Method, apparatus, and system for sensing information communication
By exchanging sensing information based on different frequencies with defined spatial relationships, the method addresses inefficiencies in wireless communication systems, enhancing network performance and reducing complexity.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- PCT/CN2024/109025
- Authority / Receiving Office
- WO · WO
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Priority Date
- 2024-04-26
- Filing Date
- 2024-07-31
- Publication Date
- 2025-10-30
AI Technical Summary
Existing wireless communication systems face challenges in efficiently utilizing UE position information to improve network performance metrics such as capacity, agility, and efficiency due to high transmission overheads and computational complexity in sensing information exchange.
The method involves obtaining and exchanging sensing information based on different frequencies with a defined spatial relationship, allowing the representation of one sensing information using another, thereby reducing transmission overheads and computational complexity.
This approach enhances network performance by adapting to various application scenarios, improving sensing accuracy and reducing complexity while optimizing resource utilization.
Smart Images

Figure CN2024109025_30102025_PF_FP_ABST
Abstract
Description
METHOD, APPARATUS, AND SYSTEM FOR SENSING INFORMATION COMMUNICATION
[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0002] This application claims priority to US provisional patent application No. 63 / 639, 245, filed on April 26, 2024, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.TECHNICAL FIELD
[0003] The present disclosure relates generally to the field of wireless communications technologies and, in particular, to method, apparatus, and system for sensing information communication.BACKGROUND
[0004] User Equipment (UE) position information is often used in cellular communication networks to improve various performance metrics for the network. Such performance metrics may, for example, include capacity, agility, and efficiency. The improvement may be achieved when elements of the network exploit the position, the behavior, the mobility pattern, etc., of the UE in the context of a priori information describing a wireless environment in which the UE is operating.
[0005] This background information is provided to reveal information believed by the applicant to be of possible relevance to the present disclosure. No admission is necessarily intended, nor should be construed, that any of the preceding information constitutes prior art against the present disclosure.SUMMARY
[0006] This present disclosure provides method, apparatus, and system for sensing information communication.
[0007] According to a first aspect, a method for sensing information communication is described, where the method includes:
[0008] sending or obtaining first sensing information; and
[0009] sending or obtaining second sensing information;
[0010] where the first sensing information is based on a first frequency, the second sensing information is based on a second frequency different from the first frequency, the first sensing information has a first spatial relationship with the second sensing information, and the second sensing information is generated based on the first spatial relationship.
[0011] This solution may be used between a first device and the other device such as a second device and / or a third device. For example, the solution may be used between a UE and a base station (BS) , or a BS and a UE, in a network, such as a mobile communication network. This solution may also be used between other network nodes, for example, between an electronic device (ED) and a transmit and receive point (TRP) , between an ED and a core network, between a first ED and a second ED, or between a first TRP and a second TRP, which is not limited herein. Meanwhile, this solution may be also applied to wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) , ultra wide band (UWB) and other short range communications. Then the BS in the procedure described in this solution may be replaced with an access point (AP) . The exchanged sensing information between the first device and other devices such as a second device and / or a third device may include first sensing information and second sensing information. The first sensing information and the second sensing information are obtained based on different frequencies respectively, and there is a first spatial relationship between the first sensing information and the second sensing information. By using this solution, the second sensing information can be represented using the first spatial relationship between the first sensing information and the second sensing information. In this way, the first spatial relationship can be used in the indication of sensing information of different frequencies, so as to reduce transmission overheads of exchanged second sensing information, and also reduce the computational complexity at devices, for example, the first device, the second device, the third device, or a combination thereof.
[0012] In a possible implementation of the first aspect, the first spatial relationship is that a spatial region corresponding to the second sensing information is a subset of a spatial region corresponding to the first sensing information.
[0013] In a possible implementation of the first aspect, at least one of the spatial region corresponding to the first sensing information or spatial region corresponding to the second sensing information is represented as a two-dimensional (2D) region or a three-dimensional (3D) region.
[0014] Usually, the coverage of low frequency is larger than that of high frequency. And usually, the spatial region of sensing information obtained by low frequency is usually larger than that obtained by high frequency. In this way, when the first spatial relationship represents that a spatial region corresponding to the second sensing information is a subset of a spatial region corresponding to the first sensing information, the corresponding spatial region may be represented as 2D or 3D region, thereby various application scenarios can be adapted to.
[0015] In a possible implementation of the first aspect, at least one of the spatial region corresponding to the first sensing information or spatial region corresponding to the second sensing information is represented as one of:
[0016] a rectangle defined by: coordinates of two vertices on a diagonal of the rectangle; or a coordinate of a vertex of the rectangle, and lengths of two sides of the rectangle;
[0017] a circle defined by a coordinate of a center of the circle and a radius of the circle;
[0018] a cube box defined by: coordinates of two vertices on a diagonal of the cube box; or a coordinate of a vertex of the cube box, and a length of an edge of the cube box;
[0019] a bounding box defined by: coordinates of two vertices on a diagonal of the bounding box; or a coordinate of a vertex of the bounding box, lengths of three edges of the bounding box; or
[0020] a sphere defined by a coordinate of a center of the sphere and a radius of the sphere.
[0021] The spatial relationship between the first sensing information and the second sensing information may be related with a 2D or 3D region. When the spatial relationship is related with the 2D region, the corresponding region may be represented as, for example, a rectangle or a circle, and the sensing information may be a radio frequency map (RF map) of the rectangle or the circle. When the spatial relationship is related with the 3D region, the corresponding region can be represented as, for example, a cube box, a bounding box, or a sphere, and the sensing information may be a point cloud of the cube box, the bounding box, or the sphere. In this way, the RF map or point cloud may be obtained for different shapes of regions to adapt to various application scenarios, and thus, can be used to assist in communication of a device, such as multiple input multiple output (MIMO) or beamforming procedures, or to improve the sensing function of a device, e.g. improve sensing accuracy or reduce sensing complexity.
[0022] In a possible implementation of the first aspect, the first sensing information further has a resolution relationship with the second sensing information, and the resolution relationship is a relationship between a resolution corresponding to the first sensing information and a resolution corresponding to the second sensing information, where the resolution corresponding to the first sensing information and the resolution corresponding to the second sensing information include at least one of a spatial resolution, a data value resolution, or a data quantity resolution.
[0023] In a possible implementation of the first aspect, the resolution relationship is one or more of that:
[0024] at least one spatial resolution corresponding to the second sensing information is different from at least one spatial resolution corresponding to the first sensing information;
[0025] at least one data value resolution corresponding to the second sensing information is different from at least one data value resolution corresponding to the first sensing information; or
[0026] at least one data quantity resolution corresponding to the second sensing information is different from at least one data quantity resolution corresponding to the first sensing information.
[0027] In a possible implementation of the first aspect, the resolution relationship is one or more of that:
[0028] at least one spatial resolution corresponding to the second sensing information is higher than at least one spatial resolution corresponding to the first sensing information;
[0029] at least one data value resolution corresponding to the second sensing information is higher than at least one data value resolution corresponding to the first sensing information; or
[0030] at least one data quantity resolution corresponding to the second sensing information is higher than at least one data quantity resolution corresponding to the first sensing information.
[0031] In addition to the spatial relationship, there may be a resolution relationship between the first sensing information and the second sensing information. For example, suppose a first frequency corresponding to the first sensing information is lower than a second frequency corresponding to the second sensing information, the second sensing information may extend or enhance the first sensing information in terms of spatial resolution, data resolution, and / or data quantity resolution. In this way, more refined sensing information (result) may be obtained under various application scenarios.
[0032] In a possible implementation of the first aspect, the resolution relationship includes one of:
[0033] an amount of change between a spatial resolution of the second sensing information and a spatial resolution of the first sensing information, where the spatial resolution of sensing information indicates a number of elements per unit region for the sensing information;
[0034] an amount of change between a data value resolution of the second sensing information and a data value resolution of the first sensing information, where the data value resolution of sensing information indicates a precision or number of bits to represent an element of the sensing information; or
[0035] an amount of change between a data quantity resolution of the second sensing information and a data quantity resolution of the first sensing information, where the data quantity resolution of sensing information indicates quantity information of each element of the sensing information.
[0036] Considering that the resolution relationship includes an amount of change between a spatial resolution of the second sensing information and a spatial resolution of the first sensing information, an example of the amount of change may be an extension factor of the spatial resolution of the second sensing information with respect to the spatial resolution of the first sensing information. By using a higher spatial resolution, the number of sensing reflection points detected in the same physical area can be greater, which is more suitable for the scenario focusing on more accurate description of the object's shape. Considering the resolution relationship in terms of data value resolution, the resolution relationship can include an amount of change between a data value resolution of the second sensing information and a data value resolution of the first sensing information. In this way, the data value resolution may be more suitable for the scenario focusing on precision of signal strength. Considering the resolution relationship in terms of data quantity resolution, the resolution relationship can include an amount of change between a data quantity resolution of the second sensing information and a data quantity resolution of the first sensing information. By using a higher data quantity resolution, the accuracy of the description regarding the path of spatial propagation signal can be greater, which is more suitable for the scenario focusing on the precision of the description regarding the path of spatial propagation signal.
[0037] In a possible implementation of the first aspect, the method further includes:
[0038] sending or obtaining third sensing information, where the third sensing information is based on a third frequency, the third frequency is the same as one of the first frequency and the second frequency or different from both the first frequency and the second frequency, the third sensing information has a second spatial relationship with the first sensing information or the second sensing information, and the third sensing information is generated based on the second spatial relationship.
[0039] In a possible implementation of the first aspect, the second spatial relationship is that a spatial region corresponding to the third sensing information is a subset of a spatial region corresponding to the first sensing information or a subset of a spatial region corresponding to the second sensing information.
[0040] There can be hierarchical spatial relationships between multiple pieces of sensing information. For example, the exchanged sensing information between different devices can further include third sensing information in addition to the first sensing information and second information. The third sensing information may be obtained based on the third frequency, the third frequency is the same as one of the first frequency and the second frequency or different from both the first frequency and the second frequency, and the third sensing information has a second spatial relationship with the first sensing information or the second sensing information. Moreover, the spatial region corresponding to the third sensing information may be a subset of the spatial region corresponding to the second sensing information. Alternatively, the spatial region corresponding to the third sensing information may be a subset of the spatial region corresponding to the first sensing information. In this way, more refined sensing information (results) can be obtained under various application scenarios.
[0041] In a possible implementation of the first aspect, the first spatial relationship is used to obtain the spatial region corresponding to the second sensing information.
[0042] The exchanged sensing information may be obtained based on the first spatial relationship. In this way, the spatial region corresponding to the second sensing information can be obtained in a relatively indirect way, which reduces transmission overheads of exchanged second sensing information.
[0043] In a possible implementation of the first aspect, sending or obtaining the second sensing information includes:
[0044] sending or obtaining the second sensing information based on a first indication, where the first indication indicates the first spatial relationship.
[0045] In a possible implementation of the first aspect, sending or obtaining the second sensing information based on the first indication includes:
[0046] sending or obtaining, by a first device, the second sensing information based on the first indication, where the first indication is obtained from a second device, or is preconfigured in the first device;
[0047] sending or obtaining, by a second device, the second sensing information based on the first indication, where the first indication is sent to a first device or a third device, or is preconfigured in the second device; or
[0048] sending or obtaining, by a third device, the second sensing information based on the first indication, where the first indication is obtained from a second device, or is preconfigured in the third device.
[0049] In a possible implementation of the first aspect, the first indication indicating the first spatial relationship includes:
[0050] the first indication indicates at least one coordinate of a spatial region corresponding to the second sensing information relative to a spatial region corresponding to the first sensing information.
[0051] The exchanged sensing information may be obtained based on a first indication. In a case that the first indication indicates the first spatial relationship, the spatial region corresponding to the second sensing information can be obtained in a relatively indirect way, which reduces transmission overheads of exchanged second sensing information. Moreover, the first indication may be exchanged between different devices or may be preconfigured in the device in advance, thereby various application scenarios can be adapted to.
[0052] In a possible implementation of the first aspect, the first indication is carried in a downlink radio resource control (RRC) signaling, an uplink RRC signaling, a sidelink RRC signaling, a media access control control element (MAC CE) or a physical layer (PHY) signaling.
[0053] The indication of spatial relationship may be included in different types of signaling, thereby various application scenarios can be adapted to.
[0054] In a possible implementation of the first aspect, the first indication further indicates a resolution relationship between a resolution corresponding to the first sensing information and a resolution corresponding to the second sensing information.
[0055] In addition to the spatial relationship, the first indication may further indicate a resolution relationship between a resolution corresponding to the first sensing information and a resolution corresponding to the second sensing information. In this way, more refined sensing information (result) can be obtained in a relatively indirect way, which reduces transmission overheads of exchanged second sensing information.
[0056] In a possible implementation of the first aspect, before sending or obtaining the first sensing information, the method further includes:
[0057] sending or obtaining, by a first device, a mode indication, where the mode indication indicates at least one of:
[0058] at least one frequency that the first device supports or a second device supports, where the at least one frequency includes the first frequency and the second frequency;
[0059] at least one relationship that the first device supports or a second device supports, where the at least one relationship includes the first spatial relationship;
[0060] at least one spatial region of sensing information that the first device supports or a second device supports, where the at least one spatial region of sensing information includes a spatial region corresponding to the first sensing information and a spatial region corresponding to the second sensing information; or
[0061] at least one resolution of sensing information that the first device supports or a second device supports, where the at least one resolution of sensing information includes a resolution corresponding to the first sensing information and a resolution corresponding to the second sensing information.
[0062] Before the exchange of sensing information, a mode indication can be exchanged between one device and other devices, to indicate the frequencies that device can support, the relationships that device can support, the spatial regions of exchanged sensing information that device can support, and / or the resolutions of exchanged sensing information that device can support. In this way, what frequency, relationship, spatial region, and / or resolution of the device can be clearly known in advance, which assists in resource scheduling in the network.
[0063] According to a second aspect, a communication apparatus is described. The communication apparatus has a function of implementing the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect. For example, the communication apparatus includes a corresponding module, unit, or means for performing operations in the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect. The module, unit, or means may be specifically implemented by using software, may be implemented by using hardware, or may be implemented by using software in combination with hardware.
[0064] According to a third aspect, another communication apparatus is described. The communication apparatus includes a memory and one or more processors. The memory is configured to store a part or all of a necessary computer program or instructions for implementing a function in the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect. The one or more processors may execute the computer program or the instructions, and when the computer program or the instructions is / are executed, the communication apparatus is enabled to implement the method in any possible design or implementation of the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect.
[0065] In some embodiments, the communication apparatus may further include an interface circuit, and the processor is configured to communicate with another apparatus or component through the interface circuit.
[0066] In some embodiments, the communication apparatus may further include the memory.
[0067] The communication apparatus may be a terminal, a module in a terminal, or a chip responsible for a communication function in a terminal, for example, a modem chip (also referred to as a baseband chip) or an SoC chip or an SIP chip that includes a modem module.
[0068] According to a fourth aspect, a communication system is described. The communication system includes a communication apparatus configured to perform the method according to the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect.
