Positioning an ambient IoT device

Abstract

There is provided a method performed by an Ambient IoT device for positioning information. The method comprises: receiving a message from a network node, the message comprising information related to a positioning procedure for the A-IoT device; receiving at least a first carrier wave (CW) and a second carrier wave; and sending a first response and a second response to the network node, based on the received at least first carrier wave and second carrier wave and the received information.

Description

POSITIONING AN AMBIENT IOT DEVICERELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims the benefits of priority of PCT / CN2024 / 075911, entitled “Positioning on Ambient loT UE” and filed on February 5, 2024, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] This disclosure relates to wireless network communications and in particular to positioning of Ambient Internet of Things (loT) devices.BACKGROUND

[0003] Positioning in New Radio (NR)

[0004] Architecture

[0005] Positioning in NR is supported by the architecture shown in Fig. 1. The interactions between the gNodeB (gNB) and the device is supported via the Radio Resource Control (RRC) protocol, while the location node interfaces with the User Equipment (UE) via the Long Term Evolution (LTE) positioning protocol (LPP). LPP is a common protocol to both NR and LTE. Location Management Function (LMF) is the location node in NR. There are also interactions between the location node and the gNB via the NRPPa protocol.

[0006] Positioning procedure

[0007] As described in clause 5.2 of TS 38.305 V 17.3.0, the overall sequence of events applicable to the UE, NG-RAN and LMF for any location service is shown in Fig. 2.

[0008] Note that when the AMF receives a Location Service Request in case the UE is in Connected Mode (CM)-IDLE state, the AMF performs a network triggered service request in order to establish a signalling connection with the UE and assign a specific serving gNB or ng-eNB. The UE is assumed to be in connected mode before the beginning of the flow shown in Fig. 2; that is, any signalling that might be required to bring the UE to connected mode prior to step la is not shown. The signalling connection may, however, be later released (e.g. by the NG-RAN node as a result of signalling and data inactivity) while positioning is still ongoing.

[0009] As a note, location procedures applicable to NG-RAN occur in steps 3a and 3b in Fig. 2 and are defined in greater detail in this specification. Other steps in Fig. 2 are applicable only to the 5GC.

[0010] Steps 3a and 3b can involve the use of different position methods to obtain location related measurements for the target UE and from these measurements, either the UE or the LMF computes a location estimate and possibly additional information like velocity.

[0011] Zero-Energy Internet of Things (loT) & Ambient-IoT

[0012] Wireless loT devices are often battery powered and both the need to change battery and the battery lifetime may be concerns for many potential applications such as asset tracking or environmental / industrial sensors. For this reason, the wireless communications industry has been interested in so-called zero-energy (ZE) devices. ZE devices refer to wireless loT devices that do not require battery replacement, and often harvest energy from the environment. In some use cases, such as monitoring the temperature of foodstuffs, the ZE devices may have small batteries that are disposable (e.g., organic, compostable batteries), rechargeable or have very limited capacity.

[0013] These ZE-IoT devices can in addition be of very small form factor and could even be printable and they target ultra-low power consumption to enable operation based on either energyharvesting from an ambient sources or back-scattering communication (cf. Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)). That is, instead of relying on energy for communication being provided by a battery it is instead harvested from an ambient source, such as vibrations, solar power, radio frequency (RF), etc. (harvesting), or a charge carrier wave is provided to the device which is modulated and reflected back to a reader (in the back-scattering communication case). This enables energy autonomous operation during the lifetime of the devices without the need for either manual replacement or charging of the batteries. Compared to existing radio access technologies this puts new requirements on the radio interface and the protocols.

[0014] Recently work on this has started in 3GPP, then referred to as ‘Ambient-IoT’. TR 22.840 is being developed by SAI to capture potential use cases, traffic scenarios, device constraints of Ambient loT (A-IoT) and identify new potential service requirements as well as new Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).

[0015] Meanwhile, a study item at RAN plenary level RP-222685, ‘Study on Ambient loT’ is being carried out with a focus on the feasibility of meeting design targets for relevant use cases of Ambient loT. The outcome is being reported in TR 38.848. Deployment scenarios, use cases, services for A-IoT are described in clause 4 of TR 38.848 V 1.0.0.

[0016] Connectivity topologies

[0017] The following connectivity topologies for A-IoT networks and devices are defined for the purposes of the study. In all these topologies, the A-IoT device may be provided with a carrier wave (CW) from other node(s) either inside or outside the topology. The links in each topology may be bidirectional or unidirectional.

[0018] Base station (BS), UE, assisting node, or intermediate node could be multiple BSs or UEs, respectively. The mixture of indoor and outdoor placement of such nodes is regarded as a network implementation choice. Account would need to be taken of potential impact on device ornode complexity. In the connectivity topologies, this does not imply the existence of multi-hop assisting or intermediate nodes. Different topologies are illustrated in Fig. 3 to Fig. 7 respectively.

[0019] Topology 1 : BS «-> Ambient loT device

[0020] In Topology 1 as illustrated in Fig. 3, the A-IoT device directly and bidirectionally communicates with a BS. The communication between the BS and the A-IoT device includes A- loT data and / or signalling. This topology includes the possibility that the BS transmitting to the A-IoT device is a different from the BS receiving from the A-IoT device.

[0021] Topology 2: BS «-> intermediate node «-> Ambient loT device

[0022] In Topology 2 of Fig. 4, the A-IoT device communicates bidirectionally with an intermediate node between the device and BS. In this topology, the intermediate node can be a relay, Integrated Access Backhaul (IAB) node, UE, repeater, etc., which is capable of A-IoT. The intermediate node transfers A-IoT data and / or signalling between BS and the A-IoT device.

[0023] Topology 3: BS «-> assisting node «-> Ambient loT device «-> BS

[0024] In Topology 3 of Figs. 5 and 6, the A-IoT device transmits data / signalling to a BS and receives data / signalling from the assisting node (topology 3 with downlink assistance in Fig. 5); or the A-IoT device receives data / signalling from a BS and transmits data / signalling to the assisting node (topology 3 with uplink assistance in Fig. 6). In this topology, the assisting node can be a relay, IAB, UE, repeater, etc. which is capable of A-IoT.

[0025] Topology 4: UE «-> Ambient loT device

[0026] In Topology 4 of Fig. 7, the A-IoT device communicates bidirectionally with a UE. The communication between UE and the A-IoT device includes A-IoT data and / or signalling.

[0027] Device categories

[0028] A-IoT devices are characterized in the study according to their energy storage capacity, and capability of generating RF signals for their transmissions.

[0029] The study considers that a device has either: No energy storage at all or limited energy storage. Relying on these storage capacities, the study considers the following sets of A-IoT devices:

[0030] Device A: No energy storage, no independent signal generation / amplification, i.e. backscattering transmission.

[0031] Device B: Has energy storage, no independent signal generation, i.e. backscattering transmission. Use of stored energy can include amplification for reflected signals.

[0032] Device C: Has energy storage, has independent signal generation, i.e., active RF components for transmission.

[0033] A limited energy storage can be different among implementations within Device B or implementations within Device C, and different between Device B and Device C. Such storage is expected to be order(s) of magnitude smaller than an NB-IoT device would typically include.

[0034] Devices A, B, and C are able to demodulate control, data, etc. from the relevant entity in Radio Access Network (RAN) according to connectivity topology.

[0035] Functional and protocol simplifications for A / ZE loT

[0036] For A-IoT, 3 GPP will target an loT segment well below the existing CIoT technologies rather than replacement of existing 3GPP periodic leaky-wave antenna (PLWA) technologies. It is expected that together with simplifications in the physical layer design, the higher layer (L2 / L3) design will also be much more lightweighted than the existing higher layer design in 3GPP, i.e., a minimal set of functionalities (both at access stratum and non-access stratum (NAS) levels), which is even more simplified compared to that adopted for the existing CIoT technologies, should be used to operate A-IoT devices. One way of such simplifications is to design a communication protocol shifted from fully connection oriented with both NAS and RRC connections between device and network to connectionless type of communication without RRC connections or even also without NAS connections between device and network so that the protocol and signaling overhead associated with the handshaking between device and network is minimized. This means A-IoT devices do not setup and maintain an RRC connection with the network, also A-IoT devices do not setup and maintain Access Stratum (AS) context including (dedicated) radio bearer, logical channel, etc. One way to implement connectionless communication is to employ message-based or self-contained transmission where context / control information associated with the signaling / data traffic is transmitted together with or right after the signaling / data traffic where in the latter case (i.e., the right after case) there is no other transmission between the context / control information and the associated signaling / data traffic carrying information that is needed for reception of the signaling / data traffic. One such example is that in downlink (DL) the signaling / data traffic is transmitted within or right after the paging message.SUMMARY

[0037] There currently exist certain challenge(s). One of the most important use scenarios of A-IoT, which will be firstly applied, is warehouse / inventory / factory. Furthermore, among various categories of A-IoT devices, passive A-IoT devices, which backscatter on a carrier wave provided externally, is the most important device to be studied with highest priority. So, positioning a passive A-IoT device in such local indoor environments is identified as an area to be exploited.

