Method for sensing measurement, and communication apparatus, chip, computer-readable storage medium and computer program product

Abstract

The present application provides a method for sensing measurement. The method can be applied to supporting IEEE protocols, such as a 802.11be / Wi-Fi 7 / Wi-Fi 8 protocol, an IEEE 802.11 integrated mmWave protocol, an IEEE 802.11bf / sensing protocol, or an IEEE 802.15 / UWB protocol. The method can also support the SparkLink protocol. The method comprises: a first access point receiving a response frame from a second access point, wherein the response frame comprises first indication information, and the first indication information is used for indicating the duration required for the second access point to execute sensing measurement interaction; and on the basis of the response frame, determining the duration required for the second access point to execute the sensing measurement interaction. Thus, on the basis of the duration required for a second access point to execute sensing measurement interaction, a first access point can subsequently allocate time more appropriately for the second access point to execute sensing measurement.

Description

Method, communication device, chip, computer-readable storage medium, and computer program product for sensing measurement

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application with application number 202410396272.1 filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of China on March 30, 2024, and priority to the Chinese patent application with the invention name “Method, communication device, chip, computer-readable storage medium and computer program product for perception measurement”, all contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

[0002] The present application relates to the field of communications, and in particular to a method, a communication device, a chip, a computer-readable storage medium, and a computer program product for sensing measurement. Background Art

[0003] In daily life, signals emitted by wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) devices are often reflected, diffracted, and scattered by various obstacles before they are received. This phenomenon often results in the actual received signal being the sum of multiple signals, which can lead to a complex channel environment. However, from another perspective, this also makes it easier to perceive the physical environment through wireless signals. By analyzing wireless signals affected by various obstacles, such as channel state information (CSI), it is possible to infer and perceive the surrounding environment, which has led to the development of wireless local area network (WLAN) sensing technology.

[0004] WLAN sensing technology is based on radar technology. Radar consists of a transmitting antenna and a receiving antenna. The transmitting antenna sends electromagnetic waves, which are reflected by the target and then picked up by the receiving antenna. Based on the changes in the transmitted and received waves (i.e., the reflected waves), radar analyzes target characteristics, such as the target's location, shape, motion characteristics, and movement path, through signal processing.

[0005] The IEEE 802.11bf (abbreviated as 11bf) standard for wireless sensing, developed by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), specifies sensing protocols for the Sub-7 GHz and 60 GHz bands. The 11bf standard provides a new sensing framework: sensing by proxy (SBP). SBP means that a non-access point station (non-AP STA) can request an access point (AP) to perform WLAN sensing (including sensing measurement sessions and sensing measurement interactions) and have the AP provide the sensing measurement results back to it. The non-AP STA that initiates SBP is called the SBP initiator, and the AP that participates in the SBP process as a proxy is called the SBP responder. The AP is also the sensing initiator in the sensing process.

[0006] In the current 11bf standard, the SBP initiator can only be a non-AP STA, which cannot meet the needs of various perception scenarios. Summary of the Invention

[0007] The embodiments of the present application disclose a method, a communication device, a chip, a computer-readable storage medium, and a computer program product for perception measurement, which can meet the needs of various perception scenarios.

[0008] In a first aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a method for sensing measurement, which is applied to a first access point and implemented by the first access point or a component on the first access point side. The method is described below using the first access point as an example. The method includes: the first access point receiving a response frame from a second access point, the response frame including first indication information, the first indication information being used to indicate a duration required for the second access point to perform sensing measurement interaction; and determining, based on the response frame, a duration required for the second access point to perform sensing measurement interaction.

[0009] In an embodiment of the present application, a first access point determines, based on a response frame from a second access point, the duration (e.g., a single duration) required for the second access point to perform a sensing measurement interaction. This allows the first access point to subsequently more reasonably allocate the time for the second access point to perform sensing measurements based on the duration required for the second access point to perform sensing measurements. This ensures that the second access point has sufficient time to complete the sensing measurement while reducing the time spent performing the sensing measurement by the second access point. Furthermore, the first access point determines, based on the response frame, the duration required for the second access point to perform the sensing measurement interaction, and thereby schedules the second access point to perform the sensing measurement interaction, thereby meeting the requirements of various sensing scenarios.

[0010] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: the first access point sending a request frame to the second access point, where the request frame is used to request the second access point to perform a perception measurement. In this way, the first access point implements the perception service (i.e., performs the perception measurement) by coordinating with the second access point. Compared with the first access point implementing the perception service alone, the accuracy and perception range of the perception measurement can be improved.

[0011] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: the first access point sending a first trigger frame to the second access point, the first trigger frame being used to trigger the second access point to perform a perception measurement. The first trigger frame includes second indication information, the second indication information being used to indicate a duration for the second access point to perform the perception measurement. In this way, when the second access point performs the perception measurement based on the first trigger frame, interference between the perception measurement interaction of the second access point and the perception measurement interaction of other access points can be avoided.

[0012] In one possible implementation, after the first access point sends the first trigger frame to the second access point, the method further includes: after the first access point determines, based on the second indication information, that the second access point has completed the perception measurement, sending a fifth trigger frame to the third access point or sending a sixth trigger frame to the second access point, where the fifth trigger frame is used to trigger the third access point to perform the perception measurement, the fifth trigger frame includes indication information indicating a duration for the third access point to perform the perception measurement, and the sixth trigger frame is used to trigger the second access point to send a perception measurement report (e.g., a measurement report frame). The third access point can be triggered to start the perception measurement or the second access point can be triggered to feed back the perception measurement report in a timely manner, thereby improving measurement efficiency.

[0013] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: the first access point receives a termination frame or a report frame from the second access point, the termination frame or the report frame including third indication information, the third indication information being used to indicate a duration required for the second access point to perform a perception measurement interaction, the duration required for the second access point to perform a perception measurement interaction indicated by the third indication information being different from the duration required for the second access point to perform a perception measurement interaction indicated by the first indication information; based on the termination frame or the report frame, the first access point determines the duration required to perform the perception measurement interaction updated by the second access point; in this way, the duration for the perception measurement interaction is subsequently more reasonably allocated to the second access point based on the updated duration. In the present application, the termination frame can be used to terminate the perception session between the first access point and the second access point, for example, the termination frame can be a measurement termination frame. In the present application, the report frame can include the perception measurement result fed back by the second access point to the first access point, for example, the report frame can be a measurement report frame.

[0014] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: the first access point sending a second trigger frame to the second access point, the second trigger frame including fourth indication information, the fourth indication information being used to indicate a duration for the second access point to perform a perception measurement, the duration indicated by the fourth indication information being derived based on the third indication information; thereby, updating the duration allocated to the second access point for performing the perception measurement. When the duration required for the second access point to perform the perception measurement interaction indicated by the third indication information is longer than the duration indicated by the second indication information for the second access point to perform the perception measurement, the first access point updating the duration allocated to the second access point for performing the perception measurement so that the second access point has sufficient time to complete the perception measurement. When the duration required for the second access point to perform the perception measurement interaction indicated by the third indication information is shorter than the duration indicated by the second indication information for the second access point to perform the perception measurement, the first access point updating the duration to the duration indicated by the second access point for performing the perception measurement; thereby, avoiding excessive channel occupation and resource waste caused by the second access point completing the perception measurement. In this application, the naming of each frame is not limited. For example, the second trigger frame may be named an update frame, a request frame, etc.

[0015] In a possible implementation, the sending of the second trigger frame by the first access point to the second access point includes: when a duration required for the second access point to perform the perception measurement interaction indicated by the third indication information is longer than a duration for the second access point to perform the perception measurement indicated by the second indication information, the first access point sending the second trigger frame to the second access point, and the duration for the second access point to perform the perception measurement indicated by the fourth indication information is equal to or longer than a duration required for the second access point to perform the perception measurement interaction indicated by the third indication information; in this way, the second access point has sufficient time to complete the perception measurement.

[0016] In one possible implementation, the first access point sending a second trigger frame to the second access point includes: when the time required for the second access point to perform perception measurement interaction indicated by the third indication information is shorter than the time required for the second access point to perform perception measurement indicated by the second indication information, the first access point sending the second trigger frame to the second access point, and the time required for the second access point to perform perception measurement indicated by the fourth indication information is equal to or longer than the time required for the second access point to perform perception measurement interaction indicated by the third indication information. This ensures that the second access point has sufficient time to complete the perception measurement and reduces resource waste caused by excessive channel occupation by the second access point. In another possible implementation, when the difference between the time required for the second access point to perform perception measurement indicated by the second indication information and the time required for the second access point to perform perception measurement interaction indicated by the third indication information is greater than a time threshold, the first access point sending the second trigger frame to the second access point; otherwise, the first access point does not send the second trigger frame to the second access point. This avoids frequent updates of the time required for perception measurement interaction, simplifies operations, and facilitates implementation.

[0017] In a second aspect, embodiments of the present application provide another method for sensing measurement, which is applied to a second access point and implemented by the second access point or a component on the second access point. The method is described below using the second access point as an example. The method includes: the second access point generating a response frame, the response frame including first indication information, the first indication information being used to indicate the duration required for the second access point to perform a sensing measurement interaction; and sending the response frame to the first access point. This allows the first access point to learn the duration required for the second access point to perform the sensing measurement interaction. After learning the duration required for the second access point to perform the sensing measurement interaction, the first access point can more reasonably allocate time for the second access point to perform the sensing measurement, thereby ensuring that the second access point has sufficient time to complete the sensing measurement while reducing the duration occupied by the second access point in performing the sensing measurement.

[0018] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: the second access point receiving a request frame from the first access point, where the request frame is used to request the second access point to perform a perception measurement; and sending a response frame to the first access point includes: the second access point accepting the perception measurement request in the request frame and sending the response frame to the first access point, so that the first access point can learn a duration required for the second access point to perform the perception measurement interaction; or the second access point rejecting the perception measurement request in the request frame and sending a response frame to the first access point, where the response frame includes configuration parameters recommended by the second access point for performing the perception measurement itself, so that the first access point learns the configuration parameters required for the second access point to perform the perception measurement.

[0019] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: the second access point receiving a first trigger frame from the first access point, the first trigger frame being used to trigger the second access point to perform perception measurement, the first trigger frame including second indication information, the second indication information being used to indicate a duration for the second access point to perform the perception measurement; the second access point performing the perception measurement based on the first trigger frame; in this way, interference between the perception measurement interaction of the second access point and the perception measurement interaction of other access points can be avoided.

[0020] In one possible implementation, the second access point performing the perception measurement based on the first trigger frame includes: the second access point starting the perception measurement at a preset time interval after receiving the first trigger frame from the first access point, where the duration of the perception measurement is less than or equal to the duration for the second access point to perform the perception measurement indicated by the second indication information, thereby avoiding channel loss; or, after receiving the first trigger frame from the first access point, the second access point contends for a channel; and starting the perception measurement based on a transmission opportunity obtained through the contention for the channel, where the sum of the duration used for contention for the channel and the duration of the perception measurement is less than or equal to the duration for the second access point to perform the perception measurement indicated by the second indication information, thereby avoiding interference with other access points.

[0021] In a possible implementation, after the second access point sends a response frame to the first access point, the method further includes: the second access point sending a termination frame or a report frame to the first access point, where the termination frame or the report frame includes third indication information, where the third indication information is used to indicate a duration required for the second access point to perform the perception measurement interaction, where the duration required for the second access point to perform the perception measurement interaction indicated by the third indication information is different from the duration required for the second access point to perform the perception measurement interaction indicated by the first indication information; and the first access point may be notified of the updated duration required for the second access point to perform the perception measurement interaction.

[0022] In a possible implementation manner of the first aspect or the second aspect, the request frame is used to request the second access point to perform perception measurement on behalf of the first access point.

[0023] In this implementation, the first access point requests the second access point to perform perception measurement on its behalf through a request frame. The second access point assists the first access point in performing perception measurement, which can improve the accuracy and perception range of the first access point's perception measurement.

[0024] In a possible implementation manner of the first aspect or the second aspect, the request frame includes a perception measurement window allocated by the first access point to the second access point, so that the time for the second access point to perform perception measurement can be limited to within the measurement window.

[0025] In a possible implementation manner of the first aspect or the second aspect, the request frame further includes first time information, where the first time information is used to indicate the time of a local clock of the first access point when the first access point sends the request frame.

[0026] The first time information can provide a reference time for the second access point so that the second access point can determine the difference between its local clock and the local clock of the first access point, thereby ensuring that the second access point can perform perception measurement within the time indicated by the first access point.

[0027] In a possible implementation of the first aspect or the second aspect, the response frame further includes the sensing measurement window of the first access point suggested by the second access point, so that the first access point learns the sensing measurement window of the first access point suggested by the second access point.

[0028] In a possible implementation manner of the first aspect or the second aspect, the response frame further includes second time information, where the second time information is used to indicate the time of a local clock of the second access point when the second access point sends the response frame.

[0029] The second time information can provide a reference time for the first access point to determine the difference between its local clock and the local clock of the second access point. If the first access point requests multiple access points, including the second access point, to perform sensing measurements on its behalf, the first access point can more reasonably allocate a measurement window or measurement start time to each access point based on the reference times of the multiple access points, thereby avoiding interference caused by measurement time conflicts among the multiple access points.

[0030] In a possible implementation of the first aspect or the second aspect, the first trigger frame further includes type information, where the type information is used to indicate that the first trigger frame is a trigger frame used to trigger the access point to perform perception measurement; in this way, the second access point can obtain the type of the first trigger frame based on the type information.

[0031] In a possible implementation of the first aspect or the second aspect, the first trigger frame further includes fifth indication information, where the fifth indication information is used to indicate the start time of the second access point performing the perception measurement, so that the second access point can know the start time of its own perception measurement.

[0032] In a third aspect, embodiments of the present application provide another method for sensing measurement, which is applied to a first access point and implemented by the first access point or a component on the first access point. The method is described below using the first access point as an example. The method includes: the first access point receiving a measurement report frame from a second access point; and after receiving the measurement report frame, sending a third trigger frame to a third access point, where the third trigger frame is used to trigger the third access point to perform sensing measurement.

[0033] In this embodiment of the present application, a first access point receives a measurement report frame from a second access point, indicating that the second access point has completed the perception measurement. After receiving the measurement report frame, the first access point sends a third trigger frame to a third access point, thereby avoiding interference between perception measurements performed by different access points.

[0034] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: the first access point sending a request frame to the second access point, the request frame being used to request the second access point to perform perception measurement on behalf of the first access point; and receiving a response frame from the second access point, the response frame being used to instruct the second access point to accept the perception measurement request in the request frame, or the response frame being used to instruct the second access point to reject the perception measurement request in the request frame, the response frame including configuration parameters by which the second access point recommends that it perform the perception measurement itself. In this way, the first access point requests the second access point to perform the perception measurement on its behalf through the request frame. This can improve the accuracy and perception range of the first access point's perception measurement.

[0035] In a possible implementation, the third trigger frame includes sixth indication information, where the sixth indication information is used to indicate a duration for the third access point to perform the perception measurement, so that the third access point can know the start time of performing the perception measurement.

[0036] In a fourth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide another method for sensing measurement, which is applied to a second access point and implemented by the second access point or a component on the second access point side. The method is described below using the second access point as an example. The method includes: the second access point, acting as a sensing initiator, performing sensing measurement with a sensing responder; and after completing the sensing measurement, sending a measurement report frame to the first access point, so that the first access point is informed that the second access point has completed the sensing measurement and the results of the sensing measurement performed by the second access point, acting as the sensing initiator, with the sensing responder.

[0037] In a possible implementation, after completing the perception measurement, the second access point sends a measurement report frame to the first access point, including: the second access point sends the measurement report frame to the first access point at an interval of a preset time after completing the perception measurement interaction, thereby avoiding channel loss.

[0038] In a possible implementation, after completing the perception measurement, the second access point sending the measurement report frame to the first access point includes: after completing the perception measurement interaction, the second access point competes for a channel; and sending the measurement report frame to the first access point using a transmission opportunity obtained through the contention channel, so that the first access point learns that the second access point has completed the perception measurement and a result of the perception measurement performed by the second access point as a perception initiator and a perception responder.

[0039] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: the second access point receiving a request frame from the first access point, the request frame being used to request the second access point to perform perception measurement on behalf of the first access point; and sending a response frame, the response frame being used to instruct the second access point to accept the perception measurement request in the request frame, or the response frame being used to instruct the second access point to reject the perception measurement request in the request frame, the response frame including configuration parameters for the second access point to recommend that it perform the perception measurement itself, so that the second access point performs the perception measurement on behalf of the first access point.

[0040] In a fifth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide another method for perception measurement, which is applied to a first access point and implemented by the first access point or a component on the first access point side. The method is described below using the first access point as an example. The method includes: the first access point generating a first trigger frame, the first trigger frame being used to trigger a second access point to perform a perception measurement, the first trigger frame including second indication information, the second indication information being used to indicate a duration for the second access point to perform the perception measurement; sending the first trigger frame; the first access point indicating the duration allocated to the second access point for performing the perception measurement by sending the first trigger frame, so as to avoid interference between the perception measurement interaction in which the second access point participates and the perception measurement interactions in which other access points participate.

