User equipment configuration as intermediate and assisting node

Abstract

User equipment configuration as intermediate and assisting node is provided. A method for user equipment configuration as intermediate and assisting node may include providing, to a network entity, capability information indicating a role which an apparatus is configured to function and indicating one or more network topologies which is supported by the apparatus. The method may also include receiving, from the network entity, a configuration including policy information indicating at least the role assigned to the apparatus and a type of a relay node which the apparatus is to operate. The method may further include operating as the relay node according to the received configuration.

Description

TITLE:USER EQUIPMENT CONFIGURATION AS INTERMEDIATE AND ASSISTING NODETECHNICAL FIELD:

[0001] Some example embodiments may generally relate to mobile or wireless telecommunication systems, such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) or fifth generation (5G) new radio (NR) access technology, or 5G beyond, or sixth generation (6G) access technology or other communications systems. For example, certain example embodiments may relate to user equipment configuration as intermediate and assisting node.BACKGROUND:

[0002] Examples of mobile or wireless telecommunication systems may include the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN), Long Term Evolution (LTE) Evolved UTRAN (E-UTRAN), LTE- Advanced (LTE- A), MulteFire, LTE- A Pro, fifth generation (5G) radio access technology or new radio (NR) access technology and / or sixth generation (6G) radio access technology. Fifth generation (5G) and sixth generation (6G) wireless systems refer to the next generation (NG) of radio systems and network architecture. 5G and 6G network technology is mostly based on new radio (NR) technology, but the 5G / 6G (or NG) network can also build on E-UTRAN radio. It is estimated that NR may provide bitrates on the order of 10-20 Gbit / s or higher, and may support at least enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) and ultra-reliable low- latency communication (URLLC) as well as massive machine-type communication (mMTC). NR is expected to deliver extreme broadband and ultra-robust, low-latency connectivity and massive networking to support the Internet of Things (IoT).SUMMARY:

[0003] Various example embodiments may provide an apparatus including 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 provide, to a network entity, capability information indicating a role which the apparatus is configured to function and indicating one or more network topologies which is supported by the apparatus. The apparatus may also be caused to receive, from the network entity, a configuration comprising policy information indicating at least the role assigned to the apparatus and a type of a relay node which the apparatus is to operate. The apparatus may further be caused to operate as the relay node according to the received configuration.

[0004] Certain example embodiments may provide an apparatus including 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 user equipment, capability information indicating a role which the user equipment is configured to function and indicating one or more network topologies which is supported by the user equipment. The apparatus may also be caused to determine policy information indicating at least the role which is assigned to the user equipment and a type of a relay node which the user equipment is to operate. The apparatus may further be caused to provide, to the user equipment, a configuration comprising the determined policy information.

[0005] Some example embodiments may provide an apparatus including 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 entity, a request to perform at least one of activating or reading of one or more target ambient devices. The apparatus may also be caused to determine to perform the at least one of activating or reading based on received additional information and communicate with the one or more target ambientdevices according to the additional information to perform the at least one of activating or reading.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS:

[0006] For proper understanding of example embodiments, reference should be made to the accompanying drawings, as follows:

[0007] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of categories for an ambient loT device;

[0008] FIG. 2A illustrates an example of an loT topology;

[0009] FIG. 2B illustrates another example of an loT topology;

[0010] FIG. 3 illustrates a signal diagram for one or more procedures, according to various example embodiments;

[0011] FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a flow diagram of a method, according to some example embodiments;

[0012] FIG. 5 illustrates an example of a flow diagram of another method, according to certain example embodiments;

[0013] FIG. 6 illustrates an example of a flow diagram of a further method, according to some example embodiments; and

[0014] FIG. 7 illustrates a set of apparatuses, according to various example embodiments.DETAILED DESCRIPTION:

[0015] It will be readily understood that the components of certain example embodiments, as generally described and illustrated in the figures herein, may be arranged and designed in a wide variety of different configurations. The following is a detailed description of some example embodiments of systems, methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer program products for user equipment (UE) configuration as intermediate and assisting node. Although the devices discussed below and shown in the figures refer to 5G / 6G or Next Generation NodeB (gNB) devices and user equipment (UE) devices, thisdisclosure is not limited to only gNBs and UEs.

[0016] It may be readily understood that the components of certain example embodiments, as generally described and illustrated in the figures herein, may be arranged and designed in a wide variety of different configurations. Different reference designations from multiple figures may be used out of sequence in the description, to refer to a same element to illustrate their features or functions. If desired, the different functions or procedures discussed herein may be performed in a different order and / or concurrently with each other. Furthermore, if desired, one or more of the described functions or procedures may be optional or may be combined. As such, the following description should be considered as illustrative of the principles and teachings of certain example embodiments, and not in limitation thereof.

[0017] In 5G / 6G technology, Internet of Things (IoT) devices have been and will continue to rapidly increase and may be applied in a variety of applications. As the number of IoT devices increases, it will become more important to increase production efficiency while reducing the size, cost, and power consumption for the IoT devices. For example, routine replacement of batteries for the IoT devices may be impractical or otherwise undesirable due to the costs and consumption of materials, excess waste, and increased manpower demands. One solution for reducing the need to routinely replace batteries is to use energy harvested from the surrounding environment to power IoT devices for self- sustainable communications. This may be particularly useful in implementations in which a large number of devices are used, such as identification (ID) tags, sensors, healthcare devices, and / or logistics objects (e.g., tracking devices). This type of IoT device may be referred to an ambient IoT device which may be powered by energy harvesting, such that, for example, the device may be either battery-less or equipped with limited energy storage capabilities (e.g., using a capacitor).

