Sensing management entity and method for enabling sensing in a communication system

Abstract

This disclosure relates to a method performed by a sensing management entity (601, 603) for enabling sensing in a communication system (100), the method comprising: - obtaining (701, 1302) data associated with a non-target object (610) which acts as an interference and / or clutter source in a sensing activity performed by a sensing unit (605), wherein the sensing activity comprises sensing of a target object (613); and - applying (702, 1303) the obtained data in a sensing task design.

Description

SENSING MANAGEMENT ENTITY AND METHOD FOR ENABLING SENSING IN A COMMUNICATION SYSTEMTECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present disclosure relates generally to a sensing management entity, a method performed by the sensing management entity, a computer program product and anon-transitory computer-readable storage medium.

[0002] More particularly, the present disclosure relates to enabling sensing in a communication system. The present disclosure relates to interference and / or clutter reduction in the context of connected non-target objects.BACKGROUNDIntegrated sensing and communication

[0003] During 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Technical Specification Group (TSG) Service and System Aspects (SA) Working Group 1 (WG1) Meeting #98e the system architectures (SA) groups SAI and SA2 of the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) have defined study items to identify use cases and architectural enhancements that will enable Integrated Sensing And Communication (ISAC) in cellular networks. The corresponding technical report (TR) 22.837 describes use cases and potential requirements for enhancement of the Fifth Generation (5G) system to provide sensing services addressing different target verticals and / or applications, e.g. autonomous and / or assisted driving, Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X), Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), Three Dimensional (3D) map reconstruction, smart city, smart home, factories, healthcare, maritime sector.

[0004] Sensing using cellular networks can be performed in a monostatic setting, when the transmitter and the receiver sensing antennas are located in the same node, and in a multistatic setting, when the transmitter and the receiver sensing antennas are located in different nodes. In fig. 1 different radar settings are depicted that can be deployed using New Radio (NR) base station(s) (BS(s)), denoted by gNode B (gNB), and User Equipment(s) (UE(s. The goal is to detect and localize atarget(s) which is / are, in general, is anon-connected object, such as a pedestrian, an animal, etc. Targets can be also connected UEs and in this case sensing is used to improve communication-based positioning of such UEs.

[0005] The basic sensing modes involving BS(s) illustrated in fig. 1 are: BS(s)-only based monostatic sensing in (a), different bi-static settings with BS-only in (b), and both BS / UEs- based bi-static sensing settings in (c) and (d). TX-s and RX-s denote respectively the sensing transmitter node and the sensing receiver node.

[0006] Currently in 3GPP release (Rel) 19 there is a study item in Radio Access Network Working Group 1 (RANI) on “Channel modeling for Integrated Sensing and Communication (ISAC)” that started in February 2024.Sensing architecture

[0007] Fig. 2 shows how the sensing architecture can be described based on enhancing the 3GPP 5G positioning architecture by adding a Sensing Management Function and a Sensing Processing Function. Fig. 2 illustrates an example of a functional architecture of a networkbased sensing with UE involvement. The solid line represents the Control Plane (CP), the dashed lines represent the Data Plane (DP) and the dotted lines represent the User Plane (UP).

[0008] In the below, the details of the sensing components will be described.

[0009] 1) Sensing unit (SU):SU or sensing radio unit (SRU) is a logical entity, that can be either a standalone entity in the network, integrated / co-located / co-sited with a UE or a radio network node, capable of at least one of:1) Radio signal transmission used for sensing.2) Radio signal reception used for sensing.3) Radio measurement used for sensing.4) Radio antennas used for sensing.

[0010] SUs can have their own internal or external antenna or can share antenna(s) with other radio nodes for ISAC. The other radio nodes may be for example UE or RAN node. Multiple SUs can be involved in a sensing session. The relevant SUs need to be selected, configured, etc. by the sensing management entity.

[0011] 2) Sensing Management function (SeMF):

[0012] SeMF is a function controlling or managing sensing session, entities involved in a sensing session, etc. SeMF can be a sensing server that sends the request to RAN to trigger a sensing session, sensing measurements, etc. The sensing session is configured based at least on the sensing task, sensing target data, e.g., object type, weather condition, etc., and / or sensing area data, e.g., forest, indoor factory, house, area size, etc. Sensing session is characterized by a set of SUs and aims at enabling, configuring, and / or collecting sensing measurements fromdifferent SUs, which may include any of RF and non-RF sensors, e.g. from camera sensors, motion sensors, heat sensors, etc. Example measurements: raw samples, radio measurements, timing measurements, velocity, temperature, sensing event indication such as weather change or motion pattern change, etc. SeMF may or may not comprise Sensing Processing Function (SPF). SeMF can be implemented in one node or distributed over multiple nodes.

[0013] Note: SeMF may be termed as sensing function (SF) or Sensing Control Function (SCF) etc. The basic functionality as outlined above: It is an entity which manages the sensing units for sensing by providing necessary configurations.

[0014] 3) SPF:

[0015] SPF is the function that receives the sensing measurements from the SUs and processes sensing measurements to obtain one or more sensing results. The SPF can be a separate entity in the network. SPF can be implemented in one node or distributed over multiple nodes. SPF may be implemented together with or as a part of SeMF. SPF may send the processed sensing results to another function or node, to the SeMF, e.g., to make the results available to the sensing request originator.

[0016] SeMF and / or SPF may also interact with a positioning / location function, e.g., Location Management Function (LMF). It is also understood that the sensing functions can also be integrated in a radio access technology (RAT) which is the same or different from that of the positioning / location function, e.g., Sixth Generation (6G) Radio Access Technology (RAT), comprising the relevant RAT nodes and corresponding interfaces.Environmental objects (EQ) in IS AC

[0017] It has been agreed in 3GPP RAN1#116 meeting that the IS AC channel is composed of two parts: the target part and the background part. The target part corresponds to targets that are of interest for sensing. The background part contains interference, clutter and / or other objects of non-interest, referred to in 3GPP as EO, e.g. non-target objects, which are not the sensing targets. The corresponding agreements are copied in fig. 3.

[0018] In RANl#116bis meeting, it has been agreed that non-target objects, called EO, have known location. The corresponding agreements are copied in fig. 4.

