Aiot terminal device, network device, and aiot positioning method

Abstract

Disclosed in the present invention is an AIoT positioning method. The method comprises: a network device sends first information and / or a first signal to an AIoT terminal device; and receives and measures a second reference signal, so as to acquire the location of the AIoT terminal device; wherein the first information comprises a first reference signal and first positioning assistance information, the first reference signal is a positioning reference signal, and the second reference signal is an auxiliary positioning reference signal sent by the AIoT terminal device on the basis of the first reference signal; and the first positioning assistance information comprises at least one of the following: whether the second reference signal is requested to carry the ID of the AIoT terminal device; the transmit power of the second reference signal; the time-frequency resources of the second reference signal; the path loss between the network device and the AIoT terminal device; a reflection amplifier using the AIoT terminal device and the amplification factor of the reflection amplifier; and sideband switching indication information. In the present invention, the network device sends the first information and / or the first signal, and acquires and measures the second reference signal sent by the AIoT terminal device, so as to acquire the location of the AIoT terminal device, thereby improving the accuracy of positioning AIoT terminal devices.

Description

AIoT terminal device, network device and AIoT positioning method thereof Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of communication technologies, and in particular to an AIoT terminal device, a network device, an intermediate node, and an AIoT positioning method thereof. Background Art

[0002] In the existing technology, devices that support backscatter communication do not have the ability to generate carrier waves and cannot "actively" send signals to the outside world. Instead, they modulate the information bits that the device itself needs to send on a third-party signal and send it. The backscatter device selects the corresponding load impedance according to the information bits that need to be sent, thereby changing the physical properties of the third-party signal such as amplitude, phase or frequency, thereby realizing "passive" communication. Modulation is divided into digital modulation and analog modulation. A simple implementation method is that when the Tag (NOT UE, special terminal, access control card) sends bit 1, it reflects the carrier signal; when the Tag sends bit 0, it absorbs the carrier signal.

[0003] The above-mentioned backscatter communication principle mainly involves the transmitting end. In addition to the channel coding and modulation modules designed for the transmitting end, a typical backscatter device usually also includes an antenna, a microcontroller, a signal receiving module, a memory, etc. Among them, the signal receiving module is responsible for receiving the downlink signal sent to the backscatter device by the network side or the card reader, and its architecture and technology can reuse the LP-WUR technology currently being developed by 3GPP; the microcontroller is responsible for executing commands, collecting sensor information, writing / reading data, and other functions, and controlling the coding and modulation module according to the information to be transmitted. Backscatter communication does not actively generate a carrier signal, and its energy consumption is extremely low, generally between 1uW and 1mW. The problem that the network side needs to obtain the location of AIoT network devices (such as tags) has not yet been properly solved.

[0004] Summary of the Invention

[0005] In view of this, the purpose of the present invention is to provide an AIoT terminal device, a network device, an intermediate node and an AIoT positioning method thereof to improve the problems in the prior art.

[0006] [Corrected on 15.03.2024 according to Rule 91] The present invention provides an AIoT (ambient IoT) positioning method for obtaining the positioning of an AIoT terminal device in a network device, wherein the method comprises: sending first information and / or a first signal to the AIoT terminal device; receiving and measuring a second reference signal to obtain the position of the AIoT terminal device; wherein the first information comprises a first reference signal and first positioning assistance information, the first reference signal is a positioning reference signal, and the second reference signal is an auxiliary positioning reference signal sent by the AIoT terminal device based on the first reference signal; the first positioning assistance information comprises at least any one of the following: requesting whether the second reference signal carries the ID of the AIoT terminal device; the transmission power of the second reference signal; the time-frequency resources of the second reference signal; the path loss between the network device and the AIoT terminal device; using the reflection amplifier of the AIoT terminal device and the amplification factor of the reflection amplifier; and sideband switching indication information.

[0007] [Corrected on 15.03.2024 according to Rule 91] The present invention also provides a method for reporting location information, which is used in an AIoT terminal device, wherein the method includes: receiving first information and / or a first signal; and sending a second reference signal based on the first reference signal, wherein the first information includes a first reference signal and first positioning assistance information, and the first reference signal is a positioning reference signal; the second reference signal is an auxiliary positioning reference signal sent by the AIoT terminal device based on the first reference signal; wherein the first positioning assistance information includes any one of the following: requesting whether the second reference signal carries the ID of the AIoT terminal device; the transmission power of the first reference signal; the time-frequency resources of the second reference signal; the path loss between the network device and the AIoT terminal device; using the reflection amplifier of the AIoT terminal device and the amplification factor of the reflection amplifier; and sideband switching indication information.

[0008] The present invention also provides a method for obtaining the location of an AIoT terminal device, which is used in an intermediate node, wherein a network device is communicatively connected to the AIoT terminal device and the intermediate node, and the method includes: receiving AIoT positioning execution information sent by the network device; sending third information and / or a third signal to the AIoT terminal device based on the AIoT positioning execution information; receiving a fourth signal, and measuring the fourth signal to obtain first measurement information; and reporting the first measurement information to the network device.

[0009] The present invention also provides a method for obtaining the location of an AIoT terminal device, which is used in a network device, and includes: sending the first and fifth information and / or fifth signal to the AIoT terminal device at time t1; receiving the sixth reference signal from the AIoT terminal device at time t4, which is received at time t2 and / or the fifth signal and sent at time t3 based on the fifth information and / or the fifth signal; wherein the time difference between sending and receiving of the AIoT terminal device is t3-t2.

[0010] At least two network devices participate in the positioning of the AIoT terminal device, and another network device sends the fifth information and / or the fifth signal to the AIoT terminal device at time t5; receives the fifth information and / or the fifth signal from the AIoT terminal device at time t6 at time t8, and sends a sixth reference signal based on the fifth information and / or the fifth signal at time t7; wherein the time difference between sending and receiving the AIoT terminal device is t7-t6, wherein the condition for precise positioning is that the time difference between sending and receiving the AIoT terminal device is t7-t6=t3-t2, that is, the time difference between sending and receiving the AIoT terminal device within the coherence time is equal, and receives the fifth information and / or the fifth signal sent by the two network devices within the coherence time.

[0011] The present invention also provides a method for reporting location, which is used in an AIoT terminal device, and includes: receiving fifth information and / or a fifth signal sent by a network device at time t2; sending a sixth reference signal to the network device based on the fifth information and / or the fifth signal at time t3; wherein the fifth information includes third positioning auxiliary information, which is used to indicate whether the AIoT terminal device is fully reflected or not fully reflected; and the time difference between sending and receiving of the AIoT terminal device is t3-t2.

[0012] In addition, the AIoT terminal device receives the fifth information and / or the fifth signal sent by another network device at time t6; and sends the sixth reference signal based on the fifth information and / or the fifth signal to the other network device at time t7; wherein the time difference between sending and receiving of the AIoT terminal device is t7-t6.

[0013] When the third positioning auxiliary information indicates full reflection of the AIoT terminal device, the path loss between the AIoT terminal device and the network device is also obtained, wherein the two network devices determine the sending time of the fifth signal respectively according to the path loss; the AIoT terminal device receives the fifth information and / or fifth signal sent by the two network devices and sends the sixth reference signal within the coherence time, wherein the condition for precise positioning is that the time difference between the transmission and reception of the AIoT terminal device is t7-t6=t3-t2, that is, the time difference between the transmission and reception of the AIoT terminal device within the coherence time is equal, and the fifth information and / or fifth signal sent by the two network devices are received within the coherence time, wherein the two network devices respectively receive the sixth reference signal reflected by the AIoT terminal device and jointly locate the AIoT terminal device; wherein the coherence time refers to the time when the frequency offset error of the AIoT terminal device is stable.

[0014] The present invention also provides a method for obtaining the position of a newly added AIoT terminal device, which is used in a backscatter communication system. The backscatter communication system includes at least one network device and N AIoT terminal devices, wherein the N AIoT terminal devices are reference devices at fixed positions. The method includes: the network device obtains the sixth signal, sixth signal measurement value and coordinates of the N AIoT terminal devices; and the network device obtains the seventh signal and seventh signal measurement value of the AIoT terminal device to be located.

[0015] The present invention also provides a method for an AIoT terminal device to assist in obtaining the UE position, which is used in a network device, wherein the network device, N AIoT terminal devices, and the UE are communicatively connected, and the N AIoT terminal devices are reference devices at fixed positions. The method includes: the network device obtains the tenth signal, tenth signal measurement value, and coordinates of the N AIoT terminal devices; receives the eleventh signal sent by the UE, wherein the eleventh signal includes precise positioning request information; and sends third control information to the UE, wherein the UE obtains the twelfth signal and twelfth signal measurement value of the AIoT terminal device near the UE according to the third control information; and reports the twelfth signal measurement value to the network device.

[0016] The present invention also provides a method for obtaining the location of an AIoT terminal device, which is used in a network device, wherein the method includes: sending a thirteenth information and a thirteenth signal; obtaining the type of the thirteenth signal, wherein the type of the thirteenth signal includes dual-frequency; if the type of the thirteenth signal is dual-frequency, and the first frequency f1 is less than the second frequency f2, then configuring the modulation frequency △f of the AIoT terminal device to be less than (f2-f1) / 2; and receiving the fourteenth signal sent by the AIoT terminal device and measuring.

[0017] The present invention also provides a method for obtaining the location of an AIoT terminal device, which is used in a network device, wherein the method includes: sending a fifteenth signal, a sixteenth signal and a fifteenth information; wherein the fifteenth signal is a single-frequency signal, which is used for the AIoT terminal device to report its ID; the sixteenth signal is a non-single-frequency signal, including OFDM, chirp signal or other wideband signal, which is used for the AIoT terminal device to modulate and the network device to measure the backscattered signal based on the sixteenth signal; the fifteenth information instructs the AIoT terminal device to report its ID, modulation mode and time-frequency resources based on the fifteenth signal.

[0018] The present invention also provides an AIoT terminal device, comprising a processor and a memory, wherein the processor is configured to call and execute a computer program stored in the memory so that a device equipped with the processor performs the disclosed method.

[0019] The present invention also provides an intermediate node, comprising a processor and a memory, wherein the processor is configured to call and execute a computer program stored in the memory so that a device equipped with the processor executes the disclosed method.

[0020] The present invention also provides a network device, comprising a processor and a memory, wherein the processor is configured to call and execute a computer program stored in the memory so that a device equipped with the processor executes the disclosed method.

[0021] The disclosed method can be programmed as computer-executable instructions stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium. The non-transitory computer-readable medium, when loaded into a computer, instructs the processor of the computer to execute the disclosed method.

[0022] The non-transitory computer-readable medium may include at least one of the group consisting of a hard disk, a CD-ROM, an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, a read-only memory, a programmable read-only memory, an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), and a flash memory.

[0023] The disclosed method can be programmed as a computer program product, which causes a computer to perform the disclosed method.

[0024] The disclosed method may be programmed as a computer program, which causes a computer to perform the disclosed method.

[0025] The beneficial effect of the present invention is that the network device and / or intermediate node receives the first information and / or the first signal by directly controlling the AIoT device or controlling the AIoT device through the UE, and receives the second reference signal from the AIoT device, measures these signals to obtain the positioning of the AIoT terminal device, thereby improving the accuracy and efficiency of positioning. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for describing the embodiments. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without inventive efforts. Among them:

[0027] FIG1 shows an AIoT system in one embodiment of the present invention.

[0028] FIG2 shows a first topological structure of an AIoT system in one embodiment of the present invention.

[0029] FIG3 shows a second topology structure of the AIoT system in one embodiment of the present invention.

[0030] FIG4 shows a third topology structure of the AIoT system in one embodiment of the present invention.

[0031] FIG5 shows a third topology structure of an AIoT system in another embodiment of the present invention.

