CSI-RS for AI-based CSI compression data collection

Abstract

Transmissions and measurements related to channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS) may be configured specifically for artificial intelligence (A1)-based data collection. A mobile device (UE) may receive CSI-RS configuration information (CCI) specific to A1-based CSI data collection from a base station. The UE may then receive one or more CSI-RSs from the base station according to at least the CCI and perform one or more measurements on the one or more CSI-RSs. The UE may transmit one or more data sets corresponding to the one or more measurements to the base station. The base station may use the one or more data sets for training, inferencing, updating, and monitoring the A1 model. The CCI may be cell-specific, site-specific, or configuration-specific. The CCI may be transmitted via radio resource control messaging, which may be extended to include A1-specific information element(s) related to the CSI-RS configuration.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] This application relates to wireless communications, including channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) transmissions and measurements for AI-based CSI-RS compressed data collection during wireless communications, for example, 5G NR communications. [Background technology]

[0002] The use of wireless communication systems is rapidly increasing. In recent years, wireless devices such as smartphones and tablet computers have become increasingly sophisticated. Many mobile devices (i.e., user equipment devices, or UEs) now not only support telephony but also provide access to the Internet, email, text messaging, and navigation using the Global Positioning System (GPS), and are capable of running sophisticated applications that utilize these features. In addition, numerous different wireless communication technologies and standards exist. Some examples of wireless communication standards include GSM, LTE, LTE Advanced (LTE-A), IEEE 802.11 (WLAN or Wi-Fi), BLUETOOTH™, etc. A recent telecommunications standard that has advanced beyond previous standards is referred to as the fifth generation mobile network or fifth generation wireless system, referred to as 3GPP NR (sometimes known as 5G-NR or NR-5G for 5G New Radio, or simply NR). NR offers higher capacity for a higher density of mobile broadband users and supports ultra-reliable and massive device-to-machine communications, as well as lower latency and battery consumption than the LTE standard.

[0003] One aspect of a wireless communication system, for example, a system for NR cellular wireless communication, is the transmission and measurement of reference signals, including channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS). Summary of the Invention

[0004] Presented herein are, among other things, embodiments of methods and procedures for enhanced CSI-RS transmission and measurement for AI-based channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) compressed data collection during wireless communications, such as 3GPP New Radio (NR) communications. Further presented herein are embodiments for a wireless communications system including at least wireless communications devices or user equipment devices (UEs) and / or base stations communicating with each other within the wireless communications system.

[0005] As disclosed herein, transmissions and measurements on channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS) may be specifically configured for artificial intelligence (AI)-based data collection for AI modeling. A mobile device (UE) may receive CSI-RS configuration information specific to AI-based CSI data collection from a base station (which may represent a cell or a network). The UE may then receive one or more CSI-RSs from the base station according to at least the CSI-RS configuration information and perform one or more measurements on the one or more CSI-RSs. The UE may transmit one or more (CSI) data sets corresponding to the one or more measurements to the base station. The base station may use the one or more data sets for training, inference, updating, and monitoring of AI models. The CSI-RS configuration information may be cell-specific, site-specific, or configuration-specific and may be transmitted via radio resource control (RRC) messaging, which may be extended to include AI-specific information element(s) associated with the CSI-RS configuration.

[0006] It should be noted that the techniques described herein may be implemented in and / or used in conjunction with several different types of devices, including, but not limited to, base stations, access points, cellular telephones, portable media players, tablet computers, wearable devices, and various other computing devices.

[0007] This Summary is intended to provide a brief overview of some of the subject matter described in this document. Accordingly, it should be understood that the above features are merely examples and should not be construed as narrowing the scope or spirit of the subject matter described herein. Other features, aspects, and advantages of the subject matter described herein will become apparent from the following Detailed Description, the drawings, and the claims. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary (simplified) wireless communication system, according to some embodiments.

[0009] [Figure 2] 1 illustrates an exemplary base station in communication with an exemplary wireless user equipment (UE) device, according to some embodiments.

[0010] [Figure 3] 1 is an example block diagram of a UE according to some embodiments.

[0011] [Figure 4] 1 is an exemplary block diagram of a base station according to some embodiments.

[0012] [Figure 5] 1 shows an exemplary simplified block diagram illustrating cellular communication circuitry according to some embodiments.

[0013] [Figure 6] 1 illustrates an example configuration structure for a CSI framework in NR communications.

[0014] [Figure 7] FIG. 1 illustrates an example system diagram illustrating cell-specific, site-specific, and configuration-specific CSI-RS configurations, according to some embodiments.

[0015] [Figure 8]FIG. 1 illustrates an example timing diagram illustrating signaling for AI-based CSI-RS configuration and reporting, according to some embodiments.

[0016] [Figure 9] 1 illustrates an example flow diagram illustrating CSI-RS reception and measurement by a device, according to some embodiments.

[0017] [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is an exemplary flow diagram illustrating reception of CSI-RS measurements by a base station, according to some embodiments.

[0018] While the features described herein are susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the drawings and are herein described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the drawings and detailed description are not intended to limit the invention to the particular forms disclosed, but rather to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the present subject matter as defined by the appended claims. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0019] acronym Various abbreviations are used throughout this application. Provided below are definitions of the most prominently used acronyms that may appear throughout this application. ●5GMM: 5G mobility management ●AF: Application function AMF: Access and Mobility Management Function AMR: Adaptive Multi-Rate ●AP: Access Point ●APN: Access Point Name ●APR: Application Processor ●BS: Base station BSSID: Basic Service Set Identifier ●CA: Carrier aggregation ●CBG: Code Block Group ●CBRS: Citizens Broadband Radio Service ●CBSD: Citizens Broadband Wireless Service Device ●CBW: Channel Bandwidth ●CCA: Clear Channel Assessment ●CMR: Change mode request ●CORESET: Control resource set ●CS: Circuit Switched ●CSI: Channel State Information ●DC: Dual Connectivity DCI: Downlink control information DL: Downlink (from BS to UE) ●DMRS: Demodulation Reference Signal ●DN: Data Network ●DSDS: Dual SIM dual standby ●DYN: Dynamic ●EDCF: Enhanced Distributed Collaboration Function eSNPN: Standalone equivalent non-public network ●ETSI: European Telecommunications Standards Institute ●FDD: Frequency division duplex ●FT: Frame type ●GAA: General Authorized Access ●GPRS: General Packet Radio Service ●GSM: Global System for Mobile Communications GTP: GPRS Tunneling Protocol HPLMN: Home Public Land Mobile Network ●IC: Within coverage ●ICBM: Inter-cell beam management ●IMS: Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem ●IoT: Internet of Things IP: Internet Protocol ●ITS: Intelligent Transport Systems ●LAN: Local Area Network ●LBT: Listen Before Talk ●LCID: Logical channel ID ●LCS: Location Services ●LMF: Location Management Function ●LPP: LTE positioning protocol ●LQM: Link Quality Metric ●LTE: Long Term Evolution ●MCC: Mobile Country Code ●MCS: Modulation and coding method ●MNO: Mobile telecommunications operator ●MO-LR: Mobile Originated Location Request ●MT-LR: Mobile Termination Location Request ● NAS: Non-access layer ●NDI: New Data Indicator ●NF: Network function NG-RAN: Next Generation Radio Access Network ●NID: Network Identifier NMF: Network Identifier Management Function ●NPN: Non-public (cellular) network ●NRF: Network Repository Function NSI: Network Slice Instance NSSAI: Network Slice Selection Assistance Information ●OOC: Out of coverage ●PAL: Priority Access License ●PBCH: Physical Broadcast Channel ●PDCP: Packet Data Convergence Protocol ●PDN: Packet Data Network ●PDU: Protocol Data Unit ●PGW: PDN Gateway ●PLMN: Public Land Mobile Network ● ProSe: Proximity Service ●PRS: Positioning Reference Signal PSCCH: Physical Sidelink Control Channel PSFCH: Physical Sidelink Feedback Channel PSSCH: Physical Sidelink Shared Channel ●PSD: Power Spectral Density ●PSS: Primary Synchronization Signal ●PT: Payload type ●PTRS: Phase tracking reference signal ●PUCCH: Physical uplink control channel ●QBSS: QoS Enhanced Basic Service Set ●QI: Quality Indicator ●RA: Registration Acceptance RAT: Radio Access Technology ●RF: Radio frequency ●RLM: Radio Link Monitoring RNTI: Radio Network Temporary Identifier ●ROHC: Robust Header Compression ●RR: Registration Request ●RRC: Radio Resource Control ●RRM: Radio Resource Management ●RS: Reference signal ●RSRP: Reference signal received power RTP: Real-time Transport Protocol ●RV: Redundant version ●RX: Receive / Receive ●SAS: Spectrum Allocation Server ●SCS: Subcarrier spacing ●SD: Slice descriptor ●SI: System Information ●SIB: System Information Block ●SID: System Identification Number ●SIM: Subscriber Identity Module ●SINR: Signal to Interference and Noise Ratio ●SGW: Serving Gateway ●SMF: Session Management Function ●SNPN: Standalone non-public network ●SRS: Sounding Reference Signal ●SSB: Synchronization signal block ●SSS: Secondary Sync Signal ●SUPI: Subscription Permanent Identifier ●TBS: Transport Block Size TCP: Transmission Control Protocol ●TDD: Time Division Duplex ●TDRA: Time Domain Resource Allocation ●TPC: Transmit power control ●TRP: Transmit / Receive Point ●TX: Send / Transmit ●UAC: Unified Access Control ●UDM: Unified Data Management ●UDR: User Data Repository ●UE: User Equipment ●UI: User input UL: Uplink (from UE to BS) ●UMTS: Universal Mobile Telecommunications System UPF: User Plane Function ●URLLC: Ultra-reliable low latency communication ●URM: General Resource Management ●URSP: UE Route Selection Policy USIM: User Subscriber Identity Module Wi-Fi: A wireless local area network (WLAN) RAT based on the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard. ●WLAN: Wireless LAN ●ZP: Zero Power term Below is a glossary of terms that may appear in this specification.

