Communication method and apparatus

Abstract

A communication method and apparatus, which can be used for positioning a terminal device. A first terminal device is used as a virtual network device to exchange a reference signal with a target terminal device to be positioned (i.e., a second terminal device), such that the number of network devices reachable by signals is increased, thereby improving the positioning success rate or positioning precision. The method comprises: on the basis of an instruction of a network device, a second terminal device respectively sending reference signals on first resources; correspondingly, on the basis of the instruction of the network device, at least one first terminal device respectively receiving the reference signals on the corresponding first resources; on the basis of the reference signals, the at least one first terminal device determining second information that indicates a positioning measurement amount; and the at least one first terminal device sending the second information to the network device.

Description

Communication method and device

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office on November 23, 2023, with application number 202311582117.0 and application name “A Communication Method and Device”, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

[0002] The embodiments of the present application relate to the field of communications, and in particular to a communication method and apparatus. Background Art

[0003] With the development and maturity of information and communication technologies, initiatives such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and the Internet of Intelligence (IoT), such as the "Industrial Internet" and "Industry 4.0," are gradually being deployed worldwide to build a digital, intelligent society. This rise in digital intelligence has led to the concept of "digital twins." The mutual correspondence, mapping, and collaborative interaction between the digital and real worlds all rely on the acquisition of location information. Therefore, positioning solutions have become a pressing need for vertical industries.

[0004] Current positioning technologies are usually based on uplink-time difference of arrival (UL-TDOA), downlink-time difference of arrival (DL-TDOA), arrival angle (AOA), multi-round trip time (Multi-RTT) or enhanced-cell identity (E-CID).

[0005] However, multi-lateration positioning technologies based on UL-TDOA, DL-TDOA, AOA, Multi-RTT, or E-CID require multiple network devices to perform measurements simultaneously to calculate the terminal device's location. However, in some scenarios, the number of network devices performing measurements is limited, resulting in positioning failures or poor positioning accuracy.

[0006] Summary of the Invention

[0007] The present application provides a communication method and device that can improve positioning accuracy or positioning success rate.

[0008] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided. The method can be executed by a first terminal device, or by a component of the first terminal device, such as a processor, chip, or chip system of the first terminal device, or by a logic module or software that implements all or part of the functions of the first terminal device. The method includes: receiving first information from a network device, the first information instructing the first terminal device to receive a reference signal on a first resource; receiving a reference signal from a second terminal device on the first resource, the reference signal used to locate the second terminal device; determining second information based on the reference signal, the second information indicating a positioning measurement; and sending the second information to the network device.

[0009] Based on this solution, when positioning a target terminal device (i.e., a second terminal device), the network device schedules sidelink resources to at least one first terminal device, enabling the first terminal device to receive a reference signal sent by the target terminal device on the sidelink in order to obtain positioning measurements used to estimate the position of the second terminal device. In other words, the first terminal device can be used as a virtual network device to exchange reference signals with the target terminal device to be positioned. This increases the number of network devices accessible by the signal, thereby improving the positioning success rate or positioning accuracy.

[0010] In one possible design, the second information includes channel data of a reference signal, and / or the second information includes a positioning measurement value.

[0011] Based on this possible design, when the second information includes channel data of a reference signal, the first terminal device does not need to measure the reference signal to obtain a positioning measurement value, which can reduce the implementation complexity of the first terminal device. When the second information includes the positioning measurement value, the implementation complexity of the network device can be reduced.

[0012] In one possible design, if the second information includes a positioning measurement value, the first terminal device needs to measure the reference signal to obtain the second information.

[0013] In one possible design, the reference signal is a sidelink positioning reference signal SL-PRS or a channel state information reference signal CSI-RS.

[0014] In one possible design, the positioning measurement quantity includes at least one of the following: relative time of arrival RTOA, angle of arrival AOA, time difference between transmitting and receiving, or reference signal received power RSRP.

[0015] Based on this possible design, the position of the second terminal device can be estimated based on at least one of RTOA, AOA, transmit and receive time difference or RSRP, thereby improving positioning flexibility.

[0016] In a second aspect, a communication method is provided. The method can be executed by a second terminal device, or by a component of the second terminal device, such as a processor, chip, or chip system of the second terminal device, or by a logic module or software that implements all or part of the functions of the second terminal device. The method includes: receiving third information from a network device, the third information instructing the second terminal device to transmit a reference signal on a first resource; and transmitting the reference signal to the first terminal device on the first resource, where the reference signal is used to locate the second terminal device.

[0017] Based on this solution, when positioning a target terminal device (i.e., a second terminal device), the network device schedules sidelink resources to the target terminal device, enabling the target terminal device to send a reference signal to the first terminal device on the sidelink to obtain positioning measurements used to estimate the position of the second terminal device. In other words, the first terminal device can be used as a virtual network device to exchange reference signals with the target terminal device to be positioned. This virtual network device increases the number of network devices accessible by the signal, thereby improving the positioning success rate or positioning accuracy.

[0018] In one possible design, the reference signal is: a sidelink positioning reference signal SL-PRS or a channel state information reference signal CSI-RS.

[0019] In a third aspect, a communication method is provided. The method can be executed by a network device, or by a component of the network device, such as a processor, chip, or chip system of the network device, or by a logic module or software that implements all or part of the network device's functions. The method includes: sending first information to at least one first terminal device, the first information instructing the first terminal device to receive a reference signal on a first resource; sending third information to a second terminal device, the third information instructing the second terminal device to send a reference signal on the first resource, the reference signal being used to locate the second terminal device; and receiving second information from the at least one first terminal device, the second information indicating a positioning measurement quantity, the second information being determined based on the reference signal.

[0020] Based on this solution, when positioning a target terminal device (i.e., a second terminal device), the network device schedules sidelink resources to the target terminal device and at least one first terminal device, so that the target terminal device can send a reference signal to the first terminal device on the sidelink, and the first terminal device can receive the reference signal on the sidelink to obtain a positioning measurement used to estimate the position of the second terminal device. In other words, the first terminal device can be used as a virtual network device to exchange reference signals with the target terminal device to be positioned. That is, by using a virtual network device, the number of network devices to which the signal can reach is increased, thereby improving the positioning success rate or positioning accuracy.

