Wireless communication system for automatic positioning within a first-party network

Abstract

A first responder network is a network used by first responders to communicate between devices typically used by first responders. MCI describes an incident in which emergency medical services are overwhelmed by the number and severity of injuries. A wireless network system is proposed that can deploy ad-hoc first responder networks to provide communication and precise positioning services during MCI events. The proposed system can provide extended coverage within constantly changing MCI areas while ensuring precise positioning of victims and triage officers within the MCI area to improve logistical efficiency, triage, and management of clinical diagnoses.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the establishment of a first responder network in a wireless network environment, such as but not limited to a cellular network with an indirect network connection for a remote communication device.

Background Art

[0002] Natural disasters such as earthquakes, hurricanes, tsunamis, landslides, forest fires, and tropical storms can cause many damages and may result in losses to human life. Other non-natural disasters such as building fires, some forest fires, building collapses, and terrorist attacks can similarly cause damages and losses to life. In some cases, the amount of damage and / or loss to life resulting from a disaster can be reduced through the improvement of the response system.

[0003] A mass casualty incident (MCI) represents an incident where emergency medical services may be overwhelmed by the number and severity of the casualties. Triage is a process applied when there are more casualties requiring assistance than available medical staff. Examples of these situations are mass transportation accidents and terrorist attacks.

[0004] Currently, the tools used by care providers during an MCI event are relatively low-tech, i.e., paper-based systems. Digital technologies have been proposed to improve triage speed, provide a better overview of the MCI event situation, and transform the current static paper-based information into dynamic digital information. By doing so, the planning of clinical and non-clinical operations in an MCI event can be improved, and real-time patient monitoring can be developed by incorporating vital sign sensors.

[0005] Nevertheless, the use of digital technologies requires communication coverage for exchanging data between locally present mobile devices in the field, either in a peer-to-peer manner (e.g., a mesh network) or a server-client manner (e.g., via a serving Wi-Fi access point). [Overview of the Initiative] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0006] One problem that often occurs during MCI events is the overloading of normal telecommunications networks. To prevent emergency medical services from becoming unable to communicate, countries have set up dedicated communication networks for this purpose, such as the US First Response Network Authority's FirstNet and the Netherlands' C2000. Unfortunately, even these networks are often reported to be unreliable.

[0007] Another problem is that during an MCI event caused by a criminal (e.g., terrorism), the criminal could intentionally overload and shut down publicly available telecommunications networks. Alternatively, a natural MCI event (e.g., a tsunami) could disrupt the public infrastructure of normal telecommunications networks by damaging, for example, cellular base stations and backhaul links.

[0008] The objective of this invention is to enable improvements in service provision within MCI areas. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] This objective is achieved by the apparatus described in claims 1 and 9, by the network controller device described in claim 16, by the anchor node described in claim 17, by the wireless communication system described in claim 16, by the methods described in claims 21 and 22, and by the computer program product described in claim 23.

[0010] According to a first aspect relating to a network controller device end of a communication link, an apparatus is provided for establishing a wireless first responder network, the apparatus is - Target Wireless Coverage Area size Receiving information about, - Based on the capabilities of the anchor nodes, determine the number and location of anchor nodes within the target wireless coverage area in order to provide wireless coverage within the target wireless coverage area, - To provide the determined location and network configuration information to the determined anchor node. It was configured to perform the following actions.

[0011] It is noted that the determined location may be a geographic location (such as absolute GPS coordinates or other absolute coordinates), a relative location, or a three-dimensional absolute or relative location.

[0012] According to a second aspect relating to the anchor node end of a communication link, an apparatus is provided for supporting the establishment of a wireless first responder network, the apparatus is - Connecting to a wireless first-party network, - To establish a wireless connection to a wireless communication device at the anchor node of the first responder network, - Receiving at least one of the following from the network controller device of the first responder network: location information of the anchor node, information about the target geographic region, communication characteristics information of objects in the target geographic region, and network configuration information. - To enable wireless communication between an anchor node and one or more wireless communication devices based on at least one of the following: location information, information about the target geographic area, communication characteristics information, and network configuration information. - To enable one or more wireless communication devices to communicate with the core network of the first responder network, or to determine the location of one or more wireless communication devices, an anchor node may be used. It was configured to perform the following actions.

[0013] The second aspect relates to an anchor node (such as an access device including a drone or other robotic device), where information about the target geographic area (e.g., the best landmark location for positioning the access device within the target geographic area (e.g., the MCI area)) is received directly from the network controller device or via other access devices and / or a separate positioning server. It should be noted, however, that a full-fledged communication session with the core network is not required. In emergency situations, a simple protocol can be defined via the RRC to allow location information to be retrieved from the wireless communication device.

[0014] Furthermore, the network controller device can compute this information for access devices using a third-party positioning application programming interface (API), for example, through the network exposure function (NEF) of the network controller device. In one example, an access device that has not yet received information about the target geographic region can receive this information directly from a third-party API / NEF via another (e.g., non-3GPP®) communication method (e.g., Wi-Fi) upon request from the network controller device. This is advantageous in that an access device that has lost connection to the network controller device at a distance can still be rediscovered within the target geographic region.

[0015] Therefore, information about the target geographic region is received directly from the network controller device, or via other wireless communication devices, access devices, or a separate positioning server. Details necessary for access devices to calculate information about the target geographic region (such as SLAM sensor data and signal quality information) are transmitted from access devices and wireless communication devices within the target geographic region to the network controller device. The geographic region is also a three-dimensional (3D) volume. Geographic locations are either absolute coordinates (GPS position) or relative positions (for example, x,y,z coordinates represent the distance in meters from an anchor point with coordinates (0,0)).

[0016] Information about the network configuration for setting up a secure and isolated channel with wireless communication devices can be used to grant access devices the authority to invite wireless communication devices to specific slices / frequencies of the network within the target geographic area. Network configuration information includes, for example, the authority for access devices to invite wireless communication devices within the area to connect to the core network (by sending a dedicated signal / message, such as an SMS, public alert system message, or wake-up signal, which may include some digitally signed information or certificates to prove the urgency of the request), network / slice-specific settings (such as frequency, bandwidth, maximum transmission power, (minimum) desired signal quality, time synchronization data, desired quality of service (QoS), authorized devices, services provided, RLOS, roaming steering, emergency / non-emergency slice indications), certificates (e.g., private keys) required to authorize first responder wireless communication devices, and the authority to revoke the location privacy of wireless communication devices or to set up emergency connections.

[0017] A pre-authorized wireless communication device may respond to an invitation by establishing a secure channel using a certificate (e.g., a public key) pre-stored in the wireless communication device, and automatically participate in its location determination. In one example, a wireless communication device that can prove its authenticity is permitted to connect to the "first responder" slice. A device that cannot prove its authenticity is steered to connect to the "non-first responder" slice. The unauthenticated device still participates in its location determination. If these devices are invited to set up an emergency call, according to regulatory requirements, these devices will automatically participate in location estimation, thereby discarding all location privacy settings.

[0018] According to a third aspect related to the network controller device end of a communication link, a method for establishing a wireless first responder network is provided. The method includes: - receiving information about the size target wireless coverage area; - determining the number and positions of anchor nodes within the target wireless coverage area to provide wireless coverage within the target wireless coverage area based on the capabilities of the anchor nodes; - providing the determined positions and network configuration information to the determined anchor nodes.

[0019] According to a fourth aspect related to the anchor node end of a communication link, a method for supporting the establishment of a wireless first responder network is provided. The method includes: - connecting to the wireless first responder network; - establishing a wireless connection to a wireless communication device at the anchor node of the first responder network; - receiving at least one of position information of the anchor node, information about the target geographical area, communication characteristic information of an object in the target geographical area, and network configuration information from the network controller device of the first responder network; - enabling wireless communication between the anchor node and one or more wireless communication devices based on at least one of the position information, information about the target geographical area, communication characteristic information, and network configuration information; - using the anchor node to enable one or more wireless communication devices to communicate with the core network of the first responder network or to determine the position information of one or more wireless communication devices.

[0020] ​​According to a fifth aspect, there is provided a network controller device for providing access to a wireless first responder network, the network controller device comprising the apparatus of the first aspect.

[0021] According to a sixth aspect, there is provided an anchor node for making a wireless connection to a wireless communication device within a wireless first responder network, the anchor node comprising the apparatus of the second aspect.

[0022] According to a seventh aspect, there is provided a wireless communication system comprising the network controller device of the fifth aspect, the anchor node of the sixth aspect connected to the network controller device, and one or more wireless communication devices.

[0023] Finally, according to an eighth aspect, there is provided a computer program product comprising code means for causing, when executed on a computer device, the steps of the above method of the third or fourth aspect.

[0024] Therefore, a wireless communication system for first responder networks can be provided that achieves better accuracy in positioning injured / victims and triage officers within the MCI field or other target geographic area, and allows for real-time monitoring of their movements. Furthermore, on-demand positioning accuracy, location-based grouping of devices attached to injured / victims and triage officers, and automated deployment of additional resources in the infrastructure can be provided to maintain positioning accuracy amid the constantly changing dynamics of the environment surrounding the target geographic area. Moreover, resource utilization, infrastructure usage, and / or signal quality and / or location can be monitored and fed back to anchor nodes for better coverage and positioning accuracy. Additionally, for accurate grouping of injured persons and / or triage officers for continuous monitoring of the movements of victims and / or triage officers in the field, and / or for secure access to life-critical medical information stored on the injured person's device, the relative positioning of wireless devices can be determined in-band (e.g., side-link PC5) or out-of-band (e.g., Wi-Fi).

[0025] According to the first option, combined with any of the first to eighth embodiments described above, the number of anchor nodes is determined by conducting an automated survey of at least the target wireless coverage area to estimate at least one of the distance and presence of objects and transmission characteristics by ranging measurements or by reconstructing images. This makes it possible to control the number of anchor nodes to ensure sufficient service capacity within the target geographic area.

[0026] According to the first option or the second option combined with any of the first to eighth aspects described above, the geolocation of the anchor node is determined to be repeatedly adapted to at least the target wireless coverage area. Thus, the coverage required for sufficient service capacity in the target geographic area can be ensured, for example, by providing reliable and continuous positioning accuracy.

[0027] According to the first or second option, or a third option which may be combined with any of the first to eighth embodiments described above, the infrastructure usage and / or number of devices within the target wireless coverage area, as well as the QoS requirements, signal quality, and / or location accuracy of the devices, are monitored, and anchor nodes are dynamically added or removed based on the requirements of at least the target wireless coverage area resulting from the monitoring. This allows the required target geographic area and / or radio parameters (e.g., bandwidth, frequency, transmission power, (minimum) desired signal quality, target QoS) to be dynamically adapted to ensure sufficient service capacity within the target geographic area at all times. In an example of the third option, the number of wireless communication devices within a particular target area is counted, and / or the location of wireless communication devices is determined. This indicates the number of injured persons, or more specifically, the number of injured persons on / near a particular tarp.

[0028] According to any of the first to third options, or a fourth option which may be combined with any of the first to eighth embodiments described above, flying or ground relay nodes are deployed to extend wireless signal coverage to at least inaccessible areas of the target wireless coverage area, and / or to improve positioning accuracy using the extended coverage and / or additional positioning sensors.

[0029] According to any of the first to fourth options, or a fifth option which may be combined with any of the first to eighth embodiments described above, the location of the wireless communication devices, the distance between a predetermined center of a group of wireless communication devices, and at least one of the characteristic information about the wireless communication devices and / or the users of the wireless communication devices are received by the anchor device and the wireless communication devices in order to determine a cluster / group of wireless communication devices based on at least one of the relative location, relative distance, and characteristic information.

[0030] According to any of the first to fifth options, or a sixth option which may be combined with any of the first to eighth aspects described above, the required positioning accuracy for a target geographic area is set via an API (such as SCEF / NEF) or a configuration interface (e.g., by an external application), and the set positioning accuracy is combined with at least the available infrastructure information for the target wireless coverage area in order to deploy additional anchor nodes within the target wireless coverage area or to remove existing anchor nodes.