[0020] Memory media—various types of memory or storage devices. The term “storage medium” is intended to include, for example, installation media such as CD-ROMs, floppy disks, or tape drives; computer system memory or random access memory such as DRAM, DDR RAM, SRAM, EDO RAM, Rambus RAM; memory media is intended to include flash, magnetic media, non-volatile memory such as hard drives or optical storage, registers, or other similar types of memory elements. Memory media can also include other types of memory, or combinations thereof. In addition, a memory medium may be located in a first computer system on which a program is executed, or in a second, different computer system connected to the first computer system via a network such as the Internet. In the latter case, the second computer system can provide the first computer system with program instructions for execution. The term “storage medium” may include two or more storage media that can reside in different locations, for example, in different computer systems connected via a network. A storage medium may store program instructions (e.g., embodied as a computer program) that can be executed by one or more processors.

[0021] Carrier Medium - memory media as described above, as well as physical transmission media such as buses, networks, and / or other physical transmission media that carry signals, such as electrical, electromagnetic, or digital signals.

[0022] Programmable Hardware Element—includes a variety of hardware devices with multiple programmable function blocks connected via programmable interconnects. Examples include Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), Programmable Logic Devices (PLDs), Field Programmable Object Arrays (FPOAs), and Complex PLDs (CPLDs). Programmable function blocks can range in granularity from fine-grained (combinational logic or look-up tables) to coarse-grained (arithmetic logic units or processor cores). Programmable hardware elements may also be referred to as “reconfigurable logic.”

[0023] Computer system (or computer) - any of various types of computing or processing systems, including a personal computer system (PC), a mainframe computer system, a workstation, a network device, an Internet appliance, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a television system, a grid computing system, or any other device or combination of devices. In general, the term "computer system" may be broadly defined to encompass any device (or combination of devices) having at least one processor that executes instructions from a memory medium.

[0024] User Equipment (UE) (or "UE device")—Any type of computer system device that communicates wirelessly. Also referred to as a wireless communication device, many of which are mobile and / or portable. Examples of UE devices include mobile phones or smartphones (e.g., iPhone™, Android™-based phones), tablet computers such as iPad™, Samsung Galaxy™, gaming devices (e.g., SONY PlayStation™, Microsoft Xbox™, etc.), portable gaming devices (e.g., Nintendo DS™, PlayStation Portable™, Gameboy Advance™, iPod™), laptops, wearable devices (e.g., smart watches, smart glasses), PDAs, portable Internet devices, music players, data storage devices or other handheld devices, unmanned aerial vehicles (e.g., drones), unmanned aerial vehicle controllers, etc. Various other types of devices fall into this category if they include Wi-Fi or both cellular and Wi-Fi communication capabilities, and / or other wireless communication capabilities using short-range wireless access technologies (SRATs) such as BLUETOOTH™. In general, the term "UE" or "UE device" may be broadly defined to encompass any electronic, computing, and / or telecommunications device (or combination of devices) that is capable of wireless communication and that may also be portable / mobile.

[0025] Wireless Device (or Wireless Communication Device)—Various types of computer system devices that perform wireless communications using WLAN communications, SRAT communications, Wi-Fi communications, etc. As used herein, the term “wireless device” may refer to a UE device as defined above, or a stationary device such as a stationary wireless client or wireless base station. For example, a wireless device can be any type of wireless station in an 802.11 system, such as an access point (AP) or client station (UE), or any type of wireless station in a cellular communications system, such as a base station or cellular phone, that communicates according to a cellular radio access technology (e.g., 5G NR, LTE, CDMA, GSM).

[0026] Communications Device - Any of various types of computer systems or devices that perform communications, which may be wired or wireless. A communications device may be portable (or mobile), or may be stationary or fixed to a particular location. A wireless device is one example of a communications device. A UE is another example of a communications device.

[0027] Base Station (BS) - The term "base station" has all of its ordinary meanings and includes at least a wireless communication station that is installed at a fixed location and used for communication as part of a wireless telephone system or wireless system.

[0028] Processor—refers to various elements or combinations of elements capable of performing functions within a device, e.g., within a user equipment device or within a cellular network device. A processor may include, for example, a processor and associated memory, portions or circuitry of an individual processor core, an entire processor core, a processor array, circuitry such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), a programmable hardware element such as a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), and various combinations of the above.

[0029] Channel—A medium used to convey information from a sender (transmitter) to a receiver. Note that because the characteristics of the term “channel” may vary according to different wireless protocols, when used herein, the term “channel” is considered to be used consistent with the standard for the type of device with which the term is used. In some standards, the channel width may be variable (e.g., depending on device capabilities, band conditions, etc.). For example, LTE may support scalable channel bandwidths from 1.4 MHz to 20 MHz. In contrast, Bluetooth channel widths may be 1 MHz, while WLAN channel widths may be 22 MHz. Other protocols and standards may include different channel definitions. Furthermore, some standards may define and use multiple types of channels, e.g., different channels for uplink or downlink, and / or different channels for different uses, such as data, control information, etc.

