Method and apparatus for detect and avoid mechanism for unmanned aerial systems - Patents.com

Abstract

The method, performed by a wireless transmit / receive unit (WTRU) implemented in a first unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV1), includes registering detect and avoid (DAA) capabilities with an unmanned aerial system (UAS) service provider (USS) in a registration message sent by the first UAV, detecting a flight path conflict with a second UAV (UAV2), selecting a unicast or broadcast communication mode with UAV2, transmitting UAV1's DAA capabilities and conflict avoidance message to UAV2 based on the selected communication mode, and avoiding the collision by performing trajectory corrections.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] (CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS) This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 324,360, filed March 28, 2022, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety herein.

[0002] The present disclosure relates to communications for Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS), including methods and apparatus for implementing Detect and Avoid (DAA) mechanisms for Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS). [Brief description of the drawings]

[0003] A more detailed understanding may be had from the following detailed description, given in conjunction with the drawings that accompany this specification by way of example. Such drawing figures, like the detailed description, are illustrative. Thus, the figures and detailed description should not be considered as limiting, as other equally effective embodiments are possible and likely to be. Moreover, like reference numbers ("ref") within the drawings ("FIG") indicate like elements. [Figure 1A] 1 is a system diagram illustrating an example communication system in which one or more disclosed embodiments may be implemented. [Figure 1B] 1 is a system diagram illustrating an example wireless transmit / receive unit (WTRU) that may be used within the communications system illustrated in FIG. 1A, according to one embodiment. [Figure 1C] 1 is a system diagram illustrating an example radio access network (RAN) and an example core network (CN) that may be used within the communication system illustrated in FIG. 1A, according to one embodiment. [Figure 1D]1B is a system diagram illustrating a further exemplary RAN and a further exemplary CN that may be used within the communication system illustrated in FIG. 1A, according to one embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a reference architecture for supporting Unmanned (crewless) Airborne System (UAS) services in 5GC / EPC. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a UAS application layer functional model. [Figure 4] FIG. 1 is a signaling diagram illustrating coordinated contention resolution between Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), according to one embodiment. [Diagram 5] FIG. 1 is a signaling diagram illustrating contention resolution with UAS Service Supplier (USS) assistance according to one embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating network-triggered conflict warning and resolution, according to one embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 1 is a signaling diagram illustrating conflict monitoring for all UAVs within a conflict resolution zone (CRZ), according to one embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 1 is a signaling diagram illustrating contention and collision monitoring required by a USS, according to one embodiment. [Figure 9] FIG. 1 is a signaling diagram illustrating a procedure for UAV Application Enabling (UAE) support for DAA operations, according to one embodiment. [Figure 10] 1 is a flowchart of a method according to one embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0004] 1 Introduction In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments and / or examples disclosed herein. It will be understood, however, that such embodiments and examples may be practiced without some or all of the specific details set forth herein. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures, components and circuits have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the following description. Furthermore, embodiments and examples not specifically described herein may be practiced in place of, or in combination with, the embodiments and other examples explicitly, implicitly and / or inherently described, disclosed or otherwise provided herein (collectively "provided").

[0005] 2. Example of a communication system 1A is a diagram illustrating an example communications system 100 in which one or more disclosed embodiments may be implemented. Communications system 100 may be a multiple access system that provides content, such as voice, data, video, messaging, broadcasts, etc., to multiple wireless users. Communications system 100 may enable multiple wireless users to access such content through sharing of system resources, including wireless bandwidth. For example, the communications system 100 may use one or more channel access methods, such as code division multiple access (CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA), single-carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA), zero-tail unique-word DFT-Spread OFDM (ZT UW DTS-s OFDM), unique word OFDM (UW-OFDM), resource block filtered OFDM, filter bank multicarrier (FBMC), and the like.

[0006] 1A, communications system 100 may include wireless transmit / receive units (WTRUs) 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d, RAN 104 / 113, CN 106 / 115, public switched telephone network (PSTN) 108, Internet 110, and other networks 112, although it will be understood that the disclosed embodiments contemplate any number of WTRUs, base stations, networks, and / or network elements. Each of WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d may be any type of device configured to operate and / or communicate in a wireless environment. By way of example, the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d, any of which may be referred to as a “station” and / or “STA,” may be configured to transmit and / or receive wireless signals and may include user equipment (UE), mobile stations, fixed or mobile subscriber units, subscription-based units, pagers, mobile phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), smartphones, laptops, netbooks, personal computers, wireless sensors, hotspots or Mi-Fi devices, Internet of Things (loT) devices, watches or other wearable, head-mounted displays (HMDs), vehicles, drones, medical devices and applications (e.g., for remote surgery), industrial devices and applications (e.g., robots and / or other wireless devices operating in an industrial and / or automated processing chain context), consumer electronics devices, devices operating in commercial and / or industrial wireless networks, etc. Any of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, and 102d may be referred to interchangeably as a UE.

[0007] The communication system 100 may also include a base station 114a and / or a base station 114b. Each of the base stations 114a, 114b may be any type of device configured to wirelessly interface with at least one of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d to facilitate access to one or more communication networks, such as the CN 106 / 115, the Internet 110, and / or other networks 112. By way of example, the base stations 114a, 114b may be a base transceiver station (BTS), a Node B, an eNode B, a Home Node B, a Home eNode B, a gNB, an NR Node B, a site controller, an access point (AP), a wireless router, etc. Although the base stations 114a, 114b are each depicted as a single element, it will be understood that the base stations 114a, 114b may include any number of interconnected base stations and / or network elements.

[0008] The base station 114a may be part of the RAN 104 / 113, which may also include other base stations and / or network elements (not shown), such as a base station controller (BSC), a radio network controller (RNC), a relay node, etc. The base station 114a and / or the base station 114b may be configured to transmit and / or receive wireless signals on one or more carrier frequencies, which may be referred to as a cell (not shown). These frequencies may be licensed spectrum, unlicensed spectrum, or a combination of licensed and unlicensed spectrum. A cell may provide wireless service coverage for a particular geographic area, which may be relatively fixed or may change over time. A cell may be further divided into cell sectors. For example, the cell associated with the base station 114a may be divided into three sectors. Thus, in one embodiment, the base station 114a may include three transceivers, i.e., one transceiver for each sector of the cell. In one embodiment, the base station 114a may employ multiple-input multiple output (MIMO) technology and may utilize multiple transceivers for each sector of the cell, for example, using beamforming to transmit and / or receive signals in a desired spatial direction.

[0009] The base stations 114a, 114b may communicate with one or more of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d via an air interface 116, which may be any suitable wireless communication link (e.g., radio frequency (RF), microwave, centimeter wave, micrometer wave, infrared (IR), ultraviolet (UV), visible light, etc.). The air interface 116 may be established using any suitable radio access technology (RAT).

[0010] More specifically, as noted above, the communications system 100 may be a multiple access system, but may use one or more channel access schemes, such as CDMA, TDMA, FDMA, OFDMA, SC-FDMA, etc. For example, the base stations 114a of the RAN 104 / 113 and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement a radio technology such as Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), which may establish the air interface 116 using Wideband CDMA (WCDMA). WCDMA may include communications protocols such as High-Speed ​​Packet Access (HSPA) and / or Evolved HSPA (HSPA+). HSPA may include High-Speed ​​Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) and / or High-Speed ​​Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA).

[0011] In one embodiment, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement a radio technology such as Evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA), which may establish the air interface 116 using Long Term Evolution (LTE) and / or LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) and / or LTE-Advanced Pro (LTE-A Pro).

[0012] In one embodiment, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement a radio technology such as NR radio access, which may establish the air interface 116 using New Radio (NR).

[0013] In one embodiment, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement multiple radio access technologies. For example, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement LTE radio access and NR radio access together, e.g., using dual connectivity (DC) principles. Thus, the air interface utilized by the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may be characterized by multiple types of radio access technologies and / or transmissions sent to and from multiple types of base stations (e.g., eNBs and gNBs).

[0014] In other embodiments, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement a wireless technology such as IEEE 802.11 (i.e., Wireless Fidelity, WiFi), IEEE 802.16 (i.e., Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access, WiMAX), CDMA2000, CDMA2000 1X, CDMA2000 EV-DO, Interim Standard 2000 (IS-2000), Interim Standard 95 (IS-95), Interim Standard 856 (IS-856), Global System for Mobile communications (GSM), Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE), GSM EDGE (GERAN), or the like.

[0015] 1A may be, for example, a wireless router, a Home NodeB, a Home eNodeB, or an access point, and may utilize any suitable RAT to facilitate wireless connectivity in a localized area, such as an office, a home, a vehicle, a campus, an industrial facility, an air corridor (e.g., for use by drones), a road, etc. In one embodiment, the base station 114b and the WTRUs 102c, 102d may implement a radio technology, such as IEEE 802.11, to establish a wireless local area network (WLAN). In one embodiment, the base station 114b and the WTRUs 102c, 102d may implement a radio technology, such as IEEE 802.15, to establish a wireless personal area network (WPAN). In yet another embodiment, the base station 114b and the WTRUs 102c, 102d may establish a picocell or a femtocell using a cellular-based RAT (e.g., WCDMA, CDMA2000, GSM, LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, NR, etc.). As shown in FIG. 1A, the base station 114b may have a direct connection to the Internet 110. Thus, the base station 114b may not need to access the Internet 110 via the CN 106 / 115.

[0016] The RAN 104 / 113 may communicate with the CN 106 / 115, which may be any type of network configured to provide voice, data, application, and / or voice over internet protocol (VoIP) services to one or more of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d. The data may have various quality of service (QoS) requirements, such as, for example, different throughput requirements, latency requirements, error tolerance requirements, reliability requirements, data throughput requirements, mobility requirements, etc. The CN 106 / 115 may provide call control, billing services, mobile location-based services, prepaid calling, Internet connectivity, video distribution, etc., and / or perform high-level security functions such as user authentication. Although not shown in FIG. 1A, it will be appreciated that the RAN 104 / 113 and / or the CN 106 / 115 may communicate directly or indirectly with other RANs employing the same RAT as the RAN 104 / 113 or a different RAT. For example, in addition to being connected to the RAN 104 / 113, which may utilize NR radio technology, the CN 106 / 115 may also communicate with another RAN (not shown) using GSM, UMTS, CDMA2000, WiMAX, E-UTRA, or WiFi radio technology.

[0017] The CN 106 / 115 may also act as a gateway for the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d to access the PSTN 108, the Internet 110, and / or other networks 112. The PSTN 108 may include a circuit-switched telephone network providing plain old telephone service (POTS). The Internet 110 may include a global system of interconnected computer networks and devices that use common communication protocols, such as the transmission control protocol (TCP), user datagram protocol (UDP), and / or the internet protocol (IP) of the TCP / IP Internet protocol suite. The networks 112 may include wired and / or wireless communication networks owned and / or operated by other service providers. For example, the networks 112 may include another CN connected to one or more RANs, which may use the same RAT as the RANs 104 / 113 or a different RAT.

[0018] Some or all of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d in the communications system 100 may include multi-mode capabilities (e.g., the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d may include multiple transceivers for communicating with different wireless networks over different wireless links). For example, the WTRU 102c shown in FIG. 1A may be configured to communicate with a base station 114a, which may employ a cellular-based wireless technology, and a base station 114b, which may employ an IEEE 802 wireless technology.

