Haptic evaluation method and device

Abstract

A haptic evaluation method and device. The method comprises: acquiring application layer parameters and network side parameters of a target service, wherein the application layer parameters comprise haptic information of the target service, and the network side parameters comprise at least one of the latency, reliability or jitter of the target service; and on the basis of the application layer parameters and the network side parameters, determining a haptic evaluation indicator of the target service, wherein the haptic evaluation indicator is used for evaluating the quality of user haptic experience of the target service. The haptic evaluation method and device in the embodiments of the present application can save time and labor costs, and can improve the accuracy of haptic evaluation.

Description

Tactile evaluation method and device

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the China Patent Office on September 4, 2023, with application number 202311138992.X and application name “Tactile Evaluation Method and Device”, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

[0002] The present application relates to the field of communications, and more specifically, to a tactile evaluation method and device. Background Art

[0003] In recent years, with the continuous development of communication systems, data transmission latency has continued to decrease, and transmission capacity has increased. Communication systems have gradually infiltrated multimedia services with strong real-time requirements and large data capacity, such as video transmission, cloud gaming, and extended reality (XR). XR includes virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR). Multimodal services, as a new type of service, build on XR by adding a tactile experience dimension, enabling remote touch and remote control, and realizing multi-faceted remote perception such as vision, hearing, touch, and kinesthetics.

[0004] In the tactile internet, the quality of a user's tactile experience during human-computer interaction can be assessed using tactile evaluation metrics. Existing tactile evaluation metrics include subjective and objective evaluation metrics. Subjective evaluation metrics include quality of user experience (QoE), while objective evaluation metrics include perceptual mean square error (P-MSE), haptic perceptually weighted peak signal-to-noise ratio (HPW-PSNR), and haptic structural similarity (HSSIM).

[0005] These objective evaluation metrics cannot accurately reflect people's true feelings and are therefore not very accurate. Subjective evaluation metrics require a large number of subjects to undergo relevant tests and generate mean opinion scores (MOS). Repeated testing is required for different scenarios and tasks, consuming significant time and manpower, resulting in high costs and individual scoring criteria.

[0006] Summary of the Invention

[0007] The present application provides a tactile evaluation method and device, which can save time and labor costs and improve the accuracy of tactile evaluation.

[0008] In a first aspect, a tactile evaluation method is provided, comprising: obtaining application layer parameters and network side parameters of a target service, the application layer parameters including tactile information of the target service, and the network side parameters including at least one of latency, reliability, or jitter of the target service; determining a tactile evaluation index of the target service based on the application layer parameters and the network side parameters, the tactile evaluation index being used to evaluate the user tactile experience quality of the target service.

[0009] The tactile evaluation method of the embodiment of the present application obtains application layer parameters and network side parameters of the target service, and determines the tactile evaluation index of the target service based on the application layer parameters and the network side parameters. Compared with existing objective evaluation indicators, since the application layer parameters include tactile information of the target service, the tactile evaluation index determined in this way can more accurately reflect people's real feelings and improve the accuracy of tactile evaluation. Compared with existing subjective evaluation indicators, since different services correspond to different tactile information, the tactile evaluation method of the present application can obtain tactile evaluation results corresponding to the current scene or current task without manual operation, which can save time and labor costs.

[0010] It should be understood that the above-mentioned "obtaining" may include obtaining from other devices (such as core network devices or terminal devices), and may also include obtaining from the inside of the access network device (such as obtaining from the memory of the access network device). This embodiment of the present application does not limit this.

[0011] Optionally, the target service in the embodiment of the present application may include only the tactile service, or may include a video service in addition to the tactile service.

[0012] Optionally, in the case where the target service includes a tactile service and a video service, the above application layer parameters optionally also include video media information of the target service.

[0013] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, obtaining the application layer parameters of the target service includes: receiving first information from a core network device, where the first information includes the application layer parameters.

[0014] It should be understood that the application layer parameters included in the first information are application layer parameters of the application server. The application server can send third information including the application layer parameters to the core network device via the N6 interface. The core network device receives the third information, extracts the application layer parameters therefrom, and then carries the application layer parameters in the first information and forwards it to the access network device via the N3 interface. Correspondingly, the access network device receives the first information including the application layer parameters.

[0015] Exemplarily, in the process of the application server sending application layer parameters to the core network device, the field carrying the above-mentioned application layer parameters may be located in the real-time transport protocol (RTP) layer (for example, in the RTP packet header of the RTP layer), or in the user datagram protocol (UDP) protocol layer (for example, in the UDP packet header of the UDP layer), or in a newly added protocol layer between the RTP layer and the UDP layer, or in a newly added field between the RTP layer and the UDP layer. This embodiment of the present application is not limited to this.

[0016] Exemplarily, in the process of the core network device sending application layer parameters to the access network device, the field carrying the above application layer parameters can be an extended header of the user plane GPRS tunnel transmission protocol (user GPRS tunnel protocol, GTP-U, where GPRS is the abbreviation of general packet radio service (GPRS)) message, that is, the above first information can be a GTP-U message.

[0017] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, obtaining the application layer parameters of the target service includes: receiving second information from a terminal device, where the second information includes the application layer parameters.

[0018] It should be understood that the application layer parameters included in the first information are application layer parameters of the terminal device. The terminal device can send the second information including the application layer parameters to the access network device via the Uu interface.

[0019] In combination with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the second information is carried in radio resource control RRC signaling, media access control element MAC CE, or uplink control information UCI.

[0020] In combination with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the application layer parameters include application layer parameters from an application server and / or application layer parameters from a terminal device; determining the tactile evaluation index of the target service based on the application layer parameters and the network side parameters includes: determining the tactile evaluation index based on the application layer parameters from the application server and / or the application layer parameters from the terminal device, and the network side parameters.

[0021] In one possible implementation, the access network device may determine the tactile evaluation index for the target service based on application layer parameters and network parameters from an application server. In another possible implementation, the access network device may determine the tactile evaluation index for the target service based on application layer parameters and network parameters from a terminal device. In yet another possible implementation, the access network device may determine the tactile evaluation index based on application layer parameters from an application server, application layer parameters from a terminal device, and network parameters.

[0022] In combination with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the tactile evaluation index is obtained by weighted summing the first value and / or the second value and the third value, the first value is the value obtained by inputting the application layer parameter from the application server into the first function, the second value is the value obtained by inputting the application layer parameter from the terminal device into the second function, and the third value is the value obtained by inputting the network side parameter into the third function.

[0023] In combination with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the target service includes a tactile service and a video service, the network side parameters include network side parameters corresponding to the tactile service and network side parameters corresponding to the video service, and the application layer parameters also include video media information; determining the tactile evaluation index of the target service based on the application layer parameters and the network side parameters includes: determining the tactile evaluation index based on the tactile information, the network side parameters corresponding to the tactile service, the video media information, the network side parameters corresponding to the video service, and the synchronization difference between the tactile service and the video service.

[0024] In combination with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the tactile evaluation index is obtained by weighted summing the fourth value, the fifth value and the synchronization difference, the fourth value is the value obtained by inputting the network side parameters corresponding to the tactile information and the tactile service into the fourth function, and the fifth value is the value obtained by inputting the network side parameters corresponding to the video information and the video service into the fifth function.

[0025] In combination with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, determining the tactile evaluation index of the target service based on the application layer parameters and the network side parameters includes: inputting the application layer parameters and the network side parameters into a trained neural network model to obtain the tactile evaluation index.

[0026] In the embodiments of the present application, the trained neural network model can be considered a black box system, and can be trained on models including but not limited to GBDT, SVM, and random forest. In this way, the subjective perceived quality of a given tactile experience can be predicted. That is, given the above-mentioned application layer parameters and network side parameters, the tactile evaluation index can be predicted.

[0027] In combination with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the method further includes: when the application layer parameters and / or network side parameters of the target service are different parameters, collecting multiple scores of the target service from each user among multiple users, and the application layer parameters and / or network side parameters corresponding to each score in the multiple scores; using the multiple scores as labels, inputting the application layer parameters and / or network side parameters corresponding to each score in the multiple scores into the neural network model, training the neural network model, and obtaining the trained neural network model.

[0028] Optionally, the access network device can train and store multiple (e.g., greater than 10) models. In one possible implementation, the access network device can use each of the multiple models to perform predictions, and then calculate the average of the prediction results from each model as the final prediction value, i.e., the tactile evaluation index for the target service. This helps improve the stability and accuracy of the prediction results.

[0029] The embodiment of the present application determines the tactile evaluation index through the calculation of a neural network, and collects the user's subjective evaluation score by allowing the user to adjust the application layer parameters and / or network side parameter values, which is closer to the user's real experience. Training based on this data set can effectively improve the accuracy of the tactile experience perception quality evaluation index.

[0030] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the tactile information includes at least one of the following: vibration time, vibration intensity, tactile compression rate, tactile encoding key parameters, force feedback intensity, or interaction intensity.

