Techniques for indicating geometrical path relations

Abstract

Various aspects of the present disclosure relate to techniques for indicating geometrical path relations. A network equipment (NE) may receive a set of parameters associated with a first signal transmission from a first sensing node and a second signal transmission from a second sensing node, receive a set of path descriptors associated with a first propagation path of the first signal transmission and a second propagation path of the second signal transmission, receive an indication of a shared property associated with the first propagation path and the second propagation path based on the first signal transmission and the second signal transmission, and perform at least one joint measurement associated with the first propagation path and the second propagation path based on the shared property and based on the first signal transmission and the second signal transmission.

Description

TECHNIQUES FOR INDICATING GEOMETRICAL PATH RELATIONSTECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present disclosure relates to wireless communications, and more specifically to techniques for indicating geometrical path relations.BACKGROUND

[0002] A wireless communications system may include one or multiple network communication devices, such as base stations, which may support wireless communications for one or multiple user communication devices, which may be otherwise known as user equipment (UE), or other suitable terminology. The wireless communications system may support wireless communications with one or multiple user communication devices by utilizing resources of the wireless communication system (e.g., time resources (e.g., symbols, slots, subframes, frames, or the like) or frequency resources (e.g., subcarriers, carriers, or the like). Additionally, the wireless communications system may support wireless communications across various radio access technologies including third generation (3G) radio access technology, fourth generation (4G) radio access technology, fifth generation (5G) radio access technology, among other suitable radio access technologies beyond 5G (e.g., sixth generation (6G)).SUMMARY

[0003] An article “a” before an element is unrestricted and understood to refer to “at least one” of those elements or “one or more” of those elements. The terms “a,” “at least one,” “one or more,” and “at least one of one or more” may be interchangeable. As used herein, including in the claims, “or” as used in a list of items (e.g., a list of items prefaced by a phrase such as “at least one of’ or “one or more of’ or “one or both of) indicates an inclusive list such that, for example, a list of at least one of A, B, or C means A or B or C or AB or AC or BC or ABC (i.e., A and B and C). As used herein, a list with a conjunction of “and / or” includes any single item in the list or a combination of items in the list. For example, a list of A, B and / or C includes only A, or only B, or only C, or AB, or BC, or AC, or ABC (i.e., A and B and C). Also, as used herein, the phrase “based on” shall not be construed as a reference to a closed set of conditions. For example, an example step that is described as “based on condition A” may be based on both a condition A and a condition B withoutdeparting from the scope of the present disclosure. In other words, as used herein, the phrase “based on” shall be construed in the same manner as the phrase “based at least in part on.” Further, as used herein, including in the claims, a “set” may include one or more elements.

[0004] Some implementations of the method and apparatuses described herein may include a means to receive a set of parameters associated with a first signal transmission from a first sensing node and a second signal transmission from a second sensing node, receive a set of path descriptors associated with a first propagation path of the first signal transmission and a second propagation path of the second signal transmission, receive an indication of a shared property associated with the first propagation path and the second propagation path based on the first signal transmission and the second signal transmission, and perform at least one joint measurement associated with the first propagation path and the second propagation path based on the shared property and based on the first signal transmission and the second signal transmission.

[0005] In some implementations, the method and apparatuses described herein may further include a means to receive a set of parameters associated with a first signal transmission from a first sensing node and a second signal transmission from a second sensing node, receive a set of path descriptors associated with a first propagation path of the first signal transmission and a second propagation path of the second signal transmission, receive an indication of a shared property associated with the first propagation path and the second propagation path based on the first signal transmission and the second signal transmission, and perform at least one joint measurement associated with the first propagation path and the second propagation path based on the shared property and based on the first signal transmission and the second signal transmission.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0006] Figure 1 illustrates an example of a wireless communications system in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0007] Figure 2A illustrates an example of a first set of sensing scenarios for a radio sensing operation , in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0008] Figure 2B illustrates an example of a second set of sensing scenarios for a radio sensing operation, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0009] Figure 3A illustrates an example of a tight coupling Information Sharing and Analysis Center (ISAC) network architecture, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0010] Figure 3B illustrates another example of a tight coupling ISAC network architecture, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0011] Figure 3C illustrates an example of an ISAC network architecture where the sensing function (SF) is co-located with the location management function (LMF), in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0012] Figure 3D illustrates an example of a loose coupling ISAC network architecture, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0013] Figure 4A illustrates an example of sensing measurement of two paths (Case A), in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0014] Figure 4B illustrates an example of sensing measurement of two paths (Case B), in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0015] Figure 4C illustrates an example of sensing measurement of two paths (Case C), in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0016] Figure 4D illustrates an example of sensing measurement of two paths (Case D), in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0017] Figure 4E illustrates an example of sensing measurement of two paths (Case E), in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0018] Figure 4F illustrates an example of sensing measurement of two paths (Case F), in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0019] Figure 5 illustrates an example of a UE, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0020] Figure 6 illustrates an example of a processor, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0021] Figure 7 illustrates an example of a network equipment (NE), in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0022] Figure 8 illustrates a flowchart of a method that supports techniques for indicating geometrical path relations in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0023] Figure 9 illustrates a flowchart of a method that supports techniques for indicating geometrical path relations in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0024] Generally, the present disclosure describes systems, methods, and apparatuses for indicating geometrical path relations. In certain embodiments, the methods may be performed using computer-executable code embedded on a computer-readable medium. In certain embodiments, an apparatus or system may include a computer-readable medium containing computer-readable code which, when executed by a processor, causes the apparatus or system to perform at least a portion of the below described solutions.

[0025] Radio-based environment sensing allows for improved the network performance of the cellular wireless networks, as well as enabling the cellular wireless networks to serve vertical use-cases, e.g., where sensing information is obtained (and exposed to the requesting entity) by the wireless communication network. As such, a radio sensing measurement procedure intends to generate and collect measurements to obtain sensing information of the target objects / environment and / or the involved radio nodes. Examples of the acquired sensing information (also referred to as “sensing results”) includes, but is not limited to, information of position, velocity, direction / heading, orientation, radar cross-section (RCS), shape, material / composite, etc., of a target object and / or of a participating radio node.

[0026] Such sensing information may be obtained by means of combination of the one or multiple of: z) transmission of a sensing signal, e.g., a sensing reference signal (RS), from a network or UE entity (hereafter referred to as a “sensing Tx node”); it) reception of the reflections / echoes of the transmitted sensing excitation signal from the environment by a network or a UE entity (hereafter referred to as a “sensing Rx node”); and / or Hi) processing of the received reflections and inferring relevant information from the environment.

[0027] Accordingly, in sensing scenarios, the paths relevant for a sensing measurement are geometrically correlated, e.g., as they comprise, as part of the propagation path, reflection from a same target object that is transmitted by the same sensing Tx node, received by the same sensing Rx node, and hence share one or multiple reflection, transmission, and / or reception points. Such a correlation may be naturally utilized at a controller entity handling the controlling and computation related to a sensing task (e.g., a sensing managementfunction (SensMF)), to combine the obtained measurements and derive the desired sensing results.

[0028] However, there are cases where geometrical path relations can be useful at the radio nodes measuring the layer 1 (LI) measurements of a path before reporting to the SensMF, e.g., when a sensing object is attached to a UE (e.g., a vehicle), and the sensing Rx (measurement) node may utilize the fact that that the arrival path of the UL transmission of the UE (e.g., line of sight (LOS) path observed from the uplink (UL) sounding reference signal (SRS) transmission) shares the same angle of arrival (AoA), zenith of arrival (ZoA), or the like, as for the reflective path from the target (observable from a downlink (DL) positioning reference signal (PRS) transmission).

[0029] In view of the foregoing, this disclosure describes methods to facilitate mechanisms for the sensing Rx measurement node to obtain information of the geometrical path relations for improved measurement (e.g., reference signal received path power (RSRPP), AoA / ZoA, doppler shift, time of arrival (ToA) / time of flight (ToF), or the like) of a path.

[0030] Aspects of the present disclosure are described in the context of a wireless communications system.

[0031] Figure 1 illustrates an example of a wireless communications system 100 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The wireless communications system 100 may include one or more NE 102, one or more UE 104, and a core network (CN) 106. The wireless communications system 100 may support various radio access technologies. In some implementations, the wireless communications system 100 may be a 4G network, such as a Long-Term Evolution (LTE) network or an LTE -Advanced (LTE-A) network. In some other implementations, the wireless communications system 100 may be a New Radio (NR) network, such as a 5G network, a 5G-Advanced (5G-A) network, or a 5G ultrawideband (5G- UWB) network. In other implementations, the wireless communications system 100 may be a combination of a 4G network and a 5G network, or other suitable radio access technology including Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20. The wireless communications system 100 may support radio access technologies beyond 5G, for example, 6G. Additionally, the wireless communications system 100 may support technologies, such as time division multiple access(TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), or code division multiple access (CDMA), etc.

[0032] The one or more NE 102 may be dispersed throughout a geographic region to form the wireless communications system 100. One or more of the NE 102 described herein may be or include or may be referred to as a network node, a base station, a network element, a network function, a network entity, a radio access network (RAN), a NodeB, an eNodeB (eNB), a next-generation NodeB (gNB), or other suitable terminology. An NE 102 and a UE 104 may communicate via a communication link, which may be a wireless or wired connection. For example, a NE 102 and a UE 104 may perform wireless communication (e.g., receive signaling, transmit signaling) over a Uu interface.

[0033] An NE 102 may provide a geographic coverage area for which the NE 102 may support services for one or more UEs 104 within the geographic coverage area. For example, an NE 102 and a UE 104 may support wireless communication of signals related to services (e.g., voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcast, etc.) according to one or multiple radio access technologies. In some implementations, an NE 102 may be moveable, for example, a satellite associated with a non-terrestrial network (NTN). In some implementations, different geographic coverage areas associated with the same or different radio access technologies may overlap, but the different geographic coverage areas may be associated with different NE 102.

[0034] The one or more UE 104 may be dispersed throughout a geographic region of the wireless communications system 100. A UE 104 may include or may be referred to as a remote unit, a mobile device, a wireless device, a remote device, a subscriber device, a transmitter device, a receiver device, or some other suitable terminology. In some implementations, the UE 104 may be referred to as a unit, a station, a terminal, or a client, among other examples. Additionally, or alternatively, the UE 104 may be referred to as an Intemet-of-Things (loT) device, an Intemet-of-Everything (loE) device, or machine-type communication (MTC) device, among other examples.

[0035] A UE 104 may be able to support wireless communication directly with other UEs 104 over a communication link. For example, a UE 104 may support wireless communication directly with another UE 104 over a device-to-device (D2D) communication link. In some implementations, such as vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) deployments, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) deployments, or cellular-V2X deployments, the communication link may be referredto as a sidelink. For example, a UE 104 may support wireless communication directly with another UE 104 over a PC5 interface.

[0036] An NE 102 may support communications with the CN 106, or with another NE 102, or both. For example, an NE 102 may interface with other NE 102 or the CN 106 through one or more backhaul links (e.g., SI, N2, N2, or network interface). In some implementations, the NE 102 may communicate with each other directly. In some other implementations, the NE 102 may communicate with each other or indirectly (e.g., via the CN 106). In some implementations, one or more NE 102 may include subcomponents, such as an access network entity, which may be an example of an access node controller (ANC). An ANC may communicate with the one or more UEs 104 through one or more other access network transmission entities, which may be referred to as a radio heads, smart radio heads, or transmission-reception points (TRPs).

[0037] The CN 106 may support user authentication, access authorization, tracking, connectivity, and other access, routing, or mobility functions. The CN 106 may be an evolved packet core (EPC), or a 5G core (5GC), which may include a control plane entity that manages access and mobility (e.g., a mobility management entity (MME), an access and mobility management functions (AMF)) and a user plane entity that routes packets or interconnects to external networks (e.g., a serving gateway (S-GW), a Packet Data Network (PDN) gateway (P-GW), or a user plane function (UPF)). In some implementations, the control plane entity may manage non-access stratum (NAS) functions, such as mobility, authentication, and bearer management (e.g., data bearers, signal bearers, etc.) for the one or more UEs 104 served by the one or more NE 102 associated with the CN 106.