[0069] According to a fifth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is described. The computer-readable storage medium stores computer-readable instructions, and when a computer reads and executes the computer-readable instructions, the computer is enabled to perform the method in any one of the possible designs of the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect.
[0070] According to a sixth aspect, this application provides a computer program product. When a computer reads and executes the computer program product, the computer is enabled to perform the method in any one of the possible designs of the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect.
[0071] According to a seventh aspect, this application provides a system including at least one of an apparatus in (or at) a UE of the present application, or an apparatus in (or at) a network device of the present application.
[0072] According to an eighth aspect, this application provides a method performed by a system comprising at least one of an apparatus in (or at) a UE of the present application, and an apparatus in (or at) a network device of the present application.
[0073] This application encompasses various embodiments, including not only method embodiments, but also other embodiments such as apparatus embodiments and embodiments related to non-transitory computer readable storage media. Embodiments may incorporate, individually or in combinations, the features disclosed herein.
[0074] The present disclosure provides method, apparatus, and system for sensing information communication, where the exchanged sensing information between the first device and other devices such as a second device and / or a third device may include first sensing information and second sensing information, the first sensing information and the second sensing information are obtained based on different frequencies respectively, and there is a first spatial relationship between the first sensing information and the second sensing information so that the second sensing information can be sent or obtained, where the second sensing information is generated based on the first spatial relationship. By using this solution, the second sensing information can be represented using the first spatial relationship between the first sensing information and the second sensing information. In this way, the first spatial relationship can be used in the indication of sensing information of different frequencies, so as to reduce transmission overheads of exchanged second sensing information, and also reduce the computational complexity at devices, for example, the first device, the second device, the third device, or a combination thereof.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0075] Reference will now be made, by way of example, to the accompanying drawings which show example embodiments of the present disclosure, and in which:
[0076] FIG. 1 shows a simplified schematic illustration of a communication system according to an implementation of the present disclosure.
[0077] FIG. 2 shows a schematic illustration of an example communication system according to an implementation of the present disclosure.
[0078] FIG. 3 shows a schematic illustration of a basic component structure of a communication system according to an implementation of the present disclosure.
[0079] FIG. 4 shows a block diagram of a device in a communication system according to an implementation of the present disclosure.
[0080] FIGs. 5A-C show schematic diagrams of examples for a detected object or a reconstructed environment according to an implementation of the present disclosure.
[0081] FIGs. 6A-E show schematic diagrams of examples for sensing results obtained on different frequencies according to an implementation of the present disclosure.
[0082] FIG. 7 shows a schematic flowchart of a method for sensing information communication according to an implementation of the present disclosure.
[0083] FIG. 8 shows a schematic interaction diagram of a method for sensing information communication according to an implementation of the present disclosure.
[0084] FIGs. 9A-9F show schematic diagrams of examples for spatial regions of sensing information according to an implementation of the present disclosure.
[0085] FIGs. 10A-H show schematic diagrams of examples for spatial relationship according to an implementation of the present disclosure.
[0086] FIGs. 11A-B show schematic diagrams of an example for resolution relationship according to an implementation of the present disclosure.
[0087] FIG. 12 shows another schematic interaction diagram of a method for sensing information communication according to an implementation of the present disclosure.
[0088] FIGs. 13A-B show yet another schematic interaction diagrams of a method for sensing information communication according to an implementation of the present disclosure.
[0089] FIGs. 14A-B show schematic diagrams of an example for hierarchical relationships between sensing information according to an implementation of the present disclosure.
[0090] FIG. 15 shows a schematic structural diagram of a communication apparatus according to an implementation of the present disclosure.
[0091] FIG. 16 shows a schematic structural diagram of another communication apparatus according to an implementation of the present disclosure.
[0092] FIG. 17 shows a schematic structural diagram of an apparatus according to an implementation of the present disclosure.DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0093] In the following description, reference is made to the accompanying figures, which form part of the present disclosure, and which show, by way of illustration, specific aspects of embodiments of the present disclosure or specific aspects in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be used. It is understood that embodiments of the present disclosure may be used in other aspects and include structural or logical changes not depicted in the figures. The following detailed description, therefore, is not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the present disclosure is defined by the appended claims.
[0094] To assist in understanding the present disclosure, examples of wireless communication systems and devices are described below.
[0095] Referring to FIG. 1, as an illustrative example without limitation, a simplified schematic illustration of a communication system is provided. The communication system 100 comprises a radio access network 120. The radio access network 120 may be a next generation (e.g. sixth generation (6G) or later) radio access network, or a legacy (e.g. 5G, 4G, 3G or 2G) radio access network. One or more communication EDs 110a, 110b, 110c, 110d, 110e, 110f, 110g, 110h, 110i, 110j (generically referred to as 110) may be interconnected to one another or connected to one or more network nodes (170a, 170b, generically referred to as 170) in the radio access network 120. A core network 130 may be a part of the communication system and may be dependent or independent of the radio access technology used in the communication system 100. Also, the communication system 100 comprises a public switched telephone network (PSTN) 140, the internet 150, and other networks 160.
[0096] FIG. 2 shows a schematic illustration of an example communication system according to an implementation of the present disclosure, where FIG. 2 illustrates an example communication system 100. In general, the communication system 100 enables multiple wireless or wired elements to communicate data and other content. The purpose of the communication system 100 may be to provide content, such as voice, data, video, and / or text, via broadcast, multicast, groupcast, unicast, etc. The communication system 100 may operate by sharing resources, such as carrier spectrum bandwidth, between its constituent elements. The communication system 100 may include a terrestrial communication system and / or a non-terrestrial communication system. The communication system 100 may provide a wide range of communication services and applications (such as earth monitoring, remote sensing, passive sensing and positioning, navigation and tracking, autonomous delivery and mobility, etc. ) . The communication system 100 may provide a high degree of availability and robustness through a joint operation of a terrestrial communication system and a non-terrestrial communication system. For example, integrating a non-terrestrial communication system (or components thereof) into a terrestrial communication system can result in what may be considered a heterogeneous network comprising multiple layers. Compared to conventional communication networks, the heterogeneous network may achieve better overall performance through efficient multi-link joint operation, more flexible functionality sharing, and faster physical layer link switching between terrestrial networks and non-terrestrial networks.
[0097] The terrestrial communication system and the non-terrestrial communication system could be considered sub-systems of the communication system. In the example shown in FIG. 2, the communication system 100 includes EDs 110a, 110b, 110c, 110d (generically referred to as ED 110) , radio access networks (RANs) 120a, 120b, a non-terrestrial communication network 120c, a core network 130, a PSTN 140, the Internet 150, and other networks 160. The RANs 120a, 120b include respective BSs 170a, 170b, which may be generically referred to as terrestrial transmit and receive points (T-TRPs) 170a, 170b. The non-terrestrial communication network 120c includes an access node 172, which may be generically referred to as a non-terrestrial transmit and receive point (NT-TRP) 172.
[0098] Any ED 110 may be alternatively or additionally configured to interface, access, or communicate with any T-TRP 170a, 170b and NT-TRP 172, the Internet 150, the core network 130, the PSTN 140, the other networks 160, or any combination of the preceding. In some examples, ED 110a may communicate an uplink and / or downlink transmission over a terrestrial air interface 190a with T-TRP 170a. In some examples, the EDs 110a, 110b, 110c, and 110d may also communicate directly with one another via one or more sidelink air interfaces 190b. In some examples, ED 110d may communicate an uplink and / or downlink transmission over a non-terrestrial air interface 190c with NT-TRP 172.
[0099] The air interfaces 190a and 190b may use similar communication technology, such as any suitable radio access technology. For example, the communication system 100 may implement one or more channel access methods, such as code division multiple access (CDMA) , space division multiple access (SDMA) , time division multiple access (TDMA) , frequency division multiple access (FDMA) , orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA) , or single-carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA, also known as discrete Fourier transform spread OFDMA, DFT-s-OFDMA) in the air interfaces 190a and 190b. The air interfaces 190a and 190b may utilize other higher dimension signal spaces, which may involve a combination of orthogonal and / or non-orthogonal dimensions.
[0100] The non-terrestrial air interface 190c can enable communication between the ED 110d and one or multiple NT-TRPs 172 via a wireless link or simply a link. For some examples, the link is a dedicated connection for unicast transmission, a connection for broadcast transmission, or a connection between a group of EDs 110 and one or multiple NT-TRPs 172 for multicast transmission.
[0101] The RANs 120a and 120b are in communication with the core network 130 to provide the EDs 110a 110b, and 110c with various services such as voice, data, and other services. The RANs 120a and 120b and / or the core network 130 may be in direct or indirect communication with one or more other RANs (not shown) , which may or may not be directly served by core network 130, and may or may not employ the same radio access technology as RAN 120a, RAN 120b or both. The core network 130 may also serve as a gateway access between (i) the RANs 120a and 120b or EDs 110a 110b, and 110c or both, and (ii) other networks (such as the PSTN 140, the Internet 150, and the other networks 160) . In addition, some or all of the EDs 110a 110b, and 110c may include functionality for communicating with different wireless networks over different wireless links using different wireless technologies and / or protocols. Instead of wireless communication (or in addition thereto) , the EDs 110a 110b, and 110c may communicate via wired communication channels to a service provider or switch (not shown) , and to the Internet 150. PSTN 140 may include circuit switched telephone networks for providing plain old telephone service (POTS) . Internet 150 may include a network of computers and subnets (intranets) or both, and incorporate protocols, such as Internet Protocol (IP) , Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) , User Datagram Protocol (UDP) . EDs 110a 110b, and 110c may be multimode devices capable of operation according to multiple radio access technologies, and incorporate multiple transceivers necessary to support such.
[0102] FIG. 3 shows a schematic illustration of a basic component structure of a communication system according to an implementation of the present disclosure, where FIG. 3 illustrates another example of an ED 110 and a base station 170a, 170b and / or 170c. The ED 110 is used to connect persons, objects, machines, etc. The ED 110 may be widely used in various scenarios including, for example, cellular communications, device-to-device (D2D) , vehicle to everything (V2X) , peer-to-peer (P2P) , machine-to-machine (M2M) , machine-type communications (MTC) , internet of things (IoT) , virtual reality (VR) , augmented reality (AR) , mixed reality (MR) , metaverse, digital twin, industrial control, self-driving, remote medical, smart grid, smart furniture, smart office, smart wearable, smart transportation, smart city, drones, robots, remote sensing, passive sensing, positioning, navigation and tracking, autonomous delivery and mobility, etc.
[0103] Each ED 110 represents any suitable end user device for wireless operation and may include such devices (or may be referred to) as a user equipment / device (UE) , a wireless transmit / receive unit (WTRU) , a mobile station, a fixed or mobile subscriber unit, a cellular telephone, a station (STA) , a machine type communication (MTC) device, a personal digital assistant (PDA) , a smartphone, a laptop, a computer, a tablet, a wireless sensor, a consumer electronics device, a smart book, a vehicle, a car, a truck, a bus, a train, or an IoT device, wearable devices (such as a watch, a pair of glasses, head mounted equipment, etc. ) , an industrial device, or an apparatus in (e.g. communication module, modem, or chip) or comprising the forgoing devices, among other possibilities. Future generation EDs 110 may be referred to using other terms. The base station 170a and 170b is a T-TRP and will hereafter be referred to as T-TRP 170. Also shown in FIG. 3, a NT-TRP will hereafter be referred to as NT-TRP 172. Each ED 110 connected to T-TRP 170 and / or NT-TRP 172 can be dynamically or semi-statically turned-on (i.e., established, activated, or enabled) , turned-off (i.e., released, deactivated, or disabled) and / or configured in response to one of more of: connection availability and connection necessity.
[0104] The ED 110 includes a transmitter 201 and a receiver 203 coupled to one or more antennas 204. Only one antenna 204 is illustrated to avoid congestion in the drawing. One, some, or all of the antennas 204 may alternatively be panels. The transmitter 201 and the receiver 203 may be integrated, e.g. as a transceiver. The transceiver is configured to modulate data or other content for transmission by at least one antenna 204 or network interface controller (NIC) . The transceiver is also configured to demodulate data or other content received by the at least one antenna 204. Each transceiver includes any suitable structure for generating signals for wireless or wired transmission and / or processing signals received wirelessly or by wire. Each antenna 204 includes any suitable structure for transmitting and / or receiving wireless or wired signals.
[0105] The ED 110 includes at least one memory 208. The memory 208 stores instructions and data used, generated, or collected by the ED 110. For example, the memory 208 could store software instructions or modules configured to implement some or all of the functionality and / or embodiments described herein and that are executed by one or more processing unit (s) (e.g., a processor 210) . Each memory 208 includes any suitable volatile and / or non-volatile storage and retrieval device (s) . Any suitable type of memory may be used, such as random access memory (RAM) , read only memory (ROM) , hard disk, optical disc, subscriber identity module (SIM) card, memory stick, secure digital (SD) memory card, on-processor cache, and the like.
[0106] The ED 110 may further include one or more input / output devices (not shown) or interfaces (such as a wired interface to the Internet 150 in FIG. 1) . The input / output devices or interfaces permit interaction with a user or other devices in the network. Each input / output device or interface includes any suitable structure for providing information to or receiving information from a user, and / or for network interface communications. Suitable structures include, for example, a speaker, microphone, keypad, keyboard, display, touch screen, etc.
[0107] The ED 110 includes the processor 210 for performing operations including those operations related to preparing a transmission for uplink transmission to the NT-TRP 172 and / or the T-TRP 170; those operations related to processing downlink transmissions received from the NT-TRP 172 and / or the T-TRP 170; and those operations related to processing sidelink transmission to and from another ED 110. Processing operations related to preparing a transmission for uplink transmission may include operations such as encoding, modulating, transmit beamforming, and generating symbols for transmission. Processing operations related to processing downlink transmissions may include operations such as receive beamforming, demodulating and decoding received symbols. Depending upon the embodiment, a downlink transmission may be received by the receiver 203, possibly using receive beamforming, and the processor 210 may extract signaling from the downlink transmission (e.g. by detecting and / or decoding the signaling) . An example of signaling may be a reference signal transmitted by the NT-TRP 172 and / or by the T-TRP 170. In some embodiments, the processor 210 implements the transmit beamforming and / or the receive beamforming based on the indication of beam direction, e.g. beam angle information (BAI) , received from the T-TRP 170. In some embodiments, the processor 210 may perform operations relating to network access (e.g. initial access) and / or downlink synchronization, such as operations relating to detecting a synchronization sequence, decoding and obtaining the system information, etc. In some embodiments, the processor 210 may perform channel estimation, e.g. using a reference signal received from the NT-TRP 172 and / or from the T-TRP 170.
[0108] Although not illustrated, the processor 210 may form part of the transmitter 201 and / or part of the receiver 203. Although not illustrated, the memory 208 may form part of the processor 210.
[0109] The processor 210, the processing components of the transmitter 201, and the processing components of the receiver 203 may each be implemented by the same or different one or more processors that are configured to execute instructions stored in a memory (e.g. in the memory 208) . Alternatively, some or all of the processor 210, the processing components of the transmitter 201, and the processing components of the receiver 203 may each be implemented using dedicated circuitry, such as a programmed field-programmable gate array (FPGA) , an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) , or a hardware accelerator such as a graphics processing unit (GPU) or an artificial intelligence (AI) accelerator.