[0031] It should be understood that the above-mentioned interaction intensity may refer to the closeness of human-computer interaction, which is related to the dynamics and complexity of the human-computer interaction environment. The above-mentioned tactile compression rate may be a value obtained by dividing the compressed data volume by the original data volume, or a value obtained by dividing the original data volume by the compressed data volume, or may be in the form of a percentage, but the embodiments of the present application do not limit this. In combination with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the application layer parameters also include video media information, and the video media information includes at least one of the following: frame rate, period, or protocol data unit PDU set (set) information. It should be understood that the PDU set information may include information such as the serial number of the PDU set, the end identifier of the PDU set, the serial number of the PDU in the PDU set, the importance identifier of the PDU set, the size of the PDU set, etc., and the embodiments of the present application do not specifically limit this.

[0032] In a second aspect, a tactile evaluation device is provided, configured to execute the method in any possible implementation of the first aspect. Specifically, the device includes a module configured to execute the method in any possible implementation of the first aspect.

[0033] In a third aspect, a tactile evaluation device is provided, comprising: a processor, and a memory communicatively connected to the processor; the memory stores computer-executable instructions; and the processor executes the computer-executable instructions stored in the memory to implement a method as in any possible implementation of the first aspect above.

[0034] In one implementation, the tactile evaluation device is an access network device. When the sideline communication device is an access network device, the communication interface may be a transceiver or an input / output interface.

[0035] In another implementation, the tactile evaluation device is a chip configured in an access network device.

[0036] Optionally, there are one or more processors and one or more memories.

[0037] Optionally, the memory may be integrated with the processor, or the memory may be provided separately from the processor.

[0038] In the specific implementation process, the memory can be a non-transitory memory, such as a read-only memory (ROM), which can be integrated with the processor on the same chip or can be set on different chips. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the type of memory and the setting method of the memory and the processor.

[0039] It should be understood that related data interaction processes, such as sending indication information, can be the process of outputting indication information from the processor, and receiving capability information can be the process of receiving input capability information from the processor. Specifically, the output data of the processing can be output to the transmitter, and the input data received by the processor can come from the receiver. The transmitter and receiver can be collectively referred to as a transceiver.

[0040] The processing device in the third aspect mentioned above can be a chip. The processor can be implemented by hardware or by software. When implemented by hardware, the processor can be a logic circuit, an integrated circuit, etc.; when implemented by software, the processor can be a general-purpose processor, which is implemented by reading the software code stored in the memory. The memory can be integrated in the processor or can be located outside the processor and exist independently.

[0041] In a fourth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, wherein the computer-readable storage medium stores computer-executable instructions, and when the computer-executable instructions are executed by a processor, they are used to implement the method in any possible implementation manner of the first aspect.

[0042] In a fifth aspect, a computer program product is provided, which, when the instructions are executed on a computer, enables the computer to implement the method in any possible implementation manner of the first aspect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0043] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0044] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of another communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0045] FIG3 is a schematic flow chart of a tactile evaluation method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0046] FIG4 is a schematic flow chart of a tactile evaluation method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0047] FIG5 is a schematic block diagram of a tactile evaluation device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0048] FIG6 is a schematic block diagram of another tactile evaluation device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0049] The technical solution in this application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0050] To facilitate the clear description of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, in the embodiments of the present application, the words "first" and "second" are used to distinguish between identical or similar items with substantially the same functions and effects. Those skilled in the art will understand that the words "first" and "second" do not limit the quantity or execution order, and the words "first" and "second" do not necessarily mean different.

[0051] It should be noted that, in this application, words such as "exemplarily" or "for example" are used to indicate examples, illustrations, or explanations. Any embodiment or design described in this application as "exemplary" or "for example" should not be construed as being preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or designs. Rather, the use of words such as "exemplarily" or "for example" is intended to present the relevant concepts in a concrete manner.

[0052] In addition, "at least one" means one or more, and "more" means two or more. "And / or" describes the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships may exist. For example, A and / or B can mean: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates that the previous and next associated objects are in an "or" relationship. "At least one of the following items" or similar expressions refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single items or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b and c can mean: a, or b, or c, or a and b, or a and c, or b and c, or a, b and c, where a, b, c can be single or multiple.

[0053] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, such as: long term evolution (LTE) system, LTE frequency division duplex (FDD) system, LTE time division duplex (TDD), universal mobile telecommunication system (UMTS), world-wide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX) communication system, fifth generation (5G) system or new radio (NR), future evolved communication systems, such as sixth generation (6G) system, etc.

[0054] FIG1 shows a schematic diagram of a communication system 100 according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG1 , the communication system 100 includes an application server 110 , a core network device 120 , an access network device 130 , and a terminal device 140 .

[0055] The application server 110 is used to perform operations such as encoding, decoding, and rendering of service data, and transmits the service data to the terminal device 140 through the network side. The network side includes core network equipment 120 and access network equipment 130. The core network equipment 120 can be connected to the access network equipment 130 via wireless or wired means. The terminal device 140 can be connected to the access network equipment 130 via wireless means within the coverage area of ​​the access network equipment 130.

[0056] The access network device 130 and the terminal device 140 can communicate via a wireless link. The access network device 130 or the terminal device 140 can be configured with multiple antennas, which may include at least one transmit antenna for sending signals and at least one receive antenna for receiving signals. Furthermore, the access network device 130 or the terminal device 140 also includes a transmitter chain and a receiver chain. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that each of these may include multiple components related to signal transmission and reception (e.g., a processor, modulator, multiplexer, demodulator, demultiplexer, or antenna, etc.). Therefore, the access network device 130 and the terminal device 140 can communicate via multi-antenna technology.

[0057] It should be understood that Figure 1 is only a schematic diagram, and the communication system 100 may also include other network devices, such as wireless relay devices and wireless backhaul devices, which are not shown in Figure 1. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the number of core network devices, access network devices, and terminal devices included in the communication system 100.

[0058] The access network equipment and core network equipment in the embodiments of the present application may be collectively referred to as network equipment.

[0059] The core network device of the embodiment of the present application can be a core network device in a 4G system, such as a mobile management entity (MME), a serving gateway (sGW), etc., or a core network device in a 5G system, such as an access and mobility management function (AMF) network element, a user plane function (UPF) network element, etc. It can also be a core network device with other names, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present application.

[0060] The access network device can be any device with wireless transceiver capabilities. Access network equipment includes, but is not limited to, evolved Node B (eNB), radio network controller (RNC), Node B (NB), base station controller (BSC), base transceiver station (BTS), home base station (e.g., home evolved NodeB, or home Node B, HNB), baseband unit (BBU), access point (AP) in a wireless fidelity (WiFi) system, wireless relay node, wireless backhaul node, transmission point (TP) or transmission and reception point (TRP), etc. It can also be a 5G base station (next-generation Node B, gNB) in a 5G, such as NR, system, or a transmission point (TRP or TP), one or a group of antenna panels (including multiple antenna panels) of a base station in a 5G system, or it can also be a network node constituting a gNB or a transmission point, such as a baseband unit (BBU) or a distributed unit (DU), etc.

[0061] In some deployments, the gNB may include a centralized unit (CU) and a DU. The gNB may also include an active antenna unit (AAU). The CU implements some gNB functions, while the DU implements some gNB functions. For example, the CU may be responsible for processing non-real-time protocols and services, such as the radio resource control (RRC) layer, the service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer, and / or the packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer. The DU may be responsible for processing physical layer protocols and real-time services. For example, it may implement the functions of the radio link control (RLC) layer, the media access control (MAC) layer, and the physical (PHY) layer. A DU can be connected to only one CU or to multiple CUs, and a CU can be connected to multiple DUs. Communication between the CU and DU can be achieved through the F1 interface. The AAU may implement some physical layer processing functions, RF processing, and active antenna related functions. Since the information of the RRC layer will eventually be delivered to the PHY layer and become the information of the PHY layer, or converted from the information of the PHY layer, therefore, in this architecture, high-layer signaling, such as RRC layer signaling, can also be considered to be sent by DU, or by DU+AAU.

[0062] It is understood that the access network device may include one or more of a CU node, a DU node, and an AAU node. In addition, the CU may be classified as an access network device in an access network (RAN) or as an access network device in a core network (CN), and this application does not limit this.

[0063] The access network equipment provides services for the cell. The terminal device communicates with the cell through the transmission resources (for example, frequency domain resources, or spectrum resources) allocated by the access network equipment. The cell can belong to a macro base station (for example, macro eNB or macro gNB, etc.) or a base station corresponding to a small cell. The small cells here can include: metro cells, micro cells, pico cells, femto cells, etc. These small cells have the characteristics of small coverage and low transmission power, and are suitable for providing high-speed data transmission services.

[0064] In an embodiment of the present application, the terminal device may also be referred to as user equipment (UE), access terminal, user unit, user station, mobile station, mobile station, remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, user terminal, terminal, wireless communication device, user agent or user device.

