Communication method for channel estimation and communication apparatus for joint channel encoding and pilot sequence generation

Abstract

Embodiments of the present application provide a communication method for channel estimation and a communication apparatus. The method includes: receiving a signal which is channel coded, wherein the signal includes pilot bits on positions and information bits, and the value of the positions is predefined; performing channel state information (CSI) estimation based on the pilot bits; and obtaining the information bits based on the CSI. Thus the method can achieve channel estimation, reduce the data throughput reduction, and improve overall data throughput.

Description

COMMUNICATION METHOD FOR CHANNEL ESTIMATION AND COMMUNICATION APPARATUS FOR JOINT CHANNEL ENCODING AND PILOT SEQUENCE GENERATIONTECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] Embodiments of the present application relate to the field of communications, and more specifically, to a communication method for channel estimation and a communication apparatus. The communication method and the communication apparatus may be used for a downlink transmission, a sidelink transmission, or an uplink transmission.BACKGROUND

[0002] In a wireless communication system, to implement functions such as system synchronization, channel information feedback, and data transmission, channel estimation needs to be performed on an uplink channel or a downlink channel.

[0003] For performing the channel estimation, a predetermined training sequence (also known as a pilot sequence) containing no actual information is transmitted between a receiving apparatus and a transmitting apparatus. By employing known training sequences, the receiving apparatus can gauge channel characteristics and adapt its processing to compensate for these variations.

[0004] The number of pilots in the training sequence is limited. Using more pilots can improve channel estimation accuracy. By increasing the number of pilots in the training sequence, the system can obtain more measurements of channel response, leading to a more accurate estimation of the channel, allowing for better receiver performance in terms of signal detection and demodulation. However, a higher number of pilots in the training sequence leads to an increase in pilot overhead. This means dedicating more resources to transmitting pilot symbols, which could otherwise be used for carrying data. This overhead impacts the system's spectral efficiency and overall data throughput.SUMMARY

[0005] Embodiments of the present application provide a communication method for channel estimation and a communication apparatus. The application reduces the data throughput reduction, and improves overall data throughput.

[0006] According to a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, and the method may be performed by a communication device (for example, a base station or a user equipment (UE)), or be performed by a chip, a module, a chipset, a circuit, or a processing system configured in the communication device. The method includes: receiving a signal which is channel coded, where the signal includes pilot bits on positions and information bits, and the value of the positions is predefined; performing channel state information (CSI) estimation based on the pilot bits; and obtaining the information bits based on the CSI.

[0007] According to the above technical solution, code-based pilots are chosen among codeword bits for channel estimation, leading to no code rate loss compared to existing channel estimation approaches based on shortening or hybrid encoding. And code-based pilots can carry actual information without extra channel uses, improving communication performance compared to using training sequence (also known as a pilot sequence) which carries no actual information. So, this solution can reduce the data throughput reduction, and improve overall data throughput.

[0008] In a possible design, the method further comprises: receiving a pilot signal; where the performing channel state information (CSI) estimation based on the pilot bits, comprises: performing CSI estimation based on the pilot bits and the pilot signal.

[0009] According to the above technical solution, code-based pilots may accompany traditionally used training sequence (i.e., the pilot signal). Thus, this application is universal, specifically code-based pilots can also be used as additional pilots for reference pilots.

[0010] In a possible design, where the pilot bits are generated based on a mask, and cyclic redundancy check (CRC) in the signal is used for identifying whether the signal uses the mask.

[0011] According to the above technical solution, CRC in the signal can be used for identifying whether the signal uses the mask. Also, known masking pilots can be used in thechannel decoding phase to improve the decoding performance (known values will enhance the decoding results, since they are known and have absolute reliabilities).

[0012] In a possible design, the positions are uniform or non-uniform; or the positions are chosen from bit positions that are not punctured and not shortened.

[0013] In a possible design, where the pilot bits are non-binary symbols.

[0014] In a possible design, where the signal is channel coded based on systematic and non- systematic forward error-correcting linear.

[0015] According to the above technical solution, this solution may be applicable to any linear code, e.g., BCH, polar code, LDPC code, non-binary codes, etc...

[0016] According to a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, and the method may be performed by a communication device (for example, a base station or a user equipment (UE)), or be performed by a chip, a module, a chipset, a circuit, or a processing system configured in the communication device. The method includes: generating a signal which is channel coded, where the signal includes pilot bits on positions and information bits, the value of the positions is predefined, and the pilot bits are used for channel state information (CSI) estimation; and transmitting the signal.

[0017] In a possible design, where the method further comprises: transmitting a pilot signal, the pilot signal is used in conjunction with the pilot bits for the CSI estimation.

[0018] In a possible design, where the method further comprises: generating the pilot bits based on a mask, and cyclic redundancy check (CRC) in the signal is used for identifying whether the signal uses the mask.

[0019] In a possible design, where: the positions are uniform or non-uniform; or the positions are chosen from bit positions that are not punctured and not shortened.

[0020] In a possible design, where the pilot bits are non-binary symbols.

[0021] In a possible design, where the signal is channel coded based on systematic and non- systematic forward error-correcting linear.

[0022] Various implementations of the second aspect to the fourth aspect correspond to various implementations of the first aspect. For the various implementations and the beneficial technical effects of the various implementations of the second aspect to the fourth aspect, reference may be made to the descriptions of the relevant implementations of the first aspect,which will not be repeated here.

[0023] According to a third aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, and configured to perform the method in any possible implementation of the foregoing aspects. Specifically, the apparatus includes a unit configured to perform the method in any possible implementation of the foregoing aspects.

[0024] According to a fourth aspect, another communication apparatus is provided, including a processor. The processor may be configured to execute one or more instructions, to implement the method in any possible implementation of the various aspects.

[0025] The processor can be coupled to a memory, and the processor may be configured to execute the one or more instructions in the memory. The memory may be an on-chip storage unit inside the processor, or may be an off-chip storage unit that is, coupled to the memory and located outside the processor.

[0026] In a possible design, the apparatus further includes the memory.

[0027] In a possible design, the apparatus further includes a communication interface, and the processor is coupled to the communication interface.

[0028] In a possible design, the communication apparatus may be a UE, may be a chip, a module, a chipset, a circuit, or a processing system configured in the UE, or may be a device including the UE.

[0029] In a possible design, the communication apparatus may be a base station, may be a chip, a module, a chipset, a circuit, or a processing system configured in the base station, or may be a device including the base station.

[0030] According to a fifth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided. The computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program, and when the computer program is executed by a communication apparatus, the communication apparatus is enabled to implement the method in any possible implementation of the foregoing aspects.

[0031] According to a sixth aspect, a computer program product including one or more instructions is provided. When the instructions are executed by a computer, a communication apparatus is enabled to implement the method in any possible implementation of the foregoing aspects.

[0032] According to a seventh aspect, a computer program is provided. When the computerprogram is executed by a computer, a communication apparatus is enabled to implement the method in any possible implementation of the foregoing aspects.

[0033] According to an eighth aspect, a communication system is provided. The communication system includes a transmitting apparatus and / or a receiving apparatus, the transmitting apparatus is configured to perform the method in any possible implementation of the first aspect, and the receiving apparatus is configured to perform the method in any possible implementation of the second aspect.

