Method for acquiring information of positioning reference unit, and related product

Abstract

A method for acquiring information of a positioning reference unit (PRU), and a related product. The method comprises: an NWDAF sending a first request, wherein the first request indicates at least one piece of the following information: an identifier of a first terminal device, and first region information, and the first terminal device is a terminal device that can be used as a PRU; an LMF sending a first response to the NWDAF, wherein the first response indicates at least one piece of the following PRU information: an identifier of a second terminal device, location information of the second terminal device, and location measurement information of the second terminal device; and on the basis of the at least one piece of PRU information, the NWDAF performing model training. By means of using the solution of the present application, an NWDAF can acquire location information of a corresponding PRU and location measurement information of the corresponding PRU from an LMF by means of a UE ID or region information, such that the NWDAF can collect information of a PRU in a specific region and train models on the basis of the information of the PRU.

Description

Method for obtaining information of position reference unit and related products

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of China on April 3, 2024, with application number 202410405412.7 and invention name “Method for obtaining information of position reference unit and related products”, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

[0002] The present application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a method for obtaining information of a positioning reference unit (PRU) and related products. Background Art

[0003] Positioning can be performed using artificial intelligence (AI) / machine learning (ML) models. The AI / ML models can be located in the location management function (LMF).

[0004] The network data analytics function (NWDAF) needs to collect training data for model training. The training data includes model input and the label corresponding to the model input (that is, the actual location of the terminal device).

[0005] The terminal device can function as a PRU. The information obtained from the PRU includes the PRU's location information (which can be used as a label corresponding to the model input) and the PRU's measurement information (which can be used as a model input), which can be used for model training.

[0006] However, there is currently no solution for how to obtain PRU information during model training. Summary of the Invention

[0007] The present application provides a method and related products for obtaining information of a position reference unit to obtain information of the PRU of any terminal device or area for model training to improve the accuracy of positioning.

[0008] In a first aspect, a method for obtaining information of a location reference unit is provided, the method comprising: sending a first request, the first request indicating at least one of the following information: an identification of a first terminal device, first area information, and the first terminal device is a terminal device that can serve as a PRU; receiving a first response, the first response indicating at least one of the following PRU information: an identification of a second terminal device, location information of the second terminal device, location measurement information of the second terminal device, and the second terminal device is a terminal device that can serve as a PRU; and performing model training based on the at least one PRU information.

[0009] In combination with the first aspect, in a possible implementation, before sending the first request, the method also includes: sending a second request to the access and mobility function AMF, the second request including second area information; receiving a second response, the second response including the identifier of at least one terminal device in the second area, the at least one terminal device including the first terminal device; sending a third request to the unified data management UDM, the third request including the identifier of at least one terminal device in the second area; and receiving a third response, the third response including a PRU indication, the PRU indication being used to indicate whether the at least one terminal device can serve as a PRU.

[0010] In combination with the first aspect, in another possible implementation, the method also includes: sending a fourth request to the network storage function NRF, the fourth request including first indication information and third area information, the first indication information being used to indicate obtaining the LMF associated with the PRU; and receiving a fourth response, the fourth response including information of one or more LMFs, each of the one or more LMFs being associated with one or more PRUs.

[0011] In combination with the first aspect, in another possible implementation, the fourth response also includes at least one of the following information of the PRU associated with each LMF of the one or more LMFs: PRU positioning capability, PRU location information, and PRU on / off status.

[0012] In combination with the first aspect, in another possible implementation, the first request also indicates at least one of the following information: second indication information, third indication information, wherein the second indication information is used to indicate the acquisition of the at least one PRU information, and the third indication information is used to indicate the acquisition of information of the PRU in the turned-on state.

[0013] In combination with the first aspect, in another possible implementation, sending the first request includes: sending the first request to the positioning management function LMF; or sending the first request to the LMF through the gateway mobile positioning center GMLC; or sending the first request to the LMF through the GMLC and the access and mobility management function AMF.

[0014] In a second aspect, a method for obtaining PRU information is provided, the method comprising: receiving a first request, the first request indicating at least one of the following information: an identification of a first terminal device, first area information, and the first terminal device is a terminal device that can serve as a PRU; and sending a first response, the first response indicating at least one of the following PRU information: an identification of a second terminal device, location information of the second terminal device, and location measurement information of the second terminal device, and the second terminal device is a terminal device that can serve as a PRU.

[0015] In combination with the second aspect, in one possible implementation, the first request includes the first area information, and the method further includes: determining one or more PRUs within the first area based on the first area information; and determining the at least one item of PRU information for each of the one or more PRUs.

[0016] In combination with the second aspect, in another possible implementation, the first request also indicates at least one of the following information: second indication information, third indication information, wherein the second indication information is used to indicate the acquisition of the at least one PRU information, and the third indication information is used to indicate the acquisition of information of the PRU in the turned-on state.

[0017] In a third aspect, a communication device is provided for implementing the method for obtaining location reference unit information in the first aspect or any implementation of the first aspect. The device may be a network data analysis function, a module (such as a processor, chip, or chip system) applied to the network data analysis function, or a logical node, logical module, or software capable of implementing all or part of the network data analysis function.

[0018] In a fourth aspect, a communication device is provided for implementing the method for obtaining information of a location reference unit in the second aspect or any one of the implementations of the second aspect. The device may be a location management function, or a module (such as a processor, chip, or chip system) applied to the location management function, or a logical node, logical module, or software that can implement all or part of the location management function.

[0019] In one possible implementation, the communication device in the third to fourth aspects includes a unit, module, or means for respectively executing the method in any one of the first to second aspects or any implementation thereof. The unit, module, or means may be implemented in software, hardware, or a combination of software and hardware.

[0020] Exemplarily, the communication device includes a transceiver unit and a processing unit; wherein:

[0021] When the communication device is used to implement the above-mentioned network data analysis function, the transceiver unit is used to send a first request, and the first request indicates at least one of the following information: an identification of a first terminal device, first area information, and the first terminal device is a terminal device that can be used as a PRU; the transceiver unit is also used to receive a first response, and the first response indicates at least one of the following PRU information: an identification of a second terminal device, location information of the second terminal device, location measurement information of the second terminal device, and the second terminal device is a terminal device that can be used as a PRU; and the processing unit is used to perform model training based on the at least one PRU information.

[0022] Optionally, the transceiver unit is further used to send a second request to the access and mobility function AMF, the second request including second area information; the transceiver unit is further used to receive a second response, the second response including the identifier of at least one terminal device in the second area, the at least one terminal device including the first terminal device; the transceiver unit is further used to send a third request to the unified data management UDM, the third request including the identifier of at least one terminal device in the second area; and the transceiver unit is further used to receive a third response, the third response including a PRU indication, the PRU indication being used to indicate whether the at least one terminal device can serve as a PRU.

[0023] Optionally, the transceiver unit is further used to send a fourth request to the network storage function NRF, the fourth request including first indication information and third area information, the first indication information being used to indicate obtaining the LMF associated with the PRU; and the transceiver unit is further used to receive a fourth response, the fourth response including information of one or more LMFs, each of the one or more LMFs being associated with one or more PRUs.

[0024] Optionally, the fourth response further includes at least one of the following information of the PRU associated with each of the one or more LMFs: PRU positioning capability, PRU location information, and PRU on / off status.

[0025] Optionally, the first request further indicates at least one of the following information: second indication information, and third indication information, wherein the second indication information is used to indicate the acquisition of the at least one PRU information, and the third indication information is used to indicate the acquisition of information of the PRU in the turned-on state.

[0026] Optionally, the transceiver unit is further used to send the first request to the positioning management function LMF; or the transceiver unit is further used to send the first request to the LMF through the gateway mobile positioning center GMLC; or the transceiver unit is further used to send the first request to the LMF through the GMLC and the access and mobility management function AMF.

[0027] When the communication device is used to implement the above-mentioned location management function, the transceiver unit is used to receive a first request, and the first request indicates at least one of the following information: an identification of a first terminal device, first area information, and the first terminal device is a terminal device that can be used as a PRU; the processing unit is used to generate at least one of the following PRU information: an identification of a second terminal device, location information of the second terminal device, and location measurement information of the second terminal device, and the second terminal device is a terminal device that can be used as a PRU; and the transceiver unit is also used to send a first response, and the first response indicates the at least one PRU information.

[0028] Optionally, the first request includes the first area information; the processing unit is further used to determine one or more PRUs within the first area based on the first area information; and the processing unit is further used to determine the at least one item of PRU information for each of the one or more PRUs.

[0029] Optionally, the first request further indicates at least one of the following information: second indication information, and third indication information, wherein the second indication information is used to indicate the acquisition of the at least one PRU information, and the third indication information is used to indicate the acquisition of information of the PRU in the turned-on state.

[0030] In another possible implementation, the communication device in the third to fourth aspects includes a processor coupled to a memory; the processor is configured to implement the corresponding functions of the device in performing the above-mentioned method for obtaining PRU information. The memory is used to be coupled with the processor, which stores the necessary programs (instructions) and / or data for the device. Optionally, the communication device may further include a communication interface for implementing communication between the device and other network elements. Optionally, the memory may be located inside the communication device or outside the communication device.

