Methods, architectures, apparatuses and systems for mobile initiated integrated sensing

Abstract

Procedures, methods, architectures, apparatuses, systems, devices, and computer program products for WTRU-initiated sensing service with discovery of sensing entities are described. One method may include receiving an indication that a WTRU is authorized by a network to join an integrated sensing operation and receiving configuration information indicating parameters associated with performing the integrated sensing operation. The method may include discovering or determining at least one sensing entity that supports the relevant sensing service, sensing service level and / or associated sensing mechanisms. Based on capabilities and authorization information associated with the WTRU, the method may include selecting candidate sensing entities for the sensing service, the sensing service level and / or the associated sensing mechanisms, and sending a sensing service request indicating the selected one or more candidate sensing entities.

Description

METHODS, ARCHITECTURES, APPARATUSES AND SYSTEMS FOR MOBILE INITIATED INTEGRATED SENSINGCROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 620,551 and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 620,537 filed January 12, 2024, which are incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.FIELD

[0002] Example embodiments described in the present disclosure are generally directed to the fields of communications, software and encoding, including, for example, to methods, architectures, apparatuses, systems related to integrated sensing.BACKGROUND

[0003] Integrated sensing may include a process of collecting sensing measurement data and deriving sensing results from processing the sensing measurement data. There may be an area defined for the sensing within which a communications system can provide a sensing service with certain quality.SUMMARY

[0004] An embodiment may be directed to a wireless transmit / receive unit (WTRU), comprising circuitry including, any of a processor, memory, transmitter and receiver. The circuitry may be configured to: receive configuration information indicating parameters associated with performing an integrated sensing operation, wherein the parameters are per sensing service, sensing service level and / or associated sensing mechanisms; based on a sensing service associated with an area in proximity of the first WTRU being triggered, determine at least one sensing entity that supports the sensing service, the sensing service level and / or the associated sensing mechanisms; select one or more candidate sensing entities from the at least one sensing entity for the sensing service, the sensing service level and / or the associated sensing mechanisms; and send a sensing service request indicating the selected one or more candidate sensing entities.

[0005] An embodiment may be directed to a method, implemented in a first wireless transmit / receive unit (WTRU), the method comprising: receiving configuration information indicating parameters associated with performing an integrated sensing operation, wherein theparameters are per sensing service, sensing service level and / or associated sensing mechanisms; based on a sensing service associated with an area in proximity of the first WTRU being triggered, determining at least one sensing entity that supports the sensing service, the sensing service level and / or the associated sensing mechanisms; selecting one or more candidate sensing entities from the at least one sensing entity for the sensing service, the sensing service level and / or the associated sensing mechanisms; and sending a sensing service request indicating the selected one or more candidate sensing entities.

[0006] In an embodiment, the at least one sensing entity comprises any of: one or more second WTRUs and one or more base stations.

[0007] In an embodiment, one or more integrated sensing mechanisms are associated with the sensing service or the sensing service level.

[0008] In an embodiment, the first WTRU is authorized as a transmitter or receiver for handling sensing per sensing mechanism that is associated with the sensing service, and wherein the configuration information indicates configuration for each sensing mechanism.

[0009] In an embodiment, the sensing service level is differentiated per different quality of service requirements or per different service area.

[0010] In an embodiment, on condition that the first WTRU is capable of proximity service and authorized for the proximity service, the circuitry configured to receive one or more service codes associated with the sensing operation, wherein the service codes are assigned per sensing service.

[0011] In an embodiment, the at least one sensing entity that supports any of the sensing service, the sensing service level and the associated sensing mechanisms is determined based on the one or more service codes.

[0012] In an embodiment, the one or more candidate sensing entities are selected based on any of: channel quality, relative transmission delay estimated, or per supported sensing service or supported sensing service level.

[0013] In an embodiment, the sensing service request is sent to an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) in a non-access stratum (NAS) message for sensing, and wherein the sensing service request indicates any of the requested sensing service, requested service area and a location of the first WTRU.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 arenot 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 illustrates a reference model for a potential architecture of a 5G or NextGen network, according to an embodiment;

[0020] FIG. 3 illustrates an example diagram depicting pedestrian / animal intrusion detection on a roadway;

[0021] FIG. 4 illustrates an example diagram depicting intrusion detection in the surroundings of a smart home;

[0022] FIG. 5 illustrates an example signaling diagram of a UE initiated sensing service request procedure, according to an example embodiment;

[0023] FIG. 6 illustrates an example signaling diagram depicting a UE initiated sensing service request procedure with network assistance, according to an example embodiment;

[0024] FIG. 7 illustrates an example flow diagram of a method for WTRU-initiated sensing service with discovery of sensing entities by the WTRU, according to some example embodiments;

[0025] FIG. 8 illustrates an example signaling diagram depicting discovery of sensing entity per UE’s location and mobility status procedure, according to an example embodiment; and

[0026] FIG. 9 illustrates an example flow diagram of a method for discovery of sensing entities per WTRU’s location and mobility status, according to some example embodiments.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0027] 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 any portion 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.

[0028] Example Communications System

[0029] 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.

[0030] 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.

[0031] 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, or any other WTRU mentioned or described herein, may be interchangeably referred to as a UE.

[0032] 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.

[0033] 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.

[0034] 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).

[0035] 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).

[0036] 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).

[0037] 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).

[0038] 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).

[0039] 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.

[0040] 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.

[0041] 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.

[0042] 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.

[0043] 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.

[0044] 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.

[0045] 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.

[0046] 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.

[0047] 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.

[0048] 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.

[0049] 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).

[0050] 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.

[0051] 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.

[0052] 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.

[0053] 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)).

[0054] 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.

[0055] 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.

[0056] 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.

[0057] 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.

[0058] 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.

[0059] 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.

[0060] 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.

[0061] 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.

[0062] 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.

[0063] In representative embodiments, the other network 112 may be a WLAN.

[0064] 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.

[0065] 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.

[0066] 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.

[0067] 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.

[0068] 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).

[0069] 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.

[0070] 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.

[0071] 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.

[0072] 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).

[0073] 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).

[0074] 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.

[0075] 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.

[0076] 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.

[0077] 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.

[0078] 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.

[0079] 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.

[0080] 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.

[0081] 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.

[0082] 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 may be directly coupled to another device for purposes of testing and / or may performing testing using over-the-air wireless communications.

[0083] The one or more emulation devices may perform the one or more, including all, functions while not being implemented / deployed as part of a 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.

