Ambient internet of things paging for user devices in inactive state

Abstract

Methods, devices, apparatuses and computer readable storage medium for ambient internet of things (A-IoT) paging for a user device in radio resource control (RRC) inactive state. The method comprising: at a user device (e.g. user equipment (UE)), receive, from a network node, a paging message to trigger the apparatus in an inactive state to participate in an A-IoT session; obtain a configuration associated with participating in the A-IoT session for the UE in the inactive state; and joining the A-IoT session based on the configuration and the paging message while remaining in the inactive state. If it determined that the UE acts as an activator and a reader, the UE may transmit, to an A-IoT device, an activation signal based on the configuration associated with participating in the A-IoT session, and on receiving a reply from the A-IoT device, transmit the reply to the network node via small data transfer (SDT).

Description

FIELDS

[0001] Various example embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to the field of telecommunication and in particular, to methods, devices, apparatuses and computer readable storage medium for ambient internet of things (A-IoT) paging for user device in radio resource control (RRC) inactive state. BACKGROUND

[0002] Energy harvesting enabled communication services, also called A-IoT in the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), have been widely used in various vertical industries including logistics, manufacture, transportation, energy industry etc. Enabling A-IoT devices, in both public and private networks would benefit the whole 5th generation (5G) ecosystem. Therefore, support of A-IoT using either battery-less terminal or terminal with limited energy storage capability (e.g., using a capacitor), could become a new requirement for the existing 3GPP technologies. SUMMARY

[0003] In a first aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an apparatus. The apparatus comprises at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to: receive, from a network node, a paging message to trigger the apparatus in an inactive state to participate in an A-IoT session; obtain a configuration associated with participating in the A-IoT session for the apparatus in the inactive state; and join to the A-IoT session based on the configuration and the paging message while remaining in the inactive state.

[0004] In a second aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an apparatus. The apparatus comprises at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to: determine a configuration associated with participating in an A-IoT session for a user device in the inactive state; and transmit, to the user device, a paging message to trigger the user device in the inactive state to participate in the A-IoT session.

[0005] In a third aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method. The method comprises: receiving, from a network node, a paging message to trigger the apparatus in an inactive state to participate in an A-IoT session; obtaining a configuration associated with participating in the A-IoT session for the apparatus in the inactive state; and joining to the A-IoT session based on the configuration and the paging message while remaining in the inactive state.

[0006] In a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method. The method comprises: determining a configuration associated with participating in an A-loT session for a user device in the inactive state; and transmitting, to the user device, a paging message to trigger the user device in the inactive state to participate in the A-IoT session.

[0007] In a fifth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an apparatus. The apparatus comprises means for receiving, from a network node, a paging message to trigger the apparatus in an inactive state to participate in an A-IoT session; means for obtaining a configuration associated with participating in the A-IoT session for the apparatus in the inactive state; and means for joining to the A-IoT session based on the configuration and the paging message while remaining in the inactive state.

[0008] In a sixth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an apparatus. The apparatus comprises means for determining a configuration associated with participating in an A-IoT session for a user device in the inactive state; and means for transmitting, to the user device, a paging message to trigger the user device in the inactive state to participate in the A-IoT session.

[0009] In a seventh aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a computer readable medium. The computer readable medium comprises instructions stored thereon for causing an apparatus to perform at least the method according to the third aspect.

[0010] In an eighth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a computer readable medium. The computer readable medium comprises instructions stored thereon for causing an apparatus to perform at least the method according to the fourth aspect.

[0011] It is to be understood that the Summary section is not intended to identify key or essential features of embodiments of the present disclosure, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Other features of the present disclosure will become easily comprehensible through the following description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] Some example embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, where:

[0013] FIG. 1 illustrates an example communication environment in which example embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented;

[0014] FIG. 2 illustrates a signaling chart of an example process of A-IoT paging for user device in RRC inactive state according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0015] FIG. 3 illustrates an example process of A-IoT paging for user device in RRC inactive state according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0016] FIG. 4 illustrates an example process of A-IoT paging for user device in RRC inactive state according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0017] FIG. 5 illustrates an example process of A-IoT paging for user device in RRC inactive state according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0018] FIG. 6 illustrates a flowchart of a method implemented at a user device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0019] FIG. 7 illustrates a flowchart of a method implemented at a network node according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0020] FIG. 8 illustrates a simplified block diagram of a device that is suitable for implementing example embodiments of the present disclosure; and

[0021] FIG. 9 illustrates a block diagram of an example computer readable medium in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0022] Throughout the drawings, the same or similar reference numerals represent the same or similar element. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0023] Principle of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to some example embodiments. It is to be understood that these embodiments are described only for the purpose of illustration and help those skilled in the art to understand and implement the present disclosure, without suggesting any limitation as to the scope of the disclosure. Embodiments described herein can be implemented in various manners other than the ones described below.

[0024] In the following description and claims, unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skills in the art to which this disclosure belongs.

[0025] References in the present disclosure to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” “an example embodiment,” and the like indicate that the embodiment described may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but it is not necessary that every embodiment includes the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Further, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, it is submitted that it is within the knowledge of one skilled in the art to affect such feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with other embodiments whether or not explicitly described.

[0026] It shall be understood that although the terms “first,” “second,”..., etc. in front of noun(s) and the like may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another and they do not limit the order of the noun(s). For example, a first element could be termed a second element, and similarly, a second element could be termed a first element, without departing from the scope of example embodiments. As used herein, the term “and / or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the listed terms.

[0027] As used herein, “at least one of the following: ” and “at least one of ” and similar wording, where the list of two or more elements are joined by “and” or “or”, mean at least any one of the elements, or at least any two or more of the elements, or at least all the elements.

[0028] As used herein, unless stated explicitly, performing a step “in response to A” does not indicate that the step is performed immediately after “A” occurs and one or more intervening steps may be included. 5

[0029] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of example embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises”, “comprising”, “has”, “having”, “includes” and / or “including”, when 10 used herein, specify the presence of stated features, elements, and / or components etc., but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components and / or combinations thereof.

[0030] As used in this application, the term “circuitry” may refer to one or more or all of the following: (a) hardware-only circuit implementations (such as implementations in only analog and / or digital circuitry) and (b) combinations of hardware circuits and software, such as (as applicable): (i) a combination of analog and / or digital hardware circuit(s) with software / firmware and (ii) any portions of hardware processor(s) with software (including digital signal processor(s)), software, and memory(ies) that work together to cause an apparatus, such as a mobile phone or server, to perform various functions) and (c) hardware circuit(s) and or processor(s), such as a microprocessor(s) or a portion of a microprocessor(s), that requires software (e.g., firmware) for operation, but the software may not be present when it is not needed for operation. 15

[0031] This definition of circuitry applies to all uses of this term in this application, including in any claims. As a further example, as used in this application, the term circuitry also covers an implementation of merely a hardware circuit or processor (or multiple processors) or portion of a hardware circuit or processor and its (or their) accompanying software and / or firmware. The term circuitry also covers, for example and if applicable to the particular claim element, a baseband integrated circuit or processor integrated circuit for a mobile device or a similar integrated circuit in server, a cellular network device, or other computing or network device.