[0065] The terminal device may be a device that provides voice / data connectivity to users, such as a handheld device or vehicle-mounted device with wireless connection function. At present, some examples of terminals may include: mobile phones, tablet computers, computers with wireless transceiver functions (such as laptops, PDAs, etc.), mobile internet devices (MIDs), virtual reality (VR) devices, augmented reality (AR) devices, wireless terminals in industrial control, wireless terminals in self-driving, wireless terminals in remote medical, wireless terminals in smart grids, wireless terminals in transportation safety, wireless terminals in smart cities, wireless terminals in smart homes, cellular phones, cordless phones, session initiation protocol (SIP) phones, wireless local loop (WLL) stations, personal digital assistants (PDAs), handheld devices with wireless communication functions, computing devices or other processing devices connected to wireless modems, vehicle-mounted devices, wearable devices, terminal devices in 5G networks or future evolved public land mobile communication networks (PLMNs). terminal equipment in network, PLMN, etc.

[0066] Wearable devices, also known as wearable smart devices, are a general term for wearable devices that use wearable technology to intelligently design and develop wearable devices for daily wear, such as glasses, gloves, watches, clothing, and shoes. Wearable devices are portable devices that are worn directly on the body or integrated into the user's clothing or accessories. Wearable devices are not just hardware devices, but also achieve powerful functions through software support, data interaction, and cloud interaction. In a broad sense, wearable smart devices include those that are fully functional, large in size, and can achieve full or partial functions without relying on smartphones, such as smart watches or smart glasses, as well as those that only focus on a certain type of application function and need to be used in conjunction with other devices such as smartphones, such as various smart bracelets and smart jewelry for vital sign monitoring.

[0067] Furthermore, terminal devices can also be end devices in the Internet of Things (IoT) system. IoT is a crucial component of future information technology development. Its primary technical feature is connecting objects to the Internet through communications technology, thereby enabling intelligent networks that interconnect humans and machines, and objects and things. IoT technology, for example, utilizes narrowband (NB) technology to achieve massive connectivity, deep coverage, and power-saving terminals.

[0068] In an embodiment of the present application, a terminal device or a network device includes a hardware layer, an operating system layer running on the hardware layer, and an application layer running on the operating system layer. The hardware layer includes hardware such as a central processing unit (CPU), a memory management unit (MMU), and memory (also called main memory). The operating system can be any one or more computer operating systems that implement business processing through processes, such as a Linux operating system, a Unix operating system, an Android operating system, an iOS operating system, or a Windows operating system. The application layer includes applications such as browsers, address books, word processing software, and instant messaging software. In addition, the embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit the specific structure of the execution subject of the method provided in the embodiment of the present application. As long as it is possible to communicate according to the method provided in the embodiment of the present application by running a program that records the code of the method provided in the embodiment of the present application, for example, the execution subject of the method provided in the embodiment of the present application can be a terminal device or a network device, or a functional module in the terminal device or the network device that can call a program and execute the program.

[0069] In addition, various aspects or features of the present application can be implemented as methods, apparatuses, or articles of manufacture using standard programming and / or engineering techniques. The term "article of manufacture" as used in this application encompasses a computer program that can be accessed from any computer-readable device, carrier, or medium. For example, computer-readable media may include, but are not limited to: magnetic storage devices (e.g., hard disks, floppy disks, or magnetic tapes, etc.), optical disks (e.g., compact discs (CDs), digital versatile discs (DVDs), etc.), smart cards, and flash memory devices (e.g., erasable programmable read-only memories (EPROMs), cards, sticks, or key drives, etc.). In addition, the various storage media described herein may represent one or more devices and / or other machine-readable media for storing information. The term "machine-readable medium" may include, but is not limited to, wireless channels and various other media capable of storing, containing, and / or carrying instructions and / or data.

[0070] The following describes the 5G communication system by taking the terminal device as UE, the access network device as gNB, and the core network equipment including AMF network element, user plane function (UPF) network element, session management function (SMF) network element, policy control function (PCF) network element, application function (AF) network element and network exposure function (NEF) network element as an example.

[0071] FIG2 shows a schematic diagram of a communication system 200 according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG2 , the communication system 200 may specifically include the following network elements:

[0072] 1. Application server: used to perform operations such as encoding, decoding, and rendering of service data, and transmit service data to UE through the network side.

[0073] 2. Data network (DN): A network used to transmit data, such as the Internet.

[0074] 3. UPF network element: UPF is the user plane function, responsible for forwarding user data.

[0075] 4. gNB.

[0076] 5.UE.

[0077] Optionally, the communication system 200 further includes:

[0078] 6. AF network element: used for data routing affected by applications, accessing network open function network elements, or interacting with the policy framework for policy control, etc.

[0079] 7. PCF network element: A unified policy framework used to guide network behavior, providing policy rule information for control plane functional network elements (such as AMF network elements, SMF network elements, etc.).

[0080] 8. NEF network element: Used to securely open up services and capabilities provided by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) network functions to the outside world, and also allows AF network elements to provide information to 3GPP network functions.

[0081] 9. SMF network element: mainly used for session management, Internet protocol (IP) address allocation and management of terminal equipment, selection of endpoints for manageable user plane functions, policy control, or charging function interfaces, and downlink data notification.

[0082] 10. AMF network element: Mainly used for mobility management and access management, etc. It can be used to implement other functions of the mobility management entity (MME) in addition to session management, such as lawful monitoring or access authorization (or authentication).

[0083] In the above-mentioned communication system 200, the UE can access the 5G network through the Uu interface and communicate with the gNB; the gNB and the UPF network element can communicate through the N3 interface; the UPF network element and the DN can communicate through the N6 interface; the UPF and the SMF network element can communicate through the N4 interface; the gNB and the AMF network element can communicate through the N2 interface; the UE and the AMF network element can communicate through the N1 interface; the AMF network element and the SMF network element can communicate through the N11 interface; the SMF network element and the PCF network element can communicate through the N7 interface; the AF network element and the PCF network element can communicate through the N5 interface; and the AF network element and the NEF network element can communicate through the N33 interface. It should be noted that the interface names between the various network elements in FIG2 are merely examples. In a specific implementation, the interface names of the communication system 200 may also be other names, and this embodiment of the application does not specifically limit this.

[0084] It should be noted that the names of the various network elements (such as SMF, AF, UPF, etc.) included in Figure 2 are only examples and do not limit the functions of the network elements themselves. In 5G networks and other future networks, the above-mentioned network elements may also have other names, and the embodiments of the present application do not specifically limit this. For example, in a 6G network, some or all of the above-mentioned network elements may use the terminology in 5G, or may use other names, etc., which are uniformly explained here and will not be repeated below. In addition, it should be understood that the name of the message (or signaling) transmitted between the above-mentioned network elements is only an example and does not constitute any limitation on the function of the message itself.

[0085] Of course, other network elements can also be deployed in the above-mentioned communication system 200, such as network slice selection function (NSSF) network elements, etc., and the embodiment of the present application does not make specific limitations on this.

[0086] It should be understood that the above-mentioned communication system 200 applied to the embodiment of the present application is only an example of the network architecture described from the perspective of the service-oriented architecture. The network architecture applicable to the embodiment of the present application is not limited to this. Any network architecture that can realize the functions of the above-mentioned network elements is applicable to the embodiment of the present application.

[0087] With the continuous development of communication systems (such as the communication system 100 shown in Figure 1 or the communication system 200 shown in Figure 2), data transmission latency has been continuously reduced, and transmission capacity has been increasing. Communication systems have gradually infiltrated some multimedia services with strong real-time requirements and large data capacity requirements, such as video transmission, cloud gaming, and extended reality (XR), among which XR includes virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR). Multimodal services, as a new service, add a tactile experience dimension to XR, which can realize remote touch and remote control, and realize remote perception in multiple aspects such as vision, hearing, touch, and kinesthetics. It has great development space in related fields such as industrial automation, healthcare, and distance education, providing users with a full range of interactive experience, with great application value and commercial potential.

[0088] As a type of multimodal service, the Tactile Internet can be divided into the following four categories:

[0089] First, immersive tactile XR: Compared with traditional XR services, immersive tactile XR can create an immersive and realistic experience for users through complete simulation and real-time interaction of sensory information such as vision, hearing, and touch, taking users to travel between the virtual and real worlds.

[0090] Second, remote control: Under existing technologies, operators can only perform remote control via video. The Tactile Internet further enables touch, significantly enhancing the operator's sense of presence and improving operational precision. This remote control will be widely used in industrial and medical scenarios.

[0091] Third, education and training: As learners perform fine motor skill tasks, coaches will be able to feel the learners’ movements and correct them when necessary. Learners will be able to see, hear, and feel the exact movements their coaches make. Whether they are engineers, pilots, or surgeons, the concept of “hands-on” will take on a whole new meaning.

[0092] Fourth, tactile broadcasting: Based on traditional broadcasting, tactile features are introduced, and tactile streams and broadcast streams are transmitted along the channel, which can enhance the audience's viewing experience.