[0084] Embodiments disclosed herein are representative and do not limit the applicability of the apparatus, procedures, functions and / or methods to any particular wireless technology, any particular communication technology and / or other technologies. The term network in this disclosure may generally refer to one or more base stations or gNBs or other network entity which in turn may be associated with one or more Transmission / Reception Points (TRPs), or to any other node in the radio access network.

[0085] It is noted that, throughout example embodiments described herein, the terms “serving base station”, “base station”, “gNB”, collectively “gNB” may be used interchangeably to designate any network element such as, e.g., a network element acting as a serving base station. Embodiments described herein are not limited to gNBs and are applicable to any other type of base stations.

[0086] FIG. 2 illustrates a reference model for a potential architecture of a 5G or NextGen network, according to an embodiment. In FIG. 2, RAN may refer to a radio access network based on the 5G radio access technology (RAT) or Evolved E-UTRA that connects to the NextGen core network. The Access Control and Mobility Management Function (AMF) may include or perform, for example, the following functionalities: registration management, Connection management, Reachability management, Mobility Management, etc. The Session Management Function (SMF) may include or perform, for example, the following functionalities: session management (including session establishment, modify and release), UE IP address allocation, selection and control of UP function, etc. The User plane function (UPF) may include or perform, for example, the following functionalities: packet routing & forwarding, packet inspection, traffic usage reporting, etc.

[0087] A study is underway in 3GPP SAI which relates to integrated sensing use cases and potential requirements for enhancement of the 5G system to provide sensing services addressing different target verticals and applications, such as autonomous / assisted driving, V2X, UAVs, 3D map reconstruction, smart city, smart home, factories, healthcare, maritime sector, etc.

[0088] Integrated sensing may include a process of collecting sensing measurement data, such as data collected about radio and / or wireless signals impacted (e.g. reflected, refracted, diffracted) by an object or environment of interest for sensing purposes, and deriving sensing results from processing the sensing measurement data. There may be an area defined for sensing, a so-called sensing service area location, which is an area location, whether with or without obstacle, in which the 5G system can provide sensing service with certain quality. In the study, other N3GPP entities are also considered and their sensing measurement data is considered as transparent to 5GS such that the data is communicated using a standard protocol to an interface defined by the 5GS.

[0089] One use case for integrated sensing is object detection. For example, such object detection may include pedestrian and / or animal intrusion detection on a road or highway, intruder detection in surroundings of a smart home, or the like. FIG. 3 illustrates an example diagram depicting pedestrian / animal intrusion detection on a roadway. FIG. 4 illustrates an example diagram depicting intrusion detection in the surroundings of a smart home.

[0090] In these scenarios, a base station or UE can detect the intrusion on the sensing area of a base station by itself or by collaboration between the UE and base station. The sensing measurement may be transferred to the network and further processed into the sensing result.

[0091] In 3GPP TS 22.137, integrated sensing service may provide object detection and tracking service with QoS requirements shown in TABLE 1 below.TABLE 1

[0092] A UE may initiate sensing service request for various use cases, such as sensing service for automotive vehicles maneuvering, immersive experience, UAV, etc. For example, a UE may initiate a sensing service with high granularity of QoS requirements. Per 3GPP TS 22.137, it may be required to provide sensing service with high granularity of less than 1 meter level. For example, object detection and tracking, detection and tracking of human, animal and / or UAV in indoor and outdoor environments may require sensing service with accuracy of 0.5 x 0.5 square meter, resolution of 0.5 m. and human motion monitor, etc. As another example, for motion monitoring, human hand gestures may require sensing service with accuracy of 0.2 x 0.2 square meter, resolution of 0.375 m. In order to provide a high granularity sensing service, a sensing operation may be performed with entities that are located at the target sensing area and are capable of high granularity sensing operation.

[0093] Therefore, an issue arises as to how a 3GPP network (NW) can provide UE initiated sensing service with proper sensing operation based on a requested sensing service area with QoS requirement.

[0094] Sensing service can be initiated based on the 3rdparty application function. Public safety search and rescue, tracking of UAV, detection of pedestrian at crossing, and collision avoidance in smart factories may be requested by 3rdparty service and it can require very high granularity of sensing service in the target area. In order to provide high granularity sensing service, a 3 GPP NW should be able to discover and select proper sensing entities for such a high granularity sensing service. 3GPP NW may manage the list of entities for sensing service at the target area. However, considering an entity’s mobility, it may be difficult and inefficient to track every entity’s location up-to-date and manage the list of candidate entity up-to-date for every sensing service at a target area.

[0095] Thus, an issue also arises as to how a network (e.g., 3GPP NW) can discover and select sensing entities which are located at the target sensing area with appropriate sensing capabilities required as per the requested sensing service.

[0096] According to an embodiment, for handling sensing service, it may be assumed that there are several new network functions or entities defined, such as Integrated Sensing Assistance NF (ISANF) and Sensing Operation Management Function (SOMF). ISANF and SOMF may be logical entities. ISANF and SOMF may be collocated with another network entities, for example, such as NEF. ISANF and SOMF can be implemented at the same network entity as well.

[0097] An ISANF oversees interaction with an Application Function for sensing service. The ISANF understands the service request from the Application Function and can derive a corresponding requested sensing mechanism. After determining the requested sensing mechanism, the ISANF forwards the request to the AMF which serves the requested region or requested entities. The ISANF may receive a report on sensing directly from the AMF or from another network entity, e.g., a Sensing Operation Management Function (SOMF), and may report the result to the Application Function.

[0098] When the Application Function (AF) is 3rdparty application which is not a trusted entity of 5GS, the Application Function and ISANF may communicate through a Network Exposure Function (NEF) with the AF. An AF may push the updated requirements or configurations, such as QoS, via the NEF to the sensing NFs.

[0099] The SOMF handles coordination of sensing operation among BS and UEs. Based on information received from an AMF, such as a requested sensing region, BSs and UEs’ list, and / or requested sensing mechanism with QoS requirement, the SOMF may derive coordinationinformation for sensing operation. For example, the SOMF may decide the role of sensing operation such as sender(s) of sensing signal(s), receiver(s) of sensing signal(s), entity to collect the sensing measurement data, entity to calculate sensing result, sensing period, data collection frequency, data reporting frequency, etc. For example, the SOMF may decide a sensing period, the waveform of sensing signal and ask BS(s) or sender(s) resource assignment for sending sensing signal at the sensing period.

