Communication device, sensing method, and communication system

Abstract

This communication device is included in a plurality of communication devices that cooperatively perform multi-static sensing and comprises: a sensing unit that performs processing relating to one or more sensings for the multi-static sensing; and an acquisition unit that acquires results of the one or more sensings. The multi-static sensing is sensing for position estimation of a target object that is based on first angle information indicating a propagation direction of sensing radio waves between the target object and a transmission node of the sensing radio waves, second angle information indicating a propagation direction of the sensing radio waves between the target object and a reception node of the sensing radio waves, and information about the distance between the transmission node and the reception node. The one or more sensing radio waves include radio waves transmitted using wireless communication resources. The acquisition unit acquires at least one among the first angle information and the second angle information as a result of the one or more sensings.

Description

Communication device, sensing method, and communication system

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a communication device, a sensing method, and a communication system.

[0002] In recent years, there has been growing interest in the fusion of technologies that combine communication and sensing. One example of this fusion trend is known as ISAC (Integrated Sensing and Communication) (see, for example, Non-Patent Document 1). Another example of ISAC is sensing that utilizes wireless communication infrastructure (sensing using wireless communication hardware) (see, for example, Non-Patent Document 2).

[0003] 3GPP TR 22.837 V19.2.1 (2024-02), 3rd Generation Partnership Project; Technical Specification Group TSG SA; Feasibility Study on Integrated Sensing and Communication (Release 19) Dariush Salami, Ramin Hasibi, Stefano Savazzi, Tom Michoel, Stephan Sigg, "Integrating Sensing and Communication in Cellular Networks via NR Sidelink," (online), 2021, (searched on March 1, 2024), Internet, <URL : https: / / arxiv.org / abs / 2109.07253> 3GPP TR 38.213 V18.1.0 (2023-12), 3rd Generation Partnership Project; Technical Specification Group Radio Access Network; NR; Physical layer procedures for control (Release 18) RP-230378, vivo, “Initial Study on Integrated Sensing and Communication for NR,” 3GPP TSG RAN Meeting #99, 2023

[0004] However, simply applying sensing technology to conventional communication technology does not effectively integrate sensing technology and communication technology. Consider sensing using wireless communication hardware as an example. In general sensing, chirp signals are used as sensing signals. However, in sensing using wireless communication hardware, signals used in wireless communication (hereinafter referred to as wireless communication signals) are expected to be used as sensing signals. The signal waveform of these wireless communication signals is not specialized for sensing. Therefore, sensing using wireless communication hardware may result in reduced sensing performance (e.g., distance resolution and / or velocity estimation accuracy).

[0005] Therefore, the present disclosure proposes a communication device, a sensing method, and a communication system that can realize an effective fusion of sensing technology and communication technology.

[0006] It should be noted that the above problem or object is merely one of multiple problems or objects that can be solved or achieved by multiple embodiments disclosed in this specification.

[0007] In order to solve the above problem, a communication device of one form according to the present disclosure is a communication device included in multiple communication devices that perform multistatic sensing in cooperation, and is equipped with a sensing unit that performs processing related to one or more sensing operations for the multistatic sensing, and an acquisition unit that acquires results of the one or more sensing operations, wherein the multistatic sensing is sensing for estimating the position of the object based on first angle information indicating the propagation direction of the sensing radio wave between the object and the transmitting node of the sensing radio wave, second angle information indicating the propagation direction of the sensing radio wave between the object and the receiving node of the sensing radio wave, and information on the distance between the transmitting node and the receiving node, wherein the one or more sensing radio waves include radio waves transmitted using wireless communication resources, and the acquisition unit acquires at least one of the first angle information and the second angle information as a result of the one or more sensing operations.

[0008] 1 is a diagram illustrating an overview of a communication system according to an embodiment. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating monostatic sensing. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating multistatic sensing. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a first bistatic sensing method. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a second bistatic sensing method. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a communication system according to an embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example configuration of a server according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a management device according to an embodiment. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a base station according to an embodiment. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a terminal device according to an embodiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example node configuration according to an embodiment. FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram illustrating sensing processing according to a first example. FIG. 12 is a sequence diagram illustrating sensing processing according to a second example. FIG. 13 is a sequence diagram illustrating sensing processing according to a third example. FIG. 14 is a sequence diagram illustrating sensing processing according to a fourth example. FIG. 15 is a sequence diagram illustrating sensing processing according to a fifth example. FIG. 16 is a sequence diagram illustrating sensing processing according to a sixth example. FIG. 17 is a sequence diagram illustrating sensing processing according to a seventh example. FIG. 18 is a sequence diagram illustrating sensing processing according to an eighth example. FIG. 19 is a sequence diagram illustrating sensing processing according to a ninth example.

[0009] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the following embodiments, the same components are designated by the same reference numerals, and redundant description will be omitted.

[0010] In addition, in this description (specification) and drawings, multiple components having substantially the same functional configuration may be distinguished by adding different numbers after the same reference numeral. For example, multiple components having substantially the same functional configuration may be distinguished by adding different numbers after the same reference numeral. １ , 40 ２ , and 40 ３ However, when there is no need to particularly distinguish between multiple components having substantially the same functional configuration, only the same reference numerals are used. For example, the terminal device 40 １ , 40 ２ , and 40 ３When there is no need to particularly distinguish between them, they will be simply referred to as terminal devices 40.

[0011] Additionally, in this description / specification, the phrase "at least one of" following a list of elements is understood to mean that the listed elements are optional. For example, "at least one of A, B, and C" means "(A), (B), (C), (A and B), (A and C), (B and C), or (A, B, and C)." "At least one of A, B, or C" and "at least one of A, B, and / or C" are similar to "at least one of A, B, and C." Here, A, B, and C are all arbitrary expressions (e.g., words, phrases, clauses, terms, or items).

[0012] One or more embodiments (including examples and variations) described below can be implemented independently. However, at least a portion of the embodiments described below may be implemented in appropriate combination with at least a portion of another embodiment. These embodiments may include novel features that are different from one another. Therefore, these embodiments may contribute to solving different purposes or problems and may produce different effects.

[0013] <<1. Overview>> First, an overview of this embodiment will be described.

[0014] <1-1. Issues> Cellular communication systems support various services related to wireless communication. For example, 5G supports location services that use location information of communication devices (e.g., terminal devices). Location services define various methods related to positioning, including methods that are independent of RATs (Radio Access Technologies).

[0015] Currently, in parallel with the formulation of 5G specifications, the 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) has begun discussions toward B5G (Beyond 5G) and 6G. In 6G, apart from the expansion of communication capacity that has been considered since before 5G, integration of X (e.g., Computing, Sensing, Positioning, RAT) is being considered, which aims to integrate with other systems to add new value to wireless communication networks. In particular, interest in technologies that integrate communication and sensing has been growing. One example of this trend regarding integration is ISAC (Integrated Sensing and Communication). ISAC may also be referred to as ICAS (Integrated Communication and Sensing) or JCAS (Joint Communication and Sensing).

[0016] TSG SA WG1 (SA1), one of the 3GPP working groups, has defined 32 use cases for ISAC. For example, Patent Document 1 (3GPP TR 22.837) lists use cases for ISAC, such as intrusion detection or situation monitoring, vital signs sensing, healthcare monitoring, and weather detection. 3GPP plans to discuss the design of channel models, including FR3 (7 GHz to 24 GHz), a frequency band expected to be used for ISAC, and the selection of use cases to focus on from among the SA1 use cases in Rel-19. 3GPP also plans to discuss specific ISAC systems in Rel-20.

[0017] The location service described above defines various positioning techniques. However, the purpose of these techniques is limited to detecting the location of a terminal device. The ISAC also contemplates handling not only positioning sensors, which are handled by location services, but also sensors for detecting images or the shape of objects, such as cameras (image sensors) or LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging). Here, the communication device equipped with a sensor is not limited to a terminal device. The communication device equipped with a sensor may also be a device other than a terminal device (e.g., a base station or a road-side unit (RSU)). Furthermore, the ISAC also contemplates that a communication device (e.g., a terminal device and / or a base station) may provide not only communication functions but also radio frequency (RF)-based sensing functions utilizing wireless communication infrastructure.

[0018] That is, mobile communication systems such as cellular communication systems can acquire information from various sensors equipped in terminal devices and / or base stations via wireless communication infrastructures, which is expected to enable mobile communication systems to provide new added-value sensing services (e.g., sensor fusion using artificial intelligence and / or machine learning).

[0019] The fusion scenarios of wireless communication infrastructure and sensing can be divided into several fusion stages, ranging from spatial fusion to complete fusion.

[0020] First, there is a fusion stage in which the wireless communication infrastructure lends space and / or power to third-party sensors for installation. Next, there is a fusion stage in which time and frequency resources are managed for third-party sensors, and resources that can be used preferentially without interference are allocated to the third-party sensors. Finally, there is a fusion stage, which is the highest fusion level, in which sensing functions are incorporated into wireless communication hardware and sensing is performed by the wireless communication hardware. In this embodiment, we focus on sensing by wireless communication hardware.

[0021] Sensing using wireless communication hardware has the following two characteristics.

[0022] (Feature 1) Sensing using multiple infrastructure devices Wireless communication infrastructure (wireless communication hardware) has a high affinity with multi-static sensing, a sensing method using multiple devices. Specifically, multi-static sensing is a method of estimating location using two or more antennas located at different positions. Compared to mono-static sensing, multi-static sensing can achieve higher accuracy and a wider sensing range. Mono-static sensing is a sensing method that estimates location using a single antenna or antennas that are considered to be in the same position. On the other hand, multi-static sensing requires synchronization between two or more infrastructure devices. As a result, systems that perform multi-static sensing are complex. However, sensing using wireless communication infrastructure can be expected to be synchronized across the entire system. Therefore, as mentioned above, wireless communication infrastructure (wireless communication hardware) has a high affinity with multi-static sensing.

[0023] (Feature 2) Sensing using wireless communication transmission signal waveforms In sensing using wireless communication hardware, it is assumed that wireless communication signals (e.g., Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) signals) are used as sensing signals. Wireless communication signals can transmit a large amount of information, including control information that can be used for sensing. However, the signal waveforms of wireless communication signals are not specialized for sensing. Therefore, sensing using wireless communication hardware may result in reduced sensing performance (e.g., distance resolution and / or velocity estimation accuracy).

[0024] The feasibility of sensing using wireless communication hardware has been suggested in, for example, Non-Patent Document 2 ("Integrating Sensing and Communication in Cellular Networks via NR Sidelink"). However, a specific implementation method has not been determined. In this embodiment, sensing using wireless communication hardware is described. In particular, this embodiment describes multistatic sensing using wireless communication transmission signal waveforms.

[0025] In the following description, sensing that uses a wireless communication infrastructure (wireless communication hardware) may be referred to as RF (Radio Frequency)-based sensing or RF sensing. When NR wireless communication infrastructure (wireless communication hardware) is used for sensing, the sensing may be referred to as NR-based RF sensing.

[0026] <1-2. Overview of Solution> The solution of the present embodiment will be outlined below.

[0027] <1-2-1. Example of a communication system configuration> Fig. 1 is a diagram showing an overview of a communication system according to this embodiment. The communication system according to this embodiment is a cellular communication system in which a plurality of communication devices (e.g., terminal devices) are wirelessly connected. The communication system according to this embodiment includes a base station and an information processing device, and provides wireless communication services to the plurality of communication devices. The information processing device is, for example, a device that belongs to a core network. Note that the communication system may also include a server in addition to the base station and the information processing device. The server is, for example, an application server that provides various services to the terminal devices.

[0028] In the following description, the term "multiple communication devices" includes base stations. That is, the communication devices of this embodiment may be base stations. The communication devices of this embodiment are not limited to terminal devices and base stations. For example, the communication devices of this embodiment may be devices that have at least some of the functions of a terminal device and / or at least some of the functions of a base station. For example, the communication devices of this embodiment may be repeater or relay devices that repeat or relay a predetermined signal.

[0029] Each of the plurality of communication devices includes hardware for wireless communication (hereinafter referred to as wireless communication hardware). For example, each of the plurality of communication devices includes a wireless communication unit for cellular communication (e.g., a 3GPP transceiver). At least one of the plurality of communication devices includes an RF (Radio Frequency)-based sensing function that utilizes the wireless communication hardware. For example, at least one of the plurality of communication devices includes an RF-based sensing function supported by a 3GPP transceiver.

[0030] The RF-based sensing function is, for example, a function for detecting surrounding objects (hereinafter referred to as sensing targets or targets) using wireless communication resources for cellular communication. Here, the RF-based sensing may be, for example, sensing that detects at least one of the presence of the target, the direction in which the target is located (angular information), and the position information of the target. Of course, the information detected by the RF-based sensing is not limited to these. For example, the RF-based sensing may be sensing that detects at least one of the reflectivity of the target, the velocity of the target, and the acceleration of the target.

[0031] Each of the multiple communication devices may include one or more sensors. The sensor included in the communication device may be a sensor that detects position information, such as a positioning sensor, or may be a sensor such as a camera and / or LiDAR. The sensor included in the communication device may be capable of detecting the presence of an object and / or detecting angle information from the communication device to the object. The presence detection information and angle information may be incorporated as control information in the transmission signal radio wave generation process of the base station and the communication device.

[0032] The services provided by the communication system of this embodiment include sensing services. The sensing services are, for example, services provided based on data detected by a communication device or a sensor included in the communication device. In the following description, data detected by a communication device or a sensor is referred to as detected data. The detected data can be rephrased as sensing data, sensing information, or sensing results. The sensing service may also be interpreted as the acquisition of detected data by a sensor.

[0033] The detected data may be detected using radio waves in the same band as the resources used for wireless communication. Specifically, the detected data may be detected using resources used for cellular communication, or may be detected using resources used for communication other than cellular communication (e.g., Wi-Fi communication and / or Bluetooth communication).

[0034] An information processing device (e.g., a core network) provided in a communication system performs processing related to a sensing service based on a request from a server (e.g., an application server). The device that requests the sensing service is not limited to a server. The device that requests the sensing service may be a communication device other than a server, for example, at least one of a terminal device, a core network, and a base station. Furthermore, the information processing device that performs processing related to the sensing service is not limited to a core network. The information processing device that performs processing related to the sensing service may be a server, a base station, or another communication device (e.g., a terminal device).

[0035] In this embodiment, the sensing service is particularly assumed to be multi-static sensing using multiple communication devices. Detection data obtained by multi-static sensing includes, for example, information on the presence of a sensing object, information on the angle of departure (AoD) from the transmitting communication device to the sensing object, and information on the angle of arrival (AoA) from the sensing object to the receiving communication device. Furthermore, the communication device / information processing device / server can localize the sensing object from this information. Location information obtained by location estimation can also be considered as detection data.

[0036] When the information processing device receives a request for a sensing service, it starts a process for starting multistatic sensing, which includes at least one of a process related to selection of multiple communication devices (one or more transmitting nodes and one or more receiving nodes) to be used for multistatic sensing, a process related to transmission of sensing radio waves, and a process related to allocation of time-frequency resources for reporting information related to sensing.

[0037] The selected node performs at least one of the following using the allocated resources: executing a multistatic sensing process, transmitting or receiving information related to sensing (e.g., control information and / or detection data). Then, upon receiving the control information and / or detection data from the node, the information processing device performs processing related to the sensing service. Then, the information processing device transmits the obtained detection data to a device (e.g., a server) that requires the detection data.

[0038] The sensing service may include a location service. The location service is a service performed using location information of a communication device (e.g., a terminal device). In this embodiment, estimating the location of a communication device (e.g., a terminal device) using a location service is called positioning, and estimating the location of a sensing target object using sensing (e.g., multistatic sensing) is called localization. In positioning, only the location of an active object (e.g., a communication device such as a terminal device) connected to a network is estimated. On the other hand, in localization, the presence detection and / or location estimation of an active / passive object is performed. In other words, in localization, the sensing target object may or may not have network connectivity.

[0039] In the following description, among the multiple communication devices, a communication device used for transmitting and / or receiving radio waves in RF-based sensing will be referred to as a node. Among the multiple nodes, a node that transmits radio waves for sensing will be referred to as a transmitting node (Tx Node), and a node that receives radio waves for sensing will be referred to as a receiving node (Rx Node). Here, the radio waves for sensing are, for example, radio waves that can be demodulated by the receiving node to notify control information (e.g., the departure angle of the radio waves from the transmitting node).

[0040] <1-2-2. RF-Based Sensing> As described above, one or more communication devices included in the communication system use an RF-based sensing function to detect surrounding objects (hereinafter referred to as sensing targets or targets). For example, a communication device (transmitting node) included in the communication system transmits sensing radio waves using wireless communication resources for cellular communication.

[0041] The sensing radio wave is a radio wave used for sensing. In the following description, the sensing radio wave or a signal transmitted using the sensing radio wave may be referred to as a sensing signal.

[0042] The sensing signal is a signal used for sensing. The sensing signal may be, for example, a signal such as a CSI-RS (Channel State Information Reference Signal) or an SSB (Synchronization Signal Block), or may be a signal transmitted and / or received on a channel such as a PDCCH (Physical Downlink Control Channel), a PDSCH (Physical Downlink Shared Channel), a PUCCH (Physical Uplink Control Channel), a PUSCH (Physical Uplink Shared Channel), a PSCCH (Physical Sidelink Control Channel), or a PSSCH (Physical Sidelink Shared Channel). The sensing signal may be referred to as a sensing RS (Reference Signal). In the above or below description, the sensing signal may be referred to as a sensing radio wave. Furthermore, in the above or below description, the sensing radio wave may be replaced with the sensing signal.

[0043] A communication device (receiving node) included in the communication system receives sensing radio waves transmitted by a transmitting device. In the above and below descriptions, the reception of the sensing radio waves may include collecting sensing data. The process of collecting sensing data may be referred to as a sensing measurement process. That is, the reception of the sensing radio waves may be measuring the sensing radio waves. The reception of the sensing radio waves may include the reception of other radio waves (signals and / or channels) that are quasi-co-located (QCL) with the sensing radio waves. Other radio waves (signals and / or channels) that are quasi-co-located (QCL) with the sensing radio waves can also be considered as sensing radio waves.

[0044] The sensing performed by one or more communication devices included in the communication system may be monostatic sensing, multistatic sensing, or bistatic sensing.

[0045] Monostatic sensing, multistatic sensing, and bistatic sensing will be described below with reference to FIGS.

[0046] 1 to 5 show an automobile as the sensing target, but the sensing target object is not limited to an automobile. For example, the sensing target object may be a moving body other than an automobile, or may be a structure. Here, the moving body may be a mobile terminal, or a moving body that moves on land, underground, on water, or underwater. The moving body may be a moving body that moves within the atmosphere or a moving body that moves outside the atmosphere. The structure may be a building or a non-building structure. The structure may be a base station, or a structure that is located on land, underground, on water, or underwater. The structure may be a structure that is located within the atmosphere or a structure that is outside the atmosphere. The sensing target object may also be a living organism such as a human being.

[0047] (Monostatic Sensing) Fig. 2 is a diagram for explaining monostatic sensing. Monostatic sensing is a monostatic sensing method in which one communication device (or multiple communication devices at a location that can be considered to be in the same position) both transmits and receives a sensing signal. In the example of Fig. 1, one communication device transmits a sensing signal to the surrounding area, and the communication device receives the sensing signal reflected by an object.

[0048] (Multistatic Sensing) Fig. 3 is a diagram for explaining multistatic sensing. Multistatic sensing is a multistatic sensing method in which multiple communication devices are involved in transmitting or receiving sensing signals. Multistatic sensing may also be referred to by other terms, such as multisensing.

[0049] In the example of Figure 3, multiple communication devices (multiple transmitting nodes) transmit sensing radio waves to the surrounding area, and multiple other communication devices (multiple receiving nodes) receive those sensing radio waves, but multistatic sensing is not limited to this example.

[0050] For example, multistatic sensing may be a sensing technique in which one communication device (one transmitting node) transmits sensing radio waves to the surrounding area, and multiple other communication devices (multiple receiving nodes) receive the sensing radio waves. Alternatively, multistatic sensing may be a sensing technique in which multiple communication devices (multiple transmitting nodes) transmit sensing radio waves to the surrounding area, and another communication device (one receiving node) receives the sensing radio waves. Alternatively, multistatic sensing may be a sensing technique in which one communication device (one transmitting node) transmits sensing radio waves to the surrounding area, and another communication device (one receiving node) receives the sensing radio waves. Among multistatic sensing techniques, sensing performed by one transmitting node and one receiving node is called bistatic sensing.

[0051] Multistatic sensing may include a combination of at least one monostatic sensing and at least one bistatic sensing. For example, one communication device may transmit sensing radio waves into the surrounding area, and the communication device may receive the sensing radio waves reflected by a sensing object, while another communication device (receiving device) may receive the sensing radio waves reflected by the sensing object. This allows the communication device to detect objects in the surroundings of the transmitting node and / or receiving node.

[0052] (Bistatic Sensing) Bistatic sensing is a type of multistatic sensing performed by one transmitting node and one receiving node. In other words, bistatic sensing is a bistatic sensing method in which one communication device (transmitting device) transmits a sensing signal and another communication device (receiving device) receives the sensing signal.

