Grouping of ambient internet of things user equipment
Dynamic grouping of ambient IoT devices through indication-based switching addresses the inefficiencies of static grouping, reducing collisions and enhancing network performance by adapting to varying device capabilities and conditions.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- PCT/CN2024/079267
- Authority / Receiving Office
- WO · WO
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2024-02-29
- Publication Date
- 2025-09-04
AI Technical Summary
Existing wireless communication systems face challenges in efficiently managing dynamic changes in transmission and reception capabilities of ambient IoT devices, leading to collisions and inefficiencies due to static grouping, which does not account for varying energy states and channel conditions.
Implementing dynamic grouping mechanisms for ambient IoT devices by providing indications for switching groups, using payload or sequence-based signaling, and configuring conditions for group switching after initial access to optimize device communication.
Dynamic grouping reduces collisions, enhances energy efficiency, and improves communication flexibility by adapting to changing device capabilities and conditions, thereby optimizing network performance.
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Figure CN2024079267_04092025_PF_FP_ABST
Abstract
Description
GROUPING OF AMBIENT INTERNET OF THINGS USER EQUIPMENT
[0001] FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE
[0002] Aspects of the present disclosure generally relate to wireless communication and specifically relate to techniques, apparatuses, and methods for grouping of ambient Internet of Things user equipments.BACKGROUND
[0003] Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various services that may include carrying voice, text, messaging, video, data, and / or other traffic. The services may include unicast, multicast, and / or broadcast services, among other examples. Typical wireless communication systems may employ multiple-access radio access technologies (RATs) capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing available system resources (for example, time domain resources, frequency domain resources, spatial domain resources, and / or device transmit power, among other examples) . Examples of such multiple-access RATs include code division multiple access (CDMA) systems, time division multiple access (TDMA) systems, frequency division multiple access (FDMA) systems, orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) systems, single-carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) systems, and time division synchronous code division multiple access (TD-SCDMA) systems.
[0004] The above multiple-access RATs have been adopted in various telecommunication standards to provide common protocols that enable different wireless communication devices to communicate on a municipal, national, regional, or global level. An example telecommunication standard is New Radio (NR) . NR, which may also be referred to as 5G, is part of a continuous mobile broadband evolution promulgated by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) . NR (and other mobile broadband evolutions beyond NR) may be designed to better support Internet of things (IoT) and reduced capability device deployments, industrial connectivity, millimeter wave (mmWave) expansion, licensed and unlicensed spectrum access, non-terrestrial network (NTN) deployment, sidelink and other device-to-device direct communication technologies (for example, cellular vehicle-to-everything (CV2X) communication) , massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) , disaggregated network architectures and network topology expansions, multiple-subscriber implementations, high-precision positioning, and / or radio frequency (RF) sensing, among other examples. As the demand for mobile broadband access continues to increase, further improvements in NR may be implemented, and other radio access technologies such as 6G may be introduced, to further advance mobile broadband evolution.SUMMARY
[0005] In some aspects, a method of wireless communication performed by an ambient Internet of Things (IoT) device includes receiving an indication that the ambient IoT device is assigned to a second group, wherein, prior to receiving the indication, the ambient IoT device is assigned to a first group; and communicating in accordance with the indication.
[0006] In some aspects, a method of wireless communication performed by a network node includes transmitting an indication that an ambient IoT device is assigned to a second group, wherein, prior to the indication, the ambient IoT device is assigned to a first group; and communicating in accordance with the indication.
[0007] In some aspects, an apparatus configured for wireless communication includes one or more memories comprising processor-executable instructions; and one or more processors configured to execute the processor-executable instructions and cause the apparatus to: receive an indication that the apparatus is assigned to a second group, wherein, prior to receiving the indication, the apparatus is assigned to a first group, and wherein the apparatus is associated with an ambient IoT device; and communicate in accordance with the indication.
[0008] In some aspects, an apparatus configured for wireless communication includes one or more memories comprising processor-executable instructions; and one or more processors configured to execute the processor-executable instructions and cause the apparatus to: transmit an indication that an ambient IoT device is assigned to a second group, wherein, prior to the indication, the ambient IoT device is assigned to a first group; and communicate in accordance with the indication.
[0009] In some aspects, a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a set of instructions for wireless communication includes one or more instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of an ambient IoT device, cause the ambient IoT device to: receive an indication that the ambient IoT device is assigned to a second group, wherein, prior to receiving the indication, the ambient IoT device is assigned to a first group; and communicate in accordance with the indication.
[0010] In some aspects, a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a set of instructions for wireless communication includes one or more instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a network node, cause the network node to: transmit an indication that an ambient IoT device is assigned to a second group, wherein, prior to the indication, the ambient IoT device is assigned to a first group; and communicate in accordance with the indication.
[0011] In some aspects, an apparatus for wireless communication includes means for receiving an indication that the apparatus is assigned to a second group, wherein, prior to receiving the indication, the apparatus is assigned to a first group; and means for communicating in accordance with the indication.
[0012] In some aspects, an apparatus for wireless communication includes means for transmitting an indication that an ambient IoT device is assigned to a second group, wherein, prior to the indication, the ambient IoT device is assigned to a first group; and means for communicating in accordance with the indication.
[0013] Aspects of the present disclosure may generally be implemented by or as a method, apparatus, system, computer program product, non-transitory computer-readable medium, user equipment, base station, network node, network entity, wireless communication device, and / or processing system as substantially described with reference to, and as illustrated by, the specification and accompanying drawings.
[0014] The foregoing paragraphs of this section have broadly summarized some aspects of the present disclosure. These and additional aspects and associated advantages will be described hereinafter. The disclosed aspects may be used as a basis for modifying or designing other aspects for carrying out the same or similar purposes of the present disclosure. Such equivalent aspects do not depart from the scope of the appended claims. Characteristics of the aspects disclosed herein, both their organization and method of operation, together with associated advantages, will be better understood from the following description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0015] The appended drawings illustrate some aspects of the present disclosure, but are not limiting of the scope of the present disclosure because the description may enable other aspects. Each of the drawings is provided for purposes of illustration and description, and not as a definition of the limits of the claims. The same or similar reference numbers in different drawings may identify the same or similar elements.
[0016] Fig. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a wireless communication network in accordance with the present disclosure.
[0017] Fig. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example network node in communication with an example user equipment (UE) in a wireless network in accordance with the present disclosure.
[0018] Fig. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example disaggregated base station architecture in accordance with the present disclosure.
[0019] Fig. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example associated with ambient Internet of Things (IoT) communications, in accordance with the present disclosure.
[0020] Fig. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of signaling for dynamic indication of a group for an ambient IoT device, in accordance with the present disclosure.
[0021] Fig. 6 is a diagram illustrating examples of indication of a new group for an ambient IoT device, in accordance with the present disclosure.
[0022] Fig. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of group switching in connection with an initial access, in accordance with the present disclosure.
[0023] Fig. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example process performed, for example, at an ambient IoT device or an apparatus of an ambient IoT device, in accordance with the present disclosure.
[0024] Fig. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example process performed, for example, at a network node or an apparatus of a network node, in accordance with the present disclosure.
[0025] Fig. 10 is a diagram of an example apparatus for wireless communication, in accordance with the present disclosure.
[0026] Fig. 11 is a diagram of an example apparatus for wireless communication, in accordance with the present disclosure.
[0027] Fig. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of an implementation of code and circuitry for a communications device, in accordance with the present disclosure.
[0028] Fig. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of an implementation of code and circuitry for a communications device, in accordance with the present disclosure.DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0029] Various aspects of the present disclosure are described hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, aspects of the present disclosure may be embodied in many different forms and is not to be construed as limited to any specific aspect illustrated by or described with reference to an accompanying drawing or otherwise presented in this disclosure. Rather, these aspects are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the disclosure to those skilled in the art. One skilled in the art may appreciate that the scope of the disclosure is intended to cover any aspect of the disclosure disclosed herein, whether implemented independently of or in combination with any other aspect of the disclosure. For example, an apparatus may be implemented or a method may be practiced using various combinations or quantities of the aspects set forth herein. In addition, the scope of the disclosure is intended to cover an apparatus having, or a method that is practiced using, other structures and / or functionalities in addition to or other than the structures and / or functionalities with which various aspects of the disclosure set forth herein may be practiced. Any aspect of the disclosure disclosed herein may be embodied by one or more elements of a claim.
[0030] Several aspects of telecommunication systems will now be presented with reference to various methods, operations, apparatuses, and techniques. These methods, operations, apparatuses, and techniques will be described in the following detailed description and illustrated in the accompanying drawings by various blocks, modules, components, circuits, steps, processes, or algorithms (collectively referred to as “elements” ) . These elements may be implemented using hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software. Whether such elements are implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system.
[0031] Some wireless communication devices may be considered Internet of Things (IoT) devices, such as ambient IoT devices (sometimes referred to as ultra-light IoT devices) , or similar IoT devices. In ambient IoT, a user equipment (UE) (for example, a radio frequency identification (RFID) device, a tag, or a similar device) may not include a battery, and the UE may accumulate energy from radio signaling. Alternatively, a UE may include a battery and may be designed for low power consumption (such as in the range of hundreds of microwatts) . To achieve further cost reduction and zero-power or low-power communication, wireless networks may utilize a type of ambient IoT device referred to as an “ambient backscatter device” or a “backscatter device. ”
[0032] Different ambient IoT devices may have different transmission and reception capabilities, meaning that different ambient IoT devices may be capable of transmitting at different powers, for different durations, and so on. Furthermore, a large concentration of ambient IoT devices may lead to collisions between ambient IoT device transmissions. Static grouping of ambient IoT devices (such as according to device types or static capabilities of the ambient IoT devices) may help with the above issues, such as by allowing for a certain group of ambient IoT devices to be activated or communicated with at a given time. However, the transmission and reception capabilities of ambient IoT devices can vary over time. For example, even for a single ambient IoT device, the ambient IoT device’s transmission and reception capabilities may vary with changes in the ambient IoT device’s energy status, channel conditions, and so on. Thus, a statically-configured group assigned to an ambient IoT device may become undesirable for the ambient IoT device, such as due to a changing number of ambient IoT devices assigned to the group, a changing capability of the ambient IoT device, or a similar occurrence.
[0033] Aspects of the present disclosure relate generally to grouping of ambient IoT devices. Some aspects more specifically relate to dynamically reassigning a group to an ambient IoT device. In some aspects, an ambient IoT device may belong to a first group (which may, for example, be a statically-configured or dynamically configured group) . The ambient IoT device may receive an indication that the ambient IoT device is assigned to a second group. The ambient IoT device may communicate in accordance with the indication. For example, the ambient IoT device may transmit a random access message or a message associated with an inventory action as part of the second group.
[0034] In some aspects, the indication may be carried in a payload of a physical or medium access control layer message. Alternatively, the indication may be based on a sequence, such as a sequence used to generate a reference signal or other signal (via groupcast, broadcast, or unicast signaling) . In some aspects, the indication may be provided after an initial access of the ambient IoT device. In some aspects, a network node may configure a condition for switching from the first group to the second group (e.g., the indication may be a configuration that indicates the condition) .
[0035] Aspects of the present disclosure may be used to realize one or more of the following potential advantages. In some aspects, by providing the indication for the ambient IoT device to switch to the second group, dynamic grouping can be achieved. Dynamic grouping of ambient IoT devices may be associated with various benefits, such as grouping devices that are in a low energy state to perform earlier access or use a longer sleep duration, or redistributing groups of ambient IoT devices to reduce collisions of random access or other communications. Using a sequence to indicate the switching of the group may reduce overhead relative to other approaches. Using a payload to indicate the switching of the group may increase flexibility of group switching relative to other approaches. Providing the switching indication after initial access may enable grouping based on a result of initial access (such as grouping ambient IoT devices that succeed at initial access for further communications) , which reduces the impact of ambient IoT devices failing at initial access. Configuring a condition for switching may reduce dynamic signaling overhead relative to explicitly signaling to switch the group.
[0036] Multiple-access radio access technologies (RATs) have been adopted in various telecommunication standards to provide common protocols that enable wireless communication devices to communicate on a municipal, enterprise, national, regional, or global level. For example, 5G New Radio (NR) is part of a continuous mobile broadband evolution promulgated by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) . 5G NR supports various technologies and use cases including enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) , ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC) , massive machine-type communication (mMTC) , millimeter wave (mmWave) technology, beamforming, network slicing, edge computing, IoT connectivity and management, and network function virtualization (NFV) .
[0037] As the demand for broadband access increases and as technologies supported by wireless communication networks evolve, further technological improvements may be adopted in or implemented for 5G NR or future RATs, such as 6G, to further advance the evolution of wireless communication for a wide variety of existing and new use cases and applications. Such technological improvements may be associated with new frequency band expansion, licensed and unlicensed spectrum access, overlapping spectrum use, small cell deployments, non-terrestrial network (NTN) deployments, disaggregated network architectures and network topology expansion, device aggregation, advanced duplex communication, sidelink and other device-to-device direct communication, IoT (including passive or ambient IoT) networks, reduced capability (RedCap) UE functionality, industrial connectivity, multiple-subscriber implementations, high-precision positioning, radio frequency (RF) sensing, and / or artificial intelligence or machine learning (AI / ML) , among other examples. These technological improvements may support use cases such as wireless backhauls, wireless data centers, extended reality (XR) and metaverse applications, meta services for supporting vehicle connectivity, holographic and mixed reality communication, autonomous and collaborative robots, vehicle platooning and cooperative maneuvering, sensing networks, gesture monitoring, human-brain interfacing, digital twin applications, asset management, and universal coverage applications using non-terrestrial and / or aerial platforms, among other examples. The methods, operations, apparatuses, and techniques described herein may enable one or more of the foregoing technologies and / or support one or more of the foregoing use cases.
[0038] Fig. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a wireless communication network 100 in accordance with the present disclosure. The wireless communication network 100 may be or may include elements of a 5G (or NR) network or a 6G network, among other examples. The wireless communication network 100 may include multiple network nodes 110, shown as a network node (NN) 110a, a network node 110b, a network node 110c, and a network node 110d. The network nodes 110 may support communications with multiple UEs 120, shown as a UE 120a, a UE 120b, a UE 120c, a UE 120d, and a UE 120e.
[0039] The network nodes 110 and the UEs 120 of the wireless communication network 100 may communicate using the electromagnetic spectrum, which may be subdivided by frequency or wavelength into various classes, bands, carriers, and / or channels. For example, devices of the wireless communication network 100 may communicate using one or more operating bands. In some aspects, multiple wireless communication networks 100 may be deployed in a given geographic area. Each wireless communication network 100 may support a particular RAT (which may also be referred to as an air interface) and may operate on one or more carrier frequencies in one or more frequency ranges. Examples of RATs include a 4G RAT, a 5G / NR RAT, and / or a 6G RAT, among other examples. In some examples, when multiple RATs are deployed in a given geographic area, each RAT in the geographic area may operate on different frequencies to avoid interference with one another.
