Control apparatus and wireless communication control method

Abstract

To provide a controller and a radio communication control method for performing radio control adapted to a change at a low operation cost even when the communication environment of a radio communication system is changed.SOLUTION: In a radio communication system, a control device 4 includes a search unit and a control unit. The search unit searches, based on a query vector that is an environment characteristic vector representing a communication environment of a wireless communication system, a database in which an environment characteristic vector representing a characteristic of each of a plurality of different communication environments is associated with wireless communication related data that is data related to wireless communication in the communication environment of the wireless communication system, and reads out the wireless communication related data corresponding to the query vector. A control part 4 controls the radio communication of the radio communication system based on the read radio communication related data.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a control device and a wireless communication control method. [Background technology]

[0002] Systems such as 5G (fifth generation mobile communication systems) use high frequency bands in the millimeter wave band. In addition, in order to achieve even higher speeds and capacities in future wireless communication systems such as 6G (sixth generation mobile communication systems), the use of even higher frequency bands such as the sub-terahertz band, which can ensure wider bandwidths, is expected (see, for example, Non-Patent Document 1). However, high frequency bands have large propagation losses, as well as high directivity and low transparency. Therefore, high frequency bands are significantly affected by the degradation of communication quality due to obstructions (see, for example, Non-Patent Document 2).

[0003] To avoid degradation of communication quality, it is common to observe the propagation environment using a reference signal, detect fluctuations in communication quality from the observation results, and then perform wireless station switching control. It has also been proposed to perform wireless station switching control before communication quality degradation occurs, based on predictions made by machine learning using sensing information from cameras, etc. (See, for example, Non-Patent Document 3). This technology has shown the possibility of avoiding degradation of communication quality due to blockage of line-of-sight communication paths. [Prior art documents] [Non-patent literature]

[0004] [Non-Patent Document 1] "White Paper: 5G Advancements and 6G," NTT Docomo, Inc., 5.0 Edition, November 2022 [Non-patent document 2] 3GPP TR38.901 V16.0.0: "Study on channel model for frequencies from 0.5 to 100 GHz (Release 16)," Oct. 2019. [Non-patent document 3] Y. Koda, K. Nakashima, K. Yamamoto, T. Nishio, and M. Morikura, "Handover Management for mmWave Networks With Proactive Performance Prediction Using Camera Images and Deep Reinforcement Learning," IEEE Transactions on Cognitive Communications and Networking, vol. 6, no. 2, June 2020. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] When detecting fluctuations in communication quality and performing wireless control, temporary degradation of communication quality is unavoidable from the time the fluctuation is detected until the control is completed. In addition, predictive control based on machine learning using sensing information raises concerns about the computational costs involved in creating and operating models, and the need for re-learning when the environment changes, which may limit the scope of application.

[0006] In view of the above circumstances, the present invention aims to provide a control device and a wireless communication control method that can perform wireless control adapted to changes in the communication environment of a wireless communication system at low computational cost, even when such changes occur. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] One aspect of the present invention is a control device that includes a search unit that searches a database that associates environmental feature vectors that represent the characteristics of each of a plurality of different communication environments with wireless communication related data that is data related to wireless communication in the communication environment of a wireless communication system based on a query vector that is an environmental feature vector that represents the actual environment of the wireless communication system, and reads out the wireless communication related data that corresponds to the query vector, and a control unit that controls wireless communication of the wireless communication system based on the wireless communication related data read out by the search unit.

[0008] One aspect of the present invention is a wireless communication control method comprising: a search step of searching a database that associates environmental feature vectors that represent the characteristics of each of a plurality of different communication environments with wireless communication related data that is data related to wireless communication in the communication environment of a wireless communication system, based on a query vector that is an environmental feature vector that represents the actual environment of the wireless communication system, and reading out the wireless communication related data that corresponds to the query vector; and a control step of controlling wireless communication of the wireless communication system based on the wireless communication related data read out in the search step. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to the present invention, even when a change occurs in the communication environment of a wireless communication system, it is possible to perform wireless control adapted to the change at low computational cost. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of a wireless communication device and a control device according to the embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a database according to the embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a database according to the embodiment. [Figure 5]FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a database according to the embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the wireless communication system according to the embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of a control device according to the embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that the embodiment described below is merely one example, and the embodiments to which the present invention is applied are not limited to the following embodiment.

