Method for providing communication and computing service sessions

Abstract

According to various embodiments, a method for providing a communication and computing services session is described that includes receiving an indication of an energy consumption goal; selecting a service delivery profile that specifies a distribution of communication and computing service tasks between a mobile terminal and one or more other computing devices, where, if possible, the service delivery profile is selected such that the energy consumption goal is met when the mobile terminal and the one or more other computing devices perform computations specified by the service delivery profile; and providing the communication and computing services session by distributing the communication and computing service tasks to the mobile terminal and the one or more other computing devices in accordance with the selected service delivery profile.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a method for providing communication and computing service communication sessions. [Background technology]

[0002] Various services, such as artificial intelligence-based services, for example for augmented reality or control, require high computational effort. It is therefore desirable to distribute them across multiple devices, in particular on cloud devices, which may provide high computational power. On the other hand, this requires computational resources, for example when the results of such services are required by a mobile terminal and need to be communicated to the mobile terminal, possibly with a certain quality of service, such as latency. However, processing only on the mobile terminal may not be possible due to limited computational power on the mobile terminal and undesirable energy consumption. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0003] Thus, efficient techniques for providing communication and computing services are desirable. [Means for solving the problem]

[0004] According to various embodiments, a method for providing communication and computing services is described that includes receiving an indication of an energy consumption goal, selecting a service delivery profile that specifies a distribution of communication and computing service tasks between a mobile terminal and one or more other computing devices, where if possible, the service delivery profile is selected such that the energy consumption goal is met when the mobile terminal and the one or more other computing devices perform computations specified by the service delivery profile; and providing a communication and computing services session by distributing the communication and computing service tasks to the mobile terminal and the one or more other computing devices in accordance with the selected service delivery profile. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0005] In the drawings, like reference numbers generally refer to the same parts throughout the different views. The drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead generally being placed upon illustrating the principles of the invention. In the following description, various aspects are described with reference to the following drawings: [Figure 1] 1 illustrates a wireless communication system. [Diagram 2] Showing links and computing profiles. [Diagram 3] It presents the flows for the provision of communication and computing services in terms of computation, link quality, and energy consumption requirements. [Figure 4] A message flow diagram showing the message flow for the provision of communication and computing services with respect to computation, link quality, and energy consumption requirements is shown. [Diagram 5] 1 shows a flow diagram illustrating a method for providing communication and computing services according to an embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0006] The following detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings, which show by way of example specific details and aspects of the present disclosure in which the present invention may be practiced. Other aspects may be utilized and structural, logical, and electrical changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. Various aspects of the present disclosure are not necessarily mutually exclusive. Some aspects of the present disclosure may be combined with one or more other aspects of the present disclosure to form new aspects.

[0007] Various embodiments consistent with aspects of the present disclosure are described below.

[0008] Example 1 is a method for providing a communication and computing service session as described above.

[0009] Example 2 is the method of example 1, wherein the energy consumption goal is an energy consumption limit for the mobile terminal and / or a total energy consumption limit for the mobile terminal and one or more other computing devices, or allows unlimited energy consumption.

[0010] Example 3 is the method of example 1 or 2, wherein selecting the service provision profile includes determining, for each of one or more of the service provision profiles, whether it holds that an energy consumption target is met when the mobile terminal and one or more other computing devices perform calculations specified by the service provision profile, and one of the service provision profiles for which it is successfully checked that the energy consumption target is met when the mobile terminal and one or more other computing devices perform calculations specified by the service provision profile is selected.

[0011] Example 4 is the method of any one of Examples 1-3, wherein the service provision profile specifies a quality of a communication connection between the mobile terminal and the one or more other computing devices and computational requirements on the mobile terminal and the one or more other computing devices, and the communication and computing service session is provided by configuring the mobile terminal and the one or more other computing devices to provide the specified quality for the communication connection between the mobile terminal and the one or more other computing devices and to meet the specified computational requirements.

[0012] Example 5 is the method of example 4, further comprising receiving an indication of one or more performance requirements of the communication and computing services, wherein a service provision profile is selected such that the one or more performance requirements are met when the mobile terminal and the one or more other computing devices perform computations specified by the service provision profile and a quality of a communication connection between the mobile terminal and the one or more other computing devices used for communication in the context of the communication and computing services has a specified quality.

