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 methods and communication devices

[0001] This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202311642994.2, filed on December 1, 2023, entitled "Communication Method and Communication Apparatus", the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0002] This application relates to the field of communications, and more particularly to a communication method and a communication device. Background Technology

[0003] With the continuous development of communication technology, the demand for communication systems with sensing capabilities is gradually emerging. For example, in certain scenarios of smart cities and smart transportation, the need to acquire sensing data such as the relative positions between objects, the speed of objects, and their shapes is becoming increasingly apparent.

[0004] For communication systems with sensing capabilities, how to obtain more reliable and accurate sensing data has become an urgent technical problem to be solved. Summary of the Invention

[0005] This application provides a communication method for obtaining more reliable and accurate sensing data or sensing results.

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

[0007] For example, the network exposure function can also be called NEF (Network Exposure Function), the application function can also be called AF (Application Function), and the sensing function can also be called SF (Sensing Function). NEF, AF, and SF will be used in the following description, but it should be understood that this description does not constitute a limitation of this application.

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

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

[0010] Alternatively, in this embodiment, the first SF is determined based on the requested first sensing service and the sensing service corresponding to at least one SF.

[0011] Alternatively, to put it another way, the first SF is determined based on the first sensing service requested and the correspondence between the SF and the sensing service.

[0012] It should be noted that this embodiment does not limit how the correspondence between SFs and sensing services is configured. For example, at least one SF identifier and an identifier of the sensing service corresponding to each SF identifier can be configured to indicate the sensing service corresponding to each SF. Alternatively, at least one sensing service identifier and at least one SF identifier corresponding to each sensing service identifier can be configured to indicate the correspondence between sensing functions and sensing services. Optionally, the SF identifier can also be replaced with the SF address information.

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

[0014] In one implementation, the mapping between service factions (SFs) and awareness services can be configured in the NRF, allowing the NRF to obtain capability information for each SF. Specifically, when configuring the mapping between SFs and awareness services in the NRF:

[0015] A method for determining a first SF includes: the NEF sending first discovery information to the NRF, the first discovery information being used to request information about sensing capabilities; and receiving first response information from the NRF, the first response information being used to indicate capability information of at least one SF.

[0016] For example, a network repository function is called an NRF (Network Repository Function). The following description uses the term NRF, but it is understood that this description is not intended to be limiting.

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

[0018] In some embodiments, when the NEF sends first discovery information to the NRF, the first discovery information may also include 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 provide 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 then determines the SF corresponding to the first sensing service as the first SF.

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

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

[0021] In other words, in this implementation, the NEF carries information about the first sensing service in the message sent to the NRF to request the NRF to discover the SF, so that the NRF can determine the first SF corresponding to the first sensing service, and then the NRF indicates the determined first SF to the NEF.

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

[0023] For example, when instructing the NEF on the capability information of at least one SF, the NRF also indicates the sensing data types and corresponding sensing APIs that each of the at least one SF can provide.

[0024] In this embodiment, once the first SF is determined, the NEF can send a second request to the first SF to request the perception result of the first perception service; correspondingly, the first SF obtains the perception result of the first perception service from the corresponding perception device (e.g., a perception base station).

[0025] In one example, when the first SF receives the second request, it sends the perception result of the first perception service to the NEF so that the NEF can know the perception result of the first perception service and then send it to the AF.

[0026] As can be seen, in the communication method provided in this embodiment, when the NEF receives a request from the AF for 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, by using this method, when the first sensing service corresponds to multiple SFs, the method of this application can be used to determine the multiple SFs, and then request the sensing results of the first sensing service from each of the multiple SFs respectively, thereby improving the accuracy of the sensing results of the first sensing service.

[0028] In conjunction with the first aspect, in one possible implementation, the first request also includes information for indicating a first sensing region for the application function request, such as an identifier of the first sensing region; wherein, the capability information of the sensing function also includes the sensing region corresponding to the sensing function.

[0029] If the first request also includes information for indicating the first sensing area of ​​the application function request, then the first request can be considered as a request to sense the first sensing area.

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

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

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

[0033] In this embodiment of the application, when the AF requests the perception result of the first perception service, if the SF determined by the NEF includes both the first SF and the second SF, then when the NEF sends a second request to the first SF to request the perception result, it may also include the identifier of the second SF in the second request. Optionally, the identifier of the second SF may also 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 indicate that the sensing results based on the second SF are fused.

[0035] For ease of description, in the embodiments of this 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 integrates multiple sensing results, the NEF may further include indication information in the second request to indicate that the first SF is a network element that integrates multiple sensing results. For example, the indication information to indicate that the first SF is a network element that integrates multiple sensing results is one information bit. When the one information bit is 1, it indicates that the first sensing function is a network element that integrates multiple sensing 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 the 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 both the first and second perception results.

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

[0039] In this method, the perception results of the first perception service that needs to be obtained from the first SF and the second SF are all collected at the SF (also known as fusion), and then the SF that performs the fusion sends the obtained target perception results to the NEF, and finally the NEF sends them to the AF, also known as opening to the AF.

[0040] In conjunction with the first aspect, in one possible implementation, the first request is further used to request the perception result of the second perception service. The method further includes: determining the SF corresponding to the second perception service based on the 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 is used not only to request the perception result of the first perception service but also to request the perception result of the second perception service.

[0041] The method by which NEF determines the SF corresponding to the second sensing service can be compared with the method by which NEF determines the first SF, and will not be elaborated here.

[0042] Secondly, this application provides a communication method applied to NEF, comprising: receiving a fourth request from an application function, the fourth request being for requesting a sensing result, the fourth request including information for indicating a requested sensing area; determining a first sensing function and a second sensing function, the first sensing function and the second sensing function being determined based on the requested sensing area and sensing area information corresponding to multiple sensing functions, wherein the sensing area corresponding to the first sensing function and the sensing area corresponding to the second sensing function cover the requested sensing area; sending a fifth request to the first sensing function, the fifth request being for requesting a sensing result; sending a sixth request to the second sensing function, the sixth request being for requesting a sensing result; wherein the fifth request includes identification information of the second sensing function.

[0043] The fourth request is used to request a perception result. The fourth request includes information to indicate the perception area to be requested, such as the area identifier of the perception area to be requested.

[0044] In this embodiment, when the NEF receives the fourth request sent by the AF and determines the first SF and the second SF, it will also include the identification information of the second SF in the fifth request when sending the fifth request to the first SF.

[0045] Specifically, in some embodiments, when the NEF determines that the first SF is a network element that fuses multiple sensing results, the identifier of the second SF in the fifth request is used to indicate that the sensing results are fused based on the second SF.

[0046] For ease of description, in this embodiment, the sensing results in the first SF are referred to as the first sensing results, and the sensing results in the second SF are referred to as the second sensing results. Optionally, the NEF may also include indication information in the fifth request to indicate that the first SF is a network element that integrates multiple sensing results. For example, the indication information to indicate that the first SF is a network element that integrates multiple sensing results is one information bit. When this one information bit is 1, it indicates that the first SF is a network element that integrates multiple sensing 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 and second perception results, and then send the target perception result to the NEF.