[0041] In a sixth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide another method for perception measurement, which is applied to a second access point and implemented by the second access point or a component on the second access point side. The method is described below using the second access point as an example. The method includes: the second access point receiving a first trigger frame, the first trigger frame being used to trigger the second access point to perform a perception measurement, the first trigger frame including second indication information, the second indication information being used to indicate a duration for the second access point to perform the perception measurement; and performing the perception measurement based on the first trigger frame, thereby preventing interference between perception measurement interactions involving the second access point and perception measurement interactions involving other access points.

[0042] In a possible implementation of the sixth aspect, the second access point performing the perception measurement based on the first trigger frame includes: the second access point starting the perception measurement at a preset duration after receiving the first trigger frame from the first access point, where the duration of the perception measurement is less than or equal to the duration for the second access point to perform the perception measurement indicated by the second indication information; or, after receiving the first trigger frame from the first access point, the second access point contends for a channel; and starting the perception measurement based on a transmission opportunity obtained through the contention for the channel, where the sum of the duration used for the contention for the channel and the duration of the perception measurement is less than or equal to the duration for the second access point to perform the perception measurement indicated by the second indication information.

[0043] The second access point begins sensing measurements after a preset interval after receiving the first trigger frame from the first access point, thereby preventing itself from losing the channel. The second access point begins sensing measurements based on transmission opportunities obtained through contention for the channel, thereby preventing interference with other access points.

[0044] In a possible implementation of the fifth aspect or the sixth aspect, the first trigger frame also includes type information, where the type information is used to indicate that the first trigger frame is a trigger frame for triggering the access point to perform perception measurement, so that the second access point can learn the type of the first trigger frame based on the type information.

[0045] In a possible implementation of the fifth aspect or the sixth aspect, the first trigger frame further includes fifth indication information, where the fifth indication information is used to indicate the start time of the second access point performing the perception measurement, so that the second access point can know the start time of its own perception measurement.

[0046] In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides another method for perception measurement, which is applied to a first access point and implemented by the first access point or a component on the first access point side. The following description will be made by taking the implementation of the first access point as an example. The method includes: the first access point receives a termination frame or a report frame, the termination frame or the report frame includes third indication information, and the third indication information is used to indicate the time required for the second access point to perform the perception measurement interaction; based on the termination frame or the report frame, the time required for the second access point to perform the perception measurement interaction is determined. In this way, the first access point can subsequently more reasonably allocate the time for the second access point to perform the perception measurement, thereby avoiding interference between the perception measurement interaction in which the second access point participates and the perception measurement interaction in which other access points participate, and saving the time occupied by the second access point to perform the perception measurement.

[0047] In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides another method for perception measurement, which is applied to a second access point and implemented by the second access point or a component on the second access point side. The method is described below using the second access point as an example. The method includes: the second access point generating a termination frame or a report frame, the termination frame or the report frame including third indication information, the third indication information being used to indicate the duration required for the second access point to perform the perception measurement interaction; and sending the termination frame or the report frame to the first access point, so that the first access point can learn the duration required for the second access point to perform the perception measurement interaction. After learning the duration required for the second access point to perform the perception measurement interaction, the first access point can more reasonably allocate time for the second access point to perform the perception measurement, so as to avoid interference between the perception measurement interaction in which the second access point participates and the perception measurement interactions in which other access points participate.

[0048] In a possible implementation, the second access point sending the termination frame or the report frame to the first access point includes: the second access point sending the report frame to the first access point after completing the perception measurement; or the second access point sending the report frame to the first access point after receiving a trigger frame for triggering the second access point to feed back the perception measurement result; or the second access point terminating the current perception measurement session and sending the termination frame to the first access point. In this way, the first access point can learn the duration required for the second access point to perform the perception measurement interaction.

[0049] In a ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device having the function of implementing the behavior in the method embodiment of the first aspect above. The communication device may be a network device, or a component of a network device (such as a processor, a chip, or a chip system), or a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the network device. For example, the communication device is a first access point. The functions of the communication device can be implemented by hardware or by hardware executing corresponding software, and the hardware or software includes one or more modules or units corresponding to the above functions. In one possible implementation, the communication device includes a transceiver module and a processing module, wherein: the transceiver module is used to receive a response frame from a second access point, the response frame including first indication information, the first indication information being used to indicate the duration required for the second access point to perform the perception measurement interaction; the processing module is used to determine the duration required for the second access point to perform the perception measurement interaction based on the response frame.

[0050] In a possible implementation, the transceiver module is further configured to send a request frame to the second access point, where the request frame is used to request the second access point to perform perception measurement.

[0051] In a possible implementation, the transceiver module is further configured to send a first trigger frame to the second access point, where the first trigger frame includes second indication information, and the second indication information is used to indicate a duration for the second access point to perform the perception measurement.

[0052] In one possible implementation, the processing module is further configured to determine, based on the second indication information, that the second access point completes the perception measurement; and the transceiver module is further configured to send a fifth trigger frame to the third access point or send a sixth trigger frame to the second access point after the processing module determines that the second access point completes the perception measurement. The fifth trigger frame is used to trigger the third access point to perform the perception measurement, and the fifth trigger frame includes indication information for indicating a duration for the third access point to perform the perception measurement. The sixth trigger frame is used to trigger the second access point to send a perception measurement report (e.g., a measurement report frame).

[0053] In one possible implementation, the transceiver module is further configured to receive a termination frame or a report frame from the second access point, where the termination frame or the report frame includes third indication information, where the third indication information is used to indicate a duration required for the second access point to perform the perception measurement interaction, and the duration required for the second access point to perform the perception measurement interaction indicated by the third indication information is different from the duration required for the second access point to perform the perception measurement interaction indicated by the first indication information; and the processing module is further configured to determine, based on the termination frame or the report frame, an updated duration required for the second access point to perform the perception measurement interaction.

[0054] In one possible implementation, the transceiver module is further used to send a second trigger frame to the second access point, where the second trigger frame includes fourth indication information, where the fourth indication information indicates a duration for the second access point to perform perception measurement, and where the duration for the second access point to perform perception measurement indicated by the fourth indication information is obtained based on the third indication information.

[0055] In a possible implementation, the transceiver module is specifically configured to send a second trigger frame to the second access point when a duration required for the second access point to perform perception measurement interaction indicated by the third indication information is longer than a duration for the second access point to perform perception measurement indicated by the second indication information, and a duration for the second access point to perform perception measurement indicated by the fourth indication information is equal to or longer than a duration required for the second access point to perform perception measurement interaction indicated by the third indication information.

[0056] In a possible implementation, the transceiver module is specifically configured to send a second trigger frame to the second access point when a difference between a duration for the second access point to perform perception measurement indicated by the second indication information and a duration required for the second access point to perform perception measurement interaction indicated by the third indication information is greater than a time threshold, and the duration for the second access point to perform perception measurement indicated by the fourth indication information is equal to or longer than a duration required for the second access point to perform perception measurement interaction indicated by the third indication information.

[0057] Possible implementations of the communication device of the ninth aspect can refer to the various possible implementations of the first aspect.

[0058] For the technical effects brought about by various possible implementation methods of the ninth aspect, reference may be made to the introduction to the technical effects of various possible implementation methods of the first aspect.

[0059] In a tenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which has the function of implementing the behavior in the embodiment of the method of the second aspect above. The communication device can be a network device, or a component of a network device (such as a processor, a chip, or a chip system, etc.), or a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the network device. For example, the communication device is a second access point. The functions of the communication device can be implemented by hardware, or by hardware executing corresponding software, and the hardware or software includes one or more modules or units corresponding to the above functions. In one possible implementation, the communication device includes a transceiver module and a processing module, wherein: the processing module is used to generate a response frame, the response frame includes first indication information, and the first indication information is used to indicate the time required for the second access point to perform the perception measurement interaction itself; the transceiver module is used to send a response frame to the first access point.

[0060] In one possible implementation, the transceiver module is further configured to receive a request frame from the first access point, where the request frame is used to request the second access point to perform perception measurement; the processing module is further configured to accept the perception measurement request in the request frame; the transceiver module is further configured to send a response frame to the first access point; or, the processing module is further configured to reject the perception measurement request in the request frame; the transceiver module is further configured to send a response frame to the first access point, where the response frame includes configuration parameters for the second access point to recommend that it perform perception measurement.

[0061] In one possible implementation, the transceiver module is further used to receive a first trigger frame from a first access point, where the first trigger frame includes second indication information, and the second indication information is used to indicate a duration for the second access point to perform perception measurement; and the processing module is further used to perform perception measurement based on the first trigger frame.

[0062] In one possible implementation, the processing module is further configured to start performing perception measurement at a preset time interval after the transceiver module receives a first trigger frame from the first access point, where the time for performing the perception measurement is less than or equal to the time for the second access point to perform the perception measurement indicated by the second indication information; or, after the transceiver module receives the first trigger frame from the first access point, contend for a channel; and start the perception measurement through a transmission opportunity obtained through the contention channel, where the sum of the time used for contention for the channel and the time for performing the perception measurement is less than or equal to the time for the second access point to perform the perception measurement indicated by the second indication information.

[0063] In a possible implementation, the transceiver module is further configured to send a termination frame or a report frame to the first access point, where the termination frame or the report frame includes third indication information, where the third indication information is used to indicate a duration required for the second access point to perform the perception measurement interaction, and where the duration required for the second access point to perform the perception measurement interaction indicated by the third indication information is different from the duration required for the second access point to perform the perception measurement interaction indicated by the first indication information.

[0064] Possible implementations of the communication device of the tenth aspect can refer to the various possible implementations of the second aspect.

[0065] For the technical effects brought about by various possible implementation methods of the tenth aspect, reference may be made to the introduction to the technical effects of various possible implementation methods of the second aspect.

[0066] In an eleventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device having the function of implementing the behavior in the method embodiment of the third aspect above. The communication device can be a network device, or a component of a network device (such as a processor, a chip, or a chip system, etc.), or a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the network device. For example, the communication device is a first access point. The functions of the communication device can be implemented by hardware, or by hardware executing corresponding software, and the hardware or software includes one or more modules or units corresponding to the above functions. In one possible implementation, the communication device includes a transceiver module and a processing module, wherein: the transceiver module is used to receive a measurement report frame from a second access point; the processing module is used to generate a third trigger frame after the transceiver module receives the measurement report frame, and the third trigger frame is used to trigger the third access point to perform perception measurement; the transceiver module is also used to send the third trigger frame to the third access point.

[0067] In one possible implementation, the transceiver module is further configured to send a request frame to the second access point, where the request frame is used to request the second access point to perform perception measurement on behalf of the first access point; and receive a response frame from the second access point, where the response frame is used to indicate that the second access point accepts the perception measurement request in the request frame, or indicates that the second access point rejects the perception measurement request in the request frame, where the response frame includes configuration parameters for the second access point to recommend that it perform the perception measurement itself.

[0068] Possible implementations of the communication device of the eleventh aspect may refer to the various possible implementations of the third aspect.

[0069] Regarding the technical effects brought about by various possible implementation methods of the eleventh aspect, reference may be made to the introduction to the technical effects of various possible implementation methods of the third aspect.

[0070] In a twelfth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which has the function of implementing the behavior in the embodiment of the method of the fourth aspect above. The communication device can be a network device, or a component of a network device (such as a processor, a chip, or a chip system, etc.), or a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the network device. For example, the communication device is a second access point. The functions of the communication device can be implemented by hardware, or by hardware executing corresponding software, and the hardware or software includes one or more modules or units corresponding to the above functions. In one possible implementation, the communication device includes a transceiver module and a processing module, wherein: the processing module is used to use the second access point as a perception initiator to perform perception measurement with the perception responder; the transceiver module is used to send a measurement report frame to the first access point after completing the perception measurement.

[0071] In a possible implementation manner, the transceiver module is specifically configured to send a measurement report frame to the first access point at an interval of a preset time after the perception measurement interaction is completed.

[0072] In a possible implementation, the processing module is further configured to compete for a channel after completing the perception measurement interaction; and the transceiver module is specifically configured to send a measurement report frame to the first access point through a transmission opportunity obtained through the competition channel.

[0073] In one possible implementation, the transceiver module is further configured to receive a request frame from the first access point, where the request frame is used to request the second access point to perform perception measurement on behalf of the first access point; and send a response frame, where the response frame is used to instruct the second access point to accept the perception measurement request in the request frame, or to instruct the second access point to reject the perception measurement request in the request frame, where the response frame includes configuration parameters for the second access point to recommend that it perform the perception measurement itself.

[0074] For possible implementations of the communication device of the twelfth aspect, reference may be made to various possible implementations of the fourth aspect.

[0075] For the technical effects brought about by various possible implementation methods of the twelfth aspect, reference may be made to the introduction to the technical effects of various possible implementation methods of the fourth aspect.

[0076] In a thirteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which has the function of implementing the behavior in the embodiment of the method of the fifth aspect above. The communication device can be a network device, or a component of a network device (such as a processor, a chip, or a chip system, etc.), or a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the network device. For example, the communication device is a first access point. The functions of the communication device can be implemented by hardware, or by hardware executing corresponding software, and the hardware or software includes one or more modules or units corresponding to the above functions. In one possible implementation, the communication device includes a transceiver module and a processing module, wherein: the processing module is used to generate a first trigger frame, the first trigger frame is used to trigger the second access point to perform perception measurement, the first trigger frame includes second indication information, and the second indication information is used to indicate the duration for the second access point to perform perception measurement; the transceiver module is used to send the first trigger frame.

[0077] For possible implementations of the communication device of the thirteenth aspect, reference may be made to various possible implementations of the fifth aspect.

[0078] For the technical effects brought about by various possible implementation methods of the thirteenth aspect, reference may be made to the introduction to the technical effects of various possible implementation methods of the fifth aspect.

[0079] In a fourteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which has the function of implementing the behavior in the embodiment of the method in the sixth aspect above. The communication device can be a network device, or a component of a network device (such as a processor, a chip, or a chip system, etc.), or a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the network device. For example, the communication device is a second access point. The functions of the communication device can be implemented by hardware, or by hardware executing corresponding software, and the hardware or software includes one or more modules or units corresponding to the above functions. In one possible implementation, the communication device includes a transceiver module and a processing module, wherein: the transceiver module is used to receive a first trigger frame, the first trigger frame is used to trigger the second access point to perform perception measurement, the first trigger frame includes second indication information, and the second indication information is used to indicate the duration for the second access point to perform perception measurement; the processing module is used to perform perception measurement based on the first trigger frame.

[0080] In one possible implementation, the processing module is further configured to start the perception measurement at a preset time interval after the transceiver module receives the first trigger frame from the first access point, and the duration of the perception measurement is less than or equal to the duration for the second access point to perform the perception measurement indicated by the second indication information; or, the processing module is further configured to compete for a channel after the transceiver module receives the first trigger frame from the first access point; the transceiver module is specifically configured to start the perception measurement through a transmission opportunity obtained through the contention channel, and the sum of the duration used for the contention channel and the duration for the perception measurement is less than or equal to the duration for the second access point to perform the perception measurement indicated by the second indication information.

[0081] In a fifteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which has the function of implementing the behavior in the embodiment of the method in the seventh aspect above. The communication device can be a network device, or a component of a network device (such as a processor, a chip, or a chip system, etc.), or a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the network device. For example, the communication device is a first access point. The functions of the communication device can be implemented by hardware, or by hardware executing corresponding software, and the hardware or software includes one or more modules or units corresponding to the above functions. In one possible implementation, the communication device includes a transceiver module and a processing module, wherein: the transceiver module is used to receive a termination frame or a report frame, the termination frame or the report frame includes third indication information, and the third indication information is used to indicate the duration required for the second access point to perform the perception measurement interaction; the processing module is used to determine the duration required for the second access point to perform the perception measurement interaction based on the termination frame or the report frame.

[0082] For possible implementations of the communication device of the fifteenth aspect, reference may be made to various possible implementations of the seventh aspect.

[0083] For the technical effects brought about by various possible implementation methods of the fifteenth aspect, reference may be made to the introduction to the technical effects of various possible implementation methods of the seventh aspect.

[0084] In a sixteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which has the function of implementing the behavior in the embodiment of the method in the eighth aspect above. The communication device can be a network device, or a component of a network device (such as a processor, a chip, or a chip system, etc.), or a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the network device. For example, the communication device is a second access point. The functions of the communication device can be implemented by hardware, or by hardware executing corresponding software, and the hardware or software includes one or more modules or units corresponding to the above functions. In one possible implementation, the communication device includes a transceiver module and a processing module, wherein: the processing module is used to generate a termination frame or a report frame, the termination frame or the report frame includes third indication information, and the third indication information is used to indicate the time required for the second access point itself to perform the perception measurement interaction; the transceiver module is used to send a termination frame or a report frame to the first access point.

[0085] In one possible implementation, the transceiver module is specifically configured to send a report frame to the first access point after completing the perception measurement; or, after receiving a trigger frame for triggering the second access point to feedback the perception measurement result, send a report frame to the first access point; or, after the processing module terminates the current perception measurement session, send a termination frame to the first access point.

[0086] For possible implementations of the communication device of the sixteenth aspect, reference may be made to various possible implementations of the eighth aspect.

