Backscatter frequency / phase shift by backscattering device

Abstract

Disclosed are techniques for wireless communication. In an aspect, a backscattering device may report capability information to a processing device, the capability information indicating one or more parameters that characterize a phase relation, a frequency relation, a time relation, or any combination thereof between two or more backscattered signal transmissions or between a backscattered signal transmission and a reference signal transmission. The backscattering device may transmit one or more backscattered signal transmissions based on backscattering one or more reference signal transmissions from a transmitting device based on the one or more parameters.

Description

Qualcomm Ref. No.2401803WO BACKSCATTER FREQUENCY / PHASE SHIFT BY BACKSCATTERING DEVICE BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE 1. Field of the Disclosure

[0001] Aspects of the disclosure relate generally to wireless technologies. 2. Description of the Related Art

[0002] Wireless communication systems have developed through various generations, including a first-generation analog wireless phone service (1G), a second-generation (2G) digital wireless phone service (including interim 2.5G and 2.75G networks), a third-generation (3G) high speed data, Internet-capable wireless service and a fourth-generation (4G) service (e.g., Long Term Evolution (LTE) or WiMax). There are presently many different types of wireless communication systems in use, including cellular and personal communications service (PCS) systems. Examples of known cellular systems include the cellular analog advanced mobile phone system (AMPS), and digital cellular systems based on code division multiple access (CDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), the Global System for Mobile communications (GSM), etc.

[0003] A fifth generation (5G) wireless standard, referred to as New Radio (NR), enables higher data transfer speeds, greater numbers of connections, and better coverage, among other improvements. The 5G standard, according to the Next Generation Mobile Networks Alliance, is designed to provide higher data rates as compared to previous standards, more accurate positioning (e.g., based on reference signals for positioning (RS-P), such as downlink, uplink, or sidelink positioning reference signals (PRS)), and other technical enhancements. These enhancements, as well as the use of higher frequency bands, advances in PRS processes and technology, and high-density deployments for 5G, enable highly accurate 5G-based positioning. SUMMARY

[0004] The following presents a simplified summary relating to one or more aspects disclosed herein. Thus, the following summary should not be considered an extensive overview 1 QC2401803WOQualcomm Ref. No.2401803WO relating to all contemplated aspects, nor should the following summary be considered to identify key or critical elements relating to all contemplated aspects or to delineate the scope associated with any particular aspect. Accordingly, the following summary has the sole purpose to present certain concepts relating to one or more aspects relating to the mechanisms disclosed herein in a simplified form to precede the detailed description presented below.

[0005] In an aspect, a method of wireless communication performed by a backscattering device includes reporting capability information to a processing device, the capability information indicating one or more parameters that characterize a phase relation, a frequency relation, a time relation, or any combination thereof between two or more backscattered signal transmissions or between a backscattered signal transmission and a reference signal transmission; and transmitting one or more backscattered signal transmissions based on backscattering one or more reference signal transmissions from a transmitting device based on the one or more parameters.

[0006] In an aspect, a method of wireless communication by a receiving device includes receiving resource configuration from a processing device, the resource configuration indicating one or more resource allocations for receiving one or more backscattered signal transmissions; and receiving the one or more backscattered signal transmissions based on the resource configuration.

[0007] In an aspect, a backscattering device includes one or more memories; one or more transceivers; and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the one or more memories and the one or more transceivers, the one or more processors, either alone or in combination, configured to: report, via the one or more transceivers, capability information to a processing device, the capability information indicating one or more parameters that characterize a phase relation, a frequency relation, a time relation, or any combination thereof between two or more backscattered signal transmissions or between a backscattered signal transmission and a reference signal transmission; and transmit, via the one or more transceivers, one or more backscattered signal transmissions based on backscattering one or more reference signal transmissions from a transmitting device based on the one or more parameters.

[0008] In an aspect, a receiving device includes one or more memories; one or more transceivers; and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the one or more memories and 2 QC2401803WOQualcomm Ref. No.2401803WO the one or more transceivers, the one or more processors, either alone or in combination, configured to: receive, via the one or more transceivers, resource configuration from a processing device, the resource configuration indicating one or more resource allocations for receiving one or more backscattered signal transmissions; and receive, via the one or more transceivers, the one or more backscattered signal transmissions based on the resource configuration.

[0009] In an aspect, a backscattering device includes means for reporting capability information to a processing device, the capability information indicating one or more parameters that characterize a phase relation, a frequency relation, a time relation, or any combination thereof between two or more backscattered signal transmissions or between a backscattered signal transmission and a reference signal transmission; and means for transmitting one or more backscattered signal transmissions based on backscattering one or more reference signal transmissions from a transmitting device based on the one or more parameters.

[0010] In an aspect, a receiving device includes means for receiving resource configuration from a processing device, the resource configuration indicating one or more resource allocations for receiving one or more backscattered signal transmissions; and means for receiving the one or more backscattered signal transmissions based on the resource configuration.

[0011] In an aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium stores computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a backscattering device, cause the backscattering device to: report capability information to a processing device, the capability information indicating one or more parameters that characterize a phase relation, a frequency relation, a time relation, or any combination thereof between two or more backscattered signal transmissions or between a backscattered signal transmission and a reference signal transmission; and transmit one or more backscattered signal transmissions based on backscattering one or more reference signal transmissions from a transmitting device based on the one or more parameters.

[0012] In an aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium stores computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a receiving device, cause the receiving device to: receive resource configuration from a processing device, the resource configuration indicating one or more resource allocations for receiving one or more backscattered signal 3 QC2401803WOQualcomm Ref. No.2401803WO transmissions; and receive the one or more backscattered signal transmissions based on the resource configuration.

[0013] Other objects and advantages associated with the aspects disclosed herein will be apparent to those skilled in the art based on the accompanying drawings and detailed description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014] The accompanying drawings are presented to aid in the description of various aspects of the disclosure and are provided solely for illustration of the aspects and not limitation thereof.

[0015] FIG. 1 illustrates an example wireless communications system, according to aspects of the disclosure.

[0016] FIGS.2A, 2B, and 2C illustrate example wireless network structures, according to aspects of the disclosure.

[0017] FIG. 3 illustrates an example ambient internet of things (IoT) application, according to aspects of the disclosure.

[0018] FIGS. 4A, 4B, and 4C are simplified block diagrams of several sample aspects of components that may be employed in a user equipment (UE), a base station, and a network entity, respectively, and configured to support communications as taught herein.

[0019] FIG. 5 illustrates a simplified block diagram of an ambient IoT station and an ambient IoT device in an ambient IoT system, according to aspects of the disclosure.

[0020] FIGS. 6A-6D illustrate four example connectivity topologies for ambient IoT networks and devices, according to aspects of the disclosure.

[0021] FIGS. 7A and 7B illustrate example scenarios for backscatter-based positioning procedures, according to aspects of the disclosure.

[0022] FIGS. 8A and 8B illustrate example approaches for determining a location based on backscattered signals, according to aspects of the disclosure.

[0023] FIG.9 illustrates a frequency hopping scheme, according to aspects of the disclosure.

[0024] FIG.10 illustrates a staircase pattern for a 5-hop SRS configuration, according to aspects of the disclosure.

[0025] FIG. 11 illustrates a frequency hopping scheme in the time domain for DL-PRS, according to aspects of the disclosure.

[0026] FIG.12 illustrates an aggregated SRS scheme, according to aspects of the disclosure. 4 QC2401803WOQualcomm Ref. No.2401803WO

[0027] FIG. 13A illustrates a first example backscattering setup that is usable for configuring a backscatter-based positioning procedure based on FIG. 7A and / or FIG.7B, according to aspects of the disclosure.

[0028] FIG. 13B illustrates a resource grid showing two backscattered transmissions based on the first example backscattering setup in FIG.13A, according to aspects of the disclosure.

[0029] FIG.14A illustrates a second example backscattering setup that is usable for configuring a backscatter-based positioning procedure based on FIG. 7A and / or FIG. 7B, according to aspects of the disclosure.

[0030] FIG. 14B illustrates a resource grid showing a reference signal transmission and two backscattered transmissions based on the second example backscattering setup in FIG. 14A, according to aspects of the disclosure.

[0031] FIG. 14C is a procedure flow diagram showing an example flow of activating or deactivating the frequency shifting functionality of a backscattering device, according to aspects of the disclosure.

[0032] FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating a method of wireless communication performed by a backscattering device, according to aspects of the disclosure.

[0033] FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating a method of wireless communication performed by a receiving device, according to aspects of the disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0034] Aspects of the disclosure are provided in the following description and related drawings directed to various examples provided for illustration purposes. Alternate aspects may be devised without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Additionally, well-known elements of the disclosure will not be described in detail or will be omitted so as not to obscure the relevant details of the disclosure.

[0035] Various aspects relate generally to a backscatter-based positioning procedure. Some aspects more specifically relate to configuring one or more reference signal transmissions, one or more backscattering functionalities, and / or one or more measurement configurations for the backscatter-based positioning procedure.

[0036] Particular aspects of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented to realize one or more of the following potential advantages. In some examples, by providing a processing device the capability information of a backscattering device and / or QC2401803WOQualcomm Ref. No.2401803WO the capability information of a receiving device, the described techniques can be used to more effectively manage activation or deactivation of bandwidth aggregation of the backscattered signal transmissions, and / or more effectively design the resource allocations or measurement configurations for the backscattered signal transmissions.

[0037] The words “exemplary” and / or “example” are used herein to mean “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any aspect described herein as “exemplary” and / or “example” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other aspects. Likewise, the term “aspects of the disclosure” does not require that all aspects of the disclosure include the discussed feature, advantage or mode of operation.

[0038] Those of skill in the art will appreciate that the information and signals described below may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout the description below may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof, depending in part on the particular application, in part on the desired design, in part on the corresponding technology, etc.

[0039] Further, many aspects are described in terms of sequences of actions to be performed by, for example, elements of a computing device. It will be recognized that various actions described herein can be performed by specific circuits (e.g., application specific integrated circuits (ASICs)), by program instructions being executed by one or more processors, or by a combination of both. Additionally, the sequence(s) of actions described herein can be considered to be embodied entirely within any form of non- transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored therein a corresponding set of computer instructions that, upon execution, would cause or instruct an associated processor of a device to perform the functionality described herein. Thus, the various aspects of the disclosure may be embodied in a number of different forms, all of which have been contemplated to be within the scope of the claimed subject matter. In addition, for each of the aspects described herein, the corresponding form of any such aspects may be described herein as, for example, “logic configured to” perform the described action.

[0040] As used herein, the terms “user equipment” (UE) and “base station” are not intended to be specific or otherwise limited to any particular radio access technology (RAT), unless otherwise noted. In general, a UE may be any wireless communication device (e.g., a 6 QC2401803WOQualcomm Ref. No.2401803WO mobile phone, router, tablet computer, laptop computer, consumer asset locating device, wearable (e.g., smartwatch, glasses, augmented reality (AR) / virtual reality (VR) headset, etc.), vehicle (e.g., automobile, motorcycle, bicycle, etc.), Internet of Things (IoT) device, etc.) used by a user to communicate over a wireless communications network. A UE may be mobile or may (e.g., at certain times) be stationary, and may communicate with a radio access network (RAN). As used herein, the term “UE” may be referred to interchangeably as an “access terminal” or “AT,” a “client device,” a “wireless device,” a “subscriber device,” a “subscriber terminal,” a “subscriber station,” a “user terminal” or “UT,” a “mobile device,” a “mobile terminal,” a “mobile station,” or variations thereof. Generally, UEs can communicate with a core network via a RAN, and through the core network the UEs can be connected with external networks such as the Internet and with other UEs. Of course, other mechanisms of connecting to the core network and / or the Internet are also possible for the UEs, such as over wired access networks, wireless local area network (WLAN) networks (e.g., based on the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 specification, etc.) and so on.

[0041] A base station may operate according to one of several RATs in communication with UEs depending on the network in which it is deployed, and may be alternatively referred to as an access point (AP), a network node, a NodeB, an evolved NodeB (eNB), a next generation eNB (ng-eNB), a New Radio (NR) Node B (also referred to as a gNB or gNodeB), etc. A base station may be used primarily to support wireless access by UEs, including supporting data, voice, and / or signaling connections for the supported UEs. In some systems a base station may provide purely edge node signaling functions while in other systems it may provide additional control and / or network management functions. A communication link through which UEs can send signals to a base station is called an uplink (UL) channel (e.g., a reverse traffic channel, a reverse control channel, an access channel, etc.). A communication link through which the base station can send signals to UEs is called a downlink (DL) or forward link channel (e.g., a paging channel, a control channel, a broadcast channel, a forward traffic channel, etc.). As used herein the term traffic channel (TCH) can refer to either an uplink / reverse or downlink / forward traffic channel.

[0042] The term “base station” may refer to a single physical transmission-reception point (TRP) or to multiple physical TRPs that may or may not be co-located. For example, where the QC2401803WOQualcomm Ref. No.2401803WO term “base station” refers to a single physical TRP, the physical TRP may be an antenna of the base station corresponding to a cell (or several cell sectors) of the base station. Where the term “base station” refers to multiple co-located physical TRPs, the physical TRPs may be an array of antennas (e.g., as in a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system or where the base station employs beamforming) of the base station. Where the term “base station” refers to multiple non-co-located physical TRPs, the physical TRPs may be a distributed antenna system (DAS) (a network of spatially separated antennas connected to a common source via a transport medium) or a remote radio head (RRH) (a remote base station connected to a serving base station). Alternatively, the non-co-located physical TRPs may be the serving base station receiving the measurement report from the UE and a neighbor base station whose reference radio frequency (RF) signals the UE is measuring. Because a TRP is the point from which a base station transmits and receives wireless signals, as used herein, references to transmission from or reception at a base station are to be understood as referring to a particular TRP of the base station.

[0043] In some implementations that support positioning of UEs, a base station may not support wireless access by UEs (e.g., may not support data, voice, and / or signaling connections for UEs), but may instead transmit reference signals to UEs to be measured by the UEs, and / or may receive and measure signals transmitted by the UEs. Such a base station may be referred to as a positioning beacon (e.g., when transmitting signals to UEs) and / or as a location measurement unit (e.g., when receiving and measuring signals from UEs).

[0044] An “RF signal” comprises an electromagnetic wave of a given frequency that transports information through the space between a transmitter and a receiver. As used herein, a transmitter may transmit a single “RF signal” or multiple “RF signals” to a receiver. However, the receiver may receive multiple “RF signals” corresponding to each transmitted RF signal due to the propagation characteristics of RF signals through multipath channels. The same transmitted RF signal on different paths between the transmitter and receiver may be referred to as a “multipath” RF signal. As used herein, an RF signal may also be referred to as a “wireless signal” or simply a “signal” where it is clear from the context that the term “signal” refers to a wireless signal or an RF signal.

[0045] FIG.1 illustrates an example wireless communications system 100, according to aspects of the disclosure. The wireless communications system 100 (which may also be referred to as a wireless wide area network (WWAN)) may include various base stations 102 8 QC2401803WOQualcomm Ref. No.2401803WO (labeled “BS”) and various UEs 104. The base stations 102 may include macro cell base stations (high power cellular base stations) and / or small cell base stations (low power cellular base stations). In an aspect, the macro cell base stations may include eNBs and / or ng-eNBs where the wireless communications system 100 corresponds to an LTE network, or gNBs where the wireless communications system 100 corresponds to a NR network, or a combination of both, and the small cell base stations may include femtocells, picocells, microcells, etc.

[0046] The base stations 102 may collectively form a RAN and interface with a core network 170 (e.g., an evolved packet core (EPC) or a 5G core (5GC)) through backhaul links 122, and through the core network 170 to one or more location servers 172 (e.g., a location management function (LMF) or a secure user plane location (SUPL) location platform (SLP)). The location server(s) 172 may be part of core network 170 or may be external to core network 170. A location server 172 may be integrated with a base station 102. A UE 104 may communicate with a location server 172 directly or indirectly. For example, a UE 104 may communicate with a location server 172 via the base station 102 that is currently serving that UE 104. A UE 104 may also communicate with a location server 172 through another path, such as via an application server (not shown), via another network, such as via a wireless local area network (WLAN) access point (AP) (e.g., AP 150 described below), and so on. For signaling purposes, communication between a UE 104 and a location server 172 may be represented as an indirect connection (e.g., through the core network 170, etc.) or a direct connection (e.g., as shown via direct connection 128), with the intervening nodes (if any) omitted from a signaling diagram for clarity.

[0047] In addition to other functions, the base stations 102 may perform functions that relate to one or more of transferring user data, radio channel ciphering and deciphering, integrity protection, header compression, mobility control functions (e.g., handover, dual connectivity), inter-cell interference coordination, connection setup and release, load balancing, distribution for non-access stratum (NAS) messages, NAS node selection, synchronization, RAN sharing, multimedia broadcast multicast service (MBMS), subscriber and equipment trace, RAN information management (RIM), paging, positioning, and delivery of warning messages. The base stations 102 may communicate with each other directly or indirectly (e.g., through the EPC / 5GC) over backhaul links 134, which may be wired or wireless. 9 QC2401803WOQualcomm Ref. No.2401803WO

[0048] The base stations 102 may wirelessly communicate with the UEs 104. Each of the base stations 102 may provide communication coverage for a respective geographic coverage area 110. In an aspect, one or more cells may be supported by a base station 102 in each geographic coverage area 110. A “cell” is a logical communication entity used for communication with a base station (e.g., over some frequency resource, referred to as a carrier frequency, component carrier, carrier, band, or the like), and may be associated with an identifier (e.g., a physical cell identifier (PCI), an enhanced cell identifier (ECI), a virtual cell identifier (VCI), a cell global identifier (CGI), etc.) for distinguishing cells operating via the same or a different carrier frequency. In some cases, different cells may be configured according to different protocol types (e.g., machine-type communication (MTC), narrowband IoT (NB-IoT), enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), or others) that may provide access for different types of UEs. Because a cell is supported by a specific base station, the term “cell” may refer to either or both of the logical communication entity and the base station that supports it, depending on the context. In addition, because a TRP is typically the physical transmission point of a cell, the terms “cell” and “TRP” may be used interchangeably. In some cases, the term “cell” may also refer to a geographic coverage area of a base station (e.g., a sector), insofar as a carrier frequency can be detected and used for communication within some portion of geographic coverage areas 110.

[0049] While neighboring macro cell base station 102 geographic coverage areas 110 may partially overlap (e.g., in a handover region), some of the geographic coverage areas 110 may be substantially overlapped by a larger geographic coverage area 110. For example, a small cell base station 102' (labeled “SC” for “small cell”) may have a geographic coverage area 110' that substantially overlaps with the geographic coverage area 110 of one or more macro cell base stations 102. A network that includes both small cell and macro cell base stations may be known as a heterogeneous network. A heterogeneous network may also include home eNBs (HeNBs), which may provide service to a restricted group known as a closed subscriber group (CSG).

[0050] The communication links 120 between the base stations 102 and the UEs 104 may include uplink (also referred to as reverse link) transmissions from a UE 104 to a base station 102 and / or downlink (DL) (also referred to as forward link) transmissions from a base station 102 to a UE 104. The communication links 120 may use MIMO antenna technology, 10 QC2401803WOQualcomm Ref. No.2401803WO including spatial multiplexing, beamforming, and / or transmit diversity. The communication links 120 may be through one or more carrier frequencies. Allocation of carriers may be asymmetric with respect to downlink and uplink (e.g., more or less carriers may be allocated for downlink than for uplink).

[0051] The wireless communications system 100 may further include a wireless local area network (WLAN) access point (AP) 150 in communication with WLAN stations (STAs) 152 via communication links 154 in an unlicensed frequency spectrum (e.g., 5 GHz). When communicating in an unlicensed frequency spectrum, the WLAN STAs 152 and / or the WLAN AP 150 may perform a clear channel assessment (CCA) or listen before talk (LBT) procedure prior to communicating in order to determine whether the channel is available.

[0052] The small cell base station 102' may operate in a licensed and / or an unlicensed frequency spectrum. When operating in an unlicensed frequency spectrum, the small cell base station 102' may employ LTE or NR technology and use the same 5 GHz unlicensed frequency spectrum as used by the WLAN AP 150. The small cell base station 102', employing LTE / 5G in an unlicensed frequency spectrum, may boost coverage to and / or increase capacity of the access network. NR in unlicensed spectrum may be referred to as NR-U. LTE in an unlicensed spectrum may be referred to as LTE-U, licensed assisted access (LAA), or MULTEFIRE®.

[0053] The wireless communications system 100 may further include a millimeter wave (mmW) base station 180 that may operate in mmW frequencies and / or near mmW frequencies in communication with a UE 182. Extremely high frequency (EHF) is part of the RF in the electromagnetic spectrum. EHF has a range of 30 GHz to 300 GHz and a wavelength between 1 millimeter and 10 millimeters. Radio waves in this band may be referred to as a millimeter wave. Near mmW may extend down to a frequency of 3 GHz with a wavelength of 100 millimeters. The super high frequency (SHF) band extends between 3 GHz and 30 GHz, also referred to as centimeter wave. Communications using the mmW / near mmW radio frequency band have high path loss and a relatively short range. The mmW base station 180 and the UE 182 may utilize beamforming (transmit and / or receive) over a mmW communication link 184 to compensate for the extremely high path loss and short range. Further, it will be appreciated that in alternative configurations, one or more base stations 102 may also transmit using mmW or near mmW and beamforming. 11 QC2401803WOQualcomm Ref. No.2401803WO Accordingly, it will be appreciated that the foregoing illustrations are merely examples and should not be construed to limit the various aspects disclosed herein.

