Unilateral beam management for bistatic air interface based radio frequency sensing in millimeter wave systems

Abstract

Techniques are provided for single-sided beam management in millimeter-wave (mmW) communication systems for use in bistatic radio frequency (RF) sensing. An exemplary method for tracking targets using bistatic radio frequency sensing includes receiving a scanning reference signal, generating a scanning signal report indicating one or more target groups associated with the scanning reference signal, transmitting the scanning signal report, receiving tracking signal configuration information indicating tracking reference signals associated with the one or more target groups, receiving the tracking reference signals identified in the tracking signal configuration information, and tracking the one or more target groups associated with the tracking reference signals.

Description

[Background technology]

[0001] Wireless communication systems have evolved through various generations, including first-generation analog wireless telephone service (1G), second-generation (2G) digital wireless telephone service (including interim 2.5G and 2.75G networks), third-generation (3G) high-speed data, Internet-enabled wireless service, and fourth-generation (4G) service (e.g., Long Term Evolution (LTE) or WiMax). Currently, there are many different types of wireless communication systems in use, including cellular systems and personal communications services (PCS) systems. Examples of known cellular systems include the Cellular Analog Advanced Mobile Phone System (AMPS) and digital cellular systems based on code division multiple access (CDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), etc.

[0002] The fifth-generation (5G) wireless standard, known as New Radio (NR), calls for higher data rates, a greater number of connections, and better coverage, among other improvements. According to the Next Generation Mobile Network Alliance, the 5G standard is designed to provide data rates of tens of megabits per second to each of tens of thousands of users, delivering 1 gigabit per second to dozens of workers on an office floor. To support large-scale sensor deployments, hundreds of thousands of simultaneous connections should be supported. Therefore, the spectral efficiency of 5G mobile communications should be significantly increased compared to the current 4G standard. Furthermore, signaling efficiency should be increased and latency should be significantly reduced compared to current standards.

[0003] 5G enables the use of mmW RF signals for wireless communication between network nodes such as base stations, user equipment (UE), vehicles, and factory automation machines. However, mmW RF signals can also be used for other purposes. For example, mmW RF signals can be used in weapons systems (e.g., short-range fire-control radar in tanks and aircraft), security screening systems (e.g., in scanners that detect weapons and other dangerous objects carried under clothing), medicines (e.g., to treat diseases by altering cell growth), etc. Summary of the Invention [Means for solving the problem]

[0004] An exemplary method for tracking targets using bistatic radio frequency sensing according to the present disclosure includes receiving a scanning reference signal, generating a scanning signal report indicating one or more target groups associated with the scanning reference signal, transmitting the scanning signal report, receiving tracking signal configuration information indicating tracking reference signals associated with the one or more target groups, receiving tracking reference signals identified in the tracking signal configuration information, and tracking the one or more target groups associated with the tracking reference signals.

[0005] Implementations of such a method may include one or more of the following features. Indicating one or more target groups may include generating target group identification information for each of the one or more target groups. Receiving a tracking reference signal may include receiving the tracking reference signal once for each of the one or more target groups. The tracking signal configuration information may include a repetition pattern for the tracking reference signal. The method may further include determining a measurement value for the scanning reference signal using one or more receive beams, comparing the measurement value obtained on each of the one or more receive beams with a threshold, and generating a scanning signal report based on the one or more receive beams having a measurement value greater than the threshold. The measurement value may be at least one of a reference signal received power (RSRP), a reference signal received quality (RSRQ), and a signal-to-interference-and-noise ratio (SINR). The scanning reference signal may include at least one selected from the group consisting of a positioning reference signal (PRS), a tracking reference signal (TRS), a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), and a synchronization signal block (SSB). The tracking signal configuration information may be received via at least one of a radio resource control message, a medium access control control element, or a downlink control information message. The scanning signal report may be transmitted via at least one radio resource control message. Receiving the tracking reference signal may be in response to transmitting a tracking request to the base station.

[0006] An exemplary method for single-sided beam management in bistatic radio frequency sensing according to the present disclosure includes transmitting a scanning reference signal; receiving a scanning signal report indicating one or more target groups associated with the scanning reference signal; transmitting tracking signal configuration information based on the scanning reference signal and the one or more target groups; and transmitting a tracking reference signal for each of the one or more target groups.

[0007] Implementations of such methods may include one or more of the following features. The scanning reference signal may include at least one selected from the group consisting of a positioning reference signal (PRS), a tracking reference signal (TRS), a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), and a synchronization signal block (SSB). Transmitting the tracking reference signal may be in response to receiving a tracking request from the user equipment. The scanning signal report may include a signal identification value of the scanning reference signal. The scanning signal report may include one or more target group identification values associated with the scanning reference signal. The scanning signal report may include measurements on a receive beam associated with the user equipment and the scanning reference signal received via the receive beam. The tracking reference signal may include at least one selected from the group consisting of a positioning reference signal (PRS), a tracking reference signal (TRS), a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), and a synchronization signal block (SSB). The tracking signal configuration information may include a repeating pattern for the tracking reference signal. The tracking signal configuration information may include target group identification information for each of one or more target groups. The tracking signal configuration information may be transmitted via at least one of a radio resource control message, a medium access control control element, or a downlink control information message.

[0008] An exemplary apparatus for tracking targets using bistatic radio frequency sensing according to the present disclosure includes a memory, at least one transceiver, and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, wherein the at least one processor is configured to receive scanning reference signals, generate scanning signal reports indicating one or more target groups associated with the scanning reference signals, transmit the scanning signal reports, receive tracking signal configuration information indicating tracking reference signals associated with the one or more target groups, receive tracking reference signals identified in the tracking signal configuration information, and track the one or more target groups associated with the tracking reference signals.

[0009] Implementations of such an apparatus may include one or more of the following features. The at least one processor may be further configured to generate target group identification information for each of the one or more target groups and / or receive a tracking reference signal once for each of the one or more target groups. The tracking signal configuration information may include a repetition pattern for the tracking reference signal. The at least one processor may be further configured to determine measurements for the scanning reference signal using one or more receive beams, compare the measurements obtained on each of the one or more receive beams to a threshold, and generate a scanning signal report based on the one or more receive beams having measurements greater than the threshold. The measurements may be at least one of a reference signal received power (RSRP), a reference signal received quality (RSRQ), and a signal-to-interference-and-noise ratio (SINR). The scanning reference signal may include at least one selected from the group consisting of a positioning reference signal (PRS), a tracking reference signal (TRS), a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), and a synchronization signal block (SSB). The tracking signal configuration information may be received via at least one of a radio resource control message, a medium access control control element, or a downlink control information message. The scanning signal report may be transmitted via at least one radio resource control message. The tracking reference signal may be in response to transmitting a tracking request to the base station.

[0010] An example apparatus according to the present disclosure includes a memory, at least one transceiver, and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, where the at least one processor is configured to transmit a scanning reference signal, receive a scanning signal report indicating one or more target groups associated with the scanning reference signal, transmit tracking signal configuration information based on the scanning reference signal and the one or more target groups, and transmit a tracking reference signal for each of the one or more target groups.

[0011] Implementations of such an apparatus may include one or more of the following features. The scanning reference signal may include at least one selected from the group consisting of a positioning reference signal (PRS), a tracking reference signal (TRS), a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), and a synchronization signal block (SSB). Transmitting the tracking reference signal may be in response to receiving a tracking request from the user equipment. The scanning signal report may include a signal identification value of the scanning reference signal. The scanning signal report may include one or more target group identification values associated with the scanning reference signal. The scanning signal report may include a receive beam associated with the user equipment and measurements on the scanning reference signal received via the receive beam. The tracking reference signal may include at least one selected from the group consisting of a positioning reference signal (PRS), a tracking reference signal (TRS), a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), and a synchronization signal block (SSB). The tracking signal configuration information may include a repeating pattern for the tracking reference signal. The tracking signal configuration information may include target group identification information for each of one or more target groups. The tracking signal configuration information is transmitted via at least one of a radio resource control message, a medium access control control element, or a downlink control information message.

[0012] An exemplary apparatus for tracking targets using bistatic radio frequency sensing according to the present disclosure includes means for receiving a scanning reference signal, means for generating a scanning signal report indicating one or more target groups associated with the scanning reference signal, means for transmitting the scanning signal report, means for receiving tracking signal configuration information indicating tracking reference signals associated with the one or more target groups, means for receiving tracking reference signals identified in the tracking signal configuration information, and means for tracking the one or more target groups associated with the tracking reference signal.

[0013] An example apparatus according to the present disclosure includes means for transmitting a scanning reference signal, means for receiving a scanning signal report indicating one or more target groups associated with the scanning reference signal, means for transmitting tracking signal configuration information based on the scanning reference signal and the one or more target groups, and means for transmitting a tracking reference signal for each of the one or more target groups.

[0014] An exemplary non-transitory processor-readable storage medium including processor-readable instructions configured to cause one or more processors to track targets using bistatic radio frequency sensing according to the present disclosure includes code for receiving a scanning reference signal, code for generating a scanning signal report indicating one or more target groups associated with the scanning reference signal, code for transmitting the scanning signal report, code for receiving tracking signal configuration information indicating tracking reference signals associated with the one or more target groups, code for receiving tracking reference signals identified in the tracking signal configuration information, and code for tracking the one or more target groups associated with the tracking reference signal.

[0015] An exemplary non-transitory processor-readable storage medium including processor-readable instructions configured to cause one or more processors to perform one-sided beam management in bistatic radio frequency sensing according to the present disclosure includes code for transmitting a scanning reference signal, code for receiving a scanning signal report indicating one or more target groups associated with the scanning reference signal, code for transmitting tracking signal configuration information based on the scanning reference signal and the one or more target groups, and code for transmitting a tracking reference signal for each of the one or more target groups.

[0016] Items and / or techniques described herein may provide one or more of the following capabilities, as well as other capabilities not mentioned: A base station may transmit one or more scanning reference signals. A user equipment may receive one of the scanning reference signals via multiple non-line-of-sight paths via one or more receive beams. A target group may be identified based on measurements of the received reference signals. A scanning signal report identifying one or more target groups associated with the scanning reference signal may be sent to the base station. A tracking reference signal for each of the one or more target groups may be transmitted by the base station. A user equipment may track a target group associated with each of the transmitted tracking reference signals. The tracking reference signal may be quasi-colocated with the scanning reference signal associated with the target group. Messaging overhead for radio frequency sensing may be reduced. Other capabilities may be provided, and not all implementations according to the present disclosure must provide any, let alone all, of the described capabilities.

[0017] The accompanying drawings are presented to aid in the explanation of examples of one or more aspects of the disclosed subject matter and are provided by way of illustration only, not limitation. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0018] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary wireless communication system in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 2A] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary wireless network structure in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 2B] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary wireless network structure in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 3A] FIG. 1 is a simplified block diagram of an example aspect of components that may be employed in a wireless communication node and configured to support communication as taught herein. [Figure 3B]FIG. 1 is a simplified block diagram of an example aspect of components that may be employed in a wireless communication node and configured to support communication as taught herein. [Figure 3C] FIG. 1 is a simplified block diagram of an example aspect of components that may be employed in a wireless communication node and configured to support communication as taught herein. [Figure 4A] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary monostatic radar system. [Figure 4B] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary bistatic radar system. [Figure 5] 1 is an exemplary graph illustrating radio frequency (RF) channel response over time. [Figure 6] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary single target beam management use case for bistatic radio frequency sensing. [Figure 7] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary multi-target beam management use case for bistatic radio frequency sensing. [Figure 8A] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary scanning phase using bistatic radio frequency sensing. [Figure 8B] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary tracking phase using bistatic radio frequency sensing. [Figure 8C] 1 is an exemplary message flow for beam-dependent target tracking using bistatic radio frequency sensing beam management. [Figure 9A] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary use case of single-sided beam management for bistatic radio frequency sensing. [Figure 9B] 1 is an exemplary message flow for one-sided bistatic radio frequency sensing beam management. [Figure 10] 1 is an exemplary process flow for a method of single-sided beam management in bistatic radio frequency sensing. [Figure 11] 1 is an exemplary process flow for a method for tracking a target using bistatic radio frequency sensing. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0019] Techniques for single-sided beam management in millimeter-wave (mmW) communication systems for use in bistatic radio frequency (RF) sensing are provided herein. RF sensing can be considered consumer-level radar with advanced detection capabilities. For example, RF sensing can be used in applications such as health monitoring (e.g., heart rate detection, respiration rate monitoring, etc.), gesture recognition (e.g., human activity recognition, keystroke detection, sign language recognition), context information acquisition (e.g., location detection / tracking, direction finding, distance estimation), and automotive radar (e.g., smart cruise control, collision avoidance). In one example, mmW RF signals such as 3GPP NR FR2 / FR2x / FR4 are particularly well-suited for distance sensing applications. The systems and methods herein provide beam management methods that enable base stations (BSs) and / or user equipment (UEs) to utilize RF sensing and object tracking using a single reference signal. For example, during a scanning phase, a BS may be configured to transmit one or more sensing scanning reference signals (SSRSs), and one or more stations (e.g., BSs, UEs) may be configured to provide beam reports that identify target groups associated with the single SSRSs. The BS may be configured to select one or more target groups to track based on the beam reports. During the tracking phase, the BS may be configured to repeatedly transmit a detection and tracking reference signal (STRS) to provide detection and tracking information to the station and enable the station to track one or more target groups associated with the STRS. These techniques are exemplary only and are not exhaustive.

