Adaptive communication device parameter selection for sensing reference signal

Abstract

A communication device can determine a suggested parameter for a sensing reference signal to be transmitted by a transmitter The communication device can further provide an indication of the suggested parameter to a controller configured to select a parameter for the sensing reference signal.

Description

ADAPTIVE COMMUNICATION DEVICE PARAMETER SELECTION FOR SENSING REFERENCE SIGNALTECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present disclosure is related to communication systems, entities, network node, and host and more particularly to adaptive communication device parameter selection for sensing reference signals.BACKGROUND

[0002] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a new radio (“NR”) network (e.g., a 5th Generation (“5G”) network) including a 5G core (“5GC”) network 130, network nodes 120a-b (e.g., 5G base station (“gNB”)), multiple communication devices 110 (also referred to as user equipment (“UE”)).

[0003] Joint Communication and Sensing (“JCAS”) and Integrated Sensing and Communication (“ISAC”) are emerging as a promising use case in future wireless cellular communications such as sixth generation (“6G”). The principal idea of JCAS is to use cellular communication nodes (e.g., base stations or UEs) to sense an environment by either using communication-specific signals or dedicated sensing signals. JCAS can further allow information such as location, shape, and / or speed of objects in the environment to be provided to one or more of the cellular communication nodes. In some examples, sensing using cellular communication systems can be used for traffic monitoring, drone detection, gesture and motion detection, presence detection of objects or persons, vital sign detection, environment mapping, or particle and pollution detection.SUMMARY

[0004] According to some embodiments, a method of operating a communication device is provided. The method includes determining a suggested parameter for a sensing reference signal to be transmitted by a transmitter. The method further includes providing an indication of the suggested parameter to a controller configured to select a parameter for the sensing reference signal.

[0005] According to other embodiments, a method of operating a controller configured to select a parameter for a sensing reference signal is provided. The method includes receiving an indication of a suggested parameter for the sensing reference signal from a communication device. The method further includes selecting the parameter for the sensing reference signal based on the suggested parameter. The method further includes providing an indication of the parameter to a transmitter of the sensing reference signal.

[0006] According to other embodiments, a communication device, a network node, a computer program, a computer program product, a host, a system, or a non-transitory computer- readable medium is provided to perform one of the above methods.

[0007] Certain aspects of these embodiments may provide technical advantages. In some embodiments, adaptively selecting sensing reference signals improves a signal to noise ratio (“SNR”) in the delay — Doppler profile, because windowing will be done as part of the transmission in the reference signal and its matched filter. An increased SNR can allow for the detection of weaker signals, which increases the sensing range of the system. This can also allow for a two / multi-step approach: a first step where windowing is used (e.g., good sidelobe suppression with lower resolution can allow weak targets to be detected at reduced resolution) and a second step (potentially after canceling strong targets detected in the first phase) with higher resolution (no or reduced windowing enabling less suppression but better resolution). The other way around (e.g., where a non-windowed sensing signal is transmitted first) can also be possible.

[0008] In additional or alternative embodiments, adaptively choosing other reference signal parameters can ensure that only the required resources are used at any point in time, which potentially saves transmit power and resources that can be used for data instead.

[0009] In additional or alternative embodiments, since the UE often has a better understanding of the sensing needs, it can make a more well-informed decision or proposal regarding the sensing signal parameters.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the disclosure and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this application, illustrate certain non-limiting embodiments of inventive concepts. In the drawings:

[0011] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a 5thgeneration (“5G”) network;

[0012] FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a matched filter bank of a known transmit pulse p(t);

[0013] FIGS. 3-5 are schematic diagrams illustrating an example of a monostatic radar system;

[0014] FIGS. 6-8 are schematic diagrams illustrating an example of a bi-static radar system;

[0015] FIG. 9 is a graph illustrating an example of a pulse train used to determine Doppler- induced frequency shift from a moving target;

[0016] FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a sensing system that includes a controller in accordance with some embodiments;

[0017] FIG. 11 is a flow chart illustrating an example of operations performed by a communication device in accordance with some embodiments;

[0018] FIG. 12 is a flow chart illustrating an example of operations performed by a communication device that includes a controller in accordance with some embodiments;

[0019] FIG. 13 is a flow chart illustrating an example of operations performed by a controller in accordance with some embodiments;

[0020] FIG. 14 is a block diagram of a communication system in accordance with some embodiments;

[0021] FIG. 15 is a block diagram of a user equipment in accordance with some embodiments;

[0022] FIG. 16 is a block diagram of a network node in accordance with some embodiments;

[0023] FIG. 17 is a block diagram of a host, which may be an embodiment of the host of FIG. 14, in accordance with some embodiments;

[0024] FIG. 18 is a block diagram of a virtualization environment in accordance with some embodiments; and

[0025] FIG. 19 shows a communication diagram of a host communicating via a network node with a user equipment over a partially wireless connection in accordance with some embodiments.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0026] Some of the embodiments contemplated herein will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. Embodiments are provided by way of example to convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art, in which examples of embodiments of inventive concepts are shown. Inventive concepts may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of present inventive concepts to those skilled in the art. It should also be noted that these embodiments are not mutually exclusive. Components from one embodiment may be tacitly assumed to be present / used in another embodiment.

[0027] Sensing can be done either using a single node (e.g., a transmitter and a receiver are co-located (monostatic)) or using multiple nodes (e.g., a transmitter and a receiver are in different locations (bi-static or multi static)).

[0028] Radar processing can be performed by letting the transmitter send a known signal and processing the received signal in a filter bank, where each filter is matched to a delayed and frequency shifted version of the known transmit signal. The delay and frequency shift of the matched filter that outputs the largest value can be considered the delay and frequency shift estimates of the radar processing. FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a matched filter bank for a known transmit pulse p(t). The estimate is given by the index to the filter bank whose output has the largest absolute value.

[0029] The performance of this radar processing can be limited by the shape of the known transmit signal. In particular, the bandwidth of the transmit signal can affect the expected accuracy of the range estimate and, correspondingly, the time duration affects the frequency shift estimate.

[0030] Another property that affects the performance of the radar, is the sidelobe levels of the known transmit signal. When multiple objects are estimated, the secondary peaks in the matched filter bank output constitute estimates. These secondary peaks might be much smaller than the main peak, depending on the path loss associated with the signal path of the secondary objects. If the secondary peaks are smaller than the sidelobes of the main peak, they might be missed and the estimation fails. One way to reduce the sidelobe levels is to window the signal - an operation where the frequency-domain signal is multiplied with a kernel that smoothly varies over frequency in such a way that the sidelobes of the original signal are reduced. However, the reduction of sidelobes can widen the mainlobe.

[0031] FIGS. 3-5 illustrate an example of self-interference in a monostatic full-duplex based radar system 300. In a monostatic radar, transmitter and receiver nodes are collocated (e.g., in a single node). Accordingly, FIG. 3 illustrates a monostatic radar 310 that includes a transmitter 312 and a receiver 318. The transmitter 312 can transmit a transmission 314 (e.g., a waveform) that forms a reflection 316 when it is reflected by a target object 320 (e.g., an object in the environment). The reflection 316 can be received by the receiver 318 and processed (e.g., by the receiver 318, by processing circuitry in the monostatic radar 310, or by another entity connected to the monostatic radar 310) to obtain information about the environment and target object 320. An amount of time between the transmitter 312 transmitting the transmission 314 and the receiver 318 receiving the reflection 316 can be referred to as a round-trip time 340 (or more broadly a time of flight (“ToF”)).

[0032] A radar pulse that spans one or multiple orthogonal frequency division multiplexed (“OFDM”) symbols can allow an easy integration of radar into the communication system. For example, for NR 30 kHz numerology, the OFDM symbol duration (including cyclic prefix) is approximately 36 ps. A radar pulse spanning a single OFDM symbol duration would have thesame length. A round trip time of 36 ps corresponds to a single-way distance of 5.4 km. For objects closer than 5.4 km, the echo can arrive while the transmitter still transmits the radar pulse.

[0033] The reflected signal must be received in the presence of strong self-interference (the transmitted signal that leaks into the receiver). A receiver capable of that is often called a full- duplex capable receiver. Full-duplex puts high requirements on the receiver and potentially also on the transmitter (e.g., linearity), especially for high transmit powers where high selfinterference cancellation is required.

[0034] FIGS. 6-8 illustrate an example of a bistatic radar system 600. In a bistatic radar system, a transmitter and a receiver are not collocated (and thus can avoid the problems outlined above for a monostatic radar system). Accordingly, FIG. 6 illustrates an example of a bistatic radar node 610 that includes a transmitter 612 and an example of a bistatic radar node 630 that includes a receiver 638. The transmitter 612 can transmit a transmission 614 (e.g., a waveform) that forms a reflection 616 when it is reflected by a target object 620 (e.g., an object in the environment). The reflection 616 can be received by the receiver 638 and processed (e.g., by the receiver 638, by processing circuitry in one of the bistatic radar nodes 610, 630, or by another entity connected to the monostatic radar node 630) to obtain information about the environment and target object 620. An amount of time between the transmitter 612 transmitting the transmission 614 and the receiver 618 receiving the reflection 616 (via the target object 620) can be referred to as ToF 650.

[0035] Possible target positions for a measured ToF value are located on an ellipsis (or in three-dimensions, an ellipsoid) with focal points given by transmitter and receiver location. The target position can be determined based on transmitter and receiver node location, ToF, and either Angle of Departure (“AoD”) or Angle of Arrival (“AoA”) (one of the angles is needed to determine the target location on the ellipse given by transmitter and receiver location and ToF).

[0036] In order to accurately determine ToF, the transmitter and receiver need to be accurately synchronized in time. This can be a main challenge for bi-static and multistatic radar systems.

[0037] In multistatic radar systems, more than two nodes participate in the radar operation. For example, with one transmitter and three receivers three ellipses can be determined and the target is located where the three ellipses intersect each other. This procedure can require ToF estimates, but angle information may not be needed (though angle information can be used to improve performance).