[0038] Not all positioning techniques are affordable in terms of power and cost: limited device capability, coverage, etc. The most possible positioning solution may be Observed TimeDifference of Arrival (OTDOA) or Uplink (U)-TDOA, where the OTDOA method measures the UE / device position based on DL signal measurement, while the U-TDOA method measures the UE / device position based on uplink signal measurement.

[0039] Regarding the SID on A-IoT in 3GPP Rel-19, most A-IoT devices don’t support mobility limited by the extremely simple implementation and extremely low complexity. Apparently, such passive A-IoT devices have no capability to receive DL positioning reference signal s / transmit UL positioning reference signals, process those signals and to be configured for the positioning purpose.

[0040] Furthermore, from the application perspective, A-IoT devices in warehouse / inventory / factory have not demand randomly entering or leaving the coverage by a network node. It’s the reason why it is different from terrestrial systems, in which normally only one network node (e.g., gNB, BS) serves / covers / reaches an A-IoT device in A-IoT use scenarios. The positioning solutions associated with multiple network nodes which are applied in legacy 3GPP positioning procedure don’t / are difficult to work for positioning an A-IoT device.

[0041] A consequent issue from the above problems / issues is that the workflow of Fig. 2, including signaling, between an A-IoT device / UE, network node and LMF, does not work anymore and needs to be amended. Therefore, it is desirable to design a positioning mechanism suitable for A-IoT device use cases, especially for passive A-IoT devices.

[0042] Certain aspects of the disclosure and their embodiments may provide solutions to these or other challenges.

[0043] The proposed solutions are set(s) of mechanisms for a network node (e.g., a gNB, BS or an intermediate node) serving an A-IoT device, which operates / manages carrier wave transmitters (CWT) and the A-IoT device for positioning of the A-IoT device.

[0044] In some embodiments, the proposed solution comprises a method in a network node for determining CWTs which are to be served in positioning for an A-IoT device and sending commands to those determined CWTs to provide DL positioning signals. In some embodiments, the proposed solution comprises a method in a network node for determining positioning for an A-IoT device, by sending commands to the A-IoT device and receiving UL positioning signals (e.g., the backscattered DL positioning signals) from the A-IoT device. Furthermore, one RAN node plus one or more CWTs can be involved in a positioning procedure to position an A-IoT device. Alternatively, two or more CWTs are selected to position an A-IoT device.

[0045] For example, there is provided a method at an A-IoT device, for positioning purposes. The method comprises: receiving a message from a network node, the message comprising information related to a positioning procedure for the A-IoT device; receiving at least a first carrierwave (CW) and a second carrier wave; and sending a first response and a second response to the network node, based on the received at least first carrier wave and second carrier wave and the received information. An A-IoT device is also provided for carrying out this method.

[0046] There is also provided a method in a network node. The method comprises: sending a request to the A-IoT device and one or more CWTs, the request comprising information related to positioning of the A-IoT device; receiving a first response and a second response from the A-IoT device based on the information in the request; and performing one of calculating a position of the A-IoT device based on the received first and second responses and sending the first and second messages to another network node. A network node is also provided for carrying out this method.

[0047] There is also provided a method in a CWT. The method comprises: receiving, from a network node, a request, the request comprising information related to positioning of the A-IoT device; and sending a carrier wave to the A-IoT device, based on the information related to the positioning of the A-IoT device, the carrier wave comprising a configuration for positioning. An CWT is also provided for carrying out this method.

[0048] Those methods are designed to enable a RAN node (together with one or more CWT devices) to determine a position for a specific A-IoT device. Each CWT is responsible for transmission of CWs towards the A-IoT device. Each CWT may connect to the RAN node with the Uu interface, i.e., the CWTs operate as a UE terminator towards the RAN node. Alternatively, each CWT can operate as a separate RAN node / gNB.

[0049] Certain embodiments may provide one or more of the following technical advantage(s). The proposed solutions herein allow to define the positioning procedure for A-IoT devices.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0050] Exemplary embodiments will be described in more detail with reference to the following figures, in which:

[0051] Fig. 1 illustrates an example of a Positioning architecture in NR.

[0052] Fig. 2 illustrates a Location Service Support by NG-RAN in TS 38.305 V 17.3.0.

[0053] Fig. 3 illustrates an example of Topology 1 in TR 38.848 V 1.0.0.

[0054] Fig. 4 illustrates an example of Topology 2 in TR 38.848 V 1.0.0.

[0055] Fig. 5 illustrates an example of Topology 3 with DL assistance in TR 38.848 V 1.0.0.

[0056] Fig. 6 illustrates an example of Topology 3 with UL assistance in TR 38.848 V 1.0.0.

[0057] Fig. 7 illustrates an example of Topology 4 in TR 38.848 V 1.0.0.

[0058] Fig. 8 illustrates a signalling diagram / workflow for a positioning procedure, based on backscattered transmission, according to an embodiment.

[0059] Fig. 9 illustrates an example of positioning resources and a positioning gap window.

[0060] Fig. 10 illustrates an example of positioning response resources.

[0061] Fig. 11 illustrates another example of positioning response resources.

[0062] Fig. 12 illustrates an example of using / receiving a reference signal with a particular index, according to an embodiment.

[0063] Fig. 13 illustrates a signalling diagram / workflow for a positioning procedure, according to an embodiment.

[0064] Fig. 14 illustrates an example of a network setup where only one CWT is transmitting at a time, according to an embodiment.

[0065] Fig. 15 is an exemplary flow chart of a method in an A-IoT device, according to an embodiment.

[0066] Fig. 16 illustrates an example of a flow chart of a method in a network node, according to an embodiment.

[0067] Fig. 17 illustrates an example of a flow chart of a method in a CWT, according to an embodiment.

[0068] Fig. 18 shows an example of a communication system, according to an embodiment.

[0069] Fig. 19 shows a schematic diagram of a wireless device, according to an embodiment.

[0070] Fig. 20 shows a schematic diagram of a network node, according to an embodiment.

[0071] Fig. 21 illustrates a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0072] 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.

[0073] Disclaimer and terminology

[0074] In below embodiments, we have considered or assumed use cases with ultra-low power devices, ZE or A-IoT devices. However, the solutions should not be limited to such devices, and can be extended other service / device classes or categories, e.g., related to enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB), massive- Machine Type Communication (MTC), Ultra-Reliable Low- Latency Communications (URLLC), Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN), etc. The applicable services are typically associated with a short data burst and large interval.

[0075] The term RAN node is used which can be a network node or a UE. Examples of network nodes are NodeB (NB), BS, multi-standard radio (MSR) radio node such as MSR BS, eNB, gNB, MeNB, SeNB, location measurement unit (LMU), IAB node, network controller, radio network controller (RNC), base station controller (BCS), relay, IAB, repeater, donor nodecontrolling relay, base transceiver station (BTS), Central Unit (e.g. in a gNB), Distributed Unit (e.g. in a gNB), Baseband Unit, Centralized Baseband, C-RAN, access point (AP), transmission points, transmission nodes, transmission reception point (TRP), RRU, RRH, nodes in distributed antenna system (DAS), core network node (e.g. MCS, MME etc.), O&M, OSS, SON, positioning node (e.g. E-SMLC), etc.

[0076] In particular, in an A-IoT scenario, the RAN nodes comprise intermediate node / UE (e.g., relay UE, IAB, repeater, etc.) at least in connection with topology 2.

