Network node, controller node, and methods performed therein

Abstract

Embodiments herein disclose a method performed by a network node (130) for handling sensing of one or more sensing objects in a wireless communication network The network node (130) obtains an indication and / or one or more sensing measurements from a radio node (140), indicating that a sensing object or a sensing radio node is leaving or is possible to leave a radio coverage area of a first radio network node (12). The network node provides to a controller node (16) data indicating that the sensing object or the sensing radio node is leaving or is possible to leave the radio coverage area of the first radio network node (12).

Description

[0001] NETWORK NODE, CONTROLLER NODE, AND METHODS PERFORMED THEREIN

[0002] TECHNICAL FIELD

[0003] Embodiments herein relate to a network node, a controller node, and methods performed therein regarding wireless communication. Furthermore, a computer program product and a computer readable storage medium are also provided herein. In particular, embodiments herein relate to handling sensing of one or more sensing objects in a wireless communication network.

[0004] BACKGROUND

[0005] In a typical wireless communication network, UEs, also known as wireless communication devices, mobile stations, stations (STA) and / or wireless devices, communicate via a Radio Access Network (RAN) with one or more core networks (CN). The RAN covers a geographical area which is divided into service areas or cells, with each service area or cell being served by a radio network node such as an access node e.g. a Wi-Fi access point or a radio base station (RBS), which in some networks may also be called, for example, a NodeB, a gNodeB, or an eNodeB. The service area or cell is a geographical area where radio coverage is provided by the radio network node. The radio network node operates on radio frequencies to communicate over an air interface with the UEs within range of the radio network node. The radio network node communicates over a downlink (DL) to the UE and the UE communicates over an uplink (UL) to the radio network node.

[0006] A Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) is a third generation (3G) telecommunication network, which evolved from the second generation (2G) Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM). The UMTS terrestrial radio access network (UTRAN) is essentially a RAN using wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA) and / or High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA) for communication with user equipment. In a forum known as the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), telecommunications suppliers propose and agree upon standards for present and future generation networks and investigate e.g. enhanced data rate and radio capacity. In some RANs, e.g. as in UMTS, several radio network nodes may be connected, e.g., by landlines or microwave, to a controller node, such as a radio network controller (RNC) or a base station controller (BSC), which supervises and coordinates various activities of the plural radio network nodes connected thereto. The RNCs are typically connected to one or more core networks.

[0007] Specifications for the Evolved Packet System (EPS) have been completed within the 3GPP and coming 3GPP releases, such as New Radio (NR), are worked on. The EPS comprises the Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN), also known as the Long-Term Evolution (LTE) radio access network, and the Evolved Packet Core (EPC), also known as System Architecture Evolution (SAE) core network. E-UTRAN / LTE is a 3GPP radio access technology wherein the radio network nodes are directly connected to the EPC core network. As such, the Radio Access Network (RAN) of an EPS has an essentially “flat” architecture comprising radio network nodes connected directly to one or more core networks.

[0008] With the emerging 5G technologies such as NR, the use of very many transmit- and receive-antenna elements may be of great interest as it makes it possible to utilize beamforming, such as transmit-side and receive-side beamforming. Transmit-side beamforming means that the transmitter can amplify the transmitted signals in a selected direction or directions, while suppressing the transmitted signals in other directions. Similarly, on the receive-side, a receiver can amplify signals from a selected direction or directions, while suppressing unwanted signals from other directions. NR is connected to the 5G Core Network (5GC) which comprises a number of Network Functions (NF) such as Session Management Function (SMF), Access Management Function (AMF), Authentication Service Function (ALISF), Policy Control Function (PCF), Unified Data Manager (UDM), Network Repository Function (NRF), Network Exposure Function (NEF), just to mention some. In the 5GC, NFs can discover other NFs by using a discovery service provided by the Network Repository Function (NRF).

[0009] Sensing procedure follows some of the principles that are being used by animals for echolocation. That is, a pulse is emitted, usually with high frequency, that travels until it hits a reflecting surface after which a reflection of the original pulse travels back to the transmitter or some other receiver. With this technique some animal species can navigate in darkness with very high precision, see LIZ LANGLEY (2021) Echolocation is nature’s built-in sonar. Here’s how it works. National Geographic, Feb 3, 2021. https: / / www.nationalgeographic.com / animals / article / echolocation-is-nature-built-in-sonar-here-is- how-it-works.

[0010] The technique as described above is also used in many different businesses. Some obvious examples are the radars used to navigate airplanes and the lidar now available in many cars. However, radar can also be used for input to small devices since the radar can detect movements of a person’s fingers.

[0011] To describe some of the phenomena, a brief look at geophysics can be used. There are several geophysical methods that rely on the abovementioned principles. One very commonly used method is seismic where a sound pulse is transmitted into the ground. When the pulse encounters an object, e.g., a boundary between two types of rock or a fracture zone, where the physical properties differ enough this causes a reflection that travels back to the transmitter. However, if the original pulse hits the boundary at a high enough angle the original wave may be refracted instead. Naturally, a wave or pulse that is sent through a mountain may, even if parts of the energy is reflected, travel though the mountain, however, being affected by the physical properties on its path. This type of data is also used for investigations, e.g., using tomography or when characterizing and identifying sources of earthquakes. These methods work well also using a radar to transmit the first pulse, however, radar investigations are used for other purposes. The property that determines if there will be a radar reflection is the dielectric constant, rather than the physical properties for seismic waves.

[0012] The principles exemplified above also work for WiFi sensing. The operating frequency and output power of ordinary WiFi, for example, as set in IEEE 802.11, limits the possible types of investigations. That is, the WiFi waves will attenuate quickly, especially in solid materials, so it may be difficult to detect anything behind reinforced concrete walls.

[0013] Usually, WiFi sensing exploits radio channel changes measured, e.g., as amplitude and phase. The channel environment changes, e.g., when a person or object moves in this area and alters the radio path. The radio measurements are analysed to identify and possibly characterize the reason for changes in the environment.

[0014] Since there are advantages with being able to detect, e.g., movement, using radio waves there are already commercial implementations of WiFi sensing. There are advantages with a standard so as a result, the IEEE 802.11 working group has formed a new Task Group, 802.11bf, to develop a new amendment to define necessary physical layer (PHY) and medium access control (MAC) protocols to support WiFi sensing in all spectrum bands, including sub-7 GHz bands (2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz band), as well as 60 GHz millimeter wave (mmWave) band.

[0015] A sensing session usually follows these steps, see C. Chen, H. Song, Q. Li, F. Meneghello, F. Restuccia and C. Cordeiro, "Wi-Fi Sensing Based on IEEE 802.11bf," in IEEE Communications Magazine, vol. 61, no. 1 , pp. 121-127, January 2023, doi: 10.1109 / MCOM.007.2200347. Wi-Fi Sensing Based on IEEE 802.11bf.

[0016] Sensing session setup is a process for sensing-capable devices to discover each other, establish security context, and exchange basic sensing capabilities. This process could be omitted for monostatic sensing where the transmission (Tx) and reception (Rx) are in the same device.

[0017] Sensing measurement setup is a process for the sensing initiator and sensing responder or responders to negotiate and agree on operational parameters associated with a specific sensing application, including role assignment, such as transmitter or receiver, PHY parameters, such as bandwidth, number of spatial streams etc., type of sensing measurement report, and preferred scheduling information, such as sensing periodicity, duration, etc. This process could be omitted for monostatic sensing where the Tx and Rx are in the same device.

[0018] Sensing measurement instance is a process where actual sensing measurements take place.

[0019] Sensing measurement setup termination and sensing session termination terminate an established sensing measurement setup and sensing session, respectively.

[0020] IEEE 802.11bf defines two variants of sensing measurement instance for sub-7 GHz sensing. Trigger-based (TB) sensing measurement instance is used when an access point (AP) is the sensing initiator, whereas non-Trigger based (non-TB) sensing measurement instance applies to scenarios where a non-(AP) station (STA), such as a UE, is the sensing initiator.

[0021] Integrated Sensing And Communication (ISAC) is in principle the same as WiFi sensing, however, in 3GPP the process is referred to as ISACto emphasize that the same (radio) resources are used both for ordinary communication and for sensing measurements. The sensing process discussed in the previous section is almost identical to a process for ISACin a cellular system.

[0022] For this background description of ISAC, the emphasis is put on a radar-like sensing setup. In short, using radar means that a radio pulse is transmitted towards the anticipated target, e.g., the pulse is transmitted in a certain direction or beam. When the pulse hits the target, assuming that the difference in electrical properties is large enough, a reflection is generated that travels back to the transmitter. From the travel time between transmission and reception of the reflection, it is possible to calculate the distance to the reflector, see Fig. 1a.

[0023] There are numerous papers describing L1 problems and solutions, e.g., using orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) to create a radar-like pulse. Another interesting set of L1 problems is to handle reflections, e.g., is the received reflection a first arrival from a line of sight (LOS) or are there several arrivals also from non-line of sight (NLOS). To be able to correctly handle reflections the receiver needs high time resolution and powerful signal processing. Consequently, the sensing capability of a UE may be limited since the receiver is not capable enough. OFDM signal processing for radar, which resembles spread spectrum reception, is based on normalized matched filter processing, which is implemented by complex division in frequency domain. An advantage of OFDM is its ability to maintain carrier orthogonality if correctly processed. Naturally, prerequisites are Tx / Rx synchronization, symbol lengths shorter than the typical channel coherence time, and correct handling of the cyclic prefix (CP). For radar-like ISAC, the range, respectively delay, and Doppler estimation are factorized, and this may simplify processing and makes the radar-like ISAC more flexible. Another advantage is the low estimation variance as leakage variance disappears when Tx and Rx are synchronized. A disadvantage of OFDM is the non-optimum peak-to- average power ratio (PAPR). In case of ISACit is difficult to optimize due to the unknown communication signal, i.e. , the reflection, which is not under user control and has to be recovered at the receiver.

[0024] Radar-like ISAC measurements may be monostatic and bistatic. It is obvious that if more information than the distance to an object is needed, a simple arrival time from the reflection is not enough, but probably additional measurements from different directions are needed.

[0025] Recently, the system architectures (SA1 and SA2) groups of the 3rdGeneration Partnership Project have defined study items to identify use cases and architectural enhancements that will enable ISAC in cellular networks, see "Feasibility Study on Integrated Sensing and Communication”, Technical Specification Group TSG SA, (Release 19), 3GPP TR 22.837, June 2023, and 3GPP RP-223114, "Study on Integrated Sensing and Communication for NR Rel-19”, Work Item Description, 3GPP 98e, Dec. 2022.

[0026] Sensing using cellular networks can be performed in a monostatic setting, when the transmitter and the receiver sensing antennas are located in the same node, and in a multi-static setting, when the transmitter and the receiver sensing antennas are located in different nodes. In Fig. 1b different radar settings based on cellular network are depicted that can be deployed using NR base station(s) (BS), denoted as gNB, and UE(s). The goal is to detect and localize a target(s), which, in general, is / are a non-connected object(s), such as a pedestrian, an animal, etc. Targets can be also connected UEs and in this case sensing is used to improve communication-based positioning of such UEs. Fig. 1b shows basic sensing modes involving gNB(s), such as: gNB(s)- only based monostatic sensing in (a), different bi-static settings with gNB-only in (b), and both gNB / UEs-based bi-static sensing settings in (c) and (d). TX-s and RX-s denote respectively the sensing transmitter node and the sensing receiver node.

[0027] For ISAC, below Network Functions may be introduced.

[0028] 1. Handling of Sensing requests, e.g., in SeMF.

[0029] To support various kinds of sensing there needs to be a function that handles requests from different applications. The function could be split into two logical, or physical, entities - a control function and a processing function. The control function can comprise, e.g., Sensing Management Function (SeMF). The processing function may comprise, e.g., a Sensing Processing Function (SPF).

