Communication device and communication method

Abstract

To propose a communication device and a communication method that can achieve an effective fusion of sensing technology and communication technology.SOLUTION: A communication device includes a signaling unit that performs signaling with one or more other communication devices regarding at least one of transmission and reception of a sensing signal transmitted using wireless communication resources, and a sensing unit that performs at least one of transmission and reception of the sensing signal after the signaling.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a communication device and a communication method.

Background Art

[0002] Due to the rapid evolution of digital technologies in recent years, the integration of sensing technology and communication technology has become important. As an example of the trend regarding this integration, ISAC (Integrated Sensing and Communication) is known (for example, Non-Patent Document 1).

Prior Art Documents

Non-Patent Documents

[0003]

Non-Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, simply applying sensing technology to conventional communication technology cannot achieve an effective integration of sensing technology and communication technology. As an example, consider the integration of sensing technology and cellular communication technology. In cellular communication, a wireless communication network is realized through the cooperation of multiple communication devices. However, with the conventional cellular communication technology as it is, the cooperation between multiple communication devices may not work well due to the applied sensing technology.

[0005] Therefore, the present disclosure proposes a communication device and a communication method capable of realizing an effective integration of sensing technology and communication technology.

[0006] Note that the above problem or objective is only one of the multiple problems or objectives that can be solved or achieved by the multiple embodiments disclosed in this specification.

Means for Solving the Problem

[0007] To solve the above problems, a communication device according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes a signaling unit that performs signaling regarding at least one of transmission and reception of a sensing signal transmitted using wireless communication resources with one or more other communication devices, and a sensing unit that performs at least one of transmission and reception of the sensing signal after the signaling.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0008]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

Figure 9

Figure 10

Figure 11

Figure 12

Figure 13

Figure 14

Figure 15

Figure 16

Figure 17

Figure 18

Figure 19

Figure 20

Figure 21

Figure 22

Figure 23

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0009] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In each of the following embodiments, the same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant descriptions are omitted.

[0010] Also, in this specification (description / specification) and the drawings, there are cases where a plurality of components having substantially the same functional configuration are distinguished by attaching different numbers after the same reference numeral. For example, a plurality of configurations having substantially the same functional configuration are, if necessary, the terminal device 40 1 , 402 、and 40 3 are distinguished as such. However, when it is not necessary to particularly distinguish each of a plurality of components having substantially the same functional configuration, only the same reference numerals are assigned. For example, the terminal device 40 1 、40 2 、and 40 3 If there is no need to particularly distinguish them, they are simply referred to as the terminal device 40.

[0011] Also, in this specification, the expression "at least one of" accompanied by an enumeration of elements is understood as an expression that takes the enumerated elements as alternatives. For example, "at least one of A, B, and C" represents "A", "B", "C", "A and B", "A and C", "B and C", or "A, B, and C". "At least one of A, B, or C", and "at least one of A, B, and / or C" are also the same as "at least one of A, B, and C". Here, A, B, and C are all arbitrary expressions (for example, a word, a phrase, a term, or an item).

[0012] One or more of the embodiments (including examples and variations) described below can each be implemented independently. On the other hand, at least some of the plurality of embodiments described below may be implemented in appropriate combination with at least some of other embodiments. These plurality of embodiments may include different novel features. Therefore, these plurality of embodiments can contribute to solving different purposes or problems and can exhibit different effects.

[0013] <<1. Overview>> First, the overview of this embodiment will be described.

[0014] <1-1. Problem> Due to the rapid evolution of digital technologies in recent years, the integration of sensing technology and communication technology has become important. As an example of the trends regarding this integration, ISAC (Integrated Sensing and Communication) is known. In ISAC, for example, a communication device collects different types of sensing data in real time, processes it, and shares information with other devices through communication technology. The integration of sensing technology and communication technology may bring revolutionary changes in a wide range of fields.

[0015] However, simply applying sensing technology to conventional communication technology cannot achieve an effective integration of sensing technology and communication technology.

[0016] As an example, consider the integration of sensing technology and cellular communication technology. In cellular communication, a wireless communication network is realized through the cooperation of multiple communication devices. However, with the conventional cellular communication technology, depending on the sensing technology applied, the cooperation between multiple communication devices may not work well.

[0017] For example, assume that a certain communication device transmits a sensing signal for detecting surrounding objects using wireless communication resources for cellular communication (hereinafter, also referred to as wireless resources or simply resources). A sensing signal is a signal used for sensing. In this case, if other communication devices (for example, other communication devices within the same cell) do not obtain information regarding the transmission of the sensing signal in advance, for example, the sensing signal may interfere with the cellular communication and / or sensing of other communication devices, resulting in the possibility of confusion in cellular communication and / or sensing.

[0018] Therefore, in this embodiment, the above problems are solved as follows.

[0019] <1-2.ISAC, TCI, and QCL> Before explaining the outline of the solution means, Integrated Sensing and Communication (ISAC), Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI), and Quasi-co-location (QCL) will be described.

[0020] <1-2-1. About ISAC> First, Integrated Sensing and Communication (ISAC) will be described.

[0021] As the main role of ISAC, first, the collection of sensing data can be mentioned. The communication device uses different types of sensors to monitor various phenomena such as environmental changes and / or the behavior of objects. As a result, the communication device can collect data in real time and accurately grasp the situation of the physical world.

[0022] Next, as the role of ISAC, the processing and conversion of data can be mentioned. The communication device converts the collected data into useful information through processes such as analysis and / or pattern recognition. For example, in environmental monitoring, the communication device grasps the trends of temperature and humidity from the sensing data and utilizes them for future weather prediction.

[0023] Furthermore, as the role of ISAC, the sharing of data through communication technology can be mentioned. The communication device transmits sensing data (or data based on sensing data) to an appropriate location and / or device through communication technology. Real-time information sharing enables remote monitoring and control. As a result, it becomes possible to quickly respond to various problems.

[0024] ISAC is expected to be important in many fields such as smart city infrastructure management, industrial automation, and medical monitoring. Through the integration and sharing of data, more efficient operation and / or more efficient data-driven decision-making can be realized.

[0025] (Regarding Sensing Technology) In this embodiment, the sensing technology includes technologies for detecting / measuring physical phenomena. In ISAC, the sensing technology is an important element for detecting changes in the environment and / or objects and collecting them as digital data.

[0026] In the following description, the data detected by one or more sensing functions included in a communication device may be referred to as sensing data. Hereinafter or above, the sensing data may be 3GPP sensing data or non-3GPP sensing data. 3GPP sensing data means data obtained from 3GPP radio signals affected (such as reflected, refracted, diffracted, etc.) by an object or the environment for the purpose of sensing. Non-3GPP sensing data means data provided by sensors other than 3GPP (such as video, LiDAR, sonar, etc.) for an object or the environment for sensing. The sensing function may be realized by one or more sensors included in the communication device. A communication device with a sensing function may be a sensing transmitter or a sensing receiver or both. A sensing transmitter is an entity that transmits a sensing signal used by a sensing service in its operation. The sensing transmitter is part of a RAN node (e.g., the base station 30 described above or below) or a UE (e.g., the terminal device 40 described above or below). The sensing transmitter may be arranged in the same entity as the sensing receiver or in a different entity. A sensing receiver is an entity that receives a sensing signal used by a sensing service in its operation. The sensing receiver is part of a RAN node (e.g., the base station 30 described above or below) or a UE (e.g., the terminal device 40 described above or below). The sensing receiver is arranged in the same or a different entity from the sensing transmitter. The sensing data appearing in the following description can be rephrased as sensing information, detection data, or detection information.

[0027] In addition, in this embodiment, the sensing may include at least one of the following (1) to (5). The word "detection" that appears in the following description can be replaced with "measurement". Also, the word "communication device" that appears in the following description can be replaced with "information processing device".

[0028] (1) Temperature detection The communication device may collect the temperature data of the environment detected by the temperature sensor as sensing data (or data based on the sensing data). The communication device may utilize the collected data for, for example, weather forecasting and / or energy management.

[0029] (2) Humidity detection The communication device may collect the humidity data in the air detected by the humidity sensor as sensing data (or data based on the sensing data). The communication device may utilize the collected data for, for example, indoor comfort control and / or agricultural management.

[0030] (3) Light detection The communication device may collect the data of the intensity and / or brightness of the light detected by the light sensor as sensing data (or data based on the sensing data). The communication device may utilize the collected data for, for example, lighting control and / or environmental monitoring.

[0031] (4) Acceleration detection The communication device may collect the data of the acceleration and / or vibration of the object detected by the acceleration sensor as sensing data (or data based on the sensing data). The communication device may utilize the collected data for, for example, motion sensing and / or equipment health diagnosis.

[0032] (5) Position detection The communication device may collect the position data of an object detected by a position sensor (e.g., a GNSS sensor such as a GPS sensor) as sensing data (or data based on the sensing data). The communication device may utilize the collected data, for example, for tracking the movement of the object.

[0033] Note that the sensing in this embodiment is not limited to the examples (1) to (5) described above. The sensing in this embodiment may be, for example, sensing related to the detection of at least one of the color of an object, the speed of an object, the acceleration of an object, the reflectivity of an object, the transmittance of an object, the distance to an object, the temperature of the object / environment, geomagnetism, illuminance, atmospheric pressure, light, and sound. Of course, the sensing in this embodiment may be other sensing.

[0034] (ISAC in Cellular Communication System) Cellular communication technology is a radio access technology (RAT) that enables mobile communication of terminal devices, for example, by arranging a plurality of areas covered by base stations in a cell shape. A cellular communication system is a communication system that enables mobile communication of terminal devices using cellular communication technology.

[0035] Cellular communication systems include not only the third-generation mobile communication system (so-called 3G) and the fourth-generation mobile communication system (so-called 4G), but also the fifth-generation mobile communication system (so-called 5G). The first standard for 5G was established as Rel-15 in 2018. 5G is a radio access technology that can support various use cases including eMBB (Enhanced Mobile Broadband), mMTC (Massive Machine Type Communications), and URLLC (Ultra-Reliable and Low Latency Communications).

[0036] The cellular communication system may include the sixth-generation mobile communication system (so-called 6G). 6G is the next-generation system after 5G. 6G is being considered as a wireless communication system that pursues further evolution of 5G. Note that the cellular communication system may include not only 6G but also B5G (Beyond 5G).

[0037] High-speed communication, low latency, and multi-connectivity in 5G, B5G, and 6G meet the conditions required by the use cases related to ISAC. Therefore, the affinity between the cellular communication system (e.g., 5G, B5G, and 6G) and ISAC is high. In particular, in the cellular communication system, the sensing technology by ISAC can be an important element in the control of wireless communication.

[0038] For example, sensing in 5G may be referred to as 5G wireless sensing. 5G wireless sensing may use radio frequencies to determine the distance (range), angle, instantaneous linear velocity, etc. of an object as a technology for obtaining information about the environment and / or the characteristics of objects within the environment. Since the radio frequency-based sensing function (radio frequency sensing function) does not require connecting to an object via devices (e.g., base station 30, terminal device 40) within the network, it can provide a service for device-free object location identification. The estimation of parameters such as signal strength, delay, Doppler, angle spectrum information, etc. may be obtained from the scattered and reflected radio frequency signals transmitted and received by a RAN node (e.g., base station 30 described above or below) or a UE (e.g., terminal device 40 described above or below) using a sensing signal (e.g., NR radio frequency signal). By processing these radio frequency signals, features such as the position, velocity, geometric information of an object can be extracted and further exposed to various applications together with context information. The function of obtaining distance, velocity, and angle information from radio frequency signals can provide a wide range of new functions such as various object detections, object recognitions (vehicles, humans, animals, UAVs, etc.), high-precision location identification, and tracking.

[0039] By introducing sensing technology by ISAC, the cellular communication system can highly monitor the situation around the communication device and / or the communication environment of the communication device, and collect data in real time. Thereby, the cellular communication system can quickly detect changes and / or the presence of obstacles in the communication environment and take appropriate actions. For example, the cellular communication system can detect the influence of radio wave interference and / or obstacles based on sensing data and optimize the communication channel and / or frequency band.

[0040] In addition, a cellular communication system can utilize the data collected by sensing technology for optimizing the communication network and / or improving its quality. For example, the cellular communication system can adjust the communication bandwidth and / or optimize the connection control of devices in real time by monitoring the network based on the sensing data, thereby improving the user experience.

[0041] Furthermore, the cellular communication system can utilize the data collected by sensing technology for network slicing. For example, the cellular communication system can construct a customized network environment based on the sensing data to provide an optimal communication environment for different applications / services.

[0042] Also, the cellular communication system can utilize the data collected by sensing technology for enhancing security. The cellular communication system can detect signs of abnormal operations and / or attacks by sensing technology and issue early warnings, thereby realizing network protection and / or strengthening security measures.

[0043] That is, in a cellular communication system, ISAC is useful for improving the quality of the communication network, optimizing operations, or enhancing security. In a cellular communication system, ISAC can be an important element in constructing a more reliable communication environment.

[0044] <1-2-2.TCI and QCL> Next, Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) and Quasi-co-location (QCL) will be described.

[0045] In 5G, it is being considered to control the reception processing of signals and / or channels based on TCI (Transmission Configuration Indication). Here, the reception processing may be, for example, at least one of reception, demapping, demodulation, and decoding. Here, TCI is information regarding the QCL (Quasi-Co-Location) of signals and / or channels. TCI may also be referred to as a spatial reception parameter or spatial relation info. TCI may be set for each channel or each signal in a communication device.

[0046] QCL indicates the statistical properties of signals and / or channels. For example, QCL indicates the relationship between antenna ports. For example, when it is possible to infer the transmission of signals between different antenna ports based on specific channel characteristics, that relationship can be regarded as Quasi-Co-Location (QCL). In other words, when the characteristics of a signal on one antenna port can be inferred from the characteristics of a signal on another antenna port, that relationship can be regarded as QCL. For example, when a certain signal and / or channel and another signal and / or channel are QCL, it can be assumed that at least one of the Doppler shift, Doppler spread, average delay, delay spread, and spatial parameter is the same among these different signals and / or channels.

[0047] For example, assume that reference signals X and Y are transmitted from the same antenna array, and further, the same spatial filter is applied to those signals. In this case, reference signals X and Y have similar channel characteristics. Therefore, the communication device on the receiving side (hereinafter also referred to as the receiving device) can detect reference signal Y using the channel characteristics of reference signal X. In such a case, reference signals X and Y can be regarded as QCL.

[0048] Here, the reference signal X can be a signal such as CSI-RS (Channel State Information Reference Signal) or SSB (SS (Synchronization Signal) / PBCH (Physical Broadcast Channel) Block). Also, the signal Y can be a channel such as PDCCH (Physical Downlink Control Channel), PDSCH (Physical Downlink Shared Channel), PUCCH (Physical Uplink Control Channel), PUSCH (Physical Uplink Shared Channel), PSCCH (Physical Sidelink Control Channel), or PSSCH (Physical Sidelink Shared Channel). For example, when a predetermined CSI-RS and a predetermined PDCCH are QCL, the receiving device can execute the reception process of the PDCCH assuming that the predetermined channel characteristics for receiving the PDCCH are the same as the predetermined channel characteristics of the CSI-RS.

[0049] The channel characteristics related to QCL may be part or all of a plurality of channel characteristics shown in the following (1) to (5).

[0050] (1) Doppler shift Doppler shift refers to the change in wavelength due to the movement of a communication device. Doppler shift is a phenomenon in which the frequency of a transmitted signal changes according to the speed.

[0051] (2) Doppler spread Doppler spread is, for example, what represents the difference in frequency between a transmitted signal and a received signal over time. Doppler spread indicates the spread of the received signal.

[0052] (3) Average delay The average delay indicates, for example, the average value of the arrival time of a signal due to multipath propagation.

[0053] (4) Delay spread Delay spread (delay dispersion) indicates, for example, the arrival time difference between the first multipath component and the last component.

[0054] (5) Spatial parameter The spatial parameter is information related to beamforming. The spatial parameter may be a Spatial Rx Parameter. At this time, the spatial reception parameter may correspond to the reception beam of the receiving device (for example, the reception analog beam). In this case, the receiving device may identify the beam based on the spatial parameter.

[0055] As QCL types, a plurality of types may be defined. For example, as QCL types, the following four QCL types with different parameter sets may be defined.

[0056] (1) QCL type A Parameter set: Doppler shift, Doppler spread, average delay, and delay spread

[0057] (2) QCL type B Parameter set: Doppler shift, and Doppler spread

[0058] (3) QCL type C Parameter set: Doppler shift, and average delay

[0059] (4) QCL type D Parameter set: Spatial parameter

[0060] The TCI (Transmission Configuration Indicator) is information for notifying the above QCL. The TCI is dynamically transmitted, for example, within a DCI (Downlink Control Information) message. The TCI may include information such as the QCL relationship between RSs within a DL (Downlink) RS (Reference Signal) set.

[0061] <1-4. Summary of the solution means> Based on the above, the summary of the solution means of this embodiment will be described.

[0062] The communication system of this embodiment is a cellular communication system including a plurality of communication devices (for example, terminal devices and / or base stations). Each of the plurality of communication devices includes a wireless communication unit (for example, a 3GPP transceiver) for cellular communication. Note that the communication device of this embodiment may be a device different from a terminal device and a base station. For example, the communication device of this embodiment may be a device including at least some functions of a terminal device and / or at least some functions of a base station. For example, the communication device of this embodiment may be a repeater or a relay device that repeats or relays a predetermined signal.

[0063] At least one of the plurality of communication devices has one or more sensing functions. The one or more sensing functions included in the communication device include an RF (Radio Frequency)-based sensing function (for example, an RF-based sensing function supported by a 3GPP transceiver). The RF-based sensing function is, for example, a function of detecting surrounding objects using wireless communication resources for cellular communication.

[0064] Note that in this embodiment, the communication device does not necessarily have to have a sensing function. The sensing device having the sensing function may be a device separate from the communication device. In that case, it is preferable that the sensing device can communicate with at least one communication device by means of a wired connection (for example, at least one of a USB connection and a wired LAN connection) or a wireless connection (for example, at least one of a Bluetooth connection, a wireless LAN connection, and a connection by a communication method different from that of the communication system of this embodiment).

[0065] One or more communication devices included in the communication system detect surrounding objects using an RF-based sensing function. For example, a communication device (transmitting device, Sensing transmitter) included in the communication system transmits a sensing signal using wireless communication resources for cellular communication.

[0066] The sensing signal is a signal used for sensing. The sensing signal may mean transmission on a 3GPP radio interface that can be used for sensing purposes. The sensing signal may be, for example, a signal such as CSI-RS or SSB, or a signal transmitted and / or received on a channel such as PDCCH, PDSCH, PUCCH, PUSCH, PSCCH, or PSSCH. The sensing signal may be referred to as a sensing RS (Reference Signal).

[0067] The communication device (receiver, Sensing Receiver) included in the communication system receives the sensing signal transmitted by the transmitting device. In the foregoing or the following, the reception of the sensing signal may include the collection of sensing data (collecting sensing data). The process of collecting sensing data may also be referred to as the Sensing measurement process. That is, the reception of the sensing signal may be the measurement of the sensing signal. The reception of the sensing signal may include the reception of other signals and / or channels that are quasi-co-located (QCL: Quasi-Co-Location) with the sensing signal. Other signals and / or channels that are quasi-co-located (QCL: Quasi-Co-Location) with the sensing signal can also be regarded as the sensing signal.

[0068] The sensing performed by one or more communication devices included in the communication system may be monostatic sensing, bistatic sensing, or multistatic sensing.

[0069] Hereinafter, with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5, monostatic sensing, bistatic sensing, and multistatic sensing will be described.

[0070] Note that, in FIGS. 1 to 5, an automobile is shown as an object to be sensed, but the object to be sensed is not limited to an automobile. For example, the object to be sensed may be a moving body other than an automobile, or may be a structure. Here, the moving body may be a mobile terminal, or may be a moving body that moves on land, underground, on water, or underwater. Also, the moving body may be a moving body that moves within the atmosphere, or may be a moving body that moves outside the atmosphere. Further, the structure may be a building, or may be a non-building structure. The structure may be a base station, or may be a structure on land, underground, on water, or underwater. Also, the structure may be a structure within the atmosphere, or may be a structure outside the atmosphere. Also, the object to be sensed may be a living thing such as a human being.

[0071] (Monostatic Sensing) FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining monostatic sensing. Monostatic sensing is a monostatic method of sensing in which one communication device performs both transmission and reception of a sensing signal. In the example of FIG. 1, one communication device transmits a sensing signal to the surroundings, and the communication device receives the sensing signal reflected by the object. Thereby, the communication device can detect the surrounding objects.

[0072] (Bistatic Sensing) FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining bistatic sensing. Bistatic sensing is a bistatic method of sensing in which one communication device (transmitting device) transmits a sensing signal, and another communication device (receiving device) receives the sensing signal. In the example of FIG. 2, one communication device (transmitting device) transmits a sensing signal to the surroundings, and another communication device (receiving device) receives the sensing signal reflected by the object. Thereby, the communication device can detect the objects around the transmitting device and / or the receiving device.

[0073] (Multi-static Sensing) Figures 3 to 5 are diagrams for explaining multi-static sensing. Multi-static sensing is a multi-static type of sensing in which a plurality of communication devices are involved in transmitting or receiving sensing signals. Multi-static sensing may also be referred to by other expressions such as multi-sensing. In the example of Fig. 3, one communication device (transmitting device) transmits a sensing signal to the surroundings, and a plurality of other communication devices (receiving devices) receive the sensing signal. In the example of Fig. 4, a plurality of communication devices (transmitting devices) transmit sensing signals to the surroundings, and another communication device (receiving device) receives those sensing signals. In the example of Fig. 5, a plurality of communication devices (transmitting devices) transmit sensing signals to the surroundings, and a plurality of other communication devices (receiving devices) receive those sensing signals. Thereby, the communication device can detect an object around the transmitting device and / or the receiving device.

[0074] Note that multi-static sensing may include sensing that combines at least one mono-static sensing and at least one bi-static sensing. For example, one communication device may transmit a sensing signal to the surroundings, the communication device may receive the sensing signal reflected by an object, and another communication device (receiving device) may also receive the sensing signal reflected by the object. Thereby, the communication device can detect an object around the transmitting device and / or the receiving device.

[0075] As described above, when the transmitting device transmits a sensing signal to the surroundings, if other communication devices do not obtain information regarding the transmission of the sensing signal in advance, cellular communication and / or sensing may be disrupted.

[0076] Therefore, before transmitting and / or receiving the sensing signal, the communication device of the present embodiment performs signaling regarding at least one of the transmission and reception of the sensing signal with one or more other communication devices included in the communication system. Note that, in the foregoing or the following, the signaling regarding at least one of the transmission and reception of the sensing signal may be paraphrased as the transmission (or reception) of information regarding at least one of the transmission and reception of the sensing signal. The information regarding at least one of the transmission and reception of the sensing signal may be referred to as sensing assistance information. The sensing assistance information may be defined as information provided from a reliable third party to the 5G system and used to support the derivation of the sensing result. The sensing assistance information may include the 3GPP sensing data itself. Or, instead of this, the 3GPP sensing data itself may not be included in the sensing assistance information.

[0077] For example, in the case of the monostatic sensing example shown in FIG. 1, the communication device may notify one or more other communication devices, by signaling, not to use the radio communication resources used for transmitting the sensing signal. In other words, the communication device may notify one or more other communication devices of information indicating (or instructing) not to use the radio communication resources used for transmitting the sensing signal.

[0078] Also, in the case of the bistatic sensing example shown in FIG. 2, the transmitting device may notify the receiving device, by signaling, of the information on the radio communication resources used for transmitting the sensing signal. The transmitting device may notify the receiving device, by signaling, of the information regarding the QCL of the sensing signal.

[0079] Also, in the example of multi-static sensing shown in FIG. 3, the transmitting device may obtain, by signaling, capability information regarding the multi-static sensing of each of the plurality of other communication devices included in the communication system from the plurality of other communication devices. At this time, the transmitting device may select from among the plurality of other communication devices based on the capability information.

[0080] Also, in the example of multi-static sensing shown in FIG. 4, the receiving device may obtain, by signaling, capability information regarding the multi-static sensing of each of the plurality of other communication devices included in the communication system from the plurality of other communication devices. At this time, the receiving device may select, based on the capability information, a communication device (transmitting device) that transmits a sensing signal from among the plurality of other communication devices.