[0093] In the tactile internet, the quality of a user's tactile experience during human-computer interaction can be assessed using tactile evaluation metrics. Existing tactile evaluation metrics include subjective and objective metrics. Subjective metrics include Quality of Experience (QoE), while objective metrics include Precision Mean Squared Error (P-MSE), High Power Width (HPW)-Positive Signal Noise Ratio (PSNR), and High-Speed ​​Simulation (HSSIM).

[0094] The existing objective evaluation metrics mentioned above cannot accurately reflect people's true feelings and are not very accurate. In particular, HSSIM has numerous parameters that must be obtained through experiments, and different environments and tasks require different parameter values. Existing subjective evaluation metrics require testing a large number of subjects and generating a mean opinion score (MOS). These tests, repeated for different scenarios and tasks, consume a significant amount of time and manpower, are not only costly but also result in individual scoring criteria being unique.

[0095] In view of this, the present application proposes a tactile evaluation method and device, which obtains application layer parameters and network side parameters of the target business, and determines the tactile evaluation indicators of the target business based on the application layer parameters and network side parameters. Compared with the existing objective evaluation indicators, since the application layer parameters include the tactile information of the target business, the tactile evaluation indicators determined in this way can more accurately reflect people's real feelings and improve the accuracy of tactile evaluation. Compared with the existing subjective evaluation indicators, since different businesses correspond to different tactile information, the tactile evaluation method of the present application can obtain tactile evaluation results corresponding to the current scene or current task without manual operation, which can save time and labor costs.

[0096] Below, the tactile evaluation method 300 of an embodiment of the present application is described in detail with reference to FIG3 . The method 300 can be applied to the communication system 100 shown in FIG1 , the communication system 200 shown in FIG2 , or other communication systems, and the present application does not limit this. The method 300 can be executed by an access network device or by a chip in the access network device, and includes the following steps:

[0097] S301 : Acquire application layer parameters and network side parameters of a target service, where the application layer parameters include tactile information of the target service, and the network side parameters include at least one of latency, reliability, or jitter of the target service.

[0098] The above-mentioned "obtaining" may include obtaining from other devices (such as core network devices or terminal devices), or may include obtaining from the inside of the access network device (such as obtaining from the memory of the access network device), which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

[0099] For example, the tactile information may include at least one of vibration duration, vibration intensity, tactile compression rate, tactile encoding key parameters, force feedback intensity, or interaction intensity. Different tactile compression rates, different tactile encoding key parameters, and different interaction intensities have a significant impact on the transmission reliability of the service. Different vibration durations, different vibration intensities, and different force feedback intensities also have an impact on the user's subjective experience.

[0100] It should be understood that the aforementioned interaction intensity may refer to the closeness of human-computer interaction, which is related to the dynamics and complexity of the human-computer interaction environment. The aforementioned tactile compression ratio may be the value obtained by dividing the compressed data volume by the original data volume, or the value obtained by dividing the original data volume by the compressed data volume, or may be expressed as a percentage, but this embodiment of the application is not limited to this.

[0101] It should be understood that the target service in the embodiment of the present application may include only the tactile service, or may include the video service in addition to the tactile service.

[0102] In the case where the target service includes a tactile service and a video service, the above-mentioned application layer parameters may optionally further include video media information of the target service. Exemplarily, the video media information may include at least one of a frame rate, a period, or protocol data unit (PDU) set information. The PDU set information may include information such as the sequence number of the PDU set, the end identifier of the PDU set, the sequence number of the PDU within the PDU set, the importance identifier of the PDU set, and the size of the PDU set, which is not specifically limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0103] S302 : Determine a tactile evaluation index of the target service according to the application layer parameter and the network side parameter, where the tactile evaluation index is used to evaluate a user tactile experience quality of the target service.

[0104] It should be understood that the tactile evaluation index may also be called a tactile evaluation result, haptic multi-indicator assessment fusion (HMAF), etc., or have other names in other scenarios, and the embodiments of the present application are not limited to this.

[0105] The tactile evaluation method of the embodiment of the present application obtains application layer parameters and network side parameters of the target service, and determines the tactile evaluation index of the target service based on the application layer parameters and the network side parameters. Compared with existing objective evaluation indicators, since the application layer parameters include tactile information of the target service, the tactile evaluation index determined in this way can more accurately reflect people's real feelings and improve the accuracy of tactile evaluation. Compared with existing subjective evaluation indicators, since different services correspond to different tactile information, the tactile evaluation method of the present application can obtain tactile evaluation results corresponding to the current scene or current task without manual operation, which can save time and labor costs.

[0106] Furthermore, after the access network device determines the tactile evaluation index of the target service, the access network device can select a scheduling strategy corresponding to the tactile evaluation index and transmit data of the target service according to the scheduling strategy to improve network transmission resource utilization, thereby improving user experience.

[0107] Optionally, the above-mentioned application layer parameters may include application layer parameters from an application server and / or application layer parameters from a terminal device. In one possible implementation, the access network device may determine the tactile evaluation index of the target service based on the application layer parameters from the application server and the network side parameters. In another possible implementation, the access network device may determine the tactile evaluation index of the target service based on the application layer parameters from the terminal device and the network side parameters. In yet another possible implementation, the access network device may determine the tactile evaluation index of the target service based on the application layer parameters from the application server, the application layer parameters from the terminal device, and the network side parameters.

[0108] It should be understood that the application layer parameters of the application server and the application layer parameters of the terminal device can be completely the same, partially the same, or different, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this. For uplink services, the application layer parameters of the terminal device may include vibration time, vibration intensity, tactile compression rate, tactile coding key parameters, force feedback intensity, interaction intensity, etc., that is, these parameters can be provided by the terminal device to the access network device. For downlink services, the above parameters can be provided by the application server to the access network device, that is, the application layer parameters of the application server may include vibration time, vibration intensity, tactile compression rate, tactile coding key parameters, force feedback intensity, interaction intensity, etc.

[0109] Optionally, the application layer parameters of the terminal device may also include device type, model, product specifications, resolution, refresh rate, etc. These device parameters are provided by the terminal device to the access network device for both uplink and downlink services.

[0110] As an optional embodiment, the above S301 includes: receiving first information from a core network device, where the first information includes the application layer parameters.

[0111] It should be understood that in this embodiment, the application layer parameters included in the first information are application layer parameters of the application server. The application server can send third information including the application layer parameters to the core network device via the N6 interface. The core network device receives the third information, extracts the application layer parameters from it, and then forwards the application layer parameters to the access network device via the N3 interface, carrying the application layer parameters in the first information. Correspondingly, the access network device receives the first information including the application layer parameters.

[0112] Exemplarily, in the process of the application server sending application layer parameters to the core network device, the field carrying the above-mentioned application layer parameters may be located in the real-time transport protocol (RTP) layer (for example, in the RTP packet header of the RTP layer), or in the user datagram protocol (UDP) protocol layer (for example, in the UDP packet header of the UDP layer), or in a newly added protocol layer between the RTP layer and the UDP layer, or in a newly added field between the RTP layer and the UDP layer. This embodiment of the present application is not limited to this.

[0113] Exemplarily, in the process of the core network device sending application layer parameters to the access network device, the field carrying the above application layer parameters can be an extended header of the user plane GPRS tunnel transmission protocol (user GPRS tunnel protocol, GTP-U, where GPRS is the abbreviation of general packet radio service (GPRS)) message, that is, the above first information can be a GTP-U message.

[0114] Illustratively, the format of the GTP-U message may be as shown in Table 1 below.

[0115] Table 1

[0116] As shown in Table 1, a GTP-U message includes the following fields: version (version), protocol type (PT), extension header flag (E), sequence number (S), number marking (PN), message type (message type), network layer protocol data unit (N-PDU), number (number), extension header (extension header), (*) indicates an empty bit, such as 0. It should be understood that a GTP-U message may also include other fields, not all of which are shown in Table 1.

[0117] As an optional embodiment, the above S301 further includes: receiving second information from the terminal device, where the second information includes the application layer parameters.

[0118] It should be understood that in this embodiment, the application layer parameters included in the first information are application layer parameters of the terminal device. The terminal device can send the second information including the application layer parameters to the access network device via the Uu interface.

[0119] Exemplarily, the second information may be carried in radio resource control (RRC) signaling, media access control element (MAC CE) or uplink control message (UCI), which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0120] For ease of understanding, the following describes an embodiment of the present application in detail with reference to FIG4 , taking an example in which the application layer parameters include application layer parameters from the application server and application layer parameters from the terminal device.

[0121] FIG4 shows a schematic flow chart of another tactile evaluation method 400 provided in an embodiment of the present application. The method 400 can be applied to the communication system 100 shown in FIG1 , the communication system 200 shown in FIG2 , or other communication systems, which are not limited in the present embodiment. The method 400 includes the following steps:

[0122] S401, the application server sends third information to the core network device, where the third information includes application layer parameters of the application server; correspondingly, the core network device receives the third information.