[0012] In recent years, estimation and prediction control using machine learning that uses information acquired by sensing has been considered as a method of controlling wireless communications. However, in addition to concerns about the computational costs involved in creating and operating machine learning models, re-learning is required when the communication environment (hereinafter also referred to as "environment") changes, which limits the scope of application. Therefore, in this embodiment, a control device stores environmental feature vectors and wireless communication-related data associated with the environmental feature vectors as a database. The environmental feature vector is a vector that characterizes the communication environment. The wireless communication-related data is data related to wireless communications performed by a wireless communication system. For example, the wireless communication-related data is data on the communication environment between a wireless communication device and an opposing wireless communication device, data related to control of the wireless communication device, and index values ​​such as control parameters of the wireless communication device. The control device estimates or predicts the communication environment and index values ​​between the wireless communication device and the opposing wireless communication device with which it wirelessly communicates, and utilizes the estimated or predicted results for wireless communication control in the wireless communication system.

[0013] In this embodiment, calculations are omitted by acquiring wireless communication-related data for various communication environments in advance and constructing a database by linking environmental feature vectors that represent the characteristics of the communication environments with the wireless communication-related data. By quickly searching the database using vectors that characterize the actual environment of the wireless communication system as queries, re-learning in response to environmental changes can be replaced with search, enabling fast environmental adaptation. Furthermore, since the environmental feature vectors and the wireless communication-related data linked to them can be used as input information for each other, the application range can be further expanded by estimating and predicting the environmental feature vectors as output information.

[0014] This enables wireless control based on estimation and prediction that adapts to environmental changes in wireless communication systems where various environmental changes occur.

[0015] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a wireless communication system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The wireless communication system 1 includes a wireless communication device 2, an opposing wireless communication device 3, and a control device 4. FIG. 1 shows one wireless communication device 2 and two opposing wireless communication devices 3, but the number of wireless communication devices 2 and opposing wireless communication devices 3 is arbitrary. In FIG. 1, the two opposing wireless communication devices 3 are written as opposing wireless communication devices 3-1 and 3-2. The wireless communication device 2 communicates wirelessly with one or more opposing wireless communication devices 3. There may be obstructions in the communication environment between the wireless communication device 2 and the opposing wireless communication device 3. The wireless communication device 2 allocates communication resources to the opposing wireless communication device 3 with which it communicates wirelessly. The wireless communication device 2 is connected to the control device 4.

[0016] The control device 4 includes a database. The database stores an association between an environment feature vector that characterizes the communication environment between the wireless communication device 2 and the opposing wireless communication device 3 and wireless communication-related data. As an example, the wireless communication device 2 has multiple antenna elements and has a function of performing beamforming by controlling one or both of the phase and amplitude of the antenna elements. As another example, the wireless communication device 2 has a function of performing beam sweeping, which sweeps the formed beam while changing it. In this case, the opposing wireless communication device 3 has a function of acquiring information on transmissions by each beam when the wireless communication device 2 performs beam sweeping, and feeding the information back to the wireless communication device 2. The information acquired by the opposing wireless communication device 3 during beam sweeping includes received signal strength, signal-to-noise power ratio, communication distance, reception timing, channel status indicator (CSI), etc.

