Communication control apparatus and communication control method

Abstract

To suppress a network load by setting a data transmission path for each user terminal group.SOLUTION: An information processing system includes an acquisition unit 11 that acquires past location information of each of a plurality of user terminals 2 based on the location information of each user terminal 2 associated with a location registration request signal transmitted from each of the plurality of user terminals 2, an operation unit 14 that performs an operation of a trained recurrent neural network by giving the past location information of each of the plurality of user terminals 2 as an unknown input and outputs future location information of each of the plurality of user terminals 2, a first determination unit 16 that determines, based on the future location information of each of the user terminals 2 output by the operation unit 14, a user terminal group 20 that moves on the same route among the plurality of user terminals 2, and a communication control unit 18 that instructs a core network to set the same data transmission path for the user terminal group 20.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

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

[0002] In recent years, the number of mobile communication service subscribers has been rapidly increasing due to an increase in the number of IoT devices in addition to mobile phones. While the number of mobile communication service subscribers is increasing, handover control for these user terminals is performed for each user terminal (see Patent Document 1). Furthermore, when handover control is performed to switch from the base station where the user terminal is located to the base station of the destination, a user plane (U-plane) setting process is performed for each user terminal, and a data transmission path is provided. This allows the user terminal to seamlessly connect to the base station of the destination and perform continuous data communication.

[0003] In conventional U-plane settings performed during handover control, even when there were a group of user terminals moving along the same route, the U-plane settings had to be updated for each user terminal, which complicated resource management and increased network load. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2018-182711 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] In conventional technology, it was not possible to set up data transmission paths for each group of user terminals, making it difficult to suppress network load.

[0006] The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and has as its object to reduce the network load by setting up a data transmission path for each user terminal group. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the communication control device of the present invention comprises an acquisition unit configured to acquire past location information of each of a plurality of user terminals based on location information of each user terminal associated with a location registration request signal transmitted from each of the plurality of user terminals; a calculation unit configured to provide the past location information of each of the plurality of user terminals as an unknown input, perform calculations on a trained recurrent neural network, and output future location information of each of the plurality of user terminals; a first determination unit configured to determine, based on the future location information of each of the plurality of user terminals output by the calculation unit, a group of user terminals among the plurality of user terminals whose future location information matches as a group of user terminals moving on the same route; and a communication control unit that instructs a core network to set up the same data transmission path for the group of user terminals.

[0008] In addition, the communication control device of the present invention may further include a learning unit configured to learn a recurrent neural network that outputs future location information of the user terminal when past location information of the user terminal is given as input, using the location information history of the user terminal as training data, and a first memory unit configured to store the trained recurrent neural network constructed by the learning unit, and the calculation unit may read out the trained recurrent neural network stored in the first memory unit and perform calculations.

[0009] In addition, in the communication control device of the present invention, the location information of each user terminal associated with the location registration request signal is associated with information about base stations in the communication area that covers the location indicated by the location information, and the communication control unit may further include a second memory unit configured to store route information including information about the communication areas of a series of base stations that indicates the route along which the group of user terminals will move, and the communication control unit may instruct the core network, based on the route information, to update the settings of each user terminal of the user terminal group to those associated with the destination base station before each user terminal of the user terminal group crosses the communication area of ​​the destination base station.

[0010] Furthermore, the communication control device of the present invention further includes a second determination unit configured to determine, based on the route information, from location information of each user terminal associated with a location registration request signal transmitted from each user terminal of the user terminal group, whether or not each user terminal of the user terminal group has crossed the communication area of ​​the destination base station, and when the second determination unit determines that each user terminal of the user terminal group has crossed the communication area of ​​the destination base station, the communication control unit may instruct the core network to instruct each user terminal of the user terminal group to perform data communication via the updated data transmission path.

[0011] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the communication control method of the present invention includes an acquisition step of acquiring past location information of each of a plurality of user terminals based on location information of each user terminal associated with a location registration request signal transmitted from each of the plurality of user terminals; a calculation step of providing the past location information of each of the plurality of user terminals as an unknown input, performing calculations on a trained recurrent neural network, and outputting future location information of each of the plurality of user terminals; a first determination step of determining, based on the future location information of each of the plurality of user terminals output in the calculation step, that a group of user terminals among the plurality of user terminals whose future location information matches are a group of user terminals moving along the same route; and a communication control step of instructing a core network to set up the same data transmission path for the group of user terminals.

