Method, apparatus and computer program

Abstract

There is provided an apparatus comprising means for: sending, to a network exposure function, a first request to discover ambient devices within a geographical area, wherein the first request comprises information indicating the geographical area; and receiving, from a unified data management or unified data repository function via the network exposure function, a report comprising information identifying one or more ambient devices discovered within the indicated geographical area.

Description

[0001] METHOD, APPARATUS AND COMPUTER PROGRAM

[0002] TECHNICAL FIELD

[0003] Various example embodiments of this disclosure relate to a method, apparatus, system and computer program and in particular but not exclusively to discovering and reporting ambient devices.

[0004] BACKGROUND

[0005] A communication network can be seen as a facility that enables communications between two or more communication devices or provides communication devices access to a data network. A mobile or wireless communication network is one example of a communication network. A communication device may be provided with a service by an application server.

[0006] Such communication networks operate in accordance with standards such as those provided by 3GPP (Third Generation Partnership Project) or ETSI (European Telecommunications Standards Institute). Examples of standards provided by 3GPP are the so-called 3GPP standards for cellular technology generations, such as 3GPP standards for 4G technology and 3GPP standards for 5G technology.

[0007] SUMMARY

[0008] Some example embodiments of this disclosure will be described with respect to certain aspects. These aspects are not intended to indicate key or essential features of the various example embodiments of this disclosure, nor are they intended to be used to limit the scope of thereof. Other features, aspects, and elements will be apparent to a person skilled in the art in view of this disclosure. For example, it should be appreciated that further aspects may be provided by the combination of any two or more of the various aspects described below.

[0009] According to an aspect, there is provided an apparatus comprising means for: sending, to a network exposure function, a first request to discover ambient devices within a geographical area, wherein the first request comprises information indicating the geographical area; and receiving, from a unified data management or unified data repository function via the network exposure function , a report comprising information identifying one or more ambient devices discovered within the indicated geographical area. The request may comprise information indicating a periodicity for reporting the information identifying the one or more ambient devices discovered within the indicated geographical area.

[0010] The report may further comprise one or more of: status information associated with each of the one or more ambient devices; measurement information associated with each of the one or more ambient devices; and location information associated with each of the one or more ambient devices.

[0011] According to an aspect there is provided an apparatus comprising means for: receiving, from an application function, a first request to discover ambient devices within a geographical area, wherein the request comprises information indicating the geographical area; and sending, to a unified data management or unified data repository function, a second request for discovering ambient devices, wherein the second request comprises network area information comprising at least one of the following: one or more tracking area identifiers associated with the indicated geographical area; or information identifying one or more cells associated with the indicated geographical area.

[0012] The second request may further comprise an identifier of the application function.

[0013] The first request and the second request may comprise information indicating a periodicity for reporting the information identifying the one or more ambient devices discovered within the indicated geographical area.

[0014] According to an aspect there is provided an apparatus comprising means for: receiving, from a network exposure function, a second request for discovering ambient devices, wherein the second request comprises network area information comprising at least one of the following: one or more tracking area identifiers or information identifying one or more cells; sending, to an access and mobility management function, a third request for discovering ambient devices, wherein the third request comprises the network area information; receiving, from the access and mobility management function, a report comprising at least information identifying one or more discovered ambient devices; and sending, to the application function via the network exposure function, the received report.

[0015] The report may further comprise: status information associated with each of the one or more ambient devices; measurement information associated with each of the one or more ambient devices; and location information associated with each of the one or more ambient devices.

[0016] The second request may comprise information indicating a periodicity for reporting the information identifying the one or more ambient devices, and wherein the means may be further for: sending one or more further third requests according to the indicated periodicity; and receiving one or more further reports according to the indicated periodicity.

[0017] According to an aspect there is provided an apparatus comprising means for: receiving, from a unified data management or unified data repository function, a third request for discovering ambient devices, wherein the third request comprises network area information comprising at least one of the following: one or more tracking area identifiers or information identifying one or more cells; sending, to one or more access nodes associated with the received network area information, one or more paging messages for causing the one or more access nodes to discover ambient devices and / or to trigger one or more user equipments associated with the network area information to discover the ambient devices; receiving, from the one or more access nodes and / or the one or more user equipments via the one or more access nodes, at least one message comprising information identifying one or more discovered ambient devices; and sending, to the unified data management or unified data repository function, a report comprising the information identifying the one or more discovered ambient devices collected from the information identifying the one or more discovered ambient devices received from at least one of the following: the one or more access nodes or the one or more user equipments.

[0018] Receiving the at least one message may comprise: receiving, from the one or more access nodes, one or more next generation application protocol messages comprising the information identifying the one or more discovered ambient devices; and / or receiving, from the one or more user equipments via the one or more access nodes, at least one non- access stratum layer message comprising the information identifying the one or more discovered ambient devices.

[0019] The at least one message may further comprise at least one of the following: status information associated with each of the one or more ambient devices; measurement information associated with each of the one or more ambient devices; or location information associated with each of the one or more ambient devices. The report may further comprise at least one of the following: the status information associated with each of the one or more discovered ambient devices; the measurement information associated with each of the one or more discovered ambient devices; or the location information associated with each of the one or more discovered ambient devices.

[0020] The paging message may comprise the network area information comprising at least one of the following: the one or more tracking area identifiers or the information identifying one or more cells.

[0021] The paging message may further comprise information identifying the one or more user equipments.

[0022] The information identifying the one or more user equipments may be determined by identifying the user equipments which have a registration area overlapping with the network area information.

[0023] The means may be further for: receiving, from the one or more user equipments, capability information indicating a capability of respective user equipment for performing ambient device discovery, wherein the one or more paging messages may be for causing the one or more access nodes to trigger the one or more user equipments that have indicated a capability for performing ambient device discovery.

[0024] The one or more access nodes associated with the received network area information may comprise the one or more access nodes which support at least one of the tracking area or one of the cells comprised in the network area information.

[0025] According to an aspect there is provided an apparatus comprising means for: receiving, from an access and mobility management function, one or more paging messages for causing the access node to trigger one or more user equipments associated with network area information to discover ambient devices, wherein the network area information comprises at least one of the following: one or more tracking area identifiers or information identifying one or more cells; and performing at least one of the following: sending, to the one or more user equipments in one or more cells of the access node, one or more radio messages for triggering the one or more user equipments to perform ambient device discovery; or discovering one or more ambient devices using the network area information. The one or more paging messages may comprise the network area information.

[0026] The one or more cells of the access node may be selected by the access node as belonging to at least one of the one or more tracking area identifiers or the one or more cells associated with the network area information.

[0027] Sending, to the one or more user equipments in the one or more cells of the access node, the one or more radio messages for triggering the one or more user equipments to perform the ambient device discovery may comprise: sending one or more radio messages for triggering user equipments within a coverage area of the one or more cells of the access node to perform ambient device discovery.

[0028] The paging message may further comprise information identifying the one or more user equipments.

[0029] The sending may comprises at least one of: broadcasting a common radio message for triggering the one or more user equipments to perform ambient device discovery, wherein the broadcasted message comprises an identifier of the identified one or more user equipments; or sending the one or more radio messages via dedicated signalling between the access node and the identified one or more user equipments.

[0030] The one or more radio messages may be radio paging messages comprising an explicit discovery requesting indicator of triggering the one or more user equipments to perform the ambient device discovery.

[0031] The means may be further for: in response to receiving the paging message from the access and mobility management function, discovering one or more ambient devices using the network area information; and sending, to the access and mobility management function, a next generation application protocol message comprising identifiers of the discovered one or more ambient devices.

[0032] Discovering the one or more ambient devices using the network area information may comprise: sending one or more activation signals for discovering the ambient devices using the network area information; and receiving, from the one or more ambient devices, a respective one or more response signals, wherein each response signal comprises an identifier of the respective ambient device. The next generation application protocol message may further comprise one or more of: status information associated with each of the discovered one or more ambient devices; measurement information associated with each of the discovered one or more ambient devices; and location information associated with each of the discovered one or more ambient devices.

[0033] Each the one or more response signals may comprise one or more of: the status information associated with each of the one or more ambient devices; the measurement information associated with each of the one or more ambient devices; and the location information associated with each of the one or more ambient devices.

[0034] According to an aspect there is provided a user equipment comprising means for: receiving, from an access node, a radio message for triggering the user equipment to perform ambient device discovery; in response to receiving the message, discovering one or more ambient devices; and sending, to an access and mobility management function via the access node, a non-access stratum layer message comprising at least the identifiers of the discovered one or more ambient devices.

[0035] Discovering the one or more ambient devices may comprise: based on the received radio message, sending one or more activation signals for discovering the ambient devices; and receiving, from the one or more ambient devices, a respective one or more response signals, wherein each response signal comprises an identifier of the respective ambient device.

[0036] The non-access stratum layer message may further comprise one or more of: status information associated with each of the discovered one or more ambient devices; measurement information associated with each of the discovered one or more ambient devices; and location information associated with each of the discovered one or more ambient devices.

