Modification of consistency groups related to user equipment positioning

Abstract

Various techniques for wireless communications are disclosed. In an aspect, a UE identifies a plurality of consistency groups, each of the plurality of consistency groups comprising a plurality of positioning sources associated with measurement results that are within one or more shared error characteristics for a respective consistency group, reports information associated with the plurality of consistency groups to a location estimation entity, and receives instructions from the location estimation entity to modify one or more parameters associated with the plurality of consistency groups.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This patent application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 137,839, entitled "MODIFYING CONSISTENCY GROUPS ASSOCIATED WITH POSITIONING OF A USER EQUIPMENT," filed on January 15, 2021, and U.S. Non-Provisional Application No. 17 / 647,707, entitled "MODIFYING CONSISTENCY GROUPS ASSOCIATED WITH POSITIONING OF A USER EQUIPMENT," filed on January 11, 2022, both of which are assigned to the assignee of this application and are expressly incorporated by reference in their entireties herein.

[0002] Aspects of the present disclosure relate generally to wireless communications, and more specifically to modifying consistency groups associated with positioning of user equipment (UE). [Background technology]

[0003] Wireless communication systems have evolved through various generations, including first generation analog wireless telephone service (1G), second generation (2G) digital wireless telephone service (including interim 2.5G and 2.75G networks), third generation (3G) high speed data, Internet-enabled wireless service, and fourth generation (4G) service (e.g., Long Term Evolution (LTE) or WiMax). Currently, many different types of wireless communication systems are in use, including cellular systems and personal communication service (PCS) systems. Examples of known cellular systems include cellular analog advanced mobile phone system (AMPS) and digital cellular systems based on code division multiple access (CDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), Global System for Mobile communication (GSM), etc. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The fifth generation (5G) wireless standard, called New Radio (NR), requires higher data rates, a larger number of connections, and wider coverage, among other improvements. According to the Next Generation Mobile Network Alliance, the 5G standard is designed to provide data rates of tens of megabits per second to tens of thousands of users, providing 1 gigabit per second to a few dozen workers on an office floor. To support large-scale sensor deployments, hundreds of thousands of simultaneous connections must be supported. Therefore, the spectral efficiency of 5G mobile communications must be significantly increased compared to the current 4G standard. Furthermore, signaling efficiency must be increased and latency must be significantly reduced compared to the current standard. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] The following presents a simplified summary of one or more aspects disclosed herein. As such, the following summary is not intended to be an extensive overview of all contemplated aspects, nor is it intended to identify key or critical elements of all contemplated aspects or to define the scope relating to any particular aspect. Thus, the sole purpose of the following summary is to present some concepts of one or more aspects of the mechanisms disclosed herein in a simplified form prior to the detailed description presented below.

[0006] In an aspect, a method of operating a user equipment (UE) includes identifying, by the UE, a plurality of consistency groups, each of the plurality of consistency groups comprising a plurality of positioning sources associated with measurement results that are within one or more shared error characteristics for a respective consistency group; reporting information associated with the plurality of consistency groups to a location estimation entity; and receiving instructions from the location estimation entity to modify one or more parameters associated with the plurality of consistency groups.

[0007] In an aspect, a method of operating a network component includes receiving information from a user equipment (UE) related to a plurality of consistency groups, each of the plurality of consistency groups comprising a plurality of positioning sources associated with measurement results that are within one or more shared error characteristics for a respective consistency group, and transmitting an instruction to the UE to modify one or more parameters related to the plurality of consistency groups.

[0008] In an aspect, a user equipment (UE) includes a memory, at least one transceiver, and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor configured to identify a plurality of consistency groups, each of the plurality of consistency groups comprising a plurality of positioning sources associated with measurement results that are within one or more shared error characteristics for a respective consistency group, report information related to the plurality of consistency groups to a location estimation entity, and receive instructions from the location estimation entity via the at least one transceiver to modify one or more parameters related to the plurality of consistency groups.

[0009] In an aspect, a network component includes a memory, at least one transceiver, and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, wherein the at least one processor is configured to receive, via the at least one transceiver, information related to a plurality of consistency groups from a user equipment (UE), each of the plurality of consistency groups comprising a plurality of positioning sources associated with measurement results that are within one or more shared error characteristics for a respective consistency group, and to transmit, via the at least one transceiver, an instruction to the UE to modify one or more parameters related to the plurality of consistency groups.

[0010] In an aspect, a user equipment (UE) includes means for identifying a plurality of consistency groups, each of the plurality of consistency groups comprising a plurality of positioning sources associated with measurement results that are within one or more shared error characteristics for a respective consistency group, means for reporting information associated with the plurality of consistency groups to a location estimation entity, and means for receiving instructions from the location estimation entity to modify one or more parameters associated with the plurality of consistency groups.

[0011] In an aspect, a network component includes means for receiving information related to a plurality of consistency groups from a user equipment (UE), each of the plurality of consistency groups comprising a plurality of positioning sources associated with measurement results that are within one or more shared error characteristics for a respective consistency group, and means for transmitting an instruction to the UE to modify one or more parameters related to the plurality of consistency groups.

[0012] In an aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium stores computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a user equipment (UE), cause the UE to identify a plurality of consistency groups, each of the plurality of consistency groups comprising a plurality of positioning sources associated with measurement results that are within one or more shared error characteristics for a respective consistency group, report information associated with the plurality of consistency groups to a location estimation entity, and receive instructions from the location estimation entity to modify one or more parameters associated with the plurality of consistency groups.

[0013] In an aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium stores computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a network component, cause the network component to receive information from a user equipment (UE) related to a plurality of consistency groups, each of the plurality of consistency groups comprising a plurality of positioning sources associated with measurement results that are within one or more shared error characteristics for a respective consistency group, and transmit instructions to the UE to modify one or more parameters related to the plurality of consistency groups.

[0014] Other objects and advantages associated with the embodiments disclosed herein will become apparent to those skilled in the art based on the accompanying drawings and detailed description.

[0015] The accompanying drawings are presented to help explain examples of one or more aspects of the disclosed subject matter and are provided by way of illustration only, not by way of limitation. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0016] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 illustrates an example wireless communication system in accordance with various aspects. [Figure 2A] FIG. 1 illustrates an example wireless network structure in accordance with various aspects. [Figure 2B] FIG. 1 illustrates an example wireless network structure in accordance with various aspects. [Figure 3A]1 is a simplified block diagram of several sample aspects of components that may be employed in a wireless communication node and configured to support communications as taught herein; [Figure 3B] 1 is a simplified block diagram of several sample aspects of components that may be employed in a wireless communication node and configured to support communications as taught herein; [Figure 3C] 1 is a simplified block diagram of several sample aspects of components that may be employed in a wireless communication node and configured to support communications as taught herein; [Figure 4A] FIG. 2 illustrates an example frame structure according to an aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 4B] FIG. 2 illustrates an example channel within a frame structure according to an aspect of the present disclosure. [Diagram 5] FIG. 1 illustrates how non-line-of-sight (NLOS) positioning signals can cause a user equipment (UE) to miscalculate its location. [Figure 6] 1 is a flowchart illustrating a conventional method for outlier detection. [Figure 7] FIG. 1 illustrates a method of wireless communication in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 8] 1 is a flowchart illustrating a partial method of wireless communication in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 9A] 1 is a flowchart illustrating a partial method of wireless communication in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 9B] 1 is a flowchart illustrating a partial method of wireless communication in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 10] FIG. 1 illustrates an example result of a method of wireless communication according to certain aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 11] 1 is a flowchart illustrating a method of wireless communication in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 12]1 is a flowchart illustrating a method of wireless communication in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 13] A diagram illustrating example timing of RTT measurement signals exchanged between a base station (e.g., any of the base stations described herein) and a UE (e.g., any of the UEs described herein) in accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 14] FIG. 1 illustrates example timing of RTT measurement signals exchanged between a base station (gNB) (e.g., any of the base stations described herein) and a UE (e.g., any of the UEs described herein) in accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 15] FIG. 1 illustrates an example process for wireless communication according to an aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 16] FIG. 1 illustrates an example process for wireless communication according to an aspect of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0017] Aspects of the present disclosure are provided in the following description and associated drawings directed to various examples provided for illustrative purposes. Alternative aspects may be devised without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Additionally, well-known elements of the present disclosure will not be described in detail or will be omitted so as not to obscure the relevant details of the present disclosure.

[0018] To overcome the technical shortcomings of the conventional systems and methods described above, a mechanism is presented such that the bandwidth used by a user equipment (UE) for a positioning reference signal (PRS) can be dynamically adjusted, for example, depending on environmental conditions. For example, the UE receiver may indicate the conditions of the environment in which the UE is operating to a transmitting entity, and in response, the transmitting entity may adjust the PRS bandwidth.

[0019] The words "exemplary" and "example" are used herein to mean "serving as an example, instance, or illustration." Any aspect described herein as "exemplary" or "example" is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other aspects. Similarly, the term "aspects of the disclosure" does not require that all aspects of the disclosure include the discussed feature, advantage or mode of operation.

[0020] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the information and signals described below may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referred to throughout the following description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof, depending in part on the particular application, in part on the desired design, in part on the corresponding technology, etc.

[0021] Further, many aspects are described in terms of a sequence of actions to be performed, for example, by elements of a computing device. It will be appreciated that the various actions described herein may be performed by specific circuitry (e.g., an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC)), by program instructions executed by one or more processors, or by a combination of both. In addition, a sequence of actions described herein may be considered to be fully embodied in any form of non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a corresponding set of computer instructions that, when executed, cause or instruct an associated processor of a device to perform the functions described herein. Thus, various aspects of the present disclosure may be embodied in a number of different forms, all of which are contemplated to fall within the scope of the claimed subject matter. In addition, for each of the aspects described herein, the corresponding form of any such aspect may be described herein, for example, as "logic configured to" perform the described actions.

[0022] The terms "user equipment" (UE) and "base station" as used herein are not intended to be specific or otherwise limited to any particular radio access technology (RAT) unless otherwise stated. In general, a UE may be any wireless communication device (e.g., a mobile phone, a router, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a tracking device, a wearable (e.g., a smart watch, glasses, an augmented reality (AR) / virtual reality (VR) headset, etc.), a vehicle (e.g., a car, a motorcycle, a bicycle, etc.), an Internet of Things (IoT) device, etc.) used by a user to communicate over a wireless communication network. A UE may be mobile or stationary (e.g., at some time) and may communicate with a radio access network (RAN). The term "UE" as used herein may be referred to interchangeably as an "access terminal" or "AT", "client device", "wireless device", "subscriber device", "subscriber terminal", "subscriber station", "user terminal" (UT), "mobile device", "mobile terminal", "mobile station", or variations thereof. In general, a UE may communicate with a core network via a RAN, through which the UE may be connected to external networks, such as the Internet, and to other UEs. Of course, other mechanisms for connecting to the core network, the Internet, or both, such as via a wired access network, a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) network (e.g., based on IEEE 802.11, etc.), etc. are also possible for a UE.

[0023] A base station may operate according to one of several RATs in communication with UEs depending on the network in which the base station is deployed and may alternatively be referred to as an access point (AP), network node, NodeB, evolved NodeB (eNB), next generation eNB (ng-eNB), New Radio (NR) NodeB (also referred to as gNB or gNodeB), etc. A base station may be primarily used to support wireless access by UEs, including supporting data, voice, signaling connections, or various combinations thereof, for supported UEs. In some systems, a base station may provide purely edge node signaling functions, while in other systems, a base station may provide additional control functions, network management functions, or both. A communication link through which a UE may send signals to a base station is referred to as an uplink (UL) channel (e.g., reverse traffic channel, reverse control channel, access channel, etc.). A communication link through which a base station may send signals to a UE is referred to as a downlink (DL) or forward link channel (e.g., paging channel, control channel, broadcast channel, forward traffic channel, etc.). The term Traffic Channel (TCH) as used herein can refer to either an uplink / reverse traffic channel or a downlink / forward traffic channel.

[0024] The term "base station" may refer to a single physical transmission / reception point (TRP) or multiple physical TRPs that may or may not be co-located. For example, when the term "base station" refers to a single physical TRP, the physical TRP may be an antenna of the base station that corresponds to a cell (or several cell sectors) of the base station. When the term "base station" refers to multiple physical TRPs that are co-located, the physical TRPs may be an array of antennas of the base station (e.g., as in a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system or when the base station employs beamforming). When the term "base station" refers to multiple physical TRPs that are not co-located, the physical TRPs may be a distributed antenna system (DAS) (a network of spatially separated antennas connected to a common source via a transport medium) or a remote radio head (RRH) (a distant base station connected to a serving base station). Alternatively, a non-co-located physical TRP may be a serving base station that receives measurement reports from the UE and from neighboring base stations whose reference radio frequency (RF) signals (or simply "reference signals") the UE is measuring. A TRP is a point from which a base station transmits and receives wireless signals, so as used herein, references to transmission from or reception at a base station should be understood as references to the particular TRP of the base station.

[0025] In some implementations that support positioning of UEs, a base station may not support wireless access by the UE (e.g., may not support data, voice, signaling connections for the UE, or various combinations thereof), but instead may transmit reference signals to the UE to be measured by the UE, may receive and measure signals transmitted by the UE, or both. Such a base station may be referred to as a positioning beacon (e.g., when it transmits signals to the UE), a position measurement unit (e.g., when it receives and measures signals from the UE), or both.

[0026] An "RF signal" comprises electromagnetic waves of a given frequency that transport information through space between a transmitter and a receiver. As used herein, a transmitter may transmit a single "RF signal" or multiple "RF signals" to a receiver. However, the receiver may receive multiple "RF signals" corresponding to each transmitted RF signal due to the propagation characteristics of RF signals through a multipath channel. The same RF signal transmitted on different paths between a transmitter and a receiver may be referred to as a "multipath" RF signal. As used herein, an RF signal may also be referred to as a "wireless signal" or simply a "signal" when it is clear from the context that the term "signal" refers to a wireless signal or an RF signal.

[0027] 1 illustrates an exemplary wireless communication system 100 according to various aspects. The wireless communication system 100 (sometimes referred to as a wireless wide area network (WWAN)) may include various base stations 102 and various UEs 104. The base stations 102 may include macrocell base stations (high-power cellular base stations), small cell base stations (low-power cellular base stations), or both. In an aspect, the macrocell base stations may include eNBs, ng-eNBs, or both, if the wireless communication system 100 corresponds to an LTE network, or gNBs, or a combination of both, if the wireless communication system 100 corresponds to an NR network, and the small cell base stations may include femtocells, picocells, microcells, etc.

[0028] The base stations 102 collectively form a Radio Access Network (RAN) 106 and may interface with a core network 108 (e.g., evolved packet core (EPC) or 5G core (5GC)) through backhaul links 110 and through the core network 108 to one or more location servers 112 (which may be part of the core network 108 or may be external to the core network 108). In addition to other functions, the base stations 102 may perform functions related to one or more of forwarding user data, radio channel encryption and decryption, integrity protection, header compression, mobility control functions (e.g., handover, dual connectivity), inter-cell interference coordination, connection setup and release, load balancing, distribution for non-access stratum (NAS) messages, NAS node selection, synchronization, RAN sharing, Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Services (MBMS), subscriber and equipment tracking, RAN Information Management (RIM), paging, positioning, and distribution of alert messages. The base stations 102 may communicate with each other directly or indirectly (e.g., through EPC / 5GC) via backhaul links 114, which may be wired or wireless.

[0029] The base stations 102 may communicate wirelessly with the UEs 104. Each of the base stations 102 may provide communication coverage to a respective geographic coverage area 116. In an aspect, one or more cells may be supported by the base station 102 in each geographic coverage area 116. A "cell" is a logical communication entity used for communication with a base station (e.g., over some frequency resources, referred to as a carrier frequency, component carrier, carrier, band, etc.) and may be associated with an identifier (e.g., physical cell identifier (PCI), virtual cell identifier (VCI), cell global identifier (CGI)) to distinguish cells operating over the same or different carrier frequencies. In some cases, different cells may be configured according to different protocol types (e.g., machine type communication (MTC), narrowband IoT (NB-IoT), enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), or others) that may provide access to different types of UEs. Because a cell is supported by a particular base station, the term "cell" may refer to one or both of the logical communication entity and the base station supporting it, depending on the context. In addition, the terms "cell" and "TRP" may be used interchangeably, since a TRP is typically the physical transmission point of a cell. In some cases, the term "cell" may also refer to the geographic coverage area (e.g., sector) of a base station, so long as the carrier frequency can be detected and used for communication within some portion of the geographic coverage area 116.

[0030] The geographic coverage areas 116 of neighboring macrocell base stations 102 may overlap partially (e.g., in handover regions), but some of the geographic coverage areas 116 may overlap significantly with the larger geographic coverage area 116. For example, a small cell base station 102' may have a coverage area 116' that overlaps significantly with the geographic coverage area 116 of one or more macrocell base stations 102. A network that includes both small cell base stations and macrocell base stations may be known as a heterogeneous network. A heterogeneous network may also include a home eNB (HeNB), which may serve restricted groups known as closed subscriber groups (CSGs).

[0031] The communication link 118 between the base station 102 and the UE 104 may include an uplink (also referred to as a reverse link) transmission from the UE 104 to the base station 102, a downlink (also referred to as a forward link) transmission from the base station 102 to the UE 104, or both. The communication link 118 may use MIMO antenna techniques, including spatial multiplexing, beamforming, transmit diversity, or various combinations thereof. The communication link 118 may be through one or more carrier frequencies. The allocation of carriers may be asymmetric with respect to the downlink and uplink (e.g., more or fewer carriers may be allocated for the downlink than the uplink).

[0032] The wireless communication system 100 may further include a wireless local area network (WLAN) access point (AP) 120 in communication with a wireless local area network (WLAN) station (STA) 122 via a communication link 124 in an unlicensed frequency spectrum (e.g., 5 GHz). When communicating in the unlicensed frequency spectrum, the WLAN STA 122, the WLAN AP 120, or various combinations thereof may perform a clear channel assessment (CCA) or listen-before-talk (LBT) procedure before communicating to determine if a channel is available.

[0033] The small cell base station 102' may operate in a licensed frequency spectrum, an unlicensed frequency spectrum, or both. When operating in the unlicensed frequency spectrum, the small cell base station 102' may utilize LTE or NR technology and use the same 5 GHz unlicensed frequency spectrum used by the WLAN AP 120. A small cell base station 102' utilizing LTE / 5G in the unlicensed frequency spectrum may extend coverage to an access network, increase the capacity of the access network, or both. NR in the unlicensed spectrum may be referred to as NR-U. LTE in the unlicensed spectrum may be referred to as LTE-U, licensed assisted access (LAA), or MulteFire.