[0038] In a monostatic radar system, the distance between radar node and target is determined based on the ToF using R = coT / 2 with R being the distance between the radar nodeand the target and T being the time duration between pulse transmission and reception. Two targets that are further apart than the range resolution, Rr (where Rr = co / (2BW), where the radar signal bandwidth is BW ) can still be distinguished as separate objects. It can be seen the range resolution is inverse proportional to the radar signal bandwidth. Similar expressions can be derived for bistatic radar.

[0039] One possibility to determine velocity of a target is to estimate Doppler-induced frequency shift from moving target on the received signal. Knowing the Doppler signature from a target can also help in classifying targets (e.g., a pedestrian has a very particular Doppler profile due to movements of legs and arms and is typically moving slower than a car) or differentiate reflected signals from stationary clutter and moving targets.

[0040] The Doppler-induced frequency shift from a moving target on the received signal can be determined by measuring the phase difference between received pulses of a pulse train. In FIG. 9, a pulse train with pulses occurring every Trepseconds is transmitted. Assuming perfect phase and frequency synchronization between stationary transmitter and receiver and a stationary target, the distance “transmitter — target — receiver” does not change and each received pulse has the same phase shift relative to its transmitted copy, i.e. no phase difference is observed between consecutively received pulses.

[0041] With a moving target, the distance “transmitter — target — receiver” changes over time, which manifests itself in a phase change between consecutively received pulses. This phase change can be determined as A<p = fd- Trep* 2n with fdthe Doppler shift induced by the moving target. The Doppler shift depends on the velocity of the target as well as the direction relative to transmitter and receiver; for example, a target moving with velocity v towards a monostatic radar leads to a Doppler shift of= vc / with c0andcspeed of light and carrier frequency, respectively. For example, a pedestrian moving with v = 1 m / s towards a base station creates a Doppler shift of= 20 Hz at / c= 3 GHz. A local oscillator with accuracy 6 ppb leads to a max frequency error of 18 Hz, similar to the Doppler induced by the pedestrian. As comparison, 3GPP currently requires between 50 and 100 ppb frequency accuracy, depending on base station class. It is obvious that very accurate synchronization between transmitter and receiver is required.

[0042] The example above was for a monostatic radar. In a bi-static or multistatic radar, the incidence and scattered signal paths are not parallel and opposite in direction, since transmitter and receiver are located at different places. The largest possible Doppler observation is therefore smaller given the same movements in the environment. While in monostatic radar, synchronization is easy to achieve since transmitter and receiver are collocated, synchronization represents one of the biggest challenges for bi- and multistatic radar.

[0043] Two quantities related to Doppler estimation are maximum unambiguous velocity vu= — — — and the velocity resolution vr= — — — , with M the number of pulses in the pulse 4 / c^rep 2fcMTrep train. The maximum unambiguous velocity is the highest velocity that can be unambiguously determined (from — vuto vu) and with M pulses this range is divided into M bins of size vr.

[0044] There currently exist certain challenges. Different sensing reference signals have different properties and result in different sensing performance. There is a trade-off between many of these properties. For example, the range resolution of a reference signal could be good, but then the sidelobe level is high. Conversely, the sidelobe level can be low, but the range resolution poor. Other properties include: the peak-to-average-ratio of the signal, its robustness to Doppler shifts and the time duration of the signal. Selecting one fixed reference signal, will not be optimal in all cases a sensing system will encounter.

[0045] Furthermore, windowing of the received signal to reduce sidelobe levels wastes a large fraction of the transmitted power, since many subcarriers and / or symbols are attenuated and do contribute less to the sensing results. While noise is also suppressed by the window, the overall signal-to-noise ratio (“SNR”) is reduced by a windowing operation, since the effect of optimal, coherent combining all useful subcarriers (as is done by a filter matched to the transmitted pulse) is greater than the reduced noise power.

[0046] Transmitting a reference signal, whose modulus across subcarriers and across the multiple pulses is constant, results in a delay — Doppler profile that has a sharp, narrow mainlobe, which can be used to accurately estimate the range and Doppler of the main signal path. The sidelobes around the mainlobe, however, are high and might hide other, weaker signal paths. Commonly such weaker signal paths are estimated by windowing the received signal; an operation that reduces the sidelobe levels such that weaker signals appear. This kind of receiveside windowing, however, has the previously mentioned drawbacks of not using the transmitted power optimally.

[0047] An alternative to receive-side windowing is transmit-side windowing, i.e. applying the window on the transmitted reference signal. The reference signal can be windowed over subcarriers (over frequency) and / or windowed over pulses (over time). The signal power of the transmit signal can be limited in two ways: There might be a total power constraint, where the average power of the signal is constrained, or a maximum power constraint, where the maximum power of all signal samples is constrained. Generally, transmit-side windowing is better if there is a total power constraint and receiver-side windowing is better when there is a maximum power constraint in terms of SNR (resolution and other parameters neglected). In the frequency domain, there might be a total power constraint, and transmit-side windowing over subcarriers is beneficial to SNR. In the time domain, there might be a maximum powerconstraint over pulses, and receive-side windowing over pulses is better. A drawback of transmit-side windowing is that the mainlobe width cannot be adjusted in the radar processing in the receiver, and the mainlobe might be too wide to resolve signal paths that are close in the delay — Doppler domain.

[0048] Various embodiments herein describe a JCAS system, where there is a controller that decides on the type of reference signal that the transmitter broadcasts to a receiver. The controller can be an independent entity or collocated with a transmitter and / or a receiver.

[0049] In some embodiments, the controller will decide on the type of windowing that the transmitter should apply to the reference signal. For example, the controller can start the sensing with a transmit-side windowed reference signal that lets the receiver sense both strong and weak signal paths. Then, if needed, the controller can request the transmitter to transmit an unwindowed reference signal, so that the receiver can use the resulting narrower mainlobe to resolve signals close to each other in the delay — Doppler plane.

[0050] In some examples, the type of windowing that the transmitter should apply includes at least one of a type of windowing to be applied in a frequency domain and a type of windowing to be applied in a slow time-domain.

[0051] In additional or alternative embodiments, the controller can control other parameters of the reference signal, such as bandwidth, which subcarriers to use, a time between transmission of each pulse, a pulse repetition frequency, a number of pulses, a sequence type, or a symbol number used for transmitting the reference signal.

[0052] In additional or alternative embodiments, depending on where the controller is located and also on the sensing mode, different kind of signaling can be used to exchange windowing parameters between transmitter and receivers.

[0053] In additional or alternative embodiments, a sensing transmitter or receiver actively decides what reference signal to use based on the given situation, channel conditions and use case. This adaptive reference signal can allow the sensing system to always use the best possible reference signal and improve sensing performance.

[0054] In additional or alternative embodiments, the UE is the one proposing or determining (parts of) the reference signal parameters. In some examples, the UE includes the controller. Since the UE may be the consumer of the sensing and / or be close to the area that should be sensed, it can be beneficial if the UE determines or proposes sensing reference signal configuration. The determination of the sensing reference signal configuration can happen internally in the UE and may not be a part of any standard.

[0055] Having a controller in the JCAS system that adaptively selects sensing reference signals can significantly increase SNR when windowing is necessary to sense weak signalswhile, at the same time, allow for sensing based on unwindowed reference signals with narrow mainlobes.

[0056] The proposed controller can enable on-demand transmit-side windowing to boost SNR of the sensing statistics. Transmit-side windowing in slow time can suppress sidelobes in Doppler-domain and transmit-side windowing in frequency domain can improve sensing range. When the receiver is not aware of transmit-side windowing, SNR suffers. Such a controller can also handle other parameters related to the sensing signal, for example used subcarriers and pulse repetition period.

[0057] Depending on the sensing mode, different kinds of control signaling can exchange windowing parameters between transmitter and receiver.

[0058] Often the object, target, and / or environment that is sensed is close to the UE, or the UE is the consumer of the sensing results, so the UE has the best understanding of what is needed for the sensing. Therefore, the UE can be better suited to make decisions on or proposals about sensing signal parameters, for that reason the controller can be part of the UE. In some examples, the determination of the sensing reference signal configuration happens internally to the UE and is not part of any standard.

[0059] FIG. 10 illustrates an example of a sensing system 1000 that includes a sensing reference signal generator 1010, a radar processing circuitry 1030, and a controller 1050. The sensing reference signal generator 1010 (sometimes referred to as the transmitter) generates (and transmits) sensing reference signals according to the configuration provided by the controller 1050 that bases its decisions on the needs of the radar processing circuitry 1030 (sometimes referred to as the receiver). Although the controller is illustrated in FIG. 10 as a separate node it could be part of the transmitter or the receiver.

[0060] In some embodiments, the controller decides what sensing reference signal is used to optimize the sensing performance. In some examples, the controller requests an un-windowed reference signal to be used first. When the radar processing circuitry has concluded that no significant peaks are close to each other, the controller can change the request to a windowed reference signal to improve signal -to-interference-plus-noise ratio (“SINR”).

[0061] In additional or alternative embodiments, the UE includes the controller that decides what sensing reference signal is used to optimize the sensing performance. The UE can be in a better position to adapt, determine, or propose the sensing signal parameters than other nodes (such as a base station).

[0062] For example, another application in the UE is interested to accurately measure the distance to a wall. Given this end-goal, the controller decides to use a unwindowed sensing signal to get the best possible range resolution. Another application might be interested to trackthe number of people on a football field. Given this other end-goal, the controller decides to use a windowed signal to get a better possibility to distinguish individual echoes.

[0063] The controller could for example request an un-windowed reference signal to be used first. The controller can consider information from the radar processing when deciding on the sensing signal parameters. For example, when the radar processing has concluded that no significant peaks are close to each other, the controller can change the request to a windowed reference signal to improve SINR.