[0110] The T-TRP 170 may be known by other names in some implementations, such as a base station, a base transceiver station (BTS) , a radio base station, a network node, a network device, a device on the network side, a transmit / receive node, a Node B, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB) , a Home eNodeB, a next Generation NodeB (gNB) , a transmission point (TP) , a site controller, an AP, a wireless router, a relay station, a terrestrial node, a terrestrial network device, a terrestrial base station, a base band unit (BBU) , a remote radio unit (RRU) , an active antenna unit (AAU) , a remote radio head (RRH) , a central unit (CU) , a distributed unit (DU) , a positioning node, among other possibilities. The T-TRP 170 may be a macro BS, a pico BS, a relay node, a donor node, or the like, or combinations thereof. The T-TRP 170 may refer to the forgoing devices or refer to apparatus (e.g. a communication module, a modem, or a chip) in the forgoing devices.
[0111] In some embodiments, the parts of the T-TRP 170 may be distributed. For example, some of the modules of the T-TRP 170 may be located remote from the equipment that houses the antennas 256 for the T-TRP 170, and may be coupled to the equipment that houses the antennas 256 over a communication link (not shown) sometimes known as front haul, such as common public radio interface (CPRI) . Therefore, in some embodiments, the term T-TRP 170 may also refer to modules on the network side that perform processing operations, such as determining the location of the ED 110, resource allocation (scheduling) , message generation, and encoding / decoding, and that are not necessarily part of the equipment that houses the antennas 256 of the T-TRP 170. The modules may also be coupled to other T-TRPs. In some embodiments, the T-TRP 170 may actually be a plurality of T-TRPs that are operating together to serve the ED 110, e.g. through the use of coordinated multipoint transmissions.
[0112] The T-TRP 170 includes at least one transmitter 252 and at least one receiver 254 coupled to one or more antennas 256. Only one antenna 256 is illustrated to avoid congestion in the drawing. One, some, or all of the antennas 256 may alternatively be panels. The transmitter 252 and the receiver 254 may be integrated as a transceiver. The T-TRP 170 further includes a processor 260 for performing operations including those related to: preparing a transmission for downlink transmission to the ED 110, processing an uplink transmission received from the ED 110, preparing a transmission for backhaul transmission to the NT-TRP 172, and processing a transmission received over backhaul from the NT-TRP 172. Processing operations related to preparing a transmission for downlink or backhaul transmission may include operations such as encoding, modulating, precoding (e.g. MIMO precoding) , transmit beamforming, and generating symbols for transmission. Processing operations related to processing received transmissions in the uplink or over backhaul may include operations such as receive beamforming, demodulating received symbols, and decoding received symbols. The processor 260 may also perform operations relating to network access (e.g. initial access) and / or downlink synchronization, such as generating the content of synchronization signal blocks (SSBs) , generating the system information, etc. In some embodiments, the processor 260 also generates an indication of beam direction, e.g. BAI, which may be scheduled for transmission by a scheduler 253. The processor 260 performs other network-side processing operations described herein, such as determining the location of the ED 110, determining where to deploy the NT-TRP 172, etc. In some embodiments, the processor 260 may generate signaling, e.g. to configure one or more parameters of the ED 110 and / or one or more parameters of the NT-TRP 172. Any signaling generated by the processor 260 is sent by the transmitter 252. Note that “signaling” , as used herein, may alternatively be called control signaling. Signaling may be transmitted in a physical layer control channel, e.g. a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) , in which case the signaling may be known as dynamic signaling. Signaling transmitted in a downlink physical layer control channel may be known as Downlink Control Information (DCI) . Siganling transmitted in an uplink physical layer control channel may be known as Uplink Control Information (UCI) . Signaling transmitted in a sidelink physical layer control channel may be known as Sidelink Control Information (SCI) . Signaling may be included in a higher-layer (e.g., higher than physical layer) packet transmitted in a physical layer data channel, e.g. in a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) , in which case the signaling may be known as higher-layer signaling, static signaling, or semi-static signaling. Higher-layer signaling may also refer to RRC protocol signaling or MAC CE signaling.
[0113] The scheduler 253 may be coupled to the processor 260. The scheduler 253 may be included within or operated separately from the T-TRP 170. The scheduler 253 may schedule uplink, downlink, sidelink, and / or backhaul transmissions, including issuing scheduling grants and / or configuring scheduling-free (e.g., “configured grant” ) resources. The T-TRP 170 further includes a memory 258 for storing information and data. The memory 258 stores instructions and data used, generated, or collected by the T-TRP 170. For example, the memory 258 could store software instructions or modules configured to implement some or all of the functionality and / or embodiments described herein and that are executed by the processor 260.
[0114] Although not illustrated, the processor 260 may form part of the transmitter 252 and / or part of the receiver 254. Also, although not illustrated, the processor 260 may implement the scheduler 253. Although not illustrated, the memory 258 may form part of the processor 260.
[0115] The processor 260, the scheduler 253, the processing components of the transmitter 252, and the processing components of the receiver 254 may each be implemented by the same or different one or more processors that are configured to execute instructions stored in a memory, e.g. in the memory 258. Alternatively, some or all of the processor 260, the scheduler 253, the processing components of the transmitter 252, and the processing components of the receiver 254 may be implemented using dedicated circuitry, such as a programmed FPGA, a hardware accelerator (e.g., a GPU or AI accelerator) , or an ASIC.
[0116] Although the NT-TRP 172 is illustrated as a drone only as an example, the NT-TRP 172 may be implemented in any suitable non-terrestrial form, such as satellites and high altitude platforms, including international mobile telecommunication base stations and unmanned aerial vehicles, for example. Also, the NT-TRP 172 may be known by other names in some implementations, such as a non-terrestrial node, a non-terrestrial network device, or a non-terrestrial base station. The NT-TRP 172 includes a transmitter 272 and a receiver 274 coupled to one or more antennas 280. Only one antenna 280 is illustrated to avoid congestion in the drawing. One, some, or all of the antennas may alternatively be panels. The transmitter 272 and the receiver 274 may be integrated as a transceiver. The NT-TRP 172 further includes a processor 276 for performing operations including those related to: preparing a transmission for downlink transmission to the ED 110, processing an uplink transmission received from the ED 110, preparing a transmission for backhaul transmission to T-TRP 170, and processing a transmission received over backhaul from the T-TRP 170. Processing operations related to preparing a transmission for downlink or backhaul transmission may include operations such as encoding, modulating, precoding (e.g. MIMO precoding) , transmit beamforming, and generating symbols for transmission. Processing operations related to processing received transmissions in the uplink or over backhaul may include operations such as receive beamforming, demodulating received symbols, and decoding received symbols. In some embodiments, the processor 276 implements the transmit beamforming and / or receive beamforming based on beam direction information (e.g. BAI) received from the T-TRP 170. In some embodiments, the processor 276 may generate signaling, e.g. to configure one or more parameters of the ED 110. In some embodiments, the NT-TRP 172 implements physical layer processing, but does not implement higher layer functions such as functions at the medium access control (MAC) or radio link control (RLC) layer. As this is only an example, more generally, the NT-TRP 172 may implement higher layer functions in addition to physical layer processing.
[0117] The NT-TRP 172 further includes a memory 278 for storing information and data. Although not illustrated, the processor 276 may form part of the transmitter 272 and / or part of the receiver 274. Although not illustrated, the memory 278 may form part of the processor 276.
[0118] The processor 276, the processing components of the transmitter 272, and the processing components of the receiver 274 may each be implemented by the same or different one or more processors that are configured to execute instructions stored in a memory, e.g. in the memory 278. Alternatively, some or all of the processor 276, the processing components of the transmitter 272, and the processing components of the receiver 274 may be implemented using dedicated circuitry, such as a programmed FPGA, a hardware accelerator (e.g., a GPU or AI accelerator) , or an ASIC. In some embodiments, the NT-TRP 172 may actually be a plurality of NT-TRPs that are operating together to serve the ED 110, e.g. through coordinated multipoint transmissions.
[0119] The T-TRP 170, the NT-TRP 172, and / or the ED 110 may include other components, but these have been omitted for the sake of clarity.
[0120] FIG. 4 shows a block diagram of a device in a communication system according to an implementation of the present disclosure, where one or more steps of the embodiment methods provided herein may be performed by corresponding units or modules, according to FIG. 4. FIG. 4 illustrates units or modules in a device, such as in the ED 110, in the T-TRP 170, or in the NT-TRP 172. For example, a signal may be transmitted or output by a transmitting unit or by a transmitting module. A signal may be received or input by a receiving unit or by a receiving module. A signal may be processed by a processing unit or a processing module. Other steps may be performed by an AI or machine learning (ML) module. The respective units or modules may be implemented using hardware, one or more components or devices that execute software, or a combination thereof. For instance, one or more of the units or modules may be a circuit such as an integrated circuit. Examples of an integrated circuit includes a programmed FPGA, a GPU, or an ASIC. For instance, one or more of the units or modules may be logical such as a logical function performed by a circuit, by a portion of an integrated circuit, or by software instructions executed by a processor. It will be appreciated that where the modules are implemented using software for execution by a processor for example, the modules may be retrieved by a processor, in whole or part as needed, individually or together for processing, in single or multiple instances, and that the modules themselves may include instructions for further deployment and instantiation.
[0121] While not shown, the transmitting module and the receiving module may be part of, or combined into, a transceiver module. A transceiver module may also be known as an interface module, or simply an interface, for inputting and outputting operations.
[0122] Additional details regarding the EDs 110, the T-TRP 170, and the NT-TRP 172 are known to those of skill in the art. As such, these details are omitted here.
[0123] The details of the present disclosure will be elaborated in the following description.
[0124] A sensing system may be used to help gather UE pose information, including its location in a global coordinate system, its velocity and direction of movement in the global coordinate system, orientation information, and the information about the wireless environment. “Location” is also known as “position” and these two terms may be used interchangeably herein. Examples of well-known sensing systems include RADAR (Radio Detection and Ranging) and LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) . While the sensing system can be separate from the communication system, it could be advantageous to gather the information using an integrated system, which reduces the hardware (and cost) in the system as well as the time, frequency, or spatial resources needed to achieve both functionalities. However, using the communication system hardware to perform sensing of UE pose and environment information is a highly challenging and open problem. The difficulty of the problem relates to factors such as the limited resolution of the communication system, the dynamicity of the environment, and the huge number of objects whose electromagnetic properties and position are to be estimated.
[0125] Accordingly, integrated sensing and communication (also known as integrated communication and sensing, joint sensing and communication, and other similar names) is a desirable feature in existing and future communication systems.
[0126] In some scenarios of integrated sensing and communication, a device (or sensor, or UE) may sense the environment, and then perform a corresponding task based on the sensing results. The task can be object detection, object tracking, obstacle avoidance, and so on. In some other scenarios of integrated sensing and communication, the device may perform environment reconstruction based on the sensing results, and then use the reconstructed environment to further assist in communications. The device may also report the sensing results (the detected object, or the reconstructed environment) to a central node (or sensor, or base station) for further processing. For example, because each device may sense / observe a same environment from different angles, the central node may fuse the sensing results of a plurality of devices into a complete / large environment map. The fused environment map can be used to perform tasks / applications such as environment reconstruction or digital twin. Furthermore, the central node may also send a fused sensing result to another device to assist its communication tasks such as beamforming / beam tracking, MIMO parameter estimation, etc. By sensing fusion, the obtained sensing information is more complete and refined, which helps to obtain better task execution results.
[0127] In the preceding scenarios, the exchanged sensing information (or sensing results) may be obtained by different radio frequency signals. For example, depending on the sensing / communication scenarios, the spectrum resource scheduling within the network, or other factors, sometimes the sensing results are obtained based on signals at low frequency, and sometimes the sensing results are obtained based on signals at high frequency. Considering that for a same environment or object, the sensing results obtained on different frequencies may have some spatial relationship. Therefore, this spatial relationship can be used in the indication of sensing information of different frequencies, so as to reduce transmission overheads of exchanged sensing information, and also reduce the computational complexity at devices.
[0128] Taking sensing task / application as an example, where a device, which may be device 1 (for example, a first device) , may sense the environment and then use the sensing results to further assist in communications. The other device, let’s say it’s device 2 (for example, a second device) , may provide its sensing information or fused sensing results to device 1, so as to help to improve the performance of subsequent tasks of device 1. The exchanged sensing information can be the reconstructed environment, or an environment map, or an environment object, or an RF map, etc. Therefore, the exchanged sensing information needs to be described in a certain way.
[0129] The detected object or reconstructed environment can be represented by point cloud, as shown in FIG. 5A -an example for two buildings. A point cloud is a discrete set of data points in 3D space. Each point position has a coordinate (x, y, z) .
[0130] The RF map generally represents a radio environment map, an RF map, etc., and may be used to assist communication of a device, such as MIMO or beamforming procedures, or to improve the sensing function of a device, e.g. improve sensing accuracy or reduce sensing complexity. An RF-map includes T RF-map elements, T ≥ 1. And the RF-map element can have several representations: such as ray tracing or multi-path information, beamforming information, Channel Quality Indicator (CQI) , Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) , Power Spectral Density (PSD) , channel H information, etc. Some examples are given but not limited to:
[0131] · Each RF-map element can include ray tracing or multi-path information. For example, each path / ray may include information about the amplitude, delay, angle, etc. of the path / ray. Then the element can include one or multiple paths / rays, e.g. a set of {amplitude, delay, angle…} . An example is given in FIG. 5B, where an RF map is represented by a grid-based M×N multipath map, and each grid includes information about one or multiple paths: Ki is the path number in the i-th grid, path Pij is the j-th path of the i-th grid, and each path Pij includes information about {power, delay, AOA, AOD} , 1 ≤ j≤ Ki.
[0132] · Each RF-map element can include beamforming information. For example, each beam may include information about the angle, beam gradient, beam width, etc. of the beam. Then the element can include one or multiple beams, e.g. a set of {angle, beam gradient, beam width …} .
[0133] ● Each RF-map element can include channel H information. The H can be represented by vectorized format, matrix-based format, or a scalar value.
[0134] · Each RF-map element can include RSSI or PSD values. In this case, the RF map may be represented as a 2D image or 3D image. Two examples are given in FIG. 5C. In the left figure of FIG. 5C, the RF map is represented by a 2D image, and each pixel (or grid, usually representing a location) includes a scalar value for RSSI, where lighter colors indicate higher RSSI and darker colors indicate lower RSSI. In the right figure, the RF map is represented by a 3D image, and each grid on the horizontal plane (usually representing a location) includes a vector for the PSD values (the blank space indicating no power / energy detected) .
[0135] · Each RF-map element can include one or multiple CQI.
[0136] · Each RF-map element can be a direct or indirect representation of the channel status / quality, such as CQI, or Modulation and Coding Scheme (MCS) , or SNR, or a range of MCS, or a range of SNR, etc.
[0137] There are other ways of representing sensing information. These representations of sensing information do not take into account the relationship between sensing information obtained on different frequencies.
