Methods, architectures, apparatuses and systems for member device selection using energy consumption filtering criteria

Abstract

A network entity receives a selection request message including (i) a set of target wireless transmit / receive units (WTRUs), and (ii) one or more energy consumption and / or credit cost filtering criteria associated therewith. The network entity sends a request message including (i) a request for energy consumption and / or credit cost information associated with providing a service, and (ii) the set. The network entity receives a response message including energy consumption and / or credit cost information associated with the set. The network entity determines a subset of the set that satisfy the one or more energy consumption and / or credit cost filtering criteria based on the received energy consumption and / or credit cost information. The network entity sends a selection result message including (i) the subset that satisfy the one or more energy consumption and / or credit cost filtering criteria, and (ii) an energy consumption and / or credit cost of the subset associated with providing the service.

Description

METHODS, ARCHITECTURES, APPARATUSES AND SYSTEMS FOR MEMBERDEVICE SELECTION USING ENERGY CONSUMPTION FILTERING CRITERIACROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 574,347 filed 04-Apr-2024, which is incorporated herein by reference.BACKGROUND

[0002] The present application is related to the fields of communications, software and encoding, including, for example, to methods, architectures, apparatuses, systems directed to member wireless transmit / receive unit (WTRU) selection using filtering criteria, and more specifically to member WTRU selection using energy consumption information as filtering criteria.

[0003] In a 5G system (5GS), an application function (AF) may be provided with assistance information which may be used to select member WTRUs. A need exists to provide mechanisms, such as for the AF, to consider energy costs associated with the selection of member WTRUs. Consideration of energy costs incurred from the selection of certain member WTRUs may allow for energy consumption to be optimized and / or minimized.BRIEF SUMMARY

[0004] Briefly stated, in one embodiment, a network entity may receive, from an application function (AF), a selection request message that includes information indicating (i) a set of target WTRUs, and (ii) one or more energy consumption and / or credit cost filtering criteria associated with the set of target WTRUs. The network entity may send, to a network data analytics function (NWDAF) and / or an energy efficiency control function (EECF), a request message that includes information indicating (i) a request for energy consumption and / or credit cost information associated with providing a service using the set of target WTRUs, and (ii) the set of target WTRUs. The network entity may receive, from the NWDAF and / or the EECF, a response message that includes information indicating energy consumption and / or credit cost information associated with the set of target WTRUs. The network entity may determine a subset of the set of target WTRUs that satisfy the one or more energy consumption and / or credit cost filtering criteria based on the received energy consumption and / or credit cost information. The network entity may send, to the AF, a selection result message that includes information indicating (i) the subset of target WTRUs that satisfy the one or more energy consumption and / or credit cost filtering criteria,and (ii) an energy consumption and / or credit cost of the subset of target WTRUs associated with providing the service.

[0005] In one embodiment, a network exposure function (NEF) may be configured to receive a member WTRU selection assistance request from an AF. The request may include energy consumption (e.g., cost and / or credit) related filtering criteria, such as a maximum energy consumption cost information, a maximum energy credit cost information, and / or an indication to consider energy consumption when determining candidate WTRUs. The NEF may be triggered (e.g., based on the member WTRU selection assistance request) to interact with a network data analytics function (NWDAF) or energy efficiency control function (EECF) to obtain energy consumption related analytics for the target WTRUs provided by the AF in the member WTRU selection assistance request. Once the NWDAF and / or EECF provides the requested energy consumption related analytics, the NEF may use the energy consumption related analytics information to determine the candidate WTRUs and send a list of the candidate WTRUs together with energy related information to the AF.

[0006] In another embodiment, an AF may send, to a NEF, a selection request message. The selection request message may include information indicating (i) a set of target WTRUs, and (ii) one or more energy consumption filtering criteria associated with providing a service using the set of target WTRUs. The AF may receive, from the NEF, a selection result message that includes information indicating (i) a subset of the set of target WTRUs that satisfy the one or more energy consumption filtering criteria, and (ii) an energy consumption of the subset of the set of target WTRUs associated with providing the service.

[0007] In another embodiment, a NEF may receive, from an AF, a selection request message. The selection request message may include information indicating (i) a set of target WTRUs, and (ii) one or more energy consumption filtering criteria associated with providing a service using the set of target WTRUs. The NEF may send, to a NWDAF and / or an EECF, an analytics request message. The analytics request message may include information indicating (i) a request for energy consumption analytics, and (ii) the set of target WTRUs. The NEF may receive, from the NWDAF and / or the EECF, an analytics response message that includes information indicating energy consumption analytics information associated with the set of target WTRUs. The NEF may determine a subset of the set of target WTRUs that satisfy the one or more energy consumption filtering criteria based on the received energy consumption analytics information. The NEF may send, to the AF, a selection result message. The selection result message may include information indicating (i) the subset of the set of target WTRUs that satisfy the one or more energy consumption filtering criteria, and (ii) an energy consumption of the subset of the set of target WTRUs associated with providing the service.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0008] The following detailed description will be better understood when read in conjunction with the appended drawings, in which there are shown examples of one or more of the multiple embodiments of the present disclosure. It should be understood, however, that the embodiments described herein are not limited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown in the drawings. In the drawings:

[0009] FIG. 1 A is a system diagram illustrating an example communications system, according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0010] FIG. IB is a system diagram illustrating an example wireless transmit / receive unit (WTRU) that may be used within the communications system illustrated in FIG. 1 A, according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0011] FIG. 1C is a system diagram illustrating an example radio access network (RAN) and an example core network (CN) that may be used within the communications system illustrated in FIG. 1 A, according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0012] FIG. ID is a system diagram illustrating a further example RAN and a further example CN that may be used within the communications system illustrated in FIG. 1 A, according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0013] FIG. 2 is a procedural diagram illustrating an example member selection assistance procedure using energy consumption information as filtering criteria, according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0014] FIG. 3 is a procedural diagram illustrating an example member selection assistance procedure which may be performed by a network entity providing an AF, according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure; and

[0015] FIG. 4 is a procedural diagram illustrating an example member selection assistance procedure which may be performed by a network entity providing a NEF, according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0016] In describing the various embodiments of the present disclosure, certain terminology is used herein for convenience only and should not be considered as limiting such embodiments. In the drawings, the same reference numerals are employed for designating the same elements throughout the several figures and the present description.

[0017] In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are set forth to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments and / or examples disclosed herein. However, it will beunderstood that such embodiments and examples may be practiced without some or all of the specific details set forth herein. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures, components and circuits have not been described in detail, so as not to obscure the following description. Further, embodiments and examples not specifically described herein may be practiced in lieu of, or in combination with, the embodiments and other examples described, disclosed or otherwise provided explicitly, implicitly and / or inherently (collectively "provided") herein. Although various embodiments are described and / or claimed herein in which an apparatus, system, device, etc. and / or any element thereof carries out an operation, process, algorithm, function, etc. and / or any portion thereof, it is to be understood that any embodiments described and / or claimed herein assume that any apparatus, system, device, etc. and / or any element thereof is configured to carry out any operation, process, algorithm, function, etc. and / or any portion thereof.

[0018] Example Communications System

[0019] The methods, apparatuses and systems provided herein are well-suited for communications involving both wired and wireless networks. An overview of various types of wireless devices and infrastructure is provided with respect to FIGs. 1A-1D, where various elements of the network may utilize, perform, be arranged in accordance with and / or be adapted and / or configured for the methods, apparatuses and systems provided herein.

[0020] FIG. 1A is a system diagram illustrating an example communications system 100 in which one or more disclosed embodiments may be implemented. The communications system 100 may be a multiple access system that provides content, such as voice, data, video, messaging, broadcast, etc., to multiple wireless users. The communications system 100 may enable multiple wireless users to access such content through the sharing of system resources, including wireless bandwidth. For example, the communications systems 100 may employ one or more channel access methods, such as code division multiple access (CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA), singlecarrier FDMA (SC-FDMA), zero-tail (ZT) unique-word (UW) discreet Fourier transform (DFT) spread OFDM (ZT UW DTS-s OFDM), unique word OFDM (UW-OFDM), resource block- filtered OFDM, filter bank multicarrier (FBMC), and the like.

[0021] As shown in FIG. 1A, the communications system 100 may include wireless transmit / receive units (WTRUs) 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d, a radio access network (RAN) 104 / 113, a core network (CN) 106 / 115, a public switched telephone network (PSTN) 108, the Internet 110, and other networks 112, though it will be appreciated that the disclosed embodiments contemplate any number of WTRUs, base stations, networks, and / or network elements. Each of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d may be any type of device configured to operate and / or communicate in a wireless environment. By way of example, the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d, any of which maybe referred to as a "station" and / or a "STA", may be configured to transmit and / or receive wireless signals and may include (or be) a user equipment (UE), a mobile station, a fixed or mobile subscriber unit, a subscription-based unit, a pager, a cellular telephone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a smartphone, a laptop, a netbook, a personal computer, a wireless sensor, a hotspot or Mi- Fi device, an Internet 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. Any of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and 102d may be interchangeably referred to as a UE.

[0022] The communications systems 100 may also include a base station 114a and / or a base station 114b. Each of the base stations 114a, 114b may be any type of device configured to wirelessly interface with at least one of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d, e.g., to facilitate access to one or more communication networks, such as the CN 106 / 115, the Internet 110, and / or the networks 112. By way of example, the base stations 114a, 114b may be any of a base transceiver station (BTS), a Node-B (NB), an eNode-B (eNB), a Home Node-B (HNB), a Home eNode-B (HeNB), a gNode-B (gNB), a NR Node-B (NR NB), a site controller, an access point (AP), a wireless router, and the like. While the base stations 114a, 114b are each depicted as a single element, it will be appreciated that the base stations 114a, 114b may include any number of interconnected base stations and / or network elements.

[0023] The base station 114a may be part of the RAN 104 / 113, which may also include other base stations and / or network elements (not shown), such as a base station controller (BSC), a radio network controller (RNC), relay nodes, etc. The base station 114a and / or the base station 114b may be configured to transmit and / or receive wireless signals on one or more carrier frequencies, which may be referred to as a cell (not shown). These frequencies may be in licensed spectrum, unlicensed spectrum, or a combination of licensed and unlicensed spectrum. A cell may provide coverage for a wireless service to a specific geographical area that may be relatively fixed or that may change over time. The cell may further be divided into cell sectors. For example, the cell associated with the base station 114a may be divided into three sectors. Thus, in an embodiment, the base station 114a may include three transceivers, i.e., one for each sector of the cell. In an embodiment, the base station 114a may employ multiple-input multiple output (MIMO) technology and may utilize multiple transceivers for each or any sector of the cell. For example, beamforming may be used to transmit and / or receive signals in desired spatial directions.

[0024] The base stations 114a, 114b may communicate with one or more of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d over an air interface 116, which may be any suitable wireless communicationlink (e.g., radio frequency (RF), microwave, centimeter wave, micrometer wave, infrared (IR), ultraviolet (UV), visible light, etc.). The air interface 116 may be established using any suitable radio access technology (RAT).

