Communication method and communication apparatus

Abstract

The present application provides a communication method and a communication apparatus. The method comprises: a network device inputs first environment information into a first model, so as to obtain N precoding matrices, wherein the first environment information is used for indicating a communication environment within the coverage range of the network device, and N is a positive integer; and further, the network device sends N pilot signals on the basis of the N precoding matrices. By means of the method, the network device calculates the precoding matrices corresponding to the current communication environment on the basis of environment information (i.e., the first environment information) of the current communication environment and the first model, so that the adaptability of the precoding matrices and the current environment can be improved, thereby improving the communication performance.

Description

Communication method and communication device

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of China on December 28, 2023, with application number 202311837535.X, and priority to the Chinese patent application entitled “A Communication Method and Communication Device”, all contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

[0002] The present application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a communication method and a communication device. Background Art

[0003] Precoding technology uses a precoding matrix to transmit and receive signals in a specific direction. Specifically, precoding technology uses the matrix to adjust the amplitude and phase of each antenna's transceiver unit, so that the antenna array's transmitted and received signals in that specific direction are coherently superimposed, while signals in other directions cancel each other out.

[0004] Generally, the better the adaptability of the precoding matrix used by a communication device to the communication environment in which the communication device is located, the higher the communication quality between the communication device and other communication devices. How to improve the adaptability of the precoding matrix used by a communication device to the current communication environment is an urgent problem to be solved. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The present application provides a communication method and a communication device, which are conducive to improving the adaptability of the precoding matrix used by the communication equipment and the current communication environment, thereby helping to improve the communication quality.

[0006] In a first aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which is applied to a network device, or to a module in a network device (such as a chip or a chip system, etc.). Taking the application to a network device as an example, the method includes: the network device inputs first environmental information into a first model to obtain N precoding matrices, and the first environmental information is used to indicate the communication environment within the coverage range of the network device, where N is a positive integer; further, the network device sends N pilot signals based on the N precoding matrices.

[0007] Based on the method described in the first aspect, the network device calculates a precoding matrix corresponding to the current communication environment based on the environmental information of the current communication environment (i.e., the first environmental information) and the first model. It can be understood that the relationship between the communication environment and the precoding matrix is ​​learned through the first model, and based on the first model, the precoding matrix can be adapted to the current communication environment, which is conducive to improving the adaptability of the precoding matrix to the current environment, thereby facilitating improved communication performance.

[0008] In a possible implementation, the N precoding matrices are used to obtain N beams corresponding to the N pilot signals, and the pilot signals correspond to the beams one-to-one; wherein each beam corresponds to at least one beam direction.

[0009] In one possible embodiment, the first environmental information includes environmental information of a first direction corresponding to the network device and environmental information of a second direction corresponding to the network device; if the terminal density in the first direction is greater than the terminal density in the second direction, the beam intensity of the first beam is greater than the beam intensity of the second beam, and the first beam is the beam corresponding to the first direction among the N beams, and the second beam is the beam corresponding to the second direction among the N beams.

[0010] In one possible embodiment, the first environmental information includes environmental information of a third direction corresponding to the network device and environmental information of a fourth direction corresponding to the network device, the third direction being the direction from the network device to the first position, and the fourth direction being the direction from the network device to the second position; if the number of signal transmission paths from the network device to the first position is greater than the number of signal transmission paths from the network device to the second position, the beam intensity of the third beam is greater than the beam intensity of the fourth beam, the third beam is the beam corresponding to the third direction among the N beams, and the fourth beam is the beam corresponding to the fourth direction among the N beams.

[0011] In one possible embodiment, the first environmental information includes one or more of the following information: location information of the network device, the cell division method corresponding to the network device, the antenna layout and orientation of the network device, the building layout within the coverage of the network device, the building material within the coverage of the network device, the street layout within the coverage of the network device, the environmental map within the coverage of the network device, the vegetation layout information within the coverage of the network device, and the water system layout within the coverage of the network device.

[0012] In a possible embodiment, the first environmental information also includes location distribution information of multiple terminal devices served by the network device, and the location distribution information includes one or more of the following information: terminal density within the coverage of the network device, a heat map of the multiple terminal devices served by the network device in the communication environment within the coverage of the network device, and movement trajectories of the multiple terminal devices served by the network device in the communication environment within the coverage of the network device.

[0013] In a possible implementation, the output of the first model further includes N probability values, which correspond one-to-one to the N precoding matrices, and the probability value is used to indicate the importance of the precoding matrix corresponding to the probability value in the N precoding matrices.

[0014] In one possible implementation, the probability value associated with the first direction among the N probability values ​​is greater than the probability value associated with the second direction; and / or, the probability value associated with the third direction among the N probability values ​​is greater than the probability value associated with the fourth direction.

[0015] In one possible implementation, the network device sends N pilot signals to the first terminal device in an order, where the order is determined based on a probability value output by the first model, or the order is obtained based on historical measurement data corresponding to the communication environment. Furthermore, the network device sends the N pilot signals to the first terminal device based on the N precoding matrices and the order. By implementing this possible implementation, the network device can send N pilot signals according to a variety of orderings, which helps improve communication flexibility.

[0016] In one possible implementation, the network device sends the N precoding matrices to the first terminal device, and the N precoding matrices are used by the first terminal device to perform the first detection task according to the second model. By implementing this possible implementation, the first detection task can be performed in combination with precoding matrices related to the current communication environment, which is conducive to improving the detection accuracy of the first detection task.

[0017] In one possible implementation, the network device receives a measurement result from the first terminal device, where the measurement result is the signal strength of the N pilot signals. Furthermore, the network device inputs the N precoding matrices and the signal strength of the N pilot signals into a second model to perform a first detection task. By implementing this possible implementation, the network device can perform the first detection task in conjunction with a precoding matrix associated with the current communication environment, thereby improving the detection accuracy of the first detection task.

[0018] In one possible embodiment, the network device sends configuration information, which is used to configure the sending period of the pilot signal corresponding to at least one detection task, and / or the configuration information is used to configure the sending number of pilot signals corresponding to the at least one detection task, and the sending number of pilot signals is the number of pilot signals sent within one sending period.

[0019] The number of pilot signals sent corresponding to the detection task can also be understood as the number of beams in the beam combination corresponding to the detection task.

[0020] In a possible implementation, different detection tasks in the at least one detection task correspond to different sending periods, and / or different detection tasks in the at least one detection task correspond to different sending quantities.

[0021] In one possible embodiment, the second detection task is any one of the at least one detection task, and the second detection task corresponds to multiple sending cycles, and each sending cycle corresponding to the second detection task corresponds to a different detection accuracy of the second detection task; or, the second detection task corresponds to multiple sending quantities, and each sending quantity corresponding to the second detection task corresponds to a different detection accuracy of the second detection task.

[0022] In a possible implementation, the at least one detection task includes one or more of a positioning task, a beam prediction task, a channel prediction task, or an environment reconstruction task.

[0023] In one possible implementation, the network device obtains first data and updates model parameters of the second model based on the first data; the first data is related to the first detection task. By implementing this possible implementation, after the second model is deployed on the network device, the network device fine-tunes the second model (i.e., updates the model parameters) based on the first data, thereby improving the compatibility of the second model with the network device and the current communication environment, and thereby improving the accuracy of the second model.

[0024] In one possible implementation, the first detection task is an environment reconstruction task, and the first data includes pilot signal measurement results of multiple terminal devices served by the network device, and environmental information within the coverage range of the network device; or, the first detection task is a positioning task, and the first data includes pilot signal measurement results of terminal devices served by the network device, and location information of the terminal devices served by the network device.

[0025] In a possible implementation, the input of the first model also includes distribution information of multiple terminal devices served by the network device.

[0026] In the second aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which is applied to a first terminal device, or to a module in the first terminal device (such as a chip or a chip system, etc.). Taking the application to the first terminal device as an example, the method includes: the first terminal device receives N precoding matrices from a network device, and the N precoding matrices are related to the communication environment within the coverage range of the network device, and N is a positive integer; the first terminal device measures N pilot signals from the network device to obtain signal strengths of the N pilot signals, and the N pilot signals are sent based on the N precoding matrices; further, the first terminal device inputs the signal strengths of the N pilot signals and the N precoding matrices into a second model to perform a first detection task.

[0027] Based on the method described in the second aspect, the first terminal device can perform the first detection task in combination with the precoding matrix related to the current communication environment. It can be understood that the impact of the communication environment on the first detection task is taken into account, which is conducive to improving the detection accuracy of the first detection task performed in the communication environment.

[0028] In one possible implementation, the first terminal device receives the transmission order of the N pilot signals from the network device. Further, the first terminal device measures the first K pilot signals based on the transmission order of the N pilot signals to obtain signal strengths of the N pilot signals, where K is a positive integer less than or equal to N. By implementing this possible implementation, the first terminal device can flexibly choose to measure the N pilot signals, or measure a portion of the N pilot signals, during the execution of the first detection task, which helps to save power consumption of the terminal device when performing the first detection task.

[0029] In one possible embodiment, the first terminal device receives configuration information from the network device, and the configuration information is used to configure the sending period of the pilot signal corresponding to at least one detection task, and / or, to configure the sending number of the pilot signal corresponding to the at least one detection task, and the sending number of the pilot signal is the number of pilot signals sent within one sending period.

[0030] In a possible implementation, different detection tasks in the at least one detection task correspond to different sending periods, and / or different detection tasks in the at least one detection task correspond to different sending quantities.

[0031] In one possible embodiment, the second detection task is any one of the at least one detection task, and the second detection task corresponds to multiple sending cycles, and each sending cycle corresponding to the second detection task corresponds to a different detection accuracy of the second detection task; or, the second detection task corresponds to multiple sending quantities, and each sending quantity corresponding to the second detection task corresponds to a different detection accuracy of the second detection task.

[0032] In a possible implementation, the at least one detection task includes one or more of a positioning task, a beam prediction task, a channel prediction task, or an environment reconstruction task.

[0033] In one possible implementation, a first terminal device obtains first data and updates model parameters of a second model deployed therein based on the first data; the first data is related to the first detection task. By implementing this possible implementation, after the second model is deployed therein, the first terminal device fine-tunes the second model (i.e., updates model parameters) based on the first data, thereby improving the compatibility of the second model with the first terminal device and the current communication environment, and thereby improving the accuracy of the second model.

[0034] In a possible implementation, the first detection task is a positioning task, and the first data includes a measurement result of a pilot signal of a terminal device served by the network device, and location information of the terminal device served by the network device.

[0035] In a third aspect, the present application provides a communication device, which may be a network device, a device in a network device, or a device that can be used in conjunction with a network device. The communication device may also be a chip system. The communication device may execute the method described in the first aspect. The functions of the communication device may be implemented by hardware or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more units or modules corresponding to the above functions. The units or modules may be software and / or hardware. The operations and beneficial effects performed by the communication device may refer to the method and beneficial effects described in the first aspect above.