[0013] Example 6 is any one of the methods of Examples 1 to 4, further including receiving an indication of one or more performance requirements of communication and computing services and an indication of a priority between the performance requirements and an energy consumption target, and selecting a service provision profile taking into account the priority.

[0014] Example 7 is the method of example 6, wherein if the priority prioritizes one or more performance requirements, one of the service delivery profiles is selected such that the one or more performance requirements are met when the mobile terminal and one or more other computing devices perform computations as specified by the service delivery profile, and if the priority prioritizes energy consumption targets, one of the service delivery profiles is selected such that the energy consumption targets are met when the mobile terminal and one or more other computing devices perform computations as specified by the service delivery profile.

[0015] Example 8 is the method of any one of Examples 1-7, wherein the one or more performance requirements include one or more of response time, reliability, redundancy level, accuracy, and error rate of the communications and computing services.

[0016] Example 9 is the method of any one of Examples 1-8, further including receiving an energy consumption profile of the mobile terminal specifying a relationship between usage of the computational resources of the mobile terminal and energy consumption of the mobile terminal, and selecting the service provision profile includes using the energy consumption profile to determine usage of the computational resources of the mobile terminal that satisfies the energy consumption goal, and selecting the service provision profile to specify a distribution of tasks that leads to the determined usage of the computational resources of the mobile terminal or a lesser usage of the computational resources of the mobile terminal.

[0017] Example 10 is the method of any one of examples 1-9, wherein the one or more other computing devices include one or more cloud devices.

[0018] Example 11 is the method of any one of Examples 1 to 10, wherein providing communication and computing services includes providing communication between the mobile terminal and one or more other computing devices by a mobile communication system, and receiving the energy consumption limit and selecting the service provision profile are performed by one or more control plane components of the mobile communication system.

[0019] Example 12 is the method of any one of examples 1-11, wherein the service delivery profile is selected to optimize energy efficiency of the delivery of the communications and computing services.

[0020] Example 13 is any one of the methods of Examples 1 to 12, further comprising receiving information regarding resource availability of the mobile terminal, one or more other computing devices, and / or communication resources between the mobile terminal and one or more other computing devices, and selecting a service provision profile to be realized with the available resources according to the received information.

[0021] Example 14 is the method of example 13, wherein at least one of the energy consumption target, the resource availability of the mobile terminal, the one or more other computing devices, and / or the communication resources between the mobile terminal and the one or more other computing devices is provided by one or more application layer components.

[0022] A fifteenth embodiment is a communication system configured to execute any one of the methods according to the first to fourteenth embodiments.

[0023] It should be noted that one or more of the features of any of the above embodiments may be combined with any of the other embodiments, and in particular, an embodiment described in the context of an apparatus is equally valid for a method.

[0024] According to a further embodiment, there is provided a computer program and a computer readable medium comprising instructions which, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform the method of any one of the above embodiments.

[0025] Various examples are described in more detail below.

[0026] FIG. 1 illustrates a wireless communication system 100 configured, for example, in accordance with 5G (fifth generation) or 6G (sixth generation), ie, for example, 5GS or 6GS, as defined by 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project).

[0027] The wireless communication system 100 includes a mobile wireless terminal device 102, such as a UE (user equipment) or a NE (nano equipment). The mobile wireless terminal device 102, also called a subscriber terminal, constitutes the terminal side, while the other components of the wireless communication system 100 described below are part of the mobile wireless communication network side, i.e. part of a mobile wireless communication network (e.g. a Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN)).

[0028] Furthermore, the wireless communication system 100 includes a radio access network 103 that may include a number of radio access network nodes, i.e. base stations, configured to provide radio access according to a 5G (5th Generation) radio access technology (5G New Radio). It should be noted that the wireless communication system 100 may be configured according to a mobile wireless communication standard such as LTE (Long Term Evolution), although 5G is used here as an example. Each radio access network node 103 is capable of providing wireless communication with a mobile wireless terminal device 102 over an air interface. It should be noted that the radio access network 103 may include any number of radio access network nodes.

[0029] The wireless communication system 100 further comprises a Core Network (CN, here 5GC) 108 including an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 101 connected to the RAN 103 and a Unified Data Management (UDM) 104. Here and in the following example, the UDM may further comprise an actual UE subscription database, known for example as a Unified Data Repository (UDR). The Core Network 108 further comprises an Authentication Server Function (AUSF) 109 and one or more Policy Control Functions (PCFs), in this example a first PCF 106 and a second PCF 107.

