Communication method and communication apparatus

Abstract

Provided in the present application are a communication method and a communication apparatus. The communication method comprises: receiving a first request sent by an AF, wherein the first request is used for requesting a sensing result of a first sensing service; determining a first sensing function, wherein the first sensing function is determined on the basis of the first sensing service and capability information of at least one sensing function, the capability information of a sensing function comprises a sensing service corresponding to the sensing function, and the sensing service corresponding to the first sensing function comprises the first sensing service; and sending a second request to the first sensing function, wherein the second request is used for requesting the sensing result of the first sensing service.

Description

Communication method and communication device

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the China Patent Office on December 1, 2023, with application number 202311642994.2 and application name “Communication Method and Communication 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 a communication device. Background Art

[0003] With the continuous development of communication technology, the demand for communication systems with perception capabilities is gradually emerging. For example, in certain scenarios such as smart cities and smart transportation, the need to obtain perception data such as the relative position of objects, speed, and shape is gradually emerging.

[0004] For communication systems with perception capabilities, how to obtain more reliable and accurate perception data has become a technical problem that needs to be solved urgently. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The present application provides a communication method to obtain more reliable and accurate perception data or perception results.

[0006] In a first aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which is applied to a network open function, including: receiving a first request from an application function, the first request is used to request a perception result of a first perception service; determining the first perception function, the first perception function is determined based on capability information of the first perception service and at least one perception function, the capability information of the perception function includes the perception service corresponding to the perception function, and the perception service corresponding to the first perception function includes the first perception service; sending a second request to the first perception function, the second request is used to request the perception result of the first perception service.

[0007] For example, the network exposure function may be referred to as NEF (network exposure function), the application function may be referred to as AF (application function), and the sensing function may be referred to as SF (sensing function). The following description uses NEF, AF, and SF, but it should be understood that this description does not constitute a limitation of this application.

[0008] In the communication method, when the NEF receives the first request, the NEF first determines a first SF that can provide a perception result of the first perception service.

[0009] In the embodiment of the present application, when determining the first SF, the first SF is determined based on the first perception service and capability information of at least one SF, wherein the capability information of the SF includes the perception service corresponding to the SF.

[0010] Or to describe it another way, in this embodiment, the first SF is determined based on the requested first perception service and the perception service corresponding to at least one SF.

[0011] Or to describe it another way, the first SF is determined based on the requested first perception service and the correspondence between the SF and the perception service.

[0012] It should be noted that this embodiment does not limit how to configure the correspondence between SFs and perception services. For example, at least one SF identifier and the identifier of the perception service corresponding to each SF identifier can be configured to indicate the perception service corresponding to each SF. For another example, a service identifier including at least one perception service and at least one SF identifier corresponding to each perception service identifier can be configured to indicate the correspondence between the perception function and the perception service. Optionally, the SF identifier can also be replaced with the address information of the SF.

[0013] It should be noted that this application does not limit how to determine the implementation method of the first perception function based on the first perception service and the capability information of at least one perception function.

[0014] In one embodiment, the correspondence between SF and perception service can be configured in NRF, that is, the NRF is informed of the capability information of each SF. Specifically, when the correspondence between SF and perception service is configured in NRF:

[0015] A method for determining a first SF includes: a NEF sends first discovery information to an NRF, where the first discovery information is used to request information about a perception function; and receives first response information from the NRF, where the first response information is used to indicate capability information of at least one SF.

[0016] Exemplarily, the network repository function is an NRF (network repository function). The following description uses NRF as an example, but it should be understood that this description does not constitute a limitation.

[0017] In this implementation, after the NEF receives the first request, the NEF sends a first discovery message to the NRF, where the first discovery message is used to request the NRF to feedback information about the SF. After receiving the first discovery message, the NRF indicates the capability information of at least one SF to the NEF through a first response message, that is, indicates the perception service corresponding to the at least one SF to the NEF; accordingly, the NEF determines the SF corresponding to the first perception service as the first SF based on the perception service corresponding to the at least one SF indicated by the NRF.

[0018] In some embodiments, when the NEF sends the first discovery information to the NRF, it may also include in the first discovery information information indicating the first sensing area requested by the AF. In this case, the first discovery information can also be considered as a request for the NRF to feedback information about the SF corresponding to the first sensing area; accordingly, when the NRF indicates the capability information of at least one SF to the NEF through the first response information, it may only indicate the capability information of the SF corresponding to the first sensing area. Further, after receiving the first response information, the NEF determines the SF corresponding to the first sensing service as the first SF.

[0019] In some embodiments, when the NRF indicates capability information of at least one SF to the NEF through the first response information, the first response information further includes an identifier of the SF.

[0020] Specifically, when the correspondence between SF and perception service is configured in NRF, another method for determining the first SF includes: NEF can send a second discovery message to NRF, the second discovery message is used to request the discovery of SF, and the second discovery message includes information for indicating the first perception service; that is, the second discovery message can be considered as information for requesting NRF to feedback the first SF corresponding to the first perception service; accordingly, after receiving the second discovery message, NRF determines the SF corresponding to the first perception service (that is, the first SF) based on the perception service corresponding to each SF and the requested first perception service, and then sends a second response message to NEF, and the second response information is used to indicate the first SF.

[0021] That is, in this implementation, NEF carries information about the first perception service in a message sent to NRF to request NRF to discover SF, so that NRF determines the first SF corresponding to the first perception service, and then NRF indicates the determined first SF to NEF.

[0022] In some embodiments, the capability information of the SF also includes the type of perception results that the SF can provide and the corresponding perception application program interface (API), where one perception service may correspond to one or more perception APIs.

[0023] For example, when the NRF indicates the capability information of at least one SF to the NEF, it also indicates the type of perception data and the corresponding perception API that each SF in the at least one SF can provide.

[0024] In this embodiment, after the first SF is determined, the NEF may send a second request to the first SF to request the perception result of the first perception service; accordingly, the first SF obtains the perception result of the first perception service from the corresponding perception device (eg, a perception base station).

[0025] In an example, after receiving the second request, the first SF sends the perception result of the first perception service to the NEF, so that the NEF learns the perception result of the first perception service and then sends it to the AF.

[0026] It can be seen that in the communication method provided in this embodiment, when the NEF receives a request sent by the AF to request the perception result of the first perception service, it will determine the first SF corresponding to the first perception service based on the correspondence between the SF and the perception service. It should be understood that the first SF can provide the perception result of the first perception service.

[0027] In addition, through this method, when the first perception service corresponds to multiple SFs, at this time, using the method of the present application, multiple SFs can be determined, and then the perception results of the first perception service can be requested from the multiple SFs respectively, thereby achieving the accuracy of the perception results of the first perception service fed back.

[0028] In combination with the first aspect, in a possible implementation, the first request also includes information for indicating the first perception area of ​​the application function request, for example, including an identifier of the first perception area; wherein the capability information of the perception function also includes the perception area corresponding to the perception function.

[0029] When the first request further includes information indicating the first perception area requested by the application function, it can be considered that the first request is used to request perception of the first perception area.

[0030] In this implementation, when the first request also includes information indicating the first perception area requested by the AF, upon receiving the first request from the AF, the NEF determines the first SF based on the first perception service, the first perception area, and the perception service and perception area corresponding to the at least one perception function. It should be understood that the determined first SF is the SF corresponding to the first perception service and the first perception area.

[0031] In combination with the first aspect, in a possible implementation, the method further includes: determining a second SF, where the second SF is determined based on the capability information of the first perception service and at least one SF, and the perception service corresponding to the second SF includes the first perception service; and sending a third request to the second SF, where the third request is used to request the perception result of the first perception service.

[0032] In this implementation, for the first perception service, in addition to the first SF being able to provide the perception result of the first perception service, the second SF can also provide the perception result of the first perception service.

[0033] In an embodiment of the present application, when the AF requests the perception result of the first perception service, if the SF determined by the NEF includes not only the first SF but also a second SF, then when the NEF sends a second request to the first SF to request the perception result, the NEF may further include an identifier of the second SF in the second request. Optionally, the identifier of the second SF may be replaced with other information, as long as the other information can be used to uniquely identify the second SF.

[0034] More specifically, if the NEF determines that the first SF is a network element that fuses multiple sensing results, then the identifier of the second SF in the second request is used to instruct to perform fusion based on the sensing results of the second SF.

[0035] For ease of description, in the embodiment of the present application, the perception result in the first SF is referred to as the first perception result, and the perception result in the second SF is referred to as the second perception result.

[0036] Optionally, if the NEF determines that the first SF is a network element that fuses multiple perception results, the NEF may further include, in the second request, indication information for indicating that the first SF is a network element that fuses multiple perception results. For example, the indication information for indicating that the first SF is a network element that fuses multiple perception results is one information bit. When the one information bit is one, it indicates that the first perception function is a network element that fuses multiple perception results.

[0037] Furthermore, in this embodiment, after the first SF obtains the second perception result from the second SF, it performs a fusion process based on the first and second perception results to obtain a target perception result, and then sends the target perception result to the NEF. Optionally, the first SF may not perform the fusion process on the first and second perception results. In this case, the target perception result includes the first and second perception results.

[0038] More specifically, if the NEF determines that the second SF is the network element that fuses multiple perception results, the identifier of the second SF in the second request is used to indicate that the second SF is the network element that fuses multiple perception results. It will be understood that in this implementation, the second request can be considered as a request for the first SF to send the first perception result to the second SF. Furthermore, in this embodiment, after the first SF sends the first perception result to the second SF, the second SF obtains a target perception result based on the first and second perception results, and indicates the target perception result to the NEF.

[0039] In this method, the perception results of the first perception service that need to be obtained from the first SF and the second SF are aggregated at the SF (also called fusion), and then the fused SF sends the obtained target perception results to the NEF, and finally the NEF sends them to the AF, which is also called opening to the AF.

[0040] In conjunction with the first aspect, in one possible implementation, the first request is further used to request a perception result of a second perception service. The method further includes: determining an SF corresponding to the second perception service based on capability information of the second perception service and at least one perception function, and requesting the perception result of the second perception service from the SF corresponding to the second perception service. In this implementation, when requesting the perception result, the first request, in addition to requesting the perception result of the first perception service, also requests the perception result of the second perception service.

[0041] Among them, the way how NEF determines the SF corresponding to the second perception service can be analogous to the way NEF determines the first SF, which will not be repeated here.

[0042] In the second aspect, the present application provides a communication method, applied to NEF, including: receiving a fourth request from an application function, the fourth request is used to request a perception result, and the fourth request includes information for indicating the requested perception area; determining a first perception function and a second perception function, the first perception function and the second perception function are determined based on the requested perception area and the perception area information corresponding to multiple perception functions, wherein the perception area corresponding to the first perception function and the perception area corresponding to the second perception function cover the requested perception area; sending a fifth request to the first perception function, the fifth request is used to request a perception result; sending a sixth request to the second perception function, the sixth request is used to request a perception result; wherein the fifth request includes identification information of the second perception function.

[0043] The fourth request is used to request a perception result, and the fourth request includes information indicating a requested perception area. For example, the fourth request includes an area identifier of the requested perception area.

