Inter-UE coordination for sidelink enhancements

Abstract

To avoid collisions or half-duplex conflicts between sidelink transmissions.SOLUTION: An apparatus for use in mobile communication includes: an antenna used for transmitting electromagnetic signals; a memory for holding a computer readable code; and a processor for executing the computer readable code. The processor causes the apparatus to transmit an indication including at least one of information indicating that a first UE has been designated as a coordinating UE for coordination of sidelink transmissions of a plurality of additional UEs or information identifying the designated coordinating UE, and to transmit one or more group-cast transmission parameters for transmitting the sidelink transmission parameters to the plurality of additional UEs.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 18

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an apparatus and method for mobile communications. [Background technology]

[0002] In general, computing devices and communication networks can be used to exchange information. In a typical application, a computing device can request / send data to other computing devices via a communication network. More specifically, computing devices can use a wireless communication network to exchange information or establish a communication channel.

[0003] A wireless communication network may include various types of devices that include components for accessing the wireless communication network or that access the wireless communication network, and such devices may utilize the wireless communication network to facilitate interaction with other devices that have access to the wireless communication network or to facilitate interaction through the wireless communication network with devices that utilize other communication networks. Summary of the Invention [Means for solving the problem]

[0004] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, a method of mobile communications including sidelink transmission is provided, the method including: receiving, by a first user equipment (UE), from a base station an indication that the first UE is a coordinating UE for coordination with sidelink transmissions of one or more second UEs; receiving, by the first UE, from the base station, one or more groupcast transmission parameters; determining, by the first UE, sidelink transmission parameters for the one or more second UEs and for avoiding collisions or half-duplex conflicts between sidelink transmissions of the one or more second UEs; or transmitting, to a plurality of second UEs, a groupcast message including sidelink transmission parameters for the one or more second UEs based on the one or more groupcast transmission parameters.

[0005] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, a method of mobile communication is provided, the method including: receiving, by a first user equipment (UE), from a base station, an indication that the first UE is associated with one or more cooperating UEs, receiving, by the first UE, from the base station, groupcast transmission parameters of the first cooperating UE of the one or more cooperating UEs, receiving, by the first UE, from the first cooperating UE and based on the groupcast transmission parameters, a groupcast message including sidelink transmission parameters for avoiding collisions or half-duplex conflicts for a sidelink transmission of the first UE, and transmitting, by the first UE, to a second UE, sidelink data based on the sidelink transmission parameters received from the first cooperating UE.

[0006] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, a first UE for a mobile communications network is provided, the first UE having a memory storing instructions and executing the instructions to receive an indication from a base station that the first UE is a coordinating UE for coordination of sidelink transmissions with one or more second UEs, receive one or more groupcast transmission parameters from the base station, identify sidelink transmission parameters for the one or more second UEs to avoid collisions or half-duplex conflicts between sidelink transmissions of the one or more second UEs, and transmit the one or more groupcast transmission parameters to the one or more second UEs. and a processor configured to transmit a groupcast message including sidelink transmission parameters for the one or more second UEs based on the meter.

[0007] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, a first UE for a mobile communication network is provided, the first UE including: a memory storing instructions; and a processor configured to execute the instructions to receive, from a base station, an indication that the first UE is associated with one or more cooperating UEs, receive from the base station groupcast transmission parameters for a first cooperating UE of the one or more cooperating UEs, receive from the base station a groupcast message including sidelink transmission parameters for avoiding collisions or half-duplex conflicts for sidelink transmission of the first UE based on the groupcast transmission parameters, and transmit, to a second UE, sidelink data based on the sidelink transmission parameters received from the first cooperating UE.

[0008] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, a base station for a mobile communication system including sidelink transmissions of one or more second UEs is provided, the base station including a memory storing instructions and a processor configured to execute the instructions to send an indication to a first UE that the first UE is a cooperative UE or is associated with at least one cooperative UE for coordination of sidelink transmissions of the one or more second UEs and to send one or more groupcast transmission parameters to the first UE, where the first UE is configured to send the sidelink transmission parameters to the one or more second UEs based on the one or more groupcast transmission parameters.

[0009] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, a system for mobile communications is provided, the system including: a base station configured to send an indication to a first UE that the first UE is a cooperative UE or is associated with one or more cooperative UEs for sidelink transmission, one or more second UEs configured to perform sidelink transmission, and the first UE configured to send, to the one or more second UEs, sidelink transmission parameters for the one or more second UEs.

[0010] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, a non-transitory computer-readable medium is provided that stores a set of instructions executable by at least one processor of a first user equipment (UE) in a mobile communication system including sidelink transmissions of one or more second UEs and that cause the first UE to perform a method, the method including: receiving, by the first UE, an indication from a base station that the first UE is a coordinating UE for coordination of sidelink transmissions of the one or more second UEs, receiving, by the first UE, from the base station, one or more groupcast transmission parameters, receiving, by the first UE, one or more sidelink transmission parameters for the one or more second UEs for avoiding collisions or half-duplex conflicts between sidelink transmissions of the one or more second UEs, and transmitting, by the first UE, to the one or more second UEs, a groupcast message including the sidelink transmission parameters for the one or more second UEs based on the one or more groupcast transmission parameters.

[0011] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, a non-transitory computer-readable medium is provided that is executable by at least one processor of a first user equipment (UE) in a mobile communication system including sidelink transmissions for one or more UEs and stores a set of instructions that cause the first UE to perform a method, the method including receiving, by the first UE, an indication from a base station that the first UE is associated with one or more cooperating UEs, receiving, by the first UE, from the base station, an indication of the first UE being associated with one or more cooperating UEs, receiving, by the first UE, groupcast transmission parameters of the one or more cooperating UEs, and receiving, from a first cooperating UE, a groupcast message including sidelink transmission parameters for avoiding collisions or half-duplex conflicts for a sidelink transmission of the first UE based on the groupcast transmission parameters; and transmitting, by the first UE, sidelink data to one or more second UEs based on the sidelink transmission parameters received from the first cooperating UE.

[0012] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, a non-transitory computer-readable medium is provided that stores a set of instructions executable by at least one processor of a base station in a mobile communication system including sidelink transmissions of one or more second UEs and that cause the base station to perform a method, the method including: transmitting, to a first UE, an indication that the first UE is a cooperative UE or is associated with at least one cooperative UE for coordination of sidelink transmissions of the one or more second UEs; and transmitting one or more groupcast transmission parameters to the first UE, the first UE being configured to transmit the sidelink transmission parameters to the one or more second UEs based on the one or more groupcast transmission parameters. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] 1 illustrates an example of a mobile communication system in accordance with some aspects of one or more exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. [Diagram 2] 2A and 2B illustrate example radio protocol stacks for the user plane and control plane, respectively, in accordance with some aspects of one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure. [Diagram 3] 3A-3C illustrate example mappings between logical channels and transmission channels for the downlink, uplink, and sidelink, respectively, in accordance with some aspects of one or more exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 4]4A-4C illustrate example mappings between transmission channels and physical channels for the downlink, uplink, and sidelink, respectively, in accordance with some aspects of one or more exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. [Diagram 5] 5A-5D illustrate example radio protocol stacks for NR sidelink communications in accordance with some aspects of one or more exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 6] 1 illustrates exemplary physical signals for downlink, uplink, and sidelink in accordance with some aspects of one or more exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 7] 1 illustrates examples of Radio Resource Control (RRC) states and transitions between different RRC states in accordance with some aspects of one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 8] 1 illustrates an example frame structure and physical resources in accordance with some aspects of one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 9] 1 illustrates example component carrier configurations for different carrier aggregation scenarios in accordance with some aspects of one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 10] 1 illustrates exemplary bandwidth portion configurations and switching in accordance with some aspects of one or more exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 11] 1 illustrates an example four-stage collision-based and non-collision-based random access process in accordance with some aspects of one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 12] 1 illustrates an example two-stage collision-based and non-collision-based random access process in accordance with some aspects of one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 13] 1 illustrates an example time-frequency structure of a synchronization signal / Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH) block (SSB) in accordance with some aspects of one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 14] 1 illustrates an exemplary SSB burst transmission in accordance with some aspects of one or more exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 15] 1 illustrates example components of a user terminal and a base station for transmission and / or reception in accordance with some aspects of one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 16] 16a and 16b show example collision and half-duplex conflict scenarios between UEs without inter-UE coordination. [Figure 17] 1 illustrates an example transmission of auxiliary information by cooperating user equipment (UE) to originating UEs, in accordance with some aspects of one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 18] 1 illustrates an exemplary UE-to-UE coordination process in accordance with some aspects of one or more exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 19] 1 illustrates an exemplary UE-to-UE coordination process in accordance with some aspects of one or more exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 20] 1 illustrates an exemplary UE-to-UE coordination process in accordance with some aspects of one or more exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0014] The following disclosure provides many different embodiments or examples for implementing various features of the subject matter provided in this application. Specific example arrangements are described below to clarify the disclosure. These are merely examples and are not intended to be limiting.

[0015] In this specification, terms such as "first" and "second" may be used to describe various elements, but these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are used to distinguish one element from another element. For example, a first element can be called a second element, and similarly, a second element can be called a first element, without departing from the scope of the embodiment.

[0016] 1 illustrates an example of a mobile communication system 100 according to some aspects of one or more exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. The mobile communication system 100 may be operated by a wireless communication system operator, such as a Mobile Network Operator (MNO), a private network operator, a Multiple System Operator (MSO), an Internet of Things (IOT) network operator, etc., and may provide services such as voice, data (e.g., wireless Internet access), messaging, automotive driving communication services such as Vehicle-to-Vehicle / Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) communication services, safety services, mission critical services, IoT, Industrial IOT (IIOT), and other services in residential, commercial, or industrial environments.

[0017] The mobile communication system 100 may enable various types of applications with different requirements in terms of latency, reliability, throughput, etc. Examples of possible applications include enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB), Ultra-Reliable Low-Latency Communications (URLLC), and massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC). eMBB may support high peak data rates and stable connections at reasonable rates for cell edge users. URLLC may support applications with stringent latency and reliability requirements and moderate data rate requirements. An exemplary mMTC application includes a network of countless IoT devices that are only sporadically active and transmit only small data payloads.

[0018] The mobile communication system 100 may include a radio access network (RAN) portion and a core network portion. The example shown in FIG. 1 illustrates a next generation RAN (NG-RAN) 105 and a 5G core network (5GC) 110 as examples of the RAN and the core network, respectively. Other examples of RANs may be implemented without departing from the scope of this disclosure. Examples of core networks include the Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN), the Evolved Packet Core (EPC), the UMTS Core Network (UCN), etc. RAN stands for Radio Access The RAT is implemented as a Radio Access Technology (RAT) between the user equipments (UEs) 125 (e.g., UE 125A-UE 125E) and the core network. Such RATs include New Radio (NR), Long Term Evolution (LTE), also called Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (EUTRA), Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS), and the like. The RAT of the exemplary mobile communication system 100 may be NR. The core network is between the RAN and one or more external networks (e.g., data networks) and is responsible for functions such as mobility management, authentication, session management, bearer setup, and applications of different Quality of Services (QoS). The functional layer between the UEs 125 and the RAN (e.g., NG-RAN 105) may be referred to as an Access Stratum (AS), and the functional layer between the UEs 125 and the core network (e.g., 5GC 110) may be referred to as a Non-access Stratum (NAS).

[0019] The UEs 125 may include wireless transmitting and receiving means for communicating with one or more nodes in a RAN, one or more relay nodes, one or more other UEs, etc. Examples of UEs 125 include, but are not limited to, smartphones, tablets, laptops, computers, in-vehicle wireless transmitting and / or receiving units, V2X or vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) devices, wireless sensors, IoT devices, IIOT devices, etc. Other names may be used for the UEs 125, such as, for example, a Mobile Station (MS). The UEs 125 may be a UE, a terminal device, a terminal node, a client device, a mobile device, etc. Additionally, the UEs 125 may also include components or subcomponents embedded in other equipment, such as automobiles, that provide wireless communication capabilities with nodes in the RAN as described herein. Such other equipment may have other functionality or multiple functionalities in addition to wireless communication.

[0020] The RAN may include nodes (e.g., base stations) for communicating with UEs. For example, the NG-RAN 105 of the mobile communication system 100 may include nodes for communicating with the UEs 125. The RAN nodes may be referred to by various names depending on, for example, the RAT used for the RAN. The RAN nodes may be referred to as Node-B (NB) in a RAN using a UMTS RAT. The RAN nodes may be referred to as Evolved Node B in a RAN using an LTE / EUTRA RAT. In the example mobile communication system 100 of FIG. 1, the nodes of the NG-RAN 105 may be either Next Generation Node B (gNB) 115 (e.g., gNB 115A, gNB 115B) or Next Generation Evolved Node B (ng-eNB) 120 (e.g., ng-eNB 120A, ng-eNB 120B). The terms base station, RAN node, gNB, and ng-eNB may be used interchangeably herein. The gNB 115 may provide NR user plane and control plane protocol termination towards the UE 125. The ng-eNB 120 may provide E-UTRA user plane and control plane protocol termination towards the UE 125. The interface between the gNB 115 and the UE 125 or between the ng-eNB 120 and the UE 125 may be referred to as a Uu interface. The Uu interface may be established with a user plane protocol stack and a control plane protocol stack. For the Uu interface, a base station (e.g., the gNB 115 or the n The direction from the UE 125 to the base station (e.g., gNB 115 or ng-eNB 120) may be referred to as the downlink, and the direction from the UE 125 to the base station (e.g., gNB 115 or ng-eNB 120) may be referred to as the uplink.

[0021] The gNBs 115 and the ng-eNBs 120 may be interconnected by an Xn interface. The Xn interface may include an Xn User Plane (Xn-U) interface and an Xn Control Plane (Xn-C) interface. The transport network layer of the Xn-U interface may be built based on Internet Protocol (IP) transport and may support General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) and other general packet radio services. The Radio Service Tunneling Protocol (GTP) may be used over User Datagram Protocol (UDP) / IP to carry user plane protocol data units (PDUs). Xn-U may provide unguaranteed delivery of user plane PDUs and may support data forwarding and flow control. The transport network layer of the Xn-C interface may be built on the Stream Control Transport Protocol (SCTP) over IP. The application layer signaling protocol is XnAP (Xn The SCTP layer may be referred to as the Standard Application Protocol (STP). The SCTP layer may provide guaranteed delivery of application layer messages. At the transport IP layer, point-to-point transmission may be used to carry signaling PDUs. The Xn-C interface may support Xn interface management, UE mobility management including context transfer and RAN paging, and dual connectivity.

