Supporting information for sidelink-assisted positioning

Abstract

According to embodiments herein, assistance data regarding an anchor UE that provides a reference signal to the UE over the SL interface may be provided to the UE. The assistance data may include information indicative of the anchor UE's coordinates, height, drift rate, beam characteristics, group delay, and / or other aspects. The assistance data may be provided to the UE by a location server, a base station, or directly from the anchor UE.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates generally to the field of wireless communications, and more particularly to determining the location of user equipment (UE) using radio frequency (RF) signals. [Background technology]

[0002]

[0002] The use of a sidelink (SL) interface in positioning of a UE (or target UE) whose position is to be determined may be in a manner similar to that of a base station. However, the specific details provided over the SL interface and the assistance data for positioning using the SL interface have not yet been determined. There is no definition for SL-based assistance measurements in Long Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP) reporting. Summary of the Invention

[0003] According to embodiments herein, assistance data regarding an anchor UE that provides a reference signal to the UE over an SL interface may be provided to a target UE. The assistance data may include information indicative of the anchor UE's coordinates, height, drift rate, beam characteristics, group delay, and / or other aspects. The assistance data may be provided to the UE by a location server, a base station, or directly from the anchor UE.

[0004] An example method for determining a location of a first user equipment (UE) using assistance data related to a second UE according to the present disclosure may comprise obtaining assistance data related to determining the location of the first UE using a sidelink (SL) interface between the first UE and the second UE. The method may also comprise performing a positioning operation at the first UE based at least in part on the assistance data, wherein the positioning operation comprises transmitting a first positioning signal by the first UE over the SL interface or performing, at the first UE, measurements of a second positioning signal transmitted by the second UE over the SL interface.

[0005] An exemplary first user equipment (UE) according to the present disclosure for determining a location of the first UE using assistance data related to a second UE may include a transceiver, a memory, and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory, where the one or more processors are configured to obtain assistance data related to determining a location of the first UE using a sidelink (SL) interface between the first UE and the second UE. The one or more processors may be further configured to perform a positioning operation at the first UE based at least in part on the assistance data, where the positioning operation comprises transmitting, using the transceiver, a first positioning signal by the first UE over the SL interface or performing, using the transceiver, measurements of a second positioning signal transmitted by the second UE over the SL interface.

[0006] An exemplary apparatus for determining a location of a first user equipment (UE) using assistance data related to a second UE according to the present disclosure may include means for obtaining assistance data related to determining the location of the first UE using a sidelink (SL) interface between the first UE and the second UE. The apparatus may further include means for performing a positioning operation at the first UE based at least in part on the assistance data, wherein the positioning operation includes means for transmitting a first positioning signal by the first UE over the SL interface or means for performing, at the first UE, measurements of a second positioning signal transmitted by the second UE over the SL interface.

[0007] According to the present disclosure, an exemplary non-transitory computer-readable medium stores instructions for determining a location of a first user equipment (UE) using assistance data related to a second UE, the instructions comprising: code for obtaining the assistance data related to determining the location of the first UE using a sidelink (SL) interface between the first UE and the second UE; and code for performing a positioning operation at the first UE based at least in part on the assistance data, wherein the positioning operation comprises transmitting a first positioning signal by the first UE over the SL interface or performing, at the first UE, a measurement of a second positioning signal transmitted by the second UE over the SL interface.

[0008] This Summary is not intended to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used in isolation to determine the scope of the claimed subject matter. The subject matter should be understood by reference to appropriate portions of the entire specification, any or all drawings, and each claim of this disclosure. The above, along with other features and examples, are described in more detail below in the following specification, claims, and accompanying drawings. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram of a positioning system, according to one embodiment. [Figure 2]

[0010] 5G New Radio (NR) positioning system diagram illustrating one embodiment of a positioning system implemented within a 5G NR communication system (e.g., the positioning system of FIG. 1). [Figure 3]

[0011] 1 is a diagram of one type of positioning method used to determine the location of a UE. [Figure 4] 1 is a diagram of one type of positioning method used to determine the location of a UE. [Figure 5] 1 is a diagram of one type of positioning method used to determine the location of a UE. [Figure 6]

[0012] 1 is a simplified diagram illustrating how an anchor UE may be used in positioning a UE in a 5G NR network, according to one embodiment. [Figure 7]

[0013] 1 is a flow diagram for determining a location of a first UE using assistance data related to a second UE, according to one embodiment. [Figure 8]

[0014] 1 illustrates an embodiment of a UE that may be utilized in embodiments described herein. [Figure 9]

[0015] FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of a base station that may be utilized in the embodiments described herein. [Figure 10]

[0016] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of one embodiment of a computer system that may be utilized in embodiments described herein. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010]

[0017] The same reference numerals in various figures indicate the same elements, according to some exemplary implementations. Additionally, multiple instances of an element may be indicated by the element's first number followed by a letter or hyphen and a second number. For example, multiple instances of element 110 may be indicated as 110-1, 110-2, 110-3, etc., or as 110a, 110b, 110c, etc. When referring to such an element using only the first number, it should be understood as any instance of the element (e.g., element 110 in the previous example would refer to elements 110-1, 110-2, and 110-3, or elements 110a, 110b, and 110c).

[0011]

[0018] Several example embodiments are now described with reference to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification. Although some embodiments of one or more aspects of the present disclosure may be implemented as described below, other embodiments may be used, and various modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0012]

[0019] The following description is directed to several implementations for the purpose of describing the inventive aspects of various embodiments. However, those skilled in the art will readily recognize that the teachings herein can be applied in many different ways. The described implementations include systems utilizing 3G, 4G, 5G, 6G, or further implementations thereof, such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) IEEE 802.11 standard (including those identified as Wi-Fi technology), Bluetooth standard, Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), GSM / General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Enhanced Data GSM Environment (EDGE), Terrestrial Based Radio (TETRA), Wideband CDMA (W-CDMA), Evolution Data Optimized (EV-DO), 1xEV-DO, EV-DO Rev A, EV-DO Rev B, EV-DO Rev C, EV-DO Rev D, EV-DO Rev E, EV-DO Rev F, EV-DO Rev H, EV-DO Rev I ... B, may be implemented in any device, system, or network capable of transmitting and receiving radio frequency (RF) signals according to any communications standard, such as High Speed ​​Packet Data (HRPD), High Speed ​​Packet Access (HSPA), High Speed ​​Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA), High Speed ​​Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA), Evolved High Speed ​​Packet Access (HSPA+), Long Term Evolution (LTE), Advanced Mobile Phone System (AMPS), or other known signals used to communicate within wireless, cellular, or Internet of Things (IoT) networks.

[0013]

[0020] As used herein, an "RF signal" comprises electromagnetic waves that transport information through space between a transmitter (or transmitting device) and a receiver (or receiving device). 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 transmitted RF signal on different paths between the transmitter and receiver may be referred to as a "multipath" RF signal. Furthermore, references such as "reference signal," "positioning reference signal," "reference signal for positioning," etc. may be used to refer to signals used for positioning of user equipment (UE). As described in further detail herein, such signals may comprise any of a variety of signal types, but are not necessarily limited to positioning reference signals (PRS) defined in relevant wireless standards.

[0014]

[0021] 1 is a simplified diagram of a positioning system 100 in which a UE 105, a location server 160, and / or other components of the positioning system 100 can use techniques provided herein to determine and estimate a location of the UE 105, according to one embodiment. The techniques described herein may be implemented by one or more components of the positioning system 100. The positioning system 100 may include a UE 105, one or more satellites 110 (also referred to as space vehicles (SVs)) for a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), such as Global Positioning System (GPS), GLONASS, Galileo, or Beidou, a base station 120, an access point (AP) 130, a location server 160, a network 170, and an external client 180. Generally speaking, the positioning system 100 can estimate the location of the UE 105 based on RF signals received by and / or transmitted from the UE 105 and the known locations of other components (e.g., GNSS satellites 110, base stations 120, APs 130) transmitting and / or receiving the RF signals. Further details regarding specific location estimation techniques are discussed in more detail with respect to FIG. 2.

[0015]

[0022] It should be noted that FIG. 1 provides only a generalized illustration of the various components, any or all of which may be utilized as appropriate, and each of which may be replicated as needed. In particular, while only one UE 105 is shown, it will be understood that many UEs (e.g., hundreds, thousands, millions, etc.) may utilize the positioning system 100. Similarly, the positioning system 100 may include a greater or lesser number of base stations 120 and / or APs 130 than those shown in FIG. 1. The illustrated connections connecting the various components in the positioning system 100 comprise data and signaling connections that may include additional (intermediate) components, direct or indirect physical and / or wireless connections, and / or additional networks. Furthermore, components may be rearranged, combined, separated, substituted, and / or omitted depending on the desired functionality. In some embodiments, for example, the external client 180 may be directly connected to the location server 160. Those skilled in the art will recognize many modifications to the illustrated components.

[0016]

[0023] Depending on the desired functionality, network 170 may comprise any of a variety of wireless and / or wireline networks. Network 170 may comprise, for example, any combination of public and / or private networks, local and / or wide area networks, etc. Furthermore, network 170 may utilize one or more wired and / or wireless communication technologies. In some embodiments, network 170 may comprise, for example, a cellular or other mobile network, a wireless local area network (WLAN), a wireless wide area network (WWAN), and / or the Internet. Examples of network 170 include a long-term evolution (LTE) wireless network, a fifth-generation (5G) wireless network (also referred to as a new radio (NR) wireless network or a 5G NR wireless network), a Wi-Fi WLAN, and the Internet. LTE, 5G, and NR are wireless technologies defined or being defined by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). Network 170 may also include two or more networks and / or two or more types of networks.

[0017]

[0024] The base stations 120 and access points (APs) 130 may be communicatively coupled to the network 170. In some embodiments, the base stations 120s may be owned, maintained, and / or operated by a cellular network provider and may employ any of a variety of wireless technologies, as described herein below. Depending on the technology of the network 170, the base stations 120 may comprise a Node B, an evolved Node B (eNode B or eNB), a base transceiver station (BTS), a radio base station (RBS), an NR Node B (gNB), a next-generation eNB (ng-eNB), etc. A base station 120 that is a gNB or ng-eNB may be part of a next-generation radio access network (NG-RAN) that may connect to a 5G core network (5GC) if the network 170 is a 5G network. The APs 130 may comprise, for example, a Wi-Fi AP or a Bluetooth AP or an AP with cellular capabilities (e.g., 4G LTE and / or 5G NR). Thus, the UE 105 can send and receive information to and from network-connected devices, such as the location server 160, by accessing the network 170 via the base station 120 using the first communication link 133. Additionally or alternatively, the AP 130 may also be communicatively coupled to the network 170, so that the UE 105 may communicate with network- and internet-connected devices, including the location server 160, using the second communication link 135 or via one or more other UEs 145.

[0018]

[0025] The term “base station” as used herein may generally refer to a single physical transmission point or multiple co-located physical transmission points, which may be located at a base station 120. A transmit / receive point (TRP) (also known as a transmit / receive point) corresponds to this type of transmission point, and the term “TRP” may be used interchangeably with the terms “gNB,” “ng-eNB,” and “base station” herein. In some cases, a base station 120 may comprise multiple TRPs, e.g., each TRP associated with a different antenna or a different antenna array for the base station 120. A physical transmission point may comprise an array of antennas at the base station 120 (e.g., as in a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system and / or when the base station employs beamforming). The term “base station” may further refer to multiple non-co-located physical transmission points, which 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).

[0019]

[0026] The term "cell," as used herein, may refer generally to a logical communication entity used for communication with base station 120 and may be associated with an identifier (e.g., physical cell identifier (PCID), virtual cell identifier (VCID)) to distinguish between neighboring cells operating over the same or different carriers. In some examples, a carrier may support multiple cells, and different cells may be configured according to different protocol types (e.g., machine-type communication (MTC), narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), etc.) that may provide access to different types of devices. In some cases, the term "cell" may refer to a portion (e.g., a sector) of a geographic coverage area over which the logical entity operates.

[0020]

[0027] The location server 160 may comprise a server and / or other computing device configured to determine an estimated location of the UE 105 and / or provide data (e.g., “assistance data”) to the UE 105 to facilitate location measurements and / or location determination by the UE 105. According to some embodiments, the location server 160 may comprise a Home SUPL Location Platform (H-SLP), which may support the Secure User Plane Location (SUPL) user plane (UP) location solution defined by the Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) and may support location services for the UE 105 based on subscription information of the UE 105 stored in the location server 160. In some embodiments, the location server 160 may comprise a Discovery SLP (D-SLP) or an Emergency SLP (E-SLP). The location server 160 may also comprise an Enhanced Serving Mobile Location Center (E-SMLC), which supports the location of the UE 105 using a Control Plane (CP) location solution for LTE radio access by the UE 105. The location server 160 may further comprise a location management function (LMF) that supports the location of the UE 105 using a control plane (CP) location solution for NR or LTE radio access by the UE 105.