[0044] In this embodiment, after the NEF receives the fourth request sent by the AF and determines the first SF and the second SF, it sends a fifth request to the first SF and also includes identification information of the second SF in the fifth request.

[0045] Specifically, in some embodiments, when the NEF determines that the first SF is a network element for fusing multiple perception results, the identifier of the second SF in the fifth request is used to instruct to perform fusion based on the perception results of the second SF.

[0046] For ease of description, in this embodiment, the perception result in the first SF is referred to as the first perception result, and the perception result in the second SF is referred to as the second perception result. Optionally, at this time, the NEF may further include, in the fifth request, indication information for indicating that the first SF is a network element that fuses multiple perception results. For example, the indication information for indicating that the first SF is a network element that fuses multiple perception results is one information bit. When the one information bit is one, it indicates that the first SF is a network element that fuses multiple perception results.

[0047] Furthermore, in this embodiment, after the first SF obtains the second perception result from the second SF, it can obtain the target perception result based on the first perception result and the second perception result, and then send the target perception result to the NEF.

[0048] Specifically, in some embodiments, when the NEF determines that the second SF is the network element that fuses multiple sensing results, the identifier of the second SF in the fifth request is used to indicate that the second SF is the network element that fuses multiple sensing results.

[0049] It is understood that in this implementation, the fifth request can also be considered as requesting the first SF to send the first perception result to the second SF. Furthermore, in this embodiment, after the first SF sends the first perception result to the second SF, the second SF indicates the first and second perception results to the NEF. Optionally, the second SF may fuse the first and second perception results to obtain a target perception result, and then send the target perception result to the NEF.

[0050] In combination with the second aspect, in a possible implementation, the fourth request also includes information for indicating the requested perception service; wherein, the first perception function and the second perception function are determined based on the requested perception area, the requested perception service, the perception area corresponding to at least one perception function, and the perception service corresponding to at least one perception function, and the perception services corresponding to the first perception function and the second perception function both include the first perception service.

[0051] In a third aspect, the present application provides a communication method, applied to a first SF, including: receiving a request message for requesting a perception result; wherein the request message includes first information, and the first information indicates an identifier of a second perception function; or, the second request comes from the second perception function; in response to the request message, obtaining the perception result; and sending the perception result to the second perception function.

[0052] In combination with the third aspect, in a possible implementation manner, sending the perception result to the second perception function includes: obtaining the perception result from the first access network device and sending the perception result to the second perception function.

[0053] In combination with the third aspect, in a possible implementation method, the first information also indicates the perception area corresponding to the second perception function: when the perception target moves from the perception area corresponding to the first perception function to the perception area corresponding to the second perception function, the perception result is sent to the second perception function.

[0054] In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a communication method, applied to a second SF, including: receiving a first perception result from a first perception function; receiving a second perception result from an access network device; and sending a target perception result to a perception result requester, where the target perception result is obtained based on the first perception result and the second perception result.

[0055] In combination with the fourth aspect, in a possible implementation, before receiving the first perception result from the first perception function, the method further includes: requesting the first perception function to send the perception result.

[0056] In combination with the fourth aspect, in a possible implementation, the method further includes: receiving indication information sent by a network open function to indicate that the second perception function is a network element that integrates multiple perception results.

[0057] In a fifth aspect, the present application also provides a communication method, including: when the perception target moves from the perception area corresponding to the first SF to the target perception area, the first SF sends a request message to the NRF, and the request information includes indication information for indicating the target perception area; the NRF indicates the second SF corresponding to the target perception area to the NEF; the first SF sends the perception result to the second SF, or the first SF requests the second SF to send the perception result.

[0058] Furthermore, after the first SF sends the perception result to the second SF, the second SF fuses the perception result sent by the first SF with the perception result in the second SF to obtain a target perception result and sends it to the NEF, which then sends it to the AF. Alternatively, after the first SF requests the second SF to send the perception result, the first SF fuses the perception result sent by the second SF with the perception result in the first SF to obtain a target perception result and sends it to the NEF, which then sends it to the AF.

[0059] In a sixth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, comprising: a memory configured to execute the method as described in the first aspect or any possible implementation thereof.

[0060] In combination with the sixth aspect, in one possible implementation, the communication device also includes a processor; the memory is used to store program instructions; and the processor is used to call the program instructions in the memory to execute the method described in the first aspect or any possible implementation thereof.

[0061] In a seventh aspect, the present application provides a communication device, comprising: a memory configured to execute the method described in the second aspect or any possible implementation thereof.

[0062] In combination with the seventh aspect, in one possible implementation, the communication device also includes a processor; the memory is used to store program instructions; and the processor is used to call the program instructions in the memory to execute the method described in the second aspect or any possible implementation thereof.

[0063] In an eighth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, comprising: a memory configured to execute the method described in the third aspect or any possible implementation thereof.

[0064] In combination with the eighth aspect, in one possible implementation, the communication device also includes a processor; the memory is used to store program instructions; and the processor is used to call the program instructions in the memory to execute the method described in the third aspect or any possible implementation thereof.

[0065] In a ninth aspect, the present application provides a communication device comprising: a memory configured to execute the method as described in the fourth aspect or any possible implementation thereof.

[0066] In combination with the ninth aspect, in one possible implementation, the communication device also includes a processor; the memory is used to store program instructions; and the processor is used to call the program instructions in the memory to execute the method described in the fourth aspect or any possible implementation thereof.

[0067] On the tenth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, comprising: a memory, configured to execute the method described in the fifth aspect or any possible implementation thereof.

[0068] In combination with the tenth aspect, in one possible implementation, the communication device also includes a processor; the memory is used to store program instructions; and the processor is used to call the program instructions in the memory to execute the method described in the fifth aspect or any possible implementation thereof.

[0069] In the eleventh aspect, the present application provides a communication system, comprising the communication device as described in the sixth aspect, and / or the communication device as described in the seventh aspect, and / or the communication device as described in the eighth aspect, and / or the communication device as described in the ninth aspect.

[0070] In a twelfth aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable medium storing a program code for computer execution, the program code including instructions for executing the method as described in any one of the first to fourth aspects or any possible implementation thereof.

[0071] In the thirteenth aspect, the present application provides a chip system comprising at least one processor and a communication interface, the communication interface and the at least one processor being interconnected by lines, and the at least one processor being used to run computer programs or instructions to perform the method as described in the first to fourth aspects or any possible implementation thereof.

[0072] In a fourteenth aspect, the present application provides a computer program product, which includes a computer program code. When the computer program code runs on a computer, the computer implements the method described in any one of the first to second aspects or any possible implementation thereof.

[0073] Among them, the technical effects brought about by any implementation method from the second aspect to the fourteenth aspect can be referred to the technical effects brought about by the above-mentioned first aspect and any possible implementation method therein, and will not be repeated here. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0074] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of a method for realizing wireless sensing provided by the present application;

[0075] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of a communication system provided by the present application;

[0076] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of another communication system provided by the present application;

[0077] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of a scenario in which the AF wishes to request sensing data from multiple SFs, as provided in this application;

[0078] FIG5 is a schematic diagram of another scenario provided by the present application where the perception data that the AF wishes to request comes from multiple SFs;

[0079] FIG6 is a schematic diagram of another scenario provided by the present application in which the perception data requested by the AF comes from multiple SFs;

[0080] FIG7 is a flow chart of a communication method provided in one embodiment of the present application;

[0081] FIG8 is a flow chart of a communication method provided in another embodiment of the present application;

[0082] FIG9 is a flow chart of a communication method provided in another embodiment of the present application;

[0083] FIG10 is a flow chart of a communication method provided in another embodiment of the present application;

[0084] FIG11 is a flow chart of a communication method provided in another embodiment of the present application;

[0085] FIG12 is a flow chart of a communication method provided in another embodiment of the present application;

[0086] FIG13 is a structural diagram of a communication system provided in one embodiment of the present application;

[0087] FIG14 is a structural diagram of a communication system provided in another embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0088] Existing wireless signals in the environment (sound, light, radio frequency signals, etc.) can not only perform their original tasks (lighting, communication, etc.) but also be used "extra" to perceive the environment. Taking radio frequency signals as an example, the radio waves generated by the signal transmitter will undergo physical phenomena such as direct radiation, reflection, and scattering during propagation. As a result, the signal formed at the signal receiver carries information about the space in which the signal propagated. For example: If the wireless connection signal received by the mobile phone is weak, it may be because the phone is far away from the wireless router; if the Wi-Fi signal strength received by the mobile phone drops sharply, it is likely because the phone has entered a certain specific enclosed space, such as an elevator.

[0089] Therefore, scene perception can be achieved by analyzing the changes in wireless signals during propagation. This technology is also commonly known as wireless sensing technology or sensorless scene perception technology.

[0090] For ease of understanding, Figure 1 illustrates an exemplary implementation of wireless sensing. As shown in Figure 1, the wireless sensing system includes a first device 101 and a second device 102. The signal received by second device 102 is the superposition of a direct signal 104 and a reflected signal 105, which is reflected from a sensing target 103. When sensing target 103 moves, reflected signal 105 changes, causing corresponding changes in the signal received by second device 102. Therefore, the state of sensing target 103 can be determined by changes in the signal received by second device 102.

[0091] In some embodiments, wireless sensing technology can be based on radar. Radar consists of a transmitting antenna and a receiving antenna. The transmitting antenna sends electromagnetic waves, which are reflected by the target and received by the receiving antenna. Based on the changes in the received waves, the radar system uses signal processing to analyze the target's characteristic information, such as its location, shape, motion characteristics, and movement path. Radar sensing has many unique advantages: 1) It is not affected by light levels and can penetrate obstructions, thus better protecting personal privacy; 2) Radar sensing has a longer range and does not harm people or animals. 3) For motion detection, the Doppler effect on the target's echo is used to observe and interpret the target's motion status, such as direction and speed. When using a multi-channel radar sensor, the target's motion can also be observed from different perspectives. By capturing the target's motion status from different perspectives and analyzing it in combination with instantaneous and historical information, complex motion can be resolved.

[0092] Currently, wireless sensing technology can be applied in various scenarios. For example, in sports scenarios, this technology can be used to detect the movement status and movement routes of people and balls. In home environments, it can also be used for human fall detection to prevent falls in the elderly. By processing channel state information (CSI), the human movement status and route can be interpreted. In the field of assisted driving, this technology can be used to detect pedestrians and vehicles in front for collision avoidance warnings. In specific industrial park scenarios, this technology can be used to monitor the intrusion of flying objects such as drones. In traffic scenarios, this technology can be used to complete traffic flow statistics, vehicle navigation, and other functions.

[0093] With the development of 5G networks, the demand for communication systems with perception capabilities is gradually emerging. For example, in certain scenarios such as smart cities and smart transportation, there is a growing need to obtain perception data such as the relative position of objects, their speed, and their shape. Perception data can be understood as data indicating perception results.

[0094] It should be noted that the embodiments of the present application do not place any specific restrictions on the architecture of the communication system that requires perception capabilities. In other words, the solutions of the embodiments of the present application can also be applied to future communication systems such as 6G.

[0095] For example, the system architecture (or also referred to as the network architecture) based on the service-oriented architecture shown in Figure 2 may be used. As shown in Figure 2, the network architecture includes user equipment (UE) 201, access network (AN) or radio access network (RAN) 202, user plane function (UPF) 203 of the core network (CN) data plane, data network (DN) 204, and core network control plane 205.

