Dynamic access control of at least one communication terminal to the satellite communication resources of a constellation of orbiting satellites

Abstract

Dynamic access control of at least one communication terminal to the satellite communication resources of a low-Earth satellite constellation. The present invention relates to a method (36) for dynamically controlling access of a terminal to the satellite resources of a low-Earth satellite constellation, comprising the following steps, for a predetermined mission: - prior geolocated planning (38) of the allocation partition of all satellite resources according to a geolocated need associated with said mission, and the predetermined path of each satellite; - dynamic access control (44) of said terminal to said satellite resources by applying, at each predetermined time of said mission, the following substeps: - identification and location (48) of said terminal; - determination (50) of the nature of the service required from said terminal;- routing of said terminal to a piece of said partition according to said identification, said location and said nature of service. Figure for the abbreviation: Figure 2;

Description

Title of the invention: Dynamic access control of at least one communication terminal to the satellite communication resources of a constellation of orbiting satellites

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for dynamically controlling access of at least one communication terminal to the satellite communication resources of a constellation of orbiting satellites.

[0002] The present invention also relates to a computer program comprising software instructions which, when executed by a computer, implement such a method of dynamically controlling access of at least one communication terminal to the satellite communication resources of a constellation of orbiting satellites.

[0003] The present invention also relates to a manager configured to implement such a method of dynamic access control of at least one communication terminal to the satellite communication resources of a constellation of orbiting satellites.

[0004] The present invention also relates to a communication system comprising such a manager, a constellation of orbiting satellites, at least one communication terminal, at least one ground anchoring station.

[0005] The invention relates more particularly to the field of satellite communications (satcom) in particular with a view to an application of the future standard for non-terrestrial networks 3GPP (Third Generation Partnership Project).

[0006] The new satellite constellations as well as the high-throughput geostationary HTS (High Throughput Satellite) satellites offer global or multispot coverage, each spot typically being a circle or an ellipse of 100 to 500 km in diameter, multispot coverage covering one or more continents, or even the whole globe.

[0007] In the case of government uses, the acquisition and operating costs of such constellations are so high that it is not feasible for them to be borne by a single country. Therefore, efforts are made to share such satcom capacity among a plurality of operators, each covering different or overlapping areas of interest. Furthermore, in such a context of government communications, it is sometimes necessary, for communications that require it, to guarantee sovereignty between the areas of interest and a sovereign anchor geographically present within the country.

[0008] Currently, the main techniques known to allow a plurality of operators (governmental or non-governmental) to share a capacity are associated with the 3GPP standards, in particular chapter 4 of the 3GPP TS 28.530 standard or the 3GPP TS 23.247 standard, respectively relating to the ability to partition all radio and core network resources to offer a virtual infrastructure with means of orchestration and management of each partition (i.e. piece or slice) on the definition of zones associated with a communication group specific to receiving broadcast messages.

[0009] However, these current techniques are not suitable for taking into account the constraint associated with the field of protected communications using satellites in non-geostationary orbit, such as low earth orbit (LEO) or medium earth orbit (MEO).

[0010] Indeed, for such communications under a moving constellation, the coverage is no longer global, but regional under each of the satellites which are no longer "fixed" (i.e. geostationary) but move through space.

[0011] While some brief communications can be made via the same orbiting satellite, in general, communications must be relayed between satellites when the transmitter and receiver are not, or are no longer, covered by the same satellite. This is because terrestrial communication networks are fixed (i.e., anchored), and anchor stations are not constantly moving to ensure continuous communication with the same satellite.

[0012] In the context of protected communications, the relaying of communications is therefore expressed in a relaying of the radio frequency signal between satellites.

[0013] For such communications using satellites in non-geostationary orbit, the partitioning of all communication resources by satellites is generally global over the whole constellation by sharing, according to a static plan, the network resources in several predefined virtualized networks, for example by applying a predetermined rule of quality of service QoS (Quality Of Service) statically distributing, for example, 30% of the resources to a first operator and 70% to a second operator.

[0014] Such a global slice across the constellation is not optimal because it is static, non-scalable, and resource-intensive. Furthermore, it may not be fully utilized. Such a global slice is also unsuitable for taking into account the location of anchors and users, and the capacity associated with the localized geographic coverage needs of user terminals.

[0015] Furthermore, such a global partition (ie slice) is unsuitable for addressing issues such as the governance of physical resources and the optimization of traffic engineering.

[0016] The aim of the invention is therefore to propose a solution for partitioning all the satellite communication resources of a constellation of orbiting satellites in order to overcome the disadvantages of the aforementioned prior art.

[0017] To this end, the invention relates to a method for dynamically controlling access of at least one communication terminal to the satellite communication resources of a constellation of orbiting satellites, the method comprising the following steps, for at least one predetermined communication mission:

[0018] - geolocated planning, prior to said mission, of the allocation partition of all the satellite communication resources of said constellation of orbiting satellites according to a geolocated need, associated with said mission, and the predetermined orbit of each orbiting satellite of said constellation;

[0019] - dynamic access control of said at least one communication terminal to said satellite communication resources of said constellation of orbiting satellites by applying, at each predetermined instant of a plurality of predetermined instants of said mission, the following sub-steps:

[0020] - identification and geographical location of said at least one terminal requiring a access audited satellite communication resources of said constellation of orbiting satellites;

[0021] - determination of the nature of the communication service required by said at least a terminal requiring access to said satellite communication resources;

[0022] - routing of said at least one terminal to a piece of said partition responding the need for communication of said at least one terminal, said need being defined at least according to said identification, said geographical location and said nature of service.

