Handover policy determination method, communication device, communication system and storage medium

Abstract

Provided in the present disclosure are a handover policy determination method, a communication device, a communication system and a storage medium. The method comprises: determining a first parameter, the first parameter being used for indicating a network environment parameter of a non-terrestrial network (NTN) where a second device is located, and the second device being a device that requires satellite handover; and inputting the first parameter into a first model, so as to obtain a handover policy output by the first model, wherein the first model is used for performing reinforcement learning or deep reinforcement learning, and the handover policy is used for the second device to perform satellite handover. The method of the present disclosure improves the satellite handover flexibility, avoids the waste of handover resources, and satisfies the real-time requirements of handover services. In addition, the present disclosure can implement handover between satellites of different types, thereby ensuring cooperative work of different types of satellites and ensuring the communication performance.

Description

Handover strategy determination method, communication device, communication system, storage medium TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the technical field of communication, and particularly relates to a handover strategy determination method, a communication device, a communication system and a storage medium. BACKGROUND

[0002] In a non-terrestrial network (NTN) system, a terminal or a ground station is connected to a satellite. Optionally, since the satellite is continuously moving, the satellite is not always visible to the terminal or the ground station, so the terminal or the ground station usually needs to perform satellite handover (HO), for example, when the satellite connected by the terminal or the ground station moves to an invisible position, the terminal or the ground station can switch from the current connected satellite to other visible satellites, so as to ensure the continuity of satellite service. Optionally, in some embodiments, different handover strategies are fixedly set for different types of satellites.

[0003] Since the handover strategies of different types of satellites are fixed and unchangeable, the satellite handover cannot be adapted to changes in the network environment, resulting in poor flexibility of satellite handover and inability to meet the real-time requirements of handover services. Moreover, when the handover strategies corresponding to different types of satellites are different, it is also impossible to perform handover between different types of satellites, so that the cooperative work of different types of satellites cannot be realized, affecting the communication performance.

[0004] SUMMARY

[0005] The present disclosure provides a handover strategy determination method, a communication device, a communication system and a storage medium.

[0006] According to a first aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a handover strategy determination method is provided, executed by a first device, and the method comprises:

[0007] determining a first parameter; the first parameter is used to indicate a network environment parameter of a non-terrestrial network (NTN) in which a second device is located; the second device is a device that needs to perform satellite handover;

[0008] inputting the first parameter into a first model to obtain a handover strategy output by the first model; wherein the first model is used for reinforcement learning or deep reinforcement learning, and the handover strategy is used for satellite handover of the second device.

[0009] According to a second aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a first device is provided, comprising:

[0010] The processing module is configured to determine a first parameter, wherein the first parameter is used to indicate a network environment parameter of a non-terrestrial network (NTN) in which a second device is located, and the second device is a device that needs to perform satellite handover.

[0011] The processing module is further configured to input the first parameter into a first model to obtain a handover strategy output by the first model, wherein the first model is used to perform reinforcement learning or deep reinforcement learning, and the handover strategy is used for the second device to perform satellite handover.

[0012] According to a third aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure, a communication device is provided, comprising:

[0013] one or more processors;

[0014] The processor is configured to invoke instructions to cause the communication device to perform the method of the first aspect.

[0015] According to a fourth aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure, a communication system is provided, comprising at least one of a satellite, a second device, and a third device, wherein the satellite or the second device or the third device is configured to implement the method of the first aspect.

[0016] According to a fifth aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure, a storage medium is provided, which stores instructions, and when the instructions run on a communication device, the communication device performs the method of the first aspect.

[0017] According to a sixth aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure, a program product is provided, which, when executed by a communication device, causes the communication device to perform the method of the first aspect.

[0018] According to a seventh aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure, a computer program is provided, which, when running on a computer, causes the computer to perform the method of the first aspect.

[0019] According to an eighth aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure, a chip or chip system is provided. The chip or chip system comprises a processing circuit configured to perform the method according to the first aspect.

[0020] It can be understood that the terminal, network device, communication device, communication system, storage medium, program product, and computer program are all used to perform the method proposed in the embodiments of the present disclosure. Therefore, the beneficial effects that can be achieved are referred to the beneficial effects in the corresponding method, which will not be described here. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0021] The above and / or additional aspects and advantages of the present disclosure will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of the embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0022] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an architecture of some communication systems according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0023] FIG. 2A is a schematic diagram of a flow of a method for determining a handover strategy according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0024] FIG. 2B is a schematic diagram of a recent satellite handover strategy according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0025] FIG. 2C is a schematic diagram of a satellite visibility-based handover strategy according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0026] FIG. 2D is a formula for calculating a Q value according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0027] FIG. 2E is a formula for calculating a loss function according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0028] FIG. 2F is a schematic diagram of an interaction of a method for determining a handover strategy according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0029] FIG. 2G is a schematic diagram of an interaction of a method for determining a handover strategy according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0030] FIG. 2H is a schematic diagram of an interaction of a method for determining a handover strategy according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0031] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of an interaction of a method for determining a handover strategy according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0032] FIG. 4A is a schematic diagram of an interaction of a method for determining a handover strategy according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0033] FIG. 4B is a schematic diagram of a structure of a deep learning method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0034] FIG. 4C is a formula for calculating a cumulative function of a random reward according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0035] FIG. 4D is a schematic diagram of a Q-learning process according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0036] FIG. 4E is a schematic diagram of a neural network of a deep Q-network according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0037] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a structure of a first device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0038] FIG. 6A is a schematic diagram of a structure of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0039] FIG. 6B is a schematic diagram of a structure of a chip according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0040] The embodiments of the present disclosure propose a handover strategy determination method, a communication device, a communication system, and a storage medium.

[0041] In a first aspect, the embodiments of the present disclosure propose a handover strategy determination method, executed by a first device, comprising:

[0042] determining a first parameter, the first parameter being used to indicate a network environment parameter of a non-terrestrial network (NTN) in which a second device is located, the second device being a device that needs to perform satellite handover;

[0043] inputting the first parameter into a first model to obtain a handover strategy output by the first model, wherein the first model is used for reinforcement learning or deep reinforcement learning, and the handover strategy is used for the second device to perform satellite handover.

[0044] In the above embodiments, for the second device that needs to perform satellite handover, the first device determines a corresponding handover strategy based on the network environment parameter of the NTN in which the second device is located by using the first model, so that the determined handover strategy matches the network environment of the second device. Therefore, when the second device performs satellite handover, it can use a suitable handover strategy for satellite handover based on the different network environments in which the second device is located, thereby improving the flexibility of satellite handover, avoiding the waste of handover resources, and meeting the real-time requirements of handover services. Moreover, since the handover strategy in the embodiments of the present disclosure is determined based on the network environment in which the second device is located, and is independent of the "satellite type", the handover strategy of the present method is not limited by the satellite type, and thus the handover between different types of satellites can be realized, thereby ensuring the cooperative work of different types of satellites and ensuring the communication performance.

[0045] In some embodiments in combination with the first aspect, in some embodiments, the handover strategy output by the first model is a handover strategy that achieves a first effect among alternative handover strategies.

[0046] In some embodiments in combination with the first aspect, in some embodiments, the alternative handover strategies include at least one of:

[0047] a first strategy, the first strategy being a latest satellite handover strategy based on RACH-less;

[0048] a second strategy, the second strategy being a latest satellite handover strategy not based on RACH-less;

[0049] a third strategy, the third strategy being a handover strategy based on RACH-less and satellite visibility;

[0050] The fourth strategy is a RACH-less based but satellite visibility based handover strategy.

[0051] The fifth strategy is a RACH-less based and carrier interference to noise ratio (CINR) based handover strategy.

[0052] The sixth strategy is a RACH-less based but CINR based handover strategy.

[0053] With reference to some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the first effect comprises at least one of:

[0054] a link spectrum efficiency greater than a first value;

[0055] a handover rate less than a second value;

[0056] a handover success rate greater than a third value;

[0057] a handover delay less than a fourth value;

[0058] a handover interruption time less than a fifth value;

[0059] a Doppler shift less than a sixth value.

[0060] With reference to some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the handover strategy output by the first model is an alternative handover strategy that achieves the best effect among alternative handover strategies that achieve the first effect; or

[0061] the handover strategy output by the first model is any one of the alternative handover strategies that achieve the first effect.

[0062] In the above embodiments, when outputting the handover strategy based on the network environment parameters of the second device, the first model takes the alternative handover strategy that achieves the first effect when switching in the current network environment as the output, thereby ensuring that the handover strategy output by the first model not only adapts to the current network environment but also achieves a good switching effect, thereby improving the handover performance when switching satellites.

[0063] With reference to some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the network environment parameters of the NTN in which the second device is located comprise at least one of:

[0064] related parameters of at least one first satellite; the first satellite is a visible satellite of the second device;

[0065] related parameters of at least one second satellite; the second satellite is a visible satellite of a third satellite currently communicating with the second device.

[0066] In some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the related parameter of the first satellite comprises at least one of:

[0067] a first identifier for indicating the first satellite;

[0068] a distance between the second device and the first satellite;

[0069] a signal strength between the second device and the first satellite.

[0070] In some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the related parameter of the second satellite comprises at least one of:

[0071] a second identifier for indicating the second satellite;

[0072] a distance between the third satellite and the second satellite;

[0073] a signal strength between the third satellite and the second satellite.

[0074] In some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the first satellite and the second satellite respectively comprise at least one of: a low earth orbit (LEO) satellite, a medium earth orbit (MEO) satellite, and a highly elliptical orbit (HEO) satellite.

[0075] In the above embodiments, it is specified what the network environment parameters comprise, so that the first device can successfully determine the network environment parameters, and further determine the switching strategy based on the network environment parameters.

[0076] In some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the first device comprises at least one of any satellite, a second device, and a third device;

[0077] wherein the second device comprises a terminal or a ground station, and the third device is a ground device different from the second device.

[0078] In some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the first device is any satellite, and the determining the first parameter comprises:

[0079] receiving a related parameter of at least one first satellite reported by the second device;

[0080] determining, by the first device, a related parameter of at least one second satellite based on the implementation.