[0138] In some scenarios, the exchanged sensing information (or sensing results) may be obtained by different radio frequency signals. For example, depending on the sensing / communication scenarios, the spectrum resource scheduling within the network, or other factors, sometimes the sensing results are obtained based on signals at low frequency, and sometimes the sensing results are obtained based on signals at high frequency. Sometimes the sensing results are obtained based on a wider bandwidth, and sometimes the sensing results are obtained based on a narrower bandwidth. Sometimes the sensing results are obtained based on a larger subcarrier spacing, and sometimes the sensing results are obtained based on a smaller subcarrier spacing. The coverage of low frequency is usually larger than that of high frequency, while the resolution of sensing information (or sensing results) obtained by high frequency is usually higher than that of low frequency. In addition, the resolution of sensing results obtained using larger bandwidth is usually larger than that of narrower bandwidth, and the coverage of sensing results obtained using larger subcarrier spacing is usually smaller than that of smaller subcarrier spacing.
[0139] Considering that for a same environment or object, the sensing results obtained on different frequencies may have some spatial relationship. Therefore, this spatial relationship can be used in the indication of sensing information of different frequencies, so as to reduce transmission overheads of exchanged sensing information, and also reduce the computational complexity at devices.
[0140] FIGs. 6A-E show two examples of sensing results obtained on different frequencies. FIG. 6B shows the RF map for a partial area of FIG. 6A (the large white rectangle) , which is obtained based on low frequency. The RF map can be represented as a 2D image, and each pixel (or grid) includes a scalar value for RSSI, as shown on the left part of FIG. 6B. The RF map can also be represented as a grid-based multipath map, and each grid includes information about one or multiple paths, as shown on the right part of FIG. 6B. FIG. 6C shows the RF map obtained based on high frequency for the same area. It can also be represented as a 2D image or a grid-based multipath map. Because the coverage of high frequency is usually smaller than that of low frequency, the area covered by the RF map obtained by high frequency may be relatively small (refer to the small white rectangle in FIG. 6A) . We can see from FIG. 6A that the two RF maps are spatially related to each other.
[0141] FIG. 6D and FIG. 6E give the examples for environment reconstruction, where the reconstructed environment is represented by point cloud. If the reconstructed environment is obtained based on low frequency, the obtained point cloud is usually relatively sparse, and the coverage area is usually relative large, as shown in FIG. 6D. If the reconstructed environment is obtained based on high frequency, the obtained point cloud is usually relatively dense, and the coverage area is usually relatively small compared to that obtained by low frequency, due to the limited coverage of high frequency, as shown in FIG. 6E.Because the point cloud is a description of the same environment, the point cloud obtained by high frequency and the point cloud obtained by low frequency has a certain spatial relationship.
[0142] FIG. 7 shows a schematic flowchart of a method for sensing information communication according to an implementation of the present disclosure. The method can be implemented by a first device or a second device. In an implementation, the first device may be a UE or other device that has similar function (for example, the first device could be a chip) , and the second device can be a BS or other device that has similar function (for example, the second device could be a chip) , which is not limited herein. As shown in FIG. 7, the method can include the following steps.
[0143] S710, sending or obtaining first sensing information.
[0144] S720, sending or obtaining second sensing information; where the first sensing information is based on a first frequency, the second sensing information is based on a second frequency different from the first frequency, the first sensing information has a first spatial relationship with the second sensing information, and the second sensing information is generated based on the first spatial relationship.
[0145] For the step regarding that the second sensing information is generated based on the first spatial relationship, the action “being generated” (or generate (s) , generating, etc. ) used herein includes any stage of the entire process such as collecting and processing. Using this spatial relationship in the any stage should fall within the step regarding that the second sensing information is generated based on the first spatial relationship. As for other steps regarding that the other sensing information is generated based on the other spatial relationship (for example, the third sensing information is generated based on the second spatial relationship described herein) , they are similar as the step regarding that the second sensing information is generated based on the first spatial relationship, which is not limited herein for brevity.
[0146] The frequency used herein can be replaced with the frequency point, frequency band, bandwidth, bandwidth part (BWP) , subcarrier spacing, component carrier (CC) , and so on, which is not limited herein. Based on different frequencies, different pieces of sensing information may be obtained. For example, the first sensing information may be obtained based on the first frequency while the second sensing information may be obtained based on the second frequency.
[0147] In addition to frequency, other parameters, such as parameters related to spatial region or resolution corresponding to sensing information, may need to be determined in order to obtain the sensing information based on the parameters. The first spatial relationship mentioned above may indicate a relationship between a spatial region corresponding to the first sensing information and a spatial region corresponding to the second sensing information. Based on the first spatial relationship, the spatial region corresponding to the second sensing information may be determined, and then the second sensing information may be obtained based on the second frequency and the spatial region corresponding to the second sensing information.
[0148] In details, there are several example implementations in the present disclosure.
[0149] Implementation 1
[0150] In this implementation, this solution can be performed by a first device or a second device. The solution includes the following steps: the first device sends the first sensing information to the second device, the second device obtains the first sensing from the first device, then the first device sends the second sensing information to the second device, and the second device obtains the second sensing information from the first device. The first sensing information is based on a first frequency, the second sensing information is based on a second frequency different from the first frequency, the first sensing information has a first spatial relationship with the second sensing information, and the second sensing information is generated based on the first spatial relationship.
[0151] From the aspect of first device, it may send the first sensing information to the second device, and then send the second sensing information to the second device. Correspondingly, from the aspect of the second device, it may obtain first sensing information from the first device, and then obtain second sensing information from the first device. In detail, after the first device sends the first sensing information to the second device, the second device may consider that the first sensing information is incomplete and / or has low precision, thereby asking the first device to send better sensing information.
[0152] Usually, the coverage of low frequency is larger than that of high frequency, while the resolution of sensing information (or sensing results) obtained by high frequency is usually higher than that of low frequency. In addition, the resolution of sensing results obtained using larger bandwidth is usually larger than that of narrower bandwidth, and the coverage of sensing results obtained using larger subcarrier spacing is usually smaller than that of smaller subcarrier spacing. Therefore, the first spatial relationship can be that the spatial region corresponding to the second sensing information is subset of the spatial region corresponding to the first sensing information since the coverage of low frequency is larger than that of high frequency. In some examples, the representation / formats of spatial relationship can include but not limited to 2D or 3D regions of subset with coordinates. In this way, because the first device has known the first spatial relationship, the first device can know the desired spatial region of the second sensing information so as to obtain the complete and refined sensing information within the desired spatial region indicated by coordinates and send only the second sensing information about a desired subset of the spatial region corresponding to the first sensing information, thereby reducing transmission overheads of exchanged sensing information, and also reducing the computational complexity at device. In addition to the spatial relationship, there can also be the resolution relationship that can be a relationship between a resolution corresponding to the first sensing information and a resolution corresponding to the second sensing information since the resolution of sensing information obtained by high frequency is usually higher than that of low frequency. In some examples, the representation / formats of resolution relationship can be but not limited to a spatial resolution, a data value resolution, and / or a data quantity resolution. In this way, because the first device has known the resolution relationship, the first device can know a desired spatial resolution, a desired data value resolution, and / or a desired data quantity resolution so as to obtain the complete and refined sensing information within the desired resolution, and send only the second sensing information about a desired resolution, whereby further reducing transmission overheads of exchanged sensing information, and also further reducing the computational complexity at device.
[0153] Implementation 2
[0154] In this implementation, this solution may involve a first device, a second device, and a third device. The solution includes the following steps: the first device sends the first sensing information to the second device, the second device obtains the first sensing from the first device, then the third device sends the second sensing information to the second device, and the second device obtains the second sensing information from the third device. The first sensing information is based on a first frequency, the second sensing information is based on a second frequency different from the first frequency, the first sensing information has a first spatial relationship with the second sensing information, and the second sensing information is generated based on the first spatial relationship.
[0155] From the aspect of the first device, it may send the first sensing information to the second device. Correspondingly, from the aspect of the second device, it may obtain first sensing information from the first device, and then obtain second sensing information from the third device. Correspondingly, from the aspect of the third device, it may send second sensing information to the second device after the second device obtains first sensing information from the first device. In detail, after the first device sends the first sensing information to the second device, the second device may consider the first sensing information is incomplete and / or has low precision, thereby asking the third device to send better sensing information since the first device may has no capability to provide better sensing information, which is not limited herein.
[0156] Usually, the coverage of low frequency is larger than that of high frequency, while the resolution of sensing information (or sensing results) obtained by high frequency is usually higher than that of low frequency. In addition, the resolution of sensing results obtained using larger bandwidth is usually larger than that of narrower bandwidth, and the coverage of sensing results obtained using larger subcarrier spacing is usually smaller than that of smaller subcarrier spacing. Therefore, the first spatial relationship can be that the spatial region corresponding to the second sensing information is subset of the spatial region corresponding to the first sensing information since the coverage of low frequency is larger than that of high frequency. In some examples, the representation / formats of spatial relationship can include but not limited to 2D or 3D regions of subset with coordinates. In this way, because the third device has known the first spatial relationship, the third device can know the desired spatial region of the second sensing information so as to obtain the complete and refined sensing information within the desired spatial region indicated by coordinates and send only the second sensing information about a desired subset of the spatial region corresponding to the first sensing information, thereby reducing transmission overheads of exchanged sensing information, and also reducing the computational complexity at device. In addition to the spatial relationship, there can also be the resolution relationship that can be a relationship between a resolution corresponding to the first sensing information and a resolution corresponding to the second sensing information since the resolution of sensing information obtained by high frequency is usually higher than that of low frequency. In some examples, the representation / formats of resolution relationship can be but not limited to a spatial resolution, a data value resolution, and / or a data quantity resolution. In this way, because the third device has known the resolution relationship, the third device can know a desired spatial resolution, a desired data value resolution, and / or a desired data quantity resolution so as to obtain the complete and refined sensing information within the desired resolution, and send only the second sensing information about a desired resolution, whereby further reducing transmission overheads of exchanged sensing information, and also further reducing the computational complexity at device.
[0157] Implementation 3
[0158] In this implementation, this solution can be performed by a first device or a second device. The solution includes the following steps: the first device sends the first sensing information to the second device, the second device obtains the first sensing from the first device, then the second device sends the second sensing information to the first device, and the first device obtains the second sensing information from the second device. The first sensing information is based on a first frequency, the second sensing information is based on a second frequency different from the first frequency, the first sensing information has a first spatial relationship with the second sensing information, and the second sensing information is generated based on the first spatial relationship.
[0159] From the aspect of first device, it may send first sensing information to the second device, and then obtain second sensing information from the second device. Correspondingly, from the aspect of the second device, it may obtain first sensing information from the first device, and then send second sensing information to the first device. In detail, after the first device sends the first sensing information to the second device, the second device may consider the first sensing information is incomplete and / or has low precision, then the second device itself can obtain and sense better sensing information.
[0160] Usually, the coverage of low frequency is larger than that of high frequency, while the resolution of sensing information (or sensing results) obtained by high frequency is usually higher than that of low frequency. In addition, the resolution of sensing results obtained using larger bandwidth is usually larger than that of narrower bandwidth, and the coverage of sensing results obtained using larger subcarrier spacing is usually smaller than that of smaller subcarrier spacing. Therefore, the first spatial relationship can be that the spatial region corresponding to the second sensing information is subset of the spatial region corresponding to the first sensing information since the coverage of low frequency is larger than that of high frequency. In some examples, the representation / formats of spatial relationship can include but not limited to 2D or 3D regions of subset with coordinates. In this way, because the second device has known the first spatial relationship, the second device can know the desired spatial region of the second sensing information so as to obtain the complete and refined sensing information within the desired spatial region indicated by coordinates and send only the second sensing information about a desired subset of the spatial region corresponding to the first sensing information, thereby reducing transmission overheads of exchanged sensing information, and also reducing the computational complexity at device. In addition to the spatial relationship, there can also be the resolution relationship that can be a relationship between a resolution corresponding to the first sensing information and a resolution corresponding to the second sensing information since the resolution of sensing information obtained by high frequency is usually higher than that of low frequency. In some examples, the representation / formats of resolution relationship can be but not limited to a spatial resolution, a data value resolution, and / or a data quantity resolution. In this way, because the second device has known the resolution relationship, the second device can know a desired spatial resolution, a desired data value resolution, and / or a desired data quantity resolution so as to obtain the complete and refined sensing information within the desired resolution, and send only the second sensing information about a desired resolution, whereby further reducing transmission overheads of exchanged sensing information, and also further reducing the computational complexity at device.
[0161] Implementation 4
[0162] In this implementation, this solution may involve a first device, a second device, and a third device. The solution includes the following steps: the first device sends the first sensing information to the second device, the second device obtains the first sensing from the first device, then the second device sends the second sensing information to the third device, the third device obtains the second sensing information from the second device. The first sensing information is based on a first frequency, the second sensing information is based on a second frequency different from the first frequency, the first sensing information has a first spatial relationship with the second sensing information, and the second sensing information is generated based on the first spatial relationship.
[0163] From the aspect of the first device, it can send first sensing information to the second device, where the first sensing information is based on a first frequency. Correspondingly, from the aspect of the second device, it can obtain first sensing information from the first device, and then send second sensing information to the third device. Correspondingly, from the aspect of the third device, it may obtain second sensing information from the second device after the second device obtains first sensing information from the first device. In detail, after the first device sends the first sensing information to the second device, the second device may consider the first sensing information is incomplete and / or has low precision, thereby the second device itself may obtain and sense better sensing information since the first device may has no capability to provide better sensing information, which is not limited herein.
[0164] Usually, the coverage of low frequency is larger than that of high frequency, while the resolution of sensing information (or sensing results) obtained by high frequency is usually higher than that of low frequency. In addition, the resolution of sensing results obtained using larger bandwidth is usually larger than that of narrower bandwidth, and the coverage of sensing results obtained using larger subcarrier spacing is usually smaller than that of smaller subcarrier spacing. Therefore, the first spatial relationship may indicate that the spatial region corresponding to the second sensing information is subset of the spatial region corresponding to the first sensing information since the coverage of low frequency is larger than that of high frequency. In some examples, the representation / formats of spatial relationship can include but not limited to 2D or 3D regions of subset with coordinates. In this way, because the second device has known the first spatial relationship, the second device can know the desired spatial region of the second sensing information so as to obtain the complete and refined sensing information within the desired spatial region indicated by coordinates. Then, because the third device may have better capability for obtaining more complete and refined sensing information or for processing sensing information, the second device can send only the second sensing information about a desired subset of the spatial region corresponding to the first sensing information to the third device so as to potentially obtain better results from the third device, thereby reducing transmission overheads of exchanged sensing information, and also reducing the computational complexity at device. In addition to the spatial relationship, there can also be the resolution relationship that can be a relationship between a resolution corresponding to the first sensing information and a resolution corresponding to the second sensing information since the resolution of sensing information obtained by high frequency is usually higher than that of low frequency. In some examples, the representation / formats of resolution relationship can be but not limited to a spatial resolution, a data value resolution, and / or a data quantity resolution. In this way, because the second device has known the resolution relationship, the second device can know a desired spatial resolution, a desired data value resolution, and / or a desired data quantity resolution so as to obtain the complete and refined sensing information within the desired resolution, and send only the second sensing information about a desired resolution to the third device so as to potentially obtain better results from the third device, thereby further reducing transmission overheads of exchanged sensing information, and also further reducing the computational complexity at device.