[0034] The wireless communication system 100 may further include a millimeter wave (mmW) base station 126 that may operate at millimeter wave (mmW) frequencies, sub-mmW frequencies, or a combination thereof, in communication with the UE 128. Extremely High Frequency (EHF) is a portion of RF in the electromagnetic spectrum. EHF ranges from 30 GHz to 300 GHz and has a wavelength between 1 millimeter and 10 millimeters. Radio waves in this band may be referred to as millimeter waves. Sub-mmW may extend down to frequencies of 3 GHz with a wavelength of 100 millimeters. The very high frequency (SHF) band is also called centimeter wave and extends between 3 GHz and 30 GHz. Communications using the mmW / sub-mmW radio frequency bands have high path losses and relatively short distances. The mmW base station 126 and the UE 128 may utilize beamforming (transmit, receive, or both) over the mmW communication link 130 to compensate for the extremely high path losses and short distances. It will be further understood that in alternative configurations, one or more base stations 102 may also transmit using mmW or sub-mmW and beamforming. Therefore, it will be understood that the above illustrations are merely illustrative and should not be construed as limiting the various aspects disclosed herein.

[0035] Transmit beamforming is a technique for converging an RF signal in a particular direction. Traditionally, when a network node (e.g., a base station) broadcasts an RF signal, the network node broadcasts the signal in all directions (omnidirectional). With transmit beamforming, the network node determines where a given target device (e.g., UE) is located (relative to the transmitting network node) and launches a stronger downlink RF signal in that particular direction, thereby providing a stronger RF signal at a faster speed (in terms of data rate) to the receiving device. To change the directionality of the RF signal when transmitting, the network node can control the phase and relative amplitude of the RF signal at each of one or more transmitters broadcasting the RF signal. For example, the network node may use an array of antennas (also called a "phased array" or "antenna array") that creates beams of RF waves that can be "steered" to point in different directions without actually moving the antennas. Specifically, RF currents from the transmitters are fed to the individual antennas with the proper phase relationship so that the waves from the separate antennas combine together to increase radiation in the desired direction while suppressing and eliminating radiation in undesired directions.

[0036] Transmit beams may be quasi-colocated, meaning that they appear to a receiver (e.g., UE) as having the same parameters, regardless of whether the network node's transmit antennas themselves are physically colocated. In NR, there are four types of quasi-collocation (QCL) relationships. Specifically, a QCL relationship of a given type means that some parameters for a second reference RF signal on a second beam can be derived from information about a source reference RF signal on a source beam. Thus, if the source reference RF signal is QCL type A, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift, Doppler spread, average delay, and delay spread of the second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL type B, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift and Doppler spread of the second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL Type C, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift and average delay of a second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL Type D, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate spatial reception parameters of a second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel.

[0037] In receive beamforming, a receiver uses a receive beam to amplify RF signals detected on a given channel. For example, the receiver can increase the gain setting, adjust the phase setting, or a combination of both, of an array of antennas in a particular direction to amplify (e.g., increase its gain level) RF signals received from that direction. Thus, when a receiver is said to beamform in a direction, it means that the beam gain in that direction is higher than the beam gain along other directions, or that the beam gain in that direction is highest compared to the beam gain in that direction of all other receive beams available to the receiver. This results in a stronger received signal strength (e.g., Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP), Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ), Signal to Interference and Noise Ratio (SINR), etc.) of RF signals received from that direction.

[0038] The receive beams may be spatially related. The spatial relationship means that the parameters of the transmit beam for the second reference signal may be derived from information about the receive beam for the first reference signal. For example, the UE may use a particular receive beam to receive one or more reference downlink reference signals (e.g., positioning reference signal (PRS), narrowband reference signal (NRS), tracking reference signal (TRS), phase tracking reference signal (PTRS), cell-specific reference signal (CRS), channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), primary synchronization signal (PSS), secondary synchronization signal (SSS), synchronization signal block (SSB), etc.) from a base station. The UE can then form a transmit beam for transmitting one or more uplink reference signals (e.g., uplink positioning reference signal (UL-PRS), sounding reference signal (SRS), demodulation reference signal (DMRS), PTRS, etc.) to that base station based on the parameters of the receive beam.

[0039] Note that a "downlink" beam can be either a transmit beam or a receive beam, depending on the entity that forms it. For example, if the base station forms a downlink beam to transmit a reference signal to the UE, then the downlink beam is a transmit beam. However, if the UE forms a downlink beam, then it is a receive beam to receive a downlink reference signal. Similarly, an "uplink" beam can be either a transmit beam or a receive beam, depending on the entity that forms it. For example, if the base station forms an uplink beam, then it is an uplink receive beam, and if the UE forms an uplink beam, then it is an uplink transmit beam.

[0040] In 5G, the frequency spectrum in which wireless nodes (e.g., base station 102 / 126, UE 104 / 128) operate is divided into multiple frequency ranges, namely, FR1 (from 450 MHz to 6000 MHz), FR2 (from 24250 MHz to 52600 MHz), FR3 (above 52600 MHz), and FR4 (between FR1 and FR2). In a multi-carrier system such as 5G, one of the carrier frequencies is called the "primary carrier" or "anchor carrier" or "primary serving cell" or "PCell" and the remaining carrier frequencies are called the "secondary carrier" or "secondary serving cell" or "SCell". In carrier aggregation, the anchor carrier is the carrier operating on the primary frequency (e.g., FR1) utilized by the UE 104 / 128 and the cell on which the UE 104 / 128 either performs an initial radio resource control (RRC) connection establishment procedure or initiates an RRC connection re-establishment procedure. The primary carriers all carry common and UE-specific control channels and may (but are not always) be carriers in licensed frequencies. The secondary carriers are carriers operating on a second frequency (e.g., FR2) that may be configured once an RRC connection is established between the UE 104 and the anchor carrier and may be used to provide additional radio resources. In some cases, the secondary carrier may be a carrier in an unlicensed frequency. Since both the primary uplink carrier and the primary downlink carrier are usually UE-specific, the secondary carrier may only include necessary signaling information and signals, e.g., signaling information and signals that are UE-specific may not be present in the secondary carrier. This means that different UEs 104 / 128 in a cell may have different downlink primary carriers. The same applies to the uplink primary carrier. The network may change the primary carrier of any UE 104 / 128 at any time. This is done, for example, to distribute the load on different carriers.Since a "serving cell" (whether a PCell or an SCell) corresponds to the carrier frequency / component carrier over which some base station is communicating, terms such as "cell", "serving cell", "component carrier", "carrier frequency", etc. may be used interchangeably.

[0041] For example, with continued reference to FIG. 1, one of the frequencies utilized by the macrocell base station 102 may be an anchor carrier (i.e., a "PCell"), and the other frequencies utilized by the macrocell base station 102 and the mmW base station 126, or a combination thereof, may be secondary carriers ("SCells"). Simultaneous transmission, reception, or both of multiple carriers allows the UE 104 / 128 to significantly increase its data transmission rate, reception rate, or both. For example, two aggregated 20 MHz carriers in a multi-carrier system theoretically doubles the data rate (i.e., 40 MHz) compared to that achieved by a single 20 MHz carrier.

[0042] The wireless communication system 100 may further include one or more UEs, such as the UE 132, that indirectly connect to one or more communication networks via one or more device-to-device (D2D) peer-to-peer (P2P) links (referred to as "sidelinks"). In the example of FIG. 1, the UE 132 has a D2D P2P link 134 with one of the UEs 104 connected to one of the base stations 102 (e.g., through which the UE 132 may indirectly obtain cellular connectivity) and a D2D P2P link 194 with a WLAN STA 122 connected to the WLAN AP 120 (through which the UE 132 may indirectly obtain WLAN-based Internet connectivity). In an example, the D2D P2P link 134 and the P2P link 136 may be supported using any well-known D2D RAT, such as LTE Direct (LTE-D), WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), Bluetooth®, etc.

[0043] The wireless communications system 100 may further include a UE 138, which may communicate with the macrocell base station 102 via communications link 118, with the mmW base station 126 via an mmW communications link 130, or with a combination thereof. For example, the macrocell base station 102 may support a PCell and one or more SCells for the UE 138, and the mmW base station 126 may support one or more SCells for the UE 138.

[0044] 2A illustrates an exemplary wireless network structure 200 according to various aspects. For example, the 5GC 210 (also referred to as Next Generation Core (NGC)) can be viewed functionally as a control plane function 214 (e.g., UE registration, authentication, network access, gateway selection, etc.) and a user plane function 212 (e.g., UE gateway function, access to data network, IP routing, etc.) that work together to form a core network. A user plane interface (NG-U) 213 and a control plane interface (NG-C) 215 connect the gNB 222 to the 5GC 210, specifically to the control plane function 214 and the user plane function 212. In an additional configuration, the ng-eNB 224 may also be connected to the 5GC 210 via the NG-C 215 to the control plane function 214 and the NG-U 213 to the user plane function 212. Additionally, the ng-eNB 224 may communicate directly with the gNB 222 via a backhaul connection 223. In some configurations, the New RAN 220 may have only one or more gNBs 222, while other configurations include one or more of both the ng-eNB 224 and the gNB 222. Either the gNB 222 or the ng-eNB 224 may be in communication with the UE 204 (e.g., any of the UEs shown in FIG. 1). Another optional aspect may include a location server 112, which may be in communication with the 5GC 210 to assist in locating the UE 204. The location servers 112 may be implemented as multiple separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules spread across multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternatively, each may correspond to a single server. The location servers 112 may be configured to support one or more location services for the UEs 204 that may connect to the location server 112 via the core network, the 5GC 210, via the Internet (not shown), or both.Furthermore, the location server 112 may be integrated into a component of the core network, or alternatively, may be external to the core network.

[0045] 2B illustrates another exemplary wireless network structure 250 according to various aspects. For example, the 5GC 260 can be viewed functionally as a control plane function provided by an access and mobility management function (AMF) 264 and a user plane function provided by a user plane function (UPF) 262, which work together to form a core network (i.e., the 5GC 260). A user plane interface 263 and a control plane interface 265 connect the ng-eNB 224 to the 5GC 260, specifically to the UPF 262 and the AMF 264, respectively. In additional configurations, the gNB 222 may also be connected to the 5GC 260 via a control plane interface 265 to the AMF 264 and a user plane interface 263 to the UPF 262. Additionally, the ng-eNB 224 may communicate directly with the gNB 222 via a backhaul connection 223, with or without a gNB direct connection to the 5GC 260. In some configurations, the New RAN 220 may have only one or more gNBs 222, while other configurations include one or more of both the ng-eNB 224 and the gNB 222. Either the gNB 222 or the ng-eNB 224 may communicate with the UE 204 (e.g., any of the UEs shown in FIG. 1). The base stations of the New RAN 220 communicate with the AMF 264 via an N2 interface and with the UPF 262 via an N3 interface.

[0046] The functions of the AMF 264 include registration management, connection management, reachability management, mobility management, lawful interception, transport for session management (SM) messages between the UE 204 and a session management function (SMF) 266, a transparent proxy service for routing SM messages, access authentication and access authorization, transport for short message service (SMS) messages between the UE 204 and a short message service function (SMSF) (not shown), and a security anchor function (SEAF). The AMF 264 also interacts with an authentication server function (AUSF) (not shown) and the UE 204 to receive intermediate keys established as a result of the UE 204 authentication process. In case of universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS) subscriber identity module (USIM) based authentication, the AMF 264 retrieves security material from the AUSF. The functions of the AMF 264 also include security context management (SCM). The SCM receives keys from the SEAF that the SCM uses to derive access network specific keys. The functions of the AMF 264 also include location service management for regulated services, transport of location service messages between the UE 204 and a Location Management Function (LMF) 270 (acting as the Location Server 112), transport of location service messages between the New RAN 220 and the LMF 270, allocation of evolved packet system (EPS) bearer identifiers for interworking with EPS, and mobility event notification for the UE 204. In addition, the AMF 264 also supports functions for non-3GPP access networks (3GPP is a registered trademark).

[0047] The functions of the UPF 262 include serving as an anchor point for intra / inter-RAT mobility (when applicable), serving as an outer protocol data unit (PDU) session point for interconnection to a data network (not shown), packet routing and forwarding, packet inspection, user plane policy rule enforcement (e.g., gating, redirection, traffic steering), lawful interception (user plane collection), traffic usage reporting, Quality of Service (QoS) processing for the user plane (e.g., uplink / downlink rate enforcement, reflective QoS marking in the downlink), uplink traffic validation (Service Data Flow (SDF) to QoS flow mapping), transport-level packet marking in the uplink and downlink, downlink packet buffering and downlink data notification triggering, as well as sending and forwarding one or more "end markers" to the source RAN node. The UPF 262 may also support forwarding of location service messages over the user plane between the UE 204 and a location server such as the Secure User Plane Location (SUPL) Location Platform (SLP) 272.

[0048] The functions of the SMF 266 include session management, UE Internet Protocol (IP) address allocation and management, selection and control of user plane functions, configuration of traffic steering in the UPF 262 to route traffic to the appropriate destination, control of policy enforcement and parts of QoS, and downlink data notification. The interface through which the SMF 266 communicates with the AMF 264 is called the N11 interface.

[0049] Another optional aspect may include an LMF 270, which may be in communication with the 5GC 260 to provide location assistance for the UE 204. The LMF 270 may be implemented as multiple separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules across multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternatively, each may correspond to a single server. The LMF 270 may be configured to support one or more location services for the UE 204, which may be connected to the LMF 270 via a core network, the 5GC 260, via the Internet (not shown), or both. The SLP 272 may support similar functions as the LMF 270, except that the LMF 270 may communicate with the AMF 264, the New RAN 220, and the UE 204 via the control plane (e.g., using interfaces and protocols intended to carry signaling messages rather than voice or data), and the SLP 272 may communicate with the UE 204 and external clients (not shown in FIG. 2B) via the user plane (e.g., using protocols intended to carry voice or data, such as Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and / or IP).

[0050] In an aspect, the LMF 270, the SLP 272, or both may be integrated into a base station, such as the gNB 222 or the ng-eNB 224. When integrated into the gNB 222 or the ng-eNB 224, the LMF 270 or the SLP 272 may be referred to as a location management component (LMC). However, as used herein, references to the LMF 270 and the SLP 272 include both cases where the LMF 270 and the SLP 272 are components of a core network (e.g., the 5GC 260) and cases where the LMF 270 and the SLP 272 are components of a base station.

[0051] 3A, 3B, and 3C illustrate several example components (represented by corresponding blocks) that may be incorporated in a UE 302 (which may correspond to any of the UEs described herein), a base station 304 (which may correspond to any of the base stations described herein), and a network entity 306 (which may correspond to or embody any of the network functions described herein, including the location server 112 and the LMF 270) to support file transmission operations as taught herein. It will be understood that these components may be implemented in different types of devices in different implementations (e.g., in an ASIC, in a system on a chip (SoC), etc.). The illustrated components may also be incorporated in other devices in a communication system. For example, other devices in the system may include components similar to the illustrated components to provide similar functionality. Also, a given device may include one or more of the components. For example, a device may include multiple transceiver components that enable the device to operate on multiple carriers, communicate via different technologies, or both.

[0052] The UE 302 and the base station 304 each include a wireless wide area network (WWAN) transceiver, such as WWAN transceiver 310 and WWAN transceiver 350, respectively, configured to communicate over one or more wireless communications networks (not shown), such as an NR network, an LTE network, a GSM network, etc. The WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 may be connected to one or more antennas, such as antenna 316 and antenna 356, respectively, to communicate with other network nodes, such as other UEs, access points, base stations (e.g., eNBs, gNBs), etc., over at least one designated RAT (e.g., NR, LTE, GSM, etc.) over a wireless communications medium of interest (e.g., some set of time / frequency resources in a particular frequency spectrum). The WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 may be variously configured for transmitting and encoding signals 318 and 358, respectively (e.g., messages, instructions, information, etc.) in accordance with a designated RAT, and conversely for receiving and decoding signals (e.g., messages, instructions, information, pilots, etc.), such as signals 318 and 358, respectively. Specifically, the WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 include one or more transmitters, such as transmitter 314 and transmitter 354, respectively, for transmitting and encoding signals 318 and 358, respectively, and include one or more receivers, such as receiver 312 and receiver 352, respectively, for receiving and decoding signals 318 and 358, respectively.

[0053] The UE 302 and base station 304 also, at least in some cases, include a wireless local area network (WLAN) transceiver 320 and a WLAN transceiver 360, respectively. The WLAN transceivers 320 and 360 may be connected to one or more antennas, such as antenna 326 and antenna 366, respectively, for communicating with other network nodes, such as other UEs, access points, base stations, etc., via at least one designated RAT (e.g., WiFi, LTE-D, Bluetooth, etc.) over a wireless communication medium of interest. The WLAN transceivers 320 and 360 may be variously configured to transmit and encode signals (e.g., messages, instructions, information, etc.), such as signals 328 and 368, respectively, and conversely, to receive and decode signals, such as signals 328 and 368, respectively, in accordance with the designated RAT. Specifically, WLAN transceivers 320 and 360 each include one or more transmitters, such as transmitter 324 and transmitter 364, respectively, for transmitting and encoding signals, such as signals 328 and 368, and each include one or more receivers, such as receiver 322 and receiver 362, respectively, for receiving and decoding signals 328 and 368.

[0054] The transceiver circuitry including at least one transmitter and at least one receiver may in some implementations comprise an integrated device (e.g., embodied as transmitter and receiver circuits in a single communications device), in some implementations comprise separate transmitter devices and separate receiver devices, or in other implementations may be embodied in other ways. In certain aspects, the transmitter may include or be coupled to multiple antennas, such as an antenna array (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), that enable each device to perform transmit "beamforming" as described herein. Similarly, the receiver may include or be coupled to multiple antennas, such as an antenna array (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), that enable each device to perform receive beamforming as described herein. In certain aspects, the transmitters and receivers may share the same multiple antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), such that each device can only receive or transmit at a given time, but not both at the same time. The UE 302, the base station 304, or both wireless communication devices (e.g., the transceivers 310 and 320, the transceivers 350 and 360, or both) may also comprise a network listening module (NLM) or the like for performing various measurements.

[0055] The UE 302 and base station 304 also, at least in some cases, include an SPS receiver, such as a satellite positioning system (SPS) receiver 330 and an SPS receiver 370. The SPS receivers 330 and 370 may be connected to one or more antennas, such as an antenna 336 and an antenna 376, respectively, for receiving SPS signals, such as SPS signal 338 and SPS signal 378, respectively, from Global Positioning System (GPS) signals, Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS) signals, Galileo signals, Beidou signals, Navigation Satellite System of India (NAVIC), Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS), and the like. The SPS receivers 330 and 370 may comprise any suitable hardware, software, or both for receiving and processing the SPS signals 338 and 378, respectively. The SPS receivers 330 and 370 appropriately request information and actions from other systems and perform the necessary calculations to determine the position of the UE 302 and base station 304 using measurements obtained by any suitable SPS algorithms.

[0056] The base station 304 and the network entity 306 each include at least one network interface, such as a network interface 380 and a network interface 390, for communicating with other network entities. For example, the network interfaces 380 and 390 (e.g., one or more network access ports) may be configured to communicate with one or more network entities via a wired connection or a wireless backhaul connection. In some aspects, the network interfaces 380 and 390 may be implemented as transceivers configured to support wired or wireless signal communication. This communication may involve, for example, sending and receiving messages, parameters, other types of information, or various combinations thereof.