[0018] Ambient IoT device may be used to complement existing IoTtechnologies and extend the usage to additional use cases that may demand more cost-effective, power-efficient, and / or battery-less functionalities. 3rdGeneration Partnership Project (3 GPP) specifications may define certain loT devices, such as reduced capability (RedCap) devices, to satisfy requirements for low cost and low power devices for wide area loT communication. These loT devices may consume relatively low power, such as tens or hundreds of milliwatts, during transceiving. To achieve the internet of everything, loT devices with lower cost and lower power consumption are needed, especially for implementations in which battery-less devices are desired.

[0019] A system architecture for an ambient loT device may include an activator or illuminator, the ambient loT device(s), and a reader or receiver. The activator, which may also be an illuminator, may send an activation signal to wake up passive ambient loT devices by providing energy that allows the ambient loT devices to transmit messages. The reader or receiver may monitor or listen and detect passive radio signals. The reader may or may not be collocated with the activator.

[0020] The ambient loT device(s) may be categorized into multiple categories, which may be defined by 3GPP specifications. FIG. 1 illustrates example categories for the ambient loT device(s). The ambient loT devices may be categorized as passive, semi-passive, or active. An ambient loT device (Device Type A) categorized as passive may be a battery-less device with no energy storage capability and may not be capable of independent signal generation and / or amplification. The passive loT device may be capable of backscattering. These passive loT devices may rely on the availability of an external source of energy. An ambient loT device (Device Type B) categorized as semi-passive may have limited energy storage capability that do not require manual replacement or recharging. Semi-passive loT devices may not generate independent signals and may utilize backscattering with potential reflection gain. An ambient loT device (Device Type C) categorizedas active may be an actively transmitting device with limited energy storage capabilities based on ambient energy sources. Incorporating ambient loT technology into the loT ecosystem may allow for expanding the use cases of the loT ecosystem while reducing the dependency on conventional power sources.

[0021] An loT device may be a passive radio system that harnesses energy from wireless signals sent on specific carriers and / or bandwidths and charges a simple circuitry that, once activated, may emit or reflect a signal which encodes at least the ID of the passive radio. A passive radio system may include a passive radio which harnesses energy over a range of frequencies and listens for activation signals, an activator which sends an activation signal targeted at waking up the passive radio, and a reader that listens and detects the passive radio signals. The reader may or may not be co-located with the activator. Once an activation signal is detected, the passive radio emits or reflects a signal which is specific to the radio ID of the passive radio.

[0022] 3 GPP technologies may define multiple topologies for ambient loT devices which may provide that a UE may be configured to serve as an intermediate node or an assisting node. FIG. 2A illustrates an example of an loT topology of a base station (BS) 201 and an ambient loT device 203 connected via an intermediate node 202. 3 GPP specifications may refer to this topology as Topology 2. This loT topology provides that the intermediate node 202 is a bidirectional intermediate node, which may be a UE.

[0023] FIG. 2B illustrates an example of an loT topology of a base station 210, an assisting node 211, and an ambient loT device 212. 3GPP specifications may refer to this topology as Topology 3. This loT topology provides that the assisting node 211 may be a unidirectional (e.g., uplink (UL) or downlink (DL)) assisting node, which may be a UE. In both topologies, when the intermediate node or the assisting node is a UE, the UE may need to be signalled and setup or configured to perform the functionality of theintermediate or assisting node by, for example, a core network (5GC). The UE, as an intermediate or assisting node, may act as a relay node. The UEs that are selected to act as an intermediate or assisting node may be configured or pre-configured by the network, such as a policy control function (PCF) to determine which role it should perform (e.g., an activator, reader or both). The network may also pre-configure or configure based on, for example, the supported and configured topology.

[0024] Various example embodiments may provide technological advantages to allow a network or 5GC to pre-configure or configure a UE for operations in, for example, Topology 2 and Topology 3, as discussed herein. Certain example embodiments may also provide that the UE may be configured to apply a specific topology to specific applications and / or AIoT devices and the UE may be configured to a specific AIoT operation mode.

[0025] Various example embodiments may provide one or more procedures for configuring of a UE as an intermediate node or an assisting node may be triggered by one or more situations. For example, during or after a registration procedure of a UE that supports ambient loT (AIoT) features, an application management function (AMF) of the network may establish a UE policy association with the PCF. The PCF may derive an AIoT UE policy and may provide the AIoT UE policy to the UE via a policy update procedure. To aid the trigger of the UE configuration, one or more capabilities of the UE may be enhanced with information indicating the ability of the UE to act as an activator, reader, or both, in a case of AIoT support. This capability information shall be used by the network (e.g., 5GC) to select and configure the UE(s). The UE may be configured with new or updated policies to play a specific role (e.g., activator, reader, or both). The new or upated policies may be provided to the UE during the UE registration and / or any time after the UE registration.

[0026] Some example embodiments may provide that the information whichmay be provided as part of the policies and / or configuration to the UE may include, for example, one or more allowed roles, an allowed node type, a frequency band and / or carrier frequency, a mapping of AIoT devices to application on the network or server side, and / or an expiration time or validity time period for the policies and / or configuration. The allowed role(s) may be an intermediate node and / or an assisting node. The allowed role(s) indicates the role which the UE may be configured or authorized to perform for each AIoT application. The allowed node type may indicate whether the UE is authorized to act as an activator or reader or both. The allowed node type information may be provided when the UE is configured as the assisting node as the allowed role. When the UE acts in the role of an intermediate node, the allowed node type information may or may not need to be provided because the UE acts as both the activator and reader by default.

