Dynamic selection of index modulation pattern subset

Abstract

Configuration information indicating at least one pattern subset for index modulation involving determining a target pattern subset for index modulation from the at least one pattern subset; and apply

Description

[0002] Uplink coverage enhancement is one of the critical features for the sixth generation (6G) waveform to enable the coverage parity with the fifth generation (5G) when operating over higher frequency range but sharing the same cell-sites of 5G. In this regard different waveform enhancements that improve the Peak to Average power Ratio (PAPR) and uplink coverage performance are considered for 6G. Index Modulation (IM) is one of the potential solutions for this enhancement. 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: receive, from a second apparatus, configuration information indicating at least one pattern subset for index modulation; determine a target pattern subset for index modulation from the at least one pattern subset; and apply at least one portion of the target pattern subset to a communication between the first apparatus and the second apparatus.

[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: transmit, to a first apparatus, configuration information indicating at least one pattern subset for index modulation; determine a target pattern subset for index modulation from the at least one pattern subset; and apply at least one portion of the target pattern subset to a communication between the first apparatus and the second apparatus.

[0005] In a third aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method. The method comprises: receiving, at a first apparatus, from a second apparatus, configuration information indicating at least one pattern subset for index modulation; determining a target pattern subset for index modulation from the at least one pattern subset; and applying at least one portion of the target pattern subset to a communication between the first apparatus and the second apparatus.

[0006] In a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method. The method comprises: transmitting, at a second apparatus, to a first apparatus, configuration information indicating at least one pattern subset for index modulation; determining a target pattern subset for index modulation from the at least one pattern subset; and applying at least one portion of the target pattern subset to a communication between the first apparatus and the second apparatus.

[0007] In a fifth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a first apparatus. The first apparatus comprises means for receiving, from a second apparatus, configuration information indicating at least one pattern subset for index modulation; means for determining a target pattern subset for index modulation from the at least one pattern subset; and means for applying at least one portion of the target pattern subset to a communication between the first apparatus and the second apparatus.

[0008] In a sixth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a second apparatus. The second apparatus comprises means for transmitting, to a first apparatus, configuration information indicating at least one pattern subset for index modulation; means for determining a target pattern subset for index modulation from the at least one pattern subset; and means for applying at least one portion of the target pattern subset to a communication between the first apparatus and the second apparatus.

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

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

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

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

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

[0014] FIG. 2 illustrates a high-level block diagram for group-based index modulation in time / frequency or modulation type domains;

[0015] FIG. 3 illustrates an example of IM patterns;

[0016] FIG. 4 illustrates an example signalling chart for dynamic selection of index modulation pattern subset in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0017] FIG. 5 illustrates an example of IM patterns superset in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0018] FIG. 6 illustrates an example signalling chart for dynamic selection of index modulation pattern subset in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0019] FIG. 7 illustrates another example signalling chart for dynamic selection of index modulation pattern subset in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0020] FIG. 8 illustrates an example signalling chart for dynamic IM activation for Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0021] FIG. 9 illustrates an example signalling chart for dynamic IM pattern activation for Physical Downlink Shared Channe (PDSCH) in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0022] FIG. 10 illustrates a flowchart of a method implemented at a first apparatus in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0023] FIG. 11 illustrates a flowchart of a method implemented at a second apparatus in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0024] FIG. 12 illustrates a flowchart of a method implemented at a first apparatus in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0025] FIG. 13 illustrates a flowchart of a method implemented at a second apparatus in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0026] FIG. 14 illustrates a flowchart of a method implemented at a first apparatus in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0027] FIG. 15 illustrates a flowchart of a method implemented at a second apparatus in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0028] FIG. 16 illustrates a simplified block diagram of a device that is suitable for implementing example embodiments of the present disclosure; and

[0029] FIG. 17 illustrates a block diagram of an example computer readable medium in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0030] Throughout the drawings, the same or similar reference numerals represent the same or similar element. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0031] 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.

[0032] 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.

[0033] 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.

[0034] 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.

[0035] 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.

[0036] 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.

[0037] 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.

[0038] As used in this application, the term “circuitry” may refer to one or more or all of the following: (a) hardware-only circuit implementations (such as implementations in only analog and / or digital circuitry) and (b) combinations of hardware circuits and software, such as (as applicable): (i) a combination of analog and / or digital hardware circuit(s) with software / firmware and (ii) any portions of hardware processor(s) with software (including digital signal processor(s)), software, and memory(ies) that work together to cause an apparatus, such as a mobile phone or server, to perform various functions) and (c) hardware circuit(s) and or processor(s), such as a microprocessor(s) or a portion of a microprocessor(s), that requires software (e.g., firmware) for operation, but the software may not be present when it is not needed for operation.

[0039] This definition of circuitry applies to all uses of this term in this application, including in any claims. As a further example, as used in this application, the term circuitry also covers an implementation of merely a hardware circuit or processor (or multiple processors) or portion of a hardware circuit or processor and its (or their) accompanying software and / or firmware. The term circuitry also covers, for example and if applicable to the particular claim element, a baseband integrated circuit or processor integrated circuit for a mobile device or a similar integrated circuit in server, a cellular network device, or other computing or network device.

[0040] As used herein, the term “communication network” refers to a network following any suitable communication standards, such as sixth generation (6G), fifth generation (5G) 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-IoT) 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 5G, 5.5G, the 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.

[0041] 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.

[0042] 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.

[0043] 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.

[0044] As used herein, the term “pattern subset”, “IM pattern subset” or the like may refer to one or more IM patterns. If the term “pattern subset” is used, it may mean a collection of one or more IM patterns in at least one IM pattern set. The pattern subset may be also referred to as “pattern group”, “pattern subgroup”, “one or more patterns” or “at least one pattern”.

[0045] FIG. 1 illustrates an example communication environment 100 in which example embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented. In the communication environment 100, a first apparatus 110 and a second apparatus 120 can communicate with each other. In some example embodiments, the first apparatus 110 may comprise a terminal device (for example, a UE), and the second apparatus 120 may comprise a network device (for example, a gNB). In some example embodiments, the first apparatus 110 may comprise a first terminal device (for example, a UE), and the second apparatus 120 may comprise a second terminal device (for example, another UE).

[0046] In the example of FIG. 1, the terminal device 110 may be a UE and the network device 120 may be a base station serving the UE. The serving area of the network device 120 may be called a cell 102.

[0047] It is to be understood that the number of first apparatus 110 and second apparatus 120 shown in FIG. 1 is given for the purpose of illustration without suggesting any limitations. The communication environment 100 may include any suitable number of first apparatus 110 and second apparatus 120. Although not shown, it would be appreciated that one or more additional devices may be located in the cell 102, and one or more additional cells may be deployed in the communication environment 100.

[0048] In the following, for the purpose of illustration, some example embodiments are described with the first apparatus 110 operating as a terminal device (such as a UE) and the second apparatus 120 operating as a network device (such as a gNB). However, in some example embodiments, operations described in connection with a terminal device may be implemented at a network device or other device, and operations described in connection with a network device may be implemented at a terminal device or other device.

[0049] In some example embodiments, if the first apparatus 110 is a terminal device or included in a terminal device and the second apparatus 120 is a network device or is included in a network device, a link from the second apparatus 120 to the first apparatus 110 is referred to as a downlink (DL), and a link from the first apparatus 110 to the second apparatus 120 is referred to as an uplink (UL). In DL, the second apparatus 120 is a transmitting (TX) device (or a transmitter) and the first apparatus 110 is a receiving (RX) device (or a receiver). In UL, the first apparatus 110 is a TX device (or a transmitter) and the second apparatus 120 is a RX device (or a receiver). In some example embodiments, if the first apparatus 110 is a first terminal device (for example, a UE), and the second apparatus 120 is a second terminal device (for example, another UE), a link between the first apparatus 110 and the second apparatus 120 is referred to as sidelink (SL).

[0050] Communications in the communication environment 100 may be implemented according to any proper communication protocol(s), comprising, but not limited to, cellular communication protocols of the first generation (1G), the second generation (2G), the third generation (3G), the fourth generation (4G), the fifth generation (5G), the sixth generation (6G), and the like, wireless local network communication protocols such as Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 and the like, and / or any other protocols currently known or to be developed in the future. Moreover, the communication may utilize any proper wireless communication technology, comprising but not limited to: Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Frequency Division Duplex (FDD), Time Division Duplex (TDD), Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple (OFDM), Discrete Fourier Transform spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM) and / or any other technologies currently known or to be developed in the future.

[0051] As mentioned above, index modulation is one of the potential solutions for uplink coverage enhancement. Index modulation conveys additional information bits by changing a communication system’s state which is represented by a certain index. Compared to traditional systems using amplitude, phase or frequencies to convey information, index modulation alters a system state to convey additional information bits. This state is required to be controllable at the transmitter and detectable at the receiver.

[0052] In some variants of index modulation, some of the subcarriers or pre-Discrete Fourier Transformation (pre-DFT) resource elements (REs) within the transmission bandwidth are deactivated or set to zero power with single IM mode, or are considered as secondary activated REs with dual -IM mode to carry modulation symbols from another distinguishable constellation set compared to the other primary activated REs. The pattern (e.g. location of the (primary / secondary) activated or deactivated elements in a group of elements, or the number of activated / deactivated, etc.) for index modulation conveys some information bits. The single IM mode is pre-DFT time IM domain with DFT-s-OFDM and frequency IM domain is with Cyclic Prefix (CP)-OFDM, and the dual IM mode can be with both waveforms where the activated REs acts as primary activated REs carrying a first constellation set and the secondary activated REs carry a second constellation set which is different than the first one (distinguishable sets).

