Control device, control system, and control method

Abstract

Provided are a control device, a control system, and a control method capable of safely performing RAN control by closed loop control.　A control device (150) controls a radio access network (101) and comprises: a generation unit (152) that generates control information relating to control for a radio access network (101), on the basis of output obtained by inputting information acquired from the radio access network (101) into a trained model (153a); an acquisition unit (154) that acquires simulation result information indicating a result obtained by performing control based on the control information with respect to a simulated radio access network (110) simulating the radio access network (101); and a determination unit (156) that determines control for the radio access network (101) on the basis of the simulation result information.

Description

Control device, control system, and control method

[0001] The present invention relates to a control device, a control system, and a control method.

[0002] The international standardization organization 3GPP (Third Generation Partnership Project) is studying NR (New Radio), a new radio access technology for fifth-generation (5G) cellular communication systems. NR is being considered as a technology that will enable a wider variety of services than LTE (Long Term Evolution)-Advanced, the fourth-generation cellular communication system. For example, NR defines different usage scenarios as realization requirements, such as eMBB (enhanced Mobile Broadband), which realizes high-speed, large-capacity communication; URLLC (Ultra-Reliable and Low Latency Communication), which realizes ultra-reliable, low-latency communication; and mMTC (massive Machine Type Communication), which realizes simultaneous connection of multiple Internet of Things (IoT) devices.

[0003] In a radio access network (RAN), particularly a RAN using NR (NG-RAN (New Generation RAN)), an architecture including a central unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU) is specified for a base station device (gNB), which is an NR base station.

[0004] For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a method for managing radio and computational resources of a virtual radio access network (vRAN), where the vRAN comprises multiple virtualized radio access points (vRAPs) that share a common pool of central processing units (CPUs), thereby improving the efficiency and practicality of vRAN resource management.

[0005] Special Publication No. 2023-501870

[0006] In recent years, the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) (hereinafter, both of these are also referred to as "AI / ML") in RAN control has been considered.

[0007] Since the inference and judgment processes of AI / ML cannot be seen from the outside, the basis for the inference and judgment is often unclear. Therefore, in order to control a RAN based on AI / ML, it is necessary to determine whether the control is appropriate. For this reason, a conventional method has been to have a user (operator) check the inference / judgment results of AI / ML and, if deemed appropriate, apply them to RAN control. However, this method relies on user (operator) commands, making it difficult to perform closed-loop control.

[0008] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and one of its objects is to provide a control device, a control system, and a control method that can safely perform RAN control using closed-loop control.

[0009] A control device according to one aspect of the present invention is a control device for controlling a radio access network, and includes: a generation unit that generates control information related to control over the radio access network based on the output obtained by inputting information acquired from the radio access network into a learned model; an acquisition unit that acquires simulation result information indicating the results obtained by performing control based on the control information on a simulated radio access network that simulates the radio access network; and a decision unit that decides on control over the radio access network based on the simulation result information.

[0010] A control system according to one aspect of the present invention includes the above-described control device and a simulated radio access network.

[0011] A control method according to one aspect of the present invention is a control method for controlling a radio access network, and includes generating control information regarding control over the radio access network based on an output obtained by inputting information acquired from the radio access network into a learned model, acquiring simulation result information indicating the results obtained by performing control based on the control information on a simulated radio access network that simulates the radio access network, and determining control over the radio access network based on the simulation result information.

[0012] According to the present invention, RAN control can be safely performed by closed-loop control.

[0013] FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of a wireless communication system according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of a wireless access network 101 according to an embodiment. FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of a control system according to an embodiment. FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram showing another example of a schematic configuration of a control system according to an embodiment. FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of a control device according to an embodiment. FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram showing an example of a functional block configuration of a control device according to an embodiment. FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram showing an example of an architectural configuration of a wireless access network according to an embodiment. FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining an example of a processing procedure performed by a wireless communication system according to an embodiment. FIG. 9 is a flowchart for explaining an example of a processing procedure performed by a control device according to an embodiment.

[0014] An embodiment of the present invention will be described below. In the following description of the drawings, identical or similar parts are denoted by identical or similar reference numerals. However, the drawings are schematic. Therefore, specific dimensions and the like should be determined in light of the following description. Furthermore, it goes without saying that the dimensional relationships and ratios of parts included in the drawings differ from one another. Furthermore, the technical scope of the present invention should not be interpreted as being limited to the embodiment.

[0015] First, a schematic configuration of a wireless communication system according to an embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 1. Fig. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of a wireless communication system 100 according to an embodiment.