[0038] The CN 106 may communicate with a packet data network over one or more backhaul links (e.g., via an SI, N2, N2, or another network interface). The packet data network may include an application server. In some implementations, one or more UEs 104 may communicate with the application server. A UE 104 may establish a session (e.g., a protocol data unit (PDU) session, or a PDN connection, or the like) with the CN 106 via an NE 102. The CN 106 may route traffic (e.g., control information, data, and the like) between the UE 104 and the application server using the established session (e.g., the established PDU session). The PDU session may be an example of a logical connection between the UE 104 and the CN 106 (e.g., one or more network functions of the CN 106).

[0039] In the wireless communications system 100, the NEs 102 and the UEs 104 may use resources of the wireless communications system 100 (e.g., time resources (e.g., symbols, slots, subframes, frames, or the like) or frequency resources (e.g., subcarriers, carriers)) to perform various operations (e.g., wireless communications). In some implementations, the NEs 102 and the UEs 104 may support different resource structures. For example, the NEs 102 and the UEs 104 may support different frame structures. In some implementations, such as in 4G, the NEs 102 and the UEs 104 may support a single frame structure. In some other implementations, such as in 5G and among other suitable radio access technologies, the NEs 102 and the UEs 104 may support various frame structures (i.e., multiple frame structures). The NEs 102 and the UEs 104 may support various frame structures based on one or more numerologies.

[0040] One or more numerologies may be supported in the wireless communications system 100, and a numerology may include a subcarrier spacing and a cyclic prefix. A first numerology (e.g., ^=0) may be associated with a first subcarrier spacing (e.g., 15 kHz) and a normal cyclic prefix. In some implementations, the first numerology (e.g., i=0) associated with the first subcarrier spacing (e.g., 15 kHz) may utilize one slot per subframe. A second numerology (e.g., ju=l) may be associated with a second subcarrier spacing (e.g., 30 kHz) and a normal cyclic prefix. A third numerology (e.g., i=2) may be associated with a third subcarrier spacing (e.g., 60 kHz) and a normal cyclic prefix or an extended cyclic prefix. A fourth numerology (e.g., ju=3) may be associated with a fourth subcarrier spacing (e.g., 120 kHz) and a normal cyclic prefix. A fifth numerology (e.g., i=4) may be associated with a fifth subcarrier spacing (e.g., 240 kHz) and a normal cyclic prefix.

[0041] A time interval of a resource (e.g., a communication resource) may be organized according to frames (also referred to as radio frames). Each frame may have a duration, for example, a 10 millisecond (ms) duration. In some implementations, each frame may include multiple subframes. For example, each frame may include 10 subframes, and each subframe may have a duration, for example, a 1 ms duration. In some implementations, each frame may have the same duration. In some implementations, each subframe of a frame may have the same duration.

[0042] Additionally or alternatively, a time interval of a resource (e.g., a communication resource) may be organized according to slots. For example, a subframe may include a number (e.g., quantity) of slots. The number of slots in each subframe may also depend on the one or more numerologies supported in the wireless communications system 100. Forinstance, the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth numerologies (i.e., jU=O, jU=l, ,11=2. i=3,i=4) associated with respective subcarrier spacings of 15 kHz, 30 kHz, 60 kHz, 120 kHz, and 240 kHz may utilize a single slot per subframe, two slots per subframe, four slots per subframe, eight slots per subframe, and 16 slots per subframe, respectively. Each slot may include a number (e.g., quantity) of symbols (e.g., orthogonal frequency domain multiplexing (OFDM) symbols). In some implementations, the number (e.g., quantity) of slots for a subframe may depend on a numerology. For a normal cyclic prefix, a slot may include 14 symbols. For an extended cyclic prefix (e.g., applicable for 60 kHz subcarrier spacing), a slot may include 12 symbols. The relationship between the number of symbols per slot, the number of slots per subframe, and the number of slots per frame for a normal cyclic prefix and an extended cyclic prefix may depend on a numerology. It should be understood that reference to a first numerology (e.g., i=0) associated with a first subcarrier spacing (e.g., 15 kHz) may be used interchangeably between subframes and slots.

[0043] In the wireless communications system 100, an electromagnetic (EM) spectrum may be split, based on frequency or wavelength, into various classes, frequency bands, frequency channels, etc. By way of example, the wireless communications system 100 may support one or multiple operating frequency bands, such as frequency range designations FR1 (410 MHz - 7.125 GHz), FR2 (24.25 GHz - 52.6 GHz), FR3 (7.125 GHz - 24.25 GHz), FR4 (52.6 GHz - 114.25 GHz), FR4a or FR4-1 (52.6 GHz - 71 GHz), and FR5 (114.25 GHz - 300 GHz). In some implementations, the NEs 102 and the UEs 104 may perform wireless communications over one or more of the operating frequency bands. In some implementations, FR1 may be used by the NEs 102 and the UEs 104, among other equipment or devices for cellular communications traffic (e.g., control information, data). In some implementations, FR2 may be used by the NEs 102 and the UEs 104, among other equipment or devices for short-range, high data rate capabilities.

[0044] FR1 may be associated with one or multiple numerologies (e.g., at least three numerologies). For example, FR1 may be associated with a first numerology (e.g., jU=O), which includes 15 kHz subcarrier spacing; a second numerology (e.g., ^=1), which includes 30 kHz subcarrier spacing; and a third numerology (e.g., jU=2), which includes 60 kHz subcarrier spacing. FR2 may be associated with one or multiple numerologies (e.g., at least 2 numerologies). For example, FR2 may be associated with a third numerology (e.g., jU=2), which includes 60 kHz subcarrier spacing; and a fourth numerology (e.g., jU=3), which includes 120 kHz subcarrier spacing.

[0045] Regarding network-based and UE-based (i.e., SL-based) radio sensing operations, different scenarios for radio sensing are presented in Figures 2A and 2B. In some scenarios of radio sensing, the network configures the participating sensing entities, i.e., network and UE nodes acting as sensing Tx nodes, network and UE nodes acting as sensing Rx nodes, as well as the configuration of sensing RS and necessary measurements and reporting procedures from the nodes. In this regard, the functional split between the network and the UE nodes for a specific sensing task may take various forms, depending on the availability of sensing- capable devices and the requirements of the specific sensing operation.

[0046] Figure 2A depicts possibilities for sensing scenarios for a radio sensing operation 200 where a RAN entity performs a sensing RS transmission, according to embodiments of the disclosure. In the scenarios of Figure 2A, sensing RS reception is performed by one or more UEs, one or more RAN entities, or a combination thereof. The radio sensing operation 200 may involve a first RAN entity 202 (e.g., a gNB or network TRP node), a second RAN entity 204 (e.g., a gNB or a network TRP node), and / or a set of at least one UE (represented by the first UE 206).

[0047] In various embodiments, the radio sensing operation 200 is used to detect and locate an object of interest 208. In general, a Radio-based sensing transmission 210 is performed by the first RAN entity 202. While the below examples describe the Radio-based sensing transmission 210 using a sensing reference signal (“sensing RS”) 212, in other embodiments the Radio-based sensing transmission 210 may be a transmission of another RS or instead may be a transmission of the data / control channels known to the network TRP nodes.

[0048] In a first sensing scenario (also referred to herein as “Case I”), the Radio-based sensing transmission 210 is performed by a first network node (i.e., the first RAN entity 202) and the Radio-based sensing reception 216 is performed by a separate network node (i.e., the second RAN entity 204). In this case, the sensing RS 212 (or another RS used for sensing) is transmitted and a reflection / backscatter signal 214 is received by network entities. The network does not utilize UEs for sensing assistance in this scenario. Rather, the involvement of UE nodes (i.e., first UE 206) is limited to the aspects of interference management, when necessary.

[0049] In a second sensing scenario (also referred to herein as “Case II”), the Radiobased sensing transmission 210 is performed by a first network node (i.e., the first RANentity 202) and the Radio-based sensing reception 218 is performed by the same network node. In this case, the sensing RS 212 (or another RS used for sensing) is transmitted and a reflection / backscatter signal 214 is received by the same network entity. The network does not utilize UEs for sensing assistance in this scenario. Rather, the involvement of UE nodes (i.e., first UE 206) is limited to the aspects of interference management, when necessary.

[0050] In a third sensing scenario (also referred to herein as “Case III”), the Radio-based sensing transmission 210 is performed by a first network node (i.e., the first RAN entity 202) and the Radio-based sensing reception 2210 is performed by a UE node (i.e., the first UE 206). In this case, the sensing RS 212 (or other RS used for sensing) is transmitted by a network entity and a reflection / backscatter signal 214 is received by one or multiple UE nodes, including the first UE 206. The network configures the UEs to act as a sensing Rx node, according to the UE capabilities for sensing, as well as desired sensing task.

[0051] Figure 2B depicts possibilities for sensing scenarios for a radio sensing operation 230 where a UE performs a sensing RS transmission, according to embodiments of the disclosure. In the scenarios of Figure 2B, sensing RS reception is performed by one or more UEs, one or more RAN entities, or a combination thereof. The radio sensing operation 230 may involve the first UE 206, a set of at least one peer UE (represented by the second UE 232), and / or a set of at least one TRP (represented by the first RAN entity 202).

[0052] In various embodiments, the radio sensing operation 230 is used to detect and locate an object of interest 208. In general, a Radio-based sensing transmission 234 is performed by the first UE 206. While the below examples describe the Radio-based sensing transmission 234 using a sensing RS 236, in other embodiments the Radio-based sensing transmission 234 may be a transmission of another RS or instead may be a transmission of the data / control channels.

[0053] In a fourth sensing scenario (also referred to herein as “Case IV”), the Radiobased sensing transmission 234 is performed by a first UE 206 and the Radio-based sensing reception 240 is performed by a RAN entity (i.e., the first RAN entity 202). In this case, the sensing RS 236 (or another RS transmitted for sensing) is transmitted by a UE node and a reflection / backscatter signal 238 is received by one or multiple network entities. The network configures the transmitting UE (i.e., the first UE 206) to act as a sensing Tx node, according to the UE nodes’ capabilities for sensing, as well as the nature of the desired sensing task.

[0054] In a fifth sensing scenario (also referred to herein as “Case V”), the Radio-based sensing transmission 234 is performed by a first UE 206 and the Radio-based sensing reception 242 is performed by a separate UE (i.e., the second UE 232). In this case, the sensing RS 236 (or another RS transmitted for sensing) is transmitted by a UE node and a reflection / backscatter signal 238 is received by one or multiple UE nodes. The network, or potentially the first UE 206, may decide on configuration of the sensing scenario. In one instance, the network configures the UEs to act as a sensing Tx node and / or sensing Rx nodes, according to the UE nodes capabilities for sensing, as well as the nature of the desired sensing task.

[0055] In a sixth sensing scenario (also referred to herein as “Case VI”), the Radio-based sensing transmission 234 is performed by a first UE 206 and the Radio-based sensing reception 244 is performed by the same UE. In this case, the sensing RS 236 (or another RS transmitted for sensing) is transmitted by a UE node and a reflection / backscatter signal 238 is received by the same UE node. The UE or the network configures the sensing scenario, according to the UE nodes capabilities for sensing, as well as the nature of the desired sensing task.

[0056] In some embodiments, the indication of the path relations includes an indication that the two reported / indicated paths (e.g., path id 1 and path id 2), and / or the one or more path groups (e.g., path group 1 and path group 2) are the same paths and / or associated to the same reflector, the same transmission point, the same reception points, and / or the like.

[0057] The above radio sensing scenarios are described in further detail in U.S. Application 17 / 538,978 entitled “CONFIGURING A SENSING REFERENCE SIGNAL” and filed on November 30, 2021 for Seyedomid Taghizadeh Motlagh, Ali Ramadan Ali, Ankit Bhamri, Sher Ah Cheema, Razvan-Andrei Stoica, Hyejung Jung and Vijay Nangia, and also described in further detail in U.S. Application 17 / 538,998 entitled “SENSING REFERENCE SIGNAL CONFIGURATION” and filed on November 30, 2021 for Seyedomid Taghizadeh Motlagh, Ali Ramadan Ali, Ankit Bhamri, Sher Ali Cheema, Razvan-Andrei Stoica, Hyejung Jung and Vijay Nangia, which applications are incorporated herein by reference.

[0058] Moreover, the above scenarios are not intended to be restricted to a specific UE type and may include any UE category. In any of the above scenarios, and of the roles elaborated for gNB and / or UE may be replaced (with equal validity for any example of aradio sensing scenario) with any UE or RAN node, e.g., a smart repeater node, an Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB) node, a roadside unit (RSU), etc.

