UWB scheduling method and related products

Abstract

This application discloses a scheduling method for UWB and related products. The application may be applied to a UWB-based wireless personal area network system, sensing system, positioning system, ranging system, or communication system, and may further be applied to a wireless local area network system supporting 802.11 series protocols, such as next-generation Wi-Fi protocols IEEE 802.11ax (e.g., Wi-Fi 7) and next-generation protocols 802.11be (e.g., Wi-Fi 8). The method includes generating scheduling information, the scheduling information including a time unit bitmap and a bitmap offset, where the time unit bitmap indicates whether a time unit is used by a UWB device to transmit a UWB signal, the bitmap offset is used to determine a start time unit for the UWB device to transmit the UWB signal, and the time unit corresponding to a first bit of the time unit bitmap is the start time unit; and transmitting the scheduling information. Since the length of the bitmap is shortened, signaling overhead can be reduced.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202211275258.3, entitled "UWB Scheduling Method and Related Products," filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of China on October 18, 2022, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

[0002] The present application relates to the field of communications, and in particular to UWB scheduling methods and related products. [Background technology]

[0003] Ultra-wideband (UWB) technology is a wireless communication and sensing / ranging technology that transmits signals using non-sinusoidal narrow impulses at the nanosecond level, thus occupying a wide spectrum range. Due to its narrow impulse and extremely low radiation spectral density, UWB systems have advantages such as strong multipath resolution, low power consumption, and high confidentiality, and have attracted widespread attention in the industry.

[0004] Since the Federal Communications Commission approved the introduction of UWB technology into the civilian sector in 2002, many major companies, research institutes, and standards organizations worldwide have been actively engaged in the research, development, and standardization of ultra-wideband wireless communication technology. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) has incorporated UWB technology into the IEEE 802 series of wireless standards and released the UWB-based wireless personal area network (WPAN) standard IEEE802.15.4a and an evolved version of the standard IEEE802.15.4a, IEEE802.15.4z. Currently, the formulation of the next-generation UWB WPAN standard, IEEE802.15.4ab, is under discussion. The IEEE802.15.4ab standard is expected to comprehensively upgrade UWB.

[0005] Scheduling information elements (IEs) for UWB applications (such as ranging, sensing, positioning, and communication) are used to schedule one or more UWB devices to implement the UWB applications. Currently, existing scheduling information elements for UWB applications usually have the problem of high signaling overhead. Therefore, an enhanced scheduling IE design for UWB applications needs to be provided to reduce the signaling overhead of scheduling information elements for UWB applications. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The embodiments of the present application disclose a UWB scheduling method to reduce signaling overhead. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] According to a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a UWB scheduling method, the method including: generating scheduling information, the scheduling information including a time unit bitmap and a bitmap offset, the time unit bitmap indicating whether a time unit is used by a UWB device to transmit a UWB signal, the bitmap offset being used to determine a start time unit at which the UWB device transmits the UWB signal, and a time unit corresponding to a first bit of the time unit bitmap being the start time unit; and transmitting the scheduling information.

[0008] In this embodiment of the present application, whether each time unit is used by a UWB device to transmit a UWB signal can be determined using a bitmap offset and a time unit bitmap. The bitmap offset is used to determine the start time unit at which the UWB device transmits a UWB signal, so that the bits occupied by the time unit bitmap can be reduced. This further reduces signaling overhead.

[0009] In a possible implementation, the value of the bitmap offset is the number of time units before the start time unit within a measurement period. A measurement period is a period during which one or more UWB devices complete one or more measurement tasks. For example, the measurements may be one or more of ranging, sensing, positioning, or communication tasks. The start time unit is a time unit within the measurement period. A measurement period may include a control phase, a measurement phase, and a reporting phase.

[0010] In this implementation, the value of the bitmap offset is the number of time units before the start time unit within one measurement period, and as a result, the start time unit at which the UWB device transmits a UWB signal is determined based on the value of the bitmap offset.

[0011] In a possible implementation, the value of the bitmap offset is the number of time units before the start time unit within a communication period. The communication period is the total period for completing one or more communication tasks. The start time unit is a time unit within the communication period.

[0012] In this implementation, the value of the bitmap offset is the number of time units before the start time unit within one communication period, and as a result, the start time unit at which the UWB device transmits a UWB signal is determined based on the value of the bitmap offset.

[0013] In a possible implementation, the time unit bitmap includes K bits, where K is an integer greater than 0, and when one of the K bits is set to a specified value, the specified value indicates that the time unit corresponding to that bit is used by the UWB device to transmit a UWB signal. The specified value is 0 or 1.

[0014] In this implementation, it may be precisely indicated whether each time unit is used by a UWB device to transmit a UWB signal.

[0015] In a possible implementation, the measurement period is a ranging period, i.e., a ranging round. Alternatively, the measurement period may be a positioning round or a sensing round.

[0016] In a possible implementation, the time unit bitmap is a time unit bitmap corresponding to several time units within one measurement period, and the scheduling information further includes a field indicating a scheduling period in which the UWB device transmits a UWB signal.

[0017] Both the time unit bitmap and the bitmap offset may be used to determine the time units for transmitting a UWB signal within a first scheduling period in which the UWB device transmits a UWB signal. The scheduling information further includes a field indicating the scheduling period in which the UWB device transmits a UWB signal. The time unit bitmap, the bitmap offset, and the scheduling period may all be used to determine the time units for transmitting a UWB signal within each scheduling period in which the UWB device transmits a UWB signal. Because the number of time units corresponding to the time unit bitmap is equal to or less than the number of time units within one scheduling period, the time unit bitmap, the bitmap offset, and the scheduling period may all be used to determine the time units for transmitting a UWB signal within each scheduling period in which the UWB device transmits a UWB signal. This reduces signaling overhead.

[0018] In a possible implementation, the scheduling information further includes a field indicating the number of repetitions of the transmission of the UWB signal by the UWB device.

[0019] In this embodiment, the scheduling information further includes a field indicating the number of repetitions of the transmission of the UWB signal by the UWB device, so that the number of repetitions of the transmission of the UWB signal by the UWB device can be flexibly indicated.

[0020] In a possible implementation, the scheduling information implicitly (or implicitly) indicates the number of repetitions of the transmission of the UWB signal by the UWB device. For example, any scheduling information assumes that the number of repetitions of the transmission of the UWB signal by the UWB device is 16 by default, and the scheduling information does not need to indicate the number of repetitions of the transmission of the UWB signal by the UWB device by using the carrier information. In other words, the UWB device can know the number of repetitions of transmitting the UWB signal without using the scheduling information. For example, the number of repetitions of transmitting the UWB signal is preconfigured for the UWB device.

[0021] In this implementation, the scheduling information implicitly (or implicitly) indicates the number of repetitions of transmitting a UWB signal by a UWB device, which may result in reduced occupied bits.

[0022] In a possible implementation, the scheduling information further includes a field indicating that the UWB device is to transmit the UWB signal periodically.

[0023] In this embodiment, the scheduling information further includes a field indicating that the UWB device periodically transmits the UWB signal, so that the UWB device can periodically transmit the UWB signal, which further reduces signaling overhead.

[0024] In a possible implementation, the scheduling information further comprises a field indicating the length of the time unit bitmap.

[0025] In this implementation, the scheduling information further includes a field indicating the length of the time unit bitmap, so that the length of the time unit bitmap can be accurately determined and the time unit corresponding to each bit in the time unit bitmap can be determined.

[0026] In a possible implementation, the scheduling information further includes an address of the UWB device, and the length of the address of the UWB device is 2 bytes or 8 bytes.

[0027] In this implementation, the scheduling information further includes the address of the UWB device so that the UWB device knows the time unit that will be occupied by the UWB device for transmitting a UWB signal.

[0028] In a possible implementation, the scheduling information further includes a field indicating an address type of the UWB device, where the address type of the UWB device includes a short address and an extended address.

[0029] In this implementation, the scheduling information further includes a field indicating the address type of the UWB device so as to be applicable to UWB devices of different address types.

[0030] In a possible implementation, the scheduling information further includes a scheduling list and a field indicating the number of list elements in the scheduling list, where one list element in the scheduling list is used to schedule one UWB device, and the time unit bitmap and the bitmap offset correspond to the same list element in the scheduling list.

[0031] In this implementation, the number of list elements in the scheduling list can be accurately indicated.

[0032] In a possible implementation, the scheduling information includes a control field and a scheduling list field. The control field includes a field indicating an address type of the UWB device, a field indicating the number of list elements in the scheduling list field, and a field indicating a UWB device that periodically transmits a UWB signal. The list elements in the scheduling list field include a time unit bitmap, a bitmap offset, a field indicating a scheduling period during which the UWB device transmits a UWB signal, a field indicating the number of repetitions of the transmission of the UWB signal by the UWB device, the address of the UWB device, and a field indicating the length of the time unit bitmap.

[0033] In this implementation, the bitmap offset is used to determine the start time unit in which a UWB device transmits a UWB signal, and as a result, the bits occupied by the time unit bitmap can be reduced, which further reduces signaling overhead. In addition, because the number of time units corresponding to the time unit bitmap is equal to or less than the number of time units in one scheduling period, the time unit bitmap, the bitmap offset, and the scheduling period can all be used to determine the time unit in which a UWB device transmits a UWB signal within each scheduling period in which the UWB device transmits a UWB signal. This further reduces signaling overhead.

[0034] In a possible implementation, the time unit is one of a slot (e.g., a ranging slot), a ranging schedule time unit (RSTU), or a sensing schedule time unit (SSTU). The sensing schedule time unit is a time unit that can be used to determine the duration of a sensing block, a sensing round, and a sensing slot. Alternatively, the time unit may be another length of time.

[0035] In this implementation, the time unit can be flexibly configured based on the actual application scenario.

[0036] In a possible implementation, the method is applied to ranging, sensing or positioning scenarios.

[0037] In this implementation, in ranging, sensing or positioning scenarios where UWB is applied, signaling overhead can be reduced by performing the scheduling method according to the first aspect.

[0038] In a possible implementation, the method is applied to application scenarios with a recurring periodic transmission structure, such as narrow-band assisted multi-millisecond (NBA-MMS) based ranging scenarios, uplink-time difference of arrival (UL-TDOA) based positioning scenarios, and downlink-time difference of arrival (DL-TDOA) based positioning and sensing scenarios.

[0039] In this implementation, the method is applied to an application scenario with a recurring periodic transmission structure, which can effectively reduce signaling overhead.

[0040] According to a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides another scheduling method for UWB, the method including: receiving first scheduling information, the first scheduling information including a time unit bitmap and a bitmap offset, the time unit indicating whether the time unit bitmap is used by a UWB device to transmit a UWB signal, the bitmap offset being used to determine a start time unit for the UWB device to transmit the UWB signal, and a time unit corresponding to a first bit of the time unit bitmap being the start time unit; and transmitting the UWB signal based on the first scheduling information.

[0041] In this embodiment of the present application, both the time unit bitmap and the bitmap offset can be used to indicate the multiple time units allocated to a UWB device for transmitting a UWB signal. The bitmap offset is used to determine the start time unit at which the UWB device transmits a UWB signal, so the bits occupied by the time unit bitmap are reduced. This further reduces signaling overhead.

[0042] In a possible implementation, the value of the bitmap offset is the number of time units before the start time unit within one measurement period. The measurement period is the total period for completing a ranging, sensing, positioning, or communication task. The start time unit is a time unit within the measurement period.

[0043] In this implementation, the value of the bitmap offset is the number of time units before the start time unit within one measurement period, so that the start time unit at which the UWB device transmits a UWB signal is determined based on the value of the bitmap offset, and the bits occupied by the time unit bitmap can be reduced.

[0044] In a possible implementation, the value of the bitmap offset is the number of time units before the start time unit within a communication period. The communication period is the total period for completing one or more communication tasks. The start time unit is a time unit within the communication period.

[0045] In this implementation, the value of the bitmap offset is the number of time units before the start time unit within one communication period, so that the start time unit at which the UWB device transmits a UWB signal is determined based on the value of the bitmap offset, and the bits occupied by the time unit bitmap can be reduced.

[0046] In a possible implementation, the time unit bitmap includes K bits, where K is an integer greater than 0, and when one of the K bits is set to a specified value, the specified value indicates that the time unit corresponding to that bit is used by the UWB device to transmit a UWB signal. The specified value is 0 or 1.

[0047] In this implementation, it may be precisely indicated whether each time unit is used by a UWB device to transmit a UWB signal.

[0048] In a possible implementation, the measurement period is a ranging period, i.e., a ranging round. Alternatively, the measurement period may be a positioning round or a sensing round.

[0049] In a possible implementation, the time unit bitmap is a time unit bitmap corresponding to several time units within one measurement period, and the first scheduling information further includes a field indicating a scheduling period in which the UWB device transmits a UWB signal.

[0050] Both the time unit bitmap and the bitmap offset may be used to determine the time units for transmitting a UWB signal within a first scheduling period in which the UWB device transmits a UWB signal. The first scheduling information further includes a field indicating the scheduling period in which the UWB device transmits a UWB signal. The time unit bitmap, the bitmap offset, and the scheduling period may all be used to determine the time units for transmitting a UWB signal within each scheduling period in which the UWB device transmits a UWB signal. Because the number of time units corresponding to the time unit bitmap is equal to or less than the number of time units within one scheduling period, the time unit bitmap, the bitmap offset, and the scheduling period may all be used to determine the time units for transmitting a UWB signal within each scheduling period in which the UWB device transmits a UWB signal. This reduces signaling overhead.

[0051] In a possible implementation, the first scheduling information further includes a field indicating the number of repetitions of the transmission of the UWB signal by the UWB device.

