Identification and Authorization of Wireless Detection Targets

Abstract

The present invention proposes a system and method for providing wireless sensing capabilities in a wireless communication system 700 that provides the capability to identify objects of interest (TOs) for sensing and to enable the network to verify whether the TOs are authorized to use sensing services.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of communication between terminal devices and / or fixed or mobile access devices in wireless networks such as, but not limited to, fifth generation (5G) cellular communication systems. [Background technology]

[0002] As wavelengths in communication systems become shorter, the ability to use the same wavelength bands for increasingly sophisticated sensing applications increases.

[0003] As an example, the signal wavelength bands of a 5G communication system or other suitable wireless communication system can be used as radar to measure, for example, the location and movement of vehicles and people, as well as vital sign signals such as heart rate and breathing rate.

[0004] A radar system or other sensing system is typically implemented as a single, non-distributed system with a transmitter and receiver to enable communication of analog signals and timing, but may also be distributed among a set of separate transmitter and receiver devices.

[0005] A problem with radar systems and wireless sensing systems in general is that it is unclear how to ensure that detected objects are the intended targets so as not to unnecessarily capture / leak privacy-sensitive data of unintended target objects, and how to verify that a target object is authorized to use the sensing service. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] An object of the present invention is to provide wireless sensing capabilities.

[0007] An advantage of the present invention is that the wireless sensing capability allows for the identification and recognition of objects that are the subject of sensing. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] This object is achieved by an apparatus according to claims 1 and 2, by a wireless communication device according to claim 10, by a system according to claim 14, by a method according to claims 15 and 16 and by a computer program product according to claim 17.

[0009] According to a first aspect, there is provided an apparatus for providing wireless sensing capability, the apparatus comprising at least: obtaining a set of subject identification information; Detecting a set of objects and determining a set of detection information for one or more of the detected objects based at least on output of detection operations of the area or volume of interest performed by a detection transmitter transmitting the set of detection signals and by a detection receiver receiving the set of detection signals; determining whether a set of sensing information for one or more of the detected objects satisfies or does not satisfy one or more configuration criteria for identifying the object based on the set of object identification information; based on a determination that the set of sensed information for one or more of the detected objects meets or does not meet one or more configuration criteria for identifying the object; Stopping or continuing the detection operation; initiating additional detection operations; generating an event or transmitting a signal, the generated event or transmitted signal indicating that a match has been detected or not detected; Initiating or continuing approval of matching targets that are subject to detection The device is configured to perform at least one of the following:

[0010] According to a second aspect, there is provided an apparatus for providing wireless sensing capability, the apparatus comprising at least: Detecting a set of objects and determining a set of detection information for one or more of the detected objects based at least on output of detection operations of the area or volume of interest performed by a detection transmitter transmitting the set of detection signals and by a detection receiver receiving the set of detection signals; providing a set of sensing information and / or one or more potential targets for one or more of the detected objects to a target matching entity; receiving a result of a subject matching procedure performed by a subject matching entity based on the set of detection information and the set of subject identifying information; Based on the results of the target matching procedure, Stopping or continuing the detection operation; initiating additional detection operations; generating an event or transmitting a signal, the generated event or transmitted signal indicating that a match has been detected or not detected; Initiating or continuing approval of matching targets that are subject to detection The device is configured to perform at least one of the following:

[0011] According to a third aspect, there is provided a wireless communication device comprising: a communication unit configured to connect to a network configured to operate a sensing service, the wireless communication device configured to transmit an identifier used to authorize use of the sensing service and to retrieve a set of subject identities or an identifier associated with the set of subject identities for use in a network-initiated sensing operation.

[0012] According to a fourth aspect, there is provided a system comprising at least a wireless communication device according to the third aspect above and an apparatus according to the first or second aspect above, wherein the apparatus receives a set of target identities or an identifier associated with the set of target identities after the wireless communication device has been authenticated and authorized by a network to use a sensing service.

[0013] According to a fifth aspect, there is provided a method for providing sensing capability in a wireless communication network or device, the method comprising at least: obtaining a set of object identities; detecting a set of objects and determining a set of detection information for one or more detected objects based on output of a detection operation of the area or volume of interest performed by at least a detection transmitter transmitting a set of detection signals and by a detection receiver receiving the set of detection signals; determining whether a set of sensing information for one or more of the detected objects satisfies or does not satisfy one or more configuration criteria for identifying the object based on the set of object identification information; based on a determination that the set of sensed information for one or more of the detected objects meets or does not meet one or more configuration criteria for identifying the object; Stopping or continuing the detection operation; initiating additional detection operations; generating an event or transmitting a signal, the generated event or transmitted signal indicating that a match has been detected or not detected; Initiating or continuing approval of matching targets that are subject to detection and performing at least one of:

[0014] According to a sixth aspect, there is provided a method for providing sensing capability in a wireless communications network or device, the method comprising at least: detecting a set of objects and determining a set of detection information for one or more of the detected objects based at least on output of detection operations of the area or volume of interest performed by a detection transmitter transmitting the set of detection signals and by a detection receiver receiving the set of detection signals; providing a set of sensing information about one or more of the detected objects and / or one or more potential targets to a target matching entity; receiving a result of a subject matching procedure performed by a subject matching entity based on the set of sensing information and the set of subject identifying information; Based on the results of the target matching procedure, Stopping or continuing the detection operation; initiating additional detection operations; generating an event or transmitting a signal, the generated event or transmitted signal indicating that a match has been detected or not detected; Initiating or continuing approval of matching targets that are subject to detection and performing at least one of:

[0015] According to a seventh aspect, there is provided a computer program product, the computer program product comprising code means for generating the steps of the fifth or sixth aspects above when executed on a processor of a wireless communication device or of a device operating a wireless communication network.

[0016] According to a first option combined with the first aspect, the apparatus is configured to evaluate user consent associated with the identified subject before performing the performing step of the first aspect.

[0017] According to a second option combined with the second aspect, the subject matching entity is configured to verify a user consent associated with the identified subject before carrying out the performing step of the second aspect.

[0018] According to a third option combined with the second option, the object matching entity is configured to receive and store a set of user consent preferences and / or object identification information of objects among the detected objects within the region of interest. For example, the region of interest is defined as a location, area, or volume where an object is sensed / detected (i.e., a target location, area, or volume) or where detection is performed (i.e., a detection location, area, or volume).

[0019] According to a fourth option combined with the first or second aspect above, the apparatus comprises a communication unit configured to operate the sensing transmitter and / or the sensing receiver to generate an output of the sensing operation.

[0020] According to a fifth option combined with the first or second aspect above, the apparatus comprises a communication unit configured to configure a detection transmitter and / or a detection receiver based on a set of object identification information and to receive an output of the detection operation from the detection transmitter and / or the detection receiver.

[0021] According to a sixth option combined with the first or second aspect above, the device comprises a communication unit configured to connect to a network and receive a set of target identities from the network, and optionally the device receives the set of target identities from the network after the device has been authenticated by the network and approved to participate in the sensing operation.

[0022] According to a seventh option combined with the first or second aspect above, the apparatus is configured to operate as a network function or service in a network, and optionally the apparatus comprises a communication unit configured to receive the set of subject identification information as obtained from the first aspect or the result of the subject matching procedure as received from the second aspect from an Authentication Server Function (AUSF), a Unified Data Management (UDM), a Unified Data Repository (UDR), a Network Publishing Function (NEF), or an external database.

[0023] According to an eighth option combined with the first aspect above, the device is configured to use an identifier associated with the set of object identification information to initiate or continue recognition of a matching object to be detected, or to continue the detection operation based on a determination that the set of detection information for one or more of the detected objects satisfies one or more configuration criteria for identifying the object, based on the set of object identification information associated with the identifier.

[0024] According to a ninth option combined with the first or second aspect above, the device receives a set of target identities or an identifier associated with the set of target identities after a device associated with a subscription to the sensing service has been authenticated and authorized by the network to use the sensing service, and optionally the device receives a set of target identities or an identifier associated with the set of target identities after a device associated with a subscription to the sensing service has been determined to be within an area or volume of interest, and / or the device is configured to send a signal or message to the device associated with the subscription to the sensing service, the signal or message indicating that a sensing operation has commenced or indicating a request to confirm the commencement of the sensing operation. Optionally, the device is a wireless communication device.

[0025] According to a tenth option combined with the above third aspect, the wireless communication device is configured to provide location information, and the sensing operation is performed within the area or volume of interest based on the location information.

[0026] According to an eleventh option combined with the third aspect above, the wireless communication device is configured to receive a signal or message from the network, the signal or message indicating that a sensing operation has commenced or indicating a request to confirm the commencement of the sensing operation.

[0027] According to a twelfth option combined with the third aspect above, the wireless communication device is configured to transmit a set of object identities, an identifier associated with the set of object identities, or an artificial intelligence (AI) model capable of identifying the object to a detection service operated by a network.

[0028] According to a thirteenth option combined with the above fourth aspect, the set of object identities received by the apparatus is transmitted by the wireless communication device.

[0029] It is to be understood that the apparatus of claims 1 and 2, the wireless communication device of claim 9, the system of claim 13, the method of claims 14 and 15, and the computer program product of claim 16 have similar and / or identical preferred embodiments, in particular as defined in the dependent claims.

[0030] It is to be understood that a preferred embodiment of the invention can also be any combination of the dependent claims or the above embodiments with the respective independent claim.

[0031] These and other aspects of the invention will be apparent from and elucidated with reference to the embodiments described hereinafter. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0032] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of a communication system with distributed radar capabilities for use in embodiments of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a transmitter and receiver architecture for use in embodiments of the present invention; [Figure 3] FIG. 1 illustrates generally one embodiment of a process flow diagram for radar detection in a communication system, as used in embodiments of the present invention. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a diagram that schematically illustrates an embodiment of a flow diagram of a sensing operation, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 5] FIG. 2 illustrates generally one embodiment of a flow diagram for a location and motion detection process used in embodiments of the present invention. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a schematic illustration of one embodiment of a flow diagram for a heart rate and respiration rate detection process used in embodiments of the present invention. [Figure 7] 1 is a diagram illustrating a schematic of a detection system according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 8] FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of a target approval procedure according to various embodiments of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0033] Here, embodiments of the present invention will be described based on a cellular communication network environment such as 5G, however, the present invention may also be used in connection with other wireless technologies in which object detection is provided or may be implemented (e.g., IEEE 802.11 / Wi-Fi or IEEE 802.15.4 / Ultra-Wideband (UWB)).

[0034] Throughout this disclosure, the abbreviations "gNB" (5G terminology) or "BS" (base station) are intended to mean a wireless access device such as a cellular base station, a WiFi access point, or a UWB PAN coordinator. The gNB consists of a centralized control plane unit (gNB-CU-CP), multiple centralized user plane units (gNB-CU-UP), and / or multiple distributed units (gNB-DU). The gNB is part of a radio access network (RAN) that provides an interface to functions in a core network (CN). The RAN is part of a wireless communication network. The RAN implements a radio access technology (RAT). Conceptually, the RAN resides between communication devices, such as mobile phones, computers, or any remote control machine, and provides their connection to the CN. The CN is the core part of the communication network, providing a multitude of services to customers interconnected via the RAN. More specifically, the RAN directs communication streams through the communication network and possibly other networks.

[0035] Furthermore, the terms "base station" (BS) and "network" are used synonymously in this disclosure. This means, for example, that when a "network" is described as performing a particular operation, the operation is performed by a CN function of a wireless communications network or by one or more base stations that are part of such a wireless communications network, or vice versa. It may also mean that some of the functions are performed by a CN function of a wireless communications network and some of the functions are performed by a base station.

[0036] Furthermore, the terms “radar sensing” and “wireless sensing” are intended to cover not only techniques in which a single device both transmits and receives radar signals, but also distributed RF-based sensing techniques, such as techniques in which the sensed signals are received in a distributed manner by multiple devices, or techniques based on channel state information (CSI) detection in CSI-based distributed sensing solutions, and / or techniques based on other types of measurement information related to RF signals (e.g., multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) sounding signal feedback, Doppler phase shift measurements). It should be noted that the above terms “radar sensing” and “wireless sensing” may be used interchangeably throughout this disclosure, and that embodiments describing radar sensing as an example may also extend to any type of wireless sensing, such as, for example, channel state information (CSI)-based sensing.

[0037] Additionally, the terms "subject" and "target object" refer to any entity that is the subject of wireless sensing, including people, animals, inanimate objects, and structures made up of several smaller entities (e.g., a cloud made up of small water droplets). Additionally, the terms "subject" and "target object" are used synonymously in this disclosure.

[0038] Furthermore, throughout this disclosure, the term "object" is intended to refer to any physical entity, including a person, an animal, an inanimate object, a vehicle, or a structure made up of several smaller entities (e.g., a cloud made up of small water droplets).

[0039] It should be noted that throughout this disclosure, only blocks, components, and / or devices related to the proposed data distribution functionality are shown in the accompanying drawings. For the sake of brevity, other blocks have been omitted. Furthermore, blocks designated by the same reference numbers are intended to have the same or at least similar functions, and therefore, their functions will not be described again later.

[0040] Detection signal The detection functions of the following embodiments are implemented, for example, by radar functions in wireless communications including one or more access devices (e.g., base stations (BSs)) and / or one or more terminal devices (e.g., user equipment devices (UEs)).

[0041] As an example, a frequency-modulated continuous wave (FMCW) millimeter-wave (mmWave) radar system can measure the range, velocity, and angle of arrival (if two receivers are available) of radio-reflecting objects in a scene. Such radar systems transmit chirp signals, e.g., sine waves whose frequency increases over time. The chirp signal (e.g., a continuous wave pulse) has a bandwidth and a frequency increase rate. Typically, a continuous series of such chirps is transmitted. The transmitted and received analog chirp signals are mixed to generate an intermediate frequency (IF) signal corresponding to the difference in frequency between the two signals (outbound and inbound), and the output phase of the IF signal corresponds to the difference in phase between the two signals.

[0042] Thus, each surface in the scene or environment produces a constant-frequency IF signal whose frequency is related to the distance to the surface (i.e., a first distance from the chirp signal transmitter to the surface and a second distance from the surface to the chirp signal receiver). To resolve two surfaces at different distances, the two IF signals can be frequency resolved. The longer the time window of the IF signal, the higher the resolution. Since the chirp time is related to its bandwidth (the change in chirp frequency is constant), the resolution of the radar is related to the chirp bandwidth. The IF signal is then bandpass filtered (to remove signals below some minimum range and frequencies above the maximum frequency of the subsequent analog-to-digital converter (ADC)) and digitized before further processing. The bandpass filter and the upper frequency detection range of the ADC set the maximum range that can be detected (i.e., the IF frequency increases with range).

[0043] The phase of the IF signal is important for detecting vibrations because phase (i.e., the difference between the phase of the transmitted and received chirp signals) is a sensitive measure of small changes in surface distance. Small distance changes can be detected in the phase signal but are indistinguishable in the frequency signal. Furthermore, measurements of the phase difference between two consecutive chirp signals can be used to determine the velocity of the surface.

[0044] As an example, a fast Fourier transform (FFT) can be performed across multiple chirp signals to enable separation of objects in the same range but moving at different speeds. The Fourier transform converts a signal from the spatial or time domain to the frequency domain. In the frequency domain, a signal is represented by a weighted sum of sine and cosine waves. A discrete digital signal with N samples can be exactly represented by the sum of N waves. The FFT provides a faster method of computing the discrete Fourier transform (DFT) by combining samples and reusing partial results using wave symmetry and repetition. This method can save enormous amounts of processing time, especially with real-world signals that can have thousands or millions of samples.

[0045] As a further example, angle estimation may be performed by using the phase difference between chirp signals received at two separate receivers.

[0046] Another option is to use channel state information (CSI). CSI is a measurement of the phase and amplitude of many frequencies detected at a receiver, thereby forming a complex "map" of the wireless environment, including the effects of objects in that environment. CSI characterizes how a wireless signal propagates from a transmitter to a receiver at a particular carrier frequency. The amplitude and phase of the CSI are affected by multipath effects, including amplitude attenuation and phase shift, for example, by the displacement and movement of the transmitter, receiver, and surrounding objects and people. In other words, CSI captures the wireless characteristics of the nearby environment. These characteristics, aided by mathematical modeling or machine learning algorithms, can be used for different sensing applications.

[0047] A wireless channel is divided into multiple subcarriers, as is done in 5G communication systems (e.g., using orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM)). To measure the CSI, a transmitter sends long training field symbols (LTFs) containing predefined symbols for each subcarrier, e.g., in a packet preamble. Once these LTFs are received, a receiver can estimate a CSI matrix using the received signal and the original LTFs. For each subcarrier, the channel can be modeled by y = Hx + n, where y is the received signal, x is the transmitted signal, H is the CSI matrix, and n is a noise vector. After signal processing such as cyclic prefix removal, demapping, and demodulation, the receiver estimates the CSI matrix H using the predefined signal x and the received signal y. The estimated CSI is then a three-dimensional matrix of complex values, which represents an “image” of the wireless environment at that time. By processing such a time-series “image,” information about object motion, location, and vibration can be extracted.

[0048] Such processing of the CSI matrix may be used for vital signs monitoring, presence detection, and human motion recognition. As an example, recognition techniques such as neural networks may be used to process the CSI matrix to perform such types of recognition.

[0049] It should be noted that systems using channel state information (CSI) have some relevance to systems with FMCW mmWave radar. In a CSI-based system, an input signal x is defined, and the receiver uses the received signal y to obtain H, i.e., H = (YN) / X. In an FMCW mmWave radar, the transmitted signal chirp x is also predefined, and the receiver uses the received signal y to obtain the transfer function H = Y / X. This last step actually has some relevance to multiplying the locally calculated chirp signal with the received chirp signal and applying a bandpass filter. According to various embodiments described below, the wireless sensing techniques described above are implemented in a mobile communication system (e.g., 5G or other cellular or WiFi communication system), but functional coexistence of radar and communication operating in the same frequency band is configured to avoid interference bandwidths. Wireless sensing can thereby be integrated into a large-scale mobile network to create a perceptual mobile network (PMN).

[0050] As another example, a detection signal consists of, for example, several pulses sent by a detection transmitter at a specific frequency and timing (detection signal parameter information). The detection receiver includes several bandpass filters that enable it to identify the detection signal parameter information, e.g., the timing and frequency of the received pulses. Specifically, if the transmitter determines a given pseudorandom sequence of frequency / timing pulses and beams it in a specific direction, e.g., by beamforming, and if the transmitter communicates the timing / frequency of the transmitted detection signal, generally the detection signal parameter information, to the receiver, the receiver can use its bandpass filters to identify receipt of the same transmitted pulse, i.e., detection signal, based on the received detection signal parameter information.

[0051] (Distributed) detection structure and operation FIG. 1 illustrates generally one embodiment of a communications system having distributed radar functionality provided over wireless communications system links for use in embodiments of the present invention.

[0052] 1 is directed to distributed radar functions, it should be noted that the present invention may be applied to non-distributed sensing, and in particular, the present invention may be equally applied to non-distributed sensing services and / or functions in which sensing transmitters and sensing receivers are co-located. Thus, the described embodiments may be implemented in a single device that includes both a transmitter and a receiver.

[0053] In a distributed radar function, in contrast to a purely centralized radar solution (i.e., whereby the transmitter and receiver of the radar signal are part of or operated by the same device), a portion of the 5G (or other cellular or WiFi) network spectrum is configured to be stationary / out of communication for a period of time (e.g., set to radar mode) or detected to be stationary / out of communication, for example, to enable the performance of remote vital sign measurements and other measurements by creating a distributed radar system between a base station (BS) 100 or UE (as a transmitter) and at least one UE 120 or base station (as a receiver), while compensating for the lack of analog signal exchange and the additional path length caused by the transmitter-receiver distance and the distance between the receiver (e.g., UE 120) and an object (e.g., a human). For this purpose, the base station 100 (or UE) acting as a transmitter sets up a communication link with the UE 120 (or base station) acting as a receiver (or vice versa) to exchange some control information, sensing measurements, and / or (partial) sensing results. The control information includes a set of configuration parameters related to the distributed sensing operation, such as transmitter-to-receiver distance and angle, pulse occurrence time, pulse phase, possibly chirp timing (CT), chirp profile (CP), target location (TL), frequency including phase offset (PO), time between subsequent sensing signals, number of repetitions, sensing signal waveform information, amplitude, MIMO / beamforming parameters, number of transmitter antennas used, transmit power, potential interference patterns, identifiers / addresses (e.g., Internet Protocol (IP) addresses / Uniform Resource Locator (URL) addresses) of destination servers and / or network functions / devices to send the sensing results to (e.g., for storage or further processing), session or application related information (e.g., session identifier or application identifier), desired accuracy of sensing measurements, etc., and may be sent via a radar request (RR) from the receiver side (e.g., UE 120) (e.g., the initial attach request message from the UE to the base station extended with a sensing request field or 3GPP TS 38.331) (e.g., in response to an RRC message or system information from the base station to the UE as specified in 3GPP TS 331 extended with sensing configuration parameters). 38.331), or sent by the transmitter side to the receiver side (e.g., as part of a configuration / assistance information message / signal) before the transmitter starts sending its sensing signal; or (partially) pre-configured on the receiver (e.g., stored in the Universal Subscriber Identity Module (USIM) or stored in non-volatile memory at the time of manufacture); or configured on the receiver by a local application; or provided by the network (possibly via the transmitter or via another transmitter, or e.g., via the Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), Policy Control Function (PCF), Network Publishing Function (NEF), Location Management Function (LMF), Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC), or (e.g., 3GPP TS 23.501)). These parameters are configured differently for each application (e.g., based on the detection target or based on the detection algorithm). A set of parameters is combined in the form of a detection profile, which is identifiable by, for example, a profile identifier, an application identifier, or a device identifier. After the detection profile is sent / configured / pre-configured on the receiver, activation of the detection profile is triggered by sending a signal / message to the receiver with the indicated detection profile identifier. The detection profile and / or configuration parameters also include an algorithm identifier, a filter identifier, or a machine learning model identifier to trigger the application of a specific detection algorithm, filter, or machine learning model, respectively, to be used for analyzing / processing the received detection signal. These algorithms, filters, or models may be pre-configured / stored in the receiver beforehand, sent by the transmitter to the receiver, for example, in a separate message (e.g., as virtual machine code, filter parameters / code, or model data), or downloaded by the receiver, for example, based on a download URL or a server IP address (e.g., as virtual machine code, filter parameters / code, or model data), and configured for the required application. For example, if precise distance measurements are required, the full set of parameters is communicated, but if phase-based velocity is required, only chirp parameters are needed. In some applications, the chirp parameters are predefined and only an identifier indicating the set of chirp parameters is exchanged. The parameters are communicated over a set of time / frequency resources (e.g., 3GPP TS 38.The parameters may also include the time / frequency offset at which the detection signal is scheduled to be transmitted (e.g., a semi-persistent schedule as defined in RFC 321), and / or the time / frequency offset at which the detection signal is expected to arrive at the receiver. This information may also be provided as the time interval at which the receiver is expected to listen for the incoming reflected detection signal (e.g., as an offset relative to the start time or system frame number / subframe / symbol at which the signal is transmitted by the transmitter). The start time, offset, or time interval for performing detection by the receiver may be specified such that detection begins at the start or end time at which the first instance of the detection signal is received by the receiver (i.e., the first instance of the detection signal is received via a direct, non-reflected path), i.e., reception of the first instance of the detection signal may be used by the receiver to trigger / activate active detection of the reflected detection signal. The parameters may also include information about quiet periods or guard intervals that are respected by the receiver device. In addition, the parameters may include information about encoded identity information, special symbols / preambles, or unique signal characteristics that may allow the receiver to uniquely identify each detection signal from other possible detection or communication signals. To allow the receiver to determine which portions of the detection signal have encoded information (e.g., signal identity information, timestamp of when the transmitter sent the signal), additional timing or frequency information is provided to identify where in the detection signal the receiver can find the encoded information, the start / end time, or a subdivision of the time interval within the time interval for receiving a complete single detection signal. As with the detection receiver, the detection transmitter may be configured by the network (e.g., Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), Policy Management Function (PCF), Network Publishing Function (NEF), Location Management Function (LMF), Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC), or (e.g., 3GPP TS 23.501) as part of the policy / system information / RRC configuration / session configuration (e.g., during the initial registration or connection setup of the detecting transmitter with the network, or during a previous initial registration / connection setup) with parameters regarding how to perform the detection (e.g., pulse occurrence time, pulse phase, possibly chirp timing (CT), chirp profile (CP), target location (TL), frequency including phase offset (PO), time between subsequent detection signals, detection signal waveform information, amplitude, MIMO / beamforming parameters, number of transmitter antennas used, transmit power, quiet periods or guard intervals considered, etc.), which algorithms, filters, detection profile to use, which destination server and / or network function / device to send the detection results to (e.g., for storage or further processing), and / or session or application related information (e.g., session identifier / application identifier), etc. The above parameters for detection may also be pre-configured on the transmitter (e.g., stored in the USIM or stored in non-volatile memory at manufacture), configured on the transmitter by a local application, or provided by the receiver. .