[0036] In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, which may be a first terminal device, a device in the first terminal device, or a device that can be used in conjunction with the first terminal device. The communication device may also be a chip system. The communication device may execute the method described in the second aspect. The functions of the communication device may be implemented by hardware or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more units or modules corresponding to the above functions. The units or modules may be software and / or hardware. The operations and beneficial effects performed by the communication device may refer to the method and beneficial effects described in the second aspect above.

[0037] In a fifth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, which includes a processor and an interface circuit, wherein the interface circuit is used to receive signals from other communication devices outside the communication device and transmit them to the processor or send signals from the processor to other communication devices outside the communication device, and the processor is used to implement the method as described in the first aspect through a logic circuit or executing code instructions, or the processor is used to implement the method as described in the second aspect through a logic circuit or executing code instructions.

[0038] In a sixth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, comprising a processor connected to a memory, configured to call a computer program or instruction stored in the memory to execute the method described in the first or second aspect above. The memory may be located within or outside the network device or first terminal device. The processor may include one or more processors.

[0039] In the seventh aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores a computer program or instruction. When the computer program or instruction is executed by a communication device, it implements the method described in the first aspect, or implements the method described in the second aspect.

[0040] In an eighth aspect, the present application provides a computer program product comprising a computer program or instructions. When a communication device reads and executes the computer program or instructions, the communication device executes the method as described in the first aspect, or the communication device executes the method as described in the second aspect.

[0041] In a ninth aspect, the present application provides a communication system comprising a communication device for executing the method described in the first aspect and a communication device for executing the method described in the second aspect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0042] FIG1a is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0043] FIG1b is another schematic diagram of a wireless communication system applicable to an embodiment of the present application;

[0044] FIG2 is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0045] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of the signal strength of each pilot signal provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0046] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of sending a pilot signal through a precoding matrix according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0047] FIG5 is another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0048] FIG6 is another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0049] FIG7 is a logic diagram of a model training provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0050] FIG8 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0051] FIG9 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0052] In order to facilitate a detailed understanding of the embodiments of the present application, the system architecture involved in the embodiments of the present application is first introduced below.

[0053] Figure 1a is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system 1000 used in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 1a, the communication system includes a radio access network (RAN) 100 and a core network 200. Optionally, the communication system 1000 may also include the Internet 300. The RAN 100 includes at least one RAN node (such as 110a and 110b in Figure 1a, collectively referred to as 110) and may also include at least one terminal (such as 120a-120j in Figure 1a, collectively referred to as 120). The RAN 100 may also include other RAN nodes, such as wireless relay devices and / or wireless backhaul devices (not shown in Figure 1a). The terminal 120 is wirelessly connected to the RAN node 110, and the RAN node 110 is wirelessly or wiredly connected to the core network 200. The core network devices in the core network 200 and the RAN node 110 in the RAN 100 may be independent and different physical devices, or they may be the same physical device that integrates the logical functions of the core network devices and the logical functions of the RAN nodes. Terminals and RAN nodes may be connected to each other via wired or wireless means.

[0054] RAN100 may be an evolved universal terrestrial radio access (E-UTRA) system, a new radio (NR) system, or a future radio access system defined in the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). RAN100 may also include two or more of the aforementioned different radio access systems. RAN100 may also be an open RAN (O-RAN).

[0055] A RAN node, also known as a radio access network device, RAN entity, or access node, and hereinafter referred to as a network device, facilitates wireless access to a communication system by a terminal. In one application scenario, a RAN node can be a base station, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), a transmission reception point (TRP), a next-generation NodeB (gNB) in a fifth-generation (5G) mobile communication system, a next-generation base station in a sixth-generation (6G) mobile communication system, or a base station in a future mobile communication system. A RAN node can be a macro base station (such as 110a in Figure 1a), a micro base station, an indoor station (such as 110b in Figure 1a), a relay node, or a donor node.

[0056] In another application scenario, multiple RAN nodes can collaborate to help terminals achieve wireless access, with different RAN nodes implementing portions of the base station's functions. For example, a RAN node can be a centralized unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), or a radio unit (RU). The CU implements the base station's radio resource control protocol and packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) functions, as well as the service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) functions. The DU implements the base station's radio link control layer and medium access control (MAC) layer functions, as well as some or all of the physical layer functions. For detailed descriptions of each of the above protocol layers, please refer to the relevant 3GPP technical specifications. The RU can be used to implement the transmission and reception of radio frequency signals. The CU and DU can be two independent RAN nodes, or they can be integrated into the same RAN node, such as in a baseband unit (BBU). The RU can be included in radio frequency equipment, such as a remote radio unit (RRU) or an active antenna unit (AAU). The CU can be further divided into two types of RAN nodes: CU-control plane and CU-user plane.

[0057] The RAN node can support one or more types of fronthaul interfaces. Different fronthaul interfaces correspond to DUs and RUs with different functions. If the fronthaul interface between the DU and the RU is the common public radio interface (CPRI), the DU is configured to implement one or more baseband functions, and the RU is configured to implement one or more radio frequency functions. If the fronthaul interface between the DU and the RU is the enhanced common public radio interface (eCPRI), relative to CPRI, part of the downlink and / or uplink baseband functions are moved from the DU to the RU for implementation. The division between the DU and the RU is different, corresponding to different types (category, Cat) of eCPRI, such as eCPRI Cat A, B, C, D, E, and F.

[0058] Taking eCPRI Cat A as an example, for downlink transmission, based on layer mapping, the DU is configured to implement layer mapping and one or more functions preceding it (i.e., one or more of coding, rate matching, scrambling, modulation, and layer mapping). Other functions after layer mapping (e.g., resource element (RE) mapping, digital beamforming (BF), or one or more of inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) / cyclic prefix (CP) addition) are moved to the RU for implementation. For uplink transmission, based on RE demapping, the DU is configured to implement demapping and one or more functions preceding it (i.e., one or more of decoding, rate matching, descrambling, demodulation, inverse discrete Fourier transform (IDFT), channel equalization, and RE demapping). Other functions after demapping (e.g., one or more of digital BF or fast Fourier transform (FFT) / CP removal) are moved to the RU for implementation. It is understandable that for the functional description of DU and RU corresponding to various types of eCPRI, reference can be made to the eCPRI protocol, which will not be described in detail here.

[0059] In one possible design, the processing unit for implementing baseband functions in the BBU is called a baseband high layer (BBH) unit, and the processing unit for implementing baseband functions in the RRU / AAU / RRH is called a baseband low layer (BBL) unit.

[0060] In different systems, RAN nodes may have different names. For example, in an O-RAN system, a CU may be called an open CU (O-CU), a DU may be called an open DU (O-DU), and a RU may be called an open RU (O-RU). The RAN node in the embodiments of the present application may be implemented by a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module. For example, the RAN node may be a server loaded with the corresponding software module. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form adopted by the RAN node. For ease of description, the following description takes a base station as an example of a RAN node.

[0061] A terminal is a device with wireless transceiver capabilities that can send signals to a base station or receive signals from a base station. A terminal may also be referred to as a terminal device, user equipment (UE), mobile station, mobile terminal, etc. Terminals can be widely used in various scenarios, such as device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), Internet of Things (IoT), virtual reality, augmented reality, industrial control, autonomous driving, telemedicine, smart grid, smart furniture, smart office, smart wearable, smart transportation, smart city, etc. A terminal can be a mobile phone, tablet computer, computer with wireless transceiver capabilities, wearable device, vehicle, airplane, ship, robot, robotic arm, smart home device, etc. The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form adopted by the terminal.

[0062] Base stations and terminals can be fixed or mobile. They can be deployed on land, indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; on water; or on aircraft, balloons, and satellites. The embodiments of this application do not limit the application scenarios of base stations and terminals.

[0063] The roles of base stations and terminals can be relative. For example, the helicopter or drone 120i in Figure 1a can be configured as a mobile base station. To terminals 120j accessing the wireless access network 100 via 120i, terminal 120i is a base station. However, to base station 110a, 120i is a terminal, meaning that communication between 110a and 120i occurs via a wireless air interface protocol. Of course, communication between 110a and 120i can also occur via a base station-to-base station interface protocol. In this case, 120i is also a base station relative to 110a. Therefore, base stations and terminals can be collectively referred to as communication devices. 110a and 110b in Figure 1a can be referred to as communication devices with base station functionality, while 120a-120j in Figure 1a can be referred to as communication devices with terminal functionality.

[0064] Communication between base stations and terminals, between base stations, and between terminals can be carried out through authorized spectrum, unauthorized spectrum, or both; communication can be carried out through spectrum below 6 gigahertz (GHz), spectrum above 6 GHz, or spectrum below 6 GHz and spectrum above 6 GHz. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the spectrum resources used for wireless communication.

[0065] In the embodiments of the present application, the functions of the base station may also be performed by a module (such as a chip) in the base station, or by a control subsystem that includes the base station functions. The control subsystem that includes the base station functions here may be a control center in the above-mentioned application scenarios such as smart grid, industrial control, smart transportation, and smart city. The functions of the terminal may also be performed by a module (such as a chip or modem) in the terminal, or by a device that includes the terminal functions.

[0066] Please refer to FIG. 1 b , which is another schematic diagram of a wireless communication system applicable to an embodiment of the present application.

[0067] As shown in Figure 1b, the wireless communication system includes a RAN intelligent controller (RIC). As an example, the RIC can be used to implement functions related to artificial intelligence (AI). As an example, the RIC includes a near-real time RIC (near-real time RIC, near-RT RIC) and a non-real time RIC (non-real time RIC, Non-RT RIC). Among them, the non-real-time RIC mainly processes non-real-time information, such as data that is not sensitive to delay, and the delay of the data can be in the order of seconds. The real-time RIC mainly processes near-real-time information, such as data that is relatively sensitive to delay, and the delay of the data is in the order of tens of milliseconds.

[0068] The near real-time RIC is used for model training and reasoning. For example, it is used to train an AI model and use the AI ​​model for reasoning. The near real-time RIC can obtain network-side and / or terminal-side information from a RAN node (e.g., CU, CU-CP, CU-UP, DU, and / or RU) and / or a terminal. This information can be used as training data or reasoning data. Optionally, the near real-time RIC can deliver the reasoning result to the RAN node and / or the terminal. Optionally, the reasoning result can be exchanged between the CU and the DU, and / or between the DU and the RU. For example, the near real-time RIC delivers the reasoning result to the DU, and the DU sends it to the RU.

[0069] The non-real-time RIC is also used for model training and reasoning. For example, it is used to train an AI model and use the model for reasoning. The non-real-time RIC can obtain network-side and / or terminal-side information from RAN nodes (such as CU, CU-CP, CU-UP, DU and / or RU) and / or terminals. This information can be used as training data or reasoning data, and the reasoning results can be submitted to the RAN node and / or terminal. Optionally, the reasoning results can be exchanged between the CU and the DU, and / or between the DU and the RU. For example, the non-real-time RIC submits the reasoning results to the DU, and the DU sends it to the RU.

