Methods, architectures, apparatuses and systems for initial access for ambient IoT devices

Abstract

In an embodiment, a method, implemented in an internet of things, IoT, device, comprising receiving a first message comprising configuration information indicating transmission parameters, wherein the transmission parameters include a plurality of subbands associated with priority level; determining a first subband for uplink transmission based on a first priority level of the IoT device; transmitting a first uplink transmission in the first subband; changing the first priority level of the IoT device to a second priority level of the IoT device, on condition of not receiving an acknowledgement message following the transmission of the first uplink transmission in the first subband; determining a second subband based on the second priority level; and transmitting the first uplink transmission in the second subband.

Description

METHODS, ARCHITECTURES, APPARATUSES AND SYSTEMS FOR INITIAL ACCESS FOR AMBIENT loT DEVICESCROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims the benefit of US Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 618,450 filed January 8, 2024, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0002] The present disclosure is generally directed to methods, architecture apparatuses and systems for initial access for ambient Internet of Things (loT) devices. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to methods for Initial access by an loT device by backscattering based on using more than one uplink subband wherein the initial access resources / parameters may be selected / determined based on a priority value.BACKGROUND

[0003] 3 GPP radio access network, RAN, has recently started studying ambient loT. The goal of the study is to investigate "the feasibility of a new loT technology to open new markets within 3GPP systems, whose number of connections and / or device density can be orders of magnitude higher than existing 3GPP loT technologies, and which can provide complexity and power consumption orders-of-magnitude lower than existing 3 GPP LPWA technologies such as NB-IoT and LTE-MTC. In addition, 3GPP SA has also a stud item in which various use cases for ambient power enabled loT are being defined.

[0004] The number of loT devices may be significant, for example thousands of such devices can be in a warehouse to track assets. To reduce collisions and increase system efficiency, efficient initial access mechanisms are needed. It is desirable to utilize more frequency domain resources.

[0005] In addition, it is desirable to provide differentiated access in an asynchronous communication system based on device type, use case supported by the device, priority of the data at the device, etc.SUMMARY

[0006] In an embodiment, a method, implemented in an internet of things (loT) device, may comprise a step of receiving a first message comprising configuration information indicating a plurality of transmission parameters, wherein the plurality of transmission parameters includes a plurality of subbands associated with one or more priority level. The method may comprise a step of determining a first subband for uplink transmission based on a first priority level of the loT device. The method may further comprise a step of transmitting a first uplink transmission in the determined first subband. The method may further comprise a step of monitoring for a firstacknowledgement message indicating that transmitting the first uplink transmission in the determined first subband is successful. The method may further comprise a step of changing the first priority level of the loT device to a second priority level of the loT device, based on a failure of receiving the first acknowledgment message following the transmission of the first uplink transmission in the determined first subband. The method may further comprise a step of determining a second subband based on the second priority level, and a step of transmitting the first uplink transmission in the determined second subband. The first uplink transmission may be a backscattered signal generated from the first message. The second priority level may be a reduced first priority level.

[0007] The method may comprise a step of determining the first priority level based on an loT device use case, an loT device identifier, or a preconfigured priority level.

[0008] The method, wherein the configuration information indicates a plurality of slots of a frame associated with the plurality of transmission parameters, and wherein some of the plurality of slots include sequences of data and the remaining slots of the plurality of slots lack sequences of data, may further comprise a step of receiving a first frame comprising the plurality of slots; a step of determining a first slot number in the first frame; a step of transmitting the first uplink transmission on the determined first subband in the determined first slot number; a step of determining a second slot number in the first frame; and a step of transmitting the first uplink transmission in the determined second slot number in the determined second subband. The first slot number may be determined based on the first priority level, and the second slot number may be determined based on the second priority level.

[0009] The method, wherein the configuration information indicates a plurality of slot counters associated with the plurality of subbands, may further comprise a step of setting a first slot counter, upon receiving a first sequence in the first frame; a step of transmitting the first uplink transmission in the determined first subband in the determined first slot number, on condition that the first slot counter reaches a preconfigured first threshold; a step of setting a second slot counter, upon receiving a second sequence in the first frame; and a step of transmitting the first uplink transmission in the determined second subband in the determined second slot number, on condition that the second slot counter reaches a preconfigured second threshold.

[0010] The method may further comprise a step of changing the first priority level of the loT device to the second priority level of the loT device, on condition of not receiving the first acknowledgement message in a first slot corresponding to the first slot number.

[0011] The method, wherein the configuration information indicates a plurality of subband identifiers associated with the plurality of subbands, may comprise a step of transmitting the firstuplink transmission in the determined first subband, the first uplink transmission comprising a second message including information indicating a first subband identifier of the determined first subband; and a step of changing the first priority level of the loT device to a second priority level of the loT device, based on a failure of receiving the first acknowledgment message comprising information indicating the first subband identifier.

[0012] The method, wherein the configuration information indicates a plurality of subband identifiers associated with the plurality of subbands, may comprise a step of transmitting the first uplink transmission in the determined second subband, the first uplink transmission comprising a second message including information indicating a second subband identifier of the determined second subband; and a step of receiving a second acknowledgement message following the transmission of the first uplink transmission in the determined second subband, wherein the second acknowledgement message comprises information indicating the second subband identifier

[0013] In an embodiment, an internet of things device (e.g., a backscatter device) may be configured to receive a first message comprising configuration information indicating a plurality of transmission parameters, wherein the plurality of transmission parameters includes a plurality of subbands associated with one or more priority level. The loT device may be configured to determine a first subband for uplink transmission based on a first priority level of the loT device. The loT device may be configured to transmit a first uplink transmission in the first subband. The loT device may be configured to monitor for a first acknowledgement message indicating that transmitting the first uplink transmission in the determined first subband is successful. The loT device may be configured to change the first priority level of the loT device to a second priority level of the loT device, based on a failure of receiving the first acknowledgment message following the transmission of the first uplink transmission in the determined first subband. The loT device may be configured to determine a second subband based on the second priority level; and to transmit the first uplink transmission in the second subband.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014] A more detailed understanding may be had from the detailed description below, given by way of example in conjunction with drawings appended hereto. Figures in such drawings, like the detailed description, are examples. As such, the Figures (FIGs.) and the detailed description are not to be considered limiting, and other equally effective examples are possible and likely. Furthermore, like reference numerals ("ref.") in the FIGs. indicate like elements, and wherein:

[0015] FIG. 1 A is a system diagram illustrating an example communications system;

[0016] FIG. IB is a system diagram illustrating an example wireless transmit / receive unit (WTRU) that may be used within the communications system illustrated in FIG. 1 A;

[0017] FIG. 1C is a system diagram illustrating an example radio access network (RAN) and an example core network (CN) that may be used within the communications system illustrated in FIG. 1A;

[0018] FIG. ID is a system diagram illustrating a further example RAN and a further example CN that may be used within the communications system illustrated in FIG. 1 A;

[0019] FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of communication between an interrogator device and an Internet of Things (loT) device according to an embodiment;

[0020] FIG. 3 is a timing diagram illustrating an example of square waves of carrier frequencies fc and 2fc from an interrogator device according to an embodiment;

[0021] FIG. 4 is a frequency diagram illustrating an example of a bandwidth of the carrier wave of FIG. 3 comprising subband for loT device communication;

[0022] FIG. 5 is a timing diagram illustrating an example of a successful transmission from loT device to a base station (e.g., a gNode-B (gNB));

[0023] FIG. 6 is a timing diagram illustrating an example of a communication retransmission from loT device to a base station (e.g., gNB) according to an embodiment;

[0024] FIG. 7 is a timing diagram illustrating an example of an initial transmission access for different loT device type with a base station (e.g., gNB) according to an embodiment;

[0025] FIG. 8 is a timing diagram illustrating an example of multiple loT devices transmitting to a base station (e.g., gNB) in the same time slot on different subbands;

[0026] FIG. 9 is a flow chart diagram illustrating another example of a method, implemented in an loT device, for uplink transmissions, according to an embodiment; and

[0027] FIG. 10 is a flow chart diagram illustrating another example of a method, implemented in an loT device, for uplink transmissions, according to an embodiment.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0028] In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are set forth to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments and / or examples disclosed herein. However, it will be understood that such embodiments and examples may be practiced without some or all of the specific details set forth herein. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures, components and circuits have not been described in detail, so as not to obscure the following description. Further, embodiments and examples not specifically described herein may be practiced in lieu of, or in combination with, the embodiments and other examples described, disclosed or otherwise provided explicitly, implicitly and / or inherently (collectively "provided") herein. Although various embodiments are described and / or claimed herein in which an apparatus, system, device, etc. and / or any element thereof carries out an operation, process, algorithm, function, etc. and / or anyportion thereof, it is to be understood that any embodiments described and / or claimed herein assume that any apparatus, system, device, etc. and / or any element thereof is configured to carry out any operation, process, algorithm, function, etc. and / or any portion thereof.

[0029] Hereinafter, "a" and "an" and similar phrases are to be interpreted as "one or more" and "at least one". Similarly, any term which ends with the suffix "(s)" is to be interpreted as "one or more" and "at least one". The term "may" is to be interpreted as "may, for example".

[0030] A sign, symbol, or mark of forward slash " / " is to be interpreted as "and / or" unless particularly mentioned otherwise, where for example, "A / B" may imply "A and / or B".

[0031] The methods, apparatuses and systems provided herein are well-suited for communications involving both wired and wireless networks. An overview of various types of wireless devices and infrastructure is provided with respect to FIGs. 1A-1D, where various elements of the network may utilize, perform, be arranged in accordance with and / or be adapted and / or configured for the methods, apparatuses and systems provided herein.

[0032] FIG. 1A is a system diagram illustrating an example communications system 100 in which one or more disclosed embodiments may be implemented. The communications system 100 may be a multiple access system that provides content, such as voice, data, video, messaging, broadcast, etc., to multiple wireless users. The communications system 100 may enable multiple wireless users to access such content through the sharing of system resources, including wireless bandwidth. For example, the communications systems 100 may employ one or more channel access methods, such as code division multiple access (CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA), singlecarrier FDMA (SC-FDMA), zero-tail (ZT) unique-word (UW) discreet Fourier transform (DFT) spread OFDM (ZT UW DTS-s OFDM), unique word OFDM (UW-OFDM), resource block- filtered OFDM, filter bank multicarrier (FBMC), and the like.