[0019] Figure 1B is a system diagram illustrating an example WTRU 102. As shown in Figure 1B, the WTRU 102 may include, among other things, a processor 118, a transceiver 120, a transmit / receive element 122, a speaker / microphone 124, a keypad 126, a display / touchpad 128, non-removable memory 130, removable memory 132, a power source 134, a global positioning system (GPS) chipset 136, and / or other peripherals 138. It will be understood that the WTRU 102 may include any sub-combination of the foregoing elements while remaining consistent with an embodiment.

[0020] The processor 118 may be a general purpose processor, a special purpose processor, a conventional processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors associated with a DSP core, a controller, a microcontroller, an Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASIC), a Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGA) circuit, any other type of integrated circuit (IC), a state machine, etc. The processor 118 may perform signal coding, data processing, power control, input / output processing, and / or any other functionality that enables the WTRU 102 to operate in a wireless environment. The processor 118 may be coupled to the transceiver 120, which may be coupled to the transmit / receive element 122. Although FIG. 1B depicts the processor 118 and the transceiver 120 as separate components, it will be understood that the processor 118 and the transceiver 120 may be integrated together in an electronic package or chip.

[0021] The transmit / receive element 122 may be configured to transmit or receive signals to or from a base station (e.g., base station 114a) over the air interface 116. For example, in one embodiment, the transmit / receive element 122 may be an antenna configured to transmit and / or receive RF signals. In one embodiment, the transmit / receive element 122 may be an emitter / detector configured to transmit and / or receive, for example, IR, UV, or visible light signals. In yet another embodiment, the transmit / receive element 122 may be configured to transmit and / or receive both RF and light signals. It will be appreciated that the transmit / receive element 122 may be configured to transmit and / or receive any combination of wireless signals.

[0022] 1B as a single element, the WTRU 102 may include any number of transmit / receive elements 122. More specifically, the WTRU 102 may employ MIMO technology. Thus, in one embodiment, the WTRU 102 may include two or more transmit / receive elements 122 (e.g., multiple antennas) for transmitting and receiving wireless signals over the air interface 116.

[0023] The transceiver 120 may be configured to modulate signals transmitted by the transmit / receive element 122 and demodulate signals received by the transmit / receive element 122. As mentioned above, the WTRU 102 may have multi-mode capabilities. Thus, the transceiver 120 may include multiple transceivers to enable the WTRU 102 to communicate via multiple RATs, such as, for example, NR and IEEE 802.11.

[0024] The processor 118 of the WTRU 102 may be coupled to and may receive user-entered data from a speaker / microphone 124, a keypad 126, and / or a display / touchpad 128 (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD) display unit or an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display unit). The processor 118 may also output user data to the speaker / microphone 124, the keypad 126, and / or the display / touchpad 128. In addition, the processor 118 may access information from and store data in any type of suitable memory, such as non-removable memory 130 and / or removable memory 132. The non-removable memory 130 may include random-access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), a hard disk, or any other type of memory storage device. The removable memory 132 may include a subscriber identity module (SIM) card, a memory stick, a secure digital (SD) memory card, etc. In other embodiments, the processor 118 may access information from and store data in memory that is not physically located on the WTRU 102, such as on a server or home computer (not shown).

[0025] The processor 118 may receive power from the power source 134 and may be configured to distribute and / or control the power to other components in the WTRU 102. The power source 134 may be any suitable device for providing power to the WTRU 102. For example, the power source 134 may include one or more dry batteries (e.g., nickel-cadmium (NiCd), nickel-zinc (NiZn), nickel metal hydride (NiMH), lithium-ion (Li-ion), etc.), solar cells, fuel cells, etc.

[0026] The processor 118 may also be coupled to a GPS chipset 136, which may be configured to provide location information (e.g., longitude and latitude) regarding the current location of the WTRU 102. In addition to, or in lieu of, information from the GPS chipset 136, the WTRU 102 may receive location information from base stations (e.g., base stations 114a, 114b) over the air interface 116 and / or determine its location based on the timing of signals being received from two or more nearby base stations. It will be appreciated that the WTRU 102 may obtain location information by way of any suitable location determination method while remaining consistent with an embodiment.

[0027] The processor 118 may further be coupled to other peripherals 138, which may include one or more software and / or hardware modules that provide additional features, functionality, and / or wired or wireless connectivity. For example, the peripherals 138 may include an accelerometer, an electronic compass, a satellite transceiver, a digital camera (for photos and / or videos), a universal serial bus (USB) port, a vibration device, a television transceiver, a hands-free headset, a Bluetooth module, a frequency modulated (FM) radio unit, a digital music player, a media player, a video game player module, an Internet browser, a virtual reality and / or augmented reality (VR / AR) device, an activity tracker, and the like. The peripherals 138 may include one or more sensors, which may be one or more of a gyroscope, an accelerometer, a Hall effect sensor, a magnetometer, an orientation sensor, a proximity sensor, a temperature sensor, a time sensor, a geolocation sensor, an altimeter, a light sensor, a touch sensor, a magnetometer, a barometer, a gesture sensor, a biometric sensor, and / or a humidity sensor.

[0028] The WTRU 102 may include a full-duplex radio where transmission and reception of some or all of the signals (e.g., associated with a particular subframe for both the uplink (e.g., for transmission) and downlink (e.g., for reception)) may be parallel and / or simultaneous. The full-duplex radio may include an interference management unit 139 to reduce and or substantially eliminate self-interference either through hardware (e.g., chokes) or signal processing via a processor (e.g., via a separate processor (not shown) or processor 118). In an embodiment, the WTRU 102 may include a half-duplex radio for transmission and reception of some or all of the signals (e.g., associated with a particular subframe for either the uplink (e.g., for transmission) or downlink (e.g., for reception)).

[0029] 1C is a system diagram illustrating the RAN 104 and the CN 106, according to one embodiment. As mentioned above, the RAN 104 may employ E-UTRA radio technology to communicate with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c over the air interface 116. The RAN 104 may also communicate with the CN 106.

[0030] The RAN 104 may include eNodeBs 160a, 160b, 160c, although it will be understood that the RAN 104 may include any number of eNodeBs while remaining consistent with an embodiment. The eNodeBs 160a, 160b, 160c may each include one or more transceivers for communicating with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c over the air interface 116. In an embodiment, the eNodeBs 160a, 160b, 160c may implement MIMO technology. Thus, the eNodeB 160a may, for example, use multiple antennas to transmit wireless signals to and / or receive wireless signals from the WTRU 102a.

[0031] Each of the eNodeBs 160a, 160b, 160c may be associated with a particular cell (not shown) and configured to handle radio resource management decisions, handover decisions, scheduling of users in the uplink (UL) and / or downlink (DL), etc. As shown in FIG 1C, the eNodeBs 160a, 160b, 160c may communicate with one another over an X2 interface.

[0032] 1C may include a mobility management entity (MME) 162, a serving gateway (SGW) 164, and a packet data network (PDN) gateway (or PGW) 166. Although each of the foregoing elements is depicted as part of the CN 106, it will be understood that any of these elements may be owned and / or operated by an entity other than the CN operator.

[0033] The MME 162 may be connected to each of the eNodeBs 162a, 162b, 162c in the RAN 104 via an S1 interface and may function as a control node. For example, the MME 162 may be responsible for authenticating users of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, activating / deactivating bearers, selecting a particular serving gateway during initial attachment of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, etc. The MME 162 may provide a control plane function for switching between the RAN 104 and other RANs (not shown) that employ other radio technologies, such as GSM and / or WCDMA.

[0034] The SGW 164 may be connected to each of the eNodeBs 160a, 160b, 160c in the RAN 104 via an S1 interface. The SGW 164 may generally route and forward user data packets to and from the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c. The SGW 164 may perform other functions, such as anchoring the user plane during inter-eNodeB handover, triggering paging when DL data is available to the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, and managing and storing the context of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c.

[0035] The SGW 164 may be connected to a PGW 166, which may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to packet-switched networks, such as the Internet 110, to facilitate communications between the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and IP-enabled devices.

[0036] The CN 106 may facilitate communications with other networks. For example, the CN 106 may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to circuit-switched networks, such as the PSTN 108, to facilitate communications between the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and traditional land-line communications devices. For example, the CN 106 may include or communicate with an IP gateway (e.g., an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) server) that serves as an interface between the CN 106 and the PSTN 108. In addition, the CN 106 may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to other networks 112, which may include other wired and / or wireless networks owned and / or operated by other service providers.

[0037] Although the WTRU is illustrated in FIGS. 1A-1D as a wireless terminal, it is contemplated that in certain representative embodiments such a terminal may use a wired communications interface (e.g., temporarily or permanently) with the communications network.

[0038] In an exemplary embodiment, the other network 112 may be a WLAN.

[0039] A WLAN in infrastructure Basic Service Set (BSS) mode may have an Access Point (AP) of the BSS and one or more stations (STAs) associated with the AP. The AP may have access or interface to a Distribution System (DS) or another type of wired / wireless network that carries traffic into and / or out of the BSS. Traffic originating outside the BSS to a STA may arrive through the AP and be sent to the STA. Traffic originating from a STA destined for a destination outside the BSS may be sent to the AP to be sent to the respective destination. Traffic between STAs within a BSS may be sent, for example, through the AP, where the source STA may send traffic to the AP, and the AP may send traffic to the destination STA. Traffic between STAs within a BSS may be considered and / or referred to as peer-to-peer traffic. Peer-to-peer traffic may be sent between (e.g., directly between) a source STA and a destination STA using a direct link setup (DLS). In certain representative embodiments, the DLS may use 802.11e DLS or 802.11z tunneled DLS (TDLS). A WLAN using an Independent BSS (IBSS) mode may not have an AP, and STAs (e.g., all of the STAs) within or using the IBSS may communicate directly with each other. The IBSS mode of communication may be referred to herein as an "ad-hoc" communication mode.

[0040] When using an 802.11ac infrastructure mode of operation or a similar mode of operation, an AP may transmit a beacon on a fixed channel, such as a primary channel. The primary channel may be a fixed width (e.g., a 20 MHz wide bandwidth) or a width that is dynamically set via signaling. The primary channel may be the operating channel of the BSS, but may be used by STAs to establish a connection with the AP. In certain representative embodiments, for example, in an 802.11 system, Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Avoidance (CSMA / CA) may be implemented. With CSMA / CA, STAs (e.g., all STAs), including the AP, may sense the primary channel. If the primary channel is sensed / detected and / or determined to be busy by a particular STA, the particular STA may back off. One STA (e.g., only one station) may transmit at any given time in a given BSS.

[0041] A High Throughput (HT) STA may use a 40 MHz wide channel for communication, which may be formed, for example, through a combination of a primary 20 MHz channel and adjacent or non-adjacent 20 MHz channels.

[0042] A Very High Throughput (VHT) STA may support 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, and / or 160 MHz wide channels. A 40 MHz and / or 80 MHz channel may be formed by combining multiple adjacent 20 MHz channels. A 160 MHz channel may be formed by combining eight consecutive 20 MHz channels or by combining two non-adjacent 80 MHz channels, which may be referred to as an 80+80 configuration. For the 80+80 configuration, after channel encoding, the data may pass through a segment parser that may split the data into two streams. Inverse Fast Fourier Transform (IFFT) processing and time domain processing may be performed separately on each stream. The streams may be mapped to two 80 MHz channels and the data may be transmitted by the transmitting STA. At the receiver of the receiving STA, the operations described above for the 80+80 configuration may be reversed and the combined data may be sent to the Medium Access Control (MAC).