[0017] For example, the control device 4 has a function of receiving, via the wireless communication device 2, feedback of information when a wireless signal is transmitted from the opposing wireless communication device 3 using each beam, generating a target query vector using the feedback information, and determining the closest vector from among the environmental feature vectors recorded in the database. The control device 4 has a function of using wireless communication related data linked to the determination result as an estimate or prediction result of the propagation environment, such as obstruction and reflection, and future communication quality. Note that the wireless communication device 2 may also have a function of searching for wireless communication related data recorded in the database. Furthermore, the control device 4 has a function of controlling the allocation of communication resources between the wireless communication device 2 and the multiple opposing wireless communication devices 3, using the information on the propagation environment, such as obstruction and reflection, and future communication quality estimated or predicted by this function.

[0018] The control device 4 may be integrated with the wireless communication device 2. Alternatively, the control device 4 may be integrated with the opposing wireless communication device 3 and used to control the opposing wireless communication device 3. Alternatively, the control devices 4 of multiple wireless communication devices 2 may be connected via a network to perform cooperative control, or multiple wireless communication devices 2 may be connected to one control device 4 to perform cooperative control.

[0019] 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the wireless communication device 2 and the control device 4 according to this embodiment. The wireless communication device 2 includes an upper transmission unit 21, a signal processing unit 22, a beam control unit 23, a transceiver unit 24, and a plurality of antenna elements 25.

[0020] The upper transmission unit 21 is a functional unit that transmits signals between the control device 4 and a higher-level device (not shown) on the network. The signal processing unit 22 is a functional unit that performs signal processing in wireless communication in cooperation with the signal processing unit 46 of the control device 4. For example, the signal processing unit 22 receives transmission data addressed to the opposite wireless communication device 3 from a higher-level device on the network or the control device 4 via the upper transmission unit 21. The signal processing unit 22 converts the transmission data addressed to the opposite wireless communication device 3 into signals to be transmitted from each antenna element 25 and outputs the signals to the beam control unit 23. The signal processing unit 22 also performs signal processing based on a control signal transmitted from the control unit 44 of the control device 4. The signal processing unit 22 also receives a received signal obtained by combining signals received by each antenna element 25 from the beam control unit 23 and obtains the signal transmitted from the opposite wireless communication device 3 from the received signal. The signal processing unit 22 outputs the obtained transmission signal from the opposite wireless communication device 3 to the higher-level device on the network or the control device 4 via the upper transmission unit 21. The received signal may include information fed back from the opposite wireless communication device 3.

[0021] The beam control unit 23 is a functional unit that controls the beam to be formed. Note that if the wireless communication device 2 does not use a beam, the beam control unit 23 is not necessarily provided. The transceiver unit 24 is a functional unit that performs beamforming by controlling one or both of the phase and amplitude of a signal, and processes related to signal transmission and reception. For example, the beam control unit 23 adjusts the weight of each antenna element 25 so as to form the directivity of radio waves in a predetermined beam direction. The beam control unit 23 may adjust the weight based on a control signal transmitted from the control device 44. When transmitting a wireless signal, the beam control unit 23 outputs the transmission signal from each antenna element 25 generated by the signal processing unit 22 to the transceiver unit 24 and instructs the weight of each antenna element 25 for forming a beam. The transceiver unit 24 forms a beam by adjusting one or both of the phase and amplitude of the signal transmitted from each antenna element 25 using the weight instructed by the beam control unit 23, and transmits the wireless signal. When receiving a wireless signal, the beam control unit 23 instructs the transceiver unit 24 the weight of each antenna element 25 for forming a beam. The transceiver 24 adjusts one or both of the phase and amplitude of the radio signal received by each antenna element 25 using the weight instructed by the beam control unit 23. The transceiver 24 outputs a received signal obtained by combining the adjusted radio signals to the beam control unit 23. The beam control unit 23 outputs the received signal input from the transceiver 24 to the signal processing unit 22.

[0022] The control device 4 includes a storage unit 41 , an input / recording unit 42 , an estimation / prediction unit 43 , a control unit 44 , a lower transmission unit 45 , a signal processing unit 46 , and an upper transmission unit 47 .