[0034] According to a ninth aspect, an apparatus for implementing the method in any possible implementation of the foregoing aspects is provided.DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0035] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an application scenario according to this application;

[0036] FIG. 2 illustrates an example communication system 100;

[0037] FIG. 3 illustrates another example of an ED 110 and abase station 170a, 170b and / or170c;

[0038] FIG.4 is an example of units or modules in a device;

[0039] FIG. 5 is an example of joint, separate and iterative channel estimation;

[0040] FIG. 6 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method 600 according to an embodiment of this application;

[0041] FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a transport block segmentation according to an embodiment of this application;

[0042] FIG. 8 is a schematic block diagram of a communication apparatus according to an embodiment of this application;

[0043] FIG. 9 is a schematic block diagram of another communication apparatus according to an embodiment of this application.DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

[0044] The following describes technical solutions of the present application with referenceto the accompanying drawings.

[0045] The technical solutions in embodiments of this application may be applied to various communication systems, such as a fifth generation (5G) wireless communication system, a new ratio (NR) wireless communication system, a Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, an LTE frequency division duplex (FDD) system, an LTE time division duplex (TDD) system, a wireless local area network (WLAN), a satellite communication system, a device to device (D2D) communication system, a vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication system, a machine to machine (M2M) communication system, a machine type communication (MTC) communication system, an internet of things (loT) communication system, or future network (or future wireless communication system). And the technical solutions in embodiments of this application may also be applied to beam-related communication scenarios, e.g., centimeter wave communication and millimeter wave communication.

[0046] For ease of understanding of the embodiments of this application, a communication system shown in FIG. 1-FIG. 4 is used as an example to describe in detail a communication system to which the embodiments of this application are applicable.

[0047] Referring to FIG. 1, as an illustrative example without limitation, a simplified schematic illustration of a communication system is provided. The communication system 100 includes a radio access network 120. The radio access network 120 may be a next generation radio access network, or a legacy (e.g. 5G, 4G, 3G or 2G) radio access network. One or more communication electronic devices (ED) HOa-l lOj (generically referred to as ED 110) may be interconnected to one another or connected to one or more network nodes (170a, 170b, generically referred to as 170) in the radio access network 120. A core network 130 may be a part of the communication system and may be dependent or independent of the radio access technology used in the communication system 100. Also, the communication system 100 includes a public switched telephone network (PSTN) 140, the Internet 150, and other networks 160.

[0048] Referring to FIG. 2, an example communication system 100 is illustrated. In general, the communication system 100 enables multiple wireless or wired elements to communicate data and other content. The purpose of the communication system 100 may be to provide content, such as voice, data, video, and / or text, via broadcast, multicast and unicast, etc. Thecommunication system 100 may operate by sharing resources, such as carrier spectrum bandwidth, between its constituent elements. The communication system 100 may include a terrestrial communication system and / or a non-terrestrial communication system. The communication system 100 may provide a wide range of communication services and applications (such as earth monitoring, remote sensing, passive sensing and positioning, navigation and tracking, autonomous delivery and mobility, etc.). The communication system 100 may provide a high degree of availability and robustness through a joint operation of the terrestrial communication system and the non-terrestrial communication system. For example, integrating a non-terrestrial communication system (or components thereof) into a terrestrial communication system can result in what may be considered a heterogeneous network including multiple layers. Compared to conventional communication networks, the heterogeneous network may achieve better overall performance through efficient multi-link joint operation, more flexible functionality sharing, and faster physical layer link switching between terrestrial networks and non- terrestrial networks.

[0049] The terrestrial communication system and the non-terrestrial communication system may be considered sub-systems of the communication system. In the example shown, the communication system 100 includes electronic devices (ED) HOa-HOd (generically referred to as ED 110), radio access networks (RANs) 120a-120b, non-terrestrial communication network 120c, a core network 130, a public switched telephone network (PSTN) 140, the Internet 150, and other networks 160. The RANs 120a-120b include respective base stations (BSs) 170a- 170b, which may be generically referred to as terrestrial transmit and receive points (T-TRPs) 170a- 170b. The non-terrestrial communication network 120c includes an access node 120c, which may be generically referred to as a non-terrestrial transmit and receive point (NT- TRP) 172.

[0050] Any ED 110 may be alternatively or additionally configured to interface, access, or communicate with any other T-TRP 170a- 170b and NT-TRP 172, the Internet 150, the core network 130, the PSTN 140, the other networks 160, or any combination of the preceding. In some examples, ED 110a may communicate an uplink and / or downlink transmission over an interface 190a with T-TRP 170a. In some examples, the EDs 110a, 110b and HOd may also communicate directly with one another via one or more sidelink air interfaces 190b. In someexamples, ED 11 Od may communicate an uplink and / or downlink transmission over an interface 190c with NT-TRP 172.

[0051] The air interfaces 190a and 190b may use similar communication technology, such as any suitable radio access technology. For example, the communication system 100 may implement one or more channel access methods, such as code division multiple access (CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA), or single-carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA) in the air interfaces 190a and 190b. The air interfaces 190a and 190b may utilize other higher dimension signal spaces, which may involve a combination of orthogonal and / or non-orthogonal dimensions.

[0052] The air interface 190c can enable communication between the ED 1 lOd and one or multiple NT-TRPs 172 via a wireless link or simply a link. For some examples, the link is a dedicated connection for unicast transmission, a connection for broadcast transmission, or a connection between a group of EDs and one or multiple NT-TRPs for multicast transmission.

[0053] The RANs 120a and 120b are in communication with the core network 130 to provide the EDs 110a 110b, and 110c with various services such as voice, data, and other services. The RANs 120a and 120b and / or the core network 130 may be in direct or indirect communication with one or more other RANs (not shown), which may or may not be directly served by core network 130, and may or may not employ the same radio access technology as RAN 120a, RAN 120b or both. The core network 130 may also serve as a gateway access between (i) the RA s 120a and 120b or EDs 110a 110b, and 110c or both, and (ii) other networks (such as the PSTN 140, the Internet 150, and the other networks 160). In addition, some or all of the EDs 110a 110b, and 110c may include functionality for communicating with different wireless networks over different wireless links using different wireless technologies and / or protocols. Instead of wireless communication (or in addition thereto), the EDs 110a 110b, and 110c may communicate via wired communication channels to a service provider or switch (not shown), and to the Internet 150. PSTN 140 may include circuit switched telephone networks for providing plain old telephone service (POTS). Internet 150 may include a network of computers and subnets (intranets) or both, and incorporate protocols, such as Internet Protocol (IP), Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), and User Datagram Protocol (UDP). EDs 110a 110b, and 110c may be multimode devices capable of operation according to multipleradio access technologies, and incorporate multiple transceivers necessary to support such.

[0054] Referring to FIG. 3, an example of an ED 110 and a base station 170a, 170b and / or 170c is illustrated. The ED 110 is used to connect persons, objects, machines, etc. The ED 110 may be widely used in various scenarios, for example, cellular communications, device-to- device (D2D), vehicle to everything (V2X), peer-to-peer (P2P), machine-to-machine (M2M), machine-type communications (MTC), internet of things (IOT), virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), industrial control, self-driving, remote medical, smart grid, smart furniture, smart office, smart wearable, smart transportation, smart city, drones, robots, remote sensing, passive sensing, positioning, navigation and tracking, autonomous delivery and mobility, etc.

