Communication coordination and power saving techniques for augmented reality applications

Abstract

A user device (UE) may establish a connection with a network for the transmission of multiple data bursts, which additionally include multiple data segments. The UE may transmit to the network a first data segment corresponding to a first Quality of Service flow identifier (QFI) associated with a first Quality of Service (QoS) flow and a second data segment corresponding to a second QFI associated with a second QoS flow. The UE may be configured to map one or more data segments to one or more QFIs based on at least one of a slice type, a frame type, a modulo operation, and a sequence number. Multiple data bursts may be transmitted according to at least one of one or more configured acknowledgments (CGs), one or more dynamic acknowledgments (DGs), and one or more instances of one or more CGs or one or more DGs.

Description

Technology Field

[0001] The present application relates to wireless devices, and more specifically, to devices, systems, and methods for coordinating communication and providing power saving techniques for extended reality applications operating in wireless communication systems. Background Technology

[0002] The use of wireless communication systems is increasing rapidly. In recent years, wireless devices such as smartphones and tablet computers have become increasingly sophisticated. Many mobile devices (i.e., User Equipment Devices or UEs) now, in addition to supporting phone calls, provide access to the Internet, email, text messaging, and navigation using GPS (Global Positioning System), and can run sophisticated applications that utilize these capabilities. Additionally, numerous different wireless communication technologies and standards exist. Some examples of wireless communication standards include GSM, UMTS (associated with, for example, WCDMA or TD-SCDMA air interfaces), LTE, LTE-A (LTE Advanced), HSPA, 3GPP2 CDMA2000 (e.g., 1xRTT, 1xEV-DO, HRPD, eHRPD), IEEE 802.11 (WLAN or Wi-Fi), and BLUETOOTH TM Includes the back.

[0003] The increasing number of features and functions introduced into wireless communication devices also creates a continuous need for improvement in both wireless communications and wireless communication devices. In particular, it is important to ensure the accuracy of transmitted and received signals through wireless devices, such as cellular phones used in wireless cellular communication, base stations, and relay stations, via User Equipment Devices (UEs). Under certain circumstances, UEs may experience delays in data reception (e.g., low latency) that can negatively affect the performance and user experience of certain Extended Reality (XR) applications running on the UE. Additionally, increasing the functionality of a UE device can place a significant burden on its battery life. For example, certain applications running high-definition graphics may require increased power consumption to process said graphics. Therefore, it is very important to reduce power requirements in UE device designs while allowing the UE device to maintain good transmit and receive capabilities for improved communications.

[0004] In order to increase coverage and better meet the increasing demands and range of envisioned uses of wireless communication, additional wireless communication technologies, including 5th generation (5G) NR (new radio) communication, are being developed in addition to the communication standards mentioned above. Therefore, improvements are required in this field of technology to support such development and design.

[0005] The embodiments relate to devices, systems, and methods for coordinating communication and providing power saving techniques for extended reality applications operating in wireless communication systems.

[0006] In some embodiments, the user equipment (UE) may establish a connection with a network for transmitting a plurality of data bursts, which additionally include a plurality of data segments. The UE may transmit to the network a first data segment corresponding to a first Quality of Service flow identifier (QFI) associated with a first Quality of Service (QoS) flow and a second data segment corresponding to a second QFI associated with a second QoS flow.

[0007] According to some embodiments, among a plurality of data bursts, a first data burst may include a first data segment and a second data segment. Additionally or alternatively, among a plurality of data bursts, a first data burst may include a first data segment, and among a plurality of data bursts, a second data burst may include a second data segment. In some embodiments, the first data segment may correspond to a first application data unit (ADU) or a first slice, and the second data segment may correspond to a second ADU or a second slice.

[0008] According to additional embodiments, the UE may be configured to map one or more data segments of a plurality of data segments to one or more QFIs based on at least one indication of a timer expiration, a sequence number, periodicity, one or more errors, and one or more measured conditions. In some embodiments, the UE may be configured to map one or more data segments of a plurality of data segments to one or more QFIs based on at least one of a slice type, a frame type, a modulo operation, and a sequence number.

[0009] In some embodiments, a plurality of data bursts may be transmitted according to at least one of one or more configured acknowledgments (CGs), one or more dynamic acknowledgments (DGs), and one or more instances of one or more CGs or one or more DGs. Additionally, according to some embodiments, one or more CGs or one or more DGs may be configured to have one or more periodicities between one or more instances of one or more CGs or one or more DGs.

[0010] The techniques described in this specification may be implemented and / or used with a number of different types of devices, including but not limited to any of cellular phones, tablet computers, wearable computing devices, portable media players, and various other computing devices.

[0011] The content of the present invention is intended to provide a brief overview of some of the subject matter described herein. Accordingly, it will be understood that the features described above are merely examples and should not be interpreted to limit the scope or concept of the subject matter described herein in any way. Other features, aspects, and advantages of the subject matter described herein will become apparent from the following detailed description, drawings, and claims. Brief explanation of the drawing

[0012] A better understanding of the subject of the invention can be obtained when the following detailed description of various embodiments is considered together with the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary wireless communication system according to some embodiments. FIG. 2 illustrates a base station (BS) communicating with a user equipment (UE) device according to some embodiments. FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of a UE according to some embodiments. FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of BS according to some embodiments. FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of a cellular communication circuit section according to some embodiments. FIG. 6 illustrates a wireless communication network for an extended reality (XR) application according to some embodiments. FIG. 7 illustrates different segments or parts of an extended reality application data burst according to some embodiments. FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating exemplary aspects of a method for mapping service quality flow identifiers (QFIs) to data segments of XR data bursts according to some embodiments. FIG. 9 illustrates an XR application data burst that has been modified to include mappings of QFIs to certain data segments according to some embodiments. FIG. 10 illustrates an exemplary transmission of an augmented reality application data burst utilizing one or more instances of configured approval according to some embodiments. While various modifications and alternative forms are permitted for the features described herein, specific embodiments of this specification are illustrated by way of example in the drawings and described in detail herein. However, it should be understood that the drawings and the detailed description therein are not intended to limit the specific forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives within the spirit and scope of the subject matter as defined by the appended claims. Specific details for implementing the invention

[0013] Abbreviations

[0014] Various acronyms are used throughout the invention. Definitions of the most predominantly used acronyms that may appear throughout the disclosure are provided as follows:

[0015] 3GPP Third Generation Partnership Project

[0016] TS Technical Specification

[0017] RAN Radio Access Network

[0018] RAT Radio Access Technology

[0019] UE User Equipment

[0020] RF Radio Frequency

[0021] BS : Base Station

[0022] DL : Downlink

[0023] UL Uplink

[0024] LTE Long Term Evolution

[0025] NR New Radio

[0026] 5GS : 5G System

[0027] 5GMM5GS Mobility Management

[0028] 5GC : 5G Core Network

[0029] RRC Radio Resource Control

[0030] MAC-CE Media Access Control-Control Element

[0031] DCI : Downlink Control Information

[0032] XR : Extended Reality

[0033] AF : Application Function

[0034] AS Application Server

[0035] ADU Application Data Unit

[0036] DN : Data Network

[0037] PDCP Protocol Data Convergence Protocol

[0038] SDUService Data Unit

[0039] NAL Network Abstraction Layer

[0040] RTP : Real-time Transport Protocol

[0041] RTCP Real-time Transport Control Protocol

[0042] QoS: Quality of Service

[0043] QFI : Quality of Service Flow Identifier

[0044] TX : Transmission / Transmit

[0045] RX : Reception (Reception / Receive)

[0046] DRB Data Radio Bearer

[0047] SN Sequence Number

[0048] CG : Configured Grant

[0049] DG : Dynamic Grant

[0050] AS: Access Stratum

[0051] NAS : Non-Access Stratum

[0052] LCH : Logical Channel

[0053] BLER Block Error Ratio

[0054] TB Transport Block

[0055] L1 : Layer-1

[0056] PDCCH : Physical Downlink Control Channel

[0057] Terms

[0058] The following is an explanation of the terms used in this disclosure:

[0059] memory media- Any of various types of non-transient memory devices or storage devices. The term “memory medium” is intended to include installation media, e.g., CD-ROMs, floppy disks, or tape devices; computer system memory or random access memory, e.g., DRAM, DDR RAM, SRAM, EDO RAM, Rambus RAM, etc.; non-volatile memory such as flash, magnetic media, e.g., hard drives, or optical storage; registers, or other similar types of memory elements, etc. The memory medium may also include other types of non-transient memory or combinations thereof. Additionally, the memory medium may be located in a first computer system where programs are executed, or in a different second computer system connected to the first computer system via a network such as the Internet. In the latter case, the second computer system may provide program instructions to the first computer for execution. The term “memory medium” may include two or more memory media residing in different locations, e.g., different computer systems connected via a network. A memory medium can store program instructions that can be executed by one or more processors (e.g., implemented as computer programs).