[0081] In some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the first device is the second device, and the determining the first parameter comprises:

[0082] The first device determines the relevant parameters of at least one first satellite based on implementation;

[0083] The first device receives the relevant parameters of at least one second satellite sent by a third satellite currently communicating with the second device.

[0084] In some embodiments of the first aspect, the first device is a third device, and the determining the first parameters comprises:

[0085] The first device receives the relevant parameters of at least one first satellite sent by the second device.

[0086] The first device receives the relevant parameters of at least one second satellite sent by a third satellite currently communicating with the second device.

[0087] In the above embodiments, a specific method for determining network environment parameters is provided, so that the first device can successfully determine the network environment parameters by using the method, and further determine the switching strategy based on the network environment parameters.

[0088] In some embodiments of the first aspect, the first device is any satellite, and the method further comprises:

[0089] The first device indicates the switching strategy output by the first model to the second device, so that the second device performs satellite switching based on the switching strategy.

[0090] In some embodiments of the first aspect, the first device is a second device, and the method further comprises:

[0091] The first device performs satellite switching based on the switching strategy output by the first model; or

[0092] The first device reports the switching strategy output by the first model to a third satellite currently communicating with the second device, receives the switching strategy sent by the third satellite, and performs satellite switching based on the switching strategy sent by the third satellite; wherein the switching strategy sent by the third satellite is the same as or different from the switching strategy output by the first model.

[0093] In some embodiments of the first aspect, the first device is a third device, and the method further comprises:

[0094] The first device indicates the switching strategy output by the first model to the second device, so that the second device performs satellite switching based on the switching strategy; or

[0095] report the switching strategy output by the first model to a third satellite currently communicating with the second device, so that the third satellite determines a final switching strategy; wherein the final switching strategy determined by the third satellite is the same as or different from the switching strategy output by the first model.

[0096] In the above embodiment, a method of how to perform satellite switching based on the switching strategy output by the first model is proposed, so that subsequent satellite switching can be successfully performed based on the switching strategy output by the first model.

[0097] In combination with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the model algorithm of the first model comprises at least one of the following algorithms: a Q-Learning algorithm, a deep Q-network (DQN) algorithm, a double deep Q-network (DDQN) algorithm, and an actor-critic algorithm.

[0098] In the above embodiment, the model algorithm of the first model is provided, so that the first model is trained based on these algorithms, ensuring that the first model can accurately output a switching strategy based on network environment parameters, and ensuring the accuracy of the switching strategy determination.

[0099] In a second aspect, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a first device, comprising:

[0100] a processing module configured to determine a first parameter; the first parameter is used to indicate a network environment parameter of a non-terrestrial network (NTN) in which a second device is located; the second device is a device that needs to perform satellite switching;

[0101] The processing module is further configured to input the first parameter into a first model to obtain a switching strategy output by the first model; wherein the first model is used for reinforcement learning or deep reinforcement learning, and the switching strategy is used for satellite switching of the second device.

[0102] In combination with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the switching strategy output by the first model is a switching strategy that achieves a first effect among alternative switching strategies.

[0103] In combination with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the alternative switching strategies comprise at least one of the following:

[0104] a first strategy, the first strategy being a RACH-less latest satellite switching strategy;

[0105] a second strategy, the second strategy being a RACH-less latest satellite switching strategy;

[0106] A third strategy is a RACH-less and satellite-visibility based handover strategy;

[0107] A fourth strategy is a non-RACH-less and satellite-visibility based handover strategy;

[0108] A fifth strategy is a RACH-less and carrier-to-interference and noise ratio (CINR) based handover strategy;

[0109] A sixth strategy is a non-RACH-less and CINR based handover strategy.

[0110] With some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the first effect comprises at least one of:

[0111] a link spectral efficiency greater than a first value;

[0112] a handover rate less than a second value;

[0113] a handover success rate greater than a third value;

[0114] a handover delay less than a fourth value;

[0115] a handover interruption time less than a fifth value;

[0116] a Doppler shift less than a sixth value.

[0117] With some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the handover strategy output by the first model is a best-performing candidate handover strategy among candidate handover strategies achieving the first effect; or

[0118] the handover strategy output by the first model is any candidate handover strategy among candidate handover strategies achieving the first effect.

[0119] With some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the network environment parameters of the NTN in which the second device is located comprise at least one of:

[0120] related parameters of at least one first satellite; the first satellite being a visible satellite of the second device;

[0121] related parameters of at least one second satellite; the second satellite being a visible satellite of a third satellite with which the second device is currently communicating.

[0122] With some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the related parameters of the first satellite comprise at least one of:

[0123] a first identifier for indicating the first satellite;

[0124] a distance between the second device and the first satellite;

[0125] a signal strength between the second device and the first satellite.

[0126] In some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the related parameters of the second satellite comprise at least one of:

[0127] a second identifier for indicating the second satellite;

[0128] a distance between the third satellite and the second satellite;

[0129] a signal strength between the third satellite and the second satellite.

[0130] In some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the first satellite and the second satellite respectively comprise at least one of: a low earth orbit (LEO) satellite, a medium earth orbit (MEO) satellite, a high elliptical orbit (HEO) satellite.

[0131] In some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the first device comprises at least one of any satellite, the second device, the third device;

[0132] wherein the second device comprises a terminal or a ground station, and the third device is a ground device different from the second device.

[0133] In some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the first device is any satellite, and the determining the first parameters comprises:

[0134] receiving the related parameters of at least one first satellite reported by the second device;

[0135] the first device determines the related parameters of at least one second satellite based on the implementation.

[0136] In some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the first device is the second device, and the determining the first parameters comprises:

[0137] the first device determines the related parameters of at least one first satellite based on the implementation;

[0138] receiving the related parameters of at least one second satellite sent by a third satellite currently communicating with the second device.

[0139] In some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the first device is the third device, and the determining the first parameters comprises:

[0140] receiving, from the second device, at least one related parameter of a first satellite;

[0141] receiving, from a third satellite currently communicating with the second device, at least one related parameter of a second satellite.

[0142] In some embodiments of the second aspect, the first device is any satellite, and the method further comprises:

[0143] indicating, to the second device, a switching policy output by the first model, so that the second device performs satellite switching based on the switching policy.

[0144] In some embodiments of the second aspect, the first device is the second device, and the method further comprises:

[0145] performing satellite switching based on the switching policy output by the first model; or

[0146] reporting, to a third satellite currently communicating with the second device, the switching policy output by the first model, and receiving a switching policy sent by the third satellite, and performing satellite switching based on the switching policy sent by the third satellite; wherein the switching policy sent by the third satellite is the same as or different from the switching policy output by the first model.

[0147] In some embodiments of the second aspect, the first device is the third device, and the method further comprises:

[0148] indicating, to the second device, a switching policy output by the first model, so that the second device performs satellite switching based on the switching policy; or

[0149] reporting, to a third satellite currently communicating with the second device, the switching policy output by the first model, so that the third satellite determines a final switching policy; wherein the final switching policy determined by the third satellite is the same as or different from the switching policy output by the first model.

[0150] In some embodiments of the second aspect, the model algorithm of the first model comprises at least one of the following algorithms: Q-Learning algorithm, Deep Q-Network (DQN) algorithm, Double Deep Q-Network (DDQN) algorithm, Actor-Critic algorithm.

[0151] In a third aspect, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a communication device, comprising: one or more processors; one or more memories storing instructions; wherein the processor is configured to invoke the instructions to cause the communication device to perform the method described in the first aspect, the optional implementation of the first aspect, the second aspect, and the optional implementation of the second aspect.

[0152] In a fourth aspect, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a communication system, comprising at least one of a satellite, a second device, and a third device; wherein the satellite or the second device or the third device is configured to perform the method described in the first aspect and the optional implementation of the first aspect.

[0153] In a fifth aspect, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a storage medium, which stores instructions, when the instructions are run on a communication device, causing the communication device to perform the method described in the first aspect and the optional implementation of the first aspect.

[0154] In a sixth aspect, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a program product, comprising a computer program, which is executed by a communication device to implement the method described in the first aspect and the optional implementation of the first aspect.

[0155] In a seventh aspect, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a computer program, which, when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform the method described in the first aspect and the optional implementation of the first aspect.

[0156] In an eighth aspect, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a chip or a chip system, comprising a processing circuit configured to perform the method described in the first aspect and the optional implementation of the first aspect.

[0157] It can be understood that the terminal, the network device, the communication device, the communication system, the storage medium, the program product, and the computer program are all used to perform the method proposed in the embodiments of the present disclosure. Therefore, the beneficial effects they can achieve can refer to the beneficial effects in the corresponding method, which will not be described here.

[0158] The embodiments of the present disclosure propose a handover strategy determination method, a communication device, a communication system, and a storage medium. In some embodiments, the handover strategy determination method and the information processing method, the information sending method, the information receiving method, and the like can be replaced with each other, the communication device and the information processing device, the information sending device, the information receiving device, and the like can be replaced with each other, and the information processing system, the communication system, the information sending system, the information receiving system, and the like can be replaced with each other.

[0159] The embodiments of the present disclosure are not exhaustive, but only illustrate some embodiments, and are not specific limitations on the protection scope of the present disclosure. In the case of no contradiction, each step in an embodiment can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and the steps can be combined arbitrarily, for example, the scheme after removing part of the steps in an embodiment can also be implemented as an independent embodiment, and the order of the steps in an embodiment can be exchanged arbitrarily, in addition, the optional implementation in an embodiment can be combined arbitrarily; in addition, the embodiments can be combined arbitrarily, for example, part or all steps of different embodiments can be combined arbitrarily, an embodiment can be combined with optional implementation of other embodiments.

[0160] In each embodiment of the present disclosure, the terms and / or descriptions between the embodiments are consistent if there is no special description and logical conflict, and can be referred to each other, and the technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationship.

[0161] The terms used in the embodiments of the present disclosure are only for the purpose of describing the specific embodiments, and not as a limitation on the present disclosure.

[0162] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, unless otherwise specified, the elements expressed in singular form, such as "one", "a", "the", "above", "said", "preceding", "this" and the like, can represent "one and only one", and can also represent "one or more", "at least one" and the like. For example, in the case of using articles such as "a", "an", "the" and the like in English, the noun after the article can be understood as singular expression, and can also be understood as plural expression.