[0016] As shown in FIG. 1, the wireless communication system 100 includes terminal devices 10-1 to 10-m, base station devices 50-1 to 50-n, and a core network device 90.

[0017] The wireless communication system 100 is, for example, a wireless communication system that targets NR. Note that the present invention is applicable to any wireless communication system that includes at least a terminal device and a base station device, and is not limited to systems that target NR. For example, the present invention is also applicable to LTE and LTE-Advanced. It is also applicable to wireless communication systems that use NR as part of a wireless communication system. Hereinafter, LTE and LTE-Advanced are also referred to as E-UTRA (Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access), but the meaning is the same. An area (coverage area) formed by a base station device is called a cell, and E-UTRA and NR are cellular communication systems constructed by multiple cells. The wireless communication system according to this embodiment may apply either TDD (Time Division Duplex) or FDD (Frequency Division Duplex), and different methods may be applied to each cell.

[0018] Each of the terminal devices 10-1 to 10-m is wirelessly connected to one of the base station devices 50-1 to 50-n. Furthermore, each of the terminal devices 10-1 to 10-m may be wirelessly connected to two or more of the base station devices 50-1 to 50-n simultaneously. Each of the base station devices 50-1 to 50-n can use E-UTRA or NR. For example, the base station device 50-1 may use NR and the base station device 50-n may use E-UTRA, or vice versa. A base station device in E-UTRA is referred to as an eNB (evolved NodeB), and a base station device in NR is referred to as a gNB (g-NodeB). Hereinafter, the term "base station device" refers to both an eNB and a gNB. Furthermore, a terminal device in E-UTRA and NR is referred to as a UE (User Equipment). The base station device gNB in ​​the NR may connect to a terminal device using a part of the bandwidth (BWP: BandWidth part) of the frequency band it uses. Hereinafter, the term "cell" shall include the BWP.

[0019] In addition, FIG. 1 illustrates terminal device 10-1 to terminal device 10-m as m terminal devices (m is an integer of 2 or more). In the following description, when describing these m terminal devices without distinguishing between them, some of the reference numerals will be omitted and they will simply be referred to as "terminal device 10." In addition, FIG. 1 illustrates base station device 50-1 to base station device 50-n as n base station devices (n is an integer of 2 or more). In the following description, when describing these n base station devices without distinguishing between them, some of the reference numerals will be omitted and they will simply be referred to as "base station device 50."

[0020] The terminal device 10 may be connected to the base station device 50 on a cell-by-cell basis, for example, and may be connected using multiple cells, e.g., carrier aggregation. When the terminal device 10 is connected via multiple base station devices, i.e., in the case of dual connectivity, the base station device to which the terminal device 10 is initially connected is called a master node (MN), and the base station device to which the terminal device 10 is additionally connected is called a secondary node (SN). The master node may also be called a primary node (PN). The base station devices are connected to each other via an inter-base station interface. Furthermore, the base station device 50 and the core network device 90 are connected to each other via a base station-core network interface. The inter-base station interface is used to exchange control signals and the like required for handover and cooperative operations between the base station devices.

[0021] The core network device 90, for example, has the base station device 50 under its control, and mainly handles load control between base station devices, calling (paging) of the terminal device 10, location registration, and other mobility control. In NR, the core network device 90 defines an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) that manages access and mobility, and a Session Management Function (SMF) that manages sessions, as a group of functions of the control plane (C-plane). In E-UTRA, an MME (Mobility Management Entity) equivalent to the AMF and SMF is defined.

[0022] 1 shows an example in which the core network device 90 is configured as a single device, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the core network device 90 may be configured as a plurality of devices, including a server, a gateway, etc.

[0023] The terminal device 10 and the base station device 50 transmit and receive RRC messages in the Radio Resource Control (RRC) layer, and proceed with session processing (also referred to as a connection sequence). As the session processing proceeds, the terminal device 10 changes from an idle state (RRC Idle) to a connected state (RRC Connected) to the base station device 50. The idle state corresponds to a standby state of the terminal device 10.

[0024] Furthermore, the terminal device 10 and the base station device 50 transmit and receive MAC control elements (MAC CEs) in the Medium Access Control (MAC) layer. RRC messages are transmitted as RRC Protocol Data Units (PDUs), and the logical channels to which they are mapped include a Common Control Channel (CCCH), a Dedicated Control Channel (DCCH), a Paging Control Channel (PCCH), a Broadcast Control Channel (BCCH), or a Multicast Control Channel (MCCH). MAC CEs are transmitted as MAC PDUs (or MAC subPDUs). A MAC subPDU is equivalent to a Service Data Unit (SDU) in the MAC layer plus, for example, an 8-bit header, and a MAC PDU includes one or more MAC subPDUs.

