Core network assisted sensor discovery and control session establishment

Abstract

Disclosed herein are systems, methods and instrumentalities associated with spatial mapping (SM). A first network node may receive, from a WTRU, an SM registration request to register the WTRU as an SM client device. The first network node may also receive, from a second network node, an SM discovery request that may indicate one or more SM selection criteria. The first network node may determine, based on the SM registration request received from the WTRU and the SM discovery request received from the second network node, that the WTRU meets the one or more SM selection criteria. The first network node may send an SM discovery response to the second network node, wherein the SM discovery response may indicate information about the WTRU. The first network node may send a notification to the WTRU regarding an SM operation.

Description

CORE NETWORK ASSISTED SENSOR DISCOVERY AND CONTROL SESSION ESTABLISHMENTCROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims the benefit of Provisional U.S. Patent Application No. 63 / 574,430, filed April 4, 2024, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.BACKGROUND

[0002] Mobile communications using wireless communication continue to evolve. A fifth generation may be referred to as 5G. A previous (legacy) generation of mobile communication may be, for example, fourth generation (4G) long term evolution (LTE).SUMMARY

[0003] Disclosed herein are systems, methods, and instrumentalities associated with spatial sensor registration, discovery and control session establishment. A first network node, as described herein, may receive, from a wireless transmit / receive unit (WTRU), a spatial mapping (SM) registration request to register the WTRU as an SM client device. The first network node may also receive an SM discovery request from a second network node, wherein the SM discovery request may indicate one or more SM selection criteria. The first network node may determine, based on the SM registration request received from the WTRU and the SM discovery request from the second network node, that the WTRU meets the one or more SM selection criteria. The first network node may send a spatial sensor discovery response to the second network node, wherein the spatial sensor discovery response may include information about the WTRU. The first network node may send a notification to the WTRU regarding an SM operation.

[0004] In examples, the SM registration request received from the WTRU may indicate one or more of a type of SM information that the WTRU is capable of providing, a position or location of the WTRU, or an availability of the WTRU as the SM client device. The type of the SM information may indicate whether the SM information is acquired using a color camera, a light detection and ranging (LiDAR) camera, or a high- resolution camera.

[0005] In examples, the first network node may register the WTRU as the SM client device in response to receiving the SM registration request. The registration may include authenticating the WTRU and storing the information about the WTRU on the first network node.

[0006] In examples, the one or more SM selection criteria received from the second network node may indicate one or more of a type of SM information requested by the second network node, an SM position or location desired by the second network node, or an area of interest of the second network node.

[0007] In examples, the SM operation indicated to the WTRU may include an SM measurement to be performed by the WTRU or a spatial sensor associated with the WTRU. In these examples, the notification sent to the WTRU may include measurement configuration information that indicates one or more of a quality of the SM measurement, a frequency of the SM measurement, an area of the SM measurement, a target of the SM measurement, or a reporting address of the SM measurement. In these examples, the notification sent to the WTRU may be triggered at least partially by the SM discovery request from the second network node.

[0008] In examples, the SM operation indicated to the WTRU may be associated with establishment of a control session between the second network node and the WTRU, or between the second network node and a spatial sensor associated with the WTRU. In these examples, the first network node may send the notification regarding the SM operation to the WTRU in response to receiving a control session establishment request from the second network node that includes one or more of WTRU information, spatial sensor information, or SM control session configuration information. In these examples, the control session establishment request received from the second network node may further indicate a quality of service (QoS) requirement associated with the control session, and wherein the first network node may indicate the QoS requirement to a communication network device responsible for maintaining the control session. In these examples, the first network node may receive a response from the WTRU indicating whether the control session has been successfully established, contact information associated with the control session, or ways to obtain SM data from the WTRU or the spatial sensor associated with the WTRU. In these examples, the first network node may send a control session establishment response to the second network node, wherein the control session establishment response may indicate whether the control session has been successfully established, the contact information associated with the control session, or the ways to obtain SM data from the WTRU or the spatial sensor associated with the WTRU.

[0009] In examples, the first network node described herein may be an SM management server and the second network node may be an application server.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] FIG. 1A is a system diagram illustrating an example communications system in which one or more disclosed embodiments may be implemented.

[0011] FIG. 1 B is a system diagram illustrating an example wireless transmit / receive unit (WTRU) that may be used within the communications system illustrated in FIG. 1A according to an embodiment.

[0012] FIG. 1 C 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 an embodiment.

[0013] FIG. 1 D 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. 1A according to an embodiment.

[0014] FIG. 2 is a system diagram illustrating a spatial sensor management function (SSMF) deployed within an application client (AC) on a WTRU and / or in an application server (AS).

[0015] FIG. 3 is a system diagram illustrating an SSMF comprising an enabler client on a WTRU and / or an enabler server in a data network.

[0016] FIG. 4 is a flow diagram that shows an example procedure for spatial sensor registration.

[0017] FIG. 5 is a flow diagram that shows an example procedure for network-triggered spatial sensor discovery.

[0018] FIG. 6 is a flow diagram that shows an example procedure for obtaining spatial sensor measurements.

[0019] FIG. 7 is a flow diagram that shows an example procedure for spatial sensor control session establishment.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0020] FIG. 1 A is a 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), single-carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA), zero-tail unique-word 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 RAN 104 / 113, a CN 106 / 115, a public switched telephone network (PSTN) 108, the Internet 110, and other networks 112, though it will be appreciated that thedisclosed 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 may be referred to as a “station” and / or a “STA”, may be configured to transmit and / or receive wireless signals and may include 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 to facilitate access to one or more communication networks, such as the CN 106 / 115, the I nternet 110, and / or the other networks 112. By way of example, the base stations 114a, 114b may be a base transceiver station (BTS), a Node-B, an eNode B, a Home Node B, a Home eNode B, a gNB, a NR NodeB, 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 one 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 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 communication link (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 115 / 116 / 117 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 (DL) Packet Access (HSDPA) and / or High-Speed UL 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 other embodiments, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement radio technologies such as IEEE 802.11 (i.e., Wireless Fidelity (WiFi), IEEE 802.16 (i.e., Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX)), CDMA2000, CDMA2000 1X, 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 alocalized 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 one embodiment, 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 yet another 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 a picocell or femtocell. As shown in FIG. 1A, 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. 1A, 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 a NR radio technology, the CN 106 / 115 may also be in communication with another RAN (not shown) employing a GSM, UMTS, CDMA 2000, WiMAX, E-UTRA, or WiFi 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 the 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 / 113 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 wireless links). For example, the WTRU102c 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. 1 B is a system diagram illustrating an example WTRU 102. As shown in FIG. 1 B, 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 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. 1 B 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 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 one 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 yet another 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. 1 B as a single element, the WTRU 102 may include any number of transmit / receive elements 122. More specifically, the WTRU 102 may employ MIMO technology. Thus, in one 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), read-only 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 locationdetermination method while remaining consistent with an embodiment.

[0042] The processor 118 may further be coupled to other peripherals 138, which may include one or more software and / or hardware modules that provide additional features, functionality and / or wired or wireless connectivity. For example, the peripherals 138 may include an accelerometer, an e-compass, a satellite transceiver, a digital camera (for photographs and / or video), a universal serial bus (USB) port, a vibration device, a television transceiver, a hands free headset, a Bluetooth® module, a frequencymodulated (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 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 UL (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 WRTU 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 UL (e.g., for transmission) or the downlink (e.g., for reception)).

[0044] FIG. 1 C 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, 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 one 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 / or receive wireless signals from, the WTRU 102a.