[0165] In summary, the above implementations 1 to 4 show different application scenarios. In all of these implementations, there is a spatial relationship between the first sensing information and the second sensing information, thus the corresponding device can know the desired spatial region of the second sensing information, where the second sensing information is generated based on the spatial relationship. Then the corresponding device can obtain the complete and refined sensing information within the desired spatial region indicated by coordinates and send only the second sensing information about a desired subset of the spatial region corresponding to the first sensing information, thereby reducing transmission overheads of exchanged sensing information, and also reducing the computational complexity at device.
[0166] FIG. 8 shows a schematic interaction diagram of a method for sensing information communication according to an implementation of the present disclosure, where the related procedure for exchanging the sensing information obtained on different frequencies is given in FIG. 8. In this FIG. 8 and other figures, the sensing information A represents the first sensing information, the sensing information B represents the second sensing information. The frequency a represents the first frequency and the frequency b represents the second frequency. The exchanged sensing information between device 1 and device 2 may include sensing information A and sensing information B. Sensing information A and sensing information B are obtained based on frequency a and frequency b, respectively, and frequency a and frequency b are different. For example, frequency a and frequency b can be (or belong to) different frequency bands, different BWPs, or different CCs, etc. Or frequency a and frequency b can have different bandwidths, or have different subcarrier spacing, etc. There is a spatial relationship between sensing information A and sensing information B. In this way, the spatial relationship can be used in the indication of sensing information of different frequencies, so as to reduce transmission overheads of exchanged second sensing information, and also reduce the computational complexity at device, for example, at least one of device 1 or device 2.
[0167] In a possible implementation, the first spatial relationship can be that a spatial region corresponding to the second sensing information is a subset of a spatial region corresponding to the first sensing information. This is because the coverage of low frequency is usually larger than that of high frequency. This is also because the spatial region of sensing information obtained by low frequency is usually larger than that obtained by high frequency. Certainly, there can be other manners for defining this first spatial relationship, for example, the first spatial relationship can be that a spatial region corresponding to the second sensing information includes a part of a spatial region corresponding to the first sensing information, the first spatial relationship can be that a spatial region corresponding to the second sensing information includes a portion of a spatial region corresponding to the first sensing information, and so on, which is not limited herein. In this way, there may be possibility that a spatial region corresponding to the second sensing information may not be a complete subset of a spatial region corresponding to the first sensing information.
[0168] FIGs. 9A-F show schematic diagrams of examples for spatial regions of sensing information according to an implementation of the present disclosure. Suppose frequency a is lower than frequency b, then the spatial region corresponding to sensing information B can be a subset of the spatial region corresponding to sensing information A, and vice versa. This is because the coverage of low frequency is usually larger than that of high frequency. This is also because the spatial region of sensing information obtained by low frequency is usually larger than that obtained by high frequency. FIG. 9 give two examples. In FIG. 9A and FIG. 9C, the sensing information is represented as a grid-based multipath RF map, with sensing information A obtained based on frequency a and sensing information B obtained based on frequency b, a < b. FIG. 9B shows the spatial relationship between sensing information B and sensing information A, i.e. the spatial region corresponding to sensing information B (the grey region) is a subset of the spatial region corresponding to sensing information A (the region including white grids and grey grids) . In FIG. 9D and FIG. 9F, the sensing information is represented as point cloud, with sensing information A obtained based on frequency a and sensing information B obtained based on frequency b, a < b. FIG. 9E shows the spatial relationship between sensing information B and sensing information A, i.e. the spatial region corresponding to sensing information B (the grey region) is a subset of the spatial region corresponding to sensing information A (the region covered by points) .
[0169] In a possible implementation, at least one of the spatial region corresponding to the first sensing information or spatial region corresponding to the second sensing information can be represented as a 2D region or a 3D region. In a possible implementation, at least one of the spatial region corresponding to the first sensing information or spatial region corresponding to the second sensing information is represented as one of: a rectangle defined by: coordinates of two vertices on a diagonal of the rectangle; or a coordinate of a vertex of the rectangle, and lengths of two sides of the rectangle; a circle defined by a coordinate of a center of the circle and a radius of the circle; a cube box defined by: coordinates of two vertices on a diagonal of the cube box; or a coordinate of a vertex of the cube box, and a length of an edge of the cube box; a bounding box defined by: coordinates of two vertices on a diagonal of the bounding box; or a coordinate of a vertex of the bounding box, lengths of three edges of the bounding box; or a sphere defined by a coordinate of a center of the sphere and a radius of the sphere.
[0170] In details, the spatial relationship between the first sensing information and the second sensing information may be related with a 2D or 3D region. When the spatial relationship is related with the 2D region, the corresponding region may be represented as, for example, a rectangle or a circle, and the sensing information may be an RF map of the rectangle or the circle. In a possible implementation, the vertex of the rectangle can be known in advance by different devices, such as the point at the top-left corner, or the point with the smallest x and y values, etc., through signaling or by preconfigured. In this way, only one point and one or more lengths need to be carried in the first sensing information and / or the second sensing information. When the spatial relationship is related with the 3D region, the corresponding region can be represented as, for example, a cube box, a bounding box, or a sphere, and the sensing information may be a point cloud of the cube box, the bounding box, or the sphere. In a possible implementation, the vertex of the cube box or the bounding box can be known in advance by different devices, such as the point at the top-left corner, or the point with the smallest x and y values, etc., through signaling or by preconfigured. In this way, only one point and one or more lengths needs to be carried in the first sensing information and / or the second sensing information.
[0171] In this way, the RF map or point cloud may be obtained for different shapes of regions to adapt to various application scenarios, and thus, can be used to assist in communication of a device, such as MIMO or beamforming procedures, or to improve the sensing function of a device, e.g. improve sensing accuracy or reduce sensing complexity.
[0172] FIGs. 10A-H show schematic diagrams of examples for spatial relationship according to an implementation of the present disclosure, where the spatial relationship between sensing information B and sensing information A can be a 2D or 3D region. Some examples for the spatial relationship can be but not limited to:
[0173] · A 2D region, represented as a rectangle, such as {x0, y0, x1, y1} , or {x0, y0, Lx, Ly} , etc. (x0, y0) and (x1, y1) are the coordinates of two vertices on the diagonal of the rectangle, which can define the area of the rectangle. And Lx is the length of the rectangle along the x-axis, and Ly is the length of the rectangle along the y-axis. Follow FIGs. 10A-C give an example when sensing information is represented as a grid-based multipath RF map, or as a 2D image-based RF map. FIG. 10B shows the spatial relationship between sensing information B (in FIG. 10C) and sensing information A (in FIG. 10A) . The region defined by {x0, y0, x1, y1} or {x0, y0, Lx, Ly} is a subset of the region corresponding to sensing information A.
[0174] · A 2D region, represented as a circle, such as {x0, y0, r} , where (x0, y0) is the coordinate of the center of the circle, and r is the radius of the circle.
[0175] ● A 3D region, represented as a cube or a bounding box, or some other format, not limited by the present disclosure. When the 3D region is represented as a bounding box, such as {x0, y0, z0, x1, y1, z1} , or {x0, y0, z0, Lx, Ly, Lz} , (x0, y0, z0) and (x1, y1, z1) are the coordinates of two vertices on the diagonal of the bounding box, which can define the area of the bounding box. And Lx is the length of the bounding box along the x-axis, Ly is the length of the bounding box along the y-axis, and Lz is the length of the bounding box along the z-axis. When the 3D region is represented as cube box, such as {x0, y0, z0, x1, y1, z1} , or {x0, y0, z0, L} , (x0, y0, z0) and (x1, y1, z1) are the coordinates of two vertices on the diagonal of the cube, which can define the area of the cube box. And L is the length of the cube box along the x-axis, the y-axis, and the z-axis. Follow FIGs. 10D-F give an example when sensing information is represented as point cloud. FIG. 10E shows the spatial relationship between sensing information B (in FIG. 10F) and sensing information A (in FIG. 10D) . The region defined by the cube / bounding box (grey region) is a subset of the region corresponding to sensing information A.
[0176] · A 3D region, represented as a sphere, such as {x0, y0, z0, r} , where (x0, y0, z0) is the coordinate of the center of the sphere, and r is the radius of the sphere. Follow FIGs. 10D, F and H give an example when sensing information is represented as pint cloud. FIG. 10G shows the spatial relationship between sensing information B (in FIG. 10H) and sensing information A (in FIG. 10D) . The region defined by the sphere (grey region) is a subset of the region corresponding to sensing information A.
[0177] For the coordinates of above vertices, such as xi, yi, and zi, they can be global coordinates (geography coordinate system, the coordinate system of a cell, etc. ) or local coordinates (the coordinate system of the device, the coordinate system referring to sensing information A, the coordinate system referring to a reference point, etc. ) . For example in FIG. 10B, if the coordinate (x0, y0) is a local coordinate referring to sensing information A, x0 may be a relative value with respect to the x-coordinate of the starting point of sensing information A, and may also be an index of the grid of the RF map in the x direction (e.g. x0=3, y0=2 in FIG. 10B) .
[0178] Sensing information B may optionally include the information about the spatial relationship between sensing information B and sensing information A, and the information about the spatial relationship can use the representation / formats previously described.
[0179] Based on the requirements of sensing tasks, sensing information B can be represented using the spatial relationship between sensing information B and sensing information A, e.g. using a subset of the spatial region corresponding to sensing information A as the spatial region corresponding to sensing information B, so as to reduce transmission overheads of exchanged sensing information B, and also reduce the computational complexity at device.
[0180] In a possible implementation, in addition to the spatial relationship, the first sensing information can further have a resolution relationship with the second sensing information, and the resolution relationship can be a relationship between a resolution corresponding to the first sensing information and a resolution corresponding to the second sensing information, where the resolution corresponding to the first sensing information and the resolution corresponding to the second sensing information may include at least one of a spatial resolution, a data value resolution, or a data quantity resolution. For example, suppose the first frequency is lower than the second frequency, the second sensing information may extend or enhance the first sensing information in terms of a spatial resolution, a data value resolution, a data quantity resolution, or a combination thereof. In addition, the second sensing information is generated based on the resolution relationship, where the action “being generated” (or generate (s) , generating, etc. ) used herein includes any stage of the entire process such as collecting and processing. Using this resolution relationship in the any stage should fall within the step regarding that the second sensing information is generated based on the resolution relationship. As for other steps regarding that the other sensing information is generated based on the other resolution relationship (for example, the third sensing information is generated based on the other resolution relationship) , they are similar as the step regarding that the second sensing information is generated based on the resolution relationship, which is not limited herein for brevity.
[0181] In a possible implementation, the resolution relationship may be one or more of that at least one spatial resolution corresponding to the second sensing information is different from at least one spatial resolution corresponding to the first sensing information; at least one data value resolution corresponding to the second sensing information is different from at least one data value resolution corresponding to the first sensing information; or at least one data quantity resolution corresponding to the second sensing information is different from at least one data quantity resolution corresponding to the first sensing information. For example, a spatial resolution corresponding to the second sensing information is different from a spatial resolution corresponding to the first sensing information, a data value resolution corresponding to the second sensing information is different from a data value resolution corresponding to the first sensing information, and / or a data quantity resolution corresponding to the second sensing information is different from a data quantity resolution corresponding to the first sensing information. For another example, a spatial resolution corresponding to the second sensing information is different from a spatial resolution corresponding to the first sensing information, a data value resolution corresponding to the second sensing information is same as a data value resolution corresponding to the first sensing information, and a data quantity resolution corresponding to the second sensing information is different from a data quantity resolution corresponding to the first sensing information. Certainly, other combinations are also included in the present disclosure, which is not repeated for brevity.
[0182] In a possible implementation, the resolution relationship is one or more of that: at least one spatial resolution corresponding to the second sensing information is higher than at least one spatial resolution corresponding to the first sensing information; at least one data value resolution corresponding to the second sensing information is higher than at least one data value resolution corresponding to the first sensing information; or at least one data quantity resolution corresponding to the second sensing information is higher than at least one data quantity resolution corresponding to the first sensing information. For example, a spatial resolution corresponding to the second sensing information is higher than a spatial resolution corresponding to the first sensing information, a data value resolution corresponding to the second sensing information is higher than a data value resolution corresponding to the first sensing information, and / or a data quantity resolution corresponding to the second sensing information is higher than a data quantity resolution corresponding to the first sensing information. For another example, a spatial resolution corresponding to the second sensing information is higher than a spatial resolution corresponding to the first sensing information, a data value resolution corresponding to the second sensing information is same as a data value resolution corresponding to the first sensing information, and a data quantity resolution corresponding to the second sensing information is lower than a data quantity resolution corresponding to the first sensing information. Certainly, other combinations are also included in the present disclosure, which is not repeated for brevity.
[0183] Since there may be a resolution relationship between the first sensing information and the second sensing information in addition to spatial relationship, more refined sensing information (result) can be obtained under various application scenarios.
[0184] In a possible implementation, the resolution relationship may include one of: an amount of change between a spatial resolution of the second sensing information and a spatial resolution of the first sensing information, where the spatial resolution of sensing information indicates a number of elements per unit region for the sensing information; an amount of change between a data value resolution of the second sensing information and a data value resolution of the first sensing information, where the data value resolution of sensing information indicates a precision or number of bits to represent an element of the sensing information; or an amount of change between a data quantity resolution of the second sensing information and a data quantity resolution of the first sensing information, where the data quantity resolution of sensing information indicates quantity information of each element of the sensing information.
[0185] In details, considering that the resolution relationship may include an amount of change between a spatial resolution of the second sensing information and a spatial resolution of the first sensing information, an example of the amount of change may be an extension factor of the spatial resolution of the second sensing information with respect to the spatial resolution of the first sensing information. In other words, in a possible implementation, the amount of change between the spatial resolution of the second sensing information and the spatial resolution of the first sensing information may be an extension factor of the spatial resolution of the second sensing information with respect to the spatial resolution of the first sensing information. By using a higher spatial resolution, the number of sensing reflection points detected in the same physical area can be greater, which is more suitable for the scenario focusing on more accurate description of the object's shape. Certainly, there are also other factors can be used in the spatial resolution, which is not limited herein. Considering the resolution relationship in terms of data value resolution, the resolution relationship may include an amount of change between a data value resolution of the second sensing information and a data value resolution of the first sensing information. In this way, the data value resolution may be more suitable for the scenario focusing on precision of signal strength. Considering the resolution relationship in terms of data quantity resolution, the resolution relationship may include an amount of change between a data quantity resolution of the second sensing information and a data quantity resolution of the first sensing information. By using a higher data quantity resolution, the accuracy of the description regarding the path of spatial propagation signal may be greater, which is more suitable for the scenario focusing on the precision of the description regarding the path of spatial propagation signal.
[0186] Certainly, the above examples for the resolution relationship can also be combined together, for example, the resolution relationship may include both an amount of change between a spatial resolution of the second sensing information and a spatial resolution of the first sensing information and an amount of change between a data value resolution of the second sensing information and a data value resolution of the first sensing information, which is not limited herein.