[0019] Finally, during RAN1#117, it was agreed that one part of environmental objects, e.g. EO type-1, for geometric clutter will be modelled in the same and / or similar way of target. From internal RAN1#117 report:

[0020] “For ISAC channel modelling, many agreements were made with options and details for further study and a possible down-selection. All the four combinations ofLOS / NLOScondition for Tx-target link and target-Rx link were agreed, though HW and Oppo don 't want to consider multiple paths for UAV scenario and for target-Rx link, respectively. It is open whether to generate the two links separately and concatenate them or generate the paths from Tx to Rx at once. It was agreed that a sensing target can be modelled as a single-point scatterer or a multi-point scatterer. RCS of a single-point scatterer can be modelled with a random or a deterministic value. For environment objects, EQ type-1 is for geometric clutter and to be modelled in the same / similar wav of target; large reflectors are called EO type-2 and can be modelled differently."

[0021] Given the current discussions and agreements in RANI study item on channel model in ISAC, it is expected that one part of the clutter will contain environmental non target objects.Classical clutter removal methods

[0022] Radar clutter in classical radar systems is defined as multipath signals coming from unwanted back-scattered signals from permanent or long-period static objects, such as ground, vegetation, sea, or natural objects in the sky, which constitute a nuisance to target detection by the radar. In urban scenarios, one of the main sources of land clutter signals comes from the ground echo signals, as well as from echo signals from unwanted objects such as buildings, tunnels, soundproof walls.

[0023] Different clutter removal techniques are available in the literature, such as Enhanced Cancellation Algorithm by Carrier and Doppler Shift (ECA-CD) or Subspace spacetime adaptive processing (STAP) allowing to remove the clutter in real time.

[0024] There currently exist certain challenge(s).

[0025] In ISAC scenarios, the sensing targets need to be differentiated from the environment. The main difficulty for performing such differentiation lies in the fact that the sensing targets can have very similar physical properties, such as size, speed, etc., that some non-target objects present in the environment which are considered as a part of the clutter. One example of such non-target objects can be observed in vehicular scenarios where some vehicles are target vehicles, but non target vehicles can cause a significant clutter, especially, in high density traffic scenarios. For example, it has been shown that clutter originating from vehicles can significantly degrade the inner bounds of the performance of ISAC systems.

[0026] It has been recognized during the latest RANI 3GPP discussions on ISAC channel model, that the large part of the clutter in ISAC comes from non-target objects referred to as EO having same and / or similar physical properties as the target. Therefore, existing cluttersuppression techniques may not perform well since these methods assumes that the target has different physical properties than the clutter.

[0027] According to the defined IS AC use cases in TR 22.837, in large number of scenarios, environmental objects can be communication UEs or transmitter or receiver sensing nodes, e.g. UEs or BS, and be considered as non-sensing targets.

[0028] Therefore, there is a need to at least mitigate or solve this issue. Certain aspects of the disclosure and their embodiments may provide solutions to these or other challenges.SUMMARY

[0029] An objective is to obviate at least one of the above disadvantages and to enable sensing in a communication system.

[0030] According to a first aspect, the objective is achieved by a method performed by a sensing management entity for enabling sensing in a communication system. The method comprising: obtaining data associated with a non-target object which acts as an interference and / or clutter source in a sensing activity performed by a sensing unit, wherein the sensing activity comprises sensing of a target object; and applying the obtained data in a sensing task design.

[0031] According to a second aspect, the objective is achieved by a sensing management entity for enabling sensing in a communication system. The sensing management entity being arranged to: obtain data associated with a non-target object which acts as an interference and / or clutter source in a sensing activity performed by a sensing unit, wherein the sensing activity comprises sensing of a target object; and to apply the obtained data in a sensing task design.

[0032] According to a third aspect, the objective is achieved by a computer program product comprising program code for performing, when executed by the processing circuitry, any of the steps of any of the first aspect.

[0033] According to a fourth aspect, the objective is achieved by a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions, which when executed by the processing circuitry, cause the processing circuitry to perform any of the steps of the first aspect.

[0034] Thanks to the data associated with the non-target object, a sensing task design that takes the data into account may be applied. There may be a reduction in the impacts ofinterference and / or clutter which is due to non-target objects that comprise a radio network node, and this enables the sensing, e.g. improves the sensing in the communication system.

[0035] The present disclosure herein affords many technical advantages, of which a non- exhaustive list of examples follows:

[0036] An advantage of the present disclosure is that it allows to reduce the interferences and / or clutter caused by objects of non-interest allowing to improve sensing performance of target objects.

[0037] Moreover, another advantage of the present disclosure is that it results in a more efficient resource allocation for joint sensing and communication because the obtained knowledge about the non-target objects will require fewer sensing resources, e.g. smaller spatial, time-frequency resources, power, etc.

[0038] The present disclosure is not limited to the features and advantages mentioned above. A person skilled in the art will recognize additional features and advantages upon reading the following detailed description.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0039] Some of the embodiments contemplated herein will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. Embodiments are provided by way of example to convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art.

[0040] Fig. 1 is a schematic drawing illustrating sensing modes.

[0041] Fig. 2 is a schematic block diagram illustrating an architecture for network-based sensing with UE involvement.

[0042] Fig. 3 are tables illustrating an agreement.

[0043] Fig. 4 is a table illustrating an agreement.

[0044] Fig. 5 is a schematic drawing illustrating a communication system.

[0045] Fig. 6 is a schematic drawing illustrating a communication system.

[0046] Fig. 7 is a flow chart illustrating a method.

[0047] Fig. 8 is a flow chart illustrating a method.

[0048] Fig. 9 is a flow chart illustrating a method.

[0049] Fig. 10 is a signaling diagram illustrating a method.

[0050] Fig. 11 is a signaling diagram illustrating a method.

[0051] Fig. 12 is a signaling diagram illustrating a method.

[0052] Fig. 13 is a flow chart illustrating a method.

[0053] Fig. 14 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a sensing management entity.

[0054] Fig. 15 is a schematic drawing illustrating a communication system.

[0055] Fig. 16 is a schematic drawing illustrating a UE.

[0056] Fig. 17 is a schematic drawing illustrating a network node.

[0057] Fig. 18 is a schematic drawing illustrating a virtualization environment.

[0058] The drawings are not necessarily to scale, and the dimensions of certain features may have been exaggerated for the sake of clarity. Emphasis is instead placed upon illustrating the principle.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0059] The present disclosure may comprise at least one of the following steps:1) Identifying non-target objects which may act as interference and / or clutter for sensing target,2) Obtaining the data about such non-target objects from other network nodes and / or from the connected non-target objects directly and / or from a database, e.g., sending requests to non-target network nodes, data of interest reporting from non-target network nodes to the sensing control entity / ies, storing the data, etc., and3) Usage of the obtained data by the sensing processing entity for a sensing task design, e.g., processing of measurements, mitigation of detection interference, or for storage in a database for further use in relation to other sensing service requests or other sensing targets, etc.