[0053] FIG. 2 illustrates a high-level block diagram for group-based index modulation, which provides possible implementation of transmitter and receiver for index modulation.

[0054] At the transmitter side, the input bitstream is passed to a channel coding and interleaving block 202. The coded or uncoded bitstream is divided into at least two substreams by a bit splitter 204, if necessary. At least one sub-stream is used in a conventional M-ary amplitude and phase modulation (APM) mapper (e.g., Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM) mapper, Phase Shift Keying (PSK) mapper) 206, and the other substream is mapped to an index of IM pattern for each sub-group by an index mapper 208 to convey additional information bits. An index modulation block 210 maps the data subcarriers for each sub-group to its allocated Physical Resource Block (PRB) and activated REs in the selected IM pattern. It is possible to use constant power instead of APM symbol and send data only through IM pattern indices.

[0055] At the receiver side, the main receiver block (e.g., a demodulation block 212) is similar to conventional (DFT-s)-Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM), but the detection needs to consider both APM symbols and IM patterns. An efficient detection with channel decoding is based on LLR for all APM and IM bits in order to pass it to the channel decoder.

[0056] In some solutions, at least one deactivated (time or frequency) RE is used in each IM pattern. In such IM solutions, the transmitter sends Na active subcarriers / REs from Ng subcarriers / REs in each group REs allocated for transmission where the total allocated REs = number of Groups (G) * group size (Ng). In one example of IM solutions denoted by Resource Set Shift (RSS)-IM, Ng - Na contiguous subcarrier(s) / RE(s) are deactivated in one IM pattern, and the remaining IM patterns are generated by cyclic shift of this IM pattern of size Ng, where the shift can be any non-zero integer.

[0057] FIG. 3 illustrates an example of IM patterns based on RSS-IM method with shift= 1, group size Ng=12 and Na=9. In the example of FIG. 3, the average number of bits per RE (BPRE average) in a resource group of Ng E N REs is represented as: 10g2(Af) + [10g2(iVpatterns)j where a group size Ng E N REs allows Npatterns <Ng possible IM RSS-IM patterns, the total number of allocated REs could be N REs divided into G groups of Ng REs (N = G.Ng), and M represents M-ary modulation order for any amplitude phase modulation , for example, QAM, PSK, Pulse Amplitude Modulation (PAM) etc.

[0058] For example, using the above IM patterns in FIG. 3, this method with Binary Phase Shift Keying (BPSK) and 1 PRB can achieve the same number of bits 12 bits / PRB (BPRE average = 1) as legacy BPSK while deactivating 3 REs and boosting the power of the active REs. That is, 25% less active REs for the same SE / TBS with 25% power boost.

[0059] The number of possible IM patterns available for given Na and Ng configuration may be a non-power of 2. There would be a problem of IM pattern sub-set selection since the number of IM patterns needed to convey an integer number of IM bits per group should be power of 2. For example, RSS-IM patterns illustrated in FIG. 3 has 12 IM patterns that can be used to map 3 bits (mapped to 8 patterns) and 4 IM patterns would not be used during whole transmission. In addition, the number of IM patterns that can be configured can be any power of 2 smaller than the number of all possible IM patterns for a given configuration (e.g., 2 or 4 or 8 IM pattern subset pattern can be used from these 12 IM patterns in the figure with the given configuration).

[0060] To further optimize IM performance, the subset of IM patterns to be selected for mapping can be pre-configured or dynamically selected for better and / or faster link adaptation. For instance, IM pattern subset with larger number of deactivated resources per group provides higher power boost while larger number of IM bits per group can increase the throughput and / or allow lower coding rate.

[0061] It is expected of a solution for selection of pattern subset(s) for any IM mode, for example a single IM mode having IM patterns with at least one deactivated RE, or a dual-IM mode with IM patterns with at least one activated RE carrying a modulation symbol from a first constellation set (which is a primary activated RE) and at least one activated RE carrying a modulation symbol from a second constellation set distinguishable compared to the first one (which is a secondary activated RE).

[0062] In view of above, embodiments of the present disclosure propose solutions for dynamic selection of index modulation pattern subset. In one solution, a first apparatus receives, from a second apparatus, configuration information indicating at least one pattern subset for index modulation. The first apparatus determines a target pattern subset for index modulation from the at least one pattern subset. The first apparatus applies at least one portion of the target pattern subset to a communication between the first apparatus and the second apparatus.

[0063] In another solution, for example in the case of uplink transmission, a first apparatus receives, from a second apparatus, configuration information indicating at least one pattern subset for index modulation. The first apparatus determines, from the at least one pattern subset, a target pattern subset for index modulation for a transmission to the second apparatus. The first apparatus performs the transmission to the second apparatus based on at least one portion of the target pattern subset.

[0064] In a further solution, for example in the case of downlink transmission, a first apparatus receives, from a second apparatus, first configuration information indicating at least one pattern subset for index modulation. The first apparatus determines, from the at least one pattern subset, a target pattern subset for index modulation for a transmission from the second apparatus to the first apparatus. The first apparatus receives the transmission from the second apparatus based on at least one portion of the target pattern subset.

[0065] The example embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0066] Reference is now made to FIG. 4, which illustrates an example signalling chart 400 for dynamic selection of index modulation pattern subset in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 4, the signalling chart 400 involves the first apparatus 110 and the second apparatus 120. For the purpose of discussion, reference is made to FIG. 1 to describe the signaling chart 400. In some example embodiments, the first apparatus 110 may be or be comprised in a terminal device, and the second apparatus 120 may be or be comprised in a network device.

[0067] As shown in FIG. 4, in some example embodiments, the first apparatus 110 may transmit 402 capability information to the second apparatus 120. The second apparatus 120 may receive 404 the capability information. The capability information is associated with pattern subset selection for index modulation. For example, the first apparatus 110 may transmit a UE capability message to the second apparatus 120. As used herein, the pattern for IM may be also referred to as “IM pattern”.

[0068] In some example embodiments, the capability information may comprise an indication that the pattern subset selection for index modulation is supported by the first apparatus 110, for example, a field “IM-support” in the UE capability message. Alternatively, or in addition, the capability information may comprise a maximum number of index modulation patterns supported by the first apparatus 110, for example, a field “Max-number-of-patterns” in the UE capability message. Alternatively, or in addition, the capability information may comprise an indication of at least one type of index modulation patterns supported by the first apparatus 110, for example, a field “supported pattern types” in the UE capability message. The supported pattern types may include not limited to a shift based type or any other variants.

[0069] After receiving the capability information, the second apparatus 120 transmits 406 configuration information to the first apparatus 110. The configuration information indicates at least one pattern subset for IM.

[0070] In some example embodiments, the configuration information may comprise an indication of the at least one pattern subset for IM, for example index of each configured pattern subset. For example, the first apparatus 110 may indicate the capability of the supported subset of patterns. The second apparatus 120 may configure a plurality of IM pattern subsets for IM through RRC signalling message. In this way, a plurality of IM pattern subsets may be configured.

[0071] Alternatively, or in addition, in some example embodiments, the configuration information may comprise respective indications of a plurality of IM patterns to be divided into the at least one subset, which may be referred to as a superset. In an example, the second apparatus 120 may configure a transmission with a specific IM scheme where this configuration indicates a superset of possible IM patterns. For example, the plurality of IM patterns subsets may be combined in a superset of IM pattern subsets from which the second apparatus 120 may choose. The superset may include IM pattern subsets with different IM configurations (e.g., the number of activated REs, a group size and shift patterns, etc.). An example superset of IM Pattern subsets that may be configured towards the first apparatus 110 for dynamic selection of IM Pattern subsets is illustrated in FIG. 5.

[0072] In some example embodiments, IM patterns in the at least one pattern subset may have the same IM configuration. For example, the superset of IM pattern subsets may comprise IM pattern subsets with the same number of (de)activated REs per group and / or group size. For example, the 12 patterns shown in FIG. 3 have the same IM configuration, such as the same number of activated resource elements (e.g., represented as Na), the same number of resource elements (e.g., represented as Ng) in the group of resource elements, the same RE shift, etc.

[0073] Alternatively, or in addition, at least two pattern subsets of the at least one pattern subset may have different IM configurations with each other. For example, the superset of IM pattern subsets may comprise IM pattern subsets with a different number of (de)activated REs per group and / or group size, for example, as shown in FIG. 5.

[0074] In some example embodiments, at least two pattern subsets are different in the number of activated resource elements (e.g., represented as Na) or deactivated resource elements in a group of resource elements, for example, in single IM mode. Alternatively, at least two pattern subsets are different in the number of primary activated resource elements or secondary activated resource elements in a group of resource elements, for example, in dual-IM mode. Alternatively, or in addition, at least two pattern subsets are different in the number of resource elements (e.g., represented as Ng) in the group of resource elements. Alternatively, or in addition, at least two pattern subsets are different in a resource element shift (e.g., represented as shift) between two IM patterns in a pattern subset.

