A method for combined frequency shifted backscattering for ambient internet of thing device

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a solution for combined frequency shifted backscattering for ambient internet of thing (A-IoT) device. In a solution, a first apparatus receives a plurality of first signals with a first frequency; and transmits, to a further apparatus, a plurality of second signals backscattered from the plurality of first signals respectively, the plurality of second signals having respective second frequencies shifted relative to the first frequency.

Description

A METHOD FOR COMBINED FREQUENCY SHIFTED BACKSCATTERING FOR AMBIENT INTERNET OF THING DEVICECROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] This application claims priority to, and the benefit of, US Provisional Application No. 63 / 574575, filed April 4, 2024, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.FIELDS

[0002] Example embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to the field of communication techniques and in particular, to devices and methods for combined frequency shifted backscattering for ambient internet of thing (A-loT) device.BACKGROUND

[0003] Internet of Things, or loT, is a network of physical devices. These devices can transfer data to one another without human intervention. Based on the current discussions, the potential bandwidth size ranges from 180 KHz to a few MHz for A-loT devices, which would be insufficient to achieve the required the positioning accuracy. Thus, how to enable a positioning method by utilizing the A-loT devices is desirable to be further studied.SUMMARY

[0004] In a first aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a first apparatus. The first apparatus comprises at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the first apparatus at least to: receive a plurality of first signals with a first frequency; and transmit, to a further apparatus, a plurality of second signals backscattered from the plurality of first signals respectively, the plurality of second signals having respective second frequencies shifted relative to the first frequency.

[0005] In a second aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a second apparatus. The second apparatus comprises at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the second apparatus at least to: receive, from a third apparatus, an indication to use a plurality of frequency shifted signals from a first apparatus for a measurement on the first apparatus; obtain a plurality of second signals backscattered by the first apparatus from a plurality of first signals respectively, the plurality of firstsignals having a first frequency and the plurality of second signals having respective second frequencies shifted relative to the first frequency; and perform the measurement on the first apparatus based on the received indication and the plurality of second signals.

[0006] In a third aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a third apparatus. The third apparatus comprises at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the third apparatus at least to: transmit, to a second apparatus, an indication to use a plurality of frequency shifted signals from a first apparatus for a measurement on the first apparatus; receive, from the second apparatus, a result of the measurement on the first apparatus, wherein the measurement is based on the indication and a plurality of second signals backscattered by the first apparatus from a plurality of first signals respectively, the plurality of first signals having a first frequency and the plurality of second signals having respective second frequencies shifted relative to the first frequency; and estimate a location of the first apparatus based on the result of the measurement.

[0007] In a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method. The method comprises: receiving a plurality of first signals with a first frequency; and transmitting, to a further apparatus, a plurality of second signals backscattered from the plurality of first signals respectively, the plurality of second signals having respective second frequencies shifted relative to the first frequency.

[0008] In a fifth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method. The method comprises: receiving, at a second apparatus and from a third apparatus, an indication to use a plurality of frequency shifted signals from a first apparatus for a measurement on the first apparatus; obtaining a plurality of second signals backscattered by the first apparatus from a plurality of first signals respectively, the plurality of first signals having a first frequency and the plurality of second signals having respective second frequencies shifted relative to the first frequency; and performing the measurement on the first apparatus based on the received indication and the plurality of second signals.

[0009] In a sixth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method. The method comprises: transmitting, at a third apparatus and to a second apparatus, an indication to use a plurality of frequency shifted signals from a first apparatus for a measurement on the first apparatus; receiving, from the second apparatus, a result of the measurement on the first apparatus, wherein the measurement is based on the indication and a plurality of second signals backscattered by the first apparatus from a plurality of first signals respectively, the plurality of first signals having a first frequency and the plurality of second signals having respective second frequencies shifted relative to the first frequency; and estimating a location of the first apparatusbased on the result of the measurement.

[0010] In a seventh aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a first apparatus. The first apparatus comprises means for receiving a plurality of first signals with a first frequency; and means for transmitting, to a further apparatus, a plurality of second signals backscattered from the plurality of first signals respectively, the plurality of second signals having respective second frequencies shifted relative to the first frequency.

[0011] In an eighth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a second apparatus. The second apparatus comprises means for receiving, at a second apparatus and from a third apparatus, an indication to use a plurality of frequency shifted signals from a first apparatus for a measurement on the first apparatus; means for obtaining a plurality of second signals backscattered by the first apparatus from a plurality of first signals respectively, the plurality of first signals having a first frequency and the plurality of second signals having respective second frequencies shifted relative to the first frequency; and means for performing the measurement on the first apparatus based on the received indication and the plurality of second signals.

[0012] In a ninth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a third apparatus. The third apparatus comprises means for transmitting, at a third apparatus and to a second apparatus, an indication to use a plurality of frequency shifted signals from a first apparatus for a measurement on the first apparatus; means for receiving, from the second apparatus, a result of the measurement on the first apparatus, wherein the measurement is based on the indication and a plurality of second signals backscattered by the first apparatus from a plurality of first signals respectively, the plurality of first signals having a first frequency and the plurality of second signals having respective second frequencies shifted relative to the first frequency; and means for estimating a location of the first apparatus based on the result of the measurement.

[0013] In a tenth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a computer readable medium. The computer readable medium comprises instructions stored thereon for causing an apparatus to perform at least the method according to the fourth aspect.

[0014] In an eleventh aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a computer readable medium. The computer readable medium comprises instructions stored thereon for causing an apparatus to perform at least the method according to the fifth aspect.

[0015] In a twelfth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a computer readable medium. The computer readable medium comprises instructions stored thereon for causing an apparatus to perform at least the method according to the sixth aspect.

[0016] It is to be understood that the Summary section is not intended to identify key or essential features of embodiments of the present disclosure, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scopeof the present disclosure. Other features of the present disclosure will become easily comprehensible through the following description.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] Through the more detailed description of some example embodiments of the present disclosure in the accompanying drawings, the above and other objects, features and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent, wherein:

[0018] FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of example communication environment in which example embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented;

[0019] FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B illustrate schematic diagrams of example communication environments in which example embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented, respectively;

[0020] FIG. 3 illustrates an example signalling flow of communication in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0021] FIG. 4 illustrates an illustrative example of frequency-hopped backscattering in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0022] FIG. 5 illustrates an illustrative example of option 1 for the A-loT reception timeline in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0023] FIG. 6 illustrates an illustrative example of option 2 for the A-loT reception timeline in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0024] FIG. 7 illustrates an example signalling flow of communication in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0025] FIG. 8 illustrates a flowchart of a communication method implemented at a first apparatus according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0026] FIG. 9 illustrates a flowchart of a communication method implemented at a second apparatus according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0027] FIG. 10 illustrates a flowchart of a communication method implemented at a third apparatus according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0028] FIG. 11 illustrates a simplified block diagram of a device that is suitable for implementing example embodiments of the present disclosure; and

[0029] FIG. 12 illustrates a block diagram of an example computer readable medium in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0030] Throughout the drawings, the same or similar reference numerals represent the same or similar element.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0031] Principle of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to some example embodiments. It is to be understood that these embodiments are described only for the purpose of illustration and help those skilled in the art to understand and implement the present disclosure, without suggesting any limitation as to the scope of the disclosure. Embodiments described herein can be implemented in various manners other than the ones described below.

[0032] In the following description and claims, unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skills in the art to which this disclosure belongs.

[0033] References in the present disclosure to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” “an example embodiment,” and the like indicate that the embodiment described may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but it is not necessary that every embodiment includes the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Further, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, it is submitted that it is within the knowledge of one skilled in the art to affect such feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with other embodiments whether or not explicitly described.