[0077] A CW may occupy a full or a part of a carrier, i.e., N Physical Resource Blocks (PRBs) or X Hzs. The occupied carrier parts / segments may span in the frequency domain in a consecutive or non-consecutive manner. In case a CW occupies part of a carrier / band, multiple CWs may occur at the same time and occupy the full carrier / band.

[0078] The network node in this disclosure may also be a UE, an IAB node, a repeater or a relay UE, which transmits signals and controls CWT to serve one or multiple A-IoT devices.

[0079] A CWT provides a CW to one or multiple A-IoT devices. A CWT may be implemented by a network node if the network node can provide CWs.

[0080] Various embodiments using Direction of Arrival (DOA) as an example positioning method are described. However, the embodiments are not limited to DOA and are equally applicable to any other positioning methods directly or after minor change (e.g., Multi-Round-trip time (RTT), Angle of Arrival (AoA), Angle of Departure (AoD), enhanced cell ID (ECID), etc.).

[0081] An example of a positioning procedure / method 100 for an AIoT device according to an embodiment is illustrated in Fig. 8. For example, an AIoT device, a plurality of CWTs and a network node (e.g. RAN node) are in communication with each other. The steps do not need to be performed in the order as described below.

[0082] In step 105, the RAN node requests / signals one or more CWTs to start a CW transmission at a first time, the first time being referred to as a first start time. The RAN node can send an indication of the first start time in a separate message.

[0083] In step 110, the RAN node requests / signals the A-IoT device to perform a transmission at a second time, referred to as a first response time. The transmission can be a backscattered transmission (based on the received CW from one or more CWTs). Alternatively, it sends a first command to the A-IoT device indicating a first response time (i.e., the earliest time that the A-IoT device can backscatter a detected carrier wave). For example, the first start time is earlier than the first response time.

[0084] In step 115, the A-IoT device sends a backscattered transmission to the RAN node, using the CW received from the one or more CWTs, at the first response time.

[0085] In step 120, upon receipt of the backscattered transmission, the RAN node determines the propagation distance between the A-IoT device and the RAN node, using different techniques, that will be described hereinbelow.

[0086] In step 125, the one or more CWTs stop / pause ongoing carrier wave transmission (if they are still transmitting).

[0087] In step 130, the RAN node requests / signals the A-IoT device to perform a transmission at a second response time, i.e., the A-IoT device starts / prepares to backscatter on any detected carrier wave, at the second respond time. Alternatively, it sends a second command to the A-IoT device indicating a second response time (i.e., the earliest time that the A-IoT device can backscatter a detected carrier wave).

[0088] In step 135, the RAN node signals one or more CWTs to start carrier wave transmission at a second start time. The one or more CWTs can be the same CWTs as in step 105, or they could be different ones.

[0089] In step 140, the CWTs start or resume a CW transmission at the second start time.

[0090] In step 145, the A-IoT device sends a backscattered transmission to the RAN node at the second response time.

[0091] In step 150, the RAN node determines the overall propagation from each CWT to the RAN node via the A-IoT device. It can also determine a distance between each CWT and the A- loT device (in step 155). Furthermore, it can also determine the position of the A-IoT device based on, e.g., triangular positioning (in step 160), using at least the information from the backscattered transmissions at the first and second response times.

[0092] Now, details of the steps in the positioning procedure 100 will be provided.

[0093] Embodiments at the network node / LMF

[0094] The network node (e.g. RAN node) serving the A-IoT device manages the CWTs which may reach (illuminate with CW) the A-IoT device with respect to below operations and associated information.

[0095] In step 105, the network node signal s / commands one or more CWTs to transmit CWs. The CWs can carry one or more of the information below, in a message on the CW or by a predefined Layer 1 (LI) bit sequence or by a pre-defined waveform:

[0096] - The identity of the CWT;

[0097] - An indicator indicating that the CW is for positioning purposes;

[0098] - A time stamp indicating the beginning / end of the CW for positioning purposes. It may be an absolute time instant, relative time offset to a reference time point, relative time offset to a received signal from the network node;

[0099] - Output power of the CW of the CWT.

[0100] In one option, the network node signals the one or more CWTs on direct connection interface to the CWTs, e.g. Xn or Uu interface. Alternatively, the network node signals the CWTs by sending a request to the core network (CN) and the CN in turn sends signals to the CWTs.

[0101] In one example, the network node can send to the LMF the positioning measurement data, e.g., the time instant of the start time of the CW signaled to the CWTs, or the power level of the CW. In another option, the LMF provides positioning assistance information, e.g., the start time of transmitting CW to the network node and the CWT. In another option, the network node reports to the LMF of the positioning measurement data, e.g., the time of sending signals to the one or more CWTs, if the CWTs processing time from receiving signals to transmitting CWs is neglectable and the intended transmitting time of the CW at the CWT.

[0102] In one example, the network node can further inform the CWTs of configurations configuring set(s) of (e.g. in time domain) positioning resources indicating the beginning / end of the carrier wave for positioning purposes, including at least one of start time / point, end time / point, duration, offset between consecutive resources, for the CWTs. The resources for different CWTs shall be multiplexed in time domain, normally with the same duration and same offset between consecutive resources. By this, each CWT shall transmit a CW and the aforementioned information to the A-IoT device in the resource assigned to the CWT.

[0103] To indicate the positioning resources, the CWTs set up and maintain sync with the network node (NN) with respect to the sync source provided by the NN. For example, the network node sends a signal to the CWTs to trigger the sync procedure in the CWTs. The sync procedure shall be ready / completed before positioning operations in the network node and the CWTs.

[0104] On top of the configuration for positioning resources, a positioning gap window can be configured by the network node, e.g. all resources shall be contained in the window. No CWT shall transmit anything outside of the resources assigned to it in the positioning gap window. Before and after the window, it is up to the network node and CWTs to determine whether transmitting or resuming transmitting CWs. One example of positioning resources and positioning gap window is illustrated in Fig. 9. Within the positioning gap window 200, there are for example 3 resources assigned for positioning, referred to as positioning resources. Each positioning resource is assigned to a particular CWT (e.g. CWT1 or CWT2 or CWTN) in time.

[0105] In an alternative solution, the LMF determines (may be based on assistance information provided by the gNB) the configurations configuring set(s) of (time) positioning resources, the positioning gap window, and sends the configurations to the gNB, CWTs and the A-IoT device.

[0106] In step 110, in one example, the network node informs the A-IoT device of indications concerning when the positioning procedure is to be performed, including at least one of the below information:

[0107] - The start / end of time / point of the positioning operation; it may equal to the positioning gap window 200. It may be an absolute time instant, relative time offset to a reference time point, relative time offset to a received signal from the network node, etc.;

[0108] - The positioning resources, additionally the association between the positioning resources and the identities of the CWTs;

[0109] - The positioning response resources, in which the A-IoT device performs UL transmissions, and also the association between the positioning resources and the identities of the CWTs;

[0110] - The information originally destined to the CWTs, by which the A-IoT device identifies the CWTs which transmit the carrier wave: a. The identity of the CWT; b. An indicator indicating that the carrier wave is for positioning purposes; c. A time stamp indicating the beginning / end of the carrier wave for positioning purposes. It may be an absolute time instant, relative time offset to a reference time point, relative time offset to a received signal from the network node.[OHl] The A-IoT device, through this information, is able to determine when the positioning procedure starts, determine when to receive / transmit and identify the CWTs from the received CWs with respect to the identities of the CWTs.

[0112] In the information provided to the A-IoT device, the positioning response resources, depending on the A-IoT device’s capability and / or up to the network node implementation, are for the A-IoT device to backscatter / perform UL transmission with respect to the received carrier waves for positioning purposes. There are at least two kinds of positioning response resource pattern with respect to the incident carrier waves on positioning resources. However, more flexible patterns aren’t precluded.

[0113] Some examples of positioning response resource patterns are provided below.

[0114] Fig. 10 illustrates an example of position response resources with regards to position resources. For example, one position resource is followed by one positioning response resource. This case may be applied to the A-IoT device which is capable of backscattering the incident earner wave.

[0115] Fig. 11 illustrates another example of position response resources with regards to position resources. In this case, all position resources are after all positioning response resources.

[0116] The format of time relationship of a positioning response resource to incident carrier waves on a positioning resource, as in above two options, may be defined with a time offset to the incident carrier wave for positioning purpose from certain CWTs.