[0037] Each of the one or more response signals may comprise one or more of: the status information associated with each of the one or more ambient devices; the measurement information associated with each of the one or more ambient devices; and the location information associated with each of the one or more ambient devices.

[0038] The radio message may be a radio paging message comprising an explicit discovery request indicator to trigger the user equipment to perform ambient device discovery. The means may be further for: sending, to the access and mobility management function, an indication of user equipment’s capability to support ambient device discovery; and receiving, based on the indicated capability, the radio message to trigger the discovery of the ambient devices.

[0039] According to an aspect, there is provided an apparatus comprising at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to: send, to a network exposure function, a first request to discover ambient devices within a geographical area, wherein the first request comprises information indicating the geographical area; and receive, from a unified data management or unified data repository function via the network exposure function, a report comprising information identifying one or more ambient devices discovered within the indicated geographical area.

[0040] The request may comprise information indicating a periodicity for reporting the information identifying the one or more ambient devices discovered within the indicated geographical area.

[0041] The report may further comprise one or more of: status information associated with each of the one or more ambient devices; measurement information associated with each of the one or more ambient devices; and location information associated with each of the one or more ambient devices.

[0042] According to an aspect, there is provided an apparatus comprising at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to: receive, from an application function, a first request to discover ambient devices within a geographical area, wherein the request comprises information indicating the geographical area; and send, to a unified data management or unified data repository function, a second request for discovering ambient devices, wherein the second request comprises network area information comprising at least one of the following: one or more tracking area identifiers associated with the indicated geographical area; or information identifying one or more cells associated with the indicated geographical area.

[0043] The second request may further comprise an identifier of the application function. The first request and the second request may comprise information indicating a periodicity for reporting the information identifying the one or more ambient devices discovered within the indicated geographical area.

[0044] According to an aspect, there is provided an apparatus comprising at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to: receive, from a network exposure function, a second request for discovering ambient devices, wherein the second request comprises network area information comprising at least one of the following: one or more tracking area identifiers or information identifying one or more cells; send, to an access and mobility management function, a third request for discovering ambient devices, wherein the third request comprises the network area information; receive, from the access and mobility management function, a report comprising at least information identifying one or more discovered ambient devices; and send, to the application function via the network exposure function, the received report.

[0045] The report may further comprise: status information associated with each of the one or more ambient devices; measurement information associated with each of the one or more ambient devices; and location information associated with each of the one or more ambient devices.

[0046] The second request may comprise information indicating a periodicity for reporting the information identifying the one or more ambient devices, and wherein the means may be further for: sending one or more further third requests according to the indicated periodicity; and receiving one or more further reports according to the indicated periodicity.

[0047] According to an aspect, there is provided an apparatus comprising at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to: receive, from a unified data management or unified data repository function, a third request for discovering ambient devices, wherein the third request comprises network area information comprising at least one of the following: one or more tracking area identifiers or information identifying one or more cells; send, to one or more access nodes associated with the received network area information, one or more paging messages for causing the one or more access nodes to discover ambient devices and / or to trigger one or more user equipments associated with the network area information to discover the ambient devices; receive, from the one or more access nodes and / or the one or more user equipments via the one or more access nodes, at least one message comprising information identifying one or more discovered ambient devices; and send, to the unified data management or unified data repository function, a report comprising the information identifying the one or more discovered ambient devices collected from the information identifying the one or more discovered ambient devices received from at least one of the following: the one or more access nodes or the one or more user equipments.

[0048] The at least one processor may be further configured to cause the apparatus to receive, from the one or more access nodes, one or more next generation application protocol messages comprising the information identifying the one or more discovered ambient devices; and / or receive, from the one or more user equipments via the one or more access nodes, at least one non-access stratum layer message comprising the information identifying the one or more discovered ambient devices.

[0049] The at least one message may further comprise at least one of the following: status information associated with each of the one or more ambient devices; measurement information associated with each of the one or more ambient devices; or location information associated with each of the one or more ambient devices.

[0050] The report may further comprise at least one of the following: the status information associated with each of the one or more discovered ambient devices; the measurement information associated with each of the one or more discovered ambient devices; or the location information associated with each of the one or more discovered ambient devices.

[0051] The paging message may comprise the network area information comprising at least one of the following: the one or more tracking area identifiers or the information identifying one or more cells.

[0052] The paging message may further comprise information identifying the one or more user equipments.

[0053] The information identifying the one or more user equipments may be determined by identifying the user equipments which have a registration area overlapping with the network area information.

[0054] The at least one processor may be further configured to cause the apparatus to: receive, from the one or more user equipments, capability information indicating a capability of respective user equipment for performing ambient device discovery, wherein the one or more paging messages may be for causing the one or more access nodes to trigger the one or more user equipments that have indicated a capability for performing ambient device discovery.

[0055] The one or more access nodes associated with the received network area information may comprise the one or more access nodes which support at least one of the tracking area or one of the cells comprised in the network area information.

[0056] According to an aspect, there is provided an apparatus comprising at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to: receive, from an access and mobility management function, one or more paging messages for causing the access node to trigger one or more user equipments associated with network area information to discover ambient devices, wherein the network area information comprises at least one of the following: one or more tracking area identifiers or information identifying one or more cells; and at least one of: send, to the one or more user equipments in one or more cells of the access node, one or more radio messages for triggering the one or more user equipments to perform ambient device discovery; or discover one or more ambient devices using the network area information.

[0057] The one or more paging messages may comprise the network area information.

[0058] The one or more cells of the access node may be selected by the access node as belonging to at least one of the one or more tracking area identifiers or the one or more cells associated with the network area information.

[0059] The at least one processor may be further configured to cause the apparatus to: send one or more radio messages for triggering user equipments within a coverage area of the one or more cells of the access node to perform ambient device discovery.

[0060] The paging message may further comprise information identifying the one or more user equipments.

[0061] The at least one processor may be further configured to cause the apparatus to: broadcast a common radio message for triggering the one or more user equipments to perform ambient device discovery, wherein the broadcasted message comprises an identifier of the identified one or more user equipments; or send the one or more radio messages via dedicated signalling between the access node and the identified one or more user equipments.

[0062] The one or more radio messages may be radio paging messages comprising an explicit discovery requesting indicator of triggering the one or more user equipments to perform the ambient device discovery.

[0063] The at least one processor may be further configured to cause the apparatus to: in response to receiving the paging message from the access and mobility management function, discover one or more ambient devices using the network area information; and send, to the access and mobility management function, a next generation application protocol message comprising identifiers of the discovered one or more ambient devices.

[0064] The at least one processor may be further configured to cause the apparatus to: send one or more activation signals for discovering the ambient devices using the network area information; and receive, from the one or more ambient devices, a respective one or more response signals, wherein each response signal comprises an identifier of the respective ambient device.

[0065] The next generation application protocol message may further comprise one or more of: status information associated with each of the discovered one or more ambient devices; measurement information associated with each of the discovered one or more ambient devices; and location information associated with each of the discovered one or more ambient devices.

[0066] Each the one or more response signals may comprise one or more of: the status information associated with each of the one or more ambient devices; the measurement information associated with each of the one or more ambient devices; and the location information associated with each of the one or more ambient devices.

[0067] According to an aspect, there is provided a user equipment comprising at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the user equipment at least to: receive, from an access node, a radio message for triggering the user equipment to perform ambient device discovery; in response to receiving the message, discover one or more ambient devices; and send, to an access and mobility management function via the access node, a non-access stratum layer message comprising at least the identifiers of the discovered one or more ambient devices.

[0068] The at least one processor may be further configured to cause the user equipment to: based on the received radio message, send one or more activation signals for discovering the ambient devices; and receive, from the one or more ambient devices, a respective one or more response signals, wherein each response signal comprises an identifier of the respective ambient device.

[0069] The non-access stratum layer message may further comprise one or more of: status information associated with each of the discovered one or more ambient devices; measurement information associated with each of the discovered one or more ambient devices; and location information associated with each of the discovered one or more ambient devices.

[0070] Each of the one or more response signals may comprise one or more of: the status information associated with each of the one or more ambient devices; the measurement information associated with each of the one or more ambient devices; and the location information associated with each of the one or more ambient devices.

[0071] The radio message may be a radio paging message comprising an explicit discovery request indicator to trigger the user equipment to perform ambient device discovery.

[0072] The at least one processor may be further configured to cause the user equipment to: send, to the access and mobility management function, an indication of user equipment’s capability to support ambient device discovery; and receiving, based on the indicated capability, the radio message to trigger the discovery of the ambient devices

[0073] According to an aspect, there is provided a method comprising: sending, to a network exposure function, a first request to discover ambient devices within a geographical area, wherein the first request comprises information indicating the geographical area; and receiving, from a unified data management or unified data repository function via the network exposure function , a report comprising information identifying one or more ambient devices discovered within the indicated geographical area. The request may comprise information indicating a periodicity for reporting the information identifying the one or more ambient devices discovered within the indicated geographical area.

[0074] The report may further comprise one or more of: status information associated with each of the one or more ambient devices; measurement information associated with each of the one or more ambient devices; and location information associated with each of the one or more ambient devices.