[0046] Each of the eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 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 UL and / or DL, and the like. As shown in FIG. 1 C, the eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c may communicate with one another over an X2 interface.

[0047] The CN 106 shown in FIG. 1 C may include a mobility management entity (MME) 162, a serving gateway (SGW) 164, and a packet data network (PDN) gateway (or PGW) 166. While each of the foregoing elements are depicted as part of the CN 106, it will be appreciated that any 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, 160c in the RAN 104 via an S1 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 S1 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. 1 A-1 D as a wireless terminal, it is contemplated that in certain representative embodiments 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 in to 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 destinations outside 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 thedestination 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 802.11e DLS or an 802.11 z 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 802.11 ac 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 nonadjacent 20 MHz channel to form a 40 MHz wide channel.

[0057] Very High Throughput (VHT) STAs may support 20MHz, 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 the Medium Access Control (MAC).

[0058] Sub 1 GHz modes of operation are supported by 802.11 af and 802.11 ah. The channel operating bandwidths, and carriers, are reduced in 802.11 af and 802.11 ah relative to those used in 802.11 n, and 802.11ac. 802.11 af supports 5 MHz, 10 MHz and 20 MHz bandwidths in the TV White Space (TVWS) spectrum, and 802.11 ah supports 1 MHz, 2 MHz, 4 MHz, 8 MHz, and 16 MHz bandwidths using non-TVWS spectrum. According to a representative embodiment, 802.11 ah may support Meter Type Control / Machine-Type Communications, 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 as 802.11 n, 802.11 ac, 802.11 af, and 802.11 ah, 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 802.11 ah, 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 802.11 ah, 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 802.11 ah is 6 MHz to 26 MHz depending on the country code.

[0061] FIG. 1 D 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 one embodiment, the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may implement MIMO technology. For example, gNBs 180a, 108b may utilize beamforming to transmit signals to and / or receive signals from the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c. 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 maytransmit 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, the 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., containing 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 Function (UPF) 184a, 184b, routing of control plane information towards Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 182a, 182b and the like. As shown in FIG. 1 D, the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may communicate with one another over an Xn interface.

[0066] The CN 115 shown in FIG. 1 D may include at least one AMF 182a, 182b, at least one UPF 184a, 184b, at least one Session Management Function (SMF) 183a, 183b, and possibly a Data Network (DN) 185a, 185b. While each of the foregoing elements are depicted as part of the CN 115, it will beappreciated 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 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 in order 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 machine type communication (MTC) access, and / or the like. The AMF 182 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, Ethernetbased, 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, 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 one embodiment, the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may be connected to a local Data Network (DN) 185a, 185b through the UPF184a, 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-1 D, and the corresponding description of FIGs. 1 A-1 D, one or more, or all, of the functions described herein with regard to one or more of: WTRU 102a-d, Base Station 114a-b, eNode- B 160a-c, MME 162, SGW 164, PGW 166, gNB 180a-c, AMF 182a-b, UPF 184a-b, SMF 183a-b, DN 185a- b, and / or any other device(s) described herein, may be performed by one or more emulation 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 testing 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] Reference to a timer herein may refer to a time, a time period, a tracking of time, a tracking of a period of time, a combination thereof, and / or the like. Reference to a timer expiration herein may refer to a determination that the time has started or that the period of time has expired.

[0075] The terms “measurements” and “measurement reports” may be used interchangeably herein. The terms “AS” and “AF” may be used interchangeably herein.

[0076] A Sensing NF may be a network function (NF) that understands a service request from an Application Function (AF) and is capable of deriving a corresponding requested sensing mechanism. Based on the sensing mechanism, the Sensing NF may forward the request to the relevant NFs within a core network (e.g., 5GC), which may serve a region of interest or requested entities such as WTRUs.When the AF is a 3rd party application that may not be a trusted entity of a system (e.g., 5GS), the AF and / or an Integrated Sensing And Network Function (ISANF) may communicate through a Network Exposure Function (NEF).

[0077] An application server (AS) may not have means of discovering, based on application layer mapping and localization requirements, WTRUs with spatial sensing capabilities. For example, the AS may have no means of establishing a spatial sensor control session with discovered spatial sensors. Embodiments described herein may provide spatial sensor management and control.

[0078] A service enablement layer function (e.g., an SSMF) may provide discovery, measurement collection, and / or control session establishment capabilities in a system (e.g., 5GS). When requested by an AS, a server enabler function (e.g., an SSMF-S) may use discovery filters (e.g., spatial sensor selection criteria) and / or a core network (e.g., 5GC) to discover registered and / or available spatial sensors associated with a WTRU (e.g., on the WTRU or connected to the WTRU). The server enabler function may enable spatial sensor measurement collection and / or remote spatial sensor control session establishment by exchanging messages with a client enabler function (e.g., an SSMF-C), which may be installed on the WTRU that is associated with one or more discovered spatial sensors.

[0079] An enabler server with SSMF-S capabilities may perform one or more actions to discover and / or control spatial sensors associated with a WTRU. For example, the SSMF-S may receive a Spatial Sensor Registration request from an SSMF-C (e.g., which may be part of the WTRU) to register a spatial sensor. The request may include information about the spatial sensor, such as, for example, an identifier (ID) of the SSMF-C, the type of the spatial sensor or sensed information, metadata associated with the sensed data, and / or an indication of whether the spatial sensor may be remotely controlled.

[0080] In an example, the SSMF-S may receive a Spatial Sensor Discovery request from an application server (AS) to discover spatial sensors. The request may include one or more Spatial Sensor Information filters (e.g., spatial sensor selection criteria). The SSMF-S may identify spatial sensors that are registered to the SSMF and match the Spatial Sensor Information filters provided in the discovery request. The SSMF-S may do this, for example, upon receiving the Spatial Sensor Discovery request. In examples, the SSMF-S may perform a procedure with a core network (e.g., 5GC) to obtain a list of WTRUs in a requested area (e.g., as indicated by the Spatial Sensor Discovery request). The SSMF-S may send a Spatial Sensor Discovery response to the AS. The response may include spatial sensor Information and / or WTRU information for the discovered spatial sensors.

[0081] In an example, the SSMF-S may receive a Spatial Sensor Control Session request from an AS. The request may include spatial sensor information, WTRU information, and / or spatial sensor control session configuration. The SSMF-S may use the spatial sensor information and / or the WTRU informationto determine the WTRU(s) for which the control session is requested. The SSMF-S may do this, for example, upon receiving the Spatial Sensor Control Session request.

[0082] The SSMF-S may send a Spatial Sensor Control Session request or notification to at least one WTRU requesting (e.g., requiring) a control session. The request or notification may include spatial sensor information, WTRU information, and / or spatial sensor control session configuration. The SSMF-S may receive a Spatial Sensor Control Session response from a WTRU. The response may include an indication of whether the spatial sensor control session configuration was successfully received and applied. The response may include contact information for the spatial sensor and / or SSMF-C, or information that may be used to obtain sensed data from the SSMF-C.

[0083] The SSMF-S may send a Spatial Sensor Control Session response to the AS. The response may include an indication about whether the spatial sensor control session configuration was successfully received and applied. The response may also include contact information for the spatial sensor and / or SSMF-C, or information that may be used to obtain sensed data from the SSMF-C.

[0084] If the spatial sensor control session configuration includes a control session QoS, the SSMF-S may perform a procedure with the core network (e.g., 5GC) to configure the requested QoS on the IP flow between the AS and a spatial sensor (e.g., or an SSMF-C).