[0100] As will be discussed in more detail below, certain example embodiments may include the configuration of sensing service information and associated sensing mechanism to the UE (e.g., the UE may receive information indicating the configuration of the sensing service information and the associated sensing mechanism. In one example, the UE may discover the other UE(s) per requested sensing service, service level or sensing mechanism and may select one (or more) based on the capability and authorization of the other UEs. In one example, a sensing NF may select a UE for the target sensing service area, for example, based on the mobility status and / or location of candidate UE(s) and may trigger the selected UE(s) to perform discovery of other UEs for selecting candidate UEs for sensing operation.

[0101] For example, as will be discussed in more detail below, some example embodiments may include methods relating to a UE initiated sensing service. In an embodiment, a UE is authorized by the network for joining integrated sensing and is configured with parameters for performing integrated sensing. According to one example, the authorization and configuration is per sensing service, sensing service level and associated sensing mechanisms.

[0102] For example, as will be discussed in more detail below, according to an embodiment, when sensing service is triggered and the sensing service is for the area around the UE, the UE initiates discovery procedure to discover UE supporting the requested sensing service, sensing service level based on the configured information per sensing service, sensing service level.

[0103] For example, as will be discussed in more detail below, in an embodiment, the UE may gather capabilities and authorization information from the discovered UE and can select the proper UE(s) for the requested sensing service, sensing service level based on the capabilities and authorization information.

[0104] For example, as will be discussed in more detail below, according to an embodiment, the UE may send a sensing service request including the candidate UE list. The UE may receive a sensing operation request with the UE list and BS list from the NW. The UE may perform sensing operation based on the coordination from NW (e.g., based on the information received from the NW).

[0105] As will be discussed in more detail below, some example embodiments may include methods for discovery of sensing entity per UE’s location and / or mobility status. In an embodiment, a UE may register its capability for integrated sensing, mobility status (e.g., static, mobile) and its location. The UE may receive discovery request of other UEs for integrated sensing for some target area. In an embodiment, based on its location and authorization information, the UE may check whether to accept the discovery request. The UE may perform discovery of other UEs and gathering capability and authorization information of the discovered UEs. The UE may send the discovery result to sensing NF. In an embodiment, the UE may perform sensing operation based on coordination with sensing NF.

[0106] As will be discussed in more detail below, according to an embodiment, a sensing service may be triggered for a sensing operation at a target sensing area. In an embodiment, the sensing NF may retrieve candidate UE’s list information with UE’s mobility status and location at the target sensing area. In an embodiment, the sensing NF may select a UE and send a discovery request of other UEs to the selected UE. The sensing NF may receive a response from the UE with discovery UE list. In an embodiment, the sensing NF May check the capabilities and authorization of discovered UEs and UE’s status and location. The sensing NF may select a list of UEs (e.g., select one or more UEs) for sensing operation based on capabilities and authorization information. In an embodiment, the sensing NF may coordinate a sensing operation with the selected UEs.

[0107] Example Methods for UE Initiated Sensing Service With Discovery of Sensing Entities by UE

[0108] FIG. 5 illustrates an example signaling diagram of a UE initiated sensing service request procedure, according to an example embodiment. As illustrated in the example of FIG. 5, at 0, UEs and BSs are authorized by the network for joining an integrated sensing operation as a sensing signal receiver and / or as a sensing signal transmitter and get provisioned with parameters for performing integrated sensing. Based on UE’s capability for integrated sensing, UEs and BSs are authorized as transmitter, receiver, or both for handling sensing signal.

[0109] One or multiple integrated sensing mechanisms (e.g., how many sensing transmitter and receivers are required, what kind of characteristics of received signal are used for sensing, UE only, BS only or mixed sensing that involves both UE(s) and BS(s), etc.) may be associated to a sensing service or a sensing service level. A UE may be further authorized as transmitter or receiver for handling sensing per sensing mechanism which is associated to a sensing service, and / or the UE may be provisioned with configuration for each sensing mechanism (e.g., waveform, characteristics needs to be monitored at the received signals, monitoring granularity, duration, periodicity etc.). Sensing service level is differentiated per different QoS requirements (e.g.,granularity, delay, etc.) or per different service area (e.g., indoor or outdoor, or size of service area).

[0110] When UEs are capable of ProSe service and authorized for Prose service, UEs are provisioned with ProSe service code(s) for Integrated sensing operation. The ProSe service code may be assigned per sensing service (e.g., object detection, tracking, etc.) or per sensing service level (e.g., per different service requirement such as higher granularity, outdoor or indoor, etc.). In some examples, UEs may receive the same configurations for integrated sensing (e.g., per application or per subscribed slice, etc.).[OHl] In the example of FIG. 5, as illustrated at 1, UE #1 may be triggered to request an integrated sensing service, for example, by an application in the UE (e.g., by smart home application, etc.) or by an event with triggering condition which is set by network entity or by application function (e.g., entering a specific area, time of the day etc.). At 2, when the triggered sensing service request is for the area which UE#1 is located, UE #1 may discover sensing entities (e.g., UEs, BS(s)) supporting integrated sensing services, based on provisioned information relating to the requested sensing service (e.g., ProSe service code associated to sensing service or sensing service level). When UE #1 discover sensing entities, UE #1 may discover sensing entities according to the requested sensing service or requested sensing service level (e.g., by using ProSe service code(s) assigned per sensing service or sensing service level).

[0112] As shown in the example of FIG. 5, at 3, UE #1 may receive capability for integrated sensing from discovered sensing entities, (e.g., supported sensing mechanisms) and UE #1 may communicate with the discovered sensing entities for authorization of the requested sensing service and potential supported sensing mechanisms. Some capabilities may be shared during discovery procedure. At 4, UE #1 may select a list of candidate UEs for requested sensing service. The selection may be based on capabilities (e.g., supported sensing mechanisms associated with requested sensing services or sensing service level) collected in step 2 and step 3 or channel quality, relative transmission delay estimated, or per supported sensing service or supported sensing service level. The authorized sensing service or sensing mechanisms of UE #1 and discovered UEs may be considered for selecting the UEs.

[0113] In the example of FIG. 5, as illustrated at 5, UE #1 may send, e.g., to AMF, a service request in a NAS message for sensing which may include or indicate the requested sensing service, requested service area or UE #l’s location and list of candidate UEs and / or BS(s). In some examples, the service request may include the capability information of the discovered candidate UEs. After receiving the service request for sensing, the AMF may send the received service request to the ISANF.

[0114] As shown in the example of FIG. 5, at 6, after receiving the service request for sensing, the ISANF may query information from UDM to check the authorization information and capability of UE #1 and candidate UEs. At 7, the ISANF may trigger location service to acquire absolute positioning information of candidate UEs or relative positioning information between candidate UEs or between UE#1 and candidate UE. If needed (e.g., there is not enough UEs proper for sensing operation based on UE#l’s report), the ISANF may request a base station in the list of BSs to report other candidate UEs (e.g., UEs in coverage of BSs not supporting ProSe service) for supporting sensing operation.