[0087] For the technical effects brought about by various possible implementation methods of the sixteenth aspect, reference may be made to the introduction to the technical effects of various possible implementation methods of the eighth aspect.

[0088] In the seventeenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides another communication device, which includes one or more processors, and the one or more processors are used to process data and / or signaling so that the method of any one of the above-mentioned aspects one to eight is implemented.

[0089] Optionally, the communication device further includes a memory storing a computer program or instruction. When the computer program or instruction is executed by the processor, the communication device performs the method of any one of the first to eighth aspects described above. Exemplarily, the communication device may be a chip, the processor may be a processing unit in the chip, and the memory may be a random access memory or cache in the chip.

[0090] In the embodiment of the present application, during the execution of the above method, the process of sending information (or signal) in the above method can be understood as the process of outputting information based on the computer program or instructions of the processor. When outputting information, the processor outputs the information to the transceiver so that it can be transmitted by the transceiver. After being output by the processor, the information may undergo other processing before reaching the transceiver. Similarly, when the processor receives input information, the transceiver receives the information and inputs it into the processor. Furthermore, after the transceiver receives the information, the information may undergo other processing before being input into the processor.

[0091] For operations such as sending and / or receiving involved by the processor, unless otherwise specified, or unless they conflict with their actual functions or internal logic in the relevant description, they can be generally understood as computer programs or instruction outputs based on the processor.

[0092] During implementation, the processor may be a processor specifically configured to execute these methods, or may be a processor that executes computer programs or instructions in a memory to execute these methods, such as a general-purpose processor. For example, the processor may also be configured to execute a program stored in a memory. When the program is executed, the communication device performs the method described in the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect.

[0093] In a possible implementation, the memory is located outside the communication device. In a possible implementation, the memory is located inside the communication device.

[0094] In a possible implementation, the processor and the memory may also be integrated into one device, that is, the processor and the memory may also be integrated together.

[0095] In a possible implementation, the communication device further includes a transceiver, and the transceiver is used to receive signals or send signals.

[0096] In the eighteenth aspect, the present application provides another communication device, which includes a processing circuit and an interface circuit, the interface circuit is used to obtain data or output data; the processing circuit is used to execute the method of any one of the first to eighth aspects above.

[0097] In the nineteenth aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores a computer program. When the computer program is executed, it enables the computer to execute the method of any one of the first to eighth aspects mentioned above.

[0098] In the twentieth aspect, the present application provides a computer program product, which includes a computer program, and when the computer program is executed, it enables the computer to perform the method of any one of the first to eighth aspects above.

[0099] In the twenty-first aspect, the present application provides a chip comprising a communication interface and a processor; the communication interface is used for transmitting and receiving signals of the chip; the processor is used for executing computer programs or instructions so that the chip executes a method as in any one of the first to eighth aspects above.

[0100] In aspect 22, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication system, comprising the communication device described in the above aspect 9 or any possible implementation of the above aspect, and the communication device described in the above aspect 10 or any possible implementation of the above aspect.

[0101] In aspect 23, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication system, comprising the communication device described in aspect 11 or any possible implementation of aspect 11, and the communication device described in aspect 12 or any possible implementation of aspect 12.

[0102] In aspect 24, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication system, comprising the communication device described in aspect 13 or any possible implementation of aspect 13, and the communication device described in aspect 14 or any possible implementation of aspect 14.

[0103] In aspect 25, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication system, comprising the communication device described in aspect 15 or any possible implementation of aspect 15, and the communication device described in aspect 16 or any possible implementation of aspect 16. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0104] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of an application scenario applicable to an embodiment of the present application;

[0105] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of an SBP process provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0106] FIG3 shows a schematic diagram of a scenario in which two adjacent BSSs interfere with each other;

[0107] FIG4 is a flow chart of a method for sensing measurement provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0108] FIG5 is an example of a frame structure of a trigger frame provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0109] FIG6 is a flow chart of another method for sensing measurement provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0110] FIG7 is a flow chart of another method for sensing measurement provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0111] FIG8 is a flow chart of another method for sensing measurement provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0112] FIG9 is a flow chart of another method for sensing measurement provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0113] FIG10 is a flow chart of another method for sensing measurement provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0114] FIG11 is a schematic block diagram of an apparatus 10 provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0115] FIG12 is a schematic diagram of another device 20 provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0116] FIG13 is a schematic diagram of a chip system 30 provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0117] The terms "first", "second", and various numerals (for example, "#1", "#2", etc.) in the specification, claims, and drawings of the present application are only used to distinguish different objects, rather than for describing a specific order. It will be appreciated that the various numerals involved in the embodiments of the present application are only for the convenience of describing the distinctions performed, and are not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments of the present application. The size of the sequence number of each process below does not mean the order of execution, and the execution order of each process should be determined by its function and inherent logic, and should not constitute any limitation to the implementation process of the embodiment of the present application. In addition, the terms "including" and "having" and any deformation thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions. For example, a process, method, system, product, or equipment, etc. comprising a series of steps or units, is not limited to the steps or units listed, but optionally also includes steps or units that are not listed, or optionally also includes other steps or units inherent to these processes, methods, products, or equipment, etc.

[0118] The "embodiment" mentioned in this document means that the specific features, structures or characteristics described in conjunction with the embodiment may be included in at least one embodiment of the present application. The appearance of this phrase in various places in the specification does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, nor is it an independent or alternative embodiment that is mutually exclusive with other embodiments. It can be understood explicitly and implicitly by those skilled in the art that the embodiments described herein can be combined with other embodiments. Some of the steps in the embodiments described herein can be used as an independent embodiment. In this application, the naming of messages (frames) is only used to distinguish different messages (frames) and should not be understood as a limitation. In other words, the name of any message or frame in this application can be replaced with other names, and this application is not limited.

[0119] The terms used in the following embodiments of the present application are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the present application. As used in the specification of the present application and the appended claims, the singular expressions "one", "a kind of", "said", "above", "the" and "this" are intended to also include plural expressions, unless there is a clear contrary indication in the context. It should also be understood that the term "and / or" used in the present application refers to and includes any or all possible combinations of one or more listed items. For example, "A and / or B" can mean: only A exists, only B exists, and A and B exist at the same time, where A and B can be singular or plural. The term "multiple" used in the present application refers to two or more. In the textual description of the present application, the character " / " generally indicates that the objects associated before and after are in an "or" relationship.

[0120] It is understood that in each embodiment of the present application, "A corresponds to B" means that there is a corresponding relationship between A and B, and B can be determined according to A. However, it should also be understood that determining (or generating) B according to (or based on) A does not mean that B is determined (or generated) only according to (or based on) A, and B can also be determined (or generated) according to (or based on) A and / or other information.

[0121] It should be understood that, in this application, indication includes direct indication (also known as explicit indication) and implicit indication. Direct indication of information A refers to including information A; implicit indication of information A refers to indicating information A through the correspondence between information A and information B and the direct indication of information B. The correspondence between information A and information B can be predefined, pre-stored, pre-burned, or pre-configured.

[0122] It should be understood that, in this application, information C is used to determine information D, which includes both information D being determined solely based on information C and information D being determined based on information C and other information. Furthermore, information C can also be used to determine information D indirectly, for example, where information D is determined based on information E, and information E is determined based on information C.

[0123] In the embodiments of this application, words such as "exemplary" or "for example" are used to indicate examples, illustrations, or descriptions. Any embodiment or design described in this application as "exemplary" or "for example" should not be construed as being preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or designs. Rather, the use of words such as "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present the relevant concepts in a concrete manner.

[0124] In addition, in each embodiment of the present application, "network element A sends information A to network element B" can be understood as the destination end of the information A or the intermediate network element in the transmission path between the destination end and the network element B, which may include directly or indirectly sending information to network element B. "Network element B receives information A from network element A" can be understood as the source end of the information A or the intermediate network element in the transmission path between the source end and the network element A, which may include directly or indirectly receiving information from network element A. The information may be processed as necessary between the source end and the destination end of the information transmission, such as format changes, but the destination end can understand the valid information from the source end. Similar expressions in this application can be understood similarly and will not be elaborated here.

[0125] In some of the drawings relating to the message (frame) structure in the embodiments of this application, examples of the lengths of fields in the message are provided. It should be understood that the lengths of the fields shown in the drawings of the embodiments of this application are only examples. In actual applications, the lengths of any field may vary. In the drawings relating to the message (frame) structure in the embodiments of this application, the positions of the fields are not limited.

[0126] In some of the drawings related to the message structure in the embodiments of this application, examples of the names of the fields in the message are given. It should be understood that the names of the fields shown in the drawings of the embodiments of this application are only examples, and in actual applications, the names of any field may change.

[0127] In the embodiments of the present application, the drawings involving the message structure show that some of the lengths of fields in the message are 0 or variable, indicating that the field is an optional field. That is, when the field is not included in the message, the length of the field is 0. If the length of the field is variable, it indicates that the length of the field is uncertain. In the actual design process, the specific length of the field can be indicated by other indication information, or the transceiver can negotiate the length of the field in advance, or the length of the field is predefined, or the receiving end can determine the length of the field based on other auxiliary information when receiving the message carrying the field, and parse the message. This application does not impose any restrictions on the method for determining the specific length of the variable-length field. Reference can be made to the description of the length of the variable field in the SBP request frame in the current related art, which will not be repeated here. The length of the variable-length field involved in the message will not be repeated below.

[0128] The technical solution in this application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0129] The technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application can be applicable to wireless local area network (WLAN) scenarios, for example, supporting Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 related standards, such as 802.11a / b / g standards, 802.11n standards, 802.11ac standards, 802.11ax standards, 802.11be standards (Wi-Fi 7), also known as extremely high throughput (EHT), 802.11bn standards (Wi-Fi 8) or Wi-Fi 8 next-generation standards, etc., and also include 802.11ad, 802.11ay standards, etc., and can also be applied to wireless personal area network systems based on ultra-wide band (UWB), such as supporting the 802.15 series standards, and can also be applied to sensing systems, such as supporting the 802.11bf series standards, and can also be applied to support Wi-Fi artificial intelligence (AI). WLAN systems that support millimeter wave (mmWave) or wireless LAN systems that support millimeter wave (MMWave). The 802.11n standard is called high throughput (HT), the 802.11ac standard is called very high throughput (VHT), the 802.11ax standard is called high efficiency (HE), and the 802.11be standard is called extremely high throughput (EHT). 802.11bf includes two major standards: low-frequency (e.g., sub7 GHz) and high-frequency (e.g., 60 GHz). The implementation of sub7 GHz mainly relies on 802.11ac, 802.11ax, 802.11be, and next-generation standards. The implementation of 60 GHz mainly relies on 802.11ad, 802.11ay, integrated mmWave, and next-generation standards. 802.11ad may also be called a directional multi-gigabit (DMG) standard, and 802.11ay may also be called an enhanced directional multi-gigabit (EDMG) standard.

[0130] The embodiments of the present application are primarily described using the deployment of a WLAN network, particularly a network using the IEEE 802.11 system standard, as an example. Those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that the various aspects of the embodiments of the present application can be extended to other networks using various standards or protocols, such as high-performance wireless local area networks (HIPERLANs), wireless wide area networks (WWANs), wireless personal area networks (WPANs), or other networks now known or developed later. Therefore, regardless of the coverage area and wireless access protocol used, the various aspects provided in the embodiments of the present application can be applied to any suitable wireless network.

[0131] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can also be applied to various communication systems, such as: WLAN communication system, wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) system, long term evolution (LTE) system, LTE frequency division duplex (FDD) system, LTE time division duplex (TDD), universal mobile telecommunication system (UMTS), world wide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX) communication system, fifth generation (5G) system or new radio (NR), sixth generation (6G) system, Internet of Things (IoT) network or vehicle to x (V2X), etc.

[0132] The above-mentioned communication system applicable to the present application is only an example, and the communication system applicable to the present application is not limited to this. It is described uniformly here and will not be repeated below.

[0133] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of an application scenario applicable to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 1, the communication method provided in the present application is applicable to a scenario in which an access point (AP) (such as AP1 as shown in Figure 1) requests to establish multi-AP perception with multiple APs (such as AP2 and AP3 as shown in Figure 1), that is, a scenario in which an AP calls (or requests, coordinates, etc.) multiple APs to perform trigger-based (TB) type perception measurements. In the present application, in order to distinguish between the AP that calls other APs and the called AP, the AP that calls other APs to perform a certain operation (such as performing perception measurements) can be called the initiating AP, and the called AP can be called the responding AP. As shown in Figure 1, AP1 acts as the initiating AP and calls AP2 and AP3 to perform perception measurements on behalf of AP1; AP2 and AP3 are responding APs, and they respectively find appropriate sensing responders (sensing responders) according to AP1's measurement requirements to establish a perception measurement session (sensing measurements session) and perform perception measurements; after completing their respective perception measurements, AP2 and AP3 will send the measurement results to AP1. In Figure 1, the bidirectional arrows between the AP and the non-access point station (non-AP STA) represent the perception measurement session between the AP and the perception responder. The bidirectional arrows between the initiating AP and the responding AP show the operation of establishing multi-AP perception between the initiating AP and the responding AP, that is, AP1 calls AP2 and AP3 to perform perception measurement on behalf of AP1; the unidirectional arrows from the responding AP to the initiating AP show that the responding APs (i.e., AP2 and AP3) send the measurement results to the initiating AP (i.e., AP1).

[0134] Stations can be categorized as non-AP STAs and access point-type stations. For ease of description, this document refers to access point-type stations as access points (APs), and non-access point-type stations as stations (STAs) or non-AP stations. Hereinafter, stations refer to non-AP stations. Specifically, the technical solution of this application is applicable to data communication between APs (e.g., AP1 calls AP2 and AP3 on behalf of AP1 to perform perception measurements), as well as data communication between non-AP STAs and APs (e.g., non-AP STA2 calls AP2 and AP3 on behalf of AP1 to perform perception measurements).

[0135] Among them, the access point can be a node for terminals (for example, mobile phones) to access wired (or wireless) networks. It is mainly deployed in homes, inside buildings and inside campuses, with a typical coverage radius of tens to hundreds of meters. Of course, access points can also be deployed outdoors. The access point is equivalent to a bridge connecting the wired network and the wireless network. Its main function is to connect the clients in each wireless network together and then connect the wireless network to the Ethernet. An access point is a device with wireless communication capabilities that supports communication using the WLAN protocol and has the function of communicating with other devices in the WLAN network (such as sites or other access points). Of course, the access point can also have the function of communicating with other devices.

[0136] An access point can be a complete device or a chip or processing system installed in a complete device. Devices equipped with these chips or processing systems can implement the methods and functions of the embodiments of the present application under the control of the chip or processing system (i.e., AP). The AP in the embodiments of the present application is a device that provides services to a site, and can, for example, support one or more standards of the IEEE 802.11 series, such as 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, 802.11ac, 802.11ax, 802.11be, 802.11ad, 802.11ay, and 802.11bf.

[0137] Specifically, the access point can be a terminal or network device with a Wi-Fi chip, and the network device can be a server, a router, a switch, a bridge, a computer, a mobile phone, a relay station, a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, a network device in a 5G network, a network device in a 6G network, or a network device in a public land mobile network (PLMN), etc., and the embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto. Of course, the access point can also be a chip and processing system in these various forms of network devices, so as to implement the methods and functions of the embodiments of the present application. The access point can be a device that supports the Wi-Fi standard. For example, the access point can also support one or more standards of the IEEE 802.11 series such as 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, 802.11ac, 802.11ax, 802.11be, 802.11ad, 802.11ay, 802.11bf, etc.

[0138] A station is a device with wireless communication capabilities, supports communication using the WLAN protocol, and has the ability to communicate with other stations or access points in a WLAN network. For example, a STA is any communication device that allows a user to communicate with an AP and, in turn, with a WLAN. A station can be a complete device, or a chip or processing system installed in a complete device. Devices equipped with these chips or processing systems can implement the methods and functions of the embodiments of the present application under the control of the chip or processing system (i.e., station). A station can be a wireless communication chip, a wireless sensor, or a wireless communication terminal, and can also be referred to as a user, user equipment (UE), an access terminal, a user unit, a user station, a mobile station, a mobile station, a remote station, a remote terminal, a mobile device, a user terminal, a terminal, a wireless communication device, a user agent, or a user device.

[0139] The sites may include tags / smart tags, mobile phones, mobile stations (MS), tablet computers (pads), computers with wireless transceiver functions (such as laptops), virtual reality (VR) devices, augmented reality (AR) devices, wireless terminals in industrial control, wireless terminals in self-driving, wireless terminals in remote medical, wireless terminals in smart grids, wireless terminals in transportation safety, wireless terminals in smart cities, wireless terminals in smart homes, subscriber units, cellular phones, cordless phones, session initiation protocol (SIP) phones, wireless local loop (WLL) stations, wireless data cards, personal digital assistants (PDAs), tablet computers, laptop computers, machine type communication (MTC) terminals, etc. The stations may include various handheld devices with wireless communication capabilities, vehicle-mounted devices, wearable devices, computing devices, or other processing devices connected to a wireless modem, terminal devices in a 5G network, terminal devices in a 6G network, or terminal devices in a PLMN, etc., and the embodiments of the present application are not limited to this. Non-AP stations may be devices that support WLAN standards. For example, non-AP stations may support one or more standards in the IEEE 802.11 series, such as 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, 802.11ac, 802.11ax, 802.11be, 802.11ad, 802.11ay, 802.11bf, etc.

