Reconfigurable intelligent surface-enabled sidelink positioning

Abstract

In one aspect, a user equipment (UE) may control one or more reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RISs) according to one or more RIS schedules indicating the times when the one or more RISs are in an enabled state and the times when the one or more RISs are in a disabled state. The UE may request at least one participating UE of the one or more participating UEs to transmit at least one positioning reference signal (PRS) in a PRS resource. The UE may measure at least one PRS from the at least one participating UE according to the RIS schedule to make one or more measurements of the at least one PRS when the one or more RISs are in a disabled state and to make one or more measurements of the at least one PRS when the one or more RISs are in an enabled state.

Description

[Background technology]

[0001] 1. Field of disclosure Aspects of the present disclosure relate generally to wireless communications.

[0002] 2. Description of Related Art 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 communications service (PCS) systems. Examples of known cellular systems include the 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 communications (GSM), and the like.

[0003] The fifth-generation (5G) wireless standard, called New Radio (NR), will enable higher data rates, more connections, and better coverage, among other improvements. The 5G standard is designed to provide higher data rates, more accurate positioning (e.g., based on a Reference Signal for Positioning (RS-P), such as a downlink, uplink, or sidelink Positioning Reference Signal (PRS)), and other technical enhancements compared to previous standards, according to the Next Generation Mobile Network Alliance.

[0004] In particular, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication technologies are being implemented to leverage 5G's increased data rates and reduced latency to support autonomous driving applications, such as wireless communications between vehicles, between vehicles and roadside infrastructure, between vehicles and pedestrians, etc. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The following presents a simplified summary related to 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 related to any particular aspect. Thus, the sole purpose of the following summary is to present certain concepts of one or more aspects of the mechanisms disclosed herein in a simplified form prior to the detailed description presented below.

[0006] In one aspect, a method of wireless communication performed by a user equipment (UE) includes controlling one or more reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RISs) according to one or more RIS schedules indicating times when the one or more RISs are in an enabled state and times when the one or more RISs are in a disabled state; requesting at least one participating UE of the one or more participating UEs to transmit at least one positioning reference signal (PRS); performing a first set of one or more measurements of the at least one PRS transmitted from the at least one participating UE, the first set of one or more measurements being measured simultaneously with the at least one PRS performing the first set of one or more measurements according to the RIS schedule when the one or more RISs are in a disabled state to obtain the one or more measurement values ​​of the at least one PRS; and performing a second set of one or more measurements of the at least one PRS transmitted from the at least one participating UE, the second set of one or more measurements being measured simultaneously with the at least one PRS performing the second set of one or more measurements according to the RIS schedule when the one or more RISs are in an enabled state to obtain the one or more measurement values ​​of the at least one PRS.

[0007] In one aspect, a method of wireless communication performed by a first user equipment (UE) includes receiving a report request from the second UE to measure at least one positioning reference signal (PRS) transmitted from the second UE during a first time interval and a second time interval, and sending a report to the second UE in response to the report request, the report including a time of arrival associated with a direct path measurement of the at least one PRS obtained during the first time interval and further including both a time of arrival associated with a direct path measurement and a time of arrival associated with a reflected path measurement of the at least one PRS obtained during the second time interval.

[0008] In one aspect, a method of wireless communication performed by a first user equipment (UE) includes receiving a positioning reference signal (PRS) measurement schedule from a second UE indicating times when at least one RIS of one or more reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) resources is in an enabled state and times when at least one RIS of the one or more RIS is in a disabled state; receiving a positioning reference signal (PRS) measurement schedule from the second UE indicating times when at least one PRS from the second UE may be measured by the first UE; performing a first set of measurements of one or more PRS transmitted from the second UE in accordance with the PRS measurement schedule and the RIS schedule to obtain one or more measurements of the at least one PRS when the at least one RIS is in a disabled state; and performing a second set of measurements of one or more PRS transmitted from the second UE in accordance with the PRS measurement schedule and the RIS schedule to obtain one or more measurements of the at least one PRS when the at least one RIS is in a enabled state.

[0009] In one aspect, a method of wireless communication performed by a first user equipment (UE) includes receiving a RIS schedule from a second UE, the RIS schedule indicating times when at least one RIS is in an enabled state and times when the at least one RIS is in a disabled state; sending a request to the third UE for transmission of at least one positioning reference signal (PRS), the request indicating times when the at least one PRS is expected to be transmitted by the third UE; performing a first set of measurements of the at least one PRS transmitted from the third UE according to the RIS schedule to make the one or more measurements of the at least one PRS when the at least one RIS is in a disabled state; and performing a second set of measurements of the at least one PRS from the third UE according to the RIS schedule to make the one or more measurements of the at least one PRS when the at least one RIS is in an enabled state.

[0010] In one aspect, a user equipment (UE) comprises 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 controls one or more reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RISs) according to one or more RIS schedules indicating times when the one or more RISs are in an enabled state and times when the one or more RISs are in a disabled state, requests at least one participating UE of the one or more participating UEs to transmit at least one positioning reference signal (PRS), and receives a first set of one or more measurements of the at least one PRS transmitted from the at least one participating UE, the first set being one or more measurements of the at least one PRS transmitted from the at least one participating UE. performing a first set of one or more measurements, which are measured simultaneously with the at least one PRS performing the first set of one or more measurements, according to a RIS schedule, to obtain one or more measurement values ​​for the at least one PRS when one or more RISs are in a disabled state; and performing a second set of one or more measurements for the at least one PRS transmitted from the at least one participating UE, which are measured simultaneously with the at least one PRS performing the second set of one or more measurements, according to the RIS schedule, to obtain one or more measurement values ​​for the at least one PRS when one or more RISs are in an enabled state.

[0011] In one aspect, a first user equipment (UE) comprises 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 a report request from the second UE via the at least one transceiver to measure at least one positioning reference signal (PRS) transmitted from the second UE during a first time interval and a second time interval, and send a report to the second UE via the at least one transceiver in response to the report request, wherein the report includes a time of arrival associated with a direct path measurement of the at least one PRS obtained during the first time interval and further includes both a time of arrival associated with a direct path measurement of the at least one PRS obtained during the second time interval and a time of arrival associated with a reflected path measurement of the at least one PRS obtained during the second time interval.

[0012] In one aspect, a first user equipment (UE) comprises 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 receives from a second UE via the at least one transceiver a reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) schedule indicating a time when at least one RIS of one or more RIS resources is in an enabled state and a time when at least one RIS of the one or more RIS is in an disabled state, and a PR schedule indicating a time when at least one positioning reference signal (PRS) from the second UE may be measured by the first UE. and receiving an S measurement schedule from the second UE via the at least one transceiver, performing a first set of measurements of the one or more PRSs transmitted from the second UE in accordance with the PRS measurement schedule and the RIS schedule to obtain one or more measurement values ​​of the at least one PRS when the at least one RIS is in a disabled state, and performing a second set of measurements of the one or more PRSs transmitted from the second UE in accordance with the PRS measurement schedule and the RIS schedule to obtain one or more measurement values ​​of the at least one PRS when the at least one RIS is in an enabled state.

[0013] In one aspect, a first user equipment (UE) comprises 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 from a second UE via the at least one transceiver a RIS schedule indicating a time when the at least one RIS is in an enabled state and a time when the at least one RIS is in a disabled state; send to a third UE via the at least one transceiver a request for transmission of at least one positioning reference signal (PRS), the request indicating a time when the at least one PRS is expected to be transmitted by the third UE; perform a first set of one or more measurements of the at least one PRS transmitted from the third UE according to the RIS schedule to perform the one or more measurements of the at least one PRS when the at least one RIS is in a disabled state; and perform a second set of one or more measurements of the at least one PRS from the third UE according to the RIS schedule to perform the one or more measurements of the at least one PRS when the at least one RIS is in an enabled state.

[0014] In one aspect, a user equipment (UE) includes means for controlling one or more reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RISs) according to one or more RIS schedules indicating times when the one or more RISs are in an enabled state and times when the one or more RISs are in a disabled state; means for requesting at least one participating UE of the one or more participating UEs to transmit at least one positioning reference signal (PRS); means for performing a first set of one or more measurements of the at least one PRS transmitted from the at least one participating UE, the first set of one or more measurements being measured simultaneously with the at least one PRS performing the first set of one or more measurements according to the RIS schedule to obtain the one or more measurement values ​​of the at least one PRS when the one or more RISs are in a disabled state; and means for performing a second set of one or more measurements of the at least one PRS transmitted from the at least one participating UE, the second set of one or more measurements being measured simultaneously with the at least one PRS performing the second set of one or more measurements according to the RIS schedule to obtain the one or more measurement values ​​of the at least one PRS when the one or more RISs are in an enabled state.

[0015] In one aspect, a first user equipment (UE) includes means for receiving a report request from the second UE to measure at least one positioning reference signal (PRS) transmitted from the second UE during a first time interval and a second time interval, and means for sending a report to the second UE in response to the report request, wherein the report includes a time of arrival associated with a direct path measurement of the at least one PRS obtained during the first time interval and further includes both a time of arrival associated with a direct path measurement and a time of arrival associated with a reflected path measurement of the at least one PRS obtained during the second time interval.

[0016] In one aspect, a first user equipment (UE) includes means for receiving a reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) schedule from a second UE, the RIS schedule indicating times when at least one RIS of the one or more RIS is in an enabled state and times when at least one RIS of the one or more RIS is in a disabled state; means for receiving a positioning reference signal (PRS) from the second UE, the PRS measurement schedule indicating times when at least one PRS from the second UE may be measured by the first UE; means for performing a first set of measurements of one or more PRS transmitted from the second UE in accordance with the PRS measurement schedule and the RIS schedule to obtain one or more measurements of the at least one PRS when the at least one RIS is in a disabled state; and means for performing a second set of measurements of one or more PRS transmitted from the second UE in accordance with the PRS measurement schedule and the RIS schedule to obtain one or more measurements of the at least one PRS when the at least one RIS is in a enabled state.

[0017] In one aspect, a first user equipment (UE) includes means for receiving a RIS schedule from a second UE, the RIS schedule indicating times when at least one RIS is in an enabled state and times when the at least one RIS is in a disabled state; means for sending a request to the third UE for transmission of at least one positioning reference signal (PRS), the request indicating times when the at least one PRS is expected to be transmitted by the third UE; means for performing a first set of measurements of the at least one PRS transmitted from the third UE according to the RIS schedule to make the one or more measurements of the at least one PRS when the at least one RIS is in a disabled state; and means for performing a second set of measurements of the at least one PRS from the third UE according to the RIS schedule to make the one or more measurements of the at least one PRS when the at least one RIS is in a enabled state.

[0018] In one aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium stores computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a user equipment (UE), cause the UE to control one or more reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RISs) according to one or more RIS schedules indicating times when the RISs are in an enabled state and times when the one or more RISs are in a disabled state, request at least one participating UE of the one or more participating UEs to transmit at least one positioning reference signal (PRS), and cause a first set of one or more measurements of the at least one PRS transmitted from the at least one participating UE to be received by the one or more RISs. performing a first set of one or more measurements, measured simultaneously with the at least one PRS performing the first set of one or more measurements, according to a RIS schedule, to obtain one or more measurement values ​​for the at least one PRS when the one or more RISs are in a disabled state; and performing a second set of one or more measurements, measured simultaneously with the at least one PRS performing the second set of one or more measurements, for the at least one PRS transmitted from the at least one participating UE, wherein the second set of one or more measurements, measured simultaneously with the at least one PRS performing the second set of one or more measurements, according to a RIS schedule, to obtain one or more measurement values ​​for the at least one PRS when the one or more RISs are in an enabled state.

[0019] In one aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium stores computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a first user equipment (UE), cause the first UE to receive a report request from the second UE to measure at least one positioning reference signal (PRS) transmitted from the second UE during a first time interval and a second time interval, and send a report to the second UE in response to the report request, the report including a time of arrival associated with a direct path measurement of the at least one PRS obtained during the first time interval and further including both a time of arrival associated with a direct path measurement and a time of arrival associated with a reflected path measurement of the at least one PRS obtained during the second time interval.

[0020] In one aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium stores computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a first user equipment (UE), cause the first UE to receive a RIS schedule from a second UE indicating times when at least one RIS of one or more reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) resources is in an enabled state and times when at least one RIS of the one or more RIS is in a disabled state, receive a PRS measurement schedule from the second UE indicating times when at least one positioning reference signal (PRS) from the second UE may be measured by the first UE, perform a first set of one or more measurements of the at least one PRS transmitted from the second UE in accordance with the PRS measurement schedule and the RIS schedule to obtain one or more measurements of the at least one PRS when the at least one RIS is in a disabled state, and perform a second set of one or more measurements of the at least one PRS transmitted from the second UE in accordance with the PRS measurement schedule and the RIS schedule to obtain one or more measurements of the at least one PRS when the at least one RIS is in a enabled state.

[0021] In one aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium stores computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a first user equipment (UE), cause the first UE to receive a RIS schedule from a second UE indicating times when at least one RIS is in an enabled state and times when the at least one RIS is in a disabled state, send a request to a third UE for transmission of at least one positioning reference signal (PRS), indicating times when the at least one PRS is expected to be transmitted by the third UE, perform a first set of one or more measurements of the at least one PRS transmitted from the third UE according to the RIS schedule to make one or more measurements of the at least one PRS when the at least one RIS is in a disabled state, and perform a second set of one or more measurements of the at least one PRS from the third UE according to the RIS schedule to make one or more measurements of the at least one PRS when the at least one RIS is in an enabled state.

[0022] Other objects and advantages associated with the aspects disclosed herein will become apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art based on the accompanying drawings and detailed description.

[0023] The accompanying drawings are presented to aid in the explanation of various aspects of the present disclosure and are provided only to illustrate, not limit, the aspects. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0024] [Figure 1] 1 illustrates an example wireless communication system according to an aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 2A] 1 illustrates an exemplary wireless network structure according to an aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 2B] 1 illustrates an example wireless network structure according to an aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 3A] 1 is a simplified block diagram of several sample aspects of components that may be employed in a user equipment (UE), a base station, and a network entity, respectively, 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 user equipment (UE), a base station, and a network entity, respectively, 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 user equipment (UE), a base station, and a network entity, respectively, and configured to support communications as taught herein. [Figure 4] 1 illustrates an example of a wireless communication system supporting unicast sidelink establishment in accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 illustrates an example frame structure according to an aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 6] 1 illustrates an example system for wireless communication using a reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) in accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a diagram of an example architecture of a RIS, according to an aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 8] FIG. 1 illustrates an example sidelink ranging and positioning procedure according to an aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 9] 1 illustrates an example operation of round trip time (RTT) sidelink positioning between two UEs. [Figure 10] 9 may be extended to include additional UEs. [Figure 11A] 1 illustrates an example positioning operation according to some aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 11B] 1 illustrates an example positioning operation according to some aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 11C] 1 illustrates an example positioning operation according to some aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 12A] 1 illustrates an example positioning operation according to some aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 12B] 1 illustrates an example positioning operation according to some aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 12C]1 illustrates an example positioning operation according to some aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 13] 1 illustrates an example of positioning in which an initiator UE sends a RIS and a positioning reference signal (PRS) resource transmission schedule to participating UEs, according to certain aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 14A] 1 illustrates an example positioning operation according to some aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 14B] 1 illustrates an example positioning operation according to some aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 14C] 1 illustrates an example positioning operation according to some aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 15] 1 is an example flow call that may be used in a positioning operation in which an initiator UE does not control a RIS in a positioning environment, in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 16] 1 illustrates an example method of wireless communication performed by a UE, in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 17] 1 illustrates an example method of wireless communication performed by a first UE, in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 18] 1 illustrates an example method of wireless communication performed by a first UE, in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 19] 1 illustrates an example method of wireless communication performed by a first UE, in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0025] 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.

[0026] The words "exemplary" and / or "example" are used herein to mean "serving as an example, instance, or illustration." Any aspect described herein as "exemplary" and / or "example" should not necessarily 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.

[0027] 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 specific application, in part on the desired design, in part on the corresponding technology, etc.

[0028] Further, many aspects are described in terms of sequences of actions to be performed by, for example, elements of a computing device. It will be appreciated that 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 be 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.

[0029] The terms "user equipment" (UE), "vehicle UE" (V-UE), "pedestrian UE" (P-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 specified. In general, a UE may be any wireless communication device (e.g., a vehicle-mounted computer, a vehicle navigation device, a mobile phone, a router, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, an asset positioning device, a wearable (e.g., a smart watch, a smart glass, 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 a given time) and may communicate with a radio access network (RAN). As used herein, the term "UE" may be referred to interchangeably as a "mobile device," "access terminal" or "AT," "client device," "wireless device," "subscriber device," "subscriber terminal," "subscriber station," "user terminal" or UT, "mobile terminal," "mobile station," or variations thereof.

[0030] A V-UE is a type of UE and may be any in-vehicle wireless communication device, such as a navigation system, a warning system, a heads-up display (HUD), an on-board computer, an in-vehicle infotainment system, an automated driving system (ADS), an advanced driver assistance system (ADAS), etc. Alternatively, a V-UE may be a portable wireless communication device (e.g., a mobile phone, a tablet computer, etc.) carried by the driver of the vehicle or a passenger in the vehicle. The term "V-UE" may refer to an in-vehicle wireless communication device or the vehicle itself, depending on the context. A P-UE is a type of UE and may be a portable wireless communication device carried by a pedestrian (i.e., a user not driving or riding in the vehicle). 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 a UE to connect to the core network and / or the Internet are possible, such as via a wired access network, a wireless local area network (WLAN) network (e.g., based on the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11, etc.), etc.

[0031] 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, Node B, evolved Node B (eNB), next generation eNB (ng-eNB), new radio (NR) Node B (also referred to as gNB or gNode B), etc. A base station may be used primarily to support wireless access by UEs, including supporting data, voice, and / or signaling connections for supported UEs. In some systems, a base station may provide only edge node signaling functions, while in other systems, a base station may provide additional control and / or network management functions. The communication link through which a UE can 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 can send signals to a UE is called a downlink (DL) or forward link channel (e.g., a paging channel, a control channel, a broadcast channel, a forward traffic channel, etc.). As used herein, the term Traffic CHannel (TCH) can refer to either a UL / reverse traffic channel or a DL / forward traffic channel.

[0032] The term "base station" may refer to a single physical transmission-reception point (TRP) or multiple physical TRPs that may or may not be collocated. 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 collocated physical TRPs, the physical TRP may be an array of antennas of the base station (e.g., as in the case of a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system or when the base station employs beamforming). When the term "base station" refers to multiple non-collocated physical TRPs, the physical TRP 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 remote base station connected to a serving base station). Alternatively, non-co-located physical TRPs may be serving base stations that receive measurement reports from the UE and neighboring base stations whose reference radio frequency (RF) signals the UE is measuring. Since a TRP is a point from which a base station transmits and receives wireless signals, as used herein, references to transmission from or reception at a base station should be understood as referring to a particular TRP of the base station.

[0033] 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, and / or signaling connections for the UE), but instead may transmit reference RF signals to the UE to be measured by the UE and / or may receive and measure signals transmitted by the UE. Such a base station may be referred to as a positioning beacon (e.g., when it transmits RF signals to the UE) and / or a location measurement unit (e.g., when it receives and measures RF signals from the UE).

[0034] An "RF signal" includes 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 transmitted RF signal 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.

[0035] 1 illustrates an example wireless communication system 100 according to an aspect of the disclosure. The wireless communication system 100 (sometimes referred to as a wireless wide area network (WWAN)) may include various base stations 102 (labeled "BS") and various UEs 104. The base stations 102 may include macrocell base stations (high-power cellular base stations) and / or small cell base stations (low-power cellular base stations). In an aspect, the macrocell base stations 102 may include eNBs and / or ng-eNBs where the wireless communication system 100 supports an LTE network, or gNBs where the wireless communication system 100 supports an NR network, or a combination of both, and the small cell base stations may include femtocells, picocells, microcells, etc.