[0030] Band—The term “band” encompasses the full scope of the ordinary meaning of band and includes at least a portion of a spectrum (e.g., a radio frequency spectrum) where channels are used for a certain purpose or set aside for the same purpose. Furthermore, “frequency band” is used to indicate any interval of a frequency domain delimited by a lower frequency and an upper frequency. This term may refer to a radio band or some other interval of spectrum. Wireless communication signals can occupy a range of frequencies that are the means (or location) for carrying the signal. Such a frequency range is also called the bandwidth of the signal. Bandwidth therefore refers to the difference between the upper and lower frequencies in a continuous band of frequencies. A frequency band may represent one communication channel or may be subdivided into multiple communication channels. The allocation of radio frequency ranges to different uses is a primary function of radio spectrum allocation. For example, in 5G NR, the operating frequency bands are classified into two groups: More specifically, in 3GPP Release 15, the frequency band is designated into different frequency ranges (FR), defined as FR1 and FR2, where FR1 covers the range from 410 MHz to 7125 MHz and FR2 covers the range from 24250 MHz to 52600 MHz.

[0031] Wi-Fi - The term "Wi-Fi" has the full scope of its ordinary meaning and includes at least a wireless communication network or RAT that is served by wireless LAN (WLAN) access points and provides connectivity to the Internet through those access points. Most modern Wi-Fi networks (or WLAN networks) are based on the IEEE 802.11 standard and are marketed under the name "Wi-Fi." Wi-Fi (WLAN) networks are distinct from cellular networks.

[0032] Automatically—refers to an action or operation being performed by a computer system (e.g., software executed by a computer system) or device (e.g., circuitry, programmable hardware element, ASIC, etc.) without user input directly specifying or executing the action or operation. Thus, the term “automatically” is in contrast to an operation that is manually performed or specified by a user, where the user provides input to directly perform the operation. An automatic procedure may be initiated by input provided by a user, but the subsequent actions performed “automatically” are not specified by the user; that is, they are not performed “manually,” with the user specifying each action to be performed. For example, a user filling out an electronic form by selecting each field and providing input specifying information (e.g., by typing information, selecting checkboxes, selecting radio selections, etc.) is considered manually filling out the form, even though the computer system must update the form in response to the user actions. A form may also be automatically filled out by a computer system, where the computer system (e.g., software executed on the computer system) analyzes the form's fields and fills out the form without user input specifying answers to the fields. As noted above, a user can invoke automatic form filling but is not involved in the actual filling of the form (e.g., the user does not manually specify answers in fields, but rather the answers are completed automatically). This specification provides various examples of actions that are automatically performed in response to actions taken by a user.

[0033] Approximately—refers to a value that is nearly accurate or precise. For example, approximately may refer to a value that is within 1-10 percent of a precise (or desired) value. Note, however, that the actual threshold (or tolerance) may depend on the application. For example, in some embodiments, "approximately" may mean within 0.1% of some specified or desired value, while in various other embodiments, the threshold may be, for example, 2%, 3%, 5%, etc., as desired or required by the particular application.

[0034] Concurrent—refers to parallel execution or performance in which the execution of tasks, processes, or programs overlaps at least partially. For example, concurrent execution may be performed using “strong” or strict parallelism, where tasks are executed (at least partially) in parallel on respective computing elements, or “weak parallelism,” where tasks are executed in an interleaved manner, e.g., by time-division multiplexing of execution threads.

[0035] Station (STA)—The term “station” here refers to any device capable of communicating wirelessly, for example, using the 802.11 protocol. A station may be a laptop, desktop PC, PDA, access point, or Wi-Fi phone, or any type of device similar to a UE. A STA may be fixed, mobile, portable, or wearable. In wireless networking terminology, a station (STA) generally broadly includes any device with wireless communication capabilities, and thus the terms station (STA), wireless client (UE), and node (BS) are often used interchangeably.

[0036] Configured to—Various components may be described as being “configured to” perform a task. In this context, “configured to” is a broad description that generally means “having a structure” to perform a task or tasks during operation. Thus, a component may be configured to perform a task even when the component is not currently performing the task (e.g., a set of conductors may be configured to electrically connect a module to another module even when the two modules are not connected). In some contexts, “configured to” may be a broad description of a structure that generally means “having circuitry” to perform a task or tasks during operation. Thus, a component may be configured to perform a task even when the component is not currently on. Generally, the circuitry forming the structure corresponding to “configured to” may include hardware circuitry.

[0037] Transmission scheduling—refers to the scheduling of transmissions, such as radio transmissions. In some implementations of cellular wireless communications, signal and data transmissions may be organized according to designated time units of particular durations during which transmissions occur. As used herein, the term “slot” has the full scope of its ordinary meaning and refers to at least the smallest (or minimum) scheduling time unit of wireless communications. For example, in 3GPP LTE, transmissions are divided into radio frames, each of which has an equal (time) duration (e.g., 10 ms). A 3GPP LTE radio frame may be further divided into a certain number (e.g., 10) of subframes, each of which has an equal time duration, and a subframe is the smallest (minimum) scheduling unit, or designated time unit, for transmission. Thus, in 3GPP LTE embodiments, a “subframe” can be considered an example of the “slot” defined above. Similarly, the smallest (or minimum) scheduling time unit for 5G NR (or NR for short) transmissions is called a “slot.” Different communication protocols may use different names for the smallest (or minimum) scheduling time unit.

[0038] Resource—The term “resource” has its full range of ordinary meaning and may refer to frequency and time resources used during wireless communication. As used herein, resource element (RE) refers to a specific quantity or number of resources. For example, in the context of time resources, a resource element may be a time interval of a specific length. In the context of frequency resources, a resource element may be a specific frequency bandwidth or a specific amount of frequency bandwidth that may be centered around a specific frequency. As one specific example, a resource element may refer to a resource unit (for a time resource, e.g., a time interval of a specific length) per subcarrier (for a frequency resource, e.g., a specific frequency bandwidth that may be centered around a specific frequency). Resource element group (REG) has its full range of ordinary meaning and refers to at least a specified number of contiguous resource elements. In some implementations, a resource element group may not include resource elements reserved for reference signals. Control channel element (CCE) refers to a group of a specified number of contiguous REGs. Resource block (RB) refers to a specific number of resource elements organized with a specified number of subcarriers per specified number of symbols. Each RB may include a specified number of subcarriers. A resource block group (RBG) refers to a unit that includes multiple RBs. The number of RBs in one RBG may vary depending on the system bandwidth.

[0039] Bandwidth Part (BWP)—A carrier bandwidth part (BWP) is a contiguous set of physical resource blocks selected from a contiguous subset of a given number of common resource blocks on a given carrier. For the downlink, a UE may be configured to have up to a certain number of carrier BWPs (e.g., four BWPs, according to some specifications), with one BWP active per carrier at a given time (according to some specifications). For the uplink, a UE may similarly be configured to have up to several (e.g., four) carrier BWPs, with one BWP active per carrier at a given time (according to some specifications). If the UE is configured with a supplemental uplink, the UE may additionally be configured with one carrier BWP active at a given time (according to some specifications), up to a specified number (e.g., four) of carrier BWPs in the supplemental uplink.

[0040] In the case of Multi-Cell Deployment - Multi-Radio Dual Connectivity (MR-DC), a master node is defined as a node (radio access node) that provides a control plane connection to the core network. The master node may be, for example, a master eNB (3GPP LTE) or a master gNB (3GPP NR). In the case of MR-DC, a secondary node is defined as a radio access node that does not have a control plane connection to the core network and provides additional resources to the UE. A master cell group (MCG) is defined as a group of serving cells associated with a master node, including a primary cell (PCell) and optionally one or more secondary cells (SCells). A secondary cell group (SCG) is defined as a group of serving cells associated with a secondary node, including a specific cell, i.e., the primary cell of an SCG (PSCell), and optionally including one or more SCells. A UE can typically apply radio link monitoring to the PCell. If the UE is configured with an SCG, the UE can also apply radio link monitoring to the PSCell. Radio link monitoring is typically applied to active BWPs; the UE does not need to monitor inactive BWPs. The PCell is used to initiate initial access, and the UE can communicate with the PCell and SCell via carrier aggregation (CA). The current modified functionality means that the UE can transmit and receive to multiple cells. The UE initially connects to the PCell, and one or more SCells can be configured for the UE once the UE is in the connected state.