[0053] In this embodiment, the following two bistatic sensing methods are assumed.

[0054] 4 is a diagram illustrating a first bistatic sensing method (hereinafter referred to as the first bistatic sensing method). The first bistatic sensing method is a sensing method that estimates the position of a sensing object using information on the propagation distance r between the receiving node and the transmitting node of the sensing radio wave reflected by the sensing object, angle information indicating the propagation direction of the sensing radio wave between the sensing object and the receiving node of the sensing radio wave (e.g., information on the angle of arrival AoA shown in FIG. 4), and information on the direct distance between the nodes (direct distance R shown in FIG. 4). Here, the direct distance R is, for example, the straight-line distance between the receiving node and the transmitting node.

[0055] 5 is a diagram illustrating a second bistatic sensing method (hereinafter referred to as the second bistatic sensing method). The second bistatic sensing method estimates the position of a sensing object using first angle information (e.g., information on the angle of departure AoD shown in FIG. 5 ) indicating the propagation direction of a sensing radio wave between a sensing object and a node transmitting the sensing radio wave, second angle information (e.g., information on the angle of arrival AoA shown in FIG. 5 ) indicating the propagation direction of the sensing radio wave between the sensing object and a node receiving the sensing radio wave, and the direct distance between the nodes (direct distance R shown in FIG. 5 ). Here, the direct distance R is, for example, the straight-line distance between the receiving node and the transmitting node.

[0056] <1-2-3. Overview of Sensing in the Present Embodiment> As described above, the signal waveform of a wireless communication signal is not a signal waveform specialized for sensing. Therefore, RF-based sensing may result in low sensing performance (e.g., distance resolution and / or velocity estimation accuracy). In particular, in the first bistatic sensing method, estimating the position of a sensing target involves estimating the propagation distance r between a receiving node and a transmitting node. Currently, the occupied bandwidth used in cellular communication systems is at most 400 MHz, and the maximum resolution in this case is 0.75 m. In other words, in sensing using the first bistatic sensing method, the distance resolution of the propagation distance r is only 0.75 m, so the communication system can only acquire low-accuracy position information.

[0057] Therefore, the communication system of this embodiment uses a second bistatic sensing method that does not use information on the propagation distance r as the sensing method for multistatic sensing. That is, the multistatic sensing performed by the communication system of this embodiment is sensing for estimating the position of the sensing object based on first angle information indicating the propagation direction of the sensing radio wave between the sensing object and the node transmitting the sensing radio wave, second angle information indicating the propagation direction of the sensing radio wave between the sensing object and the node receiving the sensing radio wave, and information on the distance between the transmitting node and the receiving node.

[0058] A communication device functioning as a transmitting node among a plurality of communication devices included in a communication system performs processing related to first sensing for multistatic sensing, and acquires first angle information as a result of the first sensing.

[0059] Furthermore, a communication device that functions as a receiving node among the plurality of communication devices included in the communication system performs processing related to second sensing for multistatic sensing, and acquires second angle information as a result of the second sensing.

[0060] The information processing device of the communication system acquires first angle information, second angle information, and information on the distance between the transmitting node and the receiving node, where the first angle information and the information on the distance between the transmitting node and the receiving node may be information acquired by a method other than RF sensing (e.g., information acquired using a third-party sensor).

[0061] The information processing device that acquires this information is not limited to a device belonging to the core network. For example, the information processing device may be one of multiple communication devices involved in sensing (e.g., a base station or a terminal device), or may be a server. The information processing device estimates the position of the sensing object based on the acquired information.

[0062] This allows the communication system to estimate the position of the sensing object without estimating the propagation distance r, thereby obtaining highly accurate position information.

[0063] The outline of this embodiment has been described above, and the communication system 1 of this embodiment will now be described in detail.

[0064] <<2. Configuration of Communication System>> First, the configuration of the communication system 1 will be described.

[0065] 6 is a diagram showing the configuration of a communication system 1 according to this embodiment. The communication system 1 includes a server 10, a management device 20, a base station 30, and a terminal device 40. The communication system 1 provides users with a wireless network (mobile network) that enables mobile communication by having the wireless communication devices that make up the communication system 1 operate in cooperation with each other.

[0066] The wireless network of this embodiment may be, for example, a cellular network composed of a radio access network RAN ​​and a core network CN. In this embodiment, the wireless communication device is a device having a wireless communication function, and in the example of Figure 6, this corresponds to the base station 30 and the terminal device 40.

[0067] The communication system 1 may include a plurality of servers 10, a plurality of management devices 20, a plurality of base stations 30, and a plurality of terminal devices 40. In the example of FIG. 6, the communication system 1 includes a plurality of servers 10. １ and server 10 ２ The management device 20 includes the management device 20 １ and management device 20 ２ The communication system 1 also includes a base station 30. １ , base station 30 ２ , and base station 30 ３ The terminal device 40 is provided with the terminal device 40 １ , terminal device 40 ２ , and terminal device 40 ３ In the following description, the devices included in the communication system 1 may be referred to as network devices.

[0068] The terminal device 40 may be configured to connect to a network using a radio access technology (RAT) such as LTE (Long Term Evolution), NR (New Radio), B5G (Beyond 5G), 6G, Wi-Fi, or Bluetooth (registered trademark). In this case, the terminal device 40 may be configured to be able to use different radio access technologies (wireless communication methods). For example, the terminal device 40 may be configured to be able to use NR and Wi-Fi. Furthermore, the terminal device 40 may be configured to be able to use different cellular communication technologies (e.g., LTE, NR, B5G, or 6G).

[0069] LTE and NR are types of cellular communication technologies that enable mobile communication for terminal devices by arranging multiple areas covered by base stations in the form of cells. 6G is also expected to be a type of cellular communication technology that also enables mobile communication for terminal devices by arranging multiple areas covered by base stations in the form of cells.

[0070] In the following description, "LTE" includes LTE-A (LTE-Advanced), LTE-A Pro (LTE-Advanced Pro), and EUTRA (Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access). NR includes NRAT (New Radio Access Technology) and FEUTRA (Further EUTRA). NR may also include 5G-Advanced. A single base station 30 may manage multiple cells. In the following description, a cell corresponding to LTE may be referred to as an LTE cell, and a cell corresponding to NR may be referred to as an NR cell.

[0071] NR is the next generation (5th generation) radio access technology after LTE (4th generation communications including LTE-Advanced and LTE-Advanced Pro). NR is a radio access technology that can support various use cases including eMBB (Enhanced Mobile Broadband), mMTC (Massive Machine Type Communications), and URLLC (Ultra-Reliable and Low Latency Communications). NR was standardized in 3GPP (registered trademark) Rel-15 as a technical framework that corresponds to the usage scenarios, requirements, and deployment scenarios of these use cases. Furthermore, B5G and 6G are required to simultaneously achieve multiple axes of high speed, large capacity, low latency, high reliability, and multiple simultaneous connections.

[0072] 6G has the potential to be the next generation of mobile communications technology after NR and 5GS (5G system), which are fifth-generation mobile communications. Like 5G (NR), 6G could also be a cellular communications technology. 6G includes radio access technology and network technology (e.g., network technology between base stations, core networks, and data networks). 6G may also include technologies for the enhancement of eMBB, mMTC, and URLLC (extreme connectivity), which were the main use cases or requirements of NR. 6G may also include new technologies in new areas. For example, 6G may include technologies related to AI (cognitive network, AI native air interface), sensing (including radar sensing, network as a sensor, and ISAC), and terahertz communications.

[0073] The wireless network described above or below may correspond to at least one of radio access technologies (RATs) such as LTE, NR, B5G, 6G, etc. The wireless access method used by the communication system 1 is not limited to LTE, NR, or 6G, and may be other wireless access methods such as W-CDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access) or cdma2000 (Code Division Multiple Access 2000).

[0074] Furthermore, the base station 30 may be a terrestrial station or a non-terrestrial station. In other words, the communication system shown in Fig. 6 may be a non-terrestrial network. The non-terrestrial station may be a satellite station or an aircraft station. If the non-terrestrial station is a satellite station, the wireless network may be a bent-pipe (transparent) type mobile satellite communication system.

[0075] In this embodiment, the terrestrial station and terrestrial base station refer to base stations and relay stations installed on the ground. Here, "terrestrial" refers to the ground in a broad sense, including not only land but also underground, on water, and underwater. In the following description, the term "terrestrial station" may be replaced with "gateway."

[0076] Note that an LTE base station may be referred to as an eNodeB (Evolved Node B) or eNB. An NR base station may be referred to as a gNodeB or gNB. A 6G base station may be referred to as a 6G NodeB (6GNB). An LTE RAN may be referred to as an EUTRAN. An NR RAN may be referred to as an NGRAN. A 6G RAN may be referred to as a 6GRAN. In LTE, NR, B5G, and 6G, a terminal device (also referred to as a mobile station or terminal) may be referred to as a UE (User Equipment). Note that a terminal device is a type of communication device and is also referred to as a mobile station or terminal.

[0077] The terminal device 40 may be able to connect to a network using a wireless access technology (wireless communication method) other than LTE, NR, B5G, 6G, Wi-Fi, or Bluetooth. For example, the terminal device 40 may be able to connect to a network using low power wide area (LPWA) communication. The terminal device 40 may also be able to connect to a network using proprietary wireless communication.

[0078] Here, LPWA communication refers to wireless communication that enables low-power, wide-area communication. For example, LPWA wireless refers to IoT (Internet of Things) wireless communication using a specific low-power radio (e.g., the 920 MHz band) or the ISM (Industry-Science-Medical) band. LPWA wireless may also include LTE-M, which operates in the cellular frequency band, and / or C-IoT (Cellular IoT), represented by NB-IoT. The LPWA communication used by the terminal device 40 may conform to the LPWA standard. The LPWA standard may be, for example, at least one of ELTRES, ZETA, SIGFOX, LoRaWAN, LTE-M, and NB-IoT. Of course, the LPWA standard is not limited to these and may be another LPWA standard.

[0079] Each wireless communication device shown in Fig. 6 may be considered as a device in a logical sense, i.e., a part of each wireless communication device may be realized by a virtual machine (VM), a container such as Docker, or the like, and these may be physically implemented on the same hardware.

[0080] In this embodiment, the concept of a wireless communication device includes not only portable mobile devices (terminal devices) such as mobile terminals, but also devices installed in structures or mobile bodies. The structures or mobile bodies themselves may be considered wireless communication devices. Furthermore, the concept of a wireless communication device includes not only terminal devices 40 but also base stations 30. A wireless communication device is a type of processing device or information processing device. A wireless communication device can also be referred to as a transmitting device or a receiving device.

[0081] In the present embodiment, the resource may indicate, for example, at least one of Frequency, Time, Resource Element (including REG, CCE, and CORESET), Resource Block, Bandwidth Part, Component Carrier, Symbol, Sub-Symbol, Slot, Mini-Slot, Subslot, Subframe, Frame, PRACH occasion, Occasion, Code, Multi-access physical resource, Multi-access signature, and Subcarrier Spacing (Numerology). That is, the above-mentioned or below-mentioned "resource," "radio resource," or "wireless communication resource" may be read as at least one of the above examples.

[0082] The following describes in detail the configuration of each communication device that constitutes the communication system 1. Note that the configuration of each wireless communication device shown below is merely an example. The configuration of each communication device may be different from the configuration shown below.

[0083] <2-1. Server Configuration> First, the configuration of the server 10 will be described.

[0084] The server 10 is an information processing device (computer) that provides various services to the terminal device 40. For example, the server 10 is an information processing device that executes processing related to a sensing service.

[0085] A sensing service is, for example, a service provided using data (hereinafter referred to as sensing data) detected by one or more sensing functions provided in one or more communication devices (e.g., base station 30 and / or terminal device 40). Note that sensing services are not limited to services provided using sensing data directly. Sensing services may also be services provided using sensing data indirectly. For example, sensing services may also be services provided using processing results based on sensing data.

[0086] A sensing service is typically a service that provides sensing data. For example, a sensing service is a service that provides sensing data used in a specific use case (e.g., processing related to the autonomous driving of a mobile object, processing related to the autonomous operation of a device / system, or processing related to XR content). However, a sensing service is not limited to a service that provides sensing data. A sensing service may be a service that provides processing performed using sensing data, or a service that provides information generated using one or more sensing services. Sensing services will be described later.

[0087] The one or more sensing functions of the communication device may include an RF (Radio Frequency) based sensing function (e.g., an RF based sensing function supported by a 3GPP transceiver). Of course, the one or more sensing functions of the communication device may include various detection functions (e.g., a function to detect at least one of an object color, an object speed, an object acceleration, an object reflectance, an object transmittance, a distance to an object, an object / environment temperature, geomagnetism, illuminance, air pressure, light, and sound) using one or more sensors (physical sensors and / or logical sensors) of the communication device.

[0088] The one or more sensors included in the one or more communication devices may be, for example, one or more sensors included in the base station 30 and / or the terminal device 40 (e.g., one or more sensors included in the sensor unit 34 and / or the sensor unit 44 described below). For example, the one or more sensors may include a sensor that detects an image and / or the shape of an object, such as a camera and / or LiDAR. The one or more sensors may also include a sensor that detects at least one of an object's color, object's speed, object's acceleration, object's reflectance, object's transmittance, distance from the object, object / environment's temperature, geomagnetism, illuminance, air pressure, light, and sound. In this case, the sensing service may be a service based on image data or shape data detected by the sensor (e.g., a service related to autonomous driving of a mobile object). The sensing service may also be a service based on sensing data from a sensor that detects at least one of an object's color, object's speed, object's acceleration, object's reflectance, object's transmittance, distance from the object, object / environment's temperature, geomagnetism, illuminance, air pressure, light, and sound.

[0089] It should be noted that the one or more sensors used directly or indirectly for the sensing service are not limited to one or more sensors provided in the base station 30 and / or the terminal device 40. The one or more sensors used directly or indirectly for the sensing service may be one or more sensors provided in a communication device other than the base station 30 and the terminal device 40. For example, the one or more sensors used directly or indirectly for the sensing service may be one or more sensors provided in the server 10 and / or the management device 20.

[0090] The server 10 may be an application server or a web server. The server 10 may be a cloud server or an edge server. The server 10 may be a PC server, a mid-range server, or a mainframe server. The server 10 may be an information processing device that performs data processing (edge ​​processing) near a user or a terminal. For example, the server 10 may be an information processing device (computer) attached to or built into a base station. The server 10 may also have a function as a core network. For example, the server 10 may be a device that functions as the management device 20. Of course, the server 10 may be an information processing device that performs cloud computing. The server 10 of this embodiment can function as an application function.

[0091] The server 10 is connected to other communication devices (e.g., the management device 20) via a network N. Although only one network N is shown in the example of FIG. 6, there may be multiple networks N. Here, the network N is, for example, a public network such as the Internet. Note that the network N is not limited to the Internet, and may be, for example, a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a cellular network, a fixed telephone network, or a regional Internet Protocol (IP) network. The network N may include a wired network or a wireless network.

[0092] 7 is a diagram illustrating an example configuration of a server 10 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The server 10 includes a communication unit 11, a storage unit 12, and a control unit 13. The configuration illustrated in FIG. 7 is a functional configuration, and the hardware configuration may be different from this. Furthermore, the functions of the server 10 may be distributed and implemented in multiple physically separated configurations. For example, the server 10 may be configured by multiple information processing devices.

[0093] The server 10 does not necessarily have to have all of the configurations described above or below. The server 10 may also have configurations other than the configurations described above or below. For example, the management device 20 may have a sensor unit with a configuration similar to that of the sensor unit (sensor unit 34 or sensor unit 44) provided in the base station 30 or the terminal device 40.

[0094] The communication unit 11 is a communication interface for communicating with other devices. For example, the communication unit 11 is a network interface. For example, the communication unit 11 is a LAN (Local Area Network) interface such as a NIC (Network Interface Card). The communication unit 11 may be a wired interface or a wireless interface. The communication unit 11 communicates with the management device 20, the base station 30, the terminal device 40, and other servers 10 under the control of the control unit 13.

[0095] The storage unit 12 is a storage device that can read and write data, such as a dynamic random access memory (DRAM), a static random access memory (SRAM), a flash memory, or a hard disk.

[0096] The control unit 13 is a controller that controls each component of the server 10. The control unit 13 may be implemented by a processor such as a central processing unit (CPU) or a microprocessing unit (MPU). Specifically, the control unit 13 may be implemented by a processor executing various programs stored in a storage device within the management device 20 using a random access memory (RAM) or the like as a work area. The control unit 13 may be implemented by an integrated circuit such as an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or a field programmable gate array (FPGA). The control unit 13 may also be implemented by a graphics processing unit (GPU). A CPU, an MPU, an ASIC, an FPGA, and a GPU can all be considered controllers. The control unit 13 may be configured by multiple physically separated entities. For example, the control unit 13 may be configured by multiple semiconductor chips.

[0097] <2-2. Configuration of Management Device> Next, the configuration of the management device 20 will be described.

[0098] The management device 20 is an information processing device (computer) that manages the wireless network. For example, the management device 20 is an information processing device that manages communication of the base station 30.

[0099] The management device 20 may be a device constituting a core network CN. For example, the management device 20 may be a device having a function as an MME (Mobility Management Entity). The management device 20 may also be a device having a function as an AMF (Access and Mobility Management Function) and / or an SMF (Session Management Function). The MME, AMF, and SMF are control plane network function nodes in the core network CN. The management device 20 may be a device having a function as a control plane network function (6G CPNF) in 6G. The 6G CPNF may be composed of one or more logical nodes.

[0100] Of course, the functions of the management device 20 are not limited to MME, AMF, SMF, and 6G CPNF. The management device 20 may be a device having functions as a Network Slice Selection Function (NSSF), an Authentication Server Function (AUSF), a Policy Control Function (PCF), and a Unified Data Management (UDM). Furthermore, the management device 20 may be a device having functions as a Home Subscriber Server (HSS).

[0101] The management device 20 may have a gateway function. For example, the management device 20 may have a function as an S-GW (Serving Gateway) or a P-GW (Packet Data Network Gateway). The management device 20 may also have a UPF (User Plane Function) function. In this case, the management device 20 may have multiple UPFs. The management device 20 may also be a device having a 6G user plane network function (6G UPNF).

[0102] The management device 20 may also have a function for executing processing related to the sensing service. For example, the management device 20 may have an application function for executing processing related to the sensing service based on a request from another communication device (e.g., at least one of the server 10, the base station 30, the terminal device 40, and another management device 20).

[0103] The core network CN is composed of multiple network functions, and each network function may be consolidated into one physical device or distributed across multiple physical devices. That is, the management device 20 may be distributed across multiple devices. Furthermore, this distributed distribution may be controlled so that it is executed dynamically. The core network CN may be composed of one management device 20 or multiple management devices. The base station 30 and the management device 20 form a single network, providing wireless communication services to terminal devices 40. The management device 20 is connected to the Internet, and the terminal devices 40 can use various services provided via the Internet via the base station 30.

[0104] The management device 20 does not necessarily have to be a device that constitutes the core network CN. For example, assume that the core network CN is a core network of W-CDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access) or cdma2000 (Code Division Multiple Access 2000). In this case, the management device 20 may be a device that functions as an RNC (Radio Network Controller).

[0105] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the configuration of the management device 20 according to this embodiment. The management device 20 includes a communication unit 21, a storage unit 22, and a control unit 23. The configuration shown in FIG. 8 is a functional configuration, and the hardware configuration may be different from this. Furthermore, the functions of the management device 20 may be statically or dynamically distributed and implemented in multiple physically separated configurations. The management device 20 may also be configured by multiple server devices.

[0106] The management device 20 does not necessarily have to include all of the configurations described above or below. Furthermore, the management device 20 may include configurations other than the configurations described above or below. For example, the management device 20 may include a sensor unit having a configuration similar to the sensor unit (sensor unit 34 or sensor unit 44) included in the base station 30 or the terminal device 40.

[0107] The communication unit 21 is a communication interface for communicating with a wireless communication device (e.g., base station 30). The communication unit 21 may be a network interface or a device connection interface. The communication unit 21 may be a LAN (Local Area Network) interface such as a NIC (Network Interface Card), or a Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface configured by a USB host controller or a USB port. The communication unit 21 may be a wired interface or a wireless interface. The communication unit 21 is controlled by the control unit 23.

[0108] The storage unit 22 is a readable and writable storage device such as a DRAM, an SRAM, a flash memory, or a hard disk. The storage unit 22 stores, for example, the connection state of the terminal device 40. The storage unit 22 stores the state of the RRC (Radio Resource Control) of the terminal device 40 and the state of the ECM (EPS Connection Management) or the 5G System CM (Connection Management). The storage unit 22 may function as a home memory that stores location information of the terminal device 40.

[0109] The control unit 23 is a controller that controls each unit of the management device 20. The control unit 23 may be realized by a processor such as a CPU or MPU. In particular, the control unit 23 may be realized by a processor executing various programs stored in a storage device inside the management device 20 using RAM or the like as a work area. The control unit 23 may be realized by an integrated circuit such as an ASIC or FPGA. The control unit 23 may also be realized by a GPU. A CPU, MPU, ASIC, FPGA, and GPU can all be considered controllers. The control unit 23 may be composed of multiple physically separated objects. For example, the control unit 23 may be composed of multiple semiconductor chips.

