Auxiliary data for multi-target data association for radio frequency sensing

Abstract

Techniques for wireless sensing are disclosed. In an aspect, a receiver sensing node receives, from a sensing entity, assistance data for sensing a set of target objects, where the assistance data includes data association (DA) information for each target object in the set of target objects, obtains a plurality of sensing measurements of one or more sensing reference signals transmitted by a transmitter sensing node and reflected from at least a subset of target objects of the set of target objects, and assigns one or more of the plurality of sensing measurements to each target object in the subset of target objects.

Description

Background Technology

[0001] 1. Technical Field

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

[0003] 2. Related technical descriptions

[0004] Wireless communication systems have evolved through many generations, including first-generation analog radiotelephone service (1G), second-generation (2G) digital radiotelephone service (including transitional 2.5G and 2.75G networks), third-generation (3G) high-speed data, wireless services with internet capabilities, and fourth-generation (4G) services (e.g., Long Term Evolution (LTE) or WiMax). Currently, many different types of wireless communication systems are in use, including cellular systems and Personal Communication Services (PCS) systems. Known examples of cellular systems include cellular analog Advanced Mobile Phone Systems (AMPS), as well as digital cellular systems based on Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), and others.

[0005] The fifth-generation (5G) wireless standard, known as New Radio (NR), delivers higher data transfer speeds, more connections, better coverage, and other improvements. According to the Next Generation Mobile Networks Alliance (NGC), the 5G standard is designed to provide higher data rates, more accurate positioning (e.g., based on Positioning Reference Signals (RS-P), such as downlink, uplink, or sidelink Positioning Reference Signals (PRS)), and other technological enhancements compared to previous standards. These enhancements, along with the use of higher frequency bands, advancements in the PRS process and technology, and the high-density deployment of 5G, enable high-accuracy positioning based on 5G. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The following is a simplified summary of the invention relating to one or more aspects disclosed herein. Therefore, this summary should not be considered an exhaustive overview relating to all conceived aspects, nor should it be considered to identify key or decisive elements relating to all conceived aspects or to depict the scope associated with any particular aspect. Thus, the sole purpose of this summary is to present, in a simplified form, certain concepts relating to one or more aspects involving the mechanisms disclosed herein, prior to the detailed description presented below.

[0007] In one aspect, a method of wireless sensing performed by a receiver sensing node includes: receiving auxiliary data from a sensing entity for sensing a set of target objects, wherein the auxiliary data includes data association (DA) information for each target object in the set of target objects; obtaining a plurality of sensing measurements of one or more sensing reference signals transmitted by a transmitter sensing node and reflected from at least a subset of target objects in the set of target objects; and assigning one or more of the plurality of sensing measurements to each target object in the subset of target objects.

[0008] In one aspect, the receiver sensing node includes: one or more memories; one or more transceivers; and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the one or more memories and the one or more transceivers, the one or more processors being individually or in combination configured to: receive auxiliary data for sensing a set of target objects from the sensing entity via the one or more transceivers, wherein the auxiliary data includes data association (DA) information for each target object in the set of target objects; obtain multiple sensing measurements of one or more sensing reference signals transmitted by the transmitter sensing node and reflected from at least a subset of the target objects in the set of target objects; and assign one or more of the multiple sensing measurements to each target object in the subset of target objects.

[0009] In one aspect, a receiver sensing node includes: components for receiving auxiliary data for sensing a set of target objects from a sensing entity, wherein the auxiliary data includes data association (DA) information for each target object in the set of target objects; components for obtaining a plurality of sensing measurements of one or more sensing reference signals transmitted by a transmitter sensing node and reflected from at least a subset of target objects in the set of target objects; and components for assigning one or more of the plurality of sensing measurements to each target object in the subset of target objects.

[0010] In one aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium stores computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a receiver sensing node, cause the receiver sensing node to: receive auxiliary data from a sensing entity for sensing a set of target objects, wherein the auxiliary data includes data association (DA) information for each target object in the set of target objects; obtain a plurality of sensing measurements of one or more sensing reference signals transmitted by a transmitter sensing node and reflected from at least a subset of target objects in the set of target objects; and assign one or more of the plurality of sensing measurements to each target object in the subset of target objects.

[0011] Based on the accompanying drawings and detailed description, other objects and advantages associated with the aspects disclosed herein will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Attached Figure Description

[0012] The accompanying drawings are provided to help describe various aspects of this disclosure, and are provided for illustrative purposes only and not to limit the aspects.

[0013] Figure 1 Example wireless communication systems according to various aspects of this disclosure are illustrated.

[0014] Figure 2A , Figure 2B and Figure 2C Example wireless network architectures based on various aspects of this disclosure are illustrated.

[0015] Figure 3A , Figure 3B and Figure 3C It is a simplified block diagram of several examples of components that can be used in user equipment (UE), base stations and network entities and configured to support communications as taught herein.

[0016] Figure 4A and Figure 4B Different types of wireless sensing according to various aspects of this disclosure are illustrated.

[0017] Figure 5 An example call flow is illustrated for a New Radio (NR)-based sensing process in which sensing parameters are configured for network configuration, according to various aspects of this disclosure.

[0018] Figure 6 This is an illustration of an example dual-station sensing scenario according to various aspects of this disclosure.

[0019] Figure 7 It is a diagram illustrating various properties of a set of example coherent processing intervals (CPI) according to various aspects of this disclosure.

[0020] Figure 8 An example signaling flow of a sensing session between a sensing node 804 and a sensing server according to various aspects of this disclosure is illustrated.

[0021] Figure 9 This is a diagram illustrating specific examples of data association and multi-target tracking based on various aspects of this disclosure.

[0022] Figure 10 Examples are given for various aspects of this disclosure. Figure 9 Two charts showing the data association results of the example scenario.

[0023] Figure 11 Example methods of wireless sensing according to various aspects of this disclosure are illustrated. Detailed Implementation

[0024] Various aspects of this disclosure are provided in the following description and accompanying drawings of various examples provided for illustrative purposes. Alternative aspects may be devised without departing from the scope of this disclosure. Additionally, well-known elements of this disclosure will not be described in detail or will be omitted so as not to obscure the relevant details of this disclosure.

[0025] Wireless sensing is involved in various aspects overall. Some aspects are more specifically involved in tracking multiple target objects. In some examples, a sensing server provides auxiliary data for detecting and tracking multiple target objects. This auxiliary data may include parameters that enable sensing nodes to report a metric matrix (containing the interdependencies between multiple targets) to facilitate target differentiation and association. Target association with the sensing measurement may be based on a score associated with the measurement. The process of exchanging auxiliary data and measurements may involve multiple iterations.

[0026] Specific aspects of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented to achieve one or more of the following potential advantages. In some examples, the described techniques can be used to improve the sensing and tracking of multiple target objects by providing auxiliary data for detecting and tracking multiple target objects.

[0027] The terms “exemplary” and / or “example” are used herein to mean “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any aspect described herein as “exemplary” and / or “example” is not necessarily to be construed as superior to or better than other aspects. Similarly, the term “aspects of this disclosure” does not require that all aspects of this disclosure include the features, advantages, or modes of operation discussed.

[0028] Those skilled in the art will understand that any of the various techniques and skills available can be used to represent the information and signals described below. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be mentioned throughout the following description can be represented by voltage, current, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, light fields or optical particles, or any combination thereof, depending in part on the specific application, in part on the desired design, in part on the corresponding technology, and so on.

[0029] Furthermore, many aspects are described according to a sequence of actions to be performed by elements of, for example, a computing device. It will be appreciated that the various actions described herein can be performed by specific circuitry (e.g., an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC)), by program instructions executed by one or more processors, or by a combination of both. Additionally, the sequence of actions described herein can be considered to be entirely embodied in any form of non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a corresponding set of computer instructions that, when executed, will cause or command the associated processor of the device to perform the functionality described herein. Therefore, various aspects of this disclosure can be embodied in a variety of different forms, all of which are contemplated within the scope of the claimed subject matter. Furthermore, for each aspect described herein, the corresponding form of any such aspect can be described herein as, for example, "logic configured to perform the described actions."

[0030] As used herein, unless otherwise stated, the terms “User Equipment” (UE) and “Base Station” are not intended to be specific or otherwise limited to any particular Radio Access Technology (RAT). In general, a UE can be any wireless communication device used by a user to communicate over a wireless communication network (e.g., mobile phone, router, tablet computer, laptop computer, consumer asset positioning device, wearable device (e.g., smartwatch, glasses, augmented reality (AR) / virtual reality (VR) headset, etc.), vehicle (e.g., car, motorcycle, bicycle, etc.), Internet of Things (IoT) device, etc.). A UE can be mobile or can (e.g., at certain times) be stationary and can communicate with a Radio Access Network (RAN). As used herein, the term “UE” can be interchangeably referred to as “Access Terminal” or “AT,” “Client Equipment,” “Wireless Equipment,” “Subscriber Equipment,” “Subscriber Terminal,” “Subscriber Station,” “User Terminal” or “UT,” “Mobile Equipment,” “Mobile Terminal,” “Mobile Station,” or variations thereof. Overall, a UE can communicate with a core network via the RAN, and through the core network, a UE can connect to external networks such as the Internet and to other UEs. Of course, other mechanisms for connecting to the core network and / or the Internet are also possible for the UE, such as through wired access networks, wireless local area network (WLAN) networks (e.g., based on the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard, etc.).

[0031] A base station may operate according to one of several RATs to communicate with the UE, depending on the network in which it is deployed, and may alternatively be referred to as an Access Point (AP), Network Node, Node B, Evolved Node B (eNB), Next Generation eNB (ng-eNB), New Radio (NR) Node B (also referred to as gNB or gNodeB), etc. The base station may primarily be used to support the UE's radio access, including supporting data, voice, and / or signaling connections for the supported UE. In some systems, the base station may only provide edge node signaling functions, while in others, it may provide additional control and / or network management functions. The communication link through which the UE can transmit signals to the base station is called an uplink (UL) channel (e.g., reverse traffic channel, reverse control channel, access channel, etc.). The communication link through which the base station can transmit signals to the UE is called a downlink (DL) or forward link channel (e.g., paging channel, control channel, broadcast channel, forward traffic channel, etc.). As used herein, the term "traffic channel (TCH)" may refer to an uplink / reverse traffic channel or a downlink / forward traffic channel.

[0032] The term "base station" can refer to a single physical transmit / receive point (TRP) or multiple physical TRPs that may or may not be co-located. For example, when the term "base station" refers to a single physical TRP, the physical TRP can be the antenna of a base station corresponding to a cell (or several cell sectors) of the base station. When the term "base station" refers to multiple co-located physical TRPs, the physical TRP can be the antenna array of the base station (e.g., as in a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system or where the base station employs beamforming). When the term "base station" refers to multiple non-co-located physical TRPs, the physical TRP can be a distributed antenna system (DAS) (a network of spatially separated antennas connected via a transmission medium to a common source) or a remote radio headend (RRH) (a remote base station connected to a serving base station). Alternatively, a non-co-located physical TRP can be the serving base station from which the UE receives measurement reports and a neighboring base station where the UE is measuring its reference radio frequency (RF) signal. Because, as used herein, a TRP is the point by which a base station transmits and receives radio signals, references to transmitting from or receiving at a base station should be understood to refer to a specific TRP of the base station.

[0033] In some specific implementations supporting UE positioning, the base station may not support the UE's radio access (e.g., it may not support data, voice, and / or signaling connections for the UE), but may instead transmit reference signals to the UE for measurement and / or receive and measure signals transmitted by the UE. Such a base station may be referred to as a positioning beacon (e.g., in the case of transmitting signals to the UE) and / or as a location measurement unit (e.g., in the case of receiving and measuring signals from the UE).

[0034] An “RF signal” refers to an electromagnetic wave of a given frequency that transmits information across the space between a transmitter and a receiver. As used herein, a transmitter may send a single “RF signal” or multiple “RF signals” to a receiver. However, due to the propagation characteristics of RF signals through multipath channels, a receiver may receive multiple “RF signals” corresponding to each transmitted RF signal. The same transmitted RF signal on different paths between the transmitter and receiver may be referred to as a “multipath” RF signal. As used herein, an RF signal may also be referred to as a “wireless signal” or simply a “signal” where the context clearly indicates that the term “signal” refers to a wireless signal or an RF signal.

[0035] Figure 1 An example wireless communication system 100 according to various aspects of this disclosure is illustrated. The wireless communication system 100 (which may also be referred to as a wireless wide area network (WWAN)) may include various base stations 102 (labeled "BS") and various UEs 104. Base station 102 may include macro cell base stations (high-power cellular base stations) and / or small cell base stations (low-power cellular base stations). In one aspect, the macro cell base station may include an eNB and / or an ng-eNB (wherein the wireless communication system 100 corresponds to an LTE network), or a gNB (wherein the wireless communication system 100 corresponds to an NR network), or a combination of both, and the small cell base station may include femtocells, picocells, microcells, etc.

[0036] Base station 102 can collectively form a RAN and interface with core network 170 (e.g., evolved packet core (EPC) or 5G core (5GC)) via backhaul link 122, and interface with one or more location servers 172 (e.g., location management function (LMF) or secure user plane location (SUPL) location platform (SLP)) via core network 170. Location server 172 can be part of core network 170 or can be external to core network 170. Location server 172 can be integrated with base station 102. UE 104 can communicate with location server 172 directly or indirectly. For example, UE 104 can communicate with location server 172 via base station 102 currently serving UE 104. UE 104 can also communicate with location server 172 via another path, such as via application server (not shown), via another network, such as via wireless local area network (WLAN) access point (AP) (e.g., AP 150 described below), etc. For signaling purposes, communication between UE 104 and location server 172 can be represented as an indirect connection (e.g., via core network 170, etc.) or a direct connection (e.g., as shown via direct connection 128), wherein intermediate nodes (if present) are omitted from the signaling diagram for clarity.

[0037] In addition to other functions, base station 102 may perform functions associated with one or more of the following: transmitting user data, radio channel encryption and decryption, integrity protection, header compression, mobility control functions (e.g., handover, dual connectivity), inter-cell interference coordination, connection establishment and release, load balancing, distribution of Non-Access Stratum (NAS) messages, NAS node selection, synchronization, RAN sharing, Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service (MBMS), subscriber and equipment tracking, RAN Information Management (RIM), paging, location, and delivery of warning messages. Base stations 102 may communicate with each other directly or indirectly (e.g., via EPC / 5GC) on backhaul link 134, which may be wired or wireless.

[0038] Base station 102 can wirelessly communicate with UE 104. Each base station in base station 102 can provide communication coverage for a corresponding geographic coverage area 110. In one aspect, one or more cells can be supported by base station 102 in each geographic coverage area 110. A “cell” is a logical communication entity used to communicate with a base station (e.g., via a frequency resource, which is referred to as a carrier frequency, component carrier, carrier, frequency band, etc.) and can be associated with an identifier (e.g., Physical Cell Identifier (PCI), Enhanced Cell Identifier (ECI), Virtual Cell Identifier (VCI), Cell Global Identifier (CGI), etc.) used to distinguish cells operating via the same or different carrier frequencies. In some cases, different cells can be configured according to different protocol types that can provide access for different types of UEs (e.g., Machine Type Communication (MTC), Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT), Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB), or other protocol types). Because a cell is supported by a specific base station, the term “cell” can refer to either or both of the logical communication entity and the base station supporting the logical communication entity, depending on the context. Furthermore, since the TRP is typically the physical transmission point of a cell, the terms "cell" and "TRP" can be used interchangeably. In some cases, the term "cell" can also refer to the geographical coverage area of ​​a base station (e.g., a sector), as long as the carrier frequency can be detected and used for communication within a portion of the geographical coverage area 110.