[0117] Alternatively, since the network node is aware of the transmitting time of carrier waves from the CWTs, the network node may only provide the A-IoT device with positioning response resources with time relationship to other signals from the network node, but no information on positioning resources.

[0118] In one example, the network node receiving the positioning response (in step 115) from the A-IoT device acquires positioning measurement data, e.g., a time stamp indicating the beginning / end of reception of the positioning response from the A-IoT device, or the power level of the received response. The time stamp may be an absolute time instant, relative time offset to a reference time point, relative time offset to a transmitted signal from the network node, etc. The network node may further report the positioning measurement data to the LMF. It should be noted that other measurements could be reported, such as angle of arrival, strength of the signals and any other metrics known in the art, that are used to determine positioning of an entity.

[0119] In one example, the network node / LMF supervises the time duration for the positioning procedure through a timer. Once the network node initiates the positioning procedure by triggering the carrier wave transmission by the CWTs, or the LMF sends positioning request to the network node, the network / LMF may start a timer with a preconfigured value. When the timer is running, the network node / LMF keeps receiving UL signals from the A-IoT device, e.g., by backscattering the carrier waves or UL signals generated by the A-IoT device as a response to those carrier waves. In one example, if the network node / LMF cannot receive N1 (e.g., Nl>2 ) number of such UL signals from the A-IoT device, the network node / LMF may determine failure of the positioning procedure. If the network node / LMF receives one or more failure reports from the A-IoT device, the network node / LMF may determine failure of the positioning procedure or declare successful positioning but with positioning performance degradation.

[0120] It should be noted that the CWTs and the A-IoT device shall be time synced (synchronized) with the network node, either based on the absolute time or relative time offset. Some implementations or capabilities in CWTs and A-IoT device are required to support such time sync. There is an issue to align timing between the CWTs and A-IoT device. In case the CWTs are directly controlled by the network node on the air interface or on a wire connection, the delay of signals from the network node to the CWTs is neglectable. The processing time of signalsfrom the network node to the CWTs is neglectable or this delay and processing time are calibrated. When considering that the propagation time of signals from the network node to the A-IoT device is neglectable, the CWTs and A-IoT device don’t need to maintain timing tracking to sync, with the network node and share timing information with each other.

[0121] In one example, the network node sends a periodic reference signal with an index to the CWTs and the A-IoT device. In this case, the CWTs and the A-IoT device follow the following rules:

[0122] - The CWTs send carrier waves following the reference signal with a particular index; the A-IoT device shall receive a carrier wave following reception of the reference signal with the particular index, which are shown in Fig. 12. The top part of Fig. 12 shows the network node sending periodic reference signals to the CWTs (CWT 1 to CWT N), which then follow the reference signal indices to send their carrier waves. The bottom part of Fig. 12 shows the A-IoT device following the reference signal indices to receive its positioning resources. With such rules, the carrier waves can be correctly transmitted by the CWTs and received by the A-IoT device with one-to-one mapping. Furthermore, the first index and the last index shall be provided to the CWTs and A-IoT device; the CWTs and A-IoT device can determine the start / end point of the positioning procedure. The periodic reference signals may also benefit the timing of the CWTs and A-IoT device to avoid timing change impact to positioning.

[0123] In one example, the RAN node / network node controls one or multiple CWT devices about when to transmit a carrier wave towards a A-IoT device (e.g. in step 105), and controls the A-IoT device about when to provide a backscattered transmission or response (e.g. in step 110), based on which the RAN node can determine distances (e.g. in step 120) including:

[0124] - the distance between the A-IoT device and the RAN node;

[0125] - the distance between the A-IoT device and each CWT device.

[0126] In a typical positioning procedure / session, two (or more than two) position nodes are typically involved in addition to the A-IoT device, for example in

[0127] Option 1, the RAN node plus one or more CWT are used for positioning. In option 2, two or more CWT are involved in the positioning procedure.

[0128] Based on the determined distance information and location information of the positioning nodes (assuming the RAN node knows its own location and location of each CWT), the RAN node can determine the A-IoT device’s position based on e.g., triangulation positioning method or another positioning methods (such as OTDOA, Reference Signal Time Difference (RSTD), Time of arrival (TOA), etc.). For example, after the CWT devices have transmitted the CW based on the request received in step 105, and the A-IoT device has backscattered on thecarrier wave (which is detected by the RAN node) in step 115, the RAN node determines the distance between the A-IoT device and the RAN node (step 120). For example, the RAN node computes the signal / wave propagation time which is equal to the difference between the response time and the (earliest) time when the RAN node has detected the backscattered signal. Based on this, the RAN node can determine the distance between the A-IoT device and the RAN node. Furthermore, since the RAN node knows when one or more CWTs have transmitted the carrier waves towards the A-IoT device at the second start time, the RAN node can determine the overall propagation time from the time when a CWT device starts to emit the CW at the second start time to the time when the RAN node has received / detected the CW backscattered by the A-IoT device. Based on that, the RAN node can determine the overall propagation distance (in step 150), i.e., the signal travels from the CWT to the RAN node via the A-IoT device.

[0129] The gNB / network node / RAN node can provide the determined distance and location information to a positioning server (e.g. LMF) to determine the A-IoT device’s location.

[0130] As shown in Fig. 8, the RAN node also controls the A-IoT device in the positioning procedure. For example, the RAN node sends a command to the A-IoT device indicating when the A-IoT device can send a response (e.g., backscatter on a detected CW), see steps 110 and 130.

[0131] In an example, the A-IoT device can determine the time (to send the response) relative to the time when it receives the command. For example, the time is equal to the time when the A- loT device has received the command plus a response delaying time period / gap. The A-IoT device determines the response delaying time period / gap based on the length / duration of a calibration symbol (e.g., included in a preamble preceding the command) and a coefficient parameter (e.g., preconfigured, or signaled in another or this command). For instance, the response delaying time period is equal to the symbol length / duration multiplied by the coefficient.

[0132] After the request in step 105, or 135 at least one CWT shall start / resume sending the carrier wave at the first start time or second start time. If more than one CWTs are sending carrier waves, the carrier waves sent from the different CWTs should be sufficiently separated in frequency domain such that the backscattered transmissions are also separated in frequency domain (i.e., a backscattered transmission does not overlap with other backscattered transmissions and carrier waves in frequency domain).

[0133] Note: for any one of the above steps, a carrier wave start time may be set either per A- loT device specific or per A-IoT device -CWT pair specific. In the former, the same CW start time is applied for all the CWTs that are involved in the positioning procedure. CWs sent by the CWTs should be sufficiently separated in frequency domain such that the backscattered transmissions are also separated in frequency domain. In the latter, different CW start times may / can be applied fordifferent CWTs that are involved in the positioning procedure. Carrier waves can be transmitted on the same frequency at different time instants for avoiding overlapping.

[0134] Embodiments on A-IoT device

[0135] In one example, once receiving the carrier waves carrying the associated information, the A-IoT device backscatters / responds with UL signals to the network node (steps 115 and 145), which contain at the least one of below information, on the provided positioning response resources, including at least one of the below information:

[0136] - The identity of the A-IoT device;

[0137] - An indicator indicating that the UL transmission is a response to the positioning carrier wave by the CWT, it also represents the available carrier wave in each positioning resource;

[0138] - Positioning measurement data, e.g., a time stamp indicating the beginning / end of reception of the positioning carrier wave by the CWT, or the power level of the received carrier wave. The time stamp may be an absolute time instant, relative time offset to a reference time point, relative time offset to a received signal from the network node, etc.

[0139] - The information that comes originally from the CWTs, which the A-IoT device only forwards them to the network node, such as: a. The identity of the CWT; b. An indicator indicating that the carrier wave is for positioning purposes; c. A time stamp indicating the beginning / end of the carrier wave for positioning purposes. It may be an absolute time instant, relative time offset to a reference time point, relative time offset to a received signal from the network node.

[0140] In one option, the A-IoT device sends to the network node and the CWT the time instant at which the A-IoT device received the carrier wave from the CWTs. In another option, the A-IoT device sends to the network node and the CWT the time instant at which the UE backscatters / transmits the UL signals.