[0030] The core network 108 further includes multiple Session Management Functions (SMFs), in this example a first Session Management Function (SMF) 110 and a second Session Management Function (SMF) 112, and multiple User Plane Functions (UPFs), in this example a first User Plane Function (UPF) 111 and a second User Plane Function (UPF) 113. The SMFs 110, 112 are for handling PDU (Protocol Data Unit) sessions, i.e. for creating, updating and removing PDU sessions and for managing session contexts with the User Plane Functions (UPFs).

[0031] The core network 108 further includes an application function (AF) 105. Although the AF 105 is shown as being directly connected to the SMFs 110, 112 and PCFs 106, 107, it may also be connected to them via a Network Exposure Function (NEF), particularly if the AF 105 is maintained by a third party (i.e., a party other than the operator of the mobile wireless communications system 100).

[0032] The AF 105 allows an application to request the 5G system 100 to support a specific QoS (Quality of Service) policy for a UE 102 that establishes a PDU session to provide communication services for that application.

[0033] An application may involve computational tasks such as, for example, artificial intelligence (i.e., machine learning). Examples include applications for robotic control and augmented reality (for mobile terminals), which may require computationally intensive tasks (and thus tasks with high energy consumption). Tasks for such applications may be distributed to multiple components of the communication system 100, such as the UE 102 itself and one or more cloud devices connected via the UPFs 111, 113 (including offloading computationally intensive tasks requiring high energy consumption to a network endpoint).

[0034] Thus, providing the applications includes computational tasks, as well as communication services to enable communication between the components that perform those computational tasks, and the services provided by the communication system are therefore referred to herein as communication and computing services (because they include computational tasks and communication tasks).

[0035] According to various embodiments, an application requiring communication and computing services, i.e., the application layer, may indicate requirements regarding the communication and computing services, such as latency or response time (e.g., in real-time applications specifying the time within which a result must be provided), reliability (i.e., limiting the risk that a service will fail) or redundancy level, accuracy or error rate (e.g., the error rate of errors caused by communication errors), etc. These requirements may be provided, for example, by a mobile terminal (using said application) or by an AF.

[0036] The control plane of the communication system 100 selects certain (communication) links and computing profiles for the communication and computing services according to requirements. The links and computing profiles may be from a set of links and computing profiles, each of which corresponds to a respective option for dividing tasks for the communication and computing services. The application layer (e.g., a mobile terminal) may also directly request one of the links and computing profiles.

[0037] FIG. 2 illustrates a link and computing profile 200 .

[0038] In the present example, it is assumed that a UE (generally a mobile terminal) 201 and one or more resource hosting components 202 (also called network side, one or more other computing devices (other than the mobile terminal)) should perform computational tasks for communication and computing services.

[0039] Thus, the link and computing profile 200 defines the computational resource requirements of the UE 201 for communication and computing services and the computational resource requirements of one or more hosting devices 202 for communication and computing services. Additionally, the link and computing profile 200 defines the quality (e.g., QoS) of the link 203 between the UE and the one or more hosting devices 202.

[0040] One or more hosting devices 202 may, for example, include one or more cloud devices connected via the UPF, and thus the computational resource requirements of one or more hosting devices 202 may also be viewed as requirements for computational resources that the UPF can provide.

[0041] Further, according to various embodiments, limitations or goals may be provided regarding energy consumption or energy efficiency, in particular the energy consumption of the UE 201. It should be noted that each link and computing profile may correspond to the energy consumption of the UE and one or more hosting devices, i.e., the energy consumption resulting from the respective tasks to be performed by the UE and one or more hosting devices according to the link and computing profile.

[0042] Examples of computational resource requirements may include: About the UE: number and size of CPUs, on-chip and off-chip memory, neural network accelerator engines For cloud devices: memory and computing power (e.g. CPU)

[0043] As described above, the control plane of the communication system 100, i.e., one or more control plane components, such as the SMFs 110, 112 or the PCF 106, selects the link and computing profile 200 to be used for communication and computing services according to: Constraints on communication and computational resources (e.g., on what a communication system can provide) Service performance and energy consumption and / or energy efficiency goals (in accordance with the requirements of the communication and computing services). In particular, according to various embodiments, the control plane component selects the link and computing profile 200 (if possible) such that the energy consumption goals are met (i.e. respected, e.g. energy consumption limits of the mobile terminal are not violated) when communication resources are used in accordance with the link and computing profile 200.