[0034] It shall be understood that although the terms “first,” “second” and the like may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another. For example, a first element could be termed a second element, and similarly, a second element could be termed a first element, without departing from the scope of example embodiments. As used herein, the term “and / or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the listed terms.

[0035] As used herein, “at least one of the following: ” and “at least one of ” and similar wording, where the list of two or more elements are joined by “and” or “or”, mean at least any one of the elements, or at least any two or more of the elements, or at least all the elements.

[0036] As used herein, unless stated explicitly, performing a step “in response to A” does not indicate that the step is performed immediately after “A” occurs and one or more intervening steps may be included.

[0037] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of example embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises”, “comprising”, “has”, “having”, “includes” and / or “including”, when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, elements, and / or components etc., but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components and / or combinations thereof.

[0038] As used in this application, the term “circuitry” may refer to one or more or all of the following:(a) hardware-only circuit implementations (such as implementations in only analog and / or digital circuitry) and(b) combinations of hardware circuits and software, such as (as applicable):(i) a combination of analog and / or digital hardware circuit(s) with software / firmware and(ii) any portions of hardware processor(s) with software (including digital signal processor(s)), software, and memory(ies) that work together to cause an apparatus, such as a mobile phone or server, to perform various functions) and(c) hardware ci rcuit(s) and or processor(s), such as a microprocessor(s) or a portion of a microprocessor(s), that requires software (e.g., firmware) for operation, but the software may not be present when it is not needed for operation.

[0039] This definition of circuitry applies to all uses of this term in this application, including in any claims. As a further example, as used in this application, the term circuitry also covers an implementation of merely a hardware circuit or processor (or multiple processors) or portion of a hardware circuit or processor and its (or their) accompanying software and / or firmware. The term circuitry also covers, for example and if applicable to the particular claim element, a baseband integrated circuit or processor integrated circuit for a mobile device or a similar integrated circuit in server, a cellular network device, or other computing or network device.

[0040] As used herein, the term “communication network” refers to a network following any suitable communication standards, such as New Radio (NR), Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA), Narrow Band Internet of Things (NB-loT) and so on. Furthermore, the communications between a terminal device and a network device in the communication network may be performed according to any suitable generation communication protocols, including, but not limited to, the first generation (1 G), the second generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.75G, the third generation (3G), the fourth generation (4G), 4.5G, the fifth generation (5G) communication protocols, and / or any other protocols either currently known or to be developed in the future. Embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied in various communication systems. Given the rapid development in communications, there will of course also be future type communication technologies and systemswith which the present disclosure may be embodied. It should not be seen as limiting the scope of the present disclosure to only the aforementioned system.

[0041] As used herein, the term “network device” refers to a node in a communication network via which a terminal device accesses the network and receives services therefrom. The network device may refer to a base station (BS) or an access point (AP), for example, a node B (NodeB or NB), an evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB), an NR NB (also referred to as a gNB), a Remote Radio Unit (RRU), a radio header (RH), a remote radio head (RRH), a relay, an Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB) node, a low power node such as a femto, a pico, a non-terrestrial network (NTN) or non-ground network device such as a satellite network device, a low earth orbit (LEO) satellite and a geosynchronous earth orbit (GEO) satellite, an aircraft network device, and so forth, depending on the applied terminology and technology. In some example embodiments, radio access network (RAN) split architecture comprises a Centralized Unit (CU) and a Distributed Unit (DU) at an IAB donor node. An IAB node comprises a Mobile Terminal (IAB-MT) part that behaves like a UE toward the parent node, and a DU part of an IAB node behaves like a base station toward the next-hop IAB node.

[0042] The term “terminal device” refers to any end device that may be capable of wireless communication. By way of example rather than limitation, a terminal device may also be referred to as a communication device, user equipment (UE), a Subscriber Station (SS), a Portable Subscriber Station, a Mobile Station (MS), or an Access Terminal (AT). The terminal device may include, but not limited to, a mobile phone, a cellular phone, a smart phone, voice over IP (VoIP) phones, wireless local loop phones, a tablet, a wearable terminal device, a personal digital assistant (PDA), portable computers, desktop computer, image capture terminal devices such as digital cameras, gaming terminal devices, music storage and playback appliances, vehiclemounted wireless terminal devices, wireless endpoints, mobile stations, laptop-embedded equipment (LEE), laptop-mounted equipment (LME), USB dongles, smart devices, wireless customer-premises equipment (CPE), an I nternet of Things (loT) device, a watch or other wearable, a head-mounted display (HMD), a vehicle, a drone, a medical device and applications (e.g., remote surgery), an industrial device and applications (e.g., a robot and / or other wireless devices operating in an industrial and / or an automated processing chain contexts), a consumer electronics device, a device operating on commercial and / or industrial wireless networks, and the like. The terminal device may also correspond to a Mobile Termination (MT) part of an IAB node (e.g., a relay node). In the following description, the terms “terminal device”, “communication device”, “terminal”, “user equipment” and “UE” may be used interchangeably.

[0043] As used herein, the term “resource,” “transmission resource,” “resource block,” “physicalresource block” (PRB), “uplink resource,” or “downlink resource” may refer to any resource for performing a communication, for example, a communication between a terminal device and a network device, such as a resource in time domain, a resource in frequency domain, a resource in space domain, a resource in code domain, or any other resource enabling a communication, and the like.

[0044] The term “ambient loT device” (also referred to as loT device for sometimes) used herein is a 3GPP loT device which is much smaller and cheaper compared to previous generations of loT. The ultimate ambient loT energy source is that from radio waves. Both Ambient loT and Ambient computing rely upon energy harvesting as one of the key mechanisms for powering and enabling the technology. Energy harvesting, as it applies to Ambient loT and Ambient Computing, is the harnessing of the power in ambient radio waves to power tiny computers. Ambient loT device may have a new radio / air interface to a reader / node. The new radio interface may be frame based or non-frame based. Deploying ambient loT service on existing system could reduce the operation cost and quickly commercialize the new service.

[0045] The present disclosure relates to A-loT, which is approved in a part of release-19 new radio study item (SI).

[0046] The overall objective of the SI is to study a harmonized air interface design with minimized differences (where necessary) for Ambient loT to enable the following devices: i. ~1 pW peak power consumption, has energy storage, initial sampling frequency offset (SFO) up to 10X ppm, neither DL nor UL amplification in the device. The device’s UL transmission is backscattered on a carrier wave provided externally. ii. < a few hundred pW peak power consumption has energy storage, initial sampling frequency offset (SFO) up to 10X ppm, both DL and / or UL amplification in the device. The device’s UL transmission may be generated internally by the device, or be backscattered on a carrier wave provided externally.

[0047] As used herein, parameter “Btx,D2R” refers to the transmission bandwidth of the backscattered signals from the A-loT device to the reader (e.g., UE in Topology 2). In other example embodiments, the transmission bandwidth for the D2R signals may be represented by a parameter with another name. Such variants are also within the protection scope of the present disclosure. In present is not limited with regard to the name / representation of the parameter.

[0048] In the context of the present disclosure, signals refer to wireless signals used for measurements, including but not limited to, timing measurements, (e.g., Time of Arrival, time difference of Arrival), power measurement, such as, reference signal receiving power (RSRP), interference plus noise ratio (SINR), received signal strength indication (RSSI), reference signalreceiving quality (RSRQ), Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR), Reference Signal received power per path (RSRPP) and other radio measurements.

[0049] Principles and implementations of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the figures.Example environment

[0050] FIG. 1 illustrates an example communication environment 100 in which example embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented. The communication environment 100 includes the first apparatus 110, the second apparatus 120-1 , the second apparatus 120-2 and the third apparatus.