[0030] 2. Sensing data processing, e.g., in SPF.

[0031] This function interprets sensing measurements and converts them into a format meaningful to an external receiver. Further processing may involve, e.g., object detection, event detection, creation of maps. Available local data is handled by this function, e.g., base station identity (ID) and observations.

[0032] In NR sidelink, there are two resource allocation modes:

[0033] • Network-based resource allocation, in which the network selects the resources and other transmit parameters used by sidelink UEs. In some cases, the network may control every single transmission parameter. In other cases, the network may select the resources used for transmission but may give the transmitter the freedom to select some of the transmission parameters, possibly with some restrictions. In the context of NR, 3GPP refers to this resource allocation mode as Mode 1.

[0034] • Autonomous resource allocation, in which the UEs autonomously select the resources and other transmit parameters. In this mode, there may be no intervention by the network, e.g., out of coverage, unlicensed carriers without a network deployment, or very minimal intervention by the network, e.g., configuration of pools of resources, etc.. In the context of NR, 3GPP refers to this resource allocation mode as Mode 2.

[0035] SUMMARY

[0036] As part of developing embodiments herein, one or more problems were first identified.

[0037] It is herein considered a scenario depicted in Fig. 2a, where a relay may be needed to help to schedule sensing transmissions of a UE out-of-coverage.

[0038] Sidelink relay is introduced to support 5G ProSe UE-to-Network (U2N) Relay function, specified in TS 23.304 v.18.4.0, to provide connectivity to the network for U2N Remote UE(s). Both L2 and L3 U2N Relay architectures are supported. The L3 U2N Relay architecture is transparent to the serving NG-RAN of the U2N Relay UE, except for controlling sidelink resources. The detailed architecture and procedures for L3 U2N Relay can be found in TS 23.304 v.18.4.0.

[0039] A U2N Relay UE shall be in RRC_CONNECTED to perform relaying of unicast data.

[0040] A single unicast link is established between one L2 U2N Relay UE and one L2 U2N Remote UE. The traffic to the NG-RAN of L2 U2N Remote UE via a given L2 U2N Relay UE and the traffic of the L2 U2N Relay UE shall be separated in different Uu RLC channels.

[0041] For L2 U2N Relay, the L2 U2N Remote UE can only be configured to use resource allocation mode 2 for data to be relayed.

[0042] There are two models for relay discovery. Model A and Model B discovery models as defined in TS 23.304 v.18.4.0 are supported for U2N Relay discovery. The protocol stack used for discovery is illustrated in Fig 2b showing a Protocol Stack of Discovery Message for UE-to- Network Relay, and is an example of Figure 16.12.3-1 from TS 38.300 v.18.0.0.

[0043] The U2N Remote UE can perform Relay discovery message, i.e. , as specified in TS 23.304 v.18.4.0, transmission and may monitor the sidelink for Relay discovery message while in RRCJDLE, RRCJNACTIVE or RRC_CON NESTED. The network may broadcast or configure, via dedicated RRC signalling, a Uu reference signal received power (RSRP) threshold, which is used by the U2N Remote UE to determine if it can transmit Relay discovery messages to U2N Relay UE(s).

[0044] The U2N Relay UE can perform Relay discovery message, i.e., as specified in TS 23.304 v.18.4.0, transmission and may monitor the sidelink for Relay discovery message while in RRCJDLE, RRC NACTIVE or RRC_CON NESTED. The network may broadcast or configure, via dedicated RRC signalling, a maximum Uu RSRP threshold, a minimum Uu RSRP threshold, or both, which are used by the U2N Relay UE to determine if it can transmit Relay discovery messages to U2N Remote UE(s). The network may provide the Relay discovery configuration using broadcast or dedicated signalling for Relay discovery. In addition, the U2N Remote UE and U2N Relay UE may use preconfiguration for Relay discovery.

[0045] The resource pool(s) used for NR sidelink communication can be used for Relay discovery or the network may configure resource pool(s) dedicated for Relay discovery. Resource pool or pools dedicated for Relay discovery may be configured simultaneously with resource pool or pools for NR sidelink communication in system information, dedicated signalling and / or pre-configuration. Whether dedicated resource pool or pools for Relay discovery are configured is based on network implementation. If resource pool or pools dedicated for Relay discovery are configured, only those resource pool or pools dedicated for Relay discovery shall be used for Relay discovery. If only resource pool or pools for NR sidelink communication are configured, all the configured resource pool or pools may be used for Relay discovery and sidelink communication.

[0046] For U2N Remote UE, including both in-coverage and out of coverage cases, that has been connected to the network via a U2N Relay UE, only resource allocation mode 2 may be used for Relay discovery message transmission.

[0047] For in-coverage U2N Relay UE, and for both in-coverage and out of coverage U2N Remote UEs, NR sidelink resource allocation principles may be applied for Relay discovery message transmission.

[0048] The sidelink power control for the transmission of Relay discovery messages is same as for NR sidelink communication.

[0049] To perform ISAC, the TX and RX nodes must appropriately allocate resources (time, frequency, spatial beams) to perform sensing transmission and sensing reception. These nodes can be gNB, and / or UEs. Considering a realistic scenario, the gNB cannot be present everywhere, and therefore, we assume more plausible scenarios where UEs act as sensing transmitters (TX-s) and sensing receivers (RX-s). UEs are mobile and generally can be spread in the cell region and also be located in out-of-coverage cell region, therefore, the probability the UEs are closer to the target object is relatively much higher. We consider a realistic and probable scenario where one UE is equipped with a sensing TX or RX and it is involved in ISAC operation with a BS or a relay which can be either TX or RX depending on the sensing setting. The link between the relay and the UE is similar to the sidelink (SL) communication link in the sense that there is a reception and transmission of radio signals between the two, see Fig. 2a as an example.

[0050] On the contrary, this link presents two major differences from SL communication:

[0051] • In SL relays, there is no existing capability or functionality to perform ISAC using relays, as these transmissions may not be regarded as data transmissions, therefore the existing SL relay resource allocation mechanism does not hold for ISAC. • The receiver / transmitter sensing node’s objective is to sense transmission, not decode, unlike it is done for a typical data transmission. Therefore, the receiver sensing node is not transporting data and / or transport blocks to upper layers.

[0052] Therefore, instead of citing SL relay, the term Relay-2-UE link or interface is herein used.

[0053] An object of embodiments herein is to handle sensing procedures in a wireless communication network in an efficient manner. Embodiments herein discuss the fundamental issues for resource allocation for such interface, between UEs and relays, e.g., Relay-2-UE link for the purpose of sensing transmission and receptions instead of communication (legacy transmissions).

[0054] According to an aspect the object is achieved, according to some embodiments herein, by providing a method performed by a network node for handling sensing of one or more sensing objects in a wireless communication network. The network node obtains an indication and / or one or more sensing measurements from a radio node, indicating that a sensing object or a sensing radio node is leaving or is possible to leave a radio coverage area of a first radio network node. The network node provides to a controller node data indicating that the sensing object or the sensing radio node is leaving or is possible to leave the radio coverage area of the first radio network node.

[0055] According to another aspect the object is achieved, according to some embodiments herein, by providing a method performed by a controller node for handling sensing of one or more sensing objects in a wireless communication network. The controller node obtains information regarding capability of one or more radio nodes for performing sensing procedures. The controller node receives from a network node, data indicating that a sensing object or a sensing radio node is leaving or is possible to leave a radio coverage area of a first radio network node. The controller node identifies one or more radio nodes for enabling out of coverage object tracking.

[0056] It is furthermore provided herein a computer program product comprising instructions, which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to carry out the methods herein, as performed by the controller node, and the network node, respectively. It is additionally provided herein a computer-readable storage medium, having stored thereon a computer program product comprising instructions which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to carry out the method according to the methods herein, as performed by the controller node, and the network node, respectively.

[0057] According to yet another aspect the object is achieved, according to some embodiments herein, by providing a network node and a controller node configured to perform the method herein, respectively.

[0058] Hence, according to an aspect the object is achieved by providing a network node for handling sensing of one or more sensing objects in a wireless communication network. The network node is configured to obtain an indication and / or one or more sensing measurements from a radio node, indicating that a sensing object or a sensing radio node is leaving or is possible to leave a radio coverage area of a first radio network node. The network node is configured to provide to a controller node data indicating that the sensing object or the sensing radio node is leaving or is possible to leave the radio coverage area of the first radio network node.

[0059] According to another aspect the object is achieved by providing a controller node for handling sensing of one or more sensing objects in a wireless communication network. The controller node is configured to obtain information regarding capability of one or more radio nodes for performing sensing procedures. The controller node is configured to receive from a network node, data indicating that a sensing object or a sensing radio node is leaving or is possible to leave a radio coverage area of a first radio network node, and to identify one or more radio nodes for enabling out of coverage object tracking.

[0060] Thus, it is herein disclosed a solution that is useful in out-of-coverage scenarios allowing one or several out-of-coverage sensing radio nodes to be able to participate in sensing procedures. The proposed solution allows more flexibility for deployments enabling relay usage for sensing operation or procedure to achieve continuity of a sensing function when a sensing object or a sensing radio node goes out of coverage, using, for example, relay nodes. Thus, embodiments herein handle the sensing procedure in a wireless communication network in an efficient manner.

[0061] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0062] Embodiments will now be described in more detail in relation to the enclosed drawings, in which:

[0063] Fig. 1a is a schematic overview depicting principle of radar operation according to prior art;

[0064] Fig. 1b depicts different radar settings;

[0065] Fig. 2a is a schematic overview depicting a scenario for sensing objects;

[0066] Fig. 2b is a schematic overview depicting a protocol stack used for discovery;

[0067] Fig. 3 shows an overview depicting a wireless communication network according to embodiments herein;

[0068] Fig. 4 shows a schematic overview depicting a Bi-static sensing procedure according to embodiments herein;

[0069] Fig. 5a shows a combined flowchart and signalling scheme according to some embodiments herein;

[0070] Fig. 5b shows a combined flowchart and signalling scheme according to some embodiments herein;

[0071] Fig. 6 shows a schematic flowchart depicting a method performed by a network node according to embodiments herein; Fig. 7 shows a schematic flowchart depicting a method performed by a controller node according to embodiments herein;

[0072] Fig. 8 shows a schematic overview depicting a sensing configuration according to some embodiments herein;

[0073] Fig. 9 shows a schematic overview depicting a sensing configuration according to some embodiments herein;

[0074] Fig. 10 shows a schematic overview depicting a sensing configuration according to some embodiments herein;

[0075] Fig. 11 shows a schematic overview depicting a sensing configuration according to some embodiments herein;

[0076] Fig. 12 shows a schematic overview depicting a sensing configuration according to some embodiments herein;

[0077] Fig. 13 shows a schematic overview depicting a sensing configuration according to some embodiments herein;

[0078] Fig. 14 shows a combined flowchart and signalling scheme according to some embodiments herein;

[0079] Fig. 15 shows a schematic overview depicting a sensing scenario according to some embodiments herein;

[0080] Fig. 16 is a schematic overview depicting a network node according to embodiments herein;

[0081] Fig. 17 is a schematic overview depicting a controller node according to embodiments herein;

[0082] Fig. 18 schematically illustrates embodiments of a communication system,

[0083] Fig. 19 is a generalized block diagram of embodiments of a UE,

[0084] Fig. 20 is a generalized block diagram of embodiments of a network node, and

[0085] Fig. 21 is a generalized block diagram of embodiments of a virtualization environment.

[0086] DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0087] Embodiments herein relate to wireless communication networks in general. Fig. 3 is a schematic overview depicting a wireless communication network 1. The wireless communication network 1 comprises one or more RANs and one or more CNs. The wireless communication network 1 may use one or a number of different technologies. Embodiments herein relate to recent technology trends that are of particular interest in a New Radio (NR) context, however, embodiments are also applicable in further development of existing wireless communications systems such as e.g. LTE or Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA).