[0043] Sub-1 GHz operating modes are supported by 802.11af and 802.11ah. Channel operating bandwidths and carriers are reduced in 802.11af and 802.11ah compared to those used in 802.11n and 802.11ac. 802.11af supports 5 MHz, 10 MHz, and 20 MHz bandwidths in TV White Space (TVWS) spectrum, and 802.11ah supports 1 MHz, 2 MHz, 4 MHz, 8 MHz, and 16 MHz bandwidths using non-TVWS spectrum. According to a representative embodiment, 802.11ah may support meter-type control / machine-type communication, such as MTC devices in macro coverage areas. MTC devices may have limited capabilities, including certain capabilities, such as support for certain and / or limited bandwidths (e.g., only supporting these). MTC devices may include batteries with above-threshold battery life (e.g., to maintain very long battery life).

[0044] WLAN systems that may support multiple channels and channel bandwidths, such as 802.11n, 802.11ac, 802.11af, and 802.11ah, include a channel that may be designated as a primary channel. The primary channel may have a bandwidth equal to the maximum common operating bandwidth supported by all STAs in the BSS. The bandwidth of the primary channel may be configured and / or limited by the STAs among all STAs operating in the BSS that support the smallest bandwidth operating mode. In an 802.11ah embodiment, the primary channel may be 1 MHz wide for STAs (e.g., MTC-type devices) that support (e.g., only) the 1 MHz mode, even if the AP and other STAs in the BSS support 2 MHz, 4 MHz, 8 MHz, 16 MHz, and / or other channel bandwidth operating modes. Carrier sensing and / or Network Allocation Vector (NAV) configuration may depend on the status of the primary channel. For example, if the primary channel is active due to a STA (that only supports the 1 MHz mode of operation) transmitting to the AP, the entire available frequency band may be considered active even though most of the frequency band may remain dormant and available.

[0045] In the United States, the available frequency bands that can be used by 802.11ah are 902MHz to 928MHz. In South Korea, the available frequency bands are 917.5MHz to 923.5MHz. In Japan, the available frequency bands are 916.5MHz to 927.5MHz. The total bandwidth available for 802.11ah is 6MHz to 26MHz depending on the country code.

[0046] 1D is a system diagram illustrating the RAN 113 and the CN 115, according to one embodiment. As mentioned above, the RAN 113 may employ NR radio technology to communicate with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c over the air interface 116. The RAN 113 may also communicate with the CN 115.

[0047] The RAN 113 may include gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c, although it will be understood that the RAN 113 may include any number of gNBs while remaining consistent with an embodiment. The gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may each include one or more transceivers for communicating with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c over the air interface 116. In an embodiment, the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may implement MIMO technology. For example, the gNBs 180a, 180b may utilize beamforming to transmit and / or receive signals to the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c. Thus, the gNB 180a may transmit and / or receive wireless signals to and from the WTRU 102a, for example, using multiple antennas. In an embodiment, the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may implement carrier aggregation technology. For example, the gNB 180a may transmit multiple component carriers to the WTRU 102a (not shown). A subset of these component carriers may be on an unlicensed spectrum, while the remaining component carriers may be on a licensed spectrum. In one embodiment, the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may implement Coordinated Multi-Point (CoMP) technology. For example, the WTRU 102a may receive coordinated transmissions from the gNBs 180a and 180b (and / or 180c).

[0048] The WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c using transmissions associated with scalable numerology. For example, the OFDM symbol spacing and / or OFDM subcarrier spacing may vary for different transmissions, different cells, and / or different portions of the wireless transmission spectrum. The WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c using subframes or transmission time intervals (TTIs) of different or scalable lengths (e.g., including different numbers of OFDM symbols and / or lasting different lengths of absolute time).

[0049] The gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may be configured to communicate with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c in a standalone configuration and / or a non-standalone configuration. In a standalone configuration, the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c without accessing another RAN (e.g., eNodeBs 160a, 160b, 160c, etc.). In a standalone configuration, the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may utilize one or more of the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c as mobility anchor points. In a standalone configuration, the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c using signals in unlicensed bands. In a non-standalone configuration, the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with and connect to a gNB 180a, 180b, 180c while also communicating with and connecting to another RAN, such as an eNodeB 160a, 160b, 160c. For example, the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement DC principles to communicate with one or more gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c and one or more eNodeBs 160a, 160b, 160c substantially simultaneously. In a non-standalone configuration, the eNodeBs 160a, 160b, 160c may act as mobility anchors for the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, and the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may provide additional coverage and / or throughput for serving the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c.

[0050] Each of the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may be associated with a particular cell (not shown) and may be configured to handle radio resource management decisions, handover decisions, scheduling of users in the uplink (UL) and / or downlink (DL), support for network slicing, dual connectivity, interworking between NR and E-UTRA, routing of user plane data towards user plane functions (UPFs) 184a, 184b, routing of control plane information towards access and mobility management functions (AMFs) 182a, 182b, etc. As shown in FIG. 1D, the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may communicate with each other via an Xn interface.

[0051] 1D may include at least one AMF 182a, 182b, at least one UPF 184a, 184b, at least one Session Management Function (SMF) 183a, 183b, and possibly a Data Network (DN) 185a, 185b. Although each of the foregoing elements is depicted as part of the CN 115, it will be understood that any of these elements may be owned and / or operated by an entity other than the CN operator.

[0052] The AMF 182a, 182b may be connected to one or more of the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c in the RAN 113 via an N2 interface and may function as a control node. For example, the AMF 182a, 182b may be responsible for authenticating users of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, supporting network slicing (e.g., handling different PDU sessions with different requirements), selecting a particular SMF 183a, 183b, managing registration areas, terminating NAS signaling, mobility management, etc. The network slices may be used by the AMF 182a, 182b to customize the CN support of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c based on the type of service utilizing the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c. For example, different network slices may be established for different use cases such as services relying on ultra-reliable low latency (URLLC) access, services relying on enhanced massive mobile broadband (eMBB) access, services for machine type communication (MTC) access, etc. The AMFa 82a, 182b may provide a control plane function for switching between the RAN 113 and other RANs (not shown) that employ other radio technologies such as LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, and / or non-3GPP access technologies such as WiFi.

[0053] The SMFs 183a, 183b may be connected to the AMFs 182a, 182b in the CN 115 via an N11 interface. The SMFs 183a, 183b may also be connected to the UPFs 184a, 184b in the CN 115 via an N4 interface. The SMFs 183a, 183b may select and control the UPFs 184a, 184b and configure the routing of traffic through the UPFs 184a, 184b. The SMFs 183a, 183b may perform other functions such as managing and allocating UE IP addresses, managing PDU sessions, controlling policy enforcement and QoS, providing downlink data notification, etc. The PDU session types may be IP-based, non-IP-based, Ethernet-based, etc.

[0054] The UPFs 184a, 184b may be connected to one or more of the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c in the RAN 113 via an N3 interface, which may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to packet-switched networks, such as the Internet 110, to facilitate communications between the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and IP-enabled devices. The UPFs 184, 184b may perform other functions, such as routing and forwarding packets, enforcing user plane policies, supporting multi-homed PDU sessions, handling user plane QoS, buffering downlink packets, providing mobility anchoring, etc.

[0055] The CN 115 may facilitate communication with other networks. For example, the CN 115 may include or communicate with an IP gateway (e.g., an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) server) that serves as an interface between the CN 115 and the PSTN 108. In addition, the CN 115 may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to other networks 112, which may include other wired and / or wireless networks owned and / or operated by other service providers. In an embodiment, the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may be connected to local data networks (DNs) 185a, 185b through the UPFs 184a, 184b via an N3 interface to the UPFs 184a, 184b and an N6 interface between the UPFs 184a, 184b and the DNs 185a, 185b.

[0056] 1A-1D and the corresponding description thereof, one or more or all of the functions described herein with respect to one or more of the WTRUs 102a-d, base stations 114a-b, eNodeBs 160a-c, MME 162, SGW 164, PGW 166, gNBs 180a-c, AMFs 182a-b, UPFs 184a-b, SMFs 183a-b, DNs 185a-b, and / or any other devices described herein may be performed by one or more emulation devices (not shown). The emulation devices may be one or more devices configured to emulate one or more or all of the functions described herein. For example, the emulation devices may be used to test other devices and / or to simulate network and / or WTRU functions.

[0057] The emulation device may be designed to perform one or more tests of other devices in a lab environment and / or an operator network environment. For example, one or more emulation devices may perform one or more or all functions while fully or partially implemented and / or deployed as part of a wired and / or wireless communication network to test other devices in the communication network. One or more emulation devices may perform one or more or all functions while temporarily implemented / deployed as part of a wired and / or wireless communication network. The emulation device may be directly coupled to another device for testing purposes and / or may perform the tests using terrestrial wireless communication.

[0058] The one or more emulation devices may perform one or more functions, inclusive, while not being implemented / deployed as part of a wired and / or wireless communication network. For example, the emulation devices may be utilized in test scenarios in a test lab and / or in an undeployed (e.g., test) wired and / or wireless communication network to perform testing of one or more components. The one or more emulation devices may be test equipment. Direct RF coupling and / or wireless communication via RF circuitry (which may include, for example, one or more antennas) may be used by the emulation devices to transmit and / or receive data.

[0059] The examples provided herein do not limit the applicability of the subject matter to other wireless technologies that may, for example, use the same or different principles as may be applied.

[0060] As described herein, a wireless transmit / receive unit (WTRU) may be an example of a user equipment (UE) or avionics in a UAV, and thus the terms UE and WTRU may be used interchangeably herein.

[0061] Method and Apparatus for Detect and Avoid (DAA) for Unmanned (Crewless) Airborne Systems (UAS) Legacy Systems 3GPP REL-17 System Architecture for UAS Connectivity, Identification and Tracking 3GPP Release 17 supports UAS connectivity, identification and tracking functions, with specifications being created for Stage 2 and Stage 3. As shown in the reference architecture in Figure 2, network functions, UAS network functions (NFs), exist to support these functions. The UAS NF 200 plays part of the role of a network exposure function (NEF) to expose services to external UAS service providers (USS) 202. The UAS NF 200 also supports some UAS specific procedures, such as USS UAV Authorization / Authentication (UUAA) and UAS tracking. The UAS NF 200 also stores any UAS context, such as UUAA results.

[0062] Multiple USS (communication issues between UAS and USS) The number of UAVs has increased rapidly in recent years, and the applications available to UAVs have expanded to a wide variety of industries. In a UAS Traffic Management (UTM) configuration, multiple USSs can operate within the same geographic area for traffic management and conflict avoidance from other operations of the UAVs. The USSs also need to track the UAVs through a network application program interface (API). The Federal Aviation Administration / National Aeronautics and Space Administration (FAA / NASA) have identified several use cases and potential requirements for better capability level provisioning and resilience of UAV flight operations. Error!Reference source not found... In one of the use cases, the UAS establishes a connection with a USS and shares the USS's location during flight, enabling the USS / Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) (USS / UTM) network to reliably and periodically make flight updates available. However, during flight, the UAS may experience loss of performance capabilities due to connection instability and / or lack of availability at the USS level. For example, such losses may occur when a USS reaches its maximum capacity to service a possible number of UAVs (traffic management) and can no longer support any additional new UAVs. Explicit intent to have multiple USSs also arises when operational costs are constrained such that a particular USS is better equipped / suited for some missions / UAV types (e.g., in a particular area).