[0052] In this embodiment, the first scheduling information further includes a field indicating the number of repetitions of the transmission of the UWB signal by the UWB device, so that the number of repetitions of the transmission of the UWB signal by the UWB device can be flexibly indicated.

[0053] In a possible implementation, the first scheduling information implicitly (or implicitly) indicates the number of repetitions of the transmission of the UWB signal by the UWB device. For example, any first scheduling information assumes that the number of repetitions of the transmission of the UWB signal by the UWB device is 16 by default, and the first scheduling information does not need to indicate the number of repetitions of the transmission of the UWB signal by the UWB device by using the carrier information. In other words, the UWB device can know the number of repetitions of transmitting the UWB signal without using the first scheduling information. For example, the number of repetitions of transmitting the UWB signal is preconfigured for the UWB device.

[0054] In this implementation, the first scheduling information implicitly (or implicitly) indicates the number of repetitions of transmitting a UWB signal by a UWB device, which may result in a reduction in occupied bits.

[0055] In a possible implementation, the first scheduling information further includes a field indicating that the UWB device transmits the UWB signal periodically.

[0056] In this embodiment, the first scheduling information further includes a field indicating that the UWB device periodically transmits the UWB signal, which further reduces signaling overhead.

[0057] In a possible implementation, the first scheduling information further includes a field indicating the length of the time unit bitmap.

[0058] In this implementation, the first scheduling information further includes a field indicating the length of the time unit bitmap, so that the length of the time unit bitmap can be accurately determined and the time unit corresponding to each bit in the time unit bitmap can be determined.

[0059] In a possible implementation, the first scheduling information further includes an address of the UWB device, and the length of the address of the UWB device is 2 bytes or 8 bytes.

[0060] In this implementation, the first scheduling information further includes the address of the UWB device, so that the UWB device knows the time unit that will be occupied by the UWB device for transmitting a UWB signal.

[0061] In a possible implementation, the first scheduling information further includes a field indicating an address type of the UWB device, where the address type of the UWB device includes a short address and an extended address.

[0062] In this implementation, the first scheduling information further includes a field indicating the address type of the UWB device so as to be applicable to UWB devices of different address types.

[0063] In a possible implementation, the first scheduling information further includes a scheduling list and a field indicating the number of list elements in the scheduling list, where one list element in the scheduling list is used to schedule one UWB device, and the time unit bitmap and the bitmap offset correspond to the same list element in the scheduling list.

[0064] In this implementation, the number of list elements in the scheduling list can be accurately indicated.

[0065] In a possible implementation, the first scheduling information includes a control field and a scheduling list field. The control field includes a field indicating an address type of the UWB device, a field indicating the number of list elements in the scheduling list field, and a field indicating a UWB device that periodically transmits a UWB signal. The list elements of the scheduling list field include a time unit bitmap, a bitmap offset, a field indicating a scheduling period during which the UWB device transmits a UWB signal, a field indicating the number of repetitions of the transmission of the UWB signal by the UWB device, an address of the UWB device, and a field indicating the length of the time unit bitmap.

[0066] In this implementation, the bitmap offset is used to determine the start time unit in which a UWB device transmits a UWB signal, and as a result, the bits occupied by the time unit bitmap can be reduced, which further reduces signaling overhead. In addition, because the number of time units corresponding to the time unit bitmap is equal to or less than the number of time units in one scheduling period, the time unit bitmap, the bitmap offset, and the scheduling period can all be used to determine the time unit in which a UWB device transmits a UWB signal within each scheduling period in which the UWB device transmits a UWB signal. This further reduces signaling overhead.

[0067] In a possible implementation, the time unit is one of a slot (e.g., a ranging slot), an RSTU, or an SSTU, or may be another length of time.

[0068] In this implementation, the time unit can be flexibly configured based on the actual application scenario.

[0069] In a possible implementation, the method is applied to ranging, sensing or positioning scenarios.

[0070] In this implementation, in ranging, sensing or positioning scenarios where UWB is applied, signaling overhead can be reduced by performing the scheduling method according to the first aspect.

[0071] In a possible implementation, the method is applied to application scenarios with a recurring periodic transmission structure, such as an NBA-MMS based ranging scenario, an UL-TDOA based positioning scenario, and a DL-TDOA based positioning and sensing scenario.

[0072] In this implementation, the method is applied to an application scenario with a recurring periodic transmission structure, which can effectively reduce signaling overhead.

[0073] In a possible implementation, the method further includes a step of receiving second scheduling information, wherein the format of the second scheduling information is different from the format of the first scheduling information, and the step of transmitting a UWB signal based on the first scheduling information includes a step of transmitting a UWB signal based on the first scheduling information and the second scheduling information, and an order of receiving the first scheduling information.

[0074] In this implementation, the UWB signal is transmitted based on the order in which the scheduling information is received in different formats and one of the scheduling information, which can reduce power consumption.

[0075] For technical effects brought about by possible implementation forms of the first aspect, please refer to the description of the technical effects of the first aspect or the possible implementation forms of the first aspect.

[0076] According to a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device. The communication device has a function for implementing the behavior of the method embodiment of the first aspect. The communication device may be a communication device, a component of the communication device (e.g., a processor, a chip, or a chip system), or a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the communication device. The functions of the communication device may be implemented by hardware or by executing corresponding software by the hardware. The hardware or software may include one or more modules or units corresponding to the functions described above. In a possible implementation, the communication device includes a transceiver module and a processing module. The processing module is configured to generate scheduling information, the scheduling information including a time unit bitmap and a bitmap offset, the time unit bitmap indicating whether a time unit is used by a UWB device to transmit a UWB signal, and the bitmap offset is used to determine a start time unit for the UWB device to transmit the UWB signal, the time unit corresponding to a first bit of the time unit bitmap being the start time unit, and the transceiver module is configured to transmit the scheduling information.

[0077] For possible implementation forms of the communication device in the third aspect, please refer to the possible implementation forms of the first aspect.

[0078] For technical effects provided by possible implementations of the third aspect, please refer to the description of the technical effects of the first aspect or the possible implementations of the first aspect.

[0079] According to a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device. The communication device has a function of performing the behavior of the method embodiment of the second aspect. The communication device may be a communication device, a component of the communication device (e.g., a processor, a chip, or a chip system), or a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the communication device. The functions of the communication device may be implemented by hardware or by executing corresponding software by hardware. The hardware or software may include one or more modules or units corresponding to the functions described above. In a possible implementation, the communication device includes a transceiver module and a processing module. The transceiver module is configured to receive first scheduling information, the first scheduling information including a time unit bitmap and a bitmap offset, the time unit bitmap indicating whether a time unit is used by a UWB device to transmit a UWB signal, and the bitmap offset is used to determine a start time unit for the UWB device to transmit the UWB signal, the time unit corresponding to a first bit of the time unit bitmap being the start time unit, and the processing module is configured to transmit the UWB signal based on the first scheduling information.

[0080] In a possible implementation, the transceiver module is further configured to receive second scheduling information, where the format of the second scheduling information is different from the format of the first scheduling information, and the processing module is particularly configured to transmit a UWB signal based on the order of receiving the first scheduling information and the second scheduling information and the first scheduling information.

[0081] For possible implementation forms of the communication device of the fourth aspect, please refer to the possible implementation forms of the second aspect.

[0082] For technical effects provided by possible implementations of the fourth aspect, please refer to the description of the technical effects of the second aspect or the possible implementation forms of the second aspect.

[0083] According to a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides another communications device, the communications device including a processor, the processor coupled to a memory, the memory configured to store a program or instructions, which, when executed by the processor, enable the communications device to perform the methods according to the first and second aspects.

[0084] In this embodiment of the present application, in the process of performing the method, the process of transmitting information (or a signal) in the method can be understood as a process of outputting information based on an instruction of a processor. When the information is output, the processor outputs the information to the transceiver, and the transceiver then transmits the information. After the information is output by the processor, other processing may need to be performed on the information before it arrives at the transceiver. Similarly, when the processor receives input information, the transceiver receives the information and inputs the information to the processor. Furthermore, after the transceiver receives the information, other processing may need to be performed on the information before it is input to the processor.

[0085] Operations such as sending and / or receiving associated with a processor may generally be understood as processor-based instruction output unless specifically described otherwise or unless the operations are consistent with the actual function or internal logic of the operations in the associated description.

[0086] In the implementation process, the processor may be a processor specially configured to perform these methods, or may be a processor, such as a general-purpose processor, that executes computer instructions in a memory to perform these methods. For example, the processor may be further configured to execute a program stored in the memory. When the program is executed, the communication device is enabled to perform a method according to the first aspect or any possible implementation form of the first aspect.

[0087] In a possible implementation, the memory is located external to the communication device. In a possible implementation, the memory is located internal to the communication device.

[0088] In possible implementations, the processor and memory may alternatively be integrated into one device, i.e., the processor and memory may alternatively be integrated together.

[0089] In a possible implementation, the communication device further includes a transceiver configured to receive or transmit signals or the like.

[0090] According to a sixth aspect, the present application provides another communication device, the communication device including a processing circuit and an interface circuit, the interface circuit configured to obtain data or output data, and the processing circuit configured to perform the method according to the first or second aspect.

[0091] According to a seventh aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program, the computer program including program instructions that, when executed, enable a computer to perform a method according to the first or second aspect.

[0092] According to an eighth aspect, the present application provides a computer program product, the computer program comprising a computer program comprising program instructions that, when executed, enable a computer to carry out a method according to the first or second aspect.

[0093] According to a ninth aspect, the present application provides a communication system including a communication device according to the third aspect or any possible implementation form of the third aspect, and a communication device according to the fourth aspect or any possible implementation form of the fourth aspect.

[0094] According to a tenth aspect, the present application provides a chip including a processor and a communication interface, wherein the processor reads instructions stored in a memory via the communication interface to perform a method according to the first or fourth aspect.

[0095] In order to describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application or the background art more clearly, the following describes the accompanying drawings for illustrating the embodiments of the present application or the background art. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0096] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram of each phase of a distance measurement circuit in the prior art. [Figure 2] FIG. 1 is a diagram of DL-TDOA positioning based on UWB signals. [Figure 3] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an example of a star topology structure. [Figure 4] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an example of a point-to-point or mesh topology structure. [Figure 5] 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a UWB system to which the technical solution of the present application can be applied; [Figure 6] 1 is a flowchart of a UWB scheduling method according to an embodiment of the present application; [Figure 7]4 is a flowchart of another scheduling method for UWB according to an embodiment of the present application; [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a diagram of a scheduling display in a ranging scenario according to an embodiment of the present application. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 illustrates an example of a list element in scheduling information according to an embodiment of the present application. [Figure 10] FIG. 1 shows an example of a bitmap indicating whether a time unit is used by a UWB device to transmit a UWB signal in the prior art. [Figure 11] 1 illustrates an example in which a time unit bitmap indicates whether a time unit is used by a UWB device 1 to transmit a UWB signal, according to an embodiment of the present application. [Figure 12] FIG. 10 illustrates another example of a list element in scheduling information according to an embodiment of the present application. [Figure 13] FIG. 2 is a timeline diagram of a non-interlacing MMS ranging process according to an embodiment of the present application. [Figure 14] FIG. 10 is a timeline diagram of another non-interlaced MMS ranging process according to an embodiment of the present application. [Figure 15] A group of typical scheduling modes in which the DL-TDOA positioning process can be completed. [Figure 16] FIG. 1 is a diagram of scheduling eight repeated DL-TDOA positioning according to an embodiment of the present application. [Figure 17] 17 is a diagram of the structure of a communication device 1700 according to an embodiment of the present application. [Figure 18] FIG. 10 is a diagram of the structure of another communication device 180 according to an embodiment of the present application. [Figure 19] FIG. 10 is a diagram of the structure of another communication device 190 according to an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0097] In the specification, claims, or accompanying drawings of this application, terms such as "first," "second," etc. are intended only to distinguish between different objects and not to describe a particular order. It should be understood that the various numbers in the embodiments of this application are used merely to distinguish between different objects for ease of explanation and are not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments of this application. The sequential numbers of the above processes do not imply an execution order, and the execution order of the processes should be determined based on the functions and internal logic of the processes. Furthermore, terms such as "comprise" and "have," and any other variations thereof, are intended to include non-exclusive inclusions. For example, a process, method, system, product, or device that includes a series of steps or units is not limited to the enumerated steps or units, but may optionally further include unenumerated steps or units, or may optionally further include other specific steps or units of the process, method, product, or device.

[0098] The term "embodiment" referred to in this specification means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described with reference to this embodiment may be included in at least one embodiment of the present application. Phrases appearing in various places in this specification may not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, and are not independent or optional embodiments that do not intersect with other embodiments. It may be explicitly or implicitly understood by those skilled in the art that the embodiments described herein can be combined with other embodiments.

[0099] The terms used in the following embodiments of the present application are intended to describe particular embodiments only and are not intended to limit the present application. As used in this specification and the appended claims of the present application, the singular forms "a," "an," "the," "the," "said," "this," and "it" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. The term "and / or" as used in the present application should also be understood to mean and include any or all possible combinations of one or more listed items. For example, "A and / or B" can refer to the following three cases: only A is present, only B is present, or both A and B are present, and A and B may be singular or plural. The term "plurality" as used in the present application means two or more. In the textual descriptions of the present application, the character " / " typically indicates an "or" relationship between associated objects.

[0100] In the embodiments of the present application, it should be understood that "B corresponding to A" indicates that there is a correspondence between A and B, and B can be determined based on A. However, it should also be understood that determining (or generating) B based on (or on) A does not mean that B is determined (or generated) based on (or on) A only, and that B can alternatively be determined (or generated) based on (or on) A and / or other information.