[0031] According to any of the first to sixth options, or a seventh option which may be combined with any of the first to eighth embodiments described above, an additional backscatter or secure channel is used to communicate information from an anchor node to a network controller device, and / or to buffer communications from one or more wireless communication devices.

[0032] According to any of the first to seventh options, or the eighth option which can be combined with any of the first to eighth aspects described above, the need for additional anchor nodes is determined based on the received network configuration information and the capacity of the anchor nodes. This ensures that a sufficient number of anchor nodes are deployed within the target geographic area to ensure reliable and effective service delivery within the target geographic area.

[0033] According to any of the first to eighth options, or a ninth option which can be combined with any of the first to eighth aspects described above, the positioning accuracy at the anchor node is set, and the deployment or removal of another anchor node within the target wireless coverage area is determined based on the received network configuration information.

[0034] According to any of the first to ninth options, or a tenth option which can be combined with any of the first to eighth embodiments described above, the anchor node comprises an unmanned robotic device that is remotely operable or autonomously operable and serves as a cellular access device or relay device.

[0035] According to any of the first to tenth options, or an eleventh option which can be combined with any of the first to eighth embodiments described above, wireless communication devices within a cluster are identified, and the location of identified devices within a cluster is monitored to detect the movement of identified devices between different clusters and / or to associate clusters with identified devices, or at least one communication characteristic of identified devices within a cluster is monitored to determine a change in the associated cluster of an identified device, and network resources are allocated or deallocated depending on the location and distance of the identified device to the associated cluster. This can improve positioning accuracy and / or quality of service.

[0036] According to any of the first to eleventh options, or a twelfth option which can be combined with any of the first to eighth embodiments described above, an access device of another wireless network (e.g., PLMN) operating within the target geographic area is detected, and the detected access device is requested to adapt its communication scheduling to the determination of the location of an anchor node or wireless communication device, or to participate in the determination of the location of an anchor node or wireless communication device, or to redirect data traffic from the wireless communication device to the first responder network. This makes it possible to reduce network resources for location determination and / or improve positioning accuracy.

[0037] According to any of the first to twelfth options, or a thirteenth option which may be combined with any of the first to eighth aspects described above, the network configuration information includes the authority to discard the location privacy of one or more wireless communication devices or to set up an emergency connection.

[0038] It should be noted that the above-mentioned devices are executed based on the arrangement of individual hardware circuit equipment, integrated chips, or chip modules having individual hardware components, or based on signal processing devices or chips controlled by software routines or programs stored in memory, written to computer-readable media, or downloaded from a network such as the Internet.

[0039] It should be understood that the apparatus described in claims 1 and 9, the network controller device described in claim 16, the anchor node described in claim 17, the wireless communication system described in claim 19, the method described in claims 21 and 22, and the computer program product described in claim 23 have similar and / or identical preferred embodiments, in particular, as defined in the dependent claims.

[0040] It should be understood that preferred embodiments of the present invention may also include any combination of dependent claims or the above embodiments with their respective independent claims.

[0041] These and other aspects of the present invention will be apparent from the embodiments described below and will be clarified by referring to the embodiments. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0042] [Figure 1] This figure schematically illustrates an MCI scenario in which the present invention can be implemented. [Figure 2] This diagram schematically illustrates the architecture of the first responder network in various embodiments. [Figure 3] This diagram schematically shows block diagrams of network controller devices in various embodiments. [Figure 4] This diagram schematically shows block diagrams of access devices according to various embodiments. [Figure 5] This diagram schematically shows the flowchart of the first responder network deployment procedure according to various embodiments. [Figure 6] This diagram schematically shows the flowcharts of the first responder network location confirmation and mapping procedures according to various embodiments. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0043] Embodiments of the present invention are described herein based on a first responder-targeted network infrastructure comprising an end-to-end wireless network deployable in the event of an MCI event or other event (e.g., a forest fire or emergency in a remote area without reliable network coverage) that requires emergency responders to communicate with the network infrastructure. Even though embodiments of the present invention are described based on a first responder network, the present invention and its techniques are not limited to a first responder network and can be applied to any other wireless network that needs to be deployed in an area with insufficient coverage or inaccurate location estimation, or to any cellular public land mobile network (PLMN), or any cellular or non-cellular non-public network (NPN). The network is used by the first responder to arrive to triage and treat the injured in an MCI event. The system can be deployed on demand based on location dynamics and details of the MCI event (e.g., whether the MCI event is a terrorist attack, auxiliary or highway accident, natural disaster, or infectious outbreak), with each first responder having their own requirements depending on the number of injured / victims and the area surrounding the incident. Medical service vehicles such as ambulances and fire trucks can be fitted with antennas for wireless communication technologies such as (but not limited to) direct satellite links, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Long Range (LoRa), and cellular base stations with similar technologies.

[0044] Throughout this disclosure, “First Response Person” is intended to be the person who will be the first to arrive at an emergency scene and provide assistance in the event of an MCI event such as an accident, natural disaster, or terrorist attack. First Response Persons include law enforcement officers, paramedics, emergency medical technicians (EMTs), and firefighters. Depending on the area, emergency department personnel may also be required to designate themselves as First Response Persons to respond to disaster and crisis situations. Furthermore, “First Response Person Network” is intended to be a network for use by First Response Persons to support First Response Person services. A First Response Person Network is typically a dedicated / standalone non-public network, but it can also be a network that shares infrastructure with a public network or incorporates public network capabilities.

[0045] Furthermore, throughout this disclosure, the terms “anchor node,” “anchor device,” “access device,” and “base station” are intended to be used interchangeably.

[0046] Reasons for not using existing communication networks may include overload (typically, when something happens, people begin to use communication systems to obtain and disseminate information), network unavailability (especially when considering large-scale and catastrophic MCIs such as earthquakes, plane crashes in residential areas or metro stations, where communication systems may simply be destroyed or signals may be unreachable to such locations), and the unlawful intention of criminals in MCI events to disrupt known and public network services (e.g., shutting down specific radio frequency ranges during terrorist attacks).

[0047] As already mentioned above, there are several first responder networks, such as FirstNet, which is deployed in all 50 states of the United States. These types of first responder networks operate on a dedicated non-public radio frequency (RF) spectrum to reduce interference from the general public during MCI events, but it is impossible to deploy them automatically and operate them independently without using existing cellular infrastructure.

[0048] As an alternative, non-commercial networks such as amateur radio are frequently used during disasters. However, such networks are not very reliable for high-bandwidth, low-latency communication. Moreover, users need additional hardware to enjoy amateur radio communication.

[0049] Furthermore, Cell on Wings (COW) has been proposed, in which drones are used to automatically deploy a pre-configured network infrastructure using direct satellite links. However, such COW systems still require a significant amount of pre-configured, specific network information that is only appropriate for areas without cellular coverage and that cannot be dynamically configured based on the unique characteristics of MCI events.

[0050] Figure 1 schematically illustrates an MCI scenario in which the present invention can be implemented.

[0051] More specifically, the MCI scenario in Figure 1 relates to a crashed aircraft 15 with first responders (e.g., triage officers) 110 and triaged injured persons (i.e., victims or patients) 120, 130.

[0052] In various embodiments, emergency vehicles such as fire trucks 10 and ambulances or medical service vehicles 13 are fitted with their own first responder network infrastructure, including dedicated backhaul communication equipment (e.g., satellite antennas), which can be automatically deployed with a minimal configuration to function effectively as a standalone wireless first responder network, particularly capable of serving the MCI area. The wireless first responder network has its own limited range to prevent interference with other public networks outside the MCI area.

[0053] In certain situations where MCI events occur over a wide area, emergency vehicles 10 and 13 are still unable to provide adequate coverage. In Figure 1, triaged patients 120 and 130, located within the dashed circles around emergency vehicles 10 and 13, are within the range of two first-line responder networks established by emergency vehicles 10 and 13. However, emergency vehicles 10 and 13 are unable to cover the entire MCI area because they cannot reach certain locations.

[0054] Other examples of insufficient coverage include subway (metro) accidents, accidents near or in the vicinity of mountains, swamps, or coastlines.

[0055] To support and / or extend the coverage area of ​​an established first responder network, various devices present in the MCI area (e.g., user equipment (UE) of the injured or first responder (e.g., triage officer), smartwatches, cellular medical devices, and other wireless communication devices) function as relays in the first responder network.

[0056] Furthermore, the infrastructure of the wireless first responder network is expandable by adding anchor nodes (e.g., access devices equipped on drones by different first responder services) that are not known to the deployed wireless first responder network and can be deployed as part of the deployed first responder network.

[0057] Furthermore, unmanned, remotely controlled or autonomous robots, such as drones and / or motorized rovers, already have a wide range of applications, including military use, racing, light shows, video and photography for package delivery, inspection of underwater communication lines, and possibly combating insect outbreaks like locusts in Africa. Such unmanned robots are cost-effective and potentially programmable to be remotely controlled or fully automated to navigate unprecedented locations such as MCI areas.

[0058] As shown in Figure 1, the drone 12 or other autonomous robot can be used to monitor and expand the MCI area of ​​the emergency vehicles 10, 13. Network expansion can be achieved by deploying the drone 12 as a relay node, each having its own coverage area (a circle drawn with dots around the drone 12). As shown in Figure 1, one of the lower drones 12 is in the coverage area to the left of the emergency vehicles 10, 13 in Figure 1, and acts as a relay node in the first responder network, while one of the upper drones 12 is in the coverage area of ​​the lower drone 12 (the relay node).

[0059] As an addition or alternative, existing and available cellular devices (e.g., mobile phones) or other wireless devices (not shown in Figure 1) may be improvised and / or automatically reused to enhance the coverage area of ​​the first responder network.

[0060] Figure 2 schematically shows the architecture of the first responder network 200 in various embodiments based on a wireless communication system (e.g., a public land mobile network (PLMN) or a non-public network (NPN)).

[0061] In Figure 2, the network controller device (device A) 20 is configured to operate the core network and optionally connects to other core networks of one or more mobile operators. The network controller device (device A) 20 comprises a network controller module or function 202, an identity service module or function 204, and a simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) module or function 206.

[0062] Furthermore, one or more anchor nodes, i.e., base stations or access devices (device B) 22, are connected to device A 20 and have the ability to make wireless connections to mobile devices 24 (device UE) or other wireless communication devices within the coverage area of ​​the anchor nodes. The target geographic area of ​​the anchor nodes (device B) 22 is still smaller than the coverage area of ​​a single base station or access device. That is, device B 22 has a target geographic area that is a sub-area of ​​the coverage area of ​​one or more devices B 22. size The device is configured to receive information about and / or to receive desired location accuracy, and further configured to determine the location of a set of mobile device UE24, and / or to perform wireless communication between an anchor node and one or more mobile wireless devices based on at least one of geolocation information, communication characteristics, and network configuration information. Network access and / or location estimation are limited to a particular group of device UE24 (operated, for example, by a first responder) and / or to a particular type of device UE24 (such as having a particular capability, e.g., side-link communication or access to the Global Positioning System (GPS)).

[0063] Device A20 can automatically connect to the central identity server (CIS) 26 to communicate subscriber details such as the first responder's Device Identification Number (DID) (e.g., IMSI) and retrieve user information linked to the target device UE24.

[0064] In addition, a first responder database (FRDB) 28 is provided, which can be used to pre-register at least some of the devices UE24 with their respective first responders and / or unique network slices for verification purposes. Each device UE24 has a secure device identity (devID) or user identity (userID) (e.g., International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI)) (e.g., Digital Passport) unique to the device UE24 or user, stored in secure memory, and can be linked to the user of the device via network-related information (e.g., International Mobile Subscription Identity (IMSI) stored in a subscriber identification information module 242 (e.g., as described in the GSMA SGP.21-RSP architecture)). In the case of NPNs, the concept of a default certificate, as described in 3GPP® specification TR23.700-07, is available.

