Satellite signal environment determination and / or position estimate selection

Abstract

A method includes: receiving one or more positioning signals; determining that the UE is in line of sight relative to fewer than a threshold number of positioning signal sources; determining a first position estimation hypothesis for the UE using a first position estimation procedure and one or more first measurements of the positioning signals; determining a second position estimation hypothesis for the UE using a second position estimation procedure and one or more second measurements of the positioning signals, wherein the second position estimation procedure uses a second parameter value of a parameter, and the parameter is not in the first position estimation procedure or has a first parameter value different from the second parameter value; and reporting a reported position estimate based on the first position estimation hypothesis or the second position estimation hypothesis in response to the UE being in line of sight relative to fewer than a threshold number of positioning signal sources.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Application No. 17 / 390,923, filed on July 31, 2021, entitled “SATELLITE SIGNAL ENVIRONMENT DETERMINATION AND / OR POSITION ESTIMATE SELECTION”, which has been assigned to the assignee of this application, and the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference for all purposes.

[0002] The field of this invention is satellite signal environment determination and / or position estimation selection. Prior Technology

[0003] Wireless communication systems have evolved through several generations, including first-generation analog wireless telephony (1G), second-generation (2G) digital wireless telephony (including the temporary 2.5G and 2.75G networks), third-generation (3G) high-speed data, wireless services with internet capabilities, fourth-generation (4G) services (e.g., LTE or WiMax), and fifth-generation (5G) services. Currently, many different types of wireless communication systems are in use, including cellular and Personal Communication Services (PCS) systems. Known examples of cellular systems include the Cellular Analog Advanced Mobile Telephone System (AMPS), and digital cellular systems based on Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), and TDMA variants of the Global System for Mobile Access (GSM).

[0004] Fifth-generation (5G) mobile standards require higher data transmission speeds, a larger number of connections, better coverage, and other improvements. According to the Next Generation Mobile Networks Alliance (NGC), the 5G standard is designed to provide data rates of tens of megabits per second to each of tens of thousands of users, including 1 gigabit per second to dozens of workers on an office floor. It should support hundreds of thousands of simultaneous connections to support large-scale sensor deployments. Therefore, the spectral efficiency of 5G mobile communications should be significantly improved compared to the current 4G standard. Furthermore, signaling efficiency should be enhanced, and latency should be significantly reduced compared to the current standard. Summary of the Invention

[0005] In one embodiment, a user equipment includes: a receiver configured to receive one or more location signals; a memory; and a processor communicatively coupled to the receiver and the memory, the processor being configured to: determine whether the user equipment is in line of sight relative to a fewer than threshold number of location signal sources;

[0006] A first location estimation hypothesis for the user equipment is determined using a first location estimation process and one or more first measurements of the one or more positioning signals; a second location estimation hypothesis for the user equipment is determined using a second location estimation process and one or more second measurements of the one or more positioning signals, wherein the second location estimation process uses a second parameter value of a parameter, and the parameter is not in the first location estimation process or has a first parameter value different from the second parameter value; and a reported location estimate is reported based on the first location estimation hypothesis or the second location estimation hypothesis in response to the user equipment being in line of sight relative to fewer than the threshold number of positioning signal sources.

[0007] In one embodiment, a location estimation reporting method includes: receiving one or more location signals at a user equipment; determining that the user equipment is in line of sight relative to fewer than a threshold number of location signal sources; determining a first location estimation hypothesis for the user equipment using a first location estimation process and one or more first measurements of the one or more location signals; determining a second location estimation hypothesis for the user equipment using a second location estimation process and one or more second measurements of the one or more location signals, wherein the second location estimation process uses a second parameter value of a parameter, and the parameter is not in the first location estimation process or has a first parameter value different from the second parameter value; and reporting a reported location estimate based on the first location estimation hypothesis or the second location estimation hypothesis in response to the user equipment being in line of sight relative to fewer than the threshold number of location signal sources.

[0008] In one embodiment, a user equipment includes: a unit for receiving one or more positioning signals; a unit for determining that the user equipment is in line of sight relative to fewer than a threshold number of positioning signal sources; a unit for determining a first position estimation hypothesis for the user equipment using a first position estimation process and one or more first measurements of the one or more positioning signals; a unit for determining a second position estimation hypothesis for the user equipment using a second position estimation process and one or more second measurements of the one or more positioning signals, wherein the second position estimation process uses a second parameter value of a parameter, and the parameter is not in the first position estimation process or has a first parameter value different from the second parameter value; and a unit for reporting a reported position estimate based on the first position estimation hypothesis or the second position estimation hypothesis in response to the user equipment being in line of sight relative to fewer than the threshold number of positioning signal sources.

[0009] In one embodiment, a non-transitory processor-readable storage medium includes processor-readable instructions for causing a processor to: determine that a user equipment is in line of sight relative to fewer than a threshold number of location signal sources; determine a first location estimation hypothesis for the user equipment using a first location estimation process and one or more first measurements of the one or more location signals; determine a second location estimation hypothesis for the user equipment using a second location estimation process and one or more second measurements of the one or more location signals, wherein the second location estimation process uses a second parameter value of a parameter, and the parameter is not in the first location estimation process or has a first parameter value different from the second parameter value; and report a reported location estimate based on the first location estimation hypothesis or the second location estimation hypothesis in response to the user equipment being in line of sight relative to fewer than the threshold number of location signal sources.

[0010] In one embodiment, a user equipment includes: a receiver configured to receive a positioning signal; a memory; and a processor communicatively coupled to the receiver and the memory, the processor being configured to: determine one or more location estimation assumptions for the user equipment based on the positioning signal; and determine, based on the one or more location estimation assumptions for the user equipment, that the user equipment is in line of sight relative to fewer than a threshold number of positioning signal sources corresponding to the positioning signal.

[0011] In one embodiment, a method at a user equipment includes: determining one or more location estimation assumptions for the user equipment based on a positioning signal; and determining, based on the one or more location estimation assumptions for the user equipment, that the user equipment is in line of sight relative to fewer than a threshold number of positioning signal sources corresponding to the positioning signal.

[0012] In one embodiment, a user equipment includes: a unit for determining one or more location estimation assumptions for the user equipment based on a positioning signal; and a unit for determining, based on the one or more location estimation assumptions for the user equipment, that the user equipment is in line of sight relative to fewer than a threshold number of positioning signal sources corresponding to the positioning signal.

[0013] In one embodiment, a non-transitory processor-readable storage medium includes processor-readable instructions for causing a processor to: determine one or more location estimation assumptions for the user equipment based on a location signal; and determine, based on the one or more location estimation assumptions for the user equipment, that the user equipment is in line of sight relative to fewer than a threshold number of location signal sources corresponding to the location signal. Simple Explanation of the Diagram

[0014] Figure 1 is a simplified diagram of an example wireless communication system.

[0015] Figure 2 is a block diagram of the components of the example user device shown in Figure 1.

[0016] Figure 3 is a block diagram of the components of an example send / receive point.

[0017] Figure 4 is a block diagram of the components of an example server, and various embodiments of this example server are shown in Figure 1.

[0018] Figure 5 is a simplified perspective view of the environment, which includes different environments used for positioning.

[0019] Figure 6 is a simplified block diagram of an example user device.

[0020] Figure 7 is a block diagram of the positioning method.

[0021] Figure 8 is a block diagram of a method for determining whether a user device is in a challenging environment.

[0022] Figure 9 is a block diagram of an example method for determining location estimation assumptions.

[0023] Figure 10 is a block diagram of another example method for determining the location estimation assumption.

[0024] Figure 11 is a block diagram of the location estimation reporting method.

[0025] Figure 12 is a block diagram of the positioning method.

[0026] Figure 13 is a block diagram of the method at the user equipment. Implementation

[0027] This paper discusses techniques for determining whether a user equipment (UE) is in a challenging environment for measuring positioning signals (e.g., satellite positioning signals or positioning reference signals). For example, positioning signals can be used to determine the UE's location estimate and one or more metrics (e.g., uncertainty) of the determined location estimate. The determination of whether the UE is in a challenging environment can be based on one or more metrics. Alternatively, one or more measurements of one or more positioning signals can be used to determine whether the UE is in a challenging environment. A combination of positioning signal measurements and location estimates can be used to determine whether the UE is in a challenging environment. For example, if the location estimate indicates that the UE is not in a challenging environment, but the measurements indicate that the UE is in a challenging environment, then it can be determined that the UE is not in a challenging environment. However, other implementations can be used. Furthermore, while this discussion may focus on satellite positioning signals, other positioning signals, such as cellular positioning signals, WiFi positioning signals, etc., can also be used.

[0028] This paper also discusses techniques for determining and reporting UE location estimates. For example, based on the UE being in a challenging environment, process noise can be used to determine one or more location estimates. The same process noise can be used to determine multiple location estimates, for example, the covariance matrix of a propagating Kalman filter. Multiple location estimate hypotheses can be determined, where each hypothesis is determined using a different location estimate seed and / or different process noise. Location estimate seeds and / or process noise can be determined dynamically. Location estimate hypotheses can be ranked according to one or more criteria (e.g., location uncertainty, dynamic model fit (e.g., Kalman filter)). Measurements corresponding to the optimal location estimate hypothesis can be screened, for example, such that any measurements that do not meet a positive threshold are ignored, and the remaining measurements are used to determine candidate location estimates. If a candidate location estimate meets the desired quality of service, it can be reported. Otherwise, a less positive threshold can be applied to the measurements, and the remaining measurements can be used to determine a new candidate location estimate; if the new candidate location estimate meets the desired quality of service, it can be reported. If a new candidate location estimate does not meet the desired quality of service, the candidate location estimate determination and evaluation process can be repeated for the next optimal location estimate hypothesis. However, other implementations can be used.

[0029] The projects and / or techniques described herein may provide one or more of the following capabilities, as well as others not mentioned: Improved accuracy, reliability, and / or availability of location estimation (e.g., first fix and / or subsequent fixation); Faster convergence to user equipment location; Other capabilities, and not every implementation according to this disclosure is required to provide any of the discussed capabilities, let alone all of them.

[0030] For many applications, including emergency calls, personal navigation, consumer asset tracking, and locating friends or family members, obtaining the location of mobile devices accessing a wireless network can be useful. Existing positioning methods include those based on measuring radio signals transmitted from a wide variety of devices or entities, including satellite vehicles (SVs) and terrestrial radio sources (such as base stations and access points) within the wireless network. Standardization of 5G wireless networks is expected to include support for various positioning methods that can utilize reference signals transmitted by base stations in a manner similar to how LTE wireless networks currently use Positioning Reference Signals (PRS) and / or Cell-Specific Reference Signals (CRS) for positioning decisions.

[0031] This description may refer to sequences of actions performed, for example, by elements of a computing device. The various actions described herein may be performed by specific circuitry (e.g., an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC)), program instructions executed by one or more processors, or a combination of both. The sequences of actions described herein may be embodied in a non-transitory computer-readable medium having a corresponding set of computer instructions stored thereon, which, when executed, will cause the associated processor to perform the functions described herein. Therefore, the various aspects described herein may be embodied in a variety of different forms, all of which are within the scope of this disclosure, including the claimed subject matter.

[0032] As used herein, unless otherwise stated, the terms “User Equipment” (UE) and “Base Station” are not specific to or otherwise limited to any particular Radio Access Technology (RAT). Typically, such a UE can be any wireless communication device used by a user to communicate over a wireless communication network (e.g., mobile phone, router, tablet computer, laptop computer, consumer asset tracking device, Internet of Things (IoT) device, etc.). The UE can be mobile or can (e.g., at certain times) be stationary, and can communicate with a Radio Access Network (RAN). As used herein, the term “UE” can be interchangeably referred to as “Access Terminal” or “AT,” “Client Equipment,” “Wireless Equipment,” “Subscriber Equipment,” “Subscriber Terminal,” “Subscriber Station,” “User Terminal” or “UT,” “Mobile Terminal,” “Mobile Station,” “Mobile Equipment,” or variations thereof. Typically, a UE can communicate with the core network via the RAN, and through the core network, the UE can connect to external networks such as the Internet and other UEs. Of course, for the UE, other mechanisms for connecting to the core network and / or the Internet are also possible, such as wired access networks, WiFi networks (e.g., based on IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) 802.11, etc.).

[0033] A base station can operate according to one of several RATs to communicate with the UE (depending on the network in which it is deployed). Examples of base stations include Access Points (APs), Network Nodes, Node Bs, Evolved Node Bs (eNBs), or Generic Node Bs (gNodeBs, gNBs). Additionally, in some systems, a base station can provide purely edge node signaling functions, while in others it can provide additional control and / or network management functions.

[0034] The UE can be implemented by any of several types of devices, including but not limited to printed circuit (PC) cards, compact flash memory devices, external or internal modems, wireless or wired telephones, smartphones, tablets, consumer asset tracking devices, asset tags, etc. The communication link through which the UE can send signals to the RAN is called an uplink channel (e.g., reverse flow channel, reverse control channel, access channel, etc.). The communication link through which the RAN can send signals to the UE is called a downlink or forward link channel (e.g., paging channel, control channel, broadcast channel, forward flow channel, etc.). As used herein, the term flow channel (TCH) can refer to an uplink / reverse or downlink / forward flow channel.

[0035] As used herein, the terms "cell" or "sector" can correspond to one of a plurality of cells of a base station or the base station itself, depending on the context. The term "cell" can refer to a logical communication entity used for communication with a base station (e.g., on a carrier) and can be associated with an identifier (e.g., Entity Cell Identifier (PCID), Virtual Cell Identifier (VCID)) used to distinguish adjacent cells operating via the same or different carriers. In some examples, a carrier can support multiple cells and can be configured with different protocol types that can provide access for different types of devices (e.g., Machine-Type Communication (MTC), Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB), or other protocol types). In some examples, the term "cell" can refer to a portion of a geographic coverage area (e.g., a sector) on which a logical entity operates.

[0036] Referring to Figure 1, examples of communication system 100 include UE 105, UE 106, Radio Access Network (RAN) (here, 5th Generation (5G) Next Generation (NG) RAN (NG-RAN)) 135, and 5G Core Network (5GC) 140. UE 105 and / or UE 106 can be, for example, IoT devices, location tracker devices, cellular phones, vehicles (e.g., cars, trucks, buses, ships, etc.) or other devices. The 5G network can also be referred to as a New Radio (NR) network; NG-RAN 135 can be referred to as 5G RAN or NR RAN; and 5GC 140 can be referred to as NG Core Network (NGC). Standardization of NG-RAN and 5GC is underway within the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). Accordingly, NG-RAN 135 and 5GC 140 can conform to current or future standards from 3GPP for 5G support. NG-RAN 135 can be another type of RAN, such as 3G RAN, 4G LTE RAN, etc. UE 106 can be similarly configured and coupled to UE 105 to send signals to and / or receive signals from similar other entities in system 100, but for simplicity, such signaling is not shown in Figure 1. Similarly, for simplicity, the discussion focuses on UE 105. Communication system 100 can use information from constellation 185 of satellite vehicles (SVs) 190, 191, 192, 193 for satellite positioning systems (SPS) (e.g., Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS)), such as GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, or BeiDou, or some other local or regional SPS, such as the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS), the European Geostationary Navigation Coverage Service (EGNOS), or a Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS). Additional components of communication system 100 are described below. The communication system 100 may include additional or alternative components.

[0037] As shown in Figure 1, NG-RAN 135 includes NR NodeBs (gNBs) 110a and 110b and a next-generation eNodeB (ng-eNB) 114, and 5GC 140 includes Access and Mobility Management Functions (AMF) 115, Session Management Functions (SMF) 117, Location Management Functions (LMF) 120, and Gateway Mobility Location Center (GMLC) 125. gNBs 110a, 110b, and ng-eNB 114 are communicatively coupled to each other, each configured to communicate bidirectionally with UE 105, and each communicatively coupled to AMF 115 and configured to communicate bidirectionally with AMF 115. gNBs 110a, 110b, and ng-eNB 114 can be referred to as base stations (BSs). AMF 115, SMF 117, LMF 120, and GMLC 125 are communicatively coupled to each other, and GMLC is communicatively coupled to an external client 130. SMF 117 can be used as the initial contact point for Service Control Functions (SCF) (not shown) to establish, control, and delete media sessions. Base stations (such as gNB 110a, 110b and / or ng-eNB 114) can be macrocells (e.g., high-power cellular base stations), small cells (e.g., low-power cellular base stations), or access points (e.g., short-range base stations configured to communicate with short-range technologies such as WiFi, WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), Bluetooth®, Bluetooth®-Low (BLE), Zigbee, etc.). One or more base stations (e.g., one or more of gNB 110a, 110b and / or ng-eNB 114) can be configured to communicate with UE 105 via multiple carriers. Each of gNB 110a, 110b and / or ng-eNB 114 can provide communication coverage for a corresponding geographic area (e.g., cell). Each cell can be divided into multiple sectors based on the base station antennas.

[0038] Figure 1 provides a general illustration of the various components, any or all of which may be used as appropriate, and each component may be copied or omitted as needed. Specifically, although one UE 105 is shown, many UEs (e.g., hundreds, thousands, millions, etc.) may be utilized in the communication system 100. Similarly, the communication system 100 may include a larger (or smaller) number of SVs (i.e., more or fewer than the four SVs 190-193 shown), gNBs 110a and 110b, ng-eNB 114, AMF 115, external client 130, and / or other components. The connections of the various components in the communication system 100 shown include data and signaling connections, which may include additional (intermediate) components, direct or indirect entities and / or wireless connections and / or additional networks. Furthermore, components may be rearranged, combined, separated, replaced, and / or omitted according to desired functionality.

[0039] While Figure 1 illustrates a 5G-based network, similar network implementations and configurations can be used for other communication technologies, such as 3G, Long Term Evolution (LTE), etc. The implementations described herein (whether for 5G technology and / or for one or more other communication technologies and / or protocols) can be used to transmit (or broadcast) directional synchronization signals at a UE (e.g., UE 105), receive and measure directional signals, and / or provide location assistance to UE 105 (via GMLC 125 or other location servers), and / or calculate the location of UE 105 at a location-capable device (such as UE 105, gNB 110a, 110b, or LMF 120) based on measurements received at UE 105 for such directional transmissions. The Gateway Movement Location Center (GMLC) 125, Location Management Function (LMF) 120, Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 115, SMF 117, ng-eNB (eNodeB) 114, and gNB (gNodeB) 110a, 110b are examples, and in various embodiments, they may be replaced by or include various other location server functions and / or base station functions, respectively.

[0040] System 100 is capable of wireless communication because its components can communicate directly or indirectly (e.g., via gNB 110a, 110b, ng-eNB 114 and / or 5GC 140 (and / or one or more other devices not shown, such as one or more other base station transceivers)) (at least sometimes using a wireless connection). For indirect communication, the communication can be altered during transmission from one entity to another, for example, by changing the header information of data packets, changing the format, etc. UE 105 may include multiple UEs and may be mobile wireless communication devices, but can communicate wirelessly and via wired connections. UE 105 can be any of the various devices, such as a smartphone, tablet computer, vehicle-based device, etc., but these are examples, as UE 105 is not required to be any of these configurations, and other configurations of the UE can be used. Other UEs may include wearable devices (e.g., smartwatches, smart jewelry, smart glasses, or headphones, etc.). Other UEs, whether currently existing or developed in the future, may also be used. In addition, other wireless devices (whether mobile or not) can be implemented within system 100, and can communicate with each other and / or with UE 105, gNB 110a, 110b, ng-eNB 114, 5GC 140, and / or external client 130. For example, such other devices may include Internet of Things (IoT) devices, medical devices, home entertainment and / or automation devices, etc. 5GC 140 can communicate with external client 130 (e.g., a computer system), for example, to allow external client 130 to request and / or receive location information about UE 105 (e.g., via GMLC 125).