[0096] UE 201 may be a device that provides voice and / or data connectivity to a user, for example, a handheld device with wireless connection capabilities, a vehicle-mounted device, etc. UE may also be referred to as terminal equipment, access terminal, user unit, user station, mobile station, mobile, remote station, remote terminal, mobile equipment, user terminal, wireless telecom equipment, user agent, user equipment, or user device. UE can be a station (STA) 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, a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, and a terminal in a next-generation communication system (for example, a fifth-generation (5G) communication network) or a terminal device in a future-evolved public land mobile network (PLMN) network. Among them, 5G can also be referred to as a new radio (NR). In one possible application scenario of the present application, the terminal device can also be a terminal device that often works on the ground, such as a vehicle-mounted device. In this application, for the sake of convenience, the chip deployed in the above-mentioned device, or the chip can also be referred to as a terminal device.

[0097] The main function of (R)AN 202 is to control UE 201 to access the mobile communication network via wireless. AN 202 is part of the mobile communication system and implements a wireless access technology. For example, AN 202 can be any device with wireless transceiver capabilities. The device includes but is not limited to: a base station, an evolved NodeB (eNB or eNodeB), a radio network controller (RNC), a Node B (NB), a base station controller (BSC), a base transceiver station (BTS), a home base station (e.g., home evolved NodeB, or home Node B, HNB), a base band unit (BBU), an access point (AP) in a wireless fidelity (WIFI) system, a wireless relay node, a wireless backhaul node, a transmission point (TP) or a transmission and reception point (TRP), etc. It can also be a gNB in ​​a 5G, such as NR, system, or a transmission point (TRP or TP), one or a group of antenna panels (including multiple antenna panels) of a base station in a 5G system, or it can also be a network node constituting a gNB or a transmission point, such as a baseband unit (BBU) or a distributed unit (DPU). unit (DU), etc.; or, it can also be a next-generation base station in a sixth generation (6G) mobile communication system, a base station in a future mobile communication system, or an access node in a WiFi system, etc.; it can also be a module or unit that completes part of the functions of a base station, for example, it can be a centralized unit (CU) or a distributed unit (DU).

[0098] In some deployments, a gNB may include a centralized unit (CU) and a DU. The gNB may also include a radio unit (RU). The CU implements some gNB functions, while the DU implements some gNB functions. For example, the CU implements the functions of the radio resource control (RRC) and packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layers, while the DU implements the functions of the radio link control (RLC), media access control (MAC), and physical (PHY) layers. Because RRC layer information ultimately becomes physical layer information, or is converted from physical layer information, in this architecture, higher-layer signaling, such as RRC layer signaling, can also be considered to be sent by the DU, or by both the DU and the CU. It is understood that a network device can be a CU node, a DU node, or a device that includes both a CU node and a DU node. In addition, the CU can be divided into a network device in an access network (radio access network, RAN), and the CU can also be divided into a network device in a core network (core network, CN), which is not limited in this application.

[0099] UE 201 and (R)AN 202 can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; can also be deployed on water; can also be deployed in the air on aircraft, balloons and artificial satellites. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the application scenarios of AN 202 and UE 201.

[0100] The UE 201 and the (R)AN 202 can communicate via a licensed spectrum, an unlicensed spectrum, or both; they can communicate via a spectrum below 6 gigahertz (GHz), a spectrum above 6 GHz, or both. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the spectrum resources used for wireless communications.

[0101] In the embodiments of the present application, the functions of the base station may also be performed by a module (such as a chip) in the base station, or by a control subsystem that includes the base station function. The control subsystem that includes the base station function here can be a control center in the application scenarios of the above-mentioned terminals such as smart grid, industrial control, intelligent transportation, and smart city. The functions of the terminal may also be performed by a module (such as a chip or a modem) in the terminal, or by a device that includes the terminal function.

[0102] UPF 203 is a functional unit of the user plane, which is mainly responsible for packet forwarding, quality of service (QoS) control, billing information statistics and connection to external networks. It includes the relevant functions of the serving gateway (SGW) and public data network gateway (PDN-GW) of the long term evolution technology (LTE).

[0103] DN 204 is a network responsible for providing services to UE 201. For example, some DNs provide Internet access to UE 201, while other DNs provide SMS services to UE 201.

[0104] The core network control plane 206 is mainly responsible for business process interaction, issuing data packet forwarding policies and QoS control policies to the user plane, etc. For example, as shown in Figure 2, the control plane network elements in the core network control plane 206 mainly include: access and mobility function (AMF), session management function (SMF), policy control function (PCF), application function (AF), network exposure function (NEF), authentication server function (AUSF), unified data management (UDM), network repository function (NRF), unified data repository (UDR), etc. Among them, AMF is mainly responsible for the access and mobility management of UE 201, such as mobile state management, allocation of user temporary identity, authentication and authorization of users. The SMF is primarily responsible for session management functions, such as managing the creation and deletion of user protocol data unit (PDU) sessions, maintaining PDU session context and user plane forwarding channel information, UP network element selection and reselection, IP address allocation, bearer establishment, modification, and release, and QoS control. The UDM is primarily responsible for managing subscription data and notifying the appropriate network elements when subscription data is modified. The UDR is primarily responsible for storing and retrieving subscription data, policy data, and public architecture data, making them available to the UDM, PCF, and NEF. The UDR must implement different data access authentication mechanisms for different types of data, such as subscription data and policy data, to ensure data access security. The UDR must be able to return a failure response with an appropriate cause value for illegal service-based operations or data access requests. The AF is used to provide application-layer services to the UE. When providing services to the UE, the AF has requirements for QoS (Quality of Service) and charging policies, and must notify the network of these requirements. The AF also requires application-related information from the core network. NSSF is responsible for the selection of network slices; NRF is responsible for the registration and discovery functions of network elements, and maintains the information of network elements, such as the instance identifier, type, PLMN, slice-related identifier, IP address or FQDN, capabilities of the network element, supported services, etc.

[0105] PCF is mainly responsible for executing policy control, which is similar to the policy and charging rules function (PCRF) network element in long term evolution (LTE), including the generation and management of users, sessions, quality of service (QoS) flow processing policies, quality of service, and charging rules, and sending the corresponding rules to the UPF network element through SMF. AF is mainly responsible for providing various business service functions, and can interact with the core network through the NEF network element, as well as interact with the policy management framework for policy management. NEF is used to provide frameworks, authentication, and interfaces related to network capability exposure, and to transmit information between 5G system network functions and other network functions. For a detailed description of each network element, please refer to the description in the relevant technology and will not be repeated here.

[0106] In the network architecture shown in Figure 2, UE 201 communicates with the AMF via the N1 interface, which is used to transmit non-access stratum (NAS) signaling. AN 202 communicates with the AMF via the N2 interface. AN 202 communicates with UPF 203 via the N3 interface, which uses the GPRS tunneling protocol for the user plane (GTP-U) for tunneling user data. UPF 203 communicates with the SMF via the N4 interface, which is used for policy configuration, etc. UPF 203 communicates with the external DN 204 via the N6 interface. In specific scenarios, the N6 interface is required to support dedicated lines or L2 / L3 tunnels, and can communicate with the DN network based on the Internet Protocol (IP).

[0107] It should be noted that the various network elements involved in the embodiments of the present application can be the network elements mentioned in the above embodiments, or network elements in future communication systems that have the same functions as the above network elements. For example, the user plane function network element can be a UPF network element, or a network element in a future communication system that has the same functions as the UPF network element; the application function network element can be an AF network element, or a network element that has the same functions as the AF network element; and the policy management network element can be a PCF network element, or a network element that has the same functions as the PCF network element.

[0108] For example, the network architecture based on point-to-point interfaces shown in Figure 3 may also be used. The main difference between this architecture and the architecture shown in Figure 2 is that the interfaces between network elements are point-to-point interfaces, rather than service-based interfaces. The functions of each network element are described in the description of each network element in Figure 2 and will not be repeated here. Furthermore, the concepts and detailed descriptions of point-to-point and service-based interfaces can be found in the relevant art and will not be repeated here.

[0109] It should be noted again that FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 are merely examples and do not constitute a limitation of the communication system architecture of the present application.

[0110] As an implementation method, the communication system can be given the ability to perceive by deploying an integrated radar communication base station. Furthermore, accurate communication can be achieved based on the precise perception capability of the radar, thereby improving communication efficiency.

[0111] In some embodiments, the communication system may time-division multiplex or space-division multiplex resources used for communication and resources used for perception to achieve perception of the surrounding environment or objects.

[0112] It should be understood that for a communication system with perception capabilities, it may receive a request for perception results sent by a perception service requester or a perception service requester. Accordingly, the communication system needs to first determine the appropriate perception function (SF), then obtain the perception results from the selected SF, and feedback the perception results to the perception service requester. The above-mentioned perception service requester or perception service requester can be an AF, a UE, or a core network element that requires network optimization. This application does not limit this and is subsequently referred to as the requester.

[0113] Among them, the SF in the embodiment of the present application can be considered as a network element that can collect perception results from the perception device. For example, the perception device is a perception base station, and the SF network element can collect perception results from the perception base station. In the embodiment of the present application, the SF can trigger the perception device to perform perception measurement on a certain area and obtain the perception result from the perception device. The perception result can be used for a certain perception service; or, the SF can trigger the perception device to perform perception measurement that meets the requirements of the perception service and obtain the perception result from the perception device. It can be understood that the perception results in the above two cases can be understood as perception results corresponding to the perception service. In the embodiment of the present application, the area where the perception measurement is performed is also referred to as the perception area. It can be understood that in another possible expression, after the perception device performs the perception measurement, the data sent to the SF is called perception data, and the data obtained by the SF through further analysis or other processing is called perception result; or, in another possible expression, the perception result obtained by the requester is called perception data.

[0114] The following are three possible scenarios involved in the embodiments of this application.

[0115] For example, in the first scenario, as shown in Figure 4, assume that the communication system includes SF41, SF42, and SF43. SF41 corresponds to perception area 1 and can provide perception results regarding vehicle density. SF42 corresponds to perception area 2 and can provide perception results regarding obstacle identification. SF43 corresponds to perception area 2 and can provide perception results regarding traffic participants. A requester can request the perception results of Perception Service 1. Specifically, the perception results required by Perception Service 1 include vehicle density information and obstacle identification information. In response to the requester's request, SF41 and SF42 should be selected to obtain the perception results and report them to the requester.

[0116] For example, in the second scenario, as shown in FIG5 , assume that the communication system includes SF51 and SF52. A requester may request sensing results for sensing target 53. Sensing target 53 is mobile and is expected to move from sensing area 3 to sensing area 4. Sensing target 53 is currently located in sensing area 3, covered by the sensing area of ​​SF51. After moving, it is expected to be located in sensing area 4, covered by the sensing area of ​​SF52. In response to the requester's request, SF51 and SF52 should be selected to obtain the sensing results and report them to the requester. It will be appreciated that in this scenario, SF51 may be selected first, and SF52 may be selected when sensing target 53 moves to or is about to move to area 4.