[0012] In addition, the communication control method of the present invention may further include a learning step of learning a recurrent neural network that outputs future location information of the user terminal when past location information of the user terminal is given as input, using the location information history of the user terminal as training data, and a first storage step of storing the trained recurrent neural network constructed in the learning step in a first storage unit, and the calculation step may read out the trained recurrent neural network stored in the first storage unit and perform calculations.

[0013] Furthermore, in the communication control method of the present invention, the location information of each user terminal associated with the location registration request signal is associated with information about base stations in the communication area that covers the location indicated by the location information, and the method further includes a second storage step of storing route information in a second storage unit, the route information including information about the communication areas of a series of base stations, which indicates the route along which the group of user terminals will move, and the communication control step may instruct the core network, based on the route information, to update the settings of each user terminal of the user terminal group to those associated with the destination base station before each user terminal of the user terminal group crosses the communication area of ​​the destination base station.

[0014] Furthermore, the communication control method of the present invention may further include a second determination step of determining, based on the route information, from location information of each user terminal associated with a location registration request signal transmitted from each user terminal of the user terminal group, whether or not each user terminal of the user terminal group has crossed the communication area of ​​the destination base station, and when the second determination step determines that each user terminal of the user terminal group has crossed the communication area of ​​the destination base station, the communication control step may instruct the core network to each user terminal of the user terminal group to perform data communication via the updated data transmission path. [Effects of the Invention]

[0015] According to the present invention, a group of user terminals that are moving along the same route is determined based on the future location information of each of the user terminals obtained by performing calculations on a trained recurrent neural network, and an instruction is given to the core network to set up the same data transmission path for the group of user terminals.As a result, the data transmission path is set up for each group of user terminals, thereby reducing the network load. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0016] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a communication control system including a communication control device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a second storage unit included in the communication control device according to the present embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the second storage unit included in the communication control device according to the present embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the learning unit included in the communication control device according to the present embodiment. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a learning unit included in the communication control device according to the present embodiment. [Figure 6]FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the communication control device according to this embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 shows an operation sequence of the communication control system according to this embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the operation of the communication control device according to the present embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0017] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

[0018] [Communication control system configuration] First, with reference to FIG. 1, an overview of a communication control system including a communication control device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

[0019] The communication control system according to this embodiment is provided in a 5G mobile communication network and includes a communication control device 1, multiple user terminals 2, a base station 3, a core network 4, and a data network (DN) 5. The communication control device 1 and the core network 4 are connected to each other so that they can communicate with each other via a communication network NW such as a LAN, a WAN, or the Internet. The multiple user terminals 2 can communicate with the core network 4 via the 5G mobile communication network.

[0020] The communication control system according to this embodiment collectively instructs the core network 4 to set up the U-plane for a group of user terminals 20 among a plurality of user terminals 2 that perform mobile communication while moving along the same route.

[0021] The user terminal 2 is equipped with a SIM 2a and is realized as a mobile communication terminal such as a smartphone, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, or the like. The contract profile of the SIM 2a stores the user's subscriber identification information, and includes identifier information such as the subscriber identification number (IMSI: International Mobile Subscriber Identity) assigned to the mobile phone line contract, the telephone number of the subscriber user (MSISDN: Mobile Subscriber International Subscriber Directory Number), and the SIM card number (ICCID: Integrated Circuit Card Identifier). The user terminal 2 is uniquely identified by the IMSI of the SIM 2a.

[0022] The user terminal 2 can be configured as an IoT device, and in this case, a terminal IP address that uniquely identifies the terminal is assigned. Furthermore, the user terminal 2 is equipped with a GPS chip, receives signals from GPS satellites, and calculates its own position. In this embodiment, there are multiple user terminals 2. Among the multiple user terminals 2, user terminals that perform mobile communication while moving as a group along the same moving route are referred to as a user terminal group 20.

[0023] The user terminal 2 transmits a location registration request signal to the core network 4 via the base station 3 when powered on, periodically, or when crossing from the communication area A of the base station 3 from which the user terminal 2 moves to the communication area A of the base station 3 to which the user terminal 2 moves. The location registration request signal is received by a UDR 10 (described below) provided in the communication control device 1 via the base station 3, the AMF 40, and the UDM 41. The location registration request signal includes information such as the IMSI of the user terminal 2, and the cell ID and location area code of the communication area A of the base station 3 in which the user terminal 2 is located. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the GPS location is associated with the location information of the user terminal 2.