[0051] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus 110 may be comprised in (Ambient) loT device, the second apparatus 120-1 may be comprised in a terminal device, the second apparatus 120-2 may be comprised in a network device serving the terminal apparatus, while the third apparatus 130 may be comprised in a core network device (which may be a location management function (LMF) or other suitable CN entity / function). Further, the apparatus 120-2 may provide one or more cells, for example, a cell 102 as illustrated in FIG. 1.

[0052] The second apparatus 120-1 and the second apparatus 120-2 may be individually or collectively referred to as a second apparatus 120.

[0053] It is to be understood that the number of devices and their connections shown in FIG. 1 are only for the purpose of illustration without suggesting any limitation. The communication environment may include any suitable number of devices configured to implementing example embodiments of the present disclosure. Although not shown, it would be appreciated that one or more additional devices may be located in the cell, and one or more additional cells may be deployed in the communication environment. It is noted that although illustrated as a network device, the second apparatus 120-2 may be another device than a network device. Although illustrated as a terminal device, the second apparatus 120-1 may be other device than a terminal device.

[0054] Communications in the communication environment 100 may be implemented according to any proper communication protocol(s), comprising, but not limited to, cellular communication protocols of the first generation (1 G), the second generation (2G), the third generation (3G), the fourth generation (4G), the fifth generation (5G), the sixth generation (6G), and the like, wireless local network communication protocols such as Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 and the like, and / or any other protocols currently known or to be developed in thefuture. Moreover, the communication may utilize any proper wireless communication technology, comprising but not limited to: Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Frequency Division Duplex (FDD), Time Division Duplex (TDD), Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple (OFDM), Discrete Fourier Transform spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM) and / or any other technologies currently known or to be developed in the future.

[0055] In the example of FIG. 1 , at least below the A-loT device types may be supported:• Device 1 : ~1 pW peak power consumption, has energy storage, initial sampling frequency offset (SFO) up to 10xppm, neither DL nor UL amplification in the device. The device’s UL transmission is backscattered on a carrier wave provided externally.• Device 2a: < a few hundred pW peak power consumption, has energy storage, initial sampling frequency offset (SFO) up to 10X ppm, both DL and / or UL amplification in the device. The device’s UL transmission is backscattered on a carrier wave provided externally.•Device 2b: < a few hundred pW peak power consumption, has energy storage, initial sampling frequency offset (SFO) up to 10X ppm, both DL and / or UL amplification in the device. The device’s UL transmission is generated internally by the device.

[0056] Reference is now made to FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B, which illustrate schematic diagrams of example communication environments corresponding to Topology 1 including monostatic case (the left one) and bistatic case (the right one) and Topology 2 including monostatic case (the left one) and bistatic case (the right one), respectively.

[0057] FIG. 2A relates to deployment scenario 1 (indoor-to-indoor) with Topology 1 , indoor microcell base-station. FIG. 2B relates to deployment scenario 2 (indoor-to-outdoor) with Topology 2, indoor UE as intermediate node under network control and outdoor macro-cell base-station.

[0058] In the monostatic case, the A-loT transmits the D2R signal to the same node it received the R2D signal from. In the bistatic case, the A-loT transmits the D2R signal to a different node than the one it received the R2D signal from.

[0059] The spectrum considered is frequency range 1 (FR1) licensed spectrum in frequency division duplex (FDD), which can be in-band to NR, in guard-band to NR, or in standalone band(s). The traffic types considered are device-originated-device-terminated triggered (DO-DTT) and device-terminated (DT), focusing on indoor inventory and indoor command representative use cases.

[0060] For the bandwidth allocated for reader-to-device (R2D) transmissions (transmissions from the reader which is the gNB in Topology 1 and the intermediate node (i.e. , UE) in Topology 2 to the A-loT device), it has agreed to the following definitions, at least the following bandwidths forR2D are defined for the purpose of the study:• Transmission bandwidth, Btx,R2D from a Reader perspective: The frequency resources used for transmitting R2D;• Occupied bandwidth, BOCC,R2D from a Reader perspective: The frequency resources used for transmitting R2D, and potential guard band;• BOCC,R2D S Btx,R2D. Further constraint(s) e.g., BOCC,R2D = Btx,R2D.

[0061] For device-to-reader (D2R) transmissions (transmissions from the A-loT devices to the reference nodes), the following bandwidth was proposed for discussion: A-loT UL study defines the following bandwidths:• Transmission bandwidth, Btx.ur from one device perspective: The frequency resources used for transmitting A-loT uplink.• Channel bandwidth, Behan, UL from one device perspective: The frequency resources used for transmitting A-loT uplink, and guard-bands (number of subcarriers for OFDM).• System bandwidth, Bsys.uL from one device perspective. The frequency span containing all the frequency resources that can be scheduled by the Reader for A-loT uplink from any number of devices (this does not assume any particular number of devices is supported).• Bsys.UL — Behan, UL > Btx.UL.

[0062] At least the following time domain frame structure may be studied for A-loT R2D and D2R transmission.• For R2D transmission, a R2D timing acquisition signal (e.g. R2D preamble) is included at least for timing acquisition and for indicating the start of the R2D transmission in time domain.• For D2R transmission, a D2R timing acquisition signal (e.g. D2R preamble) is included at least for timing acquisition and for indicating the start of the D2R transmission in time domain.• other necessary component(s), e.g. mid-amble, post-amble, periodic sync signal, control fields, guard period.

[0063] For transmitting the carrier wave (CW) in DL / UL spectrum, 3GPP has agreed to study the following:• For the case that D2R backscattering is transmitted in the same carrier as CW for D2R backscattering, and for topology 1 , the following cases for CW transmission are studied. oCase 1-1 : CW is transmitted from inside the topology, transmitted in DL spectrum. oCase 1-2: CW is transmitted from inside the topology, transmitted in UL spectrum. oCase 1-4: CW is transmitted from outside the topology, transmitted in UL spectrum.• For the case that D2R backscattering is transmitted in the same carrier as CW for D2Rbackscatteri ng, and for topology 2, the following cases for CW transmission are studied. oCase 2-2: CW is transmitted from inside the topology (i.e., intermediate UE), transmitted in UL spectrum. oCase 2-3: CW is transmitted from outside the topology, transmitted in DL spectrum. oCase 2-4: CW is transmitted from outside the topology, transmitted in UL spectrum.Work Principle and Example Signaling for Communication

[0064] The positioning requirements for 5G systems to support A-loT devices has been defined for several A-loT use cases in SA1 study item including using the A-loT devices for medical instruments inventory management, automobile manufacturing, and to find remote lost items. Challenges of enabling A-loT positioning to either locate the A-loT device or use the A-loT device to locate other devices have been discussed recently.

[0065] Based on the current discussions, the potential bandwidth size ranges from 180 KHz to a few MHz for A-loT devices, which would be insufficient to achieve the required the positioning accuracy.

[0066] For Topology 1 in FIG. 2A, an R2D signal is transmitted by the gNB to the A-loT device and a D2R signal is backscattered from the A-loT device to the gNB. For Topology 2 in FIG. 2B, the gNB is the serving gNB of an intermediate node (UE) and the UE communicates with the A-loT device through a SL R2D transmission. The A-loT then backscatters the D2R transmissions to the UE.

[0067] The D2R transmission of the A-loT devices 1 and 2a is backscattered on a CW that is transmitted to the A-loT device by an external emitter or by the node communicating with the A- loT device (intermediate node (i.e., UE)). It should also be noted that the backscatter communication is a signal transmission method for loT devices that are battery-less or energylimited.