[0123] S402, the core network device sends first information to the access network device, where the first information includes application layer parameters of the above-mentioned application server; correspondingly, the access network device receives the first information.

[0124] S403, the terminal device sends second information to the access network device, where the second information includes application layer parameters of the terminal device; correspondingly, the access network device receives the second information.

[0125] S404: The access network device determines a tactile evaluation index of the target service according to the first information, the second information, and network side parameters.

[0126] It should be understood that the above S403 can be executed after S401 and S402, or before S401 and S402, or in parallel with S401 and S402, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present application.

[0127] The following describes in detail how the tactile evaluation index is determined in the embodiments of the present application.

[0128] In the embodiment of the present application, the access network device can determine the tactile evaluation index of the target service in a variety of different ways.

[0129] Method 1: The access network device can determine the tactile evaluation index of the target service through a formula.

[0130] In a possible implementation, the tactile evaluation index may be calculated from three perspectives: application layer parameters of the application server, network side parameters, and application layer parameters of the terminal device.

[0131] Case 1: If the access network device receives application layer parameters from the application server, the tactile evaluation index can be obtained by weighted summing the first value and the third value, where the first value is the value obtained by inputting the application layer parameters from the application server into the first function, and the third value is the value obtained by inputting the network side parameters into the third function.

[0132] For example, the tactile evaluation index in case 1 is marked as HMAF1, the first function is recorded as f1, and the third function is recorded as f3. The calculation formula corresponding to case 1 can be: HMAF1=w1×f1(a)+w2×f3(c),

[0133] Wherein, w1 and w2 are weighted coefficients, w1+w2=1, a is an application layer parameter of the application server, and c is a network side parameter.

[0134] Case 2: If the access network device receives application layer parameters from the terminal device, the tactile evaluation index can be obtained by weighted summing the second value and the third value, the second value being the value obtained by inputting the application layer parameters from the terminal device into the second function, and the third value being the value obtained by inputting the network side parameters into the third function.

[0135] For example, the tactile evaluation index is marked as HMAF2, the second function is marked as f2, and the third function is marked as f3. The calculation formula corresponding to Case 2 can be: HMAF2=w3×f2(b)+w4×f3(c),

[0136] Among them, w3 and w4 are weighted coefficients, w3+w4=1, b is the application layer parameter of the terminal device, and c is the network side parameter.

[0137] Case 3: If the access network device receives both application layer parameters from the application server and application layer parameters from the terminal device, the tactile evaluation index can be obtained by weighted summing the first value, the second value and the third value.

[0138] For example, the tactile evaluation index is marked as HMAF3, the first function is recorded as f1, the second function is recorded as f2, and the third function is recorded as f3. The calculation formula corresponding to case 3 can be: HMAF3 = w5×f1(a)+w6×f2(b)+w7×f3(c),

[0139] Among them, w5, w6 and w7 are weighted coefficients, w5+w6+w7=1, a is the application layer parameter of the application server, b is the application layer parameter of the terminal device, and c is the network side parameter.

[0140] Assuming that the application layer parameter a of the above application server includes the vibration time T and the force feedback intensity F, f1(a) can be expressed as: f1(T,F)=100-w 11 ×(T-100) 2 -w 12 ×(F-70) 2 ,

[0141] Among them, w 11 and w 12is the weighting coefficient, w 11 +w 12 =1.

[0142] From the formula of f1(T,F), it can be seen that the optimal value of vibration time is 100, and the optimal value of force feedback intensity is 70. If the value of T is greater than or less than the optimal value of vibration time, or the value of F is greater than or equal to the optimal value of force feedback intensity, the user experience will decrease with the quadratic function.

[0143] Assuming that the application layer parameter b of the terminal device includes the sampling frequency T_sampling of the terminal device, f2(b) can be expressed as: f2(T_sampling)=w 21 ×log(T_sampling+1),

[0144] Among them, w 21 is the weighting coefficient.

[0145] The formula for f2(T_sampling) shows that different devices have different granularity for tactile rendering. The higher the sampling and rendering frequency of the device, the closer the user's tactile experience is to reality. When the sampling frequency is low, increasing it can significantly improve the user experience. However, when the sampling frequency is already high and users can no longer distinguish higher sampling frequencies, the improvement in user experience decreases.

[0146] Assuming that the network-side parameter c includes the packet delay budget (PDB) and the packet error rate (PER), f3(PDB, PER) can be expressed as: f3(PDB, PER) = w 31 ×(100-PDB)+w 32 ×(l×(100-PER*100)),

[0147] Among them, w 31 and w 32 is the weighting coefficient, w 31 +w 32 =1, l is a preset coefficient. It should be understood that the above PDB is the PDB of the target service, and the above PER is the PER of the target service.

[0148] Furthermore, if the calculation is performed according to the business dimension, the expression of f3(c) includes the following two cases:

[0149] In the case where the target service only includes tactile service, f3(c) can be expressed as: f3(PDB1,PER1)=w 33 ×(100-PDB1)+w34 ×(l×(100-PER1*100)),

[0150] Among them, w 33 and w 34 is the weighting coefficient, w 33 +w 34 =1, PDB1 is the PDB of the tactile service, PER1 is the PER of the tactile service, and l is a preset coefficient.

[0151] In the case where the target services include tactile services and video services, f3(c) can be expressed as:

[0152] Among them, w 35 、w 36 、w 37 、w 38 and w 39 is the weighting coefficient, w 35 +w 36 +w 37 +w 38 +w 39 =1, l is a preset coefficient, and d is the synchronization difference between the tactile service and the video service.

[0153] It should be understood that synchronization difference refers to two signals generated at the same time, which have different delays after transmission. The delay difference arriving on the network side can also be called synchronization error, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0154] Exemplarily, the above l=2 / 3.

[0155] For example, the above w 35 =0.3, w 36 =0.3, w 37 =0.2, w 38 =0.2, w 39 =0.1.

[0156] In another possible implementation, the tactile evaluation index may be calculated according to different modes of services, that is, it may be calculated according to dimensions such as tactile services and video services.

[0157] In case 1, the target service only includes the tactile service, the network side parameter is the network side parameter corresponding to the tactile service, and the application layer parameter is the tactile information.

[0158] In one possible implementation, the tactile evaluation index may be determined based on network-side parameters corresponding to the tactile service. Optionally, the tactile evaluation index may be a seventh value obtained by inputting the network-side parameters corresponding to the tactile service into the fourth function.

[0159] For example, the tactile evaluation index is marked as HMAF4, and the fourth function is recorded as f4. The corresponding calculation formula of this method can be: HMAF4=f4(e),

[0160] Wherein, e is the network side parameter corresponding to the tactile service.

[0161] Assuming that the network side parameter e corresponding to the above tactile service includes PDB, PER and jitter, f4(e) can be expressed as: f4(e)=(100-PDB)+(100-PER×100)-|jitter|,

[0162] In another possible implementation, the tactile evaluation index may be determined based on the network-side parameters and tactile information corresponding to the tactile service. Optionally, the tactile evaluation index may be an eighth value obtained by inputting the network-side parameters and tactile information corresponding to the tactile service into the fourth function.

[0163] For example, the tactile evaluation index is marked as HMAF5, and the fourth function is recorded as f4. The corresponding calculation formula of this method can be: HMAF5=f5(e,g),

[0164] Among them, e is the network side parameter corresponding to the tactile service, and g is the tactile information.

[0165] Case 2: The target service includes a tactile service and a video service. The application layer information received by the access network device includes tactile information and video media information. The network side parameters include network side parameters corresponding to the tactile service and network side parameters corresponding to the video service. The application layer parameters include tactile information and video media information.

[0166] In one possible implementation, the tactile evaluation index may be determined based on network-side parameters (i.e., network-side parameters corresponding to the tactile service and network-side parameters corresponding to the video service). The tactile evaluation index may be obtained by weighted summing a ninth value, a tenth value, and an eleventh value, wherein the ninth value is obtained by inputting the network-side parameters corresponding to the tactile service into the fourth function, the tenth value is obtained by inputting the network-side parameters corresponding to the video service into the fifth function, and the eleventh value is obtained by inputting the synchronization difference between the network-side parameters of the tactile service and the video service into the sixth function.

[0167] For example, the tactile evaluation index is marked as HMAF6, the fourth function is marked as f4, the fifth function is marked as f5, and the sixth function is marked as f6. The corresponding calculation formula of this method can be: HMAF6 = w8×f4(e)+w9×f5(i)+w 10 ×f6(d),

[0168] Among them, w8, w9 and w 10 is the weighting coefficient, w8+w9+w 10 =1, e is the network side parameter corresponding to the tactile service, i is the network side parameter corresponding to the video service, and d is the synchronization difference between the tactile service and the video service.