[0039] While the geographic coverage areas 110 of adjacent macro cell base stations 102 may partially overlap (e.g., in handover areas), some areas within geographic coverage areas 110 may substantially overlap with larger geographic coverage areas 110. For example, a small cell base station 102' (labeled "SC" for "small cell") may have a geographic coverage area 110' that substantially overlaps with the geographic coverage areas 110 of one or more macro cell base stations 102. A network that includes both small cell base stations and macro cell base stations can be referred to as a heterogeneous network. A heterogeneous network may also include a home eNB (HeNB) that can provide service to a restricted group referred to as a Closed Subscriber Group (CSG).

[0040] The communication link 120 between base station 102 and UE 104 may include uplink (also known as reverse link) transmission from UE 104 to base station 102 and / or downlink (DL) (also known as forward link) transmission from base station 102 to UE 104. The communication link 120 may use MIMO antenna techniques, including spatial multiplexing, beamforming, and / or transmit diversity. The communication link 120 may use one or more carrier frequencies. Carrier allocation may be asymmetric for the downlink and uplink (e.g., more or fewer carriers may be allocated to the downlink compared to the uplink).

[0041] The wireless communication system 100 may also include a WLAN access point (AP) 150 that communicates with a wireless local area network (WLAN) station (STA) 152 via a communication link 154 in unlicensed spectrum (e.g., 5 GHz). When communicating in unlicensed spectrum, the WLAN STA 152 and / or WLAN AP 150 may perform a free channel assessment (CCA) or listen-before-talk (LBT) process before communication to determine whether the channel is available.

[0042] Small cell base station 102' can operate in licensed and / or unlicensed spectrum. When operating in unlicensed spectrum, small cell base station 102' can employ LTE or NR technology and use the same 5GHz unlicensed spectrum as WLAN AP 150. Small cell base station 102' employing LTE / 5G in unlicensed spectrum can improve the coverage and / or increase the capacity of the access network. NR in unlicensed spectrum may be referred to as NR-U. LTE in unlicensed spectrum may be referred to as LTE-U, Licensed Assisted Access (LAA), or MULTEFIRE. ® .

[0043] The wireless communication system 100 may also include a millimeter-wave (mmW) base station 180, which can operate at mmW and / or near-mmW frequencies to communicate with the UE 182. Extremely high frequency (EHF) is a portion of the electromagnetic spectrum that contains radio frequency (RF). EHF has a range of 30 GHz to 300 GHz, with wavelengths between 1 mm and 10 mm. Radio waves in this band are referred to as millimeter waves. Near-mmW extends down to frequencies of 3 GHz with wavelengths of 100 mm. Ultra-high frequency (SHF) bands extend between 3 GHz and 30 GHz, and are also referred to as centimeter waves. Communication using mmW / near-mmW radio bands has high path loss and relatively short range. The mmW base station 180 and the UE 182 can utilize beamforming (transmit and / or receive) on the mmW communication link 184 to compensate for the extremely high path loss and short range. Furthermore, it should be understood that, in alternative configurations, one or more base stations 102 may also use mmW or near-mmW and beamforming for transmission. Therefore, it should be understood that the foregoing examples are merely illustrative and should not be construed as limiting the various aspects disclosed herein.

[0044] Transmit beamforming is a technique used to focus RF signals in a specific direction. Traditionally, when a network node (e.g., a base station) broadcasts an RF signal, it broadcasts the signal in all directions (omnidirectionally). Using transmit beamforming, the network node determines where a given target device (e.g., a UE) is located (relative to the transmitting network node) and projects a stronger downlink RF signal in that specific direction, thus providing the receiving device with a faster and stronger RF signal (in terms of data rate). To change the directivity of the RF signal during transmission, the network node can control the phase and relative amplitude of the RF signal at each of one or more transmitters broadcasting the RF signal. For example, the network node can use an array of antennas (called a "phased array" or "antenna array") that forms an RF beam that can be "manipulated" to be pointed in different directions without actually moving the antennas. Specifically, RF currents from the transmitters are fed to individual antennas with the correct phase relationship, such that radio waves from the individual antennas add up in the desired direction to increase radiation, while canceling out in the undesired direction to suppress radiation.

[0045] Transmit beams can be quasi-co-located, meaning they appear to the receiver (e.g., the UE) as having the same parameters regardless of whether the network node's own transmit antennas are physically co-located. In NR, there are four types of quasi-co-located (QCL) relationships. Specifically, a given type of QCL relationship means that certain parameters of a second reference RF signal on a second beam can be derived based on information about the source reference RF signal on the source beam. Therefore, if the source reference RF signal is QCL type A, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift, Doppler spread, average delay, and delay spread of the second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL type B, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift and Doppler spread of the second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL type C, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift and average delay of the second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is of type QCL D, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the spatial reception parameters of a second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel.

[0046] In receive beamforming, a receiver uses a receive beam to amplify an RF signal detected on a given channel. For example, the receiver may increase the gain setting of an antenna array in a particular direction and / or adjust the phase setting of the antenna array in a particular direction to amplify the RF signal received from that direction (e.g., increase its gain level). Therefore, when a receiver is described as performing beamforming in a certain direction, it means that the beam gain in that direction is high relative to the beam gain along other directions, or that the beam gain in that direction is the highest compared to the beam gain of all other receive beams available to the receiver in that direction. This results in a stronger received signal strength (e.g., reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR), etc.) of the RF signal received from that direction.

[0047] The transmit and receive beams can be spatially correlated. Spatial correlation means that parameters for a second beam (e.g., transmit or receive beam) for a second reference signal can be derived based on information about a first beam (e.g., receive or transmit beam) for a first reference signal. For example, a UE can use a specific receive beam to receive a reference downlink reference signal (e.g., a synchronization signal block (SSB)) from a base station. The UE can then form a transmit beam for transmitting an uplink reference signal (e.g., a sounding reference signal (SRS)) to that base station based on the parameters of the receive beam.

[0048] It is important to note that, depending on the entity forming the "downlink" beam, the beam can be either a transmit beam or a receive beam. For example, if the base station is forming a downlink beam to transmit a reference signal to the UE, the downlink beam is a transmit beam. However, if the UE is forming a downlink beam, the downlink beam is a receive beam for receiving the downlink reference signal. Similarly, depending on the entity forming the "uplink" beam, the beam can be either a transmit beam or a receive beam. For example, if the base station is forming an uplink beam, the uplink beam is an uplink receive beam, while if the UE is forming an uplink beam, the uplink beam is an uplink transmit beam.

[0049] The electromagnetic spectrum is typically subdivided into various categories, bands, channels, etc., based on frequency / wavelength. In 5G NR, two initial operating bands have been designated as frequency ranges FR1 (410MHz to 7.125GHz) and FR2 (24.25GHz to 52.6GHz). It should be understood that although a portion of FR1 is greater than 6GHz, in various documents and articles, FR1 is often (interchangeably) referred to as the "sub-6GHz" band. A similar naming issue sometimes occurs with FR2, which is often (interchangeably) referred to as the "millimeter wave" band in documents and articles, although this differs from the designation used by the International Telecommunication Union. ® Extremely high frequency (EHF) bands (30 GHz to 300 GHz) are designated as “millimeter wave” bands.

[0050] The frequencies between FR1 and FR2 are generally referred to as intermediate frequency (IF) bands. Recent 5G NR studies have identified the operating bands used for these IF bands as the frequency range designation FR3 (7.125 GHz to 24.25 GHz). Bands falling within FR3 can inherit FR1 and / or FR2 characteristics, thus effectively extending the features of FR1 and / or FR2 to IF band frequencies. Furthermore, higher frequency bands are currently being explored to extend 5G NR operation beyond 52.6 GHz. For example, three higher operating frequency bands have been identified as the frequency range designations FR4a or FR4-1 (52.6 GHz to 71 GHz), FR4 (52.6 GHz to 114.25 GHz), and FR5 (114.25 GHz to 300 GHz). Each of these higher frequency bands falls within the EHF band.

[0051] In light of the foregoing, unless otherwise specifically stated, it should be understood that, as used herein, the term "below 6 GHz" and the like can broadly refer to frequencies less than 6 GHz, within FR1, or including intermediate frequency band frequencies. Furthermore, unless otherwise specifically stated, it should be understood that, as used herein, the term "millimeter wave" and the like can broadly refer to frequencies that can include intermediate frequency band frequencies, within FR2, FR4, FR4-a or FR4-1 and / or FR5, or within the EHF band.

[0052] In multi-carrier systems such as 5G, one of the carrier frequencies is referred to as the "primary carrier," "anchor carrier," "primary serving cell," or "PCell," and the remaining carrier frequencies are referred to as "secondary carriers," "secondary serving cells," or "SCell." In carrier aggregation, the anchor carrier is the carrier operating on the primary frequency (e.g., FR1) used by UE 104 / 182 and the cell, where UE 104 / 182 performs an initial Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection establishment procedure or initiates an RRC connection re-establishment procedure. The primary carrier carries all common and UE-specific control channels and can be a carrier on a licensed frequency (however, this is not always the case). The secondary carrier is a carrier operating on a second frequency (e.g., FR2) that can be configured and used to provide additional radio resources once an RRC connection is established between UE 104 and the anchor carrier. In some cases, the secondary carrier can be a carrier on an unlicensed frequency. Secondary carriers may contain only the necessary signaling information and signals. For example, since the primary uplink and primary downlink carriers are typically UE-specific, the UE-specific signaling information and signals may not be present in the secondary carrier. This means that different UEs 104 / 182 within a cell can have different downlink primary carriers. The same applies to the uplink primary carrier. The network can change the primary carrier of any UE 104 / 182 at any time. This is done, for example, to balance the load on different carriers. Since a "serving cell" (whether PCell or SCell) corresponds to the carrier frequency / component carrier through which a base station communicates, the terms "cell," "serving cell," "component carrier," and "carrier frequency" can be used interchangeably.

[0053] For example, still refer to Figure 1One of the frequencies used by macro cell base station 102 can be an anchor carrier (or "PCell"), and the other frequencies used by macro cell base station 102 and / or mmW base station 180 can be secondary carriers ("SCell"). Simultaneous transmission and / or reception on multiple carriers allows UE 104 / 182 to significantly increase its data transmission and / or reception rates. For example, compared to the data rate obtained by a single 20MHz carrier, two aggregated 20MHz carriers in a multi-carrier system would theoretically result in a doubling of the data rate (i.e., 40MHz).

[0054] The wireless communication system 100 may also include a UE 164, which can communicate with the macro cell base station 102 via communication link 120 and / or with the mmW base station 180 via mmW communication link 184. For example, the macro cell base station 102 may support PCells and one or more SCells for the UE 164, and the mmW base station 180 may support one or more SCells for the UE 164.

[0055] In some cases, UE 164 and UE 182 may be able to communicate via sidelink. A sidelink-capable UE (SL-UE) can communicate with base station 102 via communication link 120 using the Uu interface (i.e., the air interface between the UE and the base station). SL-UEs (e.g., UE 164, UE 182) can also communicate directly with each other via radio sidelink 160 using the PC5 interface (i.e., the air interface between sidelink-capable UEs). Radio sidelink (or simply "sidelink") is an adaptation of core cellular network (e.g., LTE, NR) standards that allows direct communication between two or more UEs without the need for communication through a base station. Sidelink communication can be unicast or multicast and can be used for device-to-device (D2D) media sharing, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication (e.g., cellular V2X (cV2X) communication, enhanced V2X (eV2X) communication, emergency rescue applications, etc. One or more SL-UEs in a group of SL-UEs utilizing sidelink communication may be located within the geographical coverage area 110 of base station 102. Other SL-UEs in this group may be outside the geographical coverage area 110 of base station 102, or may be unable to receive transmissions from base station 102 for other reasons. In some cases, the groups of SL-UEs communicating via sidelink communication may utilize a one-to-many (1:M) system, where each SL-UE transmits to every other SL-UE in the group. In some cases, base station 102 facilitates the scheduling of resources used for sidelink communication. In other cases, sidelink communication is performed between the individual SL-UEs without involving base station 102.

[0056] On one hand, the sidelink 160 can operate via a wireless communication medium of interest that can be shared with other vehicles and / or infrastructure access points and other RATs for wireless communication. "Medium" can include one or more time, frequency, and / or space communication resources (e.g., covering one or more channels across one or more carriers) associated with wireless communication between one or more transmitter / receiver pairs. On another hand, the medium of interest may correspond to at least a portion of unlicensed frequency bands shared among various RATs. While different licensed frequency bands have been reserved for certain communication systems (e.g., by government entities such as the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC), these systems (particularly those employing small cell access points) have recently expanded their operation to unlicensed frequency bands such as those used by wireless local area network (WLAN) technologies (most notably the IEEE 802.11x WLAN technology commonly referred to as "Wi-Fi"). Example systems of this type include various variants of CDMA, TDMA, FDMA, orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA), single-carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA), and so on.

[0057] It should be noted that, although Figure 1 Only two of these UEs are exemplified as SL-UEs (i.e., UE 164 and UE 182), but any UE exemplified can be an SL-UE. Furthermore, although only UE 182 is described as capable of beamforming, any UE exemplified (including UE 164) can be capable of beamforming. When SL-UEs are capable of beamforming, they can beamform towards each other (i.e., towards other SL-UEs), towards other UEs (e.g., UE 104), towards base stations (e.g., base station 102, base station 180, small cell 102', access point 150), etc. Therefore, in some cases, UE 164 and UE 182 can utilize beamforming via sidelink 160.

[0058] exist Figure 1 In the example, the UE shown (for simplicity, in) Figure 1Any UE (shown as a single UE 104) can receive signal 124 from one or more Earth-orbiting spacecraft (SV) 112 (e.g., satellites). In one aspect, SV 112 may be part of a satellite positioning system that allows UE 104 to use as an independent source of location information. Satellite positioning systems typically include a system of transmitters (e.g., SV 112) positioned such that a receiver (e.g., UE 104) can determine its location on or above the Earth based at least in part on positioning signals (e.g., signal 124) received from the transmitters. Such transmitters typically transmit signals marked with a set number of repeating pseudo-random noise (PN) codes. While typically located in SV 112, transmitters may sometimes be located at ground-based control stations, base stations 102, and / or other UEs 104. UE 104 may include one or more dedicated receivers specifically designed to receive signal 124 in order to derive geographic location information from SV 112.

[0059] In a satellite positioning system, the use of signal 124 can be enhanced by various satellite-based augmentation systems (SBAS), which may be associated with or otherwise made capable of being used with one or more global and / or regional navigation satellite systems. For example, SBAS may include augmentation systems that provide integrity information, differential correction, etc., such as Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS), European Geostationary Navigation Overlap Service (EGNOS), Multifunctional Satellite Augmentation System (MSAS), GPS-assisted geographic augmentation navigation, or GPS and geographic augmentation navigation system (GAGAN). Therefore, as used herein, a satellite positioning system may include any combination of one or more global and / or regional navigation satellites associated with such one or more satellite positioning systems.

[0060] On one hand, SV 112 may additionally or alternatively be part of one or more non-terrestrial networks (NTNs). In an NTN, SV 112 connects to an earth station (also referred to as a ground station, NTN gateway, or gateway), which in turn connects to elements in the 5G network, such as a modified base station 102 (without a ground antenna) or a network node in a 5GC. This element, in turn, provides access to other elements in the 5G network and ultimately to entities outside the 5G network, such as internet web servers and other user equipment. Thus, as a replacement or supplement to communication signals from ground base station 102, UE 104 can receive communication signals (e.g., signal 124) from SV 112.

[0061] The wireless communication system 100 may also include one or more UEs, such as UE 190, which are indirectly connected to one or more communication networks via one or more device-to-device (D2D) peer-to-peer (P2P) links (referred to as "side links"). Figure 1 In one example, UE 190 has a D2D P2P link 192 with one of UEs 104 connected to one of the base stations in base station 102 (e.g., UE 190 can indirectly obtain cellular connectivity through this D2D P2P link), and has a D2D P2P link 194 with a WLAN STA 152 connected to WLAN AP 150 (UE 190 can indirectly obtain WLAN-based Internet connectivity through this D2D P2P link). In one example, D2D P2P links 192 and 194 can utilize any known D2DRAT (such as LTE Direct (LTE-D), Wi-Fi Direct). ® ,Bluetooth ® (etc.) to support.