[0033] As shown in FIG. 1A, the communications system 100 may include wireless transmit / receive units (WTRUs) 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d, a radio access network (RAN) 104 / 113, a core network (CN) 106 / 115, a public switched telephone network (PSTN) 108, the Internet 110, and other networks 112, though it will be appreciated that the disclosed embodiments contemplate any number of WTRUs, base stations, networks, and / or network elements. Each of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d may be any type of device configured to operate and / or communicate in a wireless environment. By way of example, the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d, any of which may be referred to as a "station" and / or a "STA", may be configured to transmit and / or receive wireless signals and may include (or be) a user equipment (UE), a mobile station, a fixed or mobile subscriber unit, a subscription-based unit, a pager, a cellular telephone, a personal digital assistant(PDA), a smartphone, a laptop, a netbook, a personal computer, a wireless sensor, a hotspot or Mi- Fi device, an Internet of Things (loT) device, a watch or other wearable, a head-mounted display (HMD), a vehicle, a drone, a medical device and applications (e.g., remote surgery), an industrial device and applications (e.g., a robot and / or other wireless devices operating in an industrial and / or an automated processing chain contexts), a consumer electronics device, a device operating on commercial and / or industrial wireless networks, and the like. Any of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and 102d may be interchangeably referred to as a UE.

[0034] The communications systems 100 may also include a base station 114a and / or a base station 114b. Each of the base stations 114a, 114b may be any type of device configured to wirelessly interface with at least one of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d, e.g., to facilitate access to one or more communication networks, such as the CN 106 / 115, the Internet 110, and / or the networks 112. By way of example, the base stations 114a, 114b may be any of a base transceiver station (BTS), a Node-B (NB), an eNode-B (eNB), a Home Node-B (HNB), a Home eNode-B (HeNB), a gNode-B (gNB), a NR Node-B (NR NB), a site controller, an access point (AP), a wireless router, and the like. While the base stations 114a, 114b are each depicted as a single element, it will be appreciated that the base stations 114a, 114b may include any number of interconnected base stations and / or network elements.

[0035] The base station 114a may be part of the RAN 104 / 113, which may also include other base stations and / or network elements (not shown), such as a base station controller (BSC), a radio network controller (RNC), relay nodes, etc. The base station 114a and / or the base station 114b may be configured to transmit and / or receive wireless signals on one or more carrier frequencies, which may be referred to as a cell (not shown). These frequencies may be in licensed spectrum, unlicensed spectrum, or a combination of licensed and unlicensed spectrum. A cell may provide coverage for a wireless service to a specific geographical area that may be relatively fixed or that may change over time. The cell may further be divided into cell sectors. For example, the cell associated with the base station 114a may be divided into three sectors. Thus, in an embodiment, the base station 114a may include three transceivers, i.e., one for each sector of the cell. In an embodiment, the base station 114a may employ multiple-input multiple output (MIMO) technology and may utilize multiple transceivers for each or any sector of the cell. For example, beamforming may be used to transmit and / or receive signals in desired spatial directions.

[0036] The base stations 114a, 114b may communicate with one or more of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d over an air interface 116, which may be any suitable wireless communication link (e.g., radio frequency (RF), microwave, centimeter wave, micrometer wave, infrared (IR),ultraviolet (UV), visible light, etc.). The air interface 116 may be established using any suitable radio access technology (RAT).

[0037] More specifically, as noted above, the communications system 100 may be a multiple access system and may employ one or more channel access schemes, such as CDMA, TDMA, FDMA, OFDMA, SC-FDMA, and the like. For example, the base station 114a in the RAN 104 / 113 and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement a radio technology such as Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), which may establish the air interface 116 using wideband CDMA (WCDMA). WCDMA may include communication protocols such as High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA) and / or Evolved HSPA (HSPA+). HSPA may include High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) and / or High-Speed Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA).

[0038] In an embodiment, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement a radio technology such as Evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA), which may establish the air interface 116 using Long Term Evolution (LTE) and / or LTE- Advanced (LTE-A) and / or LTE-Advanced Pro (LTE-A Pro).

[0039] In an embodiment, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement a radio technology such as NR Radio Access, which may establish the air interface 116 using New Radio (NR).

[0040] In an embodiment, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement multiple radio access technologies. For example, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement LTE radio access and NR radio access together, for instance using dual connectivity (DC) principles. Thus, the air interface utilized by WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may be characterized by multiple types of radio access technologies and / or transmissions sent to / from multiple types of base stations (e.g., an eNB and a gNB).

[0041] In an embodiment, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement radio technologies such as IEEE 802.11 (i.e., Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (i.e., Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX)), CDMA2000, CDMA2000 IX, CDMA2000 EV-DO, Interim Standard 2000 (IS-2000), Interim Standard 95 (IS-95), Interim Standard 856 (IS-856), Global System for Mobile communications (GSM), Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE), GSM EDGE (GERAN), and the like.

[0042] The base station 114b in FIG. 1 A may be a wireless router, Home Node-B, Home eNode- B, or access point, for example, and may utilize any suitable RAT for facilitating wireless connectivity in a localized area, such as a place of business, a home, a vehicle, a campus, an industrial facility, an air corridor (e.g., for use by drones), a roadway, and the like. In anembodiment, the base station 114b and the WTRUs 102c, 102d may implement a radio technology such as IEEE 802.11 to establish a wireless local area network (WLAN). In an embodiment, the base station 114b and the WTRUs 102c, 102d may implement a radio technology such as IEEE 802.15 to establish a wireless personal area network (WPAN). In an embodiment, the base station 114b and the WTRUs 102c, 102d may utilize a cellular-based RAT (e.g., WCDMA, CDMA2000, GSM, LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, NR, etc.) to establish any of a small cell, picocell or femtocell. As shown in FIG. 1 A, the base station 114b may have a direct connection to the Internet 110. Thus, the base station 114b may not be required to access the Internet 110 via the CN 106 / 115.

[0043] The RAN 104 / 113 may be in communication with the CN 106 / 115, which may be any type of network configured to provide voice, data, applications, and / or voice over internet protocol (VoIP) services to one or more of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d. The data may have varying quality of service (QoS) requirements, such as differing throughput requirements, latency requirements, error tolerance requirements, reliability requirements, data throughput requirements, mobility requirements, and the like. The CN 106 / 115 may provide call control, billing services, mobile location-based services, pre-paid calling, Internet connectivity, video distribution, etc., and / or perform high-level security functions, such as user authentication. Although not shown in FIG. 1 A, it will be appreciated that the RAN 104 / 113 and / or the CN 106 / 115 may be in direct or indirect communication with other RANs that employ the same RAT as the RAN 104 / 113 or a different RAT. For example, in addition to being connected to the RAN 104 / 113, which may be utilizing an NR radio technology, the CN 106 / 115 may also be in communication with another RAN (not shown) employing any of a GSM, UMTS, CDMA 2000, WiMAX, E-UTRA, or Wi-Fi radio technology.

[0044] The CN 106 / 115 may also serve as a gateway for the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d to access the PSTN 108, the Internet 110, and / or other networks 112. The PSTN 108 may include circuit-switched telephone networks that provide plain old telephone service (POTS). The Internet 110 may include a global system of interconnected computer networks and devices that use common communication protocols, such as the transmission control protocol (TCP), user datagram protocol (UDP) and / or the internet protocol (IP) in the TCP / IP internet protocol suite. The networks 112 may include wired and / or wireless communications networks owned and / or operated by other service providers. For example, the networks 112 may include another CN connected to one or more RANs, which may employ the same RAT as the RAN 104 / 114 or a different RAT.

[0045] Some or all of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d in the communications system 100 may include multi-mode capabilities (e.g., the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d may includemultiple transceivers for communicating with different wireless networks over different wireless links). For example, the WTRU 102c shown in FIG. 1A may be configured to communicate with the base station 114a, which may employ a cellular-based radio technology, and with the base station 114b, which may employ an IEEE 802 radio technology.

[0046] FIG. IB is a system diagram illustrating an example WTRU 102. As shown in FIG. IB, the WTRU 102 may include a processor 118, a transceiver 120, a transmit / receive element 122, a speaker / microphone 124, a keypad 126, a display / touchpad 128, non-removable memory 130, removable memory 132, a power source 134, a global positioning system (GPS) chipset 136, and / or other elements / peripherals 138, among others. It will be appreciated that the WTRU 102 may include any sub-combination of the foregoing elements while remaining consistent with an embodiment.

[0047] The processor 118 may be a general purpose processor, a special purpose processor, a conventional processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in association with a DSP core, a controller, a microcontroller, Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) circuits, any other type of integrated circuit (IC), a state machine, and the like. The processor 118 may perform signal coding, data processing, power control, input / output processing, and / or any other functionality that enables the WTRU 102 to operate in a wireless environment. The processor 118 may be coupled to the transceiver 120, which may be coupled to the transmit / receive element 122. While FIG. IB depicts the processor 118 and the transceiver 120 as separate components, it will be appreciated that the processor 118 and the transceiver 120 may be integrated together, e.g., in an electronic package or chip.

[0048] The transmit / receive element 122 may be configured to transmit signals to, or receive signals from, a base station (e.g., the base station 114a) over the air interface 116. For example, in an embodiment, the transmit / receive element 122 may be an antenna configured to transmit and / or receive RF signals. In an embodiment, the transmit / receive element 122 may be an emitter / detector configured to transmit and / or receive IR, UV, or visible light signals, for example. In an embodiment, the transmit / receive element 122 may be configured to transmit and / or receive both RF and light signals. It will be appreciated that the transmit / receive element 122 may be configured to transmit and / or receive any combination of wireless signals.

[0049] Although the transmit / receive element 122 is depicted in FIG. IB as a single element, the WTRU 102 may include any number of transmit / receive elements 122. For example, the WTRU 102 may employ MIMO technology. Thus, in an embodiment, the WTRU 102 may include twoor more transmit / receive elements 122 (e.g., multiple antennas) for transmitting and receiving wireless signals over the air interface 116.

[0050] The transceiver 120 may be configured to modulate the signals that are to be transmitted by the transmit / receive element 122 and to demodulate the signals that are received by the transmit / receive element 122. As noted above, the WTRU 102 may have multi-mode capabilities. Thus, the transceiver 120 may include multiple transceivers for enabling the WTRU 102 to communicate via multiple RATs, such as NR and IEEE 802.11, for example.

[0051] The processor 118 of the WTRU 102 may be coupled to, and may receive user input data from, the speaker / microphone 124, the keypad 126, and / or the display / touchpad 128 (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD) display unit or organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display unit). The processor 118 may also output user data to the speaker / microphone 124, the keypad 126, and / or the display / touchpad 128. In addition, the processor 118 may access information from, and store data in, any type of suitable memory, such as the non-removable memory 130 and / or the removable memory 132. The non-removable memory 130 may include random-access memory (RAM), readonly memory (ROM), a hard disk, or any other type of memory storage device. The removable memory 132 may include a subscriber identity module (SIM) card, a memory stick, a secure digital (SD) memory card, and the like. In other embodiments, the processor 118 may access information from, and store data in, memory that is not physically located on the WTRU 102, such as on a server or a home computer (not shown).