[0117] For example, in the third scenario, as shown in FIG6 , it is assumed that the communication system includes SF61, SF62, and SF63. A requester may request sensing results for sensing area 5. Sensing area 5 is covered by the sensing areas of SF61, SF62, and SF63. In response to the request, SF61, SF62, and SF63 should be selected to obtain the sensing results and report them to the requester.

[0118] Therefore, how to select SF so that the requester can obtain more reliable and accurate perception data has become an urgent problem to be solved. However, no relevant solution has been proposed so far.

[0119] FIG7 is a flow chart of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG7 , the method includes:

[0120] S701, AF sends a first request to NEF, where the first request is used to request a perception result of a first perception service; accordingly, NEF receives the first request.

[0121] The first request can also be understood as a request for a first perception service. This application does not limit the name of the first request. It is understandable that all requests for perception results of the perception service in the following text can be understood in this way, and no further details will be given.

[0122] Exemplarily, the first request may include an identification (ID) of the first perception service to indicate that the request is for the first perception service corresponding to the ID.

[0123] In this embodiment, for the convenience of description, the identifiers of the perception services are collectively referred to as service identifiers (service IDs).

[0124] Optionally, the first request may include a first area identifier, where the first area identifier is used to identify the first sensing area, so as to indicate that the AF request is to sense the first sensing area.

[0125] Optionally, S701 may also be UE or other awareness service requesting parties sending the first request to NEF. Similarly, in subsequent embodiments, AF may be replaced by UE or other awareness service requesting parties, which will not be described in detail.

[0126] S702, the NEF determines a first SF, where the first SF is determined based on the first perception service and capability information of at least one SF, where the capability information of the SF includes the perception service corresponding to the SF, and the perception service corresponding to the first SF includes the first perception service.

[0127] Alternatively, in this embodiment, the first SF is determined based on the requested first perception service and the perception service corresponding to at least one SF. Alternatively, in another embodiment, the first SF is determined based on the requested first perception service and the correspondence between the SF and the perception service.

[0128] It should be noted that this embodiment does not limit how to configure the correspondence between SFs and perception services. For example, at least one SF identifier and the perception service identifier corresponding to each SF identifier may be configured to indicate the perception service corresponding to each SF. For another example, at least one perception service identifier and at least one SF identifier corresponding to each perception service identifier may be configured to indicate the correspondence between the perception function and the perception service.

[0129] Two implementations of determining the first SF based on capability information of at least one SF are introduced below.

[0130] The first implementation scheme: configure the correspondence between SF and perception service in NRF.

[0131] Specifically, after the correspondence between SF and perception service is configured in NRF, the first implementation method of determining the first SF includes: NEF sends a first discovery message to NRF, and the first discovery message is used to request information of the perception function; receives a first response message sent by NRF, and the first response message is used to indicate capability information of at least one SF, that is, NRF indicates the perception service corresponding to at least one SF to NEF.

[0132] For example, the first response information may include an SF identifier list and an awareness service identifier corresponding to each SF identifier in the SF identifier list, to indicate the awareness service corresponding to at least one SF.

[0133] It should be understood that after the NRF indicates the perception service corresponding to at least one SF to the NEF, the NEF determines the SF corresponding to the first perception service as the first SF based on the perception service corresponding to each SF in the at least one SF indicated by the NRF.

[0134] Optionally, in this first implementation, in some embodiments, when the NEF sends the first discovery information to the NRF, the first discovery information may further include information indicating the first perception area corresponding to the first perception service. In this case, the first discovery information may be considered as a request to the NRF to feedback information about the SF corresponding to the first perception area. Accordingly, when the NRF indicates capability information of at least one SF to the NEF through the first response information, it may only indicate capability information of the SF corresponding to the first perception area. Further, after receiving the first response information, the NEF determines the SF corresponding to the first perception service as the first SF.

[0135] Optionally, when the NRF indicates the capability information of at least one SF to the NEF, the NRF may also indicate the perception area corresponding to the SF.

[0136] Optionally, when the NRF indicates the capability information of at least one SF to the NEF, it may also indicate the type of perception result provided by the SF corresponding to each SF identifier in the SF identifier list and the corresponding perception API. A perception service may correspond to one or more perception APIs. For example, the result of perception service 1 consists of the perception results of two perception APIs.

[0137] That is, in the first implementation of the first embodiment, the first discovery information sent by the NEF can be considered as information for requesting the NRF to feedback some SFs, and then the NEF determines the first SF based on the perception service corresponding to at least one SF fed back by the NRF. That is, the selection of the first SF from the at least one SF is performed by the NEF.

[0138] Specifically, after the correspondence between the SF and the perception service is configured in the NRF, the second implementation manner of determining the first SF includes:

[0139] NEF can send a second discovery message to NRF, and the second discovery message is used to request the discovery of SF. The second discovery message includes information for indicating the first perception service. At this time, the second discovery message can be considered as being used to request NRF to feedback the first SF corresponding to the first perception service; accordingly, after receiving the second discovery message, NRF determines the SF corresponding to the first perception service (i.e., the first SF) based on the perception service corresponding to each SF and the requested first perception service, and then sends a second response message to NEF, and the second response message is used to indicate the first SF. That is, in this implementation, NRF determines the first SF corresponding to the first perception service, and then NRF indicates the determined first SF to NEF. Optionally, when indicating the first SF to NEF, NRF may also indicate the type of perception results that the first SF can provide and the corresponding perception application program interface (API).

[0140] Optionally, the second discovery information may further include information of the requested perception area. Accordingly, when the NRF determines the first SF, the first SF corresponds not only to the first perception service but also to the requested perception area.

[0141] Optionally, both the first discovery information and the second discovery information may include: the identifier or address of the server requesting the perception data of the first perception service, delay requirement indication information, or accuracy requirement indication information, etc.; accordingly, when the NRF determines the information of the SF to be fed back to the NEF based on at least one of the identifier or address of the server requesting the perception data of the first perception service, delay requirement indication information, or accuracy requirement indication information, the SF that needs to be fed back.

[0142] It is understood that the perception services corresponding to the SF can be understood as the perception services that the SF is capable of or supports providing. For example, the SF may be connected to a perception device that is capable of or supports providing the corresponding perception service (for example, the SF is connected to a perception device with high precision and a high refresh rate, thereby being able to obtain more reliable and accurate vehicle density data), or the SF may have the ability to analyze or process the perception data reported by the perception device to provide the corresponding perception service (for example, the SF has the ability to identify obstacle information from the perception data reported by the perception device).

[0143] S703: The NEF sends a second request to the first SF, where the second request is used to request a perception result of the first perception service.

[0144] S704: The first SF obtains a perception result of the first perception service and sends the perception result of the first perception service to the NEF; the NEF receives the perception result of the first perception service sent by the first SF.

[0145] Specifically, in this embodiment, after receiving the second request, the first SF obtains the perception result of the first perception service from the corresponding perception device (e.g., a perception base station) and sends the perception result to the NEF. Specifically, the first SF can trigger the corresponding perception device to perform perception measurement and obtain the perception result (or perception data) obtained by the perception device through the perception measurement.

[0146] It is understandable that the first SF can directly forward the perception results (or perception data) obtained from the perception device, and the first SF can also further process the perception results (or perception data) obtained from the perception device and send the processed perception results.

[0147] S705: NEF sends the perception result of the first perception service to AF.

[0148] In this embodiment, after obtaining the perception result of the first perception service, the NEF provides the perception result of the first perception service to the AF.

[0149] Optionally, when the first request is sent by the UE or other perception service requester in S701, the perception result in S705 is also sent to the UE or other perception service requester accordingly.

[0150] Optionally, S704 and S705 can be replaced by the first SF obtaining the perception result of the first perception service and sending it to the AF. It is understood that sending the perception result to the AF via the NEF is one possible implementation method. The first SF can also send the perception result to the AF directly or through other nodes, which is not limited in this application. It is understood that in the following text, the method of the SF reporting the perception result to the AF via the NEF can be replaced by the SF sending the perception result to the AF directly or through other nodes, and will not be repeated.

[0151] It can be seen that in the communication method provided by this embodiment, since the capability information of at least one SF is configured on the core network side, after the NEF receives the first request for requesting the perception result of the first perception service, the NEF can determine the first SF corresponding to the first perception service based on the first perception service and the capability information of the SF, thereby selecting an SF that better meets the perception service requirements. Due to the capabilities of the selected first SF, the perception results reported by the first SF to the perception service requester are more reliable and accurate.

[0152] As an optional embodiment, when the AF in the embodiment of the present application sends a first request to the NEF, the first request is used to request not only the perception results of the first perception service but also the perception results of the second perception service. It should be understood that in this manner, the NEF in this embodiment also determines the SF corresponding to the second perception service. The NEF then requests the perception results of the second perception service from the SF corresponding to the second perception service, and further sends the requested second perception service results to the AF.

[0153] Among them, the method for determining the SF corresponding to the second perception service based on the second perception service and the capability information of at least one SF can be analogous to the method for determining the first SF based on the first perception service and the capability information of at least one SF, and will not be repeated here.

[0154] It should be understood that there may be multiple SFs corresponding to the first perception service. For example, when there are multiple SFs corresponding to the first perception service, the number of SFs determined to correspond to the first perception service is multiple.

[0155] Below, for ease of understanding, taking the example of when AF requests the first perception service, NEF determines that the SF associated with the first perception service includes the first SF and the second SF, combined with Figures 8 and 9, an embodiment of NEF obtaining the perception results that need to be fed back to AF is given.

[0156] In conjunction with Figure 8, Example 1 is given. As shown in Figure 8, the method includes:

[0157] Precondition: The correspondence between the perception service identifier and the SF identifier is configured in NRF to indicate the correspondence between the perception service and the SF, or also called the configuration of the SF capability information.

[0158] S801, AF sends a first request to NEF, and NEF receives the first request, where the first request is used to request a perception result of a first perception service.

[0159] For example, in one implementation, the first request includes a service identifier of the first sensing service. Optionally, the first request may further include an area identifier of the first sensing area to indicate that the AF is requesting sensing of the first sensing area.

[0160] S802: The NEF sends first discovery information to the NRF, where the first discovery information is used to request information about the SF.

[0161] Optionally, when the first request sent by the AF also includes the area identifier of the first perception area, the first discovery information sent by the NEF to the NRF may also include information used to indicate the first perception area. At this time, the first discovery information can be considered as information used to request the SF of the first perception area.

[0162] Optionally, this step can also be replaced by: NEF sends a second discovery message to NRF, the second discovery message is used to request SF information, and the second discovery message includes information used to indicate the first perception service, that is, the second discovery information can also be considered to be used to request NRF to feedback the SF corresponding to the first perception service.

[0163] S803: The NRF sends first response information, where the first response information is used to indicate capability information of the SF.

[0164] In this embodiment, after receiving the first discovery information, the NRF will indicate the capability information of the SF to the NEF through the first response information, that is, indicate the perception service corresponding to the SF. Specifically, in this embodiment, the capability information of the SF indicated by the first response information is the capability information of two or more SFs.

[0165] Optionally, when the first discovery information may further include information indicating the first perception area, the capability information of the SF indicated by the NRF is the capability information of the SF corresponding to the first perception area.