[0025] More specifically, as noted above, the communications system 100 may be a multiple access system and may employ one or more channel access schemes, such as CDMA, TDMA, FDMA, OFDMA, SC-FDMA, and the like. For example, the base station 114a in the RAN 104 / 113 and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement a radio technology such as Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), which may establish the air interface 116 using wideband CDMA (WCDMA). WCDMA may include communication protocols such as High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA) and / or Evolved HSPA (HSPA+). HSPA may include High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) and / or High-Speed Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA).

[0026] In an embodiment, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement a radio technology such as Evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA), which may establish the air interface 116 using Long Term Evolution (LTE) and / or LTE- Advanced (LTE-A) and / or LTE-Advanced Pro (LTE-A Pro).

[0027] In an embodiment, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement a radio technology such as NR Radio Access, which may establish the air interface 116 using New Radio (NR).

[0028] In an embodiment, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement multiple radio access technologies. For example, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement LTE radio access and NR radio access together, for instance using dual connectivity (DC) principles. Thus, the air interface utilized by WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may be characterized by multiple types of radio access technologies and / or transmissions sent to / from multiple types of base stations (e.g., an eNB and a gNB).

[0029] In an embodiment, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement radio technologies such as IEEE 802.11 (i.e., Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (i.e., Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX)), CDMA2000, CDMA2000 IX, CDMA2000 EV-DO, Interim Standard 2000 (IS-2000), Interim Standard 95 (IS-95), Interim Standard 856 (IS-856), Global System for Mobile communications (GSM), Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE), GSM EDGE (GERAN), and the like.

[0030] The base station 114b in FIG. 1 A may be a wireless router, Home Node-B, Home eNode- B, or access point, for example, and may utilize any suitable RAT for facilitating wireless connectivity in a localized area, such as a place of business, a home, a vehicle, a campus, an industrial facility, an air corridor (e.g., for use by drones), a roadway, and the like. In anembodiment, the base station 114b and the WTRUs 102c, 102d may implement a radio technology such as IEEE 802.11 to establish a wireless local area network (WLAN). In an embodiment, the base station 114b and the WTRUs 102c, 102d may implement a radio technology such as IEEE 802.15 to establish a wireless personal area network (WPAN). In an embodiment, the base station 114b and the WTRUs 102c, 102d may utilize a cellular-based RAT (e.g., WCDMA, CDMA2000, GSM, LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, NR, etc.) to establish any of a small cell, picocell or femtocell. As shown in FIG. 1 A, the base station 114b may have a direct connection to the Internet 110. Thus, the base station 114b may not be required to access the Internet 110 via the CN 106 / 115.

[0031] The RAN 104 / 113 may be in communication with the CN 106 / 115, which may be any type of network configured to provide voice, data, applications, and / or voice over internet protocol (VoIP) services to one or more of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d. The data may have varying quality of service (QoS) requirements, such as differing throughput requirements, latency requirements, error tolerance requirements, reliability requirements, data throughput requirements, mobility requirements, and the like. The CN 106 / 115 may provide call control, billing services, mobile location-based services, pre-paid calling, Internet connectivity, video distribution, etc., and / or perform high-level security functions, such as user authentication. Although not shown in FIG. 1 A, it will be appreciated that the RAN 104 / 113 and / or the CN 106 / 115 may be in direct or indirect communication with other RANs that employ the same RAT as the RAN 104 / 113 or a different RAT. For example, in addition to being connected to the RAN 104 / 113, which may be utilizing an NR radio technology, the CN 106 / 115 may also be in communication with another RAN (not shown) employing any of a GSM, UMTS, CDMA 2000, WiMAX, E-UTRA, or Wi-Fi radio technology.

[0032] The CN 106 / 115 may also serve as a gateway for the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d to access the PSTN 108, the Internet 110, and / or other networks 112. The PSTN 108 may include circuit-switched telephone networks that provide plain old telephone service (POTS). The Internet 110 may include a global system of interconnected computer networks and devices that use common communication protocols, such as the transmission control protocol (TCP), user datagram protocol (UDP) and / or the internet protocol (IP) in the TCP / IP internet protocol suite. The networks 112 may include wired and / or wireless communications networks owned and / or operated by other service providers. For example, the networks 112 may include another CN connected to one or more RANs, which may employ the same RAT as the RAN 104 / 114 or a different RAT.

[0033] Some or all of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d in the communications system 100 may include multi-mode capabilities (e.g., the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d may include multiple transceivers for communicating with different wireless networks over different wirelesslinks). For example, the WTRU 102c shown in FIG. 1A may be configured to communicate with the base station 114a, which may employ a cellular-based radio technology, and with the base station 114b, which may employ an IEEE 802 radio technology.

[0034] FIG. IB is a system diagram illustrating an example WTRU 102. As shown in FIG. IB, the WTRU 102 may include a processor 118, a transceiver 120, a transmit / receive element 122, a speaker / microphone 124, a keypad 126, a display / touchpad 128, non-removable memory 130, removable memory 132, a power source 134, a global positioning system (GPS) chipset 136, and / or other elements / peripherals 138, among others. It will be appreciated that the WTRU 102 may include any sub-combination of the foregoing elements while remaining consistent with an embodiment.

[0035] The processor 118 may be a general purpose processor, a special purpose processor, a conventional processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in association with a DSP core, a controller, a microcontroller, Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) circuits, any other type of integrated circuit (IC), a state machine, and the like. The processor 118 may perform signal coding, data processing, power control, input / output processing, and / or any other functionality that enables the WTRU 102 to operate in a wireless environment. The processor 118 may be coupled to the transceiver 120, which may be coupled to the transmit / receive element 122. While FIG. IB depicts the processor 118 and the transceiver 120 as separate components, it will be appreciated that the processor 118 and the transceiver 120 may be integrated together, e.g., in an electronic package or chip.

[0036] The transmit / receive element 122 may be configured to transmit signals to, or receive signals from, a base station (e.g., the base station 114a) over the air interface 116. For example, in an embodiment, the transmit / receive element 122 may be an antenna configured to transmit and / or receive RF signals. In an embodiment, the transmit / receive element 122 may be an emitter / detector configured to transmit and / or receive IR, UV, or visible light signals, for example. In an embodiment, the transmit / receive element 122 may be configured to transmit and / or receive both RF and light signals. It will be appreciated that the transmit / receive element 122 may be configured to transmit and / or receive any combination of wireless signals.

[0037] Although the transmit / receive element 122 is depicted in FIG. IB as a single element, the WTRU 102 may include any number of transmit / receive elements 122. For example, the WTRU 102 may employ MIMO technology. Thus, in an embodiment, the WTRU 102 may include two or more transmit / receive elements 122 (e.g., multiple antennas) for transmitting and receiving wireless signals over the air interface 116.

[0038] The transceiver 120 may be configured to modulate the signals that are to be transmitted by the transmit / receive element 122 and to demodulate the signals that are received by the transmit / receive element 122. As noted above, the WTRU 102 may have multi-mode capabilities. Thus, the transceiver 120 may include multiple transceivers for enabling the WTRU 102 to communicate via multiple RATs, such as NR and IEEE 802.11, for example.

[0039] The processor 118 of the WTRU 102 may be coupled to, and may receive user input data from, the speaker / microphone 124, the keypad 126, and / or the display / touchpad 128 (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD) display unit or organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display unit). The processor 118 may also output user data to the speaker / microphone 124, the keypad 126, and / or the display / touchpad 128. In addition, the processor 118 may access information from, and store data in, any type of suitable memory, such as the non-removable memory 130 and / or the removable memory 132. The non-removable memory 130 may include random-access memory (RAM), readonly memory (ROM), a hard disk, or any other type of memory storage device. The removable memory 132 may include a subscriber identity module (SIM) card, a memory stick, a secure digital (SD) memory card, and the like. In other embodiments, the processor 118 may access information from, and store data in, memory that is not physically located on the WTRU 102, such as on a server or a home computer (not shown).

[0040] The processor 118 may receive power from the power source 134, and may be configured to distribute and / or control the power to the other components in the WTRU 102. The power source 134 may be any suitable device for powering the WTRU 102. For example, the power source 134 may include one or more dry cell batteries (e.g., nickel-cadmium (NiCd), nickel-zinc (NiZn), nickel metal hydride (NiMH), lithium-ion (Li-ion), etc.), solar cells, fuel cells, and the like.

[0041] The processor 118 may also be coupled to the GPS chipset 136, which may be configured to provide location information (e.g., longitude and latitude) regarding the current location of the WTRU 102. In addition to, or in lieu of, the information from the GPS chipset 136, the WTRU 102 may receive location information over the air interface 116 from a base station (e.g., base stations 114a, 114b) and / or determine its location based on the timing of the signals being received from two or more nearby base stations. It will be appreciated that the WTRU 102 may acquire location information by way of any suitable location-determination method while remaining consistent with an embodiment.

[0042] The processor 118 may further be coupled to other elements / peripherals 138, which may include one or more software and / or hardware modules / units that provide additional features, functionality and / or wired or wireless connectivity. For example, the elements / peripherals 138 may include an accelerometer, an e-compass, a satellite transceiver, a digital camera (e.g., for photographs and / or video), a universal serial bus (USB) port, a vibration device, a televisiontransceiver, a hands free headset, a Bluetooth® module, a frequency modulated (FM) radio unit, a digital music player, a media player, a video game player module, an Internet browser, a virtual reality and / or augmented reality (VR / AR) device, an activity tracker, and the like. The elements / peripherals 138 may include one or more sensors, the sensors may be one or more of a gyroscope, an accelerometer, a hall effect sensor, a magnetometer, an orientation sensor, a proximity sensor, a temperature sensor, a time sensor; a geolocation sensor; an altimeter, a light sensor, a touch sensor, a magnetometer, a barometer, a gesture sensor, a biometric sensor, and / or a humidity sensor.

[0043] The WTRU 102 may include a full duplex radio for which transmission and reception of some or all of the signals (e.g., associated with particular subframes for both the uplink (e.g., for transmission) and downlink (e.g., for reception) may be concurrent and / or simultaneous. The full duplex radio may include an interference management unit to reduce and or substantially eliminate self-interference via either hardware (e.g., a choke) or signal processing via a processor (e.g., a separate processor (not shown) or via processor 118). In an embodiment, the WTRU 102 may include a half-duplex radio for which transmission and reception of some or all of the signals (e.g., associated with particular subframes for either the uplink (e.g., for transmission) or the downlink (e.g., for reception)).

[0044] FIG. 1C is a system diagram illustrating the RAN 104 and the CN 106 according to an embodiment. As noted above, the RAN 104 may employ an E-UTRA radio technology to communicate with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, and 102c over the air interface 116. The RAN 104 may also be in communication with the CN 106.

[0045] The RAN 104 may include eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c, though it will be appreciated that the RAN 104 may include any number of eNode-Bs while remaining consistent with an embodiment. The eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c may each include one or more transceivers for communicating with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c over the air interface 116. In an embodiment, the eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c may implement MIMO technology. Thus, the eNode-B 160a, for example, may use multiple antennas to transmit wireless signals to, and receive wireless signals from, the WTRU 102a.

