Performing joint demodulation

Abstract

A method includes receiving, by a user equipment from a network node, the user equipment being scheduled in a multi-user multiple-input multiple-output (MU-MIMO) transmission scheme including a plurality of co-scheduled user equipments, information indicating a highest modulation order of a plurality of modulation orders of the plurality of co-scheduled user equipments of the MU-MIMO transmission scheme; performing modulation detection based on the highest modulation order of one or more layers of the MU-MIMO transmission scheme; and performing joint demodulation based at least in part on a result of the modulation detection.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This manual relates to wireless communication. Background Technology

[0002] A communication system can be a facility that enables communication between two or more nodes or devices (such as fixed or mobile communication devices). Signals can be carried on wired or wireless carrier waves.

[0003] An example of a cellular communication system is the architecture being standardized by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). Recent developments in this field are often referred to as Long Term Evolution (LTE) of Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) radio access technology. EUTRA (Evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access) is 3GPP's LTE upgrade path for the air interface of mobile networks. In LTE, base stations or access points (APs) called enhanced node APs (eNBs) provide radio access within a coverage area or cell. In LTE, mobile devices or mobile stations are called User Equipment (UEs). LTE has incorporated many improvements and developments. All aspects of LTE are continuously being improved.

[0004] The development of 5G New Radio (NR) is part of an ongoing evolution of mobile broadband to meet the requirements of 5G, similar to the early evolution of 3G and 4G wireless networks. Furthermore, in addition to mobile broadband, 5G also targets emerging use cases. The goal of 5G is to deliver significant improvements in wireless performance, which can include new levels of data rates, latency, reliability, and security. 5G NR can also be extended to efficiently connect massive Internet of Things (IoT) networks and can provide new types of mission-critical services. For example, ultra-reliable and low-latency communication (URLLC) devices may require high reliability and very low latency. 6G and other networks are also under development. Summary of the Invention

[0005] In some aspects, the technology described herein relates to an apparatus comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least: receive information from a network node, the apparatus being scheduled in a multi-user multiple-input multiple-output (MU-MIMO) transmission scheme comprising a plurality of co-scheduled user equipments, the information indicating the highest modulation order among a plurality of modulation orders of the plurality of co-scheduled user equipments in the MU-MIMO transmission scheme; perform modulation detection based on the highest modulation order of one or more layers of the MU-MIMO transmission scheme; and perform joint demodulation at least in part based on the result of the modulation detection.

[0006] In some aspects, the technology described herein relates to an apparatus comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least: receive a capability indication for performing modulation detection from a user equipment; and send information to the user equipment indicating the highest modulation order among a plurality of modulation orders of a plurality of jointly scheduled user equipments in a multi-user multiple-input multiple-output (MU-MIMO) transmission scheme.

[0007] In some aspects, the technology described herein relates to a method comprising: receiving information from a network node by a user equipment (UE) scheduled in a multi-user multiple-input multiple-output (MU-MIMO) transmission scheme comprising multiple co-scheduled UEs, the information indicating the highest modulation order among multiple modulation orders of the multiple co-scheduled UEs in the MU-MIMO transmission scheme; performing modulation detection based on the highest modulation order of one or more layers of the MU-MIMO transmission scheme; and performing joint demodulation based at least in part on the result of the modulation detection.

[0008] In some respects, the technology described herein relates to a method comprising: receiving, by a network node, an indication of the capability to perform modulation detection from a user equipment; and sending information to the user equipment indicating the highest modulation order among multiple modulation orders of multiple jointly scheduled user equipments in a multi-user multiple-input multiple-output (MU-MIMO) transmission scheme.

[0009] In some aspects, the technology described herein relates to an apparatus comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least: receive information from a network node, the apparatus being scheduled in a multi-user multiple-input multiple-output (MU-MIMO) transmission scheme comprising a plurality of co-scheduled user equipments, the information indicating the lowest modulation order among a plurality of modulation orders of the plurality of co-scheduled user equipments in the MU-MIMO transmission scheme; perform modulation detection based on the lowest modulation order of one or more layers of the MU-MIMO transmission scheme; and perform joint demodulation at least in part based on the result of the modulation detection.

[0010] In some aspects, the technology described herein relates to an apparatus comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least: receive a capability indication for performing modulation detection from a user equipment; and send information to the user equipment indicating the lowest modulation order among a plurality of modulation orders of a plurality of jointly scheduled user equipments in a multi-user multiple-input multiple-output (MU-MIMO) transmission scheme.

[0011] In some aspects, the technology described herein relates to a method comprising: receiving information from a network node by a user equipment (UE) scheduled in a multi-user multiple-input multiple-output (MU-MIMO) transmission scheme comprising multiple co-scheduled UEs, the information indicating the lowest modulation order among multiple modulation orders of the multiple co-scheduled UEs in the MU-MIMO transmission scheme; performing modulation detection based on the lowest modulation order of one or more layers of the MU-MIMO transmission scheme; and performing joint demodulation based at least in part on the result of the modulation detection.

[0012] In some respects, the techniques described herein relate to a method comprising: receiving from a user equipment a capability indication to perform modulation detection by a network node; and sending information to the user equipment indicating the lowest modulation order among a plurality of modulation orders of a plurality of jointly scheduled user equipments in a multi-user multiple-input multiple-output (MU-MIMO) transmission scheme.

[0013] In some aspects, the technology described herein relates to an apparatus comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least: receive information from a network node, the apparatus being scheduled in a multi-user multiple-input multiple-output (MU-MIMO) transmission scheme comprising multiple co-scheduled user equipment, the information indicating the highest and lowest modulation order among multiple modulation orders of the multiple co-scheduled user equipment in the MU-MIMO transmission scheme; perform modulation detection based on the highest and lowest modulation order of one or more layers of the MU-MIMO transmission scheme; and perform joint demodulation at least in part based on the result of the modulation detection.

[0014] In some aspects, the technology described herein relates to an apparatus comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least: receive a capability indication for performing modulation detection from a user equipment; and send information to the user equipment indicating the highest and lowest modulation order among a plurality of modulation orders of a plurality of jointly scheduled user equipments in a multi-user multiple-input multiple-output (MU-MIMO) transmission scheme.

[0015] In some aspects, the technology described herein relates to a method comprising: receiving information from a network node by a user equipment (UE) scheduled in a multi-user multiple-input multiple-output (MU-MIMO) transmission scheme comprising a plurality of co-scheduled UEs, the information indicating the highest and lowest modulation order among a plurality of modulation orders of the plurality of co-scheduled UEs in the MU-MIMO transmission scheme; performing modulation detection based on the highest and lowest modulation order of one or more layers of the MU-MIMO transmission scheme; and performing joint demodulation at least in part based on the result of the modulation detection.

[0016] In some respects, the technology described herein relates to a method comprising: receiving from a user equipment a capability indication to perform modulation detection by a network node; and sending information to the user equipment indicating the highest and lowest modulation order among multiple modulation orders of multiple jointly scheduled user equipments in a multi-user multiple-input multiple-output (MU-MIMO) transmission scheme.

[0017] Other example embodiments are provided or described for each example method, including: components for performing any example method; a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium including instructions stored thereon, which, when executed by at least one processor, are configured to cause a computing system to perform any example method; and an apparatus including at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code, which is configured to cause the apparatus to perform at least one example method by the at least one processor.

[0018] Details of one or more examples of embodiments are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the following description. Other features will become apparent from the specification and drawings, as well as from the claims. Attached Figure Description

[0019] Figure 1 This is a block diagram of a wireless network.

[0020] Figure 2 It is a flowchart illustrating the operation of a device (e.g., a UE or user equipment, or other device).

[0021] Figure 3 It is a flowchart illustrating the operation of a device (e.g., a network node, gNB, eNB, or other device).

[0022] Figure 4 It is a flowchart illustrating the operation of a device (e.g., a UE or user equipment, or other device).

[0023] Figure 5It is a flowchart illustrating the operation of a device (e.g., a network node, gNB, eNB, or other device).