[0169] Assuming that e includes PDB1 and PER1, and i includes PDB2 and PER2, the corresponding tactile evaluation formula HMAF6 is:

[0170] Among them, w 44 、w 45 、w 46 、w 47 and w 48 is the weighting coefficient, w 44 +w 45 +w 46 +w 47 +w 48 =1, s is the preset coefficient, and d is the synchronization difference between the tactile service and the video service.

[0171] Exemplarily, the above s=2 / 3.

[0172] For example, the above w 44 =0.3, w 45 =0.3, w 46 =0.2, w 47 =0.2, w 48 =0.1.

[0173] In another possible implementation, the tactile evaluation index may be determined based on network-side parameters (i.e., network-side parameters corresponding to the tactile service and network-side parameters corresponding to the video service) and application layer parameters (i.e., tactile information and video media information). The tactile evaluation index may be obtained by weighted summing a fourth value, a fifth value, and a sixth value, wherein the fourth value is obtained by inputting the tactile information and the network-side parameters corresponding to the tactile service into a fourth function, the fifth value is obtained by inputting the video media information and the network-side parameters corresponding to the video service into a fifth function, and the sixth value is obtained by inputting the synchronization difference between the tactile service and the video service into a sixth function.

[0174] For example, the tactile evaluation index is marked as HMAF7, the fourth function is marked as f4, the fifth function is marked as f5, and the sixth function is marked as f6. The calculation formula corresponding to case 2 can be: HMAF7=w 17 ×f4(e,g)+w 18 ×f5(i,k)+w 19 ×f6(d),

[0175] Among them, w 17 、w 18 and w 19 is the weighting coefficient, w 17 +w 18 +w 19 =1, e is the network side parameter corresponding to the tactile service, g is the tactile information, i is the network side parameter corresponding to the video service, k is the video media information, and d is the synchronization difference between the tactile service and the video service.

[0176] Assuming that e includes PDB1, PER1, jitter1, and compressibility (Cpre), and i includes PDB2, PER2, and jitter2, the corresponding tactile evaluation formula HMAF7 is:

[0177] Among them, w 51 、w 52 and w 53 is the weighting coefficient, w 51 +w 52 +w 53 =1, d is the synchronization difference between the tactile service and the video service.

[0178] For example, the above w 51 =0.5, w 52 =0.4, w 53 =0.1.

[0179] In the second method, the access network device can determine the tactile evaluation index of the target service through a table.

[0180] In a possible implementation, the access network device may look up a table according to different modes of services to obtain tactile evaluation indicators, that is, the access network device may look up a table according to dimensions such as tactile services and video services.

[0181] Case 1: The target service only includes the tactile service.

[0182] Assuming that the network side parameters include PDB and PER, and the tactile information includes the tactile compression rate, a possible form of the table is:

[0183] Table 2

[0184] As shown in Table 2, different PDBs, PERs, and tactile compression rates correspond to different tactile evaluation index scores. Access network equipment can use Table 2 to find the tactile evaluation index corresponding to the target service's PDB, PER, and tactile compression rate. It should be understood that Table 2 also includes tactile evaluation indexes corresponding to other different values ​​of PDB, PER, and tactile compression rate, which are not listed here. N1 is an integer greater than 1.

[0185] For example, if the PDB of a target service is 7ms, the PER is 99.999, and the tactile compression rate is 20%, the tactile evaluation index of the target service is 90. If the tactile evaluation index required by the user of the target service is 100, the access network device can improve the tactile evaluation index of subsequent transmissions of the target service by shortening the latency, lowering the MCS, and so on, to meet the user's needs.

[0186] For example, if the PDB of the target service is 27ms, the PER is 99, and the tactile compression rate is 100%, the tactile evaluation index of the target service is 0. In this case, the access network device may consider that the target service cannot meet user needs and thus stop subsequent data transmission to save resources.

[0187] Optionally, if any of the above parameters is predefined and a table corresponding to different values ​​of the parameter is preset, the table corresponding to the parameter can be selected first based on the value of the parameter and then queried.

[0188] Taking the compression ratio as an example, when the compression ratio is 10%, the corresponding possible form of the table is:

[0189] Table 3

[0190] As shown in Table 3, when the compression ratio is 10%, different PDBs and PERs correspond to different tactile evaluation index scores. The access network device can first determine Table 3 based on a 10% compression ratio for the target service, and then search Table 3 for the tactile evaluation index corresponding to the PDB and PER of the target service. It should be understood that Table 3 also includes tactile evaluation indexes corresponding to other different PDB and PER values, which are not listed here. N2 is an integer greater than 1.

[0191] When the compression rate is 20%, the corresponding table may be in the form of:

[0192] Table 4

[0193] As shown in Table 4, when the compression ratio is 20%, different PDBs and PERs correspond to different tactile evaluation index scores. The access network device can first determine Table 4 based on the target service's compression ratio of 20%, and then search Table 4 to find the tactile evaluation index corresponding to the target service's PDB and PER. It should be understood that Table 4 also includes tactile evaluation indexes corresponding to other different PDB and PER values, which are not listed here. N3 is an integer greater than 1.

[0194] Case 2: The target service includes a video service and a tactile service.

[0195] Assuming that the network side parameters include PDB and PER, and the tactile information includes tactile compression rate, the network side parameters include PDB of tactile service, PER of tactile service, PDB of video service, and PER of video service, a possible form of a table is:

[0196] Table 5

[0197] As shown in Table 5, different haptic service PDBs, haptic service PERs, video service PDBs, video service PERs, and haptic compression rates correspond to different haptic evaluation index scores. Access network devices can use Table 5 to find the haptic evaluation index corresponding to the target service's haptic service PDB, haptic service PER, video service PDB, video service PER, and haptic compression rate. It should be understood that Table 5 also includes haptic evaluation indexes corresponding to other different values ​​of PDB, PER, and haptic compression rate, which are not listed here. N4 is an integer greater than 1.

[0198] The specific lookup methods for Tables 3 to 5 are the same as those for Table 2 and will not be repeated here.

[0199] It should be understood that the above table can be agreed upon in the protocol or pre-configured. In addition, the above table can also exist in other forms, which are not specifically limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0200] It should also be understood that the access network device can select the corresponding table according to different service types; or, the application server or terminal device notifies the access network device to select the corresponding table, and the embodiments of the present application do not specifically limit this.

[0201] Method three: the access network equipment can determine the tactile evaluation index of the target service through a neural network model.

[0202] Optionally, the above S404 may include: inputting the application layer parameters and the network side parameters into a trained neural network model to obtain the tactile evaluation index.

[0203] In the embodiments of the present application, the trained neural network model can be regarded as a black box system, and can be trained to obtain models including but not limited to Gradient Boosting Decision Tree (GBDT), Support Vector Machine (SVM), Random Forest, etc. In this way, the subjective perception quality of a given tactile experience can be predicted. That is, given the above-mentioned application layer parameters and network side parameters, the tactile evaluation index can be predicted.

[0204] The following describes the training process of the neural network model.

[0205] It should be understood that the trained neural network model used in the embodiments of the present application can be saved after training by the access network device, or it can be trained by other devices and sent to the access network device. The embodiments of the present application are not limited to this.

[0206] As an optional embodiment, the above method also includes: when the application layer parameters and / or network side parameters of the target service are different parameters, collecting multiple scores of the target service from each user among multiple users, and the application layer parameters and / or network side parameters corresponding to each score in the multiple scores; using the multiple scores as labels, inputting the application layer parameters and / or network side parameters corresponding to each score in the multiple scores into the neural network model, training the neural network model, and obtaining the trained neural network model.

[0207] Specifically, the model training process is divided into the following three stages:

[0208] Phase 1, data collection.

[0209] The data sets in the embodiments of this application are collected based on subjective testing methods. The embodiments of this application fully consider the user's usage, quantify the tactile evaluation indicators, and require users to score the experience quality of the test scene after actual experience, that is, to obtain the experience quality value of the test scene.

[0210] In this embodiment of the present application, users can freely adjust the values ​​of application-layer and network-side parameters through the neural network model test interface to change the tactile perception in the scene and experience it. When users interact with objects in the test scene, they will feel the changes in the tactile interaction quality brought about by the changes in parameter values. Then, users can give their subjective perception of the tactile experience quality value.

[0211] Since each user has different standards for subjective testing, the corresponding relationship shown in Table 6 is designed.

[0212] For example, the embodiment of the present application quantifies the experience quality value to 1-5 points, as shown in Table 6.

[0213] Table 6

[0214] It should be noted that the experience quality values ​​in Table 6 can also be quantified to 1-10, 1-100 or other score ranges, and this embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit this.

[0215] In the embodiment of the application, it is assumed that the number of user experiences is fixed as T, and the influencing factor is recorded as m. i (i=1,2,3,...,n), then the experience quality score of a certain influencing factor is:

[0216] Let G = α1×Q1+α2×Q2+...+α n ×Q n , and G∈[0,1], α i is the weight of the influencing factors, and the sum of all the weights of the influencing factors is 1. Then, the total user experience quality score is quantized to 1-5 points, and Q = β × G + 1 is set, so that Q ∈ [1, 5], Q is the current user experience quality value, where β is the quantization coefficient.