[0068] For topology 2, for example, the intermediate node (UE) sends a CW signal to activate A- loT device and a wireless signal via sidelink, such as SL Positioning Reference Signals (PRS) or a wireless signal modulated with On-Off Keying (OOK) techniques, to the A-loT device using the R2D transmission bandwidth Btx,R2D. The A-loT device receives the CW and the R2D signal and backscatters a D2R signal to the UE using the D2R transmission bandwidth Btx,D2R. The UE performs the measurements (such as the timing measurement) for the backscattered D2R received from the A-loT device and reports them to the LMF to estimate the A-loT device location. This isdone using a request form the LMF to the UE to provide a positioning measurement for the A-loT device.

[0069] However, given the limited capabilities of the A-loT device, the D2R transmission bandwidth Btx,D2R used for backscattering the D2R signal is not enough for the UE to perform the measurements and is not enough also for the LMF to estimate the A-loT device location. Furthermore, the R2D transmission bandwidth Btx,R2D used for the R2D resources that were configured at and transmitted by the UE is generally larger than the Btx,D2R bandwidth used to backscatter them by the A-loT device, because the UE typically has higher capabilities compared to the A-loT devices.

[0070] The utilization of the backscattering functionality to estimate the A-loT device location would be a critical issue. Specifically, it is challengeable about how to enable the UE / gNB / LMF estimate the position of the A-loT device accurately, and how to enable the A-loT device to backscatter D2R signals with a bandwidth that is large enough to accurately estimate its location despite its limited capability.

[0071] In summary, there is no solution may overcome the limited capabilities of A-loT device and to support enough bandwidth for D2R transmissions to achieve a positioning estimation accuracy that is in line with the target positioning accuracy requirements.

[0072] According to the present disclosure, an improved positioning estimation solution which achieve a positioning estimation accuracy that is in line with the target positioning accuracy requirements is enabled. Details will be discussed with reference to FIG. 3, which illustrates a signaling flow 300 of communication in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purposes of discussion, signaling flow 300 will be discussed with reference to FIG. 1 , for example, by using the first apparatus 110 and the second apparatus 120 and the third apparatus 130.

[0073] In the context of the present disclosure, the types of A-loT device(s) discussed in this invention may be type 1 and type 2a connected via Topology 1 or Topology 2 with the UE acting as an intermediate node as described herein.

[0074] For a better understanding, in the following example embodiments, the first apparatus 110 may be or may be comprised in an ambient internet-of-things device, and the second apparatus 120 may be or may be comprised in a network device or a terminal device acting as an intermediate node for the ambient internet-of-things device, and the third apparatus 130 may be or may be comprised in a location management function.

[0075] It should be noted that, in some cases, the second apparatus 120 may be not a single apparatus but a set of apparatuses including one or more terminal devices and / or one or morenetwork devices.

[0076] In some example embodiments, a measurement on the first apparatus 110 by using a plurality of frequency shifted signals may be triggered by the third apparatus 130. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the third apparatus 130 may transmit (310-1), to the second apparatus 120, a request to perform a measurement on the first apparatus 110 by using a plurality of frequency shifted signals and the second apparatus 120 may receive (310-2) the request accordingly.

[0077] More details behaviours of the first apparatus 110, the second apparatus 120 and the third apparatus 130 will be discussed as below.

[0078] In operation, the first apparatus 110 receives (330) a plurality of first signals with a first frequency and transmits (340) a plurality of second signals to a further apparatus, where the plurality of second signals are backscattered from the plurality of first signals respectively, the plurality of second signals having respective second frequencies shifted relative to the first frequency.

[0079] In some example embodiments, the first frequency may be in an uplink spectrum, and the second frequencies may be in at least one of: the uplink spectrum, or a downlink spectrum.

[0080] Reference is now made to FIG. 4, which illustrates an illustrative example of frequencyhopped backscattering 400 in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. Specifically, FIG. 4 illustrates how the A-loT device may be requested to perform frequencyhopped backscattering by shifting the carrier frequency of the received R2D transmissions and backscattering them back to reader using the indicated frequency shift by the UE and / or the gNB. For FIG. 4, in Topology 2, the R2D signals are transmitted in UL spectrum, which is the same band of backscattered D2R transmissions if the CW is transmitted by UE (case 2-2). If the CW is transmitted by a standalone emitter, the D2R transmissions can be backscattered in UL or DL spectrum based on the spectrum in which the CW is transmitted (cases 2-3 and 2-4).

[0081] In some example embodiments, the plurality of first signals may be transmitted by the second apparatus 120 to the first apparatus 110.

[0082] In some example embodiments, two neighboring signals of the plurality of first signals may be separated in time domain by at least one of: a predefined or configured time gap, or a postamble.

[0083] Reference is now made to FIG. 5, which illustrates an illustrative example of option 1 for the A-loT reception timeline in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. In FIG. 5, there is a time gap between the different parts of the positioning signal. This time gap represents the required data processing time of the A-loT device so it can understand the end and start of each positioning signal.

[0084] Reference is now made to FIG. 6, which illustrates an illustrative example of option 2 for the A-loT reception timeline in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. In FIG. 6, there is a post-amble after each part of the positioning signal to help the A-loT device to determine the end and start of each part of the positioning signal.

[0085] As for the second apparatus 120, the second apparatus 120 obtains (350) a plurality of second signals backscattered by a first apparatus 110 from a plurality of first signals respectively, where the plurality of first signals have a first frequency and the plurality of second signals have respective second frequencies shifted relative to the first frequency. Then the second apparatus 120 performs (360) a measurement on the first apparatus 110 based on the plurality of second signals.

[0086] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus 120 may combine the plurality of second signals into a bandwidth wider than a bandwidth of each of the plurality of second signals at least with a compensation for phase differences between the plurality of second signals; and then may perform a measurement on the combined plurality of second signals.

[0087] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus 120 may combine the plurality of second signals’ sequences into a sequence larger than the sequence of each of the plurality of second signals; and then may perform a measurement on the combined sequence of the second signals.

[0088] In some example embodiments, the plurality of second signals may be received at the second apparatus 120 from the first apparatus 110. Alternatively, in some other example embodiments, the plurality of second signals may be forwarded by a further apparatus. As one example, the further apparatus (such as, a terminal device) may receive a plurality of second signals and forwarded the plurality of second signals to the second apparatus 120 (such as, a network device). As another example, the further apparatus may receive the plurality of second signals, and provide reception information of the plurality of second signals (such as. receiving strength information and / or receiving time information and / or arrival of angle information and so on) to the second apparatus 120.

[0089] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus 120 may obtain (320) a configuration for transmission of the plurality of first signals and the plurality of second signals.

[0090] Additionally, in some example embodiments, the configuration may indicate at least one of:• a frequency resource for the plurality of first signals,• a frequency resource for the plurality of second signals, or• the number of the plurality of second signals.

[0091] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus 120 may estimate (380) a location ofthe first apparatus 110 based on the result of the measurement.

[0092] In some example embodiments, second apparatus 120 may transmit (370-1) a result of the measurement to a third apparatus 130 for estimating a location of the first apparatus 110.

[0093] As for the third apparatus 130, the third apparatus 130 receives (370-2) a result of a measurement on a first apparatus 110 from a second apparatus 120, wherein the measurement is performed based on the request ( received at 310-2) from the third apparatus 130 and the plurality of second signals backscattered by the first apparatus 110 from a plurality of first signals respectively, the plurality of first signals having a first frequency and the plurality of second signals having respective second frequencies shifted relative to the first frequency. Then, the third apparatus 130 estimates (390) a location of the first apparatus 110 based on the result of the measurement.

[0094] Optionally, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure, capability information may be exchanged between the related apparatuses, as discussed below.

[0095] As illustrated in the FIG. 3, the first apparatus 110 may transmit (305) capability information about a capability of the first apparatus 110 in frequency shifting to the further apparatus (such as, the second apparatus 120 and / or the third apparatus 130).

