Optimized beam prediction in a communication network

Abstract

Disclosed is an apparatus (121) at a base station (120) configured to monitor one or more Radio Resource Management (RRM) limitations in a set A of beams or a set B of beams associated with a user equipment (UE) (110). The set A of beams comprises predicted beams and the set B of beams comprises measured beams for beamforming. The apparatus (121) is configured to identify the suboptimal beam(s) from among the at least one of the set A of beams and the set B of beams based on the monitored RRM limitation(s) and transmit, to the UE (110), a first assistance information comprising beam identifiers (IDs) and a flag corresponding to the suboptimal beam(s) that are excluded during beam prediction at the UE. The apparatus (121) is configured to receive, from the UE (110), remaining beam IDs corresponding to the predicted set A of beams associated with the beamforming..

Description

OPTIMIZED BEAM PREDICTION IN A COMMUNICATION NETWORK CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

[0001] This application claims priority to Indian Provisional Patent Application No. 202411019335 filed on March 15, 2024, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.FIELD

[0002] The present disclosure relates to optimized beam prediction in a communication network.BACKGROUND

[0003] The information disclosed in this background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the general background of the disclosure and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that this information forms the prior art already known to a person skilled in the art.

[0004] In recent times, there has been a growing focus on research and development of wireless communication technologies. As wireless communication technologies continue to develop, the need for communication using high frequency bands has emerged. For use of high frequency bands in communication, beamforming techniques using high-capacity multiple antennas are considered. Beamforming techniques may comprise digital beamforming and analog beamforming. Highly directional beamforming with a larger number of antenna elements becomes essential in order to achieve high data rate between a User Equipment (UE) and a gNodeB (gNB). Precise alignment of beams at the gNB and the UE are required for directional beamforming. Beam management is thus required to identify optimal beams for communication.

[0005] Beam management may be used to establish directional initial access as well as to manage the beams in real-time (when UE is in a connected mode). Beam management involves beam sweeping during initial access and selecting optimal beams based on synchronization signals. In connected mode, Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) of the beams may be considered to select optimal beams.

[0006] A significant aspect of advancing wireless communication technologies comprise integrating Artificial Intelligence (Al) and Machine Learning (ML) techniques. Al and ML techniques are being considered for channel status measurements, beam management, and position estimations. In beam management, Al and ML techniques are considered for beamprediction and beam selection. The Al and ML techniques may be configured at both the UE and the gNB.

[0007] As per currently employed techniques, a set A of beams may be predicted based on a set B of beams (measured beams). In some cases, one or more predicted beams may be subject to various Radio Resource Management (RRM) issues and may not be optimal for communication purposes. The beams with RRM issues may not be used for mobility by the gNB for the UE. For instance, such predicted beams may cause high interference to neighbouring cell beams.

[0008] Currently, the existing techniques do not provide an optimized mechanism to predict beams while taking into account RRM issues. Thus, it is desired to address the above- mentioned disadvantages or other shortcomings or at least provide a useful alternative to overcome the above-mentioned disadvantages.SUMMARY

[0009] This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts, in a simplified format, that are further described in the detailed description of the disclosure. This summary is neither intended to identify key or essential inventive concepts of the disclosure nor is it intended to determine the scope of the disclosure.

[0010] Disclosed herein is an apparatus at a base station. The apparatus is configured to monitor one or more Radio Resource Management (RRM) limitations in at least one of a set A of beams and a set B of beams associated with a user equipment (UE). The set A of beams comprises predicted beams for beamforming. The set B of beams comprises measured beams for beamforming. The apparatus is further configured to identify one or more suboptimal beams from among the at least one of the set A of beams and the set B of beams based on the monitored one or more RRM limitations in the at least one of the set A of beams and the set B of beams. The apparatus is further configured to transmit, to the UE, a first assistance information. The first assistance information comprises beam identifiers (IDs) corresponding to the one or more suboptimal beams and a flag corresponding to the one or more suboptimal beams. The one or more suboptimal beams are excluded during beam prediction at the UE. The apparatus is further configured to receive, from the UE, remaining beam IDs corresponding to the predicted set A of beams associated with the beamforming.

[0011] Also disclosed here is a method comprising monitoring one or more Radio Resource Management (RRM) limitations at a base station in at least one of a set A of beams and a set B of beams associated with a user equipment (UE). The set A of beams comprises predictedbeams for beamforming. The set B of beams comprises measured beams for beamforming. The method further comprises identifying one or more suboptimal beams from among the at least one of the set A of beams and the set B of beams based on the monitored one or more RRM limitations in the at least one of the set A of beams and the set B of beams. The method further comprises transmitting, to the UE, a first assistance information comprising beam identifiers (IDs) corresponding to the one or more suboptimal beams and a flag corresponding to the one or more suboptimal beams. The one or more suboptimal beams are excluded during beam prediction at the UE. The method further comprises receiving, from the UE, remaining beam IDs corresponding to the predicted set A of beams associated with the beamforming.

[0012] Also disclosed herein is a non-transitory computer readable medium having recorded thereon instructions executable by a computer. The instructions cause the computer to perform operations comprising monitoring one or more Radio Resource Management (RRM) limitations at a base station in at least one of a set A of beams and a set B of beams associated with a user equipment (UE). The set A of beams comprises predicted beams for beamforming and the set B of beams comprises measured beams for beamforming. The operations further comprise identifying one or more suboptimal beams from among the at least one of the set A of beams and the set B of beams based on the monitored one or more RRM limitations in the at least one of the set A of beams and the set B of beams. The operations further comprise transmitting, to the UE, a first assistance information comprising beam identifiers (IDs) corresponding to the one or more suboptimal beams and a flag corresponding to the one or more suboptimal beams. The one or more suboptimal beams are excluded during beam prediction at the UE. The operations further comprise receiving, from the UE, remaining beam IDs corresponding to the predicted set A of beams associated with the beamforming.

[0013] The disclosed apparatus, method, and non-transitory computer readable medium enable prediction of optimal beams and avoiding prediction of suboptimal beams. The optimized beam prediction facilitates better management of RRM-related issues such as overloading and interference. In addition, air interface overhead can also be reduced.

[0014] To further clarify the advantages and features of the present disclosure, a more particular description of the disclosure will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments thereof, which is illustrated in the appended drawing. It is appreciated that these drawings depict only typical embodiments of the disclosure and are therefore not to be considered limiting its scope. The disclosure will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail with the accompanying drawings.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES

[0015] Features, aspects, and advantages of embodiments of the disclosure will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals denote like elements, and wherein:FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of a communication environment depicting a configuration of a user equipment (UE) and a base station, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram depicting the disaggregated architecture of the base station, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;FIGS. 3A-3B illustrate process flows between the UE and the base station for beam prediction, in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure;FIGS. 4A-4B illustrate signaling diagrams depicting exchange of signals between the UE and the base station for beam prediction, in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure;FIG. 5 illustrates a flowchart depicting a method for beam prediction, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure; andFIG. 6 illustrates a flowchart depicting another method for beam prediction, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.DETAIEED DESCRIPTION

[0016] The following detailed description of example embodiments refers to the accompanying drawings. The foregoing disclosure provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the implementations to the precise form disclosed. Modifications and variations are possible in light of the above disclosure or may be acquired from practice of the implementations. Further, one or more features or components of one embodiment may be incorporated into or combined with another embodiment (or one or more features of another embodiment). Additionally, the flowchart and description of operations provided below relate to one of the various embodiments. It should be noted that it is possible to make other embodiments that do not exactly match the flowchart and its description. It is understood that in other embodiments one or more operations may be omitted, one or more operations may be added, one or more operations may be performed simultaneously (at least in part).

[0017] It will be apparent that systems and / or methods, described herein, may be implemented in different forms of hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software. Theactual specialized control hardware or software code used to implement these systems and / or methods is not limiting of the implementations. Thus, the operation and behavior of the systems and / or methods are described herein without reference to specific software code. It is understood that software and hardware may be designed to implement the systems and / or methods based on the description herein.

