Methods of scenario and role detection for interactive traffic transmission over sidelink interface

Abstract

Systems and methods of configuring an Extended Reality (XR) User Equipment (UE) and a compute UE for purposes of sidelink communication related to an XR service or XR application are disclosed. In some embodiments, a network node of a cellular communications system is configured to receive, from either or both of an XR UE and a compute UE, information that explicitly or implicitly indicates that the XR UE and the compute UE are to be associated for purposes of sidelink communication for an XR service or XR application. The network node stores information that indicates an association between the XR UE and the compute UE for purposes of sidelink communication for the XR service or XR application. The network node performs one or more actions (e.g., provides a sidelink grant and / or a downlink / uplink grant) based on the association between the XR UE and the compute UE.

Description

METHODS OF SCENARIO AND ROLE DETECTION FOR INTERACTIVE TRAFFIC TRANSMISSION OVER SIDELINK INTERFACETECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] This disclosure relates generally to systems and methods for implementing extended reality (XR) application services or XR applications on user devices.BACKGROUND3GPP Sidelink

[0002] The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) specified support in Long Term Evolution (LTE) for Proximity Services (ProSe) in Releases 12 and 13, targeting public safety use cases (e.g., first responders) as well as a small subset of commercial use cases (e.g., discovery). The main advancement of ProSe was the introduction of Device-to-Device (D2D) communications using the sidelink (SL) interface. During Release 14 and Release 15 in 3GPP, major changes were introduced to the LTE SL framework with the aim of supporting Vehicle- to-Everything (V2X) communications, where V2X collectively denotes communication between vehicle to any other endpoint (e.g., a vehicle, a pedestrian, etc.). The feature targeted mostly basic V2X use cases such as day-1 safety, etc.

[0003] During Release 16, 3GPP worked on specifying the sidelink interface for 5th Generation (5G) New Radio (NR). The NR sidelink in Release 16 mainly targets advanced V2X services, which can be categorized into four use case groups: vehicles platooning, extended sensors, advanced driving and remote driving. The advanced V2X services require a new sidelinks in order to meet stringent requirements in terms of latency and reliability. The NR sidelink is designed to provide higher system capacity and better coverage, and to allow for an easy extension to support the future development of further advanced V2X services and other related services.

[0004] Given the targeted V2X services by NR sidelink, it is commonly recognized that groupcast / multicast and unicast transmissions are desired, in which the intended receiver of a message consists of a subset of the vehicles in proximity to the transmitter (groupcast) or of a single vehicle (unicast). For example, in the platooning service there are certain messages that are of interest to the members of the platoon, making the members of the platoon a natural groupcast. In another example, the see-through use case most likely involves only a pair of vehicles, for which unicast transmissions naturally fit. Therefore, NR sidelink not only supports broadcast as in LTE sidelink, but also groupcast and unicast transmissions. Like in LTE sidelink, the NR sidelink is designed in such a way that its operation is possible with and without networkcoverage and with varying degrees of interaction between the UEs (user equipment) and the NW (network), including support for standalone, network- less operation.

[0005] In Release 17, 3GPP is working on multiple enhancements for the sidelink with the aim of extending the support for V2X and to cover other use cases (UCs) such as public safety (see RP-193231 “New WID on NR sidelink enhancements”). Among these UCs, improving the performance of power limited User Equipments (UEs) (e.g., pedestrian UEs, first responder UEs, etc.) and improving the performance using resource coordination are considered critical.

[0006] For Release 18, high level discussions regarding non-V2X vertical use cases for sidelink have begun. While the details of the procedures are still under discussion, some examples of use cases that involve sidelink or some form of direct-link between devices include: in-vehicle communications, industrial Internet of Things (loT), and personal loT (e.g., wearable devices and drones). During Release 18, the main objectives that are to be discussed for sidelink involve the use of the sidelink in unlicensed spectrum and the design of the beam management procedure for sidelink in Frequency Range 2 (FR2). With regards to sidelink in the unlicensed spectrum, 3GPP plans on developing mechanisms that enable the operation of sidelink communications in the unlicensed spectrum (sometimes referred to as SL-U) as a mechanism that enables Listen-Before-Talk (LBT) operations needed in the unlicensed spectrum. It is expected that SL-U design will take NR sidelink and NR-U designs as a baseline. For the case of SL in FR2, the main objective is to design a beam management procedure which is suitable for the sidelink framework while reusing as much as possible of the mechanisms used for the Uu link. The beam management for sidelink in FR2 is restricted to unicast communications.

[0007] Like in LTE sidelink, there are two resource allocation modes for NR sidelink. The first is network-based resource allocation, in which the network selects the resources and other transmit parameters used by sidelink UEs. In some cases, the network may control every transmission parameter. In other cases, the network may select the resources used for transmission but may give the transmitter the freedom to select some of the transmission parameters, possibly with some restrictions. In the context of NR sidelink, 3GPP refers to this resource allocation mode as Mode 1 (also termed “network-controlled mode”).

[0008] Similar to NR Uu, NR SL Mode 1 supports two types of resource grants that a next generation NodeB (gNB) can give to a UE: dynamic grant (DG) and configured grant (CG). With DG, the UE needs to request SL resources for the transmission of every transport block (TB). In contrast, with CG, the network can allocate (periodic) resources for the transmission of multiple TBs. The CG typically consists of a set of parameters such as the CG index, the timefrequency allocation and the periodicity of the allocated SL resources. The time-frequencyallocation indicates the slot(s) and sub-channel(s) assigned periodically to the UE in a CG. A UE can be allocated up to three SL resources during each period of the CG. The UE can only transmit one new TB in each CG period and can retransmit a TB initially transmitted in the same or in a previous CG period.

[0009] The second is autonomous resource allocation, in which the UEs autonomously select the resources and other transmit parameters. In this mode, there may be no intervention by the network (e.g., out of coverage, unlicensed carriers without a network deployment, etc.) or very minimal intervention by the network (e.g., configuration of pools of resources, etc.). In the context of NR SL, 3GPP refers to this resource allocation mode as Mode 2 (also termed autonomous transmission mode).

[0010] In NR SL, different physical sidelink channels are defined:• Physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH): This is used to carry (part of) sidelink control information (SCI), which is also referred to as the 1st stage SCI or SQL The 1st stage SCI carries the resource allocation information which is essential to decode for performing sensing-based resource allocation (i.e., mode-2);• Physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH): This is used to carry actual data transmission. Also, a part of SCI, also referred to as the 2nd stage SCI or SCI2, is carried over the PSSCH;• Physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH): This is used to carry the Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request, HARQ, feedback information such as Repeat Request- Acknowledgement, HARQ-ACK, or Repeat Request-Negative Acknowledgement, HARQ-NACK. In Rel. 16, only sequence based PSFCH is supported; and• Physical sidelink broadcast channel (PSBCH): This is used to carry the system information which is used to perform sidelink transmissions.

[0011] In NR SL, the Sidelink Control Information (SCI) is divided into two different stages. The first stage (denoted in the specification as SCI format 1-A, often referred to as SOI) is included in the PSCCH and the second stage (which two different formats are denoted in the specifications as SCL2A and SCI-2B, often commonly referred to as SCI2) is carried by PSSCH. The format of each of the stages is defined in [8.3, TS 38.212] and [8.4, TS 38.212].

[0012] The first stage SCI carries some key information such as time and frequency domain resource allocation, Modulation and Coding Scheme (MCS), as well as the indication of the second stage SCI format. This first stage SCI is decodable by all the UEs supporting SL as it is intended for resource reservation and sensing. The second stage SCI further provides additional information such as HARQ process number, NDI, RV, and source and destination IDs. To beable to receive PSSCH correctly, the Rx UE needs to successfully receive both the first stage and the corresponding second stage SCIs correctly.

[0013] In case of groupcast, NR supports two types of Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) mechanisms:• Option 1 : When only Negative Acknowledgement (NACK) is transmitted in case of failed PSSCH decoding; and• Option 2: When Acknowledgement (ACK) is transmitted if PSSCH is successfully decoded, or NACK is transmitted in case of failed PSSCH decoding.

[0014] Option 1 has the issue that there is no way for a transmitter UE to distinguish between failed PSCCH and successful data transmission. However, in this case, it is reasonable that the transmitting UE assumes that the PSSCH has been successfully decoded if no NACK is received. Option 1 is particularly useful to limit unnecessary transmissions and hence the congestion in the network. It is to be noted that the use of each option in NR is made (pre- )configurable and depends on the scenario.

[0015] Related to the groupcast modes and included in the SCI content as Cast Type Indicator, the different unicast, groupcast and broadcast types are indicated as shown in the table below:Table 1: Cast type indicator

[0016] To operate sidelink, different parameters are used. These parameters may be provided to a UE in different ways:• The parameters may be configured by a network node (e.g., a gNB). Configuration may be received using dedicated or broadcast signaling, for example using a System Information Block (SIB) or Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling. This is typically used when the UE is in coverage of a gNB for a given frequency;• The parameters may be preconfigured in the UE. In this case, the pre-configuration is stored in the UE, typically in the Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card. This istypically used when the UE is not in coverage for a given frequency; and• The parameters may be predefined or defined in a specification.

[0017] In this disclosure, the term (pre-)configuration includes any of configuration and preconfiguration.Extended Reality (XR) and Cloud Gaming (CG)

[0018] The extended Reality (XR) and Cloud Gaming (CG) use cases and services are getting more popular and attracting a substantial amount of investments on the market. Thus, they are considered very important for 5G NR in Release 18 and beyond. In general, XR and CG are wide terms referring to various types of augmented, virtual, and mixed environments, where human-to-machine and human-to-human communications are performed with the assistance of handheld and wearable end user devices (i.e., UEs).

[0019] Cloud Gaming (CG) refers to a group of use cases where the overwhelming majority of computations related to gaming (single-player or multi-player) is offloaded from the UE to an edge or remote server(s).

[0020] Extended Reality (XR) is a broad-scope umbrella for multiple heterogeneous use cases and services that were studied and outlined in SAI, SA2, and SA4, including 3GPP Technical Report (TR) 22.842, 3GPP TR 26.928, 3GPP TR 26.998, etc. These XR use cases can be roughly divided into: (i) augmented reality (AR); (ii) virtual reality (VR), and (iii) mixed reality (MR).

[0021] While XR and CG present a set of attractive use cases for future mobile systems, they also impose a set of challenges for mobile networks such as 5G NR that need to be addressed.

[0022] Many of the XR and CG use cases are characterized by quasi-periodic traffic (with possible jitter) with high data rate in the downlink (i.e., video steam) combined with the frequent uplink (i.e., pose / control update) and / or uplink video stream. Both downlink and uplink traffic are also characterized by a relatively strict Packet Delay Budget (PDB).

[0023] Many of the end user XR and CG devices are expected to be mobile and of small- scale, thus having limited battery power resources. Therefore, additional power enhancements may be needed to reduce the overall UE power consumption when running XR and CG services and thus extend the effective UE battery lifetime.

[0024] The set of anticipated XR and CG services has a certain variety, and characteristics of the data streams (i.e., video) may change “on-the-fly” while the services are running over NR. Therefore, additional information on the running services from higher layers is beneficial for efficient network operation. The most recent work has been done in Release 18 by the SA2group, which studied architecture enhancements for XR and media services the result of which are capturing in 3GPP TR 23.700-60. In parallel to SA2 work, the RANI and RAN2 groups studied potential XR Enhancements for NR. Results and conclusions will be captured in 3GPP TR 38.835.

[0025] In both uplink and downlink, XR-awareness contributes to optimizations of gNB radio resource scheduling and relies at least on the notions of Protocol Data Unit (PDU) Set and Data Burst (see 3GPP TR 23.700-60). A PDU Set is composed of one or more PDUs carrying the payload of one unit of information generated at the application level (e.g., a frame or video slice), while a Data Burst is a set of data PDUs generated and sent by the application in a short period of time.

[0026] The following information may be provided by the core network (CN) to the Radio Access Network (RAN) (see 3GPP TR 23.700-60) to assist the handling of Quality of Service (QoS) flows and PDUs:• Semi-static information for both uplink (UL) and downlink (DL) provided via control plane (NGAP): o Periodicity for UL and DL traffic of the QoS Flow via Time Sensitive Communication Assistance Information (TSCAI) / Time Sensitive Communication Assistance Container (TSCAC); o Traffic jitter information (e.g., jitter range) associated with each periodicity of the QoS flow; and o PDU Set QoS parameters:■ PDU Set Error Rate (PS ER): defines an upper bound for the rate of PDU Sets that have been processed by the sender of a link layer protocol but that are not successfully delivered by the corresponding receiver to the upper layer (see 3GPP TR 23.700-60);■ PDU Set Delay Budget (PSDB): time between reception of the first PDU and the successful delivery of the last arrived PDU of a PDU Set (see 3GPP TR 23.700-60). PSDB is an optional parameter; and■ PDU Set Integrated Indication (PSII) i.e., whether all PDUs are needed for the usage of PDU Set by application layer; and• Dynamic information for DL provided by user plane (General Packet Radio System, GPRS, Tunneling Protocol User plane (GTP-U) header): o PDU Set Sequence Number; o PDU Set Size in bytes;o PDU SN within a PDU Set; o End PDU of the PDU Set; o PDU Set Importance: this parameter is used to identify the importance of a PDU Set within a QoS flow. RAN may use it for PDU Set level packet discarding in presence of congestion; and o End of Data Burst indication in the header of the last PDU of the Data Burst (optional).

[0027] For the uplink XR traffic, the UE needs to be able to identify PDU Set and Data Bursts dynamically but in-band marking over Uu of PDUs is not needed.

[0028] When a certain number of PDUs of a PDU Set are known to be required by the application layer to use the corresponding unit of information (for instance due to the absence or limitations of error concealment techniques, see 3GPP TR 26.926), as soon as the number of PDUs known to be lost exceeds this number, the remaining PDUs of that PDU Set are no longer needed by the application and may be subject to discard operation.

[0029] In regard to relevant capacity enhancements, in order to enhance the scheduling of uplink resources for XR, the following improvements are envisioned in 3GPP Release 18:• One or more additional buffers status (BS) table(s) to reduce the quantization errors in Buffer Status Report (BSR) reporting (e.g., for high bit rates);• Delay knowledge of buffered data, consisting of e.g., remaining time, and distinguishing how much data is buffered for which delay. It is to be determined whether the delay information is reported as part of BSR or as a new Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE). Also, how the delay information can be up to date considering e.g., scheduling and transmission delays needs to be investigated further;• Additional BSR triggering conditions to allow timely availability of buffer status information can be investigated further; and• Delivery of some assistance information (e.g., periodicity) reusing TSCAI as a baseline. Whether additional mechanism is required can be further considered with an assumption that all information may not be always available at UE application.

[0030] For Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) discard operation in uplink, the timer-based discard operation (when configured) should apply to all Service Data Unit (SDUs)ZPDUs belonging to the same PDU Set. Furthermore, when, for a PDU Set, the number of PDUs known to either be lost or associated to discarded SDUs, exceeds a threshold, all remaining PDUs of that PDU Set could be discarded at the transmitter to free up radio resources. This means that the granularity of the discard operation at PDCP in the transmitter should be thePDU Set.

