Communication device and communication method

Abstract

The present invention realizes multi-static sensing by reusing an existing radio communication infrastructure. A communication device according to the present disclosure is included in a plurality of communication devices that cooperatively perform multi-static sensing, wherein the multi-static sensing is sensing in which a plurality of transmission side nodes each emit sensing radio waves to the same object, one or a plurality of reception side nodes receive a plurality of reflected waves generated when each sensing radio wave is reflected by the object, and the reception side nodes generate detection data for detecting the object on the basis of the reception results at the reception side nodes. This communication device constitutes a transmission side node that transmits, to the reception side nodes, sensing information to be used to generate the detection data at the reception side nodes.

Description

Communication device and communication method

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a communication device and a communication method.

[0002] In the next-generation mobile communication system (6G), interest is growing in a technology that combines communication and RF-based sensing (Integrated Sensing and Communication (ISAC)). This RF-based sensing is a technology that detects information such as the presence of a sensing target by receiving radio waves transmitted from a transmitting node and reflected by the sensing target at a receiving node.

[0003] The Technical Specification Group Service and System Aspects WG1 (TSG SA WG1:SAI), one of the working groups (WG) of the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP (registered trademark)), has defined 32 use cases for ISAC. For example, the use cases include detection and position estimation use cases such as intrusion detection and situation monitoring for smart transportation, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and smart homes, healthcare monitoring use cases such as respiration detection, vital sign sensing, and gesture recognition, and weather radar use cases such as raindrop detection (see, for example, Non-Patent Document 1).

[0004] In 3GPP Rel-19, the first use case to be discussed at ISAC was determined to be object detection and / or tracking. Five objects were selected as sensing targets: UAVs, humans indoors and outdoors, autonomous vehicles, automated guided vehicles, and obstacles on railways / highways. It was agreed to develop deployment scenarios and study channel models (see, for example, Non-Patent Document 2).

[0005] Thus, the feasibility of sensing using wireless communication hardware has attracted attention (see, for example, Non-Patent Document 3).

[0006] RF-based sensing includes monostatic sensing and multistatic sensing. Monostatic sensing is sensing in which a sending node and a receiving node are in the same location or in a location that can be considered to be in the same location. Multistatic sensing is sensing in which one or more sending nodes and one or more receiving nodes in different locations cooperate to perform sensing. Compared to monostatic sensing, multistatic sensing can achieve higher accuracy and a wider sensing range.

[0007] 3GPP TR 22.837 V19.2.1 (2024-02), 3rd Generation Partnership Project; Technical Specification Group TSG SA; Feasibility Study on Integrated Sensing and Communication (Release 19)Edinburgh, "New SID: Study on channel modeling for Integrated Sensing And Communication (ISAC) for NR, RAN Meeting #102,",Dec. 11th - 15th, 2023.Dariush Salami, Ramin Hasibi, Stefano Savazzi, Tom Michoel, Stephan Sigg, "Integrating Sensing and Communication in Cellular Networks via NR Sidelink," (online), 2021, (retrieved March 1, 2024), Internet,<URL : https: / / arxiv.org / abs / 2109.07253>

[0008] However, in the above multistatic sensing, a method for reusing the existing wireless communication infrastructure has not been considered.

[0009] Therefore, the present disclosure proposes a communication device and a communication method that realizes multistatic sensing by reusing existing wireless communication infrastructure.

[0010] The communication device disclosed herein is a communication device included in multiple communication devices that cooperate to perform multistatic sensing, in which multiple transmitting nodes each transmit sensing radio waves to the same object, and one or more receiving nodes receive multiple reflected waves generated when each of the sensing radio waves is reflected by the object, and the receiving node generates detection data for detecting the object based on the reception results at the receiving node, and the communication device constitutes the transmitting node that transmits sensing information used to generate the detection data at the receiving node to the receiving node.

[0011] 1 is a diagram illustrating an overview of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example configuration of a node according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example configuration of a base station according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example configuration of a terminal device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example configuration of an information processing device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example configuration of a sensing radio wave according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a sensing process according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating another example of a sensing process according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of an RCS according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example when there are multiple receiving nodes according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of candidate propagation paths according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of candidate propagation paths according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0012] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In each of the following embodiments, the same components are designated by the same reference numerals, and redundant description will be omitted. In addition, multiple components having substantially the same functional configuration may be distinguished by designating multiple components having substantially the same functional configuration as terminal device 40 as needed. １ , 40 ２ and 40 ３However, when there is no need to particularly distinguish between multiple components having substantially the same functional configuration, only the same reference numerals are used. For example, the terminal device 40 １ , 40 ２ and 40 ３ When there is no need to particularly distinguish between them, they will be simply referred to as terminal devices 40.

[0013] The description will be given in the following order: 1. Overview 1.1 Background Art 1.2 Problem to be Solved 1.3 Overview of the Present Disclosure 1.4 System Configuration 2. Embodiment

[0014] <1. Overview> <1.1 Background Art> Radio access technologies (RATs) and wireless networks for cellular mobile communications (also referred to as "New Radio (NR)," "New Radio Access Technology (NRAT)," "Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (EUTRA)," or "Further EUTRA (FEUTRA)") are being studied by 3GPP. In the following description, NR includes NRAT and FEUTRA. In NR, a base station device (base station) is also referred to as gNodeB, and a terminal device (mobile station, mobile station device, terminal) is also referred to as UE (User Equipment). NR is a cellular communication system in which multiple areas covered by a base station device are arranged in the form of cells. A single base station device may manage multiple cells. In addition to high speed and large capacity (enhanced Mobile BroadBand: eMBB), NR requires ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC) and massive machine type communication (mMTC) to accommodate large-scale terminals.

[0015] Furthermore, cellular communication systems, including 3rd Generation Mobile Communication Systems (3G) and 4th Generation Mobile Communication Systems (4G), support various services related to wireless communication. For example, location services that use location information of communication devices (e.g., terminal devices) are supported in 5th Generation Mobile Communication Systems (5G) since 3G. Various positioning methods, including RAT-independent methods, are defined for location services.

[0016] Currently, in parallel with the formulation of 5G specifications, 3GPP has begun discussions on Beyond 5G (B5G) and the 6th Generation Mobile Communication System (6G). In addition to the expansion of communication capacity that has been considered prior to 5G, 6G is considering integration of X (X: Computing, Sensing, Positioning, RAT, etc.), which aims to integrate with other systems to add new value to wireless communication networks. In particular, there has been growing interest in technologies that integrate communication and sensing (also known as "Integrated Sensing and Communication (ISAC)," "Integrated Communication and Sensing (ICAS)," and "Joint Communication and Sensing (JCAS)").

[0017] Furthermore, while the location service described above defines various positioning techniques, the purpose of these techniques is limited to detecting the location of a terminal. ISAC also anticipates the use of sensors for image detection or object shape detection, such as cameras (image sensors) or LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging), in addition to the positioning sensors used in location services. Here, communication devices equipped with sensors are not limited to terminal devices, but may also be devices other than terminal devices, such as base stations or roadside units (RSUs). Furthermore, ISAC anticipates that terminal devices and base stations will not only provide communication functions, but also provide radio frequency (RF)-based sensing functions utilizing wireless communication infrastructure. In other words, mobile communication systems are expected to acquire information from various sensors equipped in terminal devices and base stations via wireless communication infrastructure, providing new added-value sensing services such as sensor fusion using artificial intelligence and machine learning.

[0018] The fusion scenario between wireless communication infrastructure and sensing can be divided into several fusion stages, ranging from spatial fusion to complete fusion. First, there is a fusion stage in which the wireless communication infrastructure lends space and power for installing third-party sensors. Next, there is a fusion stage in which time and frequency resources are managed for third-party sensors, and resources in the licensed band that the sensors can use preferentially without interference are allocated. Finally, there is a fusion stage, which is the highest fusion level, in which sensing functions are incorporated into wireless communication hardware and sensing is performed by the wireless communication hardware. In this invention, we focus on sensing by wireless communication hardware, and we refer to sensing that reuses existing wireless communication infrastructure as NR-based Radio Frequency (RF) Sensing.

[0019] 6G aims to achieve a number of device connections more than 10 times greater than 5G in order to accommodate the Society 5.0 era, in which the number of simultaneously connected devices and sensors is expected to increase dramatically. Given this trend, it is highly likely that IoT devices will be deployed at higher densities in the next-generation world, and different performance and other requirements will be required for each IoT device. When detecting / tracking objects using NR-based RF Sensing in ISAC, it is necessary to appropriately share performance and location information of connected devices and select the device and / or sensing method to be used for optimal sensing.

[0020] <1.2 Problem to be solved> This disclosure proposes a new sequence for realizing NR-based RF sensing, enabling multistatic sensing that reuses existing wireless communication infrastructure. When detecting / tracking an object using this multistatic sensing, the intensity of the reflected wave from the object is angularly dependent on the angle of incidence and the angle of reflection, which poses a problem in that the parameters required for detection / tracking (e.g., radar cross section (RCS) and received power) are affected by this angular dependency. With bistatic sensing, one of the conventional methods, there is only one receiving node, making it difficult to solve this problem.

[0021] In addition, while conventional methods for achieving receive diversity by using multiple receiving nodes can solve the problem of angle dependency, they require both the transmitting node and the receiving node to perform processes such as estimating the angle of departure and angle of arrival. Because high performance is required, such as having many antenna elements, there are limitations on the selection of receiving nodes, making it difficult to secure the number of terminals that can achieve sufficient receive diversity. Due to these limitations, even if IoT terminals and the like are deployed more densely in the future, they will not be able to be used for NR-based RF Sensing, and it is possible that the ISAC service area will not expand.