[0018] Even though particular combinations of features are recited in the claims and / or disclosed in the specification, these combinations are not intended to limit the disclosure of implementations. In fact, many of these features may be combined in ways not specifically recited in the claims and / or disclosed in the specification. Although each dependent claim listed below may directly depend on only one claim, the disclosure of implementations comprises each dependent claim in combination with every other claim in the claim set.

[0019] 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 comprise one or more items, and may be used interchangeably with “one or more.” Also, as used herein, the terms “has,” “have,” “having,” “comprise,” “including,” or the like are intended to be open-ended terms. Further, the phrase “based on” is intended to mean “based, at least in part, on” unless explicitly stated otherwise. Furthermore, expressions such as “at least one of [A] and [B],” “[A] and / or [B],” or “at least one of [A] or [B]” are to be understood as including only A, only B, or both A and B.

[0020] The foregoing disclosure provides illustration and description but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the implementations to the precise form disclosed. Modifications and variations are possible in light of the above disclosure or may be acquired from practice of the implementations .

[0021] Unless otherwise defined, all terms, and especially any technical and / or scientific terms, used herein may be taken to have the same meaning as commonly understood by one having ordinary skill in the art.

[0022] Now embodiments of the present disclosure will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0023] FIG. 1 illustrates an example block diagram of a communication environment 100 depicting a configuration of a User Equipment (UE) 110 and a base station 120, according to one or more embodiments disclosed herein. The base station 120 may be configured to communicate with the UE 110. The configurations as disclosed in FIG. 1 may comprise one or more additional elements generally required for the operations of the UE 110 and the basestation 120, and the same have not been depicted for sake of brevity. Hereinafter, it is understood that terms including “unit” or “module” at the end may refer to the unit for processing at least one function or operation and may be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software.

[0024] Referring to FIG. 1, the UE 110 may be communicatively coupled to the base station 120 over a communication network. The communication network may be, for instance, Long Term Evolution (LTE), Long Term Evolution- Advanced (LTE-A), and Fifth generation (5G) communication networks. In an embodiment, the communication environment may be a 5thGeneration (5G) New Radio (NR) communication environment. The base station 120 may alternatively be referred to as a gNodeB (gNB).

[0025] It is appreciated that although the details of the present disclosure may be described with reference to the UE 110, the disclosure is not limited thereto and the communication environment 100 may comprise a plurality of UEs communicatively coupled to the base station 120. Further, the communication environment 100 may comprise additional base stations (not shown) and details in the present disclosure explained with reference to the base station 120 are equally applicable for the additional base stations as well.

[0026] The base station 120 may comprise an apparatus 121. The apparatus 121 comprises a processor 122, a memory 125, an input component 121, an output component 123, a communication interface 124, a storage component 126, a bus 127, and an Artificial Intelligence (Al) model 128. The base station 120 may be associated with corresponding multi-antenna arrays to facilitate communication with the UE 110 by means of beams.

[0027] The processor 122, as used herein, means any type of computational circuit that may comprise hardware elements and software elements. The processor 122 may be embodied as a multi-core processor, a single core processor, or a combination of one or more multi-core processors and / or one or more single core processors, a distributed processing system, or the like. The processor 122 may be a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU), an Accelerated Processing Unit (APU), an Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), or another type of processing component.

[0028] The processor 122 may be a single processing unit or a number of units, all of which could comprise multiple computing units. The processor 122 may be implemented as one or more microprocessors, microcomputers, microcontrollers, digital signal processors, central processing units, state machines, logic circuitries, and / or any devices that manipulate signals based on operational instructions. Among other capabilities, the processor 122 is configuredto fetch and execute computer-readable instructions and data stored in the memory. The processor 122 may comprise one or a plurality of processors. At this time, one or a plurality of processors 122 may be a general-purpose processor, such as a central processing unit (CPU), an application processor (AP), or the like, and an Al-dedicated processor such as a neural processing unit (NPU).

[0029] The memory 125 may comprise a non-transitory computer readable medium. Memory 125 comprises a random-access memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM), and / or another type of dynamic or static storage device (e.g., a flash memory, a magnetic memory, and / or an optical memory) that stores information and / or instructions for use by processor 122. The memory 125 comprises machine-readable instructions which are executable by the processor 122. These machine-readable instructions when executed by the processor 122 cause the processor 122 to perform one or more method steps of an embodiment described in the present disclosure.

[0030] Storage component 126 stores information and / or software related to the operation and use of the apparatus 121. For example, storage component 126 may comprise a hard disk (e.g., a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optic disk, and / or a solid-state disk), a compact disc (CD), a digital versatile disc (DVD), a floppy disk, a cartridge, a magnetic tape, and / or another type of non-transitory computer-readable medium, along with a corresponding drive.

[0031] Input component 121 is configured to receive information, such as user input. For example, the input component 121 may comprise, but not be limited to, a touch screen display, a keyboard, a keypad, a mouse, a button, a switch, and / or a microphone. Additionally, or alternatively, the input component 121 may comprise a sensor for sensing information (e.g., a global positioning system (GPS), an accelerometer, a gyroscope, and / or an actuator).

[0032] Output component 123 is configured to provide output information from the apparatus 121. For example, the output component 123 may be, but not limited to, a display, a speaker, instructions to an external device, and / or one or more light-emitting diodes (LEDs).

[0033] Communication interface 124 is an interface that provides a communication connection to other devices, such as external devices and internal devices. The connection by the communication interface 124 can be a wired connection, a wireless connection, or a combination of wired and wireless connections, and can be a direct connection or an indirect connection via a communication network that exists between the apparatus 121 and other devices. In other words, the standard of the communication interface 124 is not limited.

[0034] The bus 127 acts as an interconnect between the processor 122, the memory 125, the storage component 126, the input component 121, the output component 123, and the communication interface 124 of the apparatus 121. The bus 127 may comprise a wired interconnection or a wireless interconnection.

[0035] The number and arrangement of components shown in FIG. 1 are provided as an example. In practice, apparatus 121 may comprise additional components, fewer components, different components, or differently arranged components than those shown in FIG. 1. Additionally, or alternatively, a set of components (e.g., one or more components) of apparatus 121 may perform one or more functions described as being performed by another set of components of apparatus 121. Further, one or more method steps described in any of the embodiments may be performed utilizing a plurality of apparatus 121 in communication with one another.

[0036] In some embodiments, the base station 120 may be implemented as dedicated hardware units. In some embodiments, the base station 120 may be implemented in the form of virtualized software units in hardware or cloud environments. In some embodiments, the base station 120 may be associated with a disaggregated architecture. The base station 120 may be configured with logical nodes comprising a Centralized Unit (CU), alternatively referred to as a gNB-CU, and one or more Distributed Units (DUs), alternatively referred to as gNB-DUs. The gNB-CU may comprise a gNB-CU Control Plane (gNB-CU-CP) for control-plane functionality and one or more gNB-CU User Planes (gNB-CU-UPs) for userplane functionality. In an embodiment, the gNB-DUs may form the apparatus 121 of the base station 120, in that, the apparatus 121 of the base station 120 may refer to one or more of the gNB-DUs.

[0037] Further, the UE 110 may also comprise an apparatus 111 comprising a processor 112, a memory 115, an input component 111, an output component 113, a communication interface 114, a storage component 116, a bus 117, and an Artificial Intelligence (Al) model 118. The UE 110 may be associated with corresponding multi-antenna arrays to facilitate communication with the base station 120 by means of beams. The functionalities and features of the processor 112, the memory 115, the input component 111, the output component 113, the communication interface 114, the storage component 116, and the bus 117 may be similar to those of the processor 122, the memory 125, the input component 121, the output component 123, communication interface 124, the storage component 126, and the bus 127, respectively. Therefore, a detailed explanation of the same is omitted herein for the sake ofbrevity of the present disclosure. In an embodiment, the UE 110 may be a mobile telephone, a smartphone, a tablet, a personal computer, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a data terminal, etc.

[0038] Details regarding the Al model 118 of the UE 110 and the Al model 128 of the base station 120 are described further below with reference to FIG. 2.