[0088] In the wireless communication network 1, one or more UEs such as a user equipment (UE) 10 exemplified herein as a wireless device such as a mobile station, a non-access point (non- AP) station (STA), a STA and / or a wireless terminal, are comprised communicating via e.g. one or more Access Networks (AN), e.g. radio access network (RAN), to one or more core networks (CN). It should be understood by the skilled in the art that “UE” is a non-limiting term which means any terminal, wireless communications terminal, user equipment, narrowband internet of things (NB- loT) device, Machine Type Communication (MTC) device, Device to Device (D2D) terminal, or node e.g. smart phone, laptop, mobile phone, sensor, relay, mobile tablets or even a small base station capable of communicating using radio communication with a radio network node within an area served by the radio network node. According to embodiments herein the UE 10 is a sensing UE, i.e. , a UE capable of performing one or more sensing measurements in an area.

[0089] The wireless communication network 1 comprises a first radio network node 12 or just radio network node 12, providing radio coverage over a geographical area, a first service area 11 or first cell, of a first radio access technology (RAT), such as NR, LTE, or similar. The first radio network node 12 may be a transmission and reception point such as an access node, an access controller, a base station, e.g. a radio base station such as a gNodeB (gNB), an evolved Node B (eNB, eNode B), a NodeB, a base transceiver station, a radio remote unit, an Access Point Base Station, a base station router, a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) access point or an Access Point Station (AP STA), a transmission arrangement of a radio base station, a stand-alone access point or any other network unit or node capable of communicating with a UE within the area served by the first radio network node depending e.g. on the first radio access technology and terminology used. The first radio network node may be referred to as a serving radio network node wherein the service area may be referred to as a serving cell, and the serving network node communicates with the wireless device in form of DL transmissions to the wireless device and UL transmissions from the wireless device. It should be noted that a service area may be denoted as cell, beam, beam group or similar to define an area of radio coverage. It should be noted that a service area may be denoted as cell, beam, beam group or similar to define an area of radio coverage.

[0090] The wireless communication network 1 comprises one or more radio nodes 140 such as a relay node 13 providing radio coverage over a geographical area, a second service area 14 or second cell, of a the first or second RAT, such as NR, LTE, or similar. A radio node 140 may comprise a UE, a road side unit (RSU), a relay node, a transmission and reception point such as an access node, an access controller, a base station, e.g. a radio base station such as a gNB, an eNB, a NodeB, a base transceiver station, or node capable of communicating with the UE outside the area served by the first radio network node.

[0091] The wireless communication network 1 may further comprise a number of network nodes providing network functions (NF), such as an NF node or actually instantiations of NFs also referred to as NF instances, such as a first network node 15, for example, a sensing managing function (SeMF). According to embodiments herein a network node 130, such as the first radio network node 12 or the first network node 15, may communicate to a controller node 16 such as a UE server controlling and / or handling one or more radio nodes 140 such as UEs and / or radio network nodes.

[0092] The respective node may be a standalone server, a cloud-implemented server, a distributed server or processing resources in a server farm or same node. Embodiments herein may be implemented as physical bare metal, virtual or cloud native such as Kubernetes environment in, e.g., hyper-cloud networks.

[0093] The radio nodes 140 may be configured to perform sensing procedures to detect objects such as a sensing object 150.

[0094] Embodiments herein provide a functionality pertinent for resource allocation involving radio nodes to perform sensing such as ISAC. The proposed solution provides a method for resource allocation and may involve a Relay-2-UE interface, i.e., interface between UEs and relays, for the purpose of sensing transmission and receptions instead of communication.

[0095] Specifically, two possible scenarios are addressed:

[0096] (1) passive sensing objects get out of coverage, and / or

[0097] (2) radio sensing node gets out of coverage and relay node takes the role of a sensing node.

[0098] For scenario (2) a bi-static sensing case where UE (sensing TX) gets out-of-coverage and the relay node 13 such as a road side unit (RSU) may take the role of the sensing RX, instead of the first radio network node 12, is presented.

[0099] Embodiments herein are useful in out-of-coverage scenarios allowing one or several out-of- coverage sensing radio nodes and / or sensing object to be able to participate in a sensing operation. The proposed solution allows more flexibility for deployments enabling relay usage for sensing operation to achieve continuity of sensing function when the sensing object 150 goes out of coverage.

[0100] Fig. 4 shows a Bi-static in-coverage sensing procedure involving a gNB and a UE (left) and out-of-coverage sensing involving the relay node 13 such as an RSU and a UE 10 (right). The SeMF 15 can be in the CN or collocated at a server UE such as the controller node 16.

[0101] Fig. 5a is a combined flow chart and signalling scheme according to some embodiments herein.

[0102] Action 501. The radio nodes 140 such as the relay node 13 and / or the UE 10 may be configured to perform and / or handle sensing procedures. The radio nodes 140 may be configured to select resources for sensing. For example, the network node 130 may allocate a sidelink resource pool for sensing. The network node 130 may preconfigure the resources which can be provided by System Information broadcast. The network node 130 may configure characteristics to be monitored in a cell edge of the first radio network node 12.

[0103] Action 502. Furthermore, the controller node 16 may obtain information regarding capability of one or more radio nodes 140 for performing sensing procedures. The controller node may be configured to receive the capability of one or more radio nodes 140 from a network node and / or the radio nodes.

[0104] Action 503. A radio node 140 such as the relay node 13 may then perform a sensing procedure and detect the sensing object 150. The radio node 140 may transmit sensing data to the network node 130.

[0105] Action 504. The radio node 140 may detect that the sensing object 150 is leaving or is possible to leave the radio coverage area of the network node 130. That the sensing object 150 is leaving or is possible to leave an area may be determined by measuring a velocity, an angle, a direction and / or distance to the sensing object, and based on the known radio coverage area and / or known location. For example, the one or more configured characteristics are met indicating that the sensing object 150 is about to leave the first cell 11.

[0106] Action 505. The radio node 140 transmits an indication to the network node 130 that the sensing object 150 is leaving or is possible to leave the radio coverage area of the network node 130.

[0107] It should be noted that the network node 130 may determine, based on one or more received measurements from the radio node 140, that the sensing object is leaving or is possible to leave the radio coverage area of the network node 130.

[0108] Action 506. The network node 130, e.g., SeMF, transmits to the controller node 16 data indicating that the sensing object is leaving or is possible to leave the radio coverage area of the network node 130.

[0109] Action 507. The controller node 16 identifies one or more radio nodes, such as the relay node 13 and the UE 10, for enabling out of coverage object tracking. This may be based on prior knowledge of the location of the relay node 13 and the UE 10 and / or at least coarse location of the sensing object 150 to be tracked. It is also possible that the controller node 16 has prior information on a planned route or flight path of the sensing object 150 to be tracked.

[0110] Action 508. The controller node 16 may inform a network node, e.g., the network node 130, of the identified one or more radio nodes.

[0111] Action 509. The network node 130 may then allocate resources for the one or more radio nodes 140 such as the relay node 13 and / or the UE 10 or the resources may have been preallocated or pre-configured. The pre-allocation may happen before a task of object tracing is assigned. The resources, either preconfiguration or non-preconfiguration of resources, may in addition to UL / DL resources, such as Uu resources, also be used for Sidelink sensing. The term Sidelink sensing is defined as a mechanism to perform sensing procedure or execute sensing methods using Sidelink resources. Sidelink sensing procedure may involve exchanging capabilities between peer nodes and determine a suitable sensing method based upon capability. Sensing method is a mechanism to execute different measurements such as timing, power and / or anglebased measurements using Sidelink resources and using Sidelink reference signals for sensing. The Sidelink resource may be allocated by means of dedicated signaling by the network node 130 or by using System information broadcast for the case of preconfiguration. The network node 130 may further provide a sensing configuration to the one or more radio nodes, such as the relay node 13 and / or the UE 10. The relay node 13 may forward the sensing configuration to the UE 10. A relay and a UE may follow a discovery process to establish communication between them.

[0112] Action 510. The radio node 140, such as the UE 10 and / or the relay node 13 may then perform the sensing of the sensing object 150.

[0113] In one sub embodiment, the radio node 140 may act as a sensing receiver node which can use a received radio signal for sensing measurements.

[0114] In another sub embodiment, the radio node 140 may act as a sensing transmitter node, which can transmit a radio signal for sensing purpose.

[0115] In some further embodiment, the radio node 140 may represent both transmitter and receiver sensing nodes and may transmit and receive different or the same (for monostatic sensing) radio signals. The radio node 140 may also be configured to perform monostatic sensing.

[0116] In some embodiment, a relay-2-UE link is used to relay sensing configurations for ISAC for several out-of-coverage UEs acting as sensing nodes involved in ISAC operation. The network node 130 may allocate resources for sensing transmitter / receiver UE nodes for the purpose of ISAC and the relay node 13 may forward the configurations to the sensing UEs. All or a subset of the sensing UEs can be out of coverage.

[0117] In one sub embodiment, as depicted in Figure 8, the relay acts as sensing transmitter node and the UE is a sensing receiver node.

[0118] In some sub embodiment, as depicted in Figure 9, the relay acts as sensing receiver node and the UE is sensing transmitter node.

[0119] In some further embodiment, there are several sensing transmitter nodes and receiver nodes (multistatic sensing setup) in which relays and UEs can be either transmitter or receiver sensing nodes.

[0120] In some further embodiments, the relay UE can be anchor UE or reference UE or located UE (such as road side unit). The anchor UE or reference UE assists by performing sensing measurements based upon the transmission from the target UE. Further, they can assist in DL Sensing reference signal transmission based upon the request from the target device. Fig. 5b is a combined flow chart and signalling scheme according to some embodiments herein. The scenario is when a radio node 140 such as the UE 10 first senses within the first cell 11 and then the radio node 140 leaves the cell.

[0121] Action 511. The radio nodes 140 such as the relay node 13 and / or the UE 10 may be configured to perform and / or handle sensing procedures. The radio nodes 140 may be configured to select resources for sensing. For example, the network node 130 may allocate a sidelink resource pool for sensing. The network node 130 may preconfigure the resources which can be provided by System Information broadcast. The network node 130 may configure characteristics to be monitored in a cell edge of the first radio network node 12.

[0122] Action 512. Furthermore, the controller node 16 obtains information regarding capability of one or more radio nodes 140 for performing sensing procedures.

[0123] Action 513. The radio node 140 such as the UE 10 may then perform a sensing procedure and detect the sensing object 150. The radio node 140 may transmit sensing data to the network node 130.

[0124] Action 514. The radio node 140 may detect it, i.e. , that the sensing radio node, such as the UE 10, is leaving or is possible to leave the radio coverage area of the network node 130.

[0125] Action 515. The radio node 140 transmits an indication to the network node 130 that it, i.e., the sensing radio node is leaving or is possible to leave the radio coverage area of the network node 130. That the sensing radio node is leaving or is possible to leave an area may be determined by measuring a velocity, an angle, a direction and / or distance of an object / UE, and based on the known coverage area and / or know location.

[0126] It should be noted that the network node 130 such as the first radio network node 12, may detect that the sensing radio node, such as the UE 10, is leaving or is possible to leave the radio coverage area of the network node 130.

[0127] Action 516. The network node 130 transmits to the controller node 16 data indicating that the sensing radio node is leaving or is possible to leave the radio coverage area of the network node 130.

[0128] Action 517. The controller node 16 identifies a radio node, such as the relay node 13, for enabling the sensing radio node to perform out of coverage object tracking.

[0129] Action 518. The controller node 16 may inform a network node, e.g., the network node 130, of the identified radio node.

[0130] Action 519. The network node 130 may then allocate resources for the radio node and / or the UE 10. The network node 130 may further provide a sensing configuration to the radio node and / or the UE 10. The radio node 140 may forward the sensing configuration to the UE 10.