[0057] The UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 also include other components that may be used in conjunction with operations as disclosed herein. The UE 302 includes a processor circuit that implements a processing system 332, for example, for providing functionality related to wireless positioning and for providing other processing functions. The base station 304 includes a processing system 384, for example, for providing functionality related to wireless positioning and for providing other processing functions. The network entity 306 includes a processing system 394, for example, for providing functionality related to wireless positioning and for providing other processing functions as disclosed herein. In an aspect, the processing systems 332, 384, and 394 may include, for example, one or more general purpose processors, multi-core processors, ASICs, digital signal processors (DSPs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or other programmable logic devices or processing circuits.

[0058] The UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 include memory circuitry implementing memory components 340, 386, and 396, respectively (e.g., each including a memory device) for maintaining information (e.g., information indicative of reserved resources, thresholds, parameters, etc.). In some cases, the UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 may include positioning components 342, 388, and 398, respectively. The positioning components 342, 388, and 398 may be hardware circuits that are part of or coupled to the processing systems 332, 384, and 394, respectively, that, when executed, cause the UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 to perform the functions described herein. In other aspects, the positioning components 342, 388, and 398 may be external to the processing systems 332, 384, and 394 (e.g., may be part of a modem processing system, may be integrated with another processing system, etc.). Alternatively, the positioning components 342, 388, and 398 may be memory modules stored in the memory components 340, 386, and 396, respectively, that when executed by the processing systems 332, 384, and 394 (or a modem processing system, another processing system, etc.) cause the UE 302, the base station 304, and the network entity 306 to perform the functions described herein. FIG. 3A illustrates a possible location of the positioning component 342, which may be part of the WWAN transceiver 310, the memory component 340, the processing system 332, or any combination thereof, or may be a stand-alone component. FIG. 3B illustrates a possible location of the positioning component 388, which may be part of the WWAN transceiver 350, the memory component 386, the processing system 384, or any combination thereof, or may be a stand-alone component.FIG. 3C illustrates possible locations of a positioning component 398, which may be part of the network interface 390, the memory component 396, the processing system 394, or any combination thereof, or may be a stand-alone component.

[0059] The UE 302 may include one or more sensors 344 coupled to the processing system 332 to provide motion information, orientation information, or both independent of motion data derived from signals received by the WWAN transceiver 310, the WLAN transceiver 320, or the SPS receiver 330. By way of example, the sensors 344 may include an accelerometer (e.g., a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) device), a gyroscope, a geomagnetic sensor (e.g., a compass), an altimeter (e.g., a barometric altimeter), any other type of motion detection sensor, or a combination thereof. Additionally, the sensors 344 may include multiple different types of devices and combine their outputs to provide motion information. For example, the sensors 344 may use a combination of a multi-axis accelerometer and an orientation sensor to provide the ability to calculate a location in a 2D or 3D coordinate system.

[0060] In addition, the UE 302 includes a user interface 346 for providing instructions to a user (e.g., audio instructions, visual instructions, or both), for receiving user input (e.g., upon the user actuating a sensing device such as a keypad, touch screen, microphone, etc.), or both. Although not shown, the base station 304 and the network entity 306 may also include user interfaces.

[0061] Referring to the processing system 384 in more detail, on the downlink, IP packets from the network entity 306 may be provided to the processing system 384. The processing system 384 may implement functionality for an RRC layer, a Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer, a Radio Link Control (RLC) layer, and a Medium Access Control (MAC) layer. The processing system 384 may provide RRC layer functions related to broadcasting of system information (e.g., Master Information Block (MIB), System Information Block (SIB)), RRC connection control (e.g., RRC connection paging, RRC connection establishment, RRC connection modification, and RRC connection release), inter-RAT mobility, and measurement configuration for UE measurement reporting; PDCP layer functions related to header compression / decompression, security (encryption, decryption, integrity protection, integrity verification), and handover support functions; RLC layer functions related to transfer of upper layer packet data units (PDUs), error correction through automatic repeat request (ARQ), concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC service data units (SDUs), resegmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functions related to mapping between logical channels and transport channels, scheduling information reporting, error correction, priority handling, and logical channel prioritization.

[0062] The transmitter 354 and receiver 352 may implement Layer 1 functions related to various signal processing functions. Layer 1, including the physical (PHY) layer, may include error detection on the transport channel, forward error correction (FEC) coding / decoding of the transport channel, interleaving, rate matching, mapping onto the physical channel, modulation / demodulation of the physical channel, and MIMO antenna processing. The transmitter 354 handles mapping to signal constellations based on various modulation schemes (e.g., binary phase shift keying (BPSK), quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK), M-phase shift keying (M-PSK), M-ary quadrature amplitude modulation (M-QAM)). The coded and modulated symbols may then be split into parallel streams. Each stream may then be mapped to an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) subcarrier, multiplexed with a reference signal (e.g., pilot) in the time domain, frequency domain, or both, and then combined together using an inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) to generate a physical channel carrying a time-domain OFDM symbol stream. The OFDM symbol stream is spatially precoded to generate multiple spatial streams. Channel estimates from a channel estimator may be used to determine the coding and modulation scheme, as well as for spatial processing. The channel estimates may be derived from a reference signal, from channel condition feedback transmitted by the UE 302, or from both. Each spatial stream may then be provided to one or more different antennas 356. The transmitter 354 may modulate an RF carrier with each spatial stream for transmission.

[0063] At the UE 302, the receiver 312 receives the signal through its respective antenna 316. The receiver 312 recovers the information demodulated onto the RF carriers and provides the information to the processing system 332. The transmitter 314 and the receiver 312 implement layer 1 functions related to various signal processing functions. The receiver 312 may perform spatial processing on the information to recover any spatial streams destined for the UE 302. If multiple spatial streams are destined for the UE 302, they may be combined by the receiver 312 into a single OFDM symbol stream. The receiver 312 then converts the OFDM symbol stream from the time domain to the frequency domain using a fast Fourier transform (FFT). The frequency domain signal includes a separate OFDM symbol stream for each subcarrier of the OFDM signal. The symbols on each subcarrier, as well as the reference signal, are recovered and demodulated by determining the signal constellation points that were most likely transmitted by the base station 304. These soft decisions may be based on channel estimates calculated by a channel estimator. The soft decisions are then decoded and deinterleaved to recover the data and control signals originally transmitted by the base station 304 on the physical channel. The data and control signals are then provided to a processing system 332 that implements Layer 3 and Layer 2 functions.

[0064] In the uplink, the processing system 332 performs demultiplexing between transport and logical channels, packet reassembly, decryption, header decompression, and control signal processing to recover IP packets from the core network. The processing system 332 is also responsible for error detection.

[0065] Similar to the functionality described with respect to downlink transmissions by the base station 304, the processing system 332 provides RRC layer functionality related to system information (e.g., MIBs, SIBs) acquisition, RRC connection, and measurement reporting; PDCP layer functionality related to header compression / decompression and security (encryption, decryption, integrity protection, integrity verification); RLC layer functionality related to transfer of upper layer PDUs, error correction via ARQ, concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC SDUs, resegmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functionality related to mapping between logical channels and transport channels, multiplexing of MAC SDUs onto transport blocks (TBs), demultiplexing of MAC SDUs from TBs, scheduling information reporting, error correction via hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ), priority handling, and logical channel prioritization.

[0066] Channel estimates derived by the channel estimator from a reference signal or feedback transmitted by the base station 304 may be used by the transmitter 314 to select an appropriate coding and modulation scheme and to facilitate spatial processing. The spatial streams generated by the transmitter 314 may be provided to different antennas 316. The transmitter 314 may modulate an RF carrier with each spatial stream for transmission.

[0067] Uplink transmissions are processed at the base station 304 in a manner similar to that described with respect to the receiver function at the UE 302. The receiver 352 receives the signal through its respective antenna 356. The receiver 352 recovers the information demodulated onto the RF carrier and provides the information to the processing system 384.

[0068] In the uplink, the processing system 384 performs demultiplexing between transport and logical channels, packet reassembly, decryption, header decompression, and control signal processing to recover IP packets from the UE 302. The IP packets from the processing system 384 may be provided to a core network. The processing system 384 is also responsible for error detection.

[0069] For convenience, the UE 302, the base station 304, and the network entity 306 are illustrated in Figures 3A-3C as including various components that may be configured in accordance with various examples described herein, however, it will be understood that the illustrated blocks may have different functionality in different designs.

[0070] Various components of the UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 may communicate with each other via data buses 334, 382, ​​and 392, respectively. The components of FIGS. 3A-3C may be implemented in various ways. In some implementations, the components of FIGS. 3A-3C may be implemented in one or more circuits, such as, for example, one or more processors, one or more ASICs (which may include one or more processors), or both. Here, each circuit may use or incorporate at least one memory component for storing information or executable code used by the circuit to provide this functionality. For example, some or all of the functionality represented by blocks 310-346 may be implemented by the processor and memory components of the UE 302 (e.g., by execution of appropriate code, by appropriate configuration of the processor components, or both). Similarly, some or all of the functionality represented by blocks 350-388 may be implemented by the processor and memory components of the base station 304 (e.g., by execution of appropriate code, by appropriate configuration of the processor components, or both). Also, some or all of the functionality represented by blocks 390-398 may be implemented by the processor and memory components of the network entity 306 (e.g., by execution of appropriate code, by appropriate configuration of the processor components, or both). For simplicity, various operations, acts, or functions are described herein as being performed "by a UE," "by a base station," "by a positioning entity," etc. However, it will be understood that such operations, acts, or functions may actually be performed by a particular component or combination of components, such as a UE, a base station, a positioning entity, etc., such as processing systems 332, 384, 394, transceivers 310, 320, 350, and 360, memory components 340, 386, and 396, positioning components 342, 388, and 398, etc.

[0071] NR supports several cellular network-based positioning techniques, including downlink-based positioning methods, uplink-based positioning methods, and downlink- and uplink-based positioning methods. Downlink-based positioning methods include observed time difference of arrival (OTDOA) in LTE, downlink time difference of arrival (DL-TDOA) in NR, and downlink angle-of-departure (DL-AoD) in NR. In an OTDOA or DL-TDOA positioning procedure, a UE measures the differences between the times of arrival (ToA) of reference signals (e.g., PRS, TRS, narrowband reference signal (NRS), CSI-RS, SSB, etc.) received from pairs of base stations, called reference signal time difference (RSTD) or time difference of arrival (TDOA) measurements, and reports them to a positioning entity. More specifically, the UE receives identifiers of a reference base station (e.g., a serving base station) and multiple non-reference base stations in the assistance data. The UE then measures the RSTD between the reference base station and each of the non-reference base stations. Based on the known locations of the involved base stations and the RSTD measurements, the positioning entity can estimate the UE's position. For DL-AoD positioning, the base station measures the angle and other channel characteristics (e.g., signal strength) of the downlink transmit beam used to communicate with the UE to estimate the UE's position.

[0072] Uplink-based positioning methods include uplink time difference of arrival (UL-TDOA) and uplink angle-of-arrival (UL-AoA). UL-TDOA is similar to DL-TDOA, but is based on an uplink reference signal (e.g., SRS) transmitted by the UE. For UL-AoA positioning, the base station measures the angle and other channel characteristics (e.g., gain level) of the uplink receive beam used to communicate with the UE to estimate the UE's position.

[0073] Downlink and uplink based positioning methods include enhanced cell-ID (E-CID) positioning, and multi-round-trip-time (RTT) positioning (also called "multi-cell RTT"). In the RTT procedure, an initiator (base station or UE) transmits an RTT measurement signal (e.g., PRS or SRS) to a responder (UE or base station), and the responder transmits an RTT response signal (e.g., SRS or PRS) back to the initiator. The RTT response signal includes the difference between the TOA of the RTT measurement signal and the transmission time of the RTT response signal, called a receive-to-transmit (Rx-Tx) measurement. The initiator calculates the difference between the transmission time of the RTT measurement signal and the TOA of the RTT response signal, called a "Tx-Rx" measurement. The propagation time (also called "time of flight") between the initiator and the responder may be calculated from the Tx-Rx measurement and the Rx-Tx measurement. Based on the propagation time and the known speed of light, the distance between the initiator and the responder may be determined. For multi-RTT positioning, the UE performs RTT procedures with multiple base stations to allow the UE's location to be triangulated based on the known locations of the base stations. RTT and multi-RTT methods may be combined with other positioning techniques such as UL-AoA and DL-AoD to improve location accuracy.

[0074] The E-CID positioning method is based on Radio Resource Management (RRM) measurements. In E-CID, the UE reports the serving cell ID, timing advance (TA), and identities, estimated timing, and signal strength of detected neighboring base stations. The UE's location is then estimated based on this information and the known locations of the base stations.

[0075] To assist the positioning operation, a location server (e.g., location server 112, LMF 270, SLP 272) may provide assistance data to the UE. For example, the assistance data may include an identifier of a base station (or a cell / TRP of a base station) from which a reference signal should be measured, reference signal configuration parameters (e.g., number of consecutive positioning slots, periodicity of the positioning slots, muting sequence, frequency hopping sequence, reference signal identifier (ID), reference signal bandwidth, slot offset, etc.), other parameters applicable to a particular positioning method, or a combination thereof. Alternatively, the assistance data may be obtained directly from the base station itself (e.g., in periodically broadcasted overhead messages, etc.). In some cases, the UE may be able to detect neighboring network nodes itself without using the assistance data.

[0076] A position estimate may be referred to by other names, such as a place estimate, location, location, location fix, fix, etc. A position estimate may be geodetic and comprise coordinates (e.g., latitude, longitude, and possibly altitude), or urban and comprise a street address, postal address, or some other linguistic description of a location. A position estimate may further be defined relative to some other known location, or defined absolutely (e.g., using latitude, longitude, and possibly altitude). A position estimate may include an expected error or uncertainty (e.g., by including an area or volume within which the location is expected to be located with some specified or default level of confidence).

[0077] Various frame structures may be used to support downlink and uplink transmissions between network nodes (eg, base stations and UEs).

[0078] FIG. 4A is a diagram 400 illustrating an example of a downlink frame structure according to an aspect of the disclosure.

[0079] 4B is a diagram 430 illustrating example channels within a downlink frame structure according to an aspect of the disclosure. Other wireless communication technologies may have different frame structures, different channels, or both.

[0080] LTE, and possibly NR, employs OFDM on the downlink and single-carrier frequency division multiplexing (SC-FDM) on the uplink. However, unlike LTE, NR also has the option of using OFDM on the uplink. OFDM and SC-FDM partition the system bandwidth into multiple (K) orthogonal subcarriers, also commonly referred to as tones, bins, etc. Each subcarrier may be modulated with data. In general, modulation symbols are transmitted in the frequency domain with OFDM and in the time domain with SC-FDM. The spacing between adjacent subcarriers may be fixed, or the total number of subcarriers (K) may depend on the system bandwidth. For example, the subcarrier spacing may be 15 kHz, and the minimum resource allocation (resource block) may be 12 subcarriers (i.e., 180 kHz). Thus, the nominal FFT size may be equal to 128, 256, 504, 1024, or 2048 for a system bandwidth of 1.25, 2.5, 5, 10, or 20 megahertz (MHz), respectively. The system bandwidth may also be partitioned into subbands. For example, a subband may cover 1.8 MHz (i.e., 6 resource blocks), and there may be 1, 2, 4, 8, or 16 subbands for a system bandwidth of 1.25, 2.5, 5, 10, or 20 MHz, respectively.

[0081] LTE supports a single numerology (subcarrier spacing, symbol length, etc.). In contrast, NR may support multiple numerologies (μ), e.g., subcarrier spacings of 15 kHz, 30 kHz, 60 kHz, 120 kHz, and 240 kHz or more may be available. Table 1, given below, lists some of the various parameters for the different NR numerologies. [Table 1]

[0082] In the example of Figures 4A and 4B, a numerology of 15 kHz is used. Thus, in the time domain, a 10 millisecond (ms) frame is divided into 10 subframes of equal size of 1 ms each, and each subframe contains one time slot. In Figures 4A and 4B, time is represented horizontally (e.g., on the X-axis), where time increases from left to right, while frequency is represented vertically (e.g., on the Y-axis), where frequency increases (or decreases) from bottom to top.

[0083] A resource grid may be used to represent time slots, with each time slot including one or more time-parallel resource blocks (RBs) (also called physical RBs (PRBs)) in the frequency domain. The resource grid is further divided into multiple resource elements (REs). An RE may correspond to one symbol length in the time domain and one subcarrier in the frequency domain. In NR, a subframe is 1 ms long, a slot is 14 symbols in the time domain, and an RB includes 12 consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain and 14 consecutive symbols in the time domain. Thus, there is one RB per slot in NR. Depending on the SCS, an NR subframe may have 14 symbols, 28 symbols, or more, and thus one slot, two slots, or more. The number of bits carried by each RE depends on the modulation scheme.

[0084] Some of the REs carry downlink reference (pilot) signals (DL-RS). The DL-RS may include PRS, TRS, PTRS, CRS, CSI-RS, DMRS, PSS, SSS, SSB, etc. Figure 4A shows an example location of REs carrying PRS (labeled "R").

[0085] A "PRS instance" or "PRS occasion" is one instance of a regularly recurring time period (e.g., a group of one or more contiguous slots) during which a PRS is expected to be transmitted. A PRS occasion may also be called a "PRS positioning occasion", "PRS positioning instance", "positioning occasion", "positioning instance", "positioning repetition", or simply an "opportunity", "instance", or "repetition".

[0086] A collection of resource elements (REs) used for transmission of a PRS is called a "PRS resource." A collection of resource elements may span multiple PRBs in the frequency domain and "N" (e.g., one or more) consecutive symbols within a slot in the time domain. Within a given OFDM symbol in the time domain, a PRS resource occupies consecutive PRBs in the frequency domain.

[0087] The transmission of PRS resources within a given PRB has a particular comb size (also called "comb density"). The comb size "N" represents the subcarrier spacing (or frequency / tone spacing) within each symbol of the PRS resource configuration. Specifically, for comb size "N", a PRS is transmitted in every Nth subcarrier of a symbol of the PRB. For example, for comb-4, for each fourth symbol of the PRS resource configuration, the RE corresponding to every fourth subcarrier (e.g., subcarriers 0, 4, 8) is used to transmit the PRS of the PRS resource. Currently, comb sizes comb-2, comb-4, comb-6, and comb-12 are supported for DL ​​PRS. Figure 4A shows an example PRS resource configuration for comb-6 (spanning 6 symbols). That is, the location of the shaded RE (labeled "R") indicates the comb-6 PRS resource configuration.