[0064] In additional or alternative embodiments, the controller requests a windowed sensing reference signal to optimize SINR and then the controller follows up with a request for an unwindowed reference signal with improved delay and / or Doppler resolution. Joint processing of the two observations (windowed and unwindowed) can be used to improve overall sensing performance. In some examples, the main path detected in the first run (windowed reference signal) can be used to improve sensing with the second reference signal (unwindowed reference signal) (e.g., in a cancellation-based receiver to remove / suppress main path).

[0065] The decision whether to apply windowing and also the choice of parameters and which window to apply in the frequency-domain and the slow time-domain can be done for each domain independently, e.g. no window might be applied in slow time-domain but a window might be applied in frequency-domain (this setup could, for example, be useful when not much information content is expected in Doppler domain). Even if windowing is applied in both domains, its parameters and type can be different, matched to the characteristics needed in each domain.

[0066] Other scenarios could be imagined, where the controller needs to request an increased number of pulses to resolve small differences in Doppler shift for example.

[0067] Depending on where the controller is located and also on the sensing mode, different kinds of signaling are used to exchange window parameters between transmitter and receivers.

[0068] In some embodiments, the sensing is performed between base stations (e.g., one base station includes a transmitter and another base station includes a receiver). In some examples, the controller is located within one of the base stations and proprietary or standardized signaling between the base stations can be used (e.g., the Xn interface). Standardized signaling allows sensing operations between base stations from different vendors. In additional or alternative examples, the controller is not part of either base station (e.g., not collocated with the transmitter or the receiver), and the controller can inform the transmitter and / or the receiver separately about windowing parameters.

[0069] In additional or alternative embodiments, the sensing is performed between UEs or between a base station and a UE. In some examples, the over-the-air control signaling (L1 / L2control signaling, MAC CE signaling, or RRC signaling) can be used to exchange windowing parameters. This might also include a capability exchange phase between transmitter and receiver, to make sure both nodes support the same capabilities with respect to windowing. If the receiver proposes windowing, it could be either that the transmitter follows the proposal, or it is still up to the transmitter to decide the windowing parameters. In the first case, the control signaling that schedules the sensing transmission may not need to include the windowing parameters (the receiver proposed them and is aware of them) while, in the latter case, the scheduling command must include the windowing parameters (if the transmitter follows the recommendation from the receiver, it would be possible to only include a confirmation that the transmitter uses the receiver recommendation).

[0070] In additional or alternative examples, the base station determines / proposes the windowing (either as transmitter or receiver). If the controller is a separate node, proprietary or standardized signaling between the controller and the base station may be used to inform the base station about windowing parameters. Standardized over-the-air signaling can be used to inform the UE about windowing parameters.

[0071] In additional or alternative examples, the UE determines / proposes the windowing (either as transmitter or receiver). The controller can be integrated into the UE.

[0072] In some embodiments, since the UE determines / proposes the windowing (either as transmitter or receiver), the controller node can be integrated into the UE.

[0073] In some examples, when sensing between UEs or base station and UE, the air interface control signaling (L1 / L2 control signaling, MAC CE signaling, RRC signaling) can be used to exchange windowing parameters. This might also include a capability exchange phase between transmitter and receiver, to make sure both nodes support the same capabilities with respect to windowing. If the receiver proposes windowing, it could be either that the transmitter follows the proposal, or it is still up to the transmitter to decide the windowing parameters. In the first case, the control signaling that schedules the sensing transmission may not need to contain the windowing parameters (the receiver proposed them and is aware of them) while, in the latter case, the scheduling command must include the windowing parameters (if the transmitter follows the recommendation from the receiver, it would be possible to only include a confirmation that the transmitter uses the receiver recommendation).

[0074] SNR Comparison between baseline and transmit-side windowing is described below. If the baseline system transmits a reference signal given by: x[p,q] = s[p,q],where p is the OFDM symbol index and q is the subcarrier index, the receiver produces a windowed delay — Doppler profile by multiplying the received signal y[p,q] with the conjugate of the transmitted signal times a window function: r[p,q] = y [p,q] s*[p,q] w[p,q],

[0075] In some examples, it can be assumed that the received signal is given by y[p,q] = b[p,q] x[p,q] + n[p,q], and the delay — Doppler profile becomes: r[p,q] = b[p,q]|s[p,q]|2w[p,q] + n[p,q] s*[p,q] w[p,q],

[0076] The same delay — Doppler profile can be produced by transmit-side widowing instead, where the transmit signal instead is chosen as: x[p,q] = a s[p,q] sqrt(w[p,q]),

[0077] where a is a scale factor that is applied to make the transmit power the same as for the baseline system: a = sum|s[p,q]|2 / sum|s[p,q]|2|w[p,q]|.

[0078] At the receiver, the received signal is correlated with the conjugate of the transmitted signal to produce a delay — Doppler profile: r[p,q] = y[p,q] s*[p,q] sqrt(w[p,q]), which is equal to: r[p,q] = b[p,q]|s[p,q]|2w[p,q] + n[p,q] s*[p,q] sqrt(w[p,q]).

[0079] To analyze the SNR, it can be assumed that the channel has modulus one |b[p,q]| = 1 (this would be the case, for example, when there is only one tap in the channel), and that the noise variance is G2. The signal energy E and the noise variance N in the two cases are then:Baseline:E = sum | |s[p,q]|2w[p,q] |2,N = G2sum | s[p,q] w[p,q] |2.Transmit-side windowed reference signal:E = a2sum | |s[p,q]|2w[p,q] |2,N = G2sum | s[p,q] |2w[p,q],

[0080] The SNR of the two cases is thus given by:Baseline:SNRi = 1 / o2* sum | | s[p,q] |2w[p,q] |2 / sum | s[p,q] w[p,q] |2Transmit-side windowed reference signal:SNR2 = a2 / G2* sum | | s[p,q] |2w[p,q] |2 / sum |s[p,q]|2w[p,q]

[0081] The ratio between the two SNRs is thus:SNRi / SNR2 = 1 / a2sum |s[p,q]|2w[p,q] / sum | s[p,q] w[p,q]|2

[0082] To evaluate this, it can be assumed that the reference signal is all one: s[p,q] = 1.The ratio then simplifies into:SNRi / SNR2 = 1 / a2sum w[p,q] / sum |w[p,q]|2.

[0083] The scaling factor a also simplifies into: a = QP / sum|w[p,q]|, and the SNR ratio becomes:SNRi / SNR2 = 1 / (Q2P2) (sum w[p,q])3 / sum(w[p,q])2

[0084] In a system with Q = 1024 subcarriers and P = 100 OFDM symbols, if w[p,q] is chosen as the product of a frequency window and a time window, and Q-point and P-point Blackman window are chosen as w[p,q] = Blackman[p] * Blackman[q], then the ratio is:SNRi / SNR2 = -12dB.

[0085] If windowing is only performed in the frequency domain, for example, the window is chosen as w[p,q] = Blackman[q], then the ratio is:SNRi / SNR2 = -6dB.

[0086] Doing transmit-side windowing thus improves the SNR by 12 if time-domain windowing is applied or by 6dB if only frequency-domain windowing is applied. The figures will be different for other window choices and other OFDM parameters and are only ballpark values.

[0087] In some embodiments, use of the proposed controller is specified in a future standard, where sensing is treated, to accommodate for the reference signal choice mechanism suggested here.

[0088] In additional or alternative embodiments, there is novelty in the adaptive use of transmit-side windowing to control sensing resolution on one hand and SNR on the other hand. If the sensing is between a BS and a UE, standardized over-the-air control signaling will be used to exchange window parameters. If sensing is done between BSs, a controller node (could be a third node or collocated with any of the BSs) would inform transmit and receive BS via (proprietary) signaling about windowing parameters.

[0089] A function that distributes the sensing reference signal parameters upon request can be standardized. The logic, or how it is used, however, can be proprietary. If sensing is done between BSs, a Sensing Managing Network Function (which controls the sensing) can set the windowing parameters. If sensing is done between UE and BS, either TX or RX can select the window parameters and communicates it to the other end.

[0090] Operations of the communication device 1500 (implemented using the structure of FIG. 15) will now be discussed with reference to the flow charts of FIGS. 11-12 according to some embodiments of inventive concepts. For example, modules may be stored in memory1510 of FIG. 15, and these modules may provide instructions so that when the instructions of a module are executed by respective communication device processing circuitry 1502, communication device 1500 performs respective operations of the flow charts.

[0091] FIG. 11 illustrates an example of operations performed by a communication device in accordance with some embodiments.

[0092] At block 1110, processing circuitry 1502 determines a first suggested parameter for a first sensing reference signal to be transmitted by a transmitter. In some embodiments, determining the suggested parameter includes determining the suggested parameter based on information. In some examples, the information includes a proximity of the communication device to a target of the sensing reference signal. In additional or alternative examples, the information includes information associated with the target of the sensing reference signal. In additional or alternative examples, the information includes information associated with an environment that includes the target of the sensing reference signal. In additional or alternative examples, the information includes the communication device being a consumer of a sensing result associated with the sensing reference signal. In additional or alternative examples, the information includes an intended use of the sensing result by the communication device. In additional or alternative examples, the information includes a capability of the communication device.

[0093] In additional or alternative embodiments, the suggested parameter for the sensing reference signal includes a type of windowing to be used for transmitting the sensing reference signal. In some examples, the type of windowing to be used for transmitting the sensing reference signal includes at least one of: a type of windowing to be applied in a frequency domain; and a type of windowing to be applied in a slow time-domain.

[0094] In additional or alternative embodiments, the suggested parameter for the sensing reference signal includes at least one of: a bandwidth to be used for transmitting the sensing reference signal; a set of subcarriers to be used for transmitting the sensing reference signal; a time between transmission of each pulse used for transmitting the sensing reference signal; a pulse repetition frequency to be used for transmitting the sensing reference signal; a number of pulses to be used for transmitting the sensing reference signal; a sequency type to be used for transmitting the sensing reference signal; and a symbol number used for transmitting the sensing reference signal.

