Detecting and preventing oscillations

Abstract

Detecting and preventing oscillations for Ambient Internet of Things (IoT) connections, to increase signal quality and avoid interference. Solutions comprise: switching on and off the reflection gain at the Ambient IoT device and related signalling framework; and variable gain at the Ambient IoT device and related signalling framework. A first apparatus transmits, to a second apparatus, an indication to cause the second apparatus to transmit to a third apparatus an activation signal, comprising a command to enable a reflection amplifier. The first apparatus then receives, from the third apparatus, a first signal backscattered based on the activation signal. If the first signal is unable to be decoded successfully, the first apparatus transmits a request to the second apparatus to reduce a power for transmitting the activation signal to the third apparatus, and / or to cause the third apparatus to reduce a reflection gain of the reflection amplifier. The first apparatus (110) may comprise a receiving device associated with Ambient Internet of Things (IoT), such as a gNB or a user equipment. The second apparatus (120) may comprises a transmitting device associated with Ambient IoT, such a further user equipment. The third apparatus (130) may comprise another Ambient IoT (AIoT) device.

Description

FIELD

[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 detecting and preventing oscillations. BACKGROUND

[0002] Regarding Internet of Things (loT) applications, Narrow Band Internet of Things (NB-IoT) / enhanced Machine-Type Communication (eMTC) and New Radio (NR) reduced capability (RedCap) has been specified to satisfy the requirements on low cost and low power devices for wide area loT communication. These loT devices usually consume tens or hundreds of milliwatts power during transceiving, while the cost is a few dollars. However, to achieve the internet of everything, loT devices with ten or even a hundred times lower cost and power consumption are desired, especially for a large number of applications requiring battery-less devices. SUMMARY

[0003] In a first aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a first apparatus. The first apparatus comprises at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the first apparatus at least to: transmit, to a second apparatus, an indication to cause the second apparatus to transmit to a third apparatus an activation signal, the activation signal comprising a command to enable a reflection amplifier; receive, from the third apparatus, a first signal which is backscattered based on the activation signal, wherein the reflection amplifier has been turned on at the third apparatus; and in accordance with a determination that the first signal is unable to be decoded successfully, transmit a request to the second apparatus to perform at least one of: reduce a power for transmitting the activation signal to the third apparatus, or cause the third apparatus to reduce a reflection gain of the reflection amplifier.

[0004] In a second aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a second apparatus. The second apparatus comprises at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the second apparatus at least to: in response to receiving, from a first apparatus, an indication to cause the second apparatus to transmit to a third apparatus an activation signal, transmit, to the third apparatus, the activation signal comprising a command to enable a reflection amplifier; and in response to receiving, from the first apparatus, a request to reduce a power for transmitting the activation signal to the third apparatus, transmit, to the third apparatus, the activation signal with a reduced power, or in response to receiving, from the first apparatus, a request to cause the third apparatus to reduce a reflection gain of the reflection amplifier, transmit, to the third apparatus, a further request to reduce the reflection gain.

[0005] In a third aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a third apparatus. The third apparatus comprises at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the third apparatus at least to: receive, from a second apparatus, an activation signal comprising a command to enable a reflection amplifier; and transmit, to a first apparatus, a first signal which is backscattered based on the activation signal, wherein the reflection amplifier has been turned on at the third apparatus, wherein a reflection gain of the reflection amplifier operates with a full gain or a variable gain.

[0006] In a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method. The method comprises: transmitting, to a second apparatus, an indication to cause the second apparatus to transmit to a third apparatus an activation signal, the activation signal comprising a command to enable a reflection amplifier; receiving, from the third apparatus, a first signal which is backscattered based on the activation signal, wherein the reflection amplifier has been turned on at the third apparatus; and in accordance with a determination that the first signal is unable to be decoded successfully, transmitting a request to the second apparatus to perform at least one of: reduce a power for transmitting the activation signal to the third apparatus, or cause the third apparatus to reduce a reflection gain of the reflection amplifier.

[0007] In a fifth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method. The method comprises: in response to receiving, from a first apparatus, an indication to cause the second apparatus to transmit to a third apparatus an activation signal, transmitting, to the third apparatus, the activation signal comprising a command to enable a reflection amplifier; and in response to receiving, from the first apparatus, a request to reduce a power for transmitting the activation signal to the third apparatus, transmitting, to the third apparatus, the activation signal with a reduced power, or in response to receiving, from the first apparatus, a request to cause the third apparatus to reduce a reflection gain of the reflection amplifier, transmitting, to the third apparatus, a further request to reduce the reflection gain.

[0008] In a sixth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method. The method comprises: receiving, from a second apparatus, an activation signal comprising a command to enable a reflection amplifier; and transmitting, to a first apparatus, a first signal which is backscattered based on the activation signal, wherein the reflection amplifier has been turned on at the third apparatus, wherein a reflection gain of the reflection amplifier operates with a full gain or a variable gain.

[0009] In a seventh aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a first apparatus. The first apparatus comprises means for transmitting, to a second apparatus, an indication to cause the second apparatus to transmit to a third apparatus an activation signal, the activation signal comprising a command to enable a reflection amplifier; means for receiving, from the third apparatus, a first signal which is backscattered based on the activation signal, wherein the reflection amplifier has been turned on at the third apparatus; and means for in accordance with a determination that the first signal is unable to be decoded successfully, transmitting a request to the second apparatus to perform at least one of: reduce a power for transmitting the activation signal to the third apparatus, or cause the third apparatus to reduce a reflection gain of the reflection amplifier.

[0010] In an eighth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a second apparatus. The second apparatus comprises means for in response to receiving, from a first apparatus, an indication to cause the second apparatus to transmit to a third apparatus an activation signal, transmit, to the third apparatus, the activation signal comprising a command to enable a reflection amplifier; and means for in response to receiving, from the first apparatus, a request to reduce a power for transmitting the activation signal to the third apparatus, transmit, to the third apparatus, the activation signal with a reduced power, or means for in response to receiving, from the first apparatus, a request to cause the third apparatus to reduce a reflection gain of the reflection amplifier, transmitting, to the third apparatus, a further request to reduce the reflection gain.

[0011] In a ninth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a third apparatus. The third apparatus comprises means for receiving, from a second apparatus, an activation signal comprising a command to enable a reflection amplifier; and means for transmitting, to a first apparatus, a first signal which is backscattered based on the activation signal, wherein the reflection amplifier has been turned on at the third apparatus, wherein a reflection gain of the reflection amplifier operates with a full gain or a variable gain.

[0012] In a tenth 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.

[0013] In an eleventh 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 fifth aspect.

[0014] In a twelfth 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 sixth aspect.

[0015] 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

[0016] Some example embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, where:

[0017] FIG. 1 illustrates an example communication environment in which example embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented;

[0018] FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic diagram of a first connectivity topology;

[0019] FIG. 3 illustrates a schematic diagram of a second connectivity topology;

[0020] FIG. 4A illustrates a schematic diagram of downlink assistance of a third connectivity topology;

[0021] FIG. 4B illustrates a schematic diagram of uplink assistance of a third connectivity topology;

[0022] FIG. 5 illustrates a schematic diagram of a fourth connectivity topology;

[0023] FIG. 6 illustrates a schematic diagram of a periodic user equipment (UE) power tuning to detect and prevent oscillations;

[0024] FIG. 7 illustrates a signaling chart for detecting and preventing oscillations according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0025] FIG. 8 illustrates a signaling chart for oscillation detection while backscattering according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0026] FIG. 9 illustrates a signaling chart for UE multi scattering solution for oscillation detection while backscattering according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0027] FIG. 10 illustrates a signaling chart for the variable gain procedure according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0028] FIG. 11 illustrates a schematic diagram of the UE reader behavior according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0029] FIG. 12 illustrates a flowchart of a method implemented at a first apparatus according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0030] FIG. 13 illustrates a flowchart of a method implemented at a second apparatus according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0031] FIG. 14 illustrates a flowchart of a method implemented at a third apparatus according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0032] FIG. 15 illustrates a simplified block diagram of a device that is suitable for implementing example embodiments of the present disclosure; and

[0033] FIG. 16 illustrates a block diagram of an example computer readable medium in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0034] Throughout the drawings, the same or similar reference numerals represent the same or similar element. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0035] 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.

[0036] 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.

[0037] 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.

[0038] 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.

[0039] 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.

[0040] 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.

[0041] 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 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.

[0042] As used in this application, the term “circuitry” may refer to one or more or 5 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.

[0043] 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) 10 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.

[0044] 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.

[0045] 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.

[0046] 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.

[0047] 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.

[0048] FIG. 1 illustrates an example communication environment 100 in which example embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented. In the communication environment 100, there are a plurality of communication devices, for example, a first apparatus 110, a second apparatus 120, a third apparatus 130, and a fourth apparatus 140. Any two of these four apparatuses can communication with each other.

[0049] As briefly mentioned above, the number of loT connections has been growing rapidly in recent years and is predicted to be hundreds of billions in the near future. With more and more ‘things’ expected to be interconnected for improving production efficiency and increasing comforts of life, it demands further reduction of size, cost, and power consumption for loT devices. In particular, regular replacement of battery for all the loT devices is impractical due to the tremendous consumption of materials and manpower. It has become a trend to use energy harvested from environments to power loT devices for self-sustainable communications, especially in applications with a huge number of devices (e.g., identity (ID) tags and sensors).