[0041] Core Network (CN) - The Core Network is defined as the part of the 3GPP system that is independent of the UE's connectivity technology (e.g., Radio Access Technology, RAT). A UE can connect to the Core Network via a Radio Access Network, or RAN, where the RAN can be specific.

[0042] Downlink Control Information (DCI)—In 3GPP communications, DCI is transmitted to a mobile device or UE (e.g., by a serving base station in a network) and includes several different fields. Each field is used to configure one portion or aspect of the device's scheduled communication(s). In other words, each field in the DCI may correspond to one or more specific communication parameters that configure a corresponding aspect of the device's scheduled communication(s). By decoding the DCI, the UE obtains all configuration parameters or parameter values ​​according to the fields in the DCI, thereby obtaining all information regarding the scheduled communication(s), and then performs the scheduled communication(s) according to those parameters / parameter values.

[0043] In the description herein, for convenience, various components may be described as performing a task or tasks. Such descriptions should be construed to include the phrase "configured to." It is expressly intended that a description of a component as being configured to perform one or more tasks does not apply to the interpretation of that component under 35 U.S.C. § 112, sixth paragraph. Figures 1 and 2 - Example of a communication system

[0044] Figure 1 illustrates an exemplary (simplified) wireless communications system according to some embodiments. It should be noted that the system of Figure 1 is merely one example of a possible system, and that embodiments may be implemented in a variety of systems, as desired.

[0045] As shown, the exemplary wireless communications system includes base stations 102A-102N, also collectively referred to as base station(s) 102 or base stations 102. As shown in FIG. 1, base station 102A communicates with one or more user devices 106A-106N over a transmission medium. Each of the user devices may be referred to herein as a "user equipment" (UE) or a UE device. Accordingly, user devices 106A-106N are referred to as UEs or UE devices, and are also collectively referred to as UE(s) 106 or UEs 106.

[0046] The base station 102A may be a base transceiver station (BTS) or cell site and may include hardware that enables wireless communication with the UEs 106A-106N. The base station 102A may also be connected to the network 100 (e.g., a telecommunications network such as a cellular service provider's core network, a public switched telephone network (PSTN), and / or the Internet, a neutral host, or various Citizens Broadband Radio (CBR) services, among other possibilities). The base station 102A may be equipped to communicate with a Common Base Transceiver System (CBRS) deployment. Accordingly, the base station 102A can facilitate communications between user devices 106 and / or between the user devices 106 and the network 100. In particular, the cellular base station 102A can provide various telecommunication capabilities, such as voice, SMS, and / or data services, to the UE(s) 106. The communication area (or coverage area) of a base station 106 may be referred to as a "cell." Note that "cell" may also refer to a logical identity for a given coverage area at a given frequency. In general, any independent cellular radio coverage area may be referred to as a "cell." In such cases, a base station may be located at a particular junction of three cells. The base station may be configured to communicate with the UE(s) 106 in this uniform topology. In a typical mobile station, a base station may serve three areas with a 120-degree beamwidth, referred to as cells. Also, in the case of carrier aggregation, each of the small cells, relays, etc. may represent a cell. Thus, particularly in carrier aggregation, there may be a primary cell and a secondary cell that may serve at least partially overlapping coverage areas on different respective frequencies. For example, a base station may serve any number of cells, and the cells served by a base station may or may not be co-located (e.g., remote radio heads). Also, as used herein, from the perspective of a UE, the base station may be considered to represent a network as far as the UE's uplink and downlink communications are concerned.Thus, a UE that communicates with one or more base stations in a network may also be interpreted as a UE that communicates with the network, and may further be considered at least a portion of a UE that communicates on or through the network.

[0047] The base station(s) 102 and the user devices 106 are configured to communicate over a transmission medium using any of a variety of radio access technologies (RATs), also referred to as wireless communication technologies, or telecommunications standards, e.g., LTE, LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), LAA / LTE-U, 5G-NR (abbreviated NR), Wi-Fi, etc. It should be noted that if the base station 102A is implemented in the context of LTE, it may alternatively be referred to as an “eNodeB” or “eNB.” Similarly, it should be noted that if the base station 102A is implemented in the context of 5G NR, it may alternatively be referred to as a “gNodeB” or “gNB.” In some embodiments, the base station 102 (e.g., an eNB in ​​an LTE network or a gNB in ​​an NR network) can communicate with at least one UE capable of transmitting reference signals according to various embodiments disclosed herein. Depending on a given application or particular considerations, some of the various different RATs may be conveniently grouped functionally according to their overall defining characteristics. For example, all cellular RATs may be considered collectively to represent a first (type / form) RAT, while Wi-Fi communications may be considered to represent a second RAT. In other cases, individual cellular RATs may be considered individually as different RATs. For example, when distinguishing between cellular and Wi-Fi communications, "first RAT" may refer collectively to all cellular RATs under consideration, while "second RAT" may refer to Wi-Fi. Similarly, when applicable, different forms of Wi-Fi communications (e.g., above 2.4 GHz and above 5 GHz) may be considered to correspond to different RATs. Furthermore, cellular communications performed according to a given RAT (e.g., LTE or NR) may be distinguished from one another based on the frequency spectrum over which they occur. For example, LTE or NR communications may be performed on a primary licensed spectrum as well as a secondary spectrum, such as an unlicensed spectrum. Overall, the usage of various terms and expressions will always be clearly expressed with respect to and within the context of the various applications / embodiments under consideration.

[0048] As shown, the base station 102A may also be equipped to communicate with the network 100 (e.g., a cellular service provider's core network, a telecommunications network such as the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), and / or the Internet, among other possibilities). Thus, the base station 102A may facilitate communications between user devices 106 and / or between the user devices 106 and the network 100. In particular, the cellular base station 102A may provide various telecommunications capabilities, such as voice, SMS, and / or data services, to the UE(s) 106. The UE 106 may be capable of communicating using multiple wireless communication standards. For example, the UE 106 may be configured to communicate using any or all of the 3GPP cellular communication standards (e.g., LTE or NR). Thus, base station 102A and other similar base stations (such as base stations 102B...102N) operating according to the same or different cellular communication standards may be provided as one or more networks of cells that can provide continuous or near-continuous overlapping service to UEs 106 and similar devices over a wide geographic area via one or more cellular communication standards.

[0049] Thus, while base station 102A serves as the "serving cell" for UEs 106A-106N as illustrated in FIG. 1, each UE 106 may also receive signals from (or be within communication range of) one or more other cells (which may be referred to as "neighboring cells") (which may be provided by base stations 102B-102N and / or any other base stations). Such cells may also facilitate communication between user devices 106 and / or between user devices 106 and network 100. Such cells may include "macro" cells, "micro" cells, "pico" cells, and / or cells providing any of various other granularities of coverage area size. For example, base stations 102A-102B illustrated in FIG. 1 may be macro cells, while base station 102N may be a micro cell. Other configurations are possible.

[0050] In some embodiments, the base station 102A may be a next-generation base station, e.g., a 5G New Radio (5G NR) base station, or "gNB." In some embodiments, the gNB may be connected to a conventional Evolved Packet Core (EPC) network and / or an NR Core (NRC) network. In addition, a gNB cell may include one or more transmission and reception points (TRPs). In addition, a UE capable of operating according to 5G NR may be connected to one or more TRPs in one or more gNBs.