[0115] In the example of FIG. 5, at 8, based on the authorization information, the capability of UE #1 and candidate UEs, the location information of UEs and / or report from base station, the ISANF may decide the sensing mechanism to serve the requested sensing service and list of UEs and BSs for sensing operation at the target sensing service area. At 9, the ISANF may send a sensing request to the AMF which includes or indicates the target sensing area, the determined sensing mechanism and list of UEs or BSs. After receiving sensing request from ISANF, the AMF may send the sensing request to a SOMF. As shown at 10, based on the list of UEs and BSs and sensing mechanism, the SOMF can coordinate the sensing operation with the selected UEs and BSs.

[0116] Example Methods for UE Initiated Sensing Service with Network Assisted Discovery of Sensing Entities

[0117] FIG. 6 illustrates an example signaling diagram depicting a UE initiated sensing service request procedure with NW assist, according to an example embodiment. As illustrated in the example of FIG. 6, at 0, UEs and BSs are authorized by the network for joining an integrated sensing operation as a sensing signal receiver and / or as a sensing signal transmitter and get provisioned with parameters for performing integrated sensing. Based on a UE’s capability for integrated sensing, UEs and BSs are authorized as transmitter and / or receiver for handling sensing signal.

[0118] One or multiple integrated sensing mechanisms (e.g., how many sensing transmitter and receivers are required, what kind of characteristics of received signal are used for sensing, UE only, BS only or mixed sensing that involves both UE(s) and BS(s) etc.) may be associated to a sensing service or a sensing service level. A UE may be further authorized as transmitter or receiver for handling sensing per sensing mechanism which is associated to a sensing service and the UE may be provisioned with a configuration for each sensing mechanism (e.g., waveform, characteristics needs to be monitored at the received signals, monitoring granularity, duration, periodicity etc.).

[0119] In some examples, UEs can be provisioned with ProSe service code for Integrated sensing operation. The ProSe service code may be assigned per sensing service (e.g., object detection, tracking, etc.), or per sensing service level (e.g., per different service requirement such as higher granularity, outdoor or indoor, etc.).

[0120] As illustrated in the example of FIG. 6, at 1, UE #1 may be triggered to request an integrated sensing service, for example, by an application (e.g., by smart home application, etc.) or by an event with triggering condition which is set by network entity or by application function (e.g., entering a specific area, time of the day etc.). At 2, UE #1 may send, e.g., to an AMF, a service request for sensing. The service request may include or indicate the requested sensing service (e.g., object detection or tracking service) with desired QoS requirements, requested service area and / or UE #l’s location. After or upon receiving the service request for sensing, the AMF may send the received service request to the ISANF with UE #l’s ID.

[0121] In the example of FIG. 6, at 3, responsive to receiving the service request for sensing, the ISANF may query information from a UDM to check the authorization information and capability of UE #1. The ISANF may query analytic information (e.g., mobility pattern, expected UE’s mobility, etc.) from a network data analytics function (NWDAF) or AF (e.g., UAV traffic monitoring system, navigation server, location server, Geo information server, map server, etc.).

[0122] As further shown in the example of FIG. 6, at 4, based on the authorization information and capability of UE #1, the ISANF may decide the sensing mechanism to serve the requested sensing service at the target sensing service area (e.g., based on UE #l’s location or requested sensing service area). The ISANF may send a sensing request, to the AMF, which includes or indicates the target sensing area, requested sensing mechanisms. The ISANF may include assistance information in the sensing request. The assistance information may include discovery code for the requested sensing service or requested sensing service level, discovery code for the requested sensing mechanisms, list of candidate UEs or BSs, etc. The assistance information may be used by the receiving UE for broadcast and discovery according to the desired sensing service. After receiving the sensing request from ISANF, the AMF may send the sensing request to a SOMF.

[0123] In the example of FIG. 6, at 5, based on the sensing request, when the target sensing service area includes the area in which UE#1 is located, the SOMF may send a sensing service request to the UE #1 which includes or indicates the requested sensing mechanisms and assistance information. In an embodiment, step 5 may optionally include the UE#1 receiving a list of UEs in assistance information and the discovery codes. Those UEs mentioned in the list may also receive similar discovery codes directly from the network. When UE#1 and sensing UEs include thereceived discovery codes for the discovery in the discovery message, this may help in the selection procedure. Furthermore, in this embodiment, in step 8 discussed below, UE#1 may just select the UE(s) with matching discovery codes and ignore the other UEs.

[0124] As illustrated in the example of FIG. 6, at 6, UE #1 may discover sensing entities (e.g., UEs) supporting the sensing mechanism. During discovery procedure, UE #1 may try to discover the UEs based on the assistance information (e.g., using ProSe discovery code per sensing service level or ProSe discovery code per sensing mechanisms and candidate list of UEs, etc.) and store additional parameters for the discovered UEs, such as signal strength, sensing services supported, validity conditions for sensing services supported, etc. In one example, UE #1 may scan the available BSs among the candidate list of BSs.

[0125] If UE #1 scans the available BSs, it may try to monitor specific signalling information in broadcast from BSs associated with integrated sensing features (e.g., supporting sensing feature, capable of some sensing service or sensing service level, etc.). Additionally, the operator may configure UE #1, UEs and BSs with specific information associated with specific sensing method or sensing service. In this case, UE #1 may monitor BSs which broadcast the specific information.

[0126] In the example of FIG. 6, at 7, UE #1 may receive information indicating capability for integrated sensing from discovered sensing entities. Some capabilities may be shared during discovery procedure. Additionally, or alternatively, UE #1 may receive the capability of each UE in the candidate list of UEs in step 6. At 8, UE #1 may select a list of UEs and BSs among the candidate UEs and BSs. The selection may be based on capabilities (e.g., supported sensing mechanisms associated with requested sensing services or sensing service level) collected in step 6 and step 7 or channel quality, delay, or per supported sensing service or supported sensing service level.

[0127] As shown in the example of FIG. 6, at 9, UE #1 may send a sensing service response to the SOMF (e.g., via AMF using NAS transport) which includes a list of UEs and BSs. This message may specify if the network (e.g., SOMF) may provision the selected UEs and BSs with the configurations related to sensing (e.g., information about the target object, sensing configurations to be used by each sensing entity), or if UE#1 may directly communicate with the selected sensing entities for providing the sensing configuration information (e.g., in step 12 discussed below). At 10, the SOMF may communicate with a UDM and / or other NF to check the capability and authorization of UEs in the list of UE received in step 9.

