Group triggering initiation

Abstract

A wireless transmit / receive unit (WTRU) may receive a command request comprising an ambient internet of things (aIoT) group triggering session identifier, an aIoT group identifier, an aIoT group command identifier, a first transmission period identifier, a first broadcast command identifier, a total number of periods, and / or a number of broadcast commands per period. The WTRU may determine that it is a member of an aIoT group. The WTRU may determine a second transmission period identifier for a second transmission period associated with the aIoT group and a second broadcast command identifier associated with the second transmission period. The WTRU may receive a plurality of broadcast command requests from the network at a plurality of transmission periods according to a triggering pattern. The WTRU may send a command response message in response based on the broadcast command request being received in the second transmission period.

Description

GROUP TRIGGERING INITIATIONCROSS-REFERENCE RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims the benefit of United States Provisional Application No. 63 / 595,538 filed on November 2, 2023, the entire contents of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.BACKGROUND

[0002] An ambient power enabled internet of things (loT) device may be a type of loT device that can harvest energy from environmental resources (e.g., wireless radio waves, motion, vibration, piezoelectricity, solar and wind, etc.). An ambient power enabled loT device may be battery-less or have limited energy storage (e.g., using a capacitor). Ambient power-enabled loT devices often find their usage in Industrial Wireless Sensor Networks where the environment is harsh (e.g., extremely high or low temperature) and requires devices to be battery-less, maintenance-free, and long service life. Ambient power-enabled loT devices may also play a role in Smart Logistics and / or Smart Warehousing. The low cost, small-form, battery-lessness, and durability make ambient power-enabled loT devices suitable to be attached to goods and facilitate more efficient goods identifying, sorting, tracking, and inventory.

[0003] Ambient power enabled loT devices may not be able to keep their wireless transceivers working for a long time, for example, because of a constraint of available energy. The active time, the amount of data that can be transmitted or received, the communication range, etc. may be affected by the energy constraint. Even with power consumption saving technologies, such as long cycle DRX, ambient power-enabled loT devices still may meet challenges performing normally expected activations in a wireless network.SUMMARY

[0004] How an application function (AF) can trigger communications with a group of ambient internet of things (aloT) devices via the 5G system may be described herein. How the activation network (AN) can trigger communication with a group of aloT devices may be described herein for when the aloT device does not have UAC capability, when the group members are unknown, and when the group size is unknown.

[0005] A wireless transmit / receive unit (WTRU) that includes a processor and a memory, may receive a command request from a network. The command request may include an ambient internet of things (aloT) group triggering session identifier, an aloT group identifier, an aloTgroup command identifier, a first transmission period identifier, a first broadcast command identifier, a total number of periods, and / or a number of broadcast commands per period. The WTRU may determine, based on the command request, that the WTRU is a member of an aloT group that has been triggered by the command request. The WTRU may determine a second transmission period identifier for a second transmission period associated with the aloT group and a second broadcast command identifier associated with the second transmission period. The WTRU may be configured to receive a plurality of broadcast command requests from the network at a plurality of transmission periods according to a triggering pattern. The WTRU may be configured to send a command response message in response to a broadcast command request of the plurality of broadcast command requests based on the broadcast command request being received in the second transmission period and the broadcast command request comprising the second broadcast command identifier.

[0006] In an example, the command request further includes an aloT group trigger value, a duration of each broadcast command, and / or an overall duration of the group triggering. The aloT group trigger value is common between devices in the aloT group. The processor is further configured to determine that the aloT group has been triggered by comparing the aloT group identifier or the aloT group trigger value in the command request with corresponding values at the WTRU. The processor is configured to determine that the WTRU is a member of the aloT group that has been triggered by the command request based on one or more of the aloT group identifier or the aloT group trigger values. The second transmission period identifier and the second broadcast command identifier are determined based on a distribution factor assigned to the WTRU. The processor is further configured to perform an aloT command indicated by the command request. The aloT command comprises retrieving a unique identifier or determining a measurement value. The command response message comprises the unique identifier or the measurement value determined based on the broadcast command request. The processor is configured to determine to send the command response message based on one or more of the received transmission period identifiers, the transmission period identifier at the WTRU, or the received broadcast command identifier, the broadcast command identifier at the WTRU.

[0007] According to one example aspect, the disclosure relates to a method implemented in a WTRU, the method comprising receiving a command request from a network. The command request includes an ambient internet of things (aloT) group triggering session identifier, an aloT group identifier, an aloT group command identifier, a first transmission period identifier, a first broadcast command identifier, a total number of periods, and / or a number of broadcast commands per period. The method comprises determining, based on the command request,that the WTRU is a member of an aloT group that has been triggered by the command request. The method comprises determining a second transmission period identifier for a second transmission period associated with the aloT group and a second broadcast command identifier associated with the second transmission period. The method comprises receiving a plurality of broadcast command requests from the network at a plurality of transmission periods according to a triggering pattern. The method comprises sending a command response message in response to a broadcast command request of the plurality of broadcast command requests based on the broadcast command request being received in the second transmission period and the broadcast command request comprising the second broadcast command identifier.

[0008] In an example, the command request further includes an aloT group trigger value, a duration of each broadcast command, and / or an overall duration of the group triggering. The aloT group trigger value is common between devices in the aloT group. The processor is further configured to determine that the aloT group has been triggered by comparing the aloT group identifier or the aloT group trigger value in the command request with corresponding values at the WTRU. The processor is configured to determine that the WTRU is a member of the aloT group that has been triggered by the command request based on one or more of the aloT group identifier or the aloT group trigger values. The second transmission period identifier and the second broadcast command identifier are determined based on a distribution factor assigned to the WTRU. The processor is further configured to perform an aloT command indicated by the command request. The aloT command comprises retrieving a unique identifier or determining a measurement value. The command response message comprises the unique identifier or the measurement value determined based on the broadcast command request. The processor is configured to determine to send the command response message based on one or more of the received transmission period identifiers, the transmission period identifier at the WTRU, or the received broadcast command identifier, the broadcast command identifier at the WTRU.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] FIG. 1A is a system diagram illustrating an example communications system in which one or more disclosed embodiments may be implemented.

[0010] FIG. 1 B is a system diagram illustrating an example wireless transmit / receive unit (WTRU) that may be used within the communications system illustrated in FIG. 1A according to an embodiment.

[0011] FIG. 1C is a system diagram illustrating an example radio access network (RAN) and an example core network (CN) that may be used within the communications system illustrated in FIG. 1A according to an embodiment.

[0012] FIG. 1 D is a system diagram illustrating a further example RAN and a further example CN that may be used within the communications system illustrated in FIG. 1A according to an embodiment.

[0013] FIG. 2 is a system diagram illustrating an overview of solutions for triggering groups of ambient internet of things (aloT) devices.

[0014] FIG. 3 is a call flow diagram illustrating an example aloT group parameter provisioning and triggering initiation by an Application Function.

[0015] FIG. 4 is a call flow diagram illustrating an example aloT group triggering initiation via aloT group triggering request by an Application Function.

[0016] FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating an example aloT periodic group triggering.

[0017] FIGs. 6A and 6B depict a call flow diagram of another example of aloT periodic group triggering.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0018] FIG. 1A is a diagram illustrating an example communications system 100 in which one or more disclosed embodiments may be implemented. The communications system 100 may be a multiple access system that provides content, such as voice, data, video, messaging, broadcast, etc., to multiple wireless users. The communications system 100 may enable multiple wireless users to access such content through the sharing of system resources, including wireless bandwidth. For example, the communications systems 100 may employ one or more channel access methods, such as code division multiple access (CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA), single-carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA), zero-tail unique-word DFT-Spread OFDM (ZT UW DTS-s OFDM), unique word OFDM (UW-OFDM), resource block-filtered OFDM, filter bank multicarrier (FBMC), and the like.

[0019] As shown in FIG. 1A, the communications system 100 may include wireless transmit / receive units (WTRUs) 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d, a RAN 104 / 113, a CN 106 / 115, a public switched telephone network (PSTN) 108, the Internet 110, and other networks 112, though it will be appreciated that the disclosed embodiments contemplate any number of WTRUs, base stations, networks, and / or network elements. Each of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d may be any type of device configured to operate and / or communicate in a wirelessenvironment. By way of example, the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d, any of which may be referred to as a “station” and / or a “STA”, may be configured to transmit and / or receive wireless signals and may include a user equipment (UE), a mobile station, a fixed or mobile subscriber unit, a subscription-based unit, a pager, a cellular telephone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a smartphone, a laptop, a netbook, a personal computer, a wireless sensor, a hotspot or Mi-Fi device, an Internet of Things (loT) device, a watch or other wearable, a head-mounted display (HMD), a vehicle, a drone, a medical device and applications (e.g., remote surgery), an industrial device and applications (e.g., a robot and / or other wireless devices operating in an industrial and / or an automated processing chain contexts), a consumer electronics device, a device operating on commercial and / or industrial wireless networks, and the like. Any of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and 102d may be interchangeably referred to as a WTRU.

[0020] The communications systems 100 may also include a base station 114a and / or a base station 114b. Each of the base stations 114a, 114b may be any type of device configured to wirelessly interface with at least one of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d to facilitate access to one or more communication networks, such as the CN 106 / 115, the Internet 110, and / or the other networks 112. By way of example, the base stations 114a, 114b may be a base transceiver station (BTS), a Node-B, an eNode B, a Home Node B, a Home eNode B, a gNB, a NR NodeB, a site controller, an access point (AP), a wireless router, and the like. While the base stations 114a, 114b are each depicted as a single element, it will be appreciated that the base stations 114a, 114b may include any number of interconnected base stations and / or network elements.

[0021] The base station 114a may be part of the RAN 104 / 113, which may also include other base stations and / or network elements (not shown), such as a base station controller (BSC), a radio network controller (RNC), relay nodes, etc. The base station 114a and / or the base station 114b may be configured to transmit and / or receive wireless signals on one or more carrier frequencies, which may be referred to as a cell (not shown). These frequencies may be in licensed spectrum, unlicensed spectrum, or a combination of licensed and unlicensed spectrum. A cell may provide coverage for a wireless service to a specific geographical area that may be relatively fixed or that may change over time. The cell may further be divided into cell sectors. For example, the cell associated with the base station 114a may be divided into three sectors. Thus, in one embodiment, the base station 114a may include three transceivers, i.e., one for each sector of the cell. In an embodiment, the base station 114a may employ multiple-input multiple output (MIMO) technology and may utilize multiple transceivers for each sector of thecell. For example, beamforming may be used to transmit and / or receive signals in desired spatial directions.

[0022] The base stations 114a, 114b may communicate with one or more of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d over an air interface 116, which may be any suitable wireless communication link (e.g., radio frequency (RF), microwave, centimeter wave, micrometer wave, infrared (IR), ultraviolet (UV), visible light, etc.). The air interface 116 may be established using any suitable radio access technology (RAT).