[0021]

[0028] In a CP location solution, signaling for controlling and managing the location of the UE 105 may be exchanged between elements of the network 170 and with the UE 105 using existing network interfaces and protocols, and as signaling from the perspective of the network 170. In a UP location solution, signaling for controlling and managing the location of the UE 105 may be exchanged between the location server 160 and the UE 105 as data from the perspective of the network 170 (e.g., data transported using Internet Protocol (IP) and / or Transmission Control Protocol (TCP)).

[0022]

[0029] As mentioned above (and discussed in more detail below), the estimated location of the UE 105 may be based on measurements of RF signals sent from and / or received by the UE 105. In particular, these measurements may provide information regarding the relative distance and / or angle of the UE 105 from one or more components (e.g., GNSS satellites 110, AP 130, base station 120) in the positioning system 100. The estimated location of the UE 105 may be estimated geometrically (e.g., using multi-angulation and / or multilateration) based on the distance and / or angle measurements along with the known positions of the one or more components.

[0023]

[0030] Terrestrial components such as the AP 130 and base station 120 may be fixed, although embodiments are not so limited. Mobile components may be used. For example, in some embodiments, the location of the UE 105 may be estimated based at least in part on measurements of RF signals 140 communicated between the UE 105 and one or more other UEs 145, which may be mobile or fixed. When one or more other UEs 145 are used in determining the position of a particular UE 105, the UE 105 whose position is to be determined may be referred to as a “target UE,” and each of the one or more other UEs 145 used may be referred to as an “anchor UE.” For purposes of determining the position of the target UE, the respective positions of the one or more anchor UEs may be known and / or may be determined together with the target UE. Direct communication between the one or more other UEs 145 and the UE 105 may comprise sidelink and / or similar device-to-device (D2D) communication technologies. Sidelink, as defined by 3GPP, is a form of D2D communication under the cellular-based LTE and NR standards.

[0024]

[0031] The estimated location of the UE 105 may be used in various applications, such as, for example, to assist a user of the UE 105 in direction-finding or navigation or to assist another user (e.g., associated with the external client 180) in locating the UE 105. “Location” may also be referred to herein as a “location estimate,” “estimated location,” “location,” “position,” “position estimate,” “position fix,” “estimated position,” “location fix,” or “fix.” The process of determining a location may be referred to as a “positioning,” “position determination,” “location determination,” or the like. The location of the UE 105 may comprise the absolute location of the UE 105 (e.g., latitude and longitude and possibly altitude) or the relative location of the UE 105 (e.g., a location expressed as a distance north or south, east or west, and possibly above or below from some other known fixed location (e.g., including the location of a base station 120 or AP 130) or some other location, such as the location of the UE 105 at some known prior time or the location of another UE 145 at some known prior time). A location may be specified as a geodetic location comprising coordinates that may be absolute (e.g., latitude, longitude, and possibly altitude), relative (e.g., relative to some known absolute location), or local (e.g., X, Y, and possibly Z coordinates according to a coordinate system defined for a local area such as a factory, warehouse, university campus, shopping mall, sports stadium, or convention center). A location may alternatively be a civic location, in which case it may comprise one or more of a street address (e.g., including a country, state, county, city, road and / or street name or label, and / or road or street number), and / or a label or name of a place, building, part of a building, floor of a building, and / or room within a building, etc.The location may further include an uncertainty or error indication, such as the horizontal and possibly vertical distance by which the location is expected to be incorrect, or an indication of an area or volume (e.g., a circle or ellipse) within which the UE 105 is expected to be located with some confidence level (e.g., 95% confidence).

[0025]

[0032] The external client 180 may be a web server or remote application that may have some association with the UE 105 (e.g., that may be accessed by a user of the UE 105), or may be a server, application, or computer system that provides location services to some other user or users that may include obtaining and providing the location of the UE 105 (e.g., to enable services such as a friend or relative finder, or child or pet location). Additionally or alternatively, the external client 180 may obtain and provide the location of the UE 105 to an emergency service provider, a government agency, or the like.

[0026]

[0033] As previously mentioned, the exemplary positioning system 100 may be implemented using a wireless communication network, such as an LTE-based or 5G NR-based network. FIG. 2 shows a diagram of a 5G NR positioning system 200 illustrating one embodiment of a positioning system (e.g., positioning system 100) implementing 5G NR. The 5G NR positioning system 200 may be configured to determine the location of the UE 105 by using access nodes 210, 214, 216 (which may correspond to base stations 120 and access points 130 of FIG. 1 ) and (in some cases) an LMF 220 (which may correspond to location server 160) to implement one or more positioning methods. Here, the 5G NR positioning system 200 comprises the UE 105 and components of a 5G NR network, including a Next Generation (NG) Radio Access Network (RAN) (NG-RAN) 235 and a 5G Core Network (5G CN) 240. The 5G network may also be referred to as an NR network, the NG-RAN 235 may also be referred to as a 5G RAN or an NR RAN, and the 5G CN 240 may also be referred to as an NG core network. The 5G NR positioning system 200 may further utilize information from GNSS satellites 110 from a GNSS system such as the Global Positioning System (GPS) or similar systems (e.g., GLONASS, Galileo, Beidou, Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS)). Additional components of the 5G NR positioning system 200 are described below. The 5G NR positioning system 200 may include additional or alternative components.

[0027]

[0034] 2 provides only a generalized illustration of the various components, any or all of which may be utilized as appropriate, and each of which may be duplicated or omitted as necessary. In particular, while only one UE 105 is shown, it will be understood that many UEs (e.g., hundreds, thousands, millions, etc.) may utilize the 5G NR positioning system 200. Similarly, the 5G NR positioning system 200 may include a greater (or lesser) number of GNSS satellites 110, gNBs 210, ng-eNBs 214, wireless local area networks (WLANs) 216, access and mobility management functions (AMFs) 215, external clients 230, and / or other components. The illustrated connections connecting the various components in the 5G NR positioning system 200 include data and signaling connections, which may include additional (intermediate) components, direct or indirect physical and / or wireless connections, and / or additional networks. Additionally, components may be rearranged, combined, separated, substituted, and / or omitted depending on the desired functionality.

[0028]

[0035] The UE 105 may comprise and / or be referred to as a device, a mobile device, a wireless device, a mobile terminal, a terminal, a mobile station (MS), a secure user plane location (SUPL)-enabled terminal (SET), or by some other name. Moreover, the UE 105 may correspond to a cell phone, a smartphone, a laptop, a tablet, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a navigation device, an Internet of Things (IoT) device, or some other portable or movable device. Typically, but not necessarily, the UE 105 may support wireless communications using one or more radio access technologies (RATs), such as using GSM, CDMA, W-CDMA, LTE, High Rate Packet Data (HRPD), IEEE 802.11 Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), 5G NR (e.g., using NG-RAN 235 and 5G CN 240), etc. The UE 105 may also support wireless communications using a WLAN 216, which may connect to other networks, such as the Internet (such as one or more RATs and as described above with respect to FIG. 1). Use of one or more of these RATs may enable the UE 105 to communicate with and / or receive location information regarding the UE 105 (e.g., via elements of the 5G CN 240 not shown in FIG. 2 or possibly via a Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC) 225) external clients 230. The external clients 230 of FIG. 2 may correspond to the external clients 180 of FIG. 1 implemented in or communicatively coupled to a 5G NR network.

[0029]

[0036] The UE 105 may include a single entity or may include multiple entities, such as in a personal area network, where a user may employ audio, video, and / or data I / O devices and / or body sensors and a separate wireline or wireless modem. An estimate of the location of the UE 105 may be referred to as a location, location estimate, location fix, fix, position, position estimate, or position fix, and may be geodetic and thus provide location coordinates (e.g., latitude and longitude) of the UE 105 that may or may not include an altitude component (e.g., height above sea level, height above or below ground level, floor level or basement level). Alternatively, the location of the UE 105 may be expressed as a civic location (e.g., as a postal address or as a designation of some point or small area in a building such as a particular room or floor). The location of the UE 105 may also be expressed as an area or volume (defined geodesically or in urban terms) within which the UE 105 is expected to be located with some probability or confidence level (e.g., 67%, 95%, etc.). The location of the UE 105 may further be a relative location comprising distance and direction or relative X, Y (and Z) coordinates defined relative to some origin in a known location, which may be defined, for example, geodesically, in urban terms, or by reference to a point, area, or volume shown on a map, floor plan, or building plan. In the description contained herein, use of the term location may comprise any of these variations unless otherwise specified. When calculating the location of a UE, it is customary to solve for local X, Y, and possibly Z coordinates and then convert the local coordinates to absolute coordinates if necessary (e.g., for latitude, longitude, and altitude below or above mean sea level).

[0030]

[0037] The base stations in the NG-RAN 235 shown in FIG. 2 may correspond to the base stations 120 of FIG. 1 and may include NR Node Bs (gNBs) 210-1 and 210-2 (collectively and generally referred to herein as gNBs 210). Pairs of gNBs 210 in the NG-RAN 235 may be connected to each other (e.g., directly as shown in FIG. 2 or indirectly via other gNBs 210). The communication interface between the base stations (gNBs 210 and / or ng-eNBs 214) may be referred to as the Xn interface 237. Access to the 5G network is provided to the UE 105 via wireless communication between the UE 105 and one or more of the gNBs 210, which may provide wireless communication access to the 5G CN 240 for the UE 105 using 5G NR. The wireless interface between the base stations (gNBs 210 and / or ng-eNBs 214) and the UE 105 may be referred to as the Uu interface 239. 5G NR radio access may also be referred to as NR radio access or 5G radio access. In Figure 2, it is assumed that the serving gNB for the UE 105 is gNB 210-1, but other gNBs (e.g., gNB 210-2) may act as serving gNBs if the UE 105 moves to another location or as secondary gNBs to provide additional throughput and bandwidth to the UE 105.

[0031]

[0038] The base stations in the NG-RAN 235 shown in FIG. 2 may also or instead include next-generation evolved node Bs 214, also referred to as ng-eNBs. The ng-eNBs 214 may be connected to one or more gNBs 210 in the NG-RAN 235, e.g., directly or indirectly via other gNBs 210 and / or other ng-eNBs. The ng-eNBs 214 may provide LTE wireless access and / or evolved LTE (eLTE) wireless access to the UE 105. Some gNBs 210 (e.g., gNB 210-2) and / or ng-eNBs 214 in FIG. 2 may be configured to function as positioning-only beacons, which may transmit signals (e.g., PRS) and / or broadcast assistance data to assist in positioning the UE 105, but may not receive signals from the UE 105 or other UEs. Some gNBs 210 (e.g., gNB 210-2 and / or another gNB not shown) and / or ng-eNB 214 may be configured to function as detection-only nodes that may scan for signals containing, for example, PRS data, assistance data, or other location data. Such detection-only nodes may not transmit signals or data to UEs, but may transmit signals or data (e.g., related to PRS, assistance data, or other location data) to other network entities (e.g., one or more components of 5G CN 240, external client 230, or a controller), which may receive, store, or use the data for positioning of at least UE 105. Note that while only one ng-eNB 214 is shown in FIG. 2, some embodiments may include multiple ng-eNBs 214. Base stations 210, 214 may communicate directly with each other via an Xn communication interface. Additionally or alternatively, the base stations 210, 214 may communicate directly or indirectly with other components of the 5G NR positioning system 200, such as the LMF 220 and the AMF 215.

[0032]

[0039] The 5G NR positioning system 200 may also include one or more WLANs 216 that may connect to a non-3GPP interworking function (N3IWF) 250 in the 5G CN 240 (e.g., in the case of an untrusted WLAN 216). For example, the WLAN 216 may support IEEE 802.11 Wi-Fi access for the UE 105 and may comprise one or more Wi-Fi APs (e.g., the AP 130 of FIG. 1 ). Here, the N3IWF 250 may connect to other elements in the 5G CN 240, such as the AMF 215. In some embodiments, the WLAN 216 may support another RAT, such as Bluetooth. The N3IWF 250 may provide support for secure access by the UE 105 to other elements in the 5G CN 240 and / or support interworking of one or more protocols used by the WLAN 216 and the UE 105 to one or more protocols used by other elements of the 5G CN 240, such as the AMF 215. For example, the N3IWF 250 may support IPSec tunnel establishment with the UE 105, termination of the IKEv2 / IPSec protocol with the UE 105, termination of the N2 and N3 interfaces to the 5G CN 240 for the control plane and user plane, respectively, and relaying uplink (UL) and downlink (DL) control plane Non-Access Stratum (NAS) signaling between the UE 105 and the AMF 215 via the N1 interface. In some other embodiments, the WLAN 216 may connect directly to an element in the 5G CN 240 (e.g., the AMF 215 as shown by the dashed line in FIG. 2 ) without going through the N3IWF 250. For example, direct connection of the WLAN 216 to the 5G CN 240 may occur when the WLAN 216 is a trusted WLAN for the 5G CN 240 and may be enabled using a Trusted WLAN Interworking Function (TWIF) (not shown in FIG. 2 ), which may be an element within the WLAN 216. It should be noted that although only one WLAN 216 is shown in FIG. 2, some embodiments may include multiple WLANs 216.