[0036] The base stations 102 may collectively form a RAN and may interface with a core network 170 (e.g., evolved packet core (EPC) or 5G core (5GC)) via backhaul links 122 and with one or more location servers 172 (e.g., a location management function (LMF) or a secure user plane location (SUPL) location platform (SLP)) via the core network 170. The location servers 172 may be part of the core network 170 or may be external to the core network 170. The location servers 172 may be integrated with the base stations 102. The UE 104 may communicate with the location server 172 directly or indirectly. For example, the UE 104 may communicate with the location server 172 via the base station 102 currently serving the UE 104. The UE 104 may also communicate with the location server 172 via another path, such as through an application server (not shown), such as through another network, such as through a WLAN access point (AP) (e.g., AP 150 described below). For purposes of signaling, communication between the UE 104 and the location server 172 may be represented as an indirect connection (e.g., through the core network 170), or a direct connection (e.g., as shown via direct connection 128), with intervening nodes (if any) omitted from the signaling diagrams for clarity.

[0037] In addition to other functions, the base stations 102 may perform functions related to one or more of the following: 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, non-access stratum (NAS) message delivery, NAS node selection, synchronization, RAN sharing, multimedia broadcast multicast service (MBMS), subscriber and equipment tracing, RAN information management (RIM), paging, positioning, and alert message delivery. The base stations 102 may communicate with each other directly or indirectly (e.g., via EPC / 5GC) via backhaul links 134, which may be wired or wireless.

[0038] The base stations 102 may wirelessly communicate with the UEs 104. Each of the base stations 102 may provide communication coverage to a respective geographic coverage area 110. In an aspect, one or more cells may be supported by the base stations 102 in each geographic coverage area 110. 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., a physical cell identifier (PCI), an enhanced cell identifier (ECI), a virtual cell identifier (VCI), a cell global identifier (CGI), etc.) 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 for different types of UEs. Because cells are supported by a particular base station, the term "cell" may refer to either or both of the logical communication entity supporting the cell and the base station, depending on the context. 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 110.

[0039] The geographic coverage areas 110 of neighboring macrocell base stations 102 may overlap partially (e.g., in handover regions) and some of the geographic coverage areas 110 may be substantially overlapped by larger geographic coverage areas 110. For example, a small cell base station 102' (labeled "SC" instead of "small cell") may have a geographic coverage area 110' that substantially overlaps with the geographic coverage area 110 of one or more macrocell base stations 102. A network including both small cell base stations and macrocell base stations may be known as a heterogeneous network. A heterogeneous network may also include home eNBs (HeNBs), which may serve closed groups known as closed subscriber groups (CSGs).

[0040] The communication link 120 between the base station 102 and the UE 104 may include uplink (also referred to as reverse link) transmissions from the UE 104 to the base station 102, and / or downlink (DL) (also referred to as forward link) transmissions from the base station 102 to the UE 104. The communication link 120 may use MIMO antenna techniques, including spatial multiplexing, beamforming, and / or transmit diversity. The communication link 120 may be through one or more carrier frequencies. Carrier allocation may be asymmetric with respect to the downlink and uplink (e.g., more or fewer carriers may be allocated for the downlink than for the uplink).

[0041] The wireless communication system 100 may further include a WLAN access point (AP) 150 in communication with a WLAN station (STA) 152 over a communication link 154 in an unlicensed frequency spectrum (e.g., 5 GHz). When communicating in the unlicensed frequency spectrum, the WLAN STA 152 and / or the WLAN AP 150 may perform a clear channel assessment (CCA) or listen before talk (LBT) procedure before communicating to determine if a channel is available.

[0042] The small cell base station 102' may operate in a licensed and / or unlicensed frequency spectrum. When operating in an 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 150. A small cell base station 102' employing LTE / 5G in an unlicensed frequency spectrum may extend coverage to and / or increase capacity of an access network. NR in an unlicensed spectrum may be referred to as NR-U. LTE in an unlicensed spectrum may be referred to as LTE-U, licensed assisted access (LAA), or MulteFire.

[0043] The wireless communication system 100 may further include a mmW base station 180 that may operate at millimeter wave (mmW) and / or sub-mmW frequencies while communicating with the UE 182. Extremely high frequency (EHF) is a part of RF in the electromagnetic spectrum. EHF has a range of 30 GHz to 300 GHz and a wavelength of 1 millimeter to 10 millimeters. Radio waves in this band may be referred to as millimeter waves. Sub-mmW may extend down to a frequency of 3 GHz with a wavelength of 100 millimeters. The super high frequency (SHF) band extends between 3 GHz and 30 GHz and is also referred to as centimeter wave. Communications using the mmW / sub-mmW radio frequency bands have high path loss and relatively short distances. The mmW base station 180 and the UE 182 may utilize beamforming (transmit and / or receive) over the mmW communication link 184 to compensate for the extremely large path loss and short distances. Further, it will be appreciated that in alternative configurations, one or more base stations 102 may also transmit using mmW or quasi-mmW and beamforming. Thus, it will be appreciated that the above illustrations are merely examples and should not be construed as limiting various aspects disclosed herein.

[0044] Transmit beamforming is a technique for concentrating an RF signal in a particular direction. Traditionally, when a network node (e.g., a base station) broadcasts an RF signal, it broadcasts it in all directions (omnidirectionally). With transmit beamforming, the network node determines where a given target device (e.g., UE) is located (relative to the transmitting network node) and projects a stronger downlink RF signal in that particular direction, thereby providing a faster and more powerful RF signal (in terms of data rate) to the receiving device. To vary the directionality of an 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 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.

[0045] A transmit beam may be quasi-co-located, meaning that the transmit beam appears to a receiver (e.g., UE) to have the same parameters regardless of whether the network node's own transmit antenna is physically co-located or not. In NR, there are four types of quasi-co-location (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.

[0046] In receive beamforming, a receiver uses receive beams to amplify RF signals detected on a given channel. For example, the receiver can increase the gain setting and / or adjust the phase setting of an array of antennas in a particular direction to amplify (e.g., increase the gain level) RF signals received from that direction. Thus, when a receiver is said to beamform in some direction, it means that the beam gain in that direction is higher than the beam gains along other directions, or that the beam gain in that direction is highest compared to the beam gains 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-plus-noise ratio (SINR), etc.) of RF signals received from that direction.

[0047] The transmit beam and the receive beam may be spatially related. Spatial relationship means that parameters for a second beam (e.g., a transmit beam or a receive beam) for a second reference signal may be derived from information about a first beam (e.g., a receive beam or a transmit beam) for a first reference signal. For example, a UE may use a particular receive beam to receive a reference downlink reference signal (e.g., a synchronization signal block (SSB)) from a base station. The UE may then form a transmit beam for transmitting an uplink reference signal (e.g., a sounding reference signal (SRS)) to that base station based on parameters of the receive beam.

[0048] 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.

[0049] The electromagnetic spectrum is often subdivided into various classes, bands, channels, etc. based on frequency / wavelength. In 5G NR, two initial operating bands have been identified with frequency range designations FR1 (410 MHz-7.125 GHz) and FR2 (24.25 GHz-52.6 GHz). It should be understood that FR1 is often referred to (interchangeably) as the "sub-6 GHz" band in various documents and papers, although a portion of FR1 is above 6 GHz. A similar nomenclature issue may arise with respect to FR2, which is often referred to (interchangeably) as the "millimeter wave" band in documents and papers, even though it is different from the EHF band (30 GHz-300 GHz) identified as the "millimeter wave" band by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU).

[0050] Frequencies between FR1 and FR2 are often referred to as mid-band frequencies. Recent 5G NR studies have identified operating bands for these mid-band frequencies as frequency range designation FR3 (7.125 GHz to 24.25 GHz). Frequency bands that fall within FR3 may inherit FR1 and / or FR2 characteristics, and thus may in effect extend the features of FR1 and / or FR2 to the mid-band frequencies. Additionally, higher frequency bands are currently being explored to extend 5G NR operation beyond 52.6 GHz. For example, three higher operating bands have been identified as frequency range designations FR4a or FR4-1 (52.6 GHz to 71 GHz), FR4 (52.6 GHz to 114.25 GHz), and FR5 (114.25 GHz to 300 GHz). Each of these higher frequency bands falls within the EHF band.

[0051] With the above aspects in mind, it should be understood that unless otherwise specified, terms such as "sub-6 GHz" as used herein may broadly refer to frequencies that may be below 6 GHz, may be within FR1, or may include mid-band frequencies. Additionally, it should be understood that unless otherwise specified, terms such as "mmWave" as used herein may broadly refer to frequencies that may include mid-band frequencies, may be within FR2, FR4, FR4-a or FR4-1, and / or FR5, or may be within the EHF band.

[0052] 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 a carrier operating on the primary frequency (e.g., FR1) utilized by the UE 104 / 182 and on the cell in which the UE 104 / 182 either performs an initial radio resource control (RRC) connection establishment procedure or initiates an RRC connection re-establishment procedure. The primary carrier carries all common control channels and UE-specific control channels and may (but is not always) be a carrier in licensed frequencies. The secondary carrier is a carrier 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 typically UE specific, the secondary carrier may include only the necessary signaling information and signals, e.g., the signaling information and signals that are UE specific may not be present in the secondary carrier. This means that different UEs 104 / 182 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 / 182 at any time. This is done, for example, to distribute the load on different carriers. Since a "serving cell" (whether PCell or SCell) corresponds to a carrier frequency / component carrier over which several base stations are communicating, terms such as "cell", "serving cell", "component carrier", "carrier frequency", etc. may be used interchangeably.

[0053] For example, still referring to FIG. 1, one of the frequencies utilized by the macrocell base station 102 may be an anchor carrier (or "PCell"), and the other frequencies utilized by the macrocell base station 102 and / or the mmW base station 180 may be secondary carriers ("SCells"). Simultaneous transmission and / or reception of multiple carriers allows the UE 104 / 182 to significantly increase its data transmission and / or data reception rates. For example, two 20 MHz carriers aggregated in a multi-carrier system would theoretically lead to a two-fold increase in data rate (i.e., 40 MHz) compared to the data rate achieved by a single 20 MHz carrier.

[0054] In the example of FIG. 1, any of the illustrated UEs (shown in FIG. 1 as a single UE 104 for simplicity) may receive signals 124 from one or more Earth-orbiting space vehicles (SVs) 112 (e.g., satellites). In one aspect, the SVs 112 may be part of a satellite positioning system that the UEs 104 may use as an independent source of location information. A satellite positioning system typically includes a system of transmitters (e.g., SVs 112) positioned to enable receivers (e.g., UEs 104) to determine their location on or above the Earth based at least in part on positioning signals (e.g., signals 124) received from the transmitters. Such transmitters typically transmit signals marked with a repeating pseudo-random noise (PN) code of a set number of chips. Although typically located within the SVs 112, transmitters may sometimes be located on ground-based control stations, base stations 102, and / or other UEs 104. The UE 104 may include one or more dedicated receivers specifically designed to receive the signals 124 from the SV 112 to derive geolocation information.

[0055] In a satellite positioning system, the use of the signals 124 may be augmented by various satellite-based augmentation systems (SBAS) that may be associated with or otherwise enabled for use with one or more global and / or regional navigation satellite systems. For example, the SBAS may include augmentation systems that provide integrity information, error correction, and the like, such as the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS), the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS), the Multi-functional Satellite Augmentation System (MSAS), the Global Positioning System (GPS)-aided Geo-Augmented Navigation, or the GPS and Geo Augmented Navigation system (GAGAN). Thus, as used herein, a satellite positioning system may include any combination of one or more global and / or regional navigation satellites associated with such one or more satellite positioning systems.

[0056] In one aspect, the SV 112 may additionally or alternatively be part of one or more non-terrestrial networks (NTNs). In an NTN, the SV 112 is connected to an earth station (also called a terrestrial station, NTN gateway, or gateway), which in turn is connected to an element in a 5G network, such as a modified base station 102 (without a terrestrial antenna) or a network node in a 5G network. This element will then provide access to other elements in the 5G network and ultimately to entities outside the 5G network, such as Internet web servers and other user devices. In this way, the UE 104 may receive communication signals (e.g., signal 124) from the SV 112 instead of or in addition to communication signals from the terrestrial base station 102.

[0057] In particular, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication technology is being implemented to leverage NR’s increased data rates and reduced latency to support intelligent transportation systems (ITS) applications such as wireless communications between vehicles (vehicle-to-vehicle, V2V), between vehicles and roadside infrastructure (vehicle-to-infrastructure, V2I), and between vehicles and pedestrians (vehicle-to-pedestrian, V2P). The goal is for vehicles to be able to sense the environment around them and communicate that information to other vehicles, infrastructure, and personal mobile devices. Such vehicular communications will enable safety, mobility, and environmental improvements that current technologies cannot provide. When fully implemented, the technology is expected to reduce unimpeded vehicle collisions by 80%.

[0058] Still referring to FIG. 1 , the wireless communication system 100 may include multiple V-UEs 160 that may communicate with the base station 102 over the communication link 120 using the Uu interface (i.e., the air interface between the UE and the base station). The V-UEs 160 may also communicate with each other directly over a wireless sidelink 162, with a roadside unit (RSU) 164 (a roadside access point) over a wireless sidelink 166, or with a sidelink-enabled UE 104 over a wireless sidelink 168 using a PC5 interface (i.e., the air interface between sidelink-enabled UEs). The wireless sidelink (or simply "sidelink") is an adaptation of the core cellular (e.g., LTE, NR) standard that allows direct communication between two or more UEs without the communication having to go through a base station. Sidelink communications may be unicast or multicast and may be used for device-to-device (D2D) medium sharing, V2V communications, V2X communications (e.g., cellular V2X (cV2X) communications, enhanced V2X (eV2X) communications, etc.), emergency rescue applications, etc. One or more of a group of V-UEs 160 utilizing sidelink communications may be within the geographic coverage area 110 of the base station 102. Other V-UEs 160 in such a group may be outside the geographic coverage area 110 of the base station 102 or may not otherwise be able to receive transmissions from the base station 102. In some cases, a group of V-UEs 160 communicating via sidelink communications may utilize a one-to-many (1:M) system in which each V-UE 160 transmits to all other V-UEs 160 in the group. In some cases, the base station 102 facilitates scheduling of resources for sidelink communications. In other cases, sidelink communications are performed between V-UEs 160 without the involvement of the base station 102.

[0059] In one aspect, the sidelinks 162, 166, 168 may operate over a target wireless communications medium, which may be shared with other vehicles and / or infrastructure access points, as well as other wireless communications between other RATs. The "medium" may consist of one or more time, frequency, and / or spatial communications resources (e.g., encompassing one or more channels across one or more carriers) associated with wireless communications between one or more transmitter / receiver pairs.

[0060] In one aspect, the sidelinks 162, 166, 168 may be cV2X links. The first generation of cV2X is standardized in LTE, and the next generation is expected to be defined in NR. cV2X is a cellular technology that also enables device-to-device communication. In the United States and Europe, cV2X is expected to operate in licensed ITS bands in the sub-6 GHz. Other countries may allocate other bands. Thus, as a specific example, the target medium utilized by the sidelinks 162, 166, 168 may correspond to at least a portion of the sub-6 GHz licensed ITS frequency band. However, the present disclosure is not limited to this frequency band or cellular technology.

[0061] In one aspect, the sidelinks 162, 166, 168 may be dedicated short-range communications (DSRC) links. DSRC is a one-way or two-way, short-to-medium-range wireless communications protocol using the wireless access for vehicular environments (WAVE) protocol, also referred to as IEEE 802.11p, for V2V, V2I, and V2P communications. IEEE 802.11p is an approved amendment to the IEEE 802.11 standard, which operates in the licensed ITS band at 5.9 GHz (5.85-5.925 GHz) in the United States. In Europe, IEEE 802.11p operates in the ITS G5A band (5.875-5.905 MHz). Other countries may allocate other bands. The V2V communications briefly described above are typically conducted on the Safety Channel, a 10 MHz channel dedicated for safety purposes in the United States. The remainder of the DSRC band (total bandwidth of 75 MHz) is intended for other services targeted to drivers, such as road enforcement, toll collection, automated parking, etc. Thus, as a specific example, the medium of interest utilized by the sidelinks 162, 166, 168 may correspond to at least a portion of the 5.9 GHz licensed ITS frequency band.

[0062] Alternatively, the medium of interest may correspond to at least a portion of an unlicensed frequency band shared among various RATs. Although different licensed frequency bands have been reserved for several communication systems (e.g., by government agencies such as the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the United States), these systems, particularly those employing small cell access points, have recently extended their operation to unlicensed frequency bands such as the Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure (U-NII) bands used by WLAN technologies, most notably the IEEE 802.11x WLAN technology commonly referred to as "Wifi". Exemplary systems of this type include CDMA systems, TDMA systems, FDMA systems, orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA) systems, single-carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA) systems, and various variants thereof.

[0063] Communication between V-UEs 160 is referred to as V2V communication, communication between V-UEs 160 and one or more RSUs 164 is referred to as V2I communication, and communication between V-UEs 160 and one or more UEs 104 (where UEs 104 are P-UEs) is referred to as V2P communication. V2V communication between V-UEs 160 may include, for example, information about the position, speed, acceleration, heading, and other vehicle data of V-UEs 160. V2I information received at V-UEs 160 from one or more RSUs 164 may include, for example, road regulations, parking automation information, and the like. V2P communication between V-UEs 160 and UEs 104 may include, for example, information about the position, speed, acceleration, and heading of V-UEs 160, and the position, speed (e.g., when UEs 104 are carried by a user on a bicycle), and heading of UEs 104.

[0064] It should be noted that while FIG. 1 illustrates only two of the UEs as V-UEs (V-UE 160), any of the illustrated UEs (e.g., UEs 104, 152, 182, 190) may be V-UEs. Additionally, while only V-UE 160 and a single UE 104 are illustrated as being connected via a sidelink, any of the UEs illustrated in FIG. 1, whether V-UE, P-UE, etc., may be capable of sidelink communication. Additionally, although only UE 182 was described as being capable of beamforming, any of the illustrated UEs, including V-UE 160, may be capable of beamforming. If V-UE 160 is capable of beamforming, V-UE 160 may beamform toward each other (i.e., toward other V-UEs 160), toward RSU 164, toward other UEs (e.g., UEs 104, 152, 182, 190), etc. Thus, in some cases, V-UE 160 may utilize beamforming on sidelinks 162, 166, and 168.

[0065] The wireless communication system 100 may further include one or more UEs, such as a UE 190, that indirectly connect to one or more communication networks via one or more device-to-device (D2D) peer-to-peer (P2P) links. In the example of FIG. 1, the UE 190 has a D2D P2P link 192 with one of the UEs 104 connected to one of the base stations 102 (e.g., the UE 190 may indirectly obtain a cellular connection via link 192) and a D2D P2P link 194 with a WLAN STA 152 connected to a WLAN AP 150 (the UE 190 may indirectly obtain a WLAN-based Internet connection via link 194). In one example, the D2D P2P links 192 and 194 may be supported using any well-known D2D RAT, such as LTE Direct (LTE-D), WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), Bluetooth, etc. As another example, the D2D P2P links 192 and 194 may be sidelinks such as those described above with respect to the sidelinks 162, 166, and 168.

[0066] 2A illustrates an exemplary wireless network structure 200. For example, a 5GC 210 (also referred to as Next Generation Core (NGC)) may be considered functionally as a control plane (C-plane) function 214 (e.g., UE registration, authentication, network access, gateway selection, etc.) and a user plane (U-plane) function 212 (e.g., UE gateway function, access to data network, Internet protocol (IP) routing, etc.) that operate cooperatively 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 user plane function 212 and the control plane function 214, respectively. 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 Next Generation RAN (NG-RAN) 220 may have 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 (or both) may communicate with one or more UEs 204 (e.g., any of the UEs described herein).