[0020] Aspects of the present disclosure are provided in the following description and related drawings, directed to various examples provided for illustrative purposes. Alternative aspects may be devised without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Additionally, well-known elements of the present disclosure will not be described in detail or will be omitted so as not to obscure the relevant details of the present disclosure.

[0021] The words "exemplary" and / or "example" are used herein to mean "serving as an example, instance, or illustration." Any aspect described herein as "exemplary" and / or "example" is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other aspects. Likewise, the term "aspects of the present disclosure" does not require that all aspects of the present disclosure include the described feature, advantage or mode of operation.

[0022] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the information and signals described below may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout the following description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof, depending in part on the particular application, in part on the desired design, in part on the corresponding technology, etc.

[0023] Further, many aspects are described in terms of sequences of actions to be performed, for example, by elements of a computing device. It will be recognized that the various actions described herein may be performed by particular circuitry (e.g., an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC)), by program instructions executed by one or more processors, or by a combination of both. In addition, the sequences of actions described herein may be considered to be embodied entirely in any form of non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored therein a corresponding set of computer instructions that, when executed, cause or instruct associated processors of a device to perform the functions described herein. Accordingly, various aspects of the present disclosure may be embodied in several different forms, all of which are contemplated to fall within the scope of the claimed subject matter. Additionally, for each aspect described herein, the corresponding form of any such aspect may be described herein, for example, as “logic configured to” perform the described actions.

[0024] The terms “user equipment” (UE) and “base station” (BS), as used herein, are not intended to be specific or otherwise limited to any particular radio access technology (RAT) unless otherwise specified. In general, a UE may be any wireless communication device (e.g., a mobile phone, a router, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a tracking device, a wearable (e.g., a smart watch, glasses, an augmented reality (AR) / virtual reality (VR) headset, etc.), a vehicle (e.g., an automobile, a motorcycle, a bicycle, etc.), an Internet of Things (IoT) device, etc.) used by a user to communicate over a wireless communication network. A UE may be mobile or may be stationary (e.g., at some times) and may communicate with a radio access network (RAN). As used herein, the term “UE” may be referred to interchangeably as an “access terminal” or “AT,” a “client device,” a “wireless device,” a “subscriber device,” a “subscriber terminal,” a “subscriber station,” a “user terminal” or “UT,” a “mobile device,” a “mobile terminal,” a “mobile station,” or variations thereof. In general, a UE can communicate with a core network via a RAN, through which the UE can be connected to external networks such as the Internet and to other UEs. Of course, other mechanisms for connecting to the core network and / or the Internet are also possible for a UE, such as via a wired access network, a wireless local area network (WLAN) network (e.g., based on IEEE 802.11, etc.), etc.

[0025] A base station may operate according to one of several RATs with which it communicates with UEs depending on the network in which it is deployed and may alternatively be referred to as an access point (AP), network node, Node B, evolved Node B (eNB), next generation eNB (ng-eNB), New Radio (NR) Node B (also referred to as gNB or gNode B), etc. Base stations may be used primarily to support wireless access by UEs, including supporting data, voice, and / or signaling connections for supported UEs. In some systems, base stations may provide purely edge node signaling functionality, while in other systems, base stations may provide additional control and / or network management functions. Communication links through which UEs can send signals to a base station are called uplink (UL) channels (e.g., reverse traffic channel, reverse control channel, access channel, etc.). Communication links through which a base station can send signals to a UE are called downlink (DL) or forward link channels (e.g., paging channel, control channel, broadcast channel, forward traffic channel, etc.). As used herein, the term Traffic Channel (TCH) can refer to either an uplink / reverse traffic channel or a downlink / forward traffic channel.

[0026] The term "base station" may refer to a single physical transmit receiving point (TRP) or multiple physical TRPs, which may or may not be collocated. For example, when the term "base station" refers to a single physical TRP, the physical TRP may be an antenna of the base station corresponding to the base station's cell (or several cell sectors). When the term "base station" refers to multiple collocated physical TRPs, the physical TRP may be an array of antennas of the base station (e.g., as in a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system or when the base station employs beamforming). When the term "base station" refers to multiple non-collocated physical TRPs, the physical TRP may be a distributed antenna system (DAS) (a network of spatially separated antennas connected to a common source via a transport medium) or a remote radio head (RRH) (a remote base station connected to a serving base station). Alternatively, a non-collocated physical TRP may be a serving base station from which the UE receives measurement reports from neighboring base stations whose reference RF signals (or simply "reference signals") the UE is measuring. As used herein, references to transmission from or reception at a base station should be understood as referring to the particular TRP of the base station, since a TRP is a point from which a base station transmits and receives wireless signals.

[0027] In some implementations that support UE positioning, a base station may not support wireless access by the UE (e.g., may not support data, voice, and / or signaling connections for the UE), but instead may transmit reference signals to the UE to be measured by the UE and / or may receive and measure signals transmitted by the UE. Such a base station may be referred to as a positioning beacon (e.g., when transmitting signals to the UE) and / or a location measurement unit (e.g., when receiving and measuring signals from the UE).

[0028] An "RF signal" includes electromagnetic waves of a given frequency that transport information through space between a transmitter and a receiver. As used herein, a transmitter may transmit a single "RF signal" or multiple "RF signals" to a receiver. However, the receiver may receive multiple "RF signals" corresponding to each transmitted RF signal due to the propagation characteristics of RF signals through a multipath channel. The same RF signal transmitted over different paths between a transmitter and a receiver may be referred to as a "multipath" RF signal. As used herein, an RF signal may also be referred to as a "wireless signal," or simply a "signal" when it is clear from the context that the term "signal" refers to a wireless signal or an RF signal.

[0029] 1, an exemplary wireless communication system 100 is shown. The wireless communication system 100 (sometimes referred to as a wireless wide area network (WWAN)) may include various base stations 102 and various UEs 104. The base stations 102 may include macrocell base stations (high-power cellular base stations) and / or small cell base stations (low-power cellular base stations). In one aspect, the macrocell base stations may include eNBs and / or ng-eNBs if the wireless communication system 100 corresponds to an LTE network, or gNBs if the wireless communication system 100 corresponds to an NR network, or a combination of both, and the small cell base stations may include femtocells, picocells, microcells, etc.

[0030] The base stations 102 collectively form a RAN and may interface with a core network 170 (e.g., Evolved Packet Core (EPC) or 5G Core (5GC)) through backhaul links 122 and through the core network 170 to one or more location servers 172 (which may be part of the core network 170 or external to the core network 170). In addition to other functions, the base stations 102 may perform functions related to one or more of forwarding user data, radio channel encryption and decryption, integrity protection, header compression, mobility control functions (e.g., handover, dual connectivity), inter-cell interference coordination, connection setup and release, load balancing, distribution for Non-Access Stratum (NAS) messages, NAS node selection, synchronization, RAN sharing, Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Services (MBMS), subscriber and equipment tracing, RAN Information Management (RIM), paging, positioning, and distribution of alert messages. The base stations 102 may communicate with each other directly or indirectly (e.g., through EPC / 5GC) via backhaul links 134, which may be wired or wireless.

[0031] The base stations 102 may wirelessly communicate with the UEs 104. Each of the base stations 102 may provide communication coverage for a respective geographic coverage area 110. In one aspect, one or more cells may be supported by the base station 102 in each geographic coverage area 110. A “cell” is a logical communication entity used for communication with a base station (e.g., via some frequency resource referred to as a carrier frequency, component carrier, carrier, band, etc.) and may be associated with an identifier (e.g., a physical cell identifier (PCI), a virtual cell identifier (VCI), a cell global identifier (CGI)) to distinguish cells operating over the same or different carrier frequencies. In some cases, different cells may be configured according to different protocol types (e.g., machine type communication (MTC), narrowband IoT (NB-IoT), enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), or others) that may provide access for different types of UEs. Because a cell is supported by a particular base station, the term “cell” can refer to either or both the logical communication entity and the base station that supports it, depending on the context. Additionally, the terms "cell" and "TRP" may be used interchangeably, since a TRP is typically the physical transmission point of a cell. In some cases, the term "cell" may also refer to the geographic coverage area (e.g., sector) of a base station, so long as the carrier frequency can be detected and used for communication within some portion of the geographic coverage area 110.

[0032] Because of their proximity to macrocell base stations 102, their geographic coverage areas 110 may overlap partially (e.g., within handover regions), but some of their geographic coverage areas 110 may be substantially overlapped by larger geographic coverage areas 110. For example, a small cell base station 102' may have a geographic coverage area 110' that substantially overlaps with the geographic coverage area 110 of one or more macrocell base stations 102. A network including both small cell base stations and macrocell base stations may be known as a heterogeneous network. A heterogeneous network may also include Home eNBs (HeNBs), which may serve closed groups known as Closed Subscriber Groups (CSGs).

[0033] The communication link 120 between the base station 102 and the UE 104 may include uplink (also called reverse link) transmissions from the UE 104 to the base station 102 and / or downlink (also called forward link) transmissions from the base station 102 to the UE 104. The communication link 120 may use MIMO antenna techniques, including spatial multiplexing, beamforming, and / or transmit diversity. The communication link 120 may be over one or more carrier frequencies. The allocation of carriers may be asymmetric for the downlink and uplink (e.g., more or fewer carriers may be allocated for the downlink than for the uplink).

[0034] The wireless communication system 100 may further include a wireless local area network (WLAN) access point (AP) 150 communicating with a WLAN station (STA) 152 via a communication link 154 in an unlicensed frequency spectrum (e.g., 5 GHz). When communicating in the unlicensed frequency spectrum, the WLAN STA 152 and / or the WLAN AP 150 may perform a clear channel assessment (CCA) or listen-before-talk (LBT) procedure before communicating to determine whether a channel is available.

[0035] The small cell base station 102' may operate in a licensed frequency spectrum and / or an unlicensed frequency spectrum. When operating in an unlicensed frequency spectrum, the small cell base station 102' may employ LTE or NR technology and use the same 5 GHz unlicensed frequency spectrum used by the WLAN AP 150. A small cell base station 102' employing LTE / 5G in an unlicensed frequency spectrum may extend coverage to and / or increase the capacity of an access network. NR in an unlicensed spectrum may be referred to as NR-U. LTE in an unlicensed spectrum may be referred to as LTE-U, licensed assisted access (LAA), or MultiFire.

[0036] The wireless communication system 100 may further include a millimeter-wave (mmW) base station 180, which may operate at millimeter-wave (mmW) and / or sub-mmW frequencies, communicating with the UE 182. Extremely high frequency (EHF) is a portion of RF in the electromagnetic spectrum. EHF has a range of 30 GHz to 300 GHz and a wavelength between 1 millimeter and 10 millimeters. Radio waves in this band are sometimes referred to as millimeter waves. Sub-mmW may extend down to frequencies of 3 GHz with wavelengths of 100 millimeters. The very high frequency (SHF) band extends between 3 GHz and 30 GHz and is also referred to as centimeter waves. Communications using the mmW / sub-mmW radio frequency band have high path loss and relatively short distances. The mmW base station 180 and the UE 182 may utilize beamforming (transmit and / or receive) over the mmW communication link 184 to compensate for the extremely high path loss and short distances. It will be appreciated that in alternative configurations, one or more base stations 102 may also transmit using mmW or sub-mmW and beamforming. Therefore, it will be appreciated that the above illustrations are merely examples and should not be construed as limiting the various aspects disclosed herein.

[0037] Transmit beamforming is a technique for focusing an RF signal in a particular direction. Traditionally, when a network node (e.g., a base station) broadcasts an RF signal, it broadcasts that signal in all directions (omnidirectionally). With transmit beamforming, the network node determines where a given target device (e.g., a UE) is located (relative to the transmitting network node) and emits a stronger downlink RF signal in that particular direction, thereby providing a faster and stronger RF signal (in terms of data rate) to the receiving device. To change the directionality of the RF signal when transmitting, the network node can control the phase and relative amplitude of the RF signal at each of one or more transmitters broadcasting the RF signal. For example, the network node may use an array of antennas (called a “phased array” or “antenna array”) that creates beams of RF waves that can be “steered” to point in different directions without actually moving the antennas. Specifically, RF current from the transmitters is fed to individual antennas in the correct phase relationship to combine radio waves from separate antennas to increase radiation in desired directions while canceling to suppress radiation in undesired directions.