[0022] 1.3 Overview of the Present Disclosure This disclosure proposes a communication device and a communication method for performing multistatic sensing for object detection / tracking, which are configured with multiple transmitting nodes and one receiving node. By arranging the hardware required for sensing, such as multiple antennas, in multiple transmitting nodes, it is possible to perform sensing processing at the receiving node without requiring significant expansion of hardware performance, such as receiving power calculations. This solves one of the above-mentioned problems, namely, the need for high performance in the receiving node. Furthermore, if multiple transmitting nodes are present in the area where sensing is desired, it is possible to select a receiving node with fewer performance limitations. Therefore, when IoT terminals and the like are deployed at higher densities in the future, the number of terminals that can be used as receiving nodes can be increased, making it easier to achieve receive diversity. This solves one of the above-mentioned problems, namely, the angular dependency of sensing radio wave intensity.

[0023] <1.4 System Configuration> Fig. 1 is a diagram illustrating an overview of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The communication system according to the embodiment is a cellular communication system in which multiple communication devices (e.g., terminal devices) are wirelessly connected. The communication system according to the embodiment includes a base station and an information processing device, and provides wireless communication services to the multiple communication devices. The information processing device is, for example, a device that belongs to a core network. Note that the communication system may also include a server separate from the base station and the information processing device. This server is, for example, an application server that provides various services to the terminal devices.

[0024] In the following description, the term "multiple communication devices" includes base stations. That is, the communication devices of this embodiment may be base stations. The communication devices of this embodiment are not limited to terminal devices and base stations. For example, the communication devices of this embodiment may be devices that have at least some of the functions of a terminal device and / or at least some of the functions of a base station. For example, the communication devices of this embodiment may be repeater or relay devices that repeat or relay a predetermined signal.

[0025] Each of the plurality of communication devices includes hardware for wireless communication (hereinafter referred to as wireless communication hardware). For example, each of the plurality of communication devices includes a wireless communication unit for cellular communication (e.g., a 3GPP transceiver). At least one of the plurality of communication devices includes an RF (Radio Frequency)-based sensing function that utilizes the wireless communication hardware. For example, at least one of the plurality of communication devices includes an RF-based sensing function supported by a 3GPP transceiver.

[0026] The RF-based sensing function is, for example, a function for detecting surrounding objects (hereinafter referred to as sensing objects or objects) using wireless communication resources for cellular communication. Here, the RF-based sensing may be, for example, sensing that detects at least one of the presence of the object, the direction in which the object is located (angular information), and the position information of the object. Of course, the information detected by the RF-based sensing is not limited to these. For example, the RF-based sensing may be sensing that detects at least one of the reflectivity of the object, the velocity of the object, and the acceleration of the object.

[0027] Each of the multiple communication devices may include one or more sensors. The sensor included in the communication device may be a sensor that detects position information, such as a positioning sensor, or may be a sensor such as a camera and / or LiDAR. The sensor included in the communication device may be capable of detecting the presence of an object and / or detecting angle information from the communication device to the object. The presence detection information and angle information may be incorporated as control information in the transmission signal radio wave generation process of the base station and the communication device.

[0028] The services provided by the communication system of this embodiment include sensing services. The sensing services are, for example, services provided based on data detected by a communication device or a sensor included in the communication device. In the following description, data detected by a communication device or a sensor is referred to as detected data. The detected data can be rephrased as sensing data, sensing information, or sensing results. The sensing service may also be interpreted as the acquisition of detected data by a sensor.

[0029] The detected data may be detected using radio waves in the same band as the resources used for wireless communication. Specifically, the detected data may be detected using resources used for cellular communication, or may be detected using resources used for communication other than cellular communication (e.g., Wi-Fi (registered trademark) communication and / or Bluetooth (registered trademark) communication).

[0030] An information processing device (e.g., a core network) provided in a communication system performs processing related to a sensing service based on a request from a server (e.g., an application server). The device that requests the sensing service is not limited to a server. The device that requests the sensing service may be a communication device other than a server, for example, at least one of a terminal device, a core network, and a base station. Furthermore, the information processing device that performs processing related to the sensing service is not limited to a core network. The information processing device that performs processing related to the sensing service may be a server, a base station, or another communication device (e.g., a terminal device).

[0031] In this embodiment, the sensing service is particularly assumed to be multi-static sensing performed by multiple communication devices. Detection data obtained by multi-static sensing includes, for example, information on the presence of a sensing object, information on the angle of departure (AoD) from the transmitting communication device to the sensing object, and information on the angle of arrival (AoA) from the sensing object to the receiving communication device. Furthermore, the communication device / information processing device / server can localize the sensing object from this information. Location information obtained by location estimation can also be considered as detection data.

[0032] When the information processing device receives a request for a sensing service, it starts a process for starting multistatic sensing. This process includes at least one of a process related to selection of multiple communication devices (one or more transmitting nodes and one or more receiving nodes) to be used for multistatic sensing, a process related to transmission of sensing radio waves, and a process related to allocation of time-frequency resources for reporting information related to sensing.

[0033] The selected node uses the allocated resources to perform at least one of executing a multistatic sensing process and transmitting or receiving sensing-related information (e.g., control information and / or detection data). The information processing device then acquires the control information and detection data from the node and executes processing related to the sensing service. The information processing device then transmits the acquired detection data to a device (e.g., a server) that requires the detection data.

[0034] In this disclosure, RF-based sensing refers to detecting the presence, angle information, position information, speed, acceleration, reflectivity (or RCS), etc. of a sensing target by receiving radio waves (reflected waves) emitted from a transmitting node at a receiving node, thereby performing object detection (or detection, identification) and / or tracking (or tracking, location estimation). Multistatic sensing, one RF-based sensing technique, is sensing performed cooperatively by one or more transmitting nodes and one or more receiving nodes located in different positions. Among multistatic sensing techniques, sensing performed by one transmitting node and one receiving node is called bistatic sensing.

[0035] In this disclosure, we define the estimation of the terminal's position using the location service as "positioning," and the estimation of the sensing target's position using the multistatic sensing as "localization." While positioning only estimates the position of active terminals connected to a network, localization detects and / or tracks the sensing target as a passive object regardless of its network connectivity.

[0036] In addition, although the purpose of sensing in the present disclosure is to detect and / or track an object, detection may be replaced with detection or presence detection of an object (or a sensing target). Furthermore, tracking may be replaced with position estimation, since it is possible to assume that position estimation of an object is performed continuously or at regular intervals.

[0037] The radar cross section (RCS) is a value that indicates the radio wave reflection characteristics of an object. This RCS is expressed as a function of the ratio of the power of the incident wave to the sum of the power of the reflected wave for a certain object, and is expressed in units of m ２It is expressed in dBsm. By estimating the RCS value, it is possible to determine the approximate size and / or type of an object. The RCS value can be estimated from the received power, frequency, transmitted power, and object position (localization result) measured at the receiving point. However, because the power of the reflected wave is angularly dependent, it is difficult to accurately detect an object with only a few receiving points. Therefore, in order to accurately detect an object, it is necessary to estimate the RCS from multiple receiving points.

[0038] Among the base station and the multiple communication devices, those used for transmitting and receiving radio waves in RF-based sensing are referred to as nodes. A node that transmits radio waves for sensing is referred to as a transmitting node (which may also be a Tx Node or Sensing transmitter), and a node that receives radio waves for sensing is referred to as a receiving node (which may also be an Rx Node or Sensing receiver). Radio waves for sensing are radio waves that can be demodulated by the receiving node to notify control information (e.g., the departure angle of the radio waves from the transmitting node).

[0039] In the following description, the term "resource" refers to a frequency, time, resource element (including REG, CCE, and CORESET), resource block, bandwidth part, component carrier, symbol, sub-symbol, slot, mini-slot, non-slot, subslot, subframe, frame, PRACH occasion, occasion, code, multi-access physical resource, multi-access signature, and subcarrier spacing (numerology), etc.

[0040] In this disclosure, in NR-based RF sensing, wireless communication radio waves allocated to resources used for sensing are referred to as sensing radio waves. Furthermore, in this disclosure, unless it is clearly stated that information is transmitted and / or shared within the sensing radio waves or that the content is related to the sensing radio waves, it is assumed that communication is performed via a communication path for control information.

[0041] 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a communication system 1 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The communication system 1 includes a server 10, a management device 20, a base station 30, and a terminal device 40. The communication system 1 provides a wireless network (mobile network) that enables mobile communication to users by having the wireless communication devices that make up the communication system 1 operate in cooperation with each other.

[0042] The wireless network of this embodiment may be, for example, a cellular network composed of a radio access network RAN ​​and a core network CN. In this embodiment, a wireless communication device represents a device having a wireless communication function. In the example of Figure 2, the base station 30 and the terminal device 40 correspond to the wireless communication device.

[0043] The communication system 1 may include a plurality of servers 10, a plurality of management devices 20, a plurality of base stations 30, and a plurality of terminal devices 40. In the example of FIG. 2, the communication system 1 includes a plurality of servers 10. １ and server 10 ２ The management device 20 includes the management device 20 １ and management device 20 ２ The communication system 1 also includes a base station 30. １ , base station 30 ２ and base station 30 ３ The terminal device 40 is provided with the terminal device 40 １ , terminal device 40 ２ and terminal device 40 ３ In the following description, the devices included in the communication system 1 may be referred to as network devices.

[0044] The terminal device 40 may be configured to connect to a network using radio access technologies (RATs) such as LTE (Long Term Evolution), NR (New Radio), B5G (Beyond 5G), 6G, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth. In this case, the terminal device 40 may be configured to be able to use different radio access technologies (wireless communication methods). For example, the terminal device 40 may be configured to be able to use NR and Wi-Fi. Furthermore, the terminal device 40 may be configured to be able to use different cellular communication technologies (e.g., LTE, NR, B5G, or 6G).