[0039] FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram depicting the disaggregated architecture of the base station 120, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. The base station 120 may comprise a Centralized Unit (gNB-CU) 212. The gNB-CU 212 may be logically split into a CU Control Plane (gNB-CU-CP) 214 and one or more CU User Planes (gNB-CU-UPs) 216. The gNB-CU-CP 214 may be communicatively coupled with the one or more gNB-CU- UPs 216 over an El communication interface.

[0040] The gNB-CU 212 may be communicatively coupled to one or more Distributed Units (gNB-DUs) 218. In particular, the gNB-CU-CP 214 may be coupled to the one or more gNB- DUs 218 (referred to as ‘the gNB-DU 218’ hereinafter) via a Fl-C communication interface while the one or more gNB-CU-UPs 216 may be coupled to the one or more gNB-DUs 218 via a Fl-U communication interface. Further, the gNB-DU 218 may be communicatively coupled to one or more Radio Units (gNB-RUs) via a fronthaul network. The one or more gNB-RUs may be communicatively coupled to multiple UEs, such as, the UE 110.

[0041] The components of the base station 120 may be connected to a core network using a backhaul network. The gNB-CU-CP 214 may be configured for the execution of Radio Resource Control (RRC) protocols and Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP-c) protocols of a radio stack. The gNB-DU 218 may be configured for execution of Radio Link Control (RLC), Medium Access Control (MAC) and upper parts of Physical (PHY) layer protocols of the radio stack. The gNB-DU 218 may additionally comprise Fl Application Protocol (FLAP) sublayer, General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) Tunnelling Protocol (GTPU) sublayer, a Stream Control Transmission Protocol (SCTP) sublayer, a User Datagram Protocol (UDP) sublayer, and an Internet Protocol (IP) sublayer. In an embodiment, the apparatus 121 may refer to the gNB-DU 218. In an embodiment, the gNB-CU-CP 214 may also comprise the FLAP, SCTP, and IP sublayers along with PDCP-control (PDCP-C) sublayer. In an embodiment, the gNB-CU-UP 216 may comprise service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) sublayer, PDCP-user (PDCP-U) sublayer, GTPU sublayer, UDP sublayer, and IP sublayer. The gNB-RUs may be configured for execution of lower parts of PHY layer protocols as well as provide antenna capabilities for communication with UEs.

[0042] Further, one or more details may be explained with reference to the gNB-DU 218 associated with the base station 120, however, it is appreciated that the details are also applicable for other gNB-DUs associated with the base station 120.

[0043] Referring collectively to FIGS 1-2, the UE 110 may be associated with at least one of Artificial Intelligence (Al) models or Machine Learning (ML) models 118 (referred to as ‘the Al model 118’ hereinafter). The Al model 118 may refer to data drive algorithms to generate a set of outputs based on a set of inputs. The Al model 118 may enable prediction of beams for communication, i.e., exchange of signals, between the UE 110 and the base station 120. In the communication environment 100, for instance, when the communication network is a 5G NR communication, directional radio waves referred to as ‘beams’ are formed and directed towards the UE 110 by the base station 120. Beam management may refer to the set of procedures for managing the beams to facilitate reliable communication between the UE 110 and the base station 120. In non-limiting examples, beam management may comprise beamforming, beam tracking, beam steering, and beam optimization. In an embodiment, the AI / ML models may enable downlink beam prediction.

[0044] The processor 112 of the UE 110 may control the processing of input data in accordance with the Al model 118. In an embodiment, the Al model 118 may be stored in the memory 115. In another embodiment, the Al model may be stored in a cloud-based storage unit accessible by the UE 110. The Al model 118 may be provided through training or learning.

[0045] In an embodiment, training and inference of the Al model 118 is performed at the UE 110. In an embodiment, the base station 120 may also be associated with an Al model 128 configured for beam management. In an embodiment, the Al model 118 and the Al model 128 may form a two-sided model. The two-sided model may refer to a paired model over which joint inference is performed, in that, a first part of inference may be performed at the UE 110 and a remaining part of the inference may be performed at the base station 120, or vice versa.

[0046] In an embodiment, the Al model 118 may be utilized for beamforming. Beamforming may enable formation of beams for communication between the UE 110 and the base station 120. For example, an appropriate transmission beam may be formed for the base station 120 and an appropriate reception beam may be formed for the UE 110. The Al model 118 may enable prediction of a best beam, or best beams, from a set A of beams associated with the beamforming. The prediction may be based on a set B of beams. The set A of beams is fordownlink beam prediction. The set B of beams is for downlink beam measurements. The set A of beams is predicted using the Al model 118. The set B of beams is used for measurement to predict the set A of beams, in that, the set B of beams comprise measured beams used as an input for the Al model 118. The set A of beams may thus refer to set of predicted beams while the set B of beams may refer to a set of measured beams. Accordingly, the Al model 118 may enable beamforming and downlink beam prediction for the set A of beams based on measurement results of the set B of beams.

[0047] In an embodiment, the set B of beams is a subset of set A of beams. For instance, the set B of beams may be a set of eight beams selected from the set A of beams. The selection may be random or pre-decided. The set of eight beams may then be measured by the UE 110 and provided as input to the Al model 118, facilitating the prediction of the set A of beams. For instance, top N beams may be predicted by the Al model 118 based on the measured beams.

[0048] In another embodiment, the set B of beams is different from the set A of beams. For instance, the set A of beams may comprise narrow beams while the set B of beams may comprise wide beams. In an embodiment, the set A and set B of beams may be in a same frequency range.

[0049] In an embodiment, the Al model 118 may enable downlink beam prediction in a spatial domain. In an embodiment, the Al model 118 may enable downlink beam prediction in a temporal domain. In case of beam prediction in the temporal domain, historical measurements results associated with the set B of beams may be considered as input to the Al model 118.

[0050] In an embodiment, the Al model 118 is a trained model. The training may be performed at the UE 110. In case of a paired model (two-sided model comprising Al model 118 and Al model 128), the training and inference may be performed at the UE 110. In an embodiment, such as in case of downlink beam prediction in spatial domain, the Al model 118 may be trained on LI- Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) measurements associated with the set B of beams, Channel Impulse Response (CIR), and beam IDs associated with the set B of beams. In an embodiment, training data for training the Al model 118 may be generated by the UE 110 or the base station 120. In another embodiment, such as in case of downlink beam prediction in the temporal domain, the Al model 118 may be trained on measurement results of K (K>1) latest measurement instances of one or more of LI -RSRP measurements based on the set B of beams and beam IDs associated with the set B of beams.

[0051] In an embodiment, information regarding the set A of beams and the set B of beams may be shared with the UE 110 by the base station 120. The base station 120 may be configured to indicate beam identifiers (IDs) corresponding to the set A of beams and the set B of beams to the UE 110. That is, the base station 120 may indicate beam IDs to measure (set B of beams) and beam IDs to predict (set A of beams). In an embodiment, the base station 120 may be configured to indicate an association among the set A of beams and the set B of beams to the UE 110. For instance, the base station 120 may transmit a Radio Resource Control (RRC) reconfiguration message to the UE 110 in order to indicate the beam IDs corresponding to the set A of beams, beam IDs corresponding to the set B of beams, and an association between the set A of beams and the set B of beams.

[0052] The base station 120 may be configured to monitor one or more Radio Resource Management (RRM) limitations in at least one of the set A of beams and the set B of beams. In non-limiting examples, the one or more RRM limitations may refer high interference, overloading, and admission control issues. The base station 120 may be configured to monitor the one or more RRM limitations in the set A of beams. The beams that are subject to RRM limitations may comprise high interference impacted beams, overloaded beams, and beams having admission control issues. In case the set A of beams is not known to the base station (for example, user data beams that are not beamformed earlier to prediction), the base station may monitor beams in the set B.

[0053] As mentioned above, the base station 120 may be associated with a disaggregated approach. In such a case, the gNB-DU 218 currently serving the UE 110, i.e., the serving gNB-DU, may be configured to monitor the one or more RRM limitations in at least one of the set A of beams and the set B of beams. In an embodiment, the serving gNB-DU may form the apparatus 121 of the base station 120, in that, the apparatus 121 may refer to the serving gNB-DU. As a non-limiting example, the serving gNB-DU may monitor interference from a neighbouring gNB-DU. In an embodiment, the serving gNB-DU may be configured to monitor the one or more RRM limitations for each cell associated with the serving gNB-DU.