[0021] In one possible design, the second information includes channel data of a reference signal, and / or the second information includes a positioning measurement value.

[0022] In one possible design, if the second information includes channel data of a reference signal, it is necessary to measure the channel data of the reference signal to obtain a positioning measurement value.

[0023] In one possible design, the reference signal is a sidelink positioning reference signal SL-PRS or a channel state information reference signal CSI-RS.

[0024] In one possible design, the positioning measurement quantity includes at least one of the following: relative time of arrival RTOA, angle of arrival AOA, time difference between transmitting and receiving, or reference signal received power RSRP.

[0025] In one possible design, the first terminal device is a stationary terminal device and / or a terminal device with a known location.

[0026] Based on this possible design, since network devices are usually stationary and their positions are known, when the first terminal device is stationary and / or its position is known, it can better simulate the network device to perform the positioning process, thereby improving the positioning performance.

[0027] In a fourth aspect, a communication device is provided for implementing various methods. The communication device may be the terminal device in the first or second aspect, or a device included in the terminal device, such as a chip or a chip system; or, the communication device may be the network device in the third aspect, or a device included in the network device, such as a chip or a chip system. The communication device includes a module, unit, or means corresponding to the implementation method, and the module, unit, or means may be implemented by hardware, software, or by executing the corresponding software implementation by hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more modules or units corresponding to the functions.

[0028] In some possible designs, the communication device may include a processing module and a transceiver module. The processing module may be configured to implement the processing functionality of any of the above aspects and any possible implementations thereof. The transceiver module may include a receiving module and a transmitting module, respectively configured to implement the receiving functionality and the transmitting functionality of any of the above aspects and any possible implementations thereof.

[0029] In some possible designs, the transceiver module may be composed of a transceiver circuit, a transceiver, a transceiver or a communication interface.

[0030] In a fifth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising: a processor and a memory; the memory is configured to store computer instructions, and when the processor executes the instructions, the communication device performs the method described in any aspect. The communication device may be the terminal device described in the first or second aspect, or a device included in the terminal device, such as a chip or chip system; or the communication device may be the network device described in the third aspect, or a device included in the network device, such as a chip or chip system.

[0031] In a sixth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising: a processor and a communication interface; the communication interface is configured to receive and / or transmit signals; and the processor is configured to execute a computer program or instruction to cause the communication device to perform the method described in any aspect. The communication device may be the terminal device described in the first or second aspect, or a device included in the terminal device, such as a chip or chip system; or the communication device may be the network device described in the third aspect, or a device included in the network device, such as a chip or chip system.

[0032] In a seventh aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising: at least one processor; the processor is configured to execute a computer program or instruction stored in a memory, so that the communication device performs the method described in any aspect. The memory may be coupled to the processor, or may be independent of the processor. The communication device may be the terminal device described in the first or second aspect, or a device included in the terminal device, such as a chip or chip system; or the communication device may be the network device described in the third aspect, or a device included in the network device, such as a chip or chip system.

[0033] In an eighth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, in which a computer program or instruction is stored. When the computer-readable storage medium is run on a communication device, the communication device can execute the method described in any one of the aspects.

[0034] In a ninth aspect, a communication device is provided (for example, the communication device may be a chip or a chip system), which includes a processor for implementing the functions involved in any aspect.

[0035] In some possible designs, the communication device includes a memory for storing necessary program instructions and data.

[0036] In some possible designs, when the device is a chip system, it can be composed of a chip or include a chip and other discrete devices.

[0037] It can be understood that when the communication device provided in any one of the fourth to ninth aspects is a chip or a chip system, the sending action / function of the communication device can be understood as output information, and the receiving action / function of the communication device can be understood as input information.

[0038] Among them, the technical effects brought about by any design method in the fourth to ninth aspects can refer to the technical effects brought about by the different design methods in the first aspect, and will not be repeated here.

[0039] In a tenth aspect, a computer program product comprising instructions is provided, which, when executed on a communication device, enables the communication device to execute the method described in any one of the aspects. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0040] FIG1 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication system provided by the present application;

[0041] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of an end-to-end network for 5G NR positioning provided by this application;

[0042] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of a UL-TDOA positioning method provided by the present application;

[0043] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of a DL-TDOA positioning method provided by the present application;

[0044] FIG5 is a schematic diagram of an AOA positioning method provided by this application;

[0045] FIG6 is a flow chart of a communication method provided by the present application;

[0046] FIG7 is a flow chart of another communication method provided by the present application;

[0047] FIG8 is a flow chart of another communication method provided by the present application;

[0048] FIG9 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided by the present application;

[0049] FIG10 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device provided in this application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0050] In the description of this application, unless otherwise specified, " / " indicates that the objects associated before and after are in an "or" relationship, for example, A / B can represent A or B; "and / or" in this application is merely a description of the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships may exist, for example, A and / or B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural.

[0051] In the description of this application, unless otherwise specified, "plurality" means two or more than two. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c can mean: a, b, c, ab, ac, bc, or abc, where a, b, and c can be single or plural.

[0052] In addition, to facilitate the clear description of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, in the embodiments of the present application, the words "first" and "second" are used to distinguish between identical or similar items with substantially the same functions and effects. Those skilled in the art will understand that the words "first" and "second" do not limit the quantity or execution order, and the words "first" and "second" do not necessarily mean different.

[0053] In the embodiments of this application, words such as "exemplary" or "for example" are used to indicate examples, illustrations, or descriptions. Any embodiment or design described as "exemplary" or "for example" in the embodiments of this application should not be construed as being preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or designs. Rather, the use of words such as "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present the relevant concepts in a concrete manner to facilitate understanding.

[0054] It will be understood that the “embodiment” mentioned throughout the specification means that the specific features, structures or characteristics related to the embodiment are included in at least one embodiment of the present application. Therefore, the various embodiments throughout the specification do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. In addition, these specific features, structures or characteristics can be combined in one or more embodiments in any suitable manner. It will be understood that in the various embodiments of the present application, the size of the sequence number of each process does not mean the order of execution. The execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiment of the present application.

[0055] It can be understood that in this application, "when" and "if" both mean that corresponding processing will be taken under certain objective circumstances, and do not limit the time, nor do they require any judgment action when implementing, nor do they mean that there are other limitations.