[0025] The base station device 50 plays a role in connecting the terminal device 10 and the core network, and constitutes a radio access network (RAN: Radio Access Network) described later. In E-UTRA, the base station device 50 in the radio access network is composed of two components: an RRH (Remote Radio Head) that processes radio frequencies (RF), and a BBU (Base Band Unit) that processes frequencies other than radio frequencies (RF). In NR, the base station device 50 in the radio access network is composed of three components: an RU (Radio Unit) that roughly corresponds to the functions of the RRH, and a DU (Radio Unit) and a CU (Radio Unit) that roughly correspond to the functions of the BBU.

[0026] In this application, the term "wireless access network" not only refers to a communication network, communication line, network, etc. that performs wireless communication, but also includes a system that has devices such as base station devices, relay devices, and communication equipment that perform wireless communication.

[0027] <Configuration of Radio Access Network> Next, the configuration of a radio access network according to an embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of a radio access network 101 according to an embodiment.

[0028] As shown in FIG. 2, the wireless access network 101 is configured to include a child base station device 50-a (also simply referred to as a "child station") and a parent base station device 50-b (also simply referred to as a "parent station").

[0029] Explanation of RU, DU, and CU: In the NR, the child base station device 50-a has the functions of an RU. The RU controls the antenna to communicate with the terminal device 10 via radio waves (wireless communication), and also controls MIMO (Multi-Input Multi-Output) and beamforming. The parent base station device 50-b has the functions of a DU and a CU. The DU performs signal modulation and demodulation, medium access control (MAC) layer communication control, etc., while the CU controls surrounding RUs and DUs, connects to the core network device 90, performs PDCP (Packet Data Convergence Protocol) for packet encryption, etc., and performs RRC (Radio Resource Control) processing for radio resource management of the terminal device 10, etc.

[0030] The line between the RU and the DU is called the fronthaul NW1, and the line between the CU and the core network device 90 is called the backhaul NW2.

[0031] The decision of whether to place the three components RU, DU, and CU in the child base station device 50-a or the parent base station device 50-b is made taking into consideration various factors such as the capacity, delay, and power consumption of the fronthaul NW1. Therefore, the DU is not limited to being a function of the parent base station device 50-b as shown in Figure 2, but may also be possessed by the child base station device 50-a, for example. In this case, the line between the DU and CU is called a midhaul.

[0032] 2 shows an example in which the radio access network 101 includes two child base station devices 50-a and one parent base station device 50-b for the sake of simplicity, but the present invention is not limited to this. The radio access network 101 may include, for example, one or three or more child base station devices 50-a. The radio access network 101 may also include, for example, two or more parent base station devices 50-b.

[0033] The radio access network 101 is, for example, a virtual radio access network (vRAN) that applies virtualization technology. More specifically, some of the base station devices in the radio access network 101, for example, the parent base station device 50-b, use a general-purpose server (computer) rather than dedicated hardware to execute the functions of the parent base station device 50-b. This reduces dependency on device vendors and enables flexible installation of base station devices or improvements and modifications to the functions of the base station device. Furthermore, by providing a server in the radio access network 101, communication loads can be distributed, and by installing a server on the edge side close to the terminal device 10, multi-access edge computing (MEC) can be easily realized, in which the server processes information (data).

[0034] <Configuration of communication control system> Next, the configuration of a control system according to an embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 3 and Fig. 4. Fig. 3 is a configuration diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of a control system 200 in an embodiment. Fig. 4 is a configuration diagram showing another example of a schematic configuration of a control system 200 in an embodiment.

[0035] As shown in FIG. 3, the control system 200 includes a simulated radio access network 110 and a control device 150 .

[0036] The simulated wireless access network 110 is a simulation of the wireless access network 101 described above. The simulated wireless access network 110 includes a duplicate wireless access network 111. The duplicate wireless access network 111 is a duplicate of the wireless access network 101. The simulated wireless access network 110 is constructed using, for example, digital twin technology. Specifically, the duplicate wireless access network 111 reproduces the environment of the wireless access network 101, which exists in a physical space (real space), in a digital space (virtual space), based on information acquired from devices such as base station devices and communication equipment that constitute the wireless access network 101.