[0059] In some examples, the set of sensing Tx nodes of a sensing measurement process (and similarly, but may be independently, a sensing Rx nodes of a sensing measurement process) include one or more of a TRP associated with a gNB-CU / DU, a gNB distributed unit (gNB-DU), a gNB control unit (gNB-CU), a UE, a network controlled repeater (NCR), an IAB node, an RSU, or a dedicated sensing radio. In some embodiments, a sensing Rx node may as well be a non-3GPP sensor with capability of providing non-3GPP sensing data, or a 3GPP node (e.g., a UE or a RAN node) connected to the non-3GPP sensor and can obtain, process, and transfer the non-3GPP sensing data of the non-3GPP sensor to other 3GPP nodes / entities.

[0060] Integrated sensing and communication may enhance 5G core architecture by introducing a new Sensing Function (SF). Figures 3A-3D present possible combinations leading to the network impact.

[0061] Figure 3A illustrates an example of a tight coupling ISAC network architecture 300 with a unified SF 302 (i.e., where the SF 302 is not split between the control plane (CP) and user plane (UP) domains. As depicted, the SF 302 is communicatively coupled to the Access and Mobility management Function (AMF) 306, the Unified Data Management node (UDM) 308, the Network Data Analytics Function (NWDAF) 314, the Location Management Function (LMF) 310, the Policy Control Function (PCF) 312, the Network Exposure Function (NEF) 304, and to the (radio) access network ((R)AN) 326, optionally via the User Plane Function (UPF) 324.

[0062] In the tight coupling ISAC network architecture 300, the SF 304 appears as a dedicated network function (NF) handling both: (i) the sensing control plane aspects such as the interaction with the sensing consumer via NEF 304 and information exchange with other NFs, for gathering UE information, (i.e., from the AMF 306, the UDM 308, the LMF 310), for gathering UE related policies from the PCF 312, and for gathering analytics from the NWDAF 314; and (ii) the sensing radio signals for performing the analysis or prediction for determining the sensing target.

[0063] Figure 3B illustrates another example of a tight coupling ISAC network architecture 310, where the SF 302 is functionally split / distributed among the CP and UP domains. As depicted, a CP split of the SF (SF-C) 320 is communicatively coupled to theAMF 306, the UDM 308, the NWDAF 314, the LMF 310, the PCF 312, and the NEF 304.Additionally, a UP split of the SF (SF-U) 322 is communicatively coupled to the (R)AN 326, optionally via the UPF 324.

[0064] In the tight coupling ISAC network architecture 310 with CP / UP split, the SF 302 has two dedicated NF counter parts: (i) SF-C 320 that handles the control plane aspects as described above and (ii) SF-U 322 that is responsible for collecting the sensing radio signals via the user plane, i.e., via the (R)AN 326 and the UPF 324. The idea of this architecture is to split and offload heavy data volumes associated with sensing radio signals to the user plane to ensure light traffic, i.e., only signaling, in the control plane.

[0065] Figure 3C illustrates an example of an ISAC network architecture 320, where the SF 302 is co-located with the EMF 310. The SF 302 is communicatively coupled with the LMF 310, where the co-located nodes are also coupled with the Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC) 328 and the AMF 306. As depicted, the GMLC 328 is additionally coupled with the UDM 308, the AMF 306 and the NEF 304. The AMF 306 is additionally coupled with the UDM 308, the NEF 304, the (R)AN 326, and the UE 330. The NEF 304 is additionally coupled with the application function (AF) 332. The (R)AN 326 is additionally coupled with the UE 330. The inter-function interfaces (i.e., reference points) are labeled in Figure 3C. In the network architecture 320, the SF 302 (i.e., co-located with the LMF 310) appears as a logical NF embedded in the LMF 310 to perform sensing, taking advantage of the knowledge of a UE location.

[0066] Figure 3D illustrates an example of a loose coupling ISAC network architecture 330, where the SF 302 is communicatively coupled with the (R)AN 326 and with the AF 332, optionally via the NEF 304. The SF 302 may optionally be coupled with one or more of: the AMF 306 (directly or via the (R)AN 326), the NWDAF 314, the NEF 304, and the UE 330 (via the (R)AN 326). The inter-function interfaces (i.e., reference points) are labeled in Figure 3C.

[0067] In the loose coupling ISAC network architecture 330, the SF 302 is independent of the 5G core, i.e., typically used for local field scenarios or private networks, and the interaction with the 5G core is minimal. The main idea is to use SF 302 close to the RAN 326, i.e., to collect and process the sensing radio signals locally, and interact with 5G core for the purpose of exposure via NEF 304, for getting the UE 330 location from the AMF 306 and for analytics (i.e., NWDAF 314 interaction).

[0068] In another description of controlling a sensing operation, in some example implementations, a sensing controller entity / function (SensMF) is defined which comprises one or multiple of a UE, a RAN node, a gNB / gNB-CU, an LMF, an SF, or a combination thereof, wherein the SensMF performs one or multiple of: A) Receives request for sensing information from a service consumer (e.g., a requesting third party application); B) Determines selection and / or configuration of a sensing operation, including configuration of one or more of a sensing Tx node, sensing Rx node; C) Selects and / or configures the involved nodes for sensing transmission and sensing reception and sensing measurement and reporting of the conducted measurements; D) Collects the sensing measurements; E) Performs or configures or requests computation of the sensing measurements and thereby determines the required sensing information based on the obtained sensing measurements; and / or F) Reports / exposes an obtained sensing information to the entity requesting the sensing information.

[0069] In some examples wherein the SensMF is comprised of multiple nodes / entities, one part of the above-mentioned steps may be implemented by the first part of the SensMF and the second part of the above steps may be implemented by the second part of the SensMF, e.g., implemented in the SF and gNB. In some examples wherein the SensMF is comprised of multiple nodes / entities, the communication among the SensMF entities are transparent to the outside entities and also not discussed in the related handover procedure embodiments, nevertheless, the communication among the SensMF entities are assumed to be implicit to the overall procedure.

[0070] In some examples, wherein a SensMF is comprised of an SF and a gNB (e.g., serving / head gNB of a related UE to the sensing task or a selected serving gNB for a sensing task), the SF performs the steps A, F, E, D whereas the steps B, C are performed by the selected gNB node. In some other examples, the step B, D are jointly performed by the SF and the selected gNB, wherein a first part of the configuration / configuration determination are performed by the SF and a second part of the configuration / configuration determination is performed by the selected gNB. The SensMF may be a RAN node (e.g., a selected gNB node acting as serving gNB of a sensing task), may be a sensing function (SF) residing in core network, may be a UE, or a combination thereof.

[0071] The following LI measurements are relevant to sensing operation in accordance with the present disclosure: DL reference signal time difference (DL RSTD); UL Relative Time of Arrival (TUL-RTOA); UE Rx-TX time difference; gNB Rx-Tx time difference, DL PRSRSRPP; UL SRS RSRPP; DL reference signal carrier phase (DL RSCP); DL reference signal carrier phase difference (DL RSCPD); UL reference signal carrier phase (UL RSCP).

[0072] The DL RSTD is defined as the DL relative timing difference between the Transmission Point (TP)

[0018] j and the reference TP i, defined as TsubframeRxj - TsubframeRxi, where TsubframeRxj is the time when the UE receives the start of one subframe from TP j and TsubframeRxi is the time when the UE receives the corresponding start of one subframe from TP i that is closest in time to the subframe received from TP j. Multiple DL PRS resources can be used to determine the start of one subframe from a TP. For FR1, the reference point for the DL RSTD shall be the antenna connector of the UE. For FR2, the reference point for the DL RSTD shall be the antenna of the UE. The DL RSTD is applicable to a UE in the RRC CONNECTED state and in the RRC INACTIVE state.

[0073] The UL Relative Time of Arrival (TUL-RTOA) is defined as the beginning of subframe i containing SRS received in Reception Point (RP) j, relative to the RTOA Reference Time. The UL RTOA reference time is defined as To+ tSRS, where Tois the nominal beginning time of SFN 0 provided by SFN Initialization Time and tSRS= (10nf+ nsf) x 10-3, where nfand nsfare the system frame number and the subframe number of the SRS, respectively. Multiple SRS resources can be used to determine the beginning of one subframe containing SRS received at a RP. The reference point for TUL-RTOA shall be for type 1-C base station, the Rx antenna connector (e.g., as described in 3GPP TS38. 104); for type 1-0 or 2-0 base station, the Rx antenna (i.e. the centre location of the radiating region of the Rx antenna) (e.g., as described in 3GPP TS 38. 104); and for type 1-H base station, the Rx Transceiver Array Boundary connector (e.g., as described in 3GPP TS38.104).

[0074] The UE Rx-Tx time difference is defined as TUE-RX - TUE-TX, where TUE-RX is the UE received timing of downlink subframe #i from a Transmission Point (TP) , defined by the first detected path in time, and where TUE-TX is the UE transmit timing of uplink subframe #j that is closest in time to the subframe #i received from the TP. Note that multiple DL PRS or channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS) for tracking resources, as instructed by higher layers, can be used to determine the start of one subframe of the first arrival path of the TP.

[0075] For FR1, the reference point for TUE-RX measurement is the Rx antenna connector of the UE and the reference point for TUE-TX measurement is the Tx antenna connector of theUE. For FR2, the reference point for TUE-RX measurement is the Rx antenna of the UE and the reference point for TUE-TX measurement is the Tx antenna of the UE. The UE Rx-Tx time difference is applicable to a UE in the RRC CONNECTED state and in the RRC INACTIVE state.

[0076] The gNB Rx-Tx time difference is defined as TSNB-RX - TSNB-TX, where TSNB-RX is the Transmission and Reception Point (TRP) received timing of uplink subframe #i containing SRS associated with UE, defined by the first detected path in time, and where TgNB-Tx is the TRP transmit timing of downlink subframe #j that is closest in time to the subframe #i received from the UE. Multiple SRS resources can be used to determine the start of one subframe containing SRS.

[0077] The reference point for the TSNB-RX shall be: the Rx antenna connector for a type 1-C base station (e.g., as described in 3GPP TS 38.104); the Rx antenna (i.e., the center location of the radiating region of the Rx antenna) for a type 1-0 or 2-0 base station (e.g., as described in 3GPP TS 38. 104), or the Rx Transceiver Array Boundary connector for a type 1- H base station (e.g., as described in 3GPP TS 38.104).

[0078] Similarly, the reference point for the TgNB-ix shall be: the Tx antenna connector for a type 1-C base station (e.g., as described in 3GPP TS 38.104); the Tx antenna (i.e., the center location of the radiating region of the Tx antenna) for a type 1-0 or 2-0 base station (e.g., as described in 3GPP TS 38. 104), or the Tx Transceiver Array Boundary connector for a type 1-H base station (e.g., as described in 3GPP TS 38. 104).

[0079] The DL PRS-RSRPP is defined as the power of the linear average of the channel response at the i -th path delay of the resource elements that carry DL PRS signal configured for the measurement, where DL PRS-RSRPP for the 1st path delay is the power contribution corresponding to the first detected path in time.

[0080] For FR1, the reference point for the DL PRS-RSRPP shall be the antenna connector of the UE. For FR2, DL PRS-RSRPP shall be measured based on the combined signal from antenna elements corresponding to a given receiver branch. The UE Rx-Tx time difference is applicable to a UE in the RRC CONNECTED state and in the RRC INACTIVE state.

[0081] The UL SRS-RSRPP is defined as the power of the linear average of the channel response at the i -th path delay of the resource elements that carry the received UL SRS signalconfigured for the measurement, where UL SRS-RSRPP for 1st path delay is the power contribution corresponding to the first detected path in time.

[0082] The reference point for UL SRS-RSRPP shall be: the Rx antenna connector for a type 1-C base station (e.g., as described in 3GPP TS 38. 104); based on the combined signal from antenna elements corresponding to a given receiver branch for a type 1-0 or 2-0 base station (e.g., as described in 3GPP TS 38.104), or the Rx Transceiver Array Boundary connector for a type 1-H base station (e.g., as described in 3GPP TS 38. 104).