[0085] Positioning systems may be provided to determine the geographic position (e.g., longitude, latitude, altitude, etc.), the three-dimensional (3D) position, and / or the orientation (e.g., pitch, yaw, roll, etc.) of an object in space. The position may be a global position on Earth or a relative position with regard to a known reference point.

[0086] Geographic positioning systems may allow radio receivers to determine their geographic position using microwave signals from satellites and / or land-based transmitters. For example, global navigation satellite systems (GNSS), such as the Global Positioning System (GPS), may have global coverage and may enable radio receivers to determine their geographic position by measuring microwave signals from a set of satellites within the range of the receiver. Geographic positioning accuracy may be within a few meters in outdoor settings but degrades rapidly in most underground or indoor settings.

[0087] Indoor positioning systems (IPS) may be used to locate people or objects in indoor environments. These systems may use a network of devices to obtain device-specific positioning measurements (e.g., wireless technologies, magnetic fields, ultra-wideband, etc.) and may use a variety of positioning techniques to determine position. For example, an IPS may include a physical deployment of wireless access points and software on a WTRU to collect and report measurements from the access points. Based on these measurements, algorithms may be used to determine the position of the WTRU. Positioningaccuracy for indoor positioning systems may be deployment specific and may vary from coarse to very precise (e.g., within a few centimeters).

[0088] Visual positioning systems may use image processing algorithms to compare images captured from a device (e.g., a WTRU camera) with a database of captured images to determine the device’s position and / or orientation. Positioning accuracy depends on the quality of the specific algorithms and the quality and quantity of information available in the visual positioning database.

[0089] Cellular positioning systems may use reference signal measurements and / or cell tower triangulation to determine the position of a WTRU (e.g., mobile network operators (MNO) may use many techniques for WTRU positioning). Mobile devices may support multiple radios and / or sensors (e.g., GPS, Wi-Fi, etc.) that may be leveraged by a positioning system, such as a 3GPP positioning system. For example, deployments, such as 4G deployments, may support an LTE positioning architecture and protocols that may enable location servers in the network to obtain 3GPP and / or non-3GPP location information from WTRUs to determine more accurate WTRU positioning. Deployments, such as 5G deployments, may support a 5G positioning architecture that may include enhancements to the LTE positioning architecture (e.g., with new radio (NR) sensing technologies to provide more accurate WTRU positioning).

[0090] Spatial mapping and localization may be provided. A spatial map may be a 3D digital model of a physical environment. Spatial mapping may include collecting and processing sensor measurements at various positions to construct a map of an environment. Spatial mapping may use (e.g., require) sensor location information, wireless sensing data, and / or non-3GPP sensor data to create an accurate spatial map of a physical area.

[0091] Localization may refer to the position and orientation (e.g., pitch, yaw, roll, etc.) of an object in a 3D space. Localization of an object may be determined by processing measurements from sensors within a visible range of the object (e.g., using a red-green-blue-depth (RGBD) camera, a high-resolution camera, etc.), from sensors within a wireless range of the object (e.g., using a Wi-Fi access point, a Bluetooth device, etc.), and / or from sensors attached to the object itself (e.g., a gyroscope, an accelerometer, a magnetometer, a GPS, an RGBD camera, a high-resolution camera, a Wi-Fi device, a Bluetooth device, etc.). Localization may be determined by comparing sensor measurements with mapped measurements stored in a spatial map of the environment. Localization accuracy may vary depending on the type of sensors used to obtain measurements and / or the accuracy and latency of the measurements used to calculate the location.

[0092] Some extended reality (XR) and metaverse use cases may use (e.g., require) accurate WTRU localization across a diverse set of environments. For example, an XR application may request (e.g., need)real-time and precise WTRU localization information to correctly overlay augmented reality (AR) content at an outdoor sporting event or an indoor concert. As another example, a metaverse AR application may request (e.g., need) WTRU localization information to determine whether spatial anchors in a digital world may be visible and discoverable by a WTRU while at a park or moving around an indoor shopping mall.

[0093] Some positioning systems with WTRU localization capabilities may work under certain conditions and in specific environments. Many indoor settings may use (e.g., require) specific wireless deployments and positioning techniques to obtain accurate WTRU localization. To enable the adoption of some use cases, efficient ways of obtaining accurate WTRU localization across a wide range of environments may be provided. Systems (e.g., 3GPP systems) may provide a standardized architecture and have extensive coverage (e.g., both outdoor and indoor), making these systems useful for providing widespread and accurate WTRU localization.

[0094] A spatial map of the world may be created and / or managed to enable some XR and metaverse use cases. Some spatial mapping technologies may have limited indoor coverage. Sensing technologies may be diverse and may provide varying levels of measurement accuracy. In an example, a system, such as a 3GPP system, may be used to enable consolidation and / or aggregation of sensing and spatial mapping technologies.

[0095] To support spatial mapping and localization, a system, such as the 3GPP system, may enable spatial sensors to provide spatial sensing measurements (e.g., to spatial map owners) to create and / or update spatial maps and / or to accurately localize a WTRU. The ability to request and manage spatial sensing data from relevant spatial sensors based on sensor location and / or capabilities may be provided (e.g., to spatial map owners).

[0096] Examples disclosed herein may use a 3GPP system to assist in the discovery and selection of WTRUs with spatial sensing capabilities based on application layer mapping and / or localization requirements. Examples disclosed herein may use the 3GPP system to enable measurement requests and reports from discovered sensors and to assist in the establishment of an application layer control session.

[0097] Examples disclosed herein may provide enhancements to enable an application server (AS) to discover, obtain measurements from, and / or establish a control session with spatial sensors associated with a WTRU.

[0098] Examples disclosed herein may enable access to spatial sensor information across a wide range of environments by leveraging network coverage, such as 3GPP network coverage, and by providing spatial sensor discovery, measurement collection, and remote-control capabilities. In an example, a Spatial Sensor Management Function (SSMF) may be provided and may be an enhancement to a serviceenablement layer, such as the 3GPP service enablement layer. The SSMF may manage spatial sensors and may enable spatial sensor control sessions.

[0099] In an example, when requested by an AS, a server enabler function (e.g., SSMF-S) may use one or more discovery filters (e.g., spatial sensor selection criteria) and a core network (e.g., 5GC) to discover registered and available spatial sensors associated with a WTRU. The server enabler function may enable spatial sensor measurement collection and remote spatial sensor control session establishment by exchanging messages with a client enabler function (e.g., SSMF-C), which may be located on a WTRU associated with a discovered spatial sensor.

[0100] Although the examples discussed herein discuss service enablement layer enhancements for spatial sensor management, it should be noted that the implementations described herein are not restricted to service enablement layer enhancements and may be applicable to other sensing scenarios.

[0101] When referred to herein, an application client (AC) may be a user application that resides on a WTRU and communicates with an AS. A WTRU may use one or more ACs.

[0102] When referred to herein, an application server (AS) may be an application server that resides in a data network (DN) or a software server executing on generic hardware and providing a service to the AC. An AS may serve one or more AC instances that may reside on different WTRUs.

[0103] When referred to herein, an enabler client (EC) may be a service enabler that resides on a WTRU, communicates with an ES and / or provides client-side functionalities to ACs for an enablement service.

[0104] When referred to herein, an enabler server (ES) may be a service enabler that resides in a DN and / or provides server-side functionalities to an AS for an enablement service. An ES may serve one or more EC instances that may reside on different WTRUs.

[0105] When referred to herein, WTRU information may be and / or may include information about a WTRU that may be used to enable an AC to communicate with an AS. The WTRU information may include a WTRU identifier (e.g., subscription permanent identifier (SUPI), generic public subscription identifier (GPSI), phone number, etc.).