[0033]

[0040] An access node may comprise any of a variety of network entities that enable communication between the UE 105 and the AMF 215. This may include a gNB 210, an ng-eNB 214, a WLAN 216, and / or other types of cellular base stations. However, an access node providing the functionality described herein may additionally or alternatively include entities that enable communication to any of a variety of RATs not shown in FIG. 2, which may include non-cellular technologies. Thus, the term “access node,” as used in the embodiments described herein below, may include, but is not necessarily limited to, a gNB 210, an ng-eNB 214, or a WLAN 216.

[0034]

[0041] In some embodiments, an access node such as the gNB 210, ng-eNB 214, or WLAN 216 (alone or in combination with other components of the 5G NR positioning system 200) may be configured to obtain location measurements of uplink (UL) signals (received from the UE 105) and / or obtain downlink (DL) location measurements from the UE 105 obtained by the UE 105 for DL ​​signals received by the UE 105 from one or more access nodes in response to receiving a request for location information from the LMF 220. As mentioned, FIG. 2 illustrates access nodes 210, 214, and 216 configured to communicate according to 5G NR, LTE, and Wi-Fi communication protocols, respectively, but access nodes configured to communicate according to other communication protocols may be used, such as, for example, Node Bs using a Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) protocol for a Universal Mobile Telecommunications Service (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN), eNBs using an LTE protocol for an Evolved UTRAN (E-UTRAN), or Bluetooth Beacons using a Bluetooth protocol for a WLAN. For example, in a 4G Evolved Packet System (EPS) providing LTE wireless access to the UE 105, the RAN may comprise an E-UTRAN, which may comprise a base station with an eNB supporting LTE wireless access. The core network of the EPS may comprise an Evolved Packet Core (EPC). The EPS may then comprise an E-UTRAN+EPC, where E-UTRAN corresponds to the NG-RAN 235 and EPC corresponds to the 5GCN 240 of FIG. 2. The methods and techniques described herein for obtaining the urban location of a UE 105 may be applicable to such other networks.

[0035]

[0042] The gNB 210 and ng-eNB 214 may communicate with an AMF 215, which communicates with the LMF 220 for positioning functions. The AMF 215 may support mobility of the UE 105, including cell changes and handovers of the UE 105 from a first RAT access node 210, 214, or 216 to a second RAT access node 210, 214, or 216. The AMF 215 may also be responsible for supporting signaling connections to the UE 105 and possibly data and voice bearers for the UE 105. The LMF 220 may support positioning of the UE 105 using a CP location solution when the UE 105 accesses the NG-RAN 235 or the WLAN 216, and may support location procedures and methods, including UE-assisted / UE-based and / or network-based procedures / methods, such as Aided GNSS (A-GNSS), Observed Time Difference Of Arrival (OTDOA) (sometimes called Time Difference Of Arrival (TDOA) in NR), Real Time Kinematic (RTK), Precise Point Positioning (PPP), Differential GNSS (DGNSS), Enhanced Cell ID (ECID), Angle of Arrival (AoA), Angle of Departure (AoD), WLAN positioning, Round Trip Signal Propagation Delay (RTT), Multi-Cell RTT, and / or other positioning procedures and methods. The LMF 220 may also process location service requests for the UE 105, for example, received from the AMF 215 or the GMLC 225. The LMF 220 may be connected to the AMF 215 and / or the GMLC 225. In some embodiments, a network such as the 5GCN 240 may additionally or alternatively implement other types of location support modules, such as an Evolved Serving Mobile Location Center (E-SMLC) or a SUPL Location Platform (SLP).It should be noted that in some embodiments, at least a portion of the positioning functionality (including determining the location of the UE 105) may be performed at the UE 105 (e.g., by measuring downlink PRS (DL-PRS) signals transmitted by wireless nodes such as the gNB 210, the ng-eNB 214 and / or the WLAN 216, and / or using assistance data provided to the UE 105 by, for example, the LMF 220).

[0036]

[0043] The gateway mobile location center (GMLC) 225 may support location requests for the UE 105 received from the external client 230 and may forward such location requests to the AMF 215 for forwarding by the AMF 215 to the LMF 220. A location response from the LMF 220 (e.g., including a location estimate for the UE 105) may similarly be returned to the GMLC 225 directly or via the AMF 215, which may then return the location response (e.g., including the location estimate) to the external client 230.

[0037]

[0044] A network exposure function (NEF) 245 may be included in the 5GCN 240. The NEF 245 may support secure exposure of capabilities and events related to the 5GCN 240 and the UE 105 to the external client 230, which may then be referred to as an access function (AF), and may enable secure provision of information from the external client 230 to the 5GCN 240. The NEF 245 may be connected to the AMF 215 and / or the GMLC 225 for the purposes of obtaining the location (e.g., civic location) of the UE 105 and providing the location to the external client 230.

[0038]

[0045] As further shown in Figure 2, the LMF 220 may communicate with the gNB 210 and / or the ng-eNB 214 using the NR Positioning Protocol Annex (NRPPa) defined in 3GPP Technical Specification (TS) 38.445. NRPPa messages may be transferred between the gNB 210 and the LMF 220 and / or between the ng-eNB 214 and the LMF 220 via the AMF 215. As further shown in Figure 2, the LMF 220 and the UE 105 may communicate using the LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP) defined in 3GPP TS 37.355. Here, LPP messages may be transferred between the UE 105 and the LMF 220 via the AMF 215 and the serving gNB 210-1 or serving ng-eNB 214 for the UE 105. For example, LPP messages may be transferred between the LMF 220 and the AMF 215 using service-based operation messages (e.g., based on Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP)) and between the AMF 215 and the UE 105 using a 5G NAS protocol. The LPP protocol may be used to support positioning of the UE 105 using UE-assisted and / or UE-based location methods such as A-GNSS, RTK, TDOA, multi-cell RTT, AoD, and / or ECID. The NRPPa protocol may be used to support positioning of the UE 105 using network-based location methods such as ECID, AoA, uplink TDOA (UL-TDOA), and / or may be used by the LMF 220 to obtain location-related information from the gNB 210 and / or ng-eNB 214, such as parameters defining DL-PRS transmissions from the gNB 210 and / or ng-eNB 214.

[0039]

[0046] In the case of UE 105 access to WLAN 216, LMF 220 may use NRPPa and / or LPP to obtain the location of UE 105 in a manner similar to that just described for UE 105 access to gNB 210 or ng-eNB 214. Accordingly, NRPPa messages may be forwarded between WLAN 216 and LMF 220 via AMF 215 and N3IWF 250 to support network-based positioning of UE 105 and / or forwarding of other location information from WLAN 216 to LMF 220. Alternatively, NRPPa messages may be forwarded between N3IWF 250 and LMF 220 via AMF 215 to support network-based positioning of UE 105 based on location-related information and / or location measurements known to or accessible to N3IWF 250 and forwarded from N3IWF 250 to LMF 220 using NRPPa. Similarly, LPP and / or LPP messages may be transferred between the UE 105 and the LMF 220 via the AMF 215, the N3IWF 250, and the serving WLAN 216 for the UE 105 to support UE-assisted or UE-based positioning of the UE 105 by the LMF 220.

[0040]

[0047] In a 5G NR positioning system 200, positioning methods may be categorized as being “UE-assisted” or “UE-based.” This may depend on where the request to determine the position of the UE 105 originates. For example, if the request originates in the UE (e.g., from an application, or “app,” executed by the UE), the positioning method may be categorized as being UE-based. On the other hand, if the request originates from an external client or AF 230, LMF 220, or other device or service within the 5G network, the positioning method may be categorized as being UE-assisted (or “network-based”).

[0041]

[0048] Using a UE-assisted location method, the UE 105 may obtain location measurements and send the measurements to a location server (e.g., the LMF 220) for calculation of a location estimate of the UE 105. In a RAT-dependent location method, the location measurements may include one or more of the following: received signal strength indicator (RSSI), round-trip signal propagation time (RTT), reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), reference signal time difference (RSTD), time of arrival (TOA), AoA, received time-to-transmit time difference (Rx-Tx), differential AoA (DAoA), AoD, or timing advance (TA) of one or more access points for the gNB 210, the ng-eNB 214, and / or the WLAN 216. Additionally or alternatively, if the locations of other UEs are known, similar measurements of sidelink signals transmitted by these other UEs may be made, which may serve as anchor points for positioning the UE 105. The location measurements may also or alternatively include measurements of RAT-independent positioning methods such as GNSS (e.g., GNSS pseudorange, GNSS code phase, and / or GNSS carrier phase of GNSS satellites 110), WLAN, etc.

[0042]

[0049] Using the UE-based location method, the UE 105 may obtain location measurements (which may, for example, be the same as or similar to the location measurements of the UE-assisted location method) and may further calculate the location of the UE 105 (e.g., with the help of assistance data received from a location server such as the LMF 220, SLP, or broadcast by the gNB 210, ng-eNB 214, or WLAN 216).

[0043]

[0050] Using network-based location methods, one or more base stations (e.g., gNB210 and / or ng-eNB214), one or more APs (e.g., in WLAN216), or N3IWF250 may obtain location measurements (e.g., RSSI, RTT, RSRP, RSRQ, AoA, or TOA measurements) of signals transmitted by UE105 and / or may receive measurements obtained by UE105 or, in the case of N3IWF250, by APs in WLAN216, and may send the measurements to a location server (e.g., LMF220) for calculation of a location estimate of UE105.

[0044]

[0051] Positioning of the UE 105 may also be categorized as UL, DL, or DL-UL based depending on the type of signal used for positioning. For example, if the positioning is based solely on signals received at the UE 105 (e.g., from a base station or other UE), the positioning may be categorized as DL-based. On the other hand, if the positioning is based solely on signals transmitted by the UE 105 (e.g., which may be received by a base station or other UE), the positioning may be categorized as UL-based. Positioning that is DL-UL based includes positioning that is based on signals both transmitted and received by the UE 105, such as RTT-based positioning. Sidelink (SL)-assisted positioning comprises signals communicated between the UE 105 and one or more other UEs. According to some embodiments, the UL, DL, or DL-UL positioning described herein may be capable of using SL signaling as a supplement or replacement for SL, DL, or DL-UL signaling.

[0045]

[0052] Depending on the type of positioning (e.g., UL, DL, or DL-UL based), the type of reference signal used may vary. For example, in DL-based positioning, these signals may comprise PRS (e.g., DL-PRS transmitted by a base station or SL-PRS transmitted by another UE) that may be used for TDOA, AoD, and RTT measurements. Other reference signals that may be used for positioning (UL, DL, or DL-UL) may include sounding reference signals (SRS), channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS), synchronization signals (e.g., synchronization signal block (SSB) synchronization signals (SS)), physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH), demodulation reference signals (DMRS), etc. Moreover, reference signals may be transmitted in the Tx beam and / or received in the Rx beam (e.g., using beamforming techniques), which may affect angle measurements such as AoD. Examples of how PRS (and / or other RF signals) may be used for OTDOA, AoD, and RTT-based positioning are described below with respect to Figures 3-5. Although the examples shown in Figures 3-5 illustrate and discuss base stations (which may correspond to the gNB 210 and / or the ng-eNB 214 of Figure 2 and / or the base station 120 of Figure 1), it may be noted that the positioning techniques may use the particular TRP of the base station to provide accurate positioning.

[0046]

[0053] 3 is a diagram of how OTDOA-based positioning (also known as downlink time difference of arrival (DL-TDOA)) may be performed, according to some embodiments. Briefly, OTDOA-based positioning is positioning that is performed based on the known locations of the base stations (e.g., base stations 310-1, 310-2, and 310-3, collectively and generally referred to herein as base stations 310), the known times at which the base stations transmit their respective reference signals (e.g., PRS), and the difference in the time at which the UE 105 receives the reference signal from each base station.

[0047]

[0054] In OTDOA-based positioning, the location server may provide OTDOA assistance data to the UEP 105 for a reference base station (which may be referred to as a "reference cell" or "reference resource") and one or more neighboring base stations (which may be referred to as a "neighbor cell" or "neighboring cell," and individually may be referred to as a "target cell" or "target resource") with respect to the reference base station. For example, the assistance data may include the center channel frequency of each base station, various PRS configuration parameters (e.g., N PRS , T PRS , muting sequence, frequency hopping sequence, PRS ID, PRS bandwidth), base station (cell) global ID, PRS signal characteristics associated with directional PRS, and / or other base station-related parameters applicable to OTDOA or some other location method. OTDOA-based positioning by the UE 105 may be facilitated by indicating the serving base station for the UE 105 in the OTDOA assistance data (e.g., the reference base station is indicated as being the serving base station). In some aspects, the OTDOA assistance data may also include an “expected RSTD” parameter that provides the UE 105 with information regarding the reference signal time difference (RSTD) value that the UE 105 is expected to measure at its current location between the reference base station and each neighbor base station, along with the uncertainty of this expected RSTD parameter. The expected RSTD, along with the associated uncertainty, may define a search window for the UE 105 within which the UE 105 is expected to measure the RSTD value. The OTDOA assistance information may also include PRS configuration information parameters that enable the UE 105 to determine when PRS positioning occasions occur on signals received from various neighbor base stations relative to the PRS positioning occasion of the reference base station, and to determine the PRS sequences transmitted from various base stations to measure TOA or RSTD. The TOA measurement may be an RSRP (Reference Signal Received Power) measurement of the average power of the resource elements (REs) carrying the PRS (or other reference signals).