[0101] In order to facilitate understanding of the solutions of the present application, the following will first describe the terms and technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application.

[0102] Ranging round, positioning round, sensing round, measurement period, communication period

[0103] The IEEE 802.15.4z standard defines one ranging process as a ranging round. The IEEE 802.15.4z standard defines a ranging round as follows: a ranging round is a period of sufficient duration to complete one entire range-measurement cycle involving the set of ERDEVs participating in the ranging exchange. The minimum processing time unit in each ranging round is a ranging slot. A ranging round is divided into three phases: a ranging control phase, a ranging phase, and a measurement report phase. Figure 1 shows each phase of a ranging circuit in the prior art. Details are shown in Figure 1. In the IEEE 802.15.4z standard, the ranging control phase includes one ranging slot. However, in the IEEE 802.15.4ab standard currently under discussion and development, the ranging control phase may include two or more ranging slots.

[0104] In an embodiment of the present application, a single positioning process, i.e., a process of completing a positioning task, is defined as a positioning round. A positioning round may have another name, which is not limited in the present application. A positioning round may be a time period (or duration) sufficient to complete one entire positioning task. The meaning of a positioning round is similar to that of a ranging round, except that one is a time period corresponding to ranging and the other is a time period corresponding to positioning. The smallest processing time unit of each positioning round is a positioning slot. A positioning round may be divided into three phases: a positioning control phase, a positioning phase, and a positioning report phase.

[0105] In an embodiment of the present application, a single sensing process, i.e., a process of completing a sensing task, is defined as a sensing round. A sensing round may have another name, which is not limited in the present application. A sensing round may be a time period (or duration) sufficient to complete one entire sensing task. The meaning of a sensing round is similar to that of a ranging round, with the difference being that one is a period corresponding to ranging and the other is a period corresponding to sensing. The minimum processing time unit of each sensing round is a sensing slot. A sensing round may be divided into three phases: a sensing control phase, a sensing phase, and a sensing report phase.

[0106] A measurement period is a period during which one or more UWB devices complete one or more measurement tasks. The measurement task here may be a ranging task, a positioning task, a sensing task, etc. A measurement period may be a ranging round, a positioning round, or a sensing round. A communication period is a period during which one or more UWB devices complete one or more communication tasks.

[0107] In addition, it should be further noted that the names of different phases in a single measurement round (e.g., ranging round, sensing round, or positioning round) are merely examples and do not constitute any limitation on the scope of protection of the present application. For example, a measurement control phase may be understood as a phase used to configure parameters required in a measurement round. In another example, a measurement phase may be understood as a phase used to perform measurements. In another example, a measurement result reporting phase may be understood as a phase used to report measurement results, and may be referred to as the end of the measurement phase. In addition, it should be further noted that in the embodiments of the present application, the size of each field indicates the number of bits occupied by the field.

[0108] UWB positioning UWB may be used for indoor positioning. Primary UWB positioning methods include, but are not limited to, UL-TDOA and DL-TDOA. Figure 2 illustrates DL-TDOA positioning based on UWB signals. DL-TDOA positioning based on UWB signals may be referred to as UWB DL-TDOA positioning. In Figure 2, A, B, and C indicate anchor devices, and the arrows indicate the flow direction of UWB positioning / ranging signals. From Figure 2, we can see that UWB DL-TDOA positioning is used as an example. In this method, three or more anchor devices are deployed in an indoor space, and bidirectional UWB signal interaction is performed between the anchor devices to provide positioning signals to the tag device. The tag device listens to the UWB positioning / ranging interaction signals between the anchor devices and calculates the time difference of arrival between the signals to calculate the tag device's position, thereby implementing the positioning function.

[0109] The following describes Prior Art 1 and Prior Art 2 related to the scheduling solution provided in the embodiments of the present application.

[0110] Prior art 1: Prior art 1 provides a scheduling information element for UWB ranging, namely, a ranging device management information element (RDM IE). Table 1 shows the format of the RDM IE in the prior art.

[0111] [Table 1]

[0112] Specifically, the meaning of some fields in Table 1 is as follows: The SIU (slot index used) field indicates the access mode used in the current ranging process. If SIU is equal to 0, the current RDM IE is used to manage the ranging process based on contention-based access. If SIU is equal to 1, the current RDM IE is used to manage the ranging process based on scheduled access.

[0113] The Address Size field indicates the address type of the devices participating in the ranging process. If Address Size is equal to 0, it indicates that the addresses of all devices related to the current RDM List are short addresses, i.e., the address length is 2 bytes. If Address Size is equal to 1, it indicates that the addresses of all devices related to the current RDM List are extended addresses (long addresses), i.e., the address length is 8 bytes.

[0114] The RDM List Length field indicates the number of elements in the RDM List, i.e., the number of list elements in the format shown in Table 2. Table 2 shows the format of the list elements in the RDM List in Prior Art 1. In the embodiment of the present application, the list elements may be referred to as scheduling list elements.

[0115] The RDM List field is a list, and the format of each element in the list is shown in Table 2.

[0116] [Table 2]

[0117] Specifically, the meaning of some fields in Table 2 is as follows: The Ranging Role field indicates the ranging role of the device corresponding to the Address field of the current list element. If Ranging Role is equal to 0, it indicates that the device is a ranging responder. If Ranging Role is equal to 1, it indicates that the device is a ranging initiator.

[0118] The Ranging Slot Index field indicates the subscript of the slot assigned to the device that participates in ranging and corresponds to the current list element. The address of the device is determined by the Address field in Table 2.

[0119] The Address field indicates the address of the device that is involved in the ranging and corresponds to the current list element.

[0120] It is assumed that a ranging system currently using Prior Art 1 has N (an integer greater than 0) devices, and each device needs to call a maximum of S (an integer greater than 0) slots. In this case, the message length M required by the scheduling IE proposed in Prior Art 1 is as follows:

[0121] If N devices are short address devices, the message length of the IE is (M=1+3*N*S) bytes. If all N devices are long address devices, the message length of the IE is (M=1+9*N*S) bytes. From the above analysis, the scheduling IE in prior art 1 has the following decisions: High signaling overhead: When the number of devices N is fixed, the length of the scheduling IE increases as S increases. For example, a short address is used as an example. When S is equal to 32, the length of the scheduling IE is (M=1+96*N) bytes, or when S is equal to 64, the length of the scheduling IE is (M=1+192*N) bytes. Therefore, when the number of devices N is fixed, if the number of slots S that currently need to be scheduled by the system is large (e.g., when S≧64), high signaling overhead will occur.

[0122] Limited flexibility: Each list element of the RDM IE in Prior Art 1 (Table 2) allows one device to indicate only one slot, and one device cannot indicate multiple slots. As a result, the flexibility of the scheduling indication by the RDM IE is limited. Specifically, if a device needs to indicate multiple slots, multiple list elements as shown in Table 2 are required. This results in redundancy in the signaling indication, i.e., the above-mentioned signaling overhead problem.

[0123] Prior art 2: Prior Art 2 provides a format of a bitmap-based scheduling information element (IE) for UWB. Table 3 shows the format of the bitmap-based scheduling IE provided in Prior Art 2.

[0124] [Table 3]

[0125] The Control field occupies a size of one octet, and the Scheduling List field occupies a size of one or more octets. Table 4 shows the format of the Control field of the bitmap-based scheduling IE provided in Prior Art 2.

[0126] [Table 4]

[0127] If Address Type is 0, it indicates that the device address is a short address, i.e., the address length is 2 bytes (16 bits). If Address Type is 1, it indicates that the device address is a long address (or extended address), i.e., the address length is 8 bytes (64 bits). The device address here is the address of the device scheduled by the bitmap-based scheduling IE, i.e., the address of the device related to the scheduling list.

[0128] The Scheduling List Length indicates the number of list elements in the Scheduling List field. The list elements are carried in the scheduling list field. Table 5 shows the format of the list elements of the scheduling list in Prior Art 2.

[0129] [Table 5]

[0130] In Table 5, bitmap indicates a one-dimensional bit string, for example, 0000100100100000. Bitmap Size indicates the length of the bitmap. The relationship between the Bitmap Size value and the bitmap length is shown in Table 6 below. Table 6 shows the relationship between the Bitmap Size value and the bitmap length.

[0131] [Table 6]

[0132] For example, bitmap shown in Table 7 indicates a bit string with a length of 8, i.e., 8 slots (each bit corresponds to one slot), i.e., the corresponding value of Bitmap Size is 0. When a bit is 1, it indicates that the device participating in ranging, corresponding to the list element corresponding to bitmap, transmits a UWB signal in the slot corresponding to that bit. Correspondingly, when a bit is 0, it indicates that the device does not transmit a UWB signal in the slot corresponding to bit 0.

[0133] [Table 7]

[0134] The bitmap in Table 7 sequentially indicates slots 1 to 8 (or slots 0 to 7) from left to right. If the bits corresponding to slots 2, 4, 5, 7, and 8 are all 1, it indicates that the device transmits UWB signals in slots 2, 4, 5, 7, and 8. If the bits corresponding to slots 1, 3, and 6 are all 0, it indicates that the device does not transmit UWB signals in slots 1, 3, and 6.

[0135] It should be noted that in this specification, the method of describing a bitmap, for example, in Table 7, is a left-to-right display method by default. In other words, the bitmap sequentially shows the near-to-far sequence of slots from left to right. For example, in the case of a bitmap with a length of 1 byte, the bitmap sequentially shows slots 1 to 8 (or slots 0 to 7) from left to right. In addition, the bitmap in the embodiment of the present application may alternatively be described from right to left, i.e., the near-to-far sequence of slots can be sequentially shown. The description order of the bitmap is not limited in the embodiment of the present application. This specification will be described using the left-to-right display method as an example.

[0136] It is assumed that a system currently using Prior Art 2 has N (an integer greater than 0) devices, and each device needs to call a maximum of S (an integer greater than 0) slots. In this case, the message length M required by the scheduling IE proposed in Prior Art 2 is as follows:

[0137] If all N devices are short address devices, the message length of the IE is

number

number

number

[0138] From the above analysis, it can be seen that the scheduling IE in prior art 2 has the following drawbacks: High signaling overhead: When the number of devices N is fixed, the message length of the scheduling IE increases as S increases. A short address is used as an example. When S is equal to 32, the length of the scheduling IE is (M=1+N*7) bytes, or when S is equal to 64, the length of the scheduling IE is (M=1+11*N) bytes. Therefore, when the number of devices N is fixed, if the number of slots S that currently need to be scheduled by the system is large (e.g., when S≧64), high signaling overhead will occur.

[0139] Redundancy of message indication: In prior art 2, a bitmap indicates whether a slot is used to transmit a UWB signal. For slots not involved in transmission, the bit must still be set to 0. As a result, the message indication is not flexible enough, resulting in unnecessary redundancy of the message indication.

[0140] In UWB applications with a repetitive periodic transmission structure, such as narrow-band assisted multi-millisecond (NBA-MMS) and DL-TDOA / UL-TDOA positioning and sensing, using only a bitmap to indicate whether a slot is used to transmit a UWB signal results in unnecessary repetition redundancy, and if the number of repetitions is large, results in significant indication redundancy.

[0141] From the above description, it can be seen that the scheduling information elements provided in Prior Art 1 and Prior Art 2 both have the drawback of high overhead. In order to avoid the problem of high signaling overhead caused by using the scheduling information elements provided in Prior Art 1 or Prior Art 2, the embodiments of the present application provide a UWB scheduling solution with low signaling overhead. The following describes topology structures and systems to which the UWB scheduling solution provided in the embodiments of the present application can be applied.

[0142] The UWB scheduling solution provided in the embodiments of the present application can operate in a star topology structure, a point-to-point topology structure, or a mesh topology structure. The UWB scheduling solution provided in the embodiments of the present application can also operate in another topology structure, which is not limited in the present application. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of an example of a star topology structure. As shown in FIG. 3, the star topology includes data communication between one or more other devices and a central control node, such as a personal area network (PAN) or a coordinator shown in FIG. 3. The UWB scheduling solution provided in the embodiments of the present application is applicable to data communication / sensing / ranging / positioning between the central control node and one or more other devices in the star topology. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of an example of a point-to-point topology structure or a mesh topology structure. The UWB scheduling solution provided in the embodiments of the present application is also applicable to communication / sensing / ranging / positioning between different devices in a point-to-point topology structure or a mesh topology structure (FIG. 4). In Figures 3 and 4, black nodes are full-function devices (FFDs) and white nodes are reduced-function devices (RFDs). FFDs can function as PAN coordinators or coordinators, but RFDs cannot function as PAN coordinators or coordinators. FFDs can communicate with each other, and FFDs and RFDs can communicate with each other. RFDs cannot communicate directly with each other; they can only communicate with FFDs or transfer data externally through one FFD. In UWB systems, FFDs can be anchor devices or tag devices with powerful computing capabilities (e.g., UWB tags installed in smartphones), while RFDs are tag devices with only some computing capabilities.

[0143] The technical solutions of the present application are primarily applicable to UWB systems, such as UWB systems supporting the IEEE 802.15.4a standard, the IEEE 802.15.4z standard, the IEEE 802.15.4ab standard, or the next-generation standard of the IEEE 802.15.4ab standard. Those skilled in the art will readily understand that aspects of the present application can be extended to other networks using various standards or protocols, such as BLUETOOTH (registered trademark), high performance radio LAN (HIPERLAN) (a wireless standard similar to the IEEE 802.11 standard used primarily in Europe), wide area networks (WANs), personal area networks (PANs), or other networks currently known or later developed. Therefore, various aspects provided in the embodiments of the present application are applicable to any suitable wireless network, regardless of the coverage area and wireless access protocol used.