[0023] Thus, the present invention proposes a dynamic access control based on the identification, location and nature of the service required, which advantageously allows for the dynamic consideration of the specific aspects and needs associated with the prior implementation of a geolocated planning providing a geolocated partition (associated with the English notion of "geofencing") allowing for a physical partition on one or more defined zones, unlike the aforementioned global partition which is unsuitable for taking into account a geolocated need based on the location of anchors and users.

[0024] Such dynamic access control according to the present invention makes it possible to manage the concept of a geographical zone to ensure differentiated planning according to location. This results in non-uniform resource planning based on the zone. to cover and the use made of it, taking into account the location and nature of the service in access control.

[0025] The partition provided according to the present invention is thus finely adapted directly to the geolocated need. This results in a dynamic orchestration capable of guaranteeing access control to a geolocated spatial resource (and not one defined globally as is done according to the current state of the art). Such orchestration allows, for example, a user terminal located in a territory such as France to have preferential access to satellite communication services that are themselves also located above French territory, unless the service required is sovereign by its nature. In that case, a user terminal linked to a country other than France but located in France can, according to the present invention, be judiciously routed to a suitable anchor point that will guarantee the required sovereignty, as described in more detail below.

[0026] According to other advantageous aspects of the invention, the method for dynamically controlling access of at least one communication terminal to the satellite communication resources of a constellation of orbiting satellites comprises one or more of the following features, taken individually or in any technically possible combination:

[0027] - said geolocated planning of the partition of the allocation of all the satellite communication resources of said low-Earth satellite constellation include the geographical sharing of three distinct types of space resources per low-Earth satellite, said three types corresponding to:

[0028] - space resources associated with communication links between said satellite scrolling and at least one communication terminal;

[0029] - space resources associated with communication links between said satellite scrolling and at least one ground anchoring station;

[0030] - spatial resources associated with inter-satellite communication links between said satellite in orbit and at least one other satellite of said constellation;

[0031] said geographical sharing consisting of distributing, in advance, each of the three types of space resources according to the geographical coverage of said orbiting satellite, at each predetermined instant of said plurality of predetermined instants of said mission;

[0032] - said geographical sharing is further associated, for each type of resource spatial, to the reservation of a buffer capacity dedicated to the inter-satellite management of the slippage of the coverage area, provided by the orbiting satellite, between a current predetermined instant of said mission and a following predetermined instant of said plurality of predetermined instants of said mission;

[0033] - the method further comprises the prediction of the mobility vector of said terminal and its taken into account during said routing;

[0034] - the method further comprises determining the density and / or traffic of communication terminals requiring access, and taking into account this density and / or traffic in the planning and / or dynamic access control stage;

[0035] - said determination uses a predetermined ARIMA model;

[0036] - said routing is routing according to one of the following three types:

[0037] - routing of said at least one terminal to a ground anchoring station whose location is imposed by the said nature of service;

[0038] - routing said at least one terminal to the nearest ground anchoring station;

[0039] - routing to at least one spatial resource, associated with the links of inter-satellite communication between said orbiting satellite and at least one other satellite of said constellation, and imposed by said nature of service.

[0040] The invention also relates to a computer program comprising software instructions which, when executed by a computer, implement a method for dynamically controlling access of at least one communication terminal to the satellite communication resources of a constellation of orbiting satellites as defined above.

[0041] The invention also relates to a manager, also referred to as an orchestrator hereafter, configured to implement the aforementioned process.

[0042] The invention also relates to a communication system comprising such a manager, a constellation of orbiting satellites, at least one communication terminal, at least one ground anchoring station.

[0043] The invention will become clearer upon reading the following description, given solely by way of non-limiting example, and made with reference to the drawings in which:

[0044] - [Fig.1] [Fig.1] is a schematic view of a manager according to the invention;

[0045] - [Fig.2] [Fig.2] is a flowchart of a dynamic access control process of at least one communication terminal to the satellite communication resources of a constellation of orbiting satellites, according to the invention. The configuration method is implemented by the manager of the [Fig. 1];

[0046] - [Fig.3] [Fig.3] illustrates an example of geolocated access control implemented according to the present invention;

[0047] - [Fig.4] [Fig.4] illustrates how the constellation of orbiting satellites anticipates the geolocated partition used according to the present invention to provide dynamic access control to at least one communication terminal.

[0048] The manager 10, also called the orchestrator, according to the invention is illustrated in [Fig. 1]. As can be seen in this figure, the manager 10 comprises firstly a planning module 12 configured to implement a geolocated planning, prior to said mission, of the partition of the allocation of all the satellite communication resources of said constellation of orbiting satellites according to a geolocated need, associated with said mission, and the predetermined orbit of each orbiting satellite of said constellation.