[0065] CIS26 is configured to access the first responder database 28 and derive user information (e.g., first responder ID (FRID)) of registered first responders associated with device UE24.

[0066] In embodiments implemented in combination with any other embodiment or independently, the first responder network (which is an emergency network) may be permitted to do so by device B22 of the first responder network, if device B22 of the first responder network can prove to device UE24 or the home network of device UE24 that the first responder network is permitted to do so (for example, by representing a PLMN operator class, as specified in the description of functional stage 2 of 3GPP® TS23.271 Location Services (LCS)). For example, device UE24 may have special permissions set for such a situation, such that even the government would not have access rights under any circumstances. Device UE24 stores permissions for the device or for services / applications on the device, for example, by setting to grant Android permissions (e.g., android.permission.emergency-location or android.permission.location-override (which do not yet exist)) (e.g., granted / authorized when the device or service / application was installed / configured, or explicitly set by the device user). Such permissions are linked to passwords, keys, or other certificates that must be provided to the device to verify / grant / allow such permissions.The user of device UE24 also agrees in advance to provide such special permissions by storing acceptance of special permissions in the integrated data manager (UDM), integrated data repository (UDR), and home subscriber server (HSS) of device UE24's home PLMN, and acceptance of special permissions is verified by the first responder by connecting to the respective integrated data manager (UDM), integrated data repository (UDR), and home subscriber server (HSS), for example, through the NEF or indirectly through a public safety response point (PSAP), which have the ability to access the respective permission data or revoke the respective permissions. In such a scenario, the user or their friend / family (who has been added to the information in the Subscriber Database (HSS) or is listed as an emergency contact on the respective mobile phone's SIM card, non-volatile storage, or wearable connected to the mobile phone) will receive a notification to "unlock" the device, discard the device's location privacy index settings, or discard the security lock on the device UE24 or SIM card in order to accept an incoming invitation, connection request, location estimation request, user identification request, or incoming SIM profile, or to grant them the authority to perform these actions on behalf of the injured person. Alternatively, device A20 in the first responder network may offer a new location service profile (for example, as specified in 3GPP® TS23.273 5G System (5GS) Location Service (LCS)) when establishing network connectivity with one or more devices B22 within the MCI area.

[0067] Alternatively, the first responder may be authorized to unlock device UE24 (for example, based on special permissions granted to the first responder's mobile device by network controller device A20), and the first responder's identity (for example, the subscriber concealment identity SUCI on the first responder's mobile device) may then be recorded on device UE24 or device A20 to later check whether this was a legitimate action. Alternatively, the first responder's device UE24 may be authorized to provide a new location service profile to one or more device UE24 (e.g., device 20), or to discard location privacy settings to enable ranging (i.e., estimating the distance and / or angle between two devices), or to enable relative or absolute positioning between the first responder device and one or more device UE24, or to enable location sharing services of device UE24 (e.g., via NEF as specified in 3GPP® TS23.273 5G System (5GS) Location Service (LCS), or via secure out-of-band communication such as NFC) (e.g., by setting the Location Privacy Index LPI to be permitted for a specified period of time).

[0068] Furthermore, network identification / configuration information, connection requests, and / or location estimation requests include information about the cause of the emergency establishment in the Master / System Information Block (MIB / SIB), RRC message, beacon, or connection request / invitation signal / message, and / or location estimation request signal / message or location reference signal sent to the device UE24. The information is provided in the preamble portion of the message or in a special or dedicated information element (IE) within the information element. The connection request / invitation also includes information about (additional) emergency telephone numbers to enable the device UE24 to set up an (unauthenticated) emergency call when it receives an invitation to a specified emergency telephone number.

[0069] Furthermore, device B22 receives information about the network configuration so that it can set up a communication channel with the mobile wireless device and / or estimate the positioning of the mobile wireless device from the network controller device 20. The network configuration information includes and / or can be used to configure device B to authorize the use of one or more frequency bands and / or to enable the mobile wireless device to connect to a specific slice of the network within the MCI area. The network configuration information includes, for example, the authorization of an access device to establish a connection between a mobile device or additional access device within the area and the core network. The network configuration information also includes network / slice-specific settings (bandwidth / frequency, authorized devices, services provided, Restricted Local Operator Service (RLOS), roaming steering, and / or emergency / non-emergency slice designations, etc.) and certificates (e.g., private keys) required to authorize the first responder's mobile wireless device. The operating bandwidth / frequency provided in the network configuration information is a special emergency band for MCI events or the first responder network. This operating bandwidth / frequency also includes one or more common frequency bands supported by many UEs and / or well-known operators in the area. To determine whether a first responder network in an MCI area is permitted to transmit on a particular frequency, device A20 works with device B22 to first scan the area to see if there are any existing PLMNs operating in the area, identify their MCC / MNC codes, identify the nearest base station, measure its signal strength, connect to these PLMNs, and request permission to transmit invitation signals within one or more frequency bands operated by the PLMNs.If the nearest base station is very far away, and / or if a particular PLMN in the area is not active, or if a particular band is not measured as in use, for example, because a base station in the area is destroyed or the signal is very weak, device A20 provides the respective frequencies as part of the network configuration information and allows / authorizes access device B22 to use these frequency bands to transmit invitation signals. Similarly, the frequency bands and / or (minimum and / or maximum) bandwidths available for transmitting location reference signals or other signals to determine the location of a device or person can be determined by scanning for unused frequency bands and by requesting permission to use a particular band from a PLMN operating in the same MCI area or from a spectrum allocation server. In certain embodiments, either in combination with or independently implemented in any other embodiment, the network controller device 20 requests / provides a PLMN operating within the same MCI area for a specific period of time to perform location measurements, taking into account the PLMN's base station scheduling (e.g., to suspend communications or remain quiet for a requested period of time, or to request the PLMN's UE / base station to participate in location determination and synchronize base station operations (e.g., by transmitting further positioning signals or accessing location services)).

[0070] The network controller device 20 needs to connect to a PLMN operating within the same MCI area. This is done, for example, by the network controller device 20 detecting whether a nearby base station operating within the MCI area belongs to a known roaming partner PLMN by analyzing the NR Cell Global Identity (NCGI) broadcast by a nearby base station containing information about the PLMN. In that case, the network controller device 20 connects to each PLMN by performing a mobile registration procedure via such nearby base stations (where the network controller device 20 can use EAP-AKA with SIM-based certificates), or by initiating an unauthenticated emergency connection, or by setting up a disaster roaming connection as in TS23.501, and / or by connecting to a Network Exposure Function (NEF) as in TS23.501, or a Service-Based Interface (SIB) connection as in TS33.501, or a connection via a Public Safety Response Point, or a secure F1 or Xn interface connection with the RAN node of each PLMN as in TS33.501, or a secure N2 / NG-AP connection with the AMF as in TS33.501, or a plug-and-play connection as in TS32.508. As an alternative (for example, if the PLMN is not a roaming partner), or as an additional option, to set up a secure connection to each PLMN, the network controller device 20 uses a pre-shared / pre-configured emergency / disaster roaming certificate or public key information about a given PLMN obtained by the network controller device 20, and uses it during the registration / authentication procedure with the PLMN.After or during registration with a roaming partner or non-roaming partner PLMN, the network controller device 20 may need to perform several additional authentication, authorization, and verification steps, for example, by providing / proving ownership of a special key or certificate (e.g., digitally signed by a certification authority for emergency medical personnel) during registration. During the setup of the communication channel, the network controller device 20 establishes a secure communication interface from which it can send signals / messages to request radio access networks / base stations operating within the MCI area to use the communication channel that the network controller device 20 has set up using the PLMN (e.g., its RAN node or one of the PLMN's core network functions such as AMF / NEF) and / or to reduce interference by adapting its resource scheduling / operating frequency / beam / SSB / transmission power. For this purpose, the network controller device 20 provides information about the resource schedule / timing of the communication and / or positioning signal, the frequency used for the communication and / or positioning signal, the positioning signal characteristics (e.g., transmission power, bandwidth), the position signal type, timing synchronization / clock information, and the identity and / or location information of the anchor node and / or wireless communication device. Similarly, the network controller device 20 sends signals / messages to request radio access networks / base stations operating within the MCI area to participate in determining the location of the anchor node and / or wireless communication device. For this purpose, the network controller device 20 provides information about the resource schedule / timing of the positioning signal, the frequency used for the positioning signal, the positioning signal characteristics (e.g., transmission power, bandwidth), the position signal type, timing synchronization / clock information, and the identity and / or location information of the anchor node and / or wireless communication device. The network controller device 20 also requests the use of location services provided by PLMN.The PLMN grants such access and provides the information / certificates for using such location services, after which the network controller 20, anchor nodes, and / or wireless communication devices are instructed to connect to their respective location services. The above requests are only authorized if the controller device 20 performs additional authentication, authorization, and verification steps.

[0071] In other words, device A20 includes or connects to equipment for establishing a wireless first-party network 200, and the equipment is for the target wireless coverage area. size The system is configured to receive information about, determine or detect the number and location of anchor nodes (e.g., device B22) within the target wireless coverage area, as well as the capabilities of the anchor nodes, detect access devices of other wireless networks operating within the MCI or emergency area, and make requests to the detected access devices or RAN entities / functions (e.g., RAN centralized units (e.g., gNB-CU or IAB-donor CU)) or core network entities / functions (e.g., AMF), the core network entities / functions controlling or communicating with access devices to adapt their communication scheduling to the determination of the location of anchor nodes or wireless communication devices (e.g., device UE24), or to participate in the determination of the location of anchor nodes or wireless communication devices (e.g., device UE24).

[0072] Accordingly, in an independent embodiment of the present invention, a device for establishing a wireless first responder network (200) is proposed, the device is configured to detect access devices of another wireless network operating within a target wireless coverage area, and to request the detected access devices to adapt their communication scheduling to the determination of the location of an anchor node or wireless communication device, or to participate in the determination of the location of an anchor node or wireless communication device, or to redirect data traffic from the wireless communication device to the first responder network.

[0073] To achieve the required communication links, device B22 supports, in particular, a single-hop relay link 22S and / or a multi-hop relay link 22M to device UE24, and / or a base station relay link 22R.

[0074] The target geographic region can focus on areas specific to triage (e.g., areas with the highest concentration of injured people, areas with fewer seriously injured people, etc.) or is linked to a set of spatial formation requirements for identifying cluster formation (e.g., multiple devices UE24 are within a configurable radius around specified relative coordinates, specified device UE24, centroid, baseline, etc.). In one example, information about potential target areas (e.g., areas with a high concentration of potentially injured people) can be provided, for example, by one or more devices B22 or by separate devices via network exposure (NEF) and application (AF) functions. In another example, a light detection and ranging (LiDAR) camera is used to find thermal traces of mobile phones and / or people, thus locating the devices (clusters of devices) or, based on the thermal map or traces, modifying the beamforming of one or more access devices B22 to target areas of interest. Furthermore, victim / injured person triage-specific areas are identified by triage tarps of different colors (e.g., indicating the severity of the injury). The location (and color) of these tarps is determined via cameras or other color detectors operating on drones or other access devices (e.g., mobile base stations), cameras on ambulances or fire trucks, or security cameras available at the scene, or provided to the network by the first responder (e.g., via NEF or directly via data connection with SLAM functionality). As an independent or additional option, the tarps may be provided with wireless devices (possibly including GPS modules) that can register with the network to enable automatic location determination. In this capacity, or through matching the identity of the wireless device, the color of its corners and its size / shape / metric / relative position can be determined.As an alternative, the tarp could be equipped with a location marker (for example, Bluetooth iBeacon®) that broadcasts its location, size, and other information.