[0031] In uplink, the usage of Configured Grant brings potential benefits for XR services with the enhancements recommended, while in downlink, the usage of Semi-Persistent scheduling is not foreseen to bring any benefits.SUMMARY

[0032] Aspects of systems and methods are disclosed for establishing an association between an XR UE (also referred to herein as an XR device) and a compute or relay UE (also referred to herein as a compute / relay UE or compute / relay device). In addition, aspects of systems and methods for using the established association to provide various optimizations (e.g., optimized scheduling) in the mobile network (also referred to herein as a cellular communications network or cellular communications system) are also disclosed. Thus an object of the proposed disclosure is to improve existing procedures, providing more accurate detection of an association of an XR UE and a compute / relay UE for the purpose of an XR service or XR application and, optionally, detection of a relevant XR scenario. In addition, the UEs may be associated with specific roles (e.g., XR UE or compute / relay UE), which these roles can be used in the configuration of the UEs and scheduling procedures. In addition, joint scheduling of XR UE and compute UE procedures help to reduce the delay in acquiring resources for transmission.

[0033] According to first aspect of embodiments herein, the object is achieved by a method performed by a network node of a cellular communications system for associating a first User Equipment (UE) and a second UE for purposes of sidelink communication related to a service or application. The method includes the network node receiving from either or both of the first UE and the second UE, information that explicitly or implicitly indicates that the first UE and the second UE are to be associated for purposes of sidelink communication for the service or application. The method includes the network node also storing information that indicates an association between the first UE and the second UE for purposes of sidelink communication for the service or application. Additionally, method includes the network node performing one or more actions based on the association between the first UE and the second UE.

[0034] According to another aspect of embodiments herein, the object is achieved by the method wherein the application or service comprises an XR application or an XR service and the first UE is an Extended Reality, XR, UE and the second UE is a compute UE.

[0035] According to another aspect of embodiments herein, the object is achieved by the method wherein performing the one or more actions comprises performing joint scheduling of the first UE and the second UE.

[0036] According to another aspect of embodiments herein, the object is achieved by the method wherein the application or service comprises an XR application or an XR service. In some aspects, the first UE is an Extended Reality, XR, UE and the second UE is a compute UE. In some aspects, the one or more actions by the network node comprises determining a sidelink grant between the XR UE and the compute UE based on a matrix, wherein the matrix defines use cases and offload scenarios corresponding to the use cases.

[0037] According to another aspect of embodiments herein, the object is achieved by the method, wherein the one or more actions performed by the network node comprises receiving a priority indication for a prioritized data transmission in a medium access control, MAC, control element, CE or in a control signaling from the first UE. The method further includes the network node determining a grant for the prioritized data transmission, either in a radio uplink between the network node and the first UE or in a sidelink, SL, based on the priority indication. The method further includes the network node transmitting the grant for the prioritized data transmission to the first UE.

[0038] According to another aspect of embodiments herein, the object is achieved by the method, wherein the one or more actions performed by the network node comprises receiving a report from the first UE that includes information related to priority handling. The method further includes the network node determining a priority indication for a radio uplink between the network node and the first UE and a sidelink, SL, based on the information in the report. The method further includes the network node determining a grant for a prioritized data transmission based on the priority indication. The method further includes the network node transmitting the grant for the prioritized data transmission to the first UE.

[0039] According to another aspect of embodiments herein, the object is achieved by network node for a cellular communications system, comprising a communication interface and processing circuitry. The processing circuitry associated with the communication interface, the processing circuitry is configured to cause a first User Equipment, UE, or a second UE to receive, from either or both of the first UE and the second UE, information that explicitly or implicitly indicates that the first UE and the second UE are to be associated for purposes of sidelink communication for an service or application. The processing circuitry is configured to further configured to cause the first UE, or a second UE to store information that indicates an association between the first UE and the second UE for purposes of sidelink communication for the service or application. The processing circuitry is configured to further configured to cause the first UE, or a second UE to perform one or more actions based on the association between the first UE and the second UE.

[0040] According to another aspect of embodiments herein, the object is achieved by the network node performing any of the aspects in the method described above.

[0041] According to another aspect of embodiments herein, the object is achieved by method performed by a first User Equipment, UE, for establishing an association between the first UE and a second UE for a service or an application. The method further includes the first UE transmitting to the second UE, a request comprising first information, the first information comprising information about a service or application for which direct communication is requested, and an application layer identity, ID, of the first UE for the service or application for which the direct communication is requested. The method further includes the first UE receiving a response from the second UE in response to the request.

[0042] According to another aspect of embodiments herein, wherein the application or service comprises an XR application or an XR service, the first UE is an Extended Reality, XR, UE, and the second UE is a compute UE.

[0043] According to another aspect of embodiments herein, the object is achieved by method performed by a first User Equipment, UE, wherein the request is the direct communication request and the response is an acceptance of the direction communication request. The method further includes the first UE establishing a unicast communications link with the compute UE responsive to receiving the acceptance.

[0044] According to another aspect of embodiments herein, the object is achieved by method performed by the first UE, wherein transmitting the request comprising the first information to the compute UE is performed through a PC5 link between the first UE and the second UE.

[0045] According to another aspect of embodiments herein, the object is achieved by method performed by the first UE further comprising establishing a unicast communication link with the second UE, wherein transmitting the request and receiving the response are performed via the unicast communication link with the second UE.

[0046] According to another aspect of embodiments herein, the object is achieved by method performed by the first UE transmitting information comprising a layer 2 ID of the first UE to a network node of a cellular communications system via a radio uplink established between the network node and the first UE.

[0047] According to another aspect of embodiments herein, the object is achieved by method performed by the first UE wherein the response received from the second UE comprises a layer 2 ID of the second UE and the information transmitted to the network node further comprises the layer 2 ID of the second UE.

[0048] According to another aspect of embodiments herein, the object is achieved by method performed by the first UE, further comprising receiving a sidelink, SL, grant from the network node.

[0049] According to another aspect of embodiments herein, the object is achieved by a first UE. The first UE is adapted to transmit, to a second UE, a request comprising first information. The first information comprising information about a service or application for which direct communication is requested and an application layer identity, ID, of the first UE for the service or application for which the direct communication is requested. The first UE is adapted to receive a response from the second UE in response to the request for the direct communication.

[0050] According to another aspect of embodiments herein, the object is achieved by the first UE adapted to perform any of the aspects described above for the method performed by the first UE.

[0051] According to another aspect of embodiments herein, the object is achieved by a first UE. The first UE, comprising a communication interface and processing circuitry associated with the communication interface. The processing circuitry configured to cause the first UE to transmit, to a second UE, a request comprising first information. The first information comprising information about a service or application for which direct communication is requested and an application layer identity, ID, of the first UE for the service or application for which the direct communication is requested. The first UE is adapted to receive a response from the second UE in response to the request for the direct communication. The first UE is adapted to establish a unicast communications link with the second UE.

[0052] According to another aspect of embodiments herein, the object is achieved by the first UE, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to cause the first UE to perform any of the aspects performed above for the first UE.

[0053] According to another aspect of embodiments herein, the object is achieved by method performed by a first User Equipment, UE. The method is for establishing an association between the first UE and a second UE for an XR service or an XR application. The method comprises the first UE receiving, from the second UE, a request comprising first information. The first information includes information about the service or the application for which direct communication is requested and an application layer identity, ID, of the second UE for the service or the application for which the direct communication is requested. The method comprises the first UE transmitting, to the second UE, a response in response to the request.

[0054] According to another aspect of embodiments herein, the object is achieved by the method wherein the application or service comprises an XR application or an XR service and thesecond UE is an Extended Reality, XR, UE and the first UE is a compute UE.

[0055] According to another aspect of embodiments herein, the object is achieved by the method wherein the request is a direct communication request, the response is an acceptance of the direction communication request. The method performed by the first UE further comprises establishing a unicast communications link with the second UE responsive to transmitting the acceptance.

[0056] According to another aspect of embodiments herein, the object is achieved by the method wherein transmitting the response to the second UE is performed through a PC5 link between the second UE and the first UE.

[0057] According to another aspect of embodiments herein, the object is achieved by the method performed by the first UE further comprising establishing a unicast communication link with the second UE, wherein receiving the request and transmitting the response are performed via the unicast communication link with the second UE.

[0058] According to another aspect of embodiments herein, the object is achieved by the method performed by the first UE further comprising determining whether to accept or reject the request based on the first information comprised in the request. The response indicates the acceptance of the request in response to determining to accept the request or indicates a rejection of the request in response to determining to reject the request.

[0059] According to another aspect of embodiments herein, the object is achieved by the method performed by the first UE wherein the application or service comprises an XR application or an XR service. The first UE is an Extended Reality, XR, UE and the second UE is a compute UE. The method performed by the first UE further comprises determining whether to accept or reject the request based on the first information comprised in the request comprises determining whether the compute UE has sufficient computational resources to perform offloaded computing for the XR UE for the XR service or the XR application.

[0060] According to another aspect of embodiments herein, the object is achieved by a first User Equipment, UE. The first UE is adapted to receive, from second UE, a request comprising first information. The first information comprising information about an service or an application for which direct communication is requested and an application layer identity, ID, of the second UE for the service or the application for which the direct communication is requested. The first UE is adapted to transmit, to the second UE, a response in response to the request.

[0061] According to another aspect of embodiments herein, the object is achieved by further adapted to perform any of aspects described above for the first UE.

[0062] According to another aspect of embodiments herein, the object is achieved by a first User Equipment, UE, comprising a communication interface and processing circuitry. The processing circuitry is associated with the communication interface. The processing circuitry is configured to cause the first UE to receive, from second UE, a request comprising first information. The first information comprising information about a service or an application for which direct communication is requested and an application layer identity, ID, of the second UE for the service or the application for which the direct communication is requested. The first UE is adapted to transmit, to the second UE, a response in response to the request.

[0063] According to another aspect of embodiments herein, the object is achieved by further adapted to perform any of aspects described above for the first UE.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0064] The accompanying drawing figures incorporated in and forming a part of this specification illustrate several aspects of the disclosure, and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the disclosure:

[0065] FIG. 1 illustrates a cellular communications system 100 along with various XR UEs and compute UEs wirelessly connected to the cellular communication system, in accordance with some embodiments;

[0066] FIGs. 2A, 2B, 3A, 3B, 4, and 5 illustrate several scenarios illustrating different relationships between an XR UE, a compute UE, and the cellular communication network, in accordance with some embodiments;

[0067] FIG. 6 is a call flow of a method where a network node in the mobile network of a cellular communications system associates the XR UE and the compute UE for purposes of SL communication related to an XR service or XR application between the XR UE and compute UE to enable the mobile network to be aware of the association;

[0068] FIG. 7 is a call flow of a method where the network node in the mobile network of a cellular communications system associates the XR UE and the compute UE for purposes of SL communication related to an XR service or XR application between the XR UE and compute UE to enable the mobile network to be aware of the association;

[0069] FIG. 8 is a call flow of a method of scheduling prioritization by the network node, the XR UE, and the compute UE, in accordance with some embodiments;

[0070] FIG. 9 is a call flow of a method of scheduling prioritization by the network node, the XR UE, and the compute UE, in accordance with some embodiments;

[0071] FIG. 10 is a call flow for performing joint scheduling, in accordance with some embodiments;

[0072] FIG. 11 is a call flow for performing joint scheduling, in accordance with some embodiments;

[0073] FIG. 12 is a call flow for providing a dedicated SL configuration, in accordance with some embodiments;

[0074] FIG. 13 is a call flow for providing an SL grant, a UL grant, and / or a DL grant related to an XR service or an XR application, in accordance with some embodiments;

[0075] FIG. 14 is a matrix that defines use cases and offload scenarios corresponding to the use cases;

[0076] FIG. 15 shows an example of a communication system in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0077] FIG. 16 shows a User Equipment device (UE) in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0078] FIG. 17 shows a network node in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0079] FIG. 18 is a block diagram of a host, which may be an embodiment of the host of FIG. 15, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure described herein;

[0080] FIG. 19 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment in which functions implemented by some embodiments of the present disclosure may be virtualized; and

[0081] FIG. 20 shows a communication diagram of a host communicating via a network node with a UE over a partially wireless connection in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0082] The embodiments set forth below represent information to enable those skilled in the art to practice the embodiments and illustrate the best mode of practicing the embodiments. Upon reading the following description in light of the accompanying drawing figures, those skilled in the art will understand the concepts of the disclosure and will recognize applications of these concepts not particularly addressed herein. It should be understood that these concepts and applications fall within the scope of the disclosure.

[0083] Some of the embodiments contemplated herein will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. Embodiments are provided by way of example to convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art.

[0084] Virtual Reality (VR) Head-Mounted Displays (HMDs) are already available at scale on the market today, but they are rapidly evolving. Because VR applications are often processing-intensive, enabling high-end VR requires connecting the HMDs to high-end processing units - typically powerful personal computers (PCs) or gaming consoles. VR HMDs with local processing capabilities are also starting to become available, but these are relatively large and heavy and cannot provide the same experience as when off-device processing is used. Augmented Reality (AR) HMDs are also available on the market today, predominantly for enterprise use. Mass-market adoption will require further progress on ease of use, attractive appearance, and content availability.

[0085] Building fashionable, small form factor HMDs to meet the demands for extended Reality (XR) (e.g., VR or AR) is challenging due to limited processing power, storage, battery life, and heat dissipation provided by such HMDs. The best way to address these challenges is by offloading parts of XR processing to the mobile network edge and / or to another device which can be in proximity to XR device.

[0086] There are many options for how an XR device can be connected to an application server and how compute offload can be realized, as shown in FIG. 1. As can be seen from FIG.1 , there are cases when an XR device at first is connected to a local compute hub or user portable device which is in turn connected to the application server via the Internet. The Internet connection for the local compute hub or user portable device may, as shown in FIG. 1 , be via a mobile network, a dedicated network, or a fixed network. Here, sidelink communication (i.e., a 3GPP sidelink such as, e.g., a NR sidelink) has a great potential to replace existing cable, Wi-Fi, and / or proprietary links between the XR device and the local compute hub or user portable device because of the following benefits:• the sidelink is wireless technology meaning that cutting a wire improves user experience significantly;• the sidelink is based on 3GPP technology which provides tools for End-to-End (E2E) Quality of Service (QoS);• the sidelink can use both licensed and shared spectrum (e.g., unlicensed spectrum);• the sidelink can be controlled by a network node (e.g., a base station such as, e.g., a gNB), e.g., via scheduling, which can do proper planning of transmissions and ensure QoS fulfillment; and• in case of Internet connectivity via 3GPP public or private dedicated network, device cost can be optimized as the same chip / antenna is used for sidelink and network connectivity.

[0087] Existing technology has a number of problems. In particular, 3GPP Release 18 enhancements for XR use cases are limited to the Uu interface (the interface between the gNB and UE). However, in case of relay, split rendering, or compute offload, the XR traffic can flow in Uu and sidelink interface, whereas sidelink interface does not have special tools for multimedia traffic forwarding nor does it have a certain degree of traffic awareness.

[0088] Due to the nature of sidelink communications, i.e., communication among peer devices which needs to be granted by the cell, the requirements on latency and QoS might be impacted if the legacy sidelink procedures are followed. Therefore, enhancements to mitigate the latency and the potential loss of communication are needed.

[0089] Systems and methods that address the aforementioned and / or other problems are disclosed herein. More specifically, embodiments of systems and methods are disclosed for establishing an association between an XR UE (also referred to herein as an XR device) and a compute or relay UE (also referred to herein as a compute / relay UE or compute / relay device). In addition, embodiments of systems and methods for using the established association to provide various optimizations (e.g., optimized scheduling) in the mobile network (also referred to herein as a cellular communications network or cellular communications system) are also disclosed.