[0023] More specifically, as noted above, the communications system 100 may be a multiple access system and may employ one or more channel access schemes, such as CDMA, TDMA, FDMA, OFDMA, SC-FDMA, and the like. For example, the base station 114a in the RAN 104 / 113 and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement a radio technology such as Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), which may establish the air interface 115 / 116 / 117 using wideband CDMA (WCDMA). WCDMA may include communication protocols such as High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA) and / or Evolved HSPA (HSPA+). HSPA may include High-Speed Downlink (DL) Packet Access (HSDPA) and / or High-Speed UL Packet Access (HSUPA).

[0024] In an embodiment, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement a radio technology such as Evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA), which may establish the air interface 116 using Long Term Evolution (LTE) and / or LTE- Advanced (LTE-A) and / or LTE-Advanced Pro (LTE-A Pro).

[0025] In an embodiment, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement a radio technology such as NR Radio Access , which may establish the air interface 116 using New Radio (NR).

[0026] In an embodiment, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement multiple radio access technologies. For example, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement LTE radio access and NR radio access together, for instance using dual connectivity (DC) principles. Thus, the air interface utilized by WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may be characterized by multiple types of radio access technologies and / or transmissions sent to / from multiple types of base stations (e.g., a eNB and a gNB).

[0027] In other embodiments, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement radio technologies such as I EEE 802.11 (i.e., Wireless Fidelity (WiFi), IEEE 802.16 (i.e., Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX)), CDMA2000, CDMA2000 1X, CDMA2000 EV-DO, Interim Standard 2000 (IS-2000), Interim Standard 95 (IS-95), InterimStandard 856 (IS-856), Global System for Mobile communications (GSM), Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE), GSM EDGE (GERAN), and the like.

[0028] The base station 114b in FIG. 1 A may be a wireless router, Home Node B, Home eNode B, or access point, for example, and may utilize any suitable RAT for facilitating wireless connectivity in a localized area, such as a place of business, a home, a vehicle, a campus, an industrial facility, an air corridor (e.g., for use by drones), a roadway, and the like. In one embodiment, the base station 114b and the WTRUs 102c, 102d may implement a radio technology such as IEEE 802.11 to establish a wireless local area network (WLAN). In an embodiment, the base station 114b and the WTRUs 102c, 102d may implement a radio technology such as IEEE 802.15 to establish a wireless personal area network (WPAN). In yet another embodiment, the base station 114b and the WTRUs 102c, 102d may utilize a cellularbased RAT (e.g., WCDMA, CDMA2000, GSM, LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, NR etc.) to establish a picocell or femtocell. As shown in FIG. 1A, the base station 114b may have a direct connection to the Internet 110. Thus, the base station 114b may not be required to access the Internet 110 via the CN 106 / 115.

[0029] The RAN 104 / 113 may be in communication with the CN 106 / 115, which may be any type of network configured to provide voice, data, applications, and / or voice over internet protocol (VoIP) services to one or more of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d. The data may have varying quality of service (QoS) requirements, such as differing throughput requirements, latency requirements, error tolerance requirements, reliability requirements, data throughput requirements, mobility requirements, and the like. The CN 106 / 115 may provide call control, billing services, mobile location-based services, pre-paid calling, Internet connectivity, video distribution, etc., and / or perform high-level security functions, such as user authentication. Although not shown in FIG. 1A, it will be appreciated that the RAN 104 / 113 and / or the CN 106 / 115 may be in direct or indirect communication with other RANs that employ the same RAT as the RAN 104 / 113 or a different RAT. For example, in addition to being connected to the RAN 104 / 113, which may be utilizing a NR radio technology, the CN 106 / 115 may also be in communication with another RAN (not shown) employing a GSM, UMTS, CDMA 2000, WiMAX, E-UTRA, or WiFi radio technology.

[0030] The CN 106 / 115 may also serve as a gateway for the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d to access the PSTN 108, the Internet 110, and / or the other networks 112. The PSTN 108 may include circuit-switched telephone networks that provide plain old telephone service (POTS). The Internet 110 may include a global system of interconnected computer networks and devices that use common communication protocols, such as the transmission control protocol (TCP),user datagram protocol (UDP) and / or the internet protocol (IP) in the TCP / IP internet protocol suite. The networks 112 may include wired and / or wireless communications networks owned and / or operated by other service providers. For example, the networks 112 may include another CN connected to one or more RANs, which may employ the same RAT as the RAN 104 / 113 or a different RAT.

[0031] Some or all of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d in the communications system 100 may include multi-mode capabilities (e.g., the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d may include multiple transceivers for communicating with different wireless networks over different wireless links). For example, the WTRU 102c shown in FIG. 1A may be configured to communicate with the base station 114a, which may employ a cellular-based radio technology, and with the base station 114b, which may employ an IEEE 802 radio technology.

[0032] FIG. 1 B is a system diagram illustrating an example WTRU 102. As shown in FIG. 1 B, the WTRU 102 may include a processor 118, a transceiver 120, a transmit / receive element 122, a speaker / microphone 124, a keypad 126, a display / touchpad 128, non-removable memory 130, removable memory 132, a power source 134, a global positioning system (GPS) chipset 136, and / or other peripherals 138, among others. It will be appreciated that the WTRU 102 may include any sub-combination of the foregoing elements while remaining consistent with an embodiment.

[0033] The processor 118 may be a general purpose processor, a special purpose processor, a conventional processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in association with a DSP core, a controller, a microcontroller, Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) circuits, any other type of integrated circuit (IC), a state machine, and the like. The processor 118 may perform signal coding, data processing, power control, input / output processing, and / or any other functionality that enables the WTRU 102 to operate in a wireless environment. The processor 118 may be coupled to the transceiver 120, which may be coupled to the transmit / receive element 122. While FIG. 1 B depicts the processor 118 and the transceiver 120 as separate components, it will be appreciated that the processor 118 and the transceiver 120 may be integrated together in an electronic package or chip.

[0034] The transmit / receive element 122 may be configured to transmit signals to, or receive signals from, a base station (e.g., the base station 114a) over the air interface 116. For example, in one embodiment, the transmit / receive element 122 may be an antenna configured to transmit and / or receive RF signals. In an embodiment, the transmit / receive element 122 may be an emitter / detector configured to transmit and / or receive IR, UV, or visible light signals, forexample. In yet another embodiment, the transmit / receive element 122 may be configured to transmit and / or receive both RF and light signals. It will be appreciated that the transmit / receive element 122 may be configured to transmit and / or receive any combination of wireless signals.

[0035] Although the transmit / receive element 122 is depicted in FIG. 1B as a single element, the WTRU 102 may include any number of transmit / receive elements 122. More specifically, the WTRU 102 may employ MIMO technology. Thus, in one embodiment, the WTRU 102 may include two or more transmit / receive elements 122 (e.g., multiple antennas) for transmitting and receiving wireless signals over the air interface 116.

[0036] The transceiver 120 may be configured to modulate the signals that are to be transmitted by the transmit / receive element 122 and to demodulate the signals that are received by the transmit / receive element 122. As noted above, the WTRU 102 may have multi-mode capabilities. Thus, the transceiver 120 may include multiple transceivers for enabling the WTRU 102 to communicate via multiple RATs, such as NR and IEEE 802.11 , for example.

[0037] The processor 118 of the WTRU 102 may be coupled to, and may receive user input data from, the speaker / microphone 124, the keypad 126, and / or the display / touchpad 128 (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD) display unit or organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display unit). The processor 118 may also output user data to the speaker / microphone 124, the keypad 126, and / or the display / touchpad 128. In addition, the processor 118 may access information from, and store data in, any type of suitable memory, such as the non-removable memory 130 and / or the removable memory 132. The non-removable memory 130 may include random-access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), a hard disk, or any other type of memory storage device. The removable memory 132 may include a subscriber identity module (SIM) card, a memory stick, a secure digital (SD) memory card, and the like. In other embodiments, the processor 118 may access information from, and store data in, memory that is not physically located on the WTRU 102, such as on a server or a home computer (not shown).

[0038] The processor 118 may receive power from the power source 134, and may be configured to distribute and / or control the power to the other components in the WTRU 102. The power source 134 may be any suitable device for powering the WTRU 102. For example, the power source 134 may include one or more dry cell batteries (e.g., nickel-cadmium (NiCd), nickel-zinc (NiZn), nickel metal hydride (NiMH), lithium-ion (Li-ion), etc.), solar cells, fuel cells, and the like.

[0039] The processor 118 may also be coupled to the GPS chipset 136, which may be configured to provide location information (e.g., longitude and latitude) regarding the current location of the WTRU 102. In addition to, or in lieu of, the information from the GPS chipset 136,the WTRU 102 may receive location information over the air interface 116 from a base station (e.g., base stations 114a, 114b) and / or determine its location based on the timing of the signals being received from two or more nearby base stations. It will be appreciated that the WTRU 102 may acquire location information by way of any suitable location-determination method while remaining consistent with an embodiment.

[0040] The processor 118 may further be coupled to other peripherals 138, which may include one or more software and / or hardware modules that provide additional features, functionality and / or wired or wireless connectivity. For example, the peripherals 138 may include an accelerometer, an e-compass, a satellite transceiver, a digital camera (for photographs and / or video), a universal serial bus (USB) port, a vibration device, a television transceiver, a hands free headset, a Bluetooth® module, a frequency modulated (FM) radio unit, a digital music player, a media player, a video game player module, an Internet browser, a Virtual Reality and / or Augmented Reality (VR / AR) device, an activity tracker, and the like. The peripherals 138 may include one or more sensors, the sensors may be one or more of a gyroscope, an accelerometer, a hall effect sensor, a magnetometer, an orientation sensor, a proximity sensor, a temperature sensor, a time sensor; a geolocation sensor; an altimeter, a light sensor, a touch sensor, a magnetometer, a barometer, a gesture sensor, a biometric sensor, and / or a humidity sensor.

[0041] The WTRU 102 may include a full duplex radio for which transmission and reception of some or all of the signals (e.g., associated with particular subframes for both the UL (e.g., for transmission) and downlink (e.g., for reception) may be concurrent and / or simultaneous. The full duplex radio may include an interference management unit 139 to reduce and or substantially eliminate self-interference via either hardware (e.g., a choke) or signal processing via a processor (e.g., a separate processor (not shown) or via processor 118). In an embodiment, the WRTU 102 may include a half-duplex radio for which transmission and reception of some or all of the signals (e.g., associated with particular subframes for either the UL (e.g., for transmission) or the downlink (e.g., for reception)).

[0042] FIG. 1C is a system diagram illustrating the RAN 104 and the CN 106 according to an embodiment. As noted above, the RAN 104 may employ an E-UTRA radio technology to communicate with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c over the air interface 116. The RAN 104 may also be in communication with the CN 106.

[0043] The RAN 104 may include eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c, though it will be appreciated that the RAN 104 may include any number of eNode-Bs while remaining consistent with an embodiment. The eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c may each include one or more transceivers forcommunicating with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c over the air interface 116. In one embodiment, the eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c may implement MIMO technology. Thus, the eNode-B 160a, for example, may use multiple antennas to transmit wireless signals to, and / or receive wireless signals from, the WTRU 102a.

[0044] Each of the eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c may be associated with a particular cell (not shown) and may be configured to handle radio resource management decisions, handover decisions, scheduling of users in the UL and / or DL, and the like. As shown in FIG. 1C, the eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c may communicate with one another over an X2 interface.