[0046] Each of the eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, and 160c may be associated with a particular cell (not shown) and may be configured to handle radio resource management decisions, handover decisions, scheduling of users in the uplink (UL) and / or downlink (DL), and the like. As shown in FIG. 1C, the eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c may communicate with one another over an X2 interface.

[0047] The CN 106 shown in FIG. 1C may include a mobility management entity (MME) 162, a serving gateway (SGW) 164, and a packet data network (PDN) gateway (PGW) 166. While eachof the foregoing elements are depicted as part of the CN 106, it will be appreciated that any one of these elements may be owned and / or operated by an entity other than the CN operator.

[0048] The MME 162 may be connected to each of the eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, and 160c in the RAN 104 via an SI interface and may serve as a control node. For example, the MME 162 may be responsible for authenticating users of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, bearer activation / deactivation, selecting a particular serving gateway during an initial attach of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, and the like. The MME 162 may provide a control plane function for switching between the RAN 104 and other RANs (not shown) that employ other radio technologies, such as GSM and / or WCDMA.

[0049] The SGW 164 may be connected to each of the eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c in the RAN 104 via the SI interface. The SGW 164 may generally route and forward user data packets to / from the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c. The SGW 164 may perform other functions, such as anchoring user planes during inter-eNode-B handovers, triggering paging when DL data is available for the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, managing and storing contexts of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, and the like.

[0050] The SGW 164 may be connected to the PGW 166, which may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to packet-switched networks, such as the Internet 110, to facilitate communications between the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and IP-enabled devices.

[0051] The CN 106 may facilitate communications with other networks. For example, the CN 106 may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to circuit-switched networks, such as the PSTN 108, to facilitate communications between the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and traditional land-line communications devices. For example, the CN 106 may include, or may communicate with, an IP gateway (e.g., an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) server) that serves as an interface between the CN 106 and the PSTN 108. In addition, the CN 106 may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to the other networks 112, which may include other wired and / or wireless networks that are owned and / or operated by other service providers.

[0052] Although the WTRU is described in FIGs. 1A-1D as a wireless terminal, it is contemplated that in certain representative embodiments that such a terminal may use (e.g., temporarily or permanently) wired communication interfaces with the communication network.

[0053] In representative embodiments, the other network 112 may be a WLAN.

[0054] A WLAN in infrastructure basic service set (BSS) mode may have an access point (AP) for the BSS and one or more stations (STAs) associated with the AP. The AP may have an access or an interface to a distribution system (DS) or another type of wired / wireless network that carries traffic into and / or out of the BSS. Traffic to STAs that originates from outside the BSS may arrive through the AP and may be delivered to the STAs. Traffic originating from STAs to destinationsoutside the BSS may be sent to the AP to be delivered to respective destinations. Traffic between STAs within the BSS may be sent through the AP, for example, where the source STA may send traffic to the AP and the AP may deliver the traffic to the destination STA. The traffic between STAs within a BSS may be considered and / or referred to as peer-to-peer traffic. The peer-to-peer traffic may be sent between (e.g., directly between) the source and destination STAs with a direct link setup (DLS). In certain representative embodiments, the DLS may use an 802. l ie DLS or an 802.1 Iz tunneled DLS (TDLS). A WLAN using an Independent BSS (IBSS) mode may not have an AP, and the STAs (e.g., all of the STAs) within or using the IBSS may communicate directly with each other. The IBSS mode of communication may sometimes be referred to herein as an "ad-hoc" mode of communication.

[0055] When using the 802.1 lac infrastructure mode of operation or a similar mode of operations, the AP may transmit a beacon on a fixed channel, such as a primary channel. The primary channel may be a fixed width (e.g., 20 MHz wide bandwidth) or a dynamically set width via signaling. The primary channel may be the operating channel of the BSS and may be used by the STAs to establish a connection with the AP. In certain representative embodiments, Carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance (CSMA / CA) may be implemented, for example in in 802.11 systems. For CSMA / CA, the STAs (e.g., every STA), including the AP, may sense the primary channel. If the primary channel is sensed / detected and / or determined to be busy by a particular STA, the particular STA may back off. One STA (e.g., only one station) may transmit at any given time in a given BSS.

[0056] High throughput (HT) STAs may use a 40 MHz wide channel for communication, for example, via a combination of the primary 20 MHz channel with an adjacent or nonadj acent 20 MHz channel to form a 40 MHz wide channel.

[0057] Very high throughput (VHT) STAs may support 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, and / or 160 MHz wide channels. The 40 MHz, and / or 80 MHz, channels may be formed by combining contiguous 20 MHz channels. A 160 MHz channel may be formed by combining 8 contiguous 20 MHz channels, or by combining two non-contiguous 80 MHz channels, which may be referred to as an 80+80 configuration. For the 80+80 configuration, the data, after channel encoding, may be passed through a segment parser that may divide the data into two streams. Inverse fast fourier transform (IFFT) processing, and time domain processing, may be done on each stream separately. The streams may be mapped on to the two 80 MHz channels, and the data may be transmitted by a transmitting STA. At the receiver of the receiving STA, the above-described operation for the 80+80 configuration may be reversed, and the combined data may be sent to a medium access control (MAC) layer, entity, etc.

[0058] Sub 1 GHz modes of operation are supported by 802.1 laf and 802.11 ah. The channel operating bandwidths, and carriers, are reduced in 802.1 laf and 802.1 lah relative to those used in802.1 In, and 802.1 lac. 802.1 laf supports 5 MHz, 10 MHz and 20 MHz bandwidths in the TV white space (TVWS) spectrum, and 802.1 lah supports 1 MHz, 2 MHz, 4 MHz, 8 MHz, and 16 MHz bandwidths using non-TVWS spectrum. According to a representative embodiment,802.1 lah may support meter type control / machine-type communications (MTC), such as MTC devices in a macro coverage area. MTC devices may have certain capabilities, for example, limited capabilities including support for (e.g., only support for) certain and / or limited bandwidths. The MTC devices may include a battery with a battery life above a threshold (e.g., to maintain a very long battery life).

[0059] WLAN systems, which may support multiple channels, and channel bandwidths, such as802.1 In, 802.1 lac, 802.1 laf, and 802.1 lah, include a channel which may be designated as the primary channel. The primary channel may have a bandwidth equal to the largest common operating bandwidth supported by all STAs in the BSS. The bandwidth of the primary channel may be set and / or limited by a STA, from among all STAs in operating in a BSS, which supports the smallest bandwidth operating mode. In the example of 802.1 lah, the primary channel may be 1 MHz wide for STAs (e.g., MTC type devices) that support (e.g., only support) a 1 MHz mode, even if the AP, and other STAs in the BSS support 2 MHz, 4 MHz, 8 MHz, 16 MHz, and / or other channel bandwidth operating modes. Carrier sensing and / or network allocation vector (NAV) settings may depend on the status of the primary channel. If the primary channel is busy, for example, due to a STA (which supports only a 1 MHz operating mode), transmitting to the AP, the entire available frequency bands may be considered busy even though a majority of the frequency bands remains idle and may be available.

[0060] In the United States, the available frequency bands, which may be used by 802.1 lah, are from 902 MHz to 928 MHz. In Korea, the available frequency bands are from 917.5 MHz to 923.5 MHz. In Japan, the available frequency bands are from 916.5 MHz to 927.5 MHz. The total bandwidth available for 802.1 lah is 6 MHz to 26 MHz depending on the country code.

[0061] FIG. ID is a system diagram illustrating the RAN 113 and the CN 115 according to an embodiment. As noted above, the RAN 113 may employ an NR radio technology to communicate with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c over the air interface 116. The RAN 113 may also be in communication with the CN 115.

[0062] The RAN 113 may include gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c, though it will be appreciated that the RAN 113 may include any number of gNBs while remaining consistent with an embodiment. The gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may each include one or more transceivers for communicating with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c over the air interface 116. In an embodiment, the gNBs 180a, 180b,180c may implement MIMO technology. For example, gNBs 180a, 180b may utilize beamforming to transmit signals to and / or receive signals from the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c. Thus, the gNB 180a, for example, may use multiple antennas to transmit wireless signals to, and / or receive wireless signals from, the WTRU 102a. In an embodiment, the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may implement carrier aggregation technology. For example, the gNB 180a may transmit multiple component carriers to the WTRU 102a (not shown). A subset of these component carriers may be on unlicensed spectrum while the remaining component carriers may be on licensed spectrum. In an embodiment, the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may implement Coordinated Multi-Point (CoMP) technology. For example, WTRU 102a may receive coordinated transmissions from gNB 180a and gNB 180b (and / or gNB 180c).

[0063] The WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c using transmissions associated with a scalable numerology. For example, OFDM symbol spacing and / or OFDM subcarrier spacing may vary for different transmissions, different cells, and / or different portions of the wireless transmission spectrum. The WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c using subframe or transmission time intervals (TTIs) of various or scalable lengths (e.g., including a varying number of OFDM symbols and / or lasting varying lengths of absolute time).

[0064] The gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may be configured to communicate with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c in a standalone configuration and / or a non- standalone configuration. In the standalone configuration, WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c without also accessing other RANs (e.g., such as eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c). In the standalone configuration, WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may utilize one or more of gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c as a mobility anchor point. In the standalone configuration, WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c using signals in an unlicensed band. In a non- standalone configuration WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with / connect to gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c while also communicating with / connecting to another RAN such as eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c. For example, WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement DC principles to communicate with one or more gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c and one or more eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c substantially simultaneously. In the non- standalone configuration, eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c may serve as a mobility anchor for WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may provide additional coverage and / or throughput for servicing WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c.

[0065] Each of the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may be associated with a particular cell (not shown) and may be configured to handle radio resource management decisions, handover decisions, scheduling of users in the UL and / or DL, support of network slicing, dual connectivity, interworking between NR and E-UTRA, routing of user plane data towards user plane functions(UPFs) 184a, 184b, routing of control plane information towards access and mobility management functions (AMFs) 182a, 182b, and the like. As shown in FIG. ID, the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may communicate with one another over an Xn interface.

[0066] The CN 115 shown in FIG. ID may include at least one AMF 182a, 182b, at least one UPF 184a, 184b, at least one session management function (SMF) 183a, 183b, and at least one Data Network (DN) 185a, 185b. While each of the foregoing elements are depicted as part of the CN 115, it will be appreciated that any of these elements may be owned and / or operated by an entity other than the CN operator.

[0067] The AMF 182a, 182b may be connected to one or more of the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c in the RAN 113 via an N2 interface and may serve as a control node. For example, the AMF 182a, 182b may be responsible for authenticating users of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, support for network slicing (e.g., handling of different protocol data unit (PDU) sessions with different requirements), selecting a particular SMF 183a, 183b, management of the registration area, termination of NAS signaling, mobility management, and the like. Network slicing may be used by the AMF 182a, 182b, e.g., to customize CN support for WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c based on the types of services being utilized WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c. For example, different network slices may be established for different use cases such as services relying on ultra-reliable low latency (URLLC) access, services relying on enhanced massive mobile broadband (eMBB) access, services for MTC access, and / or the like. The AMF 162 may provide a control plane function for switching between the RAN 113 and other RANs (not shown) that employ other radio technologies, such as LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, and / or non-3GPP access technologies such as WiFi.