[0090] Embodiments of the present disclosure may include any one or more of the following aspects:• Establishment of an association between an XR UE and a compute / relay UE; and• One or more scheduling optimizations (e.g., at a network node such as, e.g., a gNB) based on the established association, such as, e.g.: o scheduling prioritization between SL and UL scheduling; o joint scheduling of both XR UE and compute / relay UE with a single request; o sharing of information about the established association with the scheduler for further usage; o detection of SL communication possibility between XR UE and compute / relay UE; o detection of XR-related scenario; and o association of UEs with their roles in XR traffic exchange.

[0091] Embodiments of the present disclosure may provide a number of advantages over existing technology. For example, there exist general methods of association between two UEs establishing sidelink communication; however, the proposed embodiments further improve existing procedures, providing more accurate detection of an association of an XR UE and acompute / relay UE for the purpose of an XR service or XR application and, optionally, detection of a relevant XR scenario. In addition, the UEs may be associated with specific roles (e.g., XR UE or compute / relay UE), which these roles can be used in the configuration of the UEs and scheduling procedures. In addition, joint scheduling of XR UE and compute UE procedures help to reduce the delay in acquiring resources for transmission.

[0092] FIGs. 2A-5 illustrate several example embodiments of a system 200 including a mobile network 202, an XR UE 204, a compute / relay UE 206, and an application server 208 in which data forwarding (e.g., PDU set based traffic forwarding) over a sidelink(s) between the XR UE 204 and the compute / relay UE 206 is provided. The mobile network 202 is preferably a 3GPP network such as, for example, a 5G NR network or 6G network, but is not limited thereto. The XR UE 204 is any UE that provides XR functionality (e.g., provides an XR service or executes an XR application). One example of an XR UE 204 is an XR Head-Mounted Display (HMD) such as, e.g., an XR headset or XR glasses. Note that a main consumer of XR content provided by the XR service or XR application is a person associated with (e.g., wearing) the XR UE 204. The compute / relay UE 206 is a UE that provides computing (offloaded computing) operations on behalf of the XR UE 204 and / or provides relay functionality between the XR UE 204 and the mobile network 202. The application server 208 is connected to the mobile network 202 (e.g., via the Internet) and provides functionality for an XR service or XR application. The application server 208 may be implemented as a standalone application server or implemented in the cloud.

[0093] FIG. 2A illustrates a scenario, which is referred to herein as “scenario 1A”, in accordance with some embodiments. In this scenario, the XR UE 204 is in coverage of the mobile network 202 and thus may have an established radio link (uplink and downlink) to the mobile network 202. In addition, the XR UE 204 is in coverage of the compute / relay UE 206 for a sidelink connection in model 1. In scenario 1A, media content for the XR service or XR application (or game) is pre-downloaded (fully or partially, in advance or in the background) while personalization or rendering of the content (compute) is done at the compute / relay UE 206. The XR UE 202 sends pose and / or control information such as user actions, e.g., in game, AR, VR or similar, to the compute / relay UE 206. Based on pose, control, and / or other information, the compute / relay UE 206 generates data traffic (e.g., traffic including PDU sets) which is transmitted to the XR UE 204, e.g., video, audio, and supplementary information.

[0094] FIG. 2B illustrates a scenario, which is referred to herein as “scenario IB”, in accordance with some embodiments. This scenario is the same as scenario 1A, but where the XR UE 204 also sends, to the compute / relay UE 206 via the sidelink connection, a videostream(s) and / or audio stream(s) from a camera(s) and / or microphone(s) of the XR UE 204. In scenario IB, the media content for the XR service or XR application (or game) is stored and computed in two places - the application server 208 and the compute / relay UE 206. The XR UE 204 sends pose and / or control information such as user actions, e.g., in game, AR, VR or similar, to the compute / relay UE 206 via the sidelink connection. In addition, the XR UE 204 sends video / audio stream(s) (e.g., consisting of PDU sets) from one or more cameras and / or microphones to the compute / relay UE 206 via the sidelink connection(s). The compute / relay UE 206 combines information received from the XR UE 204 and from the application server 208 and generates data traffic (e.g., in the form of PDU sets) which is transmitted to the XR UE 204, e.g., video, audio, and supplementary information. Moreover, the compute / relay UE 206 can forward (with or without modification) pose and / or control traffic from the XR UE 204 to the application server 208. Alternatively, the XR UE 204 can send pose and / or control traffic to the application server 208 via the Uu interface directly, since the XR UE 204 has a connection to the mobile network 202.

[0095] FIG. 3A and 3B illustrate scenarios, which are referred to herein as “scenario 2A” and “scenario 2B”, in accordance with some embodiments. In this scenario, the XR UE 204 is out-of-coverage of the mobile network 202 (or not connected to the mobile network 202), but the XR UE 204 is in coverage of the compute / relay UE 206 for a sidelink connection in model 2. In scenarios 2 A and 2B, the XR UE 204 cannot receive control messages directly from the mobile network 202, i.e., scheduling commands and other related signaling / information. Instead, all control commands are sent via the compute / relay UE 206, which means that so called Sidelink Mode 2 is used between the compute / relay UE 206 and the XR UE 204.

[0096] FIG. 4 illustrates a scenario, which is referred to herein as “scenario 3”, in accordance with some embodiments. In this scenario, the XR UE 204 is out-of-coverage of, or otherwise not connected to, the mobile network 202, but the XR UE 204 is in coverage of the compute / relay UE 206 for a sidelink relay. In scenario 3, the XR UE 204 is out of mobile network coverage but connected via the compute / relay UE 206 in sidelink relay mode. This means that the compute / relay UE 206, acting as a relay UE, forwards traffic from the XR UE 204 (e.g., PDU set-based XR traffic) to the mobile network 202 without modification, although, it handles two links: Uu interface and sidelink.

[0097] FIG. 5 illustrates a scenario, which is referred to herein as “scenario 4”, in accordance with some embodiments. In this scenario, the compute / relay UE 206 is a relay UE, and computing offloaded from the XR UE 204 is offloaded to an edge processing server 500 of the mobile network 202. In scenario 4, the XR UE 204 is out-of-coverage of, or otherwise notconnected to, the mobile network 202, but the XR UE 204 is in coverage of the relay UE 206 for a sidelink relay. In scenario 4, the XR UE data is relayed via sidelink to the relay UE 206 to reach the mobile network 202 and thus the edge processing server 500, where the edge processing server 500 performs real-time processing for the XR service or application (e.g., realtime processing of a video stream(s) from the XR UE 204 to overlay AR data). Offloading computing to the edge processing server 500 is useful to support low-power consumption and high data rate in a small XR UE device 204. In this scenario, the relay UE 208 does not have any application layers, so that it simply forwards data to / from the XR UE 204.

[0098] It is worth mentioning that by a default there are no clear roles for UEs defined in the system 200. Thus, to let the mobile network 200 know that there is an XR UE 204 and a compute / relay UE 204 which must be connected via a sidelink connection, there must be a procedure to assign those roles. Such procedure is defined below with further details.

[0099] To connect the XR UE 204 and the compute / relay UE 206 via a sidelink, an association procedure is utilized. Moreover, the XR UE 204 and the compute / relay UE 206 should make the mobile network 202 aware of this association, so that the mobile network 202 can correctly identify the scenario (e.g., one of scenarios 1A to 4 described above) and configure radio bearers and QoS flows such that it enables efficient operation for the required type of traffic. In addition, upon receiving a scheduling request for one of the XR UE 204 or the compute / relay UE 206, a network node (e.g., gNB) in the mobile network 202 can automatically schedule the other one of the XR UE 204 or the compute / relay UE 206 when specified, in accordance with some embodiments.

[0100] It should be noted that the XR application or XR service is only an example and that the embodiments described herein are equally applicable to other applications and services. Therefore, the XR UE 204 and the compute / relay UE 206 are also exemplary and the association of any two UEs for any type of service or application may be provided in accordance to the procedures described herein. For example, the association procedure described herein may be used to inform the network that a first and second UE (of any type) are associated for a particular service or application (of any type), where the network then stores information about this association and uses this stored information for one or more operational tasks (e.g., joint scheduling of uplink, downlink and / or sidelink, In some embodiments, the first UE is not an XR UE but any other type of UE and the second UE is not a compute UE but any other type of UE. These and other configurations are withing the scope of this disclosure.

[0101] FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 illustrates two exemplary embodiments of procedures for enabling the mobile network 202 to become aware of an association between the XR UE 204 and thecompute / relay UE 206 for purposes of an XR service or XR application. The exemplary procedures may also enable the mobile network 202 to use the awareness of this association, e.g., to provide optimized or joint scheduling. Note that optional steps are represented in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 by dashed lines / boxes.

[0102] More specifically, FIG. 6 illustrates an example embodiment of a procedure 600 performed in a network node 602 in the mobile network 202 becomes aware of an association between the XR UE 204 and the compute / relay UE 206 for purposes of sidelink communication related to an XR service or XR application and stores information about this association. In addition, the network node 602 may perform one or more actions based on this association. The steps of the procedure of FIG. 6 are as follows.

[0103] At step 604, the XR UE 204 obtains, from an XR application layer at the XR UE 204, application information for operation over a sidelink. In some embodiments, the sidelink is a LTE-V2X (PC5)-link.

[0104] At step 606, the XR UE 204 transmits, and the compute / relay UE 206 receives, a direct communication request that includes the application information. In some embodiments, the application information includes any one or more of the following:• XR service information: Information that indicates one or more XR service types (e.g., XR service type, VR service type, AR service type, or the like) for the requested sidelink establishment;• XR application layer identity (ID) of the XR UE 102. This may be provided by the XR application layer at the XR UE 204 and is, in one embodiment, a Layer 2 (L2) ID;• XR application layer ID of the compute / relay UE 206, if available or known, e.g., via previous communication; and• A request for association for purposes of a sidelink communication related to the XR service or XR application.

[0105] As in legacy NR sidelink communication, the XR application layer ID is, in one embodiment, a L2 ID that can be used for communication over lower layers i.e., Access Stratum (AS) layers. The XR UE 204 can self-assign the XR application layer ID and, when initiating the direct communication request, can include the XR application layer ID of the XR UE 204 in the direct communication request (e.g., by setting the source field in the MAC-layer to this selfassigned L2 ID).

[0106] In another embodiment, within the XR UE 204 or the compute / relay UE 206, the XR application ID can be mapped to a set of L2 IDs. For example, in some embodiments, the XR UE 204 may be one of a set of XR UEs that are to be associated with the compute UE / relay UE206. As such, more than one L2 ID enables multiple connections to the set of XR UEs to be mapped to the same application ID.

[0107] At step 608, the compute / relay UE 206 determines whether to accept or reject the direct communication request received from the XR UE 204. In one embodiment, the decision in step 608 is based on the application information included in the direction communication request of step 606. For example, in one embodiment, the compute / relay UE 206 determines whether the compute / relay UE 206 has sufficient computational resources to perform offloaded computing for the XR UE 204 for the XR service or the XR application (e.g., for the type of XR service indicated in the application information).

[0108] If the compute / relay UE 206 decides to accept the direct communication request (DCR), then the compute / relay UE 206 responds with the acceptance message for the association (step 610).

[0109] If the compute UE 104 decides to reject the request from the XR UE 102 for association, it can include the rejection in the DCR response message.

[0110] At step 610, the compute / relay UE 206 transmits, and the XR UE 204 receives, a direct communication response that indicates either that the compute / relay UE 206 accepts the direction communication request (i.e., in the case where, in step 608, the compute / relay UE 206 decides to accept the direct communication request) or that the compute / relay UE 206 rejects the direction communication request (i.e., in the case where, in step 608, the compute / relay UE 206 decides to reject the direct communication request). In the illustrated example, in step 610, it is presumed that the compute / relay UE 206 has accepted the direct communication request.

[0111] At step 612, a sidelink is established between the XR UE 204 and the compute / relay UE 206, e.g., using the conventional sidelink establishment procedure defined in 3GPP NR. The sidelink is a unicast communication link and, in some embodiments, the sidelink is dedicated to exchanging XR data for the XR application or XR service between the XR UE 204 and the compute / relay UE 206.

[0112] In step 614, the XR UE 204 and / or the compute / relay UE 206 transmit, to the network node 602, information that indicates an association between the XR UE 204 and the compute / relay UE 206 for the purpose of sidelink communication for the XR service or XR application. In some embodiments, if the request for association is accepted, the XR UE 204 reports, to the network node 602, either or both of: (a) its own XR application layer ID (which may be L2 ID) or a L2 ID that is mapped, at the XR UE 204, to its XR application layer ID and (b) the XR application layer ID (which may be a L2 ID) or a L2 ID that is mapped, at the compute / relay UE 206, to the XR application layer ID of the compute / relay UE 206 (step 614A).This information may be transmitted via a direct link (Uu link) from the XR UE 204 to the network node 602 or via the sidelink to the compute / relay UE 206 acting as a relay. In addition, the compute / relay UE 206 reports, to the network node 602, either or both of: (a) its own XR application layer ID (which may be a L2 ID) or a L2 ID that is mapped, at the compute / relay UE 206 to the XR application layer ID of the compute / relay UE 206 or (b) both the XR application layer ID (or L2 ID) of the compute / relay UE 206 and the XR application layer ID (or L2 ID) of the XR UE 204 (which may be included in the application information in the direction communication request of step 606) (step 614B). This information is sent via a direct link (e.g., a Uu link) from the compute / relay UE 206 to the network node 602. Note that, in one embodiment, either or both of the XR UE 206 and the compute / relay UE 206 reports both the ID of the XR UE 206 and the ID of the compute / relay UE 206 to the network node 602. If the request for association is rejected, step 614 is not performed.

[0113] At step 616, the network node 602 stores, or otherwise maintains, a mapping between the XR UE 204 and the compute / relay UE 206 for purposes of a sidelink for the XR service or XR application, based on the received information that indicates the association between the XR UE 204 and the compute / relay UE 206 for purposes of sidelink communication for the XR service or the XR application. This mapping may be stored or maintained by, e.g., associating the XR application layer IDs (or mapped L2 IDs) of the XR UE 204 and the compute / relay UE 206. In another embodiment, the network node 602 maintains a mapping between the XR application layer IDs (or mapped L2 IDs) of the XR UE 204 and the compute / relay UE 206 and corresponding Cell Radio Network Temporary Identifiers, C-RNTIs, of the XR UE 204 and the compute / relay UE 206. This enables the network node 602 to jointly schedule the XR UE 102 and compute UE 104. In another embodiment, the network node 602 maintains a mapping C- RNTIs of the XR UE 204 and the compute / relay UE 206 that indicates that the XR UE 204 and the compute / relay UE 206 are associated for the purpose of sidelink communication for the XR service or XR application. This enables the network node 602 to jointly schedule the XR UE 102 and compute UE 104.

[0114] At step 618, the network node 602 performs one or more actions based on the stored association. In some embodiments, the one or more actions include any one or more of the following:• Jointly scheduling of the XR UE 204 and compute / relay UE 206, based on the association;• Providing an updated dedicated sidelink configuration to support the XR service or XR application, based on the association;o For example, the dedicated sidelink configuration is either on the Non-Access Stratum (NAS) layer in terms of QoS flows / data radio bearer (DRB) mapping or is on the Access Stratum (AS) layer in terms of an updated PDCP / radio link control (RLC) / MAC configuration. For example, on the MAC layer, the priority of the logical channel (LCH) used may be updated; and• Performs prioritization, based on the association.