[0060] Carrier media - In addition to memory media as described above, physical transmission media such as buses and networks, and / or other physical transmission media that transmit signals such as electrical, electromagnetic, or digital signals.

[0061] Programmable hardware elements- Includes various hardware devices comprising multiple programmable function blocks connected via programmable interconnects. Examples include Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), Programmable Logic Devices (PLDs), Field Programmable Object Arrays (FPOAs), and Complex PLDs (CPLDs). The programmable function blocks can range from fine-grained (combinational logic or lookup tables) to coarse-grained (arithmetic logic units or processor cores). Programmable hardware elements may also be referred to as "reconfigurable logic".

[0062] computer system Any of the various types of computing or processing systems, including personal computer systems (PCs), mainframe computer systems, workstations, network appliances, Internet appliances, personal digital assistants (PDAs), television systems, grid computing systems, or other devices or combinations of devices. Generally, the term "computer system" may be broadly defined to include any device (or combination of devices) having at least one processor that executes instructions from a memory medium.

[0063] User Equipment (UE) (or “UE Device”) – Any of the various types of computer systems or devices that are mobile or portable and perform wireless communication. Examples of UE Devices include mobile phones or smartphones (e.g., iPhone™, Android™-based phones), portable gaming devices (e.g., Nintendo DS™, PlayStation Portable™, Gameboy Advance™, iPhone™), laptops, wearable devices (e.g., smartwatches, smart glasses), head-mounted displays, VR displays, XR devices, PDAs, portable internet devices, music players, data storage devices, or other handheld devices. Generally, the term “UE” or “UE Device” may be broadly defined to encompass any electronic, computing, and / or communication device (or combination of devices) that is easily transportable by a user and capable of wireless communication.

[0064] wireless devices - Any of the various types of computer systems or devices that perform wireless communication. A wireless device may be portable (or mobile) or may be stationary or fixed in a specific location. A UE is an example of a wireless device.

[0065] communication device Any of the various types of computer systems or devices that perform communications, the communications may be wired or wireless. The communication device may be portable (or mobile), stationary, or fixed in a specific location. A wireless device is an example of a communication device. A UE is another example of a communication device.

[0066] base station- The term "base station" encompasses the full scope of its general meaning and includes at least a wireless communication station installed at a fixed location and used to communicate as part of a wireless telephone system or a wireless system.

[0067] processing element (or processor) - Refers to various elements or combinations of elements capable of performing functions in devices such as user equipment or cellular network devices. Processing elements may include, for example, processors and associated memory, parts of individual processor cores or their circuits, entire processor cores, individual processors, processor arrays, circuits such as Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), programmable hardware elements such as Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), as well as any of the various combinations of the above.

[0068] channel- A medium used to transmit information from a transmitter (transmitter) to a receiver. It should be noted that since the characteristics of the term “channel” may vary depending on different wireless protocols, the term “channel” as used herein may be considered to be used in a manner consistent with the standard of the type of device for which this term is used by reference. In some standards, channel widths may be variable (e.g., depending on device capabilities, band conditions, etc.). For example, LTE may support scalable channel bandwidths of 1.4 MHz to 20 MHz. In contrast, WLAN channels may be 22 MHz wide, while Bluetooth channels may be 1 MHz wide. Other protocols and standards may include different definitions of channels. Furthermore, some standards may define and use multiple types of channels, for example, different channels for uplink or downlink and / or different channels for different uses, such as data, control information, etc.

[0069] treason - The term "band" has the full range of its general meaning and includes, at least, a section of the spectrum (e.g., radio frequency spectrum) where channels are used or set aside for the same purpose.

[0070] automatically- Refers to an action or operation being performed by a computer system (e.g., software executed by a computer system) or a device (e.g., circuits, programmable hardware elements, ASICs, etc.) without user input directly specifying or performing the action or operation. Therefore, the term "automatically" is contrasted with an action that is performed or specified manually by the user, where the user provides input that directly performs the operation. While an automatic procedure may be initiated by input provided by the user, subsequent actions performed "automatically" are not specified by the user; that is, they are not performed "manually" by the user specifying each action to be performed. For example, filling out an electronic form by a user selecting each field and providing input that specifies information (e.g., typing information, selecting checkboxes, selecting wireless communication devices, etc.) constitutes filling out the form manually, even if the computer system is required to update the form in response to user actions. A form may be automatically filled out by a computer system, wherein the computer system (e.g., software running on the computer system) analyzes the fields of the form and fills the form without any user input specifying responses to the fields. As indicated above, the user may invoke the automatic filling of the form but does not participate in the actual filling of the form (e.g., the user does not manually specify responses to the fields, but rather they are completed automatically). This specification provides various examples of actions that are automatically performed in response to actions taken by the user.

[0071] Approximately- Refers to an approximate or exact value. For example, "approximately" may refer to a value within 1 to 10 percent of the exact (or desired) value. However, it should be noted that the actual threshold value (or tolerance) may be application-dependent. For example, in some embodiments, "approximately" may mean within 0.1 percent of some specific or desired value, whereas in various other embodiments, the threshold may be, for example, 2 percent, 3 percent, 5 percent, etc., as desired or required by a specific application.

[0072] Simultaneous - Refers to concurrent execution or performance in which tasks, processes, or programs are performed in a manner that overlaps at least partially. For example, concurrency can be implemented using "strong" or strict concurrency when tasks are performed in parallel (at least partially) on individual computational elements, or using "weak concurrency" when tasks are performed in an interleaving manner, for example, by the time multiplexing of execution threads.

[0073] configured to ~- Various components may be described as being "configured" to perform a task or tasks. In such contexts, "configured" is a broad description generally meaning "having a structure that performs a task or tasks during operation." Thus, a component may be configured to perform a task even when the component is not currently performing that task (for example, a set of electrical conductors may be configured to electrically connect two modules even when one module is not connected to the other). In some contexts, "configured" may be a broad description of a structure generally meaning "having a circuit that performs a task or tasks during operation." Thus, a component may be configured to perform a task even when the component is not currently in an "on" state. Generally, the circuit forming the structure corresponding to "configured" may include hardware circuits.

[0074] Various components may be described as performing tasks or tasks for the convenience of description. Such descriptions should be interpreted as containing the phrase “configured to perform.” Referring to a component configured to perform one or more tasks is clearly intended not to apply the interpretation of 35 USC § 112(f) to that component.

[0075] Figs. 1 and 2 - Communication system

[0076] FIG. 1 illustrates a simplified exemplary wireless communication system according to some embodiments. It should be noted that the system of FIG. 1 is merely an example of a possible system and that the features of the present disclosure may be implemented in any of the various systems as desired.

[0077] As described, an exemplary wireless communication system includes a base station (102A) that communicates with one or more user devices (106A, 106B, etc. to 106N) through a transmission medium. Each of the user devices may be referred to herein as "User Equipment (UE)". Accordingly, the user devices (106) are referred to as UEs or UE devices.

[0078] The base station (BS) (102A) may be a base transceiver station (BTS) or a cell site ("cellular base station") and may include hardware that enables wireless communication with UEs (106A to 106N).

[0079] The communication area (or coverage area) of a base station may be referred to as a “cell.” The base station (102A) and UEs (106) may be configured to communicate over a transmission medium using any of the various radio access technologies (RATs), also referred to as radio communication technologies or communication standards, such as GSM, UMTS (e.g., associated with WCDMA or TD-SCDMA air interfaces), LTE, LTE-A (LTE-Advanced), 5G NR (5G new radio), HSPA, 3GPP2 CDMA2000 (e.g., 1xRTT, 1xEV-DO, HRPD, eHRPD), etc. Note that if the base station (102A) is implemented in the context of LTE, it may alternatively be referred to as an ‘eNodeB’ or ‘eNB’. Note that if the base station (102A) is implemented in the context of 5G NR, the base station may alternatively be referred to as a ‘gNodeB’ or ‘gNB’.

[0080] As described, the base station (102A) may also be equipped to communicate with the network (100) (e.g., among various possibilities, a core network of a cellular service provider, a communication network such as a public switched telephone network (PSTN), and / or the Internet). Thus, the base station (102A) can facilitate communication between user devices and / or between user devices and the network (100). In particular, the cellular base station (102A) can provide various communication capabilities to the UEs (106), such as voice, SMS, and / or data services.

