing the antenna 256 via a communication link (not shown) (e.g., a common public radio interface, CPRI) sometimes referred to as a fronthaul. Therefore, in some embodiments, the term T-TRP 170 may also refer to network-side modules that perform processing operations such as determining the location of ED 110, resource allocation (scheduling), message generation, and encoding / decoding, and are not necessarily part of the device housing the antenna 256 of T-TRP 170. Modules may also be coupled to other T-TRPs. In some embodiments, T-TRP 170 may actually be multiple T-TRPs operating together to serve ED 110, for example, through cooperative multicast transmission.

[0061] like Figure 3As shown, T-TRP 170 includes at least one transmitter 252 and at least one receiver 254 coupled to one or more antennas 256. Only one antenna 256 is shown in the figure to avoid congestion. Alternatively, one, some, or all of the antennas 256 may be panels. The transmitter 252 and receiver 254 may be integrated as a transceiver. T-TRP 170 also includes a processor 260 for performing operations including operations related to: preparing transmissions to ED 110 for downlink transmission; processing uplink transmissions received from ED 110; preparing transmissions to NT-TRP 172 for backhaul transmission; and processing transmissions received from NT-TRP 172 via backhaul. Processing operations related to preparing transmissions for downlink or backhaul transmission may include operations such as encoding, modulation, precoding (e.g., multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) precoding), transmit beamforming, and generating symbols for transmission. Processing operations related to receiving or transmitting data in the uplink or via backhaul may include, for example, receiving beamforming, demodulating received symbols, and decoding received symbols. Processor 260 may also perform operations related to network access (e.g., initial access) and / or downlink synchronization, such as generating the contents of a synchronization signal block (SSB), generating system information, etc. In some embodiments, processor 260 also generates an indication of beam direction (e.g., BAI), which scheduler 253 may schedule for transmission. Processor 260 performs other network-side processing operations described herein, such as determining the location of ED 110, determining the deployment location of NT-TRP 172, etc. In some embodiments, processor 260 may generate signaling, for example, to configure one or more parameters of ED 110 and / or one or more parameters of NT-TRP 172. Any signaling generated by processor 260 is transmitted by transmitter 252. Note that “signaling” as used herein may alternatively be referred to as control signaling. Signaling can be transmitted in physical layer control channels such as the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH). In this case, the signaling can be called dynamic signaling. Signaling transmitted in the downlink physical layer control channel can be called downlink control information (DCI). Signaling transmitted in the uplink physical layer control channel can be called uplink control information (UCI).Signaling transmitted in the sidelink physical layer control channel can be called sidelink control information (SCI). This signaling can be included in higher-layer (e.g., above the physical layer) packets transmitted in physical layer data channels such as the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH). In this case, the signaling can be called higher-layer signaling, static signaling, or semi-static signaling. Higher-layer signaling can also refer to radio resource control (RRC) protocol signaling or medium access control-control element (MAC-CE) signaling.

[0062] Scheduler 253 may be coupled to processor 260. Scheduler 253 may be included within T-TRP 170 or operate separately from T-TRP. Scheduler 253 may schedule uplink, downlink, lateral link, and / or backlink transmissions, including issuing scheduling authorizations and / or configuring schedule-free (e.g., “configuration authorization”) resources. T-TRP 170 also includes memory 258 for storing information and data. Memory 258 stores instructions and data used, generated, or acquired by T-TRP 170. For example, memory 258 may store software instructions or modules for implementing some or all of the functions and / or embodiments described herein and executed by processor 260.

[0063] Although not shown, processor 260 may form part of transmitter 252 and / or receiver 254. Furthermore, although not shown, processor 260 may implement scheduler 253. Although not shown, memory 258 may form part of processor 260.

[0064] The processing components of processor 260, scheduler 253, transmitter 252, and receiver 254 may each be implemented using the same or different processors for executing instructions stored in memory (e.g., memory 258). Alternatively, some or all of the processing components of processor 260, scheduler 253, transmitter 252, and receiver 254 may be implemented using dedicated circuitry such as a programmed FPGA, hardware accelerator (e.g., GPU or AI accelerator), or ASIC.

[0065] It is worth noting that the NT-TRP 172 is shown as an example of a drone only. The NT-TRP 172 can be implemented in any suitable non-terrestrial form (e.g., satellite and high-altitude platform), including, for example, international mobile telecommunications base stations and unmanned aerial vehicles. Furthermore, the NT-TRP 172 may have other names in some implementations, such as non-terrestrial node, non-terrestrial network device, or non-terrestrial base station. The NT-TRP 172 includes a transmitter 272 and a receiver 274 coupled to one or more antennas 280. Only one antenna 280 is shown in the figure to avoid congestion. One, some, or all of the antennas may alternatively be panels. The transmitter 272 and receiver 274 may be integrated as a transceiver. NT-TRP 172 also includes a processor 276 for performing operations related to: preparing transmissions to ED 110 for downlink transmission; processing uplink transmissions received from ED 110; preparing transmissions to T-TRP 170 for backhaul transmission; and processing transmissions received from T-TRP 170 via backhaul. Processing operations related to preparing transmissions for downlink or backhaul transmission may include, for example, encoding, modulation, precoding (e.g., MIMO precoding), transmit beamforming, and generating symbols for transmission. Processing operations related to processing transmissions received in the uplink or via backhaul may include, for example, receive beamforming, demodulating the received signal, and decoding the received symbols. In some embodiments, processor 276 implements transmit beamforming and / or receive beamforming based on beamdirection information (e.g., beamdirection information, BAI) received from T-TRP 170. In some embodiments, processor 276 may generate signaling, for example, to configure one or more parameters of ED 110. In some embodiments, NT-TRP 172 implements physical layer processing but not higher-layer functions, such as medium access control (MAC) or radio link control (RLC) layer functions. Since this is merely an example, more generally, NT-TRP 172 may implement higher-layer functions in addition to physical layer processing.

[0066] The NT-TRP 172 also includes a memory 278 for storing information and data. Although not shown, a processor 276 may form part of the transmitter 272 and / or the receiver 274. Although not shown, the memory 278 may form part of the processor 276.

[0067] The processing components of processor 276, transmitter 272, and receiver 274 can each be implemented using one or more processors, which may be the same or different, to execute instructions stored in memory (e.g., memory 278). Alternatively, some or all of the processing components of processor 276, transmitter 272, and receiver 274 can be implemented using dedicated circuitry such as a programmed FPGA, CPU, hardware accelerator (e.g., GPU or AI accelerator), or ASIC. In some embodiments, NT-TRP 172 may actually be multiple NT-TRPs operating together to serve ED 110, for example, through cooperative multicast transmission.

[0068] T-TRP 170, NT-TRP 172 and / or ED 110 may include other components, but for clarity these components have been omitted.

[0069] The device may be a communication device or a component implemented within a communication device. For example, a device implemented in a communication device may be an integrated circuit, which may have other names in some cases, such as chip, modem, modem chip, baseband chip, or baseband processor. In some implementations, one or more integrated circuits may be packaged as a system-on-a-chip, system-in-package, or multi-chip module. The device may include one or more integrated circuits, or may include one or more integrated circuits and other discrete components.

[0070] according to Figure 4 One or more steps of the methods in the embodiments provided herein may be performed by the corresponding units or modules. Figure 4The diagram illustrates units or modules in devices such as ED 110, T-TRP 170, or NT-TRP 172. For example, signals may be transmitted by a transmitting unit or a transmitting module. Signals may be received by a receiving unit or a receiving module. Signals may be processed by a processing unit or a processing module. Other steps may be performed by artificial intelligence (AI) or machine learning (ML) modules. The corresponding units or modules may be implemented using hardware, one or more components or devices executing software, or a combination thereof. For example, one or more of these units or modules may be circuits such as integrated circuits. Examples of integrated circuits include programmed FPGAs, CPUs, GPUs, or ASICs. For example, one or more of these units or modules may be logical, such as logical functions performed by circuits, a portion of an integrated circuit, or software instructions executed by a processor. It should be understood that when a module is implemented using software executed by, for example, a processor, the module may be retrieved by the processor, wholly or partially, individually or collectively, in single or multiple instances, and the module itself may include instructions for further deployment and instantiation.

[0071] Additional details regarding ED 110, T-TRP 170, and NT-TRP 172 are known to those skilled in the art. Therefore, these details are omitted herein.

[0072] An air interface typically includes numerous components and associated parameters that collectively specify how transmissions and / or receptions are made between two or more communication devices via a wireless communication link. For example, an air interface may include one or more components that define one or more waveforms, one or more frame structures, one or more multiple access schemes, one or more protocols, one or more coding schemes, and / or one or more modulation schemes for conveying information (e.g., data) via a wireless communication link. The wireless communication link may support links between a radio access network and user equipment (e.g., a "Uu" link), and / or it may support links between devices, such as links between two user equipment (e.g., a "sidelink"), and / or it may support links between a non-terrestrial (NT) communication network and user equipment (UE). Below are some examples of the components described above.

[0073] Waveform components can specify the shape and form of the transmitted signal. Waveform options can include orthogonal multiple access (OFDM) and non-orthogonal multiple access (NMO) waveforms. Non-limiting examples of such waveform options include orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM), direct fourier transform spread OFDM (DFT-OFDM), filtered OFDM (f-OFDM), time-domain windowed OFDM, filter bank multicarrier (FBMC), universal filtered multicarrier (UFMC), generalized frequency division multiplexing (GFDM), wavelet packet modulation (WPM), faster than Nyquist (FTN) waveforms, and low peak to average power ratio (LPPR) waveforms (WF).

[0074] The frame structure component can specify the configuration of a single frame or a group of frames. The frame structure component can indicate one or more of the following parameters: time, frequency, pilot signature, encoding, or other parameters for that frame or group of frames. Further details about frame structure will be discussed below.