[0141] In one example, the A-IoT device may report positioning failure information to the network node and LMF. The information may additionally include the corresponding failure reasons, if at least one of below situations are met:

[0142] - The A-IoT device fails to receive carrier waves in at least one of positioning resources;

[0143] - The A-IoT device fails to obtain information to facilitate positioning procedure, e.g., position resource / positioning response resources / positioning gap window;

[0144] - The A-IoT device fails to identify at least one of the CWT information carried on the received carrier waves;

[0145] - The A-IoT device detects other / unexpected carrier waves / signals on the pre-defined positioning response resources in a positioning gap window.

[0146] In one option, the A-IoT device reports the positioning failure information, e.g., on the positioning response resource once the A-IoT device counteracts each failure. In another option, the A-IoT device reports the positioning failure information after receiving / transmitting all signals for positioning purposes, e.g. after the measurement gap window.

[0147] Now turning to Fig. 13, another example of a method for a positioning procedure 200 in an A-IoT device will be described. In this example, two or more CWTs send CWs to the A-IoT device to allow determining the positioning of the A-IoT device.

[0148] The positioning procedure 200 is performed in a communication network, in which at least an A-IoT device, a plurality of CWTs, a network node and a LMF are involved and communicate with each other. The steps for positioning are presented as follows:

[0149] In step 205, the A-IoT device, the plurality of CWTs, the network node and the LMF use the LPP protocol with each other and have LPP capability transfer.

[0150] In Step 210: the LMF sends a positioning information request to the network node.

[0151] In Step 215: the network node, determined by the LMF sends assistance information, e.g., positioning resources and positioning gap window configuration, etc., to the CWTs. The configuration and information of the positioning resources and gap window may be the same as those discussed with regards to Fig. 8.

[0152] Step 220: the network node, determined by the LMF, sends assistance information, such as positioning response resource configuration, e.g., positioning resources, positioning gap window, positioning response resources, etc., to the A-IoT device. The configuration and information of the positioning resources and gap window may be the same as those discussed with regards to Fig. 8.

[0153] Step 225 : The CWTs transmit carrier waves to the A-IoT device, and report the timing of transmitting the carrier waves to the network node (in step 230) and to LMF (in step 235).

[0154] Step 240: after receiving the carrier waves, the A-IoT device backscatters / performs UL transmissions to the network node, and reports the timing of receiving the carrier waves to the network node and LMF (in step 245).

[0155] Step 250: The LMF receives / collects reported timing information and execute calculation of positioning of the A-IoT device, based on the reported timing information and otherinformation. Different methods for determining the positioning of the A-IoT device can be contemplated, as will be appreciated by a skilled person in the art.

[0156] It should be noted that Fig. 13 is similar to Fig. 8, in the case when there are two CWTs transmitting CWs to the A-IoT device, in Fig. 8.

[0157] Other embodiments

[0158] In the above embodiments, the positioning procedure is enabled with tight coordination between the network node, the CWTs and the A-IoT device. Taking into account the fixed state / position of the A-IoT device and one or more CWTs, some parts of the procedure in the above embodiments may be simplified, e.g., through getting positioning measurement results from the CWTs one by one, configurations of positioning resources, positioning response resources and positioning gap window can be saved, with the tradeoff of the prolonged total cost time.

[0159] In one embodiment, which is illustrated in Fig. 14, the network node / LMF commands / requests one CWT to transmit a carrier wave, which can carry all the information disclosed in this disclosure. The network node can command the other CWTs to mute / refrain from transmitting carrier waves. Furthermore, in one option, the network node reports to the LMF the time instant when sending the command to transmit the carrier wave. In another option, the CWT reports to the LMF the time instant when transmitting the CW.

[0160] Then, the A-IoT device backscatters / responds with UL signals to the network node, if the A-IoT device receives the carrier wave, which may carry all the information as disclosed in this disclosure. Furthermore, in one option, the A-IoT device reports to the network node and the LMF the time instant when the A-IoT device receives the carrier wave. In another option, the A- loT device reports to the network node and the LMF the time instant when backscattering / transmitting the UL signal.

[0161] After the network node / LMF receives the report from the A-IoT device, the network node / LMF commands another CWT to transmit a carrier wave and commands other CWTs to mute transmitting their carrier wave, and then the above procedure is repeated. After the network node / LMF acquires an adequate number of time information, the LMF executes calculation of the positioning of the A-IoT device.

[0162] In another embodiment, the network node transmits a signal, such as a positioning reference signal, to the A-IoT device, acting the same as the CWT transmitting a carrier wave for positioning purposes. With this, the amount / number of CWTs to be involved in the positioning procedure may be reduced. Moreover, multiple network nodes, as substitutes of the CWTs, may implement the solutions / methods in this disclosure for perform the positioning procedure.

[0163] Now turning to Fig. 15, an example flow chart of a method 300 in an A-IoT device, such as UE 1812 or 1900, for positioning purposes, will be described. Method 300 comprises:

[0164] Step 310: receiving a message (or request) from a network node, the message comprising information related to a positioning procedure for the A-IoT device;

[0165] Step 320: receiving at least a first carrier wave (CW) and a second carrier wave;

[0166] Step 330: sending a first response and a second response to the network node, based on the received at least first carrier wave and second carrier wave and the received information.

[0167] In some examples, the information comprises an indication of a first response time and a second response time at which the A-IoT device sends the first response and second response to the network node respectively. In some examples, the information further comprises one or more of the following parameters:

[0168] - an indication of one or more positioning resources;

[0169] - an indication of a positioning gap window;

[0170] - an indication of a beginning / end of a carrier wave for positioning; and

[0171] - an indication of one or more of a start time / point, an end time / point, a duration, an offset between consecutive positioning resources.

[0172] In some examples, the first received carrier wave or the second received CW comprises one or more of the following parameters:

[0173] - an identity of a carrier wave transmitter (CWT);

[0174] - an indicator indicating that the carrier wave is for positioning purposes;

[0175] - a time stamp indicating a beginning / end of the carrier wave for positioning;

[0176] - an indication of an output power of the carrier wave of the CWT;

[0177] - an indication of positioning resources;

[0178] - an indication of an association between the positioning resources and the identity of the CWT; and

[0179] - an indication of positioning response resources, in which the A-IoT device is to perform an uplink transmission.

[0180] In some examples, the second CW is received after the first CW. In some examples, the A-IoT determines one or more of a start of the positioning procedure, when to receive / transmit and identify a CWT from the received first and second carrier waves. In some examples, the A- loT device receives a periodic reference signal with an index, from the network node. In some examples, the A-IoT device receives a message from the network node, the message requesting the A-IoT device to perform an uplink transmission. In some examples, the A-IoT device sends to the network node or a CWT an indication of a time instant when the first carrier wave was receivedor an indication of a time instant when the first response was sent. In some examples, the first response or second response comprises one or more of the following: an indication of the identity of the A-IoT device, an indicator indicating that the first response or second response transmission is a response to the first CW or second CW for positioning, and positioning measurement data. In some examples, the positioning measurement data comprise one or more of the following: an indication of a time stamp indicating the beginning / end of reception of the first carrier wave or second CW, an indication of a power level of the received first carrier wave or second CW. In some examples, the A-IoT device reports an indication of positioning failure information to the network node. In some examples, the first response and the second response are backscattered transmissions. In some examples, the first response is sent on the positioning resources. In some examples, the network node is a RAN node or a LMF, such as 1810 of Fig. 18 or 2000 of Fig. 20.

[0181] Fig. 16 illustrates a flow chart of an example of a method 400 in a network node, such as 1810 of Fig. 18 or 2000 of Fig. 20, for positioning purposes. The network node may be in communication with a plurality of CWTs and an A-IoT device. Method 400 comprises:

[0182] Step 410: sending a request to the A-IoT device and one or more CWTs, the request comprising information related to positioning of the A-IoT device;

[0183] Step 420: receiving a first response and a second response from the A-IoT device based on the information in the request; and

[0184] Step 430: performing one of calculating a position of the A-IoT device based on the received first and second responses and sending the first and second messages to another network node.