[0054] Transmit beamforming is a technique for focusing an RF signal in a specific direction. Traditionally, when a network node (e.g., a base station) broadcasts an RF signal, it broadcasts the signal in all directions (omni-directionally). With transmit beamforming, the network node determines where a given target device (e.g., a UE) is located (relative to the transmitting network node) and projects a stronger downlink RF signal in that specific direction, thereby providing a faster (in terms of data rate) and stronger RF signal for the receiving device(s). To change the directionality of the RF signal when transmitting, a network node can control the phase and relative amplitude of the RF signal at each of the one or more transmitters that are broadcasting the RF signal. For example, a network node may use an array of antennas (referred to as a “phased array” or an “antenna array”) that creates a beam of RF waves that can be “steered” to point in different directions, without actually moving the antennas. Specifically, the RF current from the transmitter is fed to the individual antennas with the correct phase relationship so that the radio waves from the separate antennas add together to increase the radiation in a desired direction, while cancelling to suppress radiation in undesired directions.

[0055] Transmit beams may be quasi-co-located, meaning that they appear to the receiver (e.g., a UE) as having the same parameters, regardless of whether or not the transmitting antennas of the network node themselves are physically co-located. In NR, there are four types of quasi-co-location (QCL) relations. Specifically, a QCL relation of a given type means that certain parameters about a second reference RF signal on a second beam can be derived from information about a source reference RF signal on a source beam. Thus, if the source reference RF signal is QCL Type A, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift, Doppler spread, average delay, and delay spread of a second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL Type B, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift and Doppler spread of a second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL Type C, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift and average delay of a second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QC2401803WOQualcomm Ref. No.2401803WO QCL Type D, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the spatial receive parameter of a second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel.

[0056] In receive beamforming, the receiver uses a receive beam to amplify RF signals detected on a given channel. For example, the receiver can increase the gain setting and / or adjust the phase setting of an array of antennas in a particular direction to amplify (e.g., to increase the gain level of) the RF signals received from that direction. Thus, when a receiver is said to beamform in a certain direction, it means the beam gain in that direction is high relative to the beam gain along other directions, or the beam gain in that direction is the highest compared to the beam gain in that direction of all other receive beams available to the receiver. This results in a stronger received signal strength (e.g., reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), signal-to- interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR), etc.) of the RF signals received from that direction.

[0057] Transmit and receive beams may be spatially related. A spatial relation means that parameters for a second beam (e.g., a transmit or receive beam) for a second reference signal can be derived from information about a first beam (e.g., a receive beam or a transmit beam) for a first reference signal. For example, a UE may use a particular receive beam to receive a reference downlink reference signal (e.g., synchronization signal block (SSB)) from a base station. The UE can then form a transmit beam for sending an uplink reference signal (e.g., sounding reference signal (SRS)) to that base station based on the parameters of the receive beam.

[0058] Note that a “downlink” beam may be either a transmit beam or a receive beam, depending on the entity forming it. For example, if a base station is forming the downlink beam to transmit a reference signal to a UE, the downlink beam is a transmit beam. If the UE is forming the downlink beam, however, it is a receive beam to receive the downlink reference signal. Similarly, an “uplink” beam may be either a transmit beam or a receive beam, depending on the entity forming it. For example, if a base station is forming the uplink beam, it is an uplink receive beam, and if a UE is forming the uplink beam, it is an uplink transmit beam.

[0059] The electromagnetic spectrum is often subdivided, based on frequency / wavelength, into various classes, bands, channels, etc. In 5G NR two initial operating bands have been identified as frequency range designations FR1 (410 MHz – 7.125 GHz) and FR2 (24.25 GHz – 52.6 GHz). It should be understood that although a portion of FR1 is greater than QC2401803WOQualcomm Ref. No.2401803WO 6 GHz, FR1 is often referred to (interchangeably) as a “Sub-6 GHz” band in various documents and articles. A similar nomenclature issue sometimes occurs with regard to FR2, which is often referred to (interchangeably) as a “millimeter wave” band in documents and articles, despite being different from the extremely high frequency (EHF) band (30 GHz – 300 GHz) which is identified by the INTERNATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATION UNION® as a “millimeter wave” band.

[0060] The frequencies between FR1 and FR2 are often referred to as mid-band frequencies. Recent 5G NR studies have identified an operating band for these mid-band frequencies as frequency range designation FR3 (7.125 GHz – 24.25 GHz). Frequency bands falling within FR3 may inherit FR1 characteristics and / or FR2 characteristics, and thus may effectively extend features of FR1 and / or FR2 into mid-band frequencies. In addition, higher frequency bands are currently being explored to extend 5G NR operation beyond 52.6 GHz. For example, three higher operating bands have been identified as frequency range designations FR4a or FR4-1 (52.6 GHz – 71 GHz), FR4 (52.6 GHz – 114.25 GHz), and FR5 (114.25 GHz – 300 GHz). Each of these higher frequency bands falls within the EHF band.

[0061] With the above aspects in mind, unless specifically stated otherwise, it should be understood that the term “sub-6 GHz” or the like if used herein may broadly represent frequencies that may be less than 6 GHz, may be within FR1, or may include mid-band frequencies. Further, unless specifically stated otherwise, it should be understood that the term “millimeter wave” or the like if used herein may broadly represent frequencies that may include mid-band frequencies, may be within FR2, FR4, FR4-a or FR4-1, and / or FR5, or may be within the EHF band.

[0062] In a multi-carrier system, such as 5G, one of the carrier frequencies is referred to as the “primary carrier” or “anchor carrier” or “primary serving cell” or “PCell,” and the remaining carrier frequencies are referred to as “secondary carriers” or “secondary serving cells” or “SCells.” In carrier aggregation, the anchor carrier is the carrier operating on the primary frequency (e.g., FR1) utilized by a UE 104 / 182 and the cell in which the UE 104 / 182 either performs the initial radio resource control (RRC) connection establishment procedure or initiates the RRC connection re-establishment procedure. The primary carrier carries all common and UE-specific control channels, and may be a carrier in a licensed frequency (however, this is not always the case). A secondary carrier is a 14 QC2401803WOQualcomm Ref. No.2401803WO carrier operating on a second frequency (e.g., FR2) that may be configured once the RRC connection is established between the UE 104 and the anchor carrier and that may be used to provide additional radio resources. In some cases, the secondary carrier may be a carrier in an unlicensed frequency. The secondary carrier may contain only necessary signaling information and signals, for example, those that are UE-specific may not be present in the secondary carrier, since both primary uplink and downlink carriers are typically UE-specific. This means that different UEs 104 / 182 in a cell may have different downlink primary carriers. The same is true for the uplink primary carriers. The network is able to change the primary carrier of any UE 104 / 182 at any time. This is done, for example, to balance the load on different carriers. Because a “serving cell” (whether a PCell or an SCell) corresponds to a carrier frequency / component carrier over which some base station is communicating, the term “cell,” “serving cell,” “component carrier,” “carrier frequency,” and the like can be used interchangeably.

[0063] For example, still referring to FIG. 1, one of the frequencies utilized by the macro cell base stations 102 may be an anchor carrier (or “PCell”) and other frequencies utilized by the macro cell base stations 102 and / or the mmW base station 180 may be secondary carriers (“SCells”). The simultaneous transmission and / or reception of multiple carriers enables the UE 104 / 182 to significantly increase its data transmission and / or reception rates. For example, two 20 MHz aggregated carriers in a multi-carrier system would theoretically lead to a two-fold increase in data rate (i.e., 40 MHz), compared to that attained by a single 20 MHz carrier.

[0064] The wireless communications system 100 may further include a UE 164 that may communicate with a macro cell base station 102 over a communication link 120 and / or the mmW base station 180 over a mmW communication link 184. For example, the macro cell base station 102 may support a PCell and one or more SCells for the UE 164 and the mmW base station 180 may support one or more SCells for the UE 164.

[0065] In some cases, the UE 164 and the UE 182 may be capable of sidelink communication. Sidelink-capable UEs (SL-UEs) may communicate with base stations 102 over communication links 120 using the Uu interface (i.e., the air interface between a UE and a base station). SL-UEs (e.g., UE 164, UE 182) may also communicate directly with each other over a wireless sidelink 160 using the PC5 interface (i.e., the air interface between sidelink-capable UEs). A wireless sidelink (or just “sidelink”) is an adaptation of the core QC2401803WOQualcomm Ref. No.2401803WO cellular (e.g., LTE, NR) standard that allows direct communication between two or more UEs without the communication needing to go through a base station. Sidelink communication may be unicast or multicast, and may be used for device-to-device (D2D) media-sharing, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication (e.g., cellular V2X (cV2X) communication, enhanced V2X (eV2X) communication, etc.), emergency rescue applications, etc. One or more of a group of SL- UEs utilizing sidelink communications may be within the geographic coverage area 110 of a base station 102. Other SL-UEs in such a group may be outside the geographic coverage area 110 of a base station 102 or be otherwise unable to receive transmissions from a base station 102. In some cases, groups of SL-UEs communicating via sidelink communications may utilize a one-to-many (1:M) system in which each SL-UE transmits to every other SL-UE in the group. In some cases, a base station 102 facilitates the scheduling of resources for sidelink communications. In other cases, sidelink communications are carried out between SL-UEs without the involvement of a base station 102.

[0066] In an aspect, the sidelink 160 may operate over a wireless communication medium of interest, which may be shared with other wireless communications between other vehicles and / or infrastructure access points, as well as other RATs. A “medium” may be composed of one or more time, frequency, and / or space communication resources (e.g., encompassing one or more channels across one or more carriers) associated with wireless communication between one or more transmitter / receiver pairs. In an aspect, the medium of interest may correspond to at least a portion of an unlicensed frequency band shared among various RATs. Although different licensed frequency bands have been reserved for certain communication systems (e.g., by a government entity such as the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the United States), these systems, in particular those employing small cell access points, have recently extended operation into unlicensed frequency bands such as the Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure (U-NII) band used by wireless local area network (WLAN) technologies, most notably IEEE 802.11x WLAN technologies generally referred to as “Wi-Fi.” Example systems of this type include different variants of CDMA systems, TDMA systems, FDMA systems, orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA) systems, single-carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA) systems, and so on. 16 QC2401803WOQualcomm Ref. No.2401803WO

[0067] Note that although FIG. 1 only illustrates two of the UEs as SL-UEs (i.e., UEs 164 and 182), any of the illustrated UEs may be SL-UEs. Further, although only UE 182 was described as being capable of beamforming, any of the illustrated UEs, including UE 164, may be capable of beamforming. Where SL-UEs are capable of beamforming, they may beamform towards each other (i.e., towards other SL-UEs), towards other UEs (e.g., UEs 104), towards base stations (e.g., base stations 102, 180, small cell 102’, access point 150), etc. Thus, in some cases, UEs 164 and 182 may utilize beamforming over sidelink 160.

[0068] In the example of FIG.1, any of the illustrated UEs (shown in FIG.1 as a single UE 104 for simplicity) may receive signals 124 from one or more Earth orbiting space vehicles (SVs) 112 (e.g., satellites). In an aspect, the SVs 112 may be part of a satellite positioning system that a UE 104 can use as an independent source of location information. A satellite positioning system typically includes a system of transmitters (e.g., SVs 112) positioned to enable receivers (e.g., UEs 104) to determine their location on or above the Earth based, at least in part, on positioning signals (e.g., signals 124) received from the transmitters. Such a transmitter typically transmits a signal marked with a repeating pseudo-random noise (PN) code of a set number of chips. While typically located in SVs 112, transmitters may sometimes be located on ground-based control stations, base stations 102, and / or other UEs 104. A UE 104 may include one or more dedicated receivers specifically designed to receive signals 124 for deriving geo location information from the SVs 112.

[0069] In a satellite positioning system, the use of signals 124 can be augmented by various satellite-based augmentation systems (SBAS) that may be associated with or otherwise enabled for use with one or more global and / or regional navigation satellite systems. For example an SBAS may include an augmentation system(s) that provides integrity information, differential corrections, etc., such as the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS), the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS), the Multi- functional Satellite Augmentation System (MSAS), the Global Positioning System (GPS) Aided Geo Augmented Navigation or GPS and Geo Augmented Navigation system (GAGAN), and / or the like. Thus, as used herein, a satellite positioning system may include any combination of one or more global and / or regional navigation satellites associated with such one or more satellite positioning systems. QC2401803WOQualcomm Ref. No.2401803WO

[0070] In an aspect, SVs 112 may additionally or alternatively be part of one or more non- terrestrial networks (NTNs). In an NTN, an SV 112 is connected to an earth station (also referred to as a ground station, NTN gateway, or gateway), which in turn is connected to an element in a 5G network, such as a modified base station 102 (without a terrestrial antenna) or a network node in a 5GC. This element would in turn provide access to other elements in the 5G network and ultimately to entities external to the 5G network, such as Internet web servers and other user devices. In that way, a UE 104 may receive communication signals (e.g., signals 124) from an SV 112 instead of, or in addition to, communication signals from a terrestrial base station 102.

[0071] The wireless communications system 100 may further include one or more UEs, such as UE 190, that connects indirectly to one or more communication networks via one or more device-to-device (D2D) peer-to-peer (P2P) links (referred to as “sidelinks”). In the example of FIG. 1, UE 190 has a D2D P2P link 192 with one of the UEs 104 connected to one of the base stations 102 (e.g., through which UE 190 may indirectly obtain cellular connectivity) and a D2D P2P link 194 with WLAN STA 152 connected to the WLAN AP 150 (through which UE 190 may indirectly obtain WLAN-based Internet connectivity). In an example, the D2D P2P links 192 and 194 may be supported with any well-known D2D RAT, such as LTE Direct (LTE-D), WI-FI DIRECT®, BLUETOOTH®, and so on.

[0072] FIG.2A illustrates an example wireless network structure 200. For example, a 5GC 210 (also referred to as a Next Generation Core (NGC)) can be viewed functionally as control plane (C-plane) functions 214 (e.g., UE registration, authentication, network access, gateway selection, etc.) and user plane (U-plane) functions 212, (e.g., UE gateway function, access to data networks, IP routing, etc.) which operate cooperatively to form the core network. User plane interface (NG-U) 213 and control plane interface (NG-C) 215 connect the gNB 222 to the 5GC 210 and specifically to the user plane functions 212 and control plane functions 214, respectively. In an additional configuration, an ng-eNB 224 may also be connected to the 5GC 210 via NG-C 215 to the control plane functions 214 and NG-U 213 to user plane functions 212. Further, ng-eNB 224 may directly communicate with gNB 222 via a backhaul connection 223. In some configurations, a Next Generation RAN (NG-RAN) 220 may have one or more gNBs 222, while other configurations include one or more of both ng-eNBs 224 and gNBs 222. Either (or both) 18 QC2401803WOQualcomm Ref. No.2401803WO gNB 222 or ng-eNB 224 may communicate with one or more UEs 204 (e.g., any of the UEs described herein).

[0073] Another optional aspect may include a location server 230, which may be in communication with the 5GC 210 to provide location assistance for UE(s) 204. The location server 230 can be implemented as a plurality of separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules spread across multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternately may each correspond to a single server. The location server 230 can be configured to support one or more location services for UEs 204 that can connect to the location server 230 via the core network, 5GC 210, and / or via the Internet (not illustrated). Further, the location server 230 may be integrated into a component of the core network, or alternatively may be external to the core network (e.g., a third party server, such as an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) server or service server).

[0074] FIG.2B illustrates another example wireless network structure 240. A 5GC 260 (which may correspond to 5GC 210 in FIG. 2A) can be viewed functionally as control plane functions, provided by an access and mobility management function (AMF) 264, and user plane functions, provided by a user plane function (UPF) 262, which operate cooperatively to form the core network (i.e., 5GC 260). The functions of the AMF 264 include registration management, connection management, reachability management, mobility management, lawful interception, transport for session management (SM) messages between one or more UEs 204 (e.g., any of the UEs described herein) and a session management function (SMF) 266, transparent proxy services for routing SM messages, access authentication and access authorization, transport for short message service (SMS) messages between the UE 204 and the short message service function (SMSF) (not shown), and security anchor functionality (SEAF). The AMF 264 also interacts with an authentication server function (AUSF) (not shown) and the UE 204, and receives the intermediate key that was established as a result of the UE 204 authentication process. In the case of authentication based on a UMTS (universal mobile telecommunications system) subscriber identity module (USIM), the AMF 264 retrieves the security material from the AUSF. The functions of the AMF 264 also include security context management (SCM). The SCM receives a key from the SEAF that it uses to derive access-network specific keys. The functionality of the AMF 264 also includes location 19 QC2401803WOQualcomm Ref. No.2401803WO 20 services management for regulatory services, transport for location services messages between the UE 204 and a location management function (LMF) 270 (which acts as a location server 230), transport for location services messages between the NG-RAN 220 and the LMF 270, evolved packet system (EPS) bearer identifier allocation for interworking with the EPS, and UE 204 mobility event notification. In addition, the AMF 264 also supports functionalities for non-3GPP® (Third Generation Partnership Project) access networks.

[0075] Functions of the UPF 262 include acting as an anchor point for intra / inter-RAT mobility (when applicable), acting as an external protocol data unit (PDU) session point of interconnect to a data network (not shown), providing packet routing and forwarding, packet inspection, user plane policy rule enforcement (e.g., gating, redirection, traffic steering), lawful interception (user plane collection), traffic usage reporting, quality of service (QoS) handling for the user plane (e.g., uplink / downlink rate enforcement, reflective QoS marking in the downlink), uplink traffic verification (service data flow (SDF) to QoS flow mapping), transport level packet marking in the uplink and downlink, downlink packet buffering and downlink data notification triggering, and sending and forwarding of one or more “end markers” to the source RAN node. The UPF 262 may also support transfer of location services messages over a user plane between the UE 204 and a location server, such as an SLP 272.

[0076] The functions of the SMF 266 include session management, UE Internet protocol (IP) address allocation and management, selection and control of user plane functions, configuration of traffic steering at the UPF 262 to route traffic to the proper destination, control of part of policy enforcement and QoS, and downlink data notification. The interface over which the SMF 266 communicates with the AMF 264 is referred to as the N11 interface.

[0077] Another optional aspect may include an LMF 270, which may be in communication with the 5GC 260 to provide location assistance for UEs 204. The LMF 270 can be implemented as a plurality of separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules spread across multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternately may each correspond to a single server. The LMF 270 can be configured to support one or more location services for UEs 204 that can connect to the LMF 270 via the core network, 5GC 260, and / or via the Internet (not QC2401803WOQualcomm Ref. No.2401803WO illustrated). The SLP 272 may support similar functions to the LMF 270, but whereas the LMF 270 may communicate with the AMF 264, NG-RAN 220, and UEs 204 over a control plane (e.g., using interfaces and protocols intended to convey signaling messages and not voice or data), the SLP 272 may communicate with UEs 204 and external clients (e.g., third-party server 274) over a user plane (e.g., using protocols intended to carry voice and / or data like the transmission control protocol (TCP) and / or IP).

[0078] Yet another optional aspect may include a third-party server 274, which may be in communication with the LMF 270, the SLP 272, the 5GC 260 (e.g., via the AMF 264 and / or the UPF 262), the NG-RAN 220, and / or the UE 204 to obtain location information (e.g., a location estimate) for the UE 204. As such, in some cases, the third-party server 274 may be referred to as a location services (LCS) client or an external client. The third- party server 274 can be implemented as a plurality of separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules spread across multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternately may each correspond to a single server.

[0079] User plane interface 263 and control plane interface 265 connect the 5GC 260, and specifically the UPF 262 and AMF 264, respectively, to one or more gNBs 222 and / or ng-eNBs 224 in the NG-RAN 220. The interface between gNB(s) 222 and / or ng-eNB(s) 224 and the AMF 264 is referred to as the “N2” interface, and the interface between gNB(s) 222 and / or ng-eNB(s) 224 and the UPF 262 is referred to as the “N3” interface. The gNB(s) 222 and / or ng-eNB(s) 224 of the NG-RAN 220 may communicate directly with each other via backhaul connections 223, referred to as the “Xn-C” interface. One or more of gNBs 222 and / or ng-eNBs 224 may communicate with one or more UEs 204 over a wireless interface, referred to as the “Uu” interface.

[0080] The functionality of a gNB 222 may be divided between a gNB central unit (gNB-CU) 226, one or more gNB distributed units (gNB-DUs) 228, and one or more gNB radio units (gNB-RUs) 229. A gNB-CU 226 is a logical node that includes the base station functions of transferring user data, mobility control, radio access network sharing, positioning, session management, and the like, except for those functions allocated exclusively to the gNB-DU(s) 228. More specifically, the gNB-CU 226 generally host the radio resource control (RRC), service data adaptation protocol (SDAP), and packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) protocols of the gNB 222. A gNB-DU 228 is a logical node that QC2401803WOQualcomm Ref. No.2401803WO generally hosts the radio link control (RLC) and medium access control (MAC) layer of the gNB 222. Its operation is controlled by the gNB-CU 226. One gNB-DU 228 can support one or more cells, and one cell is supported by only one gNB-DU 228. The interface 232 between the gNB-CU 226 and the one or more gNB-DUs 228 is referred to as the “F1” interface. The physical (PHY) layer functionality of a gNB 222 is generally hosted by one or more standalone gNB-RUs 229 that perform functions such as power amplification and signal transmission / reception. The interface between a gNB-DU 228 and a gNB-RU 229 is referred to as the “Fx” interface. Thus, a UE 204 communicates with the gNB-CU 226 via the RRC, SDAP, and PDCP layers, with a gNB-DU 228 via the RLC and MAC layers, and with a gNB-RU 229 via the PHY layer.