[0048]

[0055] Using the RSTD measurements, the known absolute or relative transmit timing of each base station, and the known locations of the wireless node physical transmit antennas of the reference and neighboring base stations, the UE location may be calculated (e.g., by the UE 105 or a location server). More specifically, the RSTD of a neighbor base station "k" relative to a reference base station "Ref" is calculated as the difference between the TOA measurements of the signals from each base station (i.e., the TOA k -TOA Ref ), where the TOA values ​​may be measured modulo one subframe duration (1 ms) to remove the effects of measuring different subframes at different times. In FIG. 3, for example, the first base station 310-1 may be designated as the reference base station, and the second and third base stations (P110-2 and P310-3) are neighbor base stations. If the UE 105 receives reference signals from the first base station 310-1, the second base station 310-2, and the third base station 310-3 at times T1, T2, and T2, respectively, the RSTD measurement of the second base station 310-2 may be determined as T2-T1, and the RSTD measurement of the third base station 310-3 may be determined as T3-T1. The RSTD measurements may be used by the UE 105 and / or sent to a location server to determine the location of the UE 105 using (i) the RSTD measurements, (ii) the known absolute or relative transmission timing of each base station, (iii) the known position of the base station 310 relative to a reference base station and neighboring base stations, and / or (iv) directional PRS characteristics such as direction of transmission. Geometrically, information (i)-(iv) allows the possible locations of the UE 105 to be determined for each RSTD (where each RSTD yields a hyperbola as shown in FIG. 3) and the position of the UE 105 to be determined from the intersection of the possible locations of all the RSTDs.

[0049]

[0056] 4 is a diagram of how RTT-based positioning (or multi-RTT) may be performed according to some embodiments. Briefly, RTT-based positioning involves a positioning method in which the position of a UE 105 is determined based on the known location of a base station (e.g., base station 410, which may also correspond to gNB 210 and / or ng-eNB 214 of FIG. 2) and the known distance between the UE 105 and the base station. RTT measurements between the UE 105 and each base station are used to determine the distance between the UE 105 and the respective base station, and multilateration may be used to determine the location of the UE 105.

[0050]

[0057] In RTT-based positioning, a location server may coordinate RTT measurements between the UE 105 and each base station. Information provided to the UE 105 may be included in RTT assistance data. This may include, for example, reference signal (e.g., PRS) timing and other signal characteristics, base station (cell) ID, and / or other cell-related parameters applicable to multi-RTT or some other location method. Depending on the desired functionality, the RTT measurements may be performed (and initiated) by the UE 105 or the base station 410.

[0051]

[0058] RTT measurements use over-the-air (OTA) delay to measure distance. An initiating device (e.g., UE 105 or base station 410) transmits a first reference signal at a first time T1, which propagates to the responding device. At a second time T2, the first reference signal arrives at the responding device. The OTA delay (i.e., the propagation time it takes for the first reference signal to travel from the initiating device to the responding device) is the difference between T1 and T2. The responding device then transmits a second reference signal at a third time T3, which is received and measured by the initiating device at a fourth time T4. RSRP measurements can be used to determine the TOAs of times T2 and T4. The distance d between the initiating device and the responding device can therefore be determined using the following equation:

[0052]

number

[0053] (As will be appreciated, the distance d divided by the RF propagation velocity c equals the OTA delay.) Thus, an accurate determination of the distance between the initiating device and the responding device can be made.

[0054]

[0059] The RTT measurements between the UE 105 and the base stations 410 may therefore enable the location of the UE 105 to be determined using multilateration. That is, the RTT measurements between the UE 105 and the first base station 410-1, the second base station 410-2, and the third base station 410-3 (RTT measurements RTT1, RTT2, and RTT3, respectively) result in a determination of the distance of the UE 105 from each of the base stations 410. These distances may be used to trace circles around the known location of the base station 410 (where circle 1 corresponds to base station 410-1, circle 2 corresponds to base station 410-2, and circle 3 corresponds to base station 410-3). The location of the UE 105 may be determined as the intersection between the circles.

[0055]

[0060] 5 is a diagram of how AoD-based positioning (or DL-AoD) can be performed according to some embodiments. Briefly, AoD-based positioning is positioning performed based on reference signals (e.g., PRS) transmitted by several beams of a base station 510 and received by a UE 505 and the corresponding coverage areas covered by the beams.

[0056]

[0061] In AoD-based positioning, a location server may provide AoD assistance data to the UE 505. This assistance data, which may be based on the approximate location of the UE 505, may include the center channel frequency of each base station, various PRS configuration parameters (e.g., N PRS , T PRS, muting sequence, frequency hopping sequence, PRS ID, PRS bandwidth, beam ID), base station (cell) global ID, PRS signal characteristics related to directional PRS, and / or other base station related parameters applicable to AoD or some other location method.

[0057]

[0062] Using this information, the UE 505 and / or a location server can determine the location of the UE by the beam on which the UE 505 detects the PRS from each base station 510. More specifically, the PRS from the base stations 510 are transmitted via beams centered along angular regions or bins 530. Thus, each bin can correspond to a PRS from a different respective beam. The bins 530 from different base stations 510 can form an angular grid that can be used to determine the location of the UE 505. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, bin 530-1 of base station 510-1 intersects with bin 530-2 of base station 510-2 to form an angular grid. The UE 505 can measure the PRS of the different beams of each base station 510 (e.g., using RSRP measurements). These measurements may be used by the UE 505 or sent to a location server to determine the location of the UE 505 from corresponding bin intersections 550, where a bin 530-1 corresponding to the PRS of a first base station 510-1 intersects with a bin 530-2 corresponding to the PRS of a second base station 510-2. To provide further accuracy, similar measurements may be made from additional base stations (not shown). Additionally or alternatively, measurements from multiple beams of a single base station 510 can enable interpolation for higher resolution positioning.

[0058]

[0063] While the positioning methods of Figures 3-5 conventionally use base stations (as shown) as anchor points by which the position of target UE 603 ​​is to be determined, 5G NR is developing the possibility of using other UEs in addition to or instead of base stations as anchor points, as previously shown with respect to UE 145 in Figure 1. Figure 6 provides a more detailed example.

[0059]

[0064] FIG. 6 is a simplified diagram illustrating how an anchor UE 605 may be used in positioning a target UE 603 ​​in a 5G NR network, according to one embodiment. Here, arrows between various components indicate communication links. As shown in FIG. 2, this may involve wireless and / or wired communication technologies and may include one or more intermediate components. For simplicity, gNBs (e.g., corresponding to gNB 210 in FIG. 2) are simply labeled gNB1-gNB4, and a single anchor UE 605 is illustrated. In some cases, only one anchor UE 605 may be used, while other cases may use two or more. Moreover, in some cases, the anchor UE 605 may comprise the sole type of anchor point for positioning and / or a gNB that is not used as an anchor point. (Again, as used herein, the term “anchor point” refers to a device with a known location used to determine the location of the target UE 603.)

[0065] To determine the position of the target UE 603 ​​(e.g., using any of the positioning techniques previously described), the target UE 603 ​​may take measurements of wireless signals sent from different anchor points, gNB1-gNB3 and anchor UE 605. As shown in FIG. 4, the target UE 603 ​​may communicate with and / or obtain measurements from gNB1-gNB3 using a Uu (network) interface 630. The measurements may be made from reference signals from the gNBs, such as PRSs (e.g., DL-PRSs). With respect to the anchor UE 605, the target UE 603 ​​may communicate using an SL interface 650. As previously described, the SL interface 650 enables direct (D2D) communication between the target UE 603 ​​and the anchor UE 605 and may be used in a manner similar to the Uu interface 630 to enable the target UE 603 ​​to obtain position relationship measurements in connection with determining the location of the target UE 603. Thus, the anchor UE 605 may be configured to provide a PRS (e.g., SL-PRS) and / or similar reference signals that may be transmitted in a similar manner as the gNB. As part of that, the anchor UE 605 may also communicate with the LMF 220 via the gNB4 using the Uu interface 630. In this example, the gNB4 may comprise the serving gNB for the anchor UE 605.

[0060]

[0066] The use of anchor UE 605 in positioning target UE 603 ​​is similar to the use of base stations in Figures 3-5 for OTDOA, RTT, and AoD-based positioning. However, specific details regarding the use of anchor UE 605 have not yet been determined. There is no definition for SL-based assistance measurements in LPP reporting. And it is not clear what assistance data is required by target UE 603.

[0061]

[0067] According to embodiments herein, the LMF 220, the anchor UE 605, and / or the gNB may provide the target UE 603 ​​with assistance data regarding the anchor UE 605 to enable the target UE 603 ​​to take measurements necessary for positioning determination (e.g., according to OTDOA, RTT, and / or AOD-based positioning techniques). The positioning data provided by the LMF 220 may include information from the anchor points gNB1-gNB3 and the anchor UE 605 and may be provided, for example, in an LPP positioning session between the LMF 220 and the target UE 603. The assistance data from the anchor points gNB1-gNB3 and the anchor UE 605 may additionally or alternatively be provided directly to the target UE 603 ​​via the Uu interface(s) 630 and / or the SL interface 650. In some embodiments, the assistance information from the anchor UE 605 may be provided by the anchor UE 605 to a serving gNB (e.g., gNB4), which may provide the information to a gNB in ​​direct communication with the target UE 603 ​​(e.g., via the Xn interface 650 between the gNBs of the NG-RAN 235 of FIG. 2), such as gNB1 (which may be the serving gNB for the target UE 603). The gNB in ​​direct communication with the target UE 603 ​​may then provide the assistance data to the target UE 603 ​​via its respective Uu interface 630.

[0062]

[0068] In network-based (UE-assisted) positioning, where the network determines the location of the target UE 603, the UE may provide measurements to the LMF 220 (e.g., in an LPP report), which enables the LMF 220 to determine the location. In UE-based positioning, the target UE 603 ​​may determine its own location based on the measurements. Assistance data may be provided to the target UE 603 ​​in both network-based and UE-based positioning, although the content of the assistance data may vary depending on whether network-based or UE-based positioning is being performed. According to an embodiment, the type of information provided to the target UE 603 ​​in the assistance data for positioning based on one or more anchor UEs 605 may include one or more of the following types of information:

[0063]

[0069] For example, coordinates of the anchor UE 605 may be included in assistance data to the target UE 603 ​​for UE-based positioning. Unlike a gNB, which may have a known location stored in an almanac accessible to the LMF 220 and / or target UE 603, the anchor UE 605 may be mobile (e.g., a mobile phone, a vehicle, etc.) whose position is not predetermined. However, positioning techniques, such as techniques described herein, GNSS-based positioning, etc., may be used to determine the coordinates of the anchor UE 605. Thus, for example, the LMF 220 or the target UE 603 ​​may determine the coordinates of the anchor UE 605 by calculating the coordinates from location-related measurements (e.g., OTDOA, RTT, etc.) obtained by the anchor UE 605 and sent to the LMF 220 or target UE 603 ​​(e.g., during a positioning session for the anchor UE 605), and / or the coordinates may be sent directly from the anchor UE 605 to the LMF 220 or target UE 603. If multiple measurements of signals sent from the anchor UE 605 are made by the target UE 603, multiple respective coordinates of the anchor UE 605 may be provided in the assistance data (e.g., in multiple messages comprising the assistance data), which may be based on whether the anchor UE 605 is moving. The approximate location of the anchor UE 605 may be known by the LMF 220, for example, from a previous positioning session for the anchor UE 605, and the anchor UE 605 may be selected to be the anchor for positioning of the target UE 603 ​​based on this approximate location being within a threshold distance and approximate location of the target UE 603 ​​(in addition to the SL positioning capability of the anchor UE 605). The coordinates may be actual or estimated coordinates of the anchor UE 605 at the time the anchor UE 605 transmits a reference signal (e.g., SL-PRS).

[0064]

[0070] The coordinates of the anchor UE 605, in some embodiments, may include an uncertainty value associated with the coordinate. That is, based on the type of positioning used to determine the coordinates of the anchor UE 605, any detected movement of the anchor UE 605 (e.g., using a motion sensor or other information of the anchor UE 605) and / or other factors may be determined for the coordinate that may affect the accuracy and uncertainty value of the coordinate. This uncertainty value may, for example, provide an error margin for the coordinate (e.g., ±X meters, centimeters, etc.). When determining the location of the target UE 603, this uncertainty value may help weight measurements obtained between the target UE 603 ​​and the anchor UE 605. That is, a smaller uncertainty may result in more weight being given to the measurement, while a larger uncertainty may result in little or no weight being given to the measurement.