[0217] It should be understood that the above-mentioned influencing factors are a general term for application layer parameters and network side parameters, and may include both application layer parameters and network side parameters.

[0218] In the above manner, multiple scores of each of the multiple users for the target service and application layer parameters and / or network side parameters corresponding to each of the multiple scores can be obtained.

[0219] Phase 2: Data processing: In the embodiment of the present application, a box plot can be used to remove outliers from the collected parameter data, perform data cleaning, and obtain cleaned data.

[0220] Phase 3: model training.

[0221] The cleaned data is input into a machine learning model (including but not limited to GBDT, SVM, random forest and other models) for training. Specifically, in the cleaned data, multiple scoring values ​​of the user are used as labels, and the application layer parameters and / or network side parameters corresponding to the multiple scoring values ​​are input into the neural network model for training. During the training process, a part of the data (for example, 80% of the data) is divided into a training set, and another part of the data (for example, 20% of the data) is used as a validation set. By adjusting the model parameters, a model that meets the conditions is obtained. Exemplarily, a model whose probability statistics of the model predicted value data and the true value data are greater than the confidence threshold can be selected for saving, or a model whose root mean square error (RMSE) between the model predicted value data and the true value data is less than a preset threshold can be selected for saving.

[0222] Optionally, the access network device can train and store multiple (e.g., greater than 10) models. In one possible implementation, the access network device can use each of the multiple models to perform predictions, and then calculate the average of the prediction results from each model as the final prediction value, i.e., the tactile evaluation index for the target service. This helps improve the stability and accuracy of the prediction results.

[0223] The embodiment of the present application determines the tactile evaluation index through the calculation of a neural network, and collects the user's subjective evaluation score by allowing the user to adjust the application layer parameters and / or network side parameter values, which is closer to the user's real experience. Training based on this data set can effectively improve the accuracy of the tactile experience perception quality evaluation index.

[0224] It should be understood that the order of execution of the above methods does not necessarily mean the order in which they are executed. The order in which each process is executed should be determined by its function and internal logic.

[0225] The tactile evaluation method according to an embodiment of the present application is described in detail above with reference to FIG. 1 to FIG. 4 . The tactile evaluation device according to an embodiment of the present application will be described in detail below with reference to FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 .

[0226] FIG5 shows a tactile evaluation device 500 provided in an embodiment of the present application. The device 500 includes an acquisition unit 510 and a processing unit 520 .

[0227] In a possible implementation, the apparatus 500 is configured to execute the steps corresponding to the access network device in the above method 400 .

[0228] Among them, the acquisition unit 510 is used to obtain the application layer parameters and network side parameters of the target service, the application layer parameters include tactile information of the target service, and the network side parameters include at least one of the delay, reliability or jitter of the target service; the processing unit 520 is used to determine the tactile evaluation index of the target service based on the application layer parameters and the network side parameters, and the tactile evaluation index is used to evaluate the user tactile experience quality of the target service.

[0229] Optionally, the apparatus further includes a receiving unit configured to receive first information from a core network device, where the first information includes the application layer parameters.

[0230] Optionally, the first information is a user plane GPRS tunnel transmission protocol GTP-U message, and the application layer parameters are carried in an extended header of the GTP-U message.

[0231] Optionally, the apparatus further includes a receiving unit configured to receive second information from a terminal device, where the second information includes the application layer parameters.

[0232] Optionally, the second information is carried in radio resource control RRC signaling, media access control element MAC CE or uplink control information UCI.

[0233] Optionally, the application layer parameters include application layer parameters from an application server and / or application layer parameters from a terminal device;

[0234] The processing unit is specifically configured to:

[0235] The tactile evaluation index is determined according to the application layer parameters from the application server and / or the application layer parameters from the terminal device, and the network side parameters.

[0236] Optionally, the tactile evaluation index is obtained by weighted summing the first value and / or the second value and the third value, the first value is the value obtained by inputting the application layer parameter from the application server into the first function, the second value is the value obtained by inputting the application layer parameter from the terminal device into the second function, and the third value is the value obtained by inputting the network side parameter into the third function.

[0237] Optionally, the target service includes a tactile service and a video service, the network side parameters include network side parameters corresponding to the tactile service and network side parameters corresponding to the video service, and the application layer parameters further include video media information;

[0238] The processing unit is further specifically configured to:

[0239] The tactile evaluation index is determined according to the tactile information, network side parameters corresponding to the tactile service, the video media information, network side parameters corresponding to the video service, and a synchronization difference between the tactile service and the video service.

[0240] Optionally, the tactile evaluation index is obtained by weighted summing the fourth value, the fifth value and the synchronization difference, the fourth value is the value obtained by inputting the network side parameters corresponding to the tactile information and the tactile service into the fourth function, and the fifth value is the value obtained by inputting the network side parameters corresponding to the video information and the video service into the fifth function.

[0241] Optionally, the processing unit is specifically configured to:

[0242] The application layer parameters and the network side parameters are input into a trained neural network model to obtain the tactile evaluation index.

[0243] Optionally, the processing unit is further configured to:

[0244] When the application layer parameters and / or network side parameters of the target service are different parameters, the method is used to collect multiple scores of each user for the target service, and the application layer parameters and / or network side parameters corresponding to each score in the multiple scores;

[0245] Using the multiple scores as labels, the application layer parameters and / or network side parameters corresponding to each score in the multiple scores are input into the neural network model, and the neural network model is trained to obtain the trained neural network model.

[0246] Optionally, the tactile information includes at least one of the following: vibration time, vibration intensity, tactile compression rate, tactile encoding key parameters, force feedback intensity, or interaction intensity.

[0247] Optionally, the application layer parameters further include video media information, and the video media information includes at least one of the following: frame rate, period, or protocol data unit (PDU) set information.

[0248] It should be understood that the device 500 here is embodied in the form of a functional unit. The term "unit" here may refer to an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an electronic circuit, a processor (such as a shared processor, a dedicated processor or a group processor, etc.) and a memory for executing one or more software or firmware programs, a combined logic circuit and / or other suitable components that support the described functions. In an optional example, those skilled in the art will understand that the device 500 may specifically be the access network device in the above embodiment, and the device 500 may be used to execute the various processes and / or steps corresponding to the access network device in the above method embodiment. To avoid repetition, they will not be described here.

[0249] The apparatus 500 of each of the above-described solutions has the function of implementing the corresponding steps performed by the terminal device in the above-described method. The functions can be implemented by hardware or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above-described functions. For example, the acquisition unit can be replaced by a receiver, and other units, such as the processing unit, can be replaced by a processor, respectively performing the transceiver operations and related processing operations in each method embodiment.

[0250] In the embodiment of the present application, the device 500 in FIG5 may also be a chip or a chip system, such as a system on chip (SoC). Correspondingly, the acquisition unit 510 may be a transceiver circuit of the chip, which is not limited here.

[0251] FIG6 shows another tactile evaluation device 600 provided in an embodiment of the present application. The device 600 includes a processor 610, a transceiver 620, and a memory 630. The processor 610, the transceiver 620, and the memory 630 communicate with each other via an internal connection path. The memory 630 is used to store instructions, and the processor 610 is used to execute the instructions stored in the memory 630 to control the transceiver 620 to send and / or receive signals.

[0252] It should be understood that the apparatus 600 can be specifically the access network device in the above-mentioned embodiment, and can be used to execute the various steps and / or processes corresponding to the access network device in the above-mentioned method embodiment. Optionally, the memory 630 may include read-only memory and random access memory, and provide instructions and data to the processor. A portion of the memory may also include non-volatile random access memory. For example, the memory may also store device type information. The processor 610 can be used to execute instructions stored in the memory, and when the processor 610 executes the instructions stored in the memory, the processor 610 is used to execute the various steps and / or processes of the above-mentioned method embodiment corresponding to the access network device. The transceiver 620 may include a transmitter and a receiver. The transmitter can be used to implement the various steps and / or processes corresponding to the above-mentioned transceiver for performing the sending action, and the receiver can be used to implement the various steps and / or processes corresponding to the above-mentioned transceiver for performing the receiving action.

[0253] It should be understood that in the embodiments of the present application, the processor of the above-mentioned device may be a central processing unit (CPU), and the processor may also be other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, etc. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor, etc.

[0254] During implementation, each step of the above method can be completed by an integrated logic circuit of hardware in a processor or by instructions in the form of software. The steps of the method disclosed in conjunction with the embodiments of the present application can be directly embodied as being executed by a hardware processor, or can be executed by a combination of hardware and software units in the processor. The software unit can be located in a storage medium mature in the art, such as a random access memory, a flash memory, a read-only memory, a programmable read-only memory, or an electrically erasable programmable memory, a register, etc. The storage medium is located in a memory, and the processor executes the instructions in the memory, and in combination with its hardware, completes the steps of the above method. To avoid repetition, a detailed description is not given here.