[0041] UE 105 or other devices can be configured to communicate over various networks and / or for various purposes and / or using various technologies (e.g., 5G, Wi-Fi communication, multiple frequencies of Wi-Fi communication, satellite positioning, one or more types of communication (e.g., GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), LTE (Long Term Evolution), V2X (vehicle-to-everything, e.g., V2P (vehicle to pedestrian), V2I (vehicle to infrastructure), V2V (vehicle to vehicle) etc.), IEEE (e.g., 802.11p). V2X communication can be cellular (C-V2X) and / or WiFi (e.g., DSRC (Dedicated Short Range Connectivity)). System 100 can support operation on multiple carriers (waveform signals of different frequencies). A multi-carrier transmitter can simultaneously transmit modulated signals on multiple carriers. Each modulated signal can be a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) signal, Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) signal, Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) signal, Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) signal, etc. Each modulated signal can be transmitted on different carriers and can carry pilots, information, data, etc. UEs 105 and 106 can communicate with each other through UE-to-UE sideline (SL) communication by transmitting on one or more sideline channels (such as the Physical Sideline Synchronization Channel (PSSCH), Physical Sideline Broadcast Channel (PSBCH), or Physical Sideline Control Channel (PSCCH)).

[0042] UE 105 may include and / or may be referred to as a device, mobile device, wireless device, mobile terminal, terminal, mobile station (MS), Secure User Plane Location Enabled (SUPL) terminal (SET), or some other name. Furthermore, UE 105 may correspond to a mobile phone, smartphone, laptop computer, tablet device, PDA, consumer asset tracking device, navigation device, Internet of Things (IoT) device, health monitor, security system, smart city sensor, smart meter, wearable tracker, or some other portable or mobile device. Typically, but not necessarily, UE 105 may support wireless communications using one or more Radio Access Technologies (RATs), such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Wideband CDMA (WCDMA), LTE, High-Speed ​​Packet Data (HRPD), IEEE 802.11 WiFi (also known as Wi-Fi), Bluetooth® (BT), Microwave Access Global Interoperability (WiMAX), 5G New Radio (NR) (e.g., using NG-RAN 135 and 5GC 140), etc. UE 105 can support wireless communication using a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), which can be connected to other networks (e.g., the Internet) using, for example, a Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) or packet cable. Using one or more of these RATs can allow UE 105 to communicate with an external client 130 (e.g., via an element of 5GC 140 not shown in FIG. 1, or possibly via GMLC 125) and / or allow the external client 130 to receive location information about UE 105 (e.g., via GMLC 125).

[0043] UE 105 may include a single entity or may include multiple entities, such as in a personal area network, where the user may use audio, video, and / or data I / O (input / output) devices and / or body sensors, as well as separate wired or wireless modems. The estimation of the location of UE 105 may be referred to as location, location estimate, location fix, fix, position, position estimate, or position fix, and may be geographical, thus providing location coordinates (e.g., latitude and longitude) for UE 105, which may or may not include an altitude component (e.g., height above sea level, height above ground level, floor level, or basement level, or depth below ground level, floor level, or basement level). Alternatively, the location of UE 105 may be represented as a city-specific location (e.g., as a postal address or the naming of a point or area within a building, such as a specific room or floor). The location of UE 105 can be represented as an area or volume within which UE 105 is expected to be located with a certain probability or confidence level (e.g., 67%, 95%, etc.) (defined geographically or in an urban sense). The location of UE 105 can be represented as a relative location, including, for example, distance and direction from a known location. A relative location can be represented as relative coordinates (e.g., X, Y (and Z) coordinates) defined relative to an origin at a known location, which can be, for example, geographically, in an urban sense, or by reference to a point, area, or volume indicated, for example, on a map, floor plan, or building plan. In the description contained herein, the use of the term location can include any of these variations unless otherwise indicated. When calculating the location of the UE, local x, y, and possibly z coordinates are typically solved, and then, if necessary, the local coordinates are converted to absolute coordinates (e.g., for latitude, longitude, and altitude above or below mean sea level).

[0044] UE 105 can be configured to communicate with other entities using one or more of various technologies. UE 105 can be configured to indirectly connect to one or more communication networks via one or more device-to-device (D2D) point-to-point (P2P) links. D2D P2P links can be supported using any suitable D2D Radio Access Technology (RAT) (such as LTE Direct (LTE-D), WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), Bluetooth®, etc.). One or more UEs in a group of UEs using D2D communication can be within the geographic coverage area of ​​a Transmit / Receive Point (TRP) (such as one or more of gNB 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114). Other UEs in such a group may be outside such geographic coverage area or may otherwise be unable to receive transmissions from a base station. A group of UEs communicating via D2D communication can utilize a one-to-many (1:M) system, where each UE can transmit to other UEs in the group. The TRP can facilitate the scheduling of resources for D2D communication. In other cases, D2D communication can be performed between UEs without involving the TRP. One or more UEs in a group utilizing D2D communication can be within the geographical coverage area of ​​the TRP. Other UEs in such a group may be outside this geographical coverage area or otherwise unable to receive transmissions from the base station. A group of UEs communicating via D2D communication can utilize a one-to-many (1:M) system, where each UE can send to other UEs in the group. The TRP can facilitate the scheduling of resources for D2D communication. In other cases, D2D communication can be performed between UEs without involving the TRP.

[0045] The base stations (BS) in NG-RAN 135 shown in Figure 1 include NR nodes B, referred to as gNBs 110a and 110b. Each pair of gNBs 110a and 110b in NG-RAN 135 can be interconnected via one or more other gNBs. Access to the 5G network is provided to UE 105 via wireless communication between UE 105 and one or more of gNBs 110a and 110b. gNBs 110a and 110b can use 5G to provide wireless communication access to 5GC 140 on behalf of UE 105. In Figure 1, although it is assumed that the serving gNB for UE 105 is gNB 110a, another gNB (e.g., gNB 110b) can act as the serving gNB if UE 105 moves to another location, or it can act as a secondary gNB to provide additional throughput and bandwidth to UE 105.

[0046] The base station (BS) in NG-RAN 135 shown in Figure 1 may include ng-eNB 114, also referred to as Next Generation Evolved Node B. ng-eNB 114 may be connected to one or more of the gNBs 110a and 110b in NG-RAN 135 via one or more other gNBs and / or one or more other ng-eNBs. ng-eNB 114 may provide LTE radio access and / or evolved LTE (eLTE) radio access to UE 105. One or more of the gNBs 110a, 110b and / or ng-eNB 114 may be configured to act as a location-only beacon, which may transmit signals to assist in determining the location of UE 105, but may not receive signals from UE 105 or from other UEs.

[0047] Each of the gNBs 110a, 110b, and / or the ng-eNB 114 may include one or more TRPs. For example, although each sector within a cell of the BS may include a TRP, multiple TRPs may share one or more components (e.g., a shared processor, but with separate antennas). System 100 may exclusively include macro TRPs, or system 100 may have different types of TRPs, such as macro TRPs, pico TRPs, and / or femto TRPs. Macro TRPs may cover a relatively large geographic area (e.g., a radius of several kilometers) and may allow unrestricted access to terminals with service customization. Pico TRPs may cover a relatively small geographic area (e.g., a pico cell) and may allow unrestricted access to terminals with service customization. Femto or home TRPs may cover a relatively small geographic area (e.g., a femto cell) and may allow restricted access to terminals associated with that femto cell (e.g., terminals for users in a residence).

[0048] As mentioned, although Figure 1 depicts a node configured to communicate according to a 5G communication protocol, nodes configured to communicate according to other communication protocols (such as, for example, the LTE protocol or the IEEE 802.11x protocol) can be used. For example, in an evolved packet system (EPS) providing LTE radio access to UE 105, the RAN may include an evolved Universal Mobile Communications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN), which may include base stations, each including an evolved Node B (eNB). The core network for the EPS may include an evolved packet core (EPC). The EPS may include E-UTRAN plus EPC, where E-UTRAN corresponds to NG-RAN 135 in Figure 1 and EPC corresponds to 5GC 140 in Figure 1.

[0049] gNB 110a, 110b, and ng-eNB 114 can communicate with AMF 115, which in turn communicates with LMF 120 for positioning functions. AMF 115 supports the mobility of UE 105 (including cell changes and handover) and can participate in supporting signaling connections to UE 105 and providing possible data and voice bearers for UE 105. LMF 120 can communicate directly with UE 105, for example, via wireless communication, or directly with gNB 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114. LMF 120 can support the location of UE 105 when UE 105 accesses NG-RAN 135, and can support location procedures / methods such as assisted GNSS (A-GNSS), Observation Time Difference of Arrival (OTDOA) (e.g., downlink (DL) OTDOA or uplink (UL) OTDOA), Round Trip Time (RTT), Multi-Cell RTT, Real-Time Kinematics (RTK), Precise Point Positioning (PPP), Differential GNSS (DGNSS), Enhanced Cell ID (E-CID), Angle of Arrival (AoA), Angle of Transmission (AoD), and / or other location methods. LMF 120 can process location service requests for UE 105 received, for example, from AMF 115 or GMLC 125. LMF 120 can connect to AMF 115 and / or GMLC 125. LMF 120 may be referred to by other names such as Location Manager (LM), Location Function (LF), Commercial LMF (CLMF), or Value-Added LMF (VLMF). Nodes / systems implementing LMF 120 may additionally or alternatively implement other types of location support modules, such as Enhanced Service Mobile Location Center (E-SMLC) or Secure User Plane Location (SUPL) Location Platform (SLP). At least a portion of the location functionality (including the derivation of UE 105's location) may be performed at UE 105 (e.g., using signal measurements obtained by UE 105 of signals transmitted by radio nodes such as gNB 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114, and / or auxiliary data provided to UE 105, for example, by LMF 120). AMF 115 may serve as a control node for handling signaling between UE 105 and 5GC 140, and may provide QoS (Quality of Service) streaming and session management. AMF 115 can support the mobility of UE 105 (including cell changes and handover) and can participate in supporting signaling connections to UE 105.

[0050] GMLC 125 can support location requests for UE 105 received from external client 130, and can forward such location requests to AMF 115 for forwarding to LMF 120, or can forward location requests directly to LMF 120. Location responses from LMF 120 (e.g., containing location estimates for UE 105) can be returned to GMLC 125 directly or via AMF 115, and GMLC 125 can then return location responses (e.g., containing location estimates) to external client 130. Although GMLC 125 is shown connected to both AMF 115 and LMF 120, in some implementations, GMLC 125 may not be connected to either AMF 115 or LMF 120.

[0051] As further illustrated in Figure 1, the LMF 120 can communicate with gNB 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114 using the new Radio Positioning Protocol A (which may be referred to as NPPa or NRPPa) defined in 3GPP Technical Specification (TS) 38.455. NRPPa can be the same as, similar to, or an extension of the LTE Positioning Protocol A (LPPa) defined in 3GPP TS 36.455, where NRPPa messages are transmitted via AMF 115 between gNB 110a (or gNB 110b) and the LMF 120, and / or between ng-eNB 114 and the LMF 120. As further illustrated in Figure 1, the LMF 120 and UE 105 can communicate using the LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP) defined in 3GPP TS 36.355. LMF 120 and UE 105 can also, or alternatively, communicate using a new radio positioning protocol (which may be referred to as NPP or NRPP), which may be the same as, similar to, or an extension of LPP. Here, LPP and / or NPP messages can be transmitted between UE 105 and LMF 120 via AMF 115 and the serving gNB 110a, 110b, or serving ng-eNB 114 for UE 105. For example, LPP and / or NPP messages can be transmitted between LMF 120 and AMF 115 using the 5G Location Services Application Protocol (LCS AP), and between AMF 115 and UE 105 using the 5G Non-Access Layer (NAS) protocol. The LPP and / or NPP protocols can be used to support the positioning of UE 105 using UE-assisted and / or UE-based positioning methods such as A-GNSS, RTK, OTDOA, and / or E-CID. The NRPPa protocol can be used to support the location of UE 105 using network-based location methods such as E-CID (e.g., when used with measurements obtained from gNB 110a, 110b, or ng-eNB 114), and / or can be used by LMF 120 to obtain location-related information from gNB 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114, such as defining parameters for directional SS or PRS transmissions from gNB 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114. LMF 120 can be co-located or integrated with the gNB or TRP, or can be positioned remotely from the gNB and / or TRP, and configured to communicate directly or indirectly with the gNB and / or TRP.

[0052] Using the UE-assisted positioning method, UE 105 can obtain location measurements and send them to a location server (e.g., LMF 120) to calculate a location estimate for UE 105. For example, location measurements may include one or more of the following for gNB 110a, 110b, ng-eNB 114, and / or WLAN AP: Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI), Round-Trip Time (RTT), Reference Signal Time Difference (RSTD), Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP), and / or Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ). Location measurements may also, or alternatively, include measurements of GNSS pseudorange, code phase, and / or carrier phase for SV 190-193.

[0053] Using a UE-based positioning method, UE 105 can obtain a location measurement (e.g., which may be the same as or similar to the location measurement of a UE-assisted positioning method) and can calculate the location of UE 105 (e.g., by means of auxiliary data received from a location server such as LMF 120 or broadcast by gNB 110a, 110b, ng-eNB 114 or other base stations or APs).

[0054] Using a network-based positioning method, one or more base stations (e.g., gNB 110a, 110b and / or ng-eNB 114) or APs can obtain location measurements (e.g., measurements of RSSI, RTT, RSRP, RSRQ, or Time of Arrival (ToA) for signals transmitted by UE 105) and / or can receive measurements obtained by UE 105. One or more base stations or APs can transmit the measurements to a location server (e.g., LMF 120) for calculating a location estimate for UE 105.

[0055] The information provided to the LMF 120 by the gNB 110a, 110b and / or ng-eNB 114 using NRPPa may include timing and configuration information for directing SS or PRS transmissions, as well as location coordinates. The LMF 120 may provide some or all of this information to the UE 105 as supplementary data in LPP and / or NPP messages via NG-RAN 135 and 5GC 140.

[0056] The LPP or NPP message sent from LMF 120 to UE 105 can instruct UE 105 to perform any of a variety of tasks according to the desired functionality. For example, the LPP or NPP message may contain instructions for UE 105 to obtain measurements for GNSS (or A-GNSS), WLAN, E-CID, and / or OTDOA (or some other positioning method). In the case of E-CID, LPP or NPP messages can instruct UE 105 to obtain one or more measurements (e.g., beam ID, beamwidth, average angle, RSRP, RSRQ measurements) of directional signals transmitted within a specific cell supported by one or more of gNBs 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114 (or supported by some other type of base station such as eNB or WiFi AP). UE 105 can send the measurements back to LMF 120 via serving gNB 110a (or serving ng-eNB 114) and AMF 115 in an LPP or NPP message (e.g., within a 5G NAS message).

[0057] As mentioned, although the communication system 100 is described in relation to 5G technology, the communication system 100 can be implemented to support other communication technologies (such as GSM, WCDMA, LTE, etc.) for supporting and interacting with mobile devices such as UE 105 (e.g., providing voice, data, location, and other functions). In some such embodiments, 5GC 140 can be configured to control different air interfaces. For example, 5GC 140 can use a non-3GPP interoperability function (N3IWF, not shown in Figure 1) in 5GC 140 to connect to a WLAN. For example, the WLAN can support IEEE 802.11 WiFi access for UE 105 and may include one or more WiFi APs. Here, N3IWF can connect to the WLAN and other elements in 5GC 140, such as AMF 115. In some embodiments, both NG-RAN 135 and 5GC 140 can be replaced by one or more other RANs and one or more other core networks. For example, in EPS, NG-RAN 135 can be replaced by E-UTRAN containing eNBs, and 5GC 140 can be replaced by EPC containing a Mobility Management Entity (MME) (instead of AMF 115), E-SMLC (instead of LMF 120), and GMLC similar to GMLC 125. In such EPS, E-SMLC can use LPPa (instead of NRPPa) to send location information to and receive location information from eNBs in E-UTRAN, and can use LPP to support the location of UE 105. In these other embodiments, the location of UE 105 using directional PRS can be supported in a manner similar to that described herein for 5G networks, the difference being that in some cases, the functions and procedures described herein for gNBs 110a, 110b, ng-eNB 114, AMF 115, and LMF 120 can be alternatively applied to other network elements, such as eNBs, WiFi Aps, MMEs, and E-SMLCs.

[0058] As mentioned, in some embodiments, the positioning function may be implemented at least in part using directional SS or PRS beams transmitted by base stations (such as gNB 110a, 110b and / or ng-eNB 114) within range of the UE whose location is to be determined (e.g., UE 105 in FIG. 1). In some cases, the UE may use directional SS or PRS beams from multiple base stations (such as gNB 110a, 110b, ng-eNB 114, etc.) to calculate the UE's location.

[0059] Referring also to Figure 2, UE 200 is an example of one of UEs 105 and 106, and includes a computing platform comprising: a processor 210, memory 211 including software (SW) 212, one or more sensors 213, a transceiver interface 214 for transceivers 215 (which includes a wireless transceiver 240 and a wired transceiver 250), a user interface 216, a satellite positioning system (SPS) receiver 217, a camera 218, and a positioning device (PD) 219. The processor 210, memory 211, sensors 213, transceiver interface 214, user interface 216, SPS receiver 217, camera 218, and positioning device 219 may be communicatively coupled to each other via a bus 220 (e.g., which may be configured for optical and / or electrical communication). One or more of the devices shown (e.g., one or more of camera 218, positioning device 219, and / or sensor 213, etc.) may be omitted from UE 200. Processor 210 may include one or more intelligent hardware devices, such as a central processing unit (CPU), microcontroller, application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), etc. Processor 210 may include multiple processors, including a general-purpose / application processor 230, a digital signal processor (DSP) 231, a modem processor 232, a video processor 233, and / or a sensor processor 234. One or more of processors 230-234 may include multiple devices (e.g., multiple processors). For example, sensor processor 234 may include, for example, processors for RF (radio frequency) sensing (where one or more (cellular) wireless signals are transmitted and reflected for identification, mapping, and / or tracking of objects) and / or ultrasound, etc. Modem processor 232 may support dual SIM / dual connectivity (or even more SIMs). For example, an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) can use a SIM (Subscriber Identity Module or Subscriber Identification Module), and an end user of UE 200 can use another SIM for connectivity. Memory 211 is a non-transitory storage medium, which may include random access memory (RAM), flash memory, optical disk memory, and / or read-only memory (ROM), etc. Memory 211 stores software 212, which may be processor-readable and processor-executable software code containing instructions configured to cause processor 210 to perform the various functions described herein when executed. Alternatively, software 212 may not be executed directly by processor 210, but may be configured to cause processor 210 (e.g., when compiled and executed) to perform functions. The description may refer to processor 210 performing functions, but this includes other implementations, such as processor 210 performing software and / or firmware. This description may simply refer to processor 210 performing functions as processor 210 performing functions. This description may refer to the performance of functions by one or more appropriate components of UE 200 as UE 200 performing functions.In addition to and / or in place of memory 211, processor 210 may include memory containing stored instructions. The functionality of processor 210 is discussed more fully below.