[0031] In another possible implementation, the communication device in the third to fourth aspects includes a processor and a transceiver, the processor being coupled to the transceiver, and the processor being used to execute a computer program or instruction to control the transceiver to receive and send information; when the processor executes the computer program or instruction, the processor is also used to implement the above method through a logic circuit or executing code instructions. The transceiver may be a transceiver, a transceiver circuit, or an input / output interface, configured to receive signals from other communication devices other than the communication device and transmit them to the processor, or to send signals from the processor to other communication devices other than the communication device. When the communication device is a chip, the transceiver is a transceiver circuit or an input / output interface.

[0032] When the communication device in the third and fourth aspects above is a chip, the sending unit may be an output unit, such as an output circuit or a communication interface; the receiving unit may be an input unit, such as an input circuit or a communication interface. When the communication device is a terminal device, the sending unit may be a transmitter or a transmitter; and the receiving unit may be a receiver or a receiver.

[0033] In a fifth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, in which a computer program or instruction is stored. When the computer program or instruction is executed, the methods described in the above aspects are implemented.

[0034] In a sixth aspect, a computer program product comprising instructions is provided, which, when executed on a communication device, causes the communication device to execute the methods described in the above aspects. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0035] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0036] Figure 2a is a schematic diagram of downlink positioning;

[0037] Figure 2b is a schematic diagram of uplink positioning;

[0038] FIG3 is a flow chart illustrating how a serving location management function (serving LMF) for a target user equipment (target UE) uses location information provided by one or more PRUs to improve the positioning accuracy of the target user equipment according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0039] FIG4 is a diagram of a 5G network architecture based on a service-oriented interface according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0040] FIG5 is a flow chart of a method for obtaining PRU information according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0041] FIG6 is a flow chart of another method for obtaining PRU information provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0042] FIG7 is a flow chart of another method for obtaining PRU information provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0043] FIG8 is a flow chart of another method for obtaining PRU information provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0044] FIG9 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0045] FIG10 is a schematic diagram of the structure of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0046] The solution of this application is further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0047] Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of a possible, non-limiting communication system. As shown in Figure 1 , communication system 1000 includes a radio access network (RAN) 100 and a core network (CN) 200. Communication system 1000 may also include the Internet 300. RAN 100 includes at least one RAN node (e.g., 110a and 110b in Figure 1 , collectively referred to as 110) and at least one terminal device (e.g., 120a-120j in Figure 1 , collectively referred to as 120). RAN 100 may also include other RAN nodes, such as wireless relay devices and / or wireless backhaul devices (not shown in Figure 1 ). Terminal device 120 is wirelessly connected to RAN node 110. RAN node 110 is wirelessly or wiredly connected to core network 200. The core network devices in core network 200 and RAN node 110 in RAN 100 may be separate physical devices, or they may be a single physical device that integrates core network logical functions and radio access network logical functions.

[0048] The RAN 100 may be a cellular system related to the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), such as a 4G or 5G mobile communication system, or a future-oriented evolutionary system (such as a 6G mobile communication system). The RAN 100 may also be an open radio access network (O-RAN or ORAN), a cloud radio access network (CRAN), or a wireless fidelity (WiFi) system. The RAN 100 may also be a communication system that integrates two or more of the above systems.

[0049] RAN node 110, sometimes also referred to as access network equipment, RAN entity, or access node, constitutes part of the communication system and facilitates wireless access for terminal devices. Multiple RAN nodes 110 in communication system 1000 can be of the same type or different types. In some scenarios, the roles of RAN node 110 and terminal device 120 are relative. For example, network element 120i in Figure 1 can be a helicopter or drone, which can be configured as a mobile base station. For terminal device 120j accessing RAN 100 via network element 120i, network element 120i is a base station; however, for base station 110a, network element 120i is a terminal device. RAN node 110 and terminal device 120 are sometimes referred to as communication devices. For example, network elements 110a and 110b in Figure 1 can be understood as communication devices with base station functionality, and network elements 120a-120j can be understood as communication devices with terminal device functionality.

[0050] In one possible scenario, a RAN node can be a base station (BS), an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), an access point (AP), a transmission reception point (TRP), a next-generation NodeB (gNB), a next-generation NodeB in a sixth-generation (6G) mobile communication system, a base station in a future mobile communication system, or an access node in a WiFi system. A RAN node can be a macro base station (such as 110a in Figure 1), a micro base station or an indoor station (such as 110b in Figure 1), a relay node or a donor node, or a wireless controller in a CRAN scenario. Alternatively, a RAN node can be a server, a wearable device, a vehicle, or an onboard device. For example, the access network device in vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technology can be a roadside unit (RSU).

[0051] In another possible scenario, multiple RAN nodes assist terminal devices in achieving wireless access, and different RAN nodes respectively implement part of the functions of the base station. For example, the RAN node can be a centralized unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a centralized unit-control plane (CU-CP), a centralized unit-user plane (CU-UP), or a radio unit (RU). The CU and DU can be set separately, or they can be included in the same network element, such as a baseband unit (BBU). The RU can be included in a radio frequency device or a radio frequency unit, such as a remote radio unit (RRU), an active antenna unit (AAU), or a remote radio head (RRH).

[0052] In different systems, CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU or RU may also have different names, but those skilled in the art can understand their meanings. For example, in the ORAN system, CU may also be called an open-centralized unit (open-CU, O-CU), DU may also be called an open-distributed unit (open-distributed unit, O-DU), CU-CP may also be called an open-centralized unit-control plane (open-central unit-control plane, O-CU-CP), CU-UP may also be called an open-centralized unit-user plane (open-central unit-user plane, O-CU-UP), and RU may also be called an open-radio unit (open-radio unit, O-RU). For convenience of description, this application uses CU, CU-CP, CU-UP, DU and RU as examples for description. Any of the CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU and RU in this application can be implemented by a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module.

[0053] Terminal devices may also be referred to as terminals, user equipment (UE), mobile stations, mobile terminal devices, etc. Terminal devices can be widely used in various scenarios, such as device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), Internet of Things (IOT), virtual reality, augmented reality, industrial control, autonomous driving, telemedicine, smart grid, smart furniture, smart office, smart wearable, smart transportation, smart city, etc. Terminal devices can be mobile phones, tablet computers, computers with wireless transceiver functions, wearable devices, vehicles, drones, helicopters, airplanes, ships, robots, robotic arms, smart home devices, etc. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the device form of the terminal device.

[0054] The communication between the access network device and the terminal device follows a certain protocol layer structure. The protocol layer may include a control plane protocol layer and a user plane protocol layer. The control plane protocol layer may include at least one of the following: a radio resource control (RRC) layer, a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, a radio link control (RLC) layer, a media access control (MAC) layer, or a physical (PHY) layer. The user plane protocol layer may include at least one of the following: a service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer, a PDCP layer, an RLC layer, a MAC layer, or a physical layer.

[0055] Base stations and terminal devices can be fixed or mobile. They can be deployed on land, indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; on water; or on aircraft, balloons, and satellites. The embodiments of this application do not limit the application scenarios of base stations and terminal devices.

[0056] The roles of base stations and terminal devices can be relative. For example, the helicopter or drone 120i in Figure 1 can be configured as a mobile base station. For terminal devices 120j accessing the wireless access network 100 via 120i, terminal device 120i is a base station. However, for base station 110a, 120i is a terminal device, meaning that communication between 110a and 120i occurs via a wireless air interface protocol. Of course, communication between 110a and 120i can also occur via a base station-to-base station interface protocol. In this case, 120i is also a base station relative to 110a. Therefore, base stations and terminal devices can be collectively referred to as communication devices. 110a and 110b in Figure 1 can be referred to as communication devices with base station functionality, and 120a-120j in Figure 1 can be referred to as communication devices with terminal functionality.

[0057] In the embodiments of the present application, a base station is also referred to as an access network device. The device used to implement the functions of the access network device can be the access network device; it can also be a device that can support the access network device in implementing the functions, such as a chip system, a hardware circuit, a software module, or a hardware circuit and a software module. The device can be installed in the access network device or used in conjunction with the access network device. In the embodiments of the present application, only the device used to implement the functions of the access network device is used as an example, and the embodiments of the present application are not limited to the solutions of the embodiments of the present application.

[0058] It can be understood that the present application can be applied between access network equipment and terminal equipment.

[0059] It should be understood that the number and type of each device in the communication system shown in Figure 1 are for illustration only, and the present application is not limited to this. In actual applications, the communication system may also include more terminal devices, more access network devices, and other network elements, such as core network devices, and / or network elements for implementing artificial intelligence functions.

[0060] It is understandable that all or part of the functions implemented by one or more of the terminal equipment, access network equipment, core network equipment, or network elements for implementing artificial intelligence functions can be virtualized, that is, implemented by one or more of the proprietary processors or general-purpose processors and the corresponding software modules. Among them, since the terminal equipment and the access network equipment involve interfaces for air interface transmission, the transceiver functions of the interfaces can be implemented by hardware. Core network equipment, such as operation administration and maintenance (OAM) network elements, can be virtualized. Optionally, one or more functions of the virtualized terminal equipment, access network equipment, core network equipment, or network elements for implementing artificial intelligence functions can be implemented by cloud devices, such as cloud devices in over the top (OTT) systems.