[0045] In LTE, NR, B5G, and 6G, a terminal device (also referred to as a mobile station or a terminal) is sometimes referred to as a UE (User Equipment). Note that a terminal device is a type of communication device and is also referred to as a mobile station or a terminal.

[0046] The terminal device may be capable of connecting to the network using a wireless access technology (wireless communication method) other than LTE, NR, B5G, 6G, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth. For example, the terminal device may be capable of connecting to the network using LPWA (Low Power Wide Area) communication. The terminal device may also be capable of connecting to the network using proprietary wireless communication.

[0047] An LTE base station may be referred to as an eNodeB (Evolved Node B) or eNB. An NR base station may be referred to as a gNodeB or gNB. A 6G base station may be referred to as a 6G Node B (6GNB). An LTE RAN may be referred to as an EUTRAN. An NR RAN may be referred to as an NGRAN. A 6G RAN may be referred to as a 6GRAN.

[0048] The base station is a device equivalent to a radio base station (such as a base station, Node B, eNB, gNB, or 6GNB) or a radio access point (AP). The base station may be a radio relay station. The base station may be an optical device called a Remote Radio Head (RRH). The base station may be a receiving station such as a Field Pickup Unit (FPU) or a Transmission Reception Point (TRP). The base station may be an Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB) donor node or an IAB relay node that provides radio access lines and radio backhaul lines using time division multiplexing, frequency division multiplexing, or space division multiplexing.

[0049] The base station may be a terrestrial station or a non-terrestrial station. In other words, the communication system shown in FIG. 2 may be a non-terrestrial network. The non-terrestrial station may be a satellite station or an aircraft station. If the non-terrestrial station is a satellite station, the wireless network may be a bent-pipe (transparent) type mobile satellite communication system. The concept of a base station includes not only a donor base station but also a relay base station (also called a "relay station"). The relay base station may be any one of an RF repeater, a smart repeater, and an intelligent surface. Furthermore, the concept of a base station may include a road-side unit (RSU).

[0050] 2. Embodiments FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example configuration of a node according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Each node assumed in this embodiment has a function for performing RF-based sensing (e.g., multistatic sensing) utilizing wireless communication hardware. The sensing is sensing for detecting the presence of an object, detecting angular information and / or position information and / or reflectivity (or RCS) of the object. The sensing may also be capable of detecting the speed, acceleration, size, and shape of the object. The sensing is performed by transmitting and receiving sensing radio waves using an antenna element provided for transmitting wireless communication radio waves.

[0051] Each node can acquire its own location information by using the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), positioning services, and being a fixed node, and can notify other nodes of its location information. The location information of each node is notified to nodes that perform processing related to the sensing service or are connected to an information processing device.

[0052] Each node may be equipped with one or more sensors (hereinafter also referred to as third-party sensors). The sensors equipped in the node may be sensors that detect position information, such as positioning sensors, or may be sensors such as cameras and / or LiDAR. The sensors equipped in the node may be capable of detecting the presence of an object and / or detecting angle information from the node to the object. The presence detection information and angle information may be incorporated as control information in the transmission signal radio wave generation process of the transmitting node. Furthermore, the presence detection information and angle information may be incorporated as control information in the return signal generation process of the receiving node.

[0053] Each node can secondary use cellular radio waves modulated and demodulated for wireless communication as radio frequency-based sensing radio waves. A wired or wireless communication path (hereinafter also referred to as a control information communication path) can be provided between nodes to transmit information including control information for radio frequency-based sensing. This communication path is independent of the wireless communication path (hereinafter also referred to as a sensing wireless communication path) that uses reflections from the sensing target.

[0054] In this embodiment, a system having one receiving node for multiple transmitting nodes is used as a basic component. Furthermore, by simultaneously performing the same sensing process on multiple receiving nodes from the same set of transmitting nodes to obtain receive diversity, it is possible to more accurately detect and / or track the sensing target.

[0055] In the present disclosure, the nodes are used to perform object detection and / or tracking through multistatic sensing.

[0056] <Configuration of transmitting node> Of the nodes assumed in this embodiment, the node used as the transmitting node has a function (beamforming function) of giving directionality to radio waves and transmitting them using multiple antenna elements provided for transmitting radio communication radio waves.

[0057] In addition, the transmitting node can create and store an area map in advance as a sensing area that shows the range that the sensing radio waves can reach, for the area where sensing is performed and / or the location of the receiving node, and share this area map among transmitting nodes.

[0058] The transmitting node also selects one or more candidate receiving nodes to be used for multistatic sensing based on the area map, the angle range for performing beam scanning, the performance and usage status of the candidate terminals, etc. The transmitting node notifies the target terminal device that it is a candidate receiving node. The transmitting node can also notify sensing requests (e.g., a request to disclose terminal capabilities for sensing, confirmation of availability for sensing, and notification of the start of the sensing process). These notifications are transmitted via a control information communication path.

[0059] Furthermore, the transmitting node can select one or more receiving nodes to actually use for sensing according to the sensing request (e.g., taking into consideration receive diversity and the terminal performance of the receiving node) based on the terminal performance and / or availability for sensing obtained from the control information returned from the candidate receiving nodes, and / or the location information of the receiving nodes. Furthermore, the transmitting node can notify the selected receiving node of control information such as the time-frequency resources (and their transmission schedule) for transmitting the sensing radio waves and the time-frequency resources for returning the sensing results via the control information communication channel. The transmitting node can also determine a timing advance and a time margin for reliable reception of the sensing radio waves at the receiving node and notify the receiving node of the timing advance and time margin via the control information communication channel.

[0060] Furthermore, the transmitting node may specify a detection method to be performed by the receiving node (e.g., calculating the received power or RCS, estimating the angle of arrival, etc.) depending on the returned performance information of the receiving node and / or the content of the sensing request (e.g., detecting the position and RCS of an object, estimating the position of an unknown object, etc.). Furthermore, the transmitting node may generate sensing radio waves in cooperation with multiple transmitting nodes. In this case, the sensing radio waves are generated by time division duplex (TDD) or frequency division duplex (FDD) between the multiple transmitting nodes. In the case of FDD, the transmitting node may be able to flexibly allocate resources to the multiple transmitting nodes on a subcarrier-by-subcarrier basis.

[0061] The transmitting node may detect sensing radio waves transmitted toward the sensing object from sensing information returned from the receiving node (e.g., the received power of each sensing radio wave and / or the RCS calculated from each sensing radio wave and / or the departure angle of each sensing radio wave, the propagation path identified from the RCS, and / or the position information of the sensing object and / or the departure angle of each sensing radio wave, the sensing radio wave ID detected from the RCS, and / or the estimated arrival angle of each sensing radio wave, etc.), and perform bistatic sensing or multistatic sensing by using the departure angle from each transmitting node and the position information of each transmitting node.

[0062] <Configuration of Base Station> Fig. 4 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a base station according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The figure is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a base station 30. The base station 30 is a communication device that can be used as the above-described transmitting node. The base station 30 includes a wireless communication unit 31, a storage unit 32, and a control unit 33. Note that the configuration illustrated in the figure is a functional configuration, and the hardware configuration may be different.

[0063] The wireless communication unit 31 is a signal processing unit for wireless communication with other wireless communication devices (e.g., at least one of the terminal device 40 and another base station 30). The wireless communication unit 31 may be referred to as a wireless transceiver or simply as a transceiver. In this case, the wireless communication unit 31 may be a transceiver (hereinafter referred to as a 3GPP transceiver) conforming to the specifications defined in the Technical Specification (TS) of the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). The 3GPP transceiver may be a 3G transceiver, a 4G (LTE) transceiver, a 5G (NR) transceiver, or a transceiver of a generation after 5G (e.g., 6G). The wireless communication unit 31 is controlled by the control unit 33. The wireless communication unit 31 supports one or more wireless access methods. The wireless communication unit 31 may support at least one of NR, LTE, B5G (Beyond 5G), and 6G. The wireless communication unit 31 may support W-CDMA, cdma2000, etc. in addition to NR, LTE, B5G, and 6G. The wireless communication unit 31 may support automatic retransmission techniques such as HARQ (Hybrid Automatic Repeat reQuest). Some or all of the processing performed by the wireless communication unit 31 may be performed by the control unit 33.

[0064] The wireless communication unit 31 includes a transmission processing unit 311, a reception processing unit 312, and an antenna 313. Alternatively, at least one of the transmission processing unit 311, the reception processing unit 312, and the antenna 313 may be considered as the wireless communication unit 31. The wireless communication unit 31 may include a plurality of transmission processing units 311, a plurality of reception processing units 312, and a plurality of antennas 313. When the wireless communication unit 31 supports a plurality of wireless access methods, each unit of the wireless communication unit 31 may be configured individually for each wireless access method. The transmission processing unit 311 and the reception processing unit 312 may be configured individually for LTE, NR, B5G, and 6G. The antenna 313 may be configured with a plurality of antenna elements, for example, a plurality of patch antennas. The wireless communication unit 31 may have a beamforming function. For example, the wireless communication unit 31 may have a polarization beamforming function that uses vertically polarized waves (V polarization) and horizontally polarized waves (H polarization) (or a polarization beamforming function that uses dual polarization in polarization directions of 45 degrees and −45 degrees from the vertical direction). Note that the wireless communication unit 31 may transmit the sensing signal described above or below.