[0070] The near-real-time RIC and non-real-time RIC may also be separately configured as network elements. Optionally, the near-real-time RIC and non-real-time RIC may also be part of other devices. For example, the near-real-time RIC may be configured in a RAN node (e.g., a CU or DU), while the non-real-time RIC may be configured in an operation, administration, and maintenance (OAM) system, a cloud server, a core network device, or other network devices.

[0071] In practical applications, the wireless communication system may include multiple network devices (also called access network devices) and multiple terminal devices at the same time, without limitation. A network device may serve one or more terminal devices at the same time. A terminal device may also access one or more network devices at the same time. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the number of terminal devices and network devices included in the wireless communication system.

[0072] In order to facilitate understanding of the relevant contents of the embodiments of the present application, some of the terms involved in the embodiments of the present application are explained below. This part is only for ease of understanding and cannot be regarded as a disclosure or specific limitation of the technical solution of the present application.

[0073] 1. Neural Networks

[0074] A neural network can be composed of neural units, which can be represented by x s The output of the operation unit can be shown in formula (1).

[0075]

[0076] Where, s = 1, 2, ... n, n is a natural number greater than 1, W s is x s The weight of the neural unit, b is the bias of the neural unit. f is the activation function of the neural unit, which is used to introduce nonlinear characteristics into the neural network to convert the input signal in the neural unit into the output signal. The output signal of the activation function can be used as the input of the next convolutional layer. The activation function can be a sigmoid function. A neural network is a network formed by connecting many of the above-mentioned single neural units together, that is, the output of one neural unit can be the input of another neural unit. The input of each neural unit can be connected to the local receptive field of the previous layer to extract the features of the local receptive field. The local receptive field can be an area composed of several neural units.

[0077] It should be noted that the neural network model mentioned in this application (such as the first model or the second model mentioned later) can be one or more of a neural network model, a deep neural network (DNN) network model, a convolutional neural network (CNN) network model, a recurrent neural network (RNN) network model, a generative adversarial network network model, or a variation (or combination) of a combination thereof, and this application does not specifically limit this.

[0078] 2. Pilot

[0079] The pilot may also be referred to as pilot information, pilot signal, reference signal (RS), reference sequence, etc. The pilot may include an uplink pilot and a downlink pilot. The uplink pilot is used for uplink channel measurement and estimation of uplink channel state information (CSI) (or estimation of the uplink channel matrix). The downlink pilot is used for downlink channel measurement and estimation of downlink CSI (or the downlink channel matrix). Exemplarily, the uplink pilot may be a sounding reference signal (SRS), and the downlink pilot may be a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) or a synchronization signal block (SSB).

[0080] It should be noted that the reference signals listed above are only examples and should not constitute any limitation to this application. This application does not exclude the possibility of defining other reference signals in future protocols to achieve the same or similar functions.

[0081] 3. Beam

[0082] In the NR protocol, beams can be embodied as spatial filters, spatial parameters, or precoders. The beam used to transmit signals is called a transmission beam (Tx beam), and can be referred to as a spatial transmit filter or spatial transmit parameters. The beam used to receive signals is called a reception beam (Rx beam), and can be referred to as a spatial receive filter or spatial receive parameters.

[0083] The transmit beam may refer to the distribution of signal strength in different directions in space after the signal is transmitted by the antenna, and the receive beam may refer to the distribution of signal strength in different directions in space of the wireless signal received from the antenna.

[0084] It should be understood that the embodiment of beamforming in the NR protocol listed above is only an example and should not constitute any limitation to this application. This application does not exclude the possibility of defining other terms in other protocols to express the same or similar meanings.

[0085] In addition, the beam can be a wide beam, a narrow beam, or other types of beams. Different beams can be considered to correspond to different resources (including one or more of time domain resources, frequency domain resources, or spatial domain resources). Different beams can transmit the same information or different information. The beam forming technology can be beamforming technology or other technologies.

[0086] Optionally, a beam may correspond to one or more antenna ports for transmitting data, control signaling, or sounding signals. The one or more antenna ports forming a beam may also be considered an antenna port set. For a description of antenna ports, please refer to the relevant content later in this application.

[0087] 4. Beamforming technology

[0088] In a single-antenna communication mode (i.e., electromagnetic wave propagation from one antenna to another between a network device and a terminal device), without physical adjustment (i.e., without adjusting the amplitude and / or phase of the antenna's transmitted signal), the antenna radiation direction is fixed, and the number of users that can be served simultaneously on the same frequency is limited. To address this problem of limited number of users, beamforming technology is proposed. This beamforming technology can also be called precoding technology. In beamforming technology, a network device has multiple antennas. By adjusting the amplitude and / or phase of the signals transmitted by each antenna, it can effectively superimpose electromagnetic waves at the terminal device's receiving point, generating stronger signal gain to overcome losses, thereby achieving the purpose of improving the received signal strength.

[0089] Generally, beamforming technologies include digital beam forming (DBF), analog beamforming (ABF), or hybrid beam forming (also known as hybrid digital / analog beamforming). DBF adjusts the amplitude and phase weights of the input signal by processing the data in the digital domain, while ABF changes the phase of the signal by applying phase weights to the analog signal (for example, through a phase shifter at the RF level).

[0090] 5. Beamforming Matrix

[0091] The beamforming matrix is ​​a parameter that supports the antenna array to generate a specific beam. The specific beam here includes but is not limited to a beam in a specific direction, a beam in a specific shape, and a beam with a specific power (or energy).

[0092] In one possibility, the beamforming matrix can also be called a weight matrix, that is, each element in the beamforming matrix is ​​a weight, and the weight is used to perform vector multiplication with the wireless signal received and / or transmitted by the antenna, which is so-called "weighting the antenna."

[0093] In some embodiments, the weights may also be replaced by other parameters for implementing beamforming, such as a steering vector, a precoding matrix, a signal amplitude and phase of an antenna port, and the like.

[0094] Generally, the higher the adaptability of the precoding matrix used by a communication device to the communication environment in which the communication device is located, the higher the communication quality between the communication device and other communication devices. In order to improve the adaptability of the precoding matrix used by a communication device to the current communication environment, the present application provides a communication method that is conducive to improving the adaptability between the communication environment and the precoding matrix, thereby facilitating improved communication quality. The communication method and communication device provided by the present application are further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings:

[0095] Please refer to Figure 2, which is a flow chart of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 2, the communication method includes the following S201~S202. The execution subject of the method shown in Figure 2 can be a network device and a first terminal device, or the execution subject of the method shown in Figure 2 can be a module in the network device and a module in the first terminal device, or the execution subject of the method shown in Figure 2 can be a chip of the network device and a chip of the first terminal device. Figure 2 takes the network device and the first terminal device as the execution subject of the method as an example, and the first terminal device is any terminal device that provides services to the network device. It should be noted that the network device mentioned in this application can be the RAN node shown in Figure 1a or Figure 1b, and the terminal device mentioned in this application can be the terminal device shown in Figure 1a or Figure 1b, and this application does not make specific limitations. Among them:

[0096] S201: A network device inputs first environment information into a first model to obtain N precoding matrices, where N is a positive integer. The first environment information is used to indicate a communication environment within a coverage area of ​​the network device.

[0097] That is, after determining the environmental information of the communication environment in which the network device is located (or understood as the communication environment within the coverage area), the network device records the environmental information as the first environmental information and inputs the first environmental information into the first model to obtain N precoding matrices. The first model can be a neural network model deployed on the network device, or a neural network model deployed in a device having a communication connection with the network device, which is not specifically limited in this application.

[0098] It should be noted that this application does not specifically limit the specific form of expression of environmental information (such as first environmental information) used to indicate the communication environment. In one possible implementation, the first environmental information includes the location information of the network device, the cell division method corresponding to the network device, the antenna layout and orientation of the network device, map information within the coverage area of ​​the network device (such as satellite images, aerial photos, elevation maps, drone-photographed maps, 2D or 3D maps obtained through the network (such as obtained from a database providing map services)), environmental layout information within the coverage area of ​​the network device (such as building layout, building material, height or volume of each building, street layout information, vegetation layout information, water system layout information, etc.) or one or more of the radar point cloud map.

[0099] It should also be noted that this application does not specifically limit the manner in which the network device determines the first environmental information. For example, the network device can obtain the first environmental information corresponding to the communication environment within the coverage range from a database (such as the memory of the network device, a cloud database, etc.) that has a communication connection with the network device based on its own location information and signal coverage. For another example, the network device can sense the environment within the coverage range of the network device through a neural network model, radar detector, camera, satellite, drone, or global positioning system (GPS) for environmental perception, and obtain the first environmental information corresponding to the communication environment within the coverage range.

[0100] Optionally, the network device may serve multiple terminal devices (denoted as M terminal devices). In another possible implementation, the first environmental information also includes distribution information (or location distribution information) of the M terminal devices. The location distribution information includes one or more of the following information: the density of the M terminal devices in the communication environment within the coverage of the network device, the heat map of the M terminal devices in the communication environment within the coverage of the network device, and the movement trajectory of the M terminal devices in the communication environment within the coverage of the network device. It should be noted that this application does not specifically limit the way in which the network device obtains location distribution information. For example, the location distribution information may be obtained by the network device based on historical data statistics.

[0101] In one possible implementation, the N precoding matrices mentioned herein are used to obtain N beams for transmitting pilot signals (i.e., the N pilot signals in S202). There is a one-to-one correspondence between the pilot signals (or precoding matrices) and the beams, and each of the N beams corresponds to at least one beam direction. The beam direction refers to the direction in which the beam transmits the pilot signal, and the beam strength refers to the strength of the pilot signal transmitted by the beam. Generally, a stronger beam strength in a particular direction indicates a stronger beam in that direction.

[0102] It is understood that there is an association between the first environmental information and the N precoding matrices, and the first model is used to learn the association between environmental information (including the first environmental information) and the precoding matrices. In other words, when the first environmental information changes, the N precoding matrices obtained by the first model may also change accordingly. It is understood that when the first environmental information changes, the N beams will also change, that is, the beam directions and / or beam intensities of the N beams will also change according to the changes in the first environmental information.

[0103] In one possible implementation, the first environmental information includes environmental information in Q directions corresponding to the network device, where Q is a positive integer greater than or equal to N; N precoding matrices can be obtained through the first model, and each precoding matrix is ​​used to form a beam in at least one direction of the Q directions and send a pilot signal. For example, the network device obtains the omnidirectional environmental information corresponding to the network device (that is, it can be understood that Q is greater than N), the number of precoding matrices output by the first model is a first value (that is, the value of N mentioned in this application, the first value can be adjusted by the network device according to the specific application environment), and the network device inputs the omnidirectional environmental information (which can be regarded as the first environmental information mentioned in this application) into the first model to obtain N precoding matrices. For another example, the network device obtains the environmental information in N directions corresponding to the network device (that is, Q is equal to N), and further, the network device inputs the environmental information in the N directions (which can be regarded as the first environmental information mentioned in this application) into the first model to obtain the precoding matrices corresponding to the N directions respectively. It should be noted that the "omnidirectional environmental information corresponding to the network device" mentioned in this application can be understood as the environmental information in all directions corresponding to the network device; or, it can also be understood as not dividing the environmental information by direction, and the omnidirectional environmental information is the environmental information within a certain area corresponding to the network device (for example, part or all of the area covered by the signal of the network device).