[0023] The memory unit 41 is a functional unit that holds various types of information. The memory unit 41 stores a database that links environmental feature vectors with wireless communication related data. The input / recording unit 42 is a functional unit that inputs information related to the database and query vectors and records the information in the memory unit 41. Examples of inputs to the input / recording unit 42 include input of information fed back or transmitted from the opposing wireless communication device 3 via the wireless communication device 2, input of sensing results from an external sensing device, and writing data to a separately created database.

[0024] The estimation / prediction unit 43 is a functional unit that estimates or predicts the propagation environment, such as obstruction and reflection, and future communication quality, using a database stored in the storage unit 41 and the input query vector and data. The control unit 44 is a functional unit that controls communication between the wireless communication device 2 and the opposing wireless communication device 3 based on the results of the estimation or prediction by the estimation / prediction unit 43. For example, the control unit 44 is a functional unit that performs control to select the opposing wireless communication device 3 to which communication resources are to be allocated, control to switch the wireless communication device 2 to which the opposing wireless communication device 3 is connected, and control to select the antenna element 25 and beam that the wireless communication device 2 will use for data communication. The control unit 44 outputs a control signal for controlling the wireless communication device 2 to the downstream transmission unit 45, and outputs a control signal for controlling the opposing wireless communication device 3 to the signal processing unit 46.

[0025] The lower transmission unit 45 is a functional unit that transmits signals between the wireless communication device 2 and nodes therebetween. The lower transmission unit 45 outputs a signal received from the wireless communication device 2 to the signal processing unit 46. The lower transmission unit 45 also transmits to the wireless communication device 2 a transmission signal addressed to the opposing wireless communication device 3 output from the signal processing unit 46 and a control signal addressed to the wireless communication device 2 output from the control unit 44. The signal processing unit 46 is a functional unit that performs signal processing related to wireless communication in cooperation with the signal processing unit 22 of the wireless communication device 2. The signal processing unit 46 receives a transmission signal from the opposing wireless communication device 3 output by the wireless communication device 2 from the lower transmission unit 45 and obtains data from the received transmission signal. The signal processing unit 46 also transmits a transmission signal, in which a control signal to be transmitted to the opposing wireless communication device 3 is set, to the wireless communication device 2 via the lower transmission unit 45. The upper transmission unit 47 is a functional unit that transmits signals between an upper device (not shown) on the network, another control device 4, etc.

[0026] The wireless communication device 2 may include some or all of the storage unit 41, the input / recording unit 42, the estimation / prediction unit 43, and the control unit 44. The wireless communication device 2 and the control device 4 may have a configuration in which the signal processing unit 22 is divided among each device, such as the configuration in FIG. 2 or a CU (Central Unit), DU (Distributed Unit), and RU (Radio Unit) in 5G NR (New Radio), or the signal processing unit may be integrated into one of the devices, such as the wireless communication device 2 or the control device 4.

[0027] 3 to 5 are diagrams showing examples of a database stored in the storage unit 41. FIG. i (i is an integer greater than or equal to 1) uses APP (Angular Power Profile) as the i , the position information of the obstacle between the wireless communication device 2 and the opposite wireless communication device 3 [o xi ,o yi ] is used. xi , o yiindicate the position of the obstruction on the x-axis and the y-axis, respectively. Here, APP is expressed as the element p i1 ,p i2 ,…,p iM Let v be the vector i The element p is defined as i1 ,p i2 ,…,p iM is, for example, the received power, the signal-to-noise power ratio, etc.

[0028] Figure 4 shows the environmental feature vector v i APP is used as the wireless communication related data i The position information of the opposite wireless communication device 3 [u xi ,u yi ] is used. xi , u yi respectively indicate the x coordinate value and the y coordinate value on the XY plane on which the opposing wireless communication device 3 exists.

[0029] Figure 5 shows the environmental feature vector v i As the time series received power [p ti-1 ,p ti-2 ,…,p ti-s ,…p ti-S ] and wireless communication related data d i The next observed received power p ti+1 It uses. ti-1 ,p ti-2 ,…,p ti-s ,…p ti-S are respectively at time t i The received power observed one time before, the received power observed two times before, ..., the received power observed s times before, ..., the received power observed S times before, and the received power p ti+1 is the time t i is the predicted value of the received power observed next.