[0063] UAV Application Enablement (UAE) Framework 3 GPP SA6 specifies a framework for providing support for UAV applications. A simplified UAS application layer functional model is illustrated in Figure 3. A UAE client 300 residing in a WTRU 302 provides an API to a UAS client application 304 and interfaces with a UAE server 306 that provides an API to a UAS server application 308 (e.g., USS). The UAE server 306 may also interface directly with the 5GC via Network Exposed Functions (NEF) APIs or via Service Enabler Architecture Layer (SEAL) services.

[0064] Detection and Avoidance 3 GPP TR 23.700-58 "Study of further architecture enhancements for uncrewed aerial systems and urban air mobility" v0.1.0 focuses on support for detect and avoid mechanisms in 3GPP systems based on the requirements for DAA defined in 3GPP TS 22.125 "Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) support in 3 GPP" v17.5.0 TS 22.125. Such requirements include the ability for UAVs to use direct communication for short-range collision avoidance purposes. Aspects such as architecture modifications to current solutions using PC5 (e.g., ProSe, C-V2X) supporting direct UAV-UAV communication for DAA purposes are considered.

[0065] DAA is considered one of the essential features to enable safe BVLOS UAV operation. DAA security should be guaranteed, especially for safety-critical DAA. Error!Reference source not found..

[0066] Problems that arise in legacy systems When flying close to each other, UAVs have the potential for collision unless their flight paths are actively or passively managed to mitigate potential collisions. A UAV may be capable of performing local collision detection and avoidance (DAA) operations (e.g., with the aid of on-board sensors such as cameras or position sensors, using application layer level logic). However, such sensors can only detect collisions when the other UAV is within direct line-of-sight (LOS). In scenarios beyond visual LOS (BVLOS), that may not work. Additionally, when the accuracy of on-board and location sensors is an issue, not all UAVs may meet the requirements for accuracy and reliability (e.g., not meeting requirements due to inaccurate GNSS module measurements). Thus, other UAVs may not rely on reported / broadcasted position estimates. In such scenarios where UAV reported location, speed, etc. may not be reliable or trustworthy, more global / central support of DAA applications by the system may be desirable to complement the UAV local DAA support. The solution should be aimed at handling scenarios where the UAV is both in and out of coverage.

[0067] Regarding DAA security, DAA data flows in safety-critical local (e.g., broadcast) or network DAA communications may be authenticated / authorized. Without proper security protection mechanisms, an adversary may potentially interfere with UAS operations (e.g., reroute the UAS in an insecure manner), for example, by spoofing or replaying the DAA data flows.

[0068] Detect and Avoid (DAA) for collision avoidance of UAVs is not yet supported in UAV-related standards. To support DAA for UAVs, the following issues need to be addressed: a. How do we enable 5G systems to support DAA? b. How to resolve or avoid potential conflicts? For example, whether and how to adopt and update flight paths based on anticipated conflict warnings to avoid conflicts? c. Whether the UAV needs to communicate directly via PC5? What triggers such direct communication (broadcast / unicast / groupcast) between UAVs? d. Whether and how network support for DAA can be implemented? e. For safety-critical DAA operations (for local or network DAA communications), what aspects for DAA security can be implemented?

[0069] High-level example A UAV may locally detect the presence of other UAVs with the help of on-board sensors and cameras. If a potential collision is detected, the UAV may change its flight path or make slight adjustments to avoid the imminent risk of collision. In the absence of coordination between UAVs, this may be driven locally by the UAV (e.g., based on decisions and actions triggered at the application level).

[0070] In this disclosure, the proposed support of DAA procedures may be achieved by enabling direct communication between UAVs and / or with network assistance for collision detection and contention resolution. The disclosed systems and methods may or may not involve coordinated steering of the UAVs. High-level techniques of network-assisted DAA for UAV detection and contention resolution are described below.

[0071] Collision Detection and Resolution Collision detection can function at three levels: level 1 close range, level 2 short range, and level 3 long range, as described below.

[0072] Level 1: Proximity occurs within a few meters. At Level 1, active UAVs may engage in the following exemplary DAA protocol: At Level 1, collision detection is possible locally by the UAV if the UAV has the capability. The UAV may broadcast its identity, its mobility information (e.g., speed, direction, and location) to nearby UAVs, and may include the UAV's DAA capabilities. As part of the UAV's DAA capabilities, the UAV may support different modes or levels of collision detection / resolution. The UAV may decide to perform local collision resolution (using a local DAA protocol with other UAVs) and / or central collision resolution (USS and / or network assisted resolution). The decision may be based on a provisioned DAA policy, as described in more detail below with reference to Figures 6 and 7.

[0073] In Level 1 collision detection, a UAV may include additional information as part of its DAA capabilities, such as on-board cameras, radar, and / or other safety features. The UAV may detect a collision at the application layer, may receive a DAA capability indication in a broadcast from another UAV, and may trigger a direct communication request (broadcast or unicast) to lower layers via PC5, provided that the UAV receives the other UAV's DAA capability indication.

[0074] The broadcast may include one DAA capability indication, a collision detection alert, a civilian aviation level authority (CAA) level UAV ID of the participating UAV (e.g., a UAV detected in close proximity), trajectory correction information (e.g., a new direction and / or speed intended to avoid a collision). The broadcast may include a traffic conflict resolved alert and / or a CAA level UAV ID of the participating UAV from the receiving UAV. The UAV may use unicast communication with the other UAV. A unicast link may be established when a potential collision is detected, and the unicast link may be disconnected when the collision situation is resolved. To set up the unicast link, the UAV may send a direct connection request (DCR) message with a service information parameter that identifies the DAA service (e.g., using a standardized DAA service name). The target user information may be set to the UAV identity of the other UAV received from a previously received message (as in 1). If multiple other UAVs are involved, the target user information may not be set. Other UAVs may respond with a Direct Connection Accept (DCA) when matching the service and / or target user information. The DCR may include DAA policy information. The DAA policy may be transported in the application generic container DAA information. The DAA policy may indicate the preferred / supported mode of DAA (e.g., local DAA: on / off, central DAA: on / off). The DAA policy may be based on the provisioned policy and collision context. For example, if three or more UAVs are involved in a traffic contention situation, the UAV may select a central DAA resolution mechanism. If the UAV is in-coverage or out-of-coverage, it may select a local contention resolution mechanism. The message may include correction information for the intended trajectory, or the information may be exchanged in a subsequent message based on the agreed DAA policy after link establishment.The other UAVs may respond with a DCA confirming the accepted DAA policy (e.g., local and / or central: on / off), acceptance of the new trajectory, and / or conflict resolution.

[0075] The UAV may detect a collision at the application layer and may request precise location and trajectory information about itself from a location service (LCS), and any one or more of the other UAVs may affect the collision detection.

[0076] The UAV may detect a collision at the application layer and notify the USS of information about the expected collision, including the CAA-level UAV ID of the other UAV, location information (e.g., current location and time, flight route information, and / or current speed), the DAA capability status of the UAV, the USS address to which the UAV is connected, etc. The UAV layer may perform RAT selection when the UAV requests the lower layers to perform any of the above actions, respectively.

[0077] In level 1 collision detection, a passive UAV may be defined as a legacy UAV that does not support the DAA protocol as described above. Note: For a passive UAV, the USS can detect and resolve the collision as long as the other UAV belongs to the same USS. In the following simple procedure, we assume that when a potential collision is detected between UAVs, those UAVs belong to different USSs. (1) The UAV may send information about nearby UAVs to the USS when it is received, including the other UAV's CAA level UAV ID, location information (current location and time, flight route information, and / or current speed), the UAV's DAA capability status, USS address, etc. (2) The UAV may receive flight path corrections and / or adjustments from the USS.

[0078] In Level 1 collision detection, a USS may request location information regarding UAVs connected to the USS. A USS may request location information regarding UAVs connected to other USSs. A USS may notify other USSs regarding its own UAVs in an area where a potential collision with one of the UAVs belonging to the other USSs has been detected.

[0079] For Level 2 collision detection, a short distance may be defined as within a few hundred meters between UAVs.

[0080] In Level 3 collision detection, long distance may be defined as the distance along the entire flight path and collision detection may be coordinated by the USS. Level 3 collision detection may be based on route planning and expected trajectory. Levels 2 and 3 are described in more detail below with reference to Figures 5-9.

[0081] Coordinated conflict resolution between UAVs In one embodiment, both UAVs may be active and may be able to locally decide to avoid conflicts without the involvement of a USS. Such UAVs may be capable of cooperative communication over a PC5 (unicast or broadcast) link and may be referred to as DAA-enabled UAVs that include DAA capabilities in broadcast messages. Figure 4 depicts the steps of the relevant procedure as follows:

[0082] In the figure, at 401, UAV1 410 and UAV2 420 may send their DAA capabilities to their respective USSs when performing initial registration or authorization with the USS. For example, UAV1 410 may send its DAA capabilities to USS1 450, and UAV2 420 may send its DAA capabilities to USS2 460. The UAVs may include additional information as part of their DAA capabilities, such as an identifier (e.g., CAA-level UAV ID), on-board cameras, and / or other safety features. At 402, at the application layer, UAV1 may receive broadcast messages from other UAVs, e.g., UAV2, which may include, for example, CAA-level UAV ID, UAV2's USS address, speed, heading, and / or location. If an application in UAV1 detects a potential collision, it may trigger collision avoidance / contention resolution using cooperative communication between the UAVs.

[0083] At 403, the application client of UAV1 in UAV1, if DAA-enabled, may detect trajectory path conflicts based on broadcast messages received from other UAVs, e.g., UAV2, and compare it with UAV1's own trajectory and location. Optionally, at 404, UAV1 may request precise location information of UAV2 and any other UAVs (including UAV1's own ID and the ID of the peer WTRU) from a location service (LCS) via the USS. UAV1's direct request for this information may be possible if UAV1 has been pre-authorized for such operation and the USS has notified the LCS regarding such authorization, including UAV1's user ID, e.g., GPSI, SUPI, GUTI, or CAA-level UAV ID. In this step, UAV1 may notify USS1 regarding a potential collision with the detected UAV2 and include information about UAV2, etc. Alternatively, if the LCS 430 is not available, the UAV may be able to operate without an LCS / USS connection to support scenarios where the UAV is out of coverage, in which case the UAV may rely solely on position estimates from on-board sensors.

[0084] At 405, UAV1 may trigger a direct communication request to the lower layer via PC5 (broadcast or unicast). The intermediate UAV layer may perform communication mode selection based on input received from the application layer, i.e., PC5 broadcast or PC5 unicast (see FIG. 4, 406 or 407, respectively) for direct communication or Uu for via USS.

[0085] If broadcast is selected for direct communication, UAV1 may broadcast a message, e.g., a safety message or a contention avoidance message, which may be an application layer message, at 406(a). The broadcast contention avoidance message may include DAA capabilities, collision detection alerts, CAA-level UAV IDs of UAV1 itself and other UAVs, and / or trajectory correction information to avoid collisions. The broadcast contention avoidance message may also include a frequency of subsequent messages exchanged between the UAVs for traffic contention resolution and / or position / trajectory monitoring. At 406(b), UAV2 may also broadcast a message, which may include DAA capabilities, contention resolved acknowledgment (when applicable), and / or CAA-level UAV IDs of participating UAVs from the receiving UAV. At 406(a) and 406(b), UAV1 and UAV2 may periodically transmit one or more broadcast messages including updated real-time position / trajectory information from the time the traffic contention was detected (a) and signaled until the traffic contention is finally resolved.