[0024] Each of the communication areas A1 to An (n is a positive integer of 2 or greater) of the multiple base stations 3 is made up of unit areas obtained by dividing the area. A corresponding GPS position value is registered in advance for each unit area. In this embodiment, the GPS position of the user terminal 2 coincides with the GPS position of one of the unit areas included in one of the communication areas A1 to An. Therefore, the communication area A1 to An of the base station 3 in which the user terminal 2 is located can be identified from the GPS position of the user terminal 2.

[0025] Base station 3 is composed of a wireless base station compatible with the 5G communication standard, and relays communications between user terminals 2 present in communication area A and core network 4. Base station 3 is connected to core network 4 via a backhaul link. There are n base stations 3 (n is a positive integer of 2 or greater), and as described above, communication areas A1 to An covered by each base station 3 can be understood as a collection of GPS positions of unit areas.

[0026] The core network 4 includes an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 40, a Unified Data Management (UDM) 41, and a Session Management Function (SMF) 42, which are nodes in the C-plane, and a User Plane Function (UPF) 43 in the U-plane. Note that other functions such as a Policy Control Function (PCF) included in the core network 4 are not shown in the figure. The functional nodes of the core network 4 are connected by an IP network.

[0027] The AMF 40 is an access and mobility management device that manages and controls handovers such as registration and wireless connection of user terminals 2 that have moved to each communication area A. During handover, the AMF 40 manages the location information of the user terminals 2 and selects an appropriate new base station 3.

[0028] The UDM 41 stores and manages subscriber information, location information of the user terminal 2, session information, etc., and authentication information.

[0029] The SMF 42 is a session management function that establishes, modifies, releases, etc., PDU (Packet Data Unit) sessions between the user terminal 2 and a data network 5 such as the Internet. The SMF 42 resets the session and updates the UPF 43 during handover. The SMF 42 also instructs the new UPF 43 to update or create a new session. In this embodiment, in response to instructions from the communication control device 1, the SMF 42 sets or updates the UPF 43 for each user terminal group 20 that moves along the same route, and sets up a data transmission path for data communication.

[0030] The UPF 43 is a user plane function of the core network 4, and processes data packets between the base station 3 and the data network 5. The UPF 43 sets up a new path during handover and ensures continuity of data communication.

[0031] The data network (DN) 5 is the Internet or the like outside the core network, and the user terminal 2 connects to it wirelessly via the UPF 43 of the core network 4.

[0032] In the communication control system according to this embodiment, a user carrying a user terminal 2 travels on a means of transportation U, such as a train or bus, that operates along a known travel route within a communication area A. Therefore, user terminals 2 traveling along the same route travel as a group, at the same time, at the same speed, and located within a relatively small area. Location information from a starting point S to a destination point G of the travel route is known, and is specified as, for example, the communication areas A1, A2, ..., A10 of a series of base stations 3.

[0033] The communication control system provides the GPS position of each user terminal 2 associated with a location registration request signal transmitted by the plurality of user terminals 2, i.e., past GPS positions, as unknown inputs to a trained recurrent neural network, and determines a group of user terminals 20 that share the same moving route from among the plurality of user terminals 2, based on the future GPS positions that are output. Furthermore, before the user terminal group 20 moves along its moving route from the communication area A1 of the base station 3 where it is located at the source of movement to the communication area A2 of the base station 3 where it is to move, an instruction to update the U-plane settings is given in advance for each of the user terminal groups 20.

[0034] [Function block of communication control device] As shown in FIG. 1, the communication control device 1 includes a UDR 10, an acquisition unit 11, a learning unit 12, a first memory unit 13, a calculation unit 14, a second memory unit 15, a first judgment unit 16, a second judgment unit 17, and a communication control unit 18.

[0035] The UDR (Unified Data Repository) 10 stores a subscriber profile that holds the IMSI and location information of the user terminal 2. The UDR 10 receives a location registration request signal that is transmitted from the user terminal 2 and passes through the base station 3 and the AMF 40 and UDM 41 of the core network 4. The location registration request signal received by the UDR 10 identifies a transmission timestamp, cell ID, and GPS location for each IMSI. Note that the UDR 10 may be configured to be provided outside the communication control device 1, as long as it is communicably connected to the communication control device 1 and can transmit this information to the communication control device 1.