[0030] As described above, the wireless communication-related data associated with the environmental feature vector may be a vector or a scalar value. While the environmental feature vector and the wireless communication-related data are in a one-to-one correspondence in FIGS. 3 to 5, a database in which multiple types of wireless communication-related data are associated with the same type of environmental feature vector may be used. In the created database, environmental feature vectors with similar characteristics may be grouped and averaged to compress the database and speed up searches. In a search using a database, target wireless communication-related data, rather than a query vector, may be input to the input / recording unit 42 of the control device 4, and the estimation / prediction unit 43 may search for an environmental feature vector associated with the closest wireless communication-related data. The database may also be created by switching the input and output of the database. For example, the number of dimensions of the environmental feature vector may be reduced by encoding or other methods.

[0031] 6 is a flow diagram showing an example of control of the wireless communication system 1. A constructed database is recorded in the storage unit 41 of the control device 4.

[0032] First, the input / recording unit 42 of the control device 4 acquires a target query vector corresponding to the database (step S1). The input / recording unit 42 may acquire the query vector by exchanging a reference signal with the opposing wireless communication device 3 via the wireless communication device 2, or may acquire the query vector using an external sensing device. In the former case, for example, the lower-level transmission unit 45 of the control device 4 receives a signal from the wireless communication device 2, and the signal processing unit 46 outputs a reference signal from the opposing wireless communication device 3 included in the received signal to the input / recording unit 42. The input / recording unit 42 may also reduce the effects of instantaneous fluctuations and instantaneous errors by averaging a plurality of query vectors on the time axis.

[0033] Next, based on the query vector acquired in step S1, the estimation / prediction unit 43 searches the database stored in the storage unit 41 for an environment feature vector that is closest to the query vector (step S2). To evaluate the closeness of the vectors, squared Euclidean distance or an inner product may be used. Alternatively, the estimation / prediction unit 43 may search for a vector that is closest to the query vector using an approximate nearest neighbor search, such as solving an ANN (approximate nearest neighbor) search.

[0034] The estimation / prediction unit 43 reads out, from the database, wireless communication related data associated with the environment feature vector determined to be the closest in the search in step S2 (step S3). The estimation / prediction unit 43 reads out the read wireless communication related data as an estimated value of information used to control communication between the wireless communication device 2 and the opposing wireless communication device 3.

[0035] It is also possible to perform control based on future predictions by using, as the database for obtaining estimated values, wireless communication-related data that links data on the future communication environment, wireless quality, etc. to environmental feature vectors. Furthermore, the estimation / prediction unit 43 may read from the database not only the environmental feature vector closest to the query vector in the database, but also multiple environmental feature vectors such as the top k (k is an integer of 2 or greater) environmental feature vectors closest to the query vector.

[0036] Next, the control unit 44 determines whether or not control is necessary based on the estimated value read in step S3 (step S4). Specifically, the control unit 44 determines that control is necessary when, for example, it is predicted that the line of sight between the wireless communication device 2 and the opposing wireless communication device 3 will become non-existent after a specific time, it is predicted that the received signal strength or signal-to-noise power ratio of the opposing wireless communication device 3 with which communication will be performed after a specific time will be equal to or less than a predetermined value, or the ratio of the average received signal strength or average signal-to-noise power ratio of the opposing wireless communication device 3 to the predicted received signal strength or signal-to-noise power ratio after a specific time is higher or lower by a predetermined value compared to other opposing wireless communication devices 3. The value used for these determinations may be a value obtained directly as an estimated value, or may be a value obtained by performing a predetermined calculation using the estimated value.