[0106] When referred to herein, a WTRU state may be and / or may include information about the WTRU that indicates a device state of the WTRU. The WTRU state may include a power state (e.g., battery level), a connection state (e.g., signal quality, RAT), and / or the like.

[0107] A spatial sensor may be a sensor that captures information about an object to determine the position of the object in space. The spatial sensor may be collocated with the object (e.g., the object whose position is being determined), or may be detached from the object. For example, a gyroscope on asmartphone may be used to determine the orientation of the smartphone. As another example, a wall- mounted RGBD camera may be used to determine the position of boxes as they are moved around a factory.

[0108] A spatial map may be a 2D or 3D digital model of a physical environment. Spatial mapping may consist of collecting and processing sensor measurements at various positions to construct a map of the environment. Spatial mapping may use (e.g., require) sensor location information, wireless sensing data, and / or non-3GPP sensor data to create an accurate spatial map of a physical area.

[0109] Localization may refer to the position and / or orientation (e.g., pitch, yaw, roll, etc.) of an object in a 3D space. Localization may be determined by processing and comparing measurements from sensors with a spatial map of the environment. Localization accuracy may vary depending on the type of sensors used to obtain measurements and / or the accuracy and latency of the measurements used for the localization.

[0110] Spatial Sensor Information may include information determined and / or received from a spatial sensor. Spatial Sensor Information may include one or more of a spatial sensor identifier (e.g., unique identifier), spatial sensor type (e.g., RGBD camera, LiDAR camera, high-resolution camera), spatial sensor position (e.g., geographic position, localization), spatial sensor state (e.g., availability), spatial sensor configuration (e.g., power level, zoom level, resolution), spatial sensor measurement capabilities (e.g., accuracy, QoS requirements), Spatial Sensor Control Information, and / or the like.

[0111] Spatial Sensor Control Information may include information related to or associated with the controllability of a spatial sensor. Spatial Sensor Control Information may include spatial sensor control capabilities such as spatial sensor mobility (e.g., geographic area, 2D and / or 3D position range, etc.), spatial sensor rotation (e.g., camera orientation, angle, range, etc.), and / or spatial sensor zoom (e.g., camera resolution range). Spatial Sensor Control Information may include control session QoS parameters (e.g., QoS requirements).

[0112] Spatial Sensor Management Function may be provided. Examples disclosed herein may provide enhancements to a service enablement layer, such as the 3GPP service enablement layer, and / or a core network, such as the 5G core network, to enable discovery, management, and control of spatial sensors, for example, for creating or updating spatial maps or determining accurate WTRU localization. These enhancements may be provided by a Spatial Sensor Management Function (SSMF).

[0113] In a system, such as a 3GPP system, an SSMF may provide spatial sensor management services to WTRUs and application servers (e.g., AF or NF). Spatial sensor management services may include procedures for registering spatial sensors, discovering spatial sensors, obtaining measurements from spatial sensors, and / or establishing control sessions with spatial sensors.

[0114] Deployment options may be provided. Different combinations of the deployments described herein are possible. In an example, a 3GPP deployment may be used and a WTRU may request services from an AS. The WTRU may establish a connection to access the AS, and the connection may be via a network, such as a 3GPP wireless communication network. An SSMF may follow a client-server model by splitting the SSMF into client and server components. The SSMF client (SSMF-C) may be located on a WTRU or terminal component, and the SSMF server (SSMF-S) may be accessible via or located within a network (e.g., on a core network node or device). The SSMF-C and SSMF-S together may provide SSMF services to applications. For example, the applications that consume the services may run on the WTRU and may be called an Application Client (AC) and may use the functionality on the WTRU and / or provided by the SSMF-C. The applications that provide the services may run in the network and may be called an Application Server (AS).

[0115] SSMF client and server functionality may be deployed within an application. FIG. 2 shows a system diagram illustrating an example where an SSMF is deployed within an application client (AC) on a WTRU and / or on an application server (AS). For example, FIG. 2 shows an SSMF functionality deployed within an AC on a WTRU and an AS within a data network. For example, the SSMF functionality may be packaged in a library that is statically linked with the AC or AS, or dynamically loaded by the AC or AS.

[0116] An SSMF may be deployed as a standalone functional element in a WTRU or in a data network. FIG. 3 is a system diagram illustrating an example where an SSMF is deployed as an enabler client on a WTRU and / or as an enabler server in a data network. The AC and AS may, respectively, access functionality provided by the enabler client and enabler server via a determined application programming interface (API) or interface.

[0117] Various SSMF deployment configurations may be used. The SSMF-S may, for example, be deployed in an ES that does not reside in the same DN as the AS. For example, the ES may be deployed in a central MNO DN, EDN, another DN, or cloud DN.

[0118] The SSMF-C may, for example, be deployed in an EC that does not reside on the same WTRU as the AC. For example, an AC deployed on a TE may use AT Commands to interact with an EC deployed in the MT part of the WTRU. For example, an AC deployed on a TE may interact with an EC that may also be deployed in the TE part of the WTRU. For example, an AC may use a tethered connection (e.g., a D2D connection such as Bluetooth, WiFi, or PC5) to communicate with an EC that runs in the WTRU.

[0119] In a network (e.g., network only) deployment example, SSMF capabilities may be provided entirely by the SSMF-S.

[0120] Spatial sensor management may be provided. Spatial sensor registration may be provided. The SSMF may support spatial sensor registration. Spatial sensor registration may allow a producer of spatialsensing data (e.g., a spatial sensor) to expose its sensing and control capabilities to consumer applications and services. By registering with the SSMF, a spatial sensor may be discoverable to consumers, may perform spatial sensing measurements according to consumer requests and configuration, may be controlled remotely by consumers, a combination thereof, and the like.

[0121] In an example, an SSMF architecture may be such that Application Servers that desire to create or update a spatial map may discover a sensor (e.g., a video camera, a LiDAR camera, etc.), establish a connection with the sensor, control the sensor, obtain data from the sensor (e.g., video, picture, lidar measurement data), and / or the like to create and update the spatial map.

[0122] FIG. 4 shows the procedure for spatial sensor registration. In an example, a spatial sensor may be deployed on the terminal equipment (TE) of a WTRU with a local connection to the mobile termination (MT) part of the WTRU where the SSMF-C may reside. It will be appreciated that other spatial sensor deployments are possible. For example, a spatial sensor may be deployed on a device connecting to a 3GPP wireless network (e.g., where an SSMF-S may reside) via a non-3GPP connection, in which case the spatial sensor may register (e.g., directly register) with the SSMF-S. It will be further appreciated that a spatial sensor may reside on a device that is tethered to a WTRU (e.g., an AR headset) and that the device may access an SSMF-C that resides on the WTRU via the tethering connection.

[0123] At 1 of FIG. 4, the spatial sensor may send a Spatial Sensor Registration request to the SSMF-C. The Spatial Sensor Registration request may include Spatial Sensor Information. For example, the registration request may indicate one or more of spatial sensing capabilities, the number of sensors available per WTRU, the type of a sensor, and the like. For example, the information may indicate that a spatial sensor is a wall-mounted RGBD camera on the ground floor of an indoor art gallery with accurate measurement capabilities and has (e.g., requires) a preset bandwidth for uploading measurements. The information may indicate that the camera may be remotely controlled to change its viewing angle and resolution.

[0124] The registration request may include metadata information that describes what the sensor senses. For example, if the sensor is a camera, the sensor information may identify the location of the sensor and the directions where the camera can view. For example, if the sensor is an environmental sensor, the sensor information may identify the locations where the sensor can collect environmental data.