[0038] A transmit beam may be quasi-colocated, meaning that the transmit beam appears to a receiver (e.g., a UE) to have the same parameters regardless of whether the network node's transmit antennas themselves are physically colocated. In NR, there are four types of quasi-colocation (QCL) relationships. In particular, a given type of QCL relationship means that some parameters for a second reference RF signal on a second beam can be derived from information about the source reference RF signal on the source beam. Thus, if the source reference RF signal is QCL Type A, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift, Doppler spread, mean delay, and delay spread of the second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL Type B, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift and Doppler spread of the second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL Type C, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift and mean delay of the second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL Type D, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate spatial reception parameters of a second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel.

[0039] In receive beamforming, a receiver uses a receive beam to amplify RF signals detected on a given channel. For example, the receiver can increase the gain setting and / or adjust the phase setting of an antenna array in a particular direction to amplify (e.g., increase) the RF signal received from that direction. Thus, when a receiver is said to beamform in a certain direction, it means that the beam gain in that direction is higher relative to the beam gains along other directions, or that the beam gain in that direction is the highest compared to the beam gains in that direction of all other receive beams available to the receiver. This results in a stronger received signal strength (e.g., reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), signal-to-interference-and-noise ratio (SINR), etc.) of the RF signal received from that direction.

[0040] The receive beams may be spatially related. The spatial relationship means that parameters of a transmit beam for a second reference signal can be derived from information about the receive beam for the first reference signal. For example, a UE may use a particular receive beam to receive one or more reference downlink reference signals (e.g., a positioning reference signal (PRS), a tracking reference signal (TRS), a phase tracking reference signal (PTRS), a cell-specific reference signal (CRS), a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), a primary synchronization signal (PSS), a secondary synchronization signal (SSS), a synchronization signal block (SSB), etc.) from a base station. The UE can then form a transmit beam for sending one or more uplink reference signals (e.g., an uplink positioning reference signal (UL-PRS), a sounding reference signal (SRS), a demodulation reference signal (DMRS), a PTRS, etc.) to that base station based on the parameters of the receive beam.

[0041] Note that a "downlink" beam can be either a transmit beam or a receive beam, depending on the entity that forms it. For example, if the base station forms a downlink beam to transmit a reference signal to the UE, the downlink beam is a transmit beam. However, if the UE forms a downlink beam, it is a receive beam to receive the downlink reference signal. Similarly, an "uplink" beam can be either a transmit beam or a receive beam, depending on the entity that forms it. For example, if the base station forms an uplink beam, it is an uplink receive beam, and if the UE forms an uplink beam, it is an uplink transmit beam.

[0042] In 5G, the frequency spectrum in which wireless nodes (e.g., base station 102 / 180, UE 104 / 182) operate is divided into multiple frequency ranges: FR1 (450 MHz to 6000 MHz), FR2 (24250 MHz to 52600 MHz), FR3 (above 52600 MHz), and FR4 (between FR1 and FR2). In a multi-carrier system such as 5G, one of the carrier frequencies is called the “primary carrier” or “anchor carrier” or “primary serving cell” or “PCell,” and the remaining carrier frequencies are called “secondary carriers” or “secondary serving cells” or “SCells.” In carrier aggregation, the anchor carrier is the carrier operating on the primary frequency (e.g., FR1) utilized by the UE 104 / 182 and on the cell in which the UE 104 / 182 either performs an initial radio resource control (RRC) connection establishment procedure or initiates an RRC connection re-establishment procedure. The primary carrier carries all common control channels and UE-specific control channels and may (but is not always) be a carrier among licensed frequencies. The secondary carrier is a carrier operating on a second frequency (e.g., FR2) that may be configured once an RRC connection is established between the UE 104 and the anchor carrier and may be used to provide additional radio resources. In some cases, the secondary carrier may be a carrier among unlicensed frequencies. Since both the primary uplink carrier and the primary downlink carrier are typically UE-specific, the secondary carrier may contain only necessary signaling information and signals; for example, signaling information and signals that are UE-specific may not be present in the secondary carrier. This means that different UEs 104 / 182 in a cell may have different downlink primary carriers. The same applies to the uplink primary carrier. The network can change the primary carrier of any UE 104 / 182 at any time. This is done, for example, to balance the load on different carriers.Since a "serving cell" (whether a PCell or an SCell) corresponds to the carrier frequency / component carrier over which some base station is communicating, terms such as "cell," "serving cell," "component carrier," and "carrier frequency" may be used interchangeably.

[0043] For example, still referring to FIG. 1, one of the frequencies utilized by the macrocell base station 102 may be an anchor carrier (or “PCell”), and other frequencies utilized by the macrocell base station 102 and / or the mmW base station 180 may be secondary carriers (“SCells”). Simultaneous transmission and / or reception of multiple carriers allows the UE 104 / 182 to significantly increase its data transmission and / or data reception rates. For example, two aggregated 20 MHz carriers in a multi-carrier system would theoretically provide a two-fold increase in data rate (i.e., 40 MHz) compared to the data rate achieved by a single 20 MHz carrier.

[0044] Wireless communications system 100 may further include a UE 164, which may communicate with macrocell base station 102 via communications link 120 and / or with mmW base station 180 via mmW communications link 184. For example, macrocell base station 102 may support a PCell and one or more SCells for UE 164, and mmW base station 180 may support one or more SCells for UE 164.

[0045] The wireless communication system 100 may further include one or more UEs, such as a UE 190, that indirectly connect to one or more communication networks via one or more device-to-device (D2D) peer-to-peer (P2P) links (referred to as “sidelinks”). In the example of FIG. 1, the UE 190 has a D2D P2P link 192 through which one of the UEs 104 is connected to one of the base stations 102 (e.g., through which the UE 190 may indirectly obtain cellular connectivity) and a D2D P2P link 194 through which the WLAN STA 152 is connected to the WLAN AP 150 (through which the UE 190 may indirectly obtain WLAN-based Internet connectivity). In one example, the D2D P2P links 192 and 194 may be supported using any well-known D2D RAT, such as LTE Direct (LTE-D), WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), Bluetooth®, etc.

[0046] 2A , an exemplary wireless network structure 200 is shown. For example, a 5GC 210 (also referred to as a Next Generation Core (NGC)) may be functionally viewed as a control plane function 214 (e.g., UE registration, authentication, network access, gateway selection, etc.) and a user plane function 212 (e.g., UE gateway function, access to data network, IP routing, etc.) that operate cooperatively to form a core network. A user plane interface (NG-U) 213 and a control plane interface (NG-C) 215 connect a gNB 222 to the 5GC 210, specifically to the control plane function 214 and the user plane function 212. In an additional configuration, an ng-eNB 224 may also be connected to the 5GC 210 via the NG-C 215 to the control plane function 214 and the NG-U 213 to the user plane function 212. Additionally, the ng-eNB 224 may communicate directly with the gNB 222 via a backhaul connection 223. In some configurations, the new RAN 220 may have only one or more gNBs 222, while other configurations include one or more of both the ng-eNB 224 and the gNB 222. Either the gNB 222 or the ng-eNB 224 may be in communication with the UE 204 (e.g., any of the UEs shown in FIG. 1). Another optional aspect may include a location server 230, which may be in communication with the 5GC 210 to provide location assistance to the UE 204. The location servers 230 may be implemented as multiple separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules spread across multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternatively, each may correspond to a single server. The location server 230 may be configured to support one or more location services for the UE 204, which may be connected to the location server 230 via the core network, the 5GC 210, and / or via the Internet (not shown). Furthermore, the location server 230 may be integrated into a component of the core network, or alternatively, may be external to the core network.

[0047] 2B , another exemplary wireless network structure 250 is shown. For example, the 5GC 260 may be viewed functionally as a control plane function provided by an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 264 and a user plane function provided by a User Plane Function (UPF) 262, which operate cooperatively to form a core network (i.e., the 5GC 260). A user plane interface 263 and a control plane interface 265 connect the ng-eNB 224 to the 5GC 260, specifically to the UPF 262 and the AMF 264, respectively. In an additional configuration, the gNB 222 may also be connected to the 5GC 260 via the control plane interface 265 to the AMF 264 and the user plane interface 263 to the UPF 262. Furthermore, the ng-eNB 224 may communicate directly with the gNB 222 via the backhaul connection 223, with or without gNB direct connectivity to the 5GC 260. In some configurations, the new RAN 220 may have only one or more gNBs 222, while other configurations include one or more of both the ng-eNB 224 and the gNB 222. Either the gNB 222 or the ng-eNB 224 may communicate with the UE 204 (e.g., any of the UEs shown in FIG. 1). The base stations of the new RAN 220 communicate with the AMF 264 via an N2 interface and with the UPF 262 via an N3 interface.

[0048] The AMF 264 functions include registration management, connection management, reachability management, mobility management, lawful intercept, transport for session management (SM) messages between the UE 204 and a session management function (SMF) 266, a transparent proxy service for routing SM messages, access authentication and access authorization, transport for short message service (SMS) messages between the UE 204 and a short message service function (SMSF) (not shown), and a security anchor function (SEAF). The AMF 264 also interacts with an authentication server function (AUSF) (not shown) and the UE 204 to receive intermediate keys established as a result of the UE 204 authentication process. In the case of authentication based on a universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS) subscriber identity module (USIM), the AMF 264 retrieves security material from the AUSF. The AMF 264 also functions as a security context management (SCM). The SCM receives keys from the SEAF that the SCM uses to derive access network specific keys. The AMF 264 functions also include location service management for barred services, transport for location service messages between the UE 204 and the Location Management Function (LMF) 270 (acting as the location server 230), transport for location service messages between the New RAN 220 and the LMF 270, Evolved Packet System (EPS) bearer identifier allocation for interworking with the EPS, and UE 204 mobility event notification. In addition, the AMF 264 also supports functions for non-3GPP access networks.

[0049] The functions of the UPF 262 include serving as an anchor point for intra- / inter-RAT mobility (when applicable), serving as an outer protocol data unit (PDU) session point for interconnection to a data network (not shown), packet routing and forwarding, packet inspection, user plane policy rule enforcement (e.g., gating, redirection, traffic steering), lawful interception (user plane collection), traffic usage reporting, quality of service (QoS) processing for the user plane (e.g., uplink / downlink rate enforcement, reflective QoS marking in the downlink), uplink traffic validation (service data flow (SDF) to QoS flow mapping), transport-level packet marking in the uplink and downlink, downlink packet buffering and downlink data notification triggering, and sending and forwarding one or more "end markers" to the source RAN node. The UPF 262 may also support the transfer of location service messages over the user plane between the UE 204 and a location server such as the Secure User Plane Location (SUPL) Location Platform (SLP) 272.

[0050] The functions of the SMF 266 include session management, UE Internet Protocol (IP) address allocation and management, selection and control of user plane functions, configuration of traffic steering in the UPF 262 to route traffic to the appropriate destination, control of policy enforcement and parts of QoS, and downlink data notification. The interface through which the SMF 266 communicates with the AMF 264 is called the N11 interface.

[0051] Another optional aspect may include an LMF 270 that may be in communication with the 5GC 260 to provide location assistance to the UE 204. The LMF 270 may be implemented as multiple separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules spread across multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternatively, may each correspond to a single server. The LMF 270 may be configured to support one or more location services for UEs 204 that may connect to the LMF 270 via a core network, the 5GC 260, and / or via the Internet (not shown). The SLP 272 may support similar functions as the LMF 270, but while the LMF 270 may communicate with the AMF 264, the New RAN 220, and the UE 204 via the control plane (e.g., using interfaces and protocols intended to convey signaling messages rather than voice or data), the SLP 272 may communicate with the UE 204 and external clients (not shown in FIG. 2B) via the user plane (e.g., using protocols intended to carry voice and / or data, such as Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and / or IP).

[0052] In one aspect, the LMF 270 and / or the SLP 272 may be integrated into a base station, such as the gNB 222 and / or the ng-eNB 224. When integrated into the gNB 222 and / or the ng-eNB 224, the LMF 270 and / or the SLP 272 may be referred to as a "location management component" or "LMC." However, as used herein, references to the LMF 270 and the SLP 272 include both cases where the LMF 270 and the SLP 272 are components of a core network (e.g., the 5GC 260) and cases where the LMF 270 and the SLP 272 are components of a base station.