[0166] Optionally, when the NRF indicates the capability information of the SF to the NEF through the first response information, it may also indicate the type of perception result provided by the SF and the corresponding perception API.

[0167] Optionally, when S802 is replaced by NEF sending the second discovery information to NRF, S803 can also be replaced by: NRF sending a second response information, and the second response information is used to indicate the capability information of the SF corresponding to the first perception service. Specifically, in this way, after receiving the second discovery information, NRF determines the SF corresponding to the first perception service based on the perception service corresponding to each SF and the requested first perception service, and then sends a second response information to NEF, and the second response information is used to indicate the SF corresponding to the first perception service. Optionally, when the second discovery information also includes the area identifier of the first perception area, the SF corresponding to the first perception service indicated by NRF also corresponds to the first perception area. Optionally, when NRF indicates the SF corresponding to the first perception service to NEF through the second response information, it can also indicate the type of perception results that the SF can provide and the corresponding perception API.

[0168] S804: NEF determines the first SF and the second SF based on the first perception service and the capability information of the SF indicated by the NRF.

[0169] In this embodiment, after receiving the first response information, the NEF determines the SF corresponding to the first perception service based on the capability information of the SF indicated by the NRF. In this embodiment, the SF corresponding to the first perception service determined by the NEF includes the first SF and the second SF.

[0170] Optionally, when the first request sent by the AF further includes the area identifier of the first sensing area, the first SF and the second SF determined by the NEF also correspond to the first sensing area.

[0171] Optionally, when S803 is replaced by the NRF sending the second response information, S804 may also be replaced by: the NEF acquires the first SF and the second SF based on the second response information.

[0172] S805: The NEF sends a second request to the first SF, where the second request is used to request a perception result of the first perception service.

[0173] S806: The NEF sends a third request to the second SF, where the third request is used to request the perception result of the first perception service.

[0174] S807: The first SF sends a perception result of the first perception service to the NEF; the NEF receives the perception result of the first perception service sent by the first SF.

[0175] In this embodiment, the perception result of the first perception service sent by the first SF is also referred to as the first perception result.

[0176] Exemplarily, in one implementation, the first SF obtains a first perception result from the first access network device / first perception device or from the first access network device based on the AMF network element, and then sends the first perception result to the NEF.

[0177] S808: The second SF sends the perception result of the first perception service to the NEF; the NEF receives the perception result of the first perception service sent by the second SF.

[0178] In this embodiment, the perception result of the first perception service sent by the second SF is also referred to as the second perception result.

[0179] Exemplarily, in one implementation, the second SF obtains the second perception result from the second access network device / second perception device or from the second access network device based on the AMF network element, and then sends the second perception result to the NEF. In one example, the second access network device / second perception device and the second access network device / second perception device are the same device.

[0180] For details of S807 and S808, please refer to the content of S704 above.

[0181] S809: NEF sends the target sensing result to AF.

[0182] In some embodiments, after receiving the first and second perception results, the NEF may not process the first and second perception results, but directly send the first and second perception results to the AF. That is, the target perception results are the first and second perception results.

[0183] In some embodiments, after receiving the first and second perception results, the NEF may process them to obtain a target perception result, and then transmit the target perception result to the AF. This processing can be understood as fusing the first and second perception results. Exemplarily, this processing may involve cross-validation using the first and second perception results to obtain a more accurate result, or it may involve superimposing the first and second perception results. It will be appreciated that, as described below, this processing may also be performed by the SF.

[0184] It can be seen that in this implementation, the perception results of the first perception service in the first SF and the second SF are aggregated (also called fusion) at the NEF, and then sent uniformly by the NEF network element to the AF network element, which is also called opening to the AF network element.

[0185] In some embodiments, S807 and S809 may be replaced by the first SF sending the first perception result to the AF; S808 and S809 may be replaced by the second SF sending the second perception result to the AF. For details, please refer to the above replacement content of S704 and S705.

[0186] Optionally, it should be noted that, in the embodiment shown in FIG8 , S802 to S803 may be optional. For example, the capability information of the SF may be configured in the NEF, that is, the perception service corresponding to the SF may be configured, or it may also be referred to as configuring the correspondence between the SF and the perception service in the NEF. In this way, when the NEF receives the first request sent by the AF for requesting the first perception service, it may directly determine the first SF and the second SF based on the correspondence between the SF configured in the NEF and the perception service. That is, in this case, S802 to S803 may not be present in the embodiment shown in FIG8 .

[0187] As an optional embodiment, the NEF may also allow the SF to fuse the perception results, then receive the fused perception results sent by the SF and send the fused perception results to the AF. The following, with reference to FIG9 , takes the first SF as the network element for fusing the perception results as an example to provide a second embodiment. As shown in FIG9 , the method includes:

[0188] S901, AF sends a first request to NEF, and NEF receives the first request, where the first request is used to request a perception result of a first perception service.

[0189] S902: The NEF sends first discovery information to the NRF, where the first discovery information is used to request information about the SF.

[0190] S903: The NRF sends first response information, where the first response information is used to indicate capability information of the SF.

[0191] S904, the NEF determines the first SF and the second SF based on the first perception service and the capability information of the SF indicated by the NRF.

[0192] The detailed description of SS901 to S904 may refer to S801 to S804 in the embodiment of FIG8 , which will not be repeated here.

[0193] S904 differs from S804 above in that the NEF can determine that the first SF is a network element that integrates multiple sensing results. It is understood that the first SF can also be considered as a network element for receiving the sensing results of the second SF, or the first SF can also be considered as an SF for reporting the sensing results, which is not limited in this application. Similarly, the indication information used to indicate that the first SF is a network element that integrates multiple sensing results in S905 and S906 can be expressed in similar different ways and will not be repeated here.

[0194] S905: The NEF sends a second request to the first SF, where the second request is used to request a perception result of the first perception service.

[0195] Optionally, the second request includes indication information for indicating that the first SF is a network element that integrates multiple perception results. When the second request does not include the indication information, the third request in S906 carries the indication information. That is, the second request and / or the third request includes the indication information.

[0196] For example, one information bit may be used to indicate that the first SF is a network element that integrates multiple perception results.

[0197] Optionally, the second request may further include information indicating the second SF, such as the SF identifier of the second SF and / or address information of the second SF, to indicate to the first SF that fusion is performed based on the perception result of the second SF.

[0198] Optionally, the second request may further include a fusion method for indicating when fusing the perception results of multiple SFs; accordingly, the first SF fuses the multiple perception results based on the indicated fusion method.

[0199] S906: The NEF sends a third request to the second SF, where the third request is used to request the perception result of the first perception service.

[0200] Optionally, the third request includes information indicating that the first SF is the network element that integrates multiple perception results. For example, the third request includes an identifier of the first SF to indicate that the first SF is the network element that integrates multiple perception results. In this way, the second SF knows that it should send the perception results to the first SF.

[0201] Optionally, when the third request includes information indicating that the first SF is a network element that fuses multiple perception results, the second request in S905 may not include indication information indicating that the first SF is a network element that fuses multiple perception results. In this case, when the first SF receives the perception result sent by the second SF, it can be known that the first SF is a network element that fuses multiple perception results.

[0202] S907: The second SF obtains a sensing result and sends the sensing result to the first SF; the first SF receives the sensing result sent by the second SF.

[0203] Optionally, when the third request includes information indicating the second SF, the second SF may proactively send the second SF sensing result to the first SF.

[0204] Optionally, when the third request does not include information indicating the second SF, the SF identifier of the second SF and / or address information of the second SF may be included in the second request, and then the first SF requests the second SF to send the sensing result.

[0205] The specific process of the second SF obtaining the perception result can be referred to the content of S704 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0206] S908: The first SF obtains the sensing result and sends the target sensing result to the NEF.

[0207] In some embodiments, after receiving the second perception result sent by the second SF, the first SF may not process the second perception result sent by the second SF and the first perception result in the first SF, but directly send the first perception result and the second perception result to the NEF. That is, in this scenario, the target perception result is the first perception result and the second perception result.

[0208] In some embodiments, after receiving the first perception result and the second perception result, the first SF may process the first perception result and the second perception result to obtain a target perception result, and then send the target perception result to the NEF.

[0209] S909: NEF sends the target sensing result to AF.

[0210] In some embodiments, S908 to S909 may be replaced by the first SF acquiring a perception result and sending the target perception result to the AF.

[0211] As can be seen in the embodiment shown in Figure 9, after determining the first and second SFs, the NEF requests the second SF to feed back the first perception result to the first SF; the first SF then provides the NEF with the perception result of the first perception service requested by the AF. Alternatively, it can be considered that in this implementation, the perception results of the first and second SFs are aggregated (also called fused) at the first SF, then sent by the first SF to the NEF network element, and further sent by the NEF to the AF. It should be understood that this approach can reduce the complexity of application layer data fusion.

[0212] As shown in Figures 5 and 6 above, there is also the following situation: when the AF requests the perception results of a certain perception area, the perception results also need to be provided by multiple SFs. In this case, if only the perception results of one SF are fed back, the feedback perception results may be inaccurate. To solve this problem, the communication method provided by this application is described below in combination with several embodiments.

[0213] FIG10 is a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG10 , the method includes:

[0214] S1001: The AF sends a fourth request to the NEF. The fourth request is used to request a sensing result. The fourth request includes information indicating a requested sensing area.

[0215] Exemplarily, the fourth request may include an identifier of the requested sensing area. Optionally, the fourth request may also include feature information of the sensing target, or movement range information of the sensing target.

[0216] Optionally, the fourth request may also include an identifier of the perception service to indicate the requested perception service.

[0217] Exemplarily, the fourth request includes identifiers of multiple different sensing areas. For example, taking FIG. 5 as an example, assuming that the AF requests the sensing results when sensing sensing area 3 and the sensing results when sensing sensing area 4, the fourth request sent by the AF may include the identifiers of sensing area 3 and sensing area 4.

[0218] S1002: The NEF determines a first SF and a second SF, where the first SF and the second SF are determined based on the first perception area and perception area information corresponding to multiple SFs, wherein the perception area corresponding to the first perception function and the perception area corresponding to the second perception function cover the requested perception area.

[0219] In this embodiment, after the NEF receives the fourth request from the AF, the NEF first determines an SF. The determined SF satisfies the sensing area of ​​the coverage request, thereby ensuring that the determined SF is an SF that can provide the sensing result requested by the AF.

[0220] In this embodiment of the present application, the NEF determines at least two SFs. In this embodiment, the at least two SFs include a first SF and a second SF. Specifically, the NEF determines the SF based on the first sensing area and sensing area information corresponding to the multiple SFs. Alternatively, the NEF determines the SF based on the requested first sensing area and the correspondence between the multiple SFs and the sensing areas.

[0221] Next, two implementation methods for determining an SF based on the perception area information corresponding to multiple SFs are introduced.

[0222] For example, the correspondence between SFs and perception areas can be configured in the NRF. Specifically, after the correspondence between SFs and perception areas is configured in the NRF, one implementation method for determining the SF includes: the NEF requests SF information from the NRF; accordingly, the NRF indicates the perception areas corresponding to the multiple SFs to the NEF. Further, after the NRF indicates the perception areas corresponding to the multiple SFs to the NEF, the NEF determines at least two SFs based on the perception areas corresponding to the multiple SFs and the requested perception area. Specifically, the perception areas corresponding to the determined SFs overlap the requested perception area. That is, in this implementation method, the NEF performs the selection of the SF from the multiple SFs that can provide the perception results requested by the AF.