[0163] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, "plurality" means two or more.

[0164] In some embodiments, the terms "at least one of", "at least one of", "at least one of", "one or more", "a plurality of", "multiple" and the like can be replaced with each other.

[0165] The description manner such as "at least one of A, B, C, …", "A and / or B and / or C, …" and the like in the embodiments of the present disclosure includes any one of A, B, C, … existing alone, and also includes any combination of any multiple of A, B, C, …, each of which can exist alone; for example, "at least one of A, B, C" includes a case of A alone, a case of B alone, a case of C alone, a case of combination of A and B, a case of combination of A and C, a case of combination of B and C, and a case of combination of A and B and C; for example, A and / or B includes a case of A alone, a case of B alone, and a case of combination of A and B.

[0166] In some embodiments, the description manner such as "A in a case, B in another case", "in response to a case A, in response to another case B" and the like can include the following technical solutions according to the case: A is executed regardless of B, that is, A in some embodiments; B is executed regardless of A, that is, B in some embodiments; A and B are selectively executed, that is, from A and B, execution is selected in some embodiments; A and B are both executed, that is, A and B in some embodiments. When there are more branches of A, B, C and the like, it is similar to the above.

[0167] The prefix words "first", "second" and the like in the embodiments of the present disclosure are only used to distinguish different description objects, and do not constitute limitation on the position, order, priority, quantity or content of the description objects. The description of the description objects should refer to the description in the context of the claims or embodiments, and should not constitute redundant limitation because of the use of the prefix words. For example, the description object is "field", and the ordinal words before "field" in "first field" and "second field" do not limit the position or order between "fields", and "first" and "second" do not limit whether the "fields" modified thereby are in the same message or not, nor limit the order of "first field" and "second field". For another example, the description object is "level", and the ordinal words before "level" in "first level" and "second level" do not limit the priority between "levels". For another example, the quantity of the description object is not limited by the ordinal words, and can be one or more. For example, "first device", wherein the quantity of "device" can be one or more. In addition, the objects modified by different prefix words can be the same or different, for example, the description object is "device", and "first device" and "second device" can be the same device or different devices, and the types thereof can be the same or different; for another example, the description object is "information", and "first information" and "second information" can be the same information or different information, and the contents thereof can be the same or different.

[0168] In some embodiments, "including A", "containing A", "for indicating A", "carrying A" can be interpreted as directly carrying A, or indirectly indicating A.

[0169] In some embodiments, the terms “in response to,” “in response to determining,” “in the event that,” “when,” “if,” “upon,” and the like can be replaced with each other.

[0170] In some embodiments, the terms “greater than,” “greater than or equal to,” “not less than,” “more than,” “more than or equal to,” “not less than,” “higher than,” “higher than or equal to,” “not lower than,” “above,” and the like can be replaced with each other, and the terms “less than,” “less than or equal to,” “not greater than,” “fewer than,” “fewer than or equal to,” “not more than,” “lower than,” “lower than or equal to,” “not higher than,” “below,” and the like can be replaced with each other.

[0171] In some embodiments, an apparatus and the like can be interpreted as an entity, and can also be interpreted as virtual, and the name thereof is not limited to the name described in the embodiments. The terms “apparatus,” “equipment,” “device,” “circuitry,” “network element,” “node,” “function,” “unit,” “section,” “system,” “network,” “chip,” “chip system,” “entity,” “subject,” and the like can be replaced with each other.

[0172] In some embodiments, “network” can be interpreted as an apparatus (for example, an access network device, a core network device, and the like) included in the network.

[0173] In some embodiments, the terms “access network device (AN device),” “radio access network device (RAN device),” “base station (BS),” “radio base station,” “fixed station,” “node,” “access point,” “transmission point (TP),” “reception point (RP),” “transmission / reception point (TRP),” “panel,” “antenna panel,” “antenna array,” “cell,” “macro cell,” “small cell,” “femto cell,” “pico cell,” “sector,” “cell group,” “carrier,” “component carrier,” “bandwidth part (BWP),” and the like can be used interchangeably.

[0174] In some embodiments, the terms "terminal," "terminal device," "user equipment (UE)," "user terminal," "mobile station (MS)," "mobile terminal (MT)," "subscriber station," "mobile unit," "subscriber unit," "wireless unit," "remote unit," "mobile device," "wireless device," "wireless communication device," "remote device," "mobile subscriber station," "access terminal," "mobile terminal," "wireless terminal," "remote terminal," "handset," "user agent," "mobile client," "client," and so on can be replaced with each other.

[0175] In some embodiments, an access network device, a core network device, or a network device can be replaced with a terminal. For example, for a structure in which communication between an access network device, a core network device, or a network device and a terminal is replaced with communication between a plurality of terminals (for example, also referred to as device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-everything (V2X), and so on), embodiments of the present disclosure can also be applied. In this case, a structure in which a terminal has all or part of the functions of an access network device can also be provided. Furthermore, the language of "uplink," "downlink," and so on can also be replaced with language corresponding to communication between terminals (for example, "side"). For example, an uplink channel, a downlink channel, and so on can be replaced with a side channel, and an uplink, a downlink, and so on can be replaced with a side link.

[0176] In some embodiments, a terminal can be replaced with an access network device, a core network device, or a network device. In this case, a structure in which an access network device, a core network device, or a network device has all or part of the functions of a terminal can also be provided.

[0177] In some embodiments, the data, information, etc. can be obtained in compliance with the laws and regulations of the country where the location is situated.

[0178] In some embodiments, the data, information, etc. can be obtained after obtaining the consent of the user.

[0179] In addition, each element, each row, or each column in the table of the embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and any combination of any element, any row, or any column can also be implemented as an independent embodiment.

[0180] The corresponding relationship shown in each table in the present disclosure can be configured or predefined. The values of the information in each table are merely examples, and other values can be configured, and the present disclosure is not limited. When configuring the corresponding relationship of the information and each parameter, it is not necessarily required to configure all the corresponding relationships shown in each table. For example, the corresponding relationship shown in some rows in the table in the present disclosure can also not be configured. For another example, the above table can be appropriately deformed and adjusted, for example, split, merged, etc. The name of the parameter shown in the title of each table in the present disclosure can also use other names that can be understood by the communication device, and the value or representation of the parameter can also use other values or representations that can be understood by the communication device. Each table in the present disclosure can also use other data structures when implemented, for example, an array, a queue, a container, a stack, a linear table, a pointer, a linked list, a tree, a graph, a structure, a class, a heap, a hash table, etc.

[0181] The predefinition in the present disclosure can be understood as definition, predefinition, storage, prestorage, prenegotiation, preconfiguration, solidification, or pre-burning.

[0182] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an architecture of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 1, the communication system 100 can include a satellite, a terminal, a ground station (such as a gateway (GW)), and a third device. The terminal can access the satellite, the satellite can access a data network through the ground station, and the satellite can provide network services for the terminal through the data network. In addition, the third device can be a ground device different from the terminal or the ground station, and the third device can be connected to the terminal or the ground station to perform network communication with the terminal or the ground station. Optionally, the third device can include an access network device and / or a core network device, for example.

[0183] In some embodiments, the terminal includes at least one of a mobile phone, a wearable device, an Internet of Things device, a communication-capable vehicle, a smart vehicle, a Pad, a wireless transceiver-equipped computer, a virtual reality (VR) terminal device, an augmented reality (AR) terminal device, a wireless terminal device in industrial control, a wireless terminal device in self-driving, a wireless terminal device in remote medical surgery, a wireless terminal device in a smart grid, a wireless terminal device in transportation safety, a wireless terminal device in a smart city, a wireless terminal device in a smart home, and the like, but is not limited thereto.

[0184] In some embodiments, the access network device is at least one of a node or device that accesses a terminal to a wireless network, and can include an evolved NodeB (eNB) in a 5G communication system, a next generation eNB (ng-eNB), a next generation NodeB (gNB), a node B (NB), a home node B (HNB), a home evolved node B (HeNB), a wireless backhaul device, a radio network controller (RNC), a base station controller (BSC), a base transceiver station (BTS), a base band unit (BBU), a mobile switching center, a base station in a 6G communication system, an Open RAN, a Cloud RAN, a base station in other communication systems, an access node in a wireless fidelity (WiFi) system, and the like, but is not limited thereto.

[0185] In some embodiments, the technical solutions of the present disclosure can be applied to an Open RAN architecture, in which case, the interfaces between or within the access network devices involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure can become internal interfaces of the Open RAN, and the processes and information interactions between these internal interfaces can be implemented through software or programs.

[0186] In some embodiments, the access network device can be composed of a central unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU), wherein the CU can also be referred to as a control unit. The CU-DU structure can split the protocol layers of the access network device, and the functions of part of the protocol layers are controlled by the CU, and the functions of the remaining part or all of the protocol layers are distributed in the DU, and the CU controls the DU.

[0187] In some embodiments, the core network device can be one device including one or more network elements, or can be multiple devices or device groups including all or part of the one or more network elements. The network element can be virtual or physical. The core network includes at least one of an evolved packet core (EPC), a 5G core network (5GCN), and a next-generation core (NGC), for example. Alternatively, the core network device can also be a location management function network element. The location management function network element includes a location server, which can be implemented as any one of a location management function (LMF), an enhanced serving mobile location center (E-SMLC), a secure user plane location (SUPL), and a SUPL location platform (SUPL LP).

[0188] It can be understood that the communication system described in the embodiments of the present disclosure is for more clearly illustrating the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present disclosure, and does not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions proposed in the embodiments of the present disclosure. Those skilled in the art can know that, as the system architecture evolves and new business scenarios appear, the technical solutions proposed in the embodiments of the present disclosure are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0189] The following embodiments of the present disclosure can be applied to the communication system 100 shown in FIG. 1, or part of the main bodies, but are not limited thereto. The main bodies shown in FIG. 1 are illustrative, and the communication system can include all or part of the main bodies in FIG. 1, or other main bodies other than those in FIG. 1. The number and form of each main body is arbitrary, and the connection relationship between the main bodies is illustrative. The main bodies can be connected or not connected, and the connection can be in any manner, can be direct or indirect, and can be wired or wireless.