[0075] Multiple access scheme components can specify multiple access technology options, including technologies that define how communication devices share a common physical channel, such as: TDMA; FDMA; CDMA; SDMA; OFDMA; SC-FDMA; low-density signature multicarrier CDMA (LDS-MC-CDMA); non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA); pattern division multiple access (PDMA); lattice partition multiple access (LPMA); resource spread multiple access (RSMA); and sparse code multiple access (SCMA). Furthermore, multiple access technology options can include: scheduled access and unscheduled access, also known as unlicensed access; non-orthogonal multiple access and orthogonal multiple access, for example, via dedicated channel resources (e.g., not shared between multiple communication devices); contention-based shared channel resources and non-contention-based shared channel resources; and cognitive radio-based access.

[0076] The Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) protocol component can specify how transmission and / or retransmission will be performed. Non-limiting examples of transmission and / or retransmission mechanism options include specifying the scheduling data pipeline size, the signaling mechanism used for transmission and / or retransmission, and transmission and / or retransmission mechanism options for the retransmission mechanism.

[0077] Encoding and modulation components can specify how the information being transmitted can be encoded / decoded and modulated / demodulated for transmission / reception purposes. Encoding can refer to methods of error detection and forward error correction. Non-limiting examples of encoding options include turbine trellis codes, turbine product codes, fountain codes, low-density parity-check codes, and polar codes. Modulation can simply refer to a constellation (e.g., including modulation techniques and orders), or more specifically to various types of advanced modulation methods, such as layered modulation and low PAPR modulation.

[0078] In some embodiments, the air interface can be a "one-size-fits-all" concept. For example, once the air interface is defined, the components within it cannot be changed or adapted. In some implementations, only a limited number of parameters or modes of the air interface can be configured, such as cyclic prefix (CP) length or MIMO mode. In some embodiments, the air interface design can provide a unified or flexible framework to support licensed and unlicensed access at frequencies below the known 6 GHz band and frequencies above the 6 GHz band (e.g., millimeter wave bands). For example, the flexibility of a configurable air interface provided by scalable system parameters (numerology) and symbol duration can enable optimization of transmission parameters for different spectrum bands and different services / devices. Furthermore, a unified air interface may be self-contained in the frequency domain, and a self-contained design in the frequency domain can support more flexible RAN slicing through channel resource sharing in frequency and time between different services.

[0079] The frame structure is a feature of the physical layer of wireless communication that defines the time-domain signal transmission structure to, for example, implement timing reference and timing alignment of basic time-domain transmission units. Wireless communication between communication devices can take place on time-frequency resources governed by the frame structure. The frame structure is sometimes alternatively referred to as the wireless frame structure.

[0080] Depending on the frame structure and / or the frame configuration within the frame structure, frequency division duplex (FDD) and / or time division duplex (TDD) and / or full duplex (FD) communication can be implemented. FDD communication occurs when transmissions in different directions (e.g., uplink and downlink) take place in different frequency bands. TDD communication occurs when transmissions in different directions (e.g., uplink and downlink) occur within different durations. FD communication occurs when transmission and reception occur on the same time-frequency resources; that is, the device can simultaneously transmit and receive on the same frequency resources.

[0081] An example of a frame structure is one specified for known long-term evolution (LTE) cellular systems, which has the following specifications: each frame is 10 ms long; each frame has 10 subframes, each 1 ms long; each subframe includes two time slots, each 0.5 ms long; each time slot is used to transmit seven OFDM symbols (assuming normal CP); each OFDM symbol has a symbol duration and a specific bandwidth (or partial bandwidth or bandwidth partition) related to the number of subcarriers and subcarrier spacing; the frame structure is based on OFDM waveform parameters, such as subcarrier spacing and CP length (where CP has a fixed length or finite length option); and the handover interval between the uplink and downlink in TDD is specified as an integer multiple of the OFDM symbol duration.

[0082] Another example of a frame structure is the one specified for known New Radio (NR) cellular systems, which has the following specifications: supports multiple subcarrier spacings, each corresponding to a specific system parameter; the frame structure depends on the system parameter, but in any case, the frame length is set to 10 ms, and each frame consists of ten subframes, each with a duration of 1 ms; time slots are defined as 14 OFDM symbols; and the time slot length depends on the system parameter. For example, the NR frame structure with a normal CP 15 kHz subcarrier spacing (“System Parameter 1”) and the NR frame structure with a normal CP 30 kHz subcarrier spacing (“System Parameter 2”) are different. For the 15 kHz subcarrier spacing, the time slot length is 1 ms, and for the 30 kHz subcarrier spacing, the time slot length is 0.5 ms. The NR frame structure may be more flexible than the LTE frame structure.

[0083] Another example of a frame structure is its use, for example, in 6G networks or subsequent networks. In a flexible frame structure, a symbol block can be defined as having a duration that is the minimum duration that can be scheduled within the flexible frame structure. A symbol block can be a transmission unit with optional redundant portions (e.g., CP portions) and information portions (e.g., data portions). An OFDM symbol is an example of a symbol block. A symbol block can also be referred to as a symbol. Implementations of flexible frame structures include various configurable parameters, such as frame length, subframe length, symbol block length, etc. In some implementations of flexible frame structures, a non-exhaustive list of possible configurable parameters includes: frame length; subframe duration; time slot configuration; subcarrier spacing (SCS); flexible transmission duration of the basic transmission unit; and flexible handover interval.

[0084] The frame length is not required to be limited to 10 ms, and it can be configurable and vary over time. In some embodiments, each frame includes one or more downlink synchronization channels and / or one or more downlink broadcast channels, and each synchronization channel and / or broadcast channel can be transmitted in different directions using different beamforming. The frame length can have more than one possible value and is configured based on the application scenario. For example, autonomous vehicles may require relatively fast initial access, in which case the frame length for autonomous vehicle applications could be set to 5 ms. As another example, home smart meters may not require fast initial access, in which case the frame length for smart meter applications could be set to 20 ms.

[0085] Subframes may or may not be defined in a flexible frame structure, depending on the implementation. For example, a frame may be defined to include time slots but not subframes. Within a frame that defines subframes, the duration of the subframe can be configurable, for example, for temporal alignment. For instance, a subframe may be configured to have a length of 0.1 ms, 0.2 ms, 0.5 ms, 1 ms, 2 ms, or 5 ms, etc. In some embodiments, if subframes are not needed in a particular scenario, the subframe length may be defined to be the same as the frame length, or it may be undefined.

[0086] Time slots may or may not be defined in a flexible frame structure, depending on the implementation. In a frame that defines time slots, the definition of the time slots (e.g., in terms of duration and / or number of symbol blocks) can be configurable. In one embodiment, the time slot configuration is common to all ED 110s or a group of ED 110s. In this case, the time slot configuration information can be sent to the ED 110s via a broadcast channel or one or more common control channels. In other embodiments, the time slot configuration can be UE-specific, in which case the time slot configuration information can be sent via a UE-specific control channel. In some embodiments, time slot configuration signaling can be sent together with frame configuration signaling and / or subframe configuration signaling. In other embodiments, time slot configuration can be sent independently of frame configuration signaling and / or subframe configuration signaling. Typically, time slot configuration can be system-common, base station-common, UE group-common, or UE-specific.

[0087] The SCS (Symmetric Counter) can range from 15 kHz to 480 kHz. The SCS can vary with the frequency of the spectrum and / or the maximum UE speed to minimize the effects of Doppler shift and phase noise. In some examples, separate transmit and receive frames may exist, and the SCS of symbols in the receive frame structure can be configured independently of the SCS of symbols in the transmit frame structure. The SCS in the receive frame can differ from the SCS in the transmit frame. In some examples, the SCS of each transmit frame can be half the SCS of each receive frame. If the SCS differs between receive and transmit frames, the difference does not necessarily have to be scaled by a factor of two; for example, using the inverse discrete fourier transform (IDFT) instead of the fast fourier transform (FFT) can provide more flexible symbol durations. Additional examples of frame structures can be used with different SCS.

[0088] A basic transmission unit can be a symbol block (or alternatively a symbol), which typically includes a redundancy portion (CP) and an information portion (e.g., data). In some embodiments, the CP can be omitted from the symbol block. The CP length can be flexible and configurable. The CP length can be fixed within a frame or can vary flexibly within a frame, and the CP length may change with frame changes, with frame groups changes, with subframe changes, with time slot changes, or dynamically with changes in scheduling. The information portion (e.g., data) can be flexible and configurable. Another possible parameter associated with a definable symbol block is the ratio of the CP duration to the information (e.g., data) duration. In some embodiments, the symbol block length can be adjusted based on channel conditions (e.g., multipath delay, Doppler); and / or delay requirements; and / or available duration. Alternatively, the symbol block length can be adjusted to fit the available duration within a frame.

[0089] A frame can include both a downlink portion for downlink transmission from a base station (e.g., T-TRP 170) and an uplink portion for uplink transmission from a UE (e.g., ED 110). A gap may exist between each uplink portion and each downlink portion; this gap is called a handover gap. The handover gap length (duration) can be configurable. The handover gap duration can be fixed within a frame or can vary flexibly within a frame, and the handover gap duration may change with frame changes, frame group changes, subframe changes, time slot changes, or dynamically with changes in scheduling methods.

[0090] For example, devices like the T-TRP 170 can provide coverage for a cell. Wireless communication with the device can be conducted over one or more carrier frequencies. These carrier frequencies are referred to as carriers. A carrier can also be called a component carrier (CC). A carrier is characterized by its bandwidth and reference frequency, such as the center frequency, minimum frequency, or maximum frequency. A carrier can be on licensed or unlicensed spectrum. Wireless communication with the device can also, or alternatively, be conducted over one or more bandwidth parts (BWPs). For example, a carrier can have one or more BWPs. More generally, wireless communication with the device can be conducted over a spectrum. A spectrum can include one or more carriers and / or one or more BWPs.