[0044] Figure 3 shows the flow for the provision of communication and computing services with regard to computation, link quality, and energy consumption requirements.

[0045] Involved in this flow are an AF 301, a core network control plane (CP) component 302 (e.g., a control plane network function (NF) such as an SMF or PCF), a UE 303 (corresponding to the UE 201), a RAN 304, and one or more resource hosting components 305 connected via a UPF 306.

[0046] In preparation for executing a communication and computing service involving the UE 303 and separate components in the network (e.g., as a service session), the application layer (here, the AF 301) issues alternative combined link and computing (i.e., link and computing profiles) to the mobile network (specifically, the mobile network control plane component 302).

[0047] Furthermore, for a particular communication and computing service to be provided for an application, the application layer (of the AF 301 or UE 303) provides the communication and computing service requirements to the mobile network control plane component 302.

[0048] For a particular communication and computing service, resource availability and energy consumption targets of the UE 303 are provided to the mobile network control plane component 302. Alternatively, resource availability and energy consumption targets of the UE 303 are provided to the AF 301 via an application layer. The AF may provide these resource availability and energy consumption targets of the UE 303 to the control plane component 302.

[0049] The mobile network control plane component 302 then selects a link and computing profile based on: · Requirements issued by the application layer Knowledge of the communication (i.e. connectivity) resources that a mobile network can provide Knowledge of the computational resources available in the UE 303 and the resource hosting component 305 Knowledge of the energy consumption profile of the UE and / or resource hosting components. The energy consumption profile of a device or component is a measure of the energy efficiency of a UE or a computational component in the network. It may for example specify its energy consumption for a certain computational load, i.e. a mapping (or relationship) from computational resource utilization to energy consumption. Service performance and energy efficiency targets (in accordance with requirements provided for communications and computing services).

[0050] In particular, the control plane component 302 can strike a balance between service performance and energy efficiency by taking into account the energy consumption profiles of the UEs and / or resource hosting components (obtained in addition to the link and computing profiles, which do not include the energy consumption profiles).

[0051] FIG. 4 shows a message flow diagram 400 illustrating message flows for the provision of communication and computing services with respect to computation, link quality, and energy consumption requirements.

[0052] Similar to FIG. 3, the flow involves an AF 401, a core network control plane (CP) component 402 (e.g., a control plane network function (NF) such as an SMF or PCF), a UE 403 (corresponding to UE 201), a RAN 404, and one or more resource hosting components 405 connected via a UPF 406.

[0053] At 407, the AF 401 provides the CP component 402 with a set (eg, a list) of possible links and computing profiles for communication and computing services.

[0054] At 408, a PDU session for communication and computing services is established, i.e., a PDU session for exchanging data for the communication and computing services, such as results of computations performed by the UE 403 and the one or more resource hosting components 405.

[0055] Further, resource allocations for at least some of the alternative link and computing profiles may be determined. Note that it may be beneficial to know the potential resource allocations for each profile based on the available link and computing profiles as indicated by AF 401. For example, the determination of the resource allocation for a profile may be omitted if network conditions are impaired and the control plane switches to the best of the profiles.

[0056] The UE 403 provides an indication of its available computational resources, as well as its energy consumption profile, to the CP component 402 .

[0057] The UPF 406 provides the CP component 402 with the available resources of one or more resource hosting components and the energy consumption profile of one or more resource hosting components (e.g., originally provided by one or more resource hosting components 405). Alternatively, the CP component 402 may obtain this information from another source, e.g., a Network Data Analysis Facility (NWDAF).

[0058] Furthermore, the CP component 402 is provided (eg, by the UE 403 or the AF 401) with requirements for communication and computing services regarding service performance and energy consumption (which may be stringent requirements, but may also include goals).

[0059] At 409, based on the received information, the CP NF 402 selects one of the link and computing profiles for the communication and computing services.

[0060] At 410, the CP NF 402 informs the AF 401 about which of the linking and computing profiles it has selected.

[0061] At 411 and 412, the AF 401 allocates computational resources on one or more resource hosting components 405 and the UE 403 for communication and computing services according to the selected link and computing profile, for example by distributing tasks to the UE 403 and one or more resource hosting components 405.