[0056] It is understood that some optional features in the embodiments of the present application may, in certain scenarios, be implemented independently of other features, such as the solution on which they are currently based, to solve corresponding technical problems and achieve corresponding effects. They may also be combined with other features in certain scenarios as needed. Accordingly, the devices provided in the embodiments of the present application may also implement these features or functions accordingly, which will not be described in detail here.

[0057] In this application, unless otherwise specified, the same or similar parts between the various embodiments can refer to each other. In each embodiment of this application, unless otherwise specified and there is no logical conflict, the terms and / or descriptions between different embodiments are consistent and can be referenced to each other. Different embodiments, and the technical features of each embodiment in each embodiment can be combined to form a new embodiment according to their inherent logical relationships. The embodiments of this application described below do not constitute a limitation on the scope of protection of this application.

[0058] The technical solution provided in this application can be used in various communication systems, which may be a third generation partnership project (3GPP) communication system, for example, a fourth generation (4G) long term evolution (LTE) system, a fifth generation (5G) new radio (NR) system, a vehicle to everything (V2X) system, a system of hybrid networking of LTE and NR, or a sidelink (SL) communication system, a device-to-device (D2D) system, a machine-to-machine (M2M) communication system, an Internet of Things (IoT), and other next generation communication systems. Alternatively, the communication system may also be a non-3GPP communication system, without limitation.

[0059] Among them, the above-mentioned communication system applicable to the present application is only an example, and the communication system applicable to the present application is not limited to this. It is uniformly described here and will not be repeated below.

[0060] Referring to FIG. 1 , an exemplary communication system provided in the present application is shown. The communication system includes at least one network device (such as 110a and 110b in FIG. 1 ) and multiple terminal devices (such as 120a-120j in FIG. 1 ). The multiple terminal devices may include at least one first terminal device and a second terminal device. The second terminal device is a terminal device to be located, or referred to as a target terminal device. The second terminal device may serve as a signal transmitter, and the first terminal device may serve as a signal receiver.

[0061] Optionally, terminal devices and network devices can communicate with each other via wired or wireless means. Figure 1 is merely a schematic diagram. The communication system may also include other network devices, such as wireless relay devices, wireless backhaul devices, and core network devices, which are not shown in Figure 1. The number of network devices and terminal devices shown in Figure 1 is merely an example. The communication system may include more or fewer network devices or terminal devices than shown in Figure 1.

[0062] Optionally, a terminal device may refer to a user-side device with wireless transceiver capabilities. A terminal device may also be referred to as user equipment (UE), terminal, access terminal, user unit, user station, mobile station (MS), remote station, remote terminal, mobile terminal (MT), user terminal, wireless communication device, user agent, or user device. The terminal device may be, for example, a terminal device in an SL communication system, IoT, V2X, D2D, M2M, 5G network, or a future evolved public land mobile network (PLMN).

[0063] Exemplarily, the terminal device may be a drone, an IoT device (e.g., a sensor, an electricity meter, a water meter, etc.), a V2X device, a station (ST) in a wireless local area network (WLAN), a cellular phone, a cordless phone, a session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a personal digital assistant (PDA) device, a handheld device with wireless communication function, a computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, an in-vehicle device, a wearable device (also referred to as a wearable smart device), a tablet computer or a computer with wireless transceiver function, a virtual reality (VR) terminal device, a wireless terminal device in industrial control, a wireless terminal device in self-driving, a wireless terminal device in remote medical care, a wireless terminal device in a smart grid, a wireless terminal device in transportation safety, a wireless terminal device in a smart city, a smart home, or a similar device. The present invention relates to wireless terminal devices in homes, vehicle-mounted terminal devices, vehicles with vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication capabilities, intelligent connected vehicles, drones with unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) communication capabilities, etc. The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form used by the terminal devices.

[0064] Optionally, the network device is a device that connects a terminal device to a wireless network, and may be an evolutionary Node B (eNB or eNodeB) in an LTE or evolved LTE system (LTE-Advanced, LTE-A), such as a traditional macro base station eNB and a micro base station eNB in ​​a heterogeneous network scenario; or it may be a next generation node B (gNodeB or gNB) in a 5G system; or it may be a transmission reception point (TRP); or it may be a base station in a future evolved PLMN; or it may be a broadband network gateway (BNG), an aggregation switch or a non-3GPP access device; or it may be a wireless controller in a cloud radio access network (CRAN); or it may be an access point (AP) in a WiFi system; or it may be a wireless relay node or a wireless backhaul node; or it may be a device that implements base station functions in IoT, V2X, D2D, or M2M. The embodiments of the present application do not specifically limit this. Exemplarily, the network devices in the embodiments of the present application may include various forms of base stations, such as: macro base stations, micro base stations (also called small stations), relay stations, access points, etc., and the embodiments of the present application do not specifically limit this.

[0065] In some possible scenarios, the network device may also be a module or unit that can implement some or all of the functions of a base station. For example, the network device may be a centralized unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a CU and a DU, a CU-control plane (CP), a CU-user plane (UP), or a radio unit (RU). The CU and DU may be configured separately or included in the same network element, such as a baseband unit (BBU). The RU may be included in a radio frequency device or radio frequency unit, such as a remote radio unit (RRU), an active antenna unit (AAU), or a remote radio head (RRH).

[0066] In different systems, CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU or RU may also have different names, but those skilled in the art can understand their meanings. For example, the network device may be a network device or a module of a network device in an open radio access network (open RAN, ORAN) system. In the ORAN system, CU may also be referred to as open (open, O)-CU, DU may also be referred to as O-DU, CU-CP may also be referred to as O-CU-CP, CU-UP may also be referred to as O-CU-UP, and RU may also be referred to as O-RU. Any of the CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU and RU in this application may be implemented by a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module.

[0067] Network devices and terminal devices can be fixed or mobile. Network devices and terminal devices can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; can also be deployed on water (such as ships); and can also be deployed in the air (such as on airplanes, balloons, and artificial satellites). The embodiments of this application do not limit the application scenarios of network devices and terminal devices.