[0255] The present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium, which is used to store a computer program, and the computer program is used to implement the method corresponding to the access network device in the above embodiment.

[0256] The present application also provides a computer program product, which includes a computer program (also referred to as code or instructions). When the computer program runs on a computer, the computer can execute the method corresponding to the access network device shown in the above embodiment.

[0257] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the various method steps and units described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, computer software, or a combination of the two. In order to clearly illustrate the interchangeability of hardware and software, the steps and components of each embodiment have been generally described in terms of function in the above description. Whether these functions are performed in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art may use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered to be beyond the scope of this application.

[0258] Those skilled in the art will clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the systems, devices and units described above can refer to the corresponding processes in the aforementioned method embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0259] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are merely schematic. For example, the division of the units is merely a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods, such as multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. In addition, the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed can be an indirect coupling or communication connection through some interfaces, devices or units, or can be electrical, mechanical or other forms of connection.

[0260] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate, and the components shown as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of the units may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the embodiments of the present application.

[0261] In addition, the functional units in the various embodiments of the present application may be integrated into a single processing unit, or each unit may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into a single unit. The aforementioned integrated units may be implemented in the form of hardware or software functional units.

[0262] If the integrated unit is implemented in the form of a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present application is essentially or the part that contributes to the prior art, or all or part of the technical solution can be embodied in the form of a software product, and the computer software product is stored in a storage medium, including a number of instructions for enabling a computer device (which can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the method described in each embodiment of the present application. The aforementioned storage medium includes: various media that can store program codes, such as a USB flash drive, a mobile hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk or an optical disk.

[0263] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of the present application, but the scope of protection of the present application is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art can easily conceive of various equivalent modifications or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed in the present application, and such modifications or substitutions should be included in the scope of protection of the present application. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present application should be based on the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

1. A tactile evaluation method, characterized in that: include: Acquire application layer parameters and network side parameters of a target service, wherein the application layer parameters include tactile information of the target service, and the network side parameters include at least one of latency, reliability, or jitter of the target service; A tactile evaluation index of the target service is determined according to the application layer parameter and the network side parameter, where the tactile evaluation index is used to evaluate a user tactile experience quality of the target service.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The obtaining of the application layer parameters of the target service includes: Receive first information from a core network device, where the first information includes the application layer parameter.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The first information is a user plane GPRS tunnel transmission protocol GTP-U message, and the application layer parameter is carried in an extension header of the GTP-U message.

4. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The obtaining of the application layer parameters of the target service includes: Second information is received from a terminal device, where the second information includes the application layer parameter.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that The second information is carried in radio resource control RRC signaling, media access control element MAC CE or uplink control information UCI.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that The application layer parameters include application layer parameters from an application server and / or application layer parameters from a terminal device; The determining, according to the application layer parameter and the network side parameter, a tactile evaluation index of the target service includes: The tactile evaluation index is determined according to the application layer parameters from the application server and / or the application layer parameters from the terminal device, and the network side parameters.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that The tactile evaluation index is obtained by weighted summing the first value and / or the second value and the third value, wherein the first value is a value obtained by inputting the application layer parameter from the application server into the first function, the second value is a value obtained by inputting the application layer parameter from the terminal device into the second function, and the third value is a value obtained by inputting the network side parameter into the third function.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that The target service includes a tactile service and a video service, the network side parameters include a network side parameter corresponding to the tactile service and a network side parameter corresponding to the video service, and the application layer parameters also include video media information; The determining, according to the application layer parameter and the network side parameter, a tactile evaluation index of the target service includes: The tactile evaluation index is determined according to the tactile information, network side parameters corresponding to the tactile service, the video media information, network side parameters corresponding to the video service, and a synchronization difference between the tactile service and the video service.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that The tactile evaluation index is obtained by weighted summing the fourth value, the fifth value and the synchronization difference, the fourth value is a value obtained by inputting the tactile information and the network side parameters corresponding to the tactile service into the fourth function, and the fifth value is a value obtained by inputting the video information and the network side parameters corresponding to the video service into the fifth function.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that The determining, according to the application layer parameter and the network side parameter, a tactile evaluation index of the target service includes: The application layer parameters and the network side parameters are input into a trained neural network model to obtain the tactile evaluation index.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that The method further comprises: In the case where the application layer parameters and / or network side parameters of the target service are different parameters, collecting multiple scores of each user from multiple users for the target service, and the application layer parameters and / or network side parameters corresponding to each score in the multiple scores; Using the multiple scores as labels, the application layer parameters and / or network side parameters corresponding to each score in the multiple scores are input into the neural network model, and the neural network model is trained to obtain the trained neural network model.

12. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that The tactile information includes at least one of the following: Vibration time, vibration intensity, tactile compression rate, tactile encoding key parameters, force feedback intensity, or interaction intensity.

13. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that The application layer parameters also include video media information, and the video media information includes at least one of the following: Frame rate, period, or protocol data unit (PDU) aggregation information.

14. A tactile evaluation device, characterized in that: include: an acquisition unit, configured to acquire application layer parameters and network side parameters of a target service, wherein the application layer parameters include tactile information of the target service, and the network side parameters include at least one of latency, reliability or jitter of the target service; A processing unit is used to determine a tactile evaluation index of the target service according to the application layer parameter and the network side parameter, wherein the tactile evaluation index is used to evaluate the user tactile experience quality of the target service.

15. The device according to claim 14, characterized in that The device also includes: A receiving unit is used to receive first information from a core network device, where the first information includes the application layer parameters.

16. The device according to claim 15, characterized in that The first information is a user plane GPRS tunnel transmission protocol GTP-U message, and the application layer parameter is carried in an extension header of the GTP-U message.

17. The device according to claim 14 or 15, characterized in that The device also includes: A receiving unit is used to receive second information from a terminal device, where the second information includes the application layer parameters.

18. The device according to claim 17, characterized in that The second information is carried in radio resource control RRC signaling, media access control element MAC CE or uplink control information UCI.

19. The device according to any one of claims 14 to 18, characterized in that The application layer parameters include application layer parameters from an application server and / or application layer parameters from a terminal device; The processing unit is specifically configured to determine the tactile evaluation index according to the application layer parameter from the application server and / or the application layer parameter from the terminal device, and the network side parameter.

20. The device according to claim 19, characterized in that The tactile evaluation index is obtained by weighted summing the first value and / or the second value and the third value, wherein the first value is a value obtained by inputting the application layer parameter from the application server into the first function, the second value is a value obtained by inputting the application layer parameter from the terminal device into the second function, and the third value is a value obtained by inputting the network side parameter into the third function.

21. The device according to any one of claims 14 to 18, characterized in that The target service includes a tactile service and a video service, the network side parameters include a network side parameter corresponding to the tactile service and a network side parameter corresponding to the video service, and the application layer parameters also include video media information; The processing unit is further specifically configured to determine the tactile evaluation index according to the tactile information, network side parameters corresponding to the tactile service, the video media information, network side parameters corresponding to the video service, and a synchronization difference between the tactile service and the video service.

22. The device according to claim 21, characterized in that The tactile evaluation index is obtained by weighted summing the fourth value, the fifth value and the synchronization difference, the fourth value is a value obtained by inputting the tactile information and the network side parameters corresponding to the tactile service into the fourth function, and the fifth value is a value obtained by inputting the video information and the network side parameters corresponding to the video service into the fifth function.

23. The device according to any one of claims 14 to 18, characterized in that The processing unit is specifically used for: The application layer parameters and the network side parameters are input into a trained neural network model to obtain the tactile evaluation index.

24. The device according to claim 23, characterized in that The processing unit is further specifically used for: When the application layer parameters and / or network side parameters of the target service are different parameters, it is used to collect multiple scores of each user of multiple users for the target service, and the application layer parameters and / or network side parameters corresponding to each score of the multiple scores; Using the multiple scores as labels, the application layer parameters and / or network side parameters corresponding to each score in the multiple scores are input into the neural network model, and the neural network model is trained to obtain the trained neural network model.

25. The device according to any one of claims 14 to 24, characterized in that The tactile information includes at least one of the following: Vibration time, vibration intensity, tactile compression rate, tactile encoding key parameters, force feedback intensity, or interaction intensity.

26. The device according to any one of claims 14 to 25, characterized in that The application layer parameters also include video media information, and the video media information includes at least one of the following: Frame rate, period, or protocol data unit (PDU) aggregation information.

27. A tactile evaluation device, characterized in that: include: A processor, and a memory communicatively connected to the processor; The memory stores computer-executable instructions; The processor executes the computer-executable instructions stored in the memory to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13.

28. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The computer-readable storage medium stores computer-executable instructions, and when the computer-executable instructions are executed by a processor, they are used to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13 above.

29. A computer program product, comprising instructions, characterized in that: When the instructions are executed on a computer, the computer is caused to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13.

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