Architecture and Protocol Layering for Sidelink Positioning

Abstract

In some implementations, a user equipment (UE) may implement a ranging support protocol layer comprising one or more ranging support elements. The UE may use the one or more ranging support elements of the ranging support protocol layer to communicate with corresponding ranging support protocol layers in one or more other UEs, the communication occurring via at least one lower protocol layer implemented in the UE. The UE may provide, in the ranging support protocol layer, a positioning service to an upper protocol layer implemented in the UE, the positioning service being based at least in part on the communication.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 18 / 194,444, filed March 31, 2023, entitled "ARCHITECTURE AND PROTOCOL LAYERING FOR SIDELINK POSITIONING," and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 327,775, filed April 5, 2022, entitled "ARCHITECTURE AND PROCEDURES FOR SIDELINK POSITIONING," both of which are assigned to the assignee of this application and are incorporated by reference in their entireties herein. [Background technology]

[0002] Field FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

[0002] The subject matter disclosed herein relates to wireless communication systems, and more particularly, to systems, methods, and devices that support positioning.

[0003] Related Background

[0003] Wireless communication systems have been widely deployed to provide various telecommunication services, such as telephony, video, data, messaging, positioning, and broadcasting. A typical wireless communication system may utilize multiple-access technologies capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing available system resources (e.g., bandwidth, transmit power). Examples of such multiple-access systems include fourth-generation (4G) systems, such as Long-Term Evolution (LTE) systems, LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) systems, or LTE-A Pro systems, and fifth-generation (5G) systems, sometimes referred to as New Radio (NR) systems.

[0004] In some examples, a wireless multiple-access communication system may include several base stations, each simultaneously supporting communication for multiple communication devices, otherwise known as user equipment (UEs). A base station may communicate with a set of UEs on a downlink channel (e.g., for transmissions from the base station to the UEs) and an uplink channel (e.g., for transmissions from the UEs to the base station). In addition, the UEs may communicate directly with each other using a sidelink channel.

[0005]

[0005] The location of a UE may be useful or necessary for several applications, including emergency calls, navigation, direction finding, asset tracking, and Internet services. For example, in a cellular network, a base station may send a downlink reference signal, with which positioning measurements are obtained by the UE, and / or the UE may send an uplink reference signal, with which positioning measurements are obtained by the base station. The UE may calculate an estimate of its own location using the positioning measurements in UE-based positioning, or may send the positioning measurements to a network entity, e.g., a location server, which may calculate the location of the UE based on the positioning measurements in UE-assisted positioning.

[0006]

[0006] There are several other applications where the location of a UE or multiple UEs may be required and where traditional UE-based and UE-assisted positioning may not be very useful. Examples of such other applications include Vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication and coordination, public safety first responder scenarios, and control and coordination of automated environments such as factories and warehouses. In these applications, it may be more effective for the UE to communicate using sidelink signaling and for the UE to be located using sidelink-related positioning measurements and / or sidelink-related control signaling. Therefore, support for sidelink-based positioning may be desirable. Summary of the Invention

[0007]

[0007] Sidelink positioning of user equipment (UEs) is supported using a user equipment (UE) architecture configured to support functions including device and service discovery, group operation support, sidelink positioning and ranging based service control, and interaction with an application layer. The architecture includes an upper layer, such as an application layer, and a lower ranging support layer that comprises one or more ranging support elements for supporting sidelink positioning and ranging with one or more other UEs. The ranging support elements include device and service discovery functions, group support service functions, and sidelink positioning and ranging protocol functions. The ranging support elements provide services to the upper layers and communicate with corresponding ranging support elements in one or more other UEs through at least one lower layer of the architecture, which may include a ProSe layer, a V2X layer, and / or an AS layer.

[0008]

[0008] An example method for supporting sidelink (SL) positioning according to the present disclosure may include implementing, in a UE, a ranging support protocol layer comprising one or more ranging support elements. The method may include using the one or more ranging support elements of the ranging support protocol layer to communicate with corresponding ranging support protocol layers in one or more other UEs, the communication occurring via at least one lower protocol layer implemented in the UE. The method may provide, in the ranging support protocol layer, a positioning service to an upper protocol layer implemented in the UE, the positioning service being based at least in part on the communication.

[0009]

[0009] An exemplary user equipment (UE) comprises a transceiver, a memory, and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory, the one or more processors configured to implement a ranging support protocol layer comprising one or more ranging support elements. The one or more processors may be further configured to communicate via the transceiver with a corresponding ranging support protocol layer in one or more other UEs using the one or more ranging support elements of the ranging support protocol layer, the communication being via at least one lower protocol layer implemented in the UE. The one or more processors may be further configured to provide, in the ranging support protocol layer, a positioning service to an upper protocol layer implemented in the UE, the positioning service being based at least in part on the communication.

[0010]

[0010] An exemplary apparatus for supporting sidelink (SL) positioning according to the present disclosure may comprise means for implementing a ranging support protocol layer comprising one or more ranging support elements. The apparatus may comprise means for communicating with a corresponding ranging support protocol layer in one or more other UEs using the one or more ranging support elements of the ranging support protocol layer, the communication being via at least one lower protocol layer implemented in the UE. The apparatus may further comprise means for providing, in the ranging support protocol layer, a positioning service to an upper protocol layer implemented in the UE, the positioning service being based at least in part on the communication.

[0011] According to the present disclosure, an exemplary non-transitory computer-readable medium stores instructions for supporting sidelink (SL) positioning, the instructions including code for implementing a ranging support protocol layer with one or more ranging support elements. The instructions may further include code for communicating with a corresponding ranging support protocol layer in one or more other UEs using the one or more ranging support elements of the ranging support protocol layer, the communication being via at least one lower protocol layer implemented in the UE. The instructions may further include code for providing, in the ranging support protocol layer, a positioning service to an upper protocol layer implemented in the UE, the positioning service being based at least in part on the communication. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1]

[0012] The architecture of a communication system including several UEs, a Radio Access Network (RAN), and a 5G Core Network (5GC). [Diagram 2]

[0013] 1 illustrates a communication system architecture for network supported sidelink positioning. [Diagram 3]

[0014] 1 is a signal flow showing signaling between a UE and a location server for network supported sidelink positioning. [Figure 4A]

[0015] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an implementation of a sidelink positioning protocol (SLPP) message structure. [Figure 4B] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an implementation of a sidelink positioning protocol (SLPP) message structure. [Diagram 5]

[0016] 1 is a signal flow showing signaling between a pair of UEs for pair-wise sidelink positioning. [Figure 6A]

[0017] 13 is a signal flow showing signaling between UEs for sidelink positioning capability exchange, including exchange of capabilities, resources, and service requirements. [Figure 6B]

[0018] 1 is a signal flow showing signaling between UEs for positioning signal configuration and confirmation exchange. [Figure 6C]

[0019] 1 is a signal flow showing signaling between UEs for measurement exchange. [Figure 7]

[0020] 13 is a signal flow illustrating signaling for group operation of sidelink positioning for multiple UEs. [Figure 8]

[0021] 1 illustrates an environment showing group formation of a sidelink positioning group of UEs. [Figure 9]

[0022] 13 shows an example of a table of indications of reverse link communication between UEs for a sidelink positioning group. [Figure 10]

[0023] Indicates the addition or transfer of a UE between sidelink positioning groups of the UE. [Figure 11A]

[0024] FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example UE architecture and potential interactions of functional elements of the UE and other layers for communication between UEs for sidelink positioning and ranging services. [Figure 11B]

[0025] Group indicates a group of UEs that support and communicate with sidelink positioning and ranging services. [Figure 12]

[0026] FIG. 1 shows a schematic block diagram illustrating certain example features of a UE configured to support sidelink positioning as described herein. [Figure 13]

[0027] FIG. 1 shows a schematic block diagram illustrating certain example features of a location server configured for network-supported sidelink positioning as described herein. [Figure 14]

[0028] FIG. 1 shows a schematic block diagram illustrating certain example features of a UE configured to support sidelink positioning as described herein. [Figure 15]

[0029] FIG. 10 shows a flow diagram of an example method for determining a group of UEs for performing sidelink positioning, performed by a UE in a manner consistent with the disclosed implementations.

[0013]

[0030] Elements are designated in the figures by numerical labels, with like numbered elements in the various figures representing the same or similar elements. Different instances of a common element are designated by following the numerical label of the common element with a letter or hyphen and a second number. For example, multiple instances of element 110 may be designated as 110-1, 110-2, 110-3, etc., or as 110a, 110b, 110c, etc. When referring to such an element using only the first number, it should be understood to be any instance of that element (e.g., element 110 in the previous example refers to elements 110-1, 110-2, and 110-3, or elements 110a, 110b, and 110c). DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0014]

[0031] Techniques and apparatus for supporting sidelink positioning (SL) between UEs are described herein. A Sidelink Positioning Protocol (SLPP) may be used to support sidelink positioning of UEs in pair-wise positioning, group operation, and network-supported sidelink positioning. A user equipment (UE) architecture is configured to support functions including device and service discovery, group operation support, sidelink positioning and ranging-based service control, and interaction with an application layer or application function (AF).

[0015]

[0032] The description may, for example, refer to sequences of actions to be performed by elements of a computing device. The various actions described herein may be performed by specific circuitry (e.g., an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC)), by program instructions executed by one or more processors, or a combination of both. The sequences of actions described herein may be embodied in a non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon a corresponding set of computer instructions that, when executed, cause an associated processor to perform the functions described herein. Thus, the various aspects described herein may be embodied in several different forms, all of which are within the scope of the present disclosure, including the claimed subject matter.

[0016]

[0033] The terms "User Equipment" (UE) and "base station" as used herein are not specific or limited to any particular Radio Access Technology (RAT) unless otherwise stated. Generally, such a UE may be any wireless communication device (e.g., a mobile phone, a router, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a tracking device, an Internet of Things (IoT) device, an Industrial IoT (IIoT) device, an In Vehicle System (IVS), etc.) used to communicate over a wireless communication network. A UE may be mobile or may be stationary (e.g., at a particular time) and may communicate with a Radio Access Network (RAN). For example, as used herein, a UE may be an infrastructure node such as a roadside unit (RSU), a Positioning Reference Unit (PRU), etc. As used herein, the term "UE" may be referred to interchangeably as "access terminal" or "AT", "client device", "wireless device", "subscriber device", "subscriber terminal", "subscriber station", "user terminal" or UT, "mobile terminal", "mobile station", RSU, PRU, IVS, or variations thereof. In general, a UE may communicate with a core network via a RAN, through which the UE may be connected to external networks, such as the Internet, and to other UEs. Of course, other mechanisms for a UE to connect to the core network and / or the Internet are contemplated, such as through a wired access network, a Wi-Fi network (e.g., based on IEEE 802.11, etc.), etc.

[0017]

[0034] Depending on the network in which the base station is deployed, the base station may operate according to one of several RATs while communicating with UEs and may alternatively be referred to as an Access Point (AP), network node, Node B, evolved Node B (eNB), general Node B (gNodeB, gNB), etc. Additionally, in some systems the base station may simply provide edge node signaling functionality while in other systems the base station may provide additional control and / or network management functionality.

[0018]

[0035] A UE may be embodied by any of several types of devices, including, but not limited to, a printed circuit (PC) card, a compact flash device, an external or internal modem, a wireless or wireline phone, a smartphone, a tablet, a tracking device, an asset tag, and the like. A communication link through which a UE can transmit signals to a RAN is called an uplink channel (e.g., a reverse traffic channel, a reverse control channel, an access channel, and the like). A communication link through which a RAN can send signals to a UE is called a downlink channel or a forward link channel (e.g., a paging channel, a control channel, a broadcast channel, a forward traffic channel, and the like). A communication link through which a UE can send signals to other UEs is called a sidelink channel. As used herein, the term traffic channel (TCH) may refer to either an uplink / reverse traffic channel or a downlink / forward or sidelink traffic channel.

[0019]

[0036] The term "cell" or "sector" as used herein may correspond to one of multiple cells of a base station or to the base station itself, depending on the context. The term "cell" may refer to a logical communication entity used for communication with a base station (e.g., on a carrier) and may be associated with an identifier (e.g., physical cell identifier (PCID), virtual cell identifier (VCID)) to distinguish neighboring cells operating over the same or different carriers. In some examples, a carrier may support multiple cells, and different cells may be configured according to different protocol types (e.g., machine-type communication (MTC), narrowband Internet-of-Things (NB-IoT), enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), or others) that may provide access to different types of devices. In some examples, the term "cell" may refer to a portion (e.g., sector) of a geographic coverage area over which the logical entity operates.

[0020]

[0037] Standardization of cellular systems and positioning support for cellular systems, such as the fifth generation (5G) or new radio (NR) network system, is being carried out by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). As an example, standardized RAT-dependent positioning systems include Enhanced Cell ID (E-CID) (using Received Signal Strength (RSS) and Round-Trip Time (RTT), and optionally using Angle of Arrival (AOA)), downlink (DL) positioning such as Observed Time Difference of Arrival (OTDOA) and Downlink Time Difference of Arrival (DL-TDOA), and uplink (UL) positioning such as Uplink Time Difference of Arrival (UL-TDOA) and Uplink Angle of Arrival (UL-AOA). RAT-independent positioning systems undergoing standardization include assisted Global Navigation Satellite System (A-GNSS) and other technologies such as Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), Bluetooth, Terrestrial Beason System (TBS), and sensor-based positioning including barometric and motion sensors. Additionally, hybrid positioning is undergoing standardization including the use of multiple methods for positioning, e.g., A-GNSS+DL-TDOA hybrid positioning.

[0021]

[0038] Standardization of sidelink (SL) positioning is also being started in 3GPP. Standardization of SL positioning requires new solutions to define various aspects. For example, standardization of SL positioning may require defining a new sidelink (SL) positioning protocol (SLPP) to be used between UEs and between RSUs and UEs. Note that SLPP messages are also referred to as SL positioning messages herein. Furthermore, it may be necessary to define support by location servers, e.g., by location management function (LMF) and Secure User Plane Location (SUPL) Location Platform (SLP). Standardization of SL positioning may further require defining means to optimize SL group formation and modification, for example for V2X (including, for example, V2P (Vehicle-to-Pedestrian), V2I (Vehicle-to-Infrastructure), and V2V (Vehicle-to-Vehicle), etc.), to ensure that vehicles in a SL group are generally close to each other and possibly moving in the same direction. In addition, standardization of SL positioning may further require defining suitable procedures and message types for SLPP, allowing new positioning methods and new access types to be added later and supported by the network. Currently, none of the above solutions exist.

[0022]

[0039] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a communication system 100 including a first UE 105A, a second UE 105B, a third UE 105C, a Radio Access Network (RAN) 135, here a fifth generation (5G) Next Generation (NG) RAN (NG-RAN), and a 5G Core Network (5GC) 140. The 5GC 140 may be, for example, a public land mobile network (PLMN). The UEs 105A, 105B, and 105C may be referred to herein individually as UEs 105 or collectively as UEs 105. The UEs 105 may be, for example, an IoT device, a location tracking device, a mobile phone, a vehicle, an On-Board Unit (OBU), or other similar types of devices. The UEs 105 may further be considered as an RSU or a PRU. The 5G network may be referred to as a New Radio (NR) network, the NG-RAN 135 may be referred to as a 5G RAN or an NR RAN, and the 5GC 140 may be referred to as an NG Core network (NGC). The RAN 135 may be another type of RAN, such as a 3G RAN, a 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) RAN, etc.The communications system 100 may utilize a constellation of satellite vehicles (SVs) 190 that may support a Satellite Positioning System (SPS) (e.g., Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)), such as the Global Positioning System (GPS), Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS), Galileo, or Beidou, or some other local or regional SPS, such as the Indian Regional Navigational Satellite System (IRNSS), the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS), or the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS). In some embodiments, the UE 105 may communicate with a RAN node (e.g., gNB 110) or a 5GC 140 node via the SV 190 and an earth station (not shown in FIG. 1), in which case the UE 105 may not communicate directly with the RAN node, but only via the SV 190. This may be used to increase the coverage and / or capacity of the NG-RAN 135. Additional components of the communications system 100 are described below. The communications system 100 may include additional or alternative components.

[0023]

[0040] 1, the NG-RAN 135 includes NR Node Bs (gNBs) 110a, 110b, and a next generation eNodeB (ng-eNB) 114, and the 5GC 140 includes an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 115, a Session Management Function (SMF) 117, a Location Management Function (LMF) 120, and a Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC) 125, a User Plane Function (UPF) 118, and a Secure User Plane Location (SUPL) Location Platform (SLP) 119. The gNBs 110a, 110b, and the ng-eNB 114 are communicatively coupled to one another and are each configured to wirelessly communicate bidirectionally with the UE 105, and are each communicatively coupled to and configured to communicate bidirectionally with the AMF 115 and the UPF 118. The gNBs 110a, 110b, and ng-eNBs 114 may be referred to as base stations (BSs) or RAN nodes. The AMF 115, the SMF 117, the LMF 120, and the GMLC 125 are communicatively coupled to each other, and the GMLC 125 is communicatively coupled to the external client 130. The AMF 115, the SMF 117, the UPF 118, and the SLP 119 are communicatively coupled to each other, and the SLP 119 is communicatively coupled to the external client 130. According to some embodiments, the server 121, the Internet 122, and the server 123 may be communicatively coupled to the UPF 118 to facilitate SL positioning. The SMF 117 may further serve as an initial point of contact for a Service Control Function (SCF) (not shown) that creates, controls, and deletes media sessions.The base stations 110a, 110b, 114 may be macro cells (e.g., high power cellular base stations), or small cells (e.g., low power cellular base stations), or access points (e.g., short-range base stations configured to communicate with short-range technologies such as WI-FI, WI-FI Direct (WiFi-D), BLUETOOTH, Bluetooth-low energy (BLE), ZIGBEE, etc.). One or more of the base stations 110a, 110b, 114 may be configured to communicate with the UE 105 over multiple carriers. Each of the base stations 110a, 110b, 114 may provide communication coverage to a respective geographic area, e.g., a cell. Each cell may be partitioned into multiple sectors depending on the base station antenna.

[0024]

[0041] 1 provides a generalized view of various components, any or all of which may be utilized as appropriate, and each of which may be duplicated or omitted as necessary. In particular, while only a UE 105 is illustrated, many UEs (e.g., hundreds, thousands, millions, etc.) may be utilized in the communication system 100. Similarly, the communication system 100 may include many more (or fewer) SVs (i.e., more or fewer than the four SVs 190 illustrated), gNBs 110a, 110b, ng-eNB 114, AMF 115, external clients 130, and / or other components. The illustrated connections connecting the various components in the communication system 100 include data and signaling connections, which may include additional (intermediate) components, direct or indirect physical and / or wireless connections, and / or additional networks. Furthermore, the components may be rearranged, combined, separated, substituted, and / or omitted depending on the desired functionality.

[0025]

[0042] 1 illustrates a 5G-based network, similar network implementations and configurations may be used for other communication technologies such as 3G, Long Term Evolution (LTE), etc. Implementations described herein (whether for 5G technology and / or for one or more other communication technologies and / or protocols) may be used to transmit (or broadcast) directional synchronization signals, receive and measure the directional signals at a UE (e.g., UE 105) or base station 110a, 110b, 114, and / or provide location assistance to the UE 105 (via the LMF 120 or SLP 119 or other location server), and / or calculate a location of one or both of the UEs 105 at a location-enabled device, such as the UE 105, base station 110a, 110b, LMF 120, or SLP 119, based on measurements received at the UE 105 or base station 110a, 110b, 114 for such directionally transmitted signals. The GMLC 125, LMF 120, AMF 115, SMF 117, UPF 118, SLP 119, ng-eNB (eNodeB) 114, and gNBs (gNodeBs) 110a, 110b are examples and may be replaced by or include various other entities including location server functionality and / or base station functionality in various embodiments.

[0026]

[0043] The communication system 100 is capable of wireless communication in that the components of the system 100 may communicate with each other (at least sometimes using wireless connections) directly or indirectly, for example, via the base stations 110a, 110b, 114 and / or the network 140 (and / or one or more other devices, not shown, such as one or more other base transceiver stations). In the case of indirect communication, the communication may be altered during transmission from one entity to another, for example, to alter header information of the data packets, to change the format, etc. The UE 105 may include multiple UEs and may be a mobile wireless communication device, but may communicate wirelessly and via wired connections. The UE 105 may be any of a variety of devices, such as a smartphone, a tablet computer, a vehicle-based device, etc., although these are merely examples and other configurations of UEs may be used, as it is not required that the UE 105 be any of these configurations. Other UEs may include wearable devices (e.g., smart watches, smart jewelry, smart glasses or headsets, etc.). Still other UEs, whether currently existing or developed in the future, may be used. Additionally, other wireless devices (whether mobile or not) may be implemented within the system 100 and may communicate with each other and / or with the UE 105, the base stations 110a, 110b, 114, the core network 140, and / or the external client 130. For example, such other devices may include IoT or IIoT devices, medical devices, home entertainment and / or automation devices, etc. The core network 140 may communicate with the external client 130, the server 123, or the server 121 (e.g., each of which may be a computer system) to, for example, enable the external client 130, the server 123, or the server 121 to request and / or receive location information regarding the UE 105 (e.g., via the GMLC 125, the SLP 119, or the UPF 118).

[0027]

[0044] The UE 105 or other device may be configured to communicate in different networks and / or for different purposes and / or using different technologies (e.g., 5G, Wi-Fi communications, multiple frequencies of Wi-Fi communications, satellite positioning, satellite communications, one or more types of communications (e.g., Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Long Term Evolution (LTE)), V2X (e.g., V2P (Vehicle-to-Pedestrian), V2I (Vehicle-to-Infrastructure), V2V (Vehicle-to-Vehicle), etc.), IEEE 802.11p, etc.). V2X communications may be cellular (Cellular-V2X, C-V2X) and / or Wi-Fi (e.g., Dedicated Short-Range Radio Control (DSRC)). The system 100 may be a dedicated short-range connection (DVB-CDMA) or a dedicated short-range connection (DVB-CDMA). The system 100 may support operation on multiple carriers (waveform signals at different frequencies). The multi-carrier transmitter can transmit modulated signals on multiple carriers simultaneously. Each modulated signal may be a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) signal, a Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) signal, an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) signal, a Single-Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) signal, etc. Each modulated signal may be sent on a different carrier and may carry pilot, overhead information, data, etc.The UEs 105 may communicate with each other via inter-UE sidelink (SL) communication by transmitting on one or more sidelink channels, such as a physical sidelink synchronization channel (PSSCH), a physical sidelink broadcast channel (PSBCH), a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH), a synchronization signal block (SSB), a sidelink channel state information reference signal (SL-CSIRS), a physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH), or a sidelink sounding reference signal (SL-SRS).