[0083] For FR1 and FR2, if receiver diversity is in use by the gNB for UL SRS-RSRPP measurements, then: 1) The reported UL SRS-RSRPP value for the first and additional paths shall be provided for the same receiver branch(es) as applied for UL SRS-RSRP measurements, or 2) The reported UL SRS-RSRPP value for the first path shall not be lower than the corresponding UL SRS-RSRPP for the first path of any of the individual receiver branches and the reported UL SRS-RSRPP for the additional paths shall be provided for the same receiver branch(es) as applied UL SRS-RSRPP for the first path.

[0084] The DL RSCP is defined as the phase of the channel response at the first path delay derived from the resource elements carrying DL PRS configured for the measurement. DL RSCP is associated with the center frequency of the DL positioning frequency layer (PFL) configured for the measurement for RRC CONNECTED, RRC INACTIVE, and RRC IDLE modes. For FR1, the reference point for the DL RSCP shall be the antenna connector of the UE. For FR2, the reference point for the DL RSCP shall be the antenna of the UE.

[0085] The DL RSCPD is defined as the difference of DL RSCPs measured from DL PRS transmitted in a DL PFL from the transmission point (TP) j and the reference TP i. If UE reports RSCPD measurements together with RSTD measurements in a measurement report element, the reference TP for RSCPD is the same as the reference TP reported for RSTD. For FR1, the reference point for the DL RSCPD shall be the antenna connector of the UE. For FR2, the reference point for the DL RSCPD shall be the antenna of the UE. The DL RSCPD is applicable to a UE in the RRC CONNECTED state, the RRC INACTIVE state, and the RRC IDLE state.

[0086] The UL RSCP is defined as the phase of the channel response at the 1stpath delay derived from the resource elements carrying SRS configured for the measurement. UL RSCP is associated with the center frequency of the transmission bandwidth of the SRS forpositioning purposes configured for the measurement. The reference point for the UL RSCP shall be the Rx antenna connector for a type 1-C base station (e.g., as described in 3GPP TS 38. 104); the Rx antenna (i.e., the center location of the radiating region of the Rx antenna) for a type 1-0 or 2-0 base station (e.g., as described in 3GPP TS 38. 104), or the Rx Transceiver Array Boundary connector for a type 1-H base station (e.g., as described in 3GPP TS 38. 104).

[0087] In general, the subject matter herein relates to obtaining and utilizing the geometrical path relations when performing a LI measurement of a path by a sensing Rx node by defining possible / useful geometrical path relations among two propagation paths and proposing an indication of the relation, as part of the configuration of a sensing Rx node for a sensing measurement of a path associated to at least one such relation.

[0088] According to a first embodiment, a sensing Rx node receives a configuration for sensing measurement based on at least two signals, wherein the sensing measurement / reporting configuration includes an indication / configuration parameters of a first signal, transmitted by a first sensing Tx node; an indication / configuration parameters of a second signal, transmitted by a second sensing Tx node; an indication / description of a first propagation path detectable at the sensing Rx node based (at least in part) on reception of the said first signal; an indication / description of a second propagation path detectable at the sensing Rx node based (at least in part) on reception of the said first signal; a measurement / reporting quantity to be measured / reported based on jointly reception of the said first and second signals; and an indication of a shared property / association of the said first path detectable at the sensing Rx node based on the reception of the said first signal and the second path detectable at the sensing Rx node based on the reception of the said second signal.

[0089] In one embodiment, the shared property includes a first and second path that share the same (indicated) N number of last reflection point (exactly or approximately as below a distance t / j / bounccs towards the sensing Rx node, e.g., the said first and second path share the same last reflection point / bounce towards the sensing Rx node.

[0090] In one embodiment, the shared property includes a first path that includes a last reflection towards the sensing Rx node from an object close to / attached to / encompassed by an antenna reference point of the second sensing Tx node.

[0091] In one embodiment, the shared property includes a first path and a second path that follow an indicated / known relation (to the sensing Rx node) in one or more of an AoA,ZoA, doppler shift, ToF / delay, over at least all or part of the propagation path (e.g., the total ToF or ToF from the last reflection point of the said two paths may be equal or follow an indicated relation).

[0092] In one embodiment, the sensing Rx node measures and / or reports the indicated measurement / reporting quantity, jointly based on the reception of the first signal (from the first sensing Tx node) and the second signal (from the second sensing Tx node), and based on the received indication of the said shared property / association of the first and second paths wherein the measurement / reporting quantity is, in some embodiments, one or more of AoA of a path, ZoA of a path, AoA / ZoA difference of paths, ToA of a path, ToF of a path, Rx-to- Tx difference, Rx (of a path)-to-Tx difference, RSTD / RTOA (of two paths) of the first path, of the second path, of an indicated reference path (first arrival path between the sensing Tx and sensing Rx) or a combination thereof and also an RSRPP or RSRPP difference or ratio of two paths, a doppler shift of a path, doppler shift difference of paths, or a combination thereof, of the first path, of the second path, of an indicated reference path (first arrival path between the sensing Tx and sensing Rx) or a combination thereof. See also U.S. Provisional Patent Application Nos. 63 / 589,563 and 63 / 589,582, which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

[0093] In some embodiments, the measurement quantity of the sensing Rx node may further include position, speed / velocity, heading / movement direction, presence, detection, RCS of an indicated sensing target. In some embodiments, the combined measurement includes a weighted average of the measurements over the said two paths (e.g., where the weights of the weighted average may be indicated to the sensing Rx node or is determined by the sensing Rx node based on the measured RSRPP of the two paths and / or an indicated computation function / model (a function relating the measured RSRPP to the weight value utilized in the computation of the weighted average)), a selection of a better measurement with a higher quality (e.g., computing the measurement quantity, when shared between the two said paths, from the path with a higher measured RSRPP or an RSRPP larger than an indicated threshold of the other path of the said two paths), a computation of a first path property shared / related to the second path from the reception of the first path (of the said first signal) and thereby measurement of the other path properties of the second path from the second (and / or first) signal with higher accuracy / reliability, e.g., computation of the AoA / ZoA of the first path shared with the second path and thereby better filtering out thesecond signal received from the second path for measurement of e.g., ToA / doppler shift of the said second path, or a combination thereof.

[0094] In some embodiments, the path relation is indicated via an indication of a target / object (e.g., object ID of a previously known / defmed / detected object, or description of an object according to which the object may be detected by the sensing Rx node), and an indication that the second sensing signal is initiated from a transmission point associated with (attached to / co-located with / encompassed by) the indicated target / object.

[0095] In some embodiments, the first and second sensing Tx node are the same node. Hence, the first and second paths share the same transmission and reception points while may be indicated (to the sensing Rx node) as being the same or different paths (e.g., first path differs in the first hop and / or last hop from the second path).

[0096] In some embodiments, indication of path relation includes a QCL type-D relation between a first beam associated with a first path and a second beam associated with the second path, e.g., utilizing the Rx beam associated with reception of the first / second path for reception of the second / first signal / path. In some embodiments, upon indication of a geometrical relation between the first and second paths, the sensing Rx implicitly assumes a QCL type-D relation between the reception of the first and second said path of the first and second signals.

[0097] In some embodiments, the first and / or second sensing Tx node is a UE, a gNB- TRP, a gNB-CU / DU, a gNB, a RAN node, an NCR, an IAB node, a UE or gNB type RSU. In some embodiments, the sensing Rx node is a UE, a gNB-TRP, a gNB-CU / DU, a gNB, a RAN node, an NCR, an IAB node, a UE or gNB type RSU.

[0098] In some embodiments, the first signal and / or the second signal comprising combination of the one or more of physical DL / UL / SL data / control channels, reference signals (e.g., DMRS, PRS, SRS, sensing-dedicated RS, CSI-RS, PTRS, or the like) transmitted in the DL / UL / SL directions and according to the corresponding DL / UL / SL frame, or transmitted in a TRP2TRP directions (none of the DL / UL / SL directions), and may be transmitted / received according to the DL frame of the transmitting TRP, UL frame of the receiving TRP or combination thereof, and / or the like.

[0099] In some embodiments, the configuration of the sensing Rx further includes an indication of the first and / or second path to the sensing Rx node (e.g., when the indicated first and / or second path is previously known / measured / detected at the sensing Rx node) whereinthe path indication may include a path ID and / or a RS ID (e.g., the PRS ID over which the sensing Rx node has previously detected and / or measured the first or second path).

[0100] In some embodiments, the configuration of the sensing Rx further includes a path description of the said first and / or second path, including one or more of propagation time / delay characteristics (e.g., ToA / ToF range, relative to the LOS path / first path or to a known time reference), propagation path direction (e.g., range of permissible AoA / ZoA, or the like), mobility pattern (e.g., a range of doppler shift values) mobility pattern (e.g., a range of possible doppler shift values), path energy / power (e.g., RSRPP above a threshold), or relative description of one or more of the mentioned descriptions (e.g., change of RSRPP, in doppler shift, ToA, or the like above an indicated threshold). See also U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 589,582, which is incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

[0101] In some embodiments, any of the configurations (e.g., of a sensing signal, a sensing transmission, sensing reception, sensing measurement) and / or indications and / or reporting information elements between a sensing Tx / Rx node and the SensMF or a subset thereof are received by the sensing Rx nodes, transmitted by the sensing Rx nodes, received by the sensing Tx nodes, transmitted by the sensing Tx nodes, transmitted and / or received by the SensMF node, or a combination thereof.

[0102] In one embodiment, the configurations are received via the UL, DL or sidelink (SL) physical data and / or control channels defined within the communication network, e.g., NR physical broadcast channel (PBCH), physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), physical sidelink broadcast channel (PSBCH), physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH), physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH), via a higher layer (medium access control (MAC)-control element (CE) or radio resource control (RRC)) signaling, wherein the sensing Rx and / or the sensing Tx node is a UE.

[0103] In one embodiment, the configurations are received via a logical interface between the SF and the sensing nodes, as part of the LTE positioning protocol (LPP) or as modified / enhanced LPP message framework for sensing or as an interface defined for sensing message exchanges over the N 1 interface between the SF and a UE, wherein the sensing Tx and / or sensing Rx node is a UE.

[0104] In one embodiment, the configurations are received via a logical interface between the SensMF and the Sensing nodes, as part of the NR positioning protocol A (NRPPa) (or modified / enhanced NRPPa message framework for sensing) or as an interface defined over the next generation application protocol (NGAP) interface, wherein the sensing Tx and / or sensing Rx node is a TRP of RAN and the SensMF is a core network function (SF, LMF, or the like).

[0105] In one embodiment, the configurations are received via a logical interface between the SensMF and the Sensing nodes wherein the SensMF is a serving gNB of a sensing task and the sensing node is a UE or a TRP of RAN. In some examples, the said interface utilizes (at least in part) the X2 interface between the associated gNB of the sensing node and the said serving gNB of the sensing task.

[0106] In one embodiment, when multiple sensing Rx nodes perform sensing measurements based on the first and / or second sensing signals, the indication / description of the said first path, of the said second path, and the indication of the geometrical path relation of the first and the second paths, or a subset of the parameters thereof, is communicated to the sensing Rx nodes via group signaling (e.g., indicating an object ID via a group common DCI with cyclic redundancy check (CRC) scrambled with a group common radio network temporary identifier (RNTI)).

[0107] Figures 4A-4F depict different examples of a first path 401 from the first sensing Tx 402 towards a sensing Rx 404 and the second path 403 from a second sensing Tx 406 towards a sensing Rx node 404. Please note that the elements described within each embodiment is not exclusive and can be utilized as elements of the other depicted topologies of the other cases.

[0108] Figure 4A depicts an example of sensing measurement of two paths (Case A), in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. In Case A, shown in Figure 4A, the first path 401 initiated from the first sensing Tx 402 node and terminated at the sensing Rx node 404 is further associated with reflection from a sensing target / object 408 and the second path 403 is associated with a LOS / first arrival path propagation from the second sensing Tx node 406, which is (one or more of) co-located with, attached to, surrounded with, near / close to (located with a maximum distance d), or the like the sensing target / object 408 constituting the reflection point of the first path. As such, the sensing Rx node 404 may assume the indicatedrelation between the measurements of the first path 401 (based on the reception of the first signal) and the second path 403 (based on the reception of the second signal).