[0067] Another optional aspect may include a location server 230, which may be in communication with the 5GC 210 to provide location assistance to the UE 204. The location servers 230 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 location servers 230 may be configured to support one or more location services for the UE 204 that may connect to the location server 230 via the core network 5GC 210 and / or via the Internet (not shown). Furthermore, the location server 230 may be incorporated into a component of the core network, or alternatively, may be external to the core network (e.g., a third-party server, such as an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) server or a service server).

[0068] 2B illustrates another exemplary wireless network structure 250. The 5GC 260 (which may correspond to the 5GC 210 of FIG. 2A) may be considered functionally as control plane functions provided by an access and mobility management function (AMF) 264 and user plane functions provided by a user plane function (UPF) 262, which operate cooperatively to form a core network (i.e., the 5GC 260). The functions of the AMF 264 include registration management, connection management, reachability management, mobility management, lawful interception, transport for session management (SM) messages between one or more UEs 204 (e.g., any of the UEs described herein) and a session management function (SMF) 266, transparent proxy services 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 security anchor functionality (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 UMTS (universal mobile telecommunications system) subscriber identity module (USIM) based authentication, the AMF 264 retrieves security material from the AUSF. The AMF 264 functions also include security context management (SCM). The SCM receives keys from the SEAF that the SCM uses to derive access network specific keys.The functionality of the AMF 264 also includes location service management for regulated services, transport for location service messages between the UE 204 and the Location Management Function (LMF) 270 (acting as the location server 230), transport for location service messages between the NG-RAN 220 and the LMF 270, Evolved Packet System (EPS) bearer identifier allocation for interworking with EPS, and UE 204 mobility event notification. In addition, the AMF 264 also supports functions for non-3GPP (Third Generation Partnership Project) access networks.

[0069] The functions of the UPF 262 include acting as an anchor point for intra / inter-RAT mobility (when applicable), acting as an external protocol data unit (PDU) session point for interconnection to a data network (not shown), routing and forwarding of packets, 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, and sending and forwarding one or more "end markers" to the source RAN node. The UPF 262 may also support forwarding of location service messages on the user plane between the UE 204 and a location server such as the SLP 272.

[0070] The functions of the SMF 266 include session management, UE 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.

[0071] Another optional aspect may include an LMF 270, which may be in communication with the 5GC 260 to provide location assistance to 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 represent 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, and / or via the Internet (not shown). The SLP 272 may support similar functions as the LMF 270, while the LMF 270 may communicate with the AMF 264, the NG-RAN 220, and the UE 204 via the control plane (e.g., using interfaces and protocols intended to convey signaling messages rather than voice or data) and the SLP 272 may communicate with the UE 204 and external clients (e.g., third-party servers 274) via the user plane (e.g., using protocols intended to carry voice and / or data, such as Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and / or IP).

[0072] Yet another optional aspect may include a third party server 274, which may be in communication with the LMF 270, the SLP 272, the 5GC 260 (e.g., via the AMF 264 and / or the UPF 262), the NG-RAN 220, and / or the UE 204 to obtain location information (e.g., a location estimate) for the UE 204. Thus, in some cases, the third party server 274 may be referred to as a location services (LCS) client or an external client. The third party servers 274 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.

[0073] The user plane interface 263 and the control plane interface 265 connect the 5GC 260, in particular the UPF 262 and the AMF 264, to one or more gNBs 222 and / or ng-eNBs 224 in the NG-RAN 220, respectively. The interface between the gNBs 222 and / or ng-eNBs 224 and the AMF 264 is referred to as the "N2" interface, and the interface between the gNBs 222 and / or ng-eNBs 224 and the UPF 262 is referred to as the "N3" interface. The gNBs 222 and / or ng-eNBs 224 of the NG-RAN 220 may communicate directly with each other via a backhaul connection 223 referred to as the "Xn-C" interface. One or more of the gNBs 222 and / or ng-eNBs 224 may communicate with one or more UEs 204 via a wireless interface referred to as the "Uu" interface.

[0074] The functionality of the gNB 222 may be divided between a gNB Central Unit (gNB-CU) 226, one or more gNB Distributed Units (gNB-DU) 228, and one or more gNB Radio Units (gNB-RU) 229. The gNB-CU 226 is a logical node that includes base station functions such as forwarding user data, mobility control, radio access network sharing, positioning, session management, etc., except for those functions exclusively allocated to the gNB-DU 228. More specifically, the gNB-CU 226 typically hosts the Radio Resource Control (RRC), Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP), and Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) protocols of the gNB 222. The gNB-DU 228 is a logical node that typically hosts the Radio Link Control (RLC) and Medium Access Control (MAC) layers of the gNB 222. Its operation is controlled by the gNB-CU 226. One gNB-DU 228 can support one or more cells, and one cell is supported by only one gNB-DU 228. The interface 232 between the gNB-CU 226 and one or more gNB-DUs 228 is referred to as an "F1" interface. The physical (PHY) layer functionality of the gNB 222 is generally hosted by one or more standalone gNB-RUs 229, which perform functions such as power amplification and signal transmission / reception. The interface between the gNB-DU 228 and the gNB-RU 229 is referred to as an "Fx" interface. Thus, the UE 204 communicates with the gNB-CU 226 via the RRC, SDAP, and PDCP layers, with the gNB-DU 228 via the RLC and MAC layers, and with the gNB-RU 229 via the PHY layer.

[0075] 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 a location server 230 and an LMF 270, or alternatively, may be independent of the NG-RAN 220 and / or 5GC 210 / 260 infrastructure depicted in FIGS. 2A and 2B, such as a private network) to support file transmission operations 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 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 described components to provide similar functionality. Also, a given device may include one or more of the components. For example, a device may contain multiple transceiver components that enable the device to operate on multiple carriers and / or communicate via different technologies.

[0076] The UE 302 and base station 304 each include one or more wireless wide area network (WWAN) transceivers 310 and 350, respectively, providing means for communicating (e.g., means for transmitting, means for receiving, means for measuring, means for tuning, means for refraining from transmitting, etc.) 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 each be connected to one or more antennas 316 and 356, respectively, for communicating 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 to transmit and encode signals 318 and 358, respectively (e.g., messages, instructions, information, etc.), and conversely, to receive and decode signals 318 and 358, respectively (e.g., messages, instructions, information, pilots, etc.), in accordance with a specified RAT. In particular, the WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 include one or more transmitters 314 and 354, respectively, to transmit and encode signals 318 and 358, respectively, and include one or more receivers 312 and 352, respectively, to receive and decode signals 318 and 358, respectively.

[0077] The UE 302 and base station 304 also each, at least in some cases, include one or more short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360, respectively. The short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 may be connected to one or more antennas 326 and 366, respectively, and may provide means for communicating (e.g., means for transmitting, means for receiving, means for measuring, means for tuning, means for refraining from transmitting, etc.) 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, Zigbee, Z-Wave, PC5, DSRC, wireless access for vehicular environments (WAVE), Near Field Communication (NFC), etc.) over a wireless communication medium of interest. The short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 may be variously configured to transmit and encode signals 328 and 368 (e.g., messages, instructions, information, etc.), respectively, and conversely, to receive and decode signals 328 and 368 (e.g., messages, instructions, information, pilots, etc.), respectively, in accordance with a specified RAT. In particular, the short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 include one or more transmitters 324 and 364, respectively, to transmit and encode signals 328 and 368, respectively, and include one or more receivers 322 and 362, respectively, to receive and decode signals 328 and 368, respectively. As specific examples, the short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 may be WiFi transceivers, Bluetooth® transceivers, Zigbee® and / or Z-Wave® transceivers, NFC transceivers, or vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and / or vehicle-to-everything (V2X) transceivers.

[0078] The UE 302 and the base station 304 also, at least in some cases, include satellite signal receivers 330 and 370. The satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 may be connected to one or more antennas 336 and 376, respectively, and may provide a means for receiving and / or measuring satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378, respectively. If the satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 are satellite positioning system receivers, the satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378 may be GPS signals, Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS) signals, Galileo signals, Beidou signals, Navigation Satellite System of India (NAVIC), Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS), etc. If the satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 are NTN receivers, the satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378 may be communication signals (e.g., carrying control and / or user data) originating from a 5G network. Satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 may comprise any suitable hardware and / or software for receiving and processing satellite positioning / communications signals 338 and 378, respectively. Satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 may request information and actions from other systems as appropriate and, at least in some cases, perform calculations to determine the locations of UE 302 and base station 304, respectively, using measurements obtained according to any suitable satellite positioning system algorithms.

[0079] The base station 304 and the network entity 306 each include one or more network transceivers 380 and 390, respectively, that provide a means for communicating (e.g., a means for transmitting, a means for receiving, etc.) with other network entities (e.g., other base stations 304, other network entities 306). For example, the base station 304 may employ one or more network transceivers 380 to communicate with other base stations 304 or network entities 306 over one or more wired or wireless backhaul links. As another example, the network entity 306 may employ one or more network transceivers 390 to communicate with one or more base stations 304 over one or more wired or wireless backhaul links or with other network entities 306 over one or more wired or wireless core network interfaces.

[0080] A transceiver may be configured to communicate over a wired link or a wireless link. A transceiver (whether a wired transceiver or a wireless transceiver) includes transmitter circuitry (e.g., transmitters 314, 324, 354, 364) and receiver circuitry (e.g., receivers 312, 322, 352, 362). A transceiver may be an integrated device in some implementations (e.g., embodying transmitter and receiver circuitry in a single device), may comprise separate transmitter and receiver circuitry in some implementations, or may be embodied in other ways in other implementations. The transmitter and receiver circuitry of a wired transceiver (e.g., network transceivers 380 and 390 in some implementations) may be coupled to one or more wired network interface ports. The wireless transmitter circuitry (e.g., transmitters 314, 324, 354, 364) may include or be coupled to multiple antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), such as an antenna array that enables the respective device (e.g., UE 302, base station 304) to perform transmit "beamforming," as described herein. Similarly, the wireless receiver circuitry (e.g., receivers 312, 322, 352, 362) may include or be coupled to multiple antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), such as an antenna array that enables the respective device (e.g., UE 302, base station 304) to perform receive beamforming, as described herein. In an aspect, the transmitter circuitry and the receiver circuitry may share multiple identical antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), such that the respective device can only receive or transmit at a given time, but not both at the same time. The wireless transceivers (eg, WWAN transceivers 310 and 350, short range wireless transceivers 320 and 360) may also include network listen modules (NLMs) and the like for performing various measurements.

[0081] As used herein, various wireless transceivers (e.g., transceivers 310, 320, 350, and 360, and network transceivers 380 and 390, in some implementations) and wired transceivers (e.g., network transceivers 380 and 390, in some implementations) may be generally characterized as a "transceiver," "at least one transceiver," or "one or more transceivers." Thus, whether a particular transceiver is a wired or wireless transceiver may be inferred from the type of communication being performed. For example, backhaul communications between network devices or servers generally involve signaling via wired transceivers, while wireless communications between a UE (e.g., UE 302) and a base station (e.g., base station 304) generally involve signaling via wireless transceivers.

[0082] 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, base station 304, and network entity 306 each include one or more processors 332, 384, and 394, for example, to provide functionality related to wireless communications and to provide other processing functionality. Thus, the processors 332, 384, and 394 may comprise processing means, such as means for determining, means for calculating, means for receiving, means for transmitting, means for indicating, etc. In one aspect, the processors 332, 384, and 394 may include, for example, one or more general purpose processors, multi-core processors, central processing units (CPUs), ASICs, digital signal processors (DSPs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), other programmable logic devices or processing circuits, or various combinations thereof.

[0083] The UE 302, the base station 304, and the network entity 306 include memory circuitry implementing memories 340, 386, and 396, respectively (e.g., each including a memory device) for maintaining information (e.g., information indicating reserved resources, thresholds, parameters, etc.). Thus, the memories 340, 386, and 396 may comprise storage means, retrieval means, maintaining means, etc. In some cases, the UE 302, the base station 304, and the 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 processors 332, 384, and 394, respectively, that, when executed, cause the UE 302, the base station 304, and the network entity 306 to perform the functions described herein. In other aspects, the positioning components 342, 388, and 398 may be external to the processors 332, 384, and 394 (e.g., part of a modem processing system, integrated with another processing system, etc.). Alternatively, the positioning components 342, 388, and 398 may be memory modules stored in the memories 340, 386, and 396, respectively, that when executed by the processors 332, 384, and 394 (or modem processing system, another processing system, etc.) cause the UE 302, the base station 304, and the network entity 306 to perform functions described herein. FIG. 3A illustrates possible locations of the positioning component 342, which may be part of, for example, one or more WWAN transceivers 310, the memory 340, one or more processors 332, or any combination thereof, or may be a stand-alone component. 3B illustrates possible locations of a positioning component 388, which may be, for example, part of one or more WWAN transceivers 350, memory 386, one or more processors 384, or any combination thereof, or may be a stand-alone component. FIGURE 3C illustrates possible locations of a positioning component 398, which may be, for example, part of one or more network transceivers 390, memory 396, one or more processors 394, or any combination thereof, or may be a stand-alone component.

[0084] The UE 302 may include one or more sensors 344 coupled to the one or more processors 332 to provide a means for sensing or detecting movement and / or orientation information that is independent of movement data derived from signals received by the one or more WWAN transceivers 310, the one or more short-range wireless transceivers 320, and / or the satellite signal 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), and / or any other type of movement detection sensor. Additionally, the sensors 344 may include multiple different types of devices and combine their outputs to provide movement 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 position in a two-dimensional (2D) and / or three-dimensional (3D) coordinate system.

[0085] Additionally, the UE 302 includes a user interface 346 that provides a means for providing indications to a user (e.g., audio and / or visual indications) and / or receiving user input (e.g., upon user actuation of a sensing device, such as a keypad, touch screen, microphone, etc.). Although not shown, the base station 304 and the network entity 306 may also include user interfaces.

[0086] Referring to the one or more processors 384 in more detail, on the downlink, IP packets from the network entity 306 may be provided to the processor 384. The one or more processors 384 may implement functionality for an RRC layer, a PDCP layer, a radio link control (RLC) layer, and a medium access control (MAC) layer. The one or more processors 384 may provide RRC layer functions associated with broadcast of system information (e.g., Master Information Blocks (MIBs), System Information Blocks (SIBs)), 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 associated with header compression / decompression, security (encryption, decryption, integrity protection, integrity verification), and handover support functions; RLC layer functions related to transfer of upper layer PDUs, error correction with 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.

[0087] The transmitter 354 and receiver 352 may implement Layer 1 (L1) 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) encoding / 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 reference signals (e.g., pilots) in the time and / or frequency domain, and then combined together using an inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) to generate a physical channel carrying the 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 and / or channel condition feedback transmitted by the UE 302. Each spatial stream may then be provided to one or more different antennas 356. The transmitter 354 may modulate an RF carrier with the individual spatial streams for transmission.

[0088] At the UE 302, the receiver 312 receives the signal via its respective antenna 316. The receiver 312 recovers the information modulated onto the RF carrier and provides the information to one or more processors 332. The transmitter 314 and the receiver 312 implement layer 1 functions associated with 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 most likely signal constellation point 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 on the physical channel by the base station 304. The data and control signals are then provided to one or more processors 332 that implement Layer 3 (L3) and Layer 2 (L2) functions.

[0089] In the uplink, one or more processors 332 provide demultiplexing between transport and logical channels, packet reassembly, decryption, header decompression, and control signal processing to recover IP packets from the core network. The one or more processors 332 are also responsible for error detection.

[0090] Similar to the functionality described in connection with downlink transmissions by the base station 304, the one or more processors 332 provide RRC layer functionality related to system information (e.g., MIB, SIB) acquisition, RRC connection, and measurement reporting; PDCP layer functionality associated with header compression / decompression, security (encryption, decryption, integrity protection, integrity verification); RLC layer functionality associated with forwarding 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 associated with 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.

[0091] 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 the individual spatial streams for transmission.

[0092] 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 via its respective antenna 356. The receiver 352 recovers information modulated onto an RF carrier and provides the information to one or more processors 384.

[0093] In the uplink, the one or more processors 384 provide demultiplexing between transport and logical channels, packet reassembly, deciphering, header decompression, and control signal processing to recover IP packets from the UE 302. The IP packets from the one or more processors 384 may be provided to a core network. The one or more processors 384 are also responsible for error detection.

[0094] For convenience, the UE 302, base station 304, and / or network entity 306 are illustrated in Figures 3A, 3B, and 3C as including various components that may be configured in accordance with various examples described herein. However, it will be understood that the illustrated components may have different functions in different designs. In particular, various components in Figures 3A-3C are optional in alternative configurations, and various aspects include configurations that may vary due to design choice, cost, device use, or other considerations. For example, in the case of Figure 3A, a particular implementation of the UE 302 may omit the WWAN transceiver 310 (e.g., a wearable device or tablet computer or PC or laptop may have WiFi and / or Bluetooth capabilities without cellular capabilities), or may omit the short-range wireless transceiver 320 (e.g., cellular only, etc.), or may omit the satellite signal receiver 330, or may omit the sensor 344, etc. 3B, a particular implementation of base station 304 may omit WWAN transceiver 350 (e.g., a WiFi "hotspot" access point without cellular capability), or may omit short-range wireless transceiver 360 (e.g., cellular only), or may omit satellite receiver 370, etc. For brevity, examples of various alternative configurations are not provided herein, but should be readily apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art.

[0095] The various components of the UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 may be communicatively coupled to one another via data buses 334, 382, ​​and 392, respectively. In an aspect, the data buses 334, 382, ​​and 392 may form or be part of communication interfaces of the UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306, respectively. For example, when various logical entities are embodied within the same device (e.g., gNB and location server functionality integrated within the same base station 304), the data buses 334, 382, ​​and 392 may provide communication therebetween.

[0096] The components of Figures 3A, 3B, and 3C may be implemented in a variety of ways. In some implementations, the components of Figures 3A, 3B, and 3C may be implemented in one or more circuits, such as, for example, one or more processors and / or one or more ASICs (which may include one or more processors), where each circuit may use and / or incorporate at least one memory component for storing information or executable code used by the circuit to provide its 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 and / or by appropriate configuration of the processor components). 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 and / or by appropriate configuration of the processor components). 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 and / or by appropriate configuration of the processor components). For simplicity, various operations, actions, and / or functions are described herein as being performed "by the UE," "by the base station," "by the network entity," etc. However, it will be understood that such operations, actions, and / or functions may actually be performed by particular components or combinations of components of the UE 302, base station 304, network entity 306, etc., such as the processors 332, 384, 394, transceivers 310, 320, 350, and 360, memories 340, 386, and 396, positioning components 342, 388, and 398, etc.

[0097] In some designs, the network entity 306 may be implemented as a core network component. In other designs, the network entity 306 may be separate from the network operator or operation of the cellular network infrastructure (e.g., the NG-RAN 220 and / or the 5GC 210 / 260). For example, the network entity 306 may be a component of a private network that may be configured to communicate with the UE 302 via the base station 304 or independently of the base station 304 (e.g., via a non-cellular communication link such as WiFi).

[0098] 4 illustrates an example of a wireless communication system 400 supporting wireless unicast sidelink establishment according to aspects of the disclosure. In some examples, the wireless communication system 400 may implement aspects of the wireless communication systems 100, 200, and 250. The wireless communication system 400 may include a first UE 402 and a second UE 404, which may be examples of any of the UEs described herein. As a particular example, the UEs 402 and 404 may correspond to the V-UEs 160 of FIG. 1.

[0099] In the example of Fig. 4, the UE 402 may attempt to establish a unicast connection with the UE 404 over a sidelink, which may be a V2X sidelink between the UE 402 and the UE 404. As a specific example, the established sidelink connection may correspond to the sidelinks 162 and / or 168 in Fig. 1. The sidelink connection may be established in an omnidirectional frequency range (e.g., FR1) and / or a mmW frequency range (e.g., FR2). In some cases, the UE 402 may be referred to as an initiator UE that initiates a sidelink connection procedure, and the UE 404 may be referred to as a target UE that is targeted for the sidelink connection procedure by the initiator UE.