[0091] A cell may include one or more downlink resources and optionally one or more uplink resources. A cell may include both one or more downlink resources and one or more uplink resources. For example, a cell may include only one downlink carrier / BWP, or only one uplink carrier / BWP, or multiple downlink carriers / BWP, or multiple uplink carriers / BWP, or one downlink carrier / BWP and one uplink carrier / BWP, or one downlink carrier / BWP and multiple uplink carriers / BWP, or multiple downlink carriers / BWP and one uplink carrier / BWP, or multiple downlink carriers / BWP and multiple uplink carriers / BWP. In some embodiments, a cell may alternatively or additionally include one or more sidelink resources, including sidelink transmit and receive resources.

[0092] A bandwidth part (BWP) is a set of continuous or non-contiguous frequency subcarriers on a carrier, or a set of continuous or non-contiguous frequency subcarriers on multiple carriers, or a set of non-contiguous or continuous frequency subcarriers, which may have one or more carriers. It is important to understand that the terms "bandwidth part (BWP)," "frequency sub-band," "band," and "frequency block" refer to the same concept: a set of resources in the frequency domain.

[0093] In some embodiments, a carrier may have one or more BWPs. For example, a carrier may have a bandwidth of 20 MHz and consist of one BWP, or a carrier may have a bandwidth of 80 MHz and consist of two adjacent consecutive BWPs, etc. In other embodiments, a BWP may have one or more carriers. For example, a BWP may have a bandwidth of 40 MHz and consist of two adjacent consecutive carriers, wherein each carrier has a bandwidth of 20 MHz. In some embodiments, a BWP may include discontinuous spectrum resources consisting of a plurality of discontinuous carriers, wherein a first carrier of the discontinuous carriers may be in the mmW band, a second carrier may be in a low-frequency band (e.g., the 2 GHz band), a third carrier (if present) may be in the THz band, and a fourth carrier (if present) may be in the visible light band. Resources within a carrier belonging to a BWP may be contiguous or discontinuous. In some embodiments, a BWP has discontinuous spectrum resources on a single carrier.

[0094] Wireless communication can be performed on occupied bandwidth. Occupied bandwidth can be defined as the width of a frequency band such that the average power transmitted below the lower limit and above the upper limit of the band is each equal to a specified percentage β / 2 of the total average transmitted power, for example, β / 2 is 0.5%.

[0095] The carrier, BWP, or occupied bandwidth can be dynamically indicated by network devices (e.g., by T-TRP 170) in physical layer control signaling such as the known downlink control channel (DCI), or semi-statically indicated in signaling such as radio resource control (RRC) or in the medium access control (MAC) layer, or predefined based on the application scenario; or determined by ED 110 as a function of other parameters known to ED 110, or can be fixed, for example, by the standard.

[0096] In cellular communication networks, UE location information is frequently used to improve various network performance metrics. These metrics may include, for example, capacity, agility, and efficiency. This improvement can be achieved when network components utilize the UE's location, behavior, mobility patterns, etc., based on prior information describing the wireless environment in which the UE operates.

[0097] Sensing systems can be used to help collect UE pose information, including the UE's position in a global reference frame, the UE's speed and direction of movement in the global reference frame, orientation information, and information about the wireless environment. "Position" is also called "location," and the two terms are used interchangeably in this document. Well-known examples of sensing systems include radio detection and ranging (RADAR) and light detection and ranging (LIDAR). While sensing systems are typically separate from communication systems, it can be advantageous to collect information using an integrated system, reducing the hardware (and cost) in the system and the time, frequency, or spatial resources required to perform both functions. However, using communication system hardware to perform the sensing of UE pose and environmental information is a highly challenging and open problem. The difficulty of this problem is related to factors such as the limited resolution of the communication system, the dynamic nature of the environment, and the large number of objects (whose electromagnetic properties and positions need to be estimated).

[0098] Therefore, communication-sensing integration (also known as communication-sensing integration) is an ideal feature in existing and future communication systems.

[0099] Any or all of ED 110 and T-TRP 170 can be sensing nodes in system 100. A sensing node is a network entity that performs sensing by sending and receiving sensing signals. Some sensing nodes are communication devices that perform both communication and sensing. However, some sensing nodes may not perform communication but are dedicated solely to sensing. Sensing agent 174 is an example of a sensing node dedicated solely to sensing. Unlike ED 110 and T-TRP 170, sensing agent 174 does not send or receive communication signals. However, sensing agent 174 can send configuration information, sensing information, signaling information, or other information within communication system 100. Sensing agent 174 can communicate with core network 130 to communicate information with the rest of communication system 100. For example, sensing agent 174 can determine the location of ED 110a and send that information to T-TRP 170a via core network 130. Although in Figure 2 Only one sensing agent 174 is shown, but any number of sensing agents can be implemented in the communication system 100. In some embodiments, one or more sensing agents can be implemented at one or more locations in the RAN 120.

[0100] Sensing nodes can combine sensing-based technologies with reference signal-based technologies to enhance UE pose determination. This type of sensing node can also be called a sensing management function (SMF). In some networks, the SMF can also be called a location management function (LMF). The SMF can be implemented as a physically independent entity located at core network 130, which is connected to multiple T-TRP 170s. In other aspects of this disclosure, the SMF can be implemented as a logical entity co-located within the T-TRP 170s through logic executed by processor 260.

[0101] like Figure 5 As shown, the SMF 176, when implemented as a physically independent entity, includes at least one processor 290, at least one transmitter 282, at least one receiver 284, one or more antennas 286, and at least one memory 288. Transceivers (not shown) may be used instead of transmitters 282 and receivers 284. A scheduler 283 may be coupled to the processor 290. The scheduler 283 may be included within the SMF 176 or operate separately from it. The processor 290 implements various processing operations of the SMF 176, such as signal encoding, data processing, power control, input / output processing, or any other function. The processor 290 may also be used to implement some or all of the functions and / or embodiments described in more detail above. Each processor 290 includes any suitable processing or computing device for performing one or more operations. Each processor 290 may, for example, include a microprocessor, microcontroller, digital signal processor, field-programmable gate array, or application-specific integrated circuit.

[0102] Reference signal-based pose determination techniques belong to the "active" pose estimation paradigm. In this paradigm, the inquirer of pose information (e.g., ED 110) participates in the process of determining the inquirer's pose. The inquirer can send or receive (or send and receive) signals specific to the pose determination process. Positioning techniques based on Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) (e.g., Global Positioning System (GPS)) are other examples of the active pose estimation paradigm.

[0103] In contrast, radar-based sensing technologies, for example, can be considered a "passive" pose determination paradigm. In the passive pose determination paradigm, the target is completely unaware of the pose determination process.

[0104] By integrating sensing and communication into a single system, the system does not need to operate according to a single paradigm. Therefore, combining sensing-based techniques with reference signal-based techniques can achieve enhanced pose determination.

[0105] Enhanced pose determination can, for example, include obtaining UE channel subspace information, which is particularly useful for UE channel reconstruction at the sensing node (especially for beam-based operation and communication). The UE channel subspace is a subset of the entire algebraic space defined in the spatial domain, encompassing the entire channel from the TP to the UE. Therefore, the UE channel subspace defines the TP-UE channel with very high accuracy. Signals transmitted in other subspaces contribute negligibly to the UE channel. Understanding the UE channel subspace helps reduce the workload required for channel measurement at the UE and channel reconstruction on the network side. Therefore, combining sensing-based techniques with reference signal-based techniques can achieve much less overhead UE channel reconstruction compared to traditional methods. Subspace information can also facilitate subspace-based sensing, thereby reducing sensing complexity and improving sensing accuracy.

[0106] In some embodiments of communication-sensing integration, the same radio access technology (RAT) is used for both sensing and communication. This avoids the need to multiplex two different RATs under a single carrier spectrum, or to provide two different carrier spectrums for two different RATs.

[0107] In embodiments that integrate sensing and communication under a single RAT, a first set of channels can be used to transmit sensing signals, and a second set of channels can be used to transmit communication signals. In some embodiments, each channel in the first set of channels and each channel in the second set of channels is a logical channel, a transport channel, or a physical channel.

[0108] At the physical layer, communication and sensing can be performed via separate physical channels. For example, a first physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH-C) can be defined for data communication, while a second physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH-S) can be defined for sensing. Similarly, separate physical uplink shared channels (PUSCH), PUSCH-C, and PUSCH-S can be defined for uplink communication and sensing.

[0109] In another example, the same PDSCH and PUSCH can also be used for both communication and sensing, where separate logical layer channels and / or transport layer channels are defined for communication and sensing. Furthermore, it should be noted that one or more control channels and one or more data channels used for sensing can have the same or different channel structures (formats) and occupy the same or different frequency bands or bandwidth portions.

[0110] For example, the common physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) and the common physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) can be used to carry control information for both sensing and communication. Alternatively, separate physical layer control channels can be used to carry separate control information for communication and sensing. For instance, PUCCH-S and PUCCH-C can be used for uplink control for sensing and communication, respectively, and PDCCH-S and PDCCH-C can be used for downlink control for sensing and communication, respectively.

[0111] At each of the physical, transport, and logical layers, different combinations of shared and dedicated channels for sensing and communication are possible.

[0112] The term RADAR originates from the phrase "radio detection and ranging"; however, expressions with different capitalization (e.g., Radar and radar) are equally valid and more commonly used now. Radar is typically used to detect the presence and location of objects. A radar system radiates radio frequency energy and receives the echoes of energy reflected from one or more targets. The system determines the pose of a given target based on the echoes returning from that target. The radiated energy can be in the form of energy pulses or continuous waves, which can be represented or defined using specific waveforms. Examples of waveforms used in radar include frequency-modulated continuous wave (FMCW) and ultra-wideband (UWB) waveforms.