[0052] The processor 118 may receive power from the power source 134, and may be configured to distribute and / or control the power to the other components in the WTRU 102. The power source 134 may be any suitable device for powering the WTRU 102. For example, the power source 134 may include one or more dry cell batteries (e.g., nickel-cadmium (NiCd), nickel-zinc (NiZn), nickel metal hydride (NiMH), lithium-ion (Li-ion), etc.), solar cells, fuel cells, and the like.

[0053] The processor 118 may also be coupled to the GPS chipset 136, which may be configured to provide location information (e.g., longitude and latitude) regarding the current location of the WTRU 102. In addition to, or in lieu of, the information from the GPS chipset 136, the WTRU 102 may receive location information over the air interface 116 from a base station (e.g., base stations 114a, 114b) and / or determine its location based on the timing of the signals being received from two or more nearby base stations. It will be appreciated that the WTRU 102 may acquire location information by way of any suitable location-determination method while remaining consistent with an embodiment.

[0054] The processor 118 may further be coupled to other elements / peripherals 138, which may include one or more software and / or hardware modules / units that provide additional features,functionality and / or wired or wireless connectivity. For example, the elements / peripherals 138 may include an accelerometer, an e-compass, a satellite transceiver, a digital camera (e.g., for photographs and / or video), a universal serial bus (USB) port, a vibration device, a television transceiver, a hands free headset, a Bluetooth® module, a frequency modulated (FM) radio unit, a digital music player, a media player, a video game player module, an Internet browser, a virtual reality and / or augmented reality (VR / AR) device, an activity tracker, and the like. The elements / peripherals 138 may include one or more sensors, the sensors may be one or more of a gyroscope, an accelerometer, a hall effect sensor, a magnetometer, an orientation sensor, a proximity sensor, a temperature sensor, a time sensor; a geolocation sensor; an altimeter, a light sensor, a touch sensor, a magnetometer, a barometer, a gesture sensor, a biometric sensor, and / or a humidity sensor.

[0055] The WTRU 102 may include a full duplex radio for which transmission and reception of some or all of the signals (e.g., associated with particular subframes for both the uplink (e.g., for transmission) and downlink (e.g., for reception) may be concurrent and / or simultaneous. The full duplex radio may include an interference management unit to reduce and or substantially eliminate self-interference via either hardware (e.g., a choke) or signal processing via a processor (e.g., a separate processor (not shown) or via processor 118). In an embodiment, the WTRU 102 may include a half-duplex radio for which transmission and reception of some or all of the signals (e.g., associated with particular subframes for either the uplink (e.g., for transmission) or the downlink (e.g., for reception)).

[0056] FIG. 1C is a system diagram illustrating the RAN 104 and the CN 106 according to an embodiment. As noted above, the RAN 104 may employ an E-UTRA radio technology to communicate with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, and 102c over the air interface 116. The RAN 104 may also be in communication with the CN 106.

[0057] The RAN 104 may include eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c, though it will be appreciated that the RAN 104 may include any number of eNode-Bs while remaining consistent with an embodiment. The eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c may each include one or more transceivers for communicating with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c over the air interface 116. In an embodiment, the eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c may implement MIMO technology. Thus, the eNode-B 160a, for example, may use multiple antennas to transmit wireless signals to, and receive wireless signals from, the WTRU 102a.

[0058] Each of the eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, and 160c may be associated with a particular cell (not shown) and may be configured to handle radio resource management decisions, handoverdecisions, scheduling of users in the uplink (UL) and / or downlink (DL), and the like. As shown in FIG. 1C, the eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c may communicate with one another over an X2 interface.

[0059] The CN 106 shown in FIG. 1C may include a mobility management entity (MME) 162, a serving gateway (SGW) 164, and a packet data network (PDN) gateway (PGW) 166. While each of the foregoing elements are depicted as part of the CN 106, it will be appreciated that any one of these elements may be owned and / or operated by an entity other than the CN operator.

[0060] The MME 162 may be connected to each of the eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, and 160c in the RAN 104 via an SI interface and may serve as a control node. For example, the MME 162 may be responsible for authenticating users of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, bearer activation / deactivation, selecting a particular serving gateway during an initial attach of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, and the like. The MME 162 may provide a control plane function for switching between the RAN 104 and other RANs (not shown) that employ other radio technologies, such as GSM and / or WCDMA.

[0061] The SGW 164 may be connected to each of the eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c in the RAN 104 via the SI interface. The SGW 164 may generally route and forward user data packets to / from the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c. The SGW 164 may perform other functions, such as anchoring user planes during inter-eNode-B handovers, triggering paging when DL data is available for the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, managing and storing contexts of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, and the like.

[0062] The SGW 164 may be connected to the PGW 166, which may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to packet-switched networks, such as the Internet 110, to facilitate communications between the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and IP-enabled devices.

[0063] The CN 106 may facilitate communications with other networks. For example, the CN 106 may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to circuit-switched networks, such as the PSTN 108, to facilitate communications between the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and traditional land-line communications devices. For example, the CN 106 may include, or may communicate with, an IP gateway (e.g., an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) server) that serves as an interface between the CN 106 and the PSTN 108. In addition, the CN 106 may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to the other networks 112, which may include other wired and / or wireless networks that are owned and / or operated by other service providers.

[0064] Although the WTRU is described in FIGs. 1A-1D as a wireless terminal, it is contemplated that in certain representative embodiments that such a terminal may use (e.g., temporarily or permanently) wired communication interfaces with the communication network.

[0065] In representative embodiments, the other network 112 may be a WLAN.

[0066] A WLAN in infrastructure basic service set (BSS) mode may have an access point (AP) for the BSS and one or more stations (STAs) associated with the AP. The AP may have an access or an interface to a distribution system (DS) or another type of wired / wireless network that carries traffic into and / or out of the BSS. Traffic to STAs that originates from outside the BSS may arrive through the AP and may be delivered to the STAs. Traffic originating from STAs to destinations outside the BSS may be sent to the AP to be delivered to respective destinations. Traffic between STAs within the BSS may be sent through the AP, for example, where the source STA may send traffic to the AP and the AP may deliver the traffic to the destination STA. The traffic between STAs within a BSS may be considered and / or referred to as peer-to-peer traffic. The peer-to-peer traffic may be sent between (e.g., directly between) the source and destination STAs with a direct link setup (DLS). In certain representative embodiments, the DLS may use an 802. l ie DLS or an 802.1 Iz tunneled DLS (TDLS). A WLAN using an Independent BSS (IBSS) mode may not have an AP, and the STAs (e.g., all of the STAs) within or using the IBSS may communicate directly with each other. The IBSS mode of communication may sometimes be referred to herein as an "ad-hoc" mode of communication.

[0067] When using the 802.1 lac infrastructure mode of operation or a similar mode of operations, the AP may transmit a beacon on a fixed channel, such as a primary channel. The primary channel may be a fixed width (e.g., 20 MHz wide bandwidth) or a dynamically set width via signaling. The primary channel may be the operating channel of the BSS and may be used by the STAs to establish a connection with the AP. In certain representative embodiments, Carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance (CSMA / CA) may be implemented, for example in in 802.11 systems. For CSMA / CA, the STAs (e.g., every STA), including the AP, may sense the primary channel. If the primary channel is sensed / detected and / or determined to be busy by a particular STA, the particular STA may back off. One STA (e.g., only one station) may transmit at any given time in a given BSS.

[0068] High throughput (HT) STAs may use a 40 MHz wide channel for communication, for example, via a combination of the primary 20 MHz channel with an adjacent or nonadj acent 20 MHz channel to form a 40 MHz wide channel.

[0069] Very high throughput (VHT) STAs may support 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, and / or 160 MHz wide channels. The 40 MHz, and / or 80 MHz, channels may be formed by combining contiguous 20 MHz channels. A 160 MHz channel may be formed by combining 8 contiguous 20 MHz channels, or by combining two non-contiguous 80 MHz channels, which may be referred to as an 80+80 configuration. For the 80+80 configuration, the data, after channel encoding, may be passed through a segment parser that may divide the data into two streams. Inverse fast Fouriertransform (IFFT) processing, and time domain processing, may be done on each stream separately. The streams may be mapped on to the two 80 MHz channels, and the data may be transmitted by a transmitting STA. At the receiver of the receiving STA, the above-described operation for the 80+80 configuration may be reversed, and the combined data may be sent to a medium access control (MAC) layer, entity, etc.

[0070] Sub 1 GHz modes of operation are supported by 802.1 laf and 802.11 ah. The channel operating bandwidths, and carriers, are reduced in 802.1 laf and 802.1 lah relative to those used in802.1 In, and 802.1 lac. 802.1 laf supports 5 MHz, 10 MHz and 20 MHz bandwidths in the TV white space (TVWS) spectrum, and 802.1 lah supports 1 MHz, 2 MHz, 4 MHz, 8 MHz, and 16 MHz bandwidths using non-TVWS spectrum. According to a representative embodiment,802.1 lah may support meter type control / machine-type communications (MTC), such as MTC devices in a macro coverage area. MTC devices may have certain capabilities, for example, limited capabilities including support for (e.g., only support for) certain and / or limited bandwidths. The MTC devices may include a battery with a battery life above a threshold (e.g., to maintain a very long battery life).

[0071] WLAN systems, which may support multiple channels, and channel bandwidths, such as802.1 In, 802.1 lac, 802.1 laf, and 802.1 lah, include a channel which may be designated as the primary channel. The primary channel may have a bandwidth equal to the largest common operating bandwidth supported by all STAs in the BSS. The bandwidth of the primary channel may be set and / or limited by a STA, from among all STAs in operating in a BSS, which supports the smallest bandwidth operating mode. In the example of 802.1 lah, the primary channel may be 1 MHz wide for STAs (e.g., MTC type devices) that support (e.g., only support) a 1 MHz mode, even if the AP, and other STAs in the BSS support 2 MHz, 4 MHz, 8 MHz, 16 MHz, and / or other channel bandwidth operating modes. Carrier sensing and / or network allocation vector (NAV) settings may depend on the status of the primary channel. If the primary channel is busy, for example, due to a STA (which supports only a 1 MHz operating mode), transmitting to the AP, the entire available frequency bands may be considered busy even though a majority of the frequency bands remains idle and may be available.

[0072] In the United States, the available frequency bands, which may be used by 802.1 lah, are from 902 MHz to 928 MHz. In Korea, the available frequency bands are from 917.5 MHz to 923.5 MHz. In Japan, the available frequency bands are from 916.5 MHz to 927.5 MHz. The total bandwidth available for 802.1 lah is 6 MHz to 26 MHz depending on the country code.

[0073] FIG. ID is a system diagram illustrating the RAN 113 and the CN 115 according to an embodiment. As noted above, the RAN 113 may employ an NR radio technology to communicatewith the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c over the air interface 116. The RAN 113 may also be in communication with the CN 115.