[0037] In this way, by constructing a simulated wireless access network 110 using digital twin technology and incorporating IoT and AI technologies, it becomes possible to reproduce the environment of the wireless access network 101 in real time, in greater detail, and with greater accuracy.

[0038] The control device 150 is for controlling the radio access network 101. The control device 150 is communicatively connected to the radio access network 101 and collects information from devices that make up the radio access network 101. The control device 150 is also communicatively connected to the simulated radio access network 110 and acquires the results of control in the simulated radio access network 110. Details of the control device 150 will be described later.

[0039] 4, the simulated radio access network 110 may further include a predicted radio access network 112. The predicted radio access network 112 is a prediction of the future environment of the radio access network 101 based on the duplicate radio access network 111. For example, multiple predicted radio access networks 112 may be constructed depending on the extent of the future prediction of the current environment of the radio access network 101, such as a few seconds ahead, one minute ahead, or several tens of seconds ahead.

[0040] In this way, the simulated radio access network 110 includes a predicted radio access network 112 that is constructed by predicting the future environment of the radio access network 101, so that control of the radio access network 101, which requires real-time performance that cannot be met by user (operator) intervention, can be predicted based on the results obtained by performing such control in the predicted radio access network 112.

[0041] 3 and 4 show an example in which the simulated radio access network 110 is constructed in a device separate from the control device 150, but the present invention is not limited to this. The simulated radio access network 110 may be constructed inside the control device 150, for example. Furthermore, the control device 150 is not limited to being located outside the radio access network 101, and may be located inside the radio access network 101, for example.

[0042] <Hardware Configuration of Control Device> Next, a hardware configuration of a control device according to an embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 5. Fig. 5 is a configuration diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of control device 150 in an embodiment.

[0043] As shown in FIG. 5, the control device 150 includes, for example, a processor 121 , a memory 122 , a storage device 123 , a communication device 124 , an input device 125 , an output device 126 , and an antenna 127 .

[0044] The processor 121 is configured to control the operation of each part of the control device 150. The processor 121 is configured to include an integrated circuit such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), an APU (Accelerated Processing Unit), an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), a PLD (Programmable Logic Device), an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), or a SoC (System-on-a-chip).

[0045] The memory 122 and the storage device 123 are configured to store programs, data, etc. The memory 122 is configured, for example, by a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), and / or a random access memory (RAM), etc. The storage device 123 is configured, for example, by a storage device such as a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), and / or an embedded multi media card (eMMC).

[0046] The communication device 124 is configured to communicate via a wired and / or wireless access network. The communication device 124 includes, for example, a network card, a communication module, etc. The communication device 124 may also include an amplifier, an RF (Radio Frequency) device that processes wireless signals, and a BB (BaseBand) device that processes baseband signals.

[0047] The RF device performs, for example, D / A (Digital to Analog) conversion, modulation, frequency conversion, power amplification, etc. on a digital baseband signal received from the BB device to generate a radio signal to be transmitted from the antenna 127. The RF device also performs frequency conversion, demodulation, A / D (Analog to Digital) conversion, etc. on the radio signal received from the antenna 127 to generate a digital baseband signal and transmit it to the BB device. The BB device performs a process of converting the digital baseband signal into an IP packet, and a process of converting the IP packet into a digital baseband signal.

[0048] The input device 125 is configured to allow a user to input information through operations, and includes, for example, a keyboard, a touch panel, a mouse, and / or a microphone.

[0049] The output device 126 is configured to output information and includes a display device such as a liquid crystal display, an EL (Electro Luminescence) display, or a plasma display, and / or a speaker.

[0050] The antenna 127 is configured to emit and receive radio waves (electromagnetic waves) in one or more predetermined frequency bands. The antenna 127 may have no directionality, i.e., be omnidirectional. The omnidirectional antenna 127 has approximately the same gain from all directions in 360 degrees in the horizontal plane, the vertical plane, or both the horizontal and vertical planes.

[0051] The antenna 127 is not limited to a single antenna. When the base station device 50 has multiple antennas, they may be divided into a transmitting antenna and a receiving antenna, for example. When multiple antennas are divided into transmitting antennas and receiving antennas, at least one of them may include multiple antennas. When the control device 150 has multiple transmitting / receiving antennas or transmitting antennas, beamforming technology can be used.

[0052] Furthermore, although not shown in the figure, the control device 150 may further include at least one of various sensors such as a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver, a direction sensor, a gravity sensor, a temperature sensor, an acceleration sensor, etc., various biometric authentication functions such as fingerprints, retina, iris, face, and voiceprint, various devices such as a camera, a microphone, a speaker, and a light, and an input / output interface including a connection terminal.