[0190] Embodiments of the present disclosure can be applied to Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), LTE-Beyond (LTE-B), SUPER 3G, IMT-Advanced, 4th generation mobile communication system (4G), 5th generation mobile communication system (5G), 5G new radio (NR), Future Radio Access (FRA), New-Radio Access Technology (RAT), New Radio (NR), New radio access (NX), Future generation radio access (FX), Global System for Mobile communications (GSM (registered trademark)), CDMA2000, Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.20, Ultra-WideBand (UWB), Bluetooth (Bluetooth (registered trademark)), Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) network, Device-to-Device (D2D) system, Machine to Machine (M2M) system, Internet of Things (IoT) system, Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X), system using other handover strategy determination methods, next-generation systems expanded based thereon, and the like. In addition, a plurality of systems can be combined (for example, combination of LTE or LTE-A and 5G, and the like).

[0191] FIG. 2A is an interaction diagram of a handover strategy determination method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 2A, the present embodiment relates to a handover strategy determination method for the communication system 100, and the above method includes:

[0192] Step 2101, the ground station determines the related parameters of at least one first satellite.

[0193] Optionally, in the NTN network, the satellite usually needs to be connected to a data network through a ground station, so as to provide network services for the terminals connected by the satellite through the data network.

[0194] Optionally, in some embodiments, the first satellite can be a visible satellite of the ground station, and the “visible satellite” here can be understood as a satellite that can communicate or connect or provide services, for example.

[0195] In some embodiments, the related parameters of the first satellite can include at least one of the following:

[0196] a first identifier for indicating the first satellite;

[0197] a distance between the ground station and the first satellite;

[0198] a signal strength between the ground station and the first satellite, which can be a signal to noise ratio (SNR) for example.

[0199] Optionally, in some embodiments, the first satellite can include at least one of the following: a low earth orbit (LEO) satellite, a middle earth orbit (MEO) satellite, and a highly elliptical orbit (HEO) satellite.

[0200] Step 2102: The third satellite sends at least one related parameter of a second satellite to the ground station.

[0201] Optionally, the third satellite can be a satellite currently communicating with or connected to the ground station.

[0202] In some embodiments, the second satellite can be a visible satellite of the third satellite, and the related parameters of the second satellite can include at least one of the following:

[0203] a second identifier for indicating the second satellite;

[0204] a distance between the third satellite and the second satellite;

[0205] a signal strength between the third satellite and the second satellite, which can be an SNR for example.

[0206] Optionally, in some embodiments, the second satellite can include at least one of the following: a LEO satellite, a MEO satellite, and a HEO satellite.

[0207] Optionally, in some embodiments, the ground station can request the related parameters of the at least one second satellite from the third satellite first, and then the third satellite can send the related parameters of the at least one second satellite to the ground station.

[0208] Optionally, in some embodiments, the execution order between the step 2101 and the step 2102 is not limited, in some embodiments, the step 2101 and the step 2102 can be executed simultaneously, or the step 2101 can be executed before or after the step 2102.

[0209] The step 2103, the ground station inputs the related parameters of the at least one first satellite and / or the related parameters of the at least one second satellite into the first model to obtain a switching strategy of the first model output.

[0210] Optionally, the first model is deployed on the ground station, and can be used for reinforcement learning or deep reinforcement learning, and the switching strategy can be used for satellite switching of the ground station.

[0211] In some embodiments, the switching strategy of the first model output can be a switching strategy that achieves a first effect among alternative switching strategies. Optionally, in some embodiments, the related parameters of the at least one first satellite and / or the related parameters of the at least one second satellite can be collectively referred to as network environment parameters of the NTN in which the ground station is located, which can reflect the network environment of the NTN in which the ground station is located, and the first model can learn (such as reinforcement learning or deep reinforcement learning) a switching strategy with better effect from the alternative switching strategies based on the input network environment parameters.

[0212] Optionally, the alternative switching strategy can include at least one of the following:

[0213] A first strategy, the first strategy is a random access channel-less (RACH-less) based nearest satellite switching strategy;

[0214] A second strategy, the second strategy is a nearest satellite switching strategy without RACH-less;

[0215] A third strategy, the third strategy is a switching strategy based on RACH-less and satellite visibility;

[0216] A fourth strategy, the fourth strategy is a switching strategy without RACH-less but based on satellite visibility;

[0217] The fifth strategy is a handover strategy based on RACH-less and carrier-to-interference-and-noise ratio (CINR);

[0218] The sixth strategy is a handover strategy not based on RACH-less but based on CINR.

[0219] Optionally, the "RACH-less" mentioned above can refer to omitting the random access procedure when switching from a source satellite to a target satellite, so as to reduce the time consumed by the random access procedure in the switching process and shorten the switching interruption delay. The "not based on RACH-less" mentioned above can refer to not omitting the random access procedure when switching from a source satellite to a target satellite. In some embodiments, "not based on RACH-less" can also be referred to as "legacy handover" or other names, which are not limited in the present disclosure.

[0220] Optionally, the "nearest satellite handover strategy" mentioned above can refer to that the terminal is always connected to the nearest satellite. For example, FIG. 2B is a flow diagram of the nearest satellite handover strategy according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 2B, at time t(i), the visible range of the ground station includes satellite #1, satellite #2, and satellite #3. At this time, satellite #2 is the nearest satellite to the ground station, and the ground station can be connected to satellite #2. Optionally, due to the mobility of the satellite, at time t(i+1), the nearest satellite of the ground station changes from satellite #2 to satellite #3. At this time, the ground station can be switched from satellite #2 to satellite #3, so that the ground station is always connected to the nearest satellite.

[0221] Optionally, the "satellite visibility-based handover strategy" mentioned above can refer to that, as the satellite moves, when the satellite currently connected by the ground station is about to move out of the visible range of the ground station, the ground station is switched from the currently connected satellite to the currently most visible satellite of the ground station. Optionally, the "most visible satellite" can be understood as, for example, the farthest visible satellite from the ground station, and in the next moment, as the satellite moves, the distance between the satellite and the ground station gradually decreases, until the satellite becomes the nearest satellite of the ground station, the distance between the satellite and the ground station gradually increases again, and the satellite gradually moves out of the visible range of the ground station. For example, FIG. 2C is a flow diagram of the satellite visibility-based handover strategy according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 2C, at time t(i), the satellite connected by the ground station is satellite #1. Due to the mobility of the satellite, at time t(i+1), satellite #1 is about to move out of the visible range of the ground station. At this time, satellite #4 is the most visible satellite of the ground station, and the ground station can be switched from satellite #1 to satellite #4.

[0222] Optionally, the CINR-based handover strategy described above can refer to: when the CINR between the ground station and the currently connected satellite satisfies a first condition, the ground station performs satellite handover to a satellite with a CINR higher than a preset threshold or to a satellite with the highest CINR. Optionally, the first condition may, for example, be that the CINR is reduced by 3db compared to the maximum reference level.

[0223] Optionally, the first effect described above can include at least one of the following:

[0224] The link spectrum efficiency is greater than a first value, such as the link spectrum efficiency after handover is greater than the first value;

[0225] The handover rate is less than a second value; optionally, the handover rate can refer to the number of handovers.

[0226] The handover success rate is greater than a third value;

[0227] The handover delay is less than a fourth value;

[0228] The handover interruption time is less than a fifth value;

[0229] The Doppler shift is less than a sixth value.

[0230] Optionally, in some embodiments, the handover strategy output by the first model can be: the best alternative handover strategy among the alternative handover strategies that achieve the first effect; or, in other embodiments, the handover strategy output by the first model can be: any of the alternative handover strategies that achieve the first effect.

[0231] As can be seen from the above, when the first model outputs a handover strategy based on the network environment parameters of the ground station, it selects the alternative handover strategy that can achieve the first effect when handover is performed in the current network environment as the output. This ensures that the handover strategy output by the first model not only adapts to the current network environment, but also achieves good handover effects, thereby improving the handover performance when the satellite is handed over.

[0232] Optionally, in some embodiments, the model algorithm of the first model described above can include at least one of the following algorithms: Q-Learning algorithm, Deep Q-Network (DQN) algorithm, Double Deep Q-Network (DDQN) algorithm, and Actor-Critic algorithm.

[0233] Optionally, the "Q-Learning algorithm" described above is a reinforcement learning algorithm, and the "DQN algorithm, DDQN algorithm, and Actor-Critic algorithm" described above is a deep reinforcement learning algorithm. Optionally, reinforcement learning can be understood as a method of learning the best behavior policy through the interaction of an agent (Agent) with the environment; wherein the agent observes the current state in the environment, takes action and obtains rewards or penalties, and then adjusts the policy according to this feedback, the goal of reinforcement learning is to obtain the maximum cumulative reward through interaction with the environment, reinforcement learning does not require labeled training data, but learns through trial and error, an important part of reinforcement learning is Markov Decision Process (MDP), which defines the environment model of reinforcement learning and the decision policy of the agent. Deep reinforcement learning combines the perception ability of deep learning and the decision-making ability of reinforcement learning, learns complex features and patterns through training a multi-layer neural network (such as the first model in the embodiment), so that the neural network can directly derive the best behavior policy according to the input image and / or data, and deep reinforcement learning requires training data to train the neural network.

[0234] The following describes the model method of the first model by taking the "Q-Learning algorithm (i.e., reinforcement learning algorithm)" and the "DQN algorithm (i.e., deep reinforcement learning algorithm)" as examples.