[0061] Traditional wireless positioning algorithms (such as downlink-time difference of arrival (DL-TDOA), downlink-angle of departure (DL-AOD), uplink-time difference of arrival (UL-TDOA), and uplink-angle of arrival (UL-AOA)) suffer from poor positioning accuracy in certain scenarios and fail to meet the requirements of high-precision positioning. For example, traditional positioning algorithms generally require measurement information from at least three paths to estimate position. However, in severe non-line of sight (NLOS) environments, it is rare to find at least three line of sight (LOS) paths that can be used simultaneously to calculate position. This can cause stronger NLOS paths to be mistaken for LOS paths, resulting in poor measurement signals for these paths, leading to poor positioning accuracy for traditional algorithms. Alternatively, in mild or moderate NLOS environments, even if there are sufficient LOS paths, misidentification of LOS paths may occur, resulting in poor positioning accuracy for traditional algorithms.

[0062] In order to solve the problem of poor accuracy of traditional positioning algorithms in NLOS environments, AI models can be used for positioning in NLOS environments. Research results show that the use of AI models can achieve positioning accuracy far higher than that of traditional positioning algorithms in NLOS environments. rd The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) standard discusses various AI positioning scenarios. The embodiments of the present application mainly consider the scenario where the AI / ML model shown in Figures 2a and 2b is located in the LMF.

[0063] Figure 2a shows a schematic diagram of downlink positioning. The gNB sends a downlink positioning reference signal (PRS) to the UE. The UE performs measurements to obtain PRS measurement data and sends the measurement data to the LMF. The LMF infers the UE position estimate based on the local AI / ML model and the UE measurement data.

[0064] Figure 2b shows an uplink positioning diagram. The UE sends an uplink channel sounding reference signal (SRS) to the gNB. The gNB measures the SRS and sends the SRS measurement data to the LMF. The LMF infers the UE position based on the local AI / ML model and the gNB's measurement data.

[0065] Positioning AI / ML models are mainly divided into two categories according to the model output type. One is AI-assisted positioning (AI / ML assisted positioning, A-AIML), which outputs intermediate positioning information, such as the LOS / NLOS probability of the path, or the TOA estimation of the path, etc. LMF uses this intermediate information based on traditional positioning algorithms (such as time difference of arrival (TDOA)) to obtain the estimated UE position; the other is AI direct positioning (Direct AI / ML positioning, D-AIML), which directly outputs the estimated UE position. The LMF side models in Figures 2a and 2b are both D-AIML models, that is, the model output is the UE position.

[0066] To perform AI positioning, the LMF requires an AI / ML model. This AI / ML model may be pre-configured on the LMF or obtained from elsewhere, such as the NWDAF. 5G networks introduce the NWDAF, which is divided into two categories: the model training logical function (MTLF) and the analytics logical function (AnLF). The MTLF collects network data and trains AI / ML models based on this data. It can also provide trained models to the AnLF upon request. The AnLF can perform data statistics and inference, or perform model inference based on the AI / ML model, derive corresponding analysis results upon request from consumers (such as the access and mobility function (AMF) / session management function (SMF) / policy control function (PCF)), and make these analysis results available to consumers. Therefore, the MTLF can train the AI / ML model used for positioning and then send it to the LMF. The LMF then performs AI positioning based on this AI / ML model and the collected measurement data.

[0067] MTLF needs to collect training data to train the AI / ML positioning model. The training data includes model inputs (such as channel impulse response (CIR) / channel power delay profile (PDP)) and labels corresponding to the model inputs (i.e., UE location). MTLF can calculate the model output based on the model input, and update the model parameters based on the error between the model output and the label until the error between the model output and the label is small enough. The label of the AI / ML positioning model can be obtained through the PRU, but it is currently unclear how the MTLF obtains the PRU information (including the UE ID corresponding to the PRU, the location information of the PRU, and the measurement information of the PRU (such as CIR / PDP, etc.)).

[0068] The following introduces the concept of PRU:

[0069] The UE may support the PRU function and may associate the PRU information with one or more LMFs through the PRU association process. The PRU information associated with the LMF includes one or more of the following PRU attribute information:

[0070] PRU positioning capabilities;

[0071] PRU location information (if known);

[0072] The PRU on / off state indicates whether the PRU function in the UE is enabled.

[0073] When LMF and PRU information are associated, LMF can update its network element profile (NF profile) to the network repository function (NRF), that is, store / update the "PRU existence indication" at the tracking area identifier (TAI) level in the NF profile, and then support AMF / other LMF to discover the LMF that supports PRU from NRF based on this information.

[0074] If the UE supports PRU capability, the UE may also store location service (LCS) subscription data in unified data management (UDM), where the subscription data includes "PRU indication", which indicates that the UE can act as a PRU.

[0075] As shown in Figure 3, an exemplary process for a serving location management function (LMF) for a target user equipment (target UE) using location information provided by one or more PRUs to improve the positioning accuracy of the target user equipment is shown in an embodiment of the present application. This process involves discovering LMFs that support PRU capabilities, and obtaining PRU location information (PRU location) and location measurements from another LMF by one LMF, i.e., steps S304-S310.

[0076] S301. The serving LMF of the target UE and other LMFs associated with the PRU (ie, the PRU serving LMFs in FIG3 ) may obtain location information of one or more associated PRUs through existing procedures. These PRUs are not related to the target UE.

[0077] S302.AMF sends a location request to the serving LMF, requesting the location of the target UE.

[0078] S303. The serving LMF locates the target UE based on the existing process, obtains a preliminary positioning result, and decides to use the PRU to improve the positioning result.

[0079] S304. The serving LMF selects one or more PRUs associated with the serving LMF based on the PRU ON / OFF status information to assist in positioning the target UE. The selected PRUs may be near the initial location of the target UE obtained in S303 or indicated by the serving cell identifier of the target UE received in S302.

[0080] S305. The serving LMF may choose to call the Nnrf_NFDiscovery Request service operation to the NRF. The request includes a PRU indication (instructing the NRF to discover the LMF associated with the PRU) and area information, which may be the tracking area (TA) determined by the serving LMF of the target UE based on the serving cell of the target UE.

[0081] S306. If S305 is executed, the NRF selects one or more PRU serving LMFs based on the PRU indication and area information received in S305, and sends a network function discovery response (Nnrf_NFDiscovery Response) service operation to the serving LMF of the target UE. The response message includes the profile of the PRU serving LMFs selected by the NRF.

[0082] S307. If S305 and S306 are executed, the serving LMF of the target UE may send a positioning measurement result request (Nlmf_Location_MeasurementData Request) service operation to one or more of the PRU serving LMFs indicated in S306. The request message includes the target UE cell identifier or the pre-calculated location of the target UE in S303.

[0083] S308. The serving LMF uses the following process to obtain location information related to the target UE (eg, PRU location coordinates, PRU related location measurements, etc.) from the PRU selected in S304.

[0084] The process is as follows: The LMF sends a downlink positioning message to the PRU via the LTE positioning protocol (LPP). The PRU performs positioning measurements and / or position calculations based on the downlink positioning message, and then sends an uplink positioning message to the LMF via the LPP to notify the LMF of the PRU's location information (i.e., PRU position measurement information and / or PRU position information).

[0085] S309. The PRU serving LMFs select one or more PRUs and use existing procedures to obtain location information related to the target UE from the selected PRUs.

[0086] S310. If S309 is executed, each LMF in the PRU serving LMFs returns the known PRU location and location measurement information obtained from the PRU in S309 to the serving LMF of the target UE.

[0087] S311. The serving LMF of the target UE determines the location of the target UE based on the location information obtained in S301 (if S301 is executed), S303, S308 and S310.

[0088] S312a. The serving LMF sends a location response to the AMF, where the location response includes the location of the target UE.

[0089] S312b. The serving LMF of the target UE sends the calculated location of the target UE (as an event report) to the consumer (eg, a gateway mobile location center (GMLC)).

[0090] The above process is to obtain information of one or more PRUs for the target UE to assist in positioning. However, the existing technology does not support obtaining the corresponding PRU information of any area or any UE from the LMF.

[0091] In view of this, the present application provides a solution for obtaining PRU information. NWDAF can obtain the corresponding PRU location information and the corresponding PRU location measurement information from LMF through UE ID or area information, so that NWDAF can collect the information of PRU in a specific area and train the model based on the PRU information.

[0092] Figure 4 shows a 5G network architecture diagram based on a service-oriented interface provided by an embodiment of the present application. The architecture includes network elements such as UE, RAN, operation, supervision and maintenance (OAM), AMF, SMF, user plane function (UPF), UDM, NRF, NWDAF, LMF, and GMLC.

[0093] Among them, NWDAF: It has data collection, training, analysis, and reasoning functions. It can be used to collect relevant data from network elements, third-party service servers, terminal devices or network management systems, perform analysis and training based on relevant data, and provide data analysis results to network elements, third-party service servers, terminal devices or network management systems. The analysis results can assist the network in selecting service quality parameters for services, assist the network in executing traffic routing, or assist the network in selecting background data transmission strategies, etc.

[0094] LMF: Mainly responsible for the overall coordination and scheduling of resources required to manage the location of UEs registering or accessing the 5G core network, and can calculate or verify the estimated UE position or speed, etc.

[0095] GMLC: The first node for an external positioning application to access the public land mobile network (PLMN), responsible for performing tasks such as registration and authentication.

[0096] AMF: Mainly responsible for user registration, reachability, mobility management, N1 / N2 interface signaling transmission, access authentication and authorization, etc.