[0053] <Functional Block Configuration of Control Device> Next, the functional block configuration of a terminal device according to one embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 6. Fig. 6 is a configuration diagram showing an example of the functional block configuration of the control device 150 in one embodiment. Note that Fig. 6 is intended to show the functional blocks required in this embodiment, and does not exclude the control device 150 from including functional blocks other than those shown.

[0054] As shown in FIG. 6, the control device 150 includes, as functional blocks, a communication unit 151, a generation unit 152, a storage unit 153, an acquisition unit 154, a determination unit 155, and a decision unit 156.

[0055] The communication unit 151 is configured to transmit and receive information, i.e., communicate with the radio access network 101. For example, the communication unit 151 receives channel information from the radio access network 101 and transmits control information, which will be described later, to the radio access network 101.

[0056] The generation unit 152 is configured to generate control information related to control of the radio access network 101. More specifically, the generation unit 152 is configured to input information about the radio access network 101 acquired by the communication unit 151 to a trained model 153a (described later) and obtain an output from the trained model 153a. The generation unit 152 is then configured to generate control information based on the output obtained from the trained model 153a.

[0057] The storage unit 153 is configured to store various types of information. The storage unit 153 stores, for example, a trained model 153a.

[0058] The trained model 153a is generated by performing a learning process in which a learning model learns a plurality of training data sets. The trained model 153a may be generated by the control device 150, or may be generated by another device, received by the communication unit 151, and stored in the storage unit 153.

[0059] The learning model used to generate the trained model 153a may be, for example, a convolutional neural network (CNN) suitable for multidimensional input such as ResNet (Residual Neural Network), a Transformer suitable for time-series data and a deep learning model, or a Long Short Term Memory (LSTM) which is a neural network.

[0060] The learning dataset may be, for example, data generated using link-level simulation, data generated using system-level simulation, or data collected from the wireless access network 101.

[0061] The acquiring unit 154 is configured to acquire simulation result information indicating results obtained from the simulated wireless access network 110. More specifically, the acquiring unit 154 is configured to control the simulated wireless access network 110 based on the control information generated by the generating unit 152. The acquiring unit 154 is then configured to acquire simulation result information obtained from the simulated wireless access network 110 as a result of the control. This makes it possible to verify whether or not control based on the learned model 153a is appropriate (appropriateness) from the simulation result information in the simulated wireless access network 110, prior to control of the wireless access network 101.

[0062] The determining unit 155 is configured to determine the quality of communication in the simulated wireless access network 110 based on the simulation result information acquired by the acquiring unit 154. Specifically, the determining unit 155 is configured to determine whether the quality of communication in the simulated wireless access network 110 will deteriorate based on the simulation result information acquired by the acquiring unit 154.

[0063] The determination unit 156 is configured to determine control for the radio access network 101 based on the simulation result information acquired by the acquisition unit 154. The control determined by the determination unit 156 is transmitted to the radio access network 101 by the communication unit 151, and the control is performed on the radio access network 101.

[0064] More specifically, the determination unit 156 is configured to determine control for the radio access network 101 based on the determination result by the determination unit 155. For example, when the determination unit 156 determines, based on the simulation result information, that the quality of communication in the simulated radio access network 110 will not decrease, that is, that the quality of communication will be maintained or improved, the determination unit 156 performs control for the radio access network 101 based on the control information generated by the generation unit 152.

[0065] Furthermore, for example, when it is determined based on the simulation result information that the communication quality in the simulated radio access network 110 will be reduced, the decision unit 156 performs a predetermined control on the radio access network 101. The predetermined control is, for example, a control that is performed when control based on the control information is not performed, and is predetermined.

[0066] In this way, simulation result information is obtained by performing control on the simulated radio access network 110 based on the control information. As a result, prior to control on the radio access network 101, it is possible to verify whether or not control based on the output of the trained model 153a is valid (validity) from the simulation result information on the simulated radio access network 110. Furthermore, control on the radio access network 101 is determined based on the simulation result information. As a result, it is possible to perform control on the radio access network 101 with guaranteed validity. Therefore, the validity of control based on the trained model 153a can be guaranteed, and the radio access network 101 can be safely controlled by closed-loop control.