[0185] The other node can be a LMF. In some examples, the information comprises an indication of a first response time and a second response time at which the A-IoT device sends the first response and second response to the network node respectively. In some examples, the information comprises an indication of a first start time and second start time at which one CWT transmits a first CW and second CW respectively or at which two CWTs transmit the first CW and second CW respectively. In some examples, the information further comprises one or more of the following parameters:

[0186] - an indication of one or more positioning resources;

[0187] - an indication of a positioning gap window;

[0188] - an indication of a beginning / end of a carrier wave for positioning; and

[0189] - an indication of one or more of a start time / point, an end time / point, a duration, an offset between consecutive positioning resources.

[0190] In some examples, the first received carrier wave or the second received CW comprises one or more of the following parameters:

[0191] - an identity of a carrier wave transmitter (CWT);

[0192] - an indicator indicating that the carrier wave is for positioning purposes;

[0193] - a time stamp indicating a beginning / end of the carrier wave for positioning;

[0194] - an indication of an output power of the carrier wave of the CWT;

[0195] - an indication of positioning resources;

[0196] - an indication of an association between the positioning resources and the identity of the CWT; and

[0197] - an indication of positioning response resources, in which the A-IoT device is to perform an uplink transmission.

[0198] In some examples, the network node sends a periodic reference signal with an index to one or more CWTs and the A-IoT device. In some examples, the network node sends a message to the A-IoT device, the message requesting the A-IoT device to perform an uplink transmission. In some examples, the network node receives from the A-IoT device an indication of a time instant when the A-IoT device received a first carrier wave and a second CW or an indication of a time instant when the A-IoT device sent the first response and the second response. In some examples, the first response or second response comprises one or more of the following: an indication of the identity of the A-IoT device, an indicator indicating that the first response or second response transmission is a response to the first CW or second CW for positioning, and positioning measurement data. In some examples, the positioning measurement data comprise one or more of the following: an indication of a time stamp indicating the beginning / end of reception of the first carrier wave or second CW, an indication of a power level of the received first carrier wave or second CW. In some examples, the network node receives an indication of positioning failure information from the A-IoT device. In some examples, the first response and the second response are backscattered transmissions. In some examples, the network node calculates the position of the A-IoT device by:

[0199] - determining a distance between the A-IoT device and the network node or a distance between the A-IoT device and one or more CWTs based on at least the first and second responses; and

[0200] - based on the distance, performing a triangulation method to determine the A-IoT device position.

[0201] Fig. 17 illustrates a flow chart of an example of a method 500 in CWT for positioning purposes. The CWT may be in communication with a network node and an A-IoT device (such as 1812 of Fig. 18 or 1900 of Fig. 19). Method 500 comprises:

[0202] Step 510: receiving, from a network node, a request, the request comprising information related to positioning of the A-IoT device;

[0203] Step 520: sending a carrier wave to the A-IoT device, based on the information related to the positioning of the A-IoT device, the carrier wave comprising a configuration for positioning.

[0204] In some examples, the request comprises an indication of a start time for transmitting a CW. In some examples, the configuration for positioning comprises one or more of the following: an identity of a CWT, an indicator indicating that the carrier wave is for positioning purpose, a time stamp indicating a beginning / end of the carrier wave, and a configuration for positioning resources. In some examples, the configuration for positioning resources comprises one or more of the following parameters:

[0205] - an indication of one or more of start time / point, end time / point, duration, offset between consecutive resources;

[0206] - an indication of positioning resources; and

[0207] - an indication of a positioning gap window.

[0208] In some examples, the CWT sends an indication of a time stamp of a carrier wave transmission to the network node.

[0209] Fig. 18 shows an example of a communication system 1800 according to an example. In the example, the communication system 1800 includes a telecommunication network 1802 that includes an access network 1804, such as a RAN, and a core network 1806, which includes one or more core network nodes 1808. The access network 1804 includes one or more access network nodes, such as network nodes 1810a and 1810b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as network nodes 1810), or any other similar 3GPP access nodes or non-3GPP access points. Moreover, as will be appreciated by those of skill in the art, a network node is 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 network nodes include disaggregated implementations or portions thereof. For example, in some embodiments, the telecommunication network 1802 includes one or more Open-RAN (ORAN) network nodes. An ORAN network node is a node in the telecommunication network 1802 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 ofany node in the telecommunication network 1802, including one or more network nodes 1810 and / or core network nodes 1808.

[0210] 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 control application (e.g., xApp) or a non-real time control 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. Moreover, an ORAN access 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 platform orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an O-2 interface defined by the O-RAN Alliance or comparable technologies. The network nodes 1810 facilitate direct or indirect connection of user equipment (UE), such as by connecting UEs 1812a, 1812b, 1812c, and 1812d (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UEs 1812) to the core network 1806 over one or more wireless connections.

[0211] 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 1800 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 1800 may include and / or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and / or other similar type of system.

[0212] The UEs 1812 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 1810 and other communication devices. Similarly, the network nodes 1810 are arranged, capable, configured, and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with the UEs 1812 and / or with other network nodes or equipment in the telecommunication network 1802 toenable and / or provide network access, such as wireless network access, and / or to perform other functions, such as administration in the telecommunication network 1802.

[0213] In the depicted example, the core network 1806 connects the network nodes 1810 to one or more hosts, such as host 1816. 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 1806 includes one more core network nodes (e.g., core network node 1808) 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 1808. 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), Subscription Identifier De-concealing function (SIDF), Unified Data Management (UDM), Security Edge Protection Proxy (SEPP), Network Exposure Function (NEF), and / or a User Plane Function (UPF).

[0214] The host 1816 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider other than an operator or provider of the access network 1804 and / or the telecommunication network 1802, and may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider. The host 1816 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.

[0215] As a whole, the communication system 1800 of Fig. 18 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.

[0216] In some examples, the telecommunication network 1802 is a cellular network that implements 3GPP standardized features. Accordingly, the telecommunications network 1802 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices that are connected to the telecommunication network 1802. For example, the telecommunications network 1802 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) / Massive loT services to yet further UEs.

[0217] In some examples, the UEs 1812 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 1804 on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the access network 1804. Additionally, a UE may be configured for operating in single- or multi -RAT or multi -standard mode. For example, a UE may operate with any one or combination of Wi-Fi, NR and LTE, i.e. being configured for multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC), such as E-UTRAN (Evolved-UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network) NR - Dual Connectivity (EN-DC).

[0218] In the example, the hub 1814 communicates with the access network 1804 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UE 1812c and / or 1812d) and network nodes (e.g., network node 1810b). In some examples, the hub 1814 may be a controller, router, content source and analytics, or any of the other communication devices described herein regarding UEs. For example, the hub 1814 may be a broadband router enabling access to the core network 1806 for the UEs. As another example, the hub 1814 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 1810, or by executable code, script, process, or other instructions in the hub 1814. As another example, the hub 1814 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 1814 may be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a VR headset, display, loudspeaker or other media delivery device, the hub 1814 may retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via a network node, which the hub 1814 then provides to the UE either directly, after performing local processing, and / or after adding additional local content. In still another example, the hub 1814 acts as a proxy server or orchestrator for the UEs, in particular if one or more of the UEs are low energy loT devices.

[0219] The hub 1814 may have a constant / persistent or intermittent connection to the network node 1810b. The hub 1814 may also allow for a different communication scheme and / or schedulebetween the hub 1814 and UEs (e.g., UE 1812c and / or 1812d), and between the hub 1814 and the core network 1806. In other examples, the hub 1814 is connected to the core network 1806 and / or one or more UEs via a wired connection. Moreover, the hub 1814 may be configured to connect to an M2M service provider over the access network 1804 and / or to another UE over a direct connection. In some scenarios, UEs may establish a wireless connection with the network nodes 1810 while still connected via the hub 1814 via a wired or wireless connection. In some embodiments, the hub 1814 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 1810b. In other embodiments, the hub 1814 may be a non-dedicated hub - that is, a device which is capable of operating to route communications between the UEs and network node 1810b, but which is additionally capable of operating as a communication start and / or end point for certain data channels.

[0220] Fig. 19 shows a wireless device / UE 1900 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, mobile station, tablet, laptop, laptop-embedded equipment (LEE), laptop-mounted equipment (LME), smart device, wireless customer-premise equipment (CPE), vehicle, etc. Other examples include any UE identified by the 3 GPP, including a narrow band loT (NB-IoT) UE, a machine type communication (MTC) UE, and / or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE.

[0221] 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).