[0187] FIGs. 11A-B show schematic diagrams of an example for resolution relationship according to an implementation of the present disclosure, where in addition to spatial relationship, there may be a resolution relationship between sensing information B and sensing information A. In this FIGs. 11A-B, the sensing information B represents the second sensing information, the sensing information A represents the first sensing information. Frequency a represents the first frequency, frequency b represents the second frequency. For example, suppose frequency a is lower than frequency b, sensing information B can extend or enhance sensing information A in terms of spatial resolution, and vice versa, where the spatial resolution may be 2D resolution or 3D resolution. Sensing information B can also extend or enhance sensing information A in terms of data resolution, e.g. increasing the data value resolution by increasing the bit numbers to represent sensing information values, or increasing the data quantity resolution, etc. The resolution relationship between sensing information B and sensing information A can include but not limited to:
[0188] · Sensing information B extends or enhances sensing information A in terms of spatial resolution, where the spatial resolution may be 2D resolution or 3D resolution. Take the sensing information represented as a grid-based multipath RF map as an example. Suppose sensing information A is an M1×N1 map including M1×N1 grids. Sensing information B can extend or enhance the spatial resolution of sensing information A based on an extension factor (or scaling factor) . If the extension factor (or scaling factor) is m, sensing information B is represented as an mM1×mN1 map including mM1×mN1 grids (assuming for the same geographical size) . If the extension factor (or scaling factor) is m×n, sensing information B is represented as an mM1×nN1 map including mM1×nN1 grids.
[0189] · Sensing information B extends or enhances sensing information A in terms of data resolution, where the data resolution can be data value resolution, data quantity resolution, etc. Take the sensing information represented as a 2D image -based RF map as an example, and each pixel (grid) includes a scalar value for RSSI. Suppose RSSI values in sensing information A are represented as P bits. Then sensing information B can extend or enhance sensing information A by increasing data value resolution, i.e. representing the RSSI values of sensing information B with Q bits, P < Q. Take the sensing information represented as a grid-based multipath RF map as another example. Suppose each grid of sensing information A includes information of K1 paths. Then sensing information B can extend or enhance sensing information A by increasing data quantity resolution, i.e. including K2 paths in each grid of sensing information B, K1< K2.
[0190] Sensing information B may optionally include the information about the resolution relationship between sensing information B and sensing information A, such as the extension factor (or scaling factor) , the amount of change in data value resolution (e.g. Q-P) , the amount of change in data quantity resolution (e.g. K2-K1) , etc.
[0191] By extending or enhancing sensing information A in terms of spatial resolution, and / or data resolution, sensing information B can provide more refined sensing results.
[0192] FIG. 11A-B show an example, where the sensing information is represented as a grid-based multipath RF map. The region corresponding to sensing information B is within a subset of the region corresponding to sensing information A, i.e. within the rectangle region defined by {x0, y0, Lx, Ly} as shown in FIG. 11A, with Lx=3, Ly=2. And sensing information B also extends the spatial resolution based on an extension factor (or scaling factor) m, m=2. Then sensing information B can be represented as an mLx×mLy map including mLx×mLy grids, i.e. a 6×4 map including 24 grids, as shown in FIG. 11B.
[0193] In a possible implementation, third sensing information may be further sent or obtained besides the transmission of the first and second sensing information, where the third sensing information is based on a third frequency. The third frequency may be the same as one of the first frequency and the second frequency or may be different from both the first frequency and the second frequency. The third sensing information may have a second spatial relationship with the first sensing information or the second sensing information. The third sensing information can be generated based on the second spatial relationship.
[0194] In a possible implementation, the second spatial relationship is that a spatial region corresponding to the third sensing information is a subset of a spatial region corresponding to the first sensing information or a subset of a spatial region corresponding to the second sensing information.
[0195] In a possible implementation, there may be hierarchical spatial relationships between multiple pieces of sensing information. For example, the exchanged sensing information between different devices may further include third sensing information in addition to the first sensing information and second information. The third sensing information may be obtained based on the third frequency, the third frequency is the same as one of the first frequency and the second frequency or different from both the first frequency and the second frequency, and the third sensing information has a second spatial relationship with the first sensing information or the second sensing information. Moreover, the spatial region corresponding to the third sensing information can be a subset of the spatial region corresponding to the second sensing information. Alternatively, the spatial region corresponding to the third sensing information can be a subset of the spatial region corresponding to the first sensing information. More specifically, the third frequency may be higher than both the first frequency and the second frequency or the third frequency can be higher than the first frequency while same as the second frequency. For example, in some cases, the second device may not satisfy the second sensing information sent by other devices, thereby asking another device for sensing or obtaining more complete and refined sensing information. Moreover, the third frequency may be lower than the second frequency while same as the first frequency. For example, in some cases, after obtaining the second sensing information sent by other devices, the second device may find that there is no need to obtain sensing information with such high precision, thereby asking another device for sensing or obtaining new sensing information. Certainly, there may be other cases, which is not limited herein. In this way, sensing information (results) that meets the requirement can be obtained under various application scenarios.
[0196] In a possible implementation, the first spatial relationship can be used to obtain the spatial region corresponding to the second sensing information. In details, the spatial region corresponding to the second sensing information can be obtained in a relatively indirect way, which reduces transmission overheads of exchanged second sensing information.
[0197] In a possible implementation, the second sensing information may be sent or obtained based on a first indication, where the first indication can indicate the first spatial relationship.
[0198] In a possible implementation, the first device can send or obtain the second sensing information based on the first indication, where the first indication is obtained from a second device, or is preconfigured in the first device; the second device can send or obtain the second sensing information based on the first indication, where the first indication is sent to a first device or a third device, or is preconfigured in the second device; or the third device can send or obtain the second sensing information based on the first indication, where the first indication is obtained from a second device, or is preconfigured in the third device.
[0199] Taking the Implementation 1 as example, the solution includes the following steps: the first device sends the first sensing information to the second device, the second device obtains the first sensing from the first device and sends the first indication indicating the first spatial relationship to the first device, then the first device sends the second sensing information to the second device, and the second device obtains the second sensing information from the first device. The first sensing information is based on a first frequency, the second sensing information is based on a second frequency different from the first frequency, the first sensing information has the first spatial relationship with the second sensing information, and the second sensing information is generated based on the first spatial relationship. In this way, because the first device has known the first spatial relationship based on the first indication sent by the second device, the first device can know the desired spatial region of the second sensing information so as to obtain the complete and refined sensing information within the desired spatial region indicated by coordinates and send only the second sensing information about a desired subset of the spatial region corresponding to the first sensing information, thereby reducing transmission overheads of exchanged sensing information, and also reducing the computational complexity at device. In addition to the spatial relationship, because the first device has known the resolution relationship based on the first indication sent by the second device, the first device can know a desired spatial resolution, a desired data value resolution, and / or a desired data quantity resolution based on the first indication so as to obtain the complete and refined sensing information within the desired resolution, and send only the second sensing information about a desired resolution, whereby further reducing transmission overheads of exchanged sensing information, and also further reducing the computational complexity at device.
[0200] Taking the Implementation 2 as example, the solution includes the following steps: the first device sends the first sensing information to the second device, the second device obtains the first sensing from the first device and sends the first indication indicating the first spatial relationship to the third device, then the third device sends the second sensing information to the second device, and the second device obtains the second sensing information from the third device. The first sensing information is based on a first frequency, the second sensing information is based on a second frequency different from the first frequency, the first sensing information has the first spatial relationship with the second sensing information, and the second sensing information is generated based on the first spatial relationship. In this way, because the third device has known the first spatial relationship based on the first indication sent by the second device, the third device can know the desired spatial region of the second sensing information so as to obtain the complete and refined sensing information within the desired spatial region indicated by coordinates and send only the second sensing information about a desired subset of the spatial region corresponding to the first sensing information, thereby reducing transmission overheads of exchanged sensing information, and also reducing the computational complexity at device. In addition to the spatial relationship, because the third device has known the resolution relationship based on the first indication sent by the second device, the third device can know a desired spatial resolution, a desired data value resolution, and / or a desired data quantity resolution based on the first indication so as to obtain the complete and refined sensing information within the desired resolution, and send only the second sensing information about a desired resolution, whereby further reducing transmission overheads of exchanged sensing information, and also further reducing the computational complexity at device.
[0201] Taking the Implementation 3 as example, the solution includes the following steps: the first device sends the first sensing information to the second device, the second device obtains the first sensing from the first device, then the second device sends the second sensing information to the first device, and the first device obtains the second sensing information from the second device. The first sensing information is based on a first frequency, the second sensing information is based on a second frequency different from the first frequency, the first sensing information has the first spatial relationship with the second sensing information, and the second sensing information is generated based on the first spatial relationship. In this way, because the second device has known the first spatial relationship that may be preconfigured, the second device can know the desired spatial region of the second sensing information so as to obtain the complete and refined sensing information within the desired spatial region indicated by coordinates and send only the second sensing information about a desired subset of the spatial region corresponding to the first sensing information, thereby reducing transmission overheads of exchanged sensing information, and also reducing the computational complexity at device. In addition to the spatial relationship, because the second device has known the resolution relationship that may be preconfigured, the second device can know a desired spatial resolution, a desired data value resolution, and / or a desired data quantity resolution so as to obtain the complete and refined sensing information within the desired resolution, and send only the second sensing information about a desired resolution, whereby further reducing transmission overheads of exchanged sensing information, and also further reducing the computational complexity at device.
[0202] Taking the Implementation 4 as example, the solution includes the following steps: the first device sends the first sensing information to the second device, the second device obtains the first sensing from the first device, then the second device sends the second sensing information to the third device, the third device obtains the second sensing information from the second device. The first sensing information is based on a first frequency, the second sensing information is based on a second frequency different from the first frequency, the first sensing information has the first spatial relationship with the second sensing information, and the second sensing information is generated based on the first spatial relationship. In this way, because the second device has known the first spatial relationship that may be preconfigured, the second device can know the desired spatial region of the second sensing information so as to obtain the complete and refined sensing information within the desired spatial region indicated by coordinates. Then, because the third device may have better capability for obtaining more complete and refined sensing information or for processing sensing information, the second device can send only the second sensing information about a desired subset of the spatial region corresponding to the first sensing information to the third device so as to potentially obtain better results from the third device, thereby reducing transmission overheads of exchanged sensing information, and also reducing the computational complexity at device. In addition to the spatial relationship, because the second device has known the resolution relationship that may be preconfigured, the second device can know a desired spatial resolution, a desired data value resolution, and / or a desired data quantity resolution so as to obtain the complete and refined sensing information within the desired resolution, and send only the second sensing information about a desired resolution to the third device so as to potentially obtain better results from the third device, thereby further reducing transmission overheads of exchanged sensing information, and also further reducing the computational complexity at device.
[0203] Certainly, there is also another manner for obtaining the first indication, for example, updating the first indication periodically by other parties, and so on, which is not limited herein.
[0204] In a possible implementation, the first indication can indicate at least one coordinate of a spatial region corresponding to the second sensing information relative to a spatial region corresponding to the first sensing information under the circumstance that the first indication can indicate the first spatial relationship. In details, in a case that the exchanged second sensing information may be obtained based on a first indication indicating the spatial relationship, the spatial region corresponding to the second sensing information can be obtained in a relatively indirect way, which reduces transmission overheads of exchanged second sensing information. The representation / formats of the first spatial relationship is similar as that described previously.
[0205] On the other hand, in a possible implementation, the first indication can indicate the spatial region corresponding to the second sensing information. For example, in a possible implementation, the first indication can indicate coordinate of at least one point of the spatial region corresponding to the second sensing information. In details, in a case that the exchanged second sensing information may be obtained based on a first indication indicating the spatial region corresponding to the second sensing information, the spatial region corresponding to the second sensing information can be obtained in a relatively direct way, which reduces the computational complexity at device. The representation / formats of the spatial region corresponding to the second sensing information is similar as that described previously.
[0206] In a possible implementation, the first indication may be carried in a downlink RRC signaling, an uplink RRC signaling, a sidelink RRC signaling, a MAC CE or a PHY signaling. Thus, the indication of spatial relationship can be included in different types of signaling, thereby various application scenarios can be adapted to.
[0207] FIG. 12 shows another schematic interaction diagram of a method for sensing information communication according to an implementation of the present disclosure, where before the exchange of sensing information, device 2 can send an indication to device 1, to indicate the spatial relationship between sensing information A and sensing information B. As shown in above FIG. 12, device 1 sends to device 2 the sensing information A obtained based on frequency a, and device 2 sends to device 1 the indication of spatial relationship, indicating the spatial relationship between sensing information A and sensing information B. Then based on the indicated spatial relationship, device 1 sends to device 2 the sensing information B obtained based on frequency b.
[0208] The indication of spatial relationship can be included in downlink / uplink / sidelink RRC signaling, MAC CE or PHY signaling. It can be included in a broadcast / multi-cast / unicast message. For example, the indication can be included in SSBs, in the system information (SIB) , in common / dedicated RRC signaling, in capability report, in UE assistance information (UAI) , in control channel such as physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) / PDCCH / DCI / UCI, etc.
[0209] The indication of spatial relationship can indicate the spatial relationship between sensing information B and sensing information A. Suppose frequency a is lower than frequency b, then the spatial region corresponding to sensing information B can be a subset of the spatial region corresponding to sensing information A. This is because the coverage of low frequency is usually larger than that of high frequency. This is also because the spatial region of sensing information A is usually larger than that of sensing information B. In this case, based on the requirements of sensing tasks, device 2 can indicate device 1 to feedback only the sensing information about a desired subset of the spatial region corresponding to sensing information A, so as to reduce transmission overheads of exchanged sensing information, and also reduce the computational complexity at device 1.
[0210] The indicated spatial relationship between sensing information B and sensing information A can be a 2D or 3D region. Some examples for the representation / formats of indication of spatial relationship can be but not limited to:
[0211] · A 2D region, represented as a rectangle, such as {x0, y0, x1, y1} , or {x0, y0, Lx, Ly} , etc. (x0, y0) and (x1, y1) are the coordinates of two vertices on the diagonal of the rectangle, which can define the area of the rectangle. And Lx is the length of the rectangle along the x-axis, and Ly is the length of the rectangle along the y-axis. Take FIG. 10A-C as an example, where sensing information is represented as a grid-based multipath RF map, or as a 2D image-based RF map. FIG. 10B shows the spatial relationship between sensing information B (in FIG. 10C) and sensing information A (in FIG. 10A) . The region defined by {x0, y0, x1, y1} or {x0, y0, Lx, Ly} is a subset of the region corresponding to sensing information A. Based on the indication of spatial relationship, when device 1 sends device 2 the sensing information obtained on frequency b, it sends only the sensing information within the region defined by the indicated rectangle, e.g. {x0, y0, x1, y1} or {x0, y0, Lx, Ly} .
[0212] · A 2D region, represented as a circle, such as {x0, y0, r} , where (x0, y0) is the coordinate of the center of the circle, and r is the radius of the circle. Based on the indication of spatial relationship, when device 1 sends device 2 the sensing information obtained on frequency b, it sends only the sensing information within the region defined by the indicated circle, e.g. {x0, y0, r} .