[0100] To establish a unicast connection, Access Stratum (AS) (a functional layer in the UMTS and LTE protocol stacks, and part of Layer 2, between the RAN and the UE responsible for transporting data over the wireless link and managing radio resources) parameters may be configured and negotiated between the UE 402 and the UE 404. For example, transmit and receive capability matching may be negotiated between the UE 402 and the UE 404. Each UE may have different capabilities (e.g., transmit and receive, 64 quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM), transmit diversity, carrier aggregation (CA), supported communication frequency bands, etc.). In some cases, different services may be supported at higher layers of the corresponding protocol stacks for the UE 402 and the UE 404. Additionally, a security association may be established between the UE 402 and the UE 404 for the unicast connection. Unicast traffic may benefit from security protection (e.g., integrity protection) at the link level. Security requirements may differ for different wireless communication systems. For example, V2X and Uu systems may have different security requirements (e.g., Uu security does not include confidentiality protection). Additionally, IP configurations (e.g., IP version, addresses, etc.) may be negotiated for unicast connections between UE 402 and UE 404.

[0101] In some cases, the UE 404 may create a service announcement (e.g., a service capability message) for transmission over a cellular network (e.g., cV2X) to assist in sidelink connection establishment. Conventionally, the UE 402 may identify and locate candidates for sidelink communication based on a broadcasted Basic Service Message (BSM) that is decrypted by nearby UEs (e.g., the UE 404). The BSM may include location information, security and identification information, and vehicle information (e.g., speed, operation, size, etc.) for the corresponding UE. However, in the case of a different wireless communication system (e.g., D2D or V2X communication), the discovery channel may not be configured to allow the UE 402 to detect the BSM. Thus, the service announcement (e.g., discovery signal) transmitted by the UE 404 and other nearby UEs may be a higher layer signal and may be broadcast (e.g., in an NR sidelink broadcast). In some cases, the UE 404 may include one or more parameters for itself in the service announcement, including connection parameters and / or capabilities it possesses. The UE 402 may then monitor for and receive the broadcasted service announcements to identify possible UEs for a corresponding sidelink connection. In some cases, the UE 402 may identify possible UEs based on the capabilities that each UE indicates in their respective service announcements.

[0102] The service announcement may include information to assist the UE 402 (e.g., or any initiator UE) in identifying the UE (UE 404 in the example of FIG. 4) that is sending the service announcement. For example, the service announcement may include channel information in which the direct communication request may be sent. In some cases, the channel information may be RAT specific (e.g., LTE or NR specific) and may include a resource pool in which the UE 402 sends the communication request. Additionally, the service announcement may include a specific destination address (e.g., Layer 2 destination address) for the UE if the destination address is different from the current address (e.g., the address of the streaming provider or the UE sending the service announcement). The service announcement may also include a network layer or transport layer for the UE 402 to send the communication request. For example, the network layer (also referred to as "Layer 3" or "L3") or transport layer (also referred to as "Layer 4" or "L4") may indicate a port number of the application for the UE sending the service announcement. In some cases, IP addressing may not be required if the signaling (e.g., PC5 signaling) directly carries a protocol (e.g., Real-time Transport Protocol (RTP)) or provides a locally generated random protocol. Additionally, the service announcement may include the type of protocol for credential establishment and QoS related parameters.

[0103] After identifying a possible sidelink connection target (UE 404 in the example of FIG. 4), the initiator UE (UE 402 in the example of FIG. 4) may send a connection request 415 to the identified target UE 404. In some cases, the connection request 415 may be a first RRC message (e.g., an "RRC Setup Request" message) sent by the UE 402 to request a unicast connection with the UE 404. For example, the unicast connection may utilize a PC5 interface for sidelink, and the connection request 415 may be an RRC Connection Setup Request message. Additionally, the UE 402 may use a sidelink signaling radio bearer 405 to transport the connection request 415.

[0104] After receiving the connection request 415, the UE 404 may determine whether to accept or reject the connection request 415. The UE 404 may base this decision on transmit / receive capabilities, the ability to accommodate a unicast connection over the sidelink, the particular service indicated for the unicast connection, the content to be transmitted over the unicast connection, or a combination thereof. For example, if the UE 402 desires to use a first RAT to transmit or receive data, but the UE 404 does not support the first RAT, the UE 404 may reject the connection request 415. Additionally or alternatively, the UE 404 may reject the connection request 415 based on an inability to accommodate a unicast connection over the sidelink due to limited radio resources, scheduling issues, etc. Thus, the UE 404 may transmit an indication of whether the request is accepted or rejected in the connection response 420. Similar to the UE 402 and the connection request 415, the UE 404 may use the sidelink signaling radio bearer 410 to transport the connection response 420. Additionally, the connection response 420 may be a second RRC message sent by the UE 404 in response to the connection request 415 (eg, an “RRC Response” message).

[0105] In some cases, the sidelink signaling radio bearers 405 and 410 may be the same sidelink signaling radio bearer or may be separate sidelink signaling radio bearers. Thus, a radio link control (RLC) layer acknowledged mode (AM) may be used for the sidelink signaling radio bearers 405 and 410. UEs supporting unicast connections may listen on logical channels associated with the sidelink signaling radio bearers. In some cases, the AS layer (i.e., Layer 2) may pass information directly via RRC signaling (e.g., control plane) rather than the V2X layer (e.g., data plane).

[0106] If the connection response 420 indicates that the UE 404 accepted the connection request 415, the UE 402 may then send a connection establishment 425 message on the sidelink signaling radio bearer 405 to indicate that the unicast connection setup is complete. In some cases, the connection establishment 425 may be a third RRC message (e.g., an "RRC Setup Complete" message). Each of the connection request 415, the connection response 420, and the connection establishment 425 may use basic capabilities when in transport from one UE to the other UE to enable each UE to receive and decode the corresponding transmission (e.g., an RRC message).

[0107] Additionally, an identifier may be used for each of the connection request 415, the connection response 420, and the connection establishment 425. For example, the identifier may indicate which UE 402 / 404 is sending which message and / or which UE 402 / 404 the message is intended for. For physical (PHY) layer channels, the RRC signaling and any subsequent data transmissions may use the same identifier (e.g., Layer 2 ID). However, for logical channels, the identifiers may be separate for the RRC signaling and for the data transmissions. For example, on logical channels, the RRC signaling and the data transmissions may be treated differently and may have different acknowledgement (ACK) feedback messaging. In some cases, for RRC messaging, a physical layer ACK may be used to ensure that the corresponding message is transmitted and received correctly.

[0108] One or more information elements may be included in the connection request 415 and / or connection response 420 for the UE 402 and / or UE 404, respectively, to enable negotiation of corresponding AS layer parameters for the unicast connection. For example, the UE 402 and / or UE 404 may include PDCP parameters in the corresponding unicast connection setup message to set up a PDCP context for the unicast connection. In some cases, the PDCP context may indicate whether PDCP duplication is utilized for the unicast connection. Additionally, the UE 402 and / or UE 404 may include RLC parameters when establishing the unicast connection to set up an RLC context for the unicast connection. For example, the RLC context may indicate whether AM (e.g., reordering timer (t-reordering) is used) or unacknowledged mode (UM) is used for the RLC layer of the unicast communication.

[0109] Additionally, the UE 402 and / or UE 404 may include medium access control (MAC) parameters to set up a MAC context for a unicast connection. In some cases, the MAC context may enable a resource selection algorithm, a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback scheme (e.g., ACK or negative ACK (NACK) feedback), parameters for a HARQ feedback scheme, carrier aggregation, or a combination thereof, for the unicast connection. Additionally, the UE 402 and / or UE 404 may include PHY layer parameters when establishing a unicast connection to set up a PHY layer context for the unicast connection. For example, the PHY layer context may indicate a transmission format (unless a transmission profile is included per UE 402 / 404) and a radio resource configuration (e.g., bandwidth portion (BWP), numerology, etc.) for the unicast connection. These information elements may be supported for different frequency range configurations (e.g., FR1 and FR2).

[0110] In some cases, a security context may also be set for the unicast connection (e.g., after the connection establishment 425 message is sent). Before a security association (e.g., security context) is established between the UE 402 and the UE 404, the sidelink signaling radio bearers 405 and 410 may not be protected. After the security association is established, the sidelink signaling radio bearers 405 and 410 may be protected. Thus, the security context may enable secure data transmission over the unicast connection as well as the sidelink signaling radio bearers 405 and 410. Furthermore, IP layer parameters (e.g., link-local IPv4 or IPv6 addresses) may also be negotiated. In some cases, the IP layer parameters may be negotiated by a higher layer control protocol operating after the RRC signaling is established (e.g., the unicast connection is established). As mentioned above, the UE 404 may base its decision whether to accept or reject the connection request 415 for the particular service indicated for the unicast connection and / or the content (e.g., higher layer information) to be transmitted over the unicast connection. The particular service and / or content may also be indicated by a higher layer control protocol operating after the RRC signaling is established.

[0111] After the unicast connection is established, the UE 402 and the UE 404 may communicate using a unicast connection over the sidelink 430, where the sidelink data 435 is transmitted between the two UEs 402 and 404. The sidelink 430 may correspond to the sidelinks 162 and / or 168 of FIG. 1. In some cases, the sidelink data 435 may include RRC messages transmitted between the two UEs 402 and 404. To maintain this unicast connection over the sidelink 430, the UE 402 and / or the UE 404 may transmit keep alive messages (e.g., "RRCLinkAlive" messages, fourth RRC messages, etc.). In some cases, the keep alive messages may be triggered (e.g., event triggered) periodically or on demand. Thus, the triggering and transmission of the keep alive messages may be invoked by the UE 402 or by both the UE 402 and the UE 404. Additionally or alternatively, a MAC Control Element (CE) (e.g., defined over sidelink 430) may be used to monitor the status of the unicast connection on sidelink 430 and maintain the connection. When the unicast connection is no longer needed (e.g., when UE 402 moves far enough away from UE 404), either UE 402 and / or UE 404 may initiate a release procedure to delete the unicast connection over sidelink 430. Thus, no subsequent RRC messages may be transmitted between UE 402 and UE 404 over the unicast connection.

[0112] Various frame structures may be used to support downlink and uplink transmissions between network nodes (e.g., base stations and UEs). Figure 5 is a diagram 500 illustrating example frame structures according to aspects of the disclosure. The frame structure may be a downlink or uplink frame structure. Other wireless communication technologies may have different frame structures and / or different channels.

[0113] LTE and in some instances NR utilize 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. Generally, modulation symbols are sent 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 be dependent on the system bandwidth. For example, the subcarrier spacing may be 15 kilohertz (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, 512, 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 1.08 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.

[0114] LTE supports a single numerology (subcarrier spacing (SCS), symbol length, etc.). In contrast, NR may support multiple numerologies (μ), e.g., subcarrier spacings of 15 kHz (μ=0), 30 kHz (μ=1), 60 kHz (μ=2), 120 kHz (μ=3), and 240 kHz (μ=4) or more may be available. At each subcarrier spacing, there are 14 symbols per slot. For a 15 kHz SCS (μ=0), there is one slot per subframe, i.e., 10 slots per frame, the slot duration is 1 millisecond (ms), the symbol duration is 66.7 microseconds (μs), and the maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) with an FFT size of 4K is 50. For a 30 kHz SCS (μ=1), there are two slots per subframe, i.e., 20 slots per frame, the slot duration is 0.5 ms, the symbol duration is 33.3 μs, and the maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) for a 4K FFT size is 100. For a 60 kHz SCS (μ=2), there are four slots per subframe, i.e., 40 slots per frame, the slot duration is 0.25 ms, the symbol duration is 16.7 μs, and the maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) for a 4K FFT size is 200. For a 120 kHz SCS (μ=3), there are eight slots per subframe, i.e., 80 slots per frame, the slot duration is 0.125 ms, the symbol duration is 8.33 μs, and the maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) for a 4K FFT size is 400. For a 240 kHz SCS (μ=4), there are 16 slots per subframe, i.e., 160 slots per frame, the slot duration is 0.0625 ms, the symbol duration is 4.17 μs, and the maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) with an FFT size of 4K is 800.

[0115] In the example of Figure 5, a numerology of 15 kHz is used. Thus, in the time domain, a 10 ms frame is divided into 10 equally sized subframes of 1 ms each, with each subframe containing one time slot. In Figure 5, time is represented horizontally (on the X-axis), with time increasing from left to right, and frequency is represented vertically (on the Y-axis), with frequency increasing (or decreasing) from bottom to top.

[0116] A resource grid may be used to represent a time slot, 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 the numerology of FIG. 5, for a normal cyclic prefix, an RB may include 12 consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain and 7 consecutive symbols in the time domain to obtain a total of 84 REs. For an extended cyclic prefix, an RB may include 12 consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain and 6 consecutive symbols in the time domain to obtain a total of 72 REs. The number of bits carried by each RE depends on the modulation scheme.

[0117] Some of the REs may carry reference (pilot) signals (RS). The reference signals may include positioning reference signals (PRS), tracking reference signals (TRS), phase tracking reference signals (PTRS), cell-specific reference signals (CRS), channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS), demodulation reference signals (DMRS), primary synchronization signals (PSS), secondary synchronization signals (SSS), synchronization signal blocks (SSB), sounding reference signals (SRS), etc., depending on whether the illustrated frame structure is used for uplink or downlink communications. Figure 5 shows example locations of REs carrying reference signals (labeled "R").

[0118] A collection of resource elements (REs) used for transmission of a PRS is called a "PRS resource." A collection of resource elements can span multiple PRBs in the frequency domain and "N" consecutive symbols (e.g., one or more) within a slot in the time domain. In a given OFDM symbol in the time domain, a PRS resource occupies consecutive PRBs in the frequency domain.

[0119] 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 Com 4, for each symbol of the PRS resource configuration, an RE corresponding to every fourth subcarrier (such as subcarriers 0, 4, 8) is used to transmit the PRS of the PRS resource. Currently, the following comb sizes are supported for DL-PRS: Com 2, Com 4, Com 6, and Com 12. Figure 5 shows an example PRS resource configuration for Com 4 (spanning four symbols). That is, the location of the shaded RE (labeled "R") indicates the Com 4 PRS resource configuration.

[0120] Currently, DL-PRS resources may span 2, 4, 6, or 12 consecutive symbols in a slot with a staggered pattern across the frequency domain. DL-PRS resources may be configured in any higher layer configured downlink or flexible (FL) symbol of a slot. There may be a constant energy per resource element (EPRE) for all REs of a given DL-PRS resource. Below are the symbol-to-symbol frequency offsets for comb sizes 2, 4, 6, and 12 spanning 2, 4, 6, and 12 symbols. 2-symbol-comb2: {0,1}, 4-symbol-comb2: {0,1,0,1}, 6-symbol-comb2: {0,1,0,1,0,1}, 12-symbol-comb2: {0,1,0,1,0,1,0,1,0,1,0,1,0,1}, 4-symbol-comb4: {0,2,1,3} (for the example in Figure 5), 12-symbol-comb4: {0,2,1,3,0,2,1,3,0,2,1,3}, 6-symbol-comb6: {0,3,1,4,2,5}, 12-symbol-comb6: {0,3,1,4,2,5,03,1,4,2,5}, and 12-symbol-comb12: {0,6,3,9,1,7,4,10,2,8,5,11}.

[0121] 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 μ=0, 1, 2, 3, where μ is a function of 2^μ *The repetition factor may have a length selected from {1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 16, 32} slots.

[0122] 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 more beams). That is, each PRS resource in a PRS resource set may be transmitted on a different beam, and thus may also be referred to as a "PRS resource" or simply a "resource", also sometimes 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.

[0123] A "PRS instance" or "PRS occasion" is one instance of a periodically repeating time window (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 referred to as a "PRS positioning occasion", "PRS positioning instance", "positioning occasion", "positioning instance", "positioning repetition", or simply an "occasion", "instance", or "repetition".

[0124] 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. In particular, the collection of PRS resource sets has the same subcarrier spacing and cyclic prefix (CP) type (meaning that all numerologies supported for the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) are also supported for the PRS), the same Point A, the same value of the 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 can be configured per frequency layer.

[0125] 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 it can support one positioning frequency layer or four positioning frequency layers.

[0126] It should be noted that the terms "positioning reference signal" and "PRS" generally refer to specific reference signals used for positioning in NR and LTE systems. However, the terms "positioning reference signal" and "PRS" as used herein may also refer to any type of reference signal that can be used for positioning, such as, but not limited to, PRS as defined in LTE and NR, TRS, PTRS, CRS, CSI-RS, DMRS, PSS, SSS, SSB, SRS, UL-PRS, etc. Furthermore, the terms "positioning reference signal" and "PRS" may refer to downlink or uplink positioning reference signals, unless otherwise suggested by the context. If necessary to further distinguish the type of PRS, downlink positioning reference signals may be referred to as "DL-PRS" and uplink positioning reference signals (e.g., SRS for positioning, PTRS) may be referred to as "UL-PRS". In addition, for signals that may be transmitted in both uplink and downlink (e.g., DMRS, PTRS), "UL" or "DL" may be prepended to the signal to distinguish the direction. For example, "UL-DMRS" can be distinguished from "DL-DMRS."

[0127] 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, the UE measures the differences between the times of arrival (ToA) of reference signals (e.g., positioning reference signals (PRS)) 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 (IDs) 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, a positioning entity (e.g., the UE in the case of UE-based positioning, or a location server in the case of UE-assisted positioning) can estimate the location of the UE.

[0128] For DL-AoD positioning, the positioning entity uses beam reports from the UE of received signal strength measurements of multiple downlink transmission beams to determine the angle between the UE and the transmitting base station. The positioning entity can then estimate the location of the UE based on the determined angle and the known location of the transmitting base station.

[0129] 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., Sounding Reference Signal (SRS)) transmitted by the UE. For UL-AoA positioning, one or more base stations measure the received signal strength of one or more uplink reference signals (e.g., SRS) received from the UE on one or more uplink receive beams. The positioning entity uses the signal strength measurements and the angles of the receive beams to determine the angle between the UE and the base station. Based on the determined angle and the known location of the base station, the positioning entity can then estimate the location of the UE.

[0130] Downlink and uplink based positioning methods include Extended Cell ID (E-CID) positioning, and Multiple Round Trip Time (RTT) positioning (also called "Multi-cell RTT" and "Multi-RTT"). In an RTT procedure, a first entity (e.g., a base station or a UE) transmits a first RTT-related signal (e.g., a PRS or an SRS) to a second entity (e.g., a UE or a base station), and the second entity transmits a second RTT-related signal (e.g., an SRS or a PRS) back to the first entity. Each entity measures the time difference between the time of arrival (ToA) of the received RTT-related signal and the transmission time of the transmitted RTT-related signal. This time difference is called the reception-to-transmission (Rx-Tx) time difference. The Rx-Tx time difference measurement may be made or adjusted to include only the time difference between the nearest subframe boundaries for the received and transmitted signals. Both entities may then send their Rx-Tx time difference measurements to a location server (e.g., LMF 270), which calculates the round trip propagation time (i.e., RTT) between the two entities from the two Rx-Tx time difference measurements (e.g., as the sum of the two Rx-Tx time difference measurements). Alternatively, one entity may send its Rx-Tx time difference measurements to the other entity, which then calculates the RTT. The distance between the two entities may be determined from the RTT and a known signal speed (e.g., the speed of light). In the case of multi-RTT positioning, a first entity (e.g., a UE or a base station) performs an RTT positioning procedure with multiple second entities (e.g., multiple base stations or UEs) to enable the location of the first entity to be determined based on the distance to the second entity and the known location of the second entity (e.g., using multilateration). The RTT and multi-RTT methods can be combined with other positioning techniques such as UL-AoA and DL-AoD to improve location accuracy.

[0131] 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 neighbor base stations. The location of the UE is then estimated based on this information and the known locations of the base stations.