[0131] Action 520. The radio node 140, such as the UE 10 and / or the relay node may perform the sensing of the sensing object 150. The method actions performed by the network node 130, such as the SeMF or the radio network node 12, for handling sensing of one or more sensing objects in the wireless communication network according to embodiments herein will now be described with reference to a flowchart depicted in Fig. 6. The actions do not have to be taken in the order stated below, but may be taken in any suitable order. Actions performed in some embodiments are marked with dashed boxes.

[0132] Action 601. The network node 130 may provide to one or more radio nodes configuration comprising one or more characteristics for detecting that the sensing object and / or the sensing radio node is leaving or is possible to leave the radio coverage area of the first radio network node 12 and the one or more sensing measurements to perform and to report. Thus, the radio nodes 140 such as a relay node 13 and / or a UE 10 may be configured to perform and / or handle sensing procedures. The radio nodes 140 may be configured to select resources for sensing. For example, the network node 130 may allocate a sidelink resource pool for sensing. The network node 130 may preconfigure the resources which can be provided by System Information broadcast. The network node 130 may configure one or more characteristics to be monitored in a cell edge of the first radio network node 12.

[0133] Action 602. The network node 130 obtains the indication and / or the one or more sensing measurements from the radio node 140, indicating that the sensing object or the sensing radio node is leaving or is possible to leave the radio coverage area of the first radio network node 12. The network node 130 may, for example, receive the indication from the radio node 140 that the sensing object or the sensing radio node is leaving or is possible to leave the radio coverage area of the first radio network node 12.

[0134] Action 603. The network node 130 may determine based on received indication and / or the one or more sensing measurements from the radio node 140 that the sensing object or the sensing radio node is leaving or is possible to leave the radio coverage area of the first radio network node 12.

[0135] Action 604. The network node 130 provides to the controller node 16 data indicating that the sensing object or the sensing radio node is leaving or is possible to leave the radio coverage area of the first radio network node 12. The network node 130, e.g., SeMF, may transmit to the controller node 16 data indicating that the sensing object or the sensing radio node is leaving or is possible to leave the radio coverage area of the first radio network node 12.

[0136] Action 605. The network node 130 may obtain information to provide sensing configuration to one or more radio nodes. As an example, the network node 130 may receive node indication from the controller node 16 of the identified one or more radio nodes.

[0137] Action 606. The network node 130 may then allocate resources for the identified one or more radio nodes. The sensing resources may also be preallocated and can also be SL resources as mentioned in Action 509. Action 607. The network node 130 may determine one radio node to act as a relay node to a sensing radio node out of the one or more radio nodes.

[0138] Action 608. The network node 130 may send a sensing configuration to the one radio node for forwarding to the sensing radio node 10. Thus, the network node 130 may provide a sensing configuration to the one or more radio nodes, such as the relay node 13 and / or the UE 10. The radio node 140 may forward the sensing configuration to the UE 10.

[0139] The method actions performed by the controller node 16, such as the UE server, for handling sensing of one or more sensing objects in the wireless communication network according to embodiments herein will now be described with reference to a flowchart depicted in Fig. 7. The actions do not have to be taken in the order stated below, but may be taken in any suitable order. Actions performed in some embodiments are marked with dashed boxes.

[0140] Action 701. The controller node 16 obtains information regarding capability of one or more radio nodes 140 for performing sensing procedures.

[0141] Action 702. The controller node 16 receives from the network node 130, such as the SeMF, data indicating that the sensing object or the sensing radio node is leaving or is possible to leave the radio coverage area of the first radio network node 12.

[0142] Action 703. The controller node 16 identifies one or more radio nodes for enabling out of coverage object tracking.

[0143] Action 704. The controller node 16 may further trigger provision of sensing configuration to the one or more identified radio nodes. As an example, the controller node 16 may transmit the node indication to the network node 130 of the identified one or more radio nodes.

[0144] According to embodiments herein, the sensing configuration may be forwarded between radio nodes.

[0145] In one embodiment, a relay-2-UE link is used to relay sensing configurations for ISAC for an out-of-coverage UE, such as the UE 10, acting as a sensing node. A radio network node 12 may allocate one or more resources for sensing transmitter / receiver UE node for the purpose of ISAC and the relay node 13 may forward the sensing configurations to the UE 10. The UE 10 may be out of coverage.

[0146] • In one sub embodiment, as depicted in Fig. 8, the UE 10 acts as a sensing receiver node which can use a received radio signal for sensing measurements. Relay node 13 helps to schedule reception of the UE 10 which is out of coverage.

[0147] • In another sub embodiment, as depicted in Fig. 9, the UE 10 acts as a sensing transmitter node, which can transmit a radio signal for sensing purpose. The relay node 13 helps schedule sensing transmission to the UE 10 which is out of coverage. • In some further embodiment, as depicted in Fig. 10, the UE 10 represents both transmitter and receiver sensing nodes and can transmit and receive different or the same (for monostatic sensing) radio signals. The relay node 13 schedules sensing of the UE 10. The UE 10 can also be configured to perform monostatic sensing.

[0148] Relay node 13 may herein be referred to as Relay.

[0149] Figure 8 shows a Network-UE sensing with TX at BS and RX at UE bi-static sensing. Relay helps to schedule / configure sensing. UE can be out-of-coverage.

[0150] Figure 9 shows a Network-UE sensing with RX at BS and TX at UE bi-static sensing. Relay helps to schedule / configure sensing. UE can be out-of-coverage.

[0151] Figure 10 shows a UE-based monostatic sensing. Relay helps to schedule / configure sensing. UE can be out-of-coverage.

[0152] In some embodiment, the relay-2-UE link is used to relay sensing configurations for ISAC for several out-of-coverage UE acting as sensing nodes involved in ISAC operation, as depicted in Fig. 11. The network node 130 may allocate resources for sensing transmitter / receiver UE nodes for the purpose of ISAC and the relay forwards the configurations to the sensing UEs. All or a subset of the sensing UEs can be out of coverage. Figure 11 shows a UE-based bi-static sensing. Relay helps to schedule / configure sensing. UE(s) can be out-of-coverage.

[0153] In some embodiments, gNB allocates resources for sensing transmitter / receiver relay-2-UE link for the purpose of ISAC in which the relay node participates in sensing operation:

[0154] In one sub embodiment, as depicted in Fig. 12, the relay acts as sensing transmitter node and the UE is a sensing receiver node. The relay schedules sensing reception of an out of coverage UE.

[0155] In a sub embodiment, as depicted in Fig. 13, the relay acts as sensing receiver node and the UE is sensing transmitter node. Relay node 13 schedules sensing transmission of out of coverage UE.

[0156] In some further embodiment, there are several sensing transmitter nodes and receiver nodes (multistatic sensing setup) in which relays and UEs can be either transmitter or receiver sensing nodes.

[0157] In some further embodiments, the relay UE can be anchor UE or reference UE or located UE (such as road side unit). The anchor UE or reference UE assists by performing sensing measurements based upon the transmission from the target UE. Further, they can assist in DL Sensing reference signal transmission based upon the request from the target device.

[0158] Figure 12 shows Relay-UE sensing with TX at Relay and RX at UE bi-static sensing. Relay is one of the sensing nodes. UE can be out-of-coverage. Figure 13 shows Relay-UE sensing with TX at UE and RX at Relay bi-static sensing. Relay is one of the sensing nodes. UE can be out-of-coverage.

[0159] Fig. 14 is a combined flowchart and signalling scheme according to some embodiments herein in case of out-coverage detection of transmitting UE participating in sensing.

[0160] The UE1 and the gNB may perform a sensing phase (bi-static sensing) in-coverage event, action 1. The gNB may perform sensing measurement results reporting, action 2. In one embodiment, when the gNB (RX-s) detects out of coverage event from the transmitting UE1 (action 3), it sends a notification to the sensing server (action 4) together with latest sensing results (either raw or processed sensing measurements) that UE1 became remote UE.

[0161] The sensing server or sensing management function (server UE or SeMF), if it knows that relay UEs are deployed in the area (e.g., UE2 can be candidate relay UE for UE1), can send a request to gNB to establish link between gNB, relay UEs and remote UEs (step5). The request (action 5) can contain an indication that the request is related to sensing. Prior or as a part of action 6, the gNB may need to find relay candidates with the sensing capability (sensing transmitter / receiver to assist UE1 or sensing configuration provider for UE1). For this, the gNB needs to be aware of the sensing related capabilities of the candidate relays, e.g., by means of requesting / receiving them or reading from memory or database. The UE1 ma perform a UE discovery, action 7, and may set up a unicast link from UE2, action 8. The gNB may configure a relay UE (UE2), which will configure the remote UE (UE1) based on assistance information from the network (actions 9 -13), wherein the UE2 requests sensing assistance information from SeMF and receives sensing assistance configuration including previous sensing results from the SeMF.

[0162] In one embodiment, sensing results from action 14 where UE2 performs bi-static ISAC procedure, can be reported to SeMF and / or Sensing Processing Function (SPF) in the communications network.

[0163] In one embodiment, the sensing results from step 14, can be used by UE1.

[0164] In one embodiment the Relay UE for the remote UE can also be a sensing server UE for ISAC, e.g., play an SeMF and / or SPF role for UE1.

[0165] In one embodiment, upon the end of sensing measurements, UE1 can indicate to the communications network, e.g., SeMF, or to UE2 no further need in UE2 sensing support. The sensing relay link can then be disconnected. Upon the need, for communications purpose, a new relay link e.g., via UE3 and not via UE2, can be established (the communications relay does not require sensing support and can suit better communications relaying purpose). Similarly, in the beginning UE1 can have UE3 communications relay but change to UE2 sensing relay for sensing purpose and use UE2 until the sensing need is over. In some embodiments, it is claimed that the discovery procedure contains a purpose (cause code) that this for Sensing purpose. Hence, the other UE would respond only if it is capable of supporting the case for Sensing purpose. Further, the UEs are authorized by the network node 130 such as SeMF to take certain role for sensing such as anchor UE (reference UE) (e.g. RSU capable of sensing).

[0166] Embodiments herein relate to, for example, SL-SeMF and interaction with network based SeMF, i.e. , the communication between the network node 130 and the controller node 16.

[0167] Further, the network node 130 may also authorize a UE to take the role of Sidelink Sensing Manage function (SL-SeMF) and / or Sidelink Sensing processing function (SL-SPF).

[0168] If the sensing object 150 moves from in-coverage to out-of coverage; the SeMF 15 in network coverage may inform the SL-SeMF to keep track of the sensing object 150. In such scenario, the sensing radio units, such as UE and / or TRP, at cell edge may inform the network node 130, such as gNB-CU, or SeMF, that the sensing object 150 has crossed the cellular coverage and entering into SL-Zones. In such case, the SeMF may alert the SL-SeMF. This is beneficial in scenarios where network coverage is not ubiquitous and can be complemented by Sidelink deployments. Similarly, when the sensing object leaves SL Zone to re-enter cellular coverage, SL-SeMF may inform the SeMF in network coverage that the sensing object 150 is leaving SL coverage area.

[0169] For being a relay for sensing, the UE2 may need to be configured differently than for nonsensing SL communication with the sensing configuration. For example, the resource pools or transmit / receive patterns for relaying can be adapted to sensing task needs or sensing requirements. Further these relay UEs may be expected to be in cell border and should be able to detect the sensing object entering or leaving the cell.