[0125] The Spatial Sensor Information may indicate that the sensor is associated with a service, may indicate how to access the service (e.g., URL, universal resource identifier (URI), IP address), may indicate how to access sensor measurements (e.g., via a URI), and / or may provide information about the API associated with the service.

[0126] The Spatial Sensor Information may include information about the deployment of the sensor with respect to the associated WTRU. For example, the Spatial Sensor Information may indicate that the sensor is local to the WTRU or tethered to the WTRU.

[0127] The Spatial Sensor Information may include information about the delays for making a measurement (e.g., delay for measurement and delays for control), about the energy consumption related to measurements, and / or about the energy capabilities (e.g., energy source) of the sensor or associated WTRU. This information may be used to select sensors that may provide information in a timely manner or that may not be battery operated (e.g., using a power grid as opposed to being battery operated).

[0128] At 2 of FIG. 4, the SSMF-C may send a Spatial Sensor Registration request to the SSMF-S. The Spatial Sensor Registration request may include Spatial Sensor Information regarding (e.g., obtained from) from a list of spatial sensors, and / or WTRU Information. For example, the registration request may provide a WTRU ID (e.g., GPSI, SUPI, etc.), and / or endpoint information for interacting with a sensor. The Spatial Sensor Registration may include information that was received from the AC at 1, such as the metadata information that further describes what the sensor senses.

[0129] The Spatial Sensor Registration request may include an identifier of the SSMF-C. The identifier of the SSMF-C may be a user identifier (e.g., the format of the identifier may be a user identifier such as a network access identifier (NAI)).

[0130] The SSMF-C may support multiple sensors simultaneously and may combine Spatial Sensor Information in the Spatial Sensor Registration request. If a registration already exists for a spatial sensor, then the SSMF-C may send a Spatial Sensor Registration Update request to the SSMF-S to provide updates to any of the Spatial Sensor Information and WTRU Information.

[0131] A WTRU may have a capacity in terms of the number of sensors that may simultaneously register with the WTRU. For example, a spatial sensor registration request may be rejected, delayed, or put on hold, if the WTRU the sensors want to register through and associate with has reached its sensor support capacity.

[0132] A spatial sensor may be able to be attached or associated with a certain WTRU or SSMF-C that it may have a connection with. For example, a tethered device may be connected with WTRU1 (e.g., a first WTRU) that may have an EC 1 , or with WTRU2 (e.g., a second WTRU) that may have an EC 2. In an example, the spatial sensor may be associated with one or more WTRUs. In an example, the spatial sensor may connect to a wireless communication system (e.g., 5GS) via one WTRU at a time. If the spatial sensor happens to be associated with WTRU2 instead of WTRU1 , then a registration procedure may take place where a WTRU2 identifier is used eventually.

[0133] At 3 of FIG. 4, the SSMF-S may determine whether the WTRU (e.g., the SSMF-C) may be authorized to register as a spatial sensor. If authorized, the SSMF-S may store the Spatial Sensor Information and WTRU Information. If not authorized, the SSMF-S may indicate an error in the response to the SSMF-C with an error cause value to indicate the reason for failure. For example, the SSMF-S may store the Spatial Sensor Information for an authorized spatial sensor in a local database. If spatial sensor features are authorized for a set of WTRUs within a network operator, WTRUs (e.g., only WTRUs) from certain network operators may be authorized to register as spatial sensors. The authorization may depend on WTRU capabilities or WTRU mobility patterns (e.g., stationary WTRUs may be preferred over highly mobile WTRUs to register as spatial sensors). For example, the authorization for a WTRU to act as a spatial sensor may depend on the sensor type or sensor metadata (e.g., type of content).

[0134] The SSMF-S may invoke an NEF API to check if the SSMF-C is authorized to register as a spatial sensor. For example, the SSMF-S may provide the identifier of the SSMF-C to the NEF and request the core network (e.g., 5GC) to authorize the SSMF-C to register as a spatial sensor. The NEF may check if the SSMF-C is authorized by querying the UDM / UDR, and may respond to the SSMF-S with an indication of whether the SSMF-C may be authorized.

[0135] At 4 of FIG. 4, the SSMF-S may send a Spatial Sensor Registration response to the SSMF-C. The Spatial Sensor Registration response may include an indication about whether the spatial sensor was successfully registered, and a registration identifier (e.g., unique registration identifier) that may be used during calls (e.g., subsequent calls) to the SSMF-S to identify the stored spatial sensor information. The authorization may be time-limited, and a timer value may be provided to the SSMF-C per WTRU, where the WTRU may perform re-registration upon expiration of the timer. The core network (e.g., 5GC) or SSMF-S may keep track of the timer value and current timer value, to avoid WTRU performing a registration update with reason “expiry of timer” if the timer may not have expired at the SSMF-S.

[0136] At 5 of FIG. 4, the SSMF-C may create a notification channel to receive notifications from the SSMF-S. This may be done to support cases where messages from the SSMF-S have no means of reaching the SSMF-C. For example, a notification channel may be requested (e.g., required) to handle cases where the user plane connection between a WTRU and the SSMF-S DN may use (e.g., may require) network address translation (NAT) traversal, and where there may not be an underlying session between the SSMF-C and the SSMF-S. This may be skipped in examples where the control plane may be used to transport messages between the SSMF-C and SSMF-S, and in examples where the SSMF-C may have a pre-established transport session with the SSMF-S.

[0137] At 6 of FIG. 4, the SSMF-C may send a Spatial Sensor Registration response to the AC. The Service Registration response may include the unique registration identifier received from the SSMF-S.The AC may use the registration identifier (e.g., unique registration identifier) during calls (e.g., subsequent calls) to the SSMF-S to identify the stored spatial sensor information. If a timer value is provided at 4, then SSMF-C may start the timer so it may trigger re-registration when the timer may have expired.

[0138] Spatial sensor discovery may be provided. The SSMF may support network-triggered spatial sensor discovery, which may enable an AS in the network to discover spatial sensors that match provided Spatial Sensor Information discovery filters. Spatial sensors may be registered to the SSMF to be discoverable. The AS may select one or more spatial sensors from a discovered list of spatial sensors to obtain measurements from or to control remotely.

[0139] FIG. 5 is a flow diagram that shows an example procedure for network-triggered spatial sensor discovery. In examples, a spatial sensor registration procedure may be performed to register one or more spatial sensors.

[0140] At 1 of FIG. 5, an AS may trigger the discovery of spatial sensors. For example, a shopping mall spatial mapping application may request (e.g., need) spatial sensor measurements to improve the spatial map accuracy in a recently renovated area of the mall.

[0141] At 2 of FIG. 5, the AS may send a Spatial Sensor Discovery request to the SSMF-S. The Spatial Sensor Discovery request may include Spatial Sensor Information filters (e.g., spatial sensor selection criteria) to discover the available spatial sensors for the area of interest. Spatial Sensor Information filters may be used to describe to the SSMF-S the desired properties of the sensors that need to be discovered, including information about the area of interest. The provided filter information may include any of the Spatial Sensor Information described herein such as the type of sensors, a duration when sensing measurements may be requested, requested sensor accuracy, etc. The filter information may specify localization data of the area of interest (e.g., geographic area, civic address, building identifier, floor, etc.) where spatial sensors may have sensing capabilities to be discovered. For example, the shopping mall owner may try to discover spatial sensors in the renovated area by providing discovery filters with the requested location and the requested sensing capabilities.