[0060] Fig. 5 depicts a non-limiting example of a communication system 100, which may be a wireless communication system, sometimes also referred to as a wireless communication network, cellular radio system, or cellular network, in which the present disclosure may be implemented. The communication system 100 may be a 5G system, 5G network, New Radio (NR)-U or Next Generation (Next Gen) system or network. The communication system 100 may alternatively be ayounger system or older system than a 5G system, such as e.g. a Second Generation (2G) system, a Third Generation (3G) system, a Fourth Generation (4G) system, a Sixth Generation (6G) system, a Seventh Generation (7G) system etc. The communication system 100 may support other technologies such as, for example, Long-Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced / LTE-Advanced Pro, e.g. LTE Frequency Division Duplex (FDD), LTE Time Division Duplex (TDD), LTE Half-Duplex Frequency Division Duplex (HD-FDD), LTE operating in an unlicensed band, NB-IoT. Thus, although terminology from 5G / NR and LTE may be used in this disclosure to exemplify, this should not be seen as limiting to only the aforementioned systems.

[0061] The communication system 100 comprises one or a plurality of network nodes, whereof a first network node 101a and a second network node 101b are depicted in the nonlimiting example of fig. 5. Any of the first network node 101a, and the second network node 101b may be a radio network node, such as a radio base station, or any other network node with similar features capable of serving a user equipment, such as a wireless device or a machine type communication device, in the communication system 100. The first network node 101a may be an evolved Node B (eNB) and the second network node 101b may be a gNB. The first network node 101a may be a first eNB, and the second network node 101b may be a second eNB. The first network node 101a may be a first gNB, and the second network node 101b may be a second gNB. The first network node 101a may be a MeNB and the second network node 101b may be a gNB. Any of the first network node 101a and the second network node 101b may be co-localized, or they may be part of the same network node. The first network node 101a may be referred to as a source node or source network node, whereas the second network node 101b may be referred to as a target node or target network node. When the reference number 101 is used herein without the letters a or b, it refers to a network node in general, i.e. it refers to any of the first network node 101a or second network node 101b.

[0062] The communication system 100 covers a geographical area which may be divided into cell areas, wherein each cell area may be served by a network node, although, one network node may serve one or several cells. In fig. 5, the communication system 100 comprises a first cell 103a and a second cell 103b. Note that two cells are exemplified in fig. 5 only as an example, and that any n number of cells may be comprised in the communication system 100, where n is any positive integer. A cell is a geographical area where radio coverage is provided by the network node at a network node site. Each cell is identified by an identity within the local network node area, which is broadcast in the cell. In fig. 5, the first network node 101a serves the first cell 103a, and the second network node 101b serves the second cell 103b. Any of the first network node 101a and the second network node 101b may be of different classes, such as, e.g., macro base station (BS), home BS or pico BS, based on transmission power and thereby also cell size. Any of the first network node 101a and the second network node 101b may be directly connected to one or more core networks, which are not depicted in fig. 5 for the sake of simplicity. Any of the first network node 101a and the second network node lOln may be a distributed node, such as a virtual node in the cloud, and it may perform its functions entirely on the cloud, or partially, in collaboration with another network node. The first cell 103a may be referred to as a source cell, whereas the second cell 103b may be referred to as atarget cell. When the reference number 103 is used herein without the letters a or b, it refers to a cell in general, i.e. it refers to any of the first cell 103a or second cell 103b.

[0063] One or aplurality of UEs 105 is comprised in the communication system 100. Only one UE 105 is exemplified in fig. 5 for the sake of simplicity. A UE 105 may also be referred to simply as a device. The UE 105, e.g. an LTE UE or a 5G / NR UE, may be a wireless communication device which may also be known as e.g., a wireless device, a mobile terminal, wireless terminal and / or mobile station, a mobile telephone, cellular telephone, or laptop with wireless capability, just to mention some examples. The UE 105 may be a device by which a subscriber may access services offered by an operator’s network and services outside operator’s network to which the operator’s radio access network and core network provide access, e.g. access to the Internet. The UE 105 may be any device, mobile or stationary, enabled to communicate over a radio channel in the communication system 100, for instance but not limited to e.g. UE, mobile phone, smart phone, sensors, meters, vehicles, household appliances, medical appliances, media players, cameras, Machine to Machine (M2M) device, Internet of Things (IOT) device, terminal device, communication device or any type of consumer electronic, for instance but not limited to television, radio, lighting arrangements, tablet computer, laptop or Personal Computer (PC). The UE 105 may be portable, pocket storable, hand held, computer comprised, or vehicle mounted devices, enabled to communicate voice and / or data, via the radio access network, with another entity, such as another UE, a server, a laptop, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), or a tablet, Machine-to-Machine (M2M) device, device equipped with a wireless interface, such as a printer or a file storage device, modem, or any other radio network unit capable of communicating over a radio link in the communication system 100.

[0064] The UE 105 is enabled to communicate wirelessly within the communication system 100. The communication may be performed e.g. between two UEs 105, between a UE 105 and a regular telephone, between the UE 105 and a network node, between network nodes, and / or between the UE 105 and a server via the radio access network and possibly one or more core networks and possibly the internet.

[0065] The first network node 101a may be configured to communicate in the communication system 100 with the UE 105 over a first communication link 108a, e.g., a radio link. The second network node 101b may be configured to communicate in the communication system 100 with the UE 105 over a second communication link 108b, e.g., a radio link. The first network node 101a may be configured to communicate in the communication system 100 with the second network node 101b over a third communication link 108c, e.g., a radio link ora wired link, although communication over more links may be possible. When the reference number 108 is used herein without the letters a, b or c, it refers to a communication link in general, i.e. it refers to any of the first communication link 108a, the second communication link 108b and the third communication link 108c.

[0066] It should be noted that the communication links 108 in the communication system 100 may be of any suitable kind comprising either a wired or wireless link. The link may use any suitable protocol depending on type and level of layer (e.g. as indicated by the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model) as understood by the person skilled in the art.

[0067] Fig. 6 is a schematic drawing illustrating the communication system 100. Some of the entities from fig. 5 are illustrated in fig. 6 and some are left out for the sake of simplicity. Even though some entities of fig. 5 are not illustrated in fig. 6, they may still be present in the communication system 100.