[0027] The frequency band and the career frequency may be provided for all the configured roles. The frequency band and the career frequency may indicate the frequency bands and the career frequency that the UE is authorized to use to perform the specific role for one or more AIoT applications. The expiration time or validity time period for the policies and / or configuration may indicate a duration of time for which the policies and / or configuration are considered as valid.

[0028] The mapping of AIoT devices to applications on the network / server side may be for uplink (UL) using an AIoT identifier (ID). The mapping may, for example, allow the UE to determine how and where to send information read from an AIoT device when the UE acts as a reader. The mapping may include mapping of AIoT device IDs to an AIoT application ID, which may help the UE to determine a target AIoT application for sending the data read from the AIoT device. The information read from the AIoT device IDs may be provided or forwarded to the AIoT application in various methods. For example, a control plane forwarding or user plane forwarding. In control planeforwarding, the UE may be provided information to determine how to route the information to the AIoT application over the control plane. For example, the information may include a selection of network function (NF) instances and / or fully qualified domain name (FQDN) of the target AIoT application that the UE may include in a message for an NF of the 5GC to forward the message further to the AIoT application. In user plane forwarding, the UE may be provided information to determine how to route the information to the AIoT application over the user plane, such as, for example, the selection of a packet data network (PDU) session or data network name (DNN), or network slice, or the like.

[0029] Various example embodiments may provide that the one or more procedures for policy provisioning may be divided into two phases. In a first phase, one or more procedures may be provided for defining how one or more policies may be configured to a UE during registration or any time after the UE registration via a policy update procedure. In the second phase, one or more procedures may be provided for defining how and when the one or more policies may be executed in the UE based on an AF request.

[0030] FIG. 3 illustrates a signal diagram for one or more procedures, according to various example embodiments. The one or more procedures may be performed by a configuration of, for example, an AIoT device 301, a UE 302, a base station (e.g., gNB) 303, an AMF 304, a PCF 305, a unified data management (UDM) or unified data repository (UDR) 306, a network exposure function (NEF) 307, and application function (AF) 308. Procedures 310-345, as discussed below, may be performed as the first phase for policy provisioning, and procedures 350-385, as discussed below, may be performed as the second phase for executing the provisioned policy.

[0031] Some example embodiments may provide one or more procedures in the first phase which, at 310, for each AIoT application, the AF 308 (optionally via the NEF 307) may provide information as guidance along with an AF IDto the PCF 305 for policy determination. This guidance information may or may not be different for each AIoT application. The guidance information may be provided for any UE 302 and may be stored in the UDR 306 as application data. The PCF 305 may use the guidance information while deriving or determining AIoT-related policies for the UE 302 to act as a reader or an activator or both. The guidance information may include the frequency band and the carrier frequency that may be used by the UE for activating and / or reading one or more AIoT devices 301. At 315, the NEF 307 may store the policy guidance information provided by the AF 308 in the UDR 306.

[0032] At 320, during a UE registration procedure, the UE 302 may provide or share capability information of the UE 302 with the 5GC, such as, for example, the gNB 303, AMF 304, PCF 305, and / or UDR 306. The UE capability information may be enhanced with information about AIoT -related capabilities, such as whether the UE may operate as a reader or an activator or both, and one or more topologies supported by the UE 302. At 325, after the UE registration is complete, the AMF 304 may select a PCF (e.g., PCF 305) that supports AIoT policies and / or configurations and may establish a UE policy association with the selected PCF 305. The UE policy association may include the AIoT capabilities indicated by the UE 302 during the registration procedure. The AMF 304 may also include AIoT policy subscription data for the UE 302 which may be received from the UDR 306. The subscription data may include, for example, subscribed AIoT application IDs and / or the like.

[0033] Certain example embodiments may provide that, at 330, the PCF 305 may read the policy subscription data, which may include new or updated AIoT policy subscription data from the UDR 306 (e.g., allowed roles and other corresponding policy information). If the UE 302 has subscribed for AIoT application IDs, the PCF 305 may also read the AIoT application policy guidance information from the UDR 306. At 335, the PCF 305 may derive or determine one or more AIoT policies for the UE 302 to be delivered to the UE302. The AIoT policies may be based on, for example, the UE capability information, the subscription information provided by the AMF 304 and stored in the UDR 306, the UE policy subscription data stored in UDR 306, and / or policy guidance information for the one or more AIoT applications which may be stored in the UDR 306.

[0034] Some example embodiments may provide that, at 340, the PCF 305 may provision or provide the UE 302 with the policies derived or determined at procedure 335. The policies may include the AIoT related information per authorized AIoT application. For each authorized AIoT application, the UE 302 may be provisioned with various AIoT related policy information. The AIoT related policy information may include an allowed role and allowed node type of the UE 302. The allowed role may be an intermediate node or an assisting node. The allowed role may specify the authorized role for each AIoT application on the UE 302. The PCF 305 may determine the allowed role by checking the subscription information and the AIoT capability. For example, if the UE 302 supports both activator and reader capabilities and activator and reader capabilities are allowed in the subscription information for the AF 308, the PCF 305 may determine that the UE 302 can act as an intermediate node. The allowed node type may be a reader, an activator, or both. The allowed node type may indicate whether the UE is authorized to act as an activator or reader or both. The allowed node type may be applicable when the UE 302 is configured as an assisting node for the allowed role because when the UE 302 takes the role of an intermediate node, the UE 302 may act as both the activator and the reader. The PCF 305 may determine the allowed node type by checking the subscription information and the AIoT capability.