[0110] The control unit 23 includes at least one block of a transmitting unit 231, a receiving unit 232, and a position estimating unit 233. The control unit 23 may include a plurality of each of these blocks, or may include only one of each.

[0111] Each block constituting the control unit 23 (transmission unit 331 to position estimation unit 233) is a functional block that indicates the function of the control unit 23. These functional blocks may be software blocks or hardware blocks. For example, each of the above-mentioned functional blocks may be a software module realized by software (including a microprogram), or may be a circuit block on a semiconductor chip (die). Of course, each functional block may be a processor or an integrated circuit. The control unit 23 may be configured with functional units different from the above-mentioned functional blocks. The method of configuring the functional blocks is arbitrary. Note that the operation of the control unit 23 may be the same as the operation of the control unit (control unit 13, control unit 33, or control unit 43) of the server 10, the base station 30, or the terminal device 40.

[0112] <2-3. Configuration of Base Station> Next, the configuration of the base station 30 will be described.

[0113] The base station 30 is a wireless communication device that performs wireless communication with other wireless communication devices (e.g., terminal devices 40 or other base stations 30). The base station 30 may perform wireless communication with the terminal devices 40 via a relay station, or may perform wireless communication directly with the terminal devices 40.

[0114] The base station 30 is a device equivalent to a wireless base station (for example, a base station, a Node B, an eNB, a gNB, or a 6GNB) or a wireless access point. In the following description, the base station 30 may be referred to as a BS (Base Station), a Node B, an eNB, a gNB, a 6GNB, or a BS30.

[0115] The base station 30 may be a radio relay station. The base station 30 may be an optical device called a remote radio head (RRH). The base station 30 may be a receiving station such as a field pickup unit (FPU). The base station 30 may be an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) donor node or an IAB relay node that provides wireless access lines and wireless backhaul lines using time division multiplexing, frequency division multiplexing, or space division multiplexing.

[0116] The wireless access technology used by the base station 30 may be cellular communication technology. The wireless access technology used by the base station 30 may be wireless LAN technology. The wireless access technology used by the base station 30 may be low-power wide-area (LPWA) communication technology. However, the wireless access technology used by the base station 30 is not limited to these and may be other wireless access technologies. The wireless communication used by the base station 30 may be wireless communication using millimeter waves or wireless communication using terahertz waves. The wireless communication used by the base station 30 may be wireless communication using radio waves or wireless communication using infrared or visible light (optical wireless). Furthermore, the base station 30 may be capable of NOMA (Non-Orthogonal Multiple Access) communication with the terminal device 40. Here, NOMA communication refers to communication (transmission, reception, or both) using non-orthogonal resources. Note that the base station 30 may be capable of NOMA communication with other base stations 30.

[0117] The base station 30 may be able to communicate with the core network via a base station-core network interface (e.g., NG Interface, S1 Interface, etc.). This interface may be either wired or wireless. The base station may also be able to communicate with other base stations via an inter-base station interface (e.g., Xn Interface, X2 Interface, F1 Interface, etc.). This interface may be either wired or wireless.

[0118] The concept of a base station (also referred to as a "base station device") includes not only a donor base station but also a relay base station (also referred to as a "relay station"). A relay base station may be any one of an RF Repeater, a Smart Repeater, and an Intelligent Surface. The concept of a base station may also include a road-side unit (RSU). The concept of a base station may also include not only a structure having the functions of a base station but also a device installed in the structure.

[0119] Examples of structures include high-rise buildings, houses, steel towers, station facilities, airport facilities, port facilities, office buildings, school buildings, hospitals, factories, commercial facilities, stadiums, and other buildings. The concept of a structure includes not only buildings, but also non-building structures such as tunnels, bridges, dams, fences, and steel pillars, as well as equipment such as cranes, gates, and wind turbines. The concept of a structure includes not only land (ground in the narrow sense) or underground structures, but also water-based structures such as piers or megafloats, and underwater structures such as ocean observation facilities. A base station can also be referred to as an information processing device.

[0120] The base station 30 may be a donor station or a relay station (relay station). The base station 30 may also be a fixed station or a mobile station. A mobile station is a wireless communication device (e.g., a base station) configured to be mobile. In this case, the base station 30 may be a device installed in a mobile body, or may be the mobile body itself. For example, a relay station with mobility can be considered a base station 30 as a mobile station. Furthermore, devices that are inherently mobile and have base station functionality (at least part of the base station functionality), such as vehicles, UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) represented by drones, and smartphones, also fall under the category of a base station 30 as a mobile station.

[0121] Here, the moving body may be a mobile terminal such as a smartphone or a mobile phone. The moving body may also be a moving body that moves on land (ground in the narrow sense) (e.g., a vehicle such as an automobile, bicycle, bus, truck, motorcycle, train, or linear motor car), or a moving body that moves underground (e.g., in a tunnel) (e.g., a subway). The moving body may also be a moving body that moves on water (e.g., a ship such as a passenger ship, cargo ship, or hovercraft), or a moving body that moves underwater (e.g., a submersible vessel such as a submersible boat, submarine, or unmanned submersible). The moving body may also be a moving body that moves within the atmosphere (e.g., an aircraft such as an airplane, airship, or drone).

[0122] The base station 30 may be a terrestrial base station (ground station) installed on the ground. The base station 30 may be a base station located on a structure on the ground, or a base station installed on a mobile object moving on the ground. The base station 30 may be an antenna installed on a structure such as a building and a signal processing device connected to that antenna. The base station 30 may be the structure or the mobile object itself. "Ground" refers not only to land (ground in the narrow sense) but also to ground, on water, and underwater in a broad sense. The base station 30 is not limited to a terrestrial base station. If the communication system 1 is a satellite communication system, the base station 30 may be an aircraft station. From the perspective of a satellite station, an aircraft station located on Earth is a ground station.

[0123] The base station 30 is not limited to a ground station. The base station 30 may be a non-terrestrial base station (non-ground station) that can float in the air or space. The base station 30 may be an aircraft station or a satellite station.

[0124] A satellite station is a satellite station capable of floating outside the atmosphere. The satellite station may be a device mounted on a space vehicle such as an artificial satellite, or may be the space vehicle itself. A space vehicle is a vehicle that moves outside the atmosphere. The space vehicle may be at least one of an artificial satellite, a spacecraft, a space station, and a probe. Of course, the space vehicle may also be an artificial celestial body other than these. Note that a satellite that serves as a satellite station may be any of a low Earth orbiting (LEO) satellite, a medium Earth orbiting (MEO) satellite, a geostationary Earth orbiting (GEO) satellite, or a highly elliptical orbiting (HEO) satellite. The satellite station may be a device mounted on a low Earth orbiting (LEO), a medium Earth orbiting (MEO), a geostationary Earth orbiting (GEO), or a highly elliptical orbiting (HEO) satellite.

[0125] An aircraft station is a wireless communication device capable of floating in the atmosphere of an aircraft or the like. The aircraft station may be a device mounted on the aircraft or the like, or may be the aircraft itself. The concept of aircraft includes not only heavier-than-air vehicles such as airplanes and gliders, but also lighter-than-air vehicles such as balloons and airships. The concept of aircraft includes not only heavier-than-air vehicles or lighter-than-air vehicles, but also rotorcraft such as helicopters and autogyros. The aircraft station, or an aircraft equipped with an aircraft station, may be an unmanned aerial vehicle such as a drone.

[0126] The concept of unmanned aerial vehicles also includes unmanned aerial systems (UAS) and tethered unmanned aerial systems (TAS). The concept of unmanned aerial vehicles also includes lighter than air UAS (LTA) and heavier than air UAS (HTA). The concept of unmanned aerial vehicles also includes high altitude unmanned aerial system platforms (HAPs).

[0127] The coverage size of the base station 30 may be relatively large, such as a macrocell, or relatively small, such as a picocell. The coverage size of the base station 30 may be extremely small, such as a femtocell. The base station 30 may have a beamforming function. The base station 30 may form a cell or service area for each beam. Additionally or alternatively, in addition to beamforming, which gives directionality to the beam, the base station 30 may have a function to deliver a desired wave to a specific point with pinpoint accuracy by further considering distance information from the antenna of the base station 30. This function may be called beam focusing or point forming. The base station 30 may also be configured to acquire sensing data by performing sensing using beams.

[0128] Fig. 9 is a diagram showing the configuration of a base station 30 according to this embodiment. The base station 30 includes a wireless communication unit 31, a storage unit 32, a control unit 33, and a sensor unit 34. However, the configuration shown in Fig. 9 is a functional configuration, and the hardware configuration may be different. Furthermore, the functions of the base station 30 may be distributed and implemented in multiple physically separated units.

[0129] It should be noted that the base station 30 does not necessarily have to include all of the components described above or below. For example, the base station 30 does not necessarily have to include the sensor unit 34. Furthermore, the base station 30 may have a component other than the components described above or below.

[0130] The wireless communication unit 31 is a signal processing unit for wireless communication with other wireless communication devices (e.g., at least one of the terminal device 40 and another base station 30). The wireless communication unit 31 may be referred to as a wireless transceiver or simply as a transceiver. In this case, the wireless communication unit 31 may be a transceiver (hereinafter referred to as a 3GPP transceiver) conforming to the specifications defined in the Technical Specification (TS) of the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). The 3GPP transceiver may be a 3G transceiver, a 4G (LTE) transceiver, a 5G (NR) transceiver, or a transceiver of a generation after 5G (e.g., 6G). The wireless communication unit 31 is controlled by the control unit 33. The wireless communication unit 31 supports one or more wireless access methods. The wireless communication unit 31 may support at least one of NR, LTE, B5G (Beyond 5G), and 6G. The wireless communication unit 31 may support W-CDMA, cdma2000, etc. in addition to NR, LTE, B5G, and 6G. The wireless communication unit 31 may support automatic retransmission techniques such as HARQ (Hybrid Automatic Repeat reQuest). Some or all of the processing performed by the wireless communication unit 31 may be performed by the control unit 33.

[0131] The wireless communication unit 31 includes a transmission processing unit 311, a reception processing unit 312, and an antenna 313. Alternatively, at least one of the transmission processing unit 311, the reception processing unit 312, and the antenna 313 may be considered as the wireless communication unit 31. The wireless communication unit 31 may include a plurality of transmission processing units 311, a plurality of reception processing units 312, and a plurality of antennas 313. When the wireless communication unit 31 supports a plurality of wireless access methods, each unit of the wireless communication unit 31 may be configured individually for each wireless access method. The transmission processing unit 311 and the reception processing unit 312 may be configured individually for LTE, NR, B5G, and 6G. The antenna 313 may be configured with a plurality of antenna elements, for example, a plurality of patch antennas. The wireless communication unit 31 may have a beamforming function. For example, the wireless communication unit 31 may have a polarization beamforming function that uses vertically polarized waves (V polarization) and horizontally polarized waves (H polarization) (or a polarization beamforming function that uses dual polarization in polarization directions of 45 degrees and −45 degrees from the vertical direction). Note that the wireless communication unit 31 may transmit the sensing signal described above or below.

[0132] The transmission processing unit 311 performs transmission processing of the downlink control information and downlink data. For example, the transmission processing unit 311 encodes the downlink control information and downlink data input from the control unit 33 using a coding method such as block coding, convolutional coding, or turbo coding. Here, the encoding may be performed using polar codes or low density parity check codes (LDPC codes). The transmission processing unit 311 then modulates the coded bits using a predetermined modulation method (e.g., BPSK, QPSK, 16QAM, 64QAM, 256QAM, or a higher-order multi-level modulation method). In this case, the signal points on the constellation do not necessarily need to be equidistant. The constellation may also be a non-uniform constellation (NUC). The transmission processing unit 311 then multiplexes the modulation symbols of each channel and the downlink reference signal and allocates them to predetermined resource elements. The transmission processing unit 311 then performs various signal processing on the multiplexed signal. For example, the transmission processing unit 311 performs processes such as conversion to the frequency domain by fast Fourier transform, addition of a guard interval (cyclic prefix), generation of a baseband digital signal, conversion to an analog signal, quadrature modulation, up-conversion, removal of unnecessary frequency components, power amplification, etc. The signal generated by the transmission processing unit 311 is transmitted from an antenna 313.

[0133] The reception processing unit 312 processes the uplink signal received via the antenna 313. For example, the reception processing unit 312 performs downconversion, removal of unnecessary frequency components, control of amplification level, quadrature demodulation, conversion to a digital signal, removal of guard intervals (cyclic prefixes), extraction of frequency domain signals by fast Fourier transform, and the like on the uplink signal. The reception processing unit 312 then separates uplink channels such as a PUSCH (Physical Uplink Shared Channel) and a PUCCH (Physical Uplink Control Channel) and an uplink reference signal from the signal that has undergone these processes. The reception processing unit 312 also demodulates the received signal using a modulation method such as Binary Phase Shift Keying (BPSK) or Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK) for the modulation symbols of the uplink channel. The modulation method used for demodulation may be 16QAM (Quadrature Amplitude Modulation), 64QAM, or 256QAM. In this case, the signal points on the constellation do not necessarily have to be equidistant. The constellation may be a non-uniform constellation (NUC). The reception processing unit 312 then performs decoding processing on the coded bits of the demodulated uplink channel. The decoded uplink data and uplink control information are output to the control unit 33.

[0134] The antenna 313 is an antenna device that converts electric current and radio waves into each other. The antenna 313 may be composed of a single antenna element, for example, a single patch antenna. The antenna 313 may be composed of multiple antenna elements, for example, multiple patch antennas. When the antenna 313 is composed of multiple antenna elements, the wireless communication unit 31 may have a beamforming function. The wireless communication unit 31 may be configured to generate a directional beam by controlling the directivity of a wireless signal using the multiple antenna elements. The antenna 313 may be a dual-polarized antenna. When the antenna 313 is a dual-polarized antenna, the wireless communication unit 31 may use vertical polarization (V polarization) and horizontal polarization (H polarization) (or dual polarization with polarization directions at 45 degrees and -45 degrees from the vertical direction) when transmitting a wireless signal. The wireless communication unit 31 may control the directivity of a wireless signal transmitted using vertical polarization and horizontal polarization (or dual polarization with polarization directions at 45 degrees and -45 degrees from the vertical direction). Furthermore, the wireless communication unit 31 may transmit and receive spatially multiplexed signals via multiple layers each consisting of multiple antenna elements.

[0135] The storage unit 32 is a readable and writable storage device such as a DRAM, an SRAM, a flash memory, or a hard disk.

[0136] The control unit 33 is a controller that controls each unit of the base station 30. The control unit 33 controls the wireless communication unit to perform wireless communication with other wireless communication devices (e.g., terminal devices 40 or other base stations 30). The control unit 33 may be implemented by a processor such as a CPU or MPU. Specifically, the control unit 33 may be implemented by a processor executing various programs stored in a storage device inside the base station 30 using RAM or the like as a work area. The control unit 33 may be implemented by an integrated circuit such as an ASIC or FPGA. The control unit 33 may also be implemented by a GPU. A CPU, MPU, ASIC, FPGA, and GPU can all be considered controllers. The control unit 33 may be composed of multiple physically separated objects. For example, the control unit 33 may be composed of multiple semiconductor chips.

[0137] The control unit 33 includes at least one block of a transmitting unit 331, a receiving unit 332, a position estimating unit 333, an acquiring unit 334, and a sensing unit 335. The control unit 33 may include a plurality of each of these blocks, or may include only one of each.

[0138] Each block (transmitting unit 331 to sensing unit 335) constituting the control unit 33 is a functional block that indicates a function of the control unit 33. These functional blocks may be software blocks or hardware blocks. For example, each of the above-described functional blocks may be a software module implemented by software (including a microprogram), or may be a circuit block on a semiconductor chip (die). Of course, each functional block may be a processor or an integrated circuit. The control unit 33 may be configured with functional units different from the above-described functional blocks. The method of configuring the functional blocks is arbitrary. Note that the operation of the control unit 33 may be the same as the operation of the control unit (control unit 13, control unit 23, or control unit 43) of the server 10, management device 20, or terminal device 40.

[0139] The sensor unit 34 is composed of one or more sensors that detect various data related to the base station 30. For example, the sensor unit 34 may be configured to receive, detect, or measure a sensing signal transmitted by the same or another communication device (transmitter, sensing transmitter). In this case, the sensor unit 34 may be the same functional unit as the wireless communication unit 31. Note that if the wireless communication unit 31 is defined as a first wireless communication unit, the sensor unit 34 may be interpreted as a second wireless communication unit. Furthermore, the one or more sensors included in the sensor unit 34 may include a sensor that detects the surroundings of the base station 30. For example, the one or more sensors included in the sensor unit 34 may include at least one of a geomagnetic sensor, an illuminance sensor, a ranging sensor (e.g., a Time of Flight (ToF) sensor), a barometric pressure sensor, a temperature sensor, a light sensor, a sound sensor, and an image sensor. Furthermore, the sensor unit 34 (or one or more sensors included in the sensor unit 34) may be configured to perform sensing using the beamforming function described above and acquire sensing data.

[0140] The sensors included in the sensor unit 34 are not limited to sensors that detect the surroundings of the base station 30. The one or more sensors included in the sensor unit 34 may include a sensor that detects the position or attitude of the base station 30. For example, the one or more sensors included in the sensor unit 34 may include an acceleration sensor and / or a gyro sensor. For example, the one or more sensors included in the sensor unit 34 may include a 6DoF (Six degrees of freedom) sensor or a 3DoF (Three degrees of freedom) sensor. Furthermore, the one or more sensors included in the sensor unit 34 may include a positioning sensor such as a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) sensor. The GNSS sensor may be a GPS (Global Positioning System) sensor, a GLONASS sensor, a Galileo sensor, or a QZSS (Quasi-Zenith Satellite System) sensor.

[0141] The one or more sensors included in the sensor unit 34 may include a sensor unit configured by combining multiple sensors. For example, the one or more sensors included in the sensor unit 34 may include an inertial measurement unit (IMU) configured by combining multiple sensors selected from a positioning sensor (e.g., a GNSS sensor), an acceleration sensor, and a gyro sensor. The sensor unit can also be considered a type of sensor.

[0142] Furthermore, the one or more sensors included in the sensor unit 34 may include a device / component configured using a sensor. For example, the one or more sensors included in the sensor unit 34 may include at least one of a camera (e.g., a visible light camera, an infrared camera, or a light field camera), a LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging), a radar (e.g., a microwave radar or a millimeter wave radar), a microphone, and an imaging device. An imaging device is a device configured using one or more sensors. A device / component configured using a sensor can also be considered a type of sensor.

[0143] In addition, the one or more sensors provided in the sensor unit 34 may include a sensor that detects at least one of the color of an object, the speed of an object, the acceleration of an object, the reflectivity of an object, the transmittance of an object, the distance to the object, the temperature of the object / environment, geomagnetism, illuminance, air pressure, light, and sound.

[0144] Furthermore, the one or more sensors provided in the sensor section 34 may include a sensor / sensor unit / device / component configured by combining two or more sensors selected from the above-mentioned plurality of sensors.

[0145] In this embodiment, one or more sensing functions realized by devices / components included in the base station 30 may be considered as one or more sensors included in the base station 30. For example, one or more sensing functions included in the wireless communication unit 31 may be considered as one or more sensors included in the base station 30. In this case, the one or more sensing functions included in the wireless communication unit 31 may include an RF (Radio Frequency)-based sensing function (e.g., an RF-based sensing function supported by a 3GPP transceiver). In this case, the wireless communication unit 31 (e.g., a 3GPP transceiver) may be considered as the sensor unit 34 (or a sensor included in the sensor unit 34).

[0146] Note that one or more sensors included in the sensor unit 34 may be third-party sensors. Of course, one or more sensors included in the sensor unit 34 do not have to be third-party sensors.

[0147] In the above and below descriptions, descriptions regarding sensors may distinguish between physical sensors and logical sensors, i.e., the above and below descriptions of sensors may refer to physical sensors or logical sensors.

[0148] For example, the physical sensor may be at least one of the sensor examples described above or below. For example, the physical sensor may be at least one of a geomagnetic sensor, an illuminance sensor, a ranging sensor (e.g., a Time of Flight (ToF) sensor), a barometric pressure sensor, a temperature sensor, a light sensor, a sound sensor, an image sensor, an acceleration sensor, a gyro sensor, a Six degrees of freedom (6DoF) sensor, a Three degrees of freedom (3DoF) sensor, a positioning sensor (e.g., a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) sensor such as a Global Positioning System (GPS) sensor, a GLONASS sensor, a Galileo sensor, or a Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS) sensor), an inertial measurement unit (IMU), a camera (e.g., a visible light camera, an infrared camera, or a light field camera), a light detection and ranging (LiDAR), a radar (e.g., a microwave radar, a millimeter wave radar, etc.), a microphone, an image device, and a sensing function (e.g., one or more sensing functions of the wireless communication unit 31 or the wireless communication unit 41).

[0149] For example, a logical sensor may be a sensor-related entity defined in a standard (e.g., 3GPP Technical Standard). One logical sensor may be associated with one or more physical sensors (including multiple sensors of the same type and multiple sensors of different types). Additionally or alternatively, multiple logical sensors may be associated with multiple physical sensors.