[0144] FIG. 5 illustrates an example of a UWB system to which the technical solution according to an embodiment of the present application can be applied. The UWB system includes an anchor (only one anchor is shown) and one or more tags (only Tag 1 and Tag 2 are shown). Protocols supported by the anchor and tags may include protocols such as IEEE 802.15.4a, IEEE 802.15.4z, and IEEE 802.15.4ab. Of course, with the continuous evolution and development of communication technologies, WLAN protocols may further include next-generation protocols of IEEE 802.15.4ab. The anchor may be an access point, and the tag may be a station (STA). Both the access point and the STA support WLAN protocols, which may include IEEE 802.11be (also known as Wi-Fi 7 or EHT protocols).

[0145] An access point is a device with wireless communication capabilities, supports communication using a WLAN protocol, and has the capability to communicate with other devices (e.g., stations or other access points) in the WLAN network. Of course, an access point may also have the capability to communicate with other devices. A UWB system includes one or more access point (AP) stations and one or more non-access point stations (non-AP STAs). For ease of explanation, in this specification, an access point station will be referred to as an access point (AP) and a non-access point station will be referred to as a station (STA).

[0146] An access point may be an entire device, or a chip or processing system mounted on the entire device. A device in which a chip or processing system is installed may implement the methods and functions of the embodiments of the present application under the control of the chip or processing system (i.e., AP). An AP in the embodiments of the present application is a device that provides services to stations (STAs) and may support, for example, IEEE 802.15.4a, IEEE 802.15.4z, IEEE 802.15.4ab, or their next-generation standards. For example, an AP may be a communication entity such as a communication server, a router, a switch, a bridge, a computer, or a mobile phone. The AP may include an anchor, a macro base station, a micro base station (also called a small cell), a picocell base station, a femto base station, a relay station, an access point, a gNB, a transmission reception point (TRP), an evolved NodeB (eNB), a radio network controller (RNC), a home base station (e.g., a home evolved NodeB or home NodeB, HNB), a base band unit (BBU), a Wi-Fi access point (AP), an integrated access and backhaul (IAB), etc. Of course, the AP may alternatively be a chip or a processing system in various forms of devices to implement the methods and functions in the embodiments of the present application.

[0147] A station is a device with wireless communication capabilities, supports communication using a WLAN protocol, and has the ability to communicate with other stations or access points in a WLAN network. For example, a STA is any communication device that allows a user to communicate with an AP and then with a WLAN. A communication device may be an entire device, or a chip or processing system mounted on the entire device. A device in which a chip or processing system is installed can implement the methods and functions in the embodiments of the present application under the control of the chip or processing system (i.e., a station). The STA may include a tag device / smart tag device, a mobile phone, a mobile station (MS), a tablet computer (pad), a computer with wireless transceiver functionality (e.g., a notebook computer), a virtual reality (VR) device, an augmented reality (AR) device, an industrial control wireless terminal, a self-driving wireless terminal, a remote medical wireless terminal, a smart grid wireless terminal, a transportation safety wireless terminal, a smart city wireless terminal, a smart home wireless terminal, a subscriber unit, a cellular phone, a wireless data card, a personal digital assistant (PDA) computer, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a machine type communication (MTC) terminal, and the like. The stations may include a variety of handheld, in-vehicle, wearable, or computing devices with wireless communication capabilities or other processing devices connected to a wireless modem.For example, the station may be a handheld device, an in-vehicle device, a wearable device, a terminal of an Internet of Things or Internet of Vehicles network, a terminal of any form of 5G, and a communication system evolved after 5G, etc. This is not limited in this application. The station may support IEEE 802.15 series protocols such as IEEE 802.15.4a, IEEE 802.15.4z, and IEEE 802.15.4ab.

[0148] With reference to the accompanying drawings, the following describes the UWB scheduling solution provided in the embodiments of the present application.

[0149] 6 is a flowchart of a scheduling method for UWB according to an embodiment of the present application. The method shown in FIG. 6 can be applied to scenarios such as ranging, sensing, positioning, and communication, for example, NBA-MMS-based ranging, DL-TDOA-based positioning, and UL-TDOA-based positioning and sensing. As shown in FIG. 6, the method includes the following steps:

[0150] 601: The sender generates scheduling information.

[0151] The transmitter may be a UWB device supporting the UWB standard. The transmitter may be an AP or a station. The transmitter may be an FFD or an RFD. The transmitter may be a ranging, sensing, positioning, or communication initiator, i.e., a ranging initiator, a sensing initiator, a positioning initiator, or a communication initiator; a ranging, sensing, positioning, or communication responder, i.e., a ranging responder, a sensing responder, a positioning responder, or a communication responder; or a third-party device (which may be called a controller device), i.e., not a ranging, sensing, positioning, or communication initiator or responder. For example, the transmitting end is a third-party device, and the scheduling information is a ranging control message (RCM). After receiving the scheduling information, all initiators / rangers involved in the ranging process interpret the information relevant to them in the scheduling information (e.g., transmitting the corresponding slot index) and perform the corresponding ranging process in the measurement phase.

[0152] The scheduling information includes a time unit bitmap and a bitmap offset. The bitmap offset may be referred to as a bitmap offset field. The time unit bitmap indicates whether a time unit is used by a UWB device to transmit a UWB signal. For example, the time unit bitmap includes K bits, each bit corresponding to one time unit, where K is an integer greater than 0. When one of the K bits is set to a specified value, the specified value indicates that the time unit corresponding to that bit is used by the UWB device to transmit a UWB signal. The specified value is 0 or 1. The K time units corresponding to the K bits in the time unit bitmap are K time units within one measurement period or positioning period, i.e., several time units within the measurement period or positioning period. The measurement period may be a ranging period (i.e., a ranging round), a sensing round, or a positioning round. The bitmap offset is used to determine the start time unit in which the UWB device transmits a UWB signal. The time unit corresponding to the first bit in the time unit bitmap is the start time unit. It will be understood that the bitmap offset is used to determine the time unit corresponding to the first bit of the time unit bitmap. For example, the value of the bitmap offset is the number of time units before the start time unit in one measurement period, and the multiple time units corresponding to the time unit bitmap are multiple time units within the measurement period. For example, the value of the bitmap offset is the number of time units before the start time unit in one positioning period, and the multiple time units corresponding to the time unit bitmap are multiple time units within the positioning period. Implementation forms of the time unit bitmap and the bitmap offset will be described below with reference to an example of scheduling information.

[0153] In a possible implementation, the scheduling information further includes a field (hereinafter referred to as a period index field) indicating a scheduling period in which the UWB device transmits a UWB signal. The scheduling period is a period in which the UWB device transmits a UWB signal in one measurement period or communication period. For example, one measurement period or communication period includes eight scheduling periods for the UWB device, and the UWB device transmits a UWB signal in the third and fifth time units in each scheduling period and does not transmit a UWB signal in the other time units. For example, the period index field can indicate a consecutive value, for example, 1 to 32 or 1 to 64. The value indicated by the P bit included in the period index field indicates the scheduling period in which the UWB device transmits a UWB signal, where P is an integer greater than 0. For example, P is any one of 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, etc. For example, the value indicated by the period index field is the number of time units corresponding to the scheduling period, for example, 1 to 32 time units. For example, the period index field indicates a non-consecutive natural number. The natural number indicated by the H bit included in the period index field indicates the scheduling period in which the UWB device transmits a UWB signal, and H is an integer greater than 0. For example, H is 1, 2, 3, etc. For example, the period index indicates one of a group of time unit numbers (including multiple time units), for example, 8, 16, 32, 64, or 128 time unit numbers. For example, when the value of the period index field is 0 (i.e., the period index is equal to 0), the scheduling period in which the UWB device periodically transmits a UWB signal is 8 time units, i.e., the scheduling period for the UWB transmission is 8 time units. In another example, when the value of the period index field is 1 (i.e., the period index is equal to 1), the scheduling period in which the UWB device periodically transmits a UWB signal is 16 time units, i.e., the scheduling period for the UWB transmission is 16 time units.The number of time units indicated by the period index field is not limited in the embodiments of the present application. The unit of the value indicated by the period index field may be a single time unit or multiple time units. The time unit may be a slot, such as a ranging slot, an RSTU, or a sensing scheduling time unit. The sensing scheduling time unit is a time unit that may be used to determine the duration of a sensing block, a sensing round, and a sensing slot. Alternatively, the time unit may be another length of time. This is not limited in the embodiments of the present application. Because the number of time units corresponding to the time unit bitmap is equal to or less than the number of time units in one scheduling period, the time unit bitmap, the bitmap offset, and the scheduling period may all be used to determine the time unit for transmitting a UWB signal within each scheduling period in which a UWB device transmits a UWB signal. This can reduce signaling overhead.

[0154] In a possible implementation, the scheduling information further includes a field (hereinafter referred to as a repetition index field) indicating the number of repetitions of the transmission of a UWB signal by the UWB device. The repetition index field may be referred to as a repetition index field or another field. A value indicated by an R bit included in the repetition index field indicates the number of repetitions of the transmission of a UWB signal by the UWB device, where R is an integer greater than 0. For example, R is any one of 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, etc. For example, the repetition index field indicates a consecutive value, for example, 1 to 32 times. The number that can be indicated by the repetition index field is not limited in the embodiment of the present application. For example, the repetition index field indicates a non-consecutive natural number. For example, the repetition index field can indicate any combination of values ​​(including multiple non-consecutive natural numbers), for example, 8, 16, 32, 64, or 128. For example, if the value of the repetition index field is 1 (i.e., the repetition index is equal to 1), the number of times a UWB signal is periodically transmitted (or periodic UWB transmissions) is 16. In another example, if the value of the repetition index field is 2 (i.e., the repetition index is equal to 2), the number of times a UWB signal is periodically transmitted is 32. The non-contiguous values ​​that may be indicated by the repetition index field are not limited in the embodiments of the present application. In this implementation, the repetition index field indicates the number of repetitions of the transmission of a UWB signal by a UWB device. Both the time unit bitmap and the bitmap offset may be used to indicate the time unit within each scheduling period in which a UWB device transmits a UWB signal, resulting in fewer bits being occupied. This can reduce signaling overhead.

[0155] In a possible implementation, the scheduling information implicitly (or implicitly) indicates the number of repetitions of the transmission of the UWB signal by the UWB device. For example, any scheduling information assumes that the number of repetitions of the transmission of the UWB signal by the UWB device is 16 by default, and the scheduling information does not need to indicate the number of repetitions of the transmission of the UWB signal by the UWB device by using the carrier information. In other words, the UWB device can know the number of repetitions of the transmission of the UWB signal without using the scheduling information. For example, the number of repetitions of the transmission of the UWB signal is preconfigured for the UWB device. In this implementation, the scheduling information implicitly (or implicitly) indicates the number of repetitions of the transmission of the UWB signal by the UWB device, which can result in a reduction in occupied bits.

[0156] In a possible implementation, the scheduling information further includes a field (hereinafter referred to as a Period Mode field) indicating that the UWB device periodically transmits the UWB signal. In this implementation, the scheduling information further includes a field indicating that the UWB device periodically transmits the UWB signal, so that the UWB device can periodically transmit the UWB signal. This further reduces signaling overhead.

[0157] In a possible implementation, the scheduling information further includes a field indicating the length of the time unit bitmap (hereinafter referred to as a bitmap size field). In this implementation, the scheduling information further includes a field indicating the length of the time unit bitmap, so that the length of the time unit bitmap can be accurately determined and the time unit corresponding to each bit in the time unit bitmap can be determined.

[0158] In a possible implementation, the scheduling information further includes an address of the UWB device, and the length of the address of the UWB device is 2 bytes or 8 bytes. In this implementation, the scheduling information further includes an address of the UWB device, so that the UWB device knows the time unit that will be occupied by the UWB device for transmitting UWB.

[0159] In a possible implementation, the scheduling information includes a control field and a scheduling list field. The scheduling list field includes one or more list elements. For example, the time unit bitmap, the bitmap offset, the address of the UWB device, and the bitmap size field are included in the same list element. In another example, the time unit bitmap, the bitmap offset, the address of the UWB device, the bitmap size field, the period index field, and the repetition index field are included in the same list element.

[0160] 602: The sender sends scheduling information.

[0161] A possible implementation of step 602 is as follows: the sender sends the scheduling information in a broadcast or multicast manner; another possible implementation of step 602 is as follows: the sender separately sends the scheduling information to one or more scheduled UWB devices (i.e., receivers) in a unicast manner; and the receivers correspondingly receive the scheduling information from the sender.

[0162] 603: The receiving side transmits the UWB signal based on the scheduling information.

[0163] The receiver may be an anchor or a tag. The receiver may be an FFD or an RFD. The receiver is a UWB device scheduled using the scheduling information, and receives the scheduling information from the transmitter. The receiver may be a ranging, sensing, positioning, or communication initiator, or a ranging, sensing, positioning, or communication responder. For example, a list element in the scheduling information includes a time unit bitmap, a bitmap offset, and address 1. The bitmap offset is used by UWB device 1 (i.e., the receiver) to determine the start time unit for transmitting a UWB signal, the time unit bitmap indicates whether the time unit is used by UWB device 1 to transmit a UWB signal, and address 1 is the address of UWB device 1. The list element is used to schedule UWB device 1. Step 603 is optional. In a practical application, there may be multiple receivers that receive the scheduling information and transmit UWB signals based on the scheduling information to complete ranging, sensing, positioning, or communication.