[0055] Each ED 110 represents any suitable end user device for wireless operation and may include such devices (or may be referred to) as a user equipment / device (UE), a wireless transmit / receive unit (WTRU), a mobile station, a fixed or mobile subscriber unit, a cellular telephone, a station (STA), a machine type communication (MTC) device, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a smartphone, a laptop, a computer, a tablet, a wireless sensor, a consumer electronics device, a smart book, a vehicle, a car, a truck, a bus, a train, or an loT device, an industrial device, or an apparatus (e.g. a communication module, a modem, or a chip) in the forgoing devices, among other possibilities. Future generation EDs 110 may be referred to as other terms. The base station 170a and 170b is a T-TRP and will hereafter be referred to as T- TRP 170. Also, as shown in FIG. 3, an NT-TRP will hereafter be referred to as NT-TRP 172. Each ED 110 connected to T-TRP 170 and / or NT-TRP 172 can be dynamically or semi-statically turned on (i.e., established, activated, or enabled), turned off (i.e., released, deactivated, or disabled) and / or configured in response to one or more of: connection availability or connection necessity.

[0056] The ED 110 includes a transmitter 201 and a receiver 203 coupled to one or more antennas 204. Only one antenna 204 is illustrated. One, some, or all of the antennas may alternatively be panels. The transmitter 201 and the receiver 203 may be integrated, e.g. as a transceiver. The transceiver is configured to modulate data or other content for transmission by at least one antenna 204 or network interface controller (NIC). The transceiver is also configured to demodulate data or other content received by the at least one antenna 204. Each transceiver includes any suitable structure for generating signals for wireless or wiredtransmission and / or processing signals received wirelessly or by wire. Each antenna 204 includes any suitable structure for transmitting and / or receiving wireless or wired signals.

[0057] The ED 110 includes at least one memory 208. The memory 208 stores instructions and data used, generated, or collected by the ED 110. For example, the memory 208 may store software instructions or modules configured to implement some or all of the functionality and / or embodiments described herein and that are executed by the processing unit(s) 210. Each memory 208 includes any suitable volatile and / or non-volatile storage and retrieval device(s). Any suitable type of memory may be used, such as random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), hard disk, optical disc, subscriber identity module (SIM) card, memory stick, secure digital (SD) memory card, on-processor cache, and the like.

[0058] The ED 110 may further include one or more input / output devices (not shown) or interfaces (such as a wired interface to the Internet 150 in FIG. 1). The input / output devices permit interaction with a user or other devices in the network. Each input / output device includes any suitable structure for providing information to or receiving information from a user, such as a speaker, microphone, keypad, keyboard, display, or touch screen, including network interface communications.

[0059] The ED 110 further includes a processor 210 for performing operations including those related to preparing a transmission for uplink transmission to the NT-TRP 172 and / or T- TRP 170, those related to processing downlink transmissions received from the NT-TRP 172 and / or T-TRP 170, and those related to processing sidelink transmissions to and from another ED 110. Processing operations related to preparing a transmission for uplink transmission may include operations such as encoding, modulating, transmit beamforming, and generating symbols for transmission. Processing operations related to processing downlink transmissions may include operations such as receive beamforming, demodulating and decoding received symbols. Depending upon the embodiment, a downlink transmission may be received by the receiver 203, possibly using receive beamforming, and the processor 210 may extract signaling from the downlink transmission (e.g. by detecting and / or decoding the signaling). An example of signaling may be reference signals transmitted by NT-TRP 172 and / or T-TRP 170. In some embodiments, the processor 276 implements the transmit beamforming and / or receive beamforming based on the indication of beam direction, e.g. beam angle information (BAI),received from T-TRP 170. In some embodiments, the processor 210 may perform operations related to network access (e.g. initial access) and / or downlink synchronization, such as operations related to detecting a synchronization sequence, decoding and obtaining the system information, etc. In some embodiments, the processor 210 may perform channel estimation, e.g. using reference signals received from the NT-TRP 172 and / or T-TRP 170.

[0060] Although not illustrated, the processor 210 may form part of the transmitter 201 and / or receiver 203. Although not illustrated, the memory 208 may form part of the processor 210.

[0061] The processor 210, the processing components of the transmitter 201, and the processing components of the receiver 203 may each be implemented by the same or different one or more processors that are configured to execute instructions stored in a memory (e.g. in the memory 208). Alternatively, some or all of the processor 210, the processing components of the transmitter 201, and the processing components of the receiver 203 may each be implemented using dedicated circuitry, such as a programmed field-programmable gate array (FPGA), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or a hardware accelerator such as a graphics processing unit (GPU) or an artificial intelligence (Al) accelerator.

[0062] The T-TRP 170 may be known by other names in some implementations, such as a base station, a base transceiver station (BTS), a radio base station, a network node, a network device, a device on the network side, a transmit / receive node, a Node B, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB), a Home eNodeB, a next Generation NodeB (gNB), a transmission point (TP) , a site controller, an access point (AP), or a wireless router, a relay station, a remote radio head, a terrestrial node, a terrestrial network device, or a terrestrial base station, base band unit (BBU), remote radio unit (RRU), radio unit (RU), active antenna unit (AAU), remote radio head (RRH), central unit (CU), distribute unit (DU), positioning node, among other possibilities. The T-TRP 170 may be macro BSs, pico BSs, relay node, donor node, or the like, or combinations thereof. The T-TRP 170 may refer to the foregoing devices or apparatus (e.g. a communication module, a modem, or a chip) in the foregoing devices.

[0063] The CU (or CU-control plane (CP) and CU-user plane (UP)), DU or RU may be known by other names in some implementations. For example, in an open RAN (ORAN) system, the CU may also be referred to as open CU (O-CU), DU may also be referred to asopen DU (O-DU), CU-CP may also be referred to open CU-CP (O-CU-CP), CU-UP may also be referred to as open CU-UP (O-CU-CP), and RU may also be referred to open RU (O-RU). Any one of the CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU, or RU may be implemented through a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of software and hardware modules.

[0064] In some embodiments, the parts of the T-TRP 170 may be distributed. For example, some of the modules of the T-TRP 170 may be located remotely from the equipment housing the antennas of the T-TRP 170, and may be coupled to the equipment housing the antennas over a communication link (not shown) sometimes known as front haul, such as a common public radio interface (CPRI). Therefore, in some embodiments, the term T-TRP 170 may also refer to modules on the network side that perform processing operations, such as determining the location of the ED 110, resource allocation (scheduling), message generation, and encoding / decoding, and that are not necessarily part of the equipment housing the antennas of the T-TRP 170. The modules may also be coupled to other T-TRPs. In some embodiments, the T-TRP 170 may actually be a plurality of T-TRPs that are operating together to serve the ED 110, e.g. through coordinated multipoint transmissions.

[0065] The T-TRP 170 includes at least one transmitter 252 and at least one receiver 254 coupled to one or more antennas 256. Only one antenna 256 is illustrated. One, some, or all of the antennas may alternatively be panels. The transmitter 252 and the receiver 254 may be integrated as a transceiver. The T-TRP 170 further includes a processor 260 for performing operations including those related to: preparing a transmission for downlink transmission to the ED 110, processing an uplink transmission received from the ED 110, preparing a transmission for backhaul transmission to NT-TRP 172, and processing a transmission received over backhaul from the NT-TRP 172. Processing operations related to preparing a transmission for downlink or backhaul transmission may include operations such as encoding, modulating, precoding (e.g. MIMO precoding), transmit beamforming, and generating symbols for transmission. Processing operations related to processing received transmissions in the uplink or over backhaul may include operations such as receive beamforming, and demodulating and decoding received symbols. The processor 260 may also perform operations related to network access (e.g. initial access) and / or downlink synchronization, such as generating the content of synchronization signal blocks (SSBs), generating the system information, etc. In someembodiments, the processor 260 also generates the indication of beam direction, e.g. BAI, which may be scheduled for transmission by a scheduler 253. The processor 260 performs other network-side processing operations described herein, such as determining the location of the ED 110, determining where to deploy NT-TRP 172, etc. In some embodiments, the processor 260 may generate signaling, e.g. to configure one or more parameters of the ED 110 and / or one or more parameters of the NT-TRP 172. Any signaling generated by the processor 260 is sent by the transmitter 252. Note that “signaling”, as used herein, may alternatively be called control signaling. Dynamic signaling may be transmitted in a control channel, e.g. a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), and static or semi-static higher layer signaling may be included in a packet transmitted in a data channel, e.g. in a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH).