[0222] The UE 1900 includes processing circuitry 1902 that is operatively coupled via a bus 1904 to an input / output interface 1906, a power source 1908, a memory 1910, a communication interface 1912, and / or any other component, or any combination thereof. Certain UEs may utilize all or a subset of the components shown in Fig. 19. The level of integration between the components may vary from one UE to another UE. Further, certain UEs may contain multipleinstances of a component, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.

[0223] The processing circuitry 1902 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 1910. The processing circuitry 1902 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 1902 may include multiple central processing units (CPUs). Further, the processing circuitry 1902 is configured to perform any steps of method 300 of Fig. 15, when the UE is an A-IoT device.

[0224] In the example, the input / output interface 1906 may be configured to provide an interface or interfaces to an input device, output device, or one or more input and / or output devices.

[0225] In some embodiments, the power source 1908 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 1908 may further include power circuitry for delivering power from the power source 1908 itself, and / or an external power source, to the various parts of the UE 1900 via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Delivering power may be, for example, for charging of the power source 1908. Power circuitry may perform any formatting, converting, or other modification to the power from the power source 1908 to make the power suitable for the respective components of the UE 1900 to which power is supplied.

[0226] The memory 1910 may be or be configured to include memory such as random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), programmable ROM (PROM), erasable PROM (EPROM), electrically EPROM (EEPROM), magnetic, optical or hard disks, removable cartridges, flash drives, etc. In one example, the memory 1910 includes one or more application programs 1914, such as an operating system, web browser application, a widget, gadget engine, or other application, and corresponding data 1916. The memory 1910 may store, for use by the UE 1900, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems.

[0227] The memory 1910 may be configured to include a number of physical drive units, such as redundant array of independent disks (RAID), flash memory, other memory, etc., 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 1910 mayallow the UE 1900 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 1910, which may be or comprise a device-readable storage medium.

[0228] The processing circuitry 1902 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network using the communication interface 1912. The communication interface 1912 may comprise one or more communication subsystems and may include or be communicatively coupled to an antenna 1922. The communication interface 1912 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 1918 and / or a receiver 1920 appropriate to provide network communications (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocations, and so forth). Moreover, the transmitter 1918 and receiver 1920 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., antenna 1922) and may share circuit components, software or firmware, or alternatively be implemented separately.

[0229] In the illustrated embodiment, communication functions of the communication interface 1912 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, NR, UMTS, WiMax, Ethernet, transmission control protocol / internet protocol (TCP / IP), synchronous optical networking (SONET), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), QUIC, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), and so forth.

[0230] Regardless of the type of sensor, a UE may provide an output of data captured by its sensors, through its communication interface 1912, 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.

[0231] 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 surfacesor 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.

[0232] A UE, when in the form of an 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 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 1900 shown in Fig. 19. The loT UE can be an A-IoT device. In this case, it should be noted that the A-IoT device has less processing circuitry and memory than the UE as described above. Indeed, the A-IoT device is a simpler version than a UE.

[0233] 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 3GPP context be referred to as an MTC device. As one particular example, the UE may implement the 3GPP 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.

[0234] 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.

[0235] Fig. 20 shows a network node 2000 according to an example. 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 telecommunicationnetwork. 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, NBs, evolved NBs (eNBs) and NR NBs (gNBs)), O-RAN nodes or components of an O-RAN node (e.g., O-RU, O-DU, O-CU).

[0236] BS 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, distributed units (e.g., in an O-RAN access node) 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).

[0237] 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, and core network nodes such as LMF.

[0238] The network node 2000 includes a processing circuitry 2002, a memory 2004, a communication interface 2006, and a power source 2008. The network node 2000 may be composed of multiple physically separate components (e.g., a NB 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 2000 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 NBs. In such a scenario, each unique NB and RNC pair, may in some instances be considered a single separate network node. In some embodiments, the network node 2000 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate memory 2004 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., a same antenna 2010 may be shared by different RATs). The network node 2000 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node 2000, 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 2000.

[0239] The processing circuitry 2002 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 2000 components, such as the memory 2004, to provide network node 2000 functionality.

[0240] In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 2002 includes a system on a chip (SOC). In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 2002 includes one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 2012 and baseband processing circuitry 2014. In some embodiments, the radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 2012 and the baseband processing circuitry 2014 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 2012 and baseband processing circuitry 2014 may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units. Further, the processing circuitry 2002 is configured to perform any steps of method 400 of Fig. 16, whether the network node is a LMF or a RAN node. Furthermore, a CWT could be a simplified version of the network node 2000. As such, the processing circuitry 2002 can be configured to perform also any steps of method 500 of Fig. 17.

[0241] The memory 2004 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), 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 other volatile 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 2002. The memory 2004 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 2002 and utilized by the network node 2000. The memory 2004 may be used to store any calculations made by the processing circuitry 2002 and / or any data received via the communication interface 2006. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 2002 and memory 2004 is integrated.

[0242] The communication interface 2006 is used in wired or wireless communication of signaling and / or data between a network node, access network, and / or UE. As illustrated, thecommunication interface 2006 comprises port(s) / terminal(s) 2016 to send and receive data, for example to and from a network over a wired connection. The communication interface 2006 also includes radio front-end circuitry 2018 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, the antenna 2010. Radio front-end circuitry 2018 comprises filters 2020 and amplifiers 2022. The radio front-end circuitry 2018 may be connected to an antenna 2010 and processing circuitry 2002. The radio front-end circuitry may be configured to condition signals communicated between antenna 2010 and processing circuitry 2002. The radio front-end circuitry 2018 may receive digital data that is to be sent out to other network nodes or UEs via a wireless connection. The radio frontend circuitry 2018 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 2020 and / or amplifiers 2022. The radio signal may then be transmitted via the antenna 2010. Similarly, when receiving data, the antenna 2010 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by the radio front-end circuitry 2018. The digital data may be passed to the processing circuitry 2002. In other embodiments, the communication interface may comprise different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0243] In certain alternative embodiments, the network node 2000 does not include separate radio front-end circuitry 2018, instead, the processing circuitry 2002 includes radio front-end circuitry and is connected to the antenna 2010. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuitry 2012 is part of the communication interface 2006. In still other embodiments, the communication interface 2006 includes one or more ports or terminals 2016, the radio front-end circuitry 2018, and the RF transceiver circuitry 2012, as part of a radio unit (not shown), and the communication interface 2006 communicates with the baseband processing circuitry 2014, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).

[0244] The antenna 2010 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and / or receive wireless signals. The antenna 2010 may be coupled to the radio front-end circuitry 2018 and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and / or signals wirelessly. In certain embodiments, the antenna 2010 is separate from the network node 2000 and connectable to the network node 2000 through an interface or port.

[0245] The antenna 2010, communication interface 2006, and / or the processing circuitry 2002 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 2010, the communication interface 2006, and / or the processing circuitry 2002 may be configured to perform any transmitting operations described herein as being performed by thenetwork node. Any information, data and / or signals may be transmitted to a UE, another network node and / or any other network equipment.

[0246] The power source 2008 provides power to the various components of network node 2000 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component). The power source 2008 may further comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry to supply the components of the network node 2000 with power for performing the functionality described herein. For example, the network node 2000 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 2008. As a further example, the power source 2008 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.

[0247] Embodiments of the network node 2000 may include additional components beyond those shown in Fig. 20 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 2000 may include user interface equipment to allow input of information into the network node 2000 and to allow output of information from the network node 2000. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for the network node 2000.

[0248] Fig. 21 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 2100 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 2100 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 2100 includes components defined by the O-RAN Alliance, such as an O-Cloud environment orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an O-2 interface.

[0249] Applications 2102 (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.

[0250] Hardware 2104 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 2106 (also referred to as hypervisors or virtual machine monitors (VMMs)), provide VMs 2108a and 2108b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as VMs 2108), and / or perform any of the functions, features and / or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein. The virtualization layer 2106 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to the VMs 2108.

[0251] The VMs 2108 comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 2106. Different embodiments of the instance of a virtual appliance 2102 may be implemented on one or more of VMs 2108, 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.

[0252] In the context of NFV, a VM 2108 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 2108, and that part of hardware 2104 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 2108 on top of the hardware 2104 and corresponds to the application 2102.