[0068] The communication system 100 comprises a sensing management entity 601. The sensing management entity 601 may be referred to as a SeMF, a SF, a SCF. The sensing management entity 601 may be one of: the SeMF, the SF and the SCF, or the sensing management entity 601 may comprise or implement one of: the SeMF, the SF and the SCF. The sensing management entity 601 may be a function controlling or managing sensing session, entities involved in a sensing session, etc. The sensing management entity 601 can be a sensing server that sends the request to RAN to trigger a sensing session, sensing measurements, etc. The sensing session is configured based at least on the sensing task, sensing target data, e.g., object type, weather condition, etc., and / or sensing area data, e.g., forest, indoor factory, house, area size, etc. The sensing session is characterized by a set of SUs and aims enabling, configuring, and / or collecting sensing measurements from different SUs, which may include any of RF and non-RF sensors, e.g. from camera sensors, motion sensors, heat sensors, etc. Example measurements: raw samples, radio measurements, timing measurements, velocity, temperature, sensing event indication such as weather change or motion pattern change, etc. The sensing management entity 601 can be implemented in one node or distributed over multiple nodes. The sensing management entity 601 is an entity which manages the sensing units for sensing by providing necessary configurations.

[0069] The communication system 100 comprises a SPF 603 and a SU 605. There may be one, two or more SUs 605 comprised in the communication system 100. The sensing management entity 601 may or may not comprise the SPF 603, i.e. the SPF 603 may be a standalone entity or it may be comprised in the sensing management entity 601. SPF is thefunction that receives the sensing measurements from the SUs 605 and processes sensing measurements to obtain one or more sensing results. The SPF 603 can be a separate entity in the communication system 100. SPF 603 can be implemented in one node or distributed over multiple nodes. SPF 603 may be implemented together with or as a part of the sensing management entity 601. The SPF 603 may send the processed sensing results to another function or node, to the sensing management entity 601, e.g., to make the results available to the sensing request originator.

[0070] The sensing management entity 601 and / or SPF 603 may also interact with a positioning and / or location function, e.g., LMF. It is also understood that the sensing functions can also be integrated in a RAT which is the same or different from that of the positioning and / or location function, e.g., 6G RAT, comprising the relevant RAT nodes and corresponding interfaces.

[0071] The SU 605, also referred to as a SRU is a logical entity, that can be either a standalone entity in the network, integrated with a UE, co-located with a UE, co-sited with a UE or a radio network node, capable of at least one of:- Radio signal transmission used for sensing.- Radio signal reception used for sensing.- Radio measurement used for sensing.- Radio antennas used for sensing.

[0072] The SUs 605 can have their own internal or external antenna or can share antenna(s) with other radio nodes, e.g. UE or RAN node, for ISAC. Multiple SUs 605 can be involved in a sensing session. The relevant SUs 605 need to be selected, configured, etc. by the sensing management entity 601.

[0073] The communication system 100 comprises at least one core network node 608. The core network node 608 may be e.g., Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), LMF, gateway mobile location centre (GMLC), just to mention some examples.

[0074] The communication system 100 comprises at least one non-target object 610 and at least one target object 613. The non-target object 610 may represent a source of interference and / or clutter in signals sensed by the sensing unit 605. The non-target object 610 may be part of the interference and / or clutter. The non-target object 610 may be referred to as a non-target network node. The target object 613 may be referred to as a target network node.

[0075] The environmental object, e.g. non-target object 608, may be considered and treated as a clutter or environmental object at a given time instant / time interval, e.g. when it isnot transmitting any radio signal, and as interference at some other time instant or time interval, e.g. when it is transmitting a radio signal.

[0076] The environmental object, e.g. non-target object 608, may be modelled and / or handled as a superposition of both geometric clutter and interference at the same time instant or time interval.

[0077] The target object 613 is to be sensed by the sensing unit 605.

[0078] All entities, nodes, functions in the communication system 100 may be arranged to be connected to each other.

[0079] The present disclosure relates to a method to reduce the impacts of interference and / or clutter which is due to non-target objects 610 that may comprise a radio network node. The method is based on signaling between at least two of the following entities. Note that some entities may be separate or comprised in the same node:1. Sensing management entity 601, e.g., SeMF;2. SPF 603;3. Core network node 608, e.g., AMF, LMF, GMLC.4. One or a set of sensing network nodes, depending on the sensing setting such as monostatic, multi-static scenario, etc.;5. Non-target object 610, e.g. radio network node, BS / TRP / TP / RP, or UE. The non-target object 610 may be a radio node, e.g. static or mobile, capable of at least one of transmitting and receiving of communication and / or sensing radio signals: a. Type one: capable of transmitting and / or receiving communication signal b. Type two: capable of transmitting sensing signals c. Type three: capable of receiving sensing signals; the network knows its location and its characteristics such as radar cross section (RCS), etc.TRP is short for Transmitter Radiated Power, TP is short for Transmission Point and RP is short for Reception Point.

[0080] Fig. 7 is a flow chart illustrating a method. The method comprises at least one of the following steps, which steps may be performed in any suitable order than described below:

[0081] Step 701: The sensing management entity 601, e.g. SeMF or SPF, obtains data about non-target objects 610 from a radio network node 101 or core network node 608 and / or from UE 105 and / or from a local or external database. The data may be referred to as information, it may comprise information or it may be comprised in information. The terms information and data may be used interchangeably herein. The data may be obtained upon arequest, by a periodic or upon-the-need update, or in unsolicited way. In one example, sensing management entity 601 may send a request to non-target network nodes to collect their capability, status and their configurations related to sensing. In another example, it can obtain the data from another network node, e.g., AMF, Unified Data Management (UDM) or positioning node such as LMF or Enhanced Serving Mobile Location Center (E-SMLC) or GMLC.

[0082] In some embodiment, the sensing management entity 601 can ask to send data of interest to all non-target objects in a broadcast manner.

[0083] In some embodiment, the sensing management entity 601 may ask to send data of interest to a specific group of non-target objects: i. Non-targets objects may comprise UEs or gNB sensing nodes. ii. UEs as non-targets: can be emitting or non-emitting UEs a. Emitting UEs: communication UL, Tx sensing nodes b. Non emitting UEs: idle mode UEs, Rx sensing nodes iii. gNBs as non-targets: can be emitting or non-emitting, e.g. Rx sensing a. Emitting gNBs: communication DL, Tx sensing nodes b. Non emitting gNBs: Rx sensing nodes

[0084] In some embodiment, non-target network node is a sensing target in some other sensing activity.