[0068] The SMF 183a, 183b may be connected to an AMF 182a, 182b in the CN 115 via an N11 interface. The SMF 183a, 183b may also be connected to a UPF 184a, 184b in the CN 115 via an N4 interface. The SMF 183a, 183b may select and control the UPF 184a, 184b and configure the routing of traffic through the UPF 184a, 184b. The SMF 183a, 183b may perform other functions, such as managing and allocating UE IP address, managing PDU sessions, controlling policy enforcement and QoS, providing downlink data notifications, and the like. A PDU session type may be IP -based, non-IP based, Ethernet-based, and the like.

[0069] The UPF 184a, 184b may be connected to one or more of the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c in the RAN 113 via an N3 interface, which may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to packet-switched networks, such as the Internet 110, e.g., to facilitate communications between the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and IP-enabled devices. The UPF 184, 184b may perform other functions, such as routing and forwarding packets, enforcing user plane policies, supporting multi-homed PDU sessions, handling user plane QoS, buffering downlink packets, providing mobility anchoring, and the like.

[0070] The CN 115 may facilitate communications with other networks. For example, the CN 115 may include, or may communicate with, an IP gateway (e.g., an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) server) that serves as an interface between the CN 115 and the PSTN 108. In addition, the CN 115 may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to the other networks 112, which may include other wired and / or wireless networks that are owned and / or operated by other service providers. In an embodiment, the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may be connected to a local Data Network (DN) 185a, 185b through the UPF 184a, 184b via the N3 interface to the UPF 184a, 184b and an N6 interface between the UPF 184a, 184b and the DN 185a, 185b.

[0071] In view of FIGs. 1 A-1D, and the corresponding description of FIGs. 1 A-1D, one or more, or all, of the functions described herein with regard to any of: WTRUs 102a-d, base stations 114a- b, eNode-Bs 160a-c, MME 162, SGW 164, PGW 166, gNBs 180a-c, AMFs 182a-b, UPFs 184a- b, SMFs 183a-b, DNs 185a-b, and / or any other element(s) / device(s) described herein, may be performed by one or more emulation elements / devices (not shown). The emulation devices may be one or more devices configured to emulate one or more, or all, of the functions described herein. For example, the emulation devices may be used to test other devices and / or to simulate network and / or WTRU functions.

[0072] The emulation devices may be designed to implement one or more tests of other devices in a lab environment and / or in an operator network environment. For example, the one or more emulation devices may perform the one or more, or all, functions while being fully or partially implemented and / or deployed as part of a wired and / or wireless communication network in order to test other devices within the communication network. The one or more emulation devices may perform the one or more, or all, functions while being temporarily implemented / deployed as part of a wired and / or wireless communication network. The emulation device may be directly coupled to another device for purposes of testing and / or may performing testing using over-the-air wireless communications.

[0073] The one or more emulation devices may perform the one or more, including all, functions while not being implemented / deployed as part of a wired and / or wireless communication network. For example, the emulation devices may be utilized in a testing scenario in a testing laboratory and / or a non-deployed (e.g., testing) wired and / or wireless communication network in order to implement testing of one or more components. The one or more emulation devices may be test equipment. Direct RF coupling and / or wireless communications via RF circuitry (e.g., which may include one or more antennas) may be used by the emulation devices to transmit and / or receive data.

[0074] Introduction

[0075] The following acronyms and abbreviations may be used herein as follows:5GC 5G Core5GS 5G SystemAF Application FunctionAIML Artificial Intelligence / Machine LearningAOI Area of InterestATSSS Access Traffic Steering, Switching and SplittingDNN Data Network NameEECF Energy Efficiency Control FunctionID IdentifierML Machine LearningN3GPP Non-3GPPNF Network FunctionNEF Network Exposure FunctionNWDAF Network Data Analytics FunctionPDU Packet Data UnitQoS Quality of ServiceRAN Radio Access NetworkSCC Session and Service ContinuitySMF Session Management FunctionS-NSSAI Single - Network Slice Selection Assistance InformationUE User EquipmentUPF User Pl ane Functi on

[0076] NEF Actions

[0077] In certain representative embodiments, a network exposure function (NEF) may receive a request for member WTRU selection assistance information from an application function (AF). For example, the request may include information indicating energy consumption information and / or a list of target member WTRUs 102 (e.g., target member devices).

[0078] In certain representative embodiments, energy criteria may refer to one or more energy criterion that may be applied when performing member WTRU selection.

[0079] In certain representative embodiments, an energy criterion may be / include an indication that the AF requests that the NEF consider energy consumption of WTRUs 102 when determining member WTRU selection assistance.

[0080] In certain representative embodiments, an energy criterion may be / include requested maximum energy consumption cost information.

[0081] In certain representative embodiments, an energy criterion may be / include requested maximum energy credit cost information.

[0082] In certain representative embodiments, the NEF may obtain analytics information related to the energy consumption of WTRUs in the list of target member WTRUs from a network data analytics function (NWDAF) and / or an energy efficiency control function (EECF).

[0083] In certain representative embodiments, the NEF may determine a list of candidate (e.g., potential member) WTRUs based on energy consumption.

[0084] In certain representative embodiments, the NEF may send the list of candidate WTRUs and / or energy information to the AF. For example, the energy information that is sent to the AF may include information indicating an estimate of the energy consumption of each WTRU in the list of candidate WTRUs, such as if the WTRU participates in artificial intelligence and / or machine learning (AI / ML) operation. As an example, the list of candidate WTRUs may include WTRUs associated with participation in AI / ML operation. For example, the energy information that is sent to the AF may include information indicating an estimate of the energy credit cost of each WTRU in the list of candidate WTRUs, such as if the WTRU participates in the AI / ML operation.

[0085] WTRU Member Selection

[0086] In certain representative embodiments, an AF may request the 5GS to assist with member WTRU selection. For example, the AF may want to determine WTRUs for an AI / ML application, such as federated learning, that fulfil certain criteria. For example, the AF may be interested in determining WTRUs which provide a certain Quality of service, are present in a certain location, and / or provide a certain throughput.

[0087] In certain representative embodiments, the AF may send a member WTRU selection assistance request to the NEF, such as by using Nnef_MemberUESelectionAssistance_subscribe message. The AF may include information indicating a list of target WTRUs. The list of target WTRUs may represent an initial list of WTRUs that the AF considers for the application traffic. The AF may include information indicating one or more filtering criteria in the member WTRU selection assistance request. The filtering criteria may provide an indication about what criteria and / or parameters the 5GS has to consider in order to determine a list of WTRUs that are candidates for the application traffic. For example, the filtering criteria may include, but is not limited to, QoS parameters, location, and / or service experience.

[0088] Assistance Information

[0089] In certain representative embodiments, the 5GS can provide assistance information to an AF. The assistance information may be used by the AF to select any WTRUs that can participate in AI / ML operations, such as Federated Learning. AI / ML operations, such as federated learning, can be intensive operations in the sense that they involve sending and receiving large amounts of data and / or require relatively high data rates. These operations may result in energy consumption by the WTRU and the network nodes that are used to serve the WTRU. The energy consumption of each WTRU that participates in an AI / ML operation may vary per WTRU, such as based on the location, capabilities, and / or network connection point. For example, a WTRU with a poor linkquality may require multiple retransmissions during such data transfers leading to an overall higher energy consumption than a WTRU with a relatively better link quality.

[0090] The current 5GS design does not provide a mechanism for the AF, or network, to consider the energy cost associated with a WTRU participating in an AI / ML operation. The assistance information that is provided to the AF does not consider energy cost. In other words, there is no mechanism defined in the 5GS to enable the selection of a group of WTRUs to participate in an AI / ML operation such that energy costs may be minimized and / or optimized.

[0091] Overview

[0092] In certain representative embodiments, an AF may request the 5GS to assist with member WTRU selection, including energy consumption and / or energy credit criteria.

[0093] In certain representative embodiments, a NEF may use a request from an AF to interact with other network functions, such as a NWDAF and / or an EECF, to obtain analytics related to energy consumption and / or energy credit. The NEF may use the AF information together with the analytics results to determine a list of candidate WTRUs and provide it together with energy related information to the AF.

[0094] In certain representative embodiments, a member WTRU selection assistance procedure in a 5GS may be enhanced to include filtering criteria related to energy consumption. A NEF may use energy consumption filtering criteria (e.g., in conjunction with other filtering criteria) and may optimize an initial candidate WTRU list using the filtering criteria (e.g., including energy consumption criteria). The NEF may be triggered to retrieve analytics regarding energy consumption to be able to (e.g., further) optimize the (e.g., initial) candidate WTRU list.

[0095] FIG. 2 is a procedural diagram illustrating an example member selection assistance procedure using energy consumption information as (e.g., part of) filtering criteria, according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. In FIG. 2, the procedure may be performed among one or more NFs 202 (e.g., in a 5GC 115), a NWDAF and / or EECF 204, a NEF 206, and an AF 208.

[0096] At 210 in FIG. 2, an AF 208 may send a request message to or in a 5GS. For example, the AF 208 may send the request message to the NEF 206 to assist with member WTRU selection (e.g., using Nnef_MemberUESelectionAssistance_subscribe). For example, the request message (e.g., a member WTRU selection assistance request message) may include information indicating a list of target WTRUs 102 to select from for the member WTRU selection assistance task.

[0097] In certain representative embodiments, the request message may (e.g., also) include information indicating member WTRU filtering criteria, such as one or more QoS parameters. Other filtering criteria may include time windows, such as for when a service is desired to be used for the WTRU(s) 102. Other filtering criteria may include energy criteria.

[0098] For example, the energy criteria may include information indicating any of: (i) an indication that the AF 208 requests information about the estimated energy consumption cost and / or energy credit cost that is associated with each WTRU 102 in the candidate list; (ii) an indication that the AF 208 requests that the network forms a candidate list (e.g., that helps to minimize the associated energy cost in terms of energy credits and / or energy consumption); (iii) a per-WTRU maximum energy credit limit value; (iv) a per-WTRU maximum energy consumption limit value, (v) a per-group of WTRUs maximum energy credit limit value; and / or (vi) a pergroup of WTRUs maximum energy consumption limit value.

[0099] For example, the per-WTRU maximum energy credit limit value may represent a desired limit in terms of energy credits associated with selecting a WTRU 102 (e.g., to participate in an AI / ML operation and / or provide a service). As another example, the per-WTRU maximum energy credit limit value may be an average value and may represent the average credit cost that the selected WTRUs 102 should not exceed.

[0100] For example, the per-WTRU maximum energy consumption limit value may represent a desired limit in terms of energy consumption associated with selecting a WTRU 102 (e.g., to participate in an AI / ML operation and / or provide a service). As another example, the per-WTRU maximum energy consumption limit value may be an average value and may represent the average consumption that the selected WTRUs 102 should not exceed.