[0051] The UE 106 may also, or alternatively, be configured to communicate using WLAN, BLUETOOTH™, BLUETOOTH™ Low-Energy, one or more Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS, e.g., GPS or GLONASS), one and / or more mobile television broadcast standards (e.g., ATSC-M / H or DVB-H), etc. Other combinations of wireless communication standards (including three or more wireless communication standards) are possible. Furthermore, the UE 106 may also communicate with the network 100 through one or more base stations or through other devices, stations, or appliances not expressly shown but considered part of the network 100. Thus, a UE 106 communicating with a network may be interpreted as a UE 106 communicating with one or more network nodes considered part of the network. These network nodes may interact with the UE 106 to communicate with the UE 106 and, in some cases, may influence at least some of the UE 106's communication parameters and / or the UE's 106's use of communication resources.

[0052] 1, at least some of the UEs, for example, UE 106D and UE 106E, may represent vehicles communicating with each other and with base station 102, for example, via cellular communications such as 3GPP LTE and / or 5G-NR communications. Additionally, UE 106F may represent a pedestrian communicating and / or interacting in a manner similar to the vehicles represented by UEs 106D and 106E. Various embodiments of vehicles communicating within the network illustrated in FIG. 1 are disclosed in the context of vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communications, such as, among other things, communications specified in particular versions of the 3GPP standards.

[0053] FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary user equipment 106 (e.g., one of UEs 106A-106N) communicating with a base station 122 and an access point 112, according to some embodiments. The UE 106 may be a device having both cellular and non-cellular communication capabilities (e.g., BLUETOOTH™, Wi-Fi, etc.), such as a mobile phone, a handheld device, a computer or tablet, or virtually any type of wireless device. The UE 106 may include a processor configured to execute program instructions stored in a memory. The UE 106 may perform any of the method embodiments described herein by executing such stored instructions. Alternatively, or in addition, the UE 106 may include a programmable hardware element, such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA), configured to perform any of the method embodiments described herein, or any portion of any of the method embodiments described herein. The UE 106 may be configured to communicate using any of a number of wireless communication protocols. For example, the UE 106 may be configured to communicate using two or more of LTE, LTE-A, NR, WLAN, or GNSS. Other combinations of wireless communication standards are possible.

[0054] The UE 106 may include one or more antennas for communicating using one or more wireless communication protocols according to one or more RAT standards. In some embodiments, the UE 106 may share one or more portions of a receive chain and / or a transmit chain between multiple wireless communication standards. A shared radio may include a single antenna or multiple antennas (e.g., for MIMO) for performing wireless communication. Alternatively, the UE 106 may include separate transmit and / or receive chains (e.g., including separate antennas and other radio mechanism components) for each wireless communication protocol it is configured to use for communication. Alternatively, the UE 106 may include one or more radio circuits shared between multiple wireless communication protocols and one or more radios dedicated to a single wireless communication protocol. For example, the UE 106 may include radio circuitry for communicating using either LTE or NR and separate radios for communicating using Wi-Fi and BLUETOOTH™. Other configurations are possible. Figure 3 - Block diagram of an exemplary UE

[0055] 3 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary UE 106, according to some embodiments. As shown, the UE 106 may include a system-on-chip (SOC) 300, which may include elements / components for various purposes. For example, as shown, the SOC 300 may include processor(s) 302, which may execute program instructions for the UE 106, and display circuitry 304, which may perform graphics processing and provide display signals to a display 360. The processor(s) 302 may also be coupled to a memory management unit (MMU) 340, which may be configured to receive addresses from the processor(s) 302 and translate those addresses to locations in memory (e.g., memory 306, read-only memory (ROM) 350, NAND flash memory 310) and / or to locations in other circuits or devices, such as the display circuitry 304, radio circuitry 330, connector I / F 320, and / or display 360. The MMU 340 may be configured to perform memory protection and page table translation or setup. In some embodiments, the MMU 340 may be included as part of the processor(s) 302 .

[0056] As shown, the SOC 300 may be coupled to various other circuits of the UE 106. For example, the UE 106 may include various types of memory (including, for example, NAND flash 310), a connector interface 320 (for example, for coupling to a computer system), a display 360, and wireless communication circuitry (for example, for LTE, LTE-A, NR, BLUETOOTH™, Wi-Fi, GPS, etc.). The UE device 106 may include at least one antenna (e.g., 335a) and possibly multiple antennas (e.g., exemplified by antennas 335a and 335b) for performing wireless communication with base stations and / or other devices. Antennas 335a and 335b are shown by way of example, and the UE device 106 may include fewer or more antennas. Overall, one or more antennas are collectively referred to as antenna(s) 335. For example, the UE device 106 may use antenna(s) 335 to perform wireless communication using the radio circuitry 330. As mentioned above, in some embodiments, a UE may be configured to communicate wirelessly using multiple wireless communication standards.

[0057] As further described herein, the UE 106 (and / or base station 102) may include hardware and software components for implementing at least the methods for the UE 106 to transmit a reference signal according to various embodiments disclosed herein. The processor(s) 302 of the UE device 106 may be configured to perform some or all of the methods described herein, for example, by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium). In other embodiments, the processor(s) 302 may be configured as a programmable hardware element, such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA), or as an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC). Furthermore, the processor(s) 302 may be coupled to or interoperate with other components such that the UE 106 communicates according to various embodiments disclosed herein to transmit a reference signal, as shown in FIG. 3 . In particular, the processor(s) 302 may be coupled to and / or interoperate with other components to facilitate the UE 106 communicating in a manner seeking RAT optimization, as shown in Figure 3. The processor(s) 302 may also execute various other applications and / or end-user applications operating on the UE 106.

[0058] In some embodiments, the radio circuitry 330 may include separate controllers dedicated to controlling communications for each of the various corresponding RATs and / or RAT standards. For example, as shown in FIG. 3 , the radio circuitry 330 may include a Wi-Fi controller 356, a cellular controller (e.g., an LTE controller and / or an NR controller) 352, and a BLUETOOTH™ controller 354, and according to at least some embodiments, one or more or all of these controllers may be implemented as respective integrated circuits (abbreviated ICs or chips) that communicate with each other and with the SOC 300 (more specifically, with the processor(s) 302). For example, the Wi-Fi controller 356 may communicate with the cellular controller 352 via a cellular-ISM link or WCI interface, and / or the BLUETOOTH™ controller 354 may communicate with the cellular controller 352 via a cellular-ISM link, etc. Although three separate controllers are shown within the radio circuitry 330, other embodiments may have fewer or more similar controllers for various different RATs and / or RAT standards that may be implemented in the UE device 106. For example, at least one example block diagram illustrating some embodiments of the cellular controller 352 is shown in FIG. 5 and described further below. Figure 4 - Exemplary base station block diagram

[0059] 4 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary base station 102, according to some embodiments. Note that the base station of FIG. 4 is merely one example of a possible base station. As shown, the base station 102 may include a processor(s) 404 that can execute program instructions for the base station 102. The processor(s) 404 may also be coupled to a memory management unit (MMU) 440 that may be configured to receive addresses from the processor(s) 404 and translate those addresses to locations in memory (e.g., memory 460 and read-only memory (ROM) 450) or to other circuits or devices.

[0060] The base station 102 may include at least one network port 470. The network port 470 may be configured to couple to a telephone network and provide multiple devices, such as the UE device 106, with access to the telephone network as described above in FIGS. 1 and 2. The network port 470 (or additional network ports) may also, or alternatively, be configured to couple to a cellular network, e.g., a core network of a cellular service provider. The core network may provide mobility-related services and / or other services to multiple devices, such as the UE device 106. In some cases, the network port 470 may be coupled to the telephone network via the core network, and / or the core network may provide the telephone network (e.g., to and from other UE devices serviced by the cellular service provider).