[0032] FIG6 shows a fourth topology structure of the AIoT system in one embodiment of the present invention.

[0033] FIG7 shows an application environment of the TOA method in one embodiment of the present invention.

[0034] FIG8 shows the application environment of the PDOA method.

[0035] FIG9 shows the application environment of the nearest neighbor detection method.

[0036] FIG10 is a flowchart of obtaining the location of an AIoT terminal device in one embodiment of the present invention.

[0037] FIG11 is a flow chart showing a method for an AIoT terminal device to report location information.

[0038] FIG12 is a diagram showing the relationship between time and frequency during the signal modulation process in one embodiment of the present invention.

[0039] FIG13 is a flowchart of a method for obtaining the location of an AIoT terminal device in one embodiment of the present invention.

[0040] FIG14 is a flowchart showing a method for obtaining the location of an AIoT terminal device in another embodiment of the present invention.

[0041] FIG15A is a flowchart showing a method for obtaining the location of an AIoT terminal device in a third embodiment of the present invention.

[0042] FIG15B is a flowchart showing a method for reporting location in another embodiment.

[0043] Figure 16 shows a schematic diagram of RTT.

[0044] FIG17 is a schematic diagram showing the time difference of an AIoT terminal device without measurement capability.

[0045] FIG18 is a diagram illustrating the architecture of a backscatter communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0046] FIG19 is a flowchart showing a method for obtaining the location of a newly added AIoT terminal device in one embodiment of the present invention.

[0047] FIG20 shows a backscatter communication system in another embodiment of the present invention.

[0048] FIG21 is a flowchart of a method for UE-assisted acquisition of the location of an AIoT terminal device in one embodiment of the present invention.

[0049] FIG22 is a flowchart of a method for obtaining the location of an AIoT (ambient IoT) terminal device in one embodiment of the present invention.

[0050] FIG23 is a diagram showing the aliasing phenomenon of dual-frequency carrier signals f1 and f2 sent by a network device in one embodiment of the present invention.

[0051] FIG24A is a flowchart showing a method for obtaining the location of an AIoT terminal device in another embodiment of the present invention.

[0052] FIG. 24B is a module diagram of a network device in one embodiment of the present invention.

[0053] Figure 25 is a module diagram of an AIoT terminal device in one embodiment of the present invention.

[0054] FIG26 is a module diagram of an intermediate node in one embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0055] The embodiments of the present disclosure describe technical matters, structural features, objectives and effects in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, as described below. Specifically, the terms in the embodiments of the present disclosure are only used to describe the purpose of specific embodiments, rather than to limit the present disclosure.

[0056] In this disclosure, "A or B" may mean "only A," "only B," or "both A and B."

[0057] In other words, in the present disclosure, "A or B" may be interpreted as "A and / or B." For example, in the present disclosure, "A, B or C" may mean "only A," "only B," "only C," or "any combination of A, B, and C."

[0058] As used in this disclosure, a slash ( / ) or a comma may mean "and / or". For example, "A / B" may mean "A and / or B". Thus, "A / B" may mean "only A", "only B", or "both A and B". For example, "A, B, C" may mean "A, B, or C".

[0059] In the present disclosure, “at least one of A and B” may mean “only A”, “only B”, or “both A and B”. In addition, in the present disclosure, the expression “at least one of A or B” or “at least one of A and / or B” may be interpreted as “at least one of A and B”.

[0060] In addition, in the present disclosure, “at least one of A, B, and C” may mean “only A,” “only B,” “only C,” or “any combination of A, B, and C.” In addition, “at least one of A, B, or C” or “at least one of A, B, and / or C” may mean “at least one of A, B, and C.”

[0061] Furthermore, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the number of technical features being referred to. Thus, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of the described features. Throughout the description of this application, "plurality" means two or more, unless otherwise specifically defined.

[0062] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various wireless communication systems, such as: Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, LTE Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) system, LTE Time Division Duplex (TDD) system, 5G communication system or future wireless communication systems, etc.

[0063] Please refer to Figure 1, which shows an AIoT system in one embodiment of the present invention. The AIoT system may include a network device 10, an AIoT terminal device 20, an intermediate node 30, and a UE 40. The network device 10 can provide communication coverage for a specific geographical area and can communicate with terminal devices (including: AIoT terminal device 20, intermediate node 30, and UE 40, etc.) located in the coverage area. Optionally, the network device 10 can be a base station, or the base station can be a mobile switching center, a relay station, an access point, a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, a hub, a switch, a bridge, a router, a network-side device in a 5G / 6G network, or a base station in a future communication system. The AIoT terminal device 20 is a special low-power, low-cost terminal and does not include an NR / LTE UE. It can be a traditional RFID tag, or a tag for a cellular network or WiFi, etc. The tag can also be a device type defined in 3GPP TR 38.848, such as a purely passive tag, a semi-passive tag, and an active tag. The intermediate node 30 may be a relay, an IAB (Integrated Access Backhaul) node, a UE, or a repeater. The UE 40 includes, but is not limited to, a device configured to receive / send communication signals via a wired connection, such as a Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), a Digital Subscriber Line (DSL), a digital cable, a direct cable connection, and / or another data connection / network, and / or via a wireless interface, such as a cellular network, a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), a digital television network such as a DVB-H network, a satellite network, an AM-FM broadcast transmitter, and / or another user equipment, and / or an Internet of Things (IoT) device. A UE 40 configured to communicate via a wireless interface may be referred to as a "wireless communication terminal," a "wireless terminal," or a "mobile terminal." Examples of mobile terminals include, but are not limited to, satellite or cellular telephones; Personal Communications System (PCS) terminals that may combine a cellular radiotelephone with data processing, fax, and data communications capabilities; PDAs that may include a radiotelephone, a pager, Internet / Intranet access, a Web browser, a notepad, a calendar, and / or a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver; and conventional laptop and / or palmtop receivers or other electronic devices that include a radiotelephone transceiver.User equipment can refer to an access terminal, a subscriber unit, a subscriber station, a mobile station, a mobile station, a remote station, a remote user device, a mobile device, a wireless communication device, or a user agent. An access terminal can be a cellular phone, a cordless phone, a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phone, a Wireless Local Loop (WLL) station, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a handheld device with wireless communication capabilities, a computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, an in-vehicle device, a wearable device, a user device in a 5G network, or a user device in a future evolved PLMN, etc.

[0064] Please refer to Figure 2, which shows the first topology of the AIoT system in one embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the base station is directly connected to the AIoT terminal device. The carrier (CW) and downlink control information are transmitted by the base station, or the CW is transmitted by a third-party node (not a tag). The backscattered signal is received by the same base station, which must have duplex capability.

[0065] Please refer to Figure 3, which shows the second topology of the AIoT system in one embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the intermediate node is directly connected to the AIoT terminal device, and the CW and downlink control information are sent by the intermediate node, or the CW is sent by a third-party node. The backscattered signal is received by the same intermediate node. The base station and the intermediate node are connected through the Uu port. The intermediate node can be a relay, IAB (Integrated Access Backhaul) node, UE, repeater, etc.

[0066] Please refer to Figure 4, which shows the third topology of the AIoT system in one embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the carrier (CW) or downlink control information of the AIoT terminal device is provided by the intermediate node, or the CW is provided by the third node; the uplink signal of the AIoT terminal device is sent to the base station. The base station and the intermediate node are connected through the Uu port. The intermediate node can be a relay, IAB (Integrated Access Backhaul) node, UE, repeater, etc.

[0067] Please refer to Figure 5, which shows the third topology of the AIoT system in another embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the carrier or downlink control information of the AIoT terminal device is provided by the base station, or the carrier is provided by a third node, and the downlink control signal is provided by the base station; the uplink signal of the AIoT terminal device is sent to the intermediate node. The base station and the intermediate node are connected through the Uu port. The intermediate node can be a relay, an IAB (Integrated Access Backhaul) node, a UE, a repeater, etc.

[0068] Please refer to Figure 6, which shows the fourth topology of the AIoT system in one embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the UE is directly connected to the AIoT terminal device for uplink and downlink communication.

[0069] Currently commonly used AIoT positioning methods include ranging-based positioning methods and non-ranging-based positioning methods.

[0070] Ranging-based positioning technology simply uses network equipment to read the signal characteristics of the tag being located and converts them into actual distance, thereby obtaining the coordinates of the target to achieve positioning. This type of positioning technology has relatively high measurement requirements for the receiving device, and positioning accuracy depends on system bandwidth, synchronization capabilities, measurement accuracy, etc. Typical ranging-based positioning methods include time of arrival (TOA), angle of arrival (AOA), time difference of arrival (TDOA), received signal strength positioning (RSRP), and phase difference of arrival (PDOA).

[0071] The key idea behind non-range-based positioning technology is to collect data from the positioning scenario, analyze its location similarities, and match it with the target to estimate its approximate location. Typical methods for this type of positioning technology include neighbor detection and Cell ID. These methods are significantly affected by the environment, and positioning equipment can be relatively low-cost, low-power, and require less hardware. These technologies are more suitable for situations with smaller data volumes and minimal interference from the positioning environment.

[0072] Next, the TOA method, PDOA method and nearest neighbor detection method are introduced in detail.

[0073] Please refer to FIG7 , which shows the application environment of the TOA method.

[0074] In this implementation, the TOA-based positioning method primarily calculates the transmission time and arrival time between the detection base station and the measured point to obtain the measured distance, and then locates the measured point using least squares. The advantages of TOA-based ranging are its simple calculations and low algorithmic complexity; its disadvantages are its high requirements for reference point synchronization and bandwidth.

[0075] Please refer to FIG8 , which shows the application environment of the PDOA method.

[0076] In this implementation, PDOA is a ranging method that measures the phase of received signals. This solution requires the receiver to be able to receive two signals of different frequencies sent by the tag and measure their phase. The ranging principle can be expressed as follows, where c represents the speed of light, and the numerator and denominator represent the phase difference and frequency difference, respectively.

[0077] The ranging method based on PDOA (high precision, suitable for indoor and outdoor use, with the possibility of target drop) is not affected by signal bandwidth and synchronization performance, but the phase measurement accuracy of the receiver will affect the positioning accuracy.

[0078] Please refer to Figure 9, which shows the application environment of the neighbor detection method

[0079] In this embodiment, the neighbor detection method is primarily suitable for locating low-power IoT devices. This method introduces the concept of reference tags: a reader and reference tags within the coverage area whose device locations are known. The system compares the RSSI of the tag to be located detected by the reader with the reference tags to identify the nearest neighboring reference tags of the tag to be located. Reference tags with closer signal strengths to the tag to be located are given a greater weight. Finally, the location of the tag to be located is calculated based on the actual positions of the neighboring reference tags and their weights.

[0080] The advantages of this solution are that it is less affected by multipath effects and does not require additional positioning equipment, which reduces positioning costs to a certain extent. However, the attenuation of RF signals due to environmental factors can increase positioning errors. Therefore, this method has high requirements for indoor environments and is more suitable for positioning scenarios without obstruction.

[0081] Please refer to Figure 10, which is a flow chart of an AIoT (ambient IoT) positioning method according to one embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the AIoT positioning method is used in a network device, wherein the method includes:

[0082] In step S1001, the network device 10 sends a first message and / or a first signal to the AIoT terminal device 20. In this embodiment, the AIoT terminal device 20 sends a second reference signal after receiving the first message or the first signal.

[0083] In step S1003 , the network device 10 receives and measures a second reference signal to obtain the location of the AIoT terminal device 20 .

[0084] [Corrected on 15.03.2024 according to Rule 91] In this embodiment, the first information includes a first reference signal and first positioning assistance information, the first reference signal is a positioning reference signal, and the second reference signal is an auxiliary positioning reference signal sent by the AIoT terminal device based on the first reference signal.