[0054] To facilitate the configuration of the above-mentioned sensing parameters, the sensing receiver device or sensing transmitter device provides its sensing-related capabilities via a capability exchange message (e.g., as part of a radar request message or an RRC UECapabilityInformation message specified in 3GPP TS 38.331, extended with several fields indicating the sensing-related capabilities), to the network (e.g., a core network function, a service (operated / provided by the network) responsible for managing and / or performing sensing (i.e., a sensing service), or an application function for managing and / or using the results of the sensing operation (i.e., a sensing application)), to one or more base stations, or to other devices involved in distributed sensing (e.g., to the sensing transmitter device in the case of a sensing receiver device). The sensing-related capability information includes, for example, device information (such as the number of antennas or supported frequency ranges), wireless sensing signal processing capabilities (such as which algorithms are supported and / or whether a particular sensing result / target can be determined (e.g., the position or movement of a target object or the shape of a target object can be determined), one or more supported sensing profiles, etc.), wireless sensing signal transmission capabilities (such as whether this is supported and, if supported, at what frequencies). The sensing receiver is configured differently based on the received capabilities of the sensing receiver and / or sensing transmitter. The sensing transmitter is configured differently and / or adapts the sensing signal based on the received capabilities of the sensing receiver and / or sensing transmitter.

[0055] The parameters used to configure the sensing transmitter and sensing receiver depend on and are adapted based on sensing requirements provided, for example, through an application function, a network publishing function, or other core network function / service or application, such as a sensing service or sensing application. Such sensing requirements may identify, for example, the type of sensing result expected to be calculated (e.g., motion, position, shape, material, biometrics), information about one or more target objects (e.g., rough location, last known location, identifiable features, or information about already known features such as size, material, or shape), quality of service (e.g., desired accuracy, sampling rate), information about algorithms / filters to be used, and / or session / application-related information (e.g., application identifier or session identifier).

[0056] 1, a base station (BS) 100 and / or a UE 120 determine the (coarse) location, area, or volume of an object 150 by transmitting a series of signals, e.g., chirp signals, that are beamformed in the direction of the object 150. The (coarse) location may also be in the form of a relative position, e.g., a set of distances and / or angles relative to a reference point (e.g., a transmitter or receiver).

[0057] Optionally, for example, before the actual radar detection procedure between the transmitter and receiver is initiated, unless already known, a location estimation radar operation, an object shape determination operation, and / or an object material / reflection property determination operation at the transmitter (e.g., base station (BS) 100) is used to determine the angle and distance of the object, the object shape, and / or the object material / reflection property. This information is stored at the transmitter, provided to the receiver, and / or provided to a network function responsible for collecting detection measurements and / or (partial) detection results, which performs further processing on these detection measurements / results to determine further detection properties of the particular object.

[0058] Depending on the target detection application, before transmitting the (chirp) signals, the exact timing of the phase and frequency (and optionally amplitude) of each individual (chirp) signal is communicated (e.g., by using a protected standard communication signal) to the receiver (i.e., UE 120), optionally along with the location or relative position of the transmitter (i.e., BS 100) and optionally the coarse location of the target 150. The idea of the protected communication (encryption and / or integrity protection) is to ensure that only the intended receiver can use this information. Based on this, the receiver optionally determines the path length and angle from the transmitter to the receiver and internally synthesizes an analog (chirp) signal that matches the transmitted (chirp) signal. The received and combined signal can be used for detection.

[0059] If the relative position and precise time are known, for example, by detecting the correct intermediate frequency (IF) signal at the mixer output when the signal is a chirp signal, the path length of the reflected detection signal through the target 150 can be determined and / or the surface of the target can be accurately reconstructed. By knowing the rough position of the target object and / or by detecting the angle of arrival of the incoming reflected detection signal, the distance or angle between the receiver and the target object and / or between the transmitter and the target object is calculated. By knowing the phase, and therefore the phase difference, the velocity of the target 150 can be determined based on the frequency.

[0060] If only the velocity of the object 150 is needed (rather than its position and velocity), the transmitter can optionally avoid providing its relative position and communicate only the phase, timing, and frequency of the emitted sensed signal. In certain cases, only the sensed signal itself is transmitted to the receiver, which can then use the sensed signal, assuming a fixed time delay, to calculate an IF signal from which the object's velocity can be derived. This is of particular interest for measuring vital signs such as respiratory rate or heart rate. For example, it becomes possible to measure the velocity of the chest as one breathes and derive the breathing rhythm from the chest velocity.

[0061] Given a sufficiently good reflective surface location estimate, the receiver allows further data to be collected, such as skin conductivity.

[0062] In one example, radar detection capability may be achieved by the following procedure: The parameters of the detection signal used in the transmitter detection generation process, the coarse location or relative position of the target, and the position offset / angle from the transmitter to the receiver (e.g., UE 120) or absolute / geographical location of the transmitter along with a set of future times or time / frequency resources for the first (and subsequent) detection signals are determined and communicated from the transmitter to the receiver, for example, by using a protected communication signal.

[0063] Alternatively, some of the parameters may also be pre-configured in the receiver, configured in the receiver by a local application, or sent by the transmitter or network at a previous time (e.g., during a previous session). The communicated parameter information is then (optionally) decoded and / or verified by the receiver. The transmitter then emits a detection signal at a defined time, for example, by generating a detection signal using its Discrete Fourier Transform Spread Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (DFT-s-OFDM) signal generation process. The receiver listens for the detection signal at the time / resource indicated in the parameter information. The receiver uses its DFT-s-OFDM signal generation process to generate an internal synthesized detection signal (e.g., a chirp) consistent with the provided parameters, optionally with a delay corresponding to the direct distance from the transmitter to the receiver, thereby minimizing IF frequencies generated at the receiver. The receiver uses the provided detection parameter information and / or an internal representation of the detection signal to configure its radio frequency (RF) receiving front-end or signal detection unit to identify / detect the detection signal from among signals received by the RF receiving front-end. Upon detection and / or further processing of the received detection signal, the receiver determines and records / stores the start / end time, phase shift, frequency, amplitude, signal deformation, signal strength, interference pattern, detected special symbol / preamble, encoded identity information of the detection signal, and / or timing of quiet periods between the detection signals. The receiver uses this information to filter out only relevant detection signals and extract detection information about the target object, and further determines whether the received detection signal is actually reflected by the target object or received via a direct, non-reflective path between the transmitter and receiver. To this end, the receiver calculates the expected path loss and / or timing between the transmitter and receiver for the direct path, as well as the expected path loss and / or timing via an indirect, reflective path through the target, and uses this in determining whether the received detection signal is actually reflected by the target object or received via a direct, non-reflective path between the transmitter and receiver.

[0064] Alternatively, the transmitter can calculate the expected path loss and / or timing between the transmitter and receiver for the direct path and the expected path loss and / or timing via the indirect reflected path through the target and send this information to the receiver, which can then use it in making its decision. The receiver uses (e.g., mixes) the internally synthesized “outgoing” sensed signal and the received sensed signal reflected by the target 150 to form an IF signal, performs bandpass filtering (or optionally only highpass filtering at the ADC's maximum frequency) and ADC, and digitizes the IF data and / or the raw / filtered received reflected sensed signal data. To this end, the receiver creates a compressed or uncompressed digitally sampled representation of the IF signal or the received raw / filtered reflected sensed signal using a sampling frequency preconfigured in the receiver device or provided by the transmitter (e.g., as part of the sensed signal parameters). Information about which compression method / format to apply is also provided by the transmitter (e.g., as part of the sensed signal parameters) or preconfigured in the receiver. The digital IF signal is then processed to produce application-specific data (e.g., the output of one or more (pre-configured) algorithms or machine learning models), where the sensing results related to the object (e.g., specific characteristics of the object such as position, velocity, shape, size, material composition, etc. of the object determined after performing respective signal processing / analysis on the received (reflected) sensing signal) or digitized data from the receiver may be sent to a transmitter, network function / device, or cloud for further application-specific processing.

[0065] In addition to the processed or digitized data, the receiver may include signal, detection profile, algorithm / model, and / or device identification information, timing and / or measurement information (e.g., arrival / end times of the detection signal, phase shift, frequency, amplitude, or signal deformation), antenna information / antenna sensitivity / MIMO configuration / beamforming configuration used by the receiver for detection, information related to the location / distance / angle of the receiver relative to the transmitter and / or object or as absolute coordinates, and / or information about the detection application or detection session (e.g., application identifier or session identifier).

[0066] The complete separation of transmitter and receiver in digital wireless systems such as 5G implies that the receiver does not have access to the analog version of the directly emitted signal (phase, frequency), but only the reflected sensed signal, and therefore cannot form the IF signal in the analog domain. This means that all processing is performed on the received analog signal (which requires a very fast ADC to digitize the received "raw" sensed signal).

[0067] Furthermore, in the proposed distributed radar detection system, the distance to a reflective surface of the target 150 depends on both the distance from the transmitter to the target 150 and the distance from the receiver to the target 150 (rather than simply twice the distance from the transmitter to the target, as in non-distributed radar systems).

[0068] The "minimum range" of a measurement corresponds to the direct distance from the transmitter to the receiver. Naturally, objects at shorter distances from the receiver will be measured, but the range will always be greater than the direct distance from the transmitter to the receiver. The isochronous return lies on a spatial location ellipse (return ellipse) that has the transmitter position and the receiver position as its two foci. The minimum (degenerate) ellipse (a straight line between the transmitter and the receiver) whose minor axis has a length of zero has the minimum delay time, which is the time it takes for a radio wave to travel directly from the transmitter to the receiver.

[0069] The receiver receives a signal that corresponds to a signal transmitted directly from the transmitter in a straight line to the receiver (a pseudo-surface in the "null" range, ie a point on the straight line between the transmitter and the receiver).

[0070] Therefore, the proposed integrated distributed radar system requires a kind of clock-level synchronization between the transmitter and receiver to remove ambiguity in the detection parameter estimation.

[0071] Furthermore, aiding information signals (e.g., radar request and response parameters) can be communicated between the transmitter and receiver via alternative communication routes (e.g., using separate bands, beamformed sub-beams directed at the receiver, or time-dispersed signals between the sensed signals), so that the receiver can obtain a representation of the necessary details of the transmitted signal (e.g., the exact timing, phase of the continuous (chirp) signal) to simulate the mixing of the transmitted and received signals to obtain the IF signal without having to directly analyze the analog transmitted signal. This can be done, for example, by internally generating an analog version of the same transmitted sensed signal using parameters provided via the aiding information signal. Therefore, to ensure that the correct timing is provided in this mixing of the simulated transmitter sensed signal and the actual received sensed signal, the transmitter should signal the exact timing, phase, frequency, etc. of the transmitted signal to the receiver in advance.

[0072] Furthermore, the receiver uses auxiliary / (pre)configured information / parameters about the sensed signal to distinguish between sensed signals received via the direct, non-reflected path and reflected sensed signals. The receiver either ignores sensed signals received via the direct, non-reflected path (e.g., by ignoring the first instance of reception of the sensed signal (e.g., by checking the time of arrival of the sensed signal or by checking the corresponding phase shift, frequency change, signal deformation, amplitude change, interference pattern to identify which sensed signal is reflected or not)), or uses these signals to more accurately determine its relative position / distance / angle with respect to the transmitter. The receiver also uses signals received via the direct, non-reflected path as further inputs to signal analysis algorithms / models, e.g., as additional reference signals for IF calculations, (relative) position calculations, or additional phase shift / signal deformation / frequency / amplitude calculations.

[0073] Additionally, the distance and angle from the transmitter to the receiver, or the absolute / geographical position of the transmitter, is also signaled in order to calculate the correct position of the detected surface.

[0074] Finally, if the receiver (or transmitter, or both) is a handheld device, the movements and vibrations of that device can be measured by a corresponding sensor in order to subtract them from the detected movements and vibrations of the surface for some sensing applications.

[0075] The proposed distributed radar system, for example, between a base station (BS) 100 (as a transmitter) and a UE 120 (as a receiver and analyzer), provides the advantage that the receiver is more preferentially positioned to acquire the reflected detection signal at a higher signal strength than the transmitter (i.e., monitors the reflected detection signal using the receiver portion of the transmitter device, as in the case of non-distributed detection, for example), and the receiver is near or closer to the path of the reflected detection signal, avoiding some of the clutter from the transmitted signal.

[0076] Furthermore, the proposed distributed radar system separates the transmitter and receiver antennas, while a single antenna does not operate in full continuous duplex mode.

[0077] As a further advantage, multiple receivers can be used with a single transmitter, possibly each associated with collecting vital signs from a different subject (e.g., an individual human).

[0078] (Distributed) Sensing Architecture FIG. 2 shows a schematic diagram of one embodiment summarizing the architecture (including optional elements and functions) of a transmitter and receiver of a communication system with distributed sensing capabilities, used in embodiments of the present invention.

[0079] Although the architecture of Figure 2 shows the transmitter device and receiver device as separate devices in a distributed sensing system, it is expected that the sensing transmitter and sensing receiver functions may be co-located in the same device (e.g., in a centralized sensing architecture), whereby similar functions and elements (subsets of) are present.

[0080] The proposed distributed radio wave sensing radar / communications system comprises a transmitter device (TX) 10 and a receiver device (RX) 20, configured to operate over a suitable radio frequency range (such as the mmWave range mentioned earlier), and includes RF hardware and signal processing algorithms that enable both standard communications, e.g., 5G, and radar sensing for vital signs, object detection, and / or motion recognition. In 5G systems, two options for uplink (UL) waveforms are offered: one is cyclic prefix OFDM (CP-OFDM, the same as the downlink (DL) waveform), and the other is discrete Fourier transform spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM), which corresponds to the UL waveform in long-term evolution (LTE) systems (i.e., fourth generation (4G)). Transform precoding is the first step to create the DFT-s-OFDM waveform, followed by subcarrier mapping, inverse FFT, and cyclic prefix (CP) insertion. Whether a UE needs to use CP-OFDM or DFT-s-OFDM may be determined by a radio resource control (RRC) parameter.

[0081] 5G transmitters or receivers with integrated radar detection capabilities have slightly modified DFT-s-OFDM and frequency-domain spectral shaping (FDSS) filters, which allow them to generate suitable chirps. Linear and other chirp signals can be generated using DFT-s-OFDM signals via appropriately designed FDSS filters, allowing standard communications hardware with only minor modifications to generate suitable signals for radar. These frameworks provide a means to efficiently synthesize chirps that can be used in dual-function radar and communications (DFRC) or wireless sensing applications using existing DFT-s-OFDM transceivers.

[0082] Another option for generating a signal suitable for simultaneous data transmission and radar detection is described in Cong Li et al., "Radar Communication Integrated Waveform Design Based on OFDM and Circular Shift Sequence," Mathematical Problems in Engineering, July 2017, and is based on the peak-to-mean envelope power ratio (PMERP) and peak-to-sidelobe ratio (PSLR) of the OFDM waveform. Specifically, Gray code techniques can be employed to reduce the PMERP and simultaneously select the optimal cyclic sequence to improve the PSLR of the OFDM waveform. The optimal cyclic sequence is dynamically generated to continuously provide the best waveform as the communication data changes. In addition, two simple methods can be used to adjust the bandwidth of the OFDM waveform to meet the requirements of different radar detection tasks. One method is to design different subcarrier complex weights, and the other is to use phase coding techniques.

[0083] The transmitter device (TX) 10 may be an access device (e.g., a base station) or a terminal device (e.g., a UE or Internet of Things (IoT) device) and may comprise a standard transmitter communication unit or system (S-TX-COM) 101 that enables standard communications, e.g., 5G capabilities, using, for example, DFT-s-OFDM-generated data communication signals. By operating in a "radar mode," the transmitter communication system 101 may form a radar-mode signal generator (RM-SIG-GEN) 102 that is capable of generating linear chirp signals (chirps) using, for example, minimally modified communication components. This may be achieved, for example, by using a (slightly) modified DFT-s-OFDM with a suitable FDSS filter to transform the single-carrier nature of the DFT-s-OFDM signal into a linear combination of circularly transformed chirp signals in the time domain, as described, for example, in Alphan Sahin et al., "DFT-spread-OFDM Based Chirp Transmission," IEEE Communications Letters, Vol. 25, No. 3, March 2021. By exploiting the properties of Fourier series and Bessel functions of the first kind, an FDSS filter for any chirp can be obtained.

[0084] Furthermore, the transmitter device 10 comprises a transmit front end (TX / ANT) 103 (eg, capable of operating at mmWave frequencies) that includes a transmitter coupled to an antenna with beamforming capabilities.

[0085] Optionally, a receive front end (RX / ANT) 104 (e.g., capable of operating at mmWave frequencies) is provided (e.g., as a separate component or integrated with the transmit front end 103 within a joint transceiver front end), which includes a receiver coupled to an antenna having beamforming receive capability (e.g., where additional non-distributed transmitter-only radar operations are performed to determine the location, shape / size, or material / reflection characteristics of an object).

[0086] Additionally, the transmitter device 10 comprises a transmitter clock generator (TX-CLK) 105 for generating an accurate system clock for the transmitter device 10 .

[0087] Optionally, a transmitter time delay measurement function (not shown) is provided (e.g., implemented by a processor / controller of the transmitter device 10) that uses the standard transmitter communication unit 101 to perform two-way time delay measurements with a cooperative receiver device (e.g., receiver device 20).

[0088] Optionally, an encryption and decryption function (ENCR / DECR) 106 is provided to perform a suitable data encryption / decryption scheme (e.g., based on the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) algorithm or the Rivest-Shamir-Adelman (RSA) algorithm) and data integrity verification (e.g., a data verification scheme using message authentication codes or digital signatures), for example, if data is distributed in protected Radio Resource Control (RRC) messages.

[0089] As a further option, the transmitter device 10 comprises a non-distributed (low-resolution) transmitter radar analysis system (L-RES RAS) 107, i.e., a radar analysis system including a receiver device and / or including a (low-resolution) transmitter radar analysis system, for providing non-distributed location radar scanning capability, the non-distributed (low-resolution) transmitter radar analysis system (L-RES RAS) 107 comprising an IF generation mixer (IF-MIX) 107-1 to which a copy of the emitted detection signal and an externally received reflected detection signal are fed and mixed to generate a mixed signal including an intermediate frequency (IF) signal. Furthermore, the transmitter radar analysis system 107 comprises electronic signal processing components including a transmitter bandpass filter (BPF) 107-2 and an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) 107-3 capable of IF filtering and analog-to-digital conversion of the generated IF signal. Additionally, the transmitter radar analysis system 107 includes a digital signal processing component and algorithm system (e.g., a DSP implemented by a digital signal processor) 107-4 that provides DSP capabilities for, for example, location detection, pre-processing with clutter rejection, and the like.

[0090] As a further option, the transmitter device 10 is equipped with sensor components including a transmitter motion sensor (TX-MOV-SEN) 108 such as an accelerometer that measures motion and vibration of the transmitter device 10 .

[0091] Furthermore, receiver device 20 may be an access device (e.g., a base station) or a terminal device (e.g., a UE or an Internet of Things (IoT) device) and may include a standard receiver communication unit or system (S-RX-COM) 201 that provides standard communication capabilities, e.g., in 5G, using a data communication signal generated by, e.g., DFT-s-OFDM. By operating in a "radar mode," receiver communication system 201 may form a radar-mode signal generator (RM-SIG-GEN) 202 that generates, e.g., a linear detection signal, e.g., by using a (slightly) modified DFT-s-OFDM signal, where the generated detection signal is used internally and is not coupled to a transmitter and an antenna. The waveform of the detection signal is generated from specific input parameters including at least one of a specific start time, phase, amplitude, fundamental frequency, bandwidth, frequency slope, repetition frequency of the detection signal, gap between detection signals, and total number of detection signals.

[0092] Additionally, receiver device 20 comprises a receive front end (RX / ANT) 204 that includes a receiver coupled to an antenna with beamforming receive capabilities and is capable of operating at mmWave frequencies.

[0093] Additionally, the receiver device 20 comprises a receiver clock generator (RX-CLK) 205 for generating an accurate system clock for the receiver device 20 .

[0094] Optionally, a receiver time delay measurement function (not shown) is provided (e.g., implemented by a processor / controller of the receiver device 20) that uses the standard receiver communication unit 201 to perform two-way time delay measurements with a cooperative transmitter device (e.g., transmitter device 10).

[0095] Optionally, an encryption and decryption function (ENCR / DECR) 206 is provided to implement a suitable data encryption / decryption scheme (e.g., based on the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) algorithm or the Rivest-Shamir-Adelman (RSA) algorithm) and data integrity verification (e.g., a data verification scheme using message authentication codes or digital signatures) that matches the scheme used on the transmitter side, e.g., data distributed in protected Radio Resource Control (RRC) messages.

[0096] As a further option, the receiver device 20 is equipped with a (low resolution) non-distributed radar analysis system (L-RES RAS) 207 that provides non-distributed location radar scanning capabilities, i.e., a radar analysis system that includes a receiver device and / or includes a (low resolution) transmitter radar analysis system, the (low resolution) non-distributed radar analysis system (L-RES RAS) 207 including a transmitter front end (TX / ANT) 204 that includes a transmitter coupled to an antenna with beamforming capabilities of the receiver device 20.

[0097] Additionally, the (low resolution) radar analysis system 207 includes components shared with an additional high resolution distributed radar analysis system (H-RES RAS) 209, including an IF generation mixer (IF-MIX) 207-1 that receives an (internally generated) copy of the emitted detection signal and an externally received reflected detection signal to generate a mixed signal including an IF signal, electronic signal processing components including a receiver band pass filter (BPF) 207-2 and an ADC 207-3 capable of IF filtering and analog-to-digital conversion of the generated IF signal, and an electronic digital component and algorithm system (DSP, e.g., digital signal processor) 207-4 that provides DSP capabilities for, e.g., location detection, pre-processing with clutter rejection, etc.

[0098] The high-resolution distributed radar analysis system 209 is configured to share the electronic components of an IF generation mixer 207-1 configured to mix inputs of an internally generated detection signal based on provided timing / phase parameters created by a radar-mode signal generator 202 and an externally received detection signal provided by a receiver front-end 204, receiver bandpass filter 207-2 and ADC 207-3 electronic components that receive an analog IF signal, filter the analog IF signal with a suitable bandpass filter, and perform analog-to-digital conversion, and electronic digital component and algorithm system 207-4 that provides DSP capabilities for the desired application, including pre-processing with clutter rejection, etc. To prevent leakage / tampering of potentially privacy-sensitive detection information about a target, radar analysis should be performed in a secure, tamper-resistant subsystem, and the resulting detection information should be stored on secure storage and / or encrypted with a non-tamper-resistant credential (such as a Subscriber Identity Module (e.g., USIM) credential).