[0253] Hardware 2104 may be implemented in a standalone network node with generic or specific components. Hardware 2104 may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, hardware 2104 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 2110, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of applications 2102. In some embodiments, hardware 2104 is coupled to one or more radio units that each include one ormore 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 2112 which may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.

[0254] 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. 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.

[0255] 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.

[0256] It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the embodiments described herein are not limited to what has been particularly shown and described herein above. In addition, unless mention was made above to the contrary, it should be noted that all of the accompanying drawings are not to scale. A variety of modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings.

Claims

Claims1. A method (300) performed by an Ambient Internet of Thing (A-IoT) device (1812, 1900), the method (300) comprising:- receiving (310) a message from a network node, the message comprising information related to a positioning procedure for the A-IoT device;- receiving (320) at least a first carrier wave (CW) and a second carrier wave; and- sending (330) a first response and a second response to the network node, based on the received at least first carrier wave and second carrier wave and the received information.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the information comprises an indication of a first response time and a second response time at which the A-IoT device sends the first response and second response to the network node respectively.

3. The method of claim 1 or 2 wherein the information further comprises one or more of the following parameters:- an indication of one or more positioning resources;- an indication of a positioning gap window;- an indication of a beginning / end of a carrier wave for positioning; and- an indication of one or more of a start time / point, an end time / point, a duration, an offset between consecutive positioning resources.

4. The method of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the first received carrier wave or the second received CW comprises one or more of the following parameters:- an identity of a carrier wave transmitter (CWT);- an indicator indicating that the carrier wave is for positioning purposes;- a time stamp indicating a beginning / end of the carrier wave for positioning;- an indication of an output power of the carrier wave of the CWT;- an indication of positioning resources;- an indication of an association between the positioning resources and the identity of the CWT; and- an indication of positioning response resources, in which the A-IoT device is to perform an uplink transmission.

5. The method of any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the second CW is received after the first CW.

6. The method of any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising determining one or more of a start of the positioning procedure, when to receive / transmit and identify a CWT from the received first and second carrier waves.

7. The method of any one of claims 1 to 6, further comprising receiving a periodic reference signal with an index, from the network node.

8. The method of any one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising receiving a message from the network node, the message requesting the A-IoT device to perform an uplink transmission.

9. The method of any one of claims 1 to 8, further comprising sending to the network node or a CWT an indication of a time instant when the first carrier wave was received or an indication of a time instant when the first response was sent.

10. The method of any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the first response or second response comprises one or more of the following: an indication of the identity of the A-IoT device, an indicator indicating that the first response or second response transmission is a response to the first CW or second CW for positioning, and positioning measurement data.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the positioning measurement data comprise one or more of the following: an indication of a time stamp indicating the beginning / end of reception of the first carrier wave or second CW, an indication of a power level of the received first carrier wave or second CW.

12. The method of any one of claims 1 to 11, further comprising reporting an indication of positioning failure information to the network node.

13. The method of any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the first response and the second response are backscattered transmissions.

14. The method of claim 3 or 4, wherein the first response is sent on the positioning resources.

15. The method of any one of claims 1 to 14, wherein the network node is a Radio Access Network (RAN) node or a LMF.

16. The method of any one of claims 1 to 15, wherein the first CW and the second CW are from a same carrier wave transmitter (CWT).

17. The method of any one of claims 1 to 16, wherein the first CW and the second CW are from a first CWT and a second CWT, the first CWT being different from the second CWT.

18. A method (400) in a network node (1810, 2000), in communication with an Ambient Internet of Things (A-IoT) device (1812, 1900) for providing positioning information, the method (400) comprising:- sending (410) a request to the A-IoT device and one or more carrier wave transmitters (CWTs), the request comprising information related to positioning of the A-IoT device;- receiving (420) a first response and a second response from the A-IoT device based on the information in the request; and- performing (430) one of calculating a position of the A-IoT device based on the received first and second responses and sending the first and second messages to another network node.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the information comprises an indication of a first response time and a second response time at which the A-IoT device sends the first response and second response to the network node respectively.

20. The method of claim 18 or 19, wherein the information comprises an indication of a first start time and second start time at which one CWT transmits a first CW and second CW respectively or at which two CWTs transmit the first CW and second CW respectively.

21. The method of any one of claims 18 to 20, wherein the information further comprises one or more of the following parameters:- an indication of one or more positioning resources;- an indication of a positioning gap window;- an indication of a beginning / end of a carrier wave for positioning; and- an indication of one or more of a start time / point, an end time / point, a duration, an offset between consecutive positioning resources.

22. The method of any one of claims 18 to 21, wherein the first received carrier wave or the second received CW comprises one or more of the following parameters:- an identity of a carrier wave transmitter (CWT);- an indicator indicating that the carrier wave is for positioning purposes;- a time stamp indicating a beginning / end of the carrier wave for positioning;- an indication of an output power of the carrier wave of the CWT;- an indication of positioning resources;- an indication of an association between the positioning resources and the identity of the CWT; and- an indication of positioning response resources, in which the A-IoT device is to perform an uplink transmission.

23. The method of any one of claims 18 to 22, further comprising sending a periodic reference signal with an index to one or more CWTs and the A-IoT device.

24. The method of any one of claims 18 to 23, further comprising sending a message to the A- loT device, the message requesting the A-IoT device to perform an uplink transmission.

25. The method of any one of claims 18 to 24, further comprising receiving from the A-IoT device an indication of a time instant when the A-IoT device received a first carrier wave and a second CW or an indication of a time instant when the A-IoT device sent the first response and the second response.

26. The method of any one of claims 18 to 25, wherein the first response or second response comprises one or more of the following: an indication of the identity of the A-IoT device, an indicator indicating that the first response or second response transmission is a response to the first CW or second CW for positioning, and positioning measurement data.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein the positioning measurement data comprise one or more of the following: an indication of a time stamp indicating the beginning / end of reception of the first carrier wave or second CW, an indication of a power level of the received first carrier wave or second CW.

28. The method of any one of claims 18 to 27, further comprising receiving an indication of positioning failure information from the A-IoT device.

29. The method of any one of claims 18 to 28, wherein the first response and the second response are backscattered transmissions.

30. The method of any one of claims 18 to 29, wherein calculating the position of the A-IoT device comprises:- determining a distance between the A-IoT device and the network node or a distance between the A-IoT device and one or more CWTs based on at least the first and second responses; and- based on the distance, performing a triangulation method to determine the A-IoT device position.

31. The method of any one of claims 18 to 30, wherein the other network node is a LMF.

32. A method (500) in a carrier wave transmitter (CWT), in communication with an Ambient loT (A-IoT) device (1812, 1900) for providing positioning information, the method (500) comprising:- receiving (510), from a network node, a request, the request comprising information related to positioning of the A-IoT device;- sending (520) a carrier wave to the A-IoT device, based on the information related to the positioning of the A-IoT device, the carrier wave comprising a configuration for positioning.

33. The method of claim 32, wherein the request comprises an indication of a start time for transmitting a CW.

34. The method of claims 32 or 33, wherein the configuration for positioning comprises one or more of the following: an identity of a carrier wave transmitter (CWT), an indicator indicating that the carrier wave is for positioning purpose, a time stamp indicating a beginning / end of the carrier wave, and a configuration for positioning resources.

35. The method of claim 34, wherein the configuration for positioning resources comprises oneor more of the following parameters:- an indication of one or more of start time / point, end time / point, duration, offset between consecutive resources;- an indication of positioning resources; and- an indication of a positioning gap window.

36. The method of any one of claims 32 to 35, further comprising sending an indication of a time stamp of a carrier wave transmission to the network node.

37. An Ambient Internet of Things (A-IoT) device (1812, 1900), comprising a network interface (1912) and processing circuitry (1902) connected thereto, the processing circuitry (1902) configured to perform any of the steps of the method of any one of claims 1 to 17.

38. A network node (1810, 2000) for positioning purposes, the network node comprising a network interface (2006), processing circuitry (2002) connected thereto and power supply circuitry (2008) configured to supply power to the processing circuitry, the processing circuitry (2002) configured to perform any of the steps of the method of any one of claims 18 to 31.

39. A carrier wave transmitter (CWT) (1810, 1900) for positioning purposes, the CWT comprising a network interface (2006), processing circuitry (2002) connected thereto, the processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of the method of any one of claims 32 to 36.

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