[0048] Specifically, in some embodiments, when the NEF determines that the second SF is a 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 a network element that fuses multiple sensing results.

[0049] It is understandable that in this implementation, the fifth request can also be considered as a request for the first SF to send the first sensing result to the second SF. Further, in this embodiment, after the first SF sends the first sensing result to the second SF, the second SF indicates the first sensing result and the second sensing result to the NEF. Optionally, the second SF can perform a fusion process on the first sensing result and the second sensing result to obtain the target sensing result, and then send the target sensing result to the NEF.

[0050] In conjunction with the second aspect, in one possible implementation, the fourth request further includes information for indicating the sensing service of the request; wherein the first sensing function and the second sensing function are determined based on the sensing area of ​​the request, the sensing service of the request, and the sensing area corresponding to at least one sensing function and the sensing service corresponding to at least one sensing function, and the sensing service corresponding to both the first sensing function and the second sensing function includes the first sensing service.

[0051] Thirdly, this application provides a communication method applied to a first SF, comprising: receiving a request message for requesting a sensing result; wherein the request message includes first information indicating an identifier of a second sensing function; or, the second request originates from the second sensing function; in response to the request message, obtaining a sensing result; and sending the sensing result to the second sensing function.

[0052] In conjunction with the third aspect, in one possible implementation, sending the sensing result to the second sensing function includes: obtaining the sensing result from the first access network device and sending the sensing result to the second sensing function.

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

[0054] Fourthly, this application provides a communication method applied to a second SF, comprising: receiving a first sensing result from a first sensing function; receiving a second sensing result from an access network device; and sending a target sensing result to a sensing result requester, wherein the target sensing result is obtained based on the first sensing result and the second sensing result.

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

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

[0057] Fifthly, this application also provides a communication method, comprising: when a sensing target moves from a sensing area corresponding to a first SF to a target sensing area, the first SF sends a request message to a NRF, the request message including indication information for indicating the target sensing area; the NRF indicates a second SF corresponding to the target sensing area to the NRF; the first SF sends a sensing result to the second SF, or the first SF requests the second SF to send a sensing 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 and the perception result in the second SF to obtain the target perception result and sends it to the NEF. The NEF 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 and the perception result in the first SF to obtain the target perception result and sends it to the NEF. The NEF then sends it to the AF.

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

[0060] In conjunction with the sixth aspect, in one possible implementation, the communication device further includes a processor; the memory is used to store program instructions; and the processor is used to invoke the program instructions in the memory to execute the method as described in the first aspect or any of the possible implementations therein.

[0061] In a seventh aspect, this application provides a communication device, comprising: a memory configured to perform the method as described in the second aspect or any of its possible implementations.

[0062] In conjunction with the seventh aspect, in one possible implementation, the communication device further includes a processor; the memory is used to store program instructions; and the processor is used to invoke the program instructions in the memory to execute the method as described in the second aspect or any of the possible implementations therein.

[0063] Eighthly, this application provides a communication device, including: a memory configured to perform the method as described in the third aspect or any of the possible implementations thereof.

[0064] In conjunction with the eighth aspect, in one possible implementation, the communication device further includes a processor; the memory is used to store program instructions; the processor is used to invoke the program instructions in the memory to execute the method as described in the third aspect or any of the possible implementations therein.

[0065] Ninthly, this application provides a communication device, including: a memory configured to perform the method as described in the fourth aspect or any of the possible implementations thereof.

[0066] In conjunction with the ninth aspect, in one possible implementation, the communication device further includes a processor; the memory is used to store program instructions; the processor is used to invoke the program instructions in the memory to execute the method as described in the fourth aspect or any of the possible implementations therein.

[0067] On page ten, this application provides a communication device, including: a memory configured to perform the method as described in the fifth aspect or any of its possible implementations.

[0068] In conjunction with the tenth aspect, in one possible implementation, the communication device further includes a processor; the memory is used to store program instructions; the processor is used to invoke the program instructions in the memory to execute the method as described in the fifth aspect or any of the possible implementations therein.

[0069] In one aspect, this application provides a communication system, including 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, this application provides a computer-readable medium storing program code for computer execution, the program code including instructions for performing the methods described in any one of the first to fourth aspects or any possible implementation thereof.

[0071] In a thirteenth aspect, this application provides a chip system including at least one processor and a communication interface, the communication interface and at least one processor being interconnected via a line, the at least one processor being configured to run computer programs or instructions to perform the methods described in the first to fourth aspects or any of the possible implementations thereof.

[0072] In a fourteenth aspect, this application provides a computer program product comprising computer program code that, when executed on a computer, causes the computer to implement the method described in any one of the first or second aspects or any possible implementation thereof.

[0073] The technical effects of any of the implementation methods in aspects two through fourteen can be found in the first aspect and the technical effects of any of the possible implementation methods mentioned above, and will not be elaborated further. Attached Figure Description

[0074] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a wireless sensing implementation provided in this application;

[0075] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a communication system provided in this application;

[0076] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of another communication system provided in this application;

[0077] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of a scenario in which the perception data requested by the AF provided in this application comes from multiple SFs;

[0078] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of another scenario where the perception data requested by the AF provided in this application comes from multiple SFs;

[0079] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of another scenario where the perception data requested by the AF provided in this application comes from multiple SFs;

[0080] Figure 7 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method provided in one embodiment of this application;

[0081] Figure 8 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method provided in another embodiment of this application;

[0082] Figure 9 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method provided in another embodiment of this application;

[0083] Figure 10 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method provided in another embodiment of this application;

[0084] Figure 11 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method provided in another embodiment of this application;

[0085] Figure 12 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method provided in another embodiment of this application;

[0086] Figure 13 is a structural schematic diagram of a communication system provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0087] Figure 14 is a structural schematic diagram of a communication system provided in another embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0088] Existing wireless signals in the environment (sound, light, radio frequency signals, etc.) can be used "additionally" to sense the environment while fulfilling their primary functions (lighting, communication, etc.). Taking radio frequency signals as an example, the radio waves generated by the transmitter undergo physical phenomena such as direct transmission, reflection, and scattering during propagation. As a result, the signal formed at the receiver carries information reflecting the space in which the signal propagates. For example, if a mobile phone receives a weak wireless connection signal, it may be because the phone is too far from the wireless router; conversely, if the Wi-Fi signal strength drops sharply, it is very likely because the phone has entered a specific enclosed space, such as an elevator.

[0089] Therefore, scene perception can be achieved by analyzing changes in wireless signals during propagation. This technology is often referred to as wireless sensing technology or sensorless scene perception technology.

[0090] For ease of understanding, Figure 1 provides an exemplary schematic diagram 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 the second device 102 is the superposition of a direct signal 104 and a reflected signal 105 reflected by the sensing target 103. When the sensing target 103 moves, the reflected signal 105 changes, and thus the signal received by the second device 102 also changes accordingly. Therefore, the state of the sensing target 103 can be determined by the changes in the signal received by the second device 102.