[0081] Also, in the example of multi-static sensing shown in FIG. 5, the transmitting device or the receiving device may obtain, by signaling, capability information regarding the multi-static sensing of each of the plurality of other communication devices included in the communication system from the plurality of other communication devices. At this time, the receiving device or the receiving device may select, based on the capability information, a communication device (receiving device) that is the transmission target of the sensing signal, or a communication device (transmitting device) that transmits the sensing signal from among the plurality of other communication devices. Information indicating (or instructing) not to use the radio communication resources used for transmitting the sensing signal shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, information on the radio communication resources used for transmitting the sensing signal, or at least one of the capability information regarding the multi-static sensing of each communication device may be included in at least one of the information regarding at least one of the above-described transmission and reception of the sensing signal (e.g., sensing assistance information).

[0082] Then, after the signaling, the transmitting device and / or the receiving device performs transmission and / or reception of the sensing signal.

[0083] As a result, one or more communication devices included in the communication system can perform cellular communication and / or sensing smoothly. In particular, in multi-static sensing, many communication devices are involved in sensing. By performing pre-adjustment through signaling, even if many communication devices use radio communication resources for sensing, it will not have much impact on communication. Conversely, by performing pre-adjustment through signaling, even if many communication devices use radio communication resources for communication, it will not have much impact on sensing (e.g., multi-static sensing). As a result, an effective integration of sensing technology and communication technology is realized.

[0084] The above is an overview of this embodiment. Hereinafter, the communication system 1 of this embodiment will be described in detail.

[0085] <<2. Configuration of Communication System>> First, the configuration of the communication system 1 will be described.

[0086] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the configuration of the communication system 1 according to this embodiment. The communication system 1 includes a server 10, a management device 20, a base station 30, and a terminal device 40. The communication system 1 provides a wireless network (mobile network) capable of mobile communication to users by the coordinated operation of each wireless communication device constituting the communication system 1.

[0087] The wireless network of this embodiment may be, for example, a cellular network composed of a radio access network RAN and a core network CN. In this embodiment, a wireless communication device is a device having a wireless communication function. In the example of FIG. 6, the base station 30 and the terminal device 40 correspond to this.

[0088] The communication system 1 may include a plurality of servers 10, management devices 20, base stations 30, and terminal devices 40, respectively. In the example of FIG. 6, the communication system 1 includes the server 10 as the server 10 1 and the server 10 2is provided, and the management device 20 as the management device 20 1 and the management device 20 2 is provided. Further, the communication system 1 includes the base station 30 as the base station 30 1 , the base station 30 2 , and the base station 30 3 is provided, and the terminal device 40 as the terminal device 40 1 , the terminal device 40 2 , and the terminal device 40 3 is provided. In the following description, the devices included in the communication system 1 may be referred to as network devices.

[0089] The terminal device 40 may be configured to connect to the network using wireless access technologies (RAT: Radio Access Technology) such as LTE (Long Term Evolution), NR (New Radio), B5G (Beyond 5G), 6G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth (registered trademark), etc. At this time, the terminal device 40 may be configured to be able to use different wireless access technologies (wireless communication methods). For example, the terminal device 40 may be configured to be able to use NR and Wi-Fi. Also, the terminal device 40 may be configured to be able to use different cellular communication technologies (e.g., LTE, NR, B5G, or 6G).

[0090] LTE and NR are a type of cellular communication technology, and mobile communication of the terminal device is made possible by arranging a plurality of areas covered by the base station in a cell shape. Also, 6G is assumed to be a type of cellular communication technology, and it is assumed that mobile communication of the terminal device will be possible by arranging a plurality of areas covered by the base station in a cell shape.

[0091] In the following description, "LTE" shall include LTE-A (LTE-Advanced), LTE-A Pro (LTE-Advanced Pro), and EUTRA (Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access). Also, "NR" shall include NRAT (New Radio Access Technology) and FEUTRA (Further EUTRA). Furthermore, NR may include 5G-Advanced. Note that a single base station 30 may manage multiple cells. In the following description, a cell corresponding to LTE may be referred to as an LTE cell, and a cell corresponding to NR may be referred to as an NR cell.

[0092] NR is the next-generation (fifth-generation) radio access technology after LTE (fourth-generation communication including LTE-Advanced and LTE-Advanced Pro). NR is a radio access technology that can support various use cases including eMBB (Enhanced Mobile Broadband), mMTC (Massive Machine Type Communications), and URLLC (Ultra-Reliable and Low Latency Communications). NR was standardized in 3GPP (registered trademark)'s Rel-15 as a technical framework corresponding to usage scenarios, requirement conditions, and deployment scenarios in these use cases. Furthermore, in B5G and 6G, it is required to simultaneously achieve multiple axes of high-speed large-capacity, low-latency / high-reliability, and a large number of simultaneous connections.

[0093] 6G may be the next-generation mobile communication technology after the 5th generation mobile communication, namely NR and 5GS (5G system). Similar to 5G (NR), 6G can also be a cellular communication technology. 6G includes radio access technologies, base stations, and network technologies between core networks and data networks. In addition, 6G may include technologies for the further advancement (Extreme connectivity) of eMBB, mMTC, and URLLC, which were the main use cases or requirements in NR. Moreover, 6G may include new technologies in new aspects. For example, 6G may include technologies related to AI (Cognitive network, AI native Air Interface), sensing (including Rader sensing, network as a sensor, and ISAC), and terahertz communication.

[0094] Note that the wireless network described above or below may correspond to at least one of the radio access technologies (RATs) such as LTE, NR, B5G, 6G, etc. Note that the radio access method used by the communication system 1 is not limited to LTE, NR, 6G, and may be other radio access methods such as W-CDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access) and cdma2000 (Code Division Multiple Access 2000).

[0095] In addition, the base station 30 may be a terrestrial station or a non-terrestrial station. That is, the communication system shown in FIG. 6 may be a non-terrestrial network (Non-terrestrial Network). The non-terrestrial station may be a satellite station or an aircraft station. If the non-terrestrial station is a satellite station, the wireless network may be a Bent-pipe (Transparent) type mobile satellite communication system.

[0096] In this embodiment, the terrestrial station and the terrestrial base station refer to base stations and relay stations installed on the ground. Here, "ground" refers to a broad sense of the ground that includes not only land but also underground, on water, and underwater. In the following description, the description of "terrestrial station" may be replaced with "gateway".

[0097] Note that the base station of LTE may be referred to as eNodeB (Evolved Node B) or eNB. Also, the base station of NR may be referred to as gNodeB or gNB. Also, the base station of 6G may be referred to as 6G NodeB (6GNB). The RAN of LTE may be referred to as EUTRAN. The RAN of NR may be referred to as NGRAN. The RAN of 6G may be referred to as 6GRAN. Also, in LTE, NR, B5G, and 6G, the terminal device (also called a mobile station or a terminal) may be referred to as UE (User Equipment). Note that the terminal device is a type of communication device and is also called a mobile station or a terminal.

[0098] Note that the terminal device 40 may be connectable to the network using a radio access technology (radio communication method) other than LTE, NR, B5G, 6G, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth. For example, the terminal device 40 may be connectable to the network using LPWA (Low Power Wide Area) communication. Also, the terminal device 40 may be connectable to the network using a wireless communication of its own standard.

[0099] Here, LPWA communication refers to wireless communication that enables wide-area communication with low power. For example, LPWA wireless refers to IoT (Internet of Things) wireless communication using specific low-power wireless (e.g., 920 MHz band) or ISM (Industry-Science-Medical) band. Also, LPWA wireless may include LTE-M operating in the cellular frequency band and / or C-IoT (Cellular IoT) represented by NB-IoT. Note that the LPWA communication used by the terminal device 40 may comply with the LPWA standard. The LPWA standard may be, for example, at least one of ELTRES, ZETA, SIGFOX, LoRaWAN, LTE-M, and NB-IoT. Of course, the LPWA standard is not limited to these and may be other LPWA standards.

[0100] Each wireless communication device shown in FIG. 6 may be considered as a device in a logical sense. That is, a part of each wireless communication device may be realized by a container such as a virtual machine (VM) or Docker, and they may be physically implemented on the same hardware.

[0101] In this embodiment, the concept of a wireless communication device includes not only portable mobile devices (terminal devices) such as mobile phones but also devices installed in structures or mobile bodies. The structure or mobile body itself may be regarded as a wireless communication device. Also, the concept of a wireless communication device includes not only the terminal device 40 but also the base station 30. A wireless communication device is a type of processing device or information processing device. A wireless communication device can also be referred to as a transmitting device or a receiving device.

[0102] In this embodiment, the resource may represent, for example, at least one of Frequency, Time, Resource Element (including REG, CCE, CORESET), Resource Block, Bandwidth Part, Component Carrier, Symbol, Sub-Symbol, Slot, Mini-Slot, Subslot, Subframe, Frame, PRACH occasion, Occasion, Code, Multi-access physical resource, and Multi-access signature, Subcarrier Spacing (Numerology). That is, the "resource", "radio resource", or "radio communication resource" described above or below may be read as at least one of the above examples.

[0103] Hereinafter, the configuration of each wireless communication device constituting the communication system 1 will be specifically described. Note that the configuration of each wireless communication device shown below is merely an example. The configuration of each wireless communication device may be different from the configuration shown below.

[0104] <2-1. Configuration of the Server> First, the configuration of the server 10 will be described.

[0105] The server 10 is an information processing device (computer) that provides various services to the terminal device 40. For example, the server 10 is an information processing device that executes processing related to the sensing service.

[0106] The sensing service is a service that is performed using data (hereinafter referred to as sensing data) detected by one or more sensing functions provided in, for example, one or more communication devices (e.g., base station 30 and / or terminal device 40). Note that the sensing service is not limited to a service that directly uses sensing data. The sensing service may be a service that indirectly uses sensing data. For example, the sensing service may be a service that is performed using a processing result based on sensing data.

[0107] The sensing service is typically a service for providing sensing data. For example, the sensing service is a service for providing sensing data used in a predetermined use case (e.g., processing related to autonomous driving of a moving body, processing related to automatic operation of a device / system, or processing related to XR content). However, the sensing service is not limited to a service for providing sensing data. The sensing service may be a service for providing a process executed using sensing data, or a service for providing information generated using one or more sensing services. The sensing service will be described later.

[0108] One or more sensing functions provided in the communication device may include an RF (Radio Frequency)-based sensing function (e.g., an RF-based sensing function supported by a 3GPP transceiver). Of course, one or more sensing functions provided in the communication device may include various detection functions using one or more sensors (physical sensors and / or logical sensors) provided in the communication device (e.g., a function for detecting at least one of the color of an object, the speed of an object, the acceleration of an object, the reflectivity of an object, the transmittance of an object, the distance to an object, the temperature of an object / environment, geomagnetism, illuminance, atmospheric pressure, light, and sound).

[0109] One or more sensors included in one or more communication devices may be, for example, one or more sensors included in base station 30 and / or terminal device 40 (for example, one or more sensors included in sensor unit 34 and / or sensor unit 46 described later). For example, the one or more sensors may include sensors that detect images and / or the shape of an object, such as a camera and / or LiDAR. Further, the one or more sensors may include sensors that detect at least one of the color of an object, the speed of an object, the acceleration of an object, the reflectance of an object, the transmittance of an object, the distance to an object, the temperature of the object / environment, geomagnetism, illuminance, atmospheric pressure, light, and sound. In this case, the sensing service may be a service based on the image data or shape data detected by the sensor (for example, a service related to the automatic driving of a moving body). Further, the sensing service may be a service based on the sensing data of a sensor that detects at least one of the color of an object, the speed of an object, the acceleration of an object, the reflectance of an object, the transmittance of an object, the distance to an object, the temperature of the object / environment, geomagnetism, illuminance, atmospheric pressure, light, and sound.

[0110] Note that the one or more sensors directly or indirectly used for the sensing service are not limited to the one or more sensors included in base station 30 and / or terminal device 40. The one or more sensors directly or indirectly used for the sensing service may be one or more sensors included in a communication device other than base station 30 and terminal device 40. For example, the one or more sensors directly or indirectly used for the sensing service may be one or more sensors included in server 10 and / or management device 20.

[0111] Server 10 may be an application server or a web server. Server 10 may be a cloud server or an edge server. Also, Server 10 may be a PC server, a midrange server, or a mainframe server. Further, Server 10 may be an information processing device that performs data processing (edge processing) near a user or a terminal. For example, Server 10 may be an information processing device (computer) installed or incorporated in a base station. Also, Server 10 may have a function as a core network. For example, Server 10 may be a device that functions as management device 20. Of course, Server 10 may be an information processing device that performs cloud computing. Server 10 of the present embodiment can function as an application function.

[0112] Server 10 is connected to another communication device (for example, management device 20) via network N. In the example of FIG. 6, only one network N is shown, but there may be a plurality of networks N. Here, network N is, for example, a public network such as the Internet. Note that network N is not limited to the Internet, and may be, for example, a LAN (Local Area Network), a WAN (Wide Area Network), a cellular network, a fixed telephone network, or a regional IP (Internet Protocol) network. Network N may include a wired network or a wireless network.

[0113] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a configuration example of server 10 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Server 10 includes a communication unit 11, a storage unit 12, and a control unit 13. The configuration shown in FIG. 7 is a functional configuration, and the hardware configuration may be different from this. Also, the functions of server 10 may be implemented in a distributed manner in a plurality of physically separated configurations. For example, server 10 may be composed of a plurality of information processing devices.

[0114] Note that the server 10 does not necessarily have to include all of the configurations described above or below. Further, the server 10 may include configurations other than those described above or below. For example, the management device 20 may include a sensor unit having the same configuration as the sensor units (sensor unit 34 or sensor unit 46) included in the base station 30 or the terminal device 40.

[0115] The communication unit 11 is a communication interface for communicating with other devices. For example, the communication unit 11 is a network interface. For example, the communication unit 11 is a LAN (Local Area Network) interface such as a NIC (Network Interface Card). Note that the communication unit 11 may be a wired interface or a wireless interface. The communication unit 11 communicates with the management device 20, the base station 30, the terminal device 40, and other servers 10 in accordance with the control of the control unit 13.

[0116] The storage unit 12 is a storage device capable of reading and writing data, such as a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory), an SRAM (Static Random Access Memory), a flash memory, or a hard disk.

[0117] The control unit 13 is a controller that controls each part of the server 10. The control unit 13 may be realized by a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or an MPU (Micro Processing Unit), for example. Specifically, the control unit 13 may be realized by a processor executing various programs stored in a storage device inside the management device 20, using a RAM (Random Access Memory) or the like as a work area. The control unit 13 may be realized by an integrated circuit such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) or an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array). Also, the control unit 13 may be realized by a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit). Any of the CPU, MPU, ASIC, FPGA, and GPU can be regarded as a controller. Note that the control unit 13 may be composed of a plurality of physically separated objects. For example, the control unit 13 may be composed of a plurality of semiconductor chips.

[0118] <2-2. Configuration of the management device> Next, the configuration of the management device 20 will be described.

[0119] The management device 20 is an information processing device (computer) that manages a wireless network. For example, the management device 20 is an information processing device that manages the communication of the base station 30.

[0120] The management device 20 may be a device that constitutes the core network CN. For example, the management device 20 may be a device having a function as an MME (Mobility Management Entity). Also, the management device 20 may be a device having a function as an AMF (Access and Mobility Management Function) and / or an SMF (Session Management Function). The MME, AMF, and SMF are control plane network function nodes in the core network CN. The management device 20 may be a device having a function as a 6G control plane network function (6G CPNF). The 6G CPNF may be composed of one or more logical nodes.

[0121] Of course, the functions of the management device 20 are not limited to the MME, AMF, SMF, and 6G CPNF. The management device 20 may be a device having functions as an NSSF (Network Slice Selection Function), an AUSF (Authentication Server Function), a PCF (Policy Control Function), and a UDM (Unified Data Management). Also, the management device 20 may be a device having a function as an HSS (Home Subscriber Server).

[0122] Note that the management device 20 may have a gateway function. For example, the management device 20 may have functions as an S-GW (Serving Gateway) or a P-GW (Packet Data Network Gateway). Also, the management device 20 may have a function of a UPF (User Plane Function). At this time, the management device 20 may have a plurality of UPFs. Also, the management device 20 may be a device having a 6G user plane network function (6G UPNF).

[0123] Further, the management device 20 may be provided with a function of executing processing related to the sensing service. For example, the management device 20 may have an application function that executes processing related to the sensing service based on a request from another communication device (for example, at least one of the server 10, the base station 30, the terminal device 40, and another management device 20).

[0124] The core network CN is composed of a plurality of network functions, and each network function may be integrated into one physical device or may be distributed among a plurality of physical devices. That is, the management device 20 can be distributed and arranged in a plurality of devices. Further, this distributed arrangement may be controlled to be executed dynamically. Also, the core network CN may be composed of one management device 20 or may be composed of a plurality of management devices. The base station 30 and the management device 20 constitute one network and provide a wireless communication service to the terminal device 40. The management device 20 is connected to the Internet, and the terminal device 40 can use various services provided via the Internet through the base station 30.

[0125] Note that the management device 20 does not necessarily have to be a device that constitutes the core network CN. For example, assume that the core network CN is a core network of W-CDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access) or cdma2000 (Code Division Multiple Access 2000). At this time, the management device 20 may be a device that functions as an RNC (Radio Network Controller).

[0126] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the configuration of the management device 20 according to the present embodiment. The management device 20 includes a communication unit 21, a storage unit 22, and a control unit 23. The configuration shown in FIG. 8 is a functional configuration, and the hardware configuration may be different from this. Also, the functions of the management device 20 may be statically or dynamically distributed and implemented in a plurality of physically separated configurations. The management device 20 may be composed of a plurality of server devices.

[0127] Note that the management device 20 does not necessarily have to include all of the above-described or below-described configurations. Also, the management device 20 may include configurations other than the above-described or below-described configurations. For example, the management device 20 may include a sensor unit having the same configuration as the sensor unit (sensor unit 34 or sensor unit 46) included in the base station 30 or the terminal device 40.

[0128] The communication unit 21 is a communication interface for communicating with a wireless communication device (for example, the base station 30). The communication unit 21 may be a network interface or a device connection interface. The communication unit 21 may be a LAN (Local Area Network) interface such as a NIC (Network Interface Card), or may be a USB (Universal Serial Bus) interface configured by a USB host controller or a USB port or the like. The communication unit 21 may be a wired interface or a wireless interface. The communication unit 21 is controlled by the control unit 23.

[0129] The storage unit 22 is a readable and writable storage device such as a DRAM, SRAM, flash memory, or hard disk. The storage unit 22 stores, for example, the connection state of the terminal device 40. The storage unit 22 stores the RRC (Radio Resource Control) state and ECM (EPS Connection Management) of the terminal device 40, or the state of 5G System CM (Connection Management). The storage unit 22 may function as a home memory for storing the location information of the terminal device 40.

[0130] The control unit 23 is a controller that controls each part of the management device 20. The control unit 23 may be realized by a processor such as a CPU or an MPU, for example. Specifically, the control unit 23 may be realized by a processor executing various programs stored in a storage device inside the management device 20 using a RAM or the like as a work area. The control unit 23 may be realized by an integrated circuit such as an ASIC or an FPGA. Also, the control unit 23 may be realized by a GPU. Any of the CPU, MPU, ASIC, FPGA, and GPU can be regarded as a controller. Note that the control unit 23 may be composed of a plurality of physically separated objects. For example, the control unit 23 may be composed of a plurality of semiconductor chips.

[0131] <2-3. Configuration of Base Station> Next, the configuration of the base station 30 will be described.

[0132] The base station 30 is a wireless communication device that performs wireless communication with other wireless communication devices (for example, the terminal device 40 or another base station 30). The base station 30 may perform wireless communication with the terminal device 40 via a relay station or directly with the terminal device 40.

[0133] The base station 30 is a device corresponding to a wireless base station (Base Station, Node B, eNB, gNB, or 6GNB, etc.) or a wireless access point (Access Point). In the following description, the base station 30 may be referred to as BS (Base Station), Node B, eNB, gNB, 6GNB, or BS30.

[0134] The base station 30 may be a wireless relay station. The base station 30 may be an optical extension device called an RRH (Remote Radio Head). The base station 30 may be a receiving station such as an FPU (Field Pickup Unit). The base station 30 may be an IAB (Integrated Access and Backhaul) donor node or an IAB relay node that provides a wireless access line and a wireless backhaul line by time-division multiplexing, frequency-division multiplexing, or space-division multiplexing.

[0135] The wireless access technology used by the base station 30 may be a cellular communication technology. The wireless access technology used by the base station 30 may be a wireless LAN technology. The wireless access technology used by the base station 30 may be an LPWA (Low Power Wide Area) communication technology. However, the wireless access technology used by the base station 30 is not limited to these and may be other wireless access technologies. The wireless communication used by the base station 30 may be wireless communication using millimeter waves or wireless communication using terahertz waves (terahertz waves). The wireless communication used by the base station 30 may be wireless communication using radio waves or wireless communication (optical wireless) using infrared rays or visible light. Also, the base station 30 may be capable of NOMA (Non-Orthogonal Multiple Access) communication with the terminal device 40. Here, NOMA communication is communication (transmission, reception, or both) using non-orthogonal resources. Note that the base station 30 may be capable of NOMA communication with other base stations 30.

[0136] Note that the base station 30 may be able to communicate with the core network via an interface between the base station and the core network (e.g., NG Interface, S1 Interface, etc.). This interface may be either wired or wireless. Also, the base station may be able to communicate with other base stations via an interface between base stations (e.g., Xn Interface, X2 Interface, F1 Interface, etc.). This interface may be either wired or wireless.

[0137] The concept of a base station (also referred to as a "base station device") includes not only donor base stations but also relay base stations (also referred to as "relay stations"). The relay base station may be any one of an RF Repeater, a Smart Repeater, and an Intelligent Surface. Also, the concept of a base station may include a Road-Side Unit (RSU). Further, the concept of a base station includes not only structures with base station functions but also devices installed in the structures.

[0138] Structures are, for example, buildings such as high-rise buildings, houses, towers, station facilities, airport facilities, port facilities, office buildings, school buildings, hospitals, factories, commercial facilities, stadiums, etc. The concept of a structure includes not only buildings but also non-building structures such as tunnels, bridges, dams, fences, and iron pillars, as well as equipment such as cranes, gates, and windmills. The concept of a structure includes not only on-land (narrow sense of the ground) or underground structures but also water structures such as piers or megafloats, and underwater structures such as ocean observation facilities. The base station can also be referred to as an information processing device.

[0139] The base station 30 may be a donor station or a relay station. Also, the base station 30 may be a fixed station or a mobile station. A mobile station is a wireless communication device (e.g., a base station) configured to be movable. At this time, the base station 30 may be a device installed on a moving body or the moving body itself. For example, a relay station with mobility can be regarded as the base station 30 as a mobile station. Also, devices that originally have mobility, such as vehicles, UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) typified by drones, and smartphones, and are equipped with the functions of a base station (at least a part of the functions of a base station) also correspond to the base station 30 as a mobile station.

[0140] Here, the moving body may be a mobile terminal such as a smartphone or a mobile phone. Also, the moving body may be a moving body that moves on land (narrowly defined ground) (e.g., vehicles such as cars, bicycles, buses, trucks, motorcycles, trains, or linear motor cars), a moving body that moves underground (e.g., in a tunnel) (e.g., a subway), a moving body that moves on water (e.g., ships such as passenger ships, cargo ships, or hovercrafts), a moving body that moves underwater (e.g., submarines such as submarines, submersible ships, or unmanned submersible vehicles), or a moving body that moves within the atmosphere (e.g., aircraft such as airplanes, airships, or drones).

[0141] The base station 30 may be a terrestrial base station (ground station) installed on the ground. The base station 30 may be a base station arranged on a terrestrial structure, or may be a base station installed on a moving body moving on the ground. The base station 30 may be an antenna installed on a structure such as a building and a signal processing device connected to the antenna. The base station 30 may be the structure or the moving body itself. "Ground" refers to not only land (narrow sense of the ground), but also the broad sense of the ground including underground, on water, and underwater. The base station 30 is not limited to a terrestrial base station. When the communication system 1 is a satellite communication system, the base station 30 may be an aircraft station. From the perspective of a satellite station, an aircraft station located on the earth is a ground station.