[0086] If unicast is selected for direct communication, at 407(a), UAV1 may initiate a PC5 link establishment request without 5G PC5 ProSe discovery and may include DAA capabilities, DAA resolution policy (e.g., local and / or central), collision detection alert, and / or WTRU IDs of UAV1 and UAV2. At 407(b), UAV2 may receive and respond to the request from UAV1 as a PC5 link establishment response and may include DAA capabilities, agreed DAA resolution policy, acknowledged collision detection alert, and / or WTRU IDs of UAV1 and UAV2. At 407(c), a unicast link may be established and a route may be negotiated between the UAVs, e.g., UAV1 and UAV2, for contention resolution. At 407(d), the UAVs may exchange PC5-s messages based on the agreed DAA policy, for example, UAV1 may send a keep-alive message to UAV2 carrying the intended or new trajectory, real-time position / velocity, and / or end of collision indication. If central resolution is implemented, the UAV may receive new trajectory information from the USS and notify the other UAVs of the central resolution status. At 407(e), a unicast link disconnection request may be initiated immediately after the contention is resolved, and the unicast link disconnection request may be initiated by either UAV1 or UAV2, i.e., UAV2 is shown as the initiator in FIG. 4 407(e). At 408, UAV1 sends a contention resolution indication to USS1. In FIG. 4, UAS-NF 440 is shown for reference, since the UAS-NF may provide UAS-specific procedures such as USS UAV Authorization / Authentication (UUAA) and UAS tracking.

[0087] Optionally, UAV1 may inform USS1 regarding the conflict resolution with UAV2, and USS1 may cooperate with USS2 for long-term conflict resolution. For example, the long-term conflict resolution may include flight path conflict resolution instructions including a new trajectory for UAV1 for long-term flight path correction by considering at least other UAVs along the flight paths of UAV1 and / or UAV2. Long-term flight path conflict resolution is further described in more detail below with reference to Figures 6-9.

[0088] Conflict Resolution with USS Support In another embodiment, one or more UAVs may be inactive (passive) and may not detect and avoid collisions locally. For such UAVs, the USS may perform DAA based on the tracked trajectories of the drones and possibly compare them with information received directly from other UAVs or via their USS. Such UAVs may be referred to as DAA-incapable UAVs and may not broadcast DAA capabilities in their broadcast messages.

[0089] With reference to FIG. 5, steps of the procedure for conflict resolution with USS assistance are described as follows. In communication 501 of FIG. 5, UAV1 510 and UAV2 520 may send their DAA capabilities (if DAA capable) to their respective USSs when performing initial registration or authorization with the USS. For example, UAV1 510 may send its DAA capabilities to USS1 550, and UAV2 520 may send its DAA capabilities to USS2 560, but only if UAV2 has DAA capabilities. In 501, UAV2 520 may or may not inform USS2 560 that it does not have DAA capabilities. In providing DAA capabilities, the UAV may include additional information such as an identifier (e.g., CAA level UAV ID), an on-board camera, or other safety features as part of the DAA capabilities. In this example, at least one UAV may not be DAA capable.

[0090] At 502, at the application layer, UAV1 may detect a collision with the help of on-board sensors. An application in UAV1 may trigger collision avoidance / conflict resolution if it detects a collision. Alternatively, at 502a, at the application layer, an application client of UAV1 may detect a conflict based on broadcast messages received from other UAVs, e.g., UAV2, and compare the conflict with UAV1's own trajectory and location.

[0091] In communication 503 of Figure 5, an application in the UAV may trigger network-assisted avoidance / conflict resolution if it detects a collision. If the UAV is active (has DAA capability), it may notify the USS of information about the expected collision, including the other UAV's CAA-level UAV ID, location information (current location and time, flight route information, and / or current speed), the other UAV's DAA capability status, and / or the USS address. Alternatively, if the UAV is passive (does not have DAA capability), it may pass information to the USS when it is received, including the other UAV's CAA-level UAV ID, location information (current location and time, flight route information, and / or current speed), the other UAV's DAA capability status, and / or the USS address.

[0092] At 504, the UAVs may have already reported their locations to the LCS 530, which may improve location estimates, track trajectories, and / or the LCS itself may be tracking their locations and trajectories. If the UAV is active (has DAA capabilities), upon detecting a potential collision, it may query the LCS (including the UAV's own ID and / or the ID of the peer WTRU) to request an accurate location and trajectory estimate from the LCS, which may send this information to the associated USS. Alternatively, if the UAV is passive (e.g., does not have DAA capabilities), the USS may query the LCS to request accurate location and trajectory estimates for other UAVs directly from the LCS and / or via the UAV's USS.

[0093] At 505, USS1 interacts with USS2 to avoid future collisions between the two particular UAVs and may negotiate either short-term or long-term flight plans for the competing UAVs, depending on whether the destination is known or not.

[0094] At 506, an application message may be sent from the USS to the UAV with suggested corrections in flight path for collision avoidance. UAS-NF 540 is shown in Figure 5 for reference because it may provide UAS-specific procedures such as USS UAV Authorization / Authorization (UUAA) and UAS tracking.

[0095] Network-triggered conflict warning and resolution One or more UAV Conflict & Collision Analysis Functions (UCCAFs) may be supported in 5GC. UCCAFs may provide DAA as a service to its users (e.g., USS networks, UAV operators, CAAs, etc.). Primary roles of UCCAFs include one or more of the following:

[0096] In its first primary role, the UCCAF may track all UAVs within one or more geographic conflict resolution zones (CRZs) and monitor mobility information (location, altitude, speed, direction, etc.) of UAVs within the zones. The zones may be planned according to the density of UAV flight. For example, dense flight areas (e.g., above metropolitan areas) may have smaller zones and less dense flight areas may have larger zones. The UCCAF may utilize existing UAV tracking procedures (3 GPP TS 23.256, "Support of Uncrewed Aerial Systems (UAS) connectivity, identification and tracking", 5.3 in v17.0.0) for the list of UAVs within its zones of responsibility.

[0097] In the second main role, the UCCAF may retrieve real-time mobility information from the LCS or USS and analyze any potential conflicts or collisions within the zone it is responsible for. The UCCAF may act as an LCS client and retrieve mobility information from the LCS using existing procedures (e.g., MT-LR procedures in TS 23.273) or may be part of the GMLC function where WTRU / UAV mobility information is readily available. The UCCAF may interact with multiple USSs to feed real-time mobility information of UAVs via a web interface or via a UAS NF in the 5GC. The UCCAF may be part of the UAS NF. The UCCAF may also be configured with information (e.g., location, height, etc.) of tall objects (buildings, towers, mountains, etc.) within the zone. The UCCAF may be an AF that may interact with one or more networks (e.g., part of the USS network or external) on behalf of one or more USSs (e.g., via the UAS NF).

[0098] In a third major role, the UCCAF may trigger the network to send alert / warning messages to the UAVs, their controllers, and / or the USS when it determines that there is a potential conflict or collision risk for one or more UAVs. The UCCAF may also provide flight route adjustment or maneuver suggestions directly to the WTRU via the network if the WTRU is authorized to do so.

[0099] Multiple UCCAFs within a PLMN may interact and exchange information with each other when necessary. In an area that may be covered by multiple PLMNs, a UCCAF in one PLMN may interact with a UCCAF in another PLMN to determine and resolve competing risks.

[0100] Referring to Figure 6, UCCAF 600 may provide conflict monitoring and resolution services to all UAVs in its zone of responsibility by default. Alternatively, it may provide such services to one or more UAVs upon request of the USS or UAS NF. In the former case, UCCAF may periodically receive presence information of UAVs in its CRZ 602 and monitor the mobility / tracking information of these UAVs. In the latter case, it may determine the CRZ in which a target UAV resides and monitor the mobility / tracking information of all UAVs in that particular CRZ, which may be changing along the flight path of the UAV.

[0101] Figure 7 illustrates steps of a procedure in which the UCCAF 720 monitors the collision risk for all UAVs 710 in its CRZ. In message 701 of Figure 7, the UCCAF may obtain a list of UAVs in its CRZ by using a similar procedure described in section 5.3.4 of 3 GPP TS 23.256. The UCCAF may initiate a UAV list request on behalf of the USS 750 and provide the geographic information of the UCCAF's CRZ to the UAS NF 730. If the CAA-level UAV ID is not received in the list, the UCCAF may further inquire the UAS NF for the corresponding CAA-level UAV ID.

[0102] 7, message 702a, after obtaining the list of UAVs in the CRZ, the UCCAF acting as an LCS client may receive periodic location information of the UAVs using the periodic MT-LR location reporting procedure as defined in section 6.3.1 or TS 23.273. Alternatively, in 702b, the UCCAF may retrieve real-time tracking information directly from the USS responsible for the UAV, for example via a web interface.

[0103] At 703, according to the received location / tracking information, the UCCAF may perform a real-time intelligent analysis of potential conflict and collision risks for all UAVs in the CRZ. The UCCAF may be configured with a "minimum clearance" parameter to determine the risk.

[0104] At 704a, if the UCCAF determines that one or more of the groups' WTRUs may be involved in a potential conflict or collision, it may send a conflict warning message, e.g., via a web interface, to the responsible USS responsible for the at-risk UAV. The UCCAF may indicate the identity of the at-risk UAV and / or the estimated time and location of the potential conflict or collision. The UCCAF may also suggest flight route adjustments or UAV maneuvers that may be less likely to result in another conflict / collision. Based on the received warning and / or suggestions, the USS may notify the UAVs and / or their UAV-C of the warning and the proposed flight route updates and maneuvers.

[0105] Alternatively, at 704b, the UCCAF may send the alert event to the USSAF via the UAS NF using a network event publishing mechanism. At 704c, a contention alert event notification may be sent from the UAS NF to the USS.

[0106] At 705, if the UCCAF and / or UAS NF are configured or authorized to directly alert the UAV, the UAS NF may send a NAS conflict alert message to the UAV via the AMF or SMF. The NAS message may also include flight route adjustments and / or maneuver suggestions. If the UAV is configured to directly follow suggestions from the UCCAF / UAS NF, it may take action accordingly. If not, the UAV may report the alert and suggestions to the USS or its UAV-C and await further instructions.

[0107] FIG. 8 depicts procedural steps that may be applied when UCCAF 820 monitors collision risk for one or more UAVs 810 upon request of USS-1 850, as follows: In message 801 of FIG. 8, USS-1 850 may send a collision monitoring request to UCCAF 820 via UAS NF 830. USS-1 may provide the target UAV identifier (e.g., GPSI and / or CAA Level ID) and its current tracking information. USS-1 may also provide a geographic area for UCCAF to monitor all UAVs of UCCAF in that area and may provide some requirements such as "minimum clearance" for conflict / conflict monitoring. USS-1 may further indicate whether a flight route adjustment proposal is required in case of conflict.

[0108] In message 802 of Figure 8, the UCCAF may periodically obtain location information of the target UAV from the LCS. In 803, the UCCAF may determine which CRZ the WTRU is currently in. The UCCAF may do this periodically as the UAV changes location along its flight route. If the geographic area to be monitored is provided by the USS, the UCCAF may map the geographic area to the CRZ for which the UCCAF is responsible.