[0085] In this embodiment, the first positioning assistance information includes at least any one of the following: a request whether the second reference signal carries the ID of the AIoT terminal device; the transmission power of the second reference signal; the time-frequency resources of the second reference signal; the path loss between the network device and the AIoT terminal device; the reflection amplifier used by the AIoT terminal device and the amplification factor of the reflection amplifier; and sideband switching indication information.

[0086] In this embodiment, the first reference signal is a positioning reference signal (PRS Positioning Reference Signal).

[0087] In this embodiment, the second reference signal is a backscatter positioning reference signal BPRS (Backscatter Positioning Reference Signal).

[0088] In this embodiment, the second reference signal includes ID information, and the network device identifies the AIoT terminal device through the ID information in the second reference signal.

[0089] In this embodiment, the AIoT terminal device 20 sends the second reference signal based on the first reference signal.

[0090] In another embodiment of the present invention, the first positioning assistance information further includes timing advance (TA) information of the second reference signal, wherein the AIoT terminal device 20 sends the second reference signal according to the TA information. Therefore, in a scenario where multiple AIoT terminal devices 20 are positioned, the arrival times of the BPRS signals sent by the multiple AIoT terminal devices at the same cell can be aligned to avoid interference between uplink reflected signals.

[0091] Specifically, within an inventory cycle / positioning cycle, or a time unit, when the network device 10 performs inventory or positioning on multiple AIoT terminal devices 20 (for example, tags) with far-short effects, the BPRS TA (Timing advance) of the AIoT terminal device 20 is defined under shared frequency resources (such as the same BLF, or the same uplink frequency resources) to ensure that the time when each AIoT terminal device 20 sends an uplink signal to the same cell or the same base station is aligned / within a time unit / within the cyclic prefix CP, so as to avoid interference from other users / devices in adjacent inventory cycles / positioning cycles, thereby minimizing data loss and maintaining business service quality QoS, thereby improving positioning accuracy.

[0092] Specifically, in order to improve the positioning efficiency of multiple AIoT terminal devices 20, the network device 10 needs to complete a round of inventory / positioning of multiple AIoT terminal devices 20 in the coverage area within a fixed time unit. The timing advance of the BPRS can avoid interference from other devices in adjacent time units. In addition, the timing advance can be extended to the inventory service and is not limited to the timing advance of the BPRS signal. For example, the timing advance of the uplink reflected signal used for the inventory service (RN16 timing advance, MSG 3 timing advance, MSG B timing advance, etc.)

[0093] The timing advance signaling may be carried in any of the following ways:

[0094] Carried in Paging / select commands;

[0095] Carried in the synchronization signal;

[0096] Separate control information is carried.

[0097] Currently, there are many non-ideal factors in the AIoT system, such as:

[0098] Limited by the low-power, low-cost, and low-complexity hardware capabilities of AIoT terminal devices, the irrational ideal factors on the AIoT terminal device side mainly include:

[0099] The SFO introduced by the poor stability of the crystal oscillator of the AIoT terminal device is generally 100ppm to 10000ppm;

[0100] Phase shift caused by capacitance change when the AIoT terminal device switches impedance;

[0101] The delay introduced by the hardware of AIoT terminal devices, such as transmission lines.

[0102] The above non-ideal factors will affect the accuracy of AIoT positioning. The network side (base station, network equipment, etc.) needs to compensate for the positioning error introduced by the non-ideal factors on the AIoT terminal device side.

[0103] It should be noted that there are two types of AIoT terminal devices 20, one is an AIoT terminal device with measurement capability, and the other is an AIoT terminal device without measurement capability.

[0104] In order to solve the positioning error problem, when the AIoT terminal device 20 does not have measurement capabilities, the present invention provides a closed-loop power control method. In this embodiment, the method includes the following steps:

[0105] The network device 10 obtains the measured path loss information of the AIoT terminal device 20.

[0106] In this embodiment, the path loss information is obtained by measuring the second reference signal; or, the AIoT terminal device measures the first reference signal sent by the network device and reports it to the network device.

[0107] [Corrected 15.03.2024 according to Rule 91] In another embodiment of the present invention, when the first positioning assistance information includes the transmission power of the second reference signal, the AIoT terminal device determines the transmission power of the second reference signal based on the first positioning assistance information.

[0108] In this embodiment, the first positioning assistance information is used to indicate the amplification factor and / or transmission power level of the reflection amplifier when using the reflection amplifier and the amplification factor of the reflection amplifier of the AIoT terminal device. For example, it indicates the amplification factor of the reflection amplifier of the AIoT terminal device 20 when transmitting the second reference signal, or indicates the transmission power level of the AIoT terminal device 20, such as Power Class A, Power Class B, etc.

[0109] In this embodiment, the first positioning assistance information also includes one of the following parameters indicating the AIoT terminal device to adjust the transmission power of the second reference signal: modulation mode, modulation rate, modulation order, and code rate.

[0110] Among them, the modulation scheme, for example, for the same data and length, the SINR of OOK is smaller than the SINR of FSK and BPSK;

[0111] The modulation rate, for example, a higher modulation rate will result in more power consumption of the AIoT terminal device 20, and the return loss will also be greater, thus affecting the power of the second reference signal sent by the AIoT terminal device 20. The modulation rate is also called the reverse link frequency (BLF), which is related to the duration of the on-off waveform when the AIoT terminal device 20 is modulated.

[0112] In this embodiment, the types of the indication information are: dynamic and static, wherein, if the network device does not detect a change in the channel and / or does not find that UE 40 moves, the indication information is static; if the network device detects a change in the channel and / or finds that UE 40 moves, the indication information is dynamic.

[0113] Specifically, for the first topology shown in FIG2 , when the network device 10 does not detect a change in the channel, the closed-loop power control indication mode is a static indication.

[0114] For the second topology shown in FIG3 , when the network device 10 does not detect the movement of the UE 40 (eg, does not discover the movement of the UE 40 through RRM), or does not detect a change in the channel, a static indication may be performed.

[0115] The dynamic indication of the closed-loop power control can be based on the following indication conditions, and the indication information can be updated periodically and indicated, or the indication information can be updated aperiodically and indicated.

[0116] For the first topology shown in FIG2 , when the network device 10 detects a channel change, the closed-loop power control indication mode is dynamic indication.

[0117] For the second topology shown in FIG3 , when the network device 10 detects that the UE 40 moves (eg, discovers that the UE 40 moves through RRM), or detects that a channel changes, a dynamic indication may be performed.

[0118] When the AIoT terminal device 20 has measurement capabilities, the present invention provides a semi-open-loop power control method.

[0119] [Corrected 15.03.2024 according to Rule 91] In this embodiment, when the first positioning assistance information includes sideband switching indication information and / or the path loss between the network device 10 and the AIoT terminal device 20, the following steps are also included: the AIoT terminal device 20 determines the transmission power of the second reference signal based on the sideband switching indication information and / or the path loss. In this embodiment, the sideband switching indication information includes at least one of the following: switching only to the upper sideband, switching only to the lower sideband, and no sideband switching. In this embodiment, the reference path loss of the semi-open loop power control can be configured through RRC signaling or MAC CE signaling, with two modes of implicit indication and explicit indication. For implicit indication, at least one of the following signals can be used as a reference signal for path loss measurement before the AIoT terminal device 20 sends the second reference signal:

[0120] LP-SS: In this case, you can configure cell identification information, LP-SS resource location information, LP-SS index number information, LP-SS power information, etc.

[0121] DL-PRS, in this case, DL-PRS resource identification information and power information can be configured; and

[0122] Paging: In this case, the identification information and power information of the Paging resource can be configured.

[0123] With explicit indication, the terminal device 20 measures the path loss and transmits the path loss information to the AIoT terminal device 20, which then determines the transmit power to be adjusted. It's worth noting that the network device 10 only communicates the path loss information to the AIoT terminal device 20 and does not determine the transmit power of the AIoT terminal device 20. This is different from closed-loop power control.

[0124] In this embodiment, the method further includes: the network device 10 obtaining a type of a carrier signal that sends the first reference signal, if the carrier signal carrying the first reference signal is a single-frequency signal, a multi-tone signal, or an OFDM signal, the first reference signal is an AIOT DL PRS;

[0125] The configuration of the network device 10 is: one AIOT DL PRS resource corresponds to a group of AIoT resources of the network device, wherein the AIOT DL PRS resource has an AIOT PRS ID.

[0126] In this embodiment, the AIoT resources are resources corresponding to AIoT Paging / LP-SS resources / synchronization signals / control signaling.

[0127] In this embodiment, for the AIoT terminal device with a near-far effect, one AIOT DL PRS constitutes one AIOT DL PRS resource group, and within the same resource group, the transmission power of AIOT DL PRSs of different time-frequency resources is different, so as to meet the positioning requirements of the AIoT terminal device 20 with a near-far effect.

[0128] In this embodiment, there are two configurations of the AIOT DL PRS sending period of the network device 10. One is that the AIOT DL PRS sending period can be configured based on a group of AIoT resources of a network device 10.

[0129] The AIoT DL PRS sending period is N times the AIoT Paging period, where N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1. The integer period configuration method can save the overhead of configuring the AIoT DL PRS. The configuration method can be predefined, static, or semi-static.

[0130] The AIoT DL PRS transmission period is N times the AIoT synchronization signal period, where N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1; the integer period configuration method can save the overhead of configuring the AIoT DL PRS, and the configuration method can be predefined, static, or semi-static.

[0131] The AIoT DL PRS sending period is T times the AIoT Paging period, where T is a non-positive integer greater than or equal to 1; the configuration method of the non-integer period is more flexible, and the configuration method can be predefined, static, semi-static, or dynamic.

[0132] The AIoT DL PRS transmission period is T times the AIoT synchronization signal period, where T is a non-positive integer greater than or equal to 1; the configuration method of the non-integer period is more flexible, and the configuration method can be predefined, static, semi-static or dynamic.

[0133] The other is On-demand configuration, which allows periodic or aperiodic sending.

[0134] The network device 10 triggers the configuration of the AIOT DL PRS transmission period according to the following conditions:

[0135] Positioning scenarios, for example, outdoor positioning or indoor positioning;

[0136] Channel conditions, e.g., within coherent time or incoherent time;

[0137] AIoT terminal device capabilities, for example, AIoT terminal devices with amplification and energy storage capabilities, or AIoT terminal devices with carrier generation capabilities.

[0138] In the present invention, the network device 10 introduces a mute operation. The mute operation of AIoT DL PRS means that a certain network device does not transmit the AIOT DL PRS resource, which reduces the interference between multiple network devices sending AIOT DL PRS on the same time-frequency resources.

[0139] In this embodiment, the method further includes: the network device 10 instructs muting through AIOT Paging / LP-SS resources / synchronization signals / control signaling, or calculates the muting position through resource ID information.

[0140] In this embodiment, the AIoT DL PRS mute granularity: the mute period can be configured based on the same AIOT resource group. This solution is simple to configure and has low signaling overhead, but has poor flexibility. The mute configuration can also be triggered according to the following conditions:

[0141] Service switching, for example, switching from positioning services to inventory services or perception services;

[0142] Channel changes;

[0143] Tag capability switching, for example, switching from a non-amplified state to an amplified state; and

[0144] The network device detects that a reference signal measurement value is less than a threshold value, where the threshold value is predefined.

[0145] In this embodiment, different muting mechanisms can be defined according to different service types, and this solution has high flexibility.

[0146] In this embodiment, in the AIoT DL PRS mute indication method, the network device 10 can indicate through AIOT Paging / LP-SS resources / synchronization signals / control signaling, or calculate the mute position through information such as resource ID.