[0140] The above-mentioned AP or site may include a transmitter, a receiver, a memory, a processor, etc., wherein the transmitter and the receiver are used for sending and receiving packet structures respectively, the memory is used to store signaling information and store pre-agreed preset values, etc., and the processor is used to parse signaling information, process related data, etc.

[0141] In order to facilitate understanding of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, some terms or concepts that may be involved in the embodiments of the present application are first briefly described.

[0142] 1. Sensing technology: WLAN sensing is the use of received wireless signals by devices with WLAN sensing capabilities in a given environment to determine the characteristics of a predetermined target (such as an object, animal, or person). These characteristics include the target's distance, location, speed, movement, and behavior. The target can include one or more of an object, a person, or an animal. The environment can include one or more of a room, a house, a vehicle, or a business. Sensing technology can fully utilize existing WLAN network resources without requiring significant costs. In the densely deployed WLANs of the future, there will be many STAs within the coverage area of ​​an AP. The AP can perform reasonable resource scheduling for each STA to improve system throughput and robustness.

[0143] IEEE 802.11bf is an IEEE standard for wireless sensing. It specifies sensing protocols for the Sub-7 GHz and 60 GHz bands. According to the protocol, a WLAN sensing process for the Sub-7 GHz band consists of the following four phases (the 60 GHz band uses a similar sensing process):

[0144] 1) Sensing capabilities exchange: The sensing initiator and the sensing responder exchange their respective sensing capabilities information.

[0145] 2) Sensing measurement session establishment: The sensing initiator and the sensing responder negotiate the configuration parameters for sensing measurements, such as the role of the sensing responder (i.e., sensing sender or sensing receiver), the bandwidth of the null data packet (NDP), the time window and period for measurement, etc.

[0146] 3) Sensing measurement exchange: When sensing measurement occurs, the sensing transmitter sends an NDP to the sensing receiver, which performs measurements and calculates the channel state information (CSI) based on the NDP. The sensing measurement results need to be fed back to the sensing initiator. At this stage, the protocol defines two types of sensing measurements: trigger-based (TB) and non-trigger-based (non-TB). Trigger-based: The AP initiates a sensing measurement process as the sensing initiator, and one or more non-AP STAs participate in the sensing measurement process as sensing responders. Non-trigger-based: The non-AP STA initiates a sensing measurement process as the sensing initiator, and the AP participates in the sensing measurement process as the sensing responder.

[0147] 4) Sensing measurement session termination: The sensing initiator or the sensing responder terminates one or more sensing measurement sessions.

[0148] This application primarily relates to sensing by proxy (SBP) technology. The IEEE 802.11bf protocol provides a sensing framework based on SBP. Proxy sensing technology involves six roles: an SBP initiator, an SBP responder, a sensing initiator, a sensing responder, a sensing transmitter, and a sensing receiver. It should be understood that each of the six roles mentioned above can be implemented by a STA or an AP, as long as the functions of the corresponding role are implemented. This application does not impose any restrictions on this. For example, the SBP initiator mentioned above can be an AP or a STA. Specifically, a sensing initiator refers to a device that initiates a sensing process (or sensing behavior), such as an AP. A sensing responder refers to a device that participates in a sensing process initiated by a sensing initiator, such as a station. A sensing transmitter refers to a device that sends a physical protocol data unit (PPDU) for sensing measurement within the sensing process. A sensing receiver is a device that receives PPDUs sent by a sensing transmitter and performs sensing measurements during the sensing process. A proxy sensing initiator is a device that requests a proxy sensing responder to initiate sensing on its behalf. A proxy sensing responder is a device that initiates sensing on behalf of the proxy sensing initiator. The proxy sensing responder is also a sensing initiator.

[0149] An existing SBP solution is that a non-AP STA can request an AP to perform WLAN perception and have the AP feed back the perception measurement results to itself. In other words, a non-AP STA can request an AP to perform WLAN perception on its behalf and have the AP feed back the perception measurement results to itself. The non-AP STA that initiates SBP is called the SBP initiator, and the AP that participates in the SBP process as a proxy is called the SBP responder. At the same time, the SBP responder is also the perception initiator in the perception process. A non-AP STA can establish multiple SBPs with one AP, or establish one or more SBPs with different APs. Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of an SBP process provided in an embodiment of the present application. Referring to Figure 2, an SBP process is roughly divided into the following stages:

[0150] 1) SBP setup: The SBP initiator (non-AP STA1 in Figure 2) sends an SBP request frame to the AP (i.e., the SBP responder) to establish an SBP. The SBP initiator also sets SBP parameters, WLAN perception measurement parameters, and the window for receiving SBP reports. The AP responds with an SBP response frame to indicate acceptance or rejection of the SBP request.

[0151] 2) The SBP responder and the sensing responder perform WLAN sensing, including the following steps a) and b):

[0152] a) Sensing Measurement Session Establishment: The AP, acting as the sensing initiator, initiates a sensing measurement process and sets parameters and measurement windows that comply with the SBP request for the sensing responder (see the dotted box in Figure 2). The sensing measurement session process can be implemented as follows: The sensing initiator (i.e., the SBP responder) sends a sensing measurement request frame to the sensing responder to initiate the establishment of a sensing measurement session and set the corresponding sensing measurement parameters. After receiving the sensing measurement establishment request frame, the sensing responder sends a sensing measurement response frame to indicate acceptance or rejection of the sensing measurement request. The sensing measurement request frame is used for parameter negotiation between the sensing initiator and the sensing responder, and the sensing measurement response frame is used to confirm the parameter negotiation results between the sensing initiator and the sensing responder.

[0153] b) Sensing Measurement Exchange: After the sensing responder accepts the sensing measurement request from the AP (sensing initiator), the AP initiates a TB-type sensing measurement and collects the sensing measurement results. Referring to Figure 2, the sensing measurement exchange process may be implemented as follows: The AP sends a sensing responder to sensing initiator sounding trigger frame (SR2SI sounding trigger frame) to the sensing responder, triggering the sensing responder to send a sensing responder to sensing initiator NDP (SR2SI NDP). The AP then performs sensing measurements based on the received SR2SI NDP and obtains the sensing measurement results.

[0154] 3) SBP reporting: The SBP responder sends an SBP reporting frame to the SBP initiator to feed back the sensing measurement results.

[0155] 4) SBP termination: Terminates an SBP process. The SBP initiator or the SBP responder can terminate the SBP by sending an SBP termination frame.

[0156] 2. Basic Service Set (BSS) and Overlap Basic Service Set (OBSS): The BSS is the fundamental component of a WLAN, and communication within the BSS is achieved through the AP. The AP manages and controls a group of wireless devices (e.g., stations). Stations do not communicate directly with each other, but rather with the AP, which forwards frames (or messages) to the target station. For example, station 1 can send a frame to station 2 (station 1's target station) by sending the frame to the AP, which then forwards the frame to station 2. The AP announces its presence by broadcasting a service set identifier (SSID). Any device that wishes to use the WLAN must first send an association request to the AP. After receiving the station's association request, the AP can provide communication services to the station. The BSS is uniquely identified by a basic service set identifier (BSSID), which is the media access control (MAC) address of the AP within the BSS. Within a BSS, all stations associated with an AP maintain a local clock / timer (a local TSF timer) that is always synchronized with the AP's clock. The AP periodically broadcasts its own clock (TSF) in beacon frames to facilitate station clock synchronization.

[0157] Overlapping Basic Service Sets (OBSS) refer to two or more adjacent BSSs operating on the same transmission channel. Stations within one BSS can receive frames from adjacent BSSs. OBSS can cause mutual interference between different BSSs, reducing the network performance of the WLAN. Figure 3 shows a schematic diagram of a scenario in which two adjacent BSSs interfere with each other. Referring to Figure 3, BSS1 and BSS2 are adjacent, STA11 and STA12 are associated with AP1, and STA21 and STA22 are associated with AP2. When AP1 and AP2 are located relatively close, AP1's transmission will be interfered with by AP2 and STA21. STA12 in the overlapping area will also receive greater interference from BSS2, affecting communication quality. Since STA22 is located far away from AP1, AP1 may not receive STA22's signal. For AP1, STA22 may be a hidden node. When STA22 is transmitting, AP1 may think the channel is idle. In addition, when AP1 and AP2 operate on the same channel, both AP1 and AP2 need to obtain a transmission opportunity (TXOP) through channel competition before they can communicate with their associated stations. Compared with the case where different APs operate on different channels, network latency is significantly increased.

[0158] As described in the background section, in the current 11bf standard, the SBP initiator can only be a non-AP STA, and the AP cannot initiate an SBP process to call other APs to perform trigger-based (TB) type perception measurements. After Wi-Fi 8 introduces the AP collaboration mechanism in the future, the realization of perception services through coordination between APs has great potential commercial value, which is not currently supported by existing technologies. For example, in the scenario shown in Figure 3, for AP1, STA22 may be a hidden node, that is, the AP itself may not be able to perceive STA22; if AP1 calls AP2 to perform perception measurements, it can perceive the existence of STA22 based on the perception measurement results fed back by AP2, thereby avoiding interference with STA22 when STA22 transmits. The present application provides a solution for AP to initiate an SBP process to call other APs to perform perception measurements, and perception services can be realized through coordination between APs.

[0159] The technical solution provided by the present application is applicable to the scenario where an AP calls one or more APs to perform perception measurement. The following introduces a technical solution provided by the present application in conjunction with Figure 4. The idea of ​​the technical solution is: the responding AP informs the initiating AP of the time required for itself (the responding AP) to perform the perception measurement interaction; the initiating AP allocates time for the responding AP to perform the perception measurement interaction based on the time required for the responding AP to perform the perception measurement interaction; the problem of how to reasonably allocate time for the perception measurement to the responding AP can be solved. The method flow of the initiating AP (for example, the first access point) calling multiple responding APs (for example, the second access point) to perform perception measurement is similar to the method flow of calling one responding AP to perform perception measurement. Figure 4 takes the first access point (initiating AP) calling the second access point (a responding AP) to perform perception measurement as an example to describe the method flow of the initiating AP calling one or more responding APs to perform perception measurement.

[0160] FIG4 is a flow chart of a method for sensing measurement provided by an embodiment of the present application. The method for sensing measurement is applied to a first access point and can be implemented by the first access point or a component in the first access point. The first access point is used as an example below. The method for sensing measurement is applied to a second access point and can be implemented by the second access point or a component in the second access point. The second access point is used as an example below. As shown in FIG4 , the method includes:

[0161] 401. A first access point sends a request frame to a second access point.

[0162] Correspondingly, the second access point (referred to as AP2 in this article) receives a request frame from the first access point (referred to as AP1 in this article). The first access point may be an initiating AP, and the second access point may be a responding AP. The request frame is used to request the second access point to perform sensing measurements. Exemplarily, the request frame is used to request the second access point to perform sensing measurements on behalf of the first access point. The request frame may be named a multi-AP sensing measurement request frame (multi-AP sensing measurement request frame), or a multi-AP sensing proxy request frame (multi-AP SBP request frame), or other names, which are not limited in this application. The request frame may carry a multi-AP sensing measurement parameter (multi-AP sensing measurement parameters element), which provides configuration parameters for the sensing measurement session of the second access point, such as the number of sensing responders of the second access point, the role, the bandwidth, the number of antennas of the sensing receiving end, the number of spatial streams, and the like.

[0163] In one possible implementation, the first access point may further allocate a perception measurement window to the second access point in the request frame. The perception measurement window may be periodic. The perception measurement window represents a time period during which the second access point can perform multiple perception measurements with its own perception responder. If the first access point sets a perception measurement window for the second access point (this feature may be optional), the start time for the second access point to perform perception measurements will not be earlier than the start time of the window, and the end time for the second access point to perform perception measurements cannot be later than the end time of the window. In other words, the perception measurements performed by the second access point can only occur within the window. Table 1 shows an example of the frame structure of a request frame.

[0164] Table 1

[0165] In Table 1 provided in an embodiment of the present application, the value below the field indicates the number of bytes occupied by the field; when the value below the field is variable, it indicates that the length of the field is variable; when the value below the field is 0 or variable, it indicates that the field is optional and the length of the field is variable; when the value below the field is 0 or a value (for example, 1), it indicates that the field is optional, and the value below the field indicates the number of bytes occupied by the field. As shown in Table 1, the request frame includes: category, public action / protected dual public action, dialog token, multi-AP measurements session ID indication, multi-AP sensing measurement parameters element, and multi-AP availability window element. The category field in the embodiment of the present application can be used to indicate the type of frame (message), that is, to distinguish different types of action frames. The public function / protected dual public function field in the embodiment of the present application can be used to indicate the function of the frame (message). The conversation token in the embodiment of the present application can be used to identify the conversation, for example, a pair of corresponding requests and responses can have the same conversation token. The multi-AP measurement session ID indication field is used to indicate the identifier (ID) of the perception measurement session. For example, the field carries the identifier assigned by the first access point to the multi-AP perception measurement session established with the second access point, which is convenient for marking and management. The multi-AP perception measurement parameter element can carry the configuration parameters used by the second access point to perform perception measurements. The multi-AP availability window element can reuse the response station (RSTA) availability window element (RSTA availability window element) in the existing protocol (11bf) to indicate the time window assigned by the first access point to the second access point for performing perception measurements, that is, the perception measurement window.

[0166] 402. The second access point sends a response frame to the first access point.

[0167] Accordingly, the first access point receives a response frame from the second access point. In one possible implementation, after receiving the request frame from the first access point, the second access point may reply with a response frame in response to the request frame. The response frame may include first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate the duration required for the second access point to perform the sensing measurement interaction. In one possible implementation, the method flow in FIG4 does not include step 401. The second access point sends a response frame to the first access point when determining that its required sensing measurement interaction duration has changed. For example, the second access point sends a response frame to the first access point when its required sensing measurement interaction duration changes due to an increase or decrease in the number of associated stations. In this implementation, the response frame may be named another frame, such as an inquiry frame or an update frame. The second access point sending the response frame to the first access point may inform the first access point of the duration required for the sensing measurement interaction. The response frame may be named a multi-AP sensing measurement response frame, a multi-AP SBP response frame, or other names, which are not limited in this application. In the response frame, the second access point will indicate whether it accepts or rejects the perception measurement request of the first access point (which may be referred to as the perception request). In other words, the response frame may indicate that the second access point accepts or rejects the perception measurement request of the first access point. If the second access point accepts the perception request of the first access point, the response frame may not carry multi-AP perception measurement parameters or the perception measurement window. If the second access point rejects the request of the first access point, the second access point may provide recommended configuration parameters in the response frame, such as multi-AP perception measurement parameters and the perception measurement window, and the first access point may send a new request frame according to the recommended parameters of the second access point. Table 2 shows a possible example of the frame structure of the response frame.

[0168] Table 2

[0169] The meanings of the fields in Table 2 can refer to the meanings of the fields in Table 1 and are not described in detail here. As shown in Table 2, the multi-AP sensing measurement parameter element, the multi-AP availability window element, and the requested sensing measurement exchange duration in the response frame are all optional. The requested sensing measurement interaction duration field may indicate the duration required for the second access point to perform the sensing measurement interaction. In other words, the requested sensing measurement interaction duration field may indicate the duration required for the second access point to perform the sensing measurement interaction. The second access point (responding AP) may provide its own estimated time T required for the sensing measurement interaction in the response frame and carry it in the requested sensing measurement interaction duration field. In other words, the time T given by the second access point in the requested sensing measurement interaction duration field is determined by the second access point itself. For example, the time T required for the sensing measurement interaction estimated by the second access point is the maximum duration that the second access point estimates it can complete a sensing measurement interaction. In one possible implementation, the value represented by some or all bits in the requested sensing measurement interaction duration field represents the duration T estimated by the second access point for itself to perform the sensing measurement interaction. This field may be expressed in units of 100 microseconds. The first indication information may include the requested sensing measurement interaction duration field (which may be named the sensing measurement interaction duration field). An example of the first indication information is the requested sensing measurement interaction duration field carried in the response frame.

[0170] In one possible implementation, the status code in the response frame has three values: success (SUCCESS), request rejection (REQUEST_DECLINED), and rejection with suggested changes (REJECTED_WITH_SUGGESTED_CHANGES). For example, when the second access point indicates acceptance of the first access point's perception request, the value of the status code field in the response frame is set to SUCCESS, and the response frame sent by the second access point includes the requested perception measurement interaction duration field. When the second access point indicates rejection of the first access point's perception request and does not provide recommended parameters, the value of the status code field in the response frame is set to REQUEST_DECLINED, and the response frame does not include the requested perception measurement interaction duration field. When the second access point indicates rejection of the first access point's perception request but provides recommended parameters, that is, when the value of the status code field in the response frame is set to REJECTED_WITH_SUGGESTED_CHANGES, the response frame may include the requested perception measurement interaction duration field. An example of step 402 is as follows: the second access point accepts the perception measurement request in the request frame and sends a response frame to the first access point. The response frame includes first indication information, and the value of the status code field in the response frame is set to SUCCESS. Another example of step 402 is as follows: the second access point rejects the perception measurement request in the request frame and sends a response frame to the first access point. The response frame includes the first indication information and configuration parameters for the second access point to recommend that it perform perception measurements. The value of the status code field in the response frame is set to REJECTED_WITH_SUGGESTED_CHANGES.