[0068] The roles of network devices and terminal devices can be relative. For example, the helicopter or drone 120i in Figure 1 can be configured as a mobile network device. To terminal devices 120j that access the wireless access network via 120i, terminal device 120i is a network device. However, to network device 110a, 120i is a terminal device, meaning that communication between 110a and 120i occurs via a wireless air interface protocol. Of course, communication between 110a and 120i can also occur via an interface protocol between network devices. In this case, 120i is also a network device relative to 110a. Therefore, both network devices and terminal devices can be collectively referred to as communication devices. 110a and 110b in Figure 1 can be referred to as communication devices with network device functionality, while 120a-120j in Figure 1 can be referred to as communication devices with terminal device functionality.

[0069] Network devices and terminal devices, network devices and network devices, and terminal devices and terminal devices can communicate through authorized spectrum, unauthorized spectrum, or both; can communicate through spectrum below 6 gigahertz (GHz), spectrum above 6 GHz, or spectrum below 6 GHz and spectrum above 6 GHz simultaneously. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the spectrum resources used for wireless communications.

[0070] Optionally, the communication system may also include at least one of the following core network elements: location management function (LMF) network element, location services (LCS) client, access and mobility management function (AMF) network element, gateway mobile location center (GMLC) network element, unified data management function (UDM) network element, network exposure function (NEF), application function (AF) network element, etc.

[0071] Taking the 5G communication system as an example, a possible network architecture diagram corresponding to the communication system shown in Figure 1 applicable to the embodiment of the present application can be shown in Figure 2. Figure 2 can also be understood as an end-to-end network architecture diagram positioned under the 5G NR system. For example, the main functions of each network element in Figure 2 are as follows:

[0072] 1. LCS client: Mainly responsible for positioning upper-layer services, including map display, positioning result presentation, historical location storage, etc.

[0073] 2. AMF network element: Mainly responsible for selecting LMF network elements and triggering the LCS positioning process, and responsible for message forwarding and transparent transmission of each interface.

[0074] 3. GMLC network element: This element is responsible for processing the LCS client's positioning request and providing feedback on the positioning results. The GMLC first authenticates and authorizes the LCS client, obtains the authorization information of the user being located and the AMF where the user is located through the UDM, and then forwards the positioning request to the corresponding AMF for processing.

[0075] 4. LMF network element: Mainly responsible for selecting the positioning method and triggering the positioning measurement process; obtaining measurement results from the base station, calculating the terminal device position, and feeding back the positioning results to the AMF / GMLC.

[0076] 5. NEF network element: Mainly responsible for opening the capabilities of the 5G network to external systems.

[0077] 6. AF network element: Mainly responsible for communicating with the core network to provide services to users.

[0078] 7. UDM network element: Mainly responsible for the management of user identification, contract data, authentication data, and user service network element registration management.

[0079] 8. Terminal equipment: Mainly responsible for sending channel sounding reference signals (SRS) or receiving downlink positioning reference signals.

[0080] 9. gNB: Mainly responsible for transmitting downlink positioning reference signals or pilot signals, or detecting the SRS signals of terminal devices. It reports measurement quantities according to the requirements of the LMF. Exemplary measurement quantities may include: arrival angle (AOA), time difference of arrival (TDOA), receive (Rx) and transmit (Tx) time difference (Rx-Tx Time Difference), or reference signal received power (RSRP).

[0081] In the embodiments of the present application, the functions of the network device may also be performed by a module (such as a chip) in the network device, or by a control subsystem that includes the network device functions. The control subsystem that includes the network device functions here may be a control center in the above-mentioned application scenarios such as smart grid, industrial control, intelligent transportation, and smart city. The functions of the terminal device may also be performed by a module (such as a chip or a modem) in the terminal device, or by a device that includes the terminal device functions. The functions of the core network network element may also be performed by a module (such as a chip) in the core network network element, or by a control subsystem that includes the core network network element functions.

[0082] It should be noted that the communication system described in the embodiment of the present application is intended to more clearly illustrate the technical solution of the embodiment of the present application, and does not constitute a limitation on the technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application. Ordinary technicians in this field can know that with the evolution of network architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application is also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0083] In order to facilitate understanding of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, a brief introduction to the relevant technologies of the present application is first given as follows.

[0084] 1) TDOA positioning method:

[0085] TDOA positioning is a positioning method based on time difference. There are two ways to implement TDOA positioning: uplink-time difference of arrival (UL-TDOA) positioning and downlink-time difference of arrival (DL-TDOA) positioning.

[0086] As shown in Figure 3, in a UL-TDOA-based positioning solution, a terminal device sends an SRS to at least three network devices. Each network device measures the relative time between the SRS arrival time and its own reference time. The SRS arrival time refers to the time when the SRS is received. This relative time is the relative time of arrival (RTOA). Based on RTOA, the terminal device's position can be estimated.

[0087] As shown in Figure 4, in a positioning solution based on DL-TDOA, at least three network devices send downlink positioning reference signals (PRS) to a terminal device (Figure 4 uses three network devices as an example). The terminal device measures the time it receives the downlink positioning reference signals from each network device (recorded as the downlink reference signal arrival time) and calculates the difference between the arrival times of each downlink reference signal. This difference is the TDOA. Based on TDOA, the terminal device's position can be estimated.

[0088] 2) AOA positioning method:

[0089] AOA positioning is a positioning method based on the angle of arrival (AOA). For example, as shown in Figure 5, a terminal device sends a positioning reference signal (such as an SRS), which is received by multiple network devices and measured by AOA. Based on the AOA, the terminal device's position can be estimated.

[0090] 3) Multi-round trip time (Multi-RTT) positioning method:

[0091] The Multi-RTT positioning method uses the time difference between signal reception and transmission. A terminal device exchanges reference signals with multiple network devices, and the network devices and the terminal device measure the time difference between the transmission and reception of each reference signal. For example, the time difference between the time the terminal device receives reference signal a and the time it transmits reference signal b is the UE Rx-Tx Time Difference; the time difference between the time each network device receives reference signal b and the time each network device transmits reference signal a is the gNB Rx-Tx Time Difference. The terminal device's location can be estimated based on the UE Rx-Tx Time Difference or the gNB Rx-Tx Time Difference.

[0092] 4) Enhanced-cell identity (E-CID) positioning method:

[0093] The E-CID positioning method mainly performs positioning through the cell identity and at least one of the following: AOA, reference signal received power (RSRP) or time of arrival (TOA).