[0028]

[0045] The UE 105 may include and / or be referred to as a device, a mobile device, a wireless device, a mobile terminal, a terminal, a mobile station (MS), a Secure User Plane Location (SUPL) Enabled Terminal (SET), or some other name. Furthermore, the UE 105 may correspond to a cell phone, a smartphone, a laptop, a tablet, a PDA, a tracking device, a navigation device, an Internet of Things (IoT) device, an asset tracker, a health monitor, a security system, a smart city sensor, a smart meter, a wearable tracker, or some other portable or movable device. Typically, but not necessarily, the UE 105 may support wireless communications using one or more Radio Access Technologies (RATs), such as Global System for Mobile communication (GSM), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Wideband CDMA (WCDMA), LTE, High Rate Packet Data (HRPD), IEEE 802.11 Wi-Fi (also referred to as Wi-Fi), Bluetooth (BT), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), 5G New Radio (NR) (e.g., using NG-RAN 135 and 5GC 140), etc. The UE 105 may support wireless communications using, for example, a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), which may connect to other networks (e.g., the Internet) using a Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) or packet cable.Use of one or more of these RATs may enable UE 105 to communicate with external clients 130, servers 121, and / or servers 123 (e.g., via elements of 5GC 140 and possibly the Internet 122) and / or enable external clients 130, servers 121, and / or servers 123 to receive location-related information regarding UE 105 (e.g., via GMLC 125, SLP 119, or UPF 118).

[0029]

[0046] Each of the UEs 105 may comprise a single entity, or may comprise multiple entities, such as in a personal area network where a user may employ audio, video and / or data I / O (input / output) devices and / or body sensors and a separate wireline or wireless modem. An estimate of a UE, e.g., UE 105 location, may be referred to as a location, location estimate, location fix, fix, position, position estimate, or position fix, and may provide location coordinates (e.g., latitude and longitude) of the UE that may or may not include an altitude component (e.g., height above sea level, height or depth above ground, floor level, or basement level). Alternatively, the location of the UE may be represented as a civic location (e.g., as a postal address, or as a designation of some point or small area in a building, such as a particular room or floor). The location of the UE may be represented as an area or volume (defined either geodesically or in urban form) within which the UE is expected to be located with some probability or confidence level (e.g., 67%, 95%, etc.). The location of the UE may be expressed as a relative location, e.g., comprising a distance and a direction from a known location. The relative location may be expressed as relative coordinates (e.g., X, Y (and Z) coordinates) defined relative to some origin in the known location, which may be defined, e.g., geodesically, in terms of cities, or by reference to a point, area, or volume shown, e.g., on a map, floor plan, or building plan. In the description contained herein, use of the term location may include any of these variations unless otherwise indicated.

[0030]

[0047] When sidelink positioning is used, an absolute (e.g., global) or relative location of the UE may not always be obtained. Instead, location results may be obtained for the UE, which may include a range or distance between the UE and each of one or more other UEs, a direction from the UE to each of the one or more other UEs, a location of the UE relative to the location of some other UEs, a location of the one or more other UEs relative to the location of the UE, a velocity of the UE, and / or a velocity of each of the one or more other UEs. The velocity of a UE may be absolute (e.g., with respect to the Earth) or may be relative to some other UEs, and may be referred to as a "relative velocity." The relative velocity of UE B with respect to another UE A may include a "radial velocity" component, which may be equal to the rate of change of range from UE A to UE B, and a "lateral velocity" component, which may be orthogonal to the radial velocity component as seen by UE A, and may be equal to the angular rate of change of the direction from UE A to UE B multiplied by the range from UE A to UE B. In the description contained herein, use of the term “location result(s)” for sidelink positioning of a UE or group of UEs may include any of these variations, unless otherwise indicated.

[0031]

[0048] The UE 105 may be configured to communicate with other entities using one or more of a variety of technologies. The UE 105 may be configured to communicate with one or more other UEs (e.g., other UEs 105) via one or more device-to-device (D2D) peer-to-peer (P2P) links. A D2D P2P link may be an example of (or may be supported by) a sidelink, and may be supported with any suitable D2D radio access technology (RAT), such as LTE Direct (LTE-D), Wi-Fi Direct (Wi-Fi D), Bluetooth, etc. One or more of the groups of UEs utilizing D2D communication may be within a geographic coverage area of ​​a Transmission / Reception Point (TRP), such as one or more of the gNBs 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114. Other UEs in such groups may be outside such geographic coverage areas or may not otherwise be able to receive transmissions from the base station. A group of UEs communicating via D2D communication may utilize a one-to-many (1:M) system in which each UE may transmit to other UEs in the group. The TRP may facilitate scheduling of resources for D2D communication. In other cases, D2D communication may be performed between UEs without the involvement of a TRP. One or more of a group of UEs utilizing D2D communication may be within a geographic coverage area of ​​a TRP. Other UEs in such a group may be outside such geographic coverage area or may not otherwise be able to receive transmissions from a base station. A group of UEs communicating via D2D communication may utilize a one-to-many (1:M) system in which each UE may transmit to other UEs in the group. The TRP may facilitate scheduling of resources for D2D communication. In other cases, D2D communication may be performed between UEs without the involvement of a TRP.

[0032]

[0049] The base stations (BSs) in the NG-RAN 135 shown in FIG. 1 include NR Node Bs referred to as gNBs 110a and 110b. The pair of gNBs 110a, 110b in the NG-RAN 135 may be connected to each other via one or more other gNBs. Access to the 5G network is provided to the UE 105 via wireless communication between the UE and one or more of the gNBs 110a, 110b, and the gNBs 110a, 110b may provide wireless communication access to the 5GC 140 for UEs using 5G. In FIG. 1, the serving gNB for the UE 105A is assumed to be gNB 110b, while the serving gNB for the UE 105B is assumed to be gNB 110a, although another gNB may act as the serving gNB if the UE 105 moves to another location or may act as a secondary gNB to provide additional throughput and bandwidth to the UE 105, and the UE 105 may share the same serving gNB.

[0033]

[0050] 1 may include the ng-eNB 114, also referred to as next generation evolved node B. The ng-eNB 114 may be connected to one or more of the gNBs 110a, 110b in the NG-RAN 135, possibly via one or more other gNBs and / or one or more other ng-eNBs. The ng-eNB 114 may provide LTE wireless access and / or evolved LTE (eLTE) wireless access to the UE 105. One or more of the gNBs 110a, 110b and / or ng-eNB 114 may be configured to function as positioning-only beacons that may transmit signals to assist in determining the location of the UE 105, but may not receive signals from the UE 105 or from other UEs.

[0034]

[0051] The base stations 110a, 110b, 114 may transmit one or more downlink reference signals, including positioning reference signal (PRS) transmissions. The PRS transmissions may be configured for a particular UE 105 to measure and report one or more reporting parameters (e.g., reporting quantities) associated with positioning and location information. The PRS transmissions and reporting parameter feedback may support various location services (e.g., navigation systems, emergency communications). In some examples, the reporting parameters augment one or more additional location systems (e.g., Global Positioning System (GPS) technology) supported by the UE 105.

[0035]

[0052] The base station 110a, 110b, 114 may configure a PRS transmission on one or more PRS resources of the channel. The PRS resource may span resource elements of multiple physical resource blocks (PRBs) in one or more OFDM symbols of a slot depending on the configured number of ports. For example, a PRS resource may span one symbol of a slot and include one port for transmission. In any OFDM symbol, the PRS resource may occupy consecutive PRBs. In some examples, the PRS transmission may be mapped to consecutive OFDM symbols of a slot. In other examples, the PRS transmission may be mapped to interspersed OFDM symbols of a slot. In addition, the PRS transmission may support frequency hopping within a PRB of a channel.

[0036]

[0053] One or more PRS resources may span several PRS resource sets according to the PRS resource configuration of the base station 110a, 110b, 114. The structure of one or more PRS resources, PRS resource sets, and PRS resource configurations within a PRS transmission may be referred to as a multi-level resource configuration. For example, the multi-level PRS resource configuration of the base station 110a, 110b, 114 may include multiple PRS resource sets, and each PRS resource set may include a set of PRS resources (e.g., a set of four PRS resources).

[0037]

[0054] The UE 105 may receive a PRS transmission over one or more PRS resources of the slot. The UE 105 may determine at least one reporting parameter for some of the PRS resources included in the transmission. The reporting parameter for each PRS resource (which may include a reporting quantity) may include one or more of a time of arrival (TOA), a reference signal time difference (RSTD), a reference signal receive power (RSRP), an angle, a PRS identification number, a receive-to-transmit difference (UE Rx-Tx), a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), or a reference signal receive quality (RSRQ).

[0038]

[0055] Similarly, the UE 105 may be configured to transmit one or more additional uplink reference signals that may be received by the base stations 110a, 110b, 114 and used for positioning. For example, the UE 105 may transmit a sounding reference signal (SRS) for positioning. The base stations 110a, 110b, 114 that receive the uplink reference signals from the UE 105 may perform positioning measurements such as one or more of time of arrival (TOA), difference between receive and transmit (UE Rx-Tx).

[0039]

[0056] A UE's location estimate may be determined using reference signals such as PRS signals or SRS for positioning signals or other reference signals from one or more base stations 110a, 110b, 114 or the UE. Positioning methods such as Downlink (DL) Time Difference of Arrival (DL-TDOA), DL Angle of Departure (DL AOD), Enhanced Cell ID (ECID), etc. are positioning methods that may be used to estimate a UE's location using reference signals from base stations. For example, DL-TDOA relies on measuring reference signal time differences (RSTDs) between a downlink (DL) signal received from a base station for a reference cell and a DL signal received from a base station for one or more neighboring cells. DL signals from which RTSD may be obtained comprise a Cell-specific Reference Signal (CRS) and a Positioning Reference Signal (PRS).

[0040]

[0057] Other positioning methods may use reference signals transmitted by the UE, including uplink-based positioning methods and downlink-and-uplink-based positioning methods. For example, uplink-based positioning methods include, for example, UL Time Difference of Arrival (UL-TDOA), UL Angle of Arrival (UL AOA), UL Relative Time of Arrival (UL-RTOA), and downlink-and-uplink-based positioning methods include, for example, Round Trip Time (RTT) with one or more neighbor base stations. Furthermore, sidelink-based positioning may be used, in which the UE transmits and / or receives sidelink positioning reference signals that are measured and used for positioning.

[0041]

[0058] As noted, while FIG. 1 illustrates nodes configured to communicate according to a 5G communication protocol, nodes configured to communicate according to other communication protocols, such as, for example, an LTE protocol or an IEEE 802.11x protocol, may be used. For example, in an Evolved Packet System (EPS) providing LTE wireless access to the UE 105, the RAN may include an Evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN), which may include base stations including evolved Node Bs (eNBs). The core network for the EPS may comprise an Evolved Packet Core (EPC). The EPS may include the E-UTRAN plus the EPC, where in FIG. 1, the E-UTRAN corresponds to the NG-RAN 135 and the EPC corresponds to the 5GC 140.

[0042]

[0059] The gNBs 110a, 110b, and ng-eNBs 114 may communicate with the AMF 115, which in turn communicates with the LMF 120 for positioning functions. The AMF 115 may support mobility of the UE 105, including cell changes and handovers, and may be responsible for supporting signaling connections to the UE 105, and possibly data and voice bearers for the UE 105. The LMF 120 may communicate directly or indirectly with the UE 105, or with the base stations 110a, 110b, 114, for example, through wireless communications. The LMF 120 may support positioning of the UE 105 when the UE 105 accesses the NG-RAN 135 and may support positioning procedures / methods such as Assisted GNSS (A-GNSS), Time Difference of Arrival (TDOA) (e.g., downlink (DL) TDOA or uplink (UL) TDOA), Real Time Kinematic (RTK), Precise Point Positioning (PPP), Differential GNSS (DGNSS), Extended Cell ID (E-CID), Angle of Arrival (AOA), Angle of Departure (AOD), and / or other positioning methods. The LMF 120 may process location service requests for the UE 105, for example, received from the AMF 115 or from the GMLC 125. The LMF 120 may be connected to the AMF 115 and / or to the GMLC 125. A node / system running LMF 120 may additionally or alternatively run other types of location support modules, such as an Enhanced Serving Mobile Location Center (E-SMLC) or a Secure User Plane Location (SUPL) Location Platform (SLP).At least a portion of the positioning functionality (including derivation of the UE's location) may be implemented in the UE (e.g., using signal measurements obtained by the UE for signals transmitted by wireless nodes such as gNBs 110a, 110b and / or ng-eNB 114 and / or assistance data provided to the UE by the LMF 120, for example). At least a portion of the positioning functionality (including derivation of the UE's location) may alternatively be implemented in the LMF 120 (e.g., using signal measurements obtained by gNBs 110a, 110b and / or ng-eNB 114). The AMF 115 may act as a control node that handles signaling between the UE 105 and the core network 140 and provides QoS (Quality of Service) flow and session management. The AMF 115 may support the mobility of the UE 105, including cell changes and handovers, and may be involved in supporting signaling connections to the UE 105.

[0043]

[0060] The GMLC 125 may support location requests for the UE 105 received from the external client 130 and may forward such location requests to the AMF 115 for forwarding by the AMF 115 to the LMF 120 or may forward the location request directly to the LMF 120. A location response (e.g., including a location estimate or sidelink location result for the UE 105) from the LMF 120 may be returned to the GMLC 125 either directly or via the AMF 115, which may then return a location response (e.g., including a location estimate or sidelink location result) to the external client 130. Although the GMLC 125 is shown connected to both the AMF 115 and the LMF 120, in some implementations only one of these connections may be supported by the 5GC 140.

[0044]

[0061] The User Plane Function (UPF) 118 may support voice and data bearers for the UE 105 and enable voice and data access of the UE 105 to other networks, such as the Internet 122, and servers, such as server 121 and server 123. The UPF 118 may be connected to the gNB 110 and the ng-eNB 114. The functions of the UPF 118 may include external Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session points of interconnection to data networks, packet (e.g., Internet Protocol (IP)) routing and forwarding, user plane portion of packet inspection and policy rule enforcement, Quality of Service (QoS) handling for the user plane, downlink packet buffering, and triggering of downlink data notifications. The UPF 118 may be connected to the SLP 119 to enable support for positioning of the UE 105 using SUPL. The SLP 119 may further be connected to or accessible from the external client 130.

[0045]

[0062] As shown, a Session Management Function (SMF) 117 connects the AMF 115 and the UPF 118. The SMF 117 may have the ability to control both the local and central UPFs within a PDU session. The SMF 117 may manage the establishment, modification, and release of PDU sessions for the UE 105, perform IP address allocation and management for the UE 105, act as a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server for the UE 105, and select and control the UPF 118 for the UE 105.

[0046]

[0063] As further shown in FIG. 1, the LMF 120 may communicate with the gNBs 110a, 110b, and / or the ng-eNB 114 using a New Radio Position Protocol A (NRPPa), which may be defined in 3GPP Technical Specification (TS) 38.455. NRPPa messages may be transferred between the gNB 110a (or gNB 110b) and the LMF 120 and / or between the ng-eNB 114 and the LMF 120 via the AMF 115. As further shown in FIG. 1, the LMF 120 and the UE 105 may communicate using the LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP), which may be defined in 3GPP TS 37.355. Here, LPP messages may be transferred between the UE 105 and the LMF 120 via the AMF 115 and the serving gNB 110a, 110b, or the serving ng-eNB 114 for the UE 105. For example, LPP messages may be transferred between the LMF 120 and the AMF 115 using service operations based on the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), and may be transferred between the AMF 115 and the UE 105 using 5G Non-Access Stratum (NAS) protocols.

[0047]

[0064] The LPP protocol may be used to support positioning of the UE 105 using UE-assisted and / or UE-based positioning methods such as A-GNSS, RTK, TDOA, AOA, AOD, and / or E-CID. The NRPPa protocol may be used to support positioning of the UE 105 using network-based positioning methods such as E-CID (e.g., when used with measurements obtained by the gNBs 110a, 110b, or ng-eNB 114) and / or may be used by the LMF 120 to obtain location related information from the gNBs 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114, such as parameters defining directional Synchronization Signal (SS) transmissions from the gNBs 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114. The LMF 120 is shown in FIG. 1 as being located in the core network 140, but may be outside the core network 140, e.g., in the NG-RAN. For example, the LMF120 may be co-located or integrated with the gNB, or may be located remotely from the gNB, and may be configured to communicate directly or indirectly with the gNB.

[0048]

[0065] In a UE-assisted positioning method, a UE, e.g., UE 105A or UE 105B, may obtain location measurements and send the measurements to a location server (e.g., LMF 120) for computation of a location estimate for the UE. For example, the location measurements may include one or more of Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI), Round Trip Signal Propagation Time (RTT), Reference Signal Time Difference (RSTD), Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) and / or Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ), AOA, AOD for the gNB 110a, 110b, ng-eNB 114, and / or WLAN APs. The location measurements may also or instead include measurements of GNSS pseudorange, code phase, and / or carrier phase for SV 190-193.

[0049]

[0066] In a UE-based positioning method, a UE, e.g., UE 105A or UE 105B, may obtain location measurements (e.g., which may be the same as or similar to location measurements for a UE-assisted positioning method) and may calculate the location of the UE (e.g., with the help of assistance data received from a location server such as the LMF 120 or broadcast by a gNB 110a, 110b, ng-eNB 114, or other base station or AP).

[0050]

[0067] In a network-based positioning method, one or more base stations (e.g., gNBs 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114) may obtain location measurements (e.g., RSSI, RTT, RSRP, RSRQ, AOA, AOD, or time of arrival (ToA) measurements for a signal transmitted by a UE, e.g., UE 105A or UE 105B) and / or may receive measurements obtained by the UE. One or more base stations or APs may send the measurements to a location server (e.g., LMF 120) for computation of a location estimate for the UE.

[0051]

[0068] As mentioned, although the communications system 100 is described with respect to 5G technology, the communications system 100 may be implemented to support other communications technologies, such as GSM, WCDMA, LTE, etc., used to support and interact with mobile devices, such as the UE 105 (e.g., to perform voice, data, positioning, and other functions). For example, in an EPS, the NG-RAN 135 may be replaced with an E-UTRAN including an eNB, and the 5GC 140 may be replaced with an EPC including a Mobility Management Entity (MME) in place of the AMF 115, an E-SMLC in place of the LMF 120, and a GMLC, which may be similar to the GMLC 125.

[0052]

[0069] Positioning for a UE in a wireless network such as the communication system 100 shown in FIG. 1 typically uses the Uu interface for DL ​​PRS and / or UL PRS, i.e., the air interface between the UE 105 and the radio access network. Positioning for a UE may also or instead use sidelink PRS (SL-PRS), which may be a specific sidelink-defined reference signal for positioning, or may reuse the Uu PRS, e.g., UL PRS, which may be referred to as Sounding Reference Signal for positioning (SRSPos), or other reference signals may be transmitted in a sidelink channel. Sidelink positioning may extend the positioning of a UE by providing additional transmitting (or receiving) nodes. A UE such as UE 105B with a known position may be used to support position determination of another target UE such as UE 105A, and UE 105B may be referred to as an anchor node.

[0053]

[0070] Using the sidelink positioning method, the UE 105A may transmit, for example, a sidelink PRS or a sidelink SRS signal to be received and measured by another UE 105B. Additionally or alternatively, the UE 105B may transmit, for example, a sidelink PRS or a sidelink SRS signal to be received and measured by the UE 105A. The sidelink PRS may be similar to a PRS (e.g., DL PRS) transmitted by the gNB 110, for example, as described above. The sidelink SRS may be similar to an SRS (e.g., uplink) SRS transmitted by the UE 105 for measurement by the gNB 110, for example, as described above. Measurements of the SL PRS or SL SRS signal may include reception to transmission time difference (Rx-Tx), time of arrival (TOA), reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), angle of arrival (AOA), and reference signal time difference (RSTD). SL positioning methods may include SL round-trip signal propagation time (RTT) (also called ranging), SL AOA, and SL AOD.

[0054]

[0071] In some scenarios, a group of UEs (not shown in FIG. 1 ) may support SL positioning. In this case, one UE in the group may transmit a SL PRS or SL SRS signal that may be measured by some or all of the other UEs in the group. Some or all of the other UEs in the group may also transmit SL PRS or SL SRS signals, respectively, that may be measured by some or all of the other UEs in the group that are different from the UE that transmits the UL PRS or ULS SRS (e.g., each UE transmits the SL SRS or SL PRS at one or more times that are different from the times that other UEs in the group transmit the SL PRS or SL SRS). Measurements made by the UEs that are applicable to the transmission of the SL PRS or SL SRS by the group of UEs may include Rx-Tx, TOA, RSTD, AOA, RSRP, RSRQ. Positioning methods supported by these measurements may include sidelink RTT (e.g., ranging), sidelink AOA, sidelink AOD, sidelink TDOA (SL-TDOA). Based on the measurements and the positioning method, each UE may determine a location result for itself and / or one or more other UEs in the group. As previously mentioned, the location result for a UE may include the range or distance between the UE and each of the one or more other UEs in the group, the direction from the UE to each of the one or more other UEs in the group, the direction from each of the one or more other UEs in the group to the UE, the location of the UE relative to the location of any other UEs in the group, the location of the UE relative to some other known location, the absolute location of the UE, the velocity of the UE, or the velocity of the UE relative to some other UEs.

[0055]

[0072] Sidelink positioning may be used for positioning of a UE independent of a core network (e.g., 5GC 140) or a serving PLMN. One example implementation of sidelink positioning may be found in vehicular communication systems such as V2X, which may be used for safety-related applications such as safety warnings, traffic congestion (e.g., automated traffic control), and cooperative or automated vehicle steering. One aspect of sidelink positioning that may require a solution for standardization is the Sidelink Positioning Protocol (SLPP), which may be used between a UE and a location server, including between an RSU and a UE. SLPP may support sidelink positioning, for example, between a UE, an RSU, and a PRU with network access independence. SLPP may provide support for sidelink positioning for pairs of UEs (e.g., ranging), groups of UEs (V2X), and UEs that are members of multiple different groups. As an example, SLPP may provide support for various positioning techniques currently standardized for UE-based and UE-assisted support by location servers (e.g., LMF 120), such as PRS RTT, AOA, Differential AOA (DAOA), AOD, Differential AOD (DAOD), but may also enable support for other PRS and SRS-based positioning methods and non-PRS methods such as RTK later. By allowing the addition of new capabilities and methods later, SLPP may avoid the need to define a separate new positioning protocol that is distinct from SLPP. As an example, additional positioning methods that may be included later in SLPP may include RTK, Wi-Fi, Ultra-Wideband (UWB), BT positioning methods. SLPP may initially enable direct sidelink operation (UEs communicate and coordinate positioning by exchanging SLPP messages using sidelink signaling) and may later be extended to sidelink operation via relays and operation via the network, where UEs may exchange SLPP messages via the network or via intermediate relay UEs.For example, this may be used to coordinate the positioning of two vehicles on a collision course at a corner where direct SL signaling between the two vehicles is not possible. Therefore, SLPP may initially define support for SL PRS-based positioning in a general manner to simplify extension to support for other positioning methods later. For example, SLPP may define general SLPP messages similar to the general LPP messages defined for LPP in 3GPP TS 37.355. SLPP may support separate positioning methods (e.g., SL PRS RTT, SL PRS AOA, SL PRS AOD) using common procedures and common parameters, where feasible. SLPP may define procedures that can be reused for multiple positioning methods and is not limited to just one or a few positioning methods. SLPP may be enabled to be transferred and used by various entities, such as UEs, RSUs, PRUs, and location servers such as LMFs and SUPL SLPs. Location server (e.g., LMF and SUPL SLP) uses may forward SLPP messages within LPP messages to enable UE-assisted positioning by the LMF or SUPL SLP. Alternatively, location server (e.g., LMF and SUPL SLP) uses may forward SLPP messages that are not associated with LPP messages to enable UE-assisted positioning by the LMF or SUPL SLP. SLPP may further support relative (local) and global positioning.