[0036] The acquisition unit 11 acquires past location information of each of the multiple user terminals 2 based on the location information of each user terminal 2 associated with a location registration request signal transmitted from each of the multiple user terminals 2. The acquisition unit 11 acquires the IMSI of the user terminal 2, the transmission timestamp of the location registration request signal, the cell ID, and the GPS location from the UDR 10. The acquisition unit 11 can obtain past location information of the user terminal 2 from the GPS location for each transmission timestamp or by generating GPS locations for each fixed period. The acquisition unit 11 can acquire past location information of the user terminal 2 related to unknown input used by the calculation unit 14, and a history of location information of the user terminal 2 related to training data used by the learning unit 12 for learning.

[0037] The learning unit 12 uses the history of location information of the user terminal 2 as training data to train a recurrent neural network (RNN) that outputs future location information of the user terminal 2 when past location information of the user terminal 2 is given as input. Specifically, the learning unit 12 uses the GPS location history of the multiple user terminals 2 acquired by the acquisition unit 11, that is, a time-series sequence in which the GPS location at each subsequent time is assigned as a correct label to the GPS location value for each time, as training data for the RNN. In this way, the learning unit 12 learns patterns of movement routes of the multiple user terminals 2 using the RNN.

[0038] 4 is a schematic diagram showing the network structure of the RNN used in learning by the learning unit 12. As shown in FIG. 4, the RNN is a neural network consisting of an input layer X, a hidden layer H which is a memory cell, and an output layer Y. The input time series data x (t) Predict time series data y (t)In this embodiment, the input time series data is the GPS position of the user terminal 2 at each past time, i.e., the value of the GPS position of the user terminal 2 at the transmission timestamp when the location registration request signal was transmitted, or the value of the GPS position during the sampling period by the acquisition unit 11. The predicted time series data is the GPS position of the user terminal in the future, i.e., the GPS position of the user terminal 2 at each subsequent time. In an RNN, information is transmitted from the hidden layer at a given time to the hidden layer at the next time along the time series. Therefore, the hidden layer at time t receives input from the hidden layer at time t and the hidden layer at the immediately preceding time t-1.

[0039] Given time series data x (t) On the other hand, RNN is defined by the following equations (1) and (2). h (t) =σ(U×x (t) +W×h (t-1) +b) (1) y (t) =V×h (t) +c (2)

[0040] The above equation (1) represents the propagation from the input layer to the hidden layer, and x (t) is the input vector at time t. h (t) is the output of the hidden layer at time t. U is the weight parameter from the input to the hidden layer, W is the weight parameter from the hidden state at the previous time t-1 to the hidden state at the current time t, b is the bias vector of the hidden layer, and σ is the activation function.

[0041] The above equation (2) represents the propagation from the hidden layer to the output layer, and y (t) is the output vector at time t. V is the weight parameter from the hidden layer to the output layer, and c is the bias vector for the output layer.

[0042] Fig. 5 is a diagram schematically illustrating the configuration of an RNN multi-stage neural network used by the learning unit 12. As shown in Fig. 5, the GPS position of the user terminal 2 for each time step t1_1, . . . , t_D is input to each node of the input layer X. In the hidden layer H, an iterative process is performed in which the output at each time step is given as the input for the next time step, and a predicted value of the location information of the destination point is output from the output layer Y.

[0043] The learning unit 12 uses a backpropagation algorithm or the like to compare the predicted output value obtained for a given input value with the output value of the training data, introduces an objective function that minimizes the error, checks the error of the weight parameters, and propagates it backward, ultimately determining the weight parameters U, W, and V and the biases b and c. Through this learning process, the learning unit 12 constructs a trained RNN. The trained RNN is stored in the first storage unit 13.

[0044] The first storage unit 13 stores the trained RNN.

[0045] The calculation unit 14 receives past location information of each of the multiple user terminals 2 as an unknown input, performs calculations on the trained RNN, and outputs future location information of each of the multiple user terminals 2. The calculation unit 14 reads the trained RNN from the first storage unit 13 and performs calculation processing. The input used by the calculation unit 14 is the GPS location history of the multiple user terminals 2 acquired by the acquisition unit 11.