[0142] The base station 30 is not limited to a ground station. The base station 30 may be a non-terrestrial base station (non-ground station) that can float in the air or in space. The base station 30 may be an aircraft station or a satellite station.

[0143] The satellite station is a satellite station that can float outside the atmosphere. The satellite station may be a device mounted on a space vehicle such as an artificial satellite, or may be the space vehicle itself. The space vehicle is a moving body that moves outside the atmosphere. The space vehicle may be at least one of an artificial satellite, a spaceship, a space station, and a probe. Of course, the space vehicle may be an artificial celestial body other than these. Note that the satellite serving as the satellite station may be any of a low Earth orbiting (LEO) satellite, a medium Earth orbiting (MEO) satellite, a geostationary Earth orbiting (GEO) satellite, or a highly elliptical orbiting (HEO) satellite. The satellite station may be a device mounted on a low Earth orbiting satellite, a medium Earth orbiting satellite, a geostationary satellite, or a highly elliptical orbiting satellite.

[0144] An aircraft station is a wireless communication device that can float within the atmosphere of an aircraft or the like. The aircraft station may be a device mounted on an aircraft or the like, or may be the aircraft itself. The concept of an aircraft includes not only heavy aircraft such as airplanes or gliders, but also light aircraft such as balloons or airships. The concept of an aircraft includes not only heavy or light aircraft, but also rotary-wing aircraft such as helicopters or autogyros. The aircraft station, or the aircraft on which the aircraft station is mounted, may be an unmanned aircraft such as a drone.

[0145] The concept of an unmanned aircraft includes an unmanned aircraft system (UAS) and a tethered unmanned aircraft system. The concept of an unmanned aircraft includes a lighter than air UAS (LTA) and a heavier than air UAS (HTA). The concept of an unmanned aircraft also includes high altitude UAS platforms (HAPs).

[0146] The coverage area of base station 30 may be relatively large like a macro cell, or relatively small like a pico cell. The coverage area of base station 30 may be extremely small like a femto cell. Base station 30 may have a beamforming function. Cells or service areas may be formed for each beam. Additionally or alternatively, in addition to beamforming that gives directivity to the beam, base station 30 may have a function of pinpointing a desired wave to a predetermined location by further considering distance information from the antennas of base station 30. This function may be called Beam focusing or Point forming. Also, it may be configured to obtain sensing data by performing sensing using the beam.

[0147] FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the configuration of the base station 30 according to the present embodiment. The base station 30 includes a wireless communication unit 31, a storage unit 32, a control unit 33, and a sensor unit 34. However, the configuration shown in FIG. 9 is a functional configuration, and the hardware configuration may be different from this. Further, the functions of the base station 30 may be implemented in a distributed manner in a plurality of physically separated configurations.

[0148] Note that the base station 30 does not necessarily have to include all of the above-described or later-described configurations. For example, the base station 30 may not include the sensor unit 34. Further, the base station 30 may include a configuration other than the above-described or later-described configurations.

[0149] The wireless communication unit 31 is a signal processing unit for performing wireless communication with other wireless communication devices (for example, at least one of the terminal device 40 and other base stations 30). The wireless communication unit 31 may be referred to as a wireless transceiver or simply a transceiver. At this time, the wireless communication unit 31 may be a transceiver conforming to the specifications defined in the technical specification (TS: Technical Specification) of 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) (hereinafter referred to as a 3GPP transceiver). The 3GPP transceiver may be a 3G transceiver, a 4G (LTE) transceiver, a 5G (NR) transceiver, or a transceiver of a generation after 5G (for example, 6G). The wireless communication unit 31 is controlled by the control unit 33. The wireless communication unit 31 supports one or more wireless access methods. The wireless communication unit 31 may support at least one of NR, LTE, B5G (Beyond 5G), and 6G. In addition to NR, LTE, B5G, and 6G, the wireless communication unit 31 may also support W-CDMA and cdma2000, etc. The wireless communication unit 31 may support an automatic retransmission technique such as HARQ (Hybrid Automatic Repeat reQuest). Part or all of the processing executed by the wireless communication unit 31 may be executed by the control unit 33.

[0150] The wireless communication unit 31 includes a transmission processing unit 311, a reception processing unit 312, and an antenna 313. Alternatively, the wireless communication unit 31 may regard at least one of the transmission processing unit 311, the reception processing unit 312, and the antenna 313 as the wireless communication unit 31. The wireless communication unit 31 may include a plurality of the transmission processing unit 311, the reception processing unit 312, and the antenna 313 respectively. When the wireless communication unit 31 supports a plurality of wireless access methods, each part of the wireless communication unit 31 may be individually configured for each wireless access method. The transmission processing unit 311 and the reception processing unit 312 may be individually configured for LTE, NR, B5G, and 6G. The antenna 313 may be composed of a plurality of antenna elements, for example, a plurality of patch antennas. The wireless communication unit 31 may have a beamforming function. For example, the wireless communication unit 31 may have a polarization beamforming function using vertical polarization (V polarization) and horizontal polarization (H polarization) (or a polarization beamforming function using dual polarization in polarization directions of 45 degrees and -45 degrees from the vertical direction). Note that the wireless communication unit 31 may send out the sensing signals described above or below.

[0151] The transmission processing unit 311 performs the transmission processing of the downlink control information and the downlink data. For example, the transmission processing unit 311 encodes the downlink control information and the downlink data input from the control unit 33 using an encoding method such as block encoding, convolutional encoding, turbo encoding, etc. Here, the encoding may be performed by encoding using a Polar Code or a Low Density Parity Check Code (LDPC Code). Then, the transmission processing unit 311 modulates the encoded bits with a predetermined modulation method (e.g., BPSK, QPSK, 16QAM, 64QAM, 256QAM, or a higher-order multi-value modulation method). In this case, the signal points on the constellation do not necessarily have to be equidistant. Also, the constellation may be a non-uniform constellation (NUC: Non Uniform Constellation). Then, the transmission processing unit 311 multiplexes the modulation symbols of each channel and the downlink reference signal and arranges them in a predetermined resource element. And the transmission processing unit 311 performs various signal processes on the multiplexed signal. For example, the transmission processing unit 311 performs processes such as conversion to the frequency domain by fast Fourier transform, addition of a guard interval (cyclic prefix), generation of a baseband digital signal, conversion to an analog signal, orthogonal modulation, up-conversion, removal of extra frequency components, power amplification, etc. The signal generated by the transmission processing unit 311 is transmitted from the antenna 313.

[0152] The receiving processing unit 312 processes the uplink signal received via the antenna 313. For example, the receiving processing unit 312 performs down-conversion, removal of unnecessary frequency components, control of the amplification level, quadrature demodulation, conversion to a digital signal, removal of the guard interval (cyclic prefix), extraction of the frequency-domain signal by fast Fourier transform, etc. on the uplink signal. Then, the receiving processing unit 312 separates the uplink channel such as PUSCH (Physical Uplink Shared Channel) and PUCCH (Physical Uplink Control Channel) and the uplink reference signal from the signal on which these processes have been performed. Also, the receiving processing unit 312 demodulates the received signal using a modulation method such as BPSK (Binary Phase Shift Keying) or QPSK (Quadrature Phase Shift Keying) for the modulation symbols of the uplink channel. The modulation method used for demodulation may be 16QAM (Quadrature Amplitude Modulation), 64QAM, or 256QAM. In this case, the signal points on the constellation do not necessarily have to be equidistant. The constellation may be a non-uniform constellation (NUC). Then, the receiving processing unit 312 performs a decoding process on the encoded bits of the demodulated uplink channel. The decoded uplink data and uplink control information are output to the control unit 33.

[0153] Antenna 313 is an antenna device that mutually converts current and radio waves. Antenna 313 may be composed of one antenna element, for example, one patch antenna. Antenna 313 may also be composed of a plurality of antenna elements, for example, a plurality of patch antennas. When Antenna 313 is composed of a plurality of antenna elements, the wireless communication unit 31 may have a beamforming function. The wireless communication unit 31 may be configured to generate a directional beam by controlling the directivity of a wireless signal using a plurality of antenna elements. Antenna 313 may be a dual-polarization antenna. When Antenna 313 is a dual-polarization antenna, the wireless communication unit 31 may use vertical polarization (V polarization) and horizontal polarization (H polarization) (or Dual polarization in polarization directions of 45 degrees and -45 degrees from the vertical direction) when transmitting a wireless signal. The wireless communication unit 31 may control the directivity of a wireless signal transmitted using vertical polarization and horizontal polarization (or Dual polarization in polarization directions of 45 degrees and -45 degrees from the vertical direction). Further, the wireless communication unit 31 may transmit and receive signals space-division multiplexed via a plurality of layers composed of a plurality of antenna elements.

[0154] The storage unit 32 is a readable and writable storage device such as a DRAM, SRAM, flash memory, or hard disk.

[0155] The control unit 33 is a controller that controls each part of the base station 30. The control unit 33 controls the wireless communication unit so as to perform wireless communication with other wireless communication devices (for example, the terminal device 40 or another base station 30). The control unit 33 may be realized by a processor such as a CPU or an MPU. Specifically, the control unit 33 may be realized by the processor executing various programs stored in the storage device inside the base station 30, using a RAM or the like as a work area. The control unit 33 may be realized by an integrated circuit such as an ASIC or an FPGA. Also, the control unit 33 may be realized by a GPU. Any of the CPU, MPU, ASIC, FPGA, and GPU can be regarded as a controller. Note that the control unit 33 may be composed of a plurality of physically separated objects. For example, the control unit 33 may be composed of a plurality of semiconductor chips.

[0156] The control unit 33 includes at least one block among a signaling unit 331, a sensing unit 332, a feedback unit 333, and a selection unit 334. The control unit 33 may include a plurality of each of these blocks or may include only one of each of them.

[0157] Each block (signaling unit 331 to selection unit 334) constituting the control unit 33 is a functional block indicating the function of the control unit 33. These functional blocks may be software blocks or hardware blocks. For example, each of the above-described functional blocks may be one software module realized by software (including a microprogram), or may be one circuit block on a semiconductor chip (die). Of course, each functional block may be one processor or one integrated circuit. The control unit 33 may be configured with functional units different from the above-described functional blocks. The method of configuring the functional blocks is arbitrary. Note that the operation of the control unit 33 may be the same as the operation of the control unit (control unit 13, control unit 23, or control unit 43) of the server 10, the management device 20, or the terminal device 40.

[0158] The sensor unit 34 is composed of one or more sensors that detect various data related to the base station 30. For example, the sensor unit 34 may be configured to receive, detect, or measure sensing signals transmitted by the same or other communication devices (transmitting devices, Sensing Transmitters). In this case, the sensor unit 34 may be the same functional unit as the wireless communication unit 31. Further or alternatively, when the wireless communication unit 31 is regarded as the first wireless communication unit, the sensor unit 34 may be regarded as the second wireless communication unit. Furthermore, one or more sensors included in the sensor unit 34 may include sensors that perform detection regarding the surroundings of the base station 30. For example, one or more sensors included in the sensor unit 34 may include at least one of a geomagnetic sensor, an illuminance sensor, a distance measurement sensor (e.g., a ToF (Time of Flight) sensor), a barometric pressure sensor, a temperature sensor, an optical sensor, an acoustic sensor, and an image sensor. Also, the sensor unit 34 (or one or more sensors included in the sensor unit 34) may be configured to perform sensing using the above-described beamforming function and acquire sensing data.

[0159] Note that the sensors included in the sensor unit 34 are not limited to sensors that detect the surroundings of the base station 30. One or more sensors included in the sensor unit 34 may include sensors that detect the position or orientation of the base station 30. For example, one or more sensors included in the sensor unit 34 may include an acceleration sensor and / or a gyro sensor. For example, one or more sensors included in the sensor unit 34 may include a 6DoF (Six degrees of freedom) sensor or a 3DoF (Three degrees of freedom) sensor. Also, one or more sensors included in the sensor unit 34 may include a positioning sensor such as a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) sensor. The GNSS sensor may be a GPS (Global Positioning System) sensor, a GLONASS sensor, a Galileo sensor, or a QZSS (Quasi-Zenith Satellite System) sensor.

[0160] One or more sensors included in the sensor unit 34 may include a sensor unit configured by combining a plurality of sensors. For example, one or more sensors included in the sensor unit 34 may include an inertial measurement unit (IMU: Inertial Measurement Unit) configured by combining a plurality of sensors among a positioning sensor (e.g., GNSS sensor), an acceleration sensor, and a gyro sensor. The sensor unit can also be regarded as a type of sensor.

[0161] In addition, one or more sensors included in the sensor unit 34 may include devices / components configured using sensors. For example, one or more sensors included in the sensor unit 34 may include at least one of a camera (e.g., a visible light camera, an infrared camera, or a light field camera, etc.), LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging), radar (e.g., a microwave radar or a millimeter wave radar, etc.), a microphone, and an image device. The image device is a device configured by one or more sensors. A device / component configured using sensors can also be regarded as a type of sensor.

[0162] In addition, one or more sensors included in the sensor unit 34 may include sensors that detect at least one of the color of an object, the speed of an object, the acceleration of an object, the reflectivity of an object, the transmittance of an object, the distance to an object, the temperature of the object / environment, geomagnetism, illuminance, atmospheric pressure, light, and sound.

[0163] In addition, one or more sensors included in the sensor unit 34 may include sensors / sensor units / devices / components configured by combining two or more sensors selected from the above-mentioned plurality of sensors.

[0164] Note that in this embodiment, one or more sensing functions realized by the devices / components included in the base station 30 may be regarded as one or more sensors included in the base station 30. For example, one or more sensing functions of the wireless communication unit 31 may be regarded as one or more sensors included in the base station 30. At this time, one or more sensing functions of the wireless communication unit 31 may include an RF (Radio Frequency)-based sensing function (e.g., an RF-based sensing function supported by a 3GPP transceiver). In this case, the wireless communication unit 31 (e.g., a 3GPP transceiver) may be regarded as the sensor unit 34 (or a sensor included in the sensor unit 34).

[0165] In the foregoing or the following description, the description of the sensor may be distinguished between a physical sensor and a logical sensor. That is, the sensor described above or below may indicate a physical sensor or a logical sensor.

[0166] For example, the physical sensor may be at least one of the examples of the sensor described above or below. For example, the physical sensor may be a geomagnetic sensor, an illuminance sensor, a distance measurement sensor (e.g., a ToF (Time of Flight) sensor), a barometric pressure sensor, a temperature sensor, a light sensor, a sound sensor, an image sensor, an acceleration sensor, a gyro sensor, a 6DoF (Six degrees of freedom) sensor, a 3DoF (Three degrees of freedom) sensor, a positioning sensor (e.g., a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) sensor such as a GPS (Global Positioning System) sensor, a GLONASS sensor, a Galileo sensor, or a QZSS (Quasi-Zenith Satellite System) sensor), an inertial measurement unit (IMU: Inertial Measurement Unit), a camera (e.g., a visible light camera, an infrared camera, or a light field camera, etc.), LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging), a radar (e.g., a microwave radar or a millimeter wave radar, etc.), a microphone, an image device, and a sensing function (e.g., one or more sensing functions of the wireless communication unit 31 or the wireless communication unit 41), of which at least one may be sufficient.

[0167] For example, the logical sensor may be an entity related to the sensor defined by a standard specification (e.g., 3GPP Technical Standard). One logical sensor may be associated with one or more physical sensors (including a plurality of sensors of the same type and a plurality of sensors of different types). Further or alternatively, a plurality of logical sensors may be associated with a plurality of physical sensors.

[0168] In some embodiments, the base station 30 may be composed of a set of a plurality of physical or logical devices. As an example, the base station 30 of the present embodiment may be divided into a plurality of devices such as a BBU (Baseband Unit) and an RU (Radio Unit). The base station 30 may be interpreted as a set of these plurality of devices. Also, the base station may be either the BBU or the RU, or both. The BBU and the RU may be connected by a predetermined interface such as eCPRI (enhanced Common Public Radio Interface).

[0169] The RU may be equivalently referred to as an RRU (Remote Radio Unit) or an RD (Radio DoT). The RU may correspond to a gNB-DU (gNB Distributed Unit) described later. The BBU may correspond to a gNB-CU (gNB Central Unit) described later. The RU may be a device integrally formed with an antenna. The antenna of the base station 30, for example, the antenna integrally formed with the RU, may adopt an Advanced Antenna System and support MIMO such as FD-MIMO or beamforming. The antenna of the base station 30 may include, for example, 64 transmitting antenna ports and 64 receiving antenna ports.

[0170] The antenna mounted on the RU may be an antenna panel composed of one or more antenna elements, and the RU may mount one or more antenna panels. The RU may mount two types of antenna panels, namely, a horizontally polarized antenna panel and a vertically polarized antenna panel. The RU may mount two types of antenna panels, namely, a right-handed circularly polarized antenna panel and a left-handed circularly polarized antenna panel, or an antenna panel with a polarization direction of 45 degrees from the vertical direction and an antenna panel with a polarization direction of -45 degrees. A plurality of antennas having these multiple polarization directions may be implemented on one antenna panel. The RU may form and control an independent beam for each antenna panel.

[0171] Multiple base stations 30 may be connected to each other. One or more base stations 30 may be included in a radio access network (RAN). At this time, the base station 30 may simply be referred to as a RAN, a RAN node, an AN (Access Network), or an AN node, etc. The RAN in LTE may be called EUTRAN (Enhanced Universal Terrestrial RAN). The RAN in NR may be called NGRAN. Also, the RAN in 6G may be called 6GRAN. The RAN in W-CDMA (UMTS) may be called UTRAN.

[0172] The base station 30 of LTE may be referred to as an eNodeB (Evolved Node B) or eNB. At this time, EUTRAN includes one or more eNodeBs (eNBs). The base station 30 of NR may be referred to as a gNodeB or gNB. At this time, NGRAN includes one or more gNBs. The base station of 6G may be referred to as 6GNodeB, 6gNodeB, 6GNB, or 6gNB. At this time, 6GRAN includes one or more 6GNBs. EUTRAN may include a gNB (en-gNB) connected to the core network (EPC) in the communication system (EPS) of LTE. NGRAN may include an ng-eNB connected to the core network 5GC in the 5G communication system (5GS).

[0173] When the base station 30 is an eNB, gNB, 6GNB, etc., the base station 30 may be referred to as 3GPP Access. When the base station 30 is a wireless access point, the base station 30 may be referred to as Non-3GPP Access. The base station 30 may be an optical extension device called a Remote Radio Head (RRH). When the base station 30 is a gNB, the base station 30 may be a combination of the aforementioned gNB-CU and gNB-DU, or either gNB-CU or gNB-DU.

[0174] Here, the gNB-CU hosts a plurality of upper layers (e.g., Radio Resource Control (RRC), Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP), Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP)) in the Access Stratum for communication with the UE. On the other hand, the gNB-DU hosts a plurality of lower layers (e.g., Radio Link Control (RLC), Medium Access Control (MAC), Physical layer) in the Access Stratum. That is, among the messages / information described later, RRC signaling (quasi-static notification) may be generated by the gNB-CU, while MAC CE and DCI (dynamic notification) may be generated by the gNB-DU. Or, among the RRC configurations (quasi-static notifications), for some configurations (e.g., IE: cellGroupConfig), they may be generated by the gNB-DU, and the remaining configurations may be generated by the gNB-CU. These configurations may be transmitted and received through the F1 interface described later.

[0175] The base station 30 may be configured to be communicable with other base stations. When a plurality of base stations 30 are eNBs or a combination of an eNB and an en-gNB, these base stations 30 may be connected by an X2 interface. When a plurality of base stations 30 are gNBs or a combination of a gn-eNB and a gNB, these base stations 30 may be connected by an Xn interface. When a plurality of base stations 30 are a combination of a gNB-CU and a gNB-DU, these base stations 30 may be connected by the aforementioned F1 interface. Messages / information to be described later (e.g., RRC signaling, MAC CE (MAC Control Element), or DCI (Downlink Control Information), etc.) may be transmitted between the plurality of base stations 30 via these inter-base station interfaces (e.g., X2 interface, Xn interface, or F1 interface, etc.).

[0176] The cell provided by the base station 30 may be called a serving cell. The concept of a serving cell includes a PCell (Primary Cell) and an SCell (Secondary Cell). When dual connectivity is provided to the terminal device 40, the PCell provided by the MN (Master Node) and zero or one or more SCells may be called a master cell group. Dual connectivity may be at least one of EUTRA-EUTRA Dual Connectivity, EUTRA-NR Dual Connectivity (ENDC), EUTRA-NR Dual Connectivity with 5GC, NR-EUTRA Dual Connectivity (NEDC), NR-NR Dual Connectivity, NR-6G Dual Connectivity, and 6G-NR Dual Connectivity. Of course, dual connectivity is not limited to these.

[0177] The serving cell may include a PSCell (Primary Secondary Cell, or Primary SCG Cell). When dual connectivity is provided to the terminal device 40, the PSCell provided by the SN (Secondary Node) and zero or one or more SCells may be referred to as an SCG (Secondary Cell Group). Unless a special configuration (e.g., PUCCH on SCell) is set, the physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) is transmitted by the PCell and the PSCell, but not by the SCell. Radio Link Failure is detected by the PCell and the PSCell, but not (not necessarily) by the SCell. Thus, the PCell and the PSCell also serve a special role among the serving cells and are also referred to as SpCell (Special Cell).

[0178] One cell may be associated with one downlink component carrier and one uplink component carrier. The system bandwidth corresponding to one cell may be divided into a plurality of BWPs (Bandwidth Parts). At this time, one or more BWPs are set for the terminal device 40, and one BWP may be used as the active BWP for the terminal device 40. The radio resources that the terminal device 40 can use, such as the frequency band, numerology (subcarrier spacing), or slot format (Slot configuration), may be different for each cell, each component carrier, or each BWP.

[0179] <2-4. Configuration of the Terminal Device> Next, the configuration of the terminal device 40 will be described.

[0180] The terminal device 40 is a wireless communication device that performs wireless communication with other wireless communication devices (for example, the base station 30 or another terminal device 40). In the following description, the terminal device 40 may be referred to as a UE (User Equipment) or UE40.

[0181] Any form of information processing device (computer) can be adopted for the terminal device 40. For example, the terminal device 40 may be a mobile terminal such as a mobile phone, a smart device (smartphone or tablet), a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), or a notebook PC. Also, the terminal device 40 may be a communication module connected to an information processing device (for example, an imaging device without a wireless communication function) and providing a wireless communication function to the information processing device. Further, the terminal device 40 may be an imaging device (for example, a camcorder) equipped with a wireless communication function.

[0182] Also, the terminal device 40 may be a bike, a mobile relay vehicle, etc. equipped with a communication device such as an FPU (Field Pickup Unit). Further, the terminal device 40 may be an M2M (Machine to Machine) device or an IoT (Internet of Things) device. Also, the terminal device 40 may be a wearable device such as a smartwatch.

[0183] Further, the terminal device 40 may be an XR (Extended Reality) device such as an AR (Augmented Reality) device, a VR (Virtual Reality) device, or an MR (Mixed Reality) device. At this time, the XR device may be a glasses-type device such as AR glasses or MR glasses, or a head-mounted device such as a VR head-mounted display. When the terminal device 40 is an XR device, the terminal device 40 may be a stand-alone device composed only of a user-wearing part (for example, a glasses part). Further, the terminal device 40 may be a terminal-linked device composed of a user-wearing part (for example, a glasses part) and a terminal part (for example, a smart device) interlocked with the part.

[0184] The terminal device 40 may be capable of NOMA communication with the base station 30. When the terminal device 40 communicates with the base station 30, it may be possible to use an automatic retransmission technique such as HARQ. The terminal device 40 may be capable of sidelink communication with other terminal devices 40. When the terminal device 40 performs sidelink communication, it may be possible to use an automatic retransmission technique such as HARQ. When the terminal device 40 performs sidelink communication with other terminal devices 40, NOMA communication may be possible. The terminal device 40 may be capable of LPWA communication with other wireless communication devices such as the base station 30. The wireless communication used by the terminal device 40 may be wireless communication using millimeter waves. The wireless communication used by the terminal device 40 may be wireless communication using radio waves including sidelink communication, or may be wireless communication using infrared rays or visible light, that is, optical wireless.