[0099] Alternatively, the final digital processing is offloaded from the receiver device 20 to the transmitter device 10 or to a network function / device or cloud computing resource, which returns the obtained results.

[0100] Optionally, receiver device 20 includes a user interface (UI / MEM) 210 with data storage and display capabilities that can input information from a user, store data in receiver device 20, and output displays to the user. The specific elements of user interface 210 depend on the type of receiver device (e.g., UE) and its capabilities. For example, a handheld smartphone device may have an advanced user interface 210 and display, while an IoT monitoring device may only have a visual or audio alarm.

[0101] As a further option, the receiver device 20 comprises a receiver motion sensor (RX-MOV-SEN) 208, such as an accelerometer, camera, structured light sensor, etc., that measures the motion and vibration of the receiver device 20 and the location of nearby objects. The receiver device 20 also communicates its motion and vibration to the transmitter device 10 via its transmitter standard communication unit 201 by using a receiver motion data sequence during a sensing time interval acquired by the receiver motion sensor 208. The receiver motion data sequence is sent to the transmitter (e.g., as a series of RRC or Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE) messages) by using a separate communication channel between the receiver and the transmitter.

[0102] Subject Identification and Authorization One problem with radar systems and wireless sensing systems in general, for both distributed radar systems and non-distributed / centralized radar systems, is that there are multiple objects within the sensing area / volume that are sensed / detected by the radar system. Not all of these objects are subject to wireless sensing services, subscribe to such wireless sensing services, are intended targets of wireless sensing services, and / or desire to be sensed or participate in sensing services or procedures. Similarly, some services, e.g., communication services, also benefit from the use of sensing services that require the collection of sensed information of one or more objects. For example, communication services may be optimized or improved if highly accurate information, e.g., of the location, trajectory, or velocity of one or more objects potentially collected by a sensing service, is known, even if not all objects subscribe, acknowledge, and provide approval or consent to the use of wireless sensing services.

[0103] This is problematic because wireless sensing can reveal personally identifiable information (e.g., biometric information) and / or other privacy-sensitive information (e.g., where a person is or what they are doing). In many countries, users must provide consent to participate in services that obtain privacy-sensitive information, especially in private areas such as someone's home. Similarly, as described in TS 33.501, Annex V, user consent may be required for 3GPP® functions depending on local regulations, and the collection, processing, and use of privacy-sensitive data, e.g., by sensing, may also be limited to specific uses. Additionally, devices involved in sensing, especially those that obtain / receive privacy-sensitive information in the process, should be appropriately authorized.

[0104] The transmitter, receiver, and / or sensing service may receive information (e.g., as part of sensing configuration / parameters, e.g., from an application, a network publishing function, a policy control function, a subscription database (e.g., home subscriber service, integrated data management service), an identity database, an authentication / authorization control function, a public safety response point), one or more biometric information associated with an individual (e.g., heart rate signal characteristics, body shape, body absorption / reflection characteristics, body posture / movement, body size / mass, a disease / disorder that leads to a particular identifiable characteristic, e.g., sleep apnea that leads to cessation of breathing during sleep, fast and irregular breathing, etc.), and / or other information (e.g., from an application, a network publishing function, a policy control function, a subscription database (e.g., home subscriber service, integrated data management service), an identity database, an authentication / authorization control function, a public safety response point ... one or more biometric information associated with an individual, e.g., heart rate signal characteristics, body shape, body absorption / reflection characteristics, body posture / movement, body size / mass, a disease / disorder that leads to a particular identifiable characteristic, e.g., sleep apnea that leads to cessation of breathing during sleep, fast and irregular breathing, etc.). The system receives information about physiological conditions (e.g., asthma, which may lead to irregular breathing rate or shortness of breath; shuffling, which may lead to abnormal body movements; tremors (e.g., Parkinson's disease); expected body temperature patterns; and heart rate variability / patterns) so that, depending on whether the respective physiological conditions are detected (e.g., by an analysis system) in the reflected sensing signals received by the receiver unit in the receiver device or transmitter device, the sensing session can be continued or stopped, the sensing information can be accepted for further processing / storage or discarded, or a different subject, receiver 20, or transmitter 10 can be selected. This is to ensure that unnecessary sensing information, which may be from the wrong subject, is not collected. Use of the transmitter device or receiver (especially in the case of radar sensing operations to determine physiological conditions or vital signs) can be restricted to authorized devices and / or to authorized individuals with permission to read, for example, the vital signs of a particular patient, so that patient safety can be ensured.

[0105] In general, if the sensing service, sensing transmitter, or sensing receiver determines that the sensing information (e.g., sensing measurements or sensing results associated with a detected object) or the input / output data of the sensing signal processing does not correspond to given information regarding how to identify the subject (e.g., the determined location is too far from the UE carrying the subject, the shape / size of the subject is different (e.g., smaller or larger), the biometric information does not match the subject, or one or more sensing measurements / results are above or below a certain threshold), the sensing service, sensing transmitter, or sensing receiver will discard the received sensing signal, discard the sensing information (e.g., sensing measurements or sensing results), discard the input / output data of the sensing signal processing, do not perform further processing on these measurements, results, and / or input / output data, and / or do not transmit these measurements, results, and / or input / output data to a further processing unit. The detection service, detection transmitter, or detection receiver may also generate a notification message and send it to an application, application server, core network function, or via / through the NEF for, for example, further processing or storage, and / or store information about such occurrence on non-volatile storage (such as a database) if the target is (no longer) detected.

[0106] Additionally, the network provides services, executes application functions, or interfaces with external applications (e.g., through the NEF) to monitor objects (e.g., elderly people living alone at home, or, for example, cars). Such sensing services or applications provide information to the sensing service, sensing transmitter, or sensing receiver (possibly indirectly via the sensing service) about the object location / area / volume and / or how to identify the object (e.g., the address / location of the home in which the object resides or its surroundings, or area / volume information (e.g., a bounded geographic area indicated by a set of coordinates, length, size, diameter) where the object is detected or expected to be present, physical characteristics of the object (e.g., size, shape, mass, material composition, biometric information associated with the object (e.g., as enumerated in the previous embodiment)), last known location, identity and / or location of wireless communication devices or other devices owned by, encompassed by, containing, or carried by the object, etc.). It should be noted that in the present disclosure, such location, area, or volume where an object is sensed / detected (i.e., object location, area, or volume) or where sensing is performed (i.e., sensing location, area, or volume) may be defined as a region of interest (ROI).

[0107] The detection service, detection transmitter, or detection receiver also obtains information about devices (e.g., their identities and estimated locations). Devices in the vicinity of a subject or subject's address / location / home (e.g., a set of nearby base stations or nearby UEs (e.g., UEs located in the person's home or UEs carried by the person or their family, friends, or neighbors)) can be capable and authorized (or have been authorized) by the network, by the device's user, and / or by the subject object to participate in (distributed) detection of the intended subject. Authorization information (including user consent information) is stored as part of the user's subscription (e.g., in a Unified Data Management (UDM) function of the core network), stored as part of the detection service, and / or received from a service, application function, external application, or authentication, authorization, and accounting (AAA) server (e.g., through the NEF).

[0108] However, not all UEs are sensing devices, and it is not clear how a UE triggers the initiation of detection of an object or how a UE can be used to confirm user consent. In general, it is desirable to improve the way in which authorization is obtained / provided to initiate detection of a particular object, and to mitigate / prevent detection (especially detailed detection) of unauthorized / unintended objects, as described in subsequent embodiments.

[0109] In one embodiment for identifying a wirelessly sensed target, the sensing service, sensing transmitter, or sensing receiver initiates an initial radar scan (e.g., at low resolution by using low frequency signals (e.g., below 2.4 GHz)) of an area / volume derived from the target's location / address, last known location, area information where / around the target is expected to be present, and / or the location of a wireless communication device carried / contained by the target, using, for example, a low-resolution non-distributed radar analysis system as described in other embodiments. Such a scan is used to obtain (low-resolution) radar measurements / sensing results that are used to determine whether the target is present in the scanned area / volume.

[0110] Identifying a wirelessly detected target occurs as follows: The detection service, detection transmitter, or detection receiver is configured with information about the target location / area / volume where the target is expected to be detected or present and / or how to identify the target (e.g., physical characteristics of the target (e.g., size, shape, mass, material composition associated with the target, biometric information (e.g., heart rate signal characteristics, body shape, body absorption / reflection characteristics, body posture / movement, body size / mass, diseases / disorders that lead to certain identifiable characteristics, e.g., sleep apnea that leads to cessation of breathing during sleep, asthma that may lead to fast, irregular breathing rate or shortness of breath, shuffling that leads to abnormal body movements, shivering (e.g., Parkinson's disease), expected body temperature patterns, heart rate variability / patterns)), the identity and / or location of wireless communication devices or other devices owned, encompassed, included, or carried by the target). This object identification information may include thresholds or other criteria related to detection measurements / results, such as minimum / maximum deviation from a particular location, a set of different shapes or a scatter plot of allowed shapes, or multiple shape definitions indicating minimum and maximum shape contours, size deviation (e.g., maximum / minimum tolerance in height, width, length, or kilograms), minimum / maximum speed, a set of possible movement patterns and / or their possible deviations, minimum / maximum values of detected biometric information (e.g., minimum / maximum heart rate or respiration rate), etc. Note that object identification information may be defined with different levels of precision, granularity, and matching criteria (e.g., thresholds) depending on the resolution / accuracy of the radar-based detection (e.g., the number of transmitters and receivers, the frequencies used, and whether non-distributed or distributed detection is used).

[0111] Alternatively or additionally, a target may also be indicated by exclusion, i.e., as a person, animal, structure, or another type of object that does not match a set of criteria (e.g., matching a particular known biometric or size, e.g., not a person, animal, object, or structure) and / or should not be detected in a particular location / area or volume (e.g., not matching the biometric of a person whose biometric information is previously stored or who is registered as residing in a particular home), for example, to detect home intruders / burglars. Information provided to the detection service, detection transmitter, or detection receiver (possibly indirectly via the detection service) may further include a set of phone numbers (e.g., emergency call numbers) to contact in case of a particular alert situation, a set of time periods (e.g., only at night), or a set of triggers for when the service should be active (e.g., only when a person is known to be at home, e.g., by receiving a signal from a device carried by the person).

[0112] Based on the above-mentioned object location / area / volume information and / or object identification information, the detection service selects and / or configures one or more detection transmitter devices and / or detection receiver devices with a detection configuration that enables detection to be performed with the required accuracy so that matching with the object identification information can be performed, for example by configuring a set of frequencies for the detection signal, which measurements need to be performed, how many times the detection signal should be transmitted or how many measurements should be performed, etc. The detection service also provides information to the detection transmitter devices and / or detection receiver devices about the (sub)set of object areas / locations / volumes and / or object identification information to be detected.

[0113] Based on the above-mentioned object identification information, the detection service, detection transmitter, and / or detection receiver are configured to perform an object matching procedure based on the configured object identification information, whereby the object matching procedure includes determining (e.g., by algorithmic processing of detection data (i.e., detection measurements and / or (partial) detection results) created by and / or obtained from the detection receiver) whether a set of detection measurements performed on the received detection signals, or results from processing performed on a set of detection measurements and / or (partial) detection results, meet one or more configured criteria (e.g., thresholds) for identifying the target object. This includes determining whether the detection measurements and / or detection results fall within certain thresholds and / or boundary conditions, for example, whether the object is sufficiently close to the target location, whether the identified shape of the object falls within certain boundaries, whether the size of the object is close to the expected size, whether the object's speed is below the minimum expected speed of the subject or above the maximum expected speed of the subject, or below a minimum value or above a maximum value that allows for proper detection of the target object, whether the movement pattern is one that could be expected by the subject, whether the measured biometric information (e.g., heart rate or respiratory rate) is below / above certain expected values for the subject, etc.

[0114] A target matching procedure is given an (ideal) representation of a signal as input, and the results of signal processing (including passing the signal through one or more filters) need to be matched by finding similarities between the processed signal and such (ideal) representation of the signal. This involves identifying overlaps between the processed signal and the (ideal) representation of the signal, possibly by changing the amplitude or timing of the signal. It also involves identifying signal shapes, signal peaks, and verifying whether they occur or do not occur in the (ideal) representation of the signal.

[0115] Additionally or alternatively, the input of such a target matching procedure includes a description of at least one or more signal characteristics (e.g., a particular signal peak or signal shape) that must be present in order for a signal to be matched. The input of such a target matching procedure also includes a set of signal characteristics (e.g., a particular signal shape, signal peak) that must not be present in order for a signal to be matched. Because some detection measurements and / or detection results are not stable (e.g., measurements that fluctuate between particular values, motion that causes a Doppler shift, small motion, or RF signal interference that causes noise in a particular signal), the signal needs to be passed through a particular filter (e.g., a low-pass or high-pass filter) to remove noise, unwanted spikes, outliers or trends, or Doppler shifts from the signal. Note that the detection measurements and detection results are measured or calculated over a period of time, thereby removing some outliers during that period and / or using some average values over that period for the signal processing and matching algorithm. The resulting output after these processing steps is a signal that matches a given (ideal) representation and / or a given set of signal characteristics, thereby ensuring that the match may never be 100% accurate. This is further exacerbated if the original or processed sensing signal, sensing measurement, or (partial) sensing result lacks sufficient precision (e.g., because a low-frequency signal, a low sampling rate, or a low-precision signal representation is used). Therefore, the matching result is provided together with a confidence level, a match rate, or a standard deviation value. The object matching procedure is given a minimum confidence level, a confidence interval, a minimum match rate, or a maximum standard deviation value for one or more of the configuration criteria or other object identities. If the minimum confidence level, minimum match rate, or maximum deviation is not met, the object matching procedure will not include it in the set of criteria or other object identities to be matched.

[0116] Additionally or alternatively, the sensing service, sensing transmitter, and / or sensing receiver, or other entity involved in performing the object matching procedure, determines or receives information (e.g., from a location service, other sensing service, or core network function such as NWDAF) about a set of UEs or other (potential) objects located near the location of the intended object and / or the location of the set of UEs within the area, whereby the location of the UEs or other (potential) objects is obtained by sensing or by other means (e.g., GNSS location obtained via location services). If the amount of these UEs or other (potential) objects determined to be located near the location of the intended object (e.g., in a crowded house, apartment building, or area) and / or determined not to be carrying a UE or otherwise linked to the intended object exceeds a threshold, the confidence level is adapted (e.g., reduced by a certain percentage). Similarly, if this amount is below a threshold, the confidence level is adapted (e.g., increased). Additionally or alternatively, the detection service, detection transmitter, and / or detection receiver, or other entity involved in performing the object matching procedure, determines or receives information about areas known to be congested areas (e.g., from a core network function such as NWDAF that captures data, stores data, and / or has historical data about the number of devices in an area) and / or information indicative of the degree of congestion of a set of areas (e.g., the average number of UEs present or connected in the area). If the intended object is determined to be in an area known to be congested, the confidence level is adapted (e.g., reduced by a certain percentage). Similarly, if the intended object is determined to be in an area that is not congested, the confidence level is adapted (e.g., increased).

[0117] Additionally or alternatively, the object matching procedure matches the detection measurements and / or (partial) detection results with an artificial intelligence (AI) model, whereby the AI model has been trained to identify a particular object or set of objects by using the detection measurements and / or (partial) detection results, e.g., based on detecting objects in a controlled environment, possibly in various settings. Such an AI model is provided as input to the object matching procedure or made available to the object matching procedure through a communication interface (e.g., running on an edge server). By running a set of detection measurements and / or (partial) detection results of actual objects through such an AI model, the AI model determines that the given detection measurements and / or (partial) detection results, such as a particular processed signal, match what the model has learned about how to identify a particular object. Additionally or alternatively, the AI model determines a machine-learned confidence score that the given detection measurements and / or (partial) detection results actually identify the object and / or that it matches one or more of the object-identifying information for the object. The AI model provides a match learning confidence score and / or other match results for further processing in the subject matching procedure.

[0118] The object matching procedure results in a set of objects (i.e., match targets) that match either a subset of the set of object identities in the case of a partial match or the entire set of object identities in the case of a complete match, whereby matching is augmented or conditioned by a confidence level or match rate, as described above. In essence, match targets are objects that match (with a particular confidence level or match rate) with at least a subset of the object identities, for example, by satisfying one or more of the configured criteria (e.g., thresholds) for identifying the object. A detection service, detection transmitter, or detection receiver performing object detection or performing an object matching procedure may allocate a new identifier when a new and / or distinct object is detected, allocate an identifier associated with the set of object identities (e.g., match criteria for the object), allocate an identifier based on an object identifier provided by an application, allocate an identifier based on a subscription identifier associated with the detection service and / or object detection, or allocate an identifier based on an identification of a detection session. The entity responsible for the subject matching procedure replaces the assigned identifier with an identifier associated with the set of subject identities in case of an exact match and / or when the confidence or percentage of match is above a pre-configured threshold.

[0119] To identify objects within a location / area / volume of interest, a detection service, detection transmitter, or detection receiver initiates an initial scan of the area of interest and / or obtains detection measurements / results resulting from the initial scan of the area of interest as input for an object matching procedure. Such an initial scan may be a low-resolution scan, but may also be a high-precision scan, for example, using distributed radar detection or at higher frequencies such as mmWave, if permitted / enabled / approved in a particular country or facility (e.g., for non-public networks) or in a particular use case (e.g., for lawful interception or emergency situations). The detection signals / measurements / results are processed as described in other embodiments to obtain a set of detection results, which reveal zero, one, or multiple objects (e.g., people, animals, houses, cars) detected in the area of interest.

[0120] If only one object matching (or not matching) the set of object identities (according to the object matching procedure) is detected, the detection service, detection transmitter, or detection receiver generates an event and / or sends a signal (conveying a message, for example, to an application server, core network function, or via the NEF) indicating the presence of a matching object or intended object within the scanned area / volume (possibly enriched with location information and / or other detection results associated with the detected object); if an object is detected according to the object identities, stores information about the detected object (possibly enriched with location information and / or other detection results associated with the detected object) in non-volatile storage (such as a database); initiates additional scans, performs further detection measurements for verification or to determine additional matches with the object identities; and / or initiates / triggers the initiation of a (detailed) detection session (only) when the presence of the intended object is detected. To this end, the detection service, detection transmitter, or detection receiver notifies one or more other detection services, detection transmitters, or detection receivers involved in the (detailed) detection of the object, for example by sending a signal to initiate additional detection operations.

[0121] If two or more objects are detected that match (or do not match) the set of object identities (according to the object matching procedure), the detection service, detection transmitter, or detection receiver may generate an event and / or send a signal (convey a message, e.g., to an application server, core network function, or via the NEF) indicating that multiple intended objects have been detected and / or that multiple objects (e.g., matching objects) that match (or do not match) the set of identities have been detected (but, e.g., it is not possible to determine with sufficient confidence that the intended object is present within the scanned area / volume and / or which detected object is the intended object), delay / cancel the start of the (detailed) detection session, initiate another scan, and / or perform further detection measurements for verification or to determine additional matches with object identities (e.g., to reduce the number of potential objects and / or to find a better match with the set of object identities for the intended object).

[0122] In another embodiment, a sensing service, sensing transmitter, or sensing receiver initiates an initial scan of a location / area / volume of interest and obtains sensing measurements / results resulting from the initial scan of the area of interest, which may include raw measurements (such as signal timing or signal strength) or (partial) sensing results derived from the sensing measurements (e.g., number of detected objects, object locations, object velocity, object size, object motion patterns). The sensing service, sensing transmitter, or sensing receiver (as a requesting entity) provides these sensing measurements / results, or a subset thereof, to another sensing service, to a sensing application, to a core network function (e.g., an Authentication Server Function (AUSF) or UDM), or to an external server responsible for performing the object matching procedure. For security and privacy reasons, the subject matching procedure needs to be performed within the security / privacy domain of the particular subject (e.g., in the home network (e.g., Home Public Land Mobile Network (H-PLMN)) that owns the subject's subscription to the sensing service, or by a server operated by a trusted identification authority (e.g., provided by a government) or by a server operated by an approved / trusted application provider), and therefore the subject identity is not shared with the sensing service, sensing transmitter, or sensing receiver, especially if they operate in a visited network (e.g., Visited Public Land Mobile Network (V-PLMN)). After performing the subject matching procedure on the provided sensing measurements / results, the sensing service, sensing application, or core network responds to the requesting entity with whether a match was found or not and / or with a (temporary) identity associated with the identified subject to be used for further authentication and authorization, as described in later embodiments. The response also includes information about whether the subject is approved for detection and / or includes credentials to be used to encrypt / decrypt subsequent messages (e.g., if a (temporary) identity is provided in subsequent messages protected by a key based on those credentials).Based on the response received, the detection service, detection transmitter, or detection receiver may stop or continue the detection operation, initiate additional detection operations, generate an event or send a signal indicating that a matched object was or was not detected, or begin / continue acknowledgment of the detection object (e.g., verify whether the detected object is an acknowledged object of the detection service).

[0123] In yet another embodiment, a sensing service, sensing transmitter, or sensing receiver initiates an initial scan of a location / area / volume of interest and obtains sensing measurements / results resulting from the initial scan of the area of interest, which may include raw measurements (such as signal timing or signal strength) or (partial) sensing results derived from the sensing measurements (e.g., number of detected objects, object locations, object velocity, object size, object movement patterns). The sensing service, sensing transmitter, or sensing receiver (as a requesting entity) requests one or more (other) sensing services, sensing applications, core network functions (e.g., AUSF or UDM), or identity databases (e.g., provided by a government) that maintain / store subject identities to provide one or more sets of subject identities (e.g., subject identities that match one or more sensing measurements / results). Such a request includes information about the scanned object location / area / volume, one or more detection parameters / measurements / results (e.g., object size, object location, object velocity, object movement pattern, object shape, object material), and / or information about one or more objects subscribed to the detection service (which also configures / controls the detection transmitter or detection receiver) and / or expected to be at / near the object location / area / volume. Based on this request, one or more (other) detection services, detection applications, core network functions, or identity databases provide a (sub)set of object identification information for objects whose object location / area / volume and / or object identification information (partially) matches the provided information (e.g., about the scanned object location / area / volume and / or one or more detection parameters / measurements / results).Additionally or alternatively, the set of object identities may be provided to the detection service, detection transmitter, and / or detection receiver by the network (e.g., the detection service), an application (e.g., via the NEF), or an external entity (e.g., a public safety answering point (PSAP)) as part of configuration information for detection of objects based on the set of object identities or as part of a request to initiate detection of an object or object location / area / volume. The (sub)set of object identities received by the detection service, detection transmitter, or detection receiver is then used by the detection service, detection transmitter, or detection receiver to perform further and / or more detailed detection of objects that are fine-tuned to the provided (sub)set of object identities to achieve better matching results or, for example, to further determine as / exclude one or more detected objects in the initial (low-resolution) scan that do or do not match the set of object identities (e.g., fall within or outside a set of thresholds for location, speed, size, or other parameters) as the intended object.

[0124] Detailed / longer / continuous detection of a target area or a set of target objects or other objects detected in the target area may be initiated in certain circumstances, including detection of targets over a longer time period, for example by using higher frequency or distributed radar, or with more advanced / more accurate algorithms, depending on the circumstances. Examples of such circumstances include, for example: In the case of an emergency call or lawful intercept that initiated a request to initiate radar-based detection of one or more targets and / or a specific area; When subscribing to a detection service or subscribing to an operator's network communication service, for example through a healthcare provider / service; or when the target area / volume covers a home or premises (e.g., a factory) for which the owner / occupant has (implicitly or explicitly) given permission (e.g., provided user consent), for example, because the detection service is operated by a non-public network (including private infrastructure equipment and core network components that include the detection service, detection receiver, or detection transmitter) whereby the detection service / equipment operates on and / or covers the intended premises. If the subject, sensing receiver, and / or sensing transmitter are subscribed to the same service / application or are part of the same group (eg, share a group ID or share group credentials).