[0056]

[0073] FIG. 2 illustrates, by way of example, the architecture of a communication system 200 capable of network-supported sidelink positioning. As illustrated in FIG. 2, for sidelink positioning, several UEs may be combined in the same group 210. Within the group 210, there may be various subgroups of UEs. For example, the group 210 of UEs may include a first subgroup 212 of UEs served by a first network (PLMN1 140a), while a second subgroup 214 of UEs is served by a second (different) network (PLMN2 140b), and a third subgroup 216 of UEs is out of coverage and not served by any network. One or more of the UEs served by the network, e.g., the UEs in the subgroup 212 served by PLMN1 140a or the UEs in the subgroup 214 served by PLMN2 140b, may include an RSU.

[0057]

[0074] Location servers in the serving networks, e.g., LMF1 120a, SUPL SLP1 119a, or Server 1 121a in serving PLMN1 140a, LMF2 120b, SUPL SLP2 119b, or Server 2 121b in serving PLMN2 140b, and Server 3 123 (which communicates to the UEs via PLMN1 140a and / or PLMN2 140b), may support some or all of the UEs in a group served by a network (PLMN), e.g., subgroups 212 and 214, respectively. As shown, the location servers may support the UEs by communicating with the UEs using "LPP / SLPP," which may represent communicating using LPP, SLPP, embedding SLPP in LPP, or a combination thereof. For example, LMF1 120a and LMF2 120b may embed SLPP in the LPP while supporting UEs in subgroups 212 and 214, respectively (e.g., each SLPP message transferred between a UE and LMF1 120a or LMF2 120b may be embedded in one LPP message, and one LPP message may contain one or more embedded SLPP messages). Similarly, SUPL SLP1 119a and SUPL SLP2 119b may embed SLPP in the LPP using an LPP message embedded in a SUPL User Plane Location Protocol (ULP) message while supporting UEs in subgroups 212 and 214, respectively. Additionally or alternatively, LPP and / or SLPP messages may be used and the SLPP message is not embedded in the LPP message (although an LPP message or SLPP message may still be embedded in a SUPL ULP message). Additionally, UEs in each subgroup, and UEs in different subgroups, may exchange SLPP messages with each other to support and coordinate SL positioning.

[0058]

[0075] Location server (e.g., LMF / SUPL SLP / Server1 / Server2 / Server3) support for a particular UE or UEs may not be visible to other UEs in the group. For example, location server support from PLMN1 140a for UEs in subgroup 212 may not be visible to UEs in subgroup 214 and may not be visible to out-of-coverage UEs in subgroup 216. The support provided by the location server to the UEs may include determining or verifying SL PRS configurations and calculating location results for UEs, including supported and unsupported UEs (e.g., calculating location results for UEs in supported subgroups and, if location information for UEs in unsupported subgroups is provided to the location server, location results for UEs in unsupported subgroups). In some implementations, signaling between location servers in separate networks may be used to provide more complete network support. As shown, LMF-LMF or SUPL SLP-SUPL SLP signaling may be used to enable more complete network support (e.g., SLPP in FIG. 2). ** An extension to SLPP, called

[0059]

[0076] SLPP message types may be consistent with LPP message types to allow LPP messages to include embedded SLPP messages and / or to allow SLPP procedures to be consistent with LPP procedures that may reduce implementation and / or testing. Figure 2 shows signaling (e.g., SLPP messages or SLPP messages embedded in LPP messages) between LMF1 120a and one or more of the UEs in subgroup 212, and signaling between LMF2 120b and one or more of the UEs in subgroup 214. Figure 2 also shows LPP messages including SLPP messages, or embedded SLPP messages, embedded in SUPL ULP messages exchanged between SUPL SLP1 119a and one or more of the UEs in subgroup 212, and between SUPL SLP2 119b and one or more of the UEs in subgroup 214. SLPP may include messages similar to the LPP capability request and capability provision messages, which may be referred to, for example, in SLPP as "capability and resource request" and "capability and resource provision." Capability and resource requests / provisions in SLPP may initially be limited to NR SL PRS capabilities and resources, but may later be extended to capabilities and resources for LTE SL PRS, RTK, Wi-Fi, BT, etc.

[0060]

[0077] In another example, the SLPP may include messages similar to the LPP Assistance Data Provide message, which may be referred to in SLPP as a "positioning signal configuration provide" (or simply as an "assistance data provide"). The positioning signal configuration provide in SLPP may include, for example, the SL PRS configuration to be transmitted by each UE and measured by other UEs, the start time and duration of transmission and the condition for the end of transmission, and one or more of the types of SL PRS measurements requested, such as Rx-Tx, AOA, RSRP, RSRD, TOA, TDOA, etc. In some implementations, the positioning signal configuration provide in SLPP may be extended to define other types of signals, such as RTK signals to be measured, Wi-Fi signals to be transmitted and measured, etc. The positioning signal configuration provide in SLPP may include additional information, for example, to assist the UE in acquiring and measuring signals (e.g., SL PRS signals) and to determine the times of transmission and measurement.

[0061]

[0078] In another example, SLPP may include messages such as "positioning signal configuration confirm" (or "assistance data confirm provide"), which does not have an analogous LPP message. The positioning signal configuration confirm in SLPP may, for example, confirm whether the positioning signal configuration provide (or assistance data provide) is agreeable. If the positioning signal configuration provide is not (partially) agreeable, a different configuration may be provided as the positioning signal configuration provide. Since LPP does not have an analogous message, a new LPP message type may be added to carry the positioning signal configuration confirm SLPP message when the SLPP message is embedded in the LPP message. However, such a new LPP message type may not be needed when the SLPP message is not embedded in the LPP message.

[0062]

[0079] In another example, the SLPP may include messages similar to the LPP Provide Location Information messages, which may be referred to, for example, in SLPP as "Provide Location Information" messages. The Provide Location Information messages in SLPP may include and provide SL PRS measurements obtained by the UE for SL PRS transmitted by one or more other UEs, and / or may include and provide location results obtained for the UE and / or other UEs. The Provide Location Information in SLPP may be extended to include and provide other measurements, such as measurements of RTK, Wi-Fi, BT, etc.

[0063]

[0080] As shown in FIG. 2, UEs in each subgroup and UEs in different subgroups may signal each other using SLPP (e.g., when a UE sends a SLPP message to one or more other UEs). In addition, a location server (e.g., LMF, SUPL SLP, or Servers 1-3) may support UEs using SLPP (as described above). As previously mentioned, according to some embodiments, SLPP may be embedded in LPP, or may be embedded in both LPP and SUPL, or may be sent without being embedded in LPP. Thus, a first UE may receive a first SLPP message from a second UE and may send the first SLPP message to a location server supporting the first UE. The first UE may receive a second SLPP message from the location server in response to the first SLPP message and may send the second SLPP message to the second UE.

[0064]

[0081] Figure 3 is a signal flow 300 illustrating signaling between UE 105A, UEs 105B, 105C, and 105D, and a location server 302 for network supported sidelink positioning as described herein, by way of example. UEs 105A, 105B, 105C, and 105D may belong to the same group, e.g., UE 105 shown in Figure 1, or any of the UEs shown in network supported subgroups 212 and 214 in Figure 2. Location server 302 may be any of LMF 120, SUPL SLP 119, Server 121, or Server 123 shown in Figure 1, or LMF1 120a or SUPL SLP1 119a shown in Figure 2.

[0065]

[0082] As shown in FIG. 3, at 310, the UE 105A receives a first sidelink positioning message from the UE 105B. The first sidelink positioning message may be, for example, an SLPP message, as described above, and may be any of the message types described above. The first sidelink positioning message may be sent based on SL multicasting (also called SL groupcasting) if the group includes more than two UEs, as shown in FIG. 3, or based on SL unicasting. In SL multicasting (also called SL groupcasting), a sidelink positioning message (e.g., an SLPP message) may be transmitted that includes a group destination address (e.g., that may be partially or completely included in a Layer 1 protocol header and / or a Layer 2 protocol header in the sidelink positioning message). Then, a receiving UE (e.g., the UE 105A) that belongs to the group with this group destination address recognizes the group destination address in the sidelink positioning message and receives, decodes, and processes the sidelink positioning message. In SL unicast, the sidelink positioning message may be transmitted including a UE destination address (e.g., a Layer 2 address assigned to UE 105A) and will be received, decoded and processed only by the UE (e.g., UE 105A) whose destination address is included.

[0066]

[0083] At 320, the UE 105A sends a first LPP / SLPP message (e.g., a first SLPP message or a first SLPP message embedded in an LPP message, as described above) to the location server 302, where the first SLPP message is based on or comprises the first sidelink positioning message.

[0067]

[0084] At 330, the UE 105A receives a second LPP / SLPP message from the location server 302 in response to the first LPP / SLPP message from 320. The second LPP / SLPP message may be a second SLPP message or a second SLPP message embedded in an LPP message, as described above, and may be any of the message types described above. The second LPP / SLPP message (e.g., the second SLPP message) may include a location result for at least one UE in the group (e.g., UE 105A or UE 105B). For example, the location result for at least one UE in the group may include at least one of a range between the at least one UE and another UE, a direction from the at least one UE to another UE, a location of the at least one UE relative to a location of the other UE, a velocity of the at least one UE, a relative velocity of the at least one UE relative to the velocity of the other UE, or any combination thereof.

[0068]

[0085] At 340, the UE 105A may send a second sidelink positioning message to one or more of the UEs 105B, 105C, and 105D in the group. The second sidelink positioning message may be a SLPP message and may be based on or include the second SLPP message received at 330. The second sidelink positioning message may be sent based on SL multicast, e.g., as shown in FIG. 3, if the group includes more than two UEs.

[0069]

[0086] The sidelink positioning messages in the signal flow 300 may be any of the message types as described above. For example, the first sidelink positioning message in 310 and the first LPP / SLPP message in 320 may include sidelink positioning capabilities, sidelink positioning resources, or both for at least one UE in the group, e.g., UE 105B. The first LPP / SLPP message in 320 may include an LPP capability provision message and / or an SLPP capability provision message (e.g., where the SLPP capability provision message may be embedded in the LPP capability provision message). The second LPP / SLPP message in 330 and the second sidelink positioning message in 340 may include sidelink positioning capabilities, sidelink positioning resources, or both for UE 105A. The second LPP / SLPP message in 330 may include an LPP capability provision message and / or an SLPP capability provision message.

[0070]

[0087] In another example, the first sidelink positioning message at 310 and the first LPP / SLPP message at 320 may include a SL positioning reference signal (PRS) configuration for at least one UE in the group, e.g., UE 105A and / or UE 105B. The first LPP / SLPP message at 320 may include an LPP request assistance data message, an LPP provide assistance data message, an SLPP request assistance data message, and / or a SLPP provide assistance data message (e.g., where SLPP messages may be embedded in the same type of LPP message). The second LPP / SLPP message at 330 and the second sidelink positioning message at 340 may include a SL positioning reference signal (PRS) configuration for at least one UE in the group, e.g., UE 105A or UE 105B. The second LPP / SLPP message at 330 may include an LPP Provide Assistance Data message and / or a SLPP Provide Assistance Data message (eg, where a SLPP Provide Assistance Data message may be embedded in an LPP Provide Assistance Data message).

[0071]

[0088] In another example, the first sidelink positioning message at 310 and the first LPP / SLPP message at 320 may include sidelink positioning measurements obtained by at least one UE in the group, e.g., UE 105B. The first LPP / SLPP message at 320 may include an LPP Provide Location Information message and / or an SLPP Provide Location Information message (e.g., where the SLPP Provide Location Information message may be embedded in the LPP Provide Location Information message). The second LPP / SLPP message at 330 may include location results for at least one UE in the group, and the second LPP / SLPP message may include an LPP Provide Location Information message and / or an SLPP Provide Location Information message (e.g., where the SLPP Provide Location Information message may be embedded in the LPP Provide Location Information message).

[0072]

[0089] The location server 302 may be, for example, an LMF or a SUPL SLP. If the location server 302 is a SUPL SLP, the first LPP / SLPP message is sent by the UE 105A to the location server 302 as part of a first SUPL message at 320, and the second LPP / SLPP message is received by the UE 105A from the location server 302 as part of a second SUPL message at 330. The first SUPL message and the second SUPL message may each include a SUPL POS message.

[0073]

[0090] 4A is a block diagram 400A illustrating, by way of example, one implementation of the structure of a SLPP message 410. As shown, the SLPP message 410 includes a header 412 that may include a session ID, a transaction ID, a sequence number (seq no), an acknowledgment (or acknowledgement) sequence number, and the like. The SLPP message 410 allows for one or more positioning methods or positioning method types. For example, the SLPP message 410 includes as entries a positioning method / type 1 414, a positioning method / type 2 416, and a positioning method / type M 418 (e.g., M may be equal to 3 or more). A positioning method may, for example, use one or more specific signal types (e.g., SL NR PRS, SL LTE PRS, Wi-Fi, or GPS L1-L5) and support one way of determining location for that specific signal type (e.g., one of RTT, AOA, RSRP, or TDOA). On the other hand, a positioning method type uses one or more specific signal types and supports multiple positioning methods for the signal type or types. For example, a positioning method type may use SL PRS signals (e.g., either SL NR PRS signals or both SL NR PRS signals and SL LTE PRS signals) and support multiple positioning methods using these SL PRS signals (e.g., may support all of RTT, AOA, RSRP, and TDOA). Another positioning method type may use GNSS signals and support multiple positioning methods using GNSS signals (e.g., may support GNSS code phase based positioning and GNSS carrier phase based positioning such as RTK).

[0074]

[0091] The SLPP message 410 may be configured to support a positioning method or method type (also referred to as a positioning type), or both a positioning method and a positioning method type. As shown, each positioning method / type 414, 416, and 418 in the SLPP message 410 may include parameters for each UE in the group, shown as identified by a member ID, e.g., UE1, UE2, ...UEn. It is possible that not all UEs in a group support the same positioning method / type, which may mean that parameters for UEs that do not support a positioning method / type 414, 416, or 418 may not be present for that positioning method / type in the SLPP message 410. Support for multiple positioning methods or method types in the SLPP message 410 may be advantageous when UEs do not all support the same positioning method or method type, e.g., some UEs may support positioning using RTK and SL PRS, while some other UEs only support RTK. However, in some implementations, the SLPP message 410 may provide support for only one positioning method (e.g., NR SL PRS RTT) or one positioning method type (e.g., NR SL PRS).

[0075]

[0092] Figure 4B is a block diagram 400B illustrating another implementation of the structure of a SLPP message 420. Similar to block diagram 400A of Figure 4A, SLPP message 420 includes a header 422 that may contain information similar to header 412 in Figure 4A. However, now the data may be structured such that each UE in a group of n UEs has separate message portions 424, 426, and 428 in SLPP message 420 that each contain that UE's parameters for each positioning method / type 1-M supported by that UE.

[0076]

[0093] 5 is a signal flow 500 illustrating, by way of example, signaling between UE 105A and UE 105B for pair-wise sidelink positioning involving only two UEs. UE 105A and UE 105B may be, for example, the UEs shown in FIG. 1 or any two of the UEs shown in group 210 shown in FIG. 2. The sidelink positioning shown in FIG. 5 may be network independent, and thus the UEs shown in FIG. 5 may be out-of-coverage UEs in subgroup 216. The signaling implemented in signal flow 500 may be similar or the same as the SLPP signaling described above with reference to FIG. 2.

[0077]

[0094] In stage 0 of FIG. 5, UE discovery and establishment of a sidelink communication session or a sidelink positioning session is performed. The discovery process may be request-response or announcement based. The discovery phase may be performed by one or both of the UEs 105A and 105B, for example, to detect other UEs that are available for sidelink positioning. For example, discovery messages may be exchanged between the UEs 105A and / or 105B to determine nearby UEs that are available to participate in sidelink positioning. For example, the UE 105A may broadcast a discovery-based message using sidelink signaling, and the UE 105B may receive and respond to the discovery-based message by sending a similar discovery-based response message back to the UE 105A using sidelink signaling. Additional messages may be exchanged between the UEs 105A and 105B to establish a sidelink communication or positioning session between the UEs 105A and 105B. For example, the UE 105A may send a request to initiate an SLPP positioning session (e.g., an SLPP request) to the UE 105B, and the UE 105B may return a response (e.g., an SLPP response) to the UE 105A agreeing to initiate the SLPP positioning session.

[0078]

[0095] In stage 1, the UEs 105A and 105B may exchange SLPP capabilities, resources, and service requirements, which may include quality of service (QoS), using, for example, SLPP capability and resource request messages and SLPP capability and resource provision messages, as described above. Exchanging SLPP capabilities, resources, and service requirements may include both the UE 105A and the UE 105B sending their capabilities, resources, and service requirements to the other UE, or only one of the UE 105A or the UE 105B sending its capabilities, resources, and service requirements to the other UE. The capabilities exchanged may define what each of the UEs 105A and 105B is implemented to support. The resources exchanged may define which capabilities each of the UEs 105A and 105B is permitted to support and / or which capabilities each of the UEs 105A and 105B is not permitted to support. The sidelink positioning capabilities that the UE is allowed or not allowed to support may include permissions or restrictions on one or more of the sidelink PRS transmission time, sidelink PRS measurement time, sidelink PRS transmission duration, sidelink PRS measurement duration, bandwidth of sidelink PRS that may be transmitted, bandwidth of sidelink PRS that may be measured, RF frequency of sidelink PRS that may be transmitted, RF frequency of sidelink PRS that may be measured, signal coding of sidelink PRS that may be transmitted, signal coding of sidelink PRS that may be measured, periodicity of sidelink PRS transmissions, periodicity of sidelink PRS to be measured, transmit power for sidelink PRS transmissions, transmit power for sidelink PRS to be measured, or any combination thereof.

[0079]

[0096] Sidelink positioning capabilities may be fixed and static (e.g., dependent on UE implementation that may never be changed or may be changed infrequently via software upgrades to the UE). Sidelink positioning resources may depend on the spectrum available for SL PRS (e.g., whether PLMN licensed spectrum, unlicensed spectrum or Intelligent Transport System (ITS) spectrum for V2X is available and permitted for use) and / or on existing positioning sessions and / or procedures that the UE may already support or be part of. Existing positioning sessions and / or procedures may mean that the UE cannot transmit and / or measure SL PRS at certain times for a new SL positioning session because at these times the UE needs to have transmitted and / or measured SL PRS for the existing positioning session and / or positioning procedure. Similarly, certain SL PRS characteristics, such as frequencies or coding already used for an existing positioning session, may not be available to be used for a new SL (or SLPP) positioning session. For example, the use of certain SL PRS characteristics for a new positioning session that are already in use for an existing positioning session may prevent the SL PRS transmissions for the new or existing positioning session from being uniquely identified by the UEs involved in the new or existing positioning session, which may then cause errors in location measurements and results. Controlling the use of SL PRS characteristics for the new positioning session by exchanging allowed and / or disallowed sidelink positioning resources may prevent such errors from occurring.

[0080]

[0097] The service requirements exchanged in stage 1 may include at least one indication of an instant (e.g., single) location at the current time, a deferred location (e.g., at a later time), a periodic location, a triggered location, one or more types of location results (e.g., relative location, global location, range, direction), a QoS of the location result (e.g., location result accuracy, location result response time or latency, location periodicity, location reliability), or any combination thereof. The exchanged service requirements may define the type (e.g., single or periodic), accuracy, latency, periodicity, reliability of location that each UE requests or expects in the sidelink positioning session.

[0081]

[0098] In stage 2, the UE 105A may send a proposed sidelink positioning signal configuration, e.g., PRS1, PRS2 configuration, to the UE 105B, e.g., using a SLPP Positioning Signal Configuration Provide message or a SLPP Assistance Data Provide message, as described above. The PRS1 configuration (in this example) may define the SL PRS to be transmitted later by the UE 105A, and the PRS2 configuration (in this example) may define the SL PRS to be transmitted later by the UE 105B. The PRS1 and PRS2 configurations may be defined and proposed by the UE 105A based on the capabilities, resources, and service requirements exchanged in stage 1, which may include, e.g., the QoS of the UEs 105A and 105B. The PRS1 and PRS2 configurations may be the same or similar to the PRS configurations defined in 3GPP TS 37.355 for LPP, except that they may refer to SL PRS transmission on a sidelink communication channel between the UEs 105A and 105B. For example, the PRS1 and PRS2 configurations may each include specifications for the SL PRS transmission start time, SL PRS transmission duration, SL PRS bandwidth, SL PRS RF frequency (or frequencies), SL PRS signal coding, SL PRS transmission periodicity, SL PRS transmit power, SL PRS muting, and / or SL PRS frequency hopping. Rules and guidelines may be standardized to ensure that the proposed PRS configurations PRS1 and PRS2 are compatible with the capabilities, resources, and service requirements of UEs 105A and 105B, which may include the QoS of both UEs.

[0082]

[0099] In stage 3, UE 105B may send a message to UE 105A to confirm the proposed positioning signal configuration, e.g., PRS1, PRS2 configuration, using, e.g., SLPP positioning signal configuration confirmation or SLPP assistance data provision confirmation, as described above. In some implementations, UE 105B may instead reject the proposed positioning signal configuration in stage 3, and then UE 105A may propose a different positioning signal configuration until UE 105A confirms the positioning signal configuration. In some implementations, UE 105B may send a modified proposed positioning signal configuration to UE 105A, and UE 105A may confirm the modified positioning signal configuration or send another modified proposed positioning signal configuration to UE 105B. In some implementations, when the PRS1, PRS2 configuration sent in stage 2 is acceptable to UE 105B, stage 3 may be omitted, which may reduce signaling.

[0083]

[0100] In stage 4, UE 105A transmits SL positioning signals corresponding to the PRS1 configuration, and UE 105B measures these positioning signals (e.g., based on UE 105B's prior knowledge of the PRS1 configuration). UE 105B may, for example, measure one or more of the RTT, Rx-Tx, RSRP, RSRQ, AOA, AOD, and TOA of the PRS1 transmitted by UE 105A.

[0084]

[0101] In stage 5, UE 105B transmits SL positioning signals corresponding to the PRS2 configuration, and UE 105A measures these positioning signals (e.g., based on UE 105A's prior knowledge of the PRS2 configuration). UE 105A may, for example, measure one or more of the RTT, Rx-Tx, RSRP, RSRQ, AOA, AOD, and TOA of the PRS2 transmitted by UE 105B.

[0085]

[0102] In step 6, UE 105A and UE 105B exchange measurements obtained in steps 4 and 5. The exchange of measurements may indicate the exact SL PRS configuration to be used in step 4 or step 5 for transmission of the SL PRS, for example, if there was any difference to the PRS1 and / or PRS2 configuration (e.g., with respect to the exact time or duration of the SL PRS transmission), and may further provide the measurements generated in step 4 or step 5. As an example, if the SL positioning signal (SL PRS) transmitted by UE 105A in step 4 that corresponds to the PRS1 configuration sent by UE 105A in step 2 does not exactly match the PRS1 configuration (e.g., because UE 105A slightly delayed the SL PRS transmission because some other UE was transmitting at the transmission time indicated in the PRS1 configuration), UE 105A may include the transmission time actually used by UE 105A in step 4 as part of the measurements sent by UE 105A in step 6. UE 105B may then use the correct transmit time for UE 105A received in step 6 when calculating any location results later (e.g., in step 7). Exchanging measurements in step 6 may include both UE 105A and UE 105B sending their measurements to the other UE, or only one of UE 105A or UE 105B sending their measurements to the other UE.