[0101] For example, the per-group of WTRUs maximum energy credit limit value may represent a (e.g., desired) limit for the energy credit or average energy credit that the group of selected WTRUs 102 should not exceed.

[0102] For example, the per-group of WTRUs maximum energy consumption limit value may represent a (e.g., desired) limit in terms of energy consumption or average energy consumption that the group of selected WTRUs 102 should not exceed.

[0103] In certain representative embodiments, the AF 208 may provide one or more areas of interest (AOIs) for the member selection assistance. For example, one AOI may be provided, and the AF may request to select the WTRUs 102 that are located in this AOI, and that satisfy the energy consumption criteria provided by the AF 208. For example, multiple areas of interest may be provided, and the AF 208 may request that WTRUs 102 which are located in any of these locations are to be checked if they satisfy the energy consumption criteria provided by the AF 208.

[0104] In certain representative embodiments, the AF 208 may provide a percentage for each AOI. The percentage may represent the expected, requested, and / or maximum energy contribution of the WTRUs 102 in this AOI (e.g., to a total energy consumption value provided by the AF 208). For example, the AF 208 may assign a percentage of 30% or a weight of 0.3 to a first AOI, and a percentage of 70% or a weight of 0.7 for a second AOI, meaning the member WTRUs 102 are tobe selected in both areas, such as the energy contribution of WTRUs 102 in the first AOI is (e.g., around) 30% of the total energy consumption, and the contribution of the WTRUs 102 in the second AOI is (e.g., around) 70% of the total energy consumption.

[0105] In certain representative embodiments, the AF 208 may provide a maximum value for the energy contribution related to a certain AOI (e.g., not all of the AOIs). For example, the AF 208 may request that the energy consumption related to the application traffic of a first AOI should not exceed 40% of the total energy consumption for the application traffic.

[0106] In certain representative embodiments, the AF 208 may (e.g., also) provide an energy consumption contribution weight or limit in a certain AOI, such as depending on certain parameters or characteristics of the AOI. For example, the AF 208 may request that AOIs who have a lot of users or who have a lot of traffic being exchanged for other traffic, do not need to contribute more than 5% of the energy consumption of the overall energy consumption for this application traffic, whereas other locations where the traffic is not so heavy can contribute 80% (minimum or maximum) to the total energy consumption.

[0107] In certain representative embodiments, the AF 208 may (e.g., more generally) provide energy dispersion information to the 5GS to inform the 5GS of how the energy contribution needs to be dispersed, such as across different locations. For example, the AF 208 may want to provide energy dispersion information to help the 5GS avoid selecting a lot of energy contribution in an AOI or to a RAN node that has already or will likely have high energy consumption, to avoid peak energy consumption at this location. For example, the energy dispersion information may be useful to avoid a scenario where a RAN node is active and hence consumes more energy, only for a small amount of traffic to be exchanged. In this case, it may be beneficial to concentrate the traffic in a location with a RAN node that has capacity and can support the total energy consumption, hence the other RAN node can be, for example, not active.

[0108] In certain representative embodiments, the AF 208 may (e.g., also) provide a distribution pattern regarding the energy consumption of WTRUs 102. For example, the AF 208 may inform the 5GS to select heavy users or heavy energy consumption users (e.g., WTRUs 102) to be in a certain location (e.g., where there is enough known capacity to support these WTRUs 102) and select WTRUs 102 in other locations if these WTRUs 102 incur a moderate or light energy consumption for this application traffic. The AF 208 may use energy consumption range values, or threshold value, or even classes of WTRUs 102 (e.g., “heavy energy use for this App”, “moderate energy use” “light energy use”, “saving mode on”).

[0109] In certain representative embodiments, the AF 208 may indicate that WTRUs 102 may be selected for the member WTRU selection assistance procedure, based on mobility related energy savings. For example, it may be the case that the WTRUs 102 who contribute a high portionof energy consumption are preferred not to be moving from one location to another. For example, the movement of these WTRUs 102 may incur energy consumption due to handover between two RAN nodes, and the capacity of the receiving RAN node may be not sufficient for this WTRU, so it is better to keep the heavy WTRUs 102 attached to the same RAN node for as long as possible. For example, the AF 208 may indicate that WTRUs 102 who have a light or moderate energy contribution to the total energy are permitted to be moving, as the mobility energy cost will not highly increase their energy contribution.

[0110] In certain representative embodiments, the AF 208 may (e.g., also) provide an energy contribution weight across the WTRUs 102. For example, the AF 208 may indicate to the 5GS that 40% of the total energy consumption should be consumed in relation to a “heavy WTRUs” class and 60% of the total energy consumption should be consumed in relation to “moderate WTRUs” or “light WTRUs” classes.[OHl] In certain representative embodiments, the AF 208 may (e.g., also) provide a minimum or preferred minimum number of WTRUs 102 that are needed for the application traffic, such as together with the energy consumption information.

[0112] At212 in FIG. 2, the NEF 206 may receive the AF 208 request and determine to interact with the NWDAF and / or EECF 204 to retrieve analytics to assist with member WTRU selection. The NEF 206 may determine that it needs to interact with an NWDAF and / or EECF 204 based on the inclusion of energy consumption information in the request at 210.

[0113] At214 in FIG. 2, the NEF 206 may send a request to obtain analytics related to energy consumption. The NEF 206 may send the request to any of a NWDAF and / or an EECF network entity. For example, the NEF 206 may send a request to the NWDAF 204 to obtain the analytics of interest, such as by using a Nnwdaf_analyticsinfo_request service operation.

[0114] In certain representative embodiments, the NEF 206 may include an analytics ID related to “Energy consumption”. Depending on the request for member WTRU selection assistance received from the AF 208, the NEF 206 may include the target of analytics reporting to be the group of WTRUs 102 in the target WTRU list.

[0115] In certain representative embodiments, the NEF 206 may send the energy criteria information that was received from the AF 208 to the NWDAF and / or the EECF 204.

[0116] In certain representative embodiments, the NEF 206 may include analytics filter information in the request. For example, the analytics filter information may include any of: (i) one or more AOIs, (ii) S-NSSAI and DNN values, and / or (iii) an application ID.

[0117] In certain representative embodiments, the NEF 206 may also include an analytics target period, such as where one or more-time windows were provided by the AF 208 (e.g., as to when the application traffic is expected to be exchanged with WTRUs 102). For example, if the AF 208provided a certain energy distribution for different AOIs, the NEF 206 may request the NWDAF and / or EECF 204 to provide energy dispersion analytics for the application traffic of interest. The NEF 206 may include, for the energy dispersion analytics, the list of AOIs to be considered for calculating the energy dispersion and the one or more time windows.

[0118] At216 in FIG. 2, the NWDAF and / or EECF 204 may receive the request(s) from the NEF 206. The NWDAF and / or EECF 204 may derive analytics related to the energy consumption analytics of the WTRUs 102 in the target WTRU list. The NWDAF and / or EECF 204 may use the end-to-end data volume transfer time to assist with calculating these new energy consumption analytics. The NWDAF and / or EECF 204 may also leverage existing data dispersion analytics together with energy consumption analytics to derive new energy dispersion analytics.

[0119] For example, if the AF 208 provided an indication regarding a WTRU mobility preference and / or WTRU mobility related energy, then the NEF 206 may request from the NWDAF 204 any analytics about WTRU mobility, WTRU mobility patterns, and so on.

[0120] For example, the AF 208 may provide an indication for a preference that WTRUs 102 with heavy energy consumption are preferred to be stationary, or not mobile, to avoid extra energy consumption for the WTRUs 102 due to mobility (e.g., handover). For example, a WTRU may be considered stationary or non-mobile based on (e.g., derived from) statistical information, expected WTRU behavior parameters, and / or subscription information. In this case, the NEF 206 may use WTRU mobility analytics to derive whether each WTRU will be a mobile WTRU or stationary WTRU. Based on this information and the energy consumption analytics, the NEF 206 may select the candidate WTRUs 102 according to the AF 208 preference.

[0121] At218 in FIG. 2, the NWDAF and / or EECF 204 may send the analytics information to the NEF 206, such as by using a Nnwdaf_AnalyticsInfo_Request response. For example, the analytics information may be provided with an analytics ID set to “Energy consumption”.

[0122] At220 in FIG. 2, the NEF 206 may receive the analytics information regarding energy consumption. For example, the NEF 206 may further consolidate the analytics information and derive new and / or additional information to send to the AF 208. For example, the NEF 206 may use the energy consumption information to determine a list of candidate WTRUs 102.

[0123] In certain representative embodiments, the NEF 206 may provide the information to the AF 208 about the projected energy consumption of each WTRU in the list of candidate WTRUs 102, such as for a certain application traffic, in a certain time window (e.g., if provided by the AF 208), and / or in a certain network slice.

[0124] In certain representative embodiments, if the AF 208 provided the NEF 206 with a maximum energy consumption for each WTRU for a time window, or per time unit, then the NEF206 may use the information provided by the NWDAF and / or EECF 204 to select those WTRUs 102 with a projected energy consumption lower than the individual WTRU limit.

[0125] In certain representative embodiments, the NEF 206 may construct one or more lists of WTRUs 102 whose total energy consumption does not exceed a given threshold or limit provided by the AF 208 (e.g., while potentially not exceeding an individual energy consumption threshold).

[0126] In certain representative embodiments, the NEF 206 may determine a class of WTRUs 102 based on the projected energy consumption (e.g., in a certain time window). Based on the energy consumption analytics, the NEF 206 may determine that a WTRU with energy consumption projected to be in a certain range belongs to a class of “heavy WTRUs”, and another WTRU with projected energy consumption in a lower range, belongs to a class of “moderate WTRUs”, and so on, such as for “light WTRUs”. For example, if the AF 208 requested the 5GS to only select WTRUs 102 with “moderate WTRUs” class, then the NEF 206 will determine the WTRUs 102 that fit into that category.

[0127] In certain representative embodiments, if the NEF 206 was provided more than one AOI, together with a contribution weight to the AOIs, then the NEF 206 may use the energy consumption analytics and the energy dispersion analytics, to determine one or more lists of WTRUs 102 within each AOI, that can be used so that each AOFs energy consumption contribution related to the application traffic meets the contribution weight provided by the AF 208.

[0128] In certain representative embodiments, if the AF 208 indicates to the 5GS a WTRU dispersion pattern using an AOI current capacity or energy load, then the NEF 206 may use energy analytics for the AOI to determine the projected energy consumption or energy load of the AOI in the time window of interest (e.g., for different WTRUs and / or different traffic). If based on these analytics, an AOI is projected to have a high energy load, then the NEF 206 may select WTRUs 102 in this area that are of the class “moderate WTRUs” and / or “light WTRUs”, and if the AOI is projected to not to have a high energy load, then the NEF 206 may select WTRUs 102 in this AOI with the class “heavy WTRUs” (e.g., and also “moderate WTRUs”).

