Communication method and apparatus

Abstract

A communication method and apparatus, capable of reducing the power consumption of a terminal. In the method, a network can maintain wireless environment information of one or more areas, and wireless environment information of a certain area is related to wireless signal transmission in the area. The wireless environment information may comprise, for example, RSRP, RSRQ, a channel characteristic value, a channel matrix, large-scale fading information, small-scale fading information, multipath information, interference information, and the like. When information related to wireless signal transmission of a certain terminal needs to be acquired, on the basis of position information of the terminal, wireless environment information at the terminal can be determined from among the wireless environment information of an area where the terminal is located, and the wireless environment information is used as information related to the wireless signal transmission of the terminal. That is, information related to wireless signal transmission of a terminal can be obtained without the need of periodically or continuously measuring by the terminal, thereby reducing the power consumption of the terminal.

Description

Communication method and apparatus

[0001] The present application claims priority to the Chinese patent application No. 202410835671.3, filed on June 24, 2024, and entitled "Communication method and apparatus", the content of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] Embodiments of the present application relate to the field of communication, in particular to a communication method and apparatus. BACKGROUND

[0003] In a mobile communication network, when a terminal is in a radio resource control (RRC) connected state, in order to obtain channel information between a base station and the terminal, the terminal usually needs to perform related measurements, such as layer 1 measurements and layer 3 measurements.

[0004] Among them, the layer 1 measurement is mainly used for wireless link state detection, beam management, obtaining channel state information (CSI), etc. The layer 3 measurement is mainly used to ensure the mobility of the terminal in the RRC connected state.

[0005] However, in the layer 1 measurement and the layer 3 measurement, the terminal in the RRC connected state needs to frequently measure the downlink reference signal periodically or continuously, and the power consumption of the terminal is large. SUMMARY

[0006] The present application provides a communication method and apparatus, which can reduce the power consumption of the terminal caused by frequent measurement.

[0007] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided. The method can be executed by a first communication apparatus, or by a component of the first communication apparatus, such as a processor, a chip, or a chip system of the first communication apparatus, or by a logic module or software that can realize all or part of the functions of the first communication apparatus. The first communication apparatus can be a radio access network (RAN) node, or a sensing function (SF) network element, or a terminal. The method comprises: obtaining first wireless environment information, the first wireless environment information being information related to wireless signal transmission in a first area; obtaining location information of a terminal, the terminal being located in the first area; determining second wireless environment information according to the first wireless environment information and the location information of the terminal, the second wireless environment information being information related to wireless signal transmission of the terminal.

[0008] Based on the scheme, the information related to the wireless signal transmission of the terminal can be obtained through the location information of the terminal and the information related to the wireless signal transmission in the area where the terminal is located. That is, the information related to the wireless signal transmission of the terminal can be obtained without periodic or continuous measurement of the terminal, thereby reducing the power consumption of the terminal.

[0009] In a possible design, the first radio environment information includes at least one of the following: reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), channel eigenvalue, channel matrix, large-scale fading information, small-scale fading information, multipath information, or interference information.

[0010] In a possible design, the second radio environment information includes at least one of the following: RSRP, RSRQ, channel eigenvalue, channel matrix, large-scale fading information, small-scale fading information, multipath information, or interference information.

[0011] Based on the above two possible designs, the radio environment information includes RSRP and RSRQ, so that the access network device can perform radio link state detection, beam management, mobility management, and the like based on the radio environment information. The radio environment information includes channel eigenvalue, channel matrix, large-scale fading information, small-scale fading information, multipath information, or interference information, and the like, so that the access network device can learn the channel based on the radio environment information, and thus perform reasonable configuration according to the channel state, thereby improving transmission performance.

[0012] In a possible design, the first radio environment information is determined according to the sensing environment information of the first area, and the sensing environment information of the first area is information related to the physical environment in the first area.

[0013] Based on the possible design, the information related to the wireless signal transmission in the area where the terminal is located can be obtained through sensing, without periodic or continuous measurement of the terminal, thereby reducing the power consumption of the terminal.

[0014] In a possible design, the first communication device is a RAN node. The first radio environment information is obtained by: sending, to the second communication device, first request information used to request the radio environment information of the first area; and receiving, from the second communication device, the first radio environment information.

[0015] Based on the possible design, the access network device can request the radio environment information of a certain area from the core network, and thus determine the radio environment information of the terminal in the area according to the radio environment information of the area and the location information of the terminal in the area. Without periodic or continuous measurement of the terminal in the area, the power consumption of the terminal in the area can be reduced. In addition, the access network device does not need to calculate the radio environment information of the area by itself, and thus the processing complexity of the access network device can be reduced.

[0016] In a possible design, the first request information includes information of the first area and at least one of the following: a parameter included in the first radio environment information, a level of the first radio environment information, and radio information of at least one first communication device in the first area. The level of the first radio environment information includes a frequency point level, a cell level, or a beam level. The radio information of the first communication device includes at least one of the following: an antenna position, an antenna height, an antenna orientation angle, a transmission power, or a frequency used by the first communication device.

[0017] Based on this possible design, the first request information includes a parameter and a level of the requested first radio environment information, which enables the core network to accurately determine the first radio environment information according to the request of the access network device, and improves the accuracy of the first radio environment information.

[0018] In a possible design, the first communication device is a RAN node. The first radio environment information is obtained by: sending, to a second communication device, second request information used to request sensing environment information of the first area; receiving, from the second communication device, the sensing environment information of the first area, the sensing environment information of the first area being information related to a physical environment in the first area; and determining the first radio environment information according to the sensing environment information of the first area.

[0019] Based on this possible design, the access network device can determine the radio environment information of a certain area according to sensing environment information of the area, and thus determine the radio environment information of a terminal in the area according to the radio environment information of the area and position information of the terminal in the area. This reduces power consumption of the terminal in the area, without requiring the terminal to perform periodic or continuous measurement. In addition, when the access network device determines the radio environment information of an area according to sensing environment information of the area, the access network device can flexibly determine the radio environment information based on actual conditions, for example, flexibly determine a level and included parameters of the radio environment information according to a use of the radio environment information, thereby improving flexibility.

[0020] In a possible design, the second request information includes information of the first area and at least one of the following: an accuracy of the sensing environment information, a parameter included in the sensing environment information, or a sending manner of the sensing environment information. The parameter included in the sensing environment information includes at least one of the following: a type, a material, a position, a size, a shape, a moving speed, a dielectric constant, or a reflection coefficient of a scatterer in the first area. The sending manner includes event triggering or periodic sending.

[0021] Based on the possible design, the second request information includes parameters and accuracy of the requested perception environment information, which can enable the core network to accurately determine the perception environment information of the first area according to the request of the access network device, and improve the accuracy of the perception environment information.

[0022] In a possible design, the first communication device is a RAN node. The determining the first radio environment information according to the perception environment information of the first area includes: determining the first radio environment information according to the perception environment information of the first area and radio information of at least one first communication device in the first area. The radio information of the first communication device includes at least one of the following: an antenna position, an antenna height, an antenna orientation angle, a transmission power, or a used frequency of the first communication device.

[0023] In a possible design, the first communication device is a RAN node. The obtaining the position information of the terminal includes: sending third request information to the terminal or a third communication device, the third request information being used to request the position information of the terminal; and receiving the position information of the terminal or the third communication device.

[0024] In a possible design, the first communication device is a RAN node. In the case that the second radio environment information includes RSRP and / or RSRQ, the method further includes: performing at least one of the following according to the second radio environment information: wireless link state detection, beam management, or mobility management.

[0025] In a possible design, the first communication device is a RAN node. In the case that the second radio environment information includes channel eigenvalues and / or a channel matrix, the method further includes: determining channel state information (CSI) between the terminal and the first communication device according to the second radio environment information.

[0026] For example, in the case that the first communication device is a RAN node, the second communication device is a SF network element, and the third communication device is an access and mobility management function (AMF) network element.

[0027] In a possible design, the first communication device is a SF network element. The obtaining the first radio environment information includes: receiving fourth request information from a fourth communication device, the fourth request information being used to request radio environment information of the first area; and determining the first radio environment information according to the fourth request information.

[0028] In a possible design, the fourth request information includes information of the first area and at least one of the following: a parameter included in the first radio environment information, a level of the first radio environment information, and radio information of at least one fourth communication apparatus in the first area. The level of the first radio environment information includes a frequency point level, a cell level, or a beam level. The radio information of the fourth communication apparatus includes at least one of the following: an antenna position, an antenna height, an antenna orientation angle, a transmission power, or a frequency used by the fourth communication apparatus.

[0029] In a possible design, the first radio environment information is determined according to the fourth request information, including: the first radio environment information is determined according to the fourth request information and perception environment information of the first area, the perception environment information of the first area being information related to a physical environment in the first area.

[0030] In a possible design, the first communication apparatus is an SF network element. The position information of the terminal is obtained, including: receiving seventh request information from a sixth communication apparatus, the seventh request information being used to request second radio environment information; sending eighth request information to the sixth communication apparatus according to the seventh request information, the eighth request information being used to request the position information of the terminal; and receiving the position information of the terminal from the sixth communication apparatus.

[0031] In a possible design, the seventh request information includes an identifier of the terminal and at least one of the following: a level of the second radio environment information, and a parameter included in the second radio environment information.

[0032] In a possible design, the second radio environment information is determined according to the first radio environment information and the position information of the terminal, including: the second radio environment information is determined according to the first radio environment information and the position information of the terminal based on a request of the seventh request information.

[0033] In a possible design, the first communication apparatus is an SF network element. The position information of the terminal is obtained, including: receiving seventh request information from a sixth communication apparatus, the seventh request information being used to request second radio environment information; sending eighth request information to the sixth communication apparatus according to the seventh request information, the eighth request information being used to request the position information of the terminal; and receiving the position information of the terminal from the sixth communication apparatus.

[0034] In a possible design, the seventh request information further includes a level of the second radio environment information, and / or a parameter included in the second radio environment information.

[0035] In a possible design, the second radio environment information is determined according to the first radio environment information and the position information of the terminal, including: the second radio environment information is determined according to the first radio environment information and the position information of the terminal based on a request of the seventh request information.

[0036] In a possible design, the first communication device is an SF network element. The method further includes: sending, to the fourth communication device or the sixth communication device, the second wireless environment information.

[0037] For example, when the first communication device is an SF network element, the fourth communication device is an RAN node, the fifth communication device is an LMF network element, and the sixth communication device is an AMF network element.

[0038] Based on the possible design above, the access network device acquires the information related to wireless signal transmission of the terminal from the core network by requesting, without the terminal performing periodic or continuous measurement, so as to reduce power consumption of the terminal in the area. In addition, the access network device does not need to determine the wireless environment information of the area, so as to reduce processing complexity of the access network device. Meanwhile, the location information of the terminal can be prevented from being exposed to the access network device, so as to protect privacy of the terminal.

[0039] In a possible design, the first communication device is a terminal. The first wireless environment information is acquired by: receiving the first wireless environment information from a seventh communication device. The method further includes: sending, to the seventh communication device, the second wireless environment information. For example, the seventh communication device is an RAN node.

[0040] Based on the possible design, the terminal can determine the wireless environment information at the location of the terminal by combining the location information of the terminal and the wireless environment information of the area where the terminal is located, i.e., determine the information related to wireless signal transmission of the terminal, without the terminal performing periodic or continuous measurement, so as to reduce power consumption of the terminal due to frequent measurement. In addition, the terminal does not need to send its own location information to the access network device, so as to prevent the location information of the terminal from being exposed to the access network device, and protect privacy of the terminal.

[0041] In a possible design, the first communication device is a terminal. The method further includes: receiving indication information from a seventh communication device, where the indication information indicates an area corresponding to the first wireless environment information and / or a valid time of the first wireless environment information.

[0042] In a possible design, the second wireless environment information is determined according to the first wireless environment information and the location information of the terminal, including: determining the second wireless environment information according to the first wireless environment information and the location information of the terminal within the valid time of the first wireless environment information.

[0043] In a second aspect, a communication method is provided. The method can be performed by a RAN node, or a component of the RAN node, e.g., a processor, a chip, or a chip system of the RAN node, or a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the RAN node. The method comprises: obtaining sensing environment information of a first area, the sensing environment information being information related to a physical environment in the first area; obtaining location information of a terminal, the terminal being located in the first area; and determining information related to wireless signal transmission of the terminal based on the sensing environment information and the location information of the terminal.

[0044] Based on the scheme, the access network device can obtain the sensing environment information of a certain area, and determine the wireless environment information of the terminal in the area based on the wireless environment information of the area and the location information of the terminal in the area. The terminal in the area does not need to perform periodic or continuous measurement, and the power consumption of the terminal in the area can be reduced.

[0045] In a possible design, the obtaining of the sensing environment information of the first area comprises: sending second request information to an SF network element, the second request information being used to request the sensing environment information of the first area; and receiving the sensing environment information of the first area from the SF network element.

[0046] In a possible design, the determining of the information related to the wireless signal transmission of the terminal based on the sensing environment information of the first area and the location information of the terminal comprises: determining first wireless environment information based on the sensing environment information of the first area, the first wireless environment information being information related to wireless signal transmission in the first area; and determining the information related to the wireless signal transmission of the terminal based on the first wireless environment information and the location information of the terminal.

[0047] In a possible design, the determining of the first wireless environment information based on the sensing environment information of the first area comprises: determining the first wireless environment information based on the sensing environment information of the first area and wireless information of at least one RAN node in the first area. The wireless information of the RAN node comprises at least one of the following: an antenna position, an antenna height, an antenna orientation angle, a transmission power, or a frequency used of the RAN node.

[0048] In a possible design, the sensing environment information of the first area comprises at least one of the following: a type, a material, a position, a size, a shape, a moving speed, a dielectric constant, or a reflection coefficient of a scatterer in the first area.

[0049] In a possible design, the first wireless environment information comprises at least one of the following: a reference signal received power (RSRP), a reference signal received quality (RSRQ), a channel eigenvalue, a channel matrix, large-scale fading information, small-scale fading information, multipath information, or interference information.

[0050] In one possible design, the information related to the wireless signal transmission with the terminal includes at least one of: an RSRP, an RSRQ, a channel eigenvalue, a channel matrix, large-scale fading information, small-scale fading information, multipath information, or interference information.

[0051] In one possible design, the obtaining the location information of the terminal includes: sending, to the terminal or an AMF network element, third request information, the third request information being used to request the location information of the terminal; and receiving the location information from the terminal or the AMF network element.

[0052] In one possible design, in a case where the information related to the wireless signal transmission with the terminal includes an RSRP and / or an RSRQ, the method further includes performing at least one of: wireless link state detection, beam management, or mobility management, according to the information related to the wireless signal transmission with the terminal.

[0053] In one possible design, in a case where the information related to the wireless signal transmission with the terminal includes a channel eigenvalue and / or a channel matrix, the method further includes determining channel state information (CSI) between the terminal and a RAN node according to the information related to the wireless signal transmission with the terminal.