[0185] The terminal device 40 may be a movable wireless communication device, that is, a mobile device. The terminal device 40 may be a wireless communication device installed on a mobile object, or the mobile object itself. The terminal device 40 may be a vehicle (Vehicle) moving on a road such as a car, a bus, a truck, or a motorcycle, or a vehicle of a train running on a track, or a wireless communication device mounted on the vehicle. The mobile object may be a mobile terminal, or a mobile object moving on land (narrow sense of the ground), underground, on water, or underwater. Also, the mobile object may be a mobile object moving within the atmosphere such as an aircraft, a flying boat, a balloon, a helicopter, etc., or a mobile object moving outside the atmosphere such as an artificial satellite. The mobile object may be a UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) such as a drone. Also, the terminal device 40 may be a wireless communication device mounted on a mobile object.

[0186] The terminal device 40 may be capable of communicating by connecting to a plurality of base stations 30 or a plurality of cells simultaneously. When one base station 30 supports a communication area via a plurality of cells (for example, pCell or sCell), by using carrier aggregation (CA) technology, dual connectivity (DC) technology, or multi-connectivity (MC) technology, etc., those plurality of cells can be bundled to communicate between the base station 30 and the terminal device 40. Alternatively, communication can also be performed between the terminal device 40 and those plurality of base stations 30 by using coordinated multi-point transmission and reception (CoMP) technology via cells of different base stations 30.

[0187] The terminal device 40 may be connected to a plurality of base stations 30 or a plurality of cells for communication. Also, the terminal device 40 may transmit and / or receive sensing signals to / from each of those plurality of base stations 30. The terminal device 40 may be configured to receive information regarding the sensing signal (e.g., information regarding resources) from at least one of the plurality of base stations 30, or may be configured to receive information regarding the sensing signal (e.g., information regarding resources) from each of the plurality of base stations 30. Also, the terminal device 40 may transmit and / or receive sensing signals in each of those plurality of cells. The terminal device 40 may be configured to receive information regarding the sensing signal (e.g., information regarding resources) from at least one of the plurality of cells, or may be configured to receive information regarding the sensing signal (e.g., information regarding resources) in each of the plurality of cells.

[0188] The terminal device 40 may be a relay terminal that relays communication to a remote terminal.

[0189] Multi-static sensing may be performed at the base station 30, the remote terminal, and the relay terminal. Specifically, sensing signals may be transmitted from each of the base station 30 and the relay terminal. The remote terminal may receive the sensing signals transmitted from each of the base station 30 and the relay terminal.

[0190] The base station 30 and / or the relay terminal may transmit information regarding the sensing signal transmitted and / or received at the relay terminal and / or the remote terminal to the relay terminal and / or the remote terminal. In other words, the relay terminal and / or the remote terminal may receive information regarding the sensing signal transmitted and / or received at the relay terminal and / or the remote terminal from the base station 30 and / or the relay terminal.

[0191] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the configuration of the terminal device 40 according to the present embodiment. The terminal device 40 includes a wireless communication unit 41, a storage unit 42, a control unit 43, an input unit 44, an output unit 45, and a sensor unit 46. The configuration shown in FIG. 10 is a functional configuration, and the hardware configuration may be different from this. Further, the functions of the terminal device 40 may be implemented in a distributed manner in a plurality of physically separated configurations.

[0192] Note that the terminal device 40 does not necessarily have to include all of the above-described or later-described configurations. For example, the terminal device 40 may not include at least one of the input unit 44, the output unit 45, and the sensor unit 46. Further, the base station 30 may include a configuration other than the above-described or later-described configurations. The terminal device 40 may have a beamforming function. Further, the terminal device 40 may be configured to acquire sensing data by performing sensing using a beam.

[0193] The wireless communication unit 41 is a signal processing unit for wireless communication with other wireless communication devices (for example, the base station 30 or another terminal device 40). The wireless communication unit 41 may be referred to as a wireless transceiver or simply a transceiver. At this time, the wireless communication unit 41 may be a transceiver conforming to the standards defined in the 3GPP technical specification (TS: Technical Specification) (hereinafter referred to as a 3GPP transceiver). The 3GPP transceiver may be a 3G transceiver, a 4G (LTE) transceiver, a 5G (NR) transceiver, or a transceiver of a generation after 5G. The wireless communication unit 41 is controlled, for example, by the control unit 43. The wireless communication unit 41 supports one or more wireless access methods. The wireless communication unit 41 may support at least one of NR, LTE, B5G (Beyond 5G), and 6G. In addition to NR, LTE, B5G, and 6G, the wireless communication unit 41 may also support W-CDMA, cdma2000, etc. The wireless communication unit 41 may support an automatic retransmission technique such as HARQ (Hybrid Automatic Repeat reQuest). Part or all of the processing executed by the wireless communication unit 41 may be executed by the control unit 43.

[0194] The wireless communication unit 41 includes a transmission processing unit 411, a reception processing unit 412, and an antenna 413. At least one of the transmission processing unit 411, the reception processing unit 412, and the antenna 413 may be regarded as the wireless communication unit 41. The wireless communication unit 41 may include a plurality of each of the transmission processing unit 411, the reception processing unit 412, and the antenna 413. When the wireless communication unit 41 supports a plurality of wireless access methods, each part of the wireless communication unit 41 may be individually configured for each wireless access method. The transmission processing unit 411 and the reception processing unit 412 may be individually configured for LTE, NR, B5G, and 6G. The antenna 413 may be composed of a plurality of antenna elements, for example, a plurality of patch antennas. The wireless communication unit 41 may have a beamforming function. For example, the wireless communication unit 41 may have a polarization beamforming function using vertical polarization (V polarization) and horizontal polarization (H polarization) (or a polarization beamforming function using dual polarization in polarization directions of 45 degrees and -45 degrees from the vertical direction). Note that the wireless communication unit 41 may send out the sensing signals described above or below.

[0195] The storage unit 42 is a readable and writable storage device such as a DRAM, SRAM, flash memory, or hard disk.

[0196] The control unit 43 is a controller that controls each part of the terminal device 40. The control unit 43 controls the wireless communication unit so as to perform wireless communication with other wireless communication devices (for example, the base station 30 or other terminal devices 40). The control unit 43 may be realized by a processor such as a CPU or an MPU. Specifically, the control unit 23 may be realized by the processor executing various programs stored in the storage device inside the terminal device 40, using the RAM or the like as a work area. The control unit 43 may be realized by an integrated circuit such as an ASIC or an FPGA. The CPU, MPU, ASIC, and FPGA can all be regarded as controllers. The control unit 43 may be realized by a GPU. The CPU, MPU, ASIC, FPGA, and GPU can all be regarded as controllers. Note that the control unit 43 may be composed of a plurality of physically separated objects. For example, the control unit 43 may be composed of a plurality of semiconductor chips.

[0197] The control unit 43 includes at least one block of a signaling unit 431, a sensing unit 432, a feedback unit 433, and a selection unit 434. The control unit 43 may include a plurality of these blocks respectively, or may include only one of them respectively.

[0198] Each block (signaling unit 431 to selection unit 434) constituting the control unit 43 is a functional block indicating the function of the control unit 43. These functional blocks may be software blocks or hardware blocks. For example, each of the above functional blocks may be one software module realized by software (including a microprogram), or may be one circuit block on a semiconductor chip (die). Of course, each functional block may be one processor or one integrated circuit respectively. The control unit 43 may be composed of functional units different from the above functional blocks. The method of configuring the functional blocks is arbitrary. Note that the operation of the control unit 43 may be the same as the operation of the control unit (control unit 13, control unit 23, or control unit 33) of the server 10, the management device 20, or the base station 30.

[0199] The input unit 44 is an input device that receives various inputs from the outside. For example, the input unit 44 is an operating device for the user to perform various operations, such as a keyboard, a mouse, operation keys, voice input, etc. When a touch panel is adopted in the terminal device 40, the touch panel is also included in the input unit 44. In this case, the user performs various operations by touching the screen with a finger or a stylus.

[0200] The output unit 45 is a device that performs various outputs to the outside, such as sound, light, vibration, and image. The output unit 45 includes a display unit that displays various information. The display unit is, for example, a display device such as a liquid crystal display or an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) display. When a touch panel is adopted in the terminal device 40, the display unit may be integrated with the input unit 44. Also, when the terminal device 40 is an XR device, the terminal device 40 may be a transmissive device that projects an image on glass, or a retinal projection type device that projects an image directly onto the user's retina. The output unit 45 performs various outputs to the user according to the control of the control unit 43.

[0201] The sensor unit 46 is composed of one or more sensors that detect various data related to the terminal device 40. For example, the sensor unit 46 may be configured to receive, detect, or measure sensing signals transmitted by the same or other communication devices (transmitting devices, Sensing Transmitters). In this case, the sensor unit 46 may be the same functional unit as the wireless communication unit 41. Further or alternatively, when the wireless communication unit 41 is regarded as the first wireless communication unit, the sensor unit 46 may be regarded as the second wireless communication unit. Furthermore, one or more sensors included in the sensor unit 46 may include sensors that detect the position or orientation of the terminal device 40. For example, one or more sensors included in the sensor unit 46 may include an acceleration sensor and / or a gyro sensor. For example, one or more sensors included in the sensor unit 46 may include a 6DoF sensor or a 3DoF sensor. Also, one or more sensors included in the sensor unit 46 may include a positioning sensor (e.g., a GNSS sensor). The GNSS sensor may be a GPS sensor, a GLONASS sensor, a Galileo sensor, or a QZSS sensor. Also, the sensor unit 46 (or one or more sensors included in the sensor unit 46) may be configured to perform sensing using the above-described beamforming function and acquire sensing data.

[0202] Note that the sensors included in the sensor unit 46 are not limited to sensors that detect the position or orientation of the terminal device 40. One or more sensors included in the sensor unit 46 may include sensors that detect the surroundings of the terminal device 40. For example, one or more sensors included in the sensor unit 46 may include at least one of a geomagnetic sensor, an illuminance sensor, a distance measurement sensor (e.g., a ToF sensor), a barometric pressure sensor, a temperature sensor, a light sensor, a sound sensor, and an image sensor.

[0203] One or more sensors included in the sensor unit 46 may include a sensor unit configured by combining a plurality of sensors. For example, one or more sensors included in the sensor unit 46 may include an inertial measurement unit configured by combining a plurality of sensors among a positioning sensor (e.g., GNSS sensor), an acceleration sensor, and a gyro sensor. The sensor unit can also be regarded as a type of sensor.

[0204] In addition, one or more sensors included in the sensor unit 46 may include a device / part configured using a sensor. For example, one or more sensors included in the sensor unit 46 may include at least one of a camera (e.g., visible light camera, infrared camera, or light field camera, etc.), LiDAR, radar (e.g., microwave radar or millimeter wave radar, etc.), microphone, and image device. The image device is a device composed of one or more sensors. The device / part configured using a sensor can also be regarded as a type of sensor.

[0205] In addition, one or more sensors included in the sensor unit 46 may include a sensor that detects at least one of the color of an object, the speed of an object, the acceleration of an object, the reflectivity of an object, the transmittance of an object, the distance to an object, the temperature of the object / environment, geomagnetism, illuminance, atmospheric pressure, light, and sound.

[0206] In addition, one or more sensors included in the sensor unit 46 may include a sensor / sensor unit / device / part configured by combining two or more sensors selected from the above-mentioned plurality of sensors.

[0207] In addition, in this embodiment, one or more sensing functions realized by devices / components included in the terminal device 40 may be regarded as one or more sensors included in the terminal device 40. For example, one or more sensing functions of the wireless communication unit 41 may be regarded as one or more sensors included in the terminal device 40. At this time, the one or more sensing functions of the wireless communication unit 41 may include RF-based sensing functions (for example, RF-based sensing functions supported by a 3GPP transceiver). In this case, the wireless communication unit 41 (for example, a 3GPP transceiver) may be regarded as the sensor unit 46 (or a sensor included in the sensor unit 46).

[0208] As described above, the description of the sensor may be distinguished into a physical sensor and a logical sensor. That is, the sensors described above or below may indicate a physical sensor or a logical sensor.

[0209] <<3. Sensing Scenario>> Having described the configuration of the communication system 1 above, next, the sensing scenario in this embodiment will be described. In this embodiment, the sensing scenario is defined based on at least the type of the node that transmits the sensing signal and / or the node that receives the sensing signal.

[0210] In the following description, a communication node that transmits a sensing signal may be referred to as a transmitting node, and a node that receives a sensing signal may be referred to as a receiving node. The communication node is a communication device (for example, the base station 30 or the terminal device 40) included in the communication system 1. The communication node can be paraphrased as a node, an entity, or a communication entity. Also, the transmitting node can be paraphrased as a transmitting entity. Also, the receiving node can be paraphrased as a receiving entity.

[0211] Hereinafter, as scenarios of monostatic sensing and bistatic sensing, six sensing scenarios (the first to sixth sensing scenarios) will be described. Multistatic sensing will be described later.

[0212] <3-1. The First Sensing Scenario> FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining the first sensing scenario. The first sensing scenario is a scenario of monostatic sensing by the base station 30. In the first sensing scenario, the base station 30 performs both transmission and reception of the sensing signal. That is, in the first sensing scenario, the base station 30 transmits the sensing signal, and the base station 30 receives the sensing signal reflected by the object.

[0213] The sensing result obtained based on the sensing signal may be used at the base station 30 that transmitted the sensing signal. Note that the base station 30 may transmit the sensing result to other communication nodes.

[0214] <3-2. The Second Sensing Scenario> FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining the second sensing scenario. The second sensing scenario is a scenario of monostatic sensing by the terminal device 40. In the second sensing scenario, the terminal device 40 performs both transmission and reception of the sensing signal. That is, in the second sensing scenario, the terminal device 40 transmits the sensing signal, and the terminal device 40 receives the sensing signal reflected by the object.

[0215] The sensing result obtained based on the sensing signal may be used at the terminal device 40 that transmitted the sensing signal. Note that the terminal device 40 may transmit the sensing result to other communication nodes.

[0216] <3-3. The Third Sensing Scenario> FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining a third sensing scenario. The third sensing scenario is a bistatic sensing scenario from base station 30 to terminal device 40. In the third sensing scenario, the sensing signal is transmitted from base station 30 and received by terminal device 40. That is, in the third sensing scenario, base station 30 transmits the sensing signal, and terminal device 40 receives the sensing signal reflected by the object.

[0217] For example, in the third sensing scenario, the sensing signal is, for example, a downlink signal transmitted from base station 30 using downlink resources. Alternatively, the sensing signal is, for example, a predetermined sensing signal transmitted from base station 30 using downlink resources. In this case, terminal device 40 may receive the downlink signal transmitted from base station 30 using downlink resources as the sensing signal.

[0218] The sensing result obtained based on the sensing signal may be used in terminal device 40 that receives the sensing signal. Note that terminal device 40 may transmit the sensing result to other communication nodes. For example, terminal device 40 may feedback the sensing result to base station 30 that transmitted the sensing signal by the method described later. Note that in the foregoing or the following, the sensing result and the sensing data may be distinguished. The sensing data may mean data sensed by a Sensing Receiver, while on the other hand, the sensing result may indicate an output result after performing a predetermined process on the sensing data.

[0219] <3-4. The Fourth Sensing Scenario> FIG. 14 is a diagram for explaining a fourth sensing scenario. The fourth sensing scenario is a bistatic sensing scenario from the terminal device 40 to the base station 30. In the fourth sensing scenario, the sensing signal is transmitted from the terminal device 40 and received at the base station 30. That is, in the fourth sensing scenario, the terminal device 40 transmits the sensing signal, and the base station 30 receives the sensing signal reflected by the object.

[0220] For example, in the fourth sensing scenario, the sensing signal is, for example, an uplink signal transmitted from the terminal device 40 using an uplink resource. Alternatively, the sensing signal is, for example, a predetermined sensing signal transmitted from the terminal device 40 using an uplink resource. In this case, the base station 30 may receive the signal transmitted from the terminal device 40 using the uplink resource as the sensing signal.

[0221] The sensing result obtained based on the sensing signal may be used at the base station 30 that receives the sensing signal. Note that the base station 30 may transmit the sensing result to other communication nodes. For example, the base station 30 may feedback the sensing result to the terminal device 40 that transmitted the sensing signal by a method described later.

[0222] <3-5. The Fifth Sensing Scenario> FIG. 15 is a diagram for explaining a fifth sensing scenario. The fifth sensing scenario is a bistatic sensing scenario from a certain terminal device 40 (in the example of FIG. 15, the terminal device 40 1 ) to another terminal device 40 (in the example of FIG. 15, the terminal device 40 2 ). In the fifth sensing scenario, the sensing signal is transmitted from a certain terminal device 40 and received at another terminal device 40. That is, in the fifth sensing scenario, as shown in FIG. 15 for example, the terminal device 40 1 transmits the sensing signal, and the terminal device 40 2 receives the sensing signal reflected by the object.

[0223] For example, in the fifth sensing scenario, the sensing signal is, for example, a sidelink signal transmitted from the terminal device 40 1 using sidelink resources. Alternatively, the sensing signal is, for example, a predetermined sensing signal transmitted from the terminal device 40 1 using sidelink resources. In this case, the terminal device 40 2 may receive, as a sensing signal, a signal transmitted from the terminal device 40 1 using sidelink resources.

[0224] The sensing result obtained based on the sensing signal may be used in the terminal device 40 2 that receives the sensing signal. Note that the terminal device 40 2 may transmit the sensing result to other communication nodes. For example, the terminal device 40 2 may feedback the sensing result to the terminal device 40 1 that transmitted the sensing signal by a method described later.

[0225] <3-6. The Sixth Sensing Scenario> FIG. 16 is a diagram for explaining the sixth sensing scenario. The sixth sensing scenario is a bistatic sensing scenario from a certain base station 30 (in the example of FIG. 16, base station 30 1 ) to another base station 30 (in the example of FIG. 16, base station 30 2 ). In the sixth sensing scenario, the sensing signal is transmitted from a certain base station 30 and received by another base station 30. That is, in the sixth sensing scenario, for example, as shown in FIG. 16, the base station 30 1 transmits the sensing signal, and the base station 30 2 receives the sensing signal reflected by the object.

[0226] For example, in the sixth sensing scenario, the sensing signal is, for example, from the base station 30 1It is an uplink / downlink signal transmitted using an uplink resource / downlink resource. Alternatively, the sensing signal is, for example, a base station 30 1 A predetermined sensing signal transmitted using an uplink resource / downlink resource. In this case, the base station 30 2 is the base station 30 1 may receive, as a sensing signal, a signal transmitted using an uplink resource / downlink resource from the base station 30

[0227] The sensing result obtained based on the sensing signal may be used at the base station 30 that receives the sensing signal 2 . Note that the base station 30 2 may transmit the sensing result to other communication nodes. For example, the base station 30 2 may feedback the sensing result to the base station 30 that transmitted the sensing signal by the method described later 1 . For example, the base station 30 2 may feedback the sensing result to the base station 30 that transmitted the sensing signal via the X2 interface or the core network 1 .

[0228] Also, in the above-described sensing scenario, an example of receiving a reflected sensing signal was described. However, the examples of the present embodiment are not limited to this. For example, the communication device may receive a transmitted sensing signal. The wireless communication used for transmitting or receiving the sensing signal may be wireless communication using millimeter waves or wireless communication using terahertz waves (terahertz waves).

[0229] <<4. Resource Allocation>> The sensing scenario of the present embodiment has been described above. Before explaining the operation of the communication system 1, the allocation of resources for transmitting the sensing signal will be explained.

[0230] As described above, the communication devices (base station 30 and / or terminal device 40) included in the communication system 1 transmit a sensing signal using wireless communication resources (hereinafter also simply referred to as resources) for cellular communication. Hereinafter, when the sensing signal is transmitted using downlink resources, when it is transmitted using uplink resources, and when it is transmitted using sidelink resources, the resource allocation in each case will be described.

[0231] <4-1. When transmitted using downlink resources> First, the resource allocation when the sensing signal is transmitted using downlink wireless communication resources will be described. In the following description, the sensing signal transmitted using downlink resources may be referred to as a downlink sensing signal.

[0232] <4-1-1. Downlink sensing signal> The downlink sensing signal is, for example, a downlink signal or a predetermined sensing signal transmitted from the base station 30 using downlink resources. The downlink sensing signal may be, for example, at least one of the signals shown in the following (D1) to (D9).

[0233] (D1) PRS (Positioning Reference Signal) (D2) CSI-RS (Channel State Information Reference Signal) (D3) SSB (SS / PBCH Block) (D4) PSS (Primary synchronization signal) (D5) SSS (Secondary synchronization signal) (D6) DMRS (Demodulation reference signal) (D7) PT-RS (Phase-tracking reference signal) (D8) RIM RS (Remote interference management reference signal) (D9) DRS (Detection reference signal)

[0234] Also, the downlink sensing signal may be a modification of at least a part of at least one of the above (D1) to (D9) signals (for example, at least one of mapping to resource elements, signal sequences, sequences, scrambling codes, and parameters used for signal generation).

[0235] Also, the downlink sensing signal may be a signal and / or channel that is quasi-co-located (QCL) with at least one of the above (D1) to (D9) signals.

[0236] Also, the downlink sensing signal may be a signal such as a chirp signal. Additionally, the downlink sensing signal may be any signal, any sequence, and / or any waveform. Note that DRS is a newly defined (normalized) signal for object detection.

[0237] Even in these cases, a communication device (for example, base station 30) can transmit the downlink sensing signal using the resources allocated using the resource allocation method described later.

[0238] The communication device may transmit the sensing signal multiplexed with signals / information within PDCCH and / or PDSCH (for example, downlink control information and / or downlink transport block). Also, the communication device may transmit the sensing signal on a downlink channel different from the above downlink channels (for example, a channel for the sensing signal).

[0239] <4-1-2. Downlink resource allocation method> The communication device may be allocated wireless communication resources for transmitting the sensing signal by another communication device, or may allocate them by itself. For example, when the communication device transmitting the sensing signal is the base station 30, the base station 30 itself may allocate the resources. The communication device (or another communication device) may allocate the wireless communication resources periodically or aperiodically. The downlink resources may be, for example, the resources of PDCCH and / or PDSCH. Also, the downlink resources may be the resources of a downlink channel different from the above downlink channel (for example, PDCCH and / or PDSCH) (for example, a dedicated channel for transmitting the sensing signal).

[0240] The communication device (for example, the base station 30) transmitting the sensing signal may determine the downlink resources based on information from other communication nodes (for example, the management device 20 and / or another base station 30) and / or control information from the control station.

[0241] <4-1-3. Corresponding to the sensing scenario> The above <4-1-1. Downlink sensing signal> and <4-1-2. Downlink resource allocation method> can be applied to, for example, the first sensing scenario, the third sensing scenario, and the sixth sensing scenario.

[0242] Communication devices not involved in sensing (for example, communication devices located around the base station 30 and / or another base station 30) may not recognize the sensing signal. For example, a communication device not involved in sensing (for example, the terminal device 40) may be set not to use the resources for transmitting the downlink sensing signal. For example, a communication device not involved in sensing (for example, the terminal device 40) may be set not to receive or skip the signal transmitted using the resources for transmitting the downlink sensing signal.

[0243] To prevent surrounding communication devices (for example, the terminal device 40 within the same cell) from using the resources for sensing signal transmission, the base station 30 may notify one or more communication devices (for example, one or more terminal devices 40 under the control of the base station 30) not to use the resources. In the following description, a notification (notification of information indicating (or instructing) not to use the radio communication resources used for transmitting sensing signals) for preventing one or more communication devices from using the radio communication resources used for transmitting sensing signals may be referred to as a non-use notification.

[0244] The base station 30 may perform this non-use notification to a plurality of terminal devices 40, for example, using at least one of the following.

[0245] · Information that can be notified to all or some of the terminal devices 40 (for example, PBCH, SIB (System Information Block)) · DCI transmitted by a common PDCCH (Common PDCCH) · PDSCH scheduled by a common PDCCH (Common PDCCH)

[0246] Note that the base station 30 may individually perform a non-use notification to one or more terminal devices 40. For example, the base station 30 may individually perform a non-use notification to one or more terminal devices 40 using PDCCH and / or PDSCH.