[0128] In the example of FIG. 6, at 11, if needed (e.g., there is not enough UEs proper for sensing operation based on UE#l’s report), the SOMF may request a base station in the list of BSs to report other candidate UEs (e.g., UEs in coverage of BSs not supporting ProSe service) for supportingthe sensing operation. The SOMF may communicate with the candidate UEs reported by the base station to check whether it is proper for sensing operation and / or the SOMF may communicate with a UDM and / or other NF to check the capability and authorization of candidate UEs reported by base station. The SOMF may trigger location service to check the absolute location of candidate UEs or relative location between candidate UE and UE#1 or between candidate UEs.

[0129] As shown in the example of FIG. 6, at 12, based on the capabilities and authorization information, the SOMF may determine the sensing mechanisms and select list of UEs and BSs for the sensing operation. According to the decided sensing mechanisms, the network may provision selected sensing entities with required sensing configuration information (e.g., frequency / channels to be used for sensing, information about the target object such as its location). At 13, based on the list of UEs and BSs and sensing mechanism, the SOMF can coordinate the sensing operation with the selected UEs and BSs. The network (e.g., SOMF) may notify UE#1 if the selected sensing entities has been configured for the sensing task and / or mechanism.

[0130] FIG. 7 illustrates an example flow diagram of a method for WTRU-initiated sensing service with discovery of sensing entities by the WTRU, according to some example embodiments. The example method of FIG. 7 and accompanying disclosures herein may be considered a generalization or synthetization of the various embodiments discussed above. For convenience and simplicity of exposition, the example of FIG. 7 may be described with reference to the architecture or system described above with respect to FIGs. 1A-1D, for instance. However, the example method depicted in FIG. 7 may be carried out using different architectures as well. According to some embodiments, the method of FIG. 7 may be implemented by a UE or WTRU, such as the WTRU 102 described in the foregoing.

[0131] It is noted that the method of FIG. 7 may include further steps, procedures or details as discussed in detail elsewhere in this disclosure. As such, the method of FIG. 7 may be modified to include any of the steps, procedures and / or details illustrated and / or discussed in the foregoing. Moreover, it is noted that the method and / or blocks of FIG. 7 may be modified to include, or to be replaced by, any one or more of the procedures or blocks discussed elsewhere herein. As such, one of ordinary skill in the art would understand that FIG. 7 is provided as one example and modifications thereto are possible while remaining within the scope of certain example embodiments.

[0132] As illustrated in the example of FIG. 7, the method may include, at 705, receiving, by a first WTRU, an indication that the first WTRU is authorized by a network to join an integrated sensing operation and / or receiving configuration information indicating parameters associated with performing the integrated sensing operation. The authorization and / or the parameters may beper sensing service, sensing service level and / or associated sensing mechanisms (e.g., there may be a parameter provided for or associated with each sensing service, each sensing service level, and / or each associated sensing mechanism). On condition that (e.g., based on) a sensing service associated with an area in proximity of the first WTRU is triggered, the method may include, at 710, discovering or determining at least one sensing entity that supports the sensing service, the sensing service level and / or the associated sensing mechanisms. The method may include, at 715, receiving capabilities and / or authorization information from the at least one sensing entity. Based on the capabilities and / or authorization information, the method may include, at 720, selecting one or more candidate sensing entities from the at least one sensing entity for the sensing service, the sensing service level and / or the associated sensing mechanisms. The method may include, at 725, sending a sensing service request indicating the selected one or more candidate sensing entities.

[0133] In some embodiments, the method may include receiving a sensing operation request indicating any of one or more WTRUs and / or one or more base stations from the network. In certain embodiments, the method may include performing the sensing operation based on the sensing operation request received from the network.

[0134] In an embodiment, the at least one sensing entity comprises any of: one or more second WTRUs and one or more base stations. In an embodiment, one or more integrated sensing mechanisms are associated with a sensing service or a sensing service level.

[0135] According to an embodiment, the first WTRU is authorized as a transmitter and / or receiver for handling sensing per sensing mechanism that is associated with a sensing service, and the configuration information indicates configuration for each sensing mechanism.

[0136] In an embodiment, the sensing service level is differentiated per different quality of service requirements or per different service area. According to an embodiment, on condition that the first WTRU is capable of proximity service and authorized for the proximity service, the method comprises receiving one or more service codes associated with the sensing operation, wherein the service codes are assigned per sensing service.

[0137] In an embodiment, the at least one sensing entity that supports the sensing service, the sensing service level and the associated sensing mechanisms is determined based on the one or more service codes. According to an embodiment, the one or more candidate sensing entities are selected based on any of: channel quality, relative transmission delay estimated, or per supported sensing service or supported sensing service level.

[0138] In an embodiment, the sensing service request is sent to an AMF in a NAS message for sensing and indicates any of the requested sensing service, requested service area or a location of the first WTRU.

[0139] Example Methods for Discovery of Sensing Entity Per UE’s Location and MobilityStatus

[0140] FIG. 8 illustrates an example signaling diagram depicting discovery of sensing entity per UE’s location and mobility status procedure, according to an example embodiment. As illustrated in the example of FIG. 8, at 0, a UE (here UE#1) sends a registration request to an AMF. The registration request may include or indicate the UE’s capability for sensing. UE#1 may include or indicate its mobility status (e.g., whether it is stationary or mobile) and its location information (e.g., geographical location information, etc.), and / or additional classmark information with supported sensing capabilities.

[0141] As illustrated in the example of FIG. 8, at 1, after or upon receiving the registration request, the AMF may check the authentication and authorization of the UE#1. At 2, after successful registration, the AMF may send a registration response to UE #1 and may include or indicate classmark information with sensing services which are activated / authorized by the network operator in the current environment. Additionally, the network may include an indication which requests the UE to report any changes to the selected / authorized classmark information (for example, UE may be requested to report the change of its orientation or when it changes its serving area, etc.).

[0142] In the example of FIG. 8, at 3, when the UE is capable of sensing and is authorized, the AMF may update the UE’s information for sensing operation to the NF which is responsible for gathering UE’s information for sensing. The UE’s information may include UE’s mobility status and / or UE’s location which can be used for selecting proper UE’s for the sensing operation (for example, based on UE’s location) and / or additional active sensing capabilities.