[0065]

[0071] Additionally or alternatively, other details may be provided that may affect the accuracy of the coordinates. The details may additionally or alternatively include kinematic constraints, such as the velocity or other movement-related information of the anchor UE 605 that may help determine the reliability of one or more measurements made by the target UE 603 ​​on one or more reference signals transmitted by the anchor UE 605, movement-related information that may pertain to UE-105 (e.g., target UEs 603 and 605 are moving together, but the location of UE 605 is not known, and this known constraint may provide additional information to the positioning), etc.

[0066]

[0072] Another type of information that may be included in the assistance data to the target UE 603 ​​is the height of the anchor UE 605. In some cases, this may comprise a predetermined or fixed height of the transmission point of the anchor UE 605, such as when the anchor UE 605 comprises a vehicle with a panel / antenna at a fixed height on the vehicle. In other cases, this may comprise a measured height of the anchor UE 605. For example, if the anchor UE 605 comprises a mobile phone, the mobile phone may be able to determine its height using a GNSS receiver, altimeter, barometer, camera, etc. The height information provided in this assistance data may include an actual height (e.g., measured or predetermined / fixed) and / or raw measurements (e.g., GNSS measurements, sensor measurements, etc.) from which the height may be determined.

[0067]

[0073] Another type of information that the assistance data may include comprises the drift rate of the anchor UE 605 and / or the relative time difference (RTD) of the anchor UE 605 relative to an anchor point (e.g., another anchor UE or a gNB). (The RTD between node i and node j is defined as tj-ti, where ti and tj are defined as the times when node i and node j transmit the start of one subframe, respectively.) Similar to positioning using the Uu interface 630, positioning using the SL interface 650 may involve providing the drift rate of the reference signal source (anchor UE 605) or the RTD of multiple anchor points. However, the anchor UE 605 may have a clock drift higher than that of the gNB. Therefore, including the drift rate of the anchor UE 605 and / or the RTD of the anchor UE 605 relative to the anchor point in the assistance data may be particularly useful for ensuring the accuracy of measurements of reference signals transmitted by the anchor UE 605 and measured by the target UE 603. The drift rate provided may also include related information such as timing advance (TA).

[0068]

[0074] In cases where AOD-based positioning is implemented, the assistance data may also include the beam angle / shape of the anchor UE 605. That is, in addition to the beam angle / shape information of the reference signal transmitted by the gNBs 1-3, the LMF may also provide the beam angle / shape information of the reference signal transmitted by the anchor UE 605. The beam angle and shape may vary depending on the carrier frequency, antenna design, etc. For example, a wideband system may use varying frequencies, and the beam may suffer from "beam squint," in which the beam azimuth and / or elevation angles and gain vary with the use of different frequencies. This frequency dependence may be based on the specific physical characteristics and codewords used by the transmitting antenna array. Thus, for example, providing information regarding frequency dependence and antenna design can be particularly useful in determining the location of the target UE 603. However, unlike the gNBs 1-3, the anchor UE 605 comprises a mobile device. Therefore, information regarding the orientation of the anchor UE 605, in conjunction with the beam angle / shape, may be particularly useful. Thus, embodiments may include orientation information along with beam angle / shape, the latter of which may include frequency dependent information (eg, to accommodate beam squint).

[0069]

[0075] In cases where RTT-based or (possibly) OTDOA-based positioning is implemented, the assistance data may also include group delay calibration information for the anchor UE 605. Group delay is the delay of a signal transmitted by a device (e.g., anchor UE 605) caused by RF components. The group delay calibration information can relay information about this delay, allowing the target UE 603 ​​to take the group delay into account when taking TOA measurements of the reference signal. Group delay may have a particularly large impact on RTT measurements, but it may also affect OTDOA measurements. Therefore, taking group delay into account can improve the accuracy of position determination of the target UE 603 ​​based on such measurements.

[0070]

[0076] According to some embodiments, information regarding group delay and / or calibration error may be provided using a “timing error group.” A timing error group is a way in which measurements and / or signals having the same group delay and / or calibration error (e.g., by using the same antenna, antenna panel, and / or beam) may be grouped together into a common timing error group, thereby allowing a device to convey this timing error information more efficiently by indicating the group to which it applies rather than specifying the group delay and / or calibration error for each measurement / signal. With respect to signals, a transmitting device (e.g., anchor UE 605) may indicate all signals belonging to it, e.g., a timing error group may have a common Tx group delay, and / or a receiving device may use a timing error group to indicate that all signals received in a beam have a common Rx group delay. With respect to measurements, a timing error group may apply to Rx, Tx, and / or composite Rx-Tx measurements. For example, in RTT measurements, a timing error group may be used to indicate which RTT measurements have a common composite Rx-Tx group delay. Therefore, a group of timing errors may be included in the assistance information to efficiently convey to the receiving device the group delay and / or calibration errors applied to one or more measurements, signals, and / or beams, allowing the receiving device to compensate for these errors when determining the location of the target UE 603.

[0071]

[0077] The use of assistance information for SL-assisted positioning using the techniques herein may be similar to the use of assistance information in a conventional LPP session. That is, the general procedure for an LPP session may comprise establishing an LPP session, exchanging positioning capabilities (e.g., using RequestCapabilities and ProvideCapabilities information elements (IEs)), transferring assistance data (e.g., using RequestAssistanceData and ProvideAssistanceData IEs), and transferring location information (e.g., positioning measurements and / or position estimates via RequestLocationInformation and ProvideLocationInformation IEs). As an example, assistance information for SL-assisted positioning described herein may involve the LMF 220 initiating an LPP or NRPPa session with the anchor UE 605. The protocol may depend on whether the anchor UE 605 is operating in transparent mode (in which case it may use either LPP or NRPPa) or advanced mode (in which case it may use LPP). The target UE 603 ​​may then report the assistance data to the LMF 220 per request.

[0072]

[0078] FIG. 7 is a flow diagram of a method 700 for determining a location of a first UE using assistance data related to a second UE, according to one embodiment. In some aspects, method 700 describes a method performed by a first UE corresponding to target UE 603 ​​previously described with respect to FIG. 6. Alternative embodiments may perform functions in a different order, in parallel, and / or reorder the flow of functions shown in FIG. 7 differently. The means for performing the functions shown in the blocks shown in FIG. 7 may be implemented by hardware and / or software components of the UE. Example components of the UE are shown in FIG. 8, which is described in more detail below.

[0073]

[0079] At block 710, the function comprises obtaining assistance data related to determining the location of the first UE using an SL interface between the first UE and the second UE. As mentioned, the first UE may obtain the assistance data directly from the second UE via the SL interface, from a location server (e.g., in an LPP positioning session), and / or from a gNB via the Uu interface. As shown in the embodiments described above, the content of the assistance data may vary depending on the type of positioning method used (e.g., OTDOA, RTT, or AOD), whether the first UE will transmit and / or measure PRS via the SL interface, and whether the first UE will calculate its location (e.g., in the case of UE-based positioning) or provide measurements to a location server or base station (e.g., in the case of network-based positioning). In some embodiments, the assistance data includes coordinates of the second UE, and the location of the first UE is further based at least in part on the coordinates of the second UE. In such cases, the additional information may comprise uncertainty values ​​related to coordinates, information regarding which panel, beam, or antenna of the second UE is used to transmit the PRS, or kinematic constraints related to the second UE's transmission of the PRS, or any combination thereof. According to some embodiments, the assistance data includes information indicative of the height of the second UE. As mentioned, this information indicative of the height may be an actual height (measured or predetermined) and / or measurement data (e.g., data from a sensor of the second UE) from which the height of the second UE may be determined. According to some embodiments, the assistance data includes information indicative of a drift rate of the second UE. According to some embodiments, the assistance data includes information indicative of beam characteristics used by the second UE to transmit the PRS, where the beam characteristics comprise a beam shape, an angle, or both. According to some embodiments, the assistance data may also include frequency dependence of the beam characteristics to account for beam squint.According to some embodiments, the assistance data includes information indicative of a group delay of the second UE. The group delay may comprise an Rx group delay, a Tx group delay, or a combined Rx-Tx group delay, which may depend on the type of measurement made (e.g., OTDOA, RTT, etc.). As mentioned above, the group delay and / or calibration error may be conveyed using a timing error group.

[0074]

[0080] The means for performing the functions of block 710 may comprise a wireless communication interface 830, a bus 805, a memory 860, a processor 810, a digital signal processor (DSP) 820, and / or other components of a UE such as the UE 105 shown in FIG. 8 and described in more detail below.

[0075]

[0081] At block 720, the function comprises performing a positioning operation at the first UE based at least in part on the assistance data, wherein the positioning operation comprises transmitting a first positioning signal by the first UE over the SL interface or measuring, at the first UE, a second positioning signal transmitted by the second UE over the SL interface. According to some embodiments, the first positioning signal, the second positioning signal, or both may comprise an SL-PRS. Alternative embodiments may utilize other types of positioning signals sent over the SL interface. According to some embodiments, determining when to measure the first positioning signal or when to transmit the second positioning signal may, in some cases, be based at least in part on the assistance data. That is, the assistance data may include various parameters (e.g., carrier frequency, schedule, etc.) for enabling measurement of the reference signal. Additionally or alternatively, the assistance data may include parameters for indicating how to transmit the second positioning signal. Means for performing the functions of block 720 may comprise a wireless communication interface 830, a bus 805, a memory 860, a processor 810, a DSP 820, and / or other components of a UE, such as the UE 105 shown in FIG. 8 and described in more detail below.

[0076]

[0082] As mentioned, the techniques herein may be used for both UE-assisted and UE-based positioning. Thus, according to some embodiments in which a first UE measures a second positioning signal transmitted by a second UE, method 700 may further comprise performing one or both of: (i) sending information indicative of the measurement to a location server, wherein taking the measurement is based at least in part on the assistance data; or (ii) determining a location of the first UE based at least in part on the measurement and the assistance data. With regard to (i), as mentioned above, timing frequencies and / or other parameters of the reference signals may be provided in the assistance data, thereby enabling measurements of the reference signals. With regard to (ii), the assistance data may further comprise location information (e.g., coordinates) and / or other information, enabling the first UE to determine its location based on this information in addition to the measurements.

[0077]

[0083] As mentioned above, embodiments may include additional functionality depending on desired functionality. For example, as discussed with respect to the example shown in FIG. 6, multiple measurements from multiple positioning signals (e.g., multiple PRSs) may be made. These positioning signals may be based on different types of anchor points, including base stations (e.g., gNBs) as well as other UEs. Thus, according to some embodiments, method 700 may further comprise taking measurements of each of one or more additional positioning signals. According to some embodiments, method 700 may further comprise sending information indicative of the one or more measurements to a location server. Additionally or alternatively, determining the location of the first UE is further based at least in part on the one or more measurements. These one or more additional positioning signals may comprise one or more DL-PRSs from one or more base stations or may comprise positioning signals (e.g., SL-PRSs) transmitted by one or more additional UEs. The location of the UE may be determined using any of a variety of techniques. Thus, according to some embodiments, determining the location of the first UE may comprise using an OTDOA-based positioning method, an AOD-based positioning method, or an RTT-based positioning method, or any combination thereof.

[0078]

[0084] Other methods of determining the location of a first UE using assistance data related to a second UE, according to some embodiments, may involve functionality of the second UE or a location server.

[0079]

[0085] For example, according to some embodiments, the second UE may send assistance data to either the location server or the first UE and provide the second positioning signal to the first UE via the SL interface. In some embodiments, the second UE may send the assistance data to the first UE via the SL interface. The assistance data may include coordinates of the second UE, and may further include uncertainty values ​​related to the coordinates, information regarding which panel, beam, or antenna of the second UE is used to transmit the PRS, or kinematic constraints related to the second UE's transmission of the PRS, or any combination thereof. Additionally or alternatively, the assistance data may include information indicating the height of the second UE (in which case the second UE may measure the height using a sensor), the drift rate and / or RTD of the second UE, beam characteristics used by the second UE to transmit the second positioning signal (in which case the beam characteristics may comprise a beam shape, an angle, or both, and possibly a frequency dependence of the beam shape and / or angle), a group delay (which may be conveyed, for example, via a timing error group), or any combination thereof.

[0080]

[0086] According to some embodiments, the location server may send assistance data to the first UE based on information obtained from the second UE. The assistance data may include coordinates of the second UE and may further include uncertainty values ​​related to the coordinates, information regarding which panel, beam, or antenna of the second UE is used to transmit the second positioning signal, or kinematic constraints related to the second UE's transmission of the second positioning signal, or any combination thereof. Additionally or alternatively, the assistance data may include information indicative of the height of the second UE, a drift rate of the second UE, beam characteristics used by the second UE to transmit the second positioning signal (in which case the beam characteristics may comprise a beam shape, an angle, or both), a group delay, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, the location server may provide assistance data to the first UE in an LPP positioning session.

[0081]

[0087] FIG. 8 illustrates one embodiment of a UE 105 that may be utilized as described hereinabove (e.g., in connection with FIGS. 1-7). For example, the UE 105 may perform one or more of the functions of the method illustrated in FIG. 7. It should be noted that FIG. 8 is intended only to provide a generalized view of various components, any or all of which may be utilized as appropriate. It should be noted that in some instances, the components illustrated by FIG. 8 may be localized in a single physical device and / or distributed among various networked devices that may be disposed in different physical locations. Additionally, as previously mentioned, the functionality of the UE discussed in the previously described embodiments may be performed by one or more of the hardware and / or software components illustrated in FIG. 8.