[0113] Radar systems can be monostatic, bistatic, or multistatic. In a monostatic radar system, the radar transmitter and receiver are co-located, for example, integrated into a transceiver. In a bistatic radar system, the transmitter and receiver are spatially separated, and the separation distance is equal to or greater than the expected target distance (often referred to as range). In a multistatic radar system, two or more radar components are spatially distinct but share a common coverage area. Multistatic radar is also known as multisite or mesh radar.

[0114] Ground-based radar applications face challenges such as multipath propagation and shadow attenuation. Another challenge is identifiability, as ground targets share similar physical properties. Integrating sensing into communication systems is likely to present these same challenges, or even more.

[0115] Communication nodes can be half-duplex or full-duplex. Half-duplex nodes cannot use the same physical resources (time, frequency, etc.) to transmit and receive simultaneously; conversely, full-duplex nodes can use the same physical resources for both transmission and reception. Existing commercial wireless communication networks are all half-duplex. Even if full-duplex communication networks become practically feasible in the future, it is expected that at least some nodes in the network will still be half-duplex nodes because half-duplex devices are less complex and have lower cost and power consumption. Specifically, full-duplex implementations are more challenging at higher frequencies (e.g., in the millimeter-wave band) and are particularly challenging for small and low-cost devices (e.g., femtocell base stations and UEs).

[0116] The limitations of half-duplex nodes in communication networks present further challenges to integrating sensing and communication into devices and systems within those networks. For example, while both half-duplex and full-duplex nodes can perform bi-station or multi-station sensing, single-station sensing typically requires full-duplex capability. For instance, in pulse radars with specific duty cycles and ranging capabilities, half-duplex nodes can perform single-station sensing with certain limitations.

[0117] The properties of a sensing signal, or a signal used for both sensing and communication, include its waveform and frame structure. The frame structure defines the signal's time-domain boundaries. The waveform describes how the signal's shape changes over time and frequency. Examples of waveforms that can be used for sensing signals include ultra-wideband (UWB) pulses, frequency-modulated continuous waves (FMCWs) or "chirps," orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM), cyclic prefix (CP)-OFDM, and discrete fourier transform spread (DFT-S)-OFDM. Example waveforms used for sensing signals, referred to as FMCWs or chirps, can also be called linear frequency modulated (LFM) waveforms.

[0118] In this embodiment, the sensing signal has bandwidth. and duration Linear chirped signals. Such linear chirped signals are widely known due to their use in FMCW radar systems. Linear chirped signals are generated by frequency changes from the initial time... initial frequency at Increase to final time The final frequency at the point Defined by, where frequency ( ) and time ( The relationship between ) can be represented as The linear relationship, where, Defined as the chirp slope. The bandwidth of a linear chirped signal can be defined as... Furthermore, the duration of a linear chirped signal can be defined as... This linearly chirped signal can be represented in baseband as .

[0119] As used herein, precoding can refer to any one or more coding operations or modulations that transform an input signal into an output signal. Precoding can be performed in different domains, and typically transforms an input signal in a first domain into an output signal in a second domain. Precoding can include linear operations.

[0120] Terrestrial communication systems can also be called land-based or ground-based communication systems, but they can also be implemented on or under water, either alternatively or otherwise. Non-terrestrial communication systems can bridge coverage gaps in underserved areas by using non-terrestrial nodes to extend the coverage of cellular networks. This is crucial for establishing seamless global coverage and providing mobile broadband service to areas with no or insufficient service. Currently, it is virtually impossible to implement terrestrial access point / base station infrastructure in areas such as oceans, mountains, forests, or other remote locations.

[0121] Terrestrial communication systems can be wireless communication systems using 5G technology and / or next-generation wireless technologies (e.g., 6G or higher). In some examples, terrestrial communication systems may also support some traditional wireless technologies (e.g., 3G or 4G). Non-terrestrial communication systems can be communication systems using satellite constellations such as traditional geostationary orbit (GEO) satellites, which utilize broadcast public / popular content to local servers. Non-terrestrial communication systems can be communication systems using low earth orbit (LEO) satellites, which are known to achieve a better balance between large coverage areas and propagation path loss / delay. Non-terrestrial communication systems can be communication systems using very low earth orbit (VLEO) stabilized satellite technology, which significantly reduces the cost of launching satellites into lower orbits. Non-terrestrial communication systems can be communication systems using high altitude platforms (HAPs), which are known to provide low path loss air interfaces for users with limited power budgets. Non-terrestrial communication systems can be densely deployed communication systems using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) (or unmanned aerial systems (UAS)), as their coverage may be limited to local areas; examples include airborne, balloon, quadcopter, and drone systems. In some examples, GEO satellites, LEO satellites, UAVs, HAPs, and VLEOs can be horizontal and two-dimensional. In some examples, UAVs, HAPs, and VLEOs can be coupled to integrate satellite communications into cellular networks. Emerging 3D vertical networks consist of numerous mobile (excluding geostationary satellites) and high-altitude access points, such as UAVs, HAPs, and VLEOs.

[0122] MIMO technology enables an antenna array with multiple antennas to perform signal transmission and reception to meet high transmission rate requirements. The ED 110, T-TRP 170, and / or NT-TRP can use MIMO for communication using radio resource blocks. MIMO utilizes multiple antennas at the transmitter to transmit radio resource blocks via parallel radio signals. Therefore, multiple antennas can be used at the receiver. MIMO can beamform the parallel radio signals for reliable multipath transmission of radio resource blocks. MIMO can combine parallel radio signals carrying different data to increase the data rate of radio resource blocks.

[0123] In recent years, MIMO (Massive MIMO) wireless communication systems equipped with a large number of antennas, such as the T-TRP 170 and / or NT-TRP 172, have received widespread attention from academia and industry. In massive MIMO systems, the T-TRP 170 and / or NT-TRP172 typically have more than ten antenna elements (see [link to relevant documentation]). Figure 3 (Antennas 256 and 280 in the configuration). T-TRP 170 and / or NT-TRP 172 are typically operable to serve dozens (e.g., 40) of ED 110s. The large number of antenna elements in T-TRP 170 and NT-TRP 172 significantly increases the spatial freedom of wireless communication, greatly improving transmission rate, spectral efficiency, and power efficiency, and significantly reducing inter-cell interference. The increased number of antennas allows for smaller and lower-cost antenna elements per unit. Using the spatial freedom provided by the massive antenna array, each T-TRP 170 and NT-TRP 172 in a cell can simultaneously communicate with many ED 110s in the cell on the same time-frequency resources, thus significantly improving spectral efficiency. The large number of antenna elements in T-TRP 170 and / or NT-TRP 172 also provides better uplink and downlink spatial directivity for each user, allowing for reduced transmit power of T-TRP 170 and / or NT-TRP 172 and ED 110, and consequently improving power efficiency. When the number of antennas in the T-TRP 170 and / or NT-TRP 172 is sufficiently large, the random channels between each ED 110 and the T-TRP 170 and / or NT-TRP172 can be nearly orthogonal, thereby reducing interference between cells and users as well as the impact of noise. The numerous advantages described above make massively multi-level MIMO a promising application area.

[0124] A MIMO system may include a receiver connected to a receive (Rx) antenna, a transmitter connected to a transmit (Tx) antenna, and a signal processor connected to both the transmitter and receiver. Each of the Rx and Tx antennas may include multiple antennas. For example, an Rx antenna may be a uniform linear array (ULA) antenna, in which multiple antennas are arranged in rows at even intervals. When a radio frequency (RF) signal is transmitted through a Tx antenna, the Rx antenna can receive signals reflected and returned from a forward-facing target.

[0125] Possible units or possible configurable parameters, or a non-exhaustive list of MIMO systems in some embodiments, include: panels; and beams.

[0126] The panel is a unit of an antenna group, antenna array, or antenna subarray, which can independently control the Tx beam or Rx beam.

[0127] A beam can be formed by performing amplitude and / or phase weighting on data transmitted or received by at least one antenna port. A beam can also be formed using another method (e.g., adjusting the relevant parameters of the antenna elements). A beam can include a Tx beam and / or an Rx beam. The transmit beam indicates the distribution of signal strength in different directions in space after a signal is transmitted through the antenna. The receive beam indicates the distribution of signal strength in different directions in space for a radio signal received from the antenna. Beam information can include a beam identifier, or one or more antenna port identifiers, or a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) resource identifier, or an SSB resource identifier, or a sounding reference signal (SRS) resource identifier, or other reference signal resource identifiers.

[0128] Figure 6 A network is illustrated, comprising a sensing transmission (TX) node 602, a transmitting sensing node, multiple sensing reception (RX) nodes 604-1, 604-2, ..., 604-K (collectively or individually referred to as 604), and an SMF 176. The environment in which the network operates may include at least one environment object 606. Downlink sensing signals 610 transmitted by the sensing TX node 602 and such sensing signals are reflected 612 by the environment object 606. Figure 6 The middle part is represented by a dashed line.

[0129] In an exemplary implementation, the sensing TX node 602 can be implemented as a T-TRP 170, and the sensing RX node 604 can be implemented as a corresponding ED 110. The SMF 176 can be implemented as a discrete physical network entity or as a logical network entity associated with one or more physical entities. The SMF 176 can orchestrate sensing processes representing various aspects of this disclosure. If the SMF 176 is implemented as a logical network entity, the sensing TX node 602 can implement all or part of the SMF functionality.