[0060] The configuration of UE 200 shown in Figure 2 is an example, not a limitation, of the present disclosure which includes the scope of the claims, and other configurations may be used. For example, an example configuration of the UE includes one or more of processors 230-234 of processor 210, memory 211, and wireless transceiver 240. Other example configurations include one or more of processors 230-234 of processor 210, memory 211, wireless transceiver, and one or more of sensors 213, user interface 216, SPS receiver 217, camera 218, PD 219, and / or wired transceiver.

[0061] UE 200 may include a modem processor 232, which may be capable of performing baseband processing on signals received and down-frequency by transceiver 215 and / or SPS receiver 217. The modem processor 232 may perform baseband processing on signals to be up-frequencyed for transmission by transceiver 215. Alternatively, baseband processing may be performed by a general-purpose / application processor 230 and / or DSP 231. However, other configurations may be used to perform baseband processing.

[0062] UE 200 may include sensors 213, which may include one or more of various types of sensors, such as one or more inertial sensors, one or more magnetometers, one or more environmental sensors, one or more optical sensors, one or more weight sensors, and / or one or more radio frequency (RF) sensors. An inertial measurement unit (IMU) may include, for example, one or more accelerometers (e.g., collectively responding to acceleration in three dimensions of UE 200) and / or one or more gyroscopes (e.g., three-dimensional gyroscopes). Sensor 213 may include one or more magnetometers (e.g., three-dimensional magnetometers) for determining orientation (e.g., relative to magnetic north and / or true north), which may be used for any of a variety of purposes, such as supporting one or more compass applications. Environmental sensors may include, for example, one or more temperature sensors, one or more atmospheric pressure sensors, one or more ambient light sensors, one or more camera imagers, and / or one or more microphones. Sensor 213 can generate analog and / or digital signal indications that can be stored in memory 211 and processed by DSP 231 and / or general / application processor 230 to support one or more applications, such as, for example, applications involving positioning and / or navigation operations.

[0063] Sensor 213 can be used for relative position measurement, relative position determination, motion determination, etc. Information detected by sensor 213 can be used for motion detection, relative displacement, dead reckoning, sensor-based position determination, and / or sensor-assisted position determination. Sensor 213 can be used to determine whether UE 200 is stationary or moving and / or whether to report certain useful information about the mobility of UE 200 to LMF 120. For example, based on information obtained / measured by sensor 213, UE 200 can notify / report to LMF 120 that UE 200 has detected movement or that UE 200 has moved, and report relative displacement / distance (e.g., via dead reckoning or sensor-based position determination or sensor-assisted position determination enabled by sensor 213). In another example, for relative positioning information, the sensor / IMU can be used to determine the angle and / or orientation of another device relative to UE 200, etc.

[0064] The IMU can be configured to provide measurements of the UE 200's direction of motion and / or velocity, which can be used for relative position determination. For example, one or more accelerometers and / or one or more gyroscopes of the IMU can detect the UE 200's linear acceleration and rotational velocity, respectively. The linear acceleration and rotational velocity measurements of the UE 200 can be integrated over time to determine the UE 200's instantaneous direction of motion and displacement. The instantaneous direction of motion and displacement can be integrated to track the UE 200's position. For example, the UE 200's reference position can be determined at a certain moment, for example, using an SPS receiver 217 (and / or through some other means), and measurements taken after that moment from the accelerometers and gyroscopes can be used for dead reckoning to determine the UE 200's current position based on its movement (direction and distance) relative to the reference position.

[0065] A magnetometer can determine the strength of a magnetic field in different directions, which can be used to determine the orientation of the UE 200. For example, this orientation can be used to provide a digital compass for the UE 200. The magnetometer can include a two-dimensional magnetometer configured to detect and provide indications of magnetic field strength in two orthogonal dimensions. The magnetometer can also include a three-dimensional magnetometer configured to detect and provide indications of magnetic field strength in three orthogonal dimensions. The magnetometer can provide units for sensing magnetic fields and, for example, providing indications of the magnetic field to the processor 210.

[0066] Transceiver 215 may include a wireless transceiver 240 and a wired transceiver 250, which are configured to communicate with other devices via wireless and wired connections, respectively. For example, wireless transceiver 240 may include a wireless transmitter 242 and a wireless receiver 244 coupled to antenna 246 for transmitting (e.g., on one or more uplink channels and / or one or more sidelink channels) and / or receiving (e.g., on one or more downlink channels and / or one or more sidelink channels) wireless signals 248 and converting signals from wireless signals 248 to wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signals and from wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signals to wireless signals 248. Wireless transmitter 242 includes suitable components (e.g., a power amplifier and a digital-to-analog converter). Wireless receiver 244 includes suitable components (e.g., one or more amplifiers, one or more frequency filters, and an analog-to-digital converter). Wireless transmitter 242 may include multiple transmitters that can be used as discrete components or combined / integrated components, and / or wireless receiver 244 may include multiple receivers that can be used as discrete components or combined / integrated components. Wireless transceiver 240 may be configured to transmit signals according to various Radio Access Technologies (RATs) such as: 5G New Radio (NR), GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications), UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System), AMPS (Advanced Mobile Telephone System), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), WCDMA (Wideband CDMA), LTE (Long Term Evolution), LTE Direct (LTE-D), 3GPP LTE-V2X (PC5), IEEE 802.11 (including IEEE 802.11p), WiFi, WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), Bluetooth®, Zigbee, etc. New Radio may use mm-wave frequencies and / or frequencies below 6 GHz. Wired transceiver 250 may include a wired transmitter 252 and a wired receiver 254 configured for wired communication, for example, a network interface that can be used to communicate with NG-RAN 135 to send and receive communications from NG-RAN 135. Wired transmitter 252 may include multiple transmitters that can be discrete components or combined / integrated components, and / or wired receiver 254 may include multiple receivers that can be discrete components or combined / integrated components. Wired transceiver 250 may be configured, for example, for optical and / or electrical communication. Transceiver 215 may be communicatively coupled to transceiver interface 214, for example, via optical and / or electrical connections. Transceiver interface 214 may be at least partially integrated with transceiver 215.The wireless transmitter 242, wireless receiver 244, and / or antenna 246 may each include multiple transmitters, multiple receivers, and / or multiple antennas for transmitting and / or receiving appropriate signals, respectively.

[0067] User interface 216 may include one or more of a number of devices, such as, for example, speakers, microphones, display devices, vibration devices, keyboards, touch screens, etc. User interface 216 may include more than one of these devices. User interface 216 may be configured to enable a user to interact with one or more applications hosted by UE 200. For example, user interface 216 may store indications of analog and / or digital signals in memory 211 to be processed by DSP 231 and / or general-purpose / application processor 230 in response to actions from the user. Similarly, applications hosted on UE 200 may store indications of analog and / or digital signals in memory 211 to present output signals to the user. User interface 216 may include audio input / output (I / O) devices, including, for example, speakers, microphones, digital-analog circuitry, analog-digital circuitry, amplifiers, and / or gain control circuitry (including more than one of these devices). Other configurations of the audio I / O devices may be used. Alternatively, the user interface 216 may include one or more touch sensors responsive to touch and / or pressure, for example, on the keyboard and / or touchscreen of the user interface 216.

[0068] SPS receiver 217 (e.g., a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver) may be able to receive and acquire SPS signal 260 via SPS antenna 262. SPS antenna 262 is configured to convert SPS signal 260 from a wireless signal to a wired signal (e.g., an electrical or optical signal) and may be integrated with antenna 246. SPS receiver 217 may be configured to process the acquired SPS signal 260, in whole or in part, to estimate the location of UE 200. For example, SPS receiver 217 may be configured to use SPS signal 260 via trilateration to determine the location of UE 200. General-purpose / application processor 230, memory 211, DSP 231, and / or one or more dedicated processors (not shown) may be used in conjunction with SPS receiver 217 to process the acquired SPS signal, in whole or in part, and / or calculate the estimated location of UE 200. Memory 211 may store indications (e.g., measurements) of the SPS signal 260 and / or other signals used to perform positioning operations (e.g., signals acquired from the wireless transceiver 240). A general-purpose / application processor 230, a DSP 231, and / or one or more dedicated processors and / or memory 211 may provide or support a positioning engine for processing measurements to estimate the position of the UE 200.

[0069] UE 200 may include a camera 218 for capturing still or moving images. Camera 218 may include, for example, an imaging sensor (e.g., a charge-coupled device or CMOS (complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor) imager), a lens, analog-to-digital circuitry, a frame buffer, etc. Additional processing, conditioning, encoding, and / or compression of the signal representing the captured image may be performed by a general-purpose / application processor 230 and / or a DSP 231. Alternatively, video processor 233 may perform conditioning, encoding, compression, and / or manipulation of the signal representing the captured image. Video processor 233 may decode / decompress stored image data for presentation on a display device (not shown), such as user interface 216.

[0070] Positioning device (PD) 219 may be configured to determine the location of UE 200, the movement of UE 200, and / or the relative location and / or time of UE 200. For example, PD 219 may communicate with and / or include part or all of SPS receiver 217. Although PD 219 may work in conjunction with processor 210 and memory 211 as appropriate to perform at least a portion of one or more positioning methods, the description herein may refer to PD 219 being configured to perform according to a positioning method or PD 219 performing according to a positioning method. PD 219 may also, or alternatively, be configured to use ground-based signals (e.g., at least some of the signals in signal 248) for trilateration, for assisting in the acquisition and use of SPS signal 260, or both, to determine the location of UE 200. PD 219 can be configured to determine the location of UE 200 using one or more other technologies (e.g., relying on the UE's self-reported location (e.g., part of the UE's location beacon)), and can use a combination of technologies (e.g., SPS and terrestrial positioning signals) to determine the location of UE 200. PD 219 may include one or more sensors 213 (e.g., gyroscope, accelerometer, magnetometer, etc.) that can sense the orientation and / or motion of UE 200 and provide indications thereof. Processor 210 (e.g., general-purpose / application processor 230 and / or DSP 231) can be configured to use these indications to determine the motion of UE 200 (e.g., velocity vector and / or acceleration vector). PD 219 can be configured to provide indications of indeterminacy and / or error in the determined positioning and / or motion. The functionality of PD 219 can be provided in various ways and / or configurations, for example, by a general-purpose / application processor 230, transceiver 215, SPS receiver 217 and / or another component of UE 200, and can be provided by hardware, software, firmware or various combinations thereof.

[0071] Referring also to Figure 3, an example of a TRP 300 for gNB 110a, 110b and / or ng-eNB 114 includes a computing platform comprising a processor 310, memory 311 including software (SW) 312, and a transceiver 315. The processor 310, memory 311, and transceiver 315 may be communicatively coupled to each other via a bus 320 (which may be configured, for example, for optical and / or electrical communications). One or more of the devices shown (e.g., wireless transceivers) may be omitted from the TRP 300. The processor 310 may include one or more intelligent hardware devices, such as a central processing unit (CPU), microcontroller, application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), etc. The processor 310 may include multiple processors (e.g., including a general-purpose / application processor, DSP, modem processor, video processor, and / or sensor processor as shown in Figure 2). Memory 311 may be a non-transitory storage medium that may include random access memory (RAM), flash memory, optical disk memory, and / or read-only memory (ROM). Memory 311 stores software 312, which may be processor-readable and processor-executable software code containing instructions configured to cause processor 310 to perform the various functions described herein when executed. Alternatively, software 312 may not be directly executed by processor 310, but may be configured to cause processor 310 to perform functions (e.g., when compiled and executed).

[0072] This description may refer to processor 310 performing functions, but this includes other implementations, such as processor 310 performing software and / or firmware. This description may simply refer to one or more processors included in processor 310 performing functions as processor 310 performing functions. This description may also simply refer to one or more appropriate components of TRP 300 (and therefore one of gNB 110a, 110b and / or ng-eNB 114) (e.g., processor 310 and memory 311) performing functions as TRP 300 performing the function. In addition to and / or instead of memory 311, processor 310 may include memory with stored instructions. The functionality of processor 310 is discussed more fully below.

[0073] Transceiver 315 may include a wireless transceiver 340 and / or a wired transceiver 350, which are configured to communicate with other devices via wireless and wired connections, respectively. For example, wireless transceiver 340 may include a wireless transmitter 342 and a wireless receiver 344 coupled to one or more antennas 346 for transmitting (e.g., on one or more uplink channels and / or one or more downlink channels) and / or receiving (e.g., on one or more downlink channels and / or one or more downlink channels) wireless signals 348 and converting signals from wireless signals 348 to wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signals and from wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signals to wireless signals 348. Therefore, wireless transmitter 342 may include multiple transmitters that can be discrete components or combined / integrated components, and / or wireless receiver 344 may include multiple receivers that can be discrete components or combined / integrated components. Wireless transceiver 340 can be configured to transmit signals (e.g., with UE 200, one or more other UEs, and / or one or more other devices) according to various Radio Access Technologies (RATs) such as: 5G New Radio (NR), GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications), UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System), AMPS (Advanced Mobile Telephone System), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), WCDMA (Wideband CDMA), LTE (Long Term Evolution), LTE Direct (LTE-D), 3GPP LTE-V2X (PC5), IEEE 802.11 (including IEEE 802.11p), WiFi, WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), Bluetooth®, Zigbee, etc. Wired transceiver 350 may include a wired transmitter 352 and a wired receiver 354 configured for wired communications, for example, it can be used as a network interface to communicate with NG-RAN 135 to send and receive communications to, for example, LMF 120 and / or one or more other network entities. Wired transmitter 352 may include multiple transmitters that can be used as discrete components or combined / integrated components, and / or wired receiver 354 may include multiple receivers that can be used as discrete components or combined / integrated components. Wired transceiver 350 may be configured, for example, for optical communication and / or electrical communication.

[0074] The configuration of TRP 300 shown in Figure 3 is an example, not a limitation, of the present disclosure which includes the scope of the claims, and other configurations may be used. For example, the description herein discusses TRP 300 being configured to perform certain functions or TRP 300 performing certain functions, but one or more of these functions may be performed by LMF 120 and / or UE 200 (i.e., LMF 120 and / or UE 200 may be configured to perform one or more of these functions).

[0075] Referring also to Figure 4, server 400 (which is an example of LMF 120) includes a computing platform comprising a processor 410, memory 411 including software (SW) 412, and transceiver 415. The processor 410, memory 411, and transceiver 415 may be communicatively coupled to each other via bus 420 (which may be configured, for example, for optical and / or electrical communications). One or more of the devices shown (e.g., wireless transceivers) may be omitted from server 400. Processor 410 may include one or more intelligent hardware devices, such as a central processing unit (CPU), microcontroller, application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), etc. Processor 410 may include multiple processors (e.g., including general-purpose / application processors, DSPs, modem processors, video processors, and / or sensor processors as shown in Figure 2). Memory 411 is a non-transitory storage medium that may include random access memory (RAM), flash memory, optical disk memory, and / or read-only memory (ROM), etc. Memory 411 stores software 412, which may be processor-readable and processor-executable software code containing instructions configured to cause processor 410 to perform the various functions described herein when executed. Alternatively, software 412 may not be executed directly by processor 410, but may be configured to cause processor 410 (e.g., when compiled and executed) to perform functions. This description may refer to processor 410 performing functions, but this includes other implementations, such as processor 410 performing software and / or firmware. This description may simply refer to one or more processors included in processor 410 performing functions as processor 410 performing functions. This description may simply refer to one or more appropriate components of server 400 performing functions as server 400 performing the function. In addition to and / or in place of memory 411, processor 410 may include memory with stored instructions. The functionality of processor 410 is discussed more fully below.

[0076] Transceiver 415 may include a wireless transceiver 440 and / or a wired transceiver 450, which are configured to communicate with other devices via wireless and wired connections, respectively. For example, wireless transceiver 440 may include a wireless transmitter 442 and a wireless receiver 444 coupled to one or more antennas 446 for transmitting (e.g., on one or more downlink channels) and / or receiving (e.g., on one or more uplink channels) wireless signals 448 and converting signals from wireless signals 448 to wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signals and from wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signals to wireless signals 448. Therefore, wireless transmitter 442 may include multiple transmitters that can be discrete components or combined / integrated components, and / or wireless receiver 444 may include multiple receivers that can be discrete components or combined / integrated components. Wireless transceiver 440 can be configured to transmit signals (e.g., with UE 200, one or more other UEs, and / or one or more other devices) according to various Radio Access Technologies (RATs) such as: 5G New Radio (NR), GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications), UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System), AMPS (Advanced Mobile Telephone System), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), WCDMA (Wideband CDMA), LTE (Long Term Evolution), LTE Direct (LTE-D), 3GPP LTE-V2X (PC5), IEEE 802.11 (including IEEE 802.11p), WiFi, WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), Bluetooth®, Zigbee, etc. Wired transceiver 450 may include a wired transmitter 452 and a wired receiver 454 configured for wired communications, for example, it can be used as a network interface to communicate with NG-RAN 135 to send and receive communications to, for example, TRP 300 and / or one or more other network entities. Wired transmitter 452 may include multiple transmitters that can be used as discrete components or combined / integrated components, and / or wired receiver 454 may include multiple receivers that can be used as discrete components or combined / integrated components. Wired transceiver 450 may be configured, for example, for optical communication and / or electrical communication.

[0077] The description herein may refer to the processor 410 performing the function, but this includes other implementations, such as the processor 410 performing software (stored in memory 411) and / or firmware. The description herein may be simply referred to as the server 400 performing the function, where one or more appropriate components of the server 400 (e.g., the processor 410 and memory 411) perform the function.

[0078] The configuration of server 400 shown in Figure 4 is an example, not a limitation, of this disclosure which includes the scope of the claims, and other configurations may be used. For example, wireless transceiver 440 may be omitted. Alternatively or additionally, the description herein discusses server 400 being configured to perform certain functions or server 400 performing certain functions, but one or more of these functions may be performed by TRP 300 and / or UE 200 (i.e., TRP 300 and / or UE 200 may be configured to perform one or more of these functions).

[0079] [, Positioning technology , ]

[0080] For terrestrial positioning of UEs in cellular networks, techniques such as Advanced Forward Link Trilateral Measurement (AFLT) and Observation Time Difference of Arrival (OTDOA) typically operate in "UE-assisted" mode. In "UE-assisted" mode, the UE measures reference signals (e.g., PRS, CRS, etc.) transmitted by the base station and then provides them to a location server. The location server then calculates the UE's location based on this measurement and the known location of the base station. Because these techniques use a location server rather than the UE itself to calculate the UE's location, they are not frequently used in applications such as car or mobile phone navigation (which typically relies on satellite-based positioning instead).

[0081] UEs can use a Satellite Positioning System (SPS) (Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)) to achieve high-precision positioning using Precise Point Positioning (PPP) or Real-Time Kinematics (RTK) techniques. These techniques utilize ancillary data, such as measurements from ground-based stations. LTE Release 15 allows for data encryption, enabling UEs customizing the service to exclusively access this information. This ancillary data changes over time. Therefore, a UE customizing the service may not easily "break the encryption" by transmitting data to other UEs that have not yet paid for customization. The data will need to be repeatedly transmitted each time the ancillary data changes.