[0050] The most critical issue with existing 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) technologies for the target use cases is the capability of cooperating with energy harvesting considering limited device size. Cellular devices usually consume tens or even hundreds of milliwatts power for transceiver processing. Taking NB-IoT module for example, the typical current consumption for receive processing is about 60mA with supply voltage higher than 3.1V, while 70mA for transmit processing at OdBm transmit power. Furthermore, the output power provided by typical energy harvester is mostly below 1 milliwatt, considering the small size of a few square centimeters for practical devices. Since the available power is far less than the consumed power, it is impractical to power cellular devices directly by energy harvesting in most cases.

[0051] One possible solution is to integrate energy harvesting with rechargeable battery or supercapacitor. However, there are still a few problems to be solved. Firstly, both rechargeable battery and supercapacitor may suffer from shortened lifetime in practical cases. It is hard to provide constant charging current or voltage by energy harvesting, while longtime continuous charging is needed due to the very small output power from energy harvester. Inconstant charging current and longtime continuous charging are both harmful to battery life. For supercapacitor, its lifetime will be significantly reduced in high temperature environments (e.g., less than 3 years at 50 degrees centigrade). Secondly, device size will be significantly increased. As small size button battery can only provide current of a few tens of milliamps, battery with much larger size (e.g., AA battery) is usually used to power cellular devices, whose size can be even larger than the module itself. To store energy for a proper duration of working (e.g., one second), the required capacitance of a supercapacitor is at the level of a hundred mill-farads. The size of such supercapacitors may be larger than an NB-IoT module. Thirdly, both rechargeable batteries and supercapacitors can be more expensive than the module itself. Even purchased in large quantities, the cost of a suitable battery or supercapacitor may reach one or a few dollars, which nearly doubles the cost of the device.

[0052] Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is the most well-known technology supporting battery less tags (devices). The power consumption of commercial passive RFID tags can be as low as 1 microwatt. The key techniques enabling such low power consumption are envelope detection for downlink data reception, and backscatter communication for uplink data transmission. RFID is designed for short-range communications, whose typical effective range is less than 10 meters. As the air interface of RFID almost remains unchanged since 2005, the too-simple transmission scheme becomes the obstacle of improving its link budget and capability of supporting scalable network.

[0053] Attracted by the extremely low power consumption of backscatter communication, many non-3GPP technologies begin to put efforts into related research, such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Ultra-Wide Band (UWB), and Long Range Radio (LORA). Various research show that a few or tens of microwatts power consumption can be supported for passive tags based on or with small modifications to the above air interfaces. A significant proportion of the studies are targeting at long range communication. Among them, a LoRa tag implemented with commercial off-the-shelf components can send its sensing data to the receiver of 381 meters away. Currently, most of the studies are focusing on independent detailed techniques for various optimization targets. It is hard to see a comprehensive system design fully meeting the requirements of the target use cases. However, the standardization of those technologies is agile and quick, as the industries usually follow some de facto standards. It means that many products in the market will follow even a private standard once it shows competitiveness in some applications.

[0054] A passive radio is a device that harnesses energy from wireless signals sent on specific carriers and / or bandwidths and charges a simple circuitry that, once activated, it will emit / reflect a signal which encodes at least the ID of the passive radio. The typical system architecture around a passive radio consists of: 1) An activator: a device that sends an activation signal targeted at waking up the passive radio. 2) The passive radio: harnesses energy over a range of frequencies and listens for activation signals. Once such a signal is detected, the passive radio emits / reflects a signal which is specific to that radio ID. 3) A reader: a device that listens and detects the passive radio signals. The reader may or may not be collocated with the activator.

[0055] In an existing design related to Ambient loT, three device types have been identified: 1) Device A: No energy storage, no independent signal generation / amplification, i.e., backscattering transmission. 2) Device B: Has energy storage, no independent signal generation, i.e., backscattering transmission. Use of stored energy can include amplification for reflected signals. 3) Device C: Has energy storage, has independent signal generation, i.e., active RF components for transmission.

[0056] A design target for power consumptions of Device A is smaller than or equal 5 to IpW, or smaller than or equal to lOpW. A design target for power consumptions of Device B is larger than Device A and smaller than Device C. Moreover, a design target for power consumptions of Device C is smaller than or equal to ImW, or smaller than or equal to lOmW.

[0057] A device complexity design target of Device A is comparable to UHF RFID. 10 A device complexity design target of Device B is larger than or equal to Device A and smaller than or equal to Device C. Moreover, a device complexity design target of Device C is lower than NB-IoT in terms of orders-of-magnitude.

[0058] In addition, the following Table 1 and Table 2 describe functionalities to be tackled during the Ambient loT study. 15 Table 1-Functionalities to be tackled for design targets Design target Functionality Device power and complexity • Ultra-low power transceiver / Device architecture • Transmitting based on backscattering (including carrier wave provision for backscattering) for Device A and Device B • Low-complexity waveform / modulation / coding / signal / channel / synchronization scheme, if applicable to Device, robust to frequency error and timing error • Compact protocol stack and lightweight signaling procedure Coverage • Techniques for the required coverage with low device complexity (e.g., forward error correction, enough receiver sensitivity and transmitted power, reflection gain enhancement), if applicable and needed to the Device type User experienced data rate • Compact protocol stack and lightweight signaling procedure • Potential schemes as applicable, such as, e.g. flexible modulation / code rate, resource allocation, multiple access methods Maximum message size • Compact protocol stack and lightweight signaling procedure • Signal / channel design which can deliver the maximum message size Latency • Access mechanisms and signaling procedures which allow meeting the latency target Positioning support • Positioning method(s) applicable to the connectivity topologies for the required positioning accuracy for Ambient loT device Connection density • Efficient multiple access methods and contention handling • Ability to control the operation for one or more of the Ambient loT devices, within the applicable area, including e.g. the selection of devices Moving speed of device • Physical layer design (low-order modulation, reference signal etc. and others) robust to the appropriate ranges of moving speeds Table 2-Functionalities to be tackled for requirements Requirement Functionality Device management • RAN aspects of identification, activation / deactivation, and other management functionalities of Ambient loT devices and other involved devices (e.g., readers) if applicable, and related signaling to / from the CN if any / needed Security* • Authentication (when needed), encryption, data integrity, authorization (when needed) Mobility • Mobility management (at least cell seiection / re-sei ection -like function) for device C • Handling for Devices A and B Interference management and coexistence • Interference management / coordination scheme • Potential full duplex capability of BS / UE, including self-interference suppression, may be required for BS / UE to communicate with Device A and Device B, if carrier wave transmission and backscatter reception is performed simultaneously at least on the same band by the same BS / UE. • Coexistence with existing and adjacent network infrastructure, and possibility to reuse existing network deployments or use new network deployments. CN connectivity • RAN functionality for Ambient loT to support CN (when present), with possibility of potential lightweight protocol stack architecture and simplified signaling procedures. Compatibility among connectivity topologies • From the perspective of the Ambient loT device, strive for operation to be agnostic to RAN connectivity topologies.

[0059] Several connectivity topologies for Ambient loT networks and devices were defined for the purposes of the study, and will be descried in details below. In all these topologies, the Ambient loT (AIoT) 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. Base station (BS), UE, assisting node, or intermediate node could be multiple BSs or UEs, respectively. The mixture of indoor and outdoor placement of such nodes is regarded as a network implementation choice.

[0060] FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic diagram 200 of a first connectivity topology, which may be denoted as “BS <-> AIoT device”. In Topology 1 as shown in FIG. 2, the Ambient loT device directly and bidirectionally communicates with a base station. The communication between the base station and the ambient loT device includes Ambient loT data and / or signaling. This topology includes the possibility that the BS transmitting to the Ambient loT device is a different from the BS receiving from the Ambient loT device.

[0061] FIG. 3 illustrates a schematic diagram 300 of a second connectivity topology, which may be denoted as “BS <-> intermediate node <-> AIoT device”. In Topology 2 as shown in FIG. 3, the Ambient loT device communicates bidirectionally with an intermediate node between the device and base station. In this topology, the intermediate node can be a relay, Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB) node, UE, repeater, etc. which is capable of Ambient loT. The intermediate node transfers the information between BS and the Ambient loT device.

[0062] FIG. 4A illustrates a schematic diagram 400 of downlink assistance of a third connectivity topology, and FIG. 4B illustrates a schematic diagram 410 of uplink assistance of a third connectivity topology. The third connectivity topology may be denoted as “BS <-> assisting node <-> AIoT device <-> BS device”. In Topology 3 as shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the Ambient loT device transmits data / signaling to a base station and receives data / signaling from the assisting node; or the Ambient loT device receives data / signaling from a base station and transmits data / signaling to the assisting node. In this topology, the assisting node can be a relay, IAB, UE, repeater, etc. which is capable of ambient loT.