[0115] Note that, in the above steps, it is also possible that the compute / relay UE 206 initiates the discovery procedure including the request for association.

[0116] FIG. 7 illustrates an example embodiment of a procedure 700 in the network node 602 in the mobile network 202 becomes aware of an association between the XR UE 204 and the compute / relay UE 206 for purposes of sidelink communication related to an XR service or XR application and stores information about this association. In addition, the network node 602 may perform one or more actions based on this association. Note that the procedure 700 is similar to the procedure 600 of FIG. 6, but where the sidelink is established prior to the XR UE 204 sending a request to the compute / relay UE 206. The steps of the procedure of FIG. 7 are as follows.

[0117] In step 702, the XR UE 204 and the compute / relay UE 206 discover each other and establish a sidelink, such as a unicast communications link.

[0118] Steps 704-716 are the same as steps 604-610 and 614-618 except that the messages are exchanged via the established sidelink. The request for association in step 706 and the response in step 710 are carried in, in this example, corresponding RRC messages (e.g., for RRCReconfigurationSidelink and RRCReconfigurationCompleteSidelink). Since the steps are the same as described above, the details are not repeated.

[0119] In some embodiments, once the association is known to the mobile network 202 (e.g., known to the network node 602), the roles of the XR UE 204 and the compute / relay UE 206 are identified. For example, the message(s) sent to the network node 602 in step 614 and 712 may implicitly or explicitly associate the ID provided for the XR UE 204 with the role of “XR UE” and implicitly or explicitly associate the ID provided for the compute / relay UE 206 with the role of “compute UE”, “relay UE” or “compute / relay UE”. Then, for example in step 618 or step 716, the network node 602 may, for an interface(s) where associated traffic (e.g., PDU sets) is(are) expected to flow, configures related QoS parameters, data radio bearer parameters, and / or RRC parameters, e.g., to provide a desired level of performance (e.g., QoS, latency, or the like).

[0120] Now, a more detailed description of example embodiments related to how the mobilenetwork 202 (e.g., the network node 602) may use the association of the XR UE 206 and the compute / relay UE 208 for purpose of sidelink communication for the XR service or XR application will be described.Scheduling Prioritization

[0121] In this regard, FIG. 8 illustrates a procedure 800 for scheduling prioritization based on the association of the XR UE 206 and the compute / relay UE 208 for purpose of sidelink communication for the XR service or XR application, in accordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments, step 618 in FIG. 6 includes steps 802-806 of procedure 800. In some embodiments, step 716 in FIG. 7 includes steps 802-806 of procedure 800. In some embodiments, procedure 800 relates to scenarios 1A-4 described above.

[0122] At step 802, a priority indication (e.g., included in a sidelink (SL) Buffer Status Report (BSR) or a MAC CE) is provided to the network node 602. In some embodiments, step 802 includes step 802A. At step 802A, the XR UE 102 transmits, and the network node 602 receives, the priority indication, e.g., in an SL BSR or a MAC CE. In some embodiments, step 802 includes step 802B. At step 802B, the compute UE 206 transmits, and the network node 602 receives, the priority indication, e.g., in an SL BSR or a MAC CE. In some embodiments, the priority indication includes at least one of a latency requirement, a buffer size, and a reliability target. Flow then proceeds to step 804.

[0123] At step 804, the network node 602 determines SL grant, a UL grant, and / or DL grant for the prioritized data transmission based on the priority indication. The SL grant, the UL grant, and / or the DL grant are for the XR service or the XR application.

[0124] At step 806, the network node 602 provides the SL grant, the UL grant, and / or the DL grant to the XR UE 204 and / or to the compute UE 206. In some embodiments, step 806 includes one or more of steps 806A-806D. At step 806A, the network node 602 transmits, and the XR UE 102 receives, an SL grant. At step 806B, the network node 602 transmits, and the compute UE 206 receives, an SL grant. At step 806C, the network node 602 transmits, and the XR UE 204 receives, an DL grant and / or a UL grant. At step 806D, the network node 602 transmits and the compute UE 104 receives a DL grant and / or a UL grant.

[0125] FIG. 9 illustrates a procedure 900 for scheduling prioritization based on the association of the XR UE 206 and the compute / relay UE 208 for purpose of sidelink communication for the XR service or XR application, in accordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments, step 618 in FIG. 6 includes steps 902-908 of procedure 900. In some embodiments, step 716 in FIG. 7 includes steps 902-908 of procedure 900. In some embodiments, procedure 900 relates to scenarios 1A-4 described above.

[0126] At step 902, a report that includes information related to priority handling is provided to the network node 602. In some embodiments, step 902 includes step 902A. At step 902A, the XR UE 204 transmits, and the network node 602 receives, the report. In some embodiments, step 802 includes step 802B. At step 802B, the compute UE 206 transmits, and the network node 602 receives, the report. In some embodiments, the report includes latency data for SL, UL, and / or DL.

[0127] At step 904, the network node 602 determines a priority indication for UL, DL, and / or SL based on the information in the report. The report indicates which link (UL, DL, or SL) should be prioritized. The priority can be explicitly signaled indicating extra information added in a corresponding BSR. In another embodiment, separate signaling, (e.g., MAC CE or control signaling) is sent from during transmission from the XR UE 206 to a gNB of the network node 602 and this priority indication can be valid until new indication is received or a predetermined timer is expired.

[0128] At step 906, the network node 602 determines the SL grant, the UL grant, and / or DL grant for the prioritized data transmission based on the priority indication. The SL grant, the UL grant, and / or the DL grant are for the XR service or the XR application. From the gNB / cell perspective, when the gNB of the network node 602 receives the priority indication from the transmission of the XR UE 206, the gNB determines a grant for the prioritized data transmission between uplink to a gNB (Uu) or sidelink transmission (e.g., PC5). Instead that the XR UE 206 indicating the priority explicitly, the gNB can decide the priority based on the report (which includes essential information for priority handling). For example, the XR UE TX can report the remaining latency of data for SL, DL, and / or UL.

[0129] At step 908, the network node 602 provides the SL grant, the UL grant, and / or the DL grant to the XR UE 204 and / or to the compute UE 206. In some embodiments, step 908 includes any one or more of steps 908A-908D. At step 908A, the network node 602 transmits, and the XR UE 206 receives, an SL grant. At step 908B, the network node 602 transmits, and the compute UE 206 receives, an SL grant. At step 908C, the network node 602 transmits, and the XR UE 204 receives, an DL grant and / or a UL grant. At step 908D, the network node 602 transmits, and the compute UE 206 receives, a DL grant and / or a UL grant.

[0130] With respect to FIG. 8 and FIG. 9, from the perspective of the network node 602, when the network node 602 receives the priority indication from the XR UE 204 (step 802, step 902 / 904), the network node 602 determines a grant for the prioritized data transmission between UL to the network node 602 (e.g., Uu or PC5) (procedure 802, step 906). When the compute UE 206 or the XR UE 204 indicates the priority explicitly, a report may include essentialinformation for priority handling (step 902). For example, the XR UE 204 can report the remaining latency of data for SL and UL.

[0131] The remaining latency can be the minimum, maximum, mean or any statistical values of all PDU sets in each buffer. Then, the network node 602 gives the grant to the prioritized link based on the reported latency information (step 906).

[0132] In all scenarios 1A to 4 and in embodiments of step 902A, when XR UE 204 is to be configured to transmit XR data to both the compute UE 206 and the network node 602, the report includes the priority indication of data from a SL-BSR or a normal BSR. The priority information from the report might be based on latency requirement, amount of buffer size, and / or reliability target. In other embodiments and with respect to step 802A, the priority can be explicitly signaled indicating extra information added in the corresponding BSR.

[0133] In another embodiment of step 802A, separate signaling, e.g., MAC CE or control signaling, can be sent from the XR UE to the network node in procedure and this priority indication can be valid until new indication is received or a predetermined timer is expired.

[0134] From the perspective of the network node 602, when the network node 602 receives the priority indication from the XR UE 204 in step 802A, the network node 602 will determine a grant for the prioritized data transmission between uplink via the Uu interface or sidelink transmission (PC5) at step 804. Instead, in some embodiments, the report is received by the network node 602 at step 902A. In some embodiments, the priority is provided explicitly in the report. In other embodiments, the network node 602 decides the priority based on the report which includes essential information for priority handling at steps 904, 906. For example, the XR UE 204 can report the remaining latency of data for SL and UL.

[0135] The remaining latency can be the minimum, maximum, mean or any statistical values of all PDU sets in each buffer. Then, the network node 602 gives the grant at step 908 to the prioritized link based on the reported latency information.System Aspects

[0136] In one embodiment, the network node 602 (e.g., gNB) distributes RAN packet delay budget onto delay components. For example, PDU set delay budget (PSDB) is split onto Uu interface delay budget, processing delay budget in Compute / Relay UE and Sidelink interface delay budget.

[0137] In a related embodiment, the packet delay budget is related to one individual PDU or to the overall PDU set.

[0138] In one embodiment, the compute UE processing delay is signaled from compute UE 206 to the network node 602, e.g., as an RRC parameter inside the UE Assistance Information(UAI) container at step 902B.

[0139] In another embodiment, the processing delay of the compute UE 206 is already registered with an Application Function (AF) in the core network. The processing delay is then signaled to RAN from core over the control plane as assistance information. In one example, the processing delay may be included in the Time Sensitive Communication Assistance Information (TSCAI).

[0140] In some embodiment, the network node 602 considers this processing delay when performing joint scheduling or scheduling prioritization.

[0141] In another embodiment, the core network configures QoS parameters for flows based on total delay budget and reliability provided to 5Gs. For example, PDU set delay budget (PSDB) is split onto Core delay budget, the Uu interface budget (legacy RAN delay budget parameter can be reused), the delay budget of the compute UE 206 and the SE interface delay budget. In this case, the network node 602 may disregard total RAN budget including SL interface and operate according to parameters provided by Core network. The same splitting principle can be used for a PDU set error rate, such as total PSER in both SL and Uu interface is respected.Joint Scheduling

[0142] FIG. 10 illustrates a procedure 1000 for joint scheduling based on the association of the XR UE 206 and the compute / relay UE 208 for purpose of sidelink communication for the XR service or XR application, in accordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments, step 618 in FIG. 6 includes steps 1002-1006 of procedure 1000. In some embodiments, step 716 in FIG. 7 includes steps 1002-1006 of procedure 1000. In some embodiments, procedure 1000 relates to any of scenarios 1A-4 described above.

[0143] At step 1002, the network node 602 obtains an acknowledgement regarding a triggering condition for an SL grant, a UL grant, or a DL grant. In some embodiments, the XR UE 204 transmits, and the network node 602 receives, the acknowledgement regarding the triggering condition (step 1002 A). In some embodiments, the compute UE 206 transmits, and the network node 602 receives, the acknowledgement regarding the triggering condition (step 1002B).

[0144] In some embodiments, the triggering condition includes any one or more of the following:• data has been transmitted via DL to the XR UE 204 or the compute UE 206;• a full PDU is being acknowledged as successfully transmitted to the compute UE 206 or the XR UE 204; and• a DL transmission of a full PDU set to the compute UE 206 is performed and that PDU set transmission has been performed within a predefined or configured amount of time from the compute UE 206 to the XR UE 204.

[0145] At step 1004, the network node 602 determines that the triggering condition for the SL grant, the UL grant, or the DL grant has been satisfied. The network node 602 may determine that the triggering condition has been satisfied internally or based on information (e.g., the acknowledgment) received from the XR UE 204 and / or the compute UE 206.

[0146] At step 1006, the network node 602 provides the SL grant, the UL grant, and / or the DL grant to the XR UE 204 and / or to the compute UE 206 in response to determining that the triggering condition is satisfied. In some embodiments, step 1006 includes any one or more of steps 1006A-1006D. At step 1006A, the network node 602 transmits, and the XR UE 204 receives, an SL grant. At step 1006B, the network node 602 transmits, and the compute UE 206 receives, an SL grant. At procedure 1006C, the network node 602 transmits, and the XR UE 204 receives, an DL grant and / or a UL grant. At procedure 1006D, the network node 602 transmits, and the compute UE 206 receives, an DL grant and / or a UL grant.

[0147] FIG. 11 illustrates a procedure 1000 for joint scheduling based on the association of the XR UE 206 and the compute / relay UE 208 for purpose of sidelink communication for the XR service or XR application, in accordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments, step 618 in FIG. 6 includes steps 1102-1104 of procedure 1100. In some embodiments, step 716 in FIG. 7 includes steps 1102-1104 of procedure 1100. In some embodiments, procedure 1100 relates to any of scenarios 1A-4 described above.

[0148] At step 1102, the network node 602 obtains an SL-BSR or a UL-BSR. In some embodiments, step 1102 includes step 1102A. At step 1002A, the XR UE 204 transmits, and the network node 602 receives, the SL-BSR or the UL-BSR. In some embodiments, step 1102 includes step 1102B. At step 1102B, the compute UE 206 transmits, and the network node 602 receives, the SL-BSR or the UL-BSR.

[0149] At procedure 1104, the network node 602 provides the SL grant, the UL grant, and / or the DL grant to the XR UE 204 and / or to the compute UE 206 in response to the SL-BSR or the UL-BSR. Preferably, in response to a single SL-BSR or UL-BSR, the network node 602 provides grants for both the XR UE 204 and the compute UE 206, based on the known association. In some embodiments, procedure 1104 includes two or more of steps 1104A- 1104D. At step 1104A, the network node 602 transmits, and the XR UE 204 receives, an SL grant. At step 1104B, the network node 602 transmits, and the compute UE 206 receives, an SL grant. At step 1104C, the network node 602 transmits, and the XR UE 204 receives, a DL grantand / or a UL grant. At step 1104D, the network node 602 transmits, and the compute UE 206 receives, a DL grant and / or a UL grant.

[0150] With respect to joint scheduling as described in FIG. 10 and FIG. 11, in scenarios 1A and IB, the XR UE 204 communicates with both the network node 602 and compute UE 206 with what is happening at both network node 602 (or edge cloud) and compute UE 206 (e.g., steps 1002A, 1002B, 1102A, 1102B).

[0151] In one embodiment, if the network node 602 is aware of the association between the XR UE 204 and compute UE 206 for purposes of sidelink communication for the XR service or XR application, the XR UE 204 can trigger a SL-BSR (e.g., step 1102A) to the network node 602 and, in response, the network node 602 can provide two sets of SL grants (e.g., step 1104A, step 1104B), i.e., one to the XR UE 204 and the other to the compute UE 206. In another embodiment, the network node 602, in response to the SL-BSR from the XR UE 204 (e.g., step 1102A), can provide an UL / DL grant (e.g., step 1104D) and a SL grant (e.g., step 1104B) to the compute UE 206, where the UL / DL grant is to provide additional information to the compute UE 206 for further processing. The same is also applicable when the SL-BSR is triggered from the compute UE 206 (e.g., step 1102B). In some embodiments, grants can be sent with delay in between to account for the processing time of the compute UE 206 and compute time on the application level.