[0171] In one possible implementation, the response frame also includes the perception measurement window of its own proposed by the second access point. That is, the second access point can provide its own proposed perception measurement window in the response frame. Exemplarily, the multi-AP availability window element field in the response frame carries the perception measurement window of its own proposed by the second access point, and the multi-AP availability window element can reuse the RSTA availability window element in the existing protocol (11bf). In other words, the perception measurement window proposed by the second access point in the response frame is carried in the multi-AP availability window element field. In one possible implementation, the response frame can be any of the following: the value of the status code field in the response frame is set to REJECTED_WITH_SUGGESTED_CHANGES, and the response frame contains the multi-AP availability window element field; the value of the status code field in the response frame is set to SUCCESS, and the response frame does not contain the multi-AP availability window element; the value of the status code field in the response frame is set to REQUEST_DECLINED, and the response frame does not contain the multi-AP availability window element. The second access point can decide whether to carry the multi-AP availability window element in the response frame based on whether to accept the perception measurement request of the request frame.

[0172] 403. The first access point determines, based on the response frame, a time duration required for the second access point to perform sensing measurement interaction.

[0173] In one possible implementation, the first access point uses the numerical value represented by some or all of the bits in the requested perception measurement interaction duration field (contained in the response frame) as the duration T estimated by the second access point to perform the perception measurement interaction, that is, the numerical value represents the time T (for example, in microseconds).

[0174] 404. The first access point sends a first trigger frame to the second access point.

[0175] Accordingly, the second access point receives a first trigger frame from the first access point. The first trigger frame can be named a multi-AP sensing initialization trigger frame (multi-AP sensing initialization trigger frame), or can be named otherwise, which is not limited here. The first trigger frame includes second indication information, and the second indication information is used to indicate a duration for the second access point to perform sensing measurements. The duration is not shorter than the duration required for the second access point to perform sensing measurement interaction indicated by the first indication information in the response frame. The duration for the second access point to perform sensing measurements indicated by the second indication information can be a duration allocated by the first access point to the second access point for performing sensing measurements. The second access point can determine its own duration for performing sensing measurements based on the second indication information. Alternatively, the second indication information is used to indicate an end time for the second access point to perform sensing measurements. In this application, unless otherwise specified, the end time for the second access point to perform sensing measurements refers to the latest time point at which the second access point should end the sensing measurements, rather than the time point at which the second access point actually ends the sensing measurements. The second access point can determine its own end time for performing sensing measurements based on the second indication information. The first access point may allocate a duration for performing the perception measurement (i.e., the duration indicated by the second indication information) to the second access point or determine an end time for the second access point to perform the perception measurement based on the duration required for the second access point to perform the perception measurement interaction as indicated by the first indication information in the response frame. Exemplarily, the duration for the second access point to perform the perception measurement as indicated by the second indication information is equal to the duration required for the second access point to perform the perception measurement interaction as indicated by the first indication information. Exemplarily, the first access point first determines a start time for the second access point to perform the perception measurement; then, a time point after the start time and the time interval indicated by the second indication information from the start time is used as the end time for the second access point to perform the perception measurement. The start time may be the time point when the first access point sends the first trigger frame or a time point after the time point when the first access point sends the first trigger frame.

[0176] In one possible implementation, the first trigger frame is based on the format of the trigger frame in the existing protocol (e.g., 11ax), as shown in FIG5 . FIG5 is an example of a frame structure of a trigger frame provided in an embodiment of the present application. The functions of each field in the trigger frame shown in FIG5 can refer to the existing protocol and will not be described in detail here. Since the trigger frame of the existing protocol only supports the AP to send trigger frames to non-AP STAs, and does not support the AP to send trigger frames to other APs, the present application proposes to add a new type to the sensing trigger subtype in the trigger-related common information (trigger dependent common info) field, namely, multi-AP sensing initialization, which is used to indicate that the trigger frame is a trigger frame for triggering the access point to perform sensing measurements. In other words, the first trigger frame also includes type information (i.e., sensing trigger subtype), and the type information is used to indicate that the first trigger frame is a trigger frame for triggering the access point to perform sensing measurements. Referring to FIG5 , the trigger dependent common info field is included in the common information (common info) field in the trigger frame. Exemplarily, when the value of sensing trigger subtype is 5, it indicates that the trigger frame is a trigger frame for triggering the access point to perform sensing measurement, that is, the trigger frame is a multi-AP sensing initialization trigger frame (multi-AP sensing initialization trigger), as shown in Table 3. Table 3 shows the correspondence between the value of the sensing trigger subtype field and the type of the trigger frame (that is, the sensing trigger frame variant). For example, when the value of the sensing trigger subtype field in the trigger frame is 3, the trigger frame is a sensing reporting frame. In some possible implementations, when sensing trigger subtype is other values ​​(not 5), it indicates that the trigger frame is a trigger frame for triggering the access point to perform sensing measurement.

[0177] Table 3

[0178] The second column in Table 3 shows several types of trigger frames, which can be found in existing protocols (such as 802.11ax) and are not described in detail here.

[0179] 405. The second access point performs perception measurement based on the first trigger frame.

[0180] Based on the first trigger frame, the second access point can perform perception measurement interaction with its own perception responder as a perception initiator. The specific manner in which the second access point performs perception measurement interaction with its own perception responder as a perception initiator is not limited. Exemplarily, the second access point, as a perception initiator, performs SR2SI sounding with its own perception responder to perform perception measurement (refer to the 802.11bf protocol). Three possible implementations of step 405 are described below.

[0181] Implementation method 1: After obtaining a transmission opportunity (TXOP) through channel contention, a first access point sends a first trigger frame to a second access point. Within this transmission opportunity, the first trigger frame or other means are used to share the remaining transmission opportunities with the second access point. For example, a field in the first trigger frame indicates the remaining transmission opportunities. Based on the first trigger frame, the second access point determines the duration or end time for its own sensing measurement and, after a preset interval after receiving the first trigger frame from the first access point, begins sensing measurement, initiating a sensing measurement interaction with its sensing responder. Because the first access point shares the remaining transmission opportunities with the second access point, the second access point can perform sensing measurements within these remaining transmission opportunities without having to obtain transmission opportunities through channel contention. The second access point begins sensing measurements after a preset interval after receiving the first trigger frame from the first access point, thereby avoiding channel loss. The preset interval can be set based on actual needs, for example, a short inter-frame space (SIFS). In one possible implementation, the protocol supported by the access point specifies that the first trigger frame is also used to trigger the responding AP (the second access point) to initiate perception measurements. This means that the second access point can perform perception measurements with its own (the second access point's) perception responder during the first access point's transmission opportunity. The second access point directly initiates perception measurements after a preset interval after receiving the first trigger frame from the first access point. This can save signaling overhead. In one possible implementation, the first trigger frame also includes seventh indication information, which indicates the duration or end time of the first access point's remaining transmission opportunity. This duration can be the time from the time the second access point receives the first trigger frame to the end time of the transmission opportunity. In one possible implementation, if the second access point has not completed the perception measurement when the end time of the transmission opportunity is reached at the current moment, and the end time assigned by the first access point to the second access point for perception measurement execution is after the end time of the transmission opportunity, the second access point can obtain a new transmission opportunity through a contention channel and continue the perception measurement.

[0182] In one possible implementation, the duration for the second access point to perform the perception measurement is less than or equal to the duration for the second access point to perform the perception measurement indicated by the second indication information. For example, the second access point determines, based on the first trigger frame, that the duration for performing the perception measurement is f microseconds; the second access point begins performing the perception measurement at a preset interval after receiving the first trigger frame from the first access point, and completes or ends the perception measurement within f microseconds after the start of the perception measurement, where f is a real number greater than 0. In this example, the start time of the time period allocated by the first access point to the second access point for performing the perception measurement is the time point after the preset time point has elapsed since the second access point received the first trigger frame, and the duration of this time period is the duration for the second access point to perform the perception measurement indicated by the second indication information. In one possible implementation, the duration from the time the second access point receives the first trigger frame to the time the perception measurement is completed or ended is less than or equal to the duration for the second access point to perform the perception measurement indicated by the second indication information. For example, based on the first trigger frame, the second access point determines that the duration for performing its own perception measurement is h microseconds. After receiving the first trigger frame from the first access point, the second access point begins the perception measurement at a preset duration, and completes or ends the perception measurement within h microseconds after receiving the first trigger frame, where h is a real number greater than 0. In this example, the time period allocated by the first access point to the second access point for perception measurement begins at the time when the second access point receives the first trigger frame, and the duration of this time period is the duration for the second access point to perform perception measurement indicated by the second indication information. The second access point should complete or end the perception measurement within the time period allocated by the first access point to the second access point for perception measurement, in order to save time overhead or avoid interference with perception measurements performed by other APs.

[0183] In one possible implementation, the second indication information is located in the user information (userinfo) field of the first trigger frame. Table 4-1 shows an example of the userinfo field in the first trigger frame, where the sensing measurement exchange duration is an example of the second indication information.

[0184] Table 4-1

[0185] Referring to Table 4-1, AP ID is used to identify the AP that receives the first trigger frame, such as the second access point. This field can use the MAC address of the second access point to identify the second access point, or use a pre-agreed identifier to identify the second access point. The length of this field is not limited in this application; multi-AP measurement session ID (multi-AP measurementsession ID): consistent with the identifier assigned by the first access point in the request frame, indicating which (multi-AP) perception measurement session this measurement interaction belongs to; perception measurement exchange duration (sensingmeasurementexchangeduration) is used to indicate the duration allocated by the first access point to the second access point for performing perception measurement. The length of the reserved field is not limited.

[0186] In one possible implementation, the second indication information and the seventh indication information are both located in the userinfo field of the first trigger frame. Table 4-2 shows another example of the userinfo field in the first trigger frame, where the sensing measurement exchange duration is an example of the second indication information.

[0187] Table 4-2

[0188] Referring to Table 4-2, the remaining TXOP duration field indicates the duration (or length) of the remaining transmission opportunity of the initiating AP (first access point). The meanings of other fields can be found in Table 4-1 and will not be repeated here.

[0189] Implementation method 2: After receiving the first trigger frame from the first access point, the second access point competes for the channel; and performs perception measurement through the transmission opportunity obtained through the contention channel. The sum of the time duration used for competing for the channel and the time duration for performing the perception measurement is less than or equal to the time duration indicated by the second indication information for the second access point to perform the perception measurement. In other words, the time duration used by the second access point to perform the perception measurement includes the time duration used by the second access point to compete for the channel and the time duration for performing the perception measurement. The second indication information may be located in the userinfo field in the first trigger frame. An example of the userinfo field may be found in Table 4-1. In implementation method 2, the start time of the time period allocated by the first access point to the second access point for performing the perception measurement is the time point when the second access point receives the first trigger frame from the first access point, and the end time is the time point after the time point has passed the time duration indicated by the second indication information for the second access point to perform the perception measurement. For example, duration 1 is the duration for the second access point to perform perception measurement as indicated by the second indication information, time point 1 is the time point when the second access point receives the first trigger frame from the first access point, and time point 2 is after time point 1 and is separated from time point 1 by time length 1; the second access point can start competing for the channel at time 1 and needs to complete or end the perception measurement before time point 2. For another example, time point 1 is the time point when the second access point receives the first trigger frame from the first access point, and time point 2 is the latest time point at which the second access point should end the perception measurement as indicated by the second indication information. The second access point can start competing for the channel at time 1 and needs to complete or end the perception measurement before time point 2. If the second access point has not completed the perception measurement when the current moment reaches time point 2, the second access point ends the perception measurement. In implementation method two, starting the perception measurement through the transmission opportunity obtained by competing for the channel can avoid interference with other access points.

[0190] Implementation method three: The first trigger frame also includes fifth indication information, which is used to indicate the start time of the second access point performing the perception measurement. The second access point determines the start time and the duration or end time for performing the perception measurement based on the first trigger frame, and starts the perception measurement at or after the start time, i.e., initiates a perception measurement interaction with its own perception responder. The duration for the second access point to perform the perception measurement can be the duration from the start time to the end time of the second access point performing the perception measurement.

[0191] An example of implementation method three is as follows: After obtaining a transmission opportunity through channel competition, the first access point sends a first trigger frame to the second access point, and shares the remaining transmission opportunities with the second access point within the transmission opportunity through the first trigger frame or other means, for example, a field in the first trigger frame is used to indicate the remaining transmission opportunities; the second access point determines its own start time for performing perception measurements and the duration or end time for performing perception measurements based on the first trigger frame, and begins performing perception measurements at or after the start time. The implementation method for the first access point triggering the second access point to perform perception measurements can refer to the relevant description of implementation method one and will not be repeated here. In one possible implementation, if the second access point has not completed the perception measurement when it reaches the end time of the transmission opportunity at the current moment, and the end time allocated by the first access point to the second access point for performing perception measurements is after the end time of the transmission opportunity, the second access point can obtain a new transmission opportunity through the contention channel and continue the perception measurement.

[0192] In one possible implementation, the second access point begins performing perception measurements at the start time and starts a timer whose duration is the duration determined by the first trigger frame for performing the perception measurements. Generally, the second access point completes the perception measurements and feeds back the perception measurement results to the first access point before the timer expires. If the second access point has not completed the perception measurement by the time the timer expires, the perception measurement ends. In another possible implementation, the second access point begins performing perception measurements based on the start and end times determined for performing the perception measurements. The second access point starts performing perception measurements at or after the start time. Generally, the second access point completes the perception measurements and feeds back the perception measurement results to the first access point before the end time. If the second access point has not completed the perception measurement by the end time, the perception measurement ends.

[0193] In one possible implementation, the second indication information and the fifth indication information are both located in the userinfo field in the first trigger frame. The start time for the second access point to perform perception measurement can be expressed as absolute time or relative time. The absolute time for the start time of performing perception measurement can be the time indicated by the AP according to the local clock (because this time is determined by the initiating AP, it can determine the time based on its own local clock). The relative time for the start time of performing perception measurement can be relative to the time when the first trigger frame is received, or the duration of the interval with the reception of the first trigger frame. The absolute time for the end time of performing perception measurement can be the time indicated by the AP according to the local clock. The relative time for the end time of performing perception measurement can be relative to the start time, or the duration of the interval with the start time.

[0194] Table 5-1 shows an example of the userinfo field in the first trigger frame, wherein the sensing measurement exchange duration field is an example of the second indication information, the sensing measurement exchange start time field is an example of the fifth indication information, and the start time indicated by the sensing measurement exchange start time field (i.e., the start time for the second access point to perform sensing measurement) is an absolute time.

[0195] Table 5-1

[0196] Refer to Table 5-1, the perception measurement interaction start time field (that is, the fifth indication information is used to indicate the start time of the second access point performing the perception measurement). The meanings of other fields can refer to the meanings of the fields in Table 4-1, which will not be repeated here. It is uniformly explained here that the perception measurement interaction duration field in the first trigger frame (for example, in Table 4-1, Table 4-2, Table 5-1, and Table 5-2) can be replaced with the perception measurement interaction end time (sensingmeasurementexchangeendingtime) field, because the functions of these two fields are basically the same, and both are used for the second access point to obtain the latest time point at which the second access point should end the perception measurement. The perception measurement interaction end time field is used to indicate the latest time point at which the second access point should end the perception measurement. In other words, the second access point should end the perception measurement at the latest at the time point indicated by the perception measurement interaction end time field.

[0197] Table 5-2 shows another example of the userinfo field in the first trigger frame, wherein the sensing measurement exchange ending time field is an example of the second indication information, and the sensing measurement exchange starting time field is an example of the fifth indication information. The meaning of other fields can be found in the meaning of the fields in Table 4-1, which will not be repeated here.

[0198] Table 5-2

[0199] Table 5-3 shows another example of the userinfo field in the first trigger frame, wherein the sensing measurement exchange duration field is an example of the second indication information, and the sensing measurement exchange start countdown field is an example of the fifth indication information. The sensing measurement exchange start countdown field indicates the duration of the countdown from the time the responding AP (i.e., the second access point) receives the first trigger frame. When the countdown expires (expires), the responding AP starts sensing measurement. The second access point can perform sensing measurement for a maximum duration indicated by the sensing measurement exchange duration field. In this example, the sensing measurement exchange start countdown field indicates a relative time, i.e., the time interval between the time point when the second access point receives the first trigger frame and the start time of the second access point for sensing measurement.

[0200] Table 5-3

[0201] Table 5-4 shows another example of the userinfo field in the first trigger frame, wherein the sensing measurement exchange ending time field is an example of the second indication information, and the sensing measurement exchange starting countdown field is an example of the fifth indication information. The meaning of other fields can be found in the meaning of the fields in Table 4-1, which will not be repeated here.