[0074] The RAN 113 may include gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c, though it will be appreciated that the RAN 113 may include any number of gNBs while remaining consistent with an embodiment. The gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may each include one or more transceivers for communicating with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c over the air interface 116. In an embodiment, the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may implement MIMO technology. For example, gNBs 180a, 180b may utilize beamforming to transmit signals to and / or receive signals from the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c. Thus, the gNB 180a, for example, may use multiple antennas to transmit wireless signals to, and / or receive wireless signals from, the WTRU 102a. In an embodiment, the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may implement carrier aggregation technology. For example, the gNB 180a may transmit multiple component carriers to the WTRU 102a (not shown). A subset of these component carriers may be on unlicensed spectrum while the remaining component carriers may be on licensed spectrum. In an embodiment, the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may implement Coordinated Multi-Point (CoMP) technology. For example, WTRU 102a may receive coordinated transmissions from gNB 180a and gNB 180b (and / or gNB 180c).

[0075] The WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c using transmissions associated with a scalable numerology. For example, OFDM symbol spacing and / or OFDM subcarrier spacing may vary for different transmissions, different cells, and / or different portions of the wireless transmission spectrum. The WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c using subframe or transmission time intervals (TTIs) of various or scalable lengths (e.g., including a varying number of OFDM symbols and / or lasting varying lengths of absolute time).

[0076] The gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may be configured to communicate with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c in a standalone configuration and / or a non- standalone configuration. In the standalone configuration, WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c without also accessing other RANs (e.g., such as eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c). In the standalone configuration, WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may utilize one or more of gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c as a mobility anchor point. In the standalone configuration, WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c using signals in an unlicensed band. In a non- standalone configuration WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with / connect to gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c while also communicating with / connecting to another RAN such as eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c. For example, WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement DC principles to communicate with one or more gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c and one or more eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c substantiallysimultaneously. In the non- standalone configuration, eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c may serve as a mobility anchor for WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may provide additional coverage and / or throughput for servicing WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c.

[0077] Each of the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may be associated with a particular cell (not shown) and may be configured to handle radio resource management decisions, handover decisions, scheduling of users in the UL and / or DL, support of network slicing, dual connectivity, interworking between NR and E-UTRA, routing of user plane data towards user plane functions (UPFs) 184a, 184b, routing of control plane information towards access and mobility management functions (AMFs) 182a, 182b, and the like. As shown in FIG. ID, the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may communicate with one another over an Xn interface.

[0078] The CN 115 shown in FIG. ID may include at least one AMF 182a, 182b, at least one UPF 184a, 184b, at least one session management function (SMF) 183a, 183b, and at least one Data Network (DN) 185a, 185b. While each of the foregoing elements are depicted as part of the CN 115, it will be appreciated that any of these elements may be owned and / or operated by an entity other than the CN operator.

[0079] The AMF 182a, 182b may be connected to one or more of the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c in the RAN 113 via an N2 interface and may serve as a control node. For example, the AMF 182a, 182b may be responsible for authenticating users of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, support for network slicing (e.g., handling of different protocol data unit (PDU) sessions with different requirements), selecting a particular SMF 183a, 183b, management of the registration area, termination of NAS signaling, mobility management, and the like. Network slicing may be used by the AMF 182a, 182b, e.g., to customize CN support for WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c based on the types of services being utilized WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c. For example, different network slices may be established for different use cases such as services relying on ultra-reliable low latency (URLLC) access, services relying on enhanced massive mobile broadband (eMBB) access, services for MTC access, and / or the like. The AMF 162 may provide a control plane function for switching between the RAN 113 and other RANs (not shown) that employ other radio technologies, such as LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, and / or non-3GPP access technologies such as WiFi.

[0080] The SMF 183a, 183b may be connected to an AMF 182a, 182b in the CN 115 via an N11 interface. The SMF 183a, 183b may also be connected to a UPF 184a, 184b in the CN 115 via an N4 interface. The SMF 183a, 183b may select and control the UPF 184a, 184b and configure the routing of traffic through the UPF 184a, 184b. The SMF 183a, 183b may perform other functions, such as managing and allocating UE IP address, managing PDU sessions, controlling policyenforcement and QoS, providing downlink data notifications, and the like. A PDU session type may be IP -based, non-IP based, Ethernet-based, and the like.

[0081] The UPF 184a, 184b may be connected to one or more of the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c in the RAN 113 via an N3 interface, which may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to packet-switched networks, such as the Internet 110, e.g., to facilitate communications between the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and IP-enabled devices. The UPF 184, 184b may perform other functions, such as routing and forwarding packets, enforcing user plane policies, supporting multihomed PDU sessions, handling user plane QoS, buffering downlink packets, providing mobility anchoring, and the like.

[0082] The CN 115 may facilitate communications with other networks. For example, the CN 115 may include, or may communicate with, an IP gateway (e.g., an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) server) that serves as an interface between the CN 115 and the PSTN 108. In addition, the CN 115 may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to the other networks 112, which may include other wired and / or wireless networks that are owned and / or operated by other service providers. In an embodiment, the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may be connected to a local Data Network (DN) 185a, 185b through the UPF 184a, 184b via the N3 interface to the UPF 184a, 184b and an N6 interface between the UPF 184a, 184b and the DN 185a, 185b.

[0083] In view of FIGs. 1 A-1D, and the corresponding description of FIGs. 1 A-1D, one or more, or all, of the functions described herein with regard to any of: WTRUs 102a-d, base stations 114a- b, eNode-Bs 160a-c, MME 162, SGW 164, PGW 166, gNBs 180a-c, AMFs 182a-b, UPFs 184a- b, SMFs 183a-b, DNs 185a-b, and / or any other element(s) / device(s) described herein, may be performed by one or more emulation elements / devices (not shown). The emulation devices may be one or more devices configured to emulate one or more, or all, of the functions described herein. For example, the emulation devices may be used to test other devices and / or to simulate network and / or WTRU functions.

[0084] The emulation devices may be designed to implement one or more tests of other devices in a lab environment and / or in an operator network environment. For example, the one or more emulation devices may perform the one or more, or all, functions while being fully or partially implemented and / or deployed as part of a wired and / or wireless communication network in order to test other devices within the communication network. The one or more emulation devices may perform the one or more, or all, functions while being temporarily implemented / deployed as part of a wired and / or wireless communication network. The emulation device (e.g., a network node) may be directly coupled to another device for purposes of testing and / or may performing testing using over-the-air wireless communications.

[0085] The one or more emulation devices may perform the one or more, including all, functions while not being implemented / deployed as part of a network node (e.g., wired and / or wireless communication network). For example, the emulation devices may be utilized in a testing scenario in a testing laboratory and / or a non-deployed (e.g., testing) wired and / or wireless communication network in order to implement testing of one or more components. The one or more emulation devices may be test equipment. Direct RF coupling and / or wireless communications via RF circuitry (e.g., which may include one or more antennas) may be used by the emulation devices to transmit and / or receive data.

[0086] A backscatter device may reflect an incoming RF signal and may not need to generate its own RF signal. The backscatter device may also modulate an incoming RF signal (e.g., Sin(t)) to transmit its own data on the reflected signal. This can be achieved by using the impedance mismatch concept. An antenna impedance ZA may be connected to a load impedance ZL at the device. The reflection coefficient then can be defined as T = (ZL - ZA) / (ZL + ZA). In general, the reflected signal may be written as Sout(t) = f / Sin(t). So, by changing the reflection coefficient (by adjusting the load impedance) over time, the amplitude, frequency, etc. of the reflected signal may be changed. For example, Amplitude Shift Keying modulation may be achieved by using T=0 (non-reflecting state / OFF signal) or T = 1 (reflecting state / ON signal) [3], RFID standard is based on backscatter communications wherein RFID tags switch the reflection coefficient between two states based on the data being sent. ASK and PSK are supported by the RFID tags.

[0087] Referring to FIG. 2, a first device may be referred to as the "interrogator" and may be a base station (BS) (e.g., a micro or a pico base station), a relay, a UE, a WTRU or another device that communicates with a second device. A second device may be referred to as an "loT device", "loT", or a "device", and may be a WTRU.

[0088] In an embodiment, the loT device may transmit a signal by applying backscattering to an incoming signal. Referring to FIG. 2, said signal may be referred as a "backscattered" signal. Backscattering may be achieved by reflecting an incoming signal. The incoming signal may be referred to as a carrier wave (CW). A carrier wave may be defined as "a radio wave of a specific frequency." A carrier wave may be modulated or changed in some way in order to transmit data. In general, a carrier wave may be a more general signal, for example a signal that may contain multiple frequencies. For example, a carrier wave may be a signal that is generated using an OFDM modulator. The carrier wave may be modulated to transmit data (e.g., modulation schemes such as ON / OFF keying, ASK, FSK, etc ).

[0089] The carrier wave may be transmitted from the interrogator (e.g., BS). The carrier wave may be modulated to transmit data from the interrogator to the loT device. The carrier wave maybe unmodulated. The carrier wave (e.g., an unmodulated carrier wave) may be received by the loT device. The loT device may modulate the received carrier wave, e.g., using ASK, FSK, etc. and backscatter the modulated carrier wave. The loT device may also be referred to as a "backscattering" device.

[0090] The loT device may receive the carrier wave. The loT device may be activated, e.g., energized, for example if the received signal power is above a threshold for a specific duration. After the loT device is activated, the loT device may start monitoring the channel. For example, the device may look for a preamble and after such preamble is detected, the device may receive modulated carrier wave from which the device may extract the modulated data symbols.

[0091] The loT device may have the capability to harvest energy (e.g., from RF signals) and store the energy in a storage unit (e.g., a capacitor). The methods and procedures disclosed herein is not limited to a specific type of device and may be applicable to any wireless device that have backscattering capability. The methods and procedures disclosed herein are not limited to generating a transmit signal based on backscattering; for example, an loT device may transmit a signal using backscattering and / or another method such as using an internally generated RF signal as the source of transmission.

[0092] The transmission (between the interrogator and the loT devices) may be divided into time intervals. The boundaries of time intervals may be indicated by a message and / or a signal (e.g., a sequence). Time interval indication may mean indication of the start and / or end of a time interval. For example, a first-time interval may be referred to as a frame and a second time interval may be referred to as a slot. A frame may consist of one or multiple slots. The duration of a time interval may not need to be constant from one time interval to the next time interval. A cycle (e.g., an inventory round) may be defined as a group of time intervals during which the interrogator and loT devices exchange messages. For example, a cycle may consist of one or more frames, or one or more slots.

[0093] In some cases, a frame may not be explicitly defined but for the purpose of clarity in presenting certain schemes a "virtual" frame concept may be used. Referring to FIG. 3, the upper subfigure shows a frame and four slots within the frame indicated by corresponding sequences / messages. In the lower figure, an explicit frame is not present, but it may be assumed that a group of slots may constitute a frame that may be referred herein as a virtual frame. As nonlimited example, slots following a configuration message may constitute a virtual frame. Note that an explicit indication for the first slot after the message may also be omitted since the message may indicate start of a slot.