[0022] The gNBs 115 and ng-eNBs 120 may also be connected to the 5GC 110 by an NG interface, more specifically to an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 130 (e.g., AFM 130A, AMF 130B) of the 5GC 110 by an NG-C interface, and to a User Plane Function (UPF) 135 (e.g., UPF 135A, UPF 135B) of the 5GC 110 by an NG-U interface. The transport network layer of the NG-U interface may be built based on IP transport, and the GTP protocol may be used on top of UDP / IP to carry user plane PDUs between the NG-RAN nodes (e.g., gNB 115 or ng-eNB 120) and the UPF 135. The NG-U may provide unguaranteed delivery of user plane PDUs between the NG-RAN nodes and the UPF. The transport network layer of the NG-C interface may be built based on IP transport. For reliable transfer of signaling messages, SCTP may be added on top of IP. The application layer signaling protocol may be called NGAP (NG Application Protocol). The SCTP layer may provide guaranteed delivery of application layer messages. For transport, IP layer point-to-point transmission may be used for carrying signaling PDUs. The NG-C interface may provide the following functions: NG interface management, UE context management, UE mobility management, transfer of NAS messages, paging, PDU session management, configuration transfer, and alert message transmission.

[0023] The gNB 115 or ng-eNB 120 may host one or more of the following functions: radio bearer control, radio admission control, connection mobility control, dynamic allocation of resources (e.g., scheduling) to UEs in both uplink and downlink, IP and Ethernet header compression, ciphering, and data integrity protection, selection of the AMF at UE attachment if routing to the AMF cannot be determined from information provided by the UE, routing of user plane data towards the UPF, routing of control plane information towards the AMF, connection setup and release, scheduling and transmission of paging messages, scheduling and transmission of system broadcast information (e.g., 5G LTE-R Routing and LTE-R Routing Configuration, ...

[0024] The AMF 130 may host one or more of the following functions: NAS signal termination, NAS signaling security, AS security control, CN inter-node signaling for mobility between 3GPP access networks, idle mode UE reachability (including control and execution of paging retransmissions), registration area management, support for intra-system and inter-system mobility, access authentication, access authorization including checking roaming rights, mobility management control (subscription and policy), support for network slicing, selection of Session Management Function (SMF), selection of 5GS CIoT optimization.

[0025] The UPF 135 may host one or more of the following functions: anchor points for Intra- / Inter-RAT mobility (if applicable), external PDU session points for interconnection with data networks, packet routing and forwarding, packet inspection and policy rule enforcement for the user plane part, traffic utilization reporting, uplink classifiers to support routing of traffic flows to the data network, branching points to support multi-homed PDU sessions, QoS handling for the user plane, e.g. packet filtering, gating, UL / DL rate enforcement, uplink trajectory validation (Service Data Flow (SDF) to QoS flow mapping), downlink packet buffering and downlink data notification triggering.

[0026] As shown in FIG. 1, the NG-RAN 105 serves two UEs 125 (e.g., UE The NG-RAN 105 may support a PC5 interface between the UE 125A and the UE 125B. In the PC5 interface, the communication direction between two UEs (e.g., from the UE 125A to the UE 125B or vice versa) may be referred to as a sidelink. Sidelink transmission and reception over the PC5 interface may be supported when the UE 125 is within NG-RAN 105 coverage, regardless of which RRC state the UE is in, and when the UE 125 is outside of NG-RAN 105 coverage. Support for V2X services over the PC5 interface may be provided by NR sidelink communications and / or V2X sidelink communications.

[0027] PC5-S signaling may be used for unicast link establishment by direct communication request / accept messages. A UE may self-generate its source Layer-2 ID for a PC5 unicast link, e.g. based on the V2X service type. During the unicast link establishment procedure, a UE may transmit its emissive Layer-2 ID for a PC5 unicast link to a peer UE, e.g. a UE for which a destination ID has been received from a higher layer. The source Layer-2 ID and destination Layer-2 ID pair may uniquely identify a unicast link. The receiving UE may verify that the destination ID belongs to it and may accept the unicast link establishment request from the emissive UE. During the PC5 unicast link establishment procedure, PC5-RRC procedures at the access stratum may be performed for the purpose of UE sidelink context establishment as well as AS layer configuration, capability exchange, etc. PC5-RRC signaling may enable UE capability exchange between a pair of UEs with which a PC5 unicast link is established and AS layer configuration such as sidelink radio bearer configuration.

[0028] NR sidelink communication may support one of three transmission modes (e.g., unicast transmission, groupcast transmission, broadcast transmission) for a pair of source Layer-2 ID and destination Layer-2 ID in an AS. The unicast transmission mode may be characterized by supporting one PC5-RRC connection between peer UEs for the pair, transmitting and receiving control information and user traffic between peer UEs in the sidelink, supporting sidelink HARQ feedback, supporting sidelink transmit power control, supporting RLC Acknowledged Mode (AM), and detecting radio link failures for the PC5-RRC connection. The groupcast transmission is characterized by transmitting and receiving user traffic between UEs belonging to the group in the sidelink, supporting sidelink HARQ feedback. The broadcast transmission may be characterized by transmitting and receiving user traffic between UEs in the sidelink.

[0029] The source Layer-2 ID, destination Layer-2 ID, and PC5 link identifier may be used for NR sidelink communications. The source Layer-2 ID may identify the sender of data in NR sidelink communications. The source Layer-2 ID may be 24 bits long and may be split into two bit strings at the media access control (MAC) layer, where one bit string is the LSB portion (8 bits) of the source Layer-2 ID and may be sent to the sender's physical layer. This may identify the intended source of data in the sidelink control information and may be used for packet filtering at the receiver's physical layer, where the second bit string is the MSB portion (16 bits) of the source Layer-2 ID and may be carried in the media access control (MAC) header. This may be used for packet filtering at the receiver's MAC layer. The destination Layer-2 ID may identify the target of data in NR sidelink communications. For NR sidelink communication, the destination Layer-2 ID may be 24 bits long and may be split at the MAC layer into two bit strings, where one bit string is the LSB part (16 bits) of the destination Layer-2 ID and may be sent to the sender's physical layer. This may identify the intended data target in the sidelink control information and may be used for packet filtering at the receiver's physical layer, where the second bit string may be the MSB part (8 bits) of the destination Layer-2 ID and may be carried in the MAC header. This may be used for packet filtering at the receiver's MAC layer. The PC5 link identifier may uniquely identify a PC5 unicast link in a UE during the lifetime of the PC5 unicast link. The PC5 link identifier may be used to identify the PC5 unicast link for which a sidelink Radio Link Failure (RLF) has been declared and the PC5-RRC connection has been released.

[0030] 2A and 2B illustrate example radio protocol stacks for the user plane and control plane, respectively, in accordance with some aspects of one or more exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 2A, the user plane protocol stack of the Uu interface (between the UE 125 and the gNB 115) includes Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP) 201 and SDAP 211, Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) 202 and PDCP 212, Radio Link Control (RLC) 203 and RLC 213, Layer 2 MAC 204 and MAC 214, and Physical Layer (PHY) 205 and PHY 215 layers (Layer 1 is also referred to as L1).

[0031] The PHY 205 and PHY 215 provide transport channels 244 to the MAC 204 and MAC 214 sublayers. The MAC 204 and MAC 214 sublayers provide logical channels 243 to the RLC 203 and RLC 213 sublayers. The RLC 203 and RLC 213 sublayers provide RLC channels 242 to the PDCP 202 and PCP 212 sublayers. The sublayer provides radio bearers 241 to the SDAP 201 and SDAP 211 sublayers. The radio bearers can be classified into two groups: Data Radio Bearers (DRBs) for user plane data and Signaling Radio Bearers (SRBs) for control plane data. The SDAP 201 and SDAP 211 sublayers provide QoS flows 240 to the 5GC.

[0032] The main services and functions of the MAC 204 or MAC 214 sublayer include: mapping between logical channels and transport channels, multiplexing / demultiplexing of MAC Service Data Units (SDUs) belonging to one or different logical channels to / from Transport Blocks (TBs) conveyed on transport channels to / from the physical layer, scheduling of information reports, error correction through Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) (one HARQ entity per cell in case of Carrier Aggregation (CA)), priority handling between UEs by dynamic scheduling, priority handling between logical channels of one UE by Logical Channel Prioritization (LCP), priority handling between overlapped resources of one UE, and padding. One MAC entity may support multiple numerologies, transmission timings, and cells. The mapping of priority decisions within logical channels controls which numerology, cell, and transmission timing a logical channel may use.

[0033] The HARQ functionality may ensure communication between peer entities at Layer 1. One HARQ process may support one TB if the physical layer is not configured for downlink / uplink spatial multiplexing, and one HARQ process may support one or multiple TBs if the physical layer is configured for downlink / uplink spatial multiplexing.

[0034] The RLC 203 or RLC 213 sublayer may support three transmission modes: Transparent Mode (TM), Un-acknowledged Mode (UM), and Acknowledged Mode (AM). The RLC configuration may be according to the logical channel, independent of the numerology and / or transmission time, and the Automatic Repeat Request (ARQ) may operate with any of the numerologies and / or transmission times for which the logical channel is configured.

[0035] The main services and functions of the RLC 203 or RLC 213 sublayer depend on the transmission mode (e.g., TM, UM, or AM) and may include: transmission of higher layer PDUs, independent sequence numbering within PDCP (UM and AM), error correction through ARQ (AM only), segmentation (AM and UM) and resegmentation (AM only) of RLC SDUs, reassembly of SDUs (AM and UM), duplicate detection (AM only), RLC SDU discard (AM and UM), RLC re-establishment, and protocol error detection (AM only).

[0036] An automatic repeat request in the RLC 203 or RLC 213 sublayer may have the following properties: ARQ retransmits RLC SDUs or RLC SDU segments based on an RLC status report; polling of RLC status reports may be used by the RLC as needed; the RLC receiver may also trigger an RLC status report after detecting a missed RLC SDU or RLC SDU segment.

[0037] The main services and functions of the PDCP 202 or PDCP 212 sublayer include: This includes: transmission of data (user plane or control plane), preservation of PDCP sequence numbers (SNs), compression and decompression of headers using the Robust Header Compression (ROHC) protocol, encryption and decryption, integrity protection and integrity verification, timer-based SDU discard, routing for split bearers, duplication, reordering and in-order delivery, out-of-order delivery, duplicate discard.

[0038] The main services and functions of the SDAP 201 or SDAP 211 include: mapping between QoS flows and data radio bearers, marking QoS Flow ID (QFI) in both downlink and uplink. One protocol entity of the SDAP can be configured for each individual PDU session.

[0039] As shown in FIG. 2B, the control plane protocol stack of the Uu interface (between the UE 125 and the gNB 115) includes the PHY layer (Layer 1) as previously described, and the MAC, RLC and PDCP sublayers of Layer 2, as well as the RRC 206 and RRC 216 sublayers. The main services and functions of the RRC 206 and RRC 216 sublayers on the Uu interface include: broadcasting of system information about AS and NAS, paging initiated by 5GC or NG-RAN, establishment, maintenance and release of RRC connection between UE and NG-RAN (including adding, modifying and releasing carrier aggregation and adding, modifying and releasing dual connectivity within NR or between E-UTRA and NR), security functions including key management, establishment, configuration, maintenance and release of SRBs and DRBs, mobility functions (including handover and context transfer, UE cell selection and reselection and control of cell selection and reselection, Inter-RAT mobility), QoS management functions, UE measurement result reporting and reporting control, detection and recovery from radio link failure, NAS message transmission from NAS to UE / from UE to NAS. The NAS 207 and NAS 227 layers are control protocols (terminated in the AMF on the network side) that perform functions such as authentication, mobility management, security control, etc.

[0040] Sidelink specific services and functions of the RRC sublayer over the Uu interface include: configuration of sidelink resource allocation via system information or dedicated signaling, reporting of UE sidelink information, configuration and reporting of sidelink related measurements, reporting of UE assistance information for SL traffic patterns.

[0041] 3A, 3B, and 3C illustrate example mappings between logical channels and transport channels in the downlink, uplink, and sidelink, respectively, according to some aspects of one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure. Different types of data transmission services may be provided by the MAC. Each logical channel type may be defined by the type of information transmitted. Each logical channel may be classified into two groups: control channels and traffic channels. The control channels may be used for transmission of control plane information only. The Broadcast Control Channel (BCCH) is a downlink channel for broadcasting system control information. The Paging Control Channel (PCCH) is a downlink channel that carries paging messages. The Common Control Channel (CCCH) is a channel for transmitting control information between UEs and the network. This channel may be used for UEs that do not have an RRC connection with the network. The Dedicated Control Channel (DCCH) is a point-to-point bidirectional channel that transmits dedicated control information between a UE and the network, and may be used by UEs that have an RRC connection. The traffic channel is A Dedicated Traffic Channel (DTCH) is a point-to-point channel dedicated to one UE for the transmission of user information. A DTCH can exist in both uplink and downlink. A Sidelink Control Channel (SCCH) is a sidelink control channel (SCH) that is used for the transmission of user information only. A Sidelink Traffic Channel (STCH) is a sidelink channel for transmitting control information (e.g., PC5-RRC and PC5-S messages) from one UE to another UE. A Sidelink Broadcast Control Channel (SBCCH) is a sidelink channel for transmitting user information from one UE to other UEs. A Sidelink Broadcast Control Channel (SBCCH) is a sidelink channel for broadcasting sidelink system information from one UE to other UEs.

[0042] Downlink transport channel types include Broadcast Channel (BCH), Downlink Shared Channel (DL-SCH), and Paging Channel (PCH). The BCH may be characterized by a fixed, predefined transport format and the requirement to be broadcast in the entire coverage area of ​​a cell, either as a single message or by beamforming different BCH instances. The DL-SCH may be characterized by support for HARQ, support for dynamic link modulation adaptation by varying modulation, coding, and transmit power, the possibility of broadcasting in the entire cell, the possibility of using beamforming, support for both dynamic and semi-static resource allocation, and support for UE Discontinuous Reception (DRX) for UE power consumption savings. The DL-SCH may be characterized by support for HARQ, dynamic link modulation adaptation by varying modulation, coding and transmission power, possible broadcasting over the entire cell, possible use of beamforming, support for both dynamic and semi-static resource allocation, and support for UE Discontinuous Reception (DRX) to save UE power consumption. The PCH may be characterized by support for UE Discontinuous Reception (DRX) to enable UE power consumption savings (DRX cycles are indicated to the UE by the network), requirements broadcasted over the entire coverage area of ​​the cell either as a standalone message or by beamforming different BCH instances, mapping onto physical resources that can also be used dynamically for traffic / other control channels.