[0075] According to an aspect there is provided a method comprising: receiving, from an application function, a first request to discover ambient devices within a geographical area, wherein the request comprises information indicating the geographical area; and sending, to a unified data management or unified data repository function, a second request for discovering ambient devices, wherein the second request comprises network area information comprising at least one of the following: one or more tracking area identifiers associated with the indicated geographical area; or information identifying one or more cells associated with the indicated geographical area.

[0076] The second request may further comprise an identifier of the application function.

[0077] The first request and the second request may comprise information indicating a periodicity for reporting the information identifying the one or more ambient devices discovered within the indicated geographical area.

[0078] According to an aspect there is provided a method comprising: receiving, from a network exposure function, a second request for discovering ambient devices, wherein the second request comprises network area information comprising at least one of the following: one or more tracking area identifiers or information identifying one or more cells; sending, to an access and mobility management function, a third request for discovering ambient devices, wherein the third request comprises the network area information; receiving, from the access and mobility management function, a report comprising at least information identifying one or more discovered ambient devices; and sending, to the application function via the network exposure function, the received report.

[0079] The report may further comprise: status information associated with each of the one or more ambient devices; measurement information associated with each of the one or more ambient devices; and location information associated with each of the one or more ambient devices.

[0080] The second request may comprise information indicating a periodicity for reporting the information identifying the one or more ambient devices, and wherein the means may be further for: sending one or more further third requests according to the indicated periodicity; and receiving one or more further reports according to the indicated periodicity.

[0081] According to an aspect there is provided a method comprising: receiving, from a unified data management or unified data repository function, a third request for discovering ambient devices, wherein the third request comprises network area information comprising at least one of the following: one or more tracking area identifiers or information identifying one or more cells; sending, to one or more access nodes associated with the received network area information, one or more paging messages for causing the one or more access nodes to discover ambient devices and / or to trigger one or more user equipments associated with the network area information to discover the ambient devices; receiving, from the one or more access nodes and / or the one or more user equipments via the one or more access nodes, at least one message comprising information identifying one or more discovered ambient devices; and sending, to the unified data management or unified data repository function, a report comprising the information identifying the one or more discovered ambient devices collected from the information identifying the one or more discovered ambient devices received from at least one of the following: the one or more access nodes or the one or more user equipments.

[0082] Receiving the at least one message may comprise: receiving, from the one or more access nodes, one or more next generation application protocol messages comprising the information identifying the one or more discovered ambient devices; and / or receiving, from the one or more user equipments via the one or more access nodes, at least one non- access stratum layer message comprising the information identifying the one or more discovered ambient devices.

[0083] The at least one message may further comprise at least one of the following: status information associated with each of the one or more ambient devices; measurement information associated with each of the one or more ambient devices; or location information associated with each of the one or more ambient devices. The report may further comprise at least one of the following: the status information associated with each of the one or more discovered ambient devices; the measurement information associated with each of the one or more discovered ambient devices; or the location information associated with each of the one or more discovered ambient devices.

[0084] The paging message may comprise the network area information comprising at least one of the following: the one or more tracking area identifiers or the information identifying one or more cells.

[0085] The paging message may further comprise information identifying the one or more user equipments.

[0086] The information identifying the one or more user equipments may be determined by identifying the user equipments which have a registration area overlapping with the network area information.

[0087] The method may further comprise: receiving, from the one or more user equipments, capability information indicating a capability of respective user equipment for performing ambient device discovery, wherein the one or more paging messages may be for causing the one or more access nodes to trigger the one or more user equipments that have indicated a capability for performing ambient device discovery.

[0088] The one or more access nodes associated with the received network area information may comprise the one or more access nodes which support at least one of the tracking area or one of the cells comprised in the network area information.

[0089] According to an aspect there is provided a method comprising: receiving, from an access and mobility management function, one or more paging messages for causing the access node to trigger one or more user equipments associated with network area information to discover ambient devices, wherein the network area information comprises at least one of the following: one or more tracking area identifiers or information identifying one or more cells; and performing at least one of the following: sending, to the one or more user equipments in one or more cells of the access node, one or more radio messages for triggering the one or more user equipments to perform ambient device discovery; or discovering one or more ambient devices using the network information.

[0090] The one or more paging messages may comprise the network area information. The one or more cells of the access node may be selected by the access node as belonging to at least one of the one or more tracking area identifiers or the one or more cells associated with the network area information.

[0091] Sending, to the one or more user equipments in the one or more cells of the access node, the one or more radio messages for triggering the one or more user equipments to perform the ambient device discovery may comprise: sending one or more radio messages for triggering user equipments within a coverage area of the one or more cells of the access node to perform ambient device discovery.

[0092] The paging message may further comprise information identifying the one or more user equipments.

[0093] The sending may comprises at least one of: broadcasting a common radio message for triggering the one or more user equipments to perform ambient device discovery, wherein the broadcasted message comprises an identifier of the identified one or more user equipments; or sending the one or more radio messages via dedicated signalling between the access node and the identified one or more user equipments.

[0094] The one or more radio messages may be radio paging messages comprising an explicit discovery requesting indicator of triggering the one or more user equipments to perform the ambient device discovery.

[0095] The method may further comprise: in response to receiving the paging message from the access and mobility management function, discovering one or more ambient devices using the network area information; and sending, to the access and mobility management function, a next generation application protocol message comprising identifiers of the discovered one or more ambient devices.

[0096] Discovering the one or more ambient devices using the network area information may comprise: sending one or more activation signals for discovering the ambient devices using the network area information; and receiving, from the one or more ambient devices, a respective one or more response signals, wherein each response signal comprises an identifier of the respective ambient device. The next generation application protocol message may further comprise one or more of: status information associated with each of the discovered one or more ambient devices; measurement information associated with each of the discovered one or more ambient devices; and location information associated with each of the discovered one or more ambient devices.

[0097] Each the one or more response signals may comprise one or more of: the status information associated with each of the one or more ambient devices; the measurement information associated with each of the one or more ambient devices; and the location information associated with each of the one or more ambient devices.

[0098] According to an aspect there is provided a method comprising: receiving, from an access node, a radio message for triggering the user equipment to perform ambient device discovery; in response to receiving the message, discovering one or more ambient devices; and sending, to an access and mobility management function via the access node, a non- access stratum layer message comprising at least the identifiers of the discovered one or more ambient devices.

[0099] Discovering the one or more ambient devices may comprise: based on the received radio message, sending one or more activation signals for discovering the ambient devices; and receiving, from the one or more ambient devices, a respective one or more response signals, wherein each response signal comprises an identifier of the respective ambient device.

[0100] The non-access stratum layer message may further comprise one or more of: status information associated with each of the discovered one or more ambient devices; measurement information associated with each of the discovered one or more ambient devices; and location information associated with each of the discovered one or more ambient devices.

[0101] Each of the one or more response signals may comprise one or more of: the status information associated with each of the one or more ambient devices; the measurement information associated with each of the one or more ambient devices; and the location information associated with each of the one or more ambient devices.

[0102] The radio message may be a radio paging message comprising an explicit discovery request indicator to trigger the user equipment to perform ambient device discovery. The method may further comprise: sending, to the access and mobility management function, an indication of user equipment’s capability to support ambient device discovery; and receiving, based on the indicated capability, the radio message to trigger the discovery of the ambient devices.

[0103] According to an aspect, there is provided a computer readable medium comprising instructions which, when executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform at least the following: sending, to a network exposure function, a first request to discover ambient devices within a geographical area, wherein the first request comprises information indicating the geographical area; and receiving, from a unified data management or unified data repository function via the network exposure function , a report comprising information identifying one or more ambient devices discovered within the indicated geographical area.

[0104] The request may comprise information indicating a periodicity for reporting the information identifying the one or more ambient devices discovered within the indicated geographical area.

[0105] The report may further comprise one or more of: status information associated with each of the one or more ambient devices; measurement information associated with each of the one or more ambient devices; and location information associated with each of the one or more ambient devices.

[0106] According to an aspect, there is provided a computer readable medium comprising instructions which, when executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform at least the following: receiving, from an application function, a first request to discover ambient devices within a geographical area, wherein the request comprises information indicating the geographical area; and sending, to a unified data management or unified data repository function, a second request for discovering ambient devices, wherein the second request comprises network area information comprising at least one of the following: one or more tracking area identifiers associated with the indicated geographical area; or information identifying one or more cells associated with the indicated geographical area.

[0107] The second request may further comprise an identifier of the application function. The first request and the second request may comprise information indicating a periodicity for reporting the information identifying the one or more ambient devices discovered within the indicated geographical area.

[0108] According to an aspect, there is provided a computer readable medium comprising instructions which, when executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform at least the following: receiving, from a network exposure function, a second request for discovering ambient devices, wherein the second request comprises network area information comprising at least one of the following: one or more tracking area identifiers or information identifying one or more cells; sending, to an access and mobility management function, a third request for discovering ambient devices, wherein the third request comprises the network area information; receiving, from the access and mobility management function, a report comprising at least information identifying one or more discovered ambient devices; and sending, to the application function via the network exposure function, the received report.