[0109] At 804, the UCCAF may obtain a list of all UAVs in the same CRZ. At 805, the remaining procedure is similar to messages 802-805 of FIG. 7 described above.

[0110] DAA Support using Extended UAE Registering UAE client to UAE server In a method for DAA support capability registration between a UAE client and a UAE server when using extended UAE, the UAE client may send a registration request including DAA capabilities to the UAE server. The UAE client may indicate the UAE client DAA capabilities and UAE client context information (e.g., how often to broadcast UAV mobility information (location, direction, and / or speed)). The UAE server may also indicate to a serving USS the UAE server DAA capabilities and possible UAE server context information (e.g., network areas in which the UAE server can provide services for DAA purposes based on network coverage information). The UAE server may perform one or more authentication and authorization checks and may interact with the USS in the process to indicate the UAE client / server DAA capabilities and identity information. The UAE client may receive a registration response including a success indication from the UAE server if the UAE server supports such capabilities.

[0111] DAA management / DAA configuration When using extended UAE, in a method for DAA support to be enabled in a UAE client upon request from a USS, the UAE server may receive a DAA management request from a serving USS to manage DAA. The request may include UAV (UAE client) identification information and / or DAA configuration parameters / DAA policies. The UAE server may send a response acknowledging the support based on the UAE client and server support of such capabilities. The UAE client may receive a DAA configuration request from the UAE server that includes DAA configuration parameters / DAA policies. The policies may include parameters / rules regarding whether and how the UAE client may act with respect to detection and / or avoidance. For example, the policies may include rules for the UAV to communicate with the USS and / or other UAVs (i.e., for central and / or local flight path conflict resolution) to indicate possible interfering objects based on the policies and / or to implement expected forward path or altitude changes due to the interfering objects. For example, the DAA policy rules may be applied taking into account whether the UAV is in and out of coverage of the network. The UAE client may store the DAA configuration parameters and send a DAA support configuration response to the server. The UAE server may send an acknowledgement to the USS that the DAA information is provided to the UAE client. The UAE client / server may use the provided DAA policy to prevent in-flight conflicts.

[0112] UAE-supported DAA When using extended UAE, in a method for dynamically changing a current route upon request from a USS and / or based on a UAE client / server configuration resulting from DAA, the USS, UAE server, and / or UAE client may recognize that a change in expected flight path is necessary due to an identified object that may interfere with the UAV and cause a potentially dangerous situation. The UAE server may receive a DAA request from the USS. The request may include UAV (UAE client) identification information and / or actions to take to avoid a collision. The UAE server may verify that the request is authorized. The UAE client may receive a DAA request from the UAE server along with actions to take to avoid a conflict. The UAE client may act accordingly. Alternatively, the UAE client may initiate a flight path change based on a previously received DAA policy without external instructions (i.e., without an explicit request from the UAE server) when, for example, a UAA policy from the application layer or a UAV internal function identifies an anomaly. The UAE client may send a DAA response to notify the UAE server. The UAE server may update the USS accordingly.

[0113] Alternatively, the UAE server may initiate a flight path change (on behalf of the USS) based on DAA capabilities and policies provided by the USS, for example, if the UAE server is permitted to initiate a flight path change due to a DAA policy (e.g., after the UAE server determines that a flight path change is necessary).

[0114] Support for UAE tier DAA call flows FIG. 9 illustrates a procedure for UAE support of DAA operations as described above using an extended UAE. In FIG. 9, the steps of the procedure for UAE layer support for multi-USS operations are described as follows: At 901, a UAE client (UAV) 920 may send a registration request including an indication of DAA capabilities to a UAE server 930. At 902, the UAE server may perform authentication and authorization checks and in the process interact with a USS 940 to indicate the UAE client's DAA capabilities and identity. At 903, the UAE client may receive a registration response from the UAE server with an indication of authorization for DAA support.

[0115] At 904, the UAE server may receive a DAA management request from a serving USS to manage support for DAA. The request may include UAV (UAE client) identification information and DAA configuration parameters. If the request is to add a configuration, the UAE server may store the configuration parameters associated with the DAA in the UAE client context. If the request is to delete a configuration, the UAE server may delete the configuration from the UAE client context and check that the configuration is associated with the requesting USS before sending the request to the UAE client.

[0116] At 905, the UAE client may receive a DAA configuration request from the UAE server. The request may be to add or delete a DAA configuration. At 906, if the request is to add (or delete, respectively) a configuration, the UAE client may store (or delete, respectively) the DAA configuration associated with the USS. At 907, the UAE client may send a DAA supported configuration response to the server to acknowledge the addition / removal of the configuration. At 908, the UAE server may send a response to the USS indicating the enablement or disablement of DAA capabilities.

[0117] In one situation, the UAE client (UAV) may initiate a DAA alert. This is depicted in FIG. 9 at 909a, 909b, 910a, and 910b. At 909a, the UAE client may send a DAA alert to the UAE server indicating a detected or resolved flight path conflict with one or more nearby UAVs. The message may include an updated trajectory with the cause of the DAA alert. In response, at 909b, the UAE server may send the DAA alert to the USS. At 910a, the USS may acknowledge the alert to the UAE server. At 910b, the UAE server may send a DAA alert acknowledgement to the UAE client (UAV).

[0118] In another situation, the USS may initiate a DAA alert. This is depicted in FIG. 9 at 911a, 911b, 912a, and 912b. In step 911a, the USS may send a DAA alert to the UAE server indicating a detected or resolved flight path conflict with one or more nearby UAVs. The DAA alert message may include an updated trajectory with the cause of the DAA alert. The UAE server may verify that the received DAA alert is authorized.

[0119] At 911b, the UAE server may send a request to the UAE client to change flight path. At 912a, the UAE client (UAV) may acknowledge the alert to the UAE server. At 912b, the UAE server may send a DAA alert acknowledgement to the USS.

[0120] At 913, the UAE server may receive the DAA flight path update request from the UAE server. At 914, the UAE client (UAV) may receive the flight path update request from the UAE server.

[0121] At 915, the UAE client may implement a flight path change according to the DAA based on the request and / or DAA configuration. The UAE layer may notify the application in the client. At 916, the UAE client may send a DAA flight path update response to the UAE server to indicate the flight path change of the client UAV. The UAE client may include in the message the reason for the flight path change and any relevant additional information regarding the actual new flight path. At 917, the UAE server may send a DAA flight path response to the USS to indicate the flight path change. The UAE server may include in the message the reason for the flight path change and any relevant additional information regarding the actual new flight path.

[0122] 10 illustrates a method 1000 performed by a wireless transmit / receive unit (WTRU) implemented in a first unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV1). At 1005, the WTRU registers its detect and avoid (DAA) capabilities in a transmitted registration message with an unmanned aerial system (UAS) service provider (USS). Registering UAV1's DAA capabilities to the USS may include transmitting one or more of an identifier and a hardware capability summary of UAV1 to the USS.

[0123] At 1010, the WTRU in UAV1 detects a flight path conflict with a second UAV (UAV2). Detecting the flight path conflict may include receiving a broadcast message from UAV2 and determining from the broadcast message whether UAV1 and UAV2 have a flight path conflict. This determination may be made at an application layer of UAV1. The broadcast message from UAV2 may include one or more of a UAV2 identifier, a UAV2 speed, a UAV2 heading, and a UAV2 position. Detecting the flight path conflict with UAV2 may include obtaining location information of UAV2 using a network location service (LCS) and determining that a flight path conflict exists between UAV1 and UAV2.

[0124] At 1015, the WTRU selects a communication mode with the UAV2. The communication mode is one of a broadcast mode or a unicast mode. The selected mode may be a direct communication request over a PC5 link.

[0125] If the unicast mode of communication is selected at 1015, UAV1 initiates a PC5 link establishment request.

[0126] If a broadcast mode of communication is selected at 1015, UAV1 broadcasts UAV1 and UAV2 identifiers, UAV1 DAA capabilities, and trajectory correction information, which are used to avoid collision between the two UAVs.

[0127] At 1020, the DAA capability and conflict avoidance message of UAV1 is sent to UAV2 based on the selected mode, i.e., unicast or broadcast.

[0128] If the unicast mode of communication is selected at 1015, the transmission at 1020 includes UAV1 initiating a PC5 link establishment request. The establishment request may include UAV1 and UAV2 identifiers, UAV1 DAA capabilities, DAA resolution policy, a contention avoidance message that may include DAA capabilities, collision detection alert, CAA level UAV IDs of UAV1 and UAV2, and trajectory correction information used to avoid collision of two or more UAVs. The contention avoidance message may be similar or equivalent to the DAA alert of FIG. 9. The trajectory correction information may be transported by a unicast keep-alive message.

[0129] If a broadcast mode of communication is selected at 1015, the transmission at 1020 includes UAV1 broadcasting a conflict avoidance message, which may include UAV1 and UAV2 identifiers, UAV1 DAA capabilities, and orbit correction information used to avoid collision between the two UAVs.

[0130] At 1025, one of the UAVs performs a trajectory correction to avoid collisions between the UAVs. Optionally, at 1030, at least one of the UAVs may further transmit to the USS and instructions for flight path conflict resolution.

[0131] In an exemplary embodiment, a method performed by a WTRU implemented in a first UAV (UAV1) includes registering DAA capabilities of UAV1 with a USS in a registration message sent by UAV1. UAV1 detects a flight path conflict with a second UAV (UAV2). UAV1 selects a communication mode with UAV2. The communication mode is one of a broadcast communication mode or a unicast communication mode. UAV1 transmits DAA capabilities of UAV1 to UAV2 in a conflict resolution message based on the selected communication mode, and then avoids the collision by performing trajectory corrections.

[0132] In an exemplary embodiment, registering the DAA capabilities with the USS includes transmitting one or more of an identifier of UAV1 and a hardware capability summary of UAV1 to the USS. UAV1 detects the flight path conflict by receiving a broadcast message from UAV2 and determining from the broadcast message whether UAV1 and UAV2 have a flight path conflict. The broadcast message from UAV2 may include one or more of a UAV2 identifier, a UAV2 speed, a UAV2 heading, and a UAV2 position. Detecting the flight path conflict with UAV2 may further or alternatively include obtaining location information of one or more of UAV1 and UAV2 using a network location service and determining that a flight path conflict exists between UAV1 and UAV2.

[0133] UAV1 may select a communication mode with UAV2 when selecting a direct communication request via a PC5 link, and the selection of the communication mode is performed at the UAV application layer.

[0134] UAV1 may transmit UAV1's DAA capabilities to UAV2 in a contention avoidance message by transmitting a contention avoidance message including one or more of a DAA capability, a collision detection alert, a UAV identifier, and trajectory correction information.

[0135] In an exemplary embodiment, UAV1 may send UAV1's DAA capability and conflict avoidance message to UAV2 based on the selected communication mode by selecting a unicast communication mode, in which UAV1 initiates a PC5 link establishment request. The request includes UAV1 and UAV2 identifiers, UAV1 DAA capability, DAA resolution policy, collision detection alert, and trajectory correction information to avoid collision. The trajectory correction information may be sent using a unicast keep-alive message.

[0136] In an alternative or additional method of transmitting UAV1's DAA capabilities and conflict avoidance messages to UAV2 based on the selected communication mode, UAV1 may select a broadcast communication mode, in which UAV1 broadcasts UAV1 and UAV2 identifiers, UAV1 DAA capabilities, and trajectory correction information to avoid collision.