[0096] As for the second apparatus 120, the second apparatus 120 may receive, from the first apparatus 110, capability information about a capability of the first apparatus 110 in frequency shifting. In some example embodiments, the second apparatus 120 may further transmit the capability information to a third apparatus 130.

[0097] As for the third apparatus 130, the third apparatus 130 may obtain capability information about a capability of the first apparatus 110 in frequency shifting, such as, from the first apparatus 110 or the second apparatus 120.

[0098] According to the above processes, the location estimation accuracy is enhanced. Especially, the positioning / sidelink positioning functionality for the A-loT devices with backscattering capability is well supported.Embodiments

[0099] In order to better understand the above procedure, some example embodiments will be further discussed as below.

[0100] The main aspect of the present disclosure is to enable the reader (i.e., UE / gNB) to perform measurements (e.g., positioning measurements such as timing measurements) for the backscattered signals from the A-loT devices by concatenating the frequency-shifted (i.e.,frequency-hopped) D2R transmissions and report these measurements to the LMF. Such a method allows the reader to use a wider bandwidth and / or a larger sequence that could be wide and / or large enough (i.e., wider than the D2R transmission bandwidth or larger than the sequences used for D2R transmissions) to estimate the A-loT device location accurately despite its limited capability that supports D2R transmissions over significantly smaller bandwidths and sequences than conventional bandwidths and sequences used for positioning. Furthermore, it enables the LMF to receive different D2R measurements from the reader (UE / gNB) for the backscattered D2R transmissions from the A-loT device to estimate its location.

[0101] The proposed method enables the reader (UE / gNB) to request the A-loT device to perform backscattering of the received R2D signal by shifting the carrier frequency fclinto fcl+ A / A or into fc2+ A / A which can be contained in the control information or the data container of the R2D transmissions. In other words, the A-loT device is indicated to perform backscattering transmission with N frequency-shifting operation for the N received wireless signals.

[0102] It also enables the reader (UE / gNB) to receive different frequency-shifted (i.e., frequencyhopped) backscattered D2R transmissions over the limited D2R transmission bandwidth Btx.D2R, estimate the phase differences between them, and combine them into a wider bandwidth (i.e., than Btx,D2R) or a larger sequence to obtain a measurement (e.g., positioning measurement such as timing measurement) and report them to LMF to accurately estimate the A-loT device position.

[0103] FIG. 4 illustrates how the A-loT device may be requested to perform frequency-shifted backscattering by shifting the carrier frequency of the received R2D transmissions and backscattering them back to reader using the indicated frequency shift by the UE and / or the gNB. For FIG. 4, in Topology 2, the R2D signals are transmitted in UL spectrum, which is the same band of backscattered D2R transmissions if the CW is transmitted by UE (case 2-2). If the CW is transmitted by a standalone emitter, the D2R transmissions can be backscattered in UL or DL spectrum based on the spectrum in which the CW is transmitted (cases 2-3 and 2-4).

[0104] The respective behaviour of the UE, gNB, LMF, and A-loT device are discussed in the following. By enabling the UE / gNB to perform measurements (e.g., positioning measurements such as timing measurements) on the frequency-shifted backscattered D2R transmissions from the A-loT devices, the positioning functionality for A-loT devices is well supported. It should be noted that the frequency-shifting functionality is now actively considered to avoid interference issues and full duplex capability at the reader.

[0105] Reference is now made to FIG. 7, which illustrate a signaling chart 700 of communication according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0106] In operation, at Step 1 , the reader (intermediate node such as UE in FIG. 2A) or an externalCW node activates the A-loT device with a CW transmitted in UL or DL spectrum to provide its limited capability information including its frequency shifting capability. A gNB could be an example of an CW node activating the A-loT device.

[0107] In some example embodiments, at Step 2, the A-loT device informs the UE that it would perform backscattering of the positioning R2D transmissions (that will be received from the UE) and reports its frequency shifting capability to the UE. The UE in turn informs the gNB and / or the LMF with the A-loT device capability (and / or device ID).

[0108] In one embodiment, at Step 5, for the received R2D signal in UL spectrum with a carrier frequency fc UL, the A-loT device can support applying a frequency shift up to / V * A to the received R2D signal and backscattering a D2R signal with that frequency shift. Here, N represents the number of backscattered D2R signals the A-loT device can perform for the same received R2D carrier frequency. For example, if TV = 1, 2, 3 , the A-loT device can support up to three backscattered D2R transmissions for the received the received R2D signal with a carrier frequency fc, where the center frequency of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rdbackscattered D2R transmissions can be fc,uL3A , respectively. In another embodiment, the frequency shifting could include carrier frequency shifting. In addition, the A-loT device may inform the minimum required time to perform the frequency shifting.

[0109] In another embodiment, for the received R2D signal in UL spectrum with an UL carrier frequency fc UL, the A-loT device can support applying a frequency shift to a DL carrier frequency fc,DL up to N * A to the received R2D signal and backscattering a D2R signal with that frequency shift. For example, if the carrier frequency of the received R2D signal is fc ULand N = 3, the A- loT device can backscatter the 1st, 2nd, and 3rdbackscattered D2R transmissions with carrier frequencies of fcDL+ A, fcDL+ 2A, and fcDL+ 3A, respectively.

[0110] As for the LMF, in some example embodiments, at Step 3, the LMF may initiate the positioning session, provides the gNB / UE with the configuration of N positioning R2D signals, and requests the gNB / UE positioning measurements from the N frequency-shifted (i.e., hopped) backscattered D2R transmissions from the A-loT device.

[0111] In some example embodiments, the provided positioning signal resource may occupy at least more than 2 symbols, so that the gNB / UE can perform the positioning measurement with frequency hopping.

[0112] In some example embodiments, at Step 4, the gNB may provide the UE with the resource configuration for the positioning signal R2D transmissions to the A-loT device, the resource configuration for the A-loT backscattered D2R transmissions, and the A-loT device informationincluding its frequency shifting capability.

[0113] In another embodiment, the gNB may also transmit the N positioning signals (e.g., sequences) to the UE to provide it to the A-loT device.

[0114] The provided resources for the positioning signal R2D transmissions to the A-loT device may be transmitted in UL spectrum using the wideband R2D transmission bandwidth Btx,R2D that have a carrier frequency, for example fc UL. These resources may occupy at least more than 2 symbols so that the UE can perform RF re-tunning (i.e., phase compensation) while combining the backscattered frequency-hopped D2R transmissions from the A-loT device.

[0115] In one embodiment, the provided resources for the positioning backscattered D2R transmissions from the A-loT device may be transmitted in UL spectrum using the frequency hopping D2R transmission bandwidth Btx,D2R (subject to the A-loT device capability and depending on a level of stored energy) that have a carrier frequency, for example fc UL+ NA, where N depends on the number of supported frequency shifts by the A-loT device.

[0116] In another embodiment, the positioning backscattered D2R transmissions from the A-loT device may be transmitted in DL spectrum using the frequency hopping D2R transmission bandwidth Btx,D2R (subject to the A-loT device capability and depending on a level of stored energy) that have a carrier frequency, for example fc DL+ NA, where N depends on the number of supported frequency shifts by the A-loT device.

[0117] The A-loT device information about frequency shifting capability determine the number of frequency shifts that the A-loT device can apply to the received R2D transmission to backscatter its D2R transmissions to the UE. For example, if N = 3, this means that the A-loT device can backscatter 3 D2R transmission each is with a different carrier frequency that varies based on the value of N.

[0118] In some example embodiments, the UE transmits the positioning signal R2D transmissions to the A-loT device, and at Step 6 the A-loT device backscatters N D2R transmissions to the UE each with a shifted carrier frequency using the indicated resource configuration by the gNB to the UE.