[0040] Various operating bands have been defined as frequency range designations FR1 (410 MHz through 7.125 GHz) , FR2 (24.25 GHz through 52.6 GHz) , FR3 (7.125 GHz through 24.25 GHz) , FR4a or FR4-1 (52.6 GHz through 71 GHz) , FR4 (52.6 GHz through 114.25 GHz) , and FR5 (114.25 GHz through 300 GHz) . Although a portion of FR1 is greater than 6 GHz, FR1 is often referred to (interchangeably) as a “Sub-6 GHz” band in some documents and articles. Similarly, FR2 is often referred to (interchangeably) as a “millimeter wave” band in some documents and articles, despite being different than the extremely high frequency (EHF) band (30 GHz through 300 GHz) , which is identified by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) as a “millimeter wave” band. The frequencies between FR1 and FR2 are often referred to as mid-band frequencies, which include FR3. Frequency bands falling within FR3 may inherit FR1 characteristics or FR2 characteristics, and thus may effectively extend features of FR1 or FR2 into mid-band frequencies. Thus, “sub-6 GHz, ” if used herein, may broadly refer to frequencies that are less than 6 GHz, that are within FR1, and / or that are included in mid-band frequencies. Similarly, the term “millimeter wave, ” if used herein, may broadly refer to frequencies that are included in mid-band frequencies, that are within FR2, FR4, FR4-aor FR4-1, or FR5, and / or that are within the EHF band. Higher frequency bands may extend 5G NR operation, 6G operation, and / or other RATs beyond 52.6 GHz. For example, each of FR4a, FR4-1, FR4, and FR5 falls within the EHF band. In some examples, the wireless communication network 100 may implement dynamic spectrum sharing (DSS) , in which multiple RATs (for example, 4G / LTE and 5G / NR) are implemented with dynamic bandwidth allocation (for example, based on user demand) in a single frequency band. It is contemplated that the frequencies included in these operating bands (for example, FR1, FR2, FR3, FR4, FR4-a, FR4-1, and / or FR5) may be modified, and techniques described herein may be applicable to those modified frequency ranges.
[0041] A network node 110 may include one or more devices, components, or systems that enable communication between a UE 120 and one or more devices, components, or systems of the wireless communication network 100. A network node 110 may be, may include, or may also be referred to as an NR network node, a 5G network node, a 6G network node, a Node B, an eNB, a gNB, an access point (AP) , a transmission reception point (TRP) , a mobility element, a core, a network entity, a network element, a network equipment, and / or another type of device, component, or system included in a radio access network (RAN) .
[0042] A network node 110 may be implemented as a single physical node (for example, a single physical structure) or may be implemented as two or more physical nodes (for example, two or more distinct physical structures) . For example, a network node 110 may be a device or system that implements part of a radio protocol stack, a device or system that implements a full radio protocol stack (such as a full gNB protocol stack) , or a collection of devices or systems that collectively implement the full radio protocol stack. For example, and as shown, a network node 110 may be an aggregated network node (having an aggregated architecture) , meaning that the network node 110 may implement a full radio protocol stack that is physically and logically integrated within a single node (for example, a single physical structure) in the wireless communication network 100. For example, an aggregated network node 110 may consist of a single standalone base station or a single TRP that uses a full radio protocol stack to enable or facilitate communication between a UE 120 and a core network of the wireless communication network 100.
[0043] Alternatively, and as also shown, a network node 110 may be a disaggregated network node (sometimes referred to as a disaggregated base station) , meaning that the network node 110 may implement a radio protocol stack that is physically distributed and / or logically distributed among two or more nodes in the same geographic location or in different geographic locations. For example, a disaggregated network node may have a disaggregated architecture. In some deployments, disaggregated network nodes 110 may be used in an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) network, in an open radio access network (O-RAN) (such as a network configuration in compliance with the O-RAN Alliance) , or in a virtualized radio access network (vRAN) , also known as a cloud radio access network (C-RAN) , to facilitate scaling by separating base station functionality into multiple units that can be individually deployed.
[0044] The network nodes 110 of the wireless communication network 100 may include one or more central units (CUs) , one or more distributed units (DUs) , and / or one or more radio units (RUs) . A CU may host one or more higher layer control functions, such as radio resource control (RRC) functions, packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) functions, and / or service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) functions, among other examples. A DU may host one or more of a radio link control (RLC) layer, a medium access control (MAC) layer, and / or one or more higher physical (PHY) layers depending, at least in part, on a functional split, such as a functional split defined by the 3GPP. In some examples, a DU also may host one or more lower PHY layer functions, such as a fast Fourier transform (FFT) , an inverse FFT (iFFT) , beamforming, physical random access channel (PRACH) extraction and filtering, and / or scheduling of resources for one or more UEs 120, among other examples. An RU may host RF processing functions or lower PHY layer functions, such as an FFT, an iFFT, beamforming, or PRACH extraction and filtering, among other examples, according to a functional split, such as a lower layer functional split. In such an architecture, each RU can be operated to handle over the air (OTA) communication with one or more UEs 120.
[0045] In some aspects, a single network node 110 may include a combination of one or more CUs, one or more DUs, and / or one or more RUs. Additionally or alternatively, a network node 110 may include one or more Near-Real Time (Near-RT) RAN Intelligent Controllers (RICs) and / or one or more Non-Real Time (Non-RT) RICs. In some examples, a CU, a DU, and / or an RU may be implemented as a virtual unit, such as a virtual central unit (VCU) , a virtual distributed unit (VDU) , or a virtual radio unit (VRU) , among other examples. A virtual unit may be implemented as a virtual network function, such as associated with a cloud deployment.
[0046] Some network nodes 110 (for example, a base station, an RU, or a TRP) may provide communication coverage for a particular geographic area. In the 3GPP, the term “cell” can refer to a coverage area of a network node 110 or to a network node 110 itself, depending on the context in which the term is used. A network node 110 may support one or multiple (for example, three) cells. In some examples, a network node 110 may provide communication coverage for a macro cell, a pico cell, a femto cell, or another type of cell. A macro cell may cover a relatively large geographic area (for example, several kilometers in radius) and may allow unrestricted access by UEs 120 with service subscriptions. A pico cell may cover a relatively small geographic area and may allow unrestricted access by UEs 120 with service subscriptions. A femto cell may cover a relatively small geographic area (for example, a home) and may allow restricted access by UEs 120 having association with the femto cell (for example, UEs 120 in a closed subscriber group (CSG) ) . A network node 110 for a macro cell may be referred to as a macro network node. A network node 110 for a pico cell may be referred to as a pico network node. A network node 110 for a femto cell may be referred to as a femto network node or an in-home network node. In some examples, a cell may not necessarily be stationary. For example, the geographic area of the cell may move according to the location of an associated mobile network node 110 (for example, a train, a satellite base station, an unmanned aerial vehicle, or an NTN network node) .
[0047] The wireless communication network 100 may be a heterogeneous network that includes network nodes 110 of different types, such as macro network nodes, pico network nodes, femto network nodes, relay network nodes, aggregated network nodes, and / or disaggregated network nodes, among other examples. In the example shown in Fig. 1, the network node 110a may be a macro network node for a macro cell 130a, the network node 110b may be a pico network node for a pico cell 130b, and the network node 110c may be a femto network node for a femto cell 130c. Various different types of network nodes 110 may generally transmit at different power levels, serve different coverage areas, and / or have different impacts on interference in the wireless communication network 100 than other types of network nodes 110. For example, macro network nodes may have a high transmit power level (for example, 5 to 40 watts) , whereas pico network nodes, femto network nodes, and relay network nodes may have lower transmit power levels (for example, 0.1 to 2 watts) .
[0048] In some examples, a network node 110 may be, may include, or may operate as an RU, a TRP, or a base station that communicates with one or more UEs 120 via a radio access link (which may be referred to as a “Uu” link) . The radio access link may include a downlink and an uplink. “Downlink” (or “DL” ) refers to a communication direction from a network node 110 to a UE 120, and “uplink” (or “UL” ) refers to a communication direction from a UE 120 to a network node 110. Downlink channels may include one or more control channels and one or more data channels. A downlink control channel may be used to transmit downlink control information (DCI) (for example, scheduling information, reference signals, and / or configuration information) from a network node 110 to a UE 120. A downlink data channel may be used to transmit downlink data (for example, user data associated with a UE 120) from a network node 110 to a UE 120. Downlink control channels may include one or more physical downlink control channels (PDCCHs) , and downlink data channels may include one or more physical downlink shared channels (PDSCHs) . Uplink channels may similarly include one or more control channels and one or more data channels. An uplink control channel may be used to transmit uplink control information (UCI) (for example, reference signals and / or feedback corresponding to one or more downlink transmissions) from a UE 120 to a network node 110. An uplink data channel may be used to transmit uplink data (for example, user data associated with a UE 120) from a UE 120 to a network node 110. Uplink control channels may include one or more physical uplink control channels (PUCCHs) , and uplink data channels may include one or more physical uplink shared channels (PUSCHs) . The downlink and the uplink may each include a set of resources on which the network node 110 and the UE 120 may communicate.
[0049] Downlink and uplink resources may include time domain resources (frames, subframes, slots, and / or symbols) , frequency domain resources (frequency bands, component carriers, subcarriers, resource blocks, and / or resource elements) , and / or spatial domain resources (particular transmit directions and / or beam parameters) . Frequency domain resources of some bands may be subdivided into bandwidth parts (BWPs) . A BWP may be a continuous block of frequency domain resources (for example, a continuous block of resource blocks) that are allocated for one or more UEs 120. A UE 120 may be configured with both an uplink BWP and a downlink BWP (where the uplink BWP and the downlink BWP may be the same BWP or different BWPs) . A BWP may be dynamically configured (for example, by a network node 110 transmitting a DCI configuration to the one or more UEs 120) and / or reconfigured, which means that a BWP can be adjusted in real-time (or near-real-time) based on changing network conditions in the wireless communication network 100 and / or based on the specific requirements of the one or more UEs 120. This enables more efficient use of the available frequency domain resources in the wireless communication network 100 because fewer frequency domain resources may be allocated to a BWP for a UE 120 (which may reduce the quantity of frequency domain resources that a UE 120 is required to monitor) , leaving more frequency domain resources to be spread across multiple UEs 120. Thus, BWPs may also assist in the implementation of lower-capability UEs 120 by facilitating the configuration of smaller bandwidths for communication by such UEs 120.
[0050] As described above, in some aspects, the wireless communication network 100 may be, may include, or may be included in, an IAB network. In an IAB network, at least one network node 110 is an anchor network node that communicates with a core network. An anchor network node 110 may also be referred to as an IAB donor (or “IAB-donor” ) . The anchor network node 110 may connect to the core network via a wired backhaul link. For example, an Ng interface of the anchor network node 110 may terminate at the core network. Additionally or alternatively, an anchor network node 110 may connect to one or more devices of the core network that provide a core access and mobility management function (AMF) . An IAB network also generally includes multiple non-anchor network nodes 110, which may also be referred to as relay network nodes or simply as IAB nodes (or “IAB-nodes” ) . Each non-anchor network node 110 may communicate directly with the anchor network node 110 via a wireless backhaul link to access the core network, or may communicate indirectly with the anchor network node 110 via one or more other non-anchor network nodes 110 and associated wireless backhaul links that form a backhaul path to the core network. Some anchor network node 110 or other non-anchor network node 110 may also communicate directly with one or more UEs 120 via wireless access links that carry access traffic. In some examples, network resources for wireless communication (such as time resources, frequency resources, and / or spatial resources) may be shared between access links and backhaul links.
[0051] In some examples, any network node 110 that relays communications may be referred to as a relay network node, a relay station, or simply as a relay. A relay may receive a transmission of a communication from an upstream station (for example, another network node 110 or a UE 120) and transmit the communication to a downstream station (for example, a UE 120 or another network node 110) . In this case, the wireless communication network 100 may include or be referred to as a “multi-hop network. ” In the example shown in Fig. 1, the network node 110d (for example, a relay network node) may communicate with the network node 110a (for example, a macro network node) and the UE 120d in order to facilitate communication between the network node 110a and the UE 120d. Additionally or alternatively, a UE 120 may be or may operate as a relay station that can relay transmissions to or from other UEs 120. A UE 120 that relays communications may be referred to as a UE relay or a relay UE, among other examples.
[0052] The UEs 120 may be physically dispersed throughout the wireless communication network 100, and each UE 120 may be stationary or mobile. A UE 120 may be, may include, or may be included in an access terminal, another terminal, a mobile station, or a subscriber unit. A UE 120 may be, include, or be coupled with a cellular phone (for example, a smart phone) , a personal digital assistant (PDA) , a wireless modem, a wireless communication device, a handheld device, a laptop computer, a cordless phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a tablet, a camera, a gaming device, a netbook, a smartbook, an ultrabook, a medical device, a biometric device, a wearable device (for example, a smart watch, smart clothing, smart glasses, a smart wristband, and / or smart jewelry, such as a smart ring or a smart bracelet) , an entertainment device (for example, a music device, a video device, and / or a satellite radio) , an XR device, a vehicular component or sensor, a smart meter or sensor, industrial manufacturing equipment, a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) device (such as a Global Positioning System device or another type of positioning device) , a UE function of a network node, and / or any other suitable device or function that may communicate via a wireless medium.
[0053] A UE 120 and / or a network node 110 may include one or more chips, system-on-chips (SoCs) , chipsets, packages, or devices that individually or collectively constitute or comprise a processing system. The processing system includes processor (or “processing” ) circuitry in the form of one or multiple processors, microprocessors, processing units (such as central processing units (CPUs) , graphics processing units (GPUs) , neural processing units (NPUs) and / or digital signal processors (DSPs) ) , processing blocks, application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC) , programmable logic devices (PLDs) (such as field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) ) , or other discrete gate or transistor logic or circuitry (all of which may be generally referred to herein individually as “processors” or collectively as “the processor” or “the processor circuitry” ) . One or more of the processors may be individually or collectively configurable or configured to perform various functions or operations described herein. A group of processors collectively configurable or configured to perform a set of functions may include a first processor configurable or configured to perform a first function of the set and a second processor configurable or configured to perform a second function of the set, or may include the group of processors all being configured or configurable to perform the set of functions.
[0054] The processing system may further include memory circuitry in the form of one or more memory devices, memory blocks, memory elements or other discrete gate or transistor logic or circuitry, each of which may include tangible storage media such as random-access memory (RAM) or read-only memory (ROM) , or combinations thereof (all of which may be generally referred to herein individually as “memories” or collectively as “the memory” or “the memory circuitry” ) . One or more of the memories may be coupled (for example, operatively coupled, communicatively coupled, electronically coupled, or electrically coupled) with one or more of the processors and may individually or collectively store processor-executable code (such as software) that, when executed by one or more of the processors, may configure one or more of the processors to perform various functions or operations described herein. Additionally or alternatively, in some examples, one or more of the processors may be preconfigured to perform various functions or operations described herein without requiring configuration by software. The processing system may further include or be coupled with one or more modems (such as a Wi-Fi (for example, IEEE compliant) modem or a cellular (for example, 3GPP 4G LTE, 5G, or 6G compliant) modem) . In some implementations, one or more processors of the processing system include or implement one or more of the modems. The processing system may further include or be coupled with multiple radios (collectively “the radio” ) , multiple RF chains, or multiple transceivers, each of which may in turn be coupled with one or more of multiple antennas. In some implementations, one or more processors of the processing system include or implement one or more of the radios, RF chains or transceivers. The UE 120 may include or may be included in a housing that houses components associated with the UE 120 including the processing system.
[0055] Some UEs 120 may be considered machine-type communication (MTC) UEs, evolved or enhanced machine-type communication (eMTC) , UEs, further enhanced eMTC (feMTC) UEs, or enhanced feMTC (efeMTC) UEs, or further evolutions thereof, all of which may be simply referred to as “MTC UEs” . An MTC UE may be, may include, or may be included in or coupled with a robot, an uncrewed aerial vehicle, a remote device, a sensor, a meter, a monitor, and / or a location tag. Some UEs 120 may be considered IoT devices and / or may be implemented as NB-IoT (narrowband IoT) devices. An IoT UE or NB-IoT device may be, may include, or may be included in or coupled with an industrial machine, an appliance, a refrigerator, a doorbell camera device, a home automation device, and / or a light fixture, among other examples. Some UEs 120 may be considered Customer Premises Equipment, which may include telecommunications devices that are installed at a customer location (such as a home or office) to enable access to a service provider's network (such as included in or in communication with the wireless communication network 100) .