[0081] Accordingly, a base station (102A) and other similar base stations (e.g., base stations (102B…102N)) operating according to the same or different cellular communication standards may be provided as a network of cells, and these may provide continuous or nearly continuous overlapping services to UEs (106A to 106N) and similar devices across a geographical area through one or more cellular communication standards.

[0082] Accordingly, while the base station (102A) may serve as a "serving cell" for UEs (106A to 106N) as illustrated in FIG. 1, each UE (106) may also receive signals (which may be provided by base stations (102B to 102N) and / or any other base stations) from one or more other cells (and possibly within their communication range) which may be referred to as "neighboring cells." Additionally, such cells may facilitate communication between user devices and / or between user devices and the network (100). Such cells may include "macro" cells, "micro" cells, "pico" cells, and / or cells providing any of various other granularities of service area size. For example, the base stations (102A, 102B) exemplified in FIG. 1 may be macro cells, whereas the base station (102N) may be a micro cell. Other configurations are also possible.

[0083] In some embodiments, the base station (102A) may be a next-generation base station, for example, a 5G New Radio System (5G NR) base station or a “gNB”. In some embodiments, the gNB may be connected to a legacy Evolved Packet Core (EPC) network and / or an NR Core (NR core) network. Additionally, the gNB cell may include one or more transition and reception points (TRPs). Additionally, a UE capable of operating under 5G NR may be connected to one or more TRPs within one or more gNBs. For example, it may be possible for the base station (102A) and one or more other base stations (102) to support joint transmission so that the UE (106) can receive transmissions from multiple base stations (and / or multiple TRPs provided by the same base station).

[0084] Note that the UE (106) can communicate using a number of wireless communication standards. For example, the UE (106) may be configured to communicate using wireless networking (e.g., Wi-Fi) and / or peer-to-peer wireless communication protocols (e.g., Bluetooth, Wi-Fi peer-to-peer, etc.) in addition to at least one cellular communication protocol (e.g., GSM, UMTS (e.g., associated with WCDMA or TD-SCDMA air interfaces), LTE, LTE-A, 5G NR, HSPA, 3GPP2 CDMA2000 (e.g., 1xRTT, 1xEV-DO, HRPD, eHRPD), etc.). Also, or alternatively, the UE (106) may be configured to communicate using one or more GNSS (global navigational satellite systems) (e.g., GPS or GLONASS), one or more mobile television broadcasting standards (e.g., ATSC-M / H or DVB-H), and / or, if desired, any other radio communication protocol. Other combinations of radio communication standards (including more than two radio communication standards) are also possible.

[0085] FIG. 2 illustrates a user device (106) (e.g., one of the devices (106A to 106N)) communicating with a base station (102) according to some embodiments. The UE (106) may be a device having cellular communication capabilities, such as a mobile phone, a handheld device, a computer, a laptop, a tablet, a smart watch, or other wearable device, or virtually any type of wireless device.

[0086] The UE (106) may include a processor (e.g., a processing element) configured to execute program instructions stored in memory. The UE (106) may perform any of the method embodiments described herein by executing such stored instructions. Alternatively or additionally, the UE (106) may include a programmable hardware element, such as a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), an integrated circuit, and / or any of various other possible hardware components, configured to perform any of the method embodiments described herein, or any part of any of the method embodiments described herein (e.g., individually or in combination).

[0087] The UE (106) may include one or more antennas for communicating using one or more wireless communication protocols or technologies. In some embodiments, the UE (106) may be configured to communicate using NR or LTE, for example, using at least some shared wireless components. As additional possibilities, the UE (106) may be configured to communicate using CDMA2000 (1xRTT / 1xEV-DO / HRPD / eHRPD) or LTE using a single shared wireless device and / or GSM or LTE using a single shared wireless device. The shared wireless device may be coupled to a single antenna or may be coupled to multiple antennas for performing wireless communications (e.g., for MIMO). Generally, the wireless device may include any combination of a baseband processor, an analog RF signal processing circuitry (e.g., including filters, mixers, oscillators, amplifiers, etc.), or a digital processing circuitry (e.g., for digital modulation as well as other digital processing). Similarly, a wireless communication device may implement one or more receiving and transmitting chains using the aforementioned hardware. For example, the UE (106) may share one or more parts of the receiving and / or transmitting chains among a number of wireless communication technologies such as those discussed above.

[0088] In some embodiments, for each wireless communication protocol (the UE (106) is configured to communicate using it), the UE may include separate transmit and / or receive chains (e.g., including separate antennas and other wireless components). As an additional possibility, the UE (106) may include one or more wireless communication devices shared among a number of wireless communication protocols, and one or more wireless communication devices used exclusively by a single wireless communication protocol. For example, the UE (106) may include a shared wireless communication device for communicating using either LTE or 5G NR (or, among various possibilities, either LTE or 1xRTT, or either LTE or GSM), and separate wireless communication devices for communicating using Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, respectively. Other configurations are also possible.

[0089] Fig. 3 - UE's Block diagram

[0090] FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary simplified block diagram of a communication device (106) according to some embodiments. Note that the block diagram of the communication device in FIG. 3 is merely an example of a possible communication device. According to embodiments, the communication device (106) may be, among other devices, a user equipment (UE) device, a mobile device or mobile station, a wireless device or wireless station, a desktop computer or computing device, a mobile computing device (e.g., a laptop, notebook, or portable computing device), a tablet, and / or a combination of devices. As illustrated, the communication device (106) may include a set of components (300) configured to perform core functions. For example, this set of components may be implemented as a system-on-chip (SOC), which may include parts for various purposes. Alternatively, this set of components (300) may be implemented as separate components or groups of components for various purposes. A set of components (300) can be coupled to various other circuits of the communication device (106) (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly).

[0091] For example, the communication device (106) may include various types of memory (e.g., NAND flash (310)), an input / output interface such as a connector I / F (320) (e.g., for connecting to a computer system; a dock; a charging station; input devices such as a microphone, camera, keyboard; output devices such as a speaker; etc.), a display (360) that may be integrated with or outside the communication device (106), and a wireless communication circuit (330) (e.g., for LTE, LTE-A, NR, UMTS, GSM, CDMA2000, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, NFC, GPS, etc.). In some embodiments, the communication device (106) may include a wired communication circuit (not shown), such as a network interface card for Ethernet, for example.

[0092] The wireless communication circuit (330) may be coupled (e.g., communicably; directly or indirectly) to one or more antennas, such as the antenna(s) (335) as illustrated. The wireless communication circuit (330) may include a cellular communication circuit and / or a short-to-medium-range wireless communication circuit, and may include a number of receiving chains and / or a number of transmitting chains for receiving and / or transmitting a number of spatial streams, for example in a multiple input multiple output (MIMO) configuration.

[0093] In some embodiments, as further described below, the cellular communication circuit (330) may include one or more receiving chains (e.g., a first receiving chain for LTE and a second receiving chain for 5G NR) for a plurality of RATs (including dedicated processors and / or wireless communication devices and / or coupled to them (e.g., communically; directly or indirectly). Additionally, in some embodiments, the cellular communication circuit (330) may include a single transmitting chain that can be switched between wireless communication devices dedicated to specific RATs. For example, the first wireless communication device may be dedicated to the first RAT, e.g., LTE, and may communicate with a transmitting chain shared with the second wireless communication device and a dedicated receiving chain. The second wireless communication device may be dedicated to the second RAT, e.g., 5G NR, and may communicate with a dedicated receiving chain and a shared transmitting chain.

[0094] The communication device (106) may also include one or more user interface elements and / or be configured to be used with them. The user interface elements may include any of various elements, such as a display (360) (which may be a touchscreen display), a keyboard (which may be a separate keyboard or implemented as part of a touchscreen display), a mouse, a microphone and / or speakers, one or more cameras, one or more buttons, and / or any of various other elements capable of providing information to the user and / or receiving or interpreting user input.

[0095] The communication device (106) may further include one or more smart cards (345) that include a SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) function, such as one or more UICC (Universal Integrated Circuit Card)(s) cards (345).

[0096] As illustrated, the SOC (300) may include processor(s) (302) capable of executing program instructions for a communication device (106) and a display circuit (304) capable of performing graphics processing and providing display signals to a display (360). The processor(s) (302) may also be coupled to a memory management unit (MMU) (340) which may be configured to receive addresses from the processor(s) (302) and convert such addresses into locations within memory (e.g., memory (306), read-only memory (ROM) (350), NAND flash memory (310)), and / or other circuits or devices such as the display circuit (304), wireless communication circuit (330), connector I / F (320), and / or the display (360). The MMU (340) may be configured to perform memory protection and page table translation or setup. In some embodiments, the MMU (340) may be included as part of the processor(s) (302).