[0091] In some embodiments, wireless sensing technology can be radar-based. Radar includes a transmitting antenna and a receiving antenna. The transmitting antenna emits electromagnetic waves, which are reflected when they encounter a target and received by the receiving antenna. The radar system analyzes the target's characteristics, such as location, shape, motion characteristics, and trajectory, based on changes in the received wave and through signal processing. Radar sensing has many unique advantages: 1) It is unaffected by light or darkness and has the ability to 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 of the target's echo is used to observe and interpret the target's motion state, such as direction and speed. When using multi-channel radar sensors, the target's motion can be observed from different perspectives. By collecting the target's motion state from different perspectives and combining instantaneous and historical information for analysis, complex motion can be distinguished.

[0092] Currently, wireless sensing technology can be applied in various scenarios. For example, in sports, it can detect the movement status and trajectory of people and balls; in home environments, it can detect falls to prevent elderly people from falling; by processing channel state information (CSI), it can interpret human movement status and trajectory; in the field of automotive driver assistance, it can detect pedestrians and vehicles ahead to achieve collision avoidance warnings; in specific industrial park scenarios, it can monitor the intrusion of flying objects such as drones; and in traffic scenarios, it can be used to complete functions such as traffic flow statistics and vehicle navigation.

[0093] With the development of 5G networks, the demand for communication systems with sensing capabilities is gradually emerging. For example, in certain scenarios of smart cities and smart transportation, the need to acquire sensing data such as the relative positions of objects, the speed of objects, and their shapes is becoming increasingly apparent. Sensing data can be understood as data that indicates the results of sensing.

[0094] It should be noted that the embodiments of this application do not impose specific limitations on the architecture of communication systems requiring sensing capabilities. In other words, the solutions of the embodiments of this application can also be applied to future communication systems such as 6G.

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

[0096] UE 201 can be a device that provides voice and / or data connectivity to a user, such as a handheld device or vehicle-mounted device with wireless connectivity. UE can also be referred to as terminal equipment, access terminal, user unit, user station, mobile station, mobile station, remote station, remote terminal, mobile equipment, user terminal, wireless telecom equipment, user agent, user equipment, or user device. The UE can be a station (STA) in a wireless local area network (WLAN), a cellular phone, cordless phone, session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, wireless local loop (WLL) station, personal digital assistant (PDA) device, handheld device with wireless communication capabilities, computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, in-vehicle device, wearable device, and a terminal in a next-generation communication system (e.g., fifth-generation (5G) communication network) or a terminal device in a future evolved public land mobile network (PLMN) network. 5G can also be referred to as New Radio (NR). In one possible application scenario of this application, the terminal device can also be a terminal device that frequently operates on the ground, such as an in-vehicle device. In this application, for ease of description, the chip deployed in the above-mentioned devices, or the chip itself, can also be referred to as the terminal device.

[0097] The primary function of (R)AN 202 is to control UE 201 to access the mobile communication network wirelessly. AN 202 is part of a mobile communication system and implements a wireless access technology. Exemplarily, AN 202 can be any device with wireless transceiver capabilities. This equipment includes, but is not limited to: base stations, evolved NodeBs (eNBs or eNodeBs), radio network controllers (RNCs), Node Bs (NBs), base station controllers (BSCs), base transceiver stations (BTSs), home base stations (e.g., home-evolved NodeBs or home Node Bs, HNBs), base band units (BBUs), access points (APs), wireless relay nodes, wireless backhaul nodes, transmission points (TPs), or transmission and reception points (TRPs) in Wi-Fi systems. It can also be a gNB in ​​5G systems, such as NR, 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 a network node constituting a gNB or transmission point, such as a base band unit (BBU) or a distributed unit (DMU). It can also be a unit (DU), etc.; or it can be a next-generation base station in a 6th generation (6G) mobile communication system, a base station in a future mobile communication system, or an access node in a WiFi system; or it can be a module or unit that performs some 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 distribution unit (DU). A gNB may also include a radio unit (RU). The CU implements some of the gNB's functions, and the DU implements others. For example, the CU implements radio resource control (RRC) and packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer functions, while the DU implements radio link control (RLC), media access control (MAC), and physical (PHY) layer functions. Since RRC layer information ultimately becomes physical layer information, or is derived from physical layer information, in this architecture, higher-layer signaling, such as RRC layer signaling, can be considered to be sent by the DU, or by the DU+CU. It is understood that network devices can be CU nodes, DU nodes, or devices including both CU and DU nodes. Furthermore, the CU can be classified as a network device in the radio access network (RAN) or as a network device in the core network (CN), and this application does not limit this.

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

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

[0101] In the embodiments of this application, the functions of the base station can be executed by modules (such as chips) within the base station, or by a control subsystem that includes base station functions. This control subsystem, including base station functions, can be a control center in the application scenarios of the aforementioned terminals, such as smart grids, industrial control, intelligent transportation, and smart cities. Similarly, the functions of the terminal can be executed by modules (such as chips or modems) within the terminal, or by a device that includes terminal functions.

[0102] UPF 203 is a user plane functional unit, mainly responsible for packet forwarding, quality of service (QoS) control, billing information statistics, and connecting to external networks. It includes the related functions of the Serving Gateway (SGW) and Public Data Network Gateway (PDN-GW) of Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology.

[0103] DN 204 is the network responsible for providing services to UE 201. For example, some DNs provide Internet access for UE 201, while others provide SMS functionality for UE 201, and so on.

[0104] The core network control plane 206 is primarily responsible for service process interaction, issuing packet forwarding policies to the user plane, and QoS control policies. For example, as shown in Figure 2, the control plane network elements in 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), and Unified Data Repository (UDR). Among these, the AMF is primarily responsible for UE 201's access and mobility management, including mobility state management, allocating temporary user identities, and authenticating and authorizing users. SMF is primarily responsible for session management functions, such as managing the creation and deletion of Protocol Data Unit (PDU) sessions, maintaining PDU session context and user plane forwarding pipeline information, UP element selection and reselection, IP address allocation, bearer establishment, modification and release, and QoS control. UDM is primarily responsible for managing subscription data and notifying the relevant network elements when subscription data is modified. UDR is primarily responsible for storing and retrieving subscription data, policy data, and common architecture data, providing relevant data to UDM, PCF, and NEF. UDR must have different data access authentication mechanisms for different types of data, such as subscription data and policy data, to ensure data access security; UDR must be able to return a failure response with an appropriate reason value for illegal service operations or data access requests. AF is used to provide certain application layer services to UE. When providing services to UE, AF has requirements for Quality of Service (QoS) and Charging, and needs to notify the network. At the same time, AF also needs application-related information from the core network. The NSSF is responsible for selecting network slices; the NRF is responsible for the registration and discovery of network elements and maintains information about the network elements, such as the instance identifier, type, PLMN, slice-related identifier, IP address or FQDN, the capabilities of the network element, supported services, etc.

[0105] The PCF (Policy Control Function) is primarily responsible for enforcing policy control, similar to the Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF) element in Long Term Evolution (LTE). This includes generating and managing user, session, and Quality of Service (QoS) flow processing policies, as well as generating QoS and charging rules, and distributing these rules to the UPF (User-User-Functional Function) element via the SMF (Service-Side Function). The AF (Action Function) is mainly responsible for providing various service functions, interacting with the core network through the NEF (Network Element) element, and interacting with the policy management framework for policy management. The NEF (Network Element) provides the framework, authentication, and interfaces related to network capability exposure, facilitating information exchange between 5G system network functions and other network functions. Detailed descriptions of each network element can be found in relevant technical documentation and will not be repeated here.