[0035] The AIoT related policy information may also include a frequency band and a career frequency for each configured and allowed role per AIoT application. The frequency band and the career frequency indicate thefrequency bands and the career frequency that the UE 302 may be authorized to use to perform a specific allowed role per AIoT application. The PCF 305 may determine the frequency band and the career frequency based on a local configuration (e.g., one or more pre-set values) of the PCF 305. The frequency band and the career frequency may be provided by the AF or configured in PCF based on a local configuration, such as, for example, the 5GC may be pre-configured with the frequency band and the career frequency for specific AIoT applications.

[0036] Various example embodiments may provide that the AIoT related policy information may also include mapping of AIoT devices to AIoT applications on the network / server side for UL using an AIoT ID. The mapping may allow the reader UE to determine how and where to send the information from an AIoT device. The mapping may include multiple (e.g., two) types of information. This information may include mapping of AIoT device IDs to AIoT application ID and information on how to forward or provide information read from the AIoT device IDs to the AIoT application. The information may be forwarded or provided by the control plane or the user plane. In control plane forwarding, the UE 302 may be provided information to determine how to route the information to the AIoT application over control plane. For example, the selection of NF instances and / or FQDN of the target AIoT application that the UE 302 may include in a message for a core network NF to forward the message to the AIoT application. In user plane forwarding, the UE 302 may be provided information to determine how to route the information to the AIoT application over user plane, such as, for example, a selection of PDU session or DNN, and / or network slice.

[0037] Certain example embodiments may provide that the AIoT related policy information may also include an expiration time or validity time period for the policies / configuration. The expiration time or validity time period may indicate a duration for which the policies / configuration may be considered asvalid. The PCF 305 may determine the expiration time or validity time period based on the local configuration of the PCF 305.

[0038] Various example embodiments may provide that, at 345, the PCF 305 may store the AIoT related policies / configuration and the UE AIoT capability in the UDR 306 after provisioning the policy including the policies related to the AIoT to the UE 302.

[0039] Certain example embodiments may provide one or more procedures in the second phase which, at 350, the AF 308 may send an AIoT request to the 5GC, optionally via the NEF 307, to retrieve data from the target AIoT devices 301. The AIoT request may include an AF ID, one or more target AIoT device IDs, a list of UE IDs that may act as a reader and / or activator or location of the target AIoT devices 301, and / or additional information for the AIoT policy, which may include AIoT allowed role(s), allowed node type(s), frequency band and career frequency, mapping, and / or expiration time or validity time period. At 355, the NEF 307 may validate the requested UE(s) 302 when provided or may pre-select candidate UE(s) when location information is given. The gNB 303 may make the final selection of the UE(s) 302 and may report the selection back to the NEF 307.

[0040] Some example embodiments may provide that, at 360, the NEF 307 may request the selected UE(s) 302 via the gNB 303 to activate and / or read the target AIoT device(s) 301. This request may include the target AIoT device ID(s) and may include additional information provided by the AF 308 in the request from procedure 350. Optionally, the NEF 307 may provide different requests to multiple UEs 302, such as, for example, when different UEs are selected as activator and reader. At 365, the UE 302 may receive the request and may correlate the request with one or more provisioned policies for the requested application ID included in the request. The UE 302 may overwrite the provisioned policy by the information from the AF 308 obtained at procedure 360, if available, or may add the information from the AF 308obtained at procedure 360 in addition to the policy provisioned by the PCF 305 in a case where information was missing. The UE 302 may then apply the AIoT UE policy. The missing information may be any part of the data or information provisioned by the AF, such as, for example, the role, topology and / or frequency band.

[0041] Certain example embodiments may provide that, at 370, the UE 302 may interact with the AIoT device 301 to perform a specific task, such as to activate, read, or both. The AIoT device 301 may provide one or more responses on request from the activator.

[0042] In various embodiments in which the UE 302 may be configured as a reader, at 375, the UE 302 may, after reading UL data from the AIoT device 301, determine which destination (i.e., AF 308) to forward the read UL data based on the configured mapping and the method of forwarding the data via the control plane or the user plane. At 380 and 385, the UE 302 may forward or provide the data retrieved from the target AIoT device 301 to either AF 308 or AF2 309 based on the information indicated in the mapping.

[0043] Various example embodiments may provide technological advantages for policy provisioning to a UE and execution of the policy by the UE in various topologies implemented AIoT devices.

[0044] FIG. 4 illustrates an example flow diagram of a method, according to certain example embodiments. In an example embodiment, the method of FIG. 4 may be performed by a network element, or a group of multiple network elements in a 3GPP system, such as LTE or 5G-NR. For instance, in an example embodiment, the method of FIG. 4 may be performed by a UE similar to apparatus 710 illustrated in FIG. 7.

[0045] According to various example embodiments, the method of FIG. 4 may include, at 410, providing, to a network entity, capability information indicating a role which the UE is configured to function and indicating one or more network topologies which is supported by the UE. At 420, the methodmay also include receiving, from the network entity, a configuration including policy information indicating at least the role assigned to the UE and a type of a relay node which the UE is to operate. At 430, the method may further include operating as the relay node according to the received configuration.

[0046] Certain example embodiments may provide that the role assigned to the UE and the type of the relay node are provided for each application which the UE is configured to operate. The type of the relay node assigned to the UE may be an activator, a reader, or both the activator and the reader. The role assigned to the UE may be based on the one or more network topologies and the role comprises acting as an intermediate node or an assisting node.