[0061] The base station 102 may include at least one antenna 434a, and possibly multiple antennas (e.g., exemplified by antennas 434a and 434b), for conducting wireless communications with mobile devices and / or other devices. Antennas 434a and 434b are shown by way of example, and the base station 102 may include fewer or more antennas. Overall, the one or more antennas, which may include antenna 434a and / or antenna 434b, are collectively referred to as antenna 434 or antenna(s) 434. The antenna(s) 434 may be configured to operate as a wireless transceiver and may further be configured to communicate with the UE device 106 via the radio circuitry 430. The antenna(s) 434 communicate with the radio 430 via a communication chain 432. The communication chain 432 may be a receive chain, a transmit chain, or both. The radio circuitry 430 may be designed to communicate via various wireless communication standards, including, but not limited to, LTE, LTE-A, 5G-NR (NR), etc. The processor(s) 404 of the base station 102 may be configured to implement some or all of the methods described herein, for example, by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium). Alternatively, the processor(s) 404 may be configured as a programmable hardware element, such as an FPGA (field programmable gate array), or as an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit), or a combination thereof. For a given RAT, e.g., Wi-Fi, the base station 102 may be designed as an access point (AP), in which case the network port 470 may be implemented to provide access to a wide area network and / or local area network(s) and may include, for example, at least one Ethernet port, and the radio 430 may be designed to communicate according to the Wi-Fi standard. Figure 5 - Example of a cellular communication circuit

[0062] FIG. 5 shows an exemplary simplified block diagram illustrating the cellular controller 352, according to some embodiments. Note that the block diagram of the cellular communication circuitry in FIG. 5 is merely one example of possible cellular communication circuitry. Other circuitry is possible, such as circuitry including or coupled to a sufficient number of antennas for different RATs to perform uplink activity using separate antennas, or circuitry including or coupled to a fewer number of antennas, for example, that may be shared among multiple RATs. According to some embodiments, the cellular communication circuitry 352 may be included in a communication device, such as the communication device 106 described above. As noted above, the communication device 106 may be a user equipment (UE) device, a mobile device or mobile station, a wireless device or wireless base station, a desktop computer or computing device, a mobile computing device (e.g., a laptop, notebook, or portable computing device), a tablet, and / or a combination of devices, among other devices.

[0063] The cellular communication circuitry 352 may be communicatively coupled (e.g., communicatively, directly or indirectly) to one or more antennas, such as antennas 335a-b and 336, as shown. In some embodiments, the cellular communication circuitry 352 may include dedicated receive chains (e.g., a first receive chain for LTE and a second receive chain for 5G NR) for multiple RATs (including dedicated processors and / or radios and / or being communicatively coupled, e.g., directly or indirectly, to dedicated processors and / or radios). For example, as shown in FIG. 5, the cellular communication circuitry 352 may include a first modem 510 and a second modem 520. The first modem 510 may be configured to communicate according to a first RAT, e.g., LTE or LTE-A, and the second modem 520 may be configured to communicate according to a second RAT, e.g., 5G NR.

[0064] As shown, the first modem 510 may include one or more processors 512 and a memory 516 in communication with the processor 512. The modem 510 may be in communication with a radio frequency (RF) front end 530. The RF front end 530 may include circuitry for transmitting and receiving wireless signals. For example, the RF front end 530 may include receive circuitry (RX) 532 and transmit circuitry (TX) 534. In some embodiments, the receive circuitry 532 may be in communication with a downlink (DL) front end 550, which may include circuitry for receiving wireless signals via an antenna 335a.

[0065] Similarly, the second modem 520 may include one or more processors 522 and a memory 526 in communication with the processor 522. The modem 520 may be in communication with an RF front end 540. The RF front end 540 may include circuitry for transmitting and receiving wireless signals. For example, the RF front end 540 may include receive circuitry 542 and transmit circuitry 544. In some embodiments, the receive circuitry 542 may be in communication with a DL front end 560, which may include circuitry for receiving wireless signals via the antenna 335b.

[0066] In some embodiments, the switch 570 may couple the transmit circuitry 534 to an uplink (UL) front end 572. Additionally, the switch 570 may couple the transmit circuitry 544 to the UL front end 572. The UL front end 572 may include circuitry for transmitting wireless signals via the antenna 336. Thus, when the cellular communication circuitry 352 receives an instruction to transmit according to a first RAT (e.g., supported via the first modem 510), the switch 570 may be switched to a first state that enables the first modem 510 to transmit signals according to the first RAT (e.g., via a transmit chain including the transmit circuitry 534 and the UL front end 572). Similarly, when the cellular communication circuitry 352 receives an instruction to transmit according to a second RAT (e.g., as supported via the second modem 520), the switch 570 may be switched to a second state that enables the second modem 520 to transmit signals according to the second RAT (e.g., via a transmit chain including the transmit circuitry 544 and the UL front end 572).

[0067] As described herein, the first modem 510 and / or the second modem 520 may include any of hardware and software components for performing the various features and techniques described herein. The processors 512, 522 may be configured to perform some or all of the features described herein, for example, by executing program instructions stored on a storage medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium). Alternatively (or in addition), the processors 512, 522 may be configured as programmable hardware elements such as FPGAs (field programmable gate arrays) or as ASICs (application-specific integrated circuits). Alternatively (or in addition), the processors 512, 522 may be configured to perform some or all of the features described herein in conjunction with one or more of the other components 530, 532, 534, 540, 542, 544, 550, 570, 572, 335, and 336.

[0068] Additionally, as described herein, processors 512, 522 may include one or more components. Thus, processors 512, 522 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of processors 512, 522. Additionally, each integrated circuit may include circuitry (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of processors 512, 522.

[0069] In some embodiments, the cellular communication circuitry 352 may include only one transmit / receive chain. For example, the cellular communication circuitry 352 may not include the modem 520, the RF front end 540, the DL front end 560, and / or the antenna 335b. As another example, the cellular communication circuitry 352 may not include the modem 510, the RF front end 530, the DL front end 550, and / or the antenna 335a. In some embodiments, the cellular communication circuitry 352 may also not include the switch 570, and the RF front end 530 or the RF front end 540 may communicate, for example, directly, with the UL front end 572, for example. CSI reporting and measurements during wireless communications

[0070] As described above, wireless communications, such as 5G NR cellular wireless communications, involve measuring and reporting various channel and communication metrics. For example, various known signals (e.g., pilot signals or reference signals) may be used for various purposes, such as synchronization, measurement, equalization, and control. In cellular wireless communications, a reference signal (abbreviated as RS) refers to a special signal that exists only in the physical layer and is not used to deliver specific information but rather to deliver a reference point for measuring downlink power. When a wireless communication device or mobile device (e.g., UE) attempts to determine downlink power (e.g., the power of a signal from a base station, such as an eNB for LTE or a gNB for NR), the wireless communication device or mobile device measures the power of the reference signal and uses it to determine the downlink cell power. The reference signal helps the receiver demodulate the received signal. Because the reference signal contains data known to both the transmitter and the receiver, the receiver may use the reference signal to determine and / or identify various characteristics of the communication channel. This is generally referred to as "channel estimation" and is an important part of many high-end wireless communications, such as NR communications. The known channel characteristics of a communication link in wireless communications are collectively referred to as channel state information (CSI), which provides information that indicates, for example, the combined effects of scattering, fading, and power attenuation over distance. CSI allows transmissions to be adapted to the current channel conditions, which is important for achieving reliable communication at high data rates in multi-antenna systems.

[0071] A base station may periodically transmit CSI-RS to a UE and may then receive a corresponding CSI report from the UE. The CSI reporting is enhanced to implement compression for efficiency. Furthermore, the CSI reporting is contemplated for collecting data or datasets for use in performing AI / ML modeling operations, including, among other things, training, inference, updating, and / or monitoring of AI models. AI / ML algorithms may use datasets specifically collected for the purpose of determining / obtaining AI / ML-based network energy savings, load balancing, and mobility optimization based on CSI-RS measurements, to name some applications of AI / ML modeling operations in 5G NR communications. Therefore, it may be beneficial to enhance the air interface with features that enable improved support for AI- and / or ML-based algorithms for improved performance and / or reduced complexity or overhead. In the case of CSI compression using a two-sided model use case, the following aspects are considered for further development of data collection for AI / ML operations, e.g., for model training, inference, updating, and monitoring: ● Assisted signaling for mobile device (UE) data collection; Support signaling for base station (e.g., gNB) data collection; and Distribution of datasets may be considered.