[0045] The CN 106 shown in FIG. 1C may include a mobility management entity (MME) 162, a serving gateway (SGW) 164, and a packet data network (PDN) gateway (or PGW) 166. While each of the foregoing elements are depicted as part of the CN 106, it will be appreciated that any of these elements may be owned and / or operated by an entity other than the CN operator.

[0046] The MME 162 may be connected to each of the eNode-Bs 162a, 162b, 162c in the RAN 104 via an S1 interface and may serve as a control node. For example, the MME 162 may be responsible for authenticating users of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, bearer activation / deactivation, selecting a particular serving gateway during an initial attach of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, and the like. The MME 162 may provide a control plane function for switching between the RAN 104 and other RANs (not shown) that employ other radio technologies, such as GSM and / or WCDMA.

[0047] The SGW 164 may be connected to each of the eNode Bs 160a, 160b, 160c in the RAN 104 via the S1 interface. The SGW 164 may generally route and forward user data packets to / from the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c. The SGW 164 may perform other functions, such as anchoring user planes during inter-eNode B handovers, triggering paging when DL data is available for the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, managing and storing contexts of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, and the like.

[0048] The SGW 164 may be connected to the PGW 166, which may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to packet-switched networks, such as the Internet 110, to facilitate communications between the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and IP-enabled devices.

[0049] The CN 106 may facilitate communications with other networks. For example, the CN 106 may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to circuit- switched networks, such as the PSTN 108, to facilitate communications between the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and traditional land-line communications devices. For example, the CN 106 may include, or may communicate with, an IP gateway (e.g., an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) server) that serves as an interface between the CN 106 and the PSTN 108. In addition, the CN 106 may providethe WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to the other networks 112, which may include other wired and / or wireless networks that are owned and / or operated by other service providers.

[0050] Although the WTRU is described in FIGS. 1A-1D as a wireless terminal, it is contemplated that in certain representative embodiments that such a terminal may use (e.g., temporarily or permanently) wired communication interfaces with the communication network.

[0051] In representative embodiments, the other network 112 may be a WLAN.

[0052] A WLAN in Infrastructure Basic Service Set (BSS) mode may have an Access Point (AP) for the BSS and one or more stations (STAs) associated with the AP. The AP may have an access or an interface to a Distribution System (DS) or another type of wired / wireless network that carries traffic in to and / or out of the BSS. Traffic to STAs that originates from outside the BSS may arrive through the AP and may be delivered to the STAs. Traffic originating from STAs to destinations outside the BSS may be sent to the AP to be delivered to respective destinations. Traffic between STAs within the BSS may be sent through the AP, for example, where the source STA may send traffic to the AP and the AP may deliver the traffic to the destination STA. The traffic between STAs within a BSS may be considered and / or referred to as peer-to-peer traffic. The peer-to-peer traffic may be sent between e.g., directly between) the source and destination STAs with a direct link setup (DLS). In certain representative embodiments, the DLS may use an 802.11e DLS or an 802.11z tunneled DLS (TDLS). A WLAN using an Independent BSS (IBSS) mode may not have an AP, and the STAs (e.g., all of the STAs) within or using the IBSS may communicate directly with each other. The IBSS mode of communication may sometimes be referred to herein as an “ad-hoc” mode of communication.

[0053] When using the 802.11ac infrastructure mode of operation or a similar mode of operations, the AP may transmit a beacon on a fixed channel, such as a primary channel. The primary channel may be a fixed width (e.g., 20 MHz wide bandwidth) or a dynamically set width via signaling. The primary channel may be the operating channel of the BSS and may be used by the STAs to establish a connection with the AP. In certain representative embodiments, Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Avoidance (CSMA / CA) may be implemented, for example in in 802.11 systems. For CSMA / CA, the STAs (e.g., every STA), including the AP, may sense the primary channel. If the primary channel is sensed / detected and / or determined to be busy by a particular STA, the particular STA may back off. One STA (e.g., only one station) may transmit at any given time in a given BSS.

[0054] High Throughput (HT) STAs may use a 40 MHz wide channel for communication, for example, via a combination of the primary 20 MHz channel with an adjacent or nonadjacent 20 MHz channel to form a 40 MHz wide channel.

[0055] Very High Throughput (VHT) STAs may support 20MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, and / or 160 MHz wide channels. The 40 MHz, and / or 80 MHz, channels may be formed by combining contiguous 20 MHz channels. A 160 MHz channel may be formed by combining 8 contiguous 20 MHz channels, or by combining two non-contiguous 80 MHz channels, which may be referred to as an 80+80 configuration. For the 80+80 configuration, the data, after channel encoding, may be passed through a segment parser that may divide the data into two streams. Inverse Fast Fourier Transform (IFFT) processing, and time domain processing, may be done on each stream separately. The streams may be mapped on to the two 80 MHz channels, and the data may be transmitted by a transmitting STA. At the receiver of the receiving STA, the above described operation for the 80+80 configuration may be reversed, and the combined data may be sent to the Medium Access Control (MAC).

[0056] Sub 1 GHz modes of operation are supported by 802.11af and 802.11 ah. The channel operating bandwidths, and carriers, are reduced in 802.11af and 802.11 ah relative to those used in 802.11n, and 802.11ac. 802.11 af supports 5 MHz, 10 MHz and 20 MHz bandwidths in the TV White Space (TVWS) spectrum, and 802.11 ah supports 1 MHz, 2 MHz, 4 MHz, 8 MHz, and 16 MHz bandwidths using non-TVWS spectrum. According to a representative embodiment, 802.11ah may support Meter Type Control / Machine-Type Communications, such as MTC devices in a macro coverage area. MTC devices may have certain capabilities, for example, limited capabilities including support for (e.g., only support for) certain and / or limited bandwidths. The MTC devices may include a battery with a battery life above a threshold (e.g., to maintain a very long battery life).

[0057] WLAN systems, which may support multiple channels, and channel bandwidths, such as 802.11 n, 802.11ac, 802.11af, and 802.11 ah, include a channel which may be designated as the primary channel. The primary channel may have a bandwidth equal to the largest common operating bandwidth supported by all STAs in the BSS. The bandwidth of the primary channel may be set and / or limited by a STA, from among all STAs in operating in a BSS, which supports the smallest bandwidth operating mode. In the example of 802.11ah, the primary channel may be 1 MHz wide for STAs (e.g., MTC type devices) that support (e.g., only support) a 1 MHz mode, even if the AP, and other STAs in the BSS support 2 MHz, 4 MHz, 8 MHz, 16 MHz, and / or other channel bandwidth operating modes. Carrier sensing and / or Network Allocation Vector (NAV) settings may depend on the status of the primary channel. If the primary channel is busy, for example, due to a STA (which supports only a 1 MHz operating mode), transmitting to the AP, the entire available frequency bands may be considered busy even though a majority of the frequency bands remains idle and may be available.

[0058] In the United States, the available frequency bands, which may be used by 802.11 ah, are from 902 MHz to 928 MHz. In Korea, the available frequency bands are from 917.5 MHz to 923.5 MHz. In Japan, the available frequency bands are from 916.5 MHz to 927.5 MHz. The total bandwidth available for 802.11 ah is 6 MHz to 26 MHz depending on the country code.

[0059] FIG. 1 D is a system diagram illustrating the RAN 113 and the CN 115 according to an embodiment. As noted above, the RAN 113 may employ an NR radio technology to communicate with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c over the air interface 116. The RAN 113 may also be in communication with the CN 115.

[0060] The RAN 113 may include gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c, though it will be appreciated that the RAN 113 may include any number of gNBs while remaining consistent with an embodiment.The gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may each include one or more transceivers for communicating with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c over the air interface 116. In one embodiment, the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may implement MIMO technology. For example, gNBs 180a, 108b may utilize beamforming to transmit signals to and / or receive signals from the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c. Thus, the gNB 180a, for example, may use multiple antennas to transmit wireless signals to, and / or receive wireless signals from, the WTRU 102a. In an embodiment, the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may implement carrier aggregation technology. For example, the gNB 180a may transmit multiple component carriers to the WTRU 102a (not shown). A subset of these component carriers may be on unlicensed spectrum while the remaining component carriers may be on licensed spectrum. In an embodiment, the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may implement Coordinated Multi-Point (CoMP) technology. For example, WTRU 102a may receive coordinated transmissions from gNB 180a and gNB 180b (and / or gNB 180c).

[0061] The WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c using transmissions associated with a scalable numerology. For example, the OFDM symbol spacing and / or OFDM subcarrier spacing may vary for different transmissions, different cells, and / or different portions of the wireless transmission spectrum. The WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c using subframe or transmission time intervals (TTIs) of various or scalable lengths (e.g., containing varying number of OFDM symbols and / or lasting varying lengths of absolute time).

[0062] The gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may be configured to communicate with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c in a standalone configuration and / or a non-standalone configuration. In the standalone configuration, WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c without also accessing other RANs (e.g., such as eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c). In the standalone configuration, WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may utilize one or more of gNBs 180a,180b, 180c as a mobility anchor point. In the standalone configuration, WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c using signals in an unlicensed band. In a non-standalone configuration WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with / connect to gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c while also communicating with / connecting to another RAN such as eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c. For example, WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement DC principles to communicate with one or more gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c and one or more eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c substantially simultaneously. In the non-standalone configuration, eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c may serve as a mobility anchor for WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may provide additional coverage and / or throughput for servicing WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c.

[0063] Each of the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may be associated with a particular cell (not shown) and may be configured to handle radio resource management decisions, handover decisions, scheduling of users in the UL and / or DL, support of network slicing, dual connectivity, interworking between NR and E-UTRA, routing of user plane data towards User Plane Function (UPF) 184a, 184b, routing of control plane information towards Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 182a, 182b and the like. As shown in FIG. 1 D, the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may communicate with one another over an Xn interface.

[0064] The CN 115 shown in FIG. 1D may include at least one AMF 182a, 182b, at least one UPF 184a, 184b, at least one Session Management Function (SMF) 183a, 183b, and possibly a Data Network (DN) 185a, 185b. While each of the foregoing elements are depicted as part of the CN 115, it will be appreciated that any of these elements may be owned and / or operated by an entity other than the CN operator.

[0065] The AMF 182a, 182b may be connected to one or more of the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c in the RAN 113 via an N2 interface and may serve as a control node. For example, the AMF 182a, 182b may be responsible for authenticating users of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, support for network slicing (e.g., handling of different PDU sessions with different requirements), selecting a particular SMF 183a, 183b, management of the registration area, termination of NAS signaling, mobility management, and the like. Network slicing may be used by the AMF 182a, 182b in order to customize CN support for WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c based on the types of services being utilized WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c. For example, different network slices may be established for different use cases such as services relying on ultra-reliable low latency (URLLC) access, services relying on enhanced massive mobile broadband (eMBB) access, services for machine type communication (MTC) access, and / or the like. The AMF 162 may provide a control plane function for switching between the RAN 113 and other RANs (notshown) that employ other radio technologies, such as LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, and / or non- 3GPP access technologies such as WiFi.