[0109] The report may further comprise: status information associated with each of the one or more ambient devices; measurement information associated with each of the one or more ambient devices; and location information associated with each of the one or more ambient devices.

[0110] The second request may comprise information indicating a periodicity for reporting the information identifying the one or more ambient devices, and wherein the means may be further for: sending one or more further third requests according to the indicated periodicity; and receiving one or more further reports according to the indicated periodicity.

[0111] According to an aspect, there is provided a computer readable medium comprising instructions which, when executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform at least the following: receiving, from a unified data management or unified data repository function, a third request for discovering ambient devices, wherein the third request comprises network area information comprising at least one of the following: one or more tracking area identifiers or information identifying one or more cells; sending, to one or more access nodes associated with the received network area information, one or more paging messages for causing the one or more access nodes to discover ambient devices and / or to trigger one or more user equipments associated with the network area information to discover the ambient devices; receiving, from the one or more access nodes and / or the one or more user equipments via the one or more access nodes, at least one non-access stratum layer message comprising information identifying one or more discovered ambient devices; and sending, to the unified data management or unified data repository function, a report comprising the information identifying the one or more discovered ambient devices collected from the information identifying the one or more discovered ambient devices received from at least one of the following: the one or more access nodes or the one or more user equipments.

[0112] Receiving the at least one message may comprise: receiving, from the one or more access nodes, one or more next generation application protocol messages comprising the information identifying the one or more discovered ambient devices; and / or receiving, from the one or more user equipments via the one or more access nodes, at least one non- access stratum layer message comprising the information identifying the one or more discovered ambient device

[0113] The at least one message may further comprise at least one of the following: status information associated with each of the one or more ambient devices; measurement information associated with each of the one or more ambient devices; or location information associated with each of the one or more ambient devices.

[0114] The report may further comprise at least one of the following: the status information associated with each of the one or more discovered ambient devices; the measurement information associated with each of the one or more discovered ambient devices; or the location information associated with each of the one or more discovered ambient devices.

[0115] The paging message may comprise the network area information comprising at least one of the following: the one or more tracking area identifiers or the information identifying one or more cells.

[0116] The paging message may further comprise information identifying the one or more user equipments.

[0117] The information identifying the one or more user equipments may be determined by identifying the user equipments which have a registration area overlapping with the network area information.

[0118] The instructions, when executed by the apparatus, may cause the apparatus to further perform: receiving, from the one or more user equipments, capability information indicating a capability of respective user equipment for performing ambient device discovery, wherein the one or more paging messages may be for causing the one or more access nodes to trigger the one or more user equipments that have indicated a capability for performing ambient device discovery.

[0119] The one or more access nodes associated with the received network area information may comprise the one or more access nodes which support at least one of the tracking area or one of the cells comprised in the network area information.

[0120] According to an aspect, there is provided a computer readable medium comprising instructions which, when executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform at least the following: receiving, from an access and mobility management function, one or more paging messages for causing the access node to trigger one or more user equipments associated with network area information to discover ambient devices, wherein the network area information comprises at least one of the following: one or more tracking area identifiers or information identifying one or more cells; and performing at least one of the following: sending, to the one or more user equipments in one or more cells of the access node, one or more radio messages for triggering the one or more user equipments to perform ambient device discovery; or discovering one or more ambient devices using the network area information.

[0121] The one or more paging messages may comprise the network area information.

[0122] The one or more cells of the access node may be selected by the access node as belonging to at least one of the one or more tracking area identifiers or the one or more cells associated with the network area information.

[0123] Sending, to the one or more user equipments in the one or more cells of the access node, the one or more radio messages for triggering the one or more user equipments to perform the ambient device discovery may comprise: sending one or more radio messages for triggering user equipments within a coverage area of the one or more cells of the access node to perform ambient device discovery.

[0124] The paging message may further comprise information identifying the one or more user equipments. The sending may comprises at least one of: broadcasting a common radio message for triggering the one or more user equipments to perform ambient device discovery, wherein the broadcasted message comprises an identifier of the identified one or more user equipments; or sending the one or more radio messages via dedicated signalling between the access node and the identified one or more user equipments.

[0125] The one or more radio messages may be radio paging messages comprising an explicit discovery requesting indicator of triggering the one or more user equipments to perform the ambient device discovery.

[0126] The instructions, when executed by the apparatus, may cause the apparatus to further perform: in response to receiving the paging message from the access and mobility management function, discovering one or more ambient devices using the network area information; and sending, to the access and mobility management function, a next generation application protocol message comprising identifiers of the discovered one or more ambient devices.

[0127] Discovering the one or more ambient devices using the network area information may comprise: sending one or more activation signals for discovering the ambient devices using the network area information; and receiving, from the one or more ambient devices, a respective one or more response signals, wherein each response signal comprises an identifier of the respective ambient device.

[0128] The next generation application protocol message may further comprise one or more of: status information associated with each of the discovered one or more ambient devices; measurement information associated with each of the discovered one or more ambient devices; and location information associated with each of the discovered one or more ambient devices.

[0129] Each the one or more response signals may comprise one or more of: the status information associated with each of the one or more ambient devices; the measurement information associated with each of the one or more ambient devices; and the location information associated with each of the one or more ambient devices.

[0130] According to an aspect, there is provided a computer readable medium comprising instructions which, when executed by a user equipment, cause the user equipment to perform at least the following: receiving, from an access node, a radio message for triggering the user equipment to perform ambient device discovery; in response to receiving the message, discovering one or more ambient devices; and sending, to an access and mobility management function via the access node, a non-access stratum layer message comprising at least the identifiers of the discovered one or more ambient devices.

[0131] Discovering the one or more ambient devices may comprise: based on the received radio message, sending one or more activation signals for discovering the ambient devices; and receiving, from the one or more ambient devices, a respective one or more response signals, wherein each response signal comprises an identifier of the respective ambient device.

[0132] The non-access stratum layer message may further comprise one or more of: status information associated with each of the discovered one or more ambient devices; measurement information associated with each of the discovered one or more ambient devices; and location information associated with each of the discovered one or more ambient devices.

[0133] Each of the one or more response signals may comprise one or more of: the status information associated with each of the one or more ambient devices; the measurement information associated with each of the one or more ambient devices; and the location information associated with each of the one or more ambient devices.

[0134] The radio message may be a radio paging message comprising an explicit discovery request indicator to trigger the user equipment to perform ambient device discovery.

[0135] The instructions, when executed by the user equipment, may cause the user equipment to further perform: sending, to the access and mobility management function, an indication of user equipment’s capability to support ambient device discovery; and receiving, based on the indicated capability, the radio message to trigger the discovery of the ambient devices.

[0136] According to an aspect, there is provided a non-transitory computer readable medium comprising program instructions that, when executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform at least the method according to any of the preceding aspects.

[0137] In the above, many different aspects have been described. As previously noted, it should be appreciated that further aspects may be provided by the combination of any two or more of the aspects described above. Other features, aspects, and elements will become apparent in view of the following.

[0138] DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES

[0139] Some example embodiments will now be described, by way of non-limiting and illustrative example only, with reference to the accompanying Figures in which:

[0140] FIG. 1 shows a representation of a 5thgeneration communication system;

[0141] FIG. 2 shows a representation of an apparatus for the communication system of FIG. 1 according to some example embodiments;

[0142] FIG. 3 shows a representation of an apparatus according to some example embodiments;

[0143] FIG. 4 shows an example system architecture around a passive device comprising an activator, an ambient device and a reader device;

[0144] FIGs. 5a-f shows methods according to some examples;

[0145] FIG. 6 shows a signalling procedure according to some examples; and

[0146] FIG. 7 shows a schematic representation of an apparatus according to some examples.

[0147] DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0148] In the following various example embodiments are explained with reference to communication devices capable of communication with a communication system. Before explaining in detail the various example embodiments of this disclosure, a 5thgeneration communication system (5GS), an access network and a core network (5GC) thereof, and communication devices are briefly explained with reference to FIG. 1 , 2 and 3.

[0149] FIG. 1 shows a schematic representation of a 5G communication system (5GS). The 5GS may comprise a user equipment (UE) or Terminal 100, an access network, such as a 5G radio access network (5G-RAN) 101 or next generation radio access network (NG-RAN), a 5G core network 102, and one or more application functions 103. An application function 103 may be deployed in the 5GS as trusted application function or may be deployed or host on one or more application servers of the data network (DN) 104. Such application functions are untrusted application functions. The 5GS connects the UE to a data network the access network and the 5GC 102 (e.g., a UPF of the 5GC). The 5G-RAN 101 may comprise one or more radio access nodes, such as a gNodeB (gNB). A gNB may include one or more gNodeB (gNB) distributed units (Dlls) connected to one or more gNodeB (gNB) centralized units (CUs).