[0097] As mentioned above, the communication device (106) may be configured to communicate using wireless and / or wired communication circuitry. As described in this specification, the communication device (106) may include hardware and software components for implementing any of the various features and techniques described in this specification. The processor (302) of the communication device (106) may be configured to implement some or all of the features described in this specification by executing program instructions stored, for example, in a memory medium (e.g., a non-transient computer-readable memory medium). Alternatively (or additionally), the processor (302) may be configured as a programmable hardware element, such as a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), or as an Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC). Alternatively (or additionally), the processor (302) of the communication device (106) may be configured to implement some or all of the features described herein together with one or more of the other components (300, 304, 306, 310, 320, 330, 340, 345, 350, 360).

[0098] Additionally, as described in this specification, the processor (302) may include one or more processing elements. Accordingly, the processor (302) may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of the processor (302). Additionally, each integrated circuit may include a circuit section (e.g., a first circuit section, a second circuit section, etc.) configured to perform the functions of the processor(s) (302).

[0099] Additionally, as described in this specification, the wireless communication circuit section (330) may include one or more processing elements. In other words, one or more processing elements may be included in the wireless communication circuit section (330). Accordingly, the wireless communication circuit section (330) may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of the wireless communication circuit section (330). Additionally, each integrated circuit may include a circuit section (e.g., a first circuit section, a second circuit section, etc.) configured to perform the functions of the wireless communication circuit section (330).

[0100] Fig. 4 - Base station block diagram

[0101] FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of a base station (102) according to some embodiments. Note that the base station of FIG. 4 is merely an example of a possible base station. As illustrated, the base station (102) may include processor(s) (404) capable of executing program instructions for the base station (102). The processor(s) (404) may also be coupled to a memory management unit (MMU) (440) or other circuits or devices that may be configured to receive addresses from the processor(s) (404) and convert such addresses into locations within memory (e.g., memory (460) and read-only memory (ROM) (450)).

[0102] The base station (102) may include at least one network port (470). The network port (470) may be coupled to a telephone network and configured to provide access to the telephone network as described in FIGS. 1 and FIGS. 2 above to a plurality of devices such as UE devices (106).

[0103] The network port (470) (or additional network port) may also, or alternatively, be configured to be coupled to a cellular network, for example, a core network of a cellular service provider. The core network may provide mobility-related services and / or other services to multiple devices, such as UE devices (106). In some cases, the network port (470) may be coupled to a telephone network through the core network, and / or the core network may provide a telephone network (for example, between other UE devices serviced by a cellular service provider).

[0104] In some embodiments, the base station (102) may be a next-generation base station, for example, a 5G New Radio System (5G NR) base station or a “gNB”. In such embodiments, the base station (102) may be connected to a legacy Evolved Packet Core (EPC) network and / or an NR Core (NRC) network. Additionally, the base station (102) may be considered a 5G NR cell and may include one or more Transition and Receive Points (TRPs). Additionally, a UE capable of operating according to 5G NR may be connected to one or more TRPs within one or more gNBs.

[0105] The base station (102) may include at least one antenna (434) and possibly multiple antennas. At least one antenna (434) may be configured to operate as a wireless transceiver and may be further configured to communicate with UE devices (106) via a wireless communication device (430). The antenna (434) communicates with the wireless communication device (430) via a communication chain (432). The communication chain (432) may be a receiving chain, a transmitting chain, or both. The wireless communication device (430) may be configured to communicate via various wireless communication standards, including but not limited to 5G NR, LTE, LTE-A, GSM, UMTS, CDMA2000, Wi-Fi, etc.

[0106] A base station (102) may be configured to communicate wirelessly using multiple wireless communication standards. In some cases, the base station (102) may include multiple wireless communication devices that enable the base station (102) to communicate according to multiple wireless communication technologies. For example, as one possibility, the base station (102) may include an LTE wireless communication device for communicating according to LTE as well as a 5G NR wireless communication device for communicating according to 5G NR. In such a case, the base station (102) may be able to operate as both an LTE base station and a 5G NR base station. As another possibility, the base station (102) may include a multi-mode wireless communication device capable of communicating according to any of multiple wireless communication technologies (e.g., 5G NR and LTE, 5G NR and Wi-Fi, LTE and Wi-Fi, LTE and UMTS, LTE and CDMA2000, UMTS and GSM, etc.).

[0107] As further described subsequently in this specification, the BS (102) may include hardware and software components for implementing or supporting the implementation of the features described in this specification. The processor (404) of the base station (102) may be configured to implement or support the implementation of some or all of the methods described in this specification by, for example, executing program instructions stored in a memory medium (e.g., a non-transient computer-readable memory medium). Alternatively, the processor (404) may be configured as a programmable hardware element such as a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), as an Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), or as a combination thereof. Alternatively (or additionally), the processor (404) of the BS (102) may be configured to implement or support the implementation of some or all of the features described in this specification together with one or more of other components (430, 432, 434, 440, 450, 460, 470).

[0108] Additionally, as described in this specification, the processor(s) (404) may include one or more processing elements. Accordingly, the processor(s) (404) may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of the processor(s) (404). Additionally, each integrated circuit may include a circuit section (e.g., a first circuit section, a second circuit section, etc.) configured to perform the functions of the processor(s) (404).

[0109] Additionally, as described in the specification, the wireless communication device (430) may include one or more processing elements. Accordingly, the wireless communication device (430) may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of the wireless communication device (430). Additionally, each integrated circuit may include a circuit section (e.g., a first circuit section, a second circuit section, etc.) configured to perform the functions of the wireless communication device (430).

[0110] Fig. 5 - Block diagram of the cellular communication circuit section

[0111] FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary simplified block diagram of a cellular communication circuit according to some embodiments. The block diagram of the cellular communication circuit of FIG. 5 is merely an example of a possible cellular communication circuit; it should be noted that other circuits are also possible, such as circuits containing or coupled with antennas sufficient for different RATs to perform uplink activities using separate antennas, or circuits containing or coupled with fewer antennas that can be shared among a number of RATs, for example. According to some embodiments, the cellular communication circuit (330) may be included in a communication device such as the communication device (106) described above. As mentioned above, the communication device (106) may be, among other devices, a user equipment (UE) device, a mobile device or mobile station, a wireless device or wireless station, a desktop computer or computing device, a mobile computing device (e.g., a laptop, notebook, or portable computing device), a tablet, and / or a combination of devices.

[0112] The cellular communication circuit (330) may be coupled (e.g., communicably; directly or indirectly) to one or more antennas, such as antennas (335a, 335b, 336) as illustrated. In some embodiments, the cellular communication circuit (330) may include one or more receiving chains (e.g., a first receiving chain for LTE and a second receiving chain for 5G NR) for a number of RATs (including dedicated processors and / or wireless communication devices and / or coupled to them (e.g., communicably; directly or indirectly)). For example, as illustrated in FIG. 5, the cellular communication circuit (330) may include a first modem (510) and a second modem (520). The first modem (510) may be configured for communication according to a first RAT, such as LTE or LTE-A, for example, and the second modem (520) may be configured for communication according to a second RAT, such as 5G NR, for example.

[0113] As described, the first modem (510) may include one or more processors (512) and a memory (516) that communicates with the processors (512). The modem (510) may communicate with a radio frequency (RF) front end (530). The RF front end (530) may include circuitry for transmitting and receiving radio signals. For example, the RF front end (530) may include a receiving circuitry (RX) (532) and a transmitting circuitry (TX) (534). In some embodiments, the receiving circuitry (532) may communicate with a downlink (DL) front end (550) that may include circuitry for receiving radio signals through an antenna (335a).

[0114] Similarly, the second modem (520) may include one or more processors (522) and a memory (526) that communicates with the processors (522). The modem (520) may communicate with an RF front end (540). The RF front end (540) may include circuitry for transmitting and receiving wireless signals. For example, the RF front end (540) may include a receiving circuitry (542) and a transmitting circuitry (544). In some embodiments, the receiving circuitry (542) may communicate with a DL front end (560) that may include circuitry for receiving wireless signals through an antenna (335b).