[0147] In this embodiment, the signal corresponding to the resource carrying the AIoT DL PRS is a broadband signal, such as an OFDM signal or a chirp signal. The definition of this method is similar to that of the NR DL PRS and will not be repeated here.

[0148] In this embodiment, the method further includes: the network device 10 configuring a sending period of the first reference signal.

[0149] Please refer to Figure 11, which shows a method for an AIoT terminal device to report location information. In this embodiment, the method includes: in step S1101, the AIoT terminal device 20 receives first information and / or a first signal.

[0150] [Corrected 15.03.2024 according to Rule 91] In this embodiment, the first information includes a first reference signal and first positioning assistance information, and the first reference signal is a positioning reference signal.

[0151] In this embodiment, the first reference signal is a PRS.

[0152] In this embodiment, the first signal or the first information may come from any one of the network device 10 , the intermediate node 30 or the UE 40 .

[0153] In step S1103, the AIoT terminal device 20 sends a second reference signal according to the first information and / or the first signal.

[0154] In this embodiment, the second reference signal is an auxiliary positioning reference signal sent by the AIoT terminal device based on the first reference signal.

[0155] In this embodiment, the first positioning assistance information includes any one of the following: a request whether the second reference signal carries the ID of the AIoT terminal device; the transmission power of the first reference signal; the time and frequency resources of the second reference signal; the path loss between the network device and the AIoT terminal device; the reflection amplifier used by the AIoT terminal device and the amplification factor of the reflection amplifier; and sideband switching indication information.

[0156] If the AIoT terminal device has the ability to generate a carrier, the step S1103 further includes: the AIoT terminal device 20 performs modulation according to the first reference signal to generate the second reference signal, wherein the modulation includes total reflection and non-total reflection. When it is non-total reflection, the modulation information includes the ID information of the AIoT terminal device; when the modulation mode is OOK, total reflection is a special modulation mode that sends all 1s.

[0157] In this embodiment, the modulation mode of the AIoT terminal device 20 includes:

[0158] Same-frequency modulation means modulation is performed while keeping the modulation frequency consistent.

[0159] Non-co-frequency modulation means modulation on resource units of different frequencies.

[0160] Please refer to FIG12 , which is a diagram showing the relationship between time and frequency during the signal modulation process in one embodiment of the present invention.

[0161] The modulation sequence can be fixed, that is, a special modulation method, such as tag ID; it can also be predefined, such as scrambling or spreading through a predefined sequence; it can also be indicated by a network device through a control command.

[0162] In other embodiments of the present invention, the modulation mode may be fixed, such as OOK, or may be indicated by a network device through a control command.

[0163] If the AIoT terminal device does not have the ability to generate a carrier, the AIoT terminal device 20 receives the first information and directly sends the second reference signal using a third-party carrier.

[0164] In this embodiment, the first positioning assistance information also includes timing advance (TA) information of the second reference signal, wherein the AIoT terminal device sends the second reference signal according to the TA information. In a scenario where multiple AIoT terminal devices 20 are positioned, configuring TA can ensure that the time when the second reference signals sent by the multiple AIoT terminal devices 20 arrive at the same cell remains aligned, avoiding interference between uplink reflected signals.

[0165] Specifically, within an inventory cycle / positioning cycle, or a time unit, when the network device 10 performs inventory or positioning on multiple AIoT terminal devices 20 (for example, tags) with far-short effects, the BPRS TA (Timing advance) of the AIoT terminal device 20 is defined under shared frequency resources (such as the same BLF, or the same uplink frequency resources) to ensure that the time when each AIoT terminal device 20 sends an uplink signal to the same cell or the same base station is aligned / within a time unit / within the cyclic prefix CP, so as to avoid interference from other users / devices in adjacent inventory cycles / positioning cycles, thereby minimizing data loss and maintaining business service quality QoS, thereby improving the accuracy of the location information reported by the AIoT terminal device 20.

[0166] Currently, there are many non-ideal factors in the AIoT system, such as:

[0167] Limited by the low-power, low-cost, and low-complexity hardware capabilities of AIoT terminal devices, the irrational ideal factors on the AIoT terminal device side mainly include:

[0168] The SFO introduced by the poor stability of the crystal oscillator of the AIoT terminal device is generally 100ppm to 10000ppm;

[0169] Phase shift caused by capacitance change when the AIoT terminal device switches impedance;

[0170] The delay introduced by the hardware of AIoT terminal devices, such as transmission lines.

[0171] The above non-ideal factors will affect the accuracy of AIoT positioning. The network side needs to compensate for the positioning error introduced by the non-ideal factors on the AIoT terminal device side.

[0172] It should be noted that there are two types of AIoT terminal devices 20: one with measurement capability and one without measurement capability. In this embodiment, when the AIoT terminal device 20 has measurement capability, the present invention provides a semi-open loop power control method, and the method further includes:

[0173] The AIoT terminal device 20 configures a reference path loss and performs path loss measurement according to RRC signaling and / or MAC CE signaling; and

[0174] The AIoT terminal device 20 determines the transmission power of the second reference signal according to the path loss measurement result.

[0175] In this embodiment, when the reference signal for path loss measurement is LP-SS, cell identification information, LP-SS resource location information, LP-SS index number information, and LP-SS power information are configured.

[0176] In this implementation manner, when the reference signal for path loss measurement is DL-PRS, DL-PRS resource identification information and power information are configured.

[0177] In this embodiment, when the reference signal for path loss measurement is paging, identification information and power information of the paging resource are configured.

[0178] [Corrected 15.03.2024 according to Rule 91] In this embodiment, when the first positioning assistance information includes sideband switching indication information and / or path loss between the network device and the AIoT terminal device, the AIoT terminal device determines the transmission power of the second reference signal based on the sideband switching indication information and / or the path loss.

[0179] In this embodiment, the sideband switching indication information includes at least one of the following: switching only to the upper sideband, switching only to the lower sideband, and not performing sideband switching.

[0180] When the AIoT terminal device 20 does not have measurement capabilities, the present invention provides a closed-loop power control method. In this embodiment, the method further includes: when the first positioning assistance information includes a path loss between the network device and the AIoT terminal device, determining the transmission power of the second reference signal based on the path loss information.

[0181] In this embodiment, the method further includes: when the first positioning assistance information includes the transmit power of the second reference signal, sending the second reference signal according to the transmit power of the first positioning assistance information.

[0182] In this embodiment, the first positioning assistance information includes the reflection amplifier used by the AIoT terminal device and the amplification factor of the reflection amplifier, which is used to indicate the amplification factor and / or transmission power level of the reflection amplifier.

[0183] In this embodiment, the first positioning assistance information also includes one of the following parameters indicating the AIoT terminal device to adjust the transmission power of the second reference signal: modulation mode, modulation rate, modulation order, and code rate.

[0184] In this embodiment, the types of the first positioning assistance information are: dynamic and static, wherein, if the network device does not detect a change in the channel and / or does not discover UE movement, the first positioning assistance information is static; if the network device detects a change in the channel and / or discovers UE movement, the first positioning assistance information is dynamic.

[0185] Please refer to Figure 13, which shows a method for obtaining the location of an AIoT (ambient IoT) terminal device in one embodiment of the present invention, which is used in an intermediate node 30, wherein the intermediate node 30 is in communication with the AIoT terminal device 20 and the network device 10. In this embodiment, the method includes:

[0186] In step S1202 , the intermediate node 30 receives the AIoT positioning execution information sent by the network device 10 .

[0187] In this embodiment, the positioning execution information includes at least one of the following:

[0188] The time-frequency resources for sending the third information and / or the third signal by the intermediate node;

[0189] The intermediate node receives the time-frequency resource of the fourth signal;

[0190] The time-frequency resources measured and reported by the intermediate node; and

[0191] The measurement content of the intermediate node.

[0192] In this embodiment, the measurement content of the intermediate node 10 includes at least one of time, phase, and RSRP.

[0193] In step S1204, the intermediate node 30 sends third information and / or a third signal to the AIoT terminal device 20 based on the AIoT positioning execution information.

[0194] In this embodiment, there are multiple AIoT terminal devices 20.

[0195] In this embodiment, the third signal is a carrier signal, which is used to provide energy storage or serve as a carrier signal of a backscattered signal (the fourth signal).

[0196] In this embodiment, the third information includes at least one of the following:

[0197] The modulation mode and modulation frequency of the fourth signal sent by the AIoT terminal device 20;

[0198] The AIoT terminal device 20 sends a time-frequency resource of a fourth signal;

[0199] The modulation content of the AIoT terminal device 20, for example: the ID of the AIoT terminal device; and the reference signal, for example, PRS, the reflected BPRS is used by the intermediate node to measure time, phase or RSRP.

[0200] In step S1206, the intermediate node 30 receives the fourth signal, and measures the fourth signal to obtain first measurement information; and

[0201] In step S1208 , the intermediate node 30 reports the first measurement information to the network device 10 .

[0202] It is worth noting that for the second topology shown in Figure 3, when some AIoT terminal devices 20 are close to the network device 10, the method also includes: the network device 20 receives the fourth signal and obtains the second measurement information; the terminal device 20 receives the first measurement information, and determines the position of the AIoT terminal device 20 based on the first measurement information and the second measurement information.

[0203] Therefore, the network device 10 can jointly locate the position of the AIoT terminal device 20 based on the received fourth signal and the first measurement information reported by the intermediate node. This solution can improve the positioning accuracy of the AIoT terminal device.

[0204] In other embodiments of the present invention, the third-party device sends the third signal to the AIoT terminal device 10 instead of the intermediate node 30. The intermediate node 30 only needs to send the third signal to the AIoT terminal device 20. In this embodiment, the third-party device can be a power supply AP or a dedicated carrier source device. When using the third-party device-power supply / carrier source AP for auxiliary positioning, higher positioning accuracy can be achieved due to the smaller coverage range of the AP.

[0205] In other embodiments of the present invention, step S1200 is also included, in which the intermediate node sends the AIoT positioning request information to the network device 10 to actively initiate the acquisition of the location information of the AIoT terminal device.

[0206] Please refer to Figure 14, which shows a method for obtaining the location of an AIoT terminal device in another embodiment of the present invention, which is used in an intermediate node, wherein the network device 10 is in communication with the AIoT terminal device 20 and the intermediate node 30. In this embodiment, the method includes the following steps:

[0207] In step S1404, the intermediate node 30 sends the third A information and / or the third A signal to the AIoT terminal device 20 according to the positioning execution information.

[0208] In step S1406 , the intermediate node 30 receives the fourth A signal sent by the AIoT terminal device 20 .

[0209] In step S1408, the intermediate node 30 measures the fourth A signal to obtain third measurement information and determines the location of the AIoT terminal device 20 according to the third measurement information and the cell coverage.

[0210] In this embodiment, the method further includes: in step S1407, the network device 10 receives the fourth A signal and obtains fourth measurement information.

[0211] In step S1410, the network device 10 receives the third measurement information and determines the location of the AIoT terminal 20 device according to the third measurement information, the fourth measurement information and the cell coverage.

[0212] In general, the AIoT positioning execution information can instruct the intermediate node to send a third A message (e.g., PRS). Based on the received third A message, the AIoT terminal device to be located sends a fourth A signal (e.g., BPRS) by total reflection + modulation (Tag ID) for the intermediate node to measure. The intermediate node or gNB determines the location of the AIoT terminal device based on the measurement value and the cell coverage.

[0213] Please refer to Figure 15A, which shows a method for obtaining the location of an AIoT terminal device in the third embodiment of the present invention, which is used in the network device 10.

[0214] The Rx-Tx time difference for a tag is defined as the difference between the downlink carrier (CW) reception time and the reflection time of the uplink backscatter signal. The downlink CW reception time is the reception time of the first / strongest / last downlink CW path detected by the AIoT terminal device 20, and the uplink backscatter signal transmission time is the uplink transmission time closest to the first / strongest / last downlink CW path.