[0024] Figure 6 It is a flowchart illustrating the operation of a device (e.g., a UE or user equipment, or other device).

[0025] Figure 7 It is a flowchart illustrating the operation of a device (e.g., a network node, gNB, eNB, or other device).

[0026] Figure 8A This is a diagram illustrating one aspect of an example embodiment.

[0027] Figure 8B This is a diagram illustrating one aspect of an example embodiment.

[0028] Figure 8C This is a diagram illustrating one aspect of an example embodiment.

[0029] Figure 9 This is a block diagram of a wireless station or node (e.g., UE, user equipment, AP, BS, eNB, gNB, RAN node, network node, TRP, or other node) according to an example embodiment. Detailed Implementation

[0030] It should be understood that although terms such as "first," "second," etc., preceding nouns may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another, and they do not restrict the order of the nouns(s). For example, without departing from the scope of the exemplary embodiments, a first element may be referred to as a second element, and similarly, a second element may be referred to as a first element. As used herein, the term "and / or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the listed terms.

[0031] As used herein, unless explicitly stated otherwise, the execution step “in response to A” does not indicate that the step is performed immediately after “A” occurs, and may include one or more intermediate steps.

[0032] Figure 1 This is a block diagram of wireless network 130. Figure 1In the wireless network 130, user equipment 131, 132, 133, and 135 (which may also be referred to as mobile stations (MS) or user equipment (UE)) can connect to (and communicate with) base station 134, which may also be referred to as access point (AP), enhanced node B (eNB), gNB, or RAN (radio access network) node. BS (or AP) 134 provides wireless coverage within cell 136, including coverage for user equipment (or UE) 131, 132, 133, and 135. BS 134 is also connected to core network 150 via N2 or NG interface 151. Although only four user equipment (or UE) are shown connected to or attached to one BS 134, any number of user equipment and / or BSs can be provided.

[0033] At least some of the functionality of a BS (e.g., NG-RAN, gNB, Access Point (AP), Base Station (BS), or (e)Node B (eNB), RAN node) can also be performed by any node, server, or host operatively coupled to a transceiver (such as a remote wireless head). For example, some functions of a BS can be performed at least partially in a Central / Concentrated Unit (CU) and / or Distributed Unit (DU). Therefore, a 5G network architecture can be based on a so-called CU-DU split. A gNB-CU (central node) can control multiple spatially separated gNB-DUs, at least acting as transmit / receive (Tx / Rx) nodes. However, in some embodiments, a gNB-DU (also referred to as a DU) can include, for example, a Radio Link Control (RLC), Medium Access Control (MAC) layer, and a Physical (PHY) layer, while a gNB-CU (also referred to as a CU) can include layers above the RLC layer, such as the Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer, Radio Resource Control (RRC), and Internet Protocol (IP) layer. Other functional splits are also possible.

[0034] According to the illustrative example, a radio access network (RAN) can be part of a mobile telecommunications system. The RAN may include one or more BSs or RAN nodes implementing radio access technologies, for example, to allow one or more UEs to access the network or core network (CN). Thus, for example, the RAN (RAN nodes, such as BSs or gNBs) may reside between one or more user equipments or UEs and the core network. According to the example embodiment, each RAN node (e.g., BS, eNB, gNB, CU / DU…) or BS may provide one or more wireless communication services for one or more UEs or user equipments, for example, to allow the UE to wirelessly access the network via the RAN node. Each RAN node or BS may perform or provide wireless communication services, such as allowing the UE or user equipment to establish a wireless connection to the RAN node, and to send data to one or more UEs and / or receive data from one or more UEs. For example, after establishing a connection to the UE, the RAN node or network node (e.g., BS, eNB, gNB, CU / DU…) may forward data received from the network or core network to the UE, and / or forward data received from the UE to the network or core network. RAN nodes or network nodes (e.g., BS, eNB, gNB, CU / DU, etc.) can perform a wide variety of other radio functions or services, such as broadcasting control information to UEs (e.g., system information or on-demand system information), paging UEs when data to be delivered to them is available, assisting UEs in handover between cells, scheduling resources for uplink data transmission from (multiple) UEs and downlink data transmission to (multiple) UEs, and sending configuration information to configure one or more UEs. These are just a few examples of one or more functions that a RAN node or BS can perform.

[0035] User equipment or user node (user terminal, user equipment (UE), mobile terminal, handheld wireless device, etc.) can refer to portable computing devices that operate with or without a subscriber identification module (SIM), including but not limited to the following types of devices: mobile station (MS), mobile phone, cellular phone, smartphone, personal digital assistant (PDA), cell phone, device using a wireless modem (alarm or measuring device, etc.), laptop and / or touchscreen computer, tablet computer, phablet, game console, laptop, vehicle, drone, sensor and multimedia device, as an example, or any other wireless device. It should be understood that user equipment can also be (or may include) a virtually exclusive uplink-only device, an example of which is a camera or camcorder that loads image or video clips onto the network. Furthermore, user node can include user equipment (UE), user equipment, user terminal, mobile terminal, mobile station, mobile node, subscriber equipment, subscriber node, subscriber terminal, or other user node. For example, a user node can be used to communicate wirelessly with one or more network nodes (e.g., gNB, eNB, BS, AP, CU, DU, CU / DU) and / or with one or more other user nodes, regardless of the technology or radio access technology (RAT).

[0036] In 5G (which may be referred to as New Radio (NR)) (as an illustrative example), the core network 150 may be referred to as the 5G core network (5GC), which may include Access and Mobility Management Functions (AMF). For example, an AMF may include the following functions (e.g., some of the AMF functions may be supported in a single instance of the AMF): termination of the RAN Control Plane (CP) interface (N2), termination of the Non-Access Stratum (NAS) (or N1), NAS encryption and integrity protection, registration management, connection management, reachability management, mobility management, and / or lawful interception, etc. The 5GC may also include Session Management Functions (SMF), which may include one or more of the following functions (one or more of the SMF functions may be supported in a single instance of the SMF): session management (e.g., session establishment, modification, and release, including tunnel maintenance between User Plane Functions (UPF) and BS 134), IP address allocation and management (including optional authorization), selection and control of (multiple) UPFs, and / or traffic-directed configuration at the UPFs to route traffic to the appropriate destination, etc. In LTE (as an illustrative example), the core network 150 may be referred to as the Evolved Packet Core (EPC), which may include a Mobility Management Entity (MME) that can handle or assist user equipment in mobility / handover between BSs, one or more gateways that can forward data and control signals between the BS and a packet data network or the Internet, and other control functions or blocks.

[0037] Furthermore, the technologies described in this paper can be applied to various types of user equipment or data service types, or to user equipment that can have multiple applications running on it, which can be different data service types. New 5G (NR) development can support a variety of different applications or data service types, such as, for example: Machine-Type Communication (MTC), Enhanced Machine-Type Communication (eMTC), Internet of Things (IoT) and / or Narrowband IoT user equipment, Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB), and Ultra-Reliable and Low-Latency Communication (URLLC). Many of these new 5G (NR) related applications often require higher performance than previous wireless networks.

[0038] The Internet of Things (IoT) can refer to a growing group of objects that can have internet or network connectivity, enabling them to send and receive information from other network devices. For example, many sensor-type applications or devices can monitor physical conditions or states and, for instance, send reports to servers or other network devices when events occur. Machine-type communication (MTC or machine-to-machine communication) can be characterized, for example, by the fully automated generation, exchange, processing, and actuation of data between intelligent machines, with or without human intervention. Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) can support data rates significantly higher than those currently available in LTE.

[0039] Ultra-Reliable and Low-Latency Communication (URLLC) is a new type of data service or a new use case that can be supported for new radio (5G) systems. This enables emerging new applications and services such as industrial automation, autonomous driving, vehicle safety, and eHealth services. As an illustrative example, 3GPP aims to provide reliable connections with a block error rate (BLER) of 10⁻⁵ and U-plane (user / data plane) latency of up to 1 ms. Therefore, for example, URLLC user equipment / UEs may require significantly lower block error rates and lower latency (whether or not high reliability is required simultaneously) than other types of user equipment / UEs. Thus, for example, URLLC UEs (or URLLC applications on UEs) may require much shorter latency compared to eMBB UEs (or eMBB applications running on UEs).