[0097] UDM: Performs contract management, access authorization, and authentication information generation for users.

[0098] NRF: Provides registration and discovery capabilities for network elements in the network.

[0099] OAM: Mainly performs daily network and service analysis, forecasting, planning, and configuration, as well as network and service testing and fault management. OAM can interact with the RAN to obtain UE location information measured by the RAN or reported by the UE.

[0100] Discovery and selection of LMF:

[0101] The AMF supports the LMF selection function to determine the LMF to use for the target UE's location estimation. If the LMF determines that it is not suitable for or cannot support the location of the current UE access network or serving cell, the LMF selection function is also supported by the LMF to select another LMF. The LMF selection function can also be supported by the GMLC, which can provide the selected LMF ID to the AMF.

[0102] The selection / reselection of LMF can be performed at the AMF, LMF or GMLC based on locally available information (i.e., the LMF profile configured locally at the AMF or LMF or GMLC), or by querying the NRF.

[0103] When the AMF receives a non-access stratum (NAS) message from the UE, if the NAS message includes an LMF ID and an LTE positioning protocol (LPP) message, the AMF sends the LPP message to the LMF indicated by the LMF ID.

[0104] The UDM can store the LMF ID in the UE subscription data. During the positioning process, the GMLC can receive the LMF ID from the UDM and provide it to the AMF.

[0105] The GMLC / AMF may locally configure the following parameters:

[0106] LMF ID; and / or

[0107] per group ID and its correlating LMF ID.

[0108] The GMLC / AMF can use local configuration to determine the LMF based on the UE identity or its group information.

[0109] When the GMLC receives a positioning request from a Location Service Client (LCS Client) / Application Function (AF), it determines the LMF ID based on the corresponding configuration parameters of the LCS Client / AF. If a group ID is provided or derived from the positioning request, the GMLC determines the associated LMF ID based on the provided group ID.

[0110] The GMLC can be configured with one or more dedicated LMF IDs that are not associated with any LCS Client / AF. When the GMLC receives a positioning request from an LCS Client / AF, it only determines the LMF IDs configured for all LCS Clients / AFs.

[0111] Based on the above-mentioned communication system and 5G network architecture, the method for obtaining PRU information provided in an embodiment of the present application is described in detail below.

[0112] As shown in Figure 5, a flowchart of a method for obtaining PRU information provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown. Exemplarily, the method may include the following steps:

[0113] S501. NWDAF sends a first request to LMF. Correspondingly, LMF receives the first request.

[0114] The first request is used to request location information and / or location measurement information.

[0115] In a first implementation, the NWDAF sends a first request to the LMF, where the first request includes an identifier of a first UE. The first UE is a UE that can serve as a PRU (the UE is allowed to serve as a PRU). Exemplarily, the NWDAF may determine the UE that can serve as a PRU before sending the first request.

[0116] In a second implementation, the NWDAF sends a first request to the LMF, where the first request includes first area information, and the first request is used to request PRU information within the first area. For example, before sending the first request, the NWDAF may discover information about one or more LMF network elements, where the service areas of the one or more LMF network elements include a third area. The first area may be the entire third area or a portion of the third area. For example, the third area is an area represented by a list of cell IDs, and the first area may be one of the cells in the list of cell IDs.

[0117] In the third implementation, different from the second implementation, when the NWDAF discovers information of one or more LMF network elements, it also obtains PRU information associated with each LMF (including the UE ID corresponding to the PRU, PRU positioning capability, etc.). The NWDAF can request the LMF to obtain the PRU information according to the UE granularity, that is, the NWDAF sends a first request to the LMF, where the first request includes the identifier of the first UE.

[0118] In each of the above implementations, the first request may further include a PRU indication and a PRU on-state indication. The PRU indication is used to request the acquisition of PRU information; the PRU on-state indication is used to instruct the acquisition of information about a PRU in an on-state. If the PRU is in an off-state, the LMF does not need to feedback the PRU's location information or PRU location measurement information.

[0119] S502. LMF sends a first response to NWDAF. Correspondingly, NWDAF receives the first response.

[0120] After receiving the first request from NWDAF, LMF can use the existing positioning process to obtain PRU information and send a first response to NWDAF.

[0121] Corresponding to the first implementation manner above, the first response includes at least one of the following PRU information: an identifier of the first UE, location information of the first UE, and location measurement information of the first UE. The first UE is a UE that can serve as a PRU.

[0122] Corresponding to the second and third implementations above, the first response indicates at least one of the following PRU information: an identifier of the second UE, location information of the second UE, and location measurement information of the second UE. The second UE is a UE that can serve as a PRU.

[0123] S503. NWDAF performs model training based on at least one piece of PRU information.

[0124] NWDAF trains an AI / ML model for positioning based on the collected PRU location measurement information (i.e., model input) and PRU location information (i.e., label).

[0125] According to a method for obtaining PRU information provided in an embodiment of the present application, NWDAF can obtain corresponding PRU location information and corresponding PRU location measurement information from LMF through UE ID or area information, so that NWDAF can collect information about PRUs in a specific area and train a model based on the PRU information.

[0126] The above embodiment describes that the information of the PRU corresponding to the identifier of the first UE can be obtained based on the identifier of the first UE for model training. The following is an example flow to describe the above acquisition process:

[0127] As shown in Figure 6, a flow chart of another method for obtaining PRU information provided in an embodiment of the present application is provided. NWDAF determines the AI / ML model to be trained for positioning, assuming that the applicable area of ​​the model is the second area - the area of ​​interest (AOI) (for example, a list of tracking areas (TA), a list of cell IDs, or an area consisting of one or more tracking areas and one or more cells), NWDAF needs to collect data within the AOI (model input (PRU measurement information) and the label corresponding to the model input (ie, the location of the PRU)). Exemplarily, the method may include the following steps:

[0128] S601. The NWDAF sends a second request to the AMF. Accordingly, the AMF receives the second request, which includes the second area information.

[0129] For example, the second request is a subscription request. The NWDAF sends a subscription request to the AMF through the Namf_EventExposure_Subscribe service operation to obtain the identifier (UEIDs) of at least one UE in the AOI. The subscription request includes the AOI information.

[0130] S602. The AMF sends a second response to the NWDAF. Correspondingly, the NWDAF receives the second response, which includes the identifier of at least one UE in the second area (i.e., AOI).

[0131] For example, AMF sends a notification message to NWDAF through the event exposure notification (Namf_EventExposure_Notify) service operation, and the notification message includes UE IDs, that is, AMF determines the UEIDs included in the AOI and sends it to NWDAF.

[0132] S603. The NWDAF sends a third request to the UDM. Correspondingly, the UDM receives the third request, wherein the third request includes an identifier of at least one UE in the second area.

[0133] For example, during the subscription data acquisition process, the NWDAF sends a request message to the UDM through a first subscription data management acquisition request (Nudm_SDM_Get Request) service operation. The request message includes at least one UE ID, which is used to obtain the LCS subscription data corresponding to the at least one UE ID.

[0134] S604. The UDM sends a third response to the NWDAF. Correspondingly, the NWDAF receives the third response, wherein the third response indicates whether the at least one UE can serve as a PRU.

[0135] For example, during the subscription data acquisition process, the UDM sends a response message to the NWDAF through the first subscription data management acquisition response (Nudm_SDM_Get Response) service operation. The response message includes the LCS subscription data corresponding to the UE (the LCS subscription data includes a PRU indication); or, the response message does not include all the LCS subscription data, but only includes a PRU indication (if the LCS subscription data contains this information); or, the response message does not include a PRU indication (if the LCS subscription data does not contain this information, in this case the response message may not include any information or include an operation execution result indication, which is used to indicate the operation execution result (such as execution success / failure, etc.)).

[0136] The PRU indication here indicates whether the UE can serve as a PRU.

[0137] Furthermore, in the case where the response message only includes the PRU indication, the NWDAF may include an indication in the third request, for indicating the request for the subscription data related to the PRU, and the UDM may only feed back the PRU indication.

[0138] S605. The NWDAF determines the UE that supports the PRU.

[0139] NWDAF determines whether the LCS subscription data includes PRU indication, and accordingly determines whether the UE supports the PRU function (if the response message of S604 does not include complete LCS subscription data, NWDAF makes a judgment based on whether the response message includes PRU indication). NWDAF can perform the process of S603-S604 for each UE, and then determine the UE that supports PRU capability among the UEIDs included in the AOI obtained in S602; or, NWDAF can directly include all UE IDs included in the AOI obtained in S602 in S603, and UDM returns the LCS subscription data of each UE of these UE IDs or the PRU indication corresponding to each UE in S604, and NWDAF determines the UE that supports PRU capability based on the LCS subscription data of each UE.

[0140] You can obtain the LMF associated with the PRU through any of the following branches: 1-1 to 1-4:

[0141] Branch 1-1 includes the following steps S606a to S609a:

[0142] S606a. The NWDAF sends a request message to the GMLC via the GMLC service (e.g., Ngmlc_Location_ProvideLocation Request). The GMLC receives the request message. The request message is used to request the provision of location information. The request message includes the following parameters:

[0143] UE ID;

[0144] PRU indication: used to indicate the acquisition of the PRU information corresponding to the UE (including one or more of the following: PRU positioning capability, PRU known location information, PRU location-associated location measurement information, PRU ON / OFF status, etc.). This parameter is optional;

[0145] PRU ON state indication: indicates that the PRU information is obtained when it is in the ON state. If the PRU is in the OFF state, the LMF does not need to feedback the PRU location information or PRU location measurement information.