[0137] UAV1 may further receive one or more instructions of DAA capability, conflict resolution acknowledgement, and a new trajectory from UAV2. UAV1 may further send flight path conflict resolution instructions to the USS. The flight path conflict resolution instructions may include a new trajectory for UAV1 for long-term flight path correction by considering other UAVs along the flight paths of at least one of UAV1 and UAV2.

[0138] In an example embodiment, the WTRU may include a circuit including a transmitter, a receiver, a processor, and a memory implemented in a first UAV (UAV1). The WTRU in UAV1 may be configured for the WTRU configured to register the DAA capabilities in a registration message sent by the WTRU with the USS. The WTRU may detect a flight path conflict with a second UAV (UAV2) and select a communication mode with UAV2. The communication mode may be one of a broadcast communication mode or a unicast communication mode. The WTRU of UAV1 may transmit the DAA capabilities of UAV1 to UAV2 in a conflict resolution message based on the selected communication mode and avoid the collision by performing trajectory corrections.

[0139] The WTRU registers the DAA capabilities with the USS by sending one or more of an identifier of UAV1 and a hardware capability summary of UAV1 to the USS. The WTRU may detect a flight path conflict by receiving a broadcast message from UAV2 and determine from the broadcast message whether UAV1 and UAV2 have a flight path conflict. The broadcast message from UAV2 may include one or more of a UAV2 identifier, a UAV2 speed, a UAV2 heading, and a UAV2 position.

[0140] In addition, the WTRU may detect a flight path conflict with UAV2 by using the location services of the USS to obtain location information of one or more of UAV1 and UAV2 and determining that a flight path conflict exists between UAV1 and UAV2.

[0141] The WTRU may send a direct communication request over the PC5 link to communicate with UAV2. Based on selecting the unicast communication mode, the WTRU may send UAV1's DAA capabilities to UAV2 in a contention avoidance message, in which UAV1 initiates a PC5 link establishment request. The request may include UAV1 and UAV2 identifiers, UAV1 DAA capabilities, DAA resolution policy, collision detection alert, and orbit correction information to avoid collision, where the orbit correction information may be a unicast keep-alive message. The contention avoidance message may include one or more of the DAA capabilities, collision detection alert, UAV identifier, and orbit correction information.

[0142] The WTRU may send UAV1's DAA capability and conflict avoidance message to UAV2 based on selecting the broadcast communication mode, in which UAV1 broadcasts UAV1 and UAV2 identifiers, UAV1 DAA capability, and trajectory correction information to avoid collision. The WTRU may further receive one or more instructions of the DAA capability, conflict resolution acknowledgement, and new trajectory from UAV2.

[0143] The WTRU may further send flight path conflict resolution instructions to the USS. The flight path conflict resolution instructions may include a new trajectory for UAV1 for long-term flight path correction by considering other UAVs along the flight path of at least one of UAV1 and UAV2.

[0144] conclusion Although features and elements are provided above in specific combinations, one skilled in the art will understand that each feature or element can be used alone or in any combination with other features and elements. The present disclosure is not limited in terms of the specific embodiments described in this application, which are intended as illustrations of various aspects. As will be apparent to those skilled in the art, many modifications and variations may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. No element, operation, or instruction used in the description of this application should be construed as critical or essential to the invention unless expressly set forth as such. In addition to those enumerated herein, functionally equivalent methods and apparatuses within the scope of the present disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the foregoing description. Such modifications and variations are intended to fall within the scope of the appended claims. The present disclosure is to be limited only by the terms of the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. It is to be understood that the present disclosure is not limited to any particular method or system.

[0145] The foregoing embodiments are discussed with respect to the terminology and structure of infrared-enabled devices (i.e., infrared emitters and receivers) for simplicity, however, the discussed embodiments are not limited to these systems and may also be applied to other systems that use other forms of electromagnetic waves, or non-electromagnetic waves such as acoustic waves.

[0146] It should also be understood that the terms used herein are for purposes of describing particular embodiments only and are not intended to be limiting. As used herein, the term "video" or "image" may mean either a snapshot, a single image, and / or multiple images displayed over time. As another example, the term "user equipment" and its abbreviation "UE", the term "remote", and / or the term "head mounted display" and its abbreviation "HMD" as referred to herein may mean or include (i) a wireless transmitting and / or receiving unit (WTRU), (ii) any of several embodiments of a WTRU, (iii) a wireless enabled and / or wired enabled (e.g., tetherable) device specifically configured to have some or all of the structure and functionality of a WTRU, (iii) a wireless enabled and / or wired enabled device configured to have less than all of the structure and functionality of a WTRU, or (iv) the like. Details of an exemplary WTRU that may represent any WTRU listed herein are provided herein with respect to FIGS. 1A-1D. As another example, various embodiments disclosed herein above and below are described as utilizing a head-mounted display. Those skilled in the art will recognize that devices other than a head-mounted display may be utilized and that the present disclosure and any or all of the various disclosed embodiments may be modified accordingly without undue experimentation. Examples of such other devices may include drones or other devices configured to stream information to provide an adaptive reality experience.

[0147] In addition, the methods provided herein may be implemented in a computer program, software, or firmware embodied in a computer readable medium for execution by a computer or processor. Examples of computer readable media include electronic signals (transmitted over wired or wireless connections) and computer readable storage media. Examples of computer readable storage media include, but are not limited to, read only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), registers, cache memory, semiconductor memory devices, magnetic media such as internal hard disks and removable disks, magneto-optical media, and optical media such as CD-ROM disks and digital versatile disks (DVDs). A processor in association with software may be used to implement a radio frequency transceiver for use in a WTRU, UE, terminal, base station, RNC, MME, EPC, AMF, or any host computer.

[0148] Modifications of the methods, apparatus, and systems provided above are possible without departing from the scope of the present invention. In view of the wide variety of possible embodiments, it should be understood that the described embodiments are merely exemplary and should not be construed as limiting the scope of the following claims. For example, the embodiments provided herein include a portable device, which may include or be utilized with any suitable voltage source, such as a battery providing any suitable voltage.

[0149] Further, in the above embodiments, it should be noted that processing platforms, computing systems, controllers, and other devices including processors. These devices may include at least one Central Processing Unit (CPU) and memory. In accordance with the practices of those skilled in the art of computer programming, references to operations and symbolic representations of operations or instructions may be performed by various CPUs and memories. Such operations and operations or instructions may be referred to as being "executed," "executed by a computer," or "executed by a CPU."

[0150] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the operations and symbolically represented operations or instructions include the manipulation of electrical signals by the CPU. The electrical system represents data bits that may cause a resultant transformation or reduction of the electrical signals, and maintains the data bits in memory locations of the memory system, thereby reconfiguring or otherwise altering the operation of the CPU and the processing of other signals. The memory locations in which the data bits are maintained are physical locations that have particular electrical, magnetic, optical, or organic properties that correspond to or represent the data bits. It should be appreciated that the embodiments are not limited to the platforms or CPUs mentioned above, and that other platforms and CPUs may support the methods provided.

[0151] The data bits may also be maintained on a computer readable medium including magnetic disks, optical disks, and any other volatile (e.g., random access memory (RAM)) or non-volatile (e.g., read only memory (ROM)) mass storage system readable by a CPU. The computer readable medium may include computer readable media that resides exclusively on a processing system, or distributed, cooperative or interconnected among multiple interconnected processing systems that may be local or remote to a processing system. It should be understood that the embodiments are not limited to the memories mentioned above and that other platforms and memories may support the methods provided.

[0152] In an example embodiment, any of the operations, processes, etc. described herein may be implemented as computer readable instructions stored on a computer readable medium. The computer readable instructions may be executed by a processor of a mobile, a network element, and / or any other computing device.

[0153] There is little distinction between hardware and software implementations of aspects of the system. Whether to use hardware or software is generally a design choice that represents a cost vs. efficiency tradeoff (although in some circumstances the choice between hardware and software may be important). There may be a variety of vehicles (e.g., hardware, software, and / or firmware) in which the processes and / or systems and / or other techniques described herein may be effective, and the preferred vehicle may vary depending on the context in which the processes and / or systems and / or other techniques are deployed. For example, if an implementer determines that speed and accuracy are paramount, the implementer may select a primarily hardware and / or firmware vehicle. If flexibility is paramount, the implementer may select a primarily software implementation. Alternatively, the implementer may select some combination of hardware, software, and / or firmware.

[0154] The foregoing detailed description has illustrated various embodiments of devices and / or processes through the use of block diagrams, flow charts, and / or examples. To the extent that such block diagrams, flow charts, and / or examples include one or more functions and / or operations, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that each function and / or operation within such block diagrams, flow charts, or examples may be individually and / or collectively implemented by a wide range of hardware, software, firmware, or substantially any combination thereof. In one embodiment, some portions of the subject matter described herein may be implemented via application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), digital signal processors (DSPs), and / or other integrated forms. However, those skilled in the art will recognize that certain aspects of the embodiments disclosed herein may be equivalently implemented, in whole or in part, in integrated circuits, as one or more computer programs running on one or more computers (e.g., as one or more programs running on one or more computer systems), as one or more programs running on one or more processors (e.g., as one or more programs running on one or more microprocessors), as firmware, or as substantially any combination thereof, and that designing circuitry and / or writing software and / or firmware code is within the skill of those skilled in the art in light of this disclosure. In addition, those skilled in the art will recognize that the subject matter mechanisms described herein may be distributed as program products in a variety of forms, and that representative embodiments of the subject matter described herein apply regardless of the particular type of signal-bearing medium used to actually effect the distribution. Examples of signal bearing media include, but are not limited to, recordable type media such as floppy disks, hard disk drives, CDs, DVDs, digital tape, computer memory, and transmission type media such as digital and / or analog communications media (e.g., fiber optic cables, wave guides, wired communications links, wireless communications links, etc.).

[0155] Those skilled in the art will recognize that it is common in the art to describe devices and / or processes in the manner described herein and then use engineering techniques to integrate such described devices and / or processes into a data processing system. That is, at least a portion of the devices and / or processes described herein may be integrated into a data processing system through a reasonable amount of experimentation. Those skilled in the art will recognize that a typical data processing system may generally include one or more of a system unit housing, a video display device, memory such as volatile and non-volatile memory, a processor such as a microprocessor and a digital signal processor, computing entities such as an operating system, drivers, graphical user interfaces, and application programs, one or more interactive devices such as a touchpad or screen, and / or a control system including feedback loops and control motors (e.g., feedback to sense position and / or velocity, control motors to move and / or adjust components and / or quantities). A typical data processing system may be implemented utilizing any suitable commercially available components, such as those typically found in data computing / communication systems and / or network computing / communication systems.

[0156] The subject matter described herein may depict different components contained within or connected to different other components. It should be understood that such depicted architectures are merely examples, and that in fact many other architectures that achieve the same functionality may be implemented. Conceptually, any arrangement of components to achieve the same functionality is effectively "associated" such that the desired functionality may be achieved. Thus, any two components herein that are combined to achieve a particular functionality may be considered to be "associated" with one another such that the desired functionality is achieved, regardless of the architecture or intervening components. Similarly, any two components so associated may be considered to be "operably connected" or "operably coupled" with one another to achieve the desired functionality, and any two components that can be associated in this way may be considered to be "operably coupled" with one another to achieve the desired functionality. Examples of operably coupleable include, but are not limited to, components that are physically matable and / or physically interacting, and / or components that are wirelessly interacting and / or wirelessly interacting, and / or components that are logically interacting and / or logically interacting.