[0223] The sensing area corresponding to the SF covers the requested sensing area, or it can be described in another way: the requested sensing area is covered by the sensing area corresponding to the SF.

[0224] Optionally, when requesting SF information from the NRF, the NEF may also indicate the requested sensing area of ​​the AF. Accordingly, the NRF determines at least two SFs based on the sensing area corresponding to each SF and the requested sensing area, and then indicates the determined SFs to the NEF. In other words, in this implementation, the NRF selects the SF.

[0225] It should be noted that, in this embodiment, the requested sensing area being covered by the sensing area corresponding to the SF includes: the requested sensing area being fully covered or partially covered by the sensing area corresponding to the SF. For example, taking Figure 5 as an example, if the requested sensing areas are sensing area 3 and sensing area 4, then the determined SFs include SF51 and SF52. In this example, the requested sensing area 3 is fully covered by the sensing area 3 corresponding to SF51, and the requested sensing area 4 is fully covered by the sensing area 4 corresponding to SF52. For another example, taking Figure 6 as an example, if the requested sensing area is sensing area 5 in the figure, then this sensing area 5 is partially covered by the sensing area corresponding to SF61, partially covered by the sensing area corresponding to SF62, and partially covered by the sensing area corresponding to SF63. Therefore, the determined SFs include SF61, SF62, and SF63.

[0226] Optionally, in this embodiment, after the NEF determines the first SF and the second SF, it determines the SF whose sensing results need to be fused, and then receives the sensing results sent by the SF whose sensing results need to be fused, and sends the sensing results to the AF.

[0227] For example, the NEF determines that the second SF is the network element of the fusion perception result. As shown in FIG10 , when the NEF determines that the second SF is the network element of the fusion perception result, the process further includes S1003 to S1005:

[0228] S1003: The NEF sends a sixth request to the second SF, where the sixth request is used to request a sensing result.

[0229] Optionally, the sixth request includes indication information for indicating that the second SF is a network element that integrates multiple perception results. When the sixth request does not include the indication information, the fifth request in S1004 carries the indication information. That is, the fifth request and / or the sixth request includes the indication information.

[0230] For example, one information bit may be used to indicate that the second SF is a network element that integrates multiple sensing results.

[0231] Optionally, the sixth request may further include information indicating the first SF, such as the SF identifier of the first SF and / or address information of the first SF, to indicate to the second SF that fusion is performed based on the perception result of the first SF.

[0232] Optionally, the sixth request may further include a fusion method for indicating when fusing the perception results of multiple SFs; accordingly, the second SF fuses the multiple perception results based on the indicated fusion method.

[0233] S1004: The NEF sends a fifth request to the first SF, where the fifth request is used to request a sensing result.

[0234] Optionally, the fifth request includes information indicating that the second SF is the network element that integrates multiple sensing results. For example, the fifth request includes the SF identifier of the second SF to indicate that the second SF is the network element that integrates multiple sensing results. In this way, the first SF knows that it should send the sensing results to the second SF.

[0235] Optionally, when the fifth request includes information indicating that the second SF is a network element that fuses multiple perception results, the sixth request in S1003 may not include indication information indicating that the second SF is a network element that fuses multiple perception results. In this case, when the second SF receives the perception result sent by the first SF, it can be known that the second SF is a network element that fuses multiple perception results.

[0236] S1005: The first SF obtains a sensing result and sends the sensing result to the second SF; the second SF receives the sensing result sent by the first SF.

[0237] In this embodiment, the perception result sent by the first SF to the second SF is also referred to as a first perception result.

[0238] Optionally, when the fifth request includes the SF identifier of the second SF, the first SF may proactively send the first SF sending perception result to the second SF.

[0239] Optionally, the sixth request includes the SF identifier of the first SF, and the second SF may request the first SF to send the perception result. In this implementation, the NEF may not send the fifth request to the first SF, that is, it may not execute S1004, but instead the second SF may trigger the first SF to provide the perception result.

[0240] Specifically, the first SF may trigger the corresponding sensing device to perform sensing measurement, and obtain the sensing result (or sensing data) obtained by the sensing device through the sensing measurement.

[0241] It is understandable that the first SF can directly forward the perception results (or perception data) obtained from the perception device, and the first SF can also further process the perception results (or perception data) obtained from the perception device and send the processed perception results.

[0242] S1006: The second SF obtains the sensing result and sends the target sensing result to the NEF.

[0243] In some embodiments, after receiving the first perception result sent by the first SF, the second SF may not process the first perception result sent by the first SF and the second perception result in the second SF, but directly send the first perception result and the second perception result to the AF. That is, in this scenario, the target perception result is the first perception result and the second perception result.

[0244] In some embodiments, after receiving the first perception result and the second perception result, the second SF may process the first perception result and the second perception result to obtain a target perception result, and then send the target perception result to the AF.

[0245] S1007: NEF sends the target sensing result to AF.

[0246] In some embodiments, S1006 and S1007 may be replaced by a second SF acquiring a perception result and sending the target perception result to the AF.

[0247] It can be seen that in the communication method provided by this embodiment, when the NEF receives a request for the AF, the NEF can determine, based on the interaction with the NRF, that the corresponding perception area is included in the first SF and the second SF in the perception area requested by the AF, and then obtain the target perception result sent to the AF by fusing the perception results at the first SF or the second SF.

[0248] For the embodiment shown in FIG10 , as an optional embodiment, when the first SF receives the fifth request for the perception result sent by the NEF, it can instruct the first access network device to send the perception result to the second SF. Referring to FIG11 , a detailed embodiment is given. As shown in FIG11 , the method includes:

[0249] S1101: The AF sends a fourth request to the NEF. The fourth request is used to request a sensing result. The fourth request includes information indicating a requested sensing area.

[0250] For example, taking FIG5 as an example, the fourth request may include the identifier of sensing area 3 and the identifier of sensing area 4. In this case, the fourth request may be considered as requesting the sensing result when sensing area 3 and the sensing result when sensing area 4.

[0251] S1102, NEF requests NRF to feedback SF information.

[0252] Optionally, when requesting the NRF to feedback SF information, the NEF may also indicate the area identifiers of the requested sensing areas. For example, using Figure 5 as an example, the NEF may indicate the area identifiers of sensing area 3 and sensing area 4 to the NRF. In this case, it can be considered that the NEF requests the NRF to feedback information about the SFs whose corresponding sensing areas include sensing area 3 and / or sensing area 4.

[0253] S1103: The NRF indicates the sensing areas corresponding to at least two SFs to the NEF.

[0254] For example, the information used by the NRF to indicate the sensing areas corresponding to at least two SFs to the NEF includes: an SF identification list, and sensing area information corresponding to each SF in the SF identification list.

[0255] Optionally, if the NEF indicates the area identifier of the requested perception area to the NRF, the NRF indicating to the NEF the perception areas corresponding to at least two SFs may be replaced by: the NRF indicating to the NEF the SFs whose corresponding perception areas are determined to overlap the requested perception area. In this manner, the NRF may further optionally indicate the perception areas corresponding to the determined SFs.

[0256] S1104: The NEF determines a first SF and a second SF based on the sensing areas corresponding to the at least two SFs indicated by the NRF.

[0257] For example, after the NEF receives information about the sensing areas corresponding to at least two SFs indicated by the NRF, the NEF determines, based on the requested sensing area, an SF whose corresponding sensing area covers the requested sensing area.

[0258] Optionally, when the NRF indicates only the SF of the sensing area of ​​the corresponding sensing area coverage request to the NEF, the NEF may directly obtain the SF of the sensing area of ​​the corresponding sensing area coverage request.

[0259] The contents of S1102 to S1104 may be referred to in detail in S1002 in the embodiment shown in FIG10 , and will not be described in detail again.

[0260] In this embodiment, the SF determined by the NEF includes a first SF and a second SF.

[0261] In this embodiment, after the NEF determines the first and second SFs, it determines the SF for which the perception results need to be fused. It then receives the perception results from the SF for which the perception results are fused, and sends them to the AF. This description will continue using the example of the NEF determining the second SF as the network element for the fused perception results. As shown in Figure 11, when the NEF determines the second SF as the network element for the fused perception results.

[0262] S1105: The NEF sends a sixth request to the second SF, where the sixth request is used to request a sensing result.

[0263] Optionally, the sixth request includes indication information for indicating that the second SF is a network element that integrates multiple sensing results. When the sixth request does not include the indication information, the fifth request in S1106 carries the indication information. That is, the fifth request and / or the sixth request include the indication information.

[0264] S1106: The NEF sends a fifth request to the first SF, where the fifth request is used to request a sensing result.

[0265] The detailed description of S1105 and S1106 can refer to the contents of S1003 and S1004 in the embodiment of FIG10 , which will not be repeated here.

[0266] S1107: The first SF instructs the first access network device to send the first perception result to the second SF.

[0267] This embodiment does not limit the specific method of indication. For example, the first SF directly indicates the first access network device, or the first SF network element indicates the first access network device through the AMF network element. For example, the first SF may include the SF identifier of the second SF in the information requesting the perception result sent to the first access network device, thereby instructing the first SF to send the first perception result to the second SF.

[0268] Optionally, the first SF may also instruct the first access network device to send the first sensing data to the first SF. Accordingly, the first access network device reports the first sensing result to the first SF in addition to reporting it to the second SF.

[0269] S1108: The first access network device sends the first perception result to the second SF; the second SF receives the first perception result sent by the first access network device.

[0270] S1109: The second SF obtains a second perception result from the second access network device.

[0271] For example, the second SF sends information for requesting a perception result to the second access network device. After receiving the information, the second access network device sends the second perception result to the second access network device.

[0272] In some embodiments, the second SF may instruct the second access network device to send the second perception result through the AMF.

[0273] S1110: The second SF obtains a target perception result based on the first perception result and the second perception result.

[0274] S1111: The second SF sends the target sensing result to the NEF.

[0275] S1112, NEF sends the target sensing result to AF.

[0276] In some embodiments, S1111 and S1112 may be replaced by a second SF sending the target perception result to the AF.

[0277] As can be seen, in the method provided by the embodiment shown in Figure 11, after the NEF determines the first SF and the second SF that can provide the perception result, it will instruct the first SF to send the first perception result to the second SF. The first SF then instructs the first access network device to send the first perception result to the second SF. The second SF then sends the fused target perception result to the NEF network element, which then feeds it back to the AF network element. It should be understood that this approach can reduce the complexity of application layer data fusion.

[0278] Based on Figure 11, as an optional embodiment, in the embodiment of the present application, when the NEF sends the fifth request to the first SF, the NEF may also carry the area identifier of the perception area corresponding to the second SF in the fifth request. In this way, for the first SF, when it is determined that the perception target moves from the perception area corresponding to the first SF to the perception area corresponding to the second SF, the first perception result is reported to the second SF, and then the second SF performs fusion processing based on the first perception result and the second perception result to obtain the target perception result, and then sends it to the NEF.