[0072] Collecting data for AI-based CSI feedback can focus on data collection procedures that involve different types of training collaborations. Training Collaboration Type 1: ○ UE training, verification, and testing, Network (NW) side training, verification, and testing; Training Collaboration Type 2: ○ Output data provided by the UE to the NW for training, ○ Input data provided by UE to NW for training; Training Collaboration Type 3: ○UE-1st training, ○NW-1st training.

[0073] As previously mentioned, in the current 3GPP NR specification, CSI-RS is used for CSI reporting, beam management, and path loss measurement. Figure 6 shows an example configuration structure for a CSI framework in NR communication. The CSI-RS configuration is part of the CSI reporting configuration, and different CSI-RS sets can be configured for different CSI-RS reports.

[0074] When used for data collection for CSI compression AI model training, CSI-RS transmission may need to be enhanced and / or customized relative to conventional CSI-RS transmission for CSI feedback. More specifically, the following aspects of CSI measurement and reporting may be considered: Measurement accuracy needs to be improved. Inaccurate measurements can reduce the accuracy of AI models. Measurement reporting does not need to be real-time for offline training. There may be no measurement reports associated with the CSI-RS transmission, as the UE may instead send measurement reports to a UE-side server for aggregating the data set. Sharing of data sets with the NW may be done offline (e.g., sharing a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) between vendors). Group-specific / Configuration-specific CSI-RS configuration for a group of UEs. Multiple UEs can measure the same CSI-RS in a cell without the need for UE-specific configuration. ●Triggering non-zero power (NZP) CSI-RS transmission for AI without CSI reporting. AI-based CSI compression training and performance monitoring can be improved and enhanced by taking into account at least the above aspects. CSI-RS Configuration and Extension for AI-Based CSI Compression Data Collection

[0075] In some embodiments, CSI-RS may be configured to be cell-specific, site-specific, or group-specific. Cell-specific CSI-RS may be used when a network (e.g., a base station associated with the network) determines that the same AI model should be used within a cell's coverage area, as illustrated by system diagram 702 of Figure 7. As shown in system diagram 702, the same AI model is used throughout the cell's coverage area 720 served by base station 712.

[0076] As illustrated by system diagram 704, site-specific CSI-RS may be used if the network determines that different AI models should be used for different corresponding sites within a cell. As shown in system diagram 704, different respective AI models may be used for each of site 722 and site 724 within coverage area 730 of a cell served by base station 713. The different sites may be different businesses, buildings, groups of buildings, neighborhoods, etc. For example, site 722 may represent a shopping mall, and site 724 may represent a factory.

[0077] Configuration-specific CSI-RS may be used when the NW determines that the same AI model should be used for each configuration, as illustrated by system diagram 706. As shown in system diagram 706, coverage area 726 (served by base station 715) is associated with a first configuration, and coverage area 728 (served by base station 715) is associated with a second configuration, with each configuration corresponding to a separate AI model. A given configuration may correspond to one given physical antenna-port virtualization used in the NW. Antenna-port virtualization may be a NW implementation. If the NW implements different virtualization methods, different configuration IDs may be assigned for each configuration corresponding to the different virtualization methods. The NW does not need to disclose the exact virtualization method.

[0078] To save configuration overhead, the configuration may be part of the common control information sent to the UE, e.g., DownlinkConfigCommon or ServingCellConfigCommon or ServingCellConfigCommonSIB or may be conveyed as part of a new AI-specific common structure. Alternatively, a UE-specific configuration of the same CSI-RS resource set can be used.

[0079] According to the first option, the NZP-CSI-RS-ResourceSet may be configured with special usage for AI. Note that currently, there are two special usages configured at the NZP-CSI-RS-ResourceSet level: downlink receive (DL RX) beam sweep (repetition information element, IE) and tracking reference signal, TRS (trs-Info IE). In some embodiments, a new IE indicating AI-specific usage may be added to the NZP-CSI-RS-ResourceSet. For example, a new IE name "AI-training ENUMERATED{true}" may indicate that the resource set is specifically dedicated to CSI-RS for AI / ML data collection purposes.

[0080] According to a second option, the CSI-ReportConfig may include a new IE or a new candidate value for reportQuantity to indicate that the associated CSI-RS is for AI / ML purposes. The new reportQuantity may have higher accuracy PMI for AI-based performance monitoring and data retrieval compared to standard CSI-RS reporting. In some embodiments, this new reportQuantity may be transmitted as a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) payload (user plane) as opposed to being transmitted on the control plane.

[0081] An example timing diagram illustrating signaling for AI-based CSI-RS configuration and reporting according to the above is shown in FIG. 8. A CSI-RS configuration for AI-based (AI / ML-based) CSI data collection may be transmitted 810 by a BS 802 (representing a cell / network) to a UE 804 as part of control information conveyed to the UE. CSI-RS transmissions 812...814 by the base station 802 may then be made, and corresponding CSI-RS measurements 816...818 may be performed by the UE 804. The UE 804 may then transmit 820 data sets corresponding to the measurements to the base station 802 via a PUSCH.

[0082] For a cell-specific CSI-RS configuration (pertaining to system diagram 702), the UE can measure CSI-RS based on the received CSI-RS port (indication). For a site-specific CSI-RS configuration (pertaining to system diagram 704), the UE may receive configurations for multiple CSI-RS sets and, if the UE has the capability to determine its site location, can determine which CSI-RS set to measure. Alternatively, the UE can simply measure all configured CSI-RS sets. For configuration-specific CSI-RS (pertaining to system diagram 706), the UE can measure all CSI-RS for each set. The UE can determine whether one AI model is trained across different CSI-RS set measurements or whether a different AI model is trained for each configuration based on the specific implementation. The UE can skip CSI-RS measurements when the UE is in an idle / inactive state or when the UE is in a connected mode but in a power-saving (i.e., low-battery) mode. CSI-RS Triggering

[0083] For periodic CSI-RS transmissions for data collection, triggering is not required. For aperiodic CSI-RS configurations, NR-triggered NZP-CSI-RS transmissions through the CSI request field in the uplink downlink control information (UL DCI; e.g., DCI 0_1 and DCI 0_2) can be used with enhanced capabilities.

[0084] For UE-specific triggering, a new triggering bit field may be added to the DCI to trigger CSI-RS transmission for AI-based data collection. Alternatively, a DCI in the common search space (CSS3) may be used to trigger CSI-RS transmission. For example, DCI 2_0 may be extended to provide triggering, and all UEs configured in the common search space may be triggered accordingly. In some embodiments, DCI 0_0 (fallback UL DCI) may be extended to trigger aperiodic CSI (AP-CSI), for example, by adding a CSI request field. DCI 1_0 / 1_1 / 1_2 (fallback and non-fallback DL DCI) may also be extended to trigger AP-CSI, for example, by adding a CSI request field. The UL grant used for the PUSCH carrying AP-CSI may be configured via radio resource control (RRC) signaling or via the MAC control element (MAC-CE). CSI-RS accuracy improvement

[0085] To enable greater measurement accuracy, time-domain repetition of CSI-RS port transmissions may be enabled. In some embodiments, an additional field for the CSI-RS repetition number for data collection may be added to the NZP-CSI-RS-ResourceSet configuration. If a repetition value is configured, the repetition may be per slot. For example, if one CSI-RS resource set(s) is configured with a repetition value of 4, the CSI-RS may be transmitted in four adjacent valid DL slots. Alternatively, the NZP-CSI-RS-ResourceSet may include a specified first number (N) of periodic NZP CSI-RS resources in a specified second number (M) of consecutive slots, with a certain number (N / M) of periodic NZP CSI-RS resources in each slot. Exemplary Methods of CSI-RS Reception and Measurement by a Device (e.g., by a UE)