[0062] Figure 2A An example wireless network architecture 200 is illustrated. For instance, the 5GC 210 (also referred to as the Next Generation Core (NGC)) can be functionally viewed as control plane (C-plane) functions 214 (e.g., UE registration, authentication, network access, gateway selection, etc.) and user plane (U-plane) functions 212 (e.g., UE gateway functions, access to data networks, IP routing, etc.), which work together to form the core network. The user plane interface (NG-U) 213 and the control plane interface (NG-C) 215 connect the gNB 222 to the 5GC 210, specifically to user plane functions 212 and control plane functions 214, respectively. In an additional configuration, the ng-eNB 224 can also connect to the 5GC 210 via the NG-C 215 to the control plane function 214 and the NG-U 213 to the user plane function 212. Furthermore, the ng-eNB 224 can communicate directly with the gNB 222 via a backhaul connection 223. In some configurations, the next-generation RAN (NG-RAN) 220 may have one or more gNBs 222, while other configurations include one or more of both ng-eNBs 224 and gNBs 222. Either or both of the gNBs 222 or ng-eNBs 224 can communicate with one or more UEs 204 (e.g., any of the UEs described herein).

[0063] Another optional aspect may include a location server 230, which can communicate with the 5GC 210 to provide location assistance to the UE 204. The location server 230 may be implemented as multiple separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules distributed across multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternatively, each may correspond to a single server. The location server 230 may be configured to support one or more location services for the UE 204, which may be connected to the location server 230 via the core network, the 5GC 210, and / or via the Internet (not illustrated). Furthermore, the location server 230 may be integrated into a component of the core network, or alternatively, may be located outside the core network (e.g., a third-party server, such as an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) server or a service server).

[0064] Figure 2B Another example wireless network architecture 240.5GC 260 is illustrated (which can be used with...). Figure 2AThe 5GC 210 (corresponding to 5GC 210) can be functionally considered as a control plane function provided by the Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 264 and a user plane function provided by the User Plane Function (UPF) 262, which work together to form the core network (i.e., 5GC 260). The functions of AMF 264 include: registration management, connection management, reachability management, mobility management, lawful interception, transmission of session management (SM) messages between one or more UEs 204 (e.g., any of the UEs described herein) and the Session Management Function (SMF) 266, a transparent proxy service for routing SM messages, access authentication and access authorization, transmission of short message service (SMS) messages between UE 204 and the Short Message Service Function (SMSF) (not shown), and Secure Anchoring Functionality (SEAF). AMF 264 also interacts with the Authentication Server Function (AUSF) (not shown) and UE 204 and receives an intermediate key established as a result of the UE 204's authentication process. In the case of UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) Subscriber Identity Module (USIM) authentication, AMF 264 retrieves security material from the AMF. AMF 264 also includes Security Context Management (SCM). The SCM receives a key from the SEAF and uses this key to derive an access network-specific key. AMF 264 functionality also includes location service management for regulatory services, transmission of location service messages between UE 204 and Location Management Function (LMF) 270 (which acts as location server 230), transmission of location service messages between NG-RAN 220 and LMF 270, Evolved Packet System (EPS) bearer identifier allocation for EPS interoperability, and UE 204 mobility event notification. Furthermore, AMF 264 also supports non-3GPP... ® (Third Generation Partner Program) Access network functionality.

[0065] The functions of UPF 262 include: acting as an anchor point for intra-RAT / inter-RAT mobility (where applicable), acting as an external Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session point interconnecting to a data network (not shown), providing packet routing and forwarding, packet inspection, user plane policy rule enforcement (e.g., strobing, redirection, traffic steering), lawful eavesdropping (user plane collection), traffic usage reporting, quality of service (QoS) processing for the user plane (e.g., uplink / downlink rate enforcement, reflective QoS marking in the downlink), uplink traffic verification (Service Data Flow (SDF) to QoS flow mapping), transport-level packet marking in the uplink and downlink, downlink packet buffering and downlink data notification triggering, and delivering and forwarding one or more "end markers" to the source RAN node. UPF 262 can also support the delivery of location service messages between UE 204 and location servers (such as SLP 272) on the user plane.

[0066] The functions of SMF 266 include session management, UE Internet Protocol (IP) address allocation and management, selection and control of user plane functions, service orientation configuration at UPF 262 for routing services to the correct destination, partial control of policy enforcement and QoS, and downlink data notification. The interface through which SMF 266 communicates with AMF 264 is called the N11 interface.

[0067] Another optional aspect may include an LMF 270, which can communicate with the 5GC 260 to provide location assistance to the UE 204. The LMF 270 can be implemented as multiple separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules distributed across multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternatively, each can correspond to a single server. The LMF 270 can be configured to support one or more location services for the UE 204, which can connect to the LMF 270 via the core network, the 5GC 260, and / or via the Internet (not illustrated). SLP 272 can support similar functions to LMF 270, but while LMF 270 can communicate with AMF 264, NG-RAN 220, and UE 204 on the control plane (e.g., using interfaces and protocols designed to transmit signaling messages rather than voice or data), SLP 272 can communicate with UE 204 and external clients (e.g., third-party server 274) on the user plane (e.g., using protocols designed to carry voice and / or data, such as Transmit Control Protocol (TCP) and / or IP).

[0068] Another optional aspect may include a third-party server 274, which can communicate with LMF 270, SLP 272, 5GC 260 (e.g., via AMF 264 and / or UPF 262), NG-RAN 220, and / or UE 204 to obtain location information (e.g., location estimation) of UE 204. Therefore, in some cases, the third-party server 274 may be referred to as a Location Services (LCS) client or an external client. The third-party server 274 may be implemented as multiple separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules distributed across multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternatively, each may correspond to a single server.

[0069] User plane interface 263 and control plane interface 265 connect 5GC 260, and specifically connect UPF 262 and AMF 264 to one or more gNB 222 and / or ng-eNB 224 in NG-RAN 220. The interface between gNB 222 and / or ng-eNB 224 and AMF 264 is referred to as the "N2" interface, while the interface between gNB 222 and / or ng-eNB 224 and UPF 262 is referred to as the "N3" interface. The gNB 222 and / or ng-eNB 224 of NG-RAN 220 can communicate directly with each other via backhaul connection 223, referred to as the "Xn-C" interface. One or more of gNB 222 and / or ng-eNB 224 can communicate with one or more UEs 204 via a radio interface referred to as the "Uu" interface.

[0070] The functionality of the gNB 222 is divided among the gNB Central Unit (gNB-CU) 226, one or more gNB Distributed Units (gNB-DU) 228, and one or more gNB Radio Units (gNB-RU) 229. The gNB-CU 226 is a logical node that includes base station functions other than those specifically allocated to the gNB-DU 228, including user data delivery, mobility control, radio access network sharing, location, session management, etc. More specifically, the gNB-CU 226 typically hosts the Radio Resource Control (RRC), Serving Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP), and Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) protocols of the gNB 222. The gNB-DU 228 is a logical node that typically hosts the Radio Link Control (RLC) and Media Access Control (MAC) layers of the gNB 222. Its operation is controlled by the gNB-CU 226. One gNB-DU 228 can support one or more cells, and a cell is supported by only one gNB-DU 228. The interface 232 between gNB-CU 226 and one or more gNB-DU 228 is referred to as the "F1" interface. The physical (PHY) layer functionality of gNB 222 is typically managed by one or more independent gNB-RU 229s, which perform functions such as power amplification and signal transmission / reception. The interface between gNB-DU 228 and gNB-RU 229 is referred to as the "Fx" interface. Therefore, UE 204 communicates with gNB-CU 226 via the RRC, SDAP, and PDCP layers, with gNB-DU 228 via the RLC and MAC layers, and with gNB-RU 229 via the PHY layer.

[0071] The deployment of communication systems such as 5G NR systems can be arranged in a variety of ways using various components or parts. In a 5G NR system or network, network nodes, network entities, network mobility elements, RAN nodes, core network nodes, network elements, or network equipment (such as base stations or one or more units (or components) performing base station functions) can be implemented in aggregated or decomposed architectures. For example, base stations (such as Node B (NB), evolved NB (eNB), NR base stations, 5GNB, AP, TRP, cells, etc.) can be implemented as aggregated base stations (also known as standalone base stations or monolithic base stations) or decomposed base stations.

[0072] Aggregated base stations can be configured to utilize a radio protocol stack that is physically or logically integrated within a single RAN node. Decentralized base stations can be configured to utilize a protocol stack that is physically or logically distributed across two or more units, such as one or more central or centralized units (CUs), one or more distributed units (DUs), or one or more radio units (RUs). In some respects, the CU may be implemented within a RAN node, and one or more DUs may co-located with the CU, or alternatively, may be geographically or virtually distributed across one or more other RAN nodes. DUs may be implemented to communicate with one or more RUs. Each of the CUs, DUs, and RUs may also be implemented as a virtual unit, namely a virtual central unit (VCU), a virtual distributed unit (VDU), or a virtual radio unit (VRU).

[0073] Base station type operation or network design can consider the aggregation characteristics of base station functionality. For example, decomposed base stations can be used in Integrated Access Backhaul (IAB) networks, Open Radio Access Networks (O-RAN) (such as those developed by the O-RAN Alliance), etc. ® This can be used in proposed network configurations or virtualized radio access networks (vRAN, also known as cloud radio access networks (C-RAN)). Decomposition can include distributing functionality across two or more units in various physical locations, as well as virtually distributing the functionality of at least one unit, which allows for flexibility in network design. Various units in a decomposed base station or decomposed RAN architecture can be configured to communicate wirelessly with at least one other unit.

[0074] Figure 2C An example disaggregated base station architecture 250 according to various aspects of this disclosure is illustrated. The disaggregated base station architecture 250 may include one or more central units (CUs) 280 (e.g., gNB-CU 226) that can communicate directly with the core network 267 (e.g., 5GC 210, 5GC 260) via a backhaul link, or indirectly with the core network 267 via one or more disaggregated base station units (such as a near real-time (near-RT) RAN intelligent controller (RIC) 259 via an E2 link or a non-real-time (non-RT) RIC 257 associated with a Service Management and Orchestration (SMO) framework 255, or both). CUs 280 may communicate with one or more duplex units (DUs) 285 (e.g., gNB-DU 228) via a corresponding midhaul link (e.g., an F1 interface). DUs 285 may communicate with one or more radio units (RUs) 287 (e.g., gNB-RU 229) via a corresponding fronthaul link. RU 287 can communicate with the corresponding UE 204 via one or more radio frequency (RF) access links. In some implementations, UE 204 can be served by multiple RU 287s simultaneously.

[0075] Each of these units (i.e., CU 280, DU 285, RU 287, and near-RT RIC 259, non-RT RIC 257, and SMO frame 255) may include or be coupled to one or more interfaces configured to receive or transmit signals, data, or information (collectively, signals) via wired or wireless transmission media. Each of these units, or an associated processor or controller providing instructions to the communication interfaces of these units, may be configured to communicate with one or more other units via transmission media. For example, these units may include wired interfaces configured to receive signals or transmit signals to one or more other units via wired transmission media. Additionally, these units may include wireless interfaces that may include receivers, transmitters, or transceivers (such as RF transceivers) configured to receive signals or transmit signals to one or more other units, or both, via wireless transmission media.

[0076] In some aspects, the CU 280 can host one or more higher-level control functions. Such control functions may include RRC, PDCP, Serving Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP), etc. Each control function can be implemented using an interface configured to communicate signaling with other control functions hosted by the CU 280. The CU 280 can be configured to handle user plane functionality (i.e., Central Unit-User Plane (CU-UP)), control plane functionality (i.e., Central Unit-Control Plane (CU-CP)), or a combination thereof. In some implementations, the CU 280 can be logically split into one or more CU-UP units and one or more CU-CP units. When implemented in an O-RAN configuration, the CU-UP units can communicate bidirectionally with the CU-CP units via an interface such as an E1 interface. The CU 280 can be implemented to communicate with the DU 285 for network control and signaling, as needed.

[0077] DU 285 may correspond to a logic unit that includes one or more base station functions for controlling the operation of one or more RU 287s. In some aspects, DU 285 may be at least partially based on functional partitioning (such as that provided by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP)). ®The DU285 is functionally partitioned to host one or more of the RLC layer, MAC layer, and one or more high-PHY layers (such as modules for forward error correction (FEC) encoding and decoding, scrambling, modulation, and demodulation). In some aspects, the DU285 may further host one or more low-PHY layers. Each layer (or module) may be implemented using an interface configured to communicate with other layers (and modules) hosted by the DU285 or with control functions hosted by the CU280.

[0078] Lower-layer functionality can be implemented by one or more RU 287s. In some deployments, an RU287 controlled by a DU 285 may correspond to a logical node that hosts RF processing functions or low-PHY layer functions (such as performing Fast Fourier Transform (FFT), Inverse FFT (iFFT), digital beamforming, Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) extraction and filtering, or both, based at least in part on functional decomposition (such as lower-layer functional decomposition). In such architectures, the RU 287 may be implemented to handle over-the-air (OTA) communications with one or more UE 204s. In some specific implementations, the real-time and non-real-time aspects of control plane and user plane communications with the RU 287 may be controlled by the corresponding DU 285. In some scenarios, this configuration allows the DU 285 and CU 280 to be implemented in a cloud-based RAN architecture (such as a vRAN architecture).

[0079] SMO framework 255 can be configured to support RAN deployment and provisioning of both non-virtualized and virtualized network elements. For non-virtualized network elements, SMO framework 255 can be configured to support the deployment of dedicated physical resources for RAN coverage requirements, which can be managed via operation and maintenance interfaces such as the O1 interface. For virtualized network elements, SMO framework 255 can be configured to interact with cloud computing platforms such as Open Cloud (O-Cloud) 269 to perform network element lifecycle management (such as instantiating virtualized network elements) via cloud computing platform interfaces such as the O2 interface. Such virtualized network elements may include, but are not limited to, CU 280, DU 285, RU 287, and near-RT RIC 259. In some implementations, SMO framework 255 can communicate with hardware aspects of the 4G RAN, such as Open eNB (O-eNB) 261, via the O1 interface. Additionally, in some implementations, SMO framework 255 can communicate directly with one or more RU 287s via the O1 interface. SMO framework 255 may also include a non-RT RIC 257 configured to support the functionality of SMO framework 255.

[0080] The non-RT RIC 257 can be configured to include logical functions enabling non-real-time control and optimization of RAN elements and resources, including artificial intelligence / machine learning (AI / ML) workflows for model training and updates, or policy-based guidance for applications / features in the near-RT RIC 259. The non-RT RIC 257 can be coupled to or communicate with the near-RT RIC 259, such as via an A1 interface. The near-RT RIC 259 can be configured to include logical functions enabling near real-time control and optimization of RAN elements and resources via an interface, such as an E2 interface, through data collection and actions, connecting one or more CU 280s, one or more DU 285s, or both, and O-eNBs to the near-RT RIC 259.

[0081] In some implementations, to generate AI / ML models to be deployed in the near-RT RIC 259, the non-RT RIC 257 may receive parameters or external enrichment information from an external server. This information can be utilized by the near-RT RIC 259 and can be received from non-network data sources or network functions at the SMO framework 255 or the non-RT RIC 257. In some examples, the non-RT RIC 257 or the near-RT RIC 259 may be configured to tune RAN behavior or performance. For example, the non-RT RIC 257 may monitor long-term trends and patterns in performance and employ AI / ML models to perform corrective actions via the SMO framework 255 (such as reconfiguration via O1) or by creating RAN management policies (such as A1 policies).