[0115] In some embodiments, the switch (570) may couple the transmitting circuit (534) to the uplink (UL) front end (572). Additionally, the switch (570) may couple the transmitting circuit (544) to the UL front end (572). The UL front end (572) may include a circuit for transmitting wireless signals through the antenna (336). Thus, when the cellular communication circuit (330) receives commands to transmit according to a first RAT (e.g., supported by the first modem (510)), the switch (570) may be switched to a first state that allows the first modem (510) to transmit signals according to the first RAT (e.g., through a transmission chain including the transmitting circuit (534) and the UL front end (572). Similarly, when the cellular communication circuit (330) receives commands to transmit according to a second RAT (e.g., supported by the second modem (520)), the switch (570) may be switched to a second state that allows the second modem (520) to transmit signals according to the second RAT (e.g., through a transmission chain including the transmission circuit (544) and the UL front end (572).

[0116] As described in this specification, the first modem (510) and / or the second modem (520) may include hardware and software components for implementing any of the various features and techniques described in this specification. Processors (512, 522) may be configured to implement some or all of the features described in this specification by executing program instructions stored, for example, on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transient computer-readable memory medium). Alternatively (or additionally), processors (512, 522) may be configured as programmable hardware elements such as a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) or as an Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC). Alternatively (or additionally), the processors (512, 522) may be configured to implement some or all of the features described herein together with one or more of the other components (530, 532, 534, 540, 542, 544, 550, 570, 572, 335, 336).

[0117] Additionally, as described in this specification, the processors (512, 522) may include one or more processing elements. Accordingly, the processors (512, 522) may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of the processors (512, 522). Additionally, each integrated circuit may include a circuit section (e.g., a first circuit section, a second circuit section, etc.) configured to perform the functions of the processors (512, 522).

[0118] In some embodiments, the cellular communication circuit (330) may include only one transmit / receive chain. For example, the cellular communication circuit (330) may not include a modem (520), an RF front end (540), a DL front end (560), and / or an antenna (335b). As another example, the cellular communication circuit (330) may not include a modem (510), an RF front end (530), a DL front end (550), and / or an antenna (335a). In some embodiments, the cellular communication circuit (330) may also not include a switch (570), and the RF front end (530) or the RF front end (540) may communicate directly with the UL front end (572), for example.

[0119] Fig. 6 - Extended Reality Wireless Communication Network

[0120] FIG. 6 illustrates a wireless communication network for an extended reality (XR) application according to some embodiments. More specifically, FIG. 6 illustrates a user equipment (UE) running a 5G-XR awareness application that can utilize a 5G-XR client to facilitate network communication necessary to receive and / or transmit data or information required for the XR application to perform as intended. To facilitate said communication, the 5G-XR client may be connected to a wireless access network (RAN) via a Uu interface. Additionally, the RAN may be connected to a user plane function unit (UPF) via an N3 interface. In some embodiments, the UPF may utilize an N6 interface to additionally connect to an external data network (DN) that operates as a 5G-XR application provider and includes a 5G-XR application function unit (AF) and a 5G-XR application server (AS).

[0121] Additionally or alternatively, the UPF may use an N6 interface to be additionally connected to a trusted DN containing a similar pair of 5G-XR AF and 5G-XR AS according to some embodiments. Additionally, the 5G-XR AF may be connected to the Policy Control Function Unit (PCF) via the N5 interface and to the Network Exposure Function Unit (NEF) via the N33 interface. Additionally or alternatively, the 5G-XR AF of an external DN may also be connected to the NEF via a separate N33 interface. Thus, the RAN can utilize these networks, application functions, and servers to provide the data streams required by the UE (via a 5G-XR client) so that 5G-XR-aware applications can perform in an ideal manner. Although FIG. 6 illustrates one example of a wireless communication network for an XR application described in detail, numerous variations and modifications of the wireless network will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

[0122] Fig. 7 - Augmented Reality Data Bursts

[0123] FIG. 7 illustrates different segments or parts of an extended reality application data burst according to some embodiments. For example, XR applications may operate using application data units (ADUs) or data bursts represented by larger data segments, wherein each segment of application layer data may further consist of a series of multiple IP packets. Such application layer data may typically be delivered in bursts and often in a relatively periodic manner. Additionally, a data burst may consist of an application layer bitstream mapped to a set of application data units (ADUs), wherein each ADU is transmitted in multiple smaller data packets, such as Real-Time Transport Protocol (RTP) packets mapped to Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) Service Data Units (SDUs) that may be utilized by a UE modem, for example. Additionally, an ADU may include slices or slice partitions. Slices are segments of the application layer bitstream.

[0124] For example, in the case of an audio codec, the ADU may be referred to as an audio frame. Additionally or alternatively, in the case of video compression standards such as Advanced Video Coding (AVC) (e.g., H.264) or High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) (e.g., H.265), the ADU may be referred to as a Network Abstraction Layer (NAL) unit (NALU).

[0125] Additionally, while more recent (e.g., 5G) QoS mappings can primarily be applied to single data packets (e.g., for packet error rates and packet delay budgets) or use an averaging period for bitrates, in some cases, XR data traffic may require a series of packets, such as slices (e.g., slices for decoding video frames) and / or ADUs, to perform an operation. These units of slices and ADUs play an important role in how QoS is applied to XR applications and how related data is transmitted between UEs and the network.

[0126] In some embodiments, a slice may represent a sequence of packets containing information necessary to reconstruct a video frame. Additionally, slices may be considered segments of a bitstream (e.g., an application layer bitstream corresponding to an XR application) that can be reconstructed independently of other slices within the same picture. For example, in H.264, a slice may be considered a data structure (with a special encoding) that can be decoded independently of other slices within the same picture in terms of entropy coding, signal prediction, and residual signal reconstruction. In other words, in some XR or graphic embodiments, a slice may be either the entire picture or a region of the picture, and thus may be considered as a fundamental independent spatial element.

[0127] Additionally, an error in one slice may apply only to that same slice and not affect other slices. Similar principles may be applied to other codec types. For example, different slice types, such as intra-frames (I-frames), predictive frames (P-frames), and bidirectional frames (B-frames), switching P-slices (SP-slices), switching I-slices (SI-slices), and switching slices (S-slices), may have different compression rates and thus result in transmissions with varying reliability. Furthermore, a slice may be placed within its own NAL unit (e.g., ADU) at the RTP level. In some cases, multiple RTP packets may be required to transmit a single video frame (e.g., 2 to 10 packets and possibly more). Similar principles may also be applied to other codecs used in XR.

[0128] In some embodiments, application data units (ADUs) may be used as NAL units (NALUs) for video traffic (e.g., XR traffic), for example. A NAL unit (or ADU) may further include slices or slice data partitions and may specify a general format for use in both packet-based and bitstream systems. In some embodiments, an ADU may be mapped to a number of packets (e.g., IP packets). According to some embodiments, the format of the NAL units may be the same for both packet-based transmission and byte streams, except that a start code prefix of the byte stream format and additional padding bytes may precede each NAL unit. Additionally, a set of NALUs (NAL units) that have been decoded to produce a decoded picture consisting of one or more slices may be considered an access unit (AU).

[0129] Communication coordination and power saving techniques for augmented reality applications

[0130] According to some of the embodiments described herein, extended reality (XR) may include real and virtual environments as well as combinations thereof, in addition to human-machine interactions generated by computer technology and certain wearable devices. For example, XR may include such forms of reality as augmented reality (AR), mixed reality (MR), and virtual reality (VR), as well as regions interpolated between them. Additionally, virtual levels may be partial sensory inputs or immersive virtual ranges.

[0131] In mobile devices supporting Extended Reality (XR) capabilities, some XR services may exhibit deterministic behavior due to defined Quality of Service (QoS) parameters. For example, certain XR services may need to transmit and / or receive multiple streams of data types corresponding to different QoS requirements. In other words, certain data streams or service data flows (SDFs) may be associated with certain QoS parameters that facilitate the efficient transmission and reception of said data streams based on associated QoS parameters. For example, a data stream or SDF containing video frames may correspond to a certain set of QoS parameters and QoS rules (e.g., packet filters), whereas another data stream or SDF containing audio information may correspond to a different set of QoS parameters and QoS rules (e.g., packet filters). In some embodiments, the UE may derive QoS rules autonomously. Each data stream or SDF may be mapped or transmitted as a sequence of slices or a series of ADUs. Additionally, the payload of XR data can often be transmitted and received periodically. XR services can benefit from utilizing multiple configured acknowledgments (CGs), dynamic acknowledgments (DGs), and downlink (DL) semi-periodic scheduling (SPS) for streams to reduce latency.

[0132] Additionally, XR data traffic (e.g., transmission / reception between the UE and the network) may involve multiple QoS flows being mapped to the same Data Radio Bearer (DRB) and / or Logic Channel (LCH). Furthermore, each QoS flow may have its own QoS forwarding processing. Therefore, if different QoS forwarding processing is required for each QoS flow through the air interface, the network may map them to different DRBs. However, considering the larger volume of traffic flows in XR, this may not always be feasible. In other words, the network may be incentivized to map different QoS flows to different DRBs / LCHs and / or CGs. Additionally, or alternatively, there may be certain configurations where it is beneficial to map multiple QoS flows to the same DRB or LCH.