[0085] The requested node(s), e.g., non-target objects 610 or the other network node, may send the data of interest to the sensing management entity 601 , e.g. SeMF or to the SPF directly or via the gNBs, or via the CN. The data may comprise at least one of:- Location data- VelocityCommunication configurationsSensing configurationsOther characteristics obtained from non-RAT sources such as onboard sensors, etc.

[0086] The data collection may comprise identifying the relevant non-target objects 610, which can be done by the sensing management entity 601, e.g. SeMF or SPF, before the data request e.g., for specific identified objects, or based on the received data, e.g., extract the relevant objects, or by the requested node which will then report the data for the objects which it finds relevant. An identity of the non-target objects 610 may be comprised in the request and / or report of the data.

[0087] Step 702: Based on the obtained data about the interference and / or clutter during the previous step, the sensing management entity 601 obtains and uses this data for sensing task design, such as for example at least one of those provided below: a. An interference and / or clutter mitigation and / or suppression method may be designed based on the data obtained during step 701. For example, given the knowledge of the EO radar cross section, e.g., the corresponding statistical model, its parameters, etc., the interference and / or clutter removal method may use this data in designing the interference and / or clutter removal filter. b. Transmit and / or receive resource allocation. The resource allocation for sensing and / or communication may depend on the non-target emitting objects. For example, given the data about spatial domain of the non-target objects 610, no power needs to be allocated to the corresponding sensing beams pointing into the angular direction of the non-target objects 610 allowing to save sensing beams and allocate more power into other angular directions. c. Antenna configuration, spatial resource allocation: the transmit and the receiver beamforming may be designed based on the processing performed based on the data obtained during step 701. d. Time allocation scheme: the time resource allocation may be designed based on the processing performed based on the data obtained during step 701. e. Scheduling an activity for the non-target object 610, e.g., to track or localize them during the sensing session when the object is an interference and / or clutter. f Mapping one or more non-target objects 610 to a bigger interference and / or clutter, e.g., one or more high-speed train (HST) UEs to a train-type interference and / or clutter.

[0088] The non-target object 610 may be the EO that is not a sensing target for a given sensing activity. In this case, the non-target object 610 is a part of interference and / or clutter. But at the same time, the same EO may be a target in another sensing activity. The sensing activity is performed by the sensing unit 605.

[0089] The non-target object 610, e.g. a non-target network node, may have the same and / or similar physical properties as the target object(s) 613 of interest such as radar cross section, velocity, size.

[0090] The non-target object 610, e.g. a non-target network node, may have different physical properties as the target object(s) 613 of interest.

[0091] The non-target object 610 may be modeled by a given model e.g. stochastic model, deterministic model, or a combination of these. The model may be a part of the data that is obtained in step 701 described earlier.AMF and LMF

[0092] Network functions such as AMF and LMF or entities implementing the AMF and LMF may perform at least one of the steps illustrated in the flow chart of fig. 8 and fig. 9 to remove and / or mitigate the interference and / or clutter due to the non-target object 610. The AMF and LMF may be separate functions, they may be co-located, they may be comprised in separate entities or comprised and co-located in the same entity, and the terms AMF / NWDAF used herein refers to any of these alternatives. NWDAF is short for Network Data Analytic Function. The method in fig. 8 comprises at least one of the following steps, which steps may be performed in any suitable order than described below:

[0093] Step 801: The AMF / NWDAF may keep track of mobility history of the EO, e.g. UE 105, in the area which it is serving. It may provide such data to the sensing management entity 601. The sensing management entity 601 may also subscribe for UE mobility history data from a certain cell, tracking area etc.

[0094] Step 802: The sensing management entity 601 may use such data to determine the expected interference and / or clutter and further on suppressing or removing such interference and / or clutter from the environment to accurately detect and / or track, and / or monitor the sensing target.

[0095] The method in fig. 9 comprises at least one of the following steps, which steps may be performed in any suitable order than described below:

[0096] Step 901: The AMF provides data indicating registered UE ID, e.g. EO, around sensing target to the LMF.

[0097] Step 902: The AMF receives the target sensing area data from Network Exposure Function (NEF) or Sensing Gateway function or from sensing management entity 601. It maps the sensing area to tracking area and provides data indicating any registered UE 105 in the tracking area that maps to the sensing area to at least one of the LMF and the sensing management entity 601.

[0098] Step 903: When the LMF receives the data in step 901 from the AMF along with UE ID, it may invoke positioning procedure provided there is UE consent and provide the UE location data to the sensing management entity 601.

[0099] Step 904: The sensing management entity 601 may use such data to perform for example EO interference and / or clutter suppression, noise removal etc.

[0100] Fig. 10 is a signaling diagram illustrating an AMF involvement, and where SeMF and SPF may or may not be collocated. The non-target object 610 is represented by an EO in fig. 10. The method in fig. 10 comprises at least one of the following steps, which steps may be performed in any suitable order than described below:

[0101] Step 1 : The EO 610 connects to a base station.

[0102] Step 2: A registration procedure is performed.

[0103] Step 3: The SeMF provides a request for EO UE history to the AMF.

[0104] Step 4: The AMF provides a report of EO UE history data with tracking area data to the SeMF.

[0105] Step 5: The SeMF provides EO sensing data to the SPF 603.UE and AMF

[0106] The UE 105 and AMF may perform at least one of the following steps:

[0107] UE 105: When the UE 105 performs registration, it may inform the network, e.g.AMF, if it is integrated to a vehicle or if it is integrated air-bom UAV or is a handheld device. A vehicle may be for example car, bus, truck, train etc.

[0108] AMF: The AMF may receive characteristics of sensing target object 613, e.g.: from NEF, SeMF. and filters the EO and / or UE that matches the sensing target object 613. For example, if the sensing target object 613 is car, then AMF may identify other car which may be in same area.Network to network

[0109] In one embodiment, a first node may send a request message over a network interface, e.g. 6G interface, towards a second node to request of EO data. The requested EO data encompasses location data and sensing characteristics, e.g. Tx and / or Rx. The first node may be for example SeMF, SPF, first sensing BS, CN. The first node may be a first network node. The second node may be for example SeMF, SPF, second sensing BS, CN. The second node may be a second sensing node.

[0110] The first node may indicate a start time to the second node to start providing the EO data and assistance data comprising the parameters of interest.

[0111] The first node may send a stop indication to the second node to stop the reporting of the EO data.

[0112] The first node may use the received EO data for sensing process, e.g., measurement compensation during sensing processing.