[0104] Optionally, the Q directions include a first direction and a second direction, that is, the first environmental information includes environmental information of the first direction corresponding to the network device and environmental information of the second direction corresponding to the network device. In this case, if the terminal density in the first direction (or understood as the number of terminals corresponding to the first direction within the coverage area of ​​the network device) is greater than the terminal density in the second direction, the beam intensity of the first beam is greater than the beam intensity of the second beam, and the first beam is the beam corresponding to the first direction among the N beams, and the second beam is the beam corresponding to the second direction among the N beams. Conversely, if the terminal density in the first direction is less than the terminal density in the second direction, the beam intensity of the first beam is less than the beam intensity of the second beam.

[0105] In Example 1, the first environmental information includes environmental information from the network device to building A in direction #1, and environmental information from the network device to river B in direction #2. Generally, the likelihood of a terminal device existing in building A (or the number of terminal devices present) is greater than the likelihood of a terminal device existing on river B. In this case, it can be understood that the terminal density in building A (i.e., the terminal density in direction #1) is greater than the terminal density on river B (the terminal density in direction #2). In this case, the beam strength of the beam formed by the precoding matrix corresponding to direction #1 is greater than the beam strength of the beam formed by the precoding matrix corresponding to direction #2.

[0106] In Example 2, the first environment information includes environment information for direction #3 from the network device to location 1, and environment information for direction #4 from the network device to location 2. Location 1 and location 2 can be determined from the location distribution information in the first environment information, and the terminal density at location 1 is greater than the terminal density at location 2. In this case, the beam strength of the beam formed by the precoding matrix corresponding to direction #3 is greater than the beam strength of the beam formed by the precoding matrix corresponding to direction #4.

[0107] Optionally, the Q directions include a third direction and a fourth direction, that is, the first environment information includes environment information corresponding to the third direction of the network device and environment information corresponding to the fourth direction of the network device, the third direction being the direction from the network device to the first location, and the fourth direction being the direction from the network device to the second location. In this case, if the number of signal transmission paths from the network device to the first location is greater than the number of signal transmission paths from the network device to the second location, then the beam strength of the third beam is greater than the beam strength of the fourth beam, the third beam being the beam corresponding to the third direction among the N beams, and the fourth beam being the beam corresponding to the fourth direction among the N beams.

[0108] In Example 3, the first environment information includes environment information for direction #5 from the network device to location 3, and environment information for direction #6 from the network device to location 4. Analysis of this first environment information reveals that there are five signal transmission paths from the network device to location 3, and three signal transmission paths from the network device to location 4. In this case, the beam strength of the beam formed by the precoding matrix corresponding to direction #5 is greater than the beam strength of the beam formed by the precoding matrix corresponding to direction #6.

[0109] It should be noted that the N precoding matrices obtained according to the first model mentioned in this application include any one of the following two understandings: ①, the output of the first model is the N precoding matrix; that is, after the first environmental information is input into the first model, the first model outputs the element value of each precoding matrix in the N precoding matrices; ②, the output of the first model is an indication of the N precoding matrix; that is, after the first environmental information is input into the first model, the output of the first model is obtained, and the network device can determine (or understand as select) the N precoding matrices from the preset multiple precoding matrices according to the output of the first model. It should also be noted that the precoding matrix mentioned in this application can be an analog precoding matrix or a digital precoding matrix. When the precoding matrix is ​​an analog precoding matrix, the number of element values ​​of the analog precoding matrix is ​​the same as the number of antennas, and each element corresponds to a real part and an imaginary part; when the precoding matrix is ​​a digital precoding matrix, the number of element values ​​of the digital precoding matrix is ​​the same as the product between the number of antenna ports and the number of transmission layers, and each element corresponds to a real part and an imaginary part.

[0110] In one possible implementation, the output of the first model further includes N probability values, which correspond one-to-one to the N precoding matrices; the probability value is used to indicate the importance of the precoding matrix corresponding to the probability value in the N precoding matrices.

[0111] That is, in addition to being associated with the N precoding matrices, the first environmental information is also associated with probability values ​​corresponding to the N precoding matrices. The first model can also be used to learn the association between environmental information and probability values ​​corresponding to the precoding matrices. When the first environmental information changes, the probability values ​​corresponding to the N precoding matrices may also change accordingly.

[0112] Optionally, the Q directions include a first direction and a second direction, that is, the first environment information includes environment information corresponding to the first direction of the network device and environment information corresponding to the second direction of the network device. In this case, if the terminal density in the first direction is greater than the terminal density in the second direction, then the probability value associated with the first direction among the N probability values ​​is greater than the probability value associated with the second direction.

[0113] For example, continuing with Example 1 above, the first environmental information includes environmental information from the network device to Building A in Direction #1, and environmental information from the network device to River B in Direction #2. In Example 1, the terminal density in Building A (i.e., the terminal density in Direction #1) is greater than the terminal density in River B (i.e., the terminal density in Direction #2). In this case, the probability value associated with Direction #1 (i.e., the probability value corresponding to the precoding matrix corresponding to Direction #1) is greater than the probability value associated with Direction #2.

[0114] For another example, continuing with Example 2 above, the first environmental information includes environmental information for direction #3 from the network device to location 1, and environmental information for direction #4 from the network device to location 2. In Example 2, the terminal density at location 1 is greater than the terminal density at location 2. In this case, the probability value associated with direction #3 is greater than the probability value associated with direction #4.

[0115] Optionally, the Q directions include a third direction and a fourth direction, that is, the first environment information includes environment information corresponding to the third direction of the network device and environment information corresponding to the fourth direction of the network device, the third direction being the direction from the network device to the first location, and the fourth direction being the direction from the network device to the second location. In this case, if the number of signal transmission paths from the network device to the first location is greater than the number of signal transmission paths from the network device to the second location, then the probability value associated with the third direction among the N probability values ​​is greater than the probability value associated with the fourth direction.

[0116] For example, continuing with Example 3 above, the first environmental information includes environmental information for direction #5 from the network device to location 3, and environmental information for direction #6 from the network device to location 4. In Example 3, there are five signal transmission paths from the network device to location 3, and three signal transmission paths from the network device to location 4. In this case, the probability value associated with direction #5 is greater than the probability value associated with direction #6.

[0117] S202. The network device sends N pilot signals to the first terminal device based on the N precoding matrices.

[0118] That is to say, the network device forms N beams through the N precoding matrices, and sends N pilot signals respectively through the N beams. It can be understood that the precoding matrix corresponds to the beam (or understood as the beam direction) one-to-one, the beam corresponds to the pilot signal one-to-one, and the precoding matrix corresponds to the pilot signal one-to-one. It should be noted that, in the absence of special instructions and logical conflicts, the pilot signals and beams in this application can be replaced with each other. For example, S202 can also be described as the network device sending N beams to the first terminal device based on the N precoding matrices. It should also be noted that the network device sending the N pilot signals can be broadcast, unicast, or multicast, and this application does not limit this.

[0119] For example, the N precoding matrices include precoding matrix 1 and precoding matrix 2. Beam 1 can be formed based on precoding matrix 1, and beam 2 can be formed based on precoding matrix 2. In this case, the network device sends a pilot signal through beam 1 based on precoding matrix 1, and sends a pilot signal through beam 2 based on precoding matrix 2.

[0120] Typically, the N beams formed by the network device through the N precoding matrices correspond to beam indices, and the N beams correspond to different beam directions, respectively, that is, it can be understood that different beam indices correspond to different beam directions. In the case where the network device and the first terminal device do not exchange the order of sending pilot signals, the network device can send pilot signals through different beams in sequence according to the default sending order (for example, in order of beam index from small to large, or in order of beam index from large to small). For example, the network device can form 8 beams through 8 precoding matrices: beam #0 to beam #7, and the network device can send pilot signals through beam #0 to beam #7 in sequence according to the order of beam index from small to large.

[0121] In one possible implementation, the network device sends the N pilot signals in a sending order to the first terminal device, where the sending order is output by the first model or is obtained based on historical measurement data corresponding to the communication environment. Furthermore, the network device sends the N pilot signals to the first terminal device based on the N precoding matrices and the sending order.

[0122] That is, after the network device obtains the transmission order of the N pilot signals, it sends the transmission order of the N pilot signals to the first terminal device, so that the network device and the first terminal device reach an agreement on the transmission order of the N pilot signals. Furthermore, the network device sends the N pilot signals to the first terminal device based on the N precoding matrices and the transmission order; that is, the first terminal device receives the N pilot signals based on the transmission order.

[0123] For example, the network device can obtain eight pilot signals using eight precoding matrices. The beam indices corresponding to these eight pilot signals are beam #0 to beam #7. Furthermore, the network device determines the transmission order of these eight pilot signals: beam #1, beam #3, beam #0, beam #4, beam #5, beam #6, beam #7. Based on this transmission order, the network device first transmits the pilot signal to the first terminal device using the precoding matrix corresponding to beam #1, and finally transmits the pilot signal to the first terminal device using the precoding matrix corresponding to beam #7.

[0124] In one possible implementation, the sending order is related to the transmission characteristics of the pilot signals sent by the N precoding matrices (or understood as the N beams) predicted (or estimated, calculated) by the network device, and the transmission characteristics include one or more of transmission delay, signal strength, signal-to-noise ratio or path loss. It can be understood that the lower the transmission delay of the pilot signal, the greater the signal strength, the greater the signal-to-noise ratio or the smaller the path loss, the better the transmission characteristics of the pilot signal; or, the sending order is related to the environmental perception capability of the pilot signals sent by the N precoding matrices predicted by the network device. It can be understood that the more diverse the wireless paths covered by the pilot signals, the stronger the environmental perception capability of the pilot signals; or, the sending order is related to the coverage capability of the pilot signals sent by the N precoding matrices predicted by the network device. It can be understood that the more users (or the number of terminal devices) covered by the pilot signal, the stronger the coverage capability of the pilot signal. Optionally, the better the transmission characteristics of a certain pilot signal, the stronger the environment perception capability or the stronger the coverage capability, the earlier the pilot signal is sent in the N pilot signals.

[0125] For example, the network device predicts the signal strength of the pilot signals transmitted by beams #0 through #7, as shown in Figure 3. The pilot signal transmitted by beam #1 has the strongest signal strength, while the pilot signal transmitted by beam #7 has the weakest signal strength. Based on the transmission characteristics of each pilot signal shown in Figure 3, the network device can determine the transmission order of the eight pilot signals: beam #1, beam #2, beam #0, beam #3, beam #4, beam #5, beam #6, and beam #7.