[0129] In certain representative embodiments, the NEF 206 may use WTRU mobility analytics together with energy related analytics to select WTRUs 102. For example, based on WTRU mobility analytics, if a WTRU is a heavy WTRU and not highly mobile, then this WTRU may be selected, such as because of application preference and / or because mobility will add additional energy cost.

[0130] In certain representative embodiments, if based on the WTRU mobility analytics, the WTRU is potentially mobile, but has a moderate projected energy consumption, then the WTRUmay be selected. This determination may be based on application function information provided in the AF 208 request for member WTRU selection assistance.

[0131] At 222 in FIG. 2, the NEF 206 may send a member WTRU selection assistance notification result to the AF 208 with a final list(s) of candidate WTRUs 102 and energy consumption related information. For example, the final list(s) of candidate WTRUs 102 and energy consumption related information may be provided in a Nnef_MemberUESelectionAssistance_Notify message to the AF 208. The NEF 206 provides the AF 208 with the results as the list of WTRUs 102 that match certain energy consumption related filtering criteria, and provides corresponding energy related information to the AF 208.

[0132] In certain representative embodiments, the NEF 206 may provide the AF 208 with the number of WTRUs 102 from the target WTRU list that did not satisfy specific filtering criteria. For example, if the AF 208 provided the NEF 206 with an individual energy consumption threshold for each WTRU, then the NEF 206 may provide the number of WTRUs 102 from the target WTRU list whose projected energy consumption will not meet the provided threshold.

[0133] In certain representative embodiments, the NEF 206 may provide the AF 208 with the number of WTRUs 102 that are not selected by the NEF 206 and includes the reason for not including these WTRUs 102. For example, the NEF 206 may send a message indicating that a first number of WTRUs (e.g., 20) are not selected with reason “exceeds quota for heavy WTRUs” and a second number of WTRUs (e.g., 10) were not selected with a reason “exceeds average per WTRU energy consumption”.

[0134] In certain representative embodiments, the AF 208 may receive the list of candidate WTRUs 102, the energy credit cost estimate that is associated with each WTRU, and the energy consumption cost estimate that is associated with each WTRU. The AF 208 may use the energy credit cost estimate and energy consumption cost estimate to select WTRUs 102 from the list of candidate WTRUs 102. The AF 208 may then initiate an AI / ML operation with the selected WTRUs 102.

[0135] In certain representative embodiments, the AF 208 may be interested in WTRUs 102 from the target WTRU list that are less likely to encounter a service interruption due to energy constraints. The procedure shown in FIG. 2 may be modified as follows.

[0136] In certain representative embodiments, an energy constraint may be associated with a network function, such as an SMF 183 and / or a UPF 184, that has an energy consumption limit. For example, a WTRU may not be able to establish a PDU Session to a certain S-NSSAI / DNN in view of the energy consumption limit of the network function. For example, PDU Session energy consumption may result in an energy consumption for certain network nodes that exceeds an acceptable limit, and hence there is a risk to release this PDU Session or for a network outage.

[0137] For example, at 210 in FIG. 2, the AF 208 may include, as part of the filtering criteria, an indication of a certain value of the likelihood a service interruption for a WTRU for the application traffic, such as may be due to energy constraints. For example, the request may also include a S- NSSAI and / or DNN value (e.g., associated with the service interruption).

[0138] For example, at212 in FIG. 2, once the NEF 206 authorizes the AF 208 request, the NEF 206 may determine to interact with the NWDAF and / or the EECF 204 to obtain energy load related analytics.

[0139] For example, at214 in FIG. 2, the NEF 206 may send a request to the NWDAF and / or EECF 204 to obtain analytics related to energy load.

[0140] In certain representative embodiments, the request may include the S-NSSAI and / or DNN value if it was provided by the AF 208. The NEF 206 may request from the NWDAF and / or EECF 204 to obtain analytics information about the network functions that serve the target WTRUs 102 forthe PDU Session (e.g., SMF 183 and UPF 184). If the NEF 206 determines the SMF 183 and / or the UPF 184 that are serving the WTRU for the PDU Session, the NEF 206 may provide in the analytics request any of the SMF ID, UPF ID, and / or PDU Session ID for each WTRU in the target WTRU list.

[0141] For example, at216 in FIG. 2, the NWDAF and / or EECF 204 may authorize the NEF 206 request for analytics.

[0142] In certain representative embodiments, the NWDAF and / or EECF 204 may interact with the SMF(s) 183 and / or UPF(s) 184 that are serving the WTRUs 102 to collect certain data. For example, this data may include information about a total current SMF or UPF load (e.g., computational load). For example, this data may (e.g., also) include a current number of served PDU sessions by the SMF 183 and / or UPF 184. For example, this data may (e.g., also) include a current volume of data carried within each PDU session that the SMF 183 and / or UPF 184 serves. The NWDAF and / or EECF 204 may use this information together with other historical analytics information to determine analytics about the current and projected energy consumption level or energy load of the SMF 183 and / or UPF 184 that serves the WTRU(s).

[0143] For example, the NWDAF and / or EECF 204 may also determine analytics information about the projected energy consumption of the application traffic that will be carried within any PDU Sessions of interest. The NWDAF and / or EECF 204 may then determine the likelihood of the WTRU’s PDU Session rendering the serving SMF or UPF energy consumption level above a certain threshold.

[0144] At218 in FIG. 2, the NWDAF and / or the EECF 204 may provide the energy load related analytics to the NEF 206 for the listed WTRUs 102.

[0145] At220 in FIG. 2, the NEF 206 may use the provided analytics information to determine the candidate WTRUs 102 that will have a smaller likelihood of rendering the serving NF’s (e.g., SMF 183 and / or UPF 184) energy consumption above an acceptable threshold.

[0146] At 222 in FIG. 2, the NEF 206 may provide the list of candidate WTRUs 102 to the AF 208 together with the energy related and likelihood information. For example, the AF 208 may use this information to further select the WTRUs 102 to participate in the application traffic.

[0147] As shown in FIG. 2, the member WTRU selection assistance procedure uses filtering criteria related to energy consumption. The NEF 206 interacts with the NWDAF and / or the EECF 204 to receive energy related analytics. Based on the received analytics, the NEF 206 may determine a list of candidate WTRUs 102.

[0148] In certain representative embodiments, the 5GC, such as the NEF 206, may have prior knowledge (e.g., based on configuration) that energy consumption information, such as statistics and / or predictions, may be correlated to other network performance, network parameters, and / or service performance and so on.

[0149] For example, the NWDAF and / or EECF 204 may take other relevant aspects related to energy consumption, such as service experience and / or QoS, to provide further and / or better information predictions. The NWDAF and / or EECF 204 may take other relevant aspects, such as in the form of input data and / or AI / ML model features to produce energy consumption analytics and / or as existing analytics, such as observed service experience analytics, to provide the information predictions.

[0150] In certain representative embodiments, the NEF 206 may (e.g., alternatively) determine to further consider service experience and / or QoS as filtering criteria (e.g., pseudo filtering criteria that were not explicitly provided by the AF 208). For example, the NEF 206 may determine to use (e.g., leverage) service experience and / or QoS as filtering criteria to provide improved and / or optimized energy consumption. The additional filtering criteria may be used to correlate energy consumption. For example, the NEF 206 may consider these filtering criteria (e.g., implicitly if not provided by the AF 208) in order to achieve a set (e.g. optimal) energy consumption.

[0151] In certain representative embodiments, energy consumption may be considered without having to go interact with the NWDAF 204 based on a type of access used by a WTRU 102. For example, a WTRU using N3GPP access may be preferred to 3 GPP access, such as in cases of offloading (e.g., some of) the energy costs to a third party from the network operator’s point of view. For example, a WTRU using ATSSS with bandwidth aggregation may be preferred to a WTRU using a single 3GPP access, such as for achieving faster data transfer and / or a lower energy cost. For example, WTRUs 102 may be preferred for selection that use PDU sessions with particular SCC modes which may involve more data plane resources than a regular PDU Session.

[0152] FIG. 3 is a procedural diagram illustrating an example member selection assistance procedure which may be performed by a network entity providing an AF 208, according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0153] As shown in FIG. 3, an AF 208 may send, to a NEF 206, a selection request message at 302. The selection request message may include information indicating (i) a set of target WTRUs 102, and (ii) one or more energy consumption filtering criteria associated with providing a service using the set of target WTRUs 102. At 304, the AF 208 may receive, from the NEF 206, a selection result message that includes information indicating (i) a subset of the set of target WTRUs 102 that satisfy the one or more energy consumption filtering criteria, and (ii) an energy consumption of the subset of the set of target WTRUs 102 associated with providing the service.

[0154] FIG. 4 is a procedural diagram illustrating an example member selection assistance procedure which may be performed by a network entity providing a NEF 206, according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0155] As shown in FIG. 4, a NEF 206 may receive, from an AF 208, a selection request message at 402. The selection request message may include information indicating (i) a set of target WTRUs 102, and (ii) one or more energy consumption and / or credit cost filtering criteria associated with providing a service using the set of target WTRUs 102. At 404, the NEF 206 may send, to a NWDAF and / or an EECF 204, an analytics request message. The analytics request message may include information indicating (i) a request for energy consumption and / or credit cost analytics, and (ii) the set of target WTRUs 102. At 406, the NEF 206 may receive, from the NWDAF and / or the EECF 204, an analytics response message that includes information indicating energy consumption and / or credit cost analytics information associated with the set of target WTRUs 102. At 408, the NEF 206 may determine a subset of the set of target WTRUs 102 that satisfy the one or more energy consumption and / or credit cost filtering criteria based on the received energy consumption and / or credit cost analytics information. At 410, the NEF 206 may send, to the AF 208, a selection result message. The selection result message may include information indicating (i) the subset of the set of target WTRUs 102 that satisfy the one or more energy consumption and / or credit cost filtering criteria, and (ii) an energy consumption and / or credit cost of the subset of the set of target WTRUs 102 associated with providing the service.

[0156] In certain representative embodiments, the energy consumption filtering criteria may include any of: (i) an energy consumption cost associated with the set of target WTRUs 102; (ii) an energy credit cost associated with the set of target WTRUs 102; (iii) an indication to minimize the energy consumption cost associated with the subset of the set of target WTRUs 102; (iv) an indication to minimize the energy credit cost associated with the subset of the set of target WTRUs 102; (v) a maximum energy consumption limit per WTRU; (vi) a maximum energy credit limitper WTRU; (vii) a maximum energy consumption limit associated with the subset of the set of target WTRUs 102; and / or (viii) a maximum energy credit limit associated with the subset of the set of target WTRUs 102.

[0157] In certain representative embodiments, the selection request message may include information further indicating one or more additional filtering criteria including any of: (i) a quality of service (QoS) associated with providing the service using the set of target WTRUs 102; (ii) one or more AOIs associated with the service; (iii) a throughput associated with providing the service using the set of target WTRUs 102; (iv) a time duration associated with the service; (v) one or more single-network slice selection assistance information (S-NSSAIs) and / or data network names (DNNs) associated with the set of target WTRUs 102. For example, the selection result message may include information indicating the subset of the set of target WTRUs 102 that satisfy the one or more energy consumption filtering criteria and the one or more additional filtering criteria.