[0067] Furthermore, when it is determined based on the simulation result information that the quality of communication in the simulated wireless access network 110 will not be degraded, control based on the control information is performed on the wireless access network 101. This allows control based on the control information that ensures the quality of communication to be performed on the wireless access network 101.

[0068] Furthermore, when it is determined based on the simulation result information that the quality of communication in the simulated wireless access network 110 will be reduced, a predetermined control is performed on the wireless access network 101. This makes it possible to suppress the reduction in the quality of communication caused by the control based on the control information.

[0069] The communication unit 151 may be realized by, for example, the antenna 127 and the communication device 124, or may be realized by the communication device 124 and the processor 121 executing a program stored in the storage device 123. The storage unit 153 may be realized by at least one of the memory 122 and the storage device 123. The generation unit 152, the acquisition unit 154, the determination unit 155, and the decision unit 156 may be realized by the processor 121 executing a program stored in the storage device 123. When a program is executed, the program may be stored in a storage medium. The storage medium storing the program may be a non-transitory computer-readable medium. The non-transitory storage medium is not particularly limited, and may be, for example, a storage medium such as a Universal Serial Bus (USB) memory or a Compact Disc ROM (CD-ROM).

[0070] Furthermore, the control device 150 or at least one of the functional blocks included in the control device 150 may be incorporated into the architecture of the radio access network 101 .

[0071] The architecture of the radio access network will now be described with reference to Fig. 7. Fig. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the architecture of the radio access network 101 in one embodiment.

[0072] Generally, for radio access networks (RAN), an organization called the O-RAN Alliance has defined a standard called Open RAN (also referred to as "O-RAN"). The main purpose of O-RAN is to promote the openness, virtualization, and intelligence of RAN by unifying and standardizing the standards and specifications of hardware, software (applications), interfaces, etc. In the following description, it is assumed that the radio access network 101 complies with this O-RAN architecture.

[0073] The architecture of the radio access network 101 is, for example, an architecture for realizing vRAN. As shown in Fig. 7, the architecture of the radio access network 101 includes, as components, NF Deployment, O-Cloud, and Service Management and Orchestration (also referred to as "SMO"), which are surrounded by dashed lines in Fig. 7. Note that in Fig. 7, the solid and dashed lines connecting each block represent interfaces and the like defined in

[0074] SMO manages and controls NF Deployment and O-Cloud. The interface between SMO and NF Deployment is O1, and the interface between SMO and O-Cloud is O2. NF Deployment defines virtual resources for vRAN applications. O-Cloud is a virtualization platform that provides virtual resources to NF Deployment.

[0075] In O-RAN, a RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC) is defined in the RAN architecture for the purpose of realizing intelligent network operation by utilizing AI / ML.

[0076] The RIC is a logic node that mainly designs and sets parameters for base station equipment, as well as automates and optimizes operations. RICs are classified into three types: Non-RT (Real Time) RIC 150-A, Near-RT RIC 150-B, and RT RIC 150-C.

[0077] The Non-RT RIC is placed inside the SMO. The Non-RT RIC is controlled in a relatively long cycle, for example, one second or more. The Non-RT RIC uses an application called rApp (Non-RT RIC Application). The rApp is an architecture independent of the Non-RT RIC framework.

[0078] Near-RT RIC control is performed in a relatively short cycle, for example, from several tens of milliseconds to one second. Near-RT RIC uses an application called xApp (Near-RT RIC Application). xApp is an architecture independent of the Near-RT RIC framework.

[0079] The RT RIC is located inside the O-DU (O-RAN Distributed Unit). The RT RIC is controlled in a relatively short cycle, for example, of several tens of milliseconds or less. The RT RIC uses an application called eApp (RT RIC Application). The eApp is an architecture independent of the RT RIC framework.

[0080] The control device 150 described above or at least one of the functional blocks included in the control device 150 may be realized by at least one of the Non-RT RIC 150-A, Near-RT RIC 150-B, and RT RIC 150-C shown in Fig. 7. In this case, the trained model 153a may be embedded in any of the Non-RT RIC 150-A, Near-RT RIC 150-B, and RT RIC 150-C together with the control device 150 or the functional blocks of the control device 150, or the output from the trained model 153a may be obtained by a query via a serving API (Application Programming Interface) of the trained model 153a.

[0081] <Processing Procedure> Next, with reference to FIG. 8, a processing procedure performed by the control system according to one embodiment will be described using a specific example.