[0082] In UE-assisted positioning, the UE sends measurements (e.g., TDOA, angle of incidence (AoA), etc.) to a positioning server (e.g., LMF / eSMLC). The positioning server has a Base Station Almanac (BSA) containing multiple "entries" or "records," one record per cell, where each record contains the geographic cell location, but may also include other data. Identifiers of the "records" within the multiple "records" in the BSA can be referenced. The BSA and measurements from the UE can be used to calculate the UE's positioning.

[0083] In conventional UE-based positioning, the UE calculates its own location, thus avoiding sending measurements to the network (e.g., a location server), which improves latency and scalability. The UE uses relevant BSA record information from the network (e.g., the location of the gNB (more broadly, base station)). BSA information can be encrypted. However, since BSA information changes much less frequently than, for example, PPP or RTK auxiliary data described above, it may be easier to make BSA information available to UEs without customized and paid decryption keys compared to PPP or RTK information. The gNB's transmission of reference signals makes BSA information potentially accessible for crowd-sourcing or war-driving, essentially enabling BSA information to be generated based on on-site and / or out-of-range observations.

[0084] Positioning technology can be characterized and / or evaluated based on one or more criteria, such as positioning decision accuracy and / or latency. Latency is the time elapsed between the event that triggers a decision on location-related data and the availability of that data at the positioning system interface (e.g., the LMF 120 interface). The latency for the availability of location-related data at positioning system initialization is called the First Time To Fix (TTFF), and is greater than the latency after the TTFF. The reciprocal of the time elapsed between two consecutive availability periods of location-related data is called the update rate, i.e., the rate at which location-related data is generated after the first fix. Latency can depend on, for example, the processing capacity of the UE. For example, the UE can report its processing capacity per T time units (e.g., T ms) (assuming a 272 PRB (Entity Resource Block) allocation) as the duration of the DL PRS symbol (in time units, e.g., milliseconds). Other examples of capabilities that may affect latency are the number of TRPs the UE can process from its PRS, the number of PRSs the UE can process, and the UE's bandwidth.

[0085] One or more of many different positioning techniques (also known as positioning methods) can be used to determine the location of an entity (such as one of UEs 105 and 106). For example, known positioning determination techniques include RTT, multiple RTT, OTDOA (also known as TDOA and including UL-TDOA and DL-TDOA), Enhanced Cell Identification (E-CID), DL-AoD, UL-AoA, etc. RTT uses the time it takes for a signal to travel from one entity to another and back to determine the distance between two entities. The distance, plus the known location of the first entity and the angle between the two entities (e.g., azimuth), can be used to determine the location of the second entity. In multiple RTT (also known as multi-cell RTT), multiple distances from one entity (e.g., UE) to other entities (e.g., TRP) and the known locations of the other entities can be used to determine the location of one entity. In TDOA, the travel time difference between one entity and other entities can be used to determine the relative distance to other entities, and those relative distances, combined with the known locations of the other entities, can be used to determine the location of one entity. Angles of incidence and / or angles of transmission can be used to aid in determining the location of an entity. For example, the distance between the angle of incidence or transmission of a signal and a device (determined using the signal's travel time, received power, etc.) and the known location of one of the devices can be used to determine the location of another device. An angle of incidence or angle of transmission can be an azimuth relative to a reference direction (such as true north). An angle of incidence or angle of transmission can be a zenith angle relative to the entity directly upwards (i.e., radially outwards from the Earth's center). E-CID uses the identity of the serving cell, timing advance (i.e., the difference between the reception time and transmission time at the UE), estimated timing and power of detected neighboring cell signals, and possible angles of incidence (e.g., the angle of incidence of signals from a base station at the UE, and vice versa) to determine the location of the UE. In TDOA, the time difference of arrival of signals from different sources at the receiving device, along with the known location of the sources and the known offset of the transmission time from the sources, is used to determine the location of the receiving device.

[0086] In network-centric RTT estimation, the serving base station instructs the UE to scan / receive RTT measurement signals (e.g., PRS) on serving cells of two or more adjacent base stations (and typically the serving base station, as at least three base stations are required). One or more base stations transmit RTT measurement signals on low-reuse resources allocated by the network (e.g., resources used by the base station to transmit system information), such as the location server of an LMF 120. The UE records the arrival time (also referred to as receive time, reception time, or Time of Arrival (ToA)) of each RTT measurement signal relative to the UE's current downlink timing (e.g., derived by the UE from DL signals received from its serving base station), as well as the time difference between the ToA of the RTT measurement signal and the transmission time of the RTT response message in the payload of each RTT response message. (i.e., UE T Rx -Tx or UE Rx -Tx). The RTT response message will include a reference signal, which the base station can use to infer the ToA of the RTT response. This is achieved by comparing the transmission time of the RTT measurement signal from the base station with the ToA of the RTT response at the base station. Time difference with UE report By comparing the data, the base station can deduce the propagation time between the base station and the UE. Based on this propagation time, the base station can determine the distance between the UE and the base station by assuming the speed of light during that propagation time.

[0087] UE-centric RTT estimation is similar to a network-based approach, except that the UE transmits an uplink RTT measurement signal (e.g., when directed by a serving base station), which is received by multiple base stations near the UE. Each involved base station responds using a downlink RTT response message, which may include the time difference between the ToA of the RTT measurement signal at the base station and the transmission time of the RTT response message from the base station in the RTT response message payload.

[0088] For both network-centric and UE-centric processes, the party performing RTT calculation (network or UE) typically (but not always) sends a first message or signal (e.g., an RTT measurement signal), while the other party responds using one or more RTT response messages or signals, which may include the difference between the ToA of the first message or signal and the transmission time of the RTT response message or signal.

[0089] Multiple RTT (Round-Trip Toll) technology can be used to determine location. For example, a first entity (e.g., a UE) can send one or more signals (e.g., unicast, multicast, or broadcast from a base station), and multiple second entities (e.g., other TSPs such as the base station and / or the UE) can receive signals from the first entity and respond to those received signals. The first entity receives responses from multiple second entities. The first entity (or another entity such as an LMF) can use the responses from the second entities to determine the distance to the second entities, and can use multiple distances and the known locations of the second entities to determine the location of the first entity through trilateration.

[0090] In some cases, additional information can be obtained in the form of the angle of incidence (AoA) or angle of emission (AoD) defining the straight-line direction (e.g., which can be in a horizontal plane or three dimensions) or the possible directional distance (e.g., from the location of the base station for the UE). The intersection of the two directions can provide another estimate of the UE's location.

[0091] For positioning techniques that use PRS (Positioning Reference Signal) signals (e.g., TDOA and RTT), the distance from the UE to the TRP is determined by measuring the PRS signals transmitted by multiple TRPs and using the signal arrival time, known transmission time, and known location of the TRP. For example, RSTD (Reference Signal Time Difference) can be determined for PRS signals received from multiple TRPs, and RSTD is used in TDOA technology to determine the UE's location. The Positioning Reference Signal can be referred to as the PRS or PRS signal. PRS signals are typically transmitted using the same power, and PRS signals with the same signal characteristics (e.g., the same frequency shift) may interfere with each other, causing a PRS signal from a more distant TRP to be overwhelmed by a PRS signal from a closer TRP, making the signal from the more distant TRP undetectable. PRS muting can be used to help reduce interference by muting some PRS signals (e.g., reducing the power of the PRS signal to zero, and therefore not transmitting the PRS signal). In this way, the UE can more easily detect the weaker PRS signal (at the UE) without interference from the stronger PRS signal. The term RS and its variations (e.g., PRS, SRS, CSI-RS (Channel State Information Reference Signal)) can refer to one or more reference signals.

[0092] A Positioning Reference Signal (PRS) comprises a downlink PRS (DL PRS, often simply referred to as PRS) and an uplink PRS (UL PRS) (which may be referred to as an SRS (Sound Reference Signal) for positioning). A PRS may include frequency-layer PRS resources or a set of PRS resources. A PRS may include PN codes (pseudo-random codes) or be generated using PN codes (e.g., by scrambling the PN codes with another signal), such that the PRS source can act as a pseudo-satellite. PN codes may be unique for a PRS source (at least within a specified area, such that the same PRS from different PRS sources does not overlap). A PRS may include frequency-layer PRS resources and / or a set of PRS resources. A DL PRS positioning frequency layer (or simply frequency layer) is a set of DL PRS resources from one or more TRPs that have common parameters configured through higher-layer parameters DL-PRS-PositioningFrequencyLayer, DL-PRS-ResourceSet, and DL-PRS-Resource. Each frequency layer has a DL PRS resource set and a DL PRS subcarrier spacing (SCS) for the DL PRS resources within that frequency layer. Each frequency layer also has a DL PRS cyclic prefix (CP) for the DL PRS resource set and DL PRS resources within that frequency layer. In 5G, a resource block occupies 12 consecutive subcarriers and a specified number of symbols. A common resource block is a set of resource blocks occupying the channel bandwidth. A bandwidth portion (BWP) is a consecutive set of common resource blocks and may include all common resource blocks within the channel bandwidth or a subset of common resource blocks. Furthermore, the DL PRS point A parameter defines the frequency of a reference resource block (and the lowest subcarrier of the resource block), where DL PRS resources belonging to the same DL PRS resource set have the same point A, and all DL PRS resource sets belonging to the same frequency layer have the same point A. Frequency layers also have the same DL PRS bandwidth, the same starting PRB (and center frequency), and the same comb size value (i.e., the frequency of the PRS resource element for each symbol, such that for a comb N, each Nth resource element is a PRS resource element). The PRS resource set is identified by the PRS resource set ID and can be associated with a specific TRP (identified by the cell ID) transmitted by the antenna panel of a base station. The PRS resource ID in the PRS resource set can be associated with an omnidirectional signal and / or with a single beam (and / or beam ID) transmitted from a single base station (where a base station can transmit one or more beams). Each PRS resource in the PRS resource set can be transmitted on a different beam, and therefore, a PRS resource (or simply a resource) can also be referred to as a beam. This provides no indication of whether the UE knows the base station and beam transmitting the PRS on it.

[0093] The TRP can be configured to send DL PRS for each schedule, for example, via instructions received from a server and / or via software within the TRP. Depending on the schedule, the TRP can send DL PRS intermittently (e.g., periodically at consistent intervals from the start of the initial transmission). The TRP can be configured to send one or more PRS resource sets. A resource set is a collection of PRS resources spanning a TRP, where these resources have the same period, common silence mode configuration (if present), and the same repetition factor across time slots. Each of the PRS resource sets comprises multiple PRS resources, where each PRS resource comprises multiple OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) resource elements (REs) in multiple resource blocks (RBs) that can be within N (or more) consecutive symbols in a time slot. PRS resources (or generally reference signal (RS) resources) may be referred to as OFDM PRS resources (or OFDM RS resources). An RB is a collection of REs spanning one or more consecutive symbols in the time domain and one number (12 for 5G RBs) of consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain. Each PRS resource is configured with an RE offset, a slot offset, a symbol offset within a slot, and the number of consecutive symbols that the PRS resource can occupy within a slot. The RE offset defines the initial RE offset of the first symbol within the DL PRS resource in the frequency. The relative RE offsets of the remaining symbols within the DL PRS resource are defined based on the initial offset. The slot offset is the offset of the starting slot of the DL PRS resource relative to the corresponding resource set slots. The symbol offset determines the starting symbol of the DL PRS resource within the starting slot. Transmitted REs can be repeated across slots, where each transmission is called a repetition, allowing multiple repetitions to exist within a PRS resource. DL PRS resources in a DL PRS resource set are associated with the same TRP, and each DL PRS resource has a DL PRS resource ID. The DL PRS resource ID in a DL PRS resource set is associated with a single beam transmitted from a single TRP (however, a TRP can transmit one or more beams).

[0094] PRS resources can also be defined through quasi-co-location and starting PRB parameters. The quasi-co-location (QCL) parameter defines any quasi-co-location information between the DL PRS resource and other reference signals. The DL PRS can be configured with QCL type D for DL ​​PRS or SS / PBCH (Synchronization Signal / Physical Broadcast Channel) blocks from serving or non-serving cells. The DL PRS can also be configured with QCL type C for SS / PBCH blocks from serving or non-serving cells. The starting PRB parameter defines the starting PRB index of the DL PRS resource relative to reference point A. The starting PRB index has a PRB granularity and can have a minimum value of 0 and a maximum value of 2176 PRBs.

[0095] A PRS resource set is a collection of PRS resources that span time slots and have the same period, the same silence mode configuration (if present), and the same repetition factor. Each time all repetitions of all PRS resources in a PRS resource set are configured to be transmitted, it is called an "instance". Therefore, an "instance" of a PRS resource set is a specified number of repetitions for each PRS resource and a specified number of PRS resources within the PRS resource set, such that an instance is completed once the specified number of repetitions have been transmitted for each of the specified number of PRS resources. An instance can also be referred to as an "opportunity". DL PRS configuration, including DL PRS transmission scheduling, can be provided to the UE to facilitate (or even enable) the UE to measure DL PRS.

[0096] Multiple frequency layers of a PRS can be aggregated to provide a larger effective bandwidth than any single layer can provide. Multiple frequency layers (which can be consecutive and / or separate) of component carriers satisfying criteria such as Quasi-Co-location (QCL) and having the same antenna port can be combined to provide a larger effective PRS bandwidth (for DL ​​PRS and UL PRS), thereby increasing the accuracy of time of arrival measurements. Combining involves combining PRS measurements on individual bandwidth segments into a unified segment, such that the combined PRS can be considered as derived from a single measurement. As different frequency layers are QCL, they behave similarly, making the combination of PRSs result in a larger effective bandwidth. A larger effective bandwidth (which may be referred to as the bandwidth of the aggregated PRS or the frequency bandwidth of the aggregated PRS) provides better time-domain resolution (e.g., the time-domain resolution of TDOA). An aggregated PRS comprises a collection of PRS resources, and each PRS resource in the aggregated PRS can be referred to as a PRS component, and each PRS component can be transmitted on different component carriers, frequency bands, or frequency layers, or on different portions of the same frequency band.

[0097] RTT positioning is an active positioning technology because RTT uses positioning signals sent by the TRP to the UE and positioning signals sent by the UE (which is participating in RTT positioning) to the TRP. The TRP can send a DL PRS signal received by the UE, and the UE can send an SRS (Probe Reference Signal) signal received by multiple TRPs. The Probe Reference Signal can be referred to as SRS or SRS signal. In 5G multi-RTT, coordinated positioning can be used where the UE sends a single UL-SRS received by multiple TRPs for positioning, instead of sending separate UL-SRS for positioning for each TRP. A TRP participating in multi-RTT will typically search for UEs currently residing on that TRP (the served UE, where the TRP is the serving TRP) and also search for UEs residing on neighboring TRPs (neighbor UEs). A neighboring TRP can be a TRP of a single BTS (Base Transceiver Station) (e.g., gNB), or it can be a TRP of a single BTS and separate TRPs of individual BTSs. For RTT positioning (including multi-RTT positioning), the DL-PRS and UL-SRS of the positioning signal in the PRS / SRS of the positioning signal pair used to determine the RTT (and therefore the distance between the UE and the TRP) can occur close to each other in time, so that errors caused by UE movement and / or UE clock drift and / or TRP clock drift are within acceptable limits. For example, the signals in the PRS / SRS of the positioning signal pair can be transmitted from the TRP and the UE respectively within approximately 10 ms of each other. When the SRS for the positioning signal is transmitted by the UE, and when the PRS and SRS for the positioning signal are transmitted close to each other in time, it has been found that radio frequency (RF) signal congestion (which may lead to excessive noise, etc.) may occur, especially if many UEs attempt to locate in parallel and / or computational congestion may occur at the TRP where multiple UEs are attempting to measure in parallel.

[0098] RTT positioning can be UE-based or UE-assisted. In UE-based RTT, UE 200 determines the RTT and the corresponding distance to each of TRP 300, as well as the UE 200's location, based on the distance to TRP 300 and the known location of TRP 300. In UE-assisted RTT, UE 200 measures positioning signals and provides measurement information to TRP 300, and TRP 300 determines the RTT and distance. TRP 300 provides the distance to a location server (e.g., server 400), and the server determines the UE 200's location, for example, based on the distance to different TRP 300s. RTT and / or distance can be determined by TRP 300 receiving signals from UE 200, by TRP 300 combined with one or more other devices (e.g., one or more other TRP 300s and / or server 400), or by one or more devices other than TRP 300 receiving signals from UE 200.

[0099] 5G NR supports various positioning technologies. Supported NR native positioning methods include DL-only positioning, UL-only positioning, and DL+UL positioning. Downlink-based positioning methods include DL-TDOA and DL-AoD. Uplink-based positioning methods include UL-TDOA and UL-AoA. Combined DL+UL positioning methods include RTT with one base station and RTT with multiple base stations (multi-RTT).

[0100] Location estimation (e.g., for a UE) can be referred to by other names such as location estimate, location, position, location fix, or fix. Location estimation can be geodesic, including coordinates (e.g., latitude, longitude, and possible altitude), or it can be urban, including some other verbal description of the location such as a street address, postal address, or location. Location estimation can also be defined relative to another known location or in absolute terms (e.g., using latitude, longitude, and possible altitude). Location estimation can include anticipated errors or uncertainties (e.g., by including the area or volume within which the location is expected to be included at a specified or preset level of confidence).

[0101] The configuration of server 400 shown in Figure 4 is an example and does not limit the scope of this disclosure (including the claims), and other configurations may be used. For example, wireless transceiver 440 may be omitted. Furthermore or alternatively, the description herein discusses server 400 being configured to perform or perform several functions, but one or more of these functions may be performed by TRP 300 and / or UE 200 (i.e., TRP 300 and / or UE 100 may be configured to perform one or more of these functions).

[0102] [, Positioning in challenging environments , ]

[0103] Referring to Figure 5, the UE may move between different environments that may or may not pose a challenge to determining the UE's location based on received positioning signals. For example, within environment 500, UEs 510 and 520 may move between indoor environments (e.g., in any of buildings 531, 532, 533, and 534) and outdoor environments. Different environments can present different capabilities for the UE to determine an accurate location estimate within a desired amount of time. For example, indoor areas may be characterized by low signal strength of cellular positioning signals and / or low signal strength of SPS signals (e.g., below the corresponding signal strength threshold), while open outdoor areas may be characterized by high signal strength of cellular positioning signals and / or high signal strength of SPS signals (e.g., above the corresponding outdoor signal strength threshold). As shown, UE 510 located in building 533 may receive low-intensity positioning signals, making it challenging to determine the location of UE 510, for example, by using a long integration time to fully measure the signal if possible. UE 520, located in an urban canyon, results in satellite 190 being non-line-of-sight (NLOS), while satellites 191-193 are line-of-sight (LOS). Therefore, for positioning signal 590 received by UE 520 from satellite 190, positioning signal 590 is reflected, while positioning signals 581, 592, and 593 from satellites 191-193 can directly reach UE 520. When the UE is in challenging environments (such as indoors, in urban canyons, inside a vehicle (e.g., vehicle 540), in a coverage area, etc.), the UE may struggle to measure a sufficient number of positioning signals (e.g., cellular positioning signals and / or satellite positioning signals and / or other positioning signals) to determine the UE's position estimate while meeting one or more criteria, such as position accuracy, latency, power consumption, etc. Challenges may include poor measurement quality, multiple non-line-of-sight measurements, weak signals leading to poor observability, slow convergence after an initial fixed offset, etc. This paper discusses strategies for determining UE location in challenging environments, strategies that can improve location accuracy, reduce latency, and / or accelerate location convergence. The discussion focuses on the reception and processing of satellite positioning signals, but is applicable to other types of positioning signals.