[0040] The techniques described herein can be applied to a wide variety of wireless technologies or wireless networks, such as 5G (New Radio (NR)), centimeter wave (cmWave) and / or millimeter wave (mmWave) band networks, IoT, MTC, eMTC, eMBB, URLLC, 6G, etc., or any other wireless network or wireless technology. These example networks, technologies, or data service types are provided as illustrative examples only.

[0041] A Modulation and Coding Scheme (MCS) table can define (or indicate) possible combinations of modulation and coding schemes used for data transmission. The MCS table can specify the modulation order (e.g., QPSK, 16QAM, 64QAM, 256QAM, 1024QAM) and target code rate for each MCS index. For example, the gNB can instruct the UE to select a specific MCS table using a combination of RRC signaling (Information Element (IE)) and PHY layer signaling (Radio Network Temporary Identifier (RNTI)). RRC signaling can be used to configure the Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) PDSCH-Config and Semi-Persistent Scheduling (SPS) SPS-Config parameters, where mcs-TableIE is used for a semi-static configuration that can be further modified using RRC signaling. The PHY layer can use dynamic selection of the RNTI, which scrambles the Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) bits belonging to the PDCCH payload.

[0042] Multi-user multiple-input multiple-output (MU-MIMO) can be used to improve the spectral efficiency of a base station cell. The number of MU-MIMO layers has increased from LTE to NR. LTE-TM8 supports two single-layer UEs. This has been extended to two dual-layer UEs in LTE-TM9. In NR, the total number of schedulable layers further increases to 8 for Demodulation Reference Signal (DMRS) Type 1 and to 12 for DMRS Type 2. With enhanced DMRS, there are up to 16 schedulable layers in DMRS Type 1 and up to 24 schedulable layers for DMRS Type 2.

[0043] The system model for DL-MU-MIMO at the target UE (per RE) is:

[0044] And in a compact form:

[0045] in: - : is the receiving vector. The number of elements in the array is the number of receiving antennas nRx.

[0046] - : is the transmission vector used for the target UE. The number of elements in the space is the number of spatial layers. . The elements belong to one or more QAM constellations.

[0047] - : is the estimated precoding channel matrix of size (nRx, nTx). .

[0048] - : is zero mean and covariance AWGN samples.

[0049] - nCoUEs: is the number of UEs co-scheduled (on the same resource element (RE)).

[0050] - : is the estimated precoding channel matrix of size (nRx, nTx) for the j-th coUE. .

[0051] - It is the number of spatial layers of the j-th coUE.

[0052] - : is the transmission vector of the j-th coUE. The number of elements in the space is the number of spatial layers. . The elements belong to one or more QAM constellation diagrams.

[0053] For advanced receivers, the target UE and all coUEs share the same root DMRS sequence as the target UE.

[0054] MU-MIMO processing can be limited to a set of coUEs, so the number of aggregation layers is less than or equal to the number of receive antennas. The optimal solution for MU-MIMO is joint demodulation of the target UE and coUE (e.g., in a spherical decoder). However, this requires modulation (QAM order) of the coUE.

[0055] In existing technologies, the UE performs modulation detection (modulation classification) to enable joint demodulation. Signaling or messages including coUE information can provide the UE with information related to the modulation of the scheduled UE (or co-scheduled UE). However, there are situations where the UE will still need to perform modulation detection to perform optimal joint demodulation. As the number of coUEs and / or co-scheduled layers increases, as part of modulation detection, the UE needs to probe all possible modulation orders / schemes for each co-scheduled UE at each co-scheduled layer. As a result, the number of hypotheses the UE needs to probe for modulation detection increases. The complexity of modulation detection is proportional to the number of modulation order hypotheses. As an example, in NR, hypotheses may include QPSK, 16 / 64 / 256 / 1024QAM. All five hypotheses should be probed before deciding / determining the hypothesis with the highest probability. As a result, the complexity burden of modulation detection on the UE side may reduce UE efficiency and battery performance.

[0056] Therefore, it is beneficial to enhance the system to reduce the complexity and overhead caused by modulation detection on the UE side.

[0057] The example implementation relates to enhancements to communication systems to employ signaling procedures between the UE and network nodes (e.g., gNB, and / or eNB, etc.) to reduce the number of hypotheses that the UE must evaluate for modulation detection. In other words, instead of evaluation based on multiple modulation and coding scheme (MCS) tables, information about the actual modulation can be provided to the UE. This information about the actual modulation can indicate the highest modulation order being used by the co-scheduled UE.

[0058] In the example, the UE (scheduled in a multi-user multiple-input multiple-output (MU-MIMO) transmission scheme involving multiple co-scheduled user equipments) can receive information from a network node indicating the highest modulation order among multiple modulation orders of the co-scheduled user equipments in the MU-MIMO transmission scheme. As an example, the UE can receive control messages, downlink control information (DCI), and / or RRC messages from the network node, which may include information indicating the highest modulation order. The UE can perform modulation detection based on the highest modulation order of one or more layers of the MU-MIMO transmission scheme. For example, the UE can receive downlink data from the network node and perform modulation detection based on the reception of the downlink data. The UE can perform joint demodulation at least in part based on the result of the modulation detection.

[0059] In this example, some of the jointly scheduled user equipment (UEs) may use QPSK, some of the other jointly scheduled UEs may use 16QAM, and some of the other jointly scheduled UEs may use 64QAM. Therefore, in this example, the highest modulation order among the multiple modulation orders (e.g., QPSK, 16QAM, and 64QAM) of the multiple jointly scheduled UEs is 64QAM.

[0060] As a first example, for a 64QAM MCS table, the UE needs to probe three hypotheses, such as QPSK, 16QAM, and 64QAM. As a second example, for a 256QAM MCS table, the UE needs to probe four hypotheses, such as QPSK, 16QAM, 64QAM, and 256QAM. As a third example, for a 1024QAM MCS table, the UE needs to probe five hypotheses, such as QPSK, 16QAM, 64QAM, 256QAM, and 1024QAM. The MCS table indicates the highest possible value, although co-scheduled UEs can use values ​​lower than the highest possible value. As a result, when the UE receives a DCI that includes the highest QAM across co-scheduled UEs, and since QPSK cannot be the highest QAM across co-scheduled UEs, the remaining four options, such as 16QAM, 64QAM, 256QAM, and 1024QAM, need to be identified by 2 bits via the DCI. Therefore, when implementing the example embodiments, signaling overhead is reduced and the UE evaluates fewer alternatives or assumptions, thereby enabling more efficient operation of the UE.

[0061] Figure 2 This is a flowchart illustrating the operation of an apparatus (e.g., a UE, user equipment, or other apparatus). Operation 210 includes receiving information from a network node by a user equipment scheduled in a multi-user multiple-input multiple-output (MU-MIMO) transmission scheme comprising multiple co-scheduled user equipments. This information indicates the highest modulation order among multiple modulation orders of the co-scheduled user equipments in the MU-MIMO transmission scheme. Operation 220 includes performing modulation detection based on the highest modulation order of one or more layers of the MU-MIMO transmission scheme. Operation 230 includes performing joint demodulation based at least in part on the result of the modulation detection.

[0062] Figure 3 This is a flowchart illustrating the operation of a device (e.g., a network node, gNB, eNB, or other device). Operation 310 includes the network node receiving an indication of its ability to perform modulation detection from the user equipment. Operation 320 includes sending information to the user equipment indicating the highest modulation order among multiple modulation orders of multiple jointly scheduled user equipments in a multi-user multiple-input multiple-output (MU-MIMO) transmission scheme.

[0063] about Figure 2 and Figure 3 The method described herein allows the UE to receive downlink data from a network node. As an example, modulation detection and joint demodulation can be performed, at least in part, based on the received downlink data.