[0054] In some possible designs of the second aspect, the technical effects brought by any of the possible designs of the second aspect can refer to the technical effects brought by the corresponding or similar designs of the first aspect, which will not be repeated here.

[0055] In a third aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, which is configured to implement various methods. The communication apparatus includes modules, units, or means corresponding to the methods, and the modules, units, or means can be implemented by hardware, software, or by a combination of hardware and software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules or units corresponding to the functions.

[0056] In some possible designs, the communication apparatus can include a processing module and a transceiver module. The processing module can be configured to implement the processing functions in any of the above aspects and any possible implementation manners thereof. The transceiver module can include a receiving module and a sending module, which are configured to implement the receiving functions and the sending functions in any of the above aspects and any possible implementation manners thereof.

[0057] In some possible designs, the transceiver module can be composed of a transceiver circuit, a transceiver, a transceiver, or a communication interface.

[0058] In a fourth aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, which includes a processor and a memory. The memory is configured to store computer instructions, and when the processor executes the instructions, the communication apparatus is caused to perform the methods in any of the above aspects and any possible design thereof.

[0059] In a fifth aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, which comprises: a processor and a communication interface; the communication interface is configured to communicate with a module outside the communication apparatus; and the processor is configured to execute computer programs or instructions stored in a memory, so as to enable the communication apparatus to perform the method described in any of the aspects and any possible design thereof.

[0060] In a sixth aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, which comprises: at least one processor; and the processor is configured to execute computer programs or instructions stored in a memory, so as to enable the communication apparatus to perform the method described in any of the aspects and any possible design thereof. The memory can be coupled with the processor, or can be independent of the processor.

[0061] In a seventh aspect, a communication apparatus (for example, the communication apparatus can be a chip or a chip system) is provided, which comprises a processor configured to implement the functions involved in any of the aspects and any possible design thereof.

[0062] In some possible designs, the communication apparatus comprises a memory configured to store necessary program instructions and data.

[0063] In some possible designs, when the apparatus is a chip system, the apparatus can be composed of a chip, or can comprise a chip and other discrete devices.

[0064] In the eighth aspect, the communication apparatus can be the first communication apparatus, or a module or unit (for example, a chip or a chip system, or a circuit) included in the first communication apparatus and configured to perform the method / operation / step / action described in the first aspect; or the communication apparatus can be the RAN node, or a module or unit (for example, a chip or a chip system, or a circuit) included in the RAN node and configured to perform the method / operation / step / action described in the second aspect.

[0065] In the eighth aspect, the communication apparatus can be the first communication apparatus, or a module or unit (for example, a chip or a chip system, or a circuit) included in the first communication apparatus and configured to perform the method / operation / step / action described in the first aspect; or the communication apparatus can be the RAN node, or a module or unit (for example, a chip or a chip system, or a circuit) included in the RAN node and configured to perform the method / operation / step / action described in the second aspect.

[0066] It can be understood that, when the communication apparatus in any of the third aspect to the eighth aspect is a chip, the sending action / function of the communication apparatus can be understood as outputting information, and the receiving action / function of the communication apparatus can be understood as inputting information.

[0067] In a ninth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, which stores a computer program or instructions, when running on a communication device, causes the communication device to perform the method of any one of the above aspects and any possible design thereof.

[0068] In a tenth aspect, a computer program product is provided, which contains instructions, when running on a communication device, causes the communication device to perform the method of any one of the above aspects and any possible design thereof.

[0069] The technical effects brought by any one of the designs of the third aspect to the tenth aspect can be referred to the technical effects brought by different designs of the first aspect or the second aspect, which will not be repeated here. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0070] FIG. 1 is a diagram of six scenarios of a future communication system provided by the present application;

[0071] FIG. 2 is a diagram of a structure of a communication system provided by the present application;

[0072] FIG. 3 is a diagram of a structure of another communication system provided by the present application;

[0073] FIG. 4 is a diagram of a system structure of an O-RAN provided by the present application;

[0074] FIG. 5 is a diagram of a protocol layer architecture of a CU-DU provided by the present application;

[0075] FIG. 6 is a diagram of another protocol layer architecture of a CU-DU provided by the present application;

[0076] FIG. 7 is a diagram of a protocol layer architecture of an access network device in an O-RAN system provided by the present application;

[0077] FIG. 8 is a diagram of a flow of a communication method provided by the present application;

[0078] FIG. 9 is a diagram of a physical environment reconstructed based on perception provided by the present application;

[0079] FIGS. 10-16 are diagrams of flows of communication methods provided by the present application;

[0080] FIGS. 17-19 are diagrams of structures of communication devices provided by the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0081] In the description of the present application, unless otherwise specified, " / " means that the objects before and after the " / " are in an "or" relationship, for example, A / B can mean A or B; "and / or" in the present application is only a description of the association relationship of the associated objects, which means that there can be three relationships, for example, A and / or B can mean: A exists alone, A and B exist together, and B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural.

[0082] In the description of the present application, unless otherwise specified, "multiple" means two or more than two. "At least one of the following" or the like means any combination of the items, including any combination of single item or multiple items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c can mean a, b, c, a-b, a-c, b-c, or a-b-c, where a, b, and c can be single or multiple.

[0083] In addition, in order to facilitate the clear description of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, in the embodiments of the present application, "first", "second" and the like are used to distinguish the same items or similar items with basically the same function and role. Those skilled in the art can understand that "first", "second" and the like do not limit the quantity and execution order, and "first", "second" and the like do not necessarily mean different.

[0084] In the embodiments of the present application, the words "exemplary" or "for example" are used to mean serving as an example, instance, or illustration. Any embodiment or design presented as "exemplary" or "for example" in the embodiments of the present application should not be construed as being more preferred or advantageous than other embodiments or designs. Rather, the use of the word "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present concepts in a concrete manner. The embodiments described herein are not intended to be exhaustive or to be limited to the specific forms disclosed. The embodiments are intended to cover any modification or alternative methods following the principles of the present application.

[0085] It can be understood that the "embodiments" mentioned throughout the specification mean that the specific features, structures or characteristics related to the embodiments are included in at least one embodiment of the present application. Therefore, the various embodiments throughout the specification do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. In addition, these specific features, structures or characteristics can be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. It can be understood that in various embodiments of the present application, the size of the sequence of each process does not mean the execution order, and the execution order of each process should be determined by its function and inherent logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application.

[0086] It can be understood that in the present application, "when" and "if" both refer to making corresponding processing under certain objective circumstances, not limited to time, and do not require judgment actions when implementing, nor mean that there are other limitations.

[0087] It can be understood that some optional features in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented independently in some scenarios, solve corresponding technical problems, and achieve corresponding effects, without relying on other features, such as the scheme currently based on. In some scenarios, it can also be combined with other features according to needs. Correspondingly, the devices given in the embodiments of the present application can also realize these features or functions, which will not be described here.

[0088] In the present application, the same or similar parts between various embodiments can be mutually referred to, unless otherwise specified. In various embodiments of the present application, the terms and / or descriptions between different embodiments are consistent and can be mutually referred to, unless otherwise specified and logically conflicted. The technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationship. The implementation modes of the present application described below do not constitute a limitation on the protection scope of the present application.

[0089] In order to facilitate the understanding of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, first, a brief introduction of the related technologies of the present application is given as follows.

[0090] 1. Wireless sensing:

[0091] Wireless sensing is an important technology in the future. In wireless sensing, a sending device can radiate electromagnetic waves to the surrounding environment to send a specific signal, and a receiving device can correspondingly receive the electromagnetic wave signal reflected by the environment. The sending device or the receiving device can compare and analyze the correlation between the received signal and the sent signal, so as to perceive or analyze the relevant information of the surrounding environment. For example, whether there is a scatterer in the environment, the distance between the scatterer and the transceiver device, the direction or angle (horizontal direction and / or vertical direction) of the scatterer relative to the transceiver device, the moving speed of the scatterer relative to the transceiver device, etc.

[0092] Wireless sensing can be applied in various scenarios. For example, in the vehicle-to-everything scenario, a vehicle can obtain the surrounding environmental information such as the positions and speed information of mobile objects such as vehicles and pedestrians, and the information of relatively static objects such as road surfaces and fences through wireless sensing. For another example, in an airport or the like, a device can be deployed to sense a drone and prevent the drone from affecting the take-off and landing of an airplane in the airport. For another example, in a home environment, intruder detection can be performed through wireless sensing to improve the safety and privacy performance of the home environment.

[0093] 2. Harmonized communication and sensing (HCS):

[0094] HCS, uplink centric broadband communication (UCBC) and real-time broadband communication (RTBC) are three new scenarios for future mobile communication expansion, as shown in FIG. 1, which combines three standard scenarios of enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), massive machine type communication (mMTC) and ultra-reliable low-latency communications (URLLC) to change the "triangle" of the 5th generation (5G) scenario into a more abundant "hexagon".

[0095] HCS can also be referred to as integrated sensing and communication (ISAC). ISAC / HCS aims to integrate wireless communication and wireless sensing functions in the same system, and use various propagation characteristics of wireless signals to achieve positioning, detection, imaging and identification of targets and other sensing functions to obtain relevant information about the surrounding environment, improve communication performance and enhance user experience. For example, by applying the beam scanning technology of massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) of cellular networks to the field of sensing, both communication and sensing can be provided in the ISAC / HCS scenario.

[0096] For example, a network device (such as a base station) can perform sensing by sending a sensing signal and receiving a backscatter signal, thereby obtaining the position, velocity and other information of a sensing target (such as a scatterer) in the environment. The backscatter signal is a signal reflected by the sensing target in the environment. The time delay of the backscatter signal relative to the transmitted sensing signal can reflect the distance of the sensing target, and the Doppler shift of the backscatter signal relative to the transmitted sensing signal can reflect the velocity of the sensing target.

[0097] 3. Radio resource control (RRC) connected state measurement:

[0098] When the terminal is in the RRC connected state, in order to obtain the channel information between the base station and the terminal, the base station can issue a measurement configuration to the terminal to enable the terminal to perform related measurements, mainly including layer 1 measurement and layer 3 measurement.

[0099] The layer 1 measurement is mainly used for wireless link state detection, beam management, channel state information (CSI) acquisition, etc. For example, the wireless link state detection is mainly performed by detecting the quality of the downlink reference signal. If the quality of the downlink reference signal is less than a threshold, the demodulation performance will be degraded, and thus an out-of-sync is recorded. If the out-of-sync occurs for N times continuously, the wireless link failure is determined. The beam management is mainly performed by detecting the quality of the reference signal of different beams. If the quality of the reference signal of a certain beam is less than a threshold for a period of time, it is determined that the quality of the beam is poor, and the base station is informed of the beam with better quality for beam switching, etc. The CSI is obtained by the terminal measuring the downlink reference signal. After the terminal obtains the CSI, the terminal can feed back the CSI to the base station, so that the base station performs transmission configuration based on the CSI to achieve efficient data transmission.

[0100] The layer 3 measurement is mainly used for ensuring the mobility of the terminal in the RRC connected state, such as ensuring cell switching. The terminal needs to measure the signal strength of the serving cell and the adjacent cell, and report the measurement result to the serving base station, so that the serving base station makes a switching decision, etc.

[0101] That is, in the layer 1 measurement and the layer 3 measurement, the terminal in the RRC connected state needs to frequently measure the downlink reference signal periodically or continuously, which causes large power consumption of the terminal and reduces the endurance time.

[0102] Therefore, the present application provides a communication method. In the method, the network can maintain the wireless environment information of one or more areas. The wireless environment information of a certain area is related to the wireless signal transmission in the area. The wireless environment information can include, for example, RSRQ, RSRQ, channel characteristic value, channel matrix, large-scale fading information, small-scale fading information, multipath information, interference information, etc. When the information related to the wireless signal transmission of a certain terminal is needed, the network can determine the wireless environment information at the position of the terminal from the wireless environment information of the area where the terminal is located based on the position information of the terminal, as the information related to the wireless signal transmission of the terminal. That is, the terminal does not need to measure periodically or continuously, and the information related to the wireless signal transmission of the terminal can be obtained, so as to reduce the power consumption of the terminal and improve the endurance time.

[0103] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, which can be a third generation partnership project (3GPP) communication system, for example, a long term evolution (LTE) system, a fourth generation (4th generation, 4G) system, a new radio (NR) system, a fifth generation (5th generation, 5G) system, a system of mixed networking of LTE and 5G, a communication and sensing integrated system, a non-terrestrial network (NTN), a device-to-device (D2D) communication system, a vehicle to everything (V2X) communication system, a machine-type communication (MTC) system, an internet of things (IoT) system, or other future communication systems. The communication system can also be a non-3GPP communication system, which is not limited.

[0104] It should be noted that the above-mentioned communication system to which the present application is applied is only an example, and the communication system to which the present application is applied is not limited thereto. The communication system provided by the present application does not cause any limitation to the solutions of the present application. Here, it is uniformly stated that the following will not be described in detail.

[0105] FIG. 2 shows a possible, non-limiting system diagram. As shown in FIG. 2, the communication system 20 includes a radio access network (RAN) 200 and a core network (CN) 300. The RAN 200 includes at least one RAN node (e.g., 210a and 210b in FIG. 2, collectively referred to as 210) and at least one terminal (e.g., 220a-220j in FIG. 2, collectively referred to as 220). The core network 300 includes at least one core network device.

[0106] Optionally, the RAN 200 can further include other RAN nodes, such as a wireless relay device and / or a wireless backhaul device (not shown in FIG. 2), etc. The terminal 220 is connected to the RAN node 210 in a wireless manner. The RAN node 210 is connected to the core network 300 in a wireless or wired manner. The core network device in the core network 300 and the RAN node 210 in the RAN 200 can be different physical devices respectively, or can be the same physical device integrated with the logical functions of the core network and the logical functions of the radio access network.

[0107] In a possible implementation, the core network device can refer to a device in the core network 300 that provides service support for the terminal. In the embodiments of the present application, the core network device in the core network 300 includes a sensing function (SF) network element, which is mainly used to implement sensing functions, such as sensing control functions and / or sensing calculation functions. Further, the SF network element can also support sensing billing functions when the terminal and / or the RAN node perform sensing.

[0108] For example, the sensing control function can include determining sensing devices, sensing nodes, and the like. The sensing device can be understood as a device that transmits and / or receives a sensing signal, and further, the sensing device also performs corresponding signal processing on the received echo signal to obtain sensing measurement data. For example, the sensing device can be a RAN node or a terminal, and the like. The sensing node can refer to a network node participating in the sensing service process in the wireless network. The sensing calculation function can include performing corresponding signal processing on the echo signal received by the sensing device to obtain sensing measurement data, further processing the sensing measurement data and application information to obtain sensing results, and the like.

[0109] For example, the SF network element can also be referred to as a communication apparatus, for example, the SF network element can be understood as a communication apparatus with core network sensing functions. In addition, the SF network element can also be referred to as a sensing server, and the like, without limitation.