[0235] In some embodiments, when the model method of the first model is the "Q-Learning algorithm (i.e., reinforcement learning algorithm)", the first model needs to calculate the Q value corresponding to each candidate switching strategy according to the input network environment parameters and using the Q value calculation formula, wherein the Q value corresponding to different candidate switching strategies is different, when the Q value is larger, it means that the switching effect (i.e., the first effect described above) of the candidate switching strategy is better, then the first model can output the candidate switching strategy with better switching effect based on the Q value. Optionally, FIG. 2D is a calculation formula of the Q value according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 2D, there are three formulas, wherein the first formula can be used to calculate the Q value, and the second formula and the third formula can be used to represent the relationship between the Q values of adjacent time points. Optionally, Q(s, a) in the formula of FIG. 2D represents the Q value corresponding to the candidate switching strategy; r(s, a), R(s, a) represent the reward of executing the action a corresponding to the candidate switching strategy under the current state s, optionally, the r(s, a), R(s, a) can be determined by referring to the input network environment parameters, for example, assuming that according to the input network environment parameters, it is determined that the switching effect (i.e., the first effect described above) of the satellite switching using the candidate switching strategy under the current network environment is better, then the higher the r(s, a), R(s, a) is; Q t-1 r(s, a), Q t-1(s, a) represent the Q value at the current time, such as Q(s, a) = Q(s, a) represents the Q value at the state before switching, Q t (s, a) represent the Q value at the next time, such as Q(s, a) = Q(s, a) represents the Q value at the state after satellite switching based on the alternative switching strategy, a represents the learning rate factor, 0 ≤ a ≤ 1, and γ in FIG. 2D is the discount factor, max a (s, a) represent the Q value at the next time, such as Q(s, a) = Q(s, a) represents the Q value at the state after satellite switching based on the alternative switching strategy, a represents the learning rate factor, 0 ≤ a ≤ 1, and γ in FIG. 2D is the discount factor, max a Q(s’,a’)、max a’ Q(s’,a’) represents the maximum future reward in the new state and the new action, and optionally, the "new state" here can be understood as the state after satellite switching based on the alternative switching strategy, and the "new action" here can be understood as all possible actions in the new state. Then the first model can learn a better switching strategy based on the formula shown in FIG. 2D and output.

[0236] In some embodiments, when the model method of the first model is the "DQN algorithm (i.e., deep reinforcement learning algorithm)", the first model does not need to use the formula to calculate, but can directly determine the Q value corresponding to each alternative switching strategy according to the input network environment parameters, and output the alternative switching strategy with better switching effect based on the Q value. Therefore, the first model needs to learn the calculation method of the Q value first, so that the Q value corresponding to the alternative switching strategy can be directly determined based on the network environment parameters. Then the first model needs to be trained to enable the first model to learn the calculation method of the Q value. In some embodiments, a sample set can be determined first, which can include the network environment parameters of the NTN in which the ground station is located at a historical time, and the Q value corresponding to a certain switching strategy at the historical time, then the network environment parameters at the historical time are input to the first model to determine the Q value output by the first model, and the model parameters of the first model are adjusted based on the loss function until the loss function converges. Optionally, FIG. 2E is a calculation formula of the loss function according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 2E, TD in the loss function has the same meaning as TDt in FIG. 2D, r in the loss function has the same meaning as R(s, a), r(s, a) in FIG. 2D, max a’ Q(s’,a’)、max a’ Q(s’,a’)、max a Q(s’,a) has the same meaning as Q(s, a) in FIG. 2D, Q t-1 (s, a) has the same meaning as Q(s, a) in FIG. 2D, Q t-1 r(s,a) has the same meaning as Q(s, a) in FIG. 2D, Q

[0237] Step 2104, the ground station performs a first operation to switch satellites.

[0238] Optionally, in some embodiments, the first operation can be: directly performing satellite switching based on the switching strategy output by the first model. That is, the ground station itself has the decision-making right, which can decide the specific switching strategy. For example, when the satellite switching of the ground station is triggered by conditional handover (CHO), the ground station can directly perform satellite switching based on the switching strategy output by the first model.

[0239] Alternatively, in other embodiments, the first operation can include: reporting the switching strategy output by the first model to a third satellite, and receiving the switching strategy sent by the third satellite, and then performing satellite switching based on the switching strategy sent by the third satellite; wherein the switching strategy sent by the third satellite is the same as or different from the switching strategy output by the first model. That is, the ground station does not have the decision-making right, and needs to perform switching based on the indication of the third satellite. For example, when the ground station autonomously determines to perform satellite switching, it can report the switching strategy output by the first model to the third satellite, so as to subsequently perform satellite switching based on the switching strategy sent by the third satellite.

[0240] From the above, when the ground station needs to perform satellite switching, the ground station will use the first model to determine the corresponding switching strategy based on the network environment parameters of the NTN in which the ground station is located, so that the determined switching strategy matches the network environment of the ground station. Therefore, when the ground station performs satellite switching, it will use appropriate switching strategies for satellite switching based on different network environments of the ground station, thereby improving the flexibility of satellite switching, avoiding the waste of switching resources, and meeting the real-time requirements of switching services. Moreover, since the switching strategy in the embodiments of the present disclosure is determined based on the network environment in which the ground station is located, and is irrelevant to the "satellite type", the switching strategy of the present method is not limited by the satellite type, so that switching between different types of satellites can be realized, thereby ensuring the cooperative work of different types of satellites and ensuring the communication performance.

[0241] The switching strategy determination method related to the embodiments of the present disclosure can include at least one of steps 2101-2104. For example, step 2101 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step 2102 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step 2103 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and step 2101+S2102 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, but is not limited thereto.

[0242] In the present embodiment or example, each step can be independent, arbitrarily combined or exchanged in order, the optional mode or optional example can be arbitrarily combined, and can be arbitrarily combined with any step of other embodiments or other examples.

[0243] FIG. 2F is an interaction diagram illustrating a handover strategy determination method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 2F, the embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a handover strategy determination method for the communication system 100, and the method comprises the following steps.

[0244] In step 2201, the terminal determines the related parameters of the at least one first satellite.

[0245] Optionally, in some embodiments, the first satellite can be a visible satellite of the terminal. Optionally, the "visible satellite" can be understood as a satellite capable of communication, connection or service provision.

[0246] In some embodiments, the related parameters of the first satellite can comprise at least one of the following:

[0247] a first identifier for indicating the first satellite;

[0248] a distance between the terminal and the first satellite;

[0249] a signal strength between the terminal and the first satellite, which can be, for example, SNR.

[0250] Optionally, in some embodiments, the first satellite can comprise at least one of the following: LEO satellite, MEO satellite, HEO satellite.

[0251] In step 2202, the third satellite sends the related parameters of the at least one second satellite to the terminal.

[0252] Optionally, the third satellite can be a satellite currently in communication with the terminal, or a satellite currently connected to the terminal. In some embodiments, the second satellite can be a visible satellite of the third satellite, and the related parameters of the second satellite can refer to the description of the above embodiments.

[0253] Optionally, in some embodiments, the terminal can first request the related parameters of the at least one second satellite from the third satellite, and then the third satellite sends the related parameters of the at least one second satellite to the terminal.

[0254] Optionally, in some embodiments, the execution order between the above steps 2201 and 2202 is not limited, and in some embodiments, the steps 2201 and 2202 can be executed simultaneously, or the step 2201 can be executed before or after the step 2202.

[0255] In step 2203, the terminal inputs the related parameters of the at least one first satellite and / or the related parameters of the at least one second satellite into a first model to obtain a handover strategy output by the first model.

[0256] The detailed description of steps 2202-2203 can refer to the description of the embodiment of FIG. 2A.

[0257] Step 2204: The terminal performs a first operation to perform satellite switching.

[0258] Optionally, in some embodiments, the first operation can be to perform satellite switching directly based on the switching strategy output by the first model. That is, the terminal has the decision-making right, which can decide the specific switching strategy. For example, when the satellite switching of the terminal is triggered by CHO, the terminal can directly perform satellite switching based on the switching strategy output by the first model.

[0259] Alternatively, in some other embodiments, the first operation can include reporting the switching strategy output by the first model to a third satellite, receiving the switching strategy sent by the third satellite, and then performing satellite switching based on the switching strategy sent by the third satellite; wherein the switching strategy sent by the third satellite is the same as or different from the switching strategy output by the first model. That is, the terminal does not have the decision-making right, and needs to perform switching based on the indication of the third satellite. For example, when the terminal autonomously determines to perform satellite switching, it can report the switching strategy output by the first model to the third satellite, so as to subsequently perform satellite switching based on the switching strategy sent by the third satellite.

[0260] As can be seen from the above, when the terminal needs to perform satellite switching, the terminal will use the first model to determine the corresponding switching strategy based on the network environment parameters of the NTN in which the terminal is located, so that the determined switching strategy matches the network environment of the ground station. Therefore, when the terminal performs satellite switching, it will use appropriate switching strategies for satellite switching based on different network environments in which the terminal is located, thereby improving the flexibility of satellite switching, avoiding the waste of switching resources, and meeting the real-time requirements of switching services. Moreover, since the switching strategy in the embodiments of the present disclosure is determined based on the network environment in which the terminal is located, and is irrelevant to the "satellite type", the switching strategy of the present disclosure will not be limited by the satellite type, and thus the switching between different types of satellites can be realized, thereby ensuring the cooperative work of different types of satellites and ensuring the communication performance.

[0261] The switching strategy determination method related to the embodiments of the present disclosure can include at least one of steps 2201-2204. For example, step 2201 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step 2202 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step 2203 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and steps 2201+S2202 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, but are not limited thereto.

[0262] In the embodiments or examples, each step can be independent, arbitrarily combined or exchanged in sequence, optional mode or optional example can be arbitrarily combined, and can be arbitrarily combined with any step of other embodiments or other examples, without contradiction.

[0263] FIG. 2G is an interaction diagram of a switching strategy determination method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 2G, the embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a switching strategy determination method for the communication system 100, and the above method comprises:

[0264] In step 2301, the second device sends at least one first satellite related parameter to the satellite deploying the first model.

[0265] Optionally, the second device can be a device that needs to perform satellite switching, and the second device can include a terminal or a ground station, for example. In some embodiments, the first satellite can be a visible satellite of the second device. The first satellite related parameter can include at least one of the following:

[0266] a first identifier for indicating the first satellite;

[0267] a distance between the second device and the first satellite;

[0268] a signal strength between the second device and the first satellite, which can be SNR, for example.

[0269] Optionally, the "satellite deploying the first model" described above can be any satellite, which can or can not be the first satellite.

[0270] Optionally, in some embodiments, the second device can know in advance which satellites deploy the first model, and when the second device needs to perform satellite switching, it can send at least one first satellite related parameter to the satellite deploying the first model.

[0271] In step 2302, the satellite deploying the first model determines at least one second satellite related parameter.