[0049] Furthermore, the orchestrator 10 according to the present invention also includes a dynamic access control module 14 configured to provide dynamic access control of said at least one communication terminal to said satellite communication resources of said constellation of orbiting satellites.

[0050] To do this, the dynamic access control module 14 includes at least the various tools 16, 18 and 20.

[0051] Tool 16 (or submodule 16) is an identification and location tool configured to geographically identify and locate said at least one terminal requesting access to said satellite communication resources of said constellation of orbiting satellites.

[0052] Tool 18 (or sub-module 18) is a determination tool configured to determine the nature of the communication service required by said at least one terminal requesting access to said satellite communication resources.

[0053] Tool 20 (or sub-module 20) is a routing tool configured to route said at least one terminal to a piece of said partition meeting the communication need of said at least one terminal, said need being defined at least according to said identification, said geographical location and said nature of service.

[0054] Each of these modules / tools and, where applicable, their implementation options are detailed below.

[0055] As an optional addition, the geolocated planning module 12 for partitioning the allocation of all satellite communication resources of said low-Earth satellite constellation includes a sharing tool 22 configured to geographically share the three distinct types of space resources per low-Earth satellite, said three types corresponding to:

[0056] - space resources associated with communication links between said satellite scrolling and at least one communication terminal (in English these resources are known as User Link because they are associated with the user's location);

[0057] - space resources associated with communication links between said satellite scrolling and at least one ground anchor station (in English these resources are known as Feeder Link because they are associated with the location of the anchor station);

[0058] - spatial resources associated with inter-satellite communication links between said satellite in orbit and at least one other satellite of said constellation, in other words, associated with the position of the satellites (in English these resources are known via the acronym ISL for Inter-satellite Links and associated with the position of the satellites).

[0059] Said geographical sharing implemented by said sharing tool 22 consisting of distributing, in advance, each of the three types of space resources according to the geographical coverage of said orbiting satellite, at each predetermined instant of said plurality of predetermined instants of said mission.

[0060] As an optional complement, the geolocated planning module 12 for the partitioning of the allocation of all the satellite communication resources of said constellation of orbiting satellites includes a reservation tool 24, associated with said sharing tool 22, configured, for each type of space resource mentioned above, to reserve a buffer capacity dedicated to the inter-satellite management of the slippage of the coverage area, provided by the orbiting satellite, between a current predetermined instant of said mission and a subsequent predetermined instant of said plurality of predetermined instants of said mission.

[0061] As an optional addition, the dynamic access control module 14 further includes a prediction tool 26 configured to predict a mobility vector of said terminal suitable for being taken into account by the routing tool 20.

[0062] As an optional complement, the orchestrator 10 according to the present invention also includes a determination tool 28 configured to determine the density and / or traffic of the communication terminals requiring access, this density and / or this traffic being suitable to be taken into account by the planning module 12 and / or by the dynamic access control module 14.

[0063] Following the example of [Fig. 1], the orchestrator 10 comprises a processing unit 30 formed, for example, of a memory 32 and a processor 34 associated with the memory, and the orchestrator 10 is at least partly implemented in the form of software, or a software component, executable by the processor, in particular the planning module 12 and its optional sharing and reservation tools 22 and 24 respectively, and / or the dynamic access control module 14 with its identification tools 16, determination tools 18, routing tools 20 and optionally 26 prediction tools. The memory 32 of the orchestrator 10 is then capable of storing such software or software components, and the processor 34 is then capable of executing them.

[0064] In an alternative not shown, the planning module 12 and its optional sharing and reservation tools 22 and 24 respectively, and / or the dynamic access control module 14 with its identification tools 16, determination tools 18, routing tools 20 and optionally prediction tools 26 are each implemented as a programmable logic component, such as an FPGA (Field Programmable Gamut). Gate Array), or in the form of a dedicated integrated circuit, such as an ASIC (Application Specifies integrated circuit).

[0065] When a portion of the orchestrator 10 according to the present invention is implemented in the form of one or more software programs, i.e., in the form of a computer program, this portion is also capable of being stored on a computer-readable medium (not shown). The computer-readable medium is, for example, a medium capable of storing electronic instructions and being connected to a bus of a computer system. By way of example, the readable medium is an optical disc, a magneto-optical disc, a ROM, a RAM, any type of non-volatile memory (e.g., EPROM, EEPROM, FLASH, NVRAM), a magnetic card, or an optical card. A computer program containing software instructions is then stored on the readable medium.

[0066] A method 36 for dynamically controlling access of at least one communication terminal to the satellite communication resources of a constellation of orbiting satellites, implemented by the manager 10, will now be explained with reference to [Fig.2] showing a flowchart of the steps of this method and to Figures 4 and 5 illustrating an implementation thereof.

[0067] The method 36 for dynamic access control of at least one communication terminal to the satellite communication resources of a constellation of orbiting satellites includes firstly a first geolocated planning step 38, prior to said mission, of the partitioning of the allocation of all the satellite communication resources of said constellation of orbiting satellites according to a geolocated need, associated with said mission, and the predetermined orbit of each orbiting satellite of said constellation.