[0158] In certain representative embodiments, the selection result message may include information indicating one or more WTRUs 102 of the set of target WTRUs 102 that do not satisfy the one or more energy consumption filtering criteria and / or a reason the one or more WTRUs 102 of the set of target WTRUs 102 do not satisfy the one or more energy consumption filtering criteria.

[0159] In certain representative embodiments, the analytics request message may include information further indicating any of (iii) a time period for the energy consumption analytics information; (iv) one or more single-network slice selection assistance information (S-NSSAIs) and / or data network names (DNNs) associated with the set of target WTRUs 102; (v) one or more locations associated with the service; (vi) one or more session management functions (SMFs) associated with the set of target WTRUs 102; (vii) one or more user plane functions (UPFs) associated with the set of target WTRUs 102; and / or (viii) one or more protocol data unit (PDU) sessions associated with the set of target WTRUs 102.

[0160] In certain representative embodiments, the subset of the set of target WTRUs 102 may comprise a candidate list of WTRUs 102.

[0161] In certain representative embodiments, the service may be associated with an artificial intelligence and / or machine learning (AI / ML) operation.

[0162] In certain representative embodiments, a network entity may execute an AF 208. The network entity may send, to a NEF 206, a selection request message that includes information indicating (i) a set of target WTRUs 102, and (ii) one or more energy consumption filtering criteria associated with providing a service using the set of target WTRUs 102. The network entity may receive, from the NEF 206, a selection result message that includes information indicating (i) a subset of the set of target WTRUs 102 that satisfy the one or more energy consumption filteringcriteria, and (ii) an energy consumption of the subset of the set of target WTRUs 102 associated with providing the service.

[0163] In certain representative embodiments, a network entity may execute a NEF 206. The network entity may receive, from an AF 208, a selection request message that includes information indicating (i) a set of target WTRUs 102, and (ii) one or more energy consumption filtering criteria associated with providing a service using the set of target WTRUs 102. The network entity may send, to a NWDAF and / or an EECF 204, an analytics request message that includes information indicating (i) a request for energy consumption analytics, and (ii) the set of target WTRUs 102. The network entity may receive, from the NWDAF and / or the EECF 204, an analytics response message that includes information indicating energy consumption analytics information associated with the set of target WTRUs 102. The network entity may determine a subset of the set of target WTRUs 102 that satisfy the one or more energy consumption filtering criteria based on the received energy consumption analytics information. The network entity may send, to the AF 208, a selection result message that includes information indicating (i) the subset of the set of target WTRUs 102 that satisfy the one or more energy consumption filtering criteria, and (ii) an energy consumption of the subset of the set of target WTRUs 102 associated with providing the service.

[0164] In some representative embodiments, the energy consumption filtering criteria may include any of: (i) an energy consumption cost associated with the set of target WTRUs 102; (ii) an indication to minimize the energy consumption cost associated with the subset of the set of target WTRUs 102; and / or (iii) a maximum energy consumption limit per WTRU; (vi) a maximum energy consumption limit associated with the subset of the set of target WTRUs 102.

[0165] In some representative embodiments, the selection request message may further include information indicating one or more additional filtering criteria including any of: (i) at least one QoS parameter associated with providing the service using the set of target WTRUs 102; (ii) one or more areas of interest associated with the service; (iii) a throughput associated with providing the service using the set of target WTRUs 102; (iv) a time duration associated with the service; (v) one or more S-NSSAIs and / or DNNs associated with the set of target WTRUs 102.

[0166] For example, the selection result message may include information indicating the subset of the set of target WTRUs 102 that satisfy the one or more energy consumption filtering criteria and the one or more additional filtering criteria.

[0167] In some representative embodiments, the selection result message may include information indicating one or more WTRUs 102 of the set of target WTRUs 102 that do not satisfy the one or more energy consumption filtering criteria and / or a reason the one or more WTRUs 102 of the set of target WTRUs 102 do not satisfy the one or more energy consumption filtering criteria.

[0168] In some representative embodiments, the analytics request message may further include information indicating any of (iii) a time period for the energy consumption analytics information; (iv) one or more S-NSSAIs and / or data network names DNNs associated with the set of target WTRUs 102; (v) one or more locations associated with the service; (vi) one or more SMFs associated with the set of target WTRUs 102; (vii) one or more UPFs associated with the set of target WTRUs 102; and / or (viii) one or more PDU sessions associated with the set of target WTRUs 102.

[0169] In some representative embodiments, the subset of the set of target WTRUs 102 may be provided as a list of WTRUs 102 which are candidates (e.g., selected) to provide the service.

[0170] In some representative embodiments, the service may be associated with an AI / ML operation.

[0171] In certain representative embodiments, a network entity may execute an AF 208. The network entity may send, to a NEF 206, a selection request message that includes information indicating (i) a set of target WTRUs 102, and (ii) one or more energy credit filtering criteria associated with providing a service using the set of target WTRUs 102. The network entity may receive, from the NEF 206, a selection result message that includes information indicating (i) a subset of the set of target WTRUs 102 that satisfy the one or more energy credit filtering criteria, and (ii) an energy credit of the subset of the set of target WTRUs 102 associated with providing the service.

[0172] In certain representative embodiments, a network entity may execute a NEF 206. The network entity may receive, from an AF 208, a selection request message that includes information indicating (i) a set of target WTRUs 102, and (ii) one or more energy credit filtering criteria associated with providing a service using the set of target WTRUs 102. The network entity may send, to a NWDAF and / or an EECF 204, an analytics request message that includes information indicating (i) a request for energy credit analytics, and (ii) the set of target WTRUs 102. The network entity may receive, from the NWDAF and / or the EECF 204, an analytics response message that includes information indicating energy credit analytics information associated with the set of target WTRUs 102. The network entity may determine a subset of the set of target WTRUs 102 that satisfy the one or more energy credit filtering criteria based on the received energy credit analytics information. The network entity may send, to the AF 208, a selection result message that includes information indicating (i) the subset of the set of target WTRUs 102 that satisfy the one or more energy credit filtering criteria, and (ii) an energy credit of the subset of the set of target WTRUs 102 associated with providing the service.

[0173] In some representative embodiments, the energy consumption filtering criteria may include any of: (i) an energy credit cost associated with the set of target WTRUs 102; (ii) anindication to minimize the energy credit cost associated with the subset of the set of target WTRUs 102; (iii) a maximum energy credit limit per WTRU 102; and / or (iv) a maximum energy credit limit associated with the subset of the set of target WTRUs 102.

[0174] In some representative embodiments, the selection request message may further include information indicating one or more additional filtering criteria including any of: (i) at least one QoS parameter associated with providing the service using the set of target WTRUs 102; (ii) one or more areas of interest associated with the service; (iii) a throughput associated with providing the service using the set of target WTRUs 102; (iv) a time duration associated with the service; (v) one or more S-NSSAIs and / or DNNs associated with the set of target WTRUs 102.

[0175] For example, the selection result message may include information indicating the subset of the set of target WTRUs 102 that satisfy the one or more energy credit filtering criteria and the one or more additional filtering criteria.

[0176] In some representative embodiments, the selection result message may include information indicating one or more WTRUs 102 of the set of target WTRUs 102 that do not satisfy the one or more energy credit filtering criteria and / or a reason the one or more WTRUs 102 of the set of target WTRUs 102 do not satisfy the one or more energy credit filtering criteria.

[0177] In some representative embodiments, the analytics request message may further include information indicating any of (iii) a time period for the energy credit analytics information; (iv) one or more S-NSSAIs and / or data network names DNNs associated with the set of target WTRUs 102; (v) one or more locations associated with the service; (vi) one or more SMFs associated with the set of target WTRUs 102; (vii) one or more UPFs associated with the set of target WTRUs 102; and / or (viii) one or more PDU sessions associated with the set of target WTRUs 102.

[0178] In some representative embodiments, the subset of the set of target WTRUs 102 may be provided as a list of WTRUs 102 which are candidates (e.g., selected) to provide the service.

[0179] In some representative embodiments, the service may be associated with an AI / ML operation.

[0180] In certain representative embodiments, a network entity may receive, from an AF 208, a selection request message that includes information indicating (i) a set of target wireless transmit / receive units 102, and (ii) one or more energy consumption and / or credit cost filtering criteria associated with the set of target WTRUs 102. The network entity may send, to a NWDAF and / or an EECF 204, a request message that includes information indicating (i) a request for energy consumption and / or credit cost information associated with providing a service using the set of target WTRUs 102, and (ii) the set of target WTRUs 102. The network entity may receive, from the NWDAF and / or the EECF 204, a response message that includes information indicating energy consumption and / or credit cost information associated with the set of target WTRUs 102. Thenetwork entity may determine a subset of the set of target WTRUs 102 that satisfy the one or more energy consumption and / or credit cost filtering criteria based on the received energy consumption and / or credit cost information. The network entity may send, to the AF 208, a selection result message that includes information indicating (i) the subset of target WTRUs 102 that satisfy the one or more energy consumption and / or credit cost filtering criteria, and (ii) an energy consumption and / or credit cost of the subset of target WTRUs 102 associated with providing the service.

[0181] In some representative embodiments, the service may be associated with an AI / ML operation.

[0182] In some representative embodiments, the energy consumption and / or credit cost filtering criteria may include any of: (i) an energy consumption cost associated with the set of target WTRUs 102; (ii) an energy credit cost associated with the set of target WTRUs 102; (iii) an indication to minimize the energy consumption cost associated with the subset of the set of target WTRUs 102; (iv) an indication to minimize the energy credit cost associated with the subset of the set of target WTRUs 102; (v) a maximum energy consumption limit per WTRU 102; (vi) a maximum energy credit limit per WTRU 102; (vii) a maximum energy consumption limit associated with selecting the subset of target WTRUs 102; and / or (viii) a maximum energy credit limit associated with selecting the subset of target WTRUs 102.

[0183] In some representative embodiments, the selection request message may include information further indicating one or more additional filtering criteria including any of: (i) at least one QoS parameter associated with providing the service using the set of target WTRUs 102; (ii) one or more areas of interest associated with the service; (iii) a throughput associated with providing the service using the set of target WTRUs 102; (iv) a time duration associated with the service; (v) one or more S-NSSAIs and / or DNNs associated with the set of target WTRUs 102.

[0184] For example, the selection result message may include information indicating the subset of target WTRUs 102 that satisfy the one or more energy consumption and / or credit cost filtering criteria and the one or more additional filtering criteria.

[0185] In some representative embodiments, the selection result message may include information indicating one or more WTRUs 102 of the set of target WTRUs 102 that do not satisfy the one or more energy consumption and / or credit cost filtering criteria and / or a reason the one or more WTRUs 102 of the set of target WTRUs 102 do not satisfy the one or more energy consumption and / or credit cost filtering criteria.