[0247] A communication device (for example, the terminal device 40 under the control of the base station 30) that has received a non-use notification from the base station 30 does not use the resources related to the non-use notification. For example, a communication device that has received a non-use notification may not perform reception processing of signals transmitted using the resources related to the non-use notification. Also, a communication device that has received a non-use notification may, for example, perform reception processing except at least for the resources related to the non-use notification. Also, a communication device that has received a non-use notification may, for example, operate as if the resources related to the non-use notification are not scheduled.

[0248] <When transmitted using uplink resources> Next, resource allocation when the sensing signal is transmitted using uplink radio communication resources will be described. In the following description, the sensing signal transmitted using uplink resources may be referred to as an uplink sensing signal.

[0249] <4-2-1. Uplink sensing signal> The uplink sensing signal is, for example, an uplink signal or a predetermined sensing signal transmitted from the terminal device 40 using uplink resources.

[0250] For example, the uplink sensing signal is an uplink signal or a predetermined sensing signal transmitted from the terminal device 40 using uplink resources. The uplink sensing signal may be, for example, at least one of the signals shown in the following (U1) to (U6).

[0251] (U1) PRS (Positioning reference signal) (U2) DMRS (Demodulation reference signal) (U3) PT-RS (Phase-tracking reference signal) (U4) SRS (Sounding reference signal) (U5) PRACH (Physical random access channel) or random access preamble (U6) DRS (Detection reference signal)

[0252] Also, the uplink sensing signal may be one obtained by changing at least one of the signals of (U1) to (U6) above (for example, at least one of resource element mapping, signal sequence, sequence, scrambling code, and parameters used for signal generation).

[0253] Also, the uplink sensing signal may be a signal / channel that is quasi-co-located (QCL) with at least one of the signals (U1) to (U6).

[0254] Also, the uplink sensing signal may be a signal such as a chirp signal. Additionally, the uplink sensing signal may be any signal, any sequence, and / or any waveform. Note that DRS is a newly defined (normalized) signal for object detection.

[0255] Even in these cases, a communication device (e.g., the terminal device 40) can transmit the uplink sensing signal using the resources allocated by the resource allocation method described later.

[0256] The communication device may multiplex and transmit the sensing signal with signals / information (e.g., uplink control information and / or uplink transport block) within PUCCH and / or PUSCH. Also, the communication device may transmit the sensing signal on an uplink channel different from the above uplink channels (e.g., a dedicated channel for transmitting the sensing signal).

[0257] Sensing using the uplink sensing signal may be available only when the communication device (e.g., the terminal device 40) is within the reception area of the base station 30 (in-coverage). That is, when the communication device (e.g., the terminal device 40) is outside the reception area of the base station 30 (out-of-coverage), the communication device may refrain from transmitting the sensing signal using uplink resources.

[0258] <4-2-2. Uplink Resource Allocation Method> The communication device may be allocated radio communication resources for transmitting the sensing signal from another communication device. For example, assume that the communication device transmitting the sensing signal is the terminal device 40. At this time, the terminal device 40 may be allocated one or more resources for transmitting the sensing signal from the base station 30. Note that another communication device (for example, the base station 30) may allocate uplink resources by signaling prior to sensing of the communication device. At this time, the other communication device may allocate the radio communication resources periodically or aperiodically. The uplink resources may be, for example, resources of PUCCH and / or PUSCH. Further, the uplink resources may be resources of an uplink channel different from the above uplink channel (for example, PUCCH and / or PUSCH) (for example, a dedicated channel for transmitting the sensing signal).

[0259] <Correspondence with Sensing Scenario> The above <4-2-1. Uplink Sensing Signal> and <4-2-2. Uplink Resource Allocation Method> can be applied to, for example, the second sensing scenario, the fourth sensing scenario, and the fifth sensing scenario.

[0260] <4-3. When Transmitted Using Sidelink Resources> Next, resource allocation when the sensing signal is transmitted using sidelink radio communication resources will be described. In the following description, the sensing signal transmitted using sidelink resources may be referred to as a sidelink sensing signal.

[0261] <4-3-1. Sidelink Sensing Signal> For example, the sidelink sensing signal is a sidelink signal or a predetermined sensing signal transmitted from the terminal device 40 using sidelink resources. The uplink sensing signal may be, for example, at least one of the signals shown in the following (S1) to (S8).

[0262] (S1) S-PRS (Sidelink Positioning Reference Signal) (S2) CSI-RS (Channel State Information Reference Signal) (S3) S-SSB (Sidelink SS / PBCH Block) (S4) S-PSS (Sidelink Primary Synchronization Signal) (S5) S-SSS (Sidelink Secondary Synchronization Signal) (S6) DMRS (Demodulation Reference signal) (S7) PT-RS (Phase Tracking Reference Signal) (S8) DRS (Detection reference signal)

[0263] In addition, the sidelink sensing signal may be a modified version of at least a part of at least one of the above (S1) to (S8) signals (for example, at least one of mapping to resource elements, signal sequences, sequences, scrambling codes, and parameters used for signal generation).

[0264] In addition, the sidelink sensing signal may be a signal / channel that is quasi-co-located (QCL) with at least one of the above (S1) to (S8) signals.

[0265] In addition, the sidelink sensing signal may be a signal such as a chirp signal. Additionally, the sidelink sensing signal may be any signal, any sequence, and / or any waveform. Note that DRS is a newly defined (normalized) signal for object detection.

[0266] Even in these cases, the communication device (e.g., the terminal device 40) can transmit the sidelink sensing signal using the resources allocated by the resource allocation method described below.

[0267] The communication device may multiplex and transmit the sensing signal with signals / information (e.g., at least one of sidelink control information, sidelink transport block, and sidelink feedback information) within at least one of the PSCCH (Physical Sidelink Shared Channel), PSSCH (Physical Sidelink Control Channel), and PSFCH (Physical Sidelink Feedback Channel). Also, the communication device may transmit the sensing signal on a sidelink channel different from the above sidelink channels (e.g., a dedicated channel for transmitting the sensing signal), such as at least one of PSCCH, PSSCH, and PSFCH.

[0268] Sensing using the sidelink sensing signal may be available only when the communication device (e.g., the terminal device 40) is outside the reception area of the base station 30 (in the case of Out-of-coverage). In that case, the settings regarding the sensing signal and its resources may be made in advance (e.g., when the communication device is within the reception area of the base station 30).

[0269] Note that sensing using the sidelink sensing signal is also available when the communication device (e.g., the terminal device 40) is within the reception area of the base station 30 (when it is In-coverage). For example, the communication device may determine whether to use sensing using the sidelink sensing signal depending on whether the communication node that receives the sensing signal is the terminal device 40. For example, when the communication node that receives the sensing signal is the terminal device 40, the terminal device 40 that transmits the sensing signal may determine to transmit the sensing signal using sidelink resources, and when the communication node that receives the sensing signal is the base station 30, it may determine to transmit the sensing signal using uplink resources. This determination may be made by a device other than the communication device that transmits the sensing signal (e.g., the management device 20 and / or the base station 30).

[0270] <4-3-2. Sidelink Resource Allocation Method> The communication device may be allocated radio communication resources for transmitting the sensing signal from another communication device. For example, when the communication device that transmits the sensing signal is the terminal device 40, the terminal device 40 may be allocated one or more resources for transmitting the sensing signal from the base station 30. Note that another communication device (e.g., the base station 30 or another terminal device 40) may allocate sidelink resources to the communication device by signaling prior to sensing by the communication device. At this time, the other communication device may dynamically allocate the sidelink resources by, for example, PDCCH, or may allocate them quasi-statically by, for example, RRC signaling. The other communication device may allocate the sidelink resources periodically or aperiodically.

[0271] The sidelink resources may be free resources (resources that satisfy predetermined conditions) discovered by the communication device (e.g., the terminal device 40 on the transmission side and / or the reception side) monitoring the availability of the sidelink resources by a predetermined method (sidelink sensing).

[0272] Also, the sidelink resource may be, for example, at least one resource of PSCCH, PSSCH, and PSFCH. Further, the sidelink resource may be a resource of a sidelink channel different from the above sidelink channels (e.g., PSCCH, PSSCH, and PSFCH), such as a dedicated channel for transmitting a sensing signal.

[0273] <4-3-3. Correspondence with Sensing Scenarios> The above <4-3-1. Sidelink Sensing Signal> and <4-3-2. Sidelink Resource Allocation Method> are applicable to the second sensing scenario, the fourth sensing scenario, and the fifth sensing scenario.

[0274] <<5. Feedback>> As described above, the sensing scenario of this embodiment has been described. Before explaining the operation of the communication system 1, the feedback of the sensing result will be explained.

[0275] FIG. 17 is a diagram for explaining the feedback of the sensing result. As described above, a communication device that has received a sensing signal (hereinafter referred to as a receiving device) may feedback the sensing result to a transmitting device that has transmitted the sensing signal (hereinafter referred to as a transmitting device). The sensing result may be the reception result of the sensing signal itself, or a processing result based on the reception result of the sensing signal (e.g., an object detection result). In the following description, the information feedback as the sensing result may sometimes be simply referred to as feedback information.

[0276] The transmitting device of the sensing signal may perform various processes based on the feedback information from the receiving device of the sensing signal. For example, the transmitting device of the sensing signal may perform object detection based on the reception result of the sensing signal fed back from the receiving device of the sensing signal. Further, the transmitting device of the sensing signal may perform communication settings related to its own wireless communication based on the reception result / detection result fed back from the receiving device of the sensing signal. Further, the transmitting device of the sensing signal may perform communication control of other communication devices based on the reception result / detection result fed back from the receiving device of the sensing signal.

[0277] Hereinafter, when the sensing result is transmitted using an uplink resource (or, uplink channel), when transmitted using a sidelink resource (or, sidelink channel), and when transmitted using a downlink resource (or, downlink channel), the feedback of the sensing result in each case will be described.

[0278] <5-1. When transmitted using an uplink resource> The receiving device of the sensing signal may feed back the sensing result to the transmitting device of the sensing signal using an uplink resource or channel. Here, the transmitting device of the sensing signal is, for example, the base station 30, and the receiving device of the sensing signal is, for example, the terminal device 40.

[0279] <5-1-1. Feedback method> The receiving device of the sensing signal may feedback the sensing result as information of the physical layer (uplink control information) by PUCCH and / or PUSCH. Also, the receiving device of the sensing signal may feedback the sensing result as information of the RRC (Radio Resource Control) layer and / or MAC (Medium Access Control) layer by PUSCH. Further or alternatively, when the receiving device of the sensing signal is the terminal device 40, the feedback of the sensing result may be performed by NAS signaling. That is, the terminal device 40 as the receiving device of the sensing signal may feedback the sensing result to the core network node (e.g., AMF or the core network entity providing the sensing service) by NAS signaling.

[0280] <5-1-2.Resource Allocation Method> The base station 30 may notify the transmitting device and / or receiving device of the sensing signal of the information of the resource for transmitting the feedback information. At this time, the base station 30 may be the transmitting device of the sensing signal. For example, the base station 30 serving as the transmitting device of the sensing signal may notify the terminal device 40 serving as the receiving device of the sensing signal of the information of the resource for transmitting the feedback information.

[0281] At this time, the base station 30 may explicitly notify the information of the resource for transmitting the feedback information by PDCCH and / or RRC signaling. The base station 30 may transmit the information of the resource included in the control information for scheduling the sensing signal. Also, the base station 30 may transmit the information of the resource multiplexed with the sensing signal.

[0282] In addition, the receiving device of the sensing signal may determine a resource for transmitting feedback information based on the sensing signal corresponding to the feedback information (sensing result) and / or the information on the resources used for transmitting the sensing signal. At this time, the receiving device of the sensing signal may further use (or combine) the control information notified by the above-mentioned PDCCH and / or RRC signaling to determine a resource for transmitting feedback information.

[0283] For example, the receiving device of the sensing signal may determine a resource for transmitting feedback information based on at least one of the following parameters. · ID for identifying the sensing signal · Series (sequence and / or code) of the sensing signal · At least one of the resource block number, slot number, sub-carrier number, and symbol number for transmitting the sensing signal · At least one of the information on TCI (Transmission configuration indicator), QCL (Quasi-co-location), and beam of the sensing signal

[0284] <When transmitted using the sidelink resource> The receiving device of the sensing signal may feedback the sensing result to the transmitting device of the sensing signal using the sidelink resource or channel. Here, the transmitting device of the sensing signal is, for example, the terminal device 40, and the receiving device of the sensing signal is, for example, another terminal device 40.

[0285] <5-2-1. Feedback method> The receiving device of the sensing signal may feedback the sensing result as physical layer information (sidelink control information) by means of PSCCH and / or PSSCH. Also, the receiving device of the sensing signal may feedback the sensing result as information of the RRC layer and / or MAC layer by means of PSSCH.

[0286] <5-2-2.Resource Allocation Method> The base station 30 may notify the transmitting device and / or receiving device of the sensing signal of the information of the resource for transmitting the feedback information. At this time, the base station 30 may be a device other than the transmitting device and receiving device of the sensing signal.

[0287] At this time, the base station 30 may explicitly notify the information of the resource for transmitting the feedback information by means of PDCCH and / or RRC signaling. The base station 30 may transmit the information of the resource included in the control information for scheduling the sensing signal. The base station 30 may transmit the information of the resource multiplexed with the sensing signal.

[0288] Also, the transmitting device of the sensing signal may explicitly notify the receiving device of the sensing signal of the information of the resource for transmitting the feedback information by means of PDCCH and / or RRC signaling. The transmitting device of the sensing signal may transmit the information of the resource included in the control information for scheduling the sensing signal. The transmitting device of the sensing signal may transmit the information of the resource multiplexed with the sensing signal.

[0289] In addition, the receiving device of the sensing signal may determine a resource for transmitting feedback information based on the sensing signal corresponding to the feedback information (sensing result) and / or the information on the resources used for transmitting the sensing signal. At this time, the receiving device of the sensing signal may further use (or combine) the control information notified by at least one of the above-mentioned PDCCH, PSCCH, and RRC signaling to determine a resource for transmitting the feedback information.

[0290] For example, the receiving device of the sensing signal may determine a resource for transmitting the feedback information based on at least one of the following parameters. · ID for identifying the sensing signal · Series (sequence and / or code) of the sensing signal · At least one of the resource block number, slot number, sub-carrier number, and symbol number for transmitting the sensing signal, or · At least one of the information on TCI (Transmission configuration indicator), QCL (Quasi-co-location), and beam of the sensing signal

[0291] The resource for transmitting this feedback information may be a free resource (a resource satisfying predetermined conditions) discovered by a communication device (for example, the terminal device 40 on the transmission side and / or the reception side) monitoring the availability of sidelink resources in a predetermined manner (sidelink sensing).

[0292] <5-3. When Transmitted Using Downlink Resources> The receiving device of the sensing signal may feed back the sensing result to the transmitting device of the sensing signal using downlink resources or channels. Here, the transmitting device of the sensing signal is, for example, the terminal device 40, and the receiving device of the sensing signal is, for example, the base station 30.

[0293] <5-3-1. Feedback Method> The receiving device of the sensing signal may feedback the sensing result as physical layer information (downlink control information) via PDCCH and / or PDSCH. Also, the receiving device of the sensing signal may feedback the sensing result as information of the RRC layer and / or the MAC layer via PDSCH.

[0294] <5-3-2. Resource Allocation Method> When the base station 30 serves as the receiving device of the sensing signal, the base station 30 may determine by itself the information of the resource for transmitting the feedback information. In this case, the communication node (for example, the terminal device 40) that receives the feedback information may have the resource for transmitting the feedback information scheduled. That is, the base station 30 may notify the communication node that receives the feedback information of the information of the resource (scheduling information).

[0295] At this time, the base station 30 may explicitly notify the information of the resource for transmitting the feedback information via PDCCH and / or RRC signaling.

[0296] Also, the receiving device of the sensing signal may determine the resource for transmitting the feedback information based on the sensing signal corresponding to the feedback information (sensing result) and / or the information of the resource used for transmitting the sensing signal. At this time, the transmitting device of the sensing signal may perform reception processing assuming that the resource for receiving the feedback information corresponding to the sensing signal is the resource determined based on the sensing signal and / or the information of the resource used for transmitting the sensing signal.

[0297] The receiving apparatus of the sensing signal may determine a resource for transmitting the feedback information based on the sensing signal corresponding to the feedback information (sensing result) and / or the information of the resource used for transmitting the sensing signal. At this time, the receiving apparatus of the sensing signal may further use (or combine) the control information notified by the above PDCCH and / or RRC signaling to determine a resource for transmitting the feedback information.

[0298] For example, the receiving apparatus of the sensing signal may determine a resource for transmitting the feedback information based on at least one of the following parameters. · ID for identifying the sensing signal · Series (sequence and / or code) of the sensing signal · At least one of the resource block number, slot number, sub-carrier number, and symbol number for transmitting the sensing signal, or · At least one of the information on TCI (Transmission configuration indicator), QCL (Quasi-co-location), and beam of the sensing signal

[0299] <<6. Operation of Communication System 1>> Based on the above, the operation of Communication System 1 will be described.

[0300] <6-1. First Embodiment (Monostatic Sensing)> First, the operation of Communication System 1 according to the first embodiment will be described. In the first embodiment, the operation of Communication System 1 related to monostatic sensing (for example, the first sensing scenario or the second sensing scenario) will be described.

[0301] FIG. 18 is a sequence diagram showing an example of sensing processing related to monostatic sensing. Each process shown in FIG. 18 is not necessarily a configuration required for implementing the invention. In other words, each process in FIG. 18 can be independently implemented.

[0302] In monostatic sensing, the sensing signal is a signal for monostatic sensing transmitted and received by one communication device (hereinafter also referred to as a sensing device). The sensing device is a device that transmits and receives the sensing signal, for example, the base station 30 or the terminal device 40. Hereinafter, the sensing processing related to monostatic sensing will be described with reference to the sequence diagram of FIG. 18.

[0303] First, the sensing device performs signaling related to sensing with one or more other communication devices (step S101). Here, the signaling is the transmission and / or reception of information related to sensing (for example, control information for sensing). For example, assume that the sensing device is the base station 30. At this time, the signaling unit 331 of the base station 30 performs signaling related to sensing with the terminal device 40 and / or other base stations 30. Also, for example, assume that the sensing device is the terminal device 40. At this time, the signaling unit 431 of the terminal device 40 performs signaling related to sensing with the base station 30 and / or other terminal devices 40.

[0304] Here, the sensing device (for example, the base station 30 or the terminal device 40) may notify one or more other communication devices by signaling not to use the radio communication resources used for transmitting the sensing signal. The signaling may be signaling related to at least one of the transmission and reception of the sensing signal.

[0305] For example, assume that the sensing device is the base station 30. At this time, the signaling unit 331 of the base station 30 may notify the terminal device 40 and / or another base station 30 not to use the radio communication resources used for transmitting the sensing signal. Also, for example, assume that the sensing device is the terminal device 40. At this time, the signaling unit 431 of the terminal device 40 may notify the base station 30 and / or another terminal device 40 not to use the radio communication resources used for transmitting the sensing signal. Thereby, it is possible to prevent confusion in sensing and / or cellular communication.

[0306] Also, assume that the sensing device is the terminal device 40 and one or more other communication devices include the base station 30. At this time, the signaling unit 431 of the terminal device 40 may confirm by signaling whether it (the terminal device 40) is within the coverage of the base station 30 in order to determine whether to transmit the sensing signal.

[0307] Subsequently, the sensing device sets the radio communication resources for transmitting the sensing signal (step S102). At this time, the sensing device may set the resources allocated by the method shown in <4. Resource Allocation> above as the radio communication resources for transmitting the sensing signal.

[0308] Subsequently, the sensing device transmits and receives the sensing signal using the radio communication resources set in step S102 (step S103). For example, assume that the sensing device is the base station 30. At this time, the sensing unit 332 of the base station 30 may transmit and receive the sensing signal. Also, for example, assume that the sensing device is the terminal device 40. At this time, the sensing unit 332 of the terminal device 40 may transmit and receive the sensing signal.

[0309] Note that it is assumed that the sensing device is the terminal device 40 and the base station 30 is included in one or more other communication devices. As described above, the signaling unit 431 of the terminal device 40 may confirm whether itself (the terminal device 40) is within the coverage of the base station 30 by signaling. At this time, when the terminal device 40 is within the coverage of the base station 30, the sensing unit 332 of the terminal device 40 may transmit and receive sensing signals, and when the terminal device 40 is not within the coverage of the base station 30, the sensing unit 332 may not transmit and receive sensing signals. Thereby, the use of irregular radio communication resources can be prevented.

[0310] Subsequently, the sensing device performs object detection processing based on the reception result of the sensing signal (step S104). For example, assume that the sensing device is the base station 30. At this time, the sensing unit 332 of the base station 30 may perform object detection processing. Also, for example, assume that the sensing device is the terminal device 40. At this time, the sensing unit 332 of the terminal device 40 may perform object detection processing.

[0311] The sensing device may change the setting of its own communication parameters based on the object detection result. Also, the sensing device may transmit the object detection result to other communication devices (for example, the server 10 and / or the management device 20).

[0312] <6-2. Second Embodiment (Bistatic Sensing)> First, the operation of the communication system 1 according to the second embodiment will be described. In the second embodiment, the operation of the communication system 1 related to bistatic sensing (for example, the third sensing scenario, the fourth sensing scenario, the fifth sensing scenario, or the sixth sensing scenario) will be described.

[0313] FIG. 19 is a sequence diagram showing an example of sensing processing related to bistatic sensing. Each process shown in FIG. 19 is not necessarily a configuration necessary for carrying out the invention. In other words, each process in FIG. 19 can be carried out independently.

[0314] In bistatic sensing, the sensing signal is a signal for bistatic sensing that is transmitted from one communication entity (hereinafter referred to as a transmitting device) to another communication entity (hereinafter referred to as a receiving device). Here, the transmitting device is a communication device that transmits the sensing signal, for example, the base station 30 or the terminal device 40. The receiving device is a communication device that receives the sensing signal, for example, another base station 30 or another terminal device 40. Hereinafter, the sensing processing related to bistatic sensing will be described with reference to the sequence diagram of FIG. 19.

[0315] First, the transmitting device and the receiving device perform signaling related to sensing (step S201). Here, the signaling is the transmission and / or reception of information related to sensing (for example, control information for sensing). The signaling may be signaling related to at least one of the transmission and reception of the sensing signal.

[0316] For example, assume that one of the transmitting device and the receiving device is the base station 30. At this time, the signaling unit 331 of the base station 30 may perform signaling related to sensing (for example, the transmission and / or reception of capability information related to at least one of the transmission and reception of the sensing signal) with the terminal device 40 and / or another base station 30. Further, for example, assume that one of the transmitting device and the receiving device is the terminal device 40. At this time, the signaling unit 431 of the terminal device 40 may perform signaling related to sensing (for example, the transmission and / or reception of capability information related to at least one of the transmission and reception of the sensing signal) with the base station 30 and / or another terminal device 40.

[0317] Note that the transmitting device and / or the receiving device may perform signaling with a communication device other than the transmitting device and the receiving device among one or more other communication devices. For example, the transmitting device and / or the receiving device may perform signaling with a communication device other than the transmitting device and the receiving device among one or more other communication devices within the same cell. At this time, the transmitting device and / or the receiving device may notify, by signaling, a communication device other than the transmitting device and the receiving device among one or more other communication devices not to use the radio communication resources used for transmitting the sensing signal. Thereby, it is possible to prevent confusion in sensing and / or cellular communication.

[0318] Also, assume that one of the transmitting device and the receiving device is a terminal device that performs sidelink communication with another terminal device 40, and the other of the transmitting device and the receiving device is the other terminal device 40. And assume that a base station 30 that controls this sidelink communication is included in one or more other communication devices. At this time, the terminal device 40 and / or the other terminal device 40 may confirm, by signaling, whether it is within the coverage of the base station 30 in order to determine whether to transmit a sensing signal.

[0319] Subsequently, the transmitting device performs setting of radio communication resources for transmitting the sensing signal (step S202a). Also, the receiving device performs setting of radio communication resources for receiving the sensing signal (step S202b). At this time, the transmitting device and the receiving device may set the resources allocated by the method shown in <4. Resource Allocation> above as radio communication resources for transmitting or receiving the sensing signal.

[0320] Subsequently, the transmitting device transmits the sensing signal using the radio communication resources set in step S202a (step S203). The receiving device receives the sensing signal transmitted using the radio communication resources.