[0053] 3A, 3B, and 3C, several example components (represented by corresponding blocks) are shown that may be incorporated within a UE 302 (which may correspond to any of the UEs described herein), a base station 304 (which may correspond to any of the base stations described herein), and a network entity 306 (which may correspond to or embody any of the network functions described herein, including location server 230 and LMF 270) to support file transmission operations. It will be appreciated that these components may be implemented in different types of devices in different implementations (e.g., in an ASIC, in a system-on-chip (SoC), etc.). The illustrated components may also be incorporated within other devices in a communication system. For example, other devices in the system may include components similar to the illustrated components to provide similar functionality. Also, a given device may include one or more of the components. For example, a device may include multiple transceiver components that enable the device to operate on multiple carriers and / or communicate via different technologies.

[0054] The UE 302 and the base station 304 each include a wireless wide area network (WWAN) transceiver 310 and 350, respectively, configured to communicate via one or more wireless communications networks (not shown), such as an NR network, an LTE network, a GSM network, etc. The WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 may be connected to one or more antennas 316 and 356, respectively, for communicating with other network nodes, such as other UEs, access points, base stations (e.g., eNBs, gNBs), etc., via at least one designated RAT (e.g., NR, LTE, GSM, etc.) over a targeted wireless communications medium (e.g., some set of time / frequency resources within a particular frequency spectrum). The WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 may be variously configured to transmit and encode signals 318 and 358, respectively (e.g., messages, instructions, information, etc.), and conversely, to receive and decode signals 318 and 358, respectively (e.g., messages, instructions, information, pilots, etc.), in accordance with the designated RAT. In particular, the WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 include one or more transmitters 314 and 354, respectively, for transmitting and encoding signals 318 and 358, and include one or more receivers 312 and 352, respectively, for receiving and decoding signals 318 and 358, respectively.

[0055] The UE 302 and base station 304 also, at least in some cases, include wireless local area network (WLAN) transceivers 320 and 360, respectively. The WLAN transceivers 320 and 360 may be connected to one or more antennas 326 and 366, respectively, for communicating with other network nodes, such as other UEs, access points, base stations, etc., via at least one designated RAT (e.g., WiFi, LTE-D, Bluetooth, etc.) over a target wireless communications medium. The WLAN transceivers 320 and 360 may be variously configured to transmit and encode signals 328 and 368, respectively (e.g., messages, instructions, information, etc.), and conversely, to receive and decode signals 328 and 368, respectively (e.g., messages, instructions, information, pilots, etc.), in accordance with the designated RAT. In particular, transceivers 320 and 360 include one or more transmitters 324 and 364, respectively, for transmitting and encoding signals 328 and 368, respectively, and include one or more receivers 322 and 362, respectively, for receiving and decoding signals 328 and 368, respectively.

[0056] Transceiver circuitry including at least one transmitter and at least one receiver may in some implementations comprise an integrated device (e.g., embodied as transmitter and receiver circuitry in a single communications device), in some implementations comprise separate transmitter and receiver devices, and in other implementations may be embodied in other manners. In one aspect, a transmitter may include or be coupled to multiple antennas, such as an antenna array (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), enabling each device to perform transmit “beamforming” as described herein. Similarly, a receiver may include or be coupled to multiple antennas, such as an antenna array (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), enabling each device to perform receive beamforming as described herein. In one aspect, a transmitter and a receiver may share the same multiple antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), such that each device can only receive or transmit at a given time, but not both simultaneously. The wireless communication devices of the UE 302 and / or base station 304 (e.g., one or both of the WWAN / WLAN transceivers 310 and 320 and / or 350 and 360) may also include a network listen module (NLM) or the like for performing various measurements.

[0057] The UE 302 and base station 304 also, at least in some cases, include satellite positioning system (SPS) receivers 330 and 370. The SPS receivers 330 and 370 may be connected to one or more antennas 336 and 376, respectively, for receiving SPS signals 338 and 378, respectively, such as Global Positioning System (GPS) signals, Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS) signals, Galileo signals, Beidou signals, Navigation Satellite System of India (NAVIC), Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS), etc. The SPS receivers 330 and 370 may comprise any suitable hardware and / or software for receiving and processing the SPS signals 338 and 378, respectively. The SPS receivers 330 and 370 request information and operations from other systems as appropriate and perform the calculations necessary to determine the positions of the UE 302 and base station 304 using measurements obtained by any suitable SPS algorithms.

[0058] The base station 304 and the network entity 306 each include at least one network interface 380 and 390 for communicating with other network entities. For example, the network interfaces 380 and 390 (e.g., one or more network access ports) may be configured to communicate with one or more network entities via a wire-based or wireless backhaul connection. In some aspects, the network interfaces 380 and 390 may be implemented as transceivers configured to support wire-based or wireless signal communication. This communication may involve, for example, sending and receiving messages, parameters, and / or other types of information.

[0059] The UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 also include other components that may be used in conjunction with operations as disclosed herein. The UE 302 includes processor circuitry implementing a processing system 332, e.g., for providing functionality related to RF sensing and for providing other processing functions. The base station 304 includes a processing system 384, e.g., for providing functionality related to RF sensing and for providing other processing functions as disclosed herein. The network entity 306 includes a processing system 394, e.g., for providing functionality related to RF sensing and for providing other processing functions as disclosed herein. In one aspect, the processing systems 332, 384, and 394 may include, e.g., one or more general-purpose processors, multi-core processors, ASICs, digital signal processors (DSPs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or other programmable logic devices or processing circuitry.

[0060] The UE 302, the base station 304, and the network entity 306 include memory circuitry implementing memory components 340, 386, and 396, respectively (e.g., each including a memory device) for maintaining information (e.g., information indicative of reserved resources, thresholds, parameters, etc.). In some cases, the UE 302, the base station 304, and the network entity 306 may include RF sensing components 342, 388, and 398, respectively. The RF sensing components 342, 388, and 398 may be hardware circuits that are part of or coupled to the processing systems 332, 384, and 394, respectively, that, when executed, cause the UE 302, the base station 304, and the network entity 306 to perform the functions described herein. In other aspects, the RF sensing components 342, 388, and 398 may be external to the processing systems 332, 384, and 394 (e.g., may be part of a modem processing system, may be integrated with another processing system, etc.). Alternatively, the RF detection components 342, 388, and 398 may be memory modules stored in the memory components 340, 386, and 396, respectively (as shown in Figures 3A-3C) that, when executed by the processing systems 332, 384, and 394 (or a modem processing system, another processing system, etc.), cause the UE 302, the base station 304, and the network entity 306 to perform the functions described herein.

[0061] The UE 302 may include one or more sensors 344 coupled to the processing system 332 to provide motion and / or orientation information independent of motion data derived from signals received by the WWAN transceiver 310, the WLAN transceiver 320, and / or the SPS receiver 330. By way of example, the sensors 344 may include an accelerometer (e.g., a microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) device), a gyroscope, a geomagnetic sensor (e.g., a compass), an altimeter (e.g., a barometric altimeter), and / or any other type of motion detection sensor. Furthermore, the sensors 344 may include multiple different types of devices and combine their outputs to provide motion information. For example, the sensors 344 may use a combination of a multi-axis accelerometer and an orientation sensor to provide the ability to calculate position in a 2D and / or 3D coordinate system.

[0062] Additionally, the UE 302 includes a user interface 346 for providing instructions (e.g., audio and / or visual instructions) to a user and / or receiving user input (e.g., upon user actuation of a sensing device such as a keypad, touch screen, microphone, etc.). Although not shown, the base station 304 and the network entity 306 may also include user interfaces.

[0063] Referring more particularly to the processing system 384, on the downlink, IP packets from the network entity 306 may be provided to the processing system 384. The processing system 384 may implement functionality for an RRC layer, a Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer, a Radio Link Control (RLC) layer, and a Medium Access Control (MAC) layer. The processing system 384 may provide RRC layer functions associated with broadcasting system information (e.g., Master Information Block (MIB), System Information Block (SIB)), RRC connection control (e.g., RRC connection paging, RRC connection establishment, RRC connection modification, and RRC connection release), inter-RAT mobility, and measurement configuration for UE measurement reporting; PDCP layer functions associated with header compression / decompression, security (encryption, decryption, integrity protection, integrity verification), and handover support functions; RLC layer functions associated with forwarding upper layer packet data units (PDUs), error correction through automatic repeat request (ARQ), concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC service data units (SDUs), re-segmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functions associated with mapping between logical channels and transport channels, scheduling information reporting, error correction, priority handling, and logical channel prioritization.

[0064] The transmitter 354 and receiver 352 may implement Layer 1 functions associated with various signal processing functions. Layer 1, including the physical (PHY) layer, may include error detection on transport channels, forward error correction (FEC) coding / decoding of transport channels, interleaving, rate matching, mapping onto physical channels, modulation / demodulation of physical channels, and MIMO antenna processing. The transmitter 354 handles mapping to signal constellations based on various modulation schemes (e.g., binary phase shift keying (BPSK), quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK), M-phase shift keying (M-PSK), M-quadrature amplitude modulation (M-QAM)). The coded and modulated symbols may then be split into parallel streams. Each stream may then be mapped to an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) subcarrier, multiplexed with a reference signal (e.g., a pilot) in the time and / or frequency domain, and then combined together using an inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) to generate a physical channel carrying the time-domain OFDM symbol stream. The OFDM symbol stream is spatially precoded to generate multiple spatial streams. Channel estimates from a channel estimator may be used to determine the coding and modulation scheme and for spatial processing. The channel estimates may be derived from a reference signal and / or channel condition feedback transmitted by the UE 302. Each spatial stream may then be provided to one or more different antennas 356. The transmitter 354 may modulate an RF carrier with each spatial stream for transmission.

[0065] At the UE 302, the receiver 312 receives the signal through its respective antenna 316. The receiver 312 recovers the information demodulated onto the RF carrier and provides the information to the processing system 332. The transmitter 314 and receiver 312 implement Layer 1 functions associated with various signal processing functions. The receiver 312 may perform spatial processing on the information to recover any spatial streams destined for the UE 302. If multiple spatial streams are destined for the UE 302, they may be combined into a single OFDM symbol stream by the receiver 312. The receiver 312 then converts the OFDM symbol stream from the time domain to the frequency domain using a fast Fourier transform (FFT). The frequency-domain signal includes a separate OFDM symbol stream for each subcarrier of the OFDM signal. The symbols on each subcarrier, as well as the reference signal, are recovered and decoded by determining the signal constellation point that was most likely transmitted by the base station 304. These soft decisions may be based on channel estimates calculated by a channel estimator. The soft decisions are then decoded and deinterleaved to recover the data and control signals originally transmitted on the physical channel by the base station 304. The data and control signals are then provided to a processing system 332 that implements Layer 3 and Layer 2 functions.

[0066] In the uplink, the processing system 332 performs demultiplexing between transport and logical channels, packet reassembly, decryption, header decompression, and control signal processing to recover IP packets from the core network. The processing system 332 is also responsible for error detection.

[0067] Similar to the functionality described with respect to downlink transmissions by the base station 304, the processing system 332 provides RRC layer functionality associated with system information (e.g., MIB, SIB) acquisition, RRC connection, and measurement reporting; PDCP layer functionality associated with header compression / decompression and security (encryption, decryption, integrity protection, integrity verification); RLC layer functionality associated with forwarding upper layer PDUs, error correction via ARQ, concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC SDUs, re-segmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functionality associated with mapping between logical channels and transport channels, multiplexing MAC SDUs onto transport blocks (TBs), demultiplexing MAC SDUs from TBs, scheduling information reporting, error correction via hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ), priority handling, and logical channel prioritization.

[0068] Channel estimates derived by the channel estimator from a reference signal or feedback transmitted by the base station 304 may be used by the transmitter 314 to select an appropriate coding and modulation scheme and to facilitate spatial processing. The spatial streams generated by the transmitter 314 may be provided to different antennas 316. The transmitter 314 may modulate an RF carrier with each spatial stream for transmission.

[0069] Uplink transmissions are processed at the base station 304 in a manner similar to that described with respect to the receiver function at the UE 302. The receiver 352 receives the signal through its respective antenna 356. The receiver 352 recovers the information demodulated onto the RF carrier and provides the information to the processing system 384.

[0070] In the uplink, the processing system 384 performs demultiplexing between transport and logical channels, packet reassembly, decryption, header decompression, and control signal processing to recover IP packets from the UE 302. The IP packets from the processing system 384 may be provided to the core network. The processing system 384 is also responsible for error detection.

[0071] For convenience, the UE 302, the base station 304, and / or the network entity 306 are illustrated in Figures 3A-3C as including various components that may be configured in accordance with various examples described herein, although it will be appreciated that the illustrated blocks may have different functions in different designs.