[0109] In one implementation, the sensing Rx node 404 assumes a same AoA / ZoA of the first 401 and second 403 path, and thereby performs a joint measurement on the AoA / ZoA of both paths, utilizing a joint AoA / ZoA estimate (e.g., by a weighted averaging), or utilizing the estimate with better predicated accuracy (AoA / ZoA of the path with a higher RSRPP) also for the other path of the two first 401 and second 403 paths. In one implementation, the sensing Rx node 404 utilizes the estimate of the AoA / ZoA of the second path 403 to distinguish the first path 401 (which is associated with the sensing target 408) from other reflective / co-existing paths initiated from the first sensing Tx 402 (but are not associated with / reflected at the sensing target) observable from the reception of the first signal, and upon detection / distinction of the said first path 401, the sensing Rx node 404 performs measurements of doppler shift, ToA, or the like associated with the first path 401.

[0110] In some embodiments, the second sensing Tx node 406 is a target UE for which a positioning service request has been issued from an location services (LCS) client (e.g., the UE, network, a third party, or the like), the first sensing Tx node 402 is a gNB / TRP or a UE, the first sensing signal is an RS transmitted in the DL direction (and according to the DL frame timing), the second sensing signal is an RS transmitted in the UL direction, and the sensing Rx node 404 is a (same or different) gNB / TRP node and wherein the target UE position is estimated (e.g., at the gNB, at the LMF, or at the UE) based on the collection of the measurements, e.g., following a multi-RTT procedure.

[0111] In one embodiment, the multi-RTT procedure may include a first measurement of the AoA / ZoA / ToA / Rx-Tx time difference / doppler shift (e.g., of the LOS / first arrival path) at the target UE (e.g., the second sensing Tx node 406) based on transmission of the first sensing signal by the first sensing Tx 402.

[0112] In one embodiment, the multi-RTT procedure may include a second measurement of the AoA / ZoA / ToA / Rx-Tx time difference / doppler shift (e.g., of the LOS / first arrival path) at the first sensing Tx node 402 based on transmission of the second sensing signal by the target UE (second sensing Tx 406).

[0113] In one embodiment, the multi-RTT procedure may include a third measurement of the AoA / ZoA / ToA / Rx-Tx time difference / doppler shift (of the indicated first path 401) at thesensing Rx node 404 based on transmission of the first sensing signal by the first sensing Tx 402.

[0114] In one embodiment, the multi-RTT procedure may include a fourth measurement of the AoA / ZoA / ToA / Rx-Tx time difference / doppler shift (of the indicated second path 403) at the sensing Rx node 404 based on transmission of the second sensing signal by the target UE (second sensing Tx 406) node.

[0115] In one embodiment, the third and fourth measurements are performed based on an indication of the path relationship of the first 401 and second 403 paths. In some embodiments, the third and fourth measurements are performed and / or reported jointly, at least on some of the reporting parameters, e.g., the measured AoA / ZoA towards the sensing Rx node 404, as shared between the first 401 and second 403 paths.

[0116] In some alternate embodiments, the first sensing Tx node 402 is a UE device and the first sensing signal is a SL RS (e.g., SL PRS) and the sensing Rx node 404 is another UE device.

[0117] In some embodiments, the type of the path relation and / or all or subset of the parameters define the relation of two paths is indicated via an index of a codebook / table known to the sensing Rx node 404. In one embodiment, the codebook / table includes possible variations of the geometrical path relationships (e.g., with one index indicating the path relation of the depicted Case A, and another index indicating the path relation of the depicted Case B, shown in Figure 4B).

[0118] In some embodiments, as part of the path description and / or path relation of two paths, the first 401 and / or second 403 path includes a reflection point / entity and information on the reflection description is further indicated to the sensing Tx node 402, e.g., RCS characterization / information of an object, a sensing target, or the like. See also U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 446,604, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

[0119] In some embodiments, according to the network topology depicted in Case A (Figure 4A), the second sensing Tx node 406 is a UE attached to / surrounded by / close to a sensing target object, and the second sensing Tx node 406 may or may not perform measurements on the transmitted first sensing signal. Moreover, the transmitted second sensing signal may be an UL, SL RS, or an UL or SL physical data / control channel transmitted by the second sensing Tx node 406.

[0120] In some embodiments, the sensing measurement and positioning of the sensing target associated with the UE of the second sensing Tx node 406 may be performed in response to a positioning request of the UE, or a sensing request of the object / target 408 attached or close to the UE, or both. In one implementation, when the UE is configured with an UL transmission of a data / control information (utilized here as the second sensing signal), the sensing Rx 404 of the sensing operation associated with the target 408 close to / attached to the UE is further indicated with the said second sensing signal (time / frequency resources of the said transmission), and the path relation to a first indicated / defined path observable at the sensing Rx node 404 based on a first sensing signal transmission and reflection of the sensing target 408.

[0121] Figure 4B depicts another example of sensing measurement of two paths (Case B), in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. In Case B, the first path 401 initiated from the first sensing Tx node 402 and terminated at the sensing Rx node 404 is further associated with reflection / re-transmission from one of a known reflector 410 (to the sensing Rx node 404, the SensMF, or both), a configurable reflector (e.g., a reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS)), a network controlled repeater (NCR) (as the last hop towards the sensing Rx node 404), as the first hop / reflection, and a reflection from a sensing target / object 408 as the second or last reflection.

[0122] In one embodiment, the second path 403 initiated from the second sensing Tx node 406 and terminated at the sensing Rx node 404 is further associated with reflection / re- transmission from one of (the same described reflector 410 / RIS / NCR entity as for the first path 401) a known reflector 410 (to the sensing Rx node 404, the SensMF, or both), a configurable reflector (RIS), an NCR as the first hop / reflection and a reflection from a sensing target / object 408 (the same as of the first path 401) as the second or last reflection (as the last hop towards the sensing Rx node 404). In one implementation, the sensing Rx node 404 performs a joint (based on both first and second signal) estimate of the AoA / ZoA of the first 401 and second 403 paths (as equal / same angles for both paths 401, 403) and based on which sensing Rx node 404 performs measurements of ToA / FoF / doppler shift, on the observed / detected first 401 and second 403 paths.

[0123] In some embodiments, in addition to the configuration of the first and second signals, the sensing Rx node 404 receives one or more of a time pattem / timing information (e.g., a set of time symbols, slots, subframes, or the like) for which the indicated path association holds. As such, for Case B, when the reflector 410 is a configurable RIS, thesensing Rx node 404 may further receive timing information associated with the RIS reflection strategy within the configured first signal and / or a second timing information associated with the RIS reflection strategy within the configured second signal, for which the indicated path-relation holds.

[0124] Figure 4C depicts another example of sensing measurement of two paths (CaseC), in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. In Case C, the first path 401 initiated from the first sensing Tx node 402 and terminated at the sensing Rx node 404 is further associated with reflection from one of a known reflector 410 (to the sensing Rx node 404, the SensMF, or both), a configurable reflector (RIS), an NCR, or the like, as the first-hop reflection. In one embodiment, the first path 401 is further reflected from the sensing target / object 408 as the second / last hop / reflection towards the sensing Rx node 404 and the second path 403, initiated from a second sensing Tx 406 and terminated at the sensing Rx 404, is associated with a LOS / first arrival path propagation from the second sensing Tx node 406, which is (one or more of) co-located with, attached to, surrounded with, near / close to (located with a maximum distance d), or the like, the sensing target / object 408 constituting the reflection point of the first path 401. As such, the sensing Rx node 404 may assume the indicated relation between the measurements of the first path 401 (based on the reception of the first signal) and the second path 403 (based on the reception of the second signal).

[0125] Figure 4D depicts another example of sensing measurement of two paths (CaseD), in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. In Case D, the first path 401 initiated from the first sensing Tx node 402 and terminated at the sensing Rx node 404 is further associated with reflection from one of a known reflector 410 (known to the sensing Rx node 404, the SensMF, or both), a configurable reflector (RIS), an NCR, or the like, as the single hop / reflection towards the sensing Rx node 404. As such, the sensing Rx node 404 may assume the indicated relation between the measurements of the first path 401 (based on the reception of the first signal) and the second path 403 (based on the reception of the second signal).

[0126] Figure 4E depicts another example of sensing measurement of two paths (Case E), in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. In Case E, the first path 401 initiated from the first sensing Tx node 402 and terminated at the sensing Rx node 404 is further associated with reflection from a sensing target / object 408 as the single hop / reflection towards the sensing Rx node 404. As such, the sensing Rx node 404 may assume theindicated relation between the measurements of the first path 401 (based on the reception of the first signal) and the second path 403 (based on the reception of the second signal).

[0127] For both Case D and Case E, in one embodiment, the sensing Rx node 404 assumes a same AoA / ZoA of the first 401 and second 403 paths, and thereby performs a joint measurement on the AoA / ZoA of both paths 401, 403, utilizing a joint AoA / ZoA estimate (e.g., by a weighted average), or utilizing the estimate with better predicated accuracy (e.g., AoA / ZoA of the path with a higher RSRPP), also for the other path. In one such implementation, the sensing Rx node 404 utilizes the estimate of the AoA / ZoA of the second path 403 to distinguish the first path 401 (which is associated with the sensing target 408) from other reflective / co-existing paths initiated from the first sensing Tx 402 (but are not associated with / reflected at the sensing target 408) observable from the reception of the fist signal. In one embodiment, upon detection / distinction of the first path 401, the sensing Rx node 404 performs measurements of doppler shift, ToA, or the like, associated with the first path 401.

[0128] Figure 4F depicts another example of sensing measurement of two paths (Case F), in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. In Case F, the first path 401 initiated from the first sensing Tx node 402 and terminated at the sensing Rx node 404 is further associated with reflection from a sensing target / object 406 and the second path 403, initiated from the second sensing Tx node 406 and terminated at the sensing Rx node 404, is further associated with a reflection or backscattering (towards the sensing Rx node 404) from a device 410 which is (one or more of) co-located with, attached to, surrounded with, near / close to (located with a maximum distance d) the sensing target / object 406 constituting the reflection point of the first path 410. As such, the sensing Rx node 404 may assume the indicated relation between the measurements of the first path 401 (based on the reception of the first signal) and the second path 403 (based on the reception of the second signal).

[0129] In one embodiment, the device is a RIS by which the second signal is reflected towards the sensing Rx node 404. In some embodiments, the sensing Rx node 404 is further indicated with the reflection strategy of the RIS, of a time pattern for which a reflection strategy and / or the indicated association of the first 401 and second 403 paths are valid (e.g., a time where the RIS reflects towards the sensing Rx node 404 with a greater impinging energy than a threshold).

[0130] In one embodiment, the device 410 is a back-scattering / ambient-Intemet of Things (loT) device, capable ofbackscattering of the second signal. In some embodiments, the sensing Rx node 404 is further indicated with a backscattering pattem / signature / code of the device 410 (by which the backscattering signal / code of the device410 may be detected at the sensing Rx node 404) and / or the timing information of the backscattering of the device 410.

[0131] In one implementation, a first signal (or multiple first signals) is utilized for one or more of transferring energy to the device 410 (wherein the device 410 is indicated to receive / store energy based on the transmission of the first signal), transmit command / information / payload to the device 410, or a combination thereof. In such an embodiment, at the same time, the reflection of the first signal (or the multiple first signals) from the sensing target / object 406 attached to the device 410 is measured at the sensing Rx node 404 (the measurement associated with the fist path 401 initiated from the first sensing Tx 402, reflected from the target object 406 and received at the sensing Rx node 404).

[0132] Further, in one embodiment, the second signal is transmitted to the device 410 (e.g., as a carrier signal), which triggers / generates a backscattering effect that is received at the sensing Rx node 404 as part of the second path 403 (initiated from the second sensing Tx, back-scattered at the device 410 and received at the sensing Rx node 404, or initiated from the device 410 and terminated at the sensing Rx node 404). As such, sensing measurements of the first 401 and / or second 403 path is conducted at the sensing Rx node 404 jointly based on reception of the reflection of the fist and / or second signals from the sensing target object 406, backscattering of the second signal from the device 410 received at the sensing Rx node 404, and / or the like.

[0133] In one implementation, upon detection of the first path 401 from the first signal (e.g., the AoA / ZoA associated to the path 401) by the sensing Rx node 404, the sensing Rx node 404 detects / measures the backscattering of the second signal from the device 410 (e.g., with a higher reliability / accuracy), utilizing the initial estimate of the AoA / ZoA of the second path 403, e.g., utilizing an Rx beam that is quasi-co-located (qCL-ed)-type D with a selected beam for reception / detection of the first path 401.