[0047] Some example embodiments may provide that the policy information further include one or more of the following: a frequency band corresponding to the role assigned to the UE, a career frequency corresponding to the role assigned to the UE, a mapping of devices to applications determined by a network for uplink using an identifier of each of the devices, or an expiration time or validity time period for the configuration. The mapping may include a mapping of the identifier of each of the devices or mapping of the identifier of a group of devices to an identifier of each application which the UE is configured to operate, and instructions to perform forwarding of information read from the identifier of each of the devices to the applications.

[0048] Various example embodiments may provide that the method further includes, when the forwarding of information is performed by a control plane, determining a route for the information read from the identifier of each of the devices to the applications over the control plane. The method may also include, when the forwarding of information is performed by a user plane, determining a route for the information read from the identifier of each of the devices to the applications over the user plane. The method may include, when the policy information received is different from current policy information, overwriting the current policy information with the policyinformation received.

[0049] FIG. 5 illustrates an example flow diagram of a method, according to certain example embodiments. In an example embodiment, the method of FIG. 5 may be performed by a network element, or a group of multiple network elements in a 3GPP system, such as LTE or 5G-NR. For instance, in an example embodiment, the method of FIG. 5 may be performed by a UE similar to apparatus 720 illustrated in FIG. 7.

[0050] According to various example embodiments, the method of FIG. 5 may include, at 510, receiving, from a network entity, a request to perform at least one of activating or reading of one or more target ambient devices, and at 520, determining to perform the at least one of activating or reading based on received additional information. The method may also include, at 530, communicating with the one or more target ambient devices according to the additional information to perform the at least one of activating or reading.

[0051] Some example embodiments may provide that the request includes the additional information. The method may also include, when the additional information is received and a corresponding current policy information is stored by the UE, deciding to use the additional information instead of the corresponding stored policy information. The additional information includes a role which the UE is configured to function for each application. The role of the UE may be based on one or more network topologies and the role includes acting as an intermediate node or an assisting node. The additional information includes a type of a relay node which the UE is to operate and the type of the relay node is an activator, a reader, or both the activator and the reader.

[0052] Certain example embodiments may provide that the additional information further comprises one or more of the following: a frequency band corresponding to the role assigned to the UE, a career frequency corresponding to the role assigned to the UE, a mapping of devices toapplications determined by a network for uplink using an identifier of each of the devices, or an expiration time or validity time period for the configuration. The method may also include, when the type of the relay node is the reader, reading uplink information from at least one of the one or more target ambient devices and determining a destination to transmit the uplink information based on a configured mapping. The method may further include, when the type of the relay node is the reader, determining whether to transmit the uplink information via a control plane or a user plane of a network. The method may also include, when the type of the relay node is the reader, transmitting the uplink information read from the at least one of the one or more target ambient devices to the determined destination based on the configured mapping. The request may include identifiers of the one or more target ambient devices.

[0053] FIG. 6 illustrates an example flow diagram of a method, according to certain example embodiments. In an example embodiment, the method of FIG. 6 may be performed by a network element, or a group of multiple network elements in a 3GPP system, such as LTE or 5G-NR. For instance, in an example embodiment, the method of FIG. 6 may be performed by a network function, such as a PCF, similar to apparatus 710 illustrated in FIG. 7.

[0054] According to various example embodiments, the method of FIG. 6 may include, at 610, receiving, from a UE, capability information indicating a role which the UE is configured to function and indicating one or more network topologies which is supported by the UE. At 620, the method may include determining policy information indicating at least the role which is assigned to the UE and a type of a relay node which the UE is to operate, and at 630, providing, to the UE, a configuration comprising the determined policy information.

[0055] Some example embodiments may provide that the role assigned to the UE and the type of the relay node may be provided for each application which the UE is configured to operate. The method may also include determiningthe role assigned to the UE and the type of the relay node based on subscription information and the capability information. The role of the UE may be an intermediate node or an assisting node and the type of the relay node may be an activator, a reader, or both the activator and the reader. The method may further include receiving the subscription information from a data repository of a network. The policy information may further include one or more of the following: a frequency band corresponding to the role assigned to the UE, a career frequency corresponding to the role assigned to the UE, a mapping of devices to applications determined by a network for uplink using an identifier of each of the devices, and / or an expiration time or validity time period for the configuration.

[0056] Certain example embodiments may provide that the method also includes determining the frequency band, the career frequency, and / or the expiration time or the validity time period based on a pre-set local configuration. The mapping may include a mapping of the identifier of each of the devices or mapping of the identifier of a group of devices to an identifier of each application which the UE is configured to operate, and instructions to perform forwarding of information read from the identifier of each of the devices to the applications. The method may further include receiving guidance information from the application function of the network and using the guidance information to determine the policy information. The method may include storing, in a data repository, the determined policy information and the received capability information from the UE.

[0057] FIG. 7 illustrates apparatuses 710 and 720 according to various example embodiments. In the various example embodiments, apparatus 710 may be an element (or be configured to implement an element) in a network or associated with such a network, such as a UE. UE 302 may be an example of apparatus 710 according to various example embodiments as discussed above. It should be noted that one of ordinary skill in the art would understandthat apparatus 710 may include components or features not shown in FIG. 7. Further, the apparatus 720 may be an element (or be configured to implement an element) in a network or associated with such a network, such as a PCF. PCF 705 may be examples of apparatus 720 according to various example embodiments as discussed above. It should be noted that one of ordinary skill in the art would understand that apparatus 720 may include components or features not shown in FIG. 7.