[0086] FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary flow diagram illustrating CSI-RS transmission and measurement, according to some embodiments. As shown in FIG. 9, a device (e.g., a mobile device or UE) receives CSI-RS configuration information specific to AI-based CSI data collection from a base station (e.g., a base station of a cell and / or network) (902). The device then receives one or more CSI-RS from the base station according to at least the CSI-RS configuration information (904). The device performs one or more measurements on the received one or more CSI-RSs (906) and transmits one or more datasets corresponding to the one or more measurements to the base station for use in performing AI modeling operations (908). Accordingly, the one or more datasets may then be used, for example, by the base station, to perform AI modeling operations, such as training, inference, updating, and / or monitoring of an AI / ML model. Exemplary Method of Receiving CSI RS Measurements by a Base Station (e.g., by a gNB)

[0087] 10 is an example flow diagram illustrating receiving CSI-RS measurement results / reports according to some embodiments. As shown in FIG. 10, a base station (e.g., a gNB) transmits CSI-RS configuration information specific to AI-based CSI data collection to a device (e.g., a mobile device or UE) (1002). The base station then transmits one or more CSI-RSs to the device according to at least the CSI-RS configuration information (1004). The base station then receives one or more data sets from the device corresponding to one or more measurements performed by the device on the transmitted one or more CSI-RSs (1006). The base station then performs AI modeling operations, including training, inferencing, updating, and monitoring of an AI model, based at least on the received one or more data sets (1008).

[0088] It is understood that use of personally identifiable information should comply with generally recognized privacy policies and practices that meet or exceed industry or government requirements for maintaining user privacy. In particular, personally identifiable information data should be managed and handled in a manner that minimizes the risk of unintended or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of permitted uses should be clearly indicated to users.

[0089] Embodiments of the present invention may be implemented in any of a variety of forms. For example, in some embodiments, the present invention may be implemented as a computer-implemented method, a computer-readable memory medium, or a computer system. In other embodiments, the present invention may be implemented using one or more custom-designed hardware devices, such as an ASIC. In other embodiments, the present invention may be implemented using one or more programmable hardware elements, such as an FPGA.

[0090] In some embodiments, a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory memory element) may store program instructions and / or data that, when executed by a computer system, may cause the computer system to perform a method, such as any of the method embodiments described herein, or a combination of the method embodiments described herein, or a subset of the method embodiments described herein, or a combination of such subsets.

[0091] In some embodiments, a device (e.g., a UE) may be configured to include a processor (or set of processors) and a memory medium (or memory element), where the memory medium stores program instructions, and the processor is configured to read and execute the program instructions from the memory medium, and the program instructions are executable to perform any of the various method embodiments described herein (or any combination of the method embodiments described herein, or any subset of any of the method embodiments described herein, or any combination of such subsets). The device may be embodied in any of a variety of forms.

[0092] Although the above embodiments have been described in considerable detail, numerous variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art once the above disclosure is fully appreciated, and it is intended that the following claims be interpreted to embrace all such variations and modifications.

Claims

1. 1. A method for channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) transmission and measurement, the method comprising: receiving, by the device, from a base station, CSI-RS configuration information specific to artificial intelligence-based (AI-based) CSI data collection; receiving, by the device, one or more CSI-RS from the base station according to at least the CSI-RS configuration information; performing, by the device, one or more measurements on the one or more CSI-RS; transmitting, by the device to the base station, one or more data sets corresponding to the one or more measurements, the one or more data sets being for use in performing AI modeling operations.

2. The CSI-RS configuration information a cell-specific CSI-RS configuration corresponding to a single AI model used within a coverage area of ​​a cell of the base station; Site-specific CSI-RS configurations corresponding to different AI models used for each different site within the coverage area of ​​the cell of the base station; or The method of claim 1 , corresponding to one of configuration-specific configurations corresponding to one or more antenna-port virtualization methods.

3. 3. The method of claim 2, wherein, for the cell-specific CSI-RS configuration, the one or more measurements are performed using a designated CSI-RS port identified by the received CSI-RS configuration information.

4. The method of claim 2 , wherein for the site-specific CSI-RS configuration, the CSI-RS configuration information includes a plurality of CSI-RS configurations corresponding to a plurality of CSI-RS sets associated with respective sites.

5. When the device has the capability to determine its location, the method comprises: The method of claim 4 , further comprising determining, by the device, which of the plurality of CSI-RS sets to perform measurements on.

6. The method of claim 4 , wherein measurements are performed on all of the plurality of CSI-RS sets.

7. The method of claim 2 , wherein for the configuration-specific configuration, measurements are performed on all CSI-RS for each set.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein one AI model is used to train across different CSI-RS set measurements.

9. The method of claim 7 , wherein different AI models are used for training across the different CSI-RS set measurements.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more measurements are performed while the device is in an active or non-power-saving state in a connected mode.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the CSI-RS configuration information is transmitted via Radio Resource Control (RRC) messaging.

12. The CSI-RS configuration information DownlinkConfigCommon information element (IE), ServingCellConfigCommon IE; ServingCellConfigCommonSIB IE, or The method of claim 11 , which is part of one or more of the AI-specific common structures.

13. The method of claim 11 , wherein the CSI-RS configuration information represents a device-specific configuration of a given CSI-RS resource set for the device.

14. The CSI-RS configuration information AI-specific information elements (IEs) in the NZP-CSI-RS-ResourceSet; an AI-specific IE in CSI-ReportConfig, or The method of claim 11, wherein one or more of the candidate values ​​of reportQuantity in CSI-ReportConfig are part of an associated CSI-RS for AI purposes.

15. 15. The method of claim 14, wherein the candidate values ​​comprise a precoding matrix indicator (PMI) having higher accuracy for AI-based performance monitoring and data collection.

16. The method of claim 11 , wherein the CSI-RS configuration information is for configuring aperiodic CSI-RS transmissions for data collection for AI-based modeling.

17. 17. The method of claim 16, wherein the triggering of the aperiodic CSI-RS transmission is via uplink-downlink control information (UL DCI) with enhanced capabilities.

18. 20. The method of claim 17, wherein the UL DCI is associated with a common search space, and the device is part of a group of devices configured in the common search space.

19. The method of claim 17 , wherein the UL DCI includes a CSI request field for triggering the aperiodic CSI-RS transmission.

20. The method of claim 11 , wherein the CSI-RS configuration information comprises an information element (IE) including a field providing a CSI-RS repetition number for data collection.

21. 21. The method of claim 20, wherein the repetition is slot-by-slot.

22. 22. The method of claim 21, wherein the repetition occurs in adjacent slots.

23. 21. The method of claim 20, wherein the IE defines a specified first number (N) of periodic non-zero power (NZP) CSI-RS resources in a specified second number (M) of consecutive slots, with N / M periodic NZP CSI-RS resources in each slot.

24. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more data sets are transmitted over a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH).

25. 25. The method of claim 24, wherein the uplink grant used for the PUSCH is configured via radio resource control (RRC) signaling or via a medium access control (MAC) control element (MAC-CE).

26. A processor configured to cause a user equipment (UE) to perform any of the methods of claims 1 to 25.

27. A user equipment (UE), radio circuitry configured to enable wireless communication of the UE; 27. A UE comprising: a processor according to claim 26 communicatively coupled to the radio circuitry.

28. 27. A non-transitory memory element storing instructions executable by a processor to perform any of the methods of claims 1 to 26.

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