[0125] In an exemplary embodiment, a UE (which may or may not be a sensing receiver and / or a sensing transmitter) initiates an emergency call with a public safety response point via a (cellular) network to which the UE is attached, and based on location information provided / obtained during the emergency call in accordance with local regulations (e.g., Enhanced 911), sensing transmitters in the vicinity of the origination location of the emergency call (e.g., nearby base stations, nearby mobile phones, or the mobile phone making the emergency call) are instructed (e.g., via configuration messages) to perform sensing sessions (e.g., to sense a specified target victim, a target area / volume around the victim, or an emergency area / volume), thereby: The instructions include information about the authorization information, the target (e.g., the target location / area / volume or some characteristics of the target victim, e.g., whether the target victim is moving, lying on the ground, in cardiac arrest, etc.), the context (e.g., how many people are gathered around the victim, the distance between the person and their device relative to the victim, the number of injured people, nearby debris), the identifier or address (e.g., IP address, URL) of the destination server, network function / device, or public safety response point, credentials (e.g., public key) used to encrypt the results, or the requested detection output / results such as the location, movement, or vital signs of the target. The information about the target is a set of target identification information (as described elsewhere in this disclosure). The set of target identities is provided by the UE to the core network (e.g., to the Emergency Call Session Control Function (E-CSCF) as specified in 3GPP® TS 23.167) and / or to the PSAP, for example by including this information in an emergency connection setup request (e.g., an emergency PDU session establishment (e.g., an emergency PDU session as defined in 3GPP® TS 23.501 and TS 23.167 and extended accordingly)) or via the emergency connection (e.g., emergency PDU session), whereby the E-CSCF forwards the received information to the PSAP.This information is determined by a UE performing an initial scan (e.g., a radar sweep) of a victim or other object or emergency area, if the UE is capable of performing wireless detection. The UE is configured, for example, to detect for a target victim (e.g., matching one or more default characteristics, such as the shape or size of a person lying on the ground, breathing heavily, or bleeding) based on a preconfigured set of object identifiers (e.g., detection criteria). The information (e.g., the set of object identifiers) provided by the UE and received by the core network and / or PSAP is then provided (together with one or more of the mentioned instructions) to the RSMF (or another network function, e.g., a Location Search Function (LRF) or LMF, responsible for initiating detection of the object based on the provided information) and / or to a set of direct detection transmitters and / or receivers.

[0126] Additionally or alternatively, the UE provides a set of wireless sensing measurements or sensing results to the core network (e.g., to the E-CSCF) and / or to the PSAP, e.g., by including this information in an emergency connection setup request (e.g., emergency PDU session establishment) or via an emergency connection (e.g., emergency PDU session), and the core network or PSAP then determines a set of object identities based on the provided set of wireless sensing measurements or sensing results, and the set of object identities is then provided (together with one or more of the mentioned instructions) to the RSMF (or another network function, e.g., the LRF or LMF responsible for initiating detection of objects based on the provided information) and / or directly to the set of sensing transmitters and / or receivers.

[0127] Additionally or alternatively, a set of target identities may be retrieved (e.g., by the E-CSCF) from a core network function or database (e.g., UDM / UDR) that maps UE identities with associated sets of target identities based on a UE identity received from the UE making the emergency call. To this end, the UE indicates (e.g., in a message field during the emergency connection setup) whether the target encompasses the UE carrying the UE or the UE that initiated the emergency call, e.g., because the person is the victim. The retrieved set of target identities is then provided (together with one or more of the mentioned instructions) to the RSMF (or another network function, e.g., the LRF or LMF responsible for initiating target detection based on the provided information) and / or directly to the set of detection transmitters and / or receivers.

[0128] In the case of an emergency call, authorization (including user consent) to perform object detection (e.g., initial scan or detailed / long-term detection) and / or to share object detection results with the PSAP is implicitly provided, for example, because the request to initiate detection was made by a core network function (e.g., E-CSCF or LRF) specifically used for emergency calls or by the PSAP, or because the request to initiate detection includes a flag indicating that it is for an emergency call. Similarly, one or more receivers (even if the receivers are part of the same device as the transmitter) are activated to participate in the detection session, and the transmitter and receiver then perform detection according to other embodiments of this document. The detection results (filtered to include only results related to specified objects, i.e., objects that match a set of object identification criteria provided, for example, by the E-CSCF or PSAP, to the detection service, detection transmitter, or detection receiver) are forwarded by the core network (e.g., by the E-CSCF) to the PSAP. For this purpose, the detection results are provided to the E-CSCF via the AMF when the UE includes the detection results during PDU session establishment, or the E-CSCF retrieves the detection results via the LRF / GMLC specified in 3GPP TS 23.167 / 23.273 and extended for this purpose, e.g. by providing functionality similar to the RSMF, by involving the RSMF as described in other embodiments of the present disclosure, or by collecting the detection results directly from the detection receiver and / or the detection transmitter.

[0129] In summary, methods, apparatus, and systems are provided for identifying targets in wireless sensing, comprising: obtaining or determining a set of target location / area / volume information and / or target identification information by a sensing service, a sensing transmitter, or a sensing receiver (e.g., upon / after receiving a request to perform sensing for a particular target, or based on prior pre-configuration); performing a sensing operation (e.g., an initial / low resolution scan) of the location / area / volume (derived from the set of target location / area / volume information and / or target identification information) using signals transmitted by the sensing transmitter; receiving the signals (reflected by the target) by a sensing receiver (co-located with the sensing transmitter); performing a set of measurement and / or signal processing operations on the received signals that result in a set of (raw) measurements and / or obtaining the set of (raw) measurements from one or more of the involved devices; and further processing / analyzing the set of (raw) measurements to detect a set of objects (which are potential targets or match targets). and / or obtaining a set of detected objects and / or a set of potential targets from one or more of the involved devices or applications / services; determining / calculating a set of detection information (i.e., detection measurements and / or results) for one or more of the detected objects and / or potential targets and / or obtaining a set of detection information for one or more detected objects / people / animals / structures and / or potential targets from one or more of the involved devices; either performing the object matching procedure itself or providing the set of detection information for one or more detected objects and / or potential targets to an object matching entity (e.g., a detection service, a detection application, a core network function, or an external server) for performing the object matching procedure, whereby the object matching procedure (e.g., the set of detection measurements / results) is used to identify the target object (e.g., a set of detection measurements / results) according to configuration criteria (e.g.,The subject matching entity may include comparing / correlating the set of detection information with the target identities (by checking whether one or more of the following criteria are met): determining that one or more objects have been found that match or did not match the set of target identities; optionally generating / issuing an event or sending a signal indicating that a matched object has been detected or not; initiating or delaying / cancelling further detection or storage of detection measurements / results of matched or non-matched objects based on whether a matched object has been detected; or obtaining / verifying authorization to perform further detection. For clarity, the subject matching entity may be operated by a core network function / service of the same core network to which the detection transmitter and detection receiver are subscribed and / or that performs the detection service; operated by a different network operator (e.g., the target user's home network); an external application; or an external server; or operated by the detection transmitter, detection receiver, or detection service. In the latter case, it is assumed that these entities are authorized and trusted and / or user consent is provided to these entities involved in the detection of the subject.

[0130] FIG. 8 illustrates a schematic diagram of an exemplary subject approval procedure according to various embodiments of the present invention.

[0131] In one embodiment, which may be combined with any other embodiment or implemented alone, the sensing service, sensing transmitter, and / or sensing receiver are required to initiate an authorization procedure before starting or continuing a sensing session (e.g., before starting another scan or before starting detailed and / or distributed sensing). Such authorization procedure includes verifying authorization information and / or credentials of the network operator, application, user, device, or third party that issued the request for sensing of the object and / or provided information on how to identify the intended object and / or user subscribed to the sensing service, to evaluate whether the respective entity is authorized to receive sensing measurements, sensing results, or other sensing data, whether authorized to initiate a sensing request for the object, and / or whether authorized to provide configuration information for sensing of the object (e.g., authorized to provide a set of object identification information). Authorization may be provided by, stored in, and / or retrieved from a subscription database (e.g., UDM) of the requesting user, device, or intended object. Alternatively, authorization may be provided and / or obtained by an application server or core network function or through the NEF. Alternatively, authorization is provided by and / or obtained from the lawful intercept service or PSAP. In the case of a lawful intercept or emergency call (i.e., with a PSAP), authorization (including user consent) to perform target detection (e.g., initial scan or detailed / long-term detection) and / or share target detection results with the PSAP or lawful intercept service is implicitly provided, for example, because the request to initiate detection was made by a core network function (e.g., E-CSCF or LRF) specifically used for emergency calls or by the PSAP, or because the request to initiate detection includes a flag indicating that it is for an emergency call. If authorization fails or cannot be verified, an event and / or error message is generated and / or target detection is aborted.Because the rules for detection in public spaces differ from those for detection in private spaces, whether authorization and validation needs to be performed also depends on the location, area, or volume in which the object is detected or detection is performed. Furthermore, if only one object (i.e., a matching object) is detected that matches a set of object identities (either partially, when matching a subset of the set of object identities, or completely, when matching the entire set of object identities), such an authorization procedure or validation needs to be performed. In one example, the set of object identities (and / or the set of detection measurements and / or results within a certain threshold) is linked to a mobile subscription identifier or user identifier, such as a subscription permanent identifier (SUPI), or to an identifier from which a mobile subscription identifier or user identifier can be derived (e.g., after authentication by an authentication server function (AUSF)) (e.g., of a wireless communication device carried or contained by the object, or of a wireless communication device carried or owned by a person who subscribed to the detection service). The link between the set of subject identities and the mobile subscription identifier or user identifier is stored, for example, in the core network as part of a Unified Data Repository (UDR) or UDM function, or in a separate database or AAA server from which this linking information can be retrieved by a core network function (such as the AUSF) during or after authentication. Information for linking the set of subject identities to the mobile subscription identifier or user identifier is also provided by or retrieved from the application beforehand, during or after authentication. For this purpose, the application communicates with the respective core network function, such as the UDM / UDR or AUSF, through the NEF.The information for linking the set of subject identities to a mobile subscription identifier or user identifier further includes an association with one or more identifiers (preferably temporary or intermediate identifiers that change or update for privacy reasons (e.g., based on a set of rules or matching criteria)) that include information about whether the user or device is subscribed to a sensing service and / or whether the device associated with the mobile subscription is authorized and / or capable of acting as a sensing transmitter or sensing receiver. These (temporary or intermediate) identifiers are provided to a subject matching entity (e.g., a sensing service, a sensing transmitter, a sensing receiver (possibly indirectly via a sensing service), a sensing application, or a core network function) that can perform the subject matching procedure. If a potential target is found by the target matching entity (e.g., through an initial radar scan), the target matching entity (or the detection transmitter, detection receiver, or detection service to which the result of the target matching procedure (including the (temporary) target identifier) was sent) initiates the authentication and / or authorization procedure using such (temporary / intermediate) identifier as input for the authentication and / or authorization request, uses the set of target identities (and / or the set of detection measurements and / or results) as input for the authentication and / or authorization request, and / or first searches for a mobile subscription identifier or user identifier based on the set of target identities and / or the set of detection measurements and / or results, and then uses the searched identifier as input for the authentication and / or authorization request. The authentication and / or authorization request is directed to a core network function such as the AUSF and / or UDM, which verifies whether the intended target is authorized for the detection service and also verifies whether user consent has been provided. For this purpose, the core network functions (e.g. AUSF and / or UDM) retrieve the mobile subscription identifier or user identifier (e.g. from a UDR or database) by using the (temporary / intermediate) identifier and / or subject identity (and / or set of sensing measurements / results).Because the mobile subscription identifier or user identifier is associated with one or more UEs, the network may also send notifications to one or more UEs (e.g., to notify the user that a sensing service has been activated), request confirmation of one or more UEs from the user to initiate and / or authorize sensing for the subject, request the location of one or more UEs and use the location to verify whether one or more UEs are in the vicinity of the subject (e.g., as an additional check that the subject is genuine or to request that these one or more UEs participate in sensing for the subject), and / or perform primary authentication with one or more UEs. Authorization and / or user consent for sensing may be provided only temporarily and / or may be temporarily revoked, for example, at certain times of the day (e.g., according to some schedule) or when the subject of sensing goes to sleep, takes a shower, or goes to a particular area / location. For this purpose, the user consent information stored in the UDM / UDR and / or requested from the user of one or more UEs may include a time, time period, or validity time field associated with the user consent information for wireless sensing. Similarly, authorization and / or user consent may only be provided for a given context (time, location, usage, ...) bounded by a maximum (or minimum) time period, e.g., a given location or a maximum amount of measurements or sensing results (e.g., one thousand measurements or one hundred measurement results for a particular sensing target). For this purpose, the user consent information stored in the UDM / UDR and / or requested from the user of one or more UEs includes a field indicating the (maximum) number of sensing measurements or sensing results. Sensing devices (e.g., sensing transmitters or sensing receivers) and / or sensing services should be stopped or instructed by the NF or AF to stop sensing, and / or sensing measurements should be discarded and / or not disclosed to third parties / applications if the authorization and / or user consent has expired or is not valid for a given context, e.g., for a certain time period, and / or too many measurements / results have been obtained.Furthermore, user consent and / or authorization may be limited to a particular location / area / volume, e.g., only allowing detection in a person's home when the target is not outside the home. For this purpose, user consent information stored in the UDM / UDR and / or requested from the user of one or more UEs includes a field indicating the location / area / volume for detection. Furthermore, user consent and / or authorization may be limited to a particular set of detection results to be obtained, e.g., only the speed of a target object is determined using detection, but not the size of the object. For this purpose, user consent information stored in the UDM / UDR and / or requested from the user of one or more UEs includes a field indicating a particular set of measurement targets / results for detection. Similarly, user consent and / or authorization may be limited to a maximum or minimum detection accuracy (e.g., the accuracy of motion or other detection results within a particular measurement system (e.g., kilometers per hour), results to be rounded if the maximum number of digits after the comma is exceeded, and / or a maximum frequency to be used for detection (e.g., no mmWave or terahertz as these allow for very high accuracy of detection)). To this end, user consent information stored in the UDM / UDR and / or requested from users of one or more UEs includes fields indicating minimum / maximum accuracy levels and / or data types or data type constraints for storing / publishing detection measurements / results. Furthermore, user consent and / or authorization may be limited to a certain maximum or minimum confidence level (e.g., matching certain criteria for person / object identification above a certain confidence level (e.g., to prevent bystanders from falsely implicating a detection), or matching criteria for person / object identification below a certain confidence level, e.g., to prevent unique tracking or publication of privacy-sensitive information uniquely pointing to a specific person / object, where the results do not identify one unique person / object but multiple persons / objects match). To this end, user consent information stored in the UDM / UDR and / or requested from users of one or more UEs includes fields indicating minimum / maximum confidence levels or accuracy associated with detection measurements / results.The sensing device (e.g., sensing transmitter or sensing receiver) and / or sensing service should (be instructed to) stop sensing, and / or sensing measurements should be discarded and / or not disclosed to third parties / applications if the above conditions related to authorization or user consent cannot be met / ensured. Contextual information, such as timing information or location / area / volume, related to authorization and / or user consent is stored as part of the subscription and / or provided to the sensing device or sensing service. If the sensing service determines (e.g., after contacting the UDM) that the user consent and / or authorization is limited to a particular location / area / volume and / or a particular set of obtained sensing results, the sensing service shall not be associated with a particular location / area / volume and / or a particular set of obtained sensing results. Discard any undetected measurements or results.

[0132] In the exemplary authorization procedure shown in FIG. 8 , the detection service 30, detection transmitter 10, and / or detection receiver 20 perform an initial scan 801 (i.e., initial detection operation 801) of a target location, area, or volume. This occurs when a scan is authorized for a given context (e.g., location, timing, accuracy, etc.) for which authorization has previously been received from the NF. As shown, the detection service 30 (or detection transmitter 10 or detection receiver 20) transmits detection measurements and / or results (e.g., a set of detection information) from the initial scan 801 to the target matching entity 40 via message exchange 802 (i.e., transmits the output of the initial detection operation 801). The target matching entity 40 then performs a target matching procedure 803 based on the detection measurements and / or results from the initial scan 801 and the set of target identification information. If a partial or complete match is found for a subject with the set of subject identities (i.e., a matching subject is determined (with a certain confidence level or match rate) to match either a subset of the set of subject identities in the case of a partial match, or the entire set of subject identities in the case of a complete match), the subject is initially authenticated / authorized. Because the subject matching entity has received the subject identities from a centralized authentication and / or authorization entity (e.g., an AUSF, a UDM, an AAA server, a sensing application, or a combination thereof), the subject matching entity can make this initial authentication / authorization decision itself. Furthermore, if this initial authentication / authorization is successful (or if this does not apply), as shown, the subject matching entity 40 (or the sensing service 30, sensing transmitter 10, or sensing receiver 20 to which the results of the subject match are sent) requests authorization of the subject by sending a (temporary) identifier associated with the subject or set of subject identities to an authentication and / or authorization entity 50 (e.g., an AUSF, a UDM, an AAA server, a sensing application, or a combination thereof) via message exchange 804.The authentication and / or authorization entity 50 performs an authentication and / or authorization procedure 805 in which the authentication and / or authorization entity 50 further authenticates the subject (e.g., by deriving the identity of the device or user subscribed to the sensing service based on the provided (temporary) identifier, by performing fine-grained validation of the provided sensing parameters, or, for example, by performing a primary authentication with the respective device), verifies whether the subject is authorized to be a subject for sensing (e.g., based on subscription information directly or indirectly linked to the provided (temporary) identifier associated with the subject or set of subject identities), and / or verifies whether the user or subject subscribed to or subject to the sensing service has provided user consent to be / be sensed. The authentication and / or authorization entity 50 also (possibly in cooperation with other core network and RAN entities) sends a notification to the device 60 linked to the same subscription in a message exchange 806, indicating that the subscribed subject is a subject of the sensing service. In the same message exchange 806, the device 60 sends a message back to the authentication and / or authorization entity 50 to confirm that it may proceed with detecting the object. Upon completion of the authentication and / or authorization procedure 805 performed by the authentication and / or authorization entity 50, the entities involved in the respective object detection operation (e.g., 10, 20, 30, and 40) are informed by the authentication and / or authorization entity 50 through an authorization information procedure 807 that the object has been approved as a target for detection, and that based on this, these entities may then proceed with detecting the object.

[0133] In one embodiment variation, the above authentication / authorization process is iterative in the sense that the sensing service 30, sensing transmitter 10, or sensing receiver performs an initial set of measurements at an initial (low) precision / granularity required for (initial) authentication / authorization. If a match is determined, the transmission precision / granularity is increased, resulting in more accurate sensing measurements and achieving better authentication matches.

[0134] In a further embodiment variant used alone, data stored in the target verification entity and / or authentication and / or authorization entity (e.g., AUSF, UDM, AAA server, sensing application, or a combination thereof) and used for authentication is homomorphically encrypted. The target verification entity also receives an evaluation key that is used to verify whether sensing measurements match the homomorphically encrypted data without having access to the measurements. This embodiment variant addresses the need to allow an entity to perform entity verification without disclosing the parameters used for verification. This is particularly interesting when the entity verification entity connected to the sensing device is in a different security domain than the entity that holds or owns the data used for authentication / authorization, for example when the entity verification entity is in a visited PLMN (home PLMN) and the entity that owns / holds the data used for authentication / authorization is in the home PLMN (foreign entity / application).

[0135] In a further embodiment variant used alone, data stored in the target verification entity and / or authentication and / or authorization entity (e.g., AUSF, UDM, AAA server, sensing application, or a combination thereof) and used for authentication is used in a secure environment managed by a remote party that owns the data. For example, the primary authentication and / or authorization entity remotely manages a secure enclave within the target verification entity and performs attestation of the secure enclave. If attestation is successful, the primary authentication and / or authorization entity configures the secure enclave with data for performing the target verification, which data is securely stored in the secure enclave and is inaccessible to the target verification entity. The verification is performed in the secure enclave, and only the result is shared with the primary authentication and / or authorization entity. This embodiment variant addresses the need to allow entities to perform entity verification without disclosing the parameters used for the verification. This is of particular interest when the entity matching entity connected to the sensing device is in a different security domain than the entity that holds or owns the data used for authentication / authorization, e.g. when the entity matching entity is in the visited PLMN (home PLMN) and the entity that owns / holds the data used for authentication / authorization is in the home PLMN (foreign entity / application).

[0136] In a further embodiment variant used alone, the subject verification entity, authentication and / or authorization entity (e.g., AUSF, UDM, AAA server, sensing application, or a combination thereof), and / or external entity / application function execute a multi-party communication protocol to perform entity verification without revealing private data. Such a multi-party protocol allows two or more parties, e.g., the subject verification entity and a centralized authentication / authorization entity, to determine whether a set of subject measurements matches a given set of data without revealing the measurements to the centralized authentication / authorization entity and without revealing the data to the subject verification entity. This is particularly interesting when the entity verification entity connected to the sensing device is in a different security domain than the entity that holds or owns the data used for authentication / authorization, e.g., when the entity verification entity is in a visited PLMN (home PLMN) and the entity that owns / holds the data used for authentication / authorization is in the home PLMN (external entity / application).

[0137] Variations on the previous embodiment illustrate that there are multiple types of privacy-enhancing techniques (PETs) that can provide a certain level of privacy when identifying subjects and performing subsequent authentication / authorization. Examples of these PET-related embodiment variations include an iterative authentication / authorization process, the use of homomorphic encryption, the use of secure enclaves, or the use of multi-party computation protocols. Therefore, a method is needed to select one of these PETs and select the necessary parameters for that PET. Therefore, in a further embodiment variation used alone, different entities (e.g., a subject verification entity, a centralized authentication / authorization entity, and / or an external entity) run the protocol, and these entities publish their privacy settings / requirements / preferences requiring that type of PET and agree to one or more of those PETs. For example, the subject verification entity publishes its PET capabilities, and the centralized authentication / authorization entity indicates its preferred PETs and parameters to the subject verification entity. It should be noted that while this embodiment variation is described in the context of wireless sensing and subject identification, other applications that perform data verification on other types of data would also benefit from a similar protocol.

[0138] In one embodiment, which may be combined with other embodiments or implemented alone, to further improve the privacy of sensing operations, a device carried or contained by a subject, particularly a wireless communication device (e.g., a UE device), may be used to trigger or initiate a sensing operation of a subject or object of interest carrying or containing the device. The wireless communication device establishes a connection to a network operating a sensing service, to an application server or core network function communicating with the sensing service, to a sensing transmitter, or to a sensing receiver, and triggers or initiates the sensing operation by sending a signal (carrying a message) indicating a trigger directly or indirectly to the sensing service, the sensing transmitter, or the sensing receiver. Such a message may include the device's potential sensing transmitter or receiver capabilities, location, area, or volume information about the device itself or about the intended subject, authorization information, credentials, and / or user consent information, an identifier associated with a subject identity or set of subject identities, and / or a set of sensing measurements or results. Upon receiving such a trigger to initiate a sensing operation, the sensing service obtains and / or verifies authorization for the device (e.g., by obtaining the identity of the device and checking information in a subscription database (e.g., UDM) as to whether the device user is subscribed to the sensing service, whether the device is authorized to participate in sensing operations, and / or whether the device user has provided consent to be subject to sensing operations). If the device user or device is indeed authorized, the sensing service, sensing transmitter, and / or sensing receiver initiates and / or performs the sensing operation as described in this disclosure.Note that initiating a detection operation includes receiving and / or retrieving a set of object identities or an identifier associated with the set of object identities (e.g., if the set of object identities and their associated identifiers (set of identifiers) have already been provided previously or during pre-configuration of the involved detection transmitter and receiver devices and / or detection service). The wireless communication device contained by or carried by the object of interest provides information to the detection service or detection device about the size of the object (e.g., a vehicle) carrying or containing the wireless communication device and / or the relative position (e.g., using distance, angle, and / or relative coordinate system) of the wireless communication device and / or one or more antennas of the wireless communication device relative to the surface, center of gravity, or other (pre-configured or determined) reference point of the object carrying or containing the wireless communication device. This is used to adjust the calculated distance and / or angle between the wireless communication device and the detection device, or to adjust the calculated location of the device by taking into account the distance to the object's surface, e.g., to more easily identify the object of interest containing or carrying the wireless communication device. The information about the magnitude or relative position may be determined by the wireless communications device by performing sensing using its own wireless sensing capabilities, other sensing modalities, or by other means (e.g., pre-configured on the device by the user or manufacturer). Additionally or alternatively, the information may include information about the antenna configuration, antenna ports (possibly along with information about signals transmitted through those ports), antenna length, antenna placement / position relative to a reference coordinate system, and / or orientation / angle / direction relative to a reference direction (e.g., represented by a vector in a coordinate system) or magnetic north.Alternatively or additionally, the sensing service or sensing device retrieves information about the relative position of the device or antenna to the object's size, surface, center of gravity, or reference point, and / or detailed antenna information (e.g., antenna length, port) based on the identity of the wireless communication device from a database that stores this information about objects of interest that contain or carry the wireless communication device.