[0086]

[0103] In step 7, UE 105A and UE 105B may each calculate a location result, e.g., distance and / or direction, relative location, absolute location, velocity, relative speed, or any combination thereof, between UE 105A and UE 105B based on the measurements generated in steps 4 and 5 and received in step 6. For example, the UE may determine the range between UE 105A and UE 105B based on the Rx-Tx measurements of the PRS signals, or based on the equivalent TODi and TOAi measurements for the PRSi signals (where i=1 for the PRS transmitted by UE 105A in step 4 and i=2 for the PRS transmitted by UE 105B in step 5, and c represents the speed of transmission of electromagnetic waves, e.g., the speed of light).

[0087]

number

[0088]

[0104] The location results determined in step 7 may then be exchanged in step 8. Exchanging location results in step 8 may involve both UE 105A and UE 105B sending their location results to the other UE, or only one of UE 105A or UE 105B sending their location results to the other UE. In the latter case, only the UE that sends its location result to the other UE may calculate its location result in step 7.

[0089]

[0105] As shown in step 9, steps 4-8 may be repeated as necessary by UE 105A and UE 105B. For example, steps 4-8 may be repeated in step 9 to allow periodic or triggered location results for UE 105A and UE 105B.

[0090]

[0106] 6A is a signal flow 600 illustrating signaling between UE 105A and UE 105B for sidelink positioning capability exchange, including exchange of capability, resource, and service requirements that may include QoS, which may correspond to stage 1 of FIG. 5. As shown in signal flow 600, in stage 1, UE 105A may send a (e.g., SLPP) capability request message, a (e.g., SLPP) capability provision message, or a (e.g., SLPP) capability, resource, and service requirement provision message that may include QoS to UE 105B. In stage 2, in response to the capability request message, capability provision message, or capability, resource, and service requirement provision message, UE 105B may send a (e.g., SLPP) capability provision message, or a (e.g., SLPP) capability, resource, and service requirement provision message that may include QoS to UE 105A.

[0091]

[0107] Figure 6B is a signal flow 620 illustrating signaling between UE 105A and UE 105B for positioning signal configuration and confirmation exchange, which may correspond to steps 2 and 3 of Figure 5. As shown, in step 1 of signal flow 620, UE 105A sends a proposed positioning signal configuration, e.g., PRS1, PRS2 configuration, to UE 105B, which corresponds to step 2 of Figure 5 and may be included in a SLPP Provide Assistance Data message or a SLPP Provide Positioning Signal Configuration message. In step 2a, UE 105B may send a configuration confirmation message to UE 105A, which corresponds to step 3 of Figure 5 and may be a SLPP Provide Assistance Data message or a SLPP Provide Assistance Data message. Alternatively, in step 2b, UE 105B may send a configuration reject message to UE 105A, which may be a SLPP Provide Positioning Signal Configuration Reject message or a SLPP Provide Assistance Data Reject message. In response to the configuration reject message from step 2b, UE 105A may prepare another positioning signal configuration, and steps 1 and 2a or 2b are repeated. In another implementation, in step 2c, UE 105B may provide UE 105A with the proposed modified PRS1 configuration, which may be included, for example, in a SLPP Provide Assistance Data message or a SLPP Provide Positioning Signal Configuration message. * , PRS2 *In response to step 2c, UE 105A may send a configuration confirmation message, which may be a SLPP positioning signal configuration confirmation message or a SLPP assistance data provision confirmation message, to UE 105B in step 3. Alternatively, UE 105A may further modify the positioning signal configuration by repeating steps 1 and 2a or 2b.

[0092]

[0108] Figure 6C is a signal flow 660 illustrating signaling between UE 105A and UE 105B for a measurement exchange, which may correspond to stage 6 of Figure 5. As shown in signal flow 660, in stage 1, UE 105A may send a measurement report to UE 105B, which may include information about the PRS transmitted by UE 105A in stage 4 of Figure 5, such as one or more precise times of transmission, and may further include measurements generated by UE 105A of the PRS transmitted by UE 105B in stage 5 of Figure 5. The measurement report for stage 1 may be a SLPP Location Information Provide message.

[0093]

[0109] Similarly, in stage 2, UE 105B may send a measurement report to UE 105A, which may include information about the PRS transmitted by UE 105B in stage 5 of Figure 5, such as one or more precise times of transmission, and may further include measurements made by UE 105B of the PRS transmitted by UE 105A in stage 4 of Figure 5. The measurement report for stage 2 may be a SLPP location information provision message.

[0094]

[0110] Thus, the sidelink positioning message sent by the UE 105A may include the sidelink positioning capabilities and sidelink positioning resources of the UE 105A as described for stage 1 of Figure 5 and as described for stage 1 shown in Figure 6A. The sidelink positioning message may further include the sidelink positioning service requirements of the UE 105A as described for stage 1 of Figures 5 and 6A.

[0095]

[0111] Additionally, the UE 105A may receive a second sidelink positioning message from the UE 105B. For example, the second sidelink positioning message received from the UE 105B may include the sidelink positioning capabilities and sidelink positioning resources of the UE 105B, as described for step 1 of FIG. 5 and step 2 shown in FIG. 6A. The second sidelink positioning message received from the UE 105B may further include the sidelink positioning service requirements of the UE 105B, as described for step 1 of FIG. 5 and step 2 of FIG. 6A.

[0096]

[0112] As shown for steps 2-8 of FIG. 5, the UE 105A may exchange additional sidelink positioning messages with the UE 105B, which may be based on the sidelink positioning capabilities and sidelink positioning resources of the UE 105B. Each of the additional sidelink positioning messages may be further based on the sidelink positioning service requirements of the UE 105B. For example, as described for steps 2-8 of FIG. 5 and in signal flows 620 and 660 of FIG. 6B and 6C, the additional sidelink positioning messages exchanged with the UE 105B may include a proposed positioning signal configuration, a confirmation (or rejection or modification) of the proposed positioning signal configuration, a request for measurements and / or measurements of the sidelink positioning PRS, and a location result determined from the measurements of the sidelink positioning PRS.

[0097]

[0113] As indicated by step 7 of FIG. 5, the UE 105A may determine the location of the UE 105B based on the additional sidelink positioning message.

[0098]

[0114] The pair-wise sidelink positioning illustrated in Figures 5, 6A, 6B, and 6C may be extended and expanded for group operation, e.g., with a group of UEs, as illustrated by UE group 210 in Figure 2. The group of UEs may, for example, be small enough that direct discovery and direct sidelink signaling is possible between the UEs in the group of UEs. The various sidelink positioning messages transmitted by the UEs in the group may be transmitted using groupcast or multicast, such that each sidelink positioning message is broadcast once to all receiving UEs using sidelink signaling.

[0099]

[0115] FIG. 7 is a signal flow 700 illustrating signaling for group operation of sidelink positioning for multiple UEs, illustrated as UEs 105A, 105B, 105C, ... 105Z, and sometimes collectively referred to as UEs 105, by way of example. The group of UEs may include a small number of UEs (e.g., up to 20) for which direct discovery and direct SL signaling are possible. The UEs 105 may be, for example, any of the UEs illustrated in FIG. 1 or in the group 210 illustrated in FIG. 2. The sidelink positioning illustrated in FIG. 7 is independent of the network, and thus the UEs illustrated in FIG. 7 may be out-of-coverage UEs in the subgroup 216 of FIG. 2. The signaling performed in the signal flow 700 may be similar or the same as the SLPP signaling described above with reference to FIG. 2 and illustrated in the signal flow 500 of FIG. 5, except that the SLPP signaling may involve a larger number of UEs. If desired, the signaling may be performed directly as illustrated, or via a relay and / or via the network. Note that the number of UEs in signal flow 700 is typically more than two, but may be two in limiting cases (where two of the UEs shown in FIG. 7 are not present).

[0100]

[0116] In stage 0 of Fig. 7, UE discovery, group formation, and establishment of a multicast sidelink communication session are performed. The discovery process may be request-response or announcement based. The discovery phase may be performed by one or more UEs 105 to detect other UEs 105 that are available for sidelink positioning and suitable to join a group. For example, discovery messages may be exchanged between UEs 105 to determine nearby UEs 105 that are available to participate in sidelink positioning. For example, UE 105A may broadcast a discovery-based message using sidelink signaling, and UEs 105B, 105C, and 105Z may each receive and respond to the discovery-based message by each sending a similar discovery-based response message back to UE 105A using sidelink signaling. The UEs 105 may also exchange (or pre-configure) one or more group criteria parameters for group formation, such as an approximate maximum distance between pairs of UEs (which helps ensure that the UEs 105 can communicate directly with each other), a minimum period of time that any UE 105 may be in communication with other UEs 105 (which helps ensure that the UEs 105 can communicate directly with each other for some minimum period of time), and / or a common direction and / or common speed range of the UEs 105 (which helps ensure that the UEs 105 stay close to each other). Based on the group criteria parameters, the UEs 105 may determine whether to form a group, which UEs 105 should or should not belong to the group, or whether and when additional UEs 105 should be added to the group later, and / or whether and when existing UEs 105 should be removed from the group. For example, the UEs 105 may determine a group status indication for each UE 105 indicating inclusion or exclusion from the group. In FIG. 7, for example, it is assumed that all UEs 105A, 105B, 105C, . . . 105Z meet one or more group criteria and are included in a group.Additional messages may be exchanged between the UEs 105 to establish sidelink communications or positioning sessions between the UEs 105. For example, the UE 105A may send a request to initiate an SLPP positioning session (e.g., an SLPP request) to the UEs 105B, 105C, and 105Z, and the UEs 105B, 105C, and 105Z may return a response (e.g., an SLPP response) to the UE 105A agreeing to initiate the SLPP positioning session.

[0101]

[0117] In stage 1, the UEs 105 may exchange SLPP capabilities, resources, and service requirements, which may include QoS, using, for example, SLPP capability and resource request messages and SLPP capability and resource provision messages, as described above. The exchange of capabilities, resources, and service requirements, which may include QoS, may be similar to the signal flow 600 shown in FIG. 6A, but with additional UEs. For example, the UEs 105 may exchange capabilities by first each sending a single groupcast SLPP message from each UE 105 to all other UEs 105. The capabilities exchanged may define what each of the UEs 105 is implemented to support. The resources exchanged may define which capabilities each of the UEs 105 is permitted to support and / or is not permitted to support. The sidelink positioning capabilities that the UE is allowed or not allowed to support may include permissions or restrictions on one or more of the following: sidelink PRS transmission time, sidelink PRS measurement time, sidelink PRS transmission duration, sidelink PRS measurement duration, bandwidth of sidelink PRS that may be transmitted, bandwidth of sidelink PRS that may be measured, RF frequency of sidelink PRS that may be transmitted, RF frequency of sidelink PRS that may be measured, signal coding of sidelink PRS that may be transmitted, signal coding of sidelink PRS that may be measured, periodicity of sidelink PRS transmission, periodicity of sidelink PRS that is measured, transmit power for sidelink PRS transmission, transmit power for sidelink PRS that is measured, or any combination thereof. Sidelink positioning capabilities may be fixed and static, as described for stage 1 of FIG. 5. Sidelink positioning resources may depend on the spectrum available for SL PRS and / or on existing positioning sessions and / or positioning procedures that the UE 105 may already support or be part of, as described for stage 1 of FIG. 5. The service requirements of each of the UEs 105 may be as described for stage 1 of FIG.

[0102]

[0118] In stage 2, UE 105A may send proposed positioning signal configurations, e.g., PRS1, PRS2, PRS3, ... PRSn configurations, using, e.g., a SLPP Provide Positioning Signal Configuration message or a SLPP Provide Assistance Data message, to other UEs 105, as described above. The PRS1 configuration (in this example) may define the SL PRS to be transmitted later by UE 105A, the PRS2 configuration (in this example) may define the SL PRS to be transmitted later by UE 105B, the PRS3 configuration (in this example) may define the SL PRS to be transmitted later by UE 105C, and the PRSn configuration (in this example) may define the SL PRS to be transmitted later by UE 105Z, where the PRS1, PRS2, PRS3, and PRSn configurations may be defined and proposed by UE 105A based on the capabilities, resources, and service requirements exchanged in stage 1, which may include, e.g., the QoS of each of the UEs 105. The PRS1, PRS2, PRS3, and PRSn configurations may be, for example, as described for PRS1 and PRS2, respectively, for stage 2 in FIG.

[0103]

[0119] In stage 3, each of UEs 105B, 105C, ... 105Z may send a message to UE 105A to confirm the proposed positioning signal configuration, e.g., PRS1, PRS2, PRS3, ... PRSn configuration, using, e.g., SLPP positioning signal configuration confirmation or SLPP assistance data provision confirmation, as described above. In some implementations, UE 105 (e.g., UE 105B) may instead reject the proposed positioning signal configuration in stage 3 and further indicate which PRS configuration is being rejected. UE 105A may then propose a different positioning signal configuration (or simply a different PRS configuration for the rejected PRS configuration) until each of the other UEs 105 confirms the positioning signal configuration. In some implementations, a UE 105 (e.g., UE 105B) may send a modified proposed positioning signal configuration to UE 105A and to other UEs 105 in the group, and UE 105A and the other UEs 105 may confirm the modified positioning signal configuration or send another modified proposed positioning signal configuration to the other UEs 105. In some implementations, the PRS1, PRS2, PRS3, ... PRSn configurations sent in stage 2 may be acceptable to each of UEs 105B, 105C, ... 105Z and may be omitted in stage 3, which may reduce signaling.

[0104]

[0120] In stage 4, UE 105A transmits SL positioning signals corresponding to the PRS1 configuration, and UE 105B, UE 105C, ... UE 105Z each measure these positioning signals (e.g., based on UE 105B, UE 105C, ... UE 105Z each already knowing the PRS1 configuration). UE 105B, UE 105C, ... UE 105Z may each measure, for example, one or more of RTT, Rx-Tx, RSRP, RSRQ, AOA, AOD, TOA of PRS1 transmitted by UE 105A.

[0105]

[0121] In step 5, UE 105B transmits positioning signal PRS2 and each of the remaining UEs 105 measures positioning signal PRS2 in a similar manner to how they measured PRS1 in step 4.

[0106]

[0122] In stage 6, the UE 105C transmits a positioning signal PRS3 and the remaining UEs 105 measure the positioning signal PRS3 in a similar manner to how they measure PRS1 in stage 4.

[0107]

[0123] In step 7, the UE 105Z transmits the positioning signal PRSn, and the remaining UEs 105 measure the positioning signal PRSn in a similar manner to how they measured PRS1 in step 4.

[0108]

[0124] In step 8, the UEs 105 exchange measurements. The measurement exchange may be similar to the signal flow 660 shown in FIG. 6C, but with additional UEs, and the measurements are exchanged, for example, via a single groupcast SLPP message sent by each UE 105 to all other UEs 105 in the group. As described below with reference to FIG. 9, each UE 105 may include an indication of reverse link communications from all other UEs 105 in the group to the UE 105 in the measurements exchanged in step 8. The measurement exchange may, for example, indicate the correct or corrected SL PRS configuration to be used by the UE 105 for transmission of the SL PRS (e.g., as described for step 6 of FIG. 5), and may further provide measurements obtained by the UE 105, for example, in one of steps 4, 5, 6, or 7.

[0109]

[0125] In step 9, each UE 105 determines a location result, e.g., a distance and / or direction between the UE 105 and each of one or more other UEs 105 in the group, a relative location, an absolute location, a velocity, a relative velocity, or any combination thereof, of one or more of the UEs 105, based on the measurements generated in steps 4-7 and received in step 8. In some embodiments, only one UE 105 (e.g., UE 105A) may determine the location result.

[0110]

[0126] The location results determined in step 9 may then be exchanged in step 10. Exchanging location results in step 10 may involve each of UEs 105A, 105B, 105C...195Z transmitting its location result to all other UEs 105 in the group, or only one UE 105 (e.g., UE 105A) transmitting its location result to the other UEs 105. In the latter case, only the UEs 105 that transmit their location result to the other UEs 105 may calculate their location result in step 9.

[0111]

[0127] As shown in step 11, steps 4-10 may be repeated as necessary by the UE 105. For example, steps 4-10 may be repeated in step 1 to allow periodic or triggered location results for the UE 105 to be obtained.

[0112]

[0128] Thus, as shown in Fig. 7, when a UE 105, such as UE 105A, belongs to a group of UEs including two or more UEs, the UE 105A may send a sidelink positioning message to all other UEs in the group of UEs, such as UEs 105B, 105C, ... 105Z, for example based on sidelink multicast, so that the sidelink positioning message is broadcast or multicast once to all receiving UEs using SL signaling. For example, as described for step 1 of Fig. 7 and as described for step 1 shown in Fig. 6A, the sidelink positioning message sent by the UE 105A may include the sidelink positioning capabilities and sidelink positioning resources of the UE 105A. The sidelink positioning message may further include the sidelink positioning service requirements of the UE 105A, as described for step 1 of Fig. 7 and Fig. 6A.

[0113]

[0129] UE 105A may further receive, e.g., based on sidelink multicast, a second sidelink positioning message from each of the other UEs in the group of UEs, e.g., UEs 105B, 105C, ... 105Z, as further described in step 1 of Fig. 7. For example, the second sidelink positioning message received from each of the other UEs may include the sidelink positioning capabilities and sidelink positioning resources of each UE, as described in step 1 of Fig. 7 and step 2 shown in Fig. 6A. The second sidelink positioning message received from each UE may further include the sidelink positioning service requirements of each UE, as described in step 1 of Fig. 7 and Fig. 6A.

[0114]

[0130] As indicated by steps 2-8 of stage 7, the UE 105A may exchange additional sidelink positioning messages with at least some of the UEs in the group of UEs, e.g., UEs 105B, 105C, ... 105Z, e.g., based on sidelink multicast. The additional sidelink positioning messages may, e.g., be based on the sidelink positioning capabilities and sidelink positioning resources of each of the at least some of the UEs. Each of the additional sidelink positioning messages may further be based on the sidelink positioning service requirements of each UE. For example, as described in steps 2-8 of FIG. 7 and in signal flows 620 and 660 of FIG. 6B and FIG. 6C, the additional sidelink positioning messages exchanged with at least some of the UEs may include a proposed positioning signal configuration, may confirm (or reject or modify) the proposed positioning signal configuration, and / or may request or provide measurements of the SL PRS.

[0115]

[0131] As indicated by stage 9, UE 105A may determine location results for at least some of the UEs based on the additional sidelink positioning messages.

[0116]

[0132] For group operation of sidelink positioning as shown in Fig. 7, groups of UEs have to be formed first, e.g., based on one or more criteria. Furthermore, modification of group UEs may be required when UEs move in and out of a group area.

[0117]

[0133] Group formation for sidelink positioning may use Proximity-based Services (ProSe), for example, for group discovery and establishment as shown in stage 0 of Fig. 5 and Fig. 7. Various criteria may be used to include UEs in the same group. For example, one criterion for inclusion in a group may be the capability for discovery via ProSe and the capability to communicate directly (via sidelink signaling) with other UEs in the group. Other criteria may include a maximum distance restriction, for example, excluding from the group any UE that is generally farther than a maximum distance threshold from other UEs in the group; a time restriction, for example, excluding from the group any UE that is communicating (or likely to be communicating) with other UEs in the group for less than a minimum duration threshold; and a direction or speed restriction, for example, excluding from the group any UE that is moving in a different direction than other UEs in the group, or at a speed that differs from the speed of other UEs in the group by more than a maximum speed difference threshold. The criteria, for example, thresholds for determining whether a UE meets various requirements for joining a group, may depend on the environment and application. As an example, the distance, time, and direction or speed criteria used in group formation for V2X highway, V2X rural road, or V2X parking lot applications may be different. Once a group is established, periodic ProSe signaling may be used to determine when a UE should leave a group and when a new UE should join a group, for example based on whether group criteria are met. In a group, UEs may be assigned a member ID (e.g., 1, 2, 3, etc.) for identification in the group and in SLPP messages. The group member ID may be used to determine which UE will lead, coordinate, and / or initiate an SLPP positioning session, positioning method, or positioning method type, e.g., which UE will propose a PRS configuration to other UEs, e.g., as shown in stage 2 of Figures 5 and 7. A group may be limited to only one positioning method type (e.g., SL NR PRS), but other positioning method types (e.g., SL LTE PRS or RTK) may be used by different groups.Restricting a group to one positioning method type may avoid scenarios where not all UEs in the group support the same positioning method type and may simplify procedures and messaging. Alternatively, to maximize signaling efficiency, the same group of UEs may employ multiple positioning method types and / or multiple positioning methods, where not all UEs in the group necessarily support the exact same positioning method type or the exact same positioning method.

[0118]

[0134] Figure 8 illustrates, by way of example, an environment 800 illustrating group formation of sidelink positioning groups of UEs. In the example illustrated in Figure 8, the UEs are on-board units (OBUs) or IVSs for vehicles and are therefore simply illustrated as vehicles. The environment 800 illustrated in Figure 8 may be, for example, a divided four-lane highway and illustrates group membership of UEs with areas having boundaries marked with dotted lines.

[0119]

[0135] FIG. 8 shows four groups, Group 1, Group 2, Group 3, and Group 4, each including multiple UEs (each UE corresponds to a vehicle). As shown, each UE may belong to one or more groups. Membership of a UE in multiple groups may limit PRS transmission and measurement time in each group to avoid signaling collisions. Various criteria can be used for group formation. For example, each group may be preferably limited to nearby vehicles moving in the same direction. However, as shown in FIG. 8, Group 1 includes one anomaly, UE 802, which is near other vehicles in Group 1 but moving in the opposite direction. In the example of FIG. 8, the environment is a divided highway, and therefore it may not be necessary or desirable to include UE 802 in Group 1 since it is moving in the opposite direction relative to other UEs in Group 1. To avoid anomalies such as those shown in FIG. 8, criteria such as thresholds or requirements for relative distance to other UEs in the group, time period during which the UE is communicating with other UEs in the group, and direction and / or speed of movement may be used for group membership. In other environments, such as, for example, open roads, rural roads, or parking lots, it may be desirable to include UEs traveling in the opposite direction (as well as UEs traveling in the same direction).

[0120]

[0136] Thus, after discovery of two or more UEs available for sidelink positioning, e.g., as described in step 0 of Figures 5 and 7, the UE may determine (e.g., from preconfigured information in the UE) or obtain (e.g., from the other discovered UEs) one or more group criteria parameters. The UE may determine a group status indication for the at least one UE based on the one or more group criteria parameters generated or obtained from the one or more other UEs. The group status indication may, for example, indicate the inclusion or exclusion of the at least one UE in a group.

[0121]

[0137] In some implementations, group management may be centralized, e.g., performed by one UE, e.g., UE 105A shown in Figures 5 and 7. With centralized group management, other UEs, e.g., any of UEs 105B, 105C, ... 105Z in Figure 7, may be included in the group when UE 105A determines that a group status indication for the other UE indicates inclusion of the other UE in the group. Similarly, with centralized group management, other UEs, e.g., any of UEs 105B, 105C, ... 105Z, may be excluded from the group when UE 105A determines that a group status indication for the other UE indicates exclusion of the other UE from the group.