[0095] At block 1120, processing circuitry 1502 provides an indication of the first suggested parameter to a controller configured to select a parameter for the first sensing reference signal. In some embodiments, the controller is separate from the communication device. Providing the indication of the suggested parameter can include transmitting anindication of the suggested parameter to the controller. In some examples, transmitting the indication of the suggested parameter includes transmitting instructions to select the suggested parameter as the parameter for the sensing reference signal.

[0096] In additional or alternative embodiments, determining the suggested parameter includes determining the suggested parameter based on information and transmitting the indication of the suggested parameter to the controller includes transmitting an indication of the information.

[0097] In additional or alternative embodiments, the communication device includes the controller. FIG. 12 illustrates an example of operations performed by a communication device that includes a controller in accordance with some embodiments. At block 1230, processing circuitry 1502 selects the suggested parameter as the parameter for the sensing reference signal. At block 1240, processing circuitry 1502 transmits, via communication interface 1512, an indication of the parameter to the transmitter of the sensing reference signal. In this example, the transmitter is separate from the communication device. In other examples, the communication device includes the transmitter of the sensing reference signal. At block 1250, processing circuitry 1502 transmits, via communication interface 1512, an indication of the parameter to the receiver of the sensing reference signal. In this example, the receiver is separate from the communication device. In other examples, the communication device includes the receiver of the sensing reference signal.

[0098] Returning to FIG. 11, at block 1160, processing circuitry 1502 determines a sensing result associated with the first sensing reference signal being transmitted.

[0099] At block 1170, processing circuitry 1502 determines a second suggested parameter for a second sensing reference signal to be transmitted by the transmitter based on the sensing result.

[0100] At block 1180, processing circuitry 1502 provides an indication of the second suggested parameter to the controller.

[0101] Various operations from the flow charts of FIGS. 11-12 may be optional with respect to some embodiments of communication devices and related methods.

[0102] Operations of the network node 1600 (implemented using the structure of FIG. 16) will now be discussed with reference to the flow charts of FIG. 13 according to some embodiments of inventive concepts. For example, modules may be stored in memory 1604 of FIG. 16, and these modules may provide instructions so that when the instructions of a module are executed by respective network node processing circuitry 1602, network node 1600 performs respective operations of the flow chart.

[0103] FIG. 13 illustrates an example of operations performed by a controller to select a parameter for a sensing reference signal.

[0104] At block 1310, processing circuitry 1602 receives, via communication interface 1606, an indication of a suggested parameter for the sensing reference signal from a communication device. In some embodiments, the suggested parameter for the sensing reference signal includes a type of windowing to be used for transmitting the sensing reference signal. In some examples, the type of windowing to be used for transmitting the sensing reference signal includes at least one of: a type of windowing to be applied in a frequency domain; and a type of windowing to be applied in a slow time-domain.

[0105] In additional or alternative embodiments, the suggested parameter for the sensing reference signal includes at least one of: a bandwidth to be used for transmitting the sensing reference signal; a set of subcarriers to be used for transmitting the sensing reference signal; a time between transmission of each pulse used for transmitting the sensing reference signal; a pulse repetition frequency to be used for transmitting the sensing reference signal; a number of pulses to be used for transmitting the sensing reference signal; a sequence type to be used for transmitting the sensing reference signal; and a symbol number used for transmitting the sensing reference signal.

[0106] At block 1320, processing circuitry 1602 selects the parameter for the sensing reference signal based on the suggested parameter. In some embodiments, receiving the indication of the suggested parameter includes receiving an indication of information used by the communication device to determine the suggested parameter. Selecting the parameter for the sensing reference signal can include selecting the parameter for the sensing reference signal based on the information.

[0107] In some examples, the information includes at least one of: a proximity of the communication device to a target of the sensing reference signal; information associated with the target of the sensing reference signal; information associated with an environment that includes the target of the sensing reference signal; the communication device being a consumer of a sensing result associated with the sensing reference signal; an intended use of the sensing result by the communication device; and a capability of the communication device .

[0108] At block 1330, processing circuitry 1602 provides an indication of the parameter to a transmitter of the sensing reference signal.

[0109] Although the operations of FIG. 13 are described as being performed by a network node, the operations may be performed by any suitable network entity including a communication device 1500.

[0110] Various operations from the flow chart of FIG. 13 may be optional with respect to some embodiments of controllers and related methods.

[0111] FIG. 14 shows an example of a communication system 1400 in accordance with some embodiments.

[0112] In the example, the communication system 1400 includes a telecommunication network 1402 that includes an access network 1404, such as a radio access network (RAN), and a core network 1406, which includes one or more core network nodes 1408. The access network 1404 includes one or more access network nodes, such as network nodes 1410a and 1410b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as network nodes 1410), or any other similar 3rdGeneration Partnership Project (3GPP) access node or non-3GPP access point. Moreover, as will be appreciated by those of skill in the art, the network nodes 1410 are not necessarily limited to an implementation in which a radio portion and a baseband portion are supplied and integrated by a single vendor. Thus, it will be understood that the network nodes 1410 may include disaggregated implementations or portions thereof. For example, in some embodiments, the telecommunication network 1402 includes one or more Open-RAN (ORAN) network nodes. An ORAN network node is a node in the telecommunication network 1402 that supports an ORAN specification (e.g., a specification published by the O-RAN Alliance, or any similar organization) and may operate alone or together with other nodes to implement one or more functionalities of any node in the telecommunication network 1402, including one or more network nodes 1410 and / or core network nodes 1408.

[0113] Examples of an ORAN network node include an open radio unit (O-RU), an open distributed unit (O-DU), an open central unit (O-CU), including an O-CU control plane (O-CU- CP) or an O-CU user plane (O-CU-UP), a RAN intelligent controller (near-real time or non-real time) hosting software or software plug-ins, such as a near-real time RAN control application (e.g., xApp) or a non-real time RAN automation application (e.g., rApp), or any combination thereof (the adjective “open” designating support of an ORAN specification). The network node may support a specification by, for example, supporting an interface defined by the ORAN specification, such as an Al, Fl, Wl, El, E2, X2, Xn interface, an open fronthaul user plane interface, or an open fronthaul management plane interface. Intents and content-aware notifications described herein may be communicated from a 3 GPP network node or an ORAN network node over 3GPP-defined interfaces (e.g., N2, N3) and / or ORAN Alliance-defined interfaces (e.g., Al, 01). Moreover, an ORAN network node may be a logical node in a physical node. Furthermore, an ORAN network node may be implemented in a virtualization environment (described further below) in which one or more network functions are virtualized. For example, the virtualization environment may include an O-Cloud computing platformorchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an 0-2 interface defined by the 0-RAN Alliance. The network nodes 1410 facilitate direct or indirect connection of user equipment (UE), such as by connecting wireless devices 1412a, 1412b, 1412c, and 1412d (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UEs 1412) to the core network 1406 over one or more wireless connections. The network nodes 1410 facilitate direct or indirect connection of user equipment (UE), such as by connecting UEs 1412a, 1412b, 1412c, and 1412d (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UEs 1412) to the core network 1406 over one or more wireless connections.

[0114] Example wireless communications over a wireless connection include transmitting and / or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and / or other types of signals suitable for conveying information without the use of wires, cables, or other material conductors. Moreover, in different embodiments, the communication system 1400 may include any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, UEs, and / or any other components or systems that may facilitate or participate in the communication of data and / or signals whether via wired or wireless connections. The communication system 1400 may include and / or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and / or other similar type of system.

[0115] The UEs 1412 may be any of a wide variety of communication devices, including wireless devices arranged, configured, and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with the network nodes 1410 and other communication devices. Similarly, the network nodes 1410 are arranged, capable, configured, and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with the Ues 1412 and / or with other network nodes or equipment in the telecommunication network 1402 to enable and / or provide network access, such as wireless network access, and / or to perform other functions, such as administration in the telecommunication network 1402.

[0116] In the depicted example, the core network 1406 connects the network nodes 1410 to one or more hosts, such as host 1416. These connections may be direct or indirect via one or more intermediary networks or devices. In other examples, network nodes may be directly coupled to hosts. The core network 1406 includes one more core network nodes (e.g., core network node 1408) that are structured with hardware and software components. Features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the UEs, network nodes, and / or hosts, such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of the core network node 1408. Example core network nodes include functions of one or more of a Mobile Switching Center (MSC), Mobility Management Entity (MME), Home Subscriber Server (HSS), Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), Session Management Function (SMF), Authentication Server Function (AUSF), SubscriptionIdentifier De-concealing function (SIDF), Unified Data Management (UDM), Security Edge Protection Proxy (SEPP), Network Exposure Function (NEF), and / or a User Plane Function (UPF).

[0117] The host 1416 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider other than an operator or provider of the access network 1404 and / or the telecommunication network 1402, and may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider. The host 1416 may host a variety of applications to provide one or more service. Examples of such applications include live and pre-recorded audio / video content, data collection services such as retrieving and compiling data on various ambient conditions detected by a plurality of UEs, analytics functionality, social media, functions for controlling or otherwise interacting with remote devices, functions for an alarm and surveillance center, or any other such function performed by a server.

[0118] As a whole, the communication system 1400 of FIG. 14 enables connectivity between the UEs, network nodes, and hosts. In that sense, the communication system may be configured to operate according to predefined rules or procedures, such as specific standards that include, but are not limited to: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM); Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); Long Term Evolution (LTE), and / or other suitable 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G standards, or any applicable future generation standard (e.g., 6G); wireless local area network (WLAN) standards, such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standards (WiFi); and / or any other appropriate wireless communication standard, such as the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Bluetooth, Z-Wave, Near Field Communication (NFC) ZigBee, LiFi, and / or any low- power wide-area network (LPWAN) standards such as LoRa and Sigfox.

[0119] In some examples, the telecommunication network 1402 is a cellular network that implements 3 GPP standardized features. Accordingly, the telecommunications network 1402 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices that are connected to the telecommunication network 1402. For example, the telecommunications network 1402 may provide Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC) services to some Ues, while providing Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) services to other UEs, and / or Massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC)ZMassive loT services to yet further Ues.