[0094] However, multi-lateration positioning technologies based on UL-TDOA, DL-TDOA, AOA, Multi-RTT, or E-CID require multiple network devices to perform measurements simultaneously to calculate the terminal device's position. However, in some scenarios, the number of network devices performing measurements is limited, resulting in positioning failures or poor positioning accuracy.

[0095] Based on this, this paper proposes a positioning method in which network devices collaboratively schedule the SL resources of each terminal device to realize virtual multi-network device positioning, increase the number of network devices or virtual network devices that can be reached by the signal, and thus improve the positioning success rate or positioning accuracy.

[0096] The positioning method provided in the embodiments of the present application will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following embodiments of the present application, the method steps performed by the terminal device can be implemented by at least one chip in the terminal device, and the method steps performed by the network device can be implemented by at least one chip in the network device.

[0097] It is understood that in the embodiments of the present application, the network device or terminal device may perform some or all of the steps in the embodiments of the present application. These steps or operations are merely examples, and the embodiments of the present application may also perform other operations or variations of various operations. In addition, the various steps may be performed in a different order than those presented in the embodiments of the present application, and it is possible that not all of the operations in the embodiments of the present application need to be performed.

[0098] It should be noted that the message names between the devices or the names of the parameters in the messages in the following embodiments of the present application are only examples. Other names may be used in specific implementations, and the embodiments of the present application do not specifically limit this.

[0099] As shown in FIG6 , a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application includes the following steps:

[0100] S601: A network device sends first information to at least one first terminal device. Correspondingly, the at least one first terminal device receives the first information from the network device.

[0101] The first information indicates that the first terminal device receives a reference signal on a first resource.

[0102] Exemplarily, the first information may be carried in downlink control information (DCI) or radio resource control (RRC) signaling.

[0103] The first resource is an SL resource. Exemplarily, the network device may pre-configure an SL resource pool, and the first resource may be a resource in the SL resource pool. The first information may include an index of the first resource, or time-frequency location information of the first resource.

[0104] Optionally, when there are multiple first terminal devices, the first resources indicated by the first information sent by the network device to each first terminal device may be the same or different.

[0105] For example, in the case of three first terminal devices, a network device sends first information #1 to first terminal device #1, indicating first resource #1. The network device sends first information #2 to first terminal device #2, indicating first resource #2. The network device sends first information #3 to first terminal device #3, indicating first resource #3. First resource #1, first resource #2, and first resource #3 can be the same or different.

[0106] Optionally, the reference signal is a sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS) or a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS).

[0107] Optionally, the first terminal device is a stationary terminal device and / or a terminal device with a known location. A terminal device with a known location can be understood as a terminal device that has been accurately located, such as a terminal device with a very small positioning error.

[0108] S602: The network device sends third information to the second terminal device. Correspondingly, the second terminal device receives the third information from the network device.

[0109] The third information instructs the second terminal device to send a reference signal on the first resource.

[0110] Optionally, if there are multiple first terminal devices, and the network device indicates different first resources for different first terminal devices, then there are multiple first resources, and the third information indicates the multiple first resources. Exemplarily, based on the example in step S601 above, the third information instructs the second terminal device to send a reference signal on first resource #1, first resource #2, and first resource #3.

[0111] Exemplarily, the third information may be carried in DCI or RRC signaling. The third information may include an index of the first resource, or time-frequency location information of the first resource.

[0112] It should be noted that there is no strict order for the above steps S601 and S602. Step S601 can be performed first, and then step S602; or step S602 can be performed first and then step S601; or step S601 and step S602 can be performed simultaneously, and this application does not make any specific restrictions on this.

[0113] S603: The second terminal device sends a reference signal to at least one first terminal device on the first resource. Correspondingly, the at least one first terminal device receives the reference signal from the second terminal device on the corresponding first resource.

[0114] The reference signal is used to locate the second terminal device.

[0115] Optionally, if there are multiple first terminal devices and the network device indicates different first resources for different first terminal devices, then the second terminal device can send different reference signals to different first terminal devices on different first resources, and accordingly, multiple first terminal devices receive corresponding reference signals on corresponding first resources.

[0116] Exemplarily, based on the examples in steps S601 and S602 above, the second terminal device transmits reference signal #1 to the first terminal device #1 on the first resource #1, and accordingly, the first terminal device #1 receives reference signal #1 on the first resource #1. The second terminal device transmits reference signal #2 to the first terminal device #2 on the first resource #2, and accordingly, the first terminal device #2 receives reference signal #2 on the first resource #2. The second terminal device transmits reference signal #3 to the first terminal device #3 on the first resource #3, and accordingly, the first terminal device #3 receives reference signal #3 on the first resource #3.

[0117] S604. At least one first terminal device determines second information based on the reference signal.

[0118] The second information indicates a positioning measurement value. Optionally, the positioning measurement value may include at least one of the following: RTOA, AOA, time difference between transmitting and receiving, or RSRP.

[0119] As a possible implementation, the second information includes channel data of the reference signal. Exemplarily, the channel data of the reference signal includes baseband data of the reference signal received by the first terminal device.

[0120] As another possible implementation, the second information includes positioning measurement quantities.

[0121] Optionally, if there are multiple first terminal devices, the multiple first terminal devices may determine multiple second information based on the reference signals respectively received.

[0122] Exemplarily, based on the example in the above step S603, the first terminal device #1 determines the second information #1 based on the reference signal #1, the first terminal device #2 determines the second information #2 based on the reference signal #2, and the first terminal device #3 determines the second information #3 based on the reference signal #3.

[0123] S605: At least one first terminal device sends second information to the network device respectively. Correspondingly, the network device receives the second information respectively.

[0124] For example, based on the example in step S604 above, first terminal device #1 sends second information #1 to the network device, and the network device receives second information #1. First terminal device #2 sends second information #2 to the network device, and the network device receives second information #2. First terminal device #3 sends second information #3 to the network device, and the network device receives second information #3.

[0125] Optionally, after receiving the second information of at least one first terminal device, the network device may determine the positioning measurement value according to the at least one second information.

[0126] Optionally, the network device sends the positioning measurement value to the location management network element. Correspondingly, the location management network element receives the positioning measurement value from the network device. After receiving the positioning measurement value, the location management network element can determine the location of the second terminal device based on the positioning measurement value.