[0104] Referring to Figure 6, and further referring to Figures 1-5, UE 600 includes a processor 610, an interface 620, and a memory 630 communicatively coupled to each other via bus 640. UE 600 may include some or all of the components shown in Figure 6, and may include one or more other components, such as any of the components shown in Figure 2, such that UE 200 may be an example of UE 600. Processor 610 may include one or more components of processor 210. Interface 620 may include one or more components of transceiver 215, such as wireless transmitter 242 and antenna 246, or wireless receiver 244 and antenna 246, or wireless transmitter 242, wireless receiver 242 and antenna 246. Additionally or alternatively, interface 620 may include wired transmitter 252 and / or wired receiver 254. Interface 620 may include SPS receiver 217 and SPS antenna 262. Memory 630 may be configured similarly to memory 211, for example, including software with processor-readable instructions configured to cause processor 610 to perform functions.

[0105] The description herein may refer to the processor 610 performing a function, but this includes other implementations, such as where the processor 610 performs software (stored in memory 630) and / or firmware. The description herein may be simply referred to as the UE 600 performing the function as one or more appropriate components of the UE 600 (e.g., processor 610 and memory 630). The processor 610 (possibly in conjunction with memory 630 and interface 620, as appropriate) includes a challenging environment detection unit 650 and a location estimation determination unit 660. The challenging environment detection unit 650 may be configured to determine whether the UE 600 is in a challenging environment for determining the location of the UE 600. The location estimation determination unit 660 may be configured to apply different techniques to determine the location estimate of the UE 600 based on whether the UE 600 is in a challenging environment. The functions of the challenging environment detection unit 650 and the position estimation and determination unit 660 are further discussed below, and this description may generally refer to the processor 610 or generally to any function of the UE 600 performing the functions of the challenging environment detection unit 650 and the position estimation and determination unit 660, wherein the UE 600 is configured to perform the functions.

[0106] Referring also to Figure 7, the positioning method 700 includes the stages shown. However, method 700 is illustrative and not limiting. Method 700 can be modified, for example, by adding, removing, rearranging, combining, performing stages simultaneously, and / or splitting a single stage into multiple stages.

[0107] At stage 710, positioning signals are received and measured. For example, satellite positioning signals are received and measured (e.g., by an SPS receiver 217, which may include part of processor 610, such as part of DSP 231) via interface 620 (e.g., SPS antenna 262). Additionally or alternatively, UE 600 may receive and measure PRS (e.g., downlink PRS from one or more TRPs and / or sidelink PRS from one or more sidelink PRS sources (such as other UEs)). This discussion may focus on satellite positioning signals as an example, but the discussion applies to positioning signals from sources other than satellites. For example, if UE 600 is not in a challenging environment with open skies, the positioning signals may have sufficient quantity and strength for good location estimation, or if UE 600 is in a challenging environment, the positioning signals may be insufficient for good location estimation.

[0108] At stage 720, UE 600 determines whether UE 600 is in a challenging environment. Referring also to FIG8, an example method 800 for stage 720 includes the stages shown. Other configurations can be used, including adding, removing, and / or rearranging the stages. For example, for location-based challenging environment detection, stages 810 and 840 can be omitted. As another example, for measurement-based challenging environment detection, stages 820, 830, and 840 can be omitted. At stage 810, challenging environment detection unit 650 evaluates one or more location signal measurement metrics (e.g., CN0 (carrier and noise density), dwell time, frame synchronization state, bit synchronization state, and / or another metric) to determine whether UE 600 is in a challenging environment. For example, the challenging environment detection unit 650 can determine that the UE 600 is not in a challenging environment based on two factors: the location signal having at least a threshold level of CN0, a dwell time less than a dwell time threshold (e.g., 1 second), and frame synchronization and bit synchronization achieved within a time less than a threshold synchronization time; otherwise, it determines that the UE 600 is in a challenging environment. Other techniques based on one or more measurement metrics (e.g., a combination or weighted combination of two or more measurement metrics) can be used to determine whether the UE 600 is in a challenging environment. At stage 820, the location estimation determination unit 660 uses location signal measurements to determine the location estimate of the UE 600. At stage 830, the challenging environment detection unit 650 determines whether the determined location estimate meets one or more criteria. One or more criteria may include a residual weighted sum of squares error less than a threshold, a least squares error less than a threshold, a weighted least squares error less than a threshold, an uncertainty less than a threshold, a number of satellites (degrees of freedom) corresponding to the measured location signal greater than a threshold, an amount of available redundant information greater than a threshold, or a combination of two or more of these criteria (e.g., a weighted combination). If one or more criteria are met (and therefore the location estimation is of good quality), the challenging environment detection unit 650 can conclude that the UE 600 is not in a challenging environment. If one or more criteria are not met, the challenging environment detection unit 650 can conclude that the UE 600 is in a challenging environment. At stage 840, the challenging environment detection unit 650 evaluates the decisions from stages 810 and 830 to determine the challenging environment state of the UE 600. If the decisions from stages 810 and 830 are the same, the agreed state is used. If the decisions from stages 810 and 830 are different, the challenging environment detection unit 650 can, for example, perform further analysis (e.g., analyze one or more additional measurement metrics and / or one or more additional location estimation quality metrics, and / or change one or more measurement metric thresholds and / or one or more location estimation quality metric thresholds, and re-evaluate stages 810 and / or 830).As another example, if the decisions from stages 810 and 830 differ, the challenging environment detection unit 650 can conclude that the UE 600 is in a challenging environment. As another example, if the decisions from stages 810 and 830 differ, the challenging environment detection unit 650 can use a location-based decision.

[0109] If the challenging environment detection unit 650 determines that the UE 600 is in a challenging environment, method 700 proceeds to stage 730, and if the challenging environment detection unit 650 determines that the UE 600 is not in a challenging environment, method 700 proceeds to stage 725. At stage 725, processor 610 reports a location estimate based on the positioning signal measured at stage 710. If a location estimate is determined at stage 720, the location estimate is reported. If a location estimate is not determined at stage 720, location estimation determination unit 660 determines the location estimate at stage 725. Processor 610 may report the location estimate internally to the UE 600 (e.g., for application use), and / or may report the location estimate externally, such as to a server 400 (e.g., LMF), via interface 620 for use by server 400 and / or forwarding to a location service client. By determining that the UE 600 is in a challenging environment and, in response to that determination, applying one or more of the techniques discussed herein, it is possible to determine and / or select a location estimate that is better than the location estimate reported in other ways for reporting.

[0110] At stage 730, the location estimation decision unit 660 determines the location estimation assumptions. The location estimation decision unit 660 may use different techniques to determine the location estimation assumptions. One or more location estimation assumptions may be determined without considering the challenging environment decision at stage 720, or they may be determined in response to the decision at stage 720 regarding whether the UE 600 is in a challenging environment. Referring also to Figure 9, although examples of stage 730 may include sub-stages 910, 920, and 930, one or more sub-stages may be omitted and / or one or more other sub-stages may be included (e.g., for one or more other location estimation techniques and / or models). The location estimation decision unit 660 may use a weighted least squares (WLS) technique to determine a location estimate at sub-stage 910, may use a Kalman filter with constant process noise to determine another location estimate at sub-stage 920, and may use a Kalman filter with dynamic (adaptive) process noise to determine another location estimate at sub-stage 930. For a Kalman filter (KF) with constant process noise, the position estimation and determination unit 660 can restore the state of the KF to a preset state or another state (e.g., the last state of the KF before determining that the UE 600 is in a challenging environment) and apply the positioning signal measurement to the restored KF.

[0111] For a KF with dynamic process noise, the location estimation decision unit 660 can determine the dynamic process noise based on factors such as fixed uncertainty, user motion, environmental context detection, user dynamics, and the offset of the current location relative to a previously determined location (e.g., from a previous location session). Environmental context refers to the surrounding environment of the UE 600 (e.g., indoors, outdoors, near a building, under foliage, on a hiking trail, etc.) and is useful in determining process noise. User dynamics are a representation of the dynamic motion of the UE 600. For example, user dynamics can be characterized as high when the UE 600 is held by the hand of a jogging user, as moderate if the UE 600 is close to the upper arm of a jogging user, and as low when the UE 600 is stationary. User motion can be determined based on categories such as vehicle motion, cycling, pedestrian running, and pedestrian walking. The location estimation decision unit 660 can use the dynamic process noise to determine the covariance of the KF and apply positioning measurements to the KF with covariance based on the dynamic process noise. For example, if the previous UE location is known from a previous positioning session before the UE 600 is turned off (e.g., from 20 seconds ago), and the WLS fixation based on available measurements at the current epoch reveals that the current location is close to the previous location, then the KF can apply zero process noise when propagating covariates. This can help the KF isolate NLOS GNSS measurements. Both constant process noise KF and dynamic process noise KF can use the same initial KF state, where different KFs use different covariate bit analog types.

[0112] Referring also to Figure 10, although another example of stage 730 may include sub-stages 1010, 1020, and 1030, one or more sub-stages may be omitted and / or one or more other sub-stages may be included (e.g., for one or more other location estimation techniques (e.g., WLS) and / or models). In this example, sub-stages 1010, 1020, and 1030 represent N dynamic location estimator models. Each location estimator model is unique relative to the other dynamic location estimator models. For example, as shown in Figure 10, the location estimation decision unit 660 may evaluate the Kalman filter used for each sub-stage 1010, 1020, and 1030, where each KF has a different combination of initial state and process noise model. Different KFs may have the same initial state and different process noise models, or different initial states and the same process noise model, or different initial states and different process noise models. Different combinations of initial state and process noise models will produce different covariance values ​​in different sub-stages, leading to different position estimates at each sub-stage (1010, 1020, 1030). The initial state of the KF (e.g., seed position estimate, clock skew, clock frequency skew, user velocity, etc.) can be determined or selected in various ways, such as setting it to a state fixed from a previous KF, setting it to a previous KF fixed propagated to the current epoch, setting it to a WLS fixed from the current epoch, and so on. Different process noise models can correspond to different UE motion levels (e.g., from zero UE motion to high UE motion (e.g., above threshold velocity and / or above threshold direction change frequency, etc.), different offsets from previously determined position estimate assumptions, different fixed uncertainties, etc.

[0113] At stage 740, location estimation decision unit 660 determines whether any location estimate determined at stage 730 satisfies one or more QoS criteria. If at least one determined location estimate satisfies one or more QoS criteria, method 700 proceeds to stage 745, where location estimation decision unit 660 reports the location estimate. If more than one location estimate assumption determined at stage 730 satisfies one or more QoS criteria, location estimation decision unit 660 selects one of the location estimate assumptions (e.g., the location estimate assumption that best satisfies one or more QoS criteria) for reporting. Example implementations of stages 740, 745, and 750 are discussed below with reference to Figure 11. If the location estimate determined at stage 730 does not satisfy one or more QoS criteria, method 700 proceeds to stage 750.

[0114] At stage 750, processor 610 stops reporting any location estimates for UE 600. At stage 760, location estimation decision unit 660 determines whether a timer has expired. Processor 610 may set the timer value based on the environment type (whether the environment is challenging) and / or the QoS settings used for location fixing. For example, the more challenging the environment and / or the more stringent the QoS settings (e.g., higher accuracy requirements), the longer the timer value may be set by processor 610. If the timer has expired, the method ends at stage 770. If the timer has not expired, at stage 780, location estimation decision unit 660 determines whether more location signal measurements are available for use in determining a new location estimate. If no more location signal measurements are available, method 700 ends at stage 770; otherwise, it proceeds to stage 730. At stage 730, the location estimation decision unit 660 may, for example, use fixed process noise or propagate any KF covariates by determining and using dynamic process noise (as the case may be) and may, for example, use different Kalman filters and / or one or more other techniques (e.g., weighted least squares (WLS)) to determine one or more new location estimates.

[0115] Referring also to Figure 11, the location estimation reporting method 1100 includes the stages shown. However, method 1100 is exemplary and not limiting. Method 1100 can be modified, for example, by adding, removing, rearranging, combining, performing stages simultaneously, and / or splitting a single stage into multiple stages. For example, in method 1100, two levels of filters are applied to the measurement, but a single filter can be applied, or more than two levels of filters can be applied. Method 1100 is an example of stage 745, which is used to select the best location estimation hypothesis from a plurality of location estimation hypotheses and report the selected location estimation hypothesis.

[0116] At stage 1110, the position estimation decision unit 660 identifies the best remaining position estimation hypothesis. For example, if any position estimation hypothesis (e.g., decided at stage 730) has not yet been evaluated for reporting according to method 1100, the best hypothesis is identified. If a single such hypothesis exists, it is identified as the best remaining hypothesis. If more than one remaining hypothesis exists, one of the hypotheses is identified as the best hypothesis among the hypotheses, for example, based on position uncertainty, weighted sum of squares analysis, and / or unit error (unit variance) analysis. For example, the best position estimation hypothesis could be the hypothesis corresponding to the Kalman filter whose state is best fitted by the measurement. That is, for the best position estimation hypothesis, the pseudorange residual corresponding to the positioning signal measurement will be small. For example, if the measurement fits well to the KF, the unit error will be small (where the unit error is the sum of the residuals of the expected uncertainty divided by the degrees of freedom). Therefore, the position estimation decision unit 660 can identify the position estimation hypothesis corresponding to the lowest unit variance as the best position estimation hypothesis.

[0117] At stage 1120, the position estimation decision unit 660 determines the position estimate of the UE 600 based on one or more measurements selected using an active filter. The position estimation decision unit 660 applies measurements selected to help ensure that the measurements satisfying the filter are LOS signals and have a high-quality active filter (e.g., a combination of high-threshold or threshold measurements). This filter will avoid using anomalous measurements to determine the new position estimate. The position estimation decision unit 660 applies the active filter to the measurements that produce the best remaining position estimation hypothesis identified at stage 1110. The position estimation decision unit 660 uses the measurements satisfying the active filter to determine the new position estimate. Because there may be fewer measurements used to determine the new position estimate compared to the position estimation hypothesis, the new position estimate may differ from the position estimation hypothesis.

[0118] At stage 1130, processor 610 determines whether the new location estimate determined at stage 1120 meets one or more QoS criteria. If the new location estimate meets QoS, method 1100 proceeds to stage 1135, where, similar to stage 735, the new location estimate is reported as the location of UE 600. A more accurate location estimate can be determined by removing anomalous measurements from consideration when deciding on the location estimate. If the new location estimate fails to meet QoS (e.g., does not meet one or more QoS criteria), method 1100 proceeds to stage 1140.

[0119] At stage 1140, the position estimation decision unit 660 determines the position estimate of the UE 600 based on one or more measurements selected using a less aggressive filter compared to the aggressive filter applied at stage 1120. The less aggressive filter may, for example, have a lower threshold compared to the aggressive filter, or it may have a combination of threshold measurements that are easier to satisfy compared to a combination of threshold measurements of the aggressive filter. The position estimation decision unit 660 applies the less aggressive filter to the measurements that generate the best remaining position estimate hypothesis identified at stage 1110. The position estimation decision unit 660 uses the measurements that satisfy the less aggressive filter to determine the new position estimate.

[0120] At stage 1150, processor 610 determines whether the new location estimate determined at stage 1140 meets one or more QoS criteria. The QoS criteria used at stage 1150 can be the same QoS criteria used at stage 1130. If the new location estimate meets the QoS, method 1100 proceeds to stage 1155, where, similar to stage 735, the new location estimate is reported as the location of UE 600. If the new location estimate does not meet the QoS (e.g., does not meet one or more QoS criteria), method 1100 proceeds to stage 1160.

[0121] At stage 1160, processor 610 determines whether there are any additional location estimation hypotheses remaining to be evaluated. If no additional location estimation hypotheses remain to be evaluated, method 1100 terminates at stage 1170. If at least one location estimation hypothesis remains to be evaluated, method 1100 returns to stage 1110, where the best remaining hypothesis (suboptimal relative to the hypothesis just evaluated) is identified.

[0122] Referring to Figure 12, and further referring to Figures 1 through 11, the location estimation reporting method 1200 includes the stages shown. However, method 1200 is exemplary and not limiting. Method 1200 can be modified, for example, by adding, removing, rearranging, combining, performing stages simultaneously, and / or splitting a single stage into multiple stages.

[0123] At stage 1210, method 1200 includes receiving one or more positioning signals at a user equipment. For example, processor 610 receives one or more satellite positioning signals from one or more of satellites 190-193 via interface 620 (e.g., SPS antenna 262 and SPS receiver 217), and / or receives one or more PRS from one or more TRPs 300 and / or receives PRS from one or more UEs via interface 620 (e.g., antenna 246 and radio receiver 244). Processor 610 (possibly in combination with memory 630 and interface 620 (e.g., SPS antenna 262 and SPS receiver 217, and / or antenna 246 and radio receiver 244)) may include units for receiving one or more positioning signals.

[0124] At stage 1220, method 1200 includes determining that the user equipment is in line of sight relative to fewer than a threshold number of location signal sources. For example, challenging environment detection unit 650 may analyze one or more location estimates and / or one or more location signal measurements to determine that the UE 600 is in line of sight (LOS) relative to fewer than a threshold number of satellites (and / or TRPs and / or UEs), which would enable location estimation determination unit 660 to determine the location of the UE 600 that will meet the desired QoS (e.g., one or more QoS criteria). Processor 610 (possibly in conjunction with memory 630) may include units for determining that the user equipment is in line of sight (LOS) relative to fewer than a threshold number of location signal sources.

[0125] At stage 1230, method 1200 includes: determining a first location estimation hypothesis for the user equipment using a first location estimation process and one or more first measurements of one or more positioning signals. For example, location estimation determination unit 660 may use one or more positioning signal measurements to determine the location estimate, said one or more positioning signal measurements being performed using WLS, or using a Kalman filter that does not include process noise, or using a Kalman filter with static process noise, or using a Kalman filter that utilizes dynamic process noise, or using another technique. Processor 610 (possibly in conjunction with memory 630) may include units for determining the first location estimation hypothesis.

[0126] At stage 1240, method 1200 includes: determining a second location estimation hypothesis for a user equipment using a second location estimation process and one or more second measurements of one or more positioning signals, wherein the second location estimation process uses a second parameter value of a parameter that is not present in the first location estimation process or has a first parameter value different from the second parameter value. For example, location estimation determination unit 660 may use one or more positioning signal measurements to determine the location estimate, said one or more positioning signal measurements being performed using WLS, or using a Kalman filter with static process noise, or using a Kalman filter utilizing dynamic process noise, or using another technique. For example, first and second location estimation hypotheses may be determined using Kalman filters with the same initial state and different covariance models (e.g., one location estimation hypothesis is determined using fixed process noise, and the other location estimation hypothesis is determined using dynamic process noise). As another example, first and second location estimation hypotheses may be determined using Kalman filters with different initial states and having the same or different covariance models. As another example, the position estimation decision unit 660 may use WLS (or other non-Kalman filter techniques) to determine a first position estimate and a Kalman filter to determine a second position estimate, which will use one or more parameters (e.g., initial state parameters and / or covariance parameters) not used in determining the first position estimate. The first and second measurements may be performed using the same positioning signal, different positioning signals, or at least one shared positioning signal and at least one different positioning signal. The processor 610 (possibly combined with memory 630) may include units for determining the assumptions for the second position estimate.