[0133] To facilitate the mapping of application layer data to network resources, some networks may assign specific QoS flows to application information transmitted in data bursts to establish higher priority and / or protection of transmitted data so as to minimize data loss and latency. For example, QoS flow IDs (QFIs) may be used to identify QoS flows within a network. In some embodiments, QoS flows may require a guaranteed flow bit rate (GBR) or may not require a GBR (non-GBR). Additionally, or alternatively, some QoS flows may be utilized for mission-critical GBRs (e.g., latency-critical QoS flows). These GBRs associated with QoS flows may allow for more efficient data delivery for higher priority transmissions, which may additionally result in an improved user experience. Devices, systems, and methods for mapping QoS flows corresponding to transmitted application data units or slices can increase the efficiency of UE and base station operations by further reducing unnecessary transmissions / receptions. Accordingly, the UE and / or base station can experience increased power conservation due to these mappings.

[0134] Therefore, there is a need to optimize UE and base station power savings based on XR traffic pattern characteristics. Additionally, due to payload data (e.g., I-frames and P-frames) contained in ADUs or data bursts with different severity (significance) and entropy, there is also a need to better protect and / or control / manage certain parts of the payload so that transmissions can be more reliable through enhanced QoS. Furthermore, certain payload data may be mixed with the Real-time Transmission Control Protocol (RTCP) on the same DRB, and the PDCP layer may discard data packets if the data is not delivered in a timely manner. This discarded data may include RTCP feedback regarding lost RTP packets as well as I-frames of a video sequence (e.g., both being more critical than P-frames). In addition, when both RTP and RTCP packets are returned on the same DRB or transmitted in the same transmission block or PDCP SDU, there is a higher probability of critical data loss due to unrecoverable errors during Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) or radio link control (RLC). Therefore, improvements are required.

[0135] Fig. 8 - Mapping of Quality of Service Flow Identifiers (QFIs) to data segments of XR data bursts

[0136] FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating exemplary aspects of a method for mapping Quality of Service flow identifiers (QFIs) to data segments or parts of XR data bursts according to some embodiments. More specifically, FIG. 8 describes a method in which a user device (UE) or, in some embodiments, a network-side entity can assign or map certain QoS parameters to corresponding XR data slices or ADUs so that XR data can be transmitted and received more efficiently.

[0137] For example, in 802, the UE can communicate with the network to establish a connection with the network. Once the connection is established, the UE can transmit or relay Extended Reality (XR) data bursts to the network regarding XR applications running on the UE. As described above in relation to FIG. 6, the UE can achieve this through the Uu interface between the UE and the network (e.g., a base station acting as part of the RAN). Thus, once a connection to the network is established, the UE can begin transmitting XR data bursts to the network using a configured acknowledgment (CG). Additionally, or alternatively, 802 can be performed by a network entity (e.g., a base station and / or a core network (CN)). For example, the network can initiate communication with the UE to establish a connection to further facilitate the transmission of XR data bursts from the network to the UE.

[0138] In 804, the UE may transmit a first data segment corresponding to a first QFI. In some embodiments, the UE may perform mapping operations so that certain QoS flows are assigned or mapped to corresponding data segments (e.g., slices and / or ADUs) of data bursts. For example, a data burst that may be transmitted over the air (OTA) from a dedicated configured acknowledgment (CG) may contain data or information for an XR application in the form of one or more slices and / or ADUs. Accordingly, the UE may map a first data segment or a portion of data (e.g., a data slice or ADU) of a data burst to a first QoS flow. In doing so, the first data segment (mapped to the first QoS flow) may have traffic forwarding processing corresponding to the traffic pattern and QoS parameters of the first QoS flow. Additionally or alternatively, 804 may be performed by a network entity such as a base station and / or a core network. For example, in some embodiments, the network may be supporting an XR application running on the UE (e.g., by providing external computing resources) and additionally, may need to transmit related data bursts to the UE. Accordingly, the network may utilize a method similar to that in 804 to map a first data segment of the data burst to a first QoS flow. In doing so, the network may link or associate the first data segment (corresponding to the first QoS flow) so that it has traffic forwarding processing corresponding to the traffic pattern and QoS parameters of the first QoS flow. In some embodiments, the exact mapping between the QoS flows and the data segments may be established by the network or defined based on predefined rules.

[0139] In 806, the UE may additionally transmit a second data segment corresponding to the second QFI. In some embodiments, the UE may map a different QoS flow (e.g., the second QFI) to a second data segment of a data burst that may additionally be transmitted via a second configured acknowledgment (CG). In doing so, the second data segment (associated with the second QFI) may have different QoS forwarding processing and QoS parameters (associated with latency, reliability, lead time, etc.) compared to those of the first data segment. Thus, data segments (e.g., slices / ADUs) may have different or preferred processing when transmitted to a network to support an XR application. Additionally or alternatively, 806 may be performed by a network entity such as a base station and / or a core network. For example, in some embodiments similar to 806, the network may additionally map a different QoS flow (e.g., a second QFI) to a second data segment of a data burst that may have been transmitted via a second semi-periodic scheduling (SPS) transmission. In doing so, the network may configure the second data segment (associated with the second QFI) so that it has traffic forwarding processing corresponding to the second QFI parameters (different from the first QFI).

[0140] These XR data bursts may be transmitted according to QFIs mapped to corresponding data segments of the data bursts, further including mappings of one or more QFIs to one or more slices / ADUs of the data burst. Additionally or alternatively, QFIs may be included in the transmission. Thus, the base station and / or core network can control how data segments within the data bursts are processed when transmitted to the UE for an XR application. As discussed above in relation to 804 and 806, this may allow for preferential processing of certain slices or ADUs (e.g., data segments) that may require higher fidelity transmissions. In effect, the network mapping of certain QFIs to certain XR data segments can improve the performance of XR applications running on the UE through more efficient and higher fidelity transmissions. Thus, once the UE receives the XR data, it can further process and display the data according to the XR application running on the UE. For example, an XR data burst may include video and / or multimedia frames that require decoding by certain codecs, and the UE may display these video and / or multimedia frames once decoded.

[0141] Fig. 9 - Mapping of ADUs and QoS flows

[0142] FIG. 9 illustrates an extended reality application data burst modified to include mappings of QFIs to slices and / or ADUs according to some embodiments. For example, a single application layer data stream as part of a payload (such as I-frames and P-frames in video, a certain slice, or certain periodically recurring packets) may benefit from a transmission having a different or different QoS. One method to achieve this may be to map these payload data bytes to a different or different QoS stream. This may typically be performed on a packet basis (e.g., NAL units (ADUs), IP packets, PDCP SDUs, etc.). In some embodiments, the method may be applied to a single application layer frame so that certain parts within the payload are processed with different reliability (e.g., different QoS). Additionally or alternatively, the method may be applied to different ADUs and data bursts among other data segments.

[0143] For example, FIG. 9 illustrates a first slice (e.g., slice 1) of a first configured approval (CG1), wherein the corresponding first QoS (QoS 1) is 10 -5 It additionally corresponds to a block error rate (BLER) of a certain degree. Additionally, slice 1 (including the illustrated ADU) can be characterized as an I-slice belonging to an I-frame. Similarly, FIG. 9 also illustrates a second slice (e.g., slice 2) of a second configured acknowledgment (CG2) (which may or may not be included in the same data burst), wherein the corresponding second QoS (QoS 2) is 10 -1It has a block error rate (BLER) of a certain degree. Additionally, slice 2 (including the illustrated ADU) can be characterized as a P-slice belonging to a P-frame. Therefore, since the PDCP SDUs of slice 1 and slice 2 are mapped to different corresponding QoS flows (e.g., QFI1 and QFI2, respectively), the slices can be treated differently in terms of priority or protection (e.g., latency, reliability) during transmission.