[0075] In the example of FIG. 5, using RSS-IM based patterns, a first IM pattern subset with Na=l activated RE per group of Ng=4 REs and shift= 1 may comprise 4 IM patterns in the 1st to 4th rows. A second pattern subset with Na=2 and Ng=4 REs, and shift= 1 may comprise the 5th to 8th rows. Similarly, an IM pattern subset with Na=3, Ng=4 and shift= 1 may comprise the 9th to 12th rows. Another IM pattern subset with Na=2, Ng=4 and shift=2 may comprise IM patterns in the 5th and 7th rows, etc.

[0076] In some example embodiments, the configuration information may further comprise a mapping from at least one modulation and coding scheme to the at least one pattern subset. Alternatively, or in addition, the configuration information may further comprise an indication of bit mapping for an IM pattern in the at least one pattern subset. For example, an index may indicate also the bit mapping for each pattern in the subset. For example, the bit mapping may be ordered e.g., from the lowest pattern index to highest and may use gray-mapping between IM patterns.

[0077] Alternatively, or in addition, the configuration information may comprise the number of activated resource elements (e.g., Na) or deactivated resource elements in a group of resource elements for a pattern subset of the at least one pattern subset, and the number of resource elements (e.g., Ng) in the group of resource elements for the pattern subset. For example, the configured IM pattern subset may indicate: a group size (Ng), and the number of activated Res (Na).

[0078] Alternatively, or in addition, the configuration information may comprise the number of IM bits (also referred to as IM bits per group) in the group of resource elements for the pattern subset. Alternatively, or in addition, the configuration information may comprise the average number of IM bits (also referred to as the average number of IM bit per RE) in a resource element for the pattern subset. For example, the configured IM pattern subset may indicate the number of IM bits per group, the average IM bits per RE and the average number of bits per RE. Specifically, IM bits per group = log2( NpatternsSubset), where NpatternsSubset is the number of IM patterns in the subset and it is an integer number power of 2. The average number of IM bits per RE is denoted as BPRE^g = log2(NpatternsSubset) / Ng. The average number of bits per RE is the sum of average number of IM bits per RE and the average number of APM (e.g., QAM / PSK) bits per RE. For example, for single IM mode, the average number of APM bits per RE is denoted as Na X log2( M) / Ng, and for dual-IM mode, the average number of APM bits per RE is denoted as [Na x log2(Ml) + QNg — Na) x \og2(M2)] / Ng, where Ml and M2 are the modulation order for the first and second constellation set.

[0079] The superset of IM pattern subsets may allow dynamic IM configuration: e.g., different IM patterns, the number of activated REs, IM bit per RE, or average bit per RE, etc. This configuration may be for an UL or DL transmission with IM. The configuration may be, for example, separate for different modulation and coding scheme (MCS) or allocation size, based on which the first apparatus 110 may choose the pattern to be applied.

[0080] Each pattern subset is assigned with index in this configuration, where the index indicates the subset of IM patterns to be used in IM mapper / detection (Tx / Rx), alternatively thus those which are not used.

[0081] In some example embodiments, there may be one default pattern captured by the specification supported by all the first apparatuses, and one or more specific patterns. The default pattern may depend, e.g., on MCS, allocation size.

[0082] Continuing with FIG. 4, the second apparatus 120 may determine 414 a target pattern subset for IM from the at least one pattern subset. In some example embodiment, the second apparatus 120 may select the target pattern subset from the at least one pattern subset, and may indicate the first apparatus 110 of the selected pattern subset. For example, the second apparatus 120 may select IM pattern subset based on link adaptation algorithm, Signal Interference Noise Ratio (SINR), etc. to enhance IM performance, coverage, UL throughput and / or Rx detection complexity. For another example, the second apparatus 120 may select the target pattern subset based on assistance information from the first apparatus 110, as will be described below.

[0083] For example, the larger the needed power boost, the more deactivated REs in each IM pattern subset there may be. The larger the IM pattern subset size, the higher the Rx detection complexity and the larger the UL throughput and / or the lower the code rate may be. The larger the inter-pattern hamming distance, the better the detection reliability may be. It can be based on IM pattern subset selection using a larger shift with RSS-IM. For example, a new bit field “IM pattern” of x bits may be included in DCI, where, e.g., x = 2 bits may indicate one pattern subset from 2X = 4 available pattern subsets.

[0084] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus 120 may determine the target pattern subset based on an indication from the first apparatus 110. For example, the first apparatus 110 may select the target pattern subset from the at least one pattern subset, and indicate the second apparatus 120 of the selected pattern subset. Such an example will be described below.

[0085] In response to receiving 408 the configuration information, the first apparatus 110 may determine 420 a target pattern subset for IM from the at least one pattern subset. In some example embodiments, the first apparatus 110 may select the target pattern subset on its own side from the configured at least one pattern subset. In some example embodiments, the first apparatus 110 may determine the target pattern subset based on an indication (for example, control information) from the second apparatus 120.

[0086] Afterwards, the first apparatus 110 applies 422 at least one portion of the target pattern subset to a communication between the first apparatus 110 and the second apparatus 120. Correspondingly, the second apparatus 120 applies 422 the corresponding portion(s) of the target pattern subset to the communication. For example, if the communication is transmission from the first apparatus 110 to the second apparatus 120, the second apparatus 120 may use the target pattern subset to detect / decode the received signal. For another example, if the communication is transmission from the second apparatus 120 to the first apparatus 110, the second apparatus 120 may use the target pattern subset to encode the signal to be sent. In some example embodiments, at least one portion of the target pattern subset may be used based on the number of bits mapped for IM. For example, one of the first apparatus 110 and the second apparatus 120 may be the transmitter and may perform the operations described with respect to the transmitter side in FIG. 2, and the other one may be the receiver and may perform the operations described with respect to the receiver side in FIG. 2

[0087] Some more example embodiments regarding the interaction between the first apparatus 110 and the second apparatus 120 for IM pattern subset selection are now described.

[0088] In some example embodiments, as shown in FIG. 4, the first apparatus 110 may transmit 410 assistance information to the second apparatus 120. The assistance information is used for selecting a pattern subset from the at least one pattern subset.

[0089] In some example embodiments, the assistance information may indicate a pattern subset preferred by the first apparatus 110. For example, the assistance information may include an index of a preferred pattern subset. Alternatively, or in addition, the assistance information may indicate a power parameter to be used for the communication. For example, the power parameter may include a power boosting level for a transmission to the second apparatus 120. Alternatively, or in addition, the assistance information may indicate a channel quality for a channel between the first apparatus 110 and the second apparatus 120, such as channel state information. As an example, the assistance information may be used to indicate at least of preferred subset index, power boosting level, Channel Quality Indicator (CQI), etc.

[0090] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus 110 may indicate its preferred subset via Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) Uplink Control Information (UCI) or a specific uplink symbol (e.g., Spreading Rate (SR)) that maps the preferred IM subset pattern index. This indication can also be via uplink medium access control (MAC) control element (CE). The second apparatus 120 may configure / schedule subsequent transmission based on the indicated preferred IM pattern subset of the first apparatus 110. This indication may be prior to the uplink scheduling grant if IM is configured (e.g., through RRC) for UL.

[0091] After receiving 412 the assistance information, the second apparatus 120 determines 414 a target pattern subset for IM from the at least one pattern subset.

[0092] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus 120 may transmit 416 control information to the first apparatus 110, for example downlink control information (DCI). The control information indicates the target pattern subset. In other words, the second apparatus 120 may dynamically indicate an IM pattern subset (e.g., using DCI) from the multiple IM pattern subsets configured through RRC, or comprised within the superset of IM pattern.

[0093] After receiving 418 the control information, the first apparatus 110 determines 420 the target pattern subset. In this way, the second apparatus 120 may provide an explicit indication to the first apparatus 110.

[0094] The above has described one general solution of the present disclosure with reference to FIG. 4, which may be employed for both a transmission from the first apparatus 110 to the second apparatus 120 and a transmission from the second apparatus 120 to the first apparatus 110. The present disclosure further provides other solutions which will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7.

[0095] FIG. 6 illustrates an example signalling chart 600 for dynamic selection of IM pattern subset in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 6, the signalling chart 600 involves the first apparatus 110 and the second apparatus 120. For the purpose of discussion, reference is made to FIG. 1 to describe the signaling chart 600. In some example embodiments, the first apparatus 110 may be or be comprised in a terminal device, and the second apparatus 120 may be or be comprised in a network device.

[0096] Capability information and configuration information exchanged between the first apparatus 110 and the second apparatus 120 may refer to the description with respect to the acts 402, 404, 406, 408 in the example embodiments of FIG. 4, which will not be repeated here.

[0097] After transmitting configuration information indicating at least one pattern subset for IM, the second apparatus 120 may determine 614, from the at least one pattern subset, a target pattern subset for IM for a transmission from the first apparatus 110. In some example embodiment, the second apparatus 120 may select the target pattern subset from the at least one pattern subset, and may indicate the first apparatus 110 of the selected pattern subset. For example, the second apparatus 120 may select IM pattern subset based on link adaptation algorithm, SINR, etc. to enhance IM performance, coverage, UL throughput and / or Rx detection complexity. For another example, the second apparatus 120 may select the target pattern subset based on assistance information from the first apparatus 110, as will be described below.