[0150] In some embodiments, the base station 30 may be configured as a collection of multiple physical or logical devices. As an example, the base station 30 of this embodiment may be divided into multiple devices such as a baseband unit (BBU) and a radio unit (RU). The base station 30 may be interpreted as a collection of these multiple devices. Furthermore, the base station may be either a BBU or an RU, or may be both. The BBU and the RU may be connected by a predetermined interface such as an enhanced Common Public Radio Interface (eCPRI).

[0151] The RU may be referred to as an RRU (Remote Radio Unit) or an RD (Radio DoT). The RU may correspond to a gNB-DU (gNB Distributed Unit) described later. The BBU may correspond to a gNB-CU (gNB Central Unit) described later. The RU may be a device integrally formed with an antenna. The antenna of the base station 30, for example, an antenna integrally formed with the RU, may employ an Advanced Antenna System and support MIMO such as FD-MIMO or beamforming. The antenna of the base station 30 may have, for example, 64 transmitting antenna ports and 64 receiving antenna ports.

[0152] The antenna mounted on the RU may be an antenna panel consisting of one or more antenna elements, and the RU may be equipped with one or more antenna panels. The RU may be equipped with two types of antenna panels, a horizontally polarized antenna panel and a vertically polarized antenna panel. The RU may be equipped with two types of antenna panels, a right-handed circularly polarized antenna panel and a left-handed circularly polarized antenna panel, or an antenna panel with a polarization direction at 45 degrees from the vertical direction and an antenna panel with a polarization direction at -45 degrees from the vertical direction. Multiple antennas with these multiple polarization directions may be mounted on a single antenna panel. The RU may form and control an independent beam for each antenna panel.

[0153] A plurality of base stations 30 may be connected to each other. One or more base stations 30 may be included in a radio access network (RAN). In this case, the base station 30 may be simply referred to as a RAN, a RAN node, an AN (Access Network), an AN node, or the like. The RAN in LTE may be called an Enhanced Universal Terrestrial RAN (EUTRAN). The RAN in NR may be called an NGRAN. Furthermore, the RAN in 6G may be called a 6GRAN. The RAN in W-CDMA (UMTS) may be called a UTRAN.

[0154] An LTE base station 30 may be referred to as an eNodeB (Evolved Node B) or eNB. In this case, the EUTRAN includes one or more eNodeBs (eNBs). An NR base station 30 may be referred to as a gNodeB or gNB. In this case, the NGRAN includes one or more gNBs. A 6G base station may be referred to as a 6GNodeB, 6gNodeB, 6GNB, or 6gNB. In this case, the 6GRAN includes one or more 6GNBs. The EUTRAN may include a gNB (en-gNB) connected to a core network (EPC) in an LTE communication system (EPS). The NGRAN may include an ng-eNB connected to a core network 5GC in a 5G communication system (5GS).

[0155] When the base station 30 is an eNB, gNB, 6GNB, or the like, the base station 30 may be referred to as a 3GPP access. When the base station 30 is a wireless access point, the base station 30 may be referred to as a non-3GPP access. The base station 30 may be a radio extension device called an RRH (Remote Radio Head). When the base station 30 is a gNB, the base station 30 may be a combination of the gNB-CU and gNB-DU described above, or may be either a gNB-CU or a gNB-DU.

[0156] Here, the gNB-CU hosts multiple upper layers (e.g., RRC (Radio Resource Control), SDAP (Service Data Adaptation Protocol), PDCP (Packet Data Convergence Protocol)) of the access stratum for communication with the UE. On the other hand, the gNB-DU hosts multiple lower layers (e.g., RLC (Radio Link Control), MAC (Medium Access Control), PHY (Physical layer)) of the access stratum. That is, among the messages / information described below, RRC signaling (semi-static notification) is generated by the gNB-CU, while MAC The CE and DCI (dynamic notification) may be generated by the gNB-DU. Alternatively, some configurations of the RRC configuration (semi-static notification), such as IE:cellGroupConfig, may be generated by the gNB-DU, and the remaining configurations may be generated by the gNB-CU. These configurations may be transmitted or received over the F1 interface.

[0157] The base station 30 may be configured to be able to communicate with other base stations. When multiple base stations 30 are eNBs or a combination of eNBs and en-gNBs, these base stations 30 may be connected via an X2 interface. When multiple base stations 30 are gNBs or a combination of gn-eNBs and gNBs, these base stations 30 may be connected via an Xn interface. When multiple base stations 30 are a combination of gNB-CUs and gNB-DUs, these base stations 30 may be connected via the F1 interface described above. Messages / information (e.g., RRC signaling, MAC Control Element (CE), or Downlink Control Information (DCI)) described below may be transmitted between multiple base stations 30 via these inter-base station interfaces (e.g., X2 interface, Xn interface, or F1 interface).

[0158] A cell provided by the base station 30 may be referred to as a serving cell. The concept of a serving cell includes a PCell (Primary Cell) and an SCell (Secondary Cell). When dual connectivity is provided to the terminal device 40, the PCell and zero or more SCells provided by a Master Node (MN) may be referred to as a Master Cell Group. The dual connectivity may be at least one of EUTRA-EUTRA Dual Connectivity, EUTRA-NR Dual Connectivity (ENDC), EUTRA-NR Dual Connectivity with 5GC, NR-EUTRA Dual Connectivity (NEDC), NR-NR Dual Connectivity, NR-6G Dual Connectivity, and 6G-NR Dual Connectivity. Of course, dual connectivity is not limited to these.

[0159] The serving cell may include a PSCell (Primary Secondary Cell or Primary SCG Cell). When dual connectivity is provided to the terminal device 40, the PSCell provided by a Secondary Node (SN) and zero or more SCells may be referred to as a Secondary Cell Group (SCG). Unless special configuration (e.g., PUCCH on SCell) is performed, the Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) is transmitted by the PCell and PSCell but not by the SCell. Radio link failure is detected by the PCell and PSCell but not (does not need to be detected by) the SCell. As such, the PCell and PSCell play special roles among serving cells and are therefore also referred to as Special Cells (SpCells).

[0160] One cell may be associated with one downlink component carrier and one uplink component carrier. The system bandwidth corresponding to one cell may be divided into multiple BWPs (Bandwidth Parts). In this case, one or multiple BWPs may be configured in the terminal device 40, and one BWP may be used by the terminal device 40 as an active BWP. Radio resources available to the terminal device 40, such as a frequency band, numerology (subcarrier spacing), or slot format (Slot configuration), may differ for each cell, each component carrier, or each BWP.

[0161] 2-4. Configuration of Terminal Device Next, the configuration of the terminal device 40 will be described.

[0162] The terminal device 40 is a wireless communication device that performs wireless communication with other wireless communication devices (for example, a base station 30 or another terminal device 40). In the following description, the terminal device 40 may be referred to as UE (User Equipment) or UE 40.

[0163] The terminal device 40 may be any type of information processing device (computer). For example, the terminal device 40 may be a mobile terminal such as a mobile phone, a smart device (smartphone or tablet), a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), or a notebook PC. The terminal device 40 may also be a communication module that is connected to an information processing device (e.g., an imaging device without wireless communication capabilities) and provides the information processing device with wireless communication capabilities. The terminal device 40 may also be an imaging device with wireless communication capabilities (e.g., a camcorder).

[0164] The terminal device 40 may be a motorcycle or a mobile broadcasting vehicle equipped with a communication device such as a Field Pickup Unit (FPU). The terminal device 40 may be a Machine to Machine (M2M) device or an Internet of Things (IoT) device. The terminal device 40 may be a wearable device such as a smartwatch.

[0165] Furthermore, the terminal device 40 may be an XR (Extended Reality) device such as an AR (Augmented Reality) device, a VR (Virtual Reality) device, or an MR (Mixed Reality) device. In this case, the XR device may be a glasses-type device such as AR glasses or MR glasses, or a head-mounted device such as a VR head-mounted display. When the terminal device 40 is an XR device, the terminal device 40 may be a standalone device consisting only of a part worn by a user (e.g., a glasses part). Furthermore, the terminal device 40 may be a terminal-linked device consisting of a part worn by a user (e.g., a glasses part) and a terminal part (e.g., a smart device) linked to the part worn by a user.

[0166] The terminal device 40 may be capable of NOMA communication with the base station 30. The terminal device 40 may be able to use an automatic repeat technique such as HARQ when communicating with the base station 30. The terminal device 40 may be capable of sidelink communication with another terminal device 40. The terminal device 40 may be able to use an automatic repeat technique such as HARQ when performing sidelink communication. The terminal device 40 may be capable of NOMA communication when performing sidelink communication with another terminal device 40. The terminal device 40 may be capable of LPWA communication with other wireless communication devices such as the base station 30. The wireless communication used by the terminal device 40 may be wireless communication using millimeter waves. The wireless communication used by the terminal device 40, including sidelink communication, may be wireless communication using radio waves, or wireless communication using infrared or visible light, i.e., optical wireless.

[0167] The terminal device 40 may be a mobile wireless communication device, i.e., a mobile device. The terminal device 40 may be a wireless communication device installed in a mobile device, or may be the mobile device itself. The terminal device 40 may be a vehicle that moves on a road, such as an automobile, bus, truck, or motorcycle, or a train that runs on a track, or may be a wireless communication device mounted on the vehicle. The mobile device may be a mobile terminal, or a mobile device that moves on land (in the narrow sense of the word), underground, on water, or underwater. The mobile device may also be a mobile device that moves within the atmosphere, such as an airplane, airship, balloon, or helicopter, or a mobile device that moves outside the atmosphere, such as an artificial satellite. The mobile device may also be a UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) such as a drone. The terminal device 40 may also be a wireless communication device mounted on the mobile device.

[0168] The terminal device 40 may be capable of simultaneously connecting to and communicating with a plurality of base stations 30 or a plurality of cells. When one base station 30 supports a communication area via a plurality of cells (e.g., pCell or sCell), the plurality of cells can be bundled together to enable communication between the base station 30 and the terminal device 40 by using carrier aggregation (CA) technology, dual connectivity (DC) technology, multi-connectivity (MC) technology, or the like. Alternatively, communication between the terminal device 40 and the plurality of base stations 30 can also be achieved via cells of different base stations 30 by coordinated multi-point transmission and reception (CoMP) technology.

[0169] The terminal device 40 may be capable of connecting to and communicating with a plurality of base stations 30 or a plurality of cells. Furthermore, the terminal device 40 may transmit and / or receive a sensing signal to and from each of the plurality of base stations 30. The terminal device 40 may be configured to receive information about the sensing signal (e.g., information about resources) from at least one of the plurality of base stations 30, or may be configured to receive information about the sensing signal (e.g., information about resources) from each of the plurality of base stations 30. Furthermore, the terminal device 40 may transmit and / or receive a sensing signal in each of the plurality of cells. The terminal device 40 may be configured to receive information about the sensing signal (e.g., information about resources) from at least one of the plurality of cells, or may be configured to receive information about the sensing signal (e.g., information about resources) in each of the plurality of cells.

[0170] The terminal device 40 may be a relay terminal that relays communications to a remote terminal.

[0171] Multistatic sensing may be performed in the base station 30, the remote terminal, and the relay terminal. Specifically, a sensing signal may be transmitted from each of the base station 30 and the relay terminal. The remote terminal may receive the sensing signal transmitted from each of the base station 30 and the relay terminal.

[0172] The base station 30 and / or the relay terminal may transmit information regarding the sensing signals transmitted and / or received at the relay terminal and / or the remote terminal to the relay terminal and / or the remote terminal. In other words, the relay terminal and / or the remote terminal may receive information regarding the sensing signals transmitted and / or received at the relay terminal and / or the remote terminal from the base station 30 and / or the relay terminal.

[0173] Fig. 10 is a diagram showing the configuration of a terminal device 40 according to this embodiment. The terminal device 40 includes a wireless communication unit 41, a storage unit 42, a control unit 43, and a sensor unit 44. The configuration shown in Fig. 10 is a functional configuration, and the hardware configuration may be different from this. Furthermore, the functions of the terminal device 40 may be distributed and implemented in multiple physically separated units.

[0174] It should be noted that the terminal device 40 does not necessarily have to include all of the configurations described above or below. For example, the terminal device 40 may not include the sensor unit 44. Furthermore, the terminal device 40 may include a configuration other than the configurations described above or below. The terminal device 40 may have a beamforming function. Furthermore, the terminal device 40 may be configured to acquire sensing data by performing sensing using beams.

[0175] The wireless communication unit 41 is a signal processing unit for wireless communication with other wireless communication devices (e.g., a base station 30 or another terminal device 40). The wireless communication unit 41 may be referred to as a wireless transceiver or simply as a transceiver. In this case, the wireless communication unit 41 may be a transceiver of a standard defined by the 3GPP Technical Specification (TS) (hereinafter referred to as a 3GPP transceiver). The 3GPP transceiver may be a 3G transceiver, a 4G (LTE) transceiver, a 5G (NR) transceiver, or a transceiver of a generation after 5G. The wireless communication unit 41 is controlled by, for example, the control unit 43. The wireless communication unit 41 supports one or more wireless access methods. The wireless communication unit 41 may support at least one of NR, LTE, B5G (Beyond 5G), and 6G. The wireless communication unit 41 may support W-CDMA, cdma2000, etc. in addition to NR, LTE, B5G, and 6G. The wireless communication unit 41 may support automatic retransmission techniques such as HARQ (Hybrid Automatic Repeat reQuest). Some or all of the processing performed by the wireless communication unit 41 may be performed by the control unit 43.

[0176] The wireless communication unit 41 includes a transmission processing unit 411, a reception processing unit 412, and an antenna 413. At least one of the transmission processing unit 411, the reception processing unit 412, and the antenna 413 may be considered as the wireless communication unit 41. The wireless communication unit 41 may include a plurality of transmission processing units 411, a plurality of reception processing units 412, and a plurality of antennas 413. When the wireless communication unit 41 supports a plurality of wireless access methods, each unit of the wireless communication unit 41 may be configured individually for each wireless access method. The transmission processing unit 411 and the reception processing unit 412 may be configured individually for LTE, NR, B5G, and 6G. The antenna 413 may be configured with a plurality of antenna elements, for example, a plurality of patch antennas. The wireless communication unit 41 may have a beamforming function. For example, the wireless communication unit 41 may have a polarization beamforming function that uses vertically polarized waves (V polarization) and horizontally polarized waves (H polarization) (or a polarization beamforming function that uses dual polarization in polarization directions of 45 degrees and −45 degrees from the vertical direction). Note that the wireless communication unit 41 may transmit the sensing signal described above or below.

[0177] The storage unit 42 is a readable and writable storage device such as a DRAM, an SRAM, a flash memory, or a hard disk.

[0178] The control unit 43 is a controller that controls each unit of the terminal device 40. The control unit 43 controls the wireless communication unit to perform wireless communication with other wireless communication devices (e.g., a base station 30 or another terminal device 40). The control unit 43 may be implemented by a processor such as a CPU or MPU. In particular, the control unit 23 may be implemented by a processor executing various programs stored in a storage device internal to the terminal device 40 using RAM or the like as a work area. The control unit 43 may be implemented by an integrated circuit such as an ASIC or FPGA. The CPU, MPU, ASIC, and FPGA can all be considered controllers. The control unit 43 may be implemented by a GPU. The CPU, MPU, ASIC, FPGA, and GPU can all be considered controllers. The control unit 43 may be composed of multiple physically separated objects. For example, the control unit 43 may be composed of multiple semiconductor chips.

[0179] The control unit 43 includes at least one block of a transmitting unit 431, a receiving unit 432, a position estimating unit 433, an acquiring unit 434, and a sensing unit 435. The control unit 43 may include a plurality of each of these blocks, or may include only one of each.

[0180] Each block (transmitting unit 431 to sensing unit 435) constituting the control unit 43 is a functional block that indicates the function of the control unit 43. These functional blocks may be software blocks or hardware blocks. For example, each of the above-described functional blocks may be a software module implemented by software (including a microprogram), or may be a circuit block on a semiconductor chip (die). Of course, each functional block may be a processor or an integrated circuit. The control unit 43 may be configured with functional units different from the above-described functional blocks. The method of configuring the functional blocks is arbitrary. Note that the operation of the control unit 43 may be the same as the operation of the control unit (control unit 13, control unit 23, or control unit 33) of the server 10, management device 20, or base station 30.

[0181] The sensor unit 44 is composed of one or more sensors that detect various data related to the terminal device 40. For example, the sensor unit 44 may be configured to receive, detect, or measure a sensing signal transmitted by the same or another communication device (transmitter, sensing transmitter). In this case, the sensor unit 44 may have the same functional unit as the wireless communication unit 41. If the wireless communication unit 41 is defined as a first wireless communication unit, the sensor unit 44 may be considered as a second wireless communication unit. Furthermore, the one or more sensors included in the sensor unit 44 may include a sensor that detects the position or attitude of the terminal device 40. For example, the one or more sensors included in the sensor unit 44 may include an acceleration sensor and / or a gyro sensor. For example, the one or more sensors included in the sensor unit 44 may include a 6DoF sensor or a 3DoF sensor. Furthermore, the one or more sensors included in the sensor unit 44 may include a positioning sensor (e.g., a GNSS sensor). The GNSS sensor may be a GPS sensor, a GLONASS sensor, a Galileo sensor, or a QZSS sensor. Furthermore, the sensor unit 44 (or one or more sensors included in the sensor unit 44) may be configured to perform sensing using the above-described beamforming function and acquire sensing data.

[0182] The sensors included in the sensor unit 44 are not limited to sensors that detect the position or attitude of the terminal device 40. The one or more sensors included in the sensor unit 44 may include a sensor that detects the surroundings of the terminal device 40. For example, the one or more sensors included in the sensor unit 44 may include at least one of a geomagnetic sensor, an illuminance sensor, a distance measurement sensor (for example, a ToF sensor), a barometric pressure sensor, a temperature sensor, a light sensor, a sound sensor, and an image sensor.

[0183] The one or more sensors included in the sensor unit 44 may include a sensor unit configured by combining multiple sensors. For example, the one or more sensors included in the sensor unit 44 may include an inertial measurement unit configured by combining multiple sensors selected from a positioning sensor (e.g., a GNSS sensor), an acceleration sensor, and a gyro sensor. The sensor unit can also be considered a type of sensor.

[0184] Furthermore, the one or more sensors included in the sensor unit 44 may include a device / component configured using a sensor. For example, the one or more sensors included in the sensor unit 44 may include at least one of a camera (e.g., a visible light camera, an infrared camera, or a light field camera), a LiDAR, a radar (e.g., a microwave radar or a millimeter wave radar), a microphone, and an imaging device. An imaging device is a device configured using one or more sensors. A device / component configured using a sensor can also be considered a type of sensor.

[0185] In addition, the one or more sensors provided in the sensor unit 44 may include a sensor that detects at least one of the color of an object, the speed of an object, the acceleration of an object, the reflectivity of an object, the transmittance of an object, the distance to the object, the temperature of the object / environment, geomagnetism, illuminance, air pressure, light, and sound.

[0186] Furthermore, the one or more sensors provided in the sensor section 44 may include a sensor / sensor unit / device / component configured by combining two or more sensors selected from the above-mentioned plurality of sensors.

[0187] In the present embodiment, one or more sensing functions realized by devices / components included in the terminal device 40 may be considered as one or more sensors included in the terminal device 40. For example, one or more sensing functions included in the wireless communication unit 41 may be considered as one or more sensors included in the terminal device 40. In this case, the one or more sensing functions included in the wireless communication unit 41 may include an RF-based sensing function (e.g., an RF-based sensing function supported by a 3GPP transceiver). In this case, the wireless communication unit 41 (e.g., a 3GPP transceiver) may be considered as the sensor unit 44 (or a sensor included in the sensor unit 44).

[0188] Note that one or more sensors included in the sensor unit 44 may be third-party sensors. Of course, one or more sensors included in the sensor unit 44 do not have to be third-party sensors.

[0189] As mentioned above, the description of sensors may be divided into physical sensors and logical sensors, i.e., the sensors described above or below may be physical sensors or logical sensors.

[0190] <<3. Example of Node Configuration, Example of Signal Configuration>> The configuration of the communication system 1 has been described above, but before describing the operation of the communication system 1, an example of a node configuration according to this embodiment and an example of a configuration of a signal used in this embodiment (an example of a signal configuration of a sensing radio wave and an example of a signal configuration of control information) will be described.

[0191] <3-1. Example of Node Configuration> First, an example of a node configuration according to this embodiment will be described.

[0192] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a node configuration according to this embodiment. Each node assumed in this embodiment has a function for performing RF-based sensing utilizing wireless communication hardware. This RF-based sensing is sensing that detects, for example, at least one of the presence of an object, angle information of the object, and position information of the object. RF-based sensing may also be capable of detecting at least one of the reflectivity of the object, the velocity of the object, and the acceleration of the object. RF-based sensing is performed by one or more communication devices transmitting and / or receiving sensing radio waves using antenna elements provided for emitting wireless communication radio waves. The antenna is composed of multiple antenna elements. The antenna has a function for imparting directionality to radio waves when transmitting and / or receiving radio waves (beamforming function).