[0157] With respect to the use of substantially any plural and / or singular term herein, those of skill in the art may convert from plural to singular and / or from singular to plural as appropriate to the context and / or application. For purposes of clarity, various singular / plural permutations may be expressly set forth herein.

[0158] In general, those skilled in the art will understand that the terms used in this specification, and particularly in the appended claims (e.g., the body of the appended claims), are generally intended as "non-limiting" terms (e.g., the term "including" should be interpreted as "including, but not limited to," the term "having" should be interpreted as "having at least," and the term "including" should be interpreted as "including, but not limited to"). Furthermore, those skilled in the art will understand that where a specific number of recitations of an introduced claim are intended, such intent is expressly set forth in the claim, and in the absence of such recitation, no such intent exists. For example, where only one item is intended, the term "single" or similar language may be used. To aid in understanding, the following appended claims and / or the description of this specification may include the use of the introductory phrases "at least one" and "one or more" to introduce the claim recitations. However, the use of such phrases should not be interpreted as meaning that the introduction of a claim recitation with the indefinite article "a" or "an" limits any particular claim that includes such an introduced claim recitation to an embodiment that includes only such one recitation, even if the same claim contains the introductory phrase "one or more" or "at least one" and an indefinite article such as "a" or "an" (e.g., "a" and / or "an" should be interpreted to mean "at least one" or "one or more"). The same applies to the use of definite articles used to introduce claim recitations. In addition, those skilled in the art will recognize that even if a specific number of recitations of an introduced claim are explicitly recited, such recitation should be interpreted to mean at least the recited number (e.g., the simple recitation "two recitations" without any other qualifiers means at least two recitations, or more than two recitations).Furthermore, when notation similar to "such as at least one of A, B, and C" is used, such structure is generally intended as a person of ordinary skill in the art would understand the notation (e.g., "a system having at least one of A, B, and C" includes, but is not limited to, systems having only A, only B, only C, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and / or A, B, and C together). When notation similar to "such as at least one of A, B, or C" is used, such structure is generally intended as a person of ordinary skill in the art would understand the notation (e.g., "a system having at least one of A, B, or C" includes, but is not limited to, systems having only A, only B, only C, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and / or A, B, and C together). Those skilled in the art will further appreciate that virtually any disjunctive word and / or phrase presenting two or more alternative terms, whether in the specification, claims, or drawings, should be understood to contemplate the possibility of including one of the terms, either of the terms, or both terms. For example, the phrase "A or B" should be understood to include the possibility of "A" or "B" or "A and B." Additionally, as used herein, the term "any of" followed by a list of items and / or a list of categories of items is intended to include "any of," "any combination of," "any more than one of," and / or "any more than one of" the items and / or categories of items, individually or in combination with other items and / or other categories of items. Additionally, as used herein, the term "set" is intended to include any number of items, including zero. Additionally, as used herein, the term "number" is intended to include any number, including zero. Also, as used herein, the term "multiple" is intended to be synonymous with "plurality."

[0159] In addition, where features or aspects of the disclosure are described in terms of a Markush group, those skilled in the art will recognize that the disclosure is also thereby described in terms of any individual element or subgroup of elements of the Markush group.

[0160] As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, for all purposes, including in terms of providing a written description, all ranges disclosed herein also encompass any possible subranges and combinations of subranges thereof. Any recited range can be readily recognized as fully descriptive and allowing the same range to be broken down into at least equal halves, thirds, quarters, fifths, tenths, etc. As a non-limiting example, each range discussed herein may be readily broken down into a lower third, a middle third, and an upper third, etc. Also, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, all terms such as "up to," "at least," "more than," "less than," etc., refer to ranges that include the recited number and that may be further broken down into subranges as discussed above. Finally, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, ranges include each individual element. Thus, for example, a group having 1 to 3 cells refers to a group having 1, 2, or 3 cells. Similarly, a group having 1 to 5 cells refers to a group having 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 cells, and so forth.

[0161] Moreover, the claims should not be read as limited to the provided order or to the provided elements unless specifically so recited. In addition, the use of the term "means for" in any claim is intended to be relied upon under 35 U.S.C. 112, paragraph 6, or means-plus-function claim format, and no claim without the term "means for" is intended to be so.

[0162] Suitable processors include, by way of example, a general purpose processor, a special purpose processor, a conventional processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors associated with a DSP core, a controller, a microcontroller, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an application specific standard product (ASSP), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) circuit, any other type of integrated circuit (IC), and / or a state machine.

[0163] The WTRU may be used in conjunction with hardware and / or software implemented modules, such as, for example, a Software Defined Radio (SDR), and may be implemented in other components, such as a camera, a video camera module, a video phone, a speaker phone, a vibration device, a speaker, a microphone, a television transceiver, a hands-free headset, a keyboard, a Bluetooth module, a Frequency Modulation (FM) radio unit, a Near Field Communication (NFC) module, an LCD display unit, an Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) display unit, a digital music player, a media player, a video game player module, an Internet browser, and / or a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) or Ultra Wide Band (UWB) module.

[0164] Although various embodiments have been described with respect to a communications system, it is contemplated that the system may be implemented in software on a microprocessor / general purpose computer (not shown). In particular embodiments, one or more of the functions of the various components may be implemented in software controlling a general purpose computer.

[0165] In addition, although the invention is illustrated and described herein with reference to specific embodiments, the invention is not intended to be limited to the details shown, but rather, various modifications can be made in the details within the scope of the claims and their equivalents and without departing from the invention.

Claims

1. 1. A method implemented by a wireless transmit / receive unit (WTRU) implemented on a first unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV1), the method comprising: registering the detect and avoid (DAA) capabilities of the UAV1 with an Unmanned Aerial System Service Provider (USS) in a registration message transmitted by the UAV1; Detecting a flight path conflict with a second UAV (UAV2); selecting a communication mode with the UAV2, the communication mode being one of a broadcast communication mode or a unicast communication mode; transmitting the DAA capabilities of the UAV1 to the UAV2 in a contention avoidance message based on the selected communication mode; and avoiding collisions by performing trajectory corrections.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein registering the DAA capabilities with the USS includes transmitting one or more of an identifier of the UAV1 and a hardware capability summary of the UAV1 to the USS.

3. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein detecting a flight path conflict includes receiving a broadcast message from the UAV2 and determining from the broadcast message whether the UAV1 and the UAV2 have the flight path conflict.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the broadcast message from the UAV2 includes one or more of a UAV2 identifier, a UAV2 speed, a UAV2 heading, and a UAV2 position.

5. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein detecting a flight path conflict with UAV2 includes obtaining location information of one or more of UAV1 and UAV2 using a network location service, and determining that a flight path conflict exists between UAV1 and UAV2.

6. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein selecting a communication mode with the UAV2 includes selecting a direct communication request via a PC5 link, and wherein the selection of the communication mode is performed at the UAV application layer.

7. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein transmitting the DAA capability of the UAV1 to the UAV2 in a contention avoidance message includes transmitting a contention avoidance message including one or more of a DAA capability, a collision detection alert, a UAV identifier, and trajectory correction information.

8. The method of any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein sending the DAA capabilities and conflict avoidance message of the UAV1 to the UAV2 based on the selected communication mode includes selecting a unicast communication mode, in which the UAV1 initiates a PC5 link establishment request, the request including UAV1 and UAV2 identifiers, UAV1 DAA capabilities, DAA resolution policy, collision detection alert, and trajectory correction information to avoid collision.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the orbit correction information is transmitted using unicast keep-alive messages.

10. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein transmitting the DAA capability and conflict avoidance message of the UAV1 to the UAV2 based on the selected communication mode includes selecting a broadcast communication mode, in which the UAV1 broadcasts the UAV1 and UAV2 identifiers, the UAV1 DAA capability, and trajectory correction information to avoid collision.

11. The method of any one of claims 1 to 10, further comprising receiving from the UAV2 an indication of one or more of DAA capability, a collision resolution acknowledgment, and a new trajectory.

12. The method of any one of claims 1 to 11, further comprising transmitting flight path conflict resolution instructions to the USS.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the flight path conflict resolution instructions include a new trajectory for UAV1 for long-term flight path correction by considering other UAVs along the flight path of at least one of UAV1 and UAV2.

14. A wireless transmit / receive unit (WTRU) comprising a circuit including a transmitter, a receiver, a processor, and a memory, implemented in a first unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV1), the WTRU comprising: registering a detect and avoid (DAA) capability with an unmanned aerial system service provider (USS) in a registration message transmitted by the WTRU; Detecting a flight path conflict with a second UAV (UAV2); Selecting a communication mode with the UAV2, the communication mode being one of a broadcast communication mode or a unicast communication mode; Transmitting the DAA capabilities of the UAV1 to the UAV2 in a contention avoidance message based on the selected communication mode; The WTRU is configured to avoid collisions by performing orbital corrections.

15. The WTRU of claim 14 , wherein the WTRU registers the DAA capabilities with the USS by sending one or more of an identifier of the UAV1 and a hardware capability summary of the UAV1 to the USS.

16. The WTRU of claim 14 or 15, wherein the WTRU detects a flight path conflict by receiving a broadcast message from the UAV2, and determines from the broadcast message whether the UAV1 and the UAV2 have the flight path conflict.

17. The WTRU of claim 16 , wherein the broadcast message from the UAV2 includes one or more of a UAV2 identifier, a UAV2 speed, a UAV2 heading, and a UAV2 position.

18. A WTRU as described in any one of claims 14 to 17, wherein the WTRU detects a flight path conflict with UAV2 by using the location service of the USS to obtain location information of one or more of UAV1 and UAV2 and determining that a flight path conflict exists between UAV1 and UAV2.

19. The WTRU of any one of claims 14 to 18, wherein the WTRU transmits a direct communication request over a PC5 link to communicate with the UAV2.

20. The WTRU of any one of claims 14 to 19, wherein the WTRU transmits the DAA capabilities of the UAV1 to the UAV2 in a contention avoidance message based on selecting a unicast communication mode, and in the unicast communication mode, the UAV1 initiates a PC5 link establishment request, the request including UAV1 and UAV2 identifiers, UAV1 DAA capabilities, DAA resolution policy, collision detection alert, and trajectory correction information to avoid collision, the trajectory correction information including a unicast keep-alive message.

21. The WTRU of claim 20 , wherein the contention avoidance message includes one or more of a DAA capability, a collision detection alert, a UAV identifier, and trajectory correction information.

22. A WTRU as described in any one of claims 14 to 21, wherein the WTRU transmits the DAA capability and conflict avoidance message of the UAV1 to the UAV2 based on selecting a broadcast communication mode, and in the broadcast communication mode, the UAV1 broadcasts the UAV1 and UAV2 identifiers, the UAV1 DAA capability, and trajectory correction information to avoid collision.

23. The WTRU of any one of claims 14 to 22, further comprising receiving from the UAV2 an indication of one or more of DAA capability, collision resolution acknowledgment, and new orbit.

24. The WTRU of any one of claims 14 to 23, wherein the WTRU further transmits flight path conflict resolution instructions to the USS.

25. The WTRU of claim 24, wherein the flight path conflict resolution instructions include a new trajectory for UAV1 for long-term flight path correction by taking into account other UAVs along the flight path of at least one of UAV1 and UAV2.

26. A computer readable storage medium comprising instructions which, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 13.

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