[0122]

[0138] In some implementations, group management may be distributed, e.g., performed by all UEs, e.g., UEs 105A and 105B shown in FIG. 5, or UEs 105A, 105B, 105C, ... 105Z shown in FIG. 7. In distributed group management, for example, each UE determines a group status indication for each of the other UEs based on group criteria parameters generated or obtained from the other UEs. A UE may be included or excluded from a group based on the group status indication for the UE determined by each of the other UEs. For example, if all or most of the other UEs determine that a particular UE 105 should be included in the group, the UE 105 may be included. Similarly, if all or most of the other UEs determine that a particular UE 105 should be excluded from the group, the UE 105 may be excluded. If each UE sends its determined group status indication to all other UEs, then each UE may determine for itself whether it is to be included in or excluded from the group based on whether all or most of the group status indications for each UE determined by the other UEs indicate inclusion or exclusion.

[0123]

[0139] As discussed above, the criteria parameters for inclusion in a group may include one or more of a distance limit or threshold, a time limit or threshold, a movement direction limit or threshold, and a speed (or speed difference) limit or threshold. The distance limit or threshold may, for example, limit inclusion in a group to UEs that are less than a threshold distance from other UEs in the group. In some implementations, the threshold distance may be with respect to any UE in the group or may be with respect to an average location of the group, e.g., the average UE location, center of gravity, centroid (or other single location) of the group. The threshold distance may vary based on the environment, including the type of road, road conditions, day of the week, time of day, traffic conditions, weather conditions, etc. For example, a relatively large threshold distance (e.g., 100-500 meters) may be used in an environment with higher speeds (e.g., highways) or fewer restrictions on movement direction (e.g., no road division), while a relatively small threshold distance (e.g., 20-100 meters) may be used in an environment with lower speeds (parking lots) or more restrictions on movement direction (e.g., divided roads).

[0124]

[0140] Another criterion may be a time limit or threshold, for example, inclusion in a group may be limited to UEs that have been communicating (or may be communicating) with other UEs in the group for longer than a threshold time. For example, a UE may be near other UEs in the group, but may be moving in a different direction or on a different road, and thus only communicate with UEs in the group momentarily. The expected time that a UE will be communicating with UEs in a group may be determined based on various factors, such as the location for the UE, the direction of movement, the number and density of UEs. The threshold time may be based on the environment, including the type of road, road conditions, traffic conditions, weather conditions, etc. For example, a relatively small time threshold (e.g., 5 seconds) may be used in a higher speed environment (e.g., highways), and a relatively large time threshold (e.g., 30 seconds) may be used in a lower speed environment (parking lots and local roads).

[0125]

[0141] Another criterion may be a movement direction restriction or threshold, which may limit inclusion in a group to UEs based on UEs moving in the same or similar direction on the same road as the UEs in the group. The criterion for movement direction restriction may be based on the environment, including, for example, the type of road, road conditions, traffic conditions, weather conditions, etc. For example, the criterion for movement direction restriction may be given more weight, for example, to consider UEs for inclusion in a group in an environment where the likelihood of a collision is increased. For example, in an environment with divided roads, a head-on collision is not usually possible, and a high weight may be given to the movement direction restriction. In an environment where the likelihood of a head-on collision or a side collision is higher, for example, an undivided road, an intersection, or a parking lot, the movement direction restriction may be given a lower weight or may be removed (e.g., so that UEs may be in the same group regardless of their movement direction).

[0126]

[0142] Another criterion may be a speed or speed difference limit or threshold, which may limit inclusion in a group of UEs to UEs having a speed that is less than a threshold difference from one or more of the speeds of other UEs in the group. In some implementations, the speed limit may be with respect to the average speed of the UEs in the group, or with respect to the speed of one particular UE in the group, or with respect to the speed of each UE in the group. The threshold difference may vary based on the environment, including the type of road, road conditions, traffic conditions, weather conditions, etc. For example, a relatively high threshold difference (e.g., 50 km / hr) may be used in higher speed environments (e.g., highways), while a relatively low threshold difference (e.g., 20 km / hr) may be used in lower speed environments (e.g., parking lots and rural roads) or environments where platooning is used.

[0127]

[0143] Additional or other criteria parameters for inclusion in a group may be used. For example, in some implementations, the group criteria parameters may include a sidelink positioning method restriction or a sidelink positioning method type restriction. For example, a sidelink positioning method restriction may limit inclusion in a group of UEs to UEs that support the same sidelink positioning methods as other members of the group. The sidelink positioning methods may be restricted, for example, to one or more specific signal types (e.g., SL NR PRS, Wi-Fi, GPS L1-L5) or to one specific positioning method (e.g., SL NR PRS RTT). A sidelink positioning method type restriction may limit inclusion in a group of UEs to UEs that support the same sidelink positioning method types as other members of the group. The sidelink positioning method types may be restricted, for example, to one or more specific signal types (e.g., SL NR PRS, Wi-Fi, GPS L1-L5). Restricting a group of UEs to support one or more common sidelink positioning methods or one or more common sidelink positioning method types may simplify the sidelink positioning procedures and messaging. For example, Figures 5 and 7 may assume that all participating UEs 105 support a common sidelink positioning method type based on transmission and measurement of SL PRS. If some of the participating UEs 105 do not support transmission and measurement of SL PRS, the signaling and procedures of Figures 5 and 7 may not be possible and a different, more complex positioning procedure may be required to obtain location results for all participating UEs 105.

[0128]

[0144] Once a group of UEs is formed, it may be necessary to update the group, e.g., to remove or add UEs to the group. For example, in V2X applications, group membership changes may sometimes be required quickly, e.g., within a matter of seconds. The exchange of measurements and / or location results using SLPP, e.g., shown in steps 6 and 8 of FIG. 5 and steps 8 and 10 of FIG. 7, and the reception and measurement of PRS, e.g., shown in steps 4 and 5 of FIG. 5 and steps 4-7 of FIG. 7, allow each UE to know whether reverse link communication still exists with each of the other UEs in the group. In a decision labeled D1 here, the UE 105 may determine (e.g., in steps 6 or 8 of FIG. 5 or steps 8 or 10 of FIG. 7) whether the UE 105 is able to receive and decode SLPP messages sent by other UEs. In another determination, labeled here as D2, the UE 105 may determine (e.g., in steps 4 or 5 of FIG. 5 or one of steps 4-7 of FIG. 7) whether the UE 105 is able to receive and measure the SL PRS transmitted by the other UE. In some embodiments, the UE 105 may determine that reverse link communication from another UE 105 exists only if both D1 and D2 are determined to be true. In other embodiments, the UE 105 may determine that reverse link communication from another UE 105 exists if either D1 or D2 are determined to be true. In yet another embodiment, the UE 105 may determine that reverse link communication from another UE 105 exists only if D1 is determined to be true (or if and only if D2 is determined to be true).

[0129]

[0145] The UE may then indicate its reverse link communication decision to all other UEs in the group, e.g., using a bit string, in the SLPP messages used to exchange measurement or location results, e.g., as shown in steps 6 and 8 of Figure 5 and steps 8 and 10 of Figure 7. For example, UE 105A in Figure 7 may send a reverse link communication decision to the other UEs 105 in Figure 7 indicating whether the UE 105 has determined that there is reverse link communication (to UE 105A) from each of UE 105B, UE 105C, and UE 105Z. Thus, each UE may then build a table indicating the reverse link communication status between all pairs of UEs, which may then be used to determine a group status indication for each UE in the group, and which may then be used to determine whether to retain each UE in the group or to remove one or more UEs from the group.

[0130]

[0146] In some embodiments, a UE may not explicitly indicate its reverse link communication decision to other UEs (e.g., in step 8 of FIG. 7), but may implicitly indicate its reverse link communication decision to other UEs in the group. The implicit indication may correspond to the provision of measurements for other UEs. In a measurement report message sent by UE A to other UEs in the group (e.g., in step 8 of FIG. 7 or steps 1 or 2 of FIG. 6C), the inclusion of one or more measurements obtained by UE A for a SL PRS transmitted by another UE B may be assumed to imply that there is a reverse link communication from the other UE B to UE A. Conversely, the exclusion of measurements obtained by UE A for a SL PRS transmitted by another UE B, or an indication that UE A could not obtain any measurements for a SL PRS transmitted by the other UE B, may be assumed to imply that there is no reverse link communication from the other UE B to UE A.

[0131]

[0147] 9 illustrates an example of a table 900 that may be generated by a UE (e.g., UE1) for a group of UEs labeled, for example, UE1, UE2, UE3, UE4, and UE5 and used to determine to remove a UE from the group. The entries in table 900 may be based on indications of reverse link communications between the UEs, indicating whether each column-wise UE has determined (e.g., indicated) that reverse link communications exist (and thus signals may be received) from each row-wise UE with a possible Y (yes), N (no), or U (unknown) entry. In the example shown in FIG. 9, UE1 knows that reverse link communications exist (i.e., signals may be received) from UE2, UE3, and UE4, as indicated by the Ys in the rows for UE2, UE3, and UE4 and the column for UE1 of table 900, but knows that no reverse link communications exist (i.e., no signals will be received) from UE5, as indicated by the Ns in the row for UE5 and the column for UE1 of table 900. Further, UE2, UE3, and UE4 may each indicate to all other UEs in the group (including UE1) in the measurement or location result exchange (e.g., step 8 or 10 of FIG. 7) that they have determined that there is reverse link communication from each other (i.e., they can receive signals), as indicated by Y in the columns for UE2, UE3, and UE4 and rows for UE1, UE2, UE3, and UE4 in table 900, but not from UE5, as indicated by N in the row for UE5 in table 900. UE1 does not receive a message from UE5, and thus UE1 does not know whether UE5 receives signals from UE1, UE2, UE, or UE4, as indicated by U in the column for UE5 in table 900. UE5 is therefore a candidate for removal from the group. The ProSe layer or group support layer may be periodically invoked to remove a UE (e.g., UE5 in this example) from the group based on such reverse link communication determination.

[0132]

[0148] Thus, after the formation of the group, a UE, e.g., UE 105A shown in FIG. 7, may send an indication of reverse link communication from each of the other UEs in the group to UE 105A to each of the other UEs in the group, e.g., UEs 105B, 105C, ... 105Z, e.g., as shown in the measurement report in the exchanged measurement step 8 of FIG. 7 and step 1 of FIG. 6C. The indication of reverse link communication may be sent based on sidelink multicast, e.g., when the group includes more than two UEs. UE 105A may further receive an indication of reverse link communication from each of the other UEs in the group to each of the other UEs in the group in the exchanged measurement step 8 of FIG. 7 and in the measurement report in step 2 of FIG. 6C from each of the other UEs in the group. The indication of reverse link communication from any UE in the group to any other UE in the group may indicate whether sidelink positioning signaling (e.g., SLPP message, sidelink PRS, or both) transmitted by any UE was or was not received by any other UE. UE 105A may determine a group status indication for one or more UEs in the group based on the indication of reverse link communications from each UE in the group to UE 105 and the indication of reverse link communications from each UE in the group to each of the other UEs in the group. The group status indication for at least one UE may indicate inclusion or exclusion of at least one UE in the group.

[0133]

[0149] In some implementations, the UE 105A may determine a status of forward link communication and a status of reverse link communication between all pairs of UEs in the group based on an indication of reverse link communication from each UE in the group to the UE 105A and an indication of reverse link communication from each UE in the group to each other UE in the group. The forward link communication may be the opposite of the reverse link communication. For example, if reverse link communication from UE B to UE A is determined by UE A to exist, then forward link communication from UE B to UE A exists. The UE 105A may determine a group status indication for at least one UE based on the status of forward link communication and the status of reverse link communication between all pairs of UEs in the group. The forward link communication status and reverse link communication status between any pair of UEs A and B in the group may indicate, for each of the forward transmission direction (e.g., from UE A to UE B) and reverse transmission direction (e.g., from UE B to UE A), whether successful sidelink positioning signaling transmission between the pair of UEs A and B is currently possible, is currently not possible, or has an unknown status, e.g., as shown in FIG. 9.

[0134]

[0150] In some implementations, group management may be centralized, e.g., performed by one UE, e.g., UE 105A in the examples shown in Figures 5 and 7, or UE 1 in the example shown in Figure 9. With centralized group management, another UE, e.g., any of UEs 105B, 105C, ... 105Z, may be included in the group when the UE (e.g., UE 105A or UE 1) determines that a group status indication for the other UE indicates the inclusion of the other UE in the group. Similarly, with centralized group management, another UE, e.g., any of UEs 105B, 105C, ... 105Z, may be excluded from the group when the UE (e.g., UE 105A or UE 1) determines that a group status indication for the other UE indicates the exclusion of the other UE from the group.

[0135]

[0151] In some implementations, group management may be distributed, e.g., performed by all UEs, e.g., UEs 105A and 105B shown in FIG. 5, or UEs 105A, 105B, 105C, ... 105Z shown in FIG. 7, or UE1, UE2, UE3, UE4, UE5 in the example shown in FIG. 9. In distributed group management, for example, each UE determines a group status indication for all UEs based on an indication of reverse link communications determined by (e.g., received from) all UEs in the group. UEs may be included or excluded from a group based on a group status indication for the UE determined by the UE itself or determined by one or more of the other UEs in the group.

[0136]

[0152] In addition to removing UEs from a group, it may also be necessary to update a group by adding new UEs. In some situations, it may be desirable to merge two or more groups of UEs into a single group, or to add one or more members from another group to a group. For example, a UE that is a member of two or more groups may use the relative locations and velocities of the UEs in the groups, which may be used to infer the future relative locations of the UEs, to determine when two groups may be merged, or when a UE from one group may be added or transferred to another group.

[0137]

[0153] FIG. 10 illustrates an environment 1000 showing the addition or transfer of UEs between sidelink positioning groups of UEs, including group 1 and group 2, shown as regions with dotted borders, as an example. As with FIG. 8, in the example shown in FIG. 10, the UEs are vehicular OBUs or IVSs and are therefore simply shown as vehicles. In the example shown in FIG. 10, UE1 and UE2 in group 1 may be candidates for addition to group 2. UE3 belongs to both group 1 and group 2 and therefore knows the relative location and speed and signaling connectivity of UE1 and UE2, and can determine that UE1 and UE2 should be added to group 2 based on the relative location and speed and signaling connectivity. The SLPP layer in UE3 may notify the ProSe layer or application layer in UE3 to trigger group reconfiguration. In another implementation, the SLPP layer of each UE periodically reports the relative UE location, speed, and signaling connectivity to the ProSe layer or application layer to trigger group reconfiguration by the ProSe layer or application layer. Use of SLPP may advantageously reduce ProSe layer or application layer signaling and / or latency that would otherwise be required for group reconfiguration.

[0138]

[0154] Thus, a UE belonging to two different groups of UEs, such as UE3 in the example of Figure 10, may obtain the relative location and velocity of a first set of UEs in the first group and may obtain the relative location and velocity of a second set of UEs in the second group. Based on the relative locations and velocities of the first set of UEs and the second set of UEs, the UE may cause the addition or transfer of at least some of the first set of UEs to the second group, or the addition or transfer of at least some of the second set of UEs to the first group, or both. For example, in one implementation, the addition or transfer of at least some of the first set of UEs or at least some of the second set of UEs may merge the first group with the second group.

[0139]

[0155] The UE 105 may include a Discovery (DSC) service layer, which may be defined by 3GPP. Services provided by the DSC service layer to higher layers may include determining or obtaining unique IDs of discovered nearby UEs, services supported by each nearby UE (including, for example, sidelink positioning), approximate range / direction to each nearby UE, and location / velocity of each nearby UE. Services provided by the DSC service layer to higher layers may also include establishing a communication channel, connection, or session to each nearby UE. Services requested by higher layers from the DSC service layer may include (i) discovery of nearby UEs and attributes of discovered UEs that need to be determined or obtained, (ii) willingness to be discovered by other UEs and attributes of UEs that should be provided to other UEs for discovery, and (iii) requests or authorizations to receive / provide supported services, receive / provide approximate range / direction, receive / provide location / velocity, and establish communication channels / connections / sessions. Services implemented by higher layers based on the DSC service layer support may include ranging between two UEs using SLPP and forming a group of UEs.

[0140]

[0156] The UE 105 may include a Group Support (GS) service layer, which may be defined by 3GPP. The GS service layer may be used to help manage groups of UEs, but group membership decisions may not be made by the GS service layer, but only by higher layers (e.g., application layers). The GS service layer may not be needed for ranging or other services between only pairs of UEs. The GS service layer may support, for example, groups of more than two UEs. Services provided by the GS service layer to higher layers may include: (i) creating a group of UEs, given UE IDs, pair-wise communication channels, group member IDs, member priorities, group leader, (ii) creating a multicast channel / connection / session for a group of UEs, where one message from any UE can be multicast to all other UEs in the group, (iii) creating and providing group IDs and group member IDs to higher layers, (iv) managing the addition of new UEs to a group and the removal of existing UEs from a group, (v) managing group splitting and merging, and (vi) managing communication resources, e.g., licensed / unlicensed spectrum. Decisions regarding group membership and group changes may be made by higher layers. Services requested by higher layers to the GS service layer may include: (i) creating a group of UEs (e.g., using a UE ID and a pair-wise communication channel); (ii) removing a UE (for the GS service layer) from the group of UEs; (iii) removing another UE from the group of UEs; (iv) adding another UE to the group of UEs; (v) splitting the group of UEs into two separate groups; and (vi) merging two groups of UEs into one group.

[0141]

[0157] The UE 105 may include a sidelink positioning service layer, also referred to as SL positioning layer, SLPP service layer, or SLPP layer, which may be defined by 3GPP. The sidelink positioning service layer may be used for ranging between pairs of UEs and sidelink positioning for groups of UEs and may utilize the SLPP protocol (e.g., the SLPP protocol described elsewhere herein). Services provided by the sidelink positioning service layer to higher layers may include on-demand range / direction determination or relative location of another UE (one-time only), periodic range / direction determination or relative location of another UE, triggered range / direction determination or relative location of another UE (e.g., when range / direction or relative location changes by a threshold), on-demand range / direction determination or relative location for a group of other UEs (one-time only), periodic range / direction determination or relative location for a group of other UEs, and triggered range / direction determination or relative location for a group of other UEs (e.g., when range / direction or relative location changes by a threshold). Services requested by higher layers to the sidelink positioning service layer may include requests for the current range / direction or relative location of another UE (one-time, periodic or triggered) and requests for the current range / direction or relative location for a group UE (one-time, periodic or triggered). Services requested by the sidelink positioning service layer in the UE to the serving network (e.g., LMF) may include LMF support of sidelink positioning for PRS configuration determination or verification and location calculation, which may be an extension of the Mobile Originating-Location Request (MO-LR).

[0142]

[0158] The roles of the UE upper layer and the external AF or client may also be defined. For example, the UE upper layer may request and receive information from the DSC, GS, and sidelink positioning service layers, determine group formation, positioning of other UEs, and provide services applicable to one or more applications (e.g., V2X, IIoT, etc.) using application level protocols. The external client or Application Function (AF) may receive information from the UE about other discovered UEs and groups of UEs, and may (i) request the current range / direction or relative location (one-time, periodic, or triggered) of two or more identified target UEs, (ii) request the current range / direction or relative location (one-time, periodic, or triggered) for a group of identified target UEs, and (iii) request the current range / direction or relative location of one identified target UE with other (unidentified) target UEs discovered by or in a group with this target UE. The request from an external client or AF may be sent to either the GMLC, which can forward the request to an LMF in the serving PLMN for the target UE, or to the Home SUPL SLP (H-SLP) for the target UE.

[0143]

[0159] To support operations for sidelink positioning and ranging services, the UE 105 may implement and support several basic functions, such as device and service discovery, group operations, sidelink positioning and ranging based service control, and interaction with an application layer or application function (AF). For example, the UE 105 may implement and support several basic functions including device and service discovery functions, group support service functions, sidelink (SL) positioning and ranging protocol (e.g., SLPP), and service publication functions. These functions may support some or all of the procedures and techniques described previously herein. For example, a device and service discovery function may be used to support discovery of UEs and services supported by the UE, e.g., as in step 0 of FIG. 5 and / or step 0 of FIG. 7; a group support service function may support establishment and modification of groups of UEs, e.g., as described in relation to FIGS. 8, 9, and 10; a sidelink (SL) positioning and ranging protocol such as SLPP may support sidelink positioning of pairs of UEs or groups of UEs, e.g., as described in relation to FIGS. 2, 3, 4A, 4B, 5, 6A, 6B, 6C, and 7; and a service publishing function in the UE may receive a request for location results for one or more UEs from an application in the UE or from an external client or external application function (AF) and provide the location results (e.g., once obtained by the sidelink (SL) positioning and ranging protocol) to an application in the UE or to the external client or AF.

[0144]

[0160] 11A is a block diagram 1100 illustrating an example UE architecture and potential interactions of UE functional elements and protocol layers for communication between UE-A 105A and UE-B 105B for sidelink positioning and ranging services. As illustrated by UE-A, the architecture of functional elements may include a higher layer 1102, such as an application layer, below which is a ranging support layer 1110 (sometimes referred to as a sidelink ranging layer, abbreviated as SR5, or a sidelink positioning layer, abbreviated as SP5) that provides services to the higher layers, such as the application layer 1102. The ranging support layer 1110 is followed by at least one lower layer 1120, such as a ProSe layer or a V2X layer 1120, which is further followed by an Access Stratum (AS) layer 1130 as the lowest layer. The application layer 1102 may support or manage at least one application, such as V2X, autonomous driving, movement of objects in a factory or warehouse, or UE-to-UE ranging. Communications between UE-A and UE-B flow through the lowest layer interface, shown in FIG. 11A as, for example, a PC5 communication service in the AS layer 1130. An application layer 1102 in UE-A may interact with an application layer of another UE, e.g., UE-B, through the application interface, and elements of the ranging support layer 1110 in UE-A may interact with corresponding elements of the ranging support layer of another UE, e.g., UE-B, through a sidelink ranging interface labeled SR5, as well as with the ProSe layer or V2X layer 1120 and AS layer, if UE-A may interact with corresponding layers in another UE, e.g., UE-B, through the PC5 communication service. Either UE-A or UE-B in FIG. 11A may be an RSU, a PRU, or some other element of a network.

[0145]

[0161] The ranging support layer 1110 may include a Device and Service Discovery Function (DSDF) 1112 that provides services to higher layers, e.g., the application layer 1102. For example, the DSDF 1112 may provide a unique identifier for each of one or more other UEs (e.g., UE-B) in proximity to UE-A that may participate in sidelink positioning and ranging services, an indication of services (e.g., signaling protocols, pair-wise ranging, group ranging) supported by each of the other UEs, and / or a sidelink communication channel or session with each of the other UEs, or any combination thereof. The DSDF 1112 may receive request-related information from higher layers, e.g., the application layer 1102. For example, the DSDF 1112 may receive information such as triggers for discovery of UEs participating in sidelink positioning and ranging services, optionally attributes of UEs to be discovered, an indication to allow or support discovery by other UEs and corresponding attributes of the other UEs, a request / authorization for sidelink positioning and ranging services, or any combination thereof. By way of example, operations performed by the DSDF 1112 may include performing device and service discovery using PC5 communication services provided by the ProSe layer or the V2X layer 1120 or the AS layer 1130. For example, the DSDF 1112 may perform application layer discovery using broadcast services over the PC5 reference point.