[0066] The SMF 183a, 183b may be connected to an AMF 182a, 182b in the ON 115 via an N11 interface. The SMF 183a, 183b may also be connected to a UPF 184a, 184b in the CN 115 via an N4 interface. The SMF 183a, 183b may select and control the UPF 184a, 184b and configure the routing of traffic through the UPF 184a, 184b. The SMF 183a, 183b may perform other functions, such as managing and allocating WTRU IP address, managing PDU sessions, controlling policy enforcement and QoS, providing downlink data notifications, and the like. A PDU session type may be IP-based, non-IP based, Ethernet-based, and the like.

[0067] The UPF 184a, 184b may be connected to one or more of the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c in the RAN 113 via an N3 interface, which may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to packet-switched networks, such as the Internet 110, to facilitate communications between the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and IP-enabled devices. The UPF 184, 184b may perform other functions, such as routing and forwarding packets, enforcing user plane policies, supporting multi-homed PDU sessions, handling user plane QoS, buffering downlink packets, providing mobility anchoring, and the like.

[0068] The CN 115 may facilitate communications with other networks. For example, the CN 115 may include, or may communicate with, an IP gateway (e.g., an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) server) that serves as an interface between the CN 115 and the PSTN 108. In addition, the CN 115 may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to the other networks 112, which may include other wired and / or wireless networks that are owned and / or operated by other service providers. In one embodiment, the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may be connected to a local Data Network (DN) 185a, 185b through the UPF 184a, 184b via the N3 interface to the UPF 184a, 184b and an N6 interface between the UPF 184a, 184b and the DN 185a, 185b.

[0069] In view of Figures 1 A-1 D, and the corresponding description of Figures 1 A-1 D, one or more, or all, of the functions described herein with regard to one or more of: WTRU 102a-d, Base Station 114a-b, eNode-B 160a-c, MME 162, SGW 164, PGW 166, gNB 180a-c, AMF 182a-ab, UPF 184a-b, SMF 183a-b, DN 185a-b, and / or any other device(s) described herein, may be performed by one or more emulation devices (not shown). The emulation devices may be one or more devices configured to emulate one or more, or all, of the functions described herein. For example, the emulation devices may be used to test other devices and / or to simulate network and / or WTRU functions.

[0070] The emulation devices may be designed to implement one or more tests of other devices in a lab environment and / or in an operator network environment. For example, the oneor more emulation devices may perform the one or more, or all, functions while being fully or partially implemented and / or deployed as part of a wired and / or wireless communication network in order to test other devices within the communication network. The one or more emulation devices may perform the one or more, or all, functions while being temporarily implemented / deployed as part of a wired and / or wireless communication network. The emulation device may be directly coupled to another device for purposes of testing and / or may performing testing using over-the-air wireless communications.

[0071] The one or more emulation devices may perform the one or more, including all, functions while not being implemented / deployed as part of a wired and / or wireless communication network. For example, the emulation devices may be utilized in a testing scenario in a testing laboratory and / or a non-deployed (e.g., testing) wired and / or wireless communication network in order to implement testing of one or more components. The one or more emulation devices may be test equipment. Direct RF coupling and / or wireless communications via RF circuitry (e.g., which may include one or more antennas) may be used by the emulation devices to transmit and / or receive data.

[0072] Group triggering initiation may be described herein. In an example of group triggering initiation, an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) may subscribe to a unified data management function (UDM), for example, to be notified of ambient internet of things (aloT) group parameters provisioning events. The subscription request may include one or more behavioral parameters applicable to a group of aloT device(s). The AMF may receive an aiot- group-parameter-provisioning notification from the UDM. The aiot-group-parameter-provisioning notification may be triggered by the UDM and may be triggered on the AF and / or the network exposure function (NEF). The notification may comprise behavioral parameters applicable to a group of aloT device(s).

[0073] The AMF may determine triggering pattern information for the aloT group. If the AMF determines triggering pattern information, the determination may be triggered by the received notification. The determination may be based on the behavioral parameters applicable to a group of aloT device(s) received in the notification. The triggering pattern information may comprise a number of triggering periods and / or a triggering period duration.

[0074] The AMF may send an aiot-group-trigger-initiate request to the access network (AN) for initiating an aloT group triggering session. The aiot-group-trigger-initiate request may be sent based on the received notification. The aiot-group-trigger-initiate request may comprise aloT group triggering session identifier(s), internal aloT group identifier, the aloT group triggervalue(s), the aloT group command identifier, and / or the determined triggering pattern information.

[0075] The AMF may receive an aiot-group-trigger-initiate response from the AN. The aiot- group-trigger-initiate response may indicate if the aloT group triggering session request was successful. The aiot-group-trigger-initiate response may be triggered by a sent request {e.g., an aiot-group-trigger-initiate request sent by the AMF). The aiot-group-trigger-initiate response may comprise aloT group triggering session identifier(s).

[0076] The AMF may send an aiot-group-trigger-initiate-event notification to the AF. The aiot- group-trigger-initiate-event notification may indicate the status of the aloT group triggering session initiation. Sending the aiot-group-trigger-initiate-event notification may be triggered by receiving the response {e.g., an aiot-group-trigger-initiate response from an AN). The aiot- group-trigger-initiate-event notification may comprise the aloT external group identifier e.g., the AMF may determine the external aloT group identifier based on the internal aloT group identifier), the indication of success or failure for aloT group triggering session initiation, the determined triggering pattern information, and / or the aloT group triggering session identifier.

[0077] The AMF may receive a notification from the AN. The notification may indicate if the aloT group triggering session has terminated. The notification may be triggered by the AN completing the group triggering session. The group triggering session may be initiated by a request (e.g., an aiot-group-trigger-initiate request). The notification may comprise information related to the aloT group triggering session, the aloT group triggering session identifier, the success of the group triggering session, the internal aloT group identifier, the final triggering pattern information, and / or statistical characteristics resulting from the aloT group triggering. Statistical characteristics may comprise the total number of aloT devices that responded to a group triggering, the number of aloT device that responded in each period of a group triggering, a number of aloT device transmission collision detected, a duration {e.g., total duration of the group triggering), and / or a period duration of a group triggering.

[0078] The AMF may send an aloT -group-trigger-complete-event notification to the AF to indicate the status of aloT group triggering session completion. The aloT-group-trigger- complete-event notification may be triggered by receiving a notification {e.g., a notification from the AN indicating if the aloT group triggering session has terminated). The aloT -group-trigger- complete-event notification may comprise an aloT external group identifier {e.g., the AMF may determine the external aloT group identifier based on the internal aloT group identifier), an aloT group triggering session identifier, an indication of success or failure for aloT group triggeringsession, a final triggering pattern information, and / or statistical characteristics resulting from the aloT group triggering.

[0079] Group triggering session execution may be described herein. An aloT device may receive an aiot-group-periodic-broadcast-command request from an AN. The aiot-group- periodic-broadcast-command request may be triggered by a group triggering session initiation request. The aiot-group-periodic-broadcast-command request may comprise of: aloT group triggering session identifier(s), aloT external group identifier(s), aloT group trigger value(s), aloT group command identifier(s), the transmission period identifier(s), the broadcast command identifier(s), a number of periods (e.g., the total number of periods), a number of broadcast commands (e.g., the number of broadcast commands per period), the duration of each broadcast command, and / or the overall duration of the group triggering.

[0080] The aloT device may determine group membership. The determination may be triggered by a request (e.g., an aiot-group-periodic-broadcast-command request from an AN). The determination may be based on group information provided in the request and / or group information available at the aloT device (e.g., comparing information provided in the request with information available at the aloT device). The aloT device may stop processing request(s) (e.g., requests associated with a group triggering session) if it is not a member of the group.

[0081] The aloT device may determine a random transmission period identifier and random broadcast command identifier. The aloT device may process a broadcast command (e.g., after determining a random transmission period identifier and random broadcast command identifier). The determining and command processing may be triggered by a positive group membership. The random determinations may be based on a distribution factor at the aloT device and / or information received in a request (e.g., an aloT-group-periodic-broadcast-command request from an AN). The command processing may be based on information received in a request (e.g., an aloT-group-periodic-broadcast-command request from an AN). The command processing may result in information to be transmitted.

[0082] The aloT device may receive a further aloT-group-periodic-broadcast-command request from the AN. If a further aloT-group-periodic-broadcast-command request is received, the aloT device may evaluate if transmission is required. The aloT device may evaluate if transmission is required for further requests (e.g., all, one, none). The received further aloT-group-periodic- broadcast-command requests may be triggered by an ongoing aloT group triggering session. The evaluation may be based on receiving a request. The evaluation may be based on (e.g., comparing, considering) the current period identifier, the current broadcast command identifier, the random determined values, and / or the aloT group triggering session identifier.

[0083] The aloT device may send an aloT-group-periodic-broadcast-command response to the AN. The aloT-group-periodic-broadcast-command response sending may be triggered by a positive evaluation. The aloT-group-periodic-broadcast-command response may comprise information resulting from command processing.

[0084] An AN may receive an aloT-group-trigger-initiate request from an AMF. The aloT-group- trigger-initiate request may comprise an aloT group triggering session identifier, an internal aloT group identifier, an aloT group trigger value(s), an aloT group command identifier, and / or a determined triggering pattern information.

[0085] The AN may send an aloT -group-trigger-initiate response to the AMF. The aloT-group- trigger-initiate response triggered by a request (e.g., an aloT-group-trigger-initiate request). The aloT-group-trigger-initiate response may comprise an aloT group triggering session identifier.

[0086] The AN may determine triggering pattern information for the aloT group. The determination triggered by a successful response (e.g., a successful aloT-group-trigger-initiate response). The determined triggering pattern information may comprise a number of aloT transmission periods (e.g., total number), the number of aloT commands sent per period, the duration of transmission periods, and / or a duration (e.g., total) of the group triggering. The triggering pattern information may be determined based on guidance information received in a request (e.g., an aloT-group-trigger-initiate request from an AMF).

[0087] The AN may send multiple aiot-group-periodic-broadcast-command requests to aloT device(s). Sending the aiot-group-periodic-broadcast-command requests may be triggered by determining triggering pattern information. The aiot-group-periodic-broadcast-command requests may comprise aloT group triggering session identifier(s), aloT external group identifier(s), aloT group trigger value(s), aloT group command identifier(s), transmission period identifier(s), broadcast command identifier(s), a number (e.g., total) of periods, a number of broadcast commands (e.g., number per period), a duration of each broadcast command, and / or a duration (e.g., overall duration) of the group triggering. The AN may increment the broadcast command identifier within a transmission period until a number of broadcast command(s) per period is reached. The AN may increment the transmission period identifier(s) until a number of transmission periods is reached.

[0088] The AN may receive an aloT-group-periodic-broadcast-command response from the aloT device(s). The aloT-group-periodic-broadcast-command response may be triggered by a request (e.g., an aiot-group-periodic-broadcast-command requests). The aloT-group-periodic- broadcast-command response may comprise information resulting from the aloT device command processing.