[0066] The scheduler 253 may be coupled to the processor 260. The scheduler 253 may be included within or operated separately from the T-TRP 170, which may schedule uplink, downlink, and / or backhaul transmissions, including issuing scheduling grants and / or configuring scheduling-free (“configured grant”) resources. The T-TRP 170 further includes a memory 258 for storing information and data. The memory 258 stores instructions and data used, generated, or collected by the T-TRP 170. For example, the memory 258 may store software instructions or modules configured to implement some or all of the functionality and / or embodiments described herein and executed by the processor 260.

[0067] Although not illustrated, the processor 260 may form part of the transmitter 252 and / or the receiver 254. Also, although not illustrated, the processor 260 may implement the scheduler 253. Although not illustrated, the memory 258 may form part of the processor 260.

[0068] The processor 260, the scheduler 253, and the processing components of the transmitter 252 and the receiver 254 may each be implemented by the same or different one or more processors that are configured to execute instructions stored in a memory, e.g. in memory 258. Alternatively, some or all of the processor 260, the scheduler 253, and the processing components of the transmitter 252 and the receiver 254 may be implemented using dedicated circuitry, such as a programmed FPGA, a hardware accelerator (e.g., a GPU or Al accelerator), or an ASIC.

[0069] The NT-TRP 172 is illustrated as a drone only as an example. The NT-TRP 172 may be implemented in any suitable non-terrestrial form. Also, the NT-TRP 172 may be known byother names in some implementations, such as a non-terrestrial node, a non-terrestrial network device, or a non-terrestrial base station. The NT-TRP 172 includes a transmitter 272 and a receiver 274 coupled to one or more antennas 280. Only one antenna 280 is illustrated. One, some, or all of the antennas may alternatively be panels. The transmitter 272 and the receiver 274 may be integrated as a transceiver. The NT-TRP 172 further includes a processor 276 for performing operations including those related to: preparing a transmission for downlink transmission to the ED 110, processing an uplink transmission received from the ED 110, preparing a transmission forbackhaul transmission to T-TRP 170, and processing a transmission received over backhaul from the T-TRP 170. Processing operations related to preparing a transmission for downlink or backhaul transmission may include operations such as encoding, modulating, precoding (e.g. MIMO precoding), transmit beamforming, and generating symbols for transmission. Processing operations related to processing received transmissions in the uplink or over backhaul may include operations such as receive beamforming, and demodulating and decoding received symbols. In some embodiments, the processor 276 implements the transmit beamforming and / or receive beamforming based on beam direction information (e.g. BAI) received from T-TRP 170. In some embodiments, the processor 276 may generate signaling, e.g. to configure one or more parameters of the ED 110. In some embodiments, the NT-TRP 172 implements physical layer processing, but does not implement higher layer functions such as functions at the medium access control (MAC) or radio link control (RLC) layer. As this is only an example, more generally, the NT-TRP 172 may implement higher layer functions in addition to physical layer processing.

[0070] The NT-TRP 172 further includes a memory 278 for storing information and data. Although not illustrated, the processor 276 may form part of the transmitter 272 and / or receiver 274. Although not illustrated, the memoty 278 may form part of the processor 276.

[0071] The processor 276 and the processing components of the transmitter 272 and the receiver 274 may each be implemented by the same or different one or more processors that are configured to execute instructions stored in a memory, e.g. in memory 278. Alternatively, some or all of the processor 276 and the processing components of the transmitter 272 and the receiver 274 may be implemented using dedicated circuitry, such as a programmed FPGA, a GPU, or an ASIC. In some embodiments, the NT-TRP 172 may actually be a plurality ofNT-TRPs that areoperating together to serve the ED 110, e.g. through coordinated multipoint transmissions.

[0072] The T-TRP 170, the NT-TRP 172, and / or the ED 110 may include other components, but these have been omitted for the sake of clarity.

[0073] One or more steps of the embodiment methods provided herein may be performed by corresponding units or modules, according to FIG. 4.

[0074] Referring to FIG. 4, as an illustrative example of units or modules in a device, such as in the ED 110, in the T-TRP 170, or in the NT-TRP 172. For example, a signal may be transmitted by a transmitting unit or a transmitting module. For example, a signal may be transmitted by a transmitting unit or a transmitting module. A signal may be received by a receiving unit or a receiving module. A signal may be processed by a processing unit or a processing module. Other steps may be performed by an artificial intelligence (Al) or machine learning (ML) module. The respective units or modules may be implemented using hardware, one or more components or devices that execute software, or a combination thereof. For instance, one or more of the units or modules may be an integrated circuit, such as a programmed FPGA, a GPU, or an ASIC. It will be appreciated that where the modules are implemented using software for execution by a processor for example, they may be retrieved by a processor, in whole or part as needed, individually or together for processing, in single or multiple instances, and that the modules themselves may include instructions for further deployment and instantiation.]0075] While not shown, the transmitting module and the receiving module may be part of, or combined into, a transceiver module. A transceiver module may also be known as an interface module, or simply an interface, for inputting and outputting operations.

[0076] Additional details regarding the EDs 110, T-TRP 170, and NT-TRP 172 are known to those of skill in the art. As such, these details are omitted here.

[0077] Hereafter, a base station is used as an example of T-TRP 170 or NT-TRP 172, and the UE is used as an example of ED 110. However, limitation is not made herein.

[0078] Most data transmission schemes over time-varying channels with unknown channel state information (CSI) assume that the receiving apparatus is able to compute accurate estimates of these parameters. In most practical systems, a predetermined training sequence (also known as a pilot sequence), containing no actual information, is transmitted to help thereceiving apparatus in this task. This is crucial, as the quality of received signals may vary due to factors such as fading, interference, or environmental changes. By employing known training sequences, the receiving apparatus can gauge channel characteristics and adapt its processing to compensate for these variations. This process, often referred to as channel estimation, forms a fundamental component of modern communication systems, enabling the receiver to mitigate effects of channel impairments and enhance the accuracy of data recovery.

[0079] In short, the channel estimation refers to the process of reconstructing or restoring received signals to compensate for signal distortion caused by channel fading and noise. In channel estimation, reference signals predicted by a transmitting apparatus and a receiving apparatus may be used to track a change in the time domain and / or frequency domain of a channel, so as to reconstruct or restore a received signal. The reference signals may also be referred to as a pilot signal, a pilot, a reference sequence, a pilot sequence or the like, and pilot is described in the following for ease of understanding.

[0080] The channel estimation accuracy plays pivotal role in subsequent signal processing. It significantly contributes to the overall performance and reliability of data transmission systems over time-varying channels. For instance, channel equalization, which aims to counteract distortions incurred during transmission, and decoding, which involves recovering the original information from the received signal, relies on precise knowledge of the channel conditions.