[0088] A "PRS resource set" is a set of PRS resources used for transmission of a PRS signal, where each PRS resource has a PRS resource ID. In addition, the PRS resources in a PRS resource set are associated with the same TRP. A PRS resource set is identified by a PRS resource set ID and is associated with a particular TRP (identified by a TRP ID). In addition, the PRS resources in a PRS resource set have the same periodicity across slots, a common muting pattern configuration, and the same repetition factor (e.g., PRS-ResourceRepetitionFactor). The periodicity is the time from the first repetition of the first PRS resource of the first PRS instance to the same first repetition of the same first PRS resource of the next PRS instance. The periodicity is 2 μ The repetition factor may have a length selected from {1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 16, 32, 40, 64, 80, 160, 320, 640, 1280, 2560, 5040, 10240} slots, μ=0, 1, 2, 3. The repetition factor may have a length selected from {1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 16, 32} slots.

[0089] A PRS resource ID in a PRS resource set is associated with a single beam (or beam ID) transmitted from a single TRP (where a TRP may transmit one or multiple beams). That is, each PRS resource in a PRS resource set may be transmitted on a different beam, and thus a "PRS resource" or simply a "resource" may also be referred to as a "beam." Note that this does not have any implication as to whether the TRP and beam on which the PRS is transmitted are known to the UE.

[0090] A "positioning frequency layer" (also simply called "frequency layer") is a collection of one or more PRS resource sets across one or more TRPs with the same values ​​for some parameters. Specifically, the collection of PRS resource sets has the same subcarrier spacing (SCS) and cyclic prefix (CP) type (meaning that all numerologies supported for PDSCH are also supported for PRS), the same Point A, the same value of downlink PRS bandwidth, the same starting PRB (and center frequency), and the same comb size. The Point A parameter takes the value of the parameter "ARFCN-ValueNR" (where "ARFCN" stands for "absolute radio frequency channel number"), which is an identifier / code that specifies a pair of physical radio channels used for transmission and reception. The downlink PRS bandwidth may have a granularity of 4 PRB, with a minimum of 24 PRB and a maximum of 272 PRB. Currently, up to four frequency layers are defined, and up to two PRS resource sets per TRP per frequency layer can be configured.

[0091] The concept of frequency layer is somewhat like that of component carrier and bandwidth portion (BWP), but differs in that component carrier and BWP are used by one base station (or macrocell base station and small cell base station) to transmit data channels, whereas frequency layer is used by several (usually three or more) base stations to transmit PRS. A UE may indicate the number of frequency layers that it can support when the UE transmits its positioning capabilities to the network, such as during an LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP) session. For example, the UE may indicate whether the UE can support one positioning frequency layer or four positioning frequency layers.

[0092] FIG. 4B shows an example of various channels in a downlink slot of a radio frame. In NR, the channel bandwidth or system bandwidth is divided into multiple BWPs. A BWP is a contiguous set of PRBs selected from a contiguous subset of common RBs for a given numerology on a given carrier. In general, up to four BWPs can be specified in the downlink and uplink. That is, a UE can be configured with up to four BWPs on the downlink and with up to four BWPs on the uplink. Only one BWP (uplink or downlink) may be active at a given time, meaning that a UE can only receive or transmit via one BWP at a time. On the downlink, the bandwidth of each BWP should be equal to or greater than the bandwidth of an SSB, but each BWP may or may not include an SSB.

[0093] Referring to FIG. 4B, a primary synchronization signal (PSS) is used by the UE to determine subframe / symbol timing and physical layer identity. A secondary synchronization signal (SSS) is used by the UE to determine a physical layer cell identity group number and radio frame timing. Based on the physical layer identity and the physical layer cell identity group number, the UE can determine the PCI. Based on the PCI, the UE can determine the location of the DL-RS mentioned above. A physical broadcast channel (PBCH) carrying an MIB may be logically grouped with the PSS and SSS to form an SSB (also called SS / PBCH). The MIB provides the number of RBs in the downlink system bandwidth and the system frame number (SFN). A physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) carries user data, broadcast system information not transmitted over the PBCH, such as system information blocks (SIBs), and paging messages.

[0094] The Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) carries downlink control information (DCI) in one or more control channel elements (CCEs), each CCE containing one or more RE group (REG) bundles (which may span multiple symbols in the time domain), each REG bundle containing one or more REGs, each REG corresponding to 12 resource elements (one resource block) in the frequency domain and one OFDM symbol in the time domain. The set of physical resources used to carry the PDCCH / DCI is called a control resource set (CORESET) in NR. In NR, the PDCCH is confined to a single CORESET and transmitted with its own DMRS. This allows UE-specific beamforming for the PDCCH.

[0095] In the example of Figure 4B, there is one CORESET per BWP, and the CORESET spans three symbols in the time domain (although it may be only one or two symbols). Unlike the LTE control channel, which occupies the entire system bandwidth, in NR, the PDCCH channel is confined to a specific region (i.e., the CORESET) in the frequency domain. Thus, the frequency components of the PDCCH shown in Figure 4B are shown as smaller than a single BWP in the frequency domain. Note that the shown CORESETs are contiguous in the frequency domain, but need not be. In addition, the CORESET may span less than three symbols in the time domain.

[0096] The DCI in the PDCCH carries information about uplink resource allocation (persistent and non-persistent) and a description of the downlink data to be transmitted to the UE. Multiple (e.g., up to eight) DCIs may be configured in the PDCCH, and these DCIs may have one of multiple formats. For example, there are different DCI formats for uplink scheduling, non-MIMO downlink scheduling, MIMO downlink scheduling, and uplink power control. The PDCCH may be transmitted with 1, 2, 4, 8, or 16 CCEs to accommodate different DCI payload sizes or coding rates.

[0097] FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating how non-line-of-sight (NLOS) positioning signals can cause a UE 104 to miscalculate its location. In FIG. 5, a UE 104 operating in an area with multiple base stations 102 calculates its location based on the time of arrival (TOA) of signals from those base stations 102. The UE 104 knows the geographical locations of the base stations 102, for example, via receipt of assistance data provided by a location server. The assistance data may also identify PRS resources, PRS resource sets, transmission / reception points (TRPs), or combinations thereof, that the UE should use for positioning. For ease of explanation, the PRS resources, PRS resource sets, TRPs, or combinations thereof are collectively referred to herein as "positioning sources." The UE 104 determines its geographical location based on the distance of the UE 104 from each of one or more of the base stations 102, and the UE 104 calculates its geographical location based on the TOA of the signal from a particular base station 102 and the speed of the radio signal in the air, assuming that the TOA corresponds to the time of flight of the LOS path.

[0098] However, if the signal from the base station 102 is an NLOS signal, the signal will have traveled a longer than straight line distance to the UE, and so the TOA of the NLOS signal will be slower than the TOA it would have if the signal were an LOS signal rather than an NLOS signal. This means that if the UE 104 were to happen to base its positioning estimate on the TOA of the NLOS signal, the artificially long TOA value of the NLOS signal will skew the location calculation, thereby causing the UE 104 to appear in a different location than it actually is. Thus, one challenge is to distinguish between LOS and NLOS signals so that the NLOS signals are excluded from consideration during positioning estimation.

[0099] One method of distinguishing between LOS and NLOS signals is outlier detection. Outlier detection analyzes positioning signals from a set of cells against each other to determine which of the cells appear to produce TOA values ​​that are "outliers" compared to the TOA values ​​produced by other cells in the group. Outlier detection produces what is called a "consistency group," which is a collection of N positioning sources that have produced positioning results (e.g., RSTD, RSRP, Rx-Tx), where using a subset X of those N positioning sources for positioning results in a location estimate that, when used to estimate TOAs to the remaining NX positioning sources, results in a value that has an error within a threshold T. The size of the consistency group produced by outlier detection for a set of cells can be any value from 0 to the size of the entire set of cells being analyzed, but is typically somewhere in between.

[0100] One way to define a consistency group is that a set of measurements have the same / similar errors, such as internal timing errors (e.g., hardware group delays, etc.). The following definitions are used to describe the internal timing errors:

[0101] Transmit (Tx) Timing Error: From a signal transmission perspective, there is a time delay from when the digital signal is generated at baseband to when the RF signal is transmitted from the transmit antenna. To assist with positioning, the UE / TRP may perform an internal calibration / compensation of the transmit time delay for DL-PRS / UL-SRS transmission, which may also include calibration / compensation of the relative time delay between different RF chains in the same UE / TRP. This compensation may also take into account the offset of the phase center of the transmit antenna relative to the center of the physical antenna. However, the calibration may not be perfect. The remaining transmit time delay after calibration, or the transmit time delay that is not calibrated, is defined as the "transmit timing error" or "Tx timing error."

[0102] Receive (Rx) Timing Error: From the signal reception perspective, there is a time delay from when the RF signal arrives at the Rx antenna to when the signal is digitized and time-stamped in baseband. To assist positioning, the UE / TRP may perform an internal calibration / compensation of the Rx time delay before reporting the measurement results obtained from the DL-PRS / SRS, which may also include calibration / compensation of the relative time delay between different RF chains in the same UE / TRP. This compensation may also take into account the offset of the phase center of the Rx antenna relative to the center of the physical antenna. However, the calibration may not be perfect. The remaining Rx time delay after calibration, or the uncalibrated Rx time delay, is defined as the "Rx timing error."

[0103] UE Tx Timing Error Group (TEG): A UE Tx TEG (or TxTEG) is associated with the transmission of one or more SRS resources for positioning purposes, which have Tx timing errors that are within a certain range (e.g., within a threshold of each other).

[0104] TRP Tx TEG: The TRP Tx TEG (or TxTEG) is associated with the transmission of one or more DL-PRS resources, which have a Tx timing error within a certain range.

[0105] UE Rx TEG: The UE Rx TEG (or RxTEG) is associated with one or more downlink measurements that have an Rx timing error within a certain range.

[0106] TRP Rx TEG: The TRP Rx TEG (or RxTEG) is associated with one or more uplink measurements that have an Rx timing error within a range.

[0107] UE Rx-Tx TEG: The UE Rx-Tx TEG (or RxTxTEG) is associated with one or more UE Rx-Tx time difference measurements and one or more SRS resources for positioning purposes, which have Rx timing error + Tx timing error within a certain range.

[0108] TRP Rx-Tx TEG: The TRP Rx-Tx TEG (or RxTxTEG) is associated with one or more TRP Rx-Tx time difference measurements and one or more DL-PRS resources that have Rx timing error + Tx timing error within a certain range.

[0109] A consistency group is not limited to grouping positioning sources with similar timing errors, but may also be formed using positioning sources with other shared error characteristics, such as a shared angular error characteristic, or a combination of a shared timing angular error characteristic and a shared angular error characteristic.

[0110] An alternative (e.g., computationally exhaustive) approach to cells in a set against each other would require comparing every single possible combination of a subset of cells against the rest of the cells in the group, which is computationally intensive and impractical for the UE, so a technique called Random Sampling and Consensus (RANSAC) is used instead. This technique analyzes a group of candidate positioning sources against each other in various combinations by randomly selecting a subset of positioning sources in the group, generating an estimated UE location based on that subset, using the location estimate so generated to predict TOA timing to the rest of the positioning sources not in the subset, and ascertaining how well the actual and predicted TOAs match for each of the positioning sources not in the subset, e.g., by determining whether the difference between the actual and predicted TOAs is within a timing error threshold T. Positioning sources that are within the error threshold are called inliers. Positioning sources that are not within the threshold are called outliers. The number of inliers L is determined for each randomly selected sample.

[0111] Since it is possible that one of the positioning sources in the randomly selected subset may be NLOS, which distorts the estimated UE location and therefore the estimated TOA to cells that are not in the subset, the RANSAC algorithm performs the operations described above multiple times, each time using a different randomly selected subset of positioning sources from the group. After a certain number of iterations, the subset of positioning sources that produced the largest number of inliers, and those inliers, are reported as elements of a consistency group. The outliers are excluded from the consistency group. The identified consistency group is then used as a pool of positioning sources from which the UE calculates its final estimated location. An example implementation of RANSAC is shown in FIG. 6.

[0112] FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing a conventional method 600, RANSAC, for outlier detection in UE-based positioning. In FIG. 6, at 602, the UE identifies a set of positioning sources (in this example, a set of cells) of candidate positioning sources, e.g., based on link quality. At 604, the UE randomly chooses a subset C of cells of size K, e.g., with K cells in the subset. At 606, the UE estimates its location using the TOA values ​​of positioning signals from cells in subset C. At 608, the UE calculates expected TOAs from cells in the set of positioning sources that are not in subset C. At 610, the UE finds L, the number of inliers (cells whose actual and expected TOAs differ within a timing error tolerance T). At 612, the UE determines whether more subsets are required to be processed, e.g., by determining whether the number of random subsets is less than the target number M of random subsets. If not, the process repeats from 604 onwards for another randomly selected subset of cells until M subsets have been tested. From there, the subset C that produced the largest value of L is identified at 614, and the cells in that subset, as well as the inliers found based on that subset, are used to calculate the UE's location at 616. The cells that are not inliers are declared to be outlier cells at 618, and the UE reports the members of the consistency group to the network as a set of positioning sources excluding the outlier cells at 620. The same outlier detection procedure can be performed on the network side (e.g., this can prompt the network to split consistency groups or merge consistency groups or define new consistency groups, etc.).

[0113] The conventional method for identifying outliers described above has drawbacks. One drawback is that variations in any of the parameters K (the size of the random set C), M (the number of iterations), and T (the tolerance used to distinguish inliers from outliers) can lead to different results.

[0114] Another drawback is that because not every possible combination of subsets and the remainder is calculated, not every outlier may have been identified and removed from the consistency group, which means that any subset C selected from the consistency group may contain NLOS positioning sources, which may lead to positioning errors. For example, the random selection process may select a subset of positioning sources with multiple NLOS errors that happen to cancel each other out and produce what appears to be a reasonable result, so the algorithm does not identify the NLOS positioning sources and remove them from the consistency group that is reported to the network. Similarly, the random selection process may select random groups that are not exactly the same, but are similar enough to each other that the coverage of the entire set of positioning sources is less than intended, or the number M was not large enough substantially.

[0115] Yet another drawback is that conventional methods for outlier identification report members of consistency groups, which by definition include positioning sources whose TOA values ​​are within error of a threshold, but provide no indication of whether cells in the consistency group easily meet the threshold or only barely meet the threshold, and provide no information about whether some groups of positioning sources had better consistency (e.g., smaller difference between expected and actual TOAs) compared to other groups.

[0116] Yet another drawback is that NLOS signals may not only distort the apparent value of TOA, but also distort the values ​​of other time-angle metrics such as RTT, RSTD, time difference of arrival (TDOA), angle of arrival (AoA), and zenith of arrival (ZoA) at the UE 104, as well as angle of departure (AoD), zenith of departure (ZoD) from the base station 102 for signals received by the UE 104. However, conventional methods do not consider angle measurements such as AoA, AoD, ZoA, or ZoD when defining consistency groups.

[0117] To address these technical shortcomings, an improved method for identifying outliers is presented herein, where in addition to reporting consistency groups that meet an error threshold, information about subsets within the consistency group is also provided to the network. Also, the definition of a consistency group is expanded to optionally include angle-based consistency, i.e., the error threshold is increased by a timing error threshold (E T ), and the angular error threshold (E A ), or a combination thereof. Thus, as used herein, an error threshold may refer to a timing error threshold, an angle error threshold, or a combination of both. When multiple time angle metrics are considered, in some aspects each time angle metric may have its own separate error threshold, and there may be error thresholds that apply to any combination of time angle metrics, or combinations of combinations.

[0118] FIG. 7 illustrates a method 700 of wireless communication according to some aspects of the disclosure. In FIG. 7, at 702, a location server 112 or other network entity transmits a definition of a set of positioning sources to a base station 102 serving a UE 104. At 704, the base station 102 forwards the set of positioning sources to the UE 104. In some aspects, at 706, the location server 112 or other network entity may provide a predefined list of a subset of positioning sources in the set of positioning sources, and at 708, the base station 102 forwards the predefined list of the subset of positioning sources to the UE 104. Both two steps may be done via the LPP protocol, and the forwarding operation at the BS may be transparent to the BS (meaning the BS just forwards packets without packing / unpacking the LPP protocol). At 710, the UE performs outlier detection according to aspects of the disclosure (e.g., for UE-based location estimation using RANSAC, etc.), which will be described in more detail below, and at 712, the UE reports the results of the outlier detection, which include one or more identified consistency groups and a list of at least one subset of positioning sources in the consistency groups, shown in FIG. 7 as {Si...Sn}. Optionally, the UE 104 may also provide additional information for each subset, such as the subset's error {Ei...En}, other information, or a combination thereof. At 714, the base station 102 forwards the information to the location server 112 or other network entity. Although FIG. 7 is described with respect to RANSAC for UE-based location estimation, outlier detection may also be performed for UE-assisted location estimation (e.g., the UE may report measurement results defined in multiple consistency groups, each group having similar or the same error (e.g., the same hardware group delay or internal timing delay) below a threshold T).

[0119] 8 is a flowchart illustrating in greater detail a portion of a method 700, outlier detection 710, according to some aspects of the disclosure. In some aspects, the outlier detection may be performed by a UE. In some aspects, the outlier detection includes identifying 800 a set of positioning sources, each positioning source comprising a positioning reference signal (PRS) resource, a PRS resource set, a PRS frequency layer, a transmit / receive point (TRP), or a combination thereof.

[0120] In some aspects, the outlier detection includes identifying, from a set of positioning sources, positioning sources that form a consistency group, the consistency group comprising a collection of positioning sources characterized in that a UE location estimation based on a subset of the positioning sources in the consistency group and used to estimate a time angle metric of a reference signal from a positioning source that is not in the subset results in an estimated time angle metric that differs from a measured time angle metric for a positioning source that is not in the subset by a value less than an error threshold. For example, the identification of the set of positioning sources that form the consistency group in 802 may be based on outlier detection for UE-based location estimation as described above with respect to FIG. 7 (or alternatively via outlier detection for UE-assisted location estimation). Alternatively, the identification of the set of positioning sources that form the consistency group in 802 may be based on UE hardware configuration. For example, a particular UE / gNB hardware information may be associated with a particular consistency group (at least by default, with the possibility of change).

[0121] In some aspects, the outlier detection includes, at 804, identifying one or more subsets of positioning sources in the consistency group, each subset having an error value that may be a timing error, an angular error, or some combination thereof.

[0122] In some aspects, the outlier detection includes reporting information about the consistency group and at least one of the one or more subsets of the positioning sources in the consistency group to a network entity, at 806. In some aspects, an error value may also be reported with each subset.

[0123] In some aspects, the time angle metric may include time of arrival (TOA), angle of arrival (AoA), zenith of arrival (ZoA), time difference of arrival (TDOA), time of emission (ToD), angle of departure (AoD), zenith of emission (ZoD), reference signal time difference (RSTD), reference signal received power (RSRP), round trip time (RTT), or combinations thereof. In some aspects, the error threshold may include a time angle threshold. In some aspects, the time angle threshold may include a timing threshold, an angle threshold, a received power threshold, or combinations thereof. In some aspects, the error threshold may include multiple time angle thresholds. In some aspects, each element of a consistency group must satisfy at least one of the multiple time angle thresholds. In some aspects, each element of a consistency group must satisfy all of the multiple time angle thresholds.