[0113] The first node may pass the received EO data to other nodes in the sensing architecture, and to a selection of nodes that are considered best for the sensing task. The other nodes may be for example, e.g., to SeMF, SPF, third base station.

[0114] The steps described above may be signalled via new procedures specified in 6G 3GPP specs request and deliver EO data.

[0115] Fig. 11 is a signaling diagram illustrating signalling of EO interference and / or clutter info to the SPF 603. The SeMF and SPF 603 may or may not be collocated. The method comprises at least one of the following steps:

[0116] Step 1 : The SeMF may send a request for starting and / or stopping reporting of EO data to the second network node.

[0117] Step 2: The second network node may send a request of starting and / or stopping reporting of EO data to the first network node.

[0118] Step 3: The first network node may fetch data from the connected EO. The connected EO is connected to the first network node.

[0119] Step 4: The first network node may send a report of EO data to the SeMF.

[0120] Step 5: The first network node may send a report of EO data to the second network node.

[0121] Step 6: The SeMF may send a report of EO data to the SPF 603.

[0122] Step 7 : The second network node may send a report of EO data to the SMPF 603.

[0123] Step 8: The SPF 603 may determine the interference and / or clutter and suppress it from the sensing result.

[0124] The second network node in fig. 11 may be the SeMF or another base station.

[0125] The SeMF may send request to all network nodes first.

[0126] Steps 1 and 2, as well as steps 6 and 7 do not need to happen at the same time. Step 8 may happen before step 7 for example.

[0127] The SeMF and SPF may be collocated.

[0128] The SPF 603 and base station may be collocated. In that case, a network node may signal the EO info directly to SPF 603.

[0129] The SeMF may use the EO report for improved resource allocation. In this case steps 6, 7, and 8 might not be needed, see fig. 12.

[0130] Fig. 12 is a signaling diagram illustrating signalling of EO data to the SeMF and the SeMF adjusting resource allocation for sensing. The method in fig. 12 comprises at least one of the following steps, which steps may be performed in any suitable order than described below:

[0131] Step 1 : The SeMF may send a request of start and / or stop reporting of EO data to the second network node.

[0132] Step 2: The second network node may send a request of start and / or stop reporting of EO data to the first network node.

[0133] Step 3: The first network node may fetch data from connected EO, i.e. an EO connected to the first network node.

[0134] Step 4: The first network node may report EO data to the SeMF.

[0135] Step 5: The first network node may report EO data to the second network node.

[0136] Step 6: The SeMF may use the EO data report to adjust resource allocation.

[0137] Step 7: The SeMF may send data indicating adjustment of SU resource allocation to the first network node.

[0138] Step 8: The SeMF may send data indicating adjustment of SU resource allocation to the first network node.Non-target object identification

[0139] The data obtaining may comprise identifying the relevant non-target objects 610, which may be done by SeMF or SPF 603 before the data request, e.g., for specific identified objects, or based on the received data, e.g., extract the relevant objects, or by the requested node which will then report the data for the objects which it finds relevant. An identity of the non-target objects 610 may be comprised in the request and / or report of the data.

[0140] The SPF 603 may further try to distinguish the non-target objects 610 for which it obtained the data, while determining a sensing result for a sensing target. The result of the distinguishing operation can be even reported to SeMF, e.g., to indicate whether the data was correct and / or useful in obtaining the sensing result. The distinguishing may comprise differentiating the target objects 613 and non-target objects 610, verifying the sensing result, associating or correlating the results for the connected non-target object 610, e.g. UE, with a sensing target, e.g., car, which may carry the connected non-target object, etc.

[0141] Identifying the relevant non-target objects may comprise any one or more of:- Determining whether an object is also a sensing target object or not, e.g., for the case when the sensing target can be a connected object,- Determining connectivity-capable, e.g. connected or idle, objects that are appearing or may appear in the sensing area or in proximity of the sensing target,Selecting a subset of non-target objects 610 from alarger set of objects, based on criteria or predefined rule. The criteria may be e.g., Radio Resource Control (RRC) state, location, user data, object data such as object type or size, etc.- Positioning and / or determining location of the non-target objects 610,- Paging of the non-target obj ect 610,- Determining serving cell of the non-target object 610,- Determining the RRC status of the non-target objects 610, e.g., RRC CONNECTED, RRC IDLE, RRC INACTIVE,- Determining mobility status or characteristic of the non-target objects 610,Selecting non-target objects 610 from a database,Considering as a non-target object 610 an object which was or is a sensing target for another sensing service request related to the current sensing service request in time and / or space, e.g., a car was a sensing target in another earlier or on-going sensing request in the same area - such data can be available from memory or a database,- Extracting the data about the non-target object 610 from a database comprising data about some objects in the area of interest,Generating or associating an ID with the relevant non-target objects 610. The ID may be a sensing-related ID, database record ID, UE ID, cell ID, cell portion ID, beam ID, sensing area ID, network node ID, etc.- Determining whether the non-target object 610 is a sensing node participating in some other sensing service than the currently considered sensing service.- The result of the identification can be comprised in the data about the non-target object 610, in the data request and / or report.

[0142] Fig. 13 is a flow chart illustrating a method performed by the sensing management entity 601, 603 for enabling sensing in a communication system 100.

[0143] The sensing management entity 601, 603 may be least one of or is comprised in at least one of:- SeMF,- SF,- SCF,- SPF.

[0144] The method comprising at least one of the following steps, which steps may be performed in any suitable order than described below:

[0145] Step 1300: The sensing management entity 601, 603 may identify the non-target object 610, e.g. before the data is obtained, based on the obtained data in step 1301 or based on identity data from another entity. The other entity may be for example the SeMF or SCF located either in RAN or core. Another example of the other entity may be UE database.

[0146] The non-target object 610 may be arranged to at least one of: transmitting and receiving of communication and / or sensing radio signals from a sensing unit 605.

[0147] The non-target object 610 may be at least one of or is comprised in at least one of:- Radio network node.- BS / TRP / TP / RP.- UE.- EO.- EO being a target object in another sensing activity.

[0148] Step 1301: The sensing management entity 601, 603 may provide a request for data associated with non-target object 610. The data associated with the non-target object 610 may be obtained in a response to the request.

[0149] The request for data may be provided to at least one of: the non-target object 610 and / or the target object 613. When the sensing management entity 601, 603 provides the request, the connected target object 613 may respond to the request, in addition to the non- target objects 610. The identification of at least one of: interference, clutter and target may happen based on the obtained data and this data may be obtained from any connected network nodes.