[0043] In the downlink, the following connections between logical channels and transport channels may exist: BCCH may be mapped to BCH, BCCH may be mapped to DL-SCH, PCCH may be mapped to PCH, CCCH may be mapped to DL-SCH, DCCH may be mapped to DL-SCH, and DTCH may be mapped to DL-SCH.

[0044] Types of uplink transport channels include the Uplink Shared Channel (UL-SCH) and the Random Access Channel (RACH). The UL-SCH may be characterized by the availability of beamforming, support for dynamic link modulation adaptation by varying transmit power and possibly modulation and coding, support for HARQ, and support for both dynamic and semi-static resource allocation. The RACH may be characterized by limited control information and collision risk.

[0045] In the uplink, the following connections may exist between logical channels and transport channels: CCCH may be mapped to UL-SCH, DCCH may be mapped to UL-SCH, The DTCH may be pinged and the DTCH may be mapped to the UL-SCH.

[0046] Sidelink transport channel types include: Sidelink Broadcast Channel (SL-BCH) and Sidelink Shared Channel (SL-SCH). The SL-BCH may be characterized by a predefined transport format. The SL-SCH may be characterized by supporting unicast, groupcast, and broadcast transmissions, supporting both UE automatic resource selection and scheduled resource allocation by the NG-RAN, supporting both dynamic and semi-static resource allocation when the UE is assigned resources by the NG-RAN, supporting HARQ, and supporting dynamic link modulation adaptation by varying transmit power, modulation, and coding.

[0047] In the sidelink, the following connections may exist between logical channels and transport channels: SCCH may be mapped to SL-SCH, STCH may be mapped to SL-SCH, and SBCCH may be mapped to SL-BCH.

[0048] 4A, 4B, and 4C illustrate example mappings between transport channels and physical channels in the downlink, uplink, and sidelink, respectively, according to some aspects of one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure. The physical channels in the downlink include a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH), a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH), and a Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH). The PCH and DL-SCH transport channels are mapped to the PDSCH. The BCH transport channel is mapped to the PBCH. The transport channels are not mapped to the PDCCH, but the Downlink Control Information (DCI) is transmitted via the PDCCH.

[0049] The uplink physical channels include the Physical Uplink Shared Channel, the Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH), and the Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH). The UL-SCH transport channel may be mapped to the PUSCH, and the RACH transport channel may be mapped to the PRACH. The transport channels are not mapped to the PUCCH, but the Uplink Control Information (UCI) is transmitted via the PUCCH.

[0050] The sidelink physical channels include the Physical Sidelink Shared Channel (PSSCH), the Physical Sidelink Control Channel (PSCCH), the Physical Sidelink Feedback Channel (PSFCH), and the Physical Sidelink Broadcast Channel (PSBCH). The Physical Sidelink Control Channel (PSCCH) may indicate the resources and other transmission parameters that the UE uses for the PSSCH. The Physical Sidelink Shared Channel (PSSCH) may transmit TBs of data itself, control information for the HARQ procedure, and Channel State Information (CSI) feedback triggers, etc. At least six (6) channels in a slot may be used. Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbols may be used for PSSCH transmission. The Physical Sidelink Feedback Channel (PSFCH) may carry HARQ feedback on the sidelink from the UE that is the intended recipient of the PSSCH transmission to the UE that transmitted it. The PSFCH sequence may be transmitted in one PRB repeated in two OFDM symbols near the end of the sidelink resources in a slot. The SL-SCH transport channel may be mapped to the PSSCH. The SL-BCH may be mapped to the PSBCH. None of the transport channels are mapped to the PSFCH, but the Sidelink Feedback Control Information (SFCI) may be mapped to the PSFCH. None of the transport channels are mapped to the PSCCH, but the Sidelink Control Information (SCI) may be mapped to the PSCCH.

[0051] 5A, 5B, 5C, and 5D illustrate examples of radio protocol stacks for NR sidelink communications according to some aspects of one or more exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. The AS protocol stack for the user plane (i.e., for STCH) in the PC5 interface may consist of SDAP, PDCP, RLC, and MAC sublayers and a physical layer. The user plane protocol stack is shown in FIG. 5A. The AS protocol stack for SBCCH in the PC5 interface may consist of RRC, RLC, MAC sublayers and a physical layer shown below in FIG. 5B. To support the PC5-S protocol, PC5-S is above the PDCP, RLC, and MAC sublayers and a physical layer in the control plane protocol stack for SCCH for PC5-S, as shown in FIG. 5C. The AS protocol stack of the control plane of SCCH for RRC in the PC5 interface consists of RRC, PDCP, RLC, and MAC sublayers and a physical layer. The control plane protocol stack of SCCH for RRC is shown in FIG. 5D.

[0052] Sidelink Radio Bearers (SLRBs) can be classified into two groups: Sidelink Data Radio Bearers (SL DRBs) for user plane data and Sidelink Signaling Radio Bearers (SL SRBs) for control plane data. Separate SLSRBs using different SCCHs can be configured for PC5-RRC and PC5-S signaling, respectively.

[0053] The MAC sublayer may provide the following services and functions over the PC5 interface: radio resource selection, packet filtering, priority handling between uplink and sidelink transmissions for a UE, and sidelink CSI reporting. Due to the constraints of logical channel priority determination within the MAC, only sidelink logical channels belonging to the same destination may be multiplexed into a MAC PDU for each unicast, groupcast, and broadcast transmission that may be associated with that destination. For packet filtering, a SL-SCH MAC header containing both the source Layer-2 ID and destination Layer-2 ID parts may be added to the MAC PDU. The Logical Channel Identifier (LCID) included in the MAC subheader may uniquely identify a logical channel within the combination of the source Layer-2 ID and the destination Layer-2 ID.

[0054] The RLC sublayer services and functions may be supported for the sidelink. For unicast transmissions, either RLC Unacknowledged Mode (UM) or Acknowledged Mode (AM) may be used, whereas for groupcast or broadcast transmissions, only UM may be used. For UM, groupcast and For broadcasting, only one-way transmission can be supported.

[0055] The services and functions of the PDCP sublayer of the Uu interface may be supported for the sidelink with some restrictions: out-of-order delivery may only be supported for unicast transmission, duplexing is not supported on the PC5 interface.

[0056] The SDAP sublayer may provide the following services and functions over the PC5 interface: mapping between QoS flows and sidelink data radio bearers. For one destination, there may be one SDAP entity for one of unicast, groupcast, and broadcast associated with that destination.

[0057] The RRC sublayer may provide the following services and functions over the PC5 interface: transmission of PC5-RRC messages between peer UEs, holding and releasing a PC5-RRC connection between two UEs, detection of sidelink radio link failure for a PC5-RRC connection based on an indication from MAC or RLC. A PC5-RRC connection may be a logical connection between two UEs for a pair of source and destination Layer-2 IDs that may be considered to be established after a corresponding PC5 unicast link is established. There may be a one-to-one correspondence between a PC5-RRC connection and a PC5 unicast link. A UE may have multiple PC5-RRC connections with one or more UEs for different pairs of source and destination Layer-2 IDs. Separate PC5-RRC procedures and messages may be used for a UE to convey UE capabilities and sidelink configurations, including SL-DRB configurations, to a peer UE. Both peer UEs may exchange their respective UE capabilities and sidelink configurations using separate bidirectional procedures for both sidelink directions.

[0058] FIG. 6 illustrates example physical signals for the downlink, uplink, and sidelink according to some aspects of one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure. Demodulation Reference Signal (DM-RS) may be used in the downlink, uplink, and sidelink and may be used for channel estimation. DM-RS is a UE-specific reference signal that may be transmitted in the downlink, uplink, or sidelink along with the physical channel and may be used for channel estimation and coherent detection of the physical channel. Phase Tracking Reference Signal (PT-RS) may be used in the downlink, uplink, and sidelink and may be used for phase tracking and mitigating performance loss due to phase noise. PT-RS may be primarily used to estimate and minimize the impact of Common Phase Error (CPE) on system performance. Due to the characteristics of phase noise, the PT-RS signal may be sparse in the frequency domain and dense in the time domain. PT-RS may occur in combination with DM-RS and when the network is configured for the presence of PT-RS. Positioning Reference Signal (PRS) may be used for positioning using different positioning techniques in the downlink. PRS may be used to measure the delay of downlink transmission by correlating the received signal from the base station with a local replica in the receiver. Channel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS) may be used in the downlink and sidelink. CSI-RS may be used for channel state estimation, Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) measurement for mobility and beam management, time / frequency tracking for modulation, and more. CSI-RS may be configured for individual UEs, but multiple users may share the same CSI-RS resources. UEs may identify CSI reports and transmit them in the uplink to the base station using PUCCH or PUSCH. CSI reports are sent to the base station in the sidelink. The Primary Synchronization Signal (PSS) and Secondary Synchronization Signal (SSS) may be used for radio frame synchronization. The PSS and SSS may be used for cell search procedures during initial attach or for mobility purposes. The Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) may be used for wireless LAN. The Sidelink PSS (S-PSS) and Sidelink SSS (S-SSS) may be used in the uplink for uplink channel estimation. Similar to the CSI-RS, the SRS may also serve as a QCL reference for other physical channels, whereby they can be configured and transmitted in a quasi-collocated relationship with the SRS. The Sidelink PSS (S-PSS) and Sidelink SSS (S-SSS) may be used in the sidelink for sidelink synchronization.

[0059] FIG. 7 illustrates examples of Radio Resource Control (RRC) states and transitions between different RRC states according to some aspects of one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure. A UE may be in one of three RRC states: an RRC connected state 710, an RRC idle state 720, and an RRC inactive state 730. After power-up, the UE may be in the RRC idle state 720 and the UE may use initial access to establish a connection with the network via an RRC connection establishment procedure to transmit / receive data transmissions and / or voice calls. Once an RRC connection is established, the UE may be in the RRC connected state 710. The UE may transition from the RRC idle state 720 to the RRC connected state 710 or from the RRC connected state 710 to the RRC idle state 720 using an RRC connection establishment / release procedure 740.

[0060] The RRC inactive state 730 may be used to reduce signaling load and latency resulting from frequent transitions from the RRC connected state 710 to the RRC idle state 720 when the UE transmits frequent small data. In the RRC inactive state 730, the AS context may be preserved by both the UE and the gNB. As a result, a fast state transition from the RRC inactive state 730 to the RRC connected state 710 may occur. The UE may transition from the RRC inactive state 730 to the RRC connected state 710 or from the RRC connected state 710 to the RRC inactive state 730 using an RRC connection resume / deactivation procedure 760. The UE may transition from the RRC inactive state 730 to the RRC idle state 720 using an RRC connection release procedure 750.

[0061] FIG. 8 illustrates an example frame structure and physical resources according to some aspects of one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure. Downlink or uplink or sidelink transmissions may be organized into frames of 10 ms duration consisting of 10 (0-9) 1 ms subframes. Each subframe may consist of k slots (k=1, 2, 4, ...), where the number of slots k per subframe may depend on the subcarrier spacing of the carrier in which the transmission occurs. The slot duration may be 14 (0-13) symbols of normal cyclic prefix (CP) and 12 symbols of extended CP, and may be scaled in time such that there are an integer number of slots in one subframe depending on the subcarrier spacing used. FIG. 8 illustrates a resource grid in time and frequency domain. Each element of the resource grid, which includes one symbol in time and one subcarrier in frequency, is called a resource element (RE). A resource block (RB) may be defined as 12 consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain.

[0062] In some examples, non-slot-based scheduling allows transmission of a packet in a portion of a slot, e.g., 2, 4, or 7 OFDM symbols, which may also be referred to as a minislot. Minislots may be used for low latency applications such as URLLC and for operation in unlicensed bands. In some embodiments, minislots may be used for low latency applications such as URLLC and operation in unlicensed bands. The slots may also be used for fast flexible scheduling of services (e.g., prioritized connections for URLLC in eMBB).

[0063] FIG. 9 illustrates example component carrier configurations in different carrier aggregation scenarios according to some aspects of one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure. In carrier aggregation (CA), two or more component carriers (CCs) may be aggregated. A UE may transmit and receive simultaneously on one or more CCSs depending on its capabilities. CA may be supported for both contiguous and non-contiguous CCs in the same band or in different bands, as shown in FIG. 9. The gNG and the UE may communicate using a serving cell. The serving cell may be associated with at least one downlink CC (e.g., may be associated with only one downlink CC or may be associated with a downlink CC and an uplink CC). The serving cell may be a primary cell (PCell) or a secondary cell (SCell).

[0064] The UE may adjust the timing of its uplink transmission using an uplink timing control procedure. A timing advance (TA) may be used to adjust the uplink frame timing relative to the downlink frame timing. The gNB may specify a desired timing advance setting and provide it to the UE. The UE may use the provided TA to specify the uplink transmission timing relative to the observed downlink receive timing for the UE.

[0065] In the RRC connected state, the gNB may be responsible for maintaining the timing advance to keep L1 synchronized. Serving cells with uplinks to which the same timing advance is applied and with the same timing reference cell are grouped into a Timing Advance Group (TAG). A TAG may contain at least one serving cell with uplink configured. The mapping of serving cells to TAGs may be configured by RRC. For a primary TAG, the UE may use the PCell as a timing cell, with the exception of shared spectrum channel access where in certain cases a SCell may also be used as a timing reference cell. In a secondary TAG, the UE may use any of the activated SCells of this TAG as a timing reference cell and cannot change it unless necessary.

[0066] Timing advance updates may be signaled by the gNB to the UE via a MAC CE command. Such a command may restart a per-TAG timer, which may indicate whether L1 can be synchronized or not. That is, if the timer is running, L1 may be considered synchronized, otherwise L1 may be considered not synchronized (uplink transmissions may only be made on the PRACH in this case).

[0067] A UE with one timing advance capability for CA may simultaneously receive and / or transmit on multiple CCs corresponding to multiple serving cells (multiple serving cells grouped into one TAG) sharing the same timing advance. A UE with multiple timing advance capabilities for CA may simultaneously receive and / or transmit on multiple CCs corresponding to multiple serving cells (multiple serving cells grouped into multiple TAGs) with different timing advances. NG-RAN may ensure that each TAG includes at least one serving cell. A non-CA capable UE may receive on and transmit on one CC corresponding to only one serving cell (one serving cell in one TAG).