[0032] As used herein, the term “communication network” refers to a network following any suitable communication standards, such as New Radio (NR), Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA), Narrow Band Internet of Things (NB-loT) and so on. Furthermore, the communications between a terminal device and a network device in the communication network may be performed according to any suitable generation communication protocols, including, but not limited to, the first generation (1G), the second generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.75G, the third generation (3G), the fourth generation (4G), 4.5G, the fifth generation (5G), the sixth generation (6G) communication protocols, and / or any other protocols either currently known or to be developed in the future. Embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied in various communication systems. Given the rapid development in communications, there will of course also be future type communication technologies and systems with which the present disclosure may be embodied. It should not be seen as limiting the scope of the present disclosure to only the aforementioned system.

[0033] As used herein, the term “network device” refers to a node in a communication network via which a terminal device accesses the network and receives services therefrom. The network device may refer to a base station (BS) or an access point (AP), for example, a node B (NodeB or NB), an evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB), an NR NB (also referred to as a gNB), a Remote Radio Unit (RRU), a radio header (RH), a remote radio head (RRH), a relay, an Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB) node, a low power node such as a femto, a pico, a non-terrestrial network (NTN) or non-ground network device such as a satellite network device, a low earth orbit (LEO) satellite and a geosynchronous earth orbit (GEO) satellite, an aircraft network device, and so forth, depending on the applied terminology and technology. In some example embodiments, radio access network (RAN) split architecture comprises a Centralized Unit (CU) and a Distributed Unit (DU) at an IAB donor node. An IAB node comprises a Mobile Terminal (IAB-MT) part that behaves like a UE toward the parent node, and a DU part of an IAB node behaves like a base station toward the next-hop IAB node.

[0034] The term “terminal device” refers to any end device that may be capable of wireless communication. By way of example rather than limitation, a terminal device may also be referred to as a communication device, user equipment (UE), a Subscriber Station (SS), a Portable Subscriber Station, a Mobile Station (MS), or an Access Terminal (AT). The terminal device may include, but not limited to, a mobile phone, a cellular phone, a smart phone, voice over IP (VoIP) phones, wireless local loop phones, a tablet, a wearable terminal device, a personal digital assistant (PDA), portable computers, desktop computer, image capture terminal devices such as digital cameras, gaming terminal devices, music storage and playback appliances, vehicle-mounted wireless terminal devices, wireless endpoints, mobile stations, laptop-embedded equipment (LEE), laptop-mounted equipment (LME), USB dongles, smart devices, wireless customer-premises equipment (CPE), 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. The terminal device may also correspond to a Mobile Termination (MT) part of an IAB node (e.g., a relay node). In the following description, the terms “terminal device”, “communication device”, “terminal”, “user equipment” and “UE” may be used interchangeably.

[0035] As used herein, the term “resource,” “transmission resource,” “resource block,” “physical resource block” (PRB), “uplink resource,” or “downlink resource” may refer to any resource for performing a communication, for example, a communication between a terminal device and a network device, such as a resource in time domain, a resource in frequency domain, a resource in space domain, a resource in code domain, or any other combination of the time, frequency, space and / or code domain resource enabling a communication, and the like. In the following, unless explicitly stated, a resource in both frequency domain and time domain will be used as an example of a transmission resource for describing some example embodiments of the present disclosure. It is noted that example embodiments of the present disclosure are equally applicable to other resources in other domains.

[0036] As used herein, the term “A-IoT” refers to a device without batteries or with limited energy storage capabilities. For A-IoT device, energy is provided by harvesting radio waves, light, motion, heat, or any other suitable source. A-IoT device can also be called zero-power terminals, near-zero power terminals, passive loT device, ambient backscatter communication (AmBC) device, tag, etc. Compared with low-power and wide-coverage services, such as NB-IoT, enhance machine type communication (eMTC), A-IoT has lower complexity and lower power consumption, and is suitable for more application scenarios.

[0037] An A-IoT device may be capable of harnessing energy from wireless signals transmitted on specific carriers and / or bandwidths to charge a simple circuitry. Once activated, the A-IoT device may emit or reflect a signal that encodes at least its own ID. The typical system architecture surrounding an A-IoT device may include at least two of: an activator, an A-IoT device, or a reader.

[0038] The activator may be a device responsible for sending an activation signal targeted at waking up the A-IoT device. The A-IoT device has the ability to harness energy across a range of frequencies and listen for activation signals. Once such a signal is detected, the A-IoT device emits or reflects a signal that is specific to its radio ID. The reader is a device that listens for and detects the signals emitted or reflected by the A-IoT device. The reader may or may not be collocated with the activator.

[0039] There are different types of A-IoT devices, namely Type A, Type B and Type C. A-IoT devices of Type A do not have energy storage, independent signal generation or amplification capabilities and may perform backscattering transmission (BC). A-IoT devices of Type B have energy storage but lack independent signal generation. They also utilize backscattering transmission. The stored energy can be utilized for amplifying the reflected signals. A-IoT devices of Type C have both energy storage and independent signal generation capabilities. This means they have active RF components for transmission.

[0040] In other words, A-IoT devices may use two communication technologies, namely backscattering communication (i.e., Type A and Type B) and harvest then transmit (HTT) (i.e., Type C). Wireless powered backscatter communication systems convey energy to a wireless tag device. Then, the wirelessly powered tag reflects and modulates the incoming RF signal for communication with a tag reader. Wireless powered HTT communication systems deliver wireless energy to power communication devices. Then, the energy harvested by these devices is utilized for transferring their information to information-decoding receivers. BC does not incur the RF-to-direct current (RF-DC) conversion losses during the energy harvesting (EH) process. A BC transmitter does not convert the data to analog signals and does not amplify the signal. Therefore, it does not need digital-to-analog converter and power amplifier circuits, which are the most power consuming components in generic RF transceivers. However, range of BC is much smaller as compared to HTT systems, limited by doubly near-far-gain.

[0041] Moreover, complexity design targets for A-IoT devices are as follows:

[0042] A-IoT devices of Type A are designed to be comparable to UHF RFID in terms of complexity;

[0043] A-IoT devices of Type A have a complexity level that is less than or equal to A-IoT devices of Type B, and A-IoT devices of Type B have a complexity level that is less than or equal to A-IoT devices of Type C; and

[0044] A-IoT devices of Type C are designed to have a complexity level that is orders-of-magnitude lower than NB-IoT.

[0045] Some connectivity topologies for A-IoT networks and devices were defined during the study. In all these topologies, the A-IoT device may be provided with a carrier wave from other node(s) either inside or outside the topology. The links in each topology may be bidirectional or unidirectional. The mixture of indoor and outdoor placement of such nodes is regarded as a network implementation choice.

[0046] As an example, the A-IoT device may directly and bidirectionally communicate with a BS. The communication between the BS and the A-IoT device includes A-IoT data and / or signaling. This topology includes the possibility that the BS transmitting to the A-IoT device is different from the BS receiving from the A-IoT device.

[0047] As another example, the A-IoT device may communicates bidirectionally with an intermediate node between the A-IoT device and BS. In this topology, the intermediate node may be a relay, an IAB node, a UE, a repeater, etc. which is capable of A-IoT. The intermediate node may transfer the information between BS and the A-loT device.