[0150] The target object 613 maybe at least one of or comprised in at least one of:- Radio network node.- BS- TRP- TP- RP.- UE.- EO.- EO being a target object in another sensing activity.

[0151] The target object 613 may be a connected object, e.g. equipped with a network node.

[0152] Step 1302: This step corresponds to step 701 in fig. 7. The sensing management entity 601, 603 obtains data associated with a non-target object 610 which acts as an interference and / or clutter source in a sensing activity performed by a sensing unit 605. The sensing activity comprises sensing of a target object 613.

[0153] The obtained data associated with the non-target object 610 may be obtained from at least one of: a radio network node, a core network node 608,- the non-target obj ects 610 directly , a database,- the sensing node 605, a connected object equipped with a network node.

[0154] The obtained data associated with the non-target object 610 may comprise at least one of:- location data- velocity communication configurations sensing configurations other characteristics obtained from non-RAT sources such as onboard sensors- non-target object identity etc.

[0155] Step 1303: This step corresponds to step 702 in fig. 7. The sensing management entity 601, 603 applies the obtained data in a sensing task design.

[0156] The sensing task design comprises at least one of:- Processing of measurements.Clutter reduction.- Interference reduction.- Mitigation of detection interference.- For storage in a database for further use in relation to other sensing service requests or other sensing targets, etc.

[0157] Step 1304: The sensing management entity 601, 603 may determine an expected interference and / or clutter around the target object 613. The purpose of determining the expected interference and / or clutter around the target object 613 may be that it allows to design the interference and / or clutter suppression in a suitable way to be able to cancel and / or suppress the interference and / or clutter signals. It may also allow to allocate sensing resource moreefficiently: knowing where the sources of strong interference and / or clutter are, helps to select appropriate sensing units to avoid the interference and / or clutter, and to use appropriate transmit beamforming and / or precoding.

[0158] Fig. 14 is a schematic drawing illustrating the sensing management entity 601, 603 for enabling sensing in the communication system 100.

[0159] The sensing management entity 601, 603 may comprise processing circuitry 1401, e.g. one or more processors, configured to perform the methods herein.

[0160] The sensing management entity 601, 603 may be at least one of or is comprised in at least one of:- SeMF,- SF,- SCF,- SPF.

[0161] The sensing management entity 601, 603 and / or the processing circuitry 1401 is configured to obtain data associated with a non-target object 610 which acts as an interference source and / or clutter source in a sensing activity performed by a sensing unit 605. The sensing activity comprises sensing of a target object 613. The non-target object 610 may be arranged to at least one of: transmitting and receiving of communication and / or sensing radio signals from a sensing unit 605. The obtained data associated with the non-target object 610 may comprise at least one of: location data, velocity, communication / sensing configurations, other characteristics obtained from non-RAT sources such as onboard sensors, non-target object identity etc. the obtained data associated with the non-target object 610 is obtained from at least one of:- A radio network node.A core network node 608.- The non-target objects 610 directly.- A database.- The sensing node 605.- A connected obj ect equipped with a network node.

[0162] The non-target object 610 may be at least one of or is comprised in at least one of:- Radio network node- BS.- TRP.- TP.- RP.- UE.- EO.- EO being a target object in another sensing activity.

[0163] The target object 613 may be at least one of or comprised in at least one of:- Radio network node.- BS.- TRP.- TP.- RP.- UE.- EO.

[0164] The sensing management entity 601, 603 and / or the processing circuitry 1401 is configured to apply the obtained data in a sensing task design. The sensing task design may comprise at least one of: processing of measurements, clutter reduction, interference reduction, mitigation of detection interference, or for storage in a database for further use in relation to other sensing service requests or other sensing targets, etc.

[0165] The sensing management entity 601, 603 and / or the processing circuitry 1401 may be configured to identify the non-target object 610, e.g. before the data is obtained, based on the obtained data or based on identity data from another entity.

[0166] The sensing management entity 601, 603 and / or the processing circuitry 1401 may be configured to provide a request for data associated with non-target object 610. The data associated with the non-target object 610 may be obtained in a response to the request. The request for data may be provided to at least one of: the non-target object 610 and / or the target object 613. When the sensing management entity 601, 603 provides the request, the connected target object 613 may respond to the request, in addition to the non-target objects 610. The identification of at least one of: interference, clutter and target may happen based on the obtained data and this data may be obtained from any connected network nodes.

[0167] The sensing management entity 601, 603 and / or the processing circuitry 1401 may be configured to determine an expected interference and / or clutter around the target object 613.

[0168] The sensing management entity 601, 603 further comprises a memory 1405. The memory 1405 comprises one or more units to be used to store data on, such as indications, data, data, sensing data, clutter data, interference data, sensing activity data, non-target object ID, requests, responses, measurements, thresholds, data related to nodes, and applications to perform the methods disclosed herein when being executed, and similar. Furthermore, the sensing management entity 601, 603 may comprise a communication interface 1406 such as comprising a transmitter, a receiver, a transceiver and / or one or more antennas.

[0169] The methods according to the embodiments described herein for enabling sensing in the communication network 100 may be implemented using e.g., a computer program product 1407 or a computer program, comprising instructions, i.e., software code portions, which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to carry out the actions described herein, as performed by the sensing management entity 601, 603 The computer program product 1407 may be stored on a computer- readable storage medium 1408 e.g. a disc, a universal serial bus (USB) stick or similar. The computer-readable storage medium 1408 having stored thereon the computer program product, may comprise the instructions which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to carry out the actions described herein, as performed by the sensing management entity 601, 603. In some embodiments, the computer-readable storage medium may be a transitory or a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. Thus, embodiments herein may disclose a sensing management entity 601, 603 for enabling sensing in a wireless communication network, wherein the sensing management entity 601, 603 comprises processing circuitry and a memory, the memory comprising instructions executable by the processing circuitry whereby the sensing management entity 601, 603 is operative to perform any of the methods herein.ADDITIONAL EXPLANATION

[0170] Additional information may also be found in the document(s) provided in the Appendix.

[0171] Fig. 15 shows an example of a communication system 1500 in accordance with some embodiments.