[0089] The AN may send an aiot-group-periodic-trigger-data notification to the AMF. The aiot- group-periodic-trigger-data notification sending may be triggered by a response (e.g., an aloT- group-periodic-broadcast-command response). The aiot-group-periodic-trigger-data notification may comprise information received in a response (e.g., an aloT-group-periodic-broadcast- command response), information related to the transmission period, information related to the broadcast command, internal aloT group identifier(s), and / or aloT group triggering session identifier(s).

[0090] An ambient power enabled loT device may be a type of loT device that can harvest energy from environmental resources (e.g., wireless radio waves, motion, vibration, piezoelectricity, solar and wind, etc.). An ambient power enabled loT device may be batteryless. An ambient power enabled loT device may have limited energy storage (e.g., using a capacitor). Ambient power enabled loT devices may be used in Industrial Wireless Sensor Networks where the environment is harsh (e.g., extremely high or low temperature). Batteryless, maintenance-free, and long service life devices may have advantages in harsh environments. Ambient power enabled loT devices may play a role in Smart Logistics and Smart Warehousing. Low cost, small-form, battery-lessness, and / or durability capabilities may make ambient power enabled loT devices suitable to be attached to goods and facilitate efficient good(s) identifying, sorting, tracking, and / or inventory.

[0091] One or more service requirement(s) may support ambient power enabled loT devices. Because of available energy constraints, ambient power enabled loT devices may have difficulty keeping their wireless transceivers working for a long time. The active time, the amount of data that can be transmitted or received, the communication range, etc. may be affected by the energy constraint. With power consumption saving technologies, such as long cycle DRX, ambient power enabled loT devices may still have difficulty performing normally expected activations in a wireless network.

[0092] Ambient backscatter, or RF backscatter, may use existing radio frequency signals, such as radio, television, and mobile telephony, to transmit data without a battery or power grid connection. Each such device may use an antenna to pick up an existing signal and may convert it into electricity (e.g., tens to hundreds of microwatts). A device may use that power to modify and reflect the signal, and may add additional encoded data to the reflected signal. Antennas on some devices may detect the signal and may extract the additional encoded data from the reflected signal. If an aloT device uses RF backscatter communication, the device(s) may be unable to transmit power on its own. The device may be energized by an RF signal tobe awoken, perform a function, and / or transmit the result by reflecting and / or modulating the reflected signal.

[0093] Ambient power enabled devices may be described. There may be categories of ambient loT devices with different capabilities. For example, a category of aloT devices may have limited energy storage (e.g., none) and limited independent signal generation (e.g., none). These devices may be energized (e.g., via a harvesting method) to perform processing and / or to transmit information. These devices may be simplistic, low cost, and may accomplish tasks (e.g., simple tasks). Such devices may use backscattering methods for transmitting information. For example, a category of aloT devices may have energy storage and limited independent signal generation (e.g., none). These devices may perform processing in accordance with harvested energy levels. These devices may be unable to transmit information on their own. Such devices may use backscattering methods to transmit information. For example, a category of aloT devices may have energy storage and independent signal generation. These devices may perform processing and transmit information in accordance with their harvested energy levels. Such devices may use their own signal generation capabilities to transmit information and may harvest energy from radio signals or other sources.

[0094] Triggering groups of aloT devices may be utilized in different use cases (e.g., warehousing, logistics). For example, inventorying aloT groups of products and / or tracking aloT groups of parts / equipment in a large facility / plant / worksite. Triggering many individual aloT device(s) at approximately the same time may result in network congestion. Unified Access Control (UAC) mechanisms may protect against communication overload conditions. UAC mechanisms may rely on one or more of the following capabilities: maintaining backoff timers at the device, determining at the device the future transmission time, or monitoring broadcasted information. UAC mechanisms may be implemented in a WTRU. Ambient loT devices may have insufficient capabilities to support timers, to self-determine future transmission time, and / or to monitor broadcast information. System enhancements may be needed to manage and / or prevent network congestion when triggering groups of aloT devices. For example, in cases where a group does not support UAC (e.g., large or unknown group size). An aloT device may be an aloT capable WTRU.

[0095] FIG. 2 is a system diagram illustrating an overview of solutions for triggering groups of aloT devices. The procedure 200 may be divided into 3 smaller procedures. In a first procedure, an AF may initiate a group triggering procedure. In a second procedure, a network function (e.g., AMF, AN) may execute the triggering procedure. In a third procedure, the group triggering procedure may be completed.

[0096] One or more solutions for an AF to request triggering a group of aloT devices and for the AMF to inform an AF of initiation and completion of the aloT group triggering may be provided. One or more solutions for an AMF to request an AN to trigger a group of aloT devices without UAC capability may be provided. The solutions described herein may be combined, or may be used independently.

[0097] Group triggering initiation may be provided. An Application Function may trigger communications with a group of aloT devices.

[0098] Group triggering may be initiated via an aloT group provisioning request. An AF may perform aloT group provisioning. The aloT group provisioning may trigger communication with an aloT group.

[0099] FIG. 3 illustrates an example procedure of aloT group parameter provisioning and triggering initiation 300 by an Application Function 312. At 314, the AMF 306 may send a subscription request to a UDM 308 for receiving notifications related to aloT group parameters creation, changes, and / or deletion. The subscription request 314 may indicate that the AMF 306 wants to be notified of specific aloT group parameter changes. The parameter(s) may be behavioral parameters applicable to a group of aloT device(s) and / or aloT device(s) (e.g., such as the aloT device 302) (e.g., both referred to as aloT group parameters). The aloT behavioral parameters may be dynamically provisioned in the UDR (e.g., via the UDM 308 by an AF 312) or may be pre-provisioned in the UDR by the management system. The aloT behavioral parameters applicable to aloT device(s) and / or group of aloT device(s) (e.g., such as the aloT device 302) may be described herein. In examples, the AMF 306 may indicate (e.g., in the subscription) that the AMF 306 wants to be notified of any aloT group parameter change. Alternatively or additionally, the AMF 306 may indicate that the AMF 306 wants to be notified when a group triggering indication parameter indicates for immediate triggering. The AMF 306 may not be notified when aloT group parameters are updated for storage in UDM / UDR. In examples, the AMF 306 may indicate in the subscription that it wants to be notified based on geographical, topological, and / or contextual information values. The AMF 306 may be notified when a certain time of day happens, when the aloT device(s) (e.g., such as the aloT device 302) are at a certain location, and / or when the communication channels with aloT devices are not busy.

[0100] Multiple AMF(s) 306 may concurrently subscribe to receive notifications related to aloT group parameters creation or changes. The triggering of an aloT group may be initiated in multiple AMFs 306, for example, concurrently.

[0101] At 316, an AF 312 may send an aloT-group-parameter-provisioning request to the NEF 310. The request may be sent to store aloT group behavioral parameters in the UDR and / or inform any network function that is subscribed for aloT group parameters. The request may indicate to create, update, and / or delete one or more aloT group parameters.

[0102] The one or more aloT group parameters may include one or more of the following. An aloT external group identifier may be provided by the AF 312. The aloT external group identifier may identify an aloT group. The external group identifier may be stored in the UDR and may be used when communicating with the AF 312 to identify the aloT group.

[0103] The aloT internal group identifier(s) may be assigned (e.g., by the UDM 308, by the UDR), and may correspond to an aloT external group identifier. The aloT internal group identifier may be used to identify an aloT group. The UDM 308, UDR, and / or AMF 306 may provide capabilities for maintaining mappings between internal and external group identifiers.

[0104] One or more aloT group trigger value(s) may be provided (e.g., by the AF 312) to trigger an aloT group. The aloT group trigger value(s) may be values common between aloT devices in a group. For example, aloT devices to be inventoried may share the same stock keeping unit (SKU) and / or the same universal product code (UPC). The aloT group trigger values may be a pair of values indicating that the aloT group shares a “SKU” number (e g., a SKU of “123456”).In examples, a group identifier may be dynamically assigned to aloT devices 302. The group identifier may or may not be the same as the external group identifier. The aloT group trigger value may indicate a “group-ID” number (e.g., a group-ID of “123456”). If an aloT group trigger value is absent, the aloT external group identifier may be utilized as the aloT group trigger value.

[0105] The aloT group command identifier(s) may identify a command to be performed by an aloT group when triggered. For example, the command may indicate for each aloT device (e.g., such as the aloT device 302) to report its distinct identifier to the network. In examples, the command may indicate for an aloT device (e.g., such as the aloT device 302) to perform a measurement and report an identifier with the measurement result.

[0106] The aloT group triggering indication(s) may be provided. Triggering indication(s) may identify if aloT group information provisioning may result in initiating an aloT group triggering session. For example, if an AF 312 wants to update UDR information without triggering the aloT group, the AF 312 may indicate that immediate triggering for an aloT group is not needed.

[0107] The aloT group triggering session identifier(s) may be provided to identify a group triggering session instance. For example, an AF 312 may provide a first aloT group triggering session identifier to identify a first group triggering session, and the AF 312 may provide asecond (e.g., different) aloT group triggering session identifier to identify a second group triggering session. The aloT group triggering session identifier may be used by the AMF 306 and / or AN 304 to identify a group triggering session instance, and may be provided to an aloT device (e.g., such as the aloT device 302) to prevent being triggered twice (e.g., from responding twice when AMF(s) 306 or AN(s) 304 overlap in a group triggering session). If an aloT device (e.g., such as the aloT device 302) is triggered by two different ANs 304 for the same aloT group triggering session instance, identified by the aloT group triggering session identifier, the aloT device 302 may respond to an AN 304 (e.g., only one of the ANs), which may be determined by the aloT device 302. For example, an aloT device (e.g., such as the aloT device 302) may ignore a second broadcast command sent by a second AN 304 utilizing a particular (e.g., the same as the first) aloT group triggering session identifier. If the AF 312 does not provide an aloT group triggering session identifier, the UDM 308 and / or UDR may assign one when initiating an aloT group session instance.

[0108] The aloT group size estimation may be provided to indicate an AF’s 312 expected group size. The expected group size may be utilized when determining how to trigger aloT devices (e.g., such as the aloT device 302). The AF 312 may have learned the triggering group size from a previous attempt. The AF 312 may provide the expected group size as an estimation in the request. The AF 312 may influence triggering duration(s) by changing the indicated expected group size. The triggering duration(s) may be influenced based on AF level information. In examples (e.g., periodic triggering), the AMF 306 may utilize the aloT group size estimation to evaluate the number of triggering periods.

[0109] The aloT group triggering duration estimation may be provided to indicate an AF’s 312 expected triggering duration. Triggering duration estimation may be utilized when determining an aloT devices triggering duration. An AF 312 may have learned the triggering duration from a previous attempt at triggering the aloT group. An AF 312 may provide the triggering duration estimation as an estimation in the request. The AF 312 may influence the triggering duration by changing this value based on AF level information. In examples (e.g., periodic triggering), an AMF 306 may utilize an aloT triggering duration estimation if determining whether to terminate aloT group triggering.

[0110] The aloT group number of triggering period estimation may be provided to indicate an AF’s 312 expected number of time periods and / or attempts needed to trigger an aloT group. The AF 312 may have learned the number of triggering periods from a previous attempt in the aloT group. The AF 312 may provide triggering period estimation as an estimation in the request. The AF 312 may influence the number of triggering periods by changing this value,which may be based on AF level information. For example, considering periodic triggering the AMF 306 may use the aloT number of period estimation as a baseline for determining the number of triggering periods.