[0065] The transmission processing unit 311 performs transmission processing of the downlink control information and downlink data. For example, the transmission processing unit 311 encodes the downlink control information and downlink data input from the control unit 33 using a coding method such as block coding, convolutional coding, or turbo coding. Here, the encoding may be performed using polar codes or low density parity check codes (LDPC codes). The transmission processing unit 311 then modulates the coded bits using a predetermined modulation method (e.g., BPSK, QPSK, 16QAM, 64QAM, 256QAM, or a higher-order multi-level modulation method). In this case, the signal points on the constellation do not necessarily need to be equidistant. The constellation may also be a non-uniform constellation (NUC). The transmission processing unit 311 then multiplexes the modulation symbols of each channel and the downlink reference signal and allocates them to predetermined resource elements. The transmission processing unit 311 then performs various signal processing on the multiplexed signal. For example, the transmission processing unit 311 performs processes such as conversion to the frequency domain by fast Fourier transform, addition of a guard interval (cyclic prefix), generation of a baseband digital signal, conversion to an analog signal, quadrature modulation, up-conversion, removal of unnecessary frequency components, and power amplification. The signal generated by the transmission processing unit 311 is transmitted from an antenna 313.

[0066] The reception processing unit 312 processes the uplink signal received via the antenna 313. For example, the reception processing unit 312 performs downconversion, removal of unnecessary frequency components, control of amplification level, quadrature demodulation, conversion to a digital signal, removal of guard intervals (cyclic prefixes), and extraction of frequency domain signals using fast Fourier transform on the uplink signal. The reception processing unit 312 then separates uplink channels such as a PUSCH (Physical Uplink Shared Channel) and a PUCCH (Physical Uplink Control Channel) and an uplink reference signal from the signal that has undergone these processes. The reception processing unit 312 also demodulates the received signal using a modulation method such as BPSK (Binary Phase Shift Keying) or QPSK (Quadrature Phase Shift Keying) for the modulation symbols of the uplink channel. The modulation method used for demodulation may be 16QAM (Quadrature Amplitude Modulation), 64QAM, or 256QAM. In this case, the signal points on the constellation do not necessarily have to be equidistant. The constellation may be a non-uniform constellation (NUC). The reception processing unit 312 then performs decoding processing on the coded bits of the demodulated uplink channel. The decoded uplink data and uplink control information are output to the control unit 33.

[0067] The antenna 313 is an antenna device that converts electric current and radio waves into each other. The antenna 313 may be composed of a single antenna element, for example, a single patch antenna. The antenna 313 may be composed of multiple antenna elements, for example, multiple patch antennas. When the antenna 313 is composed of multiple antenna elements, the wireless communication unit 31 may have a beamforming function. The wireless communication unit 31 may be configured to generate a directional beam by controlling the directivity of a wireless signal using the multiple antenna elements. The antenna 313 may be a dual-polarized antenna. When the antenna 313 is a dual-polarized antenna, the wireless communication unit 31 may use vertical polarization (V polarization) and horizontal polarization (H polarization) (or dual polarization with polarization directions at 45 degrees and -45 degrees from the vertical direction) when transmitting a wireless signal. The wireless communication unit 31 may control the directivity of a wireless signal transmitted using vertical polarization and horizontal polarization (or dual polarization with polarization directions at 45 degrees and -45 degrees from the vertical direction). Furthermore, the wireless communication unit 31 may transmit and receive spatially multiplexed signals via multiple layers each consisting of multiple antenna elements.

[0068] The storage unit 32 is a readable and writable storage device such as a DRAM, an SRAM, a flash memory, or a hard disk.

[0069] The control unit 33 is a controller that controls each unit of the base station 30. The control unit 33 controls the wireless communication unit to perform wireless communication with other wireless communication devices (e.g., terminal devices 40 or other base stations 30). The control unit 33 may be implemented by a processor such as a CPU or MPU. Specifically, the control unit 33 may be implemented by a processor executing various programs stored in a storage device inside the base station 30 using RAM or the like as a work area. The control unit 33 may be implemented by an integrated circuit such as an ASIC or FPGA. The control unit 33 may also be implemented by a GPU. A CPU, MPU, ASIC, FPGA, and GPU can all be considered controllers. The control unit 33 may be composed of multiple physically separated objects. For example, the control unit 33 may be composed of multiple semiconductor chips.

[0070] The control unit 33 includes a transmitting unit 331 , a receiving unit 332 , and a sensing processing unit 333 .

[0071] The transmitting unit 331 transmits data to other devices, such as an information processing device, while the receiving unit 332 receives data from other devices, such as an information processing device.

[0072] The sensing processing unit 333 performs the above-mentioned multistatic sensing process.

[0073] <Configuration of Receiving Node> Among the nodes assumed in this embodiment, a node used as a receiving node can return, in response to a sensing request from a transmitting node, control information or the like, including node location information and / or terminal performance (e.g., the number of antennas) and / or information on whether the terminal itself is a terminal available for sensing. Furthermore, the receiving node is notified of control information from the transmitting node via a control information communication channel, such as the time-frequency resources (and their transmission schedule) for transmitting sensing radio waves and the time-frequency resources for returning sensing results. Furthermore, the receiving node can receive sensing radio waves using the resources notified from the transmitting node.

[0074] Furthermore, the receiving node can select a method for detecting the sensing target depending on the performance of its own terminal device. For example, if the receiving node has a sufficient number of antennas, the receiving node may detect the sensing target (or sensing radio waves presumed to be reflected waves from the sensing target) by estimating the arrival angle of sensing radio waves from each transmitting node and identifying whether the radio waves are from the same direction. Otherwise, the receiving node may compare the RCS estimated from the received power of each sensing radio wave and detect the sensing target (or sensing radio waves presumed to be reflected waves from the sensing target) while taking into account the departure angle from each transmitting node, node position information, etc. The receiving node may also detect the sensing target by referring to reception time information (reception timestamp, Time of Arrival: ToA) and the transmission schedule of the sensing radio waves.

[0075] Furthermore, the receiving node can detect the synchronization points of the sensing radio waves from the multiple transmitting nodes by using standby signals corresponding to the sensing radio waves from the multiple transmitting nodes. Specifically, the receiving node calculates the cross-correlation between the received signal and the standby signal, and determines the point of highest correlation as the synchronization point. Because the received signal includes sensing radio waves from the multiple transmitting nodes, the receiving node can obtain the sensing radio waves from the transmitting nodes corresponding to the cross-correlated standby signals and their synchronization points.

[0076] Furthermore, the receiving node can generate a replica signal (or a standby signal) that is correlated with the sensing radio wave received in the notified resource from information such as control information for sensing (e.g., a list of sensing radio wave IDs, information on transmission power, etc.) notified from the transmitting node and information such as a reference signal. The receiving node may have a function to detect the sensing radio wave (or detect the synchronization point of the sensing radio wave) by correlating this replica signal with the actually received radio wave.

[0077] Furthermore, when demodulating a detected sensing radio wave, the receiving node may reuse the control information as known information for processes such as calculation of received power, propagation path estimation, and equalization. Furthermore, the receiving node may dynamically generate and discard the replica signal (or standby signal) according to the reception time based on the control information of the sensing radio wave transmission schedule and / or timing advance and time margin notified from the transmitting node. Furthermore, the receiving node may simultaneously generate two or more replica signals taking into account a delay margin, or three or more replica signals taking into account margins before and after the symbol.

[0078] Furthermore, the receiving node can estimate the RCS of the sensing target using the power information of the received radio waves and the information on the transmission power and departure angle of the sensing radio waves from each transmitting node. The receiving node may be able to identify the propagation path through the sensing target by comparing the RCS estimated by each sensing radio wave. Details of this identification of the propagation path will be described later.

[0079] The receiving node may also be able to acquire the angle of arrival of the received radio waves. The receiving node may also extract control information such as a sensing radio wave ID by demodulating the received sensing radio waves. The receiving node may also notify the transmitting node of the power information of the received radio waves, the RCS of the sensing radio waves, the angle of arrival, the sensing success / failure, and / or the sensing results (e.g., localization results of the sensing target) via the control information communication path. The receiving node may perform bistatic sensing or multistatic sensing using the detected sensing radio waves and the notified departure angles from each transmitting node and node position information.

[0080] <Configuration of Terminal Device> Fig. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example configuration of a terminal device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The figure is a block diagram illustrating an example configuration of a terminal device 40. The terminal device 40 is a communication device that can be used as the above-mentioned receiving node. The terminal device 40 includes a wireless communication unit 41, a storage unit 42, and a control unit 43. Note that the configuration illustrated in the figure is a functional configuration, and the hardware configuration may be different.

[0081] The wireless communication unit 41 is a signal processing unit for wireless communication with other wireless communication devices (e.g., a base station 30 or another terminal device 40). The wireless communication unit 41 may be referred to as a wireless transceiver or simply as a transceiver. In this case, the wireless communication unit 41 may be a transceiver of a standard defined by the 3GPP Technical Specification (TS) (hereinafter referred to as a 3GPP transceiver). The 3GPP transceiver may be a 3G transceiver, a 4G (LTE) transceiver, a 5G (NR) transceiver, or a transceiver of a generation after 5G. The wireless communication unit 41 is controlled by, for example, the control unit 43. The wireless communication unit 41 supports one or more wireless access methods. The wireless communication unit 41 may support at least one of NR, LTE, B5G (Beyond 5G), and 6G. The wireless communication unit 41 may support W-CDMA, cdma2000, etc. in addition to NR, LTE, B5G, and 6G. The wireless communication unit 41 may support automatic retransmission techniques such as HARQ (Hybrid Automatic Repeat reQuest). A part or all of the processing performed by the wireless communication unit 41 may be performed by the control unit 43.