[0072] The various components of the UE 302, the base station 304, and the network entity 306 may communicate with one another via data buses 334, 382, and 392, respectively. The components of FIGS. 3A-3C may be implemented in various ways. In some implementations, the components of FIGS. 3A-3C may be implemented in one or more circuits, such as, for example, one or more processors and / or one or more ASICs (which may include one or more processors). Here, each circuit may use and / or incorporate at least one memory component for storing information or executable code used by the circuit to provide its functionality. For example, some or all of the functionality represented by blocks 310-346 may be implemented by the processor and memory components of the UE 302 (e.g., by execution of appropriate code and / or by appropriate configuration of the processor components). Similarly, some or all of the functionality represented by blocks 350-388 may be implemented by the processor and memory components of the base station 304 (e.g., by execution of appropriate code and / or by appropriate configuration of the processor components). Additionally, some or all of the functionality represented by blocks 390-398 may be implemented by the processor and memory components of the network entity 306 (e.g., by execution of appropriate code and / or by appropriate configuration of the processor components). For simplicity, various operations, acts, and / or functions are described herein as being performed "by the UE," "by the base station," "by the positioning entity," etc. However, it will be appreciated that such operations, acts, and / or functions may actually be performed by particular components or combinations of components, such as the UE, base station, positioning entity, etc., such as the processing systems 332, 384, 394, the transceivers 310, 320, 350, and 360, the memory components 340, 386, and 396, the RF sensing components 342, 388, and 398, etc.

[0073] Wireless communication signals (e.g., RF signals configured to carry OFDM symbols) transmitted between a UE and a base station may be repurposed for environmental sensing (also referred to as "RF sensing" or "radar"). Using wireless communication signals for environmental sensing may be considered a consumer-level radar with advanced detection capabilities, enabling, among other things, touchless / device-free interaction with devices / systems. The wireless communication signals may be cellular communication signals, such as LTE or NR signals, WLAN signals, etc. As a specific example, the wireless communication signals may be OFDM waveforms, such as those utilized in LTE and NR. High-frequency communication signals, such as mmW RF signals, are particularly beneficial for use as radar signals, since higher frequencies provide, at the very least, more accurate range (distance) detection.

[0074] Generally, there are different types of radar, particularly monostatic radar and bistatic radar. FIGS. 4A and 4B illustrate two of these various types of radar. In particular, FIG. 4A is a diagram 400 illustrating a monostatic radar scenario, and FIG. 4B is a diagram 430 illustrating a bistatic radar scenario. In FIG. 4A, a base station 402 may be configured for full-duplex operation, and thus the transmitter (Tx) and receiver (Rx) are co-located. For example, a transmitted radio frequency (RF) signal 406 may be reflected from a target object, such as a building 404, and a receiver on the base station 402 is configured to receive and measure the reflected beam 408. This is a typical use case for traditional or conventional radar. In FIG. 4B, the base station 405 may be configured as a transmitter (Tx), and the UE 432 may be configured as a receiver (Rx). In this example, the transmitter and receiver are not co-located, i.e., the transmitter and receiver are separated. In one example, the base station 405 may be configured to transmit the RF signal 406 as an omnidirectional downlink RF signal that can be received by the UE 432. A portion of the RF signal 406 may be reflected or refracted by the building 404, and the UE 432 may receive this reflected signal 434. This is a typical use case for wireless communication-based (e.g., WiFi-based, LTE-based, NR-based) RF detection. Note that while FIG. 4B illustrates the use of a downlink RF signal as the RF detection signal, an uplink RF signal may also be used as the RF detection signal. In a downlink scenario, as shown, the transmitter is the base station 405 and the receiver is the UE 432, while in an uplink scenario, the transmitter is the UE and the receiver is the base station.

[0075] 4B in more detail, the base station 405 transmits RF detection signals (e.g., PRS) to the UE 432, and some of the RF detection signals are reflected off a target object, such as a building 404. The UE 404 can measure the ToA of the RF signal 406 received directly from the base station and the ToA of the reflected signal 434 reflected off the target object (e.g., building 404).

[0076] The base station 405 may be configured to transmit the RF signal 406 to a receiver (e.g., a UE 432) as multiple RF signals. However, the UE 432 may receive multiple RF signals corresponding to each transmitted RF signal due to the propagation characteristics of the RF signal through a multipath channel. Each path may be associated with one or more clusters of channel taps. Generally, the time at which the receiver detects the first cluster of channel taps is considered the ToA of the RF signal on the line-of-site (LOS) path (i.e., the shortest path between the transmitter and receiver). Subsequent clusters of channel taps are considered to have reflected off objects between the transmitter and receiver and thus followed a non-LOS (NLOS) path between the transmitter and receiver.

[0077] 4B, RF signal 406 follows the LOS path between base station 405 and UE 432, and reflected signal 434 represents the RF detection signal that follows the NLOS path between base station 405 and UE 432 due to reflection off building 404 (or another target object). Base station 405 may have transmitted multiple RF detection signals (not shown in FIG. 4B), some of which followed the LOS path and others of which followed the NLOS path. Alternatively, base station 405 may have transmitted a single RF detection signal in a wide enough beam that a portion of the RF detection signal followed the LOS path and a portion of the RF detection signal followed the NLOS path.

[0078] Based on the difference between the ToA of the LOS path, the ToA of the NLOS path, and the speed of light, the UE 432 can determine the distance to the building 404. Additionally, if the UE 432 is capable of receive beamforming, the UE 432 may be able to determine the approximate direction to the building 404 as the direction of the reflected signal 434, which is an RF sensing signal that follows the NLOS path when received. The UE 432 may then optionally report this information to the transmitting base station 405, an application server associated with the core network, an external client, a third-party application, or some other entity. Alternatively, the UE 432 may report the ToA measurements to the base station 405, or other entity, and the base station 405 may determine the distance and, optionally, the direction to the target object.

[0079] It should be noted that if the RF sensing signal is an uplink RF signal transmitted by the UE 432 to the base station 405, the base station 405 performs object detection based on the uplink RF signal, just as the UE 432 performs object detection based on the downlink RF signal.

[0080] Referring to FIG. 5, an exemplary graph 500 illustrating an RF channel response at a receiver (e.g., any of the UEs or base stations described herein) over time is shown. In the example of FIG. 5, the receiver receives multiple (four) clusters of channel taps. Each channel tap represents the multipaths that the RF signal has traveled between the transmitter (e.g., any of the UEs or base stations described herein) and the receiver. That is, the channel taps represent the arrival of the RF signal on the multipaths. Each cluster of channel taps indicates that the corresponding multipaths have traveled essentially the same path. There may be different clusters due to the RF signals being transmitted on different transmit beams (and therefore at different angles), or due to the propagation characteristics of the RF signals (which may follow significantly different paths due to reflections), or both.

[0081] Under the channel shown in FIG. 5, the receiver receives a first cluster of two RF signals on channel taps at time T1, a second cluster of five RF signals on channel taps at time T2, a third cluster of five RF signals on channel taps at time T3, and a fourth cluster of four RF signals on channel taps at time T4. In the example of FIG. 5, because the first cluster of RF signals at time T1 arrives first, it is presumed to be a line-of-sight (LOS) data stream (i.e., a data stream arriving on the line-of-sight (LOS) or shortest path) and may correspond to the LOS path (e.g., RF signal 406) shown in FIG. 4B. The third cluster at time T3 is composed of the strongest RF signals and may correspond to the non-LOS path (e.g., reflected signal 434) shown in FIG. 4B. Note that while FIG. 5 shows clusters of two to five channel taps, it should be appreciated that a cluster may have more or fewer channel taps than the number shown.

[0082] Referring to FIG. 6, an exemplary single-target beam management use case 600 for bistatic radio frequency sensing is shown. The use case 600 includes a base station 602, such as a 5G NR gNB, configured to transmit multiple beamformed signals along different azimuth and / or elevation angles, and a UE 610 configured to utilize receive beamforming to improve signal gain based on the angle of arrival. The base station 602 may be configured to generate N different reference beams and various azimuth, elevation, and / or beamwidths. In one example, the beams transmitted by the base station 602 may be based on SS blocks, CSI-RS, TRS, or PRS resource sets. Other sensing and tracking reference signals may also be used. The UE 610 may be configured to utilize phase shifters and other software and hardware techniques to generate receive beams, such as a first receive beam 612, a second receive beam 614, and a third receive beam 616. The UE 610 may also be configured to utilize beamforming for the transmitted beams. The base station 602 may transmit a first reference signal 604 in the direction of a target object, such as a building 404, which may be reflected, and the UE 610 may receive a reflected signal 606 using a first receive beam 612. The reflected signal 606 represents the NLOS path of the first reference signal 604 to the UE 610. The base station 602 also transmits a second reference signal 608 on a second beam. In one example, the second reference signal 608 may be quasi-colocated (QCL) with the first reference signal 604. The UE 610 receives the second reference signal 608 using a second receive beam 614. The second reference signal 608 is the LOS path to the UE 610.

[0083] In operation, the UE 610 may be configured to report a channel response for each of the first and second reference signals 604, 608 to the base station 602 or another serving cell, and the base station 602 may be configured to manage transmit and receive beam pairs for object detection. For example, the base station 602 may be configured to provide transmit beam identification information and receive beam identification information to the UE 610 to track an object such as a building 404. The beam identification information may be a transmission configuration indicator (TCI) sent in a DCI message that includes configurations such as a QCL relationship between the transmit beam and the receive beam.

[0084] With reference to FIG. 7 and with further reference to FIG. 6, an exemplary multi-target use case 700 for bistatic radio frequency sensing is illustrated. Use case 700 extends the single-target use case 600 of FIG. 6 by including a second target. The second target may be, by way of example and not limitation, a second building 704. The number and nature of targets may vary based on the environment and the wireless sensing application. In use case 700, the base station 602 transmits a third reference signal 702 that is reflected by the second building 704, and the resulting reflected signal 708 is detected by a second receive beam 614 of the UE 610. The UE 610 may report a channel response for the third reference signal 702 along with an indication that the measurement was obtained using the second receive beam 614. The base station 602 is configured to manage a beam pair associated with the second target (i.e., the third reference signal 702 and the second receive beam 614). Additional targets and corresponding beam pairs may also be managed by the base station 602. The base station 602 may be configured to track one or more of the targets and may therefore provide corresponding beam pair information to the UE 610 as QCL / TCI for each target.

[0085] Referring to FIG. 8A, an exemplary scanning phase 800 using bistatic radio frequency sensing is shown. The base station 802 is an example of a base station 304 and is configured to transmit multiple beamformed reference signals at different azimuth angles, elevation angles, and / or beam widths. The reference signals may be SS blocks, CSI-RS, TRS, PRS, or a sensing scanning reference signal (SSRS) configured for RF sensing applications. The UE 810 is an example of a UE 302 and may be configured to perform receive beam scanning along different azimuth angles, elevation angles, and / or beam widths relative to the orientation of the UE 810. In operation, the base station 802 may transmit one or more of the reference signals in a sequential order (i.e., beam sweep), and the UE 810 is configured to beam sweep through different receive beams. The scanning phase 800 may be used to initially detect potential objects to be tracked via RF sensing. For example, the first reference signal 804 may be reflected by a first object 820a, and the first reflected reference signal 804a may be detected by the UE 810. The UE 810 may cycle through different receive beams, such as a first receive beam 812, a second receive beam 814, and a third receive beam 816. As shown in FIG. 8A , the first reflected reference signal 804a may be received using the first receive beam 812. The UE 810 may also detect the second reference signal 805 via the LOS path using the second receive beam 814. Beam sweeping on the base station 802 may generate a third reference signal 806 reflected on a second object 820b, and the third reflected reference signal 806a is received by the UE 810 on the third receive beam 816.

[0086] In one embodiment, the UE 810 may be configured to detect targets based on the RSRP of received signals. For example, the UE 810 may report that the RSRP values associated with the first reference signal 804 and the third reference signal 806 are above a threshold. The threshold may be a fixed value or may be scaled based on the RSRP of the LOS signal, such as the second reference signal 805. The UE 810 is configured to report one or more channel measurements (e.g., RSRP, RSRQ, SINR) associated with the received reference signals to the base station 802 or other network node. The measurements obtained during the scanning phase 800 may be used for a subsequent tracking phase.

[0087] With reference to FIG. 8B and with further reference to FIG. 8A, an example tracking phase 850 using bistatic radio frequency sensing is shown. Continuing with the example of FIG. 8A, the base station 802 (or another network node in the wireless communication system 100) may determine to track one or more of the objects detected in the scanning phase 800. For example, the base station 802 may select to track a first object 820a and will send beam configuration information to the UE 810 to enable the UE 810 to track the first object 820a. The beam configuration information may include reference signal information and receive beam configuration information for the UE 810. The base station 802 may utilize a detection and tracking reference signal (STRS) based on the first reference signal 804 to track the first object or refine measurements associated with the first object. In one example, the STRS may be QCL'd with a corresponding SSRS (i.e., the first reference signal 804). The SS block, CSI-RS, TRS, and PRS may be used as the STRS. Other reference signals may also be developed and used as the STRS. The beam configuration information sent to the UE 810 may be sent via RRC, a medium access control control element (MAC-CE), DCI, or other signaling protocols. Upon receiving the beam configuration information, the UE 810 may use the first receive beam 812 with the STRS to detect the first object 820a, for example.