[0082] Figure 3A , Figure 3B and Figure 3C Several example components (represented by corresponding boxes) are illustrated, which can be incorporated into UE 302 (which may correspond to any UE described herein), base station 304 (which may correspond to any base station described herein), and network entity 306 (which may correspond to or embody any network function described herein, including location server 230 and LMF 270, or alternatively may be independent of UE 302). Figure 2A and Figure 2BThe NG-RAN 220 and / or 5GC 210 / 260 infrastructures depicted herein (such as dedicated networks) support the operations described herein. It should be understood that these components can be implemented in different specific implementations in different types of devices (e.g., in ASICs, in System-on-Chip (SoCs), etc.). The illustrated components can also be incorporated into other devices in the communication system. For example, other devices in the system may include components similar to those described as providing similar functionality. Furthermore, a given device may contain one or more of these components. For example, a device may include multiple transceiver components that enable the device to operate on multiple carriers and / or communicate via different technologies.

[0083] UE 302 and base station 304 each include one or more Wireless Wide Area Network (WWAN) transceivers 310 and 350, which provide components (e.g., components for transmitting, components for receiving, components for measuring, components for tuning, components for blocking transmission, etc.) for communication via one or more wireless communication networks (not shown), such as NR networks, LTE networks, GSM networks, etc. WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 may each be connected to one or more antennas 316 and 356 for communication with other network nodes (such as other UEs, access points, base stations (e.g., eNB, gNB), etc.) via at least one designated RAT (e.g., NR, LTE, GSM, etc.) through a wireless communication medium of interest (e.g., a time / frequency resource set in a specific spectrum). WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 can be configured in different ways to transmit and encode signals 318 and 358 (e.g., messages, indications, information, etc.) according to a specified RAT, and conversely, to receive and decode signals 318 and 358 (e.g., messages, indications, information, pilots, etc.). Specifically, WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 each include: one or more transmitters 314 and 354 for transmitting and encoding signals 318 and 358, respectively; and one or more receivers 312 and 352 for receiving and decoding signals 318 and 358, respectively.

[0084] In at least some cases, UE 302 and base station 304 each further include one or more short-range radio transceivers 320 and 360, respectively. Short-range radio transceivers 320 and 360 can be connected to one or more antennas 326 and 366, respectively, and provide access over a wireless communication medium of interest via at least one designated RAT (e.g., Wi-Fi, LTE Direct, Bluetooth). ® ZIGBEE ® Z-WAVE ® Components (e.g., components for transmitting, components for receiving, components for measuring, components for tuning, components for blocking transmission, etc.) that enable communication between PC5, Dedicated Short Range Communication (DSRC), Wireless Access for Vehicle Environments (WAVE), Near Field Communication (NFC), Ultra Wideband (UWB), etc.) and other network nodes (such as other UEs, access points, base stations, etc.). Short-range transceivers 320 and 360 can be configured in different ways to transmit and encode signals 328 and 368 (e.g., messages, indications, information, etc.) respectively according to a specified RAT, and conversely, to receive and decode signals 328 and 368 (e.g., messages, indications, information, pilots, etc.) respectively. Specifically, short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 each include: one or more transmitters 324 and 364 for transmitting and encoding signals 328 and 368, respectively; and one or more receivers 322 and 362 for receiving and decoding signals 328 and 368, respectively. As a specific example, short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 can be Wi-Fi transceivers, Bluetooth transceivers, etc. ® Transceiver, Zigbee ® and / or Z-WAVE ® Transceivers, NFC transceivers, UWB transceivers, or vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and / or vehicle-to-everything (V2X) transceivers.

[0085] In at least some cases, UE 302 and base station 304 also include satellite signal interfaces 330 and 370, each satellite signal interface including one or more satellite signal receivers 332 and 372, and optionally including one or more satellite signal transmitters 334 and 374, respectively. In some cases, base station 304 may be a terrestrial base station that can communicate with a spacecraft (e.g., spacecraft 112) via satellite signal interface 370. In other cases, base station 304 may be a spacecraft (or other non-terrestrial entity) that uses satellite signal interface 370 to communicate with terrestrial networks and / or other spacecraft.

[0086] Satellite signal receivers 332 and 372 can be connected to one or more antennas 336 and 376, respectively, and can provide components for receiving and / or measuring satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378, respectively. When satellite signal receivers 332 and 372 are satellite positioning system receivers, satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378 can be Global Positioning System (GPS) signals, Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS) signals, Galileo signals, BeiDou signals, Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (NAVIC), Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS) signals, etc. When satellite signal receivers 332 and 372 are non-terrestrial network (NTN) receivers, satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378 can be communication signals originating from a 5G network (e.g., carrying control and / or user data). Satellite signal receivers 332 and 372 can include any suitable hardware and / or software for receiving and processing satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378, respectively. Satellite signal receivers 332 and 372 may request appropriate information and operations from other systems, and in at least some cases, use measurements obtained by any suitable satellite positioning system algorithm to perform calculations to determine the locations of UE 302 and base station 304, respectively.

[0087] Optional satellite signal transmitters 334 and 374 (when present) can be connected to one or more antennas 336 and 376, respectively, and can be provided with components for transmitting satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378, respectively. When satellite signal transmitter 374 is a satellite positioning system transmitter, the satellite positioning / communication signal 378 can be a GPS signal, GLONASS signal, etc. ® Signals include Galileo signals, BeiDou signals, NAVIC signals, and QZSS signals. When satellite signal transmitters 334 and 374 are NTN transmitters, satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378 can be communication signals originating from a 5G network (e.g., carrying control and / or user data). Satellite signal transmitters 334 and 374 can include any suitable hardware and / or software for transmitting satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378, respectively. Satellite signal transmitters 334 and 374 can request appropriate information and operations from other systems.

[0088] Base station 304 and network entity 306 each include one or more network transceivers 380 and 390, which provide components (e.g., transmitting components, receiving components, etc.) for communicating with other network entities (e.g., other base stations 304, other network entities 306). For example, base station 304 may use one or more network transceivers 380 to communicate with other base stations 304 or network entities 306 via one or more wired or wireless backhaul links. Similarly, network entity 306 may use one or more network transceivers 390 to communicate with one or more base stations 304 via one or more wired or wireless backhaul links, or to communicate with other network entities 306 via one or more wired or wireless core network interfaces.

[0089] Transceivers can be configured to communicate via wired or wireless links. A transceiver (whether wired or wireless) includes transmitter circuitry (e.g., transmitters 314, 324, 354, 364) and receiver circuitry (e.g., receivers 312, 322, 352, 362). In some embodiments, the transceiver may be an integrated device (e.g., implementing transmitter and receiver circuitry in a single device), in some embodiments it may include separate transmitter and receiver circuitry, or in other embodiments it may be implemented in a different manner. The transmitter and receiver circuitry of a wired transceiver (e.g., network transceiver 380 and network transceiver 390 in some embodiments) may be coupled to one or more wired network interface ports. Wireless transmitter circuitry (e.g., transmitters 314, 324, 354, 364) may include or be coupled to multiple antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), such as an antenna array, which allows the corresponding device (e.g., UE 302, base station 304) to perform transmit beamforming, as described herein. Similarly, wireless receiver circuitry (e.g., receivers 312, 322, 352, 362) may include or be coupled to multiple antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), such as an antenna array, which allows the corresponding device (e.g., UE 302, base station 304) to perform receive beamforming, as described herein. In one aspect, the transmitter and receiver circuitry may share the same multiple antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), such that the corresponding device may perform only receive or only transmit at a given time, rather than both receive and transmit simultaneously. Wireless transceivers (e.g., WWAN transceivers 310 and 350, short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360) may also include network listening modules (NLMs) for performing various measurements.

[0090] As used herein, various wireless transceivers (e.g., transceivers 310, 320, 350, and 360 in some specific embodiments, and network transceivers 380 and 390) and wired transceivers (e.g., network transceivers 380 and 390 in some specific embodiments) may generally be described as "transceiver," "at least one transceiver," or "one or more transceivers." Therefore, whether a particular transceiver is a wired or wireless transceiver can be inferred from the type of communication performed. For example, backhaul communication between network devices or servers typically involves signaling via a wired transceiver, while wireless communication between a UE (e.g., UE 302) and a base station (e.g., base station 304) will typically involve signaling via a wireless transceiver.

[0091] UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 also include other components that can be used in conjunction with the operation disclosed herein. UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 each include one or more processors 342, 384, and 394 for providing functionality related to, for example, wireless communication, and for providing other processing functionality. Thus, processors 342, 384, and 394 may provide components for processing, such as components for determining, components for calculating, components for receiving, components for transmitting, components for indicating, etc. In one aspect, processors 342, 384, and 394 may include, for example, one or more general-purpose processors, multi-core processors, central processing units (CPUs), ASICs, digital signal processors (DSPs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), other programmable logic devices or processing circuits, or various combinations thereof.

[0092] UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 each include memory circuitry implementing memories 340, 386, and 396 (e.g., each including a memory device) for maintaining information (e.g., information indicating reserved resources, thresholds, parameters, etc.). Therefore, memories 340, 386, and 396 can provide components for storage, retrieval, maintenance, etc. In some cases, UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 may each include sensing components 348, 388, and 398. Sensing components 348, 388, and 398 may be hardware circuitry that is part of or coupled to processors 342, 384, and 394, respectively, which, when executed, enable UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 to perform the functionality described herein. In other respects, sensing components 348, 388, and 398 may be external to processors 342, 384, and 394 (e.g., part of a modem processing system, integrated with another processing system, etc.). Alternatively, sensing components 348, 388, and 398 may be memory modules stored in memories 340, 386, and 396, respectively, which, when executed by processors 342, 384, and 394 (or a modem processing system, another processing system, etc.), enable UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 to perform the functionality described herein. Figure 3A Possible locations of sensing component 348 are illustrated. The sensing component may be part of, for example, one or more WWAN transceivers 310, memory 340, one or more processors 342, or any combination thereof, or may be a standalone component. Figure 3B Possible locations of sensing component 388 are illustrated. The sensing component may be part of, for example, one or more WWAN transceivers 350, memory 386, one or more processors 384, or any combination thereof, or may be a standalone component. Figure 3C Possible locations of sensing component 398 are illustrated. The sensing component may be part of, for example, one or more network transceivers 390, memory 396, one or more processors 394, or any combination thereof, or may be a standalone component.

[0093] UE 302 may include one or more sensors 344 coupled to one or more processors 342 to provide components for sensing or detecting motion and / or orientation information independent of motion data derived from signals received by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more short-range wireless transceivers 320, and / or satellite signal interfaces 330. By way of example, sensor 344 may include accelerometers (e.g., microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) devices), gyroscopes, geomagnetic sensors (e.g., compasses), altimeters (e.g., barometric altimeters), and / or any other type of motion detection sensor. Furthermore, sensor 344 may include multiple different types of devices and combine their outputs to provide motion information. For example, sensor 344 may use a combination of multi-axis accelerometers and orientation sensors to provide the ability to calculate positioning in two-dimensional (2D) and / or three-dimensional (3D) coordinate systems.

[0094] In addition, UE 302 includes a user interface 346 that provides components for providing instructions to a user (e.g., audible and / or visual instructions) and / or for receiving user input (e.g., when the user actuates a sensing device such as a keypad, touchscreen, microphone, etc.). Although not shown, base station 304 and network entity 306 may also include user interfaces.

[0095] Referring more specifically to one or more processors 384, in the downlink, IP packets from network entity 306 can be provided to processor 384. One or more processors 384 can implement functionality for the RRC layer, Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer, Radio Link Control (RLC) layer, and Media Access Control (MAC) layer. One or more processors 384 may provide: RRC layer functionality associated with broadcasting system information (e.g., Master Information Block (MIB), System Information Block (SIB)), RRC connection control (e.g., RRC connection paging, RRC connection establishment, RRC connection modification, and RRC connection release), inter-RAT mobility, and measurement configuration for UE measurement reporting; PDCP layer functionality associated with header compression / decompression, security (encryption, decryption, integrity protection, integrity verification), and handover support functions; RLC layer functionality associated with the delivery of upper-layer PDUs, error correction via Automatic Repeat Request (ARQ), concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC Service Data Units (SDUs), resegmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functionality associated with mapping between logical channels and transport channels, scheduling information reporting, error correction, priority processing, and logical channel priority ordering.

[0096] Transmitter 354 and receiver 352 implement Layer 1 (L1) functionality associated with various signal processing functions. Layer 1, including the physical (PHY) layer, may include: error detection on the transport channel, forward error correction (FEC) decoding / decoding of the transport channel, interleaving, rate matching, mapping to the physical channel, modulation / demodulation of the physical channel, and MIMO antenna processing. Transmitter 354 processes the mapping to the signal constellation based on various modulation schemes (e.g., binary phase shift keying (BPSK), quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK), M-phase shift keying (M-PSK), M-quadrature amplitude modulation (M-QAM)). The decoded and modulated symbols can then be split into parallel streams. Each stream can then be mapped to orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) subcarriers, multiplexed with a reference signal (e.g., pilot) in the time and / or frequency domains, and then combined using inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) to produce a physical channel carrying a stream of time-domain OFDM symbols. The OFDM symbol stream is spatially pre-decoded to generate multiple spatial streams. Channel estimates from the channel estimator can be used to determine the decoding and modulation schemes, as well as for spatial processing. The channel estimates can be derived from a reference signal transmitted by UE 302 and / or channel condition feedback. Each spatial stream can then be provided to one or more different antennas 356. The transmitter 354 can utilize the corresponding spatial stream to modulate an RF carrier for transmission.

[0097] At UE 302, receiver 312 receives signals via its corresponding antenna 316. Receiver 312 recovers the information modulated onto the RF carrier and provides this information to one or more processors 342. Transmitter 314 and receiver 312 implement Layer 1 functionality associated with various signal processing functions. Receiver 312 can perform spatial processing on the information to recover any spatial streams destined for UE 302. If multiple spatial streams are destined for UE 302, they can be combined by receiver 312 into a single OFDM symbol stream. Receiver 312 then uses a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) to transform the OFDM symbol stream from the time domain to the frequency domain. The frequency domain signal comprises a separate OFDM symbol stream for each subcarrier of the OFDM signal. The symbols on each subcarrier, along with the reference signal, are recovered and demodulated by determining the most probable signal constellation point transmitted by base station 304. These soft decisions can be based on a channel estimate calculated by a channel estimator. The soft decisions are then decoded and deinterleaved to recover the data and control signals originally transmitted by base station 304 on the physical channel. Then, data and control signals are provided to one or more processors 342, which implement layer 3 (L3) and layer 2 (L2) functionality.

[0098] In the downlink, one or more processors 342 provide demultiplexing, packet reassembly, decryption, header decompression, and control signal processing between the transport and logical channels to recover IP packets from the core network. One or more processors 342 are also responsible for error detection.

[0099] Similar to the functionality described in conjunction with downlink transmissions performed by base station 304, one or more processors 342 provide: RRC layer functionality associated with system information (e.g., MIB, SIB) acquisition, RRC connectivity, and measurement reporting; PDCP layer functionality associated with header compression / decompression and security (encryption, decryption, integrity protection, integrity verification); RLC layer functionality associated with the delivery of upper-layer PDUs, error correction via ARQ, concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC SDUs, resegmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functionality associated with mapping between logical channels and transport channels, multiplexing of MAC SDUs onto transport blocks (TBs), demultiplexing of MAC SDUs from TBs, scheduling information reporting, error correction via Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ), priority processing, and logical channel priority ordering.

[0100] The channel estimate derived by the channel estimator from the reference signal or feedback transmitted by the base station 304 can be used by the transmitter 314 to select an appropriate decoding and modulation scheme and facilitate spatial processing. The spatial stream generated by the transmitter 314 can be provided to different antennas 316. The transmitter 314 can use the corresponding spatial stream to modulate the RF carrier for transmission.

[0101] Uplink transmissions are processed at base station 304 in a manner similar to that described in conjunction with the receiver function at UE 302. Receiver 352 receives signals via its corresponding antenna 356. Receiver 352 recovers the information modulated onto the RF carrier and provides this information to one or more processors 384.