[0063] FIG. 5 illustrates a schematic diagram 500 of a fourth connectivity topology, which may be denoted as “UE <-> AIoT device”. In Topology 4 as shown in FIG. 5, the Ambient loT device communicates bidirectionally with a UE. The communication between UE and the ambient loT device includes Ambient loT data and / or signaling.

[0064] It is desired to study a harmonized air interface design with minimized differences (where necessary) for Ambient loT to enable the following devices: 1) ~1 «W peak power consumption, has energy storage, initial sampling frequency offset (SFO) up to 10A ppm, neither DL nor UL amplification in the device. The device’s UL transmission is backscattered on a carrier wave provided externally. 2) <a few hundred «W peak power consumption1, has energy storage, initial sampling frequency offset (SFO) up to 10^ ppm, both DL and / or UL amplification in the device. The device’s UL transmission may be generated internally by the device, or be backscattered on a carrier wave provided externally. Coverage design target is maximum distance of 10-50 m with device indoors. For Topologies 1 &2 (UE as intermediate node under NW control), with no Radio Resource Control (RRC) states, no mobility (i.e. at least no cell selection / re-selection -like function), no Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ), no Automatic Repeat Request (ARQ).

[0065] It is to be understood that “< a few hundred uW" means WGs are not tasked with setting a particular value, and that it will be for WG discussions to determine if a presented design with corresponding power consumption satisfies the “< a few hundred pW” requirement.

[0066] Deployment Scenarios with the following characteristics: 1) Deployment scenario 1 with Topology 1: Base station and coexistence characteristics: Micro-cell, co-site; 2) Deployment scenario 2 with Topology 2 and UE as intermediate node, under network control: Base station and coexistence characteristics: Macro-cell, co-site; and the location of intermediate node is indoor.

[0067] Moreover, the following is desired: frequency range 1 (FR1) licensed spectrum in Frequency Division Duplexing (FDD); Spectrum deployment in-band to NR, in guard-band to LTE / NR, in standalone band(s); Traffic types DO deviceterminated triggered (DO-DTT), DT, with focus on rUCl (indoor inventory) and rUC4 (indoor command). Moreover, the study will assess whether the harmonized air interface design can address the DO-A (Device-originated autonomous) use case, only to identify which part(s) of the harmonized air interface design is / are not sufficient for the DO-A use case.

[0068] Transmission from Ambient loT device (including backscattering when used) can occur at least in uplink (UL) spectrum.

[0069] Device Types A and B rely on backscattering for communication, with modulation typically implemented by switching the antenna between two passive loads (load modulation). This is a low power communication scheme but can result in low SNR at the reader, since the passive load will in most practical cases attenuate the incident signal before reflecting it, resulting in reflection loss (equivalent to a lower modulation factor).

[0070] Device Type B can further increase Signal-to-noise Ratio (SNR) by utilizing a low power reflection amplifier, thus achieving reflection gain. Reflection amplifiers are single-port, sub-biased oscillators that operate with low current (microamp to milliamp current consumption) and present a negative resistance at their single port. This negative resistance translates to reflection gain, i.e. amplifying and reflecting an incident signal.

[0071] One practical issue with reflection amplifiers is stability. When a high-power incident RF signal is present, the reflection amplifier can start oscillating, which will result in undesired interference, compromising the AIoT device data at the reader.

[0072] The present disclosure provides methods for detecting such oscillations from AIoT Type B devices with reflection amplifiers, and controlling their reflection gain to suppress the oscillations.

[0073] The proposed method for detecting and suppressing oscillations from a reflection gain AIoT device is depicted in FIG. 6. According to the proposed method, the Session Control Unit (SCU) will configure an illuminator and a reader. The illuminator can be a UE or any active node in the network. The reader can be a gNB or any active node in the network. The UE queries the Ambient loT device (AIoT) for its device capabilities, e.g. reflection gain capabilities. The AIoT devices with reflection gain capabilities. Can be switched on or off by the illuminator. The gNB can estimate its Signal to Interference plus Noise Ratio (SINR) from the illuminators including oscillation from the AIoT device. The gNB uses the SINR and “bad” signal detection to adjust the UE illumination power and switching on / off the AIoT device reflection gain to optimize the gNB received SINR and “bad” signal detection. The procedure is outlined in FIG. 6, which illustrates a schematic diagram 600 of a periodic UE power tuning to detect and prevent oscillations.

[0074] The proposed method can improve the signal quality and performance of the communication between the illuminator and the reader by reducing or eliminating the oscillations from the reflection gain AIoT device. Moreover, the proposed method can optimize the energy consumption of the UE and the AIoT device by adjusting their power levels according to the channel conditions and the SINR requirements. Furthermore, the proposed method can enhance the scalability and flexibility of the network by allowing any active node to act as an illuminator or a reader for the AIoT device.

[0075] The proposed method consists of two solutions: 1) On / off reflection gain at the Ambient loT device &related signaling framework; and 2) Variable gain at Ambient loT &related signaling framework. Details are provided for the two solutions hereinafter.

[0076] The solution according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure comprises at least one of the following features: signaling for requesting reflection capabilities from the AIoT device; signaling for controlling the reflection gain (enable / disable); signaling for controlling the illuminator power to avoid oscillation, or determining if the reflection amplifier entered unstable operation by detecting oscillation in gNB.

[0077] In aid of the above-mentioned feature(s), the proposed method can advantageously, for example, increase Signal-to-noise Ratio (SNR) as needed for backscatter reception (e.g., by requesting REFL GAIN) and avoid interference by controlling unstable oscillations (by requesting PASSIVE). Moreover, the proposed method can also conserve AIoT device energy if reflection gain is not needed (e.g., by requesting PASSIVE), and thus reduce power in the illuminator device.

[0078] Example embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0079] FIG. 7 illustrates a signaling chart 700 for detecting and preventing oscillations according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purposes of discussion, the signaling chart 700 will be discussed with reference to FIG. 1, for example, by using the first apparatus 110, the second apparatus 120, the third apparatus 130. In some example embodiments, the first apparatus 110 may comprise a receiving device associated with Ambient Internet of Things (loT). By way of example rather than limitation, the first apparatus 110 may comprise a gNB or any other suitable network device. Alternatively, the first apparatus 110 may comprise a user equipment or any other suitable terminal device. In this case the four apparatus may be involved in the proposed solution. By way of example rather than limitation, the four apparatus may comprise a gNB while the first apparatus 110 comprises a user equipment.

[0080] Furthermore, the second apparatus 120 may comprises a transmitting device associated with Ambient loT, such a further user equipment or the like. In addition, the third apparatus 130 may comprise an Ambient loT (AIoT) device. In some example embodiments, the second apparatus 120 and the third apparatus 130 may be comprised in a physical entity. Alternatively, the second apparatus 120 and the third apparatus 130 may also be implemented as different physical entities, which are communicationally coupled to each other. It should be understood that the above illustrations are described merely for purpose of description. The first apparatus 110, the second apparatus 120, the third apparatus 130, and / or the fourth apparatus 140 may also be implemented in any other suitable manner. The scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this respect.

[0081] In the signaling chart 700, the first apparatus 110 transmits (710), to the second apparatus 120, an indication to cause the second apparatus 120 to transmit to a third apparatus 130 an activation signal. The activation signal comprises a command to enable a reflection amplifier. By way of example rather than limitation, the indication may be used for initiating a session of an Ambient Internet of Things (loT) communication with the third apparatus 130. Thereby, the first apparatus 110 initiates the AIoT communication session via the second apparatus 120.

[0082] The second apparatus 120 receives (715) the indication from the first apparatus 110 and transmits (720), to the third apparatus 130, the activation signal comprising the command to enable the reflection amplifier. In some example embodiments, the second apparatus 120 may transmit the activation signal with a maximum power of the second apparatus 120.

[0083] The third apparatus 130 receives (725) the activation signal from the second apparatus 120. The third apparatus 130 may turn on the reflection amplifier in response to receiving the activation signal. Furthermore, the third apparatus 130 transmits (730), to the first apparatus 110, a first signal which is backscattered based on the activation signal. In some example embodiments, a reflection gain of the reflection amplifier may operate with a full gain. Alternatively, the reflection gain of the reflection amplifier may operate with a variable gain. This will be described in details below.

[0084] The first apparatus 110 receives (735) the first signal from the third apparatus 130 and determines whether the first signal is able to be decoded successfully. In some example embodiments, the first apparatus 110 may determine a signal quality metric and a signal strength metric based on the first signal. By way of example rather than limitation, the signal quality metric may comprise Signal to Interference plus Noise Ratio (SINR), Signal-to-noise Ratio (SNR), or the like. The signal strength metric may comprise Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI) or the like.

[0085] In addition, the first apparatus 110 may determine a first differential metric between the signal quality metric and a previously signal quality metric, and a second differential metric between the strength quality metric and a previously strength quality metric. The first apparatus 110 may determine, at least based on the first differential metric and the second differential metric, whether the first signal is able to be decoded successfully. In one example embodiment, if it is determined that the first differential metric is larger than a first threshold and the second differential metric is less than a second threshold, the first apparatus 110 may determine that the first signal is unable to be decoded successfully.