[0170] Sensing configuration examples:

[0171] Sensing configuration, also referred to as ISAC configuration, may comprise, e.g., any one or more of:

[0172] • Sensing request, e.g., sensing target information, sensing area, sensing task, etc.;

[0173] • Configuration of radio signal transmission for sensing purpose, e.g., signal type, transmission pattern in time and / or frequency, resource pool which can be used for sensing transmissions, transmission periodicity, transmit power, etc.;

[0174] • Configuration of radio signal reception for sensing purpose, e.g., receive pattern which can be different from the transmission pattern, expected time of arrival (ToA), search window, detection threshold for sensing, resource pool which can be used for sensing transmissions by the sensing signal source, etc.; • Configuration of radio signal measurement, e.g., measurement type [received signal strength or quality, timing measurement such as ToA, round trip time (RTT) or reference signal time difference (RSTD) and / or relative time of arrival (RTOA), angular measurement, etc.], measurement periodicity, number of samples, etc., for sensing purpose;

[0175] • Configuration of measurement result logging, e.g., for how long to log, when to start logging, logging format, etc.;

[0176] • Configuration of measurement reporting, e.g., reporting trigger, reporting periodicity, reporting format, when and where to report, etc.

[0177] Fig. 15 shows a schematic overview depicting some embodiments herein.

[0178] Action 0. The network node 130 such as NW SeMF may have preconfigured what needs to be monitored or detected by the radio nodes 140 such as TRPs / UEs in the cell edge.

[0179] Action 1. Sensing units such as radio units 140 deployed at the cell edge may monitor sensing object crossing or entering the cell.

[0180] Action 2. Information about the sensing object along with attributes are provided to the network node 130.

[0181] Action 3. The network node 130 and the controller node 16, such as a SL UE server, interacts to coordinate resources for objects / radio nodes moving in and out of the cell.

[0182] Action 4. The controller node 16 may identify one or more radio nodes such as the RSU that can monitor the sensing object outside the cell.

[0183] Fig. 16 is a block diagram depicting the network node 130 for handling sensing of one or more sensing objects 150 in the wireless communication network 1 according to embodiments herein.

[0184] The network node 130 may comprise processing circuitry 1601, e.g., one or more processors, configured to perform the methods herein.

[0185] The network node 130 and / or the processing circuitry 1601 may be configured to provide to one or more radio nodes configuration comprising one or more characteristics for detecting that the sensing object and / or the sensing radio node is leaving or is possible to leave the radio coverage area of the first radio network node 12 and the one or more sensing measurements to perform and to report. Thus, the radio nodes 140 such as a relay node 13 and / or a UE 10 may be configured to perform and / or handle sensing procedures. The radio nodes 140 may be configured to select resources for sensing. For example, the network node 130 and / or the processing circuitry 1601 may be configured to allocate a sidelink resource pool for sensing. The network node 130 and / or the processing circuitry 1601 may be configured to preconfigure the resources which can be provided by System Information broadcast. The network node 130 and / or the processing circuitry 1601 may be configured to configure one or more characteristics to be monitored in a cell edge of the first radio network node 12.

[0186] The network node 130 and / or the processing circuitry 1601 is configured to obtain the indication and / or the one or more sensing measurements from the radio node 140, indicating that the sensing object or the sensing radio node is leaving or is possible to leave the radio coverage area of the first radio network node 12. The network node 130 and / or the processing circuitry 1601 may be configured to receive the indication from the radio node 140 that the sensing object or the sensing radio node is leaving or is possible to leave the radio coverage area of the first radio network node 12.

[0187] The network node 130 and / or the processing circuitry 1601 may be configured to determine based on received indication and / or the one or more sensing measurements from the radio node 140 that the sensing object or the sensing radio node is leaving or is possible to leave the radio coverage area of the first radio network node 12.

[0188] The network node 130 and / or the processing circuitry 1601 is configured to provide to the controller node 16 data indicating that the sensing object or the sensing radio node is leaving or is possible to leave the radio coverage area of the first radio network node 12. The network node 130 and / or the processing circuitry 1601 may be configured to transmit to the controller node 16 data indicating that the sensing object or the sensing radio node is leaving or is possible to leave the radio coverage area of the first radio network node 12.

[0189] The network node 130 and / or the processing circuitry 1601 may be configured to obtain information to provide sensing configuration to one or more radio nodes. As an example, the network node 130 and / or the processing circuitry 1601 may be configured to receive the node indication from the controller node 16 of the identified one or more radio nodes.

[0190] The network node 130 and / or the processing circuitry 1601 may be configured to allocate the resources for the identified one or more radio nodes. The sensing resources may also be preallocated and can also be SL resources as mentioned in Action 509.

[0191] The network node 130 and / or the processing circuitry 1601 may be configured to determine the one radio node to act as a relay node to a sensing radio node out of the one or more radio nodes.

[0192] The network node 130 and / or the processing circuitry 1601 may be configured to provide, such as send, the sensing configuration to the one radio node for forwarding to the sensing radio node 10. Thus, the network node 130 and / or the processing circuitry 1601 may be configured to provide the sensing configuration to the one or more radio nodes, such as the relay node 13 and / or the UE 10. The radio node 140 may forward the sensing configuration to the UE 10.

[0193] The network node 130 may comprise a memory 1605. The memory 1605 comprises one or more units to be used to store data on, such as data packets, indications, resource information, time indication, node indications, common signal / channel information, reference signal information, assistance information, application information, messages, measurement, events and applications to perform the methods disclosed herein when being executed, and similar. Furthermore, network node 130 may comprise a communication interface 1606 such as comprising a transmitter, a receiver, a transceiver and / or one or more antennas.

[0194] The methods according to the embodiments described herein for the network node 130 are respectively implemented by means of e.g. a computer program product 1607 or a computer program, comprising instructions, i.e. , software code portions, which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to carry out the actions described herein, as performed by the network node 130. The computer program product 1607 may be stored on a computer-readable storage medium 1608, e g., a disc, a universal serial bus (USB) stick or similar. The computer-readable storage medium 1608, having stored thereon the computer program product, may comprise the instructions which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to carry out the actions described herein, as performed by the network node 130. In some embodiments, the computer-readable storage medium may be a transitory or a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. Thus, embodiments herein may disclose the network node 130 for handling communication in a wireless communication network, wherein the network node 130 comprises processing circuitry and a memory, said memory comprising instructions executable by said processing circuitry whereby said network node 130 is operative to perform any of the methods herein.

[0195] Fig. 17 is a block diagram depicting the controller node 16 for handling sensing of one or more sensing objects 150 in the wireless communication network 1 according to embodiments herein.

[0196] The controller node 16 may comprise processing circuitry 1701 , e.g., one or more processors, configured to perform the methods herein.

[0197] The controller node 16 and / or the processing circuitry 1701 is configured to obtain the information regarding capability of the one or more radio nodes 140 for performing sensing procedures.

[0198] The controller node 16 and / or the processing circuitry 1701 is configured to receive from the network node 130, such as the SeMF, the data indicating that the sensing object or the sensing radio node is leaving or is possible to leave the radio coverage area of the first radio network node 12.

[0199] The controller node 16 and / or the processing circuitry 1701 is configured to identify the one or more radio nodes for enabling out of coverage object tracking.

[0200] The controller node 16 and / or the processing circuitry 1701 may be configured to trigger provision of sensing configuration to the one or more identified radio nodes. As an example, the controller node 16 and / or the processing circuitry 1701 may be configured to transmit the node indication to the network node 130 of the identified one or more radio nodes.

[0201] The controller node 16 may comprise a memory 1705. The memory 1705 comprises one or more units to be used to store data on, such as data packets, indications, sensing configuration, UE information, radio node information, reference signal information, assistance information, application information, messages, measurement, events and applications to perform the methods disclosed herein when being executed, and similar. Furthermore, the controller node 16 may comprise a communication interface 1706 such as comprising a transmitter, a receiver, a transceiver and / or one or more antennas.

[0202] The methods according to the embodiments described herein for the controller node 16 are respectively implemented by means of e.g. a computer program product 1707 or a computer program, comprising instructions, i.e. , software code portions, which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to carry out the actions described herein, as performed by the controller node 16. The computer program product 1707 may be stored on a computer-readable storage medium 1708, e g., a disc, a universal serial bus (USB) stick or similar. The computer-readable storage medium 1708, having stored thereon the computer program product, may comprise the instructions which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to carry out the actions described herein, as performed by the controller node 16. In some embodiments, the computer-readable storage medium may be a transitory or a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. Thus, embodiments herein may disclose the controller node 16 for handling communication in a wireless communication network, wherein the controller node 16 comprises processing circuitry and a memory, said memory comprising instructions executable by said processing circuitry whereby said controller node 16 is operative to perform any of the methods herein.

[0203] In some embodiments a more general term “network node” or “radio network node” is used and it can correspond to any type of radio-network node or any network node, which communicates with a UE and / or with another network node.

[0204] In some embodiments the non-limiting term wireless device or user equipment (UE) is used and it refers to any type of wireless device communicating with a network node and / or with another wireless device in a cellular or mobile communication system. Examples of UE are target device, device to device (D2D) UE, proximity capable UE (aka ProSe UE), loT capable device, machine type UE or UE capable of machine to machine (M2M) communication, Tablet, mobile terminals, smart phone, laptop embedded equipped (LEE), laptop mounted equipment (LME), USB dongles etc.

[0205] Embodiments are applicable to any RAT or multi-RAT systems, where the wireless device receives and / or transmit signals (e.g. data) e.g. NR, Wi-Fi, LTE, LTE-Advanced, Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), Global System for Mobile communications / enhanced Data rate for GSM Evolution (GSM / EDGE), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), or Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), just to mention a few possible implementations.

[0206] As will be readily understood by those familiar with communications design, that functions means or circuits may be implemented using digital logic and / or one or more microcontrollers, microprocessors, or other digital hardware. In some embodiments, several or all of the various functions may be implemented together, such as in a single application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or in two or more separate devices with appropriate hardware and / or software interfaces between them. Several of the functions may be implemented on a processor shared with other functional components of a wireless device or network node, for example.

[0207] Alternatively, several of the functional elements of the processing means discussed may be provided through the use of dedicated hardware, while others are provided with hardware for executing software, in association with the appropriate software or firmware. Thus, the term “processor” or “controller” as used herein does not exclusively refer to hardware capable of executing software and may implicitly include, without limitation, digital signal processor (DSP) hardware and / or program or application data. Other hardware, conventional and / or custom, may also be included. Designers of communications devices will appreciate the cost, performance, and maintenance trade-offs inherent in these design choices.

[0208] Any appropriate steps, methods, features, functions, or benefits disclosed herein may be performed through one or more functional units or modules of one or more virtual apparatuses. Each virtual apparatus may comprise a number of these functional units. These functional units may be implemented via processing circuitry, which may include one or more microprocessor or microcontrollers, as well as other digital hardware, which may include digital signal processors (DSPs), special-purpose digital logic, and the like. The processing circuitry may be configured to execute program code stored in memory, which may include one or several types of memory such as read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM), cache memory, flash memory devices, optical storage devices, etc. Program code stored in memory includes program instructions for executing one or more telecommunications and / or data communications protocols as well as instructions for carrying out one or more of the techniques described herein. In some implementations, the processing circuitry may be used to cause the respective functional unit to perform corresponding functions according one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0209] Fig. 18 shows an example of a communication system QQ100 in accordance with some embodiments.

[0210] In the example, the communication system QQ100 includes a telecommunication network QQ102 that includes an access network QQ104, such as a radio access network (RAN), and a core network QQ106, which includes one or more core network nodes QQ108. The access network QQ104 includes one or more access network nodes, such as network nodes QQ110a and QQ110b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as network nodes QQ110), or any other similar 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) access nodes or non-3GPP access points. Moreover, as will be appreciated by those of skill in the art, a network node is not necessarily limited to an implementation in which a radio portion and a baseband portion are supplied and integrated by a single vendor. Thus, it will be understood that network nodes include disaggregated implementations or portions thereof. For example, in some embodiments, the telecommunication network QQ102 includes one or more Open-RAN (ORAN) network nodes. An ORAN network node is a node in the telecommunication network QQ102 that supports an ORAN specification (e.g., a specification published by the O-RAN Alliance, or any similar organization) and may operate alone or together with other nodes to implement one or more functionalities of any node in the telecommunication network QQ102, including one or more network nodes QQ110 and / or core network nodes QQ108.