[0193] Each node may include one or more sensors, which will be referred to as third-party sensors in the following description, although the one or more sensors are not limited to third-party sensors.

[0194] The sensor provided in the node is a sensor that detects position information, such as a positioning sensor. Other sensors provided in the node may be sensors such as a camera and / or LiDAR. The sensor provided in the node can detect the presence of an object and / or detect angle information of sensing radio waves transmitted between the node and the object. The presence detection information and angle information can be incorporated as control information in the transmission signal radio wave generation process of the transmitting node.

[0195] Each node can acquire its own location information. For example, each node can acquire its own location information by positioning using a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) or positioning using a location service. If the node is a fixed node, it may acquire its own location information from its own storage unit or another device. Each node can notify other nodes of its own location information. For example, each node notifies a node that performs processing related to a sensing service or a node connected to an information processing device of its own location information.

[0196] Each node can secondary use cellular radio waves modulated and / or demodulated for wireless communication as radio frequency-based sensing radio waves. A wired or wireless communication path (hereinafter also referred to as a control information communication path) can be established between nodes to transmit information related to RF-based sensing (e.g., control information for RF-based sensing). This control information communication path is a communication path independent of the communication path for sensing radio waves (hereinafter also referred to as a sensing wireless communication path).

[0197] Among the nodes assumed in this embodiment, a node used as a transmitting node can transmit sensing radio waves. The transmitting node can also select a receiving node to use for multistatic sensing. In this case, the transmitting node may select a receiving node to use for multistatic sensing based on at least one of the following information: the results of primary sensing by the transmitting node, the angular range for beam scanning, the performance of the candidate receiving nodes, and the resource usage status of the candidate receiving nodes. The transmitting node can then notify the selected receiving node of its selection via a control information communication channel.

[0198] Furthermore, the transmitting node may notify the receiving node of control information other than the above using the control information communication channel. For example, the transmitting node may notify the receiving node of resource information (e.g., time-frequency resources for transmitting sensing radio waves and / or time-frequency resources for transmitting sensing results). The transmitting node may also determine a timing advance and / or a time margin for receiving the sensing radio waves at the receiving node. The transmitting node may determine this timing based on, for example, the primary sensing results and / or node position information. The transmitting node may then notify the receiving node of the determined information using the control information communication channel.

[0199] The transmitting node and the receiving node may perform RF-based sensing (for example, sensing using the second bistatic sensing method shown in FIG. 5) based on this information.

[0200] For example, the receiving node can receive sensing radio waves based on resource information notified from the transmitting node. The receiving node can acquire information on the angle of arrival of the received radio waves. In this case, the receiving node may estimate the angle of arrival of the sensing radio waves using, for example, an angle of arrival estimation method using multiple antenna elements. Examples of the angle of arrival estimation method include the MUSIC (MUltiple SIgnal Classification) algorithm, the ESPRIT (Estimation of Signal Parameters via Rotational Invariant Techniques) algorithm, and a beamformer algorithm.

[0201] Furthermore, the receiving node can extract control information such as the sensing radio wave ID from the sensing radio wave by demodulating the received sensing radio wave. The receiving node can also notify the transmitting node of information on the angle of arrival, information on whether sensing was successful, and information on the sensing result via the control information communication path. The receiving node may also obtain information on the angle of departure of the sensing radio wave from the transmitting node.

[0202] The transmitting node may then estimate the position of the object based on the sensing results. For example, the transmitting node may estimate the position of the object based on information transmitted from the receiving node (e.g., information on the angle of arrival), information on the angle of departure, and position information of the transmitting node and the receiving node. Note that the receiving node may also estimate the position of the object based on the sensing results. For example, the receiving node may estimate the position of the object based on information on the angle of arrival, information acquired from the receiving node (e.g., information on the angle of departure), and position information of the transmitting node and the receiving node.

[0203] Of course, a device other than the transmitting node and the receiving node may estimate the position of the object. For example, assume that at least one of the transmitting node and the receiving node is connected to an information processing device. The information processing device is, for example, a device belonging to a core network or an application server. In this case, at least one of the transmitting node and the receiving node notifies the information processing device of the sensing result via a control information communication path. Then, the information processing device may estimate the position of the object based on the sensing result. For example, the information processing device may estimate the position of the object based on information acquired from the transmitting node (e.g., information on the angle of arrival), information acquired from the receiving node (e.g., information on the angle of departure), and position information of the transmitting node and the receiving node.

[0204] When the sensing result is processed by one of the transmitting node and the receiving node, the other node may notify the node processing the sensing result of the sensing result via the control information communication path.

[0205] Furthermore, the control information communication path may be a communication path via a backhaul (for example, a core network and / or an application server). If it is possible to transmit and receive sensing radio waves and set up a control information communication path, the transmitting node and the receiving node may belong to different wireless communication systems.

[0206] In this embodiment, multistatic sensing (for example, sensing by the second bistatic sensing method shown in FIG. 5) is performed using the above-mentioned nodes.

[0207] <3-2. Example of Signal Configuration of Sensing Radio Wave> Next, an example of the signal configuration of the sensing radio wave used in this embodiment will be described.

[0208] A communication device (e.g., the above-mentioned transmitting node) may generate the sensing radio wave by a means similar to the radio transmission signal generation process in a downlink (DL), an uplink (UL), and a sidelink (SL). The communication device may generate the sensing radio wave by a means similar to the radio transmission signal generation process in an integrated access and backhaul (IAB).

[0209] The communication device extends the functionality of resources (e.g., PDCCH (Physical Downlink Control Channel), PUCCH (Physical Uplink Control Channel), or PSCCH (Physical Sidelink Control Channel)) that notify control information for wireless communication, and maps the control information for sensing. The control information for sensing may include, for example, an ID for identifying the sensing radio wave (sensing radio wave ID) and / or angle information of the sensing radio wave (directivity angle information). The angle information may include a true value of the directivity angle information and / or an ID for identifying the beam (beam ID). The control information for sensing may also include location information of the transmitting node and / or transmission time information (time of departure (ToD)).

[0210] In order to achieve a predetermined sensing performance, the sensing radio wave ID has a larger data volume than the data volume of a conventional beam ID (Non-Patent Document 3). The communication device determines the data volume of the sensing radio wave ID based on the sensing performance to be achieved. For example, the communication device may set 256 patterns of radio wave IDs for short-distance sensing, 512 patterns of radio wave IDs for short- to medium-distance sensing, and 1024 patterns of radio wave IDs for medium- to long-distance sensing.

[0211] The sensing radio wave may not include resources for transmitting the information portion (e.g., PDSCH (Physical Downlink Shared Channel), PUSCH (Physical Uplink Shared Channel), and PSSCH (Physical Sidelink Shared Channel). In other words, the communication device may use only a control channel as a wireless communication resource for transmitting the sensing radio wave. The communication device may extend resources in the time axis direction according to the amount of data of control information for sensing.

[0212] <3-3. Example of signal configuration of control information> Next, an example of the configuration of control information used in this embodiment will be described. Specifically, an example of the signal configuration of control information when a wireless communication path is used as the control information communication path will be described.

[0213] A communication device (e.g., the above-mentioned transmitting node) may generate a control information signal by a means similar to a radio transmission signal generation process in a downlink (DL), an uplink (UL), and a sidelink (SL). The communication device may generate a control information signal by a means similar to a radio transmission signal generation process in an integrated access and backhaul (IAB).

[0214] The communication device extends the functionality of resources (e.g., PDCCH (Physical Downlink Control Channel), PUCCH (Physical Uplink Control Channel), or PSCCH (Physical Sidelink Control Channel)) that notify control information for wireless communication, and maps control information for sensing.

[0215] The control information for sensing may include, for example, at least one of node location information, information on resources for transmitting sensing radio waves, a sensing radio wave ID, resources for returning an ACK from the receiving node, whether sensing at the receiving node was successful, and the sensing result. The control information for sensing may also include angle information (directivity angle information) of the sensing radio wave, reception time information (arrival time (ToA: Time of Arrival)), and transmission time difference (time difference of arrival (TDoA)).

[0216] Depending on the amount of data of the control information for sensing, the communication device may include some of the control information in RRC (Radio Resource Control), and may notify other devices of the part of the control information via a higher layer (e.g., a device belonging to a core network and / or a server).

[0217] In this embodiment, the control information communication path may be a communication path via a higher layer (e.g., a device and / or a server belonging to a core network). In this case, the communication device may include control information for sensing in RRC (Radio Resource Control).

[0218] In this embodiment, the communication device includes angle information in at least one of the information transmitted by the sensing radio waves and the information transmitted by the control information communication channel (whether wired or wireless). Even when wired communication is used as the control information communication channel, the communication device can notify other devices of the control information for sensing.

[0219] When multiple receiving nodes are used for sensing, each receiving node may be capable of receiving the same sensing radio wave. In this case, the multiple receiving nodes identify each other by the notified sensing radio wave ID. In this case, as described above, if only the control channel is used as a wireless communication resource for transmitting the sensing radio wave, multiple nodes can use the same sensing radio wave simultaneously without worrying about information leakage.

[0220] When multiple receiving nodes are used for sensing, the communication device can perform duplexing (e.g., at least one of time division duplex (TDD), frequency division duplex (FDD), and full duplex) using the control information communication channel. In this case, resources can be allocated from the transmitting node to each receiving node.

[0221] <<4. Operation of the Communication System>> Based on the above, the operation of the communication system 1 will be described.

[0222] <4-1. Overview of Communication System Operation> Typically, monostatic sensing, bistatic sensing, and multistatic sensing require distance estimation using TDoA (Time Difference of Arrival) (e.g., estimation of the propagation distance r shown in FIG. 4). However, the accuracy of distance estimation in RF sensing is proportional to the width of the occupied bandwidth of the radio waves used for sensing. Currently, the occupied bandwidth used in wireless communication systems is at most 400 MHz in 3GPP, for example. In this case, the maximum resolution is 0.75 m (meaning that the ideal limit for RF sensing is 0.75 m, but this does not necessarily mean that a resolution of 0.75 m can be achieved with wireless communication radio waves). However, this resolution makes it difficult to realize highly accurate services. For example, in the example of Non-Patent Document 4, a resolution of 0.5 m or less in the horizontal direction and 1 m or less in the vertical direction is required. Therefore, a sensing method that improves this distance resolution or does not require distance estimation is needed.

[0223] Therefore, the communication system 1 of this embodiment uses, as the sensing method for multistatic sensing, a second bistatic sensing method (e.g., the sensing method shown in FIG. 5 ) that does not use information on the propagation distance of the sensing radio wave (e.g., the propagation distance r shown in FIG. 4 ). That is, the communication system 1 estimates the position of the sensing object based on first angle information (e.g., information on the angle of departure AoD shown in FIG. 5 ) indicating the propagation direction of the sensing radio wave between the sensing object and the node transmitting the sensing radio wave, second angle information (e.g., information on the angle of arrival AoA shown in FIG. 5 ) indicating the propagation direction of the sensing radio wave between the sensing object and the node receiving the sensing radio wave, and information on the direct distance between the nodes (e.g., information on the direct distance R shown in FIG. 5 ).

[0224] More specifically, the communication system 1 performs a first sensing operation to acquire first angle information and a second sensing operation to acquire second angle information. Here, the first angle information acquired in the first sensing operation is, for example, information on the direction of the sensing radio wave traveling from the transmitting node to the sensing object (e.g., information on the angle of departure AoD shown in FIG. 5 ). The second angle information acquired in the second sensing operation is, for example, information on the direction of the sensing radio wave traveling from the transmitting node to the sensing object to the receiving node (e.g., information on the angle of arrival AoA shown in FIG. 5 ). The first angle information may also be information on the direction of the sensing radio wave reflected by the sensing object and returning to the transmitting node (information on the angle of arrival).

[0225] In this embodiment, the communication system 1 uses radio waves (e.g., cellular radio waves) modulated and / or demodulated for wireless communication as sensing radio waves for multistatic sensing (sensing radio waves for at least one of the first sensing and second sensing). The sensing radio waves are directional radio waves (e.g., beams). The communication devices (transmitting nodes and / or receiving nodes) included in the communication system 1 have a function of directing the radio waves in the direction of the sensing target (e.g., a beamforming function) in order to transmit directional radio waves toward the sensing target. Furthermore, the communication devices (transmitting nodes and / or receiving nodes) included in the communication system 1 have a function of detecting radio waves directed in the direction of the sensing target.

[0226] To perform multistatic sensing, it is necessary to exchange information related to RF-based sensing (e.g., sensing results and / or control information) between nodes. In this embodiment, a control information communication path is established between the nodes. The control information communication path is a wired or wireless communication path independent of the communication path of the sensing radio wave (sensing wireless communication path). A communication device (transmitting node and / or receiving node) included in the communication system 1 notifies an information processing device included in the communication system 1 of information related to RF-based sensing using the control information communication path. For example, a communication device included in the communication system 1 may transmit at least one of information on resources for transmitting sensing radio waves, a sensing radio wave ID, first angle information, second angle information, information on the success or failure of sensing, and information on the sensing result to another device.

[0227] The information required for sensing using the second bistatic sensing method is first angle information, second angle information, and information on the direct distance between nodes. In this embodiment, this information is collected in an information processing device included in the communication system 1. Here, the information on the direct distance between nodes may be information calculated by the information processing device based on position information of the transmitting node and the receiving node. The information processing device estimates the position of the sensing object based on the first angle information, second angle information, and information on the direct distance between nodes.

[0228] In the example of Fig. 11, the information processing device that performs location estimation is a device separate from the transmitting node and the receiving node. However, the information processing device that performs location estimation may be the transmitting node or the receiving node. Of course, the information processing device may be a device other than these nodes.

[0229] The operation of the communication system 1 will now be described in detail.

[0230] <4-2. Bistatic Sensing> First, the operation of the communication system 1 related to bistatic sensing will be described. Among multistatic sensing, sensing in which there is one transmitting node and one receiving node is called bistatic sensing. Below, examples of bistatic sensing (first to fourth examples) are shown.

[0231] In the following description, the information processing device that performs location estimation is a device separate from the transmitting node and the receiving node. However, the information processing device that performs location estimation may be a transmitting node or a receiving node. The transmitting node may be a base station 30 or a terminal device 40. Furthermore, the receiving node may be a base station 30 or a terminal device 40. Of course, the information processing device may be a device other than these nodes. For example, the information processing device may be a server 10 or a device (e.g., a management device 20) that belongs to the core network CN.

[0232] 4-2-1. First Example (Bistatic Sensing) First, the operation of the communication system 1 according to the first example will be described.

[0233] In a first embodiment, a first sensing for acquiring first angle information and a second sensing for acquiring second angle information are performed using the same sensing radio wave. The sensing radio waves used for the first sensing and the second sensing are radio waves transmitted using wireless communication resources. In the first embodiment, the first sensing is monostatic sensing in which the transmitting node detects a wave of the sensing radio wave transmitted by the transmitting node reflected by an object, and the second sensing is bistatic sensing in which the receiving node detects a wave of the sensing radio wave transmitted by the transmitting node reflected by the object.

[0234] 12 is a sequence diagram showing the sensing process according to the first embodiment. The information processing device starts the sensing process when a sensing request received from a device requesting a sensing service (e.g., the server 10) is for estimating the position (localization) of a sensing target. The sensing process according to the first embodiment will be described below with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 12.

[0235] The information processing device requests node information from candidate receiving nodes. The receiving node notifies the information processing device and / or transmitting node of the location information of the receiving node and capability information of the receiving node (e.g., the number of antennas and / or information processing performance) as advance information. The receiving node may use a wired communication path or a wireless communication path to notify the information. The receiving node may also use a communication path via a higher layer such as a server to notify the information.

[0236] The information processing device determines control information for bistatic sensing based on the received information (step S101). For example, the information processing device determines, as the control information, a transmitting node, a receiving node, and resources for sensing (e.g., resources used to transmit sensing radio waves and / or resources used for a control information communication path). Here, to determine the receiving node, the information processing device may use at least one of information on resources used to transmit sensing radio waves (e.g., angle information for beam scanning at the transmitting node), position information of the transmitting node and / or the receiving node, and capability information of the transmitting node and / or the receiving node (e.g., the number of antennas of the node).

[0237] The information processing device notifies the transmitting node of the determined control information (step S102). Note that the information processing device may notify the receiving node of the control information. In this case, the information processing device may notify the transmitting node of the control information via the receiving node. When the control information is notified via the receiving node, the receiving node may notify the transmitting node of the control information via a control information communication path.

[0238] The transmitting node generates a sensing radio wave (sensing signal) having the above-described signal configuration (step S103). At this time, the transmitting node may notify the receiving node of control information (step S104). For example, the transmitting node may notify the receiving node of a sensing radio wave ID using a control information communication channel. At this time, the control information may include the transmitting node's position information, angle information (e.g., departure angle and / or beam ID), and information for reliable reception of the sensing radio wave at the receiving node (e.g., timing advance information and / or time margin information).

[0239] The transmitting node transmits a sensing radio wave (sensing signal) using the resource notified by the control information (step S105). For example, the transmitting node performs beam scanning. The transmitting node and the receiving node each detect a reflected wave from the sensing target.

[0240] The transmitting node acquires first angle information (e.g., departure angle information) by detecting a wave reflected from the sensing target (step S106). For example, the transmitting node acquires the first angle information by performing a process related to monostatic sensing. For example, the transmitting node acquires the first angle information by detecting a wave of a sensing radio wave transmitted by the transmitting node that is reflected by the sensing target. In this embodiment, this monostatic sensing is the first sensing.

[0241] At this time, the transmitting node may detect the reflected wave by demodulating the received radio wave and detecting the sensing radio wave ID. Alternatively, the transmitting node may detect the reflected wave using an algorithm for estimating the number of incoming waves, such as a beamformer method. At this time, the transmitting node may detect information other than the angle information. For example, the transmitting node may detect at least one of information on the reflectivity of the sensing object (e.g., information on the radar cross section (RCS)), information on the velocity of the sensing object, and information on the acceleration of the sensing object.

[0242] In the following description, the ID of the sensing radio wave (e.g., the ID of the beam emitted when the transmitting node detects a reflected wave from the sensing object) from which the first angle information (e.g., information on the departure angle) is obtained is referred to as the first sensing radio wave ID.

[0243] The receiving node acquires second angle information (information on the angle of arrival) by detecting a wave reflected from the sensing object. For example, the receiving node acquires the second angle information by detecting a wave of a sensing radio wave transmitted by the transmitting node that is reflected by the sensing object. In this embodiment, this sensing is the second sensing. In the first embodiment, the receiving node performs the following processing (for example, processing in steps S107 to S110) as processing related to the second sensing.

[0244] For example, the receiving node receives sensing radio waves (waves reflected from a sensing target) using the notified resource. Then, the receiving node performs arrival angle estimation to obtain information about the arrival angle (step S107). In the first embodiment, the arrival angle estimation is performed before demodulating the received radio waves.

[0245] The receiving node then demodulates the received radio wave and acquires a sensing radio wave ID (hereinafter referred to as a second sensing radio wave ID) (step S108). The second sensing radio wave ID is, for example, the ID of the beam that has been reflected by the sensing object and arrived at the receiving node.

[0246] The receiving node then acquires a first sensing radio wave ID from the transmitting node (step S109). The information acquired from the transmitting node may include first angle information (information on the departure angle). This first angle information may be linked to the first sensing radio wave ID.

[0247] The receiving node then compares the second sensing radio wave ID, which is the result of the demodulation process, with the first sensing radio wave ID notified from the transmitting node to obtain a sensing result (step S110). For example, if the sensing radio wave IDs match, the receiving node obtains, as the sensing result, first angle information (information on the angle of departure linked to the first sensing radio wave ID) and second angle information (information on the angle of arrival obtained in step S107).

[0248] If the receiving node fails to demodulate and / or does not detect the notified sensing radio wave ID, the receiving node may return a NACK and / or a retransmission request to the transmitting node through the designated control information communication path. If the transmitting node receives a NACK and / or a retransmission request from the receiving node or if a timeout occurs, the transmitting node may regard the sensing as a failure and abort the process or perform a retransmission process.

[0249] The receiving node transmits the sensing result to the information processing device (step S111). The sensing result transmitted to the information processing device may include information on the success or failure of sensing in addition to the angle information. The receiving node may transmit information other than the sensing result to the information processing device. For example, the receiving node may transmit information necessary for estimating the position of the sensing object to the information processing device. The information necessary for estimating the position of the sensing object is, for example, information on the direct distance between nodes, or information necessary for estimating the direct distance between nodes (for example, position information of the transmitting node and / or the receiving node). Part of the information necessary for estimating the position of the sensing object may be transmitted from the transmitting node.

[0250] If the information processing device is the receiving node, the receiving node does not need to execute the process of step S111.

[0251] The information processing device estimates the position of the sensing object based on the sensing result (step S112). The position estimation performed by the information processing device is position estimation using a second bistatic sensing method. For example, the information processing device estimates the position of the sensing object based on the first angle information, the second angle information, and information on the direct distance between the nodes. The information processing device that performs the position estimation may be a transmitting node, a receiving node, or a device other than the transmitting node and the receiving node (for example, a device belonging to the core network or the server 10).

[0252] When the position estimation is completed, the information processing device transmits the result of the position estimation to the device that made the sensing service request, and ends the sensing process.