[0215] The definition of the time difference between sending and receiving the AIoT terminal device 20 is applicable to positioning schemes including RTT, Multi-RTT, TDOA and other schemes.

[0216] It is worth noting that the time difference between sending and receiving of the AIoT terminal device 10 depends on: 1) network instructions; 2) the stability of the crystal oscillator of the tag.

[0217] In one embodiment, the time difference between the transmission and reception of the network device 10 is defined as the worst-case scenario to ensure measurement accuracy and further ensure positioning accuracy.

[0218] In one embodiment, the AIoT terminal device 20 is fully reflective, that is, the time difference between sending and receiving of the AIoT network device is 0.

[0219] In one embodiment, the AIoT terminal device 20 performs modulation and then reflection. In this case, the time difference between the AIoT terminal device sending and receiving is unstable. When considering positioning, this instability needs to be eliminated.

[0220] In this embodiment, the method comprises the following steps:

[0221] In step S1501A, the network device 10 sends the fifth information and / or the fifth signal to the AIoT terminal device at time t1;

[0222] In step S1503A, the network device 10 receives at time t4 a sixth reference signal from the AIoT terminal device which receives the fifth information and / or the fifth signal at time t2 and sends based on the fifth information and / or the fifth signal at time t3.

[0223] In this embodiment, the time difference between sending and receiving of the AIoT terminal device is t3-t2.

[0224] In another embodiment of the present invention, at least two network devices 10 participate in the positioning of the AIoT terminal device 20, further comprising the following steps:

[0225] Another network device sends the fifth information and / or the fifth signal to the AIoT terminal device 20 at time t5;

[0226] receiving, at time t8, the fifth information and / or the fifth signal received by the AIoT terminal device 20 at time t6 and a sixth reference signal sent based on the fifth information and / or the fifth signal at time t7;

[0227] The time difference between sending and receiving of the AIoT terminal device 20 is t7-t6, where

[0228] The condition for precise positioning is that the time difference between sending and receiving of the AIoT terminal device 20 is t7-t6=t3-t2, that is, the time difference between sending and receiving of the AIoT terminal device 20 within the coherence time is equal, and the fifth information and / or fifth signal sent by the two network devices 10 is received within the coherence time.

[0229] In other embodiments of the present invention, at least two network devices 10 participate in the positioning of the AIoT terminal device 20. The two network devices 10 determine the time when the network devices respectively send the fifth signal based on the path loss information assisted by the sixth reference signal measurement received from the AIoT terminal device 20 or the path loss information reported by the AIoT terminal device, to ensure that the AIoT terminal device can receive the fifth signal sent by different network devices within the coherent time, wherein the fifth signals of different network devices can be distinguished by frequency and code domain.

[0230] The AIoT terminal device simultaneously receives the fifth signal transmitted by the two network devices and sends the sixth reference signal within the coherence time; wherein, the two network devices respectively receive the sixth reference signal reflected by the AIoT terminal device and jointly locate the AIoT terminal device; wherein the coherence time refers to the time during which the frequency offset error of the AIoT terminal device stabilizes.

[0231] The joint positioning refers to the two network devices jointly and differentially eliminating the time / frequency instability introduced by the modulation of the AIoT terminal device based on the received sixth reference signal, which further causes the time error, frequency deviation error or phase error. The time-frequency instability of the AIoT terminal device modulation is mainly caused by the poor stability of the crystal oscillator of the AIoT terminal device. After the two network devices jointly eliminate the instability of the AIoT terminal device, positioning can be performed based on methods such as time of flight (ToF) or time of arrival (TOA) or time difference of arrival (TDOA).

[0232] Please refer to FIG. 15B , which is a flow chart of a method for reporting a location.

[0233] In this embodiment, the method is used in the AIoT terminal device 20 and includes the following steps:

[0234] In step S1501A, the AIoT terminal device 20 receives the fifth information and / or the fifth signal sent by a network device 10 at time t2.

[0235] In step S1503B, the AIoT terminal device 20 sends a sixth reference signal to the network device based on the fifth information and / or the fifth signal at time t3.

[0236] In this embodiment, the fifth information includes third positioning auxiliary information, which is used to indicate whether the AIoT terminal device 20 is fully reflected or not.

[0237] In this embodiment, the time difference between sending and receiving of the AIoT terminal device 20 is t3-t2.

[0238] In another embodiment of the present invention, it further comprises:

[0239] The AIoT terminal device 20 receives the fifth information and / or the fifth signal sent by another network device 10 at time t6;

[0240] The AIoT terminal device 20 sends a sixth reference signal to the other network device 10 based on the fifth information and / or the fifth signal at time t7;

[0241] The time difference between sending and receiving of the AIoT terminal device 20 is t7-t6.

[0242] In this embodiment, when the third positioning assistance information indicates total reflection of the AIoT terminal device, the path loss between the AIoT terminal device 20 and the network device 10 is also obtained, wherein the two network devices 10 determine the transmission time of the fifth signal according to the path loss.

[0243] In this embodiment, the AIoT terminal device 20 receives the fifth signal sent by the two network devices 10 and sends the sixth reference signal within the coherence time, wherein the condition for precise positioning is that the time difference between the transmission and reception of the AIoT terminal device is t7-t6=t3-t2, that is, the time difference between the transmission and reception of the AIoT terminal device within the coherence time is equal, and the fifth information and / or fifth signal sent by the two network devices are received within the coherence time, wherein the two network devices 10 respectively receive the sixth reference signal sent by the AIoT terminal device 20, and jointly locate the AIoT terminal device 20; wherein the coherence time refers to the time when the frequency offset error of the AIoT terminal device 20 is stable.

[0244] In this embodiment, the joint positioning refers to the two network devices jointly differentially eliminating the time / frequency instability introduced by the modulation of the AIoT terminal device based on the received sixth reference signal, which further causes the time error, frequency deviation error or phase error.

[0245] In this embodiment, the AIoT terminal device shown has measurement capabilities.

[0246] Please refer to FIG. 15A , FIG. 15B and FIG. 16 . FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram of RTT.

[0247] According to Figure 16, it can be seen that the network device 10 sends the fifth information or the fifth signal at time t1, the AIoT terminal device receives and demodulates the sixth reference signal at time t2, sends an uplink signal (sixth reference signal) at time t3, and the network device receives the uplink signal (second reference signal) at time t4. Among them, t3-t2 is the time difference between the AIoT terminal device sending and receiving. Therefore, RTT can be defined as RTT = (△T1+△T2) = (t2-t1) + (t4-t3) = (t2-t3) + (t4-t1)

[0248] The RTT obtained by this method does not require precise time synchronization between the AIoT terminal device 20 and the network device 10.

[0249] Please refer to Figure 17 again, which is a schematic diagram of the time difference of an AIoT terminal device that does not have measurement capabilities.

[0250] In the embodiment of the present invention, the AIoT terminal device 20 does not have measurement capability. Then the method further includes:

[0251] 1) Network device 1 sends the fifth information or the fifth signal at time t1, the AIoT terminal device receives the fifth information or the fifth signal at time t2, and sends the sixth reference signal at time t3, and network device 1 receives the sixth reference signal at time t4. Wherein, t3-t2 is the time difference between the sending and receiving of the AIoT terminal device 10;

[0252] 2) Network device 2 sends the fifth information or the fifth signal at time t5, and the same AIoT terminal device receives the fifth information or the fifth signal at time t6, and sends the sixth reference signal at time t7, and the network device receives the sixth reference signal at time t8. Among them, t7-t6 is the time difference between the sending and receiving of the AIoT terminal device; RTT1 = (△T1+△T2) = (t2-t1) + (t4-t3) = (t2-t3) + (t4-t1) RTT2 = (△T3+△T4) = (t6-t5) + (t8-t7) = (t6-t7) + (t8-t5)

[0253] By differentiating RTT1 and RTT2, the influence of the time difference between sending and receiving on the AIoT terminal device side can be avoided. This solution has two embodiments:

[0254] In the first embodiment, at least two network devices 10 participate in the positioning of the AIoT terminal device 20. If the difference in the sending and receiving time of the two network devices 10 for the same AIoT terminal device 20 is the same, the network devices eliminate the time difference through differential operation.

[0255] In the second embodiment, at least two network devices 10 participate in the positioning of the AIoT terminal device 20. If the two network devices 10 are synchronized, the two network devices 10 determine the time when the two network devices 10 respectively send the fifth signal (carrier signal CW) through path loss measurement, and distinguish them by frequency and code domain, wherein the AIoT terminal device 20 simultaneously receives the five signals transmitted by the two network devices 10 and simultaneously sends the sixth reference signal; the two terminal devices 20 respectively receive the sixth reference signal sent by the AIoT terminal device and jointly locate.

[0256] In this embodiment, the joint positioning refers to the two network devices jointly differentially eliminating the time / frequency instability introduced by the modulation of the AIoT terminal device based on the received sixth reference signal, which further causes the time error, frequency deviation error or phase error.

[0257] Please refer to Figure 18, which is a backscatter communication system in one embodiment of the present invention. The backscatter communication system includes at least one network device (for example, gNB, etc.) and N AIoT terminal devices (for example, tags), wherein the N AIoT terminal devices are reference devices at fixed positions.

[0258] Please refer to FIG19 , which is a flowchart of a method for obtaining the location of a newly added AIoT terminal device in one embodiment of the present invention, which is used in the backscatter communication system shown in FIG18 , wherein the method includes the following steps:

[0259] In step S1901, the network device (e.g., gNB, etc.) obtains the sixth signal, the sixth signal measurement value, and the coordinates of the N AIoT terminal devices; and

[0260] In step S1903, the network device obtains the seventh signal and the seventh signal measurement value of the AIoT terminal device to be located.

[0261] Furthermore, in other embodiments of the present invention, the backscatter communication system includes at least two network devices, and the method further includes:

[0262] A network device obtains the sixth signal, the sixth signal measurement value, and the coordinates of the N AIoT terminal devices;

[0263] Another network device obtains the eighth signal, the eighth signal measurement value, and the coordinates of the N AIoT terminal devices; and

[0264] The at least two network devices share the sixth signal measurement value and the eighth signal measurement value.

[0265] In this embodiment, the at least two network devices share the sixth signal measurement value and the eighth signal measurement value through Xn or other interfaces.

[0266] In this embodiment, the sixth signal includes BPRS forwarded by the AIoT terminal device, and the sixth signal measurement value includes but is not limited to RSRP, RSSI, and SINR.

[0267] In this embodiment, the eighth signal includes BPRS forwarded by the AIoT terminal device, and the eighth signal measurement value includes but is not limited to RSRP, RSSI, and SINR.

[0268] In other embodiments, the network device is a Location Management Function (LMF).

[0269] In an embodiment of the present invention, at least two network devices simultaneously obtain the seventh signal and the seventh signal measurement value of the newly added AIoT terminal device.

[0270] In other embodiments of the present invention, at least two network devices do not simultaneously obtain the seventh signal and the seventh signal measurement value of the newly added AIoT terminal device.

[0271] In the above embodiment, at least two network devices obtain measurement values ​​simultaneously / non-simultaneously, which can improve the dimension of the fingerprint set and improve the positioning accuracy of newly added AIoT terminal devices.

[0272] In this embodiment, the network device locates the newly added AIoT terminal device based on the seventh signal measurement value, combined with the sixth and eighth signal measurement values, using a fingerprint recognition algorithm, such as a nearest neighbor algorithm or a matched filter algorithm. When the number of AIoT terminal devices is constant, the joint positioning of the two network devices can effectively improve the positioning accuracy of the newly added AIoT device.