[0037] When the control unit 44 determines that control is necessary (step S4: YES), it performs control based on the estimated value obtained in step S3 (step S5). Specific examples of control include control to change the opposing wireless communication device 3 to which communication resources of the wireless communication device 2 are allocated, control to switch the wireless communication device 2 to which the opposing wireless communication device 3 is connected, and control to select the antenna element 25 and beam that the wireless communication device 2 uses for data communication. The control unit 44 generates a control signal for controlling the wireless communication device 2 in accordance with the control content determined based on the estimated value, and outputs the control signal from the lower transmission unit 45 to one or more wireless communication devices 2 to be controlled. The signal processing unit 22 of the wireless communication device 2 controls the beam control unit 23 and the transceiver unit 24 in accordance with the control signal received via the upper transmission unit 21.

[0038] The control unit 44 may determine control for the opposing wireless communication device 3 based on the estimated value. In this case, the control unit 44 outputs a control signal for controlling the opposing wireless communication device 3 to the signal processing unit 46. The signal processing unit 46 outputs a transmission signal, in which the control signal addressed to the opposing wireless communication device 3 is set, from the lower transmission unit 45 to the wireless communication device 2 that accommodates the destination opposing wireless communication device 3. The signal processing unit 22 of the wireless communication device 2 transmits the transmission signal received via the upper transmission unit 21 wirelessly from the antenna element 25 to the opposing wireless communication device 3. The opposing wireless communication device 3 performs wireless communication with the wireless communication device 2 in accordance with the control signal included in the received wireless signal.

[0039] As described above, the wireless communication device 2 and the opposite wireless communication device 3 connected to the wireless communication device 2 perform data communication (step S6) based on the control from the control unit 44 in step S5. The wireless communication system 1 repeats the processing from step S1.

[0040] On the other hand, if the control unit 44 determines that control is not necessary (step S4: NO), the wireless communication device 2 and the opposing wireless communication device 3 continue to perform data communication as is (step S6). The wireless communication system 1 repeats the process from step S1.

[0041] The functions of the control device 4 in the above-described embodiment may be implemented by a computer. In this case, a program for implementing the functions of the input / recording unit 42, the estimation / prediction unit 43, and the control unit 44 may be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium, and the program may be loaded into a computer system and executed. The program may also be provided via a network. Note that the term "computer system" herein includes hardware such as an OS and peripheral devices. The term "computer-readable recording medium" refers to portable media such as flexible disks, optical magnetic disks, ROMs, and CD-ROMs, as well as storage devices such as hard disks built into a computer system. The term "computer-readable recording medium" may also include media that dynamically store programs for a short period of time, such as communication lines used when transmitting programs via networks such as the Internet or telephone lines, or media that store programs for a certain period of time, such as volatile memory within a computer system serving as a server or client. The program may also be designed to implement some of the above-described functions, or may be capable of implementing the above-described functions in combination with a program already stored in the computer system.

[0042] The control device 4 may be realized by multiple computers connected to a network. In this case, it is possible to arbitrarily select which of the multiple computers will realize each functional unit of the control device 4. Furthermore, the same functional unit may be realized by multiple computers.

[0043] FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of the hardware configuration of the control device 4. The control device 4 includes a processor 71, a storage unit 72, a communication interface 73, and a user interface 74. The processor 71 is a central processing unit that performs calculations and control. The processor 71 is, for example, a central processing unit (CPU). The processor 71 realizes the functions of the input / recording unit 42, the estimation / prediction unit 43, and the control unit 44 by reading and executing programs from the storage unit 72. The storage unit 72 realizes the storage unit 41. The storage unit 72 also has a work area and the like for the processor 71 to execute various programs. The communication interface 73 is a communicative connection with other devices. The communication interface 73 realizes the lower transmission unit 45, the signal processing unit 46, and the upper transmission unit 47. The user interface 74 is an input device such as a keyboard, a pointing device (mouse, tablet, etc.), a button, or a touch panel, or a display device such as a display. Human operations are input through the user interface 74.