[0054] The base station 120 may further be configured to identify one or more suboptimal beams from among the set A of beams or the set B of beams. In case the set A of beams are monitored, the base station 120 may identify the one or more suboptimal beams from the set A of beams. In case the set B of beams is monitored, the base station 120 may identify the one or more suboptimal beams from the set B of beams. The one or more suboptimal beams may refer to beams that are subject to the one or more RRM limitations. In a non-limitingexample, the one or more suboptimal beams refer to beams that are subject to at least one of high interference, overloading, and admission control issues. The one or more suboptimal beams comprise beams not suitable for signal exchange between the UE 110 and the base station 120. As an example, the one or more suboptimal beams comprise beams which are not suitable for mobility purposes. As another example, the one or more suboptimal beams comprise beams that may cause high interference to neighbour cell beams.

[0055] In an embodiment, the base station 120 may generate a ‘to-be-excluded-beam list’ comprising beam IDs associated with the identified suboptimal beams. In case the set A of beams are known to the base station 120, the ‘to-be-excluded-beam-list’ may comprise beam IDs of the suboptimal beams from among the set A of beams. In case the set A of beams are not known to the base station 120, the ‘to-be-excluded-beam-list’ may comprise beam IDs of the suboptimal beams from among the set B of beams.

[0056] The base station 120 may be configured to transmit the beam IDs of the identified suboptimal beams, i.e., the ‘to-be-excluded-beam-list’ to the UE 110. The base station 120 may be configured to transmit a first assistance information to the UE 110 and the beam IDs of the identified suboptimal beams may be a part of the first assistance information. In the present disclosure, the term ‘assistance information’ may refer to information to be used by the UE 110 for beam prediction purposes. For instance, the assistance information may comprise one or more additional parameters to identify the sub-optimal beams.

[0057] As the one or more suboptimal beams refer to beams unsuitable for signal exchange between the UE 110 and the base station 120, it is ideal for the UE 110 to avoid prediction of the one or more suboptimal beams. The first assistance information received by the UE 110 from the base station 120 may comprise a flag indicating that the identified one or more suboptimal beams are to be excluded during prediction. Exclusion of the sub-optimal beams ensures that the network is prevented from selecting a beam in scenarios of resource crunch or in scenarios when the Quality of Service (QoS) of the UE 110 is compromised. In an embodiment, the assistance information may indicate a time duration for which the exclusion is applicable, i.e., the time duration for which the identified suboptimal beams are to be excluded from beam prediction at the UE 110.

[0058] In an embodiment, the base station 120 may transmit a Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE) message comprising the assistance information to the UE 110. In an embodiment, the base station 120 may transmit the assistance information in a System Information Block 1 (SIB1) broadcast to be read by the UE 110 to obtain the assistanceinformation. In an embodiment, Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling may also be used by the base station 120 to communicate the beam IDs of the identified one or more suboptimal beams that are to be excluded during prediction at the UE 110. It is appreciated that the assistance information may be transmitted by the base station 120 to the UE 110 in other Layer 1 (LI) or Layer 2 (L2) messages.

[0059] With respect to the base station 120, the serving gNB-DU 218 may be configured to identify the one or more suboptimal beams from among the set A of beams (in case set A is monitored) or the set B of beams (in case set B is monitored). Further, the serving gNB-DU 218 may be configured to generate the ‘to-be-excluded-beam-lisf and transmit the first assistance information to the UE 110. As described above, the first assistance information may comprise the beam IDs corresponding to the one or more suboptimal beams, the flag indicating that the identified one or more suboptimal beams are to be excluded from prediction, and a time duration for which the exclusion is applicable. In an embodiment, the one or more suboptimal beams may be identified by the gNB-CU 212 and shared with the serving gNB-DU 218.

[0060] The UE 110 may be configured to receive the first assistance information from the base station 120 comprising the beam IDs of the identified suboptimal beams, the flag indicating that the beam IDs are to be excluded from the prediction, and the time duration indicating the time for the exclusion.

[0061] The UE 110 may be configured to measure beams corresponding to the beam IDs of the set B of beams. The UE 110 may further be configured to utilize the Al model 118 model to predict the set A of beams based on the measured set B of beams. For instance, the UE 110 may be configured to predict optimal beam(s) from the set A of beams using the Al model 118. The measured set B of beams may be provided as input to the Al model 118, and the Al model 118 may predict beams IDs corresponding to the set A of beams.

[0062] The measured set B of beams may be provided as input to the Al model 118 and the Al model 118 may predict beams IDs corresponding to the set A of beams. In an embodiment, the UE 110 may predict an optimal beam among the set A of beams for communication with the base station 120. For the beam prediction, the UE 110 may consider the association between the set A of beams and the set B of beams. During the prediction, the identified one or more suboptimal beams are excluded by the UE 110. When the identified one or more suboptimal beams are from the set A of beams, the UE 110 directly excludes the corresponding beam IDs from the prediction. When the identified one or more suboptimalbeams are from the set B of beams, the UE 110 identifies the set A beam IDs based on the association between the set A and set B of beams. As mentioned above, the association between the set A and set B of beams may be configured and available at the UE 110.

[0063] The UE 110 may communicate the remaining beam IDs corresponding to the set A of beams to the base station 120. In an embodiment, the beam IDs corresponding to the set A of beams are predicted in the spatial domain. In another embodiment, the beam IDs corresponding to the set A of beams are predicted in the temporal domain. In an embodiment, the Al model 118 may be configured to facilitate prediction of beam IDs of ‘N’ number of downlink beams (transmitting (Tx) and receiving (Rx) beams).

[0064] As mentioned above, the first assistance information comprises the time duration for which the one or more subop timal beams are to be excluded from the prediction. The UE 110 may exclude the identified suboptimal beams during prediction for the time duration indicated in the received assistance information. As a non-limiting example, the time duration may be 200ms. Once the time duration expires, the one or more suboptimal beams may be taken into consideration for the prediction at the UE 110. That is, the UE 110 may be configured to determine that the time duration has expired, and after an expiry of the time duration, the UE 110 may automatically take into consideration the one or more suboptimal beams for the prediction. The UE 110 may predict updated beam IDs corresponding to the set A of beams using the Al model 118 by considering the one or more suboptimal beams during the beam prediction. The UE 110 may transmit the updated beam IDs corresponding to the set A of beams to the base station 120.

[0065] In an embodiment, the base station 120 may be configured to transmit an additional assistance information to the UE 110 to indicate continued suspension of the identified one or more suboptimal beams during the prediction at the UE 110. The additional assistance information may be transmitted prior to the expiry of the time duration indicated in the first assistance information.

[0066] In an embodiment, the time duration may not be indicated in the first assistance information received at the UE 110 from the base station 120. The UE 110 may continue to exclude the identified one or more suboptimal beams during the prediction until the base station 120 transmits a message to start comprising one or more of the identified suboptimal beams in the prediction. That is, until the base station 120 transmits a signal to remove the exclusion of one or more of the identified suboptimal beams, the UE 110 may continue to exclude the one or more suboptimal beams from prediction.

[0067] The base station 120 may be configured to monitor the one or more RRM limitations and determine one or more recovered beams among the identified suboptimal beams. The recovered beams refer to beams among the suboptimal beams that are no longer impacted by the one or more RRM limitations (interference or other RRM aspects). In an embodiment, the serving gNB-DU 218 may be configured to determine the one or more recovered beams among the identified suboptimal beams.

[0068] The base station 120 may be configured to transmit a second assistance information to the UE 110. The second assistance information may comprise beam IDs corresponding to the one or more recovered beams and a flag indicating that the one or more recovered beams are to be comprised in the beam prediction at the UE 110. In an embodiment, the second assistance information may be transmitted via one of a MAC CE message, a SIB1 broadcast, or a RRC message.