[0253] 4-2-2. Second Example (Bistatic Sensing) Next, the operation of the communication system 1 according to the second example will be described.

[0254] In the second embodiment, the first sensing for acquiring the first angle information and the second sensing for acquiring the second angle information are performed using the same sensing radio waves. The sensing radio waves used for the first sensing and the second sensing are radio waves transmitted using wireless communication resources. In the second embodiment, the first sensing is monostatic sensing in which the transmitting node detects the sensing radio waves transmitted by the transmitting node reflected by the target, and the second sensing is bistatic sensing in which the receiving node detects the sensing radio waves transmitted by the transmitting node reflected by the target.

[0255] FIG. 13 is a sequence diagram showing sensing processing according to the second embodiment. When a sensing request received from a device requesting a sensing service (e.g., server 10) is for estimating the position (localization) of a sensing target, the information processing device starts sensing processing. The sensing processing according to the second embodiment will be described below with reference to the flowchart in FIG. 13. Note that the processing from step S201 to step S206 is the same as the processing from step S101 to step S106 in the first embodiment, and therefore description thereof will be omitted.

[0256] The receiving node acquires second angle information (information on the angle of arrival) by detecting a wave reflected from the sensing object. For example, the receiving node acquires the second angle information by detecting a wave of a sensing radio wave transmitted by the transmitting node that is reflected by the sensing object. In this embodiment, this sensing is the second sensing. In the second embodiment, the receiving node performs the following processing (for example, the processing of steps S207 to S209) as processing related to the second sensing.

[0257] For example, the receiving node temporarily stores the time-axis waveform of the received radio wave in memory. Then, the receiving node demodulates the received radio wave and acquires a sensing radio wave ID (hereinafter referred to as a second sensing radio wave ID) (step S207). The second sensing radio wave ID is, for example, the ID of the beam that has been reflected by the sensing object and arrived at the receiving node.

[0258] The receiving node then acquires a first sensing radio wave ID from the transmitting node (step S208). The information acquired from the transmitting node may include first angle information (information on the departure angle). This first angle information may be linked to the first sensing radio wave ID.

[0259] The receiving node then compares the second sensing radio wave ID, which is the result of the demodulation process, with the first sensing radio wave ID notified from the transmitting node. If the second sensing radio wave ID matches the first sensing radio wave ID, the receiving node estimates the angle of arrival based on the time-axis waveform stored in memory (step S209). As a result, the receiving node obtains information about the angle of arrival.

[0260] The receiving node acquires the first angle information (information on the departure angle linked to the first sensing radio wave ID) and the second angle information (information on the arrival angle acquired in step S209) as sensing results.

[0261] The subsequent processing (steps S210 to S211) is the same as steps S111 to S112 in the first embodiment, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted.

[0262] 4-2-3. Third Example (Bistatic Sensing) Next, the operation of the communication system 1 according to the third example will be described.

[0263] In the third embodiment, the first sensing for acquiring the first angle information and the second sensing for acquiring the second angle information are performed using the same sensing radio waves. The sensing radio waves used for the first sensing and the second sensing are radio waves transmitted using wireless communication resources. In the third embodiment, the first sensing is monostatic sensing in which the transmitting node detects the sensing radio waves transmitted by the transmitting node reflected by the target, and the second sensing is bistatic sensing in which the receiving node detects the sensing radio waves transmitted by the transmitting node reflected by the target.

[0264] FIG. 14 is a sequence diagram showing sensing processing according to the third embodiment. When a sensing request received from a device requesting a sensing service (e.g., server 10) is for estimating the position (localization) of a sensing target, the information processing device starts sensing processing. The sensing processing according to the third embodiment will be described below with reference to the flowchart in FIG. 14. Note that the processing from step S301 to step S306 is the same as the processing from step S101 to step S106 in the first embodiment, and therefore description thereof will be omitted.

[0265] The receiving node acquires second angle information (information on the angle of arrival) by detecting the wave reflected from the sensing object. For example, the receiving node acquires the second angle information by detecting the wave reflected by the sensing object of the sensing radio wave transmitted by the transmitting node. In this embodiment, this sensing is the second sensing. In the third embodiment, the receiving node performs the following processing (for example, the processing of steps S307 to S309) as processing related to the second sensing.

[0266] For example, the receiving node receives sensing radio waves (waves reflected from a sensing target) using the notified resource, and then performs arrival angle estimation to obtain information about the arrival angle (step S307).

[0267] The receiving node then demodulates the received radio wave and acquires a sensing radio wave ID (hereinafter referred to as a second sensing radio wave ID) (step S308). The second sensing radio wave ID is, for example, the ID of the beam that has been reflected by the sensing object and arrived at the receiving node. Note that the order of the arrival angle estimation in step S307 and the demodulation process in step S308 may be reversed.

[0268] The receiving node then transmits a list linking the arrival angle estimation result (second angle information) and the demodulated second sensing radio wave ID to the transmitting node (step S309). The receiving node may transmit this list using a control information communication path.

[0269] The transmitting node then obtains the sensing result by comparing the second sensing radio wave ID included in the list with the first sensing radio wave ID (step S310). For example, if the sensing radio wave IDs match, the transmitting node obtains the first angle information (information on the angle of departure obtained in step S306) and the second angle information (information on the angle of arrival linked to the second sensing radio wave ID) as the sensing result.

[0270] If the information processing device is a device other than the transmitting node (e.g., a device belonging to the core network, the server 10, or a receiving node), the transmitting node transmits the sensing result to the information processing device (step S311). The sensing result transmitted to the information processing device may include information on the success or failure of sensing in addition to the angle information. The transmitting node may also transmit information other than the sensing result to the information processing device. For example, the transmitting node may transmit information necessary for estimating the position of the sensing object to the information processing device. The information necessary for estimating the position of the sensing object is, for example, information on the direct distance between nodes, or information necessary for estimating the direct distance between nodes (e.g., position information of the transmitting node and / or the receiving node). Part of the information necessary for estimating the position of the sensing object may be transmitted from the receiving node.

[0271] If the information processing device is the transmitting node, the transmitting node does not need to execute the process of step S311.

[0272] The subsequent processing (step S312) is the same as step S112 in the first embodiment, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted.

[0273] 4-2-4. Fourth Embodiment (Bistatic Sensing) Next, the operation of the communication system 1 according to the fourth embodiment will be described.

[0274] In a fourth embodiment, a first sensing for acquiring first angle information and a second sensing for acquiring second angle information are performed using different sensing radio waves. The radio waves used for the first sensing are referred to as first sensing radio waves, and the radio waves used for the second sensing are referred to as second sensing radio waves. Both the first sensing radio waves and the second sensing radio waves are radio waves transmitted using wireless communication resources. In the fourth embodiment, the first sensing is monostatic sensing in which the transmitting node detects a wave of the sensing radio wave transmitted by the transmitting node reflected by an object, and the second sensing is bistatic sensing in which the receiving node detects a wave of the second sensing radio wave transmitted by the transmitting node reflected by an object.

[0275] 15 is a sequence diagram showing sensing processing according to the fourth embodiment. When a sensing request received from a device requesting a sensing service (e.g., server 10) is for estimating the position (localization) of a sensing target, the information processing device starts the sensing processing. The sensing processing according to the fourth embodiment will be described below with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 15.

[0276] (First Sensing) The information processing device requests node information from a candidate transmitting node. The transmitting node notifies the information processing device and / or receiving node of the location information of the transmitting node and the capability information of the transmitting node (e.g., the number of antennas and / or information processing performance) as prior information. The transmitting node may use a wired communication path or a wireless communication path to notify the information. The transmitting node may use a communication path via a higher layer such as a server to notify the information.

[0277] The information processing device determines control information for the first sensing (hereinafter referred to as "first control information") based on the received information (step S401). For example, the information processing device determines, as the first control information, a transmitting node and resources for sensing (e.g., resources to be used for the first sensing radio wave and / or resources to be used for the control information communication path). Here, the information processing device may use at least one of information on resources to be used for transmitting the first sensing radio wave (e.g., angle information for beam scanning at the transmitting node), position information of the transmitting node and / or receiving node, and capability information of the transmitting node and / or receiving node (e.g., the number of antennas of the node) to determine the transmitting node. The information processing device notifies the transmitting node of the first control information (step S402).

[0278] The transmitting node generates a first sensing radio wave (first sensing signal) having the above-described signal configuration (step S403). Then, the transmitting node transmits the first sensing radio wave (first sensing signal) using the resource notified by the first control information (step S404). For example, the transmitting node performs beam scanning.

[0279] The transmitting node acquires first angle information (e.g., departure angle information) by detecting a wave reflected from the sensing object (step S405). For example, the transmitting node acquires the first angle information by performing a process related to monostatic sensing. For example, the transmitting node acquires the first angle information by detecting a wave of the first sensing radio wave reflected by the sensing object. In this embodiment, this monostatic sensing is the first sensing.

[0280] The transmitting node transmits the first sensing result to the information processing device (step S406). The first sensing result may include information on the success or failure of the first sensing in addition to the first angle information. The transmitting node may transmit information other than the first sensing result to the information processing device. For example, the transmitting node may transmit information necessary for estimating the position of the sensing object to the information processing device. The information necessary for estimating the position of the sensing object is, for example, information on the direct distance between nodes or information necessary for estimating the direct distance between nodes (for example, position information of the transmitting node and / or the receiving node). Part of the information necessary for estimating the position of the sensing object may be transmitted from the receiving node.

[0281] If the information processing device is the receiving node, the receiving node does not need to execute the process of step S406.

[0282] (Second Sensing) Next, the information processing device requests node information from candidate receiving nodes. The receiving node notifies the information processing device and / or transmitting node of the location information of the receiving node and capability information of the receiving node (e.g., the number of antennas and / or information processing performance) as prior information. The receiving node may use a wired communication path or a wireless communication path to notify the information. The receiving node may also use a communication path via a higher layer such as a server to notify the information.

[0283] The information processing device determines control information for second sensing (hereinafter referred to as second control information) based on the received information (step S407). For example, the information processing device determines, as the second control information, a receiving node and resources for sensing (e.g., resources used to transmit sensing radio waves and / or resources used for a control information communication path). Here, the information processing device may use at least one of information on resources used to transmit sensing radio waves (e.g., angle information for beam scanning at the transmitting node), position information of the transmitting node and / or the receiving node, and capability information of the transmitting node and / or the receiving node (e.g., the number of antennas of the node) to determine the receiving node.

[0284] The information processing device notifies the transmitting node of the second control information (step S408). Note that the information processing device may notify the receiving node of the second control information. In this case, the information processing device may notify the transmitting node of the second control information via the receiving node. When the second control information is notified via the receiving node, the receiving node may notify the transmitting node of the second control information via a control information communication path.

[0285] The transmitting node generates a second sensing radio wave (second sensing signal) having the above-described signal configuration (step S409). At this time, the transmitting node may notify the receiving node of control information (step S410). For example, the transmitting node may notify the receiving node of a sensing radio wave ID (hereinafter referred to as a first ID) using the control information communication channel. Here, the control information may include first angle information (information on the angle of departure). This first angle information may be linked to the first ID. In addition, the control information may include position information and angle information (e.g., the angle of departure and / or beam ID) of the transmitting node, and information for reliable reception of the sensing radio wave at the receiving node (e.g., timing advance information and / or time margin information).

[0286] The transmitting node transmits a second sensing radio wave (a second sensing signal) using the resource notified by the second control information (step S411). For example, the transmitting node transmits the second sensing radio wave in the direction indicated by the first angle information (e.g., departure angle information). As described above, the second sensing radio wave may be a directional radio wave (e.g., a beam).

[0287] The receiving node acquires second angle information (information on the angle of arrival) by detecting a wave reflected from the sensing object. For example, the receiving node acquires the second angle information by detecting a wave reflected by the sensing object of the sensing radio wave transmitted by the transmitting node. In this embodiment, this sensing is the second sensing. In the fourth embodiment, the receiving node performs the following processing (for example, the processing of steps S412 to S414) as processing related to the second sensing.

[0288] For example, the receiving node receives the second sensing radio wave (the wave reflected from the sensing target) using the notified resource, and then performs arrival angle estimation to obtain information about the arrival angle (step S412).

[0289] The receiving node then demodulates the received radio wave and acquires a sensing radio wave ID (hereinafter referred to as a second ID) (step S413). The second ID is, for example, the ID of the beam that has been reflected by the sensing object and arrived at the receiving node.

[0290] The receiving node then compares the second ID, which is the result of the demodulation process, with the first ID notified by the transmitting node to obtain a sensing result (step S414). For example, if the IDs match, the receiving node obtains the first angle information (information on the angle of departure associated with the first ID) and the second angle information (information on the angle of arrival obtained in step S412) as sensing results.

[0291] If the receiving node fails to demodulate and / or does not detect the notified sensing radio wave ID, the receiving node may return a NACK and / or a retransmission request to the transmitting node through the designated control information communication path. If the transmitting node receives a NACK and / or a retransmission request from the receiving node or if a timeout occurs, the transmitting node may regard the sensing as a failure and abort the process or perform a retransmission process.

[0292] If the information processing device is a device other than the receiving node (e.g., a device belonging to the core network, the server 10, or a transmitting node), the receiving node transmits the second sensing result to the information processing device (step S415). The second sensing result may include information on the success or failure of the second sensing in addition to the second angle information. The receiving node may transmit information other than the sensing result to the information processing device. For example, the receiving node may transmit information necessary for estimating the position of the sensing object to the information processing device. The information necessary for estimating the position of the sensing object is, for example, information on the direct distance between nodes or information necessary for estimating the direct distance between nodes (e.g., position information of the transmitting node and / or the receiving node). Part of the information necessary for estimating the position of the sensing object may be transmitted from the transmitting node.

[0293] If the information processing device is the receiving node, the receiving node does not need to execute the process of step S415.

[0294] (Position Estimation) The information processing device estimates the position of the sensing object based on the first sensing result and the second sensing result (step S416). The position estimation performed by the information processing device is position estimation using the second bistatic sensing method. For example, the information processing device estimates the position of the sensing object based on the first angle information, the second angle information, and information on the direct distance between the nodes. The information processing device that performs the position estimation may be a transmitting node, a receiving node, or a device other than the transmitting node and the receiving node (for example, a device belonging to the core network or the server 10).

[0295] When the position estimation is completed, the information processing device transmits the result of the position estimation to the device that made the sensing service request, and ends the sensing process.

[0296] 4-2-5. Fifth Example (Bistatic Sensing) Next, the operation of the communication system 1 according to the fifth example will be described.

[0297] In a fifth example, the first sensing for acquiring the first angle information and the second sensing for acquiring the second angle information are performed using different sensors. More specifically, the first sensing is performed using a third-party sensor (e.g., the sensor unit 34 of the base station 30 or the sensor unit 44 of the terminal device 40), and the second sensing is performed using a 3GPP transceiver (e.g., the wireless communication unit 31 of the base station 30 and / or the wireless communication unit 41 of the terminal device 40). In the fifth example, the first sensing is performed by the third-party sensor, and the second sensing is bistatic sensing in which the receiving node detects a second sensing radio wave transmitted by the transmitting node and reflected from an object.

[0298] 16 is a sequence diagram showing sensing processing according to the fifth embodiment. When a sensing request received from a device requesting a sensing service (e.g., server 10) is for estimating the position (localization) of a sensing target, the information processing device starts the sensing processing. The sensing processing according to the fifth embodiment will be described below with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 16.

[0299] (First Sensing) The information processing device requests node information from a candidate transmitting node. The transmitting node notifies the information processing device and / or receiving node of the location information of the transmitting node and capability information of the transmitting node (for example, at least one of sensing function, number of antennas, and information processing performance) as prior information. The transmitting node may use a wired communication path or a wireless communication path to notify the information. The transmitting node may use a communication path via a higher layer such as a server to notify the information.

[0300] The information processing device determines control information for the first sensing (hereinafter referred to as "first control information") based on the received information (step S501). For example, the information processing device determines a transmitting node and resources for sensing (e.g., resources to be used for a control information communication path) as the first control information. If a third-party sensor uses communication resources for sensing, the information processing device may determine, as the first control information, communication resources to be allocated to the third-party sensor. Here, the information processing device may use at least one of information on resources to be used for the first sensing, location information of the transmitting node and / or receiving node, and capability information of the transmitting node and / or receiving node (e.g., the number of antennas of the node) to determine the transmitting node. The information processing device notifies the transmitting node of the first control information (step S502).

[0301] The transmitting node acquires first angle information (e.g., departure angle information) using a third-party sensor (step S503). The transmitting node acquires the first angle information by using the third-party sensor to measure the position and / or direction of the sensing target. In this embodiment, the sensing by the third-party sensor is the first sensing.

[0302] The transmitting node transmits the first sensing result to the information processing device (step S504). The first sensing result may include information on the success or failure of the first sensing in addition to the first angle information. The transmitting node may transmit information other than the first sensing result to the information processing device. For example, the transmitting node may transmit information necessary for estimating the position of the sensing object to the information processing device. The information necessary for estimating the position of the sensing object is, for example, information on the direct distance between nodes, or information necessary for estimating the direct distance between nodes (for example, position information of the transmitting node and / or the receiving node). Part of the information necessary for estimating the position of the sensing object may be transmitted from the receiving node.

[0303] If the information processing device is the transmitting node, the transmitting node does not need to execute the process of step S504.

[0304] (Second Sensing - Position Estimation) The subsequent processing (steps S505 to S514) is the same as steps S407 to S416 in the fourth embodiment, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted.

[0305] <4-3. Multistatic Sensing> Next, the operation of the communication system 1 related to multistatic sensing will be described. The multistatic sensing described below is multistatic sensing performed between one transmitting node and multiple receiving nodes. In the case of multistatic sensing, the process between nodes is the same as the process of bistatic sensing. Below, examples of multistatic sensing (sixth to ninth examples) are shown.

[0306] In the following description, the information processing device that performs location estimation is a device separate from the transmitting node and the multiple receiving nodes. However, the information processing device that performs location estimation may be the transmitting node or one of the multiple receiving nodes. The transmitting node may be the base station 30 or the terminal device 40. Furthermore, the receiving node may be the base station 30 or the terminal device 40. Of course, the information processing device may be a device other than these nodes. For example, the information processing device may be the server 10 or a device (e.g., the management device 20) that belongs to the core network CN.

[0307] 4-3-1. Sixth Embodiment (Multistatic Sensing) First, the operation of the communication system 1 according to the sixth embodiment will be described.

[0308] In a sixth embodiment, a first sensing operation for acquiring first angle information and a second sensing operation for acquiring second angle information are performed using the same sensing radio wave. The sensing radio waves used for the first sensing operation and the second sensing operation are radio waves transmitted using wireless communication resources. In the sixth embodiment, the first sensing operation is monostatic sensing in which the transmitting node detects the sensing radio wave reflected by the target object, and the second sensing operation is multistatic sensing in which multiple receiving nodes each detect the sensing radio wave reflected by the target object. Note that even in the case of multistatic sensing, when focusing on one transmitting node and one receiving node, the process between those nodes is the same as the process of bistatic sensing.

[0309] 17 is a sequence diagram showing sensing processing according to the sixth embodiment. When a sensing request received from a device requesting a sensing service (e.g., server 10) is for estimating the position (localization) of a sensing target, the information processing device starts the sensing processing. The sensing processing according to the sixth embodiment will be described below with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 17.

[0310] The information processing device requests node information from multiple candidate receiving nodes. Each of the multiple receiving nodes notifies the information processing device and / or transmitting node of the location information of the receiving node and capability information of the receiving node (e.g., the number of antennas and / or information processing performance) as advance information. The receiving node may use a wired communication path or a wireless communication path to notify the information. The receiving node may also use a communication path via a higher layer such as a server to notify the information.

[0311] The information processing device determines control information for multistatic sensing based on the received information (step S601). For example, the information processing device determines, as control information, a transmitting node, multiple receiving nodes, and sensing resources (e.g., resources used to transmit sensing radio waves and / or resources used for a control information communication path). Here, to determine the multiple receiving nodes, the information processing device may use at least one of information on resources used to transmit sensing radio waves (e.g., angle information for beam scanning at the transmitting node), position information on the transmitting node and / or receiving node, and capability information on the transmitting node and / or receiving node (e.g., the number of antennas of the node). Note that the control information communication path may be capable of duplexing.

[0312] The information processing device notifies the transmitting node of the determined control information (step S602). Note that the information processing device may notify at least one of the multiple receiving nodes of the control information. In this case, the information processing device may notify the transmitting node of the control information via the receiving node. When the control information is notified via the receiving node, the receiving node may notify the transmitting node of the control information via a control information communication path.

[0313] The transmitting node generates a sensing radio wave (sensing signal) having the above-described signal configuration (step S603). At this time, the transmitting node may notify multiple receiving nodes of control information (step S604). For example, the transmitting node may notify multiple receiving nodes of a sensing radio wave ID using a control information communication path. At this time, the control information may include position information and angle information (e.g., departure angle and / or beam ID) of the transmitting node, and information for reliable reception of the sensing radio wave at the receiving node (e.g., timing advance information and / or time margin information).