[0058] According to various example embodiments, the apparatuses 710 and / or 720 may include one or more processors, one or more computer- readable storage medium (for example, memory, storage, or the like), one or more radio access components (for example, a modem, a transceiver, or the like), and / or a user interface. In some example embodiments, apparatuses 710 and / or 720 may be configured to operate using one or more radio access technologies, such as GSM, LTE, LTE-A, NR, 5G, WLAN, WiFi, NB-IoT, Bluetooth, NFC, MulteFire, and / or any other radio access technologies.

[0059] As illustrated in the example of FIG. 7, apparatuses 710 and / or 720 may include or be coupled to processors 712 and 722, respectively, for processing information and executing instructions or operations. Processors 712 and 722 may be any type of general or specific purpose processor. In fact, processors 712 and 722 may include one or more of general -purpose computers, special purpose computers, microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs), field- programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), and processors based on a multi-core processor architecture, as examples. While a single processor 712 (722) for each of apparatuses 710 and / or 720 is shown in FIG. 7, multiple processors may be utilized according to other example embodiments. For example, it should be understood that, in certain example embodiments, apparatuses 710 and / or 720 may include two or more processors that may form a multiprocessor system (for example, in this case processors 712 and 722 may represent a multiprocessor) that maysupport multiprocessing. According to certain example embodiments, the multiprocessor system may be tightly coupled or loosely coupled to, for example, form a computer cluster).

[0060] Processors 712 and 722 may perform functions associated with the operation of apparatuses 710 and / or 720, respectively, including, as some examples, precoding of antenna gain / phase parameters, encoding and decoding of individual bits forming a communication message, formatting of information, and overall control of the apparatuses 710 and / or 720, including processes illustrated in FIGs. 3-6.

[0061] Apparatuses 710 and / or 720 may further include or be coupled to memory 714 and / or 724 (internal or external), respectively, which may be coupled to processors 712 and 722, respectively, for storing information and instructions that may be executed by processors 712 and 722. Memory 714 (memory 724) may be one or more memories and of any type suitable to the local application environment, and may be implemented using any suitable volatile or nonvolatile data storage technology such as a semiconductor-based memory device, a magnetic memory device and system, an optical memory device and system, fixed memory, and / or removable memory. For example, memory 714 (memory 724) can be comprised of any combination of random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), static storage such as a magnetic or optical disk, hard disk drive (HDD), or any other type of non- transitory machine or computer readable media. The instructions stored in memory 714 and memory 724 may include program instructions or computer program code that, when executed by processors 712 and 722, enable the apparatuses 710 and / or 720 to perform tasks as described herein.

[0062] In certain example embodiments, apparatuses 710 and / or 720 may further include or be coupled to (internal or external) a drive or port that is configured to accept and read an external computer readable storage medium, such as an optical disc, USB drive, flash drive, or any other storage medium.For example, the external computer readable storage medium may store a computer program or software for execution by processors 712 and 722 and / or apparatuses 710 and / or 720 to perform any of the methods illustrated in FIGs. 3-6.

[0063] In some example embodiments, apparatuses 710 and / or 720 may also include or be coupled to one or more antennas 715 and 725, respectively, for receiving a downlink signal and for transmitting via an uplink from apparatuses 710 and / or 720. Apparatuses 710 and / or 720 may further include transceivers 716 and 726, respectively, configured to transmit and receive information. The transceivers 716 and 726 may also include a radio interface (for example, a modem) respectively coupled to the antennas 715 and 725. The radio interface may correspond to a plurality of radio access technologies including one or more of GSM, LTE, LTE-A, 5G, NR, WLAN, NB-IoT, Bluetooth, BT-LE, NFC, RFID, UWB, or the like. The radio interface may include other components, such as filters, converters (for example, digital-to- analog converters or the like), symbol demappers, signal shaping components, an Inverse Fast Fourier Transform (IFFT) module, or the like, to process symbols, such as OFDMA symbols, carried by a downlink or an uplink.

[0064] For instance, transceivers 716 and 726 may be respectively configured to modulate information on to a carrier waveform for transmission by the antenna(s) 715 and 725, and demodulate information received via the antenna(s) 715 and 725 for further processing by other elements of apparatuses 710 and / or 720. In other example embodiments, transceivers 716 and 726 may be capable of transmitting and receiving signals or data directly. Additionally or alternatively, in some example embodiments, apparatuses 710 and / or 720 may include an input and / or output device (I / O device). In certain example embodiments, apparatuses 710 and / or 720 may further include a user interface, such as a graphical user interface or touchscreen.

[0065] In certain example embodiments, memory 714 and memory 724 storesoftware modules that provide functionality when executed by processors 712 and 722, respectively. The modules may include, for example, an operating system that provides operating system functionality for apparatuses 710 and / or 720. The memory may also store one or more functional modules, such as an application or program, to provide additional functionality for apparatuses 710 and / or 720. The components of apparatuses 710 and / or 720 may be implemented in hardware, or as any suitable combination of hardware and software. According to certain example embodiments, apparatus 710 may optionally be configured to communicate with apparatus 720 via a wireless or wired communications link 730 according to any radio access technology, such as NR.

[0066] According to certain example embodiments, processors 712 and 722, and memory 714 and 724 may be included in or may form a part of processing circuitry or control circuitry. In addition, in some example embodiments, transceivers 716 and 726 may be included in or may form a part of transceiving circuitry.

[0067] For instance, in certain example embodiments, the apparatus 710 may be controlled by the memory 714 and the processor 712 to provide, to a network entity, capability information indicating a role which the apparatus 710 is configured to function and indicating one or more network topologies which is supported by the apparatus 710. The apparatus 710 may also be controlled to receive, from the network entity, a configuration comprising policy information indicating at least the role assigned to the apparatus 710 and a type of a relay node which the apparatus 710 is to operate and operate as the relay node according to the received configuration.