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

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

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

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

[0110] As one implementation method, the communication system can be equipped with sensing capabilities by deploying integrated radar and communication base stations. Furthermore, precise communication can be achieved based on the radar's accurate sensing capabilities, thereby improving communication efficiency.

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

[0112] It should be understood that a communication system with sensing capabilities may receive a request from a sensing service requester or a sensing service requester for a sensing result. Accordingly, the communication system needs to first determine the appropriate sensing function (SF), then obtain the sensing result from the selected SF, and feed the sensing result back to the sensing service requester. The aforementioned sensing service requester or sensing service requester can be an AF, a UE, or a core network element requiring network optimization; this application does not limit this, and it will be referred to as the requester below.

[0113] In this embodiment, the SF can be considered a network element capable of collecting sensing results from a sensing device. For example, the sensing device is a sensing base station, and the SF network element can collect sensing results from the sensing base station. In this embodiment, the SF can trigger the sensing device to perform sensing measurements on a certain area and obtain sensing results from the sensing device. These sensing results can be used for a certain sensing service. Alternatively, the SF can trigger the sensing device to perform sensing measurements that meet the requirements of the sensing service and obtain sensing results from the sensing device. It is understood that the sensing results in both of these cases can be understood as the sensing results corresponding to the sensing service. In this embodiment, the area where sensing measurements are performed is also called the sensing area. It is understood that, in another possible expression, after the sensing device performs sensing measurements, what it sends to the SF is called sensing data, and the SF further analyzes or processes this sensing data to obtain what is called the sensing result. Alternatively, in another possible expression, the sensing result obtained by the requesting party is called sensing data.

[0114] The following are three possible scenarios involving three embodiments of this application.

[0115] For example, in the first scenario, as shown in Figure 4, assume 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 recognition; 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 recognition 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 Figure 5, assume the communication system includes SF51 and SF52. A requester may request sensing results for a sensing target 53. This sensing target 53 is mobile and is expected to move from sensing area 3 to sensing area 4. The sensing target 53 is currently located in sensing area 3, covered by the sensing area of ​​SF51, and is expected to be located in sensing area 4 after moving, 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 is understood that in this scenario, SF51 can be selected first, and SF52 can be selected when the sensing target 53 moves to or is about to move to area 4.

[0117] For example, in the third scenario, as shown in Figure 6, assume the communication system includes SF61, SF62, and SF63. A requester may request sensing results for sensing area 5. This sensing area 5 is covered by the sensing areas of SF61, SF62, and SF63. In response to the requester's request, SF61, SF62, and SF63 should be selected to obtain the sensing results and report them to the requester.

[0118] Therefore, how to select the SF (Sensitive Detection) to enable the requester to obtain more reliable and accurate perception data has become an urgent problem to be solved. However, no relevant solution has been proposed at present.

[0119] Figure 7 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 7, the method includes:

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

[0121] The aforementioned first request can also be understood as a request for a first sensing service. This application does not limit the name of the first request. It is understood that requests for sensing results from sensing services in the following text can also be understood in this way, and will not be elaborated further.

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

[0123] In this embodiment, for ease of description, the identifier of the perceived service is collectively referred to as the service identifier (service ID).

[0124] Optionally, a first region identifier may be included in the first request, wherein the first region identifier is used to identify a first sensing region to indicate that the AF request is to sense the first sensing region.

[0125] Optionally, S701 can also be the UE or other sensing service requesting party sending a first request to the NEF. Similarly, in subsequent embodiments, AF can be replaced by the UE or other sensing service requesting party, which will not be elaborated further.

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

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

[0128] It should be noted that this embodiment does not limit how the correspondence between SF and sensing services is configured. For example, at least one SF identifier and an identifier of the sensing service corresponding to each SF identifier can be configured to indicate the sensing service corresponding to each SF. Alternatively, at least one sensing service identifier and at least one SF identifier corresponding to each sensing service identifier can be configured to indicate the correspondence between sensing functions and sensing services.

[0129] Below, we introduce two implementation methods for determining the first SF based on the capability information of at least one SF.

[0130] The first implementation scheme: Configure the mapping relationship between SF and awareness service in NRF.

[0131] Specifically, after configuring the correspondence between SF and sensing services in NRF, the first implementation method for determining the first SF includes: NEF sending first discovery information to NRF, the first discovery information being used to request information for sensing functions; receiving first response information sent by NRF, the first response information being used to indicate the capability information of at least one SF, that is, NRF indicating to NEF the sensing service corresponding to at least one SF.

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

[0133] It should be understood that when the NRF indicates at least one sensing service corresponding to a SF to the NEF, the NEF accordingly determines the SF corresponding to the first sensing service as the first SF based on the sensing service corresponding to each of 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 also include information indicating the first sensing area corresponding to the first sensing service. In this case, the first discovery information can be considered as a request for the NRF to provide feedback on the SF corresponding to the first sensing area. Correspondingly, 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 then determines the SF corresponding to the first sensing service as the first SF.

[0135] Optionally, when instructing the NEF on the capability information of at least one SF, the NRF may also instruct on the sensing area corresponding to the SF.

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

[0137] That is, in the first implementation of the first scheme, the first discovery information sent by the NEF can be considered as a request for the NRF to provide information about some SFs, and then the NEF determines the first SF based on the sensing service corresponding to at least one SF provided by the NRF. In other words, the selection of the first SF from at least one SF is performed by the NEF.

[0138] Specifically, after configuring the mapping between SF and awareness service in NRF, the second implementation method for determining the first SF includes:

[0139] The NEF can send a second discovery message to the NRF. This second discovery message requests the discovery of a First SF (Sensing Service). The second discovery message includes information indicating the First Sensing Service. In this case, the second discovery message can be considered a request for the NRF to provide feedback on the First SF corresponding to the First Sensing Service. Accordingly, after receiving the second discovery message, the NRF determines the SF corresponding to the First Sensing Service (i.e., the First SF) based on the Sensing Service corresponding to each SF and the requested First Sensing Service. Then, it sends a second response message to the NEF, which indicates the First SF. In other words, in this implementation, the NRF determines the First SF corresponding to the First Sensing Service, and then the NRF indicates the determined First SF to the NEF. Optionally, when indicating the First SF to the NEF, the NRF can also indicate the type of sensing result that the First SF can provide and the corresponding sensing application program interface (API).

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

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

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

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

[0144] S704, the first SF obtains the 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 sensing result of the first sensing service from the corresponding sensing device (e.g., a sensing base station) and sends the sensing result to the NEF. More specifically, the first SF can trigger the corresponding sensing device to perform sensing measurements and obtain the sensing results (or sensing data) obtained by the sensing device through these measurements.

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

[0147] S705, NEF sends the perception results of the first perception service to AF.