[0150] The 5GC may comprise the following network functions: Network Slice Selection Function (NSSF); Network Exposure Function (NEF) 105; Network Repository Function (NRF); Policy Control Function (PCF); Unified Data Management (UDM) 106; Application Function (AF) 103; Authentication Server Function (AUSF) 107; an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 108; Session Management Function (SMF) 109; and a user plane function (UPF) 110. FIG. 1 also shows the various interfaces (N1 , N2 etc.) that may be implemented between the various elements of the system.

[0151] FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a control apparatus 200 for controlling a function of the access network (e.g., a 5G-RAN or the NG-RAN illustrated in FIG. 1) of FIG. 1. The control apparatus 200 may comprise at least one random access memory (RAM) 211a, at least on read only memory (ROM) 211 b, at least one processor 212, 213 and a network interface 214. The at least one processor 212, 213 may be coupled to the RAM 211a and the ROM 211 b. The at least one processor 212, 213 may be configured to execute an appropriate software code 215. Execution of the software code 215 may, for example, may cause the apparatus to perform operations for controlling a function of the access network. The software code 215 may be stored in the ROM 211 b. The control apparatus 200 may be interconnected with another control apparatus 200 for controlling another function of the 5G-RAN or the NG-RAN. In some embodiments, each function of the 5G-RAN or the NG- RAN is deployed or hosted on a control apparatus 200. In alternative embodiments, two or more functions of the 5G-RAN or the NG-RAN may share a control apparatus.

[0152] FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a communication device 300, such as the UE of FIG. 1. The communication device 300 may be provided by any device capable of sending and receiving radio signals. Non-limiting examples of a communication device 300 comprise a user equipment, a mobile station (MS) or mobile device, such as a mobile phone or what is known as a ’smart phone’, a computer provided with a wireless interface card or other wireless interface facility (e.g., USB dongle), a personal data assistant (PDA) or a tablet provided with wireless communication capabilities, a machine-type communications (MTC) device, an Internet of things (loT) type communication device or any combinations of these or the like. The communication device 300 may comprise a transceiver for transmitting and / or receiving, for example, wireless signals carrying communications, for example radio signals. The communications may be one or more of voice, electronic mail (email), text messages, multimedia data, machine data and so on.

[0153] The communication device 300 may receive wireless signals (e.g., radio signals) over an air or radio interface 307 via appropriate apparatus for receiving and may transmit wireless signals via appropriate apparatus for transmitting radio signals. In FIG. 3 transceiver is designated schematically by block 306. The transceiver 306 may comprise, for example, a radio part and associated antenna arrangement. The antenna arrangement may be arranged internally or externally to the mobile device and may comprise one or more antenna elements. The antenna arrangement may be a multi-input multi output (MIMO) antenna.

[0154] The communication device 300 may be provided with at least one processor 301 , at least one memory ROM 302a, at least one RAM 302b and other possible components 303 for use in software and hardware aided execution of tasks it is designed to perform, including control of access to and communications with access networks (e.g., the 5G-RAN or NG- RAN illustrated in FIG. 1) and other communication devices. The at least one processor 301 is coupled to the RAM 302b and the ROM 302a. The at least one processor 301 may be configured to execute an appropriate software code 308. The software code 308 may, for example, allow to perform one or more operations of the communication device. The software code 308 may be stored in the ROM 302a.

[0155] The processor, the ROM, and the RAM, the transceiver and other circuitry of the communication device (e.g., a modem) can be provided on a circuit board, in chipsets, or in a system on chip. The circuit board, chipsets or system on chip is denoted by reference

[0156] 304. The communication device 300 may optionally have a user interface, such as keypad

[0157] 305, a touch sensitive screen or a pad, combinations thereof or the like. Optionally one or more of a display, a speaker and a microphone may be provided depending on the type of communication device.

[0158] In some networks, one or more ambient devices may be deployed. Example ambient devices include ambient internet-of-things (loT) devices. An ambient device may harness energy from wireless signals sent on specific carriers and / or bandwidths and charge a simple circuitry that, once activated, may emit / reflect a signal which encodes at least the ID of the passive radio. An example system architecture around an ambient device comprises an activator (a device that sends an activation signal targeted at waking up the passive radio device), an ambient device (which harnesses energy over a range of frequencies and listens for activation signals; when an activation signal is detected, the ambient device emits / reflects a signal which is specific to that device) and a reader device (that listens and detects the radio signals from the ambient device). The reader may or may not be collocated with the activator.

[0159] FIG. 4 shows an example system architecture around a passive device comprising an activator 400, an ambient device 402 and a reader device 404. In operation, the activator 400 emits an activation signal 406 which is received by the ambient device 402. The ambient device 402 harnesses the energy from the activation signal and emit / reflects a further signal 408 that is specific to the ambient device 402 (e.g. is modulated based on an identifier of the ambient device 402). The further signal 408 may also be used to convey other information from the passive device, such as sensor information. The further signal 408 is received by the reader 404. As used herein, the further signal 408 may be referred to as a backscatter signal.

[0160] Ambient devices may be applied in many different use cases. For example ambient devices may be used as ID tags, as sensors (e.g., temperature, humidity, etc.), as healthcare devices (e.g., monitoring personal medical information), or in logistics.

[0161] It may be beneficial to enable an application function to discover the identities of ambient devices within a certain geographical area, without prior knowledge of the ambient devices or prior knowledge of the activator / reader devices available for discovering the ambient devices.

[0162] For example, in a warehouse where each item is affixed with an ambient device, it may be beneficial to discover the identities of the ambient devices within the warehouse, or within a certain sub-section of the warehouse (e.g., a certain aisle), to discover the number of associated items present in the warehouse or sub-section. As a further example, a number of temperature sensors may be deployed within a certain geographical area, say around a building. It may be beneficial to discover the identities of those sensors and further obtain sensor information (in this case, temperature information) within the geographical area. Some examples of this disclosure may enable discovery of ambient devices within a certain geographical area. Some examples may further enable collection of additional information (e.g., sensor information) from the discovered ambient devices.

[0163] Reference is made to FIGs. 5a-f, which shows methods according to some examples.

[0164] With reference to FIG. 5a, at 500, a method comprises sending, to a network exposure function, a first request to discover ambient devices within a geographical area, wherein the first request comprises information indicating the geographical area. At 502 the method comprises receiving, from a unified data management or unified data repository function via the network exposure function, a report comprising information identifying one or more ambient devices discovered within the indicated geographical area. The method of FIG. 5a may be performed by an application function.

[0165] With reference to FIG. 5b, at 504 a method comprises receiving, from an application function, a first request to discover ambient devices within a geographical area, wherein the request comprises information indicating the geographical area. At 506, the method comprises sending, to a unified data management or unified data repository function, a second request for discovering ambient devices, wherein the second request comprises network area information comprising at least one of the following: one or more tracking area identifiers associated with the indicated geographical area; or information identifying one or more cells associated with the indicated geographical area. The method of FIG. 5b may be performed by a network exposure function.

[0166] With reference to FIG. 5c, at 508 a method comprises receiving, from a network exposure function, a second request for discovering ambient devices, wherein the second request comprises network area information comprising at least one of the following: one or more tracking area identifiers or information identifying one or more cells. At 510 the method comprises sending, to an access and mobility management function, a third request for discovering ambient devices, wherein the third request comprises the network area information. At 512 the method comprises receiving, from the access and mobility management function, a report comprising at least information identifying one or more discovered ambient devices. At 514 the method comprises sending, to the application function via the network exposure function, the received report. The method of FIG. 5c may be performed by a unified data management function or unified data repository function. With reference to FIG. 5d, at 516 a method comprises receiving, from a unified data management or unified data repository function, a third request for discovering ambient devices, wherein the third request comprises network area information comprising at least one of the following: one or more tracking area identifiers or information identifying one or more cells. At 518 the method comprises sending, to one or more access nodes associated with the received network area information, one or more paging messages for causing the one or more access nodes to discover ambient devices and / or to trigger one or more user equipments associated with the network area information to discover the ambient devices. At 520 the method comprises receiving, from the one or more access nodes and / or the one or more user equipments via the one or more access nodes, at least one message comprising information identifying one or more discovered ambient devices. At 522 the method comprises sending, to the unified data management or unified data repository function, a report comprising the information identifying the one or more discovered ambient devices collected from the information identifying the one or more discovered ambient devices received from at least one of the following: the one or more access nodes or the one or more user equipments. The method of FIG. 5d may be performed by an access and mobility management function.

[0167] With reference to FIG. 5e, at 524 a method comprises receiving, from an access and mobility management function, one or more paging messages for causing the access node to trigger one or more user equipments associated with network area information to discover ambient devices, wherein the network area information comprises at least one of the following: one or more tracking area identifiers or information identifying one or more cells. At 526 the method comprises performing at least one of: sending, to the one or more user equipments in one or more cells of the access node, one or more radio messages for triggering the one or more user equipments to perform ambient device discovery; or discovering one or more ambient devices using the network area information. The method of FIG. 5e may be performed by an access node.