[0081] The number of pilots in the training sequence is limited. More pilots in use lead to improved channel estimation accuracy. By increasing the number of pilots in the training sequence, a communication system can obtain more measurements of channel response, leading to a more accurate of channel estimation, and allowing for better receive performance in terms of signal detection and demodulation. However, a higher number of pilots in the training sequence leads to an increase in pilot overhead. This means dedicating more resources to transmitting pilots, which could otherwise be used for carrying data. The pilot overhead impacts the communication system's spectral efficiency and overall data throughput.

[0082] To reduce the data throughput reduction due to insertion of the training sequences among modulated symbols, approaches to use channel code-aided channel estimation were developed, which choose pilots directly among codeword bits. The idea is to strategicallyexploit channel code construction, so additional pilot symbols can be generated, allowing for improved channel estimation accuracy and robustness. This approach allows for increased pilot’s density, improved channel estimation and efficient system resources utilization.

[0083] Referring to FIG. 5, FIG. 5 is an example of joint, separate and iterative channel estimation. The two opposite approaches to incorporation of channel estimation into the overall processing chain are presented in FIG. 5. A method where the channel estimation and decoding are treated as separate processes as shown in (a) of FIG. 5. The optimal approach to design transmission system is described in (b) of FIG. 5 where joint channel estimation and decoding are used. Joint processing is unfeasible in practical applications; therefore, it is approximated by iterative processing. Iterative processing allows for step-by-step improvement of estimation by exchanging information between channel decoder and channel estimator.

[0084] A method shown in (a) of FIG. 5 is sub-optimal because only dedicated training sequence is used for channel estimation. Since these signals do not carry actual information, their number is small comparing to the overall number of signals in transmission block. Thus, the intervals between pilots are rather big, which has two negative consequences. First, quick changes of channel state during transmission of data signals may be overlooked. Second, any corruption of a pilot due to channel noise affects estimation quality for many data signals. A possible solution to overcome problem of sub-optimality of separate approach and unfeasible complexity of joint approach is using code-based pilot symbols. A code-based pilot technique suggests a method of using codeword symbols in addition to the training sequence for CSI estimation.

[0085] The existing approaches about code-based pilot are based either on usage of systematic codes or hybrid, shortened or punctured polar code construction. Existing approaches suffer from several drawbacks: rate loss - due to the utilization of information bits as pilot symbols, non-universality - being code specifics, inability to be used for blind channel estimation scenarios. Therefore, the present application provides an approach to use the codeaided channel estimation using code-based pilots. The code-based pilots can be obtained as follows. First, given a pilot position P and desired pilot values, and a set of codeword mask vectors can be calculated offline by exploiting error-correcting code structure. Second, these masks are used to compute set predetermined pilot values in transmitted codeword. Thisapproach can overcome above mentioned problems.

[0086] A transmission scheme with channel state information estimated at a receiving apparatus is considered. Scenarios include single user (antenna) transmission or multi-user (antenna) transmission. Modifications can made in parts of transmitting apparatus and receiving apparatus of the general transmission scheme.

[0087] The following describes the embodiments of this application in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0088] In the following, the process of transmitting pilots described below may be performed by a base station, or may be performed by a UE. The process of measuring a channel may be performed by the UE when the base station transmits the pilots, and may be performed by the base station when the UE transmits the pilots. For ease of description, an apparatus that transmits the pilots is herein after referred to as a transmitting apparatus and an apparatus that measures a channel based on the pilots is herein after referred to as a receiving apparatus.

[0089] In the embodiments of this application, “and / or” describes an association relationship between associated objects and represents that three relationships may exist. For example, A and / or B may represent the following three cases: only A exists, both A and B exist, and only B exists. The character “ / ” generally indicates an “or” relationship between the associated objects. “At least one” means one or more. “At least one of A and B”, similar to “A and / or B”, describes an association relationship between associated objects and represents that three relationships may exist. For example, at least one of A and B may represent the following three cases: only A exists, both A and B exist, and only B exists.

[0090] Referring to FIG. 6, FIG. 6 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method 600 according to an embodiment of this application.

[0091] At S610, a receiving apparatus receives a signal which is channel coded, where the signal includes pilot bits on positions and information bits, and the value of the positions is predefined.

[0092] The positions used to carry the pilot bits are referred to as positions P.

[0093] The pilot bits can also be referred to as any one of: pilot symbols, code-based pilots, code-based pilot symbols, or code-based pilot bits. For distinction, the pilot bits are referred to as the code-based pilots in the following. The information bits can also be referred to as anyone of: data, data symbols, or data bits.

[0094] Correspondingly, a transmitting apparatus transmits the signal, the signal is channel coded. In some embodiments, channel coding includes: cyclic redundancy check (CRC) coding (i.e., CRC encoding) and / or forward error-correcting coding (i.e., forward error correcting encoding). For example, the signal adopts both systematic and non-systematic forward errorcorrecting linear code construction.

[0095] In some embodiments, the signal corresponds to one or multiple transport blocks (TBs), in other word, we can consider transmission using the transport blocks, and specifically, the signal is obtained by processing the transport blocks.

[0096] In some embodiments, a transport block (TB) is divided into code blocks (CBs). By dividing transport blocks into smaller code blocks, the system can better handle errors. If one code block is lost or corrupted during transmission, the receiver can still recover the data from the other code blocks in the transport block. This improves the overall reliability of the transmission and ensures that the data is delivered accurately and efficiently.

[0097] Optionally, the transport block transmission consists of TB CRC encoding and CB CRC encoding and forward error correcting encoding for each CB. The TB-CRC encoding and the CB-CRC encoding are for distinction only, and both represent CRC encoding. The TB-CRC encoding refers to CRC encoding of information bits of TB, and the CB-CRC encoding refers to CRC encoding of CB.

[0098] Referring to FIG. 7, FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a transport block segmentation. In some communication systems, a transport block refers to a block of data that is transmitted over the air interface between a base station and a UE. Transport blocks can be quite large, so the transport blocks may be segmented into one or multiple CBs (i.e., one or multiple smaller CBs) to make transmission more efficient, as shown in FIG. 7.

[0099] In a possible implementation, CRC may be optionally appended to the TB as well as each CB. As shown in FIG. 7, the TB carries CRC codes which are also known as TB-CRC, correspondingly, each CB in the TB carries CRC codes which are also known as CB-CRC, and the last CB contains the TB-CRC.

[0100] Specifically, on the transmitting apparatus side, transport information block is TB- CRC encoded and resulting CRC-encoded TB information block is segmented into informationblocks for the following CB encoding. Each information block is CB-CRC encoded. Then, channel coding can be performed by means of such as forward error-correcting codes (polar codes, LDPC codes, etc.) for each CB. Post-processing after encoding is performed according to the proposed code-based pilot approach, which produces pilot codeword bit values on the position P. Then, the processing proceeds in conventional steps with modulation and other required blocks. For example, modulation scheme includes one or more of: binary phase-shift keying (BPSK), quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM), quadrature phase-shift keying (QPSK).

[0101] At S620, the receiving apparatus performs CSI estimation based on the pilot bits.

[0102] On the receiving apparatus side, the received signal can be used to perform CSI estimation based on code-based pilots on the position P. The estimated CSI can be used for equalization (detection) and demodulation. The demodulated data can be passed to the forward error correction block. In other words, on the receiving apparatus side, channel estimation, equalization (detection), demodulation and forward error correction can be performed.