[0088] The base station 802 may be configured to track multiple targets based on the number of reference signals the base station 802 may generate. In one embodiment, the base station 802 may be configured to track one object per reference signal. For example, the base station 802 may track the second object 820b by generating a second STRS based on the third reference signal 806. The beam configuration information sent to the UE 810 may include beam parameters for the second STRS and corresponding receive beam information (e.g., the third receive beam 816) provided by the UE 810 during the scanning phase 800. Thus, the UE 810 may be configured to track both the first object 820a and the second object 820b. Additional objects may be tracked up to the number of reference signals generated by the base station 802.

[0089] With reference to FIG. 8C and with further reference to FIGS. 8A and 8B, an example message flow 870 for beam-dependent target tracking using bistatic radio frequency sensing beam management is shown. The message flow 870 represents at least a portion of signals exchanged between a base station 802 (e.g., a gNB) and a UE 810 during the scanning phase 800 and the tracking phase 850. The base station 802 transmits one or more DL scanning reference signals (DL SSRS) 872, such as a first reference signal 804, a second reference signal 805, and a third reference signal 806. The DL SSRS 872 may be an SS block, a CSI-RS, a TRS, a PRS, or other existing or future reference signals configured for channel sounding or specifically for RF sensing measurements. The UE 810 is configured to send a beam information report 874 based on measurements associated with the received DL SSRS. The beam information report may include, for example, one or more of an RSRP value, an RSRQ value, or an SINR value associated with the DL SSRS that exceeds a threshold. The beam information report 874 may also include received beam information associated with the DL SSRS that exceeds a threshold. The beam information report 874 may be sent via RRC messaging or within other UL signaling.

[0090] In stage 876, the base station 802 is configured to select a target to track based at least in part on the beam information report 874 sent by the UE 810. The selection of an object to track may be based on higher-level configuration parameters or other operational considerations. For example, the network may require tracking of a static object due to expected loss / degradation of the LOS path to or from the UE (e.g., due to extreme weather). Furthermore, while the examples of FIGS. 8A-8C show a single base station and a single UE, additional base stations and UEs may be used to scan and track the object. An SSRS may be associated with a particular base station and beam (e.g., a TRP-ID with a PRS-ID), and the network may be configured to aggregate arriving beam information reports for beams associated with other base stations and multiple UEs.

[0091] In the tracking phase 850, the base station 802 may transmit tracking configuration information 878 for the targets selected in stage 876. The tracking configuration information may include a detection and tracking reference signal (STRS) associated with each of the selected targets. The STRS may be QCL'd with the corresponding SSRS 872 transmitted in the scanning phase 800. The tracking configuration information 878 may include received beam information based on the beam information report 874. The tracking configuration information 878 may be provided via RRC, MAC-CE, DCI, or other network signaling. The tracking configuration information 878 may be specific to the UE 810 or may be specific to the selected target. The base station 802 transmits a DL detection and tracking reference signal (STRS) 880 based on the targets selected in stage 876. In one example, each target may be associated with a STRS 880. The STRS may be an SS block, CSI-RS, TRS, PRS, or other current and future reference signals developed for RF detection applications.

[0092] In stage 882, the UE 810 is configured to track a target associated with the STRS 880. For example, the UE 810 may receive an STRS based on the first reference signal 804 using the first receive beam 812 to detect the first object 820a. If the second object 820b is also selected in stage 876, the UE 810 may be configured to receive a second STRS (which may be QCL'd with the third reference signal 806) using the third receive beam 816. In one example, the STRS 880 may be periodic or aperiodic (e.g., event-driven).

[0093] Referring to FIG. 9A, an exemplary use case 900 for single-sided beam management for bistatic radio frequency sensing is shown. In contrast to the examples of FIGS. 8A-8C, in which each target can be identified using a single reference signal, use case 900 highlights a scenario when multiple target groups are detected using a single reference signal. For example, base station 902 is an example of base station 304 and is configured to transmit multiple beamformed reference signals at different angles, elevation angles, and / or beam widths. A first reference signal 904 may be configured as an SSRS and / or STRS and is received by a UE 910 via multiple paths. For example, the first reference signal 904 may be reflected from a first target 905a and a second target 905b and received by a first receive beam 912. The first reference signal 904 may be received by a second receive beam 914 via an LOS path and via an NLOS path including a reflection from a third target 906. The first reference signal 904 may also be reflected from a fourth target 908 and received via a third receive beam 916. Because all of the targets in FIG. 9A are associated with the same reference signal (i.e., the first reference signal 904), the first reference signal 904 is not sufficient to uniquely identify each target. In this use case, the UE 910 may be configured to assign explicit target group identification information to distinguish between target groups. In one embodiment, the target groups may be based on receive beams 912, 914, 916. For example, the first target group includes a first target 905a and a second target 905b, the second target group includes a third target 906, and the third target group includes a fourth target 908. The relative location and number of objects in the target groups are by way of example only and not limitation. The UE 910 may utilize wider or narrower receive beams and may be configured to distinguish between targets based on different receive beams and corresponding reference signal measurements.For example, the RSRP for the first reference signal 904 may exceed a threshold when received on the first receive beam 912, the second receive beam 914, and the third receive beam 916. As shown in FIG. 9A , the first reference signal 904 is not detected (or the RSRP is below the threshold) on the fourth receive beam 918. The UE 910 may assign a first target group identity (e.g., target group 1) to the first target 905a and the second target 905b, a second target group identity (e.g., target group 2) to the target 906, and a third target group identity (e.g., target group 3) to the fourth target 908. The target group identities and corresponding reference signal identities may be reported to the base station 902. In one embodiment, the UE 910 may be configured to provide an indication of the RSRP value and corresponding receive beam to the base station 902, and the base station 902 (or other network node) may be configured to assign target group identification information.

[0094] With reference to FIG. 9B and with further reference to FIG. 9A , an example message flow 950 for one-sided bistatic radio frequency sensing beam management is shown. The message flow 950 represents at least a portion of signals exchanged between a base station 902 (e.g., a gNB) and a UE 910 during the scanning phase 800 and the tracking phase 850. The base station 902 transmits one or more DL scanning reference signals (DL SSRS) 952, such as a first reference signal 904. The DL SSRS 952 may be an SS block, CSI-RS, TRS, PRS, or other existing or future reference signal configured for channel sounding or specifically for RF sensing measurements. The UE 910 is configured to send a beam and target group information report 954 based on measurements associated with the received DL SSRS. The beam and target group information report 954 may include, for example, one or more of an RSRP value, an RSRQ value, or an SINR value associated with the DL SSRS that exceeds a threshold. The beam and target group information report 954 may also include multiple target group identification values if multiple target groups are detected. For example, the target group identification values may be generated by the UE 910 based on objects detected by different receive beams, such as a first target group including first and second targets 905a-b detected by a first receive beam 912, a second target group including a third target 906 detected by a second receive beam 914, and a third target group including a fourth target 908 detected by a third receive beam 916. In one example, the UE 910 may include receive beam identification information in the beam and target group information report 954. The base station 902 may be configured to assign different target group identification values based on the receive beam identification information. The beam and target group information report 954 may be sent via RRC messaging or within other UL signaling.

[0095] In stage 956, the base station 902 is configured to select one or more target groups to track based at least in part on the beam and target group information report 954 sent by the UE 910. The selection of the target group to track may be based on higher-level configuration parameters or other operational considerations. Furthermore, while the example of FIG. 9A shows a single base station and a single UE, additional base stations and UEs may be used to scan and track the object. The SSRS may be associated with a particular base station and beam (e.g., TRP-ID with PRS-ID), and the received beam and / or target group identification value may be associated with the reporting UE (e.g., UE identification information). The network may be configured to aggregate arriving beam and target group information reports for beams associated with other base stations and multiple UEs.

[0096] In the tracking phase 850, the base station 902 may transmit tracking and target group configuration information 958 for the target group selected in stage 956. The tracking and target group configuration information 958 may include a sensed tracking reference signal (STRS) associated with the selected target group. The STRS may be QCL'd with the corresponding SSRS transmitted in the scanning phase 800. The tracking and target group configuration information 958 may include target group identification information based on the beam and target group information report 954. The tracking and target group configuration information 958 may be provided via RRC, MAC-CE, DCI, or other network signaling. The tracking and target group configuration information 958 may be specific to the UE 910 or may be specific to one or more of the selected target groups. In operation, when multiple target groups are associated with the signal STRS (e.g., STRS #A shown in FIG. 9B), the tracking and target group configuration information 958 indicates that the STRS is repeated a number of times equal to the number of target groups to be tracked. Tracking and target group configuration information 958 may also include a repetition pattern (eg, period, time offset, interval, etc.) for the repeating STRS and corresponding target group identification information for the target group to be tracked.

[0097] The base station 902 is configured to transmit DL detection and tracking reference signals (STRS) based on the target group selected in stage 956 and the recurring pattern in the tracking and target group configuration information 958. For example, a first transmission 960a of DL STRS #A enables the UE 910 to track the first target group in stage 962a, a second transmission 960b of DL STRS #A enables the UE 910 to track the second target group in stage 962b, and a third transmission 960c enables the UE 910 to track the third target group. The STRSs 960a-c may be SS blocks, CSI-RS, TRS, PRS, or other current and future reference signals developed for RF detection applications. The tracking in stages 962a-c may include obtaining one or more reference signal measurements, such as an RSRP value, an RSRQ value, or an SINR value, associated with the DL STRS. The STRSs 960a-c may be QCL'd with the SSRS 952, which is the basis for the beam and target group information report 954. In one example, the STRSs 960a-c may be event-driven based on a tracking request received from the UE 910 or another network node.

[0098] 1-9B, a method 1000 for single-sided beam management in bistatic radio frequency sensing includes the steps shown. However, method 1000 is by way of example only and not by way of limitation. Method 1000 may be modified, for example, by adding, removing, reordering, combining, or simultaneously performing steps, and / or dividing a single step into multiple steps.

[0099] In step 1002, the method includes transmitting a scanning reference signal. The base station 304 is a means for transmitting the scanning reference signal. In the scanning phase 800, a base station, such as the base station 902, may be configured to transmit a sensing scanning reference signal (SSRS) in its coverage area. The SSRS may be a beamformed existing communication reference signal, such as an SS block, CSI-RS, TRS, PRS, or other existing or future reference signal configured for channel sounding or specifically for RF sensing measurements. The single SSRS may be received by the UE via the LOS path and the NLOS path. The NLOS path may be reflected by one or more target groups. The scanning phase may be initiated periodically or on-demand based on a signal from the wireless communication system 100 or the UE. For example, the UE may send a tracking request to the base station 304 to initiate the scanning phase.

[0100] In step 1004, the method includes receiving a scanning signal report indicating one or more target groups associated with the scanning reference signal. The base station 304 is a means for receiving the scanning signal report. In one example, the UE may receive the scanning reference signal transmitted in step 1002 using one or more receive beams and determine signal measurements, such as RSRP, RSRQ, or SINR, of the received signal. The UE may receive the signal via a LOS path and a NLOS path. One or more thresholds may be used to determine that the reference signal is reflecting off a target group associated with the receive beam. The UE may generate a scanning signal report to inform the base station of the signal identification value and the corresponding signal measurement value. In one example, the UE may report identification information for scanning reference signals having RSRP above a threshold level on one or more of the receive beams. The UE may include receive beam information and / or target group information in the scanning signal report. The beam and target group information report 954 is an example of a scanning signal report received by the base station 304.

[0101] In step 1006, the method includes transmitting tracking signal configuration information based on the scanning reference signal and one or more target groups. The base station 304 is a means for transmitting the tracking signal configuration information. The base station 304 is configured to select a detected tracking reference signal (STRS) based on the target group and corresponding SSRS identified in the scanning signal report received in step 1004. The tracking signal configuration information includes beam parameter information that enables the UE to receive the STRS. In one example, the STRS may be QCL'd with the corresponding SSRS transmitted in step 1002. The tracking and target group configuration information 958 is an example of tracking signal configuration information and may include target group identification information based on the beam and target group information in the scanning signal report received in step 1004. The tracking signal configuration information may be transmitted via RRC, MAC-CE, DCI, or other network signaling. The tracking signal configuration information may be specific to the UE or specific to one or more of the selected target groups. 9B, when multiple target groups are associated with a signal STRS (e.g., STRS #A), the tracking signal configuration information indicates that the STRS is repeated a number of times equal to the number of target groups to be tracked. The tracking signal configuration information may also include a repetition pattern (e.g., period, time offset, interval, etc.) for the repeating STRS and corresponding target group identification information for the target groups to be tracked.