[0146] S607a. GMLC sends a second subscription data management acquisition request (Nudm_SDM_Get Request) to UDM, wherein the second subscription data management acquisition request includes the UE ID.

[0147] S608a. The UDM sends a second subscription data management get response (Nudm_SDM_Get Response) to the GMLC, wherein the second subscription data management get response includes serving LMF information (serving LMFID).

[0148] In S607a and S608a, the GMLC retrieves the UE's serving LMF information based on the UE ID through the UDM. The UE's LCS subscription data in the UDM optionally includes an LMF ID, indicating that the LMF can support providing location services to the UE. The GMLC includes the UE ID in the request message sent to the UDM. The UDM retrieves the corresponding LCS subscription data based on the UE ID. The UDM sends the LCS subscription data or only the serving LMF ID to the GMLC. The GMLC determines the LMF providing services for the UE based on the LCS subscription data or the serving LMF ID.

[0149] In addition, as described above, GMLC can also discover LMF based on local configuration or discover LMF through NRF.

[0150] S609a. GMLC requests location information and / or location measurement information from the LMF network element supporting the PRU function.

[0151] For example, the GMLC sends a request message to the LMF through the LMF service (e.g., location measurement data request (Nlmf_Location_MeasurementData Request)). The request message includes the following parameters, which have the same meaning as defined in S606:

[0152] UE ID;

[0153] PRU indication;

[0154] PRU ON state indication.

[0155] Branch 1-2 includes the following steps S606b: S606b. The NWDAF discovers the LMF based on local configuration, through the UDM or through the NRF, and directly sends a request message to the LMF. The parameters in the request message include the parameters in S609a.

[0156] Branch 1-3 includes the following steps S606c to S608c:

[0157] S606c. NWDAF sends a request to GMLC (same as S606a).

[0158] S607c.GMLC forwards the request to AMF (GMLC can discover the AMF serving the UE through UDM).

[0159] S608c.AMF discovers LMF based on local configuration, through UDM or through NRF, and then AMF sends a request message to LMF. The parameters in the request message include the parameters in S609a.

[0160] Branch 1-4 includes the following steps S606d to S608d:

[0161] S606d. NWDAF sends a request to GMLC (same as S606a).

[0162] S607d.GMLC discovers LMF based on local configuration, through UDM or through NRF, and then forwards the request (including LMF ID) to AMF.

[0163] S608d.AMF sends a request message to the LMF based on the LMF ID in the GMLC request message. The parameters in the request message include the parameters in S609a.

[0164] S610. The LMF refers to step S308 or S309 of the embodiment shown in FIG3 to obtain PRU information corresponding to the UE ID (eg, PRU location information, PRU location measurement information, etc.).

[0165] The action of LMF sending position measurement information and / or position information can be performed through any branch from branch 2-1 to branch 2-3:

[0166] Branch 2-1 includes the following steps S611a and S612a:

[0167] S611a.LMF sends a response message to GMLC (for example, through the location measurement data response (Nlmf_Location_MeasurementData Response) service operation). The response message includes at least one of the following: UE ID of the PRU, location measurement information of the PRU (PRU location measurement(s)), and PRU location information associated with the PRU location measurement information (PRU location measurement(s)associated PRU known location). PRU location measurement(s) includes, for example, reference signal time difference (RSTD), reference signal received power (RSRP), UE Rx-Tx Time Difference measurements, downlink reference signal carrier phase difference (DL-RSCPD), downlink received signal code power (DL-RSCP), etc.; PRU location measurement(s)associated PRU known location is the configured or measured PRU location.

[0168] Optionally, the LMF can provide an indication (also applicable to the case where the consumer does not provide a PRU ON state indication) to indicate that the PRU is in the OFF state / LMF cannot determine the PRU location information and PRU measurement information. This parameter is optional. The indication can be PRU granularity, and for each PRU that is in the OFF state or for which the LMF cannot determine the PRU location information and PRU measurement information, the LMF provides the indication (that is, the indication corresponds to the UE ID of one PRU); or, the indication can be multiple PRU granularity, that is, the indication corresponds to the UE ID of multiple PRUs, and the multiple PRUs are all PRUs in the OFF state or the LMF cannot determine the location information and PRU measurement information of these multiple PRUs.

[0169] S612a. GMLC sends the PRU location information and PRU location measurement(s) and associated PRU known location corresponding to the UE ID to the NWDAF (eg, through the Ngmlc_Location_EventNotify service operation).

[0170] Branch 2-2 includes the following steps S611b:

[0171] S611b. Corresponding to the above branch 1-2, NWDAF sends a request message directly to LMF, then LMF sends a response message directly to NWDAF, and the parameters in the response message include the parameters in S611a.

[0172] Branch 2-3 includes the following steps S611c, S612c, and S613c:

[0173] Corresponding to the above branch 1-3, NWDAF sends a request message to LMF through the process of NWDAF->GMLC->AMF->LMF, and LMF sends a response message to NWDAF through the process of LMF->AMF->GMLC->NWDAF. The parameters in the response message include the parameters in S611a.

[0174] In addition, if S612a only includes the location information of the PRU but does not include the location measurement information of the PRU, the NWDAF may also collect the location measurement information of the PRU corresponding to the UE ID through OAM.

[0175] S614. NWDAF trains an AI / ML model for positioning based on the collected PRU location measurement information (i.e., model input) and PRU location information (i.e., label).

[0176] In the prior art, only the position obtained by using traditional positioning methods can be obtained from the LMF, and its positioning accuracy cannot meet the requirements of model training; or as in the prior art, only the information of the PRU near the target UE can be obtained, and the PRU information corresponding to the specific UE cannot be obtained from the LMF based on the UE ID. According to a method for obtaining PRU information provided in an embodiment of the present application, a method is provided for NWDAF to obtain the corresponding PRU position information and the corresponding PRU position measurement information from the LMF through the UE ID, so that the NWDAF can collect the information of the PRU in a specific area and train the model based on the PRU information.

[0177] The above example can obtain the information of the PRU corresponding to the identifier of the first UE for model training based on the identifier of the first UE. The following example describes how to obtain the information of the PRU corresponding to the area for model training based on area information.

[0178] As shown in Figure 7, a flowchart of another method for obtaining PRU information provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown. Exemplarily, the method may include the following steps:

[0179] The LMF associated with the PRU can be discovered through the following branches 3-1 and 3-2, and a request message can be sent to the LMF:

[0180] Branch 3-1 includes the following steps S701a to S703a:

[0181] S701a. The NWDAF sends a fourth request to the NRF. Correspondingly, the NRF receives the fourth request. The fourth request includes the first indication information and the third area information. The first indication information is used to instruct to obtain the LMF associated with the PRU.

[0182] For example, the NWDAF sends a network element discovery request message to the NRF through the network element discovery request (Nnrf_NFDiscovery Request) service operation. The request message includes a PRU indication and an AOI. The PRU indication is used to indicate the discovery of the LMF that supports the PRU function, or to discover the LMF associated with the PRU (obtaining the PRU serving LMF). The AOI can be a list of TAs / cell IDs, indicating the service area that the discovered LMF needs to support, that is, the third area mentioned above.

[0183] S702a. The NRF sends a fourth response to the NWDAF. Accordingly, the NWDAF receives the fourth response. The fourth response includes information about one or more LMFs, where the service areas of the one or more LMFs include the third area. Each of the one or more LMFs is associated with one or more PRUs.

[0184] For example, the NRF discovers one or more LMFs that meet the requirements and sends a network element discovery response message to the NWDAF through the network element discovery response (Nnrf_NFDiscovery Response) service operation. The network element discovery response message includes the network element profiles (NF profiles) of one or more LMFs (PRU serving LMFs) selected by the NRF.

[0185] S703a. The NWDAF sends a request message to the LMF through (for example, the location measurement data request (Nlmf_Location_MeasurementData Request) service operation), and the request message includes the following parameters:

[0186] AOI / cell ID: This can be the AOI in S701 or the cell ID of one of the cells in the AOI. If the request message carries the AOI, it indicates that the NWDAF obtains information about all PRUs in the AOI. If the request message carries the cell ID, it indicates that the NWDAF only requests information about the PRUs in one of the cell IDs each time. The NWDAF may make multiple requests to the LMF, each time requesting information about the PRUs in a different cell ID.

[0187] PRU indication: used to indicate obtaining PRU information within the AOI / cell ID (including one or more of the following: PRU positioning capability, PRU location information, location measurement information associated with the PRU location, PRU ON / OFF status, etc.). The PRU indication is an optional parameter.

[0188] PRU ON state indication: indicates the acquisition of PRU information in the ON state. If the PRU is in the OFF state, the LMF does not need to feedback the PRU location information and PRU location measurement information. Optionally, the LMF can provide an indication (also applicable to the case where the consumer does not provide the PRU ON state indication) to indicate that the PRU is in the OFF state / the LMF cannot determine the PRU location information and PRU measurement information. This parameter is optional.

[0189] Branch 3-2 includes the following steps S701b to S703b:

[0190] NWDAF sends a request message to LMF through the path of NWDAF->GMLC->LMF.