[0321] Note that it is assumed that one of the transmission device and the reception device is a terminal device that performs sidelink communication with another terminal device 40, and the other of the transmission device and the reception device is another terminal device 40. And it is assumed that a base station 30 that controls this sidelink communication is included in one or a plurality of other communication devices. As described above, the terminal device 40 and / or another terminal device 40 may confirm whether the terminal device 40 and / or another terminal device 40 is within the coverage of the base station 30 by signaling with another communication device (for example, the base station 30). The other communication device that is the signaling partner is not limited to the base station 30, and may be, for example, the terminal device 40 that is the sidelink communication partner. The terminal device 40 and / or another terminal device 40 may transmit a sensing signal when at least one of the terminal device 40 and the other terminal device 40 is within the coverage of the base station 30, and may not transmit a sensing signal when at least one of the terminal device 40 and the other terminal device 40 is not within the coverage of the base station 30. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the use of irregular radio communication resources.

[0322] Subsequently, the receiving device performs object detection processing based on the reception result of the sensing signal (step S204). The receiving device may change the setting of its own communication parameters based on the object detection result. Further, the sensing device may transmit the object detection result to another communication device (for example, the server 10 and / or the management device 20).

[0323] Note that the receiving device (e.g., the feedback unit 433 of another terminal device 40) may feedback the result of receiving the sensing signal to at least one of one or more other communication devices (step S205). For example, the receiving device may feedback the result of receiving the sensing signal to the transmitting device. At this time, the receiving device may feedback the result of receiving the sensing signal using a resource determined based on at least one of the sensing signal and the wireless communication resource for transmitting the sensing signal. In addition, the receiving device may feedback the result of receiving the sensing signal using the resource allocated by the method shown in <5. Feedback> above.

[0324] Note that the receiving device may be a terminal device 40 that performs sidelink communication with another terminal device 40. And one or more other communication devices may include a base station 30 that controls sidelink communication. At this time, the receiving device may feedback the result of receiving the sensing signal to the base station 30.

[0325] <6-3. Third Embodiment (Multi-Static Sensing)> First, the operation of the communication system 1 according to the third embodiment will be described. In the third embodiment, the operation of the communication system 1 related to multi-static sensing will be described.

[0326] <6-3-1. About Multi-Static Sensing> Multi-static sensing is a multi-static method of sensing in which a plurality of communication devices are involved in transmitting or receiving a sensing signal. The multi-static sensing of the present embodiment may be any of the following patterns (P1) to (P3).

[0327] (P1) Pattern 1 (one-to-many) The multi-static sensing in this embodiment may also be in a pattern where one communication device (one transmitting device) transmits a sensing signal and a plurality of communication devices (a plurality of receiving devices) receive the sensing signal. The plurality of receiving devices may or may not include the transmitting device.

[0328] (P2) Pattern 2 (many-to-one) The multi-static sensing in this embodiment may also be in a pattern where a plurality of communication devices (a plurality of transmitting devices) transmit a sensing signal and one communication device (one receiving device) receives the sensing signal. The plurality of transmitting devices may or may not include the receiving device.

[0329] (P3) Pattern 3 (many-to-many) The multi-static sensing in this embodiment may also be a case where a plurality of communication devices (a plurality of transmitting devices) transmit a sensing signal and a plurality of communication devices (a plurality of receiving devices) receive the sensing signal. The plurality of receiving devices may or may not include some or all of the plurality of transmitting devices. The plurality of transmitting devices may or may not include some or all of the plurality of receiving devices.

[0330] <6-3-2. Transmission and / or Reception of Sensing Signal> In the multi-static sensing described above or below, the sensing signal is a signal transmitted from a plurality of communication entities to one or more communication devices including a communication device (e.g., base station 30 or terminal device 40), or a signal transmitted from one or more communication devices including a communication device (e.g., base station 30 or terminal device 40) to a plurality of communication entities. The plurality of communication entities includes at least one of one or more other communication devices (e.g., other base stations 30 or other terminal devices 40).

[0331] In the foregoing or following multi-static sensing, one or a plurality of communication devices (e.g., one or a plurality of base stations 30 and / or one or a plurality of terminal devices 40) may each transmit and / or receive one sensing signal, or may transmit and / or receive a plurality of sensing signals.

[0332] Also, when a plurality of sensing signals are used for sensing, one or a plurality of communication devices may transmit and / or receive those sensing signals using the same resource, or may transmit and / or receive them using different resources. Here, the resource may be at least one of a time resource, a frequency resource, and a space resource.

[0333] Also, when the transmission of sensing signals is performed a plurality of times, one or a plurality of communication devices may perform a plurality of transmissions (or a plurality of receptions) at different timings.

[0334] <6-3-3. Communication Entities Performing Multi-Static Sensing> A plurality of communication entities (one or a plurality of transmitting devices and / or one or a plurality of receiving devices) performing multi-static sensing may be defined as a group. A plurality of transmitting devices may be defined as a group, a plurality of receiving devices may be defined as a group, or a plurality of communication devices including one or a plurality of transmitting devices and one or a plurality of receiving devices may be defined as a group. Further, the group may be defined as a set of one or a plurality of transmitting devices and / or one or a plurality of receiving devices that can synchronously collect sensing data.

[0335] At this time, the communication device may select a plurality of communication entities to be grouped from among the plurality of communication devices. That is, the communication device (e.g., the selection unit 334 of the base station 30 and / or the selection unit 434 of the terminal device 40) may select a plurality of communication entities to perform multi-static sensing from among the plurality of communication devices.

[0336] At this time, the communication device that makes the selection may be a communication device that serves as a sensing signal transmission device (for example, base station 30 and / or terminal device 40), or may be a communication device that serves as a sensing signal reception device (for example, another base station 30 and / or another terminal device 40). Further, the communication device that makes the selection may be a device other than the transmission device and the reception device (for example, server 10 and / or management device 20). The device other than the transmission device and the reception device may include a wireless communication device that is not involved in sensing (for example, base station 30 and / or terminal device 40).

[0337] The communication device may configure the group statically, quasi-statically, or dynamically. That is, the communication device may statically, quasi-statically, or dynamically select a plurality of communication entities for multi-static sensing from among a plurality of communication devices.

[0338] For example, the communication device may dynamically select a plurality of communication entities for multi-static sensing from among a plurality of communication devices based on the result of signaling with at least one of other plurality of communication devices (for example, information on at least one of the position, posture, and capability of the communication device).

[0339] For example, assume that the group is configured dynamically. At this time, the communication device first configures the group at time t. For example, the communication device selects a plurality of communication entities (one or more transmission devices and / or one or more reception devices) at time t from among a plurality of communication devices. At this time, the communication device may select, from among the other plurality of communication devices, a plurality of communication entities at time t based on the result of signaling with the other plurality of communication devices.

[0340] Next, the communication device forms a group at time t+1. At this time, the communication device may select a plurality of communication entities (one or more transmitting devices and / or one or more receiving devices) at time t+1 from among the plurality of communication entities at time t. At this time, the communication device may select, from among the plurality of communication entities at time t, a plurality of communication entities at time t+1 based on the result of signaling with one or more of the plurality of communication devices among the plurality of communication entities at time t.

[0341] Note that when statically, quasi-statically, or dynamically selecting a plurality of communication entities for multi-static sensing, the communication device may select the plurality of communication entities based on a criterion related to sensing accuracy. For example, the communication device may, based on the result of signaling (e.g., information on at least one of the position, orientation, and capabilities of the communication device), dynamically select, from among a plurality of other communication devices, a plurality of communication devices (e.g., a plurality of communication devices assumed to be near the object) for which the detection accuracy of the object is assumed to be equal to or higher than a predetermined accuracy.

[0342] Also, when statically, quasi-statically, or dynamically selecting a plurality of communication entities for multi-static sensing, the communication device may select the plurality of communication entities based on a criterion related to interference with communication. For example, the communication device may, based on the result of signaling (e.g., information on at least one of the position, orientation, and capabilities of the communication device), dynamically select, from among a plurality of other communication devices, a plurality of communication devices for which the interference with the communication of other communication devices is assumed to be equal to or lower than a predetermined criterion.

[0343] Also, when statically, quasi-statically, or dynamically selecting a plurality of communication entities for multi-static sensing, the communication device may select the plurality of communication entities based on a criterion related to interference with sensing. For example, the communication device may, based on the result of signaling (e.g., information on at least one of the position, orientation, and capabilities of the communication device), dynamically select, from among a plurality of other communication devices, a plurality of communication devices for which the interference with the sensing of the communication device is assumed to be equal to or lower than a predetermined criterion.

[0344] In addition, the communication device may select a plurality of communication entities based on a plurality of criteria among criteria related to sensing accuracy, criteria related to interference with communication, and criteria related to interference with sensing.

[0345] <6-3-4. Sensing Scenarios for Multistatic Sensing> The sensing scenarios for multistatic sensing can be defined by combinations of the first to sixth sensing scenarios shown in the above <3. Sensing Scenarios>. At this time, two or more different sensing scenarios among the first to sixth sensing scenarios may be combined, or the same sensing scenario may be combined.

[0346] FIG. 20 is a diagram for explaining the sensing scenarios of multistatic sensing. In FIG. 20, a list of combinations of two sensing scenarios among the first to sixth sensing scenarios is shown as the sensing scenarios of multistatic sensing. In the figure, BS is the base station 30, and UE is the terminal device 40.

[0347] Specifically, the sensing scenario of the multistatic sensing of the present embodiment may be at least one of the sensing scenarios shown in the following (M1) to (M21).

[0348] In the example of FIG. 20, combinations of two sensing scenarios among the sensing scenarios of monostatic sensing and bistatic sensing are shown as the sensing scenarios of multistatic sensing. However, the sensing scenario of multistatic sensing may be a combination of three or more sensing scenarios. Further, the sensing scenario of multistatic sensing may be a combination of two or more sensing scenarios among the sensing scenarios of monostatic sensing, bistatic sensing, and multistatic sensing.

[0349] In the following description, the Nth 1 sensing scenario and the Nth 2 sensing scenario may be referred to as the sensing scenario N 1 -N 2 For example, the sensing scenario combining the first sensing scenario and the third sensing scenario is the sensing scenario 1-3.

[0350] Hereinafter, the sensing scenarios of multi-static sensing shown in FIG. 20 will be described respectively.

[0351] (M1) Sensing scenario 1-1 The sensing scenario 1-1 is a combination of the first sensing scenario and the first sensing scenario. In the sensing scenario 1-1, a plurality of base stations 30 transmit sensing signals, and one of the plurality of base stations 30 receives the sensing signal. Alternatively, in the sensing scenario 1-1, one base station 30 transmits a sensing signal, and a plurality of base stations 30 including the one base station 30 receive the sensing signal.

[0352] (M2) Sensing scenario 1-2 The sensing scenario 1-2 is a combination of the first sensing scenario and the second sensing scenario. In the sensing scenario 1-2, one base station 30 transmits a sensing signal, and the one base station 30 receives the sensing signal it has transmitted. In addition, in the sensing scenario 1-2, one terminal device 40 transmits a sensing signal, and the one terminal device 40 receives the sensing signal it has transmitted.

[0353] (M3) Sensing scenario 1-3 The sensing scenario 1-3 is a combination of the first sensing scenario and the third sensing scenario. In the sensing scenario 1-3, one base station 30 transmits a sensing signal, and the one base station 30 and one terminal device 40 receive the sensing signal.

[0354] (M4) Sensing Scenario 1-4 Sensing Scenario 1-4 is a combination of the first sensing scenario and the fourth sensing scenario. In Sensing Scenario 1-4, one terminal device 40 and one base station 30 each transmit a sensing signal, and the one base station 30 receives both sensing signals.

[0355] (M5) Sensing Scenario 1-5 Sensing Scenario 1-5 is a combination of the first sensing scenario and the fifth sensing scenario. In Sensing Scenario 1-5, one base station 30 transmits a sensing signal, and multiple base stations 30 receive the sensing signal. At this time, among the multiple base stations 30 that receive the sensing signal, the one base station 30 that transmits the sensing signal may or may not be included. Alternatively, in Sensing Scenario 1-5, multiple base stations 30 transmit a sensing signal, and one base station 30 receives the sensing signal. At this time, among the multiple base stations 30 that transmit the sensing signal, the one base station 30 that receives the sensing signal may or may not be included.

[0356] (M6) Sensing Scenario 1-6 Sensing Scenario 1-6 is a combination of the first sensing scenario and the sixth sensing scenario. In Sensing Scenario 1-6, one base station 30 transmits a sensing signal, and the one base station 30 receives the sensing signal it transmitted. In addition, in Sensing Scenario 1-6, one terminal device 40 transmits a sensing signal, and one other terminal device 40 different from the one terminal device 40 receives the sensing signal.

[0357] (M7) Sensing Scenario 2-2 Sensing scenario 2-2 is a combination of the second sensing scenario and the second sensing scenario. In sensing scenario 2-2, a plurality of terminal devices 40 transmit sensing signals, and one of the plurality of terminal devices 40 receives the sensing signals. Alternatively, one terminal device 40 transmits a sensing signal, and a plurality of terminal devices 40 including the one terminal device 40 receive the sensing signal.

[0358] (M8) Sensing scenario 2-3 Sensing scenario 2-3 is a combination of the second sensing scenario and the third sensing scenario. In sensing scenario 2-3, one base station 30 and one terminal device 40 each transmit a sensing signal, and the one terminal device 40 receives both sensing signals.

[0359] (M9) Sensing scenario 2-4 Sensing scenario 2-4 is a combination of the second sensing scenario and the fourth sensing scenario. In sensing scenario 2-4, one terminal device 40 transmits a sensing signal, and the one terminal device 40 and one base station 30 receive the sensing signal.

[0360] (M10) Sensing scenario 2-5 Sensing scenario 2-5 is a combination of the second sensing scenario and the fifth sensing scenario. In sensing scenario 2-5, one base station 30 transmits a sensing signal, and another base station 30 different from the one base station 30 receives the sensing signal. In addition, in sensing scenario 1-6, one terminal device 40 transmits a sensing signal, and the one terminal device 40 receives the sensing signal it transmitted itself.

[0361] (M11) Sensing scenario 2-6 Sensing scenario 2-6 is a combination of the second sensing scenario and the sixth sensing scenario. In sensing scenario 2-6, one terminal device 40 transmits a sensing signal, and a plurality of terminal devices 40 receive the sensing signal. At this time, the plurality of terminal devices 40 that receive the sensing signal may or may not include the one terminal device 40 that transmits the sensing signal. Alternatively, in sensing scenario 2-6, a plurality of terminal devices 40 transmit a sensing signal, and one terminal device 40 receives the sensing signal. At this time, the plurality of terminal devices 40 that transmit the sensing signal may or may not include the one terminal device 40 that receives the sensing signal.

[0362] (M12) Sensing scenario 3-3 Sensing scenario 3-3 is a combination of the third sensing scenario and the third sensing scenario. In sensing scenario 3-3, a plurality of base stations 30 transmit a sensing signal, and one terminal device 40 receives the sensing signal. Alternatively, in sensing scenario 3-3, one base station 30 transmits a sensing signal, and a plurality of terminal devices 40 receive the sensing signal.

[0363] (M13) Sensing scenario 3-4 Sensing scenario 3-4 is a combination of the third sensing scenario and the fourth sensing scenario. In sensing scenario 3-4, one base station 30 transmits a sensing signal, and one terminal device 40 receives the sensing signal transmitted by the one base station 30. In addition, in sensing scenario 3-4, one terminal device 40 transmits a sensing signal, and one base station 30 receives the sensing signal transmitted by the one terminal device 40. The one base station 30 that transmits the sensing signal and the one base station 30 that receives the sensing signal may be the same base station 30 or different base stations 30. Also, the one terminal device 40 that transmits the sensing signal and the one terminal device 40 that receives the sensing signal may be the same terminal device 40 or different terminal devices 40.

[0364] (M14) Sensing scenario 3-5 Sensing scenario 3-5 is a combination of the third sensing scenario and the fifth sensing scenario. In sensing scenario 3-5, one base station 30 transmits a sensing signal, and another base station 30 different from the one base station 30 and one terminal device 40 receive the sensing signal.

[0365] (M15) Sensing scenario 3-6 Sensing scenario 3-6 is a combination of the third sensing scenario and the sixth sensing scenario. In sensing scenario 3-6, one base station 30 and one terminal device 40 each transmit a sensing signal, and another terminal device 40 different from the one terminal device 40 receives both sensing signals.

[0366] (M16) Sensing scenario 4-4 Sensing scenario 4-4 is a combination of the fourth sensing scenario and the fourth sensing scenario. In sensing scenario 4-4, a plurality of terminal devices 40 transmit sensing signals, and one base station 30 receives the sensing signals. Alternatively, in sensing scenario 3-3, one terminal device 40 transmits a sensing signal, and a plurality of base stations 30 receive the sensing signals.

[0367] (M17) Sensing scenario 4-5 Sensing scenario 4-5 is a combination of the fourth sensing scenario and the fifth sensing scenario. In sensing scenario 4-5, one terminal device 40 and one base station 30 each transmit a sensing signal, and another base station 30 different from the one base station 30 receives both sensing signals.

[0368] (M18) Sensing scenario 4-6 Sensing scenarios 4-6 are a combination of the fourth sensing scenario and the sixth sensing scenario. In sensing scenario 4-6, one terminal device 40 transmits a sensing signal, and another terminal device 40 different from the one terminal device 40 and one base station 30 receive the sensing signal.

[0369] (M19) Sensing scenario 5-5 Sensing scenario 5-5 is a combination of the fifth sensing scenario and the fifth sensing scenario. In sensing scenario 5-5, a plurality of base stations 30 transmit sensing signals, and a plurality of base stations 30 receive the sensing signals. At this time, the plurality of base stations 30 that transmit the sensing signals may or may not include some or all of the plurality of base stations 30 that receive the sensing signals. Also, the plurality of base stations 30 that receive the sensing signals may or may not include some or all of the plurality of base stations 30 that transmit the sensing signals. Alternatively, in sensing scenario 5-5, one base station 30 transmits a sensing signal, and another base station 30 receives the sensing signal.

[0370] (M20) Sensing scenario 5-6 Sensing scenario 5-6 is a combination of the fifth sensing scenario and the sixth sensing scenario. In sensing scenario 5-6, one base station 30 transmits a sensing signal, and another base station 30 different from the one base station 30 receives the sensing signal. In addition, in sensing scenario 5-6, one terminal device 40 transmits a sensing signal, and another terminal device 40 different from the one terminal device 40 receives the sensing signal.

[0371] (M21) Sensing scenario 6-6 Sensing scenario 6-6 is a combination of the sixth sensing scenario and the sixth sensing scenario. In sensing scenario 6-6, a plurality of terminal devices 40 transmit sensing signals, and a plurality of terminal devices 40 receive sensing signals. At this time, the plurality of terminal devices 40 that transmit sensing signals may or may not include some or all of the plurality of terminal devices 40 that receive sensing signals. Also, the plurality of terminal devices 40 that receive sensing signals may or may not include some or all of the plurality of terminal devices 40 that transmit sensing signals. Alternatively, in sensing scenario 6-6, one terminal device 40 transmits a sensing signal, and another terminal device 40 receives the sensing signal.

[0372] <6-3-5. Details of the sensing scenario of multi-static sensing> Next, the details of the sensing scenario of multi-static sensing will be described.

[0373] (1) Sensing scenario combined with the same sensing scenario First, a sensing scenario combined with the same sensing scenario (for example, sensing scenario 1-1, 2-2, 3-3, 4-4, or 5-5) will be described.

[0374] In this sensing scenario, a plurality of transmitting devices transmit sensing signals to one receiving device. Alternatively, one transmitting device transmits sensing signals to a plurality of receiving devices.

[0375] For example, in sensing scenario 3-3, a plurality of base stations 30 each transmit a sensing signal using a predetermined resource, and one terminal device 40 receives those sensing signals. Alternatively, one base station 30 transmits a sensing signal using a predetermined resource, and a plurality of terminal devices 40 receive that sensing signal.

[0376] In this sensing scenario, when a plurality of transmission devices transmit sensing signals, the communication device may individually allocate resources for the transmission of the sensing signals to each of the plurality of transmission devices. Here, the communication device that allocates the resources may be a communication device that becomes a transmission device and / or a reception device of the sensing signal (for example, base station 30), or may be a communication device that does not become a transmission device and / or a reception device of the sensing signal (for example, base station 30).

[0377] In this sensing scenario, when a plurality of reception devices feedback sensing results, the communication device may individually allocate resources for the feedback to each of the plurality of reception devices. Here, the communication device that allocates the resources may be a communication device that becomes a transmission device and / or a reception device of the sensing signal (for example, base station 30), or may be a communication device that does not become a transmission device and / or a reception device of the sensing signal (for example, base station 30).

[0378] (2) Sensing scenario where a plurality of transmission devices transmit sensing signals Next, a sensing scenario in which a plurality of transmission devices transmit sensing signals to one or a plurality of reception devices will be described.

[0379] In this sensing scenario, a plurality of sensing signals are transmitted so as to be recognized as independent signals (for example, orthogonal signals) by the reception device (base station 30 and / or terminal device 40). That is, the transmission device (base station 30 and / or terminal device 40) transmits the sensing signal so that the sensing signal transmitted by itself is recognized as an independent signal (for example, a direct signal) from other sensing signals transmitted by other transmission devices. In order to be recognized as independent signals, those sensing signals may be transmitted using individual resources. That is, the transmission device may transmit the sensing signal using resources different from the resources used by other transmission devices for transmitting the sensing signal.

[0380] When the receiving device feeds back one or more sensing results obtained using those sensing signals, the receiving device may individually feed back the one or more sensing results to each of the plurality of transmitting devices. At this time, the receiving device may feed back only the sensing result based on the sensing signal transmitted by that transmitting device to the transmitting device, or may feed back the combined sensing results based on the sensing signals transmitted by other transmitting devices. Alternatively, the receiving device may synthesize and / or combine the one or more sensing results into one feedback information and feed it back to one or more transmitting devices.

[0381] The receiving device may determine the resources for its feedback based on an explicit notification from another communication device. For example, the receiving device may determine the resources based on an explicit notification made by another communication device (e.g., the base station 30) using RRC signaling and / or PDCCH, etc. Also, the receiving device may determine the resources for feedback based on an implicit notification. For example, the receiving device may implicitly determine the resources based on information regarding the sensing signal (e.g., part or all of the information of the sensing signal, and / or information on the transmission resources of the sensing signal).

[0382] (2) Sensing scenario in which a plurality of transmitting devices transmit sensing signals Next, a sensing scenario in which a plurality of receiving devices receive sensing signals from one or more transmitting devices will be described.

[0383] When a plurality of receiving devices feed back sensing results, the resources for the feedback may be individually set among those receiving devices. For example, a predetermined offset value may be set for each receiving device through RRC signaling. Then, the receiving device may determine the resources for feedback based on the offset value and information regarding the received sensing signal (e.g., control information regarding the sensing signal).

[0384] (3) Sensing scenarios where there are multiple pairs or groups of a transmitting device and a receiving device Next, a sensing scenario where there are multiple pairs or groups of a transmitting device and a receiving device (for example, sensing scenarios 1-2, 1-6, 2-5, 3-4, or 5-6) will be described.

[0385] In this sensing scenario, different pairs or groups of transmitting devices each transmit different sensing signals. And different pairs or groups of receiving devices each receive the sensing signal transmitted by the pair or group to which they belong.

[0386] In this sensing scenario, for example, each sensing signal may be transmitted at the same timing. The transmitting device may transmit the sensing signal, for example, at the same timing as the transmission timing of the transmitting devices of other pairs or groups. At this time, the resources of the sensing signals may be set so that the sensing signals of different pairs or groups are transmitted at the same timing. For example, a communication device (for example, base station 30) may allocate the same time resources to different pairs or groups of transmitting devices so that the respective sensing signals are transmitted at the same timing.

[0387] As a result, detection of the same object can be performed by a plurality of sensing signals, so the sensing accuracy is improved.

[0388] <6-3-6. Example of a sequence related to multistatic sensing> Next, an example of a sequence related to multistatic sensing will be described.

[0389] FIG. 21 is a sequence diagram showing an example of sensing processing related to multistatic sensing. Each process shown in FIG. 21 is not necessarily a configuration necessary for carrying out the invention. In other words, each process in FIG. 21 can be independently carried out.