[0164] The receiver transmitting a UWB signal based on the scheduling information may perform sensing, ranging, positioning, or communication by transmitting a UWB signal based on the scheduling information. It should be understood that the scheduling information indicates time units in which UWB device 1 transmits a UWB signal, and UWB device 1 may transmit a UWB signal in these time units to perform sensing, ranging, positioning, or communication. In some embodiments, the scheduling information indicates time units used by multiple UWB devices to transmit UWB signals, i.e., the scheduling information schedules multiple receivers to perform sensing, ranging, positioning, or communication by transmitting UWB signals. The multiple UWB devices perform sensing, ranging, positioning, or communication by transmitting UWB signals based on the scheduling information.

[0165] In this embodiment of the present application, whether each time unit is used by a UWB device to transmit a UWB signal can be determined using a bitmap offset and a time unit bitmap. The bitmap offset is used to determine the start time unit at which the UWB device transmits a UWB signal, so that the bits occupied by the time unit bitmap can be reduced. This further reduces signaling overhead.

[0166] 7 is a flowchart of another scheduling method for UWB according to an embodiment of the present application. The method steps of FIG. 7 are a possible implementation of the method described in FIG. 6. In this implementation, the UWB signal is transmitted based on the order of receiving the scheduling information in different formats and one of the scheduling information. This can reduce power consumption. As shown in FIG. 7, the method includes the following steps:

[0167] 701: A first sender sends first scheduling information.

[0168] The first transmitting side may be the transmitting side in Figure 6, and the first scheduling information may be the scheduling signal in Figure 6. Correspondingly, the receiving side receives the first scheduling information from the first transmitting side, where the receiving side may be the receiving side in Figure 6.

[0169] 702: A second sender transmits second scheduling information.

[0170] The second transmitting side may or may not be the transmitting side of FIG. 6. Correspondingly, the receiving side receives second scheduling information from the second transmitting side. The format of the second scheduling information is different from the format of the first scheduling information. The format of the second scheduling information being different from the format of the first scheduling information may be that one or more fields in the second scheduling information are not included in the first scheduling information, or that one or more fields in the first scheduling information are not included in the second scheduling information. For example, the second scheduling information includes the second field, and the first scheduling information does not include the second field. It will be understood that the format of the second scheduling information is different from the format of the first scheduling information if the fields in the first scheduling information and the fields in the second scheduling information are not exactly the same. The second sender may be a ranging, sensing, positioning, or communication initiator, may be a ranging, sensing, positioning, or communication responder, or may be a third-party device, i.e., may not be a ranging, sensing, positioning, or communication initiator or responder.

[0171] 703: The receiving side transmits a UWB signal based on the order in which the first scheduling information and the second scheduling information are received and the first scheduling information.

[0172] A possible implementation of step 703 is as follows: the first scheduling information and the second scheduling information are scheduling information sequentially received by the receiving side in the control phase within the same operation period (e.g., the ranging control phase within the same ranging round), and the receiving side transmits a UWB signal based on the previously received first scheduling information. The receiving side may transmit a UWB signal based only on the previously received first scheduling information and may not need to decode the later received second scheduling information. This can reduce energy consumption.

[0173] Another possible implementation of step 703 is as follows: the first scheduling information and the second scheduling information are scheduling information sequentially received by the receiving side in the control phase within the same operation period (e.g., the ranging control phase within the same ranging round), and the receiving side transmits a UWB signal based on the first scheduling information received later. The receiving side may transmit a UWB signal based only on the first scheduling information received later, and may not need to decode the second scheduling information received earlier. This can reduce energy consumption.

[0174] In this embodiment of the present application, the receiving side transmits a UWB signal based on the order in which the scheduling information is received and one of the scheduling information in different formats, thereby reducing power consumption.

[0175] The application of the UWB scheduling solution provided in the embodiments of the present application to a ranging scenario will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 8 is a diagram of a scheduling display in a ranging scenario according to an embodiment of the present application. In FIG. 8, a controller device transmits scheduling information provided in the embodiments of the present application to an initiator, a responder 1, and a responder 2 in a ranging control phase. The controller device may be the sender, and the responder 1 or the responder 2 is the receiver. As shown in FIG. 8, the controller device transmits scheduling information provided in the embodiments of the present application to all initiators and / or responders involved in ranging in the ranging control phase. The scheduling information may be an RCM or another message. After receiving the scheduling information, all initiators and / or responders involved in ranging interpret the information related to them in the scheduling information and perform corresponding ranging procedures in the ranging phase. In the measurement reporting phase, the initiators and / or responders can report measurement results obtained in the ranging phase. 8 illustrates the application of a UWB scheduling solution to a ranging scenario according to an embodiment of the present application. It will be understood that the UWB scheduling solution provided in the embodiment of the present application can also be used for sensing, DL-TDOA positioning, UL-TDOA positioning, communication, etc. Details will not be repeated here. This specification will be specifically described using a case where the controller device is a third-party device. The solution described herein is also applicable to a case where the controller device is an initiator or a responder. Details will not be described.

[0176] FIG. 8 illustrates that the scheduling information provided in the embodiment of the present application is used in the ranging control phase. FIG. 8 merely illustrates an example in which the scheduling information provided in the embodiment of the present application is used in the control phase within the measurement period. The scheduling information provided in the embodiment of the present application may also be used in the measurement phase or the measurement reporting phase. Typically, when the scheduling information provided in the embodiment of the present application is used in the measurement phase and the measurement reporting phase, the corresponding scheduling indication is used in the next round. The next round may be a round adjacent to the current round or may be a round at least one round away from the current round. For example, the current measurement application is ranging. When the scheduling information provided in the embodiment of the present application is used in the ranging phase and the measurement reporting phase, the corresponding scheduling indication is used in the next ranging round. The next ranging round may be a ranging round adjacent to the current ranging round or may be a ranging round at least one round away from the current ranging round.

[0177] The scheduling information provided in the embodiment of the present application may include a control field and a scheduling list field. In the following, examples of list elements in the scheduling list field and examples of control fields in the scheduling information will be described separately.

[0178] Example 1: Example of a list element in the scheduling list field in scheduling information.

[0179] See FIG. 9. The list element includes a bitmap offset, a time unit bitmap, and Address 1. FIG. 9 shows an example of a list element in scheduling information according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 9, the list element in the scheduling information includes a bitmap offset, a time unit bitmap, and Address 1. The list element shown in FIG. 9 indicates a time unit to be occupied by UWB device 1 to transmit a UWB signal, i.e., a time unit used to schedule UWB device 1. UWB device 1 may be considered a UWB device scheduled by the list element. The bitmap offset is used to determine the start time unit in which UWB device 1 transmits a UWB signal. The time unit bitmap indicates whether UWB device 1 will use the time unit to transmit a UWB signal. The time unit corresponding to the first bit of the time unit bitmap is the start time unit. The bitmap offset is used to determine the time unit corresponding to the first bit of the time unit bitmap, and it will be understood that the time unit corresponding to each bit in the time unit bitmap can be determined by referring to the bitmap offset and the time unit bitmap. Address 1 is the address of UWB device 1, and the length of Address 1 is 2 bytes or 8 bytes. For example, the list element further includes a bitmap size field, i.e., a field indicating the length of the time unit bitmap. For example, the list element further includes a reserved field, and the reserved field includes one or more reserved bits.

[0180] The bitmap offset is used to determine the start time unit within one measurement period (which may be a communication period) at which UWB device 1 transmits a UWB signal. For example, the bitmap offset indicates the number of time units within the measurement period before the start time unit at which UWB device 1 transmits a UWB signal. In other words, the bitmap offset indicates the number of time units before the start time unit within the measurement period at which UWB device 1 transmits a UWB signal, and the measurement period includes the start time unit. For example, the value of the bitmap offset is the number of time units before the start time unit within one measurement period. For example, the bitmap offset indicates the number of unused time units before the start time unit within the measurement period at which UWB device 1 transmits a UWB signal. For example, the value of the bitmap offset is the number of unused time units before the start time unit within one measurement period. For example, the value of the bitmap offset is equal to the number of time units between the first time unit and the start time unit of the measurement period plus one. The value of the bitmap offset is T, and the time units within the measurement period are assumed to be time unit 0 (the first time unit), time unit 1, time unit 2, etc. in the time series. In this case, the start time unit is time unit T, where T is an integer greater than 1. For any UWB device, the first time unit of the measurement period is known. Therefore, any UWB device can determine the start time unit in which the UWB device will transmit a UWB signal, i.e., the time unit corresponding to the first bit in the time unit bitmap, based on the bitmap offset. The time unit corresponding to the first bit in the time unit bitmap is the start time unit in which UWB device 1 will transmit a UWB signal.

[0181] The bitmap offset can indicate a continuous value. For example, the bitmap offset can indicate a number of time units, for example, 0 to 15 time units. The number of time units that can be indicated by the bitmap offset is not limited in the embodiment of the present application. The bitmap offset can also indicate a non-continuous natural number. For example, the bitmap offset can indicate any one of a group of time unit numbers, for example, 0, 1, 4, 8, 16, or 32 time unit numbers. For example, if the bitmap offset value is 3, it indicates that the number of time units before the start time unit in the measurement period is 8. Or, if the bitmap offset value is 4, it indicates that the number of time units before the start time unit in the measurement period is 16. The non-continuous values ​​that can be indicated by the bitmap offset are not limited in the embodiment of the present application. The unit of the bitmap offset value is not limited in the embodiment of the present application. The bitmap offset value may be one time unit, multiple time units, or RSTU.

[0182] The time unit bitmap corresponds to multiple time units, and the time unit bitmap indicates whether UWB device 1 uses a time unit to transmit a UWB signal. The time unit corresponding to the first bit of the time unit bitmap is the start time unit in which UWB device 1 transmits a UWB signal. The multiple time units corresponding to the time unit bitmap are included in the same measurement period or communication period. The bitmap offset is within one measurement period (which may alternatively be a communication period) and is used to determine the start time unit in which UWB device 1 transmits a UWB signal, and the time unit corresponding to the first bit of the time unit bitmap is the start time unit. Thus, the time unit corresponding to each bit in the time unit bitmap can be determined based on the bitmap offset. It is assumed that the time unit bitmap includes K bits, each bit corresponding to one time unit, and the time units within one measurement period are chronologically time unit 0, time unit 1, time unit 2, ..., and time unit L (an integer greater than 1), and the bitmap offset is used to determine that the start time unit in which UWB device 1 transmits a UWB signal is time unit 4. In this case, the K bits in the time unit bitmap correspond sequentially to time unit 4, time unit 5, ..., and time unit (3+K). For example, the time unit bitmap includes K bits, where K is an integer greater than 0, and when one of the K bits is set to a specified value, the specified value indicates that the time unit corresponding to that bit will be used by UWB device 1 to transmit a UWB signal. The specified value is 0 or 1. For example, the time unit bitmap includes K bits, and the time units corresponding to bits with a value of 1 are used by UWB device 1 to transmit a UWB signal, and the time units corresponding to bits with a value of 0 are not used by UWB device 1 to transmit a UWB signal.

[0183] By referring to the bitmap offset and the time unit bitmap, each time unit used by UWB device 1 to transmit a UWB signal can be determined, reducing unnecessary display overhead in the bitmap and thereby reducing the display overhead of scheduling information. FIG. 10 shows an example of a bitmap indicating whether a UWB device uses a time unit to transmit a UWB signal in the prior art. As shown in FIG. 10, each rectangle indicates whether the time unit is used by the UWB device to transmit a UWB signal, and the number above each rectangle indicates the chronological order of the time unit indicated by the rectangle. Black rectangles indicate time units used by the UWB device to transmit a UWB signal, and white rectangles indicate time units not used by the UWB device to transmit a UWB signal. Time unit 0 to time unit 15 are 16 time units corresponding to a bitmap containing 16 bits. The time unit corresponding to the first bit of the bitmap (i.e., time unit 0 in FIG. 13) is the first time unit of the measurement period. The bitmap indicates whether each time unit, from time unit 0 to time unit 15, is used by the UWB device to transmit a UWB signal. For example, a 1 in the bitmap indicates that the time unit corresponding to that bit is used by the UWB device to transmit a UWB signal. The bitmap in FIG. 10 indicates that time unit 4, time unit 7, and time unit 10 of the measurement period are used by the UWB device to transmit a UWB signal, and that the other time units of the measurement period are not used by the UWB device to transmit a UWB signal. The bitmap occupies 2 bytes, i.e., 16 bits.