[0056] Some UEs 120 may be classified according to different categories in association with different complexities and / or different capabilities. UEs 120 in a first category may facilitate massive IoT in the wireless communication network 100, and may offer low complexity and / or cost relative to UEs 120 in a second category. UEs 120 in a second category may include mission-critical IoT devices, legacy UEs, baseline UEs, high-tier UEs, advanced UEs, full-capability UEs, and / or premium UEs that are capable of URLLC, enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) , and / or precise positioning in the wireless communication network 100, among other examples. A third category of UEs 120 may have mid-tier complexity and / or capability (for example, a capability between UEs 120 of the first category and UEs 120 of the second capability) . A UE 120 of the third category may be referred to as a reduced capacity UE ( “RedCap UE” ) , a mid-tier UE, an NR-Light UE, and / or an NR-Lite UE, among other examples. RedCap UEs may bridge a gap between the capability and complexity of NB-IoT devices and / or eMTC UEs, and mission-critical IoT devices and / or premium UEs. RedCap UEs may include, for example, wearable devices, IoT devices, industrial sensors, and / or cameras that are associated with a limited bandwidth, power capacity, and / or transmission range, among other examples. RedCap UEs may support healthcare environments, building automation, electrical distribution, process automation, transport and logistics, and / or smart city deployments, among other examples.
[0057] In some examples, two or more UEs 120 (for example, shown as UE 120a and UE 120e) may communicate directly with one another using sidelink communications (for example, without communicating by way of a network node 110 as an intermediary) . As an example, the UE 120a may directly transmit data, control information, or other signaling as a sidelink communication to the UE 120e. This is in contrast to, for example, the UE 120a first transmitting data in an UL communication to a network node 110, which then transmits the data to the UE 120e in a DL communication. In various examples, the UEs 120 may transmit and receive sidelink communications using peer-to-peer (P2P) communication protocols, device-to-device (D2D) communication protocols, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication protocols (which may include vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) protocols, vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) protocols, and / or vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P) protocols) , and / or mesh network communication protocols. In some deployments and configurations, a network node 110 may schedule and / or allocate resources for sidelink communications between UEs 120 in the wireless communication network 100. In some other deployments and configurations, a UE 120 (instead of a network node 110) may perform, or collaborate or negotiate with one or more other UEs to perform, scheduling operations, resource selection operations, and / or other operations for sidelink communications.
[0058] In various examples, some of the network nodes 110 and the UEs 120 of the wireless communication network 100 may be configured for full-duplex operation in addition to half-duplex operation. A network node 110 or a UE 120 operating in a half-duplex mode may perform only one of transmission or reception during particular time resources, such as during particular slots, symbols, or other time periods. Half-duplex operation may involve time-division duplexing (TDD) , in which DL transmissions of the network node 110 and UL transmissions of the UE 120 do not occur in the same time resources (that is, the transmissions do not overlap in time) . In contrast, a network node 110 or a UE 120 operating in a full-duplex mode can transmit and receive communications concurrently (for example, in the same time resources) . By operating in a full-duplex mode, network nodes 110 and / or UEs 120 may generally increase the capacity of the network and the radio access link. In some examples, full-duplex operation may involve frequency-division duplexing (FDD) , in which DL transmissions of the network node 110 are performed in a first frequency band or on a first component carrier and transmissions of the UE 120 are performed in a second frequency band or on a second component carrier different than the first frequency band or the first component carrier, respectively. In some examples, full-duplex operation may be enabled for a UE 120 but not for a network node 110. For example, a UE 120 may simultaneously transmit an UL transmission to a first network node 110 and receive a DL transmission from a second network node 110 in the same time resources. In some other examples, full-duplex operation may be enabled for a network node 110 but not for a UE 120. For example, a network node 110 may simultaneously transmit a DL transmission to a first UE 120 and receive an UL transmission from a second UE 120 in the same time resources. In some other examples, full-duplex operation may be enabled for both a network node 110 and a UE 120.
[0059] In some examples, the UEs 120 and the network nodes 110 may perform MIMO communication. “MIMO” generally refers to transmitting or receiving multiple signals (such as multiple layers or multiple data streams) simultaneously over the same time and frequency resources. MIMO techniques generally exploit multipath propagation. MIMO may be implemented using various spatial processing or spatial multiplexing operations. In some examples, MIMO may support simultaneous transmission to multiple receivers, referred to as multi-user MIMO (MU-MIMO) . Some RATs may employ advanced MIMO techniques, such as mTRP operation (including redundant transmission or reception on multiple TRPs) , reciprocity in the time domain or the frequency domain, single-frequency-network (SFN) transmission, or non-coherent joint transmission (NC-JT) .
[0060] In some aspects, an ambient IoT device (described in connection with Fig. 4) may include a communication manager 140. As described in more detail elsewhere herein, the communication manager 140 may receive an indication that the ambient IoT device is assigned to a second group, wherein, prior to receiving the indication, the ambient IoT device is assigned to a first group; and communicate in accordance with the indication. Additionally, or alternatively, the communication manager 140 may perform one or more other operations described herein.
[0061] In some aspects, the network node 110 may include a communication manager 150. As described in more detail elsewhere herein, the communication manager 150 may transmit an indication that an ambient IoT device is assigned to a second group, wherein, prior to the indication, the ambient IoT device is assigned to a first group; and communicate in accordance with the indication. Additionally, or alternatively, the communication manager 150 may perform one or more other operations described herein.
[0062] As indicated above, Fig. 1 is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from what is described with regard to Fig. 1.
[0063] Fig. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example network node 110 in communication with an example UE 120 in a wireless network in accordance with the present disclosure.
[0064] As shown in Fig. 2, the network node 110 may include a data source 212, a transmit processor 214, a transmit (TX) MIMO processor 216, a set of modems 232 (shown as 232a through 232t, where t ≥ 1) , a set of antennas 234 (shown as 234a through 234v, where v ≥ 1) , a MIMO detector 236, a receive processor 238, a data sink 239, a controller / processor 240, a memory 242, a communication unit 244, a scheduler 246, and / or a communication manager 150, among other examples. In some configurations, one or a combination of the antenna (s) 234, the modem (s) 232, the MIMO detector 236, the receive processor 238, the transmit processor 214, and / or the TX MIMO processor 216 may be included in a transceiver of the network node 110. The transceiver may be under control of and used by one or more processors, such as the controller / processor 240, and in some aspects in conjunction with processor-readable code stored in the memory 242, to perform aspects of the methods, processes, and / or operations described herein. In some aspects, the network node 110 may include one or more interfaces, communication components, and / or other components that facilitate communication with the UE 120 or another network node.
[0065] The terms “processor, ” “controller, ” or “controller / processor” may refer to one or more controllers and / or one or more processors. For example, reference to “a / the processor, ” “a / the controller / processor, ” or the like (in the singular) should be understood to refer to any one or more of the processors described in connection with Fig. 2, such as a single processor or a combination of multiple different processors. Reference to “one or more processors” should be understood to refer to any one or more of the processors described in connection with Fig. 2. For example, one or more processors of the network node 110 may include transmit processor 214, TX MIMO processor 216, MIMO detector 236, receive processor 238, and / or controller / processor 240. Similarly, one or more processors of the UE 120 may include MIMO detector 256, receive processor 258, transmit processor 264, TX MIMO processor 266, and / or controller / processor 280.
[0066] In some aspects, a single processor may perform all of the operations described as being performed by the one or more processors. In some aspects, a first set of (one or more) processors of the one or more processors may perform a first operation described as being performed by the one or more processors, and a second set of (one or more) processors of the one or more processors may perform a second operation described as being performed by the one or more processors. The first set of processors and the second set of processors may be the same set of processors or may be different sets of processors. Reference to “one or more memories” should be understood to refer to any one or more memories of a corresponding device, such as the memory described in connection with Fig. 2. For example, operation described as being performed by one or more memories can be performed by the same subset of the one or more memories or different subsets of the one or more memories.
[0067] For downlink communication from the network node 110 to the UE 120, the transmit processor 214 may receive data ( “downlink data” ) intended for the UE 120 (or a set of UEs that includes the UE 120) from the data source 212 (such as a data pipeline or a data queue) . In some examples, the transmit processor 214 may select one or more MCSs for the UE 120 in accordance with one or more channel quality indicators (CQIs) received from the UE 120. The network node 110 may process the data (for example, including encoding the data) for transmission to the UE 120 on a downlink in accordance with the MCS (s) selected for the UE 120 to generate data symbols. The transmit processor 214 may process system information (for example, semi-static resource partitioning information (SRPI) ) and / or control information (for example, CQI requests, grants, and / or upper layer signaling) and provide overhead symbols and / or control symbols. The transmit processor 214 may generate reference symbols for reference signals (for example, a cell-specific reference signal (CRS) , a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) , or a channel state information (CSI) reference signal (CSI-RS) ) and / or synchronization signals (for example, a primary synchronization signal (PSS) or a secondary synchronization signals (SSS) ) .
[0068] The TX MIMO processor 216 may perform spatial processing (for example, precoding) on the data symbols, the control symbols, the overhead symbols, and / or the reference symbols, if applicable, and may provide a set of output symbol streams (for example, T output symbol streams) to the set of modems 232. For example, each output symbol stream may be provided to a respective modulator component (shown as MOD) of a modem 232. Each modem 232 may use the respective modulator component to process (for example, to modulate) a respective output symbol stream (for example, for orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) ) to obtain an output sample stream. Each modem 232 may further use the respective modulator component to process (for example, convert to analog, amplify, filter, and / or upconvert) the output sample stream to obtain a time domain downlink signal. The modems 232a through 232t may together transmit a set of downlink signals (for example, T downlink signals) via the corresponding set of antennas 234.
[0069] A downlink signal may include a DCI communication, a MAC control element (MAC-CE) communication, an RRC communication, a downlink reference signal, or another type of downlink communication. Downlink signals may be transmitted on a PDCCH, a PDSCH, and / or on another downlink channel. A downlink signal may carry one or more transport blocks (TBs) of data. A TB may be a unit of data that is transmitted over an air interface in the wireless communication network 100. A data stream (for example, from the data source 212) may be encoded into multiple TBs for transmission over the air interface. The quantity of TBs used to carry the data associated with a particular data stream may be associated with a TB size common to the multiple TBs. The TB size may be based on or otherwise associated with radio channel conditions of the air interface, the MCS used for encoding the data, the downlink resources allocated for transmitting the data, and / or another parameter. In general, the larger the TB size, the greater the amount of data that can be transmitted in a single transmission, which reduces signaling overhead. However, larger TB sizes may be more prone to transmission and / or reception errors than smaller TB sizes, but such errors may be mitigated by more robust error correction techniques.
[0070] For uplink communication from the UE 120 to the network node 110, uplink signals from the UE 120 may be received by an antenna 234, may be processed by a modem 232 (for example, a demodulator component, shown as DEMOD, of a modem 232) , may be detected by the MIMO detector 236 (for example, a receive (Rx) MIMO processor) if applicable, and / or may be further processed by the receive processor 238 to obtain decoded data and / or control information. The receive processor 238 may provide the decoded data to a data sink 239 (which may be a data pipeline, a data queue, and / or another type of data sink) and provide the decoded control information to a processor, such as the controller / processor 240.
[0071] The network node 110 may use the scheduler 246 to schedule one or more UEs 120 for downlink or uplink communications. In some aspects, the scheduler 246 may use DCI to dynamically schedule DL transmissions to the UE 120 and / or UL transmissions from the UE 120. In some examples, the scheduler 246 may allocate recurring time domain resources and / or frequency domain resources that the UE 120 may use to transmit and / or receive communications using an RRC configuration (for example, a semi-static configuration) , for example, to perform semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) or to configure a configured grant (CG) for the UE 120.
[0072] One or more of the transmit processor 214, the TX MIMO processor 216, the modem 232, the antenna 234, the MIMO detector 236, the receive processor 238, and / or the controller / processor 240 may be included in an RF chain of the network node 110. An RF chain may include one or more filters, mixers, oscillators, amplifiers, analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) , and / or other devices that convert between an analog signal (such as for transmission or reception via an air interface) and a digital signal (such as for processing by one or more processors of the network node 110) . In some aspects, the RF chain may be or may be included in a transceiver of the network node 110.
[0073] In some examples, the network node 110 may use the communication unit 244 to communicate with a core network and / or with other network nodes. The communication unit 244 may support wired and / or wireless communication protocols and / or connections, such as Ethernet, optical fiber, common public radio interface (CPRI) , and / or a wired or wireless backhaul, among other examples. The network node 110 may use the communication unit 244 to transmit and / or receive data associated with the UE 120 or to perform network control signaling, among other examples. The communication unit 244 may include a transceiver and / or an interface, such as a network interface.
[0074] The UE 120 may include a set of antennas 252 (shown as antennas 252a through 252r, where r ≥ 1) , a set of modems 254 (shown as modems 254a through 254u, where u ≥ 1) , a MIMO detector 256, a receive processor 258, a data sink 260, a data source 262, a transmit processor 264, a TX MIMO processor 266, a controller / processor 280, a memory 282, and / or a communication manager 140, among other examples. One or more of the components of the UE 120 may be included in a housing 284. In some aspects, one or a combination of the antenna (s) 252, the modem (s) 254, the MIMO detector 256, the receive processor 258, the transmit processor 264, or the TX MIMO processor 266 may be included in a transceiver that is included in the UE 120. The transceiver may be under control of and used by one or more processors, such as the controller / processor 280, and in some aspects in conjunction with processor-readable code stored in the memory 282, to perform aspects of the methods, processes, or operations described herein. In some aspects, the UE 120 may include another interface, another communication component, and / or another component that facilitates communication with the network node 110 and / or another UE 120.
[0075] For downlink communication from the network node 110 to the UE 120, the set of antennas 252 may receive the downlink communications or signals from the network node 110 and may provide a set of received downlink signals (for example, R received signals) to the set of modems 254. For example, each received signal may be provided to a respective demodulator component (shown as DEMOD) of a modem 254. Each modem 254 may use the respective demodulator component to condition (for example, filter, amplify, downconvert, and / or digitize) a received signal to obtain input samples. Each modem 254 may use the respective demodulator component to further demodulate or process the input samples (for example, for OFDM) to obtain received symbols. The MIMO detector 256 may obtain received symbols from the set of modems 254, may perform MIMO detection on the received symbols if applicable, and may provide detected symbols. The receive processor 258 may process (for example, decode) the detected symbols, may provide decoded data for the UE 120 to the data sink 260 (which may include a data pipeline, a data queue, and / or an application executed on the UE 120) , and may provide decoded control information and system information to the controller / processor 280.
[0076] For uplink communication from the UE 120 to the network node 110, the transmit processor 264 may receive and process data ( “uplink data” ) from a data source 262 (such as a data pipeline, a data queue, and / or an application executed on the UE 120) and control information from the controller / processor 280. The control information may include one or more parameters, feedback, one or more signal measurements, and / or other types of control information. In some aspects, the receive processor 258 and / or the controller / processor 280 may determine, for a received signal (such as received from the network node 110 or another UE) , one or more parameters relating to transmission of the uplink communication. The one or more parameters may include a reference signal received power (RSRP) parameter, a received signal strength indicator (RSSI) parameter, a reference signal received quality (RSRQ) parameter, a CQI parameter, or a transmit power control (TPC) parameter, among other examples. The control information may include an indication of the RSRP parameter, the RSSI parameter, the RSRQ parameter, the CQI parameter, the TPC parameter, and / or another parameter. The control information may facilitate parameter selection and / or scheduling for the UE 120 by the network node 110.