[0273] In this embodiment, the condition for at least two network devices to re-acquire the seventh signal measurement value includes:

[0274] a) Changes in channel conditions

[0275] b) Any network device detects that the seventh signal changes or is lower than a predefined threshold

[0276] In this embodiment, the sixth signal measurement value, the seventh signal measurement value and the eighth signal measurement value can be reported after measurement by the AIoT terminal device, or can be obtained by auxiliary measurement of at least two network devices.

[0277] If the backscatter communication system shown in FIG18 further includes a third-party device, the method for obtaining the location of the newly added AIoT terminal device further includes:

[0278] The at least two network devices send second control information to the third-party device, instructing the third-party device to send at least one of the time domain Occasion, carrier frequency, modulation mode, and transmission power of the ninth signal (carrier CW); and

[0279] The third-party device sends a ninth signal to the AIoT terminal device.

[0280] In this implementation, the ninth signal sent by the third-party device is predefined.

[0281] In another embodiment, the at least two network devices send the ninth signal or the first control information to the AIoT terminal device.

[0282] In this embodiment, the carrier signal may be a carrier signal for energy storage, or a carrier signal for backscatter communication.

[0283] In this embodiment, the first control information is used to indicate the following information of the AIoT terminal device:

[0284] i. Positioning request information;

[0285] ii. Modulation mode and modulation frequency (BLF);

[0286] iii. Measure the received reference signal and report the measurement value;

[0287] iv. Method of sending reporting or backscattering signals:

[0288] 1. TDM format, for example, the first control information carries Q, and the tag timer is reflected / reported when it is 0;

[0289] 2. FDM format, for example, the first control information sends a BLF set, and the AIoT terminal device randomly selects the corresponding BLF for reflection / reporting;

[0290] 3. CDM form, for example, AIoT terminal devices spread the reflected / reported information.

[0291] v. Through RA (reflection amplifier), it indicates different reflection power classes.

[0292] Please refer to Figure 20, which shows a backscatter communication system in another embodiment of the present invention. The system includes at least one network device, N AIoT terminal devices, and a user equipment (UE). The network device, N AIoT terminal devices, and the user equipment are connected to each other in a communication manner. The N AIoT terminal devices are reference devices at fixed locations. The positioning accuracy of newly added AIoT terminal devices using this method depends on the deployment density of the N AIoT terminal devices.

[0293] Please refer to FIG. 21 , which shows a method for an AIoT terminal device to assist in obtaining a UE location in one embodiment of the present invention, and is used in the network device of the backscatter communication system shown in FIG. 18 , wherein the method includes the following steps:

[0294] In step S2101, the network device obtains the tenth signal, the tenth signal measurement value and the coordinates of N AIoT terminal devices.

[0295] In this embodiment, the tenth signal includes a PRS forwarded by the AIoT terminal device, and the tenth signal measurement value includes but is not limited to RSRP, RSSI, and SINR.

[0296] In step S2103, the network device receives an eleventh signal sent by the UE, where the eleventh signal includes precise positioning request information.

[0297] In step S2105, the network device sends third control information to the UE, wherein the UE obtains the twelfth signal and the twelfth signal measurement value of N AIoT terminal devices according to the third control information.

[0298] In this embodiment, the third control information includes at least any one of the following:

[0299] a) Instructing the UE to use time-frequency resources for receiving backscattered signals

[0300] b) Instructing the UE to send a carrier signal with a frequency, modulation mode or transmission power

[0301] c) instructing the UE to report the time-frequency resource of the twelfth signal measurement value to the network device

[0302] d) instructing the UE to re-report the measurement value of the AIoT terminal device.

[0303] The condition d) for instructing the UE to re-report the measurement value of the AIoT terminal device includes at least one of the following:

[0304] The network device obtains the UE location movement information;

[0305] The network device detects that the measurement value of the eleventh signal sent by the UE changes; and

[0306] The network device detects that a channel has changed.

[0307] At S2107 , the network device receives the twelfth signal measurement value.

[0308] In this embodiment, the twelfth signal includes the PRS forwarded by the AIoT terminal device; the third signal measurement value includes but is not limited to RSRP, RSSI, and SINR6.

[0309] In this implementation, the UE reports the twelfth signal measurement value to the network device on the configured time-frequency resources.

[0310] In this embodiment, the network device compares the received twelfth signal measurement value with the fingerprint set consisting of the tenth signal, the tenth signal measurement value, and the coordinates of N AIoT terminal devices, and determines the UE's position through a fingerprint comparison-related algorithm. The algorithm includes a nearest neighbor algorithm, a least squares algorithm, etc. It is worth noting that the UE's positioning accuracy depends on the deployment density of AIoT device terminals, the deployment density of network devices, the UE's measurement accuracy, etc.

[0311] Please refer to FIG. 22 , which shows a method for obtaining the location of an AIoT (ambient IoT) terminal device in one embodiment of the present invention, which is used in a network device 10, wherein the method includes the following steps:

[0312] In step S2201, the network device 10 sends thirteenth information and / or a thirteenth signal;

[0313] In this embodiment, the thirteenth information includes: a modulation mode, a time domain resource for sideband signal reflection, and a reflection mode.

[0314] In this embodiment, the thirteenth information further includes a modulation frequency (BLF).

[0315] In this embodiment, the time domain resources of the sideband signal reflection include:

[0316] i. Simultaneous reflection can improve the SNR of network equipment through frequency diversity gain

[0317] ii. Different sideband reflections are performed at different RO (reflection occassion) resources. This method can avoid interference, such as harmonic interference and intermodulation interference.

[0318] iii. Only reflects a single sideband signal, for example, an upper sideband signal or a lower sideband signal

[0319] In this embodiment, the reflection mode includes

[0320] i. Continuous reflection

[0321] ii. Discontinuous reflection, where the phase offset introduced by discontinuous reflection needs to be compensated at the receiving end. When there is a discontinuous reflection gap, the AIoT terminal device remains silent or in a power storage state, and the network device can use the gap resources for other devices to use.

[0322] In this embodiment, the thirteenth signal includes at least one of the following: a single-frequency unmodulated signal, a dual-frequency unmodulated signal, a wideband unmodulated signal, a single-frequency modulated signal, a dual-frequency modulated signal, and a wideband modulated signal.

[0323] In step S2203, the network device 10 obtains the type of the thirteenth signal, where the type of the thirteenth signal includes dual-band.

[0324] In step S2205, if the type of the thirteenth signal is dual-frequency and the first frequency f1 is less than the second frequency f2, the network device 10 configures the modulation frequency Δf of the AIoT terminal device 20 to be less than (f2-f1) / 2; and

[0325] In this embodiment, if the thirteenth signal sent by the network device 10 is a dual-frequency signal, it is necessary to ensure that the sideband signal of the backscattered signal does not alias. Please refer to Figure 23, which shows the aliasing phenomenon of the dual-frequency carrier signals f1 and f2 sent by the network device in one embodiment of the present invention. The general principle is: if the sideband signal of the first frequency point and the sideband signal of the second frequency point are between the first frequency point and the second frequency point, assuming that the first frequency point < the second frequency point, it is necessary to ensure that the sideband signal of the first frequency point is smaller than the sideband signal of the second frequency point. For example, the network device sends dual-frequency carrier signals of f1 and f2, and indicates that the modulation frequency of the AIoT terminal device is △f. If △f>(f2-f1) / 2, the backscattered signal will be aliased. Therefore, in this case, the value of △f needs to be specified to avoid aliasing, for example, △f<(f2-f1) / 2.

[0326] In other embodiments of the present invention, if the dual-frequency signal passes through the network-side device or the nonlinear device on the AIoT terminal device side, it should be ensured that the third-order intermodulation does not interfere with the sideband signal of the backscattered signal.

[0327] In step S2207, the network device 10 receives the fourteenth signal sent by the AIoT terminal device 20 and measures it.

[0328] In other embodiments of the present invention, the method also includes: the network device instructs the AIoT terminal device that the fourteenth signal reflected is a single-sideband signal when the first signal is a dual-frequency signal and the backscatter signal measurement amount is less than a threshold or the thirteenth signal is a broadband signal and the backscatter signal measurement amount is less than a threshold.

[0329] Please refer to Figure 24A, which shows a flow chart of a method for obtaining the location of an AIoT terminal device. In this embodiment, it is used in the network device 10, wherein the method includes:

[0330] In step S2400, the network device 10 sends the fifteenth signal, the sixteenth signal and the fifteenth information.

[0331] In step S2402, the network device 10 receives the ID reported by the AIoT terminal device 20 based on the fifteenth signal.

[0332] In step S2404, the network device 10 receives and measures the backscattered signal sent by the sixteenth signal of the AIoT terminal device 20.

[0333] Among them, the fifteenth signal is a single-frequency signal, which is used for the AIoT terminal device 20 to report its ID; the sixteenth signal is a non-single-frequency signal, including OFDM, chirp signal or other broadband signal, which is used for the AIoT terminal 20 device to modulate and the network device 10 to measure the backscattered signal based on the sixteenth signal; the fifteenth information instructs the AIoT terminal device 20 to report its ID, modulation mode and time-frequency resources based on the fifteenth signal.

[0334] In this embodiment, the fifteenth information also indicates the modulation mode of the sixteenth signal and the time-frequency resources of the backscattered signal used by the AIoT terminal device 10, and the modulation mode includes total reflection or non-total reflection.

[0335] In other embodiments of the present invention, the sixteenth signal is an OFDM signal, the AIoT terminal device 20 fully reflects the OFDM signal, and the network device 10 can perform phase measurement based on the received OFDM signal.

[0336] In other embodiments of the present invention, the fifteenth information also includes sixteenth information, or the fifteenth information and the sixteenth information are independent. The fifteenth information instructs the AIoT terminal device 20 to report its ID, modulation mode, and time-frequency resources based on the fifteenth signal; the sixteenth information instructs the AIoT terminal device 20 to modulate the sixteenth signal in a modulation mode and a time-frequency resource of a backscattered signal, wherein the modulation mode includes total reflection or non-total reflection.

[0337] In an embodiment of the present invention, the fifteenth information and the sixteenth information may be sent together or separately. For example, the fifteenth information includes the sixteenth information, and the network device 10 sends the fifteenth signal and the sixteenth signal after sending the fifteenth information. The AIoT terminal device 20 reports the ID according to the fifteenth information and the fifteenth signal, and then modulates and reflects according to the fifteenth information and the sixteenth signal. Another embodiment is, for example, the fifteenth information and the sixteenth information are sent separately, and the network device 10 sends the fifteenth signal after sending the fifteenth information, and the AIoT terminal device 20 reports the ID according to the fifteenth information and the fifteenth signal. The network device 10 sends the sixteenth signal after sending the sixteenth information, and the AIoT terminal device 20 modulates and reflects according to the sixteenth information and the sixteenth signal.

[0338] Please refer to FIG. 24B , which is a module diagram of a network device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0339] In this embodiment, the network device 10 includes a memory 102 and a processor 104. The memory 102 is used to store a computer program for the method executed in the network device 10 in the embodiment of the present application, wherein the memory 102 can be a memory. In this embodiment, the processor 104 is configured to call and execute the computer program stored in the memory 102.

[0340] Please refer to Figure 25, which is a module diagram of an AIoT terminal device in one embodiment of the present invention.

[0341] In this embodiment, the AIoT terminal device 20 includes a memory 202 and a processor 204. The memory 202 is used to store the computer program of the method executed in the AIoT terminal device 20 in the embodiment of the present application, wherein the memory 202 can be a memory. In this embodiment, the processor 204 is configured to call and execute the computer program stored in the memory 204.

[0342] Please refer to FIG. 26 , which is a module diagram of an intermediate node in one embodiment of the present invention.