[0068] In various example embodiments, the apparatus 720 may be controlled by the memory 724 and the processor 722 to receive, from a user equipment, capability information indicating a role which the user equipment is configured to function and indicating one or more network topologies whichis supported by the user equipment. The apparatus 720 may also be controlled to determine policy information indicating at least the role which is assigned to the user equipment and a type of a relay node which the user equipment is to operate, and provide, to the user equipment, a configuration comprising the determined policy information.

[0069] In various example embodiments, the apparatus 710 may alternatively or additionally be controlled by the memory 714 and the processor 712 to receive, from a network entity, a request to perform at least one of activating or reading of one or more target ambient devices and determine to perform the at least one of activating or reading based on received additional information. The apparatus 710 may also be controlled to communicate with the one or more target ambient devices according to the additional information to perform the at least one of activating or reading.

[0070] In some example embodiments, an apparatus (e.g., apparatus 710 and / or apparatus 720) may include means for performing a method, a process, or any of the variants discussed herein. Examples of the means may include one or more processors, memory, controllers, transmitters, receivers, and / or computer program code for causing the performance of the operations.

[0071] Various example embodiments may be directed to an apparatus, such as apparatus 710, that includes means for providing, to a network entity, capability information indicating a role which the apparatus 710 is configured to function and indicating one or more network topologies which is supported by the apparatus 710. The apparatus 710 may also include means for receiving, from the network entity, a configuration comprising policy information indicating at least the role assigned to the apparatus 710 and a type of a relay node which the apparatus 710 is to operate and means for operating as the relay node according to the received configuration.

[0072] Various example embodiments may be directed to an apparatus, such as apparatus 720, that includes means for receiving, from a user equipment,capability information indicating a role which the user equipment is configured to function and indicating one or more network topologies which is supported by the user equipment. The apparatus 720 may also include means for determining policy information indicating at least the role which is assigned to the user equipment and a type of a relay node which the user equipment is to operate and means for providing, to the user equipment, a configuration comprising the determined policy information.

[0073] Various example embodiments may be directed to an apparatus, such as apparatus 710, that alternatively or additionally includes means for receiving, from a network entity, a request to perform at least one of activating or reading of one or more target ambient devices and means for determining to perform the at least one of activating or reading based on received additional information. The apparatus 710 may also include means for communicating with the one or more target ambient devices according to the additional information to perform the at least one of activating or reading.

[0074] As used herein, the term “circuitry” may refer to hardware-only circuitry implementations (for example, analog and / or digital circuitry), combinations of hardware circuits and software, combinations of analog and / or digital hardware circuits with software / firmware, any portions of hardware processor(s) with software, including digital signal processors, that work together to cause an apparatus (for example, apparatus 710 and / or 720) to perform various functions, and / or hardware circuit(s) and / or processor(s), or portions thereof, that use software for operation but where the software may not be present when it is not needed for operation. As a further example, as used herein, the term “circuitry” may also cover an implementation of merely a hardware circuit or processor or multiple processors, or portion of a hardware circuit or processor, and the accompanying software and / or firmware. The term circuitry may also cover, for example, a baseband integrated circuit in a server, cellular network node or device, or othercomputing or network device.

[0075] A computer program product may include one or more computerexecutable components which, when the program is run, are configured to carry out some example embodiments. The one or more computer-executable components may be at least one software code or portions of it. Modifications and configurations required for implementing functionality of certain example embodiments may be performed as routine(s), which may be implemented as added or updated software routine(s). Software routine(s) may be downloaded into the apparatus.

[0076] As an example, software or a computer program code or portions of it may be in a source code form, object code form, or in some intermediate form, and it may be stored in some sort of carrier, distribution medium, or computer readable medium, which may be any entity or device capable of carrying the program. Such carriers may include a record medium, computer memory, read-only memory, photoelectrical and / or electrical carrier signal, telecommunications signal, and software distribution package, for example. Depending on the processing power needed, the computer program may be executed in a single electronic digital computer or it may be distributed amongst a number of computers. The computer readable medium or computer readable storage medium may be a non-transitory medium.

[0077] In other example embodiments, the functionality may be performed by hardware or circuitry included in an apparatus (for example, apparatuses 710 and / or 720), for example through the use of an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable gate array (PGA), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), or any other combination of hardware and software. In yet another example embodiment, the functionality may be implemented as a signal, a non-tangible means that can be carried by an electromagnetic signal downloaded from the Internet or other network.

[0078] According to certain example embodiments, an apparatus, such as anode, device, or a corresponding component, may be configured as circuitry, a computer or a microprocessor, such as single-chip computer element, or as a chipset, including at least a memory for providing storage capacity used for arithmetic operation and an operation processor for executing the arithmetic operation.

[0079] The features, structures, or characteristics of example embodiments described throughout this specification may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more example embodiments. For example, the usage of the phrases “certain embodiments,” “an example embodiment,” “some embodiments,” or other similar language, throughout this specification refers to the fact that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with an embodiment may be included in at least one embodiment. Thus, appearances of the phrases “in certain embodiments,” “an example embodiment,” “in some embodiments,” “in other embodiments,” or other similar language, throughout this specification do not necessarily refer to the same group of embodiments, and the described features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more example embodiments. Further, the terms “cell”, “node”, “gNB”, or other similar language throughout this specification may be used interchangeably.

[0080] 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.