[0152] In another embodiment, when the compute UE 206 triggers an UL-BSR (e.g., step 1102B), the network node 602, in response, can automatically provide a grant (without SL-BSR) for transmission to the XR UE 204 (e.g., step 1104A, step 1104C). In one embodiment, the network node 602 sends data (e.g., video flow or PDU set) in DL to the compute UE 206 which is processed or modified in compute UE 206 and after that forwarded to XR UE 204 (e.g., scenario IB or 2B). This DL data transmission triggers the SL grant (e.g., step 1104B) for the compute UE 206 to perform data transmission from the compute UE 206 to the XR UE 204. The SL grant triggering condition can also be more complex, for example: full PDU set transmission in DL is successfully finished, i.e., all transport blocks carrying PDU set are acknowledged by Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request- Acknowledgment (HARQ-ACK) or full PDU set transmission in DL is performed and PDU set transmission is recently performed in SL from XR UE 204 to compute UE 104 (e.g., step 1004).Dedicated SL Configuration

[0153] FIG. 12 illustrates a procedure 1200 for providing a dedicated SL configuration based on the association of the XR UE 206 and the compute / relay UE 208 for purpose of sidelink communication for the XR service or XR application, in accordance with someembodiments. In some embodiments, step 618 in FIG. 6 includes procedure 1200. In some embodiments, step 716 in FIG. 7 includes procedure 1200.

[0154] At step 1202, the network node 602 provides a dedicated SL grant to the XR UE 204 and / or to the compute UE 206, based on the association of the XR UE 206 and the compute / relay UE 208 for purpose of sidelink communication for the XR service or XR application. In some embodiments, step 1202 includes step 1202A. At step 1202A, the network node 602 transmits, and the XR UE 204 receives, a dedicated SL configuration. In some embodiments, step 1202 includes step 1202B. At procedure 1202B, the network node 602 transmits, and the compute UE 206 receives, a dedicated SL configuration.

[0155] In some embodiments, the network node 602 can also provide a (updated) dedicated SL configuration in procedure 1202 to support XR services. The (updated) dedicated SL configuration can be either on the Non-Access Stratum (NAS) layer in terms of QoS flows / DRB mapping or can be on the Access Stratum (AS) layer in terms of an updated PDCP / RLC / MAC configuration. For example, on the MAC layer, updating the priority of the logical channel (LCH) can be used.Use Case and Offload Scenario Determination

[0156] FIG. 13 illustrates a procedure 1300 for providing a SL grant, a UL grant, and / or a DL grant related to an XR service or a XR application based on the association of the XR UE 206 and the compute / relay UE 208 for purpose of sidelink communication for the XR service or XR application and further based on a determined use case and offload scenario, in accordance with some embodiments.

[0157] In some embodiments, once roles of the XR UE 204 and the compute UE 206 are identified, for one or more interfaces where PDU sets are expected to flow, the network node 602 configures PDU set related QoS parameters, data radio bearer parameters, and / or RRC parameters. In some embodiments, the procedure 1300 is implemented to perform this task.

[0158] In some embodiments, step 618 in FIG. 6 includes the procedure 1300. In some embodiments, step 716 in FIG. 7 includes the procedure 1300.

[0159] At step 1302, the network node 602 determines a use case and offload scenario for the XR UE 204 and the compute / relay UE 206. In one embodiment, this determination is based on a predefined matrix that defines use cases and offload scenarios corresponding to the use cases. One example matrix is illustrated in FIG. 14.

[0160] At procedure 1304, the network node 602 performs one or more actions based on the determined use case and offload scenario. In one embodiment, the one or more actions include configuration of PDU set related QoS parameters, data radio bearer parameters, and / or RRCparameters, for each interface for which associated traffic (e.g., PDU sets) are expected to flow in association with the sidelink communication between the XR UE 204 and the compute / relay UE 206 for the XR service or XR application (step 1304 A). The one or more interfaces may include any one or more of the following: Uu interface between the XR UE 204 and the network node 602, Uu interface between the XR UE 204 and the network node 602, the SL interface (e.g., PC5 interface) between the XR UE 204 and the compute / relay UE 206, any other form of D2D communication (e.g., wired (ethernet) or wireless (WiFi)). The one or more actions performed in step 1304 may additionally or alternatively include performing SL scheduling, UL scheduling, and / or DL scheduling based on the determined use case and offloading scenario (step 1304B).

[0161] FIG. 14 is an example of a matrix 1400 that defines use cases and offload scenarios corresponding to the use cases.

[0162] In some embodiments, the network node 602 determines the use case and offloading scenario based on the matrix 1400 at step 1302.

[0163] In some embodiments, the matrix 1400 of use case, scenario, and flows is configured at the network node 602. To apply correct scheduling approach (e.g., in step 1304B), the network node 602 may determine how different flows of XR traffic are correlated, coupled together, and / or dependent on each other. There are many options possible here, for example, use case type (e.g., AR, VR, cloud gaming, with or without compute offload) specifies what kind of traffic flows in each link and in which direction (as shown in scenarios above). In some embodiments, there are two main ways the logic flow is signaled.

[0164] In one embodiment, the use case and offload scenario are determined (e.g., in step 1302) using the matrix 1400 by the network node 602 based on explicit signaling from the application server 106 or based on other explicit knowledge about the application server 106, including information derived by a core network which in turn is signaled to network node 602. For example, one or combination of the application server address or range of addresses, TCP / UDP port, APN (access point network), DNS name used to setup a session, used protocol stack and other information from headers, encryption certificate holder, SIM card IMSI or other device identity information like UE IMEI, etc. Once the use case and offload scenario are identified, it will correspond to known logic of flows and network node 602 may start applying correct scheduling algorithm. In other examples, a validation phase can be added to make sure that all needed flows are configured properly.

[0165] In another embodiment, the use case and offload scenario are determined (e.g., in step 1302) using the matrix 1400 based on requested / configured flows between the networknode 602, compute UE 206, and XR UE 204. For example, if combination X matches AR scenario with compute offload, the network node 602 detects this match and may start applying the correct scheduling algorithm.

[0166] In both cases, the network node 602 may rely on a pre-defined matrix (e.g., matrix 1400) where use cases, scenarios and flows are described. In one embodiment, the matrix of use case, scenario, and flows is configured the network node 602. This matrix can have one entry only if only one combination of use case and scenario is supported by mobile network 202.

[0167] In another embodiment, the matrix of use case, scenario, and flows is provided by another node in the mobile network 202 (e.g., from a core network). It can be so that, instead of the whole matrix, only one entry of interest is provided for one particular case.

[0168] In some embodiments, the matrix 1400 of use case, scenario, and flows is configured at the network node 602. In FIG. 14, the matrix 1400 has one entry if only one combination of a use case and a scenario is supported by mobile network 108.

[0169] In another embodiment, the matrix 1400 of use case, scenario, and flows is provided by another node in the mobile network 108, e.g., from a core network. In some embodiments, instead of the whole matrix 1400, only one entry of interest is provided for one particular case.

[0170] In another embodiment, use case, offload scenario, expected, flows and their dependencies (like one full entry in matrix 1400) are provided by an external algorithm or by the other network node, e.g., core network, so that that use case and scenario detection is not implemented. In this case network node 602 may start directly applying the selected scheduling approach.

[0171] In another embodiment, use case, offload scenario expected flows and their dependencies (like one full entry in matrix 1400) are provided by application layer in association phase described in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7. The full entries in the matrix 1400 can also be standardized or fixed in the specification. In another aspect of this embodiment, during the association procedure as described in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, the XR UE 204 and / or compute UE 206 signals an entry of this matrix 1400 or a combination of use-case and scenario to the network (e.g., network node 602 and / or core network). Such signaling can be done over the AS- layer using for example RRC signaling or using NAS signaling.

[0172] In other embodiments of the matrix 1400, the matrix 1400 has one entry if only one combination of a use case and a scenario is supported by mobile network 202.

[0173] In another embodiment of the matrix 1400, the use case, scenario, and flows are provided by another node in the mobile network 202 (e.g., from a core network). In some embodiments, instead of the whole matrix 1400, only one entry of interest is provided for oneparticular case.

[0174] Figure 15 shows an example of a communication system 1500 in accordance with some embodiments.

[0175] In the example, the communication system 1500 includes a telecommunication network 1502 that includes an access network 1504, such as a Radio Access Network (RAN), and a core network 1506, which includes one or more core network nodes 1508. The access network 1504 includes one or more access network nodes, such as network nodes 1510A and 1510B (one or more of which may be generally referred to as network nodes 1510), or any other similar Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) access nodes or non-3GPP Access Points (APs). Moreover, as will be appreciated by those of skill in the art, a network node is not necessarily limited to an implementation in which a radio portion and a baseband portion are supplied and integrated by a single vendor. Thus, it will be understood that network nodes include disaggregated implementations or portions thereof. For example, in some embodiments, the telecommunication network 1502 includes one or more Open-RAN (ORAN) network nodes. An ORAN network node is a node in the telecommunication network 1502 that supports an ORAN specification (e.g., a specification published by the O-RAN Alliance, or any similar organization) and may operate alone or together with other nodes to implement one or more functionalities of any node in the telecommunication network 1502, including one or more network nodes 1510 and / or core network nodes 1508.

[0176] Examples of an ORAN network node include an Open Radio Unit (O-RU), an Open Distributed Unit (O-DU), an Open Central Unit (O-CU), including an O-CU Control Plane (O- CU-CP) or an O-CU User Plane (O-CU-UP), a RAN intelligent controller (near-real time or non-real time) hosting software or software plug-ins, such as a near-real time control application (e.g., xApp) or a non-real time control application (e.g., rApp), or any combination thereof (the adjective “open” designating support of an ORAN specification). The network node may support a specification by, for example, supporting an interface defined by the ORAN specification, such as an Al, Fl, Wl, El, E2, X2, Xn interface, an open fronthaul user plane interface, or an open fronthaul management plane interface. Moreover, an ORAN access node may be a logical node in a physical node. Furthermore, an ORAN network node may be implemented in a virtualization environment (described further below) in which one or more network functions are virtualized. For example, the virtualization environment may include an O-Cloud computing platform orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an O-2 interface defined by the O-RAN Alliance or comparable technologies. The network nodes 1510 facilitate direct or indirect connection of User Equipment (UE), such asby connecting UEs 1512A, 1512B, 1512C, and 1512D (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UEs 1512) to the core network 1506 over one or more wireless connections.

[0177] Example wireless communications over a wireless connection include transmitting and / or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and / or other types of signals suitable for conveying information without the use of wires, cables, or other material conductors. Moreover, in different embodiments, the communication system 1500 may include any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, UEs, and / or any other components or systems that may facilitate or participate in the communication of data and / or signals whether via wired or wireless connections. The communication system 1500 may include and / or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and / or other similar type of system.

[0178] The UEs 1512 may be any of a wide variety of communication devices, including wireless devices arranged, configured, and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with the network nodes 1510 and other communication devices. Similarly, the network nodes 1510 are arranged, capable, configured, and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with the UEs 1512 and / or with other network nodes or equipment in the telecommunication network 1502 to enable and / or provide network access, such as wireless network access, and / or to perform other functions, such as administration in the telecommunication network 1502.

[0179] In the depicted example, the core network 1506 connects the network nodes 1510 to one or more hosts, such as host 1516. These connections may be direct or indirect via one or more intermediary networks or devices. In other examples, network nodes may be directly coupled to hosts. The core network 1506 includes one more core network nodes (e.g., core network node 1508) that are structured with hardware and software components. Features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the UEs, network nodes, and / or hosts, such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of the core network node 1508. Example core network nodes include functions of one or more of a Mobile Switching Center (MSC), Mobility Management Entity (MME), Home Subscriber Server (HSS), Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), Session Management Function (SMF), Authentication Server Function (AUSF), Subscription Identifier De-Concealing Function (SIDE), Unified Data Management (UDM), Security Edge Protection Proxy (SEPP), Network Exposure Function (NEF), and / or a User Plane Function (UPF).

[0180] The host 1516 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider other than an operator or provider of the access network 1504 and / or the telecommunication network 1502,and may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider. The host 1516 may host a variety of applications to provide one or more services. Examples of such applications include live and pre-recorded audio / video content, data collection services such as retrieving and compiling data on various ambient conditions detected by a plurality of UEs, analytics functionality, social media, functions for controlling or otherwise interacting with remote devices, functions for an alarm and surveillance center, or any other such function performed by a server.

[0181] As a whole, the communication system 1500 of Figure 15 enables connectivity between the UEs, network nodes, and hosts. In that sense, the communication system 1500 may be configured to operate according to predefined rules or procedures, such as specific standards that include, but are not limited to: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM);Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); Long Term Evolution (LTE), and / or other suitable Second, Third, Fourth, or Fifth Generation (2G, 3G, 4G, or 5G) standards, or any applicable future generation standard (e.g., Sixth Generation (6G)); Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) standards, such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standards (WiFi); and / or any other appropriate wireless communication standard, such as the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Bluetooth, Z-Wave, Near Field Communication (NFC) ZigBee, LiFi, and / or any Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) standards such as LoRa and Sigfox.

[0182] In some examples, the telecommunication network 1502 is a cellular network that implements 3GPP standardized features. Accordingly, the telecommunication network 1502 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices that are connected to the telecommunication network 1502. For example, the telecommunication network 1502 may provide Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC) services to some UEs, while providing enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) services to other UEs, and / or massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC) / massive Internet of Things (loT) services to yet further UEs.

[0183] In some examples, the UEs 1512 are configured to transmit and / or receive information without direct human interaction. For instance, a UE may be designed to transmit information to the access network 1504 on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the access network 1504.Additionally, a UE may be configured for operating in single- or multi-Radio Access Technology (RAT) or multi-standard mode. For example, a UE may operate with any one or combination of WiFi, New Radio (NR), and LTE, i.e., being configured for Multi- Radio DualConnectivity (MR-DC), such as Evolved UMTS Terrestrial RAN (E-UTRAN) NR - Dual Connectivity (EN-DC).

[0184] In the example, a hub 1514 communicates with the access network 1504 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UE 1512C and / or 1512D) and network nodes (e.g., network node 1510B). In some examples, the hub 1514 may be a controller, router, content source and analytics, or any of the other communication devices described herein regarding UEs. For example, the hub 1514 may be a broadband router enabling access to the core network 1506 for the UEs. As another example, the hub 1514 may be a controller that sends commands or instructions to one or more actuators in the UEs. Commands or instructions may be received from the UEs, network nodes 1510, or by executable code, script, process, or other instructions in the hub 1514. As another example, the hub 1514 may be a data collector that acts as temporary storage for UE data and, in some embodiments, may perform analysis or other processing of the data. As another example, the hub 1514 may be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a Virtual Reality (VR) headset, display, loudspeaker or other media delivery device, the hub 1514 may retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via a network node, which the hub 1514 then provides to the UE either directly, after performing local processing, and / or after adding additional local content. In still another example, the hub 1514 acts as a proxy server or orchestrator for the UEs, in particular if one or more of the UEs are low energy loT devices.

[0185] The hub 1514 may have a constant / persistent or intermittent connection to the network node 1510B. The hub 1514 may also allow for a different communication scheme and / or schedule between the hub 1514 and UEs (e.g., UE 1512C and / or 1512D), and between the hub 1514 and the core network 1506. In other examples, the hub 1514 is connected to the core network 1506 and / or one or more UEs via a wired connection. Moreover, the hub 1514 may be configured to connect to a Machine-to- Machine (M2M) service provider over the access network 1504 and / or to another UE over a direct connection. In some scenarios, UEs may establish a wireless connection with the network nodes 1510 while still connected via the hub 1514 via a wired or wireless connection. In some embodiments, the hub 1514 may be a dedicated hub - that is, a hub whose primary function is to route communications to / from the UEs from / to the network node 1510B. In other embodiments, the hub 1514 may be a nondedicated hub - that is, a device which is capable of operating to route communications between the UEs and the network node 1510B, but which is additionally capable of operating as a communication start and / or end point for certain data channels.