[0064] about Figure 2 and Figure 3The method described herein allows the UE to receive information indicating the highest modulation order as part of the DCI (Dysmodulation Code).

[0065] about Figure 2 and Figure 3 The method described herein allows the UE to receive an indication from a network node that multiple jointly scheduled user equipments have the same root demodulation reference signal (DMRS). For example, this indication may be provided as part of an RRC message and / or DCI message. As another example, information indicating the highest modulation order can indicate that multiple jointly scheduled user equipments have the same root demodulation reference signal.

[0066] about Figure 2 and Figure 3 The method described herein may include information indicating the highest modulation order, which may include at least one of the following: one or more bits that identify the highest modulation order; an identifier of the highest modulation order; or an information element indicating the highest modulation order.

[0067] about Figure 2 and Figure 3 The method described herein allows the UE to send a capability indication to the network node to perform modulation detection. For example, received information may be based on (or in response to) sending the capability indication. For instance, the UE may send the capability indication to the network node as part of an initial access procedure, registration request, and / or RRC message, etc.

[0068] about Figure 2 and Figure 3 The method described herein indicates that information indicating the highest modulation order can be received as part of the RRC signaling.

[0069] Additionally or alternatively, the example embodiments enhance system performance by enabling the UE to receive the lowest modulation order. The example embodiments enable the UE to reduce the number of hypotheses to be evaluated for modulation detection. In other words, instead of evaluation based on multiple modulation and coding scheme (MCS) tables, information about the actual modulation can be provided to the UE (by the network node). This information about the actual modulation can indicate the lowest modulation order being used by the co-scheduled UE. As an example, the UE can receive the lowest QAM of the co-scheduled UE from the network node as part of the DCI. Since 1024QAM may not be the lowest QAM, only four options remain for evaluation: QPSK, 16 / 64 / 256 QAM, which requires 2 bits.

[0070] In the example, the UE (scheduled in a MU-MIMO transmission scheme involving multiple co-scheduled user equipments) can receive information from a network node indicating the lowest modulation order among multiple modulation orders of the co-scheduled user equipments in the MU-MIMO transmission scheme. As an example, the UE can receive control messages, DCI messages, and / or RRC messages from the network node, which may include information indicating the lowest modulation order. The UE can perform modulation detection based on the lowest modulation order of one or more layers of the MU-MIMO transmission scheme. For example, the UE can receive downlink data from the network node and perform modulation detection based on the reception of the downlink data. The UE can perform joint demodulation at least in part based on the result of the modulation detection.

[0071] In this example, some of the jointly scheduled user equipment (UEs) may use 64QAM, some of the other jointly scheduled UEs may use 256QAM, and some of the other jointly scheduled UEs may use 1024QAM. Therefore, in this example, the lowest modulation order among the multiple modulation orders (e.g., 64QAM, 256QAM, and 1024QAM) of the multiple jointly scheduled UEs is 64QAM.

[0072] Figure 4 This is a flowchart illustrating the operation of an apparatus (e.g., a UE, user equipment, or other apparatus). Operation 410 includes receiving information from a network node by a user equipment scheduled in a multi-user multiple-input multiple-output (MU-MIMO) transmission scheme comprising multiple co-scheduled user equipments. This information indicates the lowest modulation order among multiple modulation orders of the co-scheduled user equipments in the MU-MIMO transmission scheme. Operation 420 includes performing modulation detection based on the lowest modulation order of one or more layers of the MU-MIMO transmission scheme. Operation 430 includes performing joint demodulation based at least in part on the result of the modulation detection.

[0073] Figure 5 This is a flowchart illustrating the operation of a device (e.g., a network node, gNB, eNB, or other device). Operation 510 includes the network node receiving an indication of its ability to perform modulation detection from the user equipment. Operation 520 includes sending information to the user equipment indicating the lowest modulation order among multiple modulation orders of multiple co-scheduled user equipments in a multi-user multiple-input multiple-output (MU-MIMO) transmission scheme.

[0074] about Figure 4 and Figure 5The method described herein allows modulation detection to also be based on the highest modulation and coding scheme (MCS) table among multiple MCS tables of multiple co-scheduled user equipments. For example, the highest MCS table may indicate the highest possible modulation order among multiple modulation orders. In the example, each MCS table among the multiple MCS tables may be associated with each user equipment in the multiple co-scheduled user equipments. In the example, the MCS table may define (or may indicate) possible combinations of modulation and coding schemes used for data transmission. Different MCS tables (among others) differ in the highest modulation order they support. The MCS tables may specify the modulation order (e.g., QPSK, 16QAM, 64QAM, 256QAM, 1024QAM) and target code rate for each MCS index. As an example, if some co-scheduled user equipments use the 64QAM-MCS table and other co-scheduled user equipments use the 256QAM-MCS table, then the highest MCS table among the co-scheduled UEs is the 256QAM-MCS table, and the highest possible modulation order is 256QAM.

[0075] about Figure 4 and Figure 5 The method described herein indicates that information indicating the lowest modulation order can be received as part of the DCI.

[0076] about Figure 4 and Figure 5 The method described herein allows the UE to receive an indication that multiple co-scheduled user equipments have the same root demodulation reference signal (e.g., a root DMRS sequence). As another example, information indicating the lowest modulation order can indicate that multiple co-scheduled user equipments have the same root demodulation reference signal, such as the same root DMRS sequence.

[0077] about Figure 4 and Figure 5 The method described herein may include information indicating the lowest modulation order, which may include at least one of the following: one or more bits that identify the lowest modulation order, an identifier of the lowest modulation order, or information elements indicating the lowest modulation order. For example, if two bits are used, 00 may indicate 16QAM, and / or 01 may indicate 64QAM, etc.

[0078] about Figure 4 and Figure 5 The method described herein allows the UE to receive downlink data from a network node. As an example, modulation detection and joint demodulation can be performed based on the received downlink data.

[0079] about Figure 4 and Figure 5The method described herein allows the UE to send a capability indication for performing modulation detection to the network node. For example, the UE may receive information from the network node at least in part based on (or in response to) sending the capability indication. For example, the UE may send the capability indication to the network node as part of an initial access message, and / or an RRC message, etc.

[0080] about Figure 4 and Figure 5 The method described herein indicates that information indicating the lowest modulation order can be received as part of RRC signaling / message.

[0081] Additionally or alternatively, the example embodiments enhance system performance by enabling the UE to receive the lowest and highest modulation orders. The example embodiments enable the UE to reduce the number of hypotheses it needs to evaluate for modulation detection. In other words, instead of evaluation based on multiple modulation and coding scheme (MCS) tables, information about the actual modulation can be provided to the UE (by the network node). This information about the actual modulation can indicate the lowest and highest modulation orders being used by the co-scheduled UE.

[0082] In the example, a UE (scheduled in a MU-MIMO transmission scheme including multiple co-scheduled user equipments (UEs)) can receive information from a network node indicating the lowest and highest modulation orders among multiple modulation orders of the co-scheduled UEs in the MU-MIMO transmission scheme. As an example, the UE can receive control messages, DCI messages, and / or RRC messages from the network node, which may include information indicating the lowest and highest modulation orders. The UE can perform modulation detection based on the lowest and highest modulation orders of one or more layers of the MU-MIMO transmission scheme. For example, the UE can receive downlink data from the network node and can perform modulation detection based on the reception of the downlink data. The UE can perform joint demodulation at least in part based on the results of the modulation detection.

[0083] In this example, some of the jointly scheduled user equipment (UEs) may use 64QAM, while others may use 256QAM. Therefore, in this example, the lowest modulation order among the multiple modulation orders (e.g., 64QAM, 256QAM) of the multiple jointly scheduled UEs is 64QAM, and the highest modulation order is 256QAM.

[0084] In other words, the UE can receive a DCI that indicates the lowest and highest QAM across co-scheduled UEs. Then, based on the table below, the UE can evaluate or probe fewer assumptions indicated by the DCI, rather than always probing all 5 QAM modulation orders.