[0086] In another example embodiment, the first apparatus 110 may determine whether the third apparatus 130 is in a static status based at least one mobility condition. If it is determined that the third apparatus 130 is in the static status, the first apparatus 110 may compare the first differential metric with a first threshold and the second differential metric with a second threshold. If it is determined that the first differential metric is larger than the first threshold and the second differential metric is less than the second threshold, the first apparatus 110 may determine that the first signal is unable to be decoded successfully.

[0087] For example, whether the first signal is able to be decoded successfully may be determined based on RSSI and SINR. For example, if the first apparatus 110 detects high RSSI, but low SINR which may subsequently lead to a poor quality decoding, it may be determined that the first signal is unable to be decoded successfully, which may be due to unstable oscillations.

[0088] In aid of the above-described detecting procedure, the proposed method can advantageously determine whether the first signal is able to be decoded successfully more efficiently and accurately. For example, the above-described detecting procedure may be used to detect undesired oscillations. It should be understood that the above illustrations and examples are described merely for purpose of description. The scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this respect.

[0089] If it is determined that the first signal is unable to be decoded successfully, the first apparatus 110 transmits (740) a request to the second apparatus 120 to perform at least one of the following: reduce a power for transmitting the activation signal to the third apparatus 130, or cause the third apparatus 130 to reduce a reflection gain of the reflection amplifier.

[0090] If the second apparatus 120 receives (745), from the first apparatus 110, the request to reduce the power for transmitting the activation signal to the third apparatus 130, the second apparatus 120 may transmit (750), to the third apparatus 130, the activation signal with a reduced power. Correspondingly, the third apparatus 130 may receive (755) the activation signal with the reduced power. For example, the reduced power may be below the maximum power of the second apparatus 120. Thereby, the undesired oscillation may be effectively avoided.

[0091] Alternatively, if the second apparatus 120 receives (745), from the first apparatus 110, the request to cause the third apparatus 130 to reduce a reflection gain of the reflection amplifier, the second apparatus 120 may transmit (760), to the third apparatus 130, a further request to reduce the reflection gain. After receiving (765), from the second apparatus 120, the request to reduce the reflection gain of the reflection amplifier, the third apparatus 130 may transmit the first signal with a reduced reflection gain. Thereby, the undesired oscillation may be effectively avoided.

[0092] In some example additional embodiments, the first apparatus 110 may transmit, to the second apparatus 120, a request for capability information of the third apparatus 130 related to Ambient Internet of Things (loT), to cause the second apparatus 120 to request the third apparatus 130 for the capability information.

[0093] Additionally or alternatively, the indication for causing the second apparatus 120 to transmit to the third apparatus 130 the activation signal may be transmitted to the second apparatus 120, if the first apparatus 110 receives a trigger of the indication from a fourth apparatus 140. For example, the fourth apparatus 140 may transmit, to the second apparatus 120, a request for capability information of the third apparatus 130 related to Ambient Internet of Things (loT), to cause the second apparatus 120 to request the third apparatus 130 for the capability information.

[0094] Accordingly, the second apparatus 120 may receive, from the first apparatus 110 or the fourth apparatus 140, a request for capability information of the third apparatus 130 related to Ambient Internet of Things (loT) and transmit a request to the third apparatus 130 for the capability information. After receiving, from the second apparatus 120, the request for capability information of the third apparatus 130 related to Ambient Internet of Things (loT), the third apparatus 130 may transmit the capability information to the first apparatus 110 or the fourth apparatus 140.

[0095] Correspondingly, the first apparatus 110 may receive a second signal which is backscattered from the third apparatus 130. The second signal may indicate the capability information of the third apparatus 130. Alternatively, the fourth apparatus 140 may receive the second signal which is backscattered from the third apparatus 130. By way of example rather than limitation, the capability information of the third apparatus 130 may comprise gain stages.

[0096] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus 110 may determine a magnitude of distortion to be reduced based on capability information of the third apparatus 130. Furthermore, the first apparatus 110 may transmit the request comprising the magnitude to the second apparatus 120, to cause the third apparatus 130 to reduce a reflection gain of the reflection amplifier. In this case, the request received (745) at the second apparatus 120 may comprise a magnitude of distortion to be reduced determined based on capability information of the third apparatus 130, and the further request transmitted (760) to the third apparatus 130 may comprise the magnitude of distortion to be reduced. Accordingly, the third apparatus 130 may determine the reduced reflection gain based on the magnitude of distortion to be reduced.

[0097] Additionally or alternatively, if it is determined that the first signal is able to be decoded successfully, the first apparatus 110 may transmit, to the second apparatus 120, an indication to configure an Ambient Internet of Things (loT) communication with a passive communication. The second apparatus 120 may receive this indication and transmit, to the third apparatus 130, a signal to disable the reflection amplifier. After receiving, from second apparatus 120, the signal to disable the reflection amplifier, the third apparatus 130 may turn off the reflection amplifier. Thereby, the proposed solution enables lower power consumption, and thus is more energy-efficient.

[0098] In view of the above, the proposed method can advantageously increase signal quality as needed for backscatter reception and avoid interference by controlling unstable oscillations. Moreover, the proposed method can also conserve the energy of the third apparatus if reflection gain is not needed, and thus reduce power consumption at the second apparatus.

[0099] The solutions presented in FIG. 7 will be described in more details below with reference to FIGS. 8-10. At first, the solution of on / off reflection gain at the Ambient loT device and related signaling framework will be described in more details below with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9. FIG. 8 illustrates a signaling chart 800 for oscillation detection while backscattering according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0100] In FIG. 8, the gNB 801 may be an example implementation of the first apparatus 110 in FIG. 1, the UE 802 may be an example implementation of the second apparatus 120 in FIG. 1, and the AIoT device 803 may be an example implementation of the third apparatus 130 in FIG. 1.

[0101] At the beginning, the SCU configures the gNB 801 as AIoT reader and the UE as AIoT illuminator, which may also be referred to as an AIoT activator or a UE illuminator hereinafter. At 810, the gNB 801 requests the AIoT device capabilities via the UE illuminator. At 815, the UE 802 queries the AIoT capability via an illumination session with instruction to provide the device capabilities. At 820, the AIoT device 803 backscatters its device capabilities in the default configuration (reflection gain on / off). For example, the AIoT device 803 reports capabilities, such as REFL GAIN and / or PASSIVEBACK.

[0102] At 825, the gNB 801 initiates the AIoT communication session via the UE 802, that is, the illuminator, which is sometimes referred to as “activator”. At 830, the UE 802 (the illuminator) transmits its activation signal with maximum power Ptx including the AIoT command to enable backscatter reflection amplifiers. At 835, the AioT device 803 turns on backscatter reflection amplifiers. In this scenario, the power is too high and the amplifier gets unstable (oscillates). At 840, the AioT device 803 backscatters the signal with full reflection gain. At 845, the gNB 801 receives the backscatter signal and detect high Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI), but low SINR which subsequently leads to a poor quality decoding.

[0103] At 850, the gNB 801 requests UE 802 (the illuminator) to reduce power. At 855, the UE 802 transmits its activation signal with reduced power Ptx including the AioT command to enable backscatter reflection amplifiers. At 860, the AioT device 803 backscatters the signal with full reflection gain. At 865, the gNB 801 can decode the data, since the reflected backscatter signal is not compressed and (i.e., self interference is minimized, which leads to high SINR and high RSSI) thus avoids oscillation. At 870, the gNB 801 configures the AioT communication via the UE 802 (the illuminator) with passive communication, e.g., without backscatter reflection amplifiers. At 875, the AioT device switches off the backscatter reflection amplifiers. At 880, the gNB 801 requests the UE 802 to stop illumination.

[0104] In some alternative embodiments, the gNB 801 may ramp the UE 802 (illuminator) power up and down based on received signal. Additionally or alternatively, the gNB 801 may be replaced with an additional UE as the reading entity. Furthermore, the operation(s) of the gNB 801 and the UE 802 may be combined into a single entity with full duplex operation or dual antennas with sufficient isolation. In addition, the AioT device 803 may enable multiple levels of backscatter reflection amplifier gain.

[0105] FIG. 9 illustrates a signaling chart 900 for UE multi scattering solution for oscillation detection while backscattering according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. In FIG. 9, the UE1 901 may be an example implementation of the first apparatus 110 in FIG. 1, the UE2 902 may be an example implementation of the second apparatus 120 in FIG. 1, the AIoT device 903 may be an example implementation of the third apparatus 130 in FIG. 1, and the gNB 904 may be an example implementation of the fourth apparatus 140 in FIG. 1.