[0119] The UE / gNB indicates the A-loT device to perform backscattering transmission of received signal R2D transmissions (for example, positioning signals 1 , 2, and 3 if N = 3) by shifting carrier frequency into fc UL+ A, fc UL+ 2A, and fc UL+ 34, respectively. It should be noted that this carrier frequency shift can be into another carrier as fc DL+ 4, fc DL+ 24, and fc DL+ 34, respectively. This indication information can be contained in a control information or data container.

[0120] In some example embodiments (referred to as Option 1 ), for the time domain frame structureof the R2D transmissions, there may be time gap between the positioning signals 1 , 2, and 3 so that the A-loT device can recognize the start and end of each positioning signal. The time length of each positioning signal includes the time gap.

[0121] Reference is now made to FIG. 5, which illustrates an illustrative example of option 1 for the A-loT reception timeline in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. In FIG.5, there is a time gap between the different parts of the positioning signal. This time gap represents the required data processing time of the A-loT device so it can understand the end and start of each positioning signal.

[0122] Alternatively, in some other example embodiments (referred to as Option 2), another option for the time domain frame structure of the R2D transmissions is to have a post-amble after each positioning signal to help the A-loT device to understand the start and the end of each positioning signal as illustrated in FIG. 6.

[0123] Reference is now made to FIG. 6, which illustrates an illustrative example of option 2 for the A-loT reception timeline in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. In FIG.6, there is a post-amble after each part of the positioning signal to help the A-loT device to determine the end and start of each part of the positioning signal.

[0124] According to the present disclosure, two positioning methods are supporter, which are referred to as Method 1 and Method 2, respectively. In the following, these two methods will be discussed separately.

[0125] As for Method 1 , the UE provides the gNB with the frequency-hopped (i.e., shifted) backscattered positioning signal D2R transmissions it received from the A-loT device.

[0126] LMF requests the gNB to use N number of D2R frequency hops (shifts) when the gNB is performing the positioning measurements such as UL RTOA (relative time of arrival) or gNB Rx- Tx time difference, where N is the number of supported frequency shifts by the A-loT device.

[0127] Through frequency shifting (i.e., hopping) gNB receives the A-loT device backscattered signals from the UE, estimates the phase difference between them, combines them into a wider bandwidth, performs positioning measurements, and reports them to the LMF.

[0128] This case could be beneficial given that the gNB has higher processing capability (than the UE) which can be utilized to perform the positioning measurements with high accuracy through advanced positioning measurement methods (that may not be available at the UE).

[0129] Then, LMF may estimate the A-loT device location based on the reported measurements from multiple gNBs.

[0130] As for Method 2, the UE receives the backscattered D2R signals from the A-loT device, estimates the phase difference between them, combines them into a wider bandwidth, performsthe positioning measurements, and reports the measurements (e.g., RSTD measurements) that were made from the same number of frequency hops (shifts) that the A-loT device supports.

[0131] In a case of UE / A-loT-assisted positioning, at Step 7, LMF receives the measurements from the UE and estimates the location of the A-loT device.

[0132] In a case of UE-based positioning, UE estimates the location of the A-loT device.Example methods

[0133] FIG. 8 shows a flowchart of an example method 800 implemented at a first apparatus in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the method 800 will be described from the perspective of the first apparatus in FIG. 1.

[0134] At block 810, the first apparatus receives a plurality of first signals with a first frequency.

[0135] At block 820, the first apparatus transmits, to a further apparatus, a plurality of second signals backscattered from the plurality of first signals respectively, the plurality of second signals having respective second frequencies shifted relative to the first frequency.

[0136] In some example embodiments, two neighboring signals of the plurality of first signals are separated in time domain by at least one of: a predefined or configured time gap, or a post-amble.

[0137] In some example embodiments, the first frequency is in an uplink spectrum, and the second frequencies are in at least one of: the uplink spectrum, or a downlink spectrum.

[0138] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus transmits, to the further apparatus, capability information about a capability of the first apparatus in frequency shifting.

[0139] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus is or is comprised in an ambient internet- of-things device, and the further apparatus is or is comprised in a network device or a terminal device acting as an intermediate node for the ambient internet-of-things device.

[0140] FIG. 9 shows a flowchart of an example method 900 implemented at a second apparatus in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the method 900 will be described from the perspective of the second apparatus 120 in FIG. 1.

[0141] At block 910, the second apparatus receives, from a third apparatus, an indication to use a plurality of frequency shifted signals from a first apparatus for a measurement on the first apparatus.

[0142] At block 920, the second apparatus obtains a plurality of second signals backscattered by the first apparatus from a plurality of first signals respectively, the plurality of first signals having a first frequency and the plurality of second signals having respective second frequencies shiftedrelative to the first frequency.

[0143] At block 930, the second apparatus perform the measurement on the first apparatus based on the received indication and the plurality of second signals.

[0144] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus transmits a result of the measurement to a third apparatus for estimating a location of the first apparatus.

[0145] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus estimates a location of the first apparatus based on the result of the measurement.

[0146] In some example embodiments, the plurality of second signals is received from the first apparatus, or the plurality of second signals is forwarded by a further apparatus.

[0147] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus receives, from the first apparatus, capability information about a capability of the first apparatus in frequency shifting; and transmitting the capability information to a third apparatus.

[0148] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus obtains a configuration for transmission of the plurality of first signals and the plurality of second signals.

[0149] In some example embodiments, the configuration indicates at least one of: a frequency resource for the plurality of first signals, a frequency resource for the plurality of second signals, or the number of the plurality of second signals.

[0150] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus combines the plurality of second signals into a bandwidth wider than the bandwidth of each of the plurality of second signals at least with a compensation for phase differences between the plurality of second signals; or into a sequence larger than the sequence of each of the plurality of second signals; and performs a measurement on the combined plurality of second signals.

[0151] In some example embodiments, the plurality of first signals is transmitted by the second apparatus to the first apparatus.

[0152] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus is or is comprised in an ambient internet- of-things device, the second apparatus is or is comprised in a network device or a terminal device acting as an intermediate node for the ambient internet-of-things device, and the third apparatus is or is comprised in a location management function.

[0153] FIG. 10 shows a flowchart of an example method 1000 implemented at a third apparatus in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the method 1000 will be described from the perspective of the third apparatus 130 in FIG. 1.

[0154] At block 1010, the third apparatus transmits, to a second apparatus, an indication to use a plurality of frequency shifted signals from a first apparatus for a measurement on the firstapparatus.

[0155] At block 1020, the third apparatus receives, from a second apparatus, a result of the measurement on the first apparatus, wherein the measurement is based on the indication and a plurality of second signals backscattered by the first apparatus from a plurality of first signals respectively, the plurality of first signals having a first frequency and the plurality of second signals having respective second frequencies shifted relative to the first frequency.

[0156] At block 1030, the third apparatus estimates a location of the first apparatus based on the result of the measurement.

[0157] In some example embodiments, the third apparatus obtains capability information about a capability of the first apparatus in frequency shifting.

[0158] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus is or is comprised in an ambient internet- of-things device, and the second apparatus is or is comprised in a network device or a terminal device acting as an intermediate node for the ambient internet-of-things device, and the third apparatus is or is comprised in a location management function.Example Apparatus, Device and Medium

[0159] In some example embodiments, a first apparatus capable of performing any of the method 800 (for example, the first apparatus 110 in FIG. 1) may comprise means for performing the respective operations of the method 800. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuitry or software module. The first apparatus may be implemented as or included in the first apparatus 110 in FIG. 1 .

[0160] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus comprises means for receiving a plurality of first signals with a first frequency; and means for transmitting, to a further apparatus, a plurality of second signals backscattered from the plurality of first signals respectively, the plurality of second signals having respective second frequencies shifted relative to the first frequency.