[0085]

[0086] For example, if a co-scheduled UE is 16QAM and 64QAM in the 256QAM MCS table, then the number of QAM assumptions is 2.

[0087] Figure 6 This is a flowchart illustrating the operation of an apparatus (e.g., a UE, user equipment, or other apparatus). Operation 610 includes receiving information from a network node by a user equipment scheduled in a multi-user multiple-input multiple-output (MU-MIMO) transmission scheme comprising multiple co-scheduled user equipments. This information indicates the highest and lowest modulation orders among multiple modulation orders of the co-scheduled user equipments in the MU-MIMO transmission scheme. Operation 620 includes performing modulation detection based on the highest and lowest modulation orders of one or more layers of the MU-MIMO transmission scheme. Operation 630 includes performing joint demodulation at least in part based on the results of the modulation detection.

[0088] Figure 7 This is a flowchart illustrating the operation of a device (e.g., a network node, gNB, eNB, or other device). Operation 710 includes the network node receiving an indication of its ability to perform modulation detection from the user equipment. Operation 720 includes sending information to the user equipment indicating the highest and lowest modulation order among multiple modulation orders of multiple co-scheduled user equipments in a multi-user multiple-input multiple-output (MU-MIMO) transmission scheme.

[0089] about Figure 6 and Figure 7 The method described herein indicates that information indicating the highest and lowest modulation orders is received as part of the downlink control information (DCI).

[0090] about Figure 6 and Figure 7 The method described herein allows the UE to receive an indication that multiple jointly scheduled user equipments have the same root demodulation reference signal (e.g., the same root DMRS sequence). As another example, information indicating the highest and lowest modulation order can indicate that multiple jointly scheduled user equipments have the same root demodulation reference signal.

[0091] about Figure 6 and Figure 7The method described herein allows information indicating the highest and lowest modulation order to include at least one of the following: one or more bits identifying the highest and lowest modulation order, an identifier for the lowest modulation order, an identifier for the highest modulation order, or information elements indicating the highest and lowest modulation orders. For example, the number of bits in one or more bits may be based on the highest MCS table among multiple MCS tables, where each MCS table is associated with each user equipment in a plurality of co-scheduled user equipments, and where the highest MCS table indicates the highest possible modulation order among the multiple modulation orders. In other words, based on the table below, if the highest MCS table is 1024QAM, then 10 options are to be represented by one or more bits, and therefore, the required number of bits is 4 bits. For example, some combinations can be removed to reduce the number of bits. For example, combinations of QPSK-1024QAM and / or QPSK-256QAM and / or 16 QAM-1024QAM can be removed;

[0092] If the highest MCS table is 256QAM, then the required number of bits is 3 bits. For example, some combinations can be removed to reduce the number of bits. For instance, combinations QPSK-256QAM and / or QPSK-64QAM and / or 16QAM-256QAM can be removed.

[0093] If the highest MCS table is 64QAM, then the required number of bits is 2 bits. For example, some combinations can be removed. For example, the combination QPSK-64QAM can be removed;

[0094] about Figure 6 and Figure 7 The method described herein allows the UE to receive downlink data from a network node. For example, modulation detection and joint demodulation can be performed based on the received downlink data.

[0095] about Figure 6 and Figure 7 The method described herein allows the UE to send a capability indication for performing modulation detection to the network node. For example, received information may be based on (or in response to) sending the capability indication. For instance, the UE may send the capability indication as part of an initial access procedure, registration request, and / or RRC message, etc., to the network node.

[0096] about Figure 6 and Figure 7The method described herein indicates that information indicating the highest and lowest modulation orders can be received as part of an RRC message / signaling.

[0097] Figure 8A This is a diagram illustrating one aspect of an example embodiment. As shown in the figure, regarding... Figure 2 and Figure 3 An example procedure of the method described herein includes: In step 1, UE 110 may send a capability indication for performing modulation detection to gNB 120, for example, for a MU-MIMO transmission scheme. In step 2, UE 110 may receive a modulation index (DCI) from gNB 120, which may include information indicating the highest modulation order among multiple modulation orders of multiple co-scheduled UEs in the MU-MIMO transmission scheme. In step 3, UE 110 may perform modulation detection based on the highest modulation order. In step 4, UE 110 may perform joint demodulation based on the result of the modulation detection.

[0098] Figure 8B This is a diagram illustrating one aspect of an example embodiment. As shown in the figure, regarding... Figure 4 and Figure 5 An example procedure of the method described herein includes: In step 1, UE 110 may send a capability indication for performing modulation detection to gNB 120, for example, for a MU-MIMO transmission scheme. In step 2, UE 110 may receive a modulation index (DCI) from gNB 120, which may include information indicating the lowest modulation order among multiple modulation orders of multiple co-scheduled UEs in the MU-MIMO transmission scheme. In step 3, UE 110 may perform modulation detection based on the lowest modulation order. In step 4, UE 110 may perform joint demodulation based on the result of the modulation detection.

[0099] Figure 8C This is a diagram illustrating one aspect of an example embodiment. As shown in the figure, regarding... Figure 6 and Figure 7 An example procedure of the method described herein includes: In step 1, UE 110 may send a capability indication for performing modulation detection to gNB 120, for example, for a MU-MIMO transmission scheme. In step 2, UE 110 may receive a modulation index (DCI) from gNB 120, which may include information indicating the highest and lowest modulation orders among multiple modulation orders of multiple co-scheduled UEs in the MU-MIMO transmission scheme. In step 3, UE 110 may perform modulation detection based on the highest and lowest modulation orders. In step 4, UE 110 may perform joint demodulation based on the result of the modulation detection.

[0100] Figure 9This is a block diagram of a wireless station or node (e.g., UE, user equipment, AP, BS, eNB, gNB, RAN node, network node, TRP, or another node) 1300 according to an example embodiment. The wireless station 1300 may include, for example, one or more (e.g., such as...) Figure 9 The two RF (radio frequency) or wireless transceivers shown are 1302 A and 1302 B, each of which includes a transmitter for transmitting signals and a receiver for receiving signals. The wireless station also includes a processor 1304 or control unit / entity (controller 1308) that executes instructions or software and controls the transmission and reception of signals, and a memory 1306 that stores data and / or instructions.

[0101] Processor 1304 may also make decisions or determinations, generate frames, packets, or messages for transmission, decode received frames or messages for further processing, and perform other tasks or functions described herein. For example, processor 1304, which may be a baseband processor, may generate messages, packets, frames, or other signals for transmission via wireless transceiver 1302 (1302A or 1302B). Processor 1304 may control the transmission of signals or messages via a wireless network and may control the reception of signals or messages via a wireless network (e.g., after down-conversion by wireless transceiver 1302). Processor 1304 may be programmable and capable of executing software or other instructions stored in memory or other computer media to perform the various tasks and functions described above, such as one or more of the tasks or methods described above. Processor 1304 may be (or may include) hardware, programmable logic, a programmable processor executing software or firmware, and / or any combination of these. Using other terms, processor 1304 and transceiver 1302 together may be considered, for example, a wireless transmitter / receiver system.

[0102] Additionally, refer to Figure 9 The controller 1308 (or processor 1304) can execute software and instructions, and can provide overall control for station 1300, and can provide... Figure 9 Other systems, not shown, provide control, such as controlling input / output devices (e.g., a display, a keypad), and / or can execute software that can perform one or more applications available on the wireless station 1300, such as, for example, an email program, an audio / video application, a word processor, a VoIP application, or other applications or software.

[0103] Alternatively, a storage medium containing stored instructions may be provided, which, when executed by a controller or processor, may cause processor 1304 or other controllers or processors to perform one or more of the functions or tasks described above.

[0104] According to another example embodiment, the RF or wireless transceiver 1302A / 1302B can receive signals or data and / or transmit or send signals or data. The processor 1304 (and possibly the transceiver 1302A / 1302B) can control the RF or wireless transceiver 1302A or 1302B to receive, transmit, broadcast, or send signals or data.