[0143] As illustrated in the example of FIG. 8, at 4, 5GC may perform a location service procedure to acquire location information of UE#1 and the location result may be shared with (e.g., sent to) the NF for updating UE’s information for sensing. In some examples, step 4 may be performed before step 3.

[0144] In the example of FIG. 8, at 5, the sensing NF (e.g., ISAF or SOMF, or other NF) may decide to discover UEs for a sensing operation at a target sensing area. For example, this may be triggered by receiving a service request for sensing (e.g., from AF, UE, and / or other NF) with the target sensing area.

[0145] As shown in the example of FIG. 8, at 6, the sensing NF may request from a NF (here NF #1), which is managing UE’s information for sensing, for candidate UE’s (list of UEs) information for sensing at the target sensing area for the requested sensing service with QoS requirement or requested sensing service level. As an alternative, when the sensing NF has prior information ofthe candidate UEs for some target sensing area, the sensing NF may reuse the information. As yet another alternative, the sensing NF may ask the application server for available UEs in the area for sensing relating to the application (e.g., there may be sensing entities deployed by certain application service).

[0146] In the example of FIG. 8, at 7, after or upon receiving a request for UE’s information for sensing operation at a target sensing area, the NF #1 may select one or multiple candidate UEs for the target sensing area. For example, NF #1 may select a candidate UE based on its mobility status and / or its location (for example, a UE is in fixed status and its location is close enough in the target sensing area to the server of the requested sensing service with QoS requirement or requested sensing service level). NF#1 may respond to the sensing NF with target UE’s information with UE’s context (e.g., UE’s mobility status, UE’s location, UE’s capability for sensing). NF #1 may manage the UE’s information for sensing operation based on the information regarding UEs received from another NF (e.g., from AMF) or based on configured information from an AF.

[0147] As illustrated in the example of FIG. 8, at 8, the sensing NF may send a request for discovery of candidate UE(s) for the sensing operation to the selected UE (here UE #1). When receiving multiple candidate UEs in step 2, the sensing NF may send requests for discovery to multiple UEs. Request for discovery of candidate UE for the sensing operation may include or indicate target sensing service area, requested sensing mechanisms and / or assistance information for discovery. Assistance information for discovery may include or indicate a discovery code for the requested sensing service or sensing service level, and / or discovery code for the candidate sensing mechanisms.

[0148] In the example of FIG. 8, at 9, UE #1 may send a response, e.g., to the sensing NF via AMF, indicating whether it accepts or rejects the discovery request (e.g., UE #1 may reject the discovery request when it is not able to join the sensing operation for lack of battery or communication situation, for out of target sensing service area, or other reasons). When UE#1 rejects the discovery request, the remaining steps are not performed.

[0149] When the sensing NF receives a discovery reject from UE #1, the sensing NF may select another UE for the requested sensing operation and may send a request for discovery of candidate UE(s) for the sensing operation in step 7 to the selected UE.

[0150] When the sensing NF does not receive a response for step 7 or receives a reject response from UE #1, the sensing NF may again send a request for UE’s information for sensing operation to the NF#1. In the request, the sensing NF may indicate that UE#1 is not available for the requested sensing and include the reject clause (e.g., UE rejected the request, UE is not responding, or UE is out of coverage).

[0151] In the example of FIG. 8, at 10, UE #1 may discover sensing entities (e.g., UEs) supporting the sensing mechanism. During this discovery procedure, UE #1 may try to discover the UEs based on the assistance information (e.g., using ProSe discovery code per sensing mechanisms, etc.). At 11, UE #1 may receive information indicating capability for integrated sensing from discovered sensing entities. Some capabilities may be shared during discovery procedure.

[0152] When receiving a discovery message from UE#1, the responding UE may perform registration procedure and / or location procedure to acquire accurate location information of the UE for the sensing. The location information may be included, for example, in step 10 or step 11 (e.g., the location information may be cell ID, geographic location information, etc.). The responding UE may include whether it is in coverage or out of coverage and, therefore, UE #1 may consider its coverage status in step 12 discussed below (e.g., UE #1 may select only UEs in coverage when high granularity of sensing service is requested). Additionally or alternatively, in the discovery message, UE#1 may include whether only UEs in coverage need to respond, whether only UEs out of coverage need to respond, or any UEs may respond regardless of coverage state.

[0153] As illustrated in FIG. 8, at 12, UE #1 may select a list of UEs. For example, the selection of the UE(s) may be based on capabilities (e.g., supported sensing mechanisms associated with requested sensing services or sensing service level) collected in step 4 and / or step 5 or channel quality, delay, or per supported sensing service or supported sensing service level. At 13, UE #1 may send a response for discovery of candidate UE for sensing operation to the sensing NF (e.g., via AMF using NAS transport), which may include list of candidate UEs. The response may include the capabilities of candidate UEs.

[0154] As further illustrated in the example of FIG. 8, at 14, the sensing NF may communicate with UDM and / or other NF to check the capability and authorization of UEs in the list of UE received in step 13. The sensing NF may communicate with the UEs in the list of UE received in step 9 to check or determine their availability for the sensing service. At 15, e.g., based on the capabilities and authorization information, the sensing NF may determine the sensing mechanisms and select the list of UEs and BSs for the sensing operation. At 16, based on the list of UEs and BSs and the sensing mechanism, the sensing NF may configure and coordinate the sensing operation with the selected UEs and BSs.

[0155] FIG. 9 illustrates an example flow diagram of a method for discovery of sensing entities per WTRU’s location and mobility status, according to some example embodiments. The example method of FIG. 9 and accompanying disclosures herein may be considered a generalization or synthetization of the various embodiments discussed above. For convenience and simplicity ofexposition, the example of FIG. 9 may be described with reference to the architecture or system described above with respect to FIGs. 1 A-1D, for instance. However, the example method depicted in FIG. 9 may be carried out using different architectures as well. According to some embodiments, the method of FIG. 9 may be implemented by a UE or WTRU, such as the WTRU 102 described in the foregoing.

[0156] It is noted that the method of FIG. 9 may include further steps, procedures or details as discussed in detail elsewhere in this disclosure. As such, the method of FIG. 9 may be modified to include any of the steps, procedures and / or details illustrated and / or discussed in the foregoing. Moreover, it is noted that the method and / or blocks of FIG. 9 may be modified to include, or to be replaced by, any one or more of the procedures or blocks discussed elsewhere herein. As such, one of ordinary skill in the art would understand that FIG. 9 is provided as one example and modifications thereto are possible while remaining within the scope of certain example embodiments.