[0094] The loT device may monitor for a sequence to find a time interval boundary. The loT device may assume that a time interval starts within / after T seconds from the end of the received corresponding sequence. For example, the loT device may monitor for a first sequence to find the frame boundary and / or a second sequence to find the slot boundary (e.g., upon receiving the configuration message). Time interval boundary may also be indicated with a message. The loT device may assume that a time interval starts within / after T seconds from the end of the received corresponding message.

[0095] Note that the duration of slots / frames may not be fixed and / or same and the duration of a time interval may be defined by the amount of time the communication between the nodes last. For example, a first slot may last longer than a second slot if the number of messages exchanged during the first slot is more than the number of messages during the second slot.

[0096] In an embodiment, an loT device may transmit (e.g., by backscattering) the backscattered signal in one of a plurality of frequency resources (referred to as subbands). The loT device (e.g., WTRU) may shift the data to a specific subband by modulating the data (e.g., encoded binary data) with a carrier signal of a specific frequency. For example, the carrier signal used by the loT device to modulate the data and / or the CW may be a sinusoidal signal or a square wave signal. The frequency of the carrier signal may be selected such that the backscattered signal occupies a corresponding subband. As a non-limited example, a carrier signal may have two possible center frequencies fc and 2fc. Referring to FIG. 4, as a non-limited example, the center frequency of the CW transmitted by the interrogator is F. The loT device backscatters the received CW after applying modulation with a carrier signal of frequency fc or 2fc and the center frequency of the transmitted signal is F + fc or F + 2fc, depending on the carrier signal used. In this example, the loT device may use two subbands for transmission and the two subbands correspond to (or are associated with) the two carrier signals. The bandwidth (BW) of a subband may be determined from the BW of the CW transmitted from the interrogator.

[0097] In order to reduce collisions and increase system efficiency, efficient initial access mechanisms are needed, and in order to provide differentiated access in an asynchronous communication system based on device type, use case supported by the device, priority of the data at the device, etc.., in an embodiment, a method, implemented in an loT device (e.g., WTRU) may comprise the below following steps.

[0098] The method may comprise a step wherein the loT device may receive a message that may comprise information indicating configuration parameters including any of a number of slots in a frame, a number of a plurality of subbands, maximum value for each of a plurality of slot counters corresponding to a plurality of subbands, and priority configuration for the subbands.

[0099] Based on the received message, the loT device may monitor for a first sequence to find boundary of a first frame and a second sequence to find boundary of a slot. The loT device may further determine a first subband for uplink transmission based on a priority. More particularly, the priority may be a priority associated with use case (e.g., inventory use case is lower priority and may tolerate higher latency and sensor use case is higher priority and needs smaller latency). The priority may be associated with device identifier (ID) or device group ID. The priority may be associated with a setting established during loT device manufacturing.

[0100] If the loT device determines the first subband based on a higher priority, and on condition that the loT device receives the first sequence associated to the first frame, the loT device may perform the below following procedures.

[0101] The loT device may set a slot counter, of the plurality of slot counters, associated with each of one or more subbands to a respective randomly selected value (e.g., an integer between 0 and one less than the maximum value for that slot counter). The loT device may monitor for the second sequence associated to a slot. On condition that (e.g., when) the loT device receives the first sequence or the second sequence, the loT device may adjust one or more of the slot counters (e.g., decrements by one). On condition that (e.g., when) a first slot counter of the one or more slot counters, reaches a first threshold (e.g., a maximum, a minimum, a configured value or zero), the loT device may transmit a backscattered signal comprising, for instance a message, or an ID, etc.) in the first subband where the first subband is associated with the first slot counter.

[0102] For example, the transmission of the backscattered signal may begin at a fixed or configured time interval after the end of the received first or second sequence. The transmission of the backscattered signal may occur in a first slot (e.g., where the first slot is the slot in which receiving the first or the second sequence results in the first slot counter reaching the first threshold). Then, the loT device may monitor for an acknowledgment message.

[0103] If the loT device does not receive an acknowledgment message within the first slot, the loT device may perform one or more of the following steps. The loT device may reduce the priority to a lower priority. The loT device may continue / resume monitoring for the second sequence and may adjust the second slot counter associated with the second subband when the second sequence is received. On condition that (e.g., when) the second slot counter reaches a second threshold, the loT device may transmit the backscattered signal in a second slot, where the second slot is associated with a second subband.

[0104] The loT device may receive (e.g., from the interrogator) or may expect to receive a message (the message may be referred to as a control message, a configuration message, etc.) that may contain certain transmission parameters associated with a corresponding number of timeintervals. Association may mean that the gNB (or BS) and / or the loT device may use the parameters during transmission and / or reception. The transmission parameters within the message may be valid for the corresponding number of time intervals. The transmission parameters may be valid until a new message is received. The time when a time interval starts with reference to the message (e.g., duration between end of the message and the start of a time interval) may be known to the loT device and / or may be indicated in the message. The time interval may be defined in terms of seconds, frame, slot, symbol, cycle, etc.

[0105] The transmission parameters may include one or more of the following: an identifier, e.g., an index; number of time intervals associated with the message or a parameter that can be used to determine the number of time intervals associated with the message; the number of a plurality of subbands that may be available for backscattering by the loT devices, or a parameter that can be used to determine the number of subbands; one or more parameters to identify the subbands, for example, an index to indicate a subband, an index to indicate the carrier frequency associated with a subband, etc.; the maximum value for each of a plurality of counters (e.g., slot counters) corresponding to a plurality of subbands; a mask to identify time intervals available for backscattering, for example a mask to identify which slots within a frame may or may not be available for backscattering.

[0106] The identifier may be associated with the message, e.g., the identifier may be used as a message index. The identifier may be associated with a cycle of communication such as an index for an inventory round. The identifier may be used by the device to determine the time intervals associated with the identifier.

[0107] In an embodiment, the loT device may attempt to receive from and / or transmit to the interrogator (e.g., BS) only in a time interval associated with a specific identifier. For example, the loT device may compare the index to a value stored in the device memory, or part of an ID, etc. and attempt communication only if the value matches the index. ID and part of an ID may be used interchangeably.

[0108] An loT device may not attempt or be expected to attempt to transmit to the interrogator in a time interval associated with the same index as a previous successful transmission. For example, the loT device may transmit some data to the interrogator in a frame or cycle associated with index m and get a confirmation back. Then, the device loT may not attempt a new transmission in a time interval associated with index m.

[0109] In an embodiment, the message may contain integers n and m wherein the number of frames associated with the message may be 2nand the number of slots per frame may be 2m, respectively.

[0110] In an embodiment, the loT device may keep one counter for each subband, and the message may indicate the maximum value for each of the counters. In another embodiment, the maximum value of the counters may be determined from a transmission parameter. For example, for n slots in a frame, the counter value for a subband may be set to n / m (or (n-l) / m) where m may be an integer and may be indicated in the message.

[0111] The message may contain a mapping / association between a time interval or a group of time intervals to a priority value. The mapping may be interpreted by the loT device that a specific time interval may be used by the loT device (e.g., to attempt an initial access) if a priority value at the loT device matches the priority value associated to the time interval. For example, a loT device with sensor data may have a different priority value than a loT device with inventory data. Similar mechanisms may be applicable if mapping between time intervals (and transmission resources in general) and other transmission parameters is provided. In an embodiment, there may be a mapping between a resource and at least one of or a combination of use case, data type, device type, etc.

[0112] The loT device may determine a time interval (e.g., a frame and / or a slot) in which to attempt / to access the channel, for example for an initial transmission. In an initial transmission, the loT device may send a preamble and / or a message such as a message that may contain an ID generated by the loT device or stored at the loT device. The control / configuration message may indicate one or a plurality of associated time intervals (frames and / or slots) and the loT device may select at least one or none of the time intervals associated to the configuration message. One or a combination of the following may apply to select a time interval:

[0113] (i) There may be an association between a time interval and a use case. For example, a first frame may be allocated to loT devices for inventory use case and a second frame may be allocated to loT devices for sensor use case. The loT device may choose a time interval associated with the use case it is intended for. The use case may be determined from loT device type, an information stored in the loT device memory, type of data the loT device has to transmit, etc.

[0114] (ii) There may be an association between a time interval and a traffic and / or data type at the loT device. For example, a first frame may be allocated to loT devices with a first data type (e.g., sensor data) and a second frame may be allocated to devices with a second data type (e.g., inventory data).

[0115] (iii) There may be an association between a time interval and a priority value stored at the loT device and / or generated by the loT device.

[0116] (iv) A time interval may be determined using an ID or part of an ID, e.g., loT device ID, and ID assigned to the loT device during manufacturing, an ID in the loT device memory, etc. Forexample, the loT device may determine one or more potential frames using a function of the ID or part of the ID.

[0117] (v) One or more configuration parameters received in the configuration message.

[0118] (vi) loT device may attempt in a time interval only if a parameter stored at the loT device and / or generated by the loT device matches a parameter configured in the message.

[0119] (vii) Available energy level at the loT device.

[0120] (viii) Random selection (e.g., a slot may be randomly selected).

[0121] The backscattered signal may occupy a specific time and / or frequency resource (e.g., a first resource). In an embodiment, the loT device may determine a resource (e.g., a time and / or a frequency resource) on which the loT device may transmit a signal, e.g., by modulating and backscattering the incoming signal. In one embodiment, the loT device may determine a subband and / or a frequency and backscatter the signal on the determined subband / frequency . The frequency may be the center frequency of the subband. In order to determine the backscattering resource, the schemes disclose above (for selecting a time interval) may be applied to a more general case of determining a time / frequency resource and / or only time or frequency resource. In an embodiment, the loT device may determine a subband for an initial transmission based on a priority value associated with the subband, use case, data type, etc. In another embodiment, the resource may be determined using a setting established during loT device manufacturing. Note that the examples and / or exemplary embodiments may assume two subbands, but the disclosed schemes apply similarly to cases with two or more subbands.

[0122] In an embodiment, transmission parameters (e.g., initial access parameters) may differ between loT devices. The difference may be due to the loT device type, use case supported by the loT device, type of data to be transmitted by the loT device, a priority value, etc. The transmission parameters may include any of the following: the subband to use, the first subband to use, whether it is allowed to use more than one subband, e.g., for an initial transmission and a retransmission, the maximum slot counter to apply, the maximum slot counter value to apply per subband, and link adaptation parameters. For example, a certain loT device may perform an initial transmission in a first subband and may perform a retransmission in a second subband.