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

[0149] Optionally, when the UE or other sensing service requester sends the first request in S701, the sensing results in S705 are also sent to the UE or other sensing 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; the first SF can also send the perception result to the AF directly or through other nodes, and this application does not limit this. It is understood that in the following text, the method by which the SF reports the perception result to the AF via the NEF can be replaced by the SF directly or through other nodes sending the perception result to the AF, and will not be elaborated further.

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

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

[0153] The method for determining the SF corresponding to the second sensing service based on the capability information of the second sensing service and at least one SF can be compared with the method for determining the first SF based on the capability information of the first sensing service and at least one SF, and will not be elaborated here.

[0154] It should be understood that there may be multiple SFs corresponding to the first sensing service. For example, if there are multiple SFs corresponding to the first sensing service, then there will be multiple SFs identified corresponding to the first sensing service.

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

[0156] Referring to Figure 8, Embodiment 1 is given. As shown in Figure 8, the method includes:

[0157] Prerequisite: The NRF is configured with the mapping between the sensing service identifier and the SF identifier to indicate the mapping between the sensing service and the SF, or it is also called configuring the capability information of the SF.

[0158] S801, AF sends a first request to NEF, NEF receives the first request, the first request is used to request the perception result of the 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 also include a region identifier of the first sensing region to indicate that the AF request is for sensing the first sensing region.

[0160] S802, NEF sends the first discovery information to NRF, which is used to request information from SF.

[0161] Optionally, when the first request sent by the AF also includes the area identifier of the first sensing area, the first discovery information sent by the NEF to the NRF may also include information for indicating the first sensing area. In this case, the first discovery information can be considered as information for requesting the SF of the first sensing area.

[0162] Optionally, this step can also be replaced by: NEF sending a second discovery information to NRF, the second discovery information being used to request information from SF, the second discovery information including information for indicating the first sensing service, that is, the second discovery information can also be considered as requesting NRF to provide feedback on the SF corresponding to the first sensing service.

[0163] S803, NRF sends a first response message, which is used to indicate the capability information of 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 sensing 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 detection information may also include information for indicating the first sensing area, the capability information of the SF indicated by the NRF is the capability information of the SF corresponding to the first sensing area.

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

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

[0168] S804, NEF determines the first SF and the second SF based on the capability information of the first sensing service and 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 sensing service based on the SF capability information indicated by the NRF. In this embodiment, the SFs determined by the NEF corresponding to the first sensing service include the first SF and the second SF.

[0170] Optionally, when the first request sent by the AF also 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 NRF sending the second response information, S804 can also be replaced by: NRF learning the first SF and the second SF based on the second response information.

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

[0173] S806, NEF sends a third request to the second SF, the third request being used to request the perception results of the first perception service.

[0174] S807, the first 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 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] For example, in one implementation, the first SF obtains a first sensing result from the first access network device / first sensing device or from the first access network device based on the AMF network element, and then sends the first sensing 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] For example, in one implementation, the second SF obtains the second sensing result from the second access network device / second sensing device or from the second access network device based on the AMF network element, and then sends the second sensing result to the NEF. In one example, the second access network device / second sensing device and the second access network device / second sensing device are the same device.

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

[0181] S809, NEF sends the target perception results 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 and directly send them to the AF. That is, the target perception result at this time is the first and second perception results.

[0183] In some embodiments, after receiving the first perception result and the second perception result, the NEF can process the first and second perception results to obtain a target perception result, and then send the target perception result to the AF. This processing can be understood as the fusion of the first and second perception results. For example, this processing may involve cross-validating the first and second perception results to obtain a more accurate result; or it may involve superimposing the first and second perception results. It is understood that, in the following text, this processing may also be performed by the SF.

[0184] As can be seen, in this implementation method, the perception results of the first perception service in the first SF and the second SF are aggregated at the NEF (also known as fusion), and then uniformly sent by the NEF network element to the AF network element, also known as being open to the AF network element.

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

[0186] Optionally, it should be noted that in the embodiment shown in Figure 8, S802-S803 can be optional. For example, the capability information of the SF can be configured in the NEF, that is, the sensing service corresponding to the SF can be configured, or the correspondence between the SF and the sensing service can be configured in the NEF. In this way, when the NEF receives the first request sent by the AF to request the first sensing service, it can directly determine the first SF and the second SF based on the correspondence between the SF and the sensing service configured in the NEF. That is, in this case, S802-S803 may be omitted in the embodiment shown in Figure 8.

[0187] As an optional embodiment, the NEF can also allow the SF to perform sensing result fusion, then receive the fused sensing results sent by the SF and send the fused sensing results to the AF. Referring to Figure 9, the second embodiment is given below, taking the first SF as the network element performing sensing result fusion as an example. As shown in Figure 9, the method includes:

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

[0189] S902, NEF sends first discovery information to NRF, which is used to request information from SF.

[0190] S903, NRF sends a first response message, which is used to indicate the capability information of SF.

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

[0192] For a detailed description of SS901 to S904, please refer to S801 to S804 in the embodiment of Figure 8, which will not be repeated here.

[0193] S904 differs from S804 in that NEF can determine the first SF as a network element that fuses multiple sensing results. It is understood that the first SF can also be described as a network element used to receive the sensing results of the second SF, or as an SF used to report the sensing results; this application does not limit this. Similarly, the indication information in S905 and S906 used to indicate that the first SF is a network element that fuses multiple sensing results can have similar different expressions, which will not be elaborated further.

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

[0195] Optionally, the second request includes indication information for instructing the first SF to be a network element that fuses multiple sensing results. When the second request does not include this indication information, it is carried in the third request in S906. That is, the second request and / or the third request include this indication information.

[0196] For example, a single information bit can be used to indicate that the first SF is a network element that fuses multiple sensing results.

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

[0198] Optionally, the second request may also include a fusion method for instructing the fusion of perception results from multiple SFs; correspondingly, the first SF fuses multiple perception results based on the indicated fusion method.

[0199] S906, NEF sends a third request to the second SF, the third request being used to request the perception results of the first perception service.

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

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

[0202] S907, the second SF acquires the 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 for instructing the second SF, the second SF may proactively send the perception result to the first SF.

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

[0205] The process by which the second SF acquires the perception results can be referred to in the above S704, and will not be repeated here.

[0206] S908, the first SF acquires the perception results and sends the target perception results to 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, and 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 can process the first perception result and the second perception result to obtain the target perception result, and then send the target perception result to the NEF.

[0209] S909, NEF sends target perception results to AF.

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

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

[0212] As shown in Figures 5 and 6 above, the following situation also exists: when the AF requests the perception result of a certain sensing area, the perception result also needs to be provided by multiple SFs. In this case, if only the perception result from one SF is fed back, there will be a problem of inaccurate feedback of the perception result. Below, to solve this problem, we will give the communication method provided by this application in conjunction with several embodiments.

[0213] Figure 10 illustrates a communication method provided in one embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 10, the method includes:

[0214] S1001, AF sends a fourth request to NEF. The fourth request is used to request the sensing results and includes information indicating the sensing area to be requested.

[0215] For example, 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 information on the movement range of the sensing target.

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

[0217] For example, the fourth request may include identifiers of multiple different sensing regions. For instance, taking Figure 5 as an example, assuming that the AF requests the sensing results when sensing region 3 and sensing region 4, then the fourth request sent by the AF may include the identifiers of sensing region 3 and sensing region 4.