[0127] At stage 1250, method 1200 includes: reporting a reported location estimate based on a first location estimation hypothesis or a second location estimation hypothesis in response to the user equipment being in line of sight relative to fewer than a threshold number of location signal sources. For example, the first and second location estimates, and the location estimate based on the first or second location estimation hypothesis (e.g., the first or second hypothesis, or another hypothesis determined using one or more measurements used to determine the first or second hypothesis, as discussed with respect to FIG11), may be determined internally to the UE 600 (e.g., an application) and / or via interface 620 to an external entity. Processor 610 (possibly in conjunction with memory 630, possibly in conjunction with interface 620 (e.g., wireless transmitter 242 and antenna 246)) may include units for reporting the reported location estimate.

[0128] Implementations of method 1200 may include one or more of the following features. In an example implementation, method 1200 includes: using a third location estimation process to determine a third location estimation hypothesis for a user equipment, the third location estimation process using a third parameter value; determining a second parameter value by applying process noise relative to a first location estimation process; and determining a third parameter value by applying process noise relative to a second location estimation process. For example, a first location estimate may be determined by using a Kalman filter (a first Kalman filter) having a first covariance matrix determined with or without process noise; a second location estimate may be determined by applying fixed process noise to the first Kalman filter to determine a second Kalman filter (e.g., a second covariance matrix of the Kalman filter) and using the second Kalman filter; and a third location estimate may be determined by applying fixed process noise to the second Kalman filter to determine a third Kalman filter (e.g., a third covariance matrix of the Kalman filter) and using the third Kalman filter. Processor 610 (possibly in conjunction with memory 630) may include units for determining a third position estimation hypothesis, units for determining a second parameter, and units for determining a fourth parameter. In another example implementation, the second parameter value includes an initial position estimate of the user equipment. For example, position estimation determination unit 660 may use a Kalman filter that utilizes the initial position estimate as a seed position estimate to determine the second position estimate, and may use a non-Kalman filter technique, or a Kalman filter that does not use the initial position estimate, or a Kalman filter with different initial position estimates to determine the first position estimate.

[0129] Additionally or alternatively, implementations of method 1200 may include one or more of the following features. In an example implementation, method 1200 includes: determining dynamic process noise; and determining a second parameter value based on the dynamic process noise. For example, position estimation determination unit 660 may determine (e.g., at any of sub-stages 930, 1010, 1020, 1030) dynamic process noise, use the dynamic process noise to determine the covariance matrix of the Kalman filter (including the second parameter value), and use the Kalman filter to determine a second position estimate. Processor 610 (possibly in conjunction with memory 630) may include units for determining dynamic process noise and units for determining the second parameter based on the dynamic process noise. In another example implementation, the dynamic process noise is determined based on at least one of the following: uncertainty in the user equipment's position, motion of the user equipment, environmental context, user dynamics, or position offset relative to a previously determined position of the user equipment. In another example implementation, the dynamic process noise is a second dynamic process noise, and the positioning method 1200 further includes: determining a first dynamic process noise; and determining a first parameter value based on the first dynamic process noise. For example, the position estimation determination unit 660 may use the first dynamic noise to determine a first position estimate at sub-stage 1010, and use the second dynamic noise to determine a second position estimate at sub-stage 1020. The processor 610 (possibly combined with memory 630) may include units for determining the first dynamic process noise and units for determining the first parameter value based on the first dynamic process noise.

[0130] Additionally or alternatively, implementations of method 1200 may include one or more of the following features. In an example implementation, the first location estimation hypothesis is determined using a first dynamic model with a first combination of a first location seed value and a first process noise, and the second location estimation hypothesis is determined using a second dynamic model with a second combination of a second location seed value and a second process noise, which is different from the first combination of the first location seed value and the first process noise. For example, at sub-stage 1010, location estimation decision unit 660 may use a first initial state and a first dynamic noise to determine a first location estimate, and at sub-stage 1020, location estimation decision unit 660 may use a second initial state and a second dynamic noise to determine a second location estimate, wherein the first initial state is different from the second initial state and / or the first dynamic noise is different from the second dynamic noise. In another example implementation, method 1200 includes: determining a candidate location estimate based on a measurement corresponding to the highest quality location estimation hypothesis in the first and second location estimation hypotheses and satisfying at least one first measurement criterion; and selecting a candidate location estimate as a reported location estimate in response to the candidate location estimate satisfying at least one quality of service criterion. For example, as discussed with respect to stage 1120, measurements corresponding to the optimal location estimation assumption can be filtered, and the remaining measurements after filtering can be used to determine candidate location estimates. If a candidate location estimate meets the desired quality of service (e.g., one or more QoS metrics), then the candidate location estimate is selected for reporting. This can improve the quality (e.g., accuracy) of location estimation by avoiding reporting location estimates determined using one or more anomalous measurements. Processor 610 (possibly combined with memory 630) may include units for determining candidate location estimates and units for selecting candidate location estimates as reported location estimates. In another example implementation, method 1200 includes: determining a first candidate location estimate based on measurements corresponding to the highest quality location estimation assumption of the first and second location estimation assumptions and meeting at least one first measurement criterion; determining a second candidate location estimate based on measurements corresponding to the highest quality location estimation assumption of the first and second location estimation assumptions and meeting at least one second measurement criterion that is easier to meet than at least one first measurement criterion, in response to the first candidate location estimate failing to meet at least one QoS criterion; and selecting the second candidate location estimate as a reported location estimate in response to the second candidate location estimate meeting at least one QoS criterion.For example, as discussed with respect to stages 1130, 1140, 1150, and 1155, if a first candidate location estimate determined by an aggressively filtered measurement based on the best available location estimate assumption fails to meet the desired quality of service, a second candidate location estimate can be determined by a less aggressively filtered measurement based on the best available location estimate assumption, and if the second candidate location estimate meets the desired quality of service, the second candidate location estimate is reported. Processor 610 (possibly in conjunction with memory 630) may include units for determining the first candidate location estimate, units for determining the second candidate location estimate, and units for selecting the second candidate location estimate as the reported location estimate.

[0131] Additionally or alternatively, implementations of method 1200 may include one or more of the following features. In an example implementation, the user equipment is determined to be in line of sight relative to fewer than a threshold number of location signal sources based on one or more reference position estimates for the user equipment. For example, at stage 830, the challenging environment detection unit 650 determines that the UE 600 is in line of sight relative to fewer than a threshold number of location signal sources by analyzing one or more position estimates for the UE 600. In another example implementation, the user equipment is also determined to be in line of sight relative to fewer than a threshold number of location signal sources based on one or more third measurements of one or more location signals. For example, at stage 810, the challenging environment detection unit 650 determines that the UE 600 is in line of sight relative to fewer than a threshold number of location signal sources by analyzing one or more location signal measurements, and at stage 840, the challenging environment detection unit 650 determines that the UE 600 is in line of sight relative to fewer than a threshold number of location signal sources by analyzing the decisions from stages 810 and 830. The third measurement may be performed using one or more of the positioning signals used for the first and / or second measurements, or it may be performed using one or more different positioning signals, or it may be performed using at least one common positioning signal (for at least one first measurement or at least one second measurement) and at least one different positioning signal. Processor 610 (possibly in conjunction with memory 630 and interface 620 (e.g., SPS antenna 262 and SPS receiver 217, and / or antenna 246 and wireless receiver 244) may include units for determining whether the user equipment is in line of sight relative to fewer than a threshold number of location signal sources, also based on one or more measurements of the location signal. Challenge environment detection unit 650 may, in a manner different from method 1200, determine whether the user equipment is in line of sight relative to at least a threshold number of location signal sources in response to one or more measurements of the location signal indicating that the user equipment is in line of sight relative to fewer than a threshold number of location signal sources and one or more reference position estimates for the user equipment indicating that the user equipment is in line of sight relative to at least a threshold number of location signal sources. For example, at stage 840, challenge environment detection unit 650 may conclude that UE 600 is not in a challenge environment based on measurement analysis at stage 810 indicating that UE 600 is in a challenge environment and position estimation analysis at stage 830 indicating that UE 600 is not in a challenge environment.

[0132] Referring to Figure 13, and further referring to Figures 1 through 11, method 1300 at the user device includes the stages shown. However, method 1300 is exemplary and not limiting. Method 1300 can be modified, for example, by adding, removing, rearranging, combining, performing stages simultaneously, and / or splitting a single stage into multiple stages.

[0133] At stage 1310, method 1300 includes determining one or more location estimation assumptions for a user equipment based on positioning signals. For example, at stage 820, location estimation determination unit 660 uses one or more received positioning signals to determine one or more location estimates for UE 600. Processor 610 (possibly in combination with memory 630 and interface 620 (e.g., SPS antenna 262 and SPS receiver 217, and / or antenna 246 and wireless receiver 244)) may include units for determining one or more location estimation assumptions.

[0134] At stage 1320, method 1300 includes determining whether the user equipment is in line of sight (LOS) relative to fewer than a threshold number of location signal sources corresponding to the location signal, based on one or more location estimation assumptions for the user equipment. For example, at stage 830, challenging environment detection unit 650 analyzes one or more location estimation assumptions to determine whether the UE 600 is in line of sight (LOS) relative to fewer than a threshold number of location signal sources (e.g., satellites, TRPs, UE), which would enable location estimation determination unit 660 to determine the location of the UE 600 that would meet the desired QoS (e.g., one or more QoS criteria). Processor 610 (possibly in conjunction with memory 630) may include units for determining whether the user equipment is in line of sight (LOS) relative to fewer than a threshold number of location signal sources.

[0135] Implementations of method 1300 may include one or more of the following features. In an example implementation, determining that the user equipment is in line of sight relative to fewer than a threshold number of location signal sources includes: determining that the residual weighted sum of squares error is higher than a first error threshold, or the weighted least squares error is higher than a second error threshold, or the weighted least squares error is higher than a third error threshold, or the uncertainty is higher than an uncertainty threshold, or the number of location signal sources corresponding to the location signal is lower than a location signal source number threshold, or a combination of two or more of these. For example, the challenging environment detection unit 650 analyzes one or more location estimation hypotheses to determine one or more such measurements and compares each measurement to a corresponding threshold. The challenging environment detection unit 650 may use a combination of measurements relative to the threshold to determine whether the UE 600 is in a challenging environment. For example, the challenging environment detection unit 650 may determine that the UE 600 is in a challenging environment based on two or more measurements relative to the corresponding threshold indicating a challenging environment, in response to one measurement indicating a non-challenging environment relative to a corresponding threshold. In another example implementation, the user equipment is also determined to be in line of sight relative to fewer than a threshold number of location signal sources corresponding to the location signal based on one or more measurements of the location signal. For example, at stage 810, the challenging environment detection unit 650 determines that the UE 600 is in line of sight (LOS) relative to less than a threshold number of location signal sources by analyzing one or more location signal measurements, and at stage 840, the challenging environment detection module 650 determines that the UE 600 is in line of sight (LOS) relative to less than a threshold number of location signal sources by analyzing the decisions from stages 810 and 830. The processor 610 (possibly in conjunction with memory 630 and interface 620 (e.g., SPS antenna 262 and SPS receiver 217, and / or antenna 246 and wireless receiver 244) may include units for determining that the user equipment is in line of sight relative to less than a threshold number of location signal sources, also based on one or more measurements of the location signal. The challenging environment detection unit 650 may, in a manner different from method 1300, determine that the user equipment is in line of sight relative to at least a threshold number of location signal sources in response to one or more measurements of the location signal indicating that the user equipment is in line of sight relative to less than a threshold number of location signal sources and one or more reference position estimates for the user equipment indicating that the user equipment is in line of sight relative to at least a threshold number of location signal sources.

[0136] Additionally or alternatively, implementations of method 1300 may include one or more of the following features. In an example implementation, determining one or more location estimation assumptions includes: determining a first location estimation assumption for the user equipment using one or more first measurements of one or more positioning signals in a first location estimation process and positioning signals; and determining a second location estimation assumption for the user equipment using one or more second measurements of one or more positioning signals in a second location estimation process, wherein the second location estimation process uses at least one second parameter value that is not used in the first location estimation process or is different from the first parameter value used by the first location estimation process; and method 1300 further includes: reporting a reported location estimate based on the first location estimation assumption or the second location estimation assumption in response to the user equipment being in line of sight relative to fewer than a threshold number of positioning signal sources. For example, as discussed with respect to stages 1230, 1240, 1250, UE 600 may use a second parameter value of a parameter that is not used to determine the first location estimation assumption, or a first parameter value used to determine the first location estimation assumption but having a different second parameter value, and may (internal and / or externally to UE 600) report a location estimate based on the first or second location estimation assumption.

[0137] [, Implementation Example , ]

[0138] Implementation examples are provided in the following numbered clauses.

[0139] 1. A user equipment, comprising:

[0140] A receiver configured to receive one or more positioning signals;

[0141] Memory; and

[0142] A processor, communicatively coupled to the receiver and the memory, is configured to:

[0143] The line of sight determines the user equipment relative to fewer than a threshold number of positioning signal sources;

[0144] A first location estimation hypothesis for the user equipment is determined using a first location estimation procedure and one or more first measurements of the one or more positioning signals;

[0145] A second location estimation hypothesis for the user equipment is determined using a second location estimation process and one or more second measurements of the one or more positioning signals, wherein the second location estimation process uses a second parameter value of a parameter, and the parameter is not present in the first location estimation process or has a first parameter value different from the second parameter value; and

[0146] In response to the user equipment being in line of sight to fewer than the threshold number of location signal sources, a reported location estimate is reported based on either the first location estimation hypothesis or the second location estimation hypothesis.

[0147] 2. The user equipment according to claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to:

[0148] A third location estimation process is used to determine the third location estimation assumptions for the user equipment, the third location estimation process using a third parameter value;

[0149] The second parameter value is determined by applying process noise relative to the first position estimation process; and

[0150] The value of the third parameter is determined by applying the process noise relative to the second position estimation process.

[0151] 3. The user equipment according to claim 1, wherein the second parameter value includes the initial position estimate of the user equipment.

[0152] 4. The user equipment according to claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to:

[0153] Determines dynamic process noise; and

[0154] The value of the second parameter is determined based on the dynamic process noise.

[0155] 5. The user equipment according to claim 4, wherein the processor is configured to determine the dynamic process noise, including the processor being further configured to determine the dynamic process noise based on at least one of the following: uncertainty of the user equipment's fixed position, motion of the user equipment, environmental context, user dynamics, or position offset relative to a previously determined position of the user equipment.

[0156] 6. The user equipment according to claim 4, wherein the dynamic process noise is a second dynamic process noise, and wherein the processor is further configured to:

[0157] Determine the noise of the first dynamic process; and

[0158] The first parameter value is determined based on the first dynamic process noise.

[0159] 7. The user equipment according to claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to: determine the first position estimation hypothesis using a first dynamic model having a first combination of a first position seed value and a first process noise; and determine the second position estimation hypothesis using a second dynamic model having a second combination of a second position seed value and a second process noise, the second combination being different from the first combination of the first position seed value and the first process noise.

[0160] 8. The user equipment according to claim 7, wherein the processor is further configured to:

[0161] Candidate position estimates are determined based on measurements that correspond to the highest quality position estimation hypothesis among the first and second position estimation hypotheses and satisfy at least one first measurement criterion; and

[0162] In response to the candidate location estimate satisfying at least one quality of service criterion, the candidate location estimate is selected as the reported location estimate.

[0163] 9. The user equipment according to claim 7, wherein the processor is further configured to:

[0164] The first candidate location estimate is determined based on measurements that correspond to the highest quality location estimate assumption among the first and second location estimate assumptions and satisfy at least one first measurement criterion.

[0165] In response to the failure of the first candidate location estimate to meet at least one service quality criterion, a second candidate location estimate is determined based on a measurement that corresponds to the highest quality location estimate assumption in the first and second location estimate assumptions and meets at least one second measurement criterion that is easier to meet than the at least one first measurement criterion; and

[0166] The second candidate location estimate is selected as the reported location estimate in response to the second candidate location estimate meeting the at least one quality of service criterion.

[0167] 10. The user equipment according to claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to: determine, based on one or more reference position estimates for the user equipment, that the user equipment is in line of sight relative to fewer than the threshold number of positioning signal sources.

[0168] 11. The user equipment according to claim 10, wherein the processor is further configured to: determine, based on one or more third measurements of the one or more positioning signals, whether the user equipment is in line of sight relative to fewer than the threshold number of positioning signal sources.

[0169] 12. The user equipment according to claim 11, wherein the processor is further configured to: determine that the user equipment is in line of sight relative to at least the threshold number of positioning signal sources in response to the one or more third measurements of the one or more positioning signals indicating that the user equipment is in line of sight relative to at least the threshold number of positioning signal sources and the one or more reference position estimates for the user equipment indicating that the user equipment is in line of sight relative to at least the threshold number of positioning signal sources.

[0170] 13. A location estimation reporting method includes:

[0171] Receive one or more location signals at the user equipment;

[0172] The line of sight determines the user equipment relative to fewer than a threshold number of positioning signal sources;

[0173] A first location estimation hypothesis for the user equipment is determined using a first location estimation procedure and one or more first measurements of the one or more positioning signals;

[0174] A second location estimation hypothesis for the user equipment is determined using a second location estimation process and one or more second measurements of the one or more positioning signals, wherein the second location estimation process uses a second parameter value of a parameter, and the parameter is not present in the first location estimation process or has a first parameter value different from the second parameter value; and

[0175] In response to the user equipment being in line of sight to fewer than the threshold number of location signal sources, a reported location estimate is reported based on either the first location estimation hypothesis or the second location estimation hypothesis.

[0176] 14. The location estimation reporting method according to claim 13 further includes:

[0177] A third location estimation process is used to determine the third location estimation assumptions for the user equipment, the third location estimation process using a third parameter value;

[0178] The second parameter value is determined by applying process noise relative to the first position estimation process; and

[0179] The value of the third parameter is determined by applying the process noise relative to the second position estimation process.

[0180] 15. The location estimation reporting method according to request item 13, wherein the second parameter value includes the initial location estimate of the user equipment.

[0181] 16. The location estimation reporting method according to claim 13 further includes:

[0182] Determines dynamic process noise; and

[0183] The value of the second parameter is determined based on the dynamic process noise.

[0184] 17. The location estimation reporting method according to claim 16, wherein the dynamic process noise is determined based on at least one of the following: the uncertainty of the user equipment's fixed location, the motion of the user equipment, the environmental context, user dynamics, or the location offset relative to a previously determined location of the user equipment.

[0185] 18. The location estimation reporting method according to claim 16, wherein the dynamic process noise is a second dynamic process noise, and the location estimation reporting method further includes:

[0186] Determine the noise of the first dynamic process; and

[0187] The first parameter value is determined based on the first dynamic process noise.

[0188] 19. The location estimation reporting method according to claim 13, wherein the first location estimation assumption is determined using a first dynamic model having a first combination of a first location seed value and a first process noise, and the second location estimation assumption is determined using a second dynamic model having a second combination of a second location seed value and a second process noise, the second combination being different from the first combination of the first location seed value and the first process noise.