[0068] The multi-carrier nature of the physical layer in the case of CA may be exposed to the MAC layer and one HARQ entity may be required per serving cell. When CA is configured, the UE A UE may have one RRC connection with the network. During RRC connection establishment / re-establishment / handover, one serving cell (e.g., PCell) may provide NAS mobility information. Depending on the UE capabilities, SCells may be configured to form a serving cell set together with the PCell. A serving cell set configured for a UE may consist of one PCell and one or multiple SCells. Reconfiguration, addition, and removal of SCells are performed by RRC.

[0069] In a dual connectivity scenario, a UE may be configured with multiple cells including a Master Cell Group (MCG) for communication with a master base station, a Secondary Cell Group (SCG) for communication with a secondary base station, and two MAC entities, i.e., one MAC entity for the MCG for communication with the master base station and one MAC entity for the SCG for communication with the secondary base station.

[0070] FIG. 10 illustrates an example bandwidth portion configuration and switching according to some aspects of one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure. A UE may be configured with one or more bandwidth portions (BWPs) 1010 (e.g., 1010A, 1010B) on a component carrier. In some examples, one of the one or more bandwidth portions may be active at a time. The active bandwidth portion may define the UE's operating bandwidth within the operating bandwidth of the cell. During initial access, an initial bandwidth portion 1020 identified from system information may be used until the UE's configuration in the cell is received. With bandwidth adaptation (BA), for example, through BWP switching 1040, the UE's reception and transmission may be adjusted, not as large as the cell's bandwidth. For example, the width may be instructed to change (e.g., to shrink during periods of low activity to save power), the location in the frequency domain may be moved (e.g., to increase scheduling flexibility), and the subcarrier spacing may be instructed to change (e.g., to enable different services). The initial active BWP 1030 may be the active BWP at the time of RRC (re)configuration for the PCell or at the time of activation of the SCell.

[0071] For each downlink BWP or uplink BWP in the set of downlink BWPs or uplink BWPs, the UE may be provided with the following configuration parameters: subcarrier spacing (SCS), cyclic prefix, number of common RBs and consecutive RBs, index in the set of downlink BWPs or uplink BWPs by the respective BWP-Id, BWP-common parameter set and BWP-individual parameter set. A BWP may be associated with an OFDM numerology according to the subcarrier spacing and cyclic prefix configured for that BWP. For a serving cell, the UE may be provided with a default downlink BWP among the configured downlink BWPs. If the UE is not provided with a default downlink BWP, the default downlink BWP may be the initial downlink BWP.

[0072] A downlink BWP may be associated with a BWP inactivity timer. If a BWP inactivity timer associated with an active downlink BWP expires and a default downlink BWP is configured, the UE may perform a BWP switch to the default BWP. If a BWP inactivity timer associated with an active downlink BWP expires and a default downlink BWP is not configured, the UE may perform a BWP switch to the initial downlink BWP.

[0073] FIG. 11 illustrates an example four-stage contention-based random access (CBRA) and contention-free random access (CFRA) scheme in accordance with some aspects of one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 12 illustrates an example two-stage contention-based random access (CBRA) and contention-free random access (CFRA) process according to some aspects of one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure. The random access procedure can be triggered by various events, such as initial access from an RRC idle state, an RRC connection re-establishment procedure, arrival of downlink or uplink data during an RRC connected state when the uplink synchronization state is "unsynchronized", arrival of uplink data during an RRC connected state when no PUCCH resources are available for a Scheduling Request (SR), an SR failure, a request by RRC upon synchronization reconfiguration (e.g., handover), a transition from an RRC inactive state, a request for more system information (SI) to establish time alignment for a secondary TAG, Beam Failure Recovery (BFR), and a sustained uplink Listen-Before-Talk (LBT) failure on the PCell.

[0074] Two types of Random Access (RA) procedures can be supported: 4-step RA type with MSGA and 2-step RA type with MSGA. Both types of RA procedures can support Contention-Based Random Access (CBRA) and Contention-Free Random Access (CFRA), as shown in Figures 11 and 12.

[0075] The UE may select the type of random access based on the network configuration when initiating the random access procedure. If the CFRA resource is not configured, the UE may use the RSRP threshold to select between the two-stage RA type or the staged RA type. If the CFRA resource for the four-stage RA type is configured, the UE may perform the random access with the four-stage RA type. If the CFRA resource for the two-stage RA type is configured, the UE may perform the two-stage RA type random access.

[0076] MSG1 for the four-step RA type may consist of a preamble for the PRACH (step 1 of CBRA in FIG. 11). After transmitting MSG1, the UE may monitor for a response from the network within a configured window (step 2 of CBRA in FIG. 11). In the case of CFRA, a dedicated preamble for MSG1 transmission may be assigned by the network (step 0 of CFRA in FIG. 11), and upon receiving a random access response (RAR) from the network, the UE may terminate the random access procedure as shown in FIG. 11 (steps 1 and 2 of CFRA in FIG. 11). In the case of CBRA, upon receiving a random access response (step 2 of CBRA in FIG. 11), the UE may transmit MSG3 using the uplink grant scheduled in the random access response (step 3 of CBRA in FIG. 11) and monitor for collision resolution as shown in FIG. 11 (step 4 of CBRA in FIG. 11). If collision resolution is not successful after MSG3 (re)transmission, the UE may revert to transmitting MSG1.

[0077] The MSGA of the two-step RA type may include a preamble of PRACH and a payload of PUSCH (e.g., step A of CBRA in FIG. 12). After transmitting the MSGA, the UE may monitor a response from the network within a configured window. In the case of CFRA, separate preamble and PUSCH resources may be configured for MSGA transmission (steps 0 and A of CFRA in FIG. 12), and upon receiving a network response (step B of CFRA in FIG. 12), the UE may terminate the random access procedure as shown in FIG. 12. In the case of CBRA, if the collision resolution is successful upon receiving the network response (step B of CBRA in FIG. 12), the UE may terminate the random access procedure shown in FIG. 12, but if a fallback indication is received in MSGB, the UE may perform transmission of MSG3 using the uplink grant scheduled in the fallback indication and monitor the collision resolution. If the collision resolution is not successful after MSG3 (re)transmission, the UE may return to MSGA transmission.

[0078] FIG. 13 illustrates an exemplary time and frequency structure of a synchronization signal and a physical broadcast channel (PBCH) block (SSB) according to some aspects of one or more exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. The SS / PBCH block (SSB) may consist of primary and secondary synchronization signals (PSS, SSS), each occupying one symbol and 127 subcarriers (e.g., subcarrier numbers 56-182 in FIG. 13), and the PBCH spanning three OFDM symbols and 240 subcarriers, with one symbol remaining in the middle unused portion for the SSS, as illustrated in FIG. 13. The possible time positions of the SSBs within a half-frame may be specified by the subcarrier spacing, and the period of the half-frame during which the SSBs are transmitted may be set by the network. During a half-frame, different SSBs may be transmitted in different spatial directions (i.e., using different beams and across the coverage area of ​​the cell).

[0079] The PBCH may be used to carry a Master Information Block (MIB) that the UE uses during cell search and initial access procedures. The UE may first decode the PBCH / MIB to receive other system information. The MIB may provide the UE with the parameters required to acquire System Information Block 1 (SIB1), more specifically, the information required to monitor the PDCCH to schedule the PDSCH carrying SIB1. In addition, the MIB may indicate Cell Barred status information. The MIB and SIB1 may be collectively referred to as Minimum System Information (SI), and SIB1 may be referred to as Remaining Minimum System Information (RMSI). The other System Information Blocks (SIBs) (e.g., SIB2, SIB3, ..., SIB10, and SIBpos) may be referred to as other SI. Other SI may be broadcast periodically on the DL-SCH, broadcast on demand on the DL-SCH (e.g., upon request from UEs in RRC idle, RRC inactive, or RRC connected states), or sent individually on the DL-SCH to RRC connected UEs (e.g., upon request from RRC connected UEs if configured by the network, or when the UE has an active BWP and no common search space is configured).

[0080] FIG. 14 illustrates an example SSB burst transmission according to some aspects of one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure. The SSB burst may include N SSBs (e.g., SSB_1, SSB_2, ..., SSB_N), where each SSB of the N SSBs may correspond to a beam (e.g., Beam_1, Beam_2, ..., Beam_N). The SSB burst may be transmitted according to a periodicity (e.g., SSB burst period). During a contention-based random access process, the UE may perform a random access resource selection process, where the UE first selects an SSB and then selects an RA preamble. The UE may select an SSB with a RSRP higher than a configured threshold. In some embodiments, the UE may select any SSB if an SSB with a RSRP higher than a configured threshold is not available. A set of random access preambles may be associated with the SSB. After selecting the SSB, the UE may select and obtain a random access preamble from a set of random access preambles associated with the SSB, and transmit the selected random access preamble to initiate the random access process.

[0081] In some embodiments, a beam of the N beams may be associated with a CSI-RS resource (e.g., CSI-RSA_1, CSI-RS_2, ..., CSI-RS_N). The UE may measure the CSI-RS resources and select a CSI-RS with an RSRP higher than a configured threshold. The UE may select a random access preamble corresponding to the selected CSI-RS and may transmit the selected random access process to initiate the random access process. In the absence of a random access preamble, the UE may select a random access preamble corresponding to an SSB that is quasi-colocated with the selected CSI-RS.

[0082] In some embodiments, based on the UE's measurements of CSI-RS resources and the UE's CSI reports, the base station may identify a Transmission Configuration Indication (TCI) state and may indicate the TCI state to the UE, which may use the indicated TCI state for reception of downlink control information (e.g., via PDCCH) or data (e.g., via PDSCH). The UE may use the indicated TCI state to use an appropriate beam for reception of data or control information. The indication of the TCI state may be using an RRC configuration or a combination of RRC and dynamic signaling (e.g., via MAC Control Element (MAC CE) and / or based on values ​​of fields in the downlink control information that schedules downlink transmissions). The TCI state may indicate a quasi-co-location (QCL) relationship between a downlink reference signal, such as the CSI-RS, and a DM-RS associated with a downlink control or data channel (e.g., PDCCH or PDSCH, respectively).

[0083] In some embodiments, the UE may be configured with a list of up to M TCI states using physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) configuration parameters to decode the PDSCH according to the PDCCH detected in the DCI intended for the UE and a serving cell, where M may depend on the capabilities of the UE. Each TCI-state may include parameters for configuring a QCL relationship between one or two downlink reference signals and the DM-RS port of the PDSCH, the DM-RS port of the PDCCH, or the CSI-RS port of the CSI-RS resources. The quasi-collocation relationship may be configured by one or more RRC parameters. The type of quasi-collocation corresponding to each DL RS may take one of the following values: 'QCL-TypeA': {Doppler shift, Doppler extension, average delay, delay extension}, 'QCL-TypeB': {Doppler shift, Doppler extension}, 'QCL-TypeC': {Doppler shift, average delay}, 'QCL-TypeD': {Spatial Rx parameters}. The UE may receive an activation command (eg, MAC CE) used to map the TCI state to a codepoint of the DCI field.

[0084] FIG. 15 illustrates example components of a user equipment and a base station in accordance with some aspects of one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure. In one embodiment, the example components of FIG. 15 may be considered to illustrate functional blocks of an example base station 1505. In other embodiments, the example components of FIG. 15 may be considered to illustrate functional blocks of an example user equipment (UE) 1500. Thus, the components illustrated in FIG. 15 are not necessarily limited to either a UE or a base station.

[0085] With reference to FIG. 15, antenna 1510 may be used to transmit or receive electromagnetic signals. Antenna 1510 may include one or more antenna elements, which may enable various input-output antenna configurations, including multiple-input multiple output (MIMO), multiple-input single-output (MISO), and single-input multiple-output (SIMO) configurations. In some embodiments, antenna 1510 may provide a massive MIMO configuration using tens or hundreds of antenna elements. Antenna 1510 may use other multi-antenna techniques, such as beamforming. In some embodiments, depending on the capabilities of UE 1500 and the type of UE 1500 (e.g., low-complexity UE), UE 1500 may only support a single antenna.

[0086] The transceiver 1520 may communicate bidirectionally over a wireless link as described herein via the antenna 1510. For example, the transceiver 1520 may represent a wireless transceiver at a UE and may communicate bidirectionally with a wireless transceiver at a base station or vice versa. The transceiver 1520 may include a modem for modulating packets and providing the modulated packets to the antenna 1510 for transmission and modulating packets received from the antenna 1510.

[0087] The memory 1530 may include RAM and ROM. The memory 1530 may store computer-readable, computer-executable code 1535, which, when executed, causes the processor to perform various functions described herein. In some examples, the memory 1530 may include, among other things, a Basic Input / output System (BIOS), which may control basic hardware or software operations, such as interaction with peripheral components or devices.

[0088] The processor 1540 may include a hardware device having processing capabilities (e.g., a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), a central processing unit (CPU), a microcontroller, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic components, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof). In some examples, the processor 1540 may be configured to operate a memory using a memory controller. In other examples, the memory controller may be incorporated into the processor 1540. The processor 1540 may be configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in a memory (e.g., memory 1530) to cause the UE 1500 or the base station 1505 to perform various functions.

[0089] The CPU 1550 may perform basic arithmetic, logic, control, and input / output (I / O) operations specified by computer instructions in the memory 1530. The UE 1500 and / or base station 1505 may include other peripheral components such as a graphics processing unit (GPU) 1560 and a global positioning system (GPS) 1570. The GPU 1560 is specialized circuitry that manipulates and modifies the memory 1530 at high speeds to accelerate the processing performance of the UE 1500 and / or base station 1505. The GPS 1570 may be used to enable location-based services and other services based, for example, on the geographic location of the UE 1500.