[0272] Optionally, the second satellite can be a visible satellite of a third satellite, which can be a satellite currently communicating with the second device, or a satellite currently connected to the second device. In some embodiments, the second satellite related parameter can be described in the above embodiments.

[0273] In some embodiments, the satellite deploying the first model can also be a second satellite or a third satellite, or can not be a second satellite or a third satellite. Optionally, when the satellite deploying the first model is a third satellite, it can autonomously determine the relevant parameters of at least one second satellite based on the satellites visible to itself; when the satellite deploying the first model is not a third satellite, it can first determine the second satellites visible to the third satellite based on the ephemeris information of the satellites, and then determine the relevant parameters of at least one second satellite.

[0274] Optionally, in some embodiments, the execution order between step 2301 and step 2302 is not limited, in some embodiments, step 2301 and step 2302 can be executed simultaneously, or step 2301 can be executed before or after step 2302.

[0275] Step 2303, the satellite deploying the first model inputs the relevant parameters of at least one first satellite and / or the relevant parameters of at least one second satellite into the first model to obtain a switching strategy output by the first model.

[0276] For detailed description of step 2303, please refer to the description of the above-mentioned embodiment of FIG. 2A.

[0277] Step 2304, the satellite deploying the first model indicates the switching strategy output by the first model to the second device.

[0278] Step 2305, the second device performs satellite switching based on the switching strategy output by the first model.

[0279] From the above, when the second device needs to perform satellite switching, the satellite deploying the first model will use the first model to determine the corresponding switching strategy based on the network environment parameters of the NTN in which the second device is located, so that the determined switching strategy matches the network environment of the second device. Therefore, when the second device performs satellite switching, it will use appropriate switching strategies based on different network environments to perform satellite switching, improving the flexibility of satellite switching, avoiding the waste of switching resources, and meeting the real-time requirements of switching services. Moreover, since the switching strategy in the embodiments of the present disclosure is determined based on the network environment in which the second device is located, it is independent of the "satellite type", so the switching strategy of the present disclosure method is not limited by the satellite type, and the switching between different types of satellites can be realized, thereby ensuring the cooperative work of different types of satellites and ensuring the communication performance.

[0280] The switching strategy determination method related to the embodiments of the present disclosure can include at least one of steps 2301-2305. For example, step 2301 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step 2302 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step 2303 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step 2301+S2302 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

[0281] In the present embodiment or example, each step can be independent, arbitrarily combined or exchanged in order, the optional mode or optional example can be arbitrarily combined, and can be arbitrarily combined with any step of other embodiments or other examples.

[0282] FIG. 2H is an interaction diagram of a switching strategy determination method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 2H, the embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a switching strategy determination method for a communication system 100, and the above method includes:

[0283] Step 2401: The second device sends at least one first satellite-related parameter to a third device deploying a first model.

[0284] Optionally, the second device can be a device that needs to perform satellite switching, and the second device can include a terminal or a ground station, for example. In some embodiments, the first satellite can be a visible satellite of the second device. For detailed description of the first satellite-related parameters, please refer to the above embodiment description.

[0285] Optionally, the above-mentioned “third device deploying a first model” can be a ground device different from the second device, for example, can be a network device, such as an access network device and / or a core network device.

[0286] Optionally, in some embodiments, the second device can know in advance which device is the third device deploying the first model, and then when the second device needs to perform satellite switching, it can send at least one first satellite-related parameter to the third device deploying the first model.

[0287] Step 2402: The third satellite sends at least one second satellite-related parameter to the third device deploying the first model.

[0288] Optionally, the third satellite can be a satellite currently communicating with the second device, or a satellite currently connected to the second device. The second satellite can be a visible satellite of the third satellite, and in some embodiments, the second satellite-related parameters can refer to the above embodiment description.

[0289] Optionally, in some embodiments, the third satellite can know in advance which device the third device deploying the first model is, and then when the third satellite determines that the second device needs to perform satellite switching, it can send the related parameters of the at least one second satellite to the third device deploying the first model.

[0290] Optionally, in some embodiments, the execution order between the above-mentioned step 2401 and step 2402 is not limited, in some embodiments, step 2401 and step 2402 can be executed simultaneously, or step 2401 can be executed before or after step 2402.

[0291] Step 2403, the third device inputs the related parameters of the at least one first satellite and / or the related parameters of the at least one second satellite into the first model to obtain the switching strategy output by the first model.

[0292] For detailed description of step 2403, please refer to the description of the above-mentioned embodiment of FIG. 2A.

[0293] Step 2404, the third device performs a second operation to make the second device perform satellite switching.

[0294] Optionally, in some embodiments, the second operation may, for example, be that the third device directly indicates the switching strategy output by the first model to the second device, so that the second device performs satellite switching based on the switching strategy.

[0295] Alternatively, in some other embodiments, the second operation may, for example, be that the third device reports the switching strategy output by the first model to the third satellite currently communicating with the second device, so that the third satellite determines the final switching strategy, and then the third satellite can indicate the final switching strategy to the second device, so that the second device can perform satellite switching based on the switching strategy. Wherein, the final switching strategy determined by the third satellite is the same as or different from the switching strategy output by the first model.

[0296] Therefore, when the second device needs to perform satellite switching, the third device deploying the first model determines a corresponding switching strategy based on the network environment parameter of the NTN in which the second device is located by using the first model, so that the determined switching strategy matches the network environment of the second device. Therefore, when the second device performs satellite switching, the appropriate switching strategy can be used for satellite switching based on the different network environment in which the second device is located, thereby improving the flexibility of satellite switching, avoiding waste of switching resources, and meeting the real-time requirements of switching services. Moreover, since the switching strategy in the embodiment of the present disclosure is determined based on the network environment in which the second device is located, and is irrelevant to the "satellite type", the switching strategy of the present method is not limited to the satellite type, and therefore the switching between different types of satellites can be realized, thereby ensuring the cooperative work of different types of satellites and ensuring the communication performance.

[0297] The switching strategy determination method related to the present disclosure can include at least one of steps 2401-2404. For example, step 2401 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step 2402 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step 2403 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and step 2401+S2402 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, but is not limited thereto.

[0298] In the present embodiment or example, each step can be independent, arbitrarily combined or exchanged in order, the optional mode or optional example can be arbitrarily combined, and can be arbitrarily combined with any step of other embodiments or other examples.

[0299] FIG. 3 is an interaction diagram of a switching strategy determination method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 3, the present embodiment relates to a switching strategy determination method for a first device, and the method includes:

[0300] Step 3101, determining a first parameter.

[0301] Step 3102, inputting the first parameter into a first model to obtain a switching strategy output by the first model.

[0302] Optionally, the first parameter is used to indicate a network environment parameter of a non-terrestrial network NTN in which a second device is located; the second device is a device that needs to perform satellite switching.

[0303] Optionally, the first model is used for reinforcement learning or deep reinforcement learning, and the switching strategy is used for satellite switching of the second device.

[0304] Optionally, the switching strategy output by the first model is a switching strategy that achieves a first effect among alternative switching strategies.

[0305] Optionally, the alternative handover strategies comprise at least one of:

[0306] a first strategy, the first strategy being a RACH-less latest satellite based handover strategy;

[0307] a second strategy, the second strategy being a RACH-less latest satellite not based handover strategy;

[0308] a third strategy, the third strategy being a RACH-less and satellite visibility based handover strategy;

[0309] a fourth strategy, the fourth strategy being a RACH-less not based and satellite visibility based handover strategy;

[0310] a fifth strategy, the fifth strategy being a RACH-less and CINR based handover strategy;

[0311] a sixth strategy, the sixth strategy being a RACH-less not based and CINR based handover strategy.

[0312] Optionally, the first effect comprises at least one of:

[0313] a link spectral efficiency greater than a first value;

[0314] a handover rate less than a second value;

[0315] a handover success rate greater than a third value;

[0316] a handover delay less than a fourth value;

[0317] a handover interruption time less than a fifth value;

[0318] a Doppler shift less than a sixth value.

[0319] Optionally, the handover strategy output by the first model is an alternative handover strategy that achieves the best effect among the alternative handover strategies achieving the first effect; or

[0320] the handover strategy output by the first model is any of the alternative handover strategies achieving the first effect.

[0321] Optionally, the network environment parameters of the NTN in which the second device is located comprise at least one of:

[0322] related parameters of at least one first satellite, the first satellite being a visible satellite of the second device;

[0323] Correlation parameters of at least one second satellite; the second satellite is a visible satellite of a third satellite currently communicated by the second device.

[0324] Optionally, the correlation parameters of the first satellite comprise at least one of:

[0325] A first identifier for indicating the first satellite;

[0326] A distance between the second device and the first satellite;

[0327] A signal strength between the second device and the first satellite.

[0328] Optionally, the correlation parameters of the second satellite comprise at least one of:

[0329] A second identifier for indicating the second satellite;

[0330] A distance between the third satellite and the second satellite;

[0331] A signal strength between the third satellite and the second satellite.

[0332] Optionally, the first satellite and the second satellite respectively comprise at least one of: a low earth orbit (LEO) satellite, a medium earth orbit (MEO) satellite, and a high elliptical orbit (HEO) satellite.

[0333] Optionally, the first device comprises at least one of any satellite, a second device, and a third device.

[0334] Optionally, the second device comprises a terminal or a ground station; and the third device is a ground device different from the second device.

[0335] Optionally, the first device is any satellite, and the determining the first parameters comprises:

[0336] Receiving the correlation parameters of at least one first satellite reported by the second device;

[0337] The first device determines the correlation parameters of at least one second satellite based on the implementation.

[0338] Optionally, the first device is the second device, and the determining the first parameters comprises:

[0339] The first device determines the correlation parameters of at least one first satellite based on the implementation.

[0340] Receiving the correlation parameters of at least one second satellite sent by a third satellite currently communicated by the second device.

[0341] Optionally, the first device is the third device, and the determining the first parameters comprises:

[0342] receiving, from the second device, at least one first satellite-related parameter of at least one first satellite;

[0343] receiving, from a third satellite currently communicating with the second device, at least one second satellite-related parameter of at least one second satellite.

[0344] Optionally, the first device is any satellite, and the method further comprises:

[0345] indicating, to the second device, a switching strategy output by the first model, so that the second device performs satellite switching based on the switching strategy.