[0106] At the beginning, the SCU configures the UE1 901 and gNB 904 as AIoT reader and the UE2 as AIoT illuminator, which may also be referred to as an AIoT activator or a UE illuminator hereinafter. At 910, the gNB 904 requests the AIoT device 903 capabilities via the UE illuminator. At 915, theUE2 902 queries the AIoT capability via an illumination session with instruction to provide the device capabilities. At 920, the AIoT device 903 backscatters its device capabilities in the default configuration (reflection gain on / off) via the UE2 902 and UE1 901. For example, the AIoT device 903 reports capabilities, such as REFLGAIX and / or PASSIVES

[0107] At 925, the gNB 904 initiates the AIoT communication session via the UE illuminator (i.e., UE2) and the UE reader (i.e., UE1). At 930, the UE2 902 (that is, the illuminator) transmits its activation signal with maximum power Ptx including the AIoT command to enable backscatter reflection amplifiers. At 935, the AIoT device 903 turns on backscatter reflection amplifiers. In this scenario, the power is too high and the amplifier gets unstable (oscillates). At 940, the AIoT device 903 backscatters the signal with full reflection gain. At 945, the UE1 901 receives the backscatter signal and detect high RSSI, but 1ow SINR which subsequently leads to a poor quality decoding.

[0108] At 950, the UE1 901 requests the UE2, i.e., the illuminator to reduce power. At 955, the UE illuminator transmits its activation signal with reduced power Ptx including the AIoT command to enable backscatter reflection amplifiers. At 960, the AIoT device 903 backscatters the signal with full reflection gain. At 965, the UE1 901 can decode the data, since the reflected backscatter signal is not compressed and (i.e., self interference is minimized, which leads to high SINR and high RSSI) thus avoids oscillation. Furthermore, the UE1 901 may provide data to gNB 904 or SCU. This is not shown in FIG. 9.

[0109] At 970, the UE1 901 configures the AIoT communication with passive communication, e.g., without backscatter reflection amplifiers. Upon receiving the configuration, at 975, the AIoT device 903 switches off the backscatter reflection amplifiers. At 980, the gNB 904 requests the UE2 902 to stop illumination via the UE 1 901.

[0110] A further solution of variable gain at Ambient loT &related signaling framework will be descried in details below. In this case, an AIoT device 903 may be an Ambient loT device with variable gain with varying bias voltage to the reflection amplifier.

[0111] FIG. 10 illustrates a signaling chart 1000 for the variable gain procedure according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. In FIG. 10, the UE1 1001 may be an example implementation of the first apparatus 110 in FIG. 1, the UE2 1002 may be an example implementation of the second apparatus 120 in FIG. 1, the AIoT device 1003 may be an example implementation of the third apparatus 130 in FIG. 1, and the gNB 1004 may be an example implementation of the fourth apparatus 140 in FIG. 1.

[0112] At the beginning, the SCU configures the UE1 1001 and gNB as AIoT reader and the UE2 1002 as AIoT illuminator, which may also be referred to as an AIoT activator or a UE illuminator hereinafter. At 1010, the gNB 1004 requests the AIoT device capabilities via the UE illuminator. At 1015, the UE2 1002 queries the AIoT capability via an illumination session with instruction to provide the device capabilities including gain stages. At 1020, the AIoT device 1003 backscatters its device capabilities in the default configuration (reflection gain on / off) via the UE2 1002 and UE1 1001. For example, the AIoT device 1003 reports capabilities, such as REFL GAIN and / or PASSIVE BACK.

[0113] At 1025, the gNB initiates the AIoT communication session via the UE illuminator (i.e., UE2 1002) and the UE reader (i.e., UE1 1001). At 1030, the UE2 1002 (the illuminator or the AIoT illuminator) transmits its activation signal with maximum power Ptx including the AIoT command to enable backscatter reflection amplifiers. At 1035, the AIoT device 1003 turns on backscatter reflection amplifiers to maximum. In this scenario, the power is too high and the amplifier gets unstable (oscillates). At 1040, the AIoT device 1003 backscatters the signal with full reflection gain. At 1045, the UE1 1001 receives the backscatter signal and detect high RSSI, but low SINR which subsequently leads to a poor quality decoding. At 1050, the UE1 1001, i.e., the AIoT reader, estimates and transmits the magnitude of the distorted signal to be reduced to be within the operating region of the AIoT device 1003 based on the device capability class. At 1055, the UE2 1002, i.e., the AIoT illuminator or activator, requests the AIoT device 1003 to reduce its reflection gain based on the estimated power settings. Moreover, the AIoT illuminator transmits its activation signal with maximum power Ptx including the AIoT command to enable backscatter reflection amplifiers as estimated at 1050. At 1060, the AIoT device 1003 backscatters the signal with reduced reflection gain.

[0114] At 1065, the UE1 1001 can decode the data, since the reflected backscatter signal is not compressed and (i.e., self interference is minimized, which leads to high SINR and high RSSI) thus avoids oscillation. Furthermore, the UE1 1001 may provide data to gNB or SCU. This is not shown in FIG. 10.

[0115] At 1070, the UE1 1001 configures the AIoT communication with passive communication, e.g., without backscatter reflection amplifiers. At 1075, the AIoT device 1003 switches off the backscatter reflection amplifiers. At 1080, the gNB 1004 requests the UE2 1002 to stop illumination via the UE 1 1001.

[0116] A detecting procedure according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure will be descried in details below. This detecting procedure may be implemented at 845 in FIG. 8, at 945 in FIG.9 and / or at 1045 in FIG. 10.

[0117] As described above, a device can be configured as both activator and reader for an AIoT session. The device may be a terminal device, for instance the UE1 901 or UE1 1001. Alternatively, the device may be a network device, for example, the gNB 801, or the like. This may require new implementation in the device to support both new operations. For ease of discussion, the following example embodiments are discussed with reference to a terminal device, for example, a UE. However, the 5 proposed solution may also be applied to any other suitable device, such as a network device or other suitable device. The scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this respect.

[0118] In a case where UE is configured as a reader. UE needs to detect saturation signal from AIoT device. Moreover, UE needs to estimate a suitable illumination signal 10 reduction based on the signal saturation estimation.

[0119] The non-linear PA response of the AIOT device introduces self-interference which determines the UE reader to observe a received signal “x(n)” at time instance “n” composed of a useful signal part and a self-interference and noise part: x(n) = s(n) + w(n) + xSI(n) (1) 15 where s(n) is the actual signal of interest, w(n) is additive noise and xsl (n) is the received self- interference signal which depends on the PA non-linear response: P M2 xSI(n) = fp,kXp(x(.n ~ (2) p=lk=-Mi where fP:k is the effective model coefficients (including PA and propagation channel response) and Xp are the basis functions e.g., for parallel Hammerstein PA response, 20 Zp(x(n)) = I x(n)|p-1 x(n).

[0120] To detect the nonlinearity effect, the UE may assume that the received signal 1101 samples obey the equation (1) and thus computes 1102 SINR and computes 1103 RSSI, for example, compute and record the SINR and RSSI of x(n). To detect the change, the UE may track over time the RSSI and SINR values. 25

[0121] Specifically, when the nonlinear regime kicks in, and thus the power of xs>(n) is expected to raise, the resulting SINR consequently drops (compared to a previous linear regime), but the RSSI is either expected to remain at similar levels or increases. This combined behavior of RSSI and SINR is indicative of entering the nonlinearity region for the AIOT transmission as shown in FIG. 11, which illustrates a schematic diagram 1100 of the UE reader behavior according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0122] In a further case where the UE is configured as an activator. The UE needs to activate the AIoT device with reduced power. The procedure can be a fixed Tx power. In one example, the UE may follow an open loop type of power control with sweep from low to high power. Alternatively, the UE may follow an open loop type of power control with sweep from high to low power.

[0123] The UE may evaluate 1104 a differential SINR and a differential RSSI then. If the UE determines 1105 that the differential SINR is larger than a threshold, e.g., deltal, and the differential RSSI is less than another threshold, e.g., delta2, the AIoT nonlinear TX may be detected at 1106.

[0124] In some example embodiments, one or more assess mobility conditions may be considered 1107 by the UE. For example, whether the UE is in a static status may be determined at 1108 based at least one mobility condition. If yes, the UE may continue the evaluation 1104.

[0125] In aid of the above-described detecting procedure, it is possible to detect the oscillation more efficiently and accurately.

[0126] FIG. 12 shows a flowchart of an example method 1200 implemented at a first apparatus in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the method 1200 will be described from the perspective of the first apparatus 110 in FIG. 1.

[0127] At block 1210, the first apparatus 110 transmits, to a second apparatus, an indication to cause the second apparatus to transmit to a third apparatus an activation signal. The activation signal comprises a command to enable a reflection amplifier.

[0128] At block 1220, the first apparatus 110 receives, from the third apparatus, a first signal which is backscattered based on the activation signal. The reflection amplifier has been turned on at the third apparatus.

[0129] At block 1230, in accordance with a determination that the first signal is unable to be decoded successfully, the first apparatus 110 transmits a request to the second apparatus to perform at least one of reduce a power for transmitting the activation signal to the third apparatus, or cause the third apparatus to reduce a reflection gain of the reflection amplifier.

[0130] In some example embodiments, the indication is for initiating a session of an Ambient Internet of Things (loT) communication with the third apparatus.

[0131] In some example embodiments, the method 1200 further comprises: transmitting, to the second apparatus, a request for capability information of the third apparatus related to Ambient Internet of Things (loT), to cause the second apparatus to request the third apparatus for the capability information; and receiving a second signal which is backscattered from the third apparatus, the second signal indicating the capability information of the third apparatus.