[0168] With reference to FIG. 5f, at 528 a method comprises receiving, from an access node, a radio message for triggering the user equipment to perform ambient device discovery. At 530, the method comprises, in response to receiving the message, discovering one or more ambient devices. At 532 the method comprises sending, to an access and mobility management function via the access node, a non-access stratum layer message comprising at least the identifiers of the discovered one or more ambient devices. The method of FIG. 5f may be performed by a user equipment. Reference is made to FIG. 6, which shows a signalling procedure according to some examples. While FIG. 6 illustrates a gNB (as an example of an access node) and tags 1 and 2 (as examples of ambient devices), it should be understood that in some examples a different type of access node may replace the gNB and different types of ambient device may replace tags 1 and 2 shown in FIG. 6.

[0169] At 600, the AF may send, to the NEF, a first request to discover ambient devices within a geographical area.

[0170] The first request may comprise information indicating the geographical area. The information indicating the geographical area may be described in real-world terms (such as GPS coordinates, name of a building (e.g., warehouse #1) etc.) - that is to say the geographical area may relate to a real-world area and may not described in terms of network area information (e.g., tracking area identifiers (TAIs), cells identifiers, registration areas (RAs), etc). In some examples the request may be for a one-time discovery, or for periodic discovery. In some examples the request sent from the AF to the NEF may comprise information indicating a periodicity for reporting information identifying the one or more ambient devices discovered within the indicated geographical area.

[0171] At 602, the NEF may map the geographical area indicated in the first request to network area information.

[0172] The network area information may comprise a list of tracking area identities associated with the geographical area and / or cell identifiers associated with the geographical area. For example, the list of TAIs and / or cell IDs may correspond to TAs and / or cells with a coverage area that overlaps, at least in part, the geographical area.

[0173] At 604, the NEF may send, to the UDR / UDM, a second request for discovering ambient devices.

[0174] The second request may comprise the network area information comprising the one or more TAIs / cell IDs. In some examples the second request may comprise information indicating the periodicity for reporting the information identifying the one or more ambient devices.

[0175] At 606, the UDRM / UDM may store the received second request. At 608, the UDR / UDM may send a third request to the AM F for discovering ambient devices.

[0176] The third request may comprise the network area information. In some examples, when the second request comprises the periodicity for reporting information identifying the one or more ambient devices, the UDR / UDM may send one or more further third requests according to the indicated periodicity.

[0177] At 610, the AMF may receive the third request comprising the network area information and may identify one or more access nodes (e.g., gNBs) associated with the network area information (e.g., the TAIs / cell IDs of the one or more access nodes correspond, at least in part, to the TAIs / cell IDs comprised in the network area information) to use to page UEs to discover the ambient devices.

[0178] At 612, the AMF may send, to the one or more access nodes, one or more paging messages for causing the one or more access nodes to trigger one or more UEs associated with the network area information to discover ambient devices.

[0179] The one or more paging messages may include the network area information (e.g., the TAIs / cell IDs). Optionally the AMF may determine the one or more UEs based on the network area information (e.g., the AMF may determine UEs with an RA that overlaps at least in part with the TAIs / cell IDs comprised in the network area information), or may identify UEs which have indicated a capability to be involved in a discovery process (e.g. see step 614), and optionally other criteria, and may send a list of the determined UEs to the access nodes in the one or more paging messages.

[0180] As shown at 614, in some examples the AMF may receive, from the one or more UEs, capability information indicating a capability of respective user equipment for performing ambient device discovery. The one or more paging messages may be for causing the one or more access nodes to trigger the one or more UEs that have indicated a capability for performing ambient device discovery.

[0181] At 616, each access node may send radio messages to one or more UEs in one or more cells of the access node for triggering the one or more UEs to perform ambient device discovery.

[0182] The one or more cells may belong to at least one of the TAIs / cell IDs comprised in the network area information. In some examples the access node may broadcast a common radio message for triggering the one or more UEs to perform ambient device discovery. The broadcasted message may comprise an identifier of the identified one or more UEs. In some examples the access node may send the one or more radio messages via dedicated signalling between the access node and the identified one or more UEs. In some examples the one or more radio messages may be radio paging messages comprising an explicit discovery requesting indicator for triggering the one or more UEs to perform the ambient device discovery.

[0183] At 618, the UEs may, in response to receiving the radio message, discover one or more ambient devices.

[0184] For example, as described in relation to FIG. 4, each UE may send activation signal(s) and collect response (backscatter) signals including ambient device ID from any ambient devices within the coverage area of the UE. In some examples the response signals may comprise additional information, for example at least one of: status information associated with each of the one or more ambient devices; measurement information associated with each of the one or more ambient devices; and location information associated with each of the one or more ambient devices.

[0185] At 620, each UE may send, to the AMF via an access node, a message comprising at least the IDs of the discovered ambient devices (e.g., the ambient devices from which a response message was received).

[0186] While not shown in FIG. 6, in some examples the access node(s) may, in response to receiving the one or more paging message, discover the ambient devices, and send a message comprising at least the IDs of the discovered ambient devices to the AMF. For example each access node may send the activation signal(s) and collect the response (backscatter) signals including ambient device ID from any ambient devices within the coverage area of the access node. In some examples the response signals may comprise additional information, for example at least one of: status information associated with each of the one or more ambient devices; measurement information associated with each of the one or more ambient devices; and location information associated with each of the one or more ambient devices.

[0187] The message comprising the IDs of the discovered ambient devices (either sent by the UE(s) or by the access node(s)) may further comprise the additional information, if received from the ambient devices. The message may be a NAS (Non Access Stratum) -layer message - for example a NAS Paging Response or a NAS Service Request. At 620, the AMF may receive the messages from the UEs (and optionally the access nodes), collect the information identifying the one or more discovered ambient devices, and send at 622 a report comprising the information identifying the one or more discovered ambient devices to the UDR / UDM.

[0188] The report may comprise the IDs of the discovered ambient devices. The report may further comprise any additional information (e.g., sensor information, location information, status information) associated with the discovered ambient devices.

[0189] At 624 the UDR / UDM may send the received report to the AF.

[0190] Examples have been described whereby the AF may obtain information indicating one or more ambient devices within a geographical area, optionally along with additional information from the ambient devices. In some examples the AF may do so without expressing the geographical area in terms of network area information itself (and therefore may not require prior knowledge of the network area information) but may leverage the NEF to map information indicating the geographical area to network area information (e.g., TAIs and / or cell IDs). The NEF may send the network area information towards the AMF, which may select access nodes based on this network area information to use to trigger UEs to discover the ambient devices. The UEs may report the discovered ambient device IDs back towards the AMF, which may collect the information and send a report towards the AF.

[0191] In some examples there is provided an apparatus comprising means for: sending, to a network exposure function, a first request to discover ambient devices within a geographical area, wherein the first request comprises information indicating the geographical area; and receiving, from a unified data management or unified data repository function via the network exposure function , a report comprising information identifying one or more ambient devices discovered within the indicated geographical area.

[0192] In some examples there is provided an apparatus comprising at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to: send, to a network exposure function, a first request to discover ambient devices within a geographical area, wherein the first request comprises information indicating the geographical area; and receive, from a unified data management or unified data repository function via the network exposure function, a report comprising information identifying one or more ambient devices discovered within the indicated geographical area.

[0193] In some examples there is provided an apparatus comprising means for: receiving, from an application function, a first request to discover ambient devices within a geographical area, wherein the request comprises information indicating the geographical area; and sending, to a unified data management or unified data repository function, a second request for discovering ambient devices, wherein the second request comprises network area information comprising at least one of the following: one or more tracking area identifiers associated with the indicated geographical area; or information identifying one or more cells associated with the indicated geographical area.

[0194] In some examples there is provided an apparatus comprising at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to: receive, from an application function, a first request to discover ambient devices within a geographical area, wherein the request comprises information indicating the geographical area; and send, to a unified data management or unified data repository function, a second request for discovering ambient devices, wherein the second request comprises network area information comprising at least one of the following: one or more tracking area identifiers associated with the indicated geographical area; or information identifying one or more cells associated with the indicated geographical area.

[0195] In some examples there is provided an apparatus comprising means for: receiving, from a network exposure function, a second request for discovering ambient devices, wherein the second request comprises network area information comprising at least one of the following: one or more tracking area identifiers or information identifying one or more cells; sending, to an access and mobility management function, a third request for discovering ambient devices, wherein the third request comprises the network area information; receiving, from the access and mobility management function, a report comprising at least information identifying one or more discovered ambient devices; and sending, to the application function via the network exposure function, the received report.

[0196] In some examples there is provided an apparatus comprising at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to: receive, from a network exposure function, a second request for discovering ambient devices, wherein the second request comprises network area information comprising at least one of the following: one or more tracking area identifiers or information identifying one or more cells; send, to an access and mobility management function, a third request for discovering ambient devices, wherein the third request comprises the network area information; receive, from the access and mobility management function, a report comprising at least information identifying one or more discovered ambient devices; and send, to the application function via the network exposure function, the received report.