[0068] As an optional complement, as illustrated by [Fig.2], such a planning step 38 includes a substep 40 of geographical sharing PG_Ri, PG_R2, PG_R3 of three distinct types RbR2,R3, of space resources by satellite tracking.

[0069] The first type Ri corresponds to the space resources associated with the communication links between said orbiting satellite and at least one communication terminal (in English these resources are known as UserLink because they are associated with the user's location). For example, for a given mission, 80% of the UserLink capacity is reserved for French territory when the satellite in question is over France, and the remaining UserLink capacity is reserved for non-French territory for communication flows with a throughput of, for example, approximately 100 Mb / s.

[0070] The second type R2 corresponds to the space resources associated with the communication links between said orbiting satellite and at least one ground anchor station (In English, these resources are known as Feeder Link because they are associated with the location of the anchoring station.) For example, for the same mission mentioned above, 50% of the Feeder Link capacity is reserved for French territory for anchoring stations located in France.

[0071] The third type R3 corresponds to the space resources associated with inter-satellite communication links between said orbiting satellite and at least one other satellite in said constellation (in English, these resources are known by the acronym ISL for Inter-satellite Links and are associated with the position of the satellites). For example, for the same mission mentioned above, 20% of the ISL capacity is reserved for communications between the anchor station and the theater of operations for a European operation.

[0072] More specifically, said geographical sharing 40 consists of distributing, in advance, each of the three types Ri,R2,R3 of space resources according to the geographical coverage of said orbiting satellite, at each predetermined instant of said plurality of predetermined instants of said mission.

[0073] Compared to the overall distribution of the state of the art, such geolocated planning provides a much finer partition because it is not only geolocated according to a geolocated need, associated with said mission, and the predetermined scrolling of each satellite scrolling in said constellation, but also adapted to each type of space resources mentioned above.

[0074] As an optional complement, as illustrated by [Fig.2], such a planning step 38 includes, associated with said sharing substep 40, a substep 42 for reserving a buffer capacity R_CT dedicated to inter-satellite management of the slippage of the coverage area, provided by the orbiting satellite, between a current predetermined instant of said mission and a subsequent predetermined instant of said plurality of predetermined instants of said mission.

[0075] After said prior planning 38, the method 36 for dynamically controlling access of at least one communication terminal to the satellite communication resources of a constellation of orbiting satellites includes a step 44 for dynamically controlling said at least one communication terminal to said satellite communication resources of said constellation of orbiting satellites.

[0076] More specifically, according to this step 44, such control is implemented by applying a first set 46 of substeps comprising first of all a substep 48 of identification and geographical location I_L of said at least one terminal requesting access to said satellite communication resources of said constellation of orbiting satellites.

[0077] To achieve this, a set of mechanisms is implemented to identify the terminal requesting access. Such mechanisms correspond in particular the use of its signature in relation to its characteristics: its international mobile equipment identity IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity), its allocated IP address (Internet Protocol), and those of the user with for example an artificial intelligence mechanism allowing biometric recognition, etc.

[0078] Identification allows selection of the appropriate partition, and location allows determination of the capacity threshold to be applied in access, to prioritize or, where appropriate, to preempt.

[0079] This first set 46 of substeps also includes a substep 50 for determining DET_NS the nature of the communication service required by said at least one terminal requiring access to said satellite communication resources.

[0080] As an optional complement, this first set 46 also includes a substep 52 of prediction P_VM of the mobility vector of said terminal and its optional consideration in a subsequent substep 54 detailed below, said substep 54 corresponding to the routing of said at least one terminal to a piece of said partition meeting the communication need of said at least one terminal, said need being at least defined according to said identification and said geographical location, obtained during said substep 48 of identification and geographical location I_L, and of said nature of service obtained during said substep 50 of determination DET_NS of the nature of service.

[0081] As indicated above, the dynamic access control step 44 includes, after implementation of the aforementioned substeps 48, 50 and optionally 52, substep 54 of routing said at least one terminal to a piece of said partition meeting the communication need of said at least one terminal, said need being defined at least according to said identification, said geographical location and said nature of service.

[0082] In other words, based on the criteria and characteristics of the supported mission, the security domain requested and the geographical area, the terminal(s) will be integrated, as described by way of example thereafter, into a specific slice which may preempt or not access to the radio resources requested in relation to said slice, prioritize or not access to the radio resources requested in relation to said slice, or offer available resources which may meet the so-called BE (best effort) requirement.

[0083] In the embodiment illustrated in [Fig. 1], the routing implemented is optionally, as described in more detail, according to one of the following three types:

[0084] - routing said at least one terminal to the nearest ground anchoring station;

[0085] - routing to at least one spatial resource, associated with the links of inter-satellite communication between said orbiting satellite and at least one other satellite of said constellation, and imposed by said nature of service;

[0086] - routing of said at least one terminal to a ground anchoring station whose Location is dictated by the nature of the service.