[0110] In a possible scenario, the functions of the SF network element can be implemented by a network data analysis function (NWDAF) network element, or the SF network element and the NWDAF network element can be combined.

[0111] Optionally, in addition to the SF network element, the core network devices in the core network 300 can also include at least one of the following: an access and mobility management function (AMF) network element, a session management function (SMF) network element, a user plane function (UPF) network element, a policy control function (PCF) network element, a unified data management (UDM) network element, an application function (AF) network element, a network exposure function (NEF) network element, a location management function (LMF) network element, and the like. Of course, the core network 300 can also include other core network devices, which are not limited.

[0112] The AMF network element is mainly responsible for mobility management in the mobile network, such as user location update, user registration network, user handover, and the like. The SMF network element is mainly responsible for session management in the mobile network, such as session establishment, modification, release, and the like. The UPF network element is a functional network element of the user plane, which is mainly responsible for connecting external networks and processing user messages, such as forwarding, charging, and the like. The PCF network element is mainly responsible for providing policies to the AMF and SMF, such as quality of service (QoS) policies, slice selection policies, and the like. The UDM network element is used to store user data, such as subscription information, authentication / authorization information, and the like. The AF network element is responsible for providing services to the 3GPP network. The NEF network element is mainly used to open the capabilities of various network functions and is responsible for converting internal and external information. The LMF network element is mainly responsible for location management, for example, it can initiate a positioning process and position a specific terminal.

[0113] It should be noted that the network element in the present application can also be referred to as an entity or a functional entity, for example, the SF network element can also be referred to as an SF entity or an SF functional entity. In addition, the above-mentioned AMF network element, SMF network element, UPF network element, PCF network element, UDM network element, AF network element, NEF network element, and LMF network element can also have other names in future communication systems, which are not limited in the present application.

[0114] Exemplarily, as shown in FIG. 3, it is a specific implementation of the system shown in FIG. 2. In which, the SF network element exists an interface with network elements such as AMF, and can communicate through the interface. For example, the SF network element and the AMF network element exist an NS1 interface, the SF network element and the NEF network element exist an NS2 interface, the SF network element and the UDM network element exist an NS3 interface, the SF network element and the NWDAF network element exist an NS4 interface, the SF network element and the LMF network element exist an NS6 interface, and the SF network element and the PCF network element exist an NS5 interface. It can be understood that the interface between the SF network element and other network elements can also have other names, which are not limited in the present application.

[0115] In addition, the perception control signaling between the SF network element and the RAN node / terminal can be transmitted through the AMF network element, and the perception measurement data obtained by the RAN node / terminal can be transmitted to the SF network element via the control plane or the user plane. When the perception measurement data is transmitted via the user plane, it can be forwarded by the UPF or directly transmitted to the SF network element; when the perception measurement data is transmitted via the control plane, it can be forwarded by the AMF network element.

[0116] In a possible implementation, the RAN 200 can be a 3GPP related cellular system, for example, a 4G, 5G mobile communication system, or a future-oriented evolution system. The RAN 200 can also be an open access network (open RAN, O-RAN or ORAN), a cloud radio access network (CRAN), an NTN network (such as an NTN supporting a transparent mode and / or a regenerative mode, or an NTN supporting a gaze mode (earth fixed cell) and / or a non-gaze mode (earth moving cell)), or a wireless fidelity (WiFi) system. The RAN 200 can also be a communication system in which two or more of the above systems are fused.

[0117] In some scenarios, the roles of the RAN nodes 210 and the terminals 220 are relative, for example, the network element 220i in FIG. 2 can be a helicopter or a drone, which can be configured as a mobile base station. For a terminal 220j accessing the RAN 200 through the network element 220i, the network element 220i is a base station; but for the base station 210a, the network element 220i is a terminal. The RAN nodes 210 and the terminals 220 are sometimes collectively referred to as communication devices, for example, the network elements 210a and 210b in FIG. 2 can be understood as communication devices with base station functions, and the network elements 220a-220j can be understood as communication devices with terminal functions.

[0118] In some scenarios, the communication between the RAN node 210 and the terminal 220 follows a certain protocol layer structure, which can include a control plane protocol layer and a user plane protocol layer. The control plane protocol layer can include at least one of a radio resource control (RRC) layer, a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, a radio link control (RLC) layer, a media access control (MAC) layer, or a physical (PHY) layer, etc. The user plane protocol layer can include at least one of a service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer, a PDCP layer, an RLC layer, a MAC layer, or a physical layer, etc.

[0119] As a possible implementation, the terminal 220 can also be referred to as a terminal device, a user equipment (UE), a mobile station, a mobile terminal, etc. The terminal can be widely applied to various scenarios, such as D2D, V2X communication, MTC, IoT, virtual reality, augmented reality, industrial control, automatic driving, remote medical treatment, smart power grid, smart furniture, smart office, smart wear, smart transportation, smart city, etc. The terminal can be a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a computer with wireless transceiver function, a wearable device, a vehicle, a drone, a helicopter, an airplane, a ship, a robot, a mechanical arm, a smart home device, etc. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the device form of the terminal.

[0120] As a possible implementation, the RAN node 210, which can also be referred to as a RAN entity or an access node, etc., constitutes a part of the communication system, to help the terminal to realize wireless access. The multiple RAN nodes 210 in the communication system 20 can be nodes of the same type or nodes of different types.

[0121] In one possible scenario, the RAN node 210 can be a base station, an evolved Node B (eNodeB), an access point (AP), a transmission reception point (TRP), a next generation NodeB (gNB), a base station in a future mobile communications system, or an access node in a WiFi system, etc. The RAN node can be a macro base station (e.g., 210a in Figure 2), a micro base station or indoor gNB (e.g., 210b in Figure 2), a relay node or a donor node, or a wireless controller in a CRAN scenario. Optionally, the RAN node can also be a server, a wearable device, a vehicle or a vehicle-mounted device, etc. For example, the RAN node in V2X technology can be a road side unit (RSU). All or part of the functions of the RAN node in this application can also be implemented by software functions running on hardware, or by virtualized functions instantiated on a platform (e.g., a cloud platform). The RAN node in this application can also be a logical node, a logical module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the RAN node.

[0122] In another possible scenario, multiple RAN nodes cooperate to assist terminal devices to implement wireless access, and different RAN nodes respectively implement part of the functions of a base station. For example, the RAN node can be a central unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a CU-control plane (CP), a CU-user plane (UP), or a radio unit (RU), etc. The CU and the DU can be separately arranged, or can be included in the same network element, for example, included in a baseband unit (BBU). The RU can be included in a radio frequency device or a radio frequency unit, for example, included in a remote radio unit (RRU), an active antenna processing unit (AAU), or a remote radio head (RRH).

[0123] In different systems, the CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU or RU can also have different names, but those skilled in the art can understand their meanings. For example, in the ORAN system, the CU can also be referred to as the O-RAN central unit (O-CU), the DU can also be referred to as the O-RAN distributed unit (O-DU), the CU-CP can also be referred to as the O-RAN central unit control plane (O-CU-CP), the CU-UP can also be referred to as the O-RAN central unit user plane (O-CU-UP), and the RU can also be referred to as the O-RAN radio unit (O-RU). Any of the CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU and RU in this application can be implemented by a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module.

[0124] For example, as shown in FIG. 4, it is a possible and non-limiting O-RAN system diagram. In which, the CU, DU and RU cooperate to assist the terminal device to realize wireless access. The CU, DU and RU can be included in the access network device, and the CU and DU can be included in the BBU of the access network device. Among them, the access network device is a device deployed in the RAN to help the terminal to realize wireless access, such as a base station, a gNB, a base station in a future mobile communication system, etc.

[0125] Referring to FIG. 4, the access network device communicates with the core network device through the backhaul link and communicates with the terminal through the air interface. Specifically, the BBU of the access network device communicates with the core network device through the backhaul link, and the RU of the access network device communicates with at least one terminal device through the air interface. The BBU communicates with at least one RU through the fronthaul link, and the CU communicates with at least one DU through the midhaul link. The BBU and the RU can be co-located or not co-located.

[0126] As a possible implementation, the CU and the DU respectively implement part of the protocol layer functions of the access network device, such as part of the protocol layer functions implemented in the CU, and the remaining part or all of the protocol layer functions implemented in the DU. The CU can control one or more DUs.

[0127] As shown in FIG. 5, the CU can deploy the RRC layer, the SDAP layer and the PDCP layer, or in other words, the CU can be understood as a logical node carrying the RRC layer, the SDAP layer and the PDCP layer of the access network device. Thus, the CU has the processing capability of the RRC, PDCP and SDAP layers, and of course, the CU can also implement or carry other control functions. The DU can deploy the RLC layer, the MAC layer and the PHY layer, or in other words, the DU can be understood as a logical node carrying the RLC layer, the MAC layer and the PHY layer, and thus, the DU has the processing capability of the RLC, MAC and PHY layers, and of course, the DU can also implement or carry other functions.

[0128] Optionally, the CU is connected to network nodes such as core network nodes through some interfaces, which can be E2 interfaces and the like. In addition, the CU can also implement part of the functions of the core network. The CU (e.g., the PDCP layer and higher layers) is connected to the DU (e.g., the RLC layer and lower layers) through some interfaces, which can be F1 interfaces and the like. In some examples, these interfaces (e.g., the F1 interface) can provide control plane (C-Plane) and user plane (U-Plane) functions (e.g., interface management, system information management, UE context management, RRC message transmission, etc.). For example, the F1 supports the control plane function through F1-C and supports the user plane function through F1-U.

[0129] In an example, the CU can include a CU-CP and a CU-UP. As shown in FIG. 6, the CU-CP can be understood as a logical node carrying the RRC layer and the control plane part of PDCP (PDCP-C), and is used to implement the control plane function of the CU, and the CU-CP can communicate with the DU through F1-C. The CU-UP can be understood as a logical node carrying the SDAP layer and the user plane part of PDCP (PDCP-U), and is used to implement the user plane function of the CU, and the CU-UP can communicate with the DU through F1-U.

[0130] The CU-CP can interact with a network element in the core network for implementing the control plane function, and the network element in the core network for implementing the control plane function can be an access and mobility function network element, such as an AMF network element in a 5G system. The CU-UP can interact with a network element in the core network for implementing the user plane function, and the network element in the core network for implementing the user plane function can be a UPF network element, for example.

[0131] The above function division of the CU and the DU is merely an example and does not limit the CU and the DU. In addition, the CU and the DU can be configured to have the functions as needed. For example, the CU or the DU can be configured to be a node having more protocol layer functions, or the CU or the DU can be configured to be a node having partial processing functions of the protocol layer. For example, partial functions of the RLC layer and functions of the protocol layer above the RLC layer are arranged in the CU, and the remaining functions of the RLC layer and functions of the protocol layer below the RLC layer are arranged in the DU. For another example, the functions of the CU or the DU can be divided according to a service type or other system requirements, for example, according to a delay, and functions that need to meet a delay requirement are arranged in the DU, and functions that do not need to meet the delay requirement are arranged in the CU.

[0132] For example, in some examples, the CU can not carry the PDCP layer, that is, only carries the RRC layer. The CU-CP can not carry the PDCP-C, the CU-UP can not carry the PDCP-U, or the CU-UP can not exist. In some other examples, the DU can not carry the RLC layer. In addition, there can be no CU and only the DU.

[0133] As a possible implementation, the DU and the RU can cooperate to jointly implement the functions of the PHY layer. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, the DU can deploy the RLC layer, the MAC layer, and the higher physical layer (Higher PHY). The RU can deploy the lower physical layer (Lower PHY) and the radio frequency (RF) processing function. The DU can control at least one RU, and the DU and the RU can communicate through a front transmission interface. The DU and the RU can be co-located or not co-located.

[0134] The higher physical layer is closer to the MAC layer, and the functions of the higher physical layer can include at least one of the following: forward error correction (FEC) encoding / decoding, scrambling / descrambling, modulation / demodulation, and the like. The lower physical layer is closer to the radio frequency side, and the functions of the lower physical layer can include at least one of the following: fast Fourier transform (FFT), inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT), digital beamforming, and filtering, and the like.

[0135] Referring to FIG. 7, the DU and the RU interact control plane information and user plane information via a lower-layer split control user synchronization (LLS-CUS) interface over a fronthaul link. The LLS-CUS interface can include a LLS-C interface (for providing a control plane C-Plane) and a LLS-U interface (for providing a user plane U-Plane). In addition, the DU and the RU interact management information via a LLS-M interface over the fronthaul link, which provides a management plane (M-Plane). Illustratively, the control plane C-Plane refers to real-time control between the DU and the RU; the management plane M-Plane refers to non-real-time management operation between the DU and the RU.

[0136] The above functional split of the DU and the RU is merely an example and does not constitute a limitation on the DU and the RU. The functions of the DU and the RU can be configured in various ways according to design. For example, the DU is configured to implement baseband functions, the RU is configured to implement radio frequency functions, and the like.

[0137] As a possible implementation, the O-RAN system can further include a non-real time RAN intelligent controller (Non-RT RIC or NRT RIC) and / or a near-real time RAN intelligent controller (Near-RT RIC or nRT RIC).

[0138] The Non-RT RIC is configured to implement non-real-time intelligent management of the RAN, and is capable of implementing artificial intelligence (AI) / machine learning (ML) including model training and model updating, and guiding applications / functions in the Near-RT RIC based on a policy. The Near-RT RIC is configured to implement near-real-time intelligent management of the RAN, and implements near-real-time control and optimization of modules and resources of the O-RAN through data collection and related operations on an E2 interface. The E2 interface can be understood as an open interface between two nodes (or endpoints).

[0139] In yet another possible scenario, the RAN node 210 can be a sensing unit (SU), which is mainly configured to implement functions related to sensing, such as transmitting a sensing signal and / or receiving an echo signal of the sensing signal, performing corresponding signal processing on the received echo signal to obtain sensing measurement data, performing sensing-related processing, and the like.

[0140] As a possible implementation, the access network device can include at least one of the CU, the DU, the SU, and the RU. There is a communication interface between the CU and the SU. There can be a communication interface between the SU and the DU, or there can be no communication interface between the SU and the DU. In the case where there is no communication interface between the SU and the DU, the SU and the DU can communicate through the CU.

[0141] It should be noted that the system described in the embodiments of the present application is to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, and does not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application. Those skilled in the art can know that, with the evolution of network architecture and the appearance of new business scenarios, the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0142] The communication method provided by the embodiments of the present application will be described below by taking the interaction between the communication devices in the communication system shown in FIG. 2 as an example. It should be noted that in the following embodiments of the present application, the names of messages between the communication devices, the names of parameters, or the names of information, etc. are only examples, and in other embodiments, they can also be other names, and the method provided by the present application does not make specific limitations.