[0184] The bitmap offset can reduce unnecessary display overhead in the bitmap, thereby reducing the display overhead of the scheduling message. Looking at FIG. 10 , it can be seen that none of the first four time units in the measurement period are used by the UWB device to transmit a UWB signal, resulting in waste of the bitmap display. Therefore, the bitmap offset can be considered to indicate the number of time units before the start time unit in which the UWB device transmits a UWB signal, thereby shortening the display length of the bitmap. Specifically, the bitmap offset indicates the number of time units before the start time unit in which the UWB device transmits a UWB signal. For example, a Bitmap Offset equal to 3 indicates that none of time units 0 to 3 are used. Correspondingly, the time units in which the UWB device transmits the UWB signal shown in FIG. 10 can be further indicated in FIG. 11 . FIG. 11 illustrates an example in which a time unit bitmap indicates whether a time unit is used by UWB device 1 to transmit a UWB signal, according to one embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 11 , each rectangle indicates whether a time unit is used by UWB device 1 to transmit a UWB signal, and the number above each rectangle indicates the time sequence of the time unit indicated by the rectangle. Black rectangles indicate time units that UWB device 1 uses to transmit a UWB signal, and white rectangles indicate time units that UWB device 1 does not use to transmit a UWB signal. Time unit 0 to time unit 7 are eight time units corresponding to a time unit bitmap including eight bits. The time unit corresponding to the first bit of the time unit bitmap (i.e., time unit 0 in FIG. 11 ) is determined based on a bitmap offset. The time unit bitmap indicates whether each time unit, from time unit 0 to time unit 7, is used by UWB device 1 to transmit a UWB signal. For example, if a bit in the time unit bitmap is 1, it indicates that the time unit corresponding to that bit is used by UWB device 1 to transmit a UWB signal.The bitmap offset is assumed to indicate that the number of time units before the start time unit in which UWB device 1 transmits a UWB signal is four, i.e., time units 0 to 3 in the measurement period are not used by UWB device 1 to transmit a UWB signal. In this case, the time unit corresponding to the first bit of the time unit bitmap is time unit 4 in the measurement period, and the time units corresponding to the time unit bitmap are time unit 4, time unit 5, ..., and time unit 11 in chronological order. The time units in the measurement period are time unit 0, time unit 1, time unit 2, etc. in chronological order. From FIG. 11, it can be seen that the unnecessary indication of the first four time units is moved to the bitmap offset field in the scheduling list field. Therefore, the time unit bitmap can be completed in 8 bits. In other words, in this case, the time unit bitmap requires only one byte, rather than the two bytes required in FIG. 11, thereby reducing message overhead. In other words, the time unit bitmap and the bitmap offset together determine the transmission order in which UWB device 1 transmits a UWB signal.

[0185] Tables 8 and 9 show two examples of list elements in the scheduling information provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0186] [Table 8]

[0187] See Table 8. The bitmap size field occupies 2 bits, i.e., bit0 and bit1, the bitmap offset occupies 4 bits, i.e., bit2 to bit5, the reserved field occupies 2 bits, i.e., bit6 and bit7, the time unit bitmap occupies 1 byte or more, i.e., the length of the time unit bitmap is variable, and address 1 occupies 2 bytes or 8 bytes. It will be understood that Table 8 shows only an example of list elements in the scheduling list field in the scheduling information, and the number of bits occupied by each field and the position of the field within the list element are not limited.

[0188] [Table 9]

[0189] See Table 9. The Bitmap Size field occupies 2 bits, i.e., bit 0 and bit 1; the Bitmap Offset Presence field occupies 1 bit, i.e., bit 2; the Reserved field occupies 5 bits, i.e., bits 3 to 7; the Time Unit Bitmap occupies 1 byte or more, i.e., the length of the Time Unit Bitmap is variable; Address 1 occupies 2 or 8 bytes; the Bitmap Offset occupies 4 bits, i.e., bits 0 to 3; and the Reserved field occupies 4 bits, i.e., bits 4 to 7. The Bitmap Offset Presence field indicates whether the list element includes a Bitmap Offset field. For example, if the Bitmap Offset Presence field is equal to 1, the Bitmap Offset field is displayed, i.e., the list element includes a Bitmap Offset field. If the Bitmap Offset Presence field is equal to 0, the Bitmap Offset field is not displayed, i.e., the list element does not include a Bitmap Offset field. It will be understood that Table 9 shows only one example of list elements in the scheduling list field in the scheduling information, and the number of bits occupied by each field and the position of the field within the list element are not limited.

[0190] See Table 8. The list elements in Example 1 can occupy 4 bytes (corresponding to the short address) or 10 bytes (corresponding to the extended address). See Table 9. The list elements in Example 1 can occupy 5 bytes (corresponding to the short address) or 11 bytes (corresponding to the extended address).

[0191] Example 2: Example of a list element in a scheduling list field in scheduling information. The list element in Example 2 may be obtained by further combining the bitmap offset field with a field having a periodic transmission function. For example, a period index field and a repetition index field are added to the list element in Example 1.

[0192] The list element includes a bitmap offset, a time unit bitmap, Address 1, a period index field, and a repetition index field. The bitmap offset in Example 2 may be the same as the bitmap offset in Example 1, and Address 1 in Example 2 may be the same as Address 1 in Example 1. The time unit bitmap indicates the time unit used by UWB device 1 to transmit a UWB signal within each scheduling period in which UWB device 1 transmits a UWB signal. Alternatively, the time unit bitmap indicates whether the time unit in each scheduling period in which UWB device 1 transmits a UWB signal is used by UWB device 1 to transmit a UWB signal. The period index field indicates the scheduling period in which UWB device 1 transmits a UWB signal, and the repetition index field indicates the number of repetitions in which UWB device 1 transmits a UWB signal. The repetition index field is optional. FIG. 12 is another example of a list element in scheduling information according to an embodiment of the present application. 12 , a list element in the scheduling information includes a bitmap offset, a time unit bitmap, an address 1, a period index field, and a repetition index field. For example, the list element further includes a bitmap size field, i.e., a field indicating the length of the time unit bitmap. The size and position of the bitmap size field are not limited in the embodiment of the present application. For example, the list element further includes a reserved field, and the reserved field includes one or more reserved bits. The size and position of the reserved field are not limited in the embodiment of the present application.

[0193] In a possible implementation, the time unit bitmap indicates the time units used by UWB device 1 to transmit UWB signals within each scheduling period in which UWB device 1 transmits a UWB signal, i.e., the time units to be occupied by UWB device 1 to transmit UWB signals. For example, K bits in the time unit bitmap correspond one-to-one to K time units within each scheduling period in which UWB device 1 transmits a UWB signal, each scheduling period being K time units, where K is an integer greater than 1. For example, the time unit bitmap may include 8 bits, and each scheduling period in which UWB device 1 transmits a UWB signal may include 8 time units, indicating that the third and fifth time units within each scheduling period in which UWB device 1 transmits a UWB signal will be used by UWB device 1 to transmit UWB signals, and the other time units will not be used by UWB device 1 to transmit UWB signals. For example, the K bits in the time unit bitmap correspond one-to-one to K consecutive time units (e.g., the first K time units or the last K time units) in each scheduling period in which UWB device 1 transmits a UWB signal, where each scheduling period is Q time units, and Q is an integer greater than K. For example, the time unit bitmap includes 8 bits, and each scheduling period in which UWB device 1 transmits a UWB signal includes 16 time units, the 8 bits included in the time unit bitmap correspond one-to-one to the earliest 8 time units in the scheduling period, and the time unit bitmap indicates that the third and fifth time units in each scheduling period in which UWB device 1 transmits a UWB signal are used by UWB device 1 to transmit a UWB signal, and the other time units are not used by UWB device 1 to transmit a UWB signal.

[0194] By referring to the bitmap offset, the time unit, and the period index field, the time unit for transmitting a UWB signal within each scheduling period in which UWB device 1 transmits a UWB signal can be determined, further reducing unnecessary display overhead in the bitmap, thereby reducing the display overhead of the scheduling information. The difference between the time unit bitmap in Example 2 and the time unit bitmap in Example 1 is that the time unit bitmap in Example 1 does not indicate whether a time unit is used by UWB device 1 to transmit a UWB signal in the periodic mode, and by referring to the period index field, the time unit bitmap in Example 2 indicates whether a time unit is used by UWB device 1 to transmit a UWB signal in the periodic mode. For example, the time unit bitmap in Example 1 includes 64 bits, each bit corresponding to one time unit, and the time unit bitmap in Example 1 indicates whether 64 time units corresponding to the 64 bits are used by UWB device 1 to transmit a UWB signal. The time unit bitmap of Example 2 includes 8 bits, each bit corresponding to one time unit, and the period index field indicates that the scheduling period is 8 time units. The time unit bitmap of Example 2 separately indicates whether 8 time units within the 8 scheduling periods (a total of 64 time units) are used by UWB device 1 to transmit UWB signals. From this example, it can be seen that the number of bits in the time unit bitmap of Example 2 is smaller than the number of bits in the time unit bitmap of Example 1. Therefore, with reference to the period index field, the time unit bitmap of Example 2 indicates whether a time unit is used by UWB device 1 to transmit UWB signals in the periodic mode, thereby allowing the length of the time unit bitmap to be shortened. This further reduces signaling overhead.

[0195] The time unit bitmap indicates the time unit used by UWB device 1 to transmit a UWB signal in a first scheduling period in which UWB device 1 transmits a UWB signal. The bitmap offset is used to determine the start time unit in one measurement period in which UWB device 1 transmits a UWB signal. It will be understood that the time unit bitmap and bitmap offset together determine the UWB transmission in the first scheduling period, and the Period index field and Repetition index field further determine the period and number of repetitions of the periodic UWB transmission. For UWB device 1's second scheduling period, third scheduling period, ..., and Xth scheduling period, the transmission order of the UWB signals in each scheduling period is the same as the transmission order in the first period. X is the number of repetitions indicated by the Repetition Index field, and X is an integer greater than 1. For example, UWB device 1's scheduling periods are, in order, the first scheduling period, second scheduling period, third scheduling period, ..., and Xth scheduling period. The time unit bitmap and bitmap offset together determine that the first and third time units in the first scheduling period will be used by UWB device 1 to transmit UWB signals, and the Period index field and Repetition index field further determine that the first and third time units in the second scheduling period, the third scheduling period, ..., and the Xth scheduling period will be used by UWB device 1 to transmit UWB signals. The time units in each scheduling period are chronologically arranged as the first time unit, the second time unit, the third time unit, ..., and Cth time unit, where C is the number of time units included in the scheduling period and is an integer greater than 1.In other words, for a periodic UWB transmission process of any UWB device, the periodic UWB transmission process can be completely determined by determining the time units for transmitting a UWB signal in the UWB device's first scheduling period (indicated by the Time Unit Bitmap field and the Bitmap Offset), the scheduling period (indicated by the Period index field), and the number of repeated transmissions (indicated by the Repetition Index field). In other words, the specific time units assigned to any UWB device for periodic UWB transmission can be completely determined.

[0196] Table 10, Table 11, Table 12, and Table 13 are four examples of list elements in the scheduling information provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0197] [Table 10]

[0198] See Table 10. The Bitmap Size field occupies 2 bits, i.e., bit0 and bit1; the Bitmap Offset occupies 4 bits, i.e., bit2 to bit5; the Reserved field occupies 2 bits, i.e., bit6 and bit7; the Time Unit Bitmap is one or more bytes, i.e., the length of the Time Unit Bitmap is variable; Address 1 occupies 2 bytes or 8 bytes; the Period Index field occupies 4 bits; and the Repetition Index field occupies 4 bits. It will be understood that Table 10 shows only an example of a list element in the scheduling information, and the number of bits occupied by each field and the position of the field within the list element are not limited.

[0199] [Table 11]

[0200] See Table 11. The Ranging Role field and the Receiver Address Presence field in the prior art are displayed in the form of a list element provided in the embodiment of the present application. In other words, the scheduling information provided in the embodiment of the present application may allow the Ranging Role field and the Receiver Address Presence field to appear, or may allow one of the Ranging Role field and the Receiver Address Presence field to be displayed, for example, as shown in the following format in Table 12 and Table 13. This is not limited in the embodiment of the present application.

[0201] [Table 12]

[0202] [Table 13]

[0203] Tables 11, 12, and 13 are examples of how fields in the prior art (e.g., the Ranging Role field and the Receiver Address Presence field) are arranged in the scheduling information provided in the embodiments of the present application. It should be understood that other fields of the prior art may also be arranged in the scheduling information provided in the embodiments of the present application. In the embodiments of the present application, the arrangement positions and field sizes of the Bitmap Offset field, the Ranging Role field, the Receiver Address Presence field, etc. are not limited. Tables 11, 12, and 13 are merely examples.

[0204] See Tables 10 to 13. The list elements in Example 2 can occupy 5 bytes (corresponding to a short address) or 11 bytes (corresponding to an extended address).

[0205] Example 3: Example of a list element in the scheduling list field in scheduling information.

[0206] The list element includes a bitmap offset, a time unit bitmap, an address 1, a period index field, a repetition index field, and a Period Mode field. For example, the Period Mode field may be called the Period Mode field or another field. For the meaning of the fields in Example 3, see the meaning of the fields in Example 2. The Period Mode field indicates that the UWB device periodically transmits a UWB signal. In other words, the Period Mode field is used to trigger each UWB device scheduled using the scheduling information to periodically transmit a UWB signal. In other words, the Period Mode field indicates that a periodic transmission mode is to be triggered. The Period Mode field may be considered a periodic transmission mode trigger field. The Period Mode field can occupy one or more bits. For example, the Period Mode field includes one bit. If the bit value is 1, the Period Mode field indicates that the UWB device transmits UWB signals periodically, and the scheduling information includes a field related to the transmission periodicity, such as the second field or the third field, or if the bit value is 0, the Period Mode field indicates that the UWB device transmits UWB signals in another transmission mode, and the scheduling information does not include a field related to the transmission periodicity. For example, the scheduling list field in the scheduling information is the same as the scheduling list field in Table 3.Alternatively, if the Period Mode field indicates that the UWB device transmits a UWB signal periodically, the scheduling information includes the first field and the second field, or if the Period Mode field indicates that the UWB device transmits a UWB signal in another mode, the scheduling information does not include the first field and the second field, and the scheduling list in the scheduling information may be the same as the scheduling list in the scheduling information element of Prior Art 1 (or Prior Art 2). It should be understood that the list elements in Examples 1 to 4 may all indicate that UWB device 1 transmits a UWB signal periodically. In the embodiment of the present application, the periodic transmission mode is a mode in which the UWB device transmits a UWB signal periodically and is a mode implemented using the scheduling information provided in the embodiment of the present application, and the other transmission mode is any mode other than the periodic transmission mode.