[0186] Figure 16 shows a UE 1600 in accordance with some embodiments. As used herein,a UE refers to a device capable, configured, arranged, and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with network nodes and / or other UEs. Examples of a UE include, but are not limited to, a smart phone, mobile phone, cell phone, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone, wireless local loop phone, desktop computer, Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), wireless camera, gaming console or device, music storage device, playback appliance, wearable terminal device, wireless endpoint, mobile station, tablet, laptop, Laptop Embedded Equipment (LEE), Laptop Mounted Equipment (LME), smart device, wireless Customer Premise Equipment (CPE), vehicle, vehicle-mounted or vehicle embedded / integrated wireless device, etc. Other examples include any UE identified by the 3GPP, including a Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) UE, a Machine Type Communication (MTC) UE, and / or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE.

[0187] A UE may support Device-to-Device (D2D) communication, for example by implementing a 3GPP standard for sidelink communication, Dedicated Short-Range Communication (DSRC), Vehicle-to- Vehicle (V2V), Vehicle-to-Infrastructure (V2I), or Vehicle-to-Every thing (V2X). In other examples, a UE may not necessarily have a user in the sense of a human user who owns and / or operates the relevant device. Instead, a UE may represent a device that is intended for sale to, or operation by, a human user but which may not, or which may not initially, be associated with a specific human user (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller). Alternatively, a UE may represent a device that is not intended for sale to, or operation by, an end user but which may be associated with or operated for the benefit of a user (e.g., a smart power meter).

[0188] The UE 1600 includes processing circuitry 1602 that is operatively coupled via a bus 1604 to an input / output interface 1606, a power source 1608, memory 1610, a communication interface 1612, and / or any other component, or any combination thereof. Certain UEs may utilize all or a subset of the components shown in Figure 16. The level of integration between the components may vary from one UE to another UE. Further, certain UEs may contain multiple instances of a component, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.

[0189] The processing circuitry 1602 is configured to process instructions and data and may be configured to implement any sequential state machine operative to execute instructions stored as machine-readable computer programs in the memory 1610. The processing circuitry 1602 may be implemented as one or more hardware-implemented state machines (e.g., in discrete logic, Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), etc.); programmable logic together with appropriate firmware; one or more stored computer programs, general purpose processors, such as a microprocessor or Digital SignalProcessor (DSP), together with appropriate software; or any combination of the above. For example, the processing circuitry 1602 may include multiple Central Processing Units (CPUs).

[0190] In the example, the input / output interface 1606 may be configured to provide an interface or interfaces to an input device, output device, or one or more input and / or output devices. Examples of an output device include a speaker, a sound card, a video card, a display, a monitor, a printer, an actuator, an emitter, a smartcard, another output device, or any combination thereof. An input device may allow a user to capture information into the UE 1600. Examples of an input device include a touch-sensitive or presence-sensitive display, a camera (e.g., a digital camera, a digital video camera, a web camera, etc.), a microphone, a sensor, a mouse, a trackball, a directional pad, a trackpad, a scroll wheel, a smartcard, and the like. The presence-sensitive display may include a capacitive or resistive touch sensor to sense input from a user. A sensor may be, for instance, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a tilt sensor, a force sensor, a magnetometer, an optical sensor, a proximity sensor, a biometric sensor, etc., or any combination thereof. An output device may use the same type of interface port as an input device. For example, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port may be used to provide an input device and an output device.

[0191] In some embodiments, the power source 1608 is structured as a battery or battery pack. Other types of power sources, such as an external power source (e.g., an electricity outlet), photovoltaic device, or power cell, may be used. The power source 1608 may further include power circuitry for delivering power from the power source 1608 itself, and / or an external power source, to the various parts of the UE 1600 via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Delivering power may be, for example, for charging of the power source 1608. Power circuitry may perform any formatting, converting, or other modification to the power from the power source 1608 to make the power suitable for the respective components of the UE 1600 to which power is supplied.

[0192] The memory 1610 may be or be configured to include memory such as Random Access Memory (RAM), Read Only Memory (ROM), Programmable ROM (PROM), Erasable PROM (EPROM), Electrically EPROM (EEPROM), magnetic disks, optical disks, hard disks, removable cartridges, flash drives, and so forth. In one example, the memory 1610 includes one or more application programs 1614, such as an operating system, web browser application, a widget, gadget engine, or other application, and corresponding data 1616. The memory 1610 may store, for use by the UE 1600, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems.

[0193] The memory 1610 may be configured to include a number of physical drive units,such as Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID), flash memory, USB flash drive, external hard disk drive, thumb drive, pen drive, key drive, High Density Digital Versatile Disc (HD-DVD) optical disc drive, internal hard disk drive, Blu-Ray optical disc drive, Holographic Digital Data Storage (HDDS) optical disc drive, external mini Dual In-line Memory Module (DIMM), Synchronous Dynamic RAM (SDRAM), external micro-DIMM SDRAM, smartcard memory such as a tamper resistant module in the form of a Universal Integrated Circuit Card (UICC) including one or more Subscriber Identity Modules (SIMs), such as a Universal SIM (USIM) and / or Internet Protocol Multimedia Services Identity Module (ISIM), other memory, or any combination thereof. The UICC may for example be an embedded UICC (eUICC), integrated UICC (iUICC) or a removable UICC commonly known as a ‘SIM card.’ The memory 1610 may allow the UE 1600 to access instructions, application programs, and the like stored on transitory or non-transitory memory media, to off-load data, or to upload data. An article of manufacture, such as one utilizing a communication system, may be tangibly embodied as or in the memory 1610, which may be or comprise a device-readable storage medium.

[0194] The processing circuitry 1602 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network using the communication interface 1612. The communication interface 1612 may comprise one or more communication subsystems and may include or be communicatively coupled to an antenna 1622. The communication interface 1612 may include one or more transceivers used to communicate, such as by communicating with one or more remote transceivers of another device capable of wireless communication (e.g., another UE or a network node in an access network). Each transceiver may include a transmitter 1618 and / or a receiver 1620 appropriate to provide network communications (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocations, and so forth). Moreover, the transmitter 1618 and receiver 1620 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., the antenna 1622) and may share circuit components, software, or firmware, or alternatively be implemented separately.

[0195] In the illustrated embodiment, communication functions of the communication interface 1612 may include cellular communication, WiFi communication, LPWAN communication, data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short- range communications such as Bluetooth, NFC, location-based communication such as the use of the Global Positioning System (GPS) to determine a location, another like communication function, or any combination thereof. Communications may be implemented according to one or more communication protocols and / or standards, such as IEEE 802.11, Code Division Multiplexing Access (CDMA), Wideband CDMA (WCDMA), GSM, LTE, NR, UMTS,WiMax, Ethernet, Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol (TCP / IP), Synchronous Optical Networking (SONET), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), Quick User Datagram Protocol Internet Connection (QUIC), Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), and so forth.

[0196] Regardless of the type of sensor, a UE may provide an output of data captured by its sensors, through its communication interface 1612, via a wireless connection to a network node. Data captured by sensors of a UE can be communicated through a wireless connection to a network node via another UE. The output may be periodic (e.g., once every 15 minutes if it reports the sensed temperature), random (e.g., to even out the load from reporting from several sensors), in response to a triggering event (e.g., when moisture is detected, an alert is sent), in response to a request (e.g., a user initiated request), or a continuous stream (e.g., a live video feed of a patient).

[0197] As another example, a UE comprises an actuator, a motor, or a switch related to a communication interface configured to receive wireless input from a network node via a wireless connection. In response to the received wireless input the states of the actuator, the motor, or the switch may change. For example, the UE may comprise a motor that adjusts the control surfaces or rotors of a drone in flight according to the received input or to a robotic arm performing a medical procedure according to the received input.

[0198] A UE, when in the form of an loT device, may be a device for use in one or more application domains, these domains comprising, but not limited to, city wearable technology, extended industrial application, and healthcare. Non-limiting examples of such an loT device are a device which is or which is embedded in: a connected refrigerator or freezer, a television, a connected lighting device, an electricity meter, a robot vacuum cleaner, a voice controlled smart speaker, a home security camera, a motion detector, a thermostat, a smoke detector, a door / window sensor, a flood / moisture sensor, an electrical door lock, a connected doorbell, an air conditioning system like a heat pump, an autonomous vehicle, a surveillance system, a weather monitoring device, a vehicle parking monitoring device, an electric vehicle charging station, a smart watch, a fitness tracker, a head-mounted display for Augmented Reality (AR) or VR, a wearable for tactile augmentation or sensory enhancement, a water sprinkler, an animator item-tracking device, a sensor for monitoring a plant or animal, an industrial robot, an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), and any kind of medical device, like a heart rate monitor or a remote controlled surgical robot. A UE in the form of an loT device comprises circuitry and / or software in dependence of the intended application of the loT device in addition to other components as described in relation to the UE 1600 shown in Figure 16.

[0199] As yet another specific example, in an loT scenario, a UE may represent a machineor other device that performs monitoring and / or measurements and transmits the results of such monitoring and / or measurements to another UE and / or a network node. The UE may in this case be an M2M device, which may in a 3GPP context be referred to as an MTC device. As one particular example, the UE may implement the 3GPP NB-IoT standard. In other scenarios, a UE may represent a vehicle, such as a car, a bus, a truck, a ship, an airplane, or other equipment that is capable of monitoring and / or reporting on its operational status or other functions associated with its operation.

[0200] In practice, any number of UEs may be used together with respect to a single use case. For example, a first UE might be or be integrated in a drone and provide the drone’s speed information (obtained through a speed sensor) to a second UE that is a remote controller operating the drone. When the user makes changes from the remote controller, the first UE may adjust the throttle on the drone (e.g., by controlling an actuator) to increase or decrease the drone’s speed. The first and / or the second UE can also include more than one of the functionalities described above. For example, a UE might comprise the sensor and the actuator and handle communication of data for both the speed sensor and the actuators.

[0201] Figure 17 shows a network node 1700 in accordance with some embodiments. As used herein, network node refers to equipment capable, configured, arranged, and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a UE and / or with other network nodes or equipment in a telecommunication network. Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, APs (e.g., radio APs), Base Stations (BSs) (e.g., radio BSs, Node Bs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs), NR Node Bs (gNBs)), and O-RAN nodes or components of an O-RAN node (e.g., O-RU, O-DU, O- CU).

[0202] Base stations may be categorized based on the amount of coverage they provide (or, stated differently, their transmit power level) and so, depending on the provided amount of coverage, may be referred to as femto base stations, pico base stations, micro base stations, or macro base stations. A base station may be a relay node or a relay donor node controlling a relay. A network node may also include one or more (or all) parts of a distributed radio base station such as centralized digital units, distributed units (e.g., in an O-RAN access node), and / or Remote Radio Units (RRUs), sometimes referred to as Remote Radio Heads (RRHs). Such RRUs may or may not be integrated with an antenna as an antenna integrated radio. Parts of a distributed radio base station may also be referred to as nodes in a Distributed Antenna System (DAS).

[0203] Other examples of network nodes include multiple Transmission Point (multi-TRP) 5G access nodes, Multi-Standard Radio (MSR) equipment such as MSR BSs, networkcontrollers such as Radio Network Controllers (RNCs) or BS Controllers (BSCs), Base Transceiver Stations (BTSs), transmission points, transmission nodes, Multi-Cell / Multicast Coordination Entities (MCEs), Operation and Maintenance (O&M) nodes, Operations Support System (OSS) nodes, Self-Organizing Network (SON) nodes, positioning nodes (e.g., Evolved Serving Mobile Location Centers (E-SMLCs)), and / or Minimization of Drive Tests (MDTs).

[0204] The network node 1700 includes processing circuitry 1702, memory 1704, a communication interface 1706, and a power source 1708. The network node 1700 may be composed of multiple physically separate components (e.g., a NodeB component and an RNC component, or a BTS component and a BSC component, etc.), which may each have their own respective components. In certain scenarios in which the network node 1700 comprises multiple separate components (e.g., BTS and BSC components), one or more of the separate components may be shared among several network nodes. For example, a single RNC may control multiple NodeBs. In such a scenario, each unique NodeB and RNC pair may in some instances be considered a single separate network node. In some embodiments, the network node 1700 may be configured to support multiple Radio Access Technologies, RATs. In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate memory 1704 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., a same antenna 1710 may be shared by different RATs). The network node 1700 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node 1700, for example GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, Zigbee, Z-wave, Long Range Wide Area Network (LoRaWAN), Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), or Bluetooth wireless technologies. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chip or set of chips and other components within the network node 1700.

[0205] The processing circuitry 1702 may comprise a combination of one or more of a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, CPU, DSP, ASIC, FPGA, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software, and / or encoded logic operable to provide, either alone or in conjunction with other network node 1700 components, such as the memory 1704, to provide network node 1700 functionality.

[0206] In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 1702 includes a System on a Chip (SOC). In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 1702 includes one or more of Radio Frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 1712 and baseband processing circuitry 1714. In some embodiments, the RF transceiver circuitry 1712 and the baseband processing circuitry 1714 may be on separate chips (or sets of chips), boards, or units, such as radio units and digital units. In alternative embodiments, part or all of the RF transceiver circuitry 1712 and the basebandprocessing circuitry 1714 may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units.

[0207] The memory 1704 may comprise any form of volatile or non-volatile computer- readable memory including, without limitation, persistent storage, solid state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, RAM, ROM, mass storage media (for example, a hard disk), removable storage media (for example, a flash drive, a Compact Disk (CD), or a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), and / or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device-readable, and / or computer-executable memory devices that store information, data, and / or instructions that may be used by the processing circuitry 1702. The memory 1704 may store any suitable instructions, data, or information, including a computer program, software, an application including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, and / or other instructions capable of being executed by the processing circuitry 1702 and utilized by the network node 1700. The memory 1704 may be used to store any calculations made by the processing circuitry 1702 and / or any data received via the communication interface 1706. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 1702 and the memory 1704 are integrated.

[0208] The communication interface 1706 is used in wired or wireless communication of signaling and / or data between a network node, access network, and / or UE. As illustrated, the communication interface 1706 comprises port(s) / terminal(s) 1716 to send and receive data, for example to and from a network over a wired connection. The communication interface 1706 also includes radio front-end circuitry 1718 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, the antenna 1710. The radio front-end circuitry 1718 comprises filters 1720 and amplifiers 1722. The radio front-end circuitry 1718 may be connected to the antenna 1710 and the processing circuitry 1702. The radio front-end circuitry 1718 may be configured to condition signals communicated between the antenna 1710 and the processing circuitry 1702. The radio front-end circuitry 1718 may receive digital data that is to be sent out to other network nodes or UEs via a wireless connection. The radio front-end circuitry 1718 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of the filters 1720 and / or the amplifiers 1722. The radio signal may then be transmitted via the antenna 1710. Similarly, when receiving data, the antenna 1710 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by the radio front-end circuitry 1718. The digital data may be passed to the processing circuitry 1702. In other embodiments, the communication interface 1706 may comprise different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0209] In certain alternative embodiments, the network node 1700 does not include separate radio front-end circuitry 1718; instead, the processing circuitry 1702 includes radio front-endcircuitry and is connected to the antenna 1710. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuitry 1712 is part of the communication interface 1706. In still other embodiments, the communication interface 1706 includes the one or more ports or terminals 1716, the radio front-end circuitry 1718, and the RF transceiver circuitry 1712 as part of a radio unit (not shown), and the communication interface 1706 communicates with the baseband processing circuitry 1714, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).