[0077] The transmit processor 264 may generate reference symbols for one or more reference signals, such as an uplink DMRS, an uplink sounding reference signal (SRS) , and / or another type of reference signal. The symbols from the transmit processor 264 may be precoded by the TX MIMO processor 266, if applicable, and further processed by the set of modems 254 (for example, for DFT-s-OFDM or CP-OFDM) . The TX MIMO processor 266 may perform spatial processing (for example, precoding) on the data symbols, the control symbols, the overhead symbols, and / or the reference symbols, if applicable, and may provide a set of output symbol streams (for example, U output symbol streams) to the set of modems 254. For example, each output symbol stream may be provided to a respective modulator component (shown as MOD) of a modem 254. Each modem 254 may use the respective modulator component to process (for example, to modulate) a respective output symbol stream (for example, for OFDM) to obtain an output sample stream. Each modem 254 may further use the respective modulator component to process (for example, convert to analog, amplify, filter, and / or upconvert) the output sample stream to obtain an uplink signal.
[0078] The modems 254a through 254u may transmit a set of uplink signals (for example, R uplink signals or U uplink symbols) via the corresponding set of antennas 252. An uplink signal may include a UCI communication, a MAC-CE communication, an RRC communication, or another type of uplink communication. Uplink signals may be transmitted on a PUSCH, a PUCCH, and / or another type of uplink channel. An uplink signal may carry one or more TBs of data. Sidelink data and control transmissions (that is, transmissions directly between two or more UEs 120) may generally use similar techniques as were described for uplink data and control transmission, and may use sidelink-specific channels such as a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) , a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) , and / or a physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH) .
[0079] One or more antennas of the set of antennas 252 or the set of antennas 234 may include, or may be included within, one or more antenna panels, one or more antenna groups, one or more sets of antenna elements, or one or more antenna arrays, among other examples. An antenna panel, an antenna group, a set of antenna elements, or an antenna array may include one or more antenna elements (within a single housing or multiple housings) , a set of coplanar antenna elements, a set of non-coplanar antenna elements, or one or more antenna elements coupled with one or more transmission or reception components, such as one or more components of Fig. 2. As used herein, “antenna” can refer to one or more antennas, one or more antenna panels, one or more antenna groups, one or more sets of antenna elements, or one or more antenna arrays. “Antenna panel” can refer to a group of antennas (such as antenna elements) arranged in an array or panel, which may facilitate beamforming by manipulating parameters of the group of antennas. “Antenna module” may refer to circuitry including one or more antennas, which may also include one or more other components (such as filters, amplifiers, or processors) associated with integrating the antenna module into a wireless communication device.
[0080] In some examples, each of the antenna elements of an antenna 234 or an antenna 252 may include one or more sub-elements for radiating or receiving radio frequency signals. For example, a single antenna element may include a first sub-element cross-polarized with a second sub-element that can be used to independently transmit cross-polarized signals. The antenna elements may include patch antennas, dipole antennas, and / or other types of antennas arranged in a linear pattern, a two-dimensional pattern, or another pattern. A spacing between antenna elements may be such that signals with a desired wavelength transmitted separately by the antenna elements may interact or interfere constructively and destructively along various directions (such as to form a desired beam) . For example, given an expected range of wavelengths or frequencies, the spacing may provide a quarter wavelength, a half wavelength, or another fraction of a wavelength of spacing between neighboring antenna elements to allow for the desired constructive and destructive interference patterns of signals transmitted by the separate antenna elements within that expected range.
[0081] The amplitudes and / or phases of signals transmitted via antenna elements and / or sub-elements may be modulated and shifted relative to each other (such as by manipulating phase shift, phase offset, and / or amplitude) to generate one or more beams, which is referred to as beamforming. The term “beam” may refer to a directional transmission of a wireless signal toward a receiving device or otherwise in a desired direction. “Beam” may also generally refer to a direction associated with such a directional signal transmission, a set of directional resources associated with the signal transmission (for example, an angle of arrival, a horizontal direction, and / or a vertical direction) , and / or a set of parameters that indicate one or more aspects of a directional signal, a direction associated with the signal, and / or a set of directional resources associated with the signal. In some implementations, antenna elements may be individually selected or deselected for directional transmission of a signal (or signals) by controlling amplitudes of one or more corresponding amplifiers and / or phases of the signal (s) to form one or more beams. The shape of a beam (such as the amplitude, width, and / or presence of side lobes) and / or the direction of a beam (such as an angle of the beam relative to a surface of an antenna array) can be dynamically controlled by modifying the phase shifts, phase offsets, and / or amplitudes of the multiple signals relative to each other.
[0082] Different UEs 120 or network nodes 110 may include different numbers of antenna elements. For example, a UE 120 may include a single antenna element, two antenna elements, four antenna elements, eight antenna elements, or a different number of antenna elements. As another example, a network node 110 may include eight antenna elements, 24 antenna elements, 64 antenna elements, 128 antenna elements, or a different number of antenna elements. Generally, a larger number of antenna elements may provide increased control over parameters for beam generation relative to a smaller number of antenna elements, whereas a smaller number of antenna elements may be less complex to implement and may use less power than a larger number of antenna elements. Multiple antenna elements may support multiple-layer transmission, in which a first layer of a communication (which may include a first data stream) and a second layer of a communication (which may include a second data stream) are transmitted using the same time and frequency resources with spatial multiplexing.
[0083] While blocks in Fig. 2 are illustrated as distinct components, the functions described above with respect to the blocks may be implemented in a single hardware, software, or combination component or in various combinations of components. For example, the functions described with respect to the transmit processor 264, the receive processor 258, and / or the TX MIMO processor 266 may be performed by or under the control of the controller / processor 280.
[0084] Fig. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example disaggregated base station architecture 300 in accordance with the present disclosure. One or more components of the example disaggregated base station architecture 300 may be, may include, or may be included in one or more network nodes (such one or more network nodes 110) . The disaggregated base station architecture 300 may include a CU 310 that can communicate directly with a core network 320 via a backhaul link, or that can communicate indirectly with the core network 320 via one or more disaggregated control units, such as a Non-RT RIC 350 associated with a Service Management and Orchestration (SMO) Framework 360 and / or a Near-RT RIC 370 (for example, via an E2 link) . The CU 310 may communicate with one or more DUs 330 via respective midhaul links, such as via F1 interfaces. Each of the DUs 330 may communicate with one or more RUs 340 via respective fronthaul links. Each of the RUs 340 may communicate with one or more UEs 120 via respective RF access links. In some deployments, a UE 120 may be simultaneously served by multiple RUs 340.
[0085] Each of the components of the disaggregated base station architecture 300, including the CUs 310, the DUs 330, the RUs 340, the Near-RT RICs 370, the Non-RT RICs 350, and the SMO Framework 360, may include one or more interfaces or may be coupled with one or more interfaces for receiving or transmitting signals, such as data or information, via a wired or wireless transmission medium.
[0086] In some aspects, the CU 310 may be logically split into one or more CU user plane (CU-UP) units and one or more CU control plane (CU-CP) units. A CU-UP unit may communicate bidirectionally with a CU-CP unit via an interface, such as the E1 interface when implemented in an O-RAN configuration. The CU 310 may be deployed to communicate with one or more DUs 330, as necessary, for network control and signaling. Each DU 330 may correspond to a logical unit that includes one or more base station functions to control the operation of one or more RUs 340. For example, a DU 330 may host various layers, such as an RLC layer, a MAC layer, or one or more PHY layers, such as one or more high PHY layers or one or more low PHY layers. Each layer (which also may be referred to as a module) may be implemented with an interface for communicating signals with other layers (and modules) hosted by the DU 330, or for communicating signals with the control functions hosted by the CU 310. Each RU 340 may implement lower layer functionality. In some aspects, real-time and non-real-time aspects of control and user plane communication with the RU (s) 340 may be controlled by the corresponding DU 330.
[0087] The SMO Framework 360 may support RAN deployment and provisioning of non-virtualized and virtualized network elements. For non-virtualized network elements, the SMO Framework 360 may support the deployment of dedicated physical resources for RAN coverage requirements, which may be managed via an operations and maintenance interface, such as an O1 interface. For virtualized network elements, the SMO Framework 360 may interact with a cloud computing platform (such as an open cloud (O-Cloud) platform 390) to perform network element life cycle management (such as to instantiate virtualized network elements) via a cloud computing platform interface, such as an O2 interface. A virtualized network element may include, but is not limited to, a CU 310, a DU 330, an RU 340, a non-RT RIC 350, and / or a Near-RT RIC 370. In some aspects, the SMO Framework 360 may communicate with a hardware aspect of a 4G RAN, a 5G NR RAN, and / or a 6G RAN, such as an open eNB (O-eNB) 380, via an O1 interface. Additionally or alternatively, the SMO Framework 360 may communicate directly with each of one or more RUs 340 via a respective O1 interface. In some deployments, this configuration can enable each DU 330 and the CU 310 to be implemented in a cloud-based RAN architecture, such as a vRAN architecture.
[0088] The Non-RT RIC 350 may include or may implement a logical function that enables non-real-time control and optimization of RAN elements and resources, AI / ML workflows including model training and updates, and / or policy-based guidance of applications and / or features in the Near-RT RIC 370. The Non-RT RIC 350 may be coupled to or may communicate with (such as via an A1 interface) the Near-RT RIC 370. The Near-RT RIC 370 may include or may implement a logical function that enables near-real-time control and optimization of RAN elements and resources via data collection and actions via an interface (such as via an E2 interface) connecting one or more CUs 310, one or more DUs 330, and / or an O-eNB with the Near-RT RIC 370.
[0089] In some aspects, to generate AI / ML models to be deployed in the Near-RT RIC 370, the Non-RT RIC 350 may receive parameters or external enrichment information from external servers. Such information may be utilized by the Near-RT RIC 370 and may be received at the SMO Framework 360 or the Non-RT RIC 350 from non-network data sources or from network functions. In some examples, the Non-RT RIC 350 or the Near-RT RIC 370 may tune RAN behavior or performance. For example, the Non-RT RIC 350 may monitor long-term trends and patterns for performance and may employ AI / ML models to perform corrective actions via the SMO Framework 360 (such as reconfiguration via an O1 interface) or via creation of RAN management policies (such as A1 interface policies) .
[0090] As indicated above, Fig. 3 is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from what is described with regard to Fig. 3.
[0091] The network node 110, the controller / processor 240 of the network node 110, the UE 120, the controller / processor 280 of the UE 120, the CU 310, the DU 330, the RU 340, or any other component (s) of Figs. 1, 2, or 3 may implement one or more techniques or perform one or more operations associated with ambient IoT device grouping, as described in more detail elsewhere herein. For example, the controller / processor 240 of the network node 110, the controller / processor 280 of the UE 120, any other component (s) of Fig. 2, the CU 310, the DU 330, or the RU 340 may perform or direct operations of, for example, process 800 of Fig. 8, process 900 of Fig. 9, or other processes as described herein (alone or in conjunction with one or more other processors) . The memory 242 may store data and program codes for the network node 110, the network node 110, the CU 310, the DU 330, or the RU 340. The memory 282 may store data and program codes for the UE 120. In some examples, the memory 242 or the memory 282 may include a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a set of instructions (for example, code or program code) for wireless communication. The memory 242 may include one or more memories, such as a single memory or multiple different memories (of the same type or of different types) . The memory 282 may include one or more memories, such as a single memory or multiple different memories (of the same type or of different types) . For example, the set of instructions, when executed (for example, directly, or after compiling, converting, or interpreting) by one or more processors of the network node 110, the UE 120, the CU 310, the DU 330, or the RU 340, may cause the one or more processors to perform process 800 of Fig. 8, process 900 of Fig. 9, or other processes as described herein. In some examples, executing instructions may include running the instructions, converting the instructions, compiling the instructions, and / or interpreting the instructions, among other examples.
[0092] In some aspects, an ambient IoT device includes means for receiving an indication that the ambient IoT device is assigned to a second group, wherein, prior to receiving the indication, the ambient IoT device is assigned to a first group; and / or means for communicating in accordance with the indication. In some aspects, the means for the ambient IoT device to perform operations described herein may include, for example, one or more of communication manager 140, antenna 252, modem 254, MIMO detector 256, receive processor 258, transmit processor 264, TX MIMO processor 266, controller / processor 280, or memory 282.
[0093] In some aspects, the network node 110 includes means for transmitting an indication that an ambient IoT device is assigned to a second group, wherein, prior to the indication, the ambient IoT device is assigned to a first group; and / or means for communicating in accordance with the indication. The means for the network node to perform operations described herein may include, for example, one or more of communication manager 150, transmit processor 214, TX MIMO processor 216, modem 232, antenna 234, MIMO detector 236, receive processor 238, controller / processor 240, memory 242, or scheduler 246.
[0094] As indicated above, Fig. 3 is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from what is described with regard to Fig. 3.
[0095] Fig. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example 400 associated with ambient IoT communications, in accordance with the present disclosure.
[0096] Some wireless communication devices may be considered IoT devices, such as ambient IoT devices (sometimes referred to as ultra-light IoT devices) , or similar IoT devices. Ambient IoT technology may include passive IoT (e.g., NR passive IoT for 5G Advanced) , semi-passive IoT, or ultra-light IoT, among other examples. In passive IoT, a terminal (e.g., an RFID device, a tag, or a similar device) may not include a battery or other form of energy storage, and the terminal may accumulate energy from radio signaling. Additionally, the terminal may accumulate solar energy to supplement accumulated energy from radio signaling. In passive IoT, a communication distance may be up to 30 meters (or more) to facilitate feasible network coverage over a large area (e.g., 5000 square meters) , such as in a warehouse. Moreover, the power consumption of a passive IoT terminal (e.g., a UE) may be less than 0.1 milliwatts (mW) to support operation without a battery, and the terminal may be relatively inexpensive to facilitate cost-sensitive uses.
[0097] Passive IoT may be useful in connection with industrial sensors, for which battery replacement may be prohibitively difficult or undesirable (e.g., for safety monitoring or fault detection in smart factories, infrastructures, or environments) . Additionally, features of passive IoT devices, such as low cost, small size, maintenance- free, durable, long lifespan, or the like, may facilitate smart logistics / warehousing (e.g., in connection with automated asset management by replacing RFID tags) . Furthermore, passive IoT may be useful in connection with smart home networks for household item management, wearable devices (e.g., wearable devices for medical monitoring for which patients do not need to replace batteries) , and / or environment monitoring. To achieve further cost reduction and zero-power communication, 5G+ / 6G wireless networks may utilize a type of ambient IoT device referred to as an “ambient backscatter device” or a “backscatter device. ”
[0098] As shown in Fig. 4, a backscatter device 405 (e.g., a tag, a sensor, or the like) , which may be one example of an ambient IoT device, may employ a simplified hardware design (e.g., including a power splitter, an energy harvester, and a microcontroller) that does not include a battery, such that the backscatter device 405 relies on energy harvesting for power, and that does not include a radio wave generation circuit, such that the backscatter device 405 is capable of transmitting information only by reflecting a radio wave. More particularly, the backscatter device 405 communicates with a reader 408 (e.g., a UE 120, a network node 110, or another network device) by modulating a reflecting radio signal from an RF source 410 (e.g., a network node 110, a UE 120, or another network device) . In some examples, the RF source 410 and the reader 408 may be the same device and / or may be co-located. For example, in some cases, the reader 408 and the RF source 410 may be associated with the same network node 110.
[0099] To facilitate communication of the backscatter device 405, the RF source 410 may transmit an energy harvesting wave to the backscatter device 405. The energy harvesting wave may be transmitted for a sufficient duration in order to enable a communication phase for a target range between the reader 408 and the backscatter device 405. Additionally, or alternatively, in some cases, a range between the RF source 410 and the backscatter device 405 may be limited by a minimum received power for triggering energy harvesting at the backscatter device 405, such as -20 decibel milliwatts (dBm) .