[0075] Furthermore, the tarp's boundaries and size It is digitally recreated so that it is depicted. In situations where a tarp is completely occupied by injured persons (both moving and stationary), new injured persons brought to the tarp are usually placed outside the tarp's boundaries. This confuses the determination of the triage tarp for injured persons, especially when tarps are placed close together and when a particular injured person is in the center of a triage tarp. In such situations, the digitally depicted tarp coordinates with a beacon placed in the center of an adjacent tarp or at a recognized location to determine the tarp area. size It automatically increases or decreases the number of injured or sick. Such coordination between beacons on various tarps is carried out without any involvement from first responders, so that the tarp area is autonomously managed to increase or decrease the number of injured or sick. First responders and injured or sick are displayed on the newly drawn digital tarp. size It can be simply followed. Additionally, the beacon in the center of the tarp is located in the tarp area. size Recognizing that there is no space to increase the number of triage tarps, the First Responder Network is requested to designate a safe space for a specific triage tarp within the MCI area. The First Responder Network, upon request, will deploy additional beacons for existing beacons that recognize the lack of space within that tarp area, and designate a new tarp area. Any changes to the tarp location can be instructed to first responders in the field, and any newly arriving triaged patients can be brought to the new tarp location by first responders.

[0076] In additional embodiments, which may be combined with or implemented independently of any other embodiments, some device UE24 may have the triage status of the tarp, the spatial location of device UE24, and other characteristics of devices in a cluster and / or device UE at the center of the cluster (in the horizontal and vertical planes). size Clusters are grouped based on factors including, but not limited to, the number of associated devices, location accuracy, location of the cluster and devices within the cluster, and the distance from the cluster center to device UE24. Clusters are typically represented by a set of devices that share a common set of characteristics (e.g., communication / device / user characteristics) or that are within a defined area or within a certain maximum distance from each other.

[0077] The characteristics for recognizing / forming clusters are also distinguishable features (sets) of a set of devices that are available / not applicable to other devices. For example, devices are clustered depending on whether the device is moving around (which indicates that the injuries of the person carrying the device are not very severe) or not moving for a certain period of time (which indicates that the injuries of the person carrying the device are more severe).

[0078] Alternatively, device A20 in the first responder network recognizes the cluster center through its communication characteristics (e.g., high bandwidth, low latency, QoS requirements). Additionally, device A20 detects / infers which devices will belong to a particular cluster if all devices have similar communication characteristics (e.g., same QoS, similar traffic patterns, same bandwidth or operating within the same slice or closed access group, supporting the same capabilities, or all connected to each other via D2D / sidelink communication or operating with similar (application-controlled) group / multicast communication).

[0079] Such clusters of devices can be formed, for example, in device A based on a triage application or network analysis function (such as NWDAF), or by device A via device B or via a third-party positioning server based on the distance measured between multiple UEs and the cluster, or based on the communication characteristics of devices within a particular cluster.

[0080] Device A, either directly or via Device B, allocates network resources (e.g., bandwidth, physical resource blocks, frequency allocation over specific time blocks) based on the characteristics of the cluster and / or devices within the cluster, providing the required QoS and desired positioning accuracy to the cluster, for example, recognized / formed based on triage status. For example, a device UE in a red tarp cluster requires high bandwidth and low latency, while a device UE in a green tarp cluster requires only low latency and low bandwidth, with the red and green tarps indicating high and low severity of victims within the MCI area, respectively.

[0081] This allows the network to optimize resource allocation, for example, by allocating resources for wireless communication devices within a cluster or group based on their communication patterns, which are arranged so that each wireless communication device transmits its data at the required data rate and within the required latency, and by determining the timing / scheduling of these resources, or by allocating more resources to the central node of the cluster or group, allocating separate resources for sidelinks, and / or distributing scheduling information and resources over different sidelink connections.

[0082] In other words, device A20 (or another device in the first responder network) includes or connects to a first device for determining a cluster or group of wireless communication devices in a wireless network (e.g., the first responder network 200), the first device receiving or learning at least one of resource usage data, location or distance measurement information, device characteristics, communication characteristics, measurement data, user characteristics of multiple wireless communication devices (e.g., device UE24), and assigning a minimum number of wireless communication devices to determine a cluster or group of wireless communication devices. • Distance between wireless communication devices, • The distance between the wireless communication device and the anchor device (e.g., device B22), • The distance between the wireless communication device and the location of the wireless communication device in the target geographic region or related to the target geographic region, and • Communication pattern information, and • Overlap in communication characteristics, device characteristics, and user characteristics Calculate at least one of the following: • The calculated distance between at least a minimum number of wireless communication devices is between the minimum distance measurement threshold and the maximum distance measurement threshold. • The calculated distance between at least a minimum number of wireless communication devices and anchor devices is between the minimum distance measurement threshold and the maximum distance measurement threshold. • The calculated distance between at least a minimum number of wireless communication devices and the target geographic area is between the minimum distance measurement threshold and the maximum distance measurement threshold. • At least a minimum number of wireless communication devices have the same communication pattern, or thereby the time variation is between the minimum time variation threshold and the maximum time variation threshold, and • At least a minimum number of wireless communication devices share the same communication characteristics, device characteristics, and user characteristics. It is configured to determine a cluster or group of wireless communication devices based on at least one of the following.

[0083] Furthermore, device B22 (or another device in the first responder network) includes or connects to a second device for supporting the establishment of a wireless network (e.g., first responder network 200), the second device making a wireless connection to wireless communication devices (e.g., device UE24) of the wireless network, and receiving information from the first device for determining clusters or groups of wireless communication devices in the wireless network about a set of identifiers of wireless communication devices forming a cluster or group (or at least a subset of clusters or groups of wireless communication devices whose determined locations are within the target geographic area / coverage area), thereby receiving information including (but not limited to) device identifiers, locations, and / or common characteristics of wireless communication devices in the cluster or group, and network for clusters or groups of devices The system is configured to determine a set of resources, and / or, based on the received information, allocate network resources, determine the timing / scheduling of these resources, and / or, allocate more resources to the central node of the cluster or group, and / or, allocate separate resources for sidelink connections, and / or, distribute schedule information and resources over different sidelink connections, and / or, transmit the generated resource schedule to one of the wireless communication devices in the cluster or group for further distribution, and / or, invite or trigger a wireless communication device (e.g., device UE24) in a cluster or group of wireless communication devices to register (or unregister) via a communication channel to the core network or other communication channels operated by the network controller device (e.g., device A20).

[0084] The second device described above for supporting the establishment of a wireless network, or the first device described above for determining a cluster or group of mobile devices in a wireless network, is further configured to: identify a mobile wireless device (e.g., device UE24) in a cluster or group; monitor the location of the identified device in the cluster or group to detect the movement of the identified device between different clusters or groups, and / or associate a cluster or group with the identified device; monitor at least one communication characteristic of the identified device in the cluster or group to determine a change in the cluster or group to which the identified device is associated; allocate or deallocate network resources according to the location and / or distance of the identified device to the associated cluster or group; or trigger the transmission of a message (e.g., via NEF, SMS) if the mobile wireless device moves beyond a configured threshold distance from the center or other devices in the cluster or group, and / or moves below a configured threshold distance from the center or other devices in another cluster or group. It should be noted that monitoring and adapting resources to location can be carried out independently of other aspects of the present invention.

[0085] As an alternative or addition, • Triggering the unregistration of identified devices from the network or slice. • Triggering a handover to a different access device, or a connection to a device via a side link. • Assigning devices to different clusters or groups of devices. • Sending different invitation messages to devices • Changing QoS for a device, • Changing the set of slices allowed for the device, and • Triggering the transmission of messages (e.g., via NEF, SMS) that include alerts that a specific injured person or wireless communication device has moved to a different tarp or outside the area (e.g., to a hospital). One or more of the following actions are initiated.

[0086] These actions are also triggered when an identified device moves beyond a configured threshold distance from the cluster center, or beyond the distance from another device or a specific reference location within the cluster, and / or moves below a configured threshold distance from the center or another device or a specific reference location in another cluster. Wireless mobile devices (within a cluster / group) have policies / measures configured for when they should leave a cluster / group, such as the maximum distance from the center or another device or a specific reference coordinate within the cluster / group, or the minimum distance from the center or another device or a specific reference coordinate in another cluster / group, or minimum / maximum signal strength / quality thresholds (e.g., on a sidelink), or the number of nearby discoverable devices. When a wireless mobile device detects that it is in a situation that matches the conditions of a policy or pre-configured measure, the wireless mobile device notifies the first device (by communication, possibly via the second device, another wireless mobile device in the cluster, or the network to which the wireless mobile device is connected) of its intention to leave the cluster / group, and / or the status of the conditions and / or the measurements used to evaluate the conditions (e.g., distance from a reference coordinate, or the number of devices found, possibly including their identity) by sending a message (e.g., to the first device, the second device, or another wireless mobile device in the cluster, or the network to which the wireless mobile device is connected), indicating the wireless mobile device's intention to leave the group and / or the status of the conditions and / or the measurements used to evaluate the conditions, and once this is done, the first device updates the cluster / group information / configuration.Alternatively or additionally, the wireless mobile device periodically transmits the status of a condition or a measurement used to evaluate the condition (e.g., distance from a reference coordinate) to a first or second device, which then evaluates the condition to determine whether the wireless mobile device should be removed from the cluster / group.

[0087] A set of any of the above devices, a first or second device, and wireless communication devices (e.g., device UE24) forms a system, wherein the wireless communication devices transmit at least one of resource usage data, location or distance measurement information, device characteristics, communication characteristics, measurement data, and user characteristics to the first device; at least one of the first or second devices determines a resource schedule by allocating resources for the set of wireless communication devices in a cluster or group and determining the timing / scheduling of these resources; transmits the generated resource schedule, and optionally information about the cluster or group, to one of the wireless communication devices in the cluster or group; and one wireless communication device is configured to receive the generated resource schedule and, based on the received resource schedule, distribute the generated resource schedule or allocate resources to one or more wireless communication devices in the cluster or group.

[0088] If the current access device (anchor node, e.g., device B22) is unable to achieve QoS for devices within a cluster or group or a specific target geographical area at its current location, device A20 will calculate different locations for already deployed access devices to instruct them to move to new locations, or calculate a new number of access devices needed to provide the desired network coverage and capacity, or initiate the use of unlicensed spectrum or other radio access technologies by freeing up some additional resources or some additional frequency bands (e.g., by reallocating resources from other wireless communication devices, clusters or groups, or slices), or by requesting the emergency use of additional spectrum from a nearby PLMN or spectrum allocation server. In one example, device A20 will generate an alarm (e.g., by sending an alarm message to one or more first responder devices) and request that additional access devices be deployed.

[0089] Additionally, the distance between devices within a specific cluster is constantly monitored by device A to enable the movement of devices between clusters. As a result, if a patient is moved between tarps based on an improved or worsening medical condition, the network automatically associates the device with the new cluster as it moves from one cluster to the other, upon detecting changes in location, changes in the communication characteristics of device UEs, and / or changes in sidelink connections to the center of the group. For example, if a patient in an MCI area is initially placed in the yellow tarp and eventually loses a significant amount of blood while in the yellow tarp, this patient is automatically categorized as a red victim after a while. The first responder moves the patient from the yellow cluster to the red cluster, taking into account the patient's current worsening medical condition. The one-hop distance between the device and the center of the cluster, and / or the two- or multi-hop distance to the center of the cluster, are used to determine the associated cluster for a particular device. Therefore, during the transition, the concentration of device UEs can be two or more, and as a result, device UEs can be associated with two or more clusters. In such a case, device A adapts the network resources of device UE only after the distance measurement value has become constant, that is, after device UE has stopped moving between clusters for a specified amount of time.

[0090] Furthermore, device UE24 is authorized to perform the core network registration described above (for example, the core network operated by device A20, which is part of the authorized PLMN / NPN list and / or roaming steering information).