[0098] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus 120 may determine the target pattern subset based on an indication from the first apparatus 110. For example, the first apparatus 110 may select the target pattern subset from the at least one pattern subset, and indicate the second apparatus 120 of the selected pattern subset. Such an example will be described below.

[0099] In response to receiving configuration information, the first apparatus 110 may determine 620, from the at least one pattern subset, a target pattern subset for IM for a transmission to the second apparatus 120. It is noted that the first apparatus 110 may determine the target pattern subset on its own side or receive an indication (for example, DCI) from the second apparatus 120.

[0100] Continuing to refer to FIG. 6, the first apparatus 110 performs 622 the transmission to the second apparatus 120 based on at least one portion of the target pattern subset. For example, the first apparatus 110 may use the at least one portion of the target pattern subset to encode the signal to be sent. For example, a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) transmission may be performed. Correspondingly, the second apparatus 120 receives 624 the transmission from the first apparatus 110 based on the target pattern subset. For example, the second apparatus 120 may use at least one portion of the target pattern subset to decode the received signal. In some cases, the at least one portion of the target pattern subset may be based on the number of bits mapped for IM. For example, the first apparatus 110 may perform the operations described with respect to the transmitter side in FIG. 2, and the second apparatus 120 may perform the operations described with respect to the receiver side in FIG. 2

[0101] Some more example embodiments regarding the interaction between the first apparatus 110 and the second apparatus 120 for IM pattern subset selection are now described.

[0102] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus 110 may transmit 610, to the second apparatus 120, assistance information for selecting a pattern subset from the at least one pattern subset. In some example embodiments, the assistance information may indicate at least one of: a pattern subset preferred by the first apparatus 110, or a power boosting level to be used for the transmission to the first apparatus 110. For example, the assistance information may include a preferred subset index, power boosting level, etc.

[0103] In some example embodiments, the assistance information may be transmitted via at least one of: uplink control information, or a MAC CE. For example, the first apparatus 110 may indicate its preferred subset via PUCCH UCI or a specific uplink symbol that maps the preferred IM subset pattern index. This indication can also be via uplink MAC CE.

[0104] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus 120 may receive 612, from the first apparatus 110, assistance information for selecting a pattern subset from the at least one pattern subset. Afterwards, the second apparatus 120 may determine 614 the target pattern subset from the at least one pattern subset based on the assistance information.

[0105] In some example embodiments, after determining the target pattern subset, the second apparatus 120 may transmit 616, to the first apparatus 110, control information indicating the target pattern subset. For example, the second apparatus 120 may configure / schedule subsequent transmission based on the indicated preferred IM pattern subset of the first apparatus 110. This indication may be prior to the uplink scheduling grant if IM is configured (e.g., through RRC) for UL.

[0106] In some example embodiments, the control information may comprise an indication to activate IM for the transmission to the second apparatus, and an index of the target pattern subset.

[0107] The first apparatus 110 may receive 618 the control information from the second apparatus 120. The control information indicates the target pattern subset. Then the first apparatus 110 may determine the target pattern subset based on the control information. In this way, the second apparatus 120 may provide an implicit indication to the first apparatus 110.

[0108] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus 120 may not indicate the first apparatus 110 of the target pattern subset. For example, in the case of configured grant where there is no dynamic scheduling is involved, the first apparatus 110 may send the selected pattern-subset as inband signalling included within the PUSCH (UCI multiplexed within PUSCH).

[0109] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus 110 may transmit, to the second apparatus 120, a first portion of the transmission to indicate the target pattern subset. Further, the first apparatus 110 may transmit, to the second apparatus 120, a second portion of the transmission by applying at least one portion of the target pattern subset. The second portion may be subsequent to the first portion. Correspondingly, the second apparatus 120 may receive the first and second portions of the transmission, respectively.

[0110] In an example, for UL with IM, the PUCCH information included along with PUSCH indicates the first apparatus 110 selected IM pattern subset comprised in the IM pattern superset or the multiple IM pattern subsets configured / indicated by the second apparatus 120. The second apparatus 120 may first decode the PUCCH information to identify the selected sub-set of IM patterns.

[0111] As briefly mentioned above, in some example embodiments, a portion of the target pattern subset may be used. The number of used patterns in the subset may be based on the number of bits mapped for IM.

[0112] To this end, in some example embodiments, the first apparatus 110 may determine, from the target pattern subset, a first number of IM patterns to be applied based on a second number of bits mapped for IM. After determining whether the target pattern subset is completely used based on the first number of IM patterns, the first apparatus 110 may transmit, to the second apparatus 120, an indication of whether the target pattern subset is completely used.

[0113] As an example, regarding the dynamic selection of the number of bits mapped for the IM-subset, the second apparatus 120 may configure the first apparatus 110 in the RRC message that the first apparatus 110 may send an indication of whether the complete pattern-set is used or only part of the pattern-set is used based on the number of bits mapped to IM.

[0114] In some example embodiments, the indication of whether the target pattern subset is completed used may be comprised in a first portion of the transmission. The first number of IM patterns may be applied to a second portion of the transmission, the second portion being subsequent to the first portion.

[0115] When configured, the first apparatus 110 sends an indication of whether it has used complete patterns or a subset (a few bits to indicate the reduction) along with the PUSCH as UCI. If it is about only one level of bit reduction, it can be mapped to Demodulation Reference Signal (DMRS) selection.

[0116] For example, within the pattern subset containing 16 patterns, if the transmission of the first apparatus 110 needs to only map 3 bits to IM, the first apparatus 110 may indicate the same via 1-bit UCI or DMRS that may be used at the second apparatus 120 to reduce the pattern subset for the detection of IM bits.

[0117] In this way, dynamic selection of IM pattern subset may be implemented between the first apparatus 110 and the second apparatus 120. In some cases, the process may involve assistance information and control information as described in the foregoing solution.

[0118] FIG. 7 illustrates another example signalling chart 700 for dynamic selection of IM pattern subset in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 7, the signalling chart 700 involves the first apparatus 110 and the second apparatus 120. For the purpose of discussion, reference is made to FIG. 1 to describe the signaling chart 700. In some example embodiments, the first apparatus 110 may be or be comprised in a terminal device, and the second apparatus 120 may be or be comprised in a network device.

[0119] Capability information and configuration information transmitted between the first apparatus 110 and the second apparatus 120 may refer to the description with respect to the acts 402, 404, 406, 408 in the example embodiments of FIG. 4, which will not be repeated here.

[0120] It is noted that the configuration that the second apparatus 110 transmits 406 and the first apparatus 110 receives may also be referred to as first configuration information. The first configuration information indicates the at least one pattern subset for IM. For example, the first configuration information may include the RRC configuration message for configuring pattern subsets.

[0121] Continuing with the chart 700, the second apparatus 120 determines 714, from the at least one pattern subset, a target pattern subset for IM for a transmission from the second apparatus 120 to the first apparatus 110. In some example embodiment, the second apparatus 120 may select the target pattern subset from the at least one pattern subset, and may indicate the first apparatus 110 of the selected pattern subset. For example, the second apparatus 120 may select IM pattern subset based on link adaptation algorithm, SINR, etc. to enhance IM performance, coverage, DL throughput and / or Rx detection complexity. For another example, the second apparatus 120 may select the target pattern subset based on assistance information from the first apparatus 110, as will be described below.

[0122] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus 120 may determine the target pattern subset based on an indication from the first apparatus 110. For example, the first apparatus 110 may select the target pattern subset from the at least one pattern subset, and indicate the second apparatus 120 of the selected pattern subset.

[0123] Correspondingly, the first apparatus 110 determines 720, from the at least one pattern subset, a target pattern subset for IM for a transmission from the second apparatus 120 to the first apparatus 110. It is noted that the first apparatus 110 may determine the target pattern subset on its own side or receive an indication (for example, DCI) from the second apparatus 120.

[0124] The second apparatus 120 performs 724 the transmission to the first apparatus 110 based on at least one portion of the target pattern subset. For example, the second apparatus 120 may use the at least one portion of the target pattern subset to encode the signal to be sent. Correspondingly, the first apparatus 110 receives 722 the transmission from the second apparatus. For example, the first apparatus 110 may use at least one portion of the target pattern subset to decode the received signal.

[0125] In this way, dynamic selection of IM pattern subset may be implemented between the first apparatus 110 and the second apparatus 120. In some cases, the process may involve additional information which will be described below. Some more example embodiments regarding the interaction between the first apparatus 110 and the second apparatus 120 for IM pattern subset selection are now described.

[0126] In some example embodiments, as shown in FIG. 7, the second apparatus may further transmit 706 reconfiguration information (also referred to as second configuration information) to the first apparatus 110. The first apparatus 110 may receive 708 the second configuration information. The second configuration information may be associated with activation of the IM. The second configuration information may indicate a mapping between at least one MCS and at least one strength threshold for a reference signal from the second apparatus 120 to the first apparatus 110. For example, the second configuration information may include the RRC reconfiguration message. The RRC reconfiguration message may include MCS indices and thresholds for IM activation in DL.

[0127] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus may further determine an MCS to be applied to the transmission from the at least one MCS, and a measured signal strength of the reference signal. The first apparatus may determine a strength threshold mapped to the determined MCS based on the mapping. In response to that the measured signal strength and the determined strength threshold meet a criterion, the first apparatus may determine to activate the IM for the transmission. In an example, for PDSCH transmission with IM activation, the gNB may configure specific MCS-Indices that maps to downlink signal strength for enabling the IM activation.