[0081] Deployment of communication systems, such as 5G NR systems, may be arranged in multiple manners with various components or constituent parts. In a 5G NR system, or network, a network node, a network entity, a mobility element of a network, a RAN node, a core network node, a network element, or a network equipment, such as a base station, or one or more units (or one or more components) performing base station functionality, may be implemented in an aggregated or disaggregated architecture. For example, a base station (such as a Node B (NB), evolved NB (eNB), NR base station, 5G NB, AP, TRP, cell, etc.) may be implemented as an aggregated base station (also known as a standalone base station or a monolithic base station) or a disaggregated base station.

[0082] An aggregated base station may be configured to utilize a radio protocol stack that is physically or logically integrated within a single RAN node. A disaggregated base station may be configured to utilize a protocol stack that is physically or logically distributed among two or more units (such as one or more central or centralized units (CUs), one or more distributed units (DUs), or one or more radio units (RUs)). In some aspects, a CU may be implemented within a RAN node, and one or more DUs may be co-located with the CU, or alternatively, may be geographically or virtually distributed throughout one or multiple other RAN nodes. The DUs may be implemented to communicate with one or more RUs. Each of the CU, DU and RU also can be implemented as virtual units, i.e., a virtual central unit (VCU), a virtual distributed unit (VDU), or a virtual radio unit (VRU).

[0083] Base station-type operation or network design may consider aggregation characteristics of base station functionality. For example, disaggregated base stations may be utilized in an integrated access backhaul (IAB) network, an open radio access network (O-RAN QC2401803WOQualcomm Ref. No.2401803WO 23 (such as the network configuration sponsored by the O-RAN ALLIANCE®)), or a virtualized radio access network (vRAN, also known as a cloud radio access network (C- RAN)). Disaggregation may include distributing functionality across two or more units at various physical locations, as well as distributing functionality for at least one unit virtually, which can enable flexibility in network design. The various units of the disaggregated base station, or disaggregated RAN architecture, can be configured for wired or wireless communication with at least one other unit.

[0084] FIG. 2C illustrates an example disaggregated base station architecture 250, according to aspects of the disclosure. The disaggregated base station architecture 250 may include one or more central units (CUs) 280 (e.g., gNB-CU 226) that can communicate directly with a core network 267 (e.g., 5GC 210, 5GC 260) via a backhaul link, or indirectly with the core network 267 through one or more disaggregated base station units (such as a Near-Real Time (Near-RT) RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC) 259 via an E2 link, or a Non-Real Time (Non-RT) RIC 257 associated with a Service Management and Orchestration (SMO) Framework 255, or both). A CU 280 may communicate with one or more DUs 285 (e.g., gNB-DUs 228) via respective midhaul links, such as an F1 interface. The DUs 285 may communicate with one or more radio units (RUs) 287 (e.g., gNB-RUs 229) via respective fronthaul links. The RUs 287 may communicate with respective UEs 204 via one or more radio frequency (RF) access links. In some implementations, the UE 204 may be simultaneously served by multiple RUs 287.

[0085] Each of the units, i.e., the CUs 280, the DUs 285, the RUs 287, as well as the Near-RT RICs 259, the Non-RT RICs 257 and the SMO Framework 255, may include one or more interfaces or be coupled to one or more interfaces configured to receive or transmit signals, data, or information (collectively, signals) via a wired or wireless transmission medium. Each of the units, or an associated processor or controller providing instructions to the communication interfaces of the units, can be configured to communicate with one or more of the other units via the transmission medium. For example, the units can include a wired interface configured to receive or transmit signals over a wired transmission medium to one or more of the other units. Additionally, the units can include a wireless interface, which may include a receiver, a transmitter or transceiver (such as a RF transceiver), configured to receive or transmit signals, or both, over a wireless transmission medium to one or more of the other units. QC2401803WOQualcomm Ref. No.2401803WO 24

[0086] In some aspects, the CU 280 may host one or more higher layer control functions. Such control functions can include RRC, PDCP, service data adaptation protocol (SDAP), or the like. Each control function can be implemented with an interface configured to communicate signals with other control functions hosted by the CU 280. The CU 280 may be configured to handle user plane functionality (i.e., Central Unit – User Plane (CU- UP)), control plane functionality (i.e., Central Unit – Control Plane (CU-CP)), or a combination thereof. In some implementations, the CU 280 can be logically split into one or more CU-UP units and one or more CU-CP units. The CU-UP unit can communicate bidirectionally with the CU-CP unit via an interface, such as the E1 interface when implemented in an O-RAN configuration. The CU 280 can be implemented to communicate with the DU 285, as necessary, for network control and signaling.

[0087] The DU 285 may correspond to a logical unit that includes one or more base station functions to control the operation of one or more RUs 287. In some aspects, the DU 285 may host one or more of a RLC layer, a MAC layer, and one or more high PHY layers (such as modules for forward error correction (FEC) encoding and decoding, scrambling, modulation and demodulation, or the like) depending, at least in part, on a functional split, such as those defined by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP®). In some aspects, the DU 285 may further host one or more low PHY layers. Each layer (or module) can be implemented with an interface configured to communicate signals with other layers (and modules) hosted by the DU 285, or with the control functions hosted by the CU 280.

[0088] Lower-layer functionality can be implemented by one or more RUs 287. In some deployments, an RU 287, controlled by a DU 285, may correspond to a logical node that hosts RF processing functions, or low-PHY layer functions (such as performing fast Fourier transform (FFT), inverse FFT (iFFT), digital beamforming, physical random access channel (PRACH) extraction and filtering, or the like), or both, based at least in part on the functional split, such as a lower layer functional split. In such an architecture, the RU(s) 287 can be implemented to handle over the air (OTA) communication with one or more UEs 204. In some implementations, real-time and non-real-time aspects of control and user plane communication with the RU(s) 287 can be controlled by the corresponding DU 285. In some scenarios, this configuration can enable the DU(s) 285 QC2401803WOQualcomm Ref. No.2401803WO and the CU 280 to be implemented in a cloud-based RAN architecture, such as a vRAN architecture.

[0089] The SMO Framework 255 may be configured to support RAN deployment and provisioning of non-virtualized and virtualized network elements. For non-virtualized network elements, the SMO Framework 255 may be configured to support the deployment of dedicated physical resources for RAN coverage requirements which may be managed via an operations and maintenance interface (such as an O1 interface). For virtualized network elements, the SMO Framework 255 may be configured to interact with a cloud computing platform (such as an open cloud (O-Cloud) 269) to perform network element life cycle management (such as to instantiate virtualized network elements) via a cloud computing platform interface (such as an O2 interface). Such virtualized network elements can include, but are not limited to, CUs 280, DUs 285, RUs 287 and Near-RT RICs 259. In some implementations, the SMO Framework 255 can communicate with a hardware aspect of a 4G RAN, such as an open eNB (O-eNB) 261, via an O1 interface. Additionally, in some implementations, the SMO Framework 255 can communicate directly with one or more RUs 287 via an O1 interface. The SMO Framework 255 also may include a Non-RT RIC 257 configured to support functionality of the SMO Framework 255.

[0090] The Non-RT RIC 257 may be configured to include a logical function that enables non- real-time control and optimization of RAN elements and resources, artificial intelligence / machine learning (AI / ML) workflows including model training and updates, or policy-based guidance of applications / features in the Near-RT RIC 259. The Non-RT RIC 257 may be coupled to or communicate with (such as via an A1 interface) the Near- RT RIC 259. The Near-RT RIC 259 may be configured to include a logical function that enables near-real-time control and optimization of RAN elements and resources via data collection and actions over an interface (such as via an E2 interface) connecting one or more CUs 280, one or more DUs 285, or both, as well as an O-eNB, with the Near-RT RIC 259.

[0091] In some implementations, to generate AI / ML models to be deployed in the Near-RT RIC 259, the Non-RT RIC 257 may receive parameters or external enrichment information from external servers. Such information may be utilized by the Near-RT RIC 259 and may be received at the SMO Framework 255 or the Non-RT RIC 257 from non-network QC2401803WOQualcomm Ref. No.2401803WO data sources or from network functions. In some examples, the Non-RT RIC 257 or the Near-RT RIC 259 may be configured to tune RAN behavior or performance. For example, the Non-RT RIC 257 may monitor long-term trends and patterns for performance and employ AI / ML models to perform corrective actions through the SMO Framework 255 (such as reconfiguration via O1) or via creation of RAN management policies (such as A1 policies).

[0092] FIG. 3 illustrates an example ambient internet of things (IoT) application, according to aspects of the disclosure. For example, the example ambient IoT application shown in FIG. 3 may correspond to a radio frequency identification (RFID) system 300. In some aspects, the RFID system 300 includes an ambient IoT station 310 configured as an RFID reader and ambient IoT devices 324 and 326 configured as RFID tags. In this example, the ambient IoT station 310 may be for controlling the access to the door 330. In some examples, based on the frequency band of the air interface, the RFID technology may be referred to as Low Frequency (LF) RFID (e.g., from 30 kHz to 300 kHz), High Frequency (HF) RFID (e.g., from 3 MHz to 30 MHz), or Ultra High Frequency (UHF) RFID (e.g., from 300 MHz to 3 GHz).

[0093] As shown in FIG. 3, a person 344 (e.g., an employee) carrying an asset 346 (e.g., a suitcase) may want to access the door 330. The person 344 may carry the ambient IoT device 324 (e.g., embedded in an RFID enabled access card), and the asset 346 may have the ambient IoT device 326 (e.g., an RFID asset tag) attached thereon. To identify the person 344 or the asset 346 in order to grant or deny the access to the door 330, the ambient IoT station 310 may transmit an interrogating signal 362. In response to the interrogating signal 362, the ambient IoT device 324 may transmit a backscattered response signal 364, and the ambient IoT device 326 may transmit a backscattered response signal 366. The backscattered response signal 364 may be modulated with data stored in and / or generated by the ambient IoT device 324 in response to a command encoded in the interrogating signal 362. Also, the backscattered response signal 366 may be modulated with data stored in and / or generated by the ambient IoT device 326 in response to the command encoded in the interrogating signal 362. The ambient IoT station 310 may receive and decode the backscattered response signals 364 and 366 in order to obtain the response provided by the ambient IoT devices 324 and 326. QC2401803WOQualcomm Ref. No.2401803WO 27

[0094] FIG. 3 shows a possible application of the ambient IoT technology. In some aspects, applications of the ambient IoT technology may have applications in, for example, automated checkout, monitoring medication intakes for elderlies, vehicle ignition keys, employee attendance system, positioning objects, or tracking objects. In some aspects, the ambient IoT devices may be attached to, embedded in, or integrally formed with a target or an object, including a wireless communications device, a shipping container, a merchandise, an identification card, a payment card, an automobile, or a pet.

[0095] In some aspects, the ambient IoT station 310 may be configured to communicate with the ambient IoT devices 324 and 326 over an air interface based on one or more ambient IoT communications standards or wireless communications standards, such as those set by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) International, the DASH7 Alliance, Electronic Product Code Global (EPCglobal), and / or 3GPP standards for Ambient IoT.

[0096] In some aspects, an ambient IoT system may be implemented integrally or in parallel with a wireless communications system (e.g., the LTE or 5G NR as described above), and the ambient IoT interrogating signals may be transmitted over a radio resource of the wireless communications system.

[0097] FIGS. 4A, 4B, and 4C illustrate several example components (represented by corresponding blocks) that may be incorporated into a UE 402 (which may correspond to any of the UEs described herein), a base station 404 (which may correspond to any of the base stations described herein), and a network entity 406 (which may correspond to or embody any of the network functions described herein, including the location server 230 and the LMF 270, or alternatively may be independent from the NG-RAN 220 and / or 5GC 210 / 260 infrastructure depicted in FIGS. 2A and 2B, such as a private network) to support the operations described herein. It will be appreciated that these components may be implemented in different types of apparatuses in different implementations (e.g., in an ASIC, in a system-on-chip (SoC), etc.). The illustrated components may also be incorporated into other apparatuses in a communication system. For example, other apparatuses in a system may include components similar to those described to provide similar functionality. Also, a given apparatus may contain one or more of the components. QC2401803WOQualcomm Ref. No.2401803WO 28 For example, an apparatus may include multiple transceiver components that enable the apparatus to operate on multiple carriers and / or communicate via different technologies.

[0098] The UE 402 and the base station 404 each include one or more wireless wide area network (WWAN) transceivers 410 and 450, respectively, providing means for communicating (e.g., means for transmitting, means for receiving, means for measuring, means for tuning, means for refraining from transmitting, etc.) via one or more wireless communication networks (not shown), such as an NR network, an LTE network, a GSM network, and / or the like. The WWAN transceivers 410 and 450 may each be connected to one or more antennas 416 and 456, respectively, for communicating with other network nodes, such as other UEs, access points, base stations (e.g., eNBs, gNBs), etc., via at least one designated RAT (e.g., NR, LTE, GSM, etc.) over a wireless communication medium of interest (e.g., some set of time / frequency resources in a particular frequency spectrum). The WWAN transceivers 410 and 450 may be variously configured for transmitting and encoding signals 418 and 458 (e.g., messages, indications, information, and so on), respectively, and, conversely, for receiving and decoding signals 418 and 458 (e.g., messages, indications, information, pilots, and so on), respectively, in accordance with the designated RAT. Specifically, the WWAN transceivers 410 and 450 include one or more transmitters 414 and 454, respectively, for transmitting and encoding signals 418 and 458, respectively, and one or more receivers 412 and 452, respectively, for receiving and decoding signals 418 and 458, respectively.

[0099] The UE 402 and the base station 404 each also include, at least in some cases, one or more short-range wireless transceivers 420 and 460, respectively. The short-range wireless transceivers 420 and 460 may be connected to one or more antennas 426 and 466, respectively, and provide means for communicating (e.g., means for transmitting, means for receiving, means for measuring, means for tuning, means for refraining from transmitting, etc.) with other network nodes, such as other UEs, access points, base stations, etc., via at least one designated RAT (e.g., Wi-Fi, LTE Direct, BLUETOOTH®, ZIGBEE®, Z-WAVE®, PC5, dedicated short-range communications (DSRC), wireless access for vehicular environments (WAVE), near-field communication (NFC), ultra- wideband (UWB), etc.) over a wireless communication medium of interest. The short- range wireless transceivers 420 and 460 may be variously configured for transmitting and encoding signals 428 and 468 (e.g., messages, indications, information, and so on), QC2401803WOQualcomm Ref. No.2401803WO respectively, and, conversely, for receiving and decoding signals 428 and 468 (e.g., messages, indications, information, pilots, and so on), respectively, in accordance with the designated RAT. Specifically, the short-range wireless transceivers 420 and 460 include one or more transmitters 424 and 464, respectively, for transmitting and encoding signals 428 and 468, respectively, and one or more receivers 422 and 462, respectively, for receiving and decoding signals 428 and 468, respectively. As specific examples, the short-range wireless transceivers 420 and 460 may be Wi-Fi transceivers, BLUETOOTH® transceivers, ZIGBEE® and / or Z-WAVE® transceivers, NFC transceivers, UWB transceivers, or vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and / or vehicle-to- everything (V2X) transceivers.

[0100] The UE 402 and the base station 404 also include, at least in some cases, satellite signal interfaces 430 and 470, which each include one or more satellite signal receivers 432 and 472, respectively, and may optionally include one or more satellite signal transmitters 434 and 474, respectively. In some cases, the base station 404 may be a terrestrial base station that may communicate with space vehicles (e.g., space vehicles 112) via the satellite signal interface 470. In other cases, the base station 404 may be a space vehicle (or other non-terrestrial entity) that uses the satellite signal interface 470 to communicate with terrestrial networks and / or other space vehicles.

[0101] The satellite signal receivers 432 and 472 may be connected to one or more antennas 436 and 476, respectively, and may provide means for receiving and / or measuring satellite positioning / communication signals 438 and 478, respectively. Where the satellite signal receiver(s) 432 and 472 are satellite positioning system receivers, the satellite positioning / communication signals 438 and 478 may be global positioning system (GPS) signals, global navigation satellite system (GLONASS) signals, Galileo signals, Beidou signals, Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (NAVIC), Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS) signals, etc. Where the satellite signal receiver(s) 432 and 472 are non- terrestrial network (NTN) receivers, the satellite positioning / communication signals 438 and 478 may be communication signals (e.g., carrying control and / or user data) originating from a 5G network. The satellite signal receiver(s) 432 and 472 may comprise any suitable hardware and / or software for receiving and processing satellite positioning / communication signals 438 and 478, respectively. The satellite signal receiver(s) 432 and 472 may request information and operations as appropriate from the QC2401803WOQualcomm Ref. No.2401803WO other systems, and, at least in some cases, perform calculations to determine locations of the UE 402 and the base station 404, respectively, using measurements obtained by any suitable satellite positioning system algorithm.

[0102] The optional satellite signal transmitter(s) 434 and 474, when present, may be connected to the one or more antennas 436 and 476, respectively, and may provide means for transmitting satellite positioning / communication signals 438 and 478, respectively. Where the satellite signal transmitter(s) 474 are satellite positioning system transmitters, the satellite positioning / communication signals 478 may be GPS signals, GLONASS® signals, Galileo signals, Beidou signals, NAVIC, QZSS signals, etc. Where the satellite signal transmitter(s) 434 and 474 are NTN transmitters, the satellite positioning / communication signals 438 and 478 may be communication signals (e.g., carrying control and / or user data) originating from a 5G network. The satellite signal transmitter(s) 434 and 474 may comprise any suitable hardware and / or software for transmitting satellite positioning / communication signals 438 and 478, respectively. The satellite signal transmitter(s) 434 and 474 may request information and operations as appropriate from the other systems.

[0103] The base station 404 and the network entity 406 each include one or more network transceivers 480 and 490, respectively, providing means for communicating (e.g., means for transmitting, means for receiving, etc.) with other network entities (e.g., other base stations 404, other network entities 406). For example, the base station 404 may employ the one or more network transceivers 480 to communicate with other base stations 404 or network entities 406 over one or more wired or wireless backhaul links. As another example, the network entity 406 may employ the one or more network transceivers 490 to communicate with one or more base station 404 over one or more wired or wireless backhaul links, or with other network entities 406 over one or more wired or wireless core network interfaces.

[0104] A transceiver may be configured to communicate over a wired or wireless link. A transceiver (whether a wired transceiver or a wireless transceiver) includes transmitter circuitry (e.g., transmitters 414, 424, 454, 464) and receiver circuitry (e.g., receivers 412, 422, 452, 462). A transceiver may be an integrated device (e.g., embodying transmitter circuitry and receiver circuitry in a single device) in some implementations, may comprise separate transmitter circuitry and separate receiver circuitry in some implementations, or QC2401803WOQualcomm Ref. No.2401803WO may be embodied in other ways in other implementations. The transmitter circuitry and receiver circuitry of a wired transceiver (e.g., network transceivers 480 and 490 in some implementations) may be coupled to one or more wired network interface ports. Wireless transmitter circuitry (e.g., transmitters 414, 424, 454, 464) may include or be coupled to a plurality of antennas (e.g., antennas 416, 426, 456, 466), such as an antenna array, that permits the respective apparatus (e.g., UE 402, base station 404) to perform transmit “beamforming,” as described herein. Similarly, wireless receiver circuitry (e.g., receivers 412, 422, 452, 462) may include or be coupled to a plurality of antennas (e.g., antennas 416, 426, 456, 466), such as an antenna array, that permits the respective apparatus (e.g., UE 402, base station 404) to perform receive beamforming, as described herein. In an aspect, the transmitter circuitry and receiver circuitry may share the same plurality of antennas (e.g., antennas 416, 426, 456, 466), such that the respective apparatus can only receive or transmit at a given time, not both at the same time. A wireless transceiver (e.g., WWAN transceivers 410 and 450, short-range wireless transceivers 420 and 460) may also include a network listen module (NLM) or the like for performing various measurements.

[0105] As used herein, the various wireless transceivers (e.g., transceivers 410, 420, 450, and 460, and network transceivers 480 and 490 in some implementations) and wired transceivers (e.g., network transceivers 480 and 490 in some implementations) may generally be characterized as “a transceiver,” “at least one transceiver,” or “one or more transceivers.” As such, whether a particular transceiver is a wired or wireless transceiver may be inferred from the type of communication performed. For example, backhaul communication between network devices or servers will generally relate to signaling via a wired transceiver, whereas wireless communication between a UE (e.g., UE 402) and a base station (e.g., base station 404) will generally relate to signaling via a wireless transceiver.

[0106] The UE 402, the base station 404, and the network entity 406 also include other components that may be used in conjunction with the operations as disclosed herein. The UE 402, the base station 404, and the network entity 406 include one or more processors 442, 484, and 494, respectively, for providing functionality relating to, for example, wireless communication, and for providing other processing functionality. The processors 442, 484, and 494 may therefore provide means for processing, such as means QC2401803WOQualcomm Ref. No.2401803WO for determining, means for calculating, means for receiving, means for transmitting, means for indicating, etc. In an aspect, the processors 442, 484, and 494 may include, for example, one or more general purpose processors, multi-core processors, central processing units (CPUs), ASICs, digital signal processors (DSPs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), other programmable logic devices or processing circuitry, or various combinations thereof.