[0103] The “CSI estimation” is referred to as a “channel estimation” in some embodiments.

[0104] At S630, the receiving apparatus obtains the information bits based on the CSI.

[0105] Specifically, the receiving apparatus determines the information bits based on results of the CSI estimation. For example, estimated CSI can be used for equalization (detection) and demodulation.

[0106] In some embodiments, transmitting apparatus performs calculation operations on original codeword and mask to generate the signal.

[0107] Further, in some embodiments, TB-CRC are used to identify whether the mask was applied. Thus, the error rate is bounded by the false alarm rate of the TB-CRC. To reduce the false alarm rate (FAR) the size of the TB-CRC can be chosen carefully. The size of TB-CRC can be chosen in accordance to the predefined frame error rate (which will be majorized by FAR on the transmission, observed mostly on high signal-to-noise ratios).

[0108] Optionally, the CRC lengths (and FAR) from 3GPP standard are 16 (1.5 10'5) or 24 (6 10'8) bits (probability of CRC collision is 2'G).

[0109] The chosen CRC will compose 2Gcodeword groups, each having the same resultant CRC. The appearance of codewords in each group will lead to the collision, thus, the numberof groups can be increased.

[0110] The proposed method (i.e., code-based pilot method) adds post-processing step after encoding and decoding procedures. Considering an example of single CB encoding preceded by TB-CRC encoding. Denoting vector of K transmitted information bits as m = (mi, m2, niK). Firstly, the information bits are encoded using CB-CRC code based on CRC polynomial gCRc(x) yielding vector mere = (wi, m2, ..., m, ci, ..., CG,). Then, CRC encoded sequence is encoded with (N, K+G) error-correcting code (e.g., polar code, LDPC code, etc.) into codeword c = (ci, C2, ..., CN), where N is an error-correcting code block length. The encoding steps are followed by the encoder post-processing step to obtain the code-based pilot.

[0111] Assuming that code-based pilot bits are considered to be always zero (their values may be chosen differently). To obtain the code-based pilot, the following steps are performed.

[0112] 1) Choose a set of m indices P= (pi,among codeword indices (1, ..., N) for the code-based pilot to be placed.

[0113] 2) Compose a set of masking codeword vectors with all possible combinations of m bits on positions indexed by P.

[0114] 3) When transmitting a codeword, choose a mask, which produces predefined desired values of pilot bits on positions indexed by P when added modulo 2 with the original codeword. Add the chosen mask to the original codeword modulo 2 to get the codeword for transmission.

[0115] Optionally, the set of masking codewords may be known at the transmitting apparatus and the receiving apparatus to recover the initial codeword. The constructed set of masking codewords is chosen from the code, thus the sum of the masking codeword and codeword is also a codeword due to linear property of the error-correcting code in use. Thus, the resulting sequence may be decoded in the same way as the original codeword. After the application of the mask, the resulting codeword is modulated and passed for further processing steps of the transmission scheme. On the receiving apparatus, the values from the known pilot positions in the received signal are used for CSI estimation. Then, the equalization (detection) and demodulation are performed. After that, the demodulated values are passed to the channel decoder. The task of the channel decoder is to correct the errors appeared during the transmission over the channel. After the decoding is done, the decoder post-processing isperformed, which determines whether the mask was applied. This is done by TB-CRC check. If TB-CRC check is not satisfied, either the mask should be applied or the decoder failed to decode. Thus, the mask is applied to the codeword and TB-CRC check is applied again. If check is not satisfied again, then, it is concluded that the decoding failed to correct the errors.

[0116] The above method can be compared to a method when additional pilots are chosen from punctured positions. In contrast to the puncturing method, the above method does not require re-decoding after applying the mask, while in the puncturing approach the decoding is repeated after each setting of punctured bit values.

[0117] In some embodiments, the number of the code-based pilots or the number of codebased pilot bits is greater than or equal to 1.

[0118] Specifically, the proposed approach of code-based pilots allows for different number of code-based pilot bits. For example, according to modulation in use the number of pilots varies in range {0, ..., N / Q}, where Q is the number of bits in the constellation symbol, e.g., Q = 1 for BPSK, Q = 2 for 4-PSK and 4-QAM, Q = 3 for 8-PSK and 8-QAM, etc... The cardinality of the constructed masking codeword set required to cover all manually created pilot symbols m is 2m- I (no need to cover all zero combination), where m is the number of code-based pilot bits.

[0119] Taking BPSK modulation as an example. Suppose, m = 1 (one code-based pilot bit is chosen). Then, the set of masking codewords is one codeword with value {(1)} on the position of P= (pi). If m = 2 (two pilot bits are chosen), then, the set of masking codewords contain three codewords with values {(0, 1), (1, 0), (1, 1)} on the position of P= (pi, pi) and so on.

[0120] In some embodiments, the value of the positions P can be different.

[0121] The values of pilots may be fixed to any possible combinations with the set of masking codewords unchanged. Taking BPSK modulation as an example. Suppose, m = 2 (two code-based pilot bits are chosen). Then, the possible values for code-based pilot bits are {(0, 0), (0, 1), (1, 0), (1, 1)}. The set of masking codewords can contain three codewords with values {(0, 1), (1, 0), (1, 1)} on the position of P= (pi, pi) to force the bits to be equal to the chosen code-based pilot values.

[0122] In some embodiments, the number of the positions P is greater than or equal to 1. Optionally, the positions P may be predefined or predetermined.

[0123] In some embodiments, the positions P may be chosen arbitrary or according to some specifics. For example, one may choose uniform or non-uniform placements of code-based pilots.

[0124] If the parameters of the code are changed according to some shortening of puncturing pattern, these changes should be accounted for during the choice of the code-based pilots’ positions. For example, in the 3GPP standard the code parameters are chosen according to the MCS and shortening and puncturing may be applied to adapt transmission to channel conditions. For example, consider the example of adaptation of code-based pilot positions for puncturing and shortening patterns in the following schemes with polar and LDPC coding:

[0125] Polar code: first bits are punctured; last bits are shortened;

[0126] LDPC code: first and last bits are punctured, information bits are shortened.

[0127] When choosing code-based pilots’ positions, the rule it to choose those that are not punctured and not shortened.

[0128] In some embodiments, the code-based pilots’ approach is applicable to non-binary linear codes. The non-binary symbols will serve as the pilots. The pilot values are be chosen from the alphabet of the chosen non-binary symbols. For non-binary codes, the masking list size will be equal to qm(instead of 2"' for binary code), where q is the non-binary code field order size.

[0129] In some embodiments, higher order modulation can be used. For higher order modulation the positions of code-based pilot bits can be designed carefully so the bits may be combined (taking account the interleaving) to compose the code-based pilot modulated symbols. In order to simplify the procedure, the non-binary codes may be used. For non-binary codes, the masking list size will be equal to qm(instead of 2mfor binary code), where q is the non- binary code field order size. With non-binary codes the size of the finite field may be chosen to be equal to the modulation order, thus the scheme will be resistant to interleaving, meaning no special code-based pilots positioning should be designed.

[0130] In some embodiments, the set of masks may be generated using the generator matrix known at both receiving apparatus and transmitting apparatus. In other words, list of codeword masks for obtaining code-based pilots may be chosen by deterministic procedure given generator matrix on both receiving apparatus and transmitting apparatus (no overhead for maskstransmission). The codewords from the generator matrix may be picked sequentially and combined until all possible values on the positions of pilots are obtained.