[0100] Once energy is sufficiently accumulated at the backscatter device 405, the backscatter device 405 may begin to reflect the radio wave that is radiated onto the backscatter device 405 via a backscatter link 415. For example, the RF source 410 may initiate a communication session (sometimes referred to as a query-response communication) with a query, which may be a modulating envelope of a continuous wave (CW) . The backscatter device 405 may respond by backscattering of the CW. The communication session may include multiple rounds, such as for purposes of contention resolution when multiple backscatter devices respond to a query. A channel between the RF source 410 and the backscatter device 405 of the backscatter link 415 may be associated with a first backscatter link channel response value (sometimes referred to as a first backscatter link channel coefficient or a first backscatter link gain value) , hBD. As described below, the backscatter device 405 may have reflection-on periods and reflection-off periods that follow a pattern that is based at least in part on the transmission of information bits by the backscatter device 405. The reader 408 may detect the reflection pattern of the backscatter device 405 and obtain the backscatter communication information via the backscatter link 415. A channel between the reader 408 and the backscatter device 405 of the backscatter link 415 may be associated with a second backscatter link channel response value (sometimes referred to as a second backscatter link channel coefficient or a second backscatter link channel gain value) , hDU. In addition, the RF source 410 and the reader 408 may communicate (e.g., reference signals and / or data signals) via a direct link 420. A channel between the RF source 410 and the reader 408 of the direct link 420 may be associated with a direct link channel response value (sometimes referred to as a direct link channel coefficient or a direct link channel gain value) , hBU.
[0101] The backscatter device 405 may use an information modulation scheme, such as amplitude shift keying (ASK) modulation or on-off keying (OOK) modulation. For ASK or OOK modulation, the backscatter device 405 may switch on reflection when transmitting an information bit “1” and switch off reflection when transmitting an information bit “0. ” In backscatter communication, the RF source 410 may transmit a particular radio wave (e.g., a reference signal or a data signal, such as a PDSCH) , which may be denoted as x (n) . The reader 408 may receive this radio wave, x (n) , directly from the RF source 410 via the direct link 420, as well as from the backscatter device 405 modulating and reflecting the radio wave to the reader 408 via the backscatter link 415. The signal received at the reader 408 via the direct link 420, indicated by reference number 425, is the product of the radio wave transmitted by the RF source 410, x (n) , multiplied by the direct link channel response value, hBU, plus any signal noise. The information bits signal of the backscatter device 405 may be denoted as s (n) where s (n) ∈ {0, 1} . Accordingly, the signal received at the reader 408 via the backscatter link 415, indicated by reference number 430, is the product of the signal transmitted by the RF source 410, x (n) , multiplied by the first backscatter link channel response value, hBD, the second backscatter link channel response value, hDU, the information bits signal from the backscatter device 405, s (n) , and a reflection coefficient associated with the backscatter device 405 plus any noise.
[0102] Thus, the resulting signal received at the reader 408, which is the superposition of the signal received via the direct link 420 and the signal received via the backscatter link 415, may be denoted as y (n) . This signal, y (n) , is shown by reference number 435. As shown, when s (n) =0 (indicated by reference number 440 in the plot shown at reference number 430) , the backscatter device 405 may switch off reflection, and thus the reader 408 receives only the direct link 420 signal. When s (n) = 1 (indicated by reference number 445 in the plot shown at reference number 430) , the backscatter device 405 may switch on reflection, and thus the reader 408 receives a superposition of both the direct link 420 signal and the backscatter link 415 signal. To receive the information bits transmitted by the backscatter device 405, the reader 408 may first decode x (n) based at least in part on the direct link channel response value of h_BU (n) by treating the backscatter link 415 signal as interference. The reader 408 may then detect the existence of the signal component. In some cases, the backscatter device 405 may not maintain a state from communication session to communication session except of what is stored in the backscatter device 405 memory, such as an electronic product code (EPC) associated with backscatter device 405 or similar information.
[0103] Some ambient IoT devices may be referred to as semi-passive IoT devices, because communication between a reader and the IoT device does not need to be preceded by an energy harvesting waveform. For example, semi-passive IoT devices may include a battery or similar energy source that can power the receiver and / or logic circuit. For such devices, energy harvesting may still be triggered in some cases, such as for long-range communications. In such examples, a rectifier circuit of the IoT device may have a warm start from the battery or other energy source, and thus may be associated with a lower minimum received power requirement than passive IoT devices (e.g., -30 dBm rather than -20 dBm) . Nonetheless, long-range communications may require battery power spend to energize each decoding. More particularly, for long-range communications in which an energy harvesting rate is lower than a decoding circuit requirement, such as when the energy harvesting rate is below -30 dBm, the semi-passive IoT device may expend battery power to energize each decoding. Thus, continuous IoT device monitoring, such as for purposes of receiving a long-distance query communication, may result in excessive battery drain at the IoT device.
[0104] For example, passive IoT devices may be associated with a low cost and form factor because there is no need for an RF chain at the IoT device. However, these devices use an energy harvesting waveform, limiting the application of such passive IoT devices to short-distance communications. Although semi-passive IoT devices may eliminate the need for an energy harvesting waveform and / or may enable long-distance communications, such devices increase cost and complexity because the devices require the use of a battery or similar energy source. Moreover, because passive and semi-passive devices may be associated with a communication session that is initiated by the RF source, these devices may be inherently limited for use in sensing scenarios or similar latency-critical applications that require aperiodic traffic, and the devices may not scale well for use in high IoT density applications.
[0105] In some examples, three device types of ambient IoT devices may be defined. These device types may be referred to as Device 1, Device 2a, and Device 2b. Device 1 may perform backscatter communication based on energy storage and energy harvesting. Harvested energy can be stored in the device and used later to power up an integrated circuit or active RF component. Device 1 may use RF envelope based detection for downlink reception and backscatter for uplink transmission, and may have a peak power consumption of approximately 1 uW. Device 2a may perform backscatter based communication with energy storage and energy harvesting. The harvested energy may be stored in the device and used later to power up an integrated circuit or active RF components. Device 2a may use RF envelope based detection for downlink reception and backscatter for uplink transmission. Receive or transmit amplification may be considered to improve sensitivity, and peak power consumption may be in the range of a few hundred microwatts. Device 2b may actively generate a carrier signal with energy storage. Harvested energy can be stored in the device and used later to power up an integrated circuit or power an active RF component. Device 2b may use either an RF envelope detection (RFED) based receive chain or a mixer-based approach with in-phase and quadrature branches. The latter may provide better sensitivity and higher power consumption. The peak power consumption of Device 2b may be in the range of a few hundred milliwatts.
[0106] As indicated above, Fig. 4 is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from what is described with respect to Fig. 4.
[0107] Fig. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example 500 of signaling for dynamic indication of a group for an ambient IoT device, in accordance with the present disclosure. Example 500 includes an ambient IoT device (e.g., UE 120, backscatter device 405, or another form of ambient IoT device described with regard to Fig. 4) and a network node (e.g., UE 120, network node 110, the reader 408, the RF source 410) . In example 500, as noted above, “network node” can refer to a UE or a node of a RAN (such as a DU, an RU, or the like) .
[0108] As shown by reference number 510, in some aspects, the network node may transmit, and the ambient IoT device may receive, configuration information.
[0109] In some aspects, the configuration information may relate to a sequence used to indicate a group or to switch a group of the ambient IoT device. For example, the configuration information may include information that indicates a mapping between a sequence and one or more groups. For example, a first sequence may be configured to indicate that the ambient IoT device is to switch to a first group, and a second sequence may be configured to indicate that the ambient IoT device is to switch to a second group (e.g., different switching directions may have different sequences) . As another example, a sequence may be configured as associated with a first group and a second group, and may be used to indicate that the ambient IoT device is to switch from the first group to the second group, or from the second group to the first group. As another example, the configuration information may indicate a duration associated with a sequence. For example, the configuration information may indicate a group that is mapped to a sequence, and may indicate a duration for the group. After the duration has elapsed, the ambient IoT device may switch back to a prior group. Thus, a mapping between sequences and corresponding groups (e.g., group identifiers) may be configured or pre-configured.
[0110] In some aspects, the configuration information may indicate a duration or condition relating to assigning a new group (or group identifier) . For example, the configuration information may indicate a time for receiving assignments of new groups. For example, the configuration information may indicate that the network node can assign a new group identifier only before the network node transmits a selection command for an inventory operation or after the inventory operation ends (e.g., assignment of new group identifiers may not be allowed during the inventory operation) . As another example, the configuration information may indicate one or more durations relating to how long the ambient IoT device should remain in a group. For example, the one or more durations may indicate at least one of a minimum length of time for which the ambient IoT UE is to remain in a given group, or a maximum length of time for which the ambient IoT UE is to remain in a given group.
[0111] As another example, the configuration information may indicate a threshold. For example, the configuration information may indicate a threshold relating to an energy status (e.g., a stored energy level of the ambient IoT device, an energy conversion efficiency of the ambient IoT device, a charging rate of the ambient IoT device, or a discharging rate of the ambient IoT device) , a traffic priority of the ambient IoT device, a packet size of the ambient IoT device (e.g., when the packet size is larger than the threshold, the ambient IoT device may switch groups) , a latency parameter (e.g., when a latency requirement of the ambient IoT device is lower than a threshold, the ambient IoT device may switch groups) , a signal measurement (e.g., when an RSSI, RSRP, or RSRQ satisfies a threshold, then the ambient IoT device may switch groups) , an amplifier state (e.g., if a power amplifier or a low-noise amplifier switches from an on state to an off state, or vice versa, then the ambient IoT device may switch groups) , or a decoding performance (e.g., if decoding is unsuccessful, then the ambient IoT device may switch groups) . This switching groups of the ambient IoT device can be initiated by the network node (such as using an explicit indication to switch) or the ambient IoT device (such as in accordance with the configuration information) . Thus, when a trigger condition identified by the threshold is satisfied, the ambient IoT device may switch groups (e.g., autonomously, or in response to a trigger from the network node) .
[0112] As shown by reference number 520, in some aspects, the ambient IoT device may transmit, and the network node may receive, a trigger to switch from a first group to a second group. For example, in some cases, one or more of the above trigger conditions relating to a configured threshold may be satisfied. In this example, the ambient IoT device may transmit a trigger to switch to a new group. Additionally, or alternatively, the ambient IoT device may autonomously switch to the new group. For example, in some cases, the trigger may cause the network node to switch the ambient IoT device’s group (e.g., the ambient IoT device may trigger the switching and the network node may assign the new group in accordance with the trigger) , and in other cases, the trigger may be an indication that the ambient IoT device has switched groups (and may trigger the network node to switch its assigned group for the ambient IoT device to the group to which the ambient IoT device has switched) . Thus, the network node may configure a condition for each group, and the ambient IOT device may directly use a new group when the corresponding condition is satisfied. In this example, the ambient IoT device may indicate the new group to the network node via the trigger.
[0113] As an example of the triggering, when an energy status of the ambient IoT device is greater than a threshold, the ambient IoT device may trigger the group switching (e.g., the ambient IoT device may trigger a switch from a group corresponding to the device type “device 1” to a group corresponding to the device type “device 2a” , or may switch to a new group which is configured with a longer active time than a current group of the ambient IoT device) . As another example, when the energy status of the ambient IoT device is lower than a threshold, the ambient IoT device may trigger the group switching, for example, to a new group configured with a shorter active time.
[0114] As shown, the network node may transmit, and the ambient IoT device may receive, an indication 530 that the ambient IoT device is assigned to the second group. In a case where the ambient IoT device autonomously switches groups, for example according to the configuration information described above, the indication 530 may be or include the configuration information shown at reference number 510. Examples of structure of the indication 530 are provided with regard to Fig. 6. The indication 530 can be transmitted via broadcast signaling, groupcast signaling, or unicast signaling. Additionally, or alternatively, the indication 530 may be transmitted via a physical layer message or a MAC layer message.
[0115] In some aspects, the indication 530 may be a sequence based indication. For example, the indication 530 may include a signal that is generated using a sequence. In some aspects, the indication 530 may be transmitted via broadcast signaling. In this example, a single sequence may indicate, to all ambient IoT devices that receive the indication 530, to switch to a group that is mapped to the single sequence. As mentioned above, a mapping between sequences and groups may be defined by configuration information or in a wireless communication specification.
[0116] In some aspects, the indication 530 may be transmitted via groupcast signaling or unicast signaling. In some aspects, different first groups (from which an ambient IoT device is switching to a second group) or ambient IoT devices may be configured with different sequences, such that a given sequence can indicate a first group or ambient IoT device that is to switch to a second group associated with the given sequence. For example, in some aspects, a first group and a second group (e.g., a pair of groups) may share the same sequence. As another example, a sequence may be mapped to (1) a second group or an indication to switch groups, and (2) a duration after which the ambient IoT device or group should switch back to the original group (e.g., the first group) . As another example, a first switching direction (for example, switching from a first group to a second group) may be mapped to a first sequence, and a second switching direction (in this example, switching from the second group to the first group) may be mapped to a second sequence.
[0117] In some aspects, the network node may trigger the ambient IoT device to switch groups using the indication 530. For example, the network node may assign a new group identifier to the ambient IoT device. As a first example, the ambient IoT device may be in a first group that is configured to select a resource during an inventory operation based on a downlink signal strength measurement, and the network node may indicate for the ambient IoT device to switch groups in accordance with an amplified power of the ambient IoT device satisfying a threshold. As a second example, the network node may trigger the ambient IoT device to switch groups when a traffic priority or latency requirement is higher or lower than a threshold.
[0118] In some aspects, there may be no restrictions regarding when the indication can be transmitted. For example, the network node or the ambient IoT device may be permitted to switch groups (e.g., to indicate a new group) at any time. In some aspects, there may be one or more restrictions on when the network node or the ambient IoT device can switch the ambient IoT device to a new group. For example, the restrictions may be defined by the configuration information described above (e.g., any combination of the restrictions described above) . As another example, one or more restrictions described with regard to the configuration information above may be specified in a wireless communication specification (e.g., any combination of the restrictions described above) .
[0119] As shown by reference number 540, the ambient IoT device may communicate in accordance with the indication. For example, the ambient IoT device may perform one or more communications based on being assigned to the second group. As an example, the ambient IoT device may transmit or receive communications associated with an inventory operation. An inventory operation may include the network node identifying a set of ambient IoT devices and / or parameters associated with the set of ambient IoT devices. For example, the network node may trigger a group of ambient IoT devices to transmit a communication, such as an initial access communication. This is described in more detail in connection with Fig. 7, below.
[0120] As indicated above, Fig. 5 is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from what is described with regard to Fig. 5.
[0121] Fig. 6 is a diagram illustrating examples 600 of indication of a new group for an ambient IoT device, in accordance with the present disclosure. Example 600 relates to groups X, Y, and Z, and ambient IoT devices 1 and 2 (e.g., UE 120, the ambient IoT devices described with regard to Figs. 4 and 5) .
[0122] As shown, ambient IoT devices 1 and 2 may initially belong to group X (such as based on a first dynamic indication or a static or semi-static configuration) . As shown, a network node (e.g., network node 110, UE 120, the network node of Fig. 5) may provide a first indication 530. As shown, the first indication 530 may cause ambient IoT devices 1 and 2 to switch from group X to group Y. For example, the first indication 530 may identify group X (such as using an identifier or index of group X, or a sequence mapped to group X) , and may indicate for ambient IoT devices belonging to group X to switch to group Y. As another example, the first indication 530 may identify ambient IoT devices 1 and 2, and may indicate for ambient IoT devices 1 and 2 to switch to group Y. Thus, ambient IoT devices 1 and 2 may switch from group X to group Y in accordance with the first indication 530.
[0123] As shown, ambient IoT device 1 and / or ambient IoT device 2 may receive a second indication 530. In some aspects, the second indication 530 may be unicast to ambient IoT device 1. In some aspects, the second indication 530 may be groupcast to ambient IoT device 1 (and one or more other ambient IoT devices, which may for example include ambient IoT device 2) . In some aspects, the second indication 530 may be broadcast. As shown, ambient IoT device 1 may switch to group Z in accordance with the second indication 530. For example, the second indication 530 may identify ambient IoT device 1, and may indicate group Z. Thus, ambient IoT device 1 may switch to group Z in accordance with the second indication 530.