[0197] In some examples there is provided an apparatus comprising means for: receiving, from a unified data management or unified data repository function, a third request for discovering ambient devices, wherein the third request comprises network area information comprising at least one of the following: one or more tracking area identifiers or information identifying one or more cells; sending, to one or more access nodes associated with the received network area information, one or more paging messages for causing the one or more access nodes to discover ambient devices and / or to trigger one or more user equipments associated with the network area information to discover the ambient devices; receiving, from the one or more access nodes and / or the one or more user equipments via the one or more access nodes, at least one message comprising information identifying one or more discovered ambient devices; and sending, to the unified data management or unified data repository function, a report comprising the information identifying the one or more discovered ambient devices collected from the information identifying the one or more discovered ambient devices received from at least one of the following: the one or more access nodes or the one or more user equipments.

[0198] In some examples there is provided an apparatus comprising at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to: receive, from a unified data management or unified data repository function, a third request for discovering ambient devices, wherein the third request comprises network area information comprising at least one of the following: one or more tracking area identifiers or information identifying one or more cells; send, to one or more access nodes associated with the received network area information, one or more paging messages for causing the one or more access nodes to discover ambient devices and / or to trigger one or more user equipments associated with the network area information to discover the ambient devices; receive, from the one or more access nodes and / or the one or more user equipments via the one or more access nodes, at least one message comprising information identifying one or more discovered ambient devices; and send, to the unified data management or unified data repository function, a report comprising the information identifying the one or more discovered ambient devices collected from the information identifying the one or more discovered ambient devices received from at least one of the following: the one or more access nodes or the one or more user equipments.

[0199] In some examples there is provided an apparatus comprising means for: receiving, from an access and mobility management function, one or more paging messages for causing the access node to trigger one or more user equipments associated with network area information to discover ambient devices, wherein the network area information comprises at least one of the following: one or more tracking area identifiers or information identifying one or more cells; and performing at least one of the following: sending, to the one or more user equipments in one or more cells of the access node, one or more radio messages for triggering the one or more user equipments to perform ambient device discovery; or discovering one or more ambient devices using the network area information.

[0200] In some examples there is provided an apparatus comprising at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to: receiving, from an access and mobility management function, one or more paging messages for causing the access node to trigger one or more user equipments associated with network area information to discover ambient devices, wherein the network area information comprises at least one of the following: one or more tracking area identifiers or information identifying one or more cells; and at least one of the following: send, to the one or more user equipments in one or more cells of the access node, one or more radio messages for triggering the one or more user equipments to perform ambient device discovery; or discover one or more ambient devices using the network area information.

[0201] In some examples there is provided a user equipment comprising means for: receiving, from an access node, a radio message for triggering the user equipment to perform ambient device discovery; in response to receiving the message, discovering one or more ambient devices; and sending, to an access and mobility management function via the access node, a non-access stratum layer message comprising at least the identifiers of the discovered one or more ambient devices.

[0202] In some examples there is provided a user equipment comprising at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the user equipment at least to: receive, from an access node, a radio message for triggering the user equipment to perform ambient device discovery; in response to receiving the message, discover one or more ambient devices; and send, to an access and mobility management function via the access node, a non-access stratum layer message comprising at least the identifiers of the discovered one or more ambient devices.

[0203] FIG. 7 shows a schematic representation of non-volatile memory media 700a (e.g., computer disc (CD) or digital versatile disc (DVD)) and 700b (e.g. universal serial bus (USB) memory stick) storing instructions and / or parameters 702 which when executed by a processor allow the processor to perform one or more of the steps of the method of FIG. 5 or 6.

[0204] It is understood that references in the above to various network functions (e.g., to an AMF, an SMF, TNF etc.) may be implemented by apparatus that perform at least some of the functionality associated with those network functions. Further, an apparatus configured to implement a network function may further be configured to implement a virtual network function instance of that network function.

[0205] In some examples the apparatus is or comprises a network function, such as an AF, NEF, UDM / UDR, AMF etc. In the present disclosure, an apparatus being / comprising a network function may refer to an apparatus / device configured to provide / perform at least part of functionalities of that network function.

[0206] It should be understood that the apparatuses may comprise or be coupled to other units or modules etc., such as radio parts or radio heads, used in or for transmission and / or reception. Although the apparatuses have been described as one entity, different modules and memory may be implemented in one or more physical or logical entities.

[0207] It is noted that whilst some example embodiments have been described in relation to 5G networks, similar example embodiments can be applied in relation to other networks and communication systems. Therefore, although certain example embodiments were described above by way of example with reference to certain example architectures for wireless networks, technologies and standards, further example embodiments may be applied to any other suitable forms of communication systems than those illustrated and described herein.

[0208] It is also noted herein that there are several variations and modifications which may be made to the various example embodiments described herein without departing from the scope of this disclosure. As used herein, “at least one of the following: ” and “at least one of ” and similar wording, where the list of two or more elements are joined by “and” or “or”, mean at least any one of the elements, or at least any two or more of the elements, or at least all the elements. As used herein, the expression “and / or” includes any and all combinations of the listed terms, including at least any one of the elements, at least any two or more of the elements, or at least all of the elements.

[0209] As used herein, the term “or” refers to a non-exclusive “or” unless otherwise indicated (e.g., use of “or else” or “or in the alternative”).

[0210] As used herein, unless stated explicitly, performing a step “in response to A” does not indicate that the step is performed immediately after “A” occurs and one or more intervening steps may be included. Analogously, performing a step or functionality “based on A” does not indicate that the step or functionality is performed solely based on “A” as one or more additional conditions may be included.

[0211] In general, the various embodiments may be implemented in hardware or special purpose circuitry, software, logic or any combination thereof. Some aspects of the disclosure may be implemented in hardware, while other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software which may be executed by a controller, microprocessor or other computing device, although the disclosure is not limited thereto. While various aspects of the disclosure may be illustrated and described as block diagrams, flow charts, or using some other pictorial representation, it is well understood that these blocks, apparatus, systems, techniques or methods described herein may be implemented in, as non-limiting and illustrative examples, hardware, software, firmware, special purpose circuits or logic, general purpose hardware or controller or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

[0212] As used herein, the term “circuitry” may refer to one or more or all of the following:

[0213] (a) hardware-only circuit implementations (such as implementations in only analog and / or digital circuitry) and

[0214] (b) combinations of hardware circuits and software, such as (as applicable):

[0215] (i) a combination of analog and / or digital hardware circuit(s) with software / firmware and

[0216] (ii) any portions of hardware processor(s) with software (including digital signal processor(s)), software, and memory(ies) that work together to cause an apparatus, such as a mobile phone or server, to perform various functions) and (c) hardware circuit(s) and or processor(s), such as a microprocessor(s) or a portion of a microprocessor(s), that utilizes software (e.g., firmware) for operation, but the software may not be present when it is not utilized for operation.”

[0217] This definition of circuitry applies to all uses of this term herein, including in any claims. As a further example, as used herein, the term circuitry also covers an implementation of merely a hardware circuit or processor (or multiple processors) or portion of a hardware circuit or processor and its (or their) accompanying software and / or firmware. The term circuitry also covers, for example and if applicable to the particular claim element, a baseband integrated circuit or processor integrated circuit for a mobile device or a similar integrated circuit in server, a cellular network device, or other computing or network device.

[0218] The embodiments of this disclosure may be implemented by computer software executable by a data processor of the mobile device, such as in the processor entity, or by hardware, or by a combination of software and hardware. Computer software or program, also called program product, including software routines, applets and / or macros, may be stored in any apparatus-readable data storage medium and they comprise program instructions to perform particular tasks. A computer program product may comprise one or more computerexecutable components which, when the program is run, are configured to carry out embodiments. The one or more computer-executable components may be at least one software code or portions of it.

[0219] Further in this regard it should be noted that any blocks of the logic flow as in the FIGs. may represent program steps, or interconnected logic circuits, blocks and functions, or a combination of program steps and logic circuits, blocks and functions. The software may be stored on such physical media as memory chips, or memory blocks implemented within the processor, magnetic media, such as hard disk or floppy disks, and optical media, such as DVD and the data variants thereof, CD. The physical media is a non-transitory media.

[0220] The term “non-transitory,” as used herein, is a limitation of the medium itself (e.g., tangible, not a signal ) as opposed to a limitation on data storage persistency (e.g., RAM vs. ROM).

[0221] The memory may be of any type suitable to the local technical environment and may be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, such as semiconductor based memory devices, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, fixed memory and removable memory. The data processors may be of any type suitable to the local technical environment, and may comprise one or more of general purpose computers, special purpose computers, microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs), application specific integrated circuits (ASIC), FPGA, gate level circuits and processors based on multi core processor architecture, as non-limiting examples.

[0222] Various example embodiments of the disclosure may be practiced in various components, such as integrated circuit modules. The design of integrated circuits is by and large a highly automated process. Complex and powerful software tools are available for converting a logic level design into a semiconductor circuit design ready to be etched and formed on a semiconductor substrate.

[0223] The scope of protection sought for various example embodiments of the disclosure is set out by the independent claims. The example embodiments and features thereof, if any, described in this disclosure that do not fall under the scope of the independent claims are to be interpreted as examples useful for understanding various example embodiments of the disclosure.