[0211] Examples of an ORAN network node include an open radio unit (0-Rll), an open distributed unit (0-Dll), an open central unit (O-CU), including an O-CU control plane (O-CU-CP) or an O-CU user plane (O-CU-UP), a RAN intelligent controller (near-real time or non-real time) hosting software or software plug-ins, such as a near-real time control application (e.g., xApp) or a non-real time control application (e.g., rApp), or any combination thereof (the adjective “open” designating support of an ORAN specification). The network node may support a specification by, for example, supporting an interface defined by the ORAN specification, such as an A1 , F1 , W1, E1 , E2, X2, Xn interface, an open fronthaul user plane interface, or an open fronthaul management plane interface. Moreover, an ORAN access node may be a logical node in a physical node. Furthermore, an ORAN network node may be implemented in a virtualization environment (described further below) in which one or more network functions are virtualized. For example, the virtualization environment may include an O-Cloud computing platform orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an 0-2 interface defined by the O-RAN Alliance or comparable technologies. The network nodes QQ110 facilitate direct or indirect connection of user equipment (UE), such as by connecting UEs QQ112a, QQ112b, QQ112c, and QQ112d (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UEs QQ112) to the core network QQ106 over one or more wireless connections.

[0212] Example wireless communications over a wireless connection include transmitting and / or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and / or other types of signals suitable for conveying information without the use of wires, cables, or other material conductors. Moreover, in different embodiments, the communication system QQ100 may include any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, UEs, and / or any other components or systems that may facilitate or participate in the communication of data and / or signals whether via wired or wireless connections. The communication system QQ100 may include and / or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and / or other similar type of system.

[0213] The UEs QQ112 may be any of a wide variety of communication devices, including wireless devices arranged, configured, and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with the network nodes QQ110 and other communication devices. Similarly, the network nodes QQ110 are arranged, capable, configured, and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with the UEs QQ112 and / or with other network nodes or equipment in the telecommunication network QQ102 to enable and / or provide network access, such as wireless network access, and / or to perform other functions, such as administration in the telecommunication network QQ102.

[0214] In the depicted example, the core network QQ106 connects the network nodes QQ110 to one or more host computing systems, such as host QQ116. These connections may be direct or indirect via one or more intermediary networks or devices. In other examples, network nodes may be directly coupled to hosts. The core network QQ106 includes one more core network nodes (e.g., core network node QQ108) that are structured with hardware and software components. Features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the UEs, network nodes, and / or hosts, such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of the core network node QQ108. Example core network nodes include functions of one or more of a Mobile Switching Center (MSC), Mobility Management Entity (MME), Home Subscriber Server (HSS), Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), Session Management Function (SMF), Authentication Server Function (AUSF), Subscription Identifier De-concealing function (SIDF), Unified Data Management (UDM), Security Edge Protection Proxy (SEPP), Network Exposure Function (NEF), and / or a User Plane Function (UPF).

[0215] The host QQ116 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider other than an operator or provider of the access network QQ104 and / or the telecommunication network QQ102. The host QQ116 may host a variety of applications to provide one or more service. Examples of such applications include live and pre-recorded audio / video content, data collection services such as retrieving and compiling data on various ambient conditions detected by a plurality of UEs, analytics functionality, social media, functions for controlling or otherwise interacting with remote devices, functions for an alarm and surveillance center, or any other such function performed by a server.

[0216] As a whole, the communication system QQ100 of Figure 18 enables connectivity between the UEs, network nodes, and hosts. In that sense, the communication system may be configured to operate according to predefined rules or procedures, such as specific standards that include, but are not limited to: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM); Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); Long Term Evolution (LTE), and / or other suitable 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G standards, or any applicable future generation standard (e.g., 6G); wireless local area network (WLAN) standards, such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standards (WiFi); and / or any other appropriate wireless communication standard, such as the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Bluetooth, Z-Wave, Near Field Communication (NFC) ZigBee, LiFi, and / or any low-power wide-area network (LPWAN) standards such as LoRa and Sigfox.

[0217] In some examples, the telecommunication network QQ102 is a cellular network that implements 3GPP standardized features. Accordingly, the telecommunications network QQ102 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices that are connected to the telecommunication network QQ102. For example, the telecommunications network QQ102 may provide Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC) services to some UEs, while providing Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) services to other UEs, and / or Massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC) / Massive loT services to yet further UEs.

[0218] In some examples, the UEs QQ112 are configured to transmit and / or receive information without direct human interaction. For instance, a UE may be designed to transmit information to the access network QQ104 on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the access network QQ104. Additionally, a UE may be configured for operating in single- or multi-RAT or multi-standard mode. For example, a UE may operate with any one or combination of Wi-Fi, NR (New Radio) and LTE, i.e. being configured for multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC), such as E-UTRAN (Evolved-UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network) New Radio - Dual Connectivity (EN-DC).

[0219] In the example, the hub QQ114 communicates with the access network QQ104 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UE QQ112c and / or QQ112d) and network nodes (e.g., network node QQ110b). In some examples, the hub QQ114 may be a controller, router, content source and analytics, or any of the other communication devices described herein regarding UEs. For example, the hub QQ114 may be a broadband router enabling access to the core network QQ106 for the UEs. As another example, the hub QQ114 may be a controller that sends commands or instructions to one or more actuators in the UEs. Commands or instructions may be received from the UEs, network nodes QQ110, or by executable code, script, process, or other instructions in the hub QQ114. As another example, the hub QQ114 may be a data collector that acts as temporary storage for UE data and, in some embodiments, may perform analysis or other processing of the data. As another example, the hub QQ114 may be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a VR device, display, loudspeaker, or other media delivery device, the hub QQ114 may retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via a network node, which the hub QQ114 then provides to the UE either directly, after performing local processing, and / or after adding additional local content. In still another example, the hub QQ114 acts as a proxy server or orchestrator for the UEs, in particular if one or more of the UEs are low energy loT devices. The hub QQ114 may have a constant / persistent or intermittent connection to the network node QQ110b. The hub QQ114 may also allow for a different communication scheme and / or schedule between the hub QQ114 and UEs (e.g., UE QQ112c and / or QQ112d), and between the hub QQ114 and the core network QQ106. In other examples, the hub QQ114 is connected to the core network QQ106 and / or one or more UEs via a wired connection. Moreover, the hub QQ114 may be configured to connect to an M2M service provider over the access network QQ104 and / or to another UE over a direct connection. In some scenarios, UEs may establish a wireless connection with the network nodes QQ110 while still connected via the hub QQ114 via a wired or wireless connection. In some embodiments, the hub QQ114 may be a dedicated hub - that is, a hub whose primary function is to route communications to / from the UEs from / to the network node QQ110b. In other embodiments, the hub QQ114 may be a non-dedicated hub - that is, a device which is capable of operating to route communications between the UEs and network node QQ110b, but which is additionally capable of operating as a communication start and / or end point for certain data channels.

[0220] Fig. 19 shows a UE QQ200 in accordance with some embodiments. The UE QQ200 presents additional details of some embodiments of the UE QQ112 of Figure 18. As used herein, a UE refers to a device capable, configured, arranged and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with network nodes and / or other UEs. Examples of a UE include, but are not limited to, a smart phone, mobile phone, cell phone, voice over IP (VoIP) phone, wireless local loop phone, desktop computer, personal digital assistant (PDA), wireless cameras, gaming console or device, music storage / playback device, wearable terminal device, wireless endpoint, mobile station, tablet, laptop, laptop-embedded equipment (LEE), laptop-mounted equipment (LME), an Augmented Reality (AR) or Virtual Reality (VR) device, wireless customer-premise equipment (CPE), vehicle, vehicle-mounted or vehicle embedded / integrated wireless device, etc. Other examples include any UE identified by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), including a narrow band internet of things (NB-loT) UE, a machine type communication (MTC) UE, and / or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE.

[0221] A UE may support device-to-device (D2D) communication, for example by implementing a 3GPP standard for sidelink communication, Dedicated Short-Range Communication (DSRC), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), or vehicle-to-everything (V2X). In other examples, a UE may not necessarily have a user in the sense of a human user who owns and / or operates the relevant device. Instead, a UE may represent a device that is intended for sale to, or operation by, a human user but which may not, or which may not initially, be associated with a specific human user (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller). Alternatively, a UE may represent a device that is not intended for sale to, or operation by, an end user but which may be associated with or operated for the benefit of a user (e.g., a smart power meter). The UE QQ200 includes processing circuitry QQ202 that is operatively coupled via a bus QQ204 to an input / output interface QQ206, a power source QQ208, a memory QQ210, a communication interface QQ212, and / or any other component, or any combination thereof. Certain UEs may utilize all or a subset of the components shown in Fig. 19. The level of integration between the components may vary from one UE to another UE. Further, certain UEs may contain multiple instances of a component, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.

[0222] The processing circuitry QQ202 is configured to process instructions and data and may be configured to implement any sequential state machine operative to execute instructions stored as machine-readable computer programs in the memory QQ210. The processing circuitry QQ202 may be implemented as one or more hardware-implemented state machines (e.g., in discrete logic, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), etc.); programmable logic together with appropriate firmware; one or more stored computer programs, general-purpose processors, such as a microprocessor or digital signal processor (DSP), together with appropriate software; or any combination of the above. For example, the processing circuitry QQ202 may include multiple central processing units (CPUs).

[0223] In the example, the input / output interface QQ206 may be configured to provide an interface or interfaces to an input device, output device, or one or more input and / or output devices. Examples of an output device include a speaker, a sound card, a video card, a display, a monitor, a printer, an actuator, an emitter, a smartcard, another output device, or any combination thereof. An input device may allow a user to capture information into the UE QQ200. Examples of an input device include a touch-sensitive or presence-sensitive display, a camera (e.g., a digital camera, a digital video camera, a web camera, etc.), a microphone, a sensor, a mouse, a trackball, a directional pad, a trackpad, a scroll wheel, a smartcard, and the like. The presence-sensitive display may include a capacitive or resistive touch sensor to sense input from a user. A sensor may be, for instance, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a tilt sensor, a force sensor, a magnetometer, an optical sensor, a proximity sensor, a biometric sensor, etc., or any combination thereof. An output device may use the same type of interface port as an input device. For example, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port may be used to provide an input device and an output device.

[0224] In some embodiments, the power source QQ208 is structured as a battery or battery pack. Other types of power sources, such as an external power source (e.g., an electricity outlet), photovoltaic device, or power cell, may be used. The power source QQ208 may further include power circuitry for delivering power from the power source QQ208 itself, and / or an external power source, to the various parts of the UE QQ200 via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Delivering power may be, for example, for charging of the power source QQ208. Power circuitry may perform any formatting, converting, or other modification to the power from the power source QQ208 to make the power suitable for the respective components of the UE QQ200 to which power is supplied.

[0225] The memory QQ210 may be or be configured to include memory such as random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), magnetic disks, optical disks, hard disks, removable cartridges, flash drives, and so forth. In one example, the memory QQ210 includes one or more application programs QQ214, such as an operating system, web browser application, a widget, gadget engine, or other application, and corresponding data QQ216. The memory QQ210 may store, for use by the UE QQ200, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems.