[0202] Table 5-4

[0203] Another example of implementation method three is as follows: After receiving a first trigger frame from a first access point, a second access point determines, based on the first trigger frame, a start time and a duration or end time for performing perception measurements; contends for a channel at or after the start time; and performs perception measurements during a transmission opportunity obtained through contention for the channel. In one possible implementation, the second indication information indicates a duration for the second access point to perform perception measurements, where the sum of the duration the second access point spends contending for the channel and the duration of performing perception measurements is less than or equal to the duration indicated by the second indication information for the second access point to perform perception measurements. In this example, the start time for the second access point to perform perception measurements may be the time when the second access point begins contending for the channel, rather than the time when the second access point actually begins performing perception measurements. In another possible implementation, the second indication information indicates an end time for the second access point to perform perception measurements, and the second access point should terminate the perception measurements at the latest at the end time. For example, if the second access point has not completed the perception measurements by the time the end time is reached at the current moment, the second access point terminates the perception measurements.

[0204] 406. The second access point sends a report frame to the first access point.

[0205] Correspondingly, the first access point receives a report frame from the second access point. The report frame includes a result of the sensing measurement performed by the second access point. The report frame can be named an SBP report frame or a measurement report frame.

[0206] 407. The first access point obtains the sensing measurement result of the second access point based on the report frame.

[0207] Steps 406 and 407 are optional. For example, a parallel implementation of steps 406 and 407 is as follows: When the second access point reaches the end time allocated by the first access point for the second access point to perform perception measurement, but the perception measurement is not completed, the second access point sends a termination frame to the first access point; in response to the termination frame, the first access point terminates the current perception session with the second access point.

[0208] In an embodiment of the present application, a first access point determines, based on a response frame from a second access point, the duration (e.g., a duration) required for the second access point to perform a perception measurement interaction, and based on the duration, allocates time for the second access point to perform the perception measurement. This ensures that the second access point has sufficient time to complete the perception measurement while reducing the duration of the perception measurement performed by the second access point. This embodiment of the present application can solve the problem of how to reasonably allocate a duration for the perception measurement to a responding AP.

[0209] The duration of the perception measurement interaction between the perception initiator and the perception responder is affected by many factors, such as the number of perception responders participating in the perception measurement, the number of perception measurement probes, the length of the frames used for the perception measurement, and so on. The duration required for the responding AP (e.g., the second access point) to perform the perception measurement interaction can vary, rather than being fixed. For example, the second access point originally scheduled four perception responders to perform perception measurements in the current time period, but one of the perception responders remains unresponsive (e.g., due to a device battery failure). In this case, the second access point may not invoke the unresponsive perception responder in subsequent perception measurements. Due to the loss of one perception responder, the duration required for the second access point to perform the perception measurement interaction will also vary. Therefore, in order for the initiating AP (e.g., the first access point) to reasonably allocate channel resources and efficiently coordinate and invoke the responding AP for perception measurements, the second access point can update the first access point with the duration required for its perception measurement interaction during the perception measurement interaction. The following describes, in conjunction with Figure 6, how the responding AP (the second access point) updates the initiating AP (the first access point) with the duration required for its perception measurement interaction.

[0210] Figure 6 is a flow chart of another method for perception measurement provided by an embodiment of the present application. The process of Figure 6 is based on the process shown in Figure 4, and adds an operation for the responding AP (second access point) to update the time required for performing the perception measurement interaction. This can enable the initiating AP (first access point) to arrange channel resources more reasonably or reduce the resending of request frames due to the responding AP rejecting the perception measurement window allocated by the initiating AP. The method for perception measurement is applied to the first access point and can be implemented by the first access point or a component in the first access point. The implementation of the first access point is taken as an example below. The method for perception measurement is applied to the second access point and can be implemented by the second access point or a component in the second access point. The implementation of the second access point is taken as an example below. As shown in Figure 6, the method includes:

[0211] 601. A first access point sends a request frame to a second access point.

[0212] 602. The second access point sends a response frame to the first access point.

[0213] 603. The first access point determines, based on the response frame, a time duration required for the second access point to perform sensing measurement interaction.

[0214] 604. The first access point sends a first trigger frame to the second access point.

[0215] 605. The second access point performs perception measurement based on the first trigger frame.

[0216] The implementation of steps 601 to 605 may refer to steps 401 to 405 in FIG. 4 , which will not be described in detail here.

[0217] 606A. The second access point sends a report frame to the first access point.

[0218] Accordingly, the first access point receives a report frame from the second access point. The report frame includes third indication information and the sensing measurement result of the second access point, and the third indication information is used to indicate the duration required for the second access point to perform the sensing measurement interaction. The duration required for the second access point to perform the sensing measurement interaction indicated by the third indication information is different from the duration required for the second access point to perform the sensing measurement interaction indicated by the first indication information. The report frame can be called a multi-AP sensing measurement report frame (multi-AP sensing measurement report frame) or other frame, which is not limited here. Step 606A is optional. In one possible implementation, when the second access point determines that the duration required for it to perform the sensing measurement interaction is longer than the duration required for it (the second access point) to perform the sensing measurement interaction indicated by the response frame (i.e., the response frame in step 602) during the sensing measurement based on the first trigger frame, it sends a report frame to the first access point so that the first access point reallocates more time for itself to perform the sensing measurement. That is, when the second access point determines, during the process of performing the perception measurement based on the first trigger frame, that a duration required for the second access point to perform the perception measurement interaction is shorter than a duration required for the second access point to perform the perception measurement interaction indicated by the response frame, the report frame sent to the first access point does not need to carry the updated duration required for the second access point to perform the perception measurement interaction.

[0219] One possible implementation of the second access point sending a report frame to the first access point is as follows: After completing the perception measurement, the second access point directly sends a report frame carrying the perception measurement results to the first access point. Completing the perception measurement can mean that the second access point completes a single perception measurement, or it can mean that the second access point completes multiple perception measurements. Another possible implementation of the second access point sending a report frame to the first access point is as follows: After determining that the second access point has completed the perception measurement, the first access point sends a trigger frame to the second access point to trigger the second access point to feed back a report frame carrying the perception measurement results. For example, when the duration of the perception measurement performed by the second access point exceeds the required time for the second access point to perform the perception measurement, as notified by the second access point, the first access point determines that the second access point has completed the perception measurement. The required time for the second access point to perform the perception measurement, as notified by the second access point to the first access point, can be the maximum time required for the AP to perform the perception measurement interaction, or in other words, the time that the second access point can ensure that at least one measurement is completed. The report frame can be based on a common management frame format; see Table 6.

[0220] Table 6

[0221] In Table 6, the multi-AP sensing measurement report field carries the sensing measurement result of the second access point. This field can refer to the format of the existing protocol; a possible format of the sensing measurement exchange duration element field is shown in Table 7.

[0222] Table 7

[0223] Referring to Table 7, the element ID represents the identifier of the element (i.e., the sensing measurement interaction duration element), the length field is used to indicate the length of the sensing measurement interaction duration element field, the element ID extension represents the identifier extension of the element, and the requested sensing measurement exchange duration (i.e., the third indication information) is used to indicate the duration required for the second access point to perform the sensing measurement interaction.

[0224] 607A. The first access point determines, based on the report frame, the updated duration required for the second access point to perform the sensing measurement interaction.

[0225] 608A. The first access point sends a second trigger frame to the second access point.

[0226] Correspondingly, the second access point receives a second trigger frame from the first access point. The second trigger frame can be named an update frame, a request frame, etc. The second trigger frame includes fourth indication information, and the fourth indication information indicates the duration for the second access point to perform the perception measurement. The fourth indication information indicates that the duration for the second access point to perform the perception measurement is not shorter than the duration required for the updated second access point to perform the perception measurement interaction. The duration for the second access point to perform the perception measurement indicated by the fourth indication information is obtained based on the third indication information. In one possible implementation, the first access point determines (or allocates) the duration for the second access point to perform the perception measurement based on the third indication information in the report frame, and generates a second trigger frame according to the duration.

[0227] In one possible implementation, when the time required for the second access point to perform perception measurement interaction indicated by the third indication information is longer than the time required for the second access point to perform perception measurement indicated by the second indication information, a second trigger frame is sent to the second access point, and the time required for the second access point to perform perception measurement indicated by the fourth indication information is equal to or longer than the time required for the second access point to perform perception measurement interaction indicated by the third indication information. In this implementation, when the time required for the second access point to perform perception measurement interaction indicated by the third indication information is longer than the time required for the second access point to perform perception measurement indicated by the second indication information, the time required for the second access point to perform perception measurement is updated, so that the second access point has sufficient time to complete the perception measurement.

[0228] In one possible implementation, when the duration required for the second access point to perform perception measurement interaction indicated by the third indication information is shorter than the duration indicated by the second indication information for the second access point to perform perception measurement, a second trigger frame is sent to the second access point, and the duration indicated by the fourth indication information for the second access point to perform perception measurement is equal to or longer than the duration indicated by the third indication information for the second access point to perform perception measurement interaction. Exemplarily, when the difference between the duration indicated by the second indication information for the second access point to perform perception measurement and the duration indicated by the third indication information for the second access point to perform perception measurement interaction is greater than a time threshold, the second trigger frame is sent to the second access point; otherwise, the second trigger frame is not sent to the second access point; this can save signaling overhead. The time threshold can be set according to actual needs. In this implementation, when the duration required for the second access point to perform perception measurement interaction indicated by the third indication information is shorter than the duration indicated by the second indication information for the second access point to perform perception measurement, the duration used by the second access point to perform perception measurement is updated. This can ensure that the second access point has sufficient time to complete the perception measurement while reducing the time it takes to perform the perception measurement, thereby saving channel resources.

[0229] 609A: The second access point updates the duration for performing the sensing measurement based on the second trigger frame.

[0230] Steps 606A to 609A are optional. Steps 606A to 609A and steps 606B to 609B are two parallel solutions. The method flow in FIG6 may include steps 606A to 609A or steps 606B to 609B.

[0231] 606B. The second access point sends a termination frame to the first access point.

[0232] Correspondingly, the first access point receives a termination frame from the second access point. The termination frame includes third indication information. In the current 11bf protocol, it is an optional step for the SBP responder (e.g., the second access point) to provide feedback on the sensing measurement results by sending a report frame. When the first access point indicates that the second access point does not need a feedback process, that is, the second access point cannot inform the first access point of the duration required for itself (the second access point) to perform the sensing measurement by sending a report frame in the current sensing session, then the second access point can terminate the current sensing measurement and provide an updated duration required for itself to perform the sensing measurement in the termination frame. The termination frame can be called a multi-AP sensing measurement termination frame, and the termination frame can be based on a general management frame format, as shown in Table 8.

[0233] Table 8

[0234] Referring to Table 8, the multi-AP measurement session ID (multi-AP measurementsession ID) is used to indicate which (multi-AP) sensing measurement session is terminated by the first access point and the second access point; multi-AP measurement session termination control (multi-AP measurementsession termination control): used to carry necessary control information, and can refer to the existing protocol; a possible format of the sensing measurement exchange duration element field is shown in Table 7.

[0235] 607B: The first access point determines, based on the termination frame, the time required for the updated second access point to perform the perception measurement interaction and decides whether to re-establish the perception measurement session with the second access point.

[0236] The first access point may allocate a sensing measurement window to the second access point based on the updated duration required for the second access point to perform sensing measurement interactions. If the first access point decides to re-establish a sensing measurement session with the second access point, the first access point sends a request frame to the second access point (see step 601). The sensing measurement window in the request frame may be determined by the first access point based on the updated duration required for the second access point to perform sensing measurement interactions.

[0237] In the scheme of steps 606B to 607B, the duration used by the second access point (multiple APs) to perform perception measurements remains unchanged throughout the perception session. When the second access point (responding AP) does not have the function of updating the duration used to perform perception measurements in the perception session, the second access point terminates the current perception session and sends a termination frame to the first access point. In the scheme of steps 606B to 607B, the initiating AP can always allocate a fixed perception measurement duration to the responding AP in one perception measurement session, which can reduce the implementation complexity of the initiating AP and the responding AP, and save signaling overhead. In addition, this scheme can improve the robustness of the perception measurement process and has high standard compatibility.

[0238] 608B. The first access point allocates a sensing measurement window to the second access point based on the updated duration required for the second access point to perform sensing measurement interaction.

[0239] Steps 608B and 609B are optional. In one possible implementation, if the first access point decides in step 607B to re-establish a sensing measurement session with the second access point, steps 608B and 609B are executed. If the first access point decides in step 607B not to re-establish a sensing measurement session with the second access point, steps 608B and 609B are not executed, and the SBP process ends.

[0240] 609B. The first access point sends a request frame to the second access point.

[0241] Accordingly, the second access point receives the request frame from the first access point. The sensing measurement window in the request frame in step 609B is the sensing measurement window allocated to the second access point in step 608B, see Table 1. The first access point may generate the request frame based on the sensing measurement window allocated to the second access point in step 608B. The sensing measurement windows in the request frame in step 601 and the request frame in step 609B are different. By executing step 608B, the first access point can more reasonably allocate the sensing measurement window to the second access point, reducing the need to resend request frames due to the second access point rejecting the sensing measurement window allocated by the first access point.

[0242] The method flow shown in FIG6 is based on the flow shown in FIG4 , and adds an operation of responding to the AP (second access point) updating the time required to perform the perception measurement interaction. The initiating AP (first access point) can more reasonably arrange channel resources or reduce the number of request frames resent due to the second access point rejecting the perception measurement window allocated by the first access point.

[0243] In the method flows of Figures 4 and 6 , a first access point (initiating AP) sends a first trigger frame to a second access point (responding AP). In one possible implementation, the first trigger frame includes second indication information and fifth indication information. The second indication information indicates the duration or end time for the second access point to perform perception measurements, and the fifth indication information indicates the start time for the second access point to perform perception measurements. The start and end times of the second access point's perception measurements constitute the measurement window allocated by the first access point to the second access point. As previously mentioned, different APs may have different clocks. The initiating AP allocates a measurement window to the responding AP based on its own clock. The absolute time represented by the measurement window obtained by the responding AP may differ from the time originally allocated by the initiating AP, significantly reducing the efficiency of the initiating AP's scheduling of perception measurements. To address the problem of the initiating AP and responding AP lacking a unified time reference (or, more specifically, how to ensure that the absolute time represented by the measurement window obtained by the responding AP is the same as the time originally allocated by the initiating AP), the present application provides a technical solution. The concept of this solution is that the initiating AP provides a reference time during the (multi-AP) perception measurement establishment process, and the responding AP's time in this perception measurement session is set based on this reference time. The technical solution is described below with reference to FIG7 .

[0244] FIG7 is a flowchart of another method for sensing measurement provided by an embodiment of the present application. Compared to the request frames in the processes shown in FIG4 and FIG6 , the request frame in the process of FIG7 further includes first time information (reference time). The first time information is used to indicate the time of the local clock of the first access point when the first access point sends the request frame; a reference time can be provided for the second access point so that the absolute time represented by the measurement window obtained by the responding AP is the same as the absolute time corresponding to the window originally allocated by the initiating AP. In other words, compared to the processes of FIG4 and FIG6 , the process of FIG7 can ensure that the absolute time represented by the measurement window obtained by the responding AP is the same as the time originally allocated by the initiating AP. FIG7 takes the example of a first access point (initiating AP) calling a second access point (a responding AP) to perform sensing measurement to describe the method flow of the initiating AP calling one or more responding APs to perform sensing measurement. The method for sensing measurement is applied to the first access point and can be implemented by the first access point or a component within the first access point. The implementation of the first access point is exemplified below. The method for sensing measurement is applied to the second access point and can be implemented by the second access point or a component within the second access point. The implementation of the second access point is exemplified below. As shown in FIG7 , the method includes:

[0245] 701. A first access point sends a request frame to a second access point.

[0246] Correspondingly, the second access point receives a request frame from the first access point. The request frame is used to request the second access point to perform perception measurements. The request frame may include first time information, which is used to indicate the time of the local clock of the first access point when the first access point sends the request frame. In one possible implementation, the request frame is to add a reference time (reference time) field, i.e., the first time information, to the request frame shown in Table 1. The time given by this field may be the time represented by the local clock of the initiating AP (e.g., the first access point) when the request frame is sent. The responding AP (e.g., the second access point) can calculate the time difference based on the local time when it receives the request frame and the time given by this field. The responding AP can convert the time of the initiating AP into its own time system based on the time difference without changing its own local clock. Table 9 shows an example of the frame structure of a request frame.

[0247] Table 9

[0248] In Table 9, the reference time field, which is an example of the first time information, is used to indicate the time of the local clock of the first access point when the first access point sends the request frame. This time may be the time indicated by the time synchronization function (TSF) timer of the first access point. This field may use 4 bytes to indicate part of the time of the TSF timer, or use 8 bytes to indicate the full time of the TSF timer. The meanings of other fields may refer to the fields in Table 1.

[0249] 702. The second access point determines a time difference between its own local clock and the local clock of the first access point based on the request frame.

[0250] In a possible implementation, the second access point calculates the time difference based on the local time when the second access point receives the request frame and the time of the local clock of the first access point when the first access point sends the request frame, as indicated by the first time information in the request frame.

[0251] 703. The second access point sends a response frame to the first access point.