[0105] Example embodiments are provided or described for each example method, including: apparatus (e.g., Figure 9 (of 1300), including components for performing any of the methods (e.g., Figure 9 Processor 1304, RF transceiver 1302A and / or 1302B and / or memory 1306; non-transitory computer-readable storage medium (e.g., Figure 9 The memory 1306 includes instructions stored thereon, which are processed by at least one processor. Figure 9 The processor 1304 is configured to enable the computing system (e.g., Figure 9 (1300) executes any example method; and the device (e.g., Figure 9 The 1300), including at least one processor (e.g., Figure 9 The processor 1304) and at least one memory including computer program code (e.g., Figure 9 The memory (1306) and computer program code are configured to cause the device (e.g., 1300) to execute at least one of the example methods via at least one processor (1304).

[0106] Embodiments of the various technologies described herein can be implemented in digital electronic circuits or in computer hardware, firmware, software, or combinations thereof. Embodiments can be implemented as computer program products, i.e., computer programs tangibly embodied in an information carrier (e.g., in a machine-readable storage device or in a propagating signal) for execution by or control of a data processing apparatus (e.g., a programmable processor, a computer, or multiple computers). Embodiments can also be provided on computer-readable media or computer-readable storage media (which may be non-transitory media). Embodiments of the various technologies may also include embodiments provided via transient signals or media, and / or program and / or software embodiments downloadable via the Internet or other networks (wired and / or wireless networks). Additionally, embodiments can be provided via machine-type communication (MTC) and also via the Internet of Things (IoT).

[0107] As used herein, the term “circuit system” or “circuit” means all of the following: (a) a hardware circuit implementation only, such as an implementation only in analog and / or digital circuit systems; and (b) a combination of circuitry and software (and / or firmware), such as (if applicable): (i) a combination of (one or more) processors or (ii) a portion of (one or more) processors / software, including (one or more) digital signal processors, software, and (one or more) memories, which work together to enable a device to perform various functions; and (c) a circuit, such as (one or more) microprocessors or a portion of (one or more) microprocessors, which requires software or firmware to operate, even if the software or firmware is not physically present. This definition of “circuit” applies to all uses of the term in this application. As a further example, as used herein, the term “circuit” will also cover an implementation only of a processor (or processors) or a portion of a processor and its accompanying software and / or firmware. The term “circuit” will also cover, for example and if applicable, a baseband integrated circuit or application processor integrated circuit for a mobile phone or a similar integrated circuit in a server, cellular network device, or other network device.

[0108] Computer programs can be in the form of source code, object code, or some intermediate form, and can be stored on some carrier, distribution medium, or computer-readable medium, which can be any entity or device capable of carrying the program. Such carriers include, for example, recording media, computer memory, read-only memory, photoelectric and / or electrical carrier signals, telecommunication signals, and software distribution packages. Depending on the required processing power, a computer program can be executed in a single electronic digital computer, or it can be distributed across multiple computers.

[0109] Furthermore, embodiments of the various technologies described herein can utilize network-physical systems (CPS) (systems that control collaborative computing elements of physical entities). CPS enables embodiments and utilizations of a large number of interconnected ICT devices (sensors, actuators, processors, microcontrollers, etc.) embedded in physical objects at different locations. Mobile network-physical systems, which are inherently mobile physical systems, are a subcategory of network-physical systems. Examples of mobile physical systems include mobile robots and electronic devices transported by humans or animals. The increasing prevalence of smartphones has increased interest in the field of mobile network-physical systems. Therefore, various embodiments of the technologies described herein can be provided via one or more of these technologies.

[0110] Computer programs such as those described above can be written in any programming language (including compiled or interpreted languages) and can be deployed in any form, including as standalone programs or as modules, components, subroutines, or other units or parts thereof suitable for use in a computing environment. Computer programs can be deployed to execute on a single computer, at a single site, or on multiple computers distributed across multiple sites and interconnected via a communication network.

[0111] The method steps can be executed by one or more programmable processors that execute a computer program or a portion thereof to perform a function by manipulating input data and generating output. The method steps can also be executed by special-purpose logic circuitry, and the apparatus can be implemented as special-purpose logic circuitry, such as an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array) or an ASIC (Application-Specific Integrated Circuit).

[0112] Processors suitable for executing computer programs include, for example, both general-purpose and special-purpose microprocessors, and any one or more processors of any kind of digital computer, chip, or chipset. Typically, a processor receives instructions and data from read-only memory or random access memory, or both. Computer elements may include at least one processor for executing instructions and one or more memory devices for storing instructions and data. Typically, a computer may also include one or more mass storage devices (e.g., magnetic disks, magneto-optical disks, or optical disks) for storing data, or operatively coupled to receive data from or transfer data to one or more mass storage devices for storing data, or both. Information carriers suitable for embodying computer program instructions and data include all forms of non-volatile memory, including, for example, semiconductor memory devices such as EPROM, EEPROM, and flash memory devices; magnetic disks, such as internal hard disks or removable disks; magneto-optical disks; and CD-ROM and DVD-ROM disks. Processors and memory may be supplemented by or incorporated into special-purpose logic circuitry.

[0113] To provide interaction with the user, embodiments can be implemented on a computer having a display device (e.g., a cathode ray tube (CRT) or liquid crystal display (LCD) monitor) for displaying information to the user and a user interface (such as a keyboard and pointing device, such as a mouse or trackball) through which the user can provide input to the computer. Other types of devices can also be used to provide interaction with the user; for example, feedback provided to the user can be any form of sensory feedback, such as visual feedback, auditory feedback, or tactile feedback; and input from the user can be received in any form, including sound, speech, or tactile input.

[0114] The embodiments can be implemented in a computing system that includes backend components (e.g., as a data server), middleware components (e.g., an application server), or frontend components (e.g., a client computer having a graphical user interface or web browser through which a user can interact with the embodiments), or any combination of such backend, middleware, or frontend components. Components can be interconnected via digital data communication (e.g., a communication network) of any form or medium. Examples of communication networks include local area networks (LANs) and wide area networks (WANs), such as the Internet.

[0115] While certain features of the described embodiments have been shown as described herein, many modifications, substitutions, alterations, and equivalents will now occur to those skilled in the art. Therefore, it should be understood that the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications and alterations falling within the true spirit of the various embodiments.

[0116] Some examples will be described.

[0117] Example 1. An apparatus for communication, comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least: receive information from a network node, the apparatus being scheduled in a multi-user multiple-input multiple-output (MU-MIMO) transmission scheme comprising a plurality of co-scheduled user equipment, the information indicating the highest modulation order among a plurality of modulation orders of the plurality of co-scheduled user equipment in the MU-MIMO transmission scheme; perform modulation detection based on the highest modulation order for one or more layers of the MU-MIMO transmission scheme; and perform joint demodulation based at least in part on the result of the modulation detection.

[0118] Example 2. The apparatus according to Example 1, wherein the apparatus is further configured to perform: receiving downlink data from a network node, and wherein the performance of modulation detection and joint demodulation is at least in part based on the received downlink data.

[0119] Example 3. The apparatus according to Example 1 or 2, wherein information indicating the highest modulation order is received as part of downlink control information (DCI).

[0120] Example 4. The apparatus according to any one of Examples 1 to 3, wherein the apparatus is further configured to perform: receiving an indication that a plurality of jointly scheduled user equipments have the same root demodulation reference signal.

[0121] Example 5. The apparatus according to any one of Examples 1 to 4, wherein the information indicating the highest modulation order further indicates that multiple jointly scheduled user equipments have the same root demodulation reference signal.

[0122] Example 6. An apparatus according to any one of Examples 1 to 5, wherein the information indicating the highest modulation order includes at least one of the following: one or more bits that identify the highest modulation order; an identifier of the highest modulation order; or an information element indicating the highest modulation order.

[0123] Example 7. An apparatus according to any one of Examples 1 to 6, wherein the apparatus is further configured to: send a capability indication for performing modulation detection to a network node, and wherein the received information is based at least in part on the transmission capability indication.