[0143] It can be understood that in the embodiments of the present application, each communication device can perform part or all of the steps in the embodiments of the present application, and these steps or operations are only examples, and the embodiments of the present application can also perform other operations or variations of various operations. In addition, each step can be executed in a different order according to the embodiments of the present application, and it is possible that not all operations in the embodiments of the present application are executed.

[0144] It can be understood that the communication device is taken as an example of the execution subject of the interaction in the present application, but the present application does not limit the execution subject of the interaction. For example, the method executed by the communication device in the present application can also be executed by a module (such as a chip, a chip system, or a processor) applied to the communication device, and can also be realized by a logic node, a logic module, or software that can realize all or part of the functions of the communication device.

[0145] The communication method provided by the embodiments of the present application will be described below. As shown in FIG. 8, the communication method can include the following steps:

[0146] S801, the first communication device acquires first wireless environment information.

[0147] Exemplarily, the first communication device can be a RAN node, such as a gNB, a base station, a CU, or a SU, etc. Or, the first communication device can be a core network device, such as a SF network element, etc. Or, the first communication device can be a terminal.

[0148] The first wireless environment information is information related to wireless signal transmission in the first area. Alternatively, the first wireless environment information can be understood as information related to the propagation environment of wireless signals in the first area.

[0149] As a possible implementation, the first area can be a geographic area. For example, the geographic area can refer to a three-dimensional space area, which can also be referred to as a space area, a three-dimensional area, a three-dimensional grid (3D grid), a grid, etc. The name of the geographic area is not limited in the present application. Alternatively, the geographic area can also be a planar area, which is not limited in the present application.

[0150] For example, the geographic area can have at least one of the following properties: shape, contour, size, radius, area, geographic location, height, etc. The shape, contour, size, radius, and area of different geographic areas can or can not be the same. Different geographic areas have different geographic locations. There can or can not be overlap between different geographic areas.

[0151] For example, the contour of the geographic area and the points in the geographic area can be described by a three-dimensional coordinate system such as an earth-centered earth-fixed (ECEF) coordinate system, a geodetic coordinate system, an earth-centered inertial (ECI) coordinate system, etc.

[0152] For example, the shape of the geographic area can be a regular hexagon, or other shapes such as a regular pentagon, a circle, an ellipse, etc. Alternatively, the shape of the geographic area can also be irregular, which is not limited.

[0153] For example, a plurality of geographic areas can be divided on the earth, and the plurality of geographic areas can be indexed (e.g., numbered). For example, the geographic location of a certain geographic area is determined by the identifier of the geographic area, that is, the geographic location of the geographic area can be obtained according to the identifier of the geographic area, or in other words, there is an association between the identifier of the geographic area and the geographic location of the geographic area.

[0154] As another possible implementation, the first area can be a logical area. For example, the first area can be an area identified by a cell identifier, a base station identifier, a tracking area (TA) identifier, or the like defined by a cellular network.

[0155] S802, the first communication device obtains the position information of the terminal.

[0156] The terminal is located in a first area. The location information of the terminal indicates a location of the terminal. The terminal is in an RRC connected state, for example.

[0157] As a possible implementation, the location of the terminal can be a location obtained through a positioning procedure, and the location of the terminal can be represented in the form of longitude and latitude, for example. Alternatively, the location of the terminal can be determined or derived through at least one measurement quantity, which can include reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), signal arrival angle, signal departure angle, beam identifier, or the like between the terminal and a certain RAN node. The at least one measurement quantity can be a historical measurement quantity of the terminal, for example, the measurement quantity is obtained in a measurement process performed by the terminal before step S802, or is a measurement quantity obtained in a lower-frequency measurement performed by the terminal before step S802. Alternatively, the measurement quantity is a measurement quantity of a coarse granularity, or in other words, the measurement quantity has a low accuracy.

[0158] S803, the first communication device determines second wireless environment information according to the first wireless environment information and the location information of the terminal.

[0159] The second wireless environment information is information related to wireless signal transmission of the terminal. Alternatively, the second wireless environment information can be understood as information related to a propagation environment of wireless signals of the terminal.

[0160] In a possible implementation, the first communication device can perform the method shown in FIG. 8 after the terminal accesses the network, for example, after the RRC connection is successfully established, or after the random access is successfully performed. Alternatively, when the first communication device is a network-side device, the first communication device can perform the method shown in FIG. 8 when it is necessary to use information related to wireless signal transmission of the terminal. For example, the first communication device can use the information related to wireless signal transmission of the terminal when it is necessary to schedule data transmission of the terminal. Of course, the method shown in FIG. 8 can also be performed in other scenarios, and the execution scenario of the method shown in FIG. 8 is not limited in the present application.

[0161] In a possible implementation, the first wireless environment information includes at least one of the following: RSRP, RSRQ, channel characteristic value, channel matrix, large-scale fading information, small-scale fading information, multipath information, or interference information.

[0162] As a possible implementation, the channel matrix can be used to represent the channel between the transmit and receive antennas. For a channel matrix of dimension M x N, M represents the number of transmit antennas and N represents the number of receive antennas. An element a i,j in the channel matrix can represent the channel (represented by a complex number) between transmit antenna i and receive antenna j. After singular value decomposition (SDV) of the channel matrix, a left unitary matrix U, a diagonal matrix S, and a right unitary matrix V can be obtained.

[0163] As a possible implementation, the channel eigenvalue can also be understood as a spatial eigenvalue, which can be related information of the diagonal matrix S, and / or related information of the left unitary matrix U and the right unitary matrix V obtained after SDV of the channel matrix.

[0164] As a possible implementation, the large-scale fading information is used to describe the change of signal power of the radio electromagnetic wave signal in a long distance (e.g., much larger than the wavelength) or a long time range.

[0165] As a possible implementation, the small-scale fading information is used to describe the change of signal power of the radio electromagnetic wave signal in a very short distance (e.g., several or tens of wavelengths) or a very short time (e.g., seconds).

[0166] As a possible implementation, the multipath information can include time-domain channel parameters and / or frequency-domain channel parameters of each path in the multipath channel. For example, the time-domain channel parameters can include at least one of the following: channel multipath power, channel multipath delay, channel multipath horizontal angle of arrival (AOA), channel multipath horizontal angle of departure (AOD), channel multipath vertical angle of arrival (ZOA), and channel multipath vertical angle of departure (ZOD). The frequency-domain channel parameters can be frequency-domain channel response or frequency-domain channel coefficients.

[0167] As a possible implementation, the interference information is used to describe the interference level between RAN nodes, or information of the interference signal, etc.

[0168] In a possible implementation, the level of the first wireless environment information includes a frequency point level, a cell level, or a beam level. The frequency point level indicates that the first wireless environment information includes wireless environment information of different frequency points. For example, taking the case that there are frequency point 1 and frequency point 2 in the first area as an example, the first wireless environment information can include wireless environment information of frequency point 1 and wireless environment information of frequency point 2. The wireless environment information includes at least one of an RSRP, an RSRQ, a channel characteristic value, a channel matrix, large-scale fading information, small-scale fading information, multipath information, or interference information.

[0169] The cell level indicates that the first wireless environment information includes wireless environment information of different cells on a frequency point. For example, taking the case that there are frequency point 1 and frequency point 2 in the first area, cells on frequency point 1 include cell A and cell B, and cells on frequency point 2 include cell C and cell D as an example, the first wireless environment information can include wireless environment information of cell A, wireless environment information of cell B, wireless environment information of cell C, and wireless environment information of cell D.

[0170] The beam level indicates that the first wireless environment information includes wireless environment information of different beams of different cells on a frequency point. For example, taking the case that there are frequency point 1 and frequency point 2 in the first area, cells on frequency point 1 include cell A and cell B, cells on frequency point 2 include cell C and cell D, cell A includes beam a and beam b, cell B includes beam c and beam d, cell C includes beam e and beam f, and cell D includes beam g and beam h as an example, the first wireless environment information can include wireless environment information corresponding to beam a, beam b, beam c, beam d, beam e, beam f, beam g, and beam h, respectively.

[0171] In a possible implementation, the first wireless environment information has a precision or spatial resolution attribute. For example, taking the case that the first area is a planar area and the precision or spatial resolution is 1×1 meter (m) as an example, the first area can be divided into a plurality of 1×1 m sub-areas, and the first wireless environment information includes wireless environment information at each sub-area, for example, including wireless environment information at a point or a center position on a vertex or a boundary of the sub-area.

[0172] For example, in the case that the level of the first wireless environment information is the frequency point level, the first wireless environment information includes wireless environment information of different frequency points at each sub-area. In the case that the level of the first wireless environment information is the cell level, the first wireless environment information includes wireless environment information of different cells on a frequency point at each sub-area. In the case that the level of the first wireless environment information is the beam level, the first wireless environment information includes wireless environment information of different beams of different cells on a frequency point at each sub-area.

[0173] In a possible implementation, the first radio environment information is related to a RAN node (e.g., a gNB, a base station, a DU, a TRP, etc.). For example, for a certain location or sub-area within the first area, the first radio environment information can include radio environment information associated with RAN node 1 and radio environment information associated with RAN node 2 at the location or sub-area. The radio environment information associated with a RAN node can be understood as radio environment information when communicating wirelessly with the RAN node.

[0174] For example, in the case where the level of the first radio environment information is the frequency point level, the first radio environment information includes radio environment information associated with at least one RAN node at different frequency points at the location or sub-area. For example, taking the case where the frequency points at a certain location include frequency point 1 and frequency point 2 as an example, the first radio environment information can include radio environment information of frequency point 1 associated with RAN node 1 at the location and radio environment information of frequency point 2 associated with RAN node 1 at the location.

[0175] In a possible implementation, the first radio environment information is determined according to the perception environment information of the first area. The perception environment information of the first area is information related to the physical environment within the first area.

[0176] As a possible implementation, the first radio environment information described above can not exist, and step S801 can not be performed. Correspondingly, in step S803, the first communication device determines information related to wireless signal transmission with the terminal according to the perception environment information of the first area and the location information of the terminal. For example, the first communication device can take the perception environment information of the first area and the location information of the terminal as inputs of an AI or ML algorithm in an AI or ML manner, and take the output of the AI or ML algorithm as the information related to wireless signal transmission with the terminal.

[0177] As a possible implementation, the perception environment information of the first area is obtained through perception. For example, the SF network element can configure multiple perception devices to send perception signals, receive echo signals and perform corresponding signal processing to obtain perception measurement data, determine a perception result according to the perception measurement data, and then determine the perception environment information of the first area according to the perception result. Therefore, it can also be considered that the perception environment information is obtained according to signal propagation information (e.g., propagation information of the perception signals and the echo signals).

[0178] As a possible implementation, the perception environment information of the first region can include at least one of a type (such as a building, a vehicle, a person, etc.), a material, a position, a size, a shape, a moving speed, a dielectric constant, or a reflection coefficient of a scatterer in the first region. Illustratively, the perception environment information of the first region can reconstruct a physical environment of the first region. For example, the physical environment of the first region reconstructed by the perception environment information can be as shown in FIG. 9.

[0179] In a possible implementation, in the step S803, the first communication device can determine the terminal position according to the position information of the terminal, and then determine the wireless environment information at the terminal position from the first wireless environment information, and determine the wireless environment information at the terminal position as the second wireless environment information.

[0180] As a possible implementation, the second wireless environment information includes at least one of an RSRP, an RSRQ, a channel eigenvalue, a channel matrix, large-scale fading information, small-scale fading information, multipath information, or interference information. The implementation of the second wireless environment information can refer to the related description of the first wireless environment information, which will not be repeated here.

[0181] Illustratively, the parameters included in the second wireless environment information can be determined according to the use of the second wireless environment information. For example, in the case where the second wireless environment information is used for wireless link state detection, the second wireless environment information can include an RSRP and / or an RSRQ of a reference signal of at least one cell at the terminal position; in the case where the second wireless environment information is used for beam management, the second wireless environment information can include an RSRP and / or an RSRQ of certain beams of at least one cell at the terminal position; in the case where the second wireless environment information is used for determining CSI, the second wireless environment information can include a channel eigenvalue and / or a channel matrix, etc.; in the case where the second wireless environment information is used for mobility management, the second wireless environment information can include an RSRP and / or an RSRQ of a serving cell of the terminal and an RSRP and / or an RSRQ of a neighboring cell at the terminal position.

[0182] In a possible implementation, the wireless environment information in the embodiments of the present application can also be referred to as wireless map information or RF map (i.e., RF map) or RF map information, etc. Of course, the wireless environment information can also have other names, which are not specifically limited in the present application.

[0183] Based on the above scheme, the information related to the wireless signal transmission of the terminal can be obtained through the position information of the terminal and the information related to the wireless signal transmission in the area where the terminal is located. The information related to the wireless signal transmission in the area where the terminal is located can be obtained through sensing, without the terminal periodically or continuously measuring, so as to obtain the information related to the wireless signal transmission of the terminal, thereby reducing the power consumption of the terminal. In addition, since the information related to the wireless signal transmission of the terminal does not need to be obtained by measurement, the network side can reduce the transmission frequency of the downlink reference signal, or in other words, increase the transmission period of the downlink reference signal, thereby reducing the power consumption of the network side and saving resource overhead.

[0184] The overall flow of the communication method provided by the present application is described above, and the specific implementation of the communication method will be described in detail below when the first communication device is respectively a RAN node, a SF network element, and a terminal.

[0185] When the first communication device is a RAN node, the RAN node can implement all base station functions, such as when the RAN node is a gNB or a base station or an access network device, as shown in FIG. 10, taking the RAN node as an access network device as an example, the communication method includes the following steps:

[0186] S1001, the access network device sends first request information to the SF network element. Correspondingly, the SF network element receives the first request information from the access network device. Wherein, the SF network element can also be referred to as a second communication device.

[0187] Wherein, the first request information is used to request the wireless environment information of the first area. The first request information includes the information of the first area, which is used to indicate the first area. For example, when the first area is a geographic area, the information of the first area can be the coordinates of the center position of the first area, or the identifier of the first area, etc.; when the first area is a logical area, the information of the first area can be the identifier of the first area, such as cell identifier, base station identifier, TA identifier, etc.

[0188] As a possible implementation, the first request information further includes at least one of the following: the parameters included in the first wireless environment information, the level of the first wireless environment information, the wireless information of at least one first communication device in the first area, or the transmission mode of the first wireless environment information. Wherein, the first communication device here can refer to a device with wireless transmission capability deployed in the access network, such as gNB, base station, access network device, TRP, DU or RU, etc.

[0189] Exemplarily, the parameters included in the first wireless environment information can be understood as parameters that need to be included in the first wireless environment information requested by the access network device. The parameters can include at least one of RSRP, RSRQ, channel characteristic value, channel matrix, large-scale fading information, small-scale fading information, multipath information, or interference information. The descriptions of the parameters can refer to the foregoing related descriptions, and will not be repeated here.