[0082] The wireless communication unit 41 includes a transmission processing unit 411, a reception processing unit 412, and an antenna 413. At least one of the transmission processing unit 411, the reception processing unit 412, and the antenna 413 may be considered as the wireless communication unit 41. The wireless communication unit 41 may include a plurality of transmission processing units 411, a plurality of reception processing units 412, and a plurality of antennas 413. When the wireless communication unit 41 supports a plurality of wireless access methods, each unit of the wireless communication unit 41 may be configured individually for each wireless access method. The transmission processing unit 411 and the reception processing unit 412 may be configured individually for LTE, NR, B5G, and 6G. The antenna 413 may be configured with a plurality of antenna elements, for example, a plurality of patch antennas. The wireless communication unit 41 may have a beamforming function. For example, the wireless communication unit 41 may have a polarization beamforming function using vertically polarized waves (V polarization) and horizontally polarized waves (H polarization) (or a polarization beamforming function using dual polarization in polarization directions of 45 degrees and −45 degrees from the vertical direction). Note that the wireless communication unit 41 may transmit the sensing signal described above or below.

[0083] The storage unit 42 is a readable and writable storage device such as a DRAM, an SRAM, a flash memory, or a hard disk.

[0084] The control unit 43 is a controller that controls each unit of the terminal device 40. The control unit 43 controls the wireless communication unit 41 to perform wireless communication with other wireless communication devices (e.g., a base station 30 or another terminal device 40). The control unit 43 may be implemented by a processor such as a CPU or MPU. In particular, the control unit 43 may be implemented by a processor executing various programs stored in a storage device internal to the terminal device 40 using RAM or the like as a work area. The control unit 43 may be implemented by an integrated circuit such as an ASIC or FPGA. The control unit 43 may also be implemented by a GPU. A CPU, MPU, ASIC, FPGA, and GPU can all be considered controllers. The control unit 43 may be composed of multiple physically separated objects. For example, the control unit 43 may be composed of multiple semiconductor chips.

[0085] The control unit 43 includes a transmitting unit 431 , a receiving unit 432 , and a sensing processing unit 433 .

[0086] Each block constituting the control unit 43 (transmitting unit 431 to sensing processing unit 433) is a functional block that indicates the function of the control unit 43. These functional blocks may be software blocks or hardware blocks. For example, each of the above-mentioned functional blocks may be a software module realized by software (including a microprogram), or may be a circuit block on a semiconductor chip (die). Of course, each functional block may be a processor or an integrated circuit. The control unit 43 may be configured with functional units different from the above-mentioned functional blocks. The method of configuring the functional blocks is arbitrary. Note that the operation of the control unit 43 may be the same as the operation of the control unit (control unit 33) of the server 10, the management device 20, or the base station 30.

[0087] The transmitting unit 431 transmits data to other devices, such as an information processing device, while the receiving unit 432 receives data from other devices, such as an information processing device.

[0088] The sensing processing unit 433 performs the above-mentioned multistatic sensing process.

[0089] <Configuration of Information Processing Device> At least one of the transmitting node and the receiving node is connected to the information processing device. When the sensing results are processed by a communication device (e.g., a core network, an application server) higher than this information processing device, the sensing results can be notified to a node connected to the information processing device that executes the processing via a control information communication path. Furthermore, when the sensing results are processed by either the transmitting node or the receiving node, the sensing results are notified to the node that executes the processing via a control information communication path.

[0090] Furthermore, the control information communication path may be a communication path via a backhaul, such as a core network or an application server. If it is possible to send and receive sensing radio waves and to set up a control information communication path, the transmitting node and the receiving node may belong to different types of wireless communication systems.

[0091] 6 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of an information processing device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The figure is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of an information processing device 50. The information processing device 50 includes a communication unit 51, a storage unit 52, and a control unit 53. The configuration illustrated in the figure is a functional configuration, and the hardware configuration may be different from this.

[0092] The communication unit 51 is a communication interface for communicating with a wireless communication device (e.g., base station 30). The communication unit 51 may be a network interface or a device connection interface. The communication unit 51 may be a LAN (Local Area Network) interface such as a NIC (Network Interface Card), or a Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface configured by a USB host controller or a USB port. The communication unit 51 may be a wired interface or a wireless interface. The communication unit 51 is controlled by the control unit 53.

[0093] The storage unit 52 is a readable / writable storage device such as a DRAM, an SRAM, a flash memory, or a hard disk. The storage unit 22 stores, for example, the connection state of the terminal device 40. The storage unit 22 stores the state of the RRC (Radio Resource Control) of the terminal device 40 and the state of the ECM (EPS Connection Management) or the 5G System CM (Connection Management). The storage unit 52 may function as a home memory that stores location information of the terminal device 40.

[0094] The control unit 53 is a controller that controls each unit of the information processing device 50. The control unit 53 may be realized by a processor such as a CPU or an MPU. In particular, the control unit 53 may be realized by a processor executing various programs stored in a storage device inside the information processing device 50 using RAM or the like as a work area. The control unit 53 may be realized by an integrated circuit such as an ASIC or an FPGA. The control unit 53 may also be realized by a GPU. A CPU, an MPU, an ASIC, an FPGA, and a GPU can all be considered controllers. The control unit 53 may be composed of multiple physically separated objects. For example, the control unit 53 may be composed of multiple semiconductor chips.

[0095] The control unit 53 includes a processing unit 531. The processing unit 531 performs processes such as a process of selecting a candidate receiving node, a process of selecting a receiving node, and a process of detecting / tracking an object, which will be described later.

[0096] <Configuration of Sensing Radio Wave> The signal of the sensing radio wave used in this embodiment is generated by a means similar to the radio transmission signal generation process of, for example, a downlink (DL), an uplink (UL), a sidelink (SL), an IAB, etc. The sensing radio wave is configured by functionally extending resources (e.g., PDCCH, PUCCH, PSCCH, etc.) that notify control information for radio communication and by mapping control information for sensing.

[0097] The control information for sensing includes, for example, an ID for identifying the sensing radio wave (sensing radio wave ID), angle information of the directivity of the sensing radio wave, an ID for identifying the transmitting node, and a reference signal for timing synchronization corresponding to the sensing radio wave from each transmitting node. The angle information may include a true value of the angle information of the directivity and an ID for identifying the beam (beam ID).

[0098] The control information for sensing may include location information of the transmitting node and transmission time information (transmission timestamp, Time of Departure: ToD). Furthermore, the sensing radio wave may not include resources for transmitting the information portion (e.g., PDSCH, PUSCH, PSSCH, etc.). In this case, only a control channel is transmitted as the sensing radio wave. Depending on the data amount of the control information for sensing, resources may be extended in the time axis direction as necessary. Furthermore, the sensing radio wave may be allocated to each transmitting node by FDD. Furthermore, resources allocated by FDD may be mixed with resources for communication.

[0099] 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a sensing radio wave according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The upper side of the figure illustrates an example in which signals are allocated at equal intervals in the frequency direction. The lower side of the figure illustrates an example in which multiple signals are repeatedly allocated in the frequency direction. By adopting such a configuration, the sensing radio wave can be distributed over a wide frequency range.

[0100] In this embodiment, when wireless communication is used as the control information communication channel, the signal configuration is generated by a means similar to the wireless transmission signal generation process for the downlink (DL), uplink (UL), sidelink (SL), IAB, etc. The signal is configured by extending the functionality of resources (e.g., PDSCH, PUSCH, PSSCH, etc.) that notify control information for wireless communication and mapping control information for sensing. The control information for sensing includes, for example, node location information, notification information to the receiving node (e.g., notification that the terminal is a candidate receiving node, a request for disclosure of terminal performance, and confirmation of sensing availability, etc.), resources for transmitting sensing radio waves, a transmission schedule for the sensing radio waves, timing advance and reception time margin, angle information of the directivity of the sensing radio waves, a sensing radio wave ID, resources for returning an ACK from the receiving node, success or failure of sensing at the receiving node, and sensing results (e.g., received power, RCS, angle of arrival, ToA, etc.). The control information for sensing may include reception time information (reception timestamp, Time of Arrival: ToA) and transmission / reception time error (Time Difference of Arrival: TDoA). Depending on the data amount of the control information for sensing, some of the control information may be included in the RRC and notified via a higher layer (for example, a core network, a server, etc.).

[0101] In this embodiment, when a control information communication path passes through an upper layer (for example, a core network and a server), control information for sensing may be included in the RRC.

[0102] At least one of the sensing radio waves and the control information communication path (whether wired or wireless) must include angle information. When wired communication is used as the control information communication path, control information for the sensing can be transmitted.

[0103] When multiple receiving nodes are used, each receiving node may be able to receive the same sensing radio wave and identifies it by the notified sensing radio wave ID. In this case, as described above, if only the control channel is transmitted as the sensing radio wave, multiple nodes can simultaneously use the same sensing radio wave without worrying about information leakage. When multiple receiving nodes are used, the control information communication path can be duplexed using means such as TDD, FDD, or full duplex. The transmitting node can allocate resources to each receiving node.

[0104] <Issues to be resolved> The transmitting node needs to select a terminal to use as the receiving node. However, with current communication systems, it is not possible to determine within what range the reflected waves from an object can be received by a terminal at a distance (the area in which the sensing radio waves can reach), and there is no standard for selecting the receiving node. Another issue is that it is not possible to determine which sensing method can be used, as it is not possible to determine the sensing performance of the receiving node or whether the terminal cannot be used for sensing.

[0105] It is necessary to devise appropriate resource allocation and signal configurations to map and transmit sensing radio waves from multiple transmitting nodes using FDD. Currently, in NR, there is a positioning resource called a Positioning Reference Signal (PRS), as shown in the literature (3GPP, TR 38.855, "Study on NR positioning support"). Using this resource enables simultaneous mapping from multiple base stations. However, this is a reference signal for measuring ToA, and cannot map information required for sensing.