[0146]

[0162] The ranging support layer 1110 may include, for example, a Group Support Service Function (GSSF) 1114 that provides services to higher layers, e.g., the application layer 1102. For example, the GSSF 1114 may provide services such as creating a sidelink positioning and ranging service group when more than two UEs are involved in a session and the higher layers have specified the group. The GSSF 1114 may provide a group ID and a group local member ID to the higher layers. The GSSF 1114 may also manage group members, e.g., adding or removing group member UEs, splitting or merging groups, etc., as determined by the higher layers. With the higher layers, e.g., the application layer 1102, managed group functions (e.g., V2X platooning application), the GSSF 1114 may provide support needed for group member status monitoring, e.g., determining an indication of the presence, absence, capability, and / or status of group members. The GSSF 1114 may utilize the services of the DSDF 1112 to discover group members and their presence, absence, capability, and / or status. The GSSF 1114 may receive request related information from the higher layers 1102. For example, the GSSF 1114 may receive from the higher layers 1102 a request for the creation of a group for sidelink positioning and ranging services, a request for an operation on a particular group member, e.g., to add or remove a member UE, a request for management of a group, e.g., to merge or split a group, or any combination thereof. The operations performed by the GSSF 1114 may include performing group management requested by the higher layers 1102, e.g., using a PC5 communication service provided by the ProSe layer or the V2X layer 1120 or the AS layer 1130. Messages generated by the GSSF 1114 (e.g., sent to a GSSF in another UE) may be sent as data traffic over the PC5 reference point and may not require additional extensions to the PC5 reference point.

[0147]

[0163] The ranging support layer 1110 may include, for example, a sidelink positioning and ranging protocol (SLPP) function 1116 that may provide services to higher layers, for example, the application layer 1102. For example, the SLPP function 1116 may provide services such as on-demand sidelink positioning / ranging for determination of range, direction, relative location and / or relative velocity for each UE of another UE or a group of other UEs, periodic sidelink positioning / ranging for periodic determination of range, direction, relative location and / or relative velocity for each UE of another UE or a group of other UEs, triggered sidelink positioning / ranging for triggered determination of range, direction, relative location and / or relative velocity for each UE of another UE or a group of other UEs, or any combination thereof. The SLPP function 1116 may receive request related information from the higher layers 1102. For example, the SLPP function 1116 may receive a current range / direction, relative location and / or relative velocity request of another UE or group of UEs, a periodic range, direction, relative location and / or relative velocity request of another UE or group of UEs, a triggered range, direction, relative location and / or relative velocity request of another UE or group of UEs, or any combination thereof. Operations performed by the SLPP function 1116 may include, for example, performing control signaling between UEs or among a group of UEs to manage and coordinate sidelink positioning and ranging operations. Messages generated by the SLPP function 1116 (e.g., sent to an SLPP function in another UE) may be sent as data (or control) traffic over the PC5 reference point using PC5 communication services provided by the ProSe layer or the V2X layer 1120 or the AS layer 1130 and may not require additional extensions to the PC5 reference point. In an implementation in which the network supports sidelink positioning and ranging, the SLPP capabilities 1116 exchange may occur between the UE and the LMF 120 (shown in FIG. 1A) via NAS signaling similar to that defined in 3GPP TS 23.273, for example.

[0148]

[0164] The functional element architecture may further include a service exposure function that enables the UE to interact with the application layer 1102 or external AFs and external clients. In an implementation where the network supports sidelink positioning and ranging, the interaction may occur between the UE and the LMF 120 and GMLC 125 (shown in FIG. 1A ) as defined in 3GPP TS 23.273. The service exposure function may be part of or supported by the application layer 1102.

[0149]

[0165] To be supported over PC5, the services of the ranging support layer 1110, such as the three services including DSDF 1112, GSSF 1114, and SLPP function 1116, may obtain a V2X service type (e.g., PSID (Provider Service Identifier), ITS-AID (Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) Application Identifier), or AID (Application Identifier)) or a ProSe application ID. It is possible for the three services to share the same identifier or distinct identifiers.

[0150]

[0166] A UE (e.g., application layer 1102 in the UE) supporting sidelink positioning and ranging services can invoke the DSDF 1112 service to discover and identify other UEs in the vicinity that also support sidelink positioning and ranging services. This may be based on a request from the higher layer 1102. Based on pre-configuration or provided policies and parameters, the UE may determine the RAT (e.g., LTE PC5 or NR PC5) and corresponding Tx profile to be used for the DSDF 1112, GSSF 1114, and SLPP functions 1116 based on the V2X service type / ProSe application ID to RAT mapping. Such configuration may also determine the communication mode to be used, e.g., broadcast, groupcast, or unicast. If it is determined that more than two UEs need to participate in the operation, the GSSF 1114 service may be invoked to form a group of UEs or to determine the presence and status of group member UEs for the operation. The SLPP function 1116 is used for control signaling between UEs to support sidelink positioning and ranging operations, e.g., the channel used for sidelink positioning or ranging reference signals (e.g., SL PRS), the sequence and time slots for each UE to perform signal (e.g., SL PRS) transmission and measurements. UEs, e.g., UE A and UE B in FIG. 11A, or in other cases, a group of UEs, perform sidelink positioning or ranging reference signal transmission and measurements. Based on the sidelink positioning or ranging services negotiated by the SLPP function 1116 in the initial phase, UEs use the SLPP function 1116 to exchange measurement results. This allows UEs to perform range / direction, relative location and / or relative velocity calculations (e.g., as described in FIG. 5 and FIG. 7). Depending on the SLPP function 1116 support, some UEs may also provide calculation services to other UEs. If the network supports sidelink positioning and ranging services, the UE may send measurement results to the LMF, which will perform calculations on behalf of the UE, e.g. as described with respect to FIG. 3.

[0151]

[0167] The layer communications in the UE architecture shown in FIG. 11A may be based on a protocol layered architecture (e.g., a 7-layer ISO protocol architecture, etc.) that is well known in the art. Thus, in one entity (e.g., UE-A in FIG. 11A), a protocol or service layer A may obtain services from its immediate subordinate protocol or service layer B in the same entity, and communicate with a corresponding peer-level protocol or service layer A in another entity (e.g., UE-B in FIG. 11A) by forwarding messages, such as protocol data units (PDUs), to the protocol or service layer B. * and protocol or service layer B may encapsulate the message in a message or PDU for protocol or service layer B, and may exchange the message with a corresponding peer protocol or service layer B in another entity via protocol or service layer C immediately below protocol or service layer B. * and protocol or service layer C forwards it to a corresponding protocol or service layer C on another entity. * At the lowest layer (e.g., AS layer 1130 in FIG. 11A), messages are physically transferred to the other entity, e.g., via RF signaling at the physical layer. Messages from higher layers may be segmented, fragmented, combined, interleaved, retransmitted, re-encoded, etc. by the lower layers, but the information content of the higher layers remains unchanged. At the other entity (e.g., UE-B in FIG. 11A), the higher layer messages are passed upward through successive higher protocol or service layers until the corresponding higher layer service or protocol layer for the message is reached. This type of communication is well known in the art.

[0152]

[0168] As an example of layer communication, the application layer 1102 in UE-A in Figure 11A may request some service from the SLPP function 1116 in the ranging support layer 1110, such as requesting the range and / or direction of UE-B relative to UE-A. The SLPP function 1116 may then exchange one or more SLPP messages with the SLPP function 1116B in UE-B by forwarding the SLPP messages through the ProSe / V2X layer 1120 and AS layer 1130 in UE-A and the corresponding AS layer 1130B and ProSe / V2X layer 1120B in UE-B, as shown by message path 1122 in Figure 11A. The exchanged SLPP messages may enable sideline location measurements (e.g., round trip time and / or angle of arrival or departure) that may enable UE-A and / or UE-B to calculate information (e.g., range and / or direction of UE-B relative to UE-A) that may be returned by the SLPP function 1116 of UE-A to the application layer 1102 in UE-A to provide the service originally requested by the application layer 1102 in UE-A. Similar types of layer communications as just described for the SLPP function 1116 may be supported for the Group Support Services Function (GSSF) 1114 and for the Device and Service Discovery Function (DSDF) 1112. For example, the GSSF 114 may exchange messages for the GSSF protocol with the GSSF in UE-B via the ProSe / V2X layer 1120 and AS layer 1130 in UE-A and the corresponding AS layer 1130B and ProSe / V2X layer 1120B in UE-B to perform services for the application layer 1102 in UE-A.

[0153]

[0169] FIG. 11B illustrates a group 1150 of UEs, individually identified as UE-A, UE-B, UE-C, UE-D, and UE-E, communicating in support of group sidelink positioning and ranging services. Each UE illustrated in FIG. 11B may include the architectural and functional elements and layers illustrated for UE-A and UE-B in FIG. 11A. Communication between each pair of UEs in FIG. 11B is illustrated as a double arrow, where bidirectional communication occurs, and a single arrow, where only unidirectional communication occurs, as illustrated by arrow 1152 from UE-A to UE-E. When communication does not occur between a pair of UEs, e.g., between UE-B and UE-E, no arrow is illustrated. During communication, for example, the UEs may send a single message via multicast that is received by all UEs in the group 1150, as described in FIG. 11A.

[0154]

[0170] Figure 12 illustrates a schematic block diagram illustrating certain exemplary features of a UE 1200, which may be, for example, any of the UEs 105 illustrated in Figures 1, 3, 5, 6A, 6B, 6C, and 7, and the UEs illustrated in Figures 2, 8, 9, 10, 11A, and 11B, supporting sidelink positioning of the UE 1200 including group management as described herein. The UE 1200 may, for example, implement the signal flows 300, 500, 600, 620, 660, and 700 illustrated in Figures 3, 5, 6A, 6B, 6C, and 7, respectively, and the process flows 1400 and 1500 illustrated in Figures 14 and 15, respectively, and the accompanying techniques described herein. The UE 1200 may include, for example, one or more processors 1202, memory 1204, an external interface such as at least one wireless transceiver (e.g., wireless network interface) shown as a Wireless Wide Area Network (WWAN) transceiver 1210, a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) transceiver 1211, an Ultra Wide Band (UWB) transceiver 1212, and a Bluetooth (BT) transceiver 1213, an SPS receiver 1214, and one or more sensors 1215, which may be operatively coupled to the non-transitory computer-readable medium 1220 and the memory 1204 using one or more connections 1206 (e.g., a bus, wires, fibers, links, etc.). The SPS receiver 1214 may receive and process SPS signals, for example, from a satellite vehicle 190 shown in FIG. The one or more sensors 1215 may be, for example, an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU), which may include one or more accelerometers, one or more gyroscopes, magnetometers, etc. The UE 1200 may further include additional items not shown, such as a user interface through which a user may interface with the UE 1200, which may include a display, a keypad, or other input devices such as a virtual keypad on a display. In some example implementations, all or a portion of the UE 1200 may be in the form of a chipset or the like.

[0155]

[0171] The UE 1200 may include at least one wireless transceiver, such as a wireless transceiver 1210 for a WWAN communication system and a wireless transceiver 1211 for a WLAN communication system, a UWB transceiver 1212 for a UWB communication system, a BT transceiver 1213 for a Bluetooth communication system, or a combined transceiver for any of WWAN, WLAN, UWB, and BT. The WWAN transceiver 1210 may include a transmitter 1210t and a receiver 1210r coupled to one or more antennas 1209 to transmit (e.g., on one or more uplink channels and / or one or more sidelink channels) and / or receive (e.g., on one or more downlink channels and / or one or more sidelink channels) wireless signals and convert signals from wireless signals to wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signals and from wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signals to wireless signals. The WLAN transceiver 1211 may include a transmitter 1211t and a receiver 1211r coupled to one or more antennas 1209 or to separate antennas to transmit (e.g., on one or more uplink channels and / or one or more sidelink channels) and / or receive (e.g., on one or more downlink channels and / or one or more sidelink channels) wireless signals and convert signals from wireless to wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signals and from wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signals to wireless signals. The UWB transceiver 1212 may include a transmitter 1212t and a receiver 1212r coupled to one or more antennas 1209 or separate antennas to transmit (e.g., on one or more uplink channels and / or one or more sidelink channels) and / or receive (e.g., on one or more downlink channels and / or one or more sidelink channels) wireless signals and convert signals from wireless to wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signals and from wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signals to wireless signals.The BT transceiver 1213 may include a transmitter 1213t and a receiver 1213r coupled to one or more antennas 1209 or separate antennas to transmit (e.g., on one or more uplink channels and / or one or more sidelink channels) and / or receive (e.g., on one or more downlink channels and / or one or more sidelink channels) wireless signals and convert signals from wireless signals to wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signals and from wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signals to wireless signals. The transmitters 1210t, 1211t, 1212t, and 1213t may include multiple transmitters, which may be separate components or combined / integrated components, and / or the receivers 1210r, 1211r, 1212r, and 1213r may include multiple receivers, which may be separate components or combined / integrated components. The WWAN transceiver 1210 may be configured to communicate signals (e.g., with base stations and / or one or more other UEs or other devices) in accordance with various radio access technologies (RATs), such as New Radio (NR), Global System for Mobiles (GSM), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), Advanced Mobile Phone System (AMPS), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Wideband CDMA (WCDMA), Long-Term Evolution (LTE), LTE Direct (LTE-D), 3GPP LTE-V2X (PC5), etc. New Radio (NR) may use mmWave and / or sub-6 GHz frequencies.The WLAN transceiver 1211 may be configured to communicate signals (e.g., with an access point and / or one or more other devices) according to various radio access technologies (RATs), such as 3GPP LTE-V2X (PC5), IEEE 802.11 (including IEEE 802.11p), Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Direct (Wi-Fi D), Zigbee, etc. The UWB transceiver 1212 may be configured to communicate signals (e.g., with an access point and / or one or more other devices) according to various radio access technologies (RATs), such as a personal area network (PAN), including IEEE 802.15.3, IEEE 802.15.4, etc. The BT transceiver 1213 may be configured to communicate signals (e.g., with an access point and / or one or more other devices) according to various radio access technologies (RATs), such as a Bluetooth network. The transceivers 1210, 1211, 1212, and 1213 may be communicatively coupled, for example by optical and / or electrical connections, to a transceiver interface that may be at least partially integrated with the transceivers 1210, 1211, 1212, and 1213.

[0156]

[0172] In some embodiments, the UE 1200 may include an antenna 1209, which may be an internal antenna or an external antenna. The UE antenna 1209 may be used to transmit and / or receive signals that are processed by the wireless transceivers 1210, 1211, 1212, and 1213. In some embodiments, the UE antenna 1209 may be coupled to the wireless transceivers 1210, 1211, 1212, and 1213. In some embodiments, measurements of signals received (transmitted) by the UE 1200 may be performed at the connection point between the UE antenna 1209 and the wireless transceivers 1210, 1211, 1212, and 1213. For example, the measurement reference points of the received (transmitted) RF signal may be the input (output) UE of the receiver 1210r (transmitter 1210t) and the output (input) UE of the UE antenna 1209. In a UE 1200 with multiple UE antennas 1209 or antenna arrays, the antenna connector may be viewed as being a virtual point representing the aggregate output (input) of the multiple UE antennas.

[0157]

[0173] The one or more processors 1202 may be implemented using a combination of hardware, firmware, and software. For example, the one or more processors 1202 may be configured to perform functions described herein by implementing one or more instructions or program code 1208 on a non-transitory computer-readable medium, such as the medium 1220 and / or the memory 1204. In some embodiments, the one or more processors 1202 may represent one or more circuits configurable to execute at least a portion of a data signal computation procedure or process associated with the operation of the UE 1200.

[0158]

[0174] The medium 1220 and / or memory 1204 may store instructions or program code 1208 including executable code or software instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors 1202, cause the one or more processors 1202 to operate as a special purpose computer programmed to perform the techniques disclosed herein. As shown in the UE 1200, the medium 1220 and / or memory 1204 may include one or more components or modules that may be implemented by the one or more processors 1202 to perform the methods described herein. Although the components or modules are shown as software in the medium 1220 executable by the one or more processors 1202, it should be understood that the components or modules may be stored in the memory 1204 or may be dedicated hardware either within or external to the one or more processors 1202.

[0159]

[0175] A number of software modules and data tables may reside in the medium 1220 and / or memory 1204 and be utilized by the one or more processors 1202 to manage both the communications and functionality described herein. It should be appreciated that the organization of the contents of the medium 1220 and / or memory 1204 as shown in the UE 1200 is merely exemplary, and that the functionality of the modules and / or data structures may be combined, separated, and / or structured in various ways depending on the implementation of the UE 1200.

[0160]

[0176] The medium 1220 and / or the memory 1204 may include a SLPP message module 1222 that, when implemented by the one or more processors 1202, configures the one or more processors 1202 to send and receive sidelink positioning (e.g., SLPP) messages over an external interface including one or more of the wireless transceivers 1210, 1211, 1212, and 1213. The sidelink positioning messages may use SLPP as described herein. The one or more processors 1202 may be configured to send the SLPP messages directly to one or more other UEs or to broadcast the SLPP messages to multiple other UEs using groupcast or multicast over the external interface. The one or more processors 1202 may be configured to transmit and receive SLPP messages to and from a location server (e.g., LMF) in the PLMN using SLPP messages embedded in LPP messages, embedded in both LPP messages and SUPL messages (e.g., which may include SUPL POS messages), embedded only in SUPL messages (e.g., which may include SUPL POS messages), or not embedded in LPP messages or SUPL messages via the external interface. The one or more processors 1202 may be configured to transmit and receive SLPP messages including, for example, an SLPP capability request or SLPP capabilities, SLPP resources, and / or SLPP service requirements for the UE via the external interface. The one or more processors 1202 may be configured to transmit and receive, for example, a proposed PRS configuration for sidelink positioning via the external interface, and may be configured to transmit and receive a confirmation, rejection, or modification of a proposed PRS configuration for sidelink positioning via the external interface. The sidelink positioning messages may use SLPP as described herein. The one or more processors 1202 may be configured to send or receive SLPP messages including measurement reports or location results, for example, via an external interface.The transmitted measurement report may include, for example, information on sidelink positioning signals transmitted by the UE and measurements performed by the UE 1200 on sidelink positioning signals transmitted by other UEs, and may include an indication of reverse link communication from each UE in the group to the UE 1200. The received measurement report may include, for example, measurements performed by other UEs, including measurements on sidelink positioning signals transmitted by the UE 1200, and may include an indication of reverse link communication from each UE in the group to each of the other UEs in the group. The location results may include range, distance and / or direction between one or more pairs of UEs in the group, and / or relative locations, absolute locations and / or velocities and / or relative speeds for each of the one or more UEs in the group.

[0161]

[0177] The medium 1220 and / or memory 1204 may include a PRS module 1223 that, when implemented by the one or more processors 1202, configures the one or more processors 1202 to transmit a PRS for sidelink positioning (e.g., a sidelink PRS or a sidelink SRS for NR or LTE) via an external interface including one or more of the wireless transceivers 1210, 1211, 1212, and 1213. The one or more processors 1202 may be configured to transmit a SL PRS that matches a proposed SL PRS configuration sent to or received from another UE. The one or more processors 1202 may be further configured to receive a SL PRS from the other UE via the external interface and measure the SL PRS for sidelink positioning.

[0162]

[0178] The medium 1220 and / or the memory 1204 may include a location module 1224 that, when implemented by the one or more processors 1202, configures the one or more processors 1202 to determine a location result for one or more UEs relative to the UE 1200 based on the SL PRS measurements performed by the UE 1200 and measurement information received in SLPP messages from the other UEs. The one or more processors 1202 may be further configured to determine a velocity of the UE 1200 and / or the other UEs based on the SL PRS measurements performed by the UE 1200 and measurement information received in SLPP messages from the other UEs.

[0163]

[0179] The medium 1220 and / or the memory 1204 may include a discovery module 1226 that, when implemented by the one or more processors 1202, configures the one or more processors 1202 to discover one or more other UEs that are available for sidelink positioning. The one or more processors 1202 may be further configured to obtain group criteria parameters for the other UEs, such as a distance restriction, a time restriction, a movement direction restriction, a speed restriction, a sidelink positioning method restriction, or a sidelink positioning method type restriction.

[0164]

[0180] The medium 1220 and / or memory 1204 may include a group management module 1228 that, when implemented by the one or more processors 1202, configures the one or more processors 1202 to determine a group status indication for one or more UEs indicating the inclusion or exclusion of a UE in the group based on the group criteria parameters. The one or more processors 1202 may be further configured to determine a group status indication for one or more UEs in the group indicating the inclusion or exclusion of a UE in the group based on an indication of reverse link communication for the one or more UEs, including an indication of reverse link communication from each UE and an indication of reverse link communication from the UE 1200. The one or more processors 1202 may be further configured to determine a status of forward link communication and a status of reverse link communication between all pairs of UEs in the group based on the indication of reverse link communication from each UE in the group. The one or more processors 1202 may be further configured to determine a group status indication for the one or more UEs based on a status of forward link communication and a status of reverse link communication between all pairs of UEs in the group. The one or more processors 1202 may be further configured to cause an addition or transfer of one or more UEs from one group to another group based on a relative location and velocity of the one or more UEs and the UEs in the group.

[0165]

[0181] The medium 1220 and / or the memory 1204 may include an upper layer module 1232 that, when implemented by the one or more processors 1202, configures the one or more processors 1202 to configure an upper layer, such as the upper layer 1102 of FIG. 11A , and configures the one or more processors 1202 to provide information to and receive services from the ranging support layer module 1234. The one or more processors 1202 may be configured with an upper layer that is an application layer and supports at least one of V2X, autonomous driving, movement of objects in a factory or warehouse, or UE-to-UE ranging.

[0166]

[0182] The medium 1220 and / or the memory 1204 may include a ranging support layer module 1234 that, when implemented by the one or more processors 1202, configures the one or more processors 1202 to configure a ranging support layer including one or more ranging support elements for supporting sidelink positioning and ranging with one or more other UEs, such as the ranging support layer 1110 of FIG. 11A, and configures the one or more processors 1202 to provide services to higher layers by the ranging support layer. The ranging support elements of the ranging support layer configured by the one or more processors 1202 communicate with corresponding one or more ranging support elements of the ranging support layer in the one or more other UEs through at least one lower layer of the architecture, e.g., via the transceivers 1210-1213.

[0167]

[0183] The ranging support element in the ranging support layer 1234 configured by the one or more processors 1202 may be, for example, a discovery function, such as the DSDF 1112 shown in FIG. 11A, where the services provided to the higher layer may include at least one of providing a unique identifier of another UE in the vicinity of the UE that can participate in the sidelink positioning and ranging service, providing a service supported by the other UE, providing a sidelink communication channel or session with the other UE, or any combination thereof. The discovery function configured by the one or more processors 1202 may receive information from the higher layer, where the information may include at least one of a trigger for discovery of a UE participating in the sidelink positioning and ranging service, attributes of the UE to be discovered, indications of discovery by other UEs and corresponding attributes of the other UEs, requests or authorizations for corresponding sidelink positioning and ranging services, or any combination thereof. The discovery function in the ranging support layer 1234, such as the DSDF 1112 shown in FIG. 11A, may be supported by a discovery module 1226, which may be part of the ranging support layer 1234.