[0087] To do this, as illustrated by [Fig.2], substep 54 first includes a first sorting 56 according to a first condition corresponding to the nature of the geographical location provided by the aforementioned substep of identification and geographical location I_L of said at least one terminal.

[0088] According to a first case, represented by arrow 58, the location of said at least one terminal is within the metropolitan territory to which said manager 10 is associated, and according to a second case, represented by arrow 60, the location of said at least one terminal is outside the metropolitan territory to which said manager 10 is associated.

[0089] When, according to the first case 58, the location of said at least one terminal is within the metropolitan territory to which said manager 10 is associated, a sub-step 62 then consists of determining A_T the anchoring station(s) associated with said metropolitan territory to which said manager 10 is associated and in the vicinity of said location.

[0090] According to a substep 64, a second sorting is then carried out according to a second condition C2 corresponding this time to the nature of the communication service required by said at least one terminal.

[0091] When the nature of the service corresponds to a sovereign flow, as indicated by arrow 66, a sub-step 68 requesting access for said at least one terminal to an ACi anchorage within said metropolitan territory to which said operator 10 is associated is implemented to comply with said required sovereign nature of service. This access sub-step 68 is then followed by a sub-step 70 determining the number and type of traffic to be supported associated with this access, the result of which is continuously taken into account to continue the access request according to sub-step 68 or to modify it as necessary, particularly in light of the relocation of said terminal.

[0092] In the negative, that is to say if the nature of the service required by said at least one terminal located on the metropolitan territory is not sovereign, according to arrow 72, the access request of said terminal is redirected, in the same way as access requests from terminals whose location is outside the metropolitan territory according to case 60 above, to sub-step 73.

[0093] Substep 73 is a sorting substep F_S also based on condition C3 corresponding to the nature of service, this substep 73 being associated with case 60 where the location of said at least one terminal is outside the metropolitan territory to which said manager 10 is associated.

[0094] If, according to arrow 74, said nature of service corresponds to a sovereign long-distance flow, that is to say that in the case of arrow 74, the location is outside the metropolitan territory to which said manager 10 is associated, and that the flow is sovereign relative to this metropolitan territory, then a substep 76 of requesting access to said at least one terminal to an AC2 anchor outside the metropolitan territory is carried out with resource reservation on an inter-satellite link (ISL).

[0095] This access substep 76 is then followed by a substep 70 for determining the number and type of traffic to be supported associated with this access, the result of which is taken into account continuously to continue the access request according to substep 76 or to evolve it as appropriate, in particular according to the movement of said terminal.

[0096] If, according to arrow 78, the said nature of service corresponds to a non-sovereign flow, that is to say that in the case of arrow 78, the location is in or outside the metropolitan territory to which said manager 10 is associated, and that the flow is non-sovereign relative to this metropolitan territory, then a sub-step 80 requesting access to said at least one terminal to the nearest and least loaded AC3 anchor (local access breakout) is then implemented.

[0097] This access substep 80 is then followed by a substep 70 of determining the number and type of traffic to be supported associated with this access, the result of which is taken into account continuously to continue the access request according to substep 76 or to evolve it as appropriate, in particular according to the movement of said terminal.

[0098] According to an optional step 81 DET_D / T illustrated by dashed lines, the method 36 according to the present invention further comprises a step for determining the density and / or traffic of communication terminals requiring access, and taking this density and / or traffic into account in the dynamic access planning and / or control step. Indeed, for example, depending on the territorial zones, the terminal density requires 80% of the partition, or for a lower density 50% of the partition, and for an even lower density 20% of the partition.

[0099] According to an optional variant, said determination uses a predetermined ARIMA model as described in more detail later in relation to [Fig.4].

[0100] Thus, according to [Fig. 2], it is understood that the "Geo-slicing" implemented according to the present invention is advantageous because it is a geographical partitioning of virtualized networks which, specifically according to the present invention, takes into account the location of the anchors and users. It therefore considers the access resource, the ISL resource, and the anchor resource.

[0101] This gives us a capacity associated with the geographical need localized to a coverage of terminals, and where appropriate, an adaptive partition (ie slice) with respect to a capacity associated with a traffic / number of terminals to be covered.

[0102] It is therefore possible, according to the present invention, to determine, for example, that coverage of an area of ​​one thousand terminals with traffic of a predetermined number X of Mbps requires 30% of the capacity of the partition of global capacities, and that fifty kilometers further on the need for coverage can be reduced because there is no longer a need to cover one thousand terminals in this area but fifty terminals, which amounts to requiring only 5% of the resources for example.

[0103] Fig. 3 schematically illustrates the three types of routing, in particular according to the aforementioned substeps 68, 76 and 80.

[0104] More specifically, [Fig.3] schematically represents a geographical area 82 traversed by a border 84 between two distinct territories 86 and 88, for example France 86 and another country 88 bordering France 86.

[0105] A plurality of user terminals Ub U2, U3, U4, U5, U6 and U7 are represented within said zone 82 as well as three anchoring stations: Ai on territory 86, A2 and A3 on territory 88 (i.e. outside territory 86) connected by a ground network 90.