[0044] In addition, all or part of the functions of the input / recording unit 42, the estimation / prediction unit 43, and the control unit 44 may be realized using hardware such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), a PLD (Programmable Logic Device), or an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array).

[0045] According to this embodiment, in a wireless communication system where various environmental changes occur, wireless control based on estimation and prediction adapted to the environmental changes is possible, and added value such as improved wireless communication performance and position estimation can be provided.

[0046] In this embodiment, a database is constructed in advance that links data related to wireless communication acquired in various environments with environmental feature vectors that represent the characteristics of the environments. Then, the database is quickly searched using a vector that represents the characteristics of the actual environment during operation of the wireless communication system as a query, and the wireless communication system is controlled based on the data related to wireless communication obtained by the search. This eliminates the computational costs involved in creating and operating a model, which were previously required for machine learning in conventional technology. Furthermore, by creating a comprehensive database for various environments in advance, the re-learning required to update a model to adapt to environmental changes can be replaced with a search, enabling rapid environmental adaptation.

[0047] Furthermore, the database can be used such that the environmental feature vector and the associated wireless communication-related data can be used as input information, and the other can be used as output information for estimation and prediction. This allows for an expansion of use cases and application areas. For example, when a combination of APPs and location information of obstructing objects is acquired as data, as shown in FIG. 3, the estimation / prediction unit 43 of the control device 4 calculates future location information of obstructing objects based on the location information of obstructing objects read from the database corresponding to each time-series APP. The estimation / prediction unit 43 creates a database that associates the time-series APPs with the calculated future location information of obstructing objects, and stores the database in the storage unit 41. The estimation / prediction unit 43 searches the database using the time-series data of the APPs as input information to predict future obstructions. The control unit 44 controls antenna switching of the wireless communication device 2 based on this obstruction prediction. Alternatively, the estimation / prediction unit 43 calculates future APPs based on the APPs read from the database corresponding to each time-series location information of obstructing objects. The estimation / prediction unit 43 creates a database showing the correspondence between time-series position information of obstructing objects and future APPs, and stores the database in the storage unit 41. The estimation / prediction unit 43 reads out future reception quality predictions from the database using the time-series data of the position information of obstructing objects as input information, and the control unit 44 performs scheduling control based on the read reception quality predictions.

[0048] According to the above-described embodiment, the wireless communication system includes a wireless communication device, an opposing wireless communication device, and a control device. The control device includes a search unit and a control unit. The search unit corresponds to, for example, the estimation / prediction unit 43 in the embodiment. The search unit searches a database that associates environment feature vectors that represent the characteristics of each of a plurality of different communication environments with wireless communication related data that is data related to wireless communication in that communication environment of the wireless communication system, based on a query vector that is an environment feature vector that represents the actual environment in which the wireless communication device is operating, and reads out the wireless communication related data that corresponds to the query vector. The control unit controls wireless communication performed by the wireless communication system based on the wireless communication related data read out by the search unit.

[0049] The search unit may read out, from the database, wireless communication related data associated with an environment feature vector close to the query vector.

[0050] The control unit may determine whether or not control of wireless communication is necessary based on the wireless communication related data read by the search unit, and if it determines that control is necessary, may decide the control to be performed on the wireless communication of the wireless communication system based on the read wireless communication related data.

[0051] The environment feature vector may include information on different types of communication quality in the wireless communication system obtained when the wireless communication device or the opposing wireless communication device performs a beam sweep. The wireless communication related data may be position information of an obstruction or position information of the opposing wireless communication device.

[0052] The environment feature vector may include information on time-series communication quality obtained in the wireless communication system, and the wireless communication related data may be communication quality at a time after the time at which the time-series reception quality was obtained.

[0053] The control performed by the control unit may be control to allocate resources to the opposing wireless communication device, control to switch the wireless communication device to which the opposing wireless communication device is connected, or control of the antenna or beam used for wireless communication by the wireless communication device or the opposing wireless communication device.