[0124] Example 8. An apparatus for communication, comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory, the at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least: receive a capability indication for performing modulation detection from a user equipment; and send information to the user equipment indicating the highest modulation order among a plurality of modulation orders of a plurality of jointly scheduled user equipments in a multi-user multiple-input multiple-output (MU-MIMO) transmission scheme.

[0125] Example 9. A method for communication, comprising: receiving information from a network node by a user equipment, the user equipment being scheduled in a multi-user multiple-input multiple-output (MU-MIMO) transmission scheme including a plurality of co-scheduled user equipments, the information indicating the highest modulation order among a plurality of modulation orders of the plurality of co-scheduled user equipments in the MU-MIMO transmission scheme; performing modulation detection based on the highest modulation order of one or more layers of the MU-MIMO transmission scheme; and performing joint demodulation based at least in part on the result of the modulation detection.

[0126] Example 10. The method according to Example 9 further includes: receiving downlink data from a network node, wherein performing modulation detection and joint demodulation is at least partially based on the received downlink data.

[0127] Example 11. The method according to Example 9 or 10, wherein information indicating the highest modulation order is received as part of the downlink control information (DCI).

[0128] Example 12. The method according to any one of Examples 9 to 11 further includes: receiving an indication that multiple jointly scheduled user equipments have the same root demodulation reference signal.

[0129] Example 13. The method according to any one of Examples 9 to 12, wherein the information indicating the highest modulation order further indicates that multiple jointly scheduled user equipments have the same root demodulation reference signal.

[0130] Example 14. The method according to any one of Examples 9 to 13, wherein the information indicating the highest modulation order includes at least one of the following: one or more bits that identify the highest modulation order; an identifier of the highest modulation order; or an information element indicating the highest modulation order.

[0131] Example 15. The method according to any one of Examples 9 to 14 further includes: sending a capability indication to a network node to perform modulation detection, wherein the received information is based at least in part on the transmission capability indication.

[0132] Example 16. A method for communication, comprising: receiving from a user equipment a capability indication to perform modulation detection by a network node; and sending information to the user equipment indicating the highest modulation order among a plurality of modulation orders of a plurality of jointly scheduled user equipments in a multi-user multiple-input multiple-output (MU-MIMO) transmission scheme.

[0133] Example 17. A non-transitory computer-readable medium including instructions stored thereon for performing the method according to any one of Examples 9 to 16.

[0134] Example 18. A computer program including instructions stored thereon for performing the method according to any one of Examples 9 to 16.

[0135] Example 19. An apparatus for communication, comprising components for performing the method according to any one of Examples 9 to 16.

[0136] Example 20. An apparatus for communication, comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least: receive information from a network node, the apparatus being scheduled in a multi-user multiple-input multiple-output (MU-MIMO) transmission scheme comprising a plurality of co-scheduled user equipments, the information indicating the lowest modulation order among a plurality of modulation orders of the co-scheduled user equipments in the MU-MIMO transmission scheme; perform modulation detection based on the lowest modulation order of one or more layers of the MU-MIMO transmission scheme; and perform joint demodulation at least in part based on the result of the modulation detection.

[0137] Example 21. The apparatus according to Example 20, wherein modulation detection is further based on the highest MCS table in a plurality of modulation and coding scheme MCS tables of the plurality of jointly scheduled user equipment, wherein the highest MCS table indicates the highest modulation order among a plurality of modulation orders; and wherein each MCS table in the plurality of MCS tables is associated with each of the plurality of jointly scheduled user equipment.

[0138] Example 22. The apparatus according to Example 20 or 21, wherein information indicating the lowest modulation order is received as part of downlink control information (DCI).

[0139] Example 23. An apparatus according to any one of Examples 20 to 22, wherein the apparatus is further configured to perform: receiving an indication that a plurality of jointly scheduled user equipments have the same root demodulation reference signal.

[0140] Example 24. The apparatus according to any one of Examples 20 to 23, wherein the information indicating the lowest modulation order further indicates that the plurality of jointly scheduled user equipments have the same root demodulation reference signal.

[0141] Example 25. An apparatus according to any one of Examples 20 to 24, wherein the information indicating the lowest modulation order includes at least one of the following: one or more bits identifying the lowest modulation order; an identifier of the lowest modulation order; or an information element indicating the lowest modulation order.

[0142] Example 26. An apparatus according to any one of Examples 20 to 25, wherein the apparatus is further configured to perform: receiving downlink data from a network node, and wherein the performance of modulation detection and joint demodulation is at least in part based on the received downlink data.

[0143] Example 27. An apparatus according to any one of Examples 20 to 26, wherein the apparatus is further configured to: send a capability indication for performing modulation detection to a network node, and wherein the received information is based at least in part on the transmission capability indication.

[0144] Example 28. The apparatus according to any one of Examples 20 to 27, wherein information indicating the lowest modulation order is received as part of Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling.

[0145] Example 29. An apparatus for communication, comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory, the memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least: receive a capability indication for performing modulation detection from a user equipment; and send information to the user equipment indicating the lowest modulation order among a plurality of modulation orders of a plurality of jointly scheduled user equipments in a multi-user multiple-input multiple-output (MU-MIMO) transmission scheme.

[0146] Example 30. A method for communication, comprising: receiving information from a network node by a user equipment, the user equipment being scheduled in a multi-user multiple-input multiple-output (MU-MIMO) transmission scheme including a plurality of co-scheduled user equipments, the information indicating the lowest modulation order among a plurality of modulation orders of the plurality of co-scheduled user equipments in the MU-MIMO transmission scheme; performing modulation detection based on the lowest modulation order of one or more layers of the MU-MIMO transmission scheme; and performing joint demodulation based at least in part on the result of the modulation detection.

[0147] Example 31. The method according to Example 30, wherein modulation detection is further based on the highest MCS table in a plurality of modulation and coding scheme MCS tables of the plurality of co-scheduled user equipments, wherein the highest MCS table indicates the highest modulation order among a plurality of modulation orders; and wherein each MCS table in the plurality of MCS tables is associated with each user equipment in the plurality of co-scheduled user equipments.

[0148] Example 32. The method according to Example 30 or 31, wherein information indicating the lowest modulation order is received as part of the downlink control information (DCI).

[0149] Example 33. The method according to any one of Examples 30 to 32 further includes: receiving an indication that multiple jointly scheduled user equipments have the same root demodulation reference signal.

[0150] Example 34. The method according to any one of Examples 30 to 33, wherein the information indicating the lowest modulation order further indicates that the plurality of jointly scheduled user equipments have the same root demodulation reference signal.

[0151] Example 35. The method according to any one of Examples 30 to 34, wherein the information indicating the lowest modulation order includes at least one of the following: one or more bits that identify the lowest modulation order; an identifier of the lowest modulation order; or an information element indicating the lowest modulation order.

[0152] Example 36. The method according to any one of Examples 30 to 35 further includes: receiving downlink data from a network node, wherein performing modulation detection and joint demodulation is at least partially based on the received downlink data.

[0153] Example 37. The method according to any one of Examples 30 to 36 further includes: sending a capability indication to a network node to perform modulation detection, wherein the received information is based at least in part on the transmission capability indication.

[0154] Example 38. The method according to any one of Examples 30 to 37, wherein information indicating the lowest modulation order is received as part of Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling.

[0155] Example 39. A method for communication, comprising: receiving from a user equipment a capability indication to perform modulation detection by a network node; and sending information to the user equipment indicating the lowest modulation order among a plurality of modulation orders of a plurality of jointly scheduled user equipments in a multi-user multiple-input multiple-output (MU-MIMO) transmission scheme.

[0156] Example 40. A non-transitory computer-readable medium including instructions stored thereon for performing the method according to any one of Examples 30 to 39.

[0157] Example 41. A computer program including instructions stored thereon for performing the method according to any one of Examples 30 to 39.

[0158] Example 42. An apparatus for communication, comprising components for performing the method according to any one of Examples 30 to 39.