[0213] · A 3D region, represented as a cube or a bounding box, or some other format, not limited by the present disclosure. When the 3D region is represented as a bounding box, such as {x0, y0, z0, x1, y1, z1} , or {x0, y0, z0, Lx, Ly, Lz} , (x0, y0, z0) and (x1, y1, z1) are the coordinates of two vertices on the diagonal of the bounding box, which can define the area of the bounding box. And Lx is the length of the bounding box along the x-axis, Ly is the length of the bounding box along the y-axis, and Lz is the length of the bounding box along the z-axis. When the 3D region is represented as cube box, such as {x0, y0, z0, x1, y1, z1} , or {x0, y0, z0, L} , (x0, y0, z0) and (x1, y1, z1) are the coordinates of two vertices on the diagonal of the cube, which can define the area of the cube box. And L is the length of the cube box along the x-axis, the y-axis, and the z-axis. Take FIGs. 10D-F as an example, where sensing information is represented as point cloud. FIG. 10E shows the spatial relationship between sensing information B (in FIG. 10F) and sensing information A (in FIG. 10D) . The region defined by the cube / bounding box (grey region) is a subset of the region corresponding to sensing information A. Based on the indication of spatial relationship, when device 1 sends device 2 the sensing information obtained on frequency b, it sends only the sensing information within the region defined by the indicated cube / bounding box, e.g. {x0, y0, z0, x1, y1, z1} , {x0, y0, z0, Lx, Ly, Lz} , or {x0, y0, z0, L} .
[0214] · A 3D region, represented as a sphere, such as {x0, y0, z0, r} , where (x0, y0, z0) is the coordinate of the center of the sphere, and r is the radius of the sphere. Take FIG. 10D, G and H as an example, where sensing information is represented as pint cloud. FIG. 10G shows the spatial relationship between sensing information B (in FIG. 10H) and sensing information A (in FIG. 10D) . The region defined by the sphere (grey region) is a subset of the region corresponding to sensing information A. Based on the indication of spatial relationship, when device 1 sends device 2 the sensing information obtained on frequency b, it sends only the sensing information within the region defined by the indicated sphere, e.g. {x0, y0, z0, r} .
[0215] For the coordinates of above vertices, such as xi, yi, and zi, they can be global coordinates (geography coordinate system, the coordinate system of a cell, etc. ) or local coordinates (the coordinate system of the device, the coordinate system referring to sensing information A, the coordinate system referring to a reference point, etc. ) . For example in FIG. 10B, if the coordinate (x0, y0) is a local coordinate referring to sensing information A, x0 may be a relative value with respect to the x-coordinate of the starting point of sensing information A, and may also be an index of the grid of the RF map in the x direction (e.g. x0=3, y0=2 in FIG. 10B) .
[0216] In a possible implementation, the first indication may further indicate a resolution relationship between a resolution corresponding to the first sensing information and a resolution corresponding to the second sensing information. For example, in a possible implementation, the first indication can indicate a resolution relationship between a resolution corresponding to the first sensing information and a resolution corresponding to the second sensing information under the circumstance that the first indication can indicate the resolution relationship. In details, in a case that the exchanged second sensing information may be obtained based on a first indication indicating the resolution relationship, the resolution corresponding to the second sensing information can be obtained in a relatively indirect way, which reduces transmission overheads of exchanged second sensing information. The representation / formats of the resolution relationship is similar as that described previously.
[0217] On the other hand, in a possible implementation, the first indication can indicate the resolution corresponding to the second sensing information. For example, in a possible implementation, the first indication can indicate a number of elements per unit region for the second sensing information, a precision or number of bits to represent an element of the second sensing information, or a quantity information of each element of the second sensing information. In details, in a case that the exchanged second sensing information may be obtained based on a first indication indicating the resolution corresponding to the second sensing information, the resolution corresponding to the second sensing information can be obtained in a relatively direct way, which reduces the computational complexity at device. The representation / formats of the resolution corresponding to the sensing information is similar as that described previously.
[0218] More specifically, referring to FIG. 12 again, in addition to spatial relationship, there may be a resolution relationship between sensing information B and sensing information A. For example, suppose frequency a is lower than frequency b, sensing information B can extend or enhance sensing information A in terms of spatial resolution, and vice versa, where the spatial resolution may be 2D resolution or 3D resolution. Sensing information B can also extend or enhance sensing information A in terms of data resolution, e.g. increasing the data value resolution by increasing the bit numbers to represent sensing information values, or increasing the data quantity resolution, etc. Therefore, the indication of spatial relationship may also carry an indication about the resolution relationship between sensing information B and sensing information A, which can be spatial resolution, data resolution, etc. Then based on the requirements of sensing tasks, device 2 can indicate device 1 to feedback only the sensing information with desired resolution using the carried resolution relationship, so as to reduce transmission overheads of exchanged sensing information, and also reduce the computational complexity at device 1. The carried resolution relationship may include but is not limited to:
[0219] · Update of spatial resolution, that is, directly indicating the spatial resolution of sensing information B, or indicating the scaling factor of the spatial resolution of sensing information B compared with the spatial resolution of sensing information A. If the carried resolution relationship indicates a scaling factor of spatial resolution, device 1 determines the spatial resolution of sensing information B based on the spatial resolution of sensing information A and the indicated scaling factor. Take the sensing information represented as a grid-based multipath RF map as an example. If carried resolution relationship directly indicates the spatial resolution of sensing information B, e.g. M×N, the RF map corresponding to sensing information B is represented as an M×N map including M×N grids. If carried resolution relationship indicates a scaling factor of spatial resolution, device 1 scales the spatial resolution of the RF map using the scaling factor. Suppose sensing information A is an M1×N1 map including M1×N1 grids. If the indicated scaling factor is m, device 1 represents sensing information B as an mM1×mM1 map including mM1×mN1 grids (assuming for the same geographical size) . If the scaling factor is m×n, device 1 represents sensing information B as an mM1×nN1 map including mM1×nN1 grids.
[0220] · Update of data value resolution, that is, directly indicating the data value resolution of sensing information B, or indicating the amount of change in the data value resolution of sensing information B relative to the data value resolution of information A. If carried resolution relationship indicates the amount of change in the data value resolution, device 1 determines the data value resolution of sensing information B based on the data value resolution of sensing information A and the indicated amount of change. Take the sensing information represented by point cloud as an example, if carried resolution relationship directly indicates the data value resolution of sensing information B, e.g. the number of bits to represent the coordinates (x, y, z) , the point cloud corresponding to information B uses the indicated number of bits to represent the coordinates. Take the sensing information represented as a 2D image -based RF map as another example, and each pixel (grid) includes a scalar value for RSSI. Suppose the values of RSSI in sensing information A are represented as P bits. If carried resolution relationship indicates the amount of change in the data value resolution, e.g. q, device 1 updates the data value resolution of RF map with Q = P+q, and then uses Q bits to represent the values of RSSI in sensing information B.
[0221] · Update of data quantity resolution, that is, directly indicating the data quality resolution of sensing information B, or indicating the amount of change in the data quality resolution of sensing information B relative to the data quality resolution of information A. If carried resolution relationship indicates the amount of change in the data quantity resolution, device 1 determines the data quantity resolution of sensing information B based on the data quantity resolution of sensing information A and the indicated amount of change. Take the sensing information represented as a grid-based multipath RF map as an example. If carried resolution relationship directly indicates the data quantity resolution of sensing information B, e. g K paths, each grid of the RF map corresponding to sensing information B includes information of K paths. Suppose each grid of sensing information A includes information of K1 paths. If carried resolution relationship indicates the amount of change in the data quantity resolution, e.g. k, device 1 updates the data quantity resolution of RF map with K2=K1+k, and then includes K2 paths in each grid of sensing information B.
[0222] Take FIG. 12 as an example, where the sensing information is represented as a grid-based multipath RF map. Device 2 can indicate device 1 the spatial relationship, i.e. to feedback the sensing information B within a rectangle region {x0, y0, Lx, Ly}, with Lx=3, Ly=2. And at the same time, the indication of spatial relationship can also carry a resolution relationship, i.e. the scaling factor m of the spatial resolution of sensing information B compared to the spatial resolution of sensing information A.Then device 1 represents sensing information B as an mLx×mLy map including mLx×mLy grids. Suppose the indicated scaling factor is m=2 and we have mLx×mLy=2×3×2×2=24 , then the sensing information B is a 6×4 map including 24 grids, as shown in FIG. 12 (b) .
[0223] In a possible implementation, the second spatial relationship can be used to obtain the spatial region corresponding to the third sensing information. In a possible implementation, the third sensing information may be sent or obtained based on a second indication, where the second indication can indicate the second spatial relationship. In a possible implementation, the third sensing information may be sent or obtained based on a second indication, where the second indication can indicate the spatial region corresponding to the third sensing information. The specific manner for obtaining the spatial region corresponding to the third sensing information in a relatively direct way or in a relatively indirect way is similar as that described previously, which is not repeated herein for brevity.
[0224] In a possible implementation, the second indication can be carried in a downlink RRC signaling, an uplink RRC signaling, a sidelink RRC signaling, a MAC CE or a PHY signaling. In details, the indication of spatial relationship can be included in different kinds of signaling, thereby various application scenarios can be adapted to.
[0225] FIGs. 13A-B show yet another schematic interaction diagrams of a method for sensing information communication according to an implementation of the present disclosure, where there can be hierarchical spatial relationships between the sensing information. As shown in above FIG. 13A, the exchanged sensing information between device 1 and device 2 can include sensing information A, sensing information B, sensing information C, etc. (for example, the exchanged sensing information between the first device and the second device can include the first sensing information, the second sensing information, the third sensing information, etc. ) . Sensing information C is obtained based on frequency c, and frequency c may be the same as one of frequency a and frequency b, or may be different from both frequency a and frequency b. The spatial relationship between sensing information C and sensing information B (or the spatial relationship between sensing information C and sensing information A) is similarly defined as the spatial relationship between sensing information B and sensing information A that are described previously. For example, the spatial region corresponding to sensing information C can be a subset of the spatial region corresponding to sensing information B, or vice versa. Or the spatial region corresponding to sensing information C can be a subset of the spatial region corresponding to sensing information A, or vice versa.
[0226] In addition, before the exchange of sensing information C, device 2 can also send an indication of spatial relationship to device 1, to indicate the spatial relationship between sensing information C and sensing information B, or to indicate the spatial relationship between sensing information C and sensing information A, as shown in FIG. 13B. This indication of spatial relationship is similarly defined as the previously described indication of spatial relationship for sensing information B and sensing information A.
[0227] FIGs. 14A-B gives one example for hierarchical relationships between sensing information. Suppose the exchanged sensing information between device 1 and device 2 includes sensing information A, sensing information B and sensing information C, as shown in FIG. 14A. The sensing information represented as grid-based multipath RF map is used in the illustration, where each grid includes multiple paths and each path includes information about {power, delay, AOA, AOD} . Similar relationships or procedures can be used for other formats of sensing information as well. The spatial region corresponding to sensing information B (the light-grey region) is a subset of the spatial region corresponding to sensing information A (the white region) , as shown in FIG. 14A. And the spatial region corresponding to sensing information C (the dark-grey region) is a subset of the spatial region corresponding to sensing information B (the light-grey region) , as shown in FIG. 14B.
[0228] In the example of FIGs. 14A-B, device 2 can also send indication of spatial relationship to device 1, to indicate the spatial relationship between sensing information C and sensing information B, and / or to indicate the relationship between sensing information B and sensing information A. For example, before exchange of sensing information C, device 2 can send indication of spatial relationship to device 1, indicating the spatial relationship between sensing information C and sensing information B. The indication of spatial relationship can also carry a resolution relationship between sensing information C and sensing information B. Then device 2 feedbacks sensing information C based on the received indication, e.g. sends the sensing information within the indicated region (and scales the spatial resolution if the resolution relationship is carried in the indication) .
[0229] In a possible implementation, before the first device sends or obtains the first sensing information, a mode indication can be sent or obtained, where the mode indication indicates at least one of: at least one frequency that the first device supports or a second device supports, where the at least one frequency includes the first frequency and the second frequency (and a third frequency, a fourth frequency, and so on, which is not limited herein) ; at least one relationship that the first device supports or a second device supports, where the at least one relationship includes the first spatial relationship (and a second spatial relationship, a third spatial relationship, a first resolution relationship, a second resolution relationship, a third resolution relationship, and so on, which is not limited herein) ; at least one spatial region of sensing information that the first device supports or a second device supports, where the at least one spatial region of sensing information includes a spatial region corresponding to the first sensing information and a spatial region corresponding to the second sensing information (and a spatial region corresponding to third sensing information, a spatial region corresponding to fourth sensing information, and so on, which is not limited herein) ; or at least one resolution of sensing information that the first device supports or a second device supports, where the at least one resolution of sensing information includes a resolution corresponding to the first sensing information and a resolution corresponding to the second sensing information (and a resolution corresponding to third sensing information, a resolution corresponding to fourth sensing information, and so on, which is not limited herein) .
[0230] In details, before the exchange of sensing information, device 1 may send a mode indication to device 2, to indicate the frequencies that device 1 can support, the relationship that device 1 can support, the spatial region of exchanged sensing information that device 1 can support, and / or the resolutions of exchanged sensing information that device 1 can support.
[0231] The mode indication can include one or multiple of following:
[0232] ● One or more frequencies {f1, f2, .. fN} that device 1 can support, or prefer to use, for the exchanged sensing information (or sensing results) , N≥1. Then the sensing information exchanged between device 1 and device 2 is obtained using one or more frequencies in {f1, f2, .. fN} , i.e. the aforementioned frequencies a, b, c, etc., belong to {f1, f2, .. fN} . One special case is N=1, so that the sensing information exchanged between the two devices is based on only one frequency.
[0233] · Whether device 1 support representing sensing information B based on the relationship between sensing information B and sensing information A. If supported, the exchanged sensing information between device 1 and device 2 will be based on the relationship, as described previously.
[0234] · One or more of the following relationships that device 1 can support, or prefer to use, for the exchanged sensing information (or sensing results) :
[0235] ○ Spatial relationship. If supported, the exchanged sensing information B between device 1 and device 2 can use the spatial relationship between sensing information B and sensing information A, as described previously.
[0236] ○ Resolution relationship. If supported, the exchanged sensing information B between device 1 and device 2 can use the resolution relationship between sensing information B and sensing information A, as described previously. The resolution can be spatial resolution, data resolution, etc.
[0237] ○ Spatial resolution relationship. If supported, the exchanged sensing information B between device 1 and device 2 can use the spatial resolution relationship between sensing information B and sensing information A, as described previously. For example, sensing information B can extend or enhance sensing information A in terms of spatial resolution.
[0238] ○ Data resolution relationship. If supported, the exchanged sensing information B between device 1 and device 2 can use the data resolution relationship between sensing information B and sensing information A, as described previously. The data resolution can be data value resolution, data quantity resolution, etc. For example, sensing information B can extend or enhance sensing information A in terms of data resolution.