[0106] The receiving node needs to detect whether the sensing radio waves from each transmitting node are reflected from the same object, but there is a problem that the method for doing so has not been established.In addition, the receiving node needs to demodulate the sensing radio waves transmitted simultaneously from multiple transmitting nodes and calculate the received power, RCS, etc., but there are problems such as the method for timing synchronization not being established and the fact that the bandwidth of each radio wave is small due to FDD, which deteriorates the accuracy of synchronization and calculation of power and RCS.

[0107] Another issue is the desire to minimize the performance requirements for the receiving node, because the lower the processing load on the receiving node, the wider the selection of terminals available for sensing, leading to an expansion of the service area and easier acquisition of receive diversity.

[0108] When calculating the RCS of an object from sensing radio waves, the incident power on the object (or the transmitted power and the distance between the object and the transmitting node), the reflected power from the object, and the distance between the object and the receiving node are required. However, once the RCS of the object is known, sensing radio waves reflected from the object are detected, and multistatic sensing is performed using the departure angles from each transmitting node and the position information of each transmitting node, the propagation path and object position information can only be determined. This creates a problem in that parameters related to the propagation path are required to initially calculate the RCS of the object, creating a loop.

[0109] <Sensing Process> This disclosure proposes a wireless communication system and execution sequence for detecting and / or tracking an object using multistatic sensing, which is radio frequency-based sensing utilizing wireless communication and a communication system that share the same time axis. The proposed wireless communication system includes multiple transmitting nodes and one or more receiving nodes, as shown in FIG. 3 . Furthermore, multistatic sensing is performed for the same sensing object using the departure angle from each transmitting node to the sensing object and node position information. Detection of the sensing object (or detection or identification of sensing radio waves) performing multistatic sensing is performed by the receiving node using the received power and / or RCS, or angle of arrival estimation, etc.

[0110] In the multistatic sensing disclosed herein, multiple transmitting nodes each transmit sensing radio waves to an object. One or more receiving nodes receive multiple reflected waves generated when the sensing radio waves are reflected by the object. The receiving nodes generate detection data, which is data for detecting the object, based on the received sensing information. This detection data includes, for example, the angle of arrival, the received power, and the reception time. The transmitting nodes also transmit sensing information to the receiving nodes, which the receiving nodes use to generate the detection data. This sensing information includes, for example, the angle of departure, information identifying the sensing radio waves, the position of the transmitting node, the transmission power, and the reception timing.

[0111] In the sensing process, cellular radio waves modulated and demodulated for wireless communication are used as radio frequency-based sensing radio waves. Wired or wireless communication paths are established between multiple nodes, allowing for the transmission of information, including the aforementioned control information. However, a receiving node does not need to have communication paths with all transmitting nodes; it only needs to have a communication path with one of the multiple transmitting nodes. Each transmitting node assumed in the sensing process can possess and share a map of the sensing area. Furthermore, a transmitting node can request a candidate receiving node to notify the terminal of whether sensing is available or to disclose the terminal's performance information. Therefore, the transmitting node can select a receiving node based on the above information.

[0112] Furthermore, the receiving node assumed in the sensing process can generate a replica signal (standby signal) corresponding to the sensing radio wave ID using the reference signal and prior information notified in advance by the transmitting node. This replica signal can be used for timing synchronization. Furthermore, in a synchronized signal, the information becomes known information. Therefore, this signal can be reused as a reference signal for power calculation and RCS calculation. This improves accuracy. Furthermore, departure angle and node position information can be obtained from the demodulation results of the sensing radio wave and information notified in advance by the transmitting node. Furthermore, from the candidates of the demodulated sensing radio wave, candidates for propagation distance and RCS (or received power and angle of arrival) can be narrowed down. By comparing these, it is possible to uniquely determine the result.

[0113] Furthermore, when transmitting sensing radio waves using FDD, by allocating the structure shown in the lower diagram of Figure 7, it is possible to ensure a substantially wide bandwidth for each sensing radio wave, even though the subcarriers are spaced apart. This makes it possible to improve sensing performance (for example, improving the accuracy of ToA measurement). Furthermore, it is possible to select a method that requires lower performance from the receiving terminal (naturally, this may result in lower sensing accuracy), such as reducing the number of standby signals generated at one time using a transmission schedule, or selecting a detection method according to the receiving terminal's performance and comparing the ToA with the transmission schedule. This makes it possible to reduce the performance requirements for the receiving terminal.

[0114] The information that may be required for detecting and / or tracking an object in the sensing process includes the departure angle from each transmitting node, the RCS (or a candidate RCS corresponding to the sensing radio wave ID), the received power at the receiving node, distance information between nodes calculated from node position information, etc., the arrival angle to the receiving node (or a candidate arrival angle corresponding to the sensing radio wave ID), and position information and / or detection results (or sensing results) of the sensing target. The sensing process of the present disclosure is a sequence for acquiring the above information and consolidating it in an information processing device.

[0115] As described above, the sensing process in the present disclosure is performed by selecting one or more receiver nodes for multiple sender nodes, where multiple receiver nodes can be selected for the same group of sender nodes, each consisting of multiple sender nodes and one receiver node.

[0116] <Sensing Processing> Fig. 8 is a diagram showing an example of sensing processing according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The figure is a sequence diagram showing sensing processing in the wireless communication system of Fig. 3. The figure shows an information processing device 50, a base station 30 corresponding to a transmitting node, and a terminal device 40 corresponding to a receiving node. In addition, in the figure, solid arrows represent exchanges of data, etc., on a control information communication path. Furthermore, dashed arrows represent sensing radio waves.

[0117] First, a sensing request is generated by a device requesting a sensing service (step S101). If the sensing request is for detecting and / or tracking a sensing target, a process for performing multistatic sensing is initiated.

[0118] Next, the information processing device 50 or the base station 30 requests location information from the connectable terminal device 40 (step S102). The terminal device 40 returns its own location information (step S103). At this time, from the viewpoint of privacy protection, the terminal device 40 may be able to refuse to return the location information. The location information of the terminal device 40 may also be acquired using GNSS, a positioning protocol, or the like.

[0119] Next, the information processing device 50 or the base station 30 refers to an area map showing the sensing areas of all the base stations 30, and selects the terminal devices 40 within the area as candidates for the receiving side node (step S104).

[0120] Next, the information processing device 50 or the base station 30 notifies the terminal device 40 that is a candidate for the receiving side node that it is a candidate for the receiving side node and requests terminal information (step S105).

[0121] The terminal device 40 that has become a candidate receiving node returns a response to the information processing device 50 or base station 30, including whether it can be used for sensing, terminal location information, and performance information of the terminal device (e.g., number of antennas, information processing performance, etc.) (step S106).

[0122] Next, the information processing device 50 or the base station 30 selects the terminal device 40 to actually use for sensing as the receiving node based on the terminal information returned from the receiving node candidate terminal (step S107). This selection is made according to the sensing requirements (for example, taking into consideration receive diversity and the terminal performance of the receiving node). At this time, a method for detecting the sensing target (or sensing radio waves presumed to be reflected waves from the sensing target) may be specified from the methods listed in the device configuration described above based on the performance and location information of the terminal device 40.

[0123] Next, the information processing device 50 or the base station 30 determines resources to be used for sensing radio waves and resources to be used for the control information communication path.

[0124] Next, the base station 30 generates a sensing radio wave (step S108).

[0125] The base station 30 notifies the base station 30 of the sensing information and resource information via the control information communication path (step S109). This sensing information includes at least one of angle information (e.g., departure angle and beam ID of the sensing radio wave), information identifying the sensing radio wave (e.g., ID of the sensing radio wave), information on the position of the transmitting node, transmission power information, and reception timing information (e.g., information on timing advance and time margin for reliable reception of the sensing radio wave at the receiving side, and transmission schedule of the sensing radio wave).

[0126] Next, the base station 30 performs beam scanning with sensing radio waves using the notified resources (steps S110 and S111).

[0127] The terminal device 40 receives sensing radio waves from each transmitting node using the notified resources (steps S110 and S111). Next, the terminal device 40 establishes timing synchronization and detects the sensing radio waves (step S112). At this time, the terminal device 40 may generate a standby signal (replica signal) corresponding to each sensing radio wave, including a margin in reception time, from not only the reference signal but also a list and / or transmission schedule of the notified sensing radio wave ID and / or node position information and / or departure angle and / or transmitting node identification ID and / or transmission power information. The terminal device 40 may establish timing synchronization by correlating this replica signal with the received radio wave.

[0128] The terminal device 40 demodulates the synchronized sensing radio wave (step S113) and acquires information contained in the sensing radio wave (step S114). This information includes the sensing radio wave ID, angle information, and the identification ID of the transmitting node. At this time, information that is not included in the acquired information and that was used for synchronization in step S110 may be used for channel estimation and equalization processing.

[0129] Next, the terminal device 40 generates detection data for detecting the position of the target object based on the sensing information. This detection data is reception power and / or arrival angle and / or ToA. If the detection data is specified by the transmitting node, the terminal device 40 follows the specification. Otherwise, the terminal device 40 may select detection data according to its own terminal performance, position information, and reception power gain.

[0130] The terminal device 40 transmits an ACK / NACK and a retransmission request to the base station 30 in accordance with the detection result of the sensing radio wave (step S115).

[0131] Next, the terminal device 40 transmits the sensing result to the base station 30 or the information processing device 50 (step S116). The sensing result includes whether the sensing was successful and the detection data (received power and / or angle of arrival and / or ToA).

[0132] Next, the information processing device 50 or the base station 30 performs multistatic sensing to detect the target object (step S117).

[0133] When RCS calculation is applied to this multistatic sensing, it is possible to simultaneously calculate the RCS and identify the propagation path of the sensing radio wave through the sensing object based on the received power, departure angle, and node position information contained in the detection data.Specific methods will be described later.