[0139] The sensing service or sensing transmitter / receiver initiates sensing based on the received information (e.g., by narrowing a beam toward the estimated location of the wireless communication device), performs a set of sensing measurements when a UE carried by or contained by the target connects to the network (e.g., during or after authorization), and / or initiates a request for sensing to the sensing service or application. By doing so, the sensing service or sensing transmitter / receiver detects an object that matches the given target identification information and / or information about the size of the object carrying or containing the wireless communication device and / or the relative position (e.g., using distance, angle, and / or relative coordinate system) of the wireless communication device and / or one or more antennas of the wireless communication device relative to the surface, center of gravity, or other (pre-configured or determined) reference point of the object carrying or containing the wireless communication device. In one example, this initial sensing results in the detection of an object that, given its location, surface, and / or size, contains the wireless communication device and / or is at a given relative position of the wireless communication device and the surface, center of gravity, or other reference point. Using these measurements / matching results, the sensing service or sensing transmitter / receiver device determines that the detected object is the target of the sensing. Additionally or alternatively, sensing measurements performed on the object containing the wireless communication device are used to determine an (additional) set of target identification information to be used for matching.

[0140] Once the wireless communication device has identified the target of detection, it is no longer needed for continued detection, and thus detection can continue (e.g., once it has a “fix” on the object, it can follow the object as it moves around), and / or the target object can be identified again, if necessary, based on target identification information, object size, or relative position-related information (e.g., received from the wireless communication device or derived from the initial detection of the target object containing the wireless communication device or at a specified / measured distance from the surface of the object) even when the wireless communication device carried or contained by the target is powered off or becomes separated from the target object.

[0141] Optionally, the sensing service sends a signal to a device carried or contained by the subject, the signal indicating that a sensing operation has begun or is about to begin. The device displays a notification to the user or requests the user to provide confirmation that the user / device agrees to begin the sensing operation (or automatically provides confirmation based on the device configuration), whereupon a signal is sent back to the sensing service indicating whether confirmation has been obtained, and thereafter, if confirmation has been obtained, the device begins or further performs the sensing operation. In one example, a wireless communication device (e.g., a mobile phone, IoT device, sensor device, wireless tag, or other UE) carried or contained by the subject has a subscription to a network. A user of that wireless communication device also subscribes to the sensing service. A core network function (e.g., UDR, UDM, separate database, or AAA server) stores an association between a mobile subscription identifier or user identifier (such as the SUPI of a wireless communication device carried or contained by an object, or the SUPI of a wireless communication device carried or owned by a person who has subscribed to a sensing service) or an identifier (temporary or intermediate) from which the mobile subscription identifier or user identifier is derived, and a set of subject identities (and / or a set of sensing measurements and / or results within certain thresholds). The information for linking these identifiers to a set of subject identities also includes information regarding whether the user of the device or the device is subscribed to a sensing service and / or whether the device associated with the mobile subscription is authorized and / or capable of acting as a sensing transmitter or receiver.Upon registration with a network and / or detection service by a wireless communication device carried by or contained by an object or a user subscribed to the detection service, or upon connection of a wireless communication device carried by or contained by an object or a user subscribed to the detection service to a detection transmitter or detection receiver, an identifier of the wireless communication device is provided by the wireless communication device to a core network function responsible for device authentication and / or authorization (e.g., to the AUSF or UDM). After authentication or as part of the authentication procedure, the core network function responsible for device authentication and / or authorization checks information stored in the UDR, UDM, a separate database, or AAA server based on the given identifier as to whether the device's user or device is subscribed to the detection service, whether user consent has been provided, whether the device associated with the mobile subscription is authorized and / or capable of acting as a detection transmitter or detection receiver, and / or looks up a mobile subscription identifier or user identifier based on the given identifier. The identifier used by the wireless communication device carried or contained by the subject is the Subscription Secret Identifier (SUCI) or 5G Globally Unique Temporary Identifier (GUTI) that the wireless communication device sends to the core network as part of the connection setup and / or primary authentication procedure as specified in TS 33.501. However, it is beneficial if the wireless communication device carried or contained by the subject uses a different or additional identifier, preferably a temporary identifier, to indicate to the core network that the wireless communication device is subject to wireless discovery. This identifier may be pre-configured on the device by the core network (e.g., by a Policy Control Function (PCF)), configured by the network (e.g., by an AMF) when the device connects to the network, or provided as part of a discovery request (e.g., a mobile-terminated or network-initiated discovery request by the RSMF).A core network function responsible for device authentication and / or authorization (e.g., AUSF or UDM) uses the identifier to verify whether the device is authorized to use the discovery service, to look up user consent information, to look up the set of subject identities associated with the device, etc.

[0142] Alternatively or additionally, authorization may be provided by an application server, by a core network function, or through the NEF, or obtained from an application server, by a core network function, or through the NEF, or provided by and / or obtained from a lawful intercept service or PSAP. The core network function responsible for device authentication and / or authorization may also retrieve a set of target identities associated with a given identifier, a mobile subscription identifier, or a user identifier retrieved based on the given identifier, or retrieve or create an (intermediate or temporary) identifier associated with the set of target identities. The set of target identities or their associated (intermediate or temporary) identifiers are provided to the detection service, detection transmitter, or detection receiver if the authentication and / or authorization is successful and / or if the set of target identities can be successfully retrieved.

[0143] Additionally, credentials are provided that participating devices (e.g., sensing transmitters and / or sensing receivers) must use to securely (e.g., integrity-protected and / or confidentially-protected) send any sensing measurements and / or results or other sensing information about one or more subjects / objects and / or sensing configuration information to the sensing service or to other devices or services and / or applications involved in the sensing session and / or operation.

[0144] Additionally or alternatively, it is verified whether the subject identification information (and / or set of sensing measurements and / or results) provided during registration and / or connection setup matches such a searched set of subject identification information.

[0145] Additionally or alternatively, a mobile subscription identifier or user identifier associated with one or more UEs may be used by the network to send a notification to one or more UEs (e.g., to notify the user that a detection service is being activated) and / or to request confirmation from the user of the UE to initiate and / or approve detection of the object, and / or to request the location of the UE and use it to verify whether the UE is in the vicinity of the object (e.g., as an additional check that the object is correct, to trigger a detection session and / or action, to generate an event or send a signal (where the generated event or sent signal indicates that the match object has or has not been detected), or to initiate / continue approval of the match object to be detected).

[0146] Additionally or alternatively, a subscription identifier or user identifier associated with one or more UEs may be used by the location service to determine whether one or more of the one or more UEs are moving in the same direction and / or following the same trajectory (with a certain maximum deviation) as the intended target, and based on this determination, to trigger, stop or continue a detection session / operation, initiate additional detection operations, generate an event or send a signal (the generated event or sent signal indicating that a match has or has not been detected), or initiate / continue acknowledgment of the match for detection.

[0147] Additionally or alternatively, if the wireless communication device carried by or contained by the subject is also capable of wireless sensing, e.g., acts as a sensing receiver, the sensing service or another sensing device (e.g., a sensing transmitter or sensing receiver) may require the wireless communication device carried by or contained by the subject to certify that it is attached to the subject or target object being sensed, e.g., requiring the wireless communication device carried by or contained by the subject to detect the transmitted sensing signal, send sensing measurements and / or results based on the (reflected and / or received) sensing signal, and determine that the sensing measurements and / or results match the set of target identification information for the respective subject or target object, and based on this determination, trigger, stop or continue the sensing session / operation, initiate additional sensing operations, generate an event or send a signal (the generated event or sent signal indicating that the matched subject has or has not been detected), or initiate / continue acknowledgment of the matched subject for sensing.

[0148] Additionally or alternatively, a wireless communication device carried or contained by a potential target may be instructed to indicate, for example, while performing an initial radar scan or at a particular time, instructions for the target or target object to perform a particular movement (e.g., a wave, a wiggle, take a few steps in a particular direction) that is detected by the sensing service. If the movement can indeed be detected, the potential target is determined to be indeed the intended target or target object.

[0149] In some scenarios, the user or subject for detection is within a detection area under the jurisdiction of an administrative entity (e.g., a public institution such as a local or regional government providing public services in the detection area, e.g., an IT department of a hospital or an administrator of a senior care facility) that has the capability to detect users within the detection area. The administrative entity is authorized by default (e.g., by law) to perform user detection, or performs user detection after negotiating an agreement (e.g., subscription) with the user, obtaining user consent, and / or obtaining privacy consent from the user.

[0150] In some scenarios, a management entity is responsible for monitoring (specific) users, for example in a healthcare facility, however only authorized users (e.g., subscribers) of the management entity are supported to be detected.

[0151] In some scenarios, a management entity still has an obligation to perform wireless detection even if users under its jurisdiction have not subscribed to the service. In a further embodiment variant, the management entity exchanges information with a telecommunication system (e.g. 5GS) about its detection area and detection characteristics, such as targets, detection characteristics, detection timing, detection parameters, etc. In a further embodiment variant, the management entity obtains authorization / consent / subscription for users under its jurisdiction and performs wireless detection for those users. In a further embodiment variant, the management entity obtains sensed data / sensed parameters of a sample of users / subjects to facilitate the sensing identification / matching task by a subject matching entity in the telecommunication system. Such sensed parameters include, for example, gait, health status, etc. In a further embodiment variant, the management entity provides the sensed data / parameters of the user sample to the telecommunication system so that object identification can be performed by the object matching entity. In a further embodiment variant, the management entity configures the telecommunications system with sensing parameters / data to be used within the sensing area under its jurisdiction, these sensing parameters / data including at least the following: - Authorized users / subjects, - the parameters measured / sensed for each user, and - Detection data for each user / target sample It includes one or more of the following. In a further embodiment variant, the management entity has a sensing subscription with the operator of the telecommunication system. As part of the subscription, the operator offers a sensing service with certain characteristics (e.g., for a number N (e.g., N=100) of users / subjects, in a given area, and with certain parameters). The subscription data is stored in a database, for example in a UDM. The operator checks whether a sensing request from the management entity corresponds to the current subscription. For example, when the management entity configures the telecommunication system with sensing parameters / data (as described above in the previous embodiment), the telecommunication system checks whether those sensing parameters / data correspond to the current subscription. If yes, the sensing parameters / data are configured in the subject matching entity and / or user identities / authorization rights are configured in the authentication / authorization entity.

[0152] Preventing / reducing the disclosure of personal data / personally identifiable information Wireless sensing is useful for detecting information about intended targets and / or target areas. However, wireless sensing (unintentionally) discloses information about people, objects, or contexts that were not intended targets for detection and / or information about intended targets for detection that were not intended to be detected. For example, a target (Robert) desires / approves detection of his walking but does not allow detection of his heart rate. When Robert's walking is detected, Robert's heart rate is disclosed. Such personal information / data is considered personally identifiable information (PII). For privacy reasons, disclosure of detection information of unintended targets, identifiable information based on the detection of unintended targets, and / or unintended detection information about intended targets to applications, external parties outside the wireless network, and even to other parts of the wireless network not directly involved in detecting the targets should be prevented or minimized. Therefore, the following embodiments aim to address these shortcomings.

[0153] In one embodiment, combined with other embodiments or implemented alone, a detection service, detection transmitter, or detection receiver uses a confidence function (e.g., a correlation function, a confidence level as described in other embodiments, a match rate, a standard deviation, or a threshold value, etc.) to determine whether a detection measurement or detection result should be provided to another device, service, application, or third party. For example, the confidence function may be such that a detection measurement / result is only released if the measurement matches the data / object matching criteria better than a threshold value. For example, a detection service, detection transmitter, detection receiver, or other device that performs matching of objects to a set of object identities may be configured with, receive, or determine a minimum confidence level of the confidence function (e.g., a confidence level, match rate, or threshold value, or a maximum standard deviation, etc.) below which an object may match a set of object identities and thus be identified as the intended object. If an object does not match the set of object identification information with a certain confidence (e.g., a match rate or threshold value above such minimum confidence, match rate, or threshold value, or a standard deviation below such maximum standard deviation), the associated detection measurement or result is not provided to another device, service, application, or third party because it pertains to an object for which it is not intended, and / or the associated detection measurement or result is obfuscated (e.g., by replacing it with random data or adapting the resolution of the data (e.g., changing the bit depth, number of samples, number of objects, or using a lower precision data type)) before providing the set of detection measurements / results to another device, service, application, or third party. Instead, the detection service, detection transmitter, or detection receiver provides an error message or other message to another device, service, application, or third party indicating that a match was not found (with sufficient confidence).

[0154] In other words, the detection service, detection transmitter, or detection receiver is adapted to apply a confidence function to the set of detection measurements and / or detection results to determine whether the set of detection measurements and / or detection results matches a set of target matching criteria for the intended subject with a minimum confidence, and based on the result of that determination, decide whether the detection measurements or detection results will be provided to another device, service, application, or third party, and / or prevent / reduce disclosure of privacy-sensitive information by removing or obfuscating the detection measurements or detection results from the set of detection measurements / results provided to another device, service, application, or third party.

[0155] Additionally or alternatively, if a target is matched with a minimum confidence, match rate, threshold, or maximum standard deviation, but target recognition is not successful and / or user consent associated with that target cannot be obtained, the associated sensing measurements or results are not provided to another device, service, application, or third party. Instead, the sensing service, sensing transmitter, or sensing receiver provides an error message or other message indicating that the target cannot be recognized or that user consent associated with the target cannot be obtained for another device, service, application, or third party.

[0156] Additionally or alternatively, if a target matches with a minimum confidence, match rate, threshold, or maximum standard deviation, but also finds other targets that match the same set of target identification information and / or finds too many potential targets in the vicinity of the intended target (e.g., the number of detected objects that meet some of the target identification information exceeds a certain threshold), the associated detection measurements or results are not provided to another device, service, application, or third party, and / or information related or unrelated to the desired target is removed or obfuscated (e.g., by replacing it with random data or adapting the resolution of the data (e.g., changing the bit depth, number of samples, number of objects, or using a lower precision data type)). If the detection service, detection transmitter, or detection receiver finds other targets or too many potential targets that match the same set of target identification information, it provides an error message or other message to another device, service, application, or third party indicating that multiple matching targets were found. In a particular example, a sensing service, sensing transmitter, sensing receiver, or other entity involved in detecting targets determines or receives information (e.g., from a location service, other sensing service, or core network function such as NWDAF) about a set of UEs or other (potential) targets located near the location of the intended target and / or the location of a set of UEs in the area, whereby the locations of the UEs or other (potential) targets are obtained through sensing or through other means (e.g., GNSS locations obtained via location services). If the amount of UEs or other (potential) targets determined to be located near the location of the intended target (e.g., in a crowded house, apartment building, or area) and / or determined that the UE is not carried by or otherwise linked to the intended target exceeds a threshold, the sensing measurements or results are not provided to another device, service, application, or third party, and / or information not related to the desired target is removed or obfuscated.Additionally or alternatively, the detection service, detection transmitter, and / or detection receiver, or other entity involved in detecting targets, determines or receives information about areas known to be congested areas (e.g., from a core network function such as an NWDAF that captures and / or stores data and / or has historical data about the number of devices in an area) and / or information indicative of the degree of congestion of a set of areas (e.g., the average number of UEs present or connected in the area). If the intended target is determined to be in an area known to be congested, the detection measurements or results are not provided to another device, service, application, or third party, and / or information not related to the desired target is removed or obfuscated.

[0157] In other words, the detection service, detection transmitter, or detection receiver is adapted to prevent / reduce disclosure of privacy-sensitive information by determining the number of objects that match (with a certain confidence level) a set of object matching criteria for the intended object and comparing this number with a minimum / maximum number of matching objects, and / or by determining the number of potential objects or amount of UEs located near the intended object and comparing this number with a minimum / maximum number of UEs or potential objects, and based on the result of the determination, deciding whether or not the detection measurements or detection results will be provided to another device, service, application, or third party, and / or by removing or obfuscating the detection measurements or detection results from the set of detection measurements / results provided to another device, service, application, or third party.

[0158] Additionally or alternatively, the actions taken based on the context (eg, number of targets, trustworthiness, etc.) may depend on policies configured by the application or network operator.

[0159] Additionally or alternatively, in the case of emergency services (e.g., when one of the users or devices (e.g., UE) in the area requests emergency services), privacy-related settings in the policy controlling the disclosure of sensed information may be overridden to allow the disclosure of the sensed information even if the sensed information includes private information.

[0160] In related embodiments, whether combined with other embodiments or implemented alone, the detection service, detection transmitter, or detection receiver removes or obfuscates exposed detection data (e.g., detection measurements or detection results) that is not related to the specific target (e.g., limiting the area / volume in which the detection results are provided to target / include only the desired target, or adapting the data resolution to detect data related to other found objects) or not related to the desired detection result (e.g., if only the shape of the object is requested by the application or service, then information about location or velocity should not be provided, or a data format for the desired detection result should be used that allows only information related to the desired detection result or other high-level information to be represented, and not raw or partially processed detection results (e.g., if an application / service indicates that it wishes to obtain the velocity of an object, then a data type to represent the object's velocity is selected / used, e.g., by a data type that includes an integer velocity value and an object identifier, but nothing more)) before the detection data related to the intended target is published to another device, service, application, or third party.

[0161] In a related embodiment, whether combined with other embodiments or implemented alone, to limit disclosure of private information of unintended subjects, a sensing service, sensing transmitter, or sensing receiver may: 1) configuring detection parameters (e.g., detection accuracy, location, timing) to the type of information required to be detected of the intended target; and / or 2) performing (post-)processing of the sensing data (e.g. sensing measurements or sensing results) to check whether any person, object, context information other than the intended subject can be found in or derived from the sensing data, for example by attempting to perform a match between the sensing data and multiple generic sets of object identification information (e.g. sets of object identification information for finding humans of one or more sizes or poses, or for finding common objects such as houses, trees, cars, etc.); 3) By default, or if necessary, if any person, object, or context information not associated with the subject is found, e.g., successful matching against one or more generic sets of subject identifications, information associated with such person, object, or context information is removed, obfuscated, and / or redacted before the sensing data associated with the intended subject is exposed to another device, service, application, or third party. Additionally, configured sensing parameters in the sensing service, sensing transmitter, or sensing receiver are updated, e.g., by sending a configuration message from the sensing service (where the decision is made) to the sensing transmitter / receiver.

[0162] In a related embodiment, whether combined with other embodiments or implemented alone, to limit the disclosure of private information of an intended subject, a sensing service, sensing transmitter, or sensing receiver may: 1) Configuring detection parameters (e.g., detection accuracy, location, timing) to the type of information required to be detected of the intended target; 2) Perform (post-)processing of the sensor data (e.g., sensor measurements or sensor results) to check whether any private information of the intended subject that is not intended / authorized to be disclosed can be discovered / leaked in or derived from the sensor data. For example, considering a sensor measurement of user Rob that enables walking detection, the sensor service verifies whether other types of information (e.g., heart rate or respiration) leaks other than the targets / results that were requested, authorized to be obtained / published, and / or for which user consent was given to be obtained / published. This is done by attempting to extract that information (e.g., by running a detection / matching algorithm on the sensor data of multiple generic sets of detection targets (e.g., by running not only a walking detection / matching algorithm but also respective detection / matching algorithms for heart rate, respiration rate, or other detection / matching algorithms to obtain other detection targets / results, and determining whether other detection targets / results can be obtained by running those algorithms)); and / or 3) By default, or if it is determined in 2) that information would be leaked, the sensory measurements / information are removed, obfuscated, and / or redacted before the sensory data related to the intended subject is exposed to another device, service, application, or third party, for example, by reducing the sampling frequency of the sensory measurements and / or by updating configured sensing parameters in the sensing service, sensing transmitter, or sensing receiver, for example, by sending a configuration message from the sensing service (where the decision is made) to the sensing transmitter / receiver.

[0163] In other words, the detection service, detection transmitter, or detection receiver is adapted to prevent / reduce disclosure of privacy-sensitive information by performing (pre-)processing of the detection measurements and / or detection results to determine whether any person, object, or contextual information other than that of the intended target can be found in or derived from the detection data by performing a match of the detection data with one or more sets of target identifiers other than the set of target identifiers used for the intended target, and / or determine whether types of information other than that requested or authorized will be obtained / disclosed by performing detection of other detection targets / results using one or more detection / matching algorithms other than those used for the intended detection target / result, and based on the result of the determination, decide whether the detection measurements or detection results will be provided to another device, service, application, or third party, decide to remove or obfuscate the detection measurements or detection results from the set of detection measurements / results provided to another device, service, application, or third party, decide to provide or not provide detection results for specific detection targets, and / or decide to use a data format for disclosing only specific detection targets.

[0164] Reducing measurement reporting In one embodiment, which may be combined with other embodiments or implemented alone, after detection of an object is initiated, a wireless communication device carried or contained by the object stops or reduces its (periodic) wireless communication signal measurements (e.g., Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) reports performed by the UE in accordance with TS 38.331, TS 38.215) or location / ranging signal measurements (e.g., Positioning Reference Signal (PRS) measurements performed by the UE in accordance with TS 38.215, TS 38.305) automatically (e.g., based on pre-configured triggers / criteria for relaxed measurements similar to those defined in TS 38.304) or after receiving a message with a new / updated measurement configuration from the network (e.g., an RRC reconfiguration message). The network uses the detection measurements / results of the detection service instead of wireless signal measurements provided by the wireless communication device to determine its location and / or whether the wireless communication device is moving, for example, to adjust its beamforming towards the wireless communication device or trigger a handover of the wireless communication device to another base station. This allows the wireless communication device to conserve energy and / or go to sleep. The network notifies the wireless communication device (e.g., via paging) when something has happened and the wireless communication device needs to wake up, for example to perform a handover or to start its periodic wireless medium measurements again, and / or notifies the wireless device if any anomalies are detected, reliable readings cannot be obtained, or the AI model for detection needs to be (re)trained (e.g., when the subject, and therefore the wireless communication device carried / contained by the subject, enters a new location).