[0210] The antenna 1710 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and / or receive wireless signals. The antenna 1710 may be coupled to the radio front-end circuitry 1718 and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and / or signals wirelessly. In certain embodiments, the antenna 1710 is separate from the network node 1700 and connectable to the network node 1700 through an interface or port.

[0211] The antenna 1710, the communication interface 1706, and / or the processing circuitry 1702 may be configured to perform any receiving operations and / or certain obtaining operations described herein as being performed by the network node 1700. Any information, data, and / or signals may be received from a UE, another network node, and / or any other network equipment. Similarly, the antenna 1710, the communication interface 1706, and / or the processing circuitry 1702 may be configured to perform any transmitting operations described herein as being performed by the network node 1700. Any information, data, and / or signals may be transmitted to a UE, another network node, and / or any other network equipment.

[0212] The power source 1708 provides power to the various components of the network node 1700 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component). The power source 1708 may further comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry to supply the components of the network node 1700 with power for performing the functionality described herein. For example, the network node 1700 may be connectable to an external power source (e.g., the power grid or an electricity outlet) via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical cable, whereby the external power source supplies power to power circuitry of the power source 1708. As a further example, the power source 1708 may comprise a source of power in the form of a battery or battery pack which is connected to, or integrated in, power circuitry. The battery may provide backup power should the external power source fail.

[0213] Embodiments of the network node 1700 may include additional components beyond those shown in Figure 17 for providing certain aspects of the network node’s functionality, including any of the functionality described herein and / or any functionality necessary to support the subject matter described herein. For example, the network node 1700 may include userinterface equipment to allow input of information into the network node 1700 and to allow output of information from the network node 1700. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for the network node 1700.

[0214] Figure 18 is a block diagram of a host 1800, which may be an embodiment of the host 1516 of Figure 15, in accordance with various aspects described herein. As used herein, the host 1800 may be or comprise various combinations of hardware and / or software including a standalone server, a blade server, a cloud-implemented server, a distributed server, a virtual machine, container, or processing resources in a server farm. The host 1800 may provide one or more services to one or more UEs.

[0215] The host 1800 includes processing circuitry 1802 that is operatively coupled via a bus 1804 to an input / output interface 1806, a network interface 1808, a power source 1810, and memory 1812. Other components may be included in other embodiments. Features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the devices of previous figures, such as Figures 16 and 17, such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of the host 1800.

[0216] The memory 1812 may include one or more computer programs including one or more host application programs 1814 and data 1816, which may include user data, e.g., data generated by a UE for the host 1800 or data generated by the host 1800 for a UE. Embodiments of the host 1800 may utilize only a subset or all of the components shown. The host application programs 1814 may be implemented in a container-based architecture and may provide support for video codecs (e.g., Versatile Video Coding (VVC), High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC), Advanced Video Coding (AVC), Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG), and / or VP9) and audio codecs (e.g., Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC), Advanced Audio Coding (AAC), MPEG, and / or G.711), including transcoding for multiple different classes, types, or implementations of UEs (e.g., handsets, desktop computers, wearable display systems, and heads-up display systems). The host application programs 1814 may also provide for user authentication and licensing checks and may periodically report health, routes, and content availability to a central node, such as a device in or on the edge of a core network. Accordingly, the host 1800 may select and / or indicate a different host for Over-The-Top (OTT) services for a UE. The host application programs 1814 may support various protocols, such as the HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) protocol, Real-Time Messaging Protocol (RTMP), Real-Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP), Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP (DASH or MPEG-DASH), etc.

[0217] Figure 19 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 1900 in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized. In the present context,virtualizing means creating virtual versions of apparatuses or devices which may include virtualizing hardware platforms, storage devices, and networking resources. As used herein, virtualization can be applied to any device described herein, or components thereof, and relates to an implementation in which at least a portion of the functionality is implemented as one or more virtual components. Some or all of the functions described herein may be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more Virtual Machines (VMs) implemented in one or more virtual environments 1900 hosted by one or more of hardware nodes, such as a hardware computing device that operates as a network node, UE, core network node, or host. Further, in embodiments in which the virtual node does not require radio connectivity (e.g., a core network node or host), then the node may be entirely virtualized. In some embodiments, the virtualization environment 1900 includes components defined by the O-RAN Alliance, such as an O-Cloud environment orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an 0-2 interface.

[0218] Applications 1902 (which may alternatively be called software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.) are run in the virtualization environment 1900 to implement some of the features, functions, and / or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein.

[0219] Hardware 1904 includes processing circuitry, memory that stores software and / or instructions executable by hardware processing circuitry, and / or other hardware devices as described herein, such as a network interface, input / output interface, and so forth. Software may be executed by the processing circuitry to instantiate one or more virtualization layers 1906 (also referred to as hypervisors or VM Monitors (VMMs)), provide VMs 1908A and 1908B (one or more of which may be generally referred to as VMs 1908), and / or perform any of the functions, features, and / or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein. The virtualization layer 1906 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to the VMs 1908.

[0220] The VMs 1908 comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking, or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 1906. Different embodiments of the instance of a virtual appliance 1902 may be implemented on one or more of the VMs 1908, and the implementations may be made in different ways. Virtualization of the hardware is in some contexts referred to as Network Function Virtualization (NFV). NFV may be used to consolidate many network equipment types onto industry standard high volume server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage, which can be located in data centers and customer premise equipment.

[0221] In the context of NFV, a VM 1908 may be a software implementation of a physical machine that runs programs as if they were executing on a physical, non- virtualized machine. Each of the VMs 1908, and that part of the hardware 1904 that executes that VM, be it hardware dedicated to that VM and / or hardware shared by that VM with others of the VMs 1908, forms separate virtual network elements. Still in the context of NFV, a virtual network function is responsible for handling specific network functions that run in one or more VMs 1908 on top of the hardware 1904 and corresponds to the application 1902.

[0222] The hardware 1904 may be implemented in a standalone network node with generic or specific components. The hardware 1904 may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, the hardware 1904 may be part of a larger cluster of hardware (e.g., such as in a data center or CPE) where many hardware nodes work together and are managed via management and orchestration 1910, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of the applications 1902. In some embodiments, the hardware 1904 is coupled to one or more radio units that each include one or more transmitters and one or more receivers that may be coupled to one or more antennas. Radio units may communicate directly with other hardware nodes via one or more appropriate network interfaces and may be used in combination with the virtual components to provide a virtual node with radio capabilities, such as a RAN or a base station. In some embodiments, some signaling can be provided with the use of a control system 1912 which may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.

[0223] Figure 20 shows a communication diagram of a host 2002 communicating via a network node 2004 with a UE 2006 (which may be an XR UE or may refer to compute UE in communication with an XR UE) over an at least partially wireless connection in accordance with some embodiments. Example implementations, in accordance with various embodiments, of the UE (such as the UE 1512A of Figure 15 and / or the UE 1600 of Figure 16), the network node (such as the network node 1510A of Figure 15 and / or the network node 1700 of Figure 17), and the host (such as the host 1516 of Figure 15 and / or the host 1800 of Figure 18) discussed in the preceding paragraphs will now be described with reference to Figure 20.

[0224] Like the host 1800, embodiments of the host 2002 include hardware, such as a communication interface, processing circuitry, and memory. The host 2002 also includes software, which is stored in or is accessible by the host 2002 and executable by the processing circuitry. The software includes a host application that may be operable to provide a service to a remote user, such as the UE 2006 connecting via an OTT connection 2050 extending between the UE 2006 and the host 2002. In providing the service to the remote user, a host applicationmay provide user data which is transmitted using the OTT connection 2050.

[0225] The network node 2004 includes hardware enabling it to communicate with the host 2002 and the UE 2006. The connection 2060 may be direct or pass through a core network (like the core network 1506 of Figure 15) and / or one or more other intermediate networks, such as one or more public, private, or hosted networks. For example, an intermediate network may be a backbone network or the Internet.

[0226] The UE 2006 includes hardware and software, which is stored in or accessible by the UE 2006 and executable by the UE’s processing circuitry. The software includes a client application, such as a web browser or operator-specific “app” that may be operable to provide a service to a human or non-human user via the UE 2006 with the support of the host 2002. In the host 2002, an executing host application may communicate with the executing client application via the OTT connection 2050 terminating at the UE 2006 and the host 2002. In providing the service to the user, the UE’s client application may receive request data from the host’s host application and provide user data in response to the request data. The OTT connection 2050 may transfer both the request data and the user data. The UE’s client application may interact with the user to generate the user data that it provides to the host application through the OTT connection 2050.

[0227] The OTT connection 2050 may extend via the connection 2060 between the host 2002 and the network node 2004 and via a wireless connection 2070 between the network node 2004 and the UE 2006 to provide the connection between the host 2002 and the UE 2006. The connection 2060 and the wireless connection 2070, over which the OTT connection 2050 may be provided, have been drawn abstractly to illustrate the communication between the host 2002 and the UE 2006 via the network node 2004, without explicit reference to any intermediary devices and the precise routing of messages via these devices.

[0228] As an example of transmitting data via the OTT connection 2050, in step 2008, the host 2002 provides user data, which may be performed by executing a host application. In some embodiments, the user data is associated with a particular human user interacting with the UE 2006. In other embodiments, the user data is associated with a UE 2006 that shares data with the host 2002 without explicit human interaction. In step 2010, the host 2002 initiates a transmission carrying the user data towards the UE 2006. The host 2002 may initiate the transmission responsive to a request transmitted by the UE 2006. The request may be caused by human interaction with the UE 2006 or by operation of the client application executing on the UE 2006. The transmission may pass via the network node 2004 in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. Accordingly, in step 2012,the network node 2004 transmits to the UE 2006 the user data that was carried in the transmission that the host 2002 initiated, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In step 2014, the UE 2006 receives the user data carried in the transmission, which may be performed by a client application executed on the UE 2006 associated with the host application executed by the host 2002.

[0229] In some examples, the UE 2006 executes a client application which provides user data to the host 2002. The user data may be provided in reaction or response to the data received from the host 2002. Accordingly, in step 2016, the UE 2006 may provide user data, which may be performed by executing the client application. In providing the user data, the client application may further consider user input received from the user via an input / output interface of the UE 2006. Regardless of the specific manner in which the user data was provided, the UE 2006 initiates, in step 2018, transmission of the user data towards the host 2002 via the network node 2004. In step 2020, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure, the network node 2004 receives user data from the UE 2006 and initiates transmission of the received user data towards the host 2002. In step 2022, the host 2002 receives the user data carried in the transmission initiated by the UE 2006.

[0230] One or more of the various embodiments improve the performance of OTT services provided to the UE 2006 using the OTT connection 2050, in which the wireless connection 2070 forms the last segment. More precisely, the teachings of these embodiments may improve the data rate, latency, power consumption and thereby provide benefits such as improved quality of experience of the OTT service with low latency, better responsiveness, and / or extended battery lifetime.

[0231] In an example scenario, factory status information may be collected and analyzed by the host 2002. As another example, the host 2002 may process audio and video data which may have been retrieved from a UE for use in creating maps. As another example, the host 2002 may collect and analyze real-time data to assist in controlling vehicle congestion (e.g., controlling traffic lights). As another example, the host 2002 may store surveillance video uploaded by a UE. As another example, the host 2002 may store or control access to media content such as video, audio, VR, or AR which it can broadcast, multicast, or unicast to UEs. As other examples, the host 2002 may be used for energy pricing, remote control of non-time critical electrical load to balance power generation needs, location services, presentation services (such as compiling diagrams etc. from data collected from remote devices), or any other function of collecting, retrieving, storing, analyzing, and / or transmitting data.

[0232] In some examples, a measurement procedure may be provided for the purpose of monitoring data rate, latency, and other factors on which the one or more embodiments improve. There may further be an optional network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection 2050 between the host 2002 and the UE 2006 in response to variations in the measurement results. The measurement procedure and / or the network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection 2050 may be implemented in software and hardware of the host 2002 and / or the UE 2006. In some embodiments, sensors (not shown) may be deployed in or in association with other devices through which the OTT connection 2050 passes; the sensors may participate in the measurement procedure by supplying values of the monitored quantities exemplified above, or by supplying values of other physical quantities from which software may compute or estimate the monitored quantities. The reconfiguring of the OTT connection 2050 may include message format, retransmission settings, preferred routing, etc.; the reconfiguring need not directly alter the operation of the network node 2004. Such procedures and functionalities may be known and practiced in the art. In certain embodiments, measurements may involve proprietary UE signaling that facilitates measurements of throughput, propagation times, latency, and the like by the host 2002. The measurements may be implemented in that software causes messages to be transmitted, in particular empty or ‘dummy’ messages, using the OTT connection 2050 while monitoring propagation times, errors, etc.

[0233] Although the computing devices described herein (e.g., UEs, network nodes, hosts) may include the illustrated combination of hardware components, other embodiments may comprise computing devices with different combinations of components. It is to be understood that these computing devices may comprise any suitable combination of hardware and / or software needed to perform the tasks, features, functions, and methods disclosed herein. Determining, calculating, obtaining, or similar operations described herein may be performed by processing circuitry, which may process information by, for example, converting the obtained information into other information, comparing the obtained information or converted information to information stored in the network node, and / or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or converted information, and as a result of said processing making a determination. Moreover, while components are depicted as single boxes located within a larger box or nested within multiple boxes, in practice computing devices may comprise multiple different physical components that make up a single illustrated component, and functionality may be partitioned between separate components. For example, a communication interface may be configured to include any of the components described herein, and / or the functionality of the components may be partitioned between the processing circuitryand the communication interface. In another example, non-computationally intensive functions of any of such components may be implemented in software or firmware and computationally intensive functions may be implemented in hardware.

[0234] In certain embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein may be provided by processing circuitry executing instructions stored in memory, which in certain embodiments may be a computer program product in the form of a non-transitory computer- readable storage medium. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality may be provided by the processing circuitry without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device-readable storage medium, such as in a hardwired manner. In any of those particular embodiments, whether executing instructions stored on a non-transitory computer- readable storage medium or not, the processing circuitry can be configured to perform the described functionality. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to the processing circuitry alone or to other components of the computing device, but are enjoyed by the computing device as a whole and / or by end users and a wireless network generally.

[0235] Those skilled in the art will recognize improvements and modifications to the embodiments of the present disclosure. All such improvements and modifications are considered within the scope of the concepts disclosed herein.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A method performed by a network node of a cellular communications system for associating a first User Equipment (UE) and a second UE for purposes of sidelink communication related to a service or application, the method comprising: receiving (614, 712), from either or both of the first UE and the second UE, information that explicitly or implicitly indicates that the first UE and the second UE are to be associated for purposes of sidelink communication for the service or application; storing (616, 714) information that indicates an association between the first UE and the second UE for purposes of sidelink communication for the service or application; and performing (618, 716) one or more actions based on the association between the first UE and the second UE.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein: the application or service comprises an XR application or an XR service; and the first UE is an Extended Reality, XR, UE and the second UE is a compute UE.

3. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein: the information received from either or both of the first UE and the second UE comprises a layer 2 identifier, ID, of the first UE and a layer 2 ID of the second UE.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the layer 2 ID of the first UE is mapped, within the first UE, to an application layer ID of the first UE for the service or XR application, and the layer 2 ID of the second UE is mapped, within the second UE, to an application layer ID of the second UE for the service or application.