[0134] In addition, when using angle-of-arrival estimation for multistatic sensing, a combination of sensing radio waves transmitted from different transmitting nodes and arriving from the same direction can be identified as radio waves passing through the desired sensing target. In this case, the position of the target can be detected based on the angle of departure, angle of arrival, and location information.

[0135] Furthermore, when ToA is used for multistatic sensing, the sensing radio wave can be identified by checking it against the notified transmission schedule.

[0136] Next, the information processing device 50 or the base station 30 tracks the target object (step S118).

[0137] 9 is a diagram illustrating another example of the sensing process according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. The diagram illustrates an example in which the terminal device 40 performs multistatic sensing to detect an object. Steps S101 to S113 are the same as those in FIG. 8.

[0138] The terminal device 40 transmits an ACK / NACK and a retransmission request to the base station 30 according to the demodulation result of the sensing radio wave (step S120).

[0139] Next, the terminal device 40 calculates the RCS and the propagation path, or performs multistatic sensing (step S121). The terminal device 40 can identify the propagation path through the object by comparing the RCS estimated using each sensing radio wave. Details of identifying the propagation path will be described later. The terminal device 40 can also perform multistatic sensing by identifying the sensing radio wave from the angle of arrival or ToA.

[0140] Next, the terminal device 40 transmits the sensing result to the information processing device 50 or the base station 30 (step S122). The sensing result includes whether the object was detected successfully, the RCS, and the propagation path / localization result.

[0141] Next, the information processing device 50 or the base station 30 detects or tracks the object based on the sensing result (step S123). Also, the information processing device 50 or the base station 30 can acquire the tracking result.

[0142] The terminal device 40 detects the sensing target (or sensing radio waves reflected from the sensing target). At this time, if a detection method is specified by the transmitting node, the terminal device 40 follows that method. Otherwise, the terminal device 40 may select a detection method based on its own terminal performance, location information, and received power gain. The terminal device 40 transmits the sensing results to the base station 30. Note that, when using the received power of the sensing radio waves, the terminal device 40 may reuse not only the reference signal but also the resource used for synchronization in step S112 as a known reference signal for measuring the power. Furthermore, when using RCS calculation, the terminal device 40 simultaneously performs received power measurement and determines the RCS and the propagation path of the sensing radio waves via the target based on the notified departure angle and node location information. Specific calculation methods will be described later. Furthermore, when using arrival angle estimation, the terminal device 40 can determine that a combination of sensing radio waves transmitted from different transmitting nodes and arriving from the same direction is radio waves via the desired sensing target. Furthermore, when ToA is used, the terminal device 40 can identify the sensing radio wave by checking the notified transmission schedule.

[0143] <When multiple receiving nodes are selected> The transmitting node can select multiple receiving nodes. In this case, when the RCS is calculated at each receiving node, different RCS values ​​are calculated depending on the angle from the sensing object, as described above in the problem to be solved by the invention.

[0144] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of an RCS according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The upper part of the figure illustrates an image of the angle dependency of the RCS. The dashed line in the figure represents the reflected signal strength from the target. The middle part of the figure illustrates an estimated RCS when there is one receiving node. The lower part of the figure illustrates an estimated RCS when there are multiple receiving nodes. From the position information of the receiving node and the localization result of the sensing target, it is possible to obtain the RCS value according to the angle. If the RCS characteristics of the object expected to be the sensing target have been investigated in advance, more accurate object detection is possible.

[0145] <RCS Calculation Method> As mentioned in the problem to be solved by the present disclosure, parameters related to the propagation path are required to calculate the RCS of an object, but detection of the object by RCS is required to determine the propagation path. Therefore, a calculation method will be outlined below in which candidates for the propagation distance and RCS are narrowed down and compared to uniquely determine the result.

[0146] First, the radar cross section (RCS) is defined as follows: Here, σ represents the RCS. d represents the distance between the object and the receiving node. Ps represents the scattered power, and Pi represents the incident power. However, the above is merely a definition, and in practice, the RCS is estimated empirically or approximately. Here, the information generally required to estimate the RCS is the distance between the object and the receiving node, the frequency, the incident power, and the scattered power. In the above embodiment, the RCS can be estimated if the propagation path of the sensing radio wave and the transmitted and received power of the sensing radio wave are known. However, the information known at the time the sensing radio wave is received by the receiving node is the node position information, the departure angle from the transmitting node (or the sensing radio wave ID), the transmitted power, and the received power. Since the position of the sensing object is unknown, the propagation path cannot be identified, and the RCS cannot be calculated.

[0147] On the other hand, when two or more transmitting nodes are used, it is possible to narrow down the candidates for propagation paths that include the position information of the sensing target based on the results of detection of each sensing radio wave by the receiving node. This will be explained using Figures 11 to 14.

[0148] 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a case where there are multiple receiving nodes according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The figure illustrates an example in which transmitting node #1 and transmitting node #2 transmit sensing radio waves, and the receiving node detects reflected waves corresponding to the respective sensing radio waves. The information in parentheses in the figure indicates information that can be acquired at the time of receiving the reflected waves. The information that can be acquired includes the location information, transmission power, and departure angle at transmitting node #1 and transmitting node #2, and the location information and received power at the receiving node.

[0149] 12 to 14 are diagrams illustrating examples of propagation path candidates according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In FIG. 12, candidate 1 represents a case where reflected waves of sensing radio waves from transmitting node #1 and transmitting node #2 reach the receiving node. Candidate 2 represents a case where reflected waves of sensing radio waves from transmitting node #1 and transmitting node #2 reach the receiving node. Candidate 3 represents a case where reflected waves of sensing radio waves from transmitting node #1 and transmitting node #2 reach the receiving node. Candidate 4 represents a case where sensing radio waves from transmitting node #1 and transmitting node #2 reach the receiving node.

[0150] Multistatic sensing is performed for each candidate to detect the position of the sensing target.

[0151] FIG. 13 shows the positions of the detected objects in candidates 1 to 4. The dotted hatched shapes in the figure represent the estimated positions of the objects. In candidate 1, the actual position of the object is detected. In contrast, in candidates 2 and 3, the estimated position of the object is on the propagation path of the sensing radio wave that reaches the receiving node directly. In candidate 4, the estimated position of the object is on the receiving node. The propagation path of the sensing radio wave is detected based on these estimated positions. Next, the RCS is calculated for each candidate.

[0152] FIG. 14 shows the RCSs for candidates 1 to 4. For candidates 2 and 3, the estimated RCS values ​​are significantly different, so it can be determined that this is not the desired propagation path. Furthermore, for candidate 4, it can be excluded based on the departure angle information of transmitting node #1 and transmitting node #2 and the node position information. Therefore, candidate 1 is selected. As described above, it is possible to ultimately uniquely determine the propagation path and RCS.

[0153] In this way, the communication device according to the embodiment of the present disclosure can realize multistatic sensing by reusing the existing wireless communication infrastructure.

[0154] (Other Modifications) The control device that controls the information processing device 50, the base station 30, and the terminal device 40 of this embodiment may be realized by a dedicated computer system or a general-purpose computer system.

[0155] For example, a communication program for executing the above-described operations is stored in a computer-readable recording medium such as an optical disk, a semiconductor memory, a magnetic tape, or a flexible disk and distributed. Then, for example, the program is installed on a computer and the above-described processing is executed to configure a control device. In this case, the control device may be a device (e.g., a personal computer) external to the information processing device 50, the base station 30, or the terminal device 40. Alternatively, the control device may be a device (e.g., a control unit 33, a control unit 43, or a control unit 53) internal to the base station 30, the terminal device 40, or the information processing device 50.

[0156] The communication program may also be stored in a disk device provided in a server device on a network such as the Internet, and may be downloaded to a computer. The above-described functions may also be realized by a combination of an operating system (OS) and application software. In this case, the components other than the OS may be stored on a medium and distributed, or may be stored in a server device and downloaded to a computer.

[0157] Furthermore, among the processes described in the above embodiments, all or part of the processes described as being performed automatically can be performed manually, or all or part of the processes described as being performed manually can be performed automatically using a known method. In addition, the information including the processing procedures, specific names, various data, and parameters shown in the above documents and drawings can be changed as desired unless otherwise specified. For example, the various information shown in each drawing is not limited to the information shown in the drawings.

[0158] Furthermore, the components of each device shown in the figure are conceptual functional units and do not necessarily have to be physically configured as shown. In other words, the specific form of distribution and integration of each device is not limited to that shown in the figure, and all or part of the devices can be functionally or physically distributed and integrated in any unit depending on various loads, usage conditions, etc. Note that this distribution and integration configuration may also be performed dynamically.

[0159] The above-described embodiments can be combined as appropriate within the scope of the present invention without causing any inconsistency in the processing content. The order of the steps shown in the flowcharts of the above-described embodiments can be changed as appropriate.

[0160] Furthermore, for example, the present embodiment can also be implemented as any configuration that constitutes an apparatus or system, such as a processor as a system LSI (Large Scale Integration), a module using multiple processors, a unit using multiple modules, a set in which other functions are added to a unit, or the like (i.e., a configuration of a part of an apparatus).

[0161] In this embodiment, a system refers to a collection of multiple components (devices, modules (components), etc.), regardless of whether all of the components are in the same housing. Therefore, multiple devices housed in separate housings and connected via a network, and a single device housed in a single housing with multiple modules, are both systems.

[0162] Furthermore, for example, this embodiment can have a cloud computing configuration in which one function is shared and processed jointly by a plurality of devices via a network.

[0163] Although the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above, the technical scope of the present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the gist of the present disclosure. Furthermore, components of different embodiments and modifications may be combined as appropriate.

[0164] The series of processes performed by each device described in this specification may be realized using software, hardware, or a combination of software and hardware. The programs constituting the software are stored in advance, for example, in a storage medium (non-transitory medium) provided inside or outside each device. Then, each program is loaded into RAM when executed by a computer, and executed by a processor such as a CPU.