[0132] In some example embodiments, the indication is transmitted to the second apparatus in response to receiving a trigger of the indication from a fourth apparatus.

[0133] In some example embodiments, the fourth apparatus transmits, to the second apparatus, a request for capability information of the third apparatus related to Ambient Internet of Things (loT), to cause the second apparatus to request the third apparatus for the capability information, and the fourth apparatus receives a second signal which is backscattered from the third apparatus, the second signal indicating the capability information of the third apparatus.

[0134] In some example embodiments, the capability information of the third apparatus comprises gain stages.

[0135] In some example embodiments, the method 1200 further comprises: in accordance with a determination that the first signal is able to be decoded successfully, transmitting, to the second apparatus, an indication to configure an Ambient Internet of Things (loT) communication with a passive communication.

[0136] In some example embodiments, the method 1200 further comprises: determining a magnitude of distortion to be reduced based on capability information of the third apparatus; and transmitting the request comprising the magnitude to the second apparatus, to cause the third apparatus to reduce a reflection gain of the reflection amplifier.

[0137] In some example embodiments, the method 1200 further comprises: determining a signal quality metric and a signal strength metric based on the first signal; determining a first differential metric between the signal quality metric and a previously signal quality metric; determining a second differential metric between the strength quality metric and a previously strength quality metric; and determining, at least based on the first differential metric and the second differential metric, whether the first signal is able to be decoded successfully.

[0138] In some example embodiments, the method 1200 further comprises: in accordance with a determination that the first differential metric is larger than a first threshold and the second differential metric is less than a second threshold, determining that the first signal is unable to be decoded successfully.

[0139] In some example embodiments, the method 1200 further comprises: determining whether the third apparatus is in a static status based at least one mobility condition; and in accordance with a determination that the third apparatus is in the static status, comparing the first differential metric with a first threshold and the second differential metric with a second threshold; and in accordance with a determination that the first differential metric is larger than the first threshold and the second differential metric is less than the second threshold, determining that the first signal is unable to be decoded successfully.

[0140] In some example embodiments, the signal quality metric comprises Signal to Interference and Noise Ratio (SINR), and the signal strength metric comprises Reference Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI).

[0141] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus comprises a receiving device associated with Ambient Internet of Things (IoT), the second apparatus comprises a transmitting device associated with Ambient IoT, and the third apparatus comprises an Ambient IoT device.

[0142] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus and the third apparatus are comprised in a physical entity.

[0143] FIG. 13 shows a flowchart of an example method 1300 implemented at a second apparatus in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the method 1300 will be described from the perspective of the second apparatus 120 in FIG. 1.

[0144] At block 1310, in response to receiving, from a first apparatus, an indication to cause the second apparatus to transmit to a third apparatus an activation signal, the second apparatus 120 transmits, to the third apparatus, the activation signal comprising a command to enable a reflection amplifier.

[0145] At block 1320, in response to receiving, from the first apparatus, a request to reduce a power for transmitting the activation signal to the third apparatus, the second apparatus 120 transmits, to the third apparatus, the activation signal with a reduced power. Alternatively, in response to receiving, from the first apparatus, a request to cause the third apparatus to reduce a reflection gain of the reflection amplifier, the second apparatus 120 transmits, to the third apparatus, a further request to reduce the reflection gain.

[0146] In some example embodiments, the method 1300 further comprises: in response to receiving the indication, transmitting the activation signal with a maximum power of the second apparatus.

[0147] In some example embodiments, the reduced power is below a maximum power of the second apparatus.

[0148] In some example embodiments, the request comprises a magnitude of distortion to be reduced determined based on capability information of the third apparatus, and the further request comprises the magnitude of distortion to be reduced.

[0149] In some example embodiments, the method 1300 further comprises: receiving, from the first apparatus, an indication to configure an Ambient Internet of Things (loT) communication with a passive communication; and transmitting, to the third apparatus, a signal to disable the reflection amplifier.

[0150] In some example embodiments, the method 1300 further comprises: receiving, from the first apparatus or a fourth apparatus, a request for capability information of the third apparatus related to Ambient Internet of Things (loT); and transmitting a request to the third apparatus for the capability information.

[0151] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus comprises a receiving device associated with Ambient Internet of Things (loT), the second apparatus comprises a transmitting device associated with Ambient loT, and the third apparatus comprises an Ambient loT device.

[0152] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus and the third apparatus are comprised in a physical entity.

[0153] FIG. 14 shows a flowchart of an example method 1400 implemented at a third apparatus in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the method 1400 will be described from the perspective of the third apparatus 130 in FIG. 1.

[0154] At block 1410, the third apparatus 130 receives, from a second apparatus, an activation signal comprising a command to enable a reflection amplifier.

[0155] At block 1420, the third apparatus 130 transmits, to a first apparatus, a first signal which is backscattered based on the activation signal. The reflection amplifier has been turned on at the third apparatus, and a reflection gain of the reflection amplifier operates with a full gain or a variable gain.

[0156] In some example embodiments, the method 1400 further comprises: turning on the reflection amplifier in response to receiving the activation signal.

[0157] In some example embodiments, the activation signal is transmitted with a maximum power of the second apparatus or a reduced power.

[0158] In some example embodiments, the method 1400 further comprises: receiving, from the second apparatus, a request to reduce the reflection gain of the reflection amplifier, transmit the first signal with a reduced reflection gain.

[0159] In some example embodiments, the method 1400 further comprises: determining the reduced reflection gain based on the magnitude of distortion to be reduced.

[0160] In some example embodiments, the method 1400 further comprises: in response to receiving, from second apparatus, a signal to disable the reflection amplifier, turning off the reflection amplifier.

[0161] In some example embodiments, the method 1400 further comprises: receiving a request from the second apparatus for capability information of the third apparatus related to Ambient Internet of Things (IoT); and transmitting the capability information to the first apparatus or a fourth apparatus.

[0162] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus comprises a receiving device associated with Ambient Internet of Things (IoT), the second apparatus comprises a transmitting device associated with Ambient IoT, and the third apparatus comprises an Ambient IoT device.

[0163] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus and the third apparatus are comprised in a physical entity.

[0164] In some example embodiments, a first apparatus capable of performing any of the method 1200 (for example, the first apparatus 110 in FIG. 1) may comprise means for performing the respective operations of the method 1200. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuitry or software module. The first apparatus may be implemented as or included in the first apparatus 110 in FIG. 1.

[0165] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus comprises means for transmitting, to a second apparatus, an indication to cause the second apparatus to transmit to a third apparatus an activation signal, the activation signal comprising a command to enable a reflection amplifier; means for receiving, from the third apparatus, a first signal which is backscattered based on the activation signal, wherein the reflection amplifier has been turned on at the third apparatus; and means for in accordance with a determination that the first signal is unable to be decoded successfully, transmitting a request to the second apparatus to perform at least one of: reduce a power for transmitting the activation signal to the third apparatus, or cause the third apparatus to reduce a reflection gain of the reflection amplifier.

[0166] In some example embodiments, the indication is for initiating a session of an Ambient Internet of Things (loT) communication with the third apparatus.

[0167] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: means for transmitting, to the second apparatus, a request for capability information of the third apparatus related to Ambient Internet of Things (loT), to cause the second apparatus to request the third apparatus for the capability information; and means for receiving a second signal which is backscattered from the third apparatus, the second signal indicating the capability information of the third apparatus.

[0168] In some example embodiments, the indication is transmitted to the second apparatus in response to receiving a trigger of the indication from a fourth apparatus.

[0169] In some example embodiments, the fourth apparatus transmits, to the second apparatus, a request for capability information of the third apparatus related to Ambient Internet of Things (loT), to cause the second apparatus to request the third apparatus for the capability information, and the fourth apparatus receives a second signal which is backscattered from the third apparatus, the second signal indicating the capability information of the third apparatus.

[0170] In some example embodiments, the capability information of the third apparatus comprises gain stages.

[0171] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: means for in accordance with a determination that the first signal is able to be decoded successfully, transmitting, to the second apparatus, an indication to configure an Ambient Internet of Things (loT) communication with a passive communication.

[0172] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: means for determining a magnitude of distortion to be reduced based on capability information of the third apparatus; and means for transmitting the request comprising the magnitude to the second apparatus, to cause the third apparatus to reduce a reflection gain of the reflection amplifier.

[0173] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: means for determining a signal quality metric and a signal strength metric based on the first signal; means for determining a first differential metric between the signal quality metric and a previously signal quality metric; means for determining a second differential metric between the strength quality metric and a previously strength quality metric; and means for determining, at least based on the first differential metric and the second differential metric, whether the first signal is able to be decoded successfully.

[0174] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: means for in accordance with a determination that the first differential metric is larger than a first threshold and the second differential metric is less than a second threshold, determining that the first signal is unable to be decoded successfully.

[0175] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: means for determining whether the third apparatus is in a static status based at least one mobility condition; and means for in accordance with a determination that the third apparatus is in the static status, comparing the first differential metric with a first threshold and the second differential metric with a second threshold; and means for in accordance with a determination that the first differential metric is larger than the first threshold and the second differential metric is less than the second threshold, determining that the first signal is unable to be decoded successfully.