[0111] The aloT group triggering period duration estimation may be provided to indicate the AF 312 expected duration of a triggering period. The AF 312 may have learned the duration of triggering periods from a previous attempt in the aloT group or may be pre-configured with such duration (e.g., based on aloT device capabilities) and may provide it as an estimation in the request. The AF 312 may influence the duration of triggering periods by changing the triggering period estimation value. The AF 312 may influence the duration of triggering periods based on AF level information. In examples (e.g., periodic triggering), the AMF 306 may determine a triggering period duration based on the aloT triggering period duration estimation.

[0112] The aloT device characteristics may be provided to indicate characteristics of aloT devices(e.g., such as the aloT device 302) present in the group. The aloT device characteristics may be utilized when determining triggering methods for aloT devices (e.g., such as the aloT device 302). For example, aloT device characteristics may indicate one or more of: that the aloT devices are energized using cellular radio waves, are energized using an external energy source, the endpoint information for accessing the external energy source, whether the aloT device has a battery, how long can the aloT device transmit when energized, etc.

[0113] The aloT group geographical, topological, or contextual (e.g., environmental context) information may be provided to indicate the location of aloT device(s) and / or indicate the environmental context of such aloT device (e.g., such as the aloT device 302). For example, an AMF 306 may use aloT group geographical and / or topological information to trigger an aloT group when (e.g., only when) required. Alternatively or additionally, a UDM 308 may utilize the aloT group geographical or topological information when deciding to notify the AMF 306. In examples, aloT device environmental information may indicate current and / or predicted aloT device communication needs. For example, the aloT device communication needs may indicate that a communication channel is needed, and / or that group triggering should not be performed. In examples, environmental information may indicate a time period at which group triggering should or should not be performed.

[0114] The NEF 310 may verify that the AF is authorized to provision aloT group parameters. If the AF 312 is authorized, the NEF 310 may send an aiot-group-parameter-provisioning request 318 to the UDM 308 to create, update, and / or delete the aloT group parameters. The UDM 308 may access the UDR to create, update, and / or delete the aloT group parameters. If the AF 312 has not provided an aloT group triggering session identifier, the UDM / UDR may assign one. Ifthe AF 312 is not authorized, the NEF 310 may indicate that the AF 312 is not authorized and provide a failure reason.

[0115] At 320, the UDM 308 may send an aiot-group-parameter-provisioning response to the NEF 310. The aiot-group-parameter-provisioning response 320 may indicate the success or failure of a corresponding request. The response may provide a failure reason, if needed. The response may comprise the aloT group triggering session identifier.

[0116] At 324, the NEF 310 may send an aiot-group-parameter-provisioning response to the AF 312. The aiot-group-parameter-provisioning response 324 may indicate the success or failure of a corresponding request. The aiot-group-parameter-provisioning response 324 may provide a failure reason, if needed. If information was provided by the UDM / UDR, this information may be included in the response sent to the AF 312.

[0117] If the AMF 306 subscribed, and the aloT group parameter provisioning has succeeded, the UDM 308 may notify the AMF 306 via sending an aiot-group-parameter-provisioning notification 322 to the subscribed AMF(s)306. The aiot-group-parameter-provisioning notification 322 may include the aloT group parameters. Alternatively or additionally, the UDM 308 may notify an AMF 306 based on geographical, topological, contextual (e.g., environmental context) information that was provided by the AF 312.

[0118] If the aloT group triggering indicates immediate triggering, the AMF 306 may use one or more aloT group parameters to determine triggering pattern information for the aloT group. If the aloT group triggering indicates not to trigger the aloT group immediately, the procedure may be complete, and successfully end.

[0119] The triggering pattern information may comprise a number of triggering periods and / or a triggering period duration. The number of triggering periods and / or the triggering period duration may be determined based on the aloT group size estimation, the aloT group triggering duration estimation, the aloT number of triggering period estimation, the aloT group triggering period duration estimation, and other characteristics such as the aloT device characteristics.

[0120] The AMF 306 may determine target ANs 304 based on aloT group location information. At 328, the AMF 306 may send an aiot-group-trigger-initiate request to target ANs 304 for initiating a group triggering session with the aloT group. The aiot-group-trigger-initiate request 328 may comprise the internal aloT group identifier, the aloT group triggering session identifier, the aloT group trigger value(s), the aloT group command identifier, and / or the determined triggering pattern information. Alternatively or additionally, the AMF 306 may send a aiot-group- trigger-initiate request 328 to the AN 304 based on the aloT group location (e.g., geographical, topological), and / or environmental context. Based on the group location or environmentalcontext, the AMF 306, via the aiot-group-trigger-initiate request 328, may limit aloT group triggering to (e g., only to) necessary locations and / or contexts.

[0121] At 330, the AN 304 may send an aiot-group-trigger-initiate response to the AMF 306. The aiot-group-trigger-initiate response 330cmay indicate success or failure of a corresponding request. The aiot-group-trigger-initiate response 330 may comprise the aloT group triggering session identifier corresponding to a successful initiation of the aloT group triggering session instance. If the aiot-group-trigger-initiate request 328 was rejected, the aiot-group-trigger-initiate response 330 may comprise a failure reason. The AMF 306 may store the information obtained via the response for future AN 304 communication associated with the aloT group triggering session.

[0122] At 332, if the AF 312 has subscribed for monitoring AMF 306 events through NEF 310 event exposure, the AMF 306 may send an aiot-group-trigger-initiate-event notification to the AF 312. The aiot-group-trigger-initiate-event notification 332 may comprise the aloT external group identifier. In examples, the AMF 306 may determine the external aloT group identifier based on the internal aloT group identifier and / or information received from the UDM / UDR. The aiot- group-trigger-initiate-event notification 332 may comprise the indication of success or failure of aloT group triggering initiation, the determined triggering pattern information, and / or the aloT group triggering session identifier. The AF 312 may store the information comprised in the aiot- group-trigger-initiate-event notification 332. The information may be utilized for estimating future aloT group triggering requests.

[0123] If the aloT group triggering initiation was successful, the AN 304 may perform the aloT group triggering. Periodic aloT group triggering may be described herein.

[0124] At 334, upon completion of the aloT group triggering , the AN 304 sends an aiot-group- trigger-complete notification to the AMF 306. The aiot-group-trigger-complete notification 334 may include information related to the aloT group triggering session. For example, the aiot- group-trigger-complete notification 334 may comprise the indication of success or failure of the aloT group triggering information, the aloT group triggering session identifier, the internal aloT group identifier, the final triggering pattern information if it was modified, and / or statistical characteristics resulting from the aloT group triggering. In examples, the statistical characteristics may include the overall number of aloT device(s) that responded to the group triggering, the number of aloT device(s) that responded in each period of the group triggering, the number of aloT device transmission collisions detected, the total duration of the group triggering, and / or the period duration of the group triggering. The statistical information may be utilized for estimating future group triggering requests. The statistical information may be storedby the AMF 306 and / or sent to the AF 312. Information about the success or failure of the aloT group triggering procedure may comprise the number of triggering transmission operations from the AN 304 and / or the number of acknowledgements that were received by the AN 304.

[0125] At 336, if the AF 312 has subscribed for monitoring AMF 306 events via NEF 310 event exposure, the AMF 306 may send an aiot-group-trigger-complete-event notification to the AF 312. The aiot-group-trigger-complete-event notification 336 may comprise the aloT group triggering session identifier and / or the aloT external group identifier. In examples, the AMF 306 may determine the external aloT group identifier based on the internal aloT group identifier. The aiot-group-trigger-complete-event notification 336 may comprise the indication of success or failure for aloT group triggering, the final triggering pattern information, and / or statistical characteristics resulting from the aloT group triggering. The AF 312 may store information obtained via the aiot-group-trigger-complete-event notification 336. The AF 312 may estimate future aloT group triggering requests based on the stored information obtained via the notification.

[0126] Group triggering may be initiated via an aloT group triggering request. Described herein may be how an AFmay trigger communication with a group of aloT device(s) (e.g., via a 5G system), assuming that the aloT group has been pre-provisioned. An AF may request (e.g., via the NEF) for an AMF to trigger a group of aloT device(s). The AMF may determine parameters related to the aloT group based on the triggering request. The AMF may determine whether the triggering request can be executed. The AMF may inform the AF of the triggering determination, and may request for the AN to trigger the aloT device group.

[0127] FIG. 4 illustrates an example aloT group triggering initiation 400 via aloT group triggering request by an AF 412. An aloT group may be provisioned, as described herein. For example, aloT group provisioning may be performed, at 414, according to a procedure described herein (e.g., as shown in FIG. 3). An aloT group triggering indication may indicate to perform, or not perform, immediate aloT group triggering.

[0128] At 416, the AF 412 may send an aiot-group-triggering request to the NEF 410, for example, to initiate aloT group triggering. The aiot-group-triggering request 416 may comprise the external aloT group identifier. The external aloT group identifier may be used by the AMF 406 to retrieve aloT group parameters from the UDR (e.g., via the UDM 408). The AF 412 may send the aiot-group-triggering request 416 targeting multiple AMFs 406 based on the geographical, topological, and / or contextual (e.g., environmental context) information defined in the aloT group provisioning information. The request may include an aloT group triggering session identifier determined by the AF 412 or assigned by the UDM / UDR.

[0129] The NEF 410 may verify that the AF 412 is authorized to request aloT group triggering. At 418, if the AF 412 is authorized, the NEF 410 may send an aloT-group-triggering request to the AMF 406 to initiate the aloT group triggering. If the AF 412 is determined to be unauthorized, the NEF 410 may indicate that the AF 412 is not authorized, and may provide a failure reason. The NEF 410 may determine which AMF(s) 406 the aloT-group-triggering request 418 should be sent to based on, for example, location information provided by the AF 412 and / or information that is provisioned in the NEF 410. If the determination of which AMF(s) 406 to send an aloT-group-triggering request 418 is based on information that is provisioned in the AMF 406, the provisioned information may be, for example, a mapping between the AF 412 identifier and the location where devices that are associated with the 412 AF reside.

[0130] At 420, the AMF 406 may send an aloT-group-parameter-retrieve request to the UDM 408, including the aloT external group identifier to retrieve the aloT group parameters from the UDR. Not shown on the figure, the UDM 408 may access the UDR to retrieve the aloT group parameters.

[0131] At 422, the UDM 408 may send an aloT-group-parameter-retrieve response to the AMF 406. The aloT-group-parameter-retrieve response 422 may indicate the success or failure of the corresponding request. In examples, a successful aloT-group-parameter-retrieve response(s) 422 may comprise the aloT group parameters that were provisioned in the UDR by the AF. The aloT-group-parameter-retrieve response 422 may comprise a failure reason, for example if the aloT external group identifier was not found.

[0132] At 424, the AMF 406 may send an aloT-group-triggering response to the NEF 410. The aloT-group-triggering response 424 may indicate the success or failure of the corresponding request. The aloT-group-triggering response 424 may provide a failure reason. The aloT-group- triggering response 424 may comprise the aloT group triggering session identifier.