[0142] At 3 of FIG. 5, the SSMF-S may identify spatial sensors that are registered to the SSMF and that match the Spatial Sensor Information filters provided in the discovery request. The SSMF-S may, for example, invoke core network (e.g., 5GC) APIs (e.g., via an NEF or via a dedicated sensing NF) and may include information such as Spatial Sensor Information filters, and / or a requested area in the request to the core network (e.g., 5GC) to obtain the latest positioning information for spatial sensors associated with a WTRU with spatial sensing capabilities. For example, the SSMF-S may search a local database of registered spatial sensors to find a set of spatial sensors that are available and support the requested sensing capabilities (e.g., the properties that were described in the Spatial Sensor Information filters). TheSSMF-S may then request (e.g., based on a WTRU identifier) the latest spatial sensor position from the core network (e.g., 5GC) to determine if the sensor is within a requested area.

[0143] In an example, a core network (e.g., 5GC) deployment with enhanced sensing capabilities and functions may be used to retrieve a list of available sensors (e.g., including 3GPP and non-3GPP sensors).

[0144] Between 3 and 4 of FIG. 5, the SSMF-S may select (e.g., filter) relevant sensors based on the Spatial Sensor Information filters that were received at 2. For example, the SSMF-S may apply the filters to locally stored information about registered sensors and / or to a list of sensors received from the core network (e.g., 5GC) at 3.

[0145] At 4 of FIG. 5, the SSMF-S may send a Spatial Sensor Discovery response to the AS. The Spatial Sensor Discovery response may include a list of Spatial Sensor Information and / or associated WTRU Information for the discovered spatial sensors that matched the discovery filters. The WTRU Information may be omitted if the spatial sensor is registered directly to the SSMF-S and not attached to a WTRU. For example, the Spatial Sensor Discovery response may identify RESTful resources that are hosted on the SSMF-S and store the sensor information. As another example, the Spatial Sensor Discovery response may identify RESTful resources that are hosted on an SSMF-C and store the sensor information. When the response identifies resources that are stored in an SSMF-C, the response may also include a WTRU Identifier that may be used by the AS to contact the WTRU that hosts the SSMF-C and / or to read the sensor information. As another example, the Spatial Sensor Discovery response may indicate if an identified sensor may be controlled by the AS.

[0146] The Spatial Sensor Discovery response may provide information about the service parameters (e.g., requirements) that are associated with obtaining the sensor information. For example, the discovered information may indicate the data rates at which data is streamed from the sensor and the latency parameters (e.g., requirements) that may be used to control the sensor.

[0147] The Spatial Sensor Discovery response may include information such as an address that may be contacted to control the sensor (e.g., the address may be a fully qualified domain name (FQDN), URI, IP, endpoint, etc.).

[0148] At 5 of FIG. 5, the AS may select one or more spatial sensors from the discovered list to obtain measurements from or to control remotely. For example, the shopping mall owner may select one of the discovered spatial sensors to obtain spatial measurements from the newly renovated area. The shopping mall owner may then use the measurements to improve the spatial map accuracy of the shopping mall.

[0149] In an example, it may be possible that the AS does not select any of the spatial sensors from the discovered list because none of those spatial sensors meet the criteria, or because the sensor discoveryrequest may have timed out. If the initial spatial sensors discovery is unsuccessful, the AS may update Spatial Sensor Information filters before initiating a re-discovery attempt.

[0150] In an example, more than one AS may want to select spatial sensors for a certain service at the AS. For example, if an ASO (e.g., a first AS) has selected some of the spatial sensors that may be relevant to AS1 (e.g., a second AS), then AS1 may not be able to select such sensors as long as ASO is using them. In this regard, the AS1 may receive, together with the list of discovered sensors, sensor status information. For example, a sensor that is selected and used by another AS may have a sensor availability status of “used” or “busy” or “already selected”, whereas a sensor that is not being used by another AS may have an availability sensor status of “available.” In examples, the discovery response may provide AS1 with (e.g., only with) the list of sensors that are not being used by other AS.

[0151] Spatial sensor measurements may be provided. The SSMF may support procedures to obtain spatial sensor measurements. Spatial sensor measurement procedures may enable an AS to request an immediate measurement report, and / or to configure event or time-based measurement reporting from a discovered spatial sensor. The SSMF may also configure traffic flows in the core network (e.g., 5GC) to set QoS on measurement report flows.

[0152] FIG. 6 is a flow diagram that shows an example procedure for obtaining spatial sensor measurements.

[0153] An AS may perform the Spatial Sensor Discovery procedure and discover at least one available spatial sensor (e.g., at 0 of FIG. 6). The AS may select one or more spatial sensors and trigger a request for spatial sensor measurements.

[0154] At 1 of FIG. 6, the AS may send a Spatial Sensor Measurement request to the SSMF-S. The Spatial Sensor Measurement request may include Spatial Sensor Information, WTRU Information, and / or spatial sensor measurement reporting configuration. Spatial sensor measurement reporting configuration may include parameters (e.g., requirements) for the number of measurement reports to be generated (e.g., single report or multiple reports), a measurement quality (e.g., accuracy, error, etc.), a measurement frequency (e.g., immediate, periodic, time-based, event-based, or continuous), a measurement position (e.g., localization, 6D pose, etc.), a measurement path, a measurement area, a measurement target (e.g., identified from spatial sensor measurement processing), a measurement reporting address (e.g., FQDN, URI, IP, endpoint), and / or the like. For example, a spatial map owner may send measurement requests to a set of discovered and selected spatial sensors in an area of interest to obtain periodic image captures from a WTRU-mounted RGBD cameras at specific positions.

[0155] At 2 of FIG. 6, the SSMF-S may use the WTRU Information to determine which SSMF-C instance to communicate with. The SSMF-S may send a Spatial Sensor Measurement request to the SSMF-C. TheSpatial Sensor Measurement request may include any information received from the AS at 1 . The SSMF-S may update / modify the measurement reporting configuration based on the information received at 1 before sending it to the SSMF-C, for example, in a Spatial Sensor Measurement request. If a notification channel exists between the SSMF-C and the SSMF-S, the SSMF-S may send a Spatial Sensor Measurement notification to the SSMF-C. The notification may include the same information elements as the spatial sensor measurement request received from the AS.

[0156] At 3 of FIG. 6, the SSMF-C may use the information received from the SSMF-S at 2 to determine which spatial sensors may be requested to obtain measurements. The SSMF-C may send a Spatial Sensor Measurement request to the requested spatial sensors. The Spatial Sensor Measurement request may include any information received from the SSMF-S at 2.

[0157] If a Spatial Sensor Measurement notification was received by the SSMF-C, the SSMF-C may send a Spatial Sensor Measurement notification to the requested spatial sensors. The notification may include one or more of the information elements from the spatial sensor measurement request described herein.

[0158] At 4 of FIG. 6, the spatial sensor may use the spatial sensor measurement reporting configuration obtained from the SSMF-C at 3 to configure the spatial sensor. If requested, the spatial sensor may collect the requested measurement and may include the spatial measurement in a Spatial Sensor Measurement response.

[0159] At 5 of FIG. 6, the spatial sensor may send the Spatial Sensor Measurement response to the SSMF-C. The Spatial Sensor Measurement response may include a spatial measurement and / or an indication about whether the spatial sensor measurement configuration was successfully applied.

[0160] At 6 of FIG. 6, the SSMF-C may send a Spatial Sensor Measurement response to the SSMF-S. The Spatial Sensor Measurement response may include one or more pieces of the information received from the spatial sensor at 5.

[0161] At 7 of FIG. 6, the SSMF-S may send a Spatial Sensor Measurement response to the AS. The Spatial Sensor Measurement response may include a spatial measurement and / or an indication about whether the spatial sensor measurement configuration was successfully applied.