5. The method of claim 3 or 4, wherein the information that indicates the association between the first UE and the second UE for purposes of sidelink communication for the service or application comprises information that maps the layer 2 ID of the first UE to a cellular network ID of the first UE and information that maps the layer 2 ID of the second UE to a cellular network ID of the second UE.

6. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein receiving (614, 712) the information that explicitly or implicitly indicates that the first UE and the second UE are to be associated for purposes ofsidelink communication for the service or application comprises: receiving (614B, 712B) information from the second UE that comprises an identifier of the first UE and an identifier of the second UE.

7. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein receiving (614, 712) the information that explicitly or implicitly indicates that the first UE and the second UE are to be associated for purposes of sidelink communication for the service or application further comprises: receiving (614A, 712A) information from the first UE that comprises an identifier of the first UE.

8. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein receiving (614, 712) the information that explicitly or implicitly indicates that the first UE and the second UE are to be associated for purposes of sidelink communication for the service or application further comprises: receiving (614A, 712A) information from the first UE that comprises an identifier of the first UE and an identifier of the second UE.

9. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein receiving (614, 712) the information that explicitly or implicitly indicates that the first UE and the second UE are to be associated for purposes of sidelink communication for the service or application comprises: receiving (1300 A) first information from the first UE that comprises an identifier of the first UE.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein receiving (614, 712) the information that explicitly or implicitly indicates that the first UE and the second UE are to be associated for purposes of sidelink communication for the service or application further comprises: receiving (614B, 712B) second information from the second UE that comprises an identifier of the second UE.

11. The method of any of claims 5 to 10, wherein: the identifier of the first UE is the layer 2 identifier, ID, of the first UE and the identifier of the second UE is the layer 2 ID of the second UE.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the layer 2 ID of the first UE is mapped, within the first UE, to the application layer ID of the first UE for the service or application, and the layer 2 IDof the second UE is mapped, within the second UE, to the application layer ID of the second UE for the service or application.

13. The method of claim 11 or 12, wherein the information that indicates the association between the first UE and the second UE for purposes of sidelink communication for the service or application comprises the information that maps the layer 2 ID of the first UE to the cellular network ID of the first UE and information that maps the layer 2 ID of the second UE to the cellular network ID of the second UE.

14. The method of any of claims 1 to 13, wherein: performing the one or more actions comprises providing (1202), to either or both of the first UE and the second UE, a dedicated sidelink configuration to support the service or the application.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the dedicated sidelink configuration is one or more of a Non-Access Stratum (NAS) layer configuration and an Access Stratum (AS) layer configuration.

16. The method of any of claims 1 to 15, wherein performing the one or more actions comprises performing (1000, 1100) joint scheduling of the first UE and the second UE.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein performing the joint scheduling comprises: receiving (1102) a side link, SL, -Buffer Status Report, -BSR, from the first UE or the second UE; transmitting (1104A) a first SL grant to the first UE in response to receiving the SL-BSR; and transmitting (1104B) a second SL grant to the second UE in response to receiving the SL- BSR.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein performing the joint scheduling comprises: receiving a sidelink, SL, -Buffer Status Report, -BSR, from the first UE or the second UE (1102); transmitting (1104D) a radio uplink grant, a radio downlink grant, or both the radio uplink grant and the radio downlink grant, to the second UE; andtransmitting (1104B) an SL grant to the second UE.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein performing the joint scheduling comprises: receiving (1202B) an uplink-Buffer Status Report, UL-BSR, from the second UE; and transmitting (1104B) a sidelink grant to the first UE.

20. The method of claim 16, wherein performing the joint scheduling comprises: determining (1002) that a condition for triggering a sidelink grant is true; and transmitting (1006B) the sidelink grant to the second UE in response to determining that the condition is true.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein: the application or service comprises an XR application or an XR service; the first UE is an Extended Reality, XR, UE and the second UE is a compute UE; and the condition is at least one of: transmitting data via a radio downlink to the compute UE; determining that a full protocol data unit, PDU, set is acknowledged as successfully transmitted to the compute UE or the XR UE; and / or determining that a downlink transmission of a full PDU set to the compute UE is performed and that PDU set transmission has been performed within a predefined or configured amount of time from the compute UE to the XR UE.

22. The method of any of claims 1 to 15, wherein: the application or service comprises an XR application or an XR service; the first UE is an Extended Reality, XR, UE and the second UE is a compute UE; and the one or more actions comprises: determining (1302) a sidelink grant between the XR UE and the compute UE based on a matrix, wherein the matrix defines use cases and offload scenarios corresponding to the use cases.

23. The method of any of claims 1 to 13, wherein the one or more actions comprises: receive (802A) a priority indication for a prioritized data transmission from a buffer status report, BSR, and a sidelink, SL, -BSR from the first UE; determine (804) a grant for the prioritized data transmission, either in a radio uplinkbetween the network node and the first UE or an SL, based on the priority indication; and transmit (806A, 806C) the grant for the prioritized data transmission to the first UE.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the priority indication is based on at least one of: a latency requirement, a buffer size, and a reliability target.

25. The method of any of claims 1 to 13, wherein the one or more actions comprises: receive (802A) a priority indication for a prioritized data transmission in a medium access control, MAC, control element, CE or in a control signaling from the first UE; determine (804) a grant for the prioritized data transmission, either in a radio uplink between the network node and the first UE or in a sidelink, SL, based on the priority indication; and transmit (806A, 806C) the grant for the prioritized data transmission to the first UE.

26. The method of any of claims 1 to 13, wherein the one or more actions comprises: receiving (902A) a report from the first UE that includes information related to priority handling; determining (904) a priority indication for a radio uplink between the network node and the first UE and a sidelink, SL, based on the information in the report; determining (906) a grant for a prioritized data transmission based on the priority indication; and transmitting (908A, 908C) the grant for the prioritized data transmission to the first UE.

27. A network node for a cellular communications system, adapted to: receive (614, 712), from either or both of a first User Equipment, UE, and a second UE, information that explicitly or implicitly indicates that the first UE and the second UE are to be associated for purposes of sidelink communication for an XR service or XR application; store (616, 714) information that indicates an association between the first UE and the second UE for purposes of sidelink communication for the service or application; and perform (618, 716) one or more actions based on the association between the first UE and the second UE.

28. The network node of claim 27 further adapted to perform the method of any of claims 2 to26.

29. A network node for a cellular communications system, comprising: a communication interface; and processing circuitry associated with the communication interface, the processing circuitry configured to cause a first User Equipment, UE, or a second UE to: receive (614, 712), from either or both of the first UE and the second UE, information that explicitly or implicitly indicates that the first UE and the second UE are to be associated for purposes of sidelink communication for a service or application; store (616, 714) information that indicates an association between the first UE and the second UE for purposes of sidelink communication for the service or application; and perform (618, 716) one or more actions based on the association between the first UE and the second UE.

30. The network node of claim 29, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to cause the network node to perform the method of any of claims 2 to 26.

31. A method performed by a first User Equipment, UE, for establishing an association between the first UE and a second UE for a service or an application, the method comprising: transmitting (606, 706), to the second UE, a request comprising first information, the first information comprising: information about a service or application for which direct communication is requested; and an application layer identity, ID, of the first UE for the service or application for which the direct communication is requested; and receiving (610, 710) a response from the second UE in response to the request.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein: the application or service comprises an XR application or an XR service; and the first UE is an Extended Reality, XR, UE and the second UE is a compute UE.

33. The method of claim 31 or 32, wherein the request is the direct communication request, the response is an acceptance of the direction communication request, and the method further comprises establishing (612) a unicast communications link with the compute UE responsive to receiving the acceptance.

34. The method of any of claims 31 to 33, wherein transmitting (606) the request comprising the first information to the compute UE is performed through a PC5 link between the first UE and the second UE.

35. The method of claim 31, further comprising establishing (702) a unicast communication link with the second UE, wherein transmitting (706) the request and receiving (710) the response are performed via the unicast communication link with the second UE.

36. The method of any of claims 31 to 35, further comprising: transmitting (606, 706) information comprising a layer 2 ID of the first UE to a network node of a cellular communications system via a radio uplink established between the network node and the first UE.

37. The method of claim 36, wherein the response received from the second UE comprises a layer 2 ID of the second UE, and the information transmitted (610, 710) to the network node further comprises the layer 2 ID of the second UE.

38. The method of any of claims 31 to 37, further comprising: transmitting (802A) a side link, SL, -Buffer Status Report, -BSR, to the network node; and receiving (806A) an SL grant from the network node in response to transmitting the SL-BSR.

39. The method of any of claims 31 to 37, further comprising: receiving (908A) an SL grant from the network node.

40. The method of any of claims 31 to 37, wherein: the application or service comprises an XR application or an XR service; and the first UE is an Extended Reality, XR, UE and the second UE is a compute UE; and the method further comprising performing at least one of: acknowledging (1002 A) that a full protocol data unit, PDU, set has been successfully transmitted from the network node; and / or acknowledging (1002 A) that transmission of the PDU set has been performed within a predefined or configured amount of time from the XR UE to the compute UE.

41. The method of claim 40, further comprising: receiving (1006 A) a sidelink grant from the network node in response to the at least one condition being true.

42. The method of claim 31, further comprising: transmitting (1102A) a sidelink, SL, -Buffer Status Report, -BSR, to a network node; and receiving (1106 A) an SL grant from the network node in response to the SL-BSR.

43. The method of any of claims 31 to 37, further comprising: transmitting (802A) a priority indication for a prioritized data transmission from a buffer status report, BSR, and a sidelink, SL, -BSR to the network node; and receiving (806A) a grant for the prioritized data transmission to the first UE from the network node.

44. The method of claim 43, wherein the priority indication is based on at least one of: a latency requirement, a buffer size, and a reliability target.

45. The method of any of claims 31 to 37, further comprising: transmitting (802A) a priority indication for a prioritized data transmission in a medium access control, MAC, control element, CE or in a control signaling to the network node; and receiving (806A, 806C) a grant for the prioritized data transmission from the network node.

46. The method of any of claims 31 to 37, further comprising: transmitting (902A) a report to the network node that includes information related to priority handling; and receiving (908A) a grant for prioritized data transmission from the network node.

47. A first UE, adapted to: transmit (606, 706), to a second UE, a request comprising first information, the first information comprising: information about a service or application for which direct communication is requested; andan application layer identity, ID, of the first UE for the service or application for which the direct communication is requested; and receive (610, 710) a response from the second UE in response to the request for the direct communication.

48. The first UE of claim 47, further adapted to perform the method of any of claims 32 to 46.

49. A first UE, comprising:• a communication interface; and• processing circuitry associated with the communication interface, the processing circuitry configured to cause the first UE to: o transmit (606, 706), to a second UE, a request comprising first information, the first information comprising:■ information about a service or application for which direct communication is requested; and■ an application layer identity, ID, of the first UE for the service or application for which the direct communication is requested; o receive (610, 710) a response from the second UE in response to the request for the direct communication; and o establish a unicast communications link with the second UE.

50. The first UE of claim 49, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to cause the first UE to perform the method of any of claims 32 to 46.

51. A method performed by a first User Equipment, UE, for establishing an association between the first UE and second UE for an XR service or an XR application, the method comprising:• receiving (606, 706), from the second UE, a request comprising first information, the first information comprising: o information about the service or the application for which direct communication is requested; and o an application layer identity, ID, of the second UE for the service or the application for which the direct communication is requested; and• transmitting (610, 710), to the second UE, a response in response to the request.

52. The method of claim 51, wherein: the application or service comprises an XR application or an XR service; the second UE is an Extended Reality, XR, UE and the first UE is a compute UE.

53. The method of claim 51 or 52, wherein the request is a direct communication request, the response is an acceptance of the direction communication request, and the method further comprises establishing a unicast communications link with the second UE responsive to transmitting the acceptance.

54. The method of claim 51 or 52, wherein transmitting (610, 710) the response to the second UE is performed through a PC5 link between the second UE and the first UE.

55. The method of any of claims 51 or 52, further comprising establishing (702) a unicast communication link with the second UE, wherein receiving the request and transmitting the response are performed via the unicast communication link with the second UE.

56. The method of any of claims 51 to 55, further comprising transmitting (712B) second information to a network node of a cellular communications system via a radio uplink between the first UE and the network node, wherein the second information comprises: an application layer ID of the first UE for the XR service or the XR application for which the direct communication is requested.

57. The method of any of claims 51 to 56, wherein: the second information further comprises a layer 2 ID of the first UE.

58. The method of any of claims 51 to 56, wherein: the response transmitted to the second UE comprises a layer 2 ID of the first UE, and the second information transmitted to the network node further comprises the layer 2 ID of the first UE.

59. The method of any of claims 51 to 58, further comprising: determining (708) whether to accept or reject the request based on the first information comprised in the request; andwherein the response indicates the acceptance of the request in response to determining to accept the request or indicates a rejection of the request in response to determining to reject the request.

60. The method of claim 59 wherein: the application or service comprises an XR application or an XR service; the first UE is an Extended Reality, XR, UE and the second UE is a compute UE; and determining (708) whether to accept or reject the request based on the first information comprised in the request comprises determining whether the compute UE has sufficient computational resources to perform offloaded computing for the XR UE for the XR service or the XR application.

61. The method of any of claims 51 to 60, further comprising: transmitting (1102A) a side link, SL, -Buffer Status Report, -BSR, to the network node; and receiving (1104B) an SL grant from the network node in response to the SL-BSR.

62. The method of any of claims 51 to 60, further comprising: transmitting (1102A) a sidelink-Buffer Status Report, SL-BSR, to the network node; receiving (1104D) a radio uplink grant, a radio downlink grant, or both a radio uplink grant and a radio downlink grant, from the network node in response to the SL-BSR; and receiving (1104B) an SL grant in response to the SL-BSR.

63. The method of any of claims 51 to 60, further comprising: transmitting (1102A) an uplink-Buffer Status Report, UL-BSR, to the network node.

64. The method of any of claims 51 to 60, further comprising: receiving (1006 A) a sidelink, SL, grant in response to the network node determining that a condition for triggering the SL grant is true.

65. The method of any of claims 51 to 60, wherein at least one condition of a following is true: receiving, by the first UE, data via a radio downlink from the network node; acknowledging, by the first UE, that a full protocol data unit, PDU, set has beensuccessfully transmitted from the network node; and / or acknowledging, by the first UE, that a downlink transmission of the full PDU set to the first UE is performed and that PDU set transmission has been performed within a predefined or configured amount of time from the second UE to the first UE.

66. The method of claim 65, further comprising: receiving (1006B) a sidelink grant from the network node in response to the at least one condition being true.

67. A first User Equipment, UE, adapted to: receive (606, 706), from second UE, a request comprising first information, the first information comprising: information about a service or an application for which direct communication is requested; and an application layer identity, ID, of the second UE for the service or the application for which the direct communication is requested; and transmit (610, 710), to the second UE, a response in response to the request.

68. The first UE of claim 67, further adapted to perform any of claims 52 to 66.

69. A first User Equipment, UE, comprising:• a communication interface; and• processing circuitry associated with the communication interface, the processing circuitry configured to cause the first UE to: o receive (606, 706), from second UE, a request comprising first information, the first information comprising:■ information about a service or an application for which direct communication is requested; and■ an application layer identity, ID, of the second UE for the service or the application for which the direct communication is requested; and o transmit (610, 710), to the second UE, a response in response to the request.

70. The first UE of claim 69 wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to cause the compute UE to perform the method of any of claims 52 to 66.

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