[0161] In some example embodiments, two neighboring signals of the plurality of first signals are separated in time domain by at least one of: a predefined or configured time gap, or a post-amble.

[0162] In some example embodiments, the first frequency is in an uplink spectrum, and the second frequencies are in at least one of: the uplink spectrum, or a downlink spectrum.

[0163] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: means for transmitting, to the further apparatus, capability information about a capability of the first apparatus in frequency shifting.

[0164] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus is or is comprised in an ambient internet-of-things device, and the further apparatus is or is comprised in a network device or a terminal device acting as an intermediate node for the ambient internet-of-things device.

[0165] In some example embodiments, a second apparatus capable of performing any of the method 900 (for example, the second apparatus 120 in FIG. 1 ) may comprise means for performing the respective operations of the method 900. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuitry or software module. The second apparatus may be implemented as or included in the second apparatus 120 in FIG. 1.

[0166] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus comprises means for receiving, at a second apparatus and from a third apparatus, an indication to use a plurality of frequency shifted signals from a first apparatus for a measurement on the first apparatus; means for obtaining a plurality of second signals backscattered by the first apparatus from a plurality of first signals respectively, the plurality of first signals having a first frequency and the plurality of second signals having respective second frequencies shifted relative to the first frequency; and means for performing the measurement on the first apparatus based on the received indication and the plurality of second signals.

[0167] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus further comprises: means for estimating a location of the first apparatus based on the result of the measurement.

[0168] In some example embodiments, the plurality of second signals is received from the first apparatus, or the plurality of second signals is forwarded by a further apparatus.

[0169] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus further comprises: means for receiving, from the first apparatus, capability information about a capability of the first apparatus in frequency shifting; and means for transmitting the capability information to a third apparatus.

[0170] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus further comprises: means for obtaining a configuration for transmission of the plurality of first signals and the plurality of second signals.

[0171] In some example embodiments, the configuration indicates at least one of: a frequency resource for the plurality of first signals, a frequency resource for the plurality of second signals, or the number of the plurality of second signals.

[0172] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus further comprises: means for combining the plurality of second signals into a bandwidth wider than the bandwidth of each of the plurality of second signals at least with a compensation for phase differences between the plurality of second signals; or into a sequence larger than the sequence of each of the plurality of second signals and means for performing a measurement on the combined plurality of second signals.

[0173] In some example embodiments, the plurality of first signals is transmitted by the secondapparatus to the first apparatus.

[0174] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus is or is comprised in an ambient internet- of-things device, the second apparatus is or is comprised in a network device or a terminal device acting as an intermediate node for the ambient internet-of-things device, and the third apparatus is or is comprised in a location management function.

[0175] In some example embodiments, a third apparatus capable of performing any of the method 1000 (for example, the third apparatus 130 in FIG. 1) may comprise means for performing the respective operations of the method 1000. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuitry or software module. The third apparatus may be implemented as or included in the third apparatus 130 in FIG. 1 .

[0176] In some example embodiments, the third apparatus comprises means for transmitting, at a third apparatus and to a second apparatus, an indication to use a plurality of frequency shifted signals from a first apparatus for a measurement on the first apparatus; means for receiving, from the second apparatus, a result of the measurement on the first apparatus, wherein the measurement is based on the indication and a plurality of second signals backscattered by the first apparatus from a plurality of first signals respectively, the plurality of first signals having a first frequency and the plurality of second signals having respective second frequencies shifted relative to the first frequency; and means for estimating a location of the first apparatus based on the result of the measurement.

[0177] In some example embodiments, the third apparatus further comprises: means for obtaining capability information about a capability of the first apparatus in frequency shifting.

[0178] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus is or is comprised in an ambient internet- of-things device, and the second apparatus is or is comprised in a network device or a terminal device acting as an intermediate node for the ambient internet-of-things device, and the third apparatus is or is comprised in a location management function.

[0179] FIG. 11 is a simplified block diagram of a device 1100 that is suitable for implementing example embodiments of the present disclosure. The device 1100 may be provided to implement a communication device, for example, the first, second or third apparatus as shown in FIG. 1 . As shown, the device 1100 includes one or more processors 1110, one or more memories 1120 coupled to the processor 1110, and one or more communication modules 1140 coupled to the processor 1110.

[0180] The communication module 1140 is for bidirectional communications. The communication module 1140 has one or more communication interfaces to facilitate communication with one or more other modules or devices. The communication interfaces may represent any interface that isnecessary for communication with other network elements. In some example embodiments, the communication module 1140 may include at least one antenna.

[0181] The processor 1110 may be of any type suitable to the local technical network and may include one or more of the following: general purpose computers, special purpose computers, microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs) and processors based on multicore processor architecture, as non-limiting examples. The device 1100 may have multiple processors, such as an application specific integrated circuit chip that is slaved in time to a clock which synchronizes the main processor.

[0182] The memory 1120 may include one or more non-volatile memories and one or more volatile memories. Examples of the non-volatile memories include, but are not limited to, a Read Only Memory (ROM) 1124, an electrically programmable read only memory (EPROM), a flash memory, a hard disk, a compact disc (CD), a digital video disk (DVD), an optical disk, a laser disk, and other magnetic storage and / or optical storage. Examples of the volatile memories include, but are not limited to, a random-access memory (RAM) 1122 and other volatile memories that will not last in the power-down duration.

[0183] A computer program 1130 includes computer executable instructions that are executed by the associated processor 1110. The instructions of the program 1130 may include instructions for performing operations / acts of some example embodiments of the present disclosure. The program 1130 may be stored in the memory, e.g., the ROM 1124. The processor 1110 may perform any suitable actions and processing by loading the program 1130 into the RAM 1122.

[0184] The example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by means of the program 1130 so that the device 1100 may perform any process of the disclosure as discussed with reference to FIG.3 to FIG. 10. The example embodiments of the present disclosure may also be implemented by hardware or by a combination of software and hardware.

[0185] In some example embodiments, the program 1130 may be tangibly contained in a computer readable medium which may be included in the device 1100 (such as in the memory 1120) or other storage devices that are accessible by the device 1100. The device 1100 may load the program 1130 from the computer readable medium to the RAM 1122 for execution. In some example embodiments, the computer readable medium may include any types of non-transitory storage medium, such as ROM, EPROM, a flash memory, a hard disk, CD, DVD, and the like. The term “non-transitory,” as used herein, is a limitation of the medium itself (i.e., tangible, not a signal) as opposed to a limitation on data storage persistency (e.g., RAM vs. ROM).

[0186] FIG. 12 shows an example of the computer readable medium 1200 which may be in form of CD, DVD or other optical storage disk. The computer readable medium 1200 has the program1130 stored thereon.

[0187] Generally, various embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in hardware or special purpose circuits, software, logic or any combination thereof. Some aspects may be implemented in hardware, and other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software which may be executed by a controller, microprocessor or other computing device. Although various aspects of embodiments of the present disclosure are illustrated and described as block diagrams, flowcharts, or using some other pictorial representations, it is to be understood that the block, apparatus, system, technique or method described herein may be implemented in, as non-limiting examples, hardware, software, firmware, special purpose circuits or logic, general purpose hardware or controller or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

[0188] Some example embodiments of the present disclosure also provide at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a computer readable medium, such as a non-transitory computer readable medium. The computer program product includes computer-executable instructions, such as those included in program modules, being executed in a device on a target physical or virtual processor, to carry out any of the methods as described above. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, or the like that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. The functionality of the program modules may be combined or split between program modules as desired in various embodiments. Machine-executable instructions for program modules may be executed within a local or distributed device. In a distributed device, program modules may be located in both local and remote storage media.