[0132] To assist the positioning operation, a location server (e.g., location server 230, LMF 270, SLP 272) may provide assistance data to the UE. For example, the assistance data may include an identifier of the base station (or cell / TRP of the base station) from which to measure the reference signal, reference signal configuration parameters (e.g., number of consecutive positioning subframes, periodicity of the positioning subframes, muting sequence, frequency hopping sequence, reference signal identifier, reference signal bandwidth, etc.), and / or other parameters applicable to a particular positioning method. 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.

[0133] In the case of OTDOA or DL-TDOA positioning procedures, the assistance data may further include an expected RSTD value and an associated uncertainty around the expected RSTD, i.e., a search window. In some cases, the value range for the expected RSTD may be + / - 500 microseconds (μs). In some cases, the value range for the expected RSTD uncertainty may be + / - 32 μs when any of the resources used for positioning measurements are in FR1. In other cases, the value range for the expected RSTD uncertainty may be + / - 8 μs when all of the resources used for positioning measurements are in FR2.

[0134] A location estimate may be referred to by other names, such as a position estimate, location, position, position fix, fix, etc. A location 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 the location. A location estimate may also be defined relative to some other known location, or defined absolutely (e.g., using latitude, longitude, and possibly altitude). A location estimate may include an expected error or uncertainty (e.g., by including an area or volume within which the location is expected to lie with some specified or default level of confidence).

[0135] FIG. 6 illustrates an example system 600 for wireless communication using a reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) 610 according to an aspect of the disclosure. A RIS (e.g., RIS 610) is a two-dimensional surface that includes a large number of low-cost, low-power, quasi-passive reflective elements whose properties are not static but are reconfigurable (by software). For example, by carefully adjusting the phase shifts of the reflective elements (using software), the scattering, absorption, reflection, and diffraction properties of the RIS can be changed over time. In that way, the electromagnetic (EM) properties of the RIS can be designed to collect wireless signals from a transmitter (e.g., a base station, a UE, etc.) and passively beamform them toward a target receiver (e.g., another base station, another UE, etc.). In the example of FIG. 6, a first base station 602-1 controls the reflective properties of the RIS 610 to communicate with a first UE 604-1.

[0136] The goal of RIS technology is to create a smart wireless environment where wireless propagation conditions are co-engineered with physical layer signaling. In some scenarios, this expanded functionality of the system 600 can provide technical advantages.

[0137] As a first exemplary scenario, as shown in Figure 6, a first base station 602-1 (e.g., any of the base stations described herein) is attempting to transmit downlink wireless signals to a first UE 604-1 and a second UE 604-2 (e.g., any two of the UEs described herein, collectively UE 604) on multiple downlink transmission beams labeled "0", "1", "2", and "3". However, unlike the second UE 604-2, the first UE 604-1 is behind an obstruction 620 (e.g., a building, a hill, or another type of obstruction) and therefore is unable to receive wireless signals on what is potentially a line-of-sight (LOS) beam from the first base station 602-1, i.e., the downlink transmission beam labeled "2". In this scenario, the first base station 602-1 may instead transmit wireless signals to the RIS 610 using a downlink transmit beam labeled "1" and configure the RIS 610 to reflect / beamform the incoming wireless signals toward the first UE 604-1, thereby allowing the first base station 602-1 to transmit radio signals around the obstacle 620.

[0138] It should be noted that the first base station 602-1 may also configure the RIS 610 for use by the first UE 604-1 in the uplink. In that case, the first base station 602-1 may configure the RIS 610 to reflect an uplink signal from the first UE 604-1 back to the first base station 602-1, thereby enabling the first UE 604-1 to transmit the uplink signal around the obstacle 620.

[0139] As another example scenario in which the system 600 may provide a technical advantage, the first base station 602-1 may recognize that an obstacle 620 may create a "dead zone," i.e., a geographic area where a downlink wireless signal from the first base station 602-1 is too attenuated to be reliably detected by UEs (e.g., the first UE 604-1) in that area. In this scenario, the first base station 602-1 may configure the RIS 610 to reflect the downlink wireless signal into the dead zone to provide coverage to UEs that may be located in the dead zone, including UEs that the first base station 602-1 does not recognize.

[0140] A RIS (e.g., RIS 610) may be designed to operate in either a first mode (referred to as “Mode 1”) in which the RIS operates as a reconfigurable mirror, or a second mode (referred to as “Mode 2”) in which the RIS operates as a receiver and transmitter (similar to the amplify and forward function of a relay node). Some RIS may be designed to be able to operate in either Mode 1 or Mode 2, while other RIS may be designed to operate only in either Mode 1 or Mode 2. Mode 1 RISs are assumed to have negligible hardware group delay, while Mode 2 RISs have limited baseband processing capabilities and therefore non-negligible hardware group delay. Due to their greater processing capabilities compared to Mode 1 RISs, Mode 2 RISs may in some cases be able to calculate and report their transmit-receive (Tx-Rx) time difference measurements (i.e., the difference between the time a signal is reflected towards the UE and the time the signal is received back from the UE). In the example of FIG. 6, RIS 610 may be either a Mode 1 or Mode 2 RIS.

[0141] FIG. 6 also illustrates a second base station 602-2 that may transmit downlink wireless signals to one or both of the UEs 604. As an example, the first base station 602-1 may be a serving base station for the UEs 604, and the second base station 602-2 may be a neighboring base station. The second base station 602-2 may transmit downlink positioning reference signals to one or both of the UEs 604 as part of a positioning procedure involving the UEs 604. Alternatively or additionally, the second base station 602-2 may be a secondary cell for one or both of the UEs 604. In some cases, the second base station 602-2 may reconfigure the RIS 610, provided that it is not currently controlled by the first base station 602-1.

[0142] 6 shows one RIS 610 and one base station (i.e., the first base station 602-1) controlling the RIS 610, it should be noted that the first base station 602-1 may control multiple RIS 610. In addition, the RIS 610 may be controlled by multiple base stations 602 (e.g., both the first and second base stations 602-1 and 602-2, and possibly more).

[0143] FIG. 7 is a diagram of an example architecture of a RIS 700 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The RIS 700, which may correspond to the RIS 610 of FIG. 6, may be a RIS in mode 1. As shown in FIG. 7, the RIS 700 mainly consists of a plane 710 and a controller 720. The plane 710 may be composed of one or more layers of material. In the example of FIG. 7, the plane 710 may consist of three layers. In this case, the outer layer has a number of reflective elements 712 printed on a dielectric substrate to directly act on the incident signal. The middle layer is a copper panel to avoid signal / energy leakage. The last layer is a circuit board used to adjust the reflection coefficient of the reflective elements 712 and is operated by a controller 720. The controller 720 may be a low-power processor such as an FPGA.

[0144] In a typical operating scenario, the optimal reflection coefficients of the RIS 700 are calculated at a base station (e.g., the first base station 602-1 in FIG. 6) and then sent to the controller 720 via a dedicated feedback link. The design of the reflection coefficients relies on channel state information (CSI) and is updated only when the CSI changes, which is on a time scale much longer than the data symbol duration. Thus, a low-rate information exchange is sufficient for a dedicated control link, which can be implemented using low-cost copper wire or a simple, cost-effective wireless transceiver.

[0145] Each reflective element 712 is coupled to a positive-intrinsic negative (PIN) diode 714. Additionally, bias lines 716 connect each reflective element 712 in the column to a controller 720. By controlling the voltage via the bias lines 716, the PIN diodes 714 can be switched between an "on" mode and an "off" mode. This can achieve a phase shift difference of π (pi) in radians. To increase the number of phase shift levels, more PIN diodes 714 can be coupled to each reflective element 712.

[0146] A RIS such as the RIS700 has important advantages for practical implementation. For example, the reflective element 712 only passively reflects the incoming signal without advanced signal processing operations that require RF transceiver hardware. Thus, compared to conventional active transmitters, the RIS700 can operate at orders of magnitude lower cost in terms of hardware and power consumption. Furthermore, due to the passive nature of the reflective element 712, the RIS700 can be manufactured with a light weight and limited layer thickness, and therefore can be easily installed on walls, ceilings, signs, streetlights, etc. Furthermore, the RIS700 naturally operates in full-duplex (FD) mode without the introduction of self-interference or thermal noise. Thus, it can achieve higher spectral efficiency than an active FD relay, despite a lower signal processing complexity than that of an active half-duplex (HD) relay, which requires advanced self-interference cancellation.

[0147] NR can support various sidelink ranging and positioning techniques. Sidelink-based ranging allows the determination of relative distances between UEs and optionally their absolute positions, where the absolute position of at least one involved UE is known. This technique is beneficial in situations where global navigation satellite system (GNSS) positioning is degraded or unavailable (e.g., tunnels, urban canyons, etc.) and can also improve distance and positioning accuracy when GNSS is available. Sidelink-based ranging can be accomplished using a three-way handshake for session establishment, followed by an exchange of positioning reference signals (PRS), and terminated by messaging to exchange measurements based on PRS transmissions and receptions from peer UEs.

[0148] Sidelink ranging is based on calculating UE-to-UE round trip time (RTT) measurements determined from the transmission and reception times of the PRS (wideband positioning signal defined in LTE and NR). Each UE reports the RTT measurements along with its location (if known) to all other participating UEs. For UEs with zero or imprecise knowledge of the UE's location, the RTT procedure results in the UE-to-UE distance between the involved UEs. For UEs with precise knowledge of their locations, the distance results in the absolute position. UE joining, PRS transmission, and subsequent RTT calculations are coordinated by an initial three-way messaging handshake (PRS request, PRS response, and PRS acknowledgement) and a message exchange after PRS transmission (PRS post-message) to share measurements after receiving the peer UE's PRS.

[0149] FIG. 8 is a diagram 800 illustrating an example sidelink ranging and positioning procedure according to an aspect of the disclosure. The procedure (or session) begins with an initial three-way messaging handshake after broadcast of capability information by the involved peer UEs. In step 805, an initiator UE 804-1 (e.g., any of the UEs described herein) sends a PRS request ("PRSrequest") to a target UE 804-2 (e.g., any other of the UEs described herein). In step 810, the target UE 804-2 sends a PRS response ("PRSresponse") to the initiator UE 804-1. In step 815, the initiator UE 804-1 sends a PRS confirm to the target UE 804-2. At this point, the initial three-way messaging handshake is complete.

[0150] In steps 820 and 825, the participating peer UEs 804 transmit the PRS to each other. The resources on which the PRS is transmitted may be configured / allocated by the network (e.g., one of the serving base stations of the UEs 804) or negotiated by the UEs 804 during the initial three-way messaging handshake. The initiator UE 804-1 measures the transmit-receive (Tx-Rx) time difference between the transmit time of the PRS in step 820 and the receive time of the PRS in step 825. The target UE 804-2 measures the receive-transmit (Rx-Tx) time difference between the receive time of the PRS in step 820 and the transmit time of the PRS in step 825.

[0151] At steps 830 and 835, the UEs 804 exchange their respective time difference measurements. Each UE 804 can then determine the RTT between each UE 804 based on the Tx-Rx time difference measurement and the Rx-Tx time difference measurement (specifically, the difference between the Tx-Rx time difference measurement and the Rx-Tx time difference measurement). Based on the RTT measurement and the speed of light, each UE 804 can then estimate the distance between the two UEs 804 (specifically, half the RTT measurement multiplied by the speed of light). It should be noted that although FIG. 8 shows two UEs 804, the UEs may perform or attempt to perform the sidelink ranging and positioning procedure shown in FIG. 8 with multiple UEs.

[0152] FIG. 9 illustrates an example operation 900 of RTT sidelink positioning between two UEs, extending FIG. 8 to show more detailed operations and measurements performed during RTT sidelink positioning. In FIG. 9 and all subsequent figures, suffixes associated with various parameters in the strings are shown after an underline ("_") in the figure. For example, "PRSrequest" 1 " is shown as "PRSrequest_1" in FIG. 8. Similarly, "T PRS1,TX " is shown as "T_PRS1,TX". This convention is applied throughout the diagrams, and any string following a "_" in a diagram should be interpreted as equivalent to applying a subscript to the string.

[0153] In the example shown in Figure 9, two UEs, labeled "UE1" and "UE2", have unsynchronized clocks, shown as clock = T for UE1 and clock = T' for UE2. Positioning begins when UE1 and UE2 exchange requests for the transmission of PRS resources. UE1, in response to a request from UE2, calculates a time T using its clock T as the time axis. TPRS1,TX PRS Resources 1 UE2 transmits time T' using its own clock T' as the time axis. TPRS1,RX PRS 1Similarly, UE2 receives time T' in response to a request from UE1 using the clock T' of UE2 as a time axis. TPRS2,TX PRS Resources 2 UE1 transmits the time T using its clock T as the time axis. TPRS2,RX PRS 2 UE2 receives the PRS as follows: 1 The one-way flight time may be determined.

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[0155] Similarly, UE1 receives the PRS 2 The one-way flight time may be determined as follows:

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[0157] After transmitting their respective PRS resources, UE1 and UE2 report the times associated with the transmission and reception of the PRS in the postPRS report. In this example, UE1 reports that it has received the PRS from UE2. 2 The time T when TPRS2,RX And that's the PRS for UE2. 1 The time T when TPRS1,TX Report with postPRS 1 Similarly, UE2 sends it in the PRS 2 Time T' when TPRS2,RX And that's the PRS for UE1. 2 Time T' when TPRS2,TX Report with postPRS 2 Using the information in the report, the RTT can be determined as follows:

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[0159] FIG. 10 is an example of how the operation shown in FIG. 9 may be extended to include additional UEs. In this example, each target UE (labeled "UE2", "UE3" through "UE1") transmits at least one PRS resource that is measured by UE1. Similarly, each target UE measures at least one PRS resource transmitted by UE1. The PRS measurements of each PRS resource made by UE1 are sent to the target UE that transmitted the PRS resource along with the transmission time of the PRS resource transmitted by UE1. Each target UE also sends to UE1 the PRS measurements made by the target UE that are transmitted by UE1 along with the transmission time of the PRS resource transmitted by the target UE. This allows for the exchange of transmission time and arrival time data (e.g., (T')) used to determine the RTT between UE1 and each target UE. PRS2,TX ,T' PRS1,RX ),(T PRS1,TX ,T PRS2,RX )~(T' PRSN,TX ,T' PRS1,RX ),(T PRS1,TX ,T PRSN,RX )) results.

[0160] As mentioned above, a positioning environment may include one or more RISs with known locations. According to some aspects of the present disclosure, such RISs may be used by a UE in a sidelink positioning operation to increase the accuracy of UE position determination. To this end, some aspects of the present disclosure determine a RIS schedule that indicates instances when one or more of the RISs in the positioning environment are enabled / disabled. Such a RIS schedule should be known to the UE, which calculates parameters such as time of arrival / distance / location for other UEs. If the UE does not know whether the RIS is enabled or disabled, the UE cannot determine whether the measurements they make correspond to measurements of a direct path from another UE or to measurements of a reflected path from the RIS. With knowledge of the RIS schedule, the UE may determine which measurements correspond to a direct path, but may also obtain additional measurements that correspond to a reflected path, thereby providing the UE with more information in making its positioning determination. For example, armed with this additional information, the UE may use the known location of the RIS to more accurately determine its own location.

[0161] 11A, 11B, and 11C (collectively FIG. 11) illustrate an example positioning operation according to some aspects of the present disclosure. In this example, the initiator UE determines a RIS schedule for enabling and disabling the RIS and controls the RIS according to the schedule. The initiator UE also indicates the time instance to each participating UE for transmission of its PRS.

[0162] In FIG. 11 , the positioning environment includes multiple UEs (labeled as “UE1”, “UE2”, and “UE3”) and multiple RISs (labeled as “RIS1” and “RIS2”). In one aspect, UE1 may be an RSU. UE1 controls RIS enablement and disablement for each measurement interval according to a RIS schedule. UE1 may also indicate PRS transmission schedules for participating UEs (UE2, UE3) and coordinate the PRS transmission schedule with the RIS schedule such that each PRS may be measured in instances where one or more RISs are enabled and instances where one or more RISs are disabled. For example, based on the enable / disable times indicated in the RIS schedule, UE1 may select the time instances for transmitting a PRS to UE2.

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[0166] In addition to indicating the PRS transmission schedule for participating UEs (UE2, UE3, ... UEN), UE1 may also indicate whether channel coherence should be assumed between different instances in the PRS transmission schedule. When the RIS is disabled, the repeated transmissions of the PRS in time may be averaged and used to estimate clock drift or to mitigate the effects of clock drift. In order to use repeated transmissions of the PRS in this manner, channel coherence is required. Thus, in addition to indicating the time allocated to responder UE2, ..., UEN for transmission of the PRS, UE1 may also give a channel coherence window [h1, h2], [h2+1, h3], etc., indicating the time over which the PRS is coherent (i.e., the channel is a coherent channel). Such a channel coherence window is signaled by UE1 to indicate when the RIS is in a disabled state. During the channel coherence window, participating UEs may make and average multiple PRS measurements over the channel coherence window. When the RIS in the positioning environment is enabled, channel coherence is not assumed.

[0167] In the example shown in Figure 11, UE1 is the initiator UE in that it initiates the positioning session. Also in this example, UE1 controls (i.e., enables and disables) RIS1 and RIS2 to calculate the positioning, and coordinates the PRS transmission schedules of participating UEs UE2 and UE3. Note that there may be other examples where the initiator UE does not control the RIS. Such examples are described herein in connection with Figure 15.

[0168] In one embodiment, UE1 is configured to receive the RIS1 at the scheduled time.

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[0175] In Figure 11A, when UE1 requests that UE2 transmit a PRS, RIS1 and RIS2 are both disabled. During the time when RIS1 and RIS2 are disabled, UE1 performs ranging measurement of the PRS received from UE2 using direct LOS ToA. As shown in Figure 11A, UE1 performs ranging measurement of the PRS received from UE2 using TOA d1 UE2 receives a PRS transmission along the direct path from UE3 at

[0176] In FIG. 11B, UE1 enables RIS1, but RIS2 remains disabled. Therefore, UE1 d2 Receive the PRS along the direct route to the ToA ris1(1)During the instance when RIS1 is enabled, UE1 receives the PRS along the reflection path from RIS1. d2 ) and the reflected path ToA from RIS1 (ToA ris1(1) ) to perform ranging measurements for UE2. In one aspect, UE1 uses ToA d1 and ToA d2 Using the measurements from UE1,UE2 ) is calculated. Furthermore, since the positions of UE1 and RIS1 are known, the distance between UE1 and RIS1 is taken into account, and the distance from UE2 to RIS1 (R UE2,RIS1 ) is calculated. tx Let be the transmission time of PRS by UE2,

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[0178] Additionally or alternatively, UE1 may disable RIS1 and enable RIS2, as shown in FIG. 11C. As shown, UE1 disables RIS1 and enables RIS2 at time ToA d3 Receive the PRS along the direct route to the ToA ris2(1) During the time that RIS2 is enabled, UE1 receives the PRS along the reflected path from RIS2. d3 ) and the reflected path ToA from RIS2 (ToA ris2(1) ) to perform ranging measurements for UE2.

[0179] When RIS2 is enabled / disabled, the distance parameter for RIS2 (R UE2,UE1 ,R UE2,RIS2 A similar method can be used to calculate the absolute positions of UE1, RIS1, and RIS2, and the calculated distance parameters (R UE1,UE2 ,R UE2,RIS1 ,R UE2,RIS2 ), the location of UE2 can be solved.

[0180] According to some aspects of the disclosure, PRS transmissions from an initiator UE are measured by participating UEs, which report the measurements to the initiator UE. The PRS transmissions and measurements are coordinated with enabling and disabling of RIS in the positioning environment. FIG. 12A, FIG. 12B, and FIG. 12C (collectively FIG. 12) illustrate example positioning operations according to such aspects of the disclosure. In FIG. 12, the positioning environment includes multiple UEs (labeled "UE1", "UE2", and "UE3") and multiple RISs (labeled "RIS1" and "RIS2"). In one aspect, UE1 may be an RSU.