[0165] Furthermore, the processes described herein using flowcharts and sequence diagrams do not necessarily have to be performed in the order shown. Some process steps may be performed in parallel. Furthermore, additional process steps may be employed, and some process steps may be omitted.

[0166] The effects described in this specification are merely examples and are not limiting, and other effects may also be present.

[0167] The present technology can also be configured as follows: (1) A communication device included in a plurality of communication devices that cooperatively perform multistatic sensing, wherein the multistatic sensing is sensing in which a plurality of transmitting nodes each transmit sensing radio waves to the same object, one or more receiving nodes receive a plurality of reflected waves generated when each of the sensing radio waves is reflected by the object, and the receiving nodes generate detection data for detecting the object based on the reception results at the receiving nodes, and the communication device constituting the transmitting node transmits sensing information used to generate the detection data at the receiving nodes to the receiving nodes. (2) The communication device according to (1), wherein the sensing information includes at least any of a departure angle that is an angle between the receiving node and the object at the transmitting node, information for identifying the sensing radio waves, information on the position of the transmitting node, transmission power, and reception timing. (3) The communication device according to (1) or (2), wherein the detection data includes at least one of an angle of arrival, which is an angle between the transmitting node and the object at the receiving node, received power, and reception time information. (4) The communication device according to any of (1) to (3), which detects the object based on the detection data. (5) The communication device according to any of (1) to (4), wherein the multiple transmitting nodes transmit the sensing radio waves using frequency division duplexing or time division duplexing in the same frequency band. (6) The communication device according to (5), wherein the multiple transmitting nodes allocate resources in subcarrier units when transmitting the sensing radio waves using frequency division duplexing. (7) The communication device according to any of (1) to (6), which notifies a receiving node selected from multiple receiving nodes arranged in the multistatic sensing area based on an area map representing a sensing area where sensing radio waves can reach, of a candidate receiving node for the multistatic sensing.(8) The communication device according to (7), which selects a receiving node from the receiving node candidates based on a response including information on whether or not it is possible to participate in the multistatic sensing, transmitted from the receiving node that has received notification of the receiving node candidate. (9) A communication device included in a plurality of communication devices that perform multistatic sensing in cooperation, wherein the multistatic sensing is a sensing method in which a plurality of transmitting nodes each transmit sensing radio waves to the same object, a plurality of reflected waves generated when each of the sensing radio waves is reflected by the object are received by one or more receiving nodes, and the receiving nodes generate detection data for detecting the object based on the reception results at the receiving nodes, and the communication device constituting the receiving node that generates the detection data based on sensing information transmitted by the transmitting node. (10) The communication device according to (9), which, when notified of a request to participate in the multistatic sensing from the transmitting node, transmits a response including information on whether or not it is possible to participate in the multistatic sensing. (11) The communication device according to (10), wherein the response further includes information on the performance of the receiving node. (12) The communication device according to any of (9) to (11), wherein the response further includes information on the performance of the receiving node. (13) The communication device according to (12), wherein the response further includes information on the performance of the receiving node. (14) The communication device according to (12), wherein the response further includes information on the performance of the receiving node. (15) The communication device according to (14), wherein the response further includes information on the performance of the receiving node. (16) The communication device according to (14), wherein the response further includes information on the performance of the receiving node. (17) The communication device according to (17), wherein the response further includes information on the performance of the receiving node.(17) The communication device according to any one of (9) to (16), wherein the sensing information includes at least one of a departure angle, which is an angle between the receiving node and the object at the transmitting node, information identifying a sensing radio wave, information on the position of the transmitting node, transmission power, and information on reception timing. (18) The communication device according to any one of (9) to (17), wherein the detection data includes at least one of an arrival angle, which is an angle between the transmitting node and the object at the receiving node, and reception power. (19) The communication device according to (18), which detects the object based on the detection data. (20) The communication device according to (18), which detects a radar cross section (RCS) of the object. (21) The communication device according to (20), which detects propagation paths of the sensing radio wave and the reflected wave based on the RCS. (22) A communication method in a communication device included in multiple communication devices that perform multistatic sensing in cooperation, wherein the multistatic sensing is a sensing method in which multiple transmitting nodes each transmit sensing radio waves to the same object, multiple reflected waves generated when each of the sensing radio waves is reflected by the object are received by one or multiple receiving nodes, and the receiving nodes generate detection data for detecting the object based on the reception results at the receiving nodes, and the communication method includes transmitting sensing information used to generate the detection data at the receiving nodes to the receiving nodes. (23) A communication method in a communication device included in multiple communication devices that perform multistatic sensing in cooperation, wherein the multistatic sensing is sensing in which multiple transmitting nodes each transmit sensing radio waves to the same object, multiple reflected waves generated when each of the sensing radio waves is reflected by the object are received by one or multiple receiving nodes, and the receiving nodes generate detection data for detecting the object based on the reception results at the receiving nodes, and the communication method includes generating the detection data based on sensing information transmitted by the transmitting nodes.

[0168] 1 Communication system 30 Base station 40 Terminal device 50 Information processing device

Claims

1. A communication device included in multiple communication devices that cooperate to perform multistatic sensing, wherein the multistatic sensing is a sensing method in which multiple transmitting nodes each transmit sensing radio waves to the same object, and one or multiple receiving nodes receive multiple reflected waves generated when each sensing radio wave is reflected by the object, and the receiving nodes generate detection data for detecting the object based on the reception results at the receiving nodes, and the communication device constituting the transmitting node transmits sensing information used to generate the detection data at the receiving nodes to the receiving nodes.

2. The communication device of claim 1, wherein the sensing information includes at least one of the departure angle, which is the angle between the receiving node and the object at the transmitting node, information identifying the sensing radio wave, information on the position of the transmitting node, transmission power, and reception timing information.

3. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the detection data includes at least one of an angle of arrival, which is the angle between the transmitting node and the object at the receiving node, received power, and received time information.

4. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the object is detected based on the detection data.

5. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of transmitting nodes transmit the sensing radio waves using frequency division duplexing or time division duplexing in the same frequency band.

6. A communication device according to claim 5, wherein the plurality of transmitting nodes allocate resources in subcarrier units when transmitting the sensing radio waves using frequency division duplex.

7. A communication device as described in claim 1, which notifies a receiving node selected from among multiple receiving nodes located in the multistatic sensing area based on an area map representing the sensing area within which sensing radio waves can reach, of the candidate receiving node for the multistatic sensing.

8. A communication device as described in claim 7, wherein a receiving node is selected from the receiving node candidates based on a response including information on whether or not the receiving node is willing to participate in the multistatic sensing, sent from the receiving node that has received notification of the receiving node candidate.

9. A communication device included in multiple communication devices that cooperate to perform multistatic sensing, wherein the multistatic sensing is a sensing method in which multiple transmitting nodes each transmit sensing radio waves to the same object, and one or multiple receiving nodes receive multiple reflected waves generated when each sensing radio wave is reflected by the object, and the receiving nodes generate detection data for detecting the object based on the reception results at the receiving nodes, and the communication device constitutes the receiving node that generates the detection data based on the sensing information transmitted by the transmitting nodes.

10. The communication device according to claim 9, wherein, when a request to participate in the multistatic sensing is notified from the transmitting node, a response including information on whether or not participation in the multistatic sensing is permitted is transmitted.

11. The communications device of claim 10, wherein the response further includes information about the capabilities of the receiving node.

12. The communication device according to claim 9, wherein the communication device receives the reflected wave corresponding to the sensing radio wave transmitted using the resource notified by the transmitting node.

13. A communication device according to claim 12, wherein a synchronization point of each of the plurality of sensing radio waves is detected using a standby signal corresponding to each of the sensing radio waves from the plurality of transmitting nodes.

14. The communication device according to claim 12, wherein a signal correlated with the reflected wave received is generated using the notified resource, and the reflected wave is detected based on the signal.

15. A communications device according to claim 14, which generates a plurality of said signals.

16. The communication device according to claim 14, wherein the signal is generated based on the sensing information.

17. A communication device as described in claim 9, wherein the sensing information includes at least one of the departure angle, which is the angle between the receiving node and the object at the transmitting node, information identifying the sensing radio wave, information on the position of the transmitting node, transmission power, and reception timing information.

18. The communication device according to claim 9, wherein the detection data includes at least one of an angle of arrival, which is an angle between the transmitting node and the object at the receiving node, and a received power.

19. The communication device according to claim 18, wherein the object is detected based on the detection data.

20. The communications device of claim 18, wherein the radar cross section (RCS) of the target is detected.

21. The communication device according to claim 20, wherein the propagation paths of the sensing radio wave and the reflected wave are detected based on the RCS.

22. A communication method in a communication device included in multiple communication devices that cooperate to perform multistatic sensing, wherein the multistatic sensing is a sensing method in which multiple transmitting nodes each transmit sensing radio waves to the same object, and one or more receiving nodes receive multiple reflected waves generated when each of the sensing radio waves is reflected by the object, and the receiving nodes generate detection data for detecting the object based on the reception results at the receiving nodes, and the communication method includes transmitting sensing information used to generate the detection data at the receiving nodes to the receiving nodes.

23. A communication method in a communication device included in multiple communication devices that cooperate to perform multistatic sensing, wherein the multistatic sensing is a sensing method in which multiple transmitting nodes each transmit sensing radio waves to the same object, and multiple reflected waves generated when each of the sensing radio waves is reflected by the object are received by one or multiple receiving nodes, and the receiving nodes generate detection data for detecting the object based on the reception results at the receiving nodes, and the communication method includes generating the detection data based on the sensing information transmitted by the transmitting nodes.

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