[0123] Transmission parameters (for initial transmission and subsequent transmission) may be differed from one resource to another. As an example, the gNB (e.g., BS) may configure a frame (or a virtual frame) with 32 slots. In a first subband, for an initial transmission, the loT device may be configured to choose one slot out of 32 slots. If the initial transmission is not successful, then the device may need to wait for another frame to retransmit, e.g., retransmission may not be allowed in the same frame. In a second subband, for an initial transmission, the loT device may beconfigured to choose one slot out of 8 slots. The loT device may transmit an initial transmission in a slot selected out of the first 8 slots of the 32-slot frame. If the transmission is not successful, then in one example, the loT device may retransmit in another randomly selected slot within the same 32-slot frame, for example, in one of the next 8 slots. In the first subband, the loT device may experience higher latency due to longer wait time but in the second subband collision probability may be higher depending on the number of loT devices.

[0124] Note that the specific implementation of how to randomly choose a slot may differ but the same schemes may be valid for different ways of implementation. As an example, in one implementation, the loT device may keep a counter, set the value of the counter to a value between and including 1 and a max value (e.g., 32 or 8 based on the above examples) and reduce the counter with every slot. The loT device then may transmit in a slot when the counter becomes zero.

[0125] In one embodiment, the loT device may determine the time intervals, e.g., the starting point in time of a time interval. The loT device may determine a frame from a first sequence and a slot from a second sequence. The loT device may determine a first subband for uplink transmission. The uplink transmission may be an initial transmission, e.g., a transmission to get access to the channel. As an analogy, the initial transmission in NR cellular systems may be referred to as random access (RACH).

[0126] The initial transmission may include at least one of the following:

[0127] (i) An ID, e.g., an ID stored in the loT device memory or part of an ID (e.g., certain bits of the ID).

[0128] (ii) An identifier to identify the subband used for transmission (e.g., an index), a parameter from which the subband may be determined / identified, or an identifier for the parameter. In another embodiment, a cyclic redundancy (CRC) of the initial message may be determined from the subband identifier or the transmission parameter. For example, the CRC may be scrambled with a sequence determined from the subband index or the parameter.

[0129] (iii) Transmission parameter to identify the loT device type, a priority value (e.g., depending on data type, energy level, etc.).

[0130] (iv) An identifier, e.g., 1 -bit, to identify if it is a new transmission or a retransmission.

[0131] After the initial transmission, the loT device may monitor a confirmation from the interrogator (e.g., BS). The confirmation may be one of the following:

[0132] (i) A message that may contain at least the ID of the loT device or part of the ID wherein the ID or part of the ID may be the same ID transmitted by the loT device in the initial message.

[0133] (ii) The CRC of the confirmation message may be scrambled with a sequence determined from the loT device ID.

[0134] (iii) An identifier of the subband used for the initial transmission, e.g., an index to the subband. Alternatively, an identifier of a transmission parameter or the transmission parameter used to determine the subband (e.g., an index to the carrier frequency of the subband).

[0135] (iv) Link adaptation parameters for subsequent transmission from the loT device, e.g., data rate, spreading factor, modulation scheme and / or order, coding rate, etc.

[0136] (v) The subband to use for the subsequent transmission.

[0137] In an embodiment, the loT device may not receive the confirmation, for example within a specific time duration from the end of the initial transmission. In this case, the loT device may determine to retransmit an initial transmission. The loT device may select a new time interval and / or a new subband to retransmit an initial transmission. One of the following may apply:

[0138] (i) The loT device may determine to use a subband allocated for a different priority, data type, etc. For example, if the subband for the initial transmission was allocated to first priority devices / data, then the retransmission may be done on a subband allocated to a second priority.

[0139] (ii) If the subband for the initial transmission was for a second priority, then the retransmission may be performed on a subband for a second priority after a backoff period. For example, in the next frame or cycle.

[0140] Referring to FIG. 5, the loT device may use subband #1 and randomly selected slot #2 to send an initial transmission to the interrogator (e.g., gNB or BS), as for example an ID and data. Upon receiving the initial transmission successfully, the interrogator (e.g., gNB or BS) may send a confirmation as an acknowledgement (ACK) message to the loT device within the same slot.

[0141] Referring to FIG. 6, the loT device may use subband# 1 and randomly selected slot #2 to send an initial transmission to the interrogator (e.g., gNB or BS). The loT device may monitor for a confirmation (e.g., ACK) but may not receive it. Then, the loT device may send a retransmission on subband#2 and in slot#6. The loT device may receive a confirmation (ACK). In an embodiment, subband#l may be allocated to loT devices with higher priority value. When a transmission is not successful, the loT device may be allowed to use another subband (e.g., a subband that is allocated to loT devices with lower priority value) to retransmit. In an embodiment, the loT device may select two slots randomly for the two subbands and may retransmit in the second subband only if the first transmission is not successful.

[0142] In an embodiment, depending on the loT device priority, subband, etc. the maximum counter value may be different for different loT devices. Alternatively, in another embodiment, the maximum value of the number of time intervals from which to choose a time interval for a transmission may be different. For example, referring to FIG. 7, loT device A2 may select randomly a slot between slot#0 and slot#7 (7 is the maximum value) and may transmits in slot#4.In case of (e.g., when) the transmission is not successful, device A2 may need to wait until all 8 slots finish, for example wait for the next frame, and then retry. On the other hand, loT device Al may select a slot between slot#0 and slot#3 (maximum value is 3) and transmits in slot#2. In case of (e.g., when) the transmission is not successful, the device may choose another slot in the next 4-slot blocks (slot#4 to slot#7) of slots and may transmit in slot#6.

[0143] In an embodiment, the loT device may receive a message that may include certain configuration parameters including the number of slots in a frame, the number of a plurality of subbands, and maximum value of a plurality of slot counters corresponding to a plurality of subbands. After receiving the message, the loT device may monitor for a first sequence based on the configuration parameters.

[0144] In case (e.g., when) the loT device receives the first sequence associated to a first frame, the device may set a slot counter associated with each of one or more subbands to a respective randomly selected value (e.g., an integer between 0 and one less than the maximum value for that slot counter). The device may monitor for a second sequence associated to a slot.

[0145] In case of (e.g., when) the loT device receives the first sequence or the second sequence, the loT device may adjust one or more of the slot counters (e.g., decrements by one)

[0146] In case of (e.g., when) a first slot counter reaches a first threshold (e.g., a maximum, a minimum, a configured value or zero), the loT device may transmit a transmission (e.g., a message, an ID, etc.) in a first subband where the first subband may be associated with the first slot counter. For example, the transmission may begin at a fixed or configured time interval after the end of the received first or second sequence. The transmission may occur in a first slot (e.g., where the first slot is the slot in which receiving the first or the second sequence results in the first slot counter reaching the first threshold). The device may monitor for an acknowledgment message.

[0147] In an embodiment, in case of the loT device does not receive an acknowledgment message within the first slot, the device may transmit the transmission in a second slot where the second slot is one of the following: the same slot number as the first slot in the next frame, a randomly selected slot in the next frame, and a randomly selected slot in the same frame.

[0148] In another embodiment, in case of the loT device does not receive an acknowledgment message within the first slot, the device may transmit the transmission in a second slot where the second slot is associated with a second subband. The loT device may continue / resume monitoring for the second sequence and may adjust the second slot counter associated with the second subband in case of (e.g., when) the second sequence or the first sequence is received. In case of (e.g., when) the second slot counter reaches a second threshold, the device may transmit the transmission.

[0149] Referring to FIG. 8, in an embodiment, multiple loT devices may transmit in the same time interval on different subbands. The gNB (or BS) may be able to receive both transmissions successfully and may send a single (e.g., one) confirmation message to the multiple loT devices. In one method, the ACK message may contain ID / subband pairs corresponding to the successfully received messages from the loT devices (for example, IDl / subbandl; ID2 / subband2). In another method, the ACK message may include ordered multiple IDs wherein the first ID may correspond to the message received on the first subband, the second ID may correspond to the message received on the second subband etc. A fixed ID (such as all zeros) may be used for an ID corresponding to the subband in which no message was received.

[0150] Referring to FIG. 9, a flow chart diagram illustrating a method 900, implemented in an internet of things device (e.g., a backscattered device), for uplink transmissions is shown. The method 900, may comprise a step of receiving 910 a first message comprising configuration information indicating transmission parameters, wherein the transmission parameters include a plurality of subbands associated with priority level. A plurality of slots of a frame may be associated with the plurality of transmission parameters, wherein some of the plurality of slots may include sequences of data and the remaining slots of the plurality of slots may lack sequences of data. The configuration information may further indicate plurality of slot counters associated with the plurality of subbands.

[0151] The method 900, may comprise a step of determining 920 a first subband for uplink transmission based on a first priority level of the loT device. The first priority level may be based on an loT device use case, an loT device identifier, or a preconfigured priority level. The method 900, may further comprise a step of transmitting 930 a first uplink transmission in the determined first subband. The method 900 may further comprise a step of changing 940 the first priority level of the loT device to a second priority level of the loT device, on condition of not receiving an acknowledgement message following the transmission of the first uplink transmission in the determined first subband. More particularly, the change of priority level may occur when not receiving an acknowledgement message within a time limit. The change of priority level may also occur if the loT device receive an acknowledgment message not corresponding to the uplink transmission in the determined first subband. The loT device may have to identify whether the acknowledgment correspond to the first uplink transmission in the first subband or to the first uplink transmission in other subband. The second priority level may be a reduced first priority level. The method 900, may further comprise a step of determining 950 a second subband based on the second priority level, and a step of transmitting 960 the first uplink transmission in the determined second subband.

[0152] The method 900, may further comprise a step of receiving an acknowledgement message following the transmission of the first uplink transmission in the determined second subband, wherein the acknowledgement message comprising information indicating a second subband identifier.

[0153] Referring to FIG. 10, another flow chart diagram illustrating another method 1000, implemented in an internet of things device (e.g., a backscattered device), for uplink transmissions is shown. The method 1000 may comprise a step of receiving 1010 a first message comprising configuration information indicating a plurality of transmission parameters, wherein the plurality of transmission parameters includes a plurality of subbands associated with one or more priority level. The configuration information may indicate a plurality of slots of a frame associated with the plurality of transmission parameters, wherein some of the plurality of slots include sequences of data and the remaining slots of the plurality of slots lack sequences of data. The configuration information may indicates a plurality of slot counters associated with the plurality of subbands. The configuration information may indicate a plurality of subband identifiers associated with the plurality of subbands.

[0154] The method 1000, may comprise a step of determining 1020 a first subband for uplink transmission based on a first priority level of the loT device. The first priority level may be based on an loT device use case, a loT device identifier, or a preconfigured priority level. The method 1000 may comprise a step of transmitting 1030 a first uplink transmission in the determined first subband. The first uplink transmission may be a backscattered signal generated from the first message.