[0091] Alternatively, if an emergency or restricted local operator service (RLOS) connection is enabled by the home PLMN of device UE24, or if suggested / mandated by national regulations for mobile networks within the MCI area, the initial connection to the first responder network via restricted service access or emergency calls is established using device UE24 (as specified, for example, in accordance with the provisions on continuity of service in 3GPP® TS22.011 Service Accessibility). Device A20 is configured with special privileges to allow device UE24 to roam within the first responder network by updating the PLMN selection procedure (as specified, for example, in the roaming steering information in 3GPP® TS22.011 Service Accessibility). After successfully completing the roaming authentication procedure (as specified, for example, in the service access authority in 3GPP® TS33.501 Security Architecture and Procedure for 5G Systems), device UE24 connects to the first responder network as a roaming device. This is based on urgent or special cooperation between the RLOS operator and the mobile operator or national regulation of device UE24 to identify device A20 of the first responder network, authorize device 20 of the first responder network, and enable device A20 of the first responder network to establish restricted service using device UE24 at the MCI location. This can be indicated in one of the network broadcast information blocks (e.g., a system information block (SIB) as specified in the 3GPP® TS38.331 Radio Resource Control (RRC) protocol specification) of the first responder network while sending implicit and explicit invitations to device UE24 at the MCI location.

[0092] As an additional option, if device UE24 is still connected to a PLMN operating within the same existing MCI area, the first responder network (e.g., network controller device A20) sends a message to a specific emergency application running on device UE24 (e.g., via a data connection) via an application server (e.g., on the internet or operated by the home PLMN) that enables device UE24 to set up an emergency call (or RLOS) connection to the first responder network, either directly or routed via the home PLMN, and / or to provide location information to the first responder network via the home PLMN.

[0093] One or more device UE24 comprises a subscriber identification module 242 associated with a mobile carrier subscription (e.g., a universal integrated circuit card (UICC) including a subscriber identification module (SIM) card or a universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS) SIM (USIM) card), a radio module 244 for wireless communication, and at least one user application (app) 246. The device UE24 is configured to support a sidelink communication link 24SL between these.

[0094] The first responder network 200 is therefore established by devices A20, B22, and UE24 (as described in the 3GPP® specification as a 2G / 3G / 4G or 5G network, including, but not limited to, non-3GPP® access to unlicensed wireless spectrum such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, industrial, scientific, and medical (ISM) bands, or similar). The infrastructure of the first responder network 200 conforms to the specifications of the corresponding technology on which the network chooses to operate its devices A20, B22, and UE24.

[0095] Furthermore, all device UE24 deployed by a first responder within the first responder network 200 are typically capable of operating in one of their ISM bands, while the deployment of private mobile user devices (i.e., BYOD ("bring your own device")) within the MCI area is limited to the wireless technology available on the user device.

[0096] Furthermore, the first responder network 200 can be part of a non-public network (NPN) and / or operated by a PLMN within a specific area. In such a case, devices B22 and UE24 attached to the first responder network 200 can communicate with each other even without device A.

[0097] Device UE24 has a secure device identity (devID) (e.g., International Mobile Equipment Identification Number (IMEI)) unique to Device UE24 and stored in secure memory, and can be linked to the device's user via network-related information (e.g., International Mobile Telephone Subscriber Identification Number (IMSI) stored in Subscriber Identification Information Module 242 (e.g., as described in the GSMA SGP.21-RSP architecture)). In the case of NPN, the concept of a default certificate, as described in 3GPP® specification TR23.700-07, is available.

[0098] The proposed first responder network 200 enables the automatic identification and registration (embedding) of the first responder's pre-registered device UE24 (e.g., a cellular device) to non-public networks available within the MCI area from the network side (i.e., device A20). Furthermore, deployed device UE24 can be prevented from connecting to public networks during MCI events, and unauthorized devices can be prevented from registering with the first responder network 200. If pre-registered, device UE24 is pre-provided with the necessary configuration steering of roaming information and certificates to facilitate registration with the first responder network 200. This is also maintained for mobile wireless devices (e.g., UE) from PLMN or other NPNs that are roaming partners of the first responder network 200.

[0099] In addition, the proposed first responder network 200 (e.g., device A20) permits the (automatic) authorization and registration of additional base station devices (e.g., device B22) from various emergency services (e.g., fire departments, health ministries, and police departments), as well as other public and non-public network operators. The base station devices may also be IAB devices (e.g., as specified in TS38.174 Integrated Access and Backhaul Radio Transmission and Reception), where the access device B22 of the first responder network may function as an IAB donor to initiate the establishment of a first radio link with an IAB device (e.g., via S1 / NG interface security and integrated by IPSec using trusted hardware routes within the IAB device). Additionally, IAB devices may be equipped with an ID, private / public key pair, and manufacturer's certificate, which are necessary for establishing a link between devices B22 (e.g., an X2 / Xn link) via a special service (e.g., an X2AP global procedure, as specified in 3GPP® TS36.423 X2 Application Protocol (X2AP)) at device A20 in the first responder network.

[0100] For this purpose, the network controller device A20 and / or anchor device B22 may scan for or discover additional access devices by scanning for transmissions of (e.g., SIB information, beacons, discovery messages (e.g., PC5 sidelink discovery messages)). Alternatively, the network controller device A20 and / or anchor device B22 may send a broadcast message (e.g., a public alert system message) requesting that nearby access devices (e.g., a drone operating a base station, or a vehicle-mounted IAB repeater) be mounted / invited to be added as additional access devices for the first responder network.Furthermore, the network controller device A20 and / or anchor device B22 provide access device capabilities (e.g., number of antennas, coverage area information, operating frequency, maximum transmission power, number of simultaneous calls covered, SSB configuration, support for location services / positioning signals, centralized unit (CU)-distributed unit (DU) separation and related F1 interfaces, support for N2 and / or S1 interfaces of NG-AP and / or S1-AP protocol versions), and radio capabilities (e.g., LTE or 5G). NR features)) Securely set up a connection between the network controller device A20 (and / or anchor device B22) and additional access devices to request the location of an access device and / or the current load of an access device, and / or receive network configuration information (e.g., frequency, slice, synchronization / clock information, etc.), to communicate location information to which a mobile access device should move or in which direction a mobile access device should adjust its beamforming, and configure and control the requested / invited base station (e.g., using S1-AP, NG-AP, F1, N2 interface / protocol, or IAB interface). Such additional access devices can be paired and / or connected to enable the exchange of security certificates / certificates / public keys / SIM profiles. If the additional access device is operated by another agreed network operator, the additional access device also sets up a connection via the backend (e.g., through SCEF / NEF). The network controller needs to perform several specific authentication, authorization, and verification steps by having special keys or certificates (e.g., digitally signed by a certificate authority for emergency responders) so that it can set up an initial connection to an additional access device or another network.

[0101] Alternatively, the network controller device A20 can access a database of known mobile or stationary access devices, access device operators, access device locations, access device capabilities, access device connectivity data, etc., before inviting or setting up connections to additional access devices.

[0102] As an alternative, additional base station devices may operate as mobile device UE24 or mobile IAB devices, capable of registering to the first responder network via normal mobile registration procedures if the device belongs to a known roaming partner network. If the device is unknown and / or unauthenticated (e.g., due to infrastructure connectivity to the roaming partner's home PLMN being down), the additional base station device may need to perform several additional authentication, authorization, and verification steps, for example, by having a special key or certificate (e.g., digitally signed by a certification authority for emergency responders) during registration, or by some out-of-band pairing mechanism (e.g., NFC). The additional base station may need to set up a secure F1 interface connection with a RAN centralized unit (e.g., gNB-CU or IAB-donor CU), a secure Xn interface connection with another RAN node, or a secure N2 / NG-AP connection with the AMF, such as TS33.501. Additional base stations also use plug-and-play operation, such as TS32.508. If an additional base station is part of / mounted on a drone, it must undergo authentication and connection setup according to TS23.754.

[0103] In certain embodiments, implemented independently or in combination with any other embodiments, additional access devices are operated / controlled by another PLMN, further incorporating UE functionality (e.g., IAB nodes), and a list of disaster roaming networks is configured by another PLMN, including the identity and / or policy of first responder networks for allowing disaster roaming to any / unknown networks when such networks are available. This list is prioritized to list first responder networks above other PLMNs in the list, and / or includes conditions (or policies) for checking special flags / attributes broadcast by the access devices of first responder networks in system information (SI) messages, along with values ​​to indicate that first responder networks request additional access devices. The First Responder Network broadcasts (as in TS23.501) that it supports disaster roaming, includes the identity of another PLMN, and (generally) includes special flags / attributes (e.g., a Boolean "Emergency Use Request") along with values ​​to indicate that the First Responder Network requests additional access devices to register with the First Responder Network, and / or requests specific access devices (e.g., by including the First Responder Network's cell identifier in addition to the "Emergency Use Request" attribute, depending on the case). The First Responder Network must also prove that the request is genuine by providing a securely signed SI message (e.g., as in TR33.809). Additional access devices decide to register with the First Responder Network using the broadcasted information received from the First Responder Network.To further enable the setup of additional interfaces (e.g., F1 interface, N2 interface) between the first responder network and additional access devices, the AUSF / PCF / UDM of the first responder network is configured to provide additional certificates and / or perform additional configuration (e.g., using a UE configuration update procedure or UE parameter update procedure such as 23.502) at the same time as / after the additional access device registers with the first responder network. After receiving the additional certificates and / or configuration information, the necessary interfaces (e.g., F1 interface, N2 interface) can be established between the additional access device and one or more of the access devices and / or AMFs of the first responder network.

[0104] Furthermore, the proposed first responder network 200 (e.g., device A20) enables the automatic retrieval of the capabilities and locations of base station devices (e.g., device B22) that will be registered with the first responder network 200.

[0105] Figure 3 schematically shows block diagrams of network controller devices (i.e., device A) according to various embodiments.

[0106] Device A is installed in the first emergency vehicle to arrive at the first responder's location for an MCI event (e.g., a medical vehicle, fire truck, or unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)) and comprises a power supply (PS) unit 34 connected to the emergency vehicle's uninterrupted power supply. Device A also operates the core network (e.g., for a non-public network) and is the base station of Device A itself, although Device A can also be a backend server (e.g., located inside the emergency vehicle). Device A is also a controller unit for a set of distributed units within the base station.

[0107] Device A further comprises a transceiver (TRX) 31 for wireless transmission and reception to and from wireless devices of the first responder network, and / or performs core network functions (e.g., for a non-public network), and at least one controller (RAN CTRL) 32 is further configured to provide the network controller function 202 of Figure 2, and to provide the capability of a radio access network (RAN), such as operating as a base station of a cellular network, or to provide a controller unit to a set of distributed units within a base station. Controller 32 is configured to set up an integrated, protected, and secure communication channel for communicating with Device B, Device UE, Central Identity Server, First Responder Database, and other services outside the described system, and to provide the identity service function 204 of Figure 2.

[0108] Furthermore, device A is likely to be a base station device or other network access device coupled with core network functionality, and further comprises a backhaul communication module 35 that provides a direct satellite link as backhaul communication to enable internet access and data routing to the backbone network. Other means of backhaul communication, such as optical wireless communication (OWC), may be deployed in device A, either further or as an alternative.

[0109] Furthermore, device A includes a Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) module 33 (corresponding to the SLAM function 206 in Figure 2) which has sensors and a computer system (e.g., Radar, Lidar subsystems, etc.) for determining the MCI area and the number and type of devices to be deployed within the MCI area.

[0110] Device A operates location services (such as those specified in 3GPP® TS23.273) or location management functions (such as those specified in 3GPP® TS29.572), is equipped with a positioning module (e.g., a Global Positioning System (GPS)), has multiple antennas (e.g., for beamforming), and further supports various positioning functions (e.g., Observed Time Difference of Arrival (OTDOA), Enhanced Cell ID (E-CID), RF fingerprinting, Wi-Fi location, Bluetooth 5.1 angle of arrival (AoA) / angle of departure (AoD), positional triangulation / trilaterance), and their respective radio access features (such as sending and receiving a Positioning Reference Signal (PRS)). Device A can further connect to access device B to collaborate in location determination, perform precise synchronization between access devices B, and collaborate with PLMN base stations covering the same area, or retrieve location information from a location server operated by a roaming partner's PLMN.