[0165] Determining object identity using sensors In one embodiment, which may be combined with other embodiments or implemented alone, a wireless communication device (possibly in cooperation with a set of sensors and / or a set of sensing transmitters and / or sensing receivers connected to the wireless communication device) determines a set of object identification information by performing wireless medium measurements or sensor readings or performing an initial radar scan of the object to identify a unique set of characteristics by which the object may be identified. For example, the wireless communication device uses signal / data processing / analysis to detect specific patterns, such as unique movement patterns or biometric information, in the wireless medium measurements, sensor readings, or radar scan measurements / results. To this end, the wireless communication device or a network function / server to which the wireless communication device is connected executes an AI model to learn how to identify objects (e.g., by identifying specific patterns) by feeding the AI model with each wireless medium measurement, sensor reading, and / or radar scan measurement / result. The model is also fed with information (e.g., wireless medium measurements, sensor readings, and / or radar scan measurements / results) related to different objects that should not be identified as objects. The AI model may initially be configured with a coarse-grained classification of objects and people based on some high-level characteristics (e.g., male, medium height, heavy), and such set of characteristics for a particular target object may be used as input to determine a particular set of target objects having those characteristics in a particular area and / or to select a particular AI model trained on objects having those characteristics. A user / subscriber to the detection service may be asked to place their mobile phone in close proximity to the target object once (e.g., based on a request / message received from the network) so that the AI model can learn about the particular target object during this initial stage, after which the AI model may be used to detect the object without the mobile phone needing to be in the vicinity of the object.

[0166] Additionally or alternatively, a wireless communication device carried / contained by a potential target may be instructed to indicate, for example, while performing an initial radar scan or at a specific time, instructions for the target to perform a specific movement (e.g., wave, wiggle, take a few steps in a specific direction) that is detected by the AI model. The resulting set of target identifications or the AI model itself (or portions thereof) may be transmitted to a core network function or application server and / or to a detection service, detection transmitter, or detection receiver, where it may be used to identify the target using mechanisms described in other embodiments. The set of target identifications may be stored together with an identifier for the wireless communication device or an identifier for the AI model. The detection service, detection transmitter, or detection receiver may use such identifiers to identify the wireless communication device or AI model and transmit a request to verify whether the set of target identifications and / or the set of detection measurements / results matches the target.

[0167] In one embodiment, which may be combined with other embodiments or implemented alone, a detection service, detection transmitter, or detection receiver receives information about the target of detection and / or about other potential objects that should be excluded from being detected or excluded from detection measurements / results from a heat / motion sensor, camera, or surveillance system (e.g., capable of generating heat maps or processing video footage) or through an external application interface (e.g., network publishing functionality). The detection service, detection transmitter, or detection receiver uses that information to determine a target location, target area, or target direction toward which to transmit a detection signal and / or toward which the receiver should focus its antenna / receive unit. The detection service, detection transmitter, or detection receiver also uses that information to correlate the detection measurements / results with this information (e.g., by comparing measured / calculated characteristics of the detected object / object with measured / calculated characteristics of the object / object based on this information) to determine whether the detection measurements / results correspond to the target of detection. The detection service, detection transmitter, or detection receiver also uses this information to trigger the start of a (detailed / distributed) detection session (only) when the presence of the intended target is detected in this information.

[0168] Repositioning the transmitter and receiver According to further embodiments, the detection service, detection transmitter, or detection receiver determines, based on an initial (low resolution) scan of the object or a detailed scan of the object (e.g., if permitted / enabled / authorized), that the detection signal does not or cannot properly identify the target object based on the set of object identification information, for example, because the resolution / accuracy is too low (e.g., due to the low frequency used), the detection signal is blocked, the distance is too long, the object does not sufficiently reflect the detection signal or absorbs the detection signal too much, the object is moving, or the detection transmitter or detection receiver is moving. Based on this determination, the detection service, detection transmitter, or detection receiver may decide to reposition itself, delay sending a detection signal (e.g., wait until the target, receiver, or transmitter has moved to a new location), adapt the transmission characteristics / waveform of the detection signal, send information / instructions (e.g., a warning signal, a request to the receiver to move closer to or away from the target's location, to change the receiver's angle relative to the target, to reconfigure the receiver's antenna, to adapt the detection signal parameters used by the transmitter to adapt its detection signal transmission, or the detection measurements / results, for example, via the NEF) to the detection transmitter, detection receiver, detection service, or detection application, select another receiver for detection of the target, or send a signal to another transmitter or receiver to begin detecting the target. If the detection transmitter or detection receiver has a display (e.g., in the case of a mobile phone) or is connected to a display, the transmitter or receiver may show a notification, whereby the notification indicates to the user a request and / or instruction to the detection transmitter, detection receiver, or target to move to another location.

[0169] Detection process flow FIG. 3 illustrates generally one embodiment of a process flow diagram for radar detection in a communication system.

[0170] Below, a process for distributed radar detection functionality in a wireless communications infrastructure (shown in FIG. 2) is described. The process is designed to create a distributed system of transmitter devices 10 (e.g., base stations or UEs) and receiver devices 20 (e.g., base stations or UEs) capable of both standard wireless communications and distributed radar detection of the local environment. Note, however, that in an alternative embodiment, the transmitter devices 10 and receiver devices 20 are co-located.

[0171] In FIG. 3, the components / blocks of the embodiment of the transmitter and receiver architecture of FIG. 2 that are involved in the process are shown and will not be described again.

[0172] The receiver device 20 uses its receiver standard communication unit 201, e.g., 5G, to send a request that radar measurements are required (i.e., a radar service session request (RS-REQ)) to the transmitter device 10, optionally along with a description of its sensing-related capabilities (e.g., number of antennas, supported frequency ranges), wireless sensing signal processing capabilities (which algorithms are supported and / or whether it is possible to determine a particular sensing result / target (e.g., whether it is possible to determine the position or movement of a target object, or the shape of a target object), one or more supported sensing profiles, etc.) and / or the location of the receiver device 20.

[0173] Alternatively or additionally, the transmitter device 10 may request a distributed radar session with a selected receiver device (e.g., UE) or multiple receivers that may be supported simultaneously.

[0174] Optionally, the initial position of the receiver device 20 is obtained from the current known location of the receiver device 20 (if available, for example from a location management function in the core network) or is already known to the transmitter device 10.

[0175] Optionally, receiver device 20 transmits a rough indication of direction and range to the object, derivable from estimates provided by the user and / or based on measurements made by a local terminal device (e.g., UE), as an initial location estimate of the object.

[0176] Optionally, the receiver device 20 transmits an identifier used to authorize use of a detection service or to authorize the receiver device 20 to participate in a detection operation, and / or to look up a set of object identities or an identifier associated with a set of object identities for use in the detection operation.

[0177] Optionally, the receiver device 20 transmits the set of object identification information, an identifier associated with the set of object identification information, or an AI model capable of identifying the object to a detection service operated by the network.

[0178] In one example, receiver device 20 also transmits the required scan time (i.e., the length of time the radar scan will be performed). This depends on the desired application (e.g., vital signs scanning requires long periods of scan time, while object location / counting only requires a very short session (one scan)). Monitoring the location of infrastructure objects may require short scans once per day over some long period of time. Transmitter device 10 is configured to generate detection signals to several receiver devices, in which case the detection signal is generated for any of the receiver devices up to the latest required time.

[0179] When the transmitter receives a radar measurement request, the transmitter device 10 determines whether it can respond to the request from the receiver device 20 and sends a radar session confirm (CONF) or radar session reject (DEN) message to the receiver device 20. For example, the transmitter device 10 cannot provide radar capabilities if it cannot make sufficient bandwidth available for radar signals given current communication demands, if it is currently performing radar functions for another receiver device and cannot perform both, or if the receiver device 20 does not have permission to request radar functions from the transmitter device 10.

[0180] When receiver device 20 requests resources, transmitter device 10 also indicates its allocated resources. This option is implemented similarly to the dynamic resource allocation process in 5G or other standard communication systems. Thus, receiver device 20 sends a resource scheduling message to transmitter device 10 requesting scheduling of radar session resources, and transmitter device 10 responds to receiver device 20 with a downlink control information (DCI) message containing the allocated resources (e.g., time (time slot, slot offset k, ...), frequency, etc.).

[0181] Alternatively, if the receiver has not requested resources or if radar measurements have been initiated by the transmitter, the transmitter device 10 spontaneously sends the allocated resources for radar-based detection to the receiver device. A dedicated DCI message containing part of the auxiliary / configuration information (for detection) is used to indicate that radio resources for radar-based detection are involved.

[0182] For detection, it makes sense to use semi-persistently scheduled resource allocation, where the transmitter device 10 sends allocated resources for a radar session in reserved secure RRC messages periodically for a given time period. Additionally, if an offset and / or time interval for radar-based detection is sent to the receiver device, e.g., as part of a semi-persistent resource schedule, in the same RRC message or in a different message, the start of radar-based detection is activated / triggered at the receiver by the transmitter sending a subsequent DCI message with the corresponding semi-persistent scheduling C-RNTI to the receiver.

[0183] Once resource scheduling is performed, the receiver device 20 knows the timing / frequency to be used for the (distributed) radar function.

[0184] Optionally, a time synchronization (T-SYNC) and delay compensation (D-COMP) measurement process is then initiated to synchronize the transmitter and receiver clocks. For applications where high-level clock synchronization for sensing or ranging (i.e., distance measurement) is not required, this is not necessary.

[0185] This measurement process is achieved by having the transmitter device 10 use its standard communication unit to send a timing signal (clock synchronization signal) reflecting the current timing of the transmitter clock to the receiver device 20, by having the transmitter device 10 perform a round trip time delay measurement from the transmitter device 10 to the receiver device 20 and back using the transmitter time delay measurement function, by the receiver device 20 providing the measured delay time (transmitter-receiver delay) using the receiver time delay measurement function, and by having the receiver device 20 update the receiver clock time using both the clock synchronization signal and the transmitter-receiver delay, thereby ensuring that the two clocks of the transmitter device 10 and the receiver device 20 are perfectly synchronized.

[0186] As an optional measurement, the transmitter device 10 then obtains the (relative) position, shape / size, or material / reflective properties of the desired object and directs its transmitter to that location. This can be achieved by at least one of the following: (i) causing the receiver device 20 (or a core network function not shown, such as a detection management function or an application server (e.g., via a network publishing function)) to send to the transmitter device 10 the position of the object obtained from an initial object location estimate obtained by a user entering object position details, or from some other form of relative location estimation performed by the receiver device 20; (ii) As shown in FIG. 3, having the transmitter device 10 perform a low-resolution scan of the environment and select a target direction suitable for detailed radar transmission, the radar mode signal generator 102 sends a detection signal via the transmit front end 103, the reflected detection signal is received by the receive front end 104, and the transmitter low-resolution non-dispersive radar analysis system 107 is used to process the signal (e.g., by standard FMCW scanning, using a sweep of the beamforming direction to determine approximate surfaces in the scene and obtain target location information); (iii) having the receiver device 20 perform a low-resolution scan of the environment and select a target direction suitable for detailed radar transmission, the radar mode signal generator 202 sending the detection signal to the transmit front end 203, the reflected detection signal being received by the receive front end 204, and the receiver low-resolution non-dispersive radar analysis system 207 being used to process the signal (e.g., by standard FMCW scanning to determine approximate surfaces in the scene using a sweep of the beamforming direction to obtain target location information, which is then communicated to the transmitter device 10); (iv) having the transmitter device 10 identify a device carried / contained by the target subject (e.g., matching a known device identity in a device database) by using signals / communication messages received from the device through the transmitter device's receiving front end 104, and determine the coarse location of the detected target using measurements or location information of that device (e.g., provided by the device or by a location service). In a particular example, the target detection subject (e.g., a person) carries a receiver device 20 that can also be used to perform distributed radar detection measurements. (v) causing the transmitter device 10 to receive information about potential subjects of interest for radar-based detection from a sensor, camera, or surveillance system (e.g., capable of generating heat maps or processing video footage) and / or through an external application interface (e.g., NEF); (vi) causing the transmitter device 10 to use the CSI information received from the set of devices in the area and use this to calculate certain signal changes and / or interruptions / occlusions to detect any activity / movement of objects in the area and use that to determine the coarse location of potential targets; (vii) having the transmitter device send out an initial set of signals (possibly at different frequencies, various waveforms, various bandwidths, and various beam steering directions / angles / focal areas), receive reports from a set of receiver devices 10 that receive one or more of these signals, including timing information for signal reception and processed information about these signals, such as IF signal information or angle of arrival, and use information from these reports to determine the rough locations of potential targets; or (viii) cause the transmitter device to initiate sensing operations for a configured area / volume of interest (whereby the transmitter device and / or receiver device are configured by a sensing service (e.g., operated by the cellular core network)), and based on outputs of sensing operations for the area / volume of interest performed by the sensing transmitter transmitting a set of sensing signals and the sensing receiver receiving the set of sensing signals (whereby the outputs result from performing measurements / signal processing of the received sensing signals), detect a set of objects (e.g., by the transmitter device, receiver device, or sensing service to which the outputs are transmitted), determine a set of sensing information for one or more detected objects, and / or determine based on a set of object identification information (e.g., provided / configured by the sensing service, core network function, or application) whether the set of sensing information for one or more detected objects meets or does not meet one or more configured criteria for identifying objects, and based on the determination, stop or continue the sensing operations, initiate additional sensing operations, generate an event, or transmit a signal indicating that a matched object has or has not been detected. The locations of the detected objects are stored or provided to the sensing service.

[0187] Based on the target location / area / volume information and / or whether a target is detected to be present within the target location / area / volume and / or the location of the detected target or a device carried / contained by the target, the transmitter device 10 selects an appropriate transmitter target direction for beamforming of the distributed radar function.

[0188] Additionally, the transmitter device 10 selects appropriate parameters of the sense signals generated for the distributed radar function. The sense signal generation parameters are chosen to satisfy at least one of the following: bandwidth / frequency constraints at the transmitter device 10, limitations on the sense signal generation capability of the radar-mode signal generator 102, and requirements of the radar application, as required, for example, by the receiver device 20. Such sense signal generation parameters include at least one of the number of sense signals (related to scan time and application requirements), the sense signal repetition rate (alternatively, the delay between chirps), the sense signal frequency slope, the sense signal bandwidth, the minimum sense signal (start) frequency, the initial sense signal phase, and the sense signal start time (the precise time of the first sense signal, which is later selected).

[0189] Further details about the relationship between detection signal parameters and positioning and velocity accuracy (as well as the use of triangular chirp signals rather than linear chirp signals) can be gleaned, for example, from Pasi Koivumaki, "Triangular and Ramp Waveforms in Target Detection with a Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave Radar", Master Thesis, School of Electrical Engineering, Espoo, January 23, 2017.

[0190] Before or after that, the transmitter device 10 uses its transmitter standard communication unit 101 (e.g., 5G) to send configuration information such as radar session parameters (RSP), detection signal generation parameters, detection signal start time (CST), transmitter location (TXL, the location of the transmitter device 10 itself), and at least one of target location information (TLI) and other information about the target (e.g., shape / size, material / reflection characteristics) to the receiver device 20 as part of an RRC message (e.g., encrypted payload), such as a measurement configuration included in an RRC reconfiguration message or an RRC resume message.

[0191] The transmitted receiver configuration information is received by the receiver standard communication unit 201 (e.g., 5G) and (optionally) decoded and verified at the receiver device 20 using a suitable process (e.g., a decoding algorithm).

[0192] It should be noted that any of the data exchanges in any of the methods described herein are protected between the transmitter device 10 and the receiver device 20, where protected may mean integrity protected and / or encrypted. Integrity protection is required to ensure that an attacker cannot tamper with necessary radar parameters, e.g., chirp generation parameters. Encryption is required to ensure that an attacker located near the receiver device 20 cannot use the transmitted signals to monitor targets, for example.

[0193] Optionally, if specific ranging and positioning is required, the receiver device 20 derives the relative position offset (or alternatively distance and angle) and / or equivalent time delay (transmitter-receiver delay) between the transmitter device 10 and the receiver device 20 by at least one of calculating the relative position offset (or equivalent optical transit time) between the transmitter device 10 and the receiver device 20 using the transmitter location and the receiver's own known receiver location, determining the time delay from round trip delay measurements from the receiver device 20 to the transmitter device 10 and back using the receiver time delay measurements and the transmitter device 10 using the transmitter time delay measurements, or reusing the transmitter-receiver delay obtained above.

[0194] This relative position / distance / time delay can be used to derive the times at which the transmitter detection signal is emitted and received, and for subsequent digital signal processing, to find the points in the environment or scene that lie on the equal-time delay spatial ellipse defined as the focus by the transmitter device 10 and receiver device 20.

[0195] The relative position / distance / time delay information provided to the receiver can also be used to delay / trigger the start of an active detection time interval at the receiver, e.g., so that only reflected detection signals are detected / received and considered for the detection algorithm, and not the first signal that arrives at the receiver via a direct path without reflections (assuming that for reflected detection signals, the path is longer and therefore the delay is longer / signal arrival time is later, whereas for direct detection signals, the path is shorter and therefore the delay is shorter / arrival time is earlier). To this end, signals received before a certain time (e.g., based on the estimated distance / delay of the signal traveling directly between the transmitter device and receiver device) are ignored / discarded, and only signals arriving after a time beyond the estimated direct path delay are used for further analysis.

[0196] At the detection signal start time, the transmitter device 10 uses the radar mode signal generator 102 operating based on the detection signal generation parameters to transmit a detection signal or sequence of detection signals (E-CRP) using an antenna beam formed in the direction of the target (i.e., in the transmission target direction).

[0197] The transmitter device 10 also communicates its motion and vibration to the receiver device 20 via its transmitter standard communication unit 101 by using a transmitter motion data sequence (TX-MOV-D) during a series of detection signal transmissions or detection intervals (e.g., chirp sequence transmissions) acquired by the transmitter motion sensor 108. The transmitter motion data sequence is sent along with (e.g., encoded within) the detection signal or by using a separate communication channel between the transmitter and receiver (e.g., as a series of RRC or MAC control element messages).

[0198] The receiver device 20 receives the reflected detection signal (R-CRP) by calculating from the target location information provided to the receiver device 20 by the transmitter device 10 the direction to the target and / or the expected delay of the signal arriving via the path reflected through the target.

[0199] Alternatively, the receiver device 20 can search the radar returns until it finds a desired signal, e.g., a signal corresponding to (pre-)configured / received detection signal characteristics (e.g., waveform, frequency, preamble, coded identity, ...), a maximum return signal, or a signal corresponding to a particular pattern (based on the application) in the reflected detection signal (e.g., indicating / representing vital signs or object movement), and use this direction as the receiver target direction.

[0200] Alternatively, if the receiver device 20 allows several detection signals to be transmitted before analysis begins and / or the beamformed radar transmission direction is not known to the receiver device 20, the receiver device 20 can scan the environment or scene using beamforming to detect the direction that gives the highest detection signal return and store this as the receiver target direction.

[0201] The receiver device 20 then uses beamformed reception to point the antenna of its receive front end 204 towards the receiver target and collects the reflected radio signals to form a received signal.

[0202] Receiver device 20 then begins the IF signal generation process by generating an internal analog signal (i.e., a composite detect signal that closely matches the emitted detect signal) with its radar mode signal generator 202 using the detect signal generation parameters and, optionally, the detect signal start time and transmitter-receiver delay. Receiver device 20 combines this internal analog signal with the received signal in IF mixer 207-1 to generate the IF signal. Options for this signal combination can be that the composite detect signal is timed to coincide with the detect signal start time (the exact time the detect signal is emitted by transmitter device 10), that the composite detect signal is timed to coincide with the time the detect signal arrives at receiver device 20 via the direct path (i.e., the composite detect signal time is equal to the detect signal start time plus the transmitter-receiver delay), or that the composite detect signal time is equal to the detect signal start time plus a defined fraction of the transmitter-receiver delay.

[0203] The reason for adding a transmitter-receiver delay (or a portion of the delay) may be to obtain a minimum range (i.e., minimum IF frequency) that is zero (or some minimum value) rather than representing the distance to the transmitter device 10, thereby reducing the IF frequency and increasing the available range of detection (by reducing the "measurement range" of detection).

[0204] In one example where the object is precisely located, it is assumed that the transmitter device 10 also receives radar signals (i.e., the transmitter device 10 also includes non-distributed radar) and can therefore estimate the distance D1 to any object, for example, by using FMCW radar. The receiver device 20 knows exactly when the transmitter device 10 starts sending a detection signal and can estimate the distance D2 from the transmitter device 10 to the receiver device 20 through the reflected path. In this case, the distance D3 from the receiver device 20 to the object can be calculated as D3=D1−D2. Thus, when the locations of the receiver device 20 and the transmitter device 10 are known (e.g., in the case of a distributed access device (e.g., gNB-DU)), this embodiment can be used to enhance the positioning algorithm.

[0205] Similarly, if the transmitter device 10 is able to receive radar signals and is able to accurately calculate the distance D1 and / or angle A1 between the transmitter and the detected object, and forwards this information together with the (relative) position information of the transmitter device 10 itself, the receiver device can use this information together with information of the detected signals received via the direct non-reflected path (i.e., typically the first instance of a series of detected signals) and the reflected path to more accurately calculate the distance between the receiver and the transmitter, the position of the receiver relative to the transmitter, or the absolute geographical position of the receiver.

[0206] In those examples where either the transmitter device 10 or the receiver device 20 optionally comprises a non-distributed radar, positioning information such as round trip time, angle of arrival, time of flight, etc. enabled by signals, e.g., positioning signals over either the standard Uu interface or the PC5 (sidelink) interface, is also derived from an alternative positioning or ranging technology, e.g., 5G positioning or ranging technology.

[0207] After generation of the IF signal in IF mixer 207-1 of receiver device 20, the signal is bandpass or lowpass filtered and converted to a digital signal using filter component 207-2 and ADC component 207-3. If the use of the IF data requires removal of returns (reflected chirp signals) below a certain minimum "range" (distance from transmitter device 10 to the target and back to receiver device 20), the IF signal is highpass filtered (as part of the bandpass filter). Additionally, the IF signal may be lowpass filtered to prevent aliasing at the upper frequency range of ADC 207-3.

[0208] The resulting digital data obtained from ADC 207-3 is processed using digital signal processing system 207-4 to provide sensor information (eg, sensor measurements / results or application-specific data).

[0209] Alternatively, digital signal processing can be omitted by communicating the resulting digital data to the transmitter device 10 (e.g., as an RRC measurement report) or to a network function / device (e.g., through a non-access stratum (NAS) message or a user plane (UP) message). The processed received sensing signals, digital data, sensing measurements / results, application-specific data, and / or other sensing information / results are transmitted to the transmitter device 10 or a cloud computing resource, e.g., an edge server, which returns the processing results to the receiver device 20. The resulting digital data or sensing information from the above sensing operations is used to detect a set of objects, to determine a set of sensing information for one or more detected objects, and / or to determine, based on the set of object identification information, whether the set of sensing information for one or more detected objects meets or does not meet one or more configuration criteria for identifying objects. Based on this determination, the receiver device, transmitter device, and / or sensing service: Stop or continue the detection operation, Initiate additional detection actions, Generate an event or send a signal indicating that a match has or has not been detected; or Initiating / continuing authorization of a detection target (e.g., verifying whether a detected object is an authorized target of the detection service).

[0210] Optionally, during radar processing, the receiver device 20, based on the results of the above digital signal processing, sends updated and improved TLI and / or location / motion / vibration information of the receiver device (e.g., acquired by its motion sensor 208) to the transmitter device 10 using standard (e.g., 5G) communication between the receiver device 20 and the transmitter device 10 to enable continued accurate beamforming to the target by the transmitter device 10, adjust the beamforming to the target by the transmitter device 10, adjust the detection signals sent by the transmitter device 10, adjust the detection signal configuration information used by the transmitter device 10 and / or sent to the receiver device, or update the location of the target and / or receiver information by the transmitter device 10 based on the target location information, receiver location / motion / vibration information, processed detection signals, resultant digital data, application-specific data, and / or other detection information / results received from the receiver device 20 in the course of the distributed radar process.

[0211] Note that the receiver device 20 has limited information about the exact location of the target due to the equal-time delay reflected detection signals lying on a spatial ellipse (limited in part by the beamwidth of the transmitted signal). The target object may be moving to the edge of the transmitter beam, and as a result, the transmitter device 10 needs to update its transmitter target direction.