[0090] In some examples, the UE 1500 may be configured or programmed to function as a cooperative UE in a mobile communication system including sidelink transmissions. In addition to the UE 1500 and the base station 1505, the mobile communication system may also include one or more second UEs. The UE 1500 may be configured or programmed to receive an indication that the UE 1500 is a cooperative UE for the coordination of sidelink transmissions of the one or more second UEs. The UE 1500 may receive the indication from the base station 1505. The UE 1500 may receive the indication through an antenna, such as the antenna 1510. The UE 1500 may further be configured or programmed to receive one or more groupcast transmission parameters from the base station 1505. The UE 1500 may be configured or programmed to identify sidelink transmission parameters for the one or more UEs to avoid collisions or half-duplex conflicts between sidelink transmissions of the one or more second UEs. The sidelink transmission parameters may include a preferred resource set for the one or more second UEs or a non-preferred resource set for the one or more second UEs. In some embodiments, the sidelink transmission parameters may include a preferred resource set for the one or more second UEs. In some embodiments, the UE 1500 may , detect transmission parameters of the one or more second UEs and identify sidelink transmission parameters for the one or more second UEs based on the results of the detection. In some embodiments, the sidelink transmission parameters may include a resource set that is not preferred for the one or more second UEs. In these embodiments, the UE 1500 may identify sidelink transmission parameters for the one or more second UEs based on at least one of the detection results of the transmission parameters of the one or more second UEs or the resource collision or half-duplex conflict prediction information in the sidelink transmission. The UE 1500 may be configured or programmed to transmit a groupcast message to the one or more second UEs including the sidelink transmission parameters for the one or more second UEs. The UE 1500 may be configured or programmed to transmit the groupcast message to the one or more second UEs based on the determination of the one or more groupcast transmission parameters. The UE 1500 may be configured or programmed to transmit the groupcast message to the one or more second UEs at a predetermined time. In some embodiments, the one or more groupcast transmission parameters indicate one or more of a transmission occasion and a radio resource for the groupcast message. In some embodiments, the UE 1500 may transmit the identified resource set for the one or more second UEs via a unicast message or a broadcast message. In the above example, a memory (e.g., memory 1530) of the UE 1500 may store code (e.g., code 1535) executable by a processor (e.g., CPU 1550) for performing functions of the UE 1500.

[0091] In some examples, the UE 1500 may be associated with one or more cooperating UEs in a mobile communication system. In these examples, the UE 1500 may be configured or programmed to receive an indication that the UE 1500 is associated with one or more cooperating UEs. The UE 1500 may receive the indication from the base station 1505. The UE 1500 may receive via the antenna 1510 and a receiver included in the transceiver 1520. The UE 1500 may further be configured or programmed to receive, from the base station 1505, groupcast transmission parameters of a first cooperating UE of the one or more cooperating UEs. The UE 1500 may be configured or programmed to receive, from the first cooperating UE, a groupcast message including sidelink transmission parameters for avoiding collisions or half-duplex conflicts of sidelink transmissions of the UE 1500. The UE 1500 may be configured or programmed to receive the groupcast message from the first cooperating UE based on the groupcast transmission parameters. The UE 1500 may be configured or programmed to transmit sidelink data to the second UE based on the sidelink transmission parameters received from the first cooperating UE. In these examples, a memory (e.g., memory 1530) of the UE 1500 may store computer program code (e.g., code 1535) executable by a processor (e.g., CPU 1550) for performing functions of the UE 1500.

[0092] In some examples, the base station 1505 is for a mobile communication system including sidelink transmissions of one or more second UEs. The base station 1505 may include a memory (e.g., memory 1530) storing instructions (e.g., code 1535) and a processor (e.g., CPU 1550) configured or programmed to execute the instructions to send an indication to a first UE (e.g., UE 1500) that the first UE is a cooperative UE or is associated with at least one cooperative UE for coordination of sidelink transmissions of the one or more second UEs. The base station may further send one or more groupcast transmission parameters to the first UE. In these examples, the first UE may be configured or programmed to send sidelink transmission parameters to the one or more second UEs based on the one or more groupcast transmission parameters.

[0093] In some examples, DCI format 3_0 may be used for scheduling NR PSCCH and NR PSSCH in one cell. The following information may be transmitted in DCI format 3_0 plus a CRC scrambled by the SL-RNTI or SL-CS-RNTI: resource pool index, type gap, HARQ process number, new data indicator, lowest index of subchannel allocation for initial transmission, SCI format fields including periodicity resource allocation and time resource allocation, PSFCH-to-HARQ feedback timing indicator, configuration index, counter sidelink allocation index.

[0094] In some examples, the SidelinkUEinformationNR message can be used to indicate NR sidelink UE information to the network.

[0095] In some examples, the s1-QoS-FlowIdentity information element may provide an identifier that uniquely identifies one sidelink QoS flow between the UE and the network within the UE, which may be specific to different destinations and cast types. In some examples, the s1-UE-AssistanceInformationNR information element may indicate traffic characteristics of a sidelink logical channel that may be configured for NR sidelink communications. In some examples, the System Information Block 12 (SIB12) may be used for NR sidelink communications configuration.

[0096] In mode 2 sidelink operation, the UE may automatically select resources for transmission. Based on the detection result, the UE may avoid resource collision with other UEs within its reception range. In some examples, such as shown in FIG. 16a, resource collision may occur due to hidden nodes when two originating UEs are out of each other's transmission range and the same resources are used for transmission to a nearby receiving UE, causing high interference. As a result of this problem, the originating UE may not consider the reserved resources of other UEs and exclude these resources from the candidates of its resource set. In some cases, both originating UEs may select the same resources for their respective transmissions to a common receiving UE. In the example shown in FIG. 16a, UE 1 may always collide with UE 2.

[0097] Another example is half-duplex operation in sidelink mode 2. As shown in FIG. 16b, due to the half-duplex nature of V2X UEs, when a UE (e.g., UE 1) periodically transmits a packet in a time slot, it may not be able to receive transmissions from other UEs. The UE may not be able to identify whether other UEs (e.g., UE 2) have transmitted sidelink control information (SCI) in that time slot. The UE may miss detection results for these time slots when it transmits. In a scenario where a UE is trying to transmit many data packets, it may end up missing detection results in multiple time slots, resulting in incomplete detection results and increasing the possibility of collisions.

[0098] Exemplary embodiments enhance reliability and reduce latency in sidelink operation (e.g., sidelink mode 2 operation) based on inter-UE cooperation. In some examples, the cooperation may be based on an exchange of assistance information between UEs or from UEs to a coordinating UE, which coordinates sidelink transmissions by one or more UEs associated with the coordinating UE. The assistance information may indicate a resource set used by a UE. For example, a first UE may report its resource set to a second UE, which may consider the resource set of the first UE when making resource selection for its own transmission. The second UE may consider not using the resource set used by the first UE to avoid resource collisions. That is, the resource set may not be a preferred resource set for the second UE.

[0099] Inter-UE coordination may be used in unicast, groupcast, and broadcast communications. Inter-UE coordination may occur before or after the initial transmission. In some examples, to avoid resource collisions and / or half-duplex conflicts before the initial packet transmission, the cooperative UEs coordinate resources for sidelink transmissions between originating UEs. In some examples, one or more UEs that detect resource collisions and / or half-duplex conflicts after the initial transmission may use the assistance information to avoid resource collisions and / or half-duplex conflicts in the next retransmission and / or next new transmission. That is, the cooperative UEs may send assistance information indicating a resource set when a resource collision and / or half-duplex conflict is detected.

[0100] In some examples, a cooperative UE (also referred to as a C-UE) may identify and / or indicate a resource set to the originating UE(s) and / or transmit assistance information to other UEs. A group UE (also referred to as a G-UE) may receive assistance information from a C-UE. The G-UE may use the information received from the C-UE and its own detection results to select transmission resources for transmitting a message to one or more other UEs.

[0101] In some examples, the cooperating UE may also be a receiving UE. In some examples shown in Figure 17, the cooperating UE may be another UE that transmits assistance information to the originating UE and the receiving UE. Based on the assistance from the cooperating UE, collisions or half-duplex conflicts may be avoided.

[0102] In some examples, for inter-UE coordination, the cooperating UEs may indicate to the originating UE(s) assistance information about the (pre-)configured resource pool. The resource pool may be shared with different cast services. To achieve universal UE coordination in the resource pool, a unified mechanism for indicating assistance information from the cooperating UEs to the originating UEs may be used, and there is no limitation on the cast type.

[0103] The assistance information may be actively or passively provided from the cooperating UE to the originating UE. In some examples, the cooperating UE may be aware of information such as available resources, interference, half-duplex and congestion status, and may actively indicate the assistance information to associated originating UEs. In some examples, the originating UE may send a request to the cooperating UE. The cooperating UE may indicate the assistance information to the originating UE.

[0104] In some examples, a cooperative UE may identify available resources that can be acquired based on either (pre)configuration or detection, and / or a cooperative UE may measure interference that needs to be avoided in resource pool operation, or predict / detect resource conflict information. A cooperative UE may indicate this information to the involved UEs. For example, a cooperative UE may transmit assistance information indicating resource sets that are not preferred for the involved UEs based on the resource conflicts and / or prediction information it detects. The originating UE may take such assistance information into account and make an appropriate selection accordingly for its next possible transmission occasion. As another example, a cooperative UE may transmit assistance information indicating resource sets to the involved UEs based on the detected information of resource conflicts.

[0105] According to some examples, an originating UE with a packet to transmit may send a request to a cooperative UE to obtain assistance information. The request may include QoS requirements, cast type, geographic information, and communication range associated with the packet. The cooperative UE may indicate the assistance information to the originating UE based on the request. The assistance information may indicate that a certain resource set is available for use by the originating UE, i.e., the resource set is preferred for the originating UE's transmission.

[0106] In some examples, an assistance information message provided by a cooperating UE to an originating UE may include one or more of a destination ID, a source ID, a resource set for transmission, and coordination information.

[0107] In some examples, a UE may be (pre)authorized or self-authorized as a cooperative UE depending on the deployment scenario. Due to mobility, multiple cooperative UEs may need to be included in the cooperation between UEs. In some examples, cooperative UEs may establish other unicast links to exchange assistance information to avoid conflicts of assistance information issued by multiple cooperative UEs.

[0108] In some example embodiments, a network (NW) / gNB may identify cooperating UEs, referred to as C-UEs, for example, by their geographic location. For example, the NW / gNB may identify overlapping cells containing multiple UEs, each cell may include one or more G-UEs, and a UE of one or more G-UEs may be identified as a C-UE. The NW / gNB may configure / identify groups of UEs, referred to as G-UEs, each associated with a C-UE. The NW / gNB may indicate to a UE that it is a C-UE (e.g., in an RRC configuration message or using dynamic signaling). The NW / gNB may provide the C-UE with groupcast parameters of the C-UE, including periodicity. The NW / gNB may indicate the groupcast parameters of the C-UE using a DCI (e.g., DCI format 3_0). The G-UE may be assigned to one or more cooperative groups by the NW / gNB. The NW / gNB may indicate to the G-UEs the C-UEs associated with a group of UEs (e.g., G-UEs). For example, identities of the C-UEs in the group may be provided by the NW / gNB to the G-UE using a DL Information Transfer message. In some examples, the NW / gNB may transmit groupcast parameters and periodicity of the C-UEs to the G-UEs. The C-UE may detect and collect transmission parameters of one or more UEs associated with the C-UE. The C-UE may incorporate the detected transmission parameters into a groupcast message. The C-UE may transmit the groupcast message at preconfigured and / or periodic instances. The G-UE may receive and decode the groupcast message from the C-UE. In some examples, if a message is received with a CRC error, the G-UE may use the parameters included in the last correctly received message. If a CRC error occurs within a pre-assigned number of consecutive messages from the C-UE, the G-UE may send a “lost C-UE” message to the NW / gNB (e.g., using a FailureInformation message). The “lost C-UE” message is an example of an error message indicating that a cooperative UE has been lost.The G-UE may use the received transmission parameters and its own additional channel detection to transmit to the destination UE in time-frequency resources where no collisions or half-duplex conflicts can occur.

[0109] In some examples, the NW / gNB may send groupcast parameters of the C-UEs to the G-UE using DCI format 3_0. In some examples, a separate message may be sent for each C-UE assigned to each G-UE. In some examples, the groupcast message of the C-UEs may be broadcast with a system information block (SIB, e.g., SIB12).

[0110] In some examples, the C-UE may incorporate the detected transmission parameters into a groupcast message by the C-UE on the PSSCH in accordance with the assigned DCI format 3_0.

[0111] In some examples, the NW / gNB may provide the C-UE with the identity of each G-UE in its group. The amount of detection and reporting by the C-UE may allow the C-UE to identify each G-UE in its group. This can be reduced by providing the identity of the G-UE.

[0112] In some example embodiments, the NW / gNB may identify cooperative UEs, referred to as C-UEs, by their geographic locations. For example, the NW / gNB may identify overlapping cells containing multiple UEs, where each cell may include one or more G-UEs, and a UE in one or more G-UEs may be identified as a C-UE. The network (NW) / gNB may configure groups of UEs, referred to as G-UEs, each associated with a C-UE. The NW-gNB may indicate to a UE that it is a C-UE and provide identities of G-UEs in the group associated with the C-UE. The NW / gNB may provide groupcast parameters of the C-UE, including periodicity, to the C-UE. The G-UE may be assigned to one or more cooperative groups by the NW / gNB. Identities of C-UEs in a group may be provided to the G-UE by the NW / gNB. The NW / gNB may transmit groupcast parameters and periodicity of the C-UEs to the G-UE.

[0113] The C-UE may detect and collect transmission parameters of its G-UEs. Exemplarily, the C-UE may detect one or more transmission parameters based on inspection of past communications received from individual G-UEs. The C-UE may incorporate the transmission parameters of its G-UEs into a groupcast message. The C-UE may transmit the groupcast message at pre-configured and / or periodic instances. Upon receiving and successfully decoding the groupcast message from the C-UE, the G-UE may check that the reported parameters were transmitted correctly. If not, the G-UE may transmit a NACK (negative acknowledgement). In some examples, an ACK (acknowledgement) may not be transmitted to prevent unnecessary transmissions. If a message is received with a CRC error, the G-UE may use the parameters included in the last correctly received message. If a CRC error occurs within a pre-assigned number of consecutive messages from the C-UE, the G-UE may transmit a “lost C-UE” report to the NW. The G-UE may use the received transmission parameters and its own channel sensing to transmit to the destination G-UE in time-frequency resources that are free of collisions or half-duplex conflicts.

[0114] In some examples, the G-UE may transmit its assigned periodic transmission parameters to the C-UE at designated intervals. If a message from the G-UE is received in error, the C-UE may transmit a NACK, in which case a HARQ process may be initiated.

[0115] In some example embodiments, the NW / gNB may identify cooperating UEs, referred to as C-UEs, by their geographic locations. For example, the NW / gNB may identify overlapping cells containing multiple UEs, each cell may include one or more G-UEs, and a UE with one or more G-UEs may be identified as a C-UE. The NW / gNB may configure groups of UEs, referred to as G-UEs, each associated with a C-UE. The G-UEs may be assigned by the NW / gNB to one or more cooperative groups. The NW / gNB may provide the G-UE with an identity of each C-UE. It may also send the groupcast parameters of the C-UE, including periodicity, to the G-UE. The NW / gNB may assign transmission resources to each of the assigned C-UEs to be used for reporting. In addition, the NW / gNB may assign schedule or periodicity data that the C-UEs use to identify reporting criteria. These resources may be reserved until changed or revoked by the NW / gNB. The NW / gNB may send the G-UE ID and its assigned report transmission resource to the corresponding C-UE.