[0190] In addition, the access network device can determine the parameters included in the requested first wireless environment information according to subsequent processing to be performed or the use of the second wireless environment information. For example, in the case where the access network device needs to perform wireless link state detection, beam management, or mobility management, the access network device can request the first wireless environment information to include RSRQ and / or RSRQ, or in the case where the access network device needs to determine CSI, the access network device can request the first wireless environment information to include a channel characteristic value and / or a channel matrix.

[0191] Exemplarily, the level of the first wireless environment information includes a frequency point level, a cell level, or a beam level, which can refer to the foregoing related descriptions of the level, and will not be repeated here. The access network device can determine the level of the requested first wireless environment information according to subsequent processing to be performed. For example, in the case where the access network device needs to perform wireless link state detection subsequently, the level of the requested first wireless environment information can be a cell level; in the case where the access network device needs to perform beam management, the level of the requested first wireless environment information can be a beam level.

[0192] Exemplarily, the wireless information of the first communication device includes at least one of an antenna position, an antenna height, an antenna orientation angle, a transmission power, or a frequency used by the first communication device. The wireless information of the first communication device is used to determine the first wireless environment information. That is, the first wireless environment information can be determined according to the perceived environment information of the first area and the wireless information of the at least one communication device in the first area.

[0193] Exemplarily, the sending manner of the first wireless environment information includes event triggering or periodic sending. For example, event triggering can mean that the SF network element sends the first wireless environment information to the access network device when part or all of the parameters in the first wireless environment information change. Periodic sending can mean that the SF network element periodically sends the first wireless environment information to the access network device according to a certain period.

[0194] S1002, the SF network element determines the first wireless environment information.

[0195] As a possible implementation, the SF network element can determine the first wireless environment information according to the perception environment information of the first area based on the request of the first request information. For example, the SF network element can determine the first wireless environment information according to the perception environment information of the first area and the wireless information of at least one first communication device in the first area.

[0196] For example, the SF network element can determine the first wireless environment information according to the perception environment information of the first area and the wireless information of at least one first communication device in the first area in a manner of RAY-Tracing, AI or ML.

[0197] As a possible implementation, the first wireless environment information determined by the SF network element meets the request of the first request information. For example, the first wireless environment information determined by the SF network element includes the parameters requested by the access network device, the level of the first wireless environment information is the level requested by the access network device, etc.

[0198] S1003, the SF network element sends the first wireless environment information to the access network device. Correspondingly, the access network device receives the first wireless environment information from the SF network element.

[0199] It can be understood that the access network device sends the first request information to the SF network element to request the wireless environment information of the first area, and receives the first wireless environment information from the SF network element, which can be understood as an implementation manner of the access network device obtaining the first wireless environment information.

[0200] S1004, the access network device obtains the location information of the terminal. For example, the terminal is in an RRC connected state.

[0201] In a possible implementation, the access network device can obtain the location information of the terminal through steps S1004a-S1004b, or can obtain the location information of the terminal through steps S10041-S10044. That is, step S1004 can include steps S1004a-S1004b, or can include steps S10041-S10044.

[0202] In S1004a-S1004b, the access network device obtains the location information of the terminal from the terminal:

[0203] S1004a, the access network device sends third request information to the terminal. Correspondingly, the terminal receives the third request information from the access network device.

[0204] As a possible implementation, the third request information is used to request the location information of the terminal. Further, the access network device can also indicate to the terminal a manner of reporting the location information of the terminal, for example, periodic reporting or event-triggered reporting, such as reporting the changed location information when the location of the terminal changes.

[0205] S1004b, the terminal sends the location information of the terminal to the access network device. Correspondingly, the access network device receives the location information from the terminal.

[0206] For example, the location information reported by the terminal can be location information obtained through a positioning process and represented in the form of latitude and longitude; or the reported location information can include at least one measurement quantity, which can be used to derive or determine the location of the terminal (such as the general location of the terminal, which can have a lower accuracy). The at least one measurement quantity can include RSRP, RSRQ, signal arrival angle, signal departure angle, beam identifier, etc. between the terminal and a certain RAN node, which can be referred to the related description in the above step S802, and will not be described here again.

[0207] In S10041-S10044, the access network device obtains the location information of the terminal from the AMF network element or the LMF network element:

[0208] S10041, the access network device sends third request information to the AMF network element. Correspondingly, the AMF network element receives the third request information from the access network device.

[0209] The AMF network element can also be referred to as a third communication apparatus. The third request information is used to request the location information of the terminal. Further, the access network device can also indicate in the request a feedback manner of the location information of the terminal, for example, periodic feedback or event-triggered feedback, such as feeding back the changed location information to the access network device after the location of the terminal changes or changes by a certain range.

[0210] S10042, the AMF network element sends location request information to the LMF network element. Correspondingly, the LMF network element receives the location request information from the AMF network element.

[0211] The location request information is used to request the location information of the terminal. Further, the AMF network element can also indicate in the request a feedback manner of the location information of the terminal, which can be referred to the related description in the above step S10041, and will not be described here again.

[0212] As a possible implementation, after receiving the location request information, the LMF network element can initiate a positioning process for the terminal, thereby obtaining the location information of the terminal, and performing the following step S10043.

[0213] S10043, the LMF network element sends the terminal's location information to the AMF network element. Correspondingly, the AMF network element receives the terminal's location information from the LMF network element.

[0214] S10044, the AMF network element sends the terminal's location information to the access network device. Correspondingly, the access network device receives the terminal's location information from the AMF network element.

[0215] It should be noted that there is no strict sequence between the above step S1004 and step S1001. Step S1001 can be executed first and then step S1004, or step S1004 can be executed first and then step S1001, or steps S1001 and S1004 can be executed simultaneously, which is not limited in the present application.

[0216] S1005, the access network device determines the second wireless environment information according to the first wireless environment information and the terminal's location information. For reference, the related description in step S803 is described above and will not be repeated here.

[0217] As a possible implementation, in the case that the terminal reports the location information including at least one measurement quantity to the access network device in step S1004b, step S1005 can be replaced by: the access network device determines the second wireless environment information according to the first wireless environment information and the at least one measurement quantity reported by the terminal. For example, the access network device determines the location of the terminal according to the at least one measurement quantity reported by the terminal, and then determines the second wireless environment information according to the first wireless environment information and the location of the terminal, or the access network device can determine the wireless environment information in the first wireless environment information that is the same or similar to the measurement quantity reported by the terminal as the second wireless environment information, without limitation.

[0218] S1006, the access network device processes according to the second wireless environment information.

[0219] As a possible implementation, in the case that the second wireless environment information includes RSRP and / or RSRQ, the access network device can perform at least one of the following processes according to the second wireless environment information: wireless link state detection, beam management or mobility management (such as determining whether to perform cell switching for the terminal, etc.). For example, when the second wireless environment information includes cell-level RSRP and / or RSRQ, the access network device performs wireless link state detection or mobility management according to the second wireless environment information; when the second wireless environment information includes beam-level RSRP and / or RSRQ, the access network device performs mobility management according to the second wireless environment information.

[0220] As another possible implementation, in the case that the second wireless environment information includes channel eigenvalues and / or channel matrix, the access network device can determine the CSI between the terminal and the access network device according to the second wireless environment information. Further, the access network device can also perform adaptive modulation, beamforming, optimization of multi-antenna communication system, resource allocation and the like according to the CSI.

[0221] As yet another possible implementation, in the case that the second wireless environment information includes large-scale fading information or interference information, the access network device can determine the modulation and coding scheme (MCS) according to the second wireless environment information. For example, in the case that the large-scale fading or interference is small, the MCS can be a high-order MCS, which is used to improve the transmission rate; in the case that the large-scale fading or interference is large, the MCS can be a low-order MCS, which is used to ensure the transmission reliability.

[0222] As yet another possible implementation, in the case that the second wireless environment information includes small-scale fading information or multipath information, the access network device can determine the precoding scheme, such as the precoding matrix indicator (PMI), by means of channel decomposition according to the second wireless environment information.

[0223] Based on the above scheme, the access network device can request the core network for the wireless environment information of a certain area, so as to determine the wireless environment information of the terminal in the area according to the wireless environment information of the area and the location information of the terminal in the area. The terminal in the area does not need to perform periodic or continuous measurement, which can reduce the power consumption of the terminal in the area. In addition, the access network device does not need to calculate the wireless environment information of the area by itself, which can reduce the processing complexity of the access network device.

[0224] In addition to the method shown in FIG. 10, the present application also provides another communication method when the first communication device is a RAN node (which can implement all base station functions), as shown in FIG. 11. Taking the RAN node as an example, the communication method includes the following steps:

[0225] S1101, the access network device sends second request information to the SF network element. Correspondingly, the SF network element receives the second request information from the access network device.

[0226] The SF network element can also be referred to as a second communication device. The second request information is used to request the perception environment information of the first area. The description of the perception environment information can refer to the foregoing related description, which will not be repeated here.

[0227] As a possible implementation, the second request information comprises information of the first area. The information of the first area can refer to the related description in step S1001 described above, and will not be repeated here.

[0228] Further, the second request information further comprises at least one of the following: accuracy of the perception environment information, parameters comprised in the perception environment information, or sending manner of the perception environment information.

[0229] Illustratively, the accuracy of the perception environment information can also be understood as the spatial resolution of the perception environment information. The parameters comprised in the perception environment information can comprise at least one of the following: type, material, position, size, shape, motion speed, dielectric constant, or reflection coefficient of scatterers in the first area. The sending manner of the perception environment information can comprise event triggering or periodic sending. The sending manner can be understood as the manner in which the SF network element sends the perception environment information to the access network device, for example, event triggering can mean that the SF network element sends the changed perception environment information to the access network device when some or all parameters in the perception environment information change or change greatly; periodic sending can mean that the SF network element periodically sends the perception environment information to the access network device according to a certain period.

[0230] S1102, the SF network element sends the perception environment information of the first area to the access network device. Correspondingly, the access network device receives the perception environment information of the first area from the SF network element.

[0231] As a possible implementation, the perception environment information of the first area sent by the SF network element to the access network device is determined according to the request or requirement of the second request information. The perception environment information sent by the SF network element comprises the parameters requested by the second request information.

[0232] It should be noted that the above steps S1101-S1102 can be understood as the access network device obtaining the perception environment information of the first area from the SF network element. In addition, the access network device can also determine or collect the perception environment information of the first area by itself, for example, the access network device can send a perception signal in the direction of the first area, and receive a return signal of the perception signal, and perform perception based on the perception signal and the return signal, thereby determining the perception environment information of the first area. In this scenario, the above steps S1101-S1102 can not be performed.

[0233] S1103, the access network device obtains the position information of the terminal. Illustratively, the terminal is in an RRC connected state. The related description of step S1004 described above can be referred to, and will not be repeated here.

[0234] S1104, the access network device determines the second wireless environment information according to the perception environment information of the first area and the position information of the terminal.

[0235] As a possible implementation, the access network device can determine the first wireless environment information according to the perceived environment information of the first area, and determine the second wireless environment information according to the first wireless environment information and the location information of the terminal. Wherein, the implementation of determining the first wireless environment information according to the perceived environment information of the first area can refer to the related implementation of the SF network element determining the first wireless environment information in the above step S1002, and the first wireless environment information can refer to the related description in the foregoing description; the implementation of determining the second wireless environment information according to the first wireless environment information and the location information of the terminal can refer to the related description in the above steps S803 and S1005, and will not be repeated here.

[0236] Of course, the access network device can also determine the second wireless environment information according to the perceived environment information of the first area and the location information of the terminal through other manners, for example, the access network device can take the perceived environment information of the first area and the location information of the terminal as the input of the AI or ML algorithm, and take the output of the AI or ML algorithm as the information related to the wireless signal transmission of the terminal. The implementation of step S1104 is not limited in the present application.

[0237] S1105, the access network device processes according to the second wireless environment information. For related implementation, please refer to the related implementation in the above step S1006, and will not be repeated here.

[0238] Based on the above scheme, the access network device can determine the wireless environment information of an area according to the perceived environment information of the area, and then determine the wireless environment information of the terminal in the area according to the wireless environment information of the area and the location information of the terminal in the area. Without the terminal in the area performing periodic or continuous measurement, the power consumption of the terminal in the area can be reduced. In addition, in the case that the access network device determines the wireless environment information of the area according to the perceived environment information of the area, the wireless environment information can be flexibly determined based on the actual situation, such as flexibly determining the level of the wireless environment information, the included parameters, etc. according to the purpose of the wireless environment information, so as to improve the flexibility.

[0239] In the above method shown in FIG. 10 or FIG. 11, the first communication device can be an access network device, and the access network device needs to determine the information related to the wireless signal transmission of the terminal according to the location information of the terminal. In addition, the present application also provides a communication method when the first communication device is an SF network element. In this scenario, the access network device does not need to determine the information related to the wireless signal transmission of the terminal according to the location information of the terminal, but can obtain the information related to the wireless signal transmission of the terminal from the core network. As shown in FIG. 12, when the first communication device is an SF network element, the communication method provided by the present application includes the following steps:

[0240] S1201. The access network device sends fourth request information to the SF network element. Correspondingly, the SF network element receives the fourth request information from the access network device.

[0241] In this embodiment, the access network device can also be referred to as a fourth communication apparatus. The fourth request information is used to request the radio environment information of the first area.

[0242] As a possible implementation, the fourth request information includes information of the first area. Further, the fourth request information can further include at least one of the following: parameters included in the first radio environment information, a level of the first radio environment information, and radio information of at least one fourth communication apparatus in the first area. The fourth communication apparatus here can refer to an apparatus deployed in the access network with wireless transmission capability, such as gNB, base station, access network device, TRP, DU, or RU, etc. The radio information of the fourth communication apparatus can include at least one of the antenna position, antenna height, antenna orientation angle, transmission power, or frequency used of the fourth communication apparatus. The implementation of the fourth request information can refer to the related description of the first request information in step S1001 described above, and will not be repeated here.

[0243] S1202. The SF network element determines the first radio environment information according to the fourth request information.

[0244] As a possible implementation, the SF network element determines the first radio environment information according to the sensing environment information of the first area based on the request (or trigger) of the fourth request information. The related description of the SF network element determining the first radio environment information in step S1002 described above can be referred to, and will not be repeated here.

[0245] S1203. The SF network element sends a confirmation message to the access network device. Correspondingly, the access network device receives the confirmation message from the SF network element.

[0246] The confirmation message is used to confirm that the first radio environment information has been generated, or is used to confirm that the fourth request information has been received. In addition, the SF network element can send the confirmation message to the access network device through the AMF network element.

[0247] It should be noted that this step S1203 is an optional step, that is, step S1203 can not be performed. After determining the first radio environment information, or receiving the fourth request information, the SF network element can not send the confirmation message.

[0248] S1204. The access network device requests second radio environment information from the core network. That is, the core network is requested to request information related to wireless signal transmission of a specific terminal. Exemplarily, the terminal is in an RRC connected state.