[0054] The control device may further include a database generation unit. For example, the database generation unit is the estimation / prediction unit 43 of the embodiment. The database generation unit calculates predicted wireless communication related data using wireless communication related data read from the database based on each time-series environmental feature vector, and generates a database in which the time-series environmental feature vectors and the predicted wireless communication related data are associated with each other. Alternatively, the database generation unit calculates predicted environmental feature vectors using environmental feature vectors read from the database based on each time-series wireless communication related data, and generates a database in which the time-series wireless communication related data and the predicted environmental feature vector are associated with each other.

[0055] The control device of this embodiment can also be realized by a computer and a program, and the program can be recorded on a recording medium or provided via a network.

[0056] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the drawings, it is clear that the above embodiments are merely examples of the present invention and that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. Therefore, additions, omissions, substitutions, and other modifications of components may be made without departing from the technical spirit and scope of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0057] 1...wireless communication system, 2...wireless communication device, 3...opposing wireless communication device, 4...control device, 21...upper transmission unit, 22...signal processing unit, 23...beam control unit, 24...transmitter / receiver unit, 25...antenna element, 41...storage unit, 42...input / recording unit, 43...estimation / prediction unit, 44...control unit, 45...lower transmission unit, 46...signal processing unit, 47...upper transmission unit, 71...processor, 72...storage unit, 73...communication interface, 74...user interface

Claims

1. a search unit that searches a database in which environment feature vectors representing the characteristics of each of a plurality of different communication environments are associated with wireless communication related data that is data related to wireless communication in the communication environments of the wireless communication system, based on a query vector that is an environment feature vector that represents a real environment of the wireless communication system, and reads out the wireless communication related data that corresponds to the query vector; a control unit that controls wireless communication of the wireless communication system based on the wireless communication related data read by the search unit; A control device comprising:

2. the search unit reads out, from the database, the wireless communication related data associated with the environment feature vector close to the query vector; The control device according to claim 1 .

3. the control unit determines whether or not control of wireless communication is necessary based on the wireless communication related data read by the search unit, and when it determines that control is necessary, determines control to be performed on wireless communication of the wireless communication system based on the read wireless communication related data. The control device according to claim 1 .

4. the wireless communication system includes a wireless communication device that communicates wirelessly and an opposing wireless communication device; the environment feature vector includes information on different types of communication quality in the wireless communication system obtained when the wireless communication device or the opposing wireless communication device performs a beam sweep, the wireless communication related data is position information of a shielding object or position information of the opposing wireless communication device; The control device according to claim 1 .

5. the environment feature vector includes time-series communication quality information obtained in the wireless communication system, the wireless communication related data is communication quality at a time after the time at which the time-series communication quality was obtained; The control device according to claim 1 .

6. the wireless communication system includes a wireless communication device that communicates wirelessly and an opposing wireless communication device; The control performed by the control unit is control of allocating resources to the opposing wireless communication device, control of switching the wireless communication device to which the opposing wireless communication device is connected, or control of an antenna or a beam used for wireless communication by the wireless communication device or the opposing wireless communication device. The control device according to claim 1 .

7. a database generating unit that calculates predicted wireless communication related data using the wireless communication related data read from the database based on each time-series environmental feature vector, and generates a database in which the time-series environmental feature vectors and the predicted wireless communication related data are associated with each other, or that calculates predicted environmental feature vectors using the environmental feature vectors read from the database based on each time-series wireless communication related data, and generates a database in which the time-series wireless communication related data and the predicted environmental feature vectors are associated with each other, The control device according to claim 1 .

8. a searching step of searching a database in which environment feature vectors representing the characteristics of each of a plurality of different communication environments are associated with wireless communication related data, which is data related to wireless communication in the communication environments of the wireless communication system, based on a query vector, which is an environment feature vector representing a real environment of the wireless communication system, and reading out the wireless communication related data corresponding to the query vector; a control step of controlling wireless communication of the wireless communication system based on the wireless communication related data read in the search step; A wireless communication control method comprising:

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