[0069] The UE 110 may be configured to receive the second assistance information comprising the beam IDs corresponding to the one or more recovered beams. The UE 110 may predict, using the Al model 118, the updated beam IDs corresponding to the set A of beams by taking into consideration the one or more recovered beams. The UE 110 may transmit the updated beam IDs corresponding to the set A of beams to the base station 120.

[0070] Accordingly, optimized beam prediction for communication between the UE 110 and the base station can be achieved. The optimized beam prediction results in reduction of beam prediction overhead and efficient management of RRM-related issues. As the beams having the RRM limitations are identified and indicated to the UE 110, the beams with the RRM limitations are not predicted as optimal (best) beams. This is because the UE 110 is provided with the assistance information to omit or exclude such beams from beam prediction.

[0071] Referring to FIG. 3A, a process flow 300A between the UE 110 and the base station 120 for beam prediction is illustrated, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. It is appreciated that the process flow is explained with reference to the UE 110, however, the details are equally applicable for other UEs in communication with the base station 120.

[0072] At step 301, the base station 120 may monitor the one or more RRM limitations. The one or more RRM limitations may comprise high interference, overloading, and admission control issues. The beams that are subject to RRM limitations may comprise high interference impacted beams, overloaded beams, and beams having admission control issues.

[0073] At step 302, based on the monitoring, the base station 120 may identify the one or more suboptimal beams from among the set A of beams or the set B of beams. As described above, the one or more suboptimal beams may refer to beams that are subject to the one or more RRM limitations.

[0074] At step 303, the base station 120 may transmit the first assistance information to the UE 110. The first assistance information may comprise the beam IDs of the identified suboptimal beams, the flag indicating that the identified one or more suboptimal beams are to be excluded during prediction, and the time duration for which the exclusion is applicable.

[0075] At step 304, the UE 110 may receive the first assistance information and utilize the Al model 118 to predict the set A of beams based on the measured set B of beams and the received first assistance information. In the prediction, the beam IDs of the identified suboptimal beams are excluded.

[0076] At step 305, the UE 110 may transmit the remaining beam IDs corresponding to the set A of beams to the base station 120.

[0077] At step 306, the UE 110 may determine the expiry of the time duration for which the exclusion of the suboptimal beams is applicable.

[0078] At step 307, the UE 110 may utilize the Al model 118 to predict updated beam IDs corresponding to the set A of beams by considering the one or more suboptimal beams during the beam prediction.

[0079] At step 308, the UE 110 may transmit the updated beam IDs corresponding to the set A of beams to the base station 120.

[0080] As described above, in accordance with FIG. 3A, the time duration for which the exclusion of suboptimal beams is applicable is indicated to the UE 110 in the first assistance information. The UE 110 may then exclude the suboptimal beams from prediction during the time duration. After expiry of the time duration, the UE 110 may automatically consider the suboptimal beams for prediction.

[0081] Referring to FIG. 3B, a process flow 300B between the UE 110 and the base station 120 for beam prediction is illustrated, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. It is appreciated that the process flow is explained with reference to the UE 110, however, the details are equally applicable for other UEs in communication with the base station 120.

[0082] In FIG. 3B, the steps 311-315 are similar to the steps 301-305 as described with reference to FIG. 3 A. However, in FIG. 3B, the assistance information transmitted by the basestation 120 at step 313 may not indicate the time duration for which the exclusion of the suboptimal beams during prediction at the UE 110 is applicable. The UE 110 may continue to exclude the identified one or more suboptimal beams during the prediction until step 316.

[0083] At step 316, the base station 120 may monitor the one or more RRM limitations and determine one or more recovered beams among the identified suboptimal beams that are free of the one or more RRM limitations.

[0084] At step 317, the base station 120 may transmit the second assistance information to the UE 110 comprising beam IDs corresponding to the one or more recovered beams and a flag indicating that the one or more recovered beams are to be comprised in the beam prediction at the UE 110.

[0085] At step 318, the UE 110 may utilize the Al model 118 to predict updated beam IDs corresponding to the set A of beams by considering the one or more recovered beams during the beam prediction.

[0086] At step 319, the UE 110 may transmit the updated beam IDs corresponding to the set A of beams to the base station 120.

[0087] As described above, in accordance with FIG. 3B, the base station 120 may indicate to the UE 110 to exclude the suboptimal beams from prediction (via the first assistance information). The base station 120 may also explicitly indicate to the UE 110 to add one or more of the suboptimal beams in the prediction, once the base station determines that one or more of the suboptimal beams are no longer affected by the one or more RRM limitations.

[0088] Referring to FIGS. 4A-4B, a signalling diagram 400 depicting exchange of signals between the UE 110 and the base station 120 in a disaggregated architecture for downlink beam prediction is illustrated. The base station 120 comprises the gNB-CU-CP 214 and the serving gNB-DU 218.

[0089] As seen in FIG. 4A, at step 402, the UE 110 is configured with Al based beam prediction. It is appreciated that the process flow is explained with reference to the UE 110, however, the details are equally applicable for other UEs in communication with the base station 120.

[0090] At step 404, the gNB-CU-CP 214 transmits an RRC reconfiguration message to the UE 110. The RRC reconfiguration message comprises one or more of the beam IDs corresponding to the set B, the beam IDs corresponding to the set A, and the association between the set A and Set B of beams.

[0091] At step 406, the UE 110 acknowledges the RRC reconfiguration message received from the gNB-CU-CP 214.

[0092] At step 408, the serving gNB-DU 218 monitors the one or more RRM limitations such as interference, overloading, admission control, etc associated with one of the set A or the set B of beams. In an embodiment, the monitoring may be performed for each cell associated with the serving gNB-DU 218. Further, the serving gNB-DU 218 may identify the one or more suboptimal beams based on the monitoring of the one or more RRM limitations that are to be excluded from prediction at the UE 110.

[0093] At step 410, the serving gNB-DU may transmit a MAC CE message to the UE 110 in order to indicate the beam IDs corresponding to the identified suboptimal beams, an EXCL flag indicating that the beam IDs are to be excluded from prediction, and a time duration (for instance, 200ms) for which the exclusion is applicable. As described above, in other embodiments, the information regarding the suboptimal beams to be excluded may be communicated by means of SIB1 broadcast or RRC signaling.

[0094] At step 412, the UE 110 performs beam prediction using the Al model 118 and predicts beam IDs corresponding to the set A of beams. The UE 110 excludes the identified one or more suboptimal beams from the prediction. In an embodiment, for the beam prediction, the UE 110 may consider the association between the set A of beams and the set B of beams shared via the RRC reconfiguration message.

[0095] At step 414, the UE 110 may communicate the predicted beam IDs to the serving gNB- DU 218.

[0096] As seen in FIG. 4B, at step 416, the serving gNB-DU 218 may determine one or more recovered beams among the identified suboptimal beams that are no longer impacted by the one or more RRM limitations, i.e., by the interference or other RRM aspects.

[0097] At step 418, the serving gNB-DU 218 may transmit another MAC CE message to the UE 110 indicating beam IDs corresponding to the one or more recovered beams and an INCL flag indicating that the one or more recovered beams are to be comprised in the beam prediction at the UE 110.

[0098] At step 420, the UE 110 may comprise the beam IDs corresponding to the one or more recovered beams for the beam prediction. The UE 110 may then predict updated beam IDs corresponding to the set A of beams by taking into consideration the one or more recovered beams.

[0099] At step 422, the UE 110 may communicate the predicted updated beam IDs to the serving gNB-DU 218.

[0100] FIG. 5 illustrates a flowchart depicting a method 500 for beam prediction, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. In one embodiment, the steps of the method 500 may be performed at the base station 120, as discussed above with reference to FIGS. 1-4B.

[0101] At step 502, the method 500 comprises monitoring the one or more RRM limitations in at least one of a set A of beams and a set B of beams associated with the UE 110. The set A of beams comprises predicted beams and the set B of beams comprises measured beams.

[0102] At step 504, the method comprises identifying one or more suboptimal beams from among the at least one of the set A of beams and the set B of beams based on the monitored one or more RRM limitations in the at least one of the set A of beams and the set B of beams.