[0082] 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a processing procedure performed by the control system 200 according to an embodiment. In FIG. 8, the radio access network 101 is also referred to as "RAN," and the simulated radio access network 110 is also referred to as "eRAN (Emulated RAN)." In the following description, it is assumed that a trained model 153a that has been trained in advance is stored in the storage unit 153, and an example is used in which precoding / beamforming of the radio access network 101 is controlled.

[0083] As shown in Fig. 8 , first, the communication unit 151 of the control device 150 receives channel information from the radio access network 101 (S201). In the example shown in Fig. 8 , the channel information collected from the radio access network 101 is a channel state information-reference signal (CSI-RS) for estimating channel state information or a sounding reference signal (SRS), which is an uplink reference signal. The control device 150 can estimate channel state information (CSI) based on the received CSI-RS or SRS.

[0084] Next, the generation unit 152 of the control device 150 generates control information based on the channel information received in step S201 and the trained model 153a stored in the storage unit 153 (S202). Specifically, the generation unit 152 obtains a channel estimation matrix including estimates for each channel based on the channel information acquired from the radio access network 101. The generation unit 152 then inputs this channel estimation matrix and the number of dimensions of the channel matrix, such as the number of transmission layers, the number of transmission logical antennas, and the number of receiving antennas, to the trained model 153a. The trained model 153a receives the channel estimation matrix and the number of dimensions of the channel matrix as input and outputs a precoding matrix. Here, by calculating the matrix product of the precoding matrix and the channel matrix, it is possible to calculate the SINR (Signal to Interference Noise Ratio) indicating the signal to interference noise ratio at each receiving antenna. The trained model 153a is trained using multiple training data sets until the error between the SINR calculated based on the output precoding matrix and the actual SINR becomes equal to or less than a predetermined value. The generation unit 152 generates a precoding matrix, which is an output obtained by inputting a channel estimation matrix into the trained model 153a, as channel information for the radio access network 101 as control information. The generation unit 152 also calculates the SINR from the matrix combination of the precoding matrix and the channel estimation matrix. This allows the quality of communication in the radio access network 101, for example, the SINR, to be obtained.

[0085] In the above example, the SINR is used to indicate the quality of communication, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, other indicators may be used to indicate the quality of communication, such as Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) indicating the received power value, Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI) indicating the received signal strength, or Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ) indicating the received power quality.

[0086] Next, the acquisition unit 154 of the control device 150 issues a control instruction to the simulated radio access network 110 based on the control information generated in step S202 (S203). In the example shown in Fig. 8, the control instruction including the precoding matrix, which is the control information, is transmitted to the simulated radio access network 110.

[0087] Then, the acquiring unit 154 acquires a control response including simulation result information from the simulated radio access network 110 (S204). The simulation result information is, for example, information indicating the throughput for each terminal device 10.

[0088] Next, the determination unit 155 of the control device 150 determines whether or not the quality of communication in the simulated radio access network 110 will degrade based on the simulation result information acquired in step S204 (S205). For example, if the throughput for each terminal device 10 is found to be degraded or in a state indicating a failure, the determination unit 155 determines that the quality of communication will degrade, and otherwise determines that the quality of communication will not degrade.

[0089] Next, the decision unit 156 of the control device 150 decides on control for the radio access network 101 based on the simulation result information acquired in step S204 (S206). Specifically, when it is determined in step S205 that the quality of communication in the simulated radio access network 110 will not deteriorate, the decision unit 156 decides to perform control based on the control information on the radio access network 101. On the other hand, when it is determined in step S205 that the quality of communication in the simulated radio access network 110 will deteriorate, the decision unit 156 decides to perform predetermined control on the radio access network 101. In the example shown in FIG. 8 , the predetermined control is, for example, codebook-based precoding based on a PMI (Precoding Matrix Indicator) that is one of CSIs and that the terminal device 10 feeds back to the base station device 50.

[0090] Next, the determination unit 156 issues a control instruction to the radio access network 101 based on the control determined in step S206 (S207). Specifically, the control instruction including the control determined in step S206 is transmitted to the radio access network 101 via the communication unit 151.

[0091] Next, a process performed by the control device according to an embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 9. Fig. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process performed by the control device 15 in an embodiment.

[0092] As shown in FIG. 9, first, the communication unit 151 receives information from the radio access network 101 (S301).

[0093] Next, the generation unit 152 generates control information for the radio access network 101 based on the output obtained by inputting the information acquired in step S301 into the trained model 153a (S302).

[0094] Next, the acquiring unit 154 controls the simulated wireless access network 110 based on the control information generated in step S302 (S303), and acquires simulation result information from the simulated wireless access network 110 (S304).