[0046] The second storage unit 15 stores route information including information on the communication areas A of a series of base stations 3 that indicate the route along which the user terminal group 20 will move. FIGS. 2 and 3 are diagrams for explaining the structure of the second storage unit 15. FIG. 2 shows a table 150A that stores the GPS positions of the areas covered by each cell ID of the base station 3. The value of each GPS position represents the GPS position of each unit area within the communication area A in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 shows a table 150B of route information that associates the IDs of the user terminal group 20 with the movement route. It shows that the movement route of the user terminal group 20 with ID "1" is the communication areas A1 to A10 identified by the GPS positions in table 150A. The route information makes it possible to identify the communication area A of the base station 3 to which the user terminal will move from the communication area A of the current base station 3 to the communication area A of the destination base station 3.

[0047] The first determination unit 16 determines, based on the future position information of each of the plurality of user terminals 2 output by the calculation unit 14, that a group of user terminals 20 among the plurality of user terminals 2 whose future position information matches, as a group of user terminals 20 moving along the same route. For example, the first determination unit 16 can determine that user terminals 2 within a certain range, such as those whose future GPS positions are within a deviation of 3 m from each other, are a group of user terminals 20 moving along the same route. Furthermore, based on the route information stored in the second storage unit 15, the first determination unit 16 can identify which of the pre-registered travel routes the group of user terminals 20 moving along the same route belong to.

[0048] Based on the route information, the second determination unit 17 determines whether each user terminal 2 of the user terminal group 20 has crossed over into the communication area A of the destination base station 3 from the location information of each user terminal 2 associated with the location registration request signal transmitted from each user terminal 2 of the user terminal group 20. The second determination unit 17 refers to the route information stored in the second storage unit 15, and identifies the communication area A of the serving base station 3 from the current GPS position of each user terminal 2 of the user terminal group 20, based on the communication areas A1 to A10 of the series of base stations 3 registered in advance. Furthermore, the second determination unit 17 can acquire information on the communication area A of the next base station 3 to move to from the information on the communication area A of the serving base station 3. The second determination unit 17 determines, in the location registration request signal received by the UDR 10, the GPS position of each user terminal 2 of the user terminal group 20 using the IMSI of the user terminal 2 as a key, whether the user terminal 2 has moved into the communication area A of the destination base station 3.

[0049] The communication control unit 18 instructs the core network 4 to set the same data transmission path for the user terminal group 20. More specifically, based on the route information stored in the second storage unit 15, when each user terminal 2 of the user terminal group 20 crosses the communication area A of the destination base station 3, the communication control unit 18 instructs the core network 4 to update the setting of the data transmission path for each user terminal 2 of the user terminal group 20 to that associated with the destination base station 3.

[0050] The communication control unit 18 refers to route information and specifies the base station 3 in the destination communication area A2 based on information about the communication area A1 in which the user terminal group 20 is located, and instructs the core network 4 to update the UPF 43 according to the destination base station 3 in advance, before the user terminal group 20 moves to the destination communication area A2, by performing U-plane setting processing. Specifically, the communication control unit 18 instructs the SMF 42 to change the setting of the user terminal group 20 to the UPF 43 according to the destination base station 3. The SMF 42 performs U-plane setting processing in response to the instruction from the communication control unit 18.

[0051] [Hardware configuration of communication control device] Next, an example of a hardware configuration for realizing the communication control device 1 having the above-described functions will be described with reference to FIG.

[0052] As shown in FIG. 6, the communication control device 1 can be realized, for example, by a computer having a processor 102, a main memory device 103, a communication interface 104, an auxiliary memory device 105, and an input / output (I / O) 106 connected via a bus 101, and a program that controls these hardware resources.

[0053] The processor 102 is realized by a CPU, a GPU, an FPGA, an ASIC, or the like.

[0054] The main memory device 103 pre-stores programs for the processor 102 to perform various controls and calculations. The processor 102 and the main memory device 103 implement the functions of the communication control device 1, such as the acquisition unit 11, learning unit 12, calculation unit 14, first determination unit 16, second determination unit 17, and communication control unit 18 shown in FIG.