[0128] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus 110 may further transmit 710, to the second apparatus 120, assistance information for selecting a pattern subset from the at least one pattern subset. The second apparatus 120 may receive 712 the assistance information.

[0129] In some example embodiments, the assistance information may indicate a channel quality for a channel from the second apparatus to the first apparatus 110. In an example, the assistance information may include channel state information obtained by the first apparatus 110. In some example embodiments, the assistance information may comprise channel quality indicator (CQI) for the channel obtained by the first apparatus 110.

[0130] After receiving the assistance information, the second apparatus 120 may determine the target pattern subset based on the assistance information. For example, the second apparatus 120 may select the pattern subset based on MCS reported in the CQI.

[0131] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus 120 may transmit 716, to the first apparatus, control information (for example, downlink control information, DCI) indicating the target pattern subset. Correspondingly, the first apparatus 110 may receive 718 the control information and determine 720 the target pattern subset based on the control information.

[0132] In some example embodiments, the control information may be used to schedule the transmission from the second apparatus 120 to the first apparatus 110. For example, the control information may be DCI scheduling PDSCH to the first apparatus.

[0133] The above has described the solutions for dynamic selection of IM pattern subset. The following will provide example signalling procedures illustrating the configuration of IM pattern subsets and selection of IM pattern subsets with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9.

[0134] FIG. 8 illustrates an example signalling chart 800 for dynamic IM activation for PUSCH in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 8, the signalling chart 800 involves a UE 810 and a gNB 820 which represent specific examples of the first apparatus 110 and the second apparatus 120, respectively.

[0135] As shown in FIG. 8, at step 802, the UE 810 may transmit UE-capability information to the gNB 820. At step 804, the UE 810 may receive RRC-configuration information from the gNB 820.

[0136] At step 806, the UE 810 may indicate the selected or preferred pattern subset via UCI or MAC-CE to allow the scheduler to decide on the right subset to be used for PUSCH transmission. In some embodiments, the gNB 820 may configure the UE 810 to report power-boost level to the UE 810 that is possible for current MCS to report instead of pattern-index.

[0137] At step 808, the UE 810 may receive PDCCH-DCI from the gNB 820. The PDCCH-DCI may indicate the target pattern subset, for example, may indicate that the selected or preferred subset-Index is used for the allocation or specific pattern index can be provided as additional parameter. In this case, the gNB 820 will have mapping to PB level and pattern-index and assign the suitable pattern index as part of DCI.

[0138] At step 812, the UE 810 may transmit PUSCH with the target pattern subset. In case of configured grant where there is no dynamic scheduling involved, the UE 810 may send the selected pattern subset as inband signalling included within the PUSCH (UCI multiplexed within PUSCH).

[0139] FIG. 9 illustrates an example signalling chart 900 for dynamic IM pattern activation for PDSCH in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure, taking the UE 810 and the gNB 820 as an example.

[0140] As shown in FIG. 9, at step 902, the gNB 820 may transmit RRC-configuration to the UE 810. At step 904, the gNB 820 may receive UCI (CQI) from the UE 810.

[0141] At step 906, the gNB 820 may select the suitable IM pattern subset for IM based on the CQI received from the UE 810. The gNB 820 may further configure specific MCS-Indices that map to downlink signal strength for enabling the IM activation. The DCI scheduling the PDSCH will include the selected IM pattern subset to be used in the PDSCH Transmission.

[0142] At step 908, the gNB 820 may transmit PDCCH-DCI to the UE 810. At step 912, the gNB 820 may transmit PDSCH with the selected IM pattern subset to the UE 810.

[0143] FIG. 10 shows a flowchart of an example method 1000 implemented at a first apparatus in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the method 1000 will be described from the perspective of the first apparatus 110 in FIG. 1.

[0144] At block 1010, the first apparatus 110 receives, from a second apparatus, configuration information indicating at least one pattern subset for index modulation.

[0145] At block 1020, the first apparatus 110 determines a target pattern subset for index modulation from the at least one pattern subset.

[0146] At block 1030, the first apparatus 110 applies at least one portion of the target pattern subset to a communication between the first apparatus and the second apparatus.

[0147] In some example embodiments, the configuration information comprises: an indication of the at least one pattern subset, or respective indications of a plurality of index modulation patterns to be divided into the at least one subset.

[0148] In some example embodiments, one of the following is met: index modulation patterns in the at least one pattern subset have the same index modulation configuration, or at least two pattern subsets of the at least one pattern subset have different index modulation configurations with each other.

[0149] In some example embodiments, the at least two pattern subsets are different in at least one of: the number of activated resource elements or deactivated resource elements in a group of resource elements, the number of primary activated resource elements or secondary activated resource elements in a group of resource elements, the number of resource elements in the group of resource elements, or a resource element shift between two index modulation patterns in a pattern subset.

[0150] In some example embodiments, the configuration information further comprises at least one of: a mapping from at least one modulation and coding scheme to the at least one pattern subset, an indication of bit mapping for an index modulation pattern in the at least one pattern subset, the number of activated resource elements or deactivated resource elements in a group of resource elements for a pattern subset of the at least one pattern subset, and the number of resource elements in the group of resource elements for the pattern subset, the number of index modulation bits in the group of resource elements for the pattern subset, or the average number of index modulation bits in a resource element for the pattern subset.

[0151] In some example embodiments, the method 1000 further comprises: receiving, from the second apparatus, control information indicating the target pattern subset; and determining the target pattern subset based on the control information.

[0152] In some example embodiments, the method 1000 further comprises: transmitting, to the second apparatus, assistance information for selecting a pattern subset from the at least one pattern subset.

[0153] In some example embodiments, the assistance information indicates at least one of: a pattern subset preferred by the first apparatus, a power parameter to be used for the communication, or a channel quality for a channel between the first apparatus and the second apparatus.

[0154] In some example embodiments, the method 1000 further comprises: transmitting, to the second apparatus, capability information associated with pattern subset selection for index modulation.

[0155] In some example embodiments, the capability information comprises at least one of: an indication that the pattern subset selection for index modulation is supported by the first apparatus, a maximum number of index modulation patterns supported by the first apparatus, or an indication of at least one type of index modulation patterns supported by the first apparatus.

[0156] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus is or is comprised in a terminal device, and the second apparatus is or is comprised in a network device or another terminal device.

[0157] FIG. 11 shows a flowchart of an example method 1100 implemented at a second apparatus in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the method 1100 will be described from the perspective of the second apparatus 120 in FIG. 1.

[0158] At block 1110, the second apparatus 120 transmits, to a first apparatus, configuration information indicating at least one pattern subset for index modulation.

[0159] At block 1120, the second apparatus 120 determines a target pattern subset for index modulation from the at least one pattern subset.

[0160] At block 1130, the second apparatus 120 applies at least one portion of the target pattern subset to a communication between the first apparatus and the second apparatus.

[0161] In some example embodiments, the configuration information comprises: an indication of the at least one pattern subset, or respective indications of a plurality of index modulation patterns to be divided into the at least one subset.

[0162] In some example embodiments, one of the following is met: index modulation patterns in the at least one pattern subset have the same index modulation configuration, or at least two pattern subsets of the at least one pattern subset have different index modulation configurations with each other.

[0163] In some example embodiments, the at least two pattern subsets are different in at least one of: the number of activated resource elements or deactivated resource elements in a group of resource elements, the number of primary activated resource elements or secondary activated resource elements in a group of resource elements, the number of resource elements in the group of resource elements, or a resource element shift between two index modulation patterns in a pattern subset.

[0164] In some example embodiments, the configuration information further comprises at least one of: a mapping from at least one modulation and coding schemes to the at least one pattern subset, an indication of bit mapping for an index modulation pattern in the at least one pattern subset, the number of activated resource elements or deactivated resource elements in a group of resource elements for a pattern subset of the at least one pattern subset, and the number of resource elements in the group of resource elements for the pattern subset, the number of index modulation bits in the group of resource elements for the pattern subset, or the average number of index modulation bits in a resource element for the pattern subset.

[0165] In some example embodiments, the method 1100 further comprises: transmitting, to the first apparatus, control information indicating the target pattern subset.

[0166] In some example embodiments, the method 1100 further comprises: receiving, from the first apparatus, assistance information for selecting a pattern subset from the at least one pattern subset; and selecting the target pattern subset from the at least one pattern subset based on the assistance information.

[0167] In some example embodiments, the assistance information indicates at least one of: a pattern subset preferred by the first apparatus, a power parameter to be used for the communication, or a channel quality for a channel between the first apparatus and the second apparatus.

[0168] In some example embodiments, the method 1100 further comprises: receiving, from the first apparatus, capability information associated with pattern subset selection for index modulation.

[0169] In some example embodiments, the capability information comprises at least one of: an indication that the pattern subset selection for index modulation is supported by the first apparatus, a maximum number of index modulation patterns supported by the first apparatus, or an indication of at least one type of index modulation patterns supported by the first apparatus.

[0170] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus is or is comprised in a terminal device, and the second apparatus is or is comprised in a network device or another terminal device.

[0171] In some example embodiments, a first apparatus capable of performing any of the method 1000 (for example, the first apparatus 110 in FIG. 1) may comprise means for performing the respective operations of the method 1000. 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.