[0131] In some embodiments, the scheme may be used with any coding scheme based on cascade code, where the inner linear code is used for error correction and outer code is used for error detection. Then, codewords of inner code will be used as masks.

[0132] Taking polar code as an example, a specific example is described below.

[0133] Considering polar code (N = 8, K = 4) CA-Polar code with CRC-2 (gCRc(x) = x2+ x + 1). Supposing, the number of code-based pilots is one, i.e. m = 1, and the bit before last one is the code-based pilot position P = (pi) = (7) and fix its value to be always one. The information and frozen positions for polar code are chosen according to 3GPP sequence: A= (4, 6, 7, 8) and A = (1, 2, 3, 5). Then, the information and CRC bits indices are Ainf= (4, 6) and Acrc= 1, 8), respectively.

[0134] Let the list of codeword masks consist of a codeword from (8, 4) polar code containing all possible combinations (i.e., 1) on positions of P, except all zero combination. The list is £= {(1, 1, 1, 1 , 1, 1, 1, 1)}

[0135] Suppose, the information vectors mi = (1, 1) and m2 = (0, 1) are given. The corresponding CB-CRC encoded sequences are mi,crc = (1, 1, 1, 0) and m2,crc = (0, 1, 1, 1). After, the polar encoding is carried out, resulting in two codewords ci = (1, 0, 0, 1, 0, 1, 1, 0) and C2 = (1, 0, 0, 1, 1, 0, 0, 1). Since, the code-based pilot on positions pi = 7 must be equal to one, the masking codeword should be applied to force the seventh bit to be equal to one if needed. Codeword ci has one on the position pi = 7, hence no processing is required. Codeword C2 has zero in the position p = 7, hence the mask must be applied. Thus, the post-processed codewords are ci* = (1, 0, 0, 1, 0, 1, 1, 0) and C2* = (1, 0, 0, 1, 1, 0, 0, 1) © (1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1) = (0, 1, 1, 0, 0, 1, 1, 0). Both resultant codewords ci* and C * have ones on the positions of P. After such post-processing the position of pi might be used as code-based pilot symbol, since its position is always fixed to predefined value and know at both the transmitter and receiver.

[0136] On the receiving apparatus side, the application of the mask is identified by TB- CRC. Specifically, TB-CRC are used to identify whether the mask was applied, and if that the mask was applied, the receiving apparatus can remove the mask.

[0137] The methods according to embodiments of this application are described above in detail with reference to FIGS. 6-7. According to the methods, known code-based pilots can be used in the decoding procedure to improve the decoding performance (known values will enhance the decoding results). The methods are applicable to any linear code (polar code, Hamming, LDPC code, BCH codes, etc.). The methods may be used in DMRS-less transmission (blind detection) without pilot signals. For example, code-based pilots may be used instead of traditionally used training sequence (also known as a pilot sequence). Thus, code-based pilots might be used in DMRS transmission scenario. The methods may accompany pilot-aided transmission to improve channel estimation performance.

[0138] The apparatus provided in embodiments of this application is described below in detail with reference to FIGS. 8-9. The description of apparatus embodiments corresponds to the description of the method embodiments. Therefore, for content that is not described in detail, refer to the foregoing method embodiments. For brevity, details are not described herein again.

[0139] Referring to FIG. 8, a schematic block diagram of a communication apparatus according to an embodiment of this application is shown. The communication apparatus 800 includes a transceiver unit 810 and a processing unit 820. The transceiver unit 810 may implement a corresponding communication function, and the processing unit 810 is configured to perform data processing. The transceiver unit 810 may also be referred to as a communication interface or a communication unit.

[0140] In some embodiments, the communication apparatus 800 may further include a storage unit. The storage unit may be configured to store instructions and / or data. The processing unit 820 may read instructions and / or data in the storage unit, to enable the communication apparatus to implement the foregoing method embodiments.

[0141] In a possible implementation, the communication apparatus 800 may be configured to perform actions performed by the transmitting apparatus in the foregoing method embodiments. In this case, the communication apparatus 800 may be a communication device (for example, a base station or a UE) or a component that can be configured in the communication device. The transceiver unit 810 is configured to perform communicating- related (e.g., receiving / transmitting-related) operations on the transmitting apparatus side in the foregoing method embodiments. The processing unit 820 is configured to perform processing-related operations on the transmitting apparatus side in the foregoing method embodiments.

[0142] In another possible implementation, the communication apparatus 800 may be configured to perform actions performed by the receiving apparatus in the foregoing method embodiments. In this case, the communication apparatus 800 may be a communication device (for example, a base station or a UE) or a component that can be configured in the communication device. The transceiver unit 810 is configured to perform communicating- related (e.g., receiving / transmitting-related) operations on the receiving apparatus side in the foregoing method embodiments. The processing unit 820 is configured to perform processing- related operations on the receiving apparatus side in the foregoing method embodiments.

[0143] A specific process in which the units perform the foregoing corresponding steps is described in detail in the foregoing method embodiments. For brevity, details are not described herein again.

[0144] Referring to FIG. 9, a schematic block diagram of another communication apparatus according to an embodiment of this application is shown. The communication apparatus 900 includes a processor 910. The processor 910 is coupled to a memory 920. The memory 920 is configured to store a computer program or instructions and / or data. The processor 910 is configured to execute the computer program or instructions and / or data stored in the memory 920, so that the methods in the foregoing method embodiments are executed.

[0145] In some embodiments, the communication apparatus 900 includes one or more processors 910.

[0146] In an example, as shown in FIG. 9, the communication apparatus 900 may further include the memory 920.

[0147] In some embodiments, the communication apparatus 900 may include one or more memories 920.

[0148] In an example, the memory 920 may be integrated with the processor 910, or disposed separately from the processor 910.

[0149] In an example, as shown in FIG. 9, the communication apparatus 900 may further include a transceiver 930, where the transceiver 930 is configured to receive and / or transmit a signal. For example, the processor 910 may be configured to control the transceiver 930 to receive and / or transmit a signal.

[0150] In some embodiments, the communication apparatus 900 may be a communication device (for example, a base station or a UE) or a component that can be configured in the communication device.

[0151] In a solution, the communication apparatus 900 is configured to perform the operations performed by the transmitting apparatus in the foregoing method embodiments.

[0152] For example, the processor 910 may be configured to perform a processing-related operation performed by the transmitting apparatus in the foregoing method embodiments, and the transceiver 930 may be configured to perform a communicating-related (e.g., receiving / transmitting-related) operation performed by the transmitting apparatus in the foregoing method embodiments.

[0153] In another solution, the communication apparatus 900 is configured to perform the operations performed by the receiving apparatus in the foregoing method embodiments.

[0154] For example, the processor 910 may be configured to perform a processing-related operation performed by the receiving apparatus in the foregoing method embodiments, and the transceiver 930 may be configured to perform a communicating-related (e.g., receiving / transmitting-related) operation performed by the receiving apparatus in the foregoing method embodiments.

[0155] An embodiment of this application further provides a computer-readable storage medium. The computer-readable storage medium stores computer instructions used to implement the method performed by the transmitting apparatus or the method performed by the receiving apparatus in the foregoing method embodiments.

[0156] For example, when the computer program is executed by a computer, the computer may be enabled to implement the method performed by the transmitting apparatus or the method performed by the receiving apparatus in the foregoing method embodiments.