[0130] According to various aspects of this disclosure, a method is provided for obtaining and processing corresponding sensing measurements for multiple low-bandwidth frequency blocks measured at multiple sensing RX nodes 604, the corresponding sensing measurements relating to a wide-bandwidth sensing signal transmitted by a sensing TX node 602. For example, the sensing measurements for a corresponding frequency block may include a power delay profile (PDP) as measured at the corresponding sensing RX node 604. The power delay profile (PDP) may refer to the average power of the received signal in terms of delay in a multipath propagation channel. In some embodiments, the PDP is defined relative to a first path of arrival. The corresponding sensing measurements obtained from the multiple sensing RX nodes 604 are fed back to the sensing TX node 602 and fused to provide a sensing result with relatively high resolution. The frequency blocks may correspond to measurement windows, each covering a different defined spectrum corresponding to a corresponding sub-portion of the bandwidth of the downlink sensing signal.

[0131] One advantage of the sensing method representing some aspects of this disclosure is the feasibility of providing relatively high-resolution sensing services using feedback from multiple relatively low-bandwidth sensing RX nodes. It can be seen that utilizing feedback from monitoring results of relatively low-bandwidth sensing signals extends the relatively high-resolution sensing capability of next-generation wireless systems by increasing the number of sensing RX nodes that can potentially participate in relatively high-resolution sensing activities. Sensing activities may, for example, include transmitting downlink sensing signals measured by multiple RX nodes and receiving frequency block-specific uplink feedback signals from multiple RX nodes. The increase in the number of sensing RX nodes may involve including low-end EDs and / or low-capability EDs, such as drones and IoT devices (e.g., low-end IoT devices).

[0132] Figure 7 An example of a downlink sensing signal mode that can be used to sense a downlink sensing signal 610 transmitted by a sensing TX node 602, according to an exemplary implementation, is shown. The sensing signal 610 has a total spectral span F. span and total time span T span In the example shown, the sensing signal includes one or more sensing signal components 702-1 to 702-L (also typically referred to by the reference numeral 702 in the singular or plural). Each downlink sensing signal component 702 can be, for example, an LFM signal as described above. In the example shown, F span It is continuous. In some alternative examples, F span This may include having F together span The spectral bandwidth is a set of multiple non-contiguous bandwidth components. F is defined. span The spectral bandwidth is determined to achieve high-resolution sensing results. Similarly, the total time span T can also be defined.span This is to achieve high-resolution sensing results. In some examples, the downlink sensing signal 610 is transmitted using a downlink shared channel defined for sensing.

[0133] Figure 8 The present disclosure illustrates aspects related to the present disclosure. Figure 6 In the context of a network, the sensing process 800 is performed, involving associated information, sensing signals, and feedback flows in a signal flow graph. To simplify... Figure 8 For the purposes of this study, it can be assumed that the sensing TX node 602 and SMF 176 are co-located. It can be anticipated that SMF 176 is used for control and processing of the sensing TX node 602 and multiple sensing RX nodes 604 (in... Figure 7 The sensing resources are represented by sensing RX nodes 604-1 and 604-K.

[0134] In some exemplary implementations, two different operating modes can be supported: a first mode (referred to herein as GroupSplicingMode=0) particularly suitable when location information is known or can be obtained for RX node 604, and a second mode (referred to herein as GroupSplicingMode=1) more suitable when location information for the RX node is unavailable. As will be described in more detail below, the sensing signal measurement and processing configurations for GroupSplicingMode=0 and GroupSplicingMode=1 are different. In a particular example, both modes assign a corresponding T (e.g., a unique time / frequency window) for the sensing and processing of downlink sensing signals to the participating RX nodes; however, GroupSplicingMode=1 also includes a common measurement window for sensing and processing by all participating RX nodes.

[0135] In the following description, the process executed when GroupSplicingMode=0 will be described first, and the process executed when GroupSplicingMode=1 will be described then.

[0136] As an initial operation, a set of available sensing RX nodes 604 can send a capability report (step 804) to sensing TX node 602 for processing by SMF 176. For several examples, the capability report may include indications of capabilities related to receiving and processing signals on different frequency blocks (including the number of supported frequency blocks and the maximum frequency spacing between blocks), indications of maximum supported bandwidth, indications of dynamic range, indications of the ability to perform time / Doppler and angle measurements, and indications of the ability to transmit and / or receive signals through different communication or sensing channels. SMF 176 may receive a capability report (step 806) from sensing RX node 604.

[0137] In at least some exemplary implementations, the sensing RX node 604 may send (step 808) positioning information of the SMF 176. The SMF 176 may receive (step 810) positioning information from the sensing RX node 604. The positioning information sent by the sensing RX node 604 may include an indication of the location of the RX node and may include, for example, absolute positioning in a coordinate reference system, relative position to a landmark in a given radiofrequency (RF) map, absolute angle of arrival (AoA) value, and / or relative AoA to the line of sight (LOS) link with the sensing TX node 602.

[0138] Based on the capability reports and location information of the sensing RX nodes, SMF 176 can select (step 812) a suitable set of sensing RX nodes 604 within the region of interest and assign corresponding measurement windows (MWs) to the selected sensing RX nodes 604. For example, SMF 176 can be used to assign measurement windows mapped to locations within the search region of interest so that the search region can be fully searched.

[0139] Figure 9 A single universal measurement window MW is shown. k The representation indicates that this single general measurement window can be assigned to the k-th sensing RX node 604 for sensing a corresponding portion 612R of the downlink sensing signal 610. As will be described in more detail below, each RX node 604 is used to measure the corresponding PDP for the sensing signal it senses within its assigned measurement window MW. Therefore, each measurement window MW corresponds to a corresponding sensed PDP. Each measurement window MW k Assigned by spectrum (from frequency f) k Initial bandwidth F k (frequency blocks) and time allocation (from time t) k Start duration T k In the spectral span F of the sensing signal resource allocation span and time span T span Internal definition. In some examples, the measurement windows assigned to the sensing RX node 604 can all have the same bandwidth F. k and duration T k At least some of these measurement windows MW have at least one of a unique start frequency or a unique start time, such that the measurement windows cover different frequency and / or time spans. In an exemplary embodiment, the measurement window bandwidth F k Equal to the chirping rate and the measurement window duration Tk The product of. In the example shown, the measured window bandwidth F for each corresponding window. k It is continuous. In some alternative examples, the measurement window bandwidth F is... k This may include a common spectral bandwidth F k A set of multiple discontinuous bandwidth components. (This is related to) the bandwidth F of the sensed signal. span In comparison, bandwidth F k It has a relatively narrow bandwidth.

[0140] Figure 10 Multiple measurement windows MW1, MW2, ..., MW are shown. K Each measurement window has a frequency bandwidth F and a duration T, and these measurement windows are superimposed on... Figure 7 The possible allocation of measurement windows is further illustrated by the sensing signal patterns. Although the measurement windows are MW1, MW2, ..., MW... K Each measurement window is shown to occur in discrete time, and each measurement window is aligned with a portion of the corresponding sensed signal component 702. However, in some examples, multiple measurement windows may overlap in time, and multiple measurement windows may occur within the same sensed signal component's time window. In some examples, a set of measurement windows is selected to provide ensemble coverage across the entire sensed signal spectrum F_span.

[0141] In some examples, the SMF 176 maintains configuration data records, such as one or more lookup tables (LUTs), which map the assignment of measurement windows, locations, and sensing RX nodes 604. Table 1 below is an illustrative representation of some types of configuration data that can be included in one or more LUTs, which may, for example, be associated with sensing TX nodes 602.

[0142] Table 1: Configuration Data: Location / Measurement Window / Sensing RX Node Data

[0143] In at least some of the information included in Table 1 (e.g., index values ​​and one or both of the measurement window (MW) parameters and positioning information to which they are mapped) can be pre-shared during the pre-sensing configuration phase and periodically updated between SMF 176, sensing TX node 602, and RX node 604. This allows the index values ​​to be used to indicate other parameters, thereby reducing signaling overhead during the sensing process. For example, where the index value-to-positioning mapping is predefined, the positioning information sent by each sensing RX node 604 in step 808 may include the index values ​​as positioning information. In Table 1 above, the window bandwidth F and window duration T are the same for all measurement windows (MW), but in some examples, the parameters may have different values ​​for different measurement windows.

[0144] In some examples, different index values ​​can be used for positioning information and measurement window (MW) parameters.

[0145] In some examples, the sensing process 800 is repeated, and SMF 176 maintains a record of the latest PDP obtained for each of these measurement windows, as shown in the last column of Table 1. Therefore, in some examples, historical PDPs obtained from previous measurements performed by the previous sensing RX node for the indicated measurement window can be included in the data.

[0146] After SMF 176 selects the sensing RX node 604 to participate in sensing process 800, SMF 176 may subsequently send (step 814) configuration information to the selected sensing RX node 604, which then receives the configuration information (step 816). Among other things, the configuration information may indicate that: (i) sensing RX node 604 has been selected to participate in the group splicing sensing process, and may include the tracking ID of the process; (ii) GroupSplicingMode (=0 in this example); (iii) parameters for downlink sensing signals (e.g., downlink channel resource allocation and waveform configuration); and (iv) the corresponding measurement window MW allocation for each sensing RX node.

[0147] In cases where SMF 176 differs from the sensing TX node 602, SMF 176 can also send the same configuration information (not shown) to the sensing TX node 602. Furthermore, if SMF 176 is a logical entity, instructing SMF 176 to "send" configuration information might be considered inaccurate. Instead, the configuration information can be understood as being sent by a physical entity (e.g., TX node 602 or another network node). Additionally, instructing the sensing TX node 602 to send configuration information can be performed via Xn signaling, as configuration sending can be considered a so-called "return signaling," which can be considered different from so-called "access signaling." Control signaling ( For example (RRC control signaling or MAC-CE control signaling) to complete sending configuration information to the sensing RX node 604 (step 814).