[0126] It should be noted that: ①. The sending order of the N pilot signals mentioned in this application can also be understood as the order of use of the N precoding matrices, or as the sending order of the N beams. ②. The sending order mentioned in this application is output by the first model, which can be understood as the network device predicting the sending order of the N pilot signals through the first model; or, it can also be understood as the network device predicting the strong and weak relationship of the transmission characteristics of the N pilot signals through the first model, and the network device can determine the sending order of the N pilot signals based on the strong and weak relationship of the transmission characteristics of the N pilot signals; or, it can also be understood as the sending order being determined based on the N probability values ​​output by the first model, for example, the larger the probability value, the earlier the sending order of the pilot signal sent by the precoding matrix corresponding to the probability value. That is to say, the input of the first model is the first environmental information, or the first environmental information and distribution information; the output of the first model includes, in addition to the N precoding matrices, the sending order of the N pilot signals corresponding to the N precoding matrices, or the strength relationship of the transmission characteristics of the N pilot signals, or the N probability values. ③. The sending order mentioned in this application is obtained based on the historical measurement data corresponding to the communication environment, which can be understood as the network device obtaining (for example, obtaining from the memory) the historical measurement data of the sending signals in multiple directions (including the beam directions corresponding to the N beams) under the communication environment, and estimating (or understanding as calculating) the transmission characteristics of the pilot signals sent by the N precoding matrices based on the historical measurement data of the sending signals in the multiple directions to obtain the sending order of the N pilot signals. Among them, the historical measurement data of the sending signals in the multiple directions include but are not limited to the transmission characteristics of the sending signals in each direction.

[0127] In summary, by implementing the communication method described in FIG2 of the present application, the network device can calculate the precoding matrix corresponding to the current communication environment based on the environmental information of the current communication environment (i.e., the first environmental information) and the first model, that is, the relationship between the communication environment and the precoding matrix is ​​learned through the first model. Compared with sending pilot signals according to multiple precoding matrices set in advance, the beam formed when each precoding matrix sends a pilot signal has a preset beam direction (as shown in the comparison scheme in FIG4). By implementing the communication method described in FIG2 of the present application, multiple precoding matrices obtained in combination with the current environmental information can be used so that the beam formed when each precoding matrix sends a pilot signal is adapted to the current communication environment (that is, the precoding matrix is ​​adapted to the current communication environment). Each beam can have at least one beam direction, which is beneficial to improving the adaptability of the precoding matrix to the current environment, thereby improving communication performance.

[0128] It should be noted that the pilot signal mentioned in this application may be SRS, SSB, or CSI-RS, and this application does not specifically limit this. The pilot signal mentioned in this application can be used to perform a detection task, which includes but is not limited to one or more of the following detection tasks: positioning tasks, beam prediction tasks, channel prediction tasks, or environment reconstruction tasks. Among them, the positioning task is used to locate the first terminal device, the beam prediction task is used to determine the available beam pair (for example, the optimal beam pair, including a transmit beam and a receive beam) between the network device and the first terminal device, the channel prediction task is used to predict the channel information between the network device and the first terminal device, and the environment reconstruction task is used to construct a three-dimensional reconstruction model (or understand it as a virtual scene) of the communication environment in which the network device is located. For ease of understanding, the process of performing the detection task through the pilot signal in Figure 2 is described in detail below in conjunction with Figures 5 and 6, wherein Figure 5 is a process of the first terminal device performing the detection task based on the pilot signal, and Figure 6 is a process of the network device performing the detection task based on the pilot signal.

[0129] Please refer to Figure 5, which is a flow chart of another communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 5, the communication method includes the following S501 to S505. The execution subject of the method shown in Figure 5 can be a network device and a first terminal device, or the execution subject of the method shown in Figure 5 can be a module in the network device and a module in the first terminal device, or the execution subject of the method shown in Figure 5 can be a chip of the network device and a chip of the first terminal device. Figure 5 takes the network device and the first terminal device as the execution subject of the method as an example for explanation. Among them:

[0130] S501 (optional): The network device sends configuration information to the first terminal device.

[0131] The configuration information is used to configure a transmission period of a pilot signal corresponding to at least one detection task, and / or the configuration information is used to configure a transmission number of pilot signals corresponding to the at least one detection task, where the transmission number of pilot signals is the number of pilot signals transmitted within one transmission period. It should be understood that S502-S505 below are described using a first detection task among the at least one detection task as an example, and the number of pilot signals transmitted corresponding to the first detection task is N.

[0132] For example, the network device sends configuration information to the first terminal device. The transmission periods and the number of pilot signals transmitted corresponding to the multiple detection tasks configured in the configuration information are shown in Table 1. Among them, the transmission period corresponding to the positioning task is 20ms, and the corresponding number of pilot signals transmitted is 12; the transmission period corresponding to the positioning task is 5ms, and the corresponding number of pilot signals transmitted is 6; the transmission period corresponding to the channel prediction task is 40ms, and the corresponding number of pilot signals transmitted is 18; the transmission period corresponding to the environment reconstruction task is 160ms, and the corresponding number of pilot signals transmitted is 24.

[0133] Table 1

[0134] It should be noted that different detection tasks may correspond to different transmission periods and / or different detection tasks may correspond to different numbers of pilot signal transmissions. In other words, different detection tasks may correspond to different transmission periods and different numbers of pilot signal transmissions; or, different detection tasks may correspond to the same transmission period but different numbers of pilot signal transmissions; or, different detection tasks may correspond to different transmission periods but the same number of pilot signal transmissions. This application does not specifically limit this.

[0135] It should also be noted that any one of the at least one detection tasks configured by the configuration information (recorded as the second detection task) can correspond to multiple sending cycles, and each sending cycle corresponding to the second detection task corresponds to a different detection accuracy of the second detection task; and / or, the second detection task corresponds to multiple sending quantities, and each sending quantity corresponding to the second detection task corresponds to a different detection accuracy of the second detection task.

[0136] For example, when the second detection task is an environment reconstruction task, the corresponding sending period and number of transmissions for the second detection task are shown in Table 2. In Table 2, when the detection accuracy of the environment reconstruction task is 80%, the corresponding sending period for the environment reconstruction task under this detection accuracy is 160ms, and the corresponding number of transmissions is 24; when the detection accuracy of the environment reconstruction task is 90%, the corresponding sending period for the environment reconstruction task under this detection accuracy is 270ms, and the corresponding number of transmissions is 48.

[0137] Table 2

[0138] Optionally, when the second sounding task corresponds to one transmission period but multiple transmission quantities, the pilot signals for the second sounding task can be nested. This helps avoid the additional overhead caused by multiple sequencing of pilot signals for the same sounding task. For example, the beam prediction task corresponds to transmission quantities of 6 and 10. In this case, the transmission order of the pilot signals used to perform the beam prediction task is shown in Table 3.

[0139] Table 3

[0140] That is to say, taking the example where the number of transmissions corresponding to the detection task includes a first number and a second number, and the first number is greater than the second number, the transmission order of the first number of pilot signals (for example, the transmission order of 10 pilot signals in Table 3) includes the transmission order of the second number of pilot signals (for example, the transmission order of 6 pilot signals in Table 3).

[0141] S502: The network device inputs the first environment information into the first model to obtain N precoding matrices, where N is a positive integer.

[0142] The specific implementation of S502 can refer to the description of the specific implementation of S201 above, and will not be repeated here.

[0143] S503. The network device sends the N precoding matrices to the first terminal device.

[0144] After obtaining the N precoding matrices, the network device sends the N precoding matrices to the first terminal device (that is, it can be understood as directly sending the values ​​of the N precoding matrices). Correspondingly, the first terminal device receives the N precoding matrices from the network device.

[0145] Alternatively, after obtaining the N precoding matrices, the network device sends indication information indicating the N precoding matrices to the first terminal device. Accordingly, the first terminal device receives the indication information indicating the N precoding matrices from the network device and determines the N precoding matrices based on the indication information.

[0146] S504. The first terminal device measures N pilot signals from the network device to obtain the strength of the N pilot signals.

[0147] That is, the network device sends the N pilot signals to the first terminal device based on the N precoding matrices. For a specific implementation, refer to the description of the specific implementation of S202 above and will not be repeated here. Accordingly, the first terminal device receives the N pilot signals and measures the N pilot signals to obtain the strengths of the N pilot signals.

[0148] It is understandable that, when S501 is executed, the first terminal device knows the transmission period of the pilot signal corresponding to the first detection task, and the number of transmissions of the pilot signal corresponding to the first detection task. The network device sends N pilot signals of the first detection task to the first terminal device based on the transmission period corresponding to the first detection task and the number of transmissions corresponding to the first detection task. Accordingly, the first terminal device can measure N pilot signals based on the transmission period corresponding to the first detection task and the number of transmissions corresponding to the first detection task.

[0149] In one possible implementation, the network device may send a transmission order of the N pilot signals to the first terminal device before sending the N pilot signals to the first terminal device. After the first terminal device receives the transmission order of the N pilot signals from the network device, the first terminal device measures the first K pilot signals based on the transmission order to obtain the strengths of the N pilot signals.

[0150] Among them, K is a positive integer less than or equal to N, and the present application does not specifically limit the specific value of K. Optionally, the specific value of K is related to the demand for detection accuracy for performing the detection task, or is related to the beam scanning overhead during the execution of the detection task. For example, the specific value of K is positively correlated with the demand for detection accuracy; that is, when the first terminal device has a higher demand for detection accuracy for performing the first detection task of S504, the larger the specific value of K, the greater the beam scanning overhead during the execution of the detection task (for example, the longer the time required for beam scanning). It should be understood that the smaller the gap between the detection result obtained by performing the detection task and the actual result, the higher the detection accuracy of performing the detection task. Conversely, the larger the gap between the detection result obtained by performing the detection task and the actual result, the lower the detection accuracy of performing the detection task. Optionally, the specific value of K can be determined by the network device in this application and sent to the first terminal device, or it can be determined by the first terminal device itself, and this is not limited.

[0151] In a possible example, the device used to perform the first detection task (the first terminal device in Figure 5 and the network device in Figure 6) can determine the specific value of K based on its own requirements for detection accuracy. For example, the transmission period corresponding to the beam prediction task is 5ms, the number of pilot signals transmitted corresponding to the beam prediction task is 10, and the transmission order of the 10 pilot signals is: beam #3, beam #4, beam #0, beam #2, beam #1, beam #5, beam #8, beam #6, beam #7, beam #9. According to calculations, when the device performing the first detection task measures the first 6 pilot signals (i.e., beam #3, beam #4, beam #0, beam #2, beam #1, beam #5), the detection accuracy corresponding to the beam prediction task is 80%; when the device performing the first detection task measures the 10 pilot signals, the detection accuracy corresponding to the beam prediction task is 100%. If the device performing the first detection task requires a detection accuracy greater than or equal to 80%, in this case, N is 10 and K is 6.