[0120] In some examples, the UEs 1412 are configured to transmit and / or receive information without direct human interaction. For instance, a UE may be designed to transmit information to the access network 1404 on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the access network 1404. Additionally, a UE may be configured for operating in single- or multi -RAT or multi -standard mode. Forexample, a UE may operate with any one or combination of Wi-Fi, NR (New Radio) and LTE, i.e. being configured for multi -radio dual connectivity (MR-DC), such as E-UTRAN (Evolved- UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network) New Radio - Dual Connectivity (EN-DC).

[0121] In the example, the hub 1414 communicates with the access network 1404 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UE 1412c and / or 1412d) and network nodes (e.g., network node 1410b). In some examples, the hub 1414 may be a controller, router, content source and analytics, or any of the other communication devices described herein regarding UEs. For example, the hub 1414 may be a broadband router enabling access to the core network 1406 for the UEs. As another example, the hub 1414 may be a controller that sends commands or instructions to one or more actuators in the UEs. Commands or instructions may be received from the UEs, network nodes 1410, or by executable code, script, process, or other instructions in the hub 1414. As another example, the hub 1414 may be a data collector that acts as temporary storage for UE data and, in some embodiments, may perform analysis or other processing of the data. As another example, the hub 1414 may be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a VR headset, display, loudspeaker or other media delivery device, the hub 1414 may retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via a network node, which the hub 1414 then provides to the UE either directly, after performing local processing, and / or after adding additional local content. In still another example, the hub 1414 acts as a proxy server or orchestrator for the UEs, in particular in if one or more of the UEs are low energy loT devices.

[0122] The hub 1414 may have a constant / persistent or intermittent connection to the network node 1410b. The hub 1414 may also allow for a different communication scheme and / or schedule between the hub 1414 and UEs (e.g., UE 1412c and / or 1412d), and between the hub 1414 and the core network 1406. In other examples, the hub 1414 is connected to the core network 1406 and / or one or more UEs via a wired connection. Moreover, the hub 1414 may be configured to connect to an M2M service provider over the access network 1404 and / or to another UE over a direct connection. In some scenarios, UEs may establish a wireless connection with the network nodes 1410 while still connected via the hub 1414 via a wired or wireless connection. In some embodiments, the hub 1414 may be a dedicated hub - that is, a hub whose primary function is to route communications to / from the UEs from / to the network node 1410b. In other embodiments, the hub 1414 may be a non-dedicated hub - that is, a device which is capable of operating to route communications between the UEs and network node 1410b, but which is additionally capable of operating as a communication start and / or end point for certain data channels.

[0123] FIG. 15 shows a UE 1500 in accordance with some embodiments. As used herein, a UE refers to a device capable, configured, arranged and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with network nodes and / or other UEs. Examples of a UE include, but are not limited to, a smart phone, mobile phone, cell phone, voice over IP (VoIP) phone, wireless local loop phone, desktop computer, personal digital assistant (PDA), wireless cameras, gaming console or device, music storage device, playback appliance, wearable terminal device, wireless endpoint, mobile station, tablet, laptop, laptop -embedded equipment (LEE), laptop-mounted equipment (LME), smart device, wireless customer-premise equipment (CPE), vehicle-mounted or vehicle embedded / integrated wireless device, etc. Other examples include any UE identified by the 3rdGeneration Partnership Project (3GPP), including a narrow band internet of things (NB-IoT) UE, a machine type communication (MTC) UE, and / or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE.

[0124] A UE may support device-to-device (D2D) communication, for example by implementing a 3 GPP standard for sidelink communication, Dedicated Short-Range Communication (DSRC), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), or vehicle- to-everything (V2X). In other examples, a UE may not necessarily have a user in the sense of a human user who owns and / or operates the relevant device. Instead, a UE may represent a device that is intended for sale to, or operation by, a human user but which may not, or which may not initially, be associated with a specific human user (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller).Alternatively, a UE may represent a device that is not intended for sale to, or operation by, an end user but which may be associated with or operated for the benefit of a user (e.g., a smart power meter).

[0125] The UE 1500 includes processing circuitry 1502 that is operatively coupled via a bus 1504 to an input / output interface 1506, a power source 1508, a memory 1510, a communication interface 1512, and / or any other component, or any combination thereof. Certain UEs may utilize all or a subset of the components shown in FIG. 15. The level of integration between the components may vary from one UE to another UE. Further, certain UEs may contain multiple instances of a component, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.

[0126] The processing circuitry 1502 is configured to process instructions and data and may be configured to implement any sequential state machine operative to execute instructions stored as machine-readable computer programs in the memory 1510. The processing circuitry 1502 may be implemented as one or more hardware-implemented state machines (e.g., in discrete logic, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), etc.); programmable logic together with appropriate firmware; one or more stored computer programs, general-purpose processors, such as a microprocessor or digital signal processor(DSP), together with appropriate software; or any combination of the above. For example, the processing circuitry 1502 may include multiple central processing units (CPUs).

[0127] In the example, the input / output interface 1506 may be configured to provide an interface or interfaces to an input device, output device, or one or more input and / or output devices. Examples of an output device include a speaker, a sound card, a video card, a display, a monitor, a printer, an actuator, an emitter, a smartcard, another output device, or any combination thereof. An input device may allow a user to capture information into the UE 1500. Examples of an input device include a touch-sensitive or presence-sensitive display, a camera (e.g., a digital camera, a digital video camera, a web camera, etc.), a microphone, a sensor, a mouse, a trackball, a directional pad, a trackpad, a scroll wheel, a smartcard, and the like. The presence-sensitive display may include a capacitive or resistive touch sensor to sense input from a user. A sensor may be, for instance, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a tilt sensor, a force sensor, a magnetometer, an optical sensor, a proximity sensor, a biometric sensor, etc., or any combination thereof. An output device may use the same type of interface port as an input device. For example, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port may be used to provide an input device and an output device.

[0128] In some embodiments, the power source 1508 is structured as a battery or battery pack. Other types of power sources, such as an external power source (e.g., an electricity outlet), photovoltaic device, or power cell, may be used. The power source 1508 may further include power circuitry for delivering power from the power source 1508 itself, and / or an external power source, to the various parts of the UE 1500 via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Delivering power may be, for example, for charging of the power source 1508. Power circuitry may perform any formatting, converting, or other modification to the power from the power source 1508 to make the power suitable for the respective components of the UE 1500 to which power is supplied.

[0129] The memory 1510 may be or be configured to include memory such as random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable readonly memory (EEPROM), magnetic disks, optical disks, hard disks, removable cartridges, flash drives, and so forth. In one example, the memory 1510 includes one or more application programs 1514, such as an operating system, web browser application, a widget, gadget engine, or other application, and corresponding data 1516. The memory 1510 may store, for use by the UE 1500, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems.

[0130] The memory 1510 may be configured to include a number of physical drive units, such as redundant array of independent disks (RAID), flash memory, USB flash drive, externalhard disk drive, thumb drive, pen drive, key drive, high-density digital versatile disc (HD-DVD) optical disc drive, internal hard disk drive, Blu-Ray optical disc drive, holographic digital data storage (HDDS) optical disc drive, external mini-dual in-line memory module (DIMM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), external micro-DIMM SDRAM, smartcard memory such as tamper resistant module in the form of a universal integrated circuit card (UICC) including one or more subscriber identity modules (SIMs), such as a USIM and / or ISIM, other memory, or any combination thereof. The UICC may for example be an embedded UICC (eUICC), integrated UICC (iUICC) or a removable UICC commonly known as ‘SIM card.’ The memory 1510 may allow the UE 1500 to access instructions, application programs and the like, stored on transitory or non-transitory memory media, to off-load data, or to upload data. An article of manufacture, such as one utilizing a communication system may be tangibly embodied as or in the memory 1510, which may be or comprise a device-readable storage medium.

[0131] The processing circuitry 1502 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network using the communication interface 1512. The communication interface 1512 may comprise one or more communication subsystems and may include or be communicatively coupled to an antenna 1522. The communication interface 1512 may include one or more transceivers used to communicate, such as by communicating with one or more remote transceivers of another device capable of wireless communication (e.g., another UE or a network node in an access network). Each transceiver may include a transmitter 1518 and / or a receiver 1520 appropriate to provide network communications (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocations, and so forth). Moreover, the transmitter 1518 and receiver 1520 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., antenna 1522) and may share circuit components, software or firmware, or alternatively be implemented separately.

[0132] In the illustrated embodiment, communication functions of the communication interface 1512 may include cellular communication, Wi-Fi communication, LPWAN communication, data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short- range communications such as Bluetooth, near-field communication, location-based communication such as the use of the global positioning system (GPS) to determine a location, another like communication function, or any combination thereof. Communications may be implemented in according to one or more communication protocols and / or standards, such as IEEE 802.11, Code Division Multiplexing Access (CDMA), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), GSM, LTE, New Radio (NR), UMTS, WiMax, Ethernet, transmission control protocol / intemet protocol (TCP / IP), synchronous optical networking (SONET), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), QUIC, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), and so forth.

[0133] Regardless of the type of sensor, a UE may provide an output of data captured by its sensors, through its communication interface 1512, via a wireless connection to a network node. Data captured by sensors of a UE can be communicated through a wireless connection to a network node via another UE. The output may be periodic (e.g., once every 15 minutes if it reports the sensed temperature), random (e.g., to even out the load from reporting from several sensors), in response to a triggering event (e.g., when moisture is detected an alert is sent), in response to a request (e.g., a user initiated request), or a continuous stream (e.g., a live video feed of a patient).

[0134] As another example, a UE comprises an actuator, a motor, or a switch, related to a communication interface configured to receive wireless input from a network node via a wireless connection. In response to the received wireless input the states of the actuator, the motor, or the switch may change. For example, the UE may comprise a motor that adjusts the control surfaces or rotors of a drone in flight according to the received input or to a robotic arm performing a medical procedure according to the received input.