[0252] 704. The first access point determines, based on the response frame, a time duration required for the second access point to perform the sensing measurement interaction.

[0253] 705. The first access point sends a first trigger frame to the second access point.

[0254] The implementation of steps 703 to 705 can refer to steps 402 to 404 in FIG. 4 , which will not be described in detail here.

[0255] The first trigger frame includes second indication information and fifth indication information, the second indication information is used to indicate the duration or end time for the second access point to perform the sensing measurement, and the fifth indication information is used to indicate the start time of the second access point to perform the sensing measurement. The frame structure and related description of the first trigger frame can be found in the description of the first trigger frame in the method flow of Figure 4. Table 5-1 and Table 5-2 are examples of the user information (userinfo) field in the first trigger frame, which includes the second indication information (e.g., sensingmeasurementexchangeduration or sensingmeasurementexchangeendingtime) and the fifth indication information (e.g., sensingmeasurementexchangestartingtime).

[0256] 706. The second access point determines a start time for performing the sensing measurement based on the time difference and the first trigger frame.

[0257] The second access point may convert the start time of the perception measurement performed by the second access point indicated by the fifth indication information into its own time, i.e., the start time for the perception measurement performed by the second access point, based on the time difference. When the second indication information is used to indicate the end time for the perception measurement performed by the second access point, the second access point may further convert the end time of the perception measurement performed by the second access point indicated by the second indication information into its own time, based on the time difference. For example, the time difference is that the time of the local clock of the second access point is x microseconds earlier than the time of the local clock of the first access point, and the start time of the perception measurement performed by the second access point indicated by the fifth indication information is time #1. The second access point converts time #1 into its own time, i.e., time #2, based on the time difference. Time #2 is before time #1 and is offset from time #1 by x microseconds, where x is a real number greater than 0.

[0258] 707. The second access point performs perception measurement based on the first trigger frame.

[0259] For step 707, please refer to the third implementation method of step 405 in FIG4 , which will not be described in detail here.

[0260] 708. The second access point sends a report frame to the first access point.

[0261] 709. The first access point determines, based on the report frame, an updated duration required for the second access point to perform sensing measurement interaction.

[0262] 710. The first access point sends a second trigger frame to the second access point.

[0263] 711. The second access point updates the duration for performing the sensing measurement based on the second trigger frame.

[0264] Steps 708 to 711 may refer to steps 606A to 609A in FIG6 . Steps 708 to 711 are optional. Steps 708 to 711 may be replaced by steps 606B to 609B in FIG6 .

[0265] In an embodiment of the present application, a request frame sent by a first access point to a second access point includes first time information, which indicates the time of the first access point's local clock when the first access point sends the request frame. Based on the request frame, the second access point determines the time difference between its own local clock and the first access point's local clock, and then, based on this time difference, converts the start time of the second access point's perception measurement, indicated in the first trigger frame, into its own time. This ensures that the absolute time represented by the measurement window obtained by the second access point is the same as the time originally allocated by the first access point. In other words, this embodiment of the present application solves the problem of ensuring that the absolute time represented by the measurement window obtained by the responding AP is the same as the absolute time of the measurement window originally allocated by the initiating AP. When the first access point invokes perception measurement on multiple responding APs, including the second access point, each responding AP has a unified time parameter, which helps avoid interference between perception measurements performed by different responding APs and improves the robustness of the initiating AP's allocation of measurement windows to different responding APs.

[0266] In the method flow of Figures 4, 6, and 7, the method flow of the initiating AP calling one or more responding APs to perform perception measurement is described by taking the first access point (initiating AP) calling the second access point (a responding AP) to perform perception measurement as an example. The following describes the method flow of the initiating AP calling multiple responding APs to perform perception measurement by taking the method flow of Figure 8 as an example. In the method flow of Figure 8, the initiating AP allocates time for performing perception measurement interaction to each responding AP based on the time required for each responding AP to perform perception measurement interaction. This not only solves the problem of how to reasonably allocate time for perception measurement to the responding APs, but also solves the problem of how to avoid interference caused by perception measurement interactions involving different responding APs.

[0267] Figure 8 is a flow chart of another method for perception measurement provided by an embodiment of the present application. Figure 4 shows a method flow in which a first access point calls a responding AP (i.e., a second access point) to perform perception measurement, and Figure 8 shows a method flow in which a first access point calls multiple responding APs (taking the second access point and the third access point as examples) to perform perception measurement. The method for perception measurement is applied to the first access point and can be implemented by the first access point or a component in the first access point. The implementation of the first access point is taken as an example below. The method for perception measurement is applied to the second access point and can be implemented by the second access point or a component in the second access point. The implementation of the second access point is taken as an example below. As shown in Figure 8, the method includes:

[0268] 801. A first access point sends a request frame #1 to a second access point.

[0269] Correspondingly, the second access point receives the request frame #1 from the first access point. Request frame #1 can refer to the description of the request frame in the method flow of FIG4 .

[0270] 802. The second access point sends a response frame #1 to the first access point.

[0271] Accordingly, the second access point receives a response frame #1 from the first access point. Response frame #1 may include first indication information #1, which indicates a duration for the second access point to perform sensing measurements. For details about response frame #1, see the description of the response frame in the method flow of FIG. 4 .

[0272] 803. The first access point determines, based on the response frame #1, a time duration required for the second access point to perform the sensing measurement interaction.

[0273] Step 803 may refer to step 403 in FIG. 4 .

[0274] 804. The first access point sends a request frame #2 to the third access point.

[0275] Correspondingly, the third access point receives the request frame #2 from the first access point. Request frame #2 can refer to the description of the request frame in the method flow of FIG4 .

[0276] 805. The third access point sends a response frame #2 to the first access point.

[0277] Accordingly, the third access point receives response frame #2 from the first access point. Response frame #2 may include first indication information #2, which indicates the duration for the third access point to perform sensing measurements. For details about response frame #2, see the description of the response frame in the method flow of FIG. 4 .

[0278] 806. The first access point determines, based on the response frame #2, the duration required for the third access point to perform the sensing measurement interaction.

[0279] Step 806 may refer to step 403 in Figure 4. Steps 801 to 806 belong to the multi-AP awareness establishment phase, ie, the multi-AP awareness establishment process.

[0280] 807. The first access point sends a first trigger frame #1 to the second access point.

[0281] Accordingly, the second access point receives a first trigger frame #1 from the first access point. The first trigger frame #1 includes second indication information #1, which indicates the duration or end time for the second access point to perform the sensing measurement. For details about the first trigger frame #1, see the description of the first trigger frame in the method flow of FIG. 4 .

[0282] 808. The second access point performs perception measurement based on the first trigger frame #1.

[0283] Steps 807 to 808 belong to the multi-AP perception measurement interaction stage.

[0284] 809. The first access point sends a report trigger frame #1 to the second access point.

[0285] Step 809 is optional. In one possible implementation, after determining that the second access point has completed the sensing measurement based on the second indication information #1, the first access point sends a report trigger frame #1 to the second access point.

[0286] 810. The second access point sends a report frame #1 to the first access point.

[0287] Accordingly, the first access point receives a report frame #1 from the second access point. The report frame #1 may include the perception measurement result of the second access point. The first access point may obtain the perception measurement result of the second access point based on the report frame #1. In one possible implementation, after the second access point completes the perception measurement, it actively sends the report frame #1 to the first access point, and the first access point does not need to send a report trigger frame #1. In one possible implementation, after the first access point determines that the second access point has completed the perception measurement based on the second indication information #1, it sends a report trigger frame #1 to the second access point. The report trigger frame #1 is used to trigger the second access point to send a report frame to the first access point; in response to the report trigger frame #1, the second access point sends a report frame #1 to the first access point.

[0288] In this application, different embodiments may be combined. For example, the embodiment shown in FIG8 may be combined with the embodiment shown in FIG6 or with the embodiment shown in FIG7. For example, a possible implementation of combining the embodiment shown in FIG8 with the embodiment shown in FIG6 is as follows: Based on the embodiment shown in FIG8, steps related to updating the time required for the sensing measurement interaction in the report frame of the responding AP are added, such as steps 607A to 609A. For another example, a possible implementation of combining the embodiment shown in FIG8 with the embodiment shown in FIG7 is as follows: Based on the embodiment shown in FIG8, the request frame (including request frame #1 and request frame #2) sent by the first access point carries time information #1. This time information #1 is used to indicate the time of the local clock of the first access point when the first access point sends the request frame. Furthermore, steps for converting the time based on the reference time by the responding AP are added, such as steps 702 and 706.

[0289] 811. The first access point sends a first trigger frame #2 to the third access point.

[0290] Accordingly, the third access point receives the first trigger frame #2 from the first access point. The first trigger frame #2 includes second indication information #2, which indicates the duration or end time for the third access point to perform sensing measurements. For details about the first trigger frame #2, refer to the description of the first trigger frame in the method flow of Figure 4. After the second access point completes the sensing measurement, the first access point sends the first trigger frame #2 to the third access point. This prevents interference between the sensing measurements performed by the third access point and those performed by the second access point. In one possible implementation, the first access point sends the first trigger frame #2 to the third access point after the end time for the second access point to perform sensing measurements. In one possible implementation, the first access point sends the first trigger frame #2 to the third access point after sending an SBP terminate frame to the second access point. In another possible implementation, the first access point sends the first trigger frame #2 to the third access point after receiving the SBP terminate frame from the second access point. All three possible implementations can prevent interference between the sensing measurements performed by the third access point and those performed by the second access point.

[0291] 812. The third access point performs perception measurement based on the first trigger frame #2.

[0292] 813. The first access point sends a report trigger frame #2 to the third access point.

[0293] Step 813 is optional. In one possible implementation, after determining that the third access point has completed the sensing measurement based on the second indication information #2, the first access point sends a report trigger frame #2 to the third access point.

[0294] 814. The third access point sends a report frame #2 to the first access point.

[0295] Accordingly, the first access point receives report frame #2 from the third access point. Report frame #2 may include the perception measurement results of the third access point. In one possible implementation, after the third access point completes the perception measurement, it proactively sends report frame #2 to the first access point, and the first access point does not need to send report trigger frame #2. In one possible implementation, after the first access point determines that the third access point has completed the perception measurement based on the second indication information #2, it sends report trigger frame #2 to the third access point. Report trigger frame #2 is used to trigger the third access point to send a report frame to the first access point. In response to report trigger frame #2, the third access point sends report frame #2 to the first access point.

[0296] In one possible implementation, report frame #2 further includes third indication information #1, where the third indication information #1 is used to indicate a duration required for the second access point to perform the perception measurement interaction. The duration required for the second access point to perform the perception measurement interaction indicated by the third indication information is different from the duration required for the second access point to perform the perception measurement interaction indicated by the first indication information.

[0297] 815. The first access point sends an SBP termination frame #1 to the second access point.

[0298] Accordingly, the second access point receives the SBP termination frame #1 from the first access point.

[0299] 816. The second access point terminates the SBP process in response to the SBP termination frame #1.

[0300] Step 815 and step 816 are optional. In one possible implementation, the second access point sends an SBP termination frame to the first access point to terminate the SBP process.

[0301] 817. The first access point sends an SBP termination frame #2 to the third access point.

[0302] Accordingly, the third access point receives the SBP termination frame #2 from the first access point.

[0303] 818. The third access point terminates the SBP process in response to the SBP termination frame #2.

[0304] Step 817 and step 818 are optional. In one possible implementation, the third access point sends an SBP termination frame to the first access point to terminate the SBP process.

[0305] In an embodiment of the present application, multiple responding APs (second access point and third access point) provide the time required for their own measurement interaction in the response frame during the multi-AP perception establishment process, that is, the duration required for their own perception measurement interaction. The initiating AP (first access point) allocates time for each responding AP to perform perception measurement based on the duration required for each responding AP to perform perception measurement interaction. This can reasonably allocate time for perception measurement to the responding APs and avoid interference between perception measurement interactions involving different responding APs. In other words, the embodiment of the present application can solve the problem of how to reasonably allocate time for perception measurement to the responding APs and how to avoid interference between perception measurement interactions involving different responding APs.

[0306] In the method flows of Figures 4, 6, 7, and 8, the initiating AP allocates time for the responding AP to perform the perception measurement interaction based on the time required for the responding AP to perform the perception measurement interaction; and determines whether the responding AP has completed the perception measurement based on the time allocated for performing the perception measurement interaction. In other words, in the method flows of Figures 4, 6, 7, and 8, the initiating AP needs to determine whether the responding AP has completed the perception measurement based on the time required for the responding AP to perform the perception measurement interaction.

[0307] Another technical solution provided by the present application is described below in conjunction with FIG9 . The idea behind this technical solution is that after completing the perception measurement, the responding AP can actively send a multi-AP perception measurement report frame to the initiating AP after a preset time interval; the initiating AP determines that the responding AP has completed the perception measurement based on the received report frame, and can trigger the next responding AP to start measurement. This technical solution can avoid interference caused by perception measurement interactions involving different responding APs. In the method flow of FIG9 , the initiating AP does not need to determine whether the responding AP has completed the perception measurement based on the time required for the responding AP to perform the perception measurement interaction. The embodiment shown in the method flow of FIG9 is an alternative to the embodiments shown in the method flows of FIG4 , FIG6 , FIG7 , and FIG8 . In other words, compared with the aforementioned embodiments, the embodiment shown in the method flow of FIG9 avoids interference caused by perception measurement interactions involving different responding APs through different technical means.

[0308] FIG9 is a flow chart of another method for sensing measurement provided by an embodiment of the present application. The method for sensing measurement is applied to a first access point and can be implemented by the first access point or a component in the first access point. The first access point is used as an example below. The method for sensing measurement is applied to a second access point and can be implemented by the second access point or a component in the second access point. The second access point is used as an example below. As shown in FIG9 , the method includes:

[0309] 901. The second access point serves as a perception initiator and performs perception measurement with the perception responder.

[0310] 902. After completing the perception measurement, the second access point sends a report frame #1 to the first access point.

[0311] Correspondingly, the first access point receives report frame #1 from the second access point. The report frame includes the sensing measurement result of the second access point #1. The report frame can be named a multi-AP sensing measurement report frame. The multi-AP sensing report frame can reuse the format of the SBP report frame in the 11bf protocol, and carry the sensing measurement result in the SBP report field in the SBP report frame. For example, after the second access point completes a sensing measurement interaction with its own sensing responder, it obtains the sensing measurement result; the second access point carries the sensing measurement result in the report frame and sends it to the first access point. In one possible implementation, the second access point can send a report frame to the first access point within the TXOP for sensing measurement interaction. In this implementation, in order to avoid losing the channel, the second access point can send a report frame to the first access point after sending / receiving the last frame in the sensing measurement interaction at an interval of one SIFS. In one possible implementation, the second access point can obtain a new TXOP to send a report frame to the first access point.

[0312] 903. After receiving the report frame #1, the first access point sends a third trigger frame to the third access point.

[0313] Correspondingly, the third access point receives a third trigger frame from the first access point. The third trigger frame is used to trigger the third access point to perform perception measurement. The frame structure of the third trigger frame can be based on the format of the trigger frame in the existing protocol (for example, 802.11ax), and the sensing trigger subtype in the trigger dependent common info field of the trigger frame can add a new type, see Table 3. In one possible implementation, the third trigger frame includes sixth indication information, and the sixth indication information is used to indicate the duration for the third access point to perform perception measurement; based on the sixth indication information, the third access point can determine the duration for performing perception measurement and complete the perception measurement within the duration.

[0314] 904. The third access point serves as a perception initiator and performs perception measurement with the perception responder.

[0315] 905. After completing the perception measurement, the third access point sends a report frame #2 to the first access point.

[0316] Correspondingly, the first access point receives report frame #2 from the third access point. The method flow for an initiating AP (e.g., the first access point) to invoke two or more responding APs to perform perception measurements is similar to the method flow for initiating two responding APs to perform perception measurements. Figure 9 illustrates the method flow for an initiating AP to invoke two or more responding APs to perform perception measurements, using the example of a first access point initiating two responding APs (i.e., the second access point and the third access point) to perform perception measurements.

[0317] In this embodiment of the present application, the first access point receives report frame #1 from the second access point, indicating that the second access point has completed the perception measurement. After receiving report frame #1, the first access point sends a third trigger frame to the third access point, thereby avoiding interference between perception measurements performed by different access points.

[0318] Figure 10 is a flow chart of another method for sensing measurement provided by an embodiment of the present application. Figure 10 adds operations for initiating an AP and responding to an AP to establish a sensing measurement session based on Figure 9. The method for sensing measurement is applied to a first access point and can be implemented by the first access point or a component in the first access point. The first access point is used as an example below. The method for sensing measurement is applied to a second access point and can be implemented by the second access point or a component in the second access point. The second access point is used as an example below. As shown in Figure 10, the method includes:

[0319] 1001. A first access point sends a request frame #1 to a second access point.

[0320] Correspondingly, the second access point receives the request frame #1 from the first access point. The request frame #1 is used to request the second access point to perform sensing measurements on behalf of the first access point.

[0321] 1002. The second access point sends a response frame #1 to the first access point.