[0239] ○ Data value resolution relationship. If supported, the exchanged sensing information B between device 1 and device 2 can use the data value resolution relationship between sensing information B and sensing information A, as described previously. For example, sensing information B can extend or enhance sensing information A in terms of data value resolution.
[0240] ○ Data quantity resolution relationship. If supported, the exchanged sensing information B between device 1 and device 2 can use the data quantity resolution relationship between sensing information B and sensing information A, as described previously. For example, sensing information B can extend or enhance sensing information A in terms of data quantity resolution.
[0241] ● The spatial region that device 1 can support, or prefer to use, for the exchanged sensing information (or sensing results) . The spatial region can be a 2D or 3D region. Then the spatial region of the sensing information exchanged between device 1 and device 2 can be based on the indicated spatial region in mode indication. More details for the spatial region in mode indication are given below:
[0242] ○ A 2D region, represented as a rectangle with size {Lx, Ly} , where Lx is the length of the rectangle along the x-axis, and Ly is the length of the rectangle along the y-axis.
[0243] ○ A 2D region, represented as a circle with size r, where r is the radius of the circle.
[0244] ○ A 3D region, represented as a cube or a bounding box. When the 3D region is represented as a bounding box, it has size {Lx, Ly, Lz} , where Lx is the length of the bounding box along the x-axis, Ly is the length of the bounding box along the y-axis, and Lz is the length of the bounding box along the z-axis. When the 3D region is represented as a cube box, it has size {L} , where L is the length of the cube box along the x-axis, the y-axis, or the z-axis.
[0245] ○ A 3D region, represented as a sphere with size r, where r is the radius of the sphere.
[0246] · The resolution that device 1 can support, or prefer to use, for the exchanged sensing information (or sensing results) . The resolution can include spatial resolution, data resolution, etc. And there may be multiple types of data resolution, including data value resolution, data quantity resolution, etc. Then the resolution of the sensing information exchanged between device 1 and device 2 can be based on the indicated resolution in mode indication. More details for the resolution in mode indication are given below:
[0247] ○ Spatial resolution, which can be 2D resolution or 3D resolution. Spatial resolution can indicate the number of pixels, grids, points, etc. per unit 2D / 3D space, depending on the format of sensing information. Take the sensing information represented as a 2D image -based RF map as an example, and each pixel (or grid) includes a scalar value for RSSI. Then the spatial resolution can be defined as M×N pixels (grids) per unit area, e.g. a geographical area of 1 meters by 1 meters, or a geographical area of 10 meters by 10 meters, etc. Take the sensing information represented as a grid-based multipath RF map as another example, and each grid includes information about multiple paths. Then the spatial resolution can be defined as M×N grids per unit area. Take the sensing information represented by point cloud as a third example. Then the spatial resolution can be defined as M points per unit space, for example M points in a 3D space of 1 meter × 1 meter × 1 meter.
[0248] ○ Data value resolution can indicate the precisions or number of bits to represent the coordinates of point cloud, or the precisions or number of bits to represent the RF-map element, such as RSSI values, PSD values, {power, delay, AOA, AOD} values of paths / rays, {angle, beam gradient, beam width} values of beams, etc., depending on the format of sensing information. Take the sensing information represented as a 2D image or 3D image -based RF map as an example, and each grid includes a scalar value for RSSI, or a vector for the PSD values. Then the data value resolution can indicate the number of bits for the RSSI or PSD values. Take the sensing information represented by point cloud as another example. The data value resolution can indicate the precisions of the coordinates, i.e. (x, y, z) , of each point, such as a16-bit floating point number, a 32-bit floating point number, etc. The data value resolution can also indicate the number of bits for the coordinates of each point.
[0249] ○ Data quantity resolution can indicate the quantity information of each element. Take the sensing information represented as a grid-based multipath RF map as an example, and each grid includes information about multiple paths. Then the data quantity resolution can indicate the path number of each grid. Take the sensing information represented by a 3D image -based RF map as another example, where each grid (usually representing a location) includes a vector for the PSD values. Then the data quantity resolution can indicate the length of the PSD vector in each grid.
[0250] Similarly, before the exchange of sensing information, device 2 can also send a mode indication to device 1 and / or other device, to indicate the frequencies that device 2 can support, the spatial region of exchanged sensing information that device 2 can support, and / or the resolutions of exchanged sensing information that device 2 can support. The content / format is similar to the mode indication described previously.
[0251] The mode indication can be included in downlink / uplink / sidelink RRC signaling, MAC CE or PHY signaling. It can be included in a broadcast / multi-cast / unicast message. For example, the indication can be included in SSBs, in the SIB, in common / dedicated RRC signaling, in capability report, in UAI, in control channel such as PUCCH / PDCCH / DCI / UCI, etc.
[0252] A possible implementation of the present disclosure provides a communication apparatus 1500, 1600, configured to perform the method according to any one of the above methods, which is not repeated herein.
[0253] FIG. 15 shows a schematic structural diagram of a communication apparatus according to an implementation of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 15, in a possible implementation, the communication apparatus 1500 includes: a transceiving unit 1510, configured to: send or obtain first sensing information; and send or obtain second sensing information; where the first sensing information is based on a first frequency, the second sensing information is based on a second frequency different from the first frequency, the first sensing information has a first spatial relationship with the second sensing information, and the second sensing information is generated based on the first spatial relationship.
[0254] FIG. 16 shows a schematic structural diagram of another communication apparatus according to an implementation of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 16, in a possible implementation, the communication apparatus 1600 includes: one or more processors 1610; and an interface circuit 1620, configure to: send or obtain first sensing information; and send or obtain second sensing information; where the first sensing information is based on a first frequency, the second sensing information is based on a second frequency different from the first frequency, the first sensing information has a first spatial relationship with the second sensing information, and the second sensing information is generated based on the first spatial relationship.
[0255] In a possible implementation, the interface circuit 1620 includes one or more transceivers 16210.
[0256] FIG. 17 shows a schematic structural diagram of an apparatus according to an implementation of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 17, a possible implementation of the present disclosure provides an apparatus 1700 including: one or more processors 1710; and a memory 1720 storing instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors 1710, cause the apparatus 1700 to perform the method according to any one of the above methods, which is not repeated herein.
[0257] A possible implementation of the present disclosure provides a communication system, where the communication system includes a communication apparatus configured to perform the method according to any one of the above methods, which is not repeated herein.
[0258] A possible implementation of the present disclosure provides a computer-readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon which, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform the method according to any one of the above methods, which is not repeated herein.
[0259] A possible implementation of the present disclosure provides a computer program product storing instructions which, when executed, cause an apparatus to perform the method according to any one of the above methods, which is not repeated herein.
[0260] Note that in the above descriptions, low frequency and high frequency are used as examples to describe different frequencies. The present disclosure can also be applied to other sensing information or sensing scenarios having different frequencies, e.g. having different frequency bands, different BWPs, different CCs, different bandwidths, different subcarrier spacing, etc. The relationship between the sensing information and the corresponding frequency, the representations of sensing information, spatial regions, spatial resolutions, data resolutions, etc., and corresponding procedures are similar, and are not described herein again.
[0261] The present disclosure is described by using the interaction and processing procedures between the UE and the BS as examples. The exchanged information and protocol flows can also be used between other network nodes described in FIG. 2, for example, between ED and TRP, between ED and core network, between ED and ED, between TRP and TRP.
[0262] The present disclosure can be also applied to Wi-Fi, UWB and other short range communications. Then the BS in the procedure described in the present disclosure may be replaced with AP.
[0263] The present disclosure encompasses various embodiments, including not only method embodiments, but also other embodiments such as apparatus embodiments and embodiments related to non-transitory computer readable storage media. Embodiments may incorporate, individually or in combinations, the features disclosed herein.
[0264] Although this disclosure refers to illustrative embodiments, this is not intended to be construed in a limiting sense. Various modifications and combinations of the illustrative embodiments, as well as other embodiments of the disclosure, will be apparent to persons skilled in the art upon reference to the description.
[0265] Features disclosed herein in the context of any particular embodiments may also or instead be implemented in other embodiments. Method embodiments, for example, may also or instead be implemented in apparatus, system, and / or computer program product embodiments. In addition, although embodiments are described primarily in the context of methods and apparatus, other implementations are also contemplated, as instructions stored on one or more non-transitory computer-readable media, for example. Such media could store programming or instructions to perform any of various methods consistent with the present disclosure.
Claims
1.A method for sensing information communication, comprising:sending or obtaining first sensing information; andsending or obtaining second sensing information;wherein the first sensing information is based on a first frequency, the second sensing information is based on a second frequency different from the first frequency, the first sensing information has a first spatial relationship with the second sensing information, and the second sensing information is generated based on the first spatial relationship.2.The method according to claim 1, wherein the first spatial relationship is that a spatial region corresponding to the second sensing information is a subset of a spatial region corresponding to the first sensing information.3.The method according to claim 2, wherein at least one of the spatial region corresponding to the first sensing information or spatial region corresponding to the second sensing information is represented as a two-dimensional (2D) region or a three-dimensional (3D) region.4.The method according to claim 2 or 3, wherein at least one of the spatial region corresponding to the first sensing information or spatial region corresponding to the second sensing information is represented as one of:a rectangle defined by: coordinates of two vertices on a diagonal of the rectangle; or a coordinate of a vertex of the rectangle, and lengths of two sides of the rectangle;a circle defined by a coordinate of a center of the circle and a radius of the circle;a cube box defined by: coordinates of two vertices on a diagonal of the cube box; or a coordinate of a vertex of the cube box, and a length of an edge of the cube box;a bounding box defined by: coordinates of two vertices on a diagonal of the bounding box; or a coordinate of a vertex of the bounding box, lengths of three edges of the bounding box; ora sphere defined by a coordinate of a center of the sphere and a radius of the sphere.5.The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the first sensing information further has a resolution relationship with the second sensing information, and the resolution relationship is a relationship between a resolution corresponding to the first sensing information and a resolution corresponding to the second sensing information, wherein the resolution corresponding to the first sensing information and the resolution corresponding to the second sensing information comprise at least one of a spatial resolution, a data value resolution, or a data quantity resolution.6.The method according to claim 5, wherein the resolution relationship is one or more of that:at least one spatial resolution corresponding to the second sensing information is different from at least one spatial resolution corresponding to the first sensing information;at least one data value resolution corresponding to the second sensing information is different from at least one data value resolution corresponding to the first sensing information; orat least one data quantity resolution corresponding to the second sensing information is different from at least one data quantity resolution corresponding to the first sensing information.7.The method according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the resolution relationship is one or more of that:at least one spatial resolution corresponding to the second sensing information is higher than at least one spatial resolution corresponding to the first sensing information;at least one data value resolution corresponding to the second sensing information is higher than at least one data value resolution corresponding to the first sensing information; orat least one data quantity resolution corresponding to the second sensing information is higher than at least one data quantity resolution corresponding to the first sensing information.8.The method according to any one of claims 5 to 7, wherein the resolution relationship comprises one of:an amount of change between a spatial resolution of the second sensing information and a spatial resolution of the first sensing information, wherein the spatial resolution of sensing information indicates a number of elements per unit region for the sensing information;an amount of change between a data value resolution of the second sensing information and a data value resolution of the first sensing information, wherein the data value resolution of sensing information indicates a precision or number of bits to represent an element of the sensing information; oran amount of change between a data quantity resolution of the second sensing information and a data quantity resolution of the first sensing information, wherein the data quantity resolution of sensing information indicates quantity information of each element of the sensing information.9.The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, further comprising:sending or obtaining third sensing information, wherein the third sensing information is based on a third frequency, the third frequency is the same as one of the first frequency and the second frequency or different from both the first frequency and the second frequency, the third sensing information has a second spatial relationship with the first sensing information or the second sensing information, and the third sensing information is generated based on the second spatial relationship.10.The method according to claim 9, wherein the second spatial relationship is that a spatial region corresponding to the third sensing information is a subset of a spatial region corresponding to the first sensing information or a subset of a spatial region corresponding to the second sensing information.11.The method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the first spatial relationship is used to obtain the spatial region corresponding to the second sensing information.12.The method according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein sending or obtaining the second sensing information comprises:sending or obtaining the second sensing information based on a first indication, wherein the first indication indicates the first spatial relationship.13.The method according to claim 12, wherein sending or obtaining the second sensing information based on the first indication comprises:sending or obtaining, by a first device, the second sensing information based on the first indication, wherein the first indication is obtained from a second device, or is preconfigured in the first device;sending or obtaining, by a second device, the second sensing information based on the first indication, wherein the first indication is sent to a first device or a third device, or is preconfigured in the second device; orsending or obtaining, by a third device, the second sensing information based on the first indication, wherein the first indication is obtained from a second device, or is preconfigured in the third device.14.The method according to claim 12 or 13, wherein the first indication indicating the first spatial relationship comprises:the first indication indicates at least one coordinate of a spatial region corresponding to the second sensing information relative to a spatial region corresponding to the first sensing information.15.The method according to any one of claims 12 to 14, wherein the first indication is carried in a downlink radio resource control (RRC) signaling, an uplink RRC signaling, a sidelink RRC signaling, a media access control control element (MAC CE) or a physical layer (PHY) signaling.16.The method according to any one of claims 12 to 15, wherein the first indication further indicates a resolution relationship between a resolution corresponding to the first sensing information and a resolution corresponding to the second sensing information.17.The method according to any one of claims 1 to 16, before sending or obtaining the first sensing information, further comprising:sending or obtaining, by a first device, a mode indication, wherein the mode indication indicates at least one of:at least one frequency that the first device supports or a second device supports, wherein the at least one frequency comprises the first frequency and the second frequency;at least one relationship that the first device supports or a second device supports, wherein the at least one relationship comprises the first spatial relationship;at least one spatial region of sensing information that the first device supports or a second device supports, wherein the at least one spatial region of sensing information comprises a spatial region corresponding to the first sensing information and a spatial region corresponding to the second sensing information; orat least one resolution of sensing information that the first device supports or a second device supports, wherein the at least one resolution of sensing information comprises a resolution corresponding to the first sensing information and a resolution corresponding to the second sensing information.18.A communication apparatus, configured to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 17.19.The communication apparatus according to claim 18, comprising:a transceiving unit, configured to: send or obtain first sensing information; and send or obtain second sensing information;wherein the first sensing information is based on a first frequency, the second sensing information is based on a second frequency different from the first frequency, the first sensing information has a first spatial relationship with the second sensing information, and the second sensing information is generated based on the first spatial relationship.20.The communication apparatus according to claim 18, comprising:one or more processors; andan interface circuit, configure to: send or obtain first sensing information; and send or obtain second sensing information;wherein the first sensing information is based on a first frequency, the second sensing information is based on a second frequency different from the first frequency, the first sensing information has a first spatial relationship with the second sensing information, and the second sensing information is generated based on the first spatial relationship.21.The communication apparatus according to claim 20, wherein the interface circuit comprises one or more transceivers.22.An apparatus, comprising:one or more processors; anda memory storing instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the apparatus to: perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 17.23.A communication system, wherein the communication system comprises a communication apparatus configured to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 17.24.A computer-readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon which, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform the method according to any one of 1 to 17.25.A computer program product storing instructions which, when executed, cause an apparatus to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 17.
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