[0133] At 426, the NEF 410 may send an aloT-group-triggering response to the AF 412. The aloT-group-triggering response 426 may indicate the success or failure of the corresponding request and may provide a failure reason. The aloT-group-triggering response 426 may comprise the aloT group triggering session identifier.

[0134] The AMF 406 may interact with the AN 404 to initiate the aloT group triggering. The AMF 406 may report the status of such operation to the AF 412.

[0135] A group triggering session may be executed. An AN 404 may trigger communication with a group of aloT devices 402. The aloT device(s) 402 may not have UAC capability. The aloT group members may be unknown. The group size may be unknown.

[0136] FIG. 5 illustrates an example aloT periodic group triggering 500. The aloT energization source, aloT transmitter, and aloT receiver may be co-located in a single device, or may be located in a number of device entities {e.g., all separately, some separately). The aloT energization source, aloT transmitter, and aloT receiver may be part of the network, or may be independent functions. If any or all of the aloT energization source, aloT transmitter, and aloT receiver are independent functions, those functions may be accessed by the network.

[0137] The aloT energization source may provide energy to an aloT device. In examples, the aloT device may not have energy storage capabilities. The energization may come in various forms (e.g., radio signal, light beam, etc.). The aloT device may utilize the harvested energy to perform processing and / or communicate with the network.

[0138] The aloT transmitter may send commands to aloT devices. In examples, it may be necessary to energize the devices and then (e.g., only then) transmit a command. In such examples, the sequence may be necessary to ensure that the aloT device is energized when receiving a command. In examples, an aloT device may harvest enough energy from the transmitted command to perform processing and / or respond to the command. In such examples, the aloT device(s) may be backscattering devices. The backscattering devices may reflect and / or add information to the reflected signal.

[0139] The aloT receiver may decipher response information coming from aloT devices. The message received by the aloT receiver may be a discrete message. The discrete message may have been generated by the aloT device. The discrete message may be a reflected signal (e.g., the transmitted command) with additional information added.

[0140] A receiver may decipher one single device response at a time, and / or decipher responses from multiple devices concurrently. This capability may be based on the receiver technology. Receiver capabilities for detecting such device responses may have a limit. In examples, the aloT devices may have power constraints and / or be of low complexity. In such examples, the limit of receiver capabilities may be rather low due to the power constraints and / or low complexity. The ciphering and / or deciphering may be based on small-footprint cryptographical algorithms. Cryptographic hashes may be less resource-demanding (e.g., processing and power) than encryption algorithms, and may be advantageous for aloT devices.

[0141] In examples, the aloT energization source, the aloT transmitter, and the aloT receiver may be functions of the network, and / or functionalities that can be employed by the network. In examples, the aloT receiver may have limited power, reception, and / or processing capabilities. In such examples, communicating with the group may result in congestion at the receiver and / or messages that cannot be deciphered correctly.

[0142] Periodic group triggering may be provided. A broadcast aloT command may be sent by an aloT transmitter. The broadcast aloT command may be received by a number of aloT device(s) (e.g., all of the aloT devices). The aloT device(s) may determine whether to respond to the received command. The aloT device(s) may respond to the received command. The broadcast aloT command may include a group identifier. The group identifier may be configured on the aloT device(s). The aloT device(s) may determine if the received command should be processed based on the group identifier. The group identifier may be pre-provisioned on the aloT device (e.g., SKU or UPC code). The group identifier may be dynamically provisioned to the aloT device(s) of a group prior to group triggering.

[0143] The aloT devices may respond in a coordinated manner such that congestion is avoided at the receiver. An aloT triggering session identifier and / or transmission period information may be provided to the aloT device(s). The triggering session identifier and / or transmission period information may be utilized for coordination of communication. The aloT triggering session identifier and / or transmission period information may be provided as part of an aloT broadcast command.

[0144] The transmission period information may include a number (e.g., total) of aloT transmission periods, the number of aloT commands sent per period, the current period associated with an aloT broadcast command, and / or a command within a transmission period (e.g., a current command). The aloT triggering session identifier, the current period, and / or the current command may be utilized to identify a transmission opportunity for the aloT device(s).

[0145] The aloT device(s) may randomly determine a transmission period and / or an aloT broadcast command within the selected period. The aloT device may randomly determine based on, for example, the number of aloT transmission periods and / or the number of aloT commands sent per period. Additional values may be provisioned to the aloT device(s) to obtain an appropriate distribution over the transmission periods and / or broadcast commands for responding. For example, the additional value may be a distribution factor (e.g., a percentile value) that may be randomly assigned to an aloT device. The additional value may be utilized when determining a transmission period and / or broadcast command. For example, the group may be dynamically assigned to the aloT device. If the group is dynamically assigned to the aloT device, the distribution factor may be assigned by the network in a group assignment command.

[0146] Periodic group triggering session by the access network may be described herein. An AMF may request for an AN to trigger a communication session for a group of aloT devices. The AN may determine how to distribute, if at all, aloT device responses within acommunication session to avoid network congestion. The aloT device(s) may determine group membership, a random transmission period identifier, and / or a random broadcast command identifier within that period. The aloT device(s) may monitor broadcast commands and may transmit a result when the transmission period identifier matches the determined random transmission period identifier. Described herein may be aspects related to unknown group size and / or error cases related to collisions and / or congestion on the network.

[0147] FIG. 6A and 6B illustrate an example aloT periodic group triggering 600. At 612, the AMF 606 may send an aiot-group-trigger-initiate request to the AN 604, for example, for initiating the triggering of the aloT group. The aiot-group-trigger-initiate request may indicate an aloT group command identifier. In examples, the aiot-group-trigger-initiate request sent at 612 may be implemented as described herein (e.g., such as in FIG. 3 and / or FIG. 4).

[0148] At 614, the AN 604 may send an aiot-group-trigger-initiate response to the AMF 606. The aiot-group-trigger-initiate response may indicate the success or failure of the corresponding request (e.g., such as the aiot-group-trigger-initiate request sent at 612). For example, the aiot- group-trigger-initiate response may indicate whether the aiot-group-trigger-initiate request sent at 612 was successful. If the aiot-group-trigger-initiate request sent at 612 was successful, the aiot-group-trigger-initiate response may comprise an aloT group triggering session identifier corresponding to a successful initiation of an aloT group triggering session. If the aiot-group- trigger-initiate request sent at 612 was rejected, the aiot-group-trigger-initiate response may comprise a failure reason.

[0149] At 616, the AN 604 may determine group triggering pattern information. The determined triggering pattern may comprise determining a number (e.g., total) of aloT transmission periods, the number of aloT commands sent per period, the duration of transmission periods, and / or the duration (e.g., total duration) of the group triggering. The determination may be based on guidance information received in the request 612. In examples, the determination may be based on the triggering pattern guidance information received in the request. In examples, the number of triggering periods and / or the triggering period duration may be determined based on the aloT group size estimation, the aloT group triggering duration estimation, the aloT number of triggering period estimation, the aloT group triggering period duration estimation, and / or other characteristics (e.g., aloT device characteristics). Alternatively or additionally, the AN 604 may consider the aloT receiver capabilities. For example, the AN 604 may consider if an aloT receiver has the capability to handle several concurrent incoming messages or a single message at a time.

[0150] At 618, the AN 604 may broadcast a command request {e.g., a first aloT-group-periodic- broadcast-command request) of the aloT group periodic broadcast. For example, one or more aloT devices (e.g., such as the aloT device 602) may receive the command request of the aloT group periodic broadcast from the AN 604. The aloT device 602 may be a WTRU (e.g., such as the WTRU 102 shown in FIGs. 1A-1 D). The command request may comprise an aloT external group identifier, one or more aloT group trigger values, an aloT group triggering session identifier, and / or the aloT group command identifier (e.g., obtained at 612). The command request may indicate that this is the first period of the group periodic triggering (e.g., period 0). The command request may indicate that a command is the first broadcast command for the period (e.g., command 0). The command request may comprise assistance information such as the total number of periods, the number of broadcast commands per period, the duration of each broadcast command, and / or the overall duration of the group triggering. The overall duration may be utilized to stop listening for commands after the period is completed. In examples, the overall duration may be used for planning power consumption. In examples, the overall duration of the group triggering may correspond to the number of periods multiplied by the period duration (e.g., when all periods are consecutive). In examples, the overall duration may be longer than the number of periods multiplied by the period duration (e.g., if the network plans to allow periods of communication that are not for group triggering).

[0151] The aloT device 602 may determine, at 620, group membership, for example, upon receiving the broadcast command. For example, the aloT device 602 may determine, at 620, based on the command request, that the aloT device 602 is a member of an aloT group that has been triggered by the command request. Group membership may be determined, for example the aloT device 602 may determine that the aloT device 602 is a member of the aloT group that has been triggered by the command request, based on the aloT group identifier and / or the aloT group trigger values. For example, the aloT device 602 may compare the aloT external group identifier and / or the aloT group trigger value(s) included in the broadcast command with the corresponding local values at the aloT device 602. In examples, the local values at the aloT device 602 may include a pre-provisioned SKU or UPC. Additionally or alternatively, the local values at the aloT device 602 may have been assigned to group members at a dynamic group assignment.

[0152] At 622, if the aloT device 602 determines that it is not part of the aloT group that has been triggered, the aloT device 602 may stop processing commands associated with the group triggering session.

[0153] At 624, if the aloT device 602 determines that is part of the aloT group that has been triggered, the aloT device 602 may determine a second transmission period (e.g., random broadcast period) identifier (e.g., period-X) and / or a second (e.g., random) broadcast command identifier within the determined period (e.g., command-Y). The random determination may be based on a distribution factor. For example, the second transmission period identifier and the second broadcast command identifier may be determined based on a distribution factor assigned to the WTRU. In examples, the distribution factor may be pre-provisioned and / or configured on the aloT device 602 at group assignment or dynamically assigned to the aloT device 602. The aloT device 602 may perform an aloT command indicated by the command request. For example, the aloT command may be indicated by the aloT group command identifier. The aloT command may include retrieving a unique identifier or determining a measurement value. Based on the aloT command, the aloT device 602 may retrieve its unique identifier for inventorying and / or determine the measurement value. The aloT command may be executed once, may be executed after receiving a broadcast command request (e.g., an aloT- group-periodic-broadcast-command request) (e.g., period 0, command 0), or executed at the determined random period (e.g., period X, command-Y). The aloT device(s) (e.g., such as the aloT device 602) may monitor the current period identifier and / or broadcast command identifier. The aloT device(s) (e.g., such as the aloT device 602) may determine whether to transmit a response to the broadcast command request.