[0322] Accordingly, the first access point receives the response frame #1 from the second access point. In one possible implementation, the second access point accepts the sensing measurement request in the request frame #1 and sends the response frame #1 to the first access point, where the response frame #1 is used to indicate that the second access point accepts the sensing measurement request in the request frame #1.

[0323] 1003. The first access point sends a request frame #2 to the third access point.

[0324] Accordingly, the third access point receives request frame #2 from the first access point. Request frame #2 is used to request the third access point to perform sensing measurements on behalf of the first access point. The frame structures of request frame #2 and request frame #1 can be found in Table 1.

[0325] 1004. The third access point sends a response frame #2 to the first access point.

[0326] Accordingly, the first access point receives response frame #2 from the third access point. In one possible implementation, the third access point accepts the perception measurement request in request frame #2 and sends response frame #2 to the first access point. Response frame #2 indicates that the third access point accepts the perception measurement request in request frame #2. The frame structures of response frames #1 and #2 can be found in Table 2. Response frames #1 and #2 may not include the requested perception measurement interaction duration field.

[0327] 1005. The first access point sends a fourth trigger frame to the second access point.

[0328] Accordingly, the second access point receives a fourth trigger frame from the first access point. The fourth trigger frame is used to trigger the second access point to perform sensing measurements. The frame structure of the fourth trigger frame can be based on the format of a trigger frame in an existing protocol (e.g., 802.11ax). The sensing trigger subtype in the trigger dependent common info field of the trigger frame can add a new type, see Table 3.

[0329] 1006. The second access point serves as a perception initiator and performs perception measurement with the perception responder.

[0330] In one possible implementation, after receiving the fourth trigger frame, the second access point contends for the channel and performs a perception measurement using the transmission opportunity obtained through the contention. In another possible implementation, the second access point begins performing the perception measurement at a preset interval after receiving the fourth trigger frame from the first access point, thereby avoiding channel loss. In another possible implementation, the fourth trigger frame also includes fifth indication information, which indicates the start time for the second access point to perform the perception measurement. The second access point determines its own start time for performing the perception measurement based on the fourth trigger frame and begins performing the perception measurement at or after the start time.

[0331] 1007. After completing the perception measurement, the second access point sends a report frame #1 to the first access point.

[0332] For step 1007 , please refer to step 902 in FIG. 9 .

[0333] 1008. After receiving the report frame #1, the first access point sends a third trigger frame to the third access point.

[0334] Correspondingly, the third access point receives the third trigger frame from the first access point.

[0335] 1009. The third access point serves as a perception initiator and performs perception measurement with the perception responder.

[0336] The possible implementation of step 1009 is similar to the possible implementation of step 1004 and will not be repeated here.

[0337] 1010. After completing the perception measurement, the third access point sends a report frame #2 to the first access point.

[0338] Step 1010 may refer to step 902 in FIG. 9 .

[0339] In this embodiment of the present application, a first access point receives a measurement report frame from a second access point, indicating that the second access point has completed the perception measurement. After receiving the measurement report frame, the first access point sends a third trigger frame to a third access point, thereby avoiding interference between perception measurements performed by different access points.

[0340] It should be understood that the size of the sequence number of each process does not mean the order of execution. The execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiment of the present application.

[0341] It should also be understood that in the various embodiments of the present application, unless otherwise specified or there is a logical conflict, the terms and / or descriptions between different embodiments are consistent and can be referenced to each other, and the technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their internal logical relationships.

[0342] It should also be understood that in some embodiments, devices in existing network architectures are mainly used as examples for illustrative purposes, and it should be understood that the embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific form of the devices. For example, devices that can achieve the same functions in the future are applicable to the embodiments of the present application.

[0343] It is understandable that in various method embodiments, the methods and operations implemented by a device (such as the first access point and the second access point) may also be implemented by components (such as chips or circuits) that can be used in the device.

[0344] It can also be understood that some optional features in the various embodiments of the present application may not depend on other features in certain scenarios, and may also be combined with other features in certain scenarios, without limitation.

[0345] Those skilled in the art should be aware that, in combination with the units and algorithm steps of each example 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 performed in the form of hardware or computer software driving 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.

[0346] The communication device provided in the embodiment of the present application is described in detail below with reference to Figures 11 to 13. It should be understood that the description of the device embodiment corresponds to the description of the method embodiment. Therefore, for matters not described in detail, reference can be made to the method embodiment above. For the sake of brevity, some contents are not repeated here.

[0347] In the embodiment of the present application, the functional modules of the transmitting device or the receiving device can be divided according to the method example. For example, each functional module can be divided according to each function, or two or more functions can be integrated into one processing module. The integrated module 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. There may be other division methods in actual implementation. The following is an example of dividing each functional module according to each function.

[0348] Figure 11 is a schematic block diagram of an apparatus 10 provided in an embodiment of the present application. The apparatus 10 includes a transceiver module 11 and a processing module 12. The transceiver module 11 can implement corresponding communication functions, and the processing module 12 is used to process data. In other words, the transceiver module 11 is used to perform operations related to receiving and sending, while the processing module 12 is used to perform operations other than receiving and sending. The transceiver module 11 can also be referred to as a communication interface or a communication unit.

[0349] Optionally, the device 10 may further include a storage module 13, which may be used to store instructions and / or data. The processing module 12 may read the instructions and / or data in the storage module so that the device implements the actions of the devices in the aforementioned method embodiments.

[0350] In one design, the apparatus 10 may correspond to the first access point (initiating AP) in the above method embodiments, or a component (such as a chip) of the first access point.

[0351] The apparatus 10 can implement steps or processes corresponding to those performed by the first access point in the above method embodiment. The transceiver module 11 can be used to perform transceiver-related operations of the first access point in the above method embodiment, and the processing module 12 can be used to perform processing-related operations of the first access point in the above method embodiment.

[0352] It should be understood that the specific process of each unit executing the corresponding step has been described in detail in the method embodiment, and for the sake of brevity, it will not be repeated here.

[0353] In another design, the apparatus 10 may correspond to the second access point (responding AP) in the above method embodiment, or a component (such as a chip) of the second access point.

[0354] The apparatus 10 can implement steps or processes corresponding to those performed by the second access point (or second access point) in the above method embodiment. The transceiver module 11 can be used to perform transceiver-related operations of the second access point in the above method embodiment, and the processing module 12 can be used to perform processing-related operations of the second access point in the above method embodiment.

[0355] It should be understood that the specific process of each unit executing the corresponding step has been described in detail in the method embodiment, and for the sake of brevity, it will not be repeated here.

[0356] It should also be understood that the apparatus 10 herein is embodied in the form of functional modules. The term "module" herein may refer to an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an electronic circuit, a processor (e.g., a shared processor, a dedicated processor, or a group processor, etc.) and memory for executing one or more software or firmware programs, incorporating logic circuits, and / or other suitable components that support the described functionality.

[0357] The apparatus 10 of each solution has the function of implementing the corresponding steps performed by the device (e.g., the second access point) in the method. This function can be implemented through hardware, or through hardware executing corresponding software implementations. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the functions; for example, the transceiver module can be replaced by a transceiver (e.g., the transmitting unit in the transceiver module can be replaced by a transmitter, and the receiving unit in the transceiver module can be replaced by a receiver). Other units, such as the processing module, can be replaced by a processor to respectively perform the transceiver operations and related processing operations in each method embodiment.

[0358] In addition, the transceiver module 11 may also be a transceiver circuit (for example, may include a receiving circuit and a sending circuit), and the processing module may be a processing circuit.

[0359] Figure 12 is a schematic diagram of another apparatus 20 provided in an embodiment of the present application. Apparatus 20 includes a processor 21, which is configured to execute computer programs or instructions stored in a memory 22, or read data / signaling stored in the memory 22, to perform the methods described in the above method embodiments. Optionally, there may be one or more processors 21.

[0360] Optionally, as shown in FIG12 , the device 20 further includes a memory 22 for storing computer programs or instructions and / or data. The memory 22 may be integrated with the processor 21 or may be separately provided. Optionally, there may be one or more memories 22 .

[0361] Optionally, as shown in Figure 12, the device 20 further includes a transceiver 23, which is used to receive and / or send signals. For example, the processor 21 is used to control the transceiver 23 to receive and / or send signals.

[0362] As a solution, the device 20 is used to implement the operations performed by the first access point (initiating AP) or the second access point (responding AP) in the above various method embodiments.

[0363] It should be understood that the processor mentioned 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, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, etc. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor, etc.

[0364] It should also be understood that the memory mentioned in the embodiments of the present application may be a volatile memory and / or a non-volatile memory. Among them, the non-volatile memory may be a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or a flash memory. The volatile memory may be a random access memory (RAM). For example, RAM can be used as an external cache. By way of example and not limitation, RAM includes the following forms: static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDR SDRAM), enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (ESDRAM), synchronous link dynamic random access memory (SLDRAM), and direct rambus RAM (DR RAM).

[0365] It should be noted that when the processor is a general-purpose processor, DSP, ASIC, FPGA or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic device, discrete hardware component, the memory (storage module) can be integrated into the processor.

[0366] It should also be noted that the memory described herein is intended to include, but is not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0367] 13 is a schematic diagram of a chip system 30 provided in an embodiment of the present application. The chip system 30 (or also referred to as a processing system) includes a logic circuit 31 and an input / output interface 32.

[0368] The logic circuit 31 may be a processing circuit in the chip system 30. The logic circuit 31 may be coupled to a storage unit and call instructions in the storage unit so that the chip system 30 can implement the methods and functions of the various embodiments of the present application. The input / output interface 32 may be an input / output circuit in the chip system 30, outputting information processed by the chip system 30 or inputting data or signaling information to be processed into the chip system 30 for processing.

[0369] As a solution, the chip system 30 is used to implement the operations performed by the first access point or the second access point in the above various method embodiments.

[0370] For example, the logic circuit 31 is used to implement the processing-related operations performed by the first access point or the second access point in the above method embodiment; the input / output interface 32 is used to implement the sending and / or receiving-related operations performed by the first access point or the second access point in the above method embodiment.

[0371] An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium on which computer instructions for implementing the methods executed by the device in each method embodiment are stored.

[0372] For example, when the computer program is executed by a computer, the computer can implement the method performed by the first access point or the second access point in each embodiment of the method.

[0373] An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program product, comprising instructions, which, when executed by a computer, implement the method performed by the first access point or the second access point in the above-mentioned method embodiments.

[0374] An embodiment of the present application further provides a communication system, including a first access point and a second access point.

[0375] An embodiment of the present application further provides a communication system, including a first access point, a second access point, and a third access point.

[0376] The explanation of the relevant contents and beneficial effects of any of the above-mentioned devices can be referred to the corresponding method embodiments provided above, which will not be repeated here.

[0377] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are only schematic. For example, the division of the units is only a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods, such as multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. In addition, the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed can be through some interfaces, indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or units, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0378] In the above embodiments, it can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, 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. For example, the computer can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc. 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 by wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) mode. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that a computer can access or a data storage device such as a server or data center that includes one or more available media integrations. The available medium may be a magnetic medium (e.g., a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (e.g., a DVD), or a semiconductor medium (e.g., a solid state disk (SSD)). For example, the aforementioned available medium includes, but is not limited to, various media that can store program code, such as a USB flash drive, a mobile hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk, or an optical disk.

[0379] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of the present application, but the scope of protection of the present application is not limited thereto. Any changes or substitutions that can be easily conceived by a person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in this application should be included in the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application should be based on the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

1. A method for perceptual measurement, characterized in that The method is applied to a first access point, and includes: receiving a response frame from a second access point, where the response frame includes first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate a time duration required for the second access point to perform a sensing measurement interaction; Determine, based on the response frame, a duration required for the second access point to perform the sensing measurement interaction.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The method further comprises: A request frame is sent to the second access point, where the request frame is used to request the second access point to perform perception measurement.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that The method further comprises: A first trigger frame is sent to the second access point, where the first trigger frame includes second indication information, and the second indication information is used to indicate a duration for the second access point to perform perception measurement.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that The method further comprises: receiving a termination frame or a report frame from the second access point, where the termination frame or the report frame includes third indication information, where the third indication information is used to indicate a duration required for the second access point to perform the perception measurement interaction, where the duration required for the second access point to perform the perception measurement interaction indicated by the third indication information is different from the duration required for the second access point to perform the perception measurement interaction indicated by the first indication information; Based on the termination frame or the report frame, a time length required for the second access point to perform the sensing measurement interaction is determined.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that The method further comprises: A second trigger frame is sent to the second access point, where the second trigger frame includes fourth indication information, where the fourth indication information indicates a duration for the second access point to perform the perception measurement, and the duration indicated by the fourth indication information for the second access point to perform the perception measurement is obtained based on the third indication information.

6. A method for perceptual measurement, characterized in that The method is applied to a second access point, and includes: generating a response frame, where the response frame includes first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate a time required for the second access point to perform the sensing measurement interaction; The response frame is sent to the first access point.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that The method further comprises: receiving a request frame from the first access point, where the request frame is used to request the second access point to perform a sensing measurement; The sending the response frame to the first access point includes: accepting the sensing measurement request in the request frame and sending the response frame to the first access point; or The perception measurement request in the request frame is rejected, and the response frame is sent to the first access point, where the response frame includes configuration parameters for the second access point to recommend that it perform perception measurement.

8. The method according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that The method further comprises: receiving a first trigger frame from the first access point, where the first trigger frame includes second indication information, where the second indication information is used to indicate a duration for the second access point to perform sensing measurement; Perform perception measurement based on the first trigger frame.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that The performing perception measurement based on the first trigger frame includes: Starting, at a preset time interval after receiving the first trigger frame from the first access point, a perception measurement, where the time duration for performing the perception measurement is less than or equal to the time duration for the second access point to perform the perception measurement indicated by the second indication information; Alternatively, after receiving the first trigger frame from the first access point, compete for a channel; and start perception measurement through the transmission opportunity obtained through the contention channel, where the sum of the duration used for the contention channel and the duration for performing the perception measurement is less than or equal to the duration indicated by the second indication information for the second access point to perform the perception measurement.

10. The method according to any one of claims 6 to 9, characterized in that After sending the response frame to the first access point, the method further includes: sending a termination frame or a report frame to the first access point, where the termination frame or the report frame includes third indication information, where the third indication information is used to indicate a duration required for the second access point to perform the perception measurement interaction, where the duration required for the second access point to perform the perception measurement interaction indicated by the third indication information is different from the duration required for the second access point to perform the perception measurement interaction indicated by the first indication information.

11. The method according to claim 2 or 7, characterized in that The request frame is used to request the second access point to perform perception measurement on behalf of the first access point.

12. The method according to claim 2, 7 or 11, characterized in that: The request frame includes a sensing measurement window allocated to the second access point.

13. The method according to claim 2 or 7 or 11 or 12, characterized in that: The request frame further includes first time information, where the first time information is used to indicate the time of a local clock of the first access point when the first access point sends the request frame.

14. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 13, characterized in that The response frame further includes the sensing measurement window proposed by the second access point itself.

15. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 14, characterized in that The response frame further includes second time information, where the second time information is used to indicate the time of the local clock of the second access point when the second access point sends the response frame.

16. The method according to claim 3 or 8, characterized in that The first trigger frame further includes type information, where the type information is used to indicate that the first trigger frame is a trigger frame used to trigger an access point to perform perception measurement.

17. The method according to claim 3, 8 or 16, characterized in that: The first trigger frame further includes fifth indication information, where the fifth indication information is used to indicate a start time for the second access point to perform perception measurement.

18. A method for perceptual measurement, characterized in that The method is applied to a first access point, and includes: receiving a measurement report frame from a second access point; After receiving the measurement report frame, a third trigger frame is sent to the third access point, where the third trigger frame is used to trigger the third access point to perform perception measurement.

19. The method according to claim 18, characterized in that The method further comprises: Sending a request frame to the second access point, where the request frame is used to request the second access point to perform perception measurement on behalf of the first access point; A response frame is received from the second access point, where the response frame is used to indicate that the second access point accepts the perception measurement request in the request frame, or the response frame is used to indicate that the second access point rejects the perception measurement request in the request frame, and the response frame includes configuration parameters for the second access point to suggest that it perform perception measurement.

20. The method according to claim 18 or 19, characterized in that The third trigger frame includes sixth indication information, where the sixth indication information is used to indicate a duration for the third access point to perform perception measurement.

21. A communication device, characterized in that: The method comprises modules or units for executing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 20.

22. A communication device, characterized in that: The method comprises a processor coupled to a memory, the memory being used to store a computer program or instructions, the processor being used to execute the computer program or instructions in the memory, so that the communication device performs the method according to any one of claims 1 to 7; or, the communication device performs the method according to any one of claims 18 to 20.

23. A communication system, characterized in that: The communication system includes a first communication device and a second communication device; wherein the first communication device is used to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, and the second communication device is used to perform the method according to any one of claims 6 to 10.

24. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that The computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program or instructions, which, when executed, causes a computer to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 20.

25. A chip, characterized in that: include: A communication interface and a processor; the communication interface is used for sending and receiving signals of the chip; the processor is used to execute a computer program or instruction so that the chip executes the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 20.

26. A computer program product, characterized in that When the computer program product is run on a computer, the computer is caused to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 20.

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