[0111] In one example, an access device operated by a Public Land Mobile Communications Network (PLMN) operating within the same or partially overlapping area may be requested / invited (via a signal indicating an emergency, such as a public alarm system message) transmitted by an access device B of the first responder network, or via a backend connection between the network controller device of the first responder network and the PLMN, and then authorized and registered to operate as an additional access device of the first responder network.

[0112] Device A sets up a connection to the PLMN (e.g., via a Service Capability Exposure Function / Network Exposure Function (SCEF / NEF) interface or a Security Edge Protected Proxy (SEPP)) or sets up a connection to Device B so that it can send such requests / invitations to one or more base stations, and / or the capabilities of Device B (e.g., number of antennas, coverage area information, operating frequency, maximum transmission power, number of simultaneous calls covered, SSB configuration, radio capability (e.g., LTE or 5G)). NR features)) It is possible to request the location of device B and / or the current load of device B, and / or to securely set up connections between device A (and / or device B) and the requested / invited base station, and / or between the device and the PLMN, for the purpose of requesting the location of device B and / or the current load of device B, and / or setting up securely tunneled connections via backend connections (e.g., via SCEF / NEF or SEPP) to configure and control the requested / invited base station (e.g., using S1-AP, NG-AP, F1, N2 interface / protocol, or IAB interface). For this purpose, device A needs to perform several specific authentication, authorization, and verification steps by having a special key or certificate (e.g., digitally signed by a certificate authority for emergency personnel) so that it can connect to such a neighboring PLMN or base station device.

[0113] Figure 4 schematically shows block diagrams of anchor nodes (i.e., device B) according to various embodiments. These are unmanned robotic devices, including but not limited to drones and rovers.

[0114] Device B includes at least one transceiver (TRX) 31 for setting up wireless communication with wireless devices of the first responder network (e.g., Device A or Device UE), and a relay function (RLF) 42 that provides relay node capabilities (e.g., as described in 3GPP® TS24.334 V16.0.0 (2020-07): "Technical Specification Group Core Network and Terminals; Proximity-services (ProSe) User Equipment (UE) to ProSe function protocol aspects") controllable by Device A in specific locations limited to the MCI area.

[0115] Furthermore, device B includes a controller (CTRL) 43 configured to provide the ability to access the wireless first-party network provided by device A. The controller 43 is further configured to set up an integrated, protected, and secure communication channel for communication connectivity between device A and device UE.

[0116] Furthermore, device B also includes a positioning module (e.g., GPS), multiple antennas (e.g., for beamforming), and further supports various positioning functions (e.g., Observation Time of Arrival (OTDOA), Enhanced Cell ID (E-CID), RF fingerprinting, Wi-Fi location, Bluetooth 5.1 angle of arrival (AoA) / angle of departure (AoD), positional triangulation / trilatenching), and respective radio access features (e.g., transmission and reception of positioning reference signals (PRS)). Device B can also connect to access device B to cooperate in position determination and / or perform precise synchronization between access devices.

[0117] In addition, device B is also equipped with an exclusive wireless system (XWS) 44 (e.g., Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, LoRa, etc.) in addition to the radio access capabilities necessary to access the first responder network provided by device A. In one example, the exclusive wireless system 44 can be used for separate sidelink communication links both from device B to device A and between devices B, as well as to enable more precise positioning (for example, by further transmitting signals from these other radio access capabilities to a hybrid positioning module in a location service operated by network 200).

[0118] Figure 5 schematically shows flowcharts of the first responder network deployment procedure (for example, in device A) according to various embodiments.

[0119] At the initial initiation of device A within the MCI area, a predetermined number of devices B (and / or other devices, such as drones dedicated to mapping tasks that do not provide cellular access) are deployed in the field to survey and map the MCI area, and to calculate the severity and scale of the MCI area, for example, in the SLAM module 33 in Figure 3 (step S510). In step S520, the deployed devices B, communicated to the device via a wireless link, are deployed on device A, or on a cloud communicated via device A, and update the measurement parameters of device B (e.g., total area in square meters, structural anchor points, number of victims, etc.) to a local SLAM service controlled by the SLAM function 206 in Figure 2 or the SLAM module 33 in Figure 3. In step S530, the SLAM service predicts the total number of devices B and their locations required in the field to fully cover the MCI area, with or without human supervision. The procedure in step S530 is supported by the use of a machine learning model.

[0120] Based on the SLAM service results, device B is automatically deployed or removed from the field based on a predicted estimate of the number of first responders required to handle a particular MCI event.

[0121] More specifically, in step S530, the SLAM service estimates landmarks in a given geographic region based on sensor measurements obtained from sensors of device B22 and / or other devices dedicated to the mapping task. A landmark is a uniquely identifiable surface / object whose characteristics are estimated by the sensor. For example, the concrete wall of a high-rise building can be a landmark. size The refractive characteristics can be estimated, for example, by using a laser scanner or other optical measuring device present in at least some of the deployed device B22 and / or other devices specifically designed for mapping tasks.

[0122] While determining landmark boundaries using sensors from device B22 and / or other devices dedicated to the mapping task, the SLAM service in device A20 constructs a virtual 3D map of the MCI area using sensor data acquired from sensors from device B22 and / or other devices dedicated to the mapping task.

[0123] In addition to location and mapping measurements, the wireless radio provided on device B22 simultaneously measures wireless link quality parameters (including, but not limited to, received signal strength, channel status information, and reference signal received power) of the radio signal between device 20 and device B22, and between device B22 and mobile device UE24 attached to device B22, which covers the MCI area (and its location) at its current location. The SLAM service on device 20 will receive this wireless link quality information from each of the devices B22 and will further receive wireless link quality information from the mobile device UE24 attached to device B22 at a configurable sampling rate to determine white spots of radio signals within the target geographic area.

[0124] Sensor measurements and wireless link quality parameters between device A20 and device B22 and / or other measuring devices can be used to predict the precise location of access points (i.e., device B22) so that sufficient and reliable coverage of the wireless system of the first responder network 200 can be ensured and a specific minimum positioning accuracy can be achieved. Based on this precise prediction of the placement of device B, device A20 can deploy additional access devices B22 and / or relay devices to enhance coverage of the white spot area of ​​the wireless link between device A20 and device UE24 in the field, or to perform more precise positioning, preferably by enabling triangulation / trilateration from more anchor points using lines of sight to the entire target area. If there are redundant devices B22 in locations with good link quality, such redundant devices B22 can be removed (e.g., taken out of the location).

[0125] In MCI areas, the environment can change dynamically due to the catastrophic nature of events. Large buildings may collapse and become rubble, and large pieces of rubble may fill open spaces. The rubble in open spaces, including new metals, can change the environment to be both more favorable and less unfavorable for wireless communications. In such a constantly changing environment, the SLAM service will receive continuous measurement parameters from the sensors and wireless radios of device B22 and / or other devices dedicated to mapping tasks throughout the entire duration of the triage process in the MCI area, updating the SLAM service and ensuring high reliability and sufficient coverage for wireless connectivity.

[0126] Alternatively, the SLAM service can use an existing map of the target geographic area (e.g., OpenStreetMap) as a starting point for determining the number of Device B22s, and update the existing map with measurement data acquired from Device B22 and / or other devices dedicated to the mapping task. Machine learning models can be used to predict both small environmental changes (e.g., a collapsed compound wall) and large environmental changes (e.g., a collapsed multi-story building) based on sensor data, and to determine anchor points (Device B22 and / or other devices dedicated to the mapping task) based on new landmarks acquired from the SLAM service.

[0127] Alternatively, when there are no major landmarks in the MCI area (e.g., a plane crash into a meadow without buildings), wireless link quality measurements can be used as an indicator of the distance between device B22 and device A20, or as distance-dependent measurements. In one example, the sensor on device B22 can be used for a rough distance estimation between device A20 and device B22, and wireless link quality is mapped as distance between device A20 and device B22.

[0128] Finally, in step S540, a location or positioning function (as described above) or a location management function is applied to determine the location information of one or more devices UE24.

[0129] More specifically, device B22 is used (in cooperation with location / positioning or location management functions) to count the number of wireless communication devices within a specific target area and / or determine the current location of wireless communication devices. This can indicate the number of injured persons in the area, or more specifically, the number of injured persons in / near a specific tarp. It can also detect and track the movement of devices belonging to victims or first responder personnel, assisting first responder personnel for logistical purposes and ensuring that no one gets lost or forgotten in the chaos of an MCI event.

[0130] Information acquired by device B22 (in cooperation with location / positioning or location management functions) is also used to distinguish between moving devices (e.g., indicating that the person carrying the device is not severely injured) and devices that have not moved for an extended period (e.g., indicating that the person carrying the device is severely injured), and simultaneously to distinguish first responder devices from other devices (e.g., based on the registration or capabilities of other devices), further identify clusters of areas where people are grouped (e.g., indicating victims or bystanders in a specific triage area), and, if necessary, exclude these devices from the identified set of moving and non-moving devices. Based on this information, device A deploys access devices to a specific area, such as an area with many non-moving devices (e.g., sending additional drones or relocating drones). Furthermore, the number of counted devices is used to request a specific first responder to move to a specific area (for example, by sending a message within a communication channel or application), or to request additional assistance (for example, by requesting additional first responder personnel to get involved), and / or to determine the initial "size" of a triage area.

[0131] Furthermore, device B22 is used to detect signals from the injured or victim's device UE24 (e.g., a mobile phone) (e.g., under rubble).

[0132] In one example, device A receives information about the target wireless coverage area and the desired positioning accuracy, calculates the space on device B (anchor nodes) that will be deployed to provide wireless coverage throughout the entire target wireless coverage area based on the number of device B (anchor nodes), the 3D coordinates of device B across the relative coordinate system covering the target wireless coverage area, the configurable positioning accuracy, and the capabilities of device B, and provides device B with 3D coordinates and network configuration information.

[0133] The positioning accuracy of the first responder network 200 generally refers to the difference between the true position of the target device in a horizontal or vertical plane relative to the device UE24 and the estimated position of the device UE24. When considering three-dimensional user space, the accuracy of the wireless system can be represented within a combined horizontal and vertical plane relative to the device UE24. Furthermore, the precision of positioning accuracy refers to the resolution of the user space (e.g., the area of ​​a horizontal plane, a vertical plane, or a combination of horizontal and vertical planes, or the volume of a three-dimensional cube) in which the accuracy of the wireless communication system can be consistently achieved over a statistically significant number of positioning measurements.

[0134] In one example, a first-party network with a 10-meter positioning accuracy in a horizontal plane and 99% accuracy means that only one out of hundreds of location estimates for device UE24 lies outside the 10m radius circle whose center is the estimated position of device UE24 in the horizontal plane. The actual location of device UE24 could be anywhere within this 10m radius circle. If the accuracy of such a system is improved to 1m, the actual location of device UE could be anywhere within the 1m radius circle whose center is the estimated position of device UE in the horizontal plane. In other words, positioning accuracy is the closeness of the estimate to the actual value, while precision is the repeatability of the estimates within the same range.

[0135] In another example, positioning accuracy can be affected by the altitude of a device UE in a two-dimensional plane. For instance, device UE may be at a distance d1 from a second device UE, but rising by an angle of 30° in the direction of the azimuth. For a better illustration, consider the example of a clock. If a measuring device UE is at the center of a clock with a radius of, for example, 2m, the distance of the minute hand to any minute position in the clock is always 2m. On the other hand, when the minute hand points to 15 minutes (3 o'clock), the elevation angle between the vertex and the azimuth from the center is 90°, and when the minute hand points to 10 minutes (2 o'clock), the elevation angle is approximately 30°. When expressing distance and accuracy in any positioning system, the azimuth angle between devices in a two-dimensional coordinate system and the orientation of the devices in the vertex direction and their corresponding altitude are taken into consideration when calculating the distance measurement accuracy. Furthermore, the calculation of vertex and azimuth angles in relation to the distance measured is used in distance measurement and positioning systems, including but not limited to GPS, GNSS, or Bluetooth angle of arrival (AoA). Any accuracy parameter expressed in terms of distance can be appropriately transformed into any coordinate system (e.g., celestial coordinates, polar coordinates, geographic coordinates, projected coordinates) that derives the elevation angle in terms of vertex and azimuth angles, depending on the physical properties of the device and its measurements.