[0157] As illustrated in the example of FIG. 9, the method may include, at 905, sending a registration request indicating a capability of the first WTRU to perform an integrated sensing operation, a mobility status of the first WTRU and / or a location associated with the first WTRU. The method may include, at 910, receiving a request for discovery of at least one second WTRU for performing the integrated sensing operation associated with a target area. Based on the location associated with the first WTRU and authorization information associated with the first WTRU, the method may include, at 915, determining to accept the request for discovery. The method may include, at 920, performing the discovery of the at least one second WTRU. At 925, the method may include receiving, from the at least one second WTRU, capability information and authorization information associated with the at least one second WTRU. The method may include, at 930, selecting, based on the capability information and the authorization information, one or more candidate WTRUs from the at least one second WTRU per sensing service associated with the integrated sensing. The method may include, at 935, sending a response, to the request for discovery, the response indicating information associated with the selected one or more candidate WTRUs. The method may then include, at 940, performing the sensing operation with the selected one or more candidate WTRUs.

[0158] In an embodiment, the request for discovery comprises information indicating any of the target area, requested sensing mechanisms and assistance information for performing the discovery. According to an embodiment, the assistance information comprises any of: (1) a discovery code associated with the requested sensing service or sensing service level, and (2) a discovery code for the candidate sensing mechanisms.

[0159] In an embodiment, the method includes receiving, from the at least one second WTRU, location information associated with the at least one second WTRU.

[0160] In an embodiment, the one or more candidate WTRUs are selected based on any of channel quality, delay, or per supported sensing service or supported sensing service level.

[0161] According to an embodiment, the response comprises information indicating the capability information associated with the selected one or more WTRUs. In an embodiment, the response is sent to a sensing NF via an AMF.

[0162] Summary of Some Example Embodiments

[0163] An example embodiment may include a method, for example implemented by a first WTRU, for WTRU-initiated sensing service with discovery of sensing entities by the WTRU. The method may include receiving an indication that the first WTRU is authorized by a network to join an integrated sensing operation and receiving configuration information indicating parameters associated with performing the integrated sensing operation. The authorization and the parameters may be per sensing service, sensing service level and / or associated sensing mechanisms. On condition that a sensing service associated with an area in proximity of the first WTRU is triggered, the method may include determining at least one sensing entity that supports the sensing service, the sensing service level and / or the associated sensing mechanisms. The method may include receiving capabilities and authorization information from the at least one sensing entity and, based on the capabilities and authorization information, selecting one or more candidate sensing entities from the at least one sensing entity for the sensing service, the sensing service level and the associated sensing mechanisms. The method may include sending a sensing service request indicating the selected one or more candidate sensing entities, receiving a sensing operation request indicating any of one or more WTRUs and one or more base stations from the network, and performing the sensing operation based on the sensing operation request received from the network.

[0164] In an embodiment, the at least one sensing entity comprises any of: one or more second WTRUs and one or more base stations. In an embodiment, one or more integrated sensing mechanisms are associated with a sensing service or a sensing service level.

[0165] According to an embodiment, the first WTRU is authorized as a transmitter and / or receiver for handling sensing per sensing mechanism that is associated with a sensing service, and the configuration information indicates configuration for each sensing mechanism.

[0166] In an embodiment, the sensing service level is differentiated per different quality of service requirements or per different service area. According to an embodiment, on condition that the first WTRU is capable of proximity service and authorized for the proximity service, themethod comprises receiving one or more service codes associated with the sensing operation, wherein the service codes are assigned per sensing service.

[0167] In an embodiment, the at least one sensing entity that supports the sensing service, the sensing service level and the associated sensing mechanisms is determined based on the one or more service codes. According to an embodiment, the one or more candidate sensing entities are selected based on any of: channel quality, relative transmission delay estimated, or per supported sensing service or supported sensing service level.

[0168] In an embodiment, the sensing service request is sent to an AMF in a NAS message for sensing and indicates any of the requested sensing service, requested service area or a location of the first WTRU.

[0169] An example embodiment may include a method, for example implemented by a first WTRU, for discovery of sensing entities per WTRU’s location and mobility status. The method may include sending a registration request indicating a capability of the first WTRU to perform an integrated sensing operation, a mobility status of the first WTRU and / or a location associated with the first WTRU. The method may include receiving a request for discovery of at least one second WTRU for performing the integrated sensing operation associated with a target area and, based on the location associated with the first WTRU and authorization information associated with the first WTRU, determining to accept the request for discovery. The method may include performing the discovery of the at least one second WTRU, receiving, from the at least one second WTRU, capability information and authorization information associated with the at least one second WTRU, and selecting, based on the capability information and the authorization information, one or more candidate WTRUs from the at least one second WTRU per sensing service associated with the integrated sensing. The method may include sending a response, to the request for discovery, the response indicating information associated with the selected one or more candidate WTRUs, and performing the sensing operation with the selected one or more candidate WTRUs.

[0170] In an embodiment, the request for discovery comprises information indicating any of the target area, requested sensing mechanisms and assistance information for performing the discovery. According to an embodiment, the assistance information comprises any of: (1) a discovery code associated with the requested sensing service or sensing service level, and (2) a discovery code for the candidate sensing mechanisms.

[0171] In an embodiment, the method includes receiving, from the at least one second WTRU, location information associated with the at least one second WTRU.

[0172] In an embodiment, the one or more candidate WTRUs are selected based on any of channel quality, delay, or per supported sensing service or supported sensing service level.

[0173] According to an embodiment, the response comprises information indicating the capability information associated with the selected one or more WTRUs. In an embodiment, the response is sent to a sensing NF via an AMF.

[0174] An example embodiment may include a method, for example implemented by a network element (e.g., sensing NF), for discovery of sensing entities per WTRU’s location and mobility status. The method may include determining to discover WTRUs for a sensing operation in a target sensing area. The method may include receiving information indicating one or more candidate WTRUs to perform the sensing operation, a mobility status of the candidate WTRUs and a location associated with the candidate WTRUs. The method may include selecting at least one of the candidate WTRUs, sending a discovery request for other WTRUs to the at least one selected candidate WTRU, and receiving a response from the at least one selected candidate WTRU, the response indicating one or more discovered WTRUs. The method may include determining capability information and authorization information associated with the one or more discovered WTRUs, selecting at least one of the discovered WTRUs based on the capability and authorization information, and coordinating the sensing operation with the at least one selected discovered WTRU.

[0175] 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 as illustrations 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.