[0168]

[0184] The ranging support element in the ranging support layer 1234 configured by the one or more processors 1202 may be, for example, a group support function, such as the GSSF 1114 shown in FIG. 11A, where the services provided to the higher layer may include: creating a sidelink positioning and ranging service group with three or more UEs if the higher layer specifies a sidelink positioning and ranging service group; providing a group ID and a group local member ID to the higher layer; managing addition or removal of group members; splitting or merging groups; monitoring group member status; or any combination thereof. The group support function configured by the one or more processors 1202 may receive information from the higher layer, where the information may include a request for creating a sidelink positioning and ranging service group, a request for adding or removing a particular group member UE, a request for managing the sidelink positioning and ranging service group including merging or splitting groups. The group support function in the ranging support layer 1234, such as the GSSF 1114 shown in FIG. 11A, may be supported by a group management module 1228, which may be part of the ranging support layer 1234.

[0169]

[0185] A ranging support element in the ranging support layer configured by the one or more processors 1202 may be, for example, a sidelink positioning and ranging protocol function, such as the SLPP function 1116 shown in FIG. 11A, and the services provided to the higher layer may include at least one of on-demand sidelink positioning and ranging, direction, or relative location or velocity of another UE or group of UEs, periodic sidelink positioning and ranging, direction, or relative location or velocity of another UE or group of UEs, triggered sidelink positioning and ranging, direction, or relative location or velocity of another UE or group of UEs, or any combination thereof. The sidelink positioning and ranging protocol function configured by the one or more processors 1202 may receive information from the higher layer, which may include a request for a current range or direction or relative location or velocity of another UE or group of UEs, a request for a periodic range or direction or relative location or velocity of another UE or group of UEs, a request for a triggered range or direction or relative location or velocity of another UE or group of UEs, or any combination thereof. The sidelink positioning and ranging protocol functionality configured by the one or more processors 1202 can further communicate with a network server supporting sidelink positioning and ranging, e.g., using non-access stratum (NAS) signaling, e.g., via the transceivers 1210-1213. The sidelink positioning and ranging protocol functionality in the ranging support layer 1234, such as the SLPP functionality 1116 shown in FIG. 11A, can be supported by a SLPP message module 1222, which in turn can be part of the ranging support layer 1234.

[0170]

[0186] The medium 1220 and / or memory 1204 may include a lower layer module 1236 that, when implemented by the one or more processors 1202, configures the one or more processors 1202 to have one or more lower layers through which the one or more ranging support elements communicate with corresponding one or more ranging support elements of the ranging support layer in one or more other UEs, e.g., via transceivers 1210-1213. The one or more lower layers in the architecture configured by the one or more processors 1202 may be, for example, a ProSe layer or a V2X layer, such as the ProSe / V2X layer 1120 described in FIG. 11A. The one or more lower layers in the architecture configured by the one or more processors 1202 may also or instead be an access stratum (AS) layer, such as the AS layer 1130 described in FIG. 11A. Communications with the ranging support element via the lower layers 1236 may use PC5 communication services provided by the ProSe layer, the V2X layer, or the AS layer.

[0171]

[0187] The methods described herein may be implemented by various means depending on the application. For example, the methods may be implemented in hardware, firmware, software, or any combination thereof. In the case of a hardware implementation, the one or more processors 1202 may be implemented with one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), processors, controllers, microcontrollers, microprocessors, electronic devices, other electronic units designed to perform the functions described herein, or combinations thereof.

[0172]

[0188] For firmware and / or software implementations, the methods may be implemented with modules (e.g., procedures, functions, etc.) that perform the functions described herein. Any machine-readable medium tangibly embodying instructions may be used in performing the methods described herein. For example, software code may be stored in non-transitory computer-readable medium 1220 or memory 1204 coupled to and executed by one or more processors 1202. Memory may be implemented within one or more processors or external to one or more processors. The term "memory" as used herein refers to any type of long-term memory, short-term memory, volatile memory, non-volatile memory, or other memory, and is not limited to a particular type or number of memories, or to a particular type of medium on which the memory is stored.

[0173]

[0189] If implemented in firmware and / or software, the functions may be stored as one or more instructions or program code 1208 on a non-transitory computer readable medium, such as the medium 1220 and / or the memory 1204. Examples include computer readable media encoded with data structures and computer readable media encoded with computer program code 1208. For example, the non-transitory computer readable medium on which the program code 1208 is stored may include program code 1208 for supporting sidelink positioning in a manner consistent with the disclosed embodiments. The non-transitory computer readable medium 1220 includes physical computer storage media. A storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example and not limitation, such non-transitory computer readable media may include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to store the desired program code 1208 in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer. As used herein, "disk" and "disc" include compact discs (CDs), laser discs, optical discs, digital versatile discs (DVDs), floppy disks, and Blu-ray discs, although a "disk" typically reproduces data magnetically and a "disc" reproduces data optically using a laser. Combinations of the above are also intended to be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0174]

[0190] In addition to being stored on the computer-readable medium 1220, the instructions and / or data may be provided as signals on a transmission medium contained within the communications device. For example, the communications device may include an external interface including one or more of wireless transceivers 1210, 1211, 1212, and 1213 having signals indicative of the instructions and data. The instructions and data are configured to cause one or more processors to perform the functions outlined in the claims. That is, the communications device includes a transmission medium having signals indicative of information to perform the disclosed functions.

[0175]

[0191] Memory 1204 may represent any data storage mechanism. Memory 1204 may include, for example, primary memory and / or secondary memory. Primary memory may include, for example, random access memory, read-only memory, etc. Although shown in this example as separate from one or more processors 1202, it should be understood that all or a portion of the primary memory may be provided within one or more processors 1202 or may otherwise be co-located / coupled with one or more processors 1202. Secondary memory may include, for example, the same or similar type of memory as the primary memory and / or one or more data storage devices or systems, such as, for example, disk drives, optical disk drives, tape drives, solid state memory drives, etc.

[0176]

[0192] In certain implementations, the secondary memory may operably receive or be otherwise configurable to couple to a non-transitory computer-readable medium 1220. Thus, in certain example implementations, the methods and / or apparatuses presented herein may take the form, in whole or in part, of a computer-readable medium 1220 having stored thereon computer-implementable program code 1208 that, when executed by one or more processors 1202, may be operably enabled to perform all or a portion of the example operations as described herein. The computer-readable medium 1220 may be part of the memory 1204.

[0177]

[0193] Figure 13 shows a schematic block diagram illustrating certain exemplary features of a location server 1300, which may be the LMF 120, SUPL SLP 119, or server 121 or 123 shown in Figure 1, or the LMF 120a or 120b, SUPL SLP 119a or 119b, or server 121a, 121b, or 123 shown in Figure 2, or the location server 302 shown in Figure 3, supporting sidelink positioning supported by the network as described herein. The location server 1300 may be, for example, an LMF or a SUPL SLP (Secure User Plane Location (SUPL) Location Platform). The location server 1300 may implement, for example, the signal flow 300 shown in Figure 3 and the accompanying techniques described herein. The location server 1300 may include, for example, one or more processors 1302 and memory 1304, an external interface 1310, which may be operatively coupled to the non-transitory computer-readable medium 1320 and the memory 1304 using one or more connections 1306 (e.g., buses, wiring, fibers, links, etc.). The external interface 1310 may be a wired and / or wireless interface capable of connecting to a network entity in the core network 140, such as the AMF or UPF, through which the location server 1300 may communicate with RAN nodes and UEs. The location server 1300 may further include additional items not shown, such as, for example, a user interface, which may include a display, a keypad such as a virtual keypad on the display, or other input device through which a user may interface with the location server. In certain example implementations, all or a portion of the location server 1300 may take the form of a chipset or the like.

[0178]

[0194] The one or more processors 1302 may be implemented using a combination of hardware, firmware, and software. For example, the one or more processors 1302 may be configured to perform functions described herein by implementing one or more instructions or program code 1308 on a non-transitory computer-readable medium, such as the medium 1320 and / or the memory 1304. In some embodiments, the one or more processors 1302 may represent one or more circuits that can be configured to perform at least a portion of a data signal calculation procedure or process related to the operation of the location server 1300.

[0179]

[0195] The medium 1320 and / or memory 1304 may store instructions or program code 1308, including executable code or software instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors 1302, cause the one or more processors 1302 to operate as a special purpose computer programmed to perform the techniques disclosed herein. As shown in the location server 1300, the medium 1320 and / or memory 1304 may include one or more components or modules that may be implemented by the one or more processors 1302 to perform the methods described herein. Although the components or modules are shown as software in the medium 1320 executable by the one or more processors 1302, it should be understood that the components or modules may be stored in the memory 1304 or may be dedicated hardware either within or external to the one or more processors 1302.

[0180]

[0196] A number of software modules and data tables may reside in the medium 1320 and / or memory 1304 and be utilized by the one or more processors 1302 to manage both the communications and functionality described herein. It should be understood that the organization of the contents of the medium 1320 and / or memory 1304 as shown in the location server 1300 is only an example, and thus the functionality of the modules and / or data structures may be combined, separated, and / or structured differently depending on the implementation of the location server 1300.

[0181]

[0197] The medium 1320 and / or memory 1304 may include a SLPP message module 1322 that, when implemented by the one or more processors 1302, configures the one or more processors 1302 to transmit and receive SLPP messages with the UE via the external interface 1310. Sidelink positioning messages may use SLPP as described herein. The one or more processors 1302 may be configured to transmit and receive SLPP messages that are not embedded in LPP messages, embedded in LPP messages, embedded in SUPL messages (which may include SUPL POS messages), or embedded in both LPP and SUPL messages (which may include SUPL POS messages), via the external interface 1310. The one or more processors 1302 may be configured to transmit and receive SLPP messages that include, for example, an SLPP capability request or SLPP capabilities, SLPP resources, and / or SLPP service requirements for the UE via the external interface 1310. The one or more processors 1302 may be configured to transmit and receive, e.g., via the external interface 1310, a proposed SL PRS configuration for sidelink positioning, and may be configured to transmit and receive, e.g., via the external interface 1310, a confirmation, rejection, or modification of a proposed SL PRS configuration for sidelink positioning. The one or more processors 1302 may be configured to transmit and receive, e.g., via the external interface 1310, a SLPP message including a measurement report or a location result. The measurement report may include measurements performed by the UE, including, e.g., measurements on sidelink positioning signals transmitted by the UE, and may include an indication of reverse link communications from each UE in the group to each other UE in the group. The location result may include range, distance, and / or direction between one or more pairs of UEs in the group, and / or a relative location, absolute location, and / or velocity for each of the one or more UEs in the group.

[0182]

[0198] The medium 1320 and / or memory 1304 may include an SL PRS configuration module 1323 that, when implemented by the one or more processors 1302, configures the one or more processors 1302 to generate or verify a configuration of SL PRS to be transmitted by one or more UEs for sidelink positioning. The one or more processors 1302 may be configured to, for example, obtain SLPP capabilities, SLPP resources, and SLPP service requirements for one or more UEs. The one or more processors 1302 may be configured to obtain the SL PRS configuration for the UE.

[0183]

[0199] The medium 1320 and / or memory 1304 may include a location module 1324 that, when implemented by the one or more processors 1302, configures the one or more processors 1302 to determine a location result for one or more UEs based on the SL PRS measurements performed by the UE. The one or more processors 1302 may be further configured to determine a velocity of the UE based on the SL PRS measurements performed by the UE. The one or more processors 1302 may be further configured to send the location result, such as a range, a direction, a relative location and / or a velocity for the UE, to the UE via the external interface 1310.

[0184]

[0200] The methods described herein may be implemented by various means depending on the application. For example, the methods may be implemented in hardware, firmware, software, or any combination thereof. In the case of a hardware implementation, the one or more processors 1302 may be implemented with one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), processors, controllers, microcontrollers, microprocessors, electronic devices, other electronic units designed to perform the functions described herein, or combinations thereof.

[0185]

[0201] For firmware and / or software implementations, the methods may be implemented with modules (e.g., procedures, functions, etc.) that perform the functions described herein. Any machine-readable medium tangibly embodying instructions may be used in implementing the methods described herein. For example, software code may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium 1320 or memory 1304 coupled to and executed by one or more processors 1302. The memory may be implemented within the one or more processors or external to the one or more processors. The term "memory" as used herein refers to any type of long-term memory, short-term memory, volatile memory, non-volatile memory, or other memory, and is not limited to a particular type or number of memories, or to a particular type of medium on which the memory is stored.

[0186]

[0202] If implemented in firmware and / or software, the functions may be stored as one or more instructions or program code 1308 on a non-transitory computer readable medium, such as the medium 1320 and / or memory 1304. Examples include computer readable media encoded with data structures and computer readable media encoded with computer program code 1308. For example, the non-transitory computer readable medium on which program code 1308 is stored may include program code 1308 for enabling network supported sidelink positioning in a manner consistent with the disclosed embodiments. The non-transitory computer readable medium 1320 includes physical computer storage media. A storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example and not limitation, such non-transitory computer readable media may include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to store the desired program code 1308 in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer. As used herein, "disk" and "disc" include a compact disc (CD), a laser disc, an optical disc, a digital versatile disc (DVD), a floppy disk, and a Blu-ray disc, although a "disk" typically reproduces data magnetically and a "disc" reproduces data optically using a laser. Combinations of the above are also intended to be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0187]

[0203] In addition to being stored on the computer-readable medium 1320, the instructions and / or data may be provided as signals on a transmission medium contained within the communications device. For example, the communications device may include an external interface 1310 having signals indicative of instructions and data. The instructions and data are configured to cause one or more processors to perform the functions outlined in the claims. That is, the communications device includes a transmission medium having signals indicative of information to perform the disclosed functions.

[0188]

[0204] Memory 1304 may represent any data storage mechanism. Memory 1304 may include, for example, primary memory and / or secondary memory. Primary memory may include, for example, random access memory, read-only memory, etc. Although shown in this example as being separate from one or more processors 1302, it should be understood that all or a portion of the primary memory may be provided within one or more processors 1302 or may otherwise be co-located / coupled with one or more processors 1302. Secondary memory may include, for example, the same or similar type of memory as the primary memory and / or one or more data storage devices or systems, such as, for example, disk drives, optical disk drives, tape drives, solid state memory drives, etc.

[0189]

[0205] In certain implementations, the secondary memory may operably receive or be otherwise configurable to couple to a non-transitory computer-readable medium 1320. Thus, in certain example implementations, the methods and / or apparatuses presented herein may take the form, in whole or in part, of a computer-readable medium 1320 having stored thereon computer-implementable program code 1308 that, when executed by one or more processors 1302, may be operably enabled to perform all or a portion of the example operations as described herein. The computer-readable medium 1320 may be part of the memory 1304.

[0190]

[0206] FIG. 14 shows a flow diagram of an example method 1400 performed by a UE having an architecture for sidelink positioning and ranging services, such as UE 105 or UE 1200 or UE-A of FIGS. 11A and 11B, in a manner consistent with the disclosed implementations.

[0191]

[0207] In block 1402, the UE provides services to higher layers of the architecture by a ranging support layer comprising one or more ranging support elements for supporting sidelink positioning and ranging with one or more other UEs, e.g., as described in Figures 11A and 11B. Means for providing services to higher layers of the architecture by a ranging support layer comprising one or more ranging support elements for supporting sidelink positioning and ranging with one or more other UEs may, e.g., be configured with the architecture for sidelink positioning and ranging services using dedicated hardware or may include one or more processors 1202 implementing executable code or software instructions in memory 1204 and / or medium 1220, such as higher layer module 1232 and ranging support layer module 1234 of UE 1200.

[0192]

[0208] In block 1404, the UE communicates with corresponding one or more ranging support elements of the ranging support layer in one or more other UEs through at least one lower layer of the architecture, e.g., as described in Figures 11A and 11B, by one or more ranging support elements. Means for communicating with corresponding one or more ranging support elements of the ranging support layer in one or more other UEs through at least one lower layer of the architecture by one or more ranging support elements may include, for example, one of the transceivers 1210-1213 and one or more processors 1202 configured with the architecture for sidelink positioning and ranging services using dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in the memory 1204 and / or medium 1220, such as the ranging support layer module 1234 and the lower layer module 1236 of the UE 1200.

[0193]

[0209] In one implementation, the one or more ranging support elements may be discovery functions, e.g., providing services to higher layers including at least one of providing a unique identifier of another UE in the vicinity of a UE that can participate in sidelink positioning and ranging services, providing a service supported by another UE, providing a sidelink communication channel or communication session with another UE, or any combination thereof, as described in Figures 11A and 11B. Means for providing services to higher layers including at least one of providing a unique identifier of another UE in the vicinity of a UE that can participate in sidelink positioning and ranging services, providing a service supported by another UE, providing a sidelink communication channel or communication session with another UE, or any combination thereof, may be configured, e.g., an architecture for sidelink positioning and ranging services using dedicated hardware or may include one or more processors 1202 implementing executable code or software instructions in memory 1204 and / or medium 1220, such as higher layer module 1232 and ranging support layer module 1234 of UE 1200. The UE may further receive information from higher layers via a discovery function, which may include at least one of the following: a trigger for discovery of UEs participating in sidelink positioning and ranging services, attributes of the UEs to be discovered, indications for discovery by other UEs and corresponding attributes of the other UEs, requests or permissions for corresponding sidelink positioning and ranging services, or any combination thereof, as described, for example, in Figures 11A and 11B.The means for receiving information from higher layers by the discovery function including at least one of: a trigger for discovery of UEs participating in the sidelink positioning and ranging service, attributes of the UE to be discovered, indications for discovery by other UEs and corresponding attributes of the other UEs, a request or permission for corresponding sidelink positioning and ranging service, or any combination thereof, may include, for example, one or more processors 1202 configured for the architecture for the sidelink positioning and ranging service using dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in the memory 1204 and / or medium 1220, such as higher layer module 1232 and ranging support layer module 1234 of the UE 1200.

[0194]

[0210] In one implementation, the one or more ranging support elements may be a group support function and may provide services to higher layers including at least one of: creating a sidelink positioning and ranging service group with three or more UEs, providing group IDs and group local member IDs to higher layers, managing addition or removal of group members, splitting or merging groups, monitoring group member status, or any combination thereof if higher layers specify a sidelink positioning and ranging service group, e.g., as described in Figures 11A and 11B. If the higher layers specify a sidelink positioning and ranging service group, means for providing services to the higher layers including at least one of: creating a sidelink positioning and ranging service group with three or more UEs; providing a group ID and a group local member ID to the higher layers; managing addition or removal of group members; splitting or merging groups; monitoring group member status; or any combination thereof, may be configured, for example, in an architecture for sidelink positioning and ranging services using dedicated hardware or may include one or more processors 1202 implementing executable code or software instructions in the memory 1204 and / or medium 1220, such as higher layer module 1232 and ranging support layer module 1234 of the UE 1200. The UE may further receive information from higher layers via the group support function including, for example, a request for creation of a sidelink positioning and ranging service group, a request for adding or removing certain group member UEs, a request for management of the sidelink positioning and ranging service group including merging or splitting groups, or any combination thereof, as described in Figures 11A and 11B.The means for receiving information from higher layers by the group support function including a request for creation of a sidelink positioning and ranging service group, a request for adding or removing a particular group member UE, a request for management of the sidelink positioning and ranging service group including merging or splitting groups, or any combination thereof, may include, for example, one or more processors 1202 configured for the sidelink positioning and ranging service using dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in the memory 1204 and / or medium 1220, such as higher layer module 1232 and ranging support layer module 1234 of the UE 1200.

[0195]

[0211] In one implementation, the one or more ranging support elements may be a sidelink positioning and ranging protocol function and may provide services to higher layers including at least one of: on-demand sidelink positioning and ranging, direction, or relative location or velocity of another UE or group of UEs; periodic sidelink positioning and ranging, direction, or relative location or velocity of another UE or group of UEs; triggered sidelink positioning and ranging, direction, or relative location of another UE or group of UEs, e.g., as described in Figures 11A and 11B, or any combination thereof. The means for providing services to higher layers including at least one of on-demand sidelink positioning and ranging, direction, or relative location or velocity of another UE or group of UEs, periodic sidelink positioning and ranging, direction, or relative location or velocity of another UE or group of UEs, triggered sidelink positioning and ranging, direction, or relative location of another UE or group of UEs, or any combination thereof may be configured, for example, in an architecture for sidelink positioning and ranging services using dedicated hardware or may include one or more processors 1202 implementing executable code or software instructions in memory 1204 and / or medium 1220, such as higher layer module 1232 and ranging support layer module 1234 of UE 1200. The UE may further receive information from higher layers via a sidelink positioning and ranging protocol function including, for example, a request for a current range or direction or relative location of another UE or group of UEs, a request for a periodic range or direction or relative location of another UE or group of UEs, a request for a triggered range or direction or relative location of another UE or group of UEs, or any combination thereof, as described in Figures 11A and 11B.The means for receiving information from higher layers by a sidelink positioning and ranging protocol function, including a current range or direction or relative location request of another UE or group of UEs, a periodic range or direction or relative location request of another UE or group of UEs, a triggered range or direction or relative location request of another UE or group of UEs, or any combination thereof, may be configured, for example, with dedicated hardware for the sidelink positioning and ranging service, or may include one or more processors 1202 implementing executable code or software instructions in the memory 1204 and / or medium 1220, such as the higher layer module 1232 and the ranging support layer module 1234 of the UE 1200. The UE may further communicate with a network server supporting sidelink positioning and ranging by a sidelink positioning and ranging protocol function, for example, as described in Figures 11A and 11B. The sidelink positioning and ranging protocol function may communicate with a network server supporting sidelink positioning and ranging using, for example, Non-Access Stratum (NAS) signaling. The means for communicating with a network server supporting sidelink positioning and ranging via the sidelink positioning and ranging protocol functionality may include, for example, one of the transceivers 1210-1213 and an architecture for sidelink positioning and ranging services using dedicated hardware or one or more processors 1202 implementing executable code or software instructions in the memory 1204 and / or medium 1220, such as an upper layer module 1232 and a ranging support layer module 1234 of the UE 1200.

[0196]

[0212] In one implementation, the upper layer may be an application layer, and the at least one lower layer may be a ProSe layer, a V2X layer, or an access layer (AS) layer, as described in Figures 11A and 11B. The application layer may support at least one of V2X, autonomous driving, movement of objects in a factory or warehouse, and UE-to-UE ranging, for example, as described in Figures 11A and 11B. In one implementation, communicating through the at least one lower layer may use a PC5 communication service provided by the ProSe layer, the V2X layer, or the AS layer, as described in Figures 11A and 11B.

[0197]

[0213] FIG. 15 shows a flow diagram of an example method 1500 performed by a UE having an architecture for sidelink positioning and ranging services, such as UE 105 or UE 1200 or UE-A of FIGS. 11A and 11B, in a manner consistent with the disclosed implementations.

[0198]

[0214] In block 1502, the function comprises implementing, in the UE, a ranging support protocol layer comprising one or more ranging support elements, e.g., as described above with respect to Figures 11A and 11B. Means for performing the function in block 1502 may include, e.g., an architecture for sidelink positioning and ranging services using dedicated hardware, or may include one or more processors 1202 implementing executable code or software instructions in memory 1204 and / or medium 1220, such as upper layer module 1232 and ranging support layer module 1234 of UE 1200.

[0199]

[0215] In block 1504, the function includes using one or more ranging support elements of the ranging support protocol layer to communicate with a corresponding ranging support protocol layer in one or more other UEs (e.g., other UEs 105 or 1200), e.g., via at least one lower protocol layer implemented in the UE, e.g., as described in Figures 11A and 11B. Means for performing the function in block 1504 may include, e.g., one of the transceivers 1210-1213 and one or more processors 1202 configured with an architecture for sidelink positioning and ranging services using dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in memory 1204 and / or medium 1220, such as ranging support layer module 1234 and lower layer module 1236 of UE 1200.