[0127] Optionally, when the number of network devices in the communication system whose paths to the second terminal device are line of sight (LOS) paths is less than 3, step S601 or step S602 is performed again.

[0128] Based on this solution, when positioning a target terminal device (i.e., a second terminal device), the network device schedules sidelink resources to the target terminal device and at least one first terminal device, so that the target terminal device sends a reference signal to the first terminal device on the sidelink to obtain positioning measurements used to estimate the position of the second terminal device. In other words, the first terminal device can be used as a virtual network device to exchange reference signals with the target terminal device to be positioned. This increases the number of network devices accessible by the signal, thereby improving the positioning success rate or positioning accuracy.

[0129] In a possible implementation, when the second information includes channel data of a reference signal, as shown in FIG7 , the above step S604 may include: the first terminal device determines the channel data of the reference signal according to the reference signal.

[0130] Optionally, in this manner, as shown in FIG7 , after step S605 , the method further includes the following step S606 :

[0131] S606: The network device measures the channel data of the reference signal to obtain a positioning measurement value.

[0132] Exemplarily, the network device may use a high-precision measurement algorithm to measure the channel data of the reference signal, thereby calculating and obtaining the positioning measurement value.

[0133] Based on the example in step S603 above, when the second terminal device sends reference signal #1 to the first terminal device #1 on the first resource #1, sends reference signal #2 to the first terminal device #2 on the first resource #2, and sends reference signal #3 to the first terminal device #3 on the first resource #3:

[0134] In the case where the positioning measurement quantity includes RTOA, the RTOA may include at least one of the following: the relative time between the time when the first terminal device #1 receives the reference signal #1 and the reference time of the first terminal device #1 itself, the relative time between the arrival time of the reference signal #2 received by the first terminal device #2 and the reference time of the first terminal device #2 itself, or the relative time between the arrival time of the reference signal #3 received by the first terminal device #3 and the reference time of the first terminal device #3 itself.

[0135] In the case where the positioning measurement quantity includes AOA, the AOA may include at least one of the following: the arrival angle of the reference signal #1 received by the first terminal device #1, the arrival angle of the reference signal #2 received by the first terminal device #2, or the arrival angle of the reference signal #3 received by the first terminal device #3.

[0136] In the case where the positioning measurement amount includes RSRP, the RSRP may include at least one of the following: the received power of the reference signal #1 received by the first terminal device #1, the received power of the reference signal #2 received by the first terminal device #2, or the received power of the reference signal #3 received by the first terminal device #3.

[0137] Optionally, when the positioning measurement value includes a sending and receiving time difference, the method further includes: at least one first terminal device sends a reference signal to the second terminal device respectively; correspondingly, the second terminal device receives the reference signal from the at least one first terminal device respectively.

[0138] For example, first terminal device #1 transmits reference signal #4 to second terminal device on second resource #1, and the second terminal device receives reference signal #4 on second resource #1. First terminal device #2 transmits reference signal #5 to second terminal device on second resource #2, and the second terminal device receives reference signal #5 on second resource #2. First terminal device #3 transmits reference signal #6 to second terminal device on second resource #3, and the second terminal device receives reference signal #6 on second resource #3.

[0139] At this time, when the positioning measurement quantity includes the time difference between transmission and reception, the time difference between transmission and reception may include at least one of the following: the time difference between the time when the first terminal device #1 receives the reference signal #1 and the time when the first terminal device #1 sends the reference signal #4, the time difference between the time when the first terminal device #2 receives the reference signal #2 and the time when the first terminal device #2 sends the reference signal #5, the time difference between the time when the first terminal device #3 receives the reference signal #3 and the time when the first terminal device #3 sends the reference signal #6, the time difference between the time when the second terminal device receives the reference signal #4 and the time when the second terminal device sends the reference signal #1, the time difference between the time when the second terminal device receives the reference signal #5 and the time when the second terminal device sends the reference signal #2, or the time difference between the time when the second terminal device receives the reference signal #6 and the time when the second terminal device sends the reference signal #3.

[0140] In another possible implementation, when the second information includes a positioning measurement value, as shown in FIG8 , step S604 may include: at least one first terminal device measures a reference signal to obtain a positioning measurement value.

[0141] Exemplarily, the positioning measurement value includes at least one of RTOA, AOA, transmit / receive time difference, or RSRP. In the above example, the specific meaning of each positioning measurement value can be found in the relevant description in the above step S606, which will not be repeated here.

[0142] The above mainly introduces the solutions provided by this application. Accordingly, this application also provides a communication device, which is used to implement the various methods described above, or in other words, can implement the functions of the first terminal device, second terminal device, or network device described above. The communication device can be the first terminal device or the second terminal device in the above method embodiment, or a component that can be used for the first terminal device or the second terminal device, such as a chip or a chip system; or the communication device can be the network device in the above method embodiment, or a component that can be used for the network device, such as a chip or a chip system.

[0143] It is understandable that, in order to realize the above functions, the communication device includes hardware structures and / or software modules corresponding to the execution of each function. It should be easily appreciated by those skilled in the art that, in combination with the units and algorithm steps of each example described in the embodiments disclosed herein, the present application can be implemented in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is executed in the form of hardware or computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional and technical personnel can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered to be beyond the scope of this application.

[0144] The embodiment of the present application can divide the functional modules of the communication device according to the above method embodiment. For example, each functional module can be divided according to each function, or two or more functions can be integrated into one processing module. The above integrated modules can be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of software functional modules. It should be noted that the division of modules in the embodiment of the present application is schematic and is only a logical functional division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods.

[0145] Communication Device Figure 9 shows a schematic structural diagram of a communication device 90. The communication device 90 includes a processing module 901 and a transceiver module 902. The communication device 90 can be used to implement the functions of the first terminal device, the second terminal device, or the network device.

[0146] In some embodiments, the communication device 90 may further include a storage module (not shown in FIG. 9 ) for storing program instructions and data.

[0147] In some embodiments, the transceiver module 902, which may also be referred to as a transceiver unit, is configured to implement a transmitting and / or receiving function. The transceiver module 902 may be composed of a transceiver circuit, a transceiver, a transceiver, or a communication interface.