[0172] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus comprises means for receiving, from a second apparatus, configuration information indicating at least one pattern subset for index modulation; means for determining a target pattern subset for index modulation from the at least one pattern subset; and means for applying at least one portion of the target pattern subset to a communication between the first apparatus and the second apparatus.

[0173] In some example embodiments, the configuration information comprises: an indication of the at least one pattern subset, or respective indications of a plurality of index modulation patterns to be divided into the at least one subset.

[0174] In some example embodiments, one of the following is met: index modulation patterns in the at least one pattern subset have the same index modulation configuration, or at least two pattern subsets of the at least one pattern subset have different index modulation configurations with each other.

[0175] In some example embodiments, the at least two pattern subsets are different in at least one of: the number of activated resource elements or deactivated resource elements in a group of resource elements, the number of primary activated resource elements or secondary activated resource elements in a group of resource elements, the number of resource elements in the group of resource elements, or a resource element shift between two index modulation patterns in a pattern subset.

[0176] In some example embodiments, the configuration information further comprises at least one of: a mapping from at least one modulation and coding scheme to the at least one pattern subset, an indication of bit mapping for an index modulation pattern in the at least one pattern subset, the number of activated resource elements or deactivated resource elements in a group of resource elements for a pattern subset of the at least one pattern subset, and the number of resource elements in the group of resource elements for the pattern subset, the number of index modulation bits in the group of resource elements for the pattern subset, or the average number of index modulation bits in a resource element for the pattern subset.

[0177] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: means for receiving, from the second apparatus, control information indicating the target pattern subset; and means for determining the target pattern subset based on the control information.

[0178] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: means for transmitting, to the second apparatus, assistance information for selecting a pattern subset from the at least one pattern subset.

[0179] In some example embodiments, the assistance information indicates at least one of: a pattern subset preferred by the first apparatus, a power parameter to be used for the communication, or a channel quality for a channel between the first apparatus and the second apparatus.

[0180] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: means for transmitting, to the second apparatus, capability information associated with pattern subset selection for index modulation.

[0181] In some example embodiments, the capability information comprises at least one of: an indication that the pattern subset selection for index modulation is supported by the first apparatus, a maximum number of index modulation patterns supported by the first apparatus, or an indication of at least one type of index modulation patterns supported by the first apparatus.

[0182] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus is or is comprised in a terminal device, and the second apparatus is or is comprised in a network device or another terminal device.

[0183] In some example embodiments, a second apparatus capable of performing any of the method 1100 (for example, the second apparatus 120 in FIG. 1) may comprise means for performing the respective operations of the method 1100. 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.

[0184] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus comprises means for transmitting, to a first apparatus, configuration information indicating at least one pattern subset for index modulation; means for determining a target pattern subset for index modulation from the at least one pattern subset; and means for applying at least one portion of the target pattern subset to a communication between the first apparatus and the second apparatus.

[0185] In some example embodiments, the configuration information comprises: an indication of the at least one pattern subset, or respective indications of a plurality of index modulation patterns to be divided into the at least one subset.

[0186] In some example embodiments, one of the following is met: index modulation patterns in the at least one pattern subset have the same index modulation configuration, or at least two pattern subsets of the at least one pattern subset have different index modulation configurations with each other.

[0187] In some example embodiments, the at least two pattern subsets are different in at least one of: the number of activated resource elements or deactivated resource elements in a group of resource elements, the number of primary activated resource elements or secondary activated resource elements in a group of resource elements, the number of resource elements in the group of resource elements, or a resource element shift between two index modulation patterns in a pattern subset.

[0188] In some example embodiments, the configuration information further comprises at least one of: a mapping from at least one modulation and coding schemes to the at least one pattern subset, an indication of bit mapping for an index modulation pattern in the at least one pattern subset, the number of activated resource elements or deactivated resource elements in a group of resource elements for a pattern subset of the at least one pattern subset, and the number of resource elements in the group of resource elements for the pattern subset, the number of index modulation bits in the group of resource elements for the pattern subset, or the average number of index modulation bits in a resource element for the pattern subset.

[0189] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus further comprises: means for transmitting, to the first apparatus, control information indicating the target pattern subset.

[0190] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus further comprises: means for receiving, from the first apparatus, assistance information for selecting a pattern subset from the at least one pattern subset; and means for selecting the target pattern subset from the at least one pattern subset based on the assistance information.

[0191] In some example embodiments, the assistance information indicates at least one of: a pattern subset preferred by the first apparatus, a power parameter to be used for the communication, or a channel quality for a channel between the first apparatus and the second apparatus.

[0192] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus further comprises: means for receiving, from the first apparatus, capability information associated with pattern subset selection for index modulation.

[0193] In some example embodiments, the capability information comprises at least one of: an indication that the pattern subset selection for index modulation is supported by the first apparatus, a maximum number of index modulation patterns supported by the first apparatus, or an indication of at least one type of index modulation patterns supported by the first apparatus.

[0194] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus is or is comprised in a terminal device, and the second apparatus is or is comprised in a network device or another terminal device.

[0195] 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.

[0196] At block 1210, the first apparatus 110 receives, from a second apparatus, configuration information indicating at least one pattern subset for index modulation.

[0197] At block 1220, the first apparatus 110 determines, from the at least one pattern subset, a target pattern subset for index modulation for a transmission to the second apparatus.

[0198] At block 1230, the first apparatus 110 performs the transmission to the second apparatus based on at least one portion of the target pattern subset.

[0199] In some example embodiments, the method 1200 further comprises: transmitting, to the second apparatus, a first portion of the transmission to indicate the target pattern subset; and transmitting, to the second apparatus, a second portion of the transmission by applying at least one portion of the target pattern subset, the second portion being subsequent to the first portion.

[0200] In some example embodiments, the method 1200 further comprises: determining, from the target pattern subset, a first number of index modulation patterns to be applied based on a second number of bits mapped for index modulation; determining whether the target pattern subset is completely used based on the first number of index modulation patterns; and transmitting, to the second apparatus, an indication of whether the target pattern subset is completely used.

[0201] In some example embodiments, the indication of whether the target pattern subset is completed used is comprised in a first portion of the transmission, and the first number of index modulation patterns are applied to a second portion of the transmission, the second portion being subsequent to the first portion.

[0202] In some example embodiments, the method 1200 further comprises: receiving, from the second apparatus, control information indicating the target pattern subset; and determining the target pattern subset based on the control information.

[0203] In some example embodiments, the control information comprises: an indication to activate index modulation for the transmission to the second apparatus, and an index of the target pattern subset.

[0204] In some example embodiments, the method 1200 further comprises: transmitting, to the second apparatus, assistance information for selecting a pattern subset from the at least one pattern subset.

[0205] In some example embodiments, the assistance information indicates at least one of: a pattern subset preferred by the first apparatus, or a power boosting level to be used for the transmission to the first apparatus.

[0206] In some example embodiments, the assistance information is transmitted via at least one of: uplink control information, or a medium access control, MAC, control element, CE.

[0207] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus is or is comprised in a first apparatus, and the second apparatus is or is comprised in a network device or another terminal device.

[0208] 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.

[0209] At block 1310, the second apparatus 120 transmits, to a first apparatus, configuration information indicating at least one pattern subset for index modulation.

[0210] At block 1320, the second apparatus 120 determines, from the at least one pattern subset, a target pattern subset for index modulation for a transmission from the first apparatus.

[0211] At block 1330, the second apparatus 120 receives the transmission from the first apparatus based on at least one portion of the target pattern subset.

[0212] In some example embodiments, the method 1300 further comprises: receiving, from the first apparatus, a first portion of the transmission to indicate the target pattern subset; and receiving, from the first apparatus, a second portion of the transmission by applying at least one portion of the target pattern subset, the second portion being subsequent to the first portion.

[0213] In some example embodiments, the method 1300 further comprises: receiving, from the first apparatus, an indication of whether the target pattern subset is completely used, wherein whether the target pattern subset is completely used is determined based on a first number of index modulation patterns to be applied.

[0214] In some example embodiments, the indication of whether the target pattern subset is completed used is comprised in a first portion of the transmission, and the first number of index modulation patterns are applied to a second portion of the transmission, the second portion being subsequent to the first portion.

[0215] In some example embodiments, the method 1300 further comprises: transmitting, to the first apparatus, control information indicating the target pattern subset.

[0216] In some example embodiments, the control information comprises: an indication to activate index modulation for the transmission to the second apparatus, and an index of the target pattern subset.

[0217] In some example embodiments, the method 1300 further comprises: receiving, from the first apparatus, assistance information for selecting a pattern subset from the at least one pattern subset; and determining the target pattern subset from the at least one pattern subset based on the assistance information.

[0218] In some example embodiments, the assistance information indicates at least one of: a pattern subset preferred by the first apparatus, or a power boosting level to be used for the transmission to the second apparatus.

[0219] In some example embodiments, the assistance information is received via at least one of: uplink control information, or a medium access control, MAC, control element, CE.

[0220] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus is or is comprised in a second apparatus, and the second apparatus is or is comprised in a network device or another terminal device.

[0221] 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.