[0107] The UE 402, the base station 404, and the network entity 406 include memory circuitry implementing memories 440, 486, and 496 (e.g., each including a memory device), respectively, for maintaining information (e.g., information indicative of reserved resources, thresholds, parameters, and so on). The memories 440, 486, and 496 may therefore provide means for storing, means for retrieving, means for maintaining, etc. In some cases, the UE 402, the base station 404, and the network entity 406 may include Ambient IoT Component 448, 488, and 498, respectively. The Ambient IoT Component 448, 488, and 498 may be hardware circuits that are part of or coupled to the processors 442, 484, and 494, respectively, that, when executed, cause the UE 402, the base station 404, and the network entity 406 to perform the functionality described herein. In other aspects, the Ambient IoT Component 448, 488, and 498 may be external to the processors 442, 484, and 494 (e.g., part of a modem processing system, integrated with another processing system, etc.). Alternatively, the Ambient IoT Component 448, 488, and 498 may be memory modules stored in the memories 440, 486, and 496, respectively, that, when executed by the processors 442, 484, and 494 (or a modem processing system, another processing system, etc.), cause the UE 402, the base station 404, and the network entity 406 to perform the functionality described herein. FIG. 4A illustrates possible locations of the Ambient IoT Component 448, which may be, for example, part of the one or more WWAN transceivers 410, the memory 440, the one or more processors 442, or any combination thereof, or may be a standalone component. FIG.4B illustrates possible locations of the Ambient IoT Component 488, which may be, for example, part of the one or more WWAN transceivers 450, the memory 486, the one or more processors 484, or any combination thereof, or may be a standalone component. FIG.4C illustrates possible locations of the Ambient IoT Component 498, which may be, for example, part of the one or more network transceivers 490, the memory 496, the one or more processors 494, or any combination thereof, or may be a standalone component. QC2401803WOQualcomm Ref. No.2401803WO

[0108] The UE 402 may include one or more sensors 444 coupled to the one or more processors 442 to provide means for sensing or detecting movement and / or orientation information that is independent of motion data derived from signals received by the one or more WWAN transceivers 410, the one or more short-range wireless transceivers 420, and / or the satellite signal interface 430. By way of example, the sensor(s) 444 may include an accelerometer (e.g., a micro-electrical mechanical systems (MEMS) device), a gyroscope, a geomagnetic sensor (e.g., a compass), an altimeter (e.g., a barometric pressure altimeter), and / or any other type of movement detection sensor. Moreover, the sensor(s) 444 may include a plurality of different types of devices and combine their outputs in order to provide motion information. For example, the sensor(s) 444 may use a combination of a multi-axis accelerometer and orientation sensors to provide the ability to compute positions in two-dimensional (2D) and / or three-dimensional (3D) coordinate systems.

[0109] In addition, the UE 402 includes a user interface 446 providing means for providing indications (e.g., audible and / or visual indications) to a user and / or for receiving user input (e.g., upon user actuation of a sensing device such a keypad, a touch screen, a microphone, and so on). Although not shown, the base station 404 and the network entity 406 may also include user interfaces.

[0110] Referring to the one or more processors 484 in more detail, in the downlink, IP packets from the network entity 406 may be provided to the processor 484. The one or more processors 484 may implement functionality for an RRC layer, a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, a radio link control (RLC) layer, and a medium access control (MAC) layer. The one or more processors 484 may provide RRC layer functionality associated with broadcasting of system information (e.g., master information block (MIB), system information blocks (SIBs)), RRC connection control (e.g., RRC connection paging, RRC connection establishment, RRC connection modification, and RRC connection release), inter-RAT mobility, and measurement configuration for UE measurement reporting; PDCP layer functionality associated with header compression / decompression, security (ciphering, deciphering, integrity protection, integrity verification), and handover support functions; RLC layer functionality associated with the transfer of upper layer PDUs, error correction through automatic repeat request (ARQ), concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC service data QC2401803WOQualcomm Ref. No.2401803WO units (SDUs), re-segmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functionality associated with mapping between logical channels and transport channels, scheduling information reporting, error correction, priority handling, and logical channel prioritization.

[0111] The transmitter 454 and the receiver 452 may implement Layer-1 (L1) functionality associated with various signal processing functions. Layer-1, which includes a physical (PHY) layer, may include error detection on the transport channels, forward error correction (FEC) coding / decoding of the transport channels, interleaving, rate matching, mapping onto physical channels, modulation / demodulation of physical channels, and MIMO antenna processing. The transmitter 454 handles mapping to signal constellations based on various modulation schemes (e.g., binary phase-shift keying (BPSK), quadrature phase-shift keying (QPSK), M-phase-shift keying (M-PSK), M-quadrature amplitude modulation (M-QAM)). The coded and modulated symbols may then be split into parallel streams. Each stream may then be mapped to an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) subcarrier, multiplexed with a reference signal (e.g., pilot) in the time and / or frequency domain, and then combined together using an inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) to produce a physical channel carrying a time domain OFDM symbol stream. The OFDM symbol stream is spatially precoded to produce multiple spatial streams. Channel estimates from a channel estimator may be used to determine the coding and modulation scheme, as well as for spatial processing. The channel estimate may be derived from a reference signal and / or channel condition feedback transmitted by the UE 402. Each spatial stream may then be provided to one or more different antennas 456. The transmitter 454 may modulate an RF carrier with a respective spatial stream for transmission.

[0112] At the UE 402, the receiver 412 receives a signal through its respective antenna(s) 416. The receiver 412 recovers information modulated onto an RF carrier and provides the information to the one or more processors 442. The transmitter 414 and the receiver 412 implement Layer-1 functionality associated with various signal processing functions. The receiver 412 may perform spatial processing on the information to recover any spatial streams destined for the UE 402. If multiple spatial streams are destined for the UE 402, they may be combined by the receiver 412 into a single OFDM symbol stream. The receiver 412 then converts the OFDM symbol stream from the time-domain to the QC2401803WOQualcomm Ref. No.2401803WO frequency domain using a fast Fourier transform (FFT). The frequency domain signal comprises a separate OFDM symbol stream for each subcarrier of the OFDM signal. The symbols on each subcarrier, and the reference signal, are recovered and demodulated by determining the most likely signal constellation points transmitted by the base station 404. These soft decisions may be based on channel estimates computed by a channel estimator. The soft decisions are then decoded and de-interleaved to recover the data and control signals that were originally transmitted by the base station 404 on the physical channel. The data and control signals are then provided to the one or more processors 442, which implements Layer-3 (L3) and Layer-2 (L2) functionality.

[0113] In the downlink, the one or more processors 442 provides demultiplexing between transport and logical channels, packet reassembly, deciphering, header decompression, and control signal processing to recover IP packets from the core network. The one or more processors 442 are also responsible for error detection.

[0114] Similar to the functionality described in connection with the downlink transmission by the base station 404, the one or more processors 442 provides RRC layer functionality associated with system information (e.g., MIB, SIBs) acquisition, RRC connections, and measurement reporting; PDCP layer functionality associated with header compression / decompression, and security (ciphering, deciphering, integrity protection, integrity verification); RLC layer functionality associated with the transfer of upper layer PDUs, error correction through ARQ, concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC SDUs, re-segmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functionality associated with mapping between logical channels and transport channels, multiplexing of MAC SDUs onto transport blocks (TBs), demultiplexing of MAC SDUs from TBs, scheduling information reporting, error correction through hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ), priority handling, and logical channel prioritization.

[0115] Channel estimates derived by the channel estimator from a reference signal or feedback transmitted by the base station 404 may be used by the transmitter 414 to select the appropriate coding and modulation schemes, and to facilitate spatial processing. The spatial streams generated by the transmitter 414 may be provided to different antenna(s) 416. The transmitter 414 may modulate an RF carrier with a respective spatial stream for transmission. QC2401803WOQualcomm Ref. No.2401803WO

[0116] The uplink transmission is processed at the base station 404 in a manner similar to that described in connection with the receiver function at the UE 402. The receiver 452 receives a signal through its respective antenna(s) 456. The receiver 452 recovers information modulated onto an RF carrier and provides the information to the one or more processors 484.

[0117] In the uplink, the one or more processors 484 provides demultiplexing between transport and logical channels, packet reassembly, deciphering, header decompression, control signal processing to recover IP packets from the UE 402. IP packets from the one or more processors 484 may be provided to the core network. The one or more processors 484 are also responsible for error detection.

[0118] For convenience, the UE 402, the base station 404, and / or the network entity 406 are shown in FIGS.4A, 4B, and 4C as including various components that may be configured according to the various examples described herein. It will be appreciated, however, that the illustrated components may have different functionality in different designs. In particular, various components in FIGS. 4A to 4C are optional in alternative configurations and the various aspects include configurations that may vary due to design choice, costs, use of the device, or other considerations. For example, in case of FIG.4A, a particular implementation of UE 402 may omit the WWAN transceiver(s) 410 (e.g., a wearable device or tablet computer or personal computer (PC) or laptop may have Wi-Fi and / or BLUETOOTH® capability without cellular capability), or may omit the short- range wireless transceiver(s) 420 (e.g., cellular-only, etc.), or may omit the satellite signal interface 430, or may omit the sensor(s) 444, and so on. In another example, in case of FIG. 4B, a particular implementation of the base station 404 may omit the WWAN transceiver(s) 450 (e.g., a Wi-Fi “hotspot” access point without cellular capability), or may omit the short-range wireless transceiver(s) 460 (e.g., cellular-only, etc.), or may omit the satellite signal interface 470, and so on. For brevity, illustration of the various alternative configurations is not provided herein, but would be readily understandable to one skilled in the art.

[0119] The various components of the UE 402, the base station 404, and the network entity 406 may be communicatively coupled to each other over data buses 408, 482, and 492, respectively. In an aspect, the data buses 408, 482, and 492 may form, or be part of, a communication interface of the UE 402, the base station 404, and the network entity 406, QC2401803WOQualcomm Ref. No.2401803WO respectively. For example, where different logical entities are embodied in the same device (e.g., gNB and location server functionality incorporated into the same base station 404), the data buses 408, 482, and 492 may provide communication between them.

[0120] The components of FIGS.4A, 4B, and 4C may be implemented in various ways. In some implementations, the components of FIGS. 4A, 4B, and 4C may be implemented in one or more circuits such as, for example, one or more processors and / or one or more ASICs (which may include one or more processors). Here, each circuit may use and / or incorporate at least one memory component for storing information or executable code used by the circuit to provide this functionality. For example, some or all of the functionality represented by blocks 410 to 446 may be implemented by processor and memory component(s) of the UE 402 (e.g., by execution of appropriate code and / or by appropriate configuration of processor components). Similarly, some or all of the functionality represented by blocks 450 to 488 may be implemented by processor and memory component(s) of the base station 404 (e.g., by execution of appropriate code and / or by appropriate configuration of processor components). Also, some or all of the functionality represented by blocks 490 to 498 may be implemented by processor and memory component(s) of the network entity 406 (e.g., by execution of appropriate code and / or by appropriate configuration of processor components). For simplicity, various operations, acts, and / or functions are described herein as being performed “by a UE,” “by a base station,” “by a network entity,” etc. However, as will be appreciated, such operations, acts, and / or functions may actually be performed by specific components or combinations of components of the UE 402, base station 404, network entity 406, etc., such as the processors 442, 484, 494, the transceivers 410, 420, 450, and 460, the memories 440, 486, and 496, the Ambient IoT Component 448, 488, and 498, etc.

[0121] In some designs, the network entity 406 may be implemented as a core network component. In other designs, the network entity 406 may be distinct from a network operator or operation of the cellular network infrastructure (e.g., NG RAN 220 and / or 5GC 210 / 260). For example, the network entity 406 may be a component of a private network that may be configured to communicate with the UE 402 via the base station 404 or independently from the base station 404 (e.g., over a non-cellular communication link, such as Wi-Fi). QC2401803WOQualcomm Ref. No.2401803WO

[0122] FIG.5 illustrates a simplified block diagram of an ambient IoT station 510 and an ambient IoT device 530 in an ambient IoT system 500, according to aspects of the disclosure. In some aspects, the ambient IoT station 510 may be an RFID reader and may correspond to the ambient IoT station 310 in FIG. 3. In some aspects, the ambient IoT device 530 may be an RFID tag and may correspond to the ambient IoT device 324 or the ambient IoT device 326 in FIG.3.

[0123] As shown in FIG. 5, the ambient IoT station 510 includes an antenna 512, and a transmitter 514 and a receiver 516 electrically coupled with the antenna 512. Also, the ambient IoT device 530 includes an antenna 532, an impedance circuitry 534 (abbreviated as “Im Ckt” in FIG. 5) for adjusting an effective impedance of the antenna 532 as observable from the air or free space, a controller 536 (abbreviated as “CTRL” in FIG.5) configured to control the impedance circuitry 534, and power circuitry 538 (abbreviated as “Pwr Ckt” in FIG. 5) configured to provide the electrical power to the controller 536 and / or the impedance circuitry 534.

[0124] In some aspects, a TRP in a wireless communications system may be configured to function as, or to incorporate, the ambient IoT station 510. In such scenario, the ambient IoT station 510 may correspond to the base station 404, the transmitter 514 may correspond to the transmitter 454 and / or the ambient IoT component 488 in the WWAN transceivers 450, or the transmitter 464 in the short-range wireless transceivers 460; the receiver 516 may correspond to the receiver 452 and / or the ambient IoT component 488 in the WWAN transceivers 450, or the receiver 462 in the short-range wireless transceivers 460; and the antenna 512 may correspond to the antenna 456 or the antenna 466. In some aspects, a UE in a wireless communications system may be configured to function as, or to incorporate, the ambient IoT station 510. In such scenario, the ambient IoT station 510 may correspond to the UE 402, the transmitter 514 may correspond to the transmitter 414 and / or the ambient IoT component 448 in the WWAN transceivers 420, or the transmitter 424 in the short-range wireless transceivers 420; the receiver 516 may correspond to the receiver 412 and / or the ambient IoT component 448 in the WWAN transceivers 420, or the receiver 422 in the short-range wireless transceivers 420; and the antenna 512 may correspond to the antenna 416 or the antenna 426.

[0125] In some aspects, a UE in a wireless communications system may be configured to function as, or to incorporate, the ambient IoT device 530. In such scenario, the ambient QC2401803WOQualcomm Ref. No.2401803WO IoT device 530 may correspond to the UE 402, the impedance circuitry 534, the controller 536, and the power circuitry 538 may correspond to the ambient IoT component 448, and the antenna 532 may correspond to the antenna 416 or the antenna 426.

[0126] In some aspects, in operation, the transmitter 514 of the ambient IoT station 510 may transmit an interrogating signal 552 via the antenna 512 to the ambient IoT device 530. In some aspects, the interrogating signal 552 may be embedded with a command from the ambient IoT station 510. The command may provide the ambient IoT device 530 a time frame for responding to the interrogating signal 552, instruct the ambient IoT device 530 to provide its identification code or other information related to the identity or capability of the ambient IoT device 530, or both. The ambient IoT device 530, when being powered on and upon receiving the interrogating signal 552, may cause the controller 536 to prepare a response based on the embedded command and to control the impedance circuitry 534 based on the prepared response (e.g., controlling the on / off status of an RF switch, a switching frequency of the RF switch, and / or the coupling / decoupling of one or more delay elements based on surface acoustic wave propagation structures), in order to adjust the relationship between the interrogating signal 552 as received by the antenna 532 and the backscattered signal response 556 as reflected or backscattered by the combination of the antenna 532 and the impedance circuitry 534 (or may be simply referred as being transmitted by the antenna 532 based on backscattering). As the impedance and / or delay of the impedance circuitry 534 vary, the amplitude, phase, frequency, and / or delay of the backscattered signal response 556 may vary. Accordingly, the controller 536 may modulate the backscattered response signal 556 to carry the response by adjusting the impedance and / or delay of the impedance circuitry 534.

[0127] In some aspects, the ambient IoT device 530 may be a passive ambient IoT device. In such scenario, the power circuitry 538 may harvest the electrical power from the interrogating signal 552 to power the controller 536 and the impedance circuitry 534. In some aspects, the ambient IoT device 530 may be a semi-passive ambient IoT device. In such scenario, the power circuitry 538 may power the controller 536 and the impedance circuitry 534 based on the harvested power from the interrogating signal 552 or an on- board battery (not shown) of the ambient IoT device 530. Also, in some examples, the power circuitry 538 may perform the energy harvesting functionality for detecting the presence or absence of the interrogating signal 552. QC2401803WOQualcomm Ref. No.2401803WO

[0128] Moreover, the receiver 516 of the ambient IoT station 510 may receive the backscattered response signal 556 from the ambient IoT device 530 via the antenna 512. The ambient IoT station 510 may decode the backscattered response signal 556 to obtain the response provided by the ambient IoT device 530. In some aspects, the ambient IoT system 500 may be used to measure a range or estimate a position of the ambient IoT device 530, a position of the ambient IoT station 510, or a relative distance or angle between the ambient IoT device 530 and the ambient IoT station 510. In such application, the ambient IoT station 510 may also measure a time of arrival (ToA) of the backscattered response signal 556 as observed at the ambient IoT station 510.

[0129] In some aspects, the ambient IoT station 510 may transmit the interrogating signal 552 and receive the backscattered response signal 556 in a full-duplex (FDX) mode. In some aspects, the ambient IoT station 510 may transmit the interrogating signal 552 and receive the backscattered response signal 556 in a half-duplex (HDX) mode. In some aspects, for operations based on backscattering, the ambient IoT station 510 may continue transmitting the interrogating signal 552 in the FDX mode or in the HDX mode regardless of the interrogating signal 552 indeed carrying an embedded command / message or not (e.g., continuing transmitting a carrier wave of the interrogating signal 552 without being modulated to carry any embedded command / message).

[0130] In some aspects, as the ambient IoT system 500 may be implemented integrally or in parallel with a wireless communications system (e.g., the LTE or 5G NR as described above), the interrogating signal 552 may be transmitted over a radio resource of the wireless communications system. In some aspects, the ambient IoT system 500 may be used to perform a positioning procedure of determining a position of the ambient IoT device 530 and / or a position of the ambient IoT station 510 based on the backscattered signal from the ambient IoT device 530 (also referred to as a backscatter-based positioning procedure), where the ambient IoT system 500 may transmit a positioning reference signal as an interrogating signal, or transmit the interrogating signal over a radio resource of the positioning reference signal of a wireless communications system. In some examples, the positioning reference signal (or the corresponding radio resources) may be a downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS), a sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS), or a sounding reference signal (SRS) (or the corresponding radio resources). 40 QC2401803WOQualcomm Ref. No.2401803WO

[0131] FIGS. 6A-6D illustrate four example connectivity topologies for ambient IoT networks and devices, according to aspects of the disclosure. In some aspects, the ambient IoT device illustrated in FIGS. 6A-6D may be provided with a carrier wave (e.g., with or without being modulated to carry an embedded message) from other node(s) either inside or outside the illustrated example topology. In some aspects, the links in each example topology may be bidirectional or unidirectional. In some aspects, each entity illustrated in FIGS.6A-6D may represent one or more of the illustrated entity.

[0132] As shown in FIG. 6A, an ambient IoT device 610 may directly and bidirectionally communicate with a base station 620 (configured as an ambient IoT station) based on ambient IoT communications (e.g., as illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 5 as non-limiting examples). The communication between the base station 620 and the ambient IoT device 610 may include ambient IoT data and / or signaling. In some aspects, the example topology illustrated in FIG.6A may include the possibility that the illustration of the base station 620 may represent two different base stations, including a transmitting base station for transmitting to the ambient IoT device 610 and a receiving base station for receiving from the ambient IoT device 610.

[0133] As shown in FIG.6B, an ambient IoT device 610 may communicate bidirectionally with an intermediate node 630 (configured as an ambient IoT station) based on ambient IoT communications, and the intermediate node 630 may communicate with a base station 620 based on wired communications or wireless communications (e.g., Uu interface). In this example topology, the intermediate node 630 may be a relay, an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, a UE (also referred to as an intermediate UE), a repeater, etc., which is capable of ambient IoT communications. In some aspects, the intermediate node 630 may transfer ambient IoT data and / or signaling between the base station 620 and the ambient IoT device 610.

[0134] As shown in FIG. 6C, an ambient IoT device 610 may transmit data / signaling to a base station 620 (configured as an ambient IoT station) and receive data / signaling from an assisting node 640 (configured as another ambient IoT station); or the ambient IoT device 610 may receive data / signaling from the base station 620 and transmit data / signaling to the assisting node 640. In this example topology, the assisting node 640 may be a relay, an IAB node, a UE, a repeater, etc., which is capable of performing ambient IoT communications. In some aspects, the assisting node 640 may communicate with the 41 QC2401803WOQualcomm Ref. No.2401803WO base station 620 based on wired communications or wireless communications (e.g., Uu interface).

[0135] As shown in FIG.6D, an ambient IoT device 610 may communicate bidirectionally with a UE 650 (configured as an ambient IoT station). In some aspects, the communication between the UE 650 and the ambient IoT device 610 may include ambient IoT data and / or signaling.

[0136] FIG. 7A illustrates a first example scenario 700A for a backscatter-based positioning procedure, according to aspects of the disclosure. In the scenario 700A depicted in FIG. 7A, an ambient IoT device 710 may be configured as a backscattering device for transmitting a backscattered signal, and a position of the ambient IoT device 710 may be determined based on the backscatter-based positioning procedure. The scenario 700A may include one or more receiving ambient IoT stations 722, 724, and 726 configured as receiving devices for receiving the backscattered signal. The scenario 700A may further include a transmitting ambient IoT station 728 configured as a transmitting device for transmitting a reference signal based on which the backscattered signal is transmitted. In some examples, the ambient IoT station 728 may also be configured as a receiving device. In some aspects, there may be one or more transmitting ambient IoT stations for the backscatter-based positioning procedure.