[0124] An example indication 530 (such as the first indication 530 or the second indication 530) is shown by reference number 610. The example indication 530 uses a payload to indicate the second group. In other examples described herein, a sequence may indicate the second group. As shown by reference number 620, the indication 530 may include a device identifier and / or an identifier of a first group. The device identifier may identify or indicate one or more ambient IoT devices, such as using identifiers of the one or more ambient IoT devices. For example, the device identifier may be a unique identifier (such as an evolved packet core identifier, a contention resolution identifier, or a truncated version of the above identifiers) . As another example, the device identifier may be a local identifier, such as within a group to which the ambient IoT device belongs.
[0125] The identifier of the first group may identify a group of ambient IoT devices, such that ambient IoT devices can switch to a group indicated by a second group indication shown by reference number 630.
[0126] The second group indication may indicate a group to which an ambient IoT device, or group of ambient IoT devices, is to switch. As shown by reference number 640, in some aspects, the second group indication may comprise a bitmap or a set of bits. For example, the indication 530 may include a bit or bitmap indication to indicate a new group, and a device or group identifier (shown by reference number 620) to indicate which ambient IoT devices or groups are to switch to the new group. In some aspects, each ambient IoT device may support only two groups. In this example, the bitmap or set of bits may include a single bit. As another example, the second group indication may comprise a bit or bitmap indication to indicate a new group and an indication of a duration. The duration may indicate a length of that the device or group of devices, indicated by the device or group identifier shown by reference number 620, are to be assigned to the group indicated by the bit or bitmap indication. As another example, as shown by reference number 650, in some aspects, the second group indication may comprise a new group identifier (such as a set of bits or a value that explicitly identifies the new group) . In some examples, a first group identifier (shown by reference number 620) may indicate multiple groups, or the second group indication may indicate multiple groups. Thus, one indication 530 can support multiple groups changing via a single packet. In some aspects, the new group identifier may use a full length (e.g., as defined by a wireless communication specification or configuration information) . In some other aspects, the new group identifier may be a truncated identifier (e.g., one or more values or bits may be dropped from the new group identifier) . As another example, as shown by reference number 660, in some aspects, the second group indication may comprise a group index. A group index may identify a group, from a set of groups, according to an index of the group (e.g., 0, 1, 2, 3, and so on) .
[0127] As indicated above, Fig. 6 is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from what is described with regard to Fig. 6.
[0128] Fig. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example 700 of group switching in connection with an initial access, in accordance with the present disclosure. Example 700 includes an ambient IoT device (e.g., UE 120, the ambient IoT devices described with regard to Figs. 4, 5, and 6) and a network node (e.g., network node 110, UE 120, the reader or other network node described with regard to Figs. 4, 5, and 6) . In example 700, the network node may assign a group identifier after initial access.
[0129] As shown by reference number 710, the network node may select a group (e.g., a specified group) of ambient IoT devices for initial access. In some aspects, the initial access may be or may be part of an inventory operation. For example, the network node may identify a group of ambient IoT devices (such as a specified group of ambient IoT devices) to trigger for initial access. In some aspects, the group of ambient IoT devices may include all devices within range of the network node. In some aspects, the group of ambient IoT devices may include all devices with a particular device type (described above) . As shown by reference number 720, the network node may optionally trigger the initial access for the selected group of ambient IoT devices, which may reduce collisions of ambient IoT devices.
[0130] As shown by reference number 730, the ambient IoT device may transmit a signal relating to the inventory operation or initial access. For example, the ambient IoT device may transmit an indication of a requirement of the inventory operation or the initial access. As shown by reference number 740, the network node and the ambient IoT device may perform contention resolution. For example, the network node and the ambient IoT device may resolve collisions associated with transmission of the signal shown by reference number 730.
[0131] In some aspects, a subset (e.g., a proper subset) of ambient IoT devices may successfully access the network node after contention resolution (e.g., after solving the collisions) . The network node may assign one or more groups for the ambient IoT devices, such as the subset of ambient IoT devices that successfully access the network node, as shown by reference number 750. For example, the network node may transmit an indication 530 for the subset of ambient IoT devices. Thus, the network node may assign group identifiers for ambient IoT devices that successfully access the network node, which may facilitate subsequent uplink or downlink communication. The assignment of these group identifiers can be via RRC configuration, a physical signal, or a MAC signal (e.g., a MAC-CE) .
[0132] In some aspects, the network node may provide an indication 530 (e.g., may indicate a group identifier) after identifying the ambient IoT device. For example, the network node may always provide the indication 530 after identifying the ambient IoT device. In this example, in some cases, the indicated group (e.g., group identifier) may be the same as a group to which the ambient IoT belonged before the initial access.
[0133] In some aspects, the network node may provide an indication 530 only for ambient IoT devices that are switching groups. For example, the network node may only indicate a group identifier that is different than a group identifier of the ambient IoT device from prior to the initial access. In some aspects, the network node may provide information indicating that an ambient IoT device remains assigned to a previous group. For example, one or more bits may indicate that the ambient IoT device is to reuse a previous group identifier.
[0134] In some aspects, the ambient IoT device and the network node may perform a second inventory operation or initial access, shown by reference number 760. In some aspects, the ambient IoT device may continue to use the group indicated by the network node at reference number 750 for the second inventory operation or initial access. In some other aspects, the ambient IoT device may switch back to a first group to which the ambient IoT device was assigned, prior to the first initial access, for the second inventory operation or initial access.
[0135] As indicated above, Fig. 7 is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from what is described with regard to Fig. 7.
[0136] Fig. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example process 800 performed, for example, at an ambient IoT device or an apparatus of an ambient IoT device, in accordance with the present disclosure. Example process 800 is an example where the apparatus or the ambient IoT device (e.g., UE 120, the ambient IoT device of Figs. 4-7) performs operations associated with grouping of ambient IoT UEs.
[0137] As shown in Fig. 8, in some aspects, process 800 may include receiving an indication that the ambient IoT device is assigned to a second group, wherein, prior to receiving the indication, the ambient IoT device is assigned to a first group (block 810) . For example, the ambient IoT device may receive an indication that the ambient IoT device is assigned to a second group, wherein, prior to receiving the indication, the ambient IoT device is assigned to a first group, as described above in connection with Figs. 4-7.
[0138] As further shown in Fig. 8, in some aspects, process 800 may include communicating in accordance with the indication (block 820) . For example, the ambient IoT device may communicate in accordance with the indication, as described above in connection with Figs. 4-7.
[0139] Process 800 may include additional aspects, such as any single aspect or any combination of aspects described below and / or in connection with one or more other processes described elsewhere herein.
[0140] In a first aspect, the indication comprises a payload of a physical layer message or a medium access control message.
[0141] In a second aspect, alone or in combination with the first aspect, the payload indicates the first group and a bitmap of the payload indicates the second group.
[0142] In a third aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first and second aspects, the payload indicates a duration for which the ambient IoT device is to be assigned to the second group.
[0143] In a fourth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through third aspects, the payload explicitly identifies the first group and the second group.
[0144] In a fifth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through fourth aspects, an identifier of the second group is a truncated identifier.
[0145] In a sixth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through fifth aspects, the indication identifies an index of the second group.
[0146] In a seventh aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through sixth aspects, the payload identifies the ambient IoT device using a unique identifier of the ambient IoT device.
[0147] In an eighth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through seventh aspects, the payload identifies the ambient IoT device using an identifier associated with the first group.
[0148] In a ninth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through eighth aspects, process 800 includes receiving a trigger for the first group to perform an initial access, and transmitting an initial access message in response to the trigger, wherein receiving the indication comprises receiving the indication in response to the initial access message.
[0149] In a tenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through ninth aspects, the second group is a same group as the first group.
[0150] In an eleventh aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through tenth aspects, the indication indicates whether the second group is different than the first group.
[0151] In a twelfth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through eleventh aspects, the initial access message indicates one or more requirements relating to inventory or the initial access.
[0152] In a thirteenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through twelfth aspects, receiving the indication comprises receiving the indication via at least one of radio resource control signaling, a physical layer message, or a medium access control message.
[0153] In a fourteenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through thirteenth aspects, the trigger is a first trigger and the initial access is a first initial access, and process 800 includes receiving a second trigger for a second initial access, and transmitting a second initial access message in response to the second trigger, wherein the second initial access message is associated with the second group.
[0154] In a fifteenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through fourteenth aspects, the trigger is a first trigger and the initial access is a first initial access, and process 800 includes receiving a second trigger for a second initial access, and transmitting a second initial access message in response to the second trigger, wherein the second initial access message is associated with the first group.
[0155] In a sixteenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through fifteenth aspects, the indication comprises a sequence.
[0156] In a seventeenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through sixteenth aspects, receiving the indication comprises receiving the sequence via a broadcast message, wherein the sequence indicates the second group.
[0157] In an eighteenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through seventeenth aspects, receiving the indication comprises receiving the sequence via a groupcast message or a unicast message.
[0158] In a nineteenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through eighteenth aspects, the sequence indicates the first group and the second group.
[0159] In a twentieth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through nineteenth aspects, the sequence indicates a duration for which the ambient IoT device is assigned to the second group.
[0160] In a twenty-first aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through twentieth aspects, the sequence indicates to switch from the first group to the second group, and another sequence indicates to switch from the second group to the first group.
[0161] In a twenty-second aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through twenty-first aspects, receiving the indication comprises receiving the indication during a time configured for assignment of new groups.
[0162] In a twenty-third aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through twenty-second aspects, receiving the indication comprises receiving the indication in accordance with a configured duration, wherein the configured duration indicates at least one of a minimum length of time for which the ambient IoT device is to remain in the first group, or a maximum length of time for which the ambient IoT device is to remain in the first group.
[0163] In a twenty-fourth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through twenty-third aspects, receiving the indication comprises receiving the indication in accordance with a threshold, wherein the threshold indicates a condition associated with assigning a new group.
[0164] In a twenty-fifth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through twenty-fourth aspects, the indication is associated with a configuration that indicates a trigger condition for switching from the first group to the second group.
[0165] In a twenty-sixth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through twenty-fifth aspects, transmitting the trigger comprises transmitting the trigger in response to a condition being satisfied.
[0166] In a twenty-seventh aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through twenty-sixth aspects, the condition relates to at least one of storing energy of the ambient IoT device, a signal measurement, a charging rate, a discharging rate, an amplifier state, or a decoding performance.
[0167] Although Fig. 8 shows example blocks of process 800, in some aspects, process 800 may include additional blocks, fewer blocks, different blocks, or differently arranged blocks than those depicted in Fig. 8. Additionally, or alternatively, two or more of the blocks of process 800 may be performed in parallel.
[0168] Fig. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example process 900 performed, for example, at a network node or an apparatus of a network node, in accordance with the present disclosure. Example process 900 is an example where the apparatus or the network node (e.g., network node 110 or UE 120) performs operations associated with grouping of ambient IoT UEs.
[0169] As shown in Fig. 9, in some aspects, process 900 may include transmitting an indication that an ambient IoT device is assigned to a second group, wherein, prior to the indication, the ambient IoT device is assigned to a first group (block 910) . For example, the network may transmit an indication that an ambient IoT device is assigned to a second group, wherein, prior to the indication, the ambient IoT device is assigned to a first group, as described above with regard to Figs. 4-6.
[0170] As further shown in Fig. 9, in some aspects, process 900 may include communicating in accordance with the indication (block 920) . For example, the network node may communicate in accordance with the indication, as described above with regard to Figs. 4-6.
[0171] Process 900 may include additional aspects, such as any single aspect or any combination of aspects described below and / or in connection with one or more other processes described elsewhere herein.
[0172] In a first aspect, the indication comprises a payload of a physical layer message or a medium access control message.
[0173] In a second aspect, alone or in combination with the first aspect, the payload indicates the first group and a bitmap of the payload indicates the second group.
[0174] In a third aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first and second aspects, the payload indicates a duration for which the ambient IoT device is to be assigned to the second group.
[0175] In a fourth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through third aspects, the payload explicitly identifies the first group and the second group.
[0176] In a fifth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through fourth aspects, an identifier of the second group is a truncated identifier.
[0177] In a sixth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through fifth aspects, the indication identifies an index of the second group.
[0178] In a seventh aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through sixth aspects, the payload identifies the ambient IoT device using a unique identifier of the ambient IoT device.
[0179] In an eighth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through seventh aspects, the payload identifies the ambient IoT device using an identifier associated with the first group.
[0180] In a ninth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through eighth aspects, process 900 includes transmitting a trigger for the first group to perform an initial access, and receiving an initial access message in response to the trigger, wherein transmitting the indication comprises transmitting the indication in response to the initial access message.
[0181] In a tenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through ninth aspects, the second group is a same group as the first group.
[0182] In an eleventh aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through tenth aspects, the indication indicates whether the second group is different than the first group.
[0183] In a twelfth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through eleventh aspects, the initial access message indicates one or more requirements relating to inventory or the initial access.
[0184] In a thirteenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through twelfth aspects, transmitting the indication comprises transmitting the indication via at least one of radio resource control signaling, a physical layer message, or a medium access control message.
[0185] In a fourteenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through thirteenth aspects, the trigger is a first trigger and the initial access is a first initial access, and process 900 includes transmitting a second trigger for a second initial access, and receiving a second initial access message in response to the second trigger, wherein the second initial access message is associated with the second group.
[0186] In a fifteenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through fourteenth aspects, the trigger is a first trigger and the initial access is a first initial access, and process 900 includes transmitting a second trigger for a second initial access, and receiving a second initial access message in response to the second trigger, wherein the second initial access message is associated with the second group.
[0187] In a sixteenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through fifteenth aspects, the indication comprises a sequence.
[0188] In a seventeenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through sixteenth aspects, transmitting the indication comprises transmitting the sequence via a broadcast message, wherein the sequence indicates the second group.
[0189] In an eighteenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through seventeenth aspects, transmitting the indication comprises transmitting the sequence via a groupcast message or a unicast message.
[0190] In a nineteenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through eighteenth aspects, the sequence indicates the first group and the second group.
[0191] In a twentieth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through nineteenth aspects, the sequence indicates a duration for which the ambient IoT device is assigned to the second group.
[0192] In a twenty-first aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through twentieth aspects, the sequence indicates to switch from the first group to the second group, and another sequence indicates to switch from the second group to the first group.
[0193] In a twenty-second aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through twenty-first aspects, transmitting the indication comprises transmitting the indication during a time configured for assignment of new groups.
[0194] In a twenty-third aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through twenty-second aspects, transmitting the indication comprises transmitting the indication in accordance with a configured duration, wherein the configured duration indicates at least one of a minimum length of time for which the ambient IoT device is to remain in the first group, or a maximum length of time for which the ambient IoT device is to remain in the first group.
[0195] In a twenty-fourth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through twenty-third aspects, transmitting the indication comprises transmitting the indication in accordance with a threshold, wherein the threshold indicates a condition associated with assigning a new group.
[0196] In a twenty-fifth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through twenty-fourth aspects, the indication is associated with a configuration that indicates a trigger condition for switching from the first group to the second group.
[0197] In a twenty-sixth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through twenty-fifth aspects, receiving the trigger comprises receiving the trigger in response to a condition being satisfied.
[0198] In a twenty-seventh aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through twenty-sixth aspects, the condition relates to at least one of storing energy of the ambient IoT device, a signal measurement, a charging rate, a discharging rate, an amplifier state, or a decoding performance.
[0199] Although Fig. 9 shows example blocks of process 900, in some aspects, process 900 may include additional blocks, fewer blocks, different blocks, or differently arranged blocks than those depicted in Fig. 9. Additionally, or alternatively, two or more of the blocks of process 900 may be performed in parallel.