[0176] In some example embodiments, the signal quality metric comprises Signal to Interference and Noise Ratio (SINR), and the signal strength metric comprises Reference Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI).

[0177] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus comprises a receiving device associated with Ambient Internet of Things (IoT), the second apparatus comprises a transmitting device associated with Ambient IoT, and the third apparatus comprises an Ambient IoT device.

[0178] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus and the third apparatus are comprised in a physical entity.

[0179] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises means for performing other operations in some example embodiments of the method 1200 or the first apparatus 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 first apparatus.

[0180] In some example embodiments, a second apparatus capable of performing any of the method 1300 (for example, the second apparatus 120 in FIG. 1) may comprise means for performing the respective operations of the method 1300. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuitry or software module. The second apparatus may be implemented as or included in the second apparatus 120 in FIG. 1.

[0181] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus comprises means for in response to receiving, from a first apparatus, an indication to cause the second apparatus to transmit to a third apparatus an activation signal, transmit, to the third apparatus, the activation signal comprising a command to enable a reflection amplifier; and means for in response to receiving, from the first apparatus, a request to reduce a power for transmitting the activation signal to the third apparatus, transmit, to the third apparatus, the activation signal with a reduced power, or means for in response to receiving, from the first apparatus, a request to cause the third apparatus to reduce a reflection gain of the reflection amplifier, transmitting, to the third apparatus, a further request to reduce the reflection gain.

[0182] In some example embodiments, the indication is for initiating a session of an Ambient Internet of Things (loT) communication with the third apparatus, the second apparatus further comprises: means for in response to receiving the indication, transmitting the activation signal with a maximum power of the second apparatus.

[0183] In some example embodiments, the reduced power is below a maximum power of the second apparatus.

[0184] In some example embodiments, the request comprises a magnitude of distortion to be reduced determined based on capability information of the third apparatus, and the further request comprises the magnitude of distortion to be reduced.

[0185] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus further comprises: means for receiving, from the first apparatus, an indication to configure an Ambient Internet of Things (loT) communication with a passive communication; and means for transmitting, to the third apparatus, a signal to disable the reflection amplifier.

[0186] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus further comprises: means for receiving, from the first apparatus or a fourth apparatus, a request for capability information of the third apparatus related to Ambient Internet of Things (loT); and means for transmitting a request to the third apparatus for the capability information.

[0187] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus comprises a receiving device associated with Ambient Internet of Things (loT), the second apparatus comprises a transmitting device associated with Ambient loT, and the third apparatus comprises an Ambient loT device.

[0188] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus and the third apparatus are comprised in a physical entity.

[0189] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus further comprises means for performing other operations in some example embodiments of the method 1300 or the second apparatus 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 second apparatus.

[0190] In some example embodiments, a third apparatus capable of performing any of the method 1400 (for example, the third apparatus 130 in FIG. 1) may comprise means for performing the respective operations of the method 1400. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuitry or software module. The third apparatus may be implemented as or included in the third apparatus 130 in FIG. 1.

[0191] In some example embodiments, the third apparatus comprises means for receiving, from a second apparatus, an activation signal comprising a command to enable a reflection amplifier; and means for transmitting, to a first apparatus, a first signal which is backscattered based on the activation signal, wherein the reflection amplifier has been turned on at the third apparatus, wherein a reflection gain of the reflection amplifier operates with a full gain or a variable gain.

[0192] In some example embodiments, the third apparatus further comprises: means for turning on the reflection amplifier in response to receiving the activation signal.

[0193] In some example embodiments, the activation signal is transmitted with a maximum power of the second apparatus or a reduced power.

[0194] In some example embodiments, the third apparatus further comprises: means for receiving, from the second apparatus, a request to reduce the reflection gain of the reflection amplifier, transmit the first signal with a reduced reflection gain.

[0195] In some example embodiments, the request comprises a magnitude of distortion to be reduced determined based on capability information of the third apparatus, the third apparatus further comprises: means for determining the reduced reflection gain based on the magnitude of distortion to be reduced.

[0196] In some example embodiments, the third apparatus further comprises: means for in response to receiving, from second apparatus, a signal to disable the reflection amplifier, turning off the reflection amplifier.

[0197] In some example embodiments, the third apparatus further comprises: means for receiving a request from the second apparatus for capability information of the third apparatus related to Ambient Internet of Things (IoT); and means for transmitting the capability information to the first apparatus or a fourth apparatus.

[0198] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus comprises a receiving device associated with Ambient Internet of Things (IoT), the second apparatus comprises a transmitting device associated with Ambient IoT, and the third apparatus comprises an Ambient IoT device.

[0199] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus and the third apparatus are comprised in a physical entity.

[0200] In some example embodiments, the third apparatus further comprises means for performing other operations in some example embodiments of the method 1400 or the third apparatus 130. 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 third apparatus.

[0201] FIG. 15 is a simplified block diagram of a device 1500 that is suitable for implementing example embodiments of the present disclosure. The device 1500 may be provided to implement a communication device, for example, the first apparatus 110, the second apparatus 120, the third apparatus 130 and / or the fourth apparatus 140 as shown in FIG. 1. As shown, the device 1500 includes one or more processors 1510, one or more memories 1520 coupled to the processor 1510, and one or more communication modules 1540 coupled to the processor 1510.

[0202] The communication module 1540 is for bidirectional communications. The communication module 1540 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 1540 may include at least one antenna.

[0203] The processor 1510 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 1500 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.

[0204] The memory 1520 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) 1524, 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) 1522 and other volatile memories that will not last in the powerdown duration.

[0205] A computer program 1530 includes computer executable instructions that are executed by the associated processor 1510. The instructions of the program 1530 may include instructions for performing operations / acts of some example embodiments of the present disclosure. The program 1530 may be stored in the memory, e.g., the ROM 1524. The processor 1510 may perform any suitable actions and processing by loading the program 1530 into the RAM 1522.

[0206] The example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by means of the program 1530 so that the device 1500 may perform any process of the disclosure as discussed with reference to FIG. 2 to FIG. 14. The example embodiments of the present disclosure may also be implemented by hardware or by a combination of software and hardware.

[0207] In some example embodiments, the program 1530 may be tangibly contained in a computer readable medium which may be included in the device 1500 (such as in the memory 1520) or other storage devices that are accessible by the device 1500. The device 1500 may load the program 1530 from the computer readable medium to the RAM 1522 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).

[0208] FIG. 16 shows an example of the computer readable medium 1600 which may be in form of CD, DVD or other optical storage disk. The computer readable medium 1600 has the program 1530 stored thereon.

[0209] 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.

[0210] 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.

[0211] 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.

[0212] 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.

[0213] 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.

[0214] 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.

[0215] 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 or any of the below embodiments.

[0216] Embodiment 1: A method comprising: transmitting, to a second apparatus, an indication to cause the second apparatus to transmit to a third apparatus an activation signal, the activation signal comprising a command to enable a reflection amplifier; receiving, from the third apparatus, a first signal which is backscattered based on the activation signal, wherein the reflection amplifier has been turned on at the third apparatus; and in accordance with a determination that the first signal is unable to be decoded successfully, transmitting a request to the second apparatus to perform at least one of: reduce a power for transmitting the activation signal to the third apparatus, or cause the third apparatus to reduce a reflection gain of the reflection amplifier.

[0217] Embodiment 2: A method comprising: in response to receiving, from a first apparatus, an indication to cause the second apparatus to transmit to a third apparatus an activation signal, transmitting, to the third apparatus, the activation signal comprising a command to enable a reflection amplifier; and in response to receiving, from the first apparatus, a request to reduce a power for transmitting the activation signal to the third apparatus, transmitting, to the third apparatus, the activation signal with a reduced power, or in response to receiving, from the first apparatus, a request to cause the third apparatus to reduce a reflection gain of the reflection amplifier, transmitting, to the third apparatus, a further request to reduce the reflection gain.

[0218] Embodiment 3: A method comprising: receiving, from a second apparatus, an activation signal comprising a command to enable a reflection amplifier; and transmitting, to a first apparatus, a first signal which is backscattered based on the activation signal, wherein the reflection amplifier has been turned on at the third apparatus, wherein a reflection gain of the reflection amplifier operates with a full gain or a variable gain.

[0219] Embodiment 4: A first apparatus comprising: means for transmitting, to a second apparatus, an indication to cause the second apparatus to transmit to a third apparatus an activation signal, the activation signal comprising a command to enable a reflection amplifier; means for receiving, from the third apparatus, a first signal which is backscattered based on the activation signal, wherein the reflection amplifier has been turned on at the third apparatus; and means for in accordance with a determination that the first signal is unable to be decoded successfully, transmitting a request to the second apparatus to perform at least one of: reduce a power for transmitting the activation signal to the third apparatus, or cause the third apparatus to reduce a reflection gain of the reflection amplifier.

[0220] Embodiment 5: A second apparatus comprising: means for in response to receiving, from a first apparatus, an indication to cause the second apparatus to transmit to a third apparatus an activation signal, transmitting, to the third apparatus, the activation signal comprising a command to enable a reflection amplifier; and means for in response to receiving, from the first apparatus, a request to reduce a power for transmitting the activation signal to the third apparatus, transmitting, to the third apparatus, the activation signal with a reduced power, or means for in response to receiving, from the first apparatus, a request to cause the third apparatus to reduce a reflection gain of the reflection amplifier, transmitting, to the third apparatus, a further request to reduce the reflection gain.