[0106] The identification made it possible to establish that user terminals Ui, U2, U3, U4 are of the nationality associated with territory 86 while user terminals U5, U6 and U7 are of the nationality associated with territory 88.

[0107] Thus, according to this example, if we apply the process previously described in relation to [Fig.2], the user terminals Ui, U2, U4, U6 and U7 are located within their respective territories (i.e. conforming to case 58 of [Fig.2]) while the user terminals U3 and U5 are located outside their respective territories (i.e. conforming to case 60 of [Fig.2]).

[0108] The nature of the service required by terminal Ui is, for example, a sovereign service (i.e. conforming to case 66 of [Fig.2]) so that routing to the anchor Ai of territory 86 of Ui on which it is itself present is implemented (case 68 of [Fig.2]).

[0109] On the other hand, according to another example, the nature of the service required by the user terminal U2 is not a sovereign service (i.e. conforming to case 72 then 78 of [Fig.2]) so that routing to the anchor closest to U2, namely anchor Ai, is implemented (case 80 of [Fig.2]).

[0110] In other words, according to this, the user terminals Ui and U2 are both implemented towards the same anchor Ai but not for the same reasons / needs.

[0111] As previously stated, the user terminal U3 is located outside its territory (i.e., the territory of which it is a national, namely territory 86), which corresponds to case 60 of [Fig.2], and the nature of the service it requires is not a sovereign service (case 78 of [Fig.2]), so it is routed to the nearest and least loaded anchor Ai (in English Local Break out).

[0112] Similarly, the nature of the service required by the user terminal U4 is not a sovereign service (i.e. conforming to case 72 then 78 of [Fig.2]) so that routing to the anchor closest to U4, namely anchor A2, is implemented (case 80 of [Fig.2]) regardless of the fact that anchor A2 is not in the same territory as the user terminal U4.

[0113] The nature of the service required by the user terminal U5 is a sovereign long-distance service and the nationality of the user terminal U5 is that of territory 88 while the user terminal U5 is located outside (i.e. in accordance with case 74 of [Fig.2]), so that routing to the A3 anchor of territory 88, outside of territory 86 on which the user terminal U5 is located, is carried out with resource reservation on an inter-satellite ISL (Inter-satellite Links).

[0114] The nature of the service required by terminal U6 is, for example, a sovereign service (i.e. conforming to case 66 of [Fig.2]) so that routing to the A2 anchor of territory 88 of U6 on which it is itself present is implemented (case 68 of [Fig.2]).

[0115] The nature of the service required by the user terminal U7 is not a sovereign service (i.e. conforming to case 72 then 78 of [Fig.2]) so that routing to the anchor closest to U7, namely anchor Ab, is implemented (case 80 of [Fig.2]) regardless of the fact that anchor Ai is not in the same territory as the user terminal U7.

[0116] Thus, [Fig.3] illustrates that if the service required is sovereign, routing to an anchorage on the territory whose terminal has the nationality is implemented.

[0117] Figure 4 illustrates how the constellation of orbiting satellites anticipates the geolocated partitioning used according to the present invention to provide dynamic access control to at least one communication terminal.

[0118] According to the example in [Fig.4], several satellites 92b 922, 923 of a constellation of orbiting satellites are shown.

[0119] Note that for the sake of simplicity in [Fig. 4] satellites 92b, 922, and 923 are represented "as" simply aligned in the same orbit, whereas in reality each satellite in the constellation follows its own predetermined orbit or loxodrome, such as a low Earth orbit (LEO) or a medium Earth orbit (MEO), depending on the constellation, and in a direction of movement D, with inter-satellite links 94 (shown here diagonally) and 96 (shown here laterally) to the neighboring orbiting satellites of said constellation.

[0120] On the ground an anchor station 98 is shown in [Fig.4], said anchor station 98 being suitable for communicating via communication links 100 respectively with each orbiting satellite 92 shown.

[0121] As illustrated in [Fig.4], the set of satellite elements 92H 922, 923 each carrying a deported communication unit DU (from the English Deported Unit) is suitable, according to the present invention, for preparing, supporting or releasing partitions (from the English slices) according to the terminals 102 and services to be carried, and this while being attached to a centralized element CU (from the English Central Unit) of the anchoring station 98 positioned on the ground and associated with a predetermined area (i.e. a territory) (from the English tracking area).

[0122] As indicated optionally, according to step 81, the method according to the present invention is further adapted to take into account the densification of terminals and traffic.

[0123] To do this, in relation to the manager element 10 (i.e. orchestrator) dedicated to the orchestration service interfacing with a resource reservation tool based on: the service requested, the level of security and rights, etc. (also called in English service management control element), a first-level planning calculation (i.e. an initial planning) is implemented to manage the first allocation of resources (calculation located within the aforementioned centralized CU (from the English Central Unit)).

[0124] In a second step, a calculation associated with an artificial intelligence AI embedded in each distributed communication unit DU in charge of estimating the variations or evolutions of traffic, called predictive (from the English forecast) based on a simplified ARIMA type model (from the English AutoRegressive Integrated Moving Average) because it is embedded.