[0135] A UE, when in the form of an Internet of Things (loT) device, may be a device for use in one or more application domains, these domains comprising, but not limited to, city wearable technology, extended industrial application and healthcare. Non-limiting examples of such an loT device are a device which is or which is embedded in: a connected refrigerator or freezer, a TV, a connected lighting device, an electricity meter, a robot vacuum cleaner, a voice controlled smart speaker, a home security camera, a motion detector, a thermostat, a smoke detector, a door / window sensor, a flood / moisture sensor, an electrical door lock, a connected doorbell, an air conditioning system like a heat pump, an autonomous vehicle, a surveillance system, a weather monitoring device, a vehicle parking monitoring device, an electric vehicle charging station, a smart watch, a fitness tracker, a head-mounted display for Augmented Reality (AR) or Virtual Reality (VR), a wearable for tactile augmentation or sensory enhancement, a water sprinkler, an animal- or item-tracking device, a sensor for monitoring a plant or animal, an industrial robot, an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), and any kind of medical device, like a heart rate monitor or a remote controlled surgical robot. A UE in the form of an loT device comprises circuitry and / or software in dependence of the intended application of the loT device in addition to other components as described in relation to the UE 1500 shown in FIG. 15.

[0136] As yet another specific example, in an loT scenario, a UE may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and / or measurements, and transmits the results of such monitoring and / or measurements to another UE and / or a network node. The UE may in this case be an M2M device, which may in a 3 GPP context be referred to as an MTC device. As oneparticular example, the UE may implement the 3 GPP NB-IoT standard. In other scenarios, a UE may represent a vehicle, such as a car, a bus, a truck, a ship and an airplane, or other equipment that is capable of monitoring and / or reporting on its operational status or other functions associated with its operation.

[0137] In practice, any number of Ues may be used together with respect to a single use case. For example, a first UE might be or be integrated in a drone and provide the drone’s speed information (obtained through a speed sensor) to a second UE that is a remote controller operating the drone. When the user makes changes from the remote controller, the first UE may adjust the throttle on the drone (e.g. by controlling an actuator) to increase or decrease the drone’s speed. The first and / or the second UE can also include more than one of the functionalities described above. For example, a UE might comprise the sensor and the actuator, and handle communication of data for both the speed sensor and the actuators.

[0138] FIG. 16 shows a network node 1600 in accordance with some embodiments. As used herein, network node refers to equipment capable, configured, arranged and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a UE and / or with other network nodes or equipment, in a telecommunication network. Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, access points (Aps) (e.g., radio access points), base stations (BSs) (e.g., radio base stations, Node Bs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs), NRNodeBs (gNBs)), 0-RAN nodes, or components of an 0-RAN node (e.g., intelligent controller, 0-RU, 0-DU, O-CU).

[0139] Base stations may be categorized based on the amount of coverage they provide (or, stated differently, their transmit power level) and so, depending on the provided amount of coverage, may be referred to as femto base stations, pico base stations, micro base stations, or macro base stations. A base station may be a relay node or a relay donor node controlling a relay. A network node may also include one or more (or all) parts of a distributed radio base station such as centralized digital units and / or remote radio units (RRUs), sometimes referred to as Remote Radio Heads (RRHs). Such remote radio units may or may not be integrated with an antenna as an antenna integrated radio. Parts of a distributed radio base station may also be referred to as nodes in a distributed antenna system (DAS).

[0140] Other examples of network nodes include multiple transmission point (multi-TRP) 5G access nodes, multi -standard radio (MSR) equipment such as MSR BSs, network controllers such as radio network controllers (RNCs) or base station controllers (BSCs), base transceiver stations (BTSs), transmission points, transmission nodes, multi-cell / multicast coordination entities (MCEs), Operation and Maintenance (O&M) nodes, Operations Support System (OSS) nodes, Self-Organizing Network (SON) nodes, positioning nodes (e.g., Evolved Serving Mobile Location Centers (E-SMLCs)), and / or Minimization of Drive Tests (MDTs).

[0141] The network node 1600 includes a processing circuitry 1602, a memory 1604, a communication interface 1606, and a power source 1608. The network node 1600 may be composed of multiple physically separate components (e.g., a NodeB component and a RNC component, or a BTS component and a BSC component, etc.), which may each have their own respective components. In certain scenarios in which the network node 1600 comprises multiple separate components (e.g., BTS and BSC components), one or more of the separate components may be shared among several network nodes. For example, a single RNC may control multiple NodeBs. In such a scenario, each unique NodeB and RNC pair, may in some instances be considered a single separate network node. In some embodiments, the network node 1600 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate memory 1604 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., a same antenna 1610 may be shared by different RATs). The network node 1600 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node 1600, for example GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, Zigbee, Z-wave, LoRaWAN, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) or Bluetooth wireless technologies. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chip or set of chips and other components within network node 1600.

[0142] The processing circuitry 1602 may comprise a combination of one or more of a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, central processing unit, digital signal processor, application-specific integrated circuit, field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software and / or encoded logic operable to provide, either alone or in conjunction with other network node 1600 components, such as the memory 1604, to provide network node 1600 functionality.

[0143] In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 1602 includes a system on a chip (SOC). In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 1602 includes one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 1612 and baseband processing circuitry 1614. In some embodiments, the radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 1612 and the baseband processing circuitry 1614 may be on separate chips (or sets of chips), boards, or units, such as radio units and digital units. In alternative embodiments, part or all of RF transceiver circuitry 1612 and baseband processing circuitry 1614 may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units.

[0144] The memory 1604 may comprise any form of volatile or non-volatile computer- readable memory including, without limitation, persistent storage, solid-state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), mass storage media (for example, a hard disk), removable storage media (for example, a flash drive, a Compact Disk (CD) or a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), and / or any othervolatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device-readable and / or computer-executable memory devices that store information, data, and / or instructions that may be used by the processing circuitry 1602. The memory 1604 may store any suitable instructions, data, or information, including a computer program, software, an application including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, and / or other instructions capable of being executed by the processing circuitry 1602 and utilized by the network node 1600. The memory 1604 may be used to store any calculations made by the processing circuitry 1602 and / or any data received via the communication interface 1606. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 1602 and memory 1604 is integrated.

[0145] The communication interface 1606 is used in wired or wireless communication of signaling and / or data between a network node, access network, and / or UE. As illustrated, the communication interface 1606 comprises port(s) / terminal(s) 1616 to send and receive data, for example to and from a network over a wired connection. The communication interface 1606 also includes radio front-end circuitry 1618 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, the antenna 1610. Radio front-end circuitry 1618 comprises filters 1620 and amplifiers 1622. The radio front-end circuitry 1618 may be connected to an antenna 1610 and processing circuitry 1602. The radio front-end circuitry may be configured to condition signals communicated between antenna 1610 and processing circuitry 1602. The radio front-end circuitry 1618 may receive digital data that is to be sent out to other network nodes or Ues via a wireless connection. The radio front-end circuitry 1618 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 1620 and / or amplifiers 1622. The radio signal may then be transmitted via the antenna 1610. Similarly, when receiving data, the antenna 1610 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by the radio front-end circuitry 1618. The digital data may be passed to the processing circuitry 1602. In other embodiments, the communication interface may comprise different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0146] In certain alternative embodiments, the network node 1600 does not include separate radio front-end circuitry 1618, instead, the processing circuitry 1602 includes radio front-end circuitry and is connected to the antenna 1610. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuitry 1612 is part of the communication interface 1606. In still other embodiments, the communication interface 1606 includes one or more ports or terminals 1616, the radio front-end circuitry 1618, and the RF transceiver circuitry 1612, as part of a radio unit (not shown), and the communication interface 1606 communicates with the baseband processing circuitry 1614, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).

[0147] The antenna 1610 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and / or receive wireless signals. The antenna 1610 may be coupled to the radio front-endcircuitry 1618 and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and / or signals wirelessly. In certain embodiments, the antenna 1610 is separate from the network node 1600 and connectable to the network node 1600 through an interface or port.

[0148] The antenna 1610, communication interface 1606, and / or the processing circuitry 1602 may be configured to perform any receiving operations and / or certain obtaining operations described herein as being performed by the network node. Any information, data and / or signals may be received from a UE, another network node and / or any other network equipment. Similarly, the antenna 1610, the communication interface 1606, and / or the processing circuitry 1602 may be configured to perform any transmitting operations described herein as being performed by the network node. Any information, data and / or signals may be transmitted to a UE, another network node and / or any other network equipment.

[0149] The power source 1608 provides power to the various components of network node 1600 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component). The power source 1608 may further comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry to supply the components of the network node 1600 with power for performing the functionality described herein. For example, the network node 1600 may be connectable to an external power source (e.g., the power grid, an electricity outlet) via an input circuitry or interface such as an electrical cable, whereby the external power source supplies power to power circuitry of the power source 1608. As a further example, the power source 1608 may comprise a source of power in the form of a battery or battery pack which is connected to, or integrated in, power circuitry. The battery may provide backup power should the external power source fail.

[0150] Embodiments of the network node 1600 may include additional components beyond those shown in FIG. 16 for providing certain aspects of the network node’s functionality, including any of the functionality described herein and / or any functionality necessary to support the subject matter described herein. For example, the network node 1600 may include user interface equipment to allow input of information into the network node 1600 and to allow output of information from the network node 1600. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for the network node 1600.

[0151] FIG. 17 is a block diagram of a host 1700, which may be an embodiment of the host 1416 of FIG. 14, in accordance with various aspects described herein. As used herein, the host 1700 may be or comprise various combinations hardware and / or software, including a standalone server, a blade server, a cloud-implemented server, a distributed server, a virtual machine, container, or processing resources in a server farm. The host 1700 may provide one or more services to one or more UEs.