[0200]

[0216] In block 1506, the functionality includes providing positioning services, based at least in part on the communication, to an upper protocol layer implemented in the UE, e.g., at a ranging support protocol layer, as described in Figures 11A and 11B. Means for performing the functionality in block 1506 may include, e.g., an architecture for sidelink positioning and ranging services using dedicated hardware, or may include one or more processors 1202 implementing executable code or software instructions in memory 1204 and / or medium 1220, such as upper layer module 1232 and ranging support layer module 1234 of UE 1200.

[0201]

[0217] 11A and 11B, the one or more ranging supporting elements may be a discovery function, and the positioning service may include information including a unique identifier of another UE of the one or more other UEs that may participate in the sidelink positioning and ranging service, information including an indication of a service supported by another UE of the one or more other UEs, a sidelink communication channel with another UE of the one or more other UEs, a sidelink communication session with another UE of the one or more other UEs, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, the method may further include receiving information from a higher protocol layer using the discovery function, and the information may include a trigger for discovery of UEs participating in the sidelink positioning and ranging service, attributes of the UE to be discovered, permission for discovery of the UE by another UE of the one or more other UEs, and corresponding attributes of the other UEs, a request or permission for sidelink positioning and ranging service, or any combination thereof.

[0202]

[0218] In one implementation, the one or more ranging support elements may include a group support function, e.g., as described in Figures 11A and 11B, and providing positioning services to higher protocol layers may include using the group support function to create a sidelink positioning and ranging service group with three or more UEs, to provide a group ID and a group local member ID to higher layers, to manage addition or removal of group members, to split or merge groups, to monitor group member status, or any combination thereof, if the higher protocol layers specify a sidelink positioning and ranging service group. According to some embodiments, e.g., as described in Figures 11A and 11B, the method may further include receiving information from higher protocol layers by the group support function, the information including a request for creation of a sidelink positioning and ranging service group, a request for addition or removal of a particular group member UE, a request for management of the sidelink positioning and ranging service group including merging or splitting groups, or any combination thereof.

[0203]

[0219] In one implementation, e.g., as described in FIG. 11A and FIG. 11B , the one or more ranging support elements include a sidelink positioning and ranging protocol function, and providing positioning services to the higher protocol layers may include providing on-demand sidelink positioning and ranging for a determination of range, direction, relative location or relative velocity for another UE or each UE of a group of other UEs, periodic sidelink positioning and ranging for a periodic determination of range, direction, relative location or relative velocity for another UE or each UE of a group of other UEs, triggered sidelink positioning and ranging for a triggered determination of range, direction, relative location or relative velocity for another UE or each UE of a group of other UEs, or any combination thereof. Some embodiments may further include receiving information from higher protocol layers via a sidelink positioning and ranging protocol function, e.g., as described in Figures 11A and 11B, the information may include a current range, direction, relative location or relative velocity request for another UE or group of UEs, a periodic range, direction, relative location or relative velocity request for another UE or group of UEs, a triggered range, direction, relative location or relative velocity request for another UE or group of UEs, or any combination thereof. Some embodiments may further include communicating with a network server supporting sidelink positioning and ranging, e.g., using a sidelink positioning and ranging protocol function, e.g., as described in Figures 11A and 11B. The sidelink positioning and ranging protocol function may communicate with a network server supporting sidelink positioning and ranging, e.g., using Non-Access Stratum (NAS) signaling and / or SLPP signaling.The means for communicating with a network server supporting sidelink positioning and ranging via the sidelink positioning and ranging protocol functionality may include, for example, one of the transceivers 1210-1213 and an architecture for sidelink positioning and ranging services using dedicated hardware or one or more processors 1202 implementing executable code or software instructions in the memory 1204 and / or medium 1220, such as an upper layer module 1232 and a ranging support layer module 1234 of the UE 1200.

[0204]

[0220] In one implementation, the upper protocol layer may comprise an application layer, and the at least one lower layer may include a ProSe layer, a V2X layer, or an access layer (AS) layer, as described in Figures 11A and 11B. The application layer may support, for example, V2X, autonomous driving, movement of objects in a factory or warehouse, UE-to-UE ranging, or a combination thereof, as described in Figures 11A and 11B. In one implementation, communicating through the at least one lower layer may use PC5 communication services provided by the ProSe layer, the V2X layer, or the AS layer, as described in Figures 11A and 11B.

[0205]

[0221] Substantial variations may be made according to particular needs. For example, customized hardware may be used and / or particular elements may be implemented in hardware, software (including portable software such as applets), or both. Furthermore, connection to other computing devices, such as network input / output devices, may be utilized.

[0206]

[0222] The configurations may be described as processes that are shown as flow diagrams or block diagrams. Although the flow diagrams or block diagrams may describe operations as a sequential process, many of the operations may be performed in parallel or simultaneously. In addition, the order of operations may be rearranged. A process may have additional steps not included in the diagrams. Furthermore, the example methods may be implemented by hardware, software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description languages, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, firmware, middleware, or microcode, the program code or code segments to perform the necessary tasks may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium, such as a storage medium. A processor may perform the tasks described.

[0207]

[0223] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly or conventionally understood. As used herein, the articles "a" and "an" refer to one or more than one (i.e., at least one) of the grammatical object of the article. By way of example, "an element" means one element or more than one element. As used herein, "about" and / or "approximately" when referring to a measurable value, such as an amount, duration, etc., encompasses a variation of ±20% or ±10%, ±5%, or ±0.1% from the specified value, when such variation is appropriate in the context of the systems, devices, circuits, methods, and other implementations described herein. "Substantially" as used herein when referring to a measurable value such as an amount, duration, physical attribute (such as frequency), etc., also encompasses variations of ±20%, ±10%, ±5%, or +0.1% from the specified value, where such variations are appropriate in the context of the systems, devices, circuits, methods, and other implementations described herein.

[0208]

[0224] As used herein, including the claims, "or" used in a list of items ending with "at least one of" or "one or more of" indicates a disjunctive list, such as, for example, a list of "at least one of A, B, or C" means A or B or C or AB or AC or BC or ABC (i.e., A and B and C) or a combination of two or more features (e.g., AA, AAB, ABBC, etc.). Also, as used herein, unless expressly stated otherwise, a statement that a function or operation is "based on" an item or condition means that the function or operation is based on the stated item or condition, and may be based on one or more items and / or conditions in addition to the stated item or condition.

[0209]

[0225] As used herein, a mobile device, user equipment (UE), or mobile station (MS) refers to a device such as a cellular or other wireless communication device, a smartphone, a tablet, a personal communication system (PCS) device, a personal navigation device (PND), a personal information manager (PIM), a personal digital assistant (PDA), a laptop, or other suitable mobile device capable of receiving wireless communication and / or navigation signals, such as navigation positioning signals. The term "mobile station" (or "mobile device", "wireless device", or "user equipment") is also intended to include devices that communicate with a personal navigation device (PND), such as by a short-range wireless connection, an infrared connection, a wireline connection, or other connection, regardless of whether satellite signal reception, assistance data reception, and / or position-related processing occurs in the device or in the PND. Also, a "mobile station" or "user equipment" is intended to include all devices, including wireless communication devices, computers, laptops, tablet devices, etc., that are capable of communicating with a server and with one or more types of nodes, such as over the Internet, Wi-Fi, or other networks, whether the satellite signal reception, assistance data reception, and / or location related processing occurs on the device, on a server, or on another device or node associated with the network. Any operable combination of the above is considered a "mobile station" or "user equipment." A mobile device or user equipment (UE) may be referred to as a mobile terminal, terminal, device, secure user plane location enabled terminal (SET), target device, target, or by some other name.

[0210]

[0226] In one embodiment, a first exemplary independent claim may comprise a method for supporting location of a user equipment (UE) at a first wireless node, comprising: receiving a first request for broadcasting more location related information, the broadcasting based on a wireless access type for the first wireless node; and broadcasting the more location related information using the wireless access type and based on the first request.

[0211]

[0227] While some of the techniques, processes, and / or implementations presented herein may comply with all or a portion of one or more standards, such techniques, processes, and / or implementations, in some embodiments, may not comply with all or a portion of such one or more standards.

[0212]

[0228] In view of this description, embodiments may include different combinations of features. Example implementations are described in the following numbered clauses.

[0213]

[0229] Clause 1: A method for supporting side link (SL) positioning, the method being executed by a user equipment (UE) and comprising: implementing in the UE a ranging support protocol layer comprising one or more ranging support elements; communicating using the one or more ranging support elements of the ranging support protocol layer with corresponding ranging support protocol layers in one or more other UEs, the communication being via at least one lower protocol layer implemented in the UE; and providing, in the ranging support protocol layer, a positioning service to an upper protocol layer implemented in the UE, the positioning service being at least partially based on the communication.

[0214]

[0230] Clause 2: The method of clause 1, wherein the one or more ranging support elements comprise a discovery capability, and the positioning service includes information including a unique identifier of another UE of the one or more other UEs that may participate in the sidelink positioning and ranging service, information including an indication of a service supported by the other UE of the one or more other UEs, a sidelink communication channel with another UE of the one or more other UEs, a sidelink communication session with another UE of the one or more other UEs, or any combination thereof.

[0215]

[0231] Clause 3: The method of clause 2, further comprising receiving, using a discovery function, information from a higher protocol layer, the information comprising a trigger for discovery of UEs participating in the sidelink positioning and ranging service, attributes of the UE to be discovered, authorization for discovery by the other UEs of the one or more other UEs, and corresponding attributes of the other UEs, a request or authorization for sidelink positioning and ranging service, or any combination thereof.

[0216]

[0232] Clause 4: The method of any one of clauses 1 to 3, wherein the one or more ranging support elements comprise a group support function, and providing the positioning service to the higher protocol layer comprises using the group support function to create a sidelink positioning and ranging service group with three or more UEs among the one or more other UEs if the higher protocol layer specifies a sidelink positioning and ranging service group, to provide a group ID and a group local member ID to the higher protocol layer, to manage addition or removal of group members, to split or merge groups, to monitor group member status, or any combination thereof.

[0217]

[0233] Clause 5: The method of clause 4, further comprising receiving information from an upper protocol layer using a group support function, the information comprising a request for creation of a sidelink positioning and ranging service group, a request for adding or removing a particular group member UE, a request for management of the sidelink positioning and ranging service group including merging or splitting groups, or any combination thereof.

[0218]

[0234] Clause 6: The method according to any one of clauses 1 to 5, wherein the one or more ranging support elements comprise a sidelink positioning and ranging protocol functionality, and providing positioning services to higher protocol layers comprises providing on-demand sidelink positioning and ranging for a determination of range, direction, relative location or relative velocity for the other UE or each UE of the group of other UEs, periodic sidelink positioning and ranging for a periodic determination of range, direction, relative location or relative velocity for the other UE or each UE of the group of other UEs, triggered sidelink positioning and ranging for a triggered determination of range, direction, relative location or relative velocity for the other UE or each UE of the group of other UEs, or any combination thereof.

[0219]

[0235] Clause 7: The method of clause 6, further comprising receiving information from a higher protocol layer using a sidelink positioning and ranging protocol function, the information comprising a current range, direction, relative location or relative velocity request of another UE or group of UEs, a periodic range, direction, relative location or relative velocity request of another UE or group of UEs, a triggered range, direction, relative location or relative velocity request of another UE or group of UEs, or any combination thereof.

[0220]

[0236] Clause 8. The method of clause 6 or 7, further comprising communicating with a network server supporting sidelink positioning and ranging using a sidelink positioning and ranging protocol function.

[0221]

[0237] Clause 9: The method according to clause 8, wherein the sidelink positioning and ranging protocol function communicates with a network server supporting sidelink positioning and ranging using Non-Access Stratum (NAS) signaling.

[0222]

[0238] Clause 10: The method according to any one of clauses 1 to 9, wherein the upper protocol layer is an application layer, and the at least one lower protocol layer includes a ProSe layer, a V2X layer, or an access stratum (AS) layer.

[0223]

[0239] Clause 11: The method of clause 10, wherein the application layer supports vehicle-to-everything (V2X), autonomous driving, movement of objects in a factory or warehouse, UE-to-UE ranging, or a combination thereof.

[0224]

[0240] Clause 12: The method of any one of clauses 1 to 11, wherein communicating using one or more ranging support elements of a ranging support protocol layer includes using a PC5 communication service provided by a ProSe layer, a V2X layer, or an AS layer.

[0225]

[0241] Clause 13: A user equipment (UE), comprising: a transceiver; a memory; and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory, wherein the one or more processors are configured to: implement a ranging support protocol layer comprising one or more ranging support elements; communicate via the transceiver using the one or more ranging support elements of the ranging support protocol layer with corresponding ranging support protocol layers in one or more other UEs, wherein the communication is via at least one lower protocol layer implemented in the UE; and provide, in the ranging support protocol layer, a positioning service to an upper protocol layer implemented in the UE, the positioning service being based at least in part on the communication.

[0226]

[0242] Clause 14: The UE of clause 13, wherein for communicating using one or more ranging support elements, the one or more processors are configured to implement a discovery function, and for providing a positioning service, the one or more processors are configured to provide information including a unique identifier of another UE of the one or more other UEs that can participate in the sidelink positioning and ranging service, information including an indication of a service supported by the other UE of the one or more other UEs, a sidelink communication channel with the other UE of the one or more other UEs, a sidelink communication session with the other UE of the one or more other UEs, or any combination thereof.

[0227]

[0243] Clause 15: The UE of clause 14, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to receive information from higher protocol layers using a discovery function, the information including a trigger for discovery of UEs participating in sidelink positioning and ranging services, attributes of the UE to be discovered, authorization for discovery by the other UEs of one or more other UEs and corresponding attributes of the other UEs, a request or authorization for sidelink positioning and ranging services, or any combination thereof.

[0228]

[0244] Clause 16: The UE of any one of clauses 13 to 15, wherein for communicating using the one or more ranging support elements, the one or more processors are configured to implement a group support function, and for providing positioning services to higher protocol layers, the one or more processors are configured to use the group support function to create a sidelink positioning and ranging service group with three or more UEs of one or more other UEs if the higher protocol layers specify a sidelink positioning and ranging service group, to provide a group ID and a group local member ID to the higher protocol layers, to manage addition or removal of group members, to split or merge groups, to monitor group member status, or any combination thereof.

[0229]

[0245] Clause 17: The UE of clause 16, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to receive information from higher protocol layers using a group support function, the information including a request for creation of a sidelink positioning and ranging service group, a request for adding or removing a particular group member UE, a request for management of the sidelink positioning and ranging service group including merging or splitting groups, or any combination thereof.

[0230]

[0246] Clause 18: The UE of any one of clauses 13 to 17, wherein for communicating using one or more ranging support elements, the one or more processors are configured to implement a sidelink positioning and ranging protocol functionality, and for providing positioning services to higher protocol layers, the one or more processors are configured to provide on-demand sidelink positioning and ranging for a determination of range, direction, relative location or relative velocity for another UE or each UE of the group of other UEs, periodic sidelink positioning and ranging for a periodic determination of range, direction, relative location or relative velocity for another UE or each UE of the group of other UEs, triggered sidelink positioning and ranging for a triggered determination of range, direction, relative location or relative velocity for another UE or each UE of the group of other UEs, or any combination thereof.

[0231]

[0247] Clause 19: The UE of Clause 18, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to receive information from higher protocol layers using a sidelink positioning and ranging protocol function, the information including a current range, direction, relative location or relative velocity request of another UE or group of UEs, a periodic range, direction, relative location or relative velocity request of another UE or group of UEs, a triggered range, direction, relative location or relative velocity request of another UE or group of UEs, or any combination thereof.

[0232]

[0248] Clause 20: A UE as described in clause 18 or 19, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to communicate with a network server supporting sidelink positioning and ranging using a sidelink positioning and ranging protocol function via the transceiver.

[0233]

[0249] Clause 21: The UE of clause 20, wherein the one or more processors are configured to communicate using a sidelink positioning and ranging protocol function with a network server that supports sidelink positioning and ranging using non-access stratum (NAS) signaling.

[0234]

[0250] Clause 22: A UE described in any one of clauses 13 to 21, wherein, for providing positioning services to an upper protocol layer, the one or more processors are configured to provide positioning services to an application layer, and, for communicating via at least one lower protocol layer, the one or more processors are configured to communicate via a ProSe layer, a V2X layer, or an access stratum (AS) layer.

[0235]

[0251] Clause 23: The UE of clause 22, wherein to communicate using one or more ranging support elements of the ranging support protocol layer, the one or more processors are configured to use PC5 communication services provided by a ProSe layer, a V2X layer, or an AS layer.

[0236]

[0252] Clause 24: An apparatus having means for carrying out the method according to any one of clauses 1 to 12.

[0237]

[0253] Clause 25: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions comprising code for performing the method according to any one of clauses 1 to 12.

[0238]

[0254] Although certain embodiments have been disclosed in detail herein, this is for illustrative purposes only and is not intended as a limitation on the scope of the appended claims. It is specifically contemplated that various substitutions, modifications, and alterations may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure as defined by the claims. Other aspects, advantages, and modifications are deemed to be within the scope of the following claims. The claims presented are representative of the embodiments and features disclosed herein. Other unclaimed embodiments and features are also contemplated. Accordingly, other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims.

Claims

1. 1. A method for supporting sidelink (SL) positioning, the method being performed by a user equipment (UE); and Implementing, at the UE, a ranging support protocol layer comprising one or more ranging support elements comprising group support functionality; using the one or more ranging support elements of the ranging support protocol layer to communicate with corresponding ranging support protocol layers in one or more other UEs, the communication occurring via at least one lower protocol layer implemented in the UE; providing, at the ranging support protocol layer, to a higher protocol layer implemented in the UE, a positioning service based at least in part on the communication; Providing positioning services to the upper protocol layer includes: if the higher protocol layer specifies a sidelink positioning and ranging service group, to create the sidelink positioning and ranging service group with three or more UEs among the one or more other UEs; To provide the group ID and group local member ID to the upper protocol layer, To manage the addition or removal of group members, To split or merge groups, To monitor group member status, or using said group support functionality for any combination thereof.

2. The one or more ranging support elements have discovery functionality, and the positioning service information including a unique identifier of another UE among the one or more other UEs that may participate in the sidelink positioning and ranging service; information comprising an indication of services supported by another UE of the one or more other UEs; a sidelink communication channel with another UE of the one or more other UEs; a sidelink communication session with another UE of the one or more other UEs; or 2. The method of claim 1, comprising:

3. and receiving information from the upper protocol layer using the discovery function, the information comprising: Triggers for discovery of UEs participating in sidelink positioning and ranging services; Attributes of the UE to be discovered; Permission for discovery by other UEs of the one or more other UEs, and corresponding attributes of the other UEs; A request or authorization for sidelink positioning and ranging services; or 3. The method of claim 2, comprising: any combination thereof.

4. and receiving information from the upper protocol layer using the group support function, the information comprising: a request for creation of the sidelink positioning and ranging service group; Requesting addition or deletion of a specific group member UE; a request for management of the sidelink positioning and ranging service groups, including merging or splitting groups; or 2. The method of claim 1, comprising:

5. the one or more ranging support elements having sidelink positioning and ranging protocol functionality and providing positioning services to the higher protocol layers; On-demand sidelink positioning and ranging for determining the range, direction, relative location or relative velocity of each UE for another UE or a group of other UEs; Periodic sidelink positioning and ranging for periodic determination of range, direction, relative location or relative velocity for each UE of another UE or a group of other UEs; Triggered sidelink positioning and ranging for a triggered determination of range, direction, relative location or relative velocity for another UE or each UE of a group of other UEs; or Any combination thereof.

6. and receiving information from the higher protocol layer using the sidelink positioning and ranging protocol functionality, the information comprising: a request for the current range, direction, relative location or relative velocity of another UE or group of UEs; Requesting periodic range, direction, relative location or relative velocity of another UE or group of UEs; a triggered range, direction, relative location or relative velocity request of another UE or group of UEs; or 6. The method of claim 5, comprising:

7. 6. The method of claim 5, further comprising: communicating with a network server that supports sidelink positioning and ranging using the sidelink positioning and ranging protocol functionality.

8. 8. The method of claim 7, wherein the sidelink positioning and ranging protocol function communicates with the network server supporting sidelink positioning and ranging using Non-Access Stratum (NAS) signaling.

9. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the upper protocol layer is an application layer, and the at least one lower protocol layer includes a ProSe layer, a V2X layer, or an Access Stratum (AS) layer.

10. 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the application layer supports vehicle-to-everything (V2X), autonomous driving, movement of objects in a factory or warehouse, UE-to-UE ranging, or a combination thereof.

11. 10. The method of claim 9, wherein communicating using the one or more ranging support elements of the ranging support protocol layer comprises using a PC5 communication service provided by the ProSe layer, the V2X layer, or the AS layer.

12. A user equipment (UE), A transceiver; Memory and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory; wherein the one or more processors: implementing a ranging support protocol layer comprising one or more ranging support elements with group support functionality; communicating, via the transceiver, using the one or more ranging support elements of the ranging support protocol layer with corresponding ranging support protocol layers in one or more other UEs, the communication occurring via at least one lower protocol layer implemented in the UE; and providing, at the ranging support protocol layer, a positioning service to an upper protocol layer implemented in the UE, the positioning service being based at least in part on the communication; Providing positioning services to the upper protocol layer includes: if the higher protocol layer specifies a sidelink positioning and ranging service group, to create the sidelink positioning and ranging service group with three or more UEs among the one or more other UEs; To provide the group ID and group local member ID to the upper protocol layer, To manage the addition or removal of group members, To split or merge groups, To monitor group member status, or and a UE using the group support function for any combination thereof.

13. to communicate using the one or more ranging support elements, the one or more processors are configured to implement a discovery function; To provide the positioning services, the one or more processors: information including a unique identifier of another UE among the one or more other UEs that may participate in the sidelink positioning and ranging service; information comprising an indication of services supported by another UE of the one or more other UEs; a sidelink communication channel with another UE of the one or more other UEs; a sidelink communication session with another UE of the one or more other UEs; or 13. The UE of claim 12, configured to provide:

14. The one or more processors are further configured to receive information from the upper protocol layer using the discovery function, the information comprising: Triggers for discovery of UEs participating in sidelink positioning and ranging services; Attributes of the UE to be discovered; Permission for discovery by other UEs of the one or more other UEs, and corresponding attributes of the other UEs; A request or authorization for sidelink positioning and ranging services; or 14. The UE of claim 13, comprising: any combination thereof.

15. 1. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions for supporting sidelink (SL) positioning, the instructions comprising: implementing a ranging support protocol layer comprising one or more ranging support elements with group support functionality; using the one or more ranging support elements of the ranging support protocol layer to communicate with corresponding ranging support protocol layers in one or more other UEs, the communication occurring via at least one lower protocol layer implemented in the UE; and code for providing, in the ranging support protocol layer, to an upper protocol layer implemented in the UE, a positioning service based at least in part on the communication; Providing positioning services to the upper protocol layer includes: if the higher protocol layer specifies a sidelink positioning and ranging service group, to create the sidelink positioning and ranging service group with three or more UEs among the one or more other UEs; To provide the group ID and group local member ID to the upper protocol layer, To manage the addition or removal of group members, To split or merge groups, To monitor group member status, or and a non-transitory computer-readable medium, comprising using said group support functionality for any combination thereof.

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