[0137] In some aspects, the ambient IoT device 710 may be a standalone ambient IoT device, or may be a device (e.g., a UE, a barcode scanner, an automated guided vehicle, or the like) including components configured to function as an ambient IoT device. In some aspect, the ambient IoT device 710 may correspond to the ambient IoT devices described in FIG. 3 or FIG.5. In some aspects, each one of the ambient IoT stations 722, 724, 726, and 728 may be a UE (such as any UE described in this disclosure) or a TRP (such as any TRP or base station described in this disclosure) of a wireless communications network.

[0138] In some aspects, to perform the backscatter-based positioning procedure, the ambient IoT station 728 may transmit a reference signal 730 (e.g., a carrier wave with or without being modulated to carry an embedded command or message) to the ambient IoT device 710. In some aspects, the reference signal 730 may be a positioning reference signal of the wireless communications network, such as DL-PRS, SL-PRS, or SRS. In response to the reference signal 730, the ambient IoT device 710 may transmit a backscattered signal by backscattering (also referred to as reflecting in some examples) the reference signal 730. QC2401803WOQualcomm Ref. No.2401803WO The backscattered signal may be observed at the ambient IoT stations 722, 724, 726, and 728 and labeled in FIG.7A as respectively received backscattered signals 732, 734, 736, and 738.

[0139] In some aspects, the location of the ambient IoT device 710 may be determined based on measuring one or more characteristics of the received backscattered signals 732, 734, 736, and 738, information of one or more characteristics of the reference signal 730, and / or location information of the ambient IoT stations 722, 724, 726, and 728.

[0140] FIG. 7A shows a non-limiting example for a backscatter-based positioning procedure having an ambient IoT station 728 configured to function as a transmitting device and a receiving device, together with three other ambient IoT stations 722, 724, and 726 configured as receiving devices. In some examples for performing a particular backscatter-based positioning procedure, a transmitting ambient IoT station may be configured not to function as a receiving device. Also, in some examples for performing a particular backscatter-based positioning procedure, a number of transmitting or receiving devices (e.g., ambient IoT stations) may be different from the example shown in FIG.7A.

[0141] FIG. 7B illustrates a second example scenario 700B for a backscatter-based positioning procedure, according to aspects of the disclosure. In the scenario 700B depicted in FIG. 7B, a position of a receiving device 750 (e.g., depicted as a UE in FIG. 7B, but may be any device that can be configured as an ambient IoT station for receiving) may be determined based on one or more reference signals 762 and 764 transmitted by one or more transmitting devices 752 and 754 and corresponding backscattered signals 782, 784, and 786 transmitted by a plurality of backscattering devices 772, 774, and 776. In some aspects, the reference signals 762 and 764 may correspond to positioning reference signals of the wireless communications network, such as DL-PRS, SL-PRS, or SRS. In some aspects, the backscattering devices 772 and 774 may transmit the backscattered signals 782 and 784 based on backscattering the reference signal 762; and the backscattering device 776 may transmit the backscattered signal 786 based on backscattering the reference signal 764.

[0142] In some aspects, each one of the backscattering devices 772, 774, and 776 may be an ambient IoT device corresponding to the ambient IoT devices described in FIG.3 or FIG. 5, which may be a standalone ambient IoT device, or may be a device including QC2401803WOQualcomm Ref. No.2401803WO components configured to function as an ambient IoT device. In some aspects, each one of the receiving device 750 and the transmitting devices 752 and 754 may be an ambient IoT station corresponding to the ambient IoT stations described in FIG. 3 or FIG. 5. In some aspects, each one of the receiving device 750 and the transmitting devices 752 and 754 may be a UE (such as any UE described herein) or a TRP (such as any TRP or base station described herein) of a wireless communications network.

[0143] In some aspects, the receiving device 750 may receive and measure one or more characteristics of the reference signals 762 and 764 from the transmitting devices 752 and 754 and the backscattered signals 782, 784, and 786 from the backscattering devices 772, 774, and 776. In some aspects, the location of the receiving device 750 may be determined based on measuring one or more characteristics of the reference signals 762 and 764 from the transmitting devices 752 and 754, measuring one or more characteristics of the backscattered signals 782, 784, and 786 from the backscattering devices 772, 774, and 776, and / or location information of the backscattering devices 772, 774, and 776 and the transmitting devices 752 and 754. In some aspects, the location of the ambient IoT device 710 may be determined based on measuring one or more characteristics of the received backscattered signals 732, 734, 736, and 738, information of one or more characteristics of the reference signal 730, and / or location information of the ambient IoT stations 722, 724, 726, and 728,

[0144] FIG. 7B shows a non-limiting example for a backscatter-based positioning procedure having a transmitting device 752 in association with two backscattering devices 772 and 774; and a transmitting device 754 in association with one backscattering device 776. In some examples for performing a particular backscatter-based positioning procedure, a number of transmitting devices or ambient IoT devices and the association relationship thereof may be different from the example shown in FIG.7B.

[0145] FIG. 8A illustrates a first example approach 800A for determining a location based on backscattered signals, according to aspects of the disclosure. In this simplified example, once a distance between an ambient IoT station 810 and an ambient IoT device 820 is determined, based on a known location of one of the ambient IoT station 810 and the ambient IoT device 820, a possible range of a location of the other one of the ambient IoT station 810 and the ambient IoT device 820 may be determined. In this non-limiting example, the distance between the ambient IoT station 810 and the ambient IoT device 44 QC2401803WOQualcomm Ref. No.2401803WO 820 may be determined using the time points of transmission or reception of various signals and based on one or more of time-of-arrival (ToA) scheme, time-difference-of- arrival (TDOA) scheme, round-trip-time (RTT) scheme, or any combination thereof. In some aspects, the example approach 800A may be used to determine one or more distances between a receiving device and an ambient IoT device in the example scenario 700A in FIG.7A or the example scenario 700B in FIG.7B.

[0146] According to the non-limiting example approach 800A depicted in FIG.8A, the ambient IoT station 810 may be configured as a transmitting device to transmit a reference signal transmission 832 (e.g., one or more reference signal symbols transmitted within a reference resource without retuning the RF circuitry of the ambient IoT station 810) at time T0. The ambient IoT device 820 may receive the reference signal transmission 832 arrived at time T1 (labeled as reference signal transmission 832’) and transmit a backscattered signal transmission 834 by backscattering the reference signal transmission 832 (and including one or more backscattered symbols corresponding to the one or more reference signal symbols of the reference signal transmission 832). The ambient IoT station 810 may be configured as a receiving device to receive the backscattered signal transmission 834 at time T2. In some aspects, the ambient IoT station 810 may measure the time of arrival (e.g., time T2) of the backscattered signal transmission 834.

[0147] In some aspects, a processing device (e.g., based on the ambient IoT station 810 or another device different from the ambient IoT station 810) may determine a propagation delay between the ambient IoT station 810 and the ambient IoT device 820 and may determine a distance between the ambient IoT station 810 and the ambient IoT device 820 by multiplying the propagation delay by the speed of the RF transmissions (e.g., the speed of light). In some aspects, the accuracy of the distance may depend on the bandwidth of the backscattered signal transmission 834, which may correspond to the bandwidth of the reference signal transmission 832. In some aspects, a greater bandwidth may correspond to a less positioning error.

[0148] FIG.8B illustrates a second example approach 800B for determining a location based on backscattered signals, according to aspects of the disclosure. In this simplified example, once a distance between an ambient IoT station 810 and an ambient IoT device 820 is determined, based on a known location of one of the ambient IoT station 810 and the ambient IoT device 820, a possible range of a location of the other one of the ambient IoT QC2401803WOQualcomm Ref. No.2401803WO station 810 and the ambient IoT device 820 may be determined. In this non-limiting example, the distance between the ambient IoT station 810 and the ambient IoT device 820 may be determined based on one or more characteristics regarding the phases (may be measurable as a phase difference or a time difference) and / or frequencies of the backscattered signals from the ambient IoT device 820. In some aspects, the example approach 800B may be used to determine one or more distances between a receiving device and an ambient IoT device in the example scenario 700A in FIG. 7A or the example scenario 700B in FIG.7B.

[0149] According to the non-limiting example approach 800B depicted in FIG.8B, the ambient IoT station 810 may be configured as a transmitting device to transmit a reference signal transmission 842 (e.g., one or more reference signal symbols transmitted within a reference resource without retuning the RF circuitry of the ambient IoT station 810) having a reference frequency f0 (e.g., representing a central frequency of the frequency portion of the reference signal transmission 842). The ambient IoT device 820 may receive the reference signal transmission 842 and transmit a first backscattered signal transmission 844 having a first frequency f1 (e.g., representing a central frequency of the frequency portion of the first backscattered signal transmission 844) and a second backscattered signal transmission 846 having a second frequency f2 (e.g., representing a central frequency of the frequency portion of the second backscattered signal transmission 846) by backscattering the reference signal transmission 842. The first backscattered signal transmission 844 may arrive the ambient IoT station 810 with a first phase shift 1; and the second backscattered signal transmission 846 may arrive the ambient IoT station 810 with a second phase shift 2. In some aspects, the ambient IoT station 810 may measure or aware of the frequencies f1 and f2 and may measure a phase difference between the backscattered signals 844 and 846. In addition, the ambient IoT station 810 may measure a time of arrival time t=T (assuming the reference signal transmission 842 is transmitted at time t=0) of the backscattered signal transmissions 844 and 846.

[0150] In some aspects, a measured phase difference (PhaseDiff) between the backscattered signal transmissions 844 and 846 may satisfy the equations of: PhaseDiff = (2 f2T+ 2) (2 f1T+ 1) = 2 (f2 f1)T+ ( 2 1), andPhaseDiff = 2 (f2 f1)T×(d / c)+ ( 2 1),46 QC2401803WOQualcomm Ref. No.2401803WO where c represents the speed of the RF transmissions (e.g., the speed of light), and d represents the distance between the ambient IoT station 810 and the ambient IoT device 820. As the value of ( 2 1) may be known based on the configuration and / or design ofthe ambient IoT device 820, a processing device (e.g., based on the ambient IoT station 810 or another device different from the ambient IoT station 810) may determine the distance between the ambient IoT station 810 and the ambient IoT device 820 based on the measured phase difference PhaseDiff. In some aspects, the accuracy of the distance may depend on the accuracy of the information regarding frequency shifting and / or phase-shifting that may be introduced to the backscattered signals by the ambient IoT device 820.

[0151] In some aspects, the example approaches 800A and 800B are illustrated as non-limiting examples. Many other approaches may also be used to determine a location of a receiving device or an ambient IoT device based on measuring backscattered signals, such as determining the location based on a reference signal received power (RSRP) map (also referred to as RSRP based positioning or RSRP-map based positioning).

[0152] FIG.9 illustrates a frequency hopping scheme 900, according to aspects of the disclosure. In FIG. 9, a reference signal for positioning (e.g., DL-PRS, SL-PRS, or SRS) may be transmitted as several reference signal hops. For example, two reference signal hops are shown in FIG. 9 as a non-limiting example. In FIG. 9, a first reference signal hop 910 may be transmitted by a transmitting device over a first time portion 912 and a first frequency range 916; and a second reference signal hop 920 may be transmitted by the transmitting device over a second time portion 922 and a second frequency range 926. The second reference signal hop 920 may be transmitted after the first reference signal hop 910 in the time domain with a time gap 932 that is free from having another reference signal hop. In some aspects, the first reference signal hop 910 and the second reference signal hop 920 may be considered as consecutively transmitted in the time domain.

[0153] In some aspects, a receiving device (e.g., a reduced capability (RedCap) UE) may be configured to measure a plurality of reference signal hops and aggregate all the measured reference signal hops in order to obtain a wideband reference signal (e.g., with an expanded bandwidth based on aggregating the bandwidths of the reference signal hops). To estimate any phase difference between any two consecutively transmitted reference signal hops, the reference signal hops may be arranged to partially overlap in the QC2401803WOQualcomm Ref. No.2401803WO frequency domain. For example, the first reference signal hop 910 and the second reference signal hop 920 may overlap in the frequency domain over an overlapping frequency portion 936. In some aspects, the first reference signal hop 910 and the second reference signal hop 920 may be coherently integrated by the receiving device based on the phase offset estimation between the first reference signal hop 910 and the second reference signal hop 920, which may be determined based on a portion of the first reference signal hop 910 and a portion of the second reference signal hop 920 within the overlapping frequency portion 936.

[0154] In some RedCap position estimation schemes, DL-PRS frequency hopping may be implemented. In some aspects, the DL-PRS frequency hopping may be configured such that, from the receiving device’s perspective, the receiving device may receive reference signal hops within a DL-PRS resource with a measurement gap; and a single instance of a measurement gap may be used for receiving all the hops of DL-PRS frequency hopping. In some aspects, the DL-PRS frequency hopping may be configured such that, from the receiving device’s perspective, the maximum hopping bandwidth for a single hop may be 20 MHz for FR1 and may be 100 MHz for FR2.

[0155] In some aspects, the receiving device may report the measurement of the received hops by reporting a single measurement derived based on receiving multiple DL-PRS hops (e.g., with bandwidth aggregation). In some aspects, the receiving device may report one or more measurements, each measurement corresponding to a respective DL-PRS hop (e.g., without bandwidth aggregation). In some aspects, the receiving device may support DL-PRS frequency hopping when the receiving device is at an RRC_INACTIVE state or an RRC_IDLE state.

[0156] In some aspects, when a UE is powered up, the UE is initially in an RRC_DISCONNECTED state or an RRC_IDLE state. In some aspects, after a random access procedure establishing a connection with a network, the UE may move to an RRC_CONNECTED state. If there is no activity at the UE for a short time, the UE can suspend its session by moving to an RRC_INACTIVE state. The UE can resume its session by performing a random access procedure to transition back to the RRC_CONNECTED.

[0157] In some RedCap position estimation schemes, SRS frequency hopping may be implemented. In some aspects, the SRS frequency hopping may be configured such that, 48 QC2401803WOQualcomm Ref. No.2401803WO from a transmitting device’s perspective (which may be a RedCap UE), the transmitting device may transmit reference signal hops within an SRS resource for positioning. In some aspects, the SRS frequency hopping may be configured outside an active uplink bandwidth part (BWP) and may be configured based on a subcarrier spacing (SCS), a cyclic prefix (CP) size, and / or a bandwidth. In some aspects, overlapping hops or non- overlapping hops may be arranged to span across one or multiple slots. In some aspects, the SRS hops may be configured to support a staircase pattern. In some aspects, SRS frequency hopping may be implemented within an uplink time window where the transmitting device is not expected to transmit other signals or channels. In some aspects, the transmitting device may support SRS frequency hopping when the transmitting device is at an RRC_CONNECTED state or an RRC_INACTIVE state.

[0158] FIG. 10 illustrates a staircase pattern 1000 for a 5-hop SRS configuration, according to aspects of the disclosure. As shown in FIG. 10, the bandwidth part BWP for the SRS may be divided into five frequency portions 1011, 1013, 1015, 1017, and 1019 in the frequency domain; and the SRS hops are to be transmitted at time portions 1021, 1023, 1025, 1027, and 1029 in the time domain. In this example, five hops may be arranged for the SRS for a first transmitting device (depicted as blocks with the label ‘1’); five hops may be arranged for the SRS for a second transmitting device (depicted as blocks with the label ‘2’); five hops may be arranged for the SRS for a third transmitting device (depicted as blocks with the label ‘3’); five hops may be arranged for the SRS for a fourth transmitting device (depicted as blocks with the label ‘4’); and five hops may be arranged for the SRS for a fifth transmitting device (depicted as blocks with the label ‘5’). In this example, each transmitting device may have a respective SRS hop arranged at a respective one of time portions 1021~1029 and at a respective one of the frequency portions 1011~1019.

[0159] FIG. 11 illustrates a frequency hopping scheme 1100 in the time domain for DL-PRS, according to aspects of the disclosure. In FIG. 11, the frequency hopping scheme 1100 may utilize a 5-hop pattern for DL-PRS. As shown in FIG. 11, five hops 1111, 1113, 1115, 1117, and 1119 may be arranged after a time interval 1122 and before a time interval 1124. As shown in FIG.11, a time gap 1132 may be arranged between hops 1111 and 1113; a time gap 1134 may be arranged between hops 1113 and 1115; a time gap 1136 may be arranged between hops 1115 and 1117; and a time gap 1138 may be arranged 49 QC2401803WOQualcomm Ref. No.2401803WO between hops 1117 and 1119. In some aspects, the time gaps 1132, 1134, 1136, and 1138 may be arranged for switching or retuning the corresponding RF circuitry. In this non- limiting example, each hop may be about 2 milliseconds (ms) in the time domain. In this non-limiting example, each of the time interval 1122 and time interval 1124 may be about 500 microseconds (μs) in the time domain. In some aspects, each of the time gaps 1132, 1134, 1136, and 1138 may be about X μs in the time domain. In some aspects, X may be 70, 140, or 210 for FR1, and may be 35, 70, or 140 for FR2.

[0160] In some aspects, DL-PRS bandwidth aggregation may be implemented based on DL-PRS transmissions in two or three different positioning frequency layers (PFLs) for intra-band contiguous bandwidth aggregation. In some aspects, the DL-PRS bandwidth aggregation based on DL-PRS transmissions in two or three different PFLs may be supported, provided that the DL-PRS transmissions are based on the same symbols, from the same TRP, having the same numerology, received based on the same RF chain, and received at the same quasi co-location. In some aspects, a DL-PRS bandwidth aggregation may be a measurement gap based bandwidth aggregation. In some aspects, an server device (e.g., an LMF) may initiate the DL-PRS bandwidth aggregation. In some aspects, a receiving device (e.g., a UE) may initiate the DL-PRS bandwidth aggregation, e.g., using an on- demand PRS request.

[0161] In some aspects, a joint measurement report may be reported across the PFLs and may include reference signal time difference (RSTD) measurements and / or UE reception- transmission (Rx-Tx) time difference measurements for the aggregated PFLs. In some aspects, a measurement report may be reported and indicate whether the measurements across the PFLs are aggregated and / or which measurements are aggregated. In some aspects, to support DL-PRS bandwidth aggregation, an indication may be included in a location request message for signaling whether the receiving device is expected to perform a joint measurement. In some aspects, the joint measurement may be performed when the receiving device is at an RRC_CONNECTED state, an RRC_INACTIVE state, or an RRC_IDLE state.

[0162] In some aspects, SRS bandwidth aggregation may be implemented based on SRS transmissions in two or three different component carriers (CCs). In some aspects, the SRS bandwidth aggregation based on SRS transmissions in two or three different CCs may be supported, provided that the SRS transmissions are based on the same symbols, 50 QC2401803WOQualcomm Ref. No.2401803WO transmitted by the same antenna, having the same numerology, having the same transmission power spectrum density (PSD), and having the same pathloss configuration parameters. In some aspects, an SRS bandwidth aggregation may be implemented based on periodic, semi-persistent, or aperiodic SRS for positioning.

[0163] In some aspects, the SRS transmission may be transmitted when the transmitting device is at an RRC_CONNECTED state or an RRC_INACTIVE state. In some aspects, the capability of implementing the SRS bandwidth aggregation may be activated or deactivated independently from the capability of implementing an uplink carrier aggregation. In some aspects, a joint measurement and report may be supported for SRS resources across the carriers for uplink TDOA and / or multi-cell RTT (Multi-RTT).

[0164] FIG. 12 illustrates an aggregated SRS scheme 1200, in accordance with aspects of the disclosure. In FIG. 12, a first CC (labeled “CC1”) is configured for SRS only, and a second CC (labeled “CC2”) is the active UL BWP. In some aspects, a transmitting device (e.g., a UE) may perform uplink transmission 1210 on CC2 (e.g., PUSCH), followed by a retuning interval 1222, after which transmitting device may transmit an SRS transmission 1232 on CC2 and an SRS transmission 1234 on CC1, followed by another retuning interval 1224.

[0165] In some aspects, a backscatter-based positioning procedure may be performed based on backscattered signal transmissions in view of the the DL-PRS bandwidth aggregation scheme and the SRS bandwidth aggregation scheme described above. In some aspects, a processing device that manage the backscatter-based positioning procedure may obtain capability information of a backscattering device and / or capability information of a receiving device in order to more effectively manage activation or deactivation of bandwidth aggregation of the backscattered signal transmissions, and / or more effectively design the resource allocations or measurement configurations for the backscattered signal transmissions.

[0166] FIG. 13A illustrates a first example backscattering setup 1300 that is usable for configuring a backscatter-based positioning procedure based on FIG.7A and / or FIG.7B, according to aspects of the disclosure. As shown in FIG. 13A, the backscattering setup 1300 may include a transmitting device 1312 (e.g., depicted as a TRP in FIG. 13A as a non-limiting example), a backscattering device 1314 (e.g., depicted as an ambient IoT 51 QC2401803WOQualcomm Ref. No.2401803WO device in FIG. 13A as a non-limiting example), and a receiving device 1316 (e.g., depicted as a UE in FIG.13A as a non-limiting example).