[0136] In one example, device A can be configured to provide a standalone end-to-end wireless system (e.g., a cellular network with the necessary hardware and software for base stations, a core network, and a backhaul network for providing the internet and data routes) via off-the-grid connectivity (e.g., deployed as a small cell system with a non-public network) or via an existing telecommunications grid (e.g., with an existing mobile network operator (MNO) backbone deployed).

[0137] In one example, device A can be configured to calculate the number of device B (anchor nodes) needed to be deployed for a specific MCI event by conducting an automated survey of a disaster area using sensors and technologies, including but not limited to SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping), radar, and lidar technologies, which include the ability to estimate the distance and presence of objects by ranging and area recreation by reconstructing images taken by optical and RF sensors, and by performing an automated survey of the disaster area, including relay nodes for extending signals from anchor nodes within the coverage of device A.

[0138] In one example, device A can be configured to automatically adjust and provide reliable and continuous positioning accuracy to provide complete coverage of the MCI area by calculating and predetermining the location of device B (anchor node).

[0139] In one example, device A can be configured to deploy device B (anchor node), which includes an unmanned robotic device (e.g., a drone) that is remotely operable or autonomous and serves as a cellular base station or repeater.

[0140] In one example, device A continuously monitors information about infrastructure usage, signal quality, and / or location accuracy and feeds it back to device B, which can then be configured to dynamically add or remove device B based on the requirements of MCI events.

[0141] In one example, device A can be configured to deploy flying or ground relay nodes (e.g., autonomous or remotely controlled rovers) to extend wireless signal coverage to areas inaccessible to humans, such as locations deeply buried under rubble or debris from an MCI event, and to improve positioning accuracy using the extended coverage and / or additional positioning sensors (e.g., radar, LIDAR, infrared cameras, etc.).

[0142] Figure 6 schematically shows flowcharts of the first responder network location confirmation and mapping procedure in various embodiments (for example, in device B).

[0143] In step S610, based on the initial determination of device A, device B is deployed to the target field of the MCI area. Then, in step S620, the deployed device B performs measurements to derive measurement parameters within the target field of the MCI area (e.g., total area in square meters, structural anchor points, number of victims, etc.).

[0144] Next, in step S630, the acquired or updated measurement parameters are transmitted to device A. Furthermore, the deployed device B invites device UE in the target field to register with the core network operated by device A.

[0145] In the optional step S640, deployed device B, which is communication-coupled to device A, is controlled by the device to function as a relay base station (for example, as described in 3GPP® TS36.216 “Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA); Physical layer for relaying operation” or 3GPP® TS38.174 “Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB) radio transmission and reception”), and the relay base station can relay messages received from device UE (for example, by extracting data from the received signal, applying noise correction techniques, and retransmitting a new “clean” signal within its own coverage zone) so that the device’s signal coverage can be extended across the entire field of the MCI area without overloading the resources of device A.

[0146] In one example, device B (anchor node) can be configured to receive 3D coordinates and network configuration information from device A and initiate wireless communication with one or more device UEs.

[0147] In one example, and generally for a first responder device, device B (anchor node) of the system may also backscatter information to and from the anchor node and between the anchor node and the infrastructure using wireless signals from the environment (e.g., from television white noise or interference signals), and as a result, if the wireless signal is illegally interrupted using interference, device B may communicate mission-critical information using an additional backscatter channel, or exchange control signals over a secure channel in addition to control signals transmitted and received in a conventional manner, enabling energy-efficient redundancy in the transmission of mission-critical information in the network.

[0148] Accordingly, in an independent aspect of the present invention, a device is proposed for supporting the establishment of a wireless first responder network, the device being configured to communicate information from an anchor node to a network controller device and / or to buffer communications from one or more wireless communication devices using additional backscatter or secure channels.

[0149] In one example, device B (anchor node) is configured to automatically switch its relay function on or off by constantly monitoring the load capacity of the first responder network, for example, and to work in conjunction with device A to optimize the network topology.

[0150] In one example, relative positioning information between devices is used to form triage groups. More specifically, a patient's or triage officer's device UE communicates with another patient's or triage officer's device UE to determine the relative position between the device UEs, either via a sidelink (as described in ProSe, for example) or via any other in-band or out-of-band communication. This relative position between the device UEs is transmitted to device A so that device A can group the device UEs based on their relative distance from each other, enabling efficient tracking of color-coded triage groups at a system level. The positioning accuracy can then be determined by the device for the urgency of a particular triage group. Alternatively, a device UE may, without any control from device A, use relative or absolute positioning information in addition to the triage information of the other patient's device UEs to form groups of device UEs according to the urgency of the triage group.

[0151] In one example, monitoring and feedback of network resources can be used to deploy an additional device B (anchor node) to balance network usage by device UEs. More specifically, a deployed device B acting as an anchor node in the field continuously monitors the infrastructure usage, signal quality, and / or positional accuracy of device UEs connected to device B. Based on an analysis of the monitoring information and its total capacity, device B determines the need for an additional anchor node (device B), thereby ensuring that the positioning accuracy and reliability requirements of its wireless connection are achieved over time. Degradation caused by the full utilization of wireless resources by device B can be efficiently minimized by gracefully transferring a predetermined number of device UEs served by device B to a newly deployed anchor node (device B) in the area. Alternatively, device B can be communicate-coupled to device A so that the analysis and decision of monitoring information for deploying an additional anchor node for graceful handling of network resources can be performed on device A's behalf.

[0152] In one example, the number of device B (anchor nodes) can be calculated based on changes caused by MCI events within the MCI area, such as a 9 / 11 type event, where a building disappears and a new pile of rubble is formed, which can affect signal propagation. More specifically, when device B is deployed, device A is caused by the initial MCI event, or a new event that has recurred within the MCI area, (e.g., the presence, location, and massive accumulation of large metal fragments or RF-conductive debris). size Device A can receive additional information about changes in the MCI area environment (such as information). Upon receiving this information from various devices B within the MCI area, device A can automatically map the changes caused by MCI events to the infrastructure of the MCI area and determine the number of devices B (anchor nodes) required for the necessary geographical target areas.

[0153] In one example, a multilateration technique (e.g., Downlink Observation Time of Arrival Difference (OTDoA), as specified in 3GPP® TS37.355 “LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP)”) is used to improve positioning accuracy in indoor and densely populated urban scenarios. In such scenarios, device A signals a positioning accuracy improvement mechanism to device B, which is located within the target area. Upon receiving this signal from device A, device B in the target area can signal to device UEs and other anchor nodes within the target area (e.g., a positioning reference signal PRS, as specified in 3GPP® TS38.305 “NG Radio Access Network (NG-RAN); Functional Specification for User Equipment (UE) Positioning in Stage 2 NG-RAN”). Upon receiving this signal, the device UE and anchor node can calculate the time difference in arrival times from a reference device B and another device B (anchor node) that are precisely synchronized with each other in network time (e.g., a reference signal time difference RSTD as specified in 3GPP® TS36.133 “Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA); Requirements for support of radio resource management”). For this purpose, the device UE itself calculates its position based on the arrival time difference, assuming that the device UE has received a reference position from the anchor node and / or timing information that can be calculated. Alternatively, the device UE transmits the measured arrival time difference to device B (e.g., via an RSTD message) and / or to a location service operated by device A (or another device in the first responder network) via device B.

[0154] Device UE requires at least three arrival time measurements, meaning that device UE needs at least two equations to solve two unknown parameters. Therefore, to achieve two-dimensional horizontal positioning accuracy for device UE, it must receive PRS signals from at least three different devices B (anchor nodes). For example, if device UE receives PRS signals from three anchor nodes AN1, AN2, and AN3, and AN3 is the reference device B of device UE, the location coordinates of device UE in a two-dimensional plane are determined by the distance D from reference device B, using the equation from Fang's method (https: / / ieeexplore.ieee.org / document / 102710). DevUE It can be estimated that it is located there.

number

[0155] The noise function can be modeled in multiple ways to estimate the optimal position of anchor nodes within the MCI area for given environmental conditions and positioning accuracy.

[0156] A similar equation, but in the time domain, is used by 3GPP® in TS36.133 “Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA); Requirements for support of radio resource management in various sections”. The noise model is estimated for various parameters (e.g., number of PRSs, PRS cell changes, carrier-specific scaling factors, etc.) in different sections of the 3GPP® document TS36.133.

[0157] A similar model can be extended by measuring at least four reference signals from four different anchor nodes (e.g., PRS as specified in 3GPP® TS38.305 “NG Radio Access Network (NG-RAN); Stage 2 functional specification of User Equipment (UE) positioning in NG-RAN”) to accurately solve the three-dimensional coordinates of device UE within the target area of ​​device B.

[0158] Generally, the accuracy of location improves as more measurements are performed and more anchor nodes strategically positioned and involved in signal transmission are deployed within an area (especially when more devices are deployed using lines of sight to devices whose location needs to be determined). Furthermore, better synchronization of the involved devices and a larger bandwidth used for the location reference signal make better location accuracy achievable. Additionally, access devices can coordinate the transmission of their location reference signals in ways that prevent interference between them, that each access device covers a different portion of the spectrum, and / or that allow access devices to temporarily suspend the transmission of other signals so that the maximum bandwidth and clearest signal can be used for the location reference signal.

[0159] Similarly, an Uplink Observation Time of Arrival (UTDoA) can be deployed, and the UTDoA requests the device UE to transmit a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) or Position Reference Signal (PRS), which is then received by one or more access devices B, and access devices B can determine the location of the device UE based on trilateration using the arrival time differences measured at different access devices. In this case, the more access devices deployed and placed in strategic locations, the more accurate the position estimation becomes.

[0160] In one example, the first responder can configure device A to have the necessary positional accuracy for the MCI area at various stages of triage, and as a result, device A can combine this positioning requirement with knowledge of the infrastructure within the MCI area to deploy or remove additional device B (anchor nodes) within the MCI area. Alternatively, the first responder can configure device B to have positional accuracy such that device B is limited to the first responder's current geographical target location, allowing for decisions to be made to add or remove additional anchor nodes.

[0161] Furthermore, device B can communicate with device A and / or a third-party positioning server to calculate the position of the anchor node within the MCI area based on a desired accuracy, or simply on accuracy. For example, the desired accuracy can be represented by the area in which device UE can truly be placed (e.g., 1m horizontally and 3m vertically from the actual position of device UE). Optimal accuracy can be achieved by making the area or volume extremely small, so that the position of device UE can be accurately represented by the intersection of a circle, sphere, or hyperbola drawn with a radius equal to the distance between the anchor node and device UE. Continuous distance measurements (e.g., distance-dependent signal quality, TDoA, and / or round-trip time calculation) will always fluctuate dynamically due to a large tolerance within the MCI area, and this tolerance can reduce the accuracy of the device UE's positioning accuracy due to the principle of geometric dilution of accuracy. In any distance measurement system (e.g., RSRP, TDoA), location estimation is known to be affected by geometric dilution of accuracy due to the persistent and large error limits of distance measurements. To compensate for the dilution of accuracy, device B constantly calculates the ratio of position error to range error, either directly or via device A. The absolute position of a reference device UE within the target area (e.g., GPS, GNSS) can be used in device B to calculate the persistent position error.

[0162] This ratio between position error and range error, also known as accuracy dilution (in the geometric horizontal or vertical plane, for example, due to time or positional differences of anchor nodes), is available to device B to determine the certainty of positioning accuracy. An optimal positioning system has a single value for this ratio. In one example, as the accuracy dilution of a particular device B increases (e.g., >2), device B can adjust the position of its corresponding anchor node so that the area or volume in which device UE can be truly placed decreases, either directly or via device A, which improves the positioning accuracy of device UE located within the target area. Furthermore, the precise position of device B to provide the desired positioning accuracy in both two-dimensional and three-dimensional space within the target area can be estimated by using an estimator function (e.g., a Kalman filter) by inferring the deterioration of positioning accuracy in response to the geometric dilution of accuracy caused to device B by adjacent anchor nodes.