[0191] Specifically, in one implementation, S701b.NWDAF sends a request message to GMLC, and the parameters in the request message include the parameters in S703a; S702b.GMLC discovers LMF based on local configuration, through UDM or through NRF (the LMF has PRU function and supports providing services for the area indicated by AOI / cell ID), and then, S703b.GMLC sends a request message to LMF, and the parameters in the request message include the parameters in S703a.

[0192] In addition, in another implementation, if NWDAF has discovered LMF (for example, discovered LMF through the process shown in S701a-S702a), NWDAF can include LMF ID in the request message sent to GMLC, and GMLC can directly send the request message to the LMF without rediscovering LMF.

[0193] Branch 3-3 includes the following steps S701c to S704c:

[0194] NWDAF sends a request message to LMF through the path of NWDAF->GMLC->AMF->LMF.

[0195] Specifically, in one implementation, S701c.NWDAF sends a request message to GMLC, and the parameters in the request message include the parameters in S703a; S702c.GMLC forwards the request message to AMF; S703c.AMF discovers LMF based on local configuration, through UDM or through NRF (the LMF has PRU function and supports providing services for the area indicated by AOI / cell ID), and then, S704c.AMF sends a request message to LMF, and the parameters in the request message include the parameters in S703a.

[0196] In addition, in another implementation method, GMLC discovers LMF (the LMF has PRU function and supports providing services for the area indicated by AOI / cell ID) based on local configuration, through UDM or through NRF, and then forwards the request message (including LMF ID) to LMF. AMF sends a request message to the LMF based on the LMF ID in the GMLC request message, and the parameters in the request message include the parameters in S703a.

[0197] S705. The LMF determines the PRUs in the AOI / cell ID. For example, the LMF determines which PRUs are in the AOI / cell ID based on the associated PRU info.

[0198] S706. The LMF refers to step S308 or S309 of the embodiment shown in FIG3 to obtain PRU information (including PRU position information and PRU position measurement information).

[0199] Specifically, the LMF obtains the position information and / or position measurement information of each PRU based on the PRU determined in S705.

[0200] LMF sends a response message through any of the following branches 4-1 to 4-3:

[0201] Branch 4-1 includes the following steps S707a:

[0202] S707a.LMF sends a response message to NWDAF through (for example, Nlmf_Location_MeasurementData Response service operation), which includes the UE ID of the PRU, the location measurement information of the PRU, and the list of PRU location information associated with the location measurement information of the PRU.<UE ID of PRU,PRU location measurement(s)and associated PRU known location> ), that is, information of one or more PRUs, the information of each PRU including at least one of the following: UE ID of the PRU, location measurement information of the PRU (PRU location measurement(s)), and PRU location information associated with the location measurement information of the PRU (PRU location measurement(s) associated PRU known location).

[0203] Branch 4-2 includes the following steps S707b and S708b:

[0204] Corresponding to the above branch 3-2, NWDAF sends a request message to LMF through the process of NWDAF->GMLC->LMF, and LMF sends a response message to NWDAF through the process of LMF->GMLC->NWDAF. The parameters in the response message include the parameters in S707a.

[0205] Branch 4-3 includes the following steps S707c to S709c:

[0206] Corresponding to the above branch 3-3, NWDAF sends a request message to LMF through the process of NWDAF->GMLC->AMF->LMF, and LMF sends a response message to NWDAF through the process of LMF->AMF->GMLC->NWDAF. The parameters in the response message include the parameters in S707a.

[0207] S710-S711. Optional (indicated by dotted lines in the figure), if S707a only includes PRU location information but not PRU location measurement information, the NWDAF may also collect PRU location measurement information (e.g., CIR / PDP, etc.) corresponding to the UE ID through OAM. Specifically, in S710, the NWDAF sends a subscription request to the OAM, where the subscription request includes one or more UE identifiers (UE IDs); in S711, the OAM sends a notification to the NWDAF, where the notification includes the PRU location measurement information corresponding to the UE.

[0208] S712. NWDAF trains the positioning AI / ML model based on the collected PRU position measurement information (i.e., model input) and PRU position information (i.e., label).

[0209] According to a method for obtaining PRU information provided in an embodiment of the present application, a method is provided for NWDAF to obtain all PRU information in the area (including PRU location information and corresponding PRU location measurement information, etc.) from LMF through area information, so that NWDAF can collect PRU information in a specific area and train a model based on the PRU information.

[0210] As shown in Figure 8, a flow chart of another method for obtaining PRU information provided in an embodiment of the present application is provided. In this embodiment, it is assumed that when the LMF registers its NF profile with the NRF, it also registers the PRU information associated with the LMF (for example, including the corresponding UE ID, PRU positioning capabilities, PRU location information, PRU on / off state, etc.). Exemplarily, the method may include the following steps:

[0211] S801. The NWDAF sends a fourth request to the NRF. Correspondingly, the NRF receives the fourth request. The fourth request includes first indication information and third area information, wherein the first indication information is used to instruct to obtain an LMF that supports the PRU function.

[0212] For example, the NWDAF sends a network element discovery request message to the NRF through the network element discovery request (Nnrf_NFDiscovery Request) service operation. The request message includes a PRU indication and an AOI. The PRU indication is used to indicate the discovery of the LMF that supports the PRU function, or to discover the LMF associated with the PRU. The AOI can be a list of TAs / cell IDs, indicating the service area that the discovered LMF needs to support, that is, the third area mentioned above.

[0213] S802. The NRF sends a fourth response to the NWDAF. Accordingly, the NWDAF receives the fourth response, which includes information about one or more LMF network elements, where the service area of ​​each of the one or more LMFs includes the third area.

[0214] For example, the NRF discovers one or more LMFs that meet the requirements and sends a network element discovery response message to the NWDAF through the network element discovery response (Nnrf_NFDiscovery Response) service operation. The network element discovery response message includes the network element profiles (NF profiles) of one or more LMFs (PRU serving LMFs) selected by the NRF.

[0215] In addition, different from step S702 of the embodiment shown in Figure 7, the NF profiles sent by the NRF to the NWDAF include at least one of the following information of the PRU associated with each LMF in one or more LMFs: the UE ID corresponding to the PRU, the PRU positioning capability, the location information of the PRU, and the on / off status of the PRU.

[0216] S803. The NWDAF sends a request message to the LMF through a service operation such as a location measurement data request (Nlmf_Location_MeasurementData Request), where the request message includes the UE ID, the PRU indication, and the PRU on status indication, where the PRU indication and the PRU on status indication are optional parameters.

[0217] S804.LMF uses the existing positioning process to obtain PRU information (including PRU location information and PRU location measurement information).

[0218] S805. The LMF sends a response message to the NWDAF through (for example, a location measurement data response (Nlmf_Location_MeasurementData Response) service operation), where the response message includes the location measurement information of the PRU and the PRU location information associated with the location measurement information of the PRU.

[0219] In S803-S805, NWDAF obtains the PRU location information corresponding to the UE ID of the PRU and the location measurement information of the PRU corresponding to the location information from LMF according to the UE granularity. The request message sent by NWDAF may include only one UE ID. In this case, NWDAF may need to send multiple request messages to LMF to obtain the PRU information of each UE; the request message of NWDAF may also include multiple UE IDs, and obtain the PRU information of each of these multiple UEs through one request. If the NF profile obtained in S802 already includes the PRU location information, NWDAF may not obtain the PRU location information from LMF.

[0220] In addition, in S801-S805, reference may be made to the embodiment shown in FIG. 7 to send a request message to LMF and receive a response message via the path of NWDAF->GMLC->LMF or the path of NWDAF->GMLC->AMF->LMF.

[0221] S806-S807. Optional (indicated by dotted lines in the figure), if S805 only includes PRU location information but not PRU location measurement information, the NWDAF may also collect PRU location measurement information (e.g., CIR / PDP, etc.) corresponding to the UE ID through OAM. Specifically, in S806, the NWDAF sends a subscription request to the OAM, where the subscription request includes one or more UE identifiers (UE IDs); in S807, the OAM sends a notification to the NWDAF, where the notification includes the PRU location measurement information corresponding to the UE.

[0222] S808.NWDAF trains the positioning AI / ML model based on the collected PRU position measurement information (i.e., model input) and PRU position information (i.e., label).

[0223] According to a method for obtaining PRU information provided in an embodiment of the present application, a method is provided for NWDAF to discover LMF according to regional granularity and obtain PRU information from LMF according to UE granularity, so that NWDAF can collect information about PRUs in a specific area and train a model based on the PRU information.

[0224] It can be understood that in the above embodiments, the methods and / or steps implemented by NWDAF can also be implemented by components that can be used for NWDAF (such as chips or circuits); the methods and / or steps implemented by LMF can also be implemented by components that can be used for LMF (such as chips or circuits).

[0225] The above mainly introduces the solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application from the perspective of interaction between various network elements. Accordingly, the embodiments of the present application also provide a communication device, which is used to implement the various methods described above. The communication device can be the NWDAF in the above method embodiments, or a component that can be used for the NWDAF; or the communication device can be the LMF in the above method embodiments, or a component that can be used for the LMF. It can be understood that in order to implement the above functions, the communication device includes hardware structures and / or software modules corresponding to performing each function. Those skilled in the art should readily appreciate that, in combination with the units and algorithm steps of the various examples described in the embodiments disclosed herein, the present application can be implemented in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is executed in hardware or in a manner where computer software drives hardware depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional and technical personnel can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered to be beyond the scope of this application.