[0148] Subsequently, the sensing TX node 602 can send (step 818) a sensing signal 610 toward the region of interest (which may, for example, include the environment object 606 and the sensing RX node 604). The sending (step 818) can be performed by the sensing TX node 602 according to the configuration information defined by SMF176.

[0149] In an exemplary implementation, each of the sensing RX nodes 604 may receive sensing signals 610 via multiple paths, including, for example, reflections 612 from the environment object 606, and via a line of sight (LOS) path (if an LOS path exists between the sensing TX node 602 and the sensing RX node 604).

[0150] Each sensing RX node 604 receives (step 820) a downlink sensing signal corresponding to the corresponding narrowband measurement window (MW) allocated to it. Upon receiving the downlink sensing signal, each sensing RX node 604 can process its corresponding measurement of the sensing signal to obtain (step 822) the PDP of its measurement window MW.

[0151] Each sensing RX node 604 sends PDP information representing a PDP (step 824) to the sensing TX node 602, which is obtained for its assigned measurement window MW. In some examples, the PDP information may also include an indication of how the PDP information can be mapped to a specific measurement window MW. The measurement window may include, for example, one or more of the following: (i) measurement window parameters (e.g., time span and frequency span); (ii) an index value of the measurement window (e.g., see Table 1); and / or (iii) the ID of the sensing RX node 604, which can be mapped to the corresponding measurement window (MW) via the configuration data in Table 1. In some examples, each sensing RX node 604 also sends location information indicating its location in conjunction with the PDP information (step 828). In an exemplary implementation, the PDP information (and the accompanying location information, if sent) may be sent, for example, as part of a packet including the identifier of the sending sensing RX node 604 via an uplink shared or control channel defined for communication. In some embodiments, PDP information may be transmitted via an uplink sensing channel in which the RX sensing node ID is embedded.

[0152] The sensing TX node 602 receives the corresponding PDP information from each participating sensing RX node 604 (step 826) and any accompanying location information sent (step 830).

[0153] Sensing RX node 604 then preprocesses and fuses the low-resolution PDP corresponding to the narrow bandwidth measurement window MW (step 832) to obtain the frequency span F of the coverage source sensing signal 610. span High-resolution PDP. The preprocessing and fusion processes are described in more detail in the following paragraphs.

[0154] As a first preprocessing step, this can be based on the known differences in start times defined between the corresponding measurement windows MW (e.g., start times t1, t2, ..., t3 as defined in Table 1 above). 1=K Coarse time alignment is performed on the received PDPs using the known time offset. However, fusion of coarsely time-aligned low-resolution PDPs may require further pre-fusion processing steps to compensate for varying time-of-flight (TOF) delays in the sensing signals. These varying TOF delays are caused by the different relative positions of the sensing RX nodes 604 and the multiple paths the sensing signals may take to reach each sensing RX node 604. These varying TOF delays can lead to mismatches between the PDPs and their corresponding sensing signal paths, making it possible to fuse the PDPs without correcting for TOF variations, potentially resulting in inappropriate fusion outcomes.

[0155] As discussed below, in an exemplary embodiment, the PDP can be used as a channel measurement to estimate the delay and amplitude associated with the primary channel path between each sensing RX node 604 and sensing TX node 602, such that a given PDP can be associated with a given sensing signal, a given sensing RX node 604, and a given low-bandwidth frequency measurement window.

[0156] By way of example, in Figure 11 The image shows the first PDP 1100-A. For each of the three main channel paths, the first PDP 1100-A is associated with two parameters: delay. ; and amplitude This delay is relative to the start time specified for the start time of the measurement window MW defined for the PDP measurement. The first PDP 1100-A is obtained for the sensing signal received at sensing RX node 604-1. The first PDP 1100-A can... Figure 11 The middle is shown as including those from the first path ( It has a delay and amplitude ), second path ( It has a delay and amplitude ) and the third path ( It has a delay and amplitude ) contributions.

[0157] exist Figure 11 The second PDP 1100-B is shown. For each of the three main channel paths, the second PDP 1100-B is associated with two parameters: delay. ; and amplitude The second PDP 1100-B is obtained for the sensing signal received at the second sensing RX node 604-2. The second PDP 1100-B can... Figure 11 The middle is shown as including those from the first path ( It has a delay and amplitude ), second path ( It has a delay and amplitude ) and the third path ( It has a delay and amplitude ) contributions.

[0158] exist Figure 11 The diagram shows the Kth PDP 1100-K. For each of the three main channel paths, the Kth PDP 1100-K is associated with two parameters: delay. ; and amplitude The Kth PDP 1100-K is obtained for the sensing signal received at the Kth sensing RX node 604-K. The Kth PDP 1100-K can be... Figure 11 The middle is shown as including those from the first path ( It has a delay and amplitude ), second path ( It has a delay and amplitude ) and the third path ( It has a delay and amplitude ) contributions.

[0159] The parameters of the primary channel paths of the PDP 1100 at the sensing RX node 604 can be considered indistinguishable. This indistinguishability may be attributed to the associated measurement windows with separate low-bandwidth spectrum allocations. Furthermore, it can be seen that narrowband measurements of the downlink sensing signal may not be directly fused due to the significant mismatch between different PDPs. Figure 11 As can be seen, there is a significant mismatch between the first PDP 1100-A, the second PDP 1100-B, and the Kth PDP 1100-K.

[0160] In addition to any differences in the definition of the measurement window start time as illustrated in Table 1, there may be two other types of mismatches between the PDP 1100 obtained for different sensing TX nodes 602.

[0161] The first type of mismatch can be understood as being due to the first delay. The value of, i.e. First delay This can be understood as including the first path of the downlink sensing signal ( The flight time from the sensing TX node 602 to the k-th sensing RX node 604 can be expressed as: First delay It can also be understood as including the synchronization error between the sensing TX node 602 and the k-th sensing RX node 604.

[0162] The second type of mismatch can be understood as the value of the arrival interval. The arrival interval can be understood as the difference in delay between the arrival times of the downlink sensing signal at a given sensing RX node 604, because the sensing signal travels through different paths. It can be expected that the first arrival interval of the sensing signal received by the first sensing RX node 604-1 will be | |The second arrival interval will be similar to that of the sensing signal received by the second sensing RX node 604-2| Due to various reasons, a second type of mismatch may exist between the first arrival interval and the second arrival interval.

[0163] It can be seen that “appropriate” fusion of the relatively low-resolution PDP at the perceptual TX node 602 will result in a single, improved-resolution PDP. However, in order to “appropriately” fuse PDPs, reducing the two types of mismatches discussed above may be considered important.

[0164] One approach to reducing these two types of mismatch involves using a process to approximate the alignment of the relatively low-resolution PDP 1100 in the delay domain. This approximate alignment process may involve approximate estimations of similar features (e.g., their corresponding peaks). This involves time-shifting the relatively low-resolution PDP 1100. Additionally, the approximate alignment process may involve considering the time shift relative to each relatively low-resolution PDP 1100. Approximate estimation of associated ToF .

[0165] Note that the offset time This will depend on the distance between the corresponding sensing RX nodes 604. In some examples, as a supplement to or alternative to identifying PDP peaks, the offset time can be estimated based on a comparison of the shared spatial signatures of the sensing RX nodes 604. For example, each corresponding sensing RX node 604 can be used to obtain a corresponding spatial signature, which may include one or more of the following positioning information based on spatial measurements: (1) the positioning of the sensing RX node 604 relative to a reference point common to all sensing RX nodes 604, which is obtained by the corresponding node performing a monostation sensing process of its surrounding environment; (2) the angle of arrival (AOA) measured for the LOS path of the sensing signal received by the sensing RX node 604; (3) the azimuth, angle of departure (AOD); and distance interval measurements based on signals exchanged between sensing RX nodes.

[0166] For example, each sensing RX node 604 can send its corresponding spatial signature as part of the positioning information sent by the sensing RX node to the sensing TX node 602 in step 828. The sensing TX node 602 can then use one of the sensing RX nodes 604 as a reference or guiding node and compare the spatial signatures of all other nodes with the spatial signature of the reference node to estimate the corresponding node-specific offset time. In at least some examples, the absolute position of the reference-aware RX node 604 can be known, which can further enhance the offset time. The estimate.

[0167] Figure 11 The results of the approximate alignment process are shown, where the relatively low resolution PDP 1100- Each PDP in the dataset is mapped to a corresponding relative PDP ("relative PDP, rPDP") 1100- r. In fact, the first PDP 1100-A is mapped to the corresponding first relative PDP 1100-Ar, the second PDP 1100-B is mapped to the corresponding second relative PDP 1100-Br, and the Kth PDP 1100-K is mapped to the corresponding Kth relative PDP 1100-Kr. The first relative PDP 1100-Ar, the second relative PDP 1100-Br, and the Kth relative PDP 1100-Kr may be referred to collectively or individually as 1100r in this document.

[0168] The first rPDP 1100-Ar can be obtained by subtracting the first factor from the duration of PDP 1100-A. To obtain, making Mapped to The second rPDP 1100-Br can be obtained by subtracting the second factor from the duration of PDP 1100-B. To obtain, making Mapped to The Kth rPDP 1100-Kr can be obtained by subtracting the Kth factor from the duration of PDP 1100-K. To obtain, making Mapped to .

[0169] When all of the relatively low resolution PDP 1100 When all PDPs have been mapped to their corresponding rPDP 1100r, it can be seen that the correlation between the relative perceived measurements of rPDP 1100r is more significant than the correlation between the actual perceived measurements of the relatively lower-resolution PDP 1100. Therefore, rPDP 1100r can be considered feasible for fusion.

[0170] It can be seen that the stronger the spatial correlation of the sensing RX nodes 604, the lower these mismatches are. When the mismatch is low, the quality of the output of the fusion process can be improved. Therefore, the index indicating the degree of dispersion of mismatches can be used as an indicator of the expected quality of the output of the fusion process.