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

[0219] In this embodiment, after the NEF receives the fourth request from the AF, the NEF first determines the SF. The determined SF satisfies the sensing area covered by the AF request. This ensures that the determined SF is capable of providing the sensing results requested by the AF.

[0220] In this embodiment, 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 SFs based on the first sensing region and the sensing region information corresponding to the multiple SFs. Alternatively, the NEF determines the SFs based on the requested first sensing region and the correspondence between the multiple SFs and the sensing region.

[0221] Below, we introduce two methods for determining an SF based on sensing area information corresponding to multiple SFs.

[0222] For example, the mapping between SFs and sensing areas can be configured in the NRF. Specifically, after configuring the mapping between SFs and sensing areas in the NRF, one implementation for determining SFs includes: the NEF requests SF information from the NRF; correspondingly, the NRF indicates multiple sensing areas corresponding to SFs to the NEF. Further, after the NRF indicates multiple sensing areas corresponding to SFs to the NEF, the NEF determines at least two SFs based on the multiple sensing areas corresponding to the SFs and the requested sensing area. Specifically, the sensing areas corresponding to the determined SFs cover the requested sensing area. That is, in this implementation, the selection of the SF that can provide the sensing result for the AF request from multiple SFs is performed by the NEF.

[0223] In this context, the perception area corresponding to SF covers the perception area of ​​the request, or it can be described in another way: the perception area of ​​the request is covered by the perception area corresponding to SF.

[0224] Optionally, when requesting SF information from NRF, NEF can also indicate the sensing area requested by AF; accordingly, 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 NEF. That is, in this implementation, the SF is selected by NRF.

[0225] It should be noted that in this embodiment, "the requested sensing area being covered by the sensing area corresponding to SF" includes either the requested sensing area being completely or partially covered by the sensing area corresponding to SF. For example, taking Figure 5 as an example, if the requested sensing areas are sensing areas 3 and 4, then the determined SFs include SF51 and SF52. In this example, the requested sensing area 3 is completely covered by the sensing area 3 corresponding to SF51, and the requested sensing area 4 is completely covered by the sensing area 4 corresponding to SF52. As another example, taking Figure 6 as an example, if the requested sensing area is sensing area 5 in the figure, then 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 will determine the SF that needs to fuse the sensing results, and then receive the sensing results sent by the SF that fused the sensing results, and send them to the AF.

[0227] For example, the explanation will be based on the case where the NEF determines the second SF as the network element of the fusion sensing result. As shown in Figure 10, when the NEF determines the second SF as the network element of the fusion sensing result, steps S1003 to S1005 are also included:

[0228] S1003, NEF sends a sixth request to the second SF, which is used to request the perception result.

[0229] Optionally, the sixth request includes indication information for instructing the second SF to be a network element that fuses multiple sensing results. When the sixth request does not include this indication information, it is carried in the fifth request in S1004. That is, the fifth request and / or the sixth request include this indication information.

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

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

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

[0233] S1004, NEF sends a fifth request to the first SF, which is used to request the perception result.

[0234] Optionally, the fifth request may include information indicating that the second SF is a network element that fuses multiple sensing results. For example, the fifth request may include an SF identifier for the second SF to indicate that the second SF is a network element that fuses multiple sensing results. In this way, the first SF knows that it should send the sensing results to the second SF.

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

[0236] S1005, the first SF acquires the 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 sensing result sent from the first SF to the second SF is also referred to as the first sensing result.

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

[0239] Optionally, the sixth request may include the SF identifier of the first SF, and the second SF may request the first SF to send the sensing results. In this implementation, the NEF may also choose not to send the fifth request to the first SF, that is, it may choose not to execute S1004, and instead the second SF may trigger the first SF to provide the sensing results.

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

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

[0242] S1006, the second SF acquires the perception results and sends the target perception results 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, and 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 can process the first perception result and the second perception result to obtain the target perception result, and then send the target perception result to the AF.

[0245] S1007, NEF sends the target perception results to AF.

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

[0247] As can be seen, in the communication method provided in this embodiment, when the NEF receives a request for AF, the NEF can determine the first SF and the second SF that the corresponding sensing area is contained in the sensing area requested by the AF based on the interaction with the NRF. Then, by performing fusion processing on the sensing results at the first SF or the second SF, the target sensing result sent to the AF is obtained.

[0248] For the embodiment shown in Figure 10, as an optional embodiment, when the first SF receives the fifth request for sensing results sent by the NEF, it can instruct the first access network device to send the sensing results to the second SF. Referring to Figure 11, a detailed embodiment is given. As shown in Figure 11, the method includes:

[0249] S1101, AF sends a fourth request to NEF. The fourth request is used to request the sensing results and includes information indicating the sensing area to be requested.

[0250] For example, taking Figure 5 as an example, the fourth request may include the identifiers of sensing region 3 and sensing region 4. In this case, the fourth request can be considered as the perception result when requesting sensing region 3 and the perception result when requesting sensing region 4.

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

[0252] Optionally, when requesting information about the SF from the NRF, the NEF can also indicate the region identifier of the requested sensing region. For example, taking Figure 5 as an example, the NEF can indicate the region identifiers of sensing region 3 and sensing region 4 to the NRF. In this case, it can be considered that the NEF is requesting information from the NRF about the SF of the corresponding sensing region containing sensing region 3 and / or sensing region 4.

[0253] S1103, NRF indicates to NEF the sensing area corresponding to at least two SFs.

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

[0255] Optionally, if the NEF indicates the region identifier of the requested sensing area to the NRF, the NRF indicating the sensing areas corresponding to at least two SFs to the NEF can be replaced by the NRF indicating to the NEF the SFs whose determined corresponding sensing areas cover the requested sensing area. In this manner, it is further optional that the NRF may also indicate the sensing areas corresponding to the determined SFs respectively.

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

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

[0258] Optionally, when the NRF only indicates the SF of the corresponding sensing area to the NEF, the NEF can directly know the SF of the corresponding sensing area to the NEF.

[0259] The contents of S1102 to S1104 can be referred to in detail in S1002 of the embodiment shown in Figure 10, and will not be repeated here.

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

[0261] In this embodiment, after the NEF determines the first SF and the second SF, it determines the SF that needs to have its sensing results fused, then receives the sensing results sent by the SF with the fused sensing results, and sends them to the AF. The example of the NEF determining the second SF as the network element with the fused sensing results will be used for further explanation. As shown in Figure 11, when the NEF determines the second SF as the network element with the fused sensing results...

[0262] S1105, NEF sends a sixth request to the second SF, the sixth request being used to request the perception result.

[0263] Optionally, the sixth request includes indication information for instructing the second SF to be a network element that fuses multiple sensing results. When the sixth request does not include this indication information, it is carried in the fifth request in S1106. That is, the fifth request and / or the sixth request include this indication information.

[0264] S1106, NEF sends a fifth request to the first SF, the fifth request being used to request the perception result.

[0265] For a detailed description of S1105 and S1106, please refer to the contents of S1003 and S1004 in the embodiment of Figure 10, which will not be repeated here.