[0134] In another implementation, upon reception and detection of the backscattering signal of the device 410 (from the second path 403 / signal) the sensing Rx node 404 detects / distinguishes the first path 401 (associated with the sensing target attached to thedevice 410) and performs sensing measurements on the received reflected first signals (first path 401). In some embodiments, the backscattering device 410 shifts the frequency of the second signal and thereby enables the sensing Rx node 404 to separate the reception of the second signal from the second path 403, via the reflection of the second signal and via the backscattering of the second signal (at a different frequency). In some embodiments, the backscattering effect includes a phase rotation, which is, in some implementations, larger than the expected phase rotations of the carrier signal due to the present reflective paths of the environment.

[0135] In some example embodiments of Cases A, C, and F, the configuration of the sensing Tx / Rx nodes 402, 404, 406 for measurement and reporting are done subsequent to receiving a sensing request by the SensMF node, by a positioning request from an LCS client to the SensMF or to the LMF, or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, as part of the sensing and / or positioning service request, the SensMF / LMF is indicated with description of an object / target, RCS information of an object / target to be sensed, the UE (e.g., UE description / ID) attached to / close to / surrounding a target UE, information of the physical characteristics of the target, and / or description of the UE placement / attachment to the associated object (e.g., where, on the associated object, the UE antenna reference point is attached to, if the UE is static, or moving, or vibrating, in relation to the target object position).

[0136] In some example embodiments of Cases A, C, and F, the geometrical path relation includes a timing relation, where the second hop of the first path 401 (propagation from the reflection point of the target to the sensing Rx node 404) shares the same / close / smaller than a threshold ToF information as for the second path 403. In some embodiments, the measured timing of the first sensing signal at the second sensing Tx node 406 (target UE), e.g., the Rx- to-Tx time difference, the ToA / ToF is further reported to the sensing Rx node 404. As such, the sensing Rx node 404 may estimate the expected ToA of the second signal, ToF of the first 401 and / or second path 403, or a combination thereof, jointly from one or more of the measurements of the ToA of the second signal from the second path 403, the reported ToA reading of the target UE, the Rx-to-Tx time difference, the measurement time-stamp of the target UE, or a combination thereof.

[0137] In some example embodiments of Cases A, C, and F, the geometrical path relation comprising a doppler shift relation of two paths, where the second hop of the first path 401 (propagation from the reflection point of the target to the sensing Rx node 404) shares thesame / close / smaller than a threshold doppler shift information as for the second path 403. In some embodiments, the measured doppler shift of the first sensing signal at the second target UE is further reported to the sensing Rx node 404. As such, the sensing Rx node 404 may estimate the expected doppler shift of the first path 401 and / or of the second path 403 or both, jointly based one or more of the received / reported doppler shift measurement of the target UE based on transmission of the first signal, the doppler shift measurement at the sensing Rx node 404 of the second signal from the second path 403, the doppler shift measurement at the sensing Rx node 404 of the first signal from the first path 401, or the like.

[0138] In some example embodiments of Cases A, C, and F, the configuration of the sensing Rx / Tx nodes 402, 404, 406, follow the steps and / or the information elements as defined in, e.g., U.S. Provisional Patent Application 63 / 446,658, which is incorporated herein by reference. In some example embodiments of Cases A, C, and F, the first sensing signal is transmitted as the second sensing Tx node 406 (target UE) is in the discontinuous reception (DRX) phase and is not expected to measure the transmitted first signal and / or to transmit the second signal during the said DRX period.

[0139] Figure 5 illustrates an example of a UE 500 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The UE 500 may include a processor 502, a memory 504, a controller 506, and a transceiver 508. The processor 502, the memory 504, the controller 506, or the transceiver 508, or various combinations thereof or various components thereof may be examples of means for performing various aspects of the present disclosure as described herein. These components may be coupled (e.g., operatively, communicatively, functionally, electronically, electrically) via one or more interfaces.

[0140] The processor 502, the memory 504, the controller 506, or the transceiver 508, or various combinations or components thereof may be implemented in hardware (e.g., circuitry). The hardware may include a processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or other programmable logic device, or any combination thereof configured as or otherwise supporting a means for performing the functions described in the present disclosure.

[0141] The processor 502 may include an intelligent hardware device (e.g., a general- purpose processor, a DSP, a central processing unit (CPU), an ASIC, a field programmable gate array (FPGA), or any combination thereof). In some implementations, the processor 502 may be configured to operate the memory 504. In some other implementations, the memory504 may be integrated into the processor 502. The processor 502 may be configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in the memory 504 to cause the UE 500 to perform various functions of the present disclosure.

[0142] The memory 504 may include volatile or non-volatile memory. The memory 504 may store computer-readable, computer-executable code including instructions that, when executed by the processor 502, cause the UE 500 to perform various functions described herein. The code may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium such the memory 504 or another type of memory. Computer-readable media includes both non- transitory computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. A non-transitory storage medium may be any available medium that may be accessed by a general-purpose or specialpurpose computer.

[0143] In some implementations, the processor 502 and the memory 504 coupled with the processor 502 may be configured to cause the UE 500 to perform one or more of the UE functions described herein (e.g., executing, by the processor 502, instructions stored in the memory 504). Accordingly, the processor 502 may support wireless communication at the UE 500 in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. For example, the UE 500 may be configured to support a means to receive a set of parameters associated with a first signal transmission from a first sensing node and a second signal transmission from a second sensing node, receive a set of path descriptors associated with a first propagation path of the first signal transmission and a second propagation path of the second signal transmission, receive an indication of a shared property associated with the first propagation path and the second propagation path based on the first signal transmission and the second signal transmission, and perform at least one joint measurement associated with the first propagation path and the second propagation path based on the shared property and based on the first signal transmission and the second signal transmission.

[0144] In one embodiment, the at least one joint measurement comprises at least one of an AoA of the first or second propagation paths, a ZoA of the first or second propagation paths, or a difference between the AoA and the ZoA of the first and second propagation paths.

[0145] In one embodiment, the at least one joint measurement comprises at least one of a ToA of the first or second propagation paths, a ToF of the first or second propagation paths,an Rx-to-Tx difference between the first or second propagation paths, a RSTD or RTOA of the first propagation path, the second propagation path, a reference path, or a combination thereof.

[0146] In one embodiment, the at least one joint measurement comprises at least one of a RSRPP, an RSRPP difference, an RSRPP ratio, or a combination thereof, of the first and second propagation paths.

[0147] In one embodiment, the at least one joint measurement comprises at least one of a doppler shift or a doppler shift difference of the first propagation path, the second propagation path, or a reference path.

[0148] In one embodiment, the at least one joint measurement comprises at least one of a weighted average of measurements over the first and second propagation paths, a selection of a measurement with a highest accuracy, a computation of a property of the first propagation path shared with the second propagation path based on the reception of the first signal, a computation of a property of the second propagation path shared with the first propagation path based on the reception of the second signal, or a combination thereof.

[0149] In one embodiment, the shared property comprises a last reflection point or bounce towards the UE. In one embodiment, the last reflection point or bounce towards the UE is from an object close to, attached to, or encompassed by an antenna reference point of the second sensing node.

[0150] In one embodiment, the shared property comprises a known relation to the UE of the first and second propagation paths in their AoA, ZoA, doppler shift, ToF or delay, or a combination thereof.

[0151] In one embodiment, the shared property is indicated via an index from a codebook, the codebook comprising different geometrical path relations. In one embodiment, the first propagation path is associated with a reflection point from a sensing target towards the UE and the second propagation path is associated with a line of sight or first arrival path propagation from the second sensing node that is associated with the sensing target.

[0152] In one embodiment, the first propagation path is associated with reflection from a reflector as a first reflection point and reflection from a sensing target as a second reflection point towards the UE and the second propagation path is associated with reflection from thereflector as the first reflection point and reflection from the sensing target as the second reflection point.

[0153] In one embodiment, the first propagation path is associated with reflection from a reflector as a first reflection point and further reflected from a sensing target as a second reflection point towards the UE and the second propagation path is associated with a line of sight or first arrival path propagation from the second sensing node that is associated with the sensing target.

[0154] In one embodiment, the first propagation path is associated with reflection from a reflector as the reflection point towards the UE. In one embodiment, the first propagation path is associated with reflection from a sensing target as the reflection point towards the UE.

[0155] In one embodiment, the first propagation path is associated with reflection from a sensing target and the second propagation path is associated with a reflection or backscattering from a device that is associated with the sensing target.

[0156] In one embodiment, the UE 500 may be configured to support a means to receive a time pattern for a relationship between the first and second propagation paths, reflection information of a reflector, RCS information of a reflector, reflection displacement information of a LOS path and a reflection, or a combination thereof.

[0157] In one embodiment, a sensing Rx node comprises a NE, a UE a gNB-TRP, a gNB- CU, a gNB-DU, a gNB, a RAN node, a NCR, an IAB node, or an RSU. In one embodiment, the first sensing node or the second sensing node comprises a UE, a gNB-TRP, a gNB-CU, a gNB-DU, a gNB, a RAN node, a NCR, an IAB node, or an RSU. In one embodiment, the first signal or the second signal comprises a physical DL data channel, a physical DL control channel, a physical UL data channel, a physical UL control channel, a physical SL data channel, a physical SL control channel, a DL RS, a UL RS, a SL RS, or a combination thereof.

[0158] The controller 506 may manage input and output signals for the UE 500. The controller 506 may also manage peripherals not integrated into the UE 500. In some implementations, the controller 506 may utilize an operating system (OS) such as iOS®, ANDROID®, WINDOWS®, or other operating systems. In some implementations, the controller 506 may be implemented as part of the processor 502.

[0159] In some implementations, the UE 500 may include at least one transceiver 508. In some other implementations, the UE 500 may have more than one transceiver 508. The transceiver 508 may represent a wireless transceiver. The transceiver 508 may include one or more receiver chains 510, one or more transmitter chains 512, or a combination thereof.

[0160] A receiver chain 510 may be configured to receive signals (e.g., control information, data, packets) over a wireless medium. For example, the receiver chain 510 may include one or more antennas for receiving the signal over the air or wireless medium. The receiver chain 510 may include at least one amplifier (e.g., a low-noise amplifier (LNA)) configured to amplify the received signal. The receiver chain 510 may include at least one demodulator configured to demodulate the received signal and obtain the transmitted data by reversing the modulation technique applied during transmission of the signal. The receiver chain 510 may include at least one decoder for decoding / processing the demodulated signal to receive the transmitted data.

[0161] A transmitter chain 512 may be configured to generate and transmit signals (e.g., control information, data, packets). The transmitter chain 512 may include at least one modulator for modulating data onto a carrier signal, preparing the signal for transmission over a wireless medium. The at least one modulator may be configured to support one or more techniques such as amplitude modulation (AM), frequency modulation (FM), or digital modulation schemes like phase-shift keying (PSK) or quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM). The transmitter chain 512 may also include at least one power amplifier configured to amplify the modulated signal to an appropriate power level suitable for transmission over the wireless medium. The transmitter chain 512 may also include one or more antennas for transmitting the amplified signal into the air or wireless medium.

[0162] Figure 6 illustrates an example of a processor 600 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The processor 600 may be an example of a processor configured to perform various operations in accordance with examples as described herein. The processor 600 may include a controller 602 configured to perform various operations in accordance with examples as described herein. The processor 600 may optionally include at least one memory 604, which may be, for example, an L1 / L2 / L3 cache. Additionally, or alternatively, the processor 600 may optionally include one or more arithmetic-logic units (ALUs) 606. One or more of these components may be in electronic communication or otherwise coupled (e.g., operatively, communicatively, functionally, electronically, electrically) via one or more interfaces (e.g., buses).

[0163] The processor 600 may be a processor chipset and include a protocol stack (e.g., a software stack) executed by the processor chipset to perform various operations (e.g., receiving, obtaining, retrieving, transmitting, outputting, forwarding, storing, determining, identifying, accessing, writing, reading) in accordance with examples as described herein. The processor chipset may include one or more cores, one or more caches (e.g., memory local to or included in the processor chipset (e.g., the processor 600) or other memory (e.g., random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous dynamic RAM (SDRAM), static RAM (SRAM), ferroelectric RAM (FeRAM), magnetic RAM (MRAM), resistive RAM (RRAM), flash memory, phase change memory (PCM), and others).