[0162] At 8 of FIG. 6, if the measurement request requested (e.g., required) a measurement flow QoS, the SSMF-S may invoke one or more core network (e.g., 5GC) network APIs (e.g., via the NEF) to set the requested QoS for the measurement flow.

[0163] At 9 of FIG. 6, if the measurement request requests (e.g., requires) event or time-based, or continuous measurements, the spatial sensor may collect the necessary measurements.

[0164] At 10 of FIG. 6, the spatial sensor may send the collected measurements to the reporting address provided in the request.

[0165] In the procedure of FIG. 6, the request at 1 may identify Spatial Sensor Information that may be stored, or created by, a sensing NF in the core network (e.g., 5GC). In this scenario, the SSMF-S may invoke an NEF API to request the Spatial Sensor Information from the core network (e.g., 5GC) and / or the sensing NF. The service invocation request may include the WTRU Identifier that was obtained at 1. The sensing NF and / or NEF may respond to the SSMF-S with the spatial sensor information, which may be provided to the AS at 7.

[0166] Spatial sensor control session establishment may be provided. An SSMF may support procedures to establish a control session with a spatial sensor. Spatial sensor control session establishment procedures may enable an AS to request or notify a spatial sensor associated with a WTRU to initiate a control session with the AS. When the session is established, the AS may remotely control the spatial sensor, for example, via application-layer messaging. The SSMF may also configure traffic flows in the core network (e.g., 5GC) to set QoS for the control sessions.

[0167] FIG. 7 is a flow diagram that shows an example procedure for spatial sensor control session establishment. An AS may perform the Spatial Sensor Discovery procedure and discover at least one controllable spatial sensor (e.g., at 0 of FIG. 7). The AS may select one or more spatial sensors and trigger the establishment of a spatial sensor control session.

[0168] At 1 of FIG. 7, the AS may send a Spatial Sensor Control Session request to an SSMF-S. The Spatial Sensor Control Session request may include Spatial Sensor Information, WTRU Information, and / or spatial sensor control session configuration. Spatial sensor control session configuration may include connection information (e.g., DNN, Single Network Slice Selection Assistance Information (S-NSSAI)), a control session address (e.g., FQDN, URI, IP, endpoint, etc.), and / or control session QoS requirements. For example, a spatial map owner may want to deploy and control a spatial mapping robot to obtain spatial sensing data in a new environment. The owner may send a request to establish a control session with the robot. The request may include the spatial mapping robot identifier, requested sensor capabilities such as mobility range and image capture resolution, and control session QoS parameters (e.g., requirements), such as a guaranteed bit rate, packet error rate, and the like for transferring sensor data to a spatial map owner application.

[0169] The control session address (e.g., FQDN, URI, IP, endpoint, etc.) may have been provided to the AS by the SSMF-S in the discover procedure of FIG. 5. The QoS Requirements may be a list of requirements such as guaranteed bit rate, packet error rate, and packet delay budget. For example, the QoS Requirements may be expressed as a QoS Reference. A QoS Reference may be a value (e.g., aninteger value) that maps to a list of one or more parameters (e.g., requirements), such as guaranteed bit rate, packet error rate, packet delay budget, and the like. The AS and SSMF-S may both be configured to know the mapping between QoS Reference and a list of requirements (e.g., the configuration may be based on a service layer agreement). The AS may determine the QoS Parameters or Requirements based on the service requirements that were received at 4 of FIG. 5.

[0170] At 2 of FIG. 7, the SSMF-S may use the WTRU Information to determine which SSMF-C instance to communicate with. The SSMF-S may send a Spatial Sensor Control Session request to the SSMF-C. The Spatial Sensor Control Session request may include any information received from the AS at 1 of FIG.7 (e.g., connection information). The SSMF-S may update / modify the spatial sensor control session configuration based on the information received at 1 before sending it to the SSMF-C (e.g., in a Spatial Sensor Control Session request). For example, the SSMF-S may request an SSMF-C to enable a subset (e.g., only the subset) of available sensors, or the SSMF-S may decide to skip control session establishment for an SSMF-C that is not configured or allowed to establish a control session. For example, if a notification channel exists between the SSMF-C and SSMF-S, the SSMF-S may send a Spatial Sensor Control Session notification to the SSMF-C, and the notification may include one or more of the information elements from the request.

[0171] At 3 of FIG. 7, the SSMF-C may use the information received from the SSMF-S at 2 of FIG. 7 to determine which spatial sensors request (e.g., require) a control session. The SSMF-C may send a Spatial Sensor Control Session request to the requested spatial sensors. The Spatial Sensor Control Session request may include any information received from the SSMF-S at 2. For example, if a Spatial Sensor Control Session notification was received by the SSMF-C, the SSMF-C may send a Spatial Sensor Control Session notification to the requested spatial sensors. The notification includes the same information elements as the request.

[0172] At 4 of FIG. 7, the spatial sensor may use the spatial sensor control session configuration obtained from the SSMF-C at 3 to configure the spatial sensor. For example, the spatial sensor may use the DNN to establish connectivity with the data network where the remote controller is located and may use the QoS parameters (e.g., QoS requirements) to configure bandwidth limits on application measurement flows. For example, the connection information (e.g., DNN) that may be received at 2 of FIG. 7 may be used by the SSMF-C to trigger a PDU Session Establishment procedure and trigger the WTRU to send a PDU Session Establishment Request that includes the DNN in the request.

[0173] At 5 of FIG. 7, the spatial sensor may send a Spatial Sensor Control Session response to the SSMF-C. The Spatial Sensor Control Session response may include an indication about whether the spatial sensor control session configuration was successfully received and applied, and may specify whichcontrol operations are allowed. For example, a drone-mounted RGBD camera may indicate that the control session was successfully configured, and / or that the camera supports image capturing within a predetermined 3D space and at a specific image resolution. The control operations may be application layer operations that may be performed on the spatial sensor. The SSMF-C may determine whether or not to authorize application layer requests related to the spatial sensor (e.g., read data or send a control command).

[0174] At 6 of FIG. 7, the SSMF-C may send a Spatial Sensor Control Session response to the SSMF-S. The Spatial Sensor Control Session response may include one or more information received from the spatial sensor at 5 of FIG. 7.

[0175] At 7 of FIG. 7, the SSMF-S may send a Spatial Sensor Control Session response to the AS. The Spatial Sensor Control Session response may include an indication about whether the spatial sensor control session configuration was successfully received and applied, and may specify which control operations are allowed. The response may include contact information for the spatial sensor and / or the SSMF-C. The contact information may be an IP Address or a URI. If the configuration was not successful, the Spatial Sensor Control Session response may include a cause code that indicates why the configuration was not successful. For example, the cause code may indicate that the connection to the spatial sensor may not be configured because the network is congested (e.g., the network may be congested in the location where the spatial sensor may be located). For example, the cause code may indicate that the connection to the spatial sensor may not be configured because a different AS is currently controlling the sensor and multiple AS’s may not simultaneously control the spatial sensor. The cause code may indicate that the connection to the spatial sensor may not be configured because the AS is not authorized to read data from or control the spatial sensor (e.g., the SSMF-S may be configured with information that indicates which application servers are authorized to control a sensor or read data from a sensor). If the configuration was not successful, then the Spatial Sensor Control Session response may include the identities of other spatial sensors that may provide similar information. For example, the Spatial Sensor Control Session response may include the identities of sensors that are located near the sensor related to the configuration request.

[0176] At 8 of FIG. 7, if the control session request includes a session QoS, the SSMF-S may invoke core network (e.g., 5GC) network APIs (e.g., via the NEF) to set the requested QoS for the control session.