[0181] According to some aspects of the present disclosure, UE1 performs a scheduled PRS transmission to indicate to participating UEs (e.g., UE2 and UE3) reporting parameters to be provided by the participating UEs, and UE1 calculates the location of the participating UEs based on the reported parameters provided to UE1 by the participating UEs.

[0182] According to some aspects, a time instance {t 1 ,t 3 ,t 4 ,t 6 ...}, UE1 transmits its PRS and requests UE2 to report the ToA of the PRS received on the earliest arriving path (e.g., the earliest received PRS measurement value). UE2 also transmits the transmission time t tx to UE1. The parameters reported by UE2 are used by UE1 to calculate the distance / location of UE2 based on the direct path ToA. In one aspect, the direct path ToA corresponds to the earliest arriving path and may be determined from the earliest PRS signal received by UE2 during such time instance. FIG. 12A illustrates a time instance {t 1 ,t 3 ,t 4 ,t 6...}. The PRS received by UE2 on the fastest path is the ToA d4 This occurs at t tx It can be reported to UE1 together with.

[0183] According to some aspects, a time instance {t 2 ,t 5 ...}, UE1 transmits its PRS and requests UE2 to report the ToA of the first best PRS measurement and the second best PRS measurement detected by UE2. UE2 also transmits the ToA of the corresponding PRS. tx The parameters reported by UE2 are used by UE1 to calculate the distance / position of UE2 on both the direct path from UE1 and the reflected path from the RIS.

[0184] FIG. 12B illustrates a time instance {t 2 ,t 5 ...}. The PRS measurement received by UE2 on the fastest path is d5 The second best PRS measurement received by UE2 occurs at ToA ris1(2) UE2 corresponds to the measurement of the path including the reflected path from RIS1. d5 , ToA ris1(2) , and the corresponding PRS t tx The parameters reported by UE2 are used by UE1 to calculate the distance / position of UE2 on both the direct path from UE1 and the reflected path from RIS1.

[0185] FIG. 12C shows the time instance {t 2 ,t 5 ...}. The PRS measurement received by UE2 on the fastest path is the ToA d6The second best PRS measurement received by UE2 occurs at ToA ris2(2) UE2 corresponds to the measurement of the path including the reflected path from RIS2. d6 and ToA ris2(2) and the corresponding PRS t tx The parameters reported by UE2 are used by UE1 to calculate the distance / position of UE2 on both the direct path from UE1 and the reflected path from RIS2.

[0186] According to some aspects of the present disclosure, UE1 may measure the differential timing of the first best path (i.e., direct path) and the second best path (i.e., reflected path) PRS measurements (the transmission times t tx 12A and 12B, UE2 requests UE2 to report the ToA for the instance {t 1 ,t 3 ,t 4 ,t 6 ...}, determined during (t tx -ToA d4 ) and the time instance {t 2 ,t 5 ...}, determined during (t tx -ToA d5 ) and (t tx -ToA ris1(2) ) According to some aspects of the present disclosure, reporting from participating UEs may be per channel coherence interval [h1,h2], [h2+1,h3] (i.e., when measurement averaging can be performed to mitigate drift when the RIS is disabled).

[0187] According to some aspects of the disclosure, the initiator UE may send a RIS schedule to the participating UEs for use in determining their own positions. FIG. 13 illustrates an example of positioning in which the initiator UE sends a RIS schedule to the participating UEs according to some aspects of the disclosure. In addition, the initiator UE may send a PRS transmission schedule to one or more of the participating UEs indicating when a selected PRS is on for measurements. In FIG. 13, the positioning environment includes multiple UEs (labeled "UE1", "UE2", and "UE3") and multiple RISs (labeled "RIS1" and "RIS2"). In one aspect, UE1 may be an RSU. The participating UEs may use the RIS schedule in calculating the positions of the participating UEs.

[0188] In one embodiment, UE1 is configured to receive the RIS1 at the scheduled time.

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[0194] 14A, 14B, and 14C (collectively FIG. 14) illustrate an example positioning operation in which the RIS schedule and location sent by the initiator UE of FIG. 13 are used by participating UEs in determining their own positions. In the example illustrated in FIG. 14, the initiator UE (labeled "UE1") controls the enabling and disabling of the RIS, labeled "RIS1" and "RIS2". The participating UEs (labeled "UE2" and "UE3") receive scheduling information from the initiator UE, UE1, as illustrated in FIG. 13. The participating UEs perform positioning measurements based on the scheduling information to measure at least one PRS of UE1 when the RIS in the positioning environment is disabled, and to measure at least one PRS of UE1 when the at least one RIS in the positioning environment is enabled. Each participating UE may calculate its position using the PRS measurements made according to the RIS and PRS transmission schedule.

[0195] Participating UEs may make PRS measurements when RIS is enabled and when RIS is disabled. During the time when RIS is disabled, participating UEs calculate ToA based on the best / first received path. As shown in FIG. 14A, the PRS measurement of the first best received path is performed at time ToA. d7During the time when at least one RIS is enabled, the participating UEs calculate ToA based on the first best received path and the second best received path, which correspond to the direct path from the initiator UE and the reflected path from the enabled RIS, respectively. As shown in FIG. 14B, the PRS measurement of the first best received path (i.e., the direct path) is performed at time ToA. d8 The PRS measurement of the second best receiving path (i.e., the path that includes the reflected path from RIS1) is performed at time ToA ris1(3) In FIG. 14C, UE1 disables RIS1 and enables RIS2 while transmitting its PRS. The PRS measurement of the first best received path (i.e., the direct path) is performed at the ToA d9 The PRS measurement of the second best received path (e.g., the path that includes the reflected path from RIS2) is performed at ToA ris2(3) Each participating UE may determine its location based on a calculated distance from the initiator UE (e.g., distance from UE2 to UE1), a calculated distance from one or more RISs (e.g., distance from participating UE to RIS1 and / or RIS2), a known location of the initiator UE (e.g., known location of UE1), and a known location of one or more RISs (e.g., known location of RIS1 and / or RIS2). The known locations may be absolute locations on the Earth and may be expressed as latitude and longitude values.

[0196] FIG. 14 shows an example of a one-sided time-of-flight positioning procedure. However, the example of FIG. 14 can be extended when the RTT method is used for positioning of participating UEs. When the RTT method is used, PRS measurements are also made for the PRS transmitted from the participating UE (e.g., UE2) based on the RIS schedule. In one example, UE2 transmits its PRS when RIS1 and RIS2 are disabled. Then, UE1 waits for the transmission time t txUE1 also transmits its PRS when at least one of the RISs (e.g., RIS1) is enabled. Then, UE2 reports the transmission time t tx In addition, UE1 reports the ToA of the PRS received on both the direct path and the reflected path to UE1. Alternatively, UE1 reports the t tx UE2 may report the ToA differentially to UE3.

[0197] According to some aspects of the present disclosure, the initiator UE calculates its position without control of the RIS. In such cases, a UE other than the initiator UE, a base station, or an RSU may be responsible for controlling the RIS while the initiator UE performs its positioning measurements.

[0198] FIG. 15 is an example flow call 1500 that may be used in a positioning operation where the initiator UE does not control the RIS in the positioning environment. In FIG. 15, the initiator UE (e.g., labeled "UE2") cannot control the RIS schedule and therefore requests another UE (e.g., UE3 or another participating UE) to do so. To this end, the initiator UE2, which seeks to determine its location, discovers the presence of one or more RISs (e.g., RIS1) in its vicinity at 1502. In some aspects, the RIS may transmit a discovery signal that includes an indication of its availability for positioning services along with its absolute location and RIS ID. In operation 1504, UE2 selects a preferred set of RISs that includes the RISs that are most suitable for positioning itself. According to some aspects, the preferred RIS set (e.g., denoted {RIS1, RIS2, ... RISN}) is selected based on the approximate distance between the initiator UE2 and the discovered RISs. In some aspects, the preferred RIS set may be selected based on the geographic zone in which the RISs are located. For example, UE2 may prioritize the selection of RISs that are located in approximately the same zone as UE2. In one aspect, the preferred RIS set may be selected based on the RSRP of the discovery signal received by UE2.

[0199] Once UE2 has selected a set of RISs to be used in its positioning operations, UE2 requests control of the RISs by another UE with RIS control capability at 1506. As part of the request, UE2 provides the other UE with the RIS IDs of the RISs in the set. In the example shown in Figure 15, UE2 provides a control request to UE3 with the RIS IDs for control if UE3 has the capability to control the RIS associated with the RIS IDs in the control request.

[0200] In response to the control request from UE2, UE3 provides UE2 with a RIS schedule at 1508. The RIS schedule indicates the times when the RIS of the preferred RIS set is in an enabled state and the times when the RIS is in a disabled state, and sends the schedule to UE2. UE2 submits a PRS transmission request to UE1 to initiate a positioning session at 1510. UE2 calculates the ToAs of the first best route, or the first and second best routes, depending on whether the RIS is disabled / enabled at that instance in the RIS schedule as controlled by UE3 at 1512. UE2 calculates its position at 1514 based on the direct route to UE1, the route including the reflected route from the RIS, and distance estimates between the RIS and the known position of UE1.

[0201] 16 illustrates an example method 1600 of wireless communication performed by a user equipment (UE). In operation 1602, the UE controls one or more reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) according to one or more RIS schedules, where the one or more RIS schedules indicate the times when the one or more RIS are in an enabled state and the times when the one or more RIS are in a disabled state. In an aspect, operation 1602 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more processors 332, memory 340, and / or positioning component 342, any or all of which may be considered a means for performing this operation.

[0202] In operation 1604, the UE requests at least one of the one or more participating UEs to transmit at least one positioning reference signal (PRS). In an aspect, operation 1604 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more processors 332, memory 340, and / or positioning component 342, any or all of which may be considered a means for performing this operation.

[0203] In operation 1606, the UE performs a first set of one or more measurements of at least one PRS transmitted from at least one participating UE, and is measured at the same time as the at least one PRS performs the first set of one or more measurements according to a RIS schedule to obtain one or more measurements of the at least one PRS when the one or more RIS is in a disabled state. In an aspect, operation 1606 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more processors 332, memory 340, and / or positioning component 342, any or all of which may be considered a means for performing this operation.

[0204] In operation 1608, the UE performs a second set of one or more measurements of the at least one PRS transmitted from the at least one participating UE, and when the one or more RIS is in an enabled state, the at least one PRS is measured at the same time as performing the second set of one or more measurements according to the RIS schedule to obtain one or more measurements of the at least one PRS. In an aspect, operation 1608 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more processors 332, memory 340, and / or positioning component 342, any or all of which may be considered a means for performing this operation.

[0205] 17 illustrates an example method 1700 of wireless communication performed by a first user equipment (UE). In operation 1702, the first UE receives a report request from a second UE to measure at least one positioning reference signal (PRS) transmitted from the second UE during a first time interval and a second time interval. In an aspect, operation 1702 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more processors 332, memory 340, and / or positioning component 342, any or all of which may be considered a means for performing this operation.

[0206] In operation 1704, the first UE sends a report to the second UE in response to the report request, the report including a time of arrival associated with a direct path measurement of the at least one PRS obtained during the first time interval and further including both a time of arrival associated with a direct path measurement and a time of arrival associated with a reflected path measurement of the at least one PRS obtained during the second time interval. In an aspect, operation 1704 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more processors 332, memory 340, and / or positioning component 342, any or all of which may be considered a means for performing this operation.

[0207] 18 illustrates an example method 1800 of wireless communication performed by a first user equipment (UE). In operation 1802, the first UE receives a reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) schedule from a second UE, the RIS schedule indicating times when at least one RIS of one or more RIS resources is in an enabled state and times when at least one RIS of the one or more RIS is in a disabled state. In an aspect, operation 1802 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more processors 332, memory 340, and / or positioning component 342, any or all of which may be considered a means for performing this operation.

[0208] In operation 1804, the first UE receives a positioning reference signal (PRS) measurement schedule from the second UE, the PRS measurement schedule indicating times when at least one PRS from the second UE may be measured by the first UE. In an aspect, operation 1804 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more processors 332, memory 340, and / or positioning component 342, any or all of which may be considered a means for performing this operation.

[0209] In operation 1806, the first UE performs a first set of one or more measurements of the at least one PRS transmitted from the second UE according to the PRS measurement schedule and the RIS schedule to obtain one or more measurements of the at least one PRS when the at least one RIS is in a disabled state. In an aspect, operation 1806 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more processors 332, memory 340, and / or positioning component 342, any or all of which may be considered a means for performing this operation.

[0210] In operation 1808, the first UE performs a second set of one or more measurements of the at least one PRS transmitted from the second UE according to the PRS measurement schedule and the RIS schedule to obtain one or more measurements of the at least one PRS when the at least one RIS is in an enabled state. In an aspect, operation 1808 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more processors 332, memory 340, and / or positioning component 342, any or all of which may be considered a means for performing this operation.

[0211] 19 illustrates an example method 1900 of wireless communication performed by a first user equipment (UE). In operation 1902, the first UE receives a RIS schedule from a second UE, the RIS schedule indicating times when at least one RIS is in an enabled state and times when at least one RIS is in a disabled state. In an aspect, operation 1902 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more processors 332, memory 340, and / or positioning component 342, any or all of which may be considered a means for performing this operation.

[0212] In operation 1904, the first UE sends a request for transmission of at least one positioning reference signal (PRS) to the third UE, the request indicating a time when the at least one PRS is expected to be transmitted by the third UE. In an aspect, operation 1904 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more processors 332, memory 340, and / or positioning component 342, any or all of which may be considered a means for performing this operation.

[0213] In operation 1906, the first UE performs a first set of measurements of the one or more PRSs transmitted from the third UE according to a RIS schedule to make one or more measurements of the at least one PRS when the at least one RIS is in an invalid state. In an aspect, operation 1906 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more processors 332, memory 340, and / or positioning component 342, any or all of which may be considered a means for performing this operation.

[0214] In operation 1908, the first UE performs a second set of measurements of the one or more PRSs from the third UE according to the RIS schedule to make one or more measurements of the at least one PRS when the at least one RIS is in an enabled state. In an aspect, operation 1906 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more processors 332, memory 340, and / or positioning component 342, any or all of which may be considered a means for performing this operation.

[0215] As can be appreciated, technical advantages of methods 1600-1900 include the benefit of leveraging the availability of a RIS in a positioning environment to enhance sidelink positioning of a UE in the positioning environment. According to some aspects, UE positioning measurements are enhanced with a PRS and a RIS at a known location. The ability to effectively use the RIS in positioning is based on setting a RIS schedule in which the RIS is enabled at some time instances and disabled at other time instances during PRS transmissions.

[0216] In the above detailed description, it can be seen that various features are grouped together in each example. This manner 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 features 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 the independent clause.

[0217] The following numbered clauses describe example implementations. Clause 1. A method of wireless communication performed by a user equipment (UE), comprising: controlling one or more reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RISs) according to one or more RIS schedules indicating times when the RISs are in an enabled state and times when the one or more RISs are in a disabled state; requesting at least one participating UE of the one or more participating UEs to transmit at least one positioning reference signal (PRS); performing a first set of one or more measurements of the at least one PRS transmitted from the at least one participating UE, the first set of one or more measurements being measured simultaneously with the at least one PRS performing the first set of one or more measurements according to the RIS schedule when the one or more RISs are in a disabled state to obtain the one or more measurement values ​​of the at least one PRS; and performing a second set of one or more measurements of the at least one PRS transmitted from the at least one participating UE, the second set of one or more measurements being measured simultaneously with the at least one PRS performing the second set of one or more measurements according to the RIS schedule when the one or more RISs are in a enabled state to obtain the one or more measurement values ​​of the at least one PRS.

[0218] Clause 2. The method of clause 1, wherein the UE is a road side unit (RSU).

[0219] Clause 3. The method of clause 1 or 2, wherein at least one measurement value is obtained from performing a second set of one or more measurements when at least one PRS is received from at least one participating UE via the coherent channel based on the RIS schedule.

[0220] Clause 4. The method of any of clauses 1 to 3, wherein performing a first set of one or more measurements includes measuring a time of arrival (ToA) of at least one PRS of at least one participating UE.

[0221] Clause 5. The method of any of clauses 1-4, further comprising transmitting a PRS transmission schedule to the at least one participating UE, the PRS transmission schedule being determined based on a RIS schedule, and requesting the at least one participating UE to transmit at least one PRS at a scheduled time indicated by the PRS transmission schedule.

[0222] Clause 6. The method of any of clauses 1 to 5, further comprising determining a distance between the UE and at least one participating UE using one or more measurements obtained when performing a first set of one or more measurements.

[0223] Clause 7. The method of clause 6, wherein determining a distance between the UE and at least one participating UE includes using an averaging technique of multiple measurements of at least one PRS obtained when performing a first set of one or more measurements.

[0224] Clause 8. The method of clause 6 or 7, further comprising determining a distance between the at least one participating UE and at least one RIS of the one or more RISs using one or more measurements of the at least one PRS obtained when performing a second set of one or more measurements.

[0225] Clause 9. The method of any of clauses 1 to 8, further comprising: determining a distance between the UE and at least one participating UE using one or more measurements of the at least one PRS obtained when performing a first set of one or more measurements; determining a distance between the at least one participating UE and at least one RIS of the one or more RIS using one or more measurements of the at least one PRS obtained when performing a second set of one or more measurements; and determining a location of the at least one participating UE using the distance between the UE and the at least one participating UE, the distance between the at least one participating UE and the at least one RIS, the known location of the UE, and the known location of the at least one RIS.

[0226] Clause 10. A method of wireless communications performed by a first user equipment (UE), comprising: receiving a report request from the second UE to measure at least one positioning reference signal (PRS) transmitted from the second UE during a first time interval and a second time interval; and sending a report to the second UE in response to the report request, wherein the report includes a time of arrival associated with a direct path measurement of the at least one PRS obtained during the first time interval and further includes both a time of arrival associated with a direct path measurement and a time of arrival associated with a reflected path measurement of the at least one PRS obtained during the second time interval.

[0227] Clause 11. The method of clause 10, wherein a time of arrival associated with a direct path measurement of the at least one PRS is determined from an earliest received PRS measurement obtained by the first UE during a first time interval.

[0228] Clause 12. The method of clause 10 or 11, wherein a time of arrival associated with a direct path measurement of at least one PRS is determined from an earliest received PRS measurement obtained by the first UE during the second time interval, and a time of arrival associated with a reflected path measurement of at least one PRS is determined from a second earliest received PRS measurement obtained by the first UE during the second time interval.

[0229] Clause 13. The method of any of clauses 10 to 12, wherein each arrival time is reported as a time difference relative to a transmission time of at least one PRS.

[0230] Clause 14. A method of wireless communications performed by a first user equipment (UE), comprising: receiving a RIS schedule from a second UE, the RIS schedule indicating times when at least one RIS of one or more reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) resources is in an enabled state and times when at least one RIS of the one or more RIS is in an disabled state; receiving a PRS measurement schedule from the second UE indicating times when at least one positioning reference signal (PRS) from the second UE may be measured by the first UE; performing a first set of measurements of one or more PRS transmitted from the second UE in accordance with the PRS measurement schedule and the RIS schedule to obtain one or more measurements of the at least one PRS when the at least one RIS is in an disabled state; and performing a second set of measurements of one or more PRS transmitted from the second UE in accordance with the PRS measurement schedule and the RIS schedule to obtain one or more measurements of the at least one PRS when the at least one RIS is in an enabled state.

[0231] Clause 15. The method of clause 14, wherein the second UE is a road side unit (RSU).

[0232] Clause 16. The method of clause 14 or 15, further comprising coordinating the PRS measurement schedule and the RIS schedule such that at least one measurement value obtained when performing the first set of one or more measurements is obtained when at least one PRS is received from a second UE via a coherent channel.