[0226] The memory QQ210 may be configured to include a number of physical drive units, such as redundant array of independent disks (RAID), flash memory, USB flash drive, external hard disk drive, thumb drive, pen drive, key drive, high-density digital versatile disc (HD-DVD) optical disc drive, internal hard disk drive, Blu-Ray optical disc drive, holographic digital data storage (HDDS) optical disc drive, external mini-dual in-line memory module (DIMM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), external micro-DIMM SDRAM, smartcard memory such as tamper resistant module in the form of a universal integrated circuit card (UICC) including one or more subscriber identity modules (SIMs), such as a USIM and / or ISIM, other memory, or any combination thereof. The UICC may for example be an embedded UICC (eUlCC), integrated UICC (iUICC) or a removable UICC commonly known as ‘SIM card.’ The memory QQ210 may allow the UE QQ200 to access instructions, application programs and the like, stored on transitory or non- transitory memory media, to off-load data, or to upload data. An article of manufacture, such as one utilizing a communication system may be tangibly embodied as or in the memory QQ210, which may be or comprise a device-readable storage medium.

[0227] The processing circuitry QQ202 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network using the communication interface QQ212. The communication interface QQ212 may comprise one or more communication subsystems and may include or be communicatively coupled to an antenna QQ222. The communication interface QQ212 may include one or more transceivers used to communicate, such as by communicating with one or more remote transceivers of another device capable of wireless communication (e.g., another UE or a network node in an access network). Each transceiver may include a transmitter QQ218 and / or a receiver QQ220 appropriate to provide network communications (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocations, and so forth). Moreover, the transmitter QQ218 and receiver QQ220 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., antenna QQ222) and may share circuit components, software or firmware, or alternatively be implemented separately.

[0228] In the illustrated embodiment, communication functions of the communication interface QQ212 may include cellular communication, Wi-Fi communication, LPWAN communication, data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short-range communications such as Bluetooth, near-field communication, location-based communication such as the use of the global positioning system (GPS) to determine a location, another like communication function, or any combination thereof. Communications may be implemented in according to one or more communication protocols and / or standards, such as IEEE 802.11 , Code Division Multiplexing Access (CDMA), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), GSM, LTE, New Radio (NR), UMTS, WiMax, Ethernet, transmission control protocol / internet protocol (TCP / IP), synchronous optical networking (SONET), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), QUIC, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), and so forth.

[0229] Regardless of the type of sensor, a UE may provide an output of data captured by its sensors, through its communication interface QQ212, via a wireless connection to a network node. Data captured by sensors of a UE can be communicated through a wireless connection to a network node via another UE. The output may be periodic (e.g., once every 15 minutes if it reports the sensed temperature), random (e.g., to even out the load from reporting from several sensors), in response to a triggering event (e.g., when moisture is detected an alert is sent), in response to a request (e.g., a user initiated request), or a continuous stream (e.g., a live video feed of a patient).

[0230] As another example, a UE comprises an actuator, a motor, or a switch, related to a communication interface configured to receive wireless input from a network node via a wireless connection. In response to the received wireless input the states of the actuator, the motor, or the switch may change. For example, the UE may comprise a motor that adjusts the control surfaces or rotors of a drone in flight according to the received input or to a robotic arm performing a medical procedure according to the received input.

[0231] A UE, when in the form of an Internet of Things (loT) device, may be a device for use in one or more application domains, these domains comprising, but not limited to, city wearable technology, extended industrial application and healthcare. Non-limiting examples of such an loT device are a device which is or which is embedded in: a connected refrigerator or freezer, a TV, a connected lighting device, an electricity meter, a robot vacuum cleaner, a voice controlled smart speaker, a home security camera, a motion detector, a thermostat, a smoke detector, a door / window sensor, a flood / moisture sensor, an electrical door lock, a connected doorbell, an air conditioning system like a heat pump, an autonomous vehicle, a surveillance system, a weather monitoring device, a vehicle parking monitoring device, an electric vehicle charging station, a smart watch, a fitness tracker, a wearable for tactile augmentation or sensory enhancement, a water sprinkler, an animal- or item-tracking device, a sensor for monitoring a plant or animal, an industrial robot, an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), and any kind of medical device, like a heart rate monitor or a remote controlled surgical robot. A UE in the form of an loT device comprises circuitry and / or software in dependence of the intended application of the loT device in addition to other components as described in relation to the UE QQ200 shown in Fig. 19. As yet another specific example, in an loT scenario, a UE may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and / or measurements, and transmits the results of such monitoring and / or measurements to another UE and / or a network node. The UE may in this case be an M2M device, which may in a 3GPP context be referred to as an MTC device. As one particular example, the UE may implement the 3GPP NB-loT standard. In other scenarios, a UE may represent a vehicle, such as a car, a bus, a truck, a ship and an airplane, or other equipment that is capable of monitoring and / or reporting on its operational status or other functions associated with its operation.

[0232] In practice, any number of UEs may be used together with respect to a single use case. For example, a first UE might be or be integrated in a drone and provide the drone’s speed information (obtained through a speed sensor) to a second UE that is a remote controller operating the drone. When the user makes changes from the remote controller, the first UE may adjust the throttle on the drone (e.g. by controlling an actuator) to increase or decrease the drone’s speed. The first and / or the second UE can also include more than one of the functionalities described above. For example, a UE might comprise the sensor and the actuator, and handle communication of data for both the speed sensor and the actuators.

[0233] Fig. 20 shows a network node QQ300 in accordance with some embodiments. As used herein, network node refers to equipment capable, configured, arranged and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a UE and / or with other network nodes or equipment, in a telecommunication network. Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, access points (APs) (e.g., radio access points), base stations (BSs) (e.g., radio base stations, Node Bs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs) and NR NodeBs (gNBs)), O-RAN nodes or components of an O-RAN node (e.g., O-RU, O-DU, O-CU).

[0234] Base stations may be categorized based on the amount of coverage they provide (or, stated differently, their transmit power level) and so, depending on the provided amount of coverage, may be referred to as femto base stations, pico base stations, micro base stations, or macro base stations. A base station may be a relay node or a relay donor node controlling a relay. A network node may also include one or more (or all) parts of a distributed radio base station such as centralized digital units, distributed units (e.g., in an O-RAN access node) and / or remote radio units (RRUs), sometimes referred to as Remote Radio Heads (RRHs). Such remote radio units may or may not be integrated with an antenna as an antenna integrated radio. Parts of a distributed radio base station may also be referred to as nodes in a distributed antenna system (DAS).

[0235] Other examples of network nodes include multiple transmission point (multi-TRP) 5G access nodes, multi-standard radio (MSR) equipment such as MSR BSs, network controllers such as radio network controllers (RNCs) or base station controllers (BSCs), base transceiver stations (BTSs), transmission points, transmission nodes, multi-cell / multicast coordination entities (MCEs), Operation and Maintenance (O&M) nodes, Operations Support System (OSS) nodes, SelfOrganizing Network (SON) nodes, positioning nodes (e.g., Evolved Serving Mobile Location Centers (E-SMLCs)), and / or Minimization of Drive Tests (MDTs).

[0236] The network node QQ300 includes a processing circuitry QQ302, a memory QQ304, a communication interface QQ306, and a power source QQ308. The network node QQ300 may be composed of multiple physically separate components (e.g., a NodeB component and a RNC component, or a BTS component and a BSC component, etc.), which may each have their own respective components. In certain scenarios in which the network node QQ300 comprises multiple separate components (e.g., BTS and BSC components), one or more of the separate components may be shared among several network nodes. For example, a single RNC may control multiple NodeBs. In such a scenario, each unique NodeB and RNC pair, may in some instances be considered a single separate network node. In some embodiments, the network node QQ300 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate memory QQ304 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., a same antenna QQ310 may be shared by different RATs). The network node QQ300 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node QQ300, for example GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, Zigbee, Z-wave, LoRaWAN, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) or Bluetooth wireless technologies. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chip or set of chips and other components within network node QQ300.

[0237] The processing circuitry QQ302 may comprise a combination of one or more of a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, central processing unit, digital signal processor, application-specific integrated circuit, field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software and / or encoded logic operable to provide, either alone or in conjunction with other network node QQ300 components, such as the memory QQ304, to provide network node QQ300 functionality.

[0238] In some embodiments, the processing circuitry QQ302 includes a system on a chip (SOC). In some embodiments, the processing circuitry QQ302 includes one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry QQ312 and baseband processing circuitry QQ314. In some embodiments, the radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry QQ312 and the baseband processing circuitry QQ314 may be on separate chips (or sets of chips), boards, or units, such as radio units and digital units. In alternative embodiments, part or all of RF transceiver circuitry QQ312 and baseband processing circuitry QQ314 may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units.

[0239] The memory QQ304 may comprise any form of volatile or non-volatile computer-readable memory including, without limitation, persistent storage, solid-state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), mass storage media (for example, a hard disk), removable storage media (for example, a flash drive, a Compact Disk (CD) or a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), and / or any other volatile or nonvolatile, non-transitory device-readable and / or computer-executable memory devices that store information, data, and / or instructions that may be used by the processing circuitry QQ302. The memory QQ304 may store any suitable instructions, data, or information, including a computer program, software, an application including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, and / or other instructions capable of being executed by the processing circuitry QQ302 and utilized by the network node QQ300. The memory QQ304 may be used to store any calculations made by the processing circuitry QQ302 and / or any data received via the communication interface QQ306. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry QQ302 and memory QQ304 is integrated.

[0240] The communication interface QQ306 is used in wired or wireless communication of signaling and / or data between a network node, access network, and / or UE. As illustrated, the communication interface QQ306 comprises port(s) / terminal(s) QQ316 to send and receive data, for example to and from a network over a wired connection. The communication interface QQ306 also includes radio front-end circuitry QQ318 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, the antenna QQ310. Radio front-end circuitry QQ318 comprises filters QQ320 and amplifiers QQ322. The radio front-end circuitry QQ318 may be connected to an antenna QQ310 and processing circuitry QQ302. The radio front-end circuitry may be configured to condition signals communicated between antenna QQ310 and processing circuitry QQ302. The radio front-end circuitry QQ318 may receive digital data that is to be sent out to other network nodes or UEs via a wireless connection. The radio front-end circuitry QQ318 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters QQ320 and / or amplifiers QQ322. The radio signal may then be transmitted via the antenna QQ310. Similarly, when receiving data, the antenna QQ310 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by the radio front-end circuitry QQ318. The digital data may be passed to the processing circuitry QQ302. In other embodiments, the communication interface may comprise different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0241] In certain alternative embodiments, the network node QQ300 does not include separate radio front-end circuitry QQ318, instead, the processing circuitry QQ302 includes radio front-end circuitry and is connected to the antenna QQ310. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuitry QQ312 is part of the communication interface QQ306. In still other embodiments, the communication interface QQ306 includes one or more ports or terminals QQ316, the radio front-end circuitry QQ318, and the RF transceiver circuitry QQ312, as part of a radio unit (not shown), and the communication interface QQ306 communicates with the baseband processing circuitry QQ314, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).

[0242] The antenna QQ310 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and / or receive wireless signals. The antenna QQ310 may be coupled to the radio front-end circuitry QQ318 and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and / or signals wirelessly. In certain embodiments, the antenna QQ310 is separate from the network node QQ300 and connectable to the network node QQ300 through an interface or port.

[0243] The antenna QQ310, communication interface QQ306, and / or the processing circuitry QQ302 may be configured to perform any receiving operations and / or certain obtaining operations described herein as being performed by the network node. Any information, data and / or signals may be received from a UE, another network node and / or any other network equipment. Similarly, the antenna QQ310, the communication interface QQ306, and / or the processing circuitry QQ302 may be configured to perform any transmitting operations described herein as being performed by the network node. Any information, data and / or signals may be transmitted to a UE, another network node and / or any other network equipment.

[0244] The power source QQ308 provides power to the various components of network node QQ300 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component). The power source QQ308 may further comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry to supply the components of the network node QQ300 with power for performing the functionality described herein. For example, the network node QQ300 may be connectable to an external power source (e.g., the power grid, an electricity outlet) via an input circuitry or interface such as an electrical cable, whereby the external power source supplies power to power circuitry of the power source QQ308. As a further example, the power source QQ308 may comprise a source of power in the form of a battery or battery pack which is connected to, or integrated in, power circuitry. The battery may provide backup power should the external power source fail.