[0125] This mechanism makes it possible to use information from the slow loop on planned or predicted events in the network to estimate the associated flow variation. For example, if it is known in advance that a significant event will occur, such as a traffic spike during a peak period, it is then possible to adjust the forecasts accordingly and thus the allocation of resources on the geoslice.

[0126] This planning preparation is associated with missions, it allows provisioning of a slow loop of geo-slices which adapts to the operational context: increased traffic needs or number of terminals, according to a so-called fast loop.

[0127] On the side of the remote communication unit DU, the ARIMA model, known as "light" (from the English word "light"), allows for the implementation, in relation to a time series, of a static model fed by the access needs associated with the terminals, this statistical model being taken into account as represented by step 81 of [Fig.2] both in the planning step and / or in the dynamic access control step.

[0128] More specifically, three components are associated with the ARIMA model, namely the so-called autoregression (AR), integration (I) and moving average (MA) determination mechanisms. Each of these components captures different characteristics of the time series.

[0129] The AR auto-regression component models the linear dependence associated with the number of terminals accessing the resource and the minimum traffic required to validate past and current observations on the traffic-terminal relationship (this model can be enriched by using the type of terminals versus the type of services).

[0130] Such a model makes it possible to integrate past "traffic" values ​​from the time series, which have an impact on future traffic. The order p of the autoregression indicates the number of past values ​​taken into account. For example, for the application of the present invention, the value of p is limited to take into account approximately seven minutes of past values, this value of p being established in relation to the satellite cadence. These calculations are shared with the neighboring satellite responsible for taking over resource allocation, for example, as illustrated in [Fig. 4], satellite 922, which will succeed satellite 923 in the direction of movement D.

[0131] The integration component I is used to handle non-stationary trends in time series. Integration consists of differentiating the time series to make it stationary. The integration order d indicates the number of differentiations required to make the time series stationary. This integration component is limited to allow for a short-term forecast. It is not necessary to stretch the predictive model to a high confidence level (95% for so-called high-confidence models) but rather to an acceptable model that allows for the assessment of a trend.

[0132] The MA moving average (i.e., sliding) component models the effect of previous prediction errors on current observations. It considers that past prediction errors have an impact on future values. The order q of the moving average indicates the number of previous prediction errors taken into account.

[0133] In order to optimize the mechanism allowing short-term management of the ARIMA model, a set of simulations and feedback allows the evaluation of the different so-called order parameters (AR / I / MA) from autocorrelation analysis (ACF). These Estimates can be based on "Akaike (AIC)" or "Bayesian (BIC)" models.

[0134] In addition, [Fig.4] illustrates in particular that access to the resources of the scrolling DU (from the English Distributed Unit) is finite and can only respond to CPU (from the English central process unit) constraints in particular for the processing of the physical layers, memories, in particular for the management of queues...) and energy.

[0135] According to the present invention, a communication system comprising the manager illustrated by [Fig.1], the constellation of 92 moving satellites illustrated by [Fig.4], at least one communication terminal 102 and at least one ground anchoring station 98, is suitable for pre-planning the moving satellite elements 92H 922, 923 which will be in charge of taking into account the need for partitioning (from the English word slices) and implicitly the release of resources as a function of the movement of the satellites 92B 922, 923 and, optionally, of the mobility vector of the terminals 102 (which may be predictable or not).

[0136] More specifically, [Fig.4] illustrates the capacity threshold mechanism used to manage the sliding mobility of the partition (slice) relative to the remote communication unit DU of the host and its buffer capacity for processing and hosting new terminals called incoming.

[0137] Indeed, the coverage areas 104, 106 and 108, respectively associated with satellites 92 H 922, 923, illustrate that, as the movement progresses along the direction of travel D, the partition of the coverage area is sliding.Indeed, according to, for example, the aforementioned MEO or LEO type constellations, the area covered by a satellite shifts due to the satellite's movement and only covers a given area of ​​the planet for a few minutes. Therefore, according to the present invention, as the satellite moves, each distributed communication unit (DU) is capable of anticipating, by prediction, the change in the distribution of its coverage area between different ground operators and implements, for this purpose, a reservation of buffer capacity dedicated to the inter-satellite management of the shift in the coverage area provided by the moving satellite in question as it moves between a current predetermined instant of the mission and a subsequent predetermined instant of the plurality of predetermined instants of the predetermined communication mission.

[0138] The coverage area 104 of satellite 923 is, for example, schematically partitioned into three partitions A, B, C, illustrated respectively by three different textures in [Fig. 4]. In particular, partition A (i.e., dedicated to operator A) is the majority. The intermediate partition B corresponds to the buffer capacity reserved for the preparation of the slide according to the direction of movement D, and the partition C (i.e. dedicated to an operator C) is minority.

[0139] For the coverage area 106 of satellite 922, which precedes satellite 92i in the direction of movement D, partition A (i.e. dedicated to operator A) remains predominant but has decreased compared to that of coverage 104 of satellite 92, in favor of partition B dedicated to buffer capacity, and partition C (i.e. dedicated to operator C).