[0279] In the above, embodiments are respectively introduced in which the NRF indicates the first SF and the second SF to the NEF, and then the NEF network element obtains the first sensing result in the first SF and the second sensing result in the second SF and sends them to the AF.

[0280] Next, referring to FIG12, another communication method is provided. As shown in FIG12, the method includes:

[0281] S1201, AF sends request information 1 to NEF, and NEF receives request information 1, where request information 1 is used to request a sensing result.

[0282] In this embodiment, the request information 1 includes the starting position of the requested perception target.

[0283] Optionally, the request information 1 may further include feature information indicating the perception target (eg, the size of the perception target).

[0284] S1202: NEF requests SF information from NRF.

[0285] S1203: The NRF indicates the sensing area corresponding to at least one SF to the NEF.

[0286] S1204: NEF determines the first SF.

[0287] For example, the first SF may be specifically determined by the NRF, and then indicated by the NRF to the NEF, so that the NEF learns the first SF.

[0288] For another example, the NRF may indicate the sensing areas corresponding to the multiple SFs to the NEF, and then the NEF determines the first SF based on the requested sensing area and the sensing areas corresponding to the multiple SFs indicated by the NRF.

[0289] S1205: The NEF requests the first SF for a sensing result.

[0290] In some embodiments, when the NEF requests the first SF for a sensing result, the NEF indicates to the first SF the starting location of the sensing target. Optionally, the NEF may indicate the address information of the AF.

[0291] S1206: The first SF obtains a first perception result from the first access network device through the first access network device or through the AMF.

[0292] S1207: When determining that the perception target will move from the perception area corresponding to the first SF to the target perception area, the first SF instructs the NRF to feed back a second SF corresponding to the target perception area.

[0293] For example, the first SF may send the area identifier of the target sensing area, or target location information, ie, location information of the target leaving the first sensing area or entering another sensing area, to the NRF to indicate that the sensing target will move to the target sensing area.

[0294] Optionally, this step may also be replaced by: when the first SF determines that the perception target will move from the perception area corresponding to the first SF to the target perception area, the first SF instructs the NRF to feed back the information of the SF.

[0295] S1208: The NRF indicates the second SF corresponding to the target perception area to the first SF.

[0296] In one implementation, the NRF may include the SF identifier of the second SF or the address information of the second SF in the information used to indicate the second SF corresponding to the target sensing area to the first SF.

[0297] Optionally, when S1207 is replaced by the first SF instructing the NRF to feedback SF information when determining that the perception target will move from the perception area corresponding to the first SF to the target perception area, S1208 can also be replaced by: the NRF indicates the perception area corresponding to at least one SF to the first SF; accordingly, the first SF determines the second SF based on the perception area corresponding to the at least one SF indicated by the NRF and the target perception area.

[0298] S1209: The first SF sends the first sensing result to the second SF.

[0299] In some embodiments, when the first SF sends the first perception result to the second SF, it may also send information such as the characteristics and starting position of the perception target.

[0300] Optionally, the first SF may further indicate to the second SF that the second SF is a network element that fuses multiple perception results.

[0301] S1210, the second SF obtains a second perception result from the second access network device through the second access network device or through the AMF.

[0302] S1211: The second SF obtains a target perception result based on the first perception result and the second perception result.

[0303] S1212: The second SF sends the target sensing result to the NEF.

[0304] S1213: NEF sends the target sensing result to AF.

[0305] Optionally, the above S1209 to S1212 can also be replaced: the first SF requests the second SF to feedback the first perception result to the first SF; accordingly, the first SF receives the first perception result fed back by the second SF; the first SF fuses the first perception result and the second perception result to obtain the target perception result; the first SF sends the target perception result to the NEF.

[0306] It can be seen that in the method provided by the embodiment of Figure 12, when the perception target moves from the perception area corresponding to the first SF to the target perception area, the first SF will request the second SF corresponding to the target perception area from the NRF, and then send the first perception result provided by the first SF to the second SF, or send the second perception result to the first SF through the second SF, so that the first SF or the second SF obtains the target perception result, which is then fed back to the NEF and further opened to the AF.

[0307] It should be noted that the SF identifier described above in this application can be any information that can uniquely identify the SF, for example, it can also be the address information of the SF. Similarly, in the above embodiment, when the NRF indicates the SF information to the NEF, the SF information indicated by the NRF can be the SF identifier and / or the SF address information. Optionally, when the NRF indicates the SF information to the NEF, it can also include the perception service and / or perception area corresponding to the SF.

[0308] The above describes embodiments of determining an SF capable of providing a perception result requested by an AF based on the correspondence between the SF and the perception service, and embodiments of determining an SF capable of providing a perception result requested by an AF based on the correspondence between the SF and the perception area. It will be appreciated that the above methods of determining an SF based on the correspondence between the SF and the perception service and determining an SF based on the correspondence between the SF and the perception area may also be combined.

[0309] For example, optionally, the NRF may store the correspondence between the perception service and the perception area corresponding to the SF, for example, the NRF stores the correspondence between the SF identifier and / or the address information of the SF and the perception service and the perception area.

[0310] Accordingly, when NEF receives the request from AF, there are two possible situations:

[0311] 1) NEF requests SF information from NRF. After receiving the request from NEF, NRF indicates the perception service and / or perception area corresponding to the SF to NEF. For example, when indicating the perception service and / or perception area corresponding to the SF to NEF, the indicated information includes the SF identifier and / or SF address information, and the information of the perception service and / or perception area corresponding to the SF. Then, NEF determines the SF to be selected based on the request from AF and the instruction from NRF.

[0312] 2) NEF requests SF information from NRF. When requesting SF information from NEF, it also indicates to NRF the perception service and / or perception area requested by AF. Accordingly, NRF only indicates to NEF the SF determined to be able to provide the perception result requested by AF. For example, the information indicated to NEF includes the SF identifier of SF and / or the address information of SF.

[0313] The communication method of an embodiment of the present application is described in detail above in conjunction with Figures 7 to 12. The communication device provided in the present application will be described in detail below in conjunction with Figures 13 and 14.

[0314] FIG13 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided by an embodiment of the present application. Specifically, as shown in FIG13 , the device 1300 includes: a receiving module 1301 , a processing module 1302 , and a sending module 1303 .

[0315] In the first embodiment, the communication device is applied to a NEF network element.

[0316] Specifically, in the first embodiment, the receiving module 1301 is used to receive a first request from an application function, where the first request is used to request the perception result of a first perception service; the processing module 1302 is used to determine a first perception function, where the first perception function is determined based on capability information of the first perception service and at least one perception function, where the capability information of the perception function includes the perception service corresponding to the perception function, and the perception service corresponding to the first perception function includes the first perception service; the sending module 1303 is used to send a second request to the first perception function, where the second request is used to request the perception result of the first perception service.

[0317] In one possible implementation, the sending module 1303 is also used to: send first discovery information to the network storage function, where the first discovery information is used to request information of the perception function; the receiving module 1301 is also used to: receive first response information from the network storage function, where the first response information is used to indicate capability information of the at least one perception function.

[0318] In one possible implementation, the first discovery information also includes information of a first perception area for indicating an application function request; wherein, the capability information of at least one perception function is the capability information of at least one perception function corresponding to the first perception area, and the perception area corresponding to the first perception function includes the first perception area.

[0319] In a possible implementation, the first response information includes an identifier of at least one perception function.

[0320] In a possible implementation, the sending module 1303 is further configured to: send second discovery information to the network storage function network storage function, where the second discovery information is used to request discovery of the perception function, and the second discovery information includes information indicating the first perception service;

[0321] The receiving module 1301 is further used to receive second response information from the network storage function, where the second response information is used to indicate the first perception function.

[0322] In one possible implementation, the first perception function is determined based on the capability information of the first perception service and at least one perception function, including: the first perception function is determined based on the identifiers of the first perception service and at least one perception function and the perception service corresponding to the identifier of the perception function.

[0323] In a possible implementation, the capability information of the perception function also includes the type of perception results that can be provided by the perception function and the corresponding perception application program interface.

[0324] In a possible implementation, the first request further includes information indicating a first perception area requested by the application function; wherein the capability information of the perception function further includes a perception area corresponding to the perception function.

[0325] In one possible implementation, the processing module 1302 is also used to: determine a second perception function, where the second perception function is determined based on capability information of the first perception service and at least one perception function, and the perception service corresponding to the second perception function includes the first perception service; the sending module 1303 is also used to: send a third request to the second perception function, where the third request is used to request the perception result of the first perception service.

[0326] In a possible implementation, the second request includes an identifier of the second perception function.

[0327] In a possible implementation, when it is determined that the first perception function is a network element that fuses multiple perception results, the identifier of the second perception function in the second request is used to indicate fusion based on the perception results of the second perception function.

[0328] In a possible implementation, the second request also includes indication information for indicating that the first perception function is a network element that integrates multiple perception results.

[0329] In a possible implementation, when it is determined that the second perception function is a network element that fuses multiple perception results, the identifier of the second perception function in the second request is used to indicate that the second perception function is a network element that fuses multiple perception results.

[0330] In a second embodiment, the communication device is used for a network opening function.

[0331] Specifically, in the second embodiment, the receiving module 1301 is used to receive a fourth request from the application function, where the fourth request is used to request a perception result, and the fourth request includes information for indicating a requested perception area; the processing module 1302 is used to determine a first perception function and a second perception function, where the first perception function and the second perception function are determined based on the requested perception area and the perception area information corresponding to multiple perception functions, wherein the perception area corresponding to the first perception function and the perception area corresponding to the second perception function cover the requested perception area; the sending module 1303 is used to send a fifth request to the first perception function, where the fifth request is used to request a perception result; the sending module 1303 is also used to send a sixth request to the second perception function, where the sixth request is used to request a perception result; wherein the fifth request includes identification information of the second perception function.

[0332] In a possible implementation, when the network open function determines that the first perception function is a network element that fuses multiple perception results, the identifier of the second perception function in the fifth request is used to indicate fusion based on the perception results of the second perception function.

[0333] In a possible implementation, the fifth request also includes indication information for indicating that the first perception function is a network element that integrates multiple perception results.

[0334] In a possible implementation, when the network open function determines that the second perception function is a network element that integrates multiple perception results, the identifier of the second perception function in the fifth request is used to indicate that the second perception function is a network element that integrates multiple perception results.

[0335] In one possible implementation, the fourth request also includes information for indicating the requested perception service; wherein, the first perception function and the second perception function are determined based on the perception area of ​​the request, the perception service of the request and the perception area corresponding to at least one perception function, and the perception service corresponding to the at least one perception function, and the perception services corresponding to the first perception function and the second perception function both include the first perception service.

[0336] In a third embodiment, the communication device is used for a first perception function, including: a receiving module 1301, used to receive a request message for requesting a perception result; wherein the request message includes first information, and the first information indicates an identifier of a second perception function; or, the second request comes from the second perception function; the receiving module 1301 is also used to: obtain the perception result in response to the request message; and the sending module 1303 is also used to send the perception result to the second perception function.

[0337] In a possible implementation, the sending module 1303 is further configured to: obtain the perception result from the first access network device and send the perception result to the second perception function.