[0157] An embodiment of this application further provides a computer program product including instructions. When the instructions are executed by a computer, the computer is enabled to implement the method performed by the transmitting apparatus or the method performed by the receiving apparatus in the foregoing method embodiments.

[0158] An embodiment of this application further provides a communication system. The communication system includes the transmitting apparatus and the receiving apparatus in theforegoing embodiments.

[0159] For explanations and beneficial effects of related content of any communication apparatus provided above, refer to a corresponding method embodiment provided above. Details are not described herein again.

[0160] The processor mentioned in embodiments of this application may be a central processing unit (CPU). The processor may further be another general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), or another programmable logic device, a discrete gate, a transistor logic device, a discrete hardware component, or the like. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, or the processor may be any conventional processor or the like.

[0161] The memory mentioned in embodiments of this application may be a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory, or may include a volatile memory and a non-volatile memory. The non-volatile memory may be a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable readonly memory (programmable ROM, PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (erasable PROM, EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (electrically EPROM, EEPROM), or a flash memory. The volatile memory may be a random access memory (RAM). For example, the RAM may be used as an external cache. By way of example but not limitation, the RAM may include a plurality of forms such as the following: a static random access memory (static RAM, SRAM), a dynamic random access memory (dynamic RAM, DRAM), a synchronous dynamic random access memory (synchronous DRAM, SDRAM), a double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (double data rate SDRAM, DDR SDRAM), an enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (enhanced SDRAM, ESDRAM), a synchlink dynamic random access memory (synchlink DRAM, SLDRAM), and a direct rambus random access memory (direct rambus RAM, DR RAM).

[0162] It should be noted that when the processor is a general-purpose processor, a DSP, an ASIC, an FPGA, another programmable logic device, a discrete gate or a transistor logic device, or a discrete hardware component, the memory (storage module) may be integrated into the processor.

[0163] It should be further noted that the memory described in this specification is intended to include, but is not limited to, these memories and any other memory of a suitable type.

[0164] A person of ordinary skill in the art may be aware that, in combination with the examples described in embodiments disclosed in this specification, units and methods may be implemented by electronic hardware or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether the functions are performed by hardware or software depends on particular applications and design constraints of the technical solutions. A person skilled in the art may use different methods to implement the described functions for each particular application, but it should not be considered that the implementation goes beyond the protection scope of this application.

[0165] It may be clearly understood by a person skilled in the art that, for the purpose of convenient and brief description, for a detailed working process of the foregoing apparatus and unit, refer to a corresponding process in the foregoing method embodiment. Details are not described herein again.

[0166] In the several embodiments provided in this application, the disclosed apparatuses and methods may be implemented in other manners. For example, the described apparatus embodiment is merely an example. For example, division into the units is merely logical function division and may be other division in an actual implementation. For example, a plurality of units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored or not performed. In addition, the displayed or discussed mutual couplings or direct couplings or communication connections may be implemented through some interfaces. The indirect couplings or communication connections between the apparatuses or units may be implemented in electronic forms, mechanical forms, or other forms.

[0167] The units described as separate parts may or may not be physically separate, and parts displayed as units may or may not be physical units, may be located in one position, or may be distributed on a plurality of network units. Some or all of the units may be selected based on an actual requirement to implement the solutions provided in this application.

[0168] In addition, function units in embodiments of this application may be integrated into one unit, or each of the units may exist alone physically, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit.

[0169] All or some of the foregoing embodiments may be implemented by using software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When the software is used to implement embodiments, all or a part of embodiments may be implemented in a form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on the computer, the procedures or functions according to embodiments of this application are all or partially generated. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or another programmable apparatus. For example, the computer may be a personal computer, a server, a network device, or the like. The computer instructions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or may be transmitted from a computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer instructions may be transmitted from a website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center in a wired (for example, a coaxial cable, an optical fiber, or a digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (for example, infrared, radio, and microwave, or the like) manner. The computer-readable storage medium may be any usable medium accessible by the computer, or a data storage device, for example, a server or a data center, integrating one or more usable media. The usable medium may be a magnetic medium (for example, a floppy disk, a hard disk, or a magnetic tape), an optical medium (for example, a DVD), a semiconductor medium (for example, an SSD), or the like. For example, the usable medium may include but is not limited to any medium that can store program code, such as a USB flash drive, a removable hard disk, a ROM, a RAM, a magnetic disk, or an optical disc.

[0170] The foregoing description is merely a specific implementation of this application, but is not intended to limit the protection scope of this application. Any variation or replacement readily figured out by a person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in this application shall fall within the protection scope of this application. Therefore, the protection scope of this application shall be subject to the protection scope of the claims and the specification.

Claims

CLAIMSWhat is claimed is:

1. A communication method, comprising: receiving a signal which is channel coded, wherein the signal includes pilot bits on positions and information bits, and the value of the positions is predefined; performing channel state information (CSI) estimation based on the pilot bits; and obtaining the information bits based on the CSI. / / combine with reference signal2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the method further comprises: receiving a pilot signal; and wherein the performing channel state information (CSI) estimation based on the pilot bits, comprises: performing the CSI estimation based on the pilot bits and the pilot signal. / / TB-CRC are used to identify whether the mask was applied3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the pilot bits are generated based on a mask, and cyclic redundancy check (CRC) in the signal is used for identifying whether the signal uses the mask.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1-3, wherein: the positions are uniform or non-uniform; or the positions are chosen from bit positions that are not punctured and not shortened.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1-4, wherein the pilot bits are non-binary symbols.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1-5, wherein the signal is channel coded based on systematic and non-systematic forward error-correcting linear.

7. A communication method, comprising:generating a signal which is channel coded, wherein the signal includes pilot bits on positions and information bits, the value of the positions is predefined, and the pilot bits are used for channel state information (CS1) estimation; and transmitting the signal.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the method further comprises: transmitting a pilot signal, the pilot signal is used in conjunction with the pilot bits for the CSI estimation.

9. The method according to claim 7 or 8, wherein the method further comprises: generating the pilot bits based on a mask, and cyclic redundancy check (CRC) in the signal is used for identifying whether the signal uses the mask.

10. The method according to any one of claims 7-9, wherein: the positions are uniform or non-uniform; or the positions are chosen from bit positions that are not punctured and not shortened.

11. The method according to any one of claims 7-10, wherein the pilot bits are non-binary symbols.

12. The method according to any one of claims 7-11, wherein the signal is channel coded based on systematic and non-systematic forward error-correcting linear.

13. An apparatus comprising a processor configured to enable the apparatus to perform the method of any one of claims 1-12.

14. The apparatus according to claim 13, further comprising a memory for storing processor-executable instructions.

15. The apparatus according to claim 13 or 14, further comprising a communication interface configured to input and / or output signals.

16. The apparatus according to any one of claims 13-15, wherein the apparatus is a communication device, an integrated circuit, a system-on-chip, a system-in-package, or a multichip module.

17. A computer readable storage medium comprising one or more instructions, wherein when the instructions are executed by a computer, the computer performs the method of any one of claims 1-12.

18. A computer program comprising one or more instructions, wherein when theinstructions are executed by a computer, the computer performs the method of any one of claims 1-12.

19. A communication system comprising: a transmitting apparatus and a receiving apparatus, wherein: the transmitting apparatus is configured to perform the method according to any one of claims 1-6, and the receiving apparatus is configured to perform the method according to any one of claims 7-12.

20. An apparatus for implementing the method according to any one of claims 1-12.

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