[0390] In multi-static sensing, the sensing signal is a signal for multi-static sensing that is transmitted from a plurality of communication entities (hereinafter referred to as a plurality of transmitting devices) or transmitted to a plurality of communication entities (hereinafter referred to as a plurality of receiving devices).

[0391] Here, the transmitting device is a communication device that transmits a sensing signal. The plurality of transmitting devices includes at least one of, for example, the base station 30 and the terminal device 40. Also, the receiving device is a communication device that receives a sensing signal. The plurality of receiving devices includes at least one of, for example, the base station 30 and the terminal device 40. The plurality of transmitting devices may include a receiving device. Also, the plurality of receiving devices may include a transmitting device.

[0392] Note that in FIG. 21, a plurality of transmitting devices and a plurality of receiving devices are shown as a plurality of communication entities related to multi-static sensing, but the plurality of communication entities related to multi-static sensing are not necessarily limited to this example. The plurality of communication entities related to multi-static sensing may be one transmitting device and a plurality of receiving devices. At this time, the plurality of receiving devices may or may not include one transmitting device. Also, the plurality of communication entities related to multi-static sensing may be a plurality of transmitting devices and one receiving device. At this time, the plurality of transmitting devices may or may not include one receiving device.

[0393] Hereinafter, the sensing process related to multi-static sensing will be described with reference to the sequence diagram of FIG. 21.

[0394] First, at least one of a plurality of communication entities (one or more transmission devices and one or more reception devices) related to multi-static sensing performs signaling related to sensing with at least one of one or more other communication devices (step S301a, step S301b, or step S301c). Here, the signaling is transmission and / or reception of information related to sensing (for example, control information for sensing). The signaling may be signaling related to at least one of transmission and reception of a sensing signal.

[0395] Note that the signaling may be performed between one or more transmission devices and one or more reception devices (step S301a).

[0396] For example, assume that one of the one or more transmission devices is the base station 30. At this time, the signaling unit 331 of the base station 30 may perform signaling related to sensing with one or more reception devices (for example, the terminal device 40 and / or another base station 30).

[0397] Also, for example, assume that one of the plurality of transmission devices related to multi-static sensing is the terminal device 40. At this time, the signaling unit 431 of the terminal device 40 may perform signaling related to sensing with one or more reception devices (the base station 30 and / or another terminal device 40).

[0398] Also, for example, assume that one of the one or more reception devices is the base station 30. At this time, the signaling unit 331 of the base station 30 may perform signaling related to sensing with one or more transmission devices (for example, the terminal device 40 and / or another base station 30).

[0399] Also, for example, assume that one of the plurality of reception devices related to multi-static sensing is the terminal device 40. At this time, the signaling unit 431 of the terminal device 40 may perform signaling related to sensing with one or more transmission devices (the base station 30 and / or another terminal device 40).

[0400] Also, the signaling may be performed between a plurality of transmission devices (step S301b).

[0401] For example, assume that one of the plurality of transmission devices is the base station 30. At this time, the signaling unit 331 of the base station 30 may perform signaling related to sensing with one or more other transmission devices (for example, the terminal device 40 and / or another base station 30).

[0402] Also, for example, assume that one of the plurality of transmission devices related to multistatic sensing is the terminal device 40. At this time, the signaling unit 431 of the terminal device 40 may perform signaling related to sensing with one or more other transmission devices (the base station 30 and / or another terminal device 40).

[0403] Also, the signaling may be performed between a plurality of receiving devices (step S301c).

[0404] For example, assume that one of the plurality of receiving devices is the base station 30. At this time, the signaling unit 331 of the base station 30 may perform signaling related to sensing with one or more other receiving devices (for example, the terminal device 40 and / or another base station 30).

[0405] Also, for example, assume that one of the plurality of receiving devices related to multistatic sensing is the terminal device 40. At this time, the signaling unit 431 of the terminal device 40 may perform signaling related to sensing with one or more other receiving devices (the base station 30 and / or another terminal device 40).

[0406] Various embodiments can be considered for the signaling shown in steps S301a to S301c. For example, assume that one of the one or more transmitting devices is a terminal device that performs sidelink communication with another terminal device 40, and one of the one or more receiving devices is the other terminal device 40. And assume that a base station 30 that controls this sidelink communication is included in the one or more other communication devices. The terminal device 40 and / or the other terminal device 40 may confirm whether the terminal device 40 and / or the other terminal device 40 is within the coverage of the base station 30 by signaling with another communication device (for example, the base station 30). The other communication device that is the signaling partner is not limited to the base station 30, and may be, for example, the terminal device 40 that is the sidelink communication partner.

[0407] Note that the information obtained by signaling is not limited to the above. For example, the information obtained by signaling may be capability information regarding the multi-static sensing of one or more communication devices. For example, at least one of the plurality of communication entities (one or more transmitting devices and one or more receiving devices) related to multi-static sensing may obtain, by signaling, the capability information regarding the multi-static sensing of one or more other communication devices. At this time, at least one of the plurality of communication entities may obtain this capability information from a communication device (for example, the base station 30 and / or the terminal device 40) that can be the communication entity of the sensing signal, or may obtain it from a communication device (for example, the server 10 and / or the management device 20) that cannot be the communication entity of the sensing signal. Also, at least one of the plurality of communication entities related to multi-static sensing may transmit, by signaling, its own capability information regarding multi-static sensing to one or more other communication devices.

[0408] Note that the transmitting device and / or the receiving device may perform signaling with a communication device other than the transmitting device and the receiving device among one or more other communication devices. For example, the transmitting device and / or the receiving device may perform signaling with a communication device other than the transmitting device and the receiving device among one or more other communication devices within the same cell. At this time, the transmitting device and / or the receiving device may notify a communication device other than the transmitting device and the receiving device among one or more other communication devices, by signaling, not to use the radio communication resources used for transmitting the sensing signal. Thereby, it is possible to prevent confusion in sensing and / or cellular communication.

[0409] Subsequently, one or more transmitting devices perform setting of radio communication resources for transmitting a sensing signal (step S302a and / or step S302b). Also, one or more receiving devices perform setting of radio communication resources for receiving a sensing signal (step S302c and / or step S302d). At this time, the one or more transmitting devices and the one or more receiving devices may set the resources allocated by the method shown in <4. Resource Allocation> above as radio communication resources for transmitting or receiving a sensing signal.

[0410] Subsequently, one or more transmitting devices transmit a sensing signal using the radio communication resources set in step S302a and / or step S302b (step S303). One or more receiving devices receive the sensing signal transmitted using the radio communication resources.

[0411] Note that, assume that one of the one or more transmission devices is a terminal device that performs sidelink communication with another terminal device 40, and one of the one or more reception devices is the other terminal device 40. And assume that a base station 30 that controls this sidelink communication is included in the one or more other communication devices. As described above, the terminal device 40 and / or the other terminal device 40 may confirm whether the terminal device 40 and / or the other terminal device 40 is within the coverage of the base station 30 by signaling. At this time, the terminal device 40 and / or the other terminal device 40 may transmit a sensing signal when at least one of the terminal device 40 and the other terminal device 40 is within the coverage of the base station 30, and may not transmit a sensing signal when at least one of the terminal device 40 and the other terminal device 40 is not within the coverage of the base station 30. Thereby, irregular use of radio communication resources can be prevented.

[0412] Further, at least one of the one or more transmission devices may obtain, by signaling, capability information regarding multi-static sensing of a plurality of other communication devices. And the one or more transmission devices may select, based on the capability information, a communication device to be a reception device from among the plurality of other communication devices. And at least one of the one or more transmission devices may transmit a sensing signal to the selected one or more devices.

[0413] Also, at least one of the one or more transmission devices may dynamically select one or more devices to be reception devices from among the plurality of other communication devices. And at least one of the one or more transmission devices may transmit a sensing signal to the selected one or more devices.

[0414] Subsequently, the one or more reception devices perform object detection processing based on the reception result of the sensing signal (step S304a and / or step S304b). The one or more reception devices may change the setting of their own communication parameters based on the object detection result. Also, the sensing device may transmit the object detection result to other communication devices (for example, the server 10 and / or the management device 20).

[0415] Note that at least one of the one or more receiving devices may feedback the result of receiving the sensing signal to at least one of the one or more other communication devices (step S305). For example, the one or more receiving devices may feedback the result of receiving the sensing signal to the one or more transmitting devices. At this time, the one or more receiving devices may feedback the result of receiving the sensing signal using a resource determined based on at least one of the sensing signal and the wireless communication resource for transmitting the sensing signal. In addition, the one or more receiving devices may feedback the result of receiving the sensing signal using the resource allocated by the method shown in <5. Feedback> above.

[0416] Note that the one or more receiving devices may be terminal devices 40 that perform sidelink communication with other terminal devices 40. And the one or more other communication devices may include a base station 30 that controls sidelink communication. At this time, the one or more receiving devices may feedback the result of receiving the sensing signal to the base station 30.

[0417] <<7. Specific examples of sensing operations>> As described above, each embodiment regarding the sensing operation of the communication system 1 has been described. Next, specific examples of the sensing operation executed by one or more communication devices included in the communication system 1 will be described. The communication device that performs sensing is, for example, one or more base stations 30 and / or one or more terminal devices 40. Hereinafter, two operation examples, a first operation example and a second operation example, will be described, but the sensing operation executed by the communication device is not limited to the following two operation examples.

[0418] <7-1. First operation example> First, the sensing operation according to the first operation example will be described.

[0419] <7-1-1. Outline of the first operation example> In the first operation example, the communication device detects an object based on an angle (at least one of azimuth, direction, and vector). The communication device detects the object based on information on the transmission angle of the sensing signal transmitted from the transmission device and / or information on the reception angle of the sensing signal received by the reception device. That is, in the first example, the communication device detects (recognizes) the object based on the detection result (measurement result) of the transmission angle and / or reception angle of the sensing signal.

[0420] In the first operation example, the communication device that performs object detection is, for example, one or more base stations 30 and / or one or more terminal devices 40. Also, in the first operation example, the transmission device that transmits the sensing signal is, for example, one or more base stations 30 and / or one or more terminal devices 40. Further, in the first operation example, the reception device that receives the sensing signal is, for example, one or more base stations 30 and / or one or more terminal devices 40. The communication device that performs object detection may be one or more transmission devices, one or more reception devices, or a communication device other than the transmission device and the reception device.

[0421] <7-1-2. Specific operation example> FIG. 22 is a diagram for explaining the sensing operation according to the first operation example. Hereinafter, the sensing operation according to the first operation example will be described using the third sensing scenario as an example.

[0422] Note that the sensing operation according to the first operation example is also applicable to sensing scenarios other than the third sensing scenario. For example, the sensing operation according to the first operation example is applicable to all of the first to sixth sensing scenarios. Also, the sensing operation according to the first operation example is applicable not only to sensing scenarios related to monostatic sensing and bistatic sensing but also to sensing scenarios related to multistatic sensing.

[0423] Hereinafter, the sensing operation according to the first operation example will be described with reference to FIG. 22.

[0424] In the example of FIG. 22, the base station 30 is a transmitting device, and the terminal device 40 is a receiving device. As described above, the sensing operation according to the first operation example is applicable to sensing scenarios other than the third sensing scenario. Therefore, the description of the base station 30 shown in this operation example can be replaced with a description indicating a communication device other than the base station 30 (for example, "terminal device 40" or "transmitting device"). The description of the terminal device 40 shown in this operation example can be replaced with a description indicating a communication device other than the terminal device 40 (for example, "base station 30" or "receiving device").

[0425] In the example of FIG. 22, the terminal device 40, which is a receiving device, generates a sensing result. The terminal device 40 can recognize at least the reception angle θr of the sensing signal from the base station 30. That is, the terminal device 40 can recognize at what angle an object is located from its own perspective.

[0426] Here, if the terminal device 40 (receiving device) knows the transmission angle θt of its sensing signal and / or the position information (for example, latitude, longitude, and altitude) of the base station 30 that transmits its sensing signal, it can recognize that there is an object at the intersection of the transmission beam and the reception beam. Therefore, it is preferable for the terminal device 40 to acquire information regarding the transmission of the sensing signal. The information regarding the transmission of the sensing signal may be, for example, the position information of the transmission device of the sensing signal and / or the information of the transmission angle of the sensing signal.

[0427] The terminal device 40 (receiving device) can acquire information regarding the transmission of the sensing signal using various methods.

[0428] For example, assume that the sensing signal is configured such that information regarding the transmission of the sensing signal can be specified from a part or all of the sensing signal. In this case, the terminal device 40 may specify information regarding the transmission of the sensing signal from a part or all of the received sensing signal.

[0429] Further, the terminal device 40 may acquire information regarding the transmission of the sensing signal by signaling with another communication device (e.g., the base station 30 (reception device)). The other communication device may be the base station 30 (transmission device) or a communication device other than the transmission device. For example, the terminal device 40 may acquire information regarding the transmission of the sensing signal from another communication device using the method of notifying the above-described resource for transmitting the sensing signal and / or the resource for transmitting the feedback information. That is, the above-described resource notification method can be read as a method for notifying information regarding the transmission of the sensing signal.

[0430] <7-1-3. Regarding Transmission Angle and Reception Angle> In the present embodiment (including embodiments other than the first operation example), the angle may be an angle indicated by an absolute value or an angle indicated by a relative value. Here, the angle (hereinafter referred to as the angle of the present embodiment) is, for example, the transmission angle of the sensing signal and / or the reception angle of the sensing signal.

[0431] For example, the angle of the present embodiment may be an absolute angle with respect to the north direction. Further, for example, the angle of the present embodiment may be a relative angle with respect to a direction determined by a transmission device, a reception device, or another communication device (e.g., at least one of the server 10, the management device 20, the base station 30, and the terminal device 40).

[0432] Also, the angle in this embodiment may be an angle determined based on a TCI (Transmission Configuration Indicator) for a sensing signal. FIG. 23 is a diagram for explaining the TCI. In FIG. 23, as the sensing signal, an example is shown in which a sensing signal with a wide beam width (SSB in the example of FIG. 23) and a sensing signal with a narrow beam width (CSI-RS in the example of FIG. 23) are used. An individual TCI is assigned or defined to each sensing signal. If these TCIs and / or sensing signals are associated with the angle of the beam, the receiving device can recognize the angle of the transmission beam by recognizing these TCIs and / or sensing signals.

[0433] For example, the receiving device may obtain the TCI for the received sensing signal by signaling (such as control information from the transmitting device). Thereby, the receiving device can recognize the transmission angle for the sensing signal.

[0434] Also, the transmitting device may further notify the receiving device of information indicating an offset angle with respect to the angle of the sensing signal that is predefined or set in advance. The transmitting device and / or the receiving device may correct the actual transmission angle using the information indicating the offset angle.

[0435] The transmitting device may further notify the receiving device by signaling information regarding the accuracy of the transmission angle of the sensing signal. Note that the accuracy of the transmission angle of the sensing signal is determined according to the beam width. Therefore, the transmitting device may notify the receiving device of information regarding the beam width of the sensing signal as information regarding the accuracy of the transmission angle of the sensing signal.

[0436] In addition, regulations or settings may be made so that the accuracy of the transmission angle (or information related to the accuracy of the transmission angle, such as the beam width) can be recognized according to information about the sensing signal (for example, information about the type of the sensing signal). In this case, the receiving device may recognize the accuracy of the transmission angle of the sensing signal (or information related to the accuracy of the transmission angle, such as the beam width) based on the information about the sensing signal (for example, information about the type of the sensing signal).

[0437] <7-2. Second operation example> First, the sensing operation according to the second operation example will be described.

[0438] In the second operation example, the communication device detects an object based on the time from the timing when the transmitting device transmits the sensing signal to the timing when the receiving device receives the sensing signal.

[0439] In the second operation example, the communication device that detects an object is, for example, one or more base stations 30 and / or one or more terminal devices 40. Also, in the second operation example, the transmitting device that transmits the sensing signal is, for example, one or more base stations 30 and / or one or more terminal devices 40. Further, in the second operation example, the receiving device that receives the sensing signal is, for example, one or more base stations 30 and / or one or more terminal devices 40. The communication device that detects an object may be one or more transmitting devices, one or more receiving devices, or a communication device other than the transmitting device and the receiving device.

[0440] The receiving device can recognize at least the reception angle. If the receiving device can recognize the position information of the transmitting device, the receiving device can detect an object based on the time from transmission to reception. Therefore, it is preferable for the receiving device to recognize information about the transmission timing of the sensing signal (for example, the time when the transmitting device transmits the sensing signal).

[0441] The receiving device can obtain information about the transmission timing of the sensing signal using various methods.

[0442] For example, assume that the sensing signal is configured such that information regarding the transmission timing of the sensing signal can be specified from part or all of the sensing signal. In this case, the terminal device 40 may specify information regarding the transmission timing of the received sensing signal from part or all of the received sensing signal.

[0443] Also, the terminal device 40 may acquire information regarding the transmission of the sensing signal by signaling with another communication device (for example, a receiving device). The other communication device may be a transmitting device or a communication device other than the transmitting device. For example, the terminal device 40 may acquire information regarding the transmission timing of the sensing signal from another communication device using the method of notifying the above-described resources for transmitting the sensing signal and / or resources for transmitting feedback information. That is, the above-described resource notification method can be read as a method for notifying information regarding the transmission timing of the sensing signal.

[0444] The transmitting device may further notify the receiving device by signaling information regarding the accuracy of the transmission timing of the sensing signal. In this case, the receiving device may recognize the accuracy of the transmission timing of the sensing signal based on the information regarding the accuracy of the transmission timing of the sensing signal.

[0445] Note that the accuracy of the transmission timing of the sensing signal depends on the synchronization level between the transmitting device and the receiving device. Therefore, the receiving device may recognize the accuracy of the transmission timing of the sensing signal based on information regarding the synchronization level between the transmitting device and the receiving device. Here, the information regarding the synchronization level between the transmitting device and the receiving device may be, for example, information indicating which technique is used for the synchronization method between the transmitting device and the receiving device (for example, information indicating which of GNSS (for example, GPS), TSN (Time sensitive network), and TA (Timing advance) is used).

[0446] Note that the sensing operation according to the second operation example is applicable to all of the first to sixth sensing scenarios. Further, the sensing operation according to the second operation example is applicable not only to the sensing scenarios related to monostatic sensing and bistatic sensing, but also to the sensing scenarios related to multistatic sensing.

[0447] <<8. Modification Example>> The above-described embodiments are merely examples, and various modifications and applications are possible.

[0448] <8-1. Modification Example Regarding Sensing Device> In the above-described embodiments, one or more communication devices (transmitting device and / or receiving device) serving as the sensing device are one or more base stations 30 and / or one or more terminal devices 40. However, one or more communication devices serving as the sensing device may include communication devices other than the base station 30 and the terminal device 40. For example, one or more communication devices serving as the sensing device may include, for example, the server 10 and / or the management device 20. In addition, one or more communication devices performing the sensing operation may include a roadside unit, a relay device, a RIS (Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface), and a sensor device.

[0449] <8-2. Modification Example Regarding Sensing> Further, in the above-described embodiments, as the sensing performed by the communication device, sensing using an RF-based sensing function (for example, an RF-based sensing function supported by a 3GPP transceiver) is exemplified. For example, in the above-described embodiments, the sensing performed by the communication device is exemplified as sensing using an RF-based sensing function supported by a 3GPP transceiver (for example, the wireless communication unit 31 of the base station 30 and / or the wireless communication unit 41 of the terminal device 40). However, the sensing performed by the communication device is not limited to the above example.

[0450] For example, the sensing performed by the communication device may be sensing using a communication function other than cellular communication (e.g., Wi-Fi, Bluetooth). At this time, the communication device may transmit a sensing signal using wireless communication resources for Wi-Fi communication and / or Bluetooth communication. Also, the communication device may transmit a sensing signal using wireless communication resources for LPWA communication.

[0451] In addition, the sensing performed by the communication device may be sensing using radio waves (wireless communication resources) used for communication other than the above. Also, the sensing performed by the communication device may be sensing using radio waves other than the radio waves used for communication. The sensing performed by the communication device may be sensing using radio waves for radar (e.g., object detection by radar). The data obtained by the sensing may be Non-3GPP sensing data.

[0452] Also, for example, the sensing performed by the communication device may be sensing using one or more sensors provided in the communication device. At this time, the one or more sensors may be one or more sensors provided in the sensor unit 34 of the base station 30, or may be one or more sensors provided in the sensor unit 46 of the terminal device 40. Also in this case, the communication device may perform signaling with another communication device before sensing. For example, the communication device may notify another communication device by signaling that it will perform sensing using one or more sensors. Interference from other communication devices to the sensing is reduced. Also, the communication or sensing of other communication devices is less likely to be interfered with by the sensing of the communication device.

[0453] <8-3. Variations Regarding Transmission of Information / Signals> Also, the method for transmitting information (e.g., feedback information) / signals (e.g., sensing signals) of the present embodiment is not limited to the above.

[0454] For example, in the above-described embodiment, as a method for transmitting information / signals in sidelink (e.g., a method for transmitting physical layer control information), a method using PSCCH was shown. However, the method for notifying information is not limited to this. For example, when a communication device notifies sidelink control information (SCI) in two steps, the communication device may transmit the first SCI using PSCCH and transmit the second SCI using PSSCH. For example, the communication device may multiplex and transmit the second SCI with a sidelink transport block, or may transmit the SCI alone. That is, in this embodiment, the transmission of SCI using PSCCH may include transmission using PSSCH.

[0455] Similarly, the method for transmitting information / signals in downlink is not limited to the method using PDCCH. For example, the communication device may transmit information / signals using PDSCH. The method for transmitting information / signals in uplink is not limited to the method using PUCCH. For example, the communication device may transmit information / signals using PUSCH.

[0456] These transmission methods are also applicable to signaling (e.g., transmission of control information). For example, these transmission methods are also applicable to signaling performed prior to the transmission and / or reception of a sensing signal. Also, these transmission methods are applicable to the transmission of sensing results.

[0457] Note that the sensing result may be transmitted to a communication device other than the sensing device (transmitting device and / or receiving device).

[0458] <8-4. Variation Regarding Use of Sensing Result> In the above-described embodiment, it is assumed that the sensing result (object detection result) is used by the sensing device (for example, the transmission device and / or the reception device). For example, it is assumed that the sensing result (object detection result) is used for setting the communication parameters of the sensing device. However, the sensing result may be used by a communication device other than the sensing device.

[0459] Here, the communication device other than the sensing device may be the terminal device 40 or the base station 30. At this time, the terminal device 40 may set its own communication parameters based on the sensing results obtained by other communication devices. Further, the base station 30 may set its own communication parameters based on the sensing results obtained by other communication devices, or may perform communication control (for example, setting of communication parameters, etc.) of the subordinate terminal device 40.

[0460] Also, the communication device other than the sensing device may be the management device 20. At this time, the management device 20 may perform communication control of the base station 30 and / or the terminal device 40 based on the sensing results obtained by other communication devices.

[0461] Also, the communication device other than the sensing device may be the server 10. At this time, the server 10 may provide a sensing service based on the sensing results obtained by other communication devices. The sensing service is, for example, a service provided based on data detected by one or more sensors of one or more communication devices.

[0462] A sensing service is typically a service that provides sensing data of one or more sensors (for example, the sensing results of a sensing device). However, the sensing service is not limited to the service of providing sensing data. The sensing service may be a service that provides processing executed using the sensing data, or a service that provides information generated using the sensing data. For example, the sensing service may be a service that provides processing based on image data or shape data detected by a camera or LiDAR, etc. (for example, an automatic driving service for a vehicle), or a service that provides information generated based on position information detected by a positioning sensor (for example, a service that provides information about an area / facility specified by the sensing data). Of course, the sensing service is not limited to these services. The sensing service may be a service provided based on sensors that detect the color of an object, the speed of an object, the acceleration of an object, the temperature of an object, the reflectivity of an object, or the transmittance of an object.

[0463] Note that the sensing service is not limited to a service directly using the sensing data. The sensing service may be a service indirectly using the sensing data. For example, the sensing service may be a service executed using data obtained by processing the sensing data (for example, an analysis result based on the sensing data, or data synthesized from a plurality of sensing data).

[0464] The sensing service of this embodiment may be, for example, at least one of the following (1) to (4).