[0177] At 9 of FIG. 7, the spatial sensor establishes a spatial sensor control session with the AS using the connection information and control session address from the spatial sensor control session configuration. For example, the SSMF-C may send a control session establishment request message to the AS. The SSMF-C may have received the address of the AS in the connection information at 2. Forexample, the AS may use the contact information that was provided at 7 to establish a spatial sensor control session with the spatial sensor and / or the SSMF-C. After establishing the spatial sensor control session, the AS may then send control messages to the spatial sensor, for example, to make it move to the desired location for measurement collection.

[0178] Although features and elements described above are described in particular combinations, each feature or element may be used alone without the other features and elements of the preferred embodiments, or in various combinations with or without other features and elements.

[0179] Although the implementations described herein may consider 3GPP specific protocols, it is understood that the implementations described herein are not restricted to this scenario and may be applicable to other wireless systems. For example, although the examples described herein consider LTE, LTE-A, New Radio (NR) or 5G specific protocols, it is understood that the examples described herein are not restricted to this scenario and are applicable to other wireless systems as well.

[0180] The processes described above may be implemented in a computer program, software, and / or firmware incorporated in a computer-readable medium for execution by a computer and / or processor. Examples of computer-readable media include, but are not limited to, electronic signals (transmitted over wired and / or wireless connections) and / or computer-readable storage media. Examples of computer- readable storage media include, but are not limited to, a read only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a register, cache memory, semiconductor memory devices, magnetic media such as, but not limited to, internal hard disks and removable disks, magneto-optical media, and / or optical media such as compact disc (CD)-ROM disks, and / or digital versatile disks (DVDs). A processor in association with software may be used to implement a radio frequency transceiver for use in a WTRU, terminal, base station, RNC, and / or any host computer.

Claims

CLAIMSWhat is Claimed:1 . A first network node, comprising: a processor configured to: receive, from a wireless transmit / receive unit (WTRU), a spatial mapping (SM) registration request to register the WTRU as an SM client device; receive, from a second network node, an SM discovery request, wherein the SM discovery request indicates one or more SM selection criteria; determine, based on the SM registration request received from the WTRU and the SM discovery request received from the second network node, that the WTRU meets the one or more SM selection criteria; send an SM discovery response to the second network node, wherein the SM discovery response includes information about the WTRU; and send a notification to the WTRU regarding an SM operation.

2. The first network node of claim 1 , wherein the SM registration request received from the WTRU indicates one or more of a type of SM information that the WTRU is capable of providing, a position or location of the WTRU, or an availability of the WTRU as the SM client device.

3. The first network node of claim 2, wherein the type of SM information indicates whether the SM information is acquired using a color camera, a light detection and ranging (LiDAR) camera, or a high- resolution camera.

4. The first network node of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to register the WTRU as the SM client device based on the SM registration request received from the WTRU.

5. The first network node of claim 4, wherein the processor being configured to register the WTRU as the SM client device comprises the processor being configured to authenticate the WTRU and store information about the WTRU on the first network node.

6. The first network node of claim 1 , wherein the one or more SM selection criteria indicate one or more of a type of SM information requested by the second network node, an SM position or location desired by the second network node, or an area of interest of the second network node.

7. The first network node of claim 1 , wherein the SM operation includes an SM measurement to be performed by the WTRU or a spatial sensor associated with the WTRU.

8. The first network node of claim 7, wherein the notification sent to the WTRU includes SM measurement configuration information that indicates one or more of a quality of the SM measurement, a frequency of the SM measurement, an area of the SM measurement, a target of the SM measurement, or a reporting address of the SM measurement, and wherein the notification is triggered at least partially by the SM discovery request from the second network node.

9. The first network node of claim 1 , wherein the SM operation is associated with establishment of a control session between the second network node and the WTRU, or between the second network node and a spatial sensor associated with the WTRU.

10. The first network node of claim 9, wherein the processor is configured to send the notification regarding the SM operation to the WTRU in response to receiving a control session establishment request from the second network node that includes one or more of WTRU information, spatial sensor information, or SM control session configuration information.11 . The first network node of claim 10, wherein the control session establishment request received from the second network node further indicates a quality of service (QoS) requirement associated with the control session, and wherein the processor is further configured to indicate the QoS requirement to a communication network device responsible for maintaining the control session.

12. The first network node of claim 9, wherein the processor is further configured to receive a response from the WTRU indicating whether the control session has been successfully established, contact information associated with the control session, or methods to obtain SM data from the WTRU or the spatial sensor associated with the WTRU.

13. The first network node of claim 12, wherein the processor is further configured to send a control session establishment response to the second network node, the control session establishment response indicating whether the control session has been successfully established, the contact information associated with the control session, or the methods to obtain SM data from the WTRU or the spatial sensor associated with the WTRU.

14. The first network node of claim 1 , wherein the first network node is an SM management server and the second network node is an application server.

15. A method implemented by a first network node, the method comprising: receiving, from a wireless transmit / receive unit (WTRU), a spatial mapping (SM) registration request to register the WTRU as an SM client device;receiving, from a second network node, an SM discovery request, wherein the SM discovery request indicates one or more SM selection criteria; determining, based on the SM registration request received from the WTRU and the SM discovery request received from the second network node, that the WTRU meets the one or more SM selection criteria; sending an SM discovery response to the second network node, wherein the SM discovery response includes information about the WTRU; and sending a notification to the WTRU regarding an SM operation.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the SM registration request received from the WTRU indicates one or more of a type of SM information that the WTRU is capable of providing, a position or location of the WTRU, or an availability of the WTRU as the SM client device.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the type of SM information indicates whether the SM information is acquired using a color camera, a light detection and ranging (LiDAR) camera, or a high-resolution camera.

18. The method of claim 15, further comprising registering the WTRU as the SM client device based on the SM registration request received from the WTRU, wherein the registering comprises authenticating the WTRU and storing information about the WTRU on the first network node.

19. The method of claim 15, wherein the one or more SM selection criteria indicate one or more of a type of SM information requested by the second network node, an SM position or location desired by the second network node, or an area of interest of the second network node.

20. the method of claim 15, wherein the SM operation includes an SM measurement to be performed by the WTRU or a spatial sensor associated with the WTRU, wherein the notification sent to the WTRU includes SM measurement configuration information that indicates one or more of a quality of the SM measurement, a frequency of the SM measurement, an area of the SM measurement, a target of the SM measurement, or a reporting address of the SM measurement, and wherein the notification is triggered at least partially by the SM discovery request from the second network node.21 . The method of claim 20, wherein the SM operation is associated with establishment of a control session between the second network node and the WTRU, or between the second network node and a spatial sensor associated with the WTRU.

22. The method of claim 21 , wherein the notification regarding the SM operation is sent to the WTRU in response to receiving a control session establishment request from the second network node that includes one or more of WTRU information, spatial sensor information, or SM control session configuration information.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the control session establishment request received from the second network node further indicates a quality of service (QoS) requirement associated with the control session, and wherein the method further comprises indicating the QoS requirement to a communication network device responsible for maintaining the control session.

24. The method of claim 21 , further comprising receiving a response from the WTRU indicating whether the control session has been successfully established, contact information associated with the control session, or ways to obtain SM data from the WTRU or the spatial sensor associated with the WTRU.

25. The method of claim 24, further comprising sending a control session establishment response to the second network node, wherein the control session establishment response indicates whether the control session has been successfully established, the contact information associated with the control session, or the ways to obtain SM data from the WTRU or the spatial sensor associated with the WTRU.

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