[0343] In this embodiment, the intermediate node 30 includes a memory 302 and a processor 304. The memory 302 is used to store the computer program of the method executed in the AIoT terminal device 30 in the embodiment of the present application, wherein the memory 302 can be a memory. In this embodiment, the processor 304 is configured to call and execute the computer program stored in the memory 304.

[0344] The embodiments of the network device, AIoT terminal device and intermediate node provided in the above implementation manner may include all the technical features of any of the above method embodiments. The expansion and explanation content of the specification are basically the same as those of the embodiments of the above method, and will not be repeated here.

[0345] An embodiment of the present invention further provides a computer program product, which includes computer program code. When the computer program code runs on a computer, the computer executes the methods in the various possible implementation modes described above.

[0346] An embodiment of the present invention also provides a chip, including a memory and a processor, wherein the memory is used to store computer programs, and the processor is used to call and run the computer programs from the memory, so that a device equipped with the chip executes the methods in various possible implementations as described above.

[0347] It is understood that the above scenarios are merely examples and do not limit the application scenarios of the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present invention. The technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present invention can also be applied to other scenarios. For example, those skilled in the art will appreciate that as system architectures evolve and new business scenarios emerge, the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present invention will also be applicable to similar technical problems.

[0348] The serial numbers of the above embodiments of the present invention are for description only and do not represent the advantages or disadvantages of the embodiments.

[0349] The steps in the method of the embodiment of the present invention can be adjusted in sequence, combined, or deleted according to actual needs.

[0350] The units in the device of the embodiment of the present invention can be merged, divided, and deleted according to actual needs.

[0351] In the embodiments of the present invention, the same or similar terminology concepts, technical solutions and / or application scenario descriptions are generally only described in detail the first time they appear. When they appear again later, they are generally not repeated for the sake of brevity. When understanding the technical solutions and other contents of the embodiments of the present invention, for the same or similar terminology concepts, technical solutions and / or application scenario descriptions that are not described in detail later, reference can be made to the previous related detailed descriptions.

[0352] In the embodiments of the present invention, the description of each embodiment has its own focus. For parts that are not described or recorded in detail in a certain embodiment, reference can be made to the relevant descriptions of other embodiments.

[0353] The various technical features of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention can be arbitrarily combined. In order to make the description concise, not all possible combinations of the various technical features in the above embodiments are described. However, as long as there is no contradiction in the combination of these technical features, they should be considered to be within the scope of the embodiments of the present invention.

[0354] Through the description of the above implementation methods, those skilled in the art can clearly understand that the above-mentioned embodiment methods can be implemented by means of software plus the necessary general hardware platform, and of course can also be implemented by hardware, but in many cases the former is a better implementation method. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the embodiment of the present invention is essentially or the part that contributes to the prior art can be embodied in the form of a software product, which is stored in a storage medium (such as ROM / RAM, magnetic disk, optical disk) as mentioned above, and includes a number of instructions for enabling a terminal device (which can be a mobile phone, computer, server, controlled terminal, or network device, etc.) to execute the method of each embodiment of the present invention.

[0355] In the above embodiments, all or part of the embodiments can be implemented by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, all or part of the embodiments can be implemented in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions according to the embodiments of the present invention are generated. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions can be stored in a storage medium or transmitted from one storage medium to another. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via a wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) method. The storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server or data center that includes one or more available media. The available medium can be a magnetic medium (e.g., a floppy disk, a storage disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (e.g., a DVD), or a semiconductor medium (e.g., a solid-state disk (SSD)).

[0356] The above description is only an embodiment of the present invention and does not limit the patent scope of the present invention. Any equivalent structure or equivalent process transformation made by using the contents of the description and drawings of the present invention, or directly or indirectly applied in other related technical fields, are also included in the patent protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. [Corrected 15.03.2024 in accordance with Rule 91] An AIoT (ambient IoT) positioning method for obtaining the positioning of an AIoT terminal device in a network device, wherein: The method comprises: Sending first information and / or a first signal to the AIoT terminal device; Receive and measure a second reference signal to obtain the position of the AIoT terminal device; The first information includes a first reference signal and first positioning assistance information, the first reference signal is a positioning reference signal, and the second reference signal is an auxiliary positioning reference signal sent by the AIoT terminal device based on the first reference signal; The first positioning assistance information includes at least one of the following: Request whether the second reference signal carries the ID of the AIoT terminal device; transmit power of the second reference signal; time-frequency resources of the second reference signal; Path loss between network devices and AIoT terminal devices; The reflection amplifier used in the AIoT terminal device and the amplification factor of the reflection amplifier; and Sideband switching indication information.

2. The AIoT positioning method according to claim 1, wherein: The first reference signal is a PRS (Positioning Reference Signal).

3. The AIoT positioning method according to claim 1, wherein: The second reference signal is a backscatter positioning reference signal BPRS (Backscatter Positioning Reference Signal).

4. The AIoT positioning method according to claim 1, wherein: The second reference signal includes ID information, and the network device identifies the terminal device through the ID information in the second reference signal.

5. The AIoT positioning method according to claim 1, wherein: The first positioning assistance information also includes: timing advance (TA) information of the second reference signal, wherein the AIoT terminal device sends the second reference signal according to the TA information.

6. The AIoT positioning method according to claims 1 to 5, wherein: Obtain the measured path loss information of the AIoT terminal device.

7. The AIoT positioning method according to claim 6, wherein: The path loss information is obtained by measuring the second reference signal; or, the AIoT terminal device measures the first reference signal sent by the network device and reports it to the network device.

8. The AIoT positioning method according to claim 6, wherein: Also includes: A transmit power for sending the first reference signal is determined according to the path loss information.

9. [Corrected 15.03.2024 according to Rule 91] The AIoT positioning method according to claim 6, wherein: When the first positioning assistance information includes the transmission power of the second reference signal, the AIoT terminal device determines the transmission power of the second reference signal according to the first positioning assistance information.

10. The AIoT positioning method according to claim 6, wherein: The first positioning assistance information is used to indicate the amplification factor and / or transmission power level of the reflection amplifier when using the reflection amplifier and the amplification factor of the reflection amplifier of the AIoT terminal device.

11. The AIoT positioning method according to claim 6, wherein: The first positioning assistance information also includes one of the following parameters indicating the AIoT terminal device to adjust the transmission power of the second reference signal: modulation mode, modulation rate, modulation order, and code rate.

12. The AIoT positioning method according to claim 1, wherein: The types of the first positioning assistance information are: dynamic and static, wherein, if the network device does not detect a change in the channel and / or does not discover UE movement, the first positioning assistance information is static; if the network device detects a change in the channel and / or discovers UE movement, the first positioning assistance information is dynamic.

13. [Corrected 15.03.2024 according to Rule 91] The AIoT positioning method according to claims 1 to 5, wherein: Also includes: When the first positioning assistance information includes sideband switching indication information and / or path loss between the network device and the AIoT terminal device, the AIoT terminal device determines the transmission power of the second reference signal based on the sideband switching indication information and / or the path loss.

14. The AIoT positioning method according to claim 13, wherein: The sideband switching indication information includes at least one of the following: switching only to the upper sideband, switching only to the lower sideband, and not performing sideband switching.

15. The AIoT positioning method according to claim 1, wherein: Also includes: If the carrier signal carrying the first information is a single-frequency signal, a multi-tone signal, or an OFDM signal, the first information is an AIOT DL PRS; The configuration of the network device is: one AIOT DL PRS resource corresponds to a group of AIoT resources of the network device, wherein the AIoT DL PRS resource has an AIoT PRS ID.

16. The method for obtaining the location of an AIoT terminal device according to claim 15, wherein: The AIoT resources are resources corresponding to AIoT Paging / LP-SS resources / synchronization signals / control signaling.

17. The AIoT positioning method according to claim 15, wherein: One AIoT DL PRS is an AIoT DL PRS resource group.

18. The method for obtaining the location of an AIoT terminal device according to claim 17, wherein: In the same resource group, the transmission power of AIoT DL PRS with different time-frequency resources is different.

19. The method for obtaining the location of an AIoT terminal device according to claim 16, wherein: It also includes: indicating mute through AIoT Paging / LP-SS resources / synchronization signals / control signaling, or calculating the mute position through resource ID information.

20. The AIoT positioning method according to claim 1, wherein: Also includes: Configure the sending period of the first reference signal according to the positioning scenario, channel conditions and the capabilities of the AIoT terminal device.

21. [Corrected 15.03.2024 according to Rule 91] A method for reporting location information, used in an AIoT terminal device, wherein: The method comprises: receiving first information or a first signal; and Sending a second reference signal according to the first information; wherein the first information includes a first reference signal and first positioning assistance information, and the first reference signal is a positioning reference signal; The second reference signal is an auxiliary positioning reference signal sent by the AIoT terminal device based on the first reference signal; The first positioning assistance information includes any one of the following: Request whether the second reference signal carries the ID of the AIoT terminal device; transmit power of the first reference signal; time-frequency resources of a second reference signal; Path loss between network devices and AIoT terminal devices; The reflection amplifier used in the AIoT terminal device and the amplification factor of the reflection amplifier; and Sideband switching indication information.

22. The method for reporting location information according to claim 21, wherein: Also includes: Modulation is performed according to the first reference signal to generate the second reference signal, wherein the modulation includes total reflection and non-total reflection. When it is non-total reflection, the modulation information includes the ID information of the AIoT terminal device; when the modulation mode is OOK modulation, the total reflection is a special modulation mode of all-1 modulation.

23. The method for reporting location information according to claim 22, wherein: Also includes: The first positioning assistance information also includes timing advance (TA) information of the second reference signal, wherein the AIoT terminal device sends the second reference signal according to the TA information.

24. The method for reporting location information according to claim 21, wherein: Also includes: Configure reference path loss and perform path loss measurement based on RRC signaling and / or MAC CE signaling; and The transmit power of the fourth reference signal is determined according to the path loss measurement result.

25. The method for reporting location information according to claim 24, wherein: When the reference signal for the path loss measurement is LP-SS, cell identification information, LP-SS resource location information, LP-SS index number information, and LP-SS power information are configured.

26. The method for reporting location information according to claim 24, wherein: When the reference signal for the path loss measurement is DL-PRS, DL-PRS resource identification information and power information are configured.

27. The method for reporting location information according to claim 24, wherein: When the reference signal for the path loss measurement is a paging or synchronization signal, identification information and power information of the paging or synchronization signal resource are configured.

28. The method for reporting location information according to claim 21, wherein: Also includes: When the first positioning assistance information includes the path loss between the network device and the AIoT terminal device, the transmission power of the second reference signal is determined according to the path loss information.

29. The method for reporting location information according to claim 21, wherein: Also includes: When the first positioning assistance information includes the transmit power of the second reference signal, The second reference signal is sent according to the transmission power of the first positioning assistance information.

30. The method for reporting location information according to claim 29, wherein: The first positioning assistance information includes the reflection amplifier used by the AIoT terminal device and the amplification factor of the reflection amplifier, which is used to indicate the amplification factor and / or transmission power level of the reflection amplifier.

31. The method for reporting location information according to claim 21, wherein: The first positioning assistance information also includes one of the following parameters indicating the AIoT terminal device to adjust the transmission power of the second reference signal: modulation mode, modulation rate, modulation order, and code rate.

32. The method for reporting location information according to claim 29, wherein: The types of the first positioning assistance information are: dynamic and static, wherein, if the network device does not detect a change in the channel and / or does not discover UE movement, the first positioning assistance information is static; if the network device detects a change in the channel and / or discovers UE movement, the first positioning assistance information is dynamic.

33. A method for obtaining the location of an AIoT terminal device, used in an intermediate node, wherein a network device is in communication with the AIoT terminal device and the intermediate node, the method comprising: Receiving AIoT positioning execution information sent by the network device; Sending third information and / or a third signal to the AIoT terminal device based on the AIoT positioning execution information; receiving a fourth signal, and measuring the fourth signal to obtain first measurement information; and Report the first measurement information to the network device.