[0062] The CP NF functions may be implemented by the SMF, the PCF, or both, i.e., the SMF may provide functions related to controlling PDU session establishment and the PCF may provide functions related to receiving link and computing requirements from the AF 401.

[0063] In summary, according to various embodiments, a method is provided as shown in FIG.

[0064] FIG. 5 illustrates a flow diagram 500 illustrating a method for providing a communication and computing services session (i.e., a (communication and computing) session for providing communication and computing services) according to one embodiment.

[0065] At 501, an indication of an energy consumption goal is received.

[0066] At 502, a service provision profile (also referred to in the above examples as a link and computing profile) is selected that specifies the distribution of communication and computing service tasks between the mobile terminal and one or more other computing devices, and if determined possible, the service provision profile is selected such that energy consumption targets are met when the mobile terminal and one or more other computing devices perform computations as specified by the service provision profile.

[0067] At 503, a communication and computing service session is provided by distributing communication and computing service tasks to the mobile terminal and one or more other computing devices according to a selected service provision profile.

[0068] According to various embodiments, in other words, tasks are distributed, where the energy consumption target is respected if possible. Other requirements, especially regarding the communication between the mobile terminal and one or more other computing devices, may also be taken into account. This means that it is determined whether there is a service provision profile among said service provision profiles, such that it holds that the energy consumption target is met when the mobile terminal and one or more other computing devices perform the calculations as specified by the service provision profile. This may be possible if there is one of said service provision profiles that allows the energy consumption target to be met in the first place, the selection of which does not violate any other criteria (i.e., the service provision profile is selectable). For example, if a performance requirement takes precedence over the energy consumption target and it is violated for a service provision profile, the service provision profile may not be selectable.

[0069] Thus, for example, there may be a prioritization between performance requirements and energy consumption targets, e.g., if the energy consumption target is prioritized, a service delivery profile is selected such that the energy consumption target is met; if the performance requirement is prioritized and the energy consumption target is not met by some alternative profile, a selection is made by the mobile network control plane component 302 based on the prioritized performance requirement (i.e., if the performance requirement is prioritized, a service delivery profile that meets the energy consumption target can only be selected if it also meets the performance requirement).

[0070] The approach of Fig. 5 enables QoS optimization along with energy consumption minimization. This allows to improve QoS flows based on QoS rules. Energy consumption is added as input for profile selection that can utilize analytical data on energy efficiency. Thus, more flexible profiles (taking into account more aspects of link quality) are provided, which allows to better fit a wider range of use cases and allows higher sustainability and economic feasibility of energy-consuming services (e.g. AI-based services). In particular, energy consumption may be optimized and a fair use of network resources with respect to energy consumption considering both computational and link requirements can be achieved.

[0071] The link and computing profile may be selected based on a combination of service performance and energy saving criteria. For this purpose, the energy consumption profile of one or more devices (or components) involved in the computation may be used as an indicator of the energy efficiency of the respective component (e.g., a UE network component).

[0072] This approach may be implemented by introducing corresponding logic for PDU session establishment, e.g., logic in the SMF and RAN nodes, as well as improvements to the QoS profile, and may also involve additional parameters in the PCC (Policy and Charging Control) rules.

[0073] It is further noted that selecting a service delivery profile such that an energy consumption target is met may be understood as determining one of the service delivery profiles (by checking each of one or more of those service delivery profiles) to ensure that the energy consumption target is met, i.e. selecting a service delivery profile taking into account the criteria that the energy consumption target should be met.

[0074] The method may be performed, for example, by a communications system (which may include a mobile terminal and one or more other computing devices), in particular by one or more control plane components of a communications system such as that shown in FIG. 1.

[0075] The method of FIG. 5, e.g., components of a corresponding communication system (including a mobile terminal and one or more other computing devices), may be implemented by (or may include), e.g., one or more circuits. A "circuit" may be understood as any kind of logic implementation entity, be it a special purpose circuit, or a processor executing software stored in a memory, firmware, or any combination thereof. Thus, a "circuit" may be a hardwired logic circuit, or a programmable processor, e.g., a programmable logic circuit such as a microprocessor. A "circuit" may also be software, e.g., a processor executing any kind of computer program. Any other kind of implementation of the respective functions described above may also be understood as a "circuit".