[0266] S1107, the first SF instructs the first access network device to send the first sensing result to the second SF.

[0267] It should be noted that this embodiment does not limit the specific way the instruction is given. For example, the first SF may directly instruct the first access network device, or the first SF network element may instruct 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 sensing result sent to the first access network device, so as to instruct the first SF to send the first sensing 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 both the second SF and the first SF.

[0269] S1108, the first access network device sends the first sensing result to the second SF; the second SF receives the first sensing result sent by the first access network device.

[0270] S1109, the second SF obtains the second sensing result from the second access network device.

[0271] For example, the second SF sends information to the second access network device to request the sensing result, and after receiving the information, the second access network device sends the second sensing 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 sensing result via the AMF.

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

[0274] S1111, the second SF sends the target perception results to the NEF.

[0275] S1112, NEF sends the target perception results to AF.

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

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

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

[0279] The above describes an embodiment in which the NRF instructs the NEF to use the first SF and the second SF, and then the NEF network element obtains the first sensing result from the first SF and the second sensing result from the second SF and sends them to the AF.

[0280] Next, referring to Figure 12, another communication method is given. As shown in Figure 12, this method includes:

[0281] S1201, AF sends request information 1 to NEF, NEF receives request information 1, request information 1 is used to request the perception result.

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

[0283] Optionally, the request information 1 may also include feature information (e.g., the size of the perceived target) used to indicate the target.

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

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

[0286] S1204, NEF determines the first SF.

[0287] For example, the first SF can be specifically determined by the NRF and then instructed by the NRF to the NEF so that the NEF knows the first SF.

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

[0289] S1205, NEF requests the perception result from the first SF.

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

[0291] S1206, the first SF obtains the first sensing result from the first access network device through the first access network device, or from the first access network device through the AMF.

[0292] S1207, when the first SF determines that the sensing target will move from the sensing area corresponding to the first SF to the target sensing area, it instructs the NRF to feed back the second SF corresponding to the target sensing area.

[0293] For example, the first SF can send the area identifier of the target sensing area or the target location information, i.e., the location information of the target leaving the first sensing area or entering other sensing areas, to the NRF to indicate that the sensing target will move to the target sensing area.

[0294] Optionally, this step can also be replaced by: when the first SF determines that the sensing target will move from the sensing area corresponding to the first SF to the target sensing area, instructing the NRF to feed back information from 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 to the first SF the second SF corresponding to the target sensing area.

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

[0298] S1209, the first SF sends the first perception result to the second SF.

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

[0300] Optionally, the first SF can also instruct the second SF to be a network element that integrates multiple sensing results.

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

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

[0303] S1212, the second SF sends the target perception result to NEF.

[0304] S1213, NEF sends the target perception results to AF.

[0305] Optionally, S1209 to S1212 above can also be replaced by: the first SF requesting the second SF to feed back the first perception result to the first SF; correspondingly, 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] As can be seen, in the method provided in the embodiment of Figure 12, when the perceived 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. Then, by sending the first perception result provided by the first SF to the second SF, or by sending the second perception result to the first SF through the second SF, the first SF or the second SF obtains the target perception result and feeds it back to the NEF, which is then 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, such as the SF's address information. Similarly, in the above embodiments, when the NRF indicates the SF information to the NEF, the SF information indicated by the NRF can be the SF's identifier and / or the SF's address information. Optionally, when the NRF indicates the SF information to the NEF, it may also include the sensing service and / or sensing area corresponding to the SF.

[0308] The above describes embodiments for determining the SF capable of providing the perception result for the AF request based on the correspondence between the SF and the perception service, and embodiments for determining the SF capable of providing the perception result for the AF request based on the correspondence between the SF and the perception area. It is understood that the methods for determining the SF based on the correspondence between the SF and the perception service, and the methods for determining the SF based on the correspondence between the SF and the perception area, described above, can also be combined.

[0309] Optionally, the NRF can store the correspondence between the sensing service and the sensing area corresponding to the SF. For example, the NRF can store the correspondence between the SF identifier and / or the SF address information and the sensing service and sensing area.

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

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

[0312] 2) The NEF requests information about the SF from the NRF. When requesting information about the SF from the NEF, the NRF also indicates the sensing service and / or sensing area requested by the AF. Accordingly, the NRF only indicates to the NEF the SF that can provide the sensing results requested by the AF. For example, the information indicated to the NEF includes the SF's SF identifier and / or the SF's address information.

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

[0314] Figure 13 is a structural schematic diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application. Specifically, as shown in Figure 13, the device 1300 includes: a receiving module 1301, a processing module 1302, and a transmitting 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 configured to receive a first request from an application function, the first request being used to request a perception result from a first perception service; the processing module 1302 is configured to determine a first perception function, the first perception function being determined based on the first perception service and capability information of at least one perception function, the capability information of the perception function including the perception service corresponding to the perception function, the perception service corresponding to the first perception function including the first perception service; and the sending module 1303 is configured to send a second request to the first perception function, the second request being used to request a perception result from the first perception service.

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

[0318] In one possible implementation, the first discovery information further includes information for indicating a first sensing region for application function requests; wherein, the capability information of at least one sensing function is the capability information of at least one sensing function corresponding to the first sensing region, and the sensing region corresponding to the first sensing function includes the first sensing region.

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

[0320] In one possible implementation, the sending module 1303 is further configured to: send second discovery information to the network storage function, the second discovery information being used to request the discovery sensing function, the second discovery information including information for indicating the first sensing service;

[0321] The receiving module 1301 is also configured to receive second response information from the network storage function, the second response information being used to indicate the first sensing function.

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

[0323] In one possible implementation, the capability information of the sensing function also includes the type of sensing results that the sensing function can provide and the corresponding sensing application interface.

[0324] In one possible implementation, the first request further includes information for indicating a first sensing region for the application function request; wherein the capability information of the sensing function further includes the sensing region corresponding to the sensing function.

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

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

[0327] In one possible implementation, when the first sensing function is determined to be a network element that fuses multiple sensing results, the identifier of the second sensing function in the second request is used to indicate that the sensing results based on the second sensing function are fused.

[0328] In one possible implementation, the second request may also include indication information for indicating that the first sensing function is a network element that fuses multiple sensing results.

[0329] In one possible implementation, when the second sensing function is determined to be a network element that integrates multiple sensing results, the identifier of the second sensing function in the second request is used to indicate that the second sensing function is a network element that integrates multiple sensing results.

[0330] In the second embodiment, the communication device is used for network openness functions.

[0331] Specifically, in the second embodiment, the receiving module 1301 is configured to receive a fourth request from an application function, the fourth request being for requesting a perception result, the fourth request including information indicating the requested perception area; the processing module 1302 is configured to determine a first perception function and a second perception function, the first perception function and the second perception function being determined based on the requested perception area and 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 configured to send a fifth request to the first perception function, the fifth request being for requesting a perception result; the sending module 1303 is further configured to send a sixth request to the second perception function, the sixth request being for requesting a perception result; wherein the fifth request includes identification information of the second perception function.