[0222] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus comprises means for receiving, from a second apparatus, configuration information indicating at least one pattern subset for index modulation; means for determining, from the at least one pattern subset, a target pattern subset for index modulation for a transmission to the second apparatus; and means for performing the transmission to the second apparatus based on at least one portion of the target pattern subset.

[0223] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: means for transmitting, to the second apparatus, a first portion of the transmission to indicate the target pattern subset; and means for transmitting, to the second apparatus, a second portion of the transmission by applying at least one portion of the target pattern subset, the second portion being subsequent to the first portion.

[0224] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: means for determining, from the target pattern subset, a first number of index modulation patterns to be applied based on a second number of bits mapped for index modulation; means for determining whether the target pattern subset is completely used based on the first number of index modulation patterns; and means for transmitting, to the second apparatus, an indication of whether the target pattern subset is completely used.

[0225] In some example embodiments, the indication of whether the target pattern subset is completed used is comprised in a first portion of the transmission, and the first number of index modulation patterns are applied to a second portion of the transmission, the second portion being subsequent to the first portion.

[0226] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: means for receiving, from the second apparatus, control information indicating the target pattern subset; and means for determining the target pattern subset based on the control information.

[0227] In some example embodiments, the control information comprises: an indication to activate index modulation for the transmission to the second apparatus, and an index of the target pattern subset.

[0228] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: means for transmitting, to the second apparatus, assistance information for selecting a pattern subset from the at least one pattern subset.

[0229] In some example embodiments, the assistance information indicates at least one of: a pattern subset preferred by the first apparatus, or a power boosting level to be used for the transmission to the first apparatus.

[0230] In some example embodiments, the assistance information is transmitted via at least one of: uplink control information, or a medium access control, MAC, control element, CE.

[0231] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus is or is comprised in a terminal device, and the second apparatus is or is comprised in a network device or another terminal device.

[0232] 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.

[0233] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus comprises means for transmitting, to a first apparatus, configuration information indicating at least one pattern subset for index modulation; means for determining, from the at least one pattern subset, a target pattern subset for index modulation for a transmission from the first apparatus; and means for receiving the transmission from the first apparatus based on at least one portion of the target pattern subset.

[0234] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus further comprises: means for receiving, from the first apparatus, a first portion of the transmission to indicate the target pattern subset; and means for receiving, from the first apparatus, a second portion of the transmission by applying at least one portion of the target pattern subset, the second portion being subsequent to the first portion.

[0235] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus further comprises: means for receiving, from the first apparatus, an indication of whether the target pattern subset is completely used, wherein whether the target pattern subset is completely used is determined based on a first number of index modulation patterns to be applied.

[0236] In some example embodiments, the indication of whether the target pattern subset is completed used is comprised in a first portion of the transmission, and the first number of index modulation patterns are applied to a second portion of the transmission, the second portion being subsequent to the first portion.

[0237] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus further comprises: means for transmitting, to the first apparatus, control information indicating the target pattern subset.

[0238] In some example embodiments, the control information comprises: an indication to activate index modulation for the transmission to the second apparatus, and an index of the target pattern subset.

[0239] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus further comprises: means for receiving, from the first apparatus, assistance information for selecting a pattern subset from the at least one pattern subset; and means for determining the target pattern subset from the at least one pattern subset based on the assistance information.

[0240] In some example embodiments, the assistance information indicates at least one of: a pattern subset preferred by the first apparatus, or a power boosting level to be used for the transmission to the second apparatus.

[0241] In some example embodiments, the assistance information is received via at least one of: uplink control information, or a medium access control, MAC, control element, CE.

[0242] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus is or is comprised in a terminal device, and the second apparatus is or is comprised in a network device or another terminal device.

[0243] FIG. 14 shows a flowchart of an example method 1400 implemented at a first 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 first apparatus 110 in FIG. 1.

[0244] At block 1410, the first apparatus 110 receives, from a second apparatus, first configuration information indicating at least one pattern subset for index modulation.

[0245] At block 1420, the first apparatus 110 determines, from the at least one pattern subset, a target pattern subset for index modulation for a transmission from the second apparatus to the first apparatus.

[0246] At block 1430, the first apparatus 110 receives the transmission from the second apparatus based on at least one portion of the target pattern subset.

[0247] In some example embodiments, the method 1400 further comprises: receiving, from the second apparatus, second configuration information associated with activation of the index modulation, the second configuration information indicating a mapping between at least one modulation and coding scheme, MCS, and at least one strength threshold for a reference signal from the second apparatus to the first apparatus.

[0248] In some example embodiments, the first configuration information comprises a radio resource control configuration message, and the second configuration information comprises a radio resource control reconfiguration message.

[0249] In some example embodiments, the method 1400 further comprises: determining an MCS to be applied to the transmission from the at least one MCS, and a measured signal strength of the reference signal; determining a strength threshold mapped to the determined MCS based on the mapping; and in response to that the measured signal strength and the determined strength threshold meet a criterion, determining to activate the index modulation for the transmission.

[0250] In some example embodiments, the method 1400 further comprises: transmitting, to the second apparatus, assistance information for selecting a pattern subset from the at least one pattern subset.

[0251] In some example embodiments, the assistance information indicates a channel quality for a channel from the second apparatus to the first apparatus.

[0252] In some example embodiments, the assistance information comprises channel quality indicator for the channel obtained by the first apparatus.

[0253] In some example embodiments, the method 1400 further comprises: receiving, from the second apparatus, control information indicating the target pattern subset, the target pattern subset selected based on the assistance information; and determining the target pattern subset based on the control information.

[0254] In some example embodiments, the control information is used to schedule the transmission from the second apparatus to the first apparatus.

[0255] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus is or is comprised in a terminal device, and the second apparatus is or is comprised in a network device or another terminal device.

[0256] FIG. 15 shows a flowchart of an example method 1500 implemented at a second apparatus in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the method 1500 will be described from the perspective of the second apparatus 120 in FIG. 1.

[0257] At block 1510, the second apparatus 120 transmits, to a first apparatus, first configuration information indicating at least one pattern subset for index modulation.

[0258] At block 1520, the second apparatus 120 determines, from the at least one pattern subset, a target pattern subset for index modulation for a transmission from the second apparatus to the first apparatus.

[0259] At block 1530, the second apparatus 120 performs the transmission to the first apparatus based on at least one portion of the target pattern subset.

[0260] In some example embodiments, the method 1500 further comprises: transmitting, to the first apparatus, second configuration information associated with activation of the index modulation, the second configuration information indicating a mapping between at least one modulation and coding scheme, MCS, and at least one strength threshold for a reference signal from the second apparatus to the first apparatus.

[0261] In some example embodiments, the first configuration information comprises a radio resource control configuration message, and the second configuration information comprises a radio resource control reconfiguration message.

[0262] In some example embodiments, the method 1500 further comprises: receiving, from the first apparatus, assistance information for selecting a pattern subset from the at least one pattern subset.

[0263] In some example embodiments, the assistance information indicates a channel quality for a channel from the second apparatus to the first apparatus.

[0264] In some example embodiments, the assistance information comprises channel quality indicator for the channel obtained by the first apparatus.

[0265] In some example embodiments, the method 1500 further comprises: determining the target pattern subset from the at least one pattern subset based on the assistance information; and transmitting, to the first apparatus, control information indicating the target pattern subset.

[0266] In some example embodiments, the control information is used to schedule the transmission from the second apparatus to the first apparatus.

[0267] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus is or is comprised in a terminal device, and the second apparatus is or is comprised in a network device or another terminal device.

[0268] In some example embodiments, a first apparatus capable of performing any of the method 1400 (for example, the first apparatus 110 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 first apparatus may be implemented as or included in the first apparatus 110 in FIG. 1.

[0269] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus comprises means for receiving, from a second apparatus, first configuration information indicating at least one pattern subset for index modulation; means for determining, from the at least one pattern subset, a target pattern subset for index modulation for a transmission from the second apparatus to the first apparatus; and means for receiving the transmission from the second apparatus based on at least one portion of the target pattern subset.

[0270] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: means for receiving, from the second apparatus, second configuration information associated with activation of the index modulation, the second configuration information indicating a mapping between at least one modulation and coding scheme, MCS, and at least one strength threshold for a reference signal from the second apparatus to the first apparatus.

[0271] In some example embodiments, the first configuration information comprises a radio resource control configuration message, and the second configuration information comprises a radio resource control reconfiguration message.

[0272] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: means for determining an MCS to be applied to the transmission from the at least one MCS, and a measured signal strength of the reference signal; means for determining a strength threshold mapped to the determined MCS based on the mapping; and means for in response to that the measured signal strength and the determined strength threshold meet a criterion, determining to activate the index modulation for the transmission.

[0273] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: means for transmitting, to the second apparatus, assistance information for selecting a pattern subset from the at least one pattern subset.

[0274] In some example embodiments, the assistance information indicates a channel quality for a channel from the second apparatus to the first apparatus.

[0275] In some example embodiments, the assistance information comprises channel quality indicator for the channel obtained by the first apparatus.

[0276] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: means for receiving, from the second apparatus, control information indicating the target pattern subset, the target pattern subset selected based on the assistance information; and means for determining the target pattern subset based on the control information.

[0277] In some example embodiments, the control information is used to schedule the transmission from the second apparatus to the first apparatus.

[0278] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus is or is comprised in a terminal device, and the second apparatus is or is comprised in a network device or another terminal device.