[0048] It is also possible that the A-IoT device transmits data / signaling to a BS and receives data / signaling from an assisting node; or the A-IoT device receives data / signaling from a BS and transmits data / signaling to an assisting node. In this topology, the assisting node can be a relay, an IAB, a UE, a repeater, etc. which is capable of A-IoT.

[0049] As still another example, the A-IoT device may communicate bidirectionally with a UE. The communication between UE and the A-IoT device may include A-IoT data and / or signaling.

[0050] Furthermore, the technical context of the invention further relates to Small Data Transmission (SDT). The following will provide a detailed description of this aspect.

[0051] SDT is a procedure allowing data and / or signaling transmission while remaining in RRCINACTIVE state (i.e., without transitioning to RRCCONNECTED state). SDT is enabled on a radio bearer basis and is initiated by the UE only if less than a configured amount of uplink (UL) data awaits transmission across all radio bearers for which SDT is enabled, the downlink (DL) Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) is above a configured threshold, and a valid SDT resource is available. Maximum duration the SDT procedure can last is dictated by a SDT failure detection timer that is configured by the network.

[0052] SDT procedure is initiated with either a transmission over Random Access Channel (RACH) (configured via system information) or over Type 1 Configured Grant (CG) resources (configured via dedicated signaling in RRCRelease). The SDT resources can be configured on initial Bandwidth Part (BWP) for both RACH and CG. RACH and CG resources for SDT can be configured on either or both of normal Uplink (NUL) and Supplementary Uplink (SUL) carriers. The CG resources for SDT are valid only within the Primary Cell (Pcell) of the UE when the RRCRelease with suspend indication is received. CG resources are associated with one or multiple Synchronization Signal / Blocks (SSBs). For RACH, the network can configure 2-step and / or 4-step Random Access (RA) resources for SDT. When both 2-step and 4-step RA resources for SDT are configured, the UE selects the RA type is not supported for SDT over RACH.

[0053] In some cases, once initiated, the SDT procedure is successfully completed after the UE is directed to RRC IDLE (via RRCRelease') or to continue in RRC INACTIVE (via RRCRelease or RRCRejecf) or to RRC CONNECTED (via RRCResume or RRCSetup). In some other cases, once initiated, the SDT procedure is unsuccessfully completed upon cell re-selection, expiry of the SDT failure detection timer, a medium access control (MAC) entity reaching a configured maximum Physical random access channel (PRACH) preamble transmission threshold, an radio link control (RLC) entity reaching a configured maximum retransmission threshold, or expiry of SDT-specific timing alignment timer while SDT procedure is ongoing over CG and the UE has not received a response from the network after the initial Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) transmission.

[0054] Upon unsuccessful completion of the SDT procedure, the UE transitions to RRC IDLE. For SDT, network should not send RRCReject in response to RRCResume Re quest / RRCResume Re que st 1 if DL data over any radio bearer configured for SDT is transmitted.

[0055] The initial PUSCH transmission during the SDT procedure includes at least the Common Control Channel (CCCH) message. When using CG resources for initial SDT transmission, the UE can perform autonomous retransmission of the initial transmission if the UE does not receive confirmation from the network (dynamic UL grant or DL assignment) before a configured timer expires. After the initial PUSCH transmission, subsequent transmissions are handled differently depending on the type of resource used to initiate the SDT procedure.

[0056] When using CG resources, the network can schedule subsequent UL transmissions using dynamic grants or they can take place on the following CG resource occasions. The DL transmissions are scheduled using dynamic assignments. The UE can initiate subsequent UL transmission only after reception of confirmation (dynamic UL grant or DL assignment) for the initial PUSCH transmission from the network. For subsequent UL transmission, the UE cannot initiate re-transmission over a CG resource.

[0057] When using RACH resources, the network can schedule subsequent UL and DL transmissions using dynamic UL grants and DL assignments, respectively, after the completion of the RA procedure.

[0058] While the SDT procedure is ongoing, if data appears in a buffer of any radio bearer not enabled for SDT, the UE initiates a transmission of a non-SDT data arrival indication using UEAssistancelnformation message to the network and, if available, includes the resume cause.

[0059] SDT procedure over CG resources can only be initiated with valid UL timing alignment. The UL timing alignment is maintained by the UE based on a SDT-specific timing alignment timer configured by the network via dedicated signaling and, for initial CG-SDT transmission, also by DL RSRP of configured number of highest ranked SSBs which are above a configured RSRP threshold. Upon expiry of the SDT-specific timing alignment timer, the CG resources are released while maintaining the CG resource configuration.

[0060] Logical channel restrictions configured by the network while in RRCCONNECTED state and / or in RRCRelease message for radio bearers enabled for SDT, if any, are applied by the UE during SDT procedure.

[0061] The network may configure UE to apply ROHC continuity for SDT either when the UE initiates SDT in the PCell of the UE when the RRCRelease with suspend indication was received or when the UE initiates SDT in a cell of its RNA.

[0062] As mentioned above, there are several defined A-IoT topologies in which the various NR network elements / nodes are selected to participate in the activation and / or reading of one or more A-IoT devices. In certain topologies, an intermediate node (such as a UE) is involved in either activating the A-IoT device, reading it, or both, and then reporting the obtained reading results back to the network node (such as a BS or gNB). This UE is required to be in close proximity to the A-IoT device, with a range of up to 20m for activation and 200m for reading.

[0063] Given that proximity plays a crucial role in achieving successful A-IoT readings, it is important to select the closest UE to serve in the session, regardless of the UE’s own RRC state. In other words, physical proximity takes precedence over the UE’s RRC state, and the UE should be capable of participating in the A-IoT session even after transitioning to RRC-inactive. Enabling an RRC-inactive UE to operate within the A-loT session is an open question and the objective of this invention.

[0064] The present disclosure proposes a solution of A-IoT paging for user device in RRC inactive state. In this solution, an apparatus receives, from a network node, a paging message to trigger the apparatus in an inactive state to participate in an A-IoT session. The apparatus obtains a configuration associated with participating in the A-IoT session for the apparatus in the inactive state. The apparatus joins to the A-IoT session based on the configuration and the paging message while remaining in the inactive state.

[0065] In this way, an RRC inactive UE may have the capability to contribute to the discovery session of one or more A-IoT devices. More specifically, an RRC inactive UE may be configured to join an A-IoT session and perform activation / reading of an A-IoT device.

[0066] Example embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0067] FIG. 1 illustrates an example communication environment 100 in which example embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented. As shown in FIG. 1, the communication environment 100 may include a user device 110, a network node 120 and a A-IoT device 130. The user device 110 may communicate with the network node 120 and the A-IoT device 130.

[0068] In some scenarios, the A-IoT device 130 may be based on energy harvesting and may operate in a passive mode and harvest energy from both 3GPP and non-3GPP devices. For example, the A-IoT device 130 may use energy harvested from wireless radio waves, solar / light or any other form of energy that can be harvested in its deployment scenario and may be expected to operate with ultra-low power in the range from tens of microwatts to hundreds of microwatts.

[0069] As an example, the A-IoT device 130 may harvest energy and then use an active circuit to transmit data like a transmitter. As another example, the A-IoT device 130 may be operated as a passive device and use backscattering to transmit information.