[0148] In some embodiments, the transceiver module 902 may include a receiving module and a sending module, which are respectively used to execute the receiving and sending steps performed by the first terminal device, the second terminal device or the network device in the above method embodiment, and / or used to support other processes of the technology described herein; the processing module 901 may be used to execute the processing steps (such as determination, etc.) performed by the first terminal device, the second terminal device or the network device in the above method embodiment, and / or used to support other processes of the technology described herein.

[0149] In some embodiments, when the communication device 90 is used to implement the functions of the first terminal device:

[0150] The processing module 901 is configured to determine second information according to the reference signal, where the second information indicates a positioning measurement value.

[0151] The transceiver module 902 is used to receive first information from a network device, where the first information indicates that the first terminal device receives a reference signal on a first resource; to receive a reference signal from a second terminal device on the first resource, where the reference signal is used to locate the second terminal device; and to send the second information to the network device.

[0152] Optionally, the processing module 901 is further configured to measure the reference signal to obtain a positioning measurement value.

[0153] In some embodiments, when the communication device 90 is used to implement the functions of the second terminal device:

[0154] The transceiver module 902 is used to receive third information from the network device, where the third information instructs the second terminal device to send a reference signal on the first resource; and to send a reference signal to the first terminal device on the first resource, where the reference signal is used to locate the second terminal device.

[0155] In some embodiments, when the communication device 90 is used to implement the functions of the above-mentioned network device:

[0156] The transceiver module 902 is used to send first information to at least one first terminal device, where the first information indicates that the first terminal device receives a reference signal on a first resource; to send third information to a second terminal device, where the third information indicates that the second terminal device sends a reference signal on the first resource, where the reference signal is used to locate the second terminal device; and to receive second information from at least one first terminal device, where the second information indicates a positioning measurement value, where the second information is determined based on the reference signal.

[0157] Optionally, the processing module 901 is further configured to measure channel data of a reference signal to obtain a positioning measurement value.

[0158] Among them, all relevant contents of each step involved in the above method embodiment can be referred to the functional description of the corresponding functional module, and will not be repeated here. In the present application, the communication device 90 can be presented in the form of dividing each functional module in an integrated manner. The "module" here can refer to a specific application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a circuit, a processor and memory that executes one or more software or firmware programs, an integrated logic circuit, and / or other devices that can provide the above functions.

[0159] In some embodiments, when the communication device 90 in Figure 9 is a chip or a chip system, the function / implementation process of the transceiver module 902 can be implemented through the input and output interface (or communication interface) of the chip or chip system, and the function / implementation process of the processing module 901 can be implemented through the processor (or processing circuit) of the chip or chip system.

[0160] Since the communication device 90 provided in this embodiment can execute the above method, the technical effects that can be obtained can refer to the above method embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0161] As a possible product form, the first terminal device in the embodiment of the present application can be implemented using the following: one or more field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), controllers, state machines, gate logic, discrete hardware components, any other suitable circuits, or any combination of circuits that can perform the various functions described throughout this application.

[0162] As another possible product form, the first terminal device in the present application may adopt the structure shown in Figure 10, or include the components shown in Figure 10. Figure 10 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device 100 provided in the present application.

[0163] As shown in FIG10 , the communication device 100 includes at least one processor 1001. Optionally, the communication device further includes a communication interface 1002.

[0164] When the program instructions are executed in the at least one processor 1001, the apparatus 100 may implement the communication method provided in any of the aforementioned embodiments and any possible designs thereof. Alternatively, the processor 1001 may implement the communication method provided in any of the aforementioned embodiments and any possible designs thereof through logic circuits or by executing code instructions.

[0165] The communication interface 1002 can be used to receive program instructions and transmit them to the processor. Alternatively, the communication interface 1002 can be used for the communication device 100 to communicate with other communication devices, such as exchanging control signaling and / or service data. Exemplarily, the communication interface 1002 can be used to receive signals from devices other than the device 100 and transmit them to the processor 1001, or to send signals from the processor 1001 to other communication devices other than the device 100.

[0166] Optionally, the communication interface 1002 may be a code and / or data read / write interface circuit, or the communication interface 1002 may be a signal transmission interface circuit between a communication processor and a transceiver, or a pin of a chip.

[0167] Optionally, the communication device 100 may further include at least one memory 1003, which may be used to store required program instructions and / or data. It should be noted that the memory 1003 may exist independently of the processor 1001 or may be integrated with the processor 1001. The memory 1003 may be located within the communication device 100 or outside the communication device 100, without limitation.

[0168] Optionally, the communication device 100 may further include a power supply circuit 1004, which may be used to supply power to the processor 1001. The power supply circuit 1004 may be located in the same chip as the processor 1001, or in another chip other than the chip where the processor 1001 is located.

[0169] Optionally, the communication device 100 may further include a bus 1005 , and various parts of the communication device 100 may be interconnected via the bus 1005 .

[0170] Optionally, the processor in the present application may be a central processing unit (CPU), other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSP), application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC), field programmable gate arrays (FPGA) or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, or discrete hardware components, etc. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, or the processor may be any conventional processor, etc.

[0171] Optionally, the memory in the present application may be a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory, or may include both volatile and non-volatile memories. Among them, the non-volatile memory may be a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or a flash memory. The volatile memory may be a random access memory (RAM), which is used as an external cache. By way of example and not limitation, many forms of random access memory (RAM) are available, such as static RAM (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDR SDRAM), enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (ESDRAM), synchronous link DRAM (SLDRAM), or direct rambus RAM (DR RAM).

[0172] Optionally, the power supply circuit in the embodiment of the present application includes but is not limited to at least one of the following: a power supply line, a power supply subsystem, a power management chip, a power consumption management processor, or a power consumption management control circuit.

[0173] In some embodiments, in terms of hardware implementation, those skilled in the art may conceive that the communication device 90 shown in FIG. 9 may take the form of the communication device 100 shown in FIG. 10 .

[0174] As an example, the functions / implementation process of the processing module 901 in FIG9 can be implemented by the processor 1001 in the communication device 100 shown in FIG10 calling the computer-executable instructions stored in the memory 1003. The functions / implementation process of the transceiver module 902 in FIG9 can be implemented by the communication interface 1002 in the communication device 100 shown in FIG10.