[0102] In step 1008, the method includes transmitting a tracking reference signal for each of one or more target groups. The base station 304 is a means for transmitting the tracking reference signal. In one example, the STRS may be based on communication reference signals such as SS blocks, CSI-RS, TRS, and PRS. Other reference signals, as well as future reference signals developed for RF sensing applications, may also be used. An STRS is transmitted for each target group included in the tracking signal configuration information. For example, with reference to FIG. 9B, first, second, and third target groups are identified in the tracking signal configuration, and STRS #A is transmitted three times based on a repetition pattern (e.g., period, time offset, interval, etc.) provided in the tracking signal configuration. By way of example and not limitation, the period may be 0.1 ms, 0.5 ms, 1 ms, 10 ms, 20 ms, etc. Other repetition patterns may also be used. In one example, the UE may be configured to provide updated signal measurements based on the tracking reference signal transmitted in step 1008. The updated measurements may be included in a signaling report that includes beam identification, target group identification, and measurements (e.g., RSRP, RSRQ, SINR, etc.) The signaling report may be provided via RRC, MAC-CE, DCI, or other network signaling protocols.

[0103] 11 and with further reference to FIGS. 1-9B, a method 1100 for tracking a target using bistatic radio frequency sensing includes the steps shown. However, method 1100 is by way of example only and not by way of limitation. Method 1100 may be modified, for example, by adding, removing, reordering, combining, or simultaneously performing steps, and / or dividing a single step into multiple steps.

[0104] In stage 1102, the method includes receiving a scanning reference signal. The UE 302 is a means for receiving the scanning reference signal. In the scanning phase 800, a base station, such as the base station 304, may be configured to transmit a sensing scanning reference signal (SSRS) in its coverage area. The SSRS may be a beamformed existing communication reference signal, such as an SS block, CSI-RS, TRS, PRS, or other existing or future reference signal configured for channel sounding or specifically for RF sensing measurements. The UE 302 may utilize one or more receive beams to receive the scanning reference signal. The scanning phase may be initiated periodically or on-demand based on a tracking request or other signal from the wireless communication system 100 or the UE 302.

[0105] In stage 1104, the method includes generating a scanning signal report indicating one or more target groups associated with the scanning reference signal. The UE 302 is a means for generating the scanning signal report. During the scanning phase 800, the UE 302 may receive signals using one or more receive beams via the LOS path and the NLOS path and may determine signal measurements, such as RSRP, RSRQ, or SINR, based on the signals received by the receive beams. One or more thresholds may be used to determine that the reference signal is reflecting off a target group. The UE 302 may generate the scanning signal report to notify the base station 304 of the signal measurements during the scanning phase. In one example, the UE may report target group identification information for receive beams that measure the RSRP of the scanning reference signal above a threshold level. The UE may optionally include receive beam information in the scanning signal report. During the tracking phase 850, the UE 302 may refine the scanning signal report based on signal measurements obtained using the tracking reference signal.

[0106] At stage 1106, the method includes transmitting a signal report. The UE 302 is a means for transmitting the signal report. In one example, the UE 302 may utilize an RRC or other UL channel and / or UL messaging to provide the scanning signal report to one or more base stations. The beam and target group information report 954 is an example of a scanning signal report transmitted by the UE 302.

[0107] At step 1108, the method includes receiving tracking signal configuration information indicating tracking reference signals associated with one or more target groups. The UE 302 is means for receiving the tracking signal configuration information. The base station 304 is configured to select a detected tracking reference signal (STRS) based on the selected target group. The STRS may be based on an SSRS beam identified in the scanning signal report transmitted at step 1106. The tracking signal configuration information includes beam parameter information that enables the UE 302 to receive the STRS. In one example, the STRS may be QCL'd with the corresponding SSRS received at step 1102. The tracking and target group configuration information 958 is an example of tracking signal configuration information and may include target group identification information based on the beam and target group information in the scanning signal report transmitted at step 1106. The tracking signal configuration information may be transmitted via RRC, MAC-CE, DCI, or other network signaling. The tracking signal configuration information may be specific to the UE or specific to one or more of the selected target groups. 9B, when multiple target groups are associated with a signal STRS (e.g., STRS #A), the tracking signal configuration information indicates that the STRS is repeated a number of times equal to the number of target groups to be tracked. The tracking signal configuration information may also include a repetition pattern (e.g., period, time offset, interval, etc.) for the repeating STRS and corresponding target group identification information for the target groups to be tracked.

[0108] At stage 1110, the method includes receiving a tracking reference signal identified in the tracking signal configuration information. The UE 302 is a means for receiving the tracking reference signal. In one example, the STRS may be based on communication reference signals such as SS blocks, CSI-RS, TRS, and PRS. Other reference signals, and future reference signals developed for RF sensing applications, may also be used.

[0109] In step 1112, the method includes tracking one or more target groups associated with the tracking reference signal. The UE 302 is a means for tracking the one or more target groups. The UE 302 is configured to determine beam measurement information, such as RSRP, RSRQ, and SINR, for the one or more tracking reference signals. An STRS is transmitted for each target group included in the tracking signal configuration information, and the method 1100 repeats between steps 1110 and 1112 for each target group. For example, referring to FIG. 9B, three target groups, including first, second, and third target groups, are identified in the tracking signal configuration. The tracking reference signal (e.g., STRS #A) is transmitted three times based on a repetition pattern provided in the tracking signal configuration. By way of example and not limitation, the period may be 0.1 ms, 0.5 ms, 1 ms, 10 ms, 20 ms, etc. Other repetition patterns may also be used. In one example, the UE 302 may be configured to provide updated signal measurements based on the tracking reference signal. The updated measurements may be included in a signaling report that includes beam identification, target group identification, and measurements (e.g., RSRP, RSRQ, SINR, etc.) The signaling report may be provided via RRC, MAC-CE, DCI, or other network signaling protocols.

[0110] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that information and signals may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, the data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout the above description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

[0111] Furthermore, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or a combination of both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been described above generally in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends on the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. Those skilled in the art may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0112] The various illustrative logic blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein may be implemented or performed using a general-purpose processor, a DSP, an ASIC, an FPGA or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but alternatively, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

[0113] The methods, sequences, and / or algorithms described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two. The software module may reside in random access memory (RAM), flash memory, read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable ROM (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), registers, hard disk, removable disk, CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor such that the processor can read information from, and write information to, the storage medium. Alternatively, the storage medium may be integral to the processor. The processor and the storage medium may reside in an ASIC. The ASIC may reside in a user terminal (e.g., UE). Alternatively, the processor and the storage medium may reside as discrete components in the user terminal.

[0114] In one or more exemplary aspects, the functions described may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the functions may be stored on or transmitted via a computer-readable medium as one or more instructions or code. Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media and communication media, including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. Storage media may be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media may include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer. Also, any connection may be properly termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included within the definition of medium. As used herein, disk and disc include compact discs (CDs), laser discs, optical discs, digital versatile discs (DVDs), floppy disks, and Blu-ray discs, where disks typically reproduce data magnetically and discs reproduce data optically using lasers. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0115] While the above disclosure illustrates exemplary aspects of the present disclosure, it should be noted that various changes and modifications can be made herein without departing from the scope of the present disclosure, as defined by the appended claims. The functions, steps and / or actions of the method claims according to the aspects of the present disclosure described herein need not be performed in any particular order. Furthermore, although elements of the present disclosure may be described or claimed in the singular, the plural is contemplated unless limitation to the singular is explicitly stated.

[0116] Example implementations are described in the following numbered clauses.

[0117] 1. A method for tracking a target using bistatic radio frequency sensing, comprising: receiving a scanning reference signal; generating a scanning signal report indicating one or more target groups associated with the scanning reference signal; transmitting a scanning signal report; receiving tracking signal configuration information indicating tracking reference signals associated with one or more target groups; receiving a tracking reference signal identified in the tracking signal configuration information; tracking one or more target groups associated with a tracking reference signal; A method comprising:

[0118] 2. The method of clause 1, wherein the step of indicating one or more target groups includes the step of generating target group identification information for each of the one or more target groups.

[0119] 3. The method of clause 1, wherein receiving a tracking reference signal includes receiving a tracking reference signal once for each one of the one or more target groups.

[0120] 4. The method of clause 1, wherein the tracking signal configuration information includes a repeating pattern for the tracking reference signal.

[0121] 5. determining measurements on a scanning reference signal using one or more receive beams; comparing measurements taken on each of the one or more receive beams to a threshold; generating a scanning signal report based on one or more receive beams having measurements greater than a threshold; 2. The method of clause 1, further comprising:

[0122] 6. The method of clause 5, wherein the measurement is at least one of a reference signal received power (RSRP), a reference signal received quality (RSRQ), and a signal-to-interference-and-noise ratio (SINR).

[0123] 7. The method of clause 1, wherein the scanning reference signal includes at least one selected from the group consisting of a positioning reference signal (PRS), a tracking reference signal (TRS), a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), and a synchronization signal block (SSB).

[0124] 8. The method of clause 1, wherein the tracking signal configuration information is received via at least one of a radio resource control message, a medium access control control element, or a downlink control information message.

[0125] 9. The method of clause 1, wherein the scanning signal report is transmitted via at least one radio resource control message.

[0126] 10. The method of clause 1, wherein the step of receiving a tracking reference signal is in response to the step of transmitting a tracking request to a base station.

[0127] 11. A method for one-sided beam management in bistatic radio frequency sensing, comprising: transmitting a scanning reference signal; receiving a scanning signal report indicating one or more target groups associated with a scanning reference signal; transmitting tracking signal configuration information based on the scanning reference signal and the one or more target groups; transmitting a tracking reference signal for each of the one or more target groups; A method comprising:

[0128] 12. The method of clause 11, wherein the scanning reference signal comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of a positioning reference signal (PRS), a tracking reference signal (TRS), a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), and a synchronization signal block (SSB).

[0129] 13. The method of clause 11, wherein the step of transmitting a tracking reference signal is in response to the step of receiving a tracking request from a user equipment.

[0130] 14. The method of clause 11, wherein the scanning signal report includes a signal identification value of the scanning reference signal.

[0131] 15. The method of clause 14, wherein the scanning signal report includes one or more target group identification values associated with the scanning reference signal.

[0132] 16. The method of clause 11, wherein the scanning signal report includes measurements on a receive beam associated with the user equipment and a scanning reference signal received via the receive beam.

[0133] 17. The method of clause 11, wherein the tracking reference signal comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of a positioning reference signal (PRS), a tracking reference signal (TRS), a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), and a synchronization signal block (SSB).

[0134] 18. The method of clause 11, wherein the tracking signal configuration information includes a repeating pattern for the tracking reference signal.

[0135] 19. The method of clause 11, wherein the tracking signal configuration information includes target group identification information for each of the one or more target groups.

[0136] 20. The method of clause 11, wherein the tracking signal configuration information is transmitted via at least one of a radio resource control message, a medium access control control element, or a downlink control information message.

[0137] 21. An apparatus for tracking a target using bistatic radio frequency sensing, comprising: Memory and at least one transceiver; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, wherein the at least one processor: receiving a scanning reference signal; generating a scanning signal report indicating one or more target groups associated with the scanning reference signal; Sending a scan signal report; receiving tracking signal configuration information indicating tracking reference signals associated with one or more target groups; receiving a tracking reference signal identified in the tracking signal configuration information; Tracking one or more target groups associated with a tracking reference signal The apparatus is configured to:

[0138] 22. The apparatus of clause 21, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to generate target group identification information for each of the one or more target groups.

[0139] 23. The apparatus of clause 21, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to receive a tracking reference signal once for each one of the one or more target groups.

[0140] 24. The apparatus of clause 21, wherein the tracking signal configuration information includes a repeating pattern for the tracking reference signal.

[0141] 25. At least one processor: determining measurements on the scanning reference signal using one or more receive beams; comparing measurements taken on each of the one or more receive beams to a threshold; generating a scanning signal report based on one or more receive beams having measurements greater than a threshold; The apparatus of clause 21 further comprises:

[0142] 26. The apparatus of clause 25, wherein the measurement is at least one of Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP), Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ), and Signal to Interference and Noise Ratio (SINR).

[0143] 27. The apparatus of clause 21, wherein the scanning reference signal includes at least one selected from the group consisting of a positioning reference signal (PRS), a tracking reference signal (TRS), a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), and a synchronization signal block (SSB).