[0070] In some scenarios, the A-IoT device 130 may be operated as a tag. The network node 120 may be operated as a RAN device (e.g., a gNB, a BS or an eNB). The user device 110 may be operated as a radio terminal device (e.g., a UE), which may act as an activator and / or a reader of the A-IoT device 130 in an A-IoT scenario. In some embodiments, the network node 120 may communicate with the A-IoT device 130, for example, the network node 120 may be considered as an activator or a reader of the A-loT device 130.

[0071] Communications in the communication environment 100 may be implemented according to any proper communication protocol(s), comprising, but not limited to, cellular communication protocols of the first generation (1G), the second generation (2G), the third generation (3G), the fourth generation (4G), the fifth generation (5G), the sixth generation (6G), and the like, wireless local network communication protocols such as Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 and the like, and / or any other protocols currently known or to be developed in the future. Moreover, the communication may utilize any proper wireless communication technology, comprising but not limited to: Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Frequency Division Duplex (FDD), Time Division Duplex (TDD), Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple (OFDM), Discrete Fourier Transform spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM) and / or any other technologies currently known or to be developed in the future.

[0072] The reference now is made to FIG. 2, which shows a signaling chart of an example process of A-IoT paging for user device in RRC inactive state according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 2, the signaling chart 200 involves the user device 110, the network node 120 and the A-IoT device 130.

[0073] As shown in FIG. 2, the network node 120 may transmit (210) a paging message to the user device 110 in an RRC inactive state, to trigger the user device 110 to participate in an A-IoT session.

[0074] As an option, the user device 110 may obtain a configuration associated with participating in the A-IoT session in the inactive state during transitioning to the inactive state. For example, the network node 120 may transmit (205) a configuration to the user device 110 via a RRC release message when the user device 110 is transitioning to the inactive state. This configuration may indicate the user device 110 is allowed to be participated in the A-IoT session after transitioning to the inactive state.

[0075] In this scenario, the configuration received from the network node 120 may be indicated by one or more information elements (IEs) in a suspend configuration in the RRC release message.

[0076] For example, the configuration may include a time period within which the user device 110 is available to be participated as a reader or activator in the A-IoT session. This ensures that the user device 110 prioritizes its actions in the network even when it is in an inactive state, such as in the case of Multiple Subscriber Identity Module (MUSIM) or Multi-Radio Access Technology (multi-RAT) operation.

[0077] Alternatively, or in addition, the configuration may include resources in time and / or frequency domain on which the user device 110 is allowed to transmit an activation signal for the A-IoT session (for example, when the user device 110 will act as an activator) and / or resources in time and / or frequency domain on which the user device 110 is expected to receive a reply from an A-IoT device of the A-IoT session (for example, when the user device 110 will act as a reader).

[0078] It is also possible that the configuration may include paging resources on which the user device 110 is expected to listen a potential triggering request for becoming an activator and / or a reader.

[0079] Furthermore, the configuration may include resources for the user device 110 to request a start of the A-IoT session. The resources may include such as 2-step RACH, 4-step RACH or CG-SDT.

[0080] Alternatively, or in addition, the configuration may include an indication of an A-IoT device 130 for which the user device 110 to be asked acted as an activator and / or a reader.

[0081] In some example embodiments, the indication of the A-IoT device 130 may comprise an identifier of the A-IoT device, for example, the actual devices IDs (e.g., to be used to transmit the activation signal or decode a reply from the A-IoT device 130). Alternatively, the indication of the A-IoT device 130 may comprise a type of the A-IoT device, for example, the types of the A-IoT device 130 (e.g., Types A, B and / or C).

[0082] That is, based on the configuration configured by the network node 120, the user device 110 is allowed to join an A-IoT session as an activator and / or a reader even in the RRC inactive state.

[0083] It is to be understood that one or more information included in the configuration as described above, such as resources in time and / or frequency domain on which the user device 110 is allowed to transmit an activation signal for the A-IoT session and / or resources in time and / or frequency domain on which the user device 110 is expected to receive a reply from an A-IoT device of the A-IoT session, may also be configured by the network node 120 via the paging message.

[0084] In addition to the resource indication for the user device as an activator and / or a reader, in this scenario, the user device 110 may obtain, from the paging message, an indication that the user device 110 acts as an activator and / or a reader.

[0085] Alternatively, or in addition, the paging message may also indicate that the user device 110 acts as an activator and / or a reader for a specific A-IoT device, e.g., the associated ID is provided in the paging message, or a specific type of A-IoT device.

[0086] Moreover, the paging message may also indicate the user device 110 to report the reply from the A-IoT device to, for example, the network node 120 either 2-step RACH SDT, 4-step RACH SDT or CG-SDT, when the user device 110 acts as a reader.

[0087] In summary, the user device 110 has been configured to be eligible to participate in the A-IoT session even when in the RRC inactive state. As a result, it may be triggered via the paging message to become active in the A-IoT session. Some paging information may be included in the configuration, such as the indication that the user device 110 acts as an activator and / or a reader. The information included in the paging message as described above may be indicated by new information elements in the paging message.

[0088] As another option, the configuration associated with participating in the A-IoT session for the user device in the inactive state may be provided to the user device 110 via the paging message. That is, for the user device 110 in the RRC inactive state, the network node 120 may transmit (210) the paging message to the user device 110 to configure and trigger the user device 110 to participate in an A-IoT session in the inactive state.

[0089] In this case, if the network node 120 identifies a currently RRC inactive user device 110 as candidate for serving in an A-IoT session (as activator, reader, or both). Whilst remaining in RRC inactive, the user device 110 may configured for the A-IoT role by the network node 120. The configuration for a role may be done via an enhanced paging message over which the identified UE-ID-x is requested for A-IoT role-ID-R. For example, if R= 1, its role is to activate; if R= 2, its role is to read; if R= 2, its role is to report to network.

[0090] Furthermore, to support the configuration of an A-IoT session, the functionality of the paging message may be extended. As a result, new IEs may be added to the paging message.

[0091] As an example, the paging message may comprise a new IE to indicate an identifier of the A-IoT session in which the user device 110 to be participated, e.g., an A-IoT session ID. If the paging message includes the identifier of the A-IoT session and the A-IoT session has been pre-configured while in the RRC connected state and the user device 110 has stored the context, then the A-IoT session may be referenced by ID only and resumed using the memorized configuration. This configuration may include the list of A-IoT device IDs and the respective activation signal waveform parameterization in the baseband, without including the resource allocation which is dependent on the RRC state of the user devices 110.

[0092] As another example, the paging message may comprise one or more IEs to indicate an indication of at least one further user device to be participate in the A-IoT session and respective roles of the least one further user device. For example, the paging message may indicate a mapping between all targeted UEs i.e., a mapping between UE_ID-x and role-ID-R. The UE-ID-x identifies each UE that should join the session.

[0093] Moreover, the paging message may comprise one or more IEs to indicate resources in time and / or frequency domain on which the user device 110 is allowed to transmit an activation signal for the A-IoT session, resources in time and / or frequency domain on which the user device 110 is expected to receive a reply from an A-IoT device 130 of the A-IoT session. For example, the paging message may indicate the activation signal transmission time within the RRC inactive, e.g., its periodicity and band. This information is used by the activator to transmit during RRC inactive, and by the reader to monitor for A-IoT replies.