[0082]

[0088] The UE 105 is shown comprising hardware elements that may be electrically coupled (or otherwise in communication, as appropriate) via a bus 805. The hardware elements may include a processor 810, which may include, but is not limited to, one or more general-purpose processors (e.g., application processors), one or more special-purpose processors (digital signal processor (DSP) chips, graphics acceleration processors, application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), etc.), and / or other processing structures or means. The processor 810 may comprise one or more processing units that may be stored in a single integrated circuit (IC) or multiple ICs. As shown in FIG. 8, some embodiments may have a separate DSP 820 depending on desired functionality. Location determination and / or other determinations based on wireless communication may be provided in the processor 810 and / or the wireless communication interface 830 (discussed below). The UE 105 may also include one or more input devices 870, which may include, but are not limited to, one or more keyboards, touchscreens, touchpads, microphones, buttons, dials, switches, etc., and one or more output devices 815, which may include, but are not limited to, one or more displays (e.g., touchscreens), light-emitting diodes (LEDs), speakers, etc.

[0083]

[0089] The UE 105 may also include a wireless communication interface 830, which may comprise, without limitation, a modem, a network card, an infrared communication device, a wireless communication device, and / or a chipset (such as a Bluetooth device, an IEEE 802.11 device, an IEEE 802.15.4 device, a Wi-Fi device, a WiMAX device, a WAN device, and / or various cellular devices), which may enable the UE 105 to communicate with other devices as described in the above embodiments. The wireless communication interface 830 may enable data and signaling to be communicated (e.g., transmitted and received) with the TRP of the network, as described herein, for example, via an eNB, a gNB, an ng-eNB, an access point, various base stations and / or other access node types, and / or other network components, computer systems, and / or any other electronic devices communicatively coupled to the TRP. Communication may occur via one or more wireless communication antennas 832 that send and / or receive wireless signals 834. According to some embodiments, the wireless communication antenna 832 may comprise multiple individual antennas, an antenna array, or any combination thereof. The antenna 832 may be capable of transmitting and receiving wireless signals using beams (e.g., Tx beams and Rx beams). The beamforming may be performed using digital and / or analog beamforming techniques with digital and / or analog circuitry, respectively. The wireless communication interface 830 may include such circuitry.

[0084]

[0090] Depending on the desired functionality, the wireless communication interface 830 may comprise separate receivers and transmitters, or any combination of transceivers, transmitters, and / or receivers, for communicating with base stations (e.g., ng-eNBs and gNBs) and other terrestrial transceivers, such as wireless devices and access points. The UE 105 may communicate with various data networks, which may comprise various network types. For example, a wireless wide area network (WWAN) may be a CDMA network, a time division multiple access (TDMA) network, a frequency division multiple access (FDMA) network, an orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) network, a single-carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) network, a WiMAX (IEEE 802.16) network, etc. A CDMA network may implement one or more RATs, such as CDMA2000, WCDMA, etc. CDMA2000 includes IS-95, IS-2000, and / or IS-856 standards. A TDMA network may implement GSM, Digital Advanced Mobile Phone System (D-AMPS), or some other RAT. An OFDMA network may employ LTE, LTE Advanced, 5G NR, etc. 5G NR, LTE, LTE Advanced, GSM, and WCDMA are described in documents from 3GPP. CDMA2000 is described in documents from an organization named “3rd Generation Partnership Project 2” (3GPP2). 3GPP and 3GPP2 documents are publicly available. A WLAN may also be an IEEE 802.11x network, and a wireless personal area network (WPAN) may be a Bluetooth network, an IEEE 802.15x, or some other type of network. The techniques described herein may also be used for any combination of WWAN, WLAN, and / or WPAN.

[0085]

[0091] The UE 105 may further include sensors 840. The sensors 840 may comprise, without limitation, one or more inertial and / or other sensors (e.g., accelerometers, gyroscopes, cameras, magnetometers, altimeters, microphones, proximity sensors, light sensors, barometers, etc.), some of which may be used to obtain location-related measurements and / or other information.

[0086]

[0092] An embodiment of the UE 105 may also include a GNSS receiver 880 capable of receiving signals 884 from one or more Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) satellites using an antenna 882 (which may be similar to antenna 832). Positioning based on GNSS signal measurements may be utilized to supplement and / or incorporate the techniques described herein. The GNSS receiver 880 may extract the position of the UE 105 from GNSS satellites 110 of a GNSS system, such as Global Positioning System (GPS), Galileo, GLONASS, Japan's Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS), India's IRNSS, or China's Beidou Navigation Satellite System (BDS), using conventional techniques. Moreover, the GNSS receiver 880 may be used with various augmentation systems (e.g., satellite-based augmentation systems (SBAS)) that may be associated with or otherwise enabled for use with one or more global and / or regional navigation satellite systems, such as, for example, Wide Area Augmentation Systems (WAAS), European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS), Multi-Function Satellite Augmentation Systems (MSAS), and Geo-Augmented Navigation Systems (GAGAN).

[0087]

[0093] It may be noted that while the GNSS receiver 880 is shown as a separate component in FIG. 8 , embodiments are not so limited. The term “GNSS receiver,” as used herein, may comprise hardware and / or software components configured to acquire GNSS measurements (measurements from GNSS satellites). In some embodiments, the GNSS receiver may therefore comprise a measurement engine executed (as software) by one or more processors, such as the processor 810, the DSP 820, and / or a processor within the wireless communication interface 830 (e.g., in a modem). The GNSS receiver may also, in some cases, include a positioning engine that can use the GNSS measurements from the measurement engine to determine the position of the GNSS receiver using an extended Kalman filter (EKF), weighted least squares (WLS), a Hatch filter, a particle filter, or the like. The positioning engine may also be executed by one or more processors, such as the processor 810 or the DSP 820.

[0088]

[0094] The UE 105 may further include and / or be in communication with memory 860. The memory 860 may include local and / or network-accessible storage, disk drives, drive arrays, optical storage devices, solid-state storage devices, such as, but not limited to, random access memory (RAM) and / or read-only memory (ROM), which may be programmable, flash-updateable, etc. Such storage devices may be configured to implement any suitable data store, including, but not limited to, various file systems, database structures, etc.

[0089]

[0095] The memory 860 of the UE 105 may also comprise software elements (not shown in FIG. 8 ) including other code, such as an operating system, device drivers, executable libraries, and / or one or more application programs, that may comprise computer programs provided by various embodiments and / or that may be designed to implement methods and / or configure systems provided by other embodiments, as described herein. By way of example only, one or more procedures described with respect to the methods discussed above may be implemented as code and / or instructions in the memory 860 executable by the UE 105 (and / or the processor 810 or DSP 820 within the UE 105). In some embodiments, such code and / or instructions may then be used to configure and / or adapt a general-purpose computer (or other device) to perform one or more operations in accordance with the described methods.

[0090]

[0096] 9 illustrates one embodiment of a base station 120 that may be utilized as described herein above (e.g., in connection with FIGS. 1-8). Note that FIG. 9 is intended only to provide a generalized view of various components, any or all of which may be utilized as appropriate. In some embodiments, the base station 120 may correspond to a gNB, an ng-eNB, and / or (more generally) a TRP.

[0091]

[0097] Base station 120 is shown comprising hardware elements that may be electrically coupled (or in other communication, as appropriate) via bus 905. The hardware elements may include a processor 910, which may include, but is not limited to, one or more general-purpose processors, one or more special-purpose processors (DSP chips, graphics acceleration processors, ASICs, etc.), and / or other processing structures or means. As shown in FIG. 9, some embodiments may have a separate DSP 920 depending on the desired functionality. Location determination and / or other determinations based on wireless communications may be provided in processor 910 and / or wireless communications interface 930 (discussed below), according to some embodiments. Base station 120 may also include one or more input devices, which may include, but are not limited to, a keyboard, a display, a mouse, a microphone, buttons, dials, switches, etc., and one or more output devices, which may include, but are not limited to, a display, a light-emitting diode (LED), a speaker, etc.

[0092]

[0098] The base station 120 may also include a wireless communication interface 930, which may comprise, without limitation, a modem, a network card, an infrared communication device, a wireless communication device, and / or a chipset (such as a Bluetooth device, an IEEE 802.11 device, an IEEE 802.15.4 device, a Wi-Fi device, a WiMAX device, a cellular communication facility, etc.), which may enable the base station 120 to communicate as described herein. The wireless communication interface 930 may enable data and signaling to be communicated (e.g., transmitted and received) to UEs, other base stations / TRPs (e.g., eNBs, gNBs, and ng-eNBs), and / or other network components, computer systems, and / or any other electronic devices described herein. Communication may occur via one or more wireless communication antennas 932 that send and / or receive wireless signals 934.

[0093]

[0099] Base station 120 may also include a network interface 980, which may include support for wireline communication technologies. Network interface 980 may include a modem, a network card, a chipset, etc. Network interface 980 may include one or more input and / or output communication interfaces to allow data to be exchanged with a network, a communication network server, a computer system, and / or any other electronic device described herein.

[0094]

[0100] In many embodiments, base station 120 may further comprise memory 960. Memory 960 may include, but is not limited to, local and / or network-accessible storage, such as RAM and / or ROM, disk drives, drive arrays, optical storage devices, solid-state storage devices, which may be programmable, flash-updateable, etc. Such storage devices may be configured to implement any suitable data store, including, but not limited to, various file systems, database structures, etc.

[0095]

[0101] The memory 960 of the base station 120 may also comprise software elements (not shown in FIG. 9 ) including other code, such as an operating system, device drivers, executable libraries, and / or one or more application programs, that may comprise computer programs provided by various embodiments and / or that may be designed to implement methods and / or configure systems provided by other embodiments, as described herein. By way of example only, one or more procedures described with respect to the methods discussed above may be implemented as code and / or instructions in the memory 960 executable by the base station 120 (and / or the processor 910 or DSP 920 within the base station 120). In some embodiments, such code and / or instructions may then be used to configure and / or adapt a general-purpose computer (or other device) to perform one or more operations in accordance with the described methods.

[0096]

[0102] FIG. 10 is a block diagram of one embodiment of a computer system 1000 that may be used, in whole or in part, to provide the functionality of one or more network components described in embodiments herein (e.g., location server 160 of FIG. 1 or LMF 220 of FIGS. 2 and 6). It should be noted that FIG. 10 is intended only to provide a generalized view of the various components, any or all of which may be utilized as appropriate. FIG. 10 therefore broadly illustrates how individual system elements may be implemented in a relatively separate or more relatively integrated manner. Additionally, it should be noted that the components illustrated by FIG. 10 may be localized on a single device and / or distributed among various networked devices that may be located in different geographic locations.

[0097]

[0103] A computer system 1000 is shown comprising hardware elements that may be electrically coupled (or in other communication, as appropriate) via a bus 1005. The hardware elements may include a processor 1010, which may comprise, but is not limited to, one or more general-purpose processors, one or more special-purpose processors (digital signal processing chips, graphics acceleration processors, etc.), and / or other processing structures that may be configured to perform one or more of the methods described herein. The computer system 1000 may also comprise one or more input devices 1015, which may comprise, but is not limited to, a mouse, keyboard, camera, microphone, etc., and one or more output devices 1020, which may comprise, but is not limited to, a display device, printer, etc.

[0098]

[0104] Computer system 1000 may further include (and / or be in communication with) one or more non-transitory storage devices 1025, which may comprise, but are not limited to, local and / or network-accessible storage and / or solid-state storage devices such as, but not limited to, disk drives, drive arrays, optical storage devices, RAM and / or ROM, which may be programmable, flash-updateable, etc. Such storage devices may be configured to implement any suitable data store, including, but not limited to, various file systems, database structures, etc. Such data stores may include databases and / or other data structures used to store and manage messages and / or other information to be sent to one or more devices via the hub, as described herein.

[0099]

[0105] The computer system 1000 may also include a communications subsystem 1030, which may comprise wireless communications technologies managed and controlled by a wireless communications interface 1033, as well as wired technologies (such as Ethernet, coaxial communications, and Universal Serial Bus (USB)). The wireless communications interface 1033 may comprise one or more wireless transceivers that may transmit and receive wireless signals 1055 (e.g., signals according to 5G NR or LTE) via a wireless antenna 1050. Thus, the communications subsystem 1030 may comprise a modem, a network card (wireless or wired), an infrared communications device, a wireless communications device, and / or a chipset, etc., that may enable the computer system 1000 to communicate over any or all of the communications networks described herein to any device on the respective network, including user equipment (UE), base stations and / or other TRPs, and / or any other electronic device described herein. Thus, the communications subsystem 1030 may be used to receive and transmit data as described in the embodiments herein.