[0124] In some aspects, identifying a set of positioning sources may include receiving the set of positioning sources from a base station. In some aspects, identifying positioning sources forming a consistency group from the set of positioning sources may include performing a number of sampling-and-consensus operations (m>1), each sampling-and-consensus operation using a different sampling subset of positioning sources in the set of positioning sources to identify as inliers positioning sources not in the sampling subset having an error less than an error threshold, selecting the sampling subset that produced the largest number of inliers, identifying as outliers positioning sources not in the sampling subset that produced the largest number of inliers not having an error less than the error threshold, identifying as a consistency group a set of positioning sources excluding the outliers, and calculating a location of the UE based on values ​​of one or more time-angle metrics from the positioning sources selected from a combination of the sampling subset that produced the largest number of inliers and the inliers identified using the sampling subset that produced the largest number of inliers.

[0125] In some aspects, performing the sampling and consensus operation may include selecting a sampling subset from the set of positioning sources; estimating a location of the UE using time angle metric values ​​from the positioning sources in the sampling subset; calculating expected time angle metric values ​​from the estimated location of the UE to positioning sources in the set of positioning sources that are not in the sampling subset; determining Li, a number of inliers associated with the sampling subset, where the inliers include positioning sources in the set of positioning sources that are not in the sampling subset that have an error less than an error threshold; and determining an error of the inliers, which may be an average error, a maximum error, a minimum error, or other error metric.

[0126] In some aspects, selecting the sampling subset from the set of positioning sources may include randomly selecting positioning sources in the set of positioning sources to create the sampling subset. In some aspects, selecting the sampling subset from the set of positioning sources may include selecting positioning sources in the set of positioning sources according to a pseudo-random sequence to create the sampling subset.

[0127] In some aspects, selecting a sampling subset from the set of positioning sources may include selecting a subset from a predefined list of subsets of positioning sources in the set of positioning sources. In some aspects, every sampling subset is the same size. In some aspects, at least one sampling subset is a different size than another sampling subset. In some aspects, the method may include storing the sampling subset, Li, and the inlier error.

[0128] In some aspects, reporting information about at least one of the subsets may include identifying a positioning source included in each subset. In some aspects, the positioning sources included in each subset are identified fully or differentially, explicitly or implicitly, by index or reference, or a combination thereof. In some aspects, reporting information about at least one of the subsets may include reporting an error associated with each subset. In some aspects, reporting information about at least one of the subsets may include reporting an error for each positioning source included in the subset. In some aspects, reporting an error for each positioning source included in the subset may include reporting an error for each positioning source with respect to an error threshold, with respect to a consensus value produced by the subset, or a combination thereof. In some aspects, reporting information about at least one of the subsets may include reporting a subset having an error that meets a threshold reporting value Tr.

[0129] 9A and 9B are flowcharts illustrating in greater detail portions of the outlier detection shown in FIG. 8 according to some aspects of the disclosure.

[0130] In FIG. 9A, identifying 802 positioning sources that form a consistency group and identifying 804 one or more subsets of the positioning sources in the consistency group comprises the following steps.

[0131] At 900, a sampling subset of size K is chosen from the set of positioning sources. (For brevity, the sampling subset may also be referred to herein simply as a subset.) In some aspects, the subset may be selected randomly from the set of positioning sources. In some aspects, the subset may be selected from a predefined list of subsets provided to the UE by the network.

[0132] At 902, a location of the UE is estimated using values ​​of one or more time-angle metrics from the positioning sources in the sampling subset. In one example, the location of the UE is estimated using TOA values ​​from the positioning sources in the sampling subset. In another example, the location of the UE is estimated using a combination of TOA and AoA values ​​from the positioning sources in the sampling subset.

[0133] At 904, the UE location is used to calculate expected values ​​of one or more time angle metric values ​​from cells that are in the set of positioning sources but not in the subset. In one example, the estimated UE location is used to calculate expected values ​​of TOA for cells that are in the set of positioning sources but not in the subset. In another example, the estimated UE location is used to calculate expected values ​​of TOA and AoA for cells that are in the set of positioning sources but not in the subset.

[0134] At 906, the number of inliers, Li, in the set of positioning sources associated with the sampling subset and the error of the inliers are determined. For example, the error of the inliers may be a timing error, an angle error, or a combination thereof. In some aspects, the error of the inliers is the average error of the inliers, but may alternatively be the maximum time-angle metric error of the inliers, or may be calculated in some other manner.

[0135] At 908, the subset, the number of inliers Li based on the subset, and the errors of the inliers are stored (e.g., in a random access memory (RAM) or flash memory in the UE) for later access. In some aspects, the list Ii of inliers determined using the sampling subset may also be stored.

[0136] Operations 900 through 908 comprise a sampling and consensus operation 910 using a subset of positioning sources in the set of positioning sources, and at 912 it is determined whether additional sampling and consensus operations 910 should be performed. In FIG. 9A , a parameter M specifies how many sampling and consensus operations 910, and thus how many subsets, must be processed. If the number of subsets processed is less than M, the sampling and consensus operation 910 is repeated until M subsets have been processed. In some aspects, during each sampling and consensus operation 910, the values ​​of the sampling subsets, Li, and the inlier errors are stored, e.g., by the time the process proceeds to 914, {S1, L1, E1} to {S M , L M , E M} is stored.

[0137] At 914, the sampling subset that produced the largest number of inliers (i.e., Lx) is selected. At 916, the positioning sources that are not inliers are declared to be outlier positioning sources. At 918, a consistency group is defined as the set of positioning sources excluding the outlier positioning sources. At 920, the location of the UE is calculated using the TOA values ​​of the positioning sources in the consistency group.

[0138] In FIG. 9B , reporting information about the consistency group and at least one of the one or more subsets of the positioning sources in the consistency group to the network (806) comprises reporting 922 the elements of the consistency group and reporting 924 at least one element of the sampling subset (and optionally Ii) and an error of an inlier associated with the sampling subset. In some aspects, the UE may report information about the consistency group and at least one element of the sampling subset (and optionally Ii) and an error of an inlier associated with the sampling subset. R Only report the subset that is less than

[0139] 10 illustrates an example result of outlier detection 710, where a set U of positioning sources is analyzed, resulting in a consistency group G and a set O of outliers. Within the consistency group, several subsets S1-S7 are identified.

[0140] In some aspects, the subsets may be of the same size or of different sizes. In FIG. 10, for example, S4 is a small subset and S7 is a large subset. In some aspects, a minimum number P of subsets may be configured as a reporting requirement. In some aspects, the value of P may depend on the size of the set of positioning sources. In some aspects, the subsets may have to meet the same error threshold or different error thresholds. For example, in some aspects, all subsets may have to meet the error threshold, but the maximum deviation from the error threshold is reported. In some aspects, a detailed consistency error of each link in a consistency group or subset may be reported. In some aspects, for each link in a consistency group or subset, its error with respect to a consensus rather than a threshold may be reported. This may provide some benefit to model the error distribution more accurately. In some aspects, multiple thresholds may be configured with a requirement that at least Pi subsets must meet a particular threshold.

[0141] Random. In some aspects, the members of the subset are randomly selected from the members of the set of positioning sources. In these aspects, the subset report identifies each subset member. In some aspects, the network may instruct or configure the UE with the number of random subsets to be attempted.

[0142] Pseudo-random. In some aspects, the elements of the subsets are chosen pseudo-randomly, e.g., according to a pseudo-random sequence (PRS) known to both the UE and the network. In these aspects, the UE may report the subsets as an initial value for a pseudo-random number generator (PNG), i.e., a PNG "seed," and an offset into the generated PRS, and various other parameters, to indicate, e.g., the size of each subset, which the network can use to reconstruct the list of elements of each subset. In some aspects, the network may provide the PNG seed value to the UE.

[0143] predefined. In some aspects, the elements of the subset are provided to the UE, for example, by a location server. In some aspects, the UE can report which of these sets it can use to derive consistent measurement results. In these aspects, the subset report may identify which of the predefined subsets is being reported by an index, offset, key, field, or other identifier. In some aspects, the predefined subset may be defined by an earlier UE report, by an RRC configuration from the base station or location server, or by a combination thereof. In some aspects, as mentioned above, the predefined subset may be defined based on the hardware / RF configuration of the UE.

[0144] In some aspects, a subset of a consistency group may be reported using the same reporting format used to report the consistency group.

[0145] In some aspects where the subsets are randomly generated, each subset may be explicitly described (e.g., entirely or completely) in the report. In some aspects, the subsets may be described as a list of the positioning sources Pi that are in the subset, e.g., a sampling subset Si={P1, P3, P9, P 10}, which themselves may be explicitly or implicitly identified or described (e.g., by index or reference). In some aspects, the subset may be described using a list of positioning sources that are not in the subset, e.g., sampling subset Si=U-{P4, P8}. In some aspects where the subset is selected from a predefined list of a subset of positioning sources in the set of positioning sources, the subset may be identified by a name, place, or index in the list, etc., which the location server can use to determine the positioning sources in the subset.

[0146] In some aspects, the list of subsets may be reported differentially. In some aspects, nested subsets may be reported in ascending order of size, where the elements of the smallest subset are fully specified, and for each larger subset, only additional elements of the larger subset are reported.

[0147] 10, in one example, S5={A,B,C}, S6={A,B,C,D,E}, and S7={A,B,C,D,E,F}. In this example, the report format may be (S5:{A,B,C}; S6:+{D,E}; S7:+{F}). In another example where S2={G,H,I,J,K,L} and S3={I,J,K,L,M,N}, the report format may identify the union of two sets (denoted by the operator "∩") and the elements of one set X that are not in the other set Y (denoted by the operator "X\Y"): S2∩S3:{I,J,K,L}; S2\S3:{G,H}; S3\S2:{M,N} Or a dummy subset Sx may be used, e.g. Sx:{I,J,K,L}; S1:Sx+{G,H}; S2:Sx+{M,N} These examples are not limiting but illustrate the point that the size of the subset reports may be reduced by differential reporting, other data compression methods, or a combination thereof.

[0148] In some aspects, the report format may depend on whether the report is carried over L1 (e.g., in an Uplink Control Information (UCI) message), L2 (e.g., in a MAC-CE), or L3 (e.g., via RRC, LPP, etc.). In some aspects, the report format may depend on the subset constraints described above. For example, if the subsets are grouped by different thresholds, the subsets within each threshold may be reported differentially as a group.

[0149] In some aspects, a subset may be reported only if it meets a reporting threshold, for example, in some embodiments, a subset may be reported if the timing error relative to that threshold meets a threshold reporting value Tr.

[0150] In some aspects, the subsets to be reported may be subject to constraints that limit how much one subset may overlap with another subset, e.g., how many positioning sources may be common to both subsets. For example, reporting two subsets that differ by only one positioning source may be less useful than reporting two subsets that differ more. In some aspects, two subsets are significantly different if the number of elements common to both subsets is less than a threshold number or less than a threshold percentage of the number of elements in the subsets. In some aspects, two subsets are significantly different if the number of elements that are not common to both subsets is more than a threshold number or more than a threshold percentage of the number of elements in the subsets. In some aspects, the threshold number or threshold percentage may be the same for all subsets. In some aspects, the threshold number or threshold percentage may be different for different subsets, e.g., it may depend on the size of the subsets. In some aspects, two subsets are significantly different if at least one of the subsets meets a criterion for non-overlapping. In some aspects, the two are significantly different only if both subsets meet the criteria for non-overlapping. In FIG. 10, for example, the elements of subsets S2 and S3 may not be different enough that both should be reported. In some aspects, one of the two sets (e.g., either S2 or S3) is reported. In some aspects, neither set is reported. In some aspects, such as when the relative timing errors of S2 and S3 are the same or sufficiently similar, a new set comprising the union of S2 and S3 may be reported.

[0151] FIG. 11 illustrates an example method 1100 of wireless communication according to an aspect of the disclosure. In an aspect, the method 1100 may be performed by a serving base station (e.g., any of the base stations 102 described herein). At 1102, the base station receives a set of positioning sources from a network entity. In some aspects, the base station may comprise a gNodeB (gNB). In some aspects, the network entity may comprise a location server. In some aspects, the location server may comprise an LMF 270 or an SLP 272. In some aspects, the location server may be a component of the base station or may be co-located with the base station. At 1104, the base station transmits the set of positioning sources to a UE (e.g., any of the UEs 104 described herein). In some aspects, the set of positioning sources may be transmitted to the UE via an RRC or an LLP.

[0152] At 1106, the base station may optionally receive from a network entity a predefined list of a subset of positioning sources in the set of positioning sources. The positioning sources in a particular subset may be identified explicitly (e.g., by a cell identifier, a TRP identifier, etc.) or implicitly (e.g., by an index into a predefined list already known to the base station and the UE), and at 1108, the base station may optionally transmit the predefined list of the subset of positioning sources to the UE.

[0153] At 1110, the base station receives from the UE information about a consistency group comprising one or more positioning sources in a set of positioning sources, as well as information about at least a subset of the positioning sources in the consistency group. In some aspects, the information includes an average timing error for the subset. At 1112, the base station transmits to a network entity the information received from the UE, i.e., the consistency group and the one or more subsets.

[0154] In some aspects, the time angle metrics may include TOA, AoA, ZoA, TDOA, ToD, AoD, ZoD, RSTD, RSRP, RTT, or combinations thereof. In some aspects, the error threshold may include a time angle threshold. In some aspects, the time angle threshold may include a timing threshold, an angle threshold, a received power threshold, or combinations thereof. In some aspects, the error threshold may include multiple time angle thresholds. In some aspects, each element of the consistency group must satisfy at least one of the multiple time angle thresholds. In some aspects, each element of the consistency group must satisfy all of the multiple time angle thresholds. In some aspects, the method may include, prior to receiving from the UE information about the consistency group and at least one of the subsets of the positioning sources in the consistency group, receiving from a network entity a predefined list of a subset of positioning sources in the set of positioning sources and transmitting to the UE the predefined list of the subsets.

[0155] In some aspects, the network entity may include a location server. In some aspects, the location server may include a Location Management Function (LMF) or a Secure User Plane Location (SUPL) Location Platform (SLP). In some aspects, the base station may include a gNodeB (gNB).

[0156] In some aspects, the information about at least one of the subsets of positioning sources in the consistency group may include an average error for the at least one subset. In some aspects, receiving from the UE the information about at least one of the subsets of positioning sources in the consistency group may include receiving information identifying the positioning sources included in each subset. In some aspects, the positioning sources included in each subset are identified fully or differentially, explicitly or implicitly, by index or reference, or combinations thereof. In some aspects, receiving from the UE the information about at least one of the subsets of positioning sources in the consistency group may include receiving an error associated with each subset.

[0157] In some aspects, receiving information from the UE about at least one of the subsets may include receiving information specifying an error for each positioning source included in the subset. In some aspects, receiving information specifying an error for each positioning source included in the subset may include receiving information specifying an error for each positioning source with respect to an error threshold, with respect to a consensus value produced by the subset, or a combination thereof. In some aspects, receiving information from the UE about at least one of the subsets of positioning sources in the consistency group may include receiving information about a subset having an error that meets a threshold reporting value Tr.

[0158] FIG. 12 illustrates an example method 1200 of wireless communication according to an aspect of the disclosure. In an aspect, the method 1200 may be performed by a network entity that may comprise a location server. At 1202, the network entity transmits a set of positioning sources to a base station. At 1204, the network entity optionally transmits a predefined list of a subset of the positioning sources to the BS. At 1206, the network entity receives from the BS information defining a consistency group and information about at least a subset of the positioning sources in the consistency group. In some aspects, the information includes an average timing error for the subset.

[0159] In some aspects, the time angle metrics may include TOA, AoA, ZoA, TDOA, ToD, AoD, ZoD, RSTD, RSRP, RTT, or combinations thereof. In some aspects, the error threshold may include a time angle threshold. In some aspects, the time angle threshold may include a timing threshold, an angle threshold, a received power threshold, or combinations thereof. In some aspects, the error threshold may include multiple time angle thresholds. In some aspects, each element of the consistency group must satisfy at least one of the multiple time angle thresholds. In some aspects, each element of the consistency group must satisfy all of the multiple time angle thresholds. In some aspects, the method may include transmitting a predefined list of a subset of the subset of the positioning sources in the consistency group to the base station prior to receiving information about the consistency group and information about at least one of the subset of the positioning sources in the consistency group. In some aspects, the network entity may include a location server. In some aspects, the location server may include an LMF or an SLP.

[0160] RAN1 NR may define UE measurements for DL ​​reference signals (e.g., for the serving cell, reference cell, and / or neighboring cell) applicable to NR positioning, including DL reference signal time difference (RSTD) measurements for NR positioning, DL RSRP measurements for NR positioning, and UE Rx-Tx (e.g., hardware group delay from signal reception at the UE receiver to response signal transmission at the UE transmitter for time difference measurements for NR positioning, such as RTT).

[0161] RAN1 NR may define gNB measurements based on UL reference signals applicable to NR positioning, such as relative UL time of arrival (RTOA) for NR positioning, UL AoA measurements (e.g., including azimuth angle and zenith angle) for NR positioning, UL RSRP measurements for NR positioning, and gNB Rx-Tx (e.g., hardware group delay from signal reception at a gNB receiver to response signal transmission at a gNB transmitter for time difference measurements for NR positioning, such as RTT).

[0162] FIG. 13 is a diagram 1300 illustrating example timing of RTT measurement signals exchanged between a base station 1302 (e.g., any of the base stations described herein) and a UE 1304 (e.g., any of the UEs described herein) in accordance with an aspect of the disclosure. In the example of FIG. 13, the base station 1302 transmits an RTT measurement signal 1310 (e.g., PRS, NRS, CRS, CSI-RS, etc.) to the UE 1304 at time t1. The RTT measurement signal 1310 is transmitted with a certain propagation delay T Prop At time t2 (the TOA of the RTT measurement signal 1310 at the UE 1304), the UE 1304 receives / measures the RTT measurement signal 1310. After some UE processing time, the UE 1304 transmits an RTT response signal 1320 at time t3. The propagation delay T Prop Thereafter, the base station 1302 receives / measures the RTT response signal 1320 from the UE 1304 at time t4 (the TOA of the RTT response signal 1320 at the base station 1302).

[0163] To identify the TOA (e.g., t2) of a reference signal (e.g., RTT measurement signal 1310) transmitted by a given network node (e.g., base station 1302), the receiver (e.g., UE 1304) first processes all resource elements (REs) on the channel on which the transmitters are transmitting the reference signal together and performs an inverse Fourier transform to convert the received reference signal to the time domain. The conversion of the received reference signal to the time domain is called estimating the channel energy response (CER). The CER indicates the peaks on the channel over time, and therefore the earliest "prominent" peak should correspond to the TOA of the reference signal. In general, the receiver uses a noise-related quality threshold to remove spurious local peaks, thereby accurately identifying the likely prominent peak on the channel. For example, the receiver may choose the TOA estimate that is the earliest local maximum of the CER that is at least X dB higher than the median CER and at most Y dB lower than the main peak on the channel. The receiver determines the CER for each reference signal from each transmitter to determine the TOA of each reference signal from different transmitters.