[0094] It is also possible that the paging message may comprise a new IE to indicate a configuration for reporting received information / reply from the user device 110 acted as a reader. For example, this IE may specify the resources over which the reading outcome should be sent back to the network node 120 after the A-IoT session is finalized. For example, the report may be sent using UL SDT, which does not require the RRC inactive reader to transition to RRC connected. For example, the UL SDT transmission should occur shortly after the activation signal transmission and may be configured to happen relative to the start time of the activation signal.

[0095] Based on the paging message and / or configuration, the user device 110 may determine (215) its role and other corresponding information to join the A-IoT session.

[0096] In the A-IoT session, if the user device 110 only acts as an activator, the user device 110 may send (220) an activation signal to the A-IoT device 130. In this case, if the network node 120 acts as a reader, the A-IoT device 130 may send (225) a reply to the network node 120.

[0097] In some cases, if the user device 110 acts as an activator and a reader, after the user device 110 sending an activation signal, the A-IoT device 130 may send (235) a reply to the user device 110 and the user device 110 may transfer (240) the reply to the network node 120.

[0098] In some other cases, if the user device 110 only acts as a reader, it may receive (235) a reply from the A-IoT device 130 that is activated by the network node 120 (via action 230) and transfer (240) the reply to the network node 120.

[0099] FIGS. 3-5 illustrate processes of A-IoT paging for user device in RRC inactive state according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. With reference to FIGS. 3-5, the behaviors of user devices acting different roles may be further described in detail.

[0100] As described above, in a topology for A-IoT session, an A-IoT device may communicate bidirectionally with an intermediate node between the A-IoT device and network node. In the topology as shown in FIG. 3, the user device 110 being in the RRC inactive state may act as the intermediate node. It is to be understood that the intermediate node may include more user devices in the RRC inactive state.

[0101] In this topology, the user device 110 in the RRC inactive state, with assistance of the network node 120 (which has configured the user device 110 for activation and / or reading), may perform one or both of the following actions: transmitting an activation signal while remaining in the RRC inactive state or reading the A-IoT device 130 and reporting the outcome to the network node 120 via the UL, all while remaining in the RRC inactive state.

[0102] If the user device 110 in the RRC inactive state acts both activator and reader, the paging message may configure the user device 110 with all A-IoT roles i.e., role-ID-1, role-ID-2, role-ID-3, etc.

[0103] If the user device 110 in the RRC inactive state acts an activator, and a further user device in the RRC connected state acts as a reader, the paging message for the user device 110 may identify the activator only i.e., by a paging IE contains only an activator mapping, i.e., a mapping between UE_ID-x and role-ID-R. In this case, the paging message will not indicate the reader report configuration.

[0104] At the same time, the network node may configure the further user device to read the A-IoT device 130 which is activated by the user device 110 in the RRC inactive state. In this case, the reader report configuration is realized via an RRC IE or LTE positioning protocol (LPP) and may contain at least a paging IE for an identifier of the A-IoT session, a paging IE for an activation signal transmission time and a paging IE for a reader report configuration.

[0105] In another topology for A-IoT session, an A-IoT device transmits data / signaling to a network node and receives data / signaling from an assisting node; or the A-IoT device receives data / signaling from a network node and transmits data / signaling to the assisting node. In the topology as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the user device 110 acts as the assisting node.

[0106] For example, as shown in FIG. 4, the user device 110-1 in the RRC inactive state acts as an activator, and its own serving network node 120 acts as a reader, then the paging message for the user device 110-1 may identify the activator only, i.e., a paging IE contains only the activator mapping without containing the paging IE for a reader report configuration.

[0107] As further option, as shown in FIG. 5, if the user device 110 acts as a reader, after the A-IoT device 130 is activated by the network node 120 or a further user device, the user device 110 may receive reply from the A-IoT device 130 and transmit the same to the network node 120 while remaining in the inactive state. In this case, the reader report configuration is realized via an RRC IE and may contain at least a paging IE for an identifier of the A-IoT session, a paging IE for an activation signal transmission time and a paging IE for a reader report configuration.

[0108] The solution of the present disclosure enables a UE to join the A-IOT session by paging even in an RRC inactive state. In this way, the UE in an RRC inactive state may assists the discovery session of one or more AIOT devices.

[0109] FIG. 6 shows a flowchart of an example method 600 implemented at a device in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the method 600 will be described from the perspective of the user device 110 in FIG. 1.

[0110] At block 610, the user device 110 receives, from a network node, a paging message to trigger the apparatus in an inactive state to participate in an A-IoT session.

[0111] At block 620, the user device 110 obtains a configuration associated with participating in the A-IoT session for the apparatus in the inactive state.

[0112] At block 630, the user device 110 joins to the A-IoT session based on the configuration and the paging message while remaining in the inactive state.

[0113] In some example embodiments, the method 600 further comprises: obtaining the configuration via a radio resource control, RRC, release message during transitioning to the inactive state, wherein the configuration indicating the apparatus is allowed to be participated in the A-IoT session after transitioning to the inactive state.

[0114] In some example embodiments, the configuration comprises at least one of the following: a time period within which the apparatus is available to be participated as a reader or activator in the A-IoT session, resources in time and / or frequency domain on which the apparatus is allowed to transmit an activation signal for the A-IoT session, resources in time and / or frequency domain on which the apparatus is expected to receive a reply from an A-IoT device of the A-IoT session, paging resources on which the apparatus is expected to listen a potential triggering request for becoming an activator and / or a reader, resources for the apparatus to request a start of the A-IoT session, or an indication of an A-IoT device for which the apparatus to be acted as an activator and / or a reader.

[0115] In some example embodiments, the indication of the A-IoT device comprises at least one of the following: an identifier of the A-IoT device, or a type of the A-IoT device.

[0116] In some example embodiments, the configuration is indicated by one or more information elements in a suspend configuration in the RRC release message.

[0117] In some example embodiments, the paging message comprises at least one of the following: an indication that the apparatus acts as an activator and / or a reader, an indication that the apparatus acts as an activator and / or a reader for a specific A-IoT device, an indication that the apparatus acts as an activator and / or a reader for a specific type of A-IoT device, resources in time and / or frequency domain on which the apparatus is allowed to transmit an activation signal for the A-IoT session, resources in time and / or frequency domain on which the apparatus is expected to receive a reply from an A-IoT device of the A-IoT session, or an indication that the apparatus acts as a reader and reports received information via a small data transmission, SDT.

[0118] In some example embodiments, the method 600 further comprises: obtaining the configuration from the paging message, wherein the paging message comprises at least one of the following: an indication that the apparatus acts as an activator and / or a reader, an identifier of the A-IoT session in which the apparatus to be participated, resources in time and / or frequency domain on which the apparatus is allowed to transmit an activation signal for the A-IoT session, resources in time and / or frequency domain on which the apparatus is expected to receive a reply from an A-IoT device of the A-IoT session, a configuration for reporting received information from the apparatus acted as a reader; or an indication of at least one further user devices to be participate in the A-IoT session and respective roles of the least one further user devices.

[0119] In some example embodiments, the method 600 further comprises: in accordance with a determination that the apparatus acts as an activator and a reader, transmitting, to an A-IoT device, an activation signal based on the configuration associated with participating in the A-IoT session; and in accordance with a determination that the apparatus receives a reply from the A-IoT device, transmitting the reply to the network node via an SDT.