[0167] In the backscattering setup 1300, the transmitting device 1312 may transmit a first reference signal transmission 1320 and a second reference signal transmission 1330 to the backscattering device 1314 and to the receiving device 1316. In the backscattering setup 1300, the backscattering device 1314 may be configured to transmit a first backscattered signal transmission 1340 based on backscattering the first reference signal transmission 1320 and transmit a second backscattered signal transmission 1350 based on backscattering the second reference signal transmission 1330. In some aspects, the reference signal transmissions 1320 and 1330 may correspond to PRS (DL-PRS or SL- PRS) transmissions or SRS transmissions.

[0168] FIG. 13B illustrates a resource grid showing two backscattered transmissions based on the first example backscattering setup 1300 in FIG. 13A, according to aspects of the disclosure. As shown in FIG. 13B, the transmitting device 1312 may transmit the first reference signal transmission 1320 over a first time portion 1322 and a first frequency portion 1326. Also, the transmitting device 1312 may transmit the second reference signal transmission 1330 over a second time portion 1332 and a second frequency portion 1336. In some aspects, the first reference signal transmission 1320 and the second reference signal transmission 1330 may be separated in the time domain by a time gap 1362. In some aspects, the time gap is for retuning and is insufficient for another reference signal transmission, and thus the first reference signal transmission 1320 and the second reference signal transmission 1330 may be deemed as consecutively transmitted in the time domain. In some aspects, the first reference signal transmission 1320 and the second reference signal transmission 1330 may be partially overlapped in the frequency domain. In some aspects, the first reference signal transmission 1320 and the second reference signal transmission 1330 may overlap in the frequency domain over an overlapping frequency portion 1366.

[0169] In some aspects, the backscattering device 1314 may be configured to transmit the first backscattered signal transmission 1340 over a frequency portion the same as the first frequency portion 1326; and to transmit the second backscattered signal transmission 1350 over a frequency portion the same as the second frequency portion 1336. However, in some aspects, the backscattering device 1314 may introduce phase discontinuity QC2401803WOQualcomm Ref. No.2401803WO between the first backscattered signal transmission 1340 and the second backscattered signal transmission 1350. In some aspects, the receiving device 1316 may measure the first backscattered signal transmission 1340 and the second backscattered signal transmission 1350 based on bandwidth aggregation, and may use the overlapping frequency portion 1366 to estimate the phase difference between the backscattered signal transmissions 1340 and 1350.

[0170] In some aspects, the size of the overlapping frequency portion 1366 may be determined based on a level of phase difference the receiving device 1316 may expect as a result of the phase discontinuity introduced by the backscattering device 1314. In some aspects, the size of the overlapping frequency portion 1366 may be arranged to be sufficient for estimating the phase difference while maximizing the spectral efficiency. In some aspects, a processing device (e.g., the transmitting device 1312 or a server device communicatively coupled to the transmitting device 1312) may determine the overlapping frequency portion 1366 based on capability information of the backscattering device 1314.

[0171] In some aspects, the backscattering device 1314 may report the capability information to the processing device via a wireless communication and / or a backscattering communication. In some aspects, the capability information may indicate one or more parameters that characterize a phase relation, a frequency relation, a time relation, or any combination thereof between two or more backscattered signal transmissions. In some aspects, the one or more parameters may indicate a maximum phase difference or a maximum time difference that the backscattering device 1314 is capable of introducing to any two backscattered signal transmissions of different frequency-domain allocations. In some aspects, the one or more parameters may indicate the maximum phase difference or the maximum time difference by associating the backscattering device 1314 to a device class corresponding to the same maximum difference or the same maximum time difference. For example, the backscattering device 1314 may be a class ‘A’ ambient IoT device or a class ‘B’ ambient IoT device. In some aspects, a class ‘A’ ambient IoT device may introduce maximum X phase difference, time difference, or time domain incoherency between two consecutive transmissions on different frequency portions; and a class ‘B’ ambient IoT device may introduce maximum Y phase difference, time difference, or time domain incoherency between two consecutive transmissions on QC2401803WOQualcomm Ref. No.2401803WO different frequency portions. In some aspects, as non-limiting examples, X and Y may be different values ranging from 0 radian to radians, or from 0 degree to 180 degrees. In some aspects, X and Y may be provided with a resolution of 0.1 degree or 1.0 degree. In some aspects, as another non-limiting example, X and Y may have values ranging from 0 nanosecond (ns) to 40 ns. In some aspects, X and Y may be provided with a resolution of 0.5 ns. In some aspects, more than two different classes may be pre-configured and usable in the capability information of the backscattering device. In some aspects, the classes or the values associated with the classes may vary based on the frequency ranges of the reference signals that can be backscattered by the backscattering device. Therefore, in some aspects, the capability information may imply or include the applicable frequency range of the parameters provided therein.

[0172] In some aspects, the backscattering device 1314 may be a standalone ambient IoT device, or may be a device (e.g., a UE, a barcode scanner, an automated guided vehicle, or the like) including components configured to function as an ambient IoT device. In some aspects, the processing device may be a server device, such as an LMF or any server device described in this disclosure. In some aspects, based on the capability information of the backscattering device, the processing device may design the reference signal transmissions, including determining the size of the overlapping frequency portion between two consecutively transmitted reference signal transmissions. In some aspects, the capability information may be transmitted via ambient IoT backscattering, LTE positioning protocol (LPP) signaling, Sidelink LPP (SLPP) signaling, RRC messaging, or any combination thereof.

[0173] FIG. 14A illustrates a second example backscattering setup 1400 that is usable for configuring a backscatter-based positioning procedure based on FIG.7A and / or FIG.7B, according to aspects of the disclosure. As shown in FIG. 14A, the backscattering setup 1400 may include a transmitting device 1412 (e.g., depicted as a TRP in FIG. 14A as a non-limiting example), a backscattering device 1414 (e.g., depicted as an ambient IoT device in FIG. 14A as a non-limiting example), and a receiving device 1416 (e.g., depicted as a UE in FIG.14A as a non-limiting example).

[0174] In the backscattering setup 1400, the transmitting device 1412 may transmit a reference signal transmission 1420 to the backscattering device 1414 and to the receiving device 1416. In the backscattering setup 1400, the backscattering device 1414 may be 54 QC2401803WOQualcomm Ref. No.2401803WO configured to transmit a backscattered signal transmission 1440 based on backscattering the reference signal transmission 1420 without an intended frequency shift, transmit a backscattered signal transmission 1450 based on backscattering the reference signal transmission 1420 with an intended frequency shift, or both. In some aspects, the reference signal transmission 1420 may correspond to a PRS (DL-PRS or SL-PRS) transmission or an SRS transmission.

[0175] FIG. 14B illustrates a resource grid showing a reference signal transmission and two backscattered transmissions based on the second example backscattering setup 1400 in FIG.14A, according to aspects of the disclosure. As shown in FIG.14B, the transmitting device 1412 may transmit the reference signal transmission 1420 over a first time portion 1422 and a first frequency portion 1426. In some aspects, the backscattering device 1414 may transmit the backscattered signal transmission 1440 over a second time portion 1442 and the first frequency portion 1426. In some aspects, the backscattering device 1414 may transmit the backscattered signal transmission 1450 over the second time portion 1442 and a second frequency portion 1456 different from the first frequency portion 1426.

[0176] In some aspects, the frequency shifting functionality of the backscattering device 1414 may be activated in order to transmit the backscattered signal transmission 1450 based on backscattering the reference signal transmission 1420 with an intended frequency shift. In some aspects, the frequency shifting functionality of the backscattering device 1414 may be deactivated in order to transmit the backscattered signal transmission 1440 based on backscattering the reference signal transmission 1420 without an intended frequency shift. In some aspects, a multiple frequency functionality of the backscattering device 1414 may be activated in order to transmit at least both the backscattered signal transmissions 1440 and1450 based on backscattering the reference signal transmission 1420.

[0177] In some aspects, regardless the backscattering device 1414 being configured to operate with the frequency shifting functionality activated, the frequency shifting functionality deactivated, or the multiple frequency functionality activated, the backscattering device 1414 may further introduce a phase shift between the reference signal transmission and the corresponding one or more backscattered signal transmissions. In some aspects, a processing device (e.g., the transmitting device 1412 or a server device communicatively coupled to the transmitting device 1412) may design the reference signal transmission QC2401803WOQualcomm Ref. No.2401803WO 1420 and how the backscattering device 1414 transmit the corresponding one or more backscattered signal transmissions in order to design possible frequency diversity and / or bandwidth aggregation based on the backscattering setup 1400.

[0178] In some aspects, the backscattering device 1414 may report the capability information of the backscattering device 1414 to the processing device via a wireless communication and / or a backscattering communication. In some aspects, the capability information may indicate one or more parameters that characterize a phase relation, a frequency relation, a time relation, or any combination thereof between two or more backscattered signal transmissions. In some aspects, the capability information may indicate one or more parameters that characterize a phase relation, a frequency relation, a time relation, or any combination thereof between a backscattered signal transmission and a reference signal transmission.

[0179] In some aspects, the one or more parameters may indicate a maximum phase difference or a maximum time difference that the backscattering device 1414 is capable of introducing to any two backscattered signal transmissions. In some aspects, the one or more parameters may indicate whether the backscattering device 1414 is implemented with or capable of operating with the frequency shifting functionality activated, the frequency shifting functionality deactivated, or the multiple frequency functionality activated. In some aspects, the one or more parameters may indicate a range of frequency shift that can be introduced by the backscattering device 1414. In some aspects, the one or more parameters may indicate a set of available frequency shifts the backscattering device 1414 is capable of introducing (e.g., a starting value and a increment or a set of available values such as {5 MHz, 10 MHz, 20MHz}).

[0180] In some aspects, the one or more parameters may indicate whether the backscattering device 1414 is capable of introducing to backscattered signal transmissions a single frequency shift or multiple frequency shifts. In some aspects, the one or more parameters may indicate whether the backscattering device 1414 is capable of introducing to backscattered signal transmissions a frequency shift based on a static shift setting or multiple frequency shifts based on dynamically updated shift settings. In some aspects, the one or more parameters may indicate whether the backscattering device 1414 is capable of introducing frequency shifts intra-slot (change of the backscattered frequency allowable within a slot), inter-slot (change of the backscattered frequency allowable based 56 QC2401803WOQualcomm Ref. No.2401803WO on one or more slots), or inter-instance (change of the backscattered frequency allowable based on one or more reference signal instances, which may be multiple milliseconds, e.g.100 ms).

[0181] In some aspects, backscattering device 1414 may be a standalone ambient IoT device, or may be a device (e.g., a UE, a barcode scanner, an automated guided vehicle, or the like) including components configured to function as an ambient IoT device. In some aspects, the processing device may be a server device, such as an LMF or any server device described in this disclosure. In some aspects, based on the capability information of the backscattering device, the processing device may design the reference signal transmissions. In some aspects, the capability information may be transmitted via ambient IoT backscattering, LPP signaling, SLPP signaling, RRC messaging, or any combination thereof.

[0182] In some aspects, the processing device may further configure the backscattering device accordingly to design the expected backscattered transmissions. For example, the backscattering device may receive a backscattering configuration from the processing device or the transmitting device. In some aspects, the backscattering configuration may indicate a frequency shift between the backscattered signal transmission and the reference signal transmission. In some aspects, the backscattering configuration may indicate activation of introducing a frequency shift on the backscattered signal transmission based on the reference signal transmission (e.g., activation or deactivation of the frequency shifting functionality and / or the multiple frequency functionality).

[0183] FIG. 14C is a procedure flow diagram 1460 showing an example flow of activating or deactivating the frequency shifting functionality of a backscattering device, according to aspects of the disclosure. In some aspects, the procedure flow diagram 1460 illustrates operations of the transmitting device 1412, the backscattering device 1414, and the receiving device 1416.

[0184] As shown in FIG. 14C, at stage 1472, the transmitting device 1412 may transmit one or more reference signal transmissions over a first frequency portion (e.g., the first frequency portion 1426) to the backscattering device 1414. In this example, the backscattering device 1414 is capable of introducing a frequency shift to the backscattered signal transmissions, but the frequency shifting functionality is deactivated at stage 1472. Accordingly, at stage 1472, the backscattering device 1414 may transmit one or more QC2401803WOQualcomm Ref. No.2401803WO backscattered signal transmissions over the first frequency portion (e.g., the first frequency portion 1426 in FIG.14B) to the receiving device 1416 based on backscattering the one or more reference signal transmissions without introducing an intended frequency shift.

[0185] At stage 1476, the transmitting device 1412 may configure, or a processing device may configure via the transmitting device 1412, the backscattering device 1414 to have the frequency shifting functionality activated. At stage 1482, the transmitting device 1412 may transmit one or more reference signal transmissions over the first frequency portion (e.g., the first frequency portion 1426 in FIG. 14B) to the backscattering device 1414. Having the frequency shifting functionality activated, at stage 1482, the backscattering device 1414 may transmit one or more backscattered signal transmissions over a second frequency portion (e.g., the second frequency portion 1456 in FIG.14B) to the receiving device 1416 based on backscattering the one or more reference signal transmissions with an intended frequency shift.

[0186] At stage 1486, the transmitting device 1412 may configure, or the processing device may configure via the transmitting device 1412, the backscattering device 1414 to have the frequency shifting functionality deactivated. At stage 1492, the transmitting device 1412 may transmit one or more reference signal transmissions over the first frequency portion (e.g., the first frequency portion 1426 in FIG. 14B) to the backscattering device 1414. Having the frequency shifting functionality deactivated, at stage 1482, the backscattering device 1414 may transmit one or more backscattered signal transmissions over the first frequency portion to the receiving device 1416 based on backscattering the one or more reference signal transmissions without introducing an intended frequency shift.

[0187] In some aspects, the activation or deactivation of the frequency shifting functionality may be signaled based on a wireless communication (e.g., LTE, 5G, or a newer communication standard) or a backscattering communication (e.g., RFID based signaling using amplitude shift keying or phase shift keying).

[0188] In some aspects, a receiving device (such as the receiving device 1316 in the backscattering setup 1300 in FIG.13A or the receiving device 1416 in the backscattering setup 1400 in FIG. 14A) may receive resource configuration for a backscattered-based positioning procedure from a processing device (e.g., the transmitting device 1312 / 1412 or a server device communicatively coupled to the transmitting device 1312 / 1412). In 58 QC2401803WOQualcomm Ref. No.2401803WO some aspects, the resource configuration may indicate one or more resource allocations for receiving one or more backscattered signal transmissions. In some aspects, the receiving device may receive the one or more backscattered signal transmissions based on the resource configuration.

[0189] In some aspects, the resource configuration may indicate one or more parameters that include: a first resource allocation for receiving a first backscattered signal transmission that is based on backscattering a first reference signal transmission, a first frequency shift between the first backscattered signal transmission and the first reference signal transmission being less than a tolerance; a second resource allocation for receiving a second backscattered signal transmission that is based on backscattering the first reference signal transmission, a second frequency shift between the second backscattered signal transmission and the first reference signal transmission being greater than the tolerance; or a third resource allocation for receiving the first backscattered signal transmission and the second backscattered signal transmission. In some aspects, the resource configuration may be transmitted via LPP signaling, SLPP signaling, system information block (SIB) messaging, RRC messaging, or any combination thereof.

[0190] In some aspects, the receiving device may report capability information of the receiving device to the processing device. In some aspects, the processing device may determine the resource configuration and / or a measurement configuration for the backscattered- based positioning procedure.

[0191] In some aspects, the receiving device may be able to decode a backscattered signal transmission without an intended frequency shift, the backscattered signal transmission with an intended frequency shift, or both backscattered signal transmissions based on a bandwidth aggregation operation. In some aspects, the capability information of the receiving device may indicate a maximum number of backscattered signal transmissions, based on a same reference signal transmission and with different frequency shifts, on which the receiving device is capable of performing a bandwidth aggregation operation. For example, the receiving device may indicate that it can decode at most three frequency shifted backscattered signal transmissions along with the corresponding reference signal transmission form the transmitting device. In some aspects, a UE configured to be able to process four PFLs may be configured as a receiving device for decoding three QC2401803WOQualcomm Ref. No.2401803WO frequency shifted backscattered signal transmissions and the corresponding reference signal transmission.

[0192] For example, in a scenario as shown in FIG.14B, the receiving device may need to have measurement gaps for either measuring the backscattered signal transmission 1440, the backscattered signal transmission 1450, or both simultaneously. In some aspects, the receiving device may receive a measurement configuration from the processing device. In some aspects, the measurement configuration may indicate one or more measurement gaps for receiving the backscattered signal transmission 1440, the backscattered signal transmission 1450, or both of the backscattered signal transmission 1440 and the backscattered signal transmission 1450. In some aspects, the measurement configuration may configure the receiving device to measure either the backscattered signal transmission 1440 or the backscattered signal transmission 1450, or to measure the backscattered signal transmission 1440 and the backscattered signal transmission 1450 together based on a bandwidth aggregation operation. In some aspects, the measurement configuration may configure the receiving device to measure a time of arrival, a signal- to-noise ratio, a reception signal strength, or any combination thereof, of the backscattered signal transmission 1440, the backscattered signal transmission 1450, or the backscattered signal transmission 1440 and the backscattered signal transmission 1450 together based on a bandwidth aggregation operation.

[0193] In some aspects, measuring multiple backscattered signal transmissions based on a bandwidth aggregation operation may improve the performance of ToA, RSRP, and / or phase measurements of the backscattered signal transmissions. In some aspects, the processing device may determine whether to measure multiple backscattered signal transmissions based on a bandwidth aggregation operation or measuring the backscattered signal transmissions individually, based on various requirements of the positioning procedure, such as the minimum ToA requirement, the maximum signal-to-noise ratio requirement, and / or the maximum RSRP requirement.

[0194] FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating a method 1500 of wireless communication performed by a backscattering device, according to aspects of the disclosure. In some aspects, the backscattering device in the method 1500 may correspond to the ambient IoT devices 324 and 326 in FIG. 3, the ambient IoT device 530 in FIG. 5, the ambient IoT device 710 in FIG.7A, the backscattering devices 772, 774, and 776 in FIG.7B, the ambient IoT device 60 QC2401803WOQualcomm Ref. No.2401803WO 820 in FIGS.8A and 8B, the backscattering device 1314 in FIG.13A, the backscattering device 1414 in FIG. 14A, or any the backscattering device or ambient IoT device described in this disclosure.

[0195] In some aspects, the backscattering device in the method 1500 may correspond to the UE 402 in FIG. 4A; and the method 1500 may be performed by the one or more WWAN transceivers 410, the one or more short-range wireless transceivers 420, the one or more processors 442, the memory 440, and / or the ambient IoT component 448, any or all of which may be considered means for performing one or more of the following operations of method 1500. In some aspects, the backscattering device in the method 1500 may correspond to the ambient IoT device 530 in FIG. 5; and the method 1500 may be performed by the impedance circuitry 534, the controller 536, and / or the power circuitry 538, any or all of which may be considered means for performing one or more of the following operations of method 1500.

[0196] At operation 1510, the backscattering device (e.g., the backscattering device 1314 in FIG. 13A or the backscattering device 1414 in FIG.14A) may report capability information to a processing device (e.g., a server device, LMF, or a UE managing a positioning procedure). In some aspects, the capability information may indicate one or more parameters that characterize a phase relation, a frequency relation, a time relation, or any combination thereof between two or more backscattered signal transmissions or between a backscattered signal transmission and a reference signal transmission.

[0197] In some aspects, operation 1510 may be performed by the one or more WWAN transceivers 410, the one or more short-range wireless transceivers 420, the one or more processors 442, the memory 440, and / or the ambient IoT component 448, any or all of which may be considered means for performing operation 1510. In some aspects, operation 1510 may be performed by the impedance circuitry 534, the controller 536, and / or the power circuitry 538, any or all of which may be considered means for performing operation 1510.

[0198] In some aspects, the one or more parameters may indicate a maximum phase difference or a maximum time difference that the backscattering device is capable of introducing to two backscattered signal transmissions of different frequency-domain allocations. In some aspects, the one or more parameters may indicate the maximum phase difference or the maximum time difference by associating the backscattering device to a device class 61 QC2401803WOQualcomm Ref. No.2401803WO corresponding to the same maximum difference or the same maximum time difference. In some aspects, the capability information may be transmitted via ambient IoT backscattering, LPP signaling, SLPP signaling, RRC messaging, or any combination thereof.

[0199] At operation 1520, the backscattering device may transmit one or more backscattered signal transmissions based on backscattering one or more reference signal transmissions from a transmitting device based on the one or more parameters. In some aspects, the one or more reference signal transmissions may correspond to PRS transmissions or SRS transmissions.

[0200] In some aspects, operation 1520 may be performed by the one or more WWAN transceivers 410, the one or more short-range wireless transceivers 420, the one or more processors 442, the memory 440, and / or the ambient IoT component 448, any or all of which may be considered means for performing operation 1520. In some aspects, operation 1520 may be performed by the impedance circuitry 534, the controller 536, and / or the power circuitry 538, any or all of which may be considered means for performing operation 1520.

[0201] In some aspects, the transmitting the one or more backscattered signal transmissions may include transmitting a first backscattered signal transmission based on a first reference signal transmission and transmitting a second backscattered signal transmission based on a second reference signal transmission. In some aspects, the first reference signal transmission and the second reference signal transmission are separated in a time domain by a time gap. In some aspects, the first reference signal transmission and the second reference signal transmission may be partially overlapped in a frequency domain. In some aspects, the first reference signal transmission and the second reference signal transmission overlap in the frequency domain over an overlapping frequency portion that is determined based on the maximum phase difference or the maximum time difference.