[0102] In the uplink, one or more processors 384 provide demultiplexing, packet reassembly, decryption, header decompression, and control signal processing between the transport channel and the logical channel to recover IP packets from UE 302. IP packets from one or more processors 384 can be provided to the core network. One or more processors 384 are also responsible for error detection.

[0103] For convenience, UE 302, base station 304 and / or network entity 306 are in Figure 3A , Figure 3B and Figure 3CThe document is shown as including various components that can be configured according to the various examples described herein. However, it should be understood that the illustrated components may have different functionalities in different designs. In particular, Figures 3A to 3C Various components are optional in alternative configurations, and various aspects include configurations that can vary due to design choices, cost, equipment usage, or other considerations. For example, in Figure 3A In certain cases, specific implementations of UE 302 may omit WWAN transceiver 310 (e.g., wearable devices, tablets, personal computers (PCs), or laptops may have Wi-Fi and / or Bluetooth). ® The short-range wireless transceiver 320 can be omitted (e.g., cellular only), or the satellite signal interface 330 can be omitted, or the sensor 344 can be omitted, etc. In another example, in Figure 3B In certain cases, specific implementations of base station 304 may omit WWAN transceiver 350 (e.g., a Wi-Fi "hotspot" access point without cellular capabilities), or short-range wireless transceiver 360 (e.g., cellular only), or satellite signal interface 370, etc. For the sake of brevity, examples of various alternative configurations are not provided herein, but will be readily understood by those skilled in the art.

[0104] Various components of UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 can be communicatively coupled to each other via data buses 308, 382, ​​and 392, respectively. In one aspect, data buses 308, 382, ​​and 392 can form or be part of the communication interfaces of UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306, respectively. For example, in cases where different logical entities are embodied in the same device (e.g., gNB and location server functionality integrated into the same base station 304), data buses 308, 382, ​​and 392 can provide communication between these logical entities.

[0105] Figure 3A , Figure 3B and Figure 3C The components can be implemented in various ways. In some specific implementations, Figure 3A , Figure 3B and Figure 3CThe components can be implemented in one or more circuits, such as, for example, one or more processors and / or one or more ASICs (which may include one or more processors). Here, each circuit may use and / or combine at least one memory component for storing information or executable code used by the circuit to provide that functionality. For example, some or all of the functionalities represented by blocks 310 to 346 may be implemented by the processor and memory components of UE 302 (e.g., by executing appropriate code and / or by appropriate configuration of the processor components). Similarly, some or all of the functionalities represented by blocks 350 to 388 may be implemented by the processor and memory components of base station 304 (e.g., by executing appropriate code and / or by appropriate configuration of the processor components). Moreover, some or all of the functionalities represented by blocks 390 to 398 may be implemented by the processor and memory components of network entity 306 (e.g., by executing appropriate code and / or by appropriate configuration of the processor components). For simplicity, various operations, actions, and / or functions are described herein as being performed "by the UE," "by the base station," "by the network entity," etc. However, it should be understood that such operations, actions and / or functions can actually be performed by specific components or combinations of components of the UE 302, base station 304, network entity 306, etc. (such as processors 342, 384, 394, transceivers 310, 320, 350 and 360, memory 340, 386 and 396, sensing components 348, 388 and 398, etc.).

[0106] In some designs, network entity 306 may be implemented as a core network component. In other designs, network entity 306 may operate differently from the network operator or cellular network infrastructure (e.g., NG RAN 220 and / or 5GC 210 / 260). For example, network entity 306 may be a component of a private network that can be configured to communicate with UE 302 via base station 304 or independently of base station 304 (e.g., via a non-cellular communication link such as Wi-Fi).

[0107] Wireless communication signals transmitted between the UE and the base station (e.g., radio frequency (RF) signals configured to carry orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols according to wireless communication standards such as LTE, NR, etc.) can be used for environmental sensing (also known as "RF sensing" or "radar"). Environmental sensing using wireless communication signals can be considered as consumer-grade radar with advanced detection capabilities, enabling contactless / device-free interaction with devices / systems, etc. Wireless communication signals can be cellular communication signals, such as LTE or NR signals, WLAN signals such as Wi-Fi signals, etc. As a specific example, wireless communication signals can be OFDM waveforms as utilized in LTE and NR. High-frequency communication signals, such as millimeter-wave (mmW) RF signals, are particularly advantageous for use as sensing signals because higher frequencies provide at least more accurate ranging (distance) detection.

[0108] Possible use cases for RF sensing include: health monitoring use cases, such as heart rate detection and respiratory rate monitoring; gesture recognition use cases, such as human activity recognition, keystroke detection, and sign language recognition; context information acquisition use cases, such as location detection / tracking, direction finding, and distance estimation; and automotive sensing use cases, such as intelligent cruise control and collision avoidance.

[0109] There are different types of sensing, including single-station sensing (also known as "active sensing") and dual-station sensing (also known as "passive sensing"). Figure 4A and Figure 4B These different types of sensing are illustrated. Specifically, Figure 4A This is illustration 400 illustrating a single-station sensing scenario, and Figure 4B This is illustration 430, illustrating a dual-station sensing scenario. Figure 4A In this configuration, the transmitter (Tx) and receiver (Rx) are co-located in the same sensing device 404 (e.g., a UE). The sensing device 404 transmits one or more RF sensing signals 434 (e.g., for uplink or sidelink positioning reference signals (PRS) in the case that the sensing device 404 is a UE), and some of the RF sensing signals 434 are reflected from a target object 406 (e.g., an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)). The sensing device 404 can measure various properties of the reflection 436 of the RF sensing signals 434 (e.g., time of arrival (ToA), angle of arrival (AoA), phase shift, etc.) to determine the characteristics of the target object 406 (e.g., size, shape, speed, motion state, etc.).

[0110] exist Figure 4B In this architecture, the transmitter (Tx) and receiver (Rx) are not co-located; that is, they are separate devices (e.g., the UE and the base station). It should be noted that although... Figure 4BAn example is shown using a downlink RF signal as the RF sensing signal 432, but uplink or sidelink RF signals can also be used as the RF sensing signal 432. In the downlink scenario, as shown, the transmitter device 402 is a base station (e.g., a gNB), and the receiver device 408 is a UE (e.g., a mobile phone, a V2X-enabled vehicle, a roadside unit (RSU), etc.), while in the uplink scenario, the transmitter device 402 is the UE, and the receiver device 408 is the base station. When the transmitter device 402 is the base station and the receiver device 408 is the UE, the sensing is referred to as UE-assisted sensing. In UE-assisted sensing, the location of the receiver device 408 should be known to the network (e.g., via GPS or other UE positioning methods).

[0111] For more detailed information, please refer to [link / reference]. Figure 4B Transmitter device 402 sends RF sensing signals 432 and 434 (e.g., positioning reference signals (PRS)) to receiver device 408, but some of the RF sensing signal 434 is reflected from target object 406. Receiver device 408 (also referred to as a "sensing device") can measure the time of arrival (ToA) of the RF sensing signal 432 received directly from transmitter device 402 and the time of reflection 436 of the RF sensing signal 434 reflected from target object 406.

[0112] More specifically, as described above, a transmitter device (e.g., a base station) may transmit a single RF signal or multiple RF signals to a receiver device (e.g., a UE). However, due to the propagation characteristics of RF signals through multipath channels, the receiver may receive multiple RF signals corresponding to each transmitted RF signal. Each path may be associated with a cluster of one or more channel taps. Typically, the time when the receiver detects the first channel tap cluster is considered to be the ToA of the RF signal on the site line (LOS) path (i.e., the shortest path between the transmitter and receiver). Subsequent channel tap clusters are considered to have been reflected by objects between the transmitter and receiver, and therefore have been along a non-LOS (NLOS) path between the transmitter and receiver.

[0113] Therefore, return to the reference. Figure 4BRF sensing signal 432 follows the LOS path between transmitter device 402 and receiver device 408, while RF sensing signal 434 follows the NLOS path between transmitter device 402 and receiver device 408 due to reflection from target object 406. Transmitter device 402 may have transmitted multiple RF sensing signals 432, 434, some of which follow the LOS path and others follow the NLOS path. Alternatively, transmitter device 402 may have transmitted a single RF sensing signal in a sufficiently wide beam such that a portion of the RF sensing signal follows the LOS path (RF sensing signal 432) and a portion follows the NLOS path (RF sensing signal 434).

[0114] Based on the ToA of the LOS path, the ToA of the NLOS path, and the speed of light, receiver device 408 can determine the distance to the target object. For example, receiver device 408 can calculate the distance to the target object as the difference between the ToA of the LOS path and the ToA of the NLOS path multiplied by the speed of light. Furthermore, if receiver device 408 is capable of receiving beamforming, it can determine the approximate direction toward the target object 406 as the direction (angle) of the received beam that receives the RF sensing signal following the NLOS path. That is, receiver device 408 can determine the direction toward the target object 406 as the AoA of the RF sensing signal, which is the angle of the received beam used to receive the RF sensing signal. Receiver device 408 can then optionally report this information to transmitter device 402, its serving base station, an application server associated with the core network, an external client, a third-party application, or some other sensing entity. Alternatively, receiver device 408 may report the ToA measurement to transmitter device 402 or other sensing entities (e.g., if receiver device 408 itself does not have the processing capability to perform calculations), and transmitter device 402 may determine the distance to target object 406 and optionally determine the direction toward the target object.

[0115] It should be noted that if the RF sensing signal is an uplink RF signal sent by the UE to the base station, the base station will perform object detection based on the uplink RF signal, just as the UE does based on the downlink RF signal.

[0116] Similar to conventional radar, wireless communication-based sensing signals can be used to estimate the range (distance), velocity (Doppler), and angle (AoA) of a target. However, performance (e.g., resolution and maximum values ​​of range, velocity, and angle) can depend on the design of the reference signal.

[0117] Figure 5An example call flow 500 illustrates an NR-based sensing process (e.g., a dual-site sensing process) for configuring sensing parameters in a network, according to various aspects of this disclosure. Although Figure 5 The example illustrates a network-coordinated sensing process, but this sensing process can be coordinated via a sidelink channel.

[0118] At stage 505, the sensing server 570 (e.g., inside or outside the core network) transmits a request for network (NW) information to the gNB 522 (e.g., the serving gNB of UE 504). This request may be for a list of the serving cell and any neighboring cells of UE 504. At stage 510, the gNB 522 transmits the requested information to the sensing server 570. At stage 515, the sensing server 570 transmits a request for sensing capabilities to UE 504. At stage 520, UE 504 provides its sensing capabilities to the sensing server 570.

[0119] At phase 525, the sensing server 570 transmits to the UE 504 a configuration indicating one or more reference signal (RS) resources to be transmitted for sensing. The reference signal resources may be transmitted by the serving cell and / or neighboring cells identified at phase 510. In some cases, Figure 5 The NR-based sensing process illustrated herein can be a sensing-only process or a Joint Communication and Sensing (JCS) process. In the case of a sensing-only process, the reference signal resource can be a reference signal resource specifically configured for sensing purposes. In the case of a JCS process, the reference signal resource can be a reference signal resource used for both communication and sensing purposes. Alternatively, the reference signal resource used for sensing can be multiplexed with the reference signal resource used for communication (e.g., time-division multiplexing). For example, the reference signal resource used for communication can be an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) waveform, while the reference signal resource used for sensing can be a frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) waveform.

[0120] At stage 530, the sensing server 570 sends a request for sensing information to the UE 504. Then, the UE 504 measures the transmitted reference signal and, at stage 535, transmits the measurement or any sensing results determined based on the measurement to the sensing server 570.

[0121] On one hand, communication between UE 504 and sensing server 570 can be conducted via LTE positioning protocol (LPP). Communication between sensing server 570 and gNB can be conducted via NR positioning protocol type A (NRPPa).

[0122] RF sensing is anticipated to be a primary use case for next-generation wireless systems such as 5G, 6G, and beyond. In some cases, networks are expected to provide sensing services to track a specific target object and its surrounding environment. Sensing can be aided by sensing auxiliary information provided by a UE mounted on the target object or by an authorized third party. In some cases, networks are expected to be able to simultaneously sense multiple specific target objects and their environments. In some cases, networks are expected to provide, under commercial agreements, operator-controlled mechanisms for trusted third parties to request sensing services related to one or more target objects in a given location area.

[0123] Multi-object tracking is a challenging task, and one of the important aspects of this task is data association (DA). Figure 6 This is a diagram 600 illustrating an example dual-station sensing scenario according to various aspects of this disclosure. Figure 6 In the example, a transmitter (Tx) sensing node (e.g., gNB, UE) transmits a sensing reference signal reflected from a first target object (labeled "Target Object 1") and a second target object (labeled "Target Object 2"). A receiver (Rx) sensing node (e.g., gNB, UE) receives the two reflections, denoted as follows: and .

[0124] exist Figure 6 In the example, the receiver sensing node (or other sensing entity) needs to transmit the measurement... and Assign it to the correct target. Specifically, in Figure 6 middle, It can be assigned to the first target object, and It can be assigned to a second target. Alternatively, [location to be selected]. It can be assigned to the first target object, and It can be assigned to a second target object. Therefore, the data association problem is to determine which option is the correct one. It should be noted that in real-world scenarios, there can be any number of measurements and target objects, as well as spurious / abnormal measurements, making the data association problem even more challenging.

[0125] As will be understood, multi-object tracking relies on the successful execution of data association. Incorrect data association can lead to various errors, including large tracking errors, detecting and tracking phantom targets instead of actual targets, and so on. Therefore, this disclosure provides techniques for a sensing server to provide auxiliary data to a sensing node (e.g., a UE or a base station) for data association signaling and data association configuration in multi-object tracking scenarios.

[0126] A sensing server is a network entity responsible for managing and coordinating RF sensing sessions. A sensing server can be a standalone entity or part of an existing entity (e.g., LMF, gNB, or UE). In the case of a UE, the UE can be a higher-capability UE, such as an RSU. A sensing server may also be referred to as a sensing management function (SnMF) or a sensing entity.

[0127] To enable / facilitate data association at sensing nodes (e.g., TRPs or UEs), the sensing server signals the sensing nodes with auxiliary data for data association of targets of interest. The auxiliary data for each target may include combinations of: (1) target estimated location and associated uncertainty, (2) target estimated velocity and associated uncertainty, (3) target estimated angle of arrival and associated uncertainty, (4) target path estimated received power and associated uncertainty, and / or (5) target shape and / or size. The auxiliary data may also include target identifiers (IDs) to be used for marking and reporting measurements.

[0128] The following may be appropriately used to signal auxiliary data to the sensing node: (1) LPP or equivalent (where SnMF is a server or located at a server and the sensing node is a UE), (2) NRPPa or equivalent (where SnMF is a server or located at a server and the sensing node is a base station), (3) RRC (where SnMF is a base station or located at a base station and the sensing node is a UE, or vice versa), (4) (5) Downlink Control Information (DCI) (where SnMF is a base station or located at a base station and the sensing node is a UE, or vice versa), (6) Broadcast Signaling (where SnMF is a base station or located at a base station and the sensing node is a UE) (such as locating a specific SIB, sensing a specific SIB, etc.), (7) Sidelink Control Information (SCI) (where SnMF is a UE or located at a UE and the sensing node is a UE), Sidelink Positioning Protocol (SLPP) (where SnMF is a UE or located at a UE and the sensing node is a UE), or (8) Dedicated Sidelink Sensing Protocol (where SnMF is a UE or located at a UE and the sensing node is a UE).

[0129] In some cases, DA auxiliary data can be periodically signaled to the sensing node. Typically, RF sensing measurements are derived at the end of the Coherent Processing Interval (CPI) (also known as the sensing frame). The CPI is repeated periodically. The duration of the sensing frame should be designed to achieve sufficient speed resolution for the current use case. Speed ​​resolution (denoted as...) ) and frame duration (represented as )pass = And related, among them It is the carrier wavelength. Figure 7 This is a diagram 700 illustrating various attributes of a set of example CPIs according to various aspects of this disclosure.