[0116] The G-UE may transmit its assigned periodic transmission parameters, e.g., time slots, frequency ranges, to the C-UE at specified intervals. If the message is received incorrectly, the C-UE may transmit a NACK, in which case a HARQ process may be initiated. The C-UE may collect the reported transmission parameters of each G-UE and incorporate these into a groupcast message. In one embodiment, at pre-configured periodic instances, the C-UE may transmit a groupcast message. If a message from the C-UE is received with a CRC error, the G-UE may use the parameters included in the last correctly received message. If a CRC error occurs within a pre-assigned number of consecutive messages from the C-UE, the G-UE may transmit a “lost C-UE” report to the NW / gNB. Using the received transmission parameters and its own channel detection, the G-UE may transmit to the destination G-UE in time-frequency resources where no collisions or half-duplex conflicts may occur.

[0117] In some example embodiments, as shown in FIG. 18 , a base station (e.g., a gNB) may communicate with multiple UEs (e.g., UE 1, UE 18. The base station may serve UEs (UE1, UE2, cooperative UEs). To minimize collisions or half-duplex conflicts between sidelink communications of UEs, the base station may divide UEs into one or more groups, where a group includes one or more UEs, and one or more UEs in the group are coordinated by the cooperative UE. For example, UE1 and UE2 in FIG. 18 may be coordinated by the cooperative UE. The base station may indicate its role as a cooperative UE to the cooperative UE. The base station may indicate to UE1 and UE2 that UE1 and UE2 are coordinated by the cooperative UE, and the base station may indicate the identity of the cooperative UE to UE1 and UE2. The base station may indicate the identity of UE1 and UE2 to the cooperative UE. The base station may transmit transmission parameters to UE1 and UE2 and the cooperative UE. The cooperative UE may transmit a groupcast message based on the groupcast transmission parameters. The groupcast transmission parameters may include radio resources and time occasions of the groupcast message or periodicity of the groupcast message transmission. The groupcast transmission parameters may be used by cooperative UEs to transmit assistance information using groupcast messages. The groupcast transmission parameters may be used by UE1 and UE2 to receive assistance information via groupcast messages. The cooperative UEs may indicate sidelink transmission parameters to UE1 and UE2 to avoid collisions or half-duplex conflicts. The cooperative UEs may determine sidelink transmission parameters for UE1 and UE2 based on the detection results and based on collection of transmission information of UE1 and UE2.

[0118] In an example embodiment, as shown in FIG. 19, the first UE may receive an indication from the base station that the first UE has been assigned a role as a cooperative UE. The role of a cooperative UE may be assigned to a UE semi-statically (e.g., using RRC signaling) or dynamically (e.g., using physical layer or MAC signaling). For example, in the case of RRC signaling, the first UE may receive an RRC message including an information element, and a value of the information element may indicate that the first UE is a cooperative UE. For example, in the case of physical layer signaling, the first UE may receive a DCI (e.g., a DCI in a format associated with sidelink communication). Illustratively, the DCI may include a field with a value indicating that the first UE is a cooperative UE. The role of a cooperative UE for a UE may be assigned and revoked as necessary at the discretion of the base station. The base station may indicate that the first UE is a cooperative UE for one or more second UEs. In some examples, the base station may indicate an identifier of one or more second UEs to the first UE.

[0119] The first UE may receive groupcast transmission parameters from the base station. In some examples, the groupcast transmission parameters may be complementary for one or more second UEs. The groupcast transmission parameters may be for each transmission of the assistance information / coordination information. In some examples, the groupcast transmission parameters may be shared for groupcasting the assistance information / coordination information and other groupcast purposes. The groupcast transmission parameters may include radio resources, modulation and coding schemes, power control parameters, etc. In some examples, the first UE may receive the groupcast transmission parameters using downlink control information (e.g., DCI format 3_0 or other DCI formats). In other examples, the first UE may receive the groupcast transmission parameters via RRC signaling. For example, the first information element may indicate that the first UE is a cooperative UE, and the second information element may indicate the groupcast transmission parameters for transmitting the coordination information. Other signaling mechanisms (e.g., MAC CE) may also be used to transmit the groupcast transmission parameters. In some examples, the groupcast transmission parameters may be indicated using a groupcast message (e.g., a system information block (SIB)). In such a case, the groupcast transmission parameters may be known at the first UE and the other UEs (including one or more second UEs coordinated by the first UE).

[0120] The first UE may determine sidelink transmission parameters by one or more second UEs to avoid collisions or half-duplex conflicts in sidelink transmissions of the one or more second UEs. In some examples, the determination of the sidelink transmission parameters for the one or more second UEs may take into account attributes of the one or more second UEs based on an identifier of the one or more second UEs. The first UE may determine the sidelink transmission parameters based on a request from a UE of the one or more second UEs or without a request from the one or more second UEs (e.g., passively or actively, respectively). The first UE may determine the sidelink transmission parameters based on processing or detecting past transmissions received from the one or more second UEs and collecting related information. In other embodiments, the first UE may determine the sidelink transmission parameters based, at least in part, on predicting a transmission pattern of the one or more second UEs. The first UE may utilize information regarding the one or more second UEs that may be provided by the base station to the first UE or using other processes. Sidelink transmission parameters of the one or more second UEs may include radio resources (e.g., frequency resources and time domain parameters such as slots and symbols used for transmission), power levels, transmission formats such as modulation and coding schemes, etc. The first UE may utilize an optimization process to minimize collisions between the one or more second UEs or avoid collisions altogether. In some examples, the first UE may consider the type of a UE among the one or more second UEs or data scheduled for transmission by a UE among the one or more second UEs (e.g., priority of the data, quality of service associated with the data, type of data, etc.).

[0121] The first UE may transmit the identified sidelink transmission parameters to the one or more second UEs, which the one or more second UEs will use in their subsequent transmissions. The first UE may transmit the sidelink transmission parameters to the one or more second UEs based on the groupcast message. For example, the first UE may transmit the groupcast message via a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH). The base station may indicate the groupcast message (e.g., radio resources / transmission timing of the groupcast message) to the first UE and the one or more second UEs. In some examples, the groupcast message may be transmitted by the first UE to the one or more second UEs at a specific predefined time or may be transmitted in a periodic, persistent, and / or semi-persistent manner. The base station may periodically provide information or scheduling information utilized for the transmission of the groupcast message. In addition, the base station may provide other parameters associated with the transmission of the groupcast message. For example, the one or more second UEs may decode the groupcast message using the parameters received from the base station.

[0122] In some examples, the first UE may receive feedback (e.g., ACK / NACK) from one or more second UEs in response to transmitting the groupcast message. The first UE may receive feedback information via one or more sidelink control channels (e.g., PSCCH). The first UE may consider the received feedback and may retransmit the groupcast message in response to receiving the NACK. The retransmission of the groupcast message may also be a groupcast message or may be one or more unicast messages. The feedback and retransmission of the groupcast message may be based on a HARQ process. In some examples, the first UE may receive a command (e.g., downlink control information, MAC CE, etc.) from the base station indicating a retransmission of the groupcast message. For example, the base station may receive feedback from one or more second UEs and may send a command for retransmission of the groupcast message to the first UE based on the feedback received from the one or more second UEs.

[0123] In some examples, the first UE may receive transmission parameters (e.g., slots, frequency resources, periodicity, identities of the one or more second UEs, etc.) of scheduled sidelink transmissions of one or more second UEs, and the first UE may determine sidelink transmission parameters to avoid collisions or half-duplex conflicts based on the transmission parameters of the scheduled sidelink transmissions of the one or more second UEs. The first UE may determine that some of the parameters of the scheduled sidelink transmissions of the one or more second UEs need to be modified to avoid collisions / half-duplex conflicts and may indicate the modified sidelink parameters to the first UE.

[0124] In some examples, the one or more second UEs may transmit the parameters of the scheduled sidelink transmission according to a defined schedule, periodicity interval, or other scheduling or triggering criteria. In some examples, the one or more second UEs may be assigned radio resources for transmission of the parameters of the scheduled sidelink transmission to the first UE, and the radio resources for reception of the parameters of the scheduled sidelink transmission may be indicated by the base station to the first UE. In some examples, a feedback mechanism (e.g., based on a HARQ process) may be used and the first UE may send a negative acknowledgment (NACK) in response to erroneous reception of the scheduled sidelink transmission parameters.

[0125] In an example embodiment, as shown in Figure 20, the first UE may receive an indication from the base station that the first UE is associated with one or more cooperating UEs. In some examples, the first UE may receive the indication from the base station in an RRC message. For example, one or more information elements in the RRC message may indicate identifiers of the one or more cooperating UEs. In some examples, the first UE may receive the indication from the base station based on physical layer or MAC layer signaling.

[0126] The first UE may receive groupcast transmission parameters associated with a first cooperating UE of the one or more cooperating UEs. In some examples, the groupcast transmission parameters may vary with reception of assistance information / cooperation information from the first cooperating UE. The groupcast transmission parameters may include radio resources, modulation and coding schemes, power control parameters, etc. In some examples, the groupcast transmission parameters may indicate an occasion for receiving a groupcast message. For example, the groupcast transmission parameters may indicate whether a groupcast message from the first cooperating UE is to be transmitted periodically. The groupcast transmission parameters may indicate periodicity when received from the first UE. In some examples, the first UE may receive the groupcast transmission parameters using downlink control information (e.g., DCI format 3_0 or other DCI format). In some examples, the groupcast transmission parameters may be indicated to the first UE using RRC signaling. For example, the first information element may indicate that the first UE is associated with one or more cooperating UEs, and the second information element may indicate the groupcast transmission parameters for receiving the coordination information. Other signaling mechanisms (e.g., MAC CE) may also be used for receiving the groupcast transmission parameters. In some examples, the groupcast transmission parameters may be indicated using a broadcast message (e.g., a system information block (SIB)). In such a case, the groupcast transmission parameters may be known by the first UE and one or more cooperating UEs.

[0127] The first UE may receive a groupcast message indicating sidelink transmission parameters by the first UE to avoid collisions or half-duplex conflicts in its sidelink transmission. In some examples, the first UE may transmit a request to the first cooperating UE indicating that it has a packet to transmit and may receive a groupcast message from the first cooperating UE based on the request. In some examples, the first UE may receive the groupcast message without sending a request. The sidelink transmission parameters for the first UE may include radio resources (e.g., frequency resources and time domain parameters such as slots and symbols used for transmission), power levels, transmission formats such as modulation and coding schemes, etc. In some examples, the first UE may receive the sidelink transmission parameters over a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH). In some examples, the groupcast message may be received by the first UE at a specific predetermined time or in a periodic, persistent, and / or semi-persistent manner. The base station may indicate a periodicity or other parameter associated with receiving the groupcast message, and the first UE may decode the groupcast message using the parameters received from the base station.

[0128] In some examples, the first UE may transmit feedback information (e.g., ACK / NACK) to the first cooperating UE indicating correct or erroneous reception of the groupcast message. Receipt of the ACK / NACK by the first cooperating UE may initiate a HARQ process by the first cooperating UE, and the first UE may receive a retransmission of the groupcast message (e.g., another groupcast message or a unicast message). In some examples, in response to a predetermined number of erroneous receptions of the groupcast message, the first UE may indicate an error message (e.g., an RRC message indicating an error) to the base station. The error message may indicate that the first UE has lost track of the cooperating UE. The base station may reconfigure the first UE with another cooperating UE or another set of cooperating UEs based on receiving the error message from the first UE.

[0129] In some examples, the first UE may indicate parameters of its scheduled sidelink transmission to the first cooperating UE. The parameters of the scheduled sidelink transmission may include a slot, a frequency resource, or a periodicity of the scheduled sidelink transmission by the first UE. In some examples, the parameters of the scheduled sidelink transmission may include an identifier of the first UE. The transmission of the parameters of the scheduled sidelink transmission by the first UE to the first cooperating UE may be based on radio resources indicated to the first UE by the base station. In some examples, the radio resources for transmission of the scheduled sidelink transmission may be indicated to the first UE semi-statically (e.g., using RRC signaling) or dynamically.

[0130] The first cooperative UE may cancel the scheduled side link by the first UE and other UEs. The first UE may determine the content of the groupcast message (e.g., the auxiliary information) based on a parameter of its scheduled sidelink transmission. The first UE may transmit the parameter of its scheduled sidelink transmission periodically or based on some periodicity.

[0131] The first UE may transmit sidelink data to the second UE using a sidelink physical channel (e.g., PSSCH) based on sidelink transmission parameters indicated to the first UE by the first cooperating UE.

[0132] In some embodiments, a first user equipment (UE) may receive an indication from a base station that the first UE is a coordinating UE for coordination of sidelink transmissions with one or more second UEs. The first UE may receive one or more groupcast transmission parameters from the base station. The first UE may identify sidelink transmission parameters for the one or more second UEs and for avoiding collisions or half-duplex conflicts between sidelink transmissions of the one or more second UEs. The first UE may send a groupcast message to the one or more second UEs including sidelink transmission parameters for the one or more second UEs based on the one or more groupcast transmission parameters.

[0133] In some examples, transmitting the groupcast message may occur at a predetermined time.

[0134] In some examples, the one or more groupcast transmission parameters may indicate one or more of a transmission occasion and a radio resource for the groupcast message. In some examples, the one or more groupcast transmission parameters may indicate a periodicity of the groupcast message.

[0135] In some examples, the first UE may sense and collect transmission parameters of one or more second UEs. In some examples, determining sidelink transmission parameters for the one or more second UEs may be based on the sensed and collected transmission parameters.

[0136] In some examples, receiving the indication may be based on receiving a radio resource control (RRC) message that includes a parameter indicative of the indication.

[0137] In some examples, receiving the indication may be based on receiving downlink control information including a field, where a value of the field indicates the indication.

[0138] In some examples, receiving the one or more groupcast transmission parameters may be based on receiving an RRC message indicating the one or more groupcast transmission parameters.

[0139] In some examples, receiving the one or more groupcast transmission parameters may be based on receiving downlink control information indicating the one or more groupcast transmission parameters.