[0189] 20. The location estimation reporting method according to claim 19 further includes:

[0190] Candidate position estimates are determined based on measurements that correspond to the highest quality position estimation hypothesis among the first and second position estimation hypotheses and satisfy at least one first measurement criterion; and

[0191] In response to the candidate location estimate satisfying at least one quality of service criterion, the candidate location estimate is selected as the reported location estimate.

[0192] 21. The location estimation reporting method according to claim 19 further includes:

[0193] The first candidate location estimate is determined based on measurements that correspond to the highest quality location estimate assumption among the first and second location estimate assumptions and satisfy at least one first measurement criterion.

[0194] In response to the failure of the first candidate location estimate to meet at least one service quality criterion, a second candidate location estimate is determined based on a measurement that corresponds to the highest quality location estimate assumption in the first and second location estimate assumptions and meets at least one second measurement criterion that is easier to meet than the at least one first measurement criterion; and

[0195] The second candidate location estimate is selected as the reported location estimate in response to the second candidate location estimate meeting the at least one quality of service criterion.

[0196] 22. The location estimation reporting method according to claim 13, wherein the user equipment is determined to be in line of sight relative to fewer than the threshold number of location signal sources based on one or more reference location estimates for the user equipment.

[0197] 23. The location estimation reporting method according to claim 22, wherein the user equipment is determined to be in line of sight relative to fewer than the threshold number of location signal sources based on one or more third measurements of the one or more location signals. [, , ]

[0198] 24. A user equipment includes: [, , ]

[0199] A unit for receiving one or more positioning signals; [, , ]

[0200] A unit for determining whether the user equipment is in line of sight relative to fewer than a threshold number of positioning signal sources; [, , ]

[0201] A unit for determining a first location estimation hypothesis for the user equipment using a first location estimation process and one or more first measurements of the one or more positioning signals; [, , ]

[0202] A unit for determining a second location estimation hypothesis for the user equipment using a second location estimation process and one or more second measurements of the one or more positioning signals, wherein the second location estimation process uses a second parameter value of a parameter, and the parameter is not present in the first location estimation process or has a first parameter value different from the second parameter value; and [, , ]

[0203] A unit for reporting a reported location estimate based on the first location estimation hypothesis or the second location estimation hypothesis in response to the user equipment being in line of sight to fewer than the threshold number of location signal sources. [, , ]

[0204] 25. The user equipment according to claim 24 further includes:

[0205] A unit for using a third location estimation process to determine a third location estimation hypothesis for the user equipment, the third location estimation process using a third parameter value;

[0206] A unit for determining the value of the second parameter by applying process noise relative to the first position estimation process; and

[0207] A unit for determining the value of the third parameter by applying the process noise relative to the second position estimation process.

[0208] 26. The user equipment according to claim 24, wherein the second parameter value includes the initial position estimate of the user equipment.

[0209] 27. The user equipment according to claim 24 further includes:

[0210] Units used to determine dynamic process noise; and

[0211] A unit for determining the value of the second parameter based on the dynamic process noise.

[0212] 28. The user equipment according to claim 27, wherein the unit for determining the dynamic process noise includes a unit for determining the dynamic process noise based on at least one of the following: uncertainty of the user equipment's position, motion of the user equipment, environmental context, user dynamics, or position offset relative to a previously determined position of the user equipment.

[0213] 29. The user equipment according to claim 27, wherein the dynamic process noise is a second dynamic process noise, and the user equipment further includes:

[0214] The unit used to determine the noise of the first dynamic process; and

[0215] A unit for determining the value of the first parameter based on the first dynamic process noise.

[0216] 30. The user equipment according to claim 24, wherein the unit for determining the first location estimation hypothesis comprises: a unit for determining the first location estimation hypothesis using a first dynamic model having a first combination of a first location seed value and a first process noise, and the unit for determining the second location estimation hypothesis comprises: a unit for determining the second location estimation hypothesis using a second dynamic model having a second combination of a second location seed value and a second process noise, the second combination being different from the first combination of the first location seed value and the first process noise.

[0217] 31. The user equipment according to claim 30 further includes:

[0218] A unit for determining candidate position estimates based on measurements corresponding to the highest quality position estimation hypothesis among the first and second position estimation hypotheses and satisfying at least one first measurement criterion; and

[0219] In response to the candidate location estimate satisfying at least one quality of service criterion, the candidate location estimate is selected as the unit of the reported location estimate.

[0220] 32. The user equipment according to claim 30 further includes:

[0221] A unit for determining a first candidate location estimate based on measurements that correspond to the highest quality location estimate hypothesis among the first and second location estimate hypotheses and satisfy at least one first measurement criterion;

[0222] A unit for determining a second candidate location estimate based on a measurement corresponding to the highest quality location estimate assumption in the first and second location estimate assumptions and satisfying at least one second measurement criterion that is easier to satisfy than the at least one first measurement criterion, in response to the first candidate location estimate failing to meet at least one service quality criterion; and

[0223] Units for selecting the second candidate location estimate as the reported location estimate in response to the second candidate location estimate satisfying the at least one quality of service criterion.

[0224] 33. The user equipment according to claim 24, wherein the unit for determining that the user equipment is in line of sight relative to fewer than the threshold number of positioning signal sources comprises: a unit for determining that the user equipment is in line of sight relative to fewer than the threshold number of positioning signal sources based on one or more reference position estimates for the user equipment.

[0225] 34. The user equipment according to claim 33, wherein the unit for determining that the user equipment is in line of sight relative to fewer than the threshold number of positioning signal sources comprises: a unit for further determining that the user equipment is in line of sight relative to fewer than the threshold number of positioning signal sources based on one or more third measurements of the one or more positioning signals.

[0226] 35. The user equipment according to claim 34, further comprising: a unit for determining that the user equipment is in line of sight relative to at least the threshold number of positioning signal sources in response to the one or more third measurements of the one or more positioning signals indicating that the user equipment is in line of sight relative to at least the threshold number of positioning signal sources and for the one or more reference position estimates of the user equipment indicating that the user equipment is in line of sight relative to at least the threshold number of positioning signal sources. [, , ]

[0227] 36. A non-transitory processor-readable storage medium, comprising processor-readable instructions for causing the processor to perform the following operations: [, , ]

[0228] The line of sight determines the user equipment's position relative to fewer than a threshold of location signal sources; [, , ]

[0229] A first location estimation hypothesis for the user equipment is determined using a first location estimation procedure and one or more first measurements of the one or more positioning signals; [, , ]

[0230] A second location estimation hypothesis for the user equipment is determined using a second location estimation process and one or more second measurements of the one or more positioning signals, wherein the second location estimation process uses a second parameter value of a parameter, and the parameter is not present in the first location estimation process or has a first parameter value different from the second parameter value; and [, , ]

[0231] In response to the user equipment being in line of sight to fewer than the threshold number of location signal sources, a reported location estimate is reported based on either the first location estimation hypothesis or the second location estimation hypothesis. [, , ]

[0232] 37. The storage medium according to claim 36 further includes processor-readable instructions for causing the processor to perform the following operations:

[0233] A third location estimation process is used to determine the third location estimation assumptions for the user equipment, the third location estimation process using a third parameter value;

[0234] The second parameter value is determined by applying process noise relative to the first position estimation process; and

[0235] The value of the third parameter is determined by applying the process noise relative to the second position estimation process.

[0236] 38. The storage medium according to claim 36, wherein the second parameter value includes the initial location estimate of the user equipment.

[0237] 39. The storage medium according to claim 36 further includes processor-readable instructions for causing the processor to perform the following operations:

[0238] Determines dynamic process noise; and

[0239] The value of the second parameter is determined based on the dynamic process noise.

[0240] 40. The storage medium according to claim 39, wherein the processor-readable instructions for causing the processor to determine the dynamic process noise include processor-readable instructions for causing the processor to determine the dynamic process noise based on at least one of: uncertainty of the user equipment's fixed position, motion of the user equipment, environmental context, user dynamics, or positional offset relative to a previously determined position of the user equipment.

[0241] 41. The storage medium according to claim 39, wherein the dynamic process noise is a second dynamic process noise, and the storage medium further includes processor-readable instructions for causing the processor to perform the following operations:

[0242] Determine the noise of the first dynamic process; and

[0243] The first parameter value is determined based on the first dynamic process noise.

[0244] 42. The storage medium according to claim 36, wherein the processor-readable instructions for causing the processor to determine the first position estimation hypothesis include processor-readable instructions for causing the processor to determine the first position estimation hypothesis using a first dynamic model having a first combination of a first position seed value and a first process noise, and the processor-readable instructions for causing the processor to determine the second position estimation hypothesis include processor-readable instructions for causing the processor to determine the second position estimation hypothesis using a second dynamic model having a second combination of a second position seed value and a second process noise, the second combination being different from the first combination of the first position seed value and the first process noise.

[0245] 43. The storage medium according to claim 42 further includes processor-readable instructions for causing the processor to perform the following operations:

[0246] Candidate position estimates are determined based on measurements that correspond to the highest quality position estimation hypothesis among the first and second position estimation hypotheses and satisfy at least one first measurement criterion; and

[0247] In response to the candidate location estimate satisfying at least one quality of service criterion, the candidate location estimate is selected as the reported location estimate.

[0248] 44. The storage medium according to claim 42 further includes processor-readable instructions for causing the processor to perform the following operations:

[0249] The first candidate location estimate is determined based on measurements that correspond to the highest quality location estimate assumption among the first and second location estimate assumptions and satisfy at least one first measurement criterion.

[0250] In response to the failure of the first candidate location estimate to meet at least one service quality criterion, a second candidate location estimate is determined based on a measurement that corresponds to the highest quality location estimate assumption in the first and second location estimate assumptions and meets at least one second measurement criterion that is easier to meet than the at least one first measurement criterion; and

[0251] The second candidate location estimate is selected as the reported location estimate in response to the second candidate location estimate meeting the at least one quality of service criterion.

[0252] 45. The storage medium according to claim 36, wherein the processor-readable instruction for causing the processor to determine that the user equipment is in line of sight relative to fewer than the threshold number of positioning signal sources comprises: a processor-readable instruction for causing the processor to determine, based on one or more reference position estimates for the user equipment, that the user equipment is in line of sight relative to fewer than the threshold number of positioning signal sources.

[0253] 46. ​​The storage medium according to claim 45, wherein the processor-readable instructions for causing the processor to determine that the user equipment is in line of sight relative to fewer than the threshold number of positioning signal sources include: processor-readable instructions for causing the processor to further determine that the user equipment is in line of sight relative to fewer than the threshold number of positioning signal sources based on one or more third measurements of the one or more positioning signals.

[0254] 47. The storage medium according to claim 46 further includes processor-readable instructions for causing the processor to: indicate, in response to the one or more third measurements of the one or more positioning signals, that the user equipment is in line of sight relative to fewer than the threshold number of positioning signal sources and for the one or more reference position estimates of the user equipment that the user equipment is in line of sight relative to at least the threshold number of positioning signal sources, and determine that the user equipment is in line of sight relative to at least the threshold number of positioning signal sources.

[0255] 48. A user equipment includes: [, , ]

[0256] A receiver configured to receive positioning signals; [, , ]

[0257] Memory; and [, , ]

[0258] A processor, communicatively coupled to the receiver and the memory, is configured to: [, , ]

[0259] Based on the positioning signal, one or more location estimation assumptions are determined for the user equipment; and [, , ]

[0260] The user equipment is determined to be in line of sight relative to fewer than a threshold number of location signal sources corresponding to the location signal, based on one or more location estimation assumptions for the user equipment. [, , ]

[0261] 49. The user equipment according to claim 48, wherein, in order to determine that the user equipment is in line of sight relative to fewer than the threshold number of positioning signal sources, the processor is further configured to: determine that the residual weighted sum of squares error is higher than a first error threshold, or the weighted least squares error is higher than a second error threshold, or the weighted least squares error is higher than a third error threshold, or the uncertainty is higher than an uncertainty threshold, or the number of positioning signal sources corresponding to the positioning signal is lower than a positioning signal source number threshold, or a combination of two or more of these.

[0262] 50. The user equipment according to claim 48, wherein the processor is further configured to: determine, based on the one or more measurements of the positioning signal, that the user equipment is a line of sight relative to fewer than the threshold number of positioning signal sources corresponding to the positioning signal.

[0263] 51. The user equipment according to claim 50, wherein the processor is further configured to: determine that the user equipment is in line of sight relative to at least the threshold number of positioning signal sources in response to one or more measurements of the positioning signal indicating that the user equipment is in line of sight relative to at least the threshold number of positioning signal sources and one or more reference position estimates for the user equipment indicating that the user equipment is in line of sight relative to at least the threshold number of positioning signal sources.

[0264] 52. The user equipment according to claim 48, wherein:

[0265] In order to determine the one or more location estimation hypotheses, the processor is further configured to:

[0266] A first location estimation hypothesis for the user equipment is determined using a first location estimation procedure and one or more first measurements of one or more of the location signals; and [, , ]

[0267] A second location estimation hypothesis for the user equipment is determined using a second location estimation process and one or more second measurements of one or more of the location signals, wherein the second location estimation process uses at least one second parameter value that is not in the first location estimation process or is different from the first parameter value used by the first location estimation process; and [, , ]

[0268] The processor is also configured to: in response to the user equipment being in line of sight relative to fewer than the threshold number of location signal sources, report a reported location estimate based on either the first location estimation hypothesis or the second location estimation hypothesis. [, , ]

[0269] 53. A method at a user equipment, the method comprising: [, , ]

[0270] One or more location estimation assumptions for the user equipment are determined based on the positioning signals; and [, , ]

[0271] The user equipment is determined to be in line of sight relative to fewer than a threshold number of location signal sources corresponding to the location signal, based on one or more location estimation assumptions for the user equipment. [, , ]

[0272] 54. The method according to claim 53, wherein determining that the user equipment is a line of sight relative to fewer than the threshold number of positioning signal sources includes: determining that the residual weighted sum of squares error is higher than a first error threshold, or the weighted least squares error is higher than a second error threshold, or the weighted least squares error is higher than a third error threshold, or the uncertainty is higher than an uncertainty threshold, or the number of positioning signal sources corresponding to the positioning signal is lower than the number threshold of positioning signal sources, or a combination of two or more of these.

[0273] 55. The method according to claim 53, wherein the user equipment is also determined to be line-of-sight relative to fewer than the threshold number of positioning signal sources corresponding to the positioning signal based on the one or more measurements of the positioning signal.

[0274] 56. The method according to request item 53, wherein:

[0275] The determination of the one or more location estimation assumptions includes:

[0276] A first location estimation hypothesis for the user equipment is determined using a first location estimation procedure and one or more first measurements of one or more of the location signals; and [, , ]

[0277] A second location estimation hypothesis for the user equipment is determined using a second location estimation process and one or more second measurements of one or more of the location signals, wherein the second location estimation process uses at least one second parameter value that is not in the first location estimation process or is different from the first parameter value used by the first location estimation process; and [, , ]

[0278] The method further includes: in response to the user equipment being in line of sight to fewer than the threshold number of positioning signal sources, reporting a reported location estimate based on the first location estimation hypothesis or the second location estimation hypothesis. [, , ]

[0279] 57. A user equipment, comprising:

[0280] A unit for determining one or more location estimation assumptions for the user equipment based on positioning signals; and

[0281] A unit for determining, based on one or more location estimation assumptions for the user equipment, that the user equipment is in line of sight relative to fewer than a threshold number of location signal sources corresponding to the location signal.

[0282] 58. The user equipment according to claim 57, wherein the unit for determining that the user equipment is in line of sight relative to fewer than the threshold number of positioning signal sources comprises: a unit for determining that the residual weighted sum of squares error is higher than a first error threshold, or the weighted least squares error is higher than a second error threshold, or the weighted least squares error is higher than a third error threshold, or the uncertainty is higher than an uncertainty threshold, or the number of positioning signal sources corresponding to the positioning signal is lower than a positioning signal source number threshold, or a combination of two or more of these.

[0283] 59. The user equipment according to claim 57, wherein the unit for determining that the user equipment is in line of sight relative to fewer than the threshold number of positioning signal sources comprises: a unit for further determining, based on the one or more measurements of the positioning signal, that the user equipment is in line of sight relative to fewer than the threshold number of positioning signal sources corresponding to the positioning signal.

[0284] 60. The user equipment according to claim 59, further comprising: a unit for determining that the user equipment is in line of sight relative to at least the threshold number of positioning signal sources in response to the one or more measurements of the positioning signal indicating that the user equipment is in line of sight relative to at least the threshold number of positioning signal sources and for the one or more reference position estimates of the user equipment indicating that the user equipment is in line of sight relative to at least the threshold number of positioning signal sources.

[0285] 61. The user equipment according to claim 57, wherein:

[0286] The unit for determining the one or more location estimation hypotheses includes:

[0287] A unit for determining a first location estimation hypothesis for the user equipment using a first location estimation process and one or more first measurements of one or more of the location signals; and [, , ]

[0288] A unit for determining a second location estimation hypothesis for the user equipment using a second location estimation process and one or more second measurements of one or more of the location signals, wherein the second location estimation process uses at least one second parameter value that is not in the first location estimation process or is different from the first parameter value used by the first location estimation process; and [, , ]

[0289] The user equipment further includes a unit for reporting a reported location estimate based on the first location estimation hypothesis or the second location estimation hypothesis in response to the user equipment being in line of sight to fewer than the threshold number of positioning signal sources. [, , ]

[0290] 62. A non-transitory processor-readable storage medium, comprising processor-readable instructions for causing the processor to perform the following operations: [, , ]

[0291] One or more location estimation assumptions for the user equipment are determined based on the positioning signals; and [, , ]

[0292] The user equipment is determined to be in line of sight relative to fewer than a threshold number of location signal sources corresponding to the location signal, based on one or more location estimation assumptions for the user equipment. [, , ]

[0293] 63. The user equipment according to claim 62, wherein the processor-readable instruction for causing the processor to determine that the user equipment is in line of sight relative to fewer than the threshold number of positioning signal sources includes: a processor-readable instruction causing the processor to determine that the residual weighted sum of squares error is higher than a first error threshold, or the weighted least squares error is higher than a second error threshold, or the weighted least squares error is higher than a third error threshold, or the uncertainty is higher than an uncertainty threshold, or the number of positioning signal sources corresponding to the positioning signal is lower than a positioning signal source number threshold, or a combination of two or more of these.

[0294] 64. The user equipment according to claim 62, wherein the processor-readable instruction for causing the processor to determine that the user equipment is in line of sight relative to fewer than the threshold number of positioning signal sources includes: causing the processor to further determine, based on the one or more measurements of the positioning signal, that the user equipment is in line of sight relative to fewer than the threshold number of positioning signal sources corresponding to the positioning signal.

[0295] 65. The user equipment according to claim 64, further comprising processor-readable instructions for causing the processor to: indicate that the user equipment is in line of sight relative to fewer than the threshold number of positioning signal sources in response to the one or more measurements of the positioning signal and indicate that the user equipment is in line of sight relative to at least the threshold number of positioning signal sources for the one or more reference position estimates of the user equipment, and determine that the user equipment is in line of sight relative to at least the threshold number of positioning signal sources.