[0130] The output of CPI is a set of sensed measurements corresponding to multiple targets. It should be noted that CPI includes multiple reference signal transmissions and receptions. Figure 7 In the example, each CPI includes multiple reference signal transmissions, as illustrated by the vertical arrows. Each reference signal transmission occurs within the OFDM symbol of the CPI.

[0131] Data association techniques are required to assign the sensor measurement output derived from the CPI to the target. Once the assignment is performed, the target's location can be updated and the entire process can be repeated for the next CPI (e.g., location tracking).

[0132] Figure 8 An example signaling flow 800 is illustrated between a sensing node 804 and a sensing server 870 according to various aspects of this disclosure. The sensing node 804 may be a UE (e.g., any UE described herein) or a TRP or other base station component. The sensing server 870 may be a sensing server or other server, a base station, or a UE, or may be located at a sensing server or other server, base station, or UE.

[0133] At stage 805, the sensing server 870 transmits auxiliary data for multiple targets of interest to the sensing node 804. The auxiliary data includes data correlation information for the multiple targets. The sensing server 870 also provides configuration for sensing reference signals measured by the sensing node, such as in... Figure 5 Stage 525.

[0134] At stage 810, sensing node 804 acquires sensing measurements of multiple targets and performs data association based on auxiliary data received at stage 805. At stage 815, sensing node 804 reports the sensing measurements (and data associations) to sensing server 870. At stage 820, sensing server 870 performs multi-object detection and tracking based on the measurements and data associations from sensing node 804.

[0135] Based on the results of phase 820, at phase 825, the sensing server 870 may transmit updated auxiliary data (including data association information for multiple targets) to the sensing node 804 and optionally transmit updated sensing reference signal configuration. The sensing node 804 then acquires sensing measurements of multiple targets and performs data association based on the updated auxiliary data received at phase 830. At phase 835, the sensing node 804 reports the sensing measurements (and data associations) to the sensing server 870, as at phase 815. At phase 840, the sensing server 870 performs multi-object detection and tracking based on the measurements and data associations from the sensing node 804, as at phase 820. Phases 825 through 840 may be repeated as needed to continue tracking multiple target objects.

[0136] Data association can be performed in one or both of the following locations: (1) the sensing server or (2) the sensing node. Regarding the first option (i.e., data association performed at the sensing server), the sensing node needs to report all target measurements it has acquired to the sensing server. This includes measurements that can be assigned to the target of interest and measurements of other targets, as the sensing node lacks prior information to assist it in performing data association. While this option is feasible, it can suffer from significant reporting overhead, especially in multi-target scenarios, since each sensing node needs to report all of its sensing measurements.

[0137] Regarding the second option (i.e., data association performed at the sensing node), performing data association at the sensing node side can save significant over-the-air (OTA) resources. For example, in a scenario with multiple targets in the environment but only one target being tracked, each sensing node will only report measurements of the desired target. The sensing server then combines only these different measurements from different sensing nodes to update the target position. This method partitions sensing computation between the sensing nodes and the sensing server by providing edge information to the sensing nodes, thereby enabling the sensing nodes to perform data association before reporting useful information and thus saving OTA resources.

[0138] In some cases, in addition to auxiliary data signaling related to the target of interest, the sensing server may also specify the data association techniques and / or parameters to be used to achieve data association. Data association involves two main phases: a metric calculation phase and a data association phase. Whether the UE performs the first phase, the second phase, or both may depend on the specific implementation of the sensing node or the network (sensing server) configuration. In addition to auxiliary data signaling related to the target of interest (e.g., as in...), Figure 8 In addition to stage 805, the sensing server can also specify the data association technology and / or parameters to be used to achieve data association. This configuration can be for stage one, stage two, or both. This configuration can be included in auxiliary data used for the sensing session, such as in... Figure 8 At stage 805, or included in the reference signal configuration, such as in Figure 5 Stage 525.

[0139] In the first phase of data association, the sensing node (or sensing server) calculates a metric for each sensing measurement. The metric can depend on the type of measurement (e.g., ranging, Doppler, angle of arrival). For example, if the measurement is ranging, the metric quantifies the difference between the measured distance of the target and the expected distance of the target. As another example, if the measurement is angle, the metric quantifies the error between the expected angle of the target and the measured angle of the target. In the aforementioned examples, the metric is a direct difference between the actual (i.e., the measured) measurement and the expected measurement. However, as further described below, the metric can be another type of function.

[0140] The metrics used in the first phase can be specified / configured by the sensing server, specified in the applicable wireless communication standard, or left to the sensing node for implementation. For example, in a scenario tracking two targets, the sensing node can obtain the metrics corresponding to the link... The measurement set of (the wireless link between the sensing node and the transmitting node, also known as the "channel") , Then, the first stage of data association involves calculating metrics. The measurement metric matrix is ​​shown in the table below as an example for two targets.

[0141]

[0142] Table 1

[0143] In the table above, for the metric First index ( i ) represents the link, and the second index ( l ) represents the measurement number (e.g., 0, 1, 2), and the third index ( j ) represents the target (here, 0 or 1). Therefore, It is the measurement of target #0. The measurement. It should be noted that the sensing node will calculate based on its measurements and auxiliary data specific to the target object of interest. .

[0144] Used for calculating metrics One example is: , in , It comes from the target The link in Estimation of measurements at the location (note that...) (It is obtained from auxiliary data at the sensing node). It is a function of measurement and / or target uncertainty (note that...) (It can also be included in the auxiliary data). The sensing server can configure the sensing node to use the above formula (e.g., in the auxiliary data), or the sensing server can specify another formula, or the formula can be specified in the applicable wireless communication standard and identified by the sensing server to the sensing node.

[0145] Now, referring to the second stage of data association, once the metric (e.g., The sensing node (or sensing server) then performs the data association phase. The data association phase follows certain assumptions, including the following: (1) a measurement can be assigned to at most one target object, (2) a measurement can be assigned to more than one target object, (3) a target object is assigned to no more than one measurement, or (4) a target object can be assigned to more than one measurement.

[0146] The sensing server can configure the sensing node with (1) a set of hypotheses to be implemented by the sensing node for data association or (2) a data association technique (or algorithm) to be implemented, wherein the data association technique inherently specifies the set of hypotheses.

[0147] Data association techniques typically use compatibility criteria, where measurements that deviate from the expected value by more than a threshold are discarded. In some tracking applications, this threshold is referred to as the Mahalanobis compatibility distance (a measure of the distance between point P and distribution D). The compatibility threshold can be configured by the sensing server as part of the sensing setup (e.g., as in...). Figure 8 The auxiliary data used for sensing the session at stage 805 or such as in Figure 5 (As part of the reference signal configuration at stage 525), a signal is sent, and the sensing node can compare the calculated metric with a compatibility threshold. Measurements that do not meet the compatibility threshold are not assigned to existing targets but are considered anomalous measurements.

[0148] The expected value of the measurement can be derived using auxiliary data provided by the sensing server. More specifically, the sensing server may have knowledge of the localization (at least approximately) or relative localization of both the sensing node and the target object, and thus can determine and provide the expected distance measurement between the sensing node and the target.

[0149] The table below illustrates an example of data association, where a sensing node computes a metric matrix of its observations (measurements) and performs data association. In each example, there are two tracked target objects (denoted as "target #0" and "target #1"). In each example, the data association uses the Sequential Compatibility Nearest Neighbor (SCNN) joint data association algorithm.

[0150] In the first example illustrated in Table 2, the actual (i.e., real) distances to the two target objects are 17.77 meters (m) and 16.92 meters (which are unknown to the sensing node). The sensing node obtains the channel (link). i Two measurements That is, 45.56m and 17.48m. Based on a compatibility threshold (2 meters in the example in Table 2, and which can be included in the configuration), the sensing nodes calculate a score for each target, indicating the likelihood that a measurement corresponds to that target. For the measurement =45.56m, with a score of 0.0 for each target. Therefore, this measurement is not assigned to any target but is designated as an outlier and discarded. For the measurement =17.48m, the score for the first target is 0.568, and the score for the second target is 0.500. Therefore, the measurement is assigned to the first target (target #0).

[0151]

[0152] Table 2

[0153] In the second example illustrated in Table 3, the actual (i.e., real) distances to the two target objects are 17.01 m and 16.82 m (which are unknown to the sensing node). The sensing node obtains the channel (link). i Three measurements These are 40.26m, 17.89m, and 23.38m. Based on a compatibility threshold (2 meters in the examples in Table 3, and which can be included in the configuration), the sensing nodes calculate a score for each target, indicating the likelihood that a measurement corresponds to that target. For the measurement =40.26m, with a score of 0.0 for each target. Therefore, this measurement is not assigned to any target but is designated as an outlier and discarded. For the measurement =17.89m, the score for the first target is 0.37, and the score for the second target is 0.68. Therefore, this measurement is assigned to the second target (target #1). For the measurement =23.38m, with a score of 0.0 for each target. Therefore, this measurement is not assigned to any target, but is instead designated as an outlier and discarded.

[0154]

[0155] Table 3

[0156] In the third example illustrated in Table 4, the actual (i.e., real) distances to the two target objects are 17.01 m and 16.82 m (which are unknown to the sensing node). The sensing node obtains the channel (link). i Three measurements The distances are 40.26m, 17.89m, and 18.00m. Based on a compatibility threshold (2 meters in the examples in Table 4, and which can be included in the configuration), the sensing nodes calculate a score for each target, indicating the likelihood that a measurement corresponds to that target. For the measurement =40.26m, with a score of 0.0 for each target. Therefore, this measurement is not assigned to any target but is designated as an outlier and discarded. For the measurement =17.89m, the score for the first objective is 0.37, and the score for the second objective is 0.68. For measurement =18.00m, the score for the first objective is 0.4, and the score for the second objective is 0.7.

[0157] In this example, both the second and third measurements can be assigned to the second target (target #1). Therefore, whether the second and third measurements are assigned to the second target depends on the assumptions of the data association (i.e., (1) a measurement can be assigned to at most one target object, (2) a measurement can be assigned to more than one target object, (3) a target object can be assigned to no more than one measurement, or (4) a target object can be assigned to more than one measurement). Here, if a measurement can be assigned to at most one target object (assumption (1)), then the second measurement will be assigned to the second target, and the third measurement will be assigned to the first target, because measurement assignment will be performed in the order in which the measurements are acquired and processed. However, if a measurement can be assigned to more than one target object (assumption (2)), then both measurements will be assigned to the second target.

[0158]

[0159] Table 4

[0160] In some cases, the data association configuration associated with the first and / or second data association phases can vary depending on the type of measurement the sensing node is configured to perform. For example, if the sensing node will only calculate time delay (i.e., ranging), the sensing server can configure the sensing node to use a first metric. If the sensing node will calculate time delay (i.e., ranging) and angle of arrival, the sensing server can configure the sensing node to use a second metric. If the sensing node will calculate time delay (i.e., ranging), angle of arrival, and Doppler (i.e., velocity), the sensing server can configure the sensing node to use a third metric. Similarly, the sensing server can configure different algorithms (or assign hypotheses) based on the type of measurement the sensing node will perform.

[0161] In some cases, sensor server data association configurations can instruct sensor nodes whether to report measurements that have not yet been assigned to any target. It's important to note that sensor servers can use unassigned measurements to detect the emergence of new targets, train machine learning models, and so on.

[0162] In some cases, the sensor server data association configuration may indicate which subset of target objects should be considered for data association measurements and reporting. In other cases, the target subset may be sensor node specific. For example, a first TRP (denoted as "TRP1") may be configured to follow / track a first target object and a second target object (denoted as "Target #0" and "Target #1"), while a second TRP (denoted as "TRP2") may be configured to follow / track a second target object and a third target object (denoted as "Target #1" and "Target #2"). In such cases, the data association auxiliary data may be broadcast information and include information about all targets being tracked by the sensor server. However, sensor node specific configuration may indicate which subset of targets should be considered for measurements and reporting by a specific sensor node.

[0163] In the sensor server configuration (e.g., as in Figure 8 After stage 805, the sensing node reports the sensing measurements to the sensing server (e.g., as in...). Figure 8 (At stage 815). Each measurement can be reported along with its assigned target ID and optionally with the assigned score (as illustrated in Tables 2, 3, and 4). Unassigned measurements may or may not be reported based on the sensor server configuration. In some cases, a default target ID may be used to identify these unassigned reported measurements.

[0164] Figure 9 Figure 900 illustrates a specific example of data association and multi-target tracking according to various aspects of this disclosure. Figure 9In the example, two Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs) are tracked in a factory environment. There are two access points (denoted as "A" and "B") and six Sensing Reference Units (SRUs) (denoted as "1" through "6"). The six SRUs act as sensing transmitters, and the two access points act as sensing receivers. Therefore, there are 12 links that can contribute to target detection (i.e., SRU-1 to AP-A, SRU-1 to AP-B, SRU-2 to AP-A, SRU-2 to AP-B, etc.). These links can be measured to determine the distance to one of the targets mapped to. The distance measurement can be NLOS distance measurement, which, for example, means that the path of the link originates from at least one target AGV and, possibly, reflects off other environmental objects before reaching the corresponding receiver access point (sensing node).

[0165] Figure 10 Examples are given for various aspects of this disclosure. Figure 9 Two graphs illustrating the data association results for the example scenario. Data association uses the SCNN joint data association method. Graph 1000 illustrates the instantaneous target localization estimate (determined by the sensing server based on sensing measurements from access points A and B) versus the baseline ground truth (i.e., actual) localization of the target AGV. As shown in Graph 1000, the result of data association is the set of detected distances associated with the target AGV.

[0166] Figure 1050 illustrates the instantaneous detection ranging assignments. As shown in Figure 1050, at step 0, data association assigns 10 determined rangings (i.e., time delays) to the first target AGV (denoted as "TGT#0") and four determined rangings to the second target AGV (denoted as "TGT#1"). At step 16, data association assigns eight detected rangings (i.e., time delays) to the first target AGV and seven detected rangings to the second target AGV.

[0167] The following table illustrates Figure 9 The examples illustrate different error measures and associated values.

[0168]

[0169] Table 5

[0170] This error metric characterizes the performance of the tracking technology. Specifically, it shows that the tracking technology achieved a 90% error of 0.173 meters in a particular scenario. In this example, the data association works well because the tracking error is approximately 0.4 meters at a 95% confidence level.

[0171] Figure 11An example method 1100 for wireless sensing according to various aspects of this disclosure is illustrated. In one aspect, method 1100 may be performed by a receiver sensing node (e.g., any sensing node described herein).

[0172] At 1110, the receiver sensing node receives auxiliary data from the sensing entity (e.g., sensing server 870) for sensing the set of target objects, such as in Figure 8 At stage 805, the auxiliary data includes data association (DA) information for each target object in the target object set. In one aspect, when the receiver sensing node is a UE, operation 1110 can be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more short-range radio transceivers 320, one or more processors 342, memory 340, and / or sensing components 348, any or all of which can be considered as components for performing the operation. When the receiver sensing node is a base station or other network node, operation 1110 can be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 350, one or more short-range radio transceivers 360, one or more processors 384, memory 386, and / or sensing components 388, any or all of which can be considered as components for performing the operation.

[0173] At 1120, the receiver sensing node acquires multiple sensing measurements of one or more sensing reference signals transmitted by the transmitter sensing node (e.g., a receiver sensing node for a single-station sensing session or a separate transmitter sensing node for a dual-station sensing session) and reflected from at least a subset of the target objects in the target object set, as in Figure 8 At stage 810. In one aspect, when the receiver sensing node is a UE, operation 1120 can be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more short-range radio transceivers 320, one or more processors 342, memory 340, and / or sensing components 348, any or all of these components can be considered as parts for performing the operation. When the receiver sensing node is a base station or other network node, operation 1120 can be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 350, one or more short-range radio transceivers 360, one or more processors 384, memory 386, and / or sensing components 388, any or all of these components can be considered as parts for performing the operation.