[0154] The distribution factor may be a value used by an aloT device (e.g., such as the aloT device 602) to determine a random value. The distribution factor may be a value that is unique to a single aloT device (e.g., such as the AloT device 602). The distribution factor may reduce a possibility of a collision (e.g., between two or more devices) when determining a random value. For example, a distribution factor may allow several devices to determine a random transmission period and the use of the distribution factor may result in increased likelihood of different aloT devices determining different transmission periods. The distribution factor may be a value pre-configured on an aloT device (e.g., such as the aloT device 602) or may be a value configured via a message. For example, a pre-configured distribution factor may be based on the unique identifier of an aloT device (e.g., such as the aloT device 602), and the aloT device may use the unique identifier to derive a percentile value (e.g., a number between 1 and 100). The percentile value may be used by the aloT device in combination with the total number of transmission periods and / or the total number of broadcast command per period to determine a random transmission period and a random transmission command within that period. The benefits of having a pre-configured distribution factor may include reduced communication(s)with the aloT devices (e.g., limits complexity) but may increase a likelihood of a collision between devices when determining random values.

[0155] For example, a distribution factor that is configured via a message may be a value (e.g., a percentile value) that is provided to an aloT device (e.g., such as the aloT device 602) via a message and that can be used by the aloT device when determining random values (e.g., as described in the previous example). The benefits of providing a distribution factor via a message may include eliminating and / or preventing a likelihood of a collision between devices, for example, due to the network adapting distribution factor according to the total number of transmission periods and / or commander per period - but may complicate the system, for example, since a message needs to be sent to one or more (e.g., every) aloT device to provide the unique distribution factor, and in some applications (e.g., inventory) the aloT devices may not be known.

[0156] In examples, the AN 604 may send several aloT broadcast command requests for each transmission period according to a determined triggering pattern. For example, the aloT device 602 may receive a plurality of broadcast command requests from the network at a plurality of transmission periods (e.g., according to a triggering pattern). The AN 604 may increment the broadcast command identifier for each broadcast command request sent within a period. The AN 604 may change the transmission period identifier, for example if the AN 604 reaches the maximum number of broadcast commands within a transmission period.

[0157] In examples, several ANs may execute the same aloT group triggering session. In such examples, there may be overlap between ANs. If there is overlap between ANs, aloT device(s) (e.g., such as the aloT device 602) may be triggered by one or more of the ANs. The aloT device 602 may respond several times during an aloT group triggering session based on being triggered by one or more ANs, the aloT device 602 may consider the aloT group triggering session identifier provided in the aloT broadcast command and / or the AN 604 associated with the command request received at 618. The aloT device may select a triggering AN (e.g., only one) (e.g., such as the AN 604) to respond to. Considering the aloT group triggering session identifier an AN 604 may allow the aloT device 602 to respond to a single AN (e.g., such as the AN 604) in an aloT group triggering session.

[0158] At 626, the aloT device(s) (e.g., such as the aloT device 602) may receive a plurality of broadcast command requests from the AN 604. The aloT device(s) (e.g., such as the aloT device 602) may determine to respond to a broadcast command request f the plurality of broadcast command requests (e.g., a second aloT-group-periodic-broadcast-command request). The aloT device 602 may determine to respond if the transmission period identifierreceived in the broadcast command request matches the transmission period identifier determined by the aloT device 602 (e.g., period-X), and / or if the broadcast command identifier matches the broadcast command identifier determined by the aloT device(s) (e.g., such as the aloT device 602) (e.g., command- Y). If several ANs execute the same aloT group triggering session, the aloT device(s) (e.g., such as the aloT device 602) may consider responding to the AN 604 selected at 624. If an AN was not selected at 624, and there is an overlap between triggering ANs, the aloT device 602 may consider the aloT group triggering session identifier provided in the broadcast command request. In examples, for a given aloT group triggering session identifier, the aloT device 602 may respond once (e.g., only once). For example, the aloT device 602 may respond to the first triggering AN 604 for a given aloT group triggering session identifier.

[0159] At 628, the aloT device 602 may send a command response message (e.g., an aiot- group-periodic-broadcast-command response) to the AN 604 in response to the broadcast command request received at 626. The command response message may be sent at 628 based on the broadcast command request being received in the transmission period that matches the transmission period identifier determined by the aloT device 602 and / or the broadcast command request including a broadcast command identifier that matches the broadcast command identifier determined by the aloT device(s). The command response message may include the information determined based on the broadcast command identifier included in the broadcast command request (e.g., the second aloT-group-periodic-broadcast- command request) received at 626. For example, the command response may include the unique identifier, or the measurement value determined based on the broadcast command request.

[0160] At 630, the AN 604 may send an aiot-group-periodic-trigger-data notification to the AMF 606. The aiot-group-periodic-trigger-data notification may include the information received, at 628, in the aloT device response (e.g., the command response message) . Additionally, the notification 630 may include information related to the transmission period (e.g., period-X) and to the broadcast command (e.g., command- Y). Additionally, the aiot-group-periodic-trigger-data notification 630 may include the internal aloT group identifier and the aloT group triggering session identifier sent to the AMF 606 in 614 which may be used by the AMF 606 to identify the proper AF 610 and group triggering session.

[0161] At 632, if the AF 610 subscribed for monitoring AMF 606 events via NEF 608 event exposure, the AMF 606 may send, at 632, an aiot-group-periodic-data-event notification to the AF 610. The aiot-group-periodic-data-event notification, received at 632, may comprise the aloTexternal group identifier (e.g., the AMF may determine the external aloT group identifier based on the internal aloT group identifier), the received aloT data originating from the group triggering, and may include information about the ongoing periodic triggering session, such as the group triggering session identifier, the transmission period identifier and the broadcast command identifier corresponding to the aloT device received data.

[0162] At 634 and 636 of FIG. 6b, the AN 604 may complete the aloT group triggering session and indicate the final session statistics to the AMF 606 and / or to the AF 610. In examples, 634 and 636 of FIG. 6b may be implemented as described in FIG. 3.

[0163] Capabilities for accumulating aloT device group responses may be described herein. It may be appreciated that the AN 604 and / or AMF 606 may have the capabilities to store the aloT device command responses received during a group triggering session for further processing. As such, at 630 and 632, the AN 604 and / or the AMF 606 may be configured to send a data event notification to the AF 610. The event notification may be sent based on responses received from an aloT device 602 (e.g., sent for every response received). In examples, the AN 604and / or the AMF 606 may be configured to accumulate data received from aloT device(s) (e.g., such as the aloT device 602) for each period, and send accumulated responses (e.g., send one or more message containing accumulated responses) received during the transmission period to the AF 610. The AN 604 and / or the AMF 606 may be configured to accumulate the data received from each aloT device for the whole aloT triggering session and then send the accumulated command responses (e.g., send one or more message containing accumulated responses) to the AF 610.

[0164] Capabilities for early termination and / or re-starting a group triggering session may be described herein. It may be appreciated that the AN 604 may have capabilities to detect communication anomalies that may happen during an aloT group triggering session and may have capabilities to end and / or re-start the aloT group triggering session. In an example, the AN 604 may decide to prematurely terminate an aloT group triggering session if it has not received any response from any aloT device 602 for several periods (e.g., based on configuration). The AN 604 may stop sending aloT broadcast command requests and may continue execution at 634, indicating early termination. The early termination may be reflected in the aloT group triggering session statistics.

[0165] In examples, the AN 604 may decide to restart the aloT group triggering session if too much congestion and / or too many collisions are detected at an aloT receiver, and / or if too few responses are received in each period. The AN 604 may choose to re-evaluate the triggeringpattern (e.g., adding or reducing the number of periods or broadcast commands per period at 616 and restarting the session (e.g., period-0, command-0)).

Claims

CLAIMS:What is claimed is:

1. A wireless transmit / receive unit (WTRU) comprising: a processor configured to: receive a command request from a network, the command request comprising one or more of an ambient internet of things (aloT) group triggering session identifier, an aloT group identifier, an aloT group command identifier, a first transmission period identifier, a first broadcast command identifier, a total number of periods, or a number of broadcast commands per period; determine, based on the command request, that the WTRU is a member of an aloT group that has been triggered by the command request; determine a second transmission period identifier for a second transmission period associated with the aloT group and a second broadcast command identifier associated with the second transmission period; receive a plurality of broadcast command requests from the network at a plurality of transmission periods according to a triggering pattern; and send a command response message in response to a broadcast command request of the plurality of broadcast command requests based on the broadcast command request being received in the second transmission period and the broadcast command request comprising the second broadcast command identifier.

2. The WTRU of claim 1 , wherein the command request further comprises one or more of an aloT group trigger value, a duration of each broadcast command, or an overall duration of the group triggering.

3. The WTRU of claim 2, wherein the aloT group trigger value is common between devices in the aloT group.

4. The WTRU of claim 2, wherein the processor is further configured to determine that the aloT group has been triggered by comparing the aloT group identifier or the aloT group trigger value in the command request with corresponding values at the WTRU.

5. The WTRU of claim 4, wherein the processor is configured to determine that the WTRU is a member of the aloT group that has been triggered by the command request based on one or more of the aloT group identifier or the aloT group trigger values.

6. The WTRU of claim 1, wherein the second transmission period identifier and the second broadcast command identifier are determined based on a distribution factor assigned to the WTRU.

7. The WTRU of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to perform an aloT command indicated by the command request.

8. The WTRU of claim 7, wherein the aloT command comprises retrieving a unique identifier or determining a measurement value.

9. The WTRU of claim 8, wherein the command response message comprises the unique identifier or the measurement value determined based on the broadcast command request.

10. The WTRU of claim 9, wherein the processor is configured to determine to send the command response message based on one or more of the received transmission period identifiers, the transmission period identifier at the WTRU, or the received broadcast command identifier, the broadcast command identifier at the WTRU.

11. A method implemented in a wireless transmit / receive unit (WTRU), the method comprising: receiving a command request from a network, the command request comprising one or more of an ambient internet of things (aloT) group triggering session identifier, an aloT group identifier, an aloT group command identifier, a first transmission period identifier, a first broadcast command identifier, a total number of periods, or a number of broadcast commands per period; determining, based on the command request, that the WTRU is a member of an aloT group that has been triggered by the command request; determining a second transmission period identifier for a second transmission period associated with the aloT group and a second broadcast command identifier associated with the second transmission period;receiving a plurality of broadcast command requests from the network at a plurality of transmission periods according to a triggering pattern; and sending a command response message in response to a broadcast command request of the plurality of broadcast command requests based on the broadcast command request being received in the second transmission period and the broadcast command request comprising the second broadcast command identifier.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the command request further comprises one or more of an aloT group trigger value, a duration of each broadcast command, or an overall duration of the group triggering.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the aloT group trigger value is common between devices in the aloT group.

14. The method of claim 12, further comprising determining if the aloT group has been triggered by comparing the aloT group identifier or the aloT group trigger value in the command request with corresponding values at the WTRU.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising determining that the WTRU is a member of the aloT group that has been triggered by the command request based on one or more of the aloT group identifier or the aloT group trigger values.

16. The method of claim 11 , wherein the second transmission period identifier and the second broadcast command identifier are determined based on a distribution factor assigned to the WTRU.

17. The method of claim 11 , further comprising performing an aloT command indicated by the command request.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the aloT command comprises retrieving a unique identifier or determining a measurement value.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the command response message comprises the unique identifier or the measurement value determined based on the broadcast command request.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising determining to send the command response message based on one or more of the received transmission period identifiers, the transmission period identifier at the WTRU, the received broadcast command identifier, or the broadcast command identifier at the WTRU.

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