[0221] Embodiment 6: A third apparatus comprising: means for receiving, from a second apparatus, an activation signal comprising a command to enable a reflection amplifier; and means for transmitting, to a first apparatus, a first signal which is backscattered based on the activation signal, wherein the reflection amplifier has been turned on at the third apparatus, wherein a reflection gain of the reflection amplifier operates with a full gain or a variable gain.

[0222] Embodiment 7: A computer readable medium comprising instructions stored thereon for causing an apparatus at least to perform the method of any of embodiments 1-3.

[0223] Embodiment 8: A third apparatus comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the third apparatus at least to: receive, from a second apparatus, an activation signal comprising a command to enable a reflection amplifier; and transmit, to a first apparatus, a first signal which is backscattered based on the activation signal, wherein the reflection amplifier has been turned on at the third apparatus, wherein a reflection gain of the reflection amplifier operates with a full gain or a variable gain.

[0224] Embodiment 9: The third apparatus of embodiment 8, wherein the third apparatus is caused to: turn on the reflection amplifier in response to receiving the activation signal.

[0225] Embodiment 10: The third apparatus of embodiment 8, wherein the activation signal is transmitted with a maximum power of the second apparatus or a reduced power.

[0226] Embodiment 11: The third apparatus of embodiment 8, wherein the third apparatus is caused to: receive, from the second apparatus, a request to reduce the reflection gain of the reflection amplifier, transmit the first signal with a reduced reflection gain.

[0227] Embodiment 12: The third apparatus of embodiment 11, wherein the request comprises a magnitude of distortion to be reduced determined based on capability information of the third apparatus, and the third apparatus is caused to: determine the 5 reduced reflection gain based on the magnitude of distortion to be reduced.

[0228] Embodiment 13: The third apparatus of embodiment 11, wherein the first apparatus is caused to: in response to receiving, from second apparatus, a signal to disable the reflection amplifier, turn off the reflection amplifier.

[0229] Embodiment 14: The third apparatus of any of embodiments 8-13, wherein the 10 second apparatus is caused to: receive a request from the second apparatus for capability information of the third apparatus related to Ambient Internet of Things (IoT); and transmit the capability information to the first apparatus or a fourth apparatus.

[0230] Embodiment 15: The third apparatus of any of embodiments 8-14, wherein the first apparatus comprises a receiving device associated with Ambient Internet of Things 15 (IoT), the second apparatus comprises a transmitting device associated with Ambient IoT, and the third apparatus comprises an Ambient IoT device.

[0231] Embodiment 16: The third apparatus of any of embodiments 8-15, wherein the second apparatus and the third apparatus are comprised in a physical entity.

Claims

1. A first apparatus comprising:at least one processor; andat least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the first apparatus at least to:transmit, to a second apparatus, an indication to cause the second apparatus to transmit to a third apparatus an activation signal, the activation signal comprising a command to enable a reflection amplifier;receive, from the third apparatus, a first signal which is backscattered based on the activation signal, wherein the reflection amplifier has been turned on at the third apparatus; andin accordance with a determination that the first signal is unable to be decoded successfully, transmit a request to the second apparatus to perform at least one of:reduce a power for transmitting the activation signal to the third apparatus,orcause the third apparatus to reduce a reflection gain of the reflection amplifier.

2. The first apparatus of claim 1, wherein the indication is for initiating a session of an Ambient Internet of Things (loT) communication with the third apparatus.

3. The first apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first apparatus is caused to:transmit, to the second apparatus, a request for capability information of the third apparatus related to Ambient Internet of Things (loT), to cause the second apparatus to request the third apparatus for the capability information; andreceive a second signal which is backscattered from the third apparatus, the second signal indicating the capability information of the third apparatus.

4. The first apparatus of claim 1 or 2, wherein the indication is transmitted to the second apparatus in response to receiving a trigger of the indication from a fourth apparatus.

5. The first apparatus of claim 4, wherein the fourth apparatus transmits, to the second apparatus, a request for capability information of the third apparatus related to AmbientInternet of Things (loT), to cause the second apparatus to request the third apparatus for the capability information, andthe fourth apparatus receives a second signal which is backscattered from the third apparatus, the second signal indicating the capability information of the third apparatus.

6. The first apparatus of claim 3 or 5, wherein the capability information of the third apparatus comprises gain stages.

7. The first apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first apparatus is caused to:in accordance with a determination that the first signal is able to be decoded successfully, transmit, to the second apparatus, an indication to configure an Ambient Internet of Things (loT) communication with a passive communication.

8. The first apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first apparatus is caused to:determine a magnitude of distortion to be reduced based on capability information of the third apparatus; andtransmit the request comprising the magnitude to the second apparatus, to cause the third apparatus to reduce a reflection gain of the reflection amplifier.

9. The first apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first apparatus is caused to:determine a signal quality metric and a signal strength metric based on the first signal;determine a first differential metric between the signal quality metric and a previously signal quality metric;determine a second differential metric between the strength quality metric and a previously strength quality metric; anddetermine, at least based on the first differential metric and the second differential metric, whether the first signal is able to be decoded successfully.

10. The first apparatus of claim 9, wherein the first apparatus is caused to:in accordance with a determination that the first differential metric is larger than a first threshold and the second differential metric is less than a second threshold, determine that the first signal is unable to be decoded successfully.

11. The first apparatus of claim 9, wherein the first apparatus is caused to:determine whether the third apparatus is in a static status based at least one mobility condition; andin accordance with a determination that the third apparatus is in the static status, compare the first differential metric with a first threshold and the second differential metric with a second threshold; andin accordance with a determination that the first differential metric is larger than the first threshold and the second differential metric is less than the second threshold, determine that the first signal is unable to be decoded successfully.

12. The first apparatus of any of claims 9 to 11, wherein the signal quality metric comprises Signal to Interference and Noise Ratio (SINR), and the signal strength metric comprises Reference Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI).

13. The first apparatus of any of claims 1 to 12, wherein the first apparatus comprises a receiving device associated with Ambient Internet of Things (loT), the second apparatus comprises a transmitting device associated with Ambient loT, and the third apparatus comprises an Ambient loT device.

14. The first apparatus of any of claims 1 to 13, wherein the second apparatus and the third apparatus are comprised in a physical entity.

15. A second apparatus comprising:at least one processor; andat least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the second apparatus at least to:in response to receiving, from a first apparatus, an indication to cause the second apparatus to transmit to a third apparatus an activation signal, transmit, to the third apparatus, the activation signal comprising a command to enable a reflection amplifier; andin response to receiving, from the first apparatus, a request to reduce a power for transmitting the activation signal to the third apparatus, transmit, to the third apparatus, the activation signal with a reduced power, orin response to receiving, from the first apparatus, a request to cause the third apparatus to reduce a reflection gain of the reflection amplifier, transmit, to the thirdapparatus, a further request to reduce the reflection gain.

16. The second apparatus of claim 15, wherein the indication is for initiating a session of an Ambient Internet of Things (loT) communication with the third apparatus, and the second apparatus is caused to:in response to receiving the indication, transmit the activation signal with a maximum power of the second apparatus.

17. The second apparatus of claim 15, wherein the reduced power is below a maximum power of the second apparatus.

18. The second apparatus of claim 15, wherein the request comprises a magnitude of distortion to be reduced determined based on capability information of the third apparatus, and the further request comprises the magnitude of distortion to be reduced.

19. The second apparatus of claim 15, wherein the second apparatus is caused to:receive, from the first apparatus, an indication to configure an Ambient Internet of Things (loT) communication with a passive communication; andtransmit, to the third apparatus, a signal to disable the reflection amplifier.

20. The second apparatus of any of claims 15 to 19, wherein the second apparatus is caused to:receive, from the first apparatus or a fourth apparatus, a request for capability information of the third apparatus related to Ambient Internet of Things (loT); andtransmit a request to the third apparatus for the capability information.

21. The second apparatus of any of claims 15 to 20, wherein the first apparatus comprises a receiving device associated with Ambient Internet of Things (loT), the second apparatus comprises a transmitting device associated with Ambient loT, and the third apparatus comprises an Ambient loT device.

22. The second apparatus of any of claims 15 to 21, wherein the second apparatus and the third apparatus are comprised in a physical entity.

23. A third apparatus comprising:at least one processor; andat least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the third apparatus at least to:5 receive, from a second apparatus, an activation signal comprising a commandto enable a reflection amplifier; andtransmit, to a first apparatus, a first signal which is backscattered based on the activation signal, wherein the reflection amplifier has been turned on at the third apparatus,10 wherein a reflection gain of the reflection amplifier operates with a full gainor a variable gain.

24. The third apparatus of claim 23, wherein the third apparatus is caused to: turn on the reflection amplifier in response to receiving the activation signal.1525. The third apparatus of claim 23, wherein the activation signal is transmitted with a maximum power of the second apparatus or a reduced power.55

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