[0314] The transmitting node transmits a sensing radio wave (sensing signal) using the resource notified by the control information (step S605). For example, the transmitting node performs beam scanning. The transmitting node and the multiple receiving nodes each detect reflected waves from the sensing target.

[0315] The transmitting node acquires first angle information (e.g., departure angle information) by detecting a wave reflected from the sensing target (step S606). For example, the transmitting node acquires the first angle information by performing a process related to monostatic sensing. For example, the transmitting node acquires the first angle information by detecting a wave of a sensing radio wave transmitted by the transmitting node that is reflected by the sensing target. In this embodiment, this monostatic sensing is the first sensing.

[0316] At this time, the transmitting node may detect the reflected wave by demodulating the received radio wave and detecting the sensing radio wave ID. Alternatively, the transmitting node may detect the reflected wave using an algorithm for estimating the number of incoming waves, such as a beamformer method. At this time, the transmitting node may detect information other than the angle information. For example, the transmitting node may detect at least one of information on the reflectivity of the sensing object (e.g., information on the radar cross section (RCS)), information on the velocity of the sensing object, and information on the acceleration of the sensing object.

[0317] In the following description, the ID of the sensing radio wave (e.g., the ID of the beam emitted when the transmitting node detects a reflected wave from the sensing object) from which the first angle information (e.g., information on the departure angle) is obtained is referred to as the first sensing radio wave ID.

[0318] Each of the multiple receiving nodes detects the reflected wave from the sensing target. As a result, each of the multiple receiving nodes acquires second angle information (information on the angle of arrival). In this embodiment, this sensing is the second sensing. In the first embodiment, the receiving node performs the following processing (for example, processing in steps S607 to S610) as processing related to the second sensing.

[0319] For example, each of the receiving nodes receives sensing radio waves (waves reflected from a sensing target) using the notified resources. Then, each of the receiving nodes performs arrival angle estimation to obtain information on the arrival angle (step S607). In the sixth embodiment, the arrival angle estimation is performed before the received radio waves are demodulated.

[0320] Then, each of the receiving nodes demodulates the received radio waves and acquires a sensing radio wave ID (hereinafter referred to as a second sensing radio wave ID) (step S608). The second sensing radio wave ID is, for example, the ID of the beam that has been reflected by the sensing object and arrived at the receiving node.

[0321] Then, each of the receiving nodes acquires a first sensing radio wave ID from the transmitting node (step S609). Here, the information acquired from the transmitting node may include first angle information (information on the departure angle). This first angle information may be linked to the first sensing radio wave ID.

[0322] Then, each of the receiving nodes compares the second sensing radio wave ID, which is the result of the demodulation process, with the first sensing radio wave ID notified from the transmitting node. As a result, each of the receiving nodes acquires a sensing result (step S610). For example, when the sensing radio wave IDs match, each of the receiving nodes acquires, as sensing results, first angle information (information on the angle of departure associated with the first sensing radio wave ID) and second angle information (information on the angle of arrival acquired in step S607).

[0323] If the receiving node fails to demodulate and / or does not detect the notified sensing radio wave ID, the receiving node may return a NACK and / or a retransmission request to the transmitting node through the designated control information communication path. If the transmitting node receives NACK and / or a retransmission request from a predetermined number of receiving nodes or if a timeout occurs, the transmitting node may abort the process or perform a retransmission process, regarding the sensing as a failure.

[0324] Each of the multiple receiving nodes transmits sensing results to the information processing device (step S611). The sensing results transmitted to the information processing device may include information on the success or failure of sensing in addition to angle information. Note that the receiving node may transmit information other than the sensing results to the information processing device. For example, the receiving node may transmit information necessary for estimating the position of the sensing target to the information processing device. The information necessary for estimating the position of the sensing target is, for example, information on the direct distance between nodes, or information necessary for estimating the direct distance between nodes (for example, position information of the transmitting node and / or the receiving node). Part of the information necessary for estimating the position of the sensing target may be transmitted from the transmitting node.

[0325] If the information processing device is one of a plurality of receiving nodes, the receiving node does not need to execute the process of step S611.

[0326] The information processing device performs a process of combining multiple sensing results. The information processing device may use information on whether each receiving node is capable of sensing and / or location information of the receiving nodes for the combining process. The information processing device may use maximum ratio combining or maximum likelihood selection as a combining method.

[0327] The information processing device then estimates the position of the sensing object based on the combined sensing results (step S612). The position estimation performed by the information processing device is position estimation using the second bistatic sensing method. For example, the information processing device estimates the position of the sensing object based on the first angle information, the second angle information, and information on the direct distances between the nodes.

[0328] The information processing device may estimate the position of the sensing target for each of the multiple sensing results. In this case, the information processing device performs a synthesis process on the multiple position estimation results. The information processing device may use information on the sensing feasibility of each receiving node and / or position information of the receiving node for the synthesis process. The information processing device may use maximum ratio combining or maximum likelihood selection as the synthesis method.

[0329] The information processing device that performs location estimation may be a transmitting node, a receiving node, or a device other than a transmitting node or a receiving node (for example, a device belonging to a core network, or the server 10).

[0330] When the position estimation is completed, the information processing device transmits the result of the position estimation to the device that made the sensing service request, and ends the sensing process.

[0331] 4-3-2. Seventh Embodiment (Multistatic Sensing) Next, the operation of the communication system 1 according to the seventh embodiment will be described.

[0332] In the seventh embodiment, the first sensing for acquiring the first angle information and the second sensing for acquiring the second angle information are also performed using the same sensing radio waves. The sensing radio waves used for the first sensing and the second sensing are radio waves transmitted using wireless communication resources. In the seventh embodiment, the first sensing is monostatic sensing in which the transmitting node detects the sensing radio waves transmitted by the transmitting node reflected by the target, and the second sensing is multistatic sensing in which multiple receiving nodes each detect the sensing radio waves transmitted by the transmitting node reflected by the target. Note that even in the case of multistatic sensing, when focusing on one transmitting node and one receiving node, the process between those nodes is the same as the process of bistatic sensing.

[0333] Fig. 18 is a sequence diagram showing sensing processing according to the seventh embodiment. When a sensing request received from a device requesting a sensing service (e.g., server 10) is for estimating the position (localization) of a sensing target, the information processing device starts sensing processing. The sensing processing according to the seventh embodiment will be described below with reference to the flowchart in Fig. 18. Note that the processing from step S701 to step S706 is the same as the processing from step S601 to step S606 in the sixth embodiment, and therefore description thereof will be omitted.

[0334] Each of the multiple receiving nodes detects the reflected wave from the sensing target. As a result, each of the multiple receiving nodes acquires second angle information (information on the angle of arrival). In this embodiment, this sensing is the second sensing. In the seventh embodiment, the receiving node performs the following processing (for example, processing in steps S707 to S709) as processing related to the second sensing.

[0335] For example, each of the receiving nodes temporarily stores the time-axis waveform of the received radio wave in a memory. Then, each of the receiving nodes demodulates the received radio wave and acquires a sensing radio wave ID (hereinafter referred to as a second sensing radio wave ID) (step S707). The second sensing radio wave ID is, for example, the ID of the beam that has been reflected by the sensing object and arrived at the receiving node.

[0336] Then, each of the receiving nodes acquires a first sensing radio wave ID from the transmitting node (step S708). The information acquired from the transmitting node may include first angle information (information on the departure angle). This first angle information may be linked to the first sensing radio wave ID.

[0337] Then, each of the receiving nodes compares the second sensing radio wave ID, which is the result of the demodulation process, with the first sensing radio wave ID notified from the transmitting node. If the second sensing radio wave ID matches the first sensing radio wave ID, each of the receiving nodes performs arrival angle estimation based on the time-axis waveform stored in memory (step S709). As a result, the receiving node obtains arrival angle information.

[0338] Each of the multiple receiving nodes acquires first angle information (information on the departure angle linked to the first sensing radio wave ID) and second angle information (information on the arrival angle acquired in step S709) as sensing results.

[0339] The subsequent processing (steps S710 to S711) is the same as steps S611 to S612 in the sixth embodiment, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted.

[0340] 4-3-3. Eighth Example (Multistatic Sensing) Next, the operation of the communication system 1 according to the eighth example will be described.

[0341] In the eighth embodiment, the first sensing for acquiring the first angle information and the second sensing for acquiring the second angle information are also performed using the same sensing radio waves. The sensing radio waves used for the first sensing and the second sensing are radio waves transmitted using wireless communication resources. In the eighth embodiment, the first sensing is monostatic sensing in which the transmitting node detects the sensing radio waves reflected by the target object, and the second sensing is multistatic sensing in which multiple receiving nodes each detect the sensing radio waves reflected by the target object. Note that even in the case of multistatic sensing, when focusing on one transmitting node and one receiving node, the process between those nodes is the same as the process of bistatic sensing.

[0342] FIG. 19 is a sequence diagram showing sensing processing according to the eighth embodiment. When a sensing request received from a device requesting a sensing service (e.g., server 10) is for estimating the position (localization) of a sensing target, the information processing device starts sensing processing. The sensing processing according to the eighth embodiment will be described below with reference to the flowchart in FIG. 19. Note that the processing from step S801 to step S806 is the same as the processing from step S601 to step S606 in the sixth embodiment, and therefore description thereof will be omitted.

[0343] Each of the multiple receiving nodes detects the reflected wave from the sensing target. As a result, each of the multiple receiving nodes acquires second angle information (information on the angle of arrival). In this embodiment, this sensing is the second sensing. In the eighth embodiment, the receiving node performs the following processing (for example, processing in steps S807 to S809) as processing related to the second sensing.

[0344] For example, each of the receiving nodes receives sensing radio waves (waves reflected from a sensing target) using the notified resource, and then each of the receiving nodes performs arrival angle estimation to obtain information about the arrival angle (step S807).

[0345] Then, each of the multiple receiving nodes demodulates the received radio waves and acquires a sensing radio wave ID (hereinafter referred to as a second sensing radio wave ID) (step S808). The second sensing radio wave ID is, for example, the ID of the beam that has reflected from the sensing object and arrived at the receiving node. Note that the order of the arrival angle estimation in step S807 and the demodulation process in step S808 may be reversed.

[0346] Then, each of the receiving nodes transmits a list linking the arrival angle estimation result (second angle information) with the demodulated second sensing radio wave ID to the transmitting node (step S809). Each of the receiving nodes may transmit this list using a control information communication path.

[0347] The transmitting node acquires a list from each of the multiple receiving nodes. The transmitting node acquires sensing results by comparing the second sensing radio wave ID included in the list with the first sensing radio wave ID (step S810). For example, when the sensing radio wave IDs match, the transmitting node acquires first angle information (information on the angle of departure acquired in step S806) and second angle information (information on the angle of arrival linked to the second sensing radio wave ID) as sensing results. The transmitting node acquires sensing results for each of the multiple lists.

[0348] The transmitting node transmits a plurality of sensing results to the information processing device (step S311). The sensing results transmitted to the information processing device may include information on the success or failure of sensing in addition to angle information. The transmitting node may also transmit information other than the sensing results to the information processing device. For example, the transmitting node may transmit information necessary for estimating the position of the sensing object to the information processing device. The information necessary for estimating the position of the sensing object is, for example, information on the direct distance between nodes, or information necessary for estimating the direct distance between nodes (for example, position information of the transmitting node and / or the receiving node). Part of the information necessary for estimating the position of the sensing object may be transmitted from the receiving node.

[0349] If the information processing device is the transmitting node, the transmitting node does not need to execute the process of step S811.

[0350] The subsequent processing (step S812) is the same as step S612 in the sixth embodiment, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted.

[0351] 4-2-4. Ninth Example (Multistatic Sensing) Next, the operation of the communication system 1 according to the ninth example will be described.

[0352] In a ninth embodiment, a first sensing for acquiring first angle information and a second sensing for acquiring second angle information are performed using different sensing radio waves. The radio waves used for the first sensing are referred to as first sensing radio waves, and the radio waves used for the second sensing are referred to as second sensing radio waves. Both the first sensing radio waves and the second sensing radio waves are radio waves transmitted using wireless communication resources. In the ninth embodiment, the first sensing is monostatic sensing in which the transmitting node detects a wave of the sensing radio wave transmitted by the transmitting node reflected by an object, and the second sensing is bistatic sensing in which the receiving node detects a wave of the second sensing radio wave transmitted by the transmitting node reflected by an object.

[0353] 20 is a sequence diagram showing sensing processing according to the ninth embodiment. When a sensing request received from a device requesting a sensing service (e.g., server 10) is for estimating the position (localization) of a sensing target, the information processing device starts the sensing processing. The sensing processing according to the ninth embodiment will be described below with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 20.

[0354] (First Sensing) The information processing device performs first sensing (step S901). The first sensing process is the same as steps S401 to S406 in the fourth embodiment or steps S501 to S504 in the fifth embodiment, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted.

[0355] (Second Sensing) Next, the information processing device requests node information from multiple candidate receiving nodes. The multiple receiving nodes each notify the information processing device and / or transmitting node of the location information of the receiving node and capability information of the receiving node (e.g., the number of antennas and / or information processing performance) as advance information. The receiving node may use a wired communication path or a wireless communication path to notify the information. The receiving node may also use a communication path via a higher layer such as a server to notify the information.

[0356] The information processing device determines control information for second sensing (hereinafter referred to as second control information) based on the received information (step S902). For example, the information processing device determines, as the second control information, multiple receiving nodes and resources for sensing (e.g., resources used to transmit sensing radio waves and / or resources used for control information communication paths). Here, the information processing device may use at least one of information on resources used to transmit sensing radio waves (e.g., angle information for beam scanning at the transmitting node), position information of the transmitting node and / or the receiving node, and capability information of the transmitting node and / or the receiving node (e.g., the number of antennas of the node) to determine the multiple receiving nodes.

[0357] The information processing device notifies the transmitting node of the second control information (step S903). Note that the information processing device may notify at least one of the multiple receiving nodes of the second control information. In this case, the information processing device may notify the transmitting node of the second control information via the receiving node. When the second control information is notified via the receiving node, the receiving node may notify the transmitting node of the second control information via a control information communication path.

[0358] The transmitting node generates a second sensing radio wave (second sensing signal) having the above-described signal configuration (step S904). At this time, the transmitting node may notify multiple receiving nodes of control information (step S905). For example, the transmitting node may notify multiple receiving nodes of a sensing radio wave ID (hereinafter referred to as a first ID) using a control information communication channel. Here, the control information may include first angle information (information on the angle of departure). This first angle information may be linked to the first ID. In addition, the control information may include position information and angle information (e.g., the angle of departure and / or beam ID) of the transmitting node, and information for reliable reception of the sensing radio wave at the receiving node (e.g., timing advance information and / or time margin information).

[0359] The transmitting node transmits a second sensing radio wave (a second sensing signal) using the resource notified by the second control information (step S906). For example, the transmitting node transmits the second sensing radio wave in the direction indicated by the first angle information (e.g., departure angle information). As described above, the second sensing radio wave may be a directional radio wave (e.g., a beam).

[0360] Each of the multiple receiving nodes detects the reflected wave from the sensing target. As a result, each of the multiple receiving nodes acquires second angle information (information on the angle of arrival). In this embodiment, this sensing is the second sensing. In the ninth embodiment, the receiving node performs the following processing (for example, processing in steps S907 to S909) as processing related to the second sensing.

[0361] For example, each of the plurality of receiving nodes receives the second sensing radio wave (the wave reflected from the sensing target) using the notified resource, and then each of the plurality of receiving nodes performs arrival angle estimation to obtain information on the arrival angle (step S907).

[0362] Then, each of the receiving nodes demodulates the received radio waves and acquires a sensing radio wave ID (hereinafter referred to as a second ID) (step S908). The second ID is, for example, the ID of the beam that has been reflected by the sensing object and arrived at the receiving node.

[0363] Then, each of the receiving nodes acquires a sensing result by comparing the second ID, which is the result of the demodulation process, with the first ID notified from the transmitting node (step S909). For example, each of the receiving nodes acquires, as sensing results, first angle information (information on the angle of departure associated with the first ID) and second angle information (information on the angle of arrival acquired in step S907) when the IDs match.

[0364] If the receiving node fails to demodulate and / or does not detect the notified sensing radio wave ID, the receiving node may return a NACK and / or a retransmission request to the transmitting node through the designated control information communication path. If the transmitting node receives NACK and / or a retransmission request from a predetermined number of receiving nodes or if a timeout occurs, the transmitting node may abort the process or perform a retransmission process, regarding the sensing as a failure.

[0365] Each of the multiple receiving nodes transmits a second sensing result to the information processing device (step S910). The second sensing result may include information on the success or failure of the second sensing in addition to the second angle information. The receiving node may transmit information other than the sensing result to the information processing device. For example, the receiving node may transmit information necessary for estimating the position of the sensing object to the information processing device. The information necessary for estimating the position of the sensing object is, for example, information on the direct distance between nodes, or information necessary for estimating the direct distance between nodes (e.g., position information of the transmitting node and / or the receiving node). Part of the information necessary for estimating the position of the sensing object may be transmitted from the transmitting node.

[0366] If the information processing device is one of a plurality of receiving nodes, the receiving node does not need to execute the process of step S910.

[0367] (Location Estimation) The information processing device performs a process of combining multiple second sensing results. The information processing device may use information on whether each receiving node is capable of sensing and / or location information of the receiving nodes for the combining process. The information processing device may use maximum ratio combining or maximum likelihood selection as the combining method.

[0368] The information processing device estimates the position of the sensing object based on the first sensing result and the combined second sensing result (step S911). The position estimation performed by the information processing device is position estimation using the second bistatic sensing method. For example, the information processing device estimates the position of the sensing object based on the first angle information, the second angle information, and information on the direct distance between the nodes.

[0369] The information processing device may estimate the position of the sensing target for each of the plurality of second sensing results. In this case, the information processing device performs a synthesis process of the plurality of position estimation results. The information processing device may use information on the sensing feasibility of each receiving node and / or position information of the receiving node for the synthesis process. The information processing device may use maximum ratio combining or maximum likelihood selection as the synthesis method.

[0370] The information processing device that performs location estimation may be a transmitting node, a receiving node, or a device other than a transmitting node or a receiving node (for example, a device belonging to a core network, or the server 10).

[0371] When the position estimation is completed, the information processing device transmits the result of the position estimation to the device that made the sensing service request, and ends the sensing process.

[0372] <<5. Modifications>> The above-described embodiment is merely an example, and various modifications and applications are possible.

[0373] In the above-described embodiment, the communication device serving as the transmitting node / receiving node is the base station 30 or the terminal device 40. However, the communication device serving as the transmitting node / receiving node may be a device other than the base station 30 or the terminal device 40. For example, the communication device serving as the transmitting node / receiving node may be, for example, the server 10, or a device belonging to the core network CN (for example, the management device 20). Alternatively, the communication device serving as the transmitting node / receiving node may be a roadside device, a relay device, a RIS (Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface), or a sensor device.

[0374] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, sensing using an RF-based sensing function (e.g., an RF-based sensing function supported by a 3GPP transceiver) has been exemplified as sensing performed by the communication device. For example, in the above-described embodiment, sensing using an RF-based sensing function supported by a 3GPP transceiver (e.g., the wireless communication unit 31 of the base station 30 and / or the wireless communication unit 41 of the terminal device 40) has been exemplified as sensing performed by the communication device. However, the sensing performed by the communication device is not limited to the above example.

[0375] For example, the sensing performed by the communication device may be sensing using a communication function other than cellular communication (e.g., Wi-Fi, Bluetooth). In this case, the communication device may transmit the sensing signal using wireless communication resources for Wi-Fi communication and / or Bluetooth communication. Furthermore, the communication device may transmit the sensing signal using wireless communication resources for LPWA communication.

[0376] Alternatively, the sensing performed by the communication device may be sensing using radio waves (wireless communication resources) used for communication other than those described above. Furthermore, the sensing performed by the communication device may be sensing using radio waves other than those used for communication. For example, the sensing performed by the communication device may be sensing using radio waves for radar (e.g., object detection by radar).

[0377] Furthermore, for example, the sensing performed by the communication device may be sensing using one or more sensors provided in the communication device. In this case, the one or more sensors may be one or more sensors provided in the sensor unit 34 of the base station 30, or one or more sensors provided in the sensor unit 44 of the terminal device 40.

[0378] Furthermore, the communication device may transmit a sensing radio wave (sensing signal) using a dedicated channel prepared for sensing. This dedicated channel may be referred to as a PUSECH (Physical Uplink Sensing Channel), a PDSECH (Physical Downlink Sensing Channel), or a PSSECH (Physical Sidelink Sensing Channel).

[0379] The server 10, the management device 20, the base station 30, or the control device that controls the terminal device 40 in this embodiment may be realized by a dedicated computer system or a general-purpose computer system.

[0380] For example, a program for executing the above-described operations may be stored and distributed on a computer-readable recording medium such as an optical disk, a semiconductor memory, a magnetic tape, or a flexible disk. Then, for example, the program may be installed on a computer and the above-described process may be executed to configure a control device. In this case, the control device may be a device (e.g., a personal computer) external to the server 10, the management device 20, the base station 30, or the terminal device 40. Alternatively, the control device may be a device (e.g., the control unit 13, the control unit 23, the control unit 33, or the control unit 43) internal to the server 10, the management device 20, the base station 30, or the terminal device 40.