[0175] It should be noted that the structure shown in FIG10 does not constitute a specific limitation on the first terminal device. For example, in other embodiments of the present application, the first terminal device may include more or fewer components than shown, or may combine or separate certain components, or have different component arrangements. The components shown in the figure may be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of software and hardware.

[0176] In some embodiments, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication device, which includes a processor for implementing the method in any of the above method embodiments.

[0177] As a possible implementation, the communication device further includes a memory. The memory is used to store necessary computer programs and data. The computer program may include instructions, and the processor may invoke the instructions in the computer program stored in the memory to instruct the communication device to execute any of the above-described method embodiments. Of course, the memory may not be located in the communication device.

[0178] As another possible implementation, the communication device also includes an interface circuit, which is a code / data read / write interface circuit, and the interface circuit is used to receive computer execution instructions (computer execution instructions are stored in a memory, may be read directly from the memory, or may pass through other devices) and transmit them to the processor.

[0179] As another possible implementation, the communication device further includes a communication interface, which can be used to communicate with a module outside the communication device.

[0180] It can be understood that the communication device can be a chip or a chip system. When the communication device is a chip system, it can be composed of chips or include chips and other discrete devices. The embodiments of the present application do not specifically limit this.

[0181] The present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium having a computer program or instruction stored thereon, which implements the functions of any of the above method embodiments when executed by a computer.

[0182] The present application also provides a computer program product, which implements the functions of any of the above method embodiments when executed by a computer.

[0183] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that, for the sake of convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the above-described systems, devices, and units may refer to the corresponding processes in the aforementioned method embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0184] It is understood that the systems, devices, and methods described in this application may also be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are merely illustrative. For example, the division of the units is merely a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods, such as multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. In addition, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed may be through some interface, indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or units, and may be electrical, mechanical, or other forms.

[0185] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate, i.e., they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Components shown as units may or may not be physical units. Some or all of these units may be selected to achieve the objectives of this embodiment as needed.

[0186] In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit.

[0187] In the above embodiments, all or part of the embodiments may be implemented by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using a software program, all or part of the embodiments may be implemented in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are generated. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer instructions may be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via a wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) method. The computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium that a computer can access or a data storage device such as a server or data center that includes one or more media integrated therein. The available medium may be a magnetic medium (e.g., a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (e.g., a DVD), or a semiconductor medium (e.g., a solid state disk (SSD)). In the embodiment of the present application, the computer may include the aforementioned device.

[0188] Although the present application is described herein in conjunction with various embodiments, in the process of implementing the claimed application, those skilled in the art can understand and implement other changes to the disclosed embodiments by reviewing the drawings, the disclosure, and the appended claims. In the claims, the word "comprising" does not exclude other components or steps, and "a" or "an" does not exclude multiple situations. A single processor or other unit can implement several functions listed in the claims. Certain measures are recorded in different dependent claims, but this does not mean that these measures cannot be combined to produce good results.

[0189] Although the present application has been described with reference to specific features and embodiments thereof, it is apparent that various modifications and combinations may be made thereto without departing from the scope of the present application. Accordingly, this specification and the drawings are merely illustrative of the present application as defined by the appended claims and are deemed to cover any and all modifications, variations, combinations or equivalents within the scope of the present application. Obviously, those skilled in the art may make various modifications and variations to the present application without departing from the scope of the present application. Thus, the present application is intended to include such modifications and variations as fall within the scope of the claims of the present application and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: Receiving first information from a network device, wherein the first information indicates that a first terminal device receives a reference signal on a first resource; receiving the reference signal from the second terminal device on the first resource, where the reference signal is used to locate the second terminal device; determining second information according to the reference signal, where the second information indicates a positioning measurement amount; The second information is sent to the network device.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The second information includes channel data of the reference signal, and / or the second information includes the positioning measurement value.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that When the second information includes the positioning measurement amount, determining the second information according to the reference signal includes: The reference signal is measured to obtain the second information.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The reference signal is a sidelink positioning reference signal SL-PRS or a channel state information reference signal CSI-RS.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: The positioning measurement quantity includes at least one of the following: relative time of arrival RTOA, angle of arrival AOA, time difference between sending and receiving, or reference signal received power RSRP.

6. A communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: receiving third information from the network device, wherein the third information instructs the second terminal device to send a reference signal on the first resource; The reference signal is sent to the first terminal device on the first resource, where the reference signal is used to locate the second terminal device.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that The reference signal is: a sidelink positioning reference signal SL-PRS or a channel state information reference signal CSI-RS.

8. A communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: Sending first information to at least one first terminal device, where the first information indicates that the first terminal device receives a reference signal on a first resource; Sending third information to a second terminal device, where the third information instructs the second terminal device to send a reference signal on a first resource, where the reference signal is used to locate the second terminal device; Second information is received from the at least one first terminal device, where the second information indicates a positioning measurement quantity, and the second information is determined according to the reference signal.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that The second information includes channel data of the reference signal, and / or the second information includes the positioning measurement value.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that When the second information includes channel data of the reference signal, the method further includes: Channel data of the reference signal is measured to obtain the positioning measurement value.

11. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 10, characterized in that: The reference signal is a sidelink positioning reference signal SL-PRS or a channel state information reference signal CSI-RS.

12. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 11, characterized in that: The positioning measurement quantity includes at least one of the following: relative time of arrival RTOA, angle of arrival AOA, time difference between sending and receiving, or reference signal received power RSRP.

13. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 12, characterized in that: The first terminal device is a stationary terminal device and / or a terminal device with a known location.

14. A communication device, characterized in that: The method comprises a module or a unit for executing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13.

15. A communication device, characterized in that: include: transceiver, used to receive and send data; Memory for storing computer program instructions and data; A processor, configured to execute and call the computer program instructions and data in the memory so that the communication device executes the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13.

16. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program or instructions, and when the computer program or instructions are executed by a computer, the computer is enabled to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13.

17. A computer program product, characterized in that The computer program product comprises a computer program or instructions, and when the computer program or instructions are run on a computer, the computer is caused to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13.

18. A chip, characterized in that: The chip comprises a processor, and the chip is used to execute program instructions in a memory to perform the method as claimed in any one of claims 1-13.

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