[0155] The method 1000, may comprise a step of monitoring 1040 for a first acknowledgement message indicating that transmitting the first uplink transmission in the determined first subband is successful. Based on a failure of receiving the first acknowledgment message following the transmission of the first uplink transmission in the determined first subband, the method 1000 may comprise a step of changing 1050 the first priority level of the loT device to a second priority level of the loT device. More particularly, the change of priority level may occur when not receiving the first acknowledgement message within a time limit. The change of priority level may also occur if the loT device receive an acknowledgment message not corresponding to the uplink transmission in the determined first subband. The loT device may have to identify whether the first acknowledgment correspond to the first uplink transmission in the first subband or to the first uplink transmission in other subband. The second priority level may be a reduced first priority level. The method 1000 may further comprise a step of determining 1060 a second subband basedon the second priority level, and a step of transmitting 1070 the first uplink transmission in the determined second subband.

[0156] The method 1000, may further comprise a step of receiving a second acknowledgement message following the transmission of the first uplink transmission in the determined second subband, wherein the second acknowledgement message may comprise information indicating a second subband identifier.

[0157] The method 1000 may comprise a step of receiving a first frame comprising the plurality of slots; a step of determining a first slot number in the first frame; a step of transmitting the first uplink transmission on the determined first subband in the determined first slot number; a step of determining a second slot number in the first frame; and a step of transmitting the first uplink transmission in the determined second slot number in the determined second subband. The first slot number may be determined based on the first priority level and the second slot number may be determined based on the second priority level.

[0158] The method 1000 may comprise a step of setting a first slot counter, upon receiving a first sequence in the first frame. The method 1000 may comprise a step of transmitting the first uplink transmission in the determined first subband in the determined first slot number, on condition that the first slot counter reaches a preconfigured first threshold. The method 1000 may further comprise a step of setting a second slot counter, upon receiving a second sequence in the first frame; and a step of transmitting the first uplink transmission in the determined second subband in the determined second slot number on condition that the second slot counter reaches a preconfigured second threshold. The method 1000 may further comprise a step of changing the first priority level of the loT device to the second priority level of the loT device, on condition of not receiving the first acknowledgement message in a first slot corresponding to the first slot number.

[0159] The method 1000 may further comprise a step of transmitting the first uplink transmission in the determined first subband, the first uplink transmission comprising a second message including information indicating a first subband identifier of the determined first subband; and a step of changing the first priority level of the loT device to a second priority level of the loT device, based on a failure of receiving the first acknowledgment message comprising information indicating the first subband identifier.

[0160] Although features and elements are provided above in particular combinations, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that each feature or element can be used alone or in any combination with the other features and elements. The present disclosure is not to be limited in terms of the particular embodiments described in this application, which are intended asillustrations of various aspects. Many modifications and variations may be made without departing from its spirit and scope, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art. No element, act, or instruction used in the description of the present application should be construed as critical or essential to the invention unless explicitly provided as such. Functionally equivalent methods and apparatuses within the scope of the disclosure, in addition to those enumerated herein, will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the foregoing descriptions. Such modifications and variations are intended to fall within the scope of the appended claims. The present disclosure is to be limited only by the terms of the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. It is to be understood that this disclosure is not limited to particular methods or systems.

[0161] The foregoing embodiments are discussed, for simplicity, with regard to the terminology and structure of infrared capable devices, i.e., infrared emitters and receivers. However, the embodiments discussed are not limited to these systems but may be applied to other systems that use other forms of electromagnetic waves or non-electromagnetic waves such as acoustic waves.

[0162] It is also to be understood that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. As used herein, the term "video" or the term "imagery" may mean any of a snapshot, single image and / or multiple images displayed over a time basis. As another example, when referred to herein, the terms "user equipment" and its abbreviation "UE", the term "remote" and / or the terms "head mounted display" or its abbreviation "HMD" may mean or include (i) a wireless transmit and / or receive unit (WTRU); (ii) any of a number of embodiments of a WTRU; (iii) a wireless-capable and / or wired-capable (e.g., tetherable) device configured with, inter alia, some or all structures and functionality of a WTRU; (iii) a wireless-capable and / or wired-capable device configured with less than all structures and functionality of a WTRU; or (iv) the like. Details of an example WTRU, which may be representative of any WTRU recited herein, are provided herein with respect to FIGs. 1 A-1D. As another example, various disclosed embodiments herein supra and infra are described as utilizing a head mounted display. Those skilled in the art will recognize that a device other than the head mounted display may be utilized and some or all of the disclosure and various disclosed embodiments can be modified accordingly without undue experimentation. Examples of such other device may include a drone or other device configured to stream information for providing the adapted reality experience.

[0163] In addition, the methods provided herein may be implemented in a computer program, software, or firmware incorporated in a computer-readable medium for execution by a computer or processor. Examples of computer-readable media include electronic signals (transmitted overwired or wireless connections) and computer-readable storage media. Examples of computer- readable storage media include, but are not limited to, a read only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a register, cache memory, semiconductor memory devices, magnetic media such as internal hard disks and removable disks, magneto-optical media, and optical media such as CD-ROM disks, and digital versatile disks (DVDs). A processor in association with software may be used to implement a radio frequency transceiver for use in a WTRU, UE, terminal, base station, RNC, or any host computer.

[0164] Variations of the method, apparatus and system provided above are possible without departing from the scope of the invention. In view of the wide variety of embodiments that can be applied, it should be understood that the illustrated embodiments are examples only, and should not be taken as limiting the scope of the following claims. For instance, the embodiments provided herein include handheld devices, which may include or be utilized with any appropriate voltage source, such as a battery and the like, providing any appropriate voltage.

[0165] Moreover, in the embodiments provided above, processing platforms, computing systems, controllers, and other devices that include processors are noted. These devices may include at least one Central Processing Unit ("CPU") and memory. In accordance with the practices of persons skilled in the art of computer programming, reference to acts and symbolic representations of operations or instructions may be performed by the various CPUs and memories. Such acts and operations or instructions may be referred to as being "executed," "computer executed" or "CPU executed."

[0166] One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the acts and symbolically represented operations or instructions include the manipulation of electrical signals by the CPU. An electrical system represents data bits that can cause a resulting transformation or reduction of the electrical signals and the maintenance of data bits at memory locations in a memory system to thereby reconfigure or otherwise alter the CPU's operation, as well as other processing of signals. The memory locations where data bits are maintained are physical locations that have particular electrical, magnetic, optical, or organic properties corresponding to or representative of the data bits. It should be understood that the embodiments are not limited to the above-mentioned platforms or CPUs and that other platforms and CPUs may support the provided methods.

[0167] The data bits may also be maintained on a computer readable medium including magnetic disks, optical disks, and any other volatile (e.g., Random Access Memory (RAM)) or non-volatile (e.g., Read-Only Memory (ROM)) mass storage system readable by the CPU. The computer readable medium may include cooperating or interconnected computer readable medium, which exist exclusively on the processing system or are distributed among multiple interconnectedprocessing systems that may be local or remote to the processing system. It should be understood that the embodiments are not limited to the above-mentioned memories and that other platforms and memories may support the provided methods.

[0168] In an illustrative embodiment, any of the operations, processes, etc. described herein may be implemented as computer-readable instructions stored on a computer-readable medium. The computer-readable instructions may be executed by a processor of a mobile unit, a network element, and / or any other computing device.

[0169] There is little distinction left between hardware and software implementations of aspects of systems. The use of hardware or software is generally (but not always, in that in certain contexts the choice between hardware and software may become significant) a design choice representing cost versus efficiency tradeoffs. There may be various vehicles by which processes and / or systems and / or other technologies described herein may be effected (e.g., hardware, software, and / or firmware), and the preferred vehicle may vary with the context in which the processes and / or systems and / or other technologies are deployed. For example, if an implementer determines that speed and accuracy are paramount, the implementer may opt for a mainly hardware and / or firmware vehicle. If flexibility is paramount, the implementer may opt for a mainly software implementation. Alternatively, the implementer may opt for some combination of hardware, software, and / or firmware.

[0170] The foregoing detailed description has set forth various embodiments of the devices and / or processes via the use of block diagrams, flowcharts, and / or examples. Insofar as such block diagrams, flowcharts, and / or examples include one or more functions and / or operations, it will be understood by those within the art that each function and / or operation within such block diagrams, flowcharts, or examples may be implemented, individually and / or collectively, by a wide range of hardware, software, firmware, or virtually any combination thereof. In an embodiment, several portions of the subject matter described herein may be implemented via Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), digital signal processors (DSPs), and / or other integrated formats. However, those skilled in the art will recognize that some aspects of the embodiments disclosed herein, in whole or in part, may be equivalently implemented in integrated circuits, as one or more computer programs running on one or more computers (e.g., as one or more programs running on one or more computer systems), as one or more programs running on one or more processors (e.g., as one or more programs running on one or more microprocessors), as firmware, or as virtually any combination thereof, and that designing the circuitry and / or writing the code for the software and or firmware would be well within the skill of one of skill in the art in light of this disclosure. In addition, those skilled in the art will appreciatethat the mechanisms of the subject matter described herein may be distributed as a program product in a variety of forms, and that an illustrative embodiment of the subject matter described herein applies regardless of the particular type of signal bearing medium used to actually carry out the distribution. Examples of a signal bearing medium include, but are not limited to, the following: a recordable type medium such as a floppy disk, a hard disk drive, a CD, a DVD, a digital tape, a computer memory, etc., and a transmission type medium such as a digital and / or an analog communication medium (e.g., a fiber optic cable, a waveguide, a wired communications link, a wireless communication link, etc.).

[0171] Those skilled in the art will recognize that it is common within the art to describe devices and / or processes in the fashion set forth herein, and thereafter use engineering practices to integrate such described devices and / or processes into data processing systems. That is, at least a portion of the devices and / or processes described herein may be integrated into a data processing system via a reasonable amount of experimentation. Those having skill in the art will recognize that a typical data processing system may generally include one or more of a system unit housing, a video display device, a memory such as volatile and non-volatile memory, processors such as microprocessors and digital signal processors, computational entities such as operating systems, drivers, graphical user interfaces, and applications programs, one or more interaction devices, such as a touch pad or screen, and / or control systems including feedback loops and control motors (e.g., feedback for sensing position and / or velocity, control motors for moving and / or adjusting components and / or quantities). A typical data processing system may be implemented utilizing any suitable commercially available components, such as those typically found in data computing / communication and / or network computing / communication systems.

[0172] The herein described subject matter sometimes illustrates different components included within, or connected with, different other components. It is to be understood that such depicted architectures are merely examples, and that in fact many other architectures may be implemented which achieve the same functionality. In a conceptual sense, any arrangement of components to achieve the same functionality is effectively "associated" such that the desired functionality may be achieved. Hence, any two components herein combined to achieve a particular functionality may be seen as "associated with" each other such that the desired functionality is achieved, irrespective of architectures or intermedial components. Likewise, any two components so associated may also be viewed as being "operably connected", or "operably coupled", to each other to achieve the desired functionality, and any two components capable of being so associated may also be viewed as being "operably couplable" to each other to achieve the desired functionality. Specific examples of operably couplable include but are not limited to physically mateable and / orphysically interacting components and / or wirelessly interactable and / or wirelessly interacting components and / or logically interacting and / or logically interactable components.