[0296] 66. The user equipment according to claim 48, wherein:

[0297] The processor-readable instructions for causing the processor to determine the one or more location estimation hypotheses include processor-readable instructions for causing the processor to perform the following operations:

[0298] A first location estimation hypothesis for the user equipment is determined using a first location estimation procedure and one or more first measurements of one or more of the location signals; and [, , ]

[0299] A second location estimation hypothesis for the user equipment is determined using a second location estimation process and one or more second measurements of one or more of the location signals, wherein the second location estimation process uses at least one second parameter value that is not in the first location estimation process or is different from the first parameter value used by the first location estimation process; and [, , ]

[0300] The storage medium also includes processor-readable instructions for causing the processor to: report a reported location estimate based on the first location estimation hypothesis or the second location estimation hypothesis in response to the user equipment being in line of sight relative to fewer than the threshold number of location signal sources. [, , ]

[0301] [, Other considerations , ]

[0302] Other examples and implementations are within the scope of this disclosure and the appended claims. For example, due to the nature of software and computers, the functions described herein can be implemented using software, hardware, firmware, hardwiring, or any combination of these items executed by a processor. Features implementing the functions can also be located at various physical locations, including being distributed such that different parts of the functionality are implemented at different physical locations.

[0303] As used herein, unless the context explicitly indicates otherwise, the singular forms of “a,” “an,” and “the” also include the plural forms. As used herein, the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes,” and / or “including” specify the presence of the stated feature, integer, step, operation, element, and / or component, but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and / or groups thereof.

[0304] As used herein, unless otherwise stated, a statement that a function or operation is “based on” an item or condition means that the function or operation is based on said item or condition and may be based on one or more items and / or conditions other than said item or condition.

[0305] Furthermore, as used herein, the "or" used in a list of items (which may end with "at least one of" or "one or more of") indicates a separate list, such that a list of, for example, "at least one of A, B, or C," or a list of "one or more of A, B, or C," or a list of "A, B, or C" means A, or B, or C, or AB (A and B), or AC (A and C), or BC (B and C), or ABC (i.e., A and B and C), or a combination of more than one feature (e.g., AA, AAB, ABBC, etc.). Therefore, a statement that an item (e.g., a processor) is configured to perform a function relating to at least one of A or B, or a statement that an item is configured to perform function A or function B, means that the item can be configured to perform a function relating to A, or can be configured to perform a function relating to B, or can be configured to perform functions relating to both A and B. For example, the phrase "the processor is configured to measure at least one of A or B" or "the processor is configured to measure A or measure B" means that the processor can be configured to measure A (and may be configured to measure B, or may not be configured to measure B), or can be configured to measure B (and may be configured to measure A, or may not be configured to measure A), or can be configured to measure both A and B (and may be configured to select either or both of A and B for measurement). Similarly, a description of a unit for measuring at least one of A or B includes: a unit for measuring A (which may be capable of measuring B or may not be capable of measuring B), or a unit for measuring B (which may be configured to or may not be configured to measure A), or a unit for measuring A and B (which may be capable of selecting either or both of A and B for measurement). As another example, the phrase "an item (e.g., a processor) is configured to perform at least one of function X or function Y" means that the item can be configured to perform function X, or can be configured to perform function Y, or can be configured to perform both functions X and Y. For example, the phrase “the processor is configured to measure at least one of X or Y” means that the processor can be configured to measure X (and may or may not be configured to measure Y), or can be configured to measure Y (and may or may not be configured to measure X), or can be configured to measure both X and Y (and can be configured to select either or both of X and Y for measurement).

[0306] Substantial changes can be made to suit specific requirements. For example, custom hardware can be used, and / or specific elements can be implemented using hardware, processor-executed software (including portable software such as applets), or both. Furthermore, connections to other computing devices, such as network input / output devices, can be employed. Unless otherwise stated, components shown in the figures and / or discussed herein as interconnected or communicating (functionally or otherwise) are communicatively coupled. That is, they can be directly or indirectly connected to enable communication between them.

[0307] The systems and devices discussed above are examples. Various configurations may omit, substitute, or add processes or components as appropriate. For example, features described with respect to certain configurations may be combined in various other configurations. Different aspects and elements of these configurations may be combined in a similar manner. Furthermore, technological developments, and therefore many of these elements, are examples and do not limit the scope of this disclosure or the scope of the patent applications.

[0308] A wireless communication system is a system in which communication is transmitted wirelessly between wireless communication devices (also referred to as wireless communication equipment) (i.e., through the propagation of electromagnetic waves and / or sound waves through the atmosphere, rather than through wires or other physical connections). A wireless communication system (also referred to as a wireless communication system, wireless communication network, or wireless communication network) may not cause all communications to be transmitted wirelessly, but is configured to cause at least some communications to be transmitted wirelessly. Furthermore, the term "wireless communication equipment" or similar terms do not require that the equipment's function is specifically or even primarily for communication, or that communication using the wireless communication equipment is specifically or even primarily wireless, or that the equipment is a mobile device, but rather indicate that the equipment includes wireless communication capabilities (one-way or two-way), for example, including at least one radio unit for wireless communication (each radio unit is part of a transmitter, receiver, or transceiver).

[0309] Specific details are provided in the description to offer a thorough understanding of the example configuration, including its implementation. However, the configuration can be implemented without these specific details. For example, to avoid confusion, well-known circuits, processes, algorithms, structures, and techniques have been shown without unnecessary detail. This description provides an example configuration and does not limit the scope, applicability, or configuration of the claims. Rather, the preceding description of the configuration provides a description of how to implement the described techniques. Various changes can be made regarding the function and arrangement of the elements.

[0310] As used herein, the terms “processor-readable media,” “machine-readable media,” and “computer-readable media” refer to any media that participates in providing information that causes a machine to operate in a particular manner. Using a computing platform, various processor-readable media can participate in providing instructions / code to a processor for execution and / or can be used to store and / or carry such instructions / code (e.g., as signals). In many implementations, processor-readable media are physical and / or tangible storage media. Such media can take many forms, including but not limited to non-volatile and volatile media. Non-volatile media include, for example, optical discs and / or magnetic disks. Volatile media include, but are not limited to, dynamic memory.

[0311] Having described several example configurations, various modifications, alternative constructs, and equivalents can be used. For example, the above elements can be components of a larger system, where other rules may take precedence over or otherwise modify the application of this disclosure. Furthermore, multiple operations may be performed before, during, or after considering the above elements. Accordingly, the above description does not limit the scope of the patent application.

[0312] Unless otherwise indicated, as used herein, “about” and / or “approximately” when referring to measurable values ​​(such as quantity, duration of time, etc.) includes variations of ±20% or ±10%, ±5% or +0.1% from the specified value, depending on the context of the system, device, circuit, method, and other implementations described herein. Unless otherwise indicated, as used herein, “substantially” when referring to measurable values ​​(such as quantity, duration of time, entity properties (such as frequency), etc.) also includes variations of ±20% or ±10%, ±5% or +0.1% from the specified value, depending on the context of the system, device, circuit, method, and other implementations described herein.

[0313] A statement about a value exceeding (greater than or higher than) a first threshold is equivalent to a statement about a value satisfying or exceeding a second threshold slightly greater than the first threshold. For example, at the resolution of the computing system, the second threshold is a value higher than the first threshold. A statement about a value less than (or within or below) the first threshold is equivalent to a statement about a value less than or equal to a second threshold slightly lower than the first threshold. For example, at the resolution of the computing system, the second threshold is a value lower than the first threshold.

[0314] 100: Communication System 105: User Equipment (UE) 106:UE 110a: NR Node B (gNB) 110b: NR Node B (gNB) 114: Next-generation eNodeB (ng-eNB) 115: Access and Mobility Management Functions (AMF) 117: Session Management Function (SMF) 120: Location Management Function (LMF) 125: Gateway Movement Position Center (GMLC) 130: External Client 135: Radio Access Network (RAN) 140: 5G Core Network (5GC) 185: Constellation 190: Satellite Vehicle (SV) 191: Satellite Vehicle (SV) 192: Satellite Vehicle (SV) 193: Satellite Vehicle (SV) 200:UE 210: Processor 211: Memory 212: Software (SW) 213: Sensor 214: Transceiver Interface 215: Transceiver 216: User Interface 217: Satellite Positioning System (SPS) Receiver 218: Camera 219: Positioning Device (PD) 220: Busbar 230: General Purpose / Application Processor 231: Digital Signal Processor (DSP) 232: Modem Processor 233: Video Processor 234: Sensor Processor 240: Wireless transceiver 242: Wireless Transmitter (xmtr) 244: Wireless Receiver (RCVR) 246: Antenna 248: Wireless signal 250: Wired transceiver 252: Wired transmitter (xmtr) 254: Wired receiver (RCVR) 260: SPS signal 262: SPS Antenna 300: Transmit / Receive Point (TRP) 310: Processor 311: Memory 312: Software (SW) 315: Transceiver 320: Busbar 340: Wireless transceiver 342: Wireless transmitter (xmtr) 344: Wireless Receiver (RCVR) 346: Antenna 348: Wireless signal 350: Wired transceiver 352: Wired transmitter (xmtr) 354: Wired receiver (RCVR) 400: Server 410: Processor 411: Memory 412:SW 415: Transceiver 420: Busbar 440: Wireless transceiver 442: Wireless Transmitter 444: Wireless Receiver 446: Antenna 448: Wireless signal 450: Wired transceiver 452: Wired transmitter 454: Wired receiver 500: Environment 510:UE 520:UE 531: Buildings 532: Buildings 533: Buildings 534: Buildings 540: Vehicles 600:UE 610: Processor 620: Interface 630: Memory 640: Busbar 650: Challenging Environment Detection Unit 660: Location Estimation Decision Unit 700: Method 710: Stage 720: Stage 725: Stage 730: Stage 740: Stage 745: Stage 750: Stage 760: Stage 770: Stage 780: Stage 800: Method 810: Stage 820: Phase 830: Phase 840: Stage 910: Stage 920: Phase 930: Phase 1010: Stage 1020: Phase 1030: Phase 1100: Method 1110: Stage 1120: Phase 1130: Stage 1135: Stage 1140: Stage 1150: Stage 1155: Stage 1160: Stage 1170: Stage 1200: Location Estimation Reporting Methodology 1210: Stage 1220: Phase 1230: Phase 1240: Stage 1250: Stage 1300: Method 1310: Stage 1320: Stage

Claims

1. A user equipment, comprising: A receiver configured to receive one or more positioning signals; Memory; The processor, communicatively coupled to the receiver and the memory, is configured to: determine that the user equipment is in line of sight relative to fewer than a threshold number of location signal sources; determine a first location estimation hypothesis for the user equipment using a first location estimation process and one or more first measurements of the one or more location signals; determine a second location estimation hypothesis for the user equipment using a second location estimation process and one or more second measurements of the one or more location signals, wherein the second location estimation process uses a second parameter value of a parameter, and the parameter is not in the first location estimation process or has a first parameter value different from the second parameter value; determine a candidate location estimate based on a measurement corresponding to the highest quality location estimation hypothesis among the first and second location estimation hypotheses; select the candidate location estimate in response to the candidate location estimate satisfying at least one quality of service criterion; and report the selected location estimate based on either the first or the second location estimation hypothesis in response to the user equipment being in line of sight relative to fewer than the threshold number of location signal sources.

2. The user equipment according to claim 1, wherein, The processor is further configured to: use a third location estimation process to determine a third location estimation hypothesis for the user equipment, the third location estimation process using a third parameter value; determine a second parameter value by applying process noise relative to the first location estimation process; and determine the third parameter value by applying the process noise relative to the second location estimation process.

3. The user equipment according to claim 1, wherein, The second parameter value includes the initial location estimate of the user equipment.

4. The user equipment according to claim 1, wherein, The processor is further configured to: determine dynamic process noise; and determine the second parameter value based on the dynamic process noise.

5. The user equipment according to claim 4, wherein, The processor is configured to determine the dynamic process noise, including the processor being further configured to determine the dynamic process noise based on at least one of the following: uncertainty of the user equipment's fixed position, the user equipment's motion, environmental context, user dynamics, or position offset relative to a previously determined position of the user equipment.

6. The user equipment according to claim 4, wherein, The dynamic process noise is a second dynamic process noise, and the processor is further configured to: determine a first dynamic process noise; and determine the first parameter value based on the first dynamic process noise.

7. The user equipment according to claim 1, wherein, The processor is further configured to: determine the first position estimation hypothesis using a first dynamic model having a first combination of a first position seed value and a first process noise; And a second dynamic model using a second combination of a second location seed value and a second process noise is used to determine the second location estimation hypothesis, the second combination being different from the first combination of the first location seed value and the first process noise.

8. The user equipment according to claim 7, wherein, The processor is further configured to determine the candidate location estimate based on measurements that correspond to the highest quality location estimate hypothesis among the first and second location estimate hypotheses and satisfy at least one first measurement criterion.

9. The user equipment according to claim 7, wherein, The processor is further configured to: determine a first candidate location estimate based on a measurement that corresponds to the highest quality location estimate hypothesis among the first and second location estimate hypotheses and satisfies at least one first measurement criterion; And in response to the failure of the first candidate location estimate to meet at least one service quality criterion, a second candidate location estimate is determined based on a measurement that corresponds to the highest quality location estimate assumption in the first location estimate assumption and the second location estimate assumption and meets at least one second measurement criterion that is easier to meet than the at least one first measurement criterion.

10. The user equipment according to claim 1, wherein, The processor is also configured to determine, based on one or more reference position estimates for the user equipment, whether the user equipment is in line of sight relative to fewer than the threshold number of positioning signal sources.

11. The user equipment according to claim 10, wherein, The processor is also configured to determine, based on one or more third measurements of the one or more positioning signals, whether the user equipment is in line of sight relative to fewer than the threshold number of positioning signal sources.

12. The user equipment according to claim 11, wherein, The processor is further configured to: determine that the user equipment is in line of sight relative to at least the threshold number of positioning signal sources in response to the one or more third measurements of the one or more positioning signals indicating that the user equipment is in line of sight relative to at least the threshold number of positioning signal sources and the one or more reference position estimates for the user equipment indicating that the user equipment is in line of sight relative to at least the threshold number of positioning signal sources.

13. A location estimation reporting method includes: Receive one or more positioning signals at the user equipment; The line of sight determines the user equipment relative to fewer than a threshold number of positioning signal sources; A first location estimation hypothesis for the user equipment is determined using a first location estimation process and one or more first measurements of the one or more positioning signals; a second location estimation hypothesis for the user equipment is determined using a second location estimation process and one or more second measurements of the one or more positioning signals, wherein the second location estimation process uses a second parameter value of a parameter, and the parameter is not in the first location estimation process or has a first parameter value different from the second parameter value; a candidate location estimate is determined based on a measurement corresponding to the highest quality location estimation hypothesis among the first and second location estimation hypotheses; the candidate location estimate is selected in response to the candidate location estimate satisfying at least one quality of service criterion; and the selected location estimate is reported based on the first or second location estimation hypothesis in response to the user equipment being in line of sight relative to fewer than the threshold number of positioning signal sources.

14. The location estimation reporting method according to claim 13, further comprising: A third location estimation process is used to determine the third location estimation assumptions for the user equipment, the third location estimation process using a third parameter value; The second parameter value is determined by applying process noise relative to the first position estimation process; and the third parameter value is determined by applying the process noise relative to the second position estimation process.

15. The location estimation reporting method according to claim 13, wherein, The second parameter value includes the initial location estimate of the user equipment.

16. The location estimation reporting method according to claim 13 further includes: Determines the noise in the dynamic process; And the value of the second parameter is determined based on the dynamic process noise.

17. The location estimation reporting method according to claim 16, wherein, The dynamic process noise is determined based on at least one of the following: the uncertainty of the user equipment's fixed position, the user equipment's motion, the environmental context, user dynamics, or the positional offset relative to the previously determined position of the user equipment.

18. The location estimation reporting method according to claim 16, wherein, The dynamic process noise is a second dynamic process noise, and the location estimation reporting method further includes: determining a first dynamic process noise; and determining a first parameter value based on the first dynamic process noise.

19. The location estimation reporting method according to claim 13, wherein, The first position estimation assumption is determined using a first dynamic model with a first combination of a first position seed value and a first process noise, and the second position estimation assumption is determined using a second dynamic model with a second combination of a second position seed value and a second process noise, the second combination being different from the first combination of the first position seed value and the first process noise.

20. The location estimation reporting method according to claim 19, further comprising: The candidate location estimate is determined based on measurements that correspond to the highest quality location estimate assumption in the first and second location estimate assumptions and satisfy at least one first measurement criterion.

21. The location estimation reporting method according to claim 19, further comprising: The first candidate location estimate is determined based on measurements that correspond to the highest quality location estimate assumption in the first and second location estimate assumptions and satisfy at least one first measurement criterion. And in response to the failure of the first candidate location estimate to meet at least one service quality criterion, a second candidate location estimate is determined based on a measurement that corresponds to the highest quality location estimate assumption in the first location estimate assumption and the second location estimate assumption and meets at least one second measurement criterion that is easier to meet than the at least one first measurement criterion.

22. The location estimation reporting method according to claim 13, wherein, The user equipment is determined to be in line of sight relative to fewer than the threshold number of positioning signal sources based on one or more reference position estimates for the user equipment.

23. The location estimation reporting method according to claim 22, wherein, The user equipment is also determined to be in line of sight relative to fewer than the threshold number of positioning signal sources based on one or more third measurements of the one or more positioning signals.

24. A user equipment comprising: A unit for receiving one or more positioning signals; A unit for determining whether the user equipment is in line of sight relative to fewer than a threshold number of positioning signal sources; Units for determining a first location estimation hypothesis for the user equipment using a first location estimation process and one or more first measurements of the one or more positioning signals; units for determining a second location estimation hypothesis for the user equipment using a second location estimation process and one or more second measurements of the one or more positioning signals, wherein the second location estimation process uses a second parameter value of a parameter, and the parameter is not in the first location estimation process or has a first parameter value different from the second parameter value; units for determining a candidate location estimate based on a measurement corresponding to the highest quality location estimation hypothesis among the first and second location estimation hypotheses; units for selecting the candidate location estimate in response to the candidate location estimate satisfying at least one quality of service criterion; and units for reporting the selected location estimate based on the first location estimation hypothesis or the second location estimation hypothesis in response to the user equipment being in line of sight relative to fewer than the threshold number of positioning signal sources.

25. The user equipment according to claim 24, further comprising: A unit for using a third location estimation process to determine a third location estimation hypothesis for the user equipment, the third location estimation process using a third parameter value; A unit for determining the value of the second parameter by applying process noise relative to the first position estimation process; and a unit for determining the value of the third parameter by applying the process noise relative to the second position estimation process.

26. The user equipment according to claim 24, wherein, The second parameter value includes the initial location estimate of the user equipment.

27. A non-transitory processor-readable storage medium comprising processor-readable instructions for causing a processor to: determine that a user equipment is in line of sight relative to a fewer than threshold number of location signal sources; determine a first location estimation hypothesis for the user equipment using a first location estimation process and one or more first measurements of one or more location signals; determine a second location estimation hypothesis for the user equipment using a second location estimation process and one or more second measurements of the one or more location signals, wherein, The second location estimation process uses a second parameter value of a parameter, and the parameter is not present in the first location estimation process or has a first parameter value different from the second parameter value; a candidate location estimate is determined based on a measurement corresponding to the highest quality location estimation hypothesis among the first and second location estimation hypotheses; the candidate location estimate is selected in response to the candidate location estimate satisfying at least one quality of service criterion; and the selected location estimate is reported based on the first or second location estimation hypothesis in response to the user equipment being in line of sight relative to fewer than the threshold number of location signal sources.

Images