[0381] The communication program may also be stored in a disk device provided in a server device on a network such as the Internet, and may be downloaded to a computer. The above-described functions may also be realized by a combination of an operating system (OS) and application software. In this case, the components other than the OS may be stored on a medium and distributed, or may be stored in a server device and downloaded to a computer.

[0382] Furthermore, among the processes described in the above embodiments, all or part of the processes described as being performed automatically can be performed manually, or all or part of the processes described as being performed manually can be performed automatically using a known method. In addition, the information including the processing procedures, specific names, various data, and parameters shown in the above documents and drawings can be changed as desired unless otherwise specified. For example, the various information shown in each drawing is not limited to the information shown in the drawings.

[0383] Furthermore, the components of each device shown in the figure are conceptual functional units and do not necessarily have to be physically configured as shown. In other words, the specific form of distribution and integration of each device is not limited to that shown in the figure, and all or part of the devices can be functionally or physically distributed or integrated in any unit depending on various loads, usage conditions, etc. Note that this distribution or integration configuration may also be performed dynamically.

[0384] The above-described embodiments can be combined as appropriate within the scope of the processing content without causing inconsistency. The order of the steps shown in the flowcharts and sequence diagrams of the above-described embodiments can be changed as appropriate.

[0385] The functions performed by the components described herein may be implemented in circuitry or processing circuitry programmed to perform the described functions. Here, the circuitry or processing circuitry may be a general-purpose processor, an application-specific processor, an integrated circuit, an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuits), a CPU (a Central Processing Unit), conventional circuitry, and / or a combination thereof. A processor includes transistors and other circuits. A processor may be considered to be circuitry or processing circuitry. A processor may also be a programmed processor that executes a program stored in a memory.

[0386] In this specification, a circuit, unit, or means may be hardware that is programmed to realize or executes the described functions. The hardware may be any hardware disclosed in this specification or any hardware known to be programmed to realize or execute the described functions. If the hardware is a processor, which is considered a type of circuitry, the circuit, means, or unit may be a combination of hardware and software used to configure the hardware and / or processor.

[0387] Furthermore, for example, the present embodiment can be implemented as any configuration constituting an apparatus or system. For example, the present embodiment can be implemented as a processor as a system LSI (Large Scale Integration), a module using multiple processors, a unit using multiple modules, or a set in which a unit further has additional functions. In other words, the present embodiment can also be implemented as a part of the configuration of an apparatus.

[0388] The system LSI may also be referred to as an SOC (System on Chip). In other words, each of the above-described or later-described devices (e.g., the server 10, the management device 20, the base station 30, and the terminal device 40) may be interpreted as a processor (e.g., a CPU) serving as a system LSI (e.g., SoC), or as a module using or constituting the processor. Additionally or alternatively, the present embodiment may be implemented by any configuration constituting a device or system (e.g., a modem chip (baseband chip) or an RF (Radio Frequency) unit, or a combination thereof). The RF unit may include at least one of an RF circuit and an RF front-end. In other words, each of the above-described or later-described devices may be interpreted as a modem chip (baseband chip) or an RF unit, or a combination thereof. Additionally or alternatively, each of the above-described or later-described devices may be interpreted as a module using or constituting a modem chip or an RF unit.

[0389] The modem chip processes signals related to communications within a device (including the devices described above or below). The modem chip may have at least a modulator or demodulator function. The RF unit may have at least one of an RF transceiver (RF upconverter, RF downconverter), a power amplifier, and a low-noise amplifier function. The RF transceiver converts between baseband signals and RF frequencies. The power amplifier amplifies signals for transmission from an antenna. The low-noise amplifier amplifies weak signals received from the antenna. Additionally or alternatively, the RF unit (particularly, the RF front end) may include at least one of the above-mentioned power amplifier, low-noise amplifier, envelope tracker, filter, duplexer, multiplexer, antenna switch, and antenna tuner.

[0390] The combination of the modem chip and the RF unit may be referred to as a modem-RF system. At least a portion of the modem chip or the RF unit, or a combination thereof, may be included in a system LSI (e.g., SoC). For example, the processing performed by at least a portion of the modem chip or the RF unit, or a combination thereof (e.g., at least a portion of the MAC layer processing / PHY layer processing) may be realized by the system LSI. Here, the MAC layer processing or the PHY layer processing may be at least a portion of the processing performed by the devices (e.g., the server 10, the management device 20, the base station 30, and the terminal device 40) in the above-mentioned or later-described embodiments.

[0391] In this embodiment, a system refers to a collection of multiple components (devices, modules (components), etc.), regardless of whether all of the components are in the same housing. For example, multiple devices housed in separate housings and connected via a network, etc., and a single device in which multiple modules are housed in a single housing are both systems.

[0392] Furthermore, for example, this embodiment can have a cloud computing configuration in which one function is shared and processed jointly by a plurality of devices via a network.

[0393] <<6. Conclusion>> As described above, the communication system 1 of this embodiment includes multiple communication devices (one or more receiving nodes and one or more transmitting nodes) that cooperate to perform multistatic sensing. The communication system 1 uses the second bistatic sensing method as the multistatic sensing method. That is, the sensing performed by the communication system 1 is sensing for estimating the position of the sensing object based on first angle information indicating the propagation direction of the sensing radio wave between the sensing object and the transmitting node of the sensing radio wave, second angle information indicating the propagation direction of the sensing radio wave between the sensing object and the receiving node of the sensing radio wave, and information on the distance between the transmitting node and the receiving node. The sensing radio wave is a radio wave transmitted using wireless communication resources. This allows the communication system 1 to estimate the position of the sensing object without estimating the propagation distance of the sensing radio wave between the receiving node and the transmitting node. As a result, the communication system 1 can acquire highly accurate position information.

[0394] Furthermore, the sensing performed in multistatic sensing may include first sensing for obtaining first angle information and second sensing for obtaining second angle information. A communication device functioning as a transmitting node among the plurality of communication devices included in the communication system 1 may perform processing related to the first sensing for multistatic sensing. The communication device functioning as the transmitting node may then obtain the first angle information as a result of the first sensing. Furthermore, a communication device functioning as a receiving node among the plurality of communication devices included in the communication system 1 may perform processing related to the second sensing for multistatic sensing. The second angle information may then be obtained as a result of the second sensing. Since sensing is performed in two stages, the first sensing and the second sensing, the communication system 1 can obtain highly accurate position information.

[0395] Furthermore, the communication system 1 may perform the first sensing and the second sensing using the same sensing radio wave. In this case, the first sensing may be monostatic sensing in which the transmitting node detects a sensing radio wave transmitted from the transmitting node and reflected by the sensing target. Furthermore, the second sensing may be bistatic sensing in which the receiving node detects a sensing radio wave transmitted from the transmitting node and reflected by the target. Because the first sensing and the second sensing are performed using the same sensing radio wave, the communication system 1 can perform sensing with fewer wireless communication resources.

[0396] Furthermore, the communication system 1 may perform the first sensing and the second sensing using different sensors or different sensing radio waves. In this case, the first sensing may be performed using a sensor different from the sensor used in the second sensing, or may be monostatic sensing in which the transmitting node detects a wave of the sensing radio wave transmitted by the transmitting node reflected by the sensing target. Furthermore, the second sensing may be bistatic sensing in which the receiving node detects a wave of the sensing radio wave transmitted by the transmitting node reflected by the sensing target. The second sensing may be performed based on the results of the first sensing. This allows the communication system 1 to acquire highly accurate location information.

[0397] Although the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above, the technical scope of the present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the gist of the present disclosure. Furthermore, components of different embodiments and modifications may be combined as appropriate.

[0398] Furthermore, the effects of each embodiment described in this specification are merely examples and are not intended to be limiting, and other effects may also be obtained.

[0399] Note that the present technology can also be configured as follows: (1) A communication device included in a plurality of communication devices that cooperatively perform multistatic sensing, the communication device comprising: a sensing unit that performs processing related to one or more sensing operations for the multistatic sensing; and an acquisition unit that acquires results of the one or more sensing operations, wherein the multistatic sensing is sensing for estimating a position of an object based on first angle information indicating a propagation direction of the sensing radio waves between an object and a transmitting node of the sensing radio waves, second angle information indicating a propagation direction of the sensing radio waves between the object and a receiving node of the sensing radio waves, and information on a distance between the transmitting node and the receiving node, wherein the one or more sensing radio waves include radio waves transmitted using wireless communication resources, and the acquisition unit acquires at least one of the first angle information and the second angle information as a result of the one or more sensing operations. (2) The communication device according to (1), wherein the sensing performed in the multistatic sensing includes first sensing for obtaining the first angle information and second sensing for obtaining the second angle information, and the sensing unit performs processing related to at least one of the first sensing and the second sensing. (3) The communication device according to (2), wherein the first sensing and the second sensing are performed using the same sensing radio wave, and the sensing radio wave used for the first sensing and the second sensing is a radio wave transmitted using the wireless communication resource. (4) The communication device according to (3), wherein the first sensing is monostatic sensing in which the transmitting node detects a wave of the sensing radio wave transmitted by the transmitting node that is reflected by the object, and the second sensing is bistatic sensing in which the receiving node detects a wave of the sensing radio wave transmitted by the transmitting node that is reflected by the object. (5) The communication device according to (4), wherein the communication device functions as the transmitting node that transmits the sensing radio wave, and the sensing unit performs processing related to the first sensing.(6) The communication device according to (5), comprising: a receiving unit that receives information from another communication device; and a position estimation unit that estimates the position of the object, wherein the other communication device is the receiving node that performs processing to acquire the second angle information as processing related to the second sensing, the sensing unit performs processing to acquire the first angle information as processing related to the first sensing, the receiving unit acquires the second angle information from the other communication device, and the position estimation unit estimates the position of the object based on the first angle information acquired by the processing related to the first sensing and the second angle information acquired from the other communication device. (7) The communication device according to (4), wherein the communication device functions as the receiving node that receives the sensing radio wave, and the sensing unit performs processing related to the second sensing. (8) The communication device according to (7), comprising: a receiving unit that receives information from another communication device; and a position estimating unit that estimates the position of the object, wherein the other communication device is the transmitting node that performs a process of acquiring the first angle information as a process related to the first sensing, the sensing unit performs a process of acquiring the second angle information as a process related to the second sensing, the receiving unit acquires the first angle information from the other communication device, and the position estimating unit estimates the position of the object based on the first angle information acquired from the other communication device and the second angle information acquired by the process related to the second sensing. (9) The communication device according to (2), wherein the first sensing and the second sensing are performed using different sensors or different sensing radio waves, and the sensing radio waves used for the second sensing are radio waves transmitted using the wireless communication resource.(10) The communication device according to (9), wherein the first sensing is sensing performed using a sensor different from the sensor used in the second sensing, or monostatic sensing in which the transmitting node detects a first sensing radio wave transmitted by the transmitting node reflected by the object, and the second sensing is bistatic sensing in which the receiving node detects a second sensing radio wave transmitted by the transmitting node reflected by the object. (11) The communication device according to (10), wherein the first sensing is sensing performed using a sensor different from the sensor used in the second sensing. (12) The communication device according to (10) or (11), wherein the communication device functions as the transmitting node that transmits the sensing radio wave, and the sensing unit performs processing related to the first sensing. (13) The communication device according to (12), comprising: a receiving unit that receives information from another communication device; and a position estimation unit that estimates the position of the object, wherein the other communication device is the receiving node that performs processing to acquire the second angle information as processing related to the second sensing, the sensing unit performs processing to acquire the first angle information as processing related to the first sensing, the receiving unit acquires the second angle information from the other communication device, and the position estimation unit estimates the position of the object based on the first angle information acquired by the processing related to the first sensing and the second angle information acquired from the other communication device. (14) The communication device according to (10) or (11), wherein the communication device functions as the receiving node that receives the sensing radio wave, and the sensing unit performs processing related to the second sensing.(15) The communication device according to (14), comprising: a receiving unit that receives information from another communication device; and a position estimating unit that estimates the position of the object, wherein the other communication device is the transmitting node that performs processing to acquire the first angle information as processing related to the first sensing, the sensing unit performs processing to acquire the second angle information as processing related to the second sensing, the receiving unit acquires the first angle information from the other communication device, and the position estimating unit estimates the position of the object based on the first angle information acquired from the other communication device and the second angle information acquired by the processing related to the second sensing. (16) The communication device according to any one of (1) to (15), comprising: a transmitting unit that transmits the one or more sensing results to an information processing device different from both the transmitting node and the receiving node. (17) The communication device according to any one of (1) to (16), wherein the wireless communication resource is a control channel. (18) The communication device according to any one of (1) to (17), wherein the sensing radio waves are directional radio waves. (19) A sensing method executed by a communication device included in a plurality of communication devices that cooperatively perform multistatic sensing, comprising: a sensing step of performing processing related to one or more sensing operations for the multistatic sensing; and an acquisition step of acquiring results of the one or more sensing operations, wherein the multistatic sensing is sensing for estimating a position of the object based on first angle information indicating a propagation direction of the sensing radio waves between an object and a transmitting node of the sensing radio waves, second angle information indicating the propagation direction of the sensing radio waves between the object and a receiving node of the sensing radio waves, and information on a distance between the transmitting node and the receiving node, wherein the one or more sensing radio waves include radio waves transmitted using wireless communication resources, and wherein the acquisition step acquires at least one of the first angle information and the second angle information as a result of the one or more sensing operations.(20) A communication system comprising a plurality of communication devices that cooperate to perform multistatic sensing, wherein the multistatic sensing is sensing for estimating the position of an object based on first angle information indicating the propagation direction of the sensing radio wave between the object and a transmitting node of the sensing radio wave, second angle information indicating the propagation direction of the sensing radio wave between the object and a receiving node of the sensing radio wave, and information on the distance between the transmitting node and the receiving node, wherein a first communication device that functions as the transmitting node among the plurality of communication devices comprises: a first sensing unit that performs processing related to the first sensing for the multistatic sensing; and a first acquisition unit that acquires the first angle information as a result of the first sensing, and a second communication device that functions as the receiving node among the plurality of communication devices comprises: a second sensing unit that performs processing related to second sensing for the multistatic sensing; and a second acquisition unit that acquires the second angle information as a result of the first sensing.

[0400] REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Communication system 10 Server 20 Management device 30 Base station 40 Terminal device 11, 21 Communication unit 31, 41 Wireless communication unit 12, 22, 32, 42 Memory unit 13, 23, 33, 43 Control unit 34, 44 Sensor unit 311, 411 Transmission processing unit 312, 412 Reception processing unit 313, 413 Antenna 231, 331, 431 Transmitter 232, 332, 432 Receiver 233, 333, 433 Position estimation unit 334, 434 Acquisition unit 335, 435 Sensing unit CN Core network RAN ​​Radio access network

Claims

1. A communication device included in multiple communication devices that cooperate to perform multistatic sensing, comprising: a sensing unit that performs processing related to one or more sensing operations for the multistatic sensing; and an acquisition unit that acquires results of the one or more sensing operations, wherein the multistatic sensing is sensing for estimating the position of the object based on first angle information indicating the propagation direction of the sensing radio wave between the object and a node that transmits the sensing radio wave, second angle information indicating the propagation direction of the sensing radio wave between the object and a node that receives the sensing radio wave, and information on the distance between the transmitting node and the receiving node, wherein the one or more sensing radio waves include radio waves transmitted using wireless communication resources, and the acquisition unit acquires at least one of the first angle information and the second angle information as a result of the one or more sensing operations.

2. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the sensing performed in the multistatic sensing includes a first sensing for obtaining the first angle information and a second sensing for obtaining the second angle information, and the sensing unit performs processing related to at least one of the first sensing and the second sensing.

3. The communication device according to claim 2, wherein the first sensing and the second sensing are performed using the same sensing radio wave, and the sensing radio wave used for the first sensing and the second sensing is a radio wave transmitted using the wireless communication resource.

4. The communication device described in claim 3, wherein the first sensing is monostatic sensing in which the transmitting node detects the reflected waves of the sensing radio waves transmitted by the transmitting node from the object, and the second sensing is bistatic sensing in which the receiving node detects the reflected waves of the sensing radio waves transmitted by the transmitting node from the object.

5. The communication device according to claim 4, wherein the communication device functions as the transmitting node that transmits the sensing radio wave, and the sensing unit performs processing related to the first sensing.

6. A communication device as described in claim 5, comprising: a receiving unit that receives information from another communication device; and a position estimation unit that estimates the position of the object, wherein the other communication device is the receiving node that performs processing to acquire the second angle information as processing related to the second sensing, the sensing unit performs processing to acquire the first angle information as processing related to the first sensing, the receiving unit acquires the second angle information from the other communication device, and the position estimation unit estimates the position of the object based on the first angle information acquired by the processing related to the first sensing and the second angle information acquired from the other communication device.

7. The communication device according to claim 4, wherein the communication device functions as the receiving node that receives the sensing radio wave, and the sensing unit performs processing related to the second sensing.

8. A communication device as described in claim 7, comprising: a receiving unit that receives information from another communication device; and a position estimation unit that estimates the position of the object, wherein the other communication device is the transmitting node that performs processing to acquire the first angle information as processing related to the first sensing, the sensing unit performs processing to acquire the second angle information as processing related to the second sensing, the receiving unit acquires the first angle information from the other communication device, and the position estimation unit estimates the position of the object based on the first angle information acquired from the other communication device and the second angle information acquired by processing related to the second sensing.

9. The communication device according to claim 2, wherein the first sensing and the second sensing are performed using different sensors or different sensing radio waves, and the sensing radio waves used for the second sensing are radio waves transmitted using the wireless communication resources.

10. The communication device described in claim 9, wherein the first sensing is sensing performed using a sensor different from the sensor used in the second sensing, or monostatic sensing in which the transmitting node detects the reflected wave of the first sensing radio wave transmitted by the transmitting node from the object, and the second sensing is bistatic sensing in which the receiving node detects the reflected wave of the second sensing radio wave transmitted by the transmitting node from the object.

11. The communication device according to claim 10, wherein the first sensing is performed using a sensor different from a sensor used in the second sensing.

12. The communication device according to claim 10, wherein the communication device functions as the transmitting node that transmits the sensing radio wave, and the sensing unit performs processing related to the first sensing.

13. A communication device as described in claim 12, comprising: a receiving unit that receives information from another communication device; and a position estimation unit that estimates the position of the object, wherein the other communication device is the receiving node that performs processing to acquire the second angle information as processing related to the second sensing, the sensing unit performs processing to acquire the first angle information as processing related to the first sensing, the receiving unit acquires the second angle information from the other communication device, and the position estimation unit estimates the position of the object based on the first angle information acquired by the processing related to the first sensing and the second angle information acquired from the other communication device.

14. The communication device according to claim 10, wherein the communication device functions as the receiving node that receives the sensing radio wave, and the sensing unit performs processing related to the second sensing.

15. A communication device as described in claim 14, comprising: a receiving unit that receives information from another communication device; and a position estimation unit that estimates the position of the object, wherein the other communication device is the transmitting node that performs processing to acquire the first angle information as processing related to the first sensing, the sensing unit performs processing to acquire the second angle information as processing related to the second sensing, the receiving unit acquires the first angle information from the other communication device, and the position estimation unit estimates the position of the object based on the first angle information acquired from the other communication device and the second angle information acquired by processing related to the second sensing.

16. The communication device according to claim 1, further comprising: a transmitting unit that transmits the one or more sensing results to an information processing device that is different from both the transmitting node and the receiving node.

17. The communication device of claim 1, wherein the wireless communication resource is a control channel.

18. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the sensing radio wave is a directional radio wave.

19. A sensing method executed by a communication device included in multiple communication devices that cooperate to perform multistatic sensing, comprising: a sensing step of performing processing related to one or more sensing operations for the multistatic sensing; and an acquisition step of acquiring results of the one or more sensing operations, wherein the multistatic sensing is sensing for estimating the position of the object based on first angle information indicating the propagation direction of the sensing radio wave between the object and a transmitting node of the sensing radio wave, second angle information indicating the propagation direction of the sensing radio wave between the object and a receiving node of the sensing radio wave, and information on the distance between the transmitting node and the receiving node, wherein the one or more sensing radio waves include radio waves transmitted using wireless communication resources, and wherein the acquisition step acquires at least one of the first angle information and the second angle information as a result of the one or more sensing operations.

20. A communication system comprising a plurality of communication devices that cooperate to perform multistatic sensing, wherein the multistatic sensing is sensing for estimating the position of an object based on first angle information indicating the propagation direction of the sensing radio waves between the object and a transmitting node of the sensing radio waves, second angle information indicating the propagation direction of the sensing radio waves between the object and a receiving node of the sensing radio waves, and information on the distance between the transmitting node and the receiving node, wherein a first communication device among the plurality of communication devices that functions as the transmitting node comprises: a first sensing unit that performs processing related to the first sensing for the multistatic sensing; and a first acquisition unit that acquires the first angle information as a result of the first sensing, and a second communication device among the plurality of communication devices that functions as the receiving node comprises: a second sensing unit that performs processing related to the second sensing for the multistatic sensing; and a second acquisition unit that acquires the second angle information as a result of the first sensing.

Images