[0152] It should be understood that if the first terminal device only measures the first K pilot signals of the N pilot signals according to the transmission order, in this case, the first terminal device sets the signal strength of the unmeasured pilot signals in the N pilot signals to 0. For example, taking K as 6, N as 8, and the transmission order of the 8 pilot signals as follows: beam #1, beam #3, beam #0, beam #4, beam #5, beam #6, beam #7, the first terminal device measures the signal strength of the pilot signals except those transmitted by beam #6 and beam #7 in sequence according to the transmission order, sets the signal strength of the pilot signals transmitted by beam #6 and beam #7 to 0, and obtains the signal strength of the 8 pilot signals.

[0153] S505. The first terminal device inputs the signal strengths of the N pilot signals and the N precoding matrices into a second model to perform a first detection task.

[0154] After the first terminal device obtains the signal strengths of the N pilot signals, it inputs the signal strengths of the N pilot signals and the N precoding matrices into the second model, and performs the first detection task through the second model.

[0155] Please refer to Figure 6, which is a flow chart of another communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 6, the communication method includes the following S601 to S605. The execution subject of the method shown in Figure 6 can be a network device and a first terminal device, or the execution subject of the method shown in Figure 6 can be a module in the network device and a module in the first terminal device, or the execution subject of the method shown in Figure 6 can be a chip of the network device and a chip of the first terminal device. Figure 6 takes the network device and the first terminal device as the execution subject of the method as an example for explanation. Among them:

[0156] S601 (optional): The network device sends configuration information to the first terminal device.

[0157] S602: The network device inputs the first environment information into the first model to obtain N precoding matrices, where N is a positive integer.

[0158] The specific implementation of S601 to S602 can be found in the description of the specific implementation of S501 to S502 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0159] S603. The network device sends the N pilot signals to the first terminal device based on the N precoding matrices.

[0160] The specific implementation of S603 can be found in the description of the specific implementation of S202 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0161] S604. The network device receives a measurement result from the first terminal device, where the measurement result is the signal strength of N pilot signals.

[0162] That is, the terminal device receives N pilot signals from the network device and measures the N pilot signals to obtain the signal strength of each pilot signal in the N pilot signals. Furthermore, the first terminal device sends the signal strength of the N pilot signals to the network device.

[0163] Among them, regarding the specific implementation method of the first terminal device obtaining the strength of the N pilot signals, please refer to the description of the specific implementation method of the aforementioned S504, which will not be repeated here.

[0164] S605: The network device inputs the signal strengths of the N pilot signals and the N precoding matrices into a second model to perform a first detection task.

[0165] After obtaining the signal strengths of the N pilot signals, the network device inputs the signal strengths of the N pilot signals and the N precoding matrices into a second model, and performs the first detection task through the second model.

[0166] To sum up, by implementing the communication method described in Figure 5 or 6 of this application, the device used to perform the first detection task can perform the first detection task in combination with the precoding matrix related to the current communication environment, which is conducive to improving the detection accuracy of performing the first detection task.

[0167] In a possible application scenario, in order to improve the adaptability of the first model and the second model, the first model and the second model can be jointly trained.

[0168] Exemplarily, as shown in FIG7 , the present application also provides a model training method. The execution subject of the method shown in FIG7 may be a network device, a first terminal device, or a server for model training, etc., which is not limited in the present application. It should be noted that, in the training method shown in FIG7 , the input of the first model is taken as an example of environmental information and distribution information. In a possible implementation, the input of the first model may also be only environmental information, which is not limited in the present application. For ease of understanding, FIG7 takes the updating of model parameters of the first model and the second model according to any one data in the training data set (recorded as the first training data) as an example.

[0169] Among them, the first training data includes environmental information E, distribution information D corresponding to multiple terminal devices, location information and label information of the multiple terminal devices, and the first training data is any data in the training data set. In this case, the training process of the first model and the second model according to the first training data is shown in Figure 7. The first training data (i.e., environmental information E and distribution information D) is input into the first model to obtain the precoding matrix W corresponding to the first training data. In addition, the environmental information E and the location information of multiple terminal devices are simulated by a ray tracing simulation model to obtain multiple signal information h, and the signal strength Z is calculated based on the precoding matrix W, the multiple signal information h and the noise n (such as random noise). The precoding matrix W and the signal strength Z are input into the second model, and the detection task is performed to output the detection result. Based on the detection result and the label data corresponding to the first training data, the model parameters of the first model and the model parameters of the second model are updated.

[0170] The tag data is related to the detection task corresponding to the second model. For example, if the detection task corresponding to the second model is a positioning task, the tag information is the location information of the multiple terminal devices; if the detection task corresponding to the second model is a channel prediction task, the tag information is the channel information h; if the detection task corresponding to the second model is an environment reconstruction task, the tag information is the environment information E; if the detection task corresponding to the second model is a beam prediction task, the tag information is the beam information between the network device and each terminal device, including beam indication information and beam strength information.

[0171] In one possible implementation, after the second model is deployed on a device for performing the first detection task (i.e., the first terminal device in FIG5 or the network device in FIG6, hereinafter referred to as the deployment device), in order to improve the adaptability of the second model to the communication environment in which the deployment device is located, the deployment device can obtain the first data and update the model parameters of the second model based on the first data (or understand it as fine-tuning the model). The first data is related to the first detection task. For example, when the first detection task is an environmental reconstruction task, the deployment device obtains the first data (including the signal strength of the pilot signal measured by multiple terminal devices served by the network device, and the environmental information within the coverage of the network device), inputs the signal strength of the pilot signal measured by the multiple terminal devices into the second model respectively, and obtains the output of the second model; and based on the output of the second model and the environmental information within the coverage of the network device, updates the model parameters of the second model. When the first detection task is a positioning task, the deployment device obtains first data (including the signal strength of the pilot signal measured by at least one terminal device served by the network device, and the location information of the at least one terminal device), inputs the signal strength of the pilot signal measured by the at least one terminal device into the second model, and obtains the output of the second model; and based on the output of the second model and the location information of the at least one terminal device, updates the model parameters of the second model.

[0172] It should be noted that, provided there is no logical conflict, when the deployment device is the first terminal device in Figure 5, some or all of the first data can be collected by the network device and then sent to the first terminal device; when the deployment device is the network device in Figure 6, some or all of the first data can be collected by the terminal device and then sent to the network device. For example, if the second model is a model that performs a positioning task and the deployment device for the second model is a network device, the terminal device can obtain location information through a positioning system such as GPS and then send the terminal device's location information to the network device.

[0173] It is understandable that, in order to realize the above functions, the above-mentioned devices include hardware structures and / or software modules corresponding to the execution of each function. Those skilled in the art should easily realize that, in combination with the units and algorithm steps of each example described in the embodiments disclosed herein, the present application can be implemented in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is executed in the form of hardware or computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional and technical personnel can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered to be beyond the scope of this application.

[0174] In the embodiments of the present application, the network device or the first terminal device can be divided into functional modules according to the above-mentioned method examples. For example, each functional module can be divided according to each function, or two or more functions can be integrated into a processing module. The above-mentioned integrated module can be implemented in the form of hardware or software functional modules. It should be noted that the division of modules in the embodiments of the present application is schematic and is only a logical functional division. In actual implementation, other division methods may be used.

[0175] Please refer to Figure 8, which shows a schematic structural diagram of a communication device 800 according to an embodiment of the present application. The communication device shown in Figure 8 can be a network device, a device in a network device, or a device that can be used in conjunction with a network device. The communication device shown in Figure 8 may include a communication unit 801 and a processing unit 802; the communication device shown in Figure 8 may be a first terminal device, a device in a first terminal device, or a device that can be used in conjunction with a first terminal device. The communication device shown in Figure 8 may include a communication unit 801 and a processing unit 802. Specifically, the processing unit 802 is used to process data, which may be data received by the communication unit 801, and the processed data may also be sent by the communication unit 801; the communication unit 801 can be understood as a transceiver unit, including a receiving module and / or a sending module, the receiving module is used to perform the receiving action of the device (i.e., the network device or the first terminal device) in any embodiment of Figure 2, Figure 5 or Figure 6, and the sending module is used to perform the sending action of the device (i.e., the network device or the first terminal device) in any embodiment of Figure 2, Figure 5 or Figure 6.

[0176] In one embodiment, the communication device 800 is a network device, a device in a network device (e.g., a chip or chip system in the network device), or a device that can be used in conjunction with a network device, wherein:

[0177] The processing unit 802 is used to input the first environmental information into the first model to obtain N precoding matrices, where the first environmental information is used to indicate the communication environment within the coverage range of the network device, and N is a positive integer; further, the processing unit 802 is used to call the communication unit 801 to send N pilot signals based on the N precoding matrices.

[0178] In a possible implementation, the N precoding matrices are used to obtain N beams corresponding to the N pilot signals, and the pilot signals correspond to the beams one-to-one; wherein each beam corresponds to at least one beam direction.

[0179] In one possible embodiment, the first environmental information includes environmental information of a first direction corresponding to the network device and environmental information of a second direction corresponding to the network device; if the terminal density in the first direction is greater than the terminal density in the second direction, the beam intensity of the first beam is greater than the beam intensity of the second beam, and the first beam is the beam corresponding to the first direction among the N beams, and the second beam is the beam corresponding to the second direction among the N beams.

[0180] In one possible embodiment, the first environmental information includes environmental information of a third direction corresponding to the network device and environmental information of a fourth direction corresponding to the network device, the third direction being the direction from the network device to the first position, and the fourth direction being the direction from the network device to the second position; if the number of signal transmission paths from the network device to the first position is greater than the number of signal transmission paths from the network device to the second position, the beam intensity of the third beam is greater than the beam intensity of the fourth beam, the third beam is the beam corresponding to the third direction among the N beams, and the fourth beam is the beam corresponding to the fourth direction among the N beams.

[0181] In one possible embodiment, the first environmental information includes one or more of the following information: location information of the network device, the cell division method corresponding to the network device, the antenna layout and orientation of the network device, the building layout within the coverage of the network device, the building material within the coverage of the network device, the street layout within the coverage of the network device, the environmental map within the coverage of the network device, the vegetation layout information within the coverage of the network device, and the water system layout within the coverage of the network device.

[0182] In a possible embodiment, the first environmental information also includes location distribution information of multiple terminal devices served by the network device, and the location distribution information includes one or more of the following information: terminal density within the coverage of the network device, a heat map of the multiple terminal devices served by the network device in the communication environment within the coverage of the network device, and movement trajectories of the multiple terminal devices served by the network device in the communication environment within the coverage of the network device.

[0183] In a possible implementation, the output of the first model further includes N probability values, which correspond one-to-one to the N precoding matrices, and the probability value is used to indicate the importance of the precoding matrix corresponding to the probability value in the N precoding matrices.

[0184] In one possible implementation, the probability value associated with the first direction among the N probability values ​​is greater than the probability value associated with the second direction; and / or, the probability value associated with the third direction among the N probability values ​​is greater than the probability value associated with the fourth direction.