[0120] In some example embodiments, the method 600 further comprises: in accordance with a determination that the apparatus acts as an activator, transmitting, to an A-IoT device, an activation signal based on the configuration associated with participating in the A-IoT session.

[0121] In some example embodiments, the method 600 further comprises: in accordance with a determination that the apparatus acts as a reader and receives information from the A-IoT device that is activated by the network node or a further user device, transmitting the received information to the network node via an SDT.

[0122] FIG. 7 shows a flowchart of an example method 700 implemented at a device in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the method 700 will be described from the perspective of the network node 120 in FIG. 1.

[0123] At block 710, the network node 120 determines a configuration associated with participating in an A-IoT session for a user device in the inactive state.

[0124] At block 720, the network node 120 transmits, to the user device, a paging message to trigger the user device in the inactive state to participate in the A-IoT session.

[0125] In some example embodiments, the method 700 further comprises: transmitting, to the user device, the configuration via a radio resource control, RRC, release message during transitioning to the inactive state, wherein the configuration indicating the user device is allowed to be participated in the A-IoT session after transitioning to the inactive state.

[0126] In some example embodiments, the configuration comprises at least one of the following: a time period within which the user device is available to be participated as a reader or activator in the A-IoT session, resources in time and / or frequency domain on which the user device is allowed to transmit an activation signal for the A-IoT session, resources in time and / or frequency domain on which the user device is expected to receive a reply from an A-IoT device of the A-IoT session, paging resources on which the user device is expected to listen a potential triggering request for becoming an activator and / or a reader, resources for the user device to request a start of the A-IoT session, or an indication of an A-IoT device for which the user device to be acted as an activator and / or a reader.

[0127] In some example embodiments, the indication of the A-IoT device comprises at least one of the following: an identifier of the A-IoT device, or a type of the A-IoT device.

[0128] In some example embodiments, the paging message comprises at least one of the following: an indication that the user device acts as an activator and / or a reader, an indication that the user device acts as an activator and / or a reader for a specific A-IoT device, an indication that the user device acts as an activator and / or a reader for a specific type of A-IoT device, resources in time and / or frequency domain on which the user device is allowed to transmit an activation signal for the A-IoT session, resources in time and / or frequency domain on which the user device is expected to receive a reply from an A-IoT device of the A-IoT session, or an indication that the user device acts as a reader and reports received information via a small data transmission, SDT.

[0129] In some example embodiments, the method 700 further comprises: transmitting the configuration to the user device via the paging message, wherein the paging message comprises at least one of the following: an indication that the user device acts as an activator and / or a reader, an identifier of the A-IoT session in which the user device to be participated, resources in time and / or frequency domain on which the user device is allowed to transmit an activation signal for the A-IoT session, resources in time and / or frequency domain on which the user device is expected to receive a reply from an A-IoT device of the A-IoT session, a configuration for reporting received information from the user device acted as a reader; or an indication of at least one further user devices to be participate in the A-IoT session and respective roles of the least one further user devices.

[0130] In some example embodiments, the method 700 further comprises: receiving, from the user device acted as a reader in the A-IoT session, a reply from an A-IoT device via an SDT.

[0131] In some example embodiments, an apparatus capable of performing any of the method 600 (for example, the user device 110 in FIG. 1) may comprise means for performing the respective operations of the method 600. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuitry or software module. The apparatus may be implemented as or included in the user device 110 in FIG. 1.

[0132] In some example embodiments, the apparatus comprises means for receiving, from a network node, a paging message to trigger the apparatus in an inactive state to participate in an A-IoT session; means for obtaining a configuration associated with participating in the A-IoT session for the apparatus in the inactive state; and means for joining to the A-IoT session based on the configuration and the paging message while remaining in the inactive state.

[0133] In some example embodiments, the apparatus comprises means for obtaining the configuration via a radio resource control, RRC, release message during transitioning to the inactive state, wherein the configuration indicating the apparatus is allowed to be participated in the A-IoT session after transitioning to the inactive state.

[0134] In some example embodiments, the configuration comprises at least one of the following: a time period within which the apparatus is available to be participated as a reader or activator in the A-IoT session, resources in time and / or frequency domain on which the apparatus is allowed to transmit an activation signal for the A-IoT session, resources in time and / or frequency domain on which the apparatus is expected to receive a reply from an A-IoT device of the A-IoT session, paging resources on which the apparatus is expected to listen a potential triggering request for becoming an activator and / or a reader, resources for the apparatus to request a start of the A-IoT session, or an indication of an A-IoT device for which the apparatus to be acted as an activator and / or a reader.

[0135] In some example embodiments, the indication of the A-IoT device comprises at least one of the following: an identifier of the A-IoT device, or a type of the A-IoT device.

[0136] In some example embodiments, the configuration is indicated by one or more information elements in a suspend configuration in the RRC release message.

[0137] In some example embodiments, the paging message comprises at least one of the following: an indication that the apparatus acts as an activator and / or a reader, an indication that the apparatus acts as an activator and / or a reader for a specific A-IoT device, an indication that the apparatus acts as an activator and / or a reader for a specific type of A-IoT device, resources in time and / or frequency domain on which the apparatus is allowed to transmit an activation signal for the A-IoT session, resources in time and / or frequency domain on which the apparatus is expected to receive a reply from an A-IoT device of the A-IoT session, or an indication that the apparatus acts as a reader and reports received information via a small data transmission, SDT.

[0138] In some example embodiments, the apparatus further comprises: means for obtaining the configuration from the paging message, wherein the paging message comprises at least one of the following: an indication that the apparatus acts as an activator and / or a reader, an identifier of the A-IoT session in which the apparatus to be participated, resources in time and / or frequency domain on which the apparatus is allowed to transmit an activation signal for the A-IoT session, resources in time and / or frequency domain on which the apparatus is expected to receive a reply from an A-IoT device of the A-IoT session, a configuration for reporting received information from the apparatus acted as a reader; or an indication of at least one further user devices to be participate in the A-IoT session and respective roles of the least one further user devices.

[0139] In some example embodiments, the apparatus further comprises: means for in accordance with a determination that the apparatus acts as an activator and a reader, transmitting, to an A-IoT device, an activation signal based on the configuration associated with participating in the A-IoT session; and means for in accordance with a determination that the apparatus receives a reply from the A-IoT device, transmitting the reply to the network node via an SDT.

[0140] In some example embodiments, the apparatus further comprises: means for in accordance with a determination that the apparatus acts as an activator, transmitting, to an A-IoT device, an activation signal based on the configuration associated with participating in the A-IoT session.

[0141] In some example embodiments, the apparatus further comprises: means for in accordance with a determination that the apparatus acts as a reader and receives information from the A-IoT device that is activated by the network node or a further user device, transmitting the received information to the network node via an SDT.

[0142] In some example embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for performing other operations in some example embodiments of the method 600 or the user device 110. In some example embodiments, the means comprises at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the performance of the apparatus.

[0143] In some example embodiments, an apparatus capable of performing any of the method 700 (for example, the network node 120 in FIG. 1) may comprise means for performing the respective operations of the method 700. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuitry or software module. The apparatus may be implemented as or included in the network node 120 in FIG. 1.

[0144] In some example embodiments, the apparatus comprises means for determining a configuration associated with participating in an A-IoT session for a user device in the inactive state; and means for transmitting, to the user device, a paging message to trigger the user device in the inactive state to participate in the A-IoT session.