[0152] The host 1700 includes processing circuitry 1702 that is operatively coupled via a bus 1704 to an input / output interface 1706, a network interface 1708, a power source 1710, and a memory 1712. Other components may be included in other embodiments. Features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the devices of previous figures, such as FIGS. 15 and 16, such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of host 1700.

[0153] The memory 1712 may include one or more computer programs including one or more host application programs 1714 and data 1716, which may include user data, e.g., data generated by a UE for the host 1700 or data generated by the host 1700 for a UE. Embodiments of the host 1700 may utilize only a subset or all of the components shown. The host application programs 1714 may be implemented in a container-based architecture and may provide support for video codecs (e.g., Versatile Video Coding (VVC), High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC), Advanced Video Coding (AVC), MPEG, VP9) and audio codecs (e.g., FLAC, Advanced Audio Coding (AAC), MPEG, G.711), including transcoding for multiple different classes, types, or implementations of Ues (e.g., handsets, desktop computers, wearable display systems, heads-up display systems). The host application programs 1714 may also provide for user authentication and licensing checks and may periodically report health, routes, and content availability to a central node, such as a device in or on the edge of a core network. Accordingly, the host 1700 may select and / or indicate a different host for over-the-top services for a UE. The host application programs 1714 may support various protocols, such as the HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) protocol, Real-Time Messaging Protocol (RTMP), Real-Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP), Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP (MPEG-DASH), etc.

[0154] FIG. 18 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 1800 in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized. In the present context, virtualizing means creating virtual versions of apparatuses or devices which may include virtualizing hardware platforms, storage devices and networking resources. As used herein, virtualization can be applied to any device described herein, or components thereof, and relates to an implementation in which at least a portion of the functionality is implemented as one or more virtual components. Some or all of the functions described herein may be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines (VMs) implemented in one or more virtual environments 1800 hosted by one or more of hardware nodes, such as a hardware computing device that operates as a network node, UE, core network node, or host. Further, in embodiments in which the virtual node does not require radio connectivity (e.g., a core network node or host), then the node may be entirely virtualized. In some embodiments, the virtualization environment 1800 includes components defined by the 0-RAN Alliance, such asan O-Cloud environment orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an 0-2 interface.

[0155] Applications 1802 (which may alternatively be called software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.) are run in the virtualization environment Q400 to implement some of the features, functions, and / or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein.

[0156] Hardware 1804 includes processing circuitry, memory that stores software and / or instructions executable by hardware processing circuitry, and / or other hardware devices as described herein, such as a network interface, input / output interface, and so forth. Software may be executed by the processing circuitry to instantiate one or more virtualization layers 1806 (also referred to as hypervisors or virtual machine monitors (VMMs)), provide VMs 1808a and 1808b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as VMs 1808), and / or perform any of the functions, features and / or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein. The virtualization layer 1806 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to the VMs 1808.

[0157] The VMs 1808 comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 1806. Different embodiments of the instance of a virtual appliance 1802 may be implemented on one or more of VMs 1808, and the implementations may be made in different ways. Virtualization of the hardware is in some contexts referred to as network function virtualization (NFV). NFV may be used to consolidate many network equipment types onto industry standard high volume server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage, which can be located in data centers, and customer premise equipment.

[0158] In the context of NFV, a VM 1808 may be a software implementation of a physical machine that runs programs as if they were executing on a physical, non-virtualized machine. Each of the VMs 1808, and that part of hardware 1804 that executes that VM, be it hardware dedicated to that VM and / or hardware shared by that VM with others of the VMs, forms separate virtual network elements. Still in the context of NFV, a virtual network function is responsible for handling specific network functions that run in one or more VMs 1808 on top of the hardware 1804 and corresponds to the application 1802.

[0159] Hardware 1804 may be implemented in a standalone network node with generic or specific components. Hardware 1804 may implement some functions via virtualization.Alternatively, hardware 1804 may be part of a larger cluster of hardware (e.g. such as in a data center or CPE) where many hardware nodes work together and are managed via management and orchestration 1810, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of applications1802. In some embodiments, hardware 1804 is coupled to one or more radio units that each include one or more transmitters and one or more receivers that may be coupled to one or more antennas. Radio units may communicate directly with other hardware nodes via one or more appropriate network interfaces and may be used in combination with the virtual components to provide a virtual node with radio capabilities, such as a radio access node or a base station. In some embodiments, some signaling can be provided with the use of a control system 1812 which may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.

[0160] FIG. 19 shows a communication diagram of a host 1902 communicating via a network node 1904 with a UE 1906 over a partially wireless connection in accordance with some embodiments. Example implementations, in accordance with various embodiments, of the UE (such as a UE 1412a of FIG. 14 and / or UE 1500 of FIG. 15), network node (such as network node 1410a of FIG. 14 and / or network node 1600 of FIG. 16), and host (such as host 1416 of FIG. 14 and / or host 1700 of FIG. 17) discussed in the preceding paragraphs will now be described with reference to FIG. 19.

[0161] Like host 1700, embodiments of host 1902 include hardware, such as a communication interface, processing circuitry, and memory. The host 1902 also includes software, which is stored in or accessible by the host 1902 and executable by the processing circuitry. The software includes a host application that may be operable to provide a service to a remote user, such as the UE 1906 connecting via an over-the-top (OTT) connection 1950 extending between the UE 1906 and host 1902. In providing the service to the remote user, a host application may provide user data which is transmitted using the OTT connection 1950.

[0162] The network node 1904 includes hardware enabling it to communicate with the host 1902 and UE 1906. The connection 1960 may be direct or pass through a core network (like core network 1406 of FIG. 14) and / or one or more other intermediate networks, such as one or more public, private, or hosted networks. For example, an intermediate network may be a backbone network or the Internet.

[0163] The UE 1906 includes hardware and software, which is stored in or accessible by UE 1906 and executable by the UE’s processing circuitry. The software includes a client application, such as a web browser or operator-specific “app” that may be operable to provide a service to a human or non-human user via UE 1906 with the support of the host 1902. In the host 1902, an executing host application may communicate with the executing client application via the OTT connection 1950 terminating at the UE 1906 and host 1902. In providing the service to the user, the UE’s client application may receive request data from the host’s host application and provide user data in response to the request data. The OTT connection 1950 may transferboth the request data and the user data. The UE’s client application may interact with the user to generate the user data that it provides to the host application through the OTT connection 1950.

[0164] The OTT connection 1950 may extend via a connection 1960 between the host 1902 and the network node 1904 and via a wireless connection 1970 between the network node 1904 and the UE 1906 to provide the connection between the host 1902 and the UE 1906. The connection 1960 and wireless connection 1970, over which the OTT connection 1950 may be provided, have been drawn abstractly to illustrate the communication between the host 1902 and the UE 1906 via the network node 1904, without explicit reference to any intermediary devices and the precise routing of messages via these devices.

[0165] As an example of transmitting data via the OTT connection 1950, in step 1908, the host 1902 provides user data, which may be performed by executing a host application. In some embodiments, the user data is associated with a particular human user interacting with the UE 1906. In other embodiments, the user data is associated with a UE 1906 that shares data with the host 1902 without explicit human interaction. In step 1910, the host 1902 initiates a transmission carrying the user data towards the UE 1906. The host 1902 may initiate the transmission responsive to a request transmitted by the UE 1906. The request may be caused by human interaction with the UE 1906 or by operation of the client application executing on the UE 1906. The transmission may pass via the network node 1904, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. Accordingly, in step 1912, the network node 1904 transmits to the UE 1906 the user data that was carried in the transmission that the host 1902 initiated, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In step 1914, the UE 1906 receives the user data carried in the transmission, which may be performed by a client application executed on the UE 1906 associated with the host application executed by the host 1902.

[0166] In some examples, the UE 1906 executes a client application which provides user data to the host 1902. The user data may be provided in reaction or response to the data received from the host 1902. Accordingly, in step 1916, the UE 1906 may provide user data, which may be performed by executing the client application. In providing the user data, the client application may further consider user input received from the user via an input / output interface of the UE 1906. Regardless of the specific manner in which the user data was provided, the UE 1906 initiates, in step 1918, transmission of the user data towards the host 1902 via the network node 1904. In step 1920, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure, the network node 1904 receives user data from the UE 1906 and initiates transmission of the received user data towards the host 1902. In step 1922, the host 1902 receives the user data carried in the transmission initiated by the UE 1906.

[0167] One or more of the various embodiments improve the performance of OTT services provided to the UE 1906 using the OTT connection 1950, in which the wireless connection 1970 forms the last segment. More precisely, the teachings of these embodiments may enable adaptive selection of sensing reference signals. Adaptively selecting sensing reference signals improves a signal to noise ratio (“SNR”) in the delay — Doppler profile, because windowing will be done as part of the transmission in the reference signal and its matched filter. An increased SNR can allow for the detection of weaker signals, which increases the sensing range of the system. This can also allow for a two / multi-step approach: a first step where windowing is used (good sidelobe suppression but lower resolution can mean weak targets can be detected, at reduced resolution) and a second step (potentially after canceling strong targets detected in the first phase) with higher resolution (no or reduced windowing enabling less suppression but better resolution). The other way around (e.g., where a non-windowed sensing signal is transmitted first) can also be possible. In additional or alternative embodiments, adaptively choosing other reference signal parameters can ensure that only the required resources are used at any point in time, which potentially saves transmit power and resources that can be used for data instead.

[0168] In an example scenario, factory status information may be collected and analyzed by the host 1902. As another example, the host 1902 may process audio and video data which may have been retrieved from a UE for use in creating maps. As another example, the host 1902 may collect and analyze real-time data to assist in controlling vehicle congestion (e.g., controlling traffic lights). As another example, the host 1902 may store surveillance video uploaded by a UE. As another example, the host 1902 may store or control access to media content such as video, audio, VR or AR which it can broadcast, multicast or unicast to Ues. As other examples, the host 1902 may be used for energy pricing, remote control of non-time critical electrical load to balance power generation needs, location services, presentation services (such as compiling diagrams etc. from data collected from remote devices), or any other function of collecting, retrieving, storing, analyzing and / or transmitting data.