[0212] Optionally, motion compensation is performed to subtract detected motion of the transmitter device 10 and / or receiver device 20 during data processing, the receiver motion sensor 208 acquiring a sensor signal (motion data sequence) of the motion of the receiver device 20, and the transmitter motion sensor 108 acquiring the motion of the transmitter device 10.

[0213] Finally, the input information is collected and the resulting digital data (D-DISP) is stored and displayed by the receiver device 20 using its user interface and data storage 210. The exact nature and details of the user interface, data storage, and display process will depend on the type and nature of the receiver device 20 (e.g., UE) and can range from a high resolution display with an advanced user interface to a very simple numeric display or the generation of an alarm.

[0214] Detection flow diagram FIG. 4 illustrates generally one embodiment of a flow diagram for a sensing operation (e.g., a radar-based sensing operation) between a transmitter device and a receiver device (including identification and authorization of the target of sensing), where the transmitter device and receiver device may or may not be co-located.

[0215] In optional initial session request (RS-REQ) step S401, a receiver device (e.g., terminal device), a transmitter device (e.g., access device), a sensing service, a sensing application (e.g., via an NEF), a mobile device carried / contained by a subject, or a mobile device subscribed to the sensing service, sends (e.g., using an RRC or NAS message) a sensing session request, possibly enriched with information about the location of the receiver device, transmitter device, or mobile device, to the sensing service (e.g., operated by a core network function or transmitter device), or generally, to a wireless network operating or providing access to the respective service. The request and / or the respective information is sent as part of a PDU session request or a request for a service including sensing.

[0216] Optionally, information about the target location, area, or volume, a set of target identification information or an identifier associated with the set of target identification information, (part of) an AI model capable of identifying the target, an identifier for authorizing devices using the detection service or participating in the detection operation, and / or the required scanning time is also provided by the receiver device, transmitter device, or mobile device.

[0217] Optionally, the receiver device, transmitter device, or mobile device is authenticated by the network and authorized to use the sensing service or participate in sensing operations (e.g., by verifying whether subscription information associated with the device's unique identifier includes information on whether the device is subscribed to the sensing service or is authorized by a user (e.g., a subject of the sensing service) to participate in the sensing operations of interest).

[0218] In an optional response request confirmation (REQ-CONF) / rejection (REQ-DEN) step S402, the sensing service, transmitter device, and / or receiver device determines whether it / they can respond to the request (e.g., make sufficient bandwidth available for the signal given its current communication demands) and sends an acknowledgement or rejection response to the requesting device or service. The response (e.g., using an RRC or NAS message) includes the set of subject identities or identifiers associated with the set of subject identities and / or other sensing configuration information. The response also includes credentials used to securely (e.g., integrity-protected / confidentiality-protected) send any sensing measurements / results or other sensing information about one or more subjects / objects and / or sensing configuration information to the sensing service, other devices, services, or applications involved in the sensing session / operation. The response may further include a message to inform the user that the detection service is activated and / or to request confirmation from the user of the UE to initiate / authorize detection of the target, and / or may also include a request for the location of the UE (if not provided in the request) for use in verifying whether the UE is in the vicinity of the target, for example.

[0219] Optionally or alternatively, the sensing service or transmitter device may locate potential transmitter or receiver devices near the intended target (e.g., by requesting a last known location from a location database / service, or by requesting the potential transmitter or receiver device to send its known location information, or by obtaining location from the potential transmitter or receiver device through trilateration / triangulation / round trip time calculations based on signals received from the potential transmitter or receiver device), and may proactively request (e.g., using an RRC or NAS message) that the transmitter or receiver device be used for sensing. The sensing service or transmitter device sends sensing configuration information based on a set of target identification information to the transmitter or receiver devices involved in sensing the target. Similar to the confirmation or rejection responses described above, the request includes the set of subject identities or identifiers associated with the set of subject identities and / or other sensing configuration information, and also includes credentials to be used to securely (e.g., integrity-protected / confidentiality-protected) send any sensing measurements / results or other sensing information about one or more subjects / objects and / or sensing configuration information to the sensing service or other devices, services, or applications involved in the sensing session / operation. The request may further include a message to notify the user that the sensing service is being activated and / or to request confirmation from the user of the UE to initiate / authorize sensing of the subject, and / or may also include a request for the location of the UE (if not provided in the request), for example, to use in verifying whether the UE is in the vicinity of the subject.

[0220] An optional time synchronization (T-SYNC) and delay compensation (D-COMP) step S403 is then initiated to synchronize the receiver clock with the transmitter clock by sending a timing signal to the receiver device.

[0221] In an optional subsequent target position acquisition (TP-ACQ) step S404, target location / area / volume information is determined by the transmitter device, receiver device, or sensing service, for example, by performing an approximate radar object location scan in the direction indicated by the receiver device as the target initial location estimate.

[0222] Alternatively or additionally, information about the target location / area / volume may be provided as part of the detection configuration or may be provided (indirectly) from the receiver device, transmitter device or mobile device (as stated in step RS-REQ), and the transmitter device may use this information as target location information.

[0223] Alternatively or additionally, a set of object identities or an identifier associated with a set of object identities may be provided to the receiver device, transmitter device, or sensing service.

[0224] Then, in a transmitter beamforming direction selection (BFD-SEL) step S405, the transmitter device selects a suitable direction (for beamforming) to perform radar-based sensing (distributed or non-distributed) based on the target location information / area / volume as the transmitter target direction.

[0225] In a next signal parameter generation, eg chirp parameter generation (CP-GEN) step S406, the transmitter device selects appropriate parameters of the signal and generates matching parameters for signal generation (eg by DFT-s-OFDM processing).

[0226] Then, in an optional subsequent (radar-based) sensing session parameter transmission (RSP-TX) step S407, the generation parameters, selected start time, transmitter device location, and / or target location information / area / volume are protected, e.g. encrypted using an encryption algorithm, sent to the receiver device, and decrypted at the receiver device using a corresponding decryption algorithm.

[0227] In the next optional receiver-transmitter relative position and delay estimation (RX-TX-P / D-EST) step S408, the receiver device calculates the relative offset (or equivalent optical transit time) between the transmitter device and the receiver device using the transmitter location and the receiver device's own known receiver location or round trip delay measurement.

[0228] At the signal (e.g., chirp) start time, the transmitter device initiates a transmitter generation (TX-C-GEN) step S409, generates a signal or sequence of signals based on the generation parameters, and transmits the signal or sequence of signals via an antenna beam formed in the transmitter target direction.

[0229] In an optional Transmitter Motion Sequence Transmission (TX-MOV-TX) step S410, the transmitter device communicates the movements and / or vibrations of the transmitter device detected during the sequence to a receiver device or sensing service as a transmitter motion data sequence.

[0230] In a receiver reflected signal acquisition (RX-R-SIG-ACQ) step S411, the receiver collects reflected radio signals, thereby obtaining a received signal using beamformed reception directed towards the target.

[0231] The above steps S401 to S411 can also be applied to a CSI-based distributed sensing system.

[0232] In an optional receiver IF signal generation (RX-IF-GEN) step S412, the receiver device uses the obtained detection signal start time, transmitter-receiver delay, and detection signal generation parameters to generate a synthetic internal analog detection signal that matches the emitted detection signal, and mixes this signal with the received signal to generate the IF signal.

[0233] Additionally or alternatively, the receiver performs measurements (e.g., to determine the time of arrival of the received detected signal, to determine the angle of arrival of the detected signal, to determine the amplitude or frequency of the signal) or performs digital signal processing of the received detected signal (e.g., to perform filtering of the signal, such as bandpass filtering, or to determine signal modifications).

[0234] In a subsequent optional receiver signal processing (RX-SIG-PROC) step S413, the resulting IF digital signal data, or output resulting from measurements and / or digital signal processing performed on the received detection signal, is processed to produce detection information (e.g., detection measurements / results, or application-specific data such as location, movement, vibration, etc. of detected objects that are potential / intended targets).

[0235] Additionally or alternatively, the resulting IF digital signal data, or the output resulting from measurements and / or digital signal processing performed on the received detection signal, and / or the generated detection information, is transmitted to a detection service or transmitter device for further processing.

[0236] In an optional object identification (T-ID) step, the receiver device, transmitter device, or sensing service uses the IF digital signal data from the previous step, or the output obtained as a result of the measurements and / or digital signal processing performed on the received sensing signals, or the resulting sensing information, to detect a set of objects, to determine a set of sensing information for one or more detected objects, and / or to determine whether the set of sensing information for one or more detected objects meets or does not meet one or more configuration criteria for identifying objects based on the set of object identifications. The set of object identifications may, for example, be pre-configured, sent (e.g., from a core network function or application (e.g., via the NEF) or from a device connected to the network) as part of a request for a sensing operation / session, or sent to the respective receiver device, transmitter device, or sensing service upon authentication or authorization (e.g., from the AUSF or UDM) for a device (carried or contained by a sensing object) connected to the network or retrieved from a core network function or database based on an identifier received as part of the request for the sensing operation / session or as part of the authentication / authorization step (whereby the identifier is associated with the set of object identifications). Based on that determination, the receiver device, the transmitter device, and / or the detection service: Stop or continue the detection operation, Initiate additional detection actions, Generate an event or send a signal indicating that a match has or has not been detected; or Initiating / continuing authorization of a detection target (e.g., to verify whether a detected object is an authorized target of the detection service).

[0237] Further, in an optional receiver target location update transmission (RX-TP-UD-TX) step S414, the receiver device sends updated and improved target location information to the transmitter device based on the results of step S413 to enable the transmitter device to continue accurate beamforming to the target.

[0238] Additionally, an optional transmitter and receiver motion compensation (TX / RX-MOV-COMP) step S415 is integrated, in which the measured motion and / or vibration of the transmitter and receiver devices is subtracted from the motion detected by the radar.

[0239] Finally, in User Interface, Data Storage and Display (UI / DS / DISP) step S416, the resulting data (e.g., detection information about the target object or information about whether a match target was detected or not) is stored, transmitted (e.g., via the NEF) to a network service or application, and / or displayed by a receiver device, transmitter device, or other device (e.g., a mobile device carried / contained by the subject) that receives the resulting data from the core network service or application. User interface and input information (if necessary) is collected using the user interface.

[0240] Additional embodiments below describe details of application-specific processing applied to the digitized IF signal (eg, in step S413 of FIG. 4).

[0241] FIG. 5 illustrates generally one embodiment of a flow diagram for a location and motion detection process.

[0242] This embodiment is relevant for use cases such as object counting, object motion detection and measurement, infrastructure monitoring, etc. In such cases, the receiver or transmitter device may wish to set up a process for periodic radar operation, e.g., radar detection repeated every 15 minutes.

[0243] In the initial background clutter subtraction (BG-C-SUB) step S501, background subtraction of clutter (e.g., unwanted multipath signals) from the digital IF signal (i.e., IF frequency data) is performed. The background subtraction is achieved by distinguishing foreground information from background information based on the variation of data received at different times. This can be achieved by applying a recursive moving average (RMA) or a Gaussian mixture model (GMM) to learn the mean value of the path distribution.

[0244] Then, in a surface identification (SF-ID) step S502, individual surfaces are identified from the constant lines detected in the IF frequency data.

[0245] For objects with measurable velocities, the velocity of each isolated surface is identified in a surface velocity identification (SF-V-ID) step S503 by the average phase change of the data extracted from that surface over several consecutive sensed signals after phase extraction and phase unwrapping, for example by applying a Doppler FFT. A sensed signal reflected by a moving surface induces a Doppler frequency shift proportional to the velocity of the surface. This frequency shift results in a phase shift in the detected sensed signal.

[0246] For objects with slow, long-term motion, the motion can be found in the slow motion detection (SL-MOV-DET) step S504 by periodically determining the object's location (range, direction) and calculating the change in that location over time.

[0247] FIG. 6 illustrates generally one embodiment of a flow diagram for a heart rate and respiration rate detection process.

[0248] Again, in an initial background clutter subtraction (BG-C-SUB) step S601, background subtraction of clutter from the digital IF signal (ie, IF frequency data) is performed.

[0249] Then, in a target surface selection (T-SF-SEL) step S602, the correct surface of the targeted user is selected from a constant line in the IF frequency data (in the correct range).

[0250] In a subsequent phase data separation (PD-ISO) step S603, the phase data from the selected surface is separated and phase unwrapped (eg, by applying a Doppler FFT).

[0251] Alternatively, the phase can be represented by the complex sine and cosine components of the signal (which avoids the need for phase unwrapping).

[0252] Then, in a phase filtering (PS-FIL) step S604, the phase signal is bandpass filtered for the heart rate frequency range (e.g., 0.6-4 Hz) and / or respiration rate (e.g., 0.1-0.6 Hz) to derive heart rate data and / or respiration rate data.

[0253] Finally, in a vital signal extraction (VS-EXTR) step S605, the resulting data is processed to extract vital sign signals from noise, compensate for noise and background motion using algorithms such as deep neural networks trained on datasets collected with "gold standards" such as electrocardiograms (ECGs) and / or stretch breathing sensors, and extract desired signals (heart rate, respiration rate), signal variability (e.g., heart rate variability), and confidence in the accuracy of the data values.

[0254] Network-enabled wireless detection Another embodiment of the present invention is depicted in FIG. 7 , which schematically illustrates an exemplary detection system 700, in which a network (e.g., an RF Detection Management Function (RSMF) deployed by a 5G core network as shown in FIG. 7 ) configures or controls configuration parameters and / or detection requirements and / or collects or combines detection results of detection transmitters (sTX) and / or detection receivers (sRX), e.g., to perform matching and / or identify objects of interest. Such an RSMF may be deployed as a separate function or service within the core network, as part of an existing function within the core network (e.g., as part of or an extension to the Location Management Function (LMF) specified in 3GPP TS 23.273), as part of a wireless access device (e.g., a base station), or as part of an application function, edge application, or cloud server (e.g., that indirectly provides configuration information or detection requirements and / or receives detection results via a Network Exposure Function (NEF)), and is generally considered a detection service and / or supports detection capabilities as described for detection services in this disclosure.

[0255] The RSMF is connected to a sensing transmitter (sTX), a sensing receiver (sRX), other core network functions, and / or services (e.g., 3GPP TS 23.501, specifically the UDM, UDR, AUSF, and AMF functions and / or services as shown in FIG. 7; includes a (network) communication unit capable of sending and receiving messages to and from the detection transmitter (sTX) and / or the detection receiver (sRX); includes non-volatile storage for storing detection capabilities received from the detection transmitter (sTX) and / or the detection receiver (sRX); executes detection applications or operations; determines parameters to be configured for the detection transmitter (sTX) and / or the detection receiver (sRX) (e.g., based on detection capabilities received from the detection receiver (sRX) and / or based on detection requirements (e.g., received from or determined by an application or other service), and / or based on information about the object of interest (TO) (e.g., a set of object identification information as described in other embodiments of the present disclosure); collects detection results from the detection transmitter (sTX) and / or the detection receiver (sRX); performs matching or object identification; and / or further processes the collected detection results.

[0256] The RSMF is deployed as part of a system 700 that includes a set of sensing transmitter devices (sTX) (e.g., base stations, access points, or UEs (e.g., mobile phones)) and a set of sensing receiver devices (sRX) (e.g., base stations, access points, or UEs (e.g., mobile phones)), whereby the sensing transmitter devices and sensing receiver devices (sTX, sRX) are collocated and thus part of one and the same device (and thus controlled and operated as a single entity), whereby the RSMF is directly or indirectly (securely) connected to these sensing transmitter devices and sensing receiver devices (sTX, sRX) via a set of wireless and / or wired connections, whereby the RSMF and the involved sensing transmitter devices and sensing receiver devices (sTX, sRX) communicate using messaging protocols (e.g., the NAS protocol defined in 3GPP® TS 24.501, the RRC protocol defined in 3GPP® TS 38.331, the RRC protocol defined in 3GPP® TS 38.332, the RRC protocol defined in 3GPP® TS 38.333, the RRC protocol defined in 3GPP® TS 38.334, the RRC protocol defined in 3GPP® TS 38.335, the RRC protocol defined in 3GPP® TS 38.336, the RRC protocol defined in 3GPP® TS 38.337, the RRC protocol defined in 3GPP® TS 38.338, the RRC protocol defined in 3GPP® TS 38.339 ... They communicate with each other through messaging protocols based on or extending the Long Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP) defined in TS 37.355 or the New Radio (NR) Positioning Protocol (NRPP) defined in TS 38.455.

[0257] The RSMF, the sensing transmitter device (sTX), and / or the sensing receiver device (sRX) support a method or service flow that includes the following steps, performed in any order: When a sensing receiver device (sRX) (e.g., a UE) registers with the network, the sensing receiver device (sRX) provides its wireless sensing capabilities (e.g., device information (such as the number of antennas or supported frequency ranges), wireless sensing signal processing capabilities, the ability to be a sensing receiver, a sensing transmitter, or both, wireless sensing signal transmission capabilities (e.g., frequency, timing, phase, types of signals the sensing receiver device (sRX) can generate), etc.) to the RSMF directly using a signal or message sent from the sensing receiver device (sRX) to the RSMF via 709, or indirectly using a signal or message sent from the sensing receiver device (sRX) to the sensing transmitter device (sTX) via 712 and then from the sensing transmitter device (sTX) to the RSMF via 710. The sensing receiver device (sRX) also includes its own location information, if known.

[0258] Alternatively or additionally, the location of the sensing receiver device (sRX) is obtained from an LMF or location server, or from a wireless access device (e.g., a base station) to which the sensing receiver device (sRX) is connected or co-located.

[0259] Similarly, when a sensing transmitter device (sTX) (e.g., a wireless access device such as a base station (e.g., a mobile base station relay device)) is added to the network, the sensing transmitter device (sTX) provides its wireless sensing capabilities to the RSMF using a signal or message via 710.

[0260] It should be noted that in alternative embodiments, the (wireless) access device may also be OAM (Operation, Administration, and Maintenance) managed, whereby the RSMF is deployed as part of the OAM or connected to the RSMF for the exchange of signals or messages (such as the sensing capabilities of the wireless access device, configuration messages for sensing, or sensing measurements or results).

[0261] The wireless access device or core network function (e.g., AMF) to which the sensing receiver device (sRX) or sensing transmitter device (sTX) is registered forwards or redirects signals, messages, or capability information received from the sensing receiver device (sRX) or from the sensing transmitter device (sTX) to the RSMF (e.g., based on the device identity, session identity, or RSMF identity provided in the registration message). The detecting receiver device (sRX) or the detecting transmitter device (sTX) also sends its capabilities after initial registration, for example using the RRC UECapabilityInformation message specified in 3GPP® TS 38.331, through the LPP ProvideCapabilities message specified in 3GPP® TS 37.355, or as part of a detecting session setup request message (e.g., a separate / new NAS message by extending a message defined in 3GPP® TS 24.501, a separate or new RRC message by extending a message defined in 3GPP® TS 38.331, or a separate or new LPP or NRPP message by extending a message defined in 3GPP® TS 37.355 and TS 38.455, respectively). Note that the capabilities of each of the devices involved in detecting may be different. For example, the RF signal processing capabilities of the UE may differ from that of the base station, e.g., the UE may be capable of determining the position or movement of an object of interest (TO) but not be capable of determining the shape of the object of interest (TO), or, e.g., the UE may be capable of receiving sensing signals and performing measurements on the received sensing signals but not be capable of generating and transmitting wireless sensing signals. Thus, the configurations of each of these sensing transmitter and receiver devices (sTX, sRX) may differ or vary depending on the capabilities or roles they play (e.g., acting as a sensing transmitter or sensing receiver).If a device can act as both a sensing transmitter (sTX) and a sensing receiver (sRX), the roles of the sensing transmitter and sensing receiver are independently configured and / or activated and change dynamically (e.g., acting intermittently as a sensing transmitter and sensing receiver, or acting simultaneously as both a sensing transmitter and sensing receiver according to a given schedule or based on messages received, for example, by the RSMF, another network function, or a local application). - Based on the detection needs of a (5G) core network service (e.g., provided by or via GMLC, LMF, or AMF), an external application (e.g., provided via NEF), or the UE (e.g., provided during registration with the core network), and / or based on received capabilities, the RSMF determines a set of wireless access devices (e.g., base stations), UEs, and / or other devices to be used for detection, and configures one or more of these devices as transmitters of wireless detection signals using a signal or message sent directly from the RSMF to the detection transmitter device (sTX) via 706. For this purpose, the core network service provides sensing-related information (e.g., sensing needs / requirements) by issuing a sensing request to the RSMF by using a network-initiated location request (NI-LR) (e.g., defined in TS 23.273), which is extended to include information about the target to be sensed, about the sensing requirements (e.g., which sensing results, e.g., velocity, need to be calculated, and / or accuracy requirements), about sensing configuration information (e.g., target location / area / volume information based on the location of the UE that initiated the request, or an identifier of the UE that initiated the request if the UE's location is unknown and still needs to be determined), and / or about capability information of one or more sensing receivers or sensing transmitters. The RSMF can receive and interpret such information, and then initiates the selection and configuration of a sensing transmitter device. Similarly, the UE issues a mobile-originated location request (MO-LR) to the RMSF, or another client (e.g., an application function) issues a mobile-terminated location request (MT-LR) to the RMSF, which requests carry the above-mentioned information.The location of the UE that initiated the request (or the identity of the UE included in a request to the RSMF, e.g., triggered by a core network function to initiate detection via the RSMF) is used as the target location, and if the location of the UE is not yet known, the RSMF first requests the LMF to determine the location of the UE, and then the RSMF uses the resulting location as the target location, possibly in addition to some other information, such as the (pre-configured or estimated) distance between the UE and the target or (pre-configured or estimated) information about the emergency / disaster area. Additionally, one or more of the set of wireless access devices (e.g., base stations), UEs, and / or other devices used for detection are configured as receivers of wireless detection signals, using signals or messages transmitted directly from the RSMF to the detection receiver device (sRX) via 707 or transmitted indirectly from the RSMF, i.e., transmitted from the RSMF to the detection transmitter device (sTX) via 706 and then from the detection transmitter device (sTX) to the detection receiver device (sRX) via 711. The detection transmitter device and the detection receiver device (sTX, sRX) are also co-located.

[0262] Device configuration information includes information about the wireless sensing signal to be used (e.g., as described in this disclosure) (e.g., timing, frequency, phase offset, identity of the wireless sensing signal), identity of the algorithm or filter to be used for processing, a wireless sensing application or session identifier, destination of the signal processing results, etc. Some of these parameters are also determined by the device itself; for example, the sensing transmitter device (sTX) determines the timing of the sensing signal (i.e., which resources are used for the sensing signal). Such parameters are exchanged directly with the sensing receiver device (e.g., through DCI or Sidelink Control Information (SCI) signals or messages specified in 3GPP TS 38.212 (e.g., using identifiable specific (new) formats to indicate sensing signal parameters such as reception or transmission and / or frequency of the sensing signal), or through a semi-persistent schedule (SPS) indicating a recurring set of resources to be used for the sensing signal), or indirectly through the core network. Based on the detection needs of a (5G) core network service or an external application (e.g., as part of a target authentication and / or authorization procedure for the detection service), the RSMF obtains information about a set of objects of interest, including (rough) location information (or, e.g., last known location) or area information where the objects of interest are expected or frequently found (e.g., the address of a factory, hospital, or home, or a designated (geographical) area or volume), information on how to identify a particular object of interest (e.g., physical characteristics, material, shape, etc.) (i.e., a set of object identification information as described in other embodiments of this disclosure), or the identity of a device owned or carried by a person (e.g., as described in other embodiments of this disclosure). The RSMF uses this information about the set of objects of interest to select and configure a set of sensing transmitter devices and / or sensing receiver devices (sTX, sRX) that will participate in sensing the indicated object or area / volume of interest (this includes information about the wireless sensing signal to be used, as explained above in the previous bullet point) and / or forwards and / or configures part of this information to the set of sensing transmitter devices and / or sensing receiver devices (sTX, sRX). For example, the RSMF provides the set of object identities or identifiers associated with the set of object identities to the set of sensing transmitter devices and / or sensing receiver devices (sTX, sRX).