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

[0333] In one possible implementation, the fifth request may also include indication information for indicating that the first sensing function is a network element that fuses multiple sensing results.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[0343] As shown in Figure 14, the device 1400 of this embodiment includes a memory 1401 and a processor 1402. Optionally, the device 1400 also includes a communication interface 1403 and a bus 1404. The memory 1401, the processor 1402, and the communication interface 1403 are interconnected 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, and when the program stored in the memory 1401 is executed by the processor 1402, the processor 1402 performs the various steps of the methods shown in Figures 7 to 12.

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

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

[0347] The processor 1402 described above can 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 devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, or discrete hardware components. It can implement or execute the methods, steps, and logic block diagrams disclosed in the embodiments of this application. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or any conventional processor, etc.

[0348] The steps of the method disclosed in the embodiments of this application can be directly implemented by a hardware decoding processor, or implemented by a combination of hardware and software modules in the decoding processor. The software modules can reside in random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable memory, registers, or other mature storage media in the art. This storage medium is located in memory 1401. Processor 1402 reads information from memory 1401 and, in conjunction with its hardware, completes the functions required by the units included in the device of this application. For example, it can execute the various steps / functions of the embodiments shown in Figures 7 to 12.

[0349] The communication interface 1403 can use, but is not limited to, transceivers to enable communication between the device 1400 and other devices or communication networks.

[0350] Bus 1404 may include a pathway for transmitting information between various components of device 1400 (e.g., memory 1401, processor 1402, communication interface 1403).

[0351] It should be understood that the device 1400 shown in the embodiments of this application can be an electronic device, or it can be a chip configured in an electronic device. The device 1400 can be deployed in a terminal device, or it can 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 thereof. When implemented using software, the above embodiments can be implemented, in whole or in part, as a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions or computer programs. When the computer instructions or computer programs are loaded or executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions described in the embodiments of this application are generated. 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. 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 wired (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) means. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that a computer can access or a data storage device such as a server or data center that includes one or more sets of available media. The available medium can be a magnetic medium (e.g., floppy disk, hard disk, magnetic tape), an optical medium (e.g., DVD), or a semiconductor medium. A semiconductor medium can be a solid-state drive.

[0353] It should be understood that the term "and / or" in this article is merely a description of the relationship between related objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: A existing alone, A and B existing simultaneously, or B existing alone. A and B can be singular or plural. Additionally, the character " / " in this article generally indicates an "or" relationship between the preceding and following related objects, but it can also represent an "and / or" relationship. Please refer to the context for a more accurate understanding.

[0354] In this application, "at least one" means one or more, and "more than one" means two or more. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions refer to any combination of these items, including any combination of single or multiple 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 multiple.

[0355] It should be understood that in the various embodiments of this application, the order of the above-mentioned processes does not imply 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 this application.

[0356] Those skilled in the art will recognize that the units and algorithm steps of the various examples 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 implemented in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art 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 understand that, for the sake of convenience and brevity, the specific working processes of the systems, devices, and units described above can be referred to the corresponding processes in the foregoing 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, apparatuses, and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the apparatus embodiments described above are merely illustrative; for instance, the division of units is only a logical functional division, and in actual implementation, there may be other division methods. For example, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored or not executed. Furthermore, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed may be through some interfaces; the indirect coupling or communication connection between apparatuses or units may be electrical, mechanical, or other forms.

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

[0360] In addition, the functional units in the various embodiments of this application can be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit can exist physically separately, or two or more units can be integrated into one unit.

[0361] If the aforementioned functions are implemented as 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 this application, in essence, or the part that contributes to the prior art, or a portion of the technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. This computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions to cause a computer device (which may be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in the various embodiments of this application. The aforementioned storage medium includes various media capable of storing program code, such as USB flash drives, portable hard drives, read-only memory, random access memory, magnetic disks, or optical disks.

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

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, Applied to network open functions, including: Receive a first request from the application function, the first request being used to request the perception result of the first perception service; A first sensing function is determined, which is based on the first sensing service and the capability information of at least one sensing function. The capability information of the sensing function includes the sensing service corresponding to the sensing function, and the sensing service corresponding to the first sensing function includes the first sensing service. Send a second request to the first sensing function, the second request being used to request the sensing result of the first sensing service.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send first discovery information to the network storage function, wherein the first discovery information is used to request information from the sensing function; Receive first response information from the network storage function, the first response information being used to indicate capability information of the at least one sensing function.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that, The first discovery information also includes information about a first sensing area used to indicate the application function request; Wherein, the capability information of the at least one sensing function is the capability information of at least one sensing function corresponding to the first sensing region, and the sensing region corresponding to the first sensing function includes the first sensing region.

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

5. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The determination of the first sensing function includes: Send a second discovery message to the network storage function, the second discovery message being used to request the discovery and sensing function, the second discovery message including information for instructing the first sensing service; Receive a second response information from the network storage function, the second response information being used to instruct the first sensing function.

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

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that, The capability information of the sensing function also includes the types of sensing results that the sensing function can provide and the corresponding sensing application 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 sensing area for the application function request; The capability information of the sensing function also includes the sensing area corresponding to the sensing function.

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

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

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

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

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

14. A communication method, characterized in that, Applied to network open functions, including: Receive a fourth request from an application function, the fourth request being for requesting a perception result, the fourth request including information for indicating the requested perception area; A first sensing function and a second sensing function are determined. The first sensing function and the second sensing function are determined based on the requested sensing area and sensing area information corresponding to multiple sensing functions. The sensing area corresponding to the first sensing function and the sensing area corresponding to the second sensing function cover the requested sensing area. Send a fifth request to the first sensing function, the fifth request being used to request a sensing result; Send a sixth request to the second sensing function, the sixth request being used to request a sensing result; The fifth request includes the identification information of the second sensing function.

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

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

17. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that, When it is determined that the second sensing function is a network element that fuses multiple sensing results, the identifier of the second sensing function in the fifth request is used to indicate that the second sensing function is a network element that fuses multiple sensing 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 sensing service requested; The first sensing function and the second sensing function are determined based on the requested sensing area, the requested sensing service, the sensing area corresponding to at least one sensing function, and the sensing service corresponding to the at least one sensing function. The sensing service corresponding to the first sensing function and the second sensing function both include the first sensing service.

19. A communication method, characterized in that, Applied to primary sensing functions, including: Receive a request message for requesting a sensing result; wherein the request message includes first information, the first information indicating an identifier of a second sensing function; or, the second request originates from the second sensing function; In response to the request message, obtain the perception result; The sensing result is sent to the second sensing function.

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

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

22. A communication method, characterized in that, Applications to second sensing functions include: Receive the first perception result from the first perception function; Receive the second sensing result from the access network device; The target perception result is sent to the perception result requester, and 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 results.

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

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

26. A communication system, characterized in that, Includes the communication device as described in claim 25.

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

28. A computer program product, characterized in that, The computer program product includes computer program code that, when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 13, 14 to 18, 19 to 21, or 22 to 24.

29. A chip, characterized in that, It includes at least one processor and a communication interface, the communication interface and at least one processor being interconnected via a line, the at least one processor being used to run computer programs or instructions to perform the communication method as described in any one of claims 1 to 13, 14 to 18, 19 to 21, or 22 to 24.

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