[0202] In some aspects, the transmitting the one or more backscattered signal transmissions may include transmitting a first backscattered signal transmission based on a first reference signal transmission. In some aspects, the method 1500 may further include receiving a backscattering configuration from the processing device or the transmitting device. In some aspects, the backscattering configuration may indicate a first frequency shift between the first backscattered signal transmission and the first reference signal QC2401803WOQualcomm Ref. No.2401803WO transmission. In some aspects, the backscattering configuration may indicate activation of introducing a first frequency shift on the first backscattered signal transmission based on the first reference signal transmission.

[0203] In some aspects, the transmitting the one or more backscattered signal transmissions may further include transmitting a second backscattered signal transmission based on a second reference signal transmission. In some aspects, the first reference signal transmission and the second reference signal transmission may be transmitted over a same frequency portion in the frequency domain. In some aspects, the first backscattered signal transmission and the second backscattered signal transmission may be transmitted over different frequency portions in the frequency domain.

[0204] As will be appreciated, a technical advantage of the method 1500 is providing a processing device the capability information of a backscattering device, such that one or more reference signal transmissions for a backscatter-based positioning procedure may be arranged by the processing device based on the capability information of the backscattering device. Accordingly, whether to perform a bandwidth aggregation on the resulting backscattered signal transmissions and / or an overlap portion in the frequency domain of the reference signal transmissions may be designed based on balancing at least between the need for coherent integration of the backscattered signal transmissions for improving the positioning accuracy and the spectral efficiency.

[0205] FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating a method 1600 of wireless communication performed by a receiving device, according to aspects of the disclosure. In some aspects, the receiving device in the method 1600 may correspond to the ambient IoT station 310 in FIG.3, the ambient IoT station 510 in FIG.5, the ambient IoT station 722, 724, 726, and 728 in FIG.7A, the receiving device 750 in FIG.7B, the ambient IoT station 810 in FIGS. 8A and 8B, the receiving device 1316 in FIG. 13A, the receiving device 1416 in FIG. 14A, or any the backscattering device or ambient IoT device described in this disclosure.

[0206] In some aspects, the receiving device in the method 1600 may correspond to the UE 402 in FIG. 4A; and the method 1600 may be performed by the one or more WWAN transceivers 410, the one or more short-range wireless transceivers 420, the one or more processors 442, the memory 440, and / or the ambient IoT component 448, any or all of which may be considered means for performing one or more of the following operations of method 1600. In some aspects, the receiving device in the method 1600 may QC2401803WOQualcomm Ref. No.2401803WO correspond to the base station 404 in FIG. 4B; and the method 1600 may be performed by the one or more WWAN transceivers 450, the one or more short-range wireless transceivers 460, the one or more processors 484, the memory 486, and / or the ambient IoT component 488, any or all of which may be considered means for performing one or more of the following operations of method 1600.

[0207] At operation 1610, the receiving device (e.g., the receiving device 1316 in FIG. 13A or the receiving device 1416 in FIG. 14A) may receive resource configuration from a processing device (e.g., a server device, LMF, or a UE managing a positioning procedure). In some aspects, the resource configuration may indicate one or more resource allocations for receiving one or more backscattered signal transmissions.

[0208] In some aspects, operation 1610 may be performed by the one or more WWAN transceivers 410, the one or more short-range wireless transceivers 420, the one or more processors 442, the memory 440, and / or the ambient IoT component 448, any or all of which may be considered means for performing operation 1610. In some aspects, operation 1610 may be performed by the one or more WWAN transceivers 450, the one or more short-range wireless transceivers 460, the one or more processors 484, the memory 486, and / or the ambient IoT component 488, any or all of which may be considered means for performing operation 1610.

[0209] In some aspects, the resource configuration may be transmitted via LPP signaling, SLPP signaling, SIB messaging, RRC messaging, or any combination thereof.

[0210] In some aspects, the resource configuration may indicate one or more parameters that include a first reference signal resource allocation for receiving a first backscattered signal transmission that is based on backscattering a first reference signal transmission, a first frequency shift between the first backscattered signal transmission and the first reference signal transmission being less than a tolerance. In some aspects, the resource configuration may indicate one or more parameters that include a second reference signal resource allocation for receiving a second backscattered signal transmission that is based on backscattering the first reference signal transmission, a second frequency shift between the second backscattered signal transmission and the first reference signal transmission being greater than the tolerance. In some aspects, the resource configuration may indicate one or more parameters that include a third reference signal resource allocation for 64 QC2401803WOQualcomm Ref. No.2401803WO receiving the first backscattered signal transmission and the second backscattered signal transmission.

[0211] At operation 1620, the receiving device may receive the one or more backscattered signal transmissions based on the resource configuration. In some aspects, the one or more backscattered signal transmissions may be based on backscattering one or more reference signal transmissions that correspond to PRS transmissions or SRS transmissions.

[0212] In some aspects, operation 1620 may be performed by the one or more WWAN transceivers 410, the one or more short-range wireless transceivers 420, the one or more processors 442, the memory 440, and / or the ambient IoT component 448, any or all of which may be considered means for performing operation 1620. In some aspects, operation 1620 may be performed by the one or more WWAN transceivers 450, the one or more short-range wireless transceivers 460, the one or more processors 484, the memory 486, and / or the ambient IoT component 488, any or all of which may be considered means for performing operation 1620.

[0213] In some aspects, the method 1600 may further include reporting capability information of the receiving device to the processing device. In some aspects, the capability information may indicate a maximum number of backscattered signal transmissions, based on a same reference signal transmission and with different frequency shifts, on which the receiving device is capable of performing a bandwidth aggregation operation.

[0214] In some aspects, the method 1600 may further include receiving a measurement configuration from the processing device. In some aspects, the measurement configuration may indicate one or more measurement gaps for receiving the first backscattered signal transmission, the second backscattered signal transmission, or both of the first backscattered signal transmission and the second backscattered signal transmission. In some aspects, the measurement configuration may configure the receiving device to measure either the first backscattered signal transmission or the second backscattered signal transmission, or to measure the first backscattered signal transmission and the second backscattered signal transmission together based on a bandwidth carrier aggregation operation. In some aspects, the measurement configuration may configure the receiving device to measure a time of arrival, a signal- to-noise ratio, a reception signal strength, or any combination thereof, of the first backscattered signal transmission, the second backscattered signal transmission, or the QC2401803WOQualcomm Ref. No.2401803WO first backscattered signal transmission and the second backscattered signal transmission together based on a bandwidth carrier aggregation operation.

[0215] As will be appreciated, a technical advantage of the method 1600 is providing a receiving device the resource configuration of one or more backscattered signal transmissions for a backscatter-based positioning procedure, such that the receiving device may be configured to receive the expected backscattered signal transmissions with improved energy efficiency. Also, the receiving device may provide the processing device the capability information of the receiving device, such that the backscatter-based positioning procedure maybe arranged by the processing device based on the capability information of the receiving device. Accordingly, whether to perform a bandwidth aggregation on the resulting backscattered signal transmissions may be designed based on balancing at least between the need for coherent integration of the backscattered signal transmissions for improving the positioning accuracy and the capability of the receiving device.

[0216] In the detailed description above it can be seen that different features are grouped together in examples. This manner of disclosure should not be understood as an intention that the example clauses have more features than are explicitly mentioned in each clause. Rather, the various aspects of the disclosure may include fewer than all features of an individual example clause disclosed. Therefore, the following clauses should hereby be deemed to be incorporated in the description, wherein each clause by itself can stand as a separate example. Although each dependent clause can refer in the clauses to a specific combination with one of the other clauses, the aspect(s) of that dependent clause are not limited to the specific combination. It will be appreciated that other example clauses can also include a combination of the dependent clause aspect(s) with the subject matter of any other dependent clause or independent clause or a combination of any feature with other dependent and independent clauses. The various aspects disclosed herein expressly include these combinations, unless it is explicitly expressed or can be readily inferred that a specific combination is not intended (e.g., contradictory aspects, such as defining an element as both an electrical insulator and an electrical conductor). Furthermore, it is also intended that aspects of a clause can be included in any other independent clause, even if the clause is not directly dependent on the independent clause.

[0217] Implementation examples are described in the following numbered clauses: 66 QC2401803WOQualcomm Ref. No.2401803WO

[0218] Clause 1. A method of wireless communication performed by a backscattering device, the method comprising: reporting capability information to a processing device, the capability information indicating one or more parameters that characterize a phase relation, a frequency relation, a time relation, or any combination thereof between two or more backscattered signal transmissions or between a backscattered signal transmission and a reference signal transmission; and transmitting one or more backscattered signal transmissions based on backscattering one or more reference signal transmissions from a transmitting device based on the one or more parameters.

[0219] Clause 2. The method of clause 1, wherein: the one or more reference signal transmissions correspond to positioning reference signal (PRS) transmissions or sounding reference signal (SRS) transmissions.

[0220] Clause 3. The method of any of clauses 1 to 2, wherein: the one or more parameters indicate a maximum phase difference or a maximum time difference that the backscattering device is capable of introducing to two backscattered signal transmissions of different frequency-domain allocations.

[0221] Clause 4. The method of clause 3, wherein: the one or more parameters indicate the maximum phase difference or the maximum time difference by associating the backscattering device to a device class corresponding to the same maximum difference or the same maximum time difference.

[0222] Clause 5. The method of any of clauses 3 to 4, wherein: the transmitting the one or more backscattered signal transmissions comprises transmitting a first backscattered signal transmission based on a first reference signal transmission and transmitting a second backscattered signal transmission based on a second reference signal transmission, and the first reference signal transmission and the second reference signal transmission are separated in a time domain by a time gap.

[0223] Clause 6. The method of clause 5, wherein: the first reference signal transmission and the second reference signal transmission are partially overlapped in a frequency domain.

[0224] Clause 7. The method of clause 6, wherein: the first reference signal transmission and the second reference signal transmission overlap in the frequency domain over an overlapping frequency portion that is determined based on the maximum phase difference or the maximum time difference. QC2401803WOQualcomm Ref. No.2401803WO

[0225] Clause 8. The method of any of clauses 1 to 7, wherein: the transmitting the one or more backscattered signal transmissions comprises transmitting a first backscattered signal transmission based on a first reference signal transmission.

[0226] Clause 9. The method of clause 8, further comprising: receiving a backscattering configuration from the processing device or the transmitting device, the backscattering configuration indicating a first frequency shift between the first backscattered signal transmission and the first reference signal transmission.

[0227] Clause 10. The method of any of clauses 8 to 9, further comprising: receiving a backscattering configuration from the processing device or the transmitting device, the backscattering configuration indicating activation of introducing a first frequency shift on the first backscattered signal transmission based on the first reference signal transmission.

[0228] Clause 11. The method of any of clauses 8 to 10, wherein: the transmitting the one or more backscattered signal transmissions further comprises transmitting a second backscattered signal transmission based on a second reference signal transmission, the first reference signal transmission and the second reference signal transmission are transmitted over a same frequency portion in a frequency domain, and the first backscattered signal transmission and the second backscattered signal transmission are transmitted over different frequency portions in the frequency domain.

[0229] Clause 12. The method of any of clauses 1 to 11, wherein the capability information is transmitted via: ambient internet-of-thing (IoT) backscattering, Long-Term Evolution (LTE) positioning protocol (LPP) signaling, Sidelink LPP (SLPP) signaling, Radio Resource Control (RRC) messaging, or any combination thereof.

[0230] Clause 13. A method of wireless communication by a receiving device, the method comprising: receiving resource configuration from a processing device, the resource configuration indicating one or more resource allocations for receiving one or more backscattered signal transmissions; and receiving the one or more backscattered signal transmissions based on the resource configuration.

[0231] Clause 14. The method of clause 13, wherein: the one or more backscattered signal transmissions are based on backscattering one or more reference signal transmissions that correspond to positioning reference signal (PRS) transmissions or sounding reference signal (SRS) transmissions. 68 QC2401803WOQualcomm Ref. No.2401803WO

[0232] Clause 15. The method of any of clauses 13 to 14, further comprising: reporting capability information to the processing device, the capability information indicating a maximum number of backscattered signal transmissions, based on a same reference signal transmission and with different frequency shifts, on which the receiving device is capable of performing a bandwidth aggregation operation.

[0233] Clause 16. The method of any of clauses 13 to 15, wherein the resource configuration indicates one or more parameters that include: a first resource allocation for receiving a first backscattered signal transmission that is based on backscattering a first reference signal transmission, a first frequency shift between the first backscattered signal transmission and the first reference signal transmission being less than a tolerance, a second resource allocation for receiving a second backscattered signal transmission that is based on backscattering the first reference signal transmission, a second frequency shift between the second backscattered signal transmission and the first reference signal transmission being greater than the tolerance, or a third resource allocation for receiving the first backscattered signal transmission and the second backscattered signal transmission.

[0234] Clause 17. The method of clause 16, further comprising: receiving a measurement configuration from the processing device, the measurement configuration indicating one or more measurement gaps for receiving the first backscattered signal transmission, the second backscattered signal transmission, or both of the first backscattered signal transmission and the second backscattered signal transmission.

[0235] Clause 18. The method of any of clauses 16 to 17, further comprising: receiving a measurement configuration from the processing device, the measurement configuration configuring the receiving device to measure either the first backscattered signal transmission or the second backscattered signal transmission, or to measure the first backscattered signal transmission and the second backscattered signal transmission together based on a bandwidth aggregation operation.

[0236] Clause 19. The method of any of clauses 16 to 18, further comprising: receiving a measurement configuration from the processing device, the measurement configuration configuring the receiving device to measure a time of arrival, a signal-to-noise ratio, a reception signal strength, or any combination thereof, of the first backscattered signal transmission, the second backscattered signal transmission, or the first backscattered 69 QC2401803WOQualcomm Ref. No.2401803WO signal transmission and the second backscattered signal transmission together based on a bandwidth aggregation operation.

[0237] Clause 20. The method of any of clauses 13 to 19, wherein the resource configuration is transmitted via: Long-Term Evolution (LTE) positioning protocol (LPP) signaling, Sidelink LPP (SLPP) signaling, system information block (SIB) messaging, Radio Resource Control (RRC) messaging, or any combination thereof.

[0238] Clause 21. A backscattering device, comprising: one or more memories; one or more transceivers; and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the one or more memories and the one or more transceivers, the one or more processors, either alone or in combination, configured to: report, via the one or more transceivers, capability information to a processing device, the capability information indicating one or more parameters that characterize a phase relation, a frequency relation, a time relation, or any combination thereof between two or more backscattered signal transmissions or between a backscattered signal transmission and a reference signal transmission; and transmit, via the one or more transceivers, one or more backscattered signal transmissions based on backscattering one or more reference signal transmissions from a transmitting device based on the one or more parameters.

[0239] Clause 22. The backscattering device of clause 21, wherein: the one or more reference signal transmissions correspond to positioning reference signal (PRS) transmissions or sounding reference signal (SRS) transmissions.

[0240] Clause 23. The backscattering device of any of clauses 21 to 22, wherein: the one or more parameters indicate a maximum phase difference or a maximum time difference that the backscattering device is capable of introducing to two backscattered signal transmissions of different frequency-domain allocations.

[0241] Clause 24. The backscattering device of clause 23, wherein: the one or more parameters indicate the maximum phase difference or the maximum time difference by associating the backscattering device to a device class corresponding to the same maximum difference or the same maximum time difference.

[0242] Clause 25. The backscattering device of any of clauses 23 to 24, wherein: the one or more processors, either alone or in combination, configured to transmit the one or more backscattered signal transmissions are further configured to transmit a first backscattered signal transmission based on a first reference signal transmission and transmitting a QC2401803WOQualcomm Ref. No.2401803WO second backscattered signal transmission based on a second reference signal transmission, and the first reference signal transmission and the second reference signal transmission are separated in a time domain by a time gap.

[0243] Clause 26. The backscattering device of clause 25, wherein: the first reference signal transmission and the second reference signal transmission are partially overlapped in a frequency domain.

[0244] Clause 27. The backscattering device of clause 26, wherein: the first reference signal transmission and the second reference signal transmission overlap in the frequency domain over an overlapping frequency portion that is determined based on the maximum phase difference or the maximum time difference.

[0245] Clause 28. The backscattering device of any of clauses 21 to 27, wherein: the one or more processors, either alone or in combination, configured to transmit the one or more backscattered signal transmissions are further configured to transmit a first backscattered signal transmission based on a first reference signal transmission.

[0246] Clause 29. The backscattering device of clause 28, wherein the one or more processors, either alone or in combination, are further configured to: receive, via the one or more transceivers, a backscattering configuration from the processing device or the transmitting device, the backscattering configuration indicating a first frequency shift between the first backscattered signal transmission and the first reference signal transmission.

[0247] Clause 30. The backscattering device of any of clauses 28 to 29, wherein the one or more processors, either alone or in combination, are further configured to: receive, via the one or more transceivers, a backscattering configuration from the processing device or the transmitting device, the backscattering configuration indicating activation of introducing a first frequency shift on the first backscattered signal transmission based on the first reference signal transmission.

[0248] Clause 31. The backscattering device of any of clauses 28 to 30, wherein: the one or more processors, either alone or in combination, configured to transmit the one or more backscattered signal transmissions further are further configured to transmit a second backscattered signal transmission based on a second reference signal transmission, the first reference signal transmission and the second reference signal transmission are transmitted over a same frequency portion in a frequency domain, and the first QC2401803WOQualcomm Ref. No.2401803WO backscattered signal transmission and the second backscattered signal transmission are transmitted over different frequency portions in the frequency domain.

[0249] Clause 32. The backscattering device of any of clauses 21 to 31, wherein the capability information is transmitted via: ambient internet-of-thing (IoT) backscattering, Long- Term Evolution (LTE) positioning protocol (LPP) signaling, Sidelink LPP (SLPP) signaling, Radio Resource Control (RRC) messaging, or any combination thereof.

[0250] Clause 33. A receiving device, comprising: one or more memories; one or more transceivers; and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the one or more memories and the one or more transceivers, the one or more processors, either alone or in combination, configured to: receive, via the one or more transceivers, resource configuration from a processing device, the resource configuration indicating one or more resource allocations for receiving one or more backscattered signal transmissions; and receive, via the one or more transceivers, the one or more backscattered signal transmissions based on the resource configuration.

[0251] Clause 34. The receiving device of clause 33, wherein: the one or more backscattered signal transmissions are based on backscattering one or more reference signal transmissions that correspond to positioning reference signal (PRS) transmissions or sounding reference signal (SRS) transmissions.

[0252] Clause 35. The receiving device of any of clauses 33 to 34, wherein the one or more processors, either alone or in combination, are further configured to: report, via the one or more transceivers, capability information to the processing device, the capability information indicating a maximum number of backscattered signal transmissions, based on a same reference signal transmission and with different frequency shifts, on which the receiving device is capable of performing a bandwidth aggregation operation.

[0253] Clause 36. The receiving device of any of clauses 33 to 35, wherein the resource configuration indicates one or more parameters that include: a first resource allocation for receiving a first backscattered signal transmission that is based on backscattering a first reference signal transmission, a first frequency shift between the first backscattered signal transmission and the first reference signal transmission being less than a tolerance, a second resource allocation for receiving a second backscattered signal transmission that is based on backscattering the first reference signal transmission, a second frequency shift between the second backscattered signal transmission and the first reference signal QC2401803WOQualcomm Ref. No.2401803WO transmission being greater than the tolerance, or a third resource allocation for receiving the first backscattered signal transmission and the second backscattered signal transmission.

[0254] Clause 37. The receiving device of clause 36, wherein the one or more processors, either alone or in combination, are further configured to: receive, via the one or more transceivers, a measurement configuration from the processing device, the measurement configuration indicating one or more measurement gaps for receiving the first backscattered signal transmission, the second backscattered signal transmission, or both of the first backscattered signal transmission and the second backscattered signal transmission.

[0255] Clause 38. The receiving device of any of clauses 36 to 37, wherein the one or more processors, either alone or in combination, are further configured to: receive, via the one or more transceivers, a measurement configuration from the processing device, the measurement configuration configuring the receiving device to measure either the first backscattered signal transmission or the second backscattered signal transmission, or to measure the first backscattered signal transmission and the second backscattered signal transmission together based on a bandwidth aggregation operation.

[0256] Clause 39. The receiving device of any of clauses 36 to 38, wherein the one or more processors, either alone or in combination, are further configured to: receive, via the one or more transceivers, a measurement configuration from the processing device, the measurement configuration configuring the receiving device to measure a time of arrival, a signal-to-noise ratio, a reception signal strength, or any combination thereof, of the first backscattered signal transmission, the second backscattered signal transmission, or the first backscattered signal transmission and the second backscattered signal transmission together based on a bandwidth aggregation operation.

[0257] Clause 40. The receiving device of any of clauses 33 to 39, wherein the resource configuration is transmitted via: Long-Term Evolution (LTE) positioning protocol (LPP) signaling, Sidelink LPP (SLPP) signaling, system information block (SIB) messaging, Radio Resource Control (RRC) messaging, or any combination thereof.

[0258] Clause 41. A backscattering device, comprising: means for reporting capability information to a processing device, the capability information indicating one or more parameters that characterize a phase relation, a frequency relation, a time relation, or any QC2401803WOQualcomm Ref. No.2401803WO combination thereof between two or more backscattered signal transmissions or between a backscattered signal transmission and a reference signal transmission; and means for transmitting one or more backscattered signal transmissions based on backscattering one or more reference signal transmissions from a transmitting device based on the one or more parameters.