[0226] In the embodiment of the present application, the functional modules of the communication device can be divided according to the above method embodiment. For example, each functional module can be divided according to each function, or two or more functions can be integrated into one processing unit. The above integrated modules can be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of software functional modules. It should be noted that the division of modules in the embodiment of the present application is schematic and is only a logical functional division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods.

[0227] Based on the same concept of the above method for obtaining PRU information, the present application also provides the following communication device:

[0228] As shown in FIG9 , it is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. The communication device 900 includes a transceiver unit 901 and a processing unit 902.

[0229] Illustratively, the transceiver unit 901 may include a receiving unit and a sending unit. The receiving unit and the sending unit may be an integrated unit or independent units.

[0230] When the communication device 900 is used to implement the NWDAF function, the transceiver unit 901 is used to perform one or more NWDAF operations in steps S501 and S502 of the embodiment shown in FIG5 ; and the processing unit 902 is used to perform step S503 of the embodiment shown in FIG5 .

[0231] When the communication device 900 is used to implement the LMF function, the transceiver unit 901 is used to perform one or more LMF operations in steps S501 and S502 of the embodiment shown in FIG5 .

[0232] For the specific implementation of the above-mentioned transceiver unit 901 and the processing unit 902, reference may be made to the relevant descriptions in the embodiments shown in FIG. 5 to FIG. 8 .

[0233] The division of modules in this application is illustrative and represents only a logical functional division. In actual implementation, other division methods may be used. Furthermore, the functional modules in the examples of this application may be integrated into a single processor, exist physically as separate modules, or two or more modules may be integrated into a single module. The aforementioned integrated modules may be implemented in either hardware or software functional modules.

[0234] As shown in Figure 10, it is a schematic diagram of the structure of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application, and the communication device 1000 includes a processor 1001. Optionally, the communication device 1000 may further include an interface circuit 1002 (represented by a dotted line in the figure), and the processor 1001 and the interface circuit 1002 are coupled to each other. It will be understood that the interface circuit 1002 may be a transceiver or an input / output interface. Optionally, the communication device 1000 may further include a memory 1003 (represented by a dotted line in the figure), and the memory 1003 is used to store instructions executed by the processor 1001, or to store input data required for the processor 1001 to run the instructions, or to store data generated after the processor 1001 runs the instructions.

[0235] When the communication device 1000 is used to implement the NWDAF function, the interface circuit 1002 is used to perform one or more operations of the NWDAF in steps S501 and S502 of the embodiment shown in FIG5 ; and the processor 1001 is used to perform step S503 of the embodiment shown in FIG5 .

[0236] When the communication device 1000 is used to implement the LMF function, the interface circuit 1002 is used to perform one or more LMF operations in steps S501 and S502 of the embodiment shown in FIG5 .

[0237] When the communication device is a chip used in an NWDAF, the chip implements the NWDAF functionality described in the method embodiments. The chip receives information from other modules in the NWDAF (e.g., a radio frequency module or antenna), which is information sent from the LMF to the NWDAF; or the chip sends information to other modules in the NWDAF (e.g., a radio frequency module or antenna), which is information sent from the NWDAF to the LMF.

[0238] When the communication device is a chip used in an LMF, the chip implements the functions of the LMF in the above method embodiments. The chip receives information from other modules in the LMF (such as a radio frequency module or antenna), which is sent by the NWDAF to the LMF; or the chip sends information to other modules in the LMF (such as a radio frequency module or antenna), which is sent by the LMF to the NWDAF.

[0239] In addition, it should be noted that the aforementioned transceiver unit and / or processing unit may be implemented through virtual modules, for example, the processing unit may be implemented through a software function unit or a virtual device, and the transceiver unit may be implemented through a software function or a virtual device. Alternatively, the processing unit or transceiver unit may also be implemented through a physical device, for example, if the device is implemented using a chip / chip circuit, the transceiver unit may be an input / output circuit and / or a communication interface, performing input operations (corresponding to the aforementioned receiving operations) and output operations (corresponding to the aforementioned sending operations); the processing unit is an integrated processor or microprocessor or integrated circuit.

[0240] It is understood that the processor in the embodiments of the present application may be a central processing unit (CPU), or may be other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSP), application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC), field programmable gate arrays (FPGA), or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components, or any combination thereof. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0241] An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium, in which a computer program or instruction is stored. When the computer program or instruction is executed, the method in the above embodiment is implemented.

[0242] An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program product comprising instructions, which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to execute the method in the above embodiment.

[0243] An embodiment of the present application also provides a communication system, including the above-mentioned communication device.

[0244] The present application also provides a circuit, which is coupled to a memory and is used to execute the method shown in the above embodiment. The circuit may include a chip circuit.

[0245] An embodiment of the present application also provides a chip device, including a processor, for calling a computer program or computer instruction stored in the memory so that the processor executes the method provided in any one of the embodiments shown in Figures 5 to 8 above.

[0246] In one possible implementation, the input of the chip device corresponds to the receiving operation in any one of the embodiments shown in FIG. 5 to FIG. 8 , and the output of the chip device corresponds to the sending operation in any one of the embodiments shown in FIG. 5 to FIG. 8 .

[0247] Optionally, the processor is coupled to the memory via an interface.

[0248] Optionally, the chip device further includes a memory, in which computer programs or computer instructions are stored.

[0249] When the above-mentioned communication device is a module applied to a network device, the network device module implements the functions of the network device in the above-mentioned method embodiment. The network device module receives information from other modules in the network device (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna), and the information is sent by the terminal device to the network device; or, the network device module sends information to other modules in the network device (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna), and the information is sent by the network device to the terminal device. The network device module here can be a baseband chip of the network device, or a CU, DU or other module, or a device under the O-RAN architecture, such as an open CU, open DU and other devices.

[0250] It should be noted that the above units or one or more of the units can be implemented by software, hardware, or a combination of the two. When any of the above units or units is implemented by software, the software exists in the form of computer program instructions and is stored in a memory, and a processor can be used to execute the program instructions and implement the above method flow.

[0251] In this application, a processor may be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor, an application-specific integrated circuit, a field-programmable gate array or other programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic device, or a discrete hardware component, and may implement or execute the methods, steps, and logic block diagrams disclosed in this application. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor. The steps of the methods disclosed in this application may be directly executed by a hardware processor, or by a combination of hardware and software modules within the processor.

[0252] When the above units or units are implemented in hardware, the hardware can be any one or any combination of a CPU, a microprocessor, a digital signal processing (DSP) chip, a microcontroller unit (MCU), an artificial intelligence processor, an ASIC, a SoC, an FPGA, a programmable logic device (PLD), a dedicated digital circuit, a hardware accelerator or a non-integrated discrete device, which can run the necessary software or not rely on the software to execute the above method flow.

[0253] Optionally, an embodiment of the present application further provides a chip system, comprising: at least one processor and an interface, wherein the at least one processor is coupled to a memory via the interface, and when the at least one processor executes a computer program or instruction in the memory, the chip system executes the method in any of the above method embodiments. Optionally, the chip system may be composed of a chip, or may include a chip and other discrete devices, which is not specifically limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0254] The memory in the present application may also be a circuit or any other device capable of implementing a storage function for storing program instructions and / or data. A memory is any other medium that can be used to carry or store a desired program code in the form of an instruction or data structure and can be accessed by a computer, but is not limited thereto. For example, the memory may be a non-volatile memory, such as a digital versatile disc (DVD), a hard disk drive (HDD), or a solid-state drive (SSD), or a volatile memory, such as a random-access memory (RAM).

[0255] It is understood that, in this application, "indication" can include direct indication, indirect indication, explicit indication, and implicit indication. When describing a certain indication information as indicating A, it can be understood that the indication information carries A, directly indicates A, or indirectly indicates A. In this application, the information indicated by the indication information is referred to as the information to be indicated. In the specific implementation process, there are many ways to indicate the information to be indicated. For example, but not limited to, the information to be indicated can be directly indicated, such as the information to be indicated itself or an index of the information to be indicated, or it can be indirectly indicated by indicating other information, where there is an association between the other information and the information to be indicated. It is also possible to indicate only a part of the information to be indicated, while the rest of the information to be indicated is known or agreed in advance. For example, it is also possible to indicate specific information by using a pre-agreed (e.g., protocol-specified) order of arrangement of various information, thereby reducing the indication overhead to a certain extent. The information to be indicated can be sent as a whole or divided into multiple sub-information and sent separately, and the sending period and / or sending time of these sub-information can be the same or different. The specific sending method is not limited in this application. The sending period and / or sending timing of these sub-information may be predefined, for example, predefined according to a protocol, or may be configured by the transmitting end device by sending configuration information to the receiving end device.

[0256] The at least one (item) involved in this application indicates one (item) or more (items). More than one (item) refers to two (items) or more than two (items). "And / or" describes the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships may exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone. The character " / " generally indicates that the previous and next associated objects are in an "or" relationship. In addition, it should be understood that although the terms first, second, etc. may be used to describe each object in this application, these objects should not be limited to these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish each object from each other.