[0103] At step 506, the method 500 comprises transmitting the first assistance information to the UE 110. The first assistance information comprises beam IDs corresponding to the one or more suboptimal beams and the flag corresponding to the one or more suboptimal beams. As described above, the one or more suboptimal beams are excluded during beam prediction at the UE 110.

[0104] At step 508, the method 500 comprises receiving remaining beam IDs corresponding to the predicted set A of beams from the UE 110.

[0105] In an embodiment, the method 500 may further comprise determining one or more recovered beams among the identified suboptimal beams that are no longer impacted by the RRM limitations and transmitting the second assistance information to the UE 110 indicating beam IDs corresponding to the one or more recovered beams and a flag indicating that the one or more recovered beams are to be comprised in the beam prediction at the UE 110.

[0106] While the above-discussed steps in FIG. 5 are shown and described in a particular sequence, the steps may occur in variations to the sequence in accordance with various embodiments. Further, a detailed description related to the various steps of FIG. 5 is already covered in the description related to FIGS. 1-4B and is omitted herein for the sake of brevity.

[0107] FIG. 6 illustrates a flowchart depicting another method 600 for beam prediction, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. In one embodiment, the steps of the method 600 may be performed at the UE 110, as discussed above with reference to FIGS. 1-4B.

[0108] At step 602, the method 600 comprises receiving, by the UE from the base station 120 (for instance, the apparatus 121 or the serving gNB-DU 218), the first assistance information comprising beam IDs corresponding to the one or more suboptimal beams and a flag indicating that the one or more suboptimal beams are to be excluded from prediction. Optionally, the first assistance information may comprise a time duration indicating time for which the one or more suboptimal beams are to be excluded from beam prediction at the UE 110.

[0109] At step 604, the method 600 comprises predicting, using the Al model 118 configured at the UE 110, beam IDs corresponding to the set A of beams for communication with the base station 120, based on the received first assistance information and the association between the set A of beams and the set B of beams. At step 606, the method 600 comprises transmitting the beam IDs corresponding to the predicted set A of beams to the base station 120.

[0110] While the above-discussed steps in FIG. 6 are shown and described in a particular sequence, the steps may occur in variations to the sequence in accordance with various embodiments. Further, a detailed description related to the various steps of FIG. 6 is already covered in the description related to FIGS. 1-4B and is omitted herein for the sake of brevity.

[0111] As mentioned previously, it is appreciated that the details of the present disclosure may are equally applicable for a plurality of UEs communicatively coupled to the base station 120. Further, one or more details may be explained with reference to a gNB-DU, however, it is appreciated that the details are also applicable for other gNB-DUs associated with the base station 120.

[0112] The present disclosure describes apparatus and methods for optimized beam prediction for communication between a UE and a base station (gNB) and reduction in beam prediction overhead. Beams having high interference or other RRM limitations can be identified and beam IDs for such beams with RRM limitations can be communicated to the UE for omission from Al based beam prediction. At the UE, high interference beams are not predicted as optimal (best) beams since the UE is provided with the assistance information to omit or exclude high interference beams from beam prediction. Exclusion of the sub-optimal beams ensures that the network is prevented from selecting a beam in scenarios of resource crunch or in scenarios when the Quality of Service (QoS) of the UE 110 is compromised. Thus, the QoS of the UE as well as the performance is not impacted by selecting sub-optimal beams and the network is not forced to select a beam that is already facing a resource crunch.Further, time duration for exclusion can also be communicated to the UE, which is useful when there is interference coordination between gNB-DUs and a set of Transmission Time Intervals (TTIs) can alternatively be used by each gNB-DU to avoid interference caused to each other.[1]. An apparatus at a base station, the apparatus configured to: monitor one or more Radio Resource Management (RRM) limitations in at least one of a set A of beams and a set B of beams associated with a user equipment (UE), wherein the set A of beams comprises predicted beams for beamforming and the set B of beams comprises measured beams for beamforming; identify one or more suboptimal beams from among the at least one of the set A of beams and the set B of beams based on the monitored one or more RRM limitations in the at least one of the set A of beams and the set B of beams; transmit, to the UE, a first assistance information comprising beam identifiers (IDs) corresponding to the one or more suboptimal beams and a flag corresponding to the one or more suboptimal beams, wherein the one or more suboptimal beams are excluded during beam prediction at the UE; and receive, from the UE, remaining beam IDs corresponding to the predicted set A of beams associated with the beamforming.[2]. The apparatus described in [1], wherein the apparatus is further configured to: determine one or more recovered beams among the one or more suboptimal beams based on the monitored one or more RRM limitations, wherein the one or more recovered beams correspond to the one or more suboptimal beams that are free from the one or more RRM limitations; transmit, to the UE, a second assistance information comprising beam IDs corresponding to the one or more recovered beams and a flag corresponding to the one or more recovered beams, wherein the one or more recovered beams are considered during the beam prediction at the UE; and receive, from the UE, updated beam IDs corresponding to the set A of beams.[3]. The apparatus described in any one of [1] or [2], wherein the apparatus is configured to receive the remaining beam IDs corresponding to the predicted set A of beams comprises: receive, by the UE, the first assistance information; predict, by the UE using an Artificial Intelligence (Al) model associated with the beamforming, the beam IDs corresponding to the set A of beams based on the first assistanceinformation and an association between the set A of beams and the set B of beams, wherein the one or more subop timal beams are excluded from the prediction; and transmit, to the base station, the remaining beam IDs corresponding to the predicted set A of beams.[4]. The apparatus described in any one of [2] or [3], wherein the apparatus being configured to receive the updated beam IDs corresponding to the predicted set A of beams comprises: receive, by the UE, the second assistance information; predict, using an Artificial Intelligence (Al) model associated with the beamforming, the updated beam IDs corresponding to the set A of beams based on the second assistance information, wherein the one or more recovered beams are considered during prediction of the updated beam IDs corresponding to the set A of beams; and transmit, to the base station, the updated beam IDs corresponding to the set A of beams.[5]. The apparatus described in any one of [l]-[4], wherein the first assistance information further comprises a time duration corresponding to the one or more suboptimal beams, the time duration indicating time for which the one or more suboptimal beams are to be excluded from beam prediction at the UE.[6]. The apparatus described in [5], wherein the apparatus is configured to receive, from the UE, updated beam IDs corresponding to the set A of beams, wherein the apparatus being configured to receive the updated beam IDs comprises: determine, at the UE, that the time duration received in the first assistance information has expired; and predict, using an Artificial Intelligence (Al) model, the updated beam IDs corresponding to the set A of beams by considering the one or more suboptimal beams during the beam prediction.[7]. The apparatus described in any one of [l]-[6], wherein: the first assistance information is transmitted in one of a Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE) message, a System Information Block 1 (SIB1) broadcast, or a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message; the one or more RRM limitations comprise one or more of high interference impacted beams, overloaded beams, and admission control issues, andthe base station is associated with a Control Unit (CU) and one or more Distributed Units (DUs), and wherein the one or more suboptimal beams are identified using one of the CU or the one or more DUs associated with the base station.[8]. The apparatus described in [3], wherein: the remaining beam IDs corresponding to the predicted set A of beams are predicted in at least one of a spatial domain or a temporal domain, and the Al model is trained on one or more of LI- Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) measurement associated with the set B of beams, Channel Impulse Response (CIR) associated with the set B of beams, and beam IDs associated with the set B of beams.[9]. The apparatus described in any one of [2] or [4], wherein the second assistance information is transmitted in one of a Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE) message, a System Information Block 1 (SIB1) broadcast, or a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message.

[0010] . A method comprising: monitoring one or more Radio Resource Management (RRM) limitations at a base station in at least one of a set A of beams and a set B of beams associated with a user equipment (UE), wherein the set A of beams comprises predicted beams for beamforming and the set B of beams comprises measured beams for beamforming; identifying one or more suboptimal beams from among the at least one of the set A of beams and the set B of beams based on the monitored one or more RRM limitations in the at least one of the set A of beams and the set B of beams; transmitting, to the UE, a first assistance information comprising beam identifiers (IDs) corresponding to the one or more suboptimal beams and a flag corresponding to the one or more suboptimal beams, wherein the one or more suboptimal beams are excluded during beam prediction at the UE; and receiving, from the UE, remaining beam IDs corresponding to the predicted set A of beams associated with the beamforming.