[0259] Clause 42. The backscattering device of clause 41, wherein: the one or more reference signal transmissions correspond to positioning reference signal (PRS) transmissions or sounding reference signal (SRS) transmissions.

[0260] Clause 43. The backscattering device of any of clauses 41 to 42, wherein: the one or more parameters indicate a maximum phase difference or a maximum time difference that the backscattering device is capable of introducing to two backscattered signal transmissions of different frequency-domain allocations.

[0261] Clause 44. The backscattering device of clause 43, wherein: the one or more parameters indicate the maximum phase difference or the maximum time difference by associating the backscattering device to a device class corresponding to the same maximum difference or the same maximum time difference.

[0262] Clause 45. The backscattering device of any of clauses 43 to 44, wherein: the means for transmitting the one or more backscattered signal transmissions comprises means for transmitting a first backscattered signal transmission based on a first reference signal transmission and transmitting a second backscattered signal transmission based on a second reference signal transmission, and the first reference signal transmission and the second reference signal transmission are separated in a time domain by a time gap.

[0263] Clause 46. The backscattering device of clause 45, wherein: the first reference signal transmission and the second reference signal transmission are partially overlapped in a frequency domain.

[0264] Clause 47. The backscattering device of clause 46, wherein: the first reference signal transmission and the second reference signal transmission overlap in the frequency domain over an overlapping frequency portion that is determined based on the maximum phase difference or the maximum time difference.

[0265] Clause 48. The backscattering device of any of clauses 41 to 47, wherein: the means for transmitting the one or more backscattered signal transmissions comprises means for QC2401803WOQualcomm Ref. No.2401803WO transmitting a first backscattered signal transmission based on a first reference signal transmission.

[0266] Clause 49. The backscattering device of clause 48, further comprising: means for receiving a backscattering configuration from the processing device or the transmitting device, the backscattering configuration indicating a first frequency shift between the first backscattered signal transmission and the first reference signal transmission.

[0267] Clause 50. The backscattering device of any of clauses 48 to 49, further comprising: means for receiving a backscattering configuration from the processing device or the transmitting device, the backscattering configuration indicating activation of introducing a first frequency shift on the first backscattered signal transmission based on the first reference signal transmission.

[0268] Clause 51. The backscattering device of any of clauses 48 to 50, wherein: the means for transmitting the one or more backscattered signal transmissions further comprises means for transmitting a second backscattered signal transmission based on a second reference signal transmission, the first reference signal transmission and the second reference signal transmission are transmitted over a same frequency portion in a frequency domain, and the first backscattered signal transmission and the second backscattered signal transmission are transmitted over different frequency portions in the frequency domain.

[0269] Clause 52. The backscattering device of any of clauses 41 to 51, wherein the capability information is transmitted via: ambient internet-of-thing (IoT) backscattering, Long- Term Evolution (LTE) positioning protocol (LPP) signaling, Sidelink LPP (SLPP) signaling, Radio Resource Control (RRC) messaging, or any combination thereof.

[0270] Clause 53. A receiving device, comprising: means for receiving resource configuration from a processing device, the resource configuration indicating one or more resource allocations for receiving one or more backscattered signal transmissions; and means for receiving the one or more backscattered signal transmissions based on the resource configuration.

[0271] Clause 54. The receiving device of clause 53, wherein: the one or more backscattered signal transmissions are based on backscattering one or more reference signal transmissions that correspond to positioning reference signal (PRS) transmissions or sounding reference signal (SRS) transmissions. QC2401803WOQualcomm Ref. No.2401803WO

[0272] Clause 55. The receiving device of any of clauses 53 to 54, further comprising: means for reporting capability information to the processing device, the capability information indicating a maximum number of backscattered signal transmissions, based on a same reference signal transmission and with different frequency shifts, on which the receiving device is capable of performing a bandwidth aggregation operation.

[0273] Clause 56. The receiving device of any of clauses 53 to 55, wherein the resource configuration indicates one or more parameters that include: a first resource allocation for receiving a first backscattered signal transmission that is based on backscattering a first reference signal transmission, a first frequency shift between the first backscattered signal transmission and the first reference signal transmission being less than a tolerance, a second resource allocation for receiving a second backscattered signal transmission that is based on backscattering the first reference signal transmission, a second frequency shift between the second backscattered signal transmission and the first reference signal transmission being greater than the tolerance, or a third resource allocation for receiving the first backscattered signal transmission and the second backscattered signal transmission.

[0274] Clause 57. The receiving device of clause 56, further comprising: means for receiving a measurement configuration from the processing device, the measurement configuration indicating one or more measurement gaps for receiving the first backscattered signal transmission, the second backscattered signal transmission, or both of the first backscattered signal transmission and the second backscattered signal transmission.

[0275] Clause 58. The receiving device of any of clauses 56 to 57, further comprising: means for receiving a measurement configuration from the processing device, the measurement configuration configuring the receiving device to measure either the first backscattered signal transmission or the second backscattered signal transmission, or to measure the first backscattered signal transmission and the second backscattered signal transmission together based on a bandwidth aggregation operation.

[0276] Clause 59. The receiving device of any of clauses 56 to 58, further comprising: means for receiving a measurement configuration from the processing device, the measurement configuration configuring the receiving device to measure a time of arrival, a signal-to- noise ratio, a reception signal strength, or any combination thereof, of the first backscattered signal transmission, the second backscattered signal transmission, or the QC2401803WOQualcomm Ref. No.2401803WO first backscattered signal transmission and the second backscattered signal transmission together based on a bandwidth aggregation operation.

[0277] Clause 60. The receiving device of any of clauses 53 to 59, wherein the resource configuration is transmitted via: Long-Term Evolution (LTE) positioning protocol (LPP) signaling, Sidelink LPP (SLPP) signaling, system information block (SIB) messaging, Radio Resource Control (RRC) messaging, or any combination thereof.

[0278] Clause 61. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a backscattering device, cause the backscattering device to: report capability information to a processing device, the capability information indicating one or more parameters that characterize a phase relation, a frequency relation, a time relation, or any combination thereof between two or more backscattered signal transmissions or between a backscattered signal transmission and a reference signal transmission; and transmit one or more backscattered signal transmissions based on backscattering one or more reference signal transmissions from a transmitting device based on the one or more parameters.

[0279] Clause 62. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 61, wherein: the one or more reference signal transmissions correspond to positioning reference signal (PRS) transmissions or sounding reference signal (SRS) transmissions.

[0280] Clause 63. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 61 to 62, wherein: the one or more parameters indicate a maximum phase difference or a maximum time difference that the backscattering device is capable of introducing to two backscattered signal transmissions of different frequency-domain allocations.

[0281] Clause 64. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 63, wherein: the one or more parameters indicate the maximum phase difference or the maximum time difference by associating the backscattering device to a device class corresponding to the same maximum difference or the same maximum time difference.

[0282] Clause 65. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 63 to 64, wherein: the instructions that, when executed by the backscattering device, cause the backscattering device to transmit the one or more backscattered signal transmissions comprises instructions that, when executed by the backscattering device, cause the backscattering device to transmit a first backscattered signal transmission based on a first reference signal transmission and transmitting a second backscattered signal transmission QC2401803WOQualcomm Ref. No.2401803WO based on a second reference signal transmission, and the first reference signal transmission and the second reference signal transmission are separated in a time domain by a time gap.

[0283] Clause 66. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 65, wherein: the first reference signal transmission and the second reference signal transmission are partially overlapped in a frequency domain.

[0284] Clause 67. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 66, wherein: the first reference signal transmission and the second reference signal transmission overlap in the frequency domain over an overlapping frequency portion that is determined based on the maximum phase difference or the maximum time difference.

[0285] Clause 68. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 61 to 67, wherein: the instructions that, when executed by the backscattering device, cause the backscattering device to transmit the one or more backscattered signal transmissions comprises instructions that, when executed by the backscattering device, cause the backscattering device to transmit a first backscattered signal transmission based on a first reference signal transmission.

[0286] Clause 69. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 68, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the backscattering device, cause the backscattering device to: receive a backscattering configuration from the processing device or the transmitting device, the backscattering configuration indicating a first frequency shift between the first backscattered signal transmission and the first reference signal transmission.

[0287] Clause 70. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 68 to 69, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the backscattering device, cause the backscattering device to: receive a backscattering configuration from the processing device or the transmitting device, the backscattering configuration indicating activation of introducing a first frequency shift on the first backscattered signal transmission based on the first reference signal transmission.

[0288] Clause 71. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 68 to 70, wherein: the instructions that, when executed by the backscattering device, cause the backscattering device to transmit the one or more backscattered signal transmissions further comprises instructions that, when executed by the backscattering device, cause the QC2401803WOQualcomm Ref. No.2401803WO backscattering device to transmit a second backscattered signal transmission based on a second reference signal transmission, the first reference signal transmission and the second reference signal transmission are transmitted over a same frequency portion in a frequency domain, and the first backscattered signal transmission and the second backscattered signal transmission are transmitted over different frequency portions in the frequency domain.

[0289] Clause 72. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 61 to 71, wherein the capability information is transmitted via: ambient internet-of-thing (IoT) backscattering, Long-Term Evolution (LTE) positioning protocol (LPP) signaling, Sidelink LPP (SLPP) signaling, Radio Resource Control (RRC) messaging, or any combination thereof.

[0290] Clause 73. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a receiving device, cause the receiving device to: receive resource configuration from a processing device, the resource configuration indicating one or more resource allocations for receiving one or more backscattered signal transmissions; and receive the one or more backscattered signal transmissions based on the resource configuration.

[0291] Clause 74. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 73, wherein: the one or more backscattered signal transmissions are based on backscattering one or more reference signal transmissions that correspond to positioning reference signal (PRS) transmissions or sounding reference signal (SRS) transmissions.

[0292] Clause 75. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 73 to 74, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the receiving device, cause the receiving device to: report capability information to the processing device, the capability information indicating a maximum number of backscattered signal transmissions, based on a same reference signal transmission and with different frequency shifts, on which the receiving device is capable of performing a bandwidth aggregation operation.

[0293] Clause 76. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 73 to 75, wherein the resource configuration indicates one or more parameters that include: a first resource allocation for receiving a first backscattered signal transmission that is based on backscattering a first reference signal transmission, a first frequency shift between the QC2401803WOQualcomm Ref. No.2401803WO first backscattered signal transmission and the first reference signal transmission being less than a tolerance, a second resource allocation for receiving a second backscattered signal transmission that is based on backscattering the first reference signal transmission, a second frequency shift between the second backscattered signal transmission and the first reference signal transmission being greater than the tolerance, or a third resource allocation for receiving the first backscattered signal transmission and the second backscattered signal transmission.

[0294] Clause 77. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 76, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the receiving device, cause the receiving device to: receive a measurement configuration from the processing device, the measurement configuration indicating one or more measurement gaps for receiving the first backscattered signal transmission, the second backscattered signal transmission, or both of the first backscattered signal transmission and the second backscattered signal transmission.

[0295] Clause 78. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 76 to 77, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the receiving device, cause the receiving device to: receive a measurement configuration from the processing device, the measurement configuration configuring the receiving device to measure either the first backscattered signal transmission or the second backscattered signal transmission, or to measure the first backscattered signal transmission and the second backscattered signal transmission together based on a bandwidth aggregation operation.

[0296] Clause 79. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 76 to 78, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the receiving device, cause the receiving device to: receive a measurement configuration from the processing device, the measurement configuration configuring the receiving device to measure a time of arrival, a signal-to-noise ratio, a reception signal strength, or any combination thereof, of the first backscattered signal transmission, the second backscattered signal transmission, or the first backscattered signal transmission and the second backscattered signal transmission together based on a bandwidth aggregation operation. 80 QC2401803WOQualcomm Ref. No.2401803WO

[0297] Clause 80. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 73 to 79, wherein the resource configuration is transmitted via: Long-Term Evolution (LTE) positioning protocol (LPP) signaling, Sidelink LPP (SLPP) signaling, system information block (SIB) messaging, Radio Resource Control (RRC) messaging, or any combination thereof.

[0298] Those of skill in the art will appreciate that information and signals may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout the above description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

[0299] Further, those of skill in the art will appreciate that the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or combinations of both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been described above generally in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0300] The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein may be implemented or performed with a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an ASIC, a field-programable gate array (FPGA), or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, for example, a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of 81 QC2401803WOQualcomm Ref. No.2401803WO microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

[0301] The methods, sequences and / or algorithms described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two. A software module may reside in random access memory (RAM), flash memory, read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable ROM (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), registers, hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An example storage medium is coupled to the processor such that the processor can read information from, and write information to, the storage medium. In the alternative, the storage medium may be integral to the processor. The processor and the storage medium may reside in an ASIC. The ASIC may reside in a user terminal (e.g., UE). In the alternative, the processor and the storage medium may reside as discrete components in a user terminal.

[0302] In one or more example aspects, the functions described may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the functions may be stored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. A storage media may be any available media that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media can comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer. Also, any connection is properly termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of medium. Disk and disc, as used herein, includes compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk and Blu-ray disc where disks usually QC2401803WOQualcomm Ref. No.2401803WO reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0303] While the foregoing disclosure shows illustrative aspects of the disclosure, it should be noted that various changes and modifications could be made herein without departing from the scope of the disclosure as defined by the appended claims. For example, the functions, steps and / or actions of the method claims in accordance with the aspects of the disclosure described herein need not be performed in any particular order. Further, no component, function, action, or instruction described or claimed herein should be construed as critical or essential unless explicitly described as such. Furthermore, as used herein, the terms “set,” “group,” and the like are intended to include one or more of the stated elements. Also, as used herein, the terms “has,” “have,” “having,” “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes,” “including,” and the like does not preclude the presence of one or more additional elements (e.g., an element “having” A may also have B). Further, the phrase “based on” is intended to mean “based, at least in part, on” unless explicitly stated otherwise. Also, as used herein, the term “or” is intended to be inclusive when used in a series and may be used interchangeably with “and / or,” unless explicitly stated otherwise (e.g., if used in combination with “either” or “only one of”) or the alternatives are mutually exclusive (e.g., “one or more” should not be interpreted as “one and more”). Furthermore, although components, functions, actions, and instructions may be described or claimed in the singular, the plural is contemplated unless limitation to the singular is explicitly stated. Accordingly, as used herein, the articles “a,” “an,” “the,” and “said” are intended to include one or more of the stated elements. Additionally, as used herein, the terms “at least one” and “one or more” encompass “one” component, function, action, or instruction performing or capable of performing a described or claimed functionality and also “two or more” components, functions, actions, or instructions performing or capable of performing a described or claimed functionality in combination. QC2401803WO

Claims

Qualcomm Ref. No.2401803WO CLAIMS What is claimed is:

1. A method of wireless communication performed by a backscattering device, the method comprising: reporting capability information to a processing device, the capability information indicating one or more parameters that characterize a phase relation, a frequency relation, a time relation, or any combination thereof between two or more backscattered signal transmissions or between a backscattered signal transmission and a reference signal transmission; and transmitting one or more backscattered signal transmissions based on backscattering one or more reference signal transmissions from a transmitting device based on the one or more parameters.

2. A backscattering device, comprising: one or more memories; one or more transceivers; and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the one or more memories and the one or more transceivers, the one or more processors, either alone or in combination, configured to: report, via the one or more transceivers, capability information to a processing device, the capability information indicating one or more parameters that characterize a phase relation, a frequency relation, a time relation, or any combination thereof between two or more backscattered signal transmissions or between a backscattered signal transmission and a reference signal transmission; and transmit, via the one or more transceivers, one or more backscattered signal transmissions based on backscattering one or more reference signal transmissions from a transmitting device based on the one or more parameters.

3. The backscattering device of claim 2, wherein: the one or more reference signal transmissions correspond to positioning reference signal (PRS) transmissions or sounding reference signal (SRS) transmissions. 84 QC2401803WOQualcomm Ref. No.2401803WO 4. The backscattering device of claim 2, wherein: the one or more parameters indicate a maximum phase difference or a maximum time difference that the backscattering device is capable of introducing to two backscattered signal transmissions of different frequency-domain allocations, and the one or more parameters indicate the maximum phase difference or the maximum time difference by associating the backscattering device to a device class corresponding to the same maximum difference or the same maximum time difference.

5. The backscattering device of claim 4, wherein: the one or more processors, either alone or in combination, configured to transmit the one or more backscattered signal transmissions are further configured to transmit a first backscattered signal transmission based on a first reference signal transmission and transmitting a second backscattered signal transmission based on a second reference signal transmission, and the first reference signal transmission and the second reference signal transmission are separated in a time domain by a time gap.

6. The backscattering device of claim 5, wherein: the first reference signal transmission and the second reference signal transmission are partially overlapped in a frequency domain.

7. The backscattering device of claim 6, wherein: the first reference signal transmission and the second reference signal transmission overlap in the frequency domain over an overlapping frequency portion that is determined based on the maximum phase difference or the maximum time difference.

8. The backscattering device of claim 2, wherein: the one or more processors, either alone or in combination, configured to transmit the one or more backscattered signal transmissions are further configured to QC2401803WOQualcomm Ref. No.2401803WO transmit a first backscattered signal transmission based on a first reference signal transmission.

9. The backscattering device of claim 8, wherein the one or more processors, either alone or in combination, are further configured to: receive, via the one or more transceivers, a backscattering configuration from the processing device or the transmitting device, the backscattering configuration indicating a first frequency shift between the first backscattered signal transmission and the first reference signal transmission.

10. The backscattering device of claim 8, wherein the one or more processors, either alone or in combination, are further configured to: receive, via the one or more transceivers, a backscattering configuration from the processing device or the transmitting device, the backscattering configuration indicating activation of introducing a first frequency shift on the first backscattered signal transmission based on the first reference signal transmission.

11. The backscattering device of claim 8, wherein: the one or more processors, either alone or in combination, configured to transmit the one or more backscattered signal transmissions further are further configured to transmit a second backscattered signal transmission based on a second reference signal transmission, the first reference signal transmission and the second reference signal transmission are transmitted over a same frequency portion in a frequency domain, and the first backscattered signal transmission and the second backscattered signal transmission are transmitted over different frequency portions in the frequency domain.

12. The backscattering device of claim 2, wherein the capability information is transmitted via: ambient internet-of-thing (IoT) backscattering, Long-Term Evolution (LTE) positioning protocol (LPP) signaling, Sidelink LPP (SLPP) signaling, 86 QC2401803WOQualcomm Ref. No.2401803WO Radio Resource Control (RRC) messaging, or any combination thereof.

13. A receiving device, comprising: one or more memories; one or more transceivers; and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the one or more memories and the one or more transceivers, the one or more processors, either alone or in combination, configured to: receive, via the one or more transceivers, resource configuration from a processing device, the resource configuration indicating one or more resource allocations for receiving one or more backscattered signal transmissions; and receive, via the one or more transceivers, the one or more backscattered signal transmissions based on the resource configuration.

14. The receiving device of claim 13, wherein: the one or more backscattered signal transmissions are based on backscattering one or more reference signal transmissions that correspond to positioning reference signal (PRS) transmissions or sounding reference signal (SRS) transmissions.

15. The receiving device of claim 13, wherein the one or more processors, either alone or in combination, are further configured to: report, via the one or more transceivers, capability information to the processing device, the capability information indicating a maximum number of backscattered signal transmissions, based on a same reference signal transmission and with different frequency shifts, on which the receiving device is capable of performing a bandwidth aggregation operation.

16. The receiving device of claim 13, wherein the resource configuration indicates one or more parameters that include: a first resource allocation for receiving a first backscattered signal transmission that is based on backscattering a first reference signal transmission, a first frequency QC2401803WOQualcomm Ref. No.2401803WO shift between the first backscattered signal transmission and the first reference signal transmission being less than a tolerance, a second resource allocation for receiving a second backscattered signal transmission that is based on backscattering the first reference signal transmission, a second frequency shift between the second backscattered signal transmission and the first reference signal transmission being greater than the tolerance, or a third resource allocation for receiving the first backscattered signal transmission and the second backscattered signal transmission.

17. The receiving device of claim 16, wherein the one or more processors, either alone or in combination, are further configured to: receive, via the one or more transceivers, a measurement configuration from the processing device, the measurement configuration indicating one or more measurement gaps for receiving the first backscattered signal transmission, the second backscattered signal transmission, or both of the first backscattered signal transmission and the second backscattered signal transmission.

18. The receiving device of claim 16, wherein the one or more processors, either alone or in combination, are further configured to: receive, via the one or more transceivers, a measurement configuration from the processing device, the measurement configuration configuring the receiving device to measure either the first backscattered signal transmission or the second backscattered signal transmission, or to measure the first backscattered signal transmission and the second backscattered signal transmission together based on a bandwidth aggregation operation.

19. The receiving device of claim 16, wherein the one or more processors, either alone or in combination, are further configured to: receive, via the one or more transceivers, a measurement configuration from the processing device, the measurement configuration configuring the receiving device to measure a time of arrival, a signal-to-noise ratio, a reception signal strength, or any combination thereof, of the first backscattered signal transmission, the second 88 QC2401803WOQualcomm Ref. No.2401803WO backscattered signal transmission, or the first backscattered signal transmission and the second backscattered signal transmission together based on a bandwidth aggregation operation.

20. The receiving device of claim 13, wherein the resource configuration is transmitted via: Long-Term Evolution (LTE) positioning protocol (LPP) signaling, Sidelink LPP (SLPP) signaling, system information block (SIB) messaging, Radio Resource Control (RRC) messaging, or any combination thereof. 89 QC2401803WO

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