[0207] Table 14 shows an example of list elements in the scheduling information provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0208] [Table 14]

[0209] The meaning of the fields in Table 14 may be the same as the meaning of the fields in Table 10. The difference between Table 14 and Table 10 is that bit 6 is a Period Mode field. For example, when Period Mode is equal to 1, fields related to transmission periodicity, such as the Period Index field and the Repetition Index field, are displayed and enabled. When Period Mode is equal to 0, the Period Index field and the Repetition Index field, i.e., fields related to transmission periodicity, are not displayed. It will be understood that Table 14 is only an example of list elements in a scheduling list field in scheduling information, and the number of bits occupied by each field and the position of the field in the list element are not limited.

[0210] See Table 14. The list elements in Example 3 can occupy 5 bytes (corresponding to a short address) or 11 bytes (corresponding to an extended address).

[0211] In Examples 1, 2, and 3, whether each time unit is used by a UWB device to transmit a UWB signal can be determined using a bitmap offset and a time unit bitmap. The bitmap offset is used to determine the start time unit at which the UWB device transmits a UWB signal, so that the bits occupied by the time unit bitmap can be reduced. This further reduces signaling overhead.

[0212] Example 4: Example of control fields in scheduling information.

[0213] The control fields in the scheduling information include a Period Mode field, an Address Type field, and a Scheduling List Length field. The Period Mode field indicates that the UWB device periodically transmits a UWB signal. In other words, the Period Mode field is used to trigger each UWB device scheduled using the scheduling information to periodically transmit a UWB signal. In other words, the Period Mode field indicates triggering a periodic transmission mode. The Period Mode field may be considered a periodic transmission mode trigger field. In the embodiment of the present application, the periodic transmission mode is a mode in which the UWB device periodically transmits a UWB signal, and is a mode implemented using the scheduling information provided in the embodiment of the present application. The Period Mode field may occupy one or more bits. For example, the Period Mode field includes one bit. When the bit value is 1, the Period Mode field indicates that the UWB device transmits UWB signals periodically, and the scheduling information includes fields related to the transmission periodicity, such as a Period Index field and a Repetition Index field. Alternatively, when the bit value is 0, the Period Mode field indicates that the UWB device transmits UWB signals in another transmission mode, and the scheduling information does not include fields related to the transmission periodicity. For example, the scheduling list field in the scheduling information is the same as the scheduling list field in Table 8. For example, when Period Mode is equal to 0, the format of each list element in the scheduling list field in the scheduling information is shown in Table 8 or Table 9. When Period Mode is equal to 1, the format of each list element in the scheduling list field in the scheduling information is shown in Table 10 / Table 11 / Table 12 / Table 13.The Address Type field indicates the address type of the UWB device, which includes a short address (2 bytes long) and an extended address (8 bytes long). For example, the Address Type field includes 1 bit. If the bit value is 0 (i.e., Address Type is 0), the Address Type field indicates that the address of the UWB device is a short address, i.e., the address length is 2 bytes (16 bits), or if the bit value is 1 (i.e., Address Type is 1), the Address Type field indicates that the address of the UWB device is a long address (or extended address), i.e., the address length is 8 bytes (64 bits). The Scheduling List Length field indicates the number of list elements in the scheduling list.

[0214] Table 15 shows an example of a control field in the scheduling information provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0215] [Table 15]

[0216] See Table 15. The Address Type field occupies 1 bit, i.e., bit 0, the Scheduling List Length field occupies 6 bits, i.e., bits 1 to 6, and the Period Mode field occupies 1 bit, i.e., bit 7. Table 15 only shows an example of control fields in the scheduling information provided in an embodiment of the present application. It should be understood that Table 15 only shows an example of control fields in the scheduling information, and the number of bits occupied by each field and the position of the field within the control field are not limited. See Table 10. The control field in the scheduling information provided in an embodiment of the present application occupies 1 byte.

[0217] In Example 4, the control field in the scheduling information includes a Period Mode field, an Address Type field, and a Scheduling List Length field. The Period Mode field indicates that the UWB device periodically transmits the UWB signal. The control field in the scheduling information can indicate that the UWB device periodically transmits the UWB signal to reduce signaling overhead by indicating that the UWB device periodically transmits the UWB signal.

[0218] Examples of scheduling list fields and control fields in the scheduling information are provided above. It should be understood that examples of scheduling information include the scheduling list field of Example 1 and the control field of Example 4. Another example of scheduling information includes the scheduling list field of Example 2 and the control field of Example 4. Another example of scheduling information includes the scheduling list field of Example 3 and the control field shown in Table 2 or Table 4. Below, the signaling overhead of the scheduling information provided in the embodiments of the present application is compared with the signaling overhead of scheduling information elements in prior art 1 and the signaling overhead of scheduling information elements in prior art 2. Table 16 shows the signaling overhead of scheduling information elements in prior art 1, the signaling overhead of scheduling information elements in prior art 2, the signaling overhead of scheduling information 1, and the signaling overhead of scheduling information 2. As shown in Table 8, the signaling overhead of scheduling information 1 is equal to the signaling overhead of scheduling information including the scheduling list field of Example 1 and the control field of Example 4, and is also equal to the signaling overhead of scheduling information including the scheduling list field of Example 2 and the control field of Example 4. As shown in Table 9, the overhead of scheduling information 2 is equal to the signaling overhead of scheduling information including the scheduling list field of Example 1 and the control field of Example 4, and is also equal to the signaling overhead of scheduling information including the scheduling list field of Example 3 and the control field shown in Table 2 or Table 4.

[0219] [Table 16]

[0220] In Table 16, S indicates the number of time units that need to be paged by a UWB device, and N indicates the number of UWB devices involved in the current UWB application in the system. S is an integer greater than 0, and N is an integer greater than 0. From Table 16, it can be seen that the scheduling information provided in the embodiment of the present application does not depend on the number of time units S. In other words, the size of the scheduling information provided in the embodiment of the present application does not increase even if the number of time units S increases. In other words, when the same number of time units S needs to be scheduled and the number of S is large, the message size of the scheduling information provided in the embodiment of the present application is smaller than the message size of the scheduling IE in prior art 1 and prior art 2. Therefore, the air interface resource overhead required to transmit the scheduling information can be effectively reduced, and the air interface time required to transmit the scheduling information can be shortened.

[0221] With reference to examples, the following further compares the signaling overhead of the scheduling information provided in the embodiments of the present application with the signaling overhead of the scheduling IE in conventional technology 1 and the signaling overhead of the scheduling IE in conventional technology 2.

[0222] 13 is a timeline diagram of a non-interlacing MMS ranging process according to one embodiment of the present application. In FIG. 13, each rectangle indicates whether a time unit is used by a UWB device to transmit a UWB signal, and the number above each rectangle indicates the timeline of the time unit indicated by the rectangle. Black rectangles indicate time units used by a UWB device to transmit a UWB signal, and white rectangles indicate time units not used by a UWB device to transmit a UWB signal. FIG. 13 indicates that the initiator should transmit UWB signals at time unit 0, time unit 2, time unit 4, and time unit 8, and the responder should transmit UWB signals at time unit 8, time unit 10, time unit 12, and time unit 14. To implement the responder scheduling shown in FIG. 13, i.e., to schedule the responder to transmit UWB signals at time unit 8, time unit 10, time unit 12, and time unit 14, a 2-byte Bitmap (16 bits) is required to complete the responder scheduling indication. However, as can be seen from FIG. 13, time unit 8 is the start time unit in which the responder transmits UWB signals. In other words, the first eight time units (time units 0 to 7) of the responder are unused, resulting in a waste of the Bitmap indication. Therefore, the Bitmap Offset field can be considered to indicate the start time unit in which the responder transmits UWB signals in order to shorten the length of the Bitmap indication. For example, the value of the Bitmap Offset field indicates the number of time units before the start time unit in which the responder transmits UWB signals. For example, a Bitmap Offset of 7 indicates that the start time unit in which the responder transmits UWB signals is time unit 8. For example, the value of the Bitmap Offset field indicates the number of unused time units before the start time unit in which the responder transmits the UWB signal. For example, the Bitmap Offset field indicates the number of unused time units, i.e., Bitmap Offset equal to 7 indicates that none of time units 0 to 7 are used.Correspondingly, the time units for transmitting UWB signals shown in FIG. 13 can be shown by FIG. 14. FIG. 14 is a timeline diagram of another non-interlaced MMS ranging process according to an embodiment of the present application. In FIG. 14, each rectangle indicates whether the time unit is used by the UWB device to transmit UWB signals, and the number above each rectangle indicates the timeline of the time unit indicated by the rectangle. Black rectangles indicate time units used by the UWB device to transmit UWB signals, and white rectangles indicate time units not used by the UWB device to transmit UWB signals. FIG. 14 shows that the responder needs to transmit UWB signals at time unit 0, time unit 2, time unit 4, and time unit 8. It can be seen from FIG. 14 that the unnecessary indications of the first four time units are moved to the Bitmap Offset field of the list element in the Scheduling List field. Therefore, the actual scheduling indication can be completed in 8 bits, i.e., in this case, only 1 byte is required to schedule the Bitmap, rather than the 2 bytes in Figure 13, thereby reducing the message overhead.

[0223] FIG. 15 shows a group of typical scheduling modes in which a DL-TDOA positioning process can be completed. In this group of scheduling modes, three anchor devices (anchors), i.e., anchor 1, anchor 2, and anchor 3 in FIG. 15, transmit UWB signals in the scheduling manner shown in FIG. 15 to perform DL-TDOA positioning. It is assumed that the DL-TDOA scheduling mode shown in FIG. 15 needs to be repeated eight times, and there is no gap between two adjacent DL-TDOA positioning processes. A scheduling case for this case is shown in FIG. 16. FIG. 16 is a diagram of scheduling for eight repeated DL-TDOA positioning processes according to an embodiment of the present application. In FIGS. 15 and 16, each rectangle represents one time unit, and the time units indicated by gray rectangles are scheduled and allocated for UWB signal transmission, while the time units indicated by white rectangles are not scheduled and allocated for UWB signal transmission. Since one complete DL-TDOA process is completed in eight time units, there is no gap between two adjacent DL-TDOA processes shown in FIG. 16.

[0224] In the scheduling case shown in FIG. 16, the Period Mode for this case needs to be enabled to be equal to 1. As a result, the Period Index field and the Repetition Index field can be used to effectively compress the signaling overhead of the scheduling information for the case shown in FIG. 16. It is assumed that the Period Index field can indicate a periodicity value such as 0, 1, 4, 8, 16, or 32 time units, and the Repetition Index field can indicate 1 to 16 repetitions. In this case, the Period Index field is set to 0 (indicating no interval between two adjacent DL-TDOA measurements, and the next measurement starts immediately after the previous measurement is completed), and the Repetition Index field is set to 7 (indicating 8 repetitions as the subscript starts from 0). As a result, the scheduling display for the case shown in FIG. 16 can be implemented. It is assumed that the Period Index field can indicate a periodicity value such as 0, 1, 4, 8, 16, or 32 time units, and the Repetition Index field can indicate 1 to 16 repetitions. In this case, the Period Index field is set to 8 (indicating that the scheduling period is 8 hour units) and the Repetition Index field is set to 7 (indicating 8 repetitions since the subscript starts at 0), so that the scheduling display for the case in Figure 16 can be implemented.

[0225] Correspondingly, it can be seen from Figure 16 that S is equal to 64 and N is equal to 3. Therefore, a comparison of the signaling consumption of scheduling information in the cases shown in Figure 16 is shown in Table 17 below.

[0226] [Table 17]

[0227] The scheduling information in the present application in Table 17 may be the scheduling information including the scheduling list field in Example 2 and the control field in Example 4. As can be seen from Table 17, compared with the scheduling information in Prior Art 1 and Prior Art 2, the scheduling information provided in the present application can significantly reduce message size overhead.

[0228] It should be noted that the scheduling information provided in the embodiments of the present application (hereinafter referred to as the newly designed scheduling IE) can be identified and processed by a device (anchor or tag) that needs to perform ranging or sensing functions. In a possible implementation, the corresponding method for identifying and processing the newly designed scheduling IE is similar to the method for identifying and processing a nested IE (e.g., an RDM IE) specified in the existing protocol 802.15.4z. For details, please refer to the method for identifying and processing a nested IE in the existing protocol 802.15.4z. For example, a protocol upper layer of a transmitting device configures a scheduling IE and forwards the scheduling IE to a medium access control (MAC) layer of the transmitting device. As another example, the MAC layer of a receiving device forwards the received scheduling IE to an upper protocol layer of the receiving device, and the protocol upper layer performs identification processing on the scheduling IE.

[0229] In a possible implementation, the newly designed scheduling IE may be transmitted in a narrowband frequency band.

[0230] In another possible implementation, the newly designed scheduling IE may alternatively be transmitted in the UWB frequency band.

[0231] For ease of understanding, the newly designed scheduling IE will be described in detail below with reference to Table 18.

[0232] Table 18 below is an expansion and extension of Tables 7 to 18 in the existing 802.15.4z protocol. For brevity, the existing definitions of Tables 7 to 18 in the protocol are not reflected in Table 18 below. Specifically, it can be seen from Table 18 below that the newly designed scheduling IE can be added to the nested IE list defined in Tables 7 to 18 in the existing 802.15.4z protocol and used as a newly added IE in the 802.15.4ab protocol or later versions of the protocol. Specifically, a reserved Sub-ID value in the nested IE list defined in Tables 7 to 18 in the existing 802.15.4z protocol can indicate the newly designed scheduling IE.