[0189] Program code for carrying out methods of the present disclosure may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. The program code may be provided to a processor or controller of a general-purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus, such that the program code, when executed by the processor or controller, cause the functions / operations specified in the flowcharts and / or block diagrams to be implemented. The program code may execute entirely on a machine, partly on the machine, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the machine and partly on a remote machine or entirely on the remote machine or server.

[0190] In the context of the present disclosure, the computer program code or related data may be carried by any suitable carrier to enable the device, apparatus or processor to perform various processes and operations as described above. Examples of the carrier include a signal, computer readable medium, and the like.

[0191] The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signal medium or a computerreadable storage medium. A computer readable medium may include but not limited to an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples of the computer readable storage medium would include an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random-access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

[0192] Further, although operations are depicted in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring that such operations be performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, or that all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirable results. In certain circumstances, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Likewise, although several specific implementation details are contained in the above discussions, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the present disclosure, but rather as descriptions of features that may be specific to particular embodiments. Unless explicitly stated, certain features that are described in the context of separate embodiments may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, unless explicitly stated, various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented in a plurality of embodiments separately or in any suitable sub-combination.

[0193] Although the present disclosure has been described in languages specific to structural features and / or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the present disclosure defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

Claims

Claims:1 . A first apparatus comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the first apparatus at least to: receive a plurality of first signals with a first frequency; and transmit, to a further apparatus, a plurality of second signals backscattered from the plurality of first signals respectively, the plurality of second signals having respective second frequencies shifted relative to the first frequency.

2. The first apparatus of claim 1 , wherein two neighboring signals of the plurality of first signals are separated in time domain by at least one of: a predefined or configured time gap, or a post-amble.

3. The first apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first frequency is in an uplink spectrum, and the second frequencies are in at least one of: the uplink spectrum, or a downlink spectrum.

4. The first apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first apparatus is further caused to: transmit, to the further apparatus, capability information about a capability of the first apparatus in frequency shifting.

5. The first apparatus of any of claims 1 to 4, wherein the first apparatus is or is comprised in an ambient internet-of-things device, and the further apparatus is or is comprised in a network device or a terminal device acting as an intermediate node for the ambient internet-of-things device.

6. A second apparatus comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the second apparatus at least to:receive, from a third apparatus, an indication to use a plurality of frequency shifted signals from a first apparatus for a measurement on the first apparatus; obtain a plurality of second signals backscattered by the first apparatus from a plurality of first signals respectively, the plurality of first signals having a first frequency and the plurality of second signals having respective second frequencies shifted relative to the first frequency; and perform the measurement on the first apparatus based on the received indication and the plurality of second signals.

7. The second apparatus of claim 6, wherein the second apparatus is further caused to: transmit a result of the measurement to a third apparatus for estimating a location of the first apparatus.

8. The second apparatus of claim 6, wherein the second apparatus is further caused to: estimate a location of the first apparatus based on the result of the measurement.

9. The second apparatus of claim 6, wherein the plurality of second signals is received from the first apparatus, or the plurality of second signals is forwarded by a further apparatus.

10. The second apparatus of claim 6, wherein the second apparatus is further caused to: receive, from the first apparatus, capability information about a capability of the first apparatus in frequency shifting; and transmit the capability information to a third apparatus.11 . The second apparatus of claim 6, wherein the second apparatus is further caused to: obtain a configuration for transmission of the plurality of first signals and the plurality of second signals.

12. The second apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the configuration indicates at least one of: a frequency resource for the plurality of first signals, a frequency resource for the plurality of second signals, or the number of the plurality of second signals.

13. The second apparatus of claim 6, wherein the second apparatus is caused to: combine the plurality of second signals into a bandwidth wider than a bandwidth of each of the plurality of second signals at least with a compensation for phase differences between the plurality of second signals, or into a sequence larger than the sequence of each of the plurality of second signals; and perform a measurement on the combined plurality of second signals.

14. The second apparatus of claim 6, wherein the plurality of first signals is transmitted by the second apparatus to the first apparatus.

15. The second apparatus of any of claims 7, or 10, wherein the first apparatus is or is comprised in an ambient internet-of-things device, the second apparatus is or is comprised in a network device or a terminal device acting as an intermediate node for the ambient internet-of-things device, and the third apparatus is or is comprised in a location management function.

16. A third apparatus comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the third apparatus at least to: transmit, to a second apparatus, an indication to use a plurality of frequency shifted signals from a first apparatus for a measurement on the first apparatus; receive, from the second apparatus, a result of the measurement on the first apparatus, wherein the measurement is based on the indication and a plurality of second signals backscattered by the first apparatus from a plurality of first signals respectively, the plurality of first signals having a first frequency and the plurality of second signals having respective second frequencies shifted relative to the first frequency; and estimate a location of the first apparatus based on the result of the measurement.

17. The third apparatus of claim 16, wherein the third apparatus is further caused to: obtain capability information about a capability of the first apparatus in frequency shifting.

18. The third apparatus of any of claims 16, or 17, wherein the first apparatus is or is comprised in an ambient internet-of-things device, and the second apparatus is or is comprised in a network device or a terminal device acting as an intermediate node for the ambient internet-of-things device, and thethird apparatus is or is comprised in a location management function.

19. A method comprising: receiving, at a first apparatus, a plurality of first signals with a first frequency; and transmitting, to a further apparatus, a plurality of second signals backscattered from the plurality of first signals respectively, the plurality of second signals having respective second frequencies shifted relative to the first frequency.

20. A method comprising: receiving, at a second apparatus and from a third apparatus, an indication to use a plurality of frequency shifted signals from a first apparatus for a measurement on the first apparatus; obtaining a plurality of second signals backscattered by the first apparatus from a plurality of first signals respectively, the plurality of first signals having a first frequency and the plurality of second signals having respective second frequencies shifted relative to the first frequency; and performing the measurement on the first apparatus based on the received indication and the plurality of second signals.

21. A method comprising: transmitting, at a third apparatus and to a second apparatus, an indication to use a plurality of frequency shifted signals from a first apparatus for a measurement on the first apparatus; receiving, from the second apparatus, a result of the measurement on the first apparatus, wherein the measurement is based on the indication and a plurality of second signals backscattered by the first apparatus from a plurality of first signals respectively, the plurality of first signals having a first frequency and the plurality of second signals having respective second frequencies shifted relative to the first frequency; and estimating a location of the first apparatus based on the result of the measurement.

22. A computer readable medium comprising instructions stored thereon for causing an apparatus at least to perform a method comprising: receiving, at a first apparatus, a plurality of first signals with a first frequency; and transmitting, to a further apparatus, a plurality of second signals backscattered from the plurality of first signals respectively, the plurality of second signals having respective second frequencies shifted relative to the first frequency.

23. A computer readable medium comprising instructions stored thereon for causing an apparatus at least to perform a method comprising: receiving, at a second apparatus from a third apparatus, an indication to use a plurality of frequency shifted signals from a first apparatus for a measurement on the first apparatus; obtaining a plurality of second signals backscattered by the first apparatus from a plurality of first signals respectively, the plurality of first signals having a first frequency and the plurality of second signals having respective second frequencies shifted relative to the first frequency; and performing the measurement on the first apparatus based on the received indication and the plurality of second signals.

24. A computer readable medium comprising instructions stored thereon for causing an apparatus at least to perform a method comprising: transmitting, at a third apparatus to a second apparatus, an indication to use a plurality of frequency shifted signals from a first apparatus for a measurement on the first apparatus; receiving, from the second apparatus, a result of the measurement on the first apparatus, wherein the measurement is based on the indication and a plurality of second signals backscattered by the first apparatus from a plurality of first signals respectively, the plurality of first signals having a first frequency and the plurality of second signals having respective second frequencies shifted relative to the first frequency; and estimating a location of the first apparatus based on the result of the measurement.

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