[0245] Embodiments of the network node QQ300 may include additional components beyond those shown in Fig. 20 for providing certain aspects of the network node’s functionality, including any of the functionality described herein and / or any functionality necessary to support the subject matter described herein. For example, the network node QQ300 may include user interface equipment to allow input of information into the network node QQ300 and to allow output of information from the network node QQ300. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for the network node QQ300. In some embodiments providing a core network node, such as core network node of Fig. 18, some components, such as the radio front-end circuitry QQ318 and the RF transceiver circuitry QQ312 may be omitted.

[0246] Fig. 21 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment QQ500 in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized. In the present context, virtualizing means creating virtual versions of apparatuses or devices which may include virtualizing hardware platforms, storage devices and networking resources. As used herein, virtualization can be applied to any device described herein, or components thereof, and relates to an implementation in which at least a portion of the functionality is implemented as one or more virtual components. Some or all of the functions described herein may be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines (VMs) implemented in one or more virtual environments QQ500 hosted by one or more of hardware nodes, such as a hardware computing device that operates as a network node, UE, core network node, or host. Further, in embodiments in which the virtual node does not require radio connectivity (e.g., a core network node or host), then the node may be entirely virtualized. In some embodiments, the virtualization environment QQ500 includes components defined by the O-RAN Alliance, such as an O-Cloud environment orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an 0-2 interface. Virtualization may facilitate distributed implementations of a network node, UE, core network node, or host.

[0247] Applications QQ502 (which may alternatively be called software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.) are run in the virtualization environment Q500 to implement some of the features, functions, and / or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein.

[0248] Hardware QQ504 includes processing circuitry, memory that stores software and / or instructions executable by hardware processing circuitry, and / or other hardware devices as described herein, such as a network interface, input / output interface, and so forth. Software may be executed by the processing circuitry to instantiate one or more virtualization layers QQ506 (also referred to as hypervisors or virtual machine monitors (VMMs)), provide VMs QQ508a and QQ508b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as VMs QQ508), and / or perform any of the functions, features and / or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein. The virtualization layer QQ506 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to the VMs QQ508.

[0249] The VMs QQ508 comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer QQ506. Different embodiments of the instance of a virtual appliance QQ502 may be implemented on one or more of VMs QQ508, and the implementations may be made in different ways. Virtualization of the hardware is in some contexts referred to as network function virtualization (NFV). NFV may be used to consolidate many network equipment types onto industry standard high volume server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage, which can be located in data centers, and customer premise equipment.

[0250] In the context of NFV, a VM QQ508 may be a software implementation of a physical machine that runs programs as if they were executing on a physical, non-virtualized machine. Each of the VMs QQ508, and that part of hardware QQ504 that executes that VM, be it hardware dedicated to that VM and / or hardware shared by that VM with others of the VMs, forms separate virtual network elements. Still in the context of NFV, a virtual network function is responsible for handling specific network functions that run in one or more VMs QQ508 on top of the hardware QQ504 and corresponds to the application QQ502. Hardware QQ504 may be implemented in a standalone network node with generic or specific components. Hardware QQ504 may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, hardware QQ504 may be part of a larger cluster of hardware (e.g. such as in a data center or CPE) where many hardware nodes work together and are managed via management and orchestration QQ510, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of applications QQ502. In some embodiments, hardware QQ504 is coupled to one or more radio units that each include one or more transmitters and one or more receivers that may be coupled to one or more antennas. Radio units may communicate directly with other hardware nodes via one or more appropriate network interfaces and may be used in combination with the virtual components to provide a virtual node with radio capabilities, such as a radio access node or a base station. In some embodiments, some signaling can be provided with the use of a control system QQ512 which may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.

[0251] Although the computing devices described herein (e.g., UEs, network nodes) may include the illustrated combination of hardware components, other embodiments may comprise computing devices with different combinations of components. It is to be understood that these computing devices may comprise any suitable combination of hardware and / or software needed to perform the tasks, features, functions and methods disclosed herein. Determining, calculating, obtaining or similar operations described herein may be performed by processing circuitry, which may process information by, for example, converting the obtained information into other information, comparing the obtained information or converted information to information stored in the network node, and / or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or converted information, and as a result of said processing making a determination. Moreover, while components are depicted as single boxes located within a larger box, or nested within multiple boxes, in practice, computing devices may comprise multiple different physical components that make up a single illustrated component, and functionality may be partitioned between separate components. For example, a communication interface may be configured to include any of the components described herein, and / or the functionality of the components may be partitioned between the processing circuitry and the communication interface. In another example, non-computationally intensive functions of any of such components may be implemented in software or firmware and computationally intensive functions may be implemented in hardware.

[0252] In certain embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein may be provided by processing circuitry executing instructions stored on in memory, which in certain embodiments may be a computer program product in the form of a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality may be provided by the processing circuitry without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device-readable storage medium, such as in a hard-wired manner. In any of those particular embodiments, whether executing instructions stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium or not, the processing circuitry can be configured to perform the described functionality. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to the processing circuitry alone or to other components of the computing device, but are enjoyed by the computing device as a whole, and / or by end users and a wireless network generally.

[0253] In some embodiments a more general term “network node” is used and it can correspond to any type of radio network node or any network node, which communicates with a wireless device and / or with another network node. Examples of network nodes are NodeB, Master eNB, Secondary eNB, a network node belonging to Master cell group (MCG) or Secondary Cell Group (SCG), base station (BS), multi-standard radio (MSR) radio node such as MSR BS, eNodeB, network controller, radio network controller (RNC), base station controller (BSC), relay, donor node controlling relay, base transceiver station (BTS), access point (AP), transmission points, transmission nodes, Remote Radio Unit (RRU), Remote Radio Head (RRH), nodes in distributed antenna system (DAS), core network node e.g. Mobility Switching Centre (MSC), Mobile Management Entity (MME) etc., Operation and Maintenance (O&M), Operation Support System (OSS), Self-Organizing Network (SON), positioning node e.g. Evolved Serving Mobile Location Centre (E-SMLC), Minimizing Drive Test (MDT), etc.

[0254] In some embodiments, the non-limiting term wireless device or user equipment (UE) is used and it refers to any type of wireless device communicating with a network node and / or with another UE in a cellular or mobile communication system. Examples of UE are target device, device-to-device (D2D) UE, proximity capable UE (aka ProSe UE), machine type UE or UE capable of machine to machine (M2M) communication, PDA, PAD, Tablet, mobile terminals, smart phone, laptop embedded equipped (LEE), laptop mounted equipment (LME), USB dongles etc.

[0255] The embodiments are described for 5G. However the embodiments are applicable to any RAT or multi-RAT systems, where the UE receives and / or transmit signals (e.g. data) e.g. LTE, LTE FDD / TDD, WCDMA / HSPA, GSM / GERAN, Wi Fi, WLAN, CDMA2000 etc.

[0256] As will be readily understood by those familiar with communications design, functions means or modules may be implemented using digital logic and / or one or more microcontrollers, microprocessors, or other digital hardware. In some embodiments, several or all of the various functions may be implemented together, such as in a single application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or in two or more separate devices with appropriate hardware and / or software interfaces between them. Several of the functions may be implemented on a processor shared with other functional components of a wireless device or network node, for example.

[0257] Alternatively, several of the functional elements of the processing means discussed may be provided through the use of dedicated hardware, while others are provided with hardware for executing software, in association with the appropriate software or firmware. Thus, the term “processor” or “controller” as used herein does not exclusively refer to hardware capable of executing software and may implicitly include, without limitation, digital signal processor (DSP) hardware, read-only memory (ROM) for storing software, random-access memory for storing software and / or program or application data, and non-volatile memory. Other hardware, conventional and / or custom, may also be included. Designers of communications devices will appreciate the cost, performance, and maintenance trade-offs inherent in these design choices.

[0258] It will be appreciated that the foregoing description and the accompanying drawings represent non-limiting examples of the methods and apparatus taught herein. As such, the apparatus and techniques taught herein are not limited by the foregoing description and accompanying drawings. Instead, the embodiments herein are limited only by the following claims and their legal equivalents.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A method performed by a network node (130) for handling sensing of one or more sensing objects in a wireless communication network, the method comprising: obtaining (602) an indication and / or one or more sensing measurements from a radio node (140), indicating that a sensing object or a sensing radio node is leaving or is possible to leave a radio coverage area of a first radio network node (12); and providing (604) to a controller node (16) data indicating that the sensing object or the sensing radio node is leaving or is possible to leave the radio coverage area of the first radio network node (12).

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: providing (601) configuration comprising one or more characteristics for detecting that the sensing object or the sensing radio node is leaving or is possible to leave the radio coverage area of the first radio network node (12) and / or the one or more sensing measurement to perform and to report.

3. The method according to any of the claims 1-2, further comprising obtaining (605) information to provide sensing configuration to one or more radio nodes.

4. The method according to claim 3, further comprising determining (607) one radio node to act as a relay node (13) to a sensing radio node out of the one or more radio nodes; and providing (608) a sensing configuration to the one radio node for forwarding to the sensing radio node (10).

5. A method performed by a controller node (16) for handling sensing of one or more sensing objects in a wireless communication network, the method comprising: obtaining (701) information regarding capability of one or more radio nodes for performing sensing procedures; receiving (702) from a network node (130), data indicating that a sensing object or a sensing radio node is leaving or is possible to leave a radio coverage area of a first radio network node (12); and identifying (703) one or more radio nodes for enabling out of coverage object tracking.

6. The method according to claim 5, further comprising triggering (704) provision of sensing configuration to the one or more identified radio nodes.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein triggering (704) the provision comprises transmitting a node indication indicating the one or more identified radio nodes.

8. A network node (130) for handling sensing of one or more sensing objects in a wireless communication network, wherein the network node (130) is configured to: obtain an indication and / or one or more sensing measurements from a radio node (140), indicating that a sensing object or a sensing radio node is leaving or is possible to leave a radio coverage area of a first radio network node (12); and provide to a controller node (16) data indicating that the sensing object or the sensing radio node is leaving or is possible to leave the radio coverage area of the first radio network node (12).

9. The network node (130) according to claim 8, wherein the network node (130) is configured to provide configuration comprising one or more characteristics for detecting that the sensing object or the sensing radio node is leaving or is possible to leave the radio coverage area of the first radio network node (12) and the one or more sensing measurements to perform and to report.

10. The network node (130) according to any of the claims 8-9, wherein the network node (130) is configured to obtain information to provide sensing configuration to one or more radio nodes.

11. The network node (130) according to claim 10, further comprising determine one radio node to act as a relay node (13) to a sensing radio node out of the one or more radio nodes; and provide a sensing configuration to the one radio node for forwarding to the sensing radio node (10).

12. A controller node (16) for handling sensing of one or more sensing objects in a wireless communication network, wherein the controller node (16) is configured to:obtain information regarding capability of one or more radio nodes for performing sensing procedures; receive from a network node (130), data indicating that a sensing object or a sensing radio node is leaving or is possible to leave a radio coverage area of a first radio network node (12); and identify one or more radio nodes for enabling out of coverage object tracking.

13. The controller node (16) according to claim 12, wherein the controller node (16) is configured to trigger provision of sensing configuration to the one or more identified radio nodes.

14. The controller node (16) according to claim 13, wherein the controller node (16) is configured to trigger provision by transmitting a node indication indicating the one or more identified radio nodes.

15. A computer program product comprising instructions, which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to carry out the method according to any of the claims 1-7, as performed by the network node, and the controller node, respectively.

16. A computer-readable storage medium, having stored thereon a computer program product comprising instructions which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to carry out the method according to the any of the claims 1-7, as performed by the network node, and the controller node, respectively.

Images