[0233] [Table 18]

[0234] T in Table 18 may be any one or more values ​​from 0x5d to 0x7f. Table 18 shows the extension and expansion of the nested IE list defined in Tables 7 to 18 in the existing 802.15.4z protocol. X in Table 18 indicates that the newly designed scheduling IE is a Data type IE.

[0235] Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings, the structure of a communication device capable of implementing the scheduling method provided in the embodiments of the present application will be described.

[0236] FIG. 17 is a diagram of the structure of a communication device 1700 according to an embodiment of the present application. The communication device 1700 may correspondingly implement functions or steps implemented by a sending side in the aforementioned method embodiments, or may correspondingly implement functions or steps implemented by a receiving side in the aforementioned method embodiments. The communication device may include a processing module 1710 and a transceiver module 1720. In a possible implementation, the device may further include a storage unit. The storage unit may be configured to store instructions (code or program) and / or data. The processing module 1710 and the transceiver module 1720 may be coupled to the storage unit. For example, the processing module 1710 may read instructions (code or program) and / or data in the storage unit to implement the corresponding method. The aforementioned units may be independently located or may be partially or fully integrated. For example, the transceiver module 1720 may include a transmitting module and a receiving module. The transmitting module may be a transmitter, and the receiving module may be a receiver. The entity corresponding to the transceiver module 1720 may be a transceiver or a communication interface.

[0237] In some possible implementations, the communication device 1700 can correspondingly implement the behavior and functions of the transmitting end in the aforementioned method embodiments. For example, the communication device 1700 may be a transmitting side or a component (e.g., a chip or circuit) used in the transmitting side. The transceiver module 1720 may be configured to perform, for example, all receiving or transmitting operations performed by the transmitting side in the embodiments of FIGS. 6 and 7, e.g., step 602 in the embodiment shown in FIG. 6 and steps 701 and 702 in the embodiment shown in FIG. 7, and / or to support other processes of the techniques described herein. The processing module 1710 is configured to perform all operations other than the transmitting and receiving operations performed by the transmitting side in the embodiments of FIGS. 6 and 7, e.g., step 601 in the embodiment shown in FIG. 6.

[0238] In some possible implementations, the communication device 1700 can correspondingly implement the behavior and functions of the receiving side in the above-described method embodiments. For example, the communication device 1700 may be the receiving side or a component (e.g., a chip or circuit) used in the receiving side. The transceiver module 1720 may be configured to perform all receiving or transmitting operations performed by the receiving side in the embodiments of FIGS. 6 and 7, for example, step 602 in the embodiment shown in FIG. 6 and steps 701 and 702 in the embodiment shown in FIG. 7, and / or to support other processes of the techniques described herein. The processing module 1710 is configured to perform all operations other than the transmitting and receiving operations performed by the receiving side, for example, step 603 in the embodiment shown in FIG. 6 and step 703 in the embodiment shown in FIG. 7.

[0239] 18 is a diagram of the structure of another communication device 180 according to an embodiment of the present application. The communication device in FIG. 18 may be a transmitting side or a receiving side.

[0240] As shown in FIG. 18, the communication device 180 includes at least one processor 1810 and a transceiver 1820.

[0241] In some embodiments of the present application, the processor 1810 and the transceiver 1820 may be configured to perform functions, operations, etc. performed by a transmitting side. The transceiver 1820 performs all receiving or transmitting operations performed by a transmitting side in the embodiments of Figures 6 and 7, for example. The processor 1810 is configured to perform all operations other than transmitting and receiving operations performed by a transmitting side in the embodiments of Figures 6 and 7, for example.

[0242] In some embodiments of the present application, the processor 1810 and the transceiver 1820 may be configured to perform functions, operations, etc. performed by a receiving side. The transceiver 1820 performs all receiving or transmitting operations performed by a receiving side, for example, in the embodiments of Figures 6 and 7. The processor 1810 is configured to perform all operations other than transmitting and receiving operations performed by a receiving side.

[0243] The transceiver 1820 is configured to communicate with another device / apparatus via a transmission medium. The processor 1810 is configured to receive and transmit data and / or signaling via the transceiver 1820 and to implement the method in the aforementioned method embodiments. The processor 1810 can implement the functionality of the processing module 1710, and the transceiver 1820 can implement the functionality of the transceiver module 1720.

[0244] For example, the transceiver 1820 may include a radio frequency circuit and an antenna. The radio frequency circuit is primarily configured to convert between baseband signals and radio frequency signals and process the radio frequency signals. The antenna is primarily configured to receive and transmit radio frequency signals in the form of electromagnetic waves. An input / output device, such as a touchscreen, display, or keyboard, is primarily configured to receive data entered by a user and output data to the user.

[0245] The communication device 180 may further include at least one memory 1830 configured to store program instructions and / or data. The memory 1830 is coupled to the processor 1810. The coupling in this embodiment of the present application may be an electrical, mechanical, or other form of indirect coupling or communication connection between devices, units, or modules, used for exchanging information between the devices, units, or modules. The processor 1810 may cooperate with the memory 1830. The processor 1810 may execute program instructions stored in the memory 1830. At least one of the at least one memory may be included in the processor.

[0246] The processor 1810 can read the software program in the memory 1830, interpret and execute the instructions of the software program, and process the data of the software program. When data needs to be transmitted wirelessly, the processor 1810 performs baseband processing on the data to be transmitted and then outputs the baseband signal to the radio frequency circuit. The radio frequency circuit performs radio frequency processing on the baseband signal and then transmits the radio frequency signal in the form of electromagnetic waves through an antenna. When data is to be transmitted to a communication device, the radio frequency circuit receives the radio frequency signal through the antenna, converts the radio frequency signal into a baseband signal, and outputs the baseband signal to the processor 1810. The processor 1810 converts the baseband signal into data and processes the data.

[0247] In another implementation, the radio frequency circuitry and antenna may be located independently of the processor that performs the baseband processing. For example, in a distributed scenario, the radio frequency circuitry and antenna may be located independently and remotely from the communication device.

[0248] In this embodiment of the present application, a specific connection medium is not limited among the transceiver 1820, the processor 1810, and the memory 1830. In this embodiment of the present application, in FIG. 18, the memory 1830, the processor 1810, and the transceiver 1820 are connected to each other via a bus 1840. In FIG. 18, the bus is shown with a bold line. The connection method between the other components is only described schematically and is not used as a limitation. The bus may be categorized as an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For ease of illustration, the bus is shown with only one bold line in FIG. 18, but this does not indicate that there is only one bus or only one type of bus.

[0249] In the embodiments of the present application, the processor may be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor, an application-specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array or other programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic device, or a discrete hardware component, which is capable of implementing or executing the methods, steps, and logic block diagrams disclosed in the embodiments of the present application. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, any conventional processor, etc. The steps of the methods disclosed with reference to the embodiments of the present application may be performed directly by a hardware processor, or may be performed by a combination of hardware and software modules in the processor.

[0250] FIG. 19 is a structural diagram of another communication device 190 according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 19, the communication device shown in FIG. 19 includes a logic circuit 1901 and an interface 1902. The processing module 1710 of FIG. 17 may be implemented using the logic circuit 1901, and the transceiver module 1720 of FIG. 17 may be implemented using the interface 1902. The logic circuit 1901 may be a chip, a processing circuit, an integrated circuit, a system on chip (SoC), or the like. The interface 1902 may be a communication interface or an input / output interface, or the like. In this embodiment of the present application, the logic circuit and the interface may be coupled to each other. The specific connection method between the logic circuit and the interface is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

[0251] In some embodiments of the present application, the logic and interface may be configured to perform functions, operations, etc. performed by a sender.

[0252] In some embodiments of the present application, the logic and interface may be configured to perform functions, operations, etc. performed by a receiver.

[0253] The present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores a computer program or instruction, which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to perform the method of the aforementioned embodiment.

[0254] The present application further provides a computer program product, which includes instructions or a computer program, which, when run on a computer, performs the methods of the aforementioned embodiments.

[0255] The present application further provides a communication system including a sender and a receiver.

[0256] The present application further provides a chip, the chip including a communication interface and a processor, the communication interface configured to transmit and receive signals to and from the chip, and the processor configured to execute computer program instructions, such that a communication device including the chip performs the method of the aforementioned embodiment.

[0257] All or part of the above-described embodiments may be implemented by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When software is used to implement the embodiments, all or some of the embodiments may be implemented in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer programs or instructions. When the computer programs or instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the procedures or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are performed. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, a network device, a user terminal, or another programmable device. The computer program or instructions may be stored on a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from a computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer program or instructions may be transmitted from a website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via wired or wireless communication. The computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium accessible by a computer, or may be a data storage device, such as a server or data center, that integrates one or more available media. The available media may be magnetic media such as floppy disks, hard disks, or magnetic tape, optical media such as digital video disks, or semiconductor media such as solid-state drives. The computer-readable storage medium may be volatile or non-volatile storage media, or may include both volatile and non-volatile storage media.

[0258] In the embodiments of the present application, unless otherwise stated or there is no logical contradiction, the terms and / or descriptions of different embodiments are consistent and may be cross-referenced, and the technical features of different embodiments may be combined based on their internal logical relationships to form new embodiments. [Explanation of symbols]

[0259] 1 UMB device 1700 Communication Equipment 1710 Processing Module 1720 Transceiver Module 180 Communication Equipment 1810 processor 1820 Transceiver 1830 memory 1840 Bus 190 Communication Equipment 1901 Logic Circuit 1902 Interface

Claims

1. A scheduling method for ultra-wideband (UWB), comprising: generating scheduling information, the scheduling information including a time unit bitmap and a bitmap offset, the time unit bitmap indicating whether a time unit is used by a UWB device to transmit a UWB signal, the bitmap offset being used to determine a start time unit at which the UWB device transmits the UWB signal, and a time unit corresponding to a first bit of the time unit bitmap being the start time unit; transmitting the scheduling information; A method comprising:

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the value of the bitmap offset is a number of time units before the start time unit within one measurement period.

3. 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the time unit bitmap includes K bits, where K is an integer greater than 0, and when one of the K bits is set to a specified value, the specified value indicates that a time unit corresponding to the bit will be used by the UWB device to transmit the UWB signal.

4. The method according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the measurement period is a ranging period.

5. 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the time unit bitmap is a time unit bitmap corresponding to several time units within one measurement period, and the scheduling information further includes a field indicating a scheduling period in which the UWB device transmits the UWB signal.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the scheduling information further includes a field indicating a number of repetitions of transmission of the UWB signal by the UWB device.

7. The method of claim 5 or 6, wherein the scheduling information further includes a field indicating that the UWB device transmits the UWB signal periodically.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the scheduling information further comprises a field indicating a length of the time unit bitmap.

9. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the scheduling information further comprises an address of the UWB device, the address of the UWB device being 2 bytes or 8 bytes in length.

10. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the time unit is either a slot or a ranging scheduling time unit RSTU.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the method is applied in a ranging, sensing, or positioning scenario.

12. receiving first scheduling information, the first scheduling information including a time unit bitmap and a bitmap offset, the time unit bitmap indicating whether a time unit is used by a UWB device to transmit a UWB signal, the bitmap offset being used to determine a start time unit in which the UWB device transmits the UWB signal, and a time unit corresponding to a first bit of the time unit bitmap being the start time unit; transmitting the UWB signal based on the first scheduling information; A UWB scheduling method, including:

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the value of the bitmap offset is the number of time units before the start time unit within one measurement period.

14. 14. The method of claim 13, wherein the time unit bitmap includes K bits, K being an integer greater than 0, and wherein when one of the K bits is set to a specified value, the specified value indicates that a time unit corresponding to the bit will be used by the UWB device to transmit the UWB signal.

15. The method of claim 13 or 14, wherein the measurement period is a ranging period.

16. 16. The method of claim 12, wherein the time unit bitmap is a time unit bitmap corresponding to several time units within one measurement period, and the first scheduling information further includes a field indicating a scheduling period in which the UWB device transmits the UWB signal.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the first scheduling information further includes a field indicating a number of repetitions of transmission of the UWB signal by the UWB device.

18. 18. The method of claim 16 or 17, wherein the first scheduling information further includes a field indicating that the UWB device transmits the UWB signal periodically.

19. 19. The method of claim 12, wherein the first scheduling information further comprises a field indicating a length of the time unit bitmap.

20. 20. The method of claim 12, wherein the first scheduling information further includes an address of the UWB device, and the address of the UWB device is 2 bytes or 8 bytes in length.

21. 21. The method of claim 12, wherein the time unit is either a slot or a ranging scheduling time unit RSTU.

22. 22. The method of any one of claims 12 to 21, wherein the method is applied in a ranging, sensing, or positioning scenario.

23. The method comprises: receiving second scheduling information, the format of the second scheduling information being different from the format of the first scheduling information; Further includes the step of transmitting the UWB signal based on the first scheduling information, transmitting the UWB signal based on an order in which the first scheduling information and the second scheduling information are received and based on the first scheduling information; Including, 23. The method of any one of claims 12 to 22.

24. A communication device comprising a module or unit configured to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 11.

25. A communication device comprising a module or unit configured to implement the method of any one of claims 12 to 23.

26. 24. A computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, the computer program including program instructions that, when executed, enable a computer to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 23.

27. 24. A communications device comprising a processor, the processor coupled to a memory, the memory storing computer program instructions, the processor configured to execute the computer program instructions, such that the communications device performs a method according to any one of claims 1 to 23.

28. A chip, a communication interface configured to receive and transmit signals from the chip; a processor configured to execute computer program instructions such that a communications device comprising said chip performs the method of any one of claims 1 to 23; and A chip comprising:

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