[0100]

[0106] In many embodiments, computer system 1000 further comprises working memory 1035, which may comprise a RAM or ROM device, as described above. The software elements shown as being located within working memory 1035 may comprise computer programs provided by various embodiments, as described herein, and / or may comprise other code, such as an operating system 1040, device drivers, executable libraries, and / or one or more applications 1045, that may be designed to implement methods and / or configure systems provided by other embodiments. By way of example only, one or more procedures described with respect to the methods discussed above may be implemented as code and / or instructions executable by a computer (and / or a processor within a computer), in which case, in one aspect, such code and / or instructions may be used to configure and / or adapt a general-purpose computer (or other device) to perform one or more operations in accordance with the described method.

[0101]

[0107] A set of these instructions and / or code may be stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, such as storage device 1025 described above. In some cases, the storage medium may be incorporated within a computer system, such as computer system 1000. In other embodiments, the storage medium may be separate from the computer system (e.g., a removable medium such as an optical disk) and / or may be provided in an installation package such that the storage medium can be used to program, configure, and / or adapt a general-purpose computer with the instructions / code stored thereon. These instructions may take the form of executable code that is executable by computer system 1000 and / or may take the form of source code and / or installable code that takes the form of executable code when compiled and / or installed on computer system 1000 (e.g., using any of various publicly available compilers, installation programs, compression / decompression utilities, etc.).

[0102]

[0108] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that substantial variations can be made according to particular requirements. For example, customized hardware may be used and / or particular elements may be implemented in hardware, software (including portable software such as applets), or both. Furthermore, connection to other computing devices, such as network input / output devices, may be employed.

[0103]

[0109] With respect to the accompanying figures, components that may include memory may include non-transitory machine-readable media. As used herein, the terms “machine-readable medium” and “computer-readable medium” refer to any storage medium that participates in providing data that causes a machine to operate in a specific manner. In the embodiments provided above, various machine-readable media may participate in providing instructions / code to a processor and / or other devices for execution. Additionally or alternatively, machine-readable media may be used to store and / or transport such instructions / code. In many implementations, computer-readable media are physical and / or tangible storage media. Such media may take many forms, including, but not limited to, non-volatile media and volatile media. Common forms of computer-readable media include, for example, magnetic and / or optical media, any other physical media with patterns of holes, RAM, programmable ROM (PROM), erasable PROM (EPROM), flash EPROM, any other memory chip or cartridge, or any other medium from which a computer can read instructions and / or code.

[0104]

[0110] The methods, systems, and devices discussed herein are examples. Various embodiments may omit, substitute, or add various procedures or components as appropriate. For example, features described with respect to some embodiments may be combined in various other embodiments. Various aspects and elements of the embodiments may be similarly combined. Various components of the diagrams provided herein may be implemented in hardware and / or software. Also, because technology evolves, many of the elements are examples that do not limit the scope of the disclosure to those specific examples.

[0105]

[0111] It has proven convenient at times, principally for reasons of common usage, to refer to such signals as bits, information, values, elements, symbols, characters, variables, terms, numbers, numerals, or the like. It should be understood, however, that all of these or similar terms are to be associated with appropriate physical quantities and are merely convenient labels. Unless otherwise expressly indicated, and as is clear from the above discussion, it should be appreciated that throughout this specification, discussions utilizing terms such as “processing,” “computing,” “calculating,” “determining,” “ascertaining,” “identifying,” “associating,” “measuring,” “performing,” and the like refer to acts or processes of a specific apparatus, such as a special purpose computer or similar special purpose electronic computing device. In the context of this specification, therefore, a special purpose computer or similar special purpose electronic computing device is capable of manipulating or transforming signals that are commonly represented as physical electronic, electrical, or magnetic quantities within the memories, registers, or other information storage, transmission, or display devices of the special purpose computer or similar special purpose electronic computing device.

[0106]

[0112] As used herein, the terms "and" and "or" can have a variety of meanings that are expected to depend, at least in part, on the context in which such terms are used. Generally, when "or" is used to associate a list, such as A, B, or C, it is intended to mean A, B, and C, used herein in an inclusive sense, as well as A, B, or C, used herein in an exclusive sense. Additionally, as used herein, the term "one or more" can be used to describe any feature, structure, or characteristic in the singular, or it can be used to describe any combination of features, structures, or characteristics. However, it should be noted that this is merely an illustrative example, and claimed subject matter is not limited to this example. Furthermore, the term "at least one of," when used to associate a list, such as A, B, or C, can be interpreted to mean any combination of A, B, and / or C, such as A, AB, AA, AAB, AABBCCC, etc.

[0107]

[0113] Although several embodiments have been described, various modifications, alternative configurations, and equivalents may be used without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. For example, the above elements may be merely components of a larger system, in which other rules may take precedence over or otherwise modify the application of the various embodiments. Also, some steps may occur before, during, or after the above elements are considered. Therefore, the above description does not limit the scope of the present disclosure.

[0108]

[0114] In view of this specification, embodiments may include various combinations of features. Example implementations are described in the following numbered clauses.

[0109] Clause 1. A method for determining a location of a first user equipment (UE) using assistance data related to a second UE, the method comprising: obtaining assistance data related to determining a location of the first UE using a side link (SL) interface between the first UE and the second UE; and performing a positioning operation at the first UE based at least in part on the assistance data, wherein the positioning operation comprises transmitting a first positioning signal by the first UE over the SL interface or performing, at the first UE, a measurement of a second positioning signal transmitted by the second UE over the SL interface.

[0110] Clause 2. The method of clause 1, wherein the first positioning signal, the second positioning signal, or both, comprise a sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS).

[0111] Clause 3. The method of any of clauses 1-2, wherein the first UE performs measurements of the second positioning signal, the method further comprising performing one or both of: (i) sending information indicative of the measurements to a location server, wherein taking the measurements is based at least in part on the assistance data; or (ii) determining a location of the first UE based at least in part on the measurements and the assistance data.

[0112] Clause 4. The method of clause 3, wherein determining the location of the first UE comprises using an observed time difference of arrival (OTDOA) based positioning method, an angle of departure (AOD) based positioning method, or a round trip time (RTT) based positioning method, or any combination thereof.

[0113] Clause 5. The method of any of clauses 1 to 4, wherein the assistance data includes coordinates of the second UE.

[0114] Clause 6. The method of clause 5, further comprising obtaining additional information related to the coordinate, wherein the additional information comprises an uncertainty value related to the coordinate, information regarding which panel, beam, or antenna of the second UE is used to transmit the second positioning signal, or a kinematic constraint related to the second UE's transmission of the second positioning signal, or any combination thereof.

[0115] Clause 7. The method of any of clauses 1-6, wherein the assistance data includes information indicative of a height of the second UE, information indicative of a drift rate, a relative time difference (RTD) of the second UE, or both, information indicative of beam characteristics used by the second UE to transmit the second positioning signal, wherein the beam characteristics comprise a beam shape, an angle, or both, information indicative of a frequency dependence of the beam characteristics, or information indicative of a group delay of the second UE, or any combination thereof.

[0116] Clause 8. The method of any of clauses 1-7, further comprising performing one or more measurements comprising measurements of each of one or more additional positioning signals.

[0117] Clause 9. The method of clause 8, further comprising sending information indicative of the one or more measurements to a location server.

[0118] Clause 10. The method of any of clauses 8-9, wherein determining the location of the first UE is further based at least in part on one or more measurements.

[0119] Clause 11. The method of any of clauses 8 to 10, wherein the one or more additional positioning signals comprise one or more DL positioning signals from one or more base stations.

[0120] Clause 12. The method of any of clauses 8 to 10, wherein one or more additional positioning signals are transmitted by one or more additional UEs.

[0121] Clause 13. The method of any of clauses 1 to 12, wherein the assistance data is obtained by the first UE from a location server.

[0122] Clause 14. The method of any of clauses 1 to 12, wherein the assistance data is obtained by the first UE from the second UE via an SL interface.

[0123] Clause 15. A first user equipment (UE) for determining a location of the first UE using assistance data related to a second UE, the first UE comprising: a transceiver; a memory; and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory, wherein the one or more processors are configured to: obtain assistance data related to determining a location of the first UE using a side link (SL) interface between the first UE and the second UE; and perform a positioning operation at the first UE based at least in part on the assistance data, wherein the positioning operation comprises transmitting, using the transceiver, a first positioning signal by the first UE over the SL interface or performing, using the transceiver, measurements of a second positioning signal transmitted by the second UE over the SL interface.

[0124] Clause 16. The first UE of Clause 15, wherein the one or more processors are configured to perform a positioning operation, wherein the first positioning signal, the second positioning signal, or both, comprise a sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS).

[0125] Clause 17. The first UE of any of clauses 15-16, wherein the one or more processors are configured to, after taking measurements of the second positioning signal, perform one or both of: (i) sending information indicative of the measurements to a location server, wherein taking the measurements is based at least in part on the assistance data; or (ii) determining a location of the first UE based at least in part on the measurements and the assistance data.

[0126] Clause 18. The first UE of any of clauses 15 to 17, wherein the one or more processors are configured to use an observed time difference of arrival (OTDOA) based positioning method, an angle of departure (AOD) based positioning method, or a round trip time (RTT) based positioning method, or any combination thereof, to determine a location of the first UE.

[0127] Clause 19. The first UE of any of clauses 15 to 18, wherein, to obtain the assistance data, the one or more processors are configured to obtain data including coordinates of the second UE.

[0128] Clause 20. The first UE of any of clauses 15-19, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to obtain additional information related to the coordinates, wherein the additional information comprises an uncertainty value related to the coordinates, information regarding which panel, beam, or antenna of the second UE is used to transmit the second positioning signal, or a kinematic constraint related to the second UE's transmission of the second positioning signal, or any combination thereof.

[0129] Clause 21. The first UE of any of clauses 15-20, wherein to obtain the assistance data, the one or more processors are configured to obtain information indicative of a height of the second UE, information indicative of a drift rate, a relative time difference (RTD) of the second UE, or both, information indicative of beam characteristics used by the second UE to transmit the second positioning signal, wherein the beam characteristics comprise a beam shape, an angle, or both, information indicative of a frequency dependence of the beam characteristics, or information indicative of a group delay of the second UE, or any combination thereof.

[0130] Clause 22. The first UE of any of clauses 15 to 21, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to perform one or more measurements comprising measurements of each of the one or more additional positioning signals.

[0131] Clause 23. The first UE of any of clauses 15 to 22, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to send information indicative of the one or more measurements to the location server.

[0132] Clause 24. The first UE of any of clauses 15-23, wherein the one or more processors are configured to determine a location of the first UE further based at least in part on the one or more measurements.

[0133] Clause 25. The first UE of any of clauses 15 to 24, wherein the one or more processors are configured to perform measurements of one or more DL positioning signals from one or more base stations to perform one or more measurements comprising a measurement of each of the one or more additional positioning signals.

[0134] Clause 26. The first UE of any of clauses 15 to 25, wherein the one or more processors are configured to measure one or more additional positioning signals transmitted by the one or more additional UEs to perform one or more measurements comprising a measurement of each of the one or more additional positioning signals.

[0135] Clause 27. The first UE of any of clauses 15 to 26, wherein the one or more processors are configured to obtain assistance data from a location server.

[0136] Clause 28. The first UE of any of clauses 15 to 27, wherein the one or more processors are configured to obtain assistance data from the second UE via the SL interface.

[0137] Clause 29. An apparatus for determining a location of a first user equipment (UE) using assistance data related to a second UE, the apparatus comprising: means for obtaining assistance data related to determining a location of the first UE using a side link (SL) interface between the first UE and the second UE; and means for performing a positioning operation at the first UE based at least in part on the assistance data, wherein the positioning operation comprises means for transmitting a first positioning signal by the first UE over the SL interface or means for performing, at the first UE, measurements of a second positioning signal transmitted by the second UE over the SL interface.

[0138] Clause 30. The apparatus of clause 29, further comprising means for one or both of: (i) sending information indicative of the measurements to a location server, wherein taking the measurements is based at least in part on the assistance data; or (ii) determining a location of the first UE based at least in part on the measurements and the assistance data.

[0139] Clause 31. The apparatus of any of clauses 29-30, wherein the means for performing determining the location of the first UE comprises means for using an observed time difference of arrival (OTDOA) based positioning method, an angle of departure (AOD) based positioning method, or a round trip time (RTT) based positioning method, or any combination thereof.

[0140] Clause 32. The apparatus of any of clauses 29-31, wherein the means for obtaining assistance data includes means for obtaining coordinates of the second UE.

[0141] Clause 33. The apparatus of any of clauses 29-32, wherein the means for acquiring assistance data comprises means for acquiring information indicative of a height of the second UE, information indicative of a drift rate, a relative time difference (RTD) of the second UE, or both, information indicative of beam characteristics used by the second UE to transmit the second positioning signal, wherein the beam characteristics comprise a beam shape, an angle, or both, information indicative of a frequency dependence of the beam characteristics, or information indicative of a group delay of the second UE, or any combination thereof.

[0142] Clause 34. The apparatus of any of clauses 29 to 33, further comprising means for performing one or more measurements comprising a measurement of each of one or more additional positioning signals.