[0140] In some examples, transmitting the groupcast message may be based on receiving downlink control information over a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) indicating transmission parameters of the PSSCH.

[0141] In some examples, the first UE may receive an identifier of one or more second UEs. In some examples, determining the sidelink transmission parameters may be based on this identifier.

[0142] In some examples, the first UE may receive feedback information indicating erroneous reception of the groupcast message by one or more of the one or more second UEs. In some examples, the first UE may retransmit the groupcast message based on receiving the feedback information. In some examples, the feedback information may be a negative acknowledgement (NACK). In some examples, receiving the feedback information may be via a sidelink control channel.

[0143] In some examples, the first UE may receive a command from the base station indicating a retransmission of the groupcast message, hi some examples, the command may be one of downlink control information and a media access control (MAC) control element.

[0144] In some examples, the first UE may receive from the one or more second UEs transmission parameters of the scheduled sidelink transmission of the one or more second UEs. In some examples, determining the sidelink transmission parameters for the one or more second UEs may be based on the scheduled sidelink transmission of the one or more second UEs. In some examples, the timing of receiving the transmission parameters of the scheduled sidelink transmission may be based on a periodicity. In some examples, the transmission parameters of the scheduled sidelink transmission may include one or more of a slot, a frequency resource, and a periodicity. In some examples, the first UE may receive from the base station a radio resource allocation for reception of the transmission parameters of the scheduled sidelink transmission of the one or more second UEs. In some examples, the transmission parameters of the scheduled sidelink transmission of the one or more second UEs may include an identifier of the one or more second UEs. In some examples, the first UE may transmit one or more negative acknowledgements (NACKs) in response to receiving the transmission parameters of the scheduled sidelink transmissions of the one or more second UEs. In some examples, the transmitting of the one or more NACKs may be performed for one or more of the one or more second UEs for which the transmission parameters of the scheduled sidelink transmissions were received in error.

[0145] In some embodiments, a first user equipment (UE) may receive an indication from a base station that the first UE is associated with one or more cooperating UEs. The first UE may receive from the base station groupcast transmission parameters of a first cooperating UE of the one or more cooperating UEs. The first UE may also receive from the first cooperating UE a groupcast message indicating sidelink transmission parameters to avoid collisions or half-duplex conflicts of sidelink transmissions of the first UE based on the groupcast transmission parameters. The first UE may transmit sidelink data to a second UE based on the sidelink transmission parameters.

[0146] In some examples, the first UE may receive, from the base station, an identifier associated with one or more cooperating UEs.

[0147] In some examples, receiving the groupcast message may occur at a predetermined time.

[0148] In some examples, the one or more groupcast transmission parameters may indicate one or more of a transmission occasion and a radio resource for the groupcast message. This indicates the periodicity of the cast messages.

[0149] In some examples, the first UE may transmit feedback information indicating subsequent erroneous reception of the groupcast message by the first UE.

[0150] In some examples, the feedback information may be negative acknowledgement (NACK) based feedback. In some examples, the first UE may send an error message to the base station indicating that the cooperating UE has been lost.

[0151] In some examples, the first UE may transmit transmission parameters of the first UE's scheduled sidelink transmission to the first cooperating UE. In some examples, the timing of transmitting the transmission parameters of the scheduled sidelink transmission may be based on a periodicity.

[0152] In some examples, the transmission parameters of the scheduled sidelink transmission may include one or more slots, a frequency resource, and a periodicity.

[0153] In some examples, the first UE may receive, from the base station, an allocation of radio resources for transmission of transmission parameters of the first UE's scheduled sidelink transmission.

[0154] In some examples, the transmission parameters of the scheduled sidelink transmission of the first UE may include an identifier of the first UE.

[0155] In some examples, the first UE may retransmit transmission parameters for the scheduled sidelink transmission in response to receiving a negative acknowledgement (NACK).

[0156] The example blocks and modules described in this disclosure with respect to various example embodiments may be implemented or performed using a general purpose processor, a DSP, an ASIC, a NACK, or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. Examples of general purpose processors include, but are not limited to, a microprocessor, any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. In some examples, a processor may be implemented using a combination of devices (e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors using a DSP core, or any other such configuration).

[0157] The functions described in this disclosure may be implemented in hardware, software executed by a processor, firmware, or any combination thereof. Instructions or code may be stored on or transmitted to a computer-readable medium for execution of these functions. Other examples of implementation of the functions disclosed herein are also within the scope of this disclosure. Performance of the functions may be via elements that are physically co-located or elements that are distributed (e.g., in various locations), including distribution such that parts of the functions are executed at different physical locations.

[0158] Computer-readable media include, but are not limited to, non-transitory computer storage media. Non-transitory storage media can be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer. Examples of non-transitory storage media include random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), flash memory, and the like. Non-transitory media include, but are not limited to, flash memory, compact disk (CD) ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage, or other magnetic storage devices. Non-transitory media may be used to carry or store desired program code means (e.g., instructions and / or data structures) and may be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer or by a general purpose or special purpose processor. In some examples, the software / program code may be transmitted from a remote resource (e.g., a website, a server, etc.) using coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave. In such examples, coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included within the definition of media. Combinations of the above examples are also included within the scope of computer readable media.

[0159] As used herein, the use of the term "or" in a list of items indicates an inclusive list. A list of items may be accompanied by phrases such as "at least one of" or "one or more of." For example, a list of at least one of A, B, or C includes A or B or C or AB (i.e., A and B) or AC or BC or ABC (i.e., A, B, and C). Also, as used herein, a list of conditions accompanied by the phrase "based on" shall be understood to be "based at least in part on" the set of conditions, rather than "based only on" the set of conditions. For example, a result described as "based on condition A" may be based on both condition A and condition B without departing from the scope of this disclosure.

[0160] As used herein, the terms "comprise, include, or contain" are used interchangeably and may have the same meaning and are to be interpreted as inclusive and open-ended. The term "comprise, include, or contain" may be used with a list of elements to indicate that at least all of the elements listed in the list are present, but other elements not in the list may also be present. For example, if A contains B and C, then both {B, C} and {B, C, D} are within the scope of A.

[0161] The present disclosure describes exemplary configurations in connection with the accompanying drawings, which are not necessarily representative of all examples that may be implemented or all configurations that fall within the scope of the present disclosure. The term "exemplary" should not be interpreted as "preferred" or "advantageous compared to other examples," but rather as "an example, an instance, or an example." By reading the present disclosure, including the description of the embodiments and the drawings, a person skilled in the art will understand that the technology disclosed in the present application can be implemented using alternative embodiments. A person skilled in the art will understand that these embodiments or specific features of the embodiments described herein can be combined to arrive at yet another embodiment for practicing the technology described in the present disclosure. Therefore, the present disclosure is not limited to the examples and designs described herein, but is accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

[0162] Section 1 Equipment used in radio communication: an antenna used for transmitting electromagnetic signals; a memory holding computer readable code; causing the apparatus to transmit an indication including at least one of information that the first UE is designated as a coordinating UE for coordination of sidelink transmissions with a plurality of additional UEs or information identifying the designated coordinating UE; Transmitting one or more groupcast transmission parameters for transmitting sidelink transmission parameters to a plurality of additional UEs a processor that executes computer readable code; Includes.

[0163] Clause 2. In the apparatus of clause 1, the one or more groupcast transmission parameters indicate one or more of a transmission occasion and a radio resource for the groupcast message.

[0164] Clause 3. In the apparatus of clause 1, the one or more groupcast transmission parameters include information identifying a schedule for transmission of the groupcast message.

[0165] Clause 4. In the apparatus of clause 1, the apparatus transmitting an indication by the first UE includes transmitting a radio resource control (RRC) message including information that the first UE is designated as a cooperative UE.

[0166] Clause 5. The apparatus of clause 1, wherein the apparatus's transmitting one or more groupcast transmission parameters is based on transmitting a radio resource control (RRC) message that includes information identifying the one or more groupcast transmission parameters.

[0167] Clause 6. In the apparatus of clause 5, a radio resource control (RRC) message includes, in a first portion, information that the first UE is designated as a cooperative UE and, in a second portion, information identifying one or more groupcast transmission parameters.

[0168] Clause 7 In the device of clause 1, the device sending an indication includes receiving downlink control information, and a value of a field of the downlink control information includes information that the first UE is designated as a cooperative UE.

[0169] Clause 8. The apparatus of clause 1, wherein the apparatus's transmitting one or more groupcast transmission parameters is based on receiving downlink control information that includes information identifying the one or more groupcast transmission parameters.

[0170] Clause 9. The apparatus of clause 1, wherein the apparatus is further configured to transmit information identifying the one or more second UEs.

[0171] Clause 10. The apparatus of clause 1, wherein the apparatus is further configured to identify the cooperating UEs based on their geographic locations.

[0172] Clause 11. The apparatus of clause 1, wherein the apparatus is further configured to cancel at least the reserved transmission resources.

[0173] Clause 12. A method of mobile communication including sidelink transmission: transmitting, by the base station, an indication including at least one of information that the first UE is designated as a coordinating UE for coordination of sidelink transmissions with a plurality of additional UEs or information identifying the designated coordinating UE; transmitting, by the base station, one or more groupcast transmission parameters for transmitting sidelink transmission parameters to a plurality of additional UEs; Includes.

[0174] Clause 13. In the method of clause 12, the one or more groupcast transmission parameters indicate one or more of a transmission occasion and a radio resource for the groupcast message.

[0175] Clause 14. In the method of clause 12, the one or more groupcast transmission parameters include information identifying a schedule for transmission of the groupcast message.

[0176] Clause 15. In the method of clause 12, sending an indication by the first UE includes sending a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message including information that the first UE is designated as a cooperative UE.

[0177] Clause 16. In the method of clause 15, transmitting the one or more groupcast transmission parameters comprises transmitting a radio resource control (RRC) message including information identifying the one or more groupcast transmission parameters.

[0178] Clause 17. In the method of clause 16, the radio resource control (RRC) message includes, in a first portion, information that the first UE is designated as a cooperating UE and, in a second portion, information identifying one or more groupcast transmission parameters.

[0179] Clause 18. In the method of clause 12, sending the indication includes sending downlink control information, where a value of a field of the downlink control information includes information that the first UE is designated as a cooperative UE.

[0180] Clause 19. In the method of clause 12, transmitting the one or more groupcast transmission parameters is based on receiving downlink control information that includes information identifying the one or more groupcast transmission parameters.

[0181] Clause 20. The method of clause 12, further comprising transmitting information identifying the one or more second UEs.

[0182] Clause 21. The method of clause 12, further comprising identifying the cooperating UEs based on their geographic locations.

[0183] Clause 22. The method of clause 12, further comprising cancelling at least the reserved transmission resources.

[0184] Section 23 In devices used in wireless communication, an antenna used for transmitting electromagnetic signals; a memory holding computer readable code; and a processor for executing computer readable code to cause the apparatus to receive an indication that a first UE is a coordinating UE for coordination of sidelink transmissions with one or more second UEs, receive one or more groupcast transmission parameters, identify sidelink transmission parameters associated with the one or more second UEs, and cause the first UE to utilize the identified sidelink transmission parameters to avoid collisions or half-duplex conflicts between sidelink transmissions of the one or more second UEs and transmit a groupcast message to the one or more second UEs, the groupcast including sidelink transmission parameters for the one or more second UEs, and transmission of the groupcast message based on the received groupcast transmission parameters. Includes.

[0185] Clause 24. In the apparatus of clause 23, the apparatus transmits a groupcast message at a predetermined time.

[0186] Clause 25 In the apparatus of clause 23, one or more groupcast transmission parameters contains information identifying a schedule for the transmission of groupcast messages.

[0187] Clause 26. The apparatus of clause 23, wherein the apparatus is further configured to identify at least a portion of transmission parameters of one or more second user equipments (UEs) based on at least one previously received transmission from the one or more second UEs.

[0188] Clause 27. In the apparatus of clause 23, the apparatus receives an indication by the first UE based on at least one of receiving a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message including information that the first UE is designated as a cooperative UE, or receiving downlink control information including information in a field of the downlink control information that the first UE is designated as a cooperative UE.

[0189] Clause 28. In the apparatus of clause 23, the apparatus receives one or more groupcast transmission parameters based on at least one of receiving a Resource Radio Resource Control (RRC) message including information identifying the one or more groupcast transmission parameters, or receiving downlink control information including information identifying the one or more groupcast transmission parameters.

[0190] Clause 29. The apparatus of clause 23, wherein the apparatus transmits the groupcast message via a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) and based on receiving downlink control information including PSSCH transmission parameters.

[0191] Clause 30. The apparatus of clause 23, wherein the apparatus performs the determination of the sidelink transmission parameters, including determining the sidelink transmission parameters based on information identifying one or more second UEs.

[0192] Clause 31. In the apparatus of clause 23, the sidelink transmission parameters include a preferred resource set for the one or more second UEs or a non-preferred resource set for the one or more second UEs.

[0193] Clause 32. The apparatus of clause 23, further comprising: a processor for determining sidelink transmission parameters based on a result of detection of transmission parameters of one or more second UEs; Expected resource collisions or expected half-duplex conflicts in sidelink transmissions The method is configured to execute instructions that identify the type of the device based on at least one of the following:

[0194] Clause 33. In the apparatus of clause 23, the processor is configured to execute instructions to determine sidelink transmission parameters based on a detected resource collision or a detected half-duplex conflict in the sidelink transmission.

[0195] Clause 34 A method of mobile communication including sidelink transmission is: receiving, by a first user equipment (UE), an indication that the first UE is a coordinating UE for coordination of sidelink transmissions with one or more second UEs; receiving, by a first UE, one or more groupcast transmission parameters; determining, by a first UE, sidelink transmission parameters associated with one or more second UEs, the first UE using the determination of the sidelink transmission parameters to avoid collisions or half-duplex conflicts between sidelink transmissions of the one or more second UEs; transmitting, by the first UE, a groupcast message to one or more second UEs, the groupcast transmission parameters including sidelink transmission parameters for the one or more second UEs, the transmitting of the groupcast message including: based on groupcast transmission parameters determined by the Includes.

[0196] Clause 35. In the method of clause 34, transmitting the groupcast message includes transmitting the groupcast message at a predetermined time.

[0197] Clause 36. In the method of clause 34, the one or more groupcast transmission parameters indicate one or more of a transmission occasion and a radio resource for the groupcast message.

[0198] Clause 37. In the method of clause 36, the one or more groupcast transmission parameters include information identifying a schedule for transmission of the groupcast message.