[0249] As a possible implementation, the access network device can request the second radio environment information from the core network after receiving the confirmation message sent by the SF network element in step S1203; or, in the case where step S1203 is not performed, the access network device can request the second radio environment information from the core network after a period of time after step S1201 is performed, or can request the second radio environment information from the core network while step S1201 is performed, or can request the second radio environment information from the core network before step S1201 is performed.

[0250] As a possible implementation, the access network device can obtain the location information of the terminal through steps S1204a-S1004e, or can obtain the location information of the terminal through steps S12041-S12047. That is, step S1204 can include steps S1204a-S1204e, or can include steps S12041-S12047.

[0251] In S1204a-S1204e, the access network device requests the SF network element for the second radio environment information:

[0252] S1204a, the access network device sends a fifth request to the SF network element. Correspondingly, the SF network element receives the fifth request information from the access network device.

[0253] The fifth request information is used to request the second radio environment information. The fifth request information includes the identifier of the terminal. Further, the fifth request information also includes the level of the second radio environment information and / or the parameters included in the second radio environment information.

[0254] Illustratively, the level of the second radio environment information requested by the access network device can be the radio environment information at the cell level and / or the beam level. The parameters of the second radio environment information requested can include RSRP, RSRQ, multipath information between the terminal and a specific fourth communication device (gNB, base station, access network device, TRP, DU or RU), CSI, channel matrix, channel eigenvalue, etc.

[0255] S1204b, the SF network element sends a sixth request information to the LMF network element. Correspondingly, the LMF network element receives the sixth request information from the SF network element.

[0256] The LMF network element can also be referred to as the fifth communication device. The sixth request information is used to request the location information of the terminal. Illustratively, the sixth request information can include the identifier of the terminal.

[0257] As a possible implementation, it can be considered that the SF network element sends sixth request information to the LMF network element according to the fifth request information. For example, based on the trigger of the fifth request information, the SF network element sends the sixth request information to the LMF network element.

[0258] As a possible implementation, after receiving the sixth request information, the LMF network element can initiate a positioning process for the terminal, thereby obtaining the location information of the terminal, and performing the following step S1204c.

[0259] S1204c, the LMF network element sends the location information of the terminal to the SF network element. Correspondingly, the SF network element receives the location information of the terminal from the LMF network element.

[0260] In some implementation scenarios, the above steps S1204a-S1204c can also be understood as an implementation manner of the SF network element obtaining the location information of the terminal.

[0261] S1204d, the SF network element determines the second wireless environment information according to the first wireless environment information and the location information of the terminal.

[0262] As a possible implementation, it can be considered that the SF network element determines the second wireless environment information according to the first wireless environment information and the location information of the terminal based on the request of the fifth request information. The first wireless environment information is determined in step S1202. The implementation of determining the second wireless environment can refer to the related description in steps S803 and S1005 described above, and will not be described here.

[0263] S1204e, the SF network element sends the second wireless environment information to the access network device. Correspondingly, the access network device receives the second wireless environment information from the SF network element.

[0264] In S12041-S12047, the access network device requests the second wireless environment information from the AMF network element. In this scenario, the AMF network element can also be referred to as a sixth communication apparatus:

[0265] S12041, the access network device sends a fifth request to the AMF network element. Correspondingly, the AMF network element receives the fifth request information from the access network device.

[0266] The fifth request information is used to request the second wireless environment information. For reference can be made to the related description of the fifth request information in step S1204a described above, and will not be described here.

[0267] S12042, the AMF network element sends location request information to the LMF network element. Correspondingly, the LMF network element receives the location request information from the AMF network element. The location request information is used to request the location information of the terminal. The location request information can include the identifier of the terminal.

[0268] As a possible implementation, after receiving the location request information, the LMF network element can initiate a positioning procedure for the terminal, thereby obtaining the location information of the terminal, and performing the following step S12043.

[0269] S12043, the LMF network element sends the location information of the terminal to the AMF network element. Correspondingly, the AMF network element receives the location information of the terminal from the LMF network element.

[0270] S12044, the AMF network element sends the seventh request information to the SF network element. Correspondingly, the SF network element receives the seventh request information from the AMF network element.

[0271] The seventh request information is used to request the second wireless environment information. The seventh request information includes the location information of the terminal, which is received from the LMF network element in the above step S12043.

[0272] Optionally, the seventh request information can also include the level of the second wireless environment information and / or the parameters included in the second wireless environment information. The level of the second wireless environment information and / or the parameters included in the second wireless environment information can be obtained from the fifth request information in the above step S12041. For the level of the second wireless environment information and / or the second wireless environment information, please refer to the above description in the step S1204a, which will not be repeated here.

[0273] S12045, the SF network element determines the second wireless environment information according to the first wireless environment information and the location information of the terminal.

[0274] As a possible implementation, the SF network element can be considered to determine the second wireless environment information according to the first wireless environment information and the location information of the terminal based on the request of the seventh request information. The first wireless environment information is determined in the step S1202. For the implementation of determining the second wireless environment, please refer to the above description in the steps S803 and S1005, which will not be repeated here.

[0275] S12046, the SF network element sends the second wireless environment information to the AMF network element. Correspondingly, the AMF network element receives the second wireless environment information from the SF network element.

[0276] S12047, the AMF network element sends the second wireless environment information to the access network device. Correspondingly, the access network device receives the second wireless environment information from the AMF network element.

[0277] In a possible implementation, after the access network device obtains the second wireless environment information from the core network, the following step S1205 can also be performed:

[0278] S1205. The access network device performs processing according to the second wireless environment information. For details, refer to the related implementation in step S1006 described above, which will not be repeated here.

[0279] It should be noted that in the embodiment shown in FIG. 12, the communication between the access network device and the SF network element can be performed through an interface between the access network device and the SF network element, or can be performed through forwarding of the AMF network element.

[0280] Based on the scheme, the access network device obtains the information related to wireless signal transmission of the terminal from the core network by requesting, without the terminal performing periodic or continuous measurement, which can reduce the power consumption of the terminal in the area. In addition, without the access network device performing related determination of the wireless environment information of the area, the processing complexity of the access network device can be reduced. At the same time, the location information of the terminal can be avoided to be exposed to the access network device, which can protect the privacy of the terminal.

[0281] In the method shown in FIG. 12, the access network device obtains the information related to wireless signal transmission of the terminal from the core network, and in addition, the present application also provides a communication method, in which the access network device can obtain the information related to wireless signal transmission of the terminal from the terminal. At this time, the first communication device can be the terminal. As shown in FIG. 13, the communication method includes the following steps:

[0282] S1301. The access network device obtains first wireless environment information. In this embodiment, the access network device can also be referred to as a seventh communication device.

[0283] The first wireless environment information is information related to wireless signal transmission in a first area, which can be referred to the foregoing related description, and will not be repeated here.

[0284] As a possible implementation, the access network device can obtain the first wireless environment information through steps S1301a-S1301c described below, or can obtain the first wireless environment information through steps S13011-S13013 described below. That is, step S1301 can include steps S1301a-S1301c described below, or can include steps S13011-S13013 described below.

[0285] In S1301a-S1301c, the access network device receives the first wireless environment information from the core network:

[0286] S1301a. The access network device sends first request information to the SF network element. Correspondingly, the SF network element receives the first request information from the access network device.

[0287] S1301b. The SF network element determines the first wireless environment information.

[0288] S1301c. The SF network element sends the first wireless environment information to the access network device. Correspondingly, the access network device receives the first wireless environment information from the AF network element.

[0289] The implementation of steps S1301a-S1301c can refer to the related description of steps S1001-S1003, and details are not described herein again.

[0290] In S13011-S13013, the access network device receives the perception environment information of the first area from the core network, and determines the first wireless environment information based on the perception environment information.

[0291] S13011. The access network device sends second request information to the SF network element. Correspondingly, the SF network element receives the second request information from the access network device.

[0292] S13012. The SF network element sends the perception environment information of the first area to the access network device. Correspondingly, the access network device receives the perception environment information of the first area from the SF network element.

[0293] The implementation of steps S13011-S13012 can refer to the related description of steps S1101-S1102, and details are not described herein again.

[0294] S13013. The access network device determines the first wireless environment information according to the perception environment information of the first area.

[0295] The related implementation of the access network device determining the first wireless environment information can refer to the related description of the SF network element determining the first wireless environment information in step S1002, and details are not described herein again.

[0296] S1302. The access network device sends the first wireless environment information to the terminal. Correspondingly, the terminal receives the first wireless environment information from the access network device.

[0297] As a possible implementation, the access network device can send the first wireless environment information to the terminal in a broadcast manner. For example, the first wireless environment information can be carried in a system message. In this scenario, the terminal can be in an RRC connected state or an RRC non-connected state, which is not limited. In addition, when the first wireless environment information is sent in a broadcast manner, the first wireless environment information can be secured, for example, encrypted and / or integrity protected.

[0298] As another possible implementation, the access network device can send the first radio environment information to the terminal in a unicast manner, for example, the first radio environment information can be carried in an RRC message, a MAC control element (CE), or downlink control information (DCI). In this scenario, the terminal needs to be in an RRC connected state.

[0299] Optionally, the access network device can also send indication information to the terminal, which can indicate the area corresponding to the first radio environment information (i.e., the first area) and / or the validity time of the first radio environment information. The area corresponding to the first radio environment information can also be understood as the effective area of the first radio environment information.

[0300] S1303, the terminal determines the second radio environment information according to the first radio environment information and the location information of the terminal.

[0301] As a possible implementation, the access network device can send eighth request information to the terminal, which is used to request the second radio environment information. The terminal can determine the second radio environment information based on the request of the eighth request information.

[0302] For example, the eighth request information can include the level of the second radio environment information and / or the parameters included in the second radio environment information. The level of the second radio environment information requested by the access network device can be cell-level and / or beam-level radio environment information. The parameters of the requested second radio environment information can include RSRP, RSRQ, multipath information between the terminal and a specific RAN node (such as gNB, base station, access network device, TRP, DU, or RU), CSI, channel matrix, channel eigenvalue, etc.

[0303] Optionally, the eighth request information can also include the reporting method of the second radio environment information, such as periodic reporting or event-triggered reporting. In the case of periodic reporting, the eighth request information can also include the reporting period; in the case of event-triggered reporting, the eighth request information can also include the triggering event, such as a change in part or all of the parameters in the second radio environment information.

[0304] As another possible implementation, the access network device can not send the eighth request information. After receiving the above-mentioned first radio environment information, the terminal device determines the second radio environment information according to the location information of the terminal and the first radio environment information. In this scenario, the level and / or included parameters of the second radio environment information can be determined by the terminal itself, or can be pre-defined by the protocol, which is not limited.

[0305] The terminal determines the second radio environment information according to the first radio environment information and the location information of the terminal. The implementation can refer to the related description in steps S803 and S1005, and will not be described here.

[0306] In S1304, the terminal sends the second radio environment information to the access network device. Correspondingly, the access network device receives the second radio environment information from the terminal.

[0307] As a possible implementation, the terminal can periodically send the second radio environment information to the access network device, or can send the second radio environment information to the access network device based on event triggering. For example, the terminal can send the second radio environment information to the access network device according to the reporting mode in the eighth request information.

[0308] In S1305, the access network device processes according to the second radio environment information. The implementation can refer to the related implementation in S1006, and will not be described here.

[0309] Based on the scheme, the terminal can determine the radio environment information at the terminal location in combination with the location information of the terminal and the radio environment information of the area where the terminal is located from the network, i.e., determine the information related to the radio signal transmission of the terminal, without the terminal performing periodic or continuous measurement, which can reduce the terminal power consumption caused by frequent measurement. In addition, the terminal does not need to send its own location information to the access network device, which can avoid the exposure of the location information of the terminal to the access network device, protecting the privacy of the terminal.

[0310] In a possible implementation, for the above method embodiment, in a CU-DU architecture or an ORAN system, the functions of the access network device and the terminal interaction can be implemented by the DU or O-DU. The information sent by the access network device to the terminal can be generated by the DU or O-DU, or can be generated by the CU or O-CU and sent to the DU or O-DU. The functions of the access network device and the core network interaction can be implemented by the CU or O-CU or SU.

[0311] In addition, before the CU or O-CU or SU interacts with the core network, the DU / O-DU can request the radio environment information of a certain terminal from the CU / O-CU / SU. After the CU / O-CU / SU obtains the radio environment information of the terminal, the DU / O-DU is sent the radio environment information of the terminal.

[0312] As a possible implementation, in the scenario where the functions of the access network device are implemented by the DU and the CU, the above method shown in FIG. 10 can be transformed into the method shown in FIG. 14. Referring to FIG. 14, the method includes the following steps:

[0313] S1400, the DU sends the wireless request information to the CU. Correspondingly, the CU receives the wireless request information from the DU.

[0314] The wireless request information is used to request information related to wireless signal transmission of the terminal, i.e., can be used to request the wireless environment information of the terminal (i.e., the second wireless environment information). Exemplarily, the wireless request information can include a terminal identifier, and further can include an identifier of the first area, indicating that the wireless environment information of the terminal in the first area is requested.

[0315] S1401-S1404, similar to the steps S1001-S1004, the difference is that the functions implemented by the access network device in steps S1001-S1004 are implemented by the CU in steps S1401-S1404.

[0316] S1405, similar to the step S1005, the difference is that the function implemented by the access network device in step S1005 is implemented by the CU in step S1405.

[0317] S1406, the CU sends the second wireless environment information to the DU. Correspondingly, the DU receives the second wireless environment information from the CU.

[0318] S1407, the DU processes according to the second wireless environment information. For details, refer to the related description in step S1006, which will not be repeated here.

[0319] Similarly, in the method shown in FIG. 11, the functions implemented by the access network device in steps S1101-S1104 can be implemented by the CU. Before step S1101, the DU can send the wireless request information to the CU. After step S1104, the CU can send the second wireless environment information to the DU. Step S1105 can be implemented by the DU.

[0320] In the method shown in FIG. 12, the functions implemented by the access network device in steps S1201-S1204 can be implemented by the CU. Before step S1201, the DU can send the wireless request information to the CU. After step S1204, the CU can send the second wireless environment information to the DU. Step S1205 can be implemented by the DU.

[0321] In the method shown in FIG. 13, the functions implemented by the access network device in steps S1301-S1302 can be implemented by the CU. Before step S1301, the DU can send the wireless request information to the CU. In step S1304, the terminal can send the second wireless environment information to the DU, and step S1305 can be implemented by the DU.

[0322] As another possible implementation, in the scenario where the functions of the access network device are implemented by the DU and the SU, and there is a communication interface between the DU and the SU, the method shown in FIG. 10 can be transformed into the method shown in FIG. 15. Referring to FIG. 15, the method includes the following steps:

[0323] S1500, the DU sends the radio request information to the SU. Correspondingly, the SU receives the radio request information from the DU. For details, refer to the description of step S1400, which will not be repeated here.

[0324] S1501-S1504, similar to steps S1001-S1004, the difference is that the functions implemented by the access network device in steps S1001-S1004 are implemented by the SU in steps S1501-S1504.