[0171] Indicators of the degree of mismatch dispersion of rPDP 1100r It can be defined as ,in, This can be understood as representing the downlink sensing signal on the i-th path to the k-th sensing RX node 604- The relative delay, and It can be seen that the indicators The value of is somewhat dependent on the distance between the 604 sensing RX nodes. That is, it can be seen that a larger distance between the 604 sensing RX nodes is related to the index. It is associated with larger values. For example, suppose Furthermore, assuming that the two sensing RX nodes 604 have the same location, that is, one of the two sensing RX nodes 604 is located above the other, it can be seen that the index The value is almost zero.

[0172] Minimum delay between path pairs This is another indicator that directly affects the quality of the fusion process. Minimum delay It can be defined mathematically as It can be seen that the minimum delay The increase is associated with a decrease in the sensitivity of the fusion process to the degree of mismatch dispersion of rPDPs 1100r.

[0173] It can also be seen that the minimum delay This is primarily related to the environment and the spatial separation and orientation of objects within that environment (scatterers or reflectors of perceived signals). It can be observed that an environment with more spatially separated and oriented objects compared to objects in another environment is expected to have a greater minimum delay. .

[0174] It is worth noting that minimum latency It may depend to some extent on the localization of the sensing RX node 604. In fact, the minimum latency... It may not be very sensitive to changes in the location of the sensing RX node 604 within the spatial region defining the group of sensing RX nodes 604. This lack of sensitivity may be particularly real when the sensing RX node 604 is far from objects associated with the main channel path. It is worth noting that when the minimum delay Much larger than the indicator of the degree of mismatch dispersion of rPDP 1100r This can reduce the sensitivity of the fusion process to the mismatch of the PDP 1100r. In other words, when >> This can reduce the sensitivity of the fusion process to the mismatch of the PDP 1100r.

[0175] Given the respective impacts of the various metrics discussed above on the fusion process, some aspects of this application relate to preprocessing the PDP 1100r. In practice, the PDP 1100 can be preprocessed in the "pre-fusion" phase to utilize the spatial correlation between multiple sensing RX nodes 604, thereby capturing a relatively high mathematical correlation between the multiple PDPs received by the transmitting RX node 602 in step 826. This capture of the relatively high mathematical correlation can be achieved by creating and processing a set of relative measurements (e.g., relative to the PDP 1100r). Advantageously, the correlation between relative measurements can be measured and captured. Conversely, it may not be easy to measure and capture the correlation between the acquired measurements (e.g., the PDP 1100).

[0176] As discussed above, the pre-fusion stage may involve shifting the acquired PDP 1100s by multiple time shifts. In some aspects of this application, the offset delay can be based on detecting the offset delay associated with the highest peak of the envelope of each acquired PDP 1100. (Right now Multiple time shifts can be determined based on the time-of-flight (ToF) delay between sensing RX node 602 and sensing RX node 604. (Right now This is used to determine multiple time shifts. It can be seen that the pre-fusion stage generates multiple relative measurements, for example, relative to PDP 1100r, which can be seen to facilitate the fusion process performed at sensing RX node 604.

[0177] As described above, in an exemplary implementation, in step 812, the SMF 176 selects a sensing RX node 604 to participate in the sensing process 800, and allocates a corresponding measurement window MW to the sensing RX node 604 based on the capability information and positioning information received in steps 806 and 810. In this type of example, the selection of participating sensing RX nodes and the allocation of measurement windows MW are performed to ensure... >> .

[0178] In another example, based on the spatial signature received in step 830 (as sent by the sensing RX node 604 in step 828), the sensing TX node 602 can perform actions on... and The new estimates. Based on these results, the sensing TX node 602 can apply a fusion criterion to identify whether the PDPs obtained from a set of sensing RX nodes 604 are suitable for fusion. This criterion can, for example, be based on identification For each group of sensing nodes that exceed a threshold, this threshold can be... The multiples of are represented. In some examples, PDPs collected from outlier nodes that cannot fit into a properly sized fusion can be filtered out in subsequent fusion steps.

[0179] After preprocessing to obtain one or more sets of time-aligned rPDPs (PDPs that meet the fusion criteria), the sensing TX node 602 is used to fuse multiple individual relative rPDPs in the group to achieve a frequency response F of the sensed signal. span The corresponding high-resolution PDP after fusion. It can be seen that the fused relative measurement obtained by fusing multiple individual relative measurements has higher resolution and / or higher accuracy than any one of the individual relative measurements.

[0180] In some examples, one or both of the time-aligned rPDP and the fused high-resolution PDP can be provided to the SMF 176 for storage. For example, updated PDP information can be stored as part of the configuration data in Table 1 described above. In some examples, the SMF 176 can take into account the updated PDP-to-location mapping included in Table 1 when allocating measurement windows for future sensing processes.

[0181] In an exemplary embodiment, the fused high-resolution PDP can be used by a mapping application to generate a map of objects and perceived RX nodes within the region of interest.

[0182] The above description focuses on the sensing process 800 performed when GroupSplicingMode=0. The following paragraphs describe the sensing process 800 performed when GroupSplicingMode=1. As mentioned above, GroupSplicingMode=1 may be appropriate in scenarios where the location information of the sensing RX node 604 is unknown. The process associated with GroupSplicingMode=1 is similar to that of GroupSplicingMode=0, with differences that will be apparent from this specification and the related figures.

[0183] As described above, in addition to the unique measurement window MW for the corresponding sensing RX node 604, GroupSplicingMode=1 also includes a common measurement window MW for all participating sensing RX nodes 604 to sense and process. c .in this regard, Figure 12 The possible measurement window (MW) allocation superimposed on the sensing signal pattern is illustrated graphically. Figure 12 The measurement window MW allocation shown is related to Figure 10 The measurement window MW assignments shown are the same, the difference being the assignment of the additional common measurement window MW. c This has been added to the start of the sensing signal mode. As will be described in more detail below, in addition to their respective assigned measurement windows, all participating sensing RX nodes 604 acquire and feed back information for the common measurement window MW. c The corresponding PDP.

[0184] refer to Figure 8 When GroupSplicingMode=1, SMF 176 can receive (step 806) capability reports provided (step 804) by multiple sensing RX nodes 604. However, sensing RX nodes 604 typically do not provide location information (i.e., steps 808 and 810 are omitted when GroupSplicingMode=1).

[0185] In at least some examples, SMF 176 selects GroupSplicingMode=0 or GroupSplicingMode=1 based on the information included in the capability report received in step 806. For example, if the capability report indicates that the location information will not be available for the sensing RX node 604, SMF 176 will select GroupSplicingMode=1 instead of GroupSplicingMode=0.

[0186] Having received capability information, SMF 176 can select (step 812) a suitable set of sensing RX nodes 604 and assign them appropriate measurement windows (MWs) based at least in part on their respective capabilities. In at least some examples, even without explicit location information, the approximate location of the sensing RX node 604 is known based on the identifiers of any network base stations currently registered to it. SMF 176 can also use this knowledge when selecting suitable sensing RX nodes 604 and assigning appropriate measurement windows (MWs). In some examples, SMF 176 can arbitrarily assign measurement windows (MWs) to the corresponding sensing RX nodes 604. In some examples, SMF 176 can assign a set of measurement windows (MWs) to the sensing process 800 without explicitly assigning measurement windows (MWs) to specific sensing RX nodes 604.

[0187] SMF 176 may then provide (step 814) configuration information to the selected sensing RX node 604, which in turn receives the configuration information (step 816). Among other things, the configuration information may indicate at least some of the following: (i) that the sensing RX node 604 has been selected to participate in the group splicing sensing process, and may include the tracking ID of the process; (ii) GroupSplicingMode (=1 in this example); (iii) parameters for the downlink sensing signal (e.g., downlink channel resource allocation and waveform configuration); and (iv) the corresponding measurement window (MW) allocation for each sensing RX node. Where the measurement window (MW) allocation is not explicitly known, the configuration information may only indicate the available measurement windows (MW), and the configuration information may be multicast or broadcast to a group of sensing RX nodes 604 communicating with the sensing TX node 602.

[0188] Subsequently, the sensing TX node 602 can send (step 818) a sensing signal 610 toward the region of interest (which may, for example, include the environment object 606 and the sensing RX node 604). The sending (step 818) can be performed by the sensing TX node 602 according to the configuration information defined by SMF176.

[0189] In at least some examples, instead of sending the configuration information as a separate communication to the selected sensing RX node 604 in step 814, the sensing TX node 602 embeds the configuration information into a common measurement window MW. c The corresponding sensing signal segment 702-C is then included, and configuration information is included as part of the sensing signal transmission in step 818. In this scenario, each sensing RX node 604 receives data from a common measurement window MW. c The configuration information is extracted from the corresponding portion of the received sensing signals.

[0190] Sensing RX node 604 receives (step 820) the downlink sensing signal as a reflected signal, a LOS signal, or both. Each participating sensing RX node 604 will individually measure across the common measurement window MW. c The received signal, and for this common measurement window MW c The corresponding PDP is calculated. In addition, each participating sensing RX node 604 measures the received signal for a specific narrowband measurement window MW assigned to it, and obtains the corresponding PDP for its measurement window MW.

[0191] Each sensing RX node 604 sends PDP information (step 824), which represents (i) the PDP obtained by the sensing RX node regarding its assigned measurement window MW; and (ii) the PDP obtained by the sensing RX node regarding the common measurement window MW. c The PDP. In some examples, the PDP information may also include information that enables the PDP information to be mapped to a specific measurement window MW, as indicated above.