[0164] The controller 602 may be configured to manage and coordinate various operations (e.g., signaling, receiving, obtaining, retrieving, transmitting, outputting, forwarding, storing, determining, identifying, accessing, writing, reading) of the processor 600 to cause the processor 600 to support various operations in accordance with examples as described herein. For example, the controller 602 may operate as a control unit of the processor 600, generating control signals that manage the operation of various components of the processor 600. These control signals include enabling or disabling functional units, selecting data paths, initiating memory access, and coordinating timing of operations.

[0165] The controller 602 may be configured to fetch (e.g., obtain, retrieve, receive) instructions from the memory 604 and determine subsequent instruction(s) to be executed to cause the processor 600 to support various operations in accordance with examples as described herein. The controller 602 may be configured to track memory address of instructions associated with the memory 604. The controller 602 may be configured to decode instructions to determine the operation to be performed and the operands involved. For example, the controller 602 may be configured to interpret the instruction and determine control signals to be output to other components of the processor 600 to cause the processor 600 to support various operations in accordance with examples as described herein. Additionally, or alternatively, the controller 602 may be configured to manage flow of data within the processor 600. The controller 602 may be configured to control transfer of data between registers, arithmetic logic units (ALUs), and other functional units of the processor 600.

[0166] The memory 604 may include one or more caches (e.g., memory local to or included in the processor 600 or other memory, such RAM, ROM, DRAM, SDRAM, SRAM,MRAM, flash memory, etc. In some implementations, the memory 604 may reside within or on a processor chipset (e.g., local to the processor 600). In some other implementations, the memory 604 may reside external to the processor chipset (e.g., remote to the processor 600).

[0167] The memory 604 may store computer-readable, computer-executable code including instructions that, when executed by the processor 600, cause the processor 600 to perform various functions described herein. The code may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium such as system memory or another type of memory. The controller 602 and / or the processor 600 may be configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in the memory 604 to cause the processor 600 to perform various functions. For example, the processor 600 and / or the controller 602 may be coupled with or to the memory 604, the processor 600, the controller 602, and the memory 604 may be configured to perform various functions described herein. In some examples, the processor 600 may include multiple processors and the memory 604 may include multiple memories. One or more of the multiple processors may be coupled with one or more of the multiple memories, which may, individually or collectively, be configured to perform various functions herein.

[0168] The one or more ALUs 606 may be configured to support various operations in accordance with examples as described herein. In some implementations, the one or more ALUs 606 may reside within or on a processor chipset (e.g., the processor 600). In some other implementations, the one or more ALUs 606 may reside external to the processor chipset (e.g., the processor 600). One or more ALUs 606 may perform one or more computations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division on data. For example, one or more ALUs 606 may receive input operands and an operation code, which determines an operation to be executed. One or more ALUs 606 be configured with a variety of logical and arithmetic circuits, including adders, subtractors, shifters, and logic gates, to process and manipulate the data according to the operation. Additionally, or alternatively, the one or more ALUs 606 may support logical operations such as AND, OR, exclusive-OR (XOR), not-OR (NOR), and not-AND (NAND), enabling the one or more ALUs 606 to handle conditional operations, comparisons, and bitwise operations.

[0169] In various embodiments, the processor 600 may support wireless communication of a sensing radio node, such as a UE or gNB, in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. For example, the processor 600 may be configured to support a means for receiving a sensing configuration for performing a sensing signal transmission and at least one sensingmeasurement and means for performing at least one sensing measurement based on a first sensing signal.

[0170] In various embodiments, the processor 600 may be configured to support a means to receive a set of parameters associated with a first signal transmission from a first sensing node and a second signal transmission from a second sensing node, receive a set of path descriptors associated with a first propagation path of the first signal transmission and a second propagation path of the second signal transmission, receive an indication of a shared property associated with the first propagation path and the second propagation path based on the first signal transmission and the second signal transmission, and perform at least one joint measurement associated with the first propagation path and the second propagation path based on the shared property and based on the first signal transmission and the second signal transmission.

[0171] In one embodiment, the at least one joint measurement comprises at least one of an AoA of the first or second propagation paths, a ZoA of the first or second propagation paths, or a difference between the AoA and the ZoA of the first and second propagation paths.

[0172] In one embodiment, the at least one joint measurement comprises at least one of a ToA of the first or second propagation paths, a ToF of the first or second propagation paths, an Rx-to-Tx difference between the first or second propagation paths, a RSTD or RTOA of the first propagation path, the second propagation path, a reference path, or a combination thereof.

[0173] In one embodiment, the at least one joint measurement comprises at least one of a RSRPP, an RSRPP difference, an RSRPP ratio, or a combination thereof, of the first and second propagation paths.

[0174] In one embodiment, the at least one joint measurement comprises at least one of a doppler shift or a doppler shift difference of the first propagation path, the second propagation path, or a reference path.

[0175] In one embodiment, the at least one joint measurement comprises at least one of a weighted average of measurements over the first and second propagation paths, a selection of a measurement with a highest accuracy, a computation of a property of the first propagation path shared with the second propagation path based on the reception of the first signal, acomputation of a property of the second propagation path shared with the first propagation path based on the reception of the second signal, or a combination thereof.

[0176] In one embodiment, the shared property comprises a last reflection point or bounce towards the NE or UE. In one embodiment, the last reflection point or bounce towards the NE or UE is from an object close to, attached to, or encompassed by an antenna reference point of the second sensing node.

[0177] In one embodiment, the shared property comprises a known relation to the NE or UE of the first and second propagation paths in their AoA, ZoA, doppler shift, ToF or delay, or a combination thereof.

[0178] In one embodiment, the shared property is indicated via an index from a codebook, the codebook comprising different geometrical path relations. In one embodiment, the first propagation path is associated with a reflection point from a sensing target towards the NE or UE and the second propagation path is associated with a line of sight or first arrival path propagation from the second sensing node that is associated with the sensing target.

[0179] In one embodiment, the first propagation path is associated with reflection from a reflector as a first reflection point and reflection from a sensing target as a second reflection point towards the NE or UE and the second propagation path is associated with reflection from the reflector as the first reflection point and reflection from the sensing target as the second reflection point.

[0180] In one embodiment, the first propagation path is associated with reflection from a reflector as a first reflection point and further reflected from a sensing target as a second reflection point towards the NE or UE and the second propagation path is associated with a line of sight or first arrival path propagation from the second sensing node that is associated with the sensing target.

[0181] In one embodiment, the first propagation path is associated with reflection from a reflector as the reflection point towards the NE or UE. In one embodiment, the first propagation path is associated with reflection from a sensing target as the reflection point towards the NE or UE.

[0182] In one embodiment, the first propagation path is associated with reflection from a sensing target and the second propagation path is associated with a reflection or backscattering from a device that is associated with the sensing target.

[0183] In one embodiment, the processor 600 may be configured to support a means to receive a time pattern for a relationship between the first and second propagation paths, reflection information of a reflector, RCS information of a reflector, reflection displacement information of a LOS path and a reflection, or a combination thereof.

[0184] In one embodiment, a sensing Rx node comprises a UE, a NE, a gNB-TRP, a gNB-CU, a gNB-DU, a gNB, a RAN node, a NCR, an IAB node, or an RSU. In one embodiment, the first sensing node or the second sensing node comprises an NE, a UE, a gNB-TRP, a gNB-CU, a gNB-DU, a gNB, a RAN node, a NCR, an IAB node, or an RSU. In one embodiment, the first signal or the second signal comprises a physical DL data channel, a physical DL control channel, a physical UL data channel, a physical UL control channel, a physical SL data channel, a physical SL control channel, a DL RS, a UL RS, a SL RS, or a combination thereof.

[0185] Figure 7 illustrates an example of a NE 700 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The NE 700 may include a processor 702, a memory 704, a controller 706, and a transceiver 708. The processor 702, the memory 704, the controller 706, or the transceiver 708, or various combinations thereof or various components thereof may be examples of means for performing various aspects of the present disclosure as described herein. These components may be coupled (e.g., operatively, communicatively, functionally, electronically, electrically) via one or more interfaces.

[0186] The processor 702, the memory 704, the controller 706, or the transceiver 708, or various combinations or components thereof may be implemented in hardware (e.g., circuitry). The hardware may include a processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or other programmable logic device, or any combination thereof configured as or otherwise supporting a means for performing the functions described in the present disclosure.

[0187] The processor 702 may include an intelligent hardware device (e.g., a general- purpose processor, a DSP, a CPU, an ASIC, an FPGA, or any combination thereof). In some implementations, the processor 702 may be configured to operate the memory 704. In some other implementations, the memory 704 may be integrated into the processor 702. The processor 702 may be configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in the memory 704 to cause the NE 700 to perform various functions of the present disclosure.

[0188] The memory 704 may include volatile or non-volatile memory. The memory 704 may store computer-readable, computer-executable code including instructions when executed by the processor 702 cause the NE 700 to perform various functions described herein. The code may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium such the memory 704 or another type of memory. Computer-readable media includes both non- transitory computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. A non-transitory storage medium may be any available medium that may be accessed by a general-purpose or specialpurpose computer.

[0189] In some implementations, the processor 702 and the memory 704 coupled with the processor 702 may be configured to cause the NE 700 to perform one or more of the SensMF functions described herein (e.g., executing, by the processor 702, instructions stored in the memory 704). For example, the processor 702 may support wireless communication at the NE 700 in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. The NE 700 may be configured to support a means to receive a set of parameters associated with a first signal transmission from a first sensing node and a second signal transmission from a second sensing node, receive a set of path descriptors associated with a first propagation path of the first signal transmission and a second propagation path of the second signal transmission, receive an indication of a shared property associated with the first propagation path and the second propagation path based on the first signal transmission and the second signal transmission, and perform at least one joint measurement associated with the first propagation path and the second propagation path based on the shared property and based on the first signal transmission and the second signal transmission.

[0190] In one embodiment, the at least one joint measurement comprises at least one of an AoA of the first or second propagation paths, a ZoA of the first or second propagation paths, or a difference between the AoA and the ZoA of the first and second propagation paths.

[0191] In one embodiment, the at least one joint measurement comprises at least one of a ToA of the first or second propagation paths, a ToF of the first or second propagation paths, an Rx-to-Tx difference between the first or second propagation paths, a RSTD or RTOA of the first propagation path, the second propagation path, a reference path, or a combination thereof.

[0192] In one embodiment, the at least one joint measurement comprises at least one of a RSRPP, an RSRPP difference, an RSRPP ratio, or a combination thereof, of the first and second propagation paths.

[0193] In one embodiment, the at least one joint measurement comprises at least one of a doppler shift or a doppler shift difference of the first propagation path, the second propagation path, or a reference path.

[0194] In one embodiment, the at least one joint measurement comprises at least one of a weighted average of measurements over the first and second propagation paths, a selection of a measurement with a highest accuracy, a computation of a property of the first propagation path shared with the second propagation path based on the reception of the first signal, a computation of a property of the second propagation path shared with the first propagation path based on the reception of the second signal, or a combination thereof.

[0195] In one embodiment, the shared property comprises a last reflection point or bounce towards the NE. In one embodiment, the last reflection point or bounce towards the NE is from an object close to, attached to, or encompassed by an antenna reference point of the second sensing node.

[0196] In one embodiment, the shared property comprises a known relation to the NE of the first and second propagation paths in their AoA, ZoA, doppler shift, ToF or delay, or a combination thereof.

[0197] In one embodiment, the shared property is indicated via an index from a codebook, the codebook comprising different geometrical path relations. In one embodiment, the first propagation path is associated with a reflection point from a sensing target towards the NE and the second propagation path is associated with a line of sight or first arrival path propagation from the second sensing node that is associated with the sensing target.

[0198] In one embodiment, the first propagation path is associated with reflection from a reflector as a first reflection point and reflection from a sensing target as a second reflection point towards the NE and the second propagation path is associated with reflection from the reflector as the first reflection point and reflection from the sensing target as the second reflection point.

[0199] In one embodiment, the first propagation path is associated with reflection from a reflector as a first reflection point and further reflected from a sensing target as a secondreflection point towards the NE and the second propagation path is associated with a line of sight or first arrival path propagation from the second sensing node that is associated with the sensing target.

[0200] In one embodiment, the first propagation path is associated with reflection from a reflector as the reflection point towards the NE. In one embodiment, the first propagation path is associated with reflection from a sensing target as the reflection point towards the NE.