[0144] 28. The apparatus of clause 21, wherein the tracking signal configuration information is received via at least one of a radio resource control message, a medium access control control element, or a downlink control information message.

[0145] 29. The apparatus of clause 21, wherein the scanning signal report is transmitted via at least one radio resource control message.

[0146] 30. The apparatus of clause 21, wherein receiving the tracking reference signal is in response to transmitting a tracking request to the base station.

[0147] 31. An apparatus comprising: Memory and at least one transceiver; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, wherein the at least one processor: transmitting a scanning reference signal; receiving a scanning signal report indicating one or more target groups associated with a scanning reference signal; Transmitting tracking signal configuration information based on the scanning reference signal and the one or more target groups; Transmitting a tracking reference signal for each of one or more target groups The apparatus is configured to:

[0148] 32. The apparatus of clause 21, wherein the scanning reference signal includes at least one selected from the group consisting of a positioning reference signal (PRS), a tracking reference signal (TRS), a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), and a synchronization signal block (SSB).

[0149] 33. The apparatus of clause 31, wherein transmitting the tracking reference signal is in response to receiving a tracking request from a user equipment.

[0150] 34. The apparatus of clause 31, wherein the scanning signal report includes a signal identification value of the scanning reference signal.

[0151] 35. The apparatus of clause 34, wherein the scanning signal report includes one or more target group identification values associated with the scanning reference signal.

[0152] 36. The apparatus of clause 34, wherein the scanning signal report includes measurements on a receive beam associated with the user equipment and a scanning reference signal received via the receive beam.

[0153] 37. The apparatus of clause 31, wherein the tracking reference signal comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of a positioning reference signal (PRS), a tracking reference signal (TRS), a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), and a synchronization signal block (SSB).

[0154] 38. The apparatus of clause 31, wherein the tracking signal configuration information includes a repeating pattern for the tracking reference signal.

[0155] 39. The apparatus of clause 31, wherein the tracking signal configuration information includes target group identification information for each of one or more target groups.

[0156] 40. The apparatus of clause 31, wherein the tracking signal configuration information is transmitted via at least one of a radio resource control message, a medium access control control element, or a downlink control information message.

[0157] 41. An apparatus for tracking a target using bistatic radio frequency detection, comprising: means for receiving a scanning reference signal; means for generating a scanning signal report indicating one or more target groups associated with the scanning reference signal; means for transmitting a scan signal report; means for receiving tracking signal configuration information indicative of tracking reference signals associated with one or more target groups; means for receiving a tracking reference signal identified in the tracking signal configuration information; means for tracking one or more target groups associated with a tracking reference signal; An apparatus comprising:

[0158] 42. An apparatus comprising: means for transmitting a scanning reference signal; means for receiving a scanning signal report indicating one or more target groups associated with a scanning reference signal; means for transmitting tracking signal configuration information based on the scanning reference signal and the one or more target groups; means for transmitting a tracking reference signal for each of the one or more target groups; An apparatus comprising:

[0159] 43. A non-transitory processor-readable storage medium containing processor-readable instructions configured to cause one or more processors to track a target using bistatic radio frequency sensing, comprising: code for receiving a scanning reference signal; code for generating a scan signal report indicating one or more target groups associated with a scan reference signal; code for transmitting a scan signal report; code for receiving tracking signal configuration information indicating tracking reference signals associated with one or more target groups; code for receiving a tracking reference signal identified in the tracking signal configuration information; code for tracking one or more target groups associated with a tracking reference signal; 1. A non-transitory processor-readable storage medium comprising:

[0160] 44. A non-transitory processor-readable storage medium comprising processor-readable instructions configured to cause one or more processors to perform one-sided beam management in bistatic radio frequency sensing, comprising: code for transmitting a scanning reference signal; code for receiving a scanning signal report indicating one or more target groups associated with a scanning reference signal; code for transmitting tracking signal configuration information based on the scanning reference signal and the one or more target groups; code for transmitting a tracking reference signal for each of the one or more target groups; 1. A non-transitory processor-readable storage medium comprising: [Explanation of symbols]

[0161] 100 Wireless Communication System 102 base stations, macrocell base stations 102' Small Cell Base Station 104UE 110 Geographic Coverage Areas 110' Geographic Coverage Area 120 Communication Links 122 backhaul links 134 backhaul links 150 WLAN access points (APs), WLAN APs 152 Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) Station (STA), WLAN STA 154 communication links 164 UE 170 Core Network 172 Location Server 180 mmW base station, base station 182 UE 184 mmW communication link 190 UE 192 D2D P2P links 194 D2D P2P links 200 Wireless Network Structure 204 UE 210 5GC 212 User Plane Functions 213 User Plane Interface (NG-U), NG-U 214 Control Plane Functions 215 Control Plane Interface (NG-C), NG-C 220 New RAN 222 gNB 223 Backhaul Connection 224 ng-eNB 230 Location Server 250 Wireless Network Structure 260 5GC 262 User Plane Function (UPF), UPF 263 User Plane Interface 264 Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), AMF 265 Control Plane Interface 266 Session Management Facility (SMF), SMF 270 Location Management Function (LMF), LMF 272 Secure User Plane Location (SUPL) Location Platform (SLP), SLP 302 UE 304 base station 306 Network Entity 310 Wireless Wide Area Network (WWAN) Transceiver, WWAN Transceiver 312 Receiver 314 Transmitter 316 Antenna 318 Signal 320 Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) Transceiver, WLAN Transceiver 322 Receiver 324 Transmitter 326 Antenna 328 signal 330 Satellite Positioning System (SPS) receiver, SPS receiver 332 Processing System 334 Data Bus 336 Antenna 338 SPS signal 340 Memory Components 342 RF Sensing Components 344 Sensors 346 User Interface 350 Wireless Wide Area Network (WWAN) Transceiver, WWAN Transceiver 352 receiver 354 Transmitter 356 Antenna 358 Signal 360 Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) Transceiver, WLAN Transceiver 362 Receiver 364 Transmitter 366 Antenna 368 signals 370 Satellite Positioning System (SPS) receiver, SPS receiver 376 Antenna 378 SPS signal 380 Network Interface 382 Data Bus 384 Processing Systems 386 Memory Components 388 RF Sensing Components 390 Network Interface 392 Data Bus 394 Processing Systems 396 Memory Components 398 RF Sensing Components 400 Figures 402 Base Station 404 Building 405 Transmitting base station, base station 406 radio frequency (RF) signal, RF signal 408 Reflected Beam 430 Figures 432 UE 434 Reflected signal 500 graphs 600 Single Target Beam Management Use Cases, Use Cases, Single Target Use Cases 602 Base Station 604 First Reference Signal 606 Reflected signal 608 Second Reference Signal 610 UE 612 First receive beam 614 Second receive beam 616 Third receiving beam 700 Multi-Target Use Cases, Use Cases 702 Third Reference Signal 704 Second Building 708 Reflected signal 800 Scan Phase 802 base station 804 First Reference Signal 804a First reflected reference signal 805 Second Reference Signal 806 Third Reference Signal 806a Third reflected reference signal 810UE 812 First receive beam 814 Second receive beam 816 Third receiving beam 820a First Object 820b Second Object 850 Pursuit Phase 870 Message Flow 872 DL Scanning Reference Signal (DL SSRS), DL SSRS, SSRS 874 Beam Information Report 878 Tracking Configuration Information 880 DL Detect and Track Reference Signal (STRS), STRS 900 use cases 902 base station 904 First Reference Signal 905a First Target 905b Second Target 906 Third Target 908 Fourth Target 910 UE 912 receive beam, first receive beam 914 receive beam, second receive beam 916 receive beam, third receive beam 918 4th receiving beam 950 Message Flow 952 DL Scanning Reference Signal (DL SSRS), DL SSRS, SSRS 954 Beam and Target Group Information Report 958 Tracking and Target Group Configuration Information 960a~c STRS 960a First transmission 960b Second transmission 960c Third Transmission 1000 ways 1100 methods

Claims

1. 1. A method for tracking a target using bistatic radio frequency sensing, comprising: receiving a scanning reference signal; generating a scanning signal report indicating one or more target groups associated with the scanning reference signal; transmitting the scanning signal report; receiving tracking signal configuration information indicating a tracking reference signal associated with the one or more target groups, the tracking signal configuration information including target group identification information for each of the one or more target groups and beam pair information corresponding to each of the one or more target groups; receiving the tracking reference signal identified in the tracking signal configuration information; tracking the one or more target groups associated with the tracking reference signal; A method comprising:

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein indicating the one or more target groups comprises generating target group identification information for each of the one or more target groups.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein receiving the tracking reference signal comprises receiving the tracking reference signal once for each one of the one or more target groups.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the tracking signal configuration information includes a repeating pattern for the tracking reference signal.

5. determining measurements on the scanning reference signal using one or more receive beams; comparing the measurements taken on each of the one or more receive beams to a threshold; generating the scanning signal report based on the one or more receive beams having measurements greater than the threshold; The method of claim 1 further comprising:

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the measurement value is at least one of a Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP), a Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ), and a Signal-to-Interference-and-Noise Ratio (SINR).

7. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the scanning reference signal comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of a positioning reference signal (PRS), a tracking reference signal (TRS), a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), and a synchronization signal block (SSB).

8. The tracking signal configuration information is received via at least one of a radio resource control message, a medium access control control element, or a downlink control information message; and / or the scanning signal report is transmitted via at least one radio resource control message; and / or The method of claim 1 , wherein receiving the tracking reference signal is in response to transmitting a tracking request to a base station.

9. 1. A method for one-sided beam management in bistatic radio frequency sensing, comprising: transmitting a scanning reference signal; receiving a scanning signal report indicating one or more target groups associated with the scanning reference signal; transmitting tracking signal configuration information based on the scanning reference signal and the one or more target groups, the tracking signal configuration information including target group identification information for each of the one or more target groups and beam pair information corresponding to each of the one or more target groups; transmitting a tracking reference signal for each of the one or more target groups; A method comprising:

10. the scanning reference signal comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of a Positioning Reference Signal (PRS), a Tracking Reference Signal (TRS), a Channel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS), and a Synchronization Signal Block (SSB); and / or transmitting the tracking reference signal in response to receiving a tracking request from a user equipment; and / or Preferably, the scanning signal report includes a signal identification value of the scanning reference signal. The method of claim 9 , wherein the scanning signal report includes one or more target group identification values associated with the scanning reference signal.

11. the scanning signal report includes measurements on a receive beam associated with the user equipment and the scanning reference signal received via the receive beam; and / or the tracking reference signal comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of a Positioning Reference Signal (PRS), a Tracking Reference Signal (TRS), a Channel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS), and a Synchronization Signal Block (SSB); and / or the tracking signal configuration information includes a repeating pattern for the tracking reference signal; and / or 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the tracking signal configuration information is transmitted via at least one of a radio resource control message, a medium access control control element, or a downlink control information message.

12. 1. An apparatus for tracking a target using bistatic radio frequency sensing, comprising: Memory and at least one transceiver; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor: receiving a scanning reference signal; generating a scanning signal report indicating one or more target groups associated with the scanning reference signal; transmitting said scanning signal report; receiving tracking signal configuration information indicating a tracking reference signal associated with the one or more target groups, the tracking signal configuration information including beam pair information corresponding to each of the one or more target groups; receiving the tracking reference signal identified in the tracking signal configuration information; tracking the one or more target groups associated with the tracking reference signal; The apparatus is configured to:

13. the at least one processor is further configured to generate target group identification information for each of the one or more target groups; and / or the at least one processor is further configured to receive the tracking reference signal once for each of the one or more target groups; and / or the tracking signal configuration information includes a repeating pattern for the tracking reference signal; and / or the at least one processor: determining measurements on the scanning reference signal using one or more receive beams; comparing the measurements taken on each of the one or more receive beams to a threshold; generating the scanning signal report based on the one or more receive beams having measurements greater than the threshold; The apparatus of claim 12 further configured to:

14. 1. An apparatus comprising: Memory and at least one transceiver; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor: transmitting a scanning reference signal; receiving a scanning signal report indicating one or more target groups associated with the scanning reference signal; transmitting tracking signal configuration information based on the scanning reference signal and the one or more target groups, the tracking signal configuration information including target group identification information for each of the one or more target groups and beam pair information corresponding to each of the one or more target groups; transmit a tracking reference signal for each of the one or more target groups The apparatus is configured to:

15. the scanning reference signal comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of a Positioning Reference Signal (PRS), a Tracking Reference Signal (TRS), a Channel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS), and a Synchronization Signal Block (SSB); and / or the scanning signal report includes a signal identification value of the scanning reference signal and one or more target group identification values associated with the scanning reference signal; and / or The apparatus of claim 14 , wherein the tracking signal configuration information includes a repeating pattern for the tracking reference signal.

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