[0164] In some designs, the RTT response signal 1320 may be the difference between time t3 and time t2 (i.e., T Rx→Tx 1312) may be explicitly included. Tx→Rx 1322), the base station 1302 (or other positioning entity, such as location server 230, LMF 270, etc.) can calculate the distance to the UE 1304 as follows:

number

[0165] An additional source of delay or error is due to UE and gNB group delays for location determination (e.g., timing group delays, which may include hardware group delays, software / firmware-induced group delays, or both). FIG. 14 illustrates a diagram 1400 illustrating example timing of RTT measurement signals exchanged between a base station (gNB) (e.g., any of the base stations described herein) and a UE (e.g., any of the UEs described herein) according to aspects of the disclosure. In some aspects, 1410-1422 in FIG. 14 are similar to 1310-1322 in FIG. 13, respectively. However, in FIG. 14, UE and gNB group delays (which are primarily due to internal hardware delays between baseband (BB) components and antennas (ANTs) at the UE and gNB) are illustrated with reference to 1430 and 1440. As will be appreciated, path-specific or beam-specific delays on both the Tx and Rx sides affect the RTT measurements. Group delays such as 1430 and 1440 can contribute to timing and / or calibration errors that can affect RTT and other measurements such as TDOA, RSTD, etc., which can affect positioning performance. For example, in some designs, an error of 10 nsec results in an error of 3 meters in the final fix.

[0166] As mentioned above, various types of NR positioning can be implemented, including DL-TDOA, UL-TDOA, RTT, and differential RTT. As shown in Table 2, each NR positioning technique has certain advantages and disadvantages. [Table 2]

[0167] With reference to Table 2, DL-TDOA and UL-TDOA are TDOA-based techniques (e.g., RSTD) that provide multilateral positioning-based RSTD of multiple cells relative to a reference cell. Multi-RTT measurements are TOA-based and provide true-range multilateration positioning. Differential RTT is a type of multi-RTT positioning whereby RSTD is calculated from RTT Rx-Tx measurements. In some designs, differential RTT may be used to remove calibration errors at the UE (e.g., when all RTT measurements are associated with the same Rx / Tx calibration errors at the UE). However, different panels, beams, RF chains, etc. may be associated with different Tx or Rx timing group delays. In this case, differential RTT may not be able to remove the UE timing group delay.

[0168] As noted above, in some designs, consistency groups may be defined by the UE for Tx and / or Rx timing group delays for UE-aided location estimation, and a network entity (e.g., a BS or an LMF integrated into a core network) selects a subset of measurements belonging to a particular consistency group for deriving a positioning estimate for the UE. In other designs as noted above, consistency groups may be defined by UE / gNB hardware configurations and / or outlier detection, for UE-based location estimation, etc. As noted above, consistency groups may also be defined based at least in part on other error metrics, such as angular bias.

[0169] However, one drawback may arise if the UE may prefer to measure and report PRSs within one consistency group as much as possible to reduce the effect of group delay (e.g., in some designs, within a consistency group, the group delay at the UE may be removed). For example, assume that the UE has two panels (panels 1 and 2) and therefore possibly two group delays. The UE may take a strategy of measuring all PRSs with panel 1, but some PRSs may get better SINR or more accurate TOA measurement results with panel 2. This may lower the overall positioning accuracy. Another issue is that the UE may report PRSs for different consistency groups, but the different consistency groups may have similar group delays that are within a reasonable tolerance. The UE itself may not be aware of this, since it may not be possible to calibrate the group delay via OTA calibration.

[0170] Thus, aspects of the present disclosure are directed to a network entity (e.g., an LMF) instructing a UE to modify one or more parameters associated with multiple consistency groups. Such aspects may result in various technical advantages, such as a more accurate location estimation of the UE, especially in scenarios where the LMF is in a better position to estimate the group delay (e.g., because the LMF may receive measurement reports from both the UE as well as several gNBs involved in the location estimation).

[0171] 15 illustrates an example process 1500 for wireless communication according to an aspect of the disclosure. In an aspect, the process 1500 may be performed by a UE, which may correspond to a UE, such as UE 302.

[0172] At 1510, the UE 302 (e.g., the positioning component 342, the processing system 332, etc.) identifies, by the UE, a plurality of consistency groups. As mentioned above, each of the plurality of consistency groups may include a plurality of positioning sources (e.g., PRS resources, PRS resource sets, PRS frequency layers, TRPs, RF chains, panels, TRPs, etc.; e.g., in some designs, a consistency group may consist only of positioning sources corresponding to one or more of the PRS resources, PRS resource sets, PRS frequency layers, TRPs, RF chains, panels, and / or TRPs) associated with measurements that are within one or more shared error characteristics for the respective consistency group (e.g., within a particular threshold and / or within a particular range of each other, etc.). For example, as described above, the one or more shared error characteristics comprise a shared timing error characteristic, a shared angle error characteristic, or a combination thereof (e.g., a shared time-angle metric or error range / threshold for one or more of TOA, AoA, ZoA, TDOA, ToD, AoD, ZoD, RSTD, RSRP, RTT, etc.). In an example, a location estimate for a UE based on a first positioning result from a first subset of multiple positioning sources may be capable of estimating a second positioning result from a second subset of multiple positioning sources that is within an error threshold. In an example, multiple consistency groups may be configured by the UE 302 based on information known to the UE 302 (e.g., PRS resources, PRS resource sets, PRS frequency layers, TRPs, RF chains, panels, TRPs, etc.). For example, the multiple consistency groups may include PRS1-3 associated with a first consistency group with consistency group ID #1, PRS4 associated with a second consistency group with consistency group ID #2, and PRS5-6 associated with a third consistency group with consistency group ID #3.

[0173] At 1520, the UE 302 (e.g., transmitter 314 or 324, etc.) reports information related to the multiple consistency groups to a location estimation entity. For example, this information may include error values ​​and / or ranges of error values ​​associated with the consistency groups and / or particular positioning resources, shared error metrics for particular consistency groups, etc. In instances where the location estimation entity represents the UE 302 itself (e.g., UE-based positioning), the reporting may be logically transferred from one UE component to another via a data bus.

[0174] At 1530, the UE 302 (e.g., receiver 312 or 322, etc.) receives an instruction from a location estimation entity to modify one or more parameters associated with a plurality of consistency groups. In an aspect, the UE 302 may then modify the parameters according to the instruction (e.g., split groups, merge groups, define new groups, delete groups, etc.). In examples where the location estimation entity represents the UE 302 itself (e.g., UE-based positioning), the instruction may be logically transferred from one UE component to another UE component via a data bus.

[0175] FIG. 16 illustrates an example process 1600 of wireless communication according to aspects of the disclosure. In an aspect, process 1600 may be performed by a location estimation entity, which may correspond to a UE, such as UE 302 (e.g., for UE-based positioning), a BS, such as BS 304 or a gNB (e.g., for an LMF integrated in a RAN for a UE-assisted approach), or a network entity 306 (e.g., a core network component, such as an LMF, a location determination entity, a location server, or other network entity for a UE-assisted approach). In some designs, process 1500 of FIG. 15 may be performed together with process 1600 of FIG. 16 (e.g., the location estimation entity referred to in process 1500 of FIG. 15 may correspond to the location estimation entity performing process 1600 of FIG. 16, and the UE referred to in process 1600 of FIG. 16 may correspond to the UE performing process 1500 of FIG. 15).

[0176] At 1610, a location estimation entity (e.g., receiver 312 or 322 or 352 or 362, data bus 382, ​​network interface 380 or 390, etc.) receives information related to multiple consistency groups from the UE. For example, this information may include error values ​​and / or ranges of error values ​​associated with a consistency group and / or particular positioning resources, shared error metrics for a particular consistency group, etc. As noted above, each of the multiple consistency groups may include multiple positioning sources (e.g., PRS resources, PRS resource sets, PRS frequency layers, TRPs, RF chains, panels, beams, TRPs, etc.) associated with measurements that are within one or more shared error characteristics for the respective consistency group. For example, as described above, the one or more shared error characteristics may comprise a shared timing error characteristic, a shared angle error characteristic, or a combination thereof (e.g., a shared time-angle metric or error range / threshold for one or more of TOA, AoA, ZoA, TDOA, ToD, AoD, ZoD, RSTD, RSRP, RTT, etc.). In an example, a location estimate for a UE based on a first positioning result from a first subset of a plurality of positioning sources may be capable of estimating a second positioning result from a second subset of a plurality of positioning sources that is within an error threshold. In an example, a plurality of consistency groups may be configured by a UE based on information known to the UE (e.g., PRS resource, PRS resource set, PRS frequency layer, TRP, RF chain, panel, TRP, etc.). For example, a plurality of consistency groups may include PRS1-3 associated with a first consistency group with consistency group ID#1, PRS4 associated with a second consistency group with consistency group ID#2, and PRS5-6 associated with a third consistency group with consistency group ID#3. In instances where the location estimation entity corresponds to the UE 302 itself (eg, UE-based positioning), information may be logically received at one UE component from another UE component via a data bus.

[0177] At 1620, a location estimation entity (e.g., transmitter 314 or 324, data bus 382, ​​network interface 380 or 390, etc.) transmits an instruction to the UE to modify one or more parameters associated with the multiple consistency groups. In examples where the location estimation entity corresponds to the UE 302 itself (e.g., UE-based positioning), the transmission of the instruction may be logically transmitted from one UE component to another UE component via a data bus.

[0178] 15-16, in some designs, the instructions at 1530 or 1620 may be transmitted within positioning assistance data via Long Term Evolution Positioning Protocol (LPP) signaling.

[0179] 15-16 , in some designs, the instructions may instruct the UE to merge two or more of the multiple consistency groups into a merged consistency group. The UE may then perform various actions with respect to the merged consistency group. For example, the UE may prioritize measuring and reporting RTT based on SINR conditions for the merged consistency group rather than the previous consistency group. For example, the UE may compensate for calibration errors of one or more PRS measurements associated with the merged consistency group based on compensation parameters for the merged consistency group (e.g., the compensation parameters may be received at the UE from a network component), or may report one or more calibration error-compensated PRS measurements to a location estimation entity, or may add a PRS compensation indicator and / or a PRS measurement calibration value to one or more measurement reports, or may perform a combination thereof.

[0180] 15-16, in some designs, the UE may transmit a first measurement report based on a first PRS measurement associated with the aggregated consistency group in association with two or more consistency group identifiers of two or more consistency groups, respectively. For example, assume that three consistency groups are associated with consistency group identifiers #1, #2, and #3 and then aggregated into an aggregated consistency group. In this case, the three consistency groups may be individually identified in the first measurement report via the consistency group identifiers #1, #2, and #3. In other designs, the UE may transmit a second measurement report based on a second PRS measurement associated with the aggregated consistency group in association with a single consistency group identifier of the aggregated consistency group. For example, assume that three consistency groups are associated with consistency group identifiers #1, #2, and #3 and then aggregated into an aggregated consistency group associated with consistency group identifier #4. In this case, the three consistency groups may be identified in the first measurement report via the consistency group identifier #4.

[0181] 15-16, in some designs, the location estimation entity may receive measurement reports related to the UE's positioning session from the UE and one or more base stations, and may perform OTA calibration of UE group delay and base station group delay based on the measurement reports, or outlier detection (e.g., as in FIG. 7, etc.), or a combination thereof. The location estimation entity may further identify a new grouping of the multiple matching groups based on the OTA calibration. In this case, the instructions at 1530 or 1620 may instruct the UE to move to the new grouping. As an example, the location estimation entity may perform calibration to derive the UE's group delay and / or difference between different matching groups. The location estimation entity may further perform outlier rejection (e.g., RANSAC) to estimate the group delay difference or result between the matching groups. Such aspects may provide the location estimation entity with more detailed knowledge about the group delay of the consistency groups, the difference between the consistency groups, and the consistency result (e.g., a binary classification such that the result is either consistent or inconsistent) based on the outlier rejection threshold or the determination of a new consistency group (e.g., merging a subset of consistency groups into a merged consistency group) (as described above).

[0182] 15-16, in some designs, the instructions at 1530 or 1620 may instruct the UE to modify one or more PRS resource set identifiers (IDs) associated with one or more of the multiple consistency groups or the new merged consistency group.

[0183] 15-16, in some designs, the instructions at 1530 or 1620 may instruct the UE to modify error thresholds associated with one or more of the multiple consistency groups or the new combined consistency group.

[0184] 15-16, in some designs, the instructions at 1530 or 1620 may instruct the UE to modify one or more uncertainty or calibration error parameters associated with one or more of the multiple consistency groups or the new combined consistency group.

[0185] 15-16 , in some designs, the instructions at 1530 or 1620 may instruct the UE to aggregate a first subset of two or more of the multiple consistency groups into a first aggregated consistency group and to aggregate a second subset of two or more other consistency groups of the multiple consistency groups into a second aggregated consistency group.

[0186] 15-16, in some designs, the instructions at 1530 or 1620 may instruct the UE to split one of the multiple consistency groups into two or more new consistency groups.

[0187] 15-16, in some designs, the error threshold for each of the multiple match groups comprises a timing threshold (e.g., TOA or TDOA), an angle threshold (e.g., AoD or AoA), a received power threshold (e.g., RSTD), or a combination thereof.

[0188] 15-16, in some designs, the multiple positioning sources for each of the multiple consistency groups comprise a PRS resource, a PRS resource set, a PRS frequency layer, a TRP, or a combination thereof.

[0189] In the above detailed description, it can be seen that various features are grouped together in the examples. This mode of disclosure should not be understood as an intention that the exemplary clauses have more features than are expressly stated in each clause. Rather, various aspects of the disclosure may include fewer than all features of each disclosed exemplary clause. Thus, the following clauses should be considered to be incorporated in the description, and each clause may stand alone as a separate example. Although each dependent clause may refer to a specific combination with one of the other clauses in the clause, the aspects of that dependent clause are not limited to that specific combination. It will be understood that other exemplary clauses may also include combinations of aspects of the dependent clause with the subject matter of any other dependent clause or independent clause, or combinations of any features with other dependent clauses and independent clauses. Unless a specific combination is not intended (e.g., conflicting aspects such as defining an element as both an insulator and a conductor) is expressly expressed or can be easily inferred, the various aspects disclosed herein expressly include these combinations. It is further contemplated that aspects of a clause may be included in any other independent clause, even if the clause is not directly dependent on an independent clause.

[0190] Example implementations are described in the following numbered clauses.

[0191] Clause 1. A method of operating a user equipment (UE), comprising the steps of: identifying, by the UE, a plurality of consistency groups, each of the plurality of consistency groups comprising a plurality of positioning sources, wherein a location estimate of the UE based on a first positioning result from a first subset of the plurality of positioning sources is capable of estimating a second positioning result from a second subset of the plurality of positioning sources within an error threshold; reporting information related to the plurality of consistency groups to a location estimation entity; and receiving an instruction from the location estimation entity to modify one or more parameters related to the plurality of consistency groups.

[0192] Clause 2. The method of clause 1, wherein the command is received within the position location assistance data via Long Term Evolution Positioning Protocol (LPP) signaling.

[0193] Clause 3. Any of the methods of clauses 1 to 2, wherein the instruction instructs the UE to merge two or more of the multiple consistency groups into a merged consistency group.

[0194] Clause 4. The method of clause 3, further comprising a step of compensating one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) measurement results for calibration errors, wherein the one or more PRS measurement results are associated with the aggregated consistency group based on compensation parameters for the aggregated consistency group, or a step of reporting the one or more calibration error-compensated PRS measurement results to a location estimation entity, or a step of adding a PRS compensation indicator and / or a PRS measurement result calibration value to one or more measurement result reports, or a combination thereof.

[0195] Clause 5. The method of any of clauses 3 to 4, further comprising the step of transmitting a first measurement result report based on a first PRS measurement result associated with the aggregated consistency group in association with two or more consistency group identifiers of the two or more consistency groups, respectively, or transmitting a second measurement result report based on a second PRS measurement result associated with the aggregated consistency group in association with a single consistency group identifier of the aggregated consistency group.

[0196] Clause 6. The method of any of clauses 1 to 5, wherein the instruction instructs the UE to modify one or more PRS resource set identifiers (IDs) associated with one or more of the multiple consistency groups or the new merged consistency group.

[0197] Clause 7. The method of any of clauses 1 to 6, wherein the instruction instructs the UE to modify error thresholds associated with one or more of the multiple consistency groups or the new combined consistency group.

[0198] Clause 8. The method of any of clauses 1 to 7, wherein the instruction instructs the UE to correct one or more uncertainty or calibration error parameters associated with one or more of the multiple consistency groups or the new combined consistency group.

[0199] Clause 9. The method of any of clauses 1 to 8, wherein the instructions instruct the UE to aggregate a first subset of two or more of the plurality of consistency groups into a first aggregated consistency group and aggregate a second subset of two or more other consistency groups of the plurality of consistency groups into a second aggregated consistency group.

[0200] Clause 10. The method of any of clauses 1 to 9, wherein the instruction instructs the UE to split a distinct one of the multiple consistency groups into two or more new consistency groups.

[0201] Clause 11. The method of any of clauses 1 to 10, wherein the error threshold for each of the plurality of consistency groups comprises a timing threshold, an angle threshold, a received power threshold, or a combination thereof.

[0202] Clause 12. The method of any of clauses 1 to 11, wherein the multiple positioning sources for each of the multiple consistency groups comprise a positioning reference signal (PRS) resource, a PRS resource set, a PRS frequency layer, a transmission / reception point (TRP), or a combination thereof.

[0203] Clause 13. A method of operating a network component, comprising the steps of receiving from a user equipment (UE) information relating to a plurality of consistency groups, each of the plurality of consistency groups comprising a plurality of positioning sources, and a location estimate of the UE based on a first positioning result from a first subset of the plurality of positioning sources is capable of estimating a second positioning result from a second subset of the plurality of positioning sources within an error threshold, and sending an instruction to the UE to modify one or more parameters relating to the plurality of consistency groups.

[0204] Clause 14. The method of clause 13, further comprising the steps of receiving measurement result reports related to a positioning session of the UE from the UE and one or more base stations, performing over-the-air (OTA) calibration of UE group delays and base station group delays based on the measurement result reports, and identifying a new grouping of the plurality of consistency groups based on the OTA calibration, wherein an instruction instructs the UE to transition to the new grouping.

[0205] Clause 15. Any of the methods of clauses 13 to 14, wherein the command is transmitted within the position location assistance data via Long Term Evolution Positioning Protocol (LPP) signaling.

[0206] Clause 16. Any of the methods of clauses 13 to 15, wherein the instruction instructs the UE to merge two or more of the multiple consistency groups into a merged consistency group.