[0201] In one embodiment, the first propagation path is associated with reflection from a sensing target and the second propagation path is associated with a reflection or backscattering from a device that is associated with the sensing target.

[0202] In one embodiment, the NE 700 may be configured to support a means to receive a time pattern for a relationship between the first and second propagation paths, reflection information of a reflector, RCS information of a reflector, reflection displacement information of a LOS path and a reflection, or a combination thereof.

[0203] In one embodiment, the NE comprises a UE, a gNB-TRP, a gNB-CU, a gNB-DU, a gNB, a RAN node, a NCR, an IAB node, or an RSU. In one embodiment, the first sensing node or the second sensing node comprises a UE, a gNB-TRP, a gNB-CU, a gNB-DU, a gNB, a RAN node, a NCR, an IAB node, or an RSU. In one embodiment, the first signal or the second signal comprises a physical DL data channel, a physical DL control channel, a physical UL data channel, a physical UL control channel, a physical SL data channel, a physical SL control channel, a DL RS, a UL RS, a SL RS, or a combination thereof.

[0204] The controller 706 may manage input and output signals for the NE 700. The controller 706 may also manage peripherals not integrated into the NE 700. In some implementations, the controller 706 may utilize an operating system such as iOS®, ANDROID®, WINDOWS®, or other operating systems. In some implementations, the controller 706 may be implemented as part of the processor 702.

[0205] In some implementations, the NE 700 may include at least one transceiver 708. In some other implementations, the NE 700 may have more than one transceiver 708. The transceiver 708 may represent a wireless transceiver. The transceiver 708 may include one or more receiver chains 710, one or more transmitter chains 712, or a combination thereof.

[0206] A receiver chain 710 may be configured to receive signals (e.g., control information, data, packets) over a wireless medium. For example, the receiver chain 710 mayinclude one or more antennas for receiving the signal over the air or wireless medium. The receiver chain 710 may include at least one amplifier (e.g., a low-noise amplifier (LNA)) configured to amplify the received signal. The receiver chain 710 may include at least one demodulator configured to demodulate the received signal and obtain the transmitted data by reversing the modulation technique applied during transmission of the signal. The receiver chain 710 may include at least one decoder for decoding / processing the demodulated signal to receive the transmitted data.

[0207] A transmitter chain 712 may be configured to generate and transmit signals (e.g., control information, data, packets). The transmitter chain 712 may include at least one modulator for modulating data onto a carrier signal, preparing the signal for transmission over a wireless medium. The at least one modulator may be configured to support one or more techniques such as amplitude modulation (AM), frequency modulation (FM), or digital modulation schemes like phase-shift keying (PSK) or quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM). The transmitter chain 712 may also include at least one power amplifier configured to amplify the modulated signal to an appropriate power level suitable for transmission over the wireless medium. The transmitter chain 712 may also include one or more antennas for transmitting the amplified signal into the air or wireless medium.

[0208] Figure 8 illustrates a flowchart of a method 800 that supports techniques for indicating geometrical path relations in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of the method 800 may be implemented by a UE or a NE as described herein. As described above, the UE or the NE (e.g., base station, network function) may implement an SensMF. In some implementations, the UE or the NE may execute a set of instructions to support the functionality of the SensMF as described herein.

[0209] At step 802, the method 800 may include receiving a set of parameters associated with a first signal transmission from a first sensing node and a second signal transmission from a second sensing node. The operations of step 802 may be performed in accordance with examples as described herein. In some implementations, aspects of the operations of step 802 may be performed by a UE, as described with reference to Figure 5, or by aNE, as described with reference to Figure 7.

[0210] At step 804, the method 800 may include receiving a set of path descriptors associated with a first propagation path of the first signal transmission and a second propagation path of the second signal transmission. The operations of step 804 may beperformed in accordance with examples as described herein. In some implementations, aspects of the operations of step 804 may be performed by a UE, as described with reference to Figure 5, or by a NE, as described with reference to Figure 7.

[0211] At step 806, the method 800 may include receiving an indication of a shared property associated with the first propagation path and the second propagation path based on the first signal transmission and the second signal transmission. The operations of step 806 may be performed in accordance with examples as described herein. In some implementations, aspects of the operations of step 806 may be performed by a UE, as described with reference to Figure 5, or by a NE, as described with reference to Figure 7.

[0212] At step 808, the method 800 may include performing at least one joint measurement associated with the first propagation path and the second propagation path according to the shared property and based on the first signal transmission and the second signal transmission. The operations of step 808 may be performed in accordance with examples as described herein. In some implementations, aspects of the operations of step 808 may be performed by a UE, as described with reference to Figure 5, or by a NE, as described with reference to Figure 7.

[0213] It should be noted that the method 800 described herein describes one possible implementation, and that the operations and the steps may be rearranged or otherwise modified and that other implementations are possible.

[0214] Figure 9 illustrates a flowchart of a method 900 that supports techniques for indicating geometrical path relations in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. In various embodiments, the operations of the method 900 may be implemented by a UE or an NE (e.g., a base station, a TRP) as described herein. As described, the UE or the NE may perform one or more radio frequency sensing operations. In some implementations, the UE or the NE may execute a set of instructions to control the function elements of the radio node to perform the described functions.

[0215] At step 902, the method 900 may include receiving a first signal transmitted by a first sensing node, the first signal associated with a first propagation path between the first sensing node and a second sensing node. The operations of step 902 may be performed in accordance with examples as described herein. In some implementations, aspects of the operation of step 902 may be performed by a UE, as described with reference to Figure 5, or by a NE, as described with reference to Figure 7.

[0216] At step 904, the method 900 may include receiving a positioning request for a UE. The operations of step 904 may be performed in accordance with examples as described herein. In some implementations, aspects of the operation of step 904 may be performed by a UE, as described with reference to Figure 5, or by a NE, as described with reference to Figure 7.

[0217] At step 906, the method 900 may include performing at least one sensing measurement based on the first signal and the received positioning request. The operations of step 906 may be performed in accordance with examples as described herein. In some implementations, aspects of the operation of step 906 may be performed by a UE, as described with reference to Figure 5, or by a NE, as described with reference to Figure 7.

[0218] At step 908, the method 900 may include transmitting a second signal to the second sensing node in accordance with a sensing configuration, the second signal associated with a second propagation path between the UE and the second sensing node, the second propagation path having at least one shared property with the first propagation path. The operations of step 908 may be performed in accordance with examples as described herein. In some implementations, aspects of the operation of step 908 may be performed by a UE, as described with reference to Figure 5, or by a NE, as described with reference to Figure 7.

[0219] It should be noted that the method 900 described herein describes one possible implementation, and that the operations and the steps may be rearranged or otherwise modified and that other implementations are possible.

[0220] The description herein is provided to enable a person having ordinary skill in the art to make or use the disclosure. Various modifications to the disclosure will be apparent to a person having ordinary skill in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other variations without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Thus, the disclosure is not limited to the examples and designs described herein but is to be accorded the broadest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

CLAIMSWhat is claimed is:

1. A network equipment (NE) for wireless communication, comprising: at least one memory; and at least one processor coupled with the at least one memory and configured to cause the NE to: receive a set of parameters associated with a first signal transmission from a first sensing node and a second signal transmission from a second sensing node; receive a set of path descriptors associated with a first propagation path of the first signal transmission and a second propagation path of the second signal transmission; receive an indication of a shared property associated with the first propagation path and the second propagation path based on the first signal transmission and the second signal transmission; and perform at least one joint measurement associated with the first propagation path and the second propagation path based on the shared property and based on the first signal transmission and the second signal transmission.

2. The NE of claim 1, wherein the at least one joint measurement comprises at least one of an angle of arrival (AoA) of the first or second propagation paths, a zenith of arrival (ZoA) of the first or second propagation paths, or a difference between the AoA and the ZoA of the first and second propagation paths.

3. The NE of claim 1, wherein the at least one joint measurement comprises at least one of a time of arrival (ToA) of the first or second propagation paths, a time of flight (ToF) of the first or second propagation paths, an Rx-to-Tx difference between the first or second propagation paths, a reference signal time difference (RSTD) or relative time of arrival (RTOA) of the first propagation path, the second propagation path, a reference path, or a combination thereof.

4. The NE of claim 1, wherein the at least one joint measurement comprises at least one of a reference signal receive path power (RSRPP), an RSRPP difference, an RSRPP ratio, or a combination thereof, of the first and second propagation paths.

5. The NE of claim 1, wherein the at least one joint measurement comprises at least one of a doppler shift or a doppler shift difference of the first propagation path, the second propagation path, or a reference path.

6. The NE of claim 1, wherein the at least one joint measurement comprises at least one of a weighted average of measurements over the first and second propagation paths, a selection of a measurement with a highest accuracy, a computation of a property of the first propagation path shared with the second propagation path based on reception of the first signal, a computation of a property of the second propagation path shared with the first propagation path based on the reception of the second signal, or a combination thereof.

7. The NE of claim 1, wherein the shared property comprises a last reflection point or bounce towards the NE.

8. The NE of claim 7, wherein the last reflection point or bounce towards the NE is from an object close to, attached to, or encompassed by an antenna reference point of the second sensing node.

9. The NE of claim 1, wherein the shared property comprises a known relation to the NE of the first and second propagation paths in their angle of arrival (AoA), zenith of arrival (ZoA), doppler shift, time of flight (ToF) or delay, or a combination thereof.

10. The NE of claim 1, wherein the shared property is indicated via an index from a codebook, the codebook comprising different geometrical path relations.

11. The NE of claim 1, wherein the first propagation path is associated with a reflection point from a sensing target towards the NE and the second propagation path is associated with a line of sight or first arrival path propagation from the second sensing node that is associated with the sensing target.

12. The NE of claim 1, wherein the first propagation path is associated with reflection from a reflector as a first reflection point and reflection from a sensing target as asecond reflection point towards the NE and the second propagation path is associated with reflection from the reflector as the first reflection point and reflection from the sensing target as the second reflection point.

13. The NE of claim 1, wherein the first propagation path is associated with reflection from a reflector as a first reflection point and further reflected from a sensing target as a second reflection point towards the NE and the second propagation path is associated with a line of sight or first arrival path propagation from the second sensing node that is associated with the sensing target.

14. The NE of claim 1, wherein the first propagation path is associated with reflection from a reflector as the reflection point towards the NE.

15. The NE of claim 1, wherein the first propagation path is associated with reflection from a sensing target as the reflection point towards the NE.

16. The NE of claim 1, wherein the first propagation path is associated with reflection from a sensing target and the second propagation path is associated with a reflection or backscattering from a device that is associated with the sensing target.

17. The NE of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the NE to receive a time pattern for a relationship between the first and second propagation paths, reflection information of a reflector, radar cross section (RCS) information of a reflector, reflection displacement information of a line of sight (LOS) path and a reflection, or a combination thereof.

18. A method performed by a network equipment (NE), the method comprising: receiving a set of parameters associated with a first signal transmission from a first sensing node and a second signal transmission from a second sensing node; receiving a set of path descriptors associated with a first propagation path of the first signal transmission and a second propagation path of the second signal transmission; receiving an indication of a shared property associated with the first propagation path and the second propagation path based on the first signal transmission and the second signal transmission; andperforming at least one joint measurement associated with the first propagation path and the second propagation path based on the shared property and based on the first signal transmission and the second signal transmission.

19. A processor for wireless communication, comprising: at least one controller coupled with at least one memory and configured to cause the processor to: receive a set of parameters associated with a first signal transmission from a first sensing node and a second signal transmission from a second sensing node; receive a set of path descriptors associated with a first propagation path of the first signal transmission and a second propagation path of the second signal transmission; receive an indication of a shared property associated with the first propagation path and the second propagation path based on the first signal transmission and the second signal transmission; and perform at least one joint measurement associated with the first propagation path and the second propagation path based on the shared property and based on the first signal transmission and the second signal transmission.

20. A user equipment (UE) for wireless communication, comprising: at least one memory; and at least one processor coupled with the at least one memory and configured to cause the UE to: receive a first signal transmitted by a first sensing node, the first signal associated with a first propagation path between the first sensing node and a second sensing node; receive a positioning request for the UE; perform at least one sensing measurement based on the first signal and the received positioning request; and transmit a second signal to the second sensing node in accordance with a sensing configuration, the second signal associated with a second propagation path between the UE and the second sensing node, thesecond propagation path having at least one shared property with the first propagation path.

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