[0159] Example 43. An apparatus for communication, comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least: receive information from a network node, the apparatus being scheduled in a multi-user multiple-input multiple-output (MU-MIMO) transmission scheme comprising a plurality of co-scheduled user equipments, the information indicating the highest and lowest modulation orders among a plurality of modulation orders of the plurality of co-scheduled user equipments in the MU-MIMO transmission scheme; perform modulation detection based on the highest modulation order and the lowest modulation order of one or more layers of the MU-MIMO transmission scheme; and perform joint demodulation at least in part based on the result of the modulation detection.

[0160] Example 44. The apparatus according to Example 43, wherein information indicating the highest modulation order and the lowest modulation order is received as part of downlink control information (DCI).

[0161] Example 45. The apparatus according to Example 43 or 44, wherein the apparatus is further configured to perform: receiving an indication that the plurality of jointly scheduled user equipments have the same root demodulation reference signal.

[0162] Example 46. The apparatus according to any one of Examples 43 to 45, wherein the information indicating the highest modulation order and the lowest modulation order further indicates that the plurality of jointly scheduled user equipments have the same root demodulation reference signal.

[0163] Example 47. An apparatus according to any one of Examples 43 to 46, wherein the information indicating the highest modulation order and the lowest modulation order includes at least one of the following: one or more bits that identify the highest modulation order and the lowest modulation order; an identifier of the lowest modulation order and an identifier of the highest modulation order; or an information element indicating the highest modulation order and the lowest modulation order.

[0164] Example 48. The apparatus according to Example 47, wherein the number of bits of the one or more bits is based on the highest MCS table of a plurality of MCS tables, wherein each MCS table of the plurality of MCS tables is associated with each user equipment of a plurality of co-scheduled user equipments, and wherein the highest MCS table indicates the highest modulation order among a plurality of modulation orders.

[0165] Example 49. An apparatus according to any one of Examples 43 to 48, wherein the apparatus is further configured to perform: receiving downlink data from a network node, and wherein the performance of modulation detection and joint demodulation is at least in part based on the received downlink data.

[0166] Example 50. An apparatus according to any one of Examples 43 to 49, wherein the apparatus is further caused to perform: sending a capability indication to a network node to perform the modulation detection, and wherein the received information is based at least in part on the transmission capability indication.

[0167] Example 51. The apparatus according to any one of Examples 43 to 50, wherein information indicating the highest modulation order and the lowest modulation order is received as part of Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling.

[0168] Example 52. An apparatus for communication, comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory, the at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least: receive a capability indication for performing modulation detection from a user equipment; and send information to the user equipment indicating the highest and lowest modulation order among a plurality of modulation orders of a plurality of jointly scheduled user equipments in a multi-user multiple-input multiple-output (MU-MIMO) transmission scheme.

[0169] Example 53. A method for communication, comprising: receiving information from a network node by a user equipment, the user equipment being scheduled in a multi-user multiple-input multiple-output (MU-MIMO) transmission scheme including multiple co-scheduled user equipments, the information indicating the highest and lowest modulation order among multiple modulation orders of the multiple co-scheduled user equipments in the MU-MIMO transmission scheme; performing modulation detection based on the highest and lowest modulation order of one or more layers of the MU-MIMO transmission scheme; and performing joint demodulation based at least in part on the result of the modulation detection.

[0170] Example 54. The method according to Example 53, wherein information indicating the highest modulation order and the lowest modulation order is received as part of the downlink control information (DCI).

[0171] Example 55. The method according to Example 53 or 54 further includes: receiving an indication that the plurality of jointly scheduled user equipments have the same root demodulation reference signal.

[0172] Example 56. The method according to any one of Examples 53 to 55, wherein the information indicating the highest modulation order and the lowest modulation order also indicates that the plurality of jointly scheduled user equipments have the same root demodulation reference signal.

[0173] Example 57. The method according to any one of Examples 53 to 56, wherein the information indicating the highest modulation order and the lowest modulation order includes at least one of the following: one or more bits that identify the highest modulation order and the lowest modulation order; an identifier of the lowest modulation order and an identifier of the highest modulation order; or an information element indicating the highest modulation order and the lowest modulation order.

[0174] Example 58. The method according to Example 57, wherein the number of bits of the one or more bits is based on the highest MCS table of a plurality of MCS tables, wherein each MCS table of the plurality of MCS tables is associated with each of the plurality of co-scheduled user equipments, and wherein the highest MCS table indicates the highest modulation order among a plurality of modulation orders.

[0175] Example 59. The method according to any one of Examples 53 to 58 further includes: receiving downlink data from a network node, wherein performing modulation detection and joint demodulation is at least partially based on the received downlink data.

[0176] Example 60. The method according to any one of Examples 53 to 59 further includes: sending a capability indication to a network node to perform modulation detection, wherein the received information is based at least in part on the transmission capability indication.

[0177] Example 61. The method according to any one of Examples 53 to 60, wherein information indicating the highest modulation order and the lowest modulation order is received as part of Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling.

[0178] Example 62. A method for communication, comprising: receiving from a user equipment a capability indication to perform modulation detection by a network node; and sending information to the user equipment indicating the highest and lowest modulation order among a plurality of modulation orders of a plurality of jointly scheduled user equipments in a multi-user multiple-input multiple-output (MU-MIMO) transmission scheme.

[0179] Example 63. A non-transitory computer-readable medium including instructions stored thereon for performing the method according to any one of Examples 53 to 62.

[0180] Example 64. A computer program including instructions stored thereon for performing the method according to any one of Examples 53 to 62.

[0181] Example 65. An apparatus for communication, comprising components for performing the method according to any one of Examples 53 to 62.

Claims

1. A device for communication, comprising: At least one processor; as well as At least one memory, the at least one memory storing instructions, the instructions causing the device to perform at least the following when executed by the at least one processor: The device receives information from a network node, the device being scheduled in a multi-user multiple-input multiple-output (MU-MIMO) transmission scheme comprising multiple jointly scheduled user equipment, the information indicating the highest modulation order among multiple modulation orders of the multiple jointly scheduled user equipment in the MU-MIMO transmission scheme; Modulation detection is performed based on the highest modulation order of one or more layers of the MU-MIMO transmission scheme; as well as Joint demodulation is performed at least in part based on the results of the modulation detection.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus is further configured to perform: receiving downlink data from the network node, and wherein the modulation detection and the joint demodulation are performed at least in part based on the received downlink data.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the information indicating the highest modulation order is received as part of downlink control information (DCI).

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus is further configured to perform: receiving an indication that the plurality of jointly scheduled user equipments have the same root demodulation reference signal.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the information indicating the highest modulation order further indicates that the plurality of jointly scheduled user equipments have the same root demodulation reference signal.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the information indicating the highest modulation order comprises at least one of the following: Based on one or more bits that identify the highest modulation order; The identifier of the highest modulation order; or Information element indicating the highest modulation order.

7. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the apparatus is further configured to: send a capability indication to the network node for performing the modulation detection, and wherein receiving the information is at least in part based on sending the capability indication.

8. A device for communication, comprising: At least one processor; as well as At least one memory, the at least one memory storing instructions, the instructions causing the device to perform at least the following when executed by the at least one processor: Receive an indication of the ability to perform modulation detection from the user equipment; as well as Send information to the user equipment, the information indicating the highest modulation order among multiple modulation orders of multiple jointly scheduled user equipment in a multi-user multiple-input multiple-output (MU-MIMO) transmission scheme.

9. A method for communication, comprising: The user equipment receives information from a network node, the user equipment being scheduled in a multi-user multiple-input multiple-output (MU-MIMO) transmission scheme that includes multiple jointly scheduled user equipments, the information indicating the highest modulation order among multiple modulation orders of the multiple jointly scheduled user equipments in the MU-MIMO transmission scheme; Modulation detection is performed based on the highest modulation order of one or more layers of the MU-MIMO transmission scheme; as well as Joint demodulation is performed at least in part based on the results of the modulation detection.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising: Downlink data is received from the network node, and the modulation detection and joint demodulation are performed at least in part based on the received downlink data.

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