[0143] Clause 35. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon instructions for determining a location of a first user equipment (UE) using assistance data related to a second UE, the instructions comprising: code for obtaining assistance data related to determining a location of the first UE using a side link (SL) interface between the first UE and the second UE; and code for performing a positioning operation at the first UE based at least in part on the assistance data, wherein the positioning operation comprises transmitting a first positioning signal by the first UE over the SL interface or performing, at the first UE, measurements of a second positioning signal transmitted by the second UE over the SL interface. The inventions described in the claims of the present application as originally filed are set forth below. [C1] 1. A method for determining a location of a first user equipment (UE) using assistance data related to a second UE, comprising: obtaining assistance data related to determining the location of the first UE using a sidelink (SL) interface between the first UE and the second UE; performing a positioning operation at the first UE based at least in part on the assistance data, the positioning operation comprising: transmitting a first positioning signal by the first UE over the SL interface; or performing, at the first UE, measurements of a second positioning signal transmitted by the second UE via the SL interface; A method comprising: [C2] The method of C1, wherein the first positioning signal, the second positioning signal, or both, comprise a sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS). [C3] The first UE performs the measurements of the second positioning signal, and the method includes: (i) sending information indicative of said measurements to a location server, wherein said taking of said measurements is based at least in part on said assistance data; or (ii) determining the location of the first UE based at least in part on the measurements and the assistance data; The method of claim 1, further comprising performing one or both of: [C4] Determining the location of the first UE includes: Observed Time Difference of Arrival (OTDOA) based positioning method, Angle of Departure (AOD) based positioning methods, or Round-trip time (RTT) based positioning methods, or any combination thereof, The method of claim C3, comprising using [C5] The method of C1, wherein the assistance data includes coordinates of the second UE. [C6] and obtaining additional information related to the coordinates, wherein the additional information comprises: an uncertainty value associated with said coordinate; information regarding which panel, beam, or antenna of the second UE is used to transmit the second positioning signal; or kinematic constraints related to the transmission of the second positioning signal by the second UE; or any combination thereof, The method of C5, comprising: [C7] The assistance data includes: information indicating the height of the second UE; information indicative of a drift rate, a relative time difference (RTD), or both, of the second UE; information indicative of beam characteristics used by the second UE to transmit the second positioning signal, wherein the beam characteristics include a beam shape, an angle, or both; information indicative of a frequency dependence of the beam characteristics; or information indicative of a group delay of the second UE; or any combination thereof, The method of claim C1, comprising: [C8] The method of C1, further comprising performing one or more measurements comprising measurements of each of the one or more additional positioning signals. [C9] The method of C8, further comprising sending information indicative of the one or more measurements to a location server. [C10] The method of C8, wherein determining the location of the first UE is further based at least in part on the one or more measurements. [C11] The method of C8, wherein the one or more additional positioning signals comprise one or more DL positioning signals from one or more base stations. [C12] The method of C8, wherein the one or more additional positioning signals are transmitted by one or more additional UEs. [C13] The method of C1, wherein the assistance data is obtained by the first UE from a location server. [C14] The method of C1, wherein the assistance data is obtained by the first UE from the second UE via the SL interface. [C15] a first UE for determining a location of the first UE using assistance data related to a second UE, A transceiver; Memory and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory, the one or more processors: obtaining the assistance data related to determining the location of the first UE using a sidelink (SL) interface between the first UE and the second UE; performing a positioning operation at the first UE based at least in part on the assistance data, the positioning operation comprising: transmitting a first positioning signal by the first UE over the SL interface using the transceiver; or performing, with the transceiver, measurements on a second positioning signal transmitted by the second UE over the SL interface; a first UE comprising: [C16] The first UE of C15, wherein the one or more processors are configured to perform the positioning operation, wherein the first positioning signal, the second positioning signal, or both comprise a sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS). [C17] the one or more processors, after performing the measurement of the second positioning signal: (i) sending information indicative of said measurements to a location server, wherein said taking of said measurements is based at least in part on said assistance data; or (ii) determining the location of the first UE based at least in part on the measurements and the assistance data; 16. The first UE of claim 15, configured to perform one or both of the following: [C18] To determine the location of the first UE, the one or more processors: Observed Time Difference of Arrival (OTDOA) based positioning method, Angle of Departure (AOD) based positioning methods, or Round-trip time (RTT) based positioning methods, or any combination thereof, 18. The first UE of claim 17, configured to use [C19] The first UE of C15, wherein to obtain the assistance data, the one or more processors are configured to obtain data including coordinates of the second UE. [C20] The one or more processors are further configured to obtain additional information related to the coordinates, wherein the additional information includes: an uncertainty value associated with said coordinate; information regarding which panel, beam, or antenna of the second UE is used to transmit the second positioning signal; or kinematic constraints relating to the transmission of the second positioning signal by the second UE; or any combination thereof, 19. The first UE of claim 19, comprising: [C21] To obtain the assistance data, the one or more processors: information indicating the height of the second UE; information indicative of a drift rate, a relative time difference (RTD), or both, of the second UE; configured to obtain information indicative of beam characteristics used by the second UE to transmit the second positioning signal, wherein the beam characteristics include a beam shape, an angle, or both; information indicative of the frequency dependence of said beam characteristics; or information indicative of a group delay of the second UE; or any combination thereof, The first UE of C15, comprising: [C22] The first UE of C15, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to perform one or more measurements comprising measurements of each of one or more additional positioning signals. [C23] The first UE of C22, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to send information indicative of the one or more measurements to a location server. [C24] The first UE of C22, wherein the one or more processors are configured to determine the location of the first UE further based at least in part on the one or more measurements. [C25] The first UE of C22, wherein the one or more processors are configured to perform measurements of one or more DL positioning signals from one or more base stations to perform the one or more measurements comprising the measurement of each of the one or more additional positioning signals. [C26] The first UE of C22, wherein the one or more processors are configured to measure the one or more additional positioning signals transmitted by the one or more additional UEs to perform the one or more measurements comprising the measurement of each of the one or more additional positioning signals. [C27] The first UE of C15, wherein the one or more processors are configured to obtain the assistance data from a location server. [C28] The first UE of C15, wherein the one or more processors are configured to obtain the assistance data from the second UE via the SL interface. [C29] 1. An apparatus for determining a location of a first user equipment (UE) using assistance data related to a second UE, comprising: means for obtaining assistance data related to determining the location of the first UE using a sidelink (SL) interface between the first UE and the second UE; and means for performing a positioning operation at the first UE based at least in part on the assistance data, the positioning operation comprising: means for transmitting a first positioning signal by the first UE over the SL interface; or means, in the first UE, for performing measurements of second positioning signals transmitted by the second UE via the SL interface; An apparatus comprising: [C30] (i) sending information indicative of said measurements to a location server, wherein said taking of said measurements is based at least in part on said assistance data; or (ii) determining the location of the first UE based at least in part on the measurements and the assistance data; The apparatus of C29, further comprising means for performing one or both of the following: [C31] The means for performing the determining the location of the first UE comprises: Observed Time Difference of Arrival (OTDOA) based positioning method, Angle of Departure (AOD) based positioning methods, or Round-trip time (RTT) based positioning methods, or any combination thereof, 30. The apparatus of claim 30, comprising means for using the [C32] The apparatus of C29, wherein the means for obtaining the assistance data includes means for obtaining coordinates of the second UE. [C33] The means for obtaining the assistance data comprises: information indicating the height of the second UE; information indicative of a drift rate, a relative time difference (RTD), or both, of the second UE; means for obtaining information indicative of beam characteristics used by the second UE to transmit the second positioning signal, wherein the beam characteristics include a beam shape, an angle, or both; information indicative of the frequency dependence of said beam characteristics; or information indicative of a group delay of the second UE; or any combination thereof, 20. The apparatus of claim 19, comprising: [C34] The apparatus of C29, further comprising means for performing one or more measurements comprising a measurement of each of one or more additional positioning signals. [C35] 1. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon instructions for determining a location of a first user equipment (UE) using assistance data related to a second UE, the instructions comprising: code for obtaining assistance data related to determining the location of the first UE using a sidelink (SL) interface between the first UE and the second UE; and code for performing a positioning operation at the first UE based at least in part on the assistance data, the positioning operation comprising: transmitting a first positioning signal by the first UE over the SL interface; or performing, at the first UE, measurements of a second positioning signal transmitted by the second UE via the SL interface; 1. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising:

Claims

1. 1. A method for determining a location of a first user equipment (UE) using assistance data related to a second UE, comprising: and obtaining, at the first UE, assistance data related to determining the location of the first UE using a side link (SL) interface between the first UE and the second UE, wherein the assistance data includes coordinates of the second UE, and the assistance data further includes one or more pieces of information from a first information group, the first information group including: information indicating a height of the second UE; information indicative of a drift rate, a relative time difference (RTD), or both, of the second UE; information indicative of beam characteristics used by the second UE to transmit positioning signals, wherein the beam characteristics comprise a beam shape, an angle, or both; information indicative of the frequency dependence of the beam characteristics; and information indicating a group delay of the second UE; Equipped with obtaining, at the first UE, additional information related to the coordinates, wherein the additional information comprises one or more pieces of information from a second information group, the second information group comprising: an error margin for said coordinates, Information regarding which panel, beam, or antenna of the second UE is used to transmit positioning signals; and Mobility-related information of the second UE related to the transmission of the positioning signal by the second UE; Equipped with performing a positioning operation at the first UE to determine a location of the first UE based on the assistance data and the additional information, the positioning operation comprising: performing, at the first UE, measurements of the positioning signals transmitted by the second UE via the SL interface; A method comprising:

2. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the positioning signals comprise sidelink positioning reference signals (SL-PRS).

3. The method comprises: (i) sending information indicative of said measurements to a location server; or (ii) determining the location of the first UE based on the measurements and the assistance data; The method of claim 1 , further comprising performing one or both of:

4. Determining the location of the first UE includes: Observed Time Difference of Arrival (OTDOA) based positioning method; Angle of Departure (AOD) based positioning methods, or Round Trip Time (RTT) based positioning methods, or any combination thereof, The method of claim 3 , comprising using:

5. a first UE for determining a location of the first UE using assistance data related to a second UE, A transceiver; Memory and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory, the one or more processors: obtaining the assistance data related to determining the location of the first UE using a side link (SL) interface between the first UE and the second UE, wherein the assistance data includes coordinates of the second UE, and the assistance data further includes one or more pieces of information from a first information group, the first information group including: information indicating a height of the second UE; information indicative of a drift rate, a relative time difference (RTD), or both, of the second UE; information indicative of beam characteristics used by the second UE to transmit positioning signals, wherein the beam characteristics comprise a beam shape, an angle, or both; information indicative of the frequency dependence of the beam characteristics; and information indicating a group delay of the second UE; Equipped with obtaining additional information related to the coordinates, wherein the additional information comprises one or more pieces of information from a second group of information, the second group of information comprising: an error margin for said coordinates, Information regarding which panel, beam, or antenna of the second UE is used to transmit positioning signals; and Mobility-related information of the second UE related to the transmission of the positioning signal by the second UE; Equipped with performing a positioning operation at the first UE to determine a location of the first UE based on the assistance data and the additional information, the positioning operation comprising: performing measurements of the positioning signals transmitted by the second UE via the SL interface using the transceiver; a first UE comprising:

6. 6. The first UE of claim 5, wherein the one or more processors are configured to perform the positioning operation, wherein the positioning signal comprises a sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS).

7. the one or more processors, after performing the measurements of the positioning signals, (i) sending information indicative of said measurements to a location server; or (ii) determining the location of the first UE based on the measurements and the assistance data; The first UE of claim 5 configured to implement one or both of the following:

8. To determine the location of the first UE, the one or more processors: Observed Time Difference of Arrival (OTDOA) based positioning method; Angle of Departure (AOD) based positioning methods, or Round Trip Time (RTT) based positioning methods, or any combination thereof, The first UE of claim 7, configured to use

9. 1. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon instructions for determining a location of a first user equipment (UE) using assistance data related to a second UE, the instructions, when executed by a processor of the first UE, causing the first UE to: obtaining, using a side link (SL) interface between the first UE and the second UE, assistance data related to determining the location of the first UE, wherein the assistance data includes coordinates of the second UE, and the assistance data further includes one or more pieces of information from a first information group, the first information group including: information indicating a height of the second UE; information indicative of a drift rate, a relative time difference (RTD), or both, of the second UE; information indicative of beam characteristics used by the second UE to transmit positioning signals, wherein the beam characteristics comprise a beam shape, an angle, or both; information indicative of the frequency dependence of the beam characteristics; and information indicating a group delay of the second UE; Equipped with obtaining, at the first UE, additional information related to the coordinates, wherein the additional information comprises one or more pieces of information from a second information group, the second information group comprising: an error margin for said coordinates, Information regarding which panel, beam, or antenna of the second UE is used to transmit positioning signals; and Mobility-related information of the second UE related to the transmission of the positioning signal by the second UE; Equipped with performing a positioning operation at the first UE to determine a location of the first UE based on the assistance data and the additional information; and a code for causing the positioning operation to: performing, at the first UE, measurements of the positioning signals transmitted by the second UE via the SL interface; 1. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising:

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