[0081] As used herein, “and / or” and similar expressions, where a list of two or more elements is joined by “and / or,” mean at least any one of the elements, at least any two or more of the elements, or at least all of the elements.

[0082] 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”).1

[0083] As used herein, unless stated explicitly, performing a respective feature, step, or functionality “in response to A” does not indicate that the respective feature, step, or functionality is performed immediately after “A” occurs as one or more intervening features, steps, or functionalities may be included (at least in part) between an occurrence of the respective feature, step or function and “A”. Analogously, performing a respective feature, step, or functionality “based on A” does not indicate that the respective feature, step, or functionality is performed solely based on “A” as the respective feature, step, or functionality may be further based at least in part on one or more other features, steps, or functionalities in addition to “A”.

[0084] One having ordinary skill in the art will readily understand that the disclosure as discussed above may be practiced with procedures in a different order, and / or with hardware elements in configurations which are different than those which are disclosed. Therefore, although the disclosure has been described based upon these example embodiments, it would be apparent to those of skill in the art that certain modifications, variations, and alternative constructions would be apparent, while remaining within the spirit and scope of example embodiments. Although the above embodiments refer to 5G NR and LTE technology, the above embodiments may also apply to any other present or future 3 GPP technology, such as LTE-advanced, and / or fourth generation (4G) and / or sixth (6G) technology.

[0085] Partial Glossary:

[0086] 3 GPP 3rd Generation Partnership Project

[0087] 5G 5th Generation

[0088] 6G 6thGeneration

[0089] AF Application Function

[0090] AIoT Ambient Internet of Things

[0091] AMF Application Management Function

[0092] BS Base Station

[0093] DL Downlink

[0094] DNN Domain Network Name

[0095] EMBB Enhanced Mobile Broadband

[0096] FQDN Fully Qualified Domain Name

[0097] gNB 5G or Next Generation NodeB

[0098] ID Identifier

[0099] loT Internet of Things

[0100] LTE Long Term Evolution

[0101] NEF Network Exposure Function

[0102] NR New Radio

[0103] PCF Policy Control Function

[0104] PDN Packet Data Network

[0105] UDM Unified Data Management

[0106] UDR Unified Data Repository

[0107] UE User Equipment

[0108] UL Uplink

Claims

WE CLAIM:

1. 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: provide, to a network entity, capability information indicating a role which the apparatus is configured to function and indicating one or more network topologies which is supported by the apparatus; receive, from the network entity, a configuration comprising policy information indicating at least the role assigned to the apparatus and a type of a relay node which the apparatus is to operate; and operate as the relay node according to the received configuration.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the role assigned to the apparatus and the type of the relay node are provided for each application which the apparatus is configured to operate.

3. The apparatus according to claims 1 or 2, wherein the type of the relay node assigned to the apparatus is an activator, a reader, or both the activator and the reader.

4. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1-3, wherein the role assigned to the apparatus is based on the one or more network topologies and the role comprises acting as an intermediate node or an assisting node.

5. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1-4, wherein the policy information further comprises one or more of the following: a frequency band corresponding to the role assigned to the apparatus;a career frequency corresponding to the role assigned to the apparatus; a mapping of devices to applications determined by a network for uplink using an identifier of each of the devices; or an expiration time or validity time period for the configuration.

6. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the mapping comprises: a mapping of the identifier of each of the devices or mapping of the identifier of a group of devices to an identifier of each application which the apparatus is configured to operate; and instructions to perform forwarding of information read from the identifier of each of the devices to the applications.

7. The apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the apparatus to, when the forwarding of information is performed by a control plane, determine a route for the information read from the identifier of each of the devices to the applications over the control plane.

8. The apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the apparatus to, when the forwarding of information is performed by a user plane, determine a route for the information read from the identifier of each of the devices to the applications over the user plane.

9. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1-8, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the apparatus to, when the policy information received is different from current policy information, overwrite the current policy information with the policy information received.

10. 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 user equipment, capability information indicating a role which the user equipment is configured to function and indicating one or more network topologies which is supported by the user equipment; determine policy information indicating at least the role which is assigned to the user equipment and a type of a relay node which the user equipment is to operate; and provide, to the user equipment, a configuration comprising the determined policy information.

11. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the role assigned to the user equipment and the type of the relay node are provided for each application which the user equipment is configured to operate.

12. The apparatus according to claims 10 or 11, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the apparatus to: determine the role assigned to the user equipment and the type of the relay node based on subscription information and the capability information, wherein the role of the user equipment is an intermediate node or an assisting node and the type of the relay node is an activator, a reader, or both the activator and the reader.

13. The apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the apparatus to receive the subscription information from a data repository of a network.

14. The apparatus according to any one of claims 10-13, wherein the policy information further comprises one or more of the following: a frequency band corresponding to the role assigned to the user equipment; a career frequency corresponding to the role assigned to the user equipment; a mapping of devices to applications determined by a network for uplink using an identifier of each of the devices; or an expiration time or validity time period for the configuration.

15. The apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the apparatus to determine the frequency band, the career frequency, and / or the expiration time or the validity time period based on a pre-set local configuration.

16. The apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the mapping comprises: a mapping of the identifier of each of the devices or mapping of the identifier of a group of devices to an identifier of each application which the user equipment is configured to operate; and instructions to perform forwarding of information read from the identifier of each of the devices to the applications.

17. The apparatus according to any one of claims 10-16, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the apparatus to receive guidance information from the application function of the network and use the guidance information to determine the policy information.

18. The apparatus according to any one of claims 10-17, wherein theinstructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the apparatus to store, in a data repository, the determined policy information and the received capability information from the user equipment.

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