[0076] The following examples relate to further embodiments. Example 1 1. A method for providing a communication and computing service session, the method comprising: receiving an indication of an energy expenditure goal; receiving two or more alternative service provision profiles specifying a distribution of said communication and computing service tasks between the mobile terminal and one or more other computing devices; selecting one of the service delivery profiles, where if determined possible, the service delivery profile is selected such that the energy consumption target is met when the mobile terminal and the one or more other computing devices perform calculations specified by the service delivery profile; providing the communication and computing services session by distributing the communication and computing services tasks to the mobile terminal and the one or more other computing devices in accordance with a selected service delivery profile; method. Example 2 The method of example 1, wherein the energy consumption goal is an energy consumption limit for the mobile terminal and / or a total energy consumption limit for the mobile terminal and the one or more other computing devices, or allows unlimited energy consumption. Example 3 A method as described in Example 1 or 2, wherein selecting the service provision profile includes determining, for each of one or more of the service provision profiles, whether it holds that the energy consumption target is met when the mobile terminal and the one or more other computing devices perform calculations specified by the service provision profile, and one of the service provision profiles for which it is successfully confirmed that the energy consumption target is met when the mobile terminal and the one or more other computing devices perform calculations specified by the service provision profile is selected. Example 4 the service provision profile specifies a quality of a communication connection between the mobile terminal and the one or more other computing devices and computational requirements on the mobile terminal and the one or more other computing devices; the communications and computing services session is provided by configuring the mobile terminal and the one or more other computing devices to provide a specified quality and meet specified computational requirements for a communications connection between the mobile terminal and the one or more other computing devices; The method according to any one of Examples 1 to 3. Example 5 The method of example 4, further comprising receiving an indication of one or more performance requirements of the communication and computing services, wherein the selection of the service provision profile is such that the one or more performance requirements are met when the mobile terminal and the one or more other computing devices perform calculations specified by the service provision profile and when a quality of the communication connection between the mobile terminal and the one or more other computing devices used for communication in the context of the communication and computing services has a specified quality. Example 6 A method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising receiving an indication of one or more performance requirements of the communication and computing services and an indication of a priority between the performance requirements and the energy consumption target, and selecting the service provision profile taking into account the priority. Example 7 if the priority prioritizes the one or more performance requirements, one of the service delivery profiles is selected such that the one or more performance requirements are met when the mobile terminal and the one or more other computing devices perform computations as specified by the service delivery profile; If the priority prioritizes the energy consumption goal, one of the service delivery profiles is selected such that the energy consumption goal is met when the mobile terminal and the one or more other computing devices perform calculations as specified by the service delivery profile. The method described in Example 6. Example 8 The method of any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the one or more performance requirements include one or more of response time, reliability, redundancy level, accuracy, and error rate of the communication and computing services. Example 9 A method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, further comprising receiving an energy consumption profile of the mobile terminal specifying a relationship between usage of computational resources of the mobile terminal and energy consumption of the mobile terminal, and selecting the service provision profile comprising using the energy consumption profile to determine usage of computational resources of the mobile terminal that satisfies the energy consumption goal, and selecting the service provision profile to specify a distribution of tasks that leads to the determined usage of computational resources of the mobile terminal or a lesser usage of computational resources of the mobile terminal. Example 10 10. The method of any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the one or more other computing devices include one or more cloud devices. Example 11 The method of any one of embodiments 1 to 10, wherein providing the communication and computing services includes providing communication between the mobile terminal and the one or more other computing devices via a mobile communication system, and the receipt of the energy consumption restrictions and the selection of a service provision profile are performed by one or more control plane components of the mobile communication system. Example 12 12. The method of any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the service delivery profile is selected to optimize energy efficiency of the delivery of the communication and computing services. Example 13 The method of any one of claims 1 to 12, further comprising: receiving information regarding resource availability of the mobile terminal, the one or more other computing devices, and / or communication resources between the mobile terminal and the one or more other computing devices; and selecting the service provision profile to be realized with the available resources according to the received information. [Example 14] A method as described in Example 13, wherein at least one of the energy consumption target, the resource availability of the mobile terminal, the one or more other computing devices, and / or communication resources between the mobile terminal and the one or more other computing devices is provided by one or more application layer components. Example 15 A communication system configured to carry out the method according to any one of the preceding embodiments.