[0186] In some representative embodiments, the request message may further include information indicating any of (iii) a time period for the energy consumption and / or credit cost information; (iv) one or more S-NSSAIs and / or DNNs associated with the set of target WTRUs102; (v) one or more locations associated with the service; (vi) one or more SMFs associated with the set of target WTRUs 102; (vii) one or more UPFs associated with the set of target WTRUs 102; and / or (viii) one or more PDU sessions associated with the set of target WTRUs 102.

[0187] In some representative embodiments, the subset of target WTRUs 102 may be provided as a list of WTRUs 102 which are candidates (e.g., selected) to provide the service.

[0188] In some representative embodiments, the network entity may execute a NEF 206.

[0189] In some representative embodiments, the selection result message may include information indicating the energy consumption of each WTRU 102 of the subset of target WTRUs 102.

[0190] In some representative embodiments, the selection result message may include information indicating the energy credit cost of each WTRU 102 of the subset of target WTRUs 102.

[0191] One or more embodiments provide a computer program comprising instructions which when executed by one or more processors cause such processors to perform the encoding and / or decoding methods according to any of the embodiments described above. One or more embodiments also provide a computer readable storage medium having stored thereon instructions for encoding or decoding video data according to the methods described above.

[0192] One or more embodiments provide a computer readable storage medium having stored thereon video data generated according to the methods described above. One or more embodiments also provide a method and apparatus for transmitting or receiving video data generated according to the methods described above.

[0193] The embodiments described herein may be implemented in, for example, a method or a process, an apparatus, a software program, a data stream, or a signal. Even if only discussed in the context of a single form of implementation (e.g., as a method), the implementation of such features may also be implemented in other forms. An apparatus may be implemented in, for example, appropriate hardware, software, and firmware. Corresponding methods may be implemented in, for example, a processor.

[0194] Various numeric values are used in the present application. Such specific values are for example purposes and the embodiments described are not limited to these specific values.

[0195] Various methods are described herein, and such methods comprise one or more steps or actions for achieving the described method. Unless a specific order of steps or actions is required for the proper operation of the method, the order and / or use of specific steps and / or actions may be modified or combined. Additionally, terms such as “first”, “second”, etc. may be used in various embodiments to modify an element, component, step, operation, etc., for example, a “firstdecoding” and a “second decoding”. Use of such terms does not imply an order to the operations unless specifically required.

[0196] The present disclosure may refer to “determining” various pieces of information. Determining information may include one or more of, for example, estimating, calculating, predicting, or retrieving (e.g., from memory) the information.

[0197] The present disclosure may refer to “accessing” various pieces of information. Accessing information may include one or more of, for example, receiving, retrieving (e.g., from memory), storing, moving, copying, calculating, determining, predicting, or estimating the information. Similarly, the present disclosure may refer to “receiving” various pieces of information. Receiving information may include one or more of, for example, accessing or retrieving (e.g., from memory) the information.

[0198] It is to be understood that use of any of the following “ / ”, “and / or”, and “at least one of’ is intended to encompass all possible selections of listed items, taken either individually or in any combination thereof.

[0199] While specific embodiments have been described in the foregoing description in connection with the accompanying drawings, it should be understood that embodiments described herein are examples only and should not be taken as limiting the scope of the present disclosure or the following claims. Although features and elements are described herein in particular combinations, those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that such features or elements may be used alone or in any combination with the other features and elements. It is understood, therefore, that the overall teachings of the present disclosure are not limited to the particular embodiments, implementations, and examples disclosed herein, but are intended to cover variations, modifications, and alternatives as defined by the appended claims and any and all equivalents thereof.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A method implemented by a network entity, the method comprising: receiving, from an application function, a selection request message that includes information indicating (i) a set of target wireless transmit / receive units (WTRUs), and (ii) one or more energy consumption and / or credit cost filtering criteria associated with the set of target WTRUs; sending, to a network data analytics function (NWDAF) and / or an energy efficiency control function (EECF), a request message that includes information indicating (i) a request for energy consumption and / or credit cost information associated with providing a service using the set of target WTRUs, and (ii) the set of target WTRUs; receiving, from the NWDAF and / or the EECF, a response message that includes information indicating energy consumption and / or credit cost information associated with the set of target WTRUs; determining a subset of the set of target WTRUs that satisfy the one or more energy consumption and / or credit cost filtering criteria based on the received energy consumption and / or credit cost information; and sending, to the application function, a selection result message that includes information indicating (i) the subset of target WTRUs that satisfy the one or more energy consumption and / or credit cost filtering criteria, and (ii) an energy consumption and / or credit cost of the subset of target WTRUs associated with providing the service.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the service is associated with an artificial intelligence and / or machine learning operation.

3. The method of any one of claims 1-2, wherein the energy consumption and / or credit cost filtering criteria includes any of: (i) an energy consumption cost associated with the set of target WTRUs; (ii) an energy credit cost associated with the set of target WTRUs; (iii) an indication to minimize the energy consumption cost associated with the subset of the set of target WTRUs; (iv) an indication to minimize the energy credit cost associated with the subset of the set of target WTRUs; (v) a maximum energy consumption limit per WTRU; (vi) a maximum energy credit limit per WTRU; (vii) a maximum energy consumption limit associated with selecting the subset of target WTRUs; and / or (viii) a maximum energy credit limit associated with selecting the subset of target WTRUs.

4. The method of any one of claims 1-3, wherein the selection request message includes information further indicating one or more additional filtering criteria including any of: (i) a quality of service (QoS) associated with providing the service using the set of target WTRUs; (ii) one or more areas of interest associated with the service; (iii) a throughput associated with providing the service using the set of target WTRUs; (iv) a time duration associated with the service; (v) one or more single-network slice selection assistance information (S-NSSAIs) and / or data network names (DNNs) associated with the set of target WTRUs.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the selection result message includes information indicating the subset of target WTRUs that satisfy the one or more energy consumption and / or credit cost filtering criteria and the one or more additional filtering criteria.

6. The method of any one of claims 1-5, wherein the selection result message includes information indicating one or more WTRUs of the set of target WTRUs that do not satisfy the one or more energy consumption and / or credit cost filtering criteria and / or a reason the one or more WTRUs of the set of target WTRUs do not satisfy the one or more energy consumption and / or credit cost filtering criteria.

7. The method of any one of claims 1-6, wherein the request message includes information further indicating any of (iii) a time period for the energy consumption and / or credit cost information; (iv) one or more single-network slice selection assistance information (S-NSSAIs) and / or data network names (DNNs) associated with the set of target WTRUs; (v) one or more locations associated with the service; (vi) one or more session management functions (SMFs) associated with the set of target WTRUs; (vii) one or more user plane functions (UPFs) associated with the set of target WTRUs; and / or (viii) one or more protocol data unit (PDU) sessions associated with the set of target WTRUs.

8. The method of any one of claims 1-7, wherein the selection result message indicates the subset of target WTRUs as a list of WTRUs which are candidates to provide the service.

9. The method of any one of claims 1-8, wherein the network entity executes a network exposure function.

10. The method of any of claims 1-9, wherein the selection result message includes information indicating the energy consumption of each WTRU of the subset of target WTRUs.

11. The method of any of claims 1-10, wherein the selection result message includes information indicating the energy credit cost of each WTRU of the subset of target WTRUs.

12. A network entity comprising: a processor, memory, and a transceiver which are configured to: receive, from an application function, a selection request message that includes information indicating (i) a set of target wireless transmit / receive units (WTRUs), and (ii) one or more energy consumption and / or credit cost filtering criteria associated with the set of target WTRUs, send, to a network data analytics function (NWDAF) and / or an energy efficiency control function (EECF), a request message that includes information indicating (i) a request for energy consumption and / or credit cost information associated with providing a service using the set of target WTRUs, and (ii) the set of target WTRUs, receive, from the NWDAF and / or the EECF, a response message that includes information indicating energy consumption and / or credit cost information associated with the set of target WTRUs, determine a subset of the set of target WTRUs that satisfy the one or more energy consumption and / or credit cost filtering criteria based on the received energy consumption and / or credit cost information, and send, to the application function, a selection result message that includes information indicating (i) the subset of target WTRUs that satisfy the one or more energy consumption and / or credit cost filtering criteria, and (ii) an energy consumption and / or credit cost of the subset of target WTRUs associated with providing the service.

13. The network entity of claim 12, wherein the service is associated with an artificial intelligence and / or machine learning operation.

14. The network entity of any one of claims 12-13, wherein the energy consumption and / or credit cost filtering criteria includes any of: (i) an energy consumption cost associated with the set of target WTRUs; (ii) an energy credit cost associated with the set of target WTRUs; (iii) an indication to minimize the energy consumption cost associated with the subset of the set of target WTRUs; (iv) an indication to minimize the energy credit cost associated with the subset of the set of target WTRUs; (v) a maximum energy consumption limit per WTRU; (vi) a maximum energy credit limit per WTRU; (vii) a maximum energy consumption limit associated with selecting the subset of target WTRUs; and / or (viii) a maximum energy credit limit associated with selecting the subset of target WTRUs.

15. The network entity of any one of claims 12-14, wherein the selection request message includes information further indicating one or more additional filtering criteria including any of: (i) a quality of service (QoS) associated with providing the service using the set of target WTRUs; (ii) one or more areas of interest associated with the service; (iii) a throughput associated with providing the service using the set of target WTRUs; (iv) a time duration associated with the service; (v) one or more single-network slice selection assistance information (S-NSSAIs) and / or data network names (DNNs) associated with the set of target WTRUs.

16. The network entity of claim 15, wherein the selection result message includes information indicating the subset of target WTRUs that satisfy the one or more energy consumption and / or credit cost filtering criteria and the one or more additional filtering criteria.

17. The network entity of any one of claims 12-16, wherein the selection result message includes information indicating one or more WTRUs of the set of target WTRUs that do not satisfy the one or more energy consumption and / or credit cost filtering criteria and / or a reason the one or more WTRUs of the set of target WTRUs do not satisfy the one or more energy consumption and / or credit cost filtering criteria.

18. The network entity of any one of claims 12-17, wherein the request message includes information further indicating any of (iii) a time period for the energy consumption and / or credit cost information; (iv) one or more single-network slice selection assistance information (S- NSSAIs) and / or data network names (DNNs) associated with the set of target WTRUs; (v) one ormore locations associated with the service; (vi) one or more session management functions (SMFs) associated with the set of target WTRUs; (vii) one or more user plane functions (UPFs) associated with the set of target WTRUs; and / or (viii) one or more protocol data unit (PDU) sessions associated with the set of target WTRUs.

19. The network entity of any one of claims 12-18, wherein the subset of target WTRUs is a candidate list of WTRUs.

20. The network entity of any one of claims 12-19, wherein the processor, the memory, and the transceiver are configured to execute a network exposure function.

21. The network entity of any of claims 12-20, wherein the selection result message includes information indicating the energy consumption of each WTRU of the subset of target WTRUs.

22. The network entity of any of claims 12-21, wherein the selection result message includes information indicating the energy credit cost of each WTRU of the subset of target WTRUs.

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