[0055] The communication interface 104 is an interface circuit for connecting the communication control device 1 to various external electronic devices via a network.

[0056] The auxiliary storage device 105 is composed of a readable / writable storage medium and a drive for reading and writing various information such as programs and data from and to the storage medium. The auxiliary storage device 105 can use a semiconductor memory such as a hard disk or flash memory as the storage medium.

[0057] The auxiliary storage device 105 has a program storage area for storing a communication control program executed by the communication control device 1. The auxiliary storage device 105 also has an area for storing a learning program for RNN learning. The auxiliary storage device 105 realizes the UDR 10, first storage unit 13, and second storage unit 15 described in FIG. 1. Furthermore, the auxiliary storage device 105 may have, for example, a backup area for backing up the above-mentioned data and programs.

[0058] The input / output I / O 106 is an input / output device that inputs signals from external devices and outputs signals to external devices.

[0059] The display device 107 is configured by an organic EL display, a liquid crystal display, or the like.

[0060] [Operation of communication control system] Next, the operation of the communication control system including the communication control device 1 having the above-described configuration will be described with reference to the sequence diagram of FIG.

[0061] First, the user terminal 2 moves into the communication area A1 and performs data communication via the base station 3 (step S100). Next, the user terminal 2 transmits a location registration request signal to the UDR 10 of the communication control device 1 via the base station 3 in the communication area A1, via the AMF 40 and the UDM 41 (step S101). The location registration request signal includes the IMSI and cell ID of the user terminal 2, and is further associated with a detailed GPS location of the user terminal 2 in the communication area A1.

[0062] Thereafter, UDR 10, in cooperation with UDM 41, executes location registration processing in response to the received location registration request signal, and if the location registration processing is successful, stores location registration information related to the IMSI of the user terminal 2 (step S102). In step S102, UDR 10 provides the location registration information to UDM 41, and UDM 41 returns the location registration information to AMF. Furthermore, AMF 40 transmits a location registration response to the user terminal 2.

[0063] Next, the acquisition unit 11 of the communication control device 1 acquires the past GPS position of each of the multiple user terminals 2 based on the GPS position of each user terminal 2 associated with the location registration request signal transmitted from each of the multiple user terminals 2, which was received by the UDR 10 (step S103). The past GPS position is a history of the GPS position of each of the multiple user terminals 2, and is the GPS position for each transmission timestamp of the location registration request signal or for each fixed period sampled in advance, i.e., for each time step. The past GPS positions also include the current GPS position.

[0064] Next, the calculation unit 14 reads out the trained RNN stored in the first storage unit 13, provides the past GPS position of the user terminal 2 acquired in step S103 as an unknown input, performs calculations on the trained RNN, and outputs the future GPS position of the user terminal 2 (step S104). In step S104, the future GPS position is determined for each of the multiple user terminals 2.

[0065] Next, based on the future position information of each of the plurality of user terminals 2 output by the calculation unit 14 in step S104, the first determination unit 16 determines, among the plurality of user terminals 2, the user terminals 20 whose future GPS positions match as the user terminals 20 moving along the same route (step S105). Also, in step S105, the first determination unit 16 can identify, based on the route information stored in the second storage unit 15, which of the pre-registered moving routes the user terminals 20 moving along the same route belong to.

[0066] Next, the communication control unit 18 instructs the core network 4 to set up the same data transmission path for the user terminal group 20 (step S106). Specifically, the communication control unit 18 instructs the SMF 42 to set up the U-plane in advance at the destination base station 3 for the IMSI of the user terminal group 20. Next, the core network 4 performs U-plane setting processing in accordance with the U-plane setting procedure specified in the 3GPP TS 23.502 standard (step S107). In step S107, in response to the collective instruction for the IMSI group, the AMF 40, SMF 42, and UPF 43 establish, modify, and release PDU sessions. Specifically, the SMF 42 selects the UPF 43 of the destination base station 3 and applies the changes.

[0067] Next, UPF 43 receives instructions from SMF 42, sets up a PDU session, configures a data transmission path for transferring data, and determines a transfer route to set up the U-plane (step S108). Furthermore, UPF 43 transmits information about the configured data transmission path to SMF 42 as a U-plane setting completion notification (step S109). In step S109, SMF 42 also transmits a U-plane setting completion notification to the communication control device 1.