[0199] Clause 38. The method of clause 34, further comprising identifying at least a portion of transmission parameters of one or more second user equipments (UEs) based on at least one previously received transmission from the one or more second UEs.

[0200] Clause 39. In the method of clause 38, determining the sidelink transmission parameters includes identifying the sidelink transmission parameters based on the identified at least a portion of the transmission parameters.

[0201] Clause 40. In the method of clause 34, receiving an indication by the first UE includes receiving a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message including information that the first UE is designated as a cooperative UE.

[0202] Clause 41. In the method of clause 34, receiving an indication includes receiving downlink control information, where a value of a field of the downlink control information includes information that the first UE is designated as a cooperative UE.

[0203] Clause 42. In the method of clause 34, receiving one or more groupcast transmission parameters is based on receiving a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message that includes information identifying the one or more groupcast transmission parameters.

[0204] Clause 42. In the method of clause 34, receiving, by the first UE, one or more groupcast transmission parameters is based on receiving downlink control information that includes information identifying the one or more groupcast transmission parameters.

[0205] Clause 43. In the method of clause 34, transmitting information identifying one or more groupcast transmission parameters to the one or more second UEs includes transmitting a groupcast message based on receiving, via a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH), downlink control information including the PSSCH transmission parameters.

[0206] Clause 44. The method of clause 34, further comprising receiving, by the first UE, information identifying the one or more second UEs.

[0207] Clause 45. In the method of clause 44, determining the sidelink transmission parameters includes determining the sidelink transmission parameters based on information identifying the one or more second UEs.

[0208] Clause 46. The method of clause 34, further comprising: transmitting, by the first UE, to one or more second UEs The method further includes receiving feedback information corresponding to erroneous reception of the groupcast message by at least one of the first and second mobile stations.

[0209] Clause 47. The method of clause 46, further comprising: retransmitting, by the first UE, the groupcast message in response to receiving the feedback information.

[0210] Clause 48: In the method of clause 46, the feedback information corresponds to a negative acknowledgement (NACK).

[0211] Clause 49. In the method of clause 46, receiving the feedback information includes receiving the feedback information via a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH).

[0212] Clause 50. The method of clause 34, further including receiving, by the first UE, a command directing a retransmission of the groupcast message.

[0213] Clause 51. In the method of clause 50, the command to retransmit corresponds to at least one of downlink control information and a media access control (MAC) control element (MAC CE).

[0214] Clause 52. The method of clause 34, further comprising receiving, from one or more second UEs, transmission parameters for scheduled sidelink transmissions associated with the one or more UEs.

[0215] Clause 53. In the method of clause 52, determining, by the first UE, sidelink transmission parameters for one or more second user equipments (UEs) is based at least in part on received transmission parameters of scheduled sidelink transmissions.

[0216] Clause 54. In the method of clause 52, receiving transmission parameters for scheduled sidelink transmissions includes receiving the transmission parameters based on a periodicity.

[0217] Clause 55. In the method of clause 52, the transmission parameters of the scheduled sidelink transmission include one or more of a slot, a frequency resource, and a periodicity.

[0218] Clause 56. The method of clause 52, further comprising receiving, by the first UE, from the base station, a radio resource allocation for reception of transmission parameters of scheduled sidelink transmissions of one or more second UEs.

[0219] Clause 57. In the method of clause 52, the transmission parameters of the scheduled sidelink transmissions of the one or more second UEs include respective identifiers associated with the one or more second UEs.

[0220] Clause 58. The method of clause 52, further comprising transmitting one or more negative acknowledgements (NACKs) to the one or more second UEs in response to erroneous reception of the message including transmission parameters of the scheduled sidelink transmissions of the one or more second UEs.

[0221] 59. In the method of 58, the sending of one or more negative acknowledgements is performed to one or more third user equipments (UEs) for which transmission parameters of a scheduled sidelink transmission are received in error, among one or more second UEs. It can be done.

[0222] Section 60. The method: receiving, by a first user equipment (UE), an indication that the first UE is associated with one or more cooperating UEs; receiving, by a first UE, a groupcast transmission parameter of a first cooperating UE of the one or more cooperating UEs; receiving, by the first UE, a groupcast message including sidelink transmission parameters, the sidelink transmission parameters being configured to avoid collisions or half-duplex conflicts for a sidelink transmission of the first UE; transmitting, by the first UE, to a second UE, sidelink data based on the sidelink transmission parameters received from the first cooperative UE; Includes.

[0223] Clause 61. The method of clause 60, further comprising receiving, by the first UE, an identifier associated with one or more cooperating UEs.

[0224] Clause 62. In the method of clause 60, receiving the groupcast message includes receiving the groupcast message at a predetermined time.

[0225] Clause 63. In the method of clause 60, the one or more groupcast transmission parameters include information identifying one or more of a transmission occasion and a radio resource for the groupcast message.

[0226] Clause 64: In the method of clause 63, the one or more groupcast transmission parameters indicate a periodicity of the groupcast messages.

[0227] Clause 65. The method of clause 60, further comprising: transmitting feedback information indicating erroneous reception of the groupcast message by the first UE.

[0228] Clause 66. In the method of clause 65, the feedback information indicates a negative response.

[0229] Clause 67. The method of clause 66, further comprising transmitting an error message to the base station in response to the consecutive errors exceeding a predetermined number.

[0230] Clause 68. The method of clause 60, further comprising sending, by the first UE, to the first cooperating UE, transmission parameters of the first UE's scheduled sidelink transmission.

[0231] Clause 70. In the method of clause 68, transmitting transmission parameters for scheduled sidelink transmissions includes transmitting the transmission parameters based on a periodicity.

[0232] Clause 71. In the method of clause 68, the transmission parameters of the scheduled sidelink transmission include one or more of a slot, a frequency resource, and a periodicity.

[0233] Clause 72. The method of clause 68, further comprising receiving, from the base station, a radio resource allocation for transmission of transmission parameters of the first UE's scheduled sidelink transmission.

[0234] Clause 73 In the method of clause 68, the first UE The transmission parameters of the transmission include an identifier of the first UE.

[0235] Clause 74. The method of clause 68, further comprising: retransmitting, by the first UE, transmission parameters for the scheduled sidelink transmission in response to receiving a negative acknowledgement (NACK).

[0236] Article 75 Equipment used in radio communication: An antenna used in transmitting electromagnetic signals; a memory holding computer readable code; and a processor executing computer readable code to cause the apparatus to receive an indication that a first UE is associated with one or more cooperating UEs, receive groupcast transmission parameters for a first cooperating UE of the one or more cooperating UEs, receive a groupcast message including sidelink transmission parameters, the sidelink transmission parameters being configured to avoid collisions or half-duplex conflicts of sidelink transmissions of the first UE, and transmit sidelink data based on the sidelink transmission parameters received from the first cooperating UE. Includes.

[0237] Clause 76. The apparatus of clause 75, wherein the apparatus is further configured to receive an identifier associated with one or more cooperating UEs.

[0238] Clause 77. The apparatus of clause 75, wherein the apparatus receives a groupcast message at a predetermined time.

[0239] Clause 78. In the apparatus of clause 75, the one or more groupcast transmission parameters include information identifying one or more of a transmission occasion and a radio resource for the groupcast message.

[0240] Clause 79. In the apparatus of clause 78, the one or more groupcast transmission parameters indicate a periodicity of the groupcast messages.

[0241] Clause 80. In the apparatus of clause 75, the apparatus is further configured to transmit feedback information indicating erroneous reception of the groupcast message by the first UE.

[0242] This application is based on the “INTER-UE COORDINATION FOR SIDELINK This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 077,747, filed September 14, 2020, entitled "METHOD ENHANCEMENTS FOR HYBRID PHOTOSENSORS AND HYBRID PHOTOSENSORS," which is incorporated herein by reference.

Claims

1. An apparatus provided in a base station used in mobile communications, an antenna used for transmitting electromagnetic signals; a memory holding computer readable code; a processor for executing the computer readable code; The processor may further include: transmitting a first indication to the first UE including information that the first UE is designated as a coordinating UE for coordination of sidelink transmissions of one or more second UEs; transmitting a second indication to the one or more second UEs to be coordinated by the first UE, the second indication including information identifying a designated cooperating UE; An apparatus for causing the first UE to transmit one or more groupcast transmission parameters to the first UE and the one or more second UEs, for transmitting sidelink transmission parameters from the first UE to the one or more second UEs.

2. 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the one or more groupcast transmission parameters indicate one or more of a transmission occasion and a radio resource for a groupcast message.

3. 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the one or more groupcast transmission parameters include information identifying a schedule for transmission of groupcast messages.

4. In the apparatus of claim 1 , transmitting the first indication includes transmitting a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message including information that the first UE is designated as a cooperative UE.

5. 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus transmitting the one or more groupcast transmission parameters comprises transmitting a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message including information identifying the one or more groupcast transmission parameters.

6. 6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the Radio Resource Control (RRC) message includes in a first portion information that the first UE is designated a cooperating UE and in a second portion information identifying the one or more groupcast transmission parameters.

7. In the device of claim 1, the device's transmitting the first instruction includes transmitting downlink control information, and a value of a field of the downlink control information includes information that the first UE is designated as a cooperative UE.

8. 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said apparatus transmitting the one or more groupcast transmission parameters comprises transmitting downlink control information including information identifying the one or more groupcast transmission parameters.

9. 10. The apparatus of claim 1, further configured to transmit information identifying the one or more second UEs to the first UE.

10. 10. The apparatus of claim 1, further configured to identify cooperating UEs based on geographic location.

11. 1. A method of mobile communication including a sidelink transmission, comprising: The base station may transmit a sidelink signal to the first UE for coordination of sidelink transmissions of one or more second UEs. sending a first indication to the first UE including information that the first UE is designated as a cooperative UE for transmitting, by the base station, a second indication to the one or more second UEs, the second indication including information identifying the designated cooperating UE; transmitting, by the base station, one or more groupcast transmission parameters to the first UE and the one or more second UEs for the first UE to transmit sidelink transmission parameters to the one or more second UEs; A method comprising:

12. 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the one or more groupcast transmission parameters indicate one or more of a transmission occasion and a radio resource for a groupcast message.

13. 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the one or more groupcast transmission parameters include information identifying a schedule for transmission of groupcast messages.

14. 12. The method of claim 11, wherein transmitting the first indication includes transmitting a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message including information that the first UE is designated as a cooperative UE.

15. 15. The method of claim 14, wherein transmitting the one or more groupcast transmission parameters comprises transmitting a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message including information identifying the one or more groupcast transmission parameters.

16. 16. The method of claim 15, wherein the Radio Resource Control (RRC) message includes in a first portion information that the first UE is designated a cooperating UE and in a second portion information identifying the one or more groupcast transmission parameters.

17. In the method of claim 11, transmitting the first indication includes transmitting downlink control information, and a value of a field of the downlink control information includes information that the first UE is designated as a cooperative UE.

18. 12. The method of claim 11, wherein transmitting the one or more groupcast transmission parameters comprises transmitting downlink control information including information identifying the one or more groupcast transmission parameters.

19. 12. The method of claim 11, further comprising transmitting information identifying the one or more second UEs to the first UE.

20. 12. The method of claim 11, further comprising identifying the cooperating UEs based on their geographic location.

21. An apparatus provided in a user equipment (UE) used in wireless communication, an antenna used for transmitting electromagnetic signals; a memory holding computer readable code; a processor for executing the computer readable code; The processor may further include: A method for receiving a first indication from a base station that a first user equipment (UE) is a coordinating UE for coordination of sidelink transmissions of one or more second user equipments (UEs), the one or more second UEs coordinated by the coordinating UE including information identifying the coordinating UE. receiving a second instruction from the base station including receiving one or more groupcast transmission parameters to be transmitted from the base station to the first UE and the one or more second UEs; determining sidelink transmission parameters associated with the one or more second UEs, the first UE utilizing the determining sidelink transmission parameters to avoid collisions or half-duplex conflicts between sidelink transmissions of the one or more second UEs; transmitting a groupcast message to the one or more second UEs, the groupcast message including sidelink transmission parameters for the one or more second UEs, the transmission of the groupcast message being based on the received groupcast transmission parameters. Device.

22. 22. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the apparatus transmits the groupcast message at a predetermined time.

23. 22. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the one or more groupcast transmission parameters include information identifying a schedule for transmission of the groupcast message.

24. The apparatus of claim 21, further configured to identify at least a portion of sidelink transmission parameters of the one or more second user equipments (UEs) based on at least one previously received transmission from the one or more second UEs.

25. 22. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the apparatus receives the first indication based on at least one of receiving a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message including information that the first UE is designated as a cooperative UE, or receiving downlink control information including information in a field having a value that the first UE is designated as a cooperative UE.

26. 22. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the apparatus receives the one or more groupcast transmission parameters based on at least one of receiving a Resource Radio Resource Control (RRC) message including information identifying the one or more groupcast transmission parameters, or receiving downlink control information including information identifying the one or more groupcast transmission parameters.

27. 22. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the apparatus transmits the groupcast message via a Physical Sidelink Shared Channel (PSSCH) and based on receiving downlink control information including PSSCH transmission parameters.

28. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the apparatus is adapted to determine sidelink transmission parameters comprising determining sidelink transmission parameters based on information identifying the one or more second UEs.

29. 22. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the sidelink transmission parameters include a preferred resource set for the one or more second UEs or a non-preferred resource set for the one or more second UEs.

30. 22. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the processor is further configured to: based on the detected transmission parameters of the one or more second UEs and at least one of expected resource collisions or expected half-duplex conflicts in sidelink transmissions.

31. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the processor is configured to execute instructions for determining the sidelink transmission parameters based on a detected resource collision or a detected half-duplex conflict in a sidelink transmission.

32. 1. A method of mobile communication including a sidelink transmission, comprising: receiving, by a first user equipment (UE), a first indication from a base station that the first UE is a coordinating UE for coordination of sidelink transmissions of one or more second UEs; receiving a second indication from the base station by the one or more second UEs coordinated by the cooperative UE, the second indication including information identifying the cooperative UE; receiving, by the first UE and the one or more second UEs, one or more groupcast transmission parameters from the base station; determining, by the first UE, sidelink transmission parameters associated with the one or more second UEs, the first UE using the determination of sidelink transmission parameters to avoid collisions or half-duplex conflicts between sidelink transmissions of the one or more second UEs; transmitting, by the first UE, a groupcast message to the one or more second UEs, the groupcast message including sidelink transmission parameters for the one or more second UEs, the transmission of the groupcast message being based on the received groupcast transmission parameters; Includes.

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