[0077] While particular aspects have been described, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and detail can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the aspects of the disclosure as defined by the appended claims. The scope is thus indicated by the appended claims, and all changes that come within the meaning and range of equivalents of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced.

Claims

1. 1. A method for providing a communication and computing services session, the method comprising: receiving an indication of an energy consumption goal; receiving two or more alternative service provision profiles that specify a distribution of said communication and computing service tasks between the mobile terminal and one or more other computing devices; selecting one of the service provision profiles, where if determined possible, the service provision profile is selected such that the energy consumption target is met when the mobile terminal and the one or more other computing devices perform calculations specified by the service provision profile; providing the communication and computing service session by distributing the communication and computing service tasks to the mobile terminal and the one or more other computing devices in accordance with a selected service provision profile; providing the communication and computing services session includes providing communications between the mobile terminal and the one or more other computing devices over a mobile communications system; said receiving said energy consumption constraints and selecting said service provision profile are performed by one or more control plane components of said mobile communication system. method.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the energy consumption goal is an energy consumption limit for the mobile terminal and / or a total energy consumption limit for the mobile terminal and the one or more other computing devices.

3. 3. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein selecting the service provision profile includes determining, for each of one or more of the service provision profiles, whether it holds that the energy consumption target is met when the mobile terminal and the one or more other computing devices perform calculations specified by the service provision profile, and one of the service provision profiles for which it is successfully confirmed that the energy consumption target is met when the mobile terminal and the one or more other computing devices perform calculations specified by the service provision profile is selected.

4. the service provision profile specifies a quality of a communication connection between the mobile terminal and the one or more other computing devices and computational requirements on the mobile terminal and the one or more other computing devices; the communications and computing services session is provided by configuring the mobile terminal and the one or more other computing devices to provide a specified quality and meet specified computational requirements for a communications connection between the mobile terminal and the one or more other computing devices; The method according to claim 1 or 2.

5. 5. The method of claim 4, further comprising receiving an indication of one or more performance requirements of the communication and computing services, wherein the selection of the service provision profile is such that the one or more performance requirements are met when the mobile terminal and the one or more other computing devices perform computations specified by the service provision profile and when a quality of the communication connection between the mobile terminal and the one or more other computing devices used for communication in the context of the communication and computing services has a specified quality.

6. 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving an indication of one or more performance requirements of the communications and computing services and an indication of a priority between the performance requirements and the energy consumption target, and selecting the service delivery profile taking the priority into account.

7. if the priority prioritizes the one or more performance requirements, one of the service provision profiles is selected such that the one or more performance requirements are met when the mobile terminal and the one or more other computing devices perform computations as specified by the service provision profile; If the priority prioritizes the energy consumption goal, one of the service provision profiles is selected such that the energy consumption goal is met when the mobile terminal and the one or more other computing devices perform calculations as specified by the service provision profile. The method according to claim 6.

8. The method of claim 1 , 6 or 7 , wherein the one or more performance requirements include one or more of response time, reliability, redundancy level, accuracy, and error rate of the communications and computing services.

9. 10. The method of claim 1 or 6, further comprising receiving an energy consumption profile of the mobile terminal specifying a relationship between usage of the mobile terminal's computational resources and energy consumption of the mobile terminal, and selecting the service provision profile comprises using the energy consumption profile to determine usage of the mobile terminal's computational resources that meets the energy consumption goal, and selecting the service provision profile to specify a distribution of tasks that leads to the determined usage of the mobile terminal's computational resources or a lesser usage of the mobile terminal's computational resources.

10. The method of claim 1 , 6 or 7 , wherein the one or more other computing devices include one or more cloud devices.

11. The method of claim 1 , 6 or 7 , wherein the service offering profile is selected to optimize energy efficiency of the offering of the communications and computing services.

12. 8. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving information regarding resource availability of the mobile terminal, the one or more other computing devices, and / or communication resources between the mobile terminal and the one or more other computing devices, and selecting the service provision profile to be realized with available resources according to the received information.

13. 13. The method of claim 12, wherein at least one of the energy consumption target, the resource availability of the mobile terminal, the one or more other computing devices, and / or communication resources between the mobile terminal and the one or more other computing devices is provided by one or more application layer components.

14. A communication system configured to carry out the method according to claim 1 or 2.

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