[0325] S1505, similar to step S1005, the difference is that the functions implemented by the access network device in step S1005 are implemented by the SU in step S1505.

[0326] S1506, the SU sends the second radio environment information to the DU. Correspondingly, the DU receives the second radio environment information from the SU.

[0327] S1507, the DU processes according to the second radio environment information. For details, refer to the description of step S1006, which will not be repeated here.

[0328] Similarly, in the method shown in FIG. 11, the functions implemented by the access network device in steps S1101-S1104 can be implemented by the SU. Before step S1101, the DU can send the radio request information to the SU. After step S1104, the SU can send the second radio environment information to the DU. Step S1105 can be implemented by the DU.

[0329] In the method shown in FIG. 12, the functions implemented by the access network device in steps S1201-S1204 can be implemented by the SU. Before step S1201, the DU can send the radio request information to the SU. After step S1204, the SU can send the second radio environment information to the DU. Step S1205 can be implemented by the DU.

[0330] In the method shown in FIG. 13, the functions implemented by the access network device in steps S1301-S1302 can be implemented by the SU. Before step S1301, the DU can send the radio request information to the SU. In step S1304, the terminal can send the second radio environment information to the DU, and step S1305 can be implemented by the DU.

[0331] As another possible implementation, in the scenario where the functions of the access network device are implemented by the DU, the CU and the SU, and the DU and the SU communicate through the CU, the method shown in FIG. 10 can be modified into the method shown in FIG. 16. Referring to FIG. 16, the method includes the following steps.

[0332] S1600. The DU sends the radio request information to the SU through the CU. Correspondingly, the SU receives the radio request information from the DU through the CU. For details, refer to the description of step S1400, which will not be repeated here.

[0333] S1601-S1604. Similar to steps S1001-S1004, the difference is that the functions implemented by the access network device in steps S1001-S1004 are implemented by the SU in steps S1601-S1604. In addition, in steps S1604a-S1604b, the terminal communicates with the DU through the CU.

[0334] S1605. Similar to step S1005, the difference is that the functions implemented by the access network device in step S1005 are implemented by the SU in step S1605.

[0335] S1606. The SU sends the second radio environment information to the DU through the CU. Correspondingly, the DU receives the second radio environment information from the SU through the CU.

[0336] S1607. The DU performs processing according to the second radio environment information. For details, refer to the description of step S1006, which will not be repeated here.

[0337] Similarly, in the methods shown in FIGS. 11-13, the functions of the access network device interacting with the core network can be implemented by the SU, and the DU and the SU communicate through the CU. For details, refer to the method shown in FIG. 16, which will not be repeated here.

[0338] The above describes the method provided by the present application. In addition, the present application also provides a communication apparatus for implementing the functions described in the above method embodiments.

[0339] It can be understood that, to implement the above functions, the communication apparatus includes the hardware structure and / or software modules for performing the respective functions. Those skilled in the art should easily realize that, in combination with the units and algorithm steps of the examples described in the embodiments disclosed herein, the present application can be implemented in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a certain function is implemented in hardware or computer software driven hardware depends 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 present application.

[0340] The embodiments of the present application can divide the functions of the communication device according to the method embodiments described above. For example, each function module can be divided according to each function, or two or more functions can be integrated into one processing module. The integrated module can be implemented in the form of hardware or software function module. It should be noted that the division of the modules in the embodiments of the present application is illustrative, and is only a logical function division. In actual implementation, another division method can be used.

[0341] FIG. 17 shows a structural schematic diagram of a communication device 170. The communication device 170 includes a processing module 1701 and a transceiver module 1702. The communication device 170 can be used to implement the functions of the first communication device or the RAN node described above.

[0342] In some embodiments, the communication device 170 can further include a storage module (not shown in FIG. 17) for storing program instructions and data.

[0343] In some embodiments, the transceiver module 1702, which can also be referred to as a transceiver unit, is used to implement the sending and / or receiving functions. The transceiver module 1702 can be composed of a transceiver circuit, a transceiver, a transceiver, or a communication interface.

[0344] In some embodiments, the transceiver module 1702 can include a receiving module and a sending module, which are respectively used to perform the receiving and sending steps of the first communication device or the RAN node in the method embodiments described above, and / or other processes for supporting the technologies described herein; the processing module 1701 can be used to perform the processing steps of the first communication device or the RAN node in the method embodiments described above, and / or other processes for supporting the technologies described herein.

[0345] When the communication device 170 is used to implement the functions of the first communication device:

[0346] The processing module 1701 is configured to acquire first wireless environment information through the transceiver module 1702, the first wireless environment information being information related to wireless signal transmission in a first area; the processing module 1701 is further configured to acquire position information of a terminal through the transceiver module 1702, the terminal being located in the first area; and the processing module 1701 is further configured to determine second wireless environment information according to the first wireless environment information and the position information of the terminal, the second wireless environment information being information related to wireless signal transmission of the terminal.

[0347] When the first communication device is the RAN node, that is, when the communication device 170 is used to implement the functions of the RAN node:

[0348] Optionally, the transceiver 1702 is configured to send, to the second communication device, first request information, the first request information being used to request the radio environment information of the first area; and the transceiver 1702 is further configured to receive the first radio environment information from the second communication device.

[0349] Optionally, the transceiver 1702 is configured to send, to the second communication device, second request information, the second request information being used to request the perception environment information of the first area; and the transceiver 1702 is further configured to receive the perception environment information of the first area from the second communication device, the perception environment information of the first area being information related to the physical environment in the first area; and the processing module 1701 is configured to determine the first radio environment information according to the perception environment information of the first area.

[0350] Optionally, the processing module 1701 is configured to determine the first radio environment information according to the perception environment information of the first area, including: the processing module 1701 is configured to determine the first radio environment information according to the perception environment information of the first area and the wireless information of at least one first communication device in the first area. The wireless information of the first communication device includes at least one of the following: antenna position, antenna height, antenna orientation angle, transmission power, or frequency used of the first communication device.

[0351] Optionally, the transceiver 1702 is configured to send, to the terminal or the third communication device, third request information, the third request information being used to request the position information of the terminal; and the transceiver 1702 is further configured to receive the position information from the terminal or the third communication device.

[0352] Optionally, in the case that the second radio environment information includes RSRP and / or RSRQ, the processing module 1701 is further configured to perform at least one of the following according to the second radio environment information: wireless link state detection, beam management, or mobility management.

[0353] Optionally, in the case that the second radio environment information includes channel eigenvalue and / or channel matrix, the processing module 1701 is further configured to determine channel state information (CSI) between the terminal and the first communication device according to the second radio environment information.

[0354] In the case that the first communication device is an SF network element, i.e., in the case that the communication device 170 is used to implement the function of the SF network element:

[0355] Optionally, the transceiver 1702 is configured to receive fourth request information from the fourth communication device, the fourth request information being used to request the radio environment information of the first area; and the processing module 1701 is configured to determine the first radio environment information according to the fourth request information.

[0356] Optionally, the processing module 1701 is configured to determine the first wireless environment information according to the fourth request information, including: the processing module 1701 is configured to determine the first wireless environment information according to the fourth request information and the perception environment information of the first area, the perception environment information of the first area being information related to a physical environment in the first area.

[0357] Optionally, the transceiver module 1702 is configured to receive fifth request information from the fourth communication apparatus, the fifth request information being used to request the second wireless environment information; the transceiver module 1702 is further configured to send sixth request information to the fifth communication apparatus according to the fifth request information, the sixth request information being used to request the position information of the terminal; and the transceiver module 1702 is further configured to receive the position information of the terminal from the fifth communication apparatus.

[0358] Optionally, the processing module 1701 is configured to determine the second wireless environment information according to the first wireless environment information and the position information of the terminal, including: the processing module 1701 is configured to determine the second wireless environment information according to the first wireless environment information and the position information of the terminal based on the request of the fifth request information.

[0359] Optionally, the transceiver module 1702 is configured to receive seventh request information from the sixth communication apparatus, the seventh request information being used to request the second wireless environment information, and the seventh request information including the position information of the terminal.

[0360] Optionally, the processing module 1701 is configured to determine the second wireless environment information according to the first wireless environment information and the position information of the terminal, including: the processing module 1701 is configured to determine the second wireless environment information according to the first wireless environment information and the position information of the terminal based on the request of the seventh request information.

[0361] Optionally, the transceiver module 1702 is further configured to send the second wireless environment information to the fourth communication apparatus or the sixth communication apparatus.

[0362] In the case that the first communication apparatus is a terminal, i.e., in the case that the communication apparatus 170 is used to realize the function of a terminal:

[0363] Optionally, the transceiver module 1702 is configured to receive the first wireless environment information from the seventh communication apparatus; and the transceiver module 1702 is further configured to send the second wireless environment information to the seventh communication apparatus.

[0364] Optionally, the transceiver module 1702 is further configured to receive indication information from the seventh communication apparatus, the indication information indicating an area corresponding to the first wireless environment information and / or a valid time of the first wireless environment information.

[0365] Optionally, the processing module 1701 is configured to determine the second radio environment information according to the first radio environment information and the location information of the terminal, including: the processing module 1701 is configured to determine the second radio environment information according to the first radio environment information and the location information of the terminal within the effective time of the first radio environment information.

[0366] When the communication apparatus 170 is configured to implement the function of the RAN node, the processing module 1701 is configured to determine the first radio environment information according to the sensing environment information of the first area.

[0367] The processing module 1701 is configured to acquire the sensing environment information of the first area through the transceiver module 1702, the sensing environment information being information related to a physical environment within the first area; the processing module 1701 is further configured to acquire the location information of the terminal, the terminal being located within the first area; and the processing module 1701 is further configured to determine the information related to the wireless signal transmission of the terminal according to the sensing environment information and the location information of the terminal.

[0368] Optionally, the transceiver module 1702 is configured to send second request information to the SF network element, the second request information being used to request the sensing environment information of the first area; and the transceiver module 1702 is further configured to receive the sensing environment information of the first area from the SF network element.

[0369] Optionally, the processing module 1701 is configured to determine the information related to the wireless signal transmission of the terminal according to the sensing environment information of the first area and the location information of the terminal, including: the processing module 1701 is configured to determine the first radio environment information according to the sensing environment information of the first area, the first radio environment information being information related to the wireless signal transmission within the first area; and the processing module 1701 is configured to determine the information related to the wireless signal transmission of the terminal according to the first radio environment information and the location information of the terminal.

[0370] Optionally, the processing module 1701 is configured to determine the first radio environment information according to the sensing environment information of the first area, including: the processing module 1701 is configured to determine the first radio environment information according to the sensing environment information of the first area and the radio information of at least one RAN node within the first area. The radio information of the RAN node includes at least one of the following: the antenna position, the antenna height, the antenna orientation angle, the transmission power, or the frequency used of the RAN node.

[0371] Optionally, the transceiver module 1702 is configured to send third request information to the terminal or the AMF network element, the third request information being used to request the location information of the terminal; and the transceiver module 1702 is further configured to receive the location information from the terminal or the AMF network element.

[0372] Optionally, in the case that the information related to wireless signal transmission of the terminal comprises RSRP and / or RSRQ, the processing module 1701 is further configured to perform at least one of the following: wireless link state detection, beam management, or mobility management, according to the information related to wireless signal transmission of the terminal.

[0373] Optionally, in the case that the information related to wireless signal transmission of the terminal comprises channel characteristic values and / or a channel matrix, the processing module 1701 is further configured to determine channel state information (CSI) between the terminal and the RAN node according to the information related to wireless signal transmission of the terminal.

[0374] The above description of the steps involved in the method embodiments can be applied to the functions of the corresponding functional modules, and will not be repeated here.

[0375] In the present application, the communication apparatus 170 can be in the form of an integrated manner to divide various functional modules. The "module" here can refer to a specific application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a circuit, a processor and a memory executing one or more software or firmware programs, an integrated logic circuit, and / or other devices that can provide the above functions.

[0376] In some embodiments, when the communication apparatus 170 in FIG. 17 is a chip or a chip system, the functions / implementation processes of the transceiver module 1702 can be implemented through the input / output interface (or communication interface) of the chip or chip system, and the functions / implementation processes of the processing module 1701 can be implemented through the processor (or processing circuit) of the chip or chip system.

[0377] Since the communication apparatus 170 provided by the present embodiment can execute the above method, the technical effects it can obtain can refer to the above method embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

[0378] As a possible product form, the first communication apparatus or RAN node described in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented using one or more field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), controllers, state machines, gate logic, discrete hardware components, any other suitable circuitry, or any combination thereof capable of performing the various functions described throughout the present application.

[0379] As another possible product form, the first communication device or the RAN node described in embodiments of the application can be implemented by a general bus architecture. For ease of illustration, see Figure 18, which is a structural schematic diagram of a communication device 1800 provided in embodiments of the application, the communication device 1800 including a processor 1801 and a transceiver 1802. The communication device 1800 can be a first communication device, or a chip or chip system therein; or the communication device 1800 can be a RAN node, or a chip or module therein. Figure 18 only shows the main components of the communication device 1800. In addition to the processor 1801 and the transceiver 1802, the communication device can further include a memory 1803, and an input / output device (not shown in the figure).

[0380] Optionally, the processor 1801 is mainly used for processing communication protocols and communication data, and controlling the entire communication device, executing software programs, processing data of the software programs, so as to implement the methods provided in the above method embodiments. The memory 1803 is mainly used for storing software programs and data. The transceiver 1802 can include a radio frequency circuit and an antenna, the radio frequency circuit is mainly used for conversion between a baseband signal and a radio frequency signal and processing of the radio frequency signal. The antenna is mainly used for transceiving radio frequency signals in the form of electromagnetic waves. The input / output device, such as a touch screen, a display screen, a keyboard, etc., is mainly used for receiving data input by a user and outputting data to the user.

[0381] Optionally, the processor 1801, the transceiver 1802, and the memory 1803 can be connected through a communication bus.

[0382] When the communication device is powered on, the processor 1801 can read the software programs in the memory 1803, execute instructions of the software programs, and process data of the software programs. When data needs to be transmitted wirelessly, the processor 1801 performs baseband processing on the data to be transmitted, and outputs a baseband signal to the radio frequency circuit, the radio frequency circuit performs radio frequency processing on the baseband signal, and transmits the radio frequency signal in the form of electromagnetic waves through the antenna. When data is transmitted to the communication device, the radio frequency circuit receives the radio frequency signal through the antenna, converts the radio frequency signal into a baseband signal, and outputs the baseband signal to the processor 1801, the processor 1801 converts the baseband signal into data and processes the data.

[0383] In another implementation, the radio frequency circuit and the antenna can be arranged independently of the processor performing baseband processing, for example, in a distributed scenario, the radio frequency circuit and the antenna can be arranged remotely from the communication device.

[0384] In some embodiments, in a hardware implementation, those skilled in the art can conceive that the above-mentioned communication device 170 can adopt the form of the communication device 1800 shown in Figure 18.