[0174] At 1130, the receiver sensing node assigns one or more of a plurality of sensing measurements to each target object in a subset of target objects. In one aspect, when the receiver sensing node is a UE, operation 1130 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more short-range radio transceivers 320, one or more processors 342, memory 340, and / or sensing components 348, any or all of which can be considered as components for performing the operation. When the receiver sensing node is a base station or other network node, operation 1130 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 350, one or more short-range radio transceivers 360, one or more processors 384, memory 386, and / or sensing components 388, any or all of which can be considered as components for performing the operation.

[0175] As will be understood, the technical advantage of method 1100 is that it improves the tracking of multiple target objects by dividing the tracking between the sensing entity and the sensing node.

[0176] As can be seen in the detailed description above, different features are grouped together in the examples. This manner of disclosure should not be construed as an intention to have more features than those explicitly mentioned in each clause. Rather, the various aspects of this disclosure may include fewer features than those in the individual example clauses disclosed. Therefore, the following clauses should be regarded accordingly as incorporated into the description, where each clause may serve as a separate example. Although each dependent clause may refer in the clause to a specific combination with one of the other clauses, the aspect of that dependent clause is not limited to that specific combination. It should be understood that other example clauses may also include combinations of aspects of a dependent clause with the subject matter of any other dependent or independent clause, or combinations of any feature with other dependent and independent clauses. The various aspects disclosed herein explicitly include these combinations unless explicitly stated or readily inferred that a particular combination is not intended for use (e.g., contradictory aspects, such as defining an element as both an electrical insulator and an electrical conductor). Furthermore, it is contemplated that aspects of a clause may be included in any other independent clause, even if that clause does not directly depend on the independent clause.

[0177] Specific implementation examples are described in the following numbered clauses: Clause 1. A method of wireless sensing performed by a receiver sensing node, the method comprising: receiving from a sensing entity auxiliary data for sensing a set of target objects, wherein the auxiliary data includes data association (DA) information for each target object in the set of target objects; obtaining a plurality of sensing measurements of one or more sensing reference signals transmitted by a transmitter sensing node and reflected from at least a subset of the target objects in the set of target objects; and assigning one or more of the plurality of sensing measurements to each target object in the subset of target objects.

[0178] Clause 2. The method according to Clause 1, wherein the DA information for each target object in the set of target objects includes: the estimated location of the target object, the estimated velocity of the target object, the estimated angle of arrival (AoA) of the reflection from the target object at the receiver sensing node, the estimated path received power associated with the target object, the shape of the target object, the size of the target object, the identifier of the target object, or any combination thereof.

[0179] Clause 3. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 2, wherein the auxiliary data is received periodically based on the length of the sensing frames used to obtain the plurality of sensing measurements.

[0180] Clause 4. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 3, the method further comprising: reporting the plurality of sensing measurements to the sensing entity; or reporting to the sensing entity only the one or more sensing measurements of a single target object of interest among one or more target objects.

[0181] Clause 5. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 4, wherein the auxiliary data further comprises: a data association technique for assigning the plurality of sensing measurements to the subset of target objects, one or more data association parameters for assigning the plurality of sensing measurements to the subset of target objects, or any combination thereof.

[0182] Clause 6. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 5, the method further comprising: determining a value of a metric for each of the plurality of sensing measurements, wherein the one or more sensing measurements are assigned to each target object in the subset of target objects based on the value of the metric determined for each of the one or more sensing measurements assigned to each target object in the subset of target objects.

[0183] Clause 7. The method according to Clause 6, wherein the metric is received from the sensing entity.

[0184] Clause 8. The method according to any one of Clauses 6 to 7, wherein the metric quantifies the difference between a measured value of the sensing measurement and an expected value of the sensing measurement.

[0185] Clause 9. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 8, wherein the auxiliary data further comprises: an indication that each sensing measurement will be assigned to at most one target object; an indication that the sensing measurement is allowed to be assigned to more than one target object; an indication that each target object will be associated with at most one sensing measurement; or an indication that the target object is allowed to be associated with more than one sensing measurement.

[0186] Clause 10. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 9, wherein the auxiliary data further comprises: a compatibility criterion indicating the permissible difference between the observed value of the sensing measurement and the expected value of the sensing measurement.

[0187] Clause 11. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 10, the method further comprising: reporting to the sensing entity the sensing measurement of any target object not assigned to the subset of target objects among the plurality of sensing measurements.

[0188] Clause 12. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 11, wherein the auxiliary data further includes an indication of the subset of the target objects.

[0189] Clause 13. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 12, the method further comprising: reporting to the sensing entity an identifier of the target object for each of the one or more sensing measurements of the target object assigned to each target object in the subset of target objects.

[0190] Clause 14. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 13, the method further comprising: reporting to the sensing entity, for each of the one or more sensing measurements assigned to each target object in the subset of target objects, a score indicating the probability that the sensing measurement is associated with the target object.

[0191] Clause 15. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 14, the method further comprising: receiving from the sensing entity auxiliary data for sensing an updated set of target objects, wherein the updated auxiliary data includes updated DA information for each target object in the set of target objects, wherein the updated DA information is based at least in part on the one or more sensing measurements assigned to each target object in the subset of target objects; obtaining a second plurality of sensing measurements of one or more second sensing reference signals transmitted by the transmitter sensing node and reflected from at least the subset of target objects; and assigning one or more of the second plurality of sensing measurements to each target object in the subset of target objects.

[0192] Clause 16. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 15, wherein: the receiver sensing node and the transmitter sensing node are different sensing nodes, or the receiver sensing node and the transmitter sensing node are the same sensing node.

[0193] Clause 17. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 16, wherein the auxiliary data is received via: Long Term Evolution (LPP) signaling, New Radio Positioning Protocol Type A (NRPPa) signaling, Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling, Media Access Control Control Element (MAC-CE) signaling, Downlink Control Message (DCI) signaling, Positioning System Information Block (PosSIB) signaling, Sensing System Information Block (sensingSIB) signaling, Side Link Control Message (SCI) signaling, Side Link Positioning Protocol (SLPP) signaling, or any combination thereof.

[0194] Clause 18. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 17, wherein the sensing entity is: a sensing management function (SnMF), a location management function (LMF), a base station, a roadside unit (RSU), or a user equipment (UE).

[0195] Clause 19. A receiver sensing node comprising: one or more memories; one or more transceivers; and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the one or more memories and the one or more transceivers, the one or more processors being individually or in combination configured to: receive, via the one or more transceivers, auxiliary data from a sensing entity for sensing a set of target objects, wherein the auxiliary data includes data association (DA) information for each target object in the set of target objects; obtain a plurality of sensing measurements of one or more sensing reference signals transmitted by a transmitter sensing node and reflected from at least a subset of target objects in the set of target objects; and assign one or more of the plurality of sensing measurements to each target object in the subset of target objects.

[0196] Clause 20. The receiver sensing node as described in Clause 19, wherein the DA information for each target object in the set of target objects includes: the estimated location of the target object, the estimated velocity of the target object, the estimated angle of arrival (AoA) of the reflection from the target object at the receiver sensing node, the estimated path received power associated with the target object, the shape of the target object, the size of the target object, the identifier of the target object, or any combination thereof.

[0197] Clause 21. The receiver sensing node according to any one of Clauses 19 to 20, wherein the auxiliary data is received periodically based on the length of the sensing frames used to obtain the plurality of sensing measurements.

[0198] Clause 22. The receiver sensing node according to any one of Clauses 19 to 21, wherein the one or more processors are further configured individually or in combination to: report the plurality of sensing measurements to the sensing entity via the one or more transceivers; or report the one or more sensing measurements of only a single target object of interest among the one or more target objects to the sensing entity via the one or more transceivers.

[0199] Clause 23. The receiver sensing node according to any one of Clauses 19 to 22, wherein the auxiliary data further comprises: a data association technique for assigning the plurality of sensing measurements to the subset of target objects, one or more data association parameters for assigning the plurality of sensing measurements to the subset of target objects, or any combination thereof.

[0200] Clause 24. The receiver sensing node according to any one of Clauses 19 to 23, wherein the one or more processors are further configured individually or in combination to: determine a value of a metric for each of the plurality of sensing measurements, wherein the one or more sensing measurements are assigned to each target object in the subset of target objects based on the value of the metric determined for each of the one or more sensing measurements assigned to each target object in the subset of target objects.

[0201] Clause 25. The receiver sensing node as described in Clause 24, wherein the metric is received from the sensing entity.

[0202] Clause 26. A receiver sensing node according to any one of Clauses 24 to 25, wherein the metric quantifies the difference between a measured value of the sensing measurement and an expected value of the sensing measurement.

[0203] Clause 27. The receiver sensing node according to any one of Clauses 19 to 26, wherein the auxiliary data further includes: an indication that each sensing measurement will be assigned to at most one target object; an indication that the sensing measurement is allowed to be assigned to more than one target object; an indication that each target object will be associated with at most one sensing measurement; or an indication that the target object is allowed to be associated with more than one sensing measurement.

[0204] Clause 28. The receiver sensing node according to any one of Clauses 19 to 27, wherein the auxiliary data further includes: a compatibility criterion indicating the tolerance between the observed value of the sensing measurement and the expected value of the sensing measurement.

[0205] Clause 29. The receiver sensing node according to any one of Clauses 19 to 28, wherein the one or more processors are further configured individually or in combination to report to the sensing entity, via the one or more transceivers, the sensing measurements of any target object not assigned to the subset of target objects among the plurality of sensing measurements.

[0206] Clause 30. The receiver sensing node according to any one of Clauses 19 to 29, wherein the auxiliary data further includes an indication of the subset of the target objects.

[0207] Clause 31. The receiver sensing node according to any one of Clauses 19 to 30, wherein the one or more processors are further configured individually or in combination to: report the identifier of the target object to the sensing entity via the one or more transceivers for each of the one or more sensing measurements of each target object assigned to the subset of target objects.

[0208] Clause 32. The receiver sensing node according to any one of Clauses 19 to 31, wherein the one or more processors are further configured individually or in combination to: report to the sensing entity via the one or more transceivers a score indicating the probability that the sensing measurement is associated with the target object for each of the one or more sensing measurements assigned to each target object in the subset of target objects.

[0209] Clause 33. A receiver sensing node according to any one of Clauses 19 to 32, wherein the one or more processors are further configured individually or in combination to: receive, via the one or more transceivers, auxiliary data for sensing an updated set of target objects from the sensing entity, wherein the updated auxiliary data includes updated DA information for each target object in the set of target objects, wherein the updated DA information is based at least in part on the one or more sensing measurements assigned to each target object in the subset of target objects; obtain a second plurality of sensing measurements of one or more second sensing reference signals transmitted by the transmitter sensing node and reflected from at least the subset of target objects; and assign one or more of the second plurality of sensing measurements to each target object in the subset of target objects.

[0210] Clause 34. A receiver sensing node according to any one of Clauses 19 to 33, wherein: the receiver sensing node and the transmitter sensing node are different sensing nodes, or the receiver sensing node and the transmitter sensing node are the same sensing node.

[0211] Clause 35. A receiver sensing node according to any one of Clauses 19 to 34, wherein the auxiliary data is received via: Long Term Evolution (LPP) signaling, New Radio Positioning Protocol Type A (NRPPa) signaling, Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling, Media Access Control Control Element (MAC-CE) signaling, Downlink Control Message (DCI) signaling, Positioning System Information Block (PosSIB) signaling, Sensing System Information Block (sensingSIB) signaling, Side Link Control Message (SCI) signaling, Side Link Positioning Protocol (SLPP) signaling, or any combination thereof.

[0212] Clause 36. A receiver sensing node according to any one of Clauses 19 to 35, wherein the sensing entity is: a sensing management function (SnMF), a location management function (LMF), a base station, a roadside unit (RSU), or a user equipment (UE).

[0213] Clause 37. A receiver sensing node comprising: means for receiving from a sensing entity auxiliary data for sensing a set of target objects, wherein the auxiliary data includes data association (DA) information for each target object in the set of target objects; means for obtaining a plurality of sensing measurements of one or more sensing reference signals transmitted by a transmitter sensing node and reflected from at least a subset of the target objects in the set of target objects; and means for assigning one or more of the plurality of sensing measurements to each target object in the subset of target objects.

[0214] Clause 38. The receiver sensing node as described in Clause 37, wherein the DA information for each target object in the set of target objects includes: the estimated location of the target object, the estimated velocity of the target object, the estimated angle of arrival (AoA) of the reflection from the target object at the receiver sensing node, the estimated path received power associated with the target object, the shape of the target object, the size of the target object, the identifier of the target object, or any combination thereof.

[0215] Clause 39. The receiver sensing node according to any one of Clauses 37 to 38, wherein the auxiliary data is received periodically based on the length of the sensing frames used to obtain the plurality of sensing measurements.

[0216] Clause 40. The receiver sensing node according to any one of Clauses 37 to 39, the receiver sensing node further comprising: a component for reporting the plurality of sensing measurements to the sensing entity; or a component for reporting the one or more sensing measurements of only a single target object of interest among the one or more target objects to the sensing entity.

[0217] Clause 41. The receiver sensing node according to any one of Clauses 37 to 40, wherein the auxiliary data further comprises: a data association technique for assigning the plurality of sensing measurements to the subset of target objects, one or more data association parameters for assigning the plurality of sensing measurements to the subset of target objects, or any combination thereof.

[0218] Clause 42. The receiver sensing node according to any one of Clauses 37 to 41, the receiver sensing node further comprising: a component for determining a value of a metric for each of the plurality of sensing measurements, wherein the one or more sensing measurements are assigned to each target object in the subset of target objects based on the value of the metric determined for each of the one or more sensing measurements assigned to each target object in the subset of target objects.

[0219] Clause 43. The receiver sensing node as described in Clause 42, wherein the metric is received from the sensing entity.

[0220] Clause 44. A receiver sensing node according to any one of Clauses 42 to 43, wherein the metric quantifies the difference between a measured value of the sensing measurement and an expected value of the sensing measurement.

[0221] Clause 45. The receiver sensing node according to any one of Clauses 37 to 44, wherein the auxiliary data further includes: an indication that each sensing measurement will be assigned to at most one target object; an indication that the sensing measurement is allowed to be assigned to more than one target object; an indication that each target object will be associated with at most one sensing measurement; or an indication that the target object is allowed to be associated with more than one sensing measurement.

[0222] Clause 46. The receiver sensing node according to any one of Clauses 37 to 45, wherein the auxiliary data further includes: a compatibility criterion indicating the tolerance between the observed value of the sensing measurement and the expected value of the sensing measurement.

[0223] Clause 47. The receiver sensing node according to any one of Clauses 37 to 46, the receiver sensing node further comprising: a component for reporting to the sensing entity the sensing measurements of any target object not assigned to the subset of target objects among the plurality of sensing measurements.

[0224] Clause 48. The receiver sensing node according to any one of Clauses 37 to 47, wherein the auxiliary data further includes an indication of the subset of the target objects.

[0225] Clause 49. The receiver sensing node according to any one of Clauses 37 to 48, the receiver sensing node further comprising: a component for reporting to the sensing entity an identifier of the target object for each of the one or more sensing measurements assigned to each target object in the subset of target objects.

[0226] Clause 50. The receiver sensing node according to any one of Clauses 37 to 49, the receiver sensing node further comprising: a component for reporting to the sensing entity a score indicating the probability that the sensing measurement is associated with the target object for each of the one or more sensing measurements assigned to each target object in the subset of target objects.