[0068] Next, the second determination unit 17 of the communication control device 1 determines, based on the route information stored in the second storage unit 15, whether the user terminal 2 has crossed the communication area A2 of the destination base station 3, from the GPS position associated with the position registration request signal of the user terminal group 20 received by the UDR 10 (step S110). If it is determined in step S110 that the user terminal 2 has crossed the communication area A2, the communication control unit 18 instructs the SMF 42 to start data communication (step S111). Furthermore, in step S111, the SMF 42 instructs the UPF 43 to start data communication.

[0069] Thereafter, the user terminal 2 starts data communication via the updated UPF 43 and the base station 3 in the destination communication area A2 (step S112). Next, the communication control unit 18 instructs the SMF 42 to delete the data transfer route that was used for data communication via the base station 3 in the source communication area A1 (step S113). In step S113, the SMF 42 further instructs the UPF 43 to delete the old data transfer route. Thereafter, the UPF 43 of the old UPF releases and deletes the data transmission path and related sessions, thereby deleting the old U-plane settings (step S114).

[0070] Through the above processing, user terminal groups 20 that have the same movement route can be determined, and U-plane configuration processing can be performed in advance for each user terminal group 20 before the user terminal group 20 moves to the communication area A of the destination base station 3.

[0071] Next, the learning process performed by the communication control device 1 will be described with reference to the flowchart in FIG.

[0072] First, the acquisition unit 11 acquires, as training data, GPS position histories of the plurality of user terminals 2 (step S10). Specifically, the acquisition unit 11 can acquire, as training data, GPS position histories associated with position registration request signals received by the UDR 10 from the plurality of user terminals 2.

[0073] Next, the learning unit 12 learns the RNN (step S11). More specifically, the learning unit 12 learns an RNN that outputs the GPS position of the user terminal 2 at each subsequent time when past GPS positions are sequentially input using the GPS position history, i.e., the time series, of the user terminal 2 acquired in step S10 as training data. In step S11, the RNN is trained using the histories of each of the multiple user terminals 2.

[0074] In step S12, the learning unit 12 uses an error backpropagation method or the like to compare the obtained predicted output value with the output value of the training data for a given input value, introduces an objective function that minimizes the error, checks the error of each weight parameter and propagates it backward, and finally determines the weight parameters U, W, V and biases b and c in the above equations (1) and (2). The first storage unit 13 stores the trained RNN constructed in the learning process of step S12 (step S12).

[0075] By the above-described processing from step S10 to step S12, a trained RNN that has learned the patterns of the movement routes of a plurality of user terminals 2 is constructed.

[0076] As described above, the communication control device 1 according to this embodiment uses an RNN to learn the movement route patterns of multiple user terminals 2 based on the location information of the user terminals 2 associated with the location registration request signal. Therefore, when multiple user terminals 2 move by means of transportation such as public transportation with fixed movement routes, it is possible to determine a group of user terminals 20 moving along the same route. Therefore, the settings of the data transmission path can be updated for each group of user terminals 20, thereby reducing the network load.

[0077] Furthermore, according to the communication control device 1 of this embodiment, the user terminals 20 that move along the same route are determined using a trained RNN, and therefore, the effect of compressing the database can be obtained.

[0078] Furthermore, according to the communication control device 1 of this embodiment, since the user terminal group 20 moving along the same route is identified, it is possible to configure the U-plane for the user terminal group 20 in advance before the user terminal group 20 reaches the communication area A of the destination base station 3. This makes it possible to more efficiently update the U-plane settings in handover control.

[0079] In the embodiment described above, the learning unit 12 learns an RNN, but the learning unit 12 can also perform learning using an LSTM (Long Short-Term Memory).

[0080] Furthermore, in the embodiment described above, a communication control system compatible with a 5G mobile communication network has been described, but the communication network may be LTE / 4G, 6G, or the like.

[0081] The above describes embodiments of the communication control device and communication control method of the present invention, but the present invention is not limited to the described embodiments, and various modifications that a person skilled in the art can imagine are possible within the scope of the invention described in the claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0082] 1...communication control device, 2...user terminal, 2a...SIM, 20...group of user terminals, 10...UDR, 11...acquisition unit, 12...learning unit, 13...first memory unit, 14...calculation unit, 15...second memory unit, 16...first judgment unit, 17...second judgment unit, 18...communication control unit, 101...bus, 102...processor, 103...main memory unit, 104...communication interface, 105...auxiliary memory unit, 106...input / output I / O, 107...display device, NW...network.