[0169] In some examples, a measurement procedure may be provided for the purpose of monitoring data rate, latency and other factors on which the one or more embodiments improve. There may further be an optional network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection 1950 between the host 1902 and UE 1906, in response to variations in the measurement results. The measurement procedure and / or the network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection may be implemented in software and hardware of the host 1902 and / or UE 1906. In some embodiments, sensors (not shown) may be deployed in or in association with other devices through which the OTT connection 1950 passes; the sensors may participate in the measurement procedure by supplying values of the monitored quantities exemplified above, or supplyingvalues of other physical quantities from which software may compute or estimate the monitored quantities. The reconfiguring of the OTT connection 1950 may include message format, retransmission settings, preferred routing etc.; the reconfiguring need not directly alter the operation of the network node 1904. Such procedures and functionalities may be known and practiced in the art. In certain embodiments, measurements may involve proprietary UE signaling that facilitates measurements of throughput, propagation times, latency and the like, by the host 1902. The measurements may be implemented in that software causes messages to be transmitted, in particular empty or ‘dummy’ messages, using the OTT connection 1950 while monitoring propagation times, errors, etc.

[0170] Although the computing devices described herein (e.g., UEs, network nodes, hosts) may include the illustrated combination of hardware components, other embodiments may comprise computing devices with different combinations of components. It is to be understood that these computing devices may comprise any suitable combination of hardware and / or software needed to perform the tasks, features, functions and methods disclosed herein. Determining, calculating, obtaining or similar operations described herein may be performed by processing circuitry, which may process information by, for example, converting the obtained information into other information, comparing the obtained information or converted information to information stored in the network node, and / or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or converted information, and as a result of said processing making a determination. Moreover, while components are depicted as single boxes located within a larger box, or nested within multiple boxes, in practice, computing devices may comprise multiple different physical components that make up a single illustrated component, and functionality may be partitioned between separate components. For example, a communication interface may be configured to include any of the components described herein, and / or the functionality of the components may be partitioned between the processing circuitry and the communication interface. In another example, non-computationally intensive functions of any of such components may be implemented in software or firmware and computationally intensive functions may be implemented in hardware.

[0171] In certain embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein may be provided by processing circuitry executing instructions stored on in memory, which in certain embodiments may be a computer program product in the form of a non-transitory computer- readable storage medium. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality may be provided by the processing circuitry without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device-readable storage medium, such as in a hard-wired manner. In any of those particular embodiments, whether executing instructions stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium or not, the processing circuitry can be configured to perform the described functionality. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to the processing circuitry alone or to other components of the computing device, but are enjoyed by the computing device as a whole, and / or by end users and a wireless network generally.

Claims

CLAIMSWhat is claimed is:

1. A method of operating a communication device, the method comprising: determining (1110) a suggested parameter for a sensing reference signal to be transmitted by a transmitter; and providing (1120) an indication of the suggested parameter to a controller configured to select a parameter for the sensing reference signal.

2. The method of Claim 1, wherein the controller is separate from the communication device, and wherein providing the indication of the suggested parameter comprises transmitting an indication of the suggested parameter to the controller.

3. The method of Claim 2, wherein transmitting the indication of the suggested parameter comprises transmitting instructions to select the suggested parameter as the parameter for the sensing reference signal.

4. The method of Claim 2, wherein determining the suggested parameter comprises determining the suggested parameter based on information, and wherein transmitting the indication of the suggested parameter to the controller comprises transmitting an indication of the information.

5. The method of Claim 1, wherein the communication device comprises the controller, the method further comprising: selecting (1230) the suggested parameter as the parameter for the sensing reference signal.

6. The method of Claim 5, wherein the transmitter is separate from the communication device, the method further comprising: transmitting (1240) an indication of the parameter to the transmitter.

7. The method of any of Claims 5-6, wherein a receiver of the sensing reference signal isseparate from the communication device, the method further comprising: transmitting (1250) an indication of the parameter to the receiver.

8. The method of any of Claim 1-7, wherein determining the suggested parameter comprises determining the suggested parameter based on information that includes at least one of: a proximity of the communication device to a target of the sensing reference signal; information associated with the target of the sensing reference signal; information associated with an environment that includes the target of the sensing reference signal; the communication device being a consumer of a sensing result associated with the sensing reference signal; an intended use of the sensing result by the communication device; and a capability of the communication device .

9. The method of any of Claims 1-8, wherein the suggested parameter is a first suggested parameter for a first sensing reference signal to be transmitted by the transmitter, the method further comprising: determining (1160) a sensing result associated with the first sensing reference signal being transmitted; determining (1170) a second suggested parameter for a second sensing reference signal to be transmitted by the transmitter based on the sensing result; and providing (1180) an indication of the second suggested parameter to the controller.

10. The method of any of Claims 1-9, wherein the suggested parameter for the sensing reference signal comprises a type of windowing to be used for transmitting the sensing reference signal.

11. The method of Claim 10, wherein the type of windowing to be used for transmitting the sensing reference signal comprises at least one of: a type of windowing to be applied in a frequency domain; and a type of windowing to be applied in a slow time-domain.

12. The method of any of Claims 10-11, wherein the suggested parameter for the sensing reference signal comprises at least one of:a bandwidth to be used for transmitting the sensing reference signal; a set of subcarriers to be used for transmitting the sensing reference signal; a time between transmission of each pulse used for transmitting the sensing reference signal; a pulse repetition frequency to be used for transmitting the sensing reference signal; a number of pulses to be used for transmitting the sensing reference signal; a sequence type to be used for transmitting the sensing reference signal; and a symbol number used for transmitting the sensing reference signal.

13. A method of operating a controller configured to select a parameter for a sensing reference signal, the method comprising: receiving (1310) an indication of a suggested parameter for the sensing reference signal from a communication device; selecting (1320) the parameter for the sensing reference signal based on the suggested parameter; and providing (1330) an indication of the parameter to a transmitter of the sensing reference signal.

14. The method of Claim 13, wherein receiving the indication of the suggested parameter comprises receiving an indication of information used by the communication device to determine the suggested parameter, and wherein selecting the parameter for the sensing reference signal comprises selecting the parameter for the sensing reference signal based on the information.

15. The method of Claim 14, wherein the information comprises at least one of: a proximity of the communication device to a target of the sensing reference signal; information associated with the target of the sensing reference signal; information associated with an environment that includes the target of the sensing reference signal; the communication device being a consumer of a sensing result associated with the sensing reference signal; an intended use of the sensing result by the communication device; and a capability of the communication device .

16. The method of any of Claims 13-15, wherein the suggested parameter for the sensing reference signal comprises a type of windowing to be used for transmitting the sensing referencesignal.

17. The method of Claim 16, wherein the type of windowing to be used for transmitting the sensing reference signal comprises at least one of: a type of windowing to be applied in a frequency domain; and a type of windowing to be applied in a slow time-domain.

18. The method of any of Claims 16-17, wherein the suggested parameter for the sensing reference signal comprises at least one of: a bandwidth to be used for transmitting the sensing reference signal; a subcarrier to be used for transmitting the sensing reference signal; a pulse repetition frequency to be used for transmitting the sensing reference signal; a number of pulses to be used for transmitting the sensing reference signal; and a sequence type to be used for transmitting the sensing reference signal.

19. A communication device (1500), configured to perform operations comprising: determining (1110) a suggested parameter for a sensing reference signal to be transmitted by a transmitter; and providing (1120) an indication of the suggested parameter to a controller configured to select a parameter for the sensing reference signal.

20. The communication device of Claim 19, the operations further comprising any of the operations of Claims 2-12.

21. A computer program comprising program code to be executed by processing circuitry (1502) of a communication device (1500), whereby execution of the program code causes the communication device to perform operations comprising: determining (1110) a suggested parameter for a sensing reference signal to be transmitted by a transmitter; and providing (1120) an indication of the suggested parameter to a controller configured to select a parameter for the sensing reference signal.

22. The computer program of Claim 21, the operations further comprising any of the operations of Claims 2-12.

23. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory storage medium (1510) including program code to be executed by processing circuitry (1502) of a communication device (1500), whereby execution of the program code causes the communication device to perform operations comprising:. determining (1110) a suggested parameter for a sensing reference signal to be transmitted by a transmitter; and providing (1120) an indication of the suggested parameter to a controller configured to select a parameter for the sensing reference signal.

24. The computer program product of Claim 23, the operations further comprising any of the operations of Claims 2-12.

25. A network node (1600), configured to perform operations to select a parameter for a sensing reference signal, the operations comprising: receiving (1310) an indication of a suggested parameter for the sensing reference signal from a communication device; selecting (1320) the parameter for the sensing reference signal based on the suggested parameter; and providing (1330) an indication of the parameter to a transmitter of the sensing reference signal.

26. The network node of Claim 25, the operations further comprising any of the operations of Claims 14-18.

27. A computer program comprising program code to be executed by processing circuitry (1602) of a network node (1600) to select a parameter for a sensing reference signal, whereby execution of the program code causes the network node to perform operations comprising: receiving (1310) an indication of a suggested parameter for the sensing reference signal from a communication device; selecting (1320) the parameter for the sensing reference signal based on the suggested parameter; and providing (1330) an indication of the parameter to a transmitter of the sensing reference signal.

28. The computer program of Claim 27, the operations further comprising any of theoperations of Claims 14-18.

29. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory storage medium (1606) including program code to be executed by processing circuitry (1602) of a network node (1600) to select a parameter for a sensing reference signal, whereby execution of the program code causes the network node to perform operations comprising:. receiving (1310) an indication of a suggested parameter for the sensing reference signal from a communication device; selecting (1320) the parameter for the sensing reference signal based on the suggested parameter; and providing (1330) an indication of the parameter to a transmitter of the sensing reference signal.

30. The computer program product of Claim 29, the operations further comprising any of the operations of Claims 14-18.

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