[0207] Clause 17. The method of clause 16, wherein the instructions further instruct the UE to compensate one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) measurements for a calibration error, associate the one or more PRS measurements with the aggregated consistency group based on compensation parameters for the aggregated consistency group, or report the one or more compensated PRS measurements to a location estimation entity, or add a PRS compensation indicator and / or a PRS measurement calibration value to one or more measurement reports, or any combination thereof.

[0208] Clause 18. The method of any of clauses 16 to 17, further comprising receiving a first measurement report based on a first PRS measurement result associated with the aggregated consistency group in association with two or more consistency group identifiers of the two or more consistency groups, respectively, or receiving a second measurement report based on a second PRS measurement result associated with the aggregated consistency group in association with a single consistency group identifier of the aggregated consistency group.

[0209] Clause 19. The method of any of clauses 13 to 18, wherein the instruction instructs the UE to split a distinct one of the plurality of consistency groups into two or more new consistency groups.

[0210] Clause 20. The method of any of clauses 13 to 19, wherein the instruction instructs the UE to modify one or more PRS resource set identifiers (IDs) associated with one or more of the multiple consistency groups or the new merged consistency group.

[0211] Clause 21. The method of any of clauses 13 to 20, wherein the instruction instructs the UE to modify error thresholds associated with one or more of the multiple consistency groups or the new combined consistency group.

[0212] Clause 22. The method of any of clauses 13 to 21, wherein the instruction instructs the UE to correct one or more uncertainty or calibration error parameters associated with one or more of the multiple consistency groups or the new combined consistency group.

[0213] Clause 23. The method of any of clauses 13 to 22, wherein the instructions instruct the UE to aggregate a first subset of two or more of the plurality of consistency groups into a first aggregated consistency group and aggregate a second subset of two or more other consistency groups of the plurality of consistency groups into a second aggregated consistency group.

[0214] Clause 24. An apparatus comprising a memory and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory, wherein the memory and the at least one processor are configured to perform a method according to any of clauses 1 to 23.

[0215] Clause 25. Apparatus comprising means for carrying out the method according to any of clauses 1 to 23.

[0216] Clause 26. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions, the computer-executable instructions comprising at least one instruction for causing a computer or processor to perform a method according to any of clauses 1 to 23.

[0217] Additional implementation examples are described in the following numbered clauses.

[0218] Clause 1. A method of operating a user equipment (UE), comprising the steps of: identifying, by the UE, a plurality of consistency groups, each of the plurality of consistency groups comprising a plurality of positioning sources associated with measurement results that are within one or more shared error characteristics for a respective consistency group; reporting information associated with the plurality of consistency groups to a location estimation entity; and receiving an instruction from the location estimation entity to modify one or more parameters associated with the plurality of consistency groups.

[0219] Clause 2. The method of clause 1, wherein the one or more shared error characteristics comprises a shared timing error characteristic, a shared angular error characteristic, or a combination thereof.

[0220] Clause 3. Any of the methods of clauses 1 to 2, wherein the command is received within the position location assistance data via Long Term Evolution Positioning Protocol (LPP) signaling.

[0221] Clause 4. Any of the methods of clauses 1 to 3, wherein the instruction instructs the UE to merge two or more of the multiple consistency groups into a merged consistency group.

[0222] Clause 5. The method of clause 4, further comprising: compensating one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) measurement results for calibration error, wherein the one or more PRS measurement results are associated with the aggregated consistency group based on compensation parameters for the aggregated consistency group; or reporting the one or more calibration error-compensated PRS measurement results to a location estimation entity; or adding a PRS compensation indicator, a PRS measurement result calibration value, or both, to the one or more measurement result reports; or a combination thereof.

[0223] Clause 6. The method of any of clauses 4 to 5, further comprising the step of transmitting a first measurement report based on a first PRS measurement result associated with the aggregated consistency group in association with two or more consistency group identifiers of the two or more consistency groups, respectively, or transmitting a second measurement report based on a second PRS measurement result associated with the aggregated consistency group in association with a single consistency group identifier of the aggregated consistency group.

[0224] Clause 7. The method of any of clauses 1 to 6, wherein the instruction instructs the UE to modify one or more PRS resource set identifiers (IDs) associated with one or more of the multiple consistency groups or the new merged consistency group.

[0225] Clause 8. The method of any of clauses 1 to 7, wherein the instruction instructs the UE to modify error thresholds associated with one or more of the multiple consistency groups or the new combined consistency group.

[0226] Clause 9. The method of any of clauses 1 to 8, wherein the instruction instructs the UE to correct one or more uncertainty or calibration error parameters associated with one or more of the multiple consistency groups or the new combined consistency group.

[0227] Clause 10. The method of any of clauses 1 to 9, wherein the instructions instruct the UE to aggregate a first subset of two or more of the plurality of consistency groups into a first aggregated consistency group and aggregate a second subset of two or more other consistency groups of the plurality of consistency groups into a second aggregated consistency group.

[0228] Clause 11. The method of any of clauses 1 to 10, wherein the instruction instructs the UE to split a distinct one of the multiple consistency groups into two or more new consistency groups.

[0229] Clause 12. The method of any of clauses 1 to 11, wherein a location estimate for the UE based on a first positioning result from a first subset of the multiple positioning sources is capable of estimating a second positioning result from a second subset of the multiple positioning sources within an error threshold.

[0230] Clause 13. The method of clause 12, wherein the error threshold for each of the plurality of consistency groups comprises a timing threshold, an angle threshold, a received power threshold, or a combination thereof.

[0231] Clause 14. The method of any of clauses 1 to 13, wherein the multiple positioning sources for each of the multiple consistency groups comprise a positioning reference signal (PRS) resource, a PRS resource set, a PRS frequency layer, a transmission / reception point (TRP), or a combination thereof.

[0232] Clause 15. A method of operating a network component, comprising the steps of receiving, from a user equipment (UE), information relating to a plurality of consistency groups, each of the plurality of consistency groups comprising a plurality of positioning sources associated with measurement results that are within one or more shared error characteristics for a respective consistency group, and transmitting an instruction to the UE to modify one or more parameters relating to the plurality of consistency groups.

[0233] Clause 16. The method of clause 15, wherein the one or more shared error characteristics comprises a shared timing error characteristic, a shared angular error characteristic, or a combination thereof.

[0234] Clause 17. The method of any of clauses 15 to 16, further comprising the steps of receiving measurement reports related to a positioning session of the UE from the UE and one or more base stations, performing an over-the-air (OTA) calibration of UE group delays and base station group delays based on the measurement reports, or the outlier detection, or a combination thereof, and identifying a new grouping of the plurality of consistency groups based on the OTA calibration, wherein the instruction instructs the UE to transition to the new grouping.

[0235] Clause 18. Any of the methods of clauses 15 to 17, wherein the command is transmitted within the position location assistance data via Long Term Evolution Positioning Protocol (LPP) signaling.

[0236] Clause 19. The method of any of clauses 15 to 18, wherein the instruction instructs the UE to merge two or more of the multiple consistency groups into a merged consistency group.

[0237] Clause 20. The method of clause 19, wherein the instructions further instruct the UE to: compensate one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) measurements for a calibration error, associate the one or more PRS measurements with the aggregated consistency group based on compensation parameters for the aggregated consistency group, or report the one or more compensated PRS measurements to a location estimation entity, or add a PRS compensation indicator, a PRS measurement calibration value, or both to one or more measurement reports, or any combination thereof.

[0238] Clause 21. The method of any of clauses 19 to 20, further comprising the step of receiving a first measurement result report based on a first PRS measurement result associated with the aggregated consistency group in association with two or more consistency group identifiers of the two or more consistency groups, respectively, or receiving a second measurement result report based on a second PRS measurement result associated with the aggregated consistency group in association with a single consistency group identifier of the aggregated consistency group.

[0239] Clause 22. The method of any of clauses 15 to 21, wherein the instruction instructs the UE to split a distinct one of the multiple consistency groups into two or more new consistency groups.

[0240] Clause 23. The method of any of clauses 15 to 22, wherein the instruction instructs the UE to modify one or more PRS resource set identifiers (IDs) associated with one or more of the multiple consistency groups or the new merged consistency group.

[0241] Clause 24. The method of any of clauses 15 to 23, wherein a location estimate for the UE based on a first positioning result from a first subset of the multiple positioning sources is capable of estimating a second positioning result from a second subset of the multiple positioning sources that is within an error threshold, and the instructions instruct the UE to modify the error threshold associated with one or more of the multiple consistency groups or the new combined consistency group.

[0242] Clause 25. The method of any of clauses 15 to 24, wherein the instruction instructs the UE to correct one or more uncertainty or calibration error parameters associated with one or more of the multiple consistency groups or the new combined consistency group.

[0243] Clause 26. The method of any of clauses 15 to 25, wherein the instructions instruct the UE to aggregate a first subset of two or more of the plurality of consistency groups into a first aggregated consistency group and aggregate a second subset of two or more other consistency groups of the plurality of consistency groups into a second aggregated consistency group.

[0244] Clause 27. A user equipment (UE) comprising a memory, at least one transceiver, and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor configured to identify a plurality of consistency groups, each of the plurality of consistency groups comprising a plurality of positioning sources associated with measurement results that are within one or more shared error characteristics for a respective consistency group, report information associated with the plurality of consistency groups to a location estimation entity, and receive instructions from the location estimation entity via the at least one transceiver to modify one or more parameters associated with the plurality of consistency groups.

[0245] Clause 28. The UE of clause 27, wherein the one or more shared error characteristics comprises a shared timing error characteristic, a shared angle error characteristic, or a combination thereof.

[0246] Clause 29. The UE of any of clauses 27 to 28, wherein the command is received in the location assistance data via Long Term Evolution Positioning Protocol (LPP) signaling.

[0247] Clause 30. A UE of any of clauses 27 to 29 where the order instructs the UE to merge two or more of the multiple consistency groups into a merged consistency group.

[0248] Clause 31. The UE of clause 30, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: compensate one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) measurements for calibration error, associate the one or more PRS measurements with the aggregated consistency group based on compensation parameters for the aggregated consistency group, or report the one or more compensated PRS measurements to a location estimation entity, or add a PRS compensation indicator, a PRS measurement calibration value, or both to one or more measurement reports, or any combination thereof.

[0249] Clause 32. The UE of any of clauses 30 to 31, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to transmit, via the at least one transceiver, a first measurement result report based on a first PRS measurement result associated with the aggregated consistency group in association with two or more consistency group identifiers of the two or more consistency groups, respectively, or transmit, via the at least one transceiver, a second measurement result report based on a second PRS measurement result associated with the aggregated consistency group in association with a single consistency group identifier of the aggregated consistency group.

[0250] Clause 33. A UE according to any of clauses 27 to 32, wherein the instruction instructs the UE to modify one or more PRS resource set identifiers (IDs) associated with one or more of the multiple consistency groups or the new merged consistency group.

[0251] Clause 34. A UE of any of clauses 27 to 33, where the instruction instructs the UE to modify the error thresholds relating to one or more of the multiple consistency groups or the new combined consistency group.

[0252] Clause 35. A UE of any of clauses 27 to 34, wherein the instruction instructs the UE to correct one or more uncertainty or calibration error parameters relating to one or more of the multiple consistency groups or the new combined consistency group.

[0253] Clause 36. The UE of any of clauses 27 to 35, wherein the instructions instruct the UE to aggregate a first subset of two or more of the plurality of consistency groups into a first aggregated consistency group, and to aggregate a second subset of two or more other consistency groups of the plurality of consistency groups into a second aggregated consistency group.

[0254] Clause 37. A UE of any of clauses 27 to 36, where the order instructs the UE to separate a distinct one of a plurality of consistency groups into two or more new consistency groups.

[0255] Clause 38. The UE of any of clauses 27 to 37, wherein a location estimate of the UE based on a first positioning result from a first subset of the multiple positioning sources is capable of estimating a second positioning result from a second subset of the multiple positioning sources within an error threshold.

[0256] Clause 39. The UE of clause 38, wherein the error threshold for each of the plurality of consistency groups comprises a timing threshold, an angle threshold, a received power threshold, or a combination thereof.

[0257] Clause 40. The UE of any of clauses 27 to 39, wherein the multiple positioning sources for each of the multiple consistency groups comprise a positioning reference signal (PRS) resource, a PRS resource set, a PRS frequency layer, a transmission / reception point (TRP), or a combination thereof.

[0258] Clause 41. A network component comprising a memory, at least one transceiver, and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, wherein the at least one processor is configured to receive, via the at least one transceiver, information relating to a plurality of consistency groups from a user equipment (UE), each of the plurality of consistency groups comprising a plurality of positioning sources associated with measurement results that are within one or more shared error characteristics for a respective consistency group, and to transmit, via the at least one transceiver, an instruction to the UE to modify one or more parameters relating to the plurality of consistency groups.

[0259] Clause 42. The network component of clause 41, wherein the one or more shared error characteristics comprises a shared timing error characteristic, a shared angle error characteristic, or a combination thereof.

[0260] Clause 43. The network component of any of clauses 41 to 42, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to receive, via the at least one transceiver, measurement reports related to a positioning session of the UE from the UE and one or more base stations, perform over-the-air (OTA) calibration of UE group delays and base station group delays based on the measurement reports, or the outlier detection, or a combination thereof, identify a new grouping of the plurality of consistency groups based on the OTA calibration, and instruct the UE to transition to the new grouping.

[0261] Clause 44. A network component according to any of clauses 41 to 43, wherein the command is transmitted within the location assistance data via Long Term Evolution Positioning Protocol (LPP) signalling.

[0262] Clause 45. The network component of any of clauses 41 to 44, wherein the instruction instructs the UE to merge two or more of the multiple consistency groups into a merged consistency group.

[0263] Clause 46. The network component of clause 45, wherein the instructions further instruct the UE to compensate one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) measurements for a calibration error, associate the one or more PRS measurements with the aggregated consistency group based on compensation parameters for the aggregated consistency group, or report the one or more compensated PRS measurements to a location estimation entity, or add a PRS compensation indicator, a PRS measurement calibration value, or both to one or more measurement reports, or any combination thereof.

[0264] Clause 47. The network component of any of clauses 45 to 46, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to receive, via the at least one transceiver, a first measurement result report based on a first PRS measurement result associated with the aggregated consistency group in association with two or more consistency group identifiers of the two or more consistency groups, respectively, or receive, via the at least one transceiver, a second measurement result report based on a second PRS measurement result associated with the aggregated consistency group in association with a single consistency group identifier of the aggregated consistency group.

[0265] Clause 48. The network component of any of clauses 41 to 47, wherein the instruction instructs the UE to split a distinct one of the plurality of consistency groups into two or more new consistency groups.

[0266] Clause 49. The network component of any of clauses 41 to 48, wherein the instruction instructs the UE to modify one or more PRS resource set identifiers (IDs) associated with one or more of the multiple consistency groups or the new merged consistency group.

[0267] Clause 50. The network component of any of clauses 41 to 49, wherein the location estimate of the UE based on a first positioning result from a first subset of the multiple positioning sources is capable of estimating a second positioning result from a second subset of the multiple positioning sources that is within an error threshold, and the instructions instruct the UE to modify the error threshold associated with one or more of the multiple consistency groups or the new combined consistency group.

[0268] Clause 51. A network component according to any of clauses 41 to 50, wherein the instruction instructs the UE to correct one or more uncertainty or calibration error parameters associated with one or more of the multiple consistency groups or the new combined consistency group.

[0269] Clause 52. The network component of any of clauses 41 to 51, wherein the instructions instruct the UE to aggregate a first subset of two or more of the plurality of consistency groups into a first aggregated consistency group and to aggregate a second subset of two or more other consistency groups of the plurality of consistency groups into a second aggregated consistency group.

[0270] Clause 53. A user equipment (UE) comprising: means for identifying a plurality of consistency groups, each of the plurality of consistency groups comprising a plurality of positioning sources associated with measurement results that are within one or more shared error characteristics for a respective consistency group; means for reporting information associated with the plurality of consistency groups to a location estimation entity; and means for receiving an instruction from the location estimation entity to modify one or more parameters associated with the plurality of consistency groups.

[0271] Clause 54. The UE of clause 53, wherein the one or more shared error characteristics comprises a shared timing error characteristic, a shared angle error characteristic, or a combination thereof.

[0272] Clause 55. The UE of any of clauses 53 to 54, wherein the command is received in the location assistance data via Long Term Evolution Positioning Protocol (LPP) signaling.

[0273] Clause 56. A UE of any of clauses 53 to 55 where the order directs the UE to combine two or more of the multiple consistency groups into a combined consistency group.

[0274] Clause 57. The UE of clause 56, further comprising: means for compensating one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) measurements for calibration error, wherein the one or more PRS measurements are associated with the aggregated consistency group based on compensation parameters for the aggregated consistency group; or means for reporting the one or more calibration error compensated PRS measurement results to a location estimation entity; or means for adding a PRS compensation indicator, a PRS measurement calibration value, or both to the one or more measurement reports; or a combination thereof.

[0275] Clause 58. The UE of any of clauses 56 to 57, further comprising means for transmitting a first measurement report based on a first PRS measurement result associated with the aggregated consistency group in association with two or more consistency group identifiers of the two or more consistency groups, respectively, or means for transmitting a second measurement report based on a second PRS measurement result associated with the aggregated consistency group in association with a single consistency group identifier of the aggregated consistency group.

[0276] Clause 59. The UE of any of clauses 53 to 58, wherein the instruction instructs the UE to modify one or more PRS resource set identifiers (IDs) associated with one or more of the multiple consistency groups or the new merged consistency group.

[0277] Clause 60. A UE of any of clauses 53 to 59 where the order instructs the UE to modify the error thresholds relating to one or more of the multiple consistency groups or the new combined consistency group.

[0278] Clause 61. A UE according to any of clauses 53 to 60, wherein the instruction instructs the UE to correct one or more uncertainty or calibration error parameters relating to one or more of the multiple consistency groups or the new combined consistency group.

[0279] Clause 62. The UE of any of clauses 53 to 61, wherein the instructions instruct the UE to aggregate a first subset of two or more of the plurality of consistency groups into a first aggregated consistency group, and to aggregate a second subset of two or more other consistency groups of the plurality of consistency groups into a second aggregated consistency group.

[0280] Clause 63. A UE of any of clauses 53 to 62 where the order instructs the UE to separate a distinct one of a plurality of consistency groups into two or more new consistency groups.

[0281] Clause 64. The UE of any of clauses 53 to 63, wherein a location estimate of the UE based on a first positioning result from a first subset of the multiple positioning sources is capable of estimating a second positioning result from a second subset of the multiple positioning sources within an error threshold.

[0282] Clause 65. The UE of clause 64, wherein the error threshold for each of the plurality of consistency groups comprises a timing threshold, an angle threshold, a received power threshold, or a combination thereof.

[0283] Clause 66. The UE of any of clauses 53 to 65, wherein the multiple positioning sources for each of the multiple consistency groups comprise a positioning reference signal (PRS) resource, a PRS resource set, a PRS frequency layer, a transmission / reception point (TRP), or a combination thereof.