[0279] In some example embodiments, a second apparatus capable of performing any of the method 1500 (for example, the second apparatus 120 in FIG. 1) may comprise means for performing the respective operations of the method 1500. 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.

[0280] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus comprises means for transmitting, to a first apparatus, first configuration information indicating at least one pattern subset for index modulation; means for determining, from the at least one pattern subset, a target pattern subset for index modulation for a transmission from the second apparatus to the first apparatus; and means for performing the transmission to the first apparatus based on at least one portion of the target pattern subset.

[0281] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus further comprises: means for transmitting, to the first apparatus, second configuration information associated with activation of the index modulation, the second configuration information indicating a mapping between at least one modulation and coding scheme, MCS, and at least one strength threshold for a reference signal from the second apparatus to the first apparatus.

[0282] In some example embodiments, the first configuration information comprises a radio resource control configuration message, and the second configuration information comprises a radio resource control reconfiguration message.

[0283] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus further comprises: means for receiving, from the first apparatus, assistance information for selecting a pattern subset from the at least one pattern subset.

[0284] In some example embodiments, the assistance information indicates a channel quality for a channel from the second apparatus to the first apparatus.

[0285] In some example embodiments, the assistance information comprises channel quality indicator for the channel obtained by the first apparatus.

[0286] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus further comprises: means for determining the target pattern subset from the at least one pattern subset based on the assistance information; and means for transmitting, to the first apparatus, control information indicating the target pattern subset.

[0287] In some example embodiments, the control information is used to schedule the transmission from the second apparatus to the first apparatus.

[0288] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus is or is comprised in a terminal device, and the second apparatus is or is comprised in a network device or another terminal device.

[0289] FIG. 16 is a simplified block diagram of a device 1600 that is suitable for implementing example embodiments of the present disclosure. The device 1600 may be provided to implement a communication device, for example, the first apparatus 110 or the second apparatus 120 as shown in FIG. 1. As shown, the device 1600 includes one or more processors 1610, one or more memories 1620 coupled to the processor 1610, and one or more communication modules 1640 coupled to the processor 1610.

[0290] The communication module 1640 is for bidirectional communications. The communication module 1640 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 1640 may include at least one antenna.

[0291] The processor 1610 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 1600 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.

[0292] The memory 1620 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) 1624, 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) 1622 and other volatile memories that will not last in the power-down duration.

[0293] A computer program 1630 includes computer executable instructions that are executed by the associated processor 1610. The instructions of the program 1630 may include instructions for performing operations / acts of some example embodiments of the present disclosure. The program 1630 may be stored in the memory, e.g., the ROM 1624. The processor 1610 may perform any suitable actions and processing by loading the program 1630 into the RAM 1622.

[0294] The example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by means of the program 1630 so that the device 1600 may perform any process of the disclosure as discussed with reference to FIG. 4 to FIG. 15. The example embodiments of the present disclosure may also be implemented by hardware or by a combination of software and hardware.

[0295] In some example embodiments, the program 1630 may be tangibly contained in a computer readable medium which may be included in the device 1600 (such as in the memory 1620) or other storage devices that are accessible by the device 1600. The device 1600 may load the program 1630 from the computer readable medium to the RAM 1622 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).

[0296] FIG. 17 shows an example of the computer readable medium 1700 which may be in form of CD, DVD or other optical storage disk. The computer readable medium 1700 has the program 1630 stored thereon.

[0297] 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.

[0298] 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 computerexecutable 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.

[0299] 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.

[0300] 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.

[0301] 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.

[0302] 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.

[0303] 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 5 or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

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:receive, from a second apparatus, configuration information indicating at least one pattern subset for index modulation;determine a target pattern subset for index modulation from the at least one pattern subset; andapply at least one portion of the target pattern subset to a communication between the first apparatus and the second apparatus.

2. The first apparatus of claim 1, wherein the configuration information comprises:an indication of the at least one pattern subset, orrespective indications of a plurality of index modulation patterns to be divided into the at least one subset.

3. The first apparatus of claim 1, wherein one of the following is met:index modulation patterns in the at least one pattern subset have the same index modulation configuration, orat least two pattern subsets of the at least one pattern subset have different index modulation configurations with each other.

4. The first apparatus of claim 3, wherein the at least two pattern subsets are different in at least one of:the number of activated resource elements or deactivated resource elements in a group of resource elements,the number of primary activated resource elements or secondary activated resource elements in a group of resource elements,the number of resource elements in the group of resource elements, ora resource element shift between two index modulation patterns in a pattern subset.

5. The first apparatus of claim 1, wherein the configuration information further comprises at least one of:a mapping from at least one modulation and coding scheme to the at least one pattern subset,an indication of bit mapping for an index modulation pattern in the at least one pattern subset,the number of activated resource elements or deactivated resource elements in a group of resource elements for a pattern subset of the at least one pattern subset, and the number of resource elements in the group of resource elements for the pattern subset,the number of index modulation bits in the group of resource elements for the pattern subset, orthe average number of index modulation bits in a resource element for the pattern subset.

6. The first apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first apparatus is caused to:receive, from the second apparatus, control information indicating the target pattern subset; anddetermine the target pattern subset based on the control information.

7. The first apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first apparatus is further caused to:transmit, to the second apparatus, assistance information for selecting a pattern subset from the at least one pattern subset.

8. The first apparatus of claim 7, wherein the assistance information indicates at least one of:a pattern subset preferred by the first apparatus,a power parameter to be used for the communication, ora channel quality for a channel between the first apparatus and the second apparatus.

9. The first apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first apparatus is further caused to:transmit, to the second apparatus, capability information associated with pattern subset selection for index modulation.

10. The first apparatus of claim 9, wherein the capability information comprises at least one of:an indication that the pattern subset selection for index modulation is supported by the first apparatus,a maximum number of index modulation patterns supported by the first apparatus, oran indication of at least one type of index modulation patterns supported by the first apparatus.

11. The first apparatus of any of claims 1 to 10, wherein the first apparatus is or is comprised in a terminal device, and the second apparatus is or is comprised in a network device or another terminal device.

12. 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:transmit, to a first apparatus, configuration information indicating at least one pattern subset for index modulation;determine a target pattern subset for index modulation from the at least one pattern subset; andapply at least one portion of the target pattern subset to a communication between the first apparatus and the second apparatus.

13. The second apparatus of claim 12, wherein the configuration information comprises:an indication of the at least one pattern subset, orrespective indications of a plurality of index modulation patterns to be divided into the at least one subset.

14. The second apparatus of claim 12, wherein one of the following is met:index modulation patterns in the at least one pattern subset have the same index modulation configuration, orat least two pattern subsets of the at least one pattern subset have different index modulation configurations with each other.

15. The second apparatus of claim 14, wherein the at least two pattern subsets are different in at least one of:the number of activated resource elements or deactivated resource elements in a group of resource elements,the number of primary activated resource elements or secondary activated resource elements in a group of resource elements,the number of resource elements in the group of resource elements, ora resource element shift between two index modulation patterns in a pattern subset.

16. The second apparatus of claim 12, wherein the configuration information further comprises at least one of:a mapping from at least one modulation and coding schemes to the at least one pattern subset,an indication of bit mapping for an index modulation pattern in the at least one pattern subset,the number of activated resource elements or deactivated resource elements in a group of resource elements for a pattern subset of the at least one pattern subset, and the number of resource elements in the group of resource elements for the pattern subset,the number of index modulation bits in the group of resource elements for the pattern subset, orthe average number of index modulation bits in a resource element for the pattern subset.

17. The second apparatus of claim 12, wherein the second apparatus is further caused to: transmit, to the first apparatus, control information indicating the target pattern subset.

18. The second apparatus of claim 12 wherein the second apparatus is caused to:receive, from the first apparatus, assistance information for selecting a pattern subset from the at least one pattern subset; andselect the target pattern subset from the at least one pattern subset based on the assistance information.

19. The second apparatus of claim 18, wherein the assistance information indicates at least one of:a pattern subset preferred by the first apparatus,a power parameter to be used for the communication, ora channel quality for a channel between the first apparatus and the second apparatus.

20. The second apparatus of claim 1, wherein the second apparatus is further caused to: receive, from the first apparatus, capability information associated with pattern subset selection for index modulation.

21. The second apparatus of claim 20, wherein the capability information comprises at least one of:an indication that the pattern subset selection for index modulation is supported by the first apparatus,a maximum number of index modulation patterns supported by the first apparatus, oran indication of at least one type of index modulation patterns supported by the first apparatus.

22. The second apparatus of any of claims 12 to 21, wherein the first apparatus is or is comprised in a terminal device, and the second apparatus is or is comprised in a network device or another terminal device.

23. A method comprising:receiving, from a second apparatus, configuration information indicating at least one pattern subset for index modulation.determining a target pattern subset for index modulation from the at least one pattern subset.applying at least one portion of the target pattern subset to a communication between the first apparatus and the second apparatus.

24. A method comprising:transmitting, to a first apparatus, configuration information indicating at least one pattern subset for index modulation.determining a target pattern subset for index modulation from the at least one pattern subset.applying at least one portion of the target pattern subset to a communication between the first apparatus and the second apparatus.

25. A computer readable medium comprising instructions stored thereon for causing an apparatus at least to perform the method of claim 23 or the method of claim 24.55

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