[0338] In one possible implementation, the first information also indicates the perception area corresponding to the second perception function: the sending module 1303 is also used to: when the perception target moves from the perception area corresponding to the first perception function to the perception area corresponding to the second perception function, send the perception result to the second perception function.

[0339] In a third embodiment, the communication device is used for a second perception function, including: a receiving module 1301, used to receive a first perception result from a first perception function; receiving a second perception result from an access network device; a sending module 1303, used to send a target perception result to a perception result requester, and the target perception result is obtained based on the first perception result and the second perception result.

[0340] In a possible implementation, before receiving the first perception result from the first perception function, the sending module 1303 is further used to: request the first perception function to send the perception result.

[0341] In a possible implementation, the receiving module 1301 is further used to: receive indication information sent by the network open function to indicate that the second perception function is a network element that integrates multiple perception results.

[0342] Figure 14 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in another embodiment of the present application. The device shown in Figure 14 can be used to execute the method described in any of the above embodiments.

[0343] As shown in Figure 14, the apparatus 1400 of this embodiment includes a memory 1401 and a processor 1402. Optionally, the apparatus 1400 further includes a communication interface 1403 and a bus 1404. The memory 1401, the processor 1402, and the communication interface 1403 are connected to each other via the bus 1404.

[0344] The memory 1401 may be a read-only memory (ROM), a static storage device, a dynamic storage device, or a random access memory (RAM). The memory 1401 may store a program. When the program stored in the memory 1401 is executed by the processor 1402, the processor 1402 is configured to perform the steps of the method shown in Figures 7 to 12.

[0345] The processor 1402 can be a general-purpose central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or one or more integrated circuits to execute relevant programs to implement the methods shown in Figures 7 to 12 of the present application.

[0346] The processor 1402 may also be an integrated circuit chip with signal processing capabilities. In the implementation process, each step of the method of Figures 7 to 12 of the embodiment of the present application may be completed by an integrated logic circuit of hardware in the processor 1402 or by instructions in the form of software.

[0347] The processor 1402 may also be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), or other programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic device, or a discrete hardware component. The processor 1402 may implement or execute the methods, steps, and logic block diagrams disclosed in the embodiments of the present application. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0348] The steps of the method disclosed in conjunction with the embodiments of the present application can be directly embodied as being executed by a hardware decoding processor, or can be executed by a combination of hardware and software modules in the decoding processor. The software module can be located in a storage medium mature in the art, such as a random access memory, a flash memory, a read-only memory, a programmable read-only memory, or an electrically erasable programmable memory, a register, etc. The storage medium is located in the memory 1401, and the processor 1402 reads the information in the memory 1401 and, in combination with its hardware, completes the functions required to be performed by the units included in the device of the present application. For example, the various steps / functions of the embodiments shown in Figures 7 to 12 can be executed.

[0349] The communication interface 1403 may use, but is not limited to, a transceiver or other transceiver device to implement communication between the apparatus 1400 and other devices or a communication network.

[0350] The bus 1404 may include a path for transmitting information between various components of the device 1400 (eg, the memory 1401 , the processor 1402 , and the communication interface 1403 ).

[0351] It should be understood that the apparatus 1400 shown in the embodiment of the present application can be an electronic device, or a chip configured in an electronic device. The apparatus 1400 can be deployed in a terminal device, or can also be deployed in a network device.

[0352] The above embodiments can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware or any other combination. When implemented using software, the above embodiments can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions or computer programs. When the computer instructions or computer program are loaded or executed on a computer, the process or function described in the embodiment of the present application is generated in whole or in part. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions can 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 can be transmitted from one website, computer, server or data center to another website, computer, server or data center via a wired (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) method. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server or data center that contains one or more available media sets. The available medium can be a magnetic medium (e.g., a floppy disk, a hard disk, a tape), an optical medium (e.g., a DVD), or a semiconductor medium. The semiconductor medium can be a solid-state drive.

[0353] It should be understood that the term "and / or" as used herein simply describes a relationship between associated objects, indicating that three possible relationships exist. For example, "A and / or B" can represent: A alone, A and B together, or B alone. A and B can be singular or plural. Furthermore, the character " / " as used herein generally indicates an "or" relationship between the associated objects, but it may also indicate an "and / or" relationship. For specific understanding, please refer to the context.

[0354] In this application, "at least one" means one or more, and "plurality" means two or more. "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.

[0355] It should be understood that in the various embodiments of the present application, the size of the serial numbers of the above-mentioned processes 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 embodiments of the present application.

[0356] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the units and algorithm steps of each example described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are performed in hardware or software 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 beyond the scope of this application.

[0357] Those skilled in the art will clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the systems, devices and units described above can refer to the corresponding processes in the aforementioned method embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0358] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are merely schematic. For example, the division of the units is merely a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods, such as multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. Another point is that the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed can be through some interfaces, indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or units, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0359] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate, and the components shown as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of these units may be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0360] 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.

[0361] If the functions are implemented in the form of software functional units and sold or used as independent products, they can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present application, or the part that contributes to the prior art, or the part of the technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions for enabling a computer device (which can be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the method described in each embodiment of the present application. The aforementioned storage medium includes various media that can store program codes, such as a USB flash drive, a mobile hard disk, a read-only memory, a random access memory, a magnetic disk, or an optical disk.

[0362] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of the present application, but the scope of protection of the present application is not limited thereto. Any changes or substitutions that can be easily conceived by a person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in this application should be included in the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application should be based on the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: Applied to network open functions, including: Receiving a first request from an application function, wherein the first request is used to request a perception result of a first perception service; Determine a first perception function, where the first perception function is determined based on the first perception service and capability information of at least one perception function, where the capability information of the perception function includes a perception service corresponding to the perception function, and the perception service corresponding to the first perception function includes the first perception service; A second request is sent to the first perception function, where the second request is used to request a perception result of the first perception service.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The method further comprises: Sending first discovery information to the network storage function, wherein the first discovery information is used to request information of the perception function; A first response message is received from the network storage function, where the first response message is used to indicate capability information of the at least one perception function.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The first discovery information also includes information for indicating a first perception area of ​​the application function request; The capability information of the at least one perception function is capability information of at least one perception function corresponding to the first perception area, and the perception area corresponding to the first perception function includes the first perception area.

4. The method according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that: The first response information includes an identifier of the at least one perception function.

5. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The determining of the first perception function comprises: Sending second discovery information to the network storage function network storage function, the second discovery information is used to request discovery of the perception function, and the second discovery information includes information used to indicate the first perception service; A second response message is received from the network storage function, where the second response message is used to indicate the first perception function.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that The first perception function is determined based on the first perception service and capability information of at least one perception function, including: The first perception function is determined based on the first perception service and an identifier of at least one perception function and a perception service corresponding to the identifier of the perception function.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that The capability information of the perception function also includes the type of perception results that the perception function can provide and the corresponding perception application program interface.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that The first request also includes information for indicating a first perception area of ​​the application function request; The capability information of the perception function also includes the perception area corresponding to the perception function.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that The method further comprises: Determine a second perception function, where the second perception function is determined based on capability information of the first perception service and at least one perception function, and the perception service corresponding to the second perception function includes the first perception service; A third request is sent to the second perception function, where the third request is used to request the perception result of the first perception service.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that in, The second request includes an identifier of the second perception function.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that When it is determined that the first perception function is a network element that fuses multiple perception results, the identifier of the second perception function in the second request is used to indicate that fusion is performed based on the perception results of the second perception function.

12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that The second request also includes indication information for indicating that the first perception function is a network element that integrates multiple perception results.

13. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that When it is determined that the second perception function is a network element that fuses multiple perception results, the identifier of the second perception function in the second request is used to indicate that the second perception function is a network element that fuses multiple perception results.

14. A communication method, characterized in that: Applied to network open functions, including: receiving a fourth request from the application function, the fourth request being used to request a perception result, the fourth request including information for indicating a requested perception area; Determine a first perception function and a second perception function, wherein the first perception function and the second perception function are determined based on the requested perception area and perception area information corresponding to a plurality of perception functions, wherein the perception area corresponding to the first perception function and the perception area corresponding to the second perception function cover the requested perception area; Sending a fifth request to the first perception function, where the fifth request is used to request a perception result; Sending a sixth request to the second perception function, where the sixth request is used to request a perception result; Among them, the fifth request includes identification information of the second perception function.

15. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that When it is determined that the first perception function is a network element that fuses multiple perception results, the identifier of the second perception function in the fifth request is used to indicate that fusion is performed based on the perception results of the second perception function.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that The fifth request also includes indication information for indicating that the first perception function is a network element that integrates multiple perception results.

17. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that When it is determined that the second perception function is a network element that fuses multiple perception results, the identifier of the second perception function in the fifth request is used to indicate that the second perception function is a network element that fuses multiple perception results.

18. The method according to any one of claims 15 to 17, characterized in that The fourth request also includes information for indicating the requested perception service; Among them, the first perception function and the second perception function are determined based on the requested perception area, the requested perception service and the perception area corresponding to at least one perception function and the perception service corresponding to the at least one perception function, and the perception services corresponding to the first perception function and the second perception function both include the first perception service.

19. A communication method, characterized in that: Applied to first perception functions, including: Receiving a request message for requesting a perception result; wherein the request message includes first information, and the first information indicates an identifier of a second perception function; or, the second request comes from the second perception function; Responding to the request message, obtaining a sensing result; The perception result is sent to the second perception function.

20. The method according to claim 19, characterized in that The sending the perception result to the second perception function includes: The perception result is obtained from the first access network device and sent to the second perception function.

21. The method according to claim 20, characterized in that The first information further indicates a perception area corresponding to the second perception function: When the perception target moves from the perception area corresponding to the first perception function to the perception area corresponding to the second perception function, the perception result is sent to the second perception function.

22. A communication method, characterized in that: Applied to the second perception function, including: receiving a first perception result from the first perception function; Receiving a second perception result from the access network device; Sending a target perception result to a perception result requester, where the target perception result is obtained based on the first perception result and the second perception result.

23. The method according to claim 22, characterized in that Before receiving the first perception result from the first perception function, the method further includes: Request the first perception function to send the perception result.

24. The method according to claim 22 or 23, characterized in that The method further comprises: Receive indication information sent by a network open function to indicate that the second perception function is a network element that integrates multiple perception results.

25. A communication device, characterized in that: include: processor, The processor is configured to enable the communication device to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13 or 14 to 18 or 19 to 21 or 22 to 24 by executing a computer program and / or by a logic circuit.

26. A communication system, characterized in that: Comprising a communication device as claimed in claim 25.

27. A computer readable medium, characterized in that The computer-readable medium stores a program code for computer execution, the program code including instructions for executing the method of any one of claims 1 to 13 or 14 to 18 or 19 to 21 or 22 to 24.

28. A computer program product, characterized in that The computer program product comprises a computer program code, and when the computer program code is run on a computer, the computer is enabled to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13 or 14 to 18 or 19 to 21 or 22 to 24.

29. A chip, characterized in that: It comprises at least one processor and a communication interface, wherein the communication interface and the at least one processor are interconnected via a line, and the at least one processor is used to run a computer program or instruction to perform a communication method as described in any one of claims 1 to 13 or 14 to 18 or 19 to 21 or 22 to 24.

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