[0011] . The method described in

[0010] , further comprising : determining one or more recovered beams among the one or more suboptimal beams based on the monitored one or more RRM limitations, wherein the one or more recovered beams correspond to the one or more suboptimal beams that are free from the one or more RRM limitations;transmitting, to the UE, a second assistance information comprising beam IDs corresponding to the one or more recovered beams and a flag corresponding to the one or more recovered beams, wherein the one or more recovered beams are considered during the beam prediction at the UE; and receiving, from the UE, updated beam IDs corresponding to the set A of beams.

[0012] . The method described in any one of

[0010] or

[0011] , wherein receiving the remaining beam IDs corresponding to the predicted set A of beams comprises: receiving, by the UE, the first assistance information; predicting, by the UE using an Artificial Intelligence (Al) model associated with the beamforming, the beam IDs corresponding to the set A of beams based on the set B of beams and an association between the set A of beams and the set B of beams, wherein the one or more subop timal beams are excluded from the prediction; and transmitting, to the base station, the remaining beam IDs corresponding to the predicted set A of beams.

[0013] . The method described in any one of

[0011] or

[0012] , wherein receiving the updated beam IDs corresponding to the predicted set A of beams comprises: receiving, by the UE, the second assistance information; predicting, using an Artificial Intelligence (Al) model associated with the beamforming, the updated beam IDs corresponding to the set A of beams, wherein the one or more recovered beams are considered during prediction of the updated beam IDs corresponding to the set A of beams; and transmitting, to the base station, the updated beam IDs corresponding to the set A of beams.

[0014] . The method described in any one of

[0010] -

[0013] , wherein the first as sistance information further comprises a time duration corresponding to the one or more suboptimal beams, the time duration indicating time for which the one or more suboptimal beams are to be excluded from beam prediction at the UE.

[0015] . The method described in

[0014] , further comprising receiving, from the UE, updated beam IDs corresponding to the set A of beams, wherein receiving the updated beam IDs comprises: determining, at the UE, that the time duration received in the first assistance information has expired; andpredicting, using an Artificial Intelligence (Al) model, the updated beam IDs corresponding to the set A of beams by considering the one or more suboptimal beams during the beam prediction.

[0016] . The method described in any one of

[0010] -

[0015] , wherein: the first assistance information is transmitted in one of a Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE) message, a System Information Block 1 (SIB1) broadcast, or a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message; the one or more RRM limitations comprise one or more of high interference impacted beams, overloaded beams, and admission control issues, and the base station is associated with a Control Unit (CU) and one or more Distributed Units (DUs), and wherein the one or more suboptimal beams are identified using one of the CU or the one or more DUs associated with the base station.

[0017] . The method described in

[0012] , wherein: the remaining beam IDs corresponding to the predicted set A of beams are predicted in at least one of a spatial domain or a temporal domain, and the Al model is trained on one or more of LI -Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) measurement associated with the set B of beams, Channel Impulse Response (CIR) associated with the set B of beams, and beam IDs associated with the set B of beams.

[0018] . The method described in any one of

[0011] or

[0013] , wherein the second assistance information is transmitted in one of a Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE) message, a System Information Block 1 (SIB1) broadcast, or a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message.

[0019] . A non-transitory computer readable medium having recorded thereon instructions executable by a computer to cause the computer to perform operations comprising: monitoring one or more Radio Resource Management (RRM) limitations at a base station in at least one of a set A of beams and a set B of beams associated with a user equipment (UE), wherein the set A of beams comprises predicted beams for beamforming and the set B of beams comprises measured beams for beamforming; identifying one or more suboptimal beams from among the at least one of the set A of beams and the set B of beams based on the monitored one or more RRM limitations in the at least one of the set A of beams and the set B of beams; transmitting, to the UE, a first assistance information comprising beam identifiers(IDs) corresponding to the one or more suboptimal beams and a flag corresponding to the oneor more suboptimal beams, wherein the one or more suboptimal beams are excluded during beam prediction at the UE; and receiving, from the UE, remaining beam IDs corresponding to the predicted set A of beams associated with the beamforming.

[0020] . The non-transitory computer readable medium described in

[0019] , wherein the operations further comprise: determining one or more recovered beams among the one or more suboptimal beams based on the monitored one or more RRM limitations, wherein the one or more recovered beams correspond to the one or more suboptimal beams that are free from the one or more RRM limitations; transmitting, to the UE, a second assistance information comprising beam IDs corresponding to the one or more recovered beams and a flag corresponding to the one or more recovered beams, wherein the one or more recovered beams are considered during the beam prediction at the UE; and receiving, from the UE, updated beam IDs corresponding to the set A of beams.

[0113] The embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented through at least one software program running on at least one hardware device and performing network management functions to control the elements. The elements can be at least one of a hardware device or a combination of hardware devices and software modules.

[0114] While specific language has been used to describe the disclosure, any limitations arising on account of the same are not intended. As would be apparent to a person in the art, various working modifications may be made to the method in order to implement the inventive concept as taught herein.

[0115] The drawings and the forgoing description give examples of embodiments. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that one or more of the described elements may well be combined into a single functional element. Alternatively, certain elements may be split into multiple functional elements. Elements from one embodiment may be added to another embodiment. For example, orders of processes described herein may be changed and are not limited to the manner described herein.

[0116] Moreover, the actions of any flow diagram need not be implemented in the order shown; nor do all of the acts necessarily need to be performed. Also, those acts that are not dependent on other acts may be performed in parallel with the other acts. The scope of embodiments is by no means limited by these specific examples. Numerous variations,whether explicitly given in the specification or not, such as differences in structure, dimension, and use of material, are possible. The scope of embodiments is at least as broad as given by the following claims.

[0117] Benefits, other advantages, and solutions to problems have been described above with regard to specific embodiments. However, the benefits, advantages, solutions to problems, and any component(s) that may cause any benefit, advantage, or solution to occur or become more pronounced are not to be construed as a critical, required, or essential feature or component of any or all the claims.

[0118] The foregoing description of the specific embodiments will so fully reveal the general nature of the embodiments herein that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily modify and / or adapt for various applications such specific embodiments without departing from the generic concept, and, therefore, such adaptations and modifications should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments. It is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation. Therefore, while the embodiments herein have been described in terms of at least one embodiment, those skilled in the art will recognize that the embodiments herein can be practiced with modification within the spirit and scope of the embodiments as described herein.

Claims

CLAIMS1. An apparatus (121) at a base station (120), the apparatus (121) configured to: monitor one or more Radio Resource Management (RRM) limitations in at least one of a set A of beams and a set B of beams associated with a user equipment (UE) (110), wherein the set A of beams comprises predicted beams for beamforming and the set B of beams comprises measured beams for beamforming; identify one or more suboptimal beams from among the at least one of the set A of beams and the set B of beams based on the monitored one or more RRM limitations in the at least one of the set A of beams and the set B of beams; transmit, to the UE (110), a first assistance information comprising beam identifiers (IDs) corresponding to the one or more suboptimal beams and a flag corresponding to the one or more suboptimal beams, wherein the one or more suboptimal beams are excluded during beam prediction at the UE (110); and receive, from the UE (110), remaining beam IDs corresponding to the predicted set A of beams associated with the beamforming.

2. The apparatus (121) of claim 1, wherein the apparatus (121) is further configured to: determine one or more recovered beams among the one or more suboptimal beams based on the monitored one or more RRM limitations, wherein the one or more recovered beams correspond to the one or more suboptimal beams that are free from the one or more RRM limitations; transmit, to the UE (110), a second assistance information comprising beam IDs corresponding to the one or more recovered beams and a flag corresponding to the one or more recovered beams, wherein the one or more recovered beams are considered during the beam prediction at the UE (110); and receive, from the UE (110), updated beam IDs corresponding to the set A of beams.