[0185] In one possible implementation, the communication unit 801 is also used to send the N pilot signals to the first terminal device in an order, where the sending order is determined based on the probability value output by the first model, or the sending order is obtained based on historical measurement data corresponding to the communication environment; further, the communication unit 801 is also used to send the N pilot signals to the first terminal device based on the N precoding matrices and the sending order.

[0186] In a possible implementation, the communication unit 801 is further configured to send the N precoding matrices to the first terminal device, where the N precoding matrices are used by the first terminal device to perform the first detection task according to the second model.

[0187] In one possible implementation, the communication unit 801 is also used to receive measurement results from the first terminal device, which are the signal strengths of the N pilot signals; further, the processing unit 802 is also used to input the N precoding matrices and the signal strengths of the N pilot signals into the second model to perform the first detection task.

[0188] In one possible implementation, the communication unit 801 is also used to send configuration information, which is used to configure the sending period of the pilot signal corresponding to at least one detection task, and / or, the configuration information is used to configure the sending number of pilot signals corresponding to the at least one detection task, and the sending number of pilot signals is the number of pilot signals sent within one sending period.

[0189] In a possible implementation, different detection tasks in the at least one detection task correspond to different sending periods, and / or different detection tasks in the at least one detection task correspond to different sending quantities.

[0190] In one possible implementation, the second detection task is any one of the at least one detection task, and the second detection task corresponds to multiple sending cycles, and each sending cycle corresponding to the second detection task corresponds to a different detection accuracy of the second detection task; or, the second detection task corresponds to multiple sending quantities, and each sending quantity corresponding to the second detection task corresponds to a different detection accuracy of the second detection task.

[0191] In one possible implementation, the at least one detection task includes one or more of a positioning task, a beam prediction task, a channel prediction task, or an environment reconstruction task.

[0192] In a possible implementation, the processing unit 802 is further configured to obtain first data and update model parameters of the second model based on the first data; the first data is related to the first detection task.

[0193] In one possible implementation, the first detection task is an environment reconstruction task, and the first data includes the pilot signal measurement results of multiple terminal devices served by the network device, and the environmental information within the coverage range of the network device; or, the first detection task is a positioning task, and the first data includes the pilot signal measurement results of the terminal devices served by the network device, and the location information of the terminal devices served by the network device.

[0194] In a possible implementation, the input of the first model also includes distribution information of multiple terminal devices served by the network device.

[0195] For a more detailed description of the communication unit 801 and the processing unit 802 , reference may be made to the relevant description of the network device in the method embodiment shown in FIG. 2 , FIG. 5 or FIG. 6 .

[0196] In one embodiment, the communication device 800 is a first terminal device, a device in the first terminal device, or a device that can be used with the first terminal device, wherein:

[0197] The communication unit 801 is used to receive N precoding matrices from a network device, where the N precoding matrices are related to the communication environment within the coverage area of ​​the network device, and N is a positive integer; the processing unit 802 is used to measure N pilot signals from the network device to obtain the signal strength of the N pilot signals, where the N pilot signals are sent based on the N precoding matrices; further, the processing unit 802 is also used to input the signal strength of the N pilot signals and the N precoding matrices into a second model to perform a first detection task.

[0198] In one possible implementation, the communication unit 801 is further configured to receive the sending order of the N pilot signals from the network device; further, the processing unit 802 is further configured to measure the first K pilot signals based on the sending order of the N pilot signals to obtain the signal strengths of the N pilot signals, where K is a positive integer less than or equal to N.

[0199] In one possible embodiment, the communication unit 801 is also used to receive configuration information from a network device, where the configuration information is used to configure a sending period of a pilot signal corresponding to at least one detection task, and / or to configure a sending number of pilot signals corresponding to the at least one detection task, where the sending number of pilot signals is the number of pilot signals sent within one sending period.

[0200] In a possible implementation, different detection tasks in the at least one detection task correspond to different sending periods, and / or different detection tasks in the at least one detection task correspond to different sending quantities.

[0201] In one possible embodiment, the second detection task is any one of the at least one detection task, and the second detection task corresponds to multiple sending cycles, and each sending cycle corresponding to the second detection task corresponds to a different detection accuracy of the second detection task; or, the second detection task corresponds to multiple sending quantities, and each sending quantity corresponding to the second detection task corresponds to a different detection accuracy of the second detection task.

[0202] In a possible implementation, the at least one detection task includes one or more of a positioning task, a beam prediction task, a channel prediction task, or an environment reconstruction task.

[0203] In a possible implementation, the processing unit 802 is further configured to obtain first data and update model parameters deployed in the second model based on the first data; the first data is related to the first detection task.

[0204] In a possible implementation, the first detection task is a positioning task, and the first data includes a measurement result of a pilot signal of a terminal device served by the network device, and location information of the terminal device served by the network device.

[0205] For a more detailed description of the above-mentioned communication unit 801 and processing unit 802, reference may be made to the relevant description of the first terminal device in the method embodiment shown in FIG. 2 , FIG. 5 or FIG. 6 .

[0206] In a possible embodiment, when the communication device 800 is a chip, the communication unit 801 can be a communication interface, a pin or a circuit. The communication interface can be used to input data to be processed into the processor and can output the processing results of the processor. In a specific implementation, the communication interface can be a general purpose input and output (GPIO) interface, which can be connected to multiple peripheral devices (such as a display (LCD), a camera (camera), a radio frequency (RF) module, an antenna, etc.). The communication interface is connected to the processor via a bus.

[0207] The processing unit 802 may be a processor that can execute a computer program or instruction stored in a storage module to cause the chip to perform the method described in any of the embodiments shown in FIG2 , FIG5 , or FIG6 . Furthermore, the processor may include a controller, an arithmetic unit, and registers. For example, the controller is primarily responsible for decoding the computer program or instruction and issuing control signals for operations corresponding to the computer program or instruction. The arithmetic unit is primarily responsible for performing fixed-point or floating-point arithmetic operations, shift operations, and logical operations, and may also perform address operations and conversions. The registers are primarily responsible for storing register operands and intermediate operation results temporarily stored during the execution of the computer program or instruction. In a specific implementation, the processor's hardware architecture may be an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) architecture, a microprocessor without interlocked piped stages architecture (MIPS) architecture, an advanced reduced instruction set machine (ARM) architecture, or a network processor (NP) architecture, among others. The processor may be single-core or multi-core. The storage module may be a storage module within the chip, such as a register, cache, etc. The storage module may also be a storage module located outside the chip, such as a read-only memory (ROM) or other type of static storage device that can store static information and computer programs or instructions, a random access memory (RAM), etc.

[0208] It should be noted that the functions corresponding to the processor and the interface can be implemented through hardware design, software design, or a combination of hardware and software, and there is no limitation here.

[0209] Figure 9 is a schematic diagram of the structure of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. It is understood that the communication device 900 includes necessary means such as modules, units, components, circuits, or interfaces, which are appropriately configured together to implement the present solution. The communication device 900 can be the above-mentioned network device or first terminal device, or a component (such as a chip) in these devices, used to implement the method described in the above method embodiment.

[0210] In one possible design, as shown in FIG9 , the communication device 900 includes a processor 910 and an interface circuit 920. The processor 910 and the interface circuit 920 are coupled to each other.

[0211] Optionally, the communication device 900 may include one or more processors 910. The processor 910 may be a general-purpose processor or a dedicated processor. For example, it may be a baseband processor or a central processing unit. The baseband processor may be used to process communication protocols and communication data, and the central processing unit may be used to control a communication device (e.g., a terminal device, a network device, or a chip), execute computer programs or instructions, and process data of the computer programs or instructions.

[0212] It is understandable that the interface circuit 920 can be a transceiver or an input / output interface. When the communication device 900 is a network device or a first terminal device, the interface circuit 920 is a transceiver, including a transmitter and / or a receiver. Among them, the transmitter can be referred to as a transmitting unit, a transmitter or a transmitting circuit, etc., for implementing the transmitting function, and the receiver can be referred to as a receiving unit, a receiver or a receiving circuit, etc., for implementing the receiving function. When the communication device 900 is a chip in the network device or the first terminal device, the interface circuit 920 is the input / output interface of the chip. Optionally, the communication device 900 may further include an antenna (not shown in the figure), and the interface circuit 920 may sometimes also be referred to as a transceiver unit, a transceiver, a transceiver circuit, or a transceiver, etc., for implementing the transceiver function of the communication device through the antenna.

[0213] Optionally, the communication device 900 may further include a memory 930 for storing computer programs or instructions executed by the processor 910, or storing input data required by the processor 910 to run the computer program or instruction, or storing data generated after the processor 910 runs the computer program or instruction. Optionally, the processor 910 and the memory 930 may be provided separately or integrated together.

[0214] When the communication device 900 is used to implement the method shown in FIG. 2 , FIG. 5 or FIG. 6 , the processor 910 is used to implement the functions of the processing unit 802 , and the interface circuit 920 is used to implement the functions of the communication unit 801 .

[0215] When the communication device is a chip used in a network device, the terminal chip implements the functions of the network device in the above method embodiment. When the network device chip receives information from the first terminal device, it can be understood that the information is first received by other modules in the network device (such as a radio frequency module or antenna) and then sent to the network device chip by these modules. When the network device chip sends information to the first terminal device, it can be understood that the information is first sent to other modules in the network device (such as a radio frequency module or antenna) and then sent to the first terminal device by these modules.

[0216] When the above-mentioned communication device is a chip applied to the first terminal device, the first terminal device chip implements the functions of the first terminal device in the above-mentioned method embodiment. When the first terminal device chip receives information from the network device, it can be understood that the information is first received by other modules in the first terminal device (such as the radio frequency module or antenna), and then sent to the first terminal device chip by these modules. When the first terminal device chip sends information to the network device, it can be understood that the information is sent to other modules in the first terminal device (such as the radio frequency module or antenna), and then sent to the network device by these modules.

[0217] An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores a computer program or instruction. When the computer program or instruction is executed, the computer executes any method described in any of the embodiments in Figures 2, 5, or 6.

[0218] An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program product, which includes: computer program code, and when the computer program code is executed by a computer, it enables the computer to execute any of the methods described in any of the embodiments shown in Figures 2, 5, or 6.

[0219] In this application, when entity A sends information to entity B, it can be done directly from A to B or indirectly through another entity. Similarly, when entity B receives information from entity A, it can be done directly from entity B or indirectly through another entity. Entities A and B herein can be RAN nodes or terminals, or modules within a RAN node or terminal. The sending and receiving of information can be information exchange between a RAN node and a terminal, for example, between a base station and a terminal; the sending and receiving of information can also be information exchange between two RAN nodes, for example, between a CU and a DU; the sending and receiving of information can also be information exchange between different modules within a device, for example, between a terminal chip and other modules in the terminal, or between a base station chip and other modules within the base station.