[0227] Clause 51. The receiver sensing node according to any one of Clauses 37 to 50, the receiver sensing node further comprising: means for receiving from the sensing entity updated auxiliary data for sensing the set of target objects, wherein the updated auxiliary data includes updated DA information for each target object in the set of target objects, wherein the updated DA information is based at least in part on the one or more sensing measurements assigned to each target object in the subset of target objects; means for obtaining a second plurality of sensing measurements of one or more second sensing reference signals transmitted by the transmitter sensing node and reflected from at least the subset of target objects; and means for assigning one or more of the second plurality of sensing measurements to each target object in the subset of target objects.

[0228] Clause 52. A receiver sensing node according to any one of Clauses 37 to 51, wherein: the receiver sensing node and the transmitter sensing node are different sensing nodes, or the receiver sensing node and the transmitter sensing node are the same sensing node.

[0229] Clause 53. A receiver sensing node according to any one of Clauses 37 to 52, wherein the auxiliary data is received via: Long Term Evolution (LPP) signaling, New Radio Positioning Protocol Type A (NRPPa) signaling, Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling, Media Access Control Control Element (MAC-CE) signaling, Downlink Control Information (DCI) signaling, Positioning System Information Block (PosSIB) signaling, Sensing System Information Block (sensingSIB) signaling, Side Link Control Information (SCI) signaling, Side Link Positioning Protocol (SLPP) signaling, or any combination thereof.

[0230] Clause 54. A receiver sensing node according to any one of Clauses 37 to 53, wherein the sensing entity is: a sensing management function (SnMF), a location management function (LMF), a base station, a roadside unit (RSU), or a user equipment (UE).

[0231] Clause 55. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions, which, when executed by a receiver sensing node, cause the receiver sensing node to: receive auxiliary data from a sensing entity for sensing a set of target objects, wherein the auxiliary data includes data association (DA) information for each target object in the set of target objects; obtain a plurality of sensing measurements of one or more sensing reference signals transmitted by a transmitter sensing node and reflected from at least a subset of the target objects in the set of target objects; and assign one or more of the plurality of sensing measurements to each target object in the subset of target objects.

[0232] Clause 56. The non-transitory computer-readable medium as described in Clause 55, wherein the DA information for each target object in the set of target objects includes: the estimated location of the target object, the estimated velocity of the target object, the estimated angle of arrival (AoA) of the reflection from the target object at the receiver sensing node, the estimated path received power associated with the target object, the shape of the target object, the size of the target object, the identifier of the target object, or any combination thereof.

[0233] Clause 57. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 55 to 56, wherein the auxiliary data is received periodically based on the length of sensing frames used to obtain the plurality of sensing measurements.

[0234] Clause 58. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 55 to 57, further comprising, when executed by the receiver sensing node, causing the receiver sensing node to perform the following computer-executable instructions: report the plurality of sensing measurements to the sensing entity; or report to the sensing entity only the one or more sensing measurements of a single target object of interest among one or more target objects.

[0235] Clause 59. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 55 to 58, wherein the auxiliary data further comprises: a data association technique for assigning the plurality of sensing measurements to the subset of target objects, one or more data association parameters for assigning the plurality of sensing measurements to the subset of target objects, or any combination thereof.

[0236] Clause 60. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 55 to 59, further comprising, when executed by the receiver sensing node, causing the receiver sensing node to perform the following computer-executable instructions: determine a value of a metric for each of the plurality of sensing measurements, wherein the one or more sensing measurements are assigned to each target object in the subset of target objects based on the value of the metric determined for each of the one or more sensing measurements assigned to each target object in the subset of target objects.

[0237] Clause 61. The non-transitory computer-readable medium as described in Clause 60, wherein the measurement is received from the sensing entity.

[0238] Clause 62. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 60 to 61, wherein the metric quantifies the difference between a measured value of the sensing measurement and an expected value of the sensing measurement.

[0239] Clause 63. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 55 to 62, wherein the auxiliary data further comprises: an indication that each sensing measurement will be assigned to at most one target object; an indication that the sensing measurement may be assigned to more than one target object; an indication that each target object will be associated with at most one sensing measurement; or an indication that a target object may be associated with more than one sensing measurement.

[0240] Clause 64. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 55 to 63, wherein the auxiliary data further comprises: a compatibility criterion indicating the permissible difference between the observed value of the sensed measurement and the expected value of the sensed measurement.

[0241] Clause 65. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 55 to 64, the non-transitory computer-readable medium further comprising, when executed by the receiver sensing node, causing the receiver sensing node to perform the following computer-executable instructions: report to the sensing entity the sensing measurement of any target object not assigned to the subset of target objects among the plurality of sensing measurements.

[0242] Clause 66. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 55 to 65, wherein the auxiliary data further includes an indication of a subset of the target objects.

[0243] Clause 67. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 55 to 66, the non-transitory computer-readable medium further comprising, when executed by the receiver sensing node, causing the receiver sensing node to perform the following computer-executable instructions: report to the sensing entity an identifier of the target object for each of the one or more sensing measurements assigned to each target object in the subset of target objects.

[0244] Clause 68. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 55 to 67, further comprising, when executed by the receiver sensing node, causing the receiver sensing node to perform the following computer-executable instructions: report to the sensing entity, for each of the one or more sensing measurements assigned to each target object in the subset of target objects, a score indicating the probability that the sensing measurement is associated with the target object.

[0245] Clause 69. A nontransitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 55 to 68, the nontransitory computer-readable medium further comprising, when executed by the receiver sensing node, causing the receiver sensing node to perform the following computer-executable instructions: receiving from the sensing entity auxiliary data for sensing updates to the set of target objects, wherein the updated auxiliary data includes updated DA information for each target object in the set of target objects, wherein the updated DA information is based at least in part on the one or more sensing measurements assigned to each target object in the subset of target objects; obtaining a second plurality of sensing measurements of one or more second sensing reference signals transmitted by the transmitter sensing node and reflected from at least the subset of target objects; and assigning one or more of the second plurality of sensing measurements to each target object in the subset of target objects.

[0246] Clause 70. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 55 to 69, wherein: the receiver sensing node and the transmitter sensing node are different sensing nodes, or the receiver sensing node and the transmitter sensing node are the same sensing node.

[0247] Clause 71. A non-transitory computer-readable medium pursuant to any one of Clauses 55 to 70, wherein the auxiliary data is received via: Long Term Evolution (LPP) signaling, New Radio Positioning Protocol Type A (NRPPa) signaling, Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling, Media Access Control Control Element (MAC-CE) signaling, Downlink Control Message (DCI) signaling, Positioning System Information Block (PosSIB) signaling, Sensing System Information Block (sensingSIB) signaling, Side Link Control Message (SCI) signaling, Side Link Positioning Protocol (SLPP) signaling, or any combination thereof.

[0248] Clause 72. A non-transitory computer-readable medium pursuant to any one of Clauses 55 to 71, wherein the sensing entity is: a sensing management function (SnMF), a location management function (LMF), a base station, a roadside unit (RSU), or a user equipment (UE).

[0249] Those skilled in the art will understand that information and signals can be represented using any of a variety of different techniques and arts. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be mentioned throughout the above description can be represented by voltage, current, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, light fields or optical particles, or any combination thereof.

[0250] Furthermore, those skilled in the art will understand that the various exemplary logic blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein can be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or a combination of both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability between hardware and software, various exemplary components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been described above in general terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends on the specific application and the design constraints imposed on the overall system. Those skilled in the art may implement the described functionality in different ways for each specific application, but such specific implementation decisions should not be construed as departing from the scope of this disclosure.

[0251] The various exemplary logic blocks, modules, and circuits described in conjunction with the aspects disclosed herein may be implemented or performed using a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an ASIC, a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic components, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in alternative embodiments, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. The processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, such as a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors combined with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

[0252] The methods, sequences, and / or algorithms described in conjunction with the aspects disclosed herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or a combination of both. The software module may reside in random access memory (RAM), flash memory, read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable ROM (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), registers, hard disks, removable disks, CD-ROMs, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. Example storage media are coupled to a processor such that the processor can read information from and write information to the storage medium. Alternatively, the storage medium may be integral with the processor. The processor and storage medium may reside in an ASIC. The ASIC may reside in a user terminal (e.g., a UE). Alternatively, the processor and storage medium may reside as discrete components in the user terminal.

[0253] In one or more examples, the described functionality may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the functionality may be stored as one or more instructions or code on or transmitted via a computer-readable medium. A computer-readable medium includes both computer storage media and communication media, including any medium that facilitates the transfer of a computer program from one place to another. A storage medium may be any available medium accessible to a computer. By way of example and not limitation, such computer-readable media may include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disc storage devices, disk storage devices or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store the desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and is accessible to a computer. Furthermore, any connection is appropriately referred to as a computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, then coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included within the definition of a medium. As used herein, disks and optical discs include: compact optical discs (CDs), laser discs, optical discs, digital versatile discs (DVDs), floppy disks, and Blu-ray discs. Disks typically reproduce data magnetically, while optical discs reproduce data optically using lasers. Combinations of these should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0254] While the foregoing disclosure illustrates exemplary aspects of this disclosure, it should be noted that various changes and modifications may be made herein without departing from the scope of this disclosure as defined by the appended claims. For example, the functions, steps, and / or actions of the method claims according to aspects of this disclosure described herein need not be performed in any particular order. Furthermore, no component, function, action, or instruction described or claimed herein should be construed as critical or essential unless explicitly stated otherwise. Additionally, as used herein, the terms “set,” “group,” etc., are intended to include one or more of the stated elements. Furthermore, as used herein, the terms “having,” “comprising,” “including,” etc., do not exclude the presence of one or more additional elements (e.g., element “having” A may also have B). Furthermore, the phrase “based on” is intended to mean “at least partially based on” unless otherwise explicitly stated. Furthermore, as used herein, the term “or” is intended to be open-ended when used in a series and is interchangeable with “and / or” unless otherwise explicitly stated (e.g., if used in conjunction with “any” or “only one”), or these alternatives are mutually exclusive (e.g., “one or more” should not be interpreted as “one and more”). Additionally, although components, functions, actions, and instructions may be described or claimed in the singular, plural forms may also be considered unless explicitly stated to be limited to the singular. Therefore, as used herein, the articles “a,” “an,” “the,” and “described” are intended to include one or more of the stated elements. Additionally, as used herein, the terms “at least one” and “one or more” include “one” component, function, action, or instruction that performs or is capable of performing the described or claimed functionality, and also include “two or more” components, functions, actions, or instructions that perform or are capable of performing the described or claimed functionality in combination.

Claims

1. A receiver sensing node, the receiver sensing node comprising: One or more memory units; One or more transceivers; and One or more processors, communicatively coupled to one or more memories and one or more transceivers, wherein the one or more processors are configured individually or in combination to: The auxiliary data for sensing a set of target objects is received from the sensing entity via the one or more transceivers, wherein the auxiliary data includes data association (DA) information for each target object in the set of target objects; Multiple sensing measurements are obtained of one or more sensing reference signals transmitted by a transmitter sensing node and reflected from at least a subset of the target objects in the set of target objects; as well as One or more of the plurality of sensing measurements are assigned to each target object in the subset of target objects.

2. The receiver sensing node according to claim 1, wherein the DA information for each target object in the target object set includes: The estimated location of the target object. The estimated velocity of the target object, The estimated angle of arrival (AoA) of the reflection from the target object at the receiver sensing node. The estimated path received power associated with the target object. The shape of the target object The size of the target object, The identifier of the target object, or Any combination of them.

3. The receiver sensing node according to claim 1, wherein the auxiliary data is received periodically based on the length of the sensing frames used to obtain the plurality of sensing measurements.

4. The receiver sensing node of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured individually or in combination to: The plurality of sensing measurements are reported to the sensing entity via the one or more transceivers; or The one or more sensing measurements are reported to the sensing entity via the one or more transceivers to only one target object of interest among the one or more target objects.

5. The receiver sensing node according to claim 1, wherein the auxiliary data further includes: Data association techniques for assigning the plurality of sensing measurements to subsets of the target objects. One or more data association parameters used to assign the plurality of sensing measurements to the subset of target objects, or Any combination of them.

6. The receiver sensing node of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured individually or in combination to: A metric value is determined for each of the plurality of sensing measurements, wherein the one or more sensing measurements are assigned to each target object in the subset of target objects based on the value of the metric determined for each of the one or more sensing measurements assigned to each target object in the subset of target objects.

7. The receiver sensing node of claim 6, wherein the metric is received from the sensing entity.

8. The receiver sensing node of claim 6, wherein the metric quantifies the difference between a measured value of the sensing measurement and an expected value of the sensing measurement.

9. The receiver sensing node according to claim 1, wherein the auxiliary data further includes: Each sensing measurement will be assigned an instruction to at most one target object; Instructions that allow sensing measurements to be assigned to more than one target object; Each target object will be associated with an indication of at most one sensing measurement; or Indicators that allow a target object to be associated with more than one sensing measurement.

10. The receiver sensing node according to claim 1, wherein the auxiliary data further includes: A compatibility criterion indicating the allowable difference between the observed value of a sensing measurement and the expected value of the sensing measurement.

11. The receiver sensing node of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured individually or in combination to: The sensing entity reports sensing measurements of any target object not assigned to the subset of target objects among the plurality of sensing measurements via the one or more transceivers.

12. The receiver sensing node of claim 1, wherein the auxiliary data further includes an indication of the subset of the target objects.

13. The receiver sensing node of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured individually or in combination to: The identifier of the target object is reported to the sensing entity via the one or more transceivers for each of the one or more sensing measurements of each target object assigned to the subset of target objects.

14. The receiver sensing node of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured individually or in combination to: The sensing entity reports a score indicating the probability that the sensing measurement is associated with the target object to each of the one or more sensing measurements for each target object assigned to the subset of target objects via the one or more transceivers.

15. The receiver sensing node of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured individually or in combination to: The sensing entity receives auxiliary data for sensing the set of target objects via the one or more transceivers, wherein the updated auxiliary data includes updated DA information for each target object in the set of target objects, wherein the updated DA information is based at least in part on the one or more sensing measurements assigned to each target object in the subset of target objects. A second plurality of sensing measurements are obtained from one or more second sensing reference signals transmitted by the transmitter sensing node and reflected from at least a subset of the target objects; as well as One or more of the second sensing measurements are assigned to each target object in the subset of target objects.

16. The receiver sensing node according to claim 1, wherein: The receiver sensing node and the transmitter sensing node are different sensing nodes, or The receiver sensing node and the transmitter sensing node are the same sensing node.

17. The receiver sensing node of claim 1, wherein the auxiliary data is received via: Long Term Evolution (LPP) signaling, New Radio Positioning Protocol Type A (NRPPa) signaling, Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling, Media Access Control Element (MAC-CE) signaling, Downlink Control Information (DCI) signaling, Positioning System Information Block (PosSIB) signaling, Sensing System Information Block (sensingSIB) signaling, Sidelink Control Information (SCI) signaling, Side Link Positioning Protocol (SLPP) signaling, or Any combination of them.

18. The receiver sensing node according to claim 1, wherein the sensing entity is: Sensing Management Function (SnMF) Location Management Function (LMF) Base station Roadside Unit (RSU), or User Equipment (UE) 19. A method for wireless sensing performed by a receiver sensing node, the method comprising: Receive auxiliary data from the sensing entity for sensing a set of target objects, wherein the auxiliary data includes data association (DA) information for each target object in the set of target objects; Multiple sensing measurements are obtained of one or more sensing reference signals transmitted by a transmitter sensing node and reflected from at least a subset of the target objects in the set of target objects; as well as One or more of the plurality of sensing measurements are assigned to each target object in the subset of target objects.

20. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions, which, when executed by a receiver sensing node, cause the receiver sensing node to: Receive auxiliary data from the sensing entity for sensing a set of target objects, wherein the auxiliary data includes data association (DA) information for each target object in the set of target objects; Multiple sensing measurements are obtained of one or more sensing reference signals transmitted by a transmitter sensing node and reflected from at least a subset of the target objects in the set of target objects; as well as One or more of the plurality of sensing measurements are assigned to each target object in the subset of target objects.

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