[0173] With respect to the use of substantially any plural and / or singular terms herein, those having skill in the art can translate from the plural to the singular and / or from the singular to the plural as is appropriate to the context and / or application. The various singular / plural permutations may be expressly set forth herein for sake of clarity.

[0174] It will be understood by those within the art that, in general, terms used herein, and especially in the appended claims (e.g., bodies of the appended claims) are generally intended as "open" terms (e.g., the term "including" should be interpreted as "including but not limited to," the term "having" should be interpreted as "having at least," the term "includes" should be interpreted as "includes but is not limited to," etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is intended, such an intent will be explicitly recited in the claim, and in the absence of such recitation no such intent is present. For example, where only one item is intended, the term "single" or similar language may be used. As an aid to understanding, the following appended claims and / or the descriptions herein may include usage of the introductory phrases "at least one" and "one or more" to introduce claim recitations. However, the use of such phrases should not be construed to imply that the introduction of a claim recitation by the indefinite articles "a" or "an" limits any particular claim including such introduced claim recitation to embodiments including only one such recitation, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases "one or more" or "at least one" and indefinite articles such as "a" or "an" (e.g., "a" and / or "an" should be interpreted to mean "at least one" or "one or more"). The same holds true for the use of definite articles used to introduce claim recitations. In addition, even if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is explicitly recited, those skilled in the art will recognize that such recitation should be interpreted to mean at least the recited number (e.g., the bare recitation of "two recitations," without other modifiers, means at least two recitations, or two or more recitations). Furthermore, in those instances where a convention analogous to "at least one of A, B, and C, etc." is used, in general such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understand the convention (e.g., "a system having at least one of A, B, and C" would include but not be limited to systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and / or A, B, and C together, etc.). In those instances where a convention analogous to "at least one of A, B, or C, etc." is used, in general such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understand the convention (e.g., "a system having at least one of A, B, or C" would include but not be limited to systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and / or A,B, and C together, etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that virtually any disjunctive word and / or phrase presenting two or more alternative terms, whether in the description, claims, or drawings, should be understood to contemplate the possibilities of including one of the terms, either of the terms, or both terms. For example, the phrase "A or B" will be understood to include the possibilities of "A" or "B" or "A and B." Further, the terms "any of' followed by a listing of a plurality of items and / or a plurality of categories of items, as used herein, are intended to include "any of," "any combination of," "any multiple of," and / or "any combination of multiples of the items and / or the categories of items, individually or in conjunction with other items and / or other categories of items. Moreover, as used herein, the term "set" is intended to include any number of items, including zero. Additionally, as used herein, the term "number" is intended to include any number, including zero. And the term "multiple", as used herein, is intended to be synonymous with "a plurality".

[0175] In addition, where features or aspects of the disclosure are described in terms of Markush groups, those skilled in the art will recognize that the disclosure is also thereby described in terms of any individual member or subgroup of members of the Markush group.

[0176] As will be understood by one skilled in the art, for any and all purposes, such as in terms of providing a written description, all ranges disclosed herein also encompass any and all possible subranges and combinations of subranges thereof. Any listed range can be easily recognized as sufficiently describing and enabling the same range being broken down into at least equal halves, thirds, quarters, fifths, tenths, etc. As a non-limiting example, each range discussed herein may be readily broken down into a lower third, middle third and upper third, etc. As will also be understood by one skilled in the art all language such as "up to," "at least," "greater than," "less than," and the like includes the number recited and refers to ranges which can be subsequently broken down into subranges as discussed above. Finally, as will be understood by one skilled in the art, a range includes each individual member. Thus, for example, a group having 1-3 cells refers to groups having 1, 2, or 3 cells. Similarly, a group having 1-5 cells refers to groups having 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 cells, and so forth.

[0177] Moreover, the claims should not be read as limited to the provided order or elements unless stated to that effect. In addition, use of the terms "means for" in any claim is intended to invoke 35 U.S.C. §112, 6 or means-plus-function claim format, and any claim without the terms "means for" is not so intended.

Claims

CLAIMSWhat is claimed is:

1. A method, implemented in an internet of things (loT) device, the method comprising: receiving a first message comprising configuration information indicating a plurality of transmission parameters, wherein the plurality of transmission parameters includes a plurality of subbands associated with one or more priority levels; determining a first subband for uplink transmission based on a first priority level of the loT device; transmitting a first uplink transmission in the determined first subband; monitoring for a first acknowledgement message indicating that transmitting the first uplink transmission in the determined first subband is successful; based on a failure of receiving the first acknowledgment message following transmission of the first uplink transmission in the determined first subband, changing the first priority level of the loT device to a second priority level of the loT device; determining a second subband based on the second priority level; and transmitting the first uplink transmission in the determined second subband.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first uplink transmission is a backscattered signal generated from the first message.

3. The method of any of claim 1 and claim 2, comprising determining the first priority level based on an loT device use case, an loT device identifier, or a preconfigured priority level.

4. The method of any of claim 1 to claim 3, wherein the second priority level is a reduced first priority level.

5. The method of any of claim 1 to claim 4, wherein the configuration information indicates a plurality of slots of a frame associated with the plurality of transmission parameters, and wherein some of the plurality of slots include sequences of data and the remaining slots of the plurality of slots lack sequences of data, the method further comprising: receiving a first frame comprising the plurality of slots; determining a first slot number in the first frame; transmitting the first uplink transmission on the determined first subband in the determined first slot number; determining a second slot number in the first frame; andtransmitting the first uplink transmission in the determined second slot number in the determined second subband.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the first slot number is determined based on the first priority level and the second slot number is determined based on the second priority level.

7. The method of any of claim 5 and claim 6, wherein the configuration information indicates a plurality of slot counters associated with the plurality of subbands, the method further comprising: upon receiving a first sequence in the first frame, setting a first slot counter; on condition that the first slot counter reaches a preconfigured first threshold, transmitting the first uplink transmission in the determined first subband in the determined first slot number; upon receiving a second sequence in the first frame, setting a second slot counter; and on condition that the second slot counter reaches a preconfigured second threshold, transmitting the first uplink transmission in the determined second subband in the determined second slot number.

8. The method of any of claim 5 to claim 7, further comprising changing the first priority level of the loT device to the second priority level of the loT device, on condition of not receiving the first acknowledgement message in a first slot corresponding to the first slot number.

9. The method of any of claim 1 to claim 8, wherein the configuration information indicates a plurality of subband identifiers associated with the plurality of subbands, the method comprising: transmitting the first uplink transmission in the determined first subband, the first uplink transmission comprising a second message including information indicating a first subband identifier of the determined first subband; and based on a failure of receiving the first acknowledgment message comprising information indicating the first subband identifier, changing the first priority level of the loT device to a second priority level of the loT device.

10. The method of any of claim 1 to claim 9, wherein the configuration information indicates a plurality of subband identifiers associated with the plurality of subbands, the method comprising: transmitting the first uplink transmission in the determined second subband, the first uplink transmission comprising a second message including information indicating a second subband identifier of the determined second subband; andreceiving a second acknowledgement message following the transmission of the first uplink transmission in the determined second subband, wherein the second acknowledgement message comprises information indicating the second subband identifier.

11. An internet of thing (loT) device, comprising a processor, a transmitter, a receiver and a memory, configured to: receive a first message comprising configuration information indicating a plurality of transmission parameters, wherein the plurality of transmission parameters includes a plurality of subbands associated with one or more priority levels; determine a first subband for uplink transmission based on a first priority level of the loT device; transmit a first uplink transmission in the first subband; monitor for a first acknowledgement message indicating that transmitting the first uplink transmission in the determined first subband is successful; based on a failure of receiving the first acknowledgment message following transmission of the first uplink transmission in the determined first subband, change the first priority level of the loT device to a second priority level of the loT device; determine a second subband based on the second priority level; and transmit the first uplink transmission in the second subband.

12. The loT device of claim 11, wherein the first uplink transmission is a backscattered signal generated from the first message.

13. The loT device of any of claim 11 and claim 12, configured to determine the first priority level based on an loT device use case, an loT device identifier, or a preconfigured priority level.

14. The loT device of any of claim 11 to claim 13, wherein the second priority level is a reduced first priority level.

15. The loT device of any of claim 11 to claim 14, wherein the configuration information indicates a plurality of slots of a frame associated with the plurality of transmission parameters, wherein some of the plurality of slots include sequences of data and the remaining slots of the plurality of slots lack sequences of data, and wherein the loT device is configured to: receive a first frame comprising the plurality of slots; determine a first slot number in the first frame; transmit the first uplink transmission on the first subband in the determined first slot number;determine a second slot number in the first frame; and transmit the first uplink transmission in the determined second slot number in the second subband.

16. The loT device of claim 15, wherein the first slot number is determined based on the first priority level and the second slot number is determined based on the second priority level.

17. The loT device of any of claim 15 and claim 16, wherein the configuration information indicates a plurality of slot counters associated with the plurality of subbands, and wherein the loT device is configured to: upon receiving a first sequence in the first frame, set a first slot counter; transmit the first uplink transmission in the determined first subband in the determined first slot number, on condition that the first slot counter reaches a preconfigured first threshold upon receiving a second sequence in the first frame, set a second slot counter; and transmit the first uplink transmission in the determined second subband in the determined second slot number, on condition that the second slot counter reaches a preconfigured second threshold.

18. The loT device of any of claim 15 to claim 17, configured to change the first priority level of the loT device to the second priority level of the loT device, on condition of not receiving the first acknowledgement message in a first slot corresponding to the first slot number.

19. The loT device of any of claim 11 to claim 18, wherein the configuration information indicates a plurality of subband identifiers associated with the plurality of subbands, and wherein the loT device is configured to: transmit the first uplink transmission in the determined first subband, the first uplink transmission comprising a second message including information indicating a first subband identifier of the determined first subband; and based on a failure of receiving the first acknowledgment message comprising information indicating the first subband identifier, change the first priority level of the loT device to a second priority level of the loT device.

20. The loT device of any of claim 11 to claim 19, wherein the configuration information indicates a plurality of subband identifiers associated with the plurality of subbands, and wherein the loT device is configured to:transmit the first uplink transmission in the determined second subband, the first uplink transmission comprising a second message including information indicating a second subband identifier of the determined second subband; and receive a second acknowledgement message following the transmission of the first uplink transmission in the determined second subband, wherein the second acknowledgement message comprises information indicating the second subband identifier.

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