[0145] In some example embodiments, the apparatus further comprises: means for transmitting, to the user device, the configuration via a radio resource control, RRC, release message during transitioning to the inactive state, wherein the configuration indicating the user device is allowed to be participated in the A-IoT session after transitioning to the inactive state.

[0146] In some example embodiments, the configuration comprises at least one of the following: a time period within which the user device is available to be participated as a reader or activator in the A-IoT session, resources in time and / or frequency domain on which the user device is allowed to transmit an activation signal for the A-IoT session, resources in time and / or frequency domain on which the user device is expected to receive a reply from an A-IoT device of the A-IoT session, paging resources on which the user device is expected to listen a potential triggering request for becoming an activator and / or a reader, resources for the user device to request a start of the A-IoT session, or an indication of an A-IoT device for which the user device to be acted as an activator and / or a reader.

[0147] In some example embodiments, the indication of the A-IoT device comprises at least one of the following: an identifier of the A-IoT device, or a type of the A-IoT device.

[0148] In some example embodiments, the paging message comprises at least one of the following: an indication that the user device acts as an activator and / or a reader, an indication that the user device acts as an activator and / or a reader for a specific A-IoT device, an indication that the user device acts as an activator and / or a reader for a specific type of A-IoT device, resources in time and / or frequency domain on which the user device is allowed to transmit an activation signal for the A-IoT session, resources in time and / or frequency domain on which the user device is expected to receive a reply from an A-IoT device of the A-IoT session, or an indication that the user device acts as a reader and reports received information via a small data transmission, SDT.

[0149] In some example embodiments, the apparatus further comprises: means for transmitting the configuration to the user device via the paging message, wherein the paging message comprises at least one of the following: an indication that the user device acts as an activator and / or a reader, an identifier of the A-IoT session in which the user device to be participated, resources in time and / or frequency domain on which the user device is allowed to transmit an activation signal for the A-IoT session, resources in time and / or frequency domain on which the user device is expected to receive a reply from an A-IoT device of the A-IoT session, a configuration for reporting received information from the user device acted as a reader; or an indication of at least one further user devices to be participate in the A-IoT session and respective roles of the least one further user devices.

[0150] In some example embodiments, the apparatus further comprises: means for receiving, from the user device acted as a reader in the A-IoT session, a reply from an A-IoT device via an SDT.

[0151] In some example embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for performing other operations in some example embodiments of the method 700 or the network node 120. In some example embodiments, the means comprises at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the performance of the apparatus.

[0152] FIG. 8 is a simplified block diagram of a device 800 that is suitable for implementing example embodiments of the present disclosure. The device 800 may be provided to implement a communication device, for example, the user device 110 or the network node 120 as shown in FIG. 1. As shown, the device 800 includes one or more processors 810, one or more memories 820 coupled to the processor 810, and one or more communication modules 840 coupled to the processor 810.

[0153] The communication module 840 is for bidirectional communications. The communication module 840 has one or more communication interfaces to facilitate communication with one or more other modules or devices. The communication interfaces may represent any interface that is necessary for communication with other network elements. In some example embodiments, the communication module 840 may include at least one antenna.

[0154] The processor 810 may be of any type suitable to the local technical network and may include one or more of the following: general purpose computers, special purpose computers, microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs) and processors based on multicore processor architecture, as non-limiting examples. The device 800 may have multiple processors, such as an application specific integrated circuit chip that is slaved in time to a clock which synchronizes the main processor.

[0155] The memory 820 may include one or more non-volatile memories and one or more volatile memories. Examples of the non-volatile memories include, but are not limited to, a Read Only Memory (ROM) 824, an electrically programmable read only memory (EPROM), a flash memory, a hard disk, a compact disc (CD), a digital video disk (DVD), an optical disk, a laser disk, and other magnetic storage and / or optical storage. Examples of the volatile memories include, but are not limited to, a random access memory (RAM) 822 and other volatile memories that will not last in the powerdown duration.

[0156] A computer program 830 includes computer executable instructions that are executed by the associated processor 810. The instructions of the program 830 may include instructions for performing operations / acts of some example embodiments of the present disclosure. The program 830 may be stored in the memory, e.g., the ROM 824. The processor 810 may perform any suitable actions and processing by loading the program 830 into the RAM 822.

[0157] The example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by means of the program 830 so that the device 800 may perform any process of the disclosure as discussed with reference to FIG. 2 to FIG. 7. The example embodiments of the present disclosure may also be implemented by hardware or by a combination of software and hardware.

[0158] In some example embodiments, the program 830 may be tangibly contained in a computer readable medium which may be included in the device 800 (such as in the memory 820) or other storage devices that are accessible by the device 800. The device 800 may load the program 830 from the computer readable medium to the RAM 822 for execution. In some example embodiments, the computer readable medium may include any types of non-transitory storage medium, such as ROM, EPROM, a flash memory, a hard disk, CD, DVD, and the like. The term “non-transitory,” as used herein, is a limitation of the medium itself (i.e., tangible, not a signal) as opposed to a limitation on data storage persistency (e g., RAM vs. ROM).

[0159] FIG. 9 shows an example of the computer readable medium 900 which may be in form of CD, DVD or other optical storage disk. The computer readable medium 900 has the program 830 stored thereon.

[0160] Generally, various embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in hardware or special purpose circuits, software, logic or any combination thereof. Some aspects may be implemented in hardware, and other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software which may be executed by a controller, microprocessor or other computing device. Although various aspects of embodiments of the present disclosure are illustrated and described as block diagrams, flowcharts, or using some other pictorial representations, it is to be understood that the block, apparatus, system, technique or method described herein may be implemented in, as non-limiting examples, hardware, software, firmware, special purpose circuits or logic, general purpose hardware or controller or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

[0161] Some example embodiments of the present disclosure also provide at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a computer readable medium, such as a non-transitory computer readable medium. The computer program product includes computer-executable instructions, such as those included in program modules, being executed in a device on a target physical or virtual processor, to carry out any of the methods as described above. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, or the like that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. The functionality of the program modules may be combined or split between program modules as desired in various embodiments. Machine-executable instructions for program modules may be executed within a local or distributed device. In a distributed device, program modules may be located in both local and remote storage media.

[0162] Program code for carrying out methods of the present disclosure may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. The program code may be provided to a processor or controller of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus, such that the program code, when executed by the processor or controller, cause the functions / operations specified in the flowcharts and / or block diagrams to be implemented. The program code may execute entirely on a machine, partly on the machine, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the machine and partly on a remote machine or entirely on the remote machine or server.

[0163] In the context of the present disclosure, the computer program code or related data may be carried by any suitable carrier to enable the device, apparatus or processor to perform various processes and operations as described above. Examples of the carrier include a signal, computer readable medium, and the like.

[0164] The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signal medium or a computer readable storage medium. A computer readable medium may include but not limited to an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples of the computer readable storage medium would include an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

[0165] Further, although operations are depicted in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring that such operations be performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, or that all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirable results. In certain circumstances, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Likewise, although several specific implementation details are contained in the above discussions, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the present disclosure, but rather as descriptions of features that may be specific to particular embodiments. Unless explicitly stated, certain features that are described in the context of separate embodiments may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, unless explicitly stated, various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented in a plurality of embodiments separately or in any suitable sub-combination.