[0144] In some embodiments, the method may include the step of mapping a slice or ADU to a predetermined QoS flow (e.g., QFI) based on a slice type or frame type (e.g., I-frame, P-frame, B-frame, etc.) (e.g., RTP or ADU). Additionally or alternatively, the network may generate QoS rules having packet filters corresponding to the ADU or slice such that the QoS rules are based on the intrinsic characteristics of the slice or ADU. For example, in some embodiments, packet filters may be established based on slice types to which ADUs can be mapped to different QFIs and different packet filters. Additionally, the associated QoS rules may have different precedence values. In some embodiments, intermediate filtering rules (e.g., between XR applications and IP flows) may be applied so that ADUs or slices are mapped to different IP flows (or SDFs). Alternatively, the UE may derive QoS rules that are temporarily applied to a slice or ADU based on trigger events or configurations from upper layers (thereby creating packet filters that map IP flows to different QFIs). In some embodiments, this may additionally indicate the start and end of the slice or ADU. Additionally, or alternatively, the method may include the step of mapping the slice or ADU to another or different QoS flow based on a sequence number (SN). In some embodiments, the SN mapping is based on a predefined pattern (e.g., x It can be based on a modulo operation (for each packet). Therefore, different QFIs can receive different QoS processing through mapping slices for different QFIs and different CGs and / or data radio bearers (DRBs).

[0145] In some embodiments, the mapping of a network of QFIs or a UE to data segments (e.g., slices / ADUs) of certain CGs or DRBs may be based on predefined times to cause reliability (e.g., QoS) within the same CG or DRB to change temporarily. Additionally or alternatively, in mapping certain QFIs to certain slices / ADUs, the base station may prioritize I-frame data and RTCP feedback packets via P-frames, separate critical data from other carriers, or transmit them over separate QoS streams or DRBs.

[0146] Additionally, the network or UE may utilize cross-layer dependencies, such as fields within the RTP header indicating the relative importance of packets (e.g., transaction identifier (TID) fields for H.265 / HEVC and other slice-related information), to establish non-access layer (NAS) QoS rules for mappings between IP packets and QoS flows. Furthermore, where possible, to assist upper layers in generating appropriate ADUs, the access layer (AS) may expose radio transmit scheduling and QoS-related information (e.g., transmit timing, periodicity, byte size, reliability, and latency) of allocated radio resources to XR applications running on the UE.

[0147] According to some embodiments, for a given set of QoS flows or DRBs, the PDCP layer may prepare data by first triggering encryption and integrity protection for critical or high-priority SDU data. As a result, these higher-priority SDUs may be prepared for transmission first, similar to signaling radio bearers (SRBs) that are typically processed first. Additionally, or alternatively, the PDCP for certain DRBs may be configured by logic channel (LCH) priority by the RRC. In some embodiments, where QFI is considered to be of higher priority, the service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer may also submit data to the PDCP in order of priority and, accordingly, be further configured by the RRC.

[0148] QoS depending on the situation

[0149] According to some embodiments, it may be beneficial to temporarily boost the QoS for certain data bursts (e.g., slices / ADUs). For example, payload data such as I-frames and P-frames contained in ADUs or data bursts may differ in severity (e.g., significance) and entropy. Additionally, control data communications handled via a Real-Time Transmission Control Protocol (RTCP) may likewise require better protection (e.g., enhanced levels of QoS).

[0150] In some embodiments, during critical transmission periods, a QoS flow may enter a state of higher reliability or a state with modified or augmented QoS settings, and then return to its normal QoS level. This may be used to protect the most critical parts of application layer messages or ADUs, full ADUs, or even special messages and / or packets of higher significance. To achieve this, a QoS flow or logic channel may be allowed to temporarily boost, modify, or augment its QoS settings during periods when a different QoS level or different reliability applies. For example, for an ongoing video call with a predetermined (constant) codec rate, I-frames and RTCP packets may be received relatively periodically (e.g., for feedback). To protect these critical parts during transmission periods, the connection may benefit from entering a state of higher reliability. Additionally, during such protected states or periods, the UE may use PDCP replication, rely on a higher number of TB iterations, acknowledgments composed of different MCSs, or even boost connections to achieve higher reliability. Additionally or alternatively, various different configurations may be possible, and the network or the UE may configure these configurations.

[0151] In some embodiments, the UE may be configured with a secondary QoS profile or a secondary set of QoS parameters and / or QoS characteristics for the same QFI and / or 5G QoS identifier (5QI). Additionally, according to some embodiments, the network or the UE itself may introduce different QoS severity levels (e.g., significance / priority) within the same stream of QoS flow to cause the UE to automatically switch to the next better QoS / QFI parameter (e.g., next BLER, or next periodicity) from a list of parameter values.

[0152] Accordingly, there may be a number of methods or means for triggering a change in QFI or QoS associated with a specific slice or ADU in an XR application data burst. In some embodiments, the network may be configured to switch the mapping of QFI for a slice or ADU to a higher reliability or secondary QoS based on a sequence number (SN). For example, according to some embodiments, the mapping of QFI may be characterized such that every Nth RTP SN, Nth PDCP SDU, Nth application layer packet, or Nth IP packet belongs to a specific QoS flow. Additionally, in some embodiments, N may be characterized or determined by a statistical distribution function (e.g., a Pareto distribution or a truncated Gaussian distribution). In some embodiments, the state of the higher reliability or secondary QoS may be characterized such that the QoS flow remains in that state for a configurable number (e.g., 1…M) of packets. Additionally or alternatively, switching to a higher reliability or secondary QoS profile may be configured to occur for different slice types and / or every N-th ADU in total. In some embodiments, the application layer may identify the start and end packets associated with the slice or ADU and present them to lower layers that can further identify and trigger the duration of the modified reliability or QoS for the associated traffic.

[0153] In some embodiments, the configured acknowledgment (CG) may be characterized so that the reliability of the CG is switched periodically. For example, according to some embodiments, a network or UE may utilize the number of configured acknowledgments for a data burst(s) to ensure that a second (or N-th) CG is associated with higher reliability or a higher number of transmission block (TB) iterations.

[0154] Additionally, in some embodiments, the XR application or associated connection may have a set of secondary QoS characteristics having better reliability or enhanced settings that can be automatically triggered based on error events, a history of previous abnormal events, or location (e.g., when this can be inferred from a history where other failures are likely to occur).

[0155] According to some embodiments, a network or UE may be configured to automatically enable or trigger a period of higher reliability based on abnormal or error events in the UE. For example, the network may trigger a period of higher reliability based on feedback or radio conditions (e.g., below a certain RSRP / RSRQ) or the UE. Additionally or alternatively, the transient modification of reliability may also be based on a timer to specify a defined period (e.g., having start and stop times) with enhanced QoS settings.

[0156] do 10 - New Based on configured approval type Solution

[0157] FIG. 10 illustrates an exemplary transmission of an augmented reality application data burst utilizing one or more instances of configured approval according to some embodiments.

[0158] For an ideal transmission of TB / CG, the entire data burst will fit into a single TB or CG. However, in some cases, traditionally configured acknowledgments may utilize TB iterations to accommodate larger data sets / bursts while providing increased reliability. For example, a first data burst associated with a CG is transmitted, followed by one or more subsequent TBs being repeated within the same CG. Thus, the next data burst (and subsequent new transmissions and additional TB iterations) will be transmitted according to the periodicity of the CG.

[0159] In some embodiments, if the data burst is sufficiently large due to a large number of PDCP SDUs, the packet delay budget (PDB) may allow the PDCP SDUs to be spread across multiple TBs rather than attempting to combine the data burst into a single transmission block (TB). Additionally, the available acknowledgment size may not be sufficiently large for a single slot of this size. Furthermore, or alternatively, degraded radio conditions may not allow the use of a large acknowledgment size. In such cases, multiple configured CG instances may be optional.

[0160] According to some embodiments, the UE and the network may utilize a CG type similar to TB iterations but without iterations for the transmission of XR application data. Instead, the UE may transmit new data in different instances of the CG. For example, FIG. 10 illustrates CG0 instances 0, 1, 2, and 3 of a single data burst. Each of these instances can be characterized as a new transmission and, in some embodiments, may correspond additionally to the size of the ADU. Thus, one advantage of transmitting data within multiple instances of the CG may be that the UE will not need to continuously schedule the CG with shorter periodicity. In other words, to transmit data bursts, the UE may not need to skip UL transmissions between data bursts, or (if UL skips are not configured) may need to transmit padding. Thus, this may also allow for better use of wireless resources for coordination to XR traffic patterns, in addition to providing power savings and reduced latency. Additionally or alternatively, configured approvals may not be utilized in downlink communication, but such a solution may also be applied to semi-continuous scheduling (SPS) in downlink assignments, depending on some embodiments.

[0161] Additional information

[0162] In some embodiments, the acknowledgment size of a CG instance may be optionally set based on the size of an ADU. This may require cross-layer interaction or pre-configuration so that the network can implicitly associate a new acknowledgment size when the codec rate, periodicity, or QoS configuration changes. Such pre-configuration may be signaled separately and / or updated together via a Media Access Control-Control Element (MAC-CE) or via RRC.