[0200] Fig. 10 is a diagram of an example apparatus 1000 for wireless communication, in accordance with the present disclosure. The apparatus 1000 may be a ambient IoT device, or a ambient IoT device may include the apparatus 1000. In some aspects, the apparatus 1000 includes a reception component 1002, a transmission component 1004, and / or a communication manager 1006, which may be in communication with one another (for example, via one or more buses and / or one or more other components) . In some aspects, the communication manager 1006 is the communication manager 140 described in connection with Fig. 1. As shown, the apparatus 1000 may communicate with another apparatus 1008, such as a UE or a network node (such as a CU, a DU, an RU, or a base station) , using the reception component 1002 and the transmission component 1004.
[0201] In some aspects, the apparatus 1000 may be configured to perform one or more operations described herein in connection with Figs. 4-7. Additionally, or alternatively, the apparatus 1000 may be configured to perform one or more processes described herein, such as process 800 of Fig. 8, or a combination thereof. In some aspects, the apparatus 1000 and / or one or more components shown in Fig. 10 may include one or more components of the ambient IoT device described in connection with Fig. 2. Additionally, or alternatively, one or more components shown in Fig. 10 may be implemented within one or more components described in connection with Fig. 2. Additionally, or alternatively, one or more components of the set of components may be implemented at least in part as software stored in one or more memories. For example, a component (or a portion of a component) may be implemented as instructions or code stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium and executable by one or more controllers or one or more processors to perform the functions or operations of the component.
[0202] The reception component 1002 may receive communications, such as reference signals, control information, data communications, or a combination thereof, from the apparatus 1008. The reception component 1002 may provide received communications to one or more other components of the apparatus 1000. In some aspects, the reception component 1002 may perform signal processing on the received communications (such as filtering, amplification, demodulation, analog-to-digital conversion, demultiplexing, deinterleaving, de-mapping, equalization, interference cancellation, or decoding, among other examples) , and may provide the processed signals to the one or more other components of the apparatus 1000. In some aspects, the reception component 1002 may include one or more antennas, one or more modems, one or more demodulators, one or more MIMO detectors, one or more receive processors, one or more controllers / processors, one or more memories, or a combination thereof, of the ambient IoT device described in connection with Fig. 2.
[0203] The transmission component 1004 may transmit communications, such as reference signals, control information, data communications, or a combination thereof, to the apparatus 1008. In some aspects, one or more other components of the apparatus 1000 may generate communications and may provide the generated communications to the transmission component 1004 for transmission to the apparatus 1008. In some aspects, the transmission component 1004 may perform signal processing on the generated communications (such as filtering, amplification, modulation, digital-to-analog conversion, multiplexing, interleaving, mapping, or encoding, among other examples) , and may transmit the processed signals to the apparatus 1008. In some aspects, the transmission component 1004 may include one or more antennas, one or more modems, one or more modulators, one or more transmit MIMO processors, one or more transmit processors, one or more controllers / processors, one or more memories, or a combination thereof, of the ambient IoT device described in connection with Fig. 2. In some aspects, the transmission component 1004 may be co-located with the reception component 1002 in one or more transceivers.
[0204] The communication manager 1006 may support operations of the reception component 1002 and / or the transmission component 1004. For example, the communication manager 1006 may receive information associated with configuring reception of communications by the reception component 1002 and / or transmission of communications by the transmission component 1004. Additionally, or alternatively, the communication manager 1006 may generate and / or provide control information to the reception component 1002 and / or the transmission component 1004 to control reception and / or transmission of communications.
[0205] The reception component 1002 may receive an indication that the ambient IoT device is assigned to a second group, wherein, prior to receiving the indication, the ambient IoT device is assigned to a first group. The transmission component 1004 or the reception component 1002 may communicate in accordance with the indication.
[0206] The number and arrangement of components shown in Fig. 10 are provided as an example. In practice, there may be additional components, fewer components, different components, or differently arranged components than those shown in Fig. 10. Furthermore, two or more components shown in Fig. 10 may be implemented within a single component, or a single component shown in Fig. 10 may be implemented as multiple, distributed components. Additionally, or alternatively, a set of (one or more) components shown in Fig. 10 may perform one or more functions described as being performed by another set of components shown in Fig. 10.
[0207] Fig. 11 is a diagram of an example apparatus 1100 for wireless communication, in accordance with the present disclosure. The apparatus 1100 may be a network node, or a network node may include the apparatus 1100. In some aspects, the apparatus 1100 includes a reception component 1102, a transmission component 1104, and / or a communication manager 1106, which may be in communication with one another (for example, via one or more buses and / or one or more other components) . In some aspects, the communication manager 1106 is the communication manager 150 described in connection with Fig. 1. As shown, the apparatus 1100 may communicate with another apparatus 1108, such as a UE or a network node (such as a CU, a DU, an RU, or a base station) , using the reception component 1102 and the transmission component 1104.
[0208] In some aspects, the apparatus 1100 may be configured to perform one or more operations described herein in connection with Figs. 4-7. Additionally, or alternatively, the apparatus 1100 may be configured to perform one or more processes described herein, such as process 900 of Fig. 9, or a combination thereof. In some aspects, the apparatus 1100 and / or one or more components shown in Fig. 11 may include one or more components of the network node described in connection with Fig. 2. Additionally, or alternatively, one or more components shown in Fig. 11 may be implemented within one or more components described in connection with Fig. 2. Additionally, or alternatively, one or more components of the set of components may be implemented at least in part as software stored in one or more memories. For example, a component (or a portion of a component) may be implemented as instructions or code stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium and executable by one or more controllers or one or more processors to perform the functions or operations of the component.
[0209] The reception component 1102 may receive communications, such as reference signals, control information, data communications, or a combination thereof, from the apparatus 1108. The reception component 1102 may provide received communications to one or more other components of the apparatus 1100. In some aspects, the reception component 1102 may perform signal processing on the received communications (such as filtering, amplification, demodulation, analog-to-digital conversion, demultiplexing, deinterleaving, de-mapping, equalization, interference cancellation, or decoding, among other examples) , and may provide the processed signals to the one or more other components of the apparatus 1100. In some aspects, the reception component 1102 may include one or more antennas, one or more modems, one or more demodulators, one or more MIMO detectors, one or more receive processors, one or more controllers / processors, one or more memories, or a combination thereof, of the network node described in connection with Fig. 2. In some aspects, the reception component 1102 and / or the transmission component 1104 may include or may be included in a network interface. The network interface may be configured to obtain and / or output signals for the apparatus 1100 via one or more communications links, such as a backhaul link, a midhaul link, and / or a fronthaul link.
[0210] The transmission component 1104 may transmit communications, such as reference signals, control information, data communications, or a combination thereof, to the apparatus 1108. In some aspects, one or more other components of the apparatus 1100 may generate communications and may provide the generated communications to the transmission component 1104 for transmission to the apparatus 1108. In some aspects, the transmission component 1104 may perform signal processing on the generated communications (such as filtering, amplification, modulation, digital-to-analog conversion, multiplexing, interleaving, mapping, or encoding, among other examples) , and may transmit the processed signals to the apparatus 1108. In some aspects, the transmission component 1104 may include one or more antennas, one or more modems, one or more modulators, one or more transmit MIMO processors, one or more transmit processors, one or more controllers / processors, one or more memories, or a combination thereof, of the network node described in connection with Fig. 2. In some aspects, the transmission component 1104 may be co-located with the reception component 1102 in one or more transceivers.
[0211] The communication manager 1106 may support operations of the reception component 1102 and / or the transmission component 1104. For example, the communication manager 1106 may receive information associated with configuring reception of communications by the reception component 1102 and / or transmission of communications by the transmission component 1104. Additionally, or alternatively, the communication manager 1106 may generate and / or provide control information to the reception component 1102 and / or the transmission component 1104 to control reception and / or transmission of communications.
[0212] The transmission component 1104 may transmit an indication that an ambient Internet of Things (IoT) device is assigned to a second group, wherein, prior to the indication, the ambient IoT device is assigned to a first group. The reception component 1102 and / or the transmission component 1104 may communicate in accordance with the indication.
[0213] The transmission component 1104 may transmit a trigger for the first group to perform an initial access.
[0214] The reception component 1102 may receive an initial access message in response to the trigger, wherein transmitting the indication comprises transmitting the indication in response to the initial access message.
[0215] The number and arrangement of components shown in Fig. 11 are provided as an example. In practice, there may be additional components, fewer components, different components, or differently arranged components than those shown in Fig. 11. Furthermore, two or more components shown in Fig. 11 may be implemented within a single component, or a single component shown in Fig. 11 may be implemented as multiple, distributed components. Additionally, or alternatively, a set of (one or more) components shown in Fig. 11 may perform one or more functions described as being performed by another set of components shown in Fig. 11.
[0216] Fig. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of an implementation of code and circuitry for a communications device 1200, in accordance with the present disclosure. The communications device 1200 may be an ambient IoT device, or an ambient IoT device may include the communications device 1200.
[0217] The communications device 1200 includes a processing system 1202 coupled to a transceiver 1208 (e.g., a transmitter and / or a receiver, and which may include a single transceiver or multiple transceivers which may perform different operations described as being performed by the transceiver 1008) . The transceiver 1208 is configured to transmit and receive signals for the communications device 1200 via an antenna 1210, such as the various signals as described herein. The processing system 1202 may be configured to perform processing functions for the communications device 1200, including processing signals received and / or to be transmitted by the communications device 1200.
[0218] The processing system 1202 includes one or more processors 1220. In various aspects, the one or more processors 1220 may include one or more of receive processor 258, transmit processor 264, TX MIMO processor 266, and / or controller / processor 280, as described with respect to Fig. 2. The one or more processors 1220 are coupled to a computer-readable medium / memory 1230 via a bus 1206. In various aspects, the computer-readable medium / memory 1230 may include one or more memories such as memory 282, as described with respect to Fig. 2. In certain aspects, the computer-readable medium / memory 1230 is configured to store instructions (e.g., computer-executable code, processor-executable code) that when executed by the one or more processors 1220, cause the one or more processors 1220 to perform the process 800 described with respect to Fig. 8, or any aspect related to it. Note that reference to a processor performing a function of communications device 1200 may include one or more processors performing that function of communications device 1200. Note also that reference to one or more processors performing multiple functions may include a first processor performing a first function of the multiple functions and a second processor performing a second function of the multiple functions.
[0219] As shown in Fig. 12, the communications device 1200 may include circuitry for receiving an indication that the ambient IoT device is assigned to a second group (circuitry 1235) .
[0220] As shown in Fig. 12, the communications device 1200 may include, stored in computer-readable medium / memory 1230, code for receiving an indication that the ambient IoT device is assigned to a second group (code 1240) .
[0221] As shown in Fig. 12, the communications device 1200 may include circuitry for communicating in accordance with the indication (circuitry 1245) .
[0222] As shown in Fig. 12, the communications device 1200 may include, stored in computer-readable medium / memory 1230, code for communicating in accordance with the indication (code 1250) .
[0223] Various components of the communications device 1200 may provide means for performing the process 800 described with respect to Fig. 8, or any aspect related to it. For example, means for transmitting, sending, or outputting for transmission may include the modem 254 and / or antenna (s) 252 of the UE 120 and / or transceiver 1208 and antenna 1210 of the communications device 1200 in Fig. 12. Means for receiving or obtaining may include the modem 254 and / or antenna (s) 252 of the UE 120 and / or transceiver 1208 and antenna 1210 of the communications device 1200 in Fig. 12.
[0224] Fig. 12 is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from what is described in connection with Fig. 12.
[0225] Fig. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of an implementation of code and circuitry for a communications device 1300, in accordance with the present disclosure. The communications device 1300 may be a network node (such as network node 130 or a disaggregated base station as described with regard to Fig. 3) , or a network node may include the communications device 1300.
[0226] The communications device 1300 includes a processing system 1302 coupled to a transceiver 1308 (e.g., a transmitter and / or a receiver, and which may include a single transceiver or multiple transceivers which may perform different operations described as being performed by the transceiver 1308) . The transceiver 1308 is configured to transmit and receive signals for the communications device 1300 via an antenna 1310 (e.g., one or more antennas) , such as the various signals as described herein. The network interface 1312 is configured to obtain and send signals for the communications device 1300 via communications link (s) , such as a backhaul link, midhaul link, and / or fronthaul link as described herein, such as with respect to Fig. 3. The processing system 1302 may be configured to perform processing functions for the communications device 1300, including processing signals received and / or to be transmitted by the communications device 1300.
[0227] The processing system 1302 includes one or more processors 1320. In various aspects, the one or more processors 1320 may include one or more of receive processor 238, transmit processor 214, TX MIMO processor 216, and / or controller / processor 240, as described with respect to Fig. 2. The one or more processors 1320 are coupled to a computer-readable medium / memory 1330 via a bus 1306. In various aspects, the computer-readable medium / memory 1330 may include one or more memories such as memory 242, as described with respect to Fig. 2. In certain aspects, the computer-readable medium / memory 1330 is configured to store instructions (e.g., computer-executable code, processor-executable code) that when executed by the one or more processors 1320, cause the one or more processors 1320 to perform the process 900 described with respect to Fig. 9, or any aspect related to it. Note that reference to a processor performing a function of communications device 1300 may include one or more processors performing that function of communications device 1300. Note also that reference to one or more processors performing multiple functions may include a first processor performing a first function of the multiple functions and a second processor performing a second function of the multiple functions.
[0228] As shown in Fig. 13, the communications device 1300 may include circuitry for transmitting an indication that an ambient IoT device is assigned to a second group (circuitry 1335) .
[0229] As shown in Fig. 13, the communications device 1300 may include, stored in computer-readable medium / memory 1330, code for transmitting an indication that an ambient IoT device is assigned to a second group (code 1340) .
[0230] As shown in Fig. 13, the communications device 1300 may include circuitry for communicating in accordance with the indication (circuitry 1345) .
[0231] As shown in Fig. 13, the communications device 1300 may include, stored in computer-readable medium / memory 1330, code for communicating in accordance with the indication (code 1350) .
[0232] Various components of the communications device 1300 may provide means for performing the process 900 described with respect to Fig. 9, or any aspect related to it. For example, means for transmitting, sending, or outputting for transmission may include the modem 232 and / or antenna (s) 234 of the network node 130 and / or the transceiver 1308 and / or antenna 1310 of the communications device 1300 in Fig. 13. Means for receiving or obtaining may include the modem 232 and / or antenna (s) 234 of the network node 130 and / or the transceiver 1308 and / or antenna 1310 of the communications device 1300 in Fig. 13.
[0233] Fig. 13 is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from what is described in connection with Fig. 13.
[0234] The following provides an overview of some Aspects of the present disclosure:
[0235] Aspect 1: A method of wireless communication performed by an ambient Internet of Things (IoT) user equipment (UE) , comprising: receiving an indication that the ambient IoT device is assigned to a second group, wherein, prior to receiving the indication, the ambient IoT device is assigned to a first group; and communicating in accordance with the indication.
[0236] Aspect 2: The method of Aspect 1, wherein the indication comprises a payload of a physical layer message or a medium access control message.
[0237] Aspect 3: The method of Aspect 2, wherein the payload indicates the first group and a bitmap of the payload indicates the second group.
[0238] Aspect 4: The method of Aspect 2, wherein the payload indicates a duration for which the ambient IoT device is to be assigned to the second group.
[0239] Aspect 5: The method of Aspect 2, wherein the payload explicitly identifies the first group and the second group.
[0240] Aspect 6: The method of Aspect 5, wherein an identifier of the second group is a truncated identifier.
[0241] Aspect 7: The method of Aspect 2, wherein the indication identifies an index of the second group.
[0242] Aspect 8: The method of Aspect 2, wherein the payload identifies the ambient IoT device using a unique identifier of the ambient IoT device.
[0243] Aspect 9: The method of Aspect 2, wherein the payload identifies the ambient IoT device using an identifier associated with the first group.