[0257] The terms "including" and "having" mentioned above and any variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions. For example, a process, method, system, product or device that includes a series of steps or units is not limited to the listed steps or units, but may optionally include other steps or units that are not listed, or may optionally include other steps or units that are inherent to these processes, methods, products or devices. It should be noted that, in this application, words such as "exemplary" or "for example" are used to indicate examples, illustrations or explanations. Any method or design described in this application as "exemplary" or "for example" should not be interpreted as being more preferred or more advantageous than other methods or designs. Specifically, the use of words such as "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present related concepts in a concrete way.

[0258] A network element in a communication system can send a signal to another network element or receive a signal from another network element. The signal may include information, signaling, or data, etc. The network element can also be replaced by an entity, a network entity, a device, a terminal device, a communication module, a node, a communication node, etc. The present application uses the network element as an example for description. For example, the communication system may include at least one terminal device and at least one network device. The network device can send a downlink signal to the terminal device, and / or the terminal device can send an uplink signal to the network device. In addition, it can be understood that if the communication system includes multiple terminal devices, the multiple terminal devices can also send signals to each other, that is, the signal sending network element and the signal receiving network element can both be terminal devices.

[0259] In the above embodiments, it can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented using a software program, it can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the process or function described in the embodiment of the present application is generated in whole or in part. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server or data center to another website, computer, server or data center via wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) means.

[0260] Although the present application is described herein in conjunction with various embodiments, in the process of implementing the claimed application, those skilled in the art can understand and implement other changes to the disclosed embodiments by viewing the drawings, the disclosure, and the appended claims. In the claims, the word "comprising" does not exclude other components or steps, and "a" or "an" does not exclude multiple situations. A single processor or other unit can implement several functions listed in the claims. Certain measures are recorded in different dependent claims, but this does not mean that these measures cannot be combined to produce good results.

[0261] It is understood that the various numbers used in the embodiments of this application are merely for ease of description and are not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments of this application. The order of the sequence numbers of the above-mentioned processes does not necessarily imply a specific order of execution; the order of execution of the processes should be determined by their functions and inherent logic.

[0262] In the above embodiments, the description of each embodiment has its own focus. For parts that are not described in detail in a certain embodiment, reference can be made to the relevant descriptions of other embodiments.

[0263] The components in the device of the embodiment of the present application can be merged, divided, or deleted according to actual needs. Those skilled in the art can combine or combine the different embodiments and features of the different embodiments described in this specification.

[0264] In this application, under the premise of no logical contradiction, the examples can reference each other, for example, the methods and / or terms between method embodiments can reference each other, for example, the functions and / or terms between device embodiments can reference each other, for example, the functions and / or terms between device examples and method examples can reference each other.

Claims

1. A method for obtaining information of a position reference unit (PRU), characterized in that: The method comprises: Sending a first request, where the first request indicates at least one of the following first information: an identifier of a first terminal device, first area information, and the first terminal device is a terminal device that can serve as a PRU; receiving a first response, where the first response indicates at least one of the following second information: an identifier of a second terminal device, location information of the second terminal device, and location measurement information of the second terminal device, where the second terminal device is a terminal device that can serve as a PRU, and the at least one second information is input data for model training; Model training is performed based on the at least one second information.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein Before sending the first request, the method further includes: Sending a second request to the access and mobility function (AMF), where the second request includes second area information; receiving a second response, where the second response includes an identifier of at least one terminal device in the second area, where the at least one terminal device includes the first terminal device; Sending a third request to the unified data management (UDM), where the third request includes an identifier of at least one terminal device in the second area; A third response is received, where the third response includes a PRU indication, where the PRU indication is used to indicate whether the at least one terminal device can serve as a PRU.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein The method further comprises: Sending a fourth request to the network storage function NRF, the fourth request including the first indication information and the third area information, the first indication information being used to instruct obtaining the LMF associated with the PRU; A fourth response is received, the fourth response including information of one or more LMFs, each of the one or more LMFs being associated with one or more PRUs.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein The fourth response further includes at least one of the following information of the PRU associated with each of the one or more LMFs: PRU positioning capability, PRU location information, and PRU on / off status.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein The first request also indicates at least one of the following information: second indication information, third indication information, wherein the second indication information is used to indicate that only the model training input data corresponding to the PRU is obtained, and the third indication information is used to indicate that information of the PRU in the turned-on state is obtained.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein The sending of the first request includes: sending the first request to the positioning management function LMF; or sending the first request to the LMF through the gateway mobile positioning center GMLC; or sending the first request to the LMF through the GMLC and the access and mobility management function AMF.

7. A method for obtaining PRU information, characterized in that: The method comprises: receiving a first request, where the first request indicates at least one of the following first information: an identifier of a first terminal device, first area information, and the first terminal device is a terminal device that can serve as a PRU; A first response is sent, where the first response indicates at least one of the following second information: an identifier of the second terminal device, location information of the second terminal device, location measurement information of the second terminal device, the second terminal device is a terminal device that can be used as a PRU, and the at least one second information is input data for model training.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein The first request includes the first region information, and the method further includes: Based on the first area information, one or more PRUs within the first area are determined; and the at least one item of PRU information of each of the one or more PRUs is determined.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein The first request also indicates at least one of the following information: second indication information, third indication information, wherein the second indication information is used to indicate that only the model training input data corresponding to the PRU is obtained, and the third indication information is used to indicate that information of the PRU in the turned-on state is obtained.

10. A communication device, characterized in that: The device comprises: a transceiver unit and a processing unit; wherein: The transceiver unit is configured to send a first request, where the first request indicates at least one of the following first information: an identifier of a first terminal device, first area information, and the first terminal device is a terminal device that can serve as a PRU; The transceiver unit is further configured to receive a first response, where the first response indicates at least one of the following second information: an identifier of a second terminal device, location information of the second terminal device, and location measurement information of the second terminal device, where the second terminal device is a terminal device that can serve as a PRU, and the at least one second information is input data for model training; The processing unit is used to perform model training based on the at least one second information.

11. The device according to claim 10, characterized in that: The transceiver unit is further configured to send a second request to the access and mobility function AMF, where the second request includes the second area information; The transceiver unit is further configured to receive a second response, where the second response includes an identifier of at least one terminal device in the second area, where the at least one terminal device includes the first terminal device; The transceiver unit is further configured to send a third request to the unified data management (UDM), wherein the third request includes an identifier of at least one terminal device in the second area; The transceiver unit is further used to receive a third response, where the third response includes a PRU indication, and the PRU indication is used to indicate whether the at least one terminal device can serve as a PRU.

12. The device according to claim 10, wherein: The transceiver unit is further configured to send a fourth request to the network storage function NRF, where the fourth request includes first indication information and third area information, where the first indication information is used to instruct to obtain the LMF associated with the PRU; The transceiver unit is further configured to receive a fourth response, where the fourth response includes information of one or more LMFs, where each of the one or more LMFs is associated with one or more PRUs.

13. The device according to claim 12, wherein The fourth response further includes at least one of the following information of the PRU associated with each of the one or more LMFs: PRU positioning capability, PRU location information, and PRU on / off status.

14. The device according to any one of claims 10 to 13, characterized in that The first request also indicates at least one of the following information: second indication information, third indication information, wherein the second indication information is used to indicate that only the model training input data corresponding to the PRU is obtained, and the third indication information is used to indicate that information of the PRU in the turned-on state is obtained.

15. The device according to any one of claims 10 to 14, characterized in that The transceiver unit is also used to send the first request to the positioning management function LMF; or send the first request to the LMF through the gateway mobile positioning center GMLC; or send the first request to the LMF through the GMLC and the access and mobility management function AMF.

16. A communication device, characterized in that: The device comprises: a transceiver unit and a processing unit; wherein: The transceiver unit is configured to receive a first request, where the first request indicates at least one of the following first information: an identifier of a first terminal device, first area information, and the first terminal device is a terminal device that can serve as a PRU; The processing unit is configured to generate at least one of the following second information: an identifier of a second terminal device, location information of the second terminal device, and location measurement information of the second terminal device, wherein the second terminal device is a terminal device that can serve as a PRU, and the at least one second information is input data for model training; The transceiver unit is further configured to send a first response, where the first response indicates the at least one item of PRU information.

17. The device according to claim 16, wherein The first request includes the first region information; The processing unit is further configured to determine one or more PRUs within the first area based on the first area information; The processing unit is further configured to determine the at least one item of PRU information for each of the one or more PRUs.

18. The device according to claim 17, wherein The first request also indicates at least one of the following information: second indication information, third indication information, wherein the second indication information is used to indicate that only the model training input data corresponding to the PRU is obtained, and the third indication information is used to indicate that information of the PRU in the turned-on state is obtained.

19. A communication device, characterized in that: The device comprises a processor, a memory, and instructions stored in the memory and executed on the processor, wherein when the instructions are executed, the communication device executes the method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, or executes the method according to any one of claims 7 to 9.

20. A chip, characterized in that: The chip is used to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

21. A chip module, characterized in that: The invention comprises an interface component and a chip, wherein the chip is used to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

22. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that The storage medium stores a computer program or instruction. When the computer program or instruction is executed by the communication device, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9 is implemented.

23. A computer program product, characterized in that The computer program product comprises program instructions, and when the program instructions are executed, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9 is implemented.

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