[0233] Clause 17. The method of any of clauses 14 to 16, wherein performing a first set of one or more measurements includes determining a time of arrival of at least one PRS corresponding to a direct path measurement of the at least one PRS.

[0234] Clause 18. The method of clause 17, wherein performing a second set of one or more measurements includes determining a time of arrival of at least one PRS corresponding to a direct path measurement of the at least one PRS, and determining a time of arrival of at least one PRS corresponding to a reflected path measurement of the at least one PRS reflected by the at least one RIS.

[0235] Clause 19. Transmitting at least one PRS by a first UE when at least one RIS is in an enabled state; transmitting at least one PRS by a first UE when at least one RIS is in an disabled state; and reporting, performed by a second UE when at least one RIS is in an disabled state, a first arrival time measurement of at least one PRS transmitted by the first UE, the first arrival time measurement corresponding to a direct path measurement of the at least one PRS; and reporting, performed by a second UE when at least one RIS is in an enabled state, a first arrival time measurement of at least one PRS transmitted by the first UE, the first arrival time measurement corresponding to a direct path measurement of the at least one PRS, and a second UE when at least one RIS is in an enabled state. and receiving a report from the second UE indicating a second time of arrival measurement of the at least one PRS transmitted by the first UE performed by the at least one RIS, the second time of arrival measurement corresponding to a direct path measurement of the at least one PRS, and a third time of arrival measurement of the at least one PRS transmitted by the first UE performed by the second UE when the at least one RIS is in an enabled state, the third time of arrival measurement corresponding to a reflected path measurement of the at least one PRS of the first UE from the at least one RIS.

[0236] Clause 20. The method of clause 19, further comprising: sending to a second UE a first transmission time of at least one PRS transmitted by the first UE when the at least one RIS is in an enabled state; and sending to the second UE a second transmission time of at least one PRS transmitted by the first UE when the at least one RIS is in a disabled state.

[0237] Clause 21. The method of clause 20, wherein the report indicates a first arrival time as a difference measurement relative to the first transmission time, the report indicates a second arrival time as a difference measurement relative to the second transmission time, and the report indicates a third arrival time as a difference measurement relative to the second transmission time.

[0238] Clause 22. The method of any of clauses 14 to 21, further comprising determining a distance between the first UE and the second UE using one or more measurements obtained when performing the first set of one or more measurements.

[0239] Clause 23. The method of clause 22, wherein determining a distance between the first UE and the second UE includes using an averaging technique of multiple measurements obtained when performing the first set of one or more measurements.

[0240] Clause 24. The method of any of clauses 14 to 23, further comprising determining a distance between the first UE and at least one of the one or more RISs using one or more measurements obtained when performing a second set of one or more measurements.

[0241] Clause 25. The method of any of clauses 14 to 24, further comprising receiving a known location of the second UE from the second UE, and receiving a location of at least one RIS of the one or more RIS from the second UE.

[0242] Clause 26. The method of clause 25, further comprising: determining a distance between the first UE and the second UE using one or more measurements obtained when performing a first set of one or more measurements; determining a distance between the first UE and at least one RIS using one or more measurements obtained when performing a second set of one or more measurements; and determining a position of the first UE using the distance between the first UE and the second UE, the distance between the first UE and the at least one RIS, the known position of the second UE, and the known position of the at least one RIS.

[0243] Clause 27. A method of wireless communications performed by a first user equipment (UE), comprising: receiving a RIS schedule from a second UE, the RIS schedule indicating times when at least one RIS is in an enabled state and times when the at least one RIS is in a disabled state; sending a request to the third UE for transmission of at least one positioning reference signal (PRS), the request indicating times when the at least one PRS is expected to be transmitted by the third UE; performing a first set of one or more measurements of the at least one PRS transmitted from the third UE in accordance with the RIS schedule to make one or more measurements of the at least one PRS when the at least one RIS is in a disabled state; and performing a second set of one or more measurements of the at least one PRS from the third UE in accordance with the RIS schedule to make one or more measurements of the at least one PRS when the at least one RIS is in a enabled state.

[0244] Clause 28. The method of clause 27, further comprising sending a request to a second UE to control at least one RIS of the one or more reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RIS).

[0245] Clause 29. The method of clause 27 or 28, further comprising aligning the indicated time at which the at least one PRS is expected to be transmitted by the third UE with the RIS schedule such that at least one measurement value obtained when performing the first set of one or more measurements is obtained when the at least one PRS is received from the third UE via the coherent channel.

[0246] Clause 30. The method of any of clauses 27 to 29, wherein performing a first set of one or more measurements includes measuring a time of arrival (ToA) of at least one PRS from a third UE.

[0247] Clause 31. A user equipment (UE) including 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 controls one or more reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RISs) according to one or more RIS schedules indicating times when the one or more RISs are in an enabled state and times when the one or more RISs are in a disabled state, requests at least one participating UE of the one or more participating UEs to transmit at least one positioning reference signal (PRS), and transmits a first set of one or more measurements of the at least one PRS transmitted from the at least one participating UE. A user equipment (UE) configured to: perform a first set of one or more measurements, which are measured simultaneously with the at least one PRS performing the first set of one or more measurements, in accordance with a RIS schedule, to obtain one or more measurement values ​​of the at least one PRS when the one or more RISs are in a disabled state; and perform a second set of one or more measurements, which are measured simultaneously with the at least one PRS performing the second set of one or more measurements, in accordance with the RIS schedule, to obtain one or more measurement values ​​of the at least one PRS, transmitted from the at least one participating UE, when the one or more RISs are in an enabled state.

[0248] Clause 32. The UE according to clause 31, wherein the UE is a Road Side Unit (RSU).

[0249] Clause 33. The UE of clause 31 or 32, wherein at least one measurement value is obtained from performing a second set of one or more measurements when at least one PRS is received from at least one participating UE via the coherent channel based on the RIS schedule.

[0250] Clause 34. A UE according to any of clauses 31 to 33, wherein to perform the first set of one or more measurements, at least one processor is configured to measure a time of arrival (ToA) of at least one PRS of at least one participating UE.

[0251] Clause 35. A UE as described in any of clauses 31 to 34, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to transmit a PRS transmission schedule to the at least one participating UE via the at least one transceiver, the PRS transmission schedule being determined based on a RIS schedule and requesting the at least one participating UE to transmit at least one PRS at a scheduled time indicated by the PRS transmission schedule.

[0252] Clause 36. A UE as described in any of clauses 31 to 35, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to determine a distance between the UE and at least one participating UE using one or more measurements obtained when performing the first set of one or more measurements.

[0253] Clause 37. The UE of clause 36, wherein determining a distance between the UE and at least one participating UE includes using an averaging technique of multiple measurements of at least one PRS obtained when performing a first set of one or more measurements.

[0254] Clause 38. The UE of clause 36 or 37, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to determine a distance between the at least one participating UE and at least one RIS of the one or more RISs using one or more measurements of the at least one PRS obtained when performing a second set of one or more measurements.

[0255] Clause 39. The UE of any of clauses 31 to 38, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: determine a distance between the UE and the at least one participating UE using one or more measurements of the at least one PRS obtained when performing a first set of the one or more measurements; determine a distance between the at least one participating UE and at least one RIS of the one or more RIS using one or more measurements of the at least one PRS obtained when performing a second set of the one or more measurements; and determine a location of the at least one participating UE using the distance between the UE and the at least one participating UE, the distance between the at least one participating UE and the at least one RIS, the known location of the UE, and the known location of the at least one RIS.

[0256] Clause 40. A first user equipment (UE) including 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 a report request from the second UE via the at least one transceiver to measure at least one positioning reference signal (PRS) transmitted from the second UE during a first time interval and a second time interval, and send a report to the second UE via the at least one transceiver in response to the report request, wherein the report includes a time of arrival associated with a direct path measurement of the at least one PRS obtained during the first time interval and further includes both a time of arrival associated with a direct path measurement of the at least one PRS obtained during the second time interval and a time of arrival associated with a reflected path measurement of the at least one PRS obtained during the second time interval.

[0257] Clause 41. The first UE of clause 40, wherein a time of arrival associated with a direct path measurement of the at least one PRS is determined from an earliest received PRS measurement obtained by the first UE during a first time interval.

[0258] Clause 42. A first UE as described in Clause 40 or 41, wherein a time of arrival associated with a direct path measurement of at least one PRS is determined from an earliest received PRS measurement value obtained by the first UE during the second time interval, and a time of arrival associated with a reflected path measurement of at least one PRS is determined from a second earliest received PRS measurement value obtained by the first UE during the second time interval.

[0259] Clause 43. The first UE of any of clauses 40 to 42, wherein each arrival time is reported as a time difference relative to a transmission time of at least one PRS.

[0260] Clause 44. A first user equipment (UE) including 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 receives a reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) schedule from a second UE via the at least one transceiver, the RIS schedule indicating a time when at least one RIS of one or more RIS resources is in an enabled state and a time when at least one RIS of the one or more RIS is in an disabled state, and a PRS schedule indicating a time when at least one Positioning Reference Signal (PRS) from the second UE may be measured by the first UE. a first user equipment (UE) further configured to: receive a measurement schedule from a second UE via the at least one transceiver; perform a first set of measurements of the one or more PRSs transmitted from the second UE in accordance with the PRS measurement schedule and the RIS schedule to obtain one or more measurement values ​​of the at least one PRS when the at least one RIS is in a disabled state; and perform a second set of measurements of the one or more PRSs transmitted from the second UE in accordance with the PRS measurement schedule and the RIS schedule to obtain one or more measurement values ​​of the at least one PRS when the at least one RIS is in an enabled state.

[0261] Clause 45. The first UE as recited in clause 44, wherein the second UE is a road side unit (RSU).

[0262] Clause 46. The first UE of clause 44 or 45, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to adjust the PRS measurement schedule and the RIS schedule such that at least one measurement value obtained when performing the first set of one or more measurements is obtained when at least one PRS is received from the second UE via a coherent channel.

[0263] Clause 47. A first UE according to any of clauses 44 to 46, wherein, for performing the first set of one or more measurements, the at least one processor is configured to determine a time of arrival of at least one PRS corresponding to a direct path measurement of the at least one PRS.

[0264] Clause 48. The first UE of clause 47, wherein to perform the second set of one or more measurements, the at least one processor is configured to: determine a time of arrival of at least one PRS corresponding to a direct path measurement of the at least one PRS; and determine a time of arrival of at least one PRS corresponding to a reflected path measurement of the at least one PRS reflected by the at least one RIS.

[0265] Clause 49. At least one processor transmits at least one PRS via at least one transceiver when at least one RIS is in an enabled state, and transmits at least one PRS via at least one transceiver when at least one RIS is in an disabled state, and reports, the first time-of-arrival measurement of at least one PRS transmitted by the first UE when the at least one RIS is in the disabled state, the first time-of-arrival measurement corresponding to a direct path measurement of the at least one PRS, and the second UE when the at least one RIS is in the enabled state. and receiving from the second UE via the at least one transceiver a report indicating a second time of arrival measurement of the at least one PRS transmitted by the first UE, performed by the at least one RIS in an enabled state, the second time of arrival measurement corresponding to a direct path measurement of the at least one PRS, and a third time of arrival measurement of the at least one PRS transmitted by the first UE, performed by the second UE when the at least one RIS is in an enabled state, the third time of arrival measurement corresponding to a reflected path measurement of the at least one PRS of the first UE from the at least one RIS.

[0266] Clause 50. The first UE of clause 49, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to send, via the at least one transceiver, a first transmission time of the at least one PRS transmitted by the first UE when the at least one RIS is in an enabled state, to the second UE, and to send, via the at least one transceiver, a second transmission time of the at least one PRS transmitted by the first UE when the at least one RIS is in a disabled state, to the second UE.

[0267] Clause 51. The first UE of clause 50, wherein the report indicates a first arrival time as a difference measurement for the first transmission time, the report indicates a second arrival time as a difference measurement for the second transmission time, and the report indicates a third arrival time as a difference measurement for the second transmission time.

[0268] Clause 52. A first UE as described in any of Clauses 44 to 51, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to determine a distance between the first UE and the second UE using one or more measurements obtained when performing the first set of one or more measurements.

[0269] Clause 53. The first UE of clause 52, wherein determining a distance between the first UE and the second UE includes using an averaging technique of multiple measurements obtained when performing the first set of one or more measurements.

[0270] Clause 54. A UE as described in any of clauses 44 to 53, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to determine a distance between the first UE and at least one RIS of the one or more RISs using one or more measurements obtained when performing a second set of one or more measurements.

[0271] Clause 55. A first UE as described in any of clauses 44 to 54, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to receive a known location of the second UE from the second UE via the at least one transceiver, and to receive a location of at least one RIS of the one or more RIS from the second UE via the at least one transceiver.

[0272] Clause 56. The first UE of clause 55, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: determine a distance between the first UE and the second UE using one or more measurements obtained when performing the first set of one or more measurements; determine a distance between the first UE and the at least one RIS using one or more measurements obtained when performing the second set of one or more measurements; and determine a position of the first UE using the distance between the first UE and the second UE, the distance between the first UE and the at least one RIS, the known position of the second UE, and the known position of the at least one RIS.

[0273] Clause 57. A first user equipment (UE) including 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 from a second UE via the at least one transceiver a RIS schedule indicating times when the at least one RIS is in an enabled state and times when the at least one RIS is in a disabled state; send to the third UE via the at least one transceiver a request for transmission of at least one positioning reference signal (PRS), the request indicating times when the at least one PRS is expected to be transmitted by the third UE; perform a first set of one or more measurements of the at least one PRS transmitted from the third UE according to the RIS schedule to make one or more measurements of the at least one PRS when the at least one RIS is in a disabled state; and perform a second set of one or more measurements of the at least one PRS from the third UE according to the RIS schedule to make one or more measurements of the at least one PRS when the at least one RIS is in a enabled state.

[0274] Clause 58. The first UE of clause 57, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to send a request to control at least one RIS of the one or more reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RISs) to the second UE via the at least one transceiver.

[0275] Clause 59. The first UE of any of clauses 57 to 58, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to align the indicated time at which the at least one PRS is expected to be transmitted by the third UE with the RIS schedule such that at least one measurement value obtained when performing the first set of one or more measurements is obtained when the at least one PRS is received from the third UE via the coherent channel.

[0276] Clause 60. A first UE as described in any of clauses 57 to 59, wherein, to perform the first set of one or more measurements, the at least one processor is configured to measure a time of arrival (ToA) of at least one PRS from a third UE.

[0277] Clause 61. A user equipment (UE) including: means for controlling one or more reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RISs) according to one or more RIS schedules indicating times when the one or more RISs are in an enabled state and times when the one or more RISs are in an disabled state; means for requesting at least one participating UE of the one or more participating UEs to transmit at least one positioning reference signal (PRS); means for performing a first set of one or more measurements of the at least one PRS transmitted from the at least one participating UE, the first set of one or more measurements being measured simultaneously with the at least one PRS performing the first set of one or more measurements according to the RIS schedule when the one or more RISs are in an disabled state to obtain one or more measurement values ​​of the at least one PRS; and means for performing a second set of one or more measurements of the at least one PRS transmitted from the at least one participating UE, the second set of one or more measurements being measured simultaneously with the at least one PRS performing the second set of one or more measurements according to the RIS schedule when the one or more RISs are in an enabled state to obtain one or more measurement values ​​of the at least one PRS.

[0278] Clause 62. The UE according to clause 61, wherein the UE is a Road Side Unit (RSU).

[0279] Clause 63. The UE of clause 61 or 62, wherein at least one measurement value is obtained from performing a second set of one or more measurements when at least one PRS is received from at least one participating UE via the coherent channel based on the RIS schedule.

[0280] Clause 64. A UE as described in any of clauses 61 to 63, wherein the means for performing a first set of one or more measurements includes means for measuring a time of arrival (ToA) of at least one PRS of at least one participating UE.

[0281] Clause 65. A UE as described in any of clauses 61 to 64, further comprising means for transmitting a PRS transmission schedule to at least one participating UE, the PRS transmission schedule being determined based on a RIS schedule, the PRS transmission schedule requesting at least one participating UE to transmit at least one PRS at a scheduled time indicated by the PRS transmission schedule.

[0282] Clause 66. A UE as described in any of clauses 61 to 65, further comprising means for determining a distance between the UE and at least one participating UE using one or more measurements obtained when performing a first set of one or more measurements.

[0283] Clause 67. The UE of clause 66, wherein the means for determining a distance between the UE and at least one participating UE includes using an averaging technique of multiple measurements of at least one PRS obtained when performing a first set of one or more measurements.

[0284] Clause 68. The UE of clause 66 or 67, further comprising means for determining a distance between at least one participating UE and at least one RIS of the one or more RISs using one or more measurements of at least one PRS obtained when performing a second set of one or more measurements.

[0285] Clause 69. A UE as described in any of clauses 61 to 68, further comprising: means for determining a distance between the UE and at least one participating UE using one or more measurements of the at least one PRS obtained when performing a first set of one or more measurements; means for determining a distance between the at least one participating UE and at least one RIS of the one or more RIS using one or more measurements of the at least one PRS obtained when performing a second set of one or more measurements; and means for determining a position of the at least one participating UE using the distance between the UE and the at least one participating UE, the distance between the at least one participating UE and the at least one RIS, the known position of the UE, and the known position of the at least one RIS.

[0286] Clause 70. A first user equipment (UE) comprising: means for receiving a report request from the second UE to measure at least one positioning reference signal (PRS) transmitted from the second UE during a first time interval and a second time interval; and means for sending a report to the second UE in response to the report request, the report including a time of arrival associated with a direct path measurement of the at least one PRS obtained during the first time interval and further including both a time of arrival associated with a direct path measurement and a time of arrival associated with a reflected path measurement of the at least one PRS obtained during the second time interval.

[0287] Clause 71. The first UE of clause 70, wherein a time of arrival associated with the direct path measurement of the at least one PRS is determined from an earliest received PRS measurement obtained by the first UE during a first time interval.

[0288] Clause 72. The first UE of clause 70 or 71, wherein a time of arrival associated with a direct path measurement of the at least one PRS is determined from an earliest received PRS measurement obtained by the first UE during the second time interval, and a time of arrival associated with a reflected path measurement of the at least one PRS is determined from a second earliest received PRS measurement obtained by the first UE during the second time interval.

[0289] Clause 73. The first UE of any of clauses 70-72, wherein each arrival time is reported as a time difference relative to a transmission time of at least one PRS.

[0290] Clause 74. A first user equipment (UE) including: means for receiving a RIS schedule from a second UE, the RIS schedule indicating a time when at least one RIS of one or more reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) resources is in an enabled state and a time when at least one RIS of the one or more RIS is in an disabled state; means for receiving a PRS measurement schedule from the second UE indicating a time when at least one positioning reference signal (PRS) from the second UE may be measured by the first UE; means for performing a first set of measurements of one or more PRSs transmitted from the second UE according to the PRS measurement schedule and the RIS schedule to obtain one or more measurements of the at least one PRS when the at least one RIS is in an disabled state; and means for performing a second set of measurements of one or more PRSs transmitted from the second UE according to the PRS measurement schedule and the RIS schedule to obtain one or more measurements of the at least one PRS when the at least one RIS is in an enabled state.

[0291] Clause 75. The first UE according to clause 74, wherein the second UE is a road side unit (RSU).

[0292] Clause 76. The first UE of clause 74 or 75, further comprising means for coordinating a PRS measurement schedule and a RIS schedule such that at least one measurement value obtained when performing the first set of one or more measurements is obtained when at least one PRS is received from the second UE via a coherent channel.

[0293] Clause 77. The first UE according to any of clauses 74 to 76, wherein the means for performing the first set of one or more measurements includes means for determining a time of arrival of at least one PRS corresponding to a direct path measurement of the at least one PRS.