[0385] As an example, the function / implementation process of the processing module 1701 in FIG. 17 can be implemented by invoking the computer-executed instructions stored in the memory 1803 by the processor 1801 in the communication apparatus 1800 shown in FIG. 18. The function / implementation process of the transceiver module 1702 in FIG. 17 can be implemented by the transceiver 1802 in the communication apparatus 1800 shown in FIG. 18.

[0386] As yet another possible product form, the first communication apparatus or the RAN node in the present application can adopt the constituent structure shown in FIG. 19, or include the components shown in FIG. 19. FIG. 19 is a constituent diagram of a communication apparatus 1900 provided in the present application, which can be the first communication apparatus or a chip or system on chip in the first communication apparatus; or can be the RAN node or a chip or system on chip in the RAN node.

[0387] As shown in FIG. 19, the communication apparatus 1900 includes at least one processor 1901, and at least one communication interface (only one communication interface 1904 is shown in FIG. 19 by way of example, and the processor 1901 is taken as an example for description). Optionally, the communication apparatus 1900 can further include a communication bus 1902 and a memory 1903.

[0388] The processor 1901 can be a general central processing unit (CPU), a general processor, a network processor (NP), a digital signal processor (DSP), a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a PLD, or any combination thereof. The processor 1901 can also be other apparatuses with processing function, such as a circuit, a device, or a software module, without limitation.

[0389] The communication bus 1902 is used to connect different components in the communication apparatus 1900, so that different components can communicate. The communication bus 1902 can be a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) bus or an extended industry standard architecture (EISA) bus, etc. The bus can be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For ease of representation, only one thick line is shown in FIG. 19, but it does not mean that there is only one bus or only one type of bus.

[0390] The communication interface 1904 is configured to communicate with other devices or communication networks. For example, the communication interface 1904 can be a module, a circuit, a transceiver, or any device capable of implementing communication. Alternatively, the communication interface 1904 can also be an input / output interface in the processor 1901, configured to realize signal input and signal output of the processor.

[0391] The memory 1903 can be a device with a storage function, configured to store instructions and / or data. The instructions can be a computer program.

[0392] For example, the memory 1903 can be a read-only memory (ROM) or other type of static storage device that can store static information and / or instructions, or can be a random access memory (RAM) or other type of dynamic storage device that can store information and / or instructions, or can be an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), or other optical disk storage, a magneto-optical disk storage (including a compact flash, a laser disk, an optical disk, a digital versatile disk, a Blu-ray disk, etc.), a magnetic disk storage medium or other magnetic storage device, etc., without limitation.

[0393] It should be noted that the memory 1903 can exist independently of the processor 1901, or can be integrated with the processor 1901. The memory 1903 can be located in the communication device 1900, or can be located outside the communication device 1900, without limitation. The processor 1901 can be configured to execute instructions stored in the memory 1903 to implement the methods provided in the embodiments described below.

[0394] Optionally, the processor 1901 and / or the memory 1903 can include an artificial intelligence (AI) module, which is configured to implement AI-related functions. The AI module can be implemented in software, hardware, or a combination of software and hardware. For example, the AI module can include a radio access network intelligent controller (RIC) module. For example, the AI module can be a near-real-time RIC or a non-real-time RIC.

[0395] As an optional implementation, the communication apparatus 1900 can further include an output device 1905 and an input device 1906. The output device 1905 communicates with the processor 1901 and can display information in various manners. For example, the output device 1905 can be a liquid crystal display (LCD), a light emitting diode (LED) display device, a cathode ray tube (CRT) display device, a projector, or the like. The input device 1906 communicates with the processor 1901 and can receive input of a user in various manners. For example, the input device 1906 can be a mouse, a keyboard, a touch screen device, a sensing device, or the like.

[0396] In some embodiments, on the hardware implementation, those skilled in the art can conceive that the communication apparatus 170 shown in FIG. 17 can take the form of the communication apparatus 1900 shown in FIG. 19.

[0397] As an example, the functions / implementation procedures of the processing module 1701 in FIG. 17 can be implemented by the processor 1901 in the communication apparatus 1900 shown in FIG. 19 invoking computer-executable instructions stored in the memory 1903. The functions / implementation procedures of the transceiver module 1702 in FIG. 17 can be implemented by the communication interface 1904 in the communication apparatus 1900 shown in FIG. 19.

[0398] It should be noted that the structure shown in FIG. 19 does not constitute a specific limitation on the first communication apparatus or the RAN node. For example, in some other embodiments of the present application, the first communication apparatus or the RAN node can include more or fewer components than those shown, or combine certain components, or split certain components, or different arrangement of components. The components shown can be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of software and hardware.

[0399] In some embodiments, the embodiments of the present application also provide a communication apparatus including a processor for implementing the method in any of the above method embodiments.

[0400] As a possible implementation, the communication apparatus further includes a memory. The memory is used to save necessary computer programs and data. The computer programs can include instructions, and the processor can invoke the instructions in the computer programs stored in the memory to instruct the communication apparatus to perform the method in any of the above method embodiments. Of course, the memory can also not be in the communication apparatus.

[0401] As another possible implementation, the communication apparatus further includes an interface circuit, which is a code / data read-write interface circuit, configured to receive computer execution instructions (the computer execution instructions are stored in the memory, and can be read directly from the memory or can pass through other devices) and transmit to the processor.

[0402] As yet another possible implementation, the communication apparatus further includes a communication interface, configured to communicate with a module outside the communication apparatus.

[0403] It can be understood that the communication apparatus can be a chip or a chip system, when the communication apparatus is a chip system, the communication apparatus can be composed of a chip, or can include a chip and other discrete devices, and embodiments of the present application do not make specific limitations.

[0404] The present application also provides a computer readable storage medium, which stores a computer program or instructions, and the computer program or instructions realize the functions of any of the above method embodiments when executed by a computer.

[0405] The present application also provides a computer program product, which realizes the functions of any of the above method embodiments when executed by a computer.

[0406] Those skilled in the art can understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the above-described system, apparatus and unit can refer to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

[0407] It can be understood that the system, apparatus and method described in the present application can also be implemented in other ways. For example, the apparatus embodiments described above are only schematic, for example, the division of the units is only a logical function division, and actual implementation can have another division manner, for example, a plurality of units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. In addition, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection between the units shown or discussed can be indirect coupling or communication connection through some interface, device or unit, and can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0408] The units described as separate components can or can not be physically separate, that is, can be located in one place, or can be distributed on a plurality of network units. The components shown as units can or can not be physical units. Part or all of the units can be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the present embodiment.

[0409] In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application can be integrated in one processing unit, or each unit can be physically present separately, or two or more units can be integrated in one unit.

[0410] In the embodiments described above, all or some of the embodiments can be implemented by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented by software, all or some of the embodiments can be implemented in the form of a computer program product storing computer program instructions. The computer program instructions are executed in a computer to implement the procedures or functions described in the embodiments of the present application. The computer can be a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable apparatus. The computer program instructions 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 instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server or data center to another website, computer, server or data center through wired (for example, coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (for example, infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) manner. The computer readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or data storage device including one or more servers, data centers, etc. integrated with the medium. The available medium can be a magnetic medium (for example, floppy disk, hard disk, magnetic tape), an optical medium (for example, DVD), or a semiconductor medium (for example, solid state disk (SSD)), etc. In the embodiments of the present application, the computer can include the device described above.

[0411] Although the present application is described herein in conjunction with various embodiments, other variations of the disclosed embodiments can be understood and effected by those skilled in the art in practicing the claimed application, from the appended claims, the disclosure and the accompanying drawings. In the claims, the word "comprising" does not exclude other elements or steps, and the indefinite articles "a" or "an" do not exclude a plurality. A single processor or other unit can fulfill the functions of several items recited in the claims. The mere fact that certain measures are recited in mutually different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be used to advantage.

[0412] Although the present application has been described in connection with the preferred embodiments thereof with reference to the specific content thereof, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and changes can be made thereto without departing from the scope of the present application. Accordingly, the description and drawings are to be regarded as illustrative in nature and are not to be taken as limiting the scope of the present application as defined by the appended claims. Obviously many modifications and changes can be made in the application without departing from the scope thereof. It is understood that the application is not to be limited to the specific examples set forth as examples, but that these examples are intended to cover all modifications and variations of this application.

Claims

A communication method, characterized in that, The method is applied to a first communication device, and the method includes: Obtain first wireless environment information, which is information related to wireless signal transmission within a first area; Obtain the location information of the terminal, wherein the terminal is located within the first area; Based on the first wireless environment information and the location information of the terminal, a second wireless environment information is determined, which is information related to the wireless signal transmission of the terminal. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first wireless environment information includes at least one of the following: Reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), channel characteristics, channel matrix, large-scale fading information, small-scale fading information, multipath information, or interference information. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The second wireless environment information includes at least one of the following: RSRP, RSRQ, channel characteristic value, channel matrix, large-scale fading information, small-scale fading information, multipath information, or interference information. The method according to any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that, The first wireless environment information is determined based on the perceived environment information of the first area, which is information related to the physical environment within the first area. The method according to any one of claims 1-4, characterized in that, The acquisition of the first wireless environment information includes: Send a first request message to the second communication device, the first request message being used to request wireless environment information of the first area; Receive the first wireless environment information from the second communication device. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that, The first request information includes information about the first area and at least one of the following: parameters included in the first wireless environment information, the level of the first wireless environment information, and wireless information of at least one first communication device within the first area; The first wireless environment information level includes frequency level, cell level or beam level; the wireless information of the first communication device includes at least one of the following: antenna position, antenna height, antenna orientation angle, transmission power, or frequency used by the first communication device. The method according to any one of claims 1-4, characterized in that, The acquisition of the first wireless environment information includes: Send a second request message to the second communication device, the second request message being used to request the perceived environmental information of the first area; Receive sensing environment information from the first area of ​​the second communication device, wherein the sensing environment information of the first area is information related to the physical environment within the first area; The first wireless environment information is determined based on the perceived environmental information of the first area. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that, The second request information includes information about the first region and at least one of the following: the accuracy of the perceived environment information, the parameters included in the perceived environment information, or the method of transmitting the perceived environment information; The parameters of the sensing environment include at least one of the following: type, material, position, size, shape, movement speed, dielectric constant, or reflection coefficient of the scatterer in the first region; the transmission method includes event triggering or periodic transmission. The method according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that, The step of determining the first wireless environment information based on the perceived environment information of the first region includes: The first wireless environment information is determined based on the perceived environmental information of the first area and the wireless information of at least one first communication device in the first area; The wireless information of the first communication device includes at least one of the following: the antenna position, antenna height, antenna orientation angle, transmission power, or frequency used by the first communication device. The method according to any one of claims 5-9, characterized in that, The acquisition of the terminal's location information includes: Send a third request message to the terminal or a third communication device, the third request message being used to request the location information of the terminal; Receive the location information from the terminal or the third communication device. The method according to any one of claims 5-10, characterized in that, The second wireless environment information includes RSRP and / or RSRQ; the method further includes: Perform at least one of the following based on the second wireless environment information: wireless link status detection, beam management, or mobility management. The method according to any one of claims 5-11, characterized in that, The second wireless environment information includes channel feature values ​​and / or a channel matrix; the method further includes: The Channel State Information (CSI) between the terminal and the first communication device is determined based on the second wireless environment information. The method according to any one of claims 1-5, characterized in that, The acquisition of the first wireless environment information includes: Receive a fourth request message from a fourth communication device, the fourth request message being used to request wireless environment information of the first area; Based on the fourth request information, the first wireless environment information is determined. The method according to claim 13, characterized in that, The fourth request information includes information about the first area and at least one of the following: parameters included in the first wireless environment information, the level of the first wireless environment information, and wireless information of at least one fourth communication device within the first area; The first wireless environment information level includes frequency level, cell level or beam level; the wireless information of the fourth communication device includes at least one of the following: antenna position, antenna height, antenna orientation angle, transmission power, or frequency used by the fourth communication device. The method according to claim 13 or 14 is characterized in that, The step of determining the first wireless environment information based on the fourth request information includes: Based on the fourth request information and the perceived environment information of the first area, the first wireless environment information is determined, wherein the perceived environment information of the first area is information related to the physical environment within the first area. The method according to any one of claims 13-15, characterized in that, The acquisition of the terminal's location information includes: Receive a fifth request message from a fourth communication device, the fifth request message being used to request the second wireless environment information; A sixth request message is sent to the fifth communication device according to the fifth request message, the sixth request message being used to request the location information of the terminal; The terminal receives location information from the fifth communication device. The method according to claim 16, characterized in that, The fifth request information includes the identifier of the terminal and at least one of the following: the level of the second wireless environment information, and the parameters included in the second wireless environment information. The method according to claim 16 or 17 is characterized in that, Based on the first wireless environment information and the location information of the terminal, the second wireless environment information is determined, including: Based on the request of the fifth request information, the second wireless environment information is determined according to the first wireless environment information and the location information of the terminal. The method according to any one of claims 13-15, characterized in that, The acquisition of the terminal's location information includes: The terminal receives a seventh request message from a sixth communication device, the seventh request message being used to request the second wireless environment information, the seventh request message including the location information of the terminal. The method according to claim 19, characterized in that, The seventh request information also includes the level of the second wireless environment information, and / or the parameters included in the second wireless environment information. The method according to claim 19 or 20 is characterized in that, Based on the first wireless environment information and the location information of the terminal, the second wireless environment information is determined, including: Based on the request of the seventh request information, the second wireless environment information is determined according to the first wireless environment information and the location information of the terminal. The method according to any one of claims 13-21, characterized in that, The method further includes: The second wireless environment information is sent to the fourth or sixth communication device. The method according to any one of claims 1-5, characterized in that, The step of obtaining the first wireless environment information includes: receiving the first wireless environment information from the seventh communication device; The method further includes: The second wireless environment information is sent to the seventh communication device. The method according to claim 23, characterized in that, The method further includes: The device receives an instruction from the seventh communication device, the instruction indicating the area corresponding to the first wireless environment information and / or the validity period of the first wireless environment information. The method according to claim 23 or 24 is characterized in that, The step of determining the second wireless environment information based on the first wireless environment information and the location information of the terminal includes: Within the valid time of the first wireless environment information, the second wireless environment information is determined based on the first wireless environment information and the location information of the terminal. The method according to any one of claims 23-25, characterized in that, The method further includes: The system receives an eighth request message from the seventh communication device, the eighth request message being used to request the second wireless environment information. The method according to claim 26, characterized in that, The eighth request information includes the level of the second wireless environment information and / or the parameters included in the second wireless environment information. A communication device, characterized in that, The communication device includes a processor; the processor is configured to run a computer program or instructions to cause the communication device to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1-27. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, A computer-readable storage medium stores computer instructions or programs that, when executed on a computer, cause the method described in any one of claims 1-27 to be performed. A computer program product, characterized in that, The computer program product includes computer instructions; when some or all of the computer instructions are run on a computer, the method described in any one of claims 1-27 is performed.

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