[0263] Additionally or alternatively, a UE device carried or contained by a target object (TO) establishes a connection to the network (e.g., to the AMF) at 701 and triggers or initiates a detection operation by sending a signal (carrying a message) indicating a trigger or initiation to the RSMF directly (e.g., through a tunnel connection at 701 and 715) or indirectly (e.g., via the AMF at 715 or via the AUSF at 705, whereby the UE uses a set of messages to the AMF or AUSF that is different from that used between the AMF or AUSF and the RSMF). Upon receiving such a trigger or initiation to initiate detection, the AMF, AUSF, or RSMF initiates or requests authorization of the detection service for the UE. For example, the AUSF obtains the UE's SUPI based on the identity provided by the UE to the AMF in 701 and then sent from the AMF to the AUSF via a message in 702, or based on the identity provided by the UE to the AMF in 701 and sent from the AMF via a message in 715 to the RSMF, and then sent from the RSMF to the AUSF via a message in 714. Based on the obtained SUPI, the AUSF checks or verifies information in a subscription database (e.g., UDM) by sending a message to the UDM in 703 to determine whether the user of the UE device is subscribed to the detection service, whether the UE device is authorized to participate in detection operations, and / or whether the user of the UE device has provided consent to be subject to detection operations. If the user of the UE device is indeed authorized, the UDM, the AUSF, or the AMF notifies the RSMF about this through a message sent in 704, 705, or 715, respectively. This message includes a set of subject identities or an identifier associated with the set of subject identities (e.g., provided by the UDM / UDR, which stores this information as part of the subscription information for the detection service). The RSMF, the sensing transmitter device (sTX), and / or the sensing receiver device (sRX) then initiate or perform sensing as described in this disclosure.It should be noted that initiating the sensing operation includes receiving or retrieving a set of target identities or identifiers associated with the set of target identities (e.g., if the set of target identities and their associated identifier sets have already been provided previously or during pre-configuration of the involved sensing transmitter and receiver devices (sTX, sRX) and / or RSMF).

[0264] Optionally, the RSMF sends a signal or message (e.g., via the tunnel connection at 715 and 701) to the UE device carried or contained by the target object (TO), indicating that a sensing operation is starting or about to start. The UE device displays a notification to the user or requests the user to provide confirmation that the user / UE device agrees to start the sensing operation (or automatically provides confirmation based on the UE device configuration), whereupon a signal is sent back to the sensing service (e.g., via the tunnel connection at 715 and 701) indicating whether confirmation has been obtained. If confirmation has been obtained, sensing is initiated or further sensing is performed. The AUSF optionally provides credential information to the RSMF at 705 and / or the RSMF determines a set of credential information and provides it to the AUSF at 714. After successful authentication and / or authorization, the AUSF or RSMF provides this credential information to the involved devices (e.g., sensing transmitter device (sTX), sensing receiver device (sRX)), which use the credential information to securely (e.g., integrity-protected and / or confidentiality-protected) send any sensing measurements and / or results (i.e., a set of sensing information) or other sensing information and / or sensing configuration information for one or more objects of interest to the RSMF or to other devices, services, or applications involved in the sensing session or sensing operation.

[0265] A UE device carried or contained by a target object (TO) provides information about its location and / or a set of target identities or identifiers associated with the set of target identities, and / or other sensing capabilities / configuration information to the RSMF (e.g., via the AMF or LMF to which the RSMF is connected to obtain the UE's location) when registering with the network or thereafter, or is requested by the RSMF or LMF to provide its location or participate in a location determination procedure to enable the RSMF to obtain the UE device's location, and / or is requested to provide a set of target identities or identifiers associated with the set of target identities and / or other sensing capabilities / configuration information.

[0266] The location information is used as an (initial) target location and / or to configure the detection receivers and detection transmitters for detection of the TO, i.e., the RSMF uses the location information of the UE device together with location information of the set of detection receiver devices and / or detection transmitter devices stored or acquired by the RSMF to select and configure a set of detection transmitter devices and / or detection receiver devices (sTX, sRX) that are in the vicinity of the UE device (and therefore in the vicinity of the TO) to enable these devices (sTX, sRX) to participate in detection operations for the TO. Similarly, the set of target identities or identifiers and / or other detection capability / configuration information associated with the set of target identities are used by the RSMF to select and configure a set of detection transmitter devices and / or detection receiver devices (sTX, sRX) that are capable of or best equipped to participate in detection of the TO based on the target identity (e.g., by determining the required / desired accuracy based thereon, the RSMF selects detection transmitter devices and / or detection receiver devices (sTX, sRX) that are capable of achieving the required / desired accuracy, for example, because they support detection using a high frequency band).

[0267] It should be noted that the RSMF provides location information about the UE device and / or about the sensing transmitter device (sTX) and / or sensing receiver device (sRX) to the UE device and / or to one or more of the (selected) sensing transmitter device (sTX) and / or (selected) sensing receiver device (sRX). Furthermore, the sensing transmitter device (sTX) or sensing receiver device (sRX) each provides location information about itself, about the other sensing transmitter device (sTX), or about the other sensing receiver device (sRX) to the (further) other sensing transmitter device and sensing receiver device (sTX, sRX). This information is used during processing of the sensing measurements and / or sensing results to determine the location of the object of interest (TO) (as described in other embodiments of the present disclosure).

[0268] Alternatively, if target location, area, or volume information is not available, the RSMF triggers a (broadcast) search function in which sensing transmitter devices (sTX) are requested to sense the environment and determine coarse location information for a set of target objects (TO).

[0269] Alternatively or additionally, one or more of the devices involved in the detection (e.g., a base station including both detection transmitter and receiver capabilities) determine the approximate position or location of the object(s) of interest (e.g., based on non-distributed radar-based detection) and provide this information about the approximate position or location of the object(s) of interest (e.g., the TO(s)) to the RSMF.

[0270] Alternatively or additionally, the coarse location (or last known location) of the object of interest (TO), or more generally, the location, area, or volume of interest, is provided by an external application (e.g., through the NEF) or obtained, for example, from the LMF specified in 3GPP® TS 23.273 or from the Network Data Analysis Function (NWDAF) specified in 3GPP® TS 23.288, for example, based on the identity of a device or UE device expected or known to be attached to or carried by the object of interest (TO). The RSMF, a sensing transmitter device (sTX), or a sensing receiver device (sRX) provides coarse position or location information about the object of interest (one or more TOs), or more generally, the location, area, or volume of interest, to the participating sensing receiver devices (sRX) and the participating sensing transmitter devices (sTX).

[0271] Alternatively or additionally, the sensing function or service (RSMF) obtains information (e.g., information about their identities and estimated locations) about devices in the vicinity of the object of interest (TO) (e.g., a set of nearby base stations or nearby UEs that are capable of participating in the (distributed) sensing of the intended object and that can (or have been) authorized by the network, by the device's user, and / or by the person or object of interest owner to participate in the (distributed) sensing of the intended object). The authorization information (including user consent information) is stored (e.g., in a UDM function of the core network) as part of the user's subscription and / or as part of the RSMF, and / or is received from a service, application function, or external application (e.g., through the NEF). The RSMF uses the information about sensing transmitter devices and sensing receiver devices (sTX, sRX) in the vicinity of the object of interest (TO) in selecting and configuring the sensing transmitter devices and sensing receiver devices (sTX, sRX) to be used. Devices participating in sensing are invited and / or configured to participate in the sensing session by sending a message including a session identifier, a sensing signal identifier, and / or a set of subject identities or an identifier associated with a set of subject identities.

[0272] Alternatively or additionally, an initial radar scan or sensing operation performed by one of the sensing devices supporting both transmitter and receiver roles indicates that the obtained accuracy of the sensing measurements is not sufficient to meet a desired accuracy (e.g., indicated, received, or configured in the RSMF, e.g., by an external application). The involved sensing devices either determine this themselves and notify the RSMF about it, or the RSMF determines this based on the sensing results that the RSMF receives from the respective sensing devices.

[0273] Alternatively or additionally, the RSMF determines, based on the capabilities of the sensing transmitter devices and sensing receiver devices (sTX, sRX) and / or the bands or spectrum available in a particular area, and / or through previous measurements (e.g., obtained by or from a network analysis function such as the NWDAF), that the accuracy provided by the involved sensing transmitter devices and / or sensing receiver devices (sTX, sRX) and / or the accuracy obtainable in a given sensing area is not sufficient for the requirements of the application. The RSMF uses this information (possibly together with received capability and location information of the sensing transmitter devices and sensing receiver devices (sTX, sRX) in the area) as a trigger to select other or additional sensing transmitter devices and / or sensing receiver devices in the vicinity of the object of interest (TO) and / or improve the sensing measurements and detection accuracy (e.g., by changing to a higher frequency and / or wider bandwidth, by increasing the number of signals and / or signal measurements, or by selecting a different algorithm). The RSMF activates detection by activating one or more of the selected detection transmitter devices (sTX) and / or detection receiver devices (sRX) to initiate a detection session, e.g., directly at 706 and / or 707, respectively, or indirectly via the detection transmitter device (sTX) at 706 and then 711. The activation of the detection transmitter device (sTX) and / or detection receiver device (sRX) is either automatically triggered by receiving the above-mentioned detection configuration (e.g., given a start time or a set of time intervals during which detection signals are transmitted), or is triggered through a separate message (e.g., an additional LPP message including, for example, a detection session identifier) or through a separate signal (e.g., an identifiable detection signal is detected that matches one or more of the given signal characteristics or signal identifiers provided during the configuration). Based on the received configuration information and / or the general location of the object of interest (TO), or more generally, the location, area, or volume of interest, one or more of the sensing transmitter devices (sTX) direct wireless sensing signals 708 toward the location, area, or volume of interest. The time at which such wireless sensing signals 708 are transmitted is based, for example, on timing information (e.g., a sensing start time, a set of sensing time intervals, or a (pre-configured) set of time or frequency resources) configured and shared, for example, with the sensing receiver devices (sRX) and other sensing transmitter devices (sTX). The sensing receiver device(s) receive the reflected wireless sensing signals 708R and are able to recognize and process the received reflected wireless sensing signals 708R based on the provided wireless sensing configuration information (e.g., as described in this disclosure). In one example, based on the received reflected wireless sensing signal 708R, timing information of when the signal was sent (e.g., configured or as part of the timestamp information in the signal), its own known location, and the location of the sensing transmitter device (sTX) (e.g., base station), the position or location of a (potential) target object (TO) can be estimated, for example, by using triangulation.

[0274] Additionally or alternatively, each sensing receiver device or sensing transmitter device (sRX, sTX) sends its wireless sensing signal measurements and / or processing results to a configured destination (e.g., to the RSMF), which can collect the results and perform further processing on these results. The RSMF uses all received / collected measurements and / or (partial) sensing results to determine a set of sensing results, which is based on the sensing requirements received in a location / sensing request (e.g., received from an application). The sensing results (e.g., target location) are provided to the entity (e.g., GMLC / AMF / NEF / UE) that issued or forwarded the "enhanced" location request to the RSMF. Alternatively or additionally, the sensing results can be stored in a shared storage, e.g., a Unified Data Repository (UDR), from which other entities can fetch the sensing results based on an identifier provided to them by the RSMF.

[0275] Part of this further processing for the sensing receiver device (sRX) or the sensing transmitter device (sTX), or for the configured destination (e.g., RSMF), includes a step for detecting a set of objects, for example, as also described in the embodiment of FIG. 8, a step for determining a set of sensing information (i.e., measurements and / or results) of one or more detected objects using an initial scan or sensing operation of the area or volume of interest performed by the sensing service (i.e., RSMF), the sensing transmitter device (sTX), and / or the sensing receiver device (sRX), and / or a step for determining, based on the set of object identification information, whether the set of sensing information (i.e., measurements and / or results obtained as output of the sensing operation) of the one or more detected objects satisfies or does not satisfy one or more configured criteria (e.g., thresholds) for identifying the objects. Based on the latter determination, the sensing receiver device (sRX), the sensing transmitter device (sTX), and / or the configured destination (e.g., RSMF) Stop or continue the sensing operation, for example by sending a signal or message directly to the sensing transmitter device (sTX) at 706 and / or directly to the sensing receiver device (sRX) at 707, or indirectly to the sensing receiver device (sRX), i.e. via the sensing transmitter device (sTX) at 706 and then from the sensing transmitter device (sTX) to the sensing receiver device (sRX) at 711; Initiating an additional detection operation, for example by sending a signal or message directly to the detection transmitter device (sTX) at 706 and / or directly to the detection receiver device (sRX) at 707, or indirectly to the detection receiver device (sRX), i.e. via the detection transmitter device (sTX) at 706 and then from the detection transmitter device (sTX) to the detection receiver device (sRX) at 711; generating an event or sending a signal, the event or signal indicating that a match has or has not been detected (the match matches either a subset of the set of target identities in the case of a partial match or the entire set of target identities in the case of an exact match (with a certain confidence level or match rate)), for example by sending a signal or message from the detection transmitter device (sTX) at 710 and / or from the detection receiver device (sRX) at 709 directly to the RSMF, or indirectly from the detection receiver device (sRX) to the RSMF, i.e. from the detection receiver device (sRX) to the detection transmitter device (sTX) at 712 and then from the detection transmitter device (sTX) to the RSMF at 710, or by sending a signal or message from the RSMF to the UDM / UDR at 713, to the AUSF at 714 (e.g. as part of an authentication and / or authorization procedure), to an application function or AAA server (e.g. via the NEF, not shown), or to a non-volatile storage unit; Initiating or continuing authorization of a detection target or target object (TO) (e.g., to verify whether the detected object is an authorized target of the detection service), for example, by sending a signal or message from the RSMF to the UDM / UDR at 713, to the AUSF at 714, or to an application function or AAA server (e.g., via the NEF, not shown).

[0276] Thus, the RSMF can search for wireless sensing capabilities of sensing receiver devices (sRX) and / or sensing transmitter devices (sTX), can configure one or more sensing transmitter devices (sTX) and / or sensing receiver devices (sRX) to participate in wireless sensing of objects of interest (TO), can configure wireless sensing-enabled receiver devices (sRX) and / or wireless sensing-enabled transmitter devices (sTX) with information on which network entity or destination server to send wireless sensing results to, can configure wireless sensing-enabled transmitter devices (sTX) and / or wireless sensing-enabled receiver devices with information on when and how to transmit, receive, and / or process wireless sensing signals, and can collect and further process wireless sensing measurements and / or results (i.e., sets of sensing information) from the sensing transmitter devices (sTX) and / or from the sensing receiver devices (sRX).

[0277] In summary, systems and methods are described for providing wireless sensing capabilities, e.g., radar-based sensing capabilities, in a wireless communication system, which provide the capability to identify an object of sensing and enable the network to verify whether the object of sensing is authorized to use the sensing service.

[0278] While the present invention has been illustrated and described in detail in the drawings and the foregoing description, such illustration and description are to be considered illustrative or exemplary and not restrictive. The present invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. The present invention may be applied to various types of UE or terminal devices, such as mobile phones, vital signs monitoring / telemetry devices, smart watches, detectors, vehicles (for vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication or more general vehicle-to-exchange (V2X) communication), V2X devices, IoT hubs, IoT devices including low-power medical sensors for health monitoring, medical (emergency) diagnostic and treatment devices for use in hospitals or by first responders, virtual reality (VR) headsets, etc.

[0279] Furthermore, the above embodiments may be implemented in a semi-distributed deployment, where the base station is a central unit (e.g., gNB-CU), there are two distributed units (e.g., gNB-DU), one acts as a transmitter device and the other acts as a receiver device, and the central unit is an entity that synchronizes the distributed units.

[0280] A base station is any network access device (such as a base station, Node B (eNB, eNodeB, gNB, gNodeB, ng-eNB, etc.), integrated access and backhaul (IAB) relay node, access point, etc.) that provides a geographic coverage area.

[0281] Furthermore, at least some of the above embodiments are implemented to provide a new product class of network equipment for 5G / 6G / xG cellular networks or (low / mid-cost) reconfigurable intelligent surfaces to improve cellular network coverage, reliability, and speed.

[0282] Other variations to the disclosed embodiments can be understood and effected by those skilled in the art in practicing the claimed invention, from a study of the drawings, the disclosure, and the appended claims. In the claims, the word "comprising" does not exclude other elements or steps, and the singular form of an element does not exclude a plurality. A single processor or other unit fulfills the functions of several items recited in a claim. Throughout the description and claims, the phrases "at least one of A, B, and C" or "at least one of A, B, or C" should be understood to generally mean "A and / or B and / or C." The mere fact that certain measures are recited in mutually different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be used to advantage. The above description details certain embodiments of the invention. However, no matter how detailed the foregoing appears herein, it will be appreciated that the invention may be practiced in many ways and is therefore not limited to the disclosed embodiments. It should be noted that the use of a particular term when describing a particular feature or aspect of the invention should not be taken to imply that the term is being redefined herein to be limited to include any particular characteristic of the feature or aspect of the invention with which it is associated.

[0283] Each of the described operations, such as those shown in Figures 4 to 8, may be implemented as program code means of a computer program and / or as dedicated hardware in associated network devices or functions. The computer program may be stored and / or distributed on a suitable medium, such as an optical storage medium or a solid-state medium, supplied together with or as part of other hardware, but may also be distributed in other forms, such as via the Internet or other wired or wireless telecommunications systems.

Claims

1. 1. An apparatus for providing wireless sensing capability, said apparatus comprising at least: obtaining a set of subject identification information; detecting a set of objects and determining a set of detection information for one or more of the detected objects based at least on output of detection operations of an area or volume of interest performed by a detection transmitter transmitting a set of detection signals and by a detection receiver receiving the set of detection signals; determining whether the set of sensing information for the one or more of the detected objects satisfies or does not satisfy one or more configuration criteria for identifying an object based on the set of object identification information; based on the determination that the set of sensed information for the one or more of the detected objects satisfies or does not satisfy the one or more configuration criteria for identifying the target; Stopping or continuing the detection operation; initiating additional detection operations; generating an event or transmitting a signal, the generated event or transmitted signal indicating that a match has been detected or not detected; Initiating or continuing the approval of the matched object that is the subject of detection; 10. An apparatus for performing at least one of the following:

2. 1. An apparatus for providing wireless sensing capability, said apparatus comprising at least: detecting a set of objects and determining a set of detection information for one or more of the detected objects based on output of detection operations of an area or volume of interest performed at least by a detection transmitter transmitting a set of detection signals and by a detection receiver receiving the set of detection signals; providing the set of sensing information and / or one or more potential targets for the one or more of the detected objects to a target matching entity; receiving a result of a subject matching procedure performed by the subject matching entity based on the set of detection information and the set of subject identification information; Based on the results of the subject matching procedure, Stopping or continuing the detection operation; initiating additional detection operations; generating an event or transmitting a signal, the generated event or transmitted signal indicating that a match has been detected or not detected; Initiating or continuing the approval of the matched object that is the subject of detection; 10. An apparatus for performing at least one of the following:

3. 3. The apparatus of claim 1 or 2, wherein the apparatus comprises a communication unit for operating the sensing transmitter and / or the sensing receiver to generate the output of the sensing operation.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a communication unit configured to configure the detection transmitter and / or the detection receiver based on the set of object identification information and to receive the output of the detection operation from the detection transmitter and / or the detection receiver.

5. the device comprises a communication unit configured to connect to a network and to receive the set of object identities from the network; 3. The device of claim 1 or 2, optionally wherein the device receives the set of target identities from the network after the device has been authenticated by the network and approved to participate in the sensing operation.

6. the device operates as a service or network function within a network; Optionally, the device comprises a communication unit configured to receive the set of subject identification information obtained as described in claim 1 or the result of the subject matching procedure received as described in claim 2 from an Authentication Server Function (AUSF), a Unified Data Management (UDM), a Unified Data Repository (UDR), a Network Publishing Function (NEF), or an external database.

7. 2. The device of claim 1, wherein the device uses an identifier associated with the set of object identification information to initiate or continue the recognition of the matching object to be detected, or continues the detection operation based on a determination that the set of detection information for the one or more of the detected objects satisfies the one or more configuration criteria for identifying the object based on the set of object identification information associated with the identifier.

8. the apparatus receives the set of subject identities or an identifier associated with the set of subject identities after a device associated with a subscription to a sensing service has been authenticated and authorized by the network to use the sensing service; Optionally, the device receives the set of object identities or the identifier associated with the set of object identities after determining that the device associated with the subscription to the detection service is within the area or volume of interest; and / or 3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus sends a signal or message to the device associated with the subscription to the sensing service, the signal or message indicating that the sensing operation has started or indicating a request to confirm the start of the sensing operation.

9. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the apparatus determines whether the set of sensed information meets or does not meet one or more configuration criteria without accessing the contents of the set of object-identifying information.

10. 1. A wireless communication device comprising: a communication unit configured to connect to a network operating a sensing service, the wireless communication device transmitting an identifier used to authorize use of the sensing service and retrieving a set of subject identities or an identifier associated with the set of subject identities for use in sensing operations initiated by the network.

11. 11. The wireless communication device of claim 10, wherein the wireless communication device provides location information, and the sensing operation is performed within an area or volume of interest based on the location information.

12. 11. The wireless communication device of claim 10, wherein the wireless communication device receives a signal or message from the network indicating that the sensing operation has begun or a request to confirm the initiation of the sensing operation.

13. 11. The wireless communication device of claim 10, wherein the wireless communication device transmits the set of object identities, the identifier associated with the set of object identities, or an artificial intelligence (AI) model capable of identifying an object to the detection service operated by the network.

14. 10. A system comprising at least a wireless communication device according to claim 9 and an apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the apparatus receives a set of target identities or an identifier associated with the set of target identities after the wireless communication device has been authenticated and authorized by a network to use a sensing service.

15. 1. A method for providing sensing capability in a wireless communication network or device, the method comprising at least: obtaining a set of object identities; detecting a set of objects and determining a set of detection information for one or more of the detected objects based on at least output of detection operations of an area or volume of interest performed by a detection transmitter transmitting a set of detection signals and by a detection receiver receiving said set of detection signals; determining whether the set of sensing information for one or more of the detected objects satisfies or does not satisfy one or more configuration criteria for identifying an object based on the set of object identification information; based on the determination that the set of sensed information for the one or more of the detected objects satisfies or does not satisfy the one or more configuration criteria for identifying the target; Stopping or continuing the detection operation; initiating additional detection operations; generating an event or transmitting a signal, the generated event or transmitted signal indicating that a match has been detected or not detected; Initiating or continuing the approval of the matched object that is the subject of detection; and performing at least one of A method comprising:

16. 1. A method for providing sensing capabilities in a wireless communication network or device, the method comprising at least: detecting a set of objects and determining a set of detection information for one or more of the detected objects based at least on output of detection operations of an area or volume of interest performed by a detection transmitter transmitting a set of detection signals and by a detection receiver receiving the set of detection signals; providing the set of sensing information and / or one or more potential targets for the one or more of the detected objects to a target matching entity; receiving a result of a subject matching procedure performed by the subject matching entity based on the set of detection information and the set of subject identification information; Based on the results of the subject matching procedure, Stopping or continuing the detection operation; initiating additional detection operations; generating an event or transmitting a signal, the generated event or transmitted signal indicating that a match has been detected or not detected; Initiating or continuing the approval of the matched object that is the subject of detection; and performing at least one of A method comprising:

17. 17. A computer program comprising code means for generating the steps of the method according to claim 15 or 16 when the computer program is executed on a processor of a wireless communication device or of a device operating a wireless communication network.

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