[0166] Although the present disclosure has been described in languages specific to structural features and / or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the present disclosure defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:at least one processor; andat least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to:receive, from a network node, a paging message to trigger the apparatus in an inactive state to participate in an ambient internet of things, A-IoT, session;obtain a configuration associated with participating in the A-IoT session for the apparatus in the inactive state; andjoin to the A-IoT session based on the configuration and the paging message while remaining in the inactive state.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, where the apparatus is caused to:obtain the configuration via a radio resource control, RRC, release message during transitioning to the inactive state, wherein the configuration indicating the apparatus is allowed to be participated in the A-IoT session after transitioning to the inactive state.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the configuration comprises at least one of the following:a time period within which the apparatus is available to be participated as a reader or activator in the A-IoT session,resources in time and / or frequency domain on which the apparatus is allowed to transmit an activation signal for the A-IoT session,resources in time and / or frequency domain on which the apparatus is expected to receive a reply from an A-IoT device of the A-IoT session,paging resources on which the apparatus is expected to listen a potential triggering request for becoming an activator and / or a reader,resources for the apparatus to request a start of the A-IoT session, oran indication of an A-IoT device for which the apparatus to be acted as an activator and / or a reader.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the indication of the A-IoT device comprises at least one of the following:an identifier of the A-IoT device, ora type of the A-IoT device.

5. The apparatus of any of claims 2-4, wherein the configuration is indicated by one or more information elements in a suspend configuration in the RRC release message.

6. The apparatus of any of claims 1-5, wherein the paging message comprises at least one of the following:an indication that the apparatus acts as an activator and / or a reader,an indication that the apparatus acts as an activator and / or a reader for a specific A-IoT device,an indication that the apparatus acts as an activator and / or a reader for a specific type of A-IoT device,resources in time and / or frequency domain on which the apparatus is allowed to transmit an activation signal for the A-IoT session,resources in time and / or frequency domain on which the apparatus is expected to receive a reply from an A-IoT device of the A-IoT session, oran indication that the apparatus acts as a reader and reports received information via a small data transmission, SDT.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus is caused to:obtain the configuration from the paging message, wherein the paging message comprises at least one of the following:an indication that the apparatus acts as an activator and / or a reader,an identifier of the A-IoT session in which the apparatus to be participated,resources in time and / or frequency domain on which the apparatus is allowed to transmit an activation signal for the A-IoT session,resources in time and / or frequency domain on which the apparatus is expected to receive a reply from an A-IoT device of the A-IoT session,a configuration for reporting received information from the apparatus acted as a reader; oran indication of at least one further user devices to be participate in the A-IoT session and respective roles of the least one further user devices.

8. The apparatus of any of claims 1-7, wherein the apparatus is caused to:in accordance with a determination that the apparatus acts as an activator and a reader, transmit, to an A-IoT device, an activation signal based on the configuration associated with participating in the A-IoT session; andin accordance with a determination that the apparatus receives a reply from the A-loT device, transmit the reply to the network node via an SDT.

9. The apparatus of any of claims 1-7, wherein the apparatus is caused to:in accordance with a determination that the apparatus acts as an activator, transmit, to an A-IoT device, an activation signal based on the configuration associated with participating in the A-IoT session.

10. The apparatus of any of claims 1-7, wherein the apparatus is caused to:in accordance with a determination that the apparatus acts as a reader and receives information from the A-IoT device that is activated by the network node or a further user device, transmit the received information to the network node via an SDT.

11. An apparatus comprising:at least one processor; andat least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to:determine a configuration associated with participating in an ambient internet of things, A-IoT, session for a user device in the inactive state; andtransmit, to the user device, a paging message to trigger the user device in the inactive state to participate in the A-IoT session.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the apparatus is caused to:transmit, to the user device, the configuration via a radio resource control, RRC, release message during transitioning to the inactive state, wherein the configuration indicating the user device is allowed to be participated in the A-IoT session after transitioning to the inactive state.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the configuration comprises at least one of the following:a time period within which the user device is available to be participated as a reader or activator in the A-IoT session,resources in time and / or frequency domain on which the user device is allowed to transmit an activation signal for the A-IoT session,resources in time and / or frequency domain on which the user device is expected to receive a reply from an A-IoT device of the A-IoT session,paging resources on which the user device is expected to listen a potential triggering request for becoming an activator and / or a reader,resources for the user device to request a start of the A-IoT session, oran indication of an A-IoT device for which the user device to be acted as an activator and / or a reader.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the indication of the A-IoT devicecomprises at least one of the following:an identifier of the A-IoT device, ora type of the A-IoT device.

15. The apparatus of any of claims 12-14, wherein the paging message comprises at least one of the following:an indication that the user device acts as an activator and / or a reader,an indication that the user device acts as an activator and / or a reader for a specific A-IoT device,an indication that the user device acts as an activator and / or a reader for a specific type of A-IoT device,resources in time and / or frequency domain on which the user device is allowed to transmit an activation signal for the A-IoT session,resources in time and / or frequency domain on which the user device is expected to receive a reply from an A-IoT device of the A-IoT session, oran indication that the user device acts as a reader and reports received information via a small data transmission, SDT.

16. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the apparatus is caused to:transmit the configuration to the user device via the paging message, wherein the paging message comprises at least one of the following:an indication that the user device acts as an activator and / or a reader,an identifier of the A-IoT session in which the user device to be participated,resources in time and / or frequency domain on which the user device is allowed to transmit an activation signal for the A-IoT session,resources in time and / or frequency domain on which the user device is expected to receive a reply from an A-IoT device of the A-IoT session,a configuration for reporting received information from the user device acted as a reader; oran indication of at least one further user devices to be participate in the A-IoT session and respective roles of the least one further user devices.

17. The apparatus of any of claims 11-16, wherein the apparatus is caused to:receive, from the user device acted as a reader in the A-IoT session, a reply from an A-IoT device via an SDT.

18. A method comprising:receiving, at a user device from a network node, a paging message to trigger the apparatus in an inactive state to participate in an ambient internet of things, A-IoT, session;obtaining a configuration associated with participating in the A-IoT session for the apparatus in the inactive state; andjoining to the A-IoT session based on the configuration and the paging message while remaining in the inactive state.

19. A method comprising:determining, at a network node, a configuration associated with participating in an ambient internet of things, A-IoT, session for a user device in the inactive state; andtransmitting, to the user device, a paging message to trigger the user device in the inactive state to participate in the A-IoT session.

20. An apparatus comprising:means for receiving, from a network node, a paging message to trigger the apparatus in an inactive state to participate in an ambient internet of things, A-IoT, session;means for obtaining a configuration associated with participating in the A-IoT session for the apparatus in the inactive state; andmeans for joining to the A-IoT session based on the configuration and the pagingmessage while remaining in the inactive state.

21. An apparatus comprising:means for determining a configuration associated with participating in an ambient 5 internet of things, A-IoT, session for a user device in the inactive state; andmeans for transmitting, to the user device, a paging message to trigger the user device in the inactive state to participate in the A-IoT session.

22. A computer readable medium comprising instructions stored thereon for 10 causing an apparatus at least to perform the method of claim 18 or 19.38

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