3. The apparatus (121) of claim 1, wherein the apparatus (121) is configured to receive the remaining beam IDs corresponding to the predicted set A of beams comprises: receive, by the UE (110), the first assistance information; predict, by the UE (110) using an Artificial Intelligence (Al) model (118) associated with the beamforming, the beam IDs corresponding to the set A of beams based on the first assistance information and an association between the set A of beams and the set B of beams, wherein the one or more suboptimal beams are excluded from the prediction; andtransmit, to the base station (120), the remaining beam IDs corresponding to the predicted set A of beams.

4. The apparatus (121) of claim 2, wherein the apparatus being configured to receive the updated beam IDs corresponding to the predicted set A of beams comprises: receive, by the UE (110), the second assistance information; predict, using an Artificial Intelligence (Al) model (118) associated with the beamforming, the updated beam IDs corresponding to the set A of beams based on the second assistance information, wherein the one or more recovered beams are considered during prediction of the updated beam IDs corresponding to the set A of beams; and transmit, to the base station (120), the updated beam IDs corresponding to the set A of beams.

5. The apparatus (121) of claim 1, wherein the first assistance information further comprises a time duration corresponding to the one or more suboptimal beams, the time duration indicating time for which the one or more suboptimal beams are to be excluded from beam prediction at the UE (110).

6. The apparatus (121) of claim 5, wherein the apparatus (121) is configured to receive, from the UE (110), updated beam IDs corresponding to the set A of beams, wherein the apparatus being configured to receive the updated beam IDs comprises: determine, at the UE (110), that the time duration received in the first assistance information has expired; and predict, using an Artificial Intelligence (Al) model (118), the updated beam IDs corresponding to the set A of beams by considering the one or more suboptimal beams during the beam prediction.

7. The apparatus (121) of claim 1, wherein: the first assistance information is transmitted in one of a Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE) message, a System Information Block 1 (SIB1) broadcast, or a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message; the one or more RRM limitations comprise one or more of high interference impacted beams, overloaded beams, and beams with admission control issues, and the base station (120) is associated with a Control Unit (CU) (212) and one or more Distributed Units (DUs) (218), and wherein the one or more suboptimal beams are identified using one of the CU (212) or the one or more DUs (218) associated with the base station (120).

8. The apparatus (121) of claim 3, wherein: the remaining beam IDs corresponding to the predicted set A of beams are predicted in at least one of a spatial domain or a temporal domain, and the Al model (118) is trained on one or more of LI- Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) measurement associated with the set B of beams, Channel Impulse Response (CIR) associated with the set B of beams, and beam IDs associated with the set B of beams.

9. The apparatus (121) of claim 2, wherein the second assistance information is transmitted in one of a Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE) message, a System Information Block 1 (SIB 1) broadcast, or a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message.

10. A method (500) comprising: monitoring (502) one or more Radio Resource Management (RRM) limitations at a base station (120) in at least one of a set A of beams and a set B of beams associated with a user equipment (UE) (110), wherein the set A of beams comprises predicted beams for beamforming and the set B of beams comprises measured beams for beamforming; identifying (504) one or more suboptimal beams from among the at least one of the set A of beams and the set B of beams based on the monitored one or more RRM limitations in the at least one of the set A of beams and the set B of beams; transmitting (506), to the UE (110), a first assistance information comprising beam identifiers (IDs) corresponding to the one or more suboptimal beams and a flag corresponding to the one or more suboptimal beams, wherein the one or more suboptimal beams are excluded during beam prediction at the UE (110); and receiving (508), from the UE (110), remaining beam IDs corresponding to the predicted set A of beams associated with the beamforming.

11. The method (500) of claim 10, further comprising: determining one or more recovered beams among the one or more suboptimal beams based on the monitored one or more RRM limitations, wherein the one or more recovered beams correspond to the one or more suboptimal beams that are free from the one or more RRM limitations; transmitting, to the UE (110), a second assistance information comprising beam IDs corresponding to the one or more recovered beams and a flag corresponding to the one or more recovered beams, wherein the one or more recovered beams are considered during the beam prediction at the UE; andreceiving, from the UE (110), updated beam IDs corresponding to the set A of beams.

12. The method (500) of claim 10, wherein receiving the remaining beam IDs corresponding to the predicted set A of beams comprises: receiving, by the UE (110), the first assistance information; predicting, by the UE (110) using an Artificial Intelligence (Al) model (118) associated with the beamforming, the beam IDs corresponding to the set A of beams based on the set B of beams and an association between the set A of beams and the set B of beams, wherein the one or more suboptimal beams are excluded from the prediction; and transmitting, to the base station (120), the remaining beam IDs corresponding to the predicted set A of beams.

13. The method (500) of claim 11 , wherein receiving the updated beam IDs corresponding to the predicted set A of beams comprises: receiving, by the UE (110), the second assistance information; predicting, using an Artificial Intelligence (Al) model (118) associated with the beamforming, the updated beam IDs corresponding to the set A of beams, wherein the one or more recovered beams are considered during prediction of the updated beam IDs corresponding to the set A of beams; and transmitting, to the base station (120), the updated beam IDs corresponding to the set A of beams.

14. The method (500) of claim 10, wherein the first assistance information further comprises a time duration corresponding to the one or more suboptimal beams, the time duration indicating time for which the one or more suboptimal beams are to be excluded from beam prediction at the UE (110).

15. The method (500) of claim 14, further comprising receiving, from the UE (110), updated beam IDs corresponding to the set A of beams, wherein receiving the updated beam IDs comprises: determining, at the UE (110), that the time duration received in the first assistance information has expired; and predicting, using an Artificial Intelligence (Al) model (118), the updated beam IDs corresponding to the set A of beams by considering the one or more suboptimal beams during the beam prediction.

16. The method (500) of claim 10, wherein:the first assistance information is transmitted in one of a Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE) message, a System Information Block 1 (SIB1) broadcast, or aRadio Resource Control (RRC) message; the one or more RRM limitations comprise one or more of high interference impacted beams, overloaded beams, and beams with admission control issues, and the base station (120) is associated with a Control Unit (CU) (212) and one or more Distributed Units (DUs) (218), and wherein the one or more suboptimal beams are identified using one of the CU (212) or the one or more DUs (218) associated with the base station (120).

17. The method (500) of claim 12, wherein: the remaining beam IDs corresponding to the predicted set A of beams are predicted in at least one of a spatial domain or a temporal domain, and the Al model (118) is trained on one or more of LI -Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) measurement associated with the set B of beams, Channel Impulse Response (CIR) associated with the set B of beams, and beam IDs associated with the set B of beams.

18. The method (500) of claim 11, wherein the second assistance information is transmitted in one of a Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE) message, a System Information Block 1 (SIB 1) broadcast, or a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message.

19. A non-transitory computer readable medium having recorded thereon instructions executable by a computer to cause the computer to perform operations comprising:Monitoring one or more Radio Resource Management (RRM) limitations at a base station (120) in at least one of a set A of beams and a set B of beams associated with a user equipment (UE) (110), wherein the set A of beams comprises predicted beams for beamforming and the set B of beams comprises measured beams for beamforming; identifying one or more suboptimal beams from among the at least one of the set A of beams and the set B of beams based on the monitored one or more RRM limitations in the at least one of the set A of beams and the set B of beams; transmitting, to the UE (110), a first assistance information comprising beam identifiers (IDs) corresponding to the one or more suboptimal beams and a flag corresponding to the one or more suboptimal beams, wherein the one or more suboptimal beams are excluded during beam prediction at the UE (110); andreceiving, from the UE (110), remaining beam IDs corresponding to the predicted set A of beams associated with the beamforming.

20. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 19, wherein the operations further comprise: determining one or more recovered beams among the one or more suboptimal beams based on the monitored one or more RRM limitations, wherein the one or more recovered beams correspond to the one or more suboptimal beams that are free from the one or more RRM limitations; transmitting, to the UE (110), a second assistance information comprising beam IDs corresponding to the one or more recovered beams and a flag corresponding to the one or more recovered beams, wherein the one or more recovered beams are considered during the beam prediction at the UE (110); and receiving, from the UE (110), updated beam IDs corresponding to the set A of beams.

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