[0220] It is understood that the processor in the embodiments of the present application may be a central processing unit (CPU), or may be other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSP), application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC), field programmable gate arrays (FPGA), or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components, or any combination thereof. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0221] The method steps in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented in hardware or in software instructions that can be executed by a processor. The software instructions can be composed of corresponding software modules, and the software modules can be stored in random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, erasable programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable read-only memory, registers, hard disk, mobile hard disk, CD-ROM or any other form of storage medium well known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor so that the processor can read information from the storage medium and write information to the storage medium. The storage medium can also be an integral part of the processor. The processor and storage medium can be located in an ASIC. In addition, the ASIC can be located in a base station or a terminal. The processor and storage medium can also exist in a base station or a terminal as discrete components.

[0222] In the above embodiments, all or part of the embodiments may be implemented using software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, all or part of the embodiments may be implemented in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer programs or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are performed in whole or in part. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, a network device, a user device, or other programmable device. The computer program or instructions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transferred from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer program or instructions may be transferred from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via wired or wireless means. The computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server or data center that integrates one or more available media. The available medium may be a magnetic medium, such as a floppy disk, hard disk, or magnetic tape; an optical medium, such as a digital video disk; or a semiconductor medium, such as a solid-state drive. The computer-readable storage medium may be a volatile or nonvolatile storage medium, or may include both volatile and nonvolatile types of storage media.

[0223] References herein to "embodiments" mean that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiments may be included in at least one embodiment of the present application. The appearance of this phrase in various places in the specification does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, nor does it constitute an independent or alternative embodiment that is mutually exclusive of other embodiments. It is understood, both explicitly and implicitly, by those skilled in the art that the embodiments described herein may be combined with other embodiments.

[0224] In the various embodiments of the present application, unless otherwise specified or there is a logical conflict, the terms and / or descriptions between different embodiments are consistent and can be referenced by each other. The technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationships.

[0225] In this application, "at least one" means one or more, and "more" means two or more. "And / or" describes the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships may exist. For example, A and / or B can mean: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. In the text description of this application, the character " / " generally indicates that the previous and next associated objects are in an "or" relationship; in the formula of this application, the character " / " indicates that the previous and next associated objects are in a "division" relationship. "Including at least one of A, B and C" can mean: including A; including B; including C; including A and B; including A and C; including B and C; including A, B and C.

[0226] The terms "first" and "second" and the like in the specification, claims, and drawings of this application are used to distinguish between different objects, not to describe a particular order. Furthermore, the terms "including" and "having," and any variations thereof, are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions. For example, a process, method, system, product, or apparatus comprising a series of operations or units is not limited to the listed operations or units, but may optionally include operations or units not listed, or may optionally include other operations or units inherent to the process, method, product, or apparatus.

[0227] In this application, "sending" and "receiving" indicate the direction of signal transmission. For example, "sending information to XX" can be understood as the destination of the information being XX, which can include direct transmission through the air interface, as well as indirect transmission through the air interface from other units or modules. "Receiving information from YY" can be understood as the source of the information being YY, which can include direct reception from YY through the air interface, as well as indirect reception from YY through the air interface from other units or modules. "Sending" can also be understood as the "output" of the chip interface, and "receiving" can also be understood as the "input" of the chip interface. In other words, sending and receiving can be carried out between devices, for example, between a network device and a terminal device, or within a device, for example, between components, modules, chips, software modules, or hardware modules within the device through a bus, trace, or interface. It is understandable that information may undergo necessary processing, such as encoding, modulation, etc., between the source and destination of the information, but the destination can understand the valid information from the source. Similar expressions in this application can be understood similarly and will not be repeated here.

[0228] The "indication" in this application may include direct indication and indirect indication, and may also include explicit indication and implicit indication. The information indicated by a certain information (such as the indication information described below) is called information to be indicated. In the specific implementation process, there are many ways to indicate the information to be indicated, such as but not limited to, the information to be indicated can be directly indicated, such as the information to be indicated itself or the index of the information to be indicated. The information to be indicated can also be indirectly indicated by indicating other information, where there is an association between the other information and the information to be indicated; it is also possible to indicate only a part of the information to be indicated, while the other parts of the information to be indicated are known or agreed in advance. For example, the indication of specific information can be achieved with the help of the arrangement order of each information agreed in advance (such as predefined by the protocol), thereby reducing the indication overhead to a certain extent. This application does not limit the specific method of indication. It can be understood that for the sender of the indication information, the indication information can be used to indicate the information to be indicated, and for the receiver of the indication information, the indication information can be used to determine the information to be indicated.

[0229] It is understood that the various numbers used in the embodiments of this application are merely for ease of description and are not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments of this application. The order of the sequence numbers of the above-mentioned processes does not necessarily imply a specific order of execution; the order of execution of the processes should be determined by their functions and inherent logic.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, The method includes: Inputting first environment information into a first model to obtain N precoding matrices, where the first environment information is used to indicate the communication environment within the coverage of a network device, and N is a positive integer; Sending N pilot signals based on the N precoding matrices.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein The N precoding matrices are used to obtain N beams corresponding to the transmission of the N pilot signals, and the pilot signals and the beams are in one-to-one correspondence; wherein, each beam corresponds to at least one beam direction.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein The first environment information includes the environment information in a first direction corresponding to the network device and the environment information in a second direction corresponding to the network device; If the terminal density in the first direction is greater than the terminal density in the second direction, the beam intensity of a first beam is greater than the beam intensity of a second beam, where the first beam is the beam corresponding to the first direction among the N beams, and the second beam is the beam corresponding to the second direction among the N beams.

4. The method according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that, The first environment information includes the environment information in a third direction corresponding to the network device and the environment information in a fourth direction corresponding to the network device, where the third direction is the direction from the network device to a first position, and the fourth direction is the direction from the network device to a second position; If the number of signal transmission paths from the network device to the first position is greater than the number of signal transmission paths from the network device to the second position, the beam intensity of a third beam is greater than the beam intensity of a fourth beam, where the third beam is the beam corresponding to the third direction among the N beams, and the fourth beam is the beam corresponding to the fourth direction among the N beams.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1-4, characterized in that The first environment information includes one or more of the following information: The location information of the network device, the cell division method corresponding to the network device, the antenna layout and orientation of the network device, the building layout within the coverage of the network device, the building materials within the coverage of the network device, the street layout within the coverage of the network device, the environmental map within the coverage of the network device, the vegetation layout information within the coverage of the network device, and the water system layout within the coverage of the network device.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein The first environment information further includes the location distribution information of multiple terminal devices served by the network device, and the location distribution information includes one or more of the following information: The terminal density within the coverage of the network device, the heat map of the communication environment of multiple terminal devices served by the network device within the coverage of the network device, and the movement trajectories of multiple terminal devices served by the network device within the communication environment of the network device coverage.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1-6, characterized in that, The output of the first model further includes N probability values, and the N probability values and the N precoding matrices are in one-to-one correspondence, and the probability value is used to indicate the importance of the precoding matrix corresponding to the probability value among the N precoding matrices.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein The probability value associated with the first direction among the N probability values is greater than the probability value associated with the second direction; And / or, the probability value associated with the third direction among the N probability values is greater than the probability value associated with the fourth direction.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1-8, characterized in that, The method further includes: Sending the transmission order of the N pilot signals to the first terminal device, where the transmission order is determined based on the probability values output by the first model, or the transmission order is obtained based on the historical measurement data corresponding to the communication environment; Sending the N pilot signals to the first terminal device based on the N precoding matrices includes: Sending the N pilot signals to the first terminal device based on the N precoding matrices and the transmission order.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1-9, characterized in that, The method further includes: Sending the N precoding matrices to the first terminal device, where the N precoding matrices are used by the first terminal device to perform a first detection task according to a second model.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1-9, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receiving measurement results from the first terminal device, where the measurement results are the signal strengths of the N pilot signals; Inputting the N precoding matrices and the signal strengths of the N pilot signals into a second model to perform a first detection task.

12. The method according to any one of claims 1-11, characterized in that, The method further includes: Sending configuration information, where the configuration information is used to configure the transmission period of the pilot signals corresponding to at least one detection task, and / or, the configuration information is used to configure the number of pilot signals transmitted corresponding to the at least one detection task, and the number of pilot signals transmitted is the number of pilot signals transmitted within one transmission period.

13. A communication method, characterized in that, The method includes: Receiving N precoding matrices from a network device, where the N precoding matrices are related to the communication environment within the coverage of the network device, and N is a positive integer; Measuring N pilot signals from the network device to obtain the signal strengths of the N pilot signals, where the N pilot signals are transmitted based on the N precoding matrices; Inputting the signal strengths of the N pilot signals and the N precoding matrices into a second model to perform a first detection task.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein The method further includes: Receiving the transmission order of the N pilot signals from the network device; The measuring the N pilot signals from the network device to obtain the signal strengths of the N pilot signals includes: Measuring the first K pilot signals based on the transmission order of the N pilot signals to obtain the signal strengths of the N pilot signals, where K is a positive integer less than or equal to N.

15. The method according to claim 13 or 14, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receiving configuration information from the network device, where the configuration information is used to configure the transmission period of the pilot signals corresponding to at least one detection task, and / or, configure the number of pilot signals transmitted corresponding to the at least one detection task, and the number of pilot signals transmitted is the number of pilot signals transmitted within one transmission period.

16. The method according to claim 12 or 15, characterized in that, For different detection tasks in the at least one detection task, different transmission periods are corresponding, and / or, different numbers of pilot signals transmitted are corresponding.

17. The method according to claim 12, 15 or 16, characterized in that A second detection task is any one of the at least one detection task, the second detection task corresponds to multiple transmission periods, and the respective transmission periods corresponding to the second detection task respectively correspond to different detection accuracies of the second detection task; Alternatively, the second detection task corresponds to multiple transmission quantities, and the respective transmission quantities corresponding to the second detection task correspond to different detection precisions of the second detection task.

18. The method according to claim 12, 15, 16 or 17, characterized in that The at least one detection task includes one or more of a positioning task, a beam prediction task, a channel prediction task, or an environment reconstruction task.

19. The method according to any one of claims 10-18, characterized in that, The method further includes: Obtaining first data; Updating model parameters of the second model based on the first data, where the first data is related to the first detection task.

20. The method according to claim 19, wherein The first detection task is an environment reconstruction task, and the first data includes pilot signal measurement results of multiple terminal devices served by the network device and environment information within the coverage of the network device; Alternatively, the first detection task is a positioning task, and the first data includes pilot signal measurement results of a terminal device served by the network device and location information of the terminal device served by the network device.

21. A communication device, characterized in that, It includes a module for executing the method according to any one of claims 1-20.

22. A communication device, characterized in that, It includes a processor and an interface circuit. The interface circuit is configured to receive signals from other communication devices outside the communication device and transmit them to the processor or send signals from the processor to other communication devices outside the communication device. The processor is configured to implement the method according to any one of claims 1-20 through logic circuits or by executing code instructions.

23. A computer program product, characterized in that, When the computer program product is executed, it causes the computer to execute the method according to any one of claims 1-20.

24. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer-readable storage medium stores computer instructions or programs, and when the computer instructions or programs are executed, it causes the computer to execute the method according to any one of claims 1-20.

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