[0224] The foregoing description has provided, by way of non-limiting and illustrative examples, a full and informative description of the various example embodiments of this disclosure. However, various modifications and adaptations may become apparent to those skilled in the relevant arts in view of this disclosure, when read in conjunction with the drawings and the claims. However, all such and similar modifications of the teachings will still fall within the various example embodiments of this disclosure. By way of non-limiting and illustrative example, there is a further example embodiment comprising a combination of one or more example embodiments with any of the other example embodiments previously discussed.

Claims

CLAIMS1 . An apparatus comprising means for: sending, to a network exposure function, a first request to discover ambient devices within a geographical area, wherein the first request comprises information indicating the geographical area; and receiving, from a unified data management or unified data repository function via the network exposure function, a report comprising information identifying one or more ambient devices discovered within the indicated geographical area.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the request comprises information indicating a periodicity for reporting the information identifying the one or more ambient devices discovered within the indicated geographical area.

3. The method of any preceding claim, wherein the report further comprises one or more of: status information associated with each of the one or more ambient devices; measurement information associated with each of the one or more ambient devices; and location information associated with each of the one or more ambient devices.

4. An apparatus comprising means for: receiving, from an application function, a first request to discover ambient devices within a geographical area, wherein the request comprises information indicating the geographical area; and sending, to a unified data management or unified data repository function, a second request for discovering ambient devices, wherein the second request comprises network area information comprising at least one of the following: one or more tracking area identifiers associated with the indicated geographical area; or information identifying one or more cells associated with the indicated geographical area.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the second request further comprises an identifier of the application function.

6. The method of any of claims 4 to 5, wherein the first request and the second request comprise information indicating a periodicity for reporting the information identifying the one or more ambient devices discovered within the indicated geographical area.

7. An apparatus comprising means for: receiving, from a network exposure function, a second request for discovering ambient devices, wherein the second request comprises network area information comprising at least one of the following: one or more tracking area identifiers or information identifying one or more cells; sending, to an access and mobility management function, a third request for discovering ambient devices, wherein the third request comprises the network area information; receiving, from the access and mobility management function, a report comprising at least information identifying one or more discovered ambient devices; and sending, to the application function via the network exposure function, the received report.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the report further comprises: status information associated with each of the one or more ambient devices; measurement information associated with each of the one or more ambient devices; and location information associated with each of the one or more ambient devices.

9. The method of any of claims 7 or 8, wherein the second request comprises information indicating a periodicity for reporting the information identifying the one or more ambient devices, and wherein the means is further for: sending one or more further third requests according to the indicated periodicity; and receiving one or more further reports according to the indicated periodicity.

10. An apparatus comprising means for: receiving, from a unified data management or unified data repository function, a third request for discovering ambient devices, wherein the third request comprises network area information comprising at least one of the following: one or more tracking area identifiers or information identifying one or more cells;sending, to one or more access nodes associated with the received network area information, one or more paging messages for causing the one or more access nodes to discover ambient devices and / or to trigger one or more user equipments associated with the network area information to discover the ambient devices; receiving, from the one or more access nodes and / or the one or more user equipments via the one or more access nodes, at least one message comprising information identifying one or more discovered ambient devices; and sending, to the unified data management or unified data repository function, a report comprising the information identifying the one or more discovered ambient devices collected from the information identifying the one or more discovered ambient devices received from at least one of the following: the one or more access nodes or the one or more user equipments.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the receiving the at least one message comprises: receiving, from the one or more access nodes, one or more next generation application protocol messages comprising the information identifying the one or more discovered ambient devices; and / or receiving, from the one or more user equipments via the one or more access nodes, at least one non-access stratum layer message comprising the information identifying the one or more discovered ambient devices.

12. The apparatus of claim 10 or 11 , wherein the at least one message further comprises at least one of the following: status information associated with each of the one or more ambient devices; measurement information associated with each of the one or more ambient devices; or location information associated with each of the one or more ambient devices.

13. The apparatus of any of claims 10 to 12, wherein the report further comprises at least one of the following: the status information associated with each of the one or more discovered ambient devices; the measurement information associated with each of the one or more discovered ambient devices; or the location information associated with each of the one or more discovered ambient devices.

14. The apparatus of any of claims 10 to 13, wherein the one or more paging messages comprises the network area information comprising at least one of the following: the one or more tracking area identifiers or the information identifying one or more cells.

15. The apparatus of any of claims 10 to 14, wherein the one or more paging messages further comprises information identifying the one or more user equipments.

16. The apparatus of claims 15 wherein the information identifying the one or more user equipments is determined by identifying the user equipments which have a registration area overlapping with the network area information.

17. The apparatus of any of claim 15 or 16, wherein the means is further for: receiving, from the one or more user equipments, capability information indicating a capability of respective user equipment for performing ambient device discovery, wherein the one or more paging messages are for causing the one or more access nodes to trigger the one or more user equipments that have indicated a capability for performing ambient device discovery.

18. The apparatus of any of claims 10 to 17, wherein the one or more access nodes associated with the received network area information comprises the one or more access nodes which support at least one of the tracking area or one of the cells comprised in the network area information.

19. An apparatus comprising means for: receiving, from an access and mobility management function, one or more paging messages for causing the access node to discover ambient devices or to trigger one or more user equipments associated with network area information to discover ambient devices, wherein the network area information comprises at least one of the following: one or more tracking area identifiers or information identifying one or more cells; and performing at least one of the following: sending, to the one or more user equipments in one or more cells of the access node, one or more radio messages for triggering the one or more user equipments to perform ambient device discovery; or discovering one or more ambient devices using the network area information.

20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the one or more paging messages comprise the network area information.

21. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the one or more cells of the access node are selected by the access node as belonging to at least one of the one or more tracking area identifiers or the one or more cells associated with the network area information.

22. The apparatus of any of claims 19 to 21 , wherein sending, to the one or more user equipments in the one or more cells of the access node, the one or more radio messages for triggering the one or more user equipments to perform the ambient device discovery comprises: sending one or more radio messages for triggering user equipments within a coverage area of the one or more cells of the access node to perform ambient device discovery.

23. The apparatus of any of claims 19 to 22, wherein: the paging message further comprises information identifying the one or more user equipments.

24. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the sending comprises at least one of: broadcasting a common radio message for triggering the one or more user equipments to perform ambient device discovery, wherein the broadcasted message comprises an identifier of the identified one or more user equipments; or sending the one or more radio messages via dedicated signalling between the access node and the identified one or more user equipments.

25. The apparatus of any of claims 19 to 24, wherein the one or more radio messages are radio paging messages comprising an explicit discovery requesting indicator of triggering the one or more user equipments to perform the ambient device discovery.

26. The apparatus of any of claims 19 to 25, wherein the means is for: in response to receiving the paging message from the access and mobility management function, discovering one or more ambient devices using the network area information; and sending, to the access and mobility management function, a next generation application protocol message comprising identifiers of the discovered one or more ambient devices.

27. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein the discovering the one or more ambient devices using the network area information comprises: sending one or more activation signals for discovering the ambient devices using the network area information; and receiving, from the one or more ambient devices, a respective one or more response signals, wherein each response signal comprises an identifier of the respective ambient device.

28. The apparatus of claims 26 or 27, wherein the next generation application protocol message further comprises one or more of: status information associated with each of the discovered one or more ambient devices; measurement information associated with each of the discovered one or more ambient devices; and location information associated with each of the discovered one or more ambient devices.

29. The apparatus of claim 28 when dependent on claim 27, wherein each the one or more response signals comprises one or more of: the status information associated with each of the one or more ambient devices; the measurement information associated with each of the one or more ambient devices; and the location information associated with each of the one or more ambient devices.

30. A user equipment comprising means for: receiving, from an access node, a radio message for triggering the user equipment to perform ambient device discovery; in response to receiving the message, discovering one or more ambient devices; and sending, to an access and mobility management function via the access node, a non-access stratum layer message comprising at least the identifiers of the discovered one or more ambient devices.

31. The user equipment of claim 30, wherein discovering the one or more ambient devices comprises:based on the received radio message, sending one or more activation signals for discovering the ambient devices; and receiving, from the one or more ambient devices, a respective one or more response signals, wherein each response signal comprises an identifier of the respective ambient device.

32. The user equipment of claim 30 or 31 , wherein the non-access stratum layer message further comprises one or more of: status information associated with each of the discovered one or more ambient devices; measurement information associated with each of the discovered one or more ambient devices; and location information associated with each of the discovered one or more ambient devices.

33. The user equipment of claim 32 when dependent on claim 31 , wherein each the one or more response signals comprises one or more of: the status information associated with each of the one or more ambient devices; the measurement information associated with each of the one or more ambient devices; and the location information associated with each of the one or more ambient devices.

34. The user equipment of any of claims 30 to 33, wherein the radio message is a radio paging message comprising an explicit discovery request indicator to trigger the user equipment to perform ambient device discovery.

35. The user equipment of any of claims 30 to 34, wherein the means is further for: sending, to the access and mobility management function, an indication of user equipment’s capability to support ambient device discovery; and receiving, based on the indicated capability, the radio message to trigger the discovery of the ambient devices.

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