[0176] In some example embodiments described herein, (e.g., configuration) information may be described as received by a WTRU from the network, for example, through system information or via any kind of protocol message. Although not explicitly mentioned throughout embodiments described herein, the same (e.g., configuration) information may be pre-configured in the WTRU(e.g., via any kind of pre-configuration methods such as e.g., via factory settings), such that this (e.g., configuration) information may be used by the WTRU without being received from the network.

[0177] Any characteristic, variant or embodiment described for a method is compatible with an apparatus device comprising means for processing the disclosed method, such as with a device comprising a processor configured to process the disclosed method, a computer program product comprising program code instructions and a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing program instructions.

[0178] 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.

[0179] 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.

[0180] 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 over wired 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 randomaccess 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.

[0181] 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.

[0182] 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."

[0183] 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.

[0184] 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 interconnected processing systems that may be local or remote to the processing system. It should be understoodthat the embodiments are not limited to the above-mentioned memories and that other platforms and memories may support the provided methods.

[0185] 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.

[0186] 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.

[0187] 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 appreciate that the mechanisms of the subject matter described herein may be distributed as a program productin 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.).

[0188] 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.

[0189] 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.

[0190] 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.

[0191] 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".

[0192] 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.

[0193] 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.

[0194] 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.

[0195] Although various embodiments have been described in terms of communication systems, it is contemplated that the systems may be implemented in software on microprocessors / generalpurpose computers (not shown). In certain embodiments, one or more of the functions of the various components may be implemented in software that controls a general-purpose computer.

[0196] In addition, although some example embodiments are illustrated and described herein, the invention is not intended to just be limited to the details shown. Rather, various modifications and variations may be made in the details within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims and without departing from the spirit or scope invention.

[0197] ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS

[0198] 5GC 5G Core Network

[0199] 5GS 5G System

[0200] NEF Network Exposure Function

[0201] AMF Access and Mobility Management Function

[0202] AUSF Authentication Server Function

[0203] CP Control Plane

[0204] DL Downlink

[0205] DN Data Network

[0206] DNN Data Network Name

[0207] MBS Multicast / Broadcast Service

[0208] NEF Network Exposure Function

[0209] NF Network Function

[0210] PCF Policy Control Function

[0211] (R)AN (Radio) Access Network

[0212] SMF Session Management Function

[0213] TA Tracking Area

[0214] UDM Unified Data Management

[0215] UL Uplink

[0216] UPF User Plane Function

[0217] N3GPP Non-3GPPP

[0218] UE User Equipment

[0219] BS Base Station.

Claims

CLAIMSWhat is claimed is:

1. A first wireless transmit / receive unit (WTRU), comprising: circuitry including, any of a processor, memory, transmitter and receiver, the circuitry configured to: receive configuration information indicating parameters associated with performing an integrated sensing operation, wherein the parameters are per sensing service, sensing service level and / or associated sensing mechanisms; based on a sensing service associated with an area in proximity of the first WTRU being triggered, determine at least one sensing entity that supports the sensing service, the sensing service level and / or the associated sensing mechanisms; select one or more candidate sensing entities from the at least one sensing entity for the sensing service, the sensing service level and / or the associated sensing mechanisms; and send a sensing service request indicating the selected one or more candidate sensing entities.

2. The WTRU of claim 1, wherein the at least one sensing entity comprises any of: one or more second WTRUs and one or more base stations.

3. The WTRU of any of claims 1 and 2, wherein one or more integrated sensing mechanisms are associated with the sensing service or the sensing service level.

4. The WTRU of any of claims 1-3, wherein the first WTRU is authorized as a transmitter or receiver for handling sensing per sensing mechanism that is associated with the sensing service, and wherein the configuration information indicates configuration for each sensing mechanism.

5. The WTRU of any of claims 1-4, wherein the sensing service level is differentiated per different quality of service requirements or per different service area.

6. The WTRU of any of claims 1-5, wherein, on condition that the first WTRU is capable of proximity service and authorized for the proximity service, the circuitry is configured to receive one or more service codes associated with the sensing operation, wherein the service codes are assigned per sensing service.

7. The WTRU of any of claims 1-6, wherein the at least one sensing entity that supports any of the sensing service, the sensing service level and the associated sensing mechanisms is determined based on the one or more service codes.

8. The WTRU of any of claims 1-7, wherein the one or more candidate sensing entities are selected based on any of: channel quality, relative transmission delay estimated, or per supported sensing service or supported sensing service level.

9. The WTRU of any of claims 1-8, wherein the sensing service request is sent to an access and mobility management function (AMF) in a non-access stratum (NAS) message for sensing, and wherein the sensing service request indicates any of the requested sensing service, requested service area and a location of the first WTRU.

10. A method, implemented in a first wireless transmit / receive unit (WTRU), the method comprising: receiving configuration information indicating parameters associated with performing an integrated sensing operation, wherein the parameters are per sensing service, sensing service level and / or associated sensing mechanisms; based on a sensing service associated with an area in proximity of the first WTRU being triggered, determining at least one sensing entity that supports the sensing service, the sensing service level and / or the associated sensing mechanisms; selecting one or more candidate sensing entities from the at least one sensing entity for the sensing service, the sensing service level and / or the associated sensing mechanisms; and sending a sensing service request indicating the selected one or more candidate sensing entities.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the at least one sensing entity comprises any of: one or more second WTRUs and one or more base stations.

12. The method of any of claims 10 and 11, wherein one or more integrated sensing mechanisms are associated with the sensing service or the sensing service level.

13. The method of any of claims 10-12, wherein the first WTRU is authorized as a transmitter or receiver for handling sensing per sensing mechanism that is associated with the sensing service, and wherein the configuration information indicates configuration for each sensing mechanism.

14. The method of any of claims 10-13, wherein the sensing service level is differentiated per different quality of service requirements or per different service area.

15. The method of any of claims 10-14, wherein, on condition that the first WTRU is capable of proximity service and authorized for the proximity service, the method comprises receiving one or more service codes associated with the sensing operation, wherein the service codes are assigned per sensing service.

16. The method of any of claims 10-15, wherein the at least one sensing entity that supports any of the sensing service, the sensing service level and the associated sensing mechanisms is determined based on the one or more service codes.

17. The method of any of claims 10-16, wherein selecting the one or more candidate sensing entities comprises selecting the one or more candidate sensing entities based on any of: channel quality, relative transmission delay estimated, or per supported sensing service or supported sensing service level.

18. The method of any of claims 10-17, wherein sending the sensing service request comprises sending the sensing service request to an access and mobility management Function (AMF) in a non-access stratum (NAS) message for sensing, and wherein the sensing service request indicates any of the requested sensing service, requested service area and a location of the first WTRU.

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