[0095] Next, the determining unit 155 determines whether or not the quality of communication in the simulated wireless access network 110 will be degraded based on the simulation result information acquired in step S204 (S305).

[0096] If it is determined in step S305 that the quality of communication in the simulated wireless access network 110 will not be degraded, the decision unit 156 controls the wireless access network 101 based on the control information (S306).

[0097] On the other hand, if it is determined in step S305 that the quality of communication in the simulated wireless access network 110 will be degraded, the determining unit 156 performs predetermined control on the wireless access network 101 (S307).

[0098] The order of the sequences and flowcharts described in this embodiment may be changed as long as no contradiction occurs in the processing.

[0099] Furthermore, the processes described in this embodiment may be implemented by hardware in the device, or may be implemented by a processor executing a program stored in a storage device. When a program is executed, the program may be stored in a storage medium. The storage medium storing the program may be a computer-readable non-transitory storage medium. The non-transitory storage medium is not particularly limited, and may be, for example, a storage medium such as a USB memory or a CD-ROM.

[0100] An exemplary embodiment of the present invention has been described above. According to the control device 150, control system 200, and control method of this embodiment, simulation result information is obtained by performing control on the simulated radio access network 110 based on control information. This makes it possible to verify whether control based on the output of the trained model 153a is appropriate (validity) from the simulation result information for the simulated radio access network 110 prior to control of the radio access network 101. Furthermore, control of the radio access network 101 is determined based on the simulation result information. This makes it possible to perform control of the radio access network 101 with guaranteed validity. Therefore, the validity of control based on the trained model 153a can be guaranteed, and the radio access network 101 can be safely controlled using closed-loop control. Therefore, the technology according to this embodiment can contribute to achieving Goal 9 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), "Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization, and build resilient technological infrastructure."

[0101] The above-described embodiments are intended to facilitate understanding of the present invention and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. The present invention may be modified or improved without departing from its spirit, and equivalents are also included within the scope of the present invention. In other words, designs modified by those skilled in the art as appropriate are also encompassed within the scope of the present invention as long as they incorporate the characteristics of the present invention. For example, the elements of the embodiments, their arrangement, materials, conditions, shapes, sizes, etc., are not limited to those illustrated and can be modified as appropriate. Furthermore, the embodiments are merely examples, and partial substitution or combination of the configurations shown in different embodiments is, of course, possible. These are also encompassed within the scope of the present invention as long as they incorporate the characteristics of the present invention.

[0102] 10, 10-1, 10-m... terminal device, 50, 50-1, 50-n... base station device, 50-a... child base station device, 50-b... parent base station device, 90... core network device, 100... wireless communication system, 101... wireless access network, 110... simulated wireless access network, 111... duplicate wireless access network, 112... predicted wireless access network, 121... processor, 122... memory, 123... storage device, 124... communication device, 125... input device, 126... output device, 127... antenna, 150... control device, 150-A... non-RT RIC, 150-B... near-RT RIC, 150-C... RT RIC, 151...communication unit, 152...generation unit, 153...storage unit, 153a...trained model, 154...acquisition unit, 155...judgment unit, 156...decision unit, 200...control system.

Claims

1. A control device for controlling a radio access network, comprising: a generation unit that generates control information for control of the radio access network based on an output obtained by inputting information acquired from the radio access network into a learned model; an acquisition unit that acquires simulation result information that indicates the results obtained by performing control based on the control information on a simulated radio access network that simulates the radio access network; and a decision unit that decides on control for the radio access network based on the simulation result information.

2. The control device according to claim 1, wherein the decision unit performs control on the radio access network based on the control information when it is determined based on the simulation result information that the quality of communication in the simulated radio access network will not deteriorate.

3. The control device according to claim 1, wherein the decision unit performs predetermined control on the radio access network when it is determined that the communication quality in the simulated radio access network will deteriorate based on the simulation result information.

4. The control device according to claim 1, wherein the simulated radio access network includes a predicted radio access network that is constructed by predicting a future environment of the radio access network.

5. The control device according to claim 1, wherein the simulated radio access network is constructed using digital twin technology.

6. A control system comprising: a control device according to any one of claims 1 to 5; and the simulated radio access network.

7. A control method for controlling a radio access network, comprising: generating control information regarding control over the radio access network based on an output obtained by inputting information acquired from the radio access network into a trained model; acquiring simulation result information indicating a result obtained by performing control based on the control information on a simulated radio access network that simulates the radio access network; and determining control over the radio access network based on the simulation result information.

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