34. The method for obtaining the location of an AIoT terminal device according to claim 33, wherein: The positioning execution information includes: time-frequency resources for the intermediate node to send the third information and / or the third signal; The intermediate node receives the time-frequency resource of the fourth signal; The time-frequency resources measured and reported by the intermediate node; and The measurement content of the intermediate node.

35. The method for obtaining the location of an AIoT terminal device according to claim 34, wherein: The measurement content of the intermediate node includes at least one of time, phase, and RSRP.

36. The method for obtaining the location of an AIoT terminal device according to claim 33, wherein: The first information includes at least one of the following: The modulation mode and modulation frequency of the fourth signal sent by the AIoT terminal device; The AIoT terminal device sends a time-frequency resource of a fourth signal; Modulation content of the AIoT terminal device; and Reference signal.

37. The method for obtaining the location of an AIoT terminal device according to claim 33, wherein: The third signal is a carrier signal, which is used to provide energy storage or serve as a carrier signal of a backscattering signal.

38. The method for obtaining the location of an AIoT terminal device according to claim 33, wherein: Also includes: The network device receives the fourth signal and obtains second measurement information; The network device receives the first measurement information and determines the location of the AIoT terminal device based on the first measurement information and the second measurement information.

39. A method for obtaining the location of an AIoT terminal device, used in a network device, wherein: include: Sending the fifth information and / or the fifth signal to the AIoT terminal device at time t1; Receiving, at time t4, a sixth reference signal from the AIoT terminal device that receives the fifth information and / or the fifth signal at time t2 and sends based on the fifth information and / or the fifth signal at time t3; Among them, the time difference between sending and receiving of AIoT terminal devices is t3-t2.

40. The method for obtaining the location of an AIoT terminal device according to claim 39, wherein: At least two network devices participate in the positioning of the AIoT terminal device, and another network device sends the fifth information and / or the fifth signal to the AIoT terminal device at time t5; receiving, at time t8, the fifth information and / or the fifth signal received by the AIoT terminal device at time t6 and a sixth reference signal sent at time t7 based on the fifth information and / or the fifth signal; Among them, the sending and receiving time difference of the AIoT terminal device is t7-t6; Among them, the condition for precise positioning is that the time difference between the sending and receiving of the AIoT terminal device is t7-t6=t3-t2, that is, the time difference between the sending and receiving of the AIoT terminal device within the coherence time is equal, and the fifth information and / or fifth signal sent by the two network devices is received within the coherence time.

41. The method for obtaining the location of an AIoT terminal device according to claim 39 or claim 40, wherein: At least two network devices participate in the positioning of the AIoT terminal device, and the two network devices determine the time when the network devices respectively send the fifth signal based on the path loss information assisted by the sixth reference signal measurement of the AIoT terminal device or the path loss information reported by the AIoT terminal device, so as to ensure that the AIoT terminal device can receive the fifth signal sent by different network devices within the coherence time, wherein the fifth signals of different network devices can be distinguished by frequency and code domain; The AIoT terminal device receives the fifth signal transmitted by the two network devices and reflects it within the coherence time; the two network devices respectively receive the sixth reference signal sent by the AIoT terminal device and jointly locate the AIoT terminal device; wherein the coherence time refers to the time when the frequency offset error of the AIoT terminal device is stable.

42. A method for reporting location, used in an AIoT terminal device, wherein: include: receiving fifth information and / or a fifth signal sent by a network device at time t2; sending a sixth reference signal based on the fifth information and / or the fifth signal to the network device at time t3; The fifth information includes third positioning assistance information, which is used to indicate whether the AIoT terminal device is fully reflected or not fully reflected; The time difference between sending and receiving of the AIoT terminal device is t3-t2.

43. The method for reporting a position according to claim 42, wherein: Also includes: Receiving, at time t6, fifth information and / or a fifth signal sent by another network device; sending a sixth reference signal based on the fifth information and / or the fifth signal to the other network device at time t7; Among them, the time difference between sending and receiving of the AIoT terminal device is t7-t6.

44. The method for reporting a position according to claim 42 or 43, wherein: Also includes: When the third positioning assistance information indicates total reflection of the AIoT terminal device, a path loss between the AIoT terminal device and the network device is further obtained, wherein the two network devices determine the sending time of the fifth signal respectively according to the path loss; The AIoT terminal device receives the fifth signal sent by the two network devices and sends the sixth reference signal within the coherence time, wherein the condition for precise positioning is that the time difference between the transmission and reception of the AIoT terminal device is t7-t6=t3-t2, that is, the time difference between the transmission and reception of the AIoT terminal device within the coherence time is equal, and receives the fifth information and / or fifth signal sent by the two network devices within the coherence time; wherein the two network devices respectively receive the sixth reference signal sent by the AIoT terminal device, and jointly locate the AIoT terminal device; wherein the coherence time refers to the time when the frequency offset error of the AIoT terminal device is stable.

45. A method for obtaining the location of a newly added AIoT terminal device, used in a backscatter communication system, wherein the backscatter communication system includes at least one network device and N AIoT terminal devices, wherein: N AIoT terminal devices are reference devices at fixed locations, and the method includes: The network device obtains the sixth signal, the sixth signal measurement value, and the coordinates of the N AIoT terminal devices; and The network device obtains the seventh signal and the seventh signal measurement value of the AIoT terminal device to be located.

46. ​​The method for obtaining the location of a newly added AIoT terminal device according to claim 45, wherein: The backscatter communication system includes at least two network devices, and the method further includes: A network device obtains the sixth signal, the sixth signal measurement value, and the coordinates of the N AIoT terminal devices; Another network device obtains the eighth signal, the eighth signal measurement value, and the coordinates of the N AIoT terminal devices; and The at least two network devices share the sixth signal measurement value and the eighth signal measurement value.

47. The method for obtaining the location of a newly added AIoT terminal device according to claim 46, wherein: The backscatter communication system further includes a third-party device, and the method further includes: The at least two network devices send second control information to the third-party device, instructing the third-party device to send at least one of the time domain Occasion, carrier frequency, modulation mode, and transmission power of the ninth signal; The third-party device sends the ninth signal to the AIoT terminal device.

48. The method for obtaining the location of a newly added AIoT terminal device according to claim 46, wherein: Also includes: The at least two network devices send the ninth signal or the first control information to the AIoT terminal device.

49. The method for obtaining the location of a newly added AIoT terminal device according to claim 47 or 48, wherein: The ninth signal may be a carrier signal for energy storage, or a carrier signal for backscatter communication.

50. The method for obtaining the location of a newly added AIoT terminal device according to claim 46, wherein: The at least two network devices share the sixth signal measurement value and the eighth signal measurement value via Xn or other interfaces.

51. A method for obtaining UE location by assisting an AIoT terminal device, used in a network device, wherein: The network device, N AIoT terminal devices, and the UE are communicated with each other, and the N AIoT terminal devices are reference devices at fixed locations. The method includes: The network device obtains the tenth signal, the tenth signal measurement value, and the coordinates of N AIoT terminal devices; receiving an eleventh signal sent by the UE, wherein the eleventh signal includes precise positioning request information; and sending third control information to the UE, wherein the UE obtains the twelfth signal and the twelfth signal measurement value of the AIoT terminal device near the UE according to the third control information; and Report the twelfth signal measurement value to the network device.

52. The method for UE-assisted acquisition of AIoT terminal device location as claimed in claim 51, wherein: The third control information includes at least any one of the following: a) indicating a time-frequency resource for the UE to receive a twelfth signal; b) indicating the frequency, modulation mode or transmit power of the carrier signal sent by the UE; c) instructing the UE to report the time-frequency resource of the twelfth signal measurement value to a network device; and d) instructing the UE to re-report the measurement value of the AIoT terminal device.

53. The method for UE-assisted acquisition of AIoT terminal device location as claimed in claim 52, wherein: The condition for instructing the UE to re-report the measurement value of the AIoT terminal device includes at least one of the following: The network device obtains the UE location movement information; The network device detects that the measurement value of the eleventh signal sent by the UE changes; and The network device detects that a channel has changed.

54. A method for obtaining the location of an AIoT terminal device, used in a network device, wherein: The method comprises: Send the thirteenth message and the thirteenth signal; Acquire a type of the thirteenth signal, wherein the type of the thirteenth signal includes dual-frequency; If the type of the thirteenth signal is dual-frequency, and the first frequency f1 is less than the second frequency f2, then the value of the modulation frequency Δf of the AIoT terminal device is configured to be less than (f2-f1) / 2; and Receive and measure the fourteenth signal sent by the AIoT terminal device.

55. The method for obtaining the location of an AIoT terminal device according to claim 54, wherein: Also includes: The network device instructs the AIoT terminal device that when the thirteenth signal is a dual-frequency signal and the backscatter signal measurement is less than a threshold, or when the thirteenth signal is a broadband signal and the backscatter signal measurement is less than a threshold, the fourteenth signal sent by the AIoT terminal device is a single-sideband signal.

56. The method for obtaining the location of an AIoT terminal device according to claim 54, wherein: The thirteenth information includes: modulation mode, time domain resources of sideband signal reflection, and reflection mode.

57. The method for obtaining the location of an AIoT terminal device according to claim 54, wherein: The thirteenth signal includes at least one of the following: a single-frequency unmodulated signal, a dual-frequency unmodulated signal, a wideband unmodulated signal, a single-frequency modulated signal, a dual-frequency modulated signal, and a wideband modulated signal.

58. A method for obtaining the location of an AIoT terminal device, used in a network device, wherein: The method comprises: Send the fifteenth signal, the sixteenth signal, and the fifteenth message; Among them, the fifteenth signal is a single-frequency signal, which is used for the AIoT terminal device to report its ID; the sixteenth signal is a non-single-frequency signal, including OFDM, chirp signal or other broadband signal, which is used for the AIoT terminal device to modulate and the network device to measure the backscattered signal based on the sixteenth signal; the fifteenth information instructs the AIoT terminal device to report its ID, modulation mode and time-frequency resources based on the fifteenth signal.

59. The method for obtaining the location of an AIoT terminal device according to claim 58, wherein: The fifteenth information also indicates the modulation mode of the sixteenth signal and the time-frequency resources of the backscattered signal modulated by the AIoT terminal device, and the modulation mode includes total reflection or non-total reflection.

60. A network device, characterized in that include: A processor configured to call and execute a computer program stored in a memory so that the device installed thereon performs the method according to any one of claims 1 to 20.

61. An AIoT terminal device, characterized in that: include: A processor configured to call and execute a computer program stored in a memory so that the device installed thereon performs the method of any one of claims 21 to 32.

62. An intermediate node, characterized in that include: A processor configured to call and execute a computer program stored in a memory so that the device installed thereon performs the method of any one of claims 33 to 38.

63. A network device, characterized in that include: A processor configured to call and execute a computer program stored in a memory so that the device installed thereon performs the method of any one of claims 39 to 41.

64. An AIoT terminal device, characterized in that: include: A processor configured to call and execute a computer program stored in a memory so that the device installed thereon performs the method of any one of claims 42 to 43.

65. A backscatter communication system, characterized in that include: A processor configured to call and execute a computer program stored in a memory so that the device installed thereon performs the method of any one of claims 44 to 50.

66. A network device, characterized in that include: A processor configured to call and execute a computer program stored in a memory so that the device installed thereon performs the method of any one of claims 51 to 53.

67. A network device, characterized in that include: A processor configured to call and execute a computer program stored in a memory so that the device installed thereon performs the method of any one of claims 54 to 57.

68. A network device, characterized in that include: A processor configured to call and execute a computer program stored in a memory so that the device installed thereon performs the method of any one of claims 58 to 59.

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