[0284] Clause 67. A network component comprising: means for receiving, from a user equipment (UE), information relating to a plurality of consistency groups, each of the plurality of consistency groups comprising a plurality of positioning sources associated with measurement results that are within one or more shared error characteristics for a respective consistency group; and means for transmitting, to the UE, an instruction to modify one or more parameters relating to the plurality of consistency groups.

[0285] Clause 68. The network component of clause 67, wherein the one or more shared error characteristics comprises a shared timing error characteristic, a shared angle error characteristic, or a combination thereof.

[0286] Clause 69. The network component of any of clauses 67 to 68, further comprising means for receiving measurement reports related to a positioning session of the UE from the UE and one or more base stations, means for performing over-the-air (OTA) calibration of UE group delays and base station group delays based on the measurement reports, or the outlier detection, or a combination thereof, and means for identifying a new grouping of the plurality of consistency groups based on the OTA calibration, wherein the instruction instructs the UE to transition to the new grouping.

[0287] Clause 70. A network component according to any of clauses 67 to 69, wherein the command is transmitted within the location assistance data via Long Term Evolution Positioning Protocol (LPP) signalling.

[0288] Clause 71. The network component of any of clauses 67 to 70, wherein the instruction instructs the UE to merge two or more of the multiple consistency groups into a merged consistency group.

[0289] Clause 72. The network component of clause 71, wherein the instructions further instruct the UE to compensate one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) measurements for a calibration error, associate the one or more PRS measurements with the aggregated consistency group based on compensation parameters for the aggregated consistency group, or report the one or more compensated PRS measurements to a location estimation entity, or add a PRS compensation indicator, a PRS measurement calibration value, or both to one or more measurement reports, or any combination thereof.

[0290] Clause 73. The network component of any of clauses 71 to 72, further comprising means for receiving a first measurement report based on a first PRS measurement result associated with the aggregated consistency group in association with two or more consistency group identifiers of the two or more consistency groups, respectively, or means for receiving a second measurement report based on a second PRS measurement result associated with the aggregated consistency group in association with a single consistency group identifier of the aggregated consistency group.

[0291] Clause 74. The network component of any of clauses 67 to 73, wherein the instruction instructs the UE to split a distinct one of the plurality of consistency groups into two or more new consistency groups.

[0292] Clause 75. The network component of any of clauses 67 to 74, wherein the instruction instructs the UE to modify one or more PRS resource set identifiers (IDs) associated with one or more of the multiple consistency groups or the new merged consistency group.

[0293] Clause 76. The network component of any of clauses 67 to 75, wherein a location estimate for the UE based on a first positioning result from a first subset of the multiple positioning sources is capable of estimating a second positioning result from a second subset of the multiple positioning sources that is within an error threshold, and the instructions instruct the UE to modify the error threshold associated with one or more of the multiple consistency groups or the new combined consistency group.

[0294] Clause 77. The network component of any of clauses 67 to 76, wherein the instruction instructs the UE to correct one or more uncertainty or calibration error parameters associated with one or more of the multiple consistency groups or the new combined consistency group.

[0295] Clause 78. The network component of any of clauses 67 to 77, wherein the instructions instruct the UE to aggregate a first subset of two or more of the plurality of consistency groups into a first aggregated consistency group and to aggregate a second subset of two or more other consistency groups of the plurality of consistency groups into a second aggregated consistency group.

[0296] Clause 79. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a user equipment (UE), cause the UE to identify a plurality of consistency groups, each of the plurality of consistency groups comprising a plurality of positioning sources associated with measurement results that are within one or more shared error characteristics for a respective consistency group, report information associated with the plurality of consistency groups to a location estimation entity, and receive instructions from the location estimation entity to modify one or more parameters associated with the plurality of consistency groups.

[0297] Clause 80. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 79, wherein the one or more shared error characteristics comprises a shared timing error characteristic, a shared angular error characteristic, or a combination thereof.

[0298] Clause 81. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 79 to 80, wherein the instructions are received within the location assistance data via Long Term Evolution Positioning Protocol (LPP) signaling.

[0299] Clause 82. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 79 to 81, wherein the instructions instruct the UE to merge two or more of the multiple consistency groups into a merged consistency group.

[0300] Clause 83. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 82, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the UE, cause the UE to compensate one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) measurements for calibration error, associate the one or more PRS measurements with the aggregated consistency group based on compensation parameters for the aggregated consistency group, or report the one or more compensated PRS measurements to a location estimation entity, or add a PRS compensation indicator, a PRS measurement calibration value, or both to one or more measurement reports, or any combination thereof.

[0301] Clause 84. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 82 to 83, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the UE, cause the UE to transmit a first measurement result report based on a first PRS measurement result associated with the aggregated consistency group in association with two or more consistency group identifiers of the two or more consistency groups, respectively, or to transmit a second measurement result report based on a second PRS measurement result associated with the aggregated consistency group in association with a single consistency group identifier of the aggregated consistency group.

[0302] Clause 85. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 79 to 84, wherein the instructions instruct the UE to modify one or more PRS resource set identifiers (IDs) associated with one or more of the multiple consistency groups or the new merged consistency group.

[0303] Clause 86. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 79 to 85, wherein the instructions instruct the UE to modify an error threshold associated with one or more of the multiple consistency groups or the new combined consistency group.

[0304] Clause 87. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 79 to 86, wherein the instructions instruct the UE to modify one or more uncertainty or calibration error parameters associated with one or more of the multiple consistency groups or the new combined consistency group.

[0305] Clause 88. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 79 to 87, wherein the instructions direct the UE to aggregate a first subset of two or more of the plurality of consistency groups into a first aggregated consistency group and aggregate a second subset of two or more other consistency groups of the plurality of consistency groups into a second aggregated consistency group.

[0306] Clause 89. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 79 to 88, wherein the instructions instruct the UE to split a distinct one of the plurality of consistency groups into two or more new consistency groups.

[0307] Clause 90. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 79 to 89, wherein a location estimate for the UE based on a first positioning result from a first subset of the multiple positioning sources is capable of estimating a second positioning result from a second subset of the multiple positioning sources within an error threshold.

[0308] Clause 91. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 90, wherein the error threshold for each of the plurality of consistency groups comprises a timing threshold, an angle threshold, a received power threshold, or a combination thereof.

[0309] Clause 92. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 79 to 91, wherein the multiple positioning sources for each of the multiple consistency groups comprise a positioning reference signal (PRS) resource, a PRS resource set, a PRS frequency layer, a transmission / reception point (TRP), or a combination thereof.

[0310] Clause 93. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a network component, cause the network component to receive, from a user equipment (UE), information associated with a plurality of consistency groups, each of the plurality of consistency groups comprising a plurality of positioning sources associated with measurement results that are within one or more shared error characteristics for the respective consistency group, and to transmit instructions to the UE to modify one or more parameters associated with the plurality of consistency groups.

[0311] Clause 94. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 93, wherein the one or more shared error characteristics comprises a shared timing error characteristic, a shared angular error characteristic, or a combination thereof.

[0312] Clause 95. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 93 to 94, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the network component, cause the network component to receive measurement reports related to a positioning session of the UE from the UE and one or more base stations, perform over-the-air (OTA) calibration of UE group delays and base station group delays based on the measurement reports, or the outlier detection, or a combination thereof, and identify a new grouping of the plurality of consistency groups based on the OTA calibration, the instructions instructing the UE to transition to the new grouping.

[0313] Clause 96. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 93 to 95, wherein the instructions are transmitted within the location assistance data via Long Term Evolution Positioning Protocol (LPP) signaling.

[0314] Clause 97. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 93 to 96, wherein the instructions instruct the UE to merge two or more of the multiple consistency groups into a merged consistency group.

[0315] Clause 98. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 97, wherein the instructions further direct the UE to: compensate one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) measurements for a calibration error, associate the one or more PRS measurements with the aggregated consistency group based on compensation parameters for the aggregated consistency group, or report the one or more compensated PRS measurements to a location estimation entity, or add a PRS compensation indicator, a PRS measurement calibration value, or both to one or more measurement reports, or any combination thereof.

[0316] Clause 99. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 97 to 98, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the network component, cause the network component to receive a first measurement result report based on a first PRS measurement result associated with the aggregated consistency group in association with two or more consistency group identifiers of the two or more consistency groups, respectively, or to receive a second measurement result report based on a second PRS measurement result associated with the aggregated consistency group in association with a single consistency group identifier of the aggregated consistency group.

[0317] Clause 100. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 93-99, wherein the instructions direct the UE to split a distinct one of the plurality of consistency groups into two or more new consistency groups.

[0318] Clause 101. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 93 to 100, wherein the instructions instruct the UE to modify one or more PRS resource set identifiers (IDs) associated with one or more of the multiple consistency groups or the new merged consistency group.

[0319] Clause 102. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 93-101, wherein a location estimate for the UE based on a first positioning result from a first subset of the multiple positioning sources is capable of estimating a second positioning result from a second subset of the multiple positioning sources that is within an error threshold, and the instructions direct the UE to modify the error threshold associated with one or more of the multiple consistency groups or the new combined consistency group.

[0320] Clause 103. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 93 to 102, wherein the instructions instruct the UE to modify one or more uncertainty or calibration error parameters associated with one or more of the multiple consistency groups or the new combined consistency group.

[0321] Clause 104. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 93-103, wherein the instructions direct the UE to aggregate a first subset of two or more of the plurality of consistency groups into a first aggregated consistency group and aggregate a second subset of two or more other consistency groups of the plurality of consistency groups into a second aggregated consistency group.

[0322] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that information and signals may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, the data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referred to throughout the above description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

[0323] Moreover, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the various exemplary logic blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or a combination of both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, the various exemplary components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been described above generally in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends on the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. Those skilled in the art may implement the described functionality in various ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0324] The various example logic blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein may be implemented or performed using a general purpose processor, a DSP, an ASIC, an FPGA or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but alternatively, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

[0325] The methods, sequences and / or algorithms described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two. The software module may reside in a random access memory (RAM), a flash memory, a read only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable ROM (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), a register, a hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor such that the processor can read information from, and write information to, the storage medium. Alternatively, the storage medium may be integral to the processor. The processor and the storage medium may reside in an ASIC. The ASIC may reside in a user terminal (e.g., UE). Alternatively, the processor and the storage medium may reside in a user terminal as separate components.

[0326] In one or more exemplary aspects, the functions described may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the functions may be stored on or transmitted via a computer-readable medium as one or more instructions or code. Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. Storage media may be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media may comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer. Also, any connection is properly termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of media. Disk and disc, as used herein, include compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk, and Blu-ray disc, where disks typically reproduce data magnetically and discs reproduce data optically using lasers. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0327] Although the above disclosure illustrates exemplary aspects of the disclosure, it should be noted that various changes and modifications may be made herein without departing from the scope of the disclosure as defined by the appended claims. The functions, steps, and / or actions of the method claims according to the aspects of the disclosure described herein need not be performed in any particular order. Furthermore, although elements of the disclosure may be described or claimed in the singular, the plural is contemplated unless limitation to the singular is explicitly stated. [Explanation of symbols]

[0328] 102 Base station, macrocell base station 102' Small Cell Base Station 104UE 108 Core Network 110 Backhaul Link 112 Location Server 114 Backhaul Link 116 Geographic Coverage Areas 116' Coverage Area 118 Communication Links 120 WLAN AP 122 WLAN STA 124 Communication Links 126 mmW base station 128UE 130 mmW communication link 132 UE 134 D2D P2P Links 136 P2P Links 138 UE 204UE 210 5GC 212 User Plane Functions 213 NG-U, User Plane Interface 214 Control Plane Functions 215 NG-C, Control Plane Interface 220 New RAN 222 gNB 223 Backhaul Connection 224ng-eNB 230 Location Server 260 5GC 262 UPF, User Plane Function 263 User Plane Interface 264 AMF, Mobility Management Function 265 Control Plane Interface 266 SMF, Session Management Facility 270 LMF, location management function 272 SLP, Secure User Plane Location Platform 302UE 304 base station 306 Network Entities 310 Wireless Wide Area Network (WWAN) Transceiver, WWAN Transceiver, Transceiver 312 Receiver 314 Transmitter 316 Antenna 318 Signal 320 Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) Transceiver, WLAN Transceiver, Transceiver 322 Receiver 324 Transmitter 326 Antenna 328 signal 330 Satellite Positioning System (SPS) Receiver, SPS Receiver 332 Processing System 334 Data Bus 336 Antenna 338 SPS signal 340 Memory Components 342 Positioning Component 344 Sensors 346 User Interface 350 WWAN Transceiver, Transceiver 352 Receiver 354 Transmitter 356 Antenna 358 Signal 360 WLAN transceiver, transceiver 362 Receiver 364 Transmitter 366 Antenna 368 signal 370 SPS Receiver 376 Antenna 378 SPS signal 380 Network Interface 382 Data Bus 384 Processing System 386 Memory Components 388 Positioning Component 390 Network Interface 392 Data Bus 394 Processing System 396 Memory Components 398 Positioning Component 1302 Base station, BS 1304 UE 1310 RTT measurement signal 1320 RTT response signal

Claims

1. 1. A method of operating a user equipment (UE), comprising: Identifying, by the UE, a number of consistency groups; each of the plurality of consistency groups includes a plurality of positioning sources associated with measurements that are within one or more shared error characteristics for the respective consistency group; each of the plurality of consistency groups includes a plurality of positioning sources for which a location estimate of the UE based on a first positioning result from a first subset of the plurality of positioning sources is capable of estimating a second positioning result from a second subset of the plurality of positioning sources within an error threshold; reporting information related to the plurality of consistency groups to a location estimation entity; and receiving an instruction from the location estimation entity to modify one or more parameters associated with the plurality of consistency groups.

2. The instruction: The method of claim 1 , further comprising instructing the UE to aggregate two or more of the plurality of consistency groups into an aggregated consistency group.

3. or compensating one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) measurements for calibration error, the one or more PRS measurements being associated with the aggregated match group based on compensation parameters for the aggregated match group; reporting the one or more calibration error compensated PRS measurements to the location estimation entity; or adding a PRS compensation indicator, a PRS measurement calibration value, or both, to one or more measurement reports; or The method of claim 2 further comprising a combination thereof.

4. transmitting a first measurement report based on a first PRS measurement associated with the aggregated consistency group in association with two or more consistency group identifiers of two or more consistency groups, respectively; or 3. The method of claim 2, further comprising: transmitting a second measurement report based on a second PRS measurement associated with the aggregated consistency group in association with a single consistency group identifier of the aggregated consistency group.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the error threshold for each of the plurality of match groups comprises a timing threshold, an angle threshold, a received power threshold, or a combination thereof.

6. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the multiple positioning sources for each of the multiple consistency groups comprise a positioning reference signal (PRS) resource, a PRS resource set, a PRS frequency layer, a transmission / reception point (TRP), or a combination thereof.

7. A method of operating a location estimation entity, comprising: receiving, from a user equipment (UE), information relating to a plurality of consistency groups; each of the plurality of consistency groups includes a plurality of positioning sources associated with measurements that are within one or more shared error characteristics for the respective consistency group; each of the plurality of consistency groups includes a plurality of positioning sources for which a location estimate of the UE based on a first positioning result from a first subset of the plurality of positioning sources is capable of estimating a second positioning result from a second subset of the plurality of positioning sources within an error threshold; and sending an instruction to the UE to modify one or more parameters associated with the plurality of consistency groups.

8. The method of claim 1 or 7, wherein the one or more shared error characteristics comprise a shared timing error characteristic, a shared angle error characteristic, or a combination thereof.

9. receiving measurement reports from the UE and one or more base stations related to a positioning session of the UE; performing over-the-air (OTA) calibration of UE group delay and base station group delay based on the measurement reports, or outlier detection, or a combination thereof; and identifying a new grouping of the plurality of matching groups based on the OTA calibration. The method of claim 7 , wherein the instructions instruct the UE to transition to the new grouping.

10. 8. The method of claim 1 or 7, wherein the instructions are transmitted within position location assistance data via Long Term Evolution Positioning Protocol (LPP) signaling.

11. The instruction: The method of claim 7, further comprising instructing the UE to aggregate two or more of the plurality of consistency groups into an aggregated consistency group.

12. The instructions further include: or compensating one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) measurements for calibration error, the one or more PRS measurements being associated with the aggregated match group based on compensation parameters for the aggregated match group; or reporting the one or more compensated PRS measurements to a location estimation entity; or Adding a PRS compensation indicator, a PRS measurement calibration value, or both to one or more measurement reports; or Combinations of these The method of claim 11, further comprising instructing the UE to:

13. receiving a first measurement report based on a first PRS measurement associated with the aggregated consistency group in association with two or more consistency group identifiers of two or more consistency groups, respectively; or 12. The method of claim 11, further comprising receiving, in association with a single consistency group identifier of the aggregated consistency group, a second measurement report based on a second PRS measurement associated with the aggregated consistency group.

14. The instruction: modifying one or more PRS resource set identifiers (IDs) associated with one or more of the plurality of consistency groups or the new merged consistency group; modifying the error threshold associated with one or more of the plurality of consistency groups or the new combined consistency group; or correcting one or more uncertainty or calibration error parameters associated with one or more of the plurality of consistency groups or the new combined consistency group; aggregating a first subset of two or more of the plurality of consistency groups into a first aggregated consistency group and aggregating a second subset of two or more other consistency groups of the plurality of consistency groups into a second aggregated consistency group; or Splitting one of the plurality of consistency groups into two or more new consistency groups. The method of claim 1 or 7, further comprising instructing the UE to

15. A user equipment (UE), Memory, At least one transceiver; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and to the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor comprising: identifying a plurality of consistency groups; each of the plurality of consistency groups includes a plurality of positioning sources associated with measurements that are within one or more shared error characteristics for the respective consistency group; identifying a plurality of consistency groups each including a plurality of positioning sources for which a location estimate of the UE based on a first positioning result from a first subset of the plurality of positioning sources is capable of estimating a second positioning result from a second subset of the plurality of positioning sources within an error threshold; reporting information related to the plurality of consistency groups to a location estimation entity; receiving, via the at least one transceiver, an instruction from the location estimation entity to modify one or more parameters associated with the plurality of consistency groups; The UE is configured to:

16. A location estimation entity comprising: Memory, At least one transceiver; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and to the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor comprising: receiving, via the at least one transceiver, from a user equipment (UE), information relating to a plurality of consistency groups; each of the plurality of consistency groups includes a plurality of positioning sources associated with measurements that are within one or more shared error characteristics for the respective consistency group; receiving a plurality of positioning sources, each of the plurality of consistency groups including a plurality of positioning sources, the plurality of positioning sources being capable of estimating a second positioning result from a second subset of the plurality of positioning sources within an error threshold, the plurality of positioning sources being capable of estimating a second positioning result from a first subset of the plurality of positioning sources; transmitting, via the at least one transceiver, instructions to the UE to modify one or more parameters associated with the plurality of consistency groups; A location estimation entity configured to:

17. A computer program which, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to perform a method according to any one of claims 1 to 14.

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