Claims

1. an acquisition unit configured to acquire past location information of each of a plurality of user terminals based on location information of each user terminal associated with a location registration request signal transmitted from each of the plurality of user terminals; a calculation unit configured to receive the past location information of each of the plurality of user terminals as an unknown input, perform calculations on a trained recurrent neural network, and output future location information of each of the plurality of user terminals; a first determination unit configured to determine, based on the future location information of each of the plurality of user terminals output by the calculation unit, a group of user terminals among the plurality of user terminals whose future location information matches, as a group of user terminals moving along the same route; a communication control unit that instructs the core network to set up the same data transmission path for the user terminal group; A communication control device comprising:

2. 2. The communication control device according to claim 1, a learning unit configured to learn a recurrent neural network that outputs future location information of the user terminal when past location information of the user terminal is given as input, using a history of location information of the user terminal as training data; a first storage unit configured to store the trained recurrent neural network constructed by the training unit; Equipped with The calculation unit reads out the trained recurrent neural network stored in the first storage unit and performs calculations. A communication control device characterized by:

3. 2. The communication control device according to claim 1, The location information of each user terminal associated with the location registration request signal is associated with information on a base station in a communication area that covers the location indicated by the location information, Further, a second storage unit configured to store route information indicating a route along which the group of user terminals travel, the route information including information on the communication areas of a series of base stations, The communication control unit instructs the core network to update the setting of a data transmission path associated with the destination base station for each user terminal of the user terminal group before the user terminal crosses the communication area of ​​the destination base station based on the route information. A communication control device characterized by:

4. 4. The communication control device according to claim 3, further comprising a second determination unit configured to determine, based on the route information, from location information of each user terminal associated with a location registration request signal transmitted from each user terminal of the user terminal group, whether or not each user terminal of the user terminal group has crossed the communication area of ​​the destination base station; When the second determination unit determines that each user terminal of the user terminal group has crossed the communication area of ​​the destination base station, the communication control unit instructs the core network to perform data communication with each user terminal of the user terminal group via the updated data transmission path. A communication control device characterized by:

5. an acquisition step of acquiring past location information of each of the plurality of user terminals based on location information of each user terminal associated with a location registration request signal transmitted from each of the plurality of user terminals; a calculation step of providing the past location information of each of the plurality of user terminals as an unknown input, performing calculations on a trained recurrent neural network, and outputting future location information of each of the plurality of user terminals; a first determination step of determining, based on the future location information of each of the plurality of user terminals output in the calculation step, a group of user terminals among the plurality of user terminals whose future location information matches, as a group of user terminals moving along the same route; a communication control step of instructing a core network to set up the same data transmission path for the user terminal group; A communication control method comprising:

6. 6. The communication control method according to claim 5, Furthermore, a learning step of learning a recurrent neural network that outputs future location information of the user terminal when past location information of the user terminal is given as input, using a history of location information of the user terminal as training data; a first storage step of storing the trained recurrent neural network constructed in the training step in a first storage unit; Equipped with The calculation step reads out the trained recurrent neural network stored in the first storage unit and performs calculations. A communication control method comprising:

7. 6. The communication control method according to claim 5, The location information of each user terminal associated with the location registration request signal is associated with information on a base station in a communication area that covers the location indicated by the location information, further comprising a second storage step of storing route information, which indicates a route along which the group of user terminals will travel, and which includes information on the communication areas of a series of base stations, in a second storage unit; The communication control step instructs the core network to update the settings of a data transmission path associated with the destination base station for each user terminal of the user terminal group based on the route information before the user terminal crosses the communication area of ​​the destination base station. A communication control method comprising:

8. 8. The communication control method according to claim 7, further comprising a second determination step of determining, based on the route information, from location information of each user terminal associated with a location registration request signal transmitted from each user terminal of the user terminal group, whether or not each user terminal of the user terminal group has crossed the communication area of ​​the destination base station; When the second determination step determines that each user terminal of the user terminal group has crossed the communication area of ​​the destination base station, the communication control step instructs the core network to perform data communication with each user terminal of the user terminal group via the updated data transmission path. A communication control method comprising:

Images