[0244] Aspect 10: The method of any of Aspects 1-9, comprising: receiving a trigger for the first group to perform an initial access; and transmitting an initial access message in response to the trigger, wherein receiving the indication comprises receiving the indication in response to the initial access message.
[0245] Aspect 11: The method of Aspect 10, wherein the second group is a same group as the first group.
[0246] Aspect 12: The method of Aspect 10, wherein the indication indicates whether the second group is different than the first group.
[0247] Aspect 13: The method of Aspect 10, wherein the initial access message indicates one or more requirements relating to inventory or the initial access.
[0248] Aspect 14: The method of Aspect 10, wherein receiving the indication comprises receiving the indication via at least one of: radio resource control signaling, a physical layer message, or a medium access control message.
[0249] Aspect 15: The method of Aspect 10, wherein the trigger is a first trigger and the initial access is a first initial access, the method comprising: receiving a second trigger for a second initial access; and transmitting a second initial access message in response to the second trigger, wherein the second initial access message is associated with the second group.
[0250] Aspect 16: The method of Aspect 10, wherein the trigger is a first trigger and the initial access is a first initial access, the method comprising: receiving a second trigger for a second initial access; and transmitting a second initial access message in response to the second trigger, wherein the second initial access message is associated with the first group.
[0251] Aspect 17: The method of any of Aspects 1-16, wherein the indication comprises a sequence.
[0252] Aspect 18: The method of Aspect 17, wherein receiving the indication comprises receiving the sequence via a broadcast message, wherein the sequence indicates the second group.
[0253] Aspect 19: The method of Aspect 17, wherein receiving the indication comprises receiving the sequence via a groupcast message or a unicast message.
[0254] Aspect 20: The method of Aspect 17, wherein the sequence indicates the first group and the second group.
[0255] Aspect 21: The method of Aspect 17, wherein the sequence indicates a duration for which the ambient IoT device is assigned to the second group.
[0256] Aspect 22: The method of Aspect 17, wherein the sequence indicates to switch from the first group to the second group, and wherein another sequence indicates to switch from the second group to the first group.
[0257] Aspect 23: The method of Aspect 17, comprising receiving information that indicates that the sequence is associated with at least one of the first group or the second group.
[0258] Aspect 24: The method of any of Aspects 1-23, wherein receiving the indication comprises receiving the indication during a time configured for assignment of new groups.
[0259] Aspect 25: The method of any of Aspects 1-24, wherein receiving the indication comprises receiving the indication in accordance with a configured duration, wherein the configured duration indicates at least one of: a minimum length of time for which the ambient IoT device is to remain in the first group, or a maximum length of time for which the ambient IoT device is to remain in the first group.
[0260] Aspect 26: The method of any of Aspects 1-25, wherein receiving the indication comprises receiving the indication in accordance with a threshold, wherein the threshold indicates a condition associated with assigning a new group.
[0261] Aspect 27: The method of any of Aspects 1-26, wherein the indication is associated with a configuration that indicates a trigger condition for switching from the first group to the second group.
[0262] Aspect 28: The method of any of Aspects 1-27, comprising transmitting a trigger to switch from the first group to the second group, wherein receiving the indication comprises receiving the indication in response to the trigger.
[0263] Aspect 29: The method of Aspect 28, wherein transmitting the trigger comprises transmitting the trigger in response to a condition being satisfied.
[0264] Aspect 30: The method of any of Aspects 1-29, comprising switching from the first group to the second group in response to a condition being satisfied.
[0265] Aspect 31: The method of Aspect 30, wherein the condition relates to at least one of: stored energy of the ambient IoT device, a signal measurement, a charging rate, a discharging rate, an amplifier state, or a decoding performance.
[0266] Aspect 32: A method of wireless communication performed by a network node, comprising: transmitting an indication that an ambient Internet of Things (IoT) device is assigned to a second group, wherein, prior to the indication, the ambient IoT device is assigned to a first group; and communicating in accordance with the indication.
[0267] Aspect 33: The method of Aspect 32, wherein the indication comprises a payload of a physical layer message or a medium access control message.
[0268] Aspect 34: The method of Aspect 33, wherein the payload indicates the first group and a bitmap of the payload indicates the second group.
[0269] Aspect 35: The method of Aspect 33, wherein the payload indicates a duration for which the ambient IoT device is to be assigned to the second group.
[0270] Aspect 36: The method of Aspect 33, wherein the payload explicitly identifies the first group and the second group.
[0271] Aspect 37: The method of Aspect 36, wherein an identifier of the second group is a truncated identifier.
[0272] Aspect 38: The method of Aspect 33, wherein the indication identifies an index of the second group.
[0273] Aspect 39: The method of Aspect 33, wherein the payload identifies the ambient IoT device using a unique identifier of the ambient IoT device.
[0274] Aspect 40: The method of Aspect 33, wherein the payload identifies the ambient IoT device using an identifier associated with the first group.
[0275] Aspect 41: The method of any of Aspects 32-40, comprising: transmitting a trigger for the first group to perform an initial access; and receiving an initial access message in response to the trigger, wherein transmitting the indication comprises transmitting the indication in response to the initial access message.
[0276] Aspect 42: The method of Aspect 41, wherein the second group is a same group as the first group.
[0277] Aspect 43: The method of Aspect 41, wherein the indication indicates whether the second group is different than the first group.
[0278] Aspect 44: The method of Aspect 41, wherein the initial access message indicates one or more requirements relating to inventory or the initial access.
[0279] Aspect 45: The method of Aspect 41, wherein transmitting the indication comprises transmitting the indication via at least one of: radio resource control signaling, a physical layer message, or a medium access control message.
[0280] Aspect 46: The method of Aspect 41, wherein the trigger is a first trigger and the initial access is a first initial access, the method comprising: transmitting a second trigger for a second initial access; and receiving a second initial access message in response to the second trigger, wherein the second initial access message is associated with the second group.
[0281] Aspect 47: The method of Aspect 41, wherein the trigger is a first trigger and the initial access is a first initial access, the method comprising: transmitting a second trigger for a second initial access; and receiving a second initial access message in response to the second trigger, wherein the second initial access message is associated with the second group.
[0282] Aspect 48: The method of any of Aspects 32-47, wherein the indication comprises a sequence.
[0283] Aspect 49: The method of Aspect 48, wherein transmitting the indication comprises transmitting the sequence via a broadcast message, wherein the sequence indicates the second group.
[0284] Aspect 50: The method of Aspect 48, wherein transmitting the indication comprises transmitting the sequence via a groupcast message or a unicast message.
[0285] Aspect 51: The method of Aspect 48, wherein the sequence indicates the first group and the second group.
[0286] Aspect 52: The method of Aspect 48, wherein the sequence indicates a duration for which the ambient IoT device is assigned to the second group.
[0287] Aspect 53: The method of Aspect 48, wherein the sequence indicates to switch from the first group to the second group, and wherein another sequence indicates to switch from the second group to the first group.
[0288] Aspect 54: The method of Aspect 48, comprising transmitting information that indicates that the sequence is associated with at least one of the first group or the second group.
[0289] Aspect 55: The method of any of Aspects 32-54, wherein transmitting the indication comprises transmitting the indication during a time configured for assignment of new groups.
[0290] Aspect 56: The method of any of Aspects 32-55, wherein transmitting the indication comprises transmitting the indication in accordance with a configured duration, wherein the configured duration indicates at least one of: a minimum length of time for which the ambient IoT device is to remain in the first group, or a maximum length of time for which the ambient IoT device is to remain in the first group.
[0291] Aspect 57: The method of any of Aspects 32-56, wherein transmitting the indication comprises transmitting the indication in accordance with a threshold, wherein the threshold indicates a condition associated with assigning a new group.
[0292] Aspect 58: The method of any of Aspects 32-57, wherein the indication is associated with a configuration that indicates a trigger condition for switching from the first group to the second group.
[0293] Aspect 59: The method of any of Aspects 32-58, comprising receiving a trigger to switch from the first group to the second group, wherein transmitting the indication comprises transmitting the indication in response to the trigger.
[0294] Aspect 60: The method of Aspect 59, wherein receiving the trigger comprises receiving the trigger in response to a condition being satisfied.
[0295] Aspect 61: The method of any of Aspects 32-60, comprising switching the ambient IoT device from the first group to the second group in response to a condition being satisfied.
[0296] Aspect 62: The method of Aspect 61, wherein the condition relates to at least one of: stored energy of the ambient IoT device, a signal measurement, a charging rate, a discharging rate, an amplifier state, or a decoding performance.
[0297] Aspect 63: An apparatus for wireless communication at a device, the apparatus comprising one or more processors; one or more memories coupled with the one or more processors; and instructions stored in the one or more memories and executable by the one or more processors to cause the apparatus to perform the method of one or more of Aspects 1-62.
[0298] Aspect 64: An apparatus for wireless communication at a device, the apparatus comprising one or more memories and one or more processors coupled to the one or more memories, the one or more processors configured to cause the device to perform the method of one or more of Aspects 1-62.
[0299] Aspect 65: An apparatus for wireless communication, the apparatus comprising at least one means for performing the method of one or more of Aspects 1-62.
[0300] Aspect 66: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication, the code comprising instructions executable by one or more processors to perform the method of one or more of Aspects 1-62.
[0301] Aspect 67: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a set of instructions for wireless communication, the set of instructions comprising one or more instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a device, cause the device to perform the method of one or more of Aspects 1-62.
[0302] Aspect 68: A device for wireless communication, the device comprising a processing system that includes one or more processors and one or more memories coupled with the one or more processors, the processing system configured to cause the device to perform the method of one or more of Aspects 1-62.
[0303] Aspect 69: An apparatus for wireless communication at a device, the apparatus comprising one or more memories and one or more processors coupled to the one or more memories, the one or more processors individually or collectively configured to cause the device to perform the method of one or more of Aspects 1-62.
[0304] The foregoing disclosure provides illustration and description but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the aspects to the precise forms disclosed. Modifications and variations may be made in light of the above disclosure or may be acquired from practice of the aspects.
[0305] As used herein, the term “component” is intended to be broadly construed as hardware or a combination of hardware and at least one of software or firmware. “Software” shall be construed broadly to mean instructions, instruction sets, code, code segments, program code, programs, subprograms, software modules, applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executables, threads of execution, procedures, or functions, among other examples, whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or otherwise. As used herein, a “processor” is implemented in hardware or a combination of hardware and software. It will be apparent that systems or methods described herein may be implemented in different forms of hardware or a combination of hardware and software. The actual specialized control hardware or software code used to implement these systems or methods is not limiting of the aspects. Thus, the operation and behavior of the systems or methods are described herein without reference to specific software code, because those skilled in the art will understand that software and hardware can be designed to implement the systems or methods based, at least in part, on the description herein. A component being configured to perform a function means that the component has a capability to perform the function, and does not require the function to be actually performed by the component, unless noted otherwise.
[0306] As used herein, “satisfying a threshold” may, depending on the context, refer to a value being greater than the threshold, greater than or equal to the threshold, less than the threshold, less than or equal to the threshold, equal to the threshold, or not equal to the threshold, among other examples.
[0307] As used herein, a phrase referring to “at least one of” a list of items refers to any combination of those items, including single members. As an example, “at least one of: a, b, or c” is intended to cover a, b, c, a + b, a + c, b + c, and a + b + c, as well as any combination with multiples of the same element (for example, a + a, a + a + a, a + a + b, a + a + c, a + b + b, a + c + c, b + b, b + b + b, b + b + c, c + c, and c + c + c, or any other ordering of a, b, and c) .
[0308] No element, act, or instruction used herein should be construed as critical or essential unless explicitly described as such. Also, as used herein, the articles “a” and “an” are intended to include one or more items and may be used interchangeably with “one or more. ” Further, as used herein, the article “the” is intended to include one or more items referenced in connection with the article “the” and may be used interchangeably with “the one or more. ” Furthermore, as used herein, the terms “set” and “group” are intended to include one or more items and may be used interchangeably with “one or more. ” Where only one item is intended, the phrase “only one” or similar language is used. Also, as used herein, the terms “has, ” “have, ” “having, ” and similar terms are intended to be open-ended terms that do not limit an element that they modify (for example, an element “having” A may also have B) . Further, the phrase “based on” is intended to mean “based on or otherwise in association with” unless explicitly stated otherwise. Also, as used herein, the term “or” is intended to be inclusive when used in a series and may be used interchangeably with “and / or, ” unless explicitly stated otherwise (for example, if used in combination with “either” or “only one of” ) . It should be understood that “one or more” is equivalent to “at least one. ”
[0309] Even though particular combinations of features are recited in the claims or disclosed in the specification, these combinations are not intended to limit the disclosure of various aspects. Many of these features may be combined in ways not specifically recited in the claims or disclosed in the specification. The disclosure of various aspects includes each dependent claim in combination with every other claim in the claim set.
Claims
1.An apparatus configured for wireless communication, comprising:one or more memories comprising processor-executable instructions; andone or more processors configured to execute the processor-executable instructions and cause the apparatus to:receive an indication that the apparatus is assigned to a second group, wherein, prior to receiving the indication, the apparatus is assigned to a first group, and wherein the apparatus is associated with an ambient IoT device; andcommunicate in accordance with the indication.2.The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the indication comprises a payload of a physical layer message or a medium access control message.3.The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the payload indicates the first group and a bitmap of the payload indicates the second group.4.The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the payload indicates a duration for which the ambient IoT device is to be assigned to the second group.5.The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the payload explicitly identifies the first group and the second group.6.The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the indication identifies an index of the second group.7.The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the payload identifies the ambient IoT device using a unique identifier of the ambient IoT device or an identifier associated with the first group.8.The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are configured to cause the apparatus to:receive a trigger for the first group to perform an initial access; andtransmit an initial access message in response to the trigger, wherein receiving the indication comprises receiving the indication in response to the initial access message.9.The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the second group is a same group as the first group.10.The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the indication indicates whether the second group is different than the first group.11.The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the initial access message indicates one or more requirements relating to inventory or the initial access.12.The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the trigger is a first trigger and the initial access is a first initial access, wherein the one or more processors are configured to cause the apparatus to:receive a second trigger for a second initial access; andtransmit a second initial access message in response to the second trigger, wherein the second initial access message is associated with the second group.13.The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the trigger is a first trigger and the initial access is a first initial access, wherein the one or more processors are configured to cause the apparatus to:receive a second trigger for a second initial access; andtransmit a second initial access message in response to the second trigger, wherein the second initial access message is associated with the first group.14.The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the indication comprises a sequence.15.The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the one or more processors, to cause the apparatus to receive the indication, are configured to cause the apparatus to receive the sequence via a broadcast message, wherein the sequence indicates the second group.16.The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the one or more processors, to cause the apparatus to receive the indication, are configured to cause the apparatus to receive the sequence via a groupcast message or a unicast message.17.The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors, to cause the apparatus to receive the indication, are configured to cause the apparatus to receive the indication during a time configured for assignment of new groups.18.The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors, to cause the apparatus to receive the indication, are configured to cause the apparatus to receive the indication in accordance with a configured duration, wherein the configured duration indicates at least one of:a minimum length of time for which the ambient IoT device is to remain in the first group, ora maximum length of time for which the ambient IoT device is to remain in the first group.19.A method of wireless communication performed by an ambient Internet of Things (IoT) device, comprising:receiving an indication that the ambient IoT device is assigned to a second group, wherein, prior to receiving the indication, the ambient IoT device is assigned to a first group; andcommunicating in accordance with the indication.20.A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a set of instructions for wireless communication, the set of instructions comprising:one or more instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of an ambient Internet of Things (IoT) device, cause the IoT to:receive an indication that the ambient IoT device is assigned to a second group, wherein, prior to receiving the indication, the ambient IoT device is assigned to a first group; andcommunicate in accordance with the indication.
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