[0192] The sensing TX node 602 receives the corresponding PDP information from each participating sensing RX node 604 (step 826). With GroupSplicingMode=1, the sensing TX node 602 will therefore have a PDP signature corresponding to the common measurement window for all sensing RX nodes 604. These common PDPs can be correlated (e.g., by searching for matching features such as maximum amplitude) to determine relative time cancellation values, taking into account the different locations of the sensing RX nodes 604. This relative time cancellation can then be combined with the cancellation determined above to achieve the fusion of sensing RX node-specific PDPs to obtain a high-resolution PDP.

[0193] In at least some examples, comparisons of common PDPs can be used to identify which sense node-specific PDPs obtained from a set of sense RX nodes 604 are suitable for fusion. If there is a threshold correlation among the common PDPs returned by a set of sense RX nodes 604, then the measurement window-specific PDPs of that set can be fused together.

[0194] It should be understood that one or more steps of the methods of the embodiments provided herein can be performed by corresponding units or modules. For example, data can be transmitted by a transmitting unit or transmitting module. Data can be received by a receiving unit or receiving module. Data can be processed by a processing unit or processing module. The corresponding units / modules can be hardware, software, or a combination thereof. For example, one or more of these units / modules can be integrated circuits, such as field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) or application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs). It should be understood that when a module is software, the module can be retrieved by a processor, wholly or partially, individually or collectively, for processing, in single or multiple instances as needed, and the module itself can include instructions for further deployment and instantiation.

[0195] Although combinations of features are illustrated in the examples, not all features need to be combined to achieve the benefits of the various embodiments of this disclosure. In other words, a system or method designed according to embodiments of this disclosure may not necessarily include all features shown in any of the figures in the accompanying drawings, nor may it include all portions schematically shown in the figures. Furthermore, selected features of one exemplary embodiment may be combined with selected features of other exemplary embodiments.

[0196] Although this disclosure has been described with reference to illustrative embodiments, this specification is not intended to be construed in a limiting sense. Various modifications and combinations of the illustrative embodiments, as well as other embodiments of this disclosure, will be apparent to those skilled in the art upon reference to this specification. Therefore, the appended claims are intended to cover any such modifications or embodiments.

Claims

1. A sensing method, characterized in that, The method includes: Sensing feedback is received from each of a set of sensing RX nodes, the sensing feedback from each sensing RX node indicating the corresponding sensing measurement value obtained by the sensing RX node for a corresponding measurement window regarding the transmitted downlink sensing signal, each measurement window having a corresponding window spectrum and time window for sensing, each corresponding window spectrum corresponding to a corresponding sub-part of the total frequency bandwidth of the downlink sensing signal; The sensing feedback is processed to fuse the corresponding sensing measurement values ​​obtained for the corresponding measurement window into a fused sensing measurement value corresponding to the set spectrum of the corresponding measurement window.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, Each of the corresponding sensing measurements includes a corresponding power delay profile (PDP), and the fused sensing measurement includes a fused PDP, wherein the fused PDP is a fusion of at least some of the corresponding PDPs.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that, Processing the sensory feedback includes: Prior to the fusion, a time shift is performed to align the PDPs, thereby compensating for one or more of the following: (i) the time difference between the measurement windows; (ii) the relative time of flight (TOF) difference of the transmitted downlink sensing signals arriving at the sensing RX nodes; and (iii) the timing synchronization offset between the sensing RX nodes.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that, Time-shifting the PDP includes: Identify similar features for at least some of the corresponding PDPs; Based on the identified similar features, at least some of the corresponding PDPs are time-shifted by a corresponding amount; The time-shifted PDP is fused to obtain the fused PDP.

5. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that, The similar features include the location of the peak power in the corresponding PDP.

6. The method according to any one of claims 3, 4, or 5, characterized in that, The time shift is based on the received location information about the sensing RX node.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that, The sensing feedback from each sensing RX node also indicates a common window sensing measurement value obtained by the sensing RX node for the transmitted downlink sensing signal for a common measurement window, the common measurement window having a common common window spectrum and a common time window shared by the set of sensing RX nodes, and wherein processing the sensing feedback to fuse the corresponding sensing measurement value is based on a comparison of the common window sensing measurement values ​​obtained by the sensing RX node.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that, Processing the perceptual feedback to fuse the corresponding perceptual measurements includes: when the comparison of the perceptual measurements in the common window indicates that a subset of the corresponding perceptual measurements is suitable for fusion, selecting the subset of the corresponding perceptual measurements for fusion.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that, include: Before receiving and processing the sensing feedback from each sensing RX node. The sensing TX node sends downlink sensing signals. The receiving and processing of the perception feedback from each perception RX node is performed at the perception TX node.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that, include: Receive capability reports from multiple sensing RX nodes; Based on the capability report, a set of sensing RX nodes is selected from the plurality of RX nodes to participate in the sensing process for measuring the downlink sensing signal; The corresponding measurement window is assigned to each of the sensing RX nodes in the set of sensing RX nodes; Send configuration information for the sensing RX node in the set of sensing RX nodes, the configuration information indicating the allocation of the corresponding measurement window.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that, The configuration information also includes an indication of a common measurement window for sensing by all of the sensing RX nodes in the set of sensing RX nodes during the sensing process.

12. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that, include: Based on the capability report, it is determined whether the perception process will be performed in the first mode or the second mode; When the sensing process is to be performed in the second mode, the configuration information includes a second mode indicator, which indicates a common measurement window for sensing by all the sensing RX nodes in the group of sensing RX nodes in the sensing process. When the sensing process is to be performed in the first mode, the configuration information includes a first mode indicator that indicates that no common measurement window will be sensed.

13. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 12, characterized in that, Receiving the capability report, selecting the set of sensing RX nodes, allocating the corresponding measurement windows, and sending the configuration information are all performed at the sensing TX node.

14. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 12, characterized in that, Receiving the capability report, selecting the group of sensing RX nodes, allocating the corresponding measurement windows, and sending the configuration information are all performed at the network node used to perform the sensing management function.

15. The method according to claim 11 or 12, characterized in that, The configuration information is embedded in a portion of the downlink sensing signal associated with the common measurement window.

16. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 15, characterized in that, The sensing TX node is a base station of a wireless communication network, and at least some of the sensing RX nodes are mobile electronic devices registered in the wireless communication network.

17. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 16, characterized in that, include: A map of physical objects within the region of interest is generated based on the fused sensor measurements.

18. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 17, characterized in that, include: The sensed measurement value is stored together with the corresponding positioning information indicating the location where the sensed measurement value was obtained.

19. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 18, characterized in that, include: At each of the set of sensing RX nodes, a corresponding sensing measurement value for the corresponding measurement window of the sensing RX node is obtained, and the sensing RX node sends a corresponding feedback signal for the sensing TX node.

20. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 19, characterized in that, The window spectrum and / or time window of the corresponding measurement window overlap in at least some parts.

21. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 20, characterized in that, The downlink sensing signal includes a set of sensing signal components, each spanning a common spectrum and occupying a different time slot, and at least some of the corresponding measurement windows each have a different time window corresponding to a different sensing signal component in the set of repeated sensing signal elements.

22. A method executed at a sensing RX node, characterized in that, include: The system receives configuration information for the sensing RX node to use for sensing downlink sensing signals, wherein the corresponding measurement window defines a corresponding spectral window and a time window for the sensing, and the corresponding spectral window corresponds to a sub-part of the downlink sensing signal that is smaller than the total frequency bandwidth of the downlink sensing signal; The downlink sensing signal is sensed during the corresponding measurement window; The power delay profile (PDP) of the downlink sensing signal within the corresponding measurement window is calculated based on the sensing. Send an instruction for the PDP to the network node.

23. The method according to claim 22, characterized in that, The configuration information indicates a common measurement window, which is different from the corresponding measurement used by the sensing RX node to sense the downlink sensing signal. The method further includes: The downlink sensing signal is sensed during the common measurement window; The common window PDP of the downlink sensing signal within the common measurement window is calculated based on the sensing. Send an instruction for the public window PDP to the network node.

24. A method, characterized in that, include: Receive capability reports from multiple sensing RX nodes; Based on the capability report, a group of sensing RX nodes are selected from the plurality of RX nodes to participate in the sensing process for measuring the transmitted downlink sensing signals; A corresponding measurement window is assigned to each of the group of sensing RX nodes, and each measurement window defines a corresponding spectrum and duration for sensing during the sensing process. Each corresponding spectrum corresponds to a corresponding sub-part of the total frequency bandwidth of the downlink sensing signal. Configuration information for the sensing RX nodes in the group of sensing RX nodes is sent over the network, and the configuration information indicates the allocation of the corresponding measurement window.

25. The method according to claim 24, characterized in that, The configuration information also includes an indication of a common measurement window for sensing by all of the sensing RX nodes in the set of sensing RX nodes during the sensing process, the common measurement window defining a common spectrum and a common duration.

26. The method according to claim 24, characterized in that, include: Based on the capability report, it is determined whether the perception process will be performed in the first mode or the second mode; When the sensing process is to be executed in the second mode, the configuration information includes a second mode indicator, which indicates a common measurement window for sensing by all the sensing RX nodes in the group of sensing RX nodes in the sensing process, the common measurement window defining a common spectrum and a common duration; When the sensing process is to be performed in the first mode, the configuration information includes a first mode indicator that indicates that no common measurement window will be sensed.

27. An apparatus, characterized in that, include: A processor for causing the apparatus to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 26.

28. A computer-readable medium storing instructions, characterized in that, When executed by a processor, the instructions cause the processor to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 26.

29. A system, characterized in that, include: A sensing TX node is used to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 21 in conjunction with a group of sensing RX nodes, wherein each sensing RX node is used to obtain the corresponding sensing measurement value for the corresponding measurement window of the sensing RX node, and to send the corresponding sensing feedback for the sensing TX node.

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