[0294] Clause 78. The first UE as described in Clause 77, wherein the means for performing the second set of one or more measurements includes means for determining a time of arrival of at least one PRS corresponding to a direct path measurement of the at least one PRS, and means for determining a time of arrival of at least one PRS corresponding to a reflected path measurement of the at least one PRS reflected by the at least one RIS.

[0295] Clause 79. The first UE of clause 78, further comprising: means for transmitting at least one PRS when the at least one RIS is in an enabled state; means for transmitting at least one PRS when the at least one RIS is in an disabled state; and means for receiving a report from the second UE indicating a first time-of-arrival measurement of the at least one PRS transmitted by the first UE made by the second UE when the at least one RIS is in an disabled state, the first time-of-arrival measurement corresponding to a direct path measurement of the at least one PRS; a second time-of-arrival measurement of the at least one PRS transmitted by the first UE made by the second UE when the at least one RIS is in an enabled state, the second time-of-arrival measurement corresponding to a direct path measurement of the at least one PRS; and a third time-of-arrival measurement of the at least one PRS transmitted by the first UE made by the second UE when the at least one RIS is in an enabled state, the third time-of-arrival measurement corresponding to a reflected path measurement of the at least one PRS of the first UE from the at least one RIS.

[0296] Clause 80. The first UE of clause 79, further comprising: means for sending to the second UE a first transmission time of at least one PRS transmitted by the first UE when the at least one RIS is in an enabled state; and means for sending to the second UE a second transmission time of at least one PRS transmitted by the first UE when the at least one RIS is in an disabled state.

[0297] Clause 81. The first UE of clause 80, wherein the report indicates a first arrival time as a difference measurement for the first transmission time, the report indicates a second arrival time as a difference measurement for the second transmission time, and the report indicates a third arrival time as a difference measurement for the second transmission time.

[0298] Clause 82. The first UE of any of clauses 74 to 81, further comprising means for determining a distance between the first UE and the second UE using one or more measurements obtained when performing the first set of one or more measurements.

[0299] Clause 83. The first UE of clause 82, wherein the means for determining a distance between the first UE and the second UE includes using an averaging technique of multiple measurements obtained when performing the first set of one or more measurements.

[0300] Clause 84. The first UE of any of clauses 74 to 83, further comprising means for determining a distance between the first UE and at least one RIS of the one or more RISs using one or more measurements obtained when performing the second set of one or more measurements.

[0301] Clause 85. The first UE of any of clauses 74 to 84, further comprising: means for receiving a known location of the second UE from the second UE; and means for receiving a location of at least one of the one or more RISs from the second UE.

[0302] Clause 86. The first UE as described in clause 85, further comprising: means for determining a distance between the first UE and the second UE using one or more measurements obtained when performing a first set of one or more measurements; means for determining a distance between the first UE and at least one RIS using one or more measurements obtained when performing a second set of one or more measurements; and means for determining a position of the first UE using the distance between the first UE and the second UE, the distance between the first UE and the at least one RIS, the known position of the second UE, and the known position of the at least one RIS.

[0303] Clause 87. A first user equipment (UE) including: means for receiving a RIS schedule from a second UE, the RIS schedule indicating times when the at least one RIS is in an enabled state and times when the at least one RIS is in an disabled state; means for sending a request to the third UE for transmission of at least one positioning reference signal (PRS), the request indicating times when the at least one PRS is expected to be transmitted by the third UE; means for performing a first set of measurements of the at least one PRS transmitted from the third UE according to the RIS schedule to make the one or more measurements of the at least one PRS when the at least one RIS is in a disabled state; and means for performing a second set of measurements of the at least one PRS from the third UE according to the RIS schedule to make the one or more measurements of the at least one PRS when the at least one RIS is in a enabled state.

[0304] Clause 88. The first UE of clause 87, further comprising means for sending a request to the second UE to control at least one RIS of the one or more reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RIS).

[0305] Clause 89. The first UE of clause 87 or 88, further comprising means for aligning an indicated time at which the at least one PRS is expected to be transmitted by the third UE with the RIS schedule such that at least one measurement value obtained when performing the first set of one or more measurements is obtained when the at least one PRS is received from the third UE via a coherent channel.

[0306] Clause 90. The first UE of any of clauses 87 to 89, wherein the means for performing a first set of one or more measurements includes means for measuring a time of arrival (ToA) of at least one PRS from the third UE.

[0307] Clause 91. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions, which when executed by a user equipment (UE) cause the UE to control one or more reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RISs) according to one or more RIS schedules indicating times when the one or more RISs are in an enabled state and times when the one or more RISs are in a disabled state, request at least one participating UE of the one or more participating UEs to transmit at least one positioning reference signal (PRS), and a first set of one or more measurements of the at least one PRS transmitted from the at least one participating UE, the first set of one or more measurements being transmitted from the at least one participating UE, the one or more RIs ... and the one or more RIs being transmitted from the at least one participating UE. performing a first set of one or more measurements, measured simultaneously with the at least one PRS performing the first set of one or more measurements, according to a RIS schedule, to obtain one or more measurement values ​​for the at least one PRS when the one or more RIS are in a disabled state; and performing a second set of one or more measurements, measured simultaneously with the at least one PRS performing the second set of one or more measurements, according to a RIS schedule, to obtain one or more measurement values ​​for the at least one PRS, transmitted from the at least one participating UE when the one or more RIS are in an enabled state.

[0308] Clause 92. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 91, wherein the UE is a roadside unit (RSU).

[0309] Clause 93. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 91 or 92, wherein at least one measurement value is obtained from performing a second set of one or more measurements when at least one PRS is received from at least one participating UE via the coherent channel based on the RIS schedule.

[0310] Clause 94. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any of clauses 91 to 93, wherein the computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the UE, cause the UE to perform a first set of one or more measurements include computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the UE, cause the UE to measure a time of arrival (ToA) of at least one PRS of at least one participating UE.

[0311] Clause 95. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any of clauses 91 to 94, further comprising computer-executable instructions, which when executed by the UE, cause the UE to transmit a PRS transmission schedule to at least one participating UE, the PRS transmission schedule being determined based on a RIS schedule, requesting at least one participating UE to transmit at least one PRS at a scheduled time indicated by the PRS transmission schedule.

[0312] Clause 96. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any of clauses 91 to 95, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the UE, cause the UE to determine a distance between the UE and at least one participating UE using one or more measurements obtained when performing a first set of one or more measurements.

[0313] Clause 97. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 96, wherein determining a distance between the UE and at least one participating UE includes using an averaging technique of multiple measurements of at least one PRS obtained when performing a first set of one or more measurements.

[0314] Clause 98. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any of clauses 96 to 97, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the UE, cause the UE to determine a distance between at least one participating UE and at least one RIS of the one or more RISs using one or more measurements of at least one PRS obtained when performing a second set of one or more measurements.

[0315] Clause 99. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any of clauses 91 to 98, further comprising computer-executable instructions which, when executed by a UE, cause a distance between the UE and at least one participating UE to be determined using one or more measurements of the at least one PRS obtained when performing a first set of one or more measurements, cause a distance between the at least one participating UE and at least one RIS of the one or more RISs to be determined using one or more measurements of the at least one PRS obtained when performing a second set of one or more measurements, and cause a position of the at least one participating UE to be determined using the distance between the UE and the at least one participating UE, the distance between the at least one participating UE and the at least one RIS, the known position of the UE, and the known position of the at least one RIS.

[0316] Clause 100. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions stored thereon, the computer-executable instructions, when executed by a first user equipment (UE), cause the first UE to receive a report request from the second UE to measure at least one positioning reference signal (PRS) transmitted from the second UE during a first time interval and a second time interval, and send a report to the second UE in response to the report request, the report including a time of arrival associated with a direct path measurement of the at least one PRS obtained during the first time interval and further including both a time of arrival associated with a direct path measurement and a time of arrival associated with a reflected path measurement of the at least one PRS obtained during the second time interval.

[0317] Clause 101. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 100, wherein a time of arrival associated with a direct path measurement of at least one PRS is determined from an earliest received PRS measurement obtained by the first UE during a first time interval.

[0318] Clause 102. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 100 or 101, wherein a time of arrival associated with a direct path measurement of the at least one PRS is determined from an earliest received PRS measurement obtained by the first UE during the second time interval, and a time of arrival associated with a reflected path measurement of the at least one PRS is determined from a second earliest received PRS measurement obtained by the first UE during the second time interval.

[0319] Clause 103. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 100-102, wherein each arrival time is reported as a time difference relative to a transmission time of at least one PRS.

[0320] Clause 104. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions stored thereon, the computer-executable instructions, when executed by a first user equipment (UE), cause the first UE to receive from a second UE a RIS schedule indicating times when at least one RIS of one or more reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) resources is in an enabled state and times when at least one RIS of the one or more RIS is in an disabled state, receive from the second UE a PRS measurement schedule indicating times when at least one positioning reference signal (PRS) from the second UE may be measured by the first UE, perform a first set of one or more measurements of the at least one PRS transmitted from the second UE in accordance with the PRS measurement schedule and the RIS schedule to obtain one or more measurements of the at least one PRS when the at least one RIS is in an enabled state, and perform a second set of one or more measurements of the at least one PRS transmitted from the second UE in accordance with the PRS measurement schedule and the RIS schedule to obtain one or more measurements of the at least one PRS when the at least one RIS is in an enabled state.

[0321] Clause 105. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 104, wherein the second UE is a roadside unit (RSU).

[0322] Clause 106. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 104 or 105, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the first UE, cause the first UE to adjust a PRS measurement schedule and a RIS schedule such that at least one measurement value obtained when performing a first set of one or more measurements is obtained when at least one PRS is received from a second UE via a coherent channel.

[0323] Clause 107. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any of clauses 104 to 106, wherein the computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the first UE, cause the first UE to perform a first set of one or more measurements, include computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the UE, cause the UE to determine a time of arrival of at least one PRS corresponding to a direct path measurement of the at least one PRS.

[0324] Clause 108. A non-transitory computer readable medium as recited in clause 107, comprising computer executable instructions that, when executed by the first UE, cause the first UE to perform a second set of one or more measurements, the computer executable instructions, when executed by the UE, cause the UE to determine a time of arrival of the at least one PRS corresponding to a direct path measurement of the at least one PRS and to determine a time of arrival of the at least one PRS corresponding to a reflected path measurement of the at least one PRS reflected by the at least one RIS.

[0325] Clause 109. A non-transitory computer-readable medium further comprising computer-executable instructions, the computer-executable instructions, when executed by a first UE, causing the first UE to transmit at least one PRS when at least one RIS is in an enabled state, and to transmit at least one PRS when at least one RIS is in an disabled state; and reporting, a first time-of-arrival measurement of at least one PRS transmitted by the first UE when at least one RIS is in an disabled state, the first time-of-arrival measurement corresponding to a direct path measurement of the at least one PRS, made by a second UE when at least one RIS is in an disabled state; and receiving a report from the second UE indicating a second time-of-arrival measurement of the at least one PRS transmitted by the first UE made by the second UE when the at least one RIS is in an enabled state, the second time-of-arrival measurement corresponding to a direct path measurement of the at least one PRS, and a third time-of-arrival measurement of the at least one PRS transmitted by the first UE made by the second UE when the at least one RIS is in an enabled state, the third time-of-arrival measurement corresponding to a reflected path measurement of the at least one PRS of the first UE from the at least one RIS.

[0326] Clause 110. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 109, further comprising computer-executable instructions, which when executed by a first UE, cause the first UE to send to a second UE a first transmission time of at least one PRS transmitted by the first UE when the at least one RIS is in an enabled state, and to send to the second UE a second transmission time of at least one PRS transmitted by the first UE when the at least one RIS is in an disabled state.

[0327] Clause 111. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 110, wherein the report indicates a first arrival time as a difference measurement relative to the first transmission time, the report indicates a second arrival time as a difference measurement relative to the second transmission time, and the report indicates a third arrival time as a difference measurement relative to the second transmission time.

[0328] Clause 112. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any of clauses 104 to 111, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the first UE, cause the first UE to determine a distance between the first UE and a second UE using one or more measurements obtained when performing a first set of one or more measurements.

[0329] Clause 113. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 112, wherein determining a distance between the first UE and the second UE includes using an averaging technique of multiple measurements obtained when performing the first set of one or more measurements.

[0330] Clause 114. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any of clauses 104 to 113, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the first UE, cause the first UE to determine a distance between the first UE and at least one RIS of the one or more RISs using one or more measurements obtained when performing a second set of one or more measurements.

[0331] Clause 115. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any of clauses 104-114, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a first UE, cause the first UE to receive from the second UE a known location of the second UE and to receive from the second UE a location of at least one RIS of the one or more RISs.

[0332] Clause 116. The non-transitory computer readable medium of clause 115, further comprising computer executable instructions that, when executed by the UE, cause the UE to determine a distance between the first UE and a second UE using one or more measurements obtained when performing a first set of one or more measurements, determine a distance between the first UE and at least one RIS using one or more measurements obtained when performing a second set of one or more measurements, and determine a position of the first UE using the distance between the first UE and the second UE, the distance between the first UE and the at least one RIS, the known position of the second UE, and the known position of the at least one RIS.

[0333] Clause 117. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions stored thereon, the computer-executable instructions, when executed by a first user equipment (UE), cause the first UE to receive a RIS schedule from a second UE, the RIS schedule indicating times when at least one RIS is in an enabled state and times when the at least one RIS is in an disabled state, send a request to a third UE for transmission of at least one positioning reference signal (PRS), the request indicating times when the at least one PRS is expected to be transmitted by the third UE, perform a first set of one or more measurements of the at least one PRS transmitted from the third UE in accordance with the RIS schedule to make one or more measurements of the at least one PRS when the at least one RIS is in an disabled state, and perform a second set of one or more measurements of the at least one PRS from the third UE in accordance with the RIS schedule to make one or more measurements of the at least one PRS when the at least one RIS is in an enabled state.

[0334] Clause 118. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 117, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the first UE, cause the first UE to send a request to a second UE to control at least one RIS of the one or more reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RISs).

[0335] Clause 119. The non-transitory computer readable medium of clause 117 or 118, further comprising computer executable instructions that, when executed by the first UE, cause the first UE to align an indicated time at which the at least one PRS is expected to be transmitted by the third UE with a RIS schedule such that at least one measurement value obtained when performing the first set of one or more measurements is obtained when the at least one PRS is received from the third UE over a coherent channel.

[0336] Clause 120. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any of clauses 117 to 119, wherein the computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the first UE, cause the first UE to perform a first set of one or more measurements include computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the UE, cause the UE to measure a time of arrival (ToA) of at least one PRS from a third UE.

[0337] 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.

[0338] 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, 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 varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0339] 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.

[0340] 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 as discrete components in a user terminal.

[0341] 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. A storage medium 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 within the definition of media. As used herein, disk and disc 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.

[0342] 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 do not have to 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.

Claims

1. A method of wireless communication performed by a user equipment (UE), comprising: controlling one or more reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RISs) according to one or more RIS schedules indicating a time when the one or more RISs are in an active state and a time when the one or more RISs are in an inactive state; requesting at least one participating UE among one or more participating UEs to transmit at least one positioning reference signal (PRS); performing a first set of one or more measurements of the at least one PRS transmitted from the at least one participating UE, wherein when the one or more RISs are in the inactive state, the at least one PRS is measured simultaneously with performing the first set of one or more measurements to obtain one or more measurement values of the at least one PRS according to the RIS schedule; performing a second set of one or more measurements of the at least one PRS transmitted from the at least one participating UE, wherein when the one or more RISs are in the active state, the at least one PRS is measured simultaneously with performing the second set of one or more measurements to obtain one or more measurement values of the at least one PRS according to the RIS schedule; A method comprising the above.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the UE is a roadside unit (RSU).

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein at least one measurement value is obtained by performing the second set of one or more measurements when the at least one PRS is received from the at least one participating UE via a coherent channel based on the RIS schedule. The method according to claim 1.

4. Performing the first set of one or more measurements comprises: The method according to claim 1, comprising measuring a time of arrival (ToA) of the at least one PRS of the at least one participating UE.

5. A PRS transmission schedule that requests the at least one participating UE to transmit the at least one PRS at a scheduled time indicated by the PRS transmission schedule, and further includes transmitting the PRS transmission schedule to the at least one participating UE, which is determined based on the RIS schedule. The method according to claim 1.

6. The method according to claim 1, further including determining a distance between the UE and the at least one participating UE using the one or more measurement values obtained when performing the first set of the one or more measurements.

7. Determining the distance between the UE and the at least one participating UE includes using an averaging technique of a plurality of measurement values of the at least one PRS obtained when performing the first set of the one or more measurements. The method according to claim 6.

8. The method according to claim 6, further including determining a distance between the at least one participating UE and at least one of the one or more RISs using the one or more measurement values of the at least one PRS obtained when performing the second set of the one or more measurements.

9. Determining the distance between the UE and the at least one participating UE using the one or more measurement values of the at least one PRS obtained when performing the first set of the one or more measurements; Determining the distance between the at least one participating UE and at least one of the one or more RISs using the one or more measurement values of the at least one PRS obtained when performing the second set of the one or more measurements; Determining the position of the at least one participating UE using the distance between the UE and the at least one participating UE, the distance between the at least one participating UE and the at least one RIS, the known position of the UE, and the known position of the at least one RIS; The method according to claim 1, further including.

10. A memory; At least one transceiver; At least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver; Comprising, the at least one processor is Controlling the one or more reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RISs) according to one or more RIS schedules indicating a time when the one or more RISs are in an active state and a time when the one or more RISs are in an inactive state, requesting at least one participating UE among the one or more participating UEs to transmit at least one positioning reference signal (PRS), executing a first set of one or more measurements of the at least one PRS transmitted from the at least one participating UE, wherein when the one or more RISs are in the inactive state, the at least one PRS is measured simultaneously with the execution of the first set of one or more measurements to obtain one or more measurement values of the at least one PRS according to the RIS schedule, executing a second set of one or more measurements of the at least one PRS transmitted from the at least one participating UE, wherein when the one or more RISs are in the active state, the at least one PRS is measured simultaneously with the execution of the second set of one or more measurements to obtain one or more measurement values of the at least one PRS according to the RIS schedule, A user equipment (UE) configured as described above.

11. The UE according to claim 10, wherein the UE is a roadside unit (RSU).

12. When the at least one PRS is received from the at least one participating UE via a coherent channel based on the RIS schedule, at least one measurement value is obtained by executing the second set of one or more measurements, or The at least one processor is configured to measure the time of arrival (ToA) of the at least one PRS of the at least one participating UE to execute the first set of one or more measurements, or The at least one processor, A PRS transmission schedule that requests the at least one participating UE to transmit the at least one PRS at a scheduled time indicated by the PRS transmission schedule, and is further configured to transmit the PRS transmission schedule, which is determined based on the RIS schedule, to the at least one participating UE via the at least one transceiver. The UE according to claim 10.

13. The at least one processor is further configured to determine the distance between the UE and the at least one participating UE using the one or more measurement values obtained when executing the first set of the one or more measurements. Determining the distance between the UE and the at least one participating UE uses an averaging technique of a plurality of measurement values of the at least one PRS obtained when executing the first set of the one or more measurements, or The at least one processor is further configured to determine the distance between the at least one participating UE and at least one of the one or more RISs using the one or more measurement values of the at least one PRS obtained when executing the second set of the one or more measurements. The UE according to claim 10.

14. The at least one processor is configured to determine the distance between the UE and the at least one participating UE using the one or more measurement values of the at least one PRS obtained when executing the first set of the one or more measurements. configured to determine the distance between the at least one participating UE and at least one of the one or more RISs using the one or more measurement values of the at least one PRS obtained when executing the second set of the one or more measurements. configured to determine the position of the at least one participating UE using the distance between the UE and the at least one participating UE, the distance between the at least one participating UE and at least one of the one or more RISs, the known position of the UE, and the known position of the at least one RIS. The UE according to claim 10, which is further configured as such. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions, wherein the computer-executable instructions, when executed by a user equipment (UE), cause the UE to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

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