[0465] (1) Services related to automatic driving The sensing service may be a service related to autonomous driving. Here, the service related to autonomous driving may include, for example, a service for providing processing or information (data) necessary for realizing the autonomous driving of a moving body (e.g., a vehicle such as an automobile or a flying body such as a drone). At this time, as a service related to autonomous driving, the server 10 may provide one or more pieces of sensing data selected according to a predetermined criterion related to the processing of autonomous driving. Alternatively, as a service related to autonomous driving, the server 10 may provide information generated by fusing a plurality of pieces of sensing data selected according to a predetermined criterion related to the processing of autonomous driving. Here, the information generated by fusing a plurality of pieces of sensing data may include, for example, at least one of information related to a route necessary for the autonomous driving of a moving body, control information related to steering, control information related to acceleration, control information related to braking, and high-precision 3D map information. The information related to the route may include, for example, information related to the position of the next point relative to the current position or information on speed.

[0466] (2) Services related to automatic operation The sensing service of this embodiment may be a service related to the automatic operation of one or more devices / systems (for example, devices / systems in a factory, a hospital, or an operating room). Here, the service related to the automatic operation of one or more devices / systems may include, for example, a service for providing processing or information (data) necessary for realizing the automatic operation of one or more devices / systems related to a predetermined facility. The predetermined facility may be production equipment installed in a factory or equipment installed in a hospital / operating room. At this time, as a service related to the automatic operation, the server 10 may provide one or more sensing data selected according to a predetermined standard related to the processing of the automatic operation. Alternatively, as a service related to the automatic operation, the server 10 may provide information generated by fusing a plurality of sensing data selected according to a predetermined standard related to the processing of the automatic operation. For example, the server 10 may provide information (for example, control information necessary for automatic operation) generated by fusing data detected by a plurality of sensors provided in one or more devices in a factory or in a hospital / operating room.

[0467] (3) Services related to XR content The sensing service of this embodiment may be a service related to XR content (for example, XR display content such as an XR game or an XR video). Here, the service related to XR content may include, for example, a service for providing processing or information (data) necessary for realizing the processing of XR content. At this time, as a service related to XR content, the server 10 may provide one or more sensing data selected according to a predetermined standard related to the processing of XR content. In addition, the server 10 may provide information (for example, spatio-temporal information of XR content) generated by fusing a plurality of sensing data installed in a terminal device 40 for XR (for example, an XR device such as smart glasses).

[0468] (4) Services related to the provision of sensing data The sensing service of this embodiment may be a service related to the provision of sensing data. For example, the sensing service of this embodiment may be a service for providing sensing data used in a predetermined use case (for example, processing related to the automatic driving of a moving body, processing related to the automatic operation of a device / system, or processing related to XR content). For example, the sensing service of this embodiment may be a service in which the core network CN (for example, the management device 20) provides detection data to the application of the terminal device 40 or the server 10.

[0469] Note that the services exemplified here are just examples. The sensing service is not limited to the services shown in the above (1) to (4). For example, the sensing service may include a location service. The location service is a service performed using the location information of a communication device (for example, the terminal device 40).

[0470] Also, in the above or below, as an application example of the present invention regarding "location", an example of the location regarding the transmission or reception timing of a signal has been described. However, the application examples of the present invention are not limited to this. The information regarding location may also include the estimated location at a future time point based on sensing information. Also, the information regarding location may include speed information estimated and / or calculated based on a plurality of location information.

[0471] <8-5. Other Modification Examples> The control device for controlling the server 10, the management device 20, the base station 30, or the terminal device 40 of this embodiment may be realized by a dedicated computer system or may be realized by a general-purpose computer system.

[0472] For example, a program for executing the above-described operations is stored and distributed in a computer-readable recording medium such as an optical disk, a semiconductor memory, a magnetic tape, or a flexible disk. Then, for example, the program is installed in a computer, and a control device is configured by executing the above-described processing. At this time, the control device may be an external device (for example, a personal computer) of the server 10, the management device 20, the base station 30, or the terminal device 40. Further, the control device may be an internal device (for example, the control unit 13, the control unit 23, the control unit 33, or the control unit 43) of the server 10, the management device 20, the base station 30, or the terminal device 40.

[0473] Alternatively, the communication program may be stored in a disk device provided in a server device on a network such as the Internet so that it can be downloaded to a computer. Further, the above-described functions may be realized by the cooperation of an OS (Operating System) and application software. In this case, the portion other than the OS may be stored in a medium and distributed, or the portion other than the OS may be stored in a server device so that it can be downloaded to a computer.

[0474] In addition, among the respective processes described in the above embodiment, all or part of the processes described as being automatically performed can be manually performed, or all or part of the processes described as being manually performed can be automatically performed by a known method. In addition, regarding the processing procedures, specific names, and information including various data and parameters shown in the above document and drawings, they can be arbitrarily changed unless otherwise specified. For example, the various information shown in each figure is not limited to the illustrated information.

[0475] In addition, each component of each illustrated device is functionally conceptual and does not necessarily have to be physically configured as shown in the figures. That is, the specific form of distribution and integration of each device is not limited to that shown in the figures, and all or part of it can be functionally or physically distributed or integrated in any unit according to various loads, usage conditions, etc. Note that the configuration by this distribution or integration may be performed dynamically.

[0476] In addition, the above-described embodiments can be appropriately combined in a region where the processing contents do not conflict. Also, the order of each step shown in the flowcharts and sequence diagrams of the above-described embodiments can be appropriately changed.

[0477] The functions realized by the components described in this specification may be implemented in circuitry or processing circuitry programmed to realize the described functions. Here, the circuitry or processing circuitry may be a general-purpose processor, a specific-purpose processor, an integrated circuit, ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuits), a CPU (a Central Processing Unit), a conventional circuit, and / or a combination thereof. The processor includes transistors and other circuits. The processor may be regarded as circuitry or processing circuitry. The processor may be a programmed processor that executes a program stored in a memory.

[0478] In this specification, circuitry, units, and means may be hardware programmed to realize the described functions, or hardware that executes them. The hardware may be any hardware disclosed in this specification, or any hardware known as being programmed or executing to realize the described functions. When the hardware is a processor regarded as being of the circuitry type, the circuitry, means, or unit may be a combination of the hardware and the software used to configure the hardware and / or the processor.

[0479] Further, for example, the present embodiment can be implemented as any configuration that constitutes an apparatus or a system. For example, the present embodiment can be implemented as a processor such as a system LSI (Large Scale Integration), a module that uses a plurality of processors, a unit that uses a plurality of modules, or a set in which other functions are further added to the unit. That is, the present embodiment can also be implemented as a part of the configuration of the apparatus.

[0480] The system LSI may be referred to as a System on Chip (SOC). In other words, each of the above-described or below-described devices (e.g., server 10, management device 20, base station 30, and terminal device 40) may be interpreted as a processor (e.g., CPU) as a system LSI (e.g., SoC), or a module that uses or constitutes the processor. Further, alternatively or in addition, the present embodiment may be implemented by any configuration (e.g., a modem chip (baseband chip) or an RF (Radio Frequency) unit, or a combination thereof) that constitutes a device or a system. The RF unit may include at least one of an RF circuit and an RF Front-end. In other words, each of the above-described or below-described devices may be interpreted as a modem chip (baseband chip) or an RF unit, or a combination thereof. Further alternatively or in addition, each of the above-described or below-described devices may be interpreted as a module that uses or constitutes a modem chip or an RF unit.

[0481] The modem chip performs signal processing related to communication within a device (including the above-described or below-described devices). The modem chip may have at least the function of a modulator or a demodulator. The RF unit may have at least one function of an RF transceiver (RF Upconverter, RF Downconverter), a power amplifier, and a low noise amplifier. The RF transceiver converts a baseband signal and an RF frequency. The power amplifier performs amplification for transmitting a signal from an antenna. The low noise amplifier amplifies a weak signal received from an antenna. Further alternatively or in addition, the RF unit (particularly, the RF Front-end) may include at least one of the above-described power amplifier, low noise amplifier, envelope tracker, filter, duplexer, multiplexer, antenna switch, and antenna tuner.

[0482] The combination of the modem chip and the RF section may be referred to as a modem-RF system. At least a part of the modem chip, the RF section, or a combination thereof may be included in a system LSI (e.g., SoC). For example, the processing (e.g., at least part of the MAC layer processing / PHY layer processing) performed by at least a part of the modem chip, the RF section, or a combination thereof may be realized by the system LSI. Here, the MAC layer processing or the PHY layer processing may be at least part of the processing executed by the apparatuses (e.g., the server 10, the management apparatus 20, the base station 30, and the terminal apparatus 40) in the above-described or the following embodiments.

[0483] Note that in the present embodiment, a system means a collection of a plurality of components (apparatuses, modules (parts), etc.), and it does not matter whether all the components are in the same housing. For example, a plurality of apparatuses housed in separate housings and connected via a network, and one apparatus in which a plurality of modules are housed in one housing are both systems.

[0484] Also, for example, the present embodiment can take a configuration of cloud computing in which one function is shared and jointly processed by a plurality of apparatuses via a network.

[0485] The dedicated channel for transmitting the sensing signal may be referred to as PUSECH (Physical Uplink Sensing Channel), PDSECH (Physical Downlink Sensing Channel), or PSSECH (Physical Sidelink Sensing Channel).

[0486] <<9. Conclusion>> As described above, the communication system 1 of the present embodiment is a cellular communication system including a plurality of communication devices. A communication device (for example, the base station 30 or the terminal device 40) performs signaling regarding at least one of transmission and reception of a sensing signal transmitted using radio communication resources with one or more other communication devices included in the communication system 1. Then, after the signaling, the communication device performs at least one of transmission and reception of the sensing signal. Since the communication device performs signaling with one or more other communication devices prior to transmission and / or reception of the sensing signal, the communication system 1 can perform cellular communication and / or sensing smoothly.

[0487] For example, assume that the sensing performed by the communication device is monostatic sensing. In this case, the communication device may notify one or more other communication devices by signaling not to use the radio communication resources used for transmission of the sensing signal. Since the notification is made in advance, interference from other communication devices to the sensing is reduced. Also, cellular communication or sensing of other communication devices is less likely to be interfered with by the sensing of the communication device.

[0488] Also, for example, assume that the sensing performed by the communication device is monostatic sensing. And assume that the communication device is the terminal device 40. At this time, the terminal device 40 may confirm whether it is within the coverage of the base station 30 by signaling. Then, when the terminal device 40 is within the coverage of the base station 30, it may perform transmission and reception of the sensing signal, and when the terminal device 40 is not within the coverage of the base station 30, it may refrain from performing transmission and reception of the sensing signal. Thereby, irregular radio wave utilization (radio wave transmission outside the control of the base station 30) by the terminal device 40 is suppressed. As a result, cellular communication or sensing of other communication devices is less likely to be interfered with by the sensing of the terminal device 40.

[0489] Also, for example, assume that the sensing performed by the communication device is bistatic sensing. In this case, the communication device may notify, by signaling, a communication device other than the transmitting device and the receiving device among one or more other communication devices not to use the radio communication resources used for transmitting the sensing signal. Since the notification is made in advance, interference from other communication devices to the sensing is reduced. Also, the cellular communication or sensing of other communication devices is less likely to be interfered with by the sensing of the communication device.

[0490] Also, for example, assume that the sensing performed by the communication device is bistatic sensing. And assume that the communication device is a terminal device 40 that performs sidelink communication with another terminal device 40. In this case, the terminal device 40 may perform signaling as to whether at least one of itself and the other terminal device 40 is within the coverage of the base station 30. And when at least one of the terminal device 40 itself and the other terminal device 40 is within the coverage of the base station 30, the terminal device 40 may transmit a sensing signal to the other terminal device 40, and when at least one of the terminal device 40 itself and the other terminal device 40 is not within the coverage of the base station 30, the terminal device 40 may refrain from transmitting a sensing signal to the other terminal device 40. Thereby, irregular radio wave utilization (radio wave transmission outside the control of the base station 30) by the terminal device 40 is suppressed. As a result, the cellular communication or sensing of other communication devices is less likely to be interfered with by the sensing of the terminal device 40.

[0491] Also, for example, assume that the sensing performed by the communication device is multistatic sensing. In this case, the communication device may notify, by signaling, a communication device other than the transmitting device and the receiving device among one or more other communication devices not to use the radio communication resources used for transmitting the sensing signal. Since the notification is made in advance, interference from other communication devices to the sensing is reduced. Also, the cellular communication or sensing of other communication devices is less likely to be interfered with by the sensing of the communication device.

[0492] Also, for example, assume that the sensing performed by the communication device is multi-static sensing. In this case, the communication device acquires, by signaling, the capability information regarding the multi-static sensing of each of a plurality of other communication devices. Then, the communication device transmits a sensing signal to a plurality of devices selected from among the plurality of other communication devices based on the capability information. Since the selection of communication devices capable of multi-static sensing in advance is performed, the multi-static sensing is performed smoothly.

[0493] Also, for example, assume that the sensing performed by the communication device is multi-tatic sensing. And assume that the communication device is a terminal device 40 that performs sidelink communication with another terminal device 40. In this case, the terminal device 40 may perform signaling as to whether at least one of itself and the other terminal device 40 is within the coverage of the base station 30. Then, when at least one of the terminal device 40 and the other terminal device 40 is within the coverage of the base station 30, the terminal device 40 may transmit a sensing signal to the other terminal device 40, and when at least one of the terminal device 40 and the other terminal device 40 is not within the coverage of the base station 30, the terminal device 40 may refrain from transmitting a sensing signal to the other terminal device 40. Thereby, irregular radio wave utilization (radio wave transmission outside the control of the base station 30) by the terminal device 40 is suppressed. As a result, cellular communication or sensing of other communication devices is less likely to be interfered with by the sensing of the terminal device 40.

[0494] Also, for example, assume that the sensing performed by the communication device is multi-tatic sensing. At this time, the communication device may dynamically select a plurality of communication devices that perform multi-static sensing from among the plurality of other communication devices based on the result of signaling with at least one of the plurality of other communication devices. Thereby, highly accurate sensing becomes possible.

[0495] As described above, each embodiment of the present disclosure has been explained. However, the technical scope of the present disclosure is not limited to each of the above-described embodiments as they are, and various modifications are possible without departing from the gist of the present disclosure. Also, components across different embodiments and modifications may be appropriately combined.

[0496] Also, the effects in each of the embodiments described in this specification are merely examples and are not limiting, and there may be other effects.

[0497] Note that the present technology can also have the following configurations. (1) A signaling unit that performs signaling regarding at least one of transmission and reception of a sensing signal transmitted using wireless communication resources with one or more other communication devices, After the signaling, a sensing unit that performs at least one of transmission and reception of the sensing signal, A communication device comprising the above. (2) The sensing signal is a signal for multi-static sensing transmitted from a plurality of communication entities or transmitted to a plurality of communication entities, At least one of the one or more other communication devices is included in the plurality of communication entities, The communication device according to (1) above. (3) The plurality of communication entities are a plurality of devices among the plurality of other communication devices, The signaling unit performs signaling regarding at least one of transmission and reception of the sensing signal with at least one of the plurality of communication entities, After the signaling, the sensing unit transmits the sensing signal to the plurality of communication entities or receives the sensing signal from the plurality of communication entities, The communication device according to (2) above. (4) The signaling unit acquires, by means of the signaling, the capability information regarding the multi-static sensing of each of the plurality of other communication devices, The sensing unit transmits the sensing signal to the plurality of devices selected from among the plurality of other communication devices based on the capability information. The communication device according to (3) above. (5) The signaling unit transmits, by means of the signaling, the capability information regarding the multi-static sensing of the communication device to at least one of the plurality of devices. The communication device according to (3) above. (6) The signaling unit notifies, by means of the signaling, a device other than the plurality of communication entities among the one or more other communication devices not to use the radio communication resources used for transmitting the sensing signal. The communication device according to any one of (3) to (5) above. (7) The communication device is a terminal device that performs sidelink communication with another terminal device, The plurality of communication entities includes the other terminal device, The one or more other communication devices includes a base station that controls the sidelink communication, The signaling unit confirms, by means of the signaling, whether the terminal device or the other terminal device is within the coverage of the base station, When at least one of the terminal device or the other terminal device is within the coverage of the base station, the sensing unit transmits the sensing signal to the other terminal device; when neither the communication device nor at least one of the other terminal devices is within the coverage of the base station, the sensing unit does not transmit the sensing signal to the other terminal device. The communication device according to any one of (3) to (6) above. (8) A selection unit that dynamically selects a plurality of devices from among the plurality of other communication devices as the plurality of communication entities based on the result of signaling with at least one of the plurality of other communication devices. The communication device according to any one of (3) to (7) above. (9) The communication device is a base station or a terminal device. At least one of a base station and a terminal device is included in the plurality of other communication devices. The communication device according to any one of (3) to (8) above. (10) The sensing signal is a signal for monostatic sensing that is transmitted and received by the communication device. The communication device according to (1) above. (11) The signaling unit notifies, by the signaling, the one or more other communication devices not to use the radio communication resources used for transmitting the sensing signal. The communication device according to (10) above. (12) The communication device is a terminal device. A base station is included in the one or more other communication devices. The signaling unit confirms, by the signaling, whether the communication device is within the coverage of the base station. When the communication device is within the coverage of the base station, the sensing unit transmits and receives the sensing signal. When the communication device is not within the coverage of the base station, the sensing unit does not transmit and receive the sensing signal. The communication device according to (10) or (11) above. (13) The sensing signal is a signal for bistatic sensing that is transmitted from the communication device to one communication entity or transmitted from one communication entity to the communication device. The communication device according to (1) above. (14) The signaling unit notifies, by means of the signaling, a device other than the one communication entity among the one or more other communication devices not to use the radio communication resources used for transmitting the sensing signal. The communication device according to (13) above. (15) The communication device is a base station or a terminal device. The one communication entity is another base station or another terminal device. The communication device according to (13) or (14) above. (16) The communication device is a terminal device that performs sidelink communication with another terminal device. The one communication entity is the other terminal device. The one or more other communication devices include a base station that controls the sidelink communication. The signaling unit confirms, by means of the signaling, whether the terminal device or the other terminal device is within the coverage of the base station. When at least one of the terminal device and the other terminal device is within the coverage of the base station, the sensing unit transmits the sensing signal to the other terminal device, and when neither the communication device nor the other terminal device is within the coverage of the base station, the sensing unit does not transmit the sensing signal to the other terminal device. The communication device according to (15) above. (17) The communication device includes a feedback unit that feeds back the result of receiving the sensing signal to at least one of the one or more other communication devices. The communication device according to (1) above. (18) The feedback unit feeds back the result of receiving the sensing signal using a resource determined based on at least one of the sensing signal and the radio communication resources for transmitting the sensing signal. The communication device according to (17) above. (19) The communication device is a terminal device that performs sidelink communication with other terminal devices. The one or more other communication devices include a base station that controls the sidelink communication. The feedback unit feeds back to the base station the result of reception of the sensing signal from the other terminal device. The communication device according to (17) or (18). (20) Perform signaling related to at least one of transmission and reception of a sensing signal transmitted using radio communication resources with one or more other communication devices. After the signaling with the one or more other communication devices, perform at least one of transmission and reception of the sensing signal. Communication method.

Description of symbols

[0498] 1 Communication system 10 Server 20 Management device 30 Base station 40 Terminal device 11, 21 Communication unit 31, 41 Radio communication unit 12, 22, 32, 42 Storage unit 13, 23, 33, 43 Control unit 34, 46 Sensor unit 44 Input unit 45 Output unit 311, 411 Transmission processing unit 312, 412 Reception processing unit 313, 413 Antenna 331, 431 Signaling unit 332, 432 Sensing unit 333, 433 Feedback unit 334, 434 Selection unit CN Core network RAN Radio Access Network

Claims

1. A signaling unit that performs signaling regarding at least one of transmission and reception of a sensing signal transmitted using wireless communication resources with one or more other communication devices; A sensing unit that performs at least one of transmission and reception of the sensing signal after the signaling; A communication device comprising the above.

2. The sensing signal is a signal for multi-static sensing transmitted from a plurality of communication entities or transmitted to a plurality of communication entities, At least one of the one or more other communication devices is included in the plurality of communication entities, The communication device according to Claim 1.

3. The plurality of communication entities are a plurality of devices among the plurality of other communication devices, The signaling unit performs signaling regarding at least one of transmission and reception of the sensing signal with at least one of the plurality of communication entities, After the signaling, the sensing unit performs transmission of the sensing signal to the plurality of communication entities or reception of the sensing signal from the plurality of communication entities, The communication device according to Claim 2.

4. The signaling unit acquires, by the signaling, capability information regarding the multi-static sensing of each of the plurality of other communication devices, Based on the capability information, the sensing unit transmits the sensing signal to the plurality of devices selected from among the plurality of other communication devices, The communication device according to Claim 3.

5. The signaling unit transmits, by the signaling, capability information regarding the multi-static sensing of the communication device to at least one of the plurality of devices, The communication device according to Claim 3.

6. The signaling unit notifies, by the signaling, devices other than the plurality of communication entities among the one or more other communication devices not to use the wireless communication resources used for transmission of the sensing signal, The communication device according to Claim 3.

7. The communication device is a terminal device that performs sidelink communication with another terminal device, The other terminal device is included in the plurality of communication entities, A base station that controls the sidelink communication is included in the one or more other communication devices, The signaling unit checks, by means of the signaling, whether the terminal device or the other terminal device is within the coverage of the base station. When at least one of the terminal device or the other terminal device is within the coverage of the base station, the sensing unit transmits the sensing signal to the other terminal device. When neither the communication device nor the other terminal device is within the coverage of the base station, the sensing unit does not transmit the sensing signal to the other terminal device. The communication device according to claim 3.

8. A selection unit that dynamically selects a plurality of devices from among the plurality of other communication devices as the plurality of communication entities based on the result of signaling with at least one of the plurality of other communication devices. The communication device according to claim 3.

9. The communication device is a base station or a terminal device. At least one of a base station and a terminal device is included in the plurality of other communication devices. The communication device according to claim 3.

10. The sensing signal is a signal for monostatic sensing transmitted and received by the communication device. The communication device according to claim 1.

11. The signaling unit notifies, by means of the signaling, the one or more other communication devices not to use the radio communication resources used for transmitting the sensing signal. The communication device according to claim 10.

12. The communication device is a terminal device. A base station is included in the one or more other communication devices. The signaling unit checks, by means of the signaling, whether the communication device is within the coverage of the base station. When the communication device is within the coverage of the base station, the sensing unit transmits and receives the sensing signal. When the communication device is not within the coverage of the base station, the sensing unit does not transmit and receive the sensing signal. The communication device according to claim 10.

13. The sensing signal is a signal for bistatic sensing transmitted from the communication device to one communication entity or transmitted from one communication entity to the communication device. The communication device according to claim 1.

14. The signaling unit notifies, by means of the signaling, a device other than the one communication entity among the one or more other communication devices not to use the radio communication resources used for transmitting the sensing signal. The communication device according to claim 13.

15. The communication device is a base station or a terminal device. The one communication entity is another base station or another terminal device. The communication device according to claim 13.

16. The communication device is a terminal device performing sidelink communication with another terminal device. The one communication entity is the other terminal device. The one or more other communication devices include a base station for controlling the sidelink communication. The signaling unit, by means of the signaling, checks whether the terminal device or the other terminal device is within the coverage of the base station. When at least one of the terminal device and the other terminal device is within the coverage of the base station, the sensing unit transmits the sensing signal to the other terminal device; when neither the communication device nor the other terminal device is within the coverage of the base station, the sensing unit does not transmit the sensing signal to the other terminal device. The communication device according to claim 15.

17. A feedback unit for feeding back the result of receiving the sensing signal to at least one of the one or more other communication devices. The communication device according to claim 1.

18. The feedback unit feeds back the result of receiving the sensing signal using a resource determined based on at least one of the sensing signal and the radio communication resources for transmitting the sensing signal. The communication device according to claim 17.

19. The communication device is a terminal device performing sidelink communication with another terminal device. The one or more other communication devices include a base station for controlling the sidelink communication. The feedback unit feeds back the result of receiving the sensing signal from the other terminal device to the base station. The communication device according to claim 17.

20. Perform signaling regarding at least one of transmission and reception of a sensing signal transmitted using radio communication resources with one or more other communication devices. After the signaling with the one or more other communication devices, performing at least one of transmitting and receiving the sensing signal Communication method

Images