[0346] Optionally, the first device is a second device, and the method further comprises:

[0347] performing satellite switching based on a switching strategy output by the first model; or

[0348] reporting, to a third satellite currently communicating with the second device, a switching strategy output by the first model, and receiving a switching strategy sent by the third satellite, and performing satellite switching based on the switching strategy sent by the third satellite; wherein the switching strategy sent by the third satellite is the same as or different from the switching strategy output by the first model.

[0349] Optionally, the first device is a third device, and the method further comprises:

[0350] indicating, to the second device, a switching strategy output by the first model, so that the second device performs satellite switching based on the switching strategy; or

[0351] reporting, to a third satellite currently communicating with the second device, a switching strategy output by the first model, so that the third satellite determines a final switching strategy; wherein the final switching strategy determined by the third satellite is the same as or different from the switching strategy output by the first model.

[0352] Optionally, the model algorithm of the first model comprises at least one of the following algorithms: Q-Learning algorithm, Deep Q-Network (DQN) algorithm, Double Deep Q-Network (DDQN) algorithm, and Actor-Critic algorithm.

[0353] For detailed descriptions of steps 3101-3102, refer to the above embodiment descriptions.

[0354] The determination method related by the embodiments of the present disclosure can include at least one of steps S3101-S3102. For example, step S3101 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S3102 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and steps S3101-S3102 can be implemented as independent embodiments, but are not limited thereto.

[0355] In the present embodiment or example, each step can be independent, arbitrarily combined or exchanged in order, the optional mode or optional example can be arbitrarily combined, and can be arbitrarily combined with any step of other embodiments or other examples.

[0356] The following is an exemplary introduction to the above method.

[0357] The present disclosure adopts deep reinforcement learning technology in a heterogeneous network of 6G, determines the most suitable HO strategy for each constellation according to the constellation type, i.e., low earth orbit (LEO), medium earth orbit (MEO), and high elliptical orbit (HEO), to improve resource utilization and meet the real-time needs of services. Alternatively, FIG. 4A is an interaction diagram of a handover strategy determination method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0358] Deep reinforcement learning training is performed on each satellite. FIG. 4B is a structural diagram of a deep learning method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0359] The process of the HO strategy is converted into a Markov decision process:

[0360] The Markov decision process is a set composed of five data components (S, A, R, P, and γ).

[0361] In the formula: S is a finite set of states; A is a set of finite actions, A(s) is a set of finite activities that can be obtained from each state;

[0362] P is the probability of being in state s at time t leading to state s' at time t+1; R is the direct reward obtained after switching from the state of performing action a to state s'; γ is the discount factor, which represents the key difference between future rewards and current rewards.

[0363] The core problem of the Markov decision process is to find a "policy", referred to as (s), which can maximize the cumulative function of random rewards when a behavior selection mode is selected in state s. FIG. 4C is a calculation formula of the cumulative function of random rewards according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0364] Q-Learning

[0365] Referring to the first equation of FIG. 2D, the agent knows which action to choose to get the maximum reward.

[0366] The Q-action table a under the state set s is equal to the reward r(s, a) plus the next maximum state table of s when the action a is taken. This step creates an action-state matrix so that each agent state only needs to find the action with the maximum table. However, reinforcement learning is random, so the table before and after moving will be different. FIG. 4D is a schematic diagram of a Q-learning process according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Therefore, the Q-learning process can be determined according to the equation shown in FIG. 2D and FIG. 4D described above. Wherein: TDt is the calculation of the instantaneous value. Alpha is the learning rate factor.

[0367] Deep Q-Network

[0368] Another Q-learning method, deep Q-network, uses a neural network to replace the action-state Q table. FIG. 4E is a schematic diagram of a neural network of a deep Q-network according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0369] However, the deep Q-network method needs to determine the loss function so that the neural network learns how to estimate the table Q to make the action correct. The loss function must calculate the error between the table Q and the reality and the prediction.

[0370] The loss function is determined according to the equation shown in FIG. 2E described above.

[0371] In the formula: theta is a random parameter

[0372] Design a DQN agent

[0373] To estimate the value of the policy, a Q-table function approximator is used. Because the DQN agent has its own action space, a multi-output Q-table function can be used. The table Q vector accepts a single observation as input and returns a single vector with as many elements as possible and feasible operations as output.

[0374] When the agent starts from the state matching to the observation provided and performs the action according to the number of factors, the value of each output element represents the discounted cumulative long-term reward.

[0375] The reward function reward: In order to ensure the performance of each service in different aspects at the same time, the reward function is set according to the aspects of link spectrum efficiency, HO rate, HO success rate, HO delay, HO interruption time and Doppler shift.

[0376] The DQN performs the following steps:

[0377] The state set introduces a state into the network; the output is a Q-table of single actions.

[0378] The agent operates using the policy and performs the operation.

[0379] The state set returns a state s', the regular part r is the result of the action a, and [s, a, r, s'] is saved to the memory.

[0380] The experimental samples are divided into batches for neural network training.

[0381] The process iterates for the last N cycles. At each cycle, the HO type (the nearest satellite HO, the maximum visibility HO, and the cinr-based HO) is allowed to make a decision and receives feedback on state changes multiple times to obtain information and learn how to make correct decisions.

[0382] The neural network is trained as an agent, and the number of steps per cycle and the maximum number of training sets can be adjusted according to the training effect.

[0383] The algorithm trains the model according to the output of the discrete action. According to other factors considered in the reward function, the state of the environment can be obtained, and finally through action sorting, an optimal HO type action is selected.

[0384] At the same time, the selection of RACH-less handover or legacy handover as the optimal can also be trained while training the HO type.

[0385] The embodiments of the present disclosure also propose a device for implementing any of the above methods, for example, a device including units or modules for implementing each step performed by the terminal in any of the above methods. For another example, another device is also proposed, including units or modules for implementing each step performed by the network device (such as an access network device, a core network function node, a core network device, etc.) in any of the above methods.

[0386] It should be understood that the division of each unit or module in the above apparatus is only a logical function division, and all or part of them can be integrated into a physical entity or physically separated in actual implementation. In addition, the units or modules in the apparatus can be implemented in the form of processor calling software: for example, the apparatus includes a processor, the processor is connected with a memory, the memory stores instructions, and the processor calls the instructions stored in the memory to realize the functions of any of the above methods or the units or modules of the above apparatus, wherein the processor is a general processor such as a central processing unit (CPU) or a microprocessor, and the memory is a memory in the apparatus or a memory outside the apparatus. Alternatively, the units or modules in the apparatus can be implemented in the form of hardware circuit, and the functions of part or all of the units or modules can be realized by the design of the hardware circuit. The above hardware circuit can be understood as one or more processors; for example, in one implementation, the above hardware circuit is an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), and the functions of part or all of the units or modules are realized by the design of the logical relationship between the elements in the circuit; for another example, in another implementation, the above hardware circuit is a programmable logic device (PLD), and a field programmable gate array (FPGA) is taken as an example, which can include a large number of logic gate circuits, and the connection relationship between the logic gate circuits is configured by a configuration file, so as to realize the functions of part or all of the units or modules. All units or modules of the above apparatus can be all implemented in the form of processor calling software, or all implemented in the form of hardware circuit, or part implemented in the form of processor calling software and the remaining part implemented in the form of hardware circuit.

[0387] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the processor is a circuit with signal processing capability. In one implementation, the processor can be a circuit with instruction reading and running capability, such as a central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, a graphics processing unit (GPU) (which can be understood as a microprocessor), a digital signal processor (DSP), or the like. In another implementation, the processor can implement certain functions through a logical relationship of a hardware circuit, and the logical relationship of the hardware circuit is fixed or can be reconfigured. For example, the processor is a hardware circuit implemented by an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or a programmable logic device (PLD), such as an FPGA. In the reconfigurable hardware circuit, the processor loads a configuration document to implement the configuration of the hardware circuit. It can be understood that the processor loads instructions to implement the functions of the above part or all units or modules. In addition, the hardware circuit can also be designed for artificial intelligence, which can be understood as an ASIC, such as a neural network processing unit (NPU), a tensor processing unit (TPU), a deep learning processing unit (DPU), or the like.

[0388] FIG. 5 is a structural schematic diagram of a first device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 5, the first device includes:

[0389] The processing module is configured to determine a first parameter, wherein the first parameter is used to indicate a network environment parameter of a non-terrestrial network (NTN) in which a second device is located, and the second device is a device that needs to perform satellite switching.

[0390] The processing module is further configured to input the first parameter into a first model to obtain a switching strategy output by the first model, wherein the first model is used to perform reinforcement learning or deep reinforcement learning, and the switching strategy is used for the second device to perform satellite switching.

[0391] Optionally, the processing module is configured to perform the steps related to “processing” performed by the first device in any of the above methods. The first device further includes a transceiver module configured to perform the steps related to “transmission and reception” performed by the first device in any of the above methods.

[0392] FIG. 6A is a structural schematic diagram of a communication device 6100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The communication device 6100 can be a network device (for example, an access network device, a core network device, etc.), a terminal (for example, a user equipment or the first device described above, etc.), a chip, a chip system, or a processor supporting the network device to implement any of the above methods, or a chip, a chip system, or a processor supporting the terminal to implement any of the above methods. The communication device 6100 can be used to implement the methods described in the above method embodiments, and details can be referred to the descriptions in the above method embodiments.

[0393] As shown in FIG. 6A, the communication device 6100 includes one or more processors 6101. The processor 6101 can be a general processor or a special-purpose processor, for example, a baseband processor or a central processing unit. The baseband processor can be used to process communication protocols and communication data, and the central processing unit can be used to control the communication device (for example, a base station, a baseband chip, a terminal device, a terminal device chip, a DU or a CU, etc.), execute programs, and process data of the programs. The processor 6101 is used to invoke instructions to enable the communication device 6100 to perform any of the above methods.

[0394] In some embodiments, the communication device 6100 further includes one or more memories 6102 for storing instructions. Alternatively, all or part of the memory 6102 can also be outside the communication device 6100.