[0163] Additionally or alternatively, it may be possible to vary the CG parameter configurations for different instances of CG so that the acknowledgment sizes are staggered or different reliabilitys are associated with each of the different CG instances. According to some embodiments, the network may associate the CG with two periodicities. For example, the network may associate the CG with a first periodicity corresponding to the gap or time between a first CG instance (e.g., CG instance 0) and the next occurrence of CG instance 0 (e.g., the currently existing periodicity of the CG configuration). Additionally or alternatively, the network may associate the CG with a second periodicity corresponding to the gap or time between the CG instances (0, 1, 2, N). This may provide an advantage in allowing TB transmissions to be more freely spaced apart.

[0164] Accordingly, there may be a certain signaling associated with specifying or configuring the number of CG iteration instances that can be used for new transmissions. For example, this operation is a parameter within the configuredGrantConfig information element (IE) (e.g., for TB iterations). repK Similar to that of newTxK-r18You can use ), but instead of performing TB iterations, you can utilize new data on each CG instance.

[0165] In some embodiments, if the data burst size changes too frequently, the actual number of CG instances used can be dynamically indicated via Layer-1 (L1) signaling. More specifically, the network (" newTxK-r18 While the number of CG instances can be configured (through parameters such as), the UE dynamically indicates whether it will use all CG instances during a given CG cycle. Thus, if the indication from the UE is given sufficiently early (e.g., at the first CG instance), the network may be able to reuse any remaining CG resources.

[0166] According to some embodiments and in accordance with the principles discussed above, dynamic acknowledgments (DGs) may also be enhanced so that a single DCI can be used to schedule multiple consecutive transmission blocks having one DG. For example, an XR application data burst transmission operation involving DGs may be similar to a TB iteration, except that the UE may need to transmit new data at each instance of a TB scheduled by such a DG. Thus, the MAC may need to generate a new MAC protocol data unit (PDU) for each TB instance. However, the use of DGs can facilitate a reduction in signaling overhead and help conserve UE power due to less physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) processing. Additionally, for similar reasons, network entities (e.g., base stations or gNBs) may also likewise experience less processing overhead. Additionally or alternatively, dynamic approvals may not be utilized in downlink communication, but such a solution may also be applied to downlink assignments, depending on some embodiments.

[0167] Exemplary embodiments

[0168] Another exemplary embodiment may include a device, the device comprising: an antenna; a wireless communication device coupled to the antenna; and a processing element operably coupled to the wireless communication device, and the device is configured to implement any or all of the prior examples.

[0169] Another exemplary embodiment may include a method comprising the step of performing any or all parts of the preceding examples by a device.

[0170] Further embodiments may include a non-transient computer-accessible memory medium comprising program instructions that, when executed on a device, cause the device to implement any or all parts of any of the preceding examples.

[0171] Other additional exemplary embodiments may include a computer program comprising instructions for performing any or all parts of any of the prior examples.

[0172] Another additional exemplary embodiment may include a device comprising means for performing any or all elements of any of the prior examples.

[0173] Another exemplary embodiment may include a device comprising a processing element configured to cause a wireless device to perform any or all elements of any of the preceding examples.

[0174] It is well understood that the use of personally identifiable information must follow privacy policies and practices that are generally recognized as meeting or exceeding industry or government requirements for maintaining users' privacy. In particular, personally identifiable information data must be managed and handled to minimize the risk of unintended or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of authorized use must be clearly indicated to users.

[0175] Embodiments of the present disclosure may be realized in any of various forms. For example, some embodiments may be realized as a computer implementation method, a computer-readable memory medium, or a computer system. Other embodiments may be realized using one or more custom-designed hardware devices, such as ASICs. Still other embodiments may be realized using one or more programmable hardware elements, such as FPGAs.

[0176] In some embodiments, a non-transient computer-readable memory medium may be configured to store program instructions and / or data, wherein the program instructions, when executed by a computer system, cause the computer system to perform a method, for example, any of the method embodiments described herein, or any combination of the method embodiments described herein, or any subset of any of the method embodiments described herein, or any combination of such subsets.

[0177] In some embodiments, the device (e.g., UE (106) or BS (102)) may be configured to include a processor (or a set of processors) and a memory medium, wherein the memory medium stores program instructions, the processor is configured to read and execute program instructions from the memory medium, and the program instructions are executable to implement any of the various method embodiments described herein (or any combination of the method embodiments described herein, or any subset of any of the method embodiments described herein, or any combination of such subsets). The device may be realized in any of the various forms.

[0178] Although the above embodiments have been described in considerable detail, once the above disclosure is sufficiently recognized, many variations and modifications will be obvious to those skilled in the art. The following claims are intended to be interpreted to encompass all such variations and modifications.

Claims

Claim 1 A method comprising: establishing a connection with a network for transmitting a plurality of data segments, wherein the plurality of data segments are included in a bitstream of interrelated data corresponding to an application running on a user device (UE); transmitting to the network a first data segment among the plurality of data segments, corresponding to a first QoS flow identifier (QFI) associated with a first QoS flow among a plurality of quality of service (QoS) flows; and transmitting to the network a second data segment among the plurality of data segments, corresponding to a second QoS flow identifier (QFI) associated with a second QoS flow among a plurality of QoS flows, wherein the second QFI is different from the first QFI. Claim 2 A method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of mapping one or more of the plurality of data segments to their respective QFIs or QoS flows based on the frame type of the one or more data segments. Claim 3 A method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of mapping one or more of the plurality of data segments to their respective QFIs or QoS flows based on the slice type of the one or more data segments. Claim 4 The method of claim 1 further comprises the step of mapping one or more of the plurality of data segments to their respective QFIs or QoS flows based on one or more fields of the real-time transport protocol (RTP) headers of the packets of the one or more data segments. Claim 5 A method according to claim 4, wherein one or more fields of the RTP headers include a field indicating the relative importance of the packets. Claim 6 A method according to claim 1, wherein the data segment among the plurality of data segments corresponds to a video frame of a video slice. Claim 7 A method according to claim 1, wherein the first data segment corresponds to a first application data unit (ADU) and the second data segment corresponds to a second ADU slice. Claim 8 A method according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of data bursts include the plurality of data segments, and among the plurality of data bursts, a first data burst includes the first data segment and the second data segment. Claim 9 A method according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of data bursts include the plurality of data segments, a first data burst among the plurality of data bursts includes the first data segment, and a second data burst among the plurality of data bursts includes the second data segment. Claim 10 A method comprising: establishing a connection with user equipment (UE) for transmitting a plurality of data segments, wherein the plurality of data segments are included in a bitstream of interrelated data corresponding to an application running on the user equipment (UE); transmitting to the UE a first data segment among the plurality of data segments, corresponding to a first Quality of Service flow identifier (QFI) associated with a first QoS flow among a plurality of Quality of Service (QoS) flows; and transmitting to the UE a second data segment among the plurality of data segments, corresponding to a second Quality of Service flow identifier (QFI) associated with a second QoS flow among a plurality of QoS flows, wherein the second QFI is different from the first QFI. Claim 11 A method according to claim 10, further comprising the step of mapping one or more of the plurality of data segments to their respective QFIs or QoS flows based on the frame type of the one or more data segments. Claim 12 A method according to claim 10, further comprising the step of mapping one or more of the plurality of data segments to their respective QFIs or QoS flows based on the slice type of the one or more data segments. Claim 13 A method according to claim 10, further comprising the step of mapping one or more of the plurality of data segments to their respective QFIs or QoS flows based on one or more fields of the Real-time Transmission Protocol (RTP) headers of the packets of the one or more data segments. Claim 14 A method according to claim 13, wherein one or more fields of the RTP headers include a field indicating the relative importance of the packets. Claim 15 In claim 10, the method wherein the data segment among the plurality of data segments corresponds to the video frame of the video slice. Claim 16 A method according to claim 10, wherein the first data segment corresponds to a first application data unit (ADU) and the second data segment corresponds to a second ADU slice. Claim 17 A method according to claim 10, wherein the first data burst among the plurality of data bursts comprises the first data segment and the second data segment. Claim 18 A method according to claim 10, wherein the first data burst among the plurality of data bursts includes the first data segment, and the second data burst among the plurality of data bursts includes the second data segment. Claim 19 In paragraph 10, the method wherein the connection established with the UE is established between the UE and a network entity that is part of the core network. Claim 20 A non-transient computer-readable storage medium storing program instructions executable by one or more processors for enabling a user device (UE) to perform the method of any one of claims 1 through 9.

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