[0140] Finally, the coverage area 108 of satellite 923, which precedes satellite 922, along the direction of movement D, exhibits essentially an equipartition between partition A (i.e., dedicated to operator A) and partition C (i.e., dedicated to operator C). In other words, [Fig. 4] illustrates how the buffer capacity temporarily allows a satellite to prepare to accommodate a geolocated partition change as it moves.

[0141] A person skilled in the art will understand that the invention is not limited to the embodiments described, nor to the particular examples of the description, the embodiments and variants mentioned above being capable of being combined with each other to generate new embodiments of the invention.

[0142] The present invention thus makes it possible to take into account the specific aspects and needs associated with the implementation of a geolocated partition (according to the English notion of geofencing) allowing to offer a physical partition on one or more defined zones.

[0143] The present invention also makes it possible to take into account issues such as the governance of physical means and the optimization of traffic engineering.by geographically sharing the three distinct types of space resources per orbiting satellite, namely the space resources associated with the communication links between said orbiting satellite and at least one communication terminal (in English these resources are known as User Link because they are associated with the location of the user); the space resources associated with the communication links between said orbiting satellite and at least one ground anchor station (in English these resources are known as Feeder Link because they are associated with the location of the anchor station); and the space resources associated with the inter-satellite communication links between said orbiting satellite and at least one other satellite of said constellation (in English these resources are known via the acronym ISL for Inter-satellite Links and are associated with the position of the satellites).

[0144] The present invention also makes it possible to take into account traffic engineering associated with physical inter-satellite links or between remote communication units (DUs) and centralized elements (CUs) of anchor stations, in particular using means called "light speed" taking into account user requests within the limits of the capacities of the three types of resources mentioned above.

[0145] Thus, the present invention makes it possible to guarantee a geolocated spatial resource and control of access to this resource, to optimize the use of the spatial resource, to dynamically orchestrate a quasi-instantaneous planning known as "Zero day", to offer a preemption and prioritization capability on the geo-located partition (slice), as well as a partitioning capability known as user tracking.

Claims

1. Demands Method (36) for dynamically controlling access of at least one communication terminal to the satellite communication resources of a constellation of orbiting satellites, the method comprising the following steps, for at least one predetermined communication mission: - geolocated planning (38), prior to said mission, of the allocation of all satellite communication resources of said low-Earth satellite constellation according to a localized geographical need for user terminal coverage, associated with said mission, and the predetermined path of each low-Earth satellite of said constellation; - dynamic access control (44) of said at least one communication terminal to said satellite communication resources of said low-Earth satellite constellation by applying, at each predetermined time of a plurality of predetermined times of said mission, the following sub-steps: - identification and geographical location (48) of said at least one terminal requiring access to said satellite communication resources of said constellation of orbiting satellites; - determination (50) of the nature of the communication service required by said at least one terminal requiring access to said satellite communication resources, the nature of the service being a sovereign service or not; - routing of said at least one terminal to a piece of said partition meeting the communication needs of said at least one terminal, said need being defined at least according to said identification, said geographical location and said nature of service. said geolocated planning of the partition of the allocation of all satellite communication resources of said low-Earth satellite constellation includes the geographical sharing (40) of three distinct types of space resources per low-Earth satellite, said three types corresponding to: - space resources associated with communication links between said orbiting satellite and at least one communication terminal; - space resources associated with communication links between said orbiting satellite and at least one ground anchor station; - space resources associated with inter-satellite communication links between said orbiting satellite and at least one other satellite of said constellation; said geographical sharing consisting of distributing, in advance, each of the three types of space resources according to the geographical coverage of said orbiting satellite, at each predetermined time of said plurality of predetermined times of said mission.

2. Method according to claim 1, wherein said geographical sharing is further associated, for each type of space resource, with the reservation (42) of a buffer capacity dedicated to the inter-satellite management of the slippage of the coverage area, provided by the orbiting satellite, between a current predetermined instant of said mission and a subsequent predetermined instant of said plurality of predetermined instants of said mission.

3. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising the prediction of the mobility vector of said terminal and its consideration during said routing.

4. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising determining the density and / or traffic of communication terminals requiring access, and taking into account this density and / or traffic in the dynamic access planning and / or control step.

5. Method according to claim 4, wherein said determination uses a predetermined ARIMA model.

6. A method according to any one of the preceding claims wherein said routing is routing according to one of the following three types: - routing of said at least one terminal to a ground anchor station whose location is imposed by said nature of service; - routing of said at least one terminal to the nearest ground anchor station; - routing to at least one space resource, associated with the inter-satellite communication links between said orbiting satellite and at least one other satellite of said constellation, and imposed by said nature of service.

7. A computer program comprising software instructions which, when executed by a computer, implement a method for dynamic access control of at least one communication terminal to the satellite communication resources of a constellation of orbiting satellites according to any one of the preceding claims.

8. Manager configured to implement the method of dynamically controlling access of at least one communication terminal to the satellite communication resources of a constellation of orbiting satellites according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

9. Communication system comprising: - a manager according to claim 8; - a constellation of orbiting satellites; - at least one communication terminal; - at least one ground anchoring station.

Images