[0163] In another example, device B adds additional anchor nodes in the horizontal plane, vertical plane, or both, directly or via device A, to reduce the area or volume in which device UE can be placed with improved accuracy, with the horizontal and vertical planes corresponding to device UE. Alternatively, if two anchor nodes are placed in positions that cause canceling interference in the distance measurement, device B can simply adjust the position of one of the anchor nodes to a new position, in which case the distance measurement error and the area or volume in which device UE can be placed are reduced.

[0164] Device B acquires knowledge of changes in the MCI area infrastructure from Device A, and this knowledge can be combined with positioning accuracy configurations in Device B to add or remove additional Device B units. For example, during the first 20 minutes of an MCI event, the positioning accuracy can be set to several hundred meters, while after one hour of triage, finer detail of the device UE's location in the sub-meter range is needed, as triage officers and injured persons may be dynamically moving within a small area to search for and rescue injured persons in the field. Then, during the last 20 minutes of triage, the positioning accuracy can be set again to several hundred meters, in which case the triage officers have completed the triage procedures within the MCI area and only a limited number of officers remain in the field.

[0165] The principle of accuracy dilution is used to improve or reduce positioning accuracy depending on the dynamic requirements for the desired positional accuracy, including but not limited to available resources, application settings, propagation channels, environment, and wireless frequencies of communication.

[0166] In one example, an authorized network controller (either an automated software function or a human) interacts with device A (for example, as specified in 3GPP® TS29.522: "Network Exposure Function Northbound APIs") to manually discard the network topology and alternately switch the relay function of device B.

[0167] In summary, a wireless network system has been described that can deploy an emergency first responder network during MCI events to provide communication and accurate positioning services. The proposed system provides extended coverage within the constantly changing MCI area while ensuring accurate positioning of victims and triage officers within the MCI area, thereby improving logistics efficiency, triage, and clinical diagnosis management.

[0168] For example, location information of the victim's device can be used by the first responder to quickly divide the MCI area into various triage areas, so that the first responder's team members know the location of the first responder and the victim, and can determine where to provide initial treatment without overlapping with other team members.

[0169] Although the present invention has been illustrated and described in detail in the drawings and the foregoing description, such illustrations and descriptions should be considered illustrative or exemplary and not limiting. The present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed. It is applicable to various types of device UE, such as mobile phones, vital sign monitoring / remote measurement devices, smartwatches, detectors, or other types of portable devices.

[0170] Wireless communication devices (device UEs) can be various types of devices, such as mobile phones, vehicles (for vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication or more commonly, vehicle-to-road vehicle-to-vehicle (V2X) communication), V2X devices, IoT hubs, IoT devices including low-power medical sensors for health monitoring, medical (emergency) diagnostic and treatment devices for hospitals or first responders, and virtual reality (VR) headsets.

[0171] Device A is any network access device that provides a geographical service area (such as a base station, node B (eNB, eNodeB, gNB, gNodeB, ng-eNB, etc.), access point, etc.).

[0172] Furthermore, at least some of the embodiments described above are based on 5G New Radio (5G NR) radio access technology. Specifically, the relay function enables multi-hop indirect network connectivity for remote communication devices, specifically achieving improved coverage for communication devices within the first responder network and improved low-power operation for IoT communication devices.

[0173] Furthermore, the present invention is applicable to medical applications or connected healthcare in which multiple wireless (e.g., 4G / 5G) connected sensor or actuator nodes participate, where wireless (e.g., 4G / 5G) connected devices occasionally utilize or generate continuous data streaming at a specific average data rate, such as video, ultrasound, X-ray, computed tomography (CT) imaging devices, real-time patient sensors, and audio or voice or video streaming devices used by medical personnel; in general IoT applications including wireless, mobile, or fixed, sensor or actuator nodes (e.g., smart cities, logistics, agriculture, etc.); in emergency services and critical communication applications; in V2X systems; in systems for improved coverage for 5G cellular networks using high frequency (e.g., mmWave) RF; and in any other application area of ​​5G communications in which relay is used.

[0174] Other variations of the embodiments disclosed are understandable and implementable by those skilled in the art in practicing the claimed invention, based on a review of the drawings, this disclosure, and the appended claims. In the claims, the word “equipped with” does not exclude other elements or steps, and singular elements do not exclude plural elements. A single processor or other unit enables the functionality of several of the items enumerated in the claims. The mere fact that certain measures are enumerated in mutually different dependent claims does not indicate that combinations of these measures cannot be used advantageously. The foregoing description details certain embodiments of the invention. Nevertheless, it will be recognized that no matter how much the foregoing appears in detail in this text, the invention is practiced in many ways and is therefore not limited to the embodiments disclosed. It should be noted that the use of certain technical terms when describing certain features or aspects of the invention should not be taken as suggesting that the technical terms have been redefined herein to include any inherent characteristics of the feature or aspect of the invention to which the term relates.

[0175] A single unit or device performs the functions of several items enumerated in the claims. The mere fact that certain measures are enumerated in different dependent claims does not indicate that combinations of these measures cannot be used advantageously.

[0176] The operations described, such as those shown in Figures 5 and 6, can be implemented as program code means of a computer program and / or as dedicated hardware for the relevant communication or access device, respectively. The computer program is stored and / or distributed on appropriate media such as optical storage media or solid-state media, supplied together with or as part of other hardware, but may also be distributed in other forms, such as via the Internet or other wired or wireless telecommunications systems.

Claims

1. A device for establishing a wireless first-party network, wherein the device is Receiving information about the dimensions of the target wireless coverage area, Based on the capabilities of the anchor nodes, the number of anchor nodes and the locations of the anchor nodes within the target wireless coverage area are determined in order to provide wireless coverage within the target wireless coverage area. The determined location and network configuration information is provided to the determined anchor node, and A device whose network configuration information includes the authority to disregard the location privacy of one or more wireless communication devices.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the number of anchor nodes is determined by performing an automated survey of at least a target wireless coverage area in order to estimate at least one of the distance and presence of an object and its transmission characteristics by ranging measurement or by reconstructing an image.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the determination of the geographic location of the anchor node is repeatedly adapted to at least the target wireless coverage area.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1, which monitors the infrastructure usage and / or number of devices within the target wireless coverage area, as well as the quality of service requirements, signal quality, and / or positional accuracy of the devices, and dynamically adds or removes anchor nodes based on at least the requirements of the target wireless coverage area resulting from the monitoring.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein it deploys flying or ground relay nodes in order to extend the coverage of the wireless signal to inaccessible areas of at least the target wireless coverage area, and / or to improve positioning accuracy using the extended coverage and / or using additional positioning sensors based on the determined number of anchor nodes or the positions of the anchor nodes.

6. The apparatus according to claim 1, which counts the number of wireless communication devices within a specific target area and / or determines the location of the wireless communication devices.

7. The apparatus according to claim 1, which enables setting the required positioning accuracy for the target wireless coverage area through an application programming interface or configuration interface, and combines the set positioning accuracy with at least available infrastructure information for the target wireless coverage area in order to change the location of anchor nodes, or to deploy additional anchor nodes within the target wireless coverage area or remove existing anchor nodes.

8. The apparatus according to claim 1, comprising: detecting access devices of another wireless network operating within the target wireless coverage area; and requesting the detected access devices to adapt their communication scheduling to the determination of the location of an anchor node or wireless communication device, or to participate in the determination of the location of an anchor node or wireless communication device, or to redirect data traffic from the wireless communication device to the first wireless responder network.

9. A device for supporting the establishment of a wireless first-party network, wherein the device is Connecting to the aforementioned wireless first compatible network, The anchor node of the aforementioned wireless first-party network establishes a wireless connection to a wireless communication device, Receiving at least one of the following from the network controller device of the wireless first compatible network: location information of the anchor node, information about the target geographic region, communication characteristics information of an object in the target geographic region, and network configuration information; To enable wireless communication between the anchor node and one or more wireless communication devices based on at least one of the location information, the information about the target geographic area, the communication characteristics information, and the network configuration information, To enable one or more of the aforementioned wireless communication devices to communicate with the core network of the first wireless communication network, or to determine the location information of one or more of the aforementioned wireless communication devices, the anchor node is used, A device whose network configuration information includes the authority to disregard the location privacy of one or more wireless communication devices.

10. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the apparatus communicates information from the anchor node to the network controller device using additional backscatter or secure channels, and / or buffers the communications from the one or more wireless communication devices.

11. The apparatus according to claim 1 or 9, wherein the apparatus determines the need for additional anchor nodes based on the received network configuration information and the capacity of the anchor nodes.

12. The apparatus according to claim 1, which enables setting the positioning accuracy at the anchor node and determines the deployment or removal of another anchor node in the target wireless coverage area based on the received network configuration information.

13. The apparatus according to claim 1 or 9, wherein the anchor node receives at least one of the following: the location of a wireless communication device, the distance between a predetermined center of the wireless communication device and a group of wireless communication devices, and characteristic information about the wireless communication device and / or the user of the wireless communication device, and determines a cluster or group of wireless communication devices based on at least one of the following: the location of the wireless communication device, the distance between a predetermined center of the wireless communication device and a group of wireless communication devices, and characteristic information about the wireless communication device and / or the user of the wireless communication device.

14. Identifying the wireless communication devices within the determined cluster, To detect the movement of the identified wireless communication device between different clusters and / or to associate the identified wireless communication device with a cluster, monitor the location of the identified wireless communication device within the cluster, or to determine a change in the cluster to which the identified wireless communication device is associated, monitor at least one communication characteristic of the identified wireless communication device within the cluster, Allocating or disallocating network resources according to the location and / or distance of the identified wireless communication device to the associated cluster. The apparatus according to claim 13, which performs the following.

15. A network controller device for accessing the wireless first compatible network, comprising the device described in Claim 1.

16. An anchor node for making a wireless connection to a wireless communication device in the wireless first compatible network, comprising the apparatus described in claim 11.

17. The anchor node according to claim 16, comprising an unmanned robotic device that can be operated remotely or autonomously and serves as a cellular access device or relay device.

18. A wireless communication system comprising a network controller device according to claim 15 for operating a core network, an anchor node according to claim 16 connected to the network controller device, and one or more wireless communication devices.

19. The system according to claim 18, configured as a standalone end-to-end wireless system and further comprising connectivity to a backhaul network.

20. A method for establishing a wireless first-party network, A step of receiving information about the dimensions of the target wireless coverage area, The steps of determining the number of anchor nodes and the locations of the anchor nodes within the target wireless coverage area in order to provide wireless coverage within the target wireless coverage area based on the capabilities of the anchor nodes, The process includes the step of providing the determined location and network configuration information to the determined anchor node, A method wherein the network configuration information includes the authority to disregard the location privacy of one or more wireless communication devices.

21. A method for supporting the establishment of a wireless first-party network, The steps include connecting to the aforementioned wireless first compatible network, The steps include: establishing a wireless connection to a wireless communication device at the anchor node of the wireless first compatible network; The steps include receiving at least one of the following from the network controller device of the wireless first responder network: location information of the anchor node, information about the target geographic region, communication characteristics information of an object in the target geographic region, and network configuration information; A step of enabling wireless communication between the anchor node and one or more wireless communication devices based on at least one of the location information, the information about the target geographic area, the communication characteristics information, and the network configuration information, The method includes the step of using the anchor node to enable one or more wireless communication devices to communicate with the core network of the first wireless communication network, or to determine the location information of one or more wireless communication devices, A method wherein the network configuration information includes the authority to disregard the location privacy of one or more wireless communication devices.

22. A computer program, when executed on a computer device, comprising coding means for causing the device to perform the steps of the method according to claim 20 or 21.

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