[0395] In some embodiments, the communication device 6100 further includes one or more transceivers 6103. When the communication device 6100 includes one or more transceivers 6103, the communication steps such as transmission and reception in the above methods are performed by the transceiver 6103, and other steps are performed by the processor 6101.

[0396] In some embodiments, the transceiver can include a receiver and a transmitter, which can be separate or integrated together. Alternatively, the terms transceiver, transceiving unit, transceiver, transceiving circuit, etc. can be replaced by each other, the terms transmitter, transmitting unit, transmitter, transmitting circuit, etc. can be replaced by each other, and the terms receiver, receiving unit, receiver, receiving circuit, etc. can be replaced by each other.

[0397] Alternatively, the communication device 6100 further includes one or more interface circuits 6104, which are connected with the memory 6102. The interface circuit 6104 can be used to receive signals from the memory 6102 or other devices, and can be used to send signals to the memory 6102 or other devices. For example, the interface circuit 6104 can read the instructions stored in the memory 6102 and send the instructions to the processor 6101.

[0398] The communication device 6100 described in the above embodiments can be a network device or a terminal, but the scope of the communication device 6100 described in the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and the structure of the communication device 6100 can not be limited by FIG. 6a. The communication device can be a standalone device or can be part of a larger device. For example, the communication device can be: 1) a standalone integrated circuit (IC), or a chip, or a chip system or subsystem; (2) a set of one or more ICs, which can optionally also include storage components for storing data, programs; (3) an ASIC, such as a modem; (4) a module that can be embedded in other devices; (5) a receiver, a terminal device, a smart terminal device, a cellular phone, a wireless device, a handset, a mobile unit, a vehicle-mounted device, a network device, a cloud device, an artificial intelligence device, and the like; (6) other devices, and the like.

[0399] FIG. 6B is a structural schematic diagram of a chip 6200 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. For the case where the communication device 6100 is a chip or a chip system, the structural schematic diagram of the chip 6200 shown in FIG. 6B can be referred to, but is not limited thereto.

[0400] The chip 6200 includes one or more processors 6201 for invoking instructions to cause the chip 6200 to perform any of the above methods.

[0401] In some embodiments, the chip 6200 further includes one or more interface circuits 6202 connected with the memory 6203, which can be used to receive signals from the memory 6203 or other devices, and can be used to send signals to the memory 6203 or other devices. For example, the interface circuit 6202 can read instructions stored in the memory 6203 and send the instructions to the processor 6201. Alternatively, the terms interface circuit, interface, transceiver pin, and transceiver can be replaced with each other.

[0402] In some embodiments, the chip 6200 further includes one or more memories 6203 for storing instructions. Alternatively, all or part of the memory 6203 can be outside the chip 6200.

[0403] The present disclosure also proposes a storage medium having instructions stored thereon, which, when executed on the communication device 6100, causes the communication device 6100 to perform any of the above methods. Alternatively, the storage medium is an electronic storage medium. Alternatively, the storage medium is a computer-readable storage medium, but is not limited thereto, and can also be a storage medium readable by other devices. Alternatively, the storage medium can be a non-transitory storage medium, but is not limited thereto, and can also be a transitory storage medium.

[0404] The disclosure also provides a program product which, when executed by the communication device 6100, causes the communication device 6100 to perform any of the above methods. Optionally, the program product is a computer program product.

[0405] The disclosure also provides a computer program which, when executed on a computer, causes the computer to perform any of the above methods.

[0406] In the above embodiments, the system, device and unit described above can be implemented by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof, in whole or in part. When implemented by software, the computer program product can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program. The computer program product includes one or more computer programs. When the computer program is loaded and executed on the computer, the flow or function described in the embodiments of the disclosure is generated in whole or in part. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network or other programmable device. The computer program can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium, for example, the computer program can be transmitted from one website, computer, server or data center to another website, computer, server or data center through wired (such as coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (such as infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) mode. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server, data center, etc. integrated with one or more available media. The available media can be magnetic media (such as floppy disk, hard disk, magnetic tape), optical media (such as high-density digital video disc (digital video disc, DVD)), or semiconductor media (such as solid state disk (solid state disk, SSD)) and the like.

[0407] Those of ordinary skill in the art can be aware that, in combination with the examples described in the embodiments disclosed herein, the units and algorithm steps of each example can be implemented by electronic hardware or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. The functions described above can be performed by hardware or software, depending on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of the disclosure.

[0408] Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working process of the system, device and unit described above can refer to the corresponding process in the foregoing method embodiments, which will not be described here.

[0409] The above merely provides the specific implementation of the present disclosure, but the protection scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto, any person skilled in the art can easily think of the changes or replacements within the technical range disclosed by the present disclosure, which should be covered in the protection scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the protection scope of the present disclosure should be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A handover strategy determination method, characterized by, The method is performed by a first device, and the method comprises: determining a first parameter; the first parameter is used to indicate a network environment parameter of a non-terrestrial network (NTN) in which a second device is located; the second device is a device that needs to perform satellite switching; inputting the first parameter into a first model to obtain a switching strategy output by the first model; wherein the first model is used for reinforcement learning or deep reinforcement learning, and the switching strategy is used for the second device to perform satellite switching.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, The switching strategy output by the first model is a switching strategy that achieves a first effect among alternative switching strategies.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein, The alternative switching strategies include at least one of the following: a first strategy, which is a latest satellite switching strategy based on a random access channel (RACH-less); a second strategy, which is a latest satellite switching strategy not based on RACH-less; a third strategy, which is a switching strategy based on RACH-less and satellite visibility; a fourth strategy, which is a switching strategy not based on RACH-less but based on satellite visibility; a fifth strategy, which is a switching strategy based on RACH-less and carrier-to-interference and noise ratio (CINR); a sixth strategy, which is a switching strategy not based on RACH-less but based on CINR.

4. The method of claim 2 or 3, wherein, The first effect includes at least one of the following: a link spectrum efficiency greater than a first value; a switching rate less than a second value; a switching success rate greater than a third value; a switching delay less than a fourth value; a switching interruption time less than a fifth value; a Doppler shift less than a sixth value.

5. The method of any one of claims 2-4, wherein, The switching strategy output by the first model is a switching strategy that achieves the best effect among alternative switching strategies that achieve the first effect; or The switching strategy output by the first model is any one of the alternative switching strategies that achieve the first effect.

6. The method of any one of claims 1-5, wherein, The network environment parameter of the NTN in which the second device is located includes at least one of the following: related parameters of at least one first satellite; the first satellite is a visible satellite of the second device; related parameters of at least one second satellite; the second satellite is a visible satellite of a third satellite currently communicating with the second device.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein, The related parameters of the first satellite include at least one of the following: a first identifier used to indicate the first satellite; a distance between the second device and the first satellite; a signal strength between the second device and the first satellite.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein, The related parameters of the second satellite include at least one of the following: a second identifier used to indicate the second satellite; a distance between the third satellite and the second satellite; a signal strength between the third satellite and the second satellite.

9. The method of any one of claims 6-8, wherein, The first satellite and the second satellite each include at least one of the following: a low earth orbit (LEO) satellite, a medium earth orbit (MEO) satellite, and a high elliptical orbit (HEO) satellite.

10. The method of any one of claims 1-9, wherein, The first device includes at least one of any satellite, a second device, and a third device; wherein the second device includes a terminal or a ground station, and the third device is a ground device different from the second device.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein, The first device is any satellite, the determining the first parameter comprises: Receiving the second device reporting at least one first satellite related parameter; The first device determines at least one second satellite related parameter based on the implementation.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein, The first device is the second device, the determining the first parameter comprises: The first device determines at least one first satellite related parameter based on the implementation. Receiving the second device reporting at least one first satellite related parameter; 13. The method of claim 10, wherein, The first device is the third device, the determining the first parameter comprises: Receiving the second device reporting at least one first satellite related parameter; Receiving the second device reporting at least one first satellite related parameter; 14. The method of claim 10, wherein, The first device is any satellite, the method further comprises: Indicating the switching strategy output by the first model to the second device, so that the second device performs satellite switching based on the switching strategy.

15. The method of claim 10, wherein, The first device is the second device, the method further comprises: Performing satellite switching based on the switching strategy output by the first model; or Reporting the switching strategy output by the first model to the third satellite currently communicating with the second device, and receiving the switching strategy sent by the third satellite, and performing satellite switching based on the switching strategy sent by the third satellite; wherein the switching strategy sent by the third satellite is the same as or different from the switching strategy output by the first model.

16. The method of claim 10, wherein, The first device is the third device, the method further comprises: Indicating the switching strategy output by the first model to the second device, so that the second device performs satellite switching based on the switching strategy; or Reporting the switching strategy output by the first model to the third satellite currently communicating with the second device, so that the third satellite determines the final switching strategy; wherein the final switching strategy determined by the third satellite is the same as or different from the switching strategy output by the first model.

17. The method of any one of claims 1-16, wherein, The model algorithm of the first model comprises at least one of the following algorithms: Q-learning Q-Learning algorithm, deep Q-network DQN algorithm, double deep Q-network DDQN algorithm, and behavior Actor-critic algorithm.

18. A first device, comprising: Comprise: A processing module configured to determine a first parameter; the first parameter is used to indicate a network environment parameter of a non-terrestrial network NTN in which a second device is located; The second device is a device that needs to perform satellite switching; The processing module is further configured to input the first parameter into a first model to obtain a switching strategy output by the first model; wherein the first model is used for reinforcement learning or deep reinforcement learning, and the switching strategy is used for the second device to perform satellite switching.

19. A communication device, characterized by Comprise: One or more processors; A memory coupled to the processor, the memory having instructions stored thereon that, when executed by the processor, cause the communication device to perform the method of any one of claims 1-17.

20. A communication system, characterized by at least one of a satellite, a second device, a third device, wherein the satellite is configured to implement the method of any of claims 1-10, 11, 14, 17, the second device is configured to implement the method of any of claims 1-10, 12, 15, 17, the third device is configured to implement the method of any of claims 1-10, 13, 16, 17.

21. A storage medium, the storage medium storing instructions, wherein, when the instructions are run on a communications device, cause the communications device to perform the method of any of claims 1-17.

22. A program product, which when the program product is run on a communications device, causes the communications device to perform the information processing method of any of claims 1-17.

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