[0172] In the example, the communication system 1500 includes a telecommunication network 1502 that includes an access network 1504, such as a radio access network (RAN), and a core network 1506, which includes one or more core network nodes 1508. The access network 1504 includes one or more access network nodes, such as network nodes 1510a and 1510b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as network nodes 1510), or any other similar 3rdGeneration Partnership Project (3GPP) access nodes or non-3GPP access points. Moreover, as will be appreciated by those of skill in the art, a network node is not necessarily limited to an implementation in which a radio portion and a baseband portion are supplied and integrated by a single vendor. Thus, it will be understood that network nodes include disaggregated implementations or portions thereof. For example, in some embodiments, the telecommunication network 1502 includes one or more Open-RAN (ORAN) network nodes. An ORAN network node is a node in the telecommunication network 1502 that supports an ORAN specification (e.g., a specification published by the O-RAN Alliance, or any similar organization) and may operate alone or together with other nodes to implement one or more functionalities of any node in the telecommunication network 1502, including one or more network nodes 1510 and / or core network nodes 1508.

[0173] Examples of an ORAN network node include an open radio unit (O-RU), an open distributed unit (O-DU), an open central unit (O-CU), including an O-CU control plane (O- CU-CP) or an O-CU user plane (O-CU-UP), a RAN intelligent controller (near-real time or non-real time) hosting software or software plug-ins, such as a near-real time control application (e.g., xApp) or a non-real time control application (e.g., rApp), or any combination thereof (the adjective “open” designating support of an ORAN specification). The network node may support a specification by, for example, supporting an interface defined by the ORAN specification, such as an Al, Fl, Wl, El, E2, X2, Xn interface, an open fronthaul user plane interface, or an open fronthaul management plane interface. Moreover, an ORAN access node may be a logical node in a physical node. Furthermore, an ORAN network node may be implemented in a virtualization environment (described further below) in which one or more network functions are virtualized. For example, the virtualization environment may include an O-Cloud computing platform orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an O-2 interface defined by the O-RAN Alliance or comparable technologies. The network nodes 1510 facilitate direct or indirect connection of user equipment (UE), such as by connecting UEs 1512a, 1512b, 1512c, and 1512d (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UEs 1512) to the core network 1506 over one or more wireless connections.

[0174] Example wireless communication over a wireless connection include transmitting and / or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and / or other types of signals suitable for conveying data without the use of wires, cables, or other material conductors. Moreover, in different embodiments, the communication system 1500 may include any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, UEs, and / or any other components or systems that may facilitate or participate in the communication of data and / or signals whether via wired or wireless connections. The communication system 1500 may include and / or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and / or other similar type of system.

[0175] The UEs 1512 may be any of a wide variety of communication devices, including wireless devices arranged, configured, and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with the network nodes 1510 and other communication devices. Similarly, the network nodes 1510 are arranged, capable, configured, and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with the UEs 1512 and / or with other network nodes or equipment in the telecommunication network 1502 to enable and / or provide network access, such as wireless network access, and / or to perform other functions, such as administration in the telecommunication network 1502.

[0176] In the depicted example, the core network 1506 connects the network nodes 1510 to one or more host computing systems, such as host 1516. These connections may be direct or indirect via one or more intermediary networks or devices. In other examples, network nodes may be directly coupled to hosts. The core network 1506 includes one more core network node (e.g., core network node 1508) that are structured with hardware and software components. Features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the UEs, network nodes, and / or hosts, such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of the core network node 1508. Example core network nodes include functions of one or more of a Mobile Switching Center (MSC), Mobility Management Entity (MME), Home Subscriber Server (HSS), Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), Session Management Function (SMF), Authentication Server Function (AUSF), Subscription Identifier De-concealing function (SIDF), Unified Data Management (UDM), Security Edge Protection Proxy (SEPP), Network Exposure Function (NEF), and / or a User Plane Function (UPF).

[0177] The host 1516 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider other than an operator or provider of the access network 1504 and / or the telecommunication network 1502. The host 1516 may host a variety of applications to provide one or more services. Examples of such applications include live and pre-recorded audio / video content, datacollection services such as retrieving and compiling data on various ambient conditions detected by a plurality of UEs, analytics functionality, social media, functions for controlling or otherwise interacting with remote devices, functions for an alarm and surveillance center, or any other such function performed by a server.

[0178] As a whole, the communication system 1500 of fig. 15 enables connectivity between the UEs, network nodes, and hosts. In that sense, the communication system may be configured to operate according to predefined rules or procedures, such as specific standards that include, but are not limited to: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM); Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); Long Term Evolution (LTE), and / or other suitable 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G standards, or any applicable future generation standard (e.g., 6G); wireless local area network (WLAN) standards, such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standards (WiFi); and / or any other appropriate wireless communication standard, such as the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Bluetooth, Z-Wave, Near Field Communication (NFC) ZigBee, LiFi, and / or any low-power wide-area network (LPWAN) standards such as LoRa and Sigfox.

[0179] In some examples, the telecommunication network 1502 is a cellular network that implements 3GPP standardized features. Accordingly, the telecommunications network 1502 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices that are connected to the telecommunication network 1502. For example, the telecommunications network 1502 may provide Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC) services to some UEs, while providing Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) services to other UEs, and / or Massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC) / Massive loT services to yet further UEs.

[0180] In some examples, the UEs 1512 are configured to transmit and / or receive data without direct human interaction. For instance, a UE may be designed to transmit data to the access network 1504 on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the access network 1504. Additionally, a UE may be configured for operating in single- or multi-RAT or multi -standard mode. For example, a UE may operate with any one or combination of Wi-Fi, NR (New Radio) and LTE, i.e. being configured for multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC), such as E-UTRAN (Evolved-UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network) New Radio - Dual Connectivity (EN-DC).

[0181] In the example, the hub 1514 communicates with the access network 1504 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UE 1512c and / or 1512d) and network nodes (e.g., network node 1510b). In some examples, the hub 1514 may be a controller, router, content source and analytics, or any of the other communication devicesdescribed herein regarding UEs. For example, the hub 1514 may be a broadband router enabling access to the core network 1506 for the UEs. As another example, the hub 1514 may be a controller that sends commands or instructions to one or more actuators in the UEs. Commands or instructions may be received from the UEs, network nodes 1510, or by executable code, script, process, or other instructions in the hub 1514. As another example, the hub 1514 may be a data collector that acts as temporary storage for UE data and, in some embodiments, may perform analysis or other processing of the data. As another example, the hub 1514 may be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a VR device, display, loudspeaker, or other media delivery device, the hub 1514 may retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory data via a network node, which the hub 1514 then provides to the UE either directly, after performing local processing, and / or after adding additional local content. In still another example, the hub 1514 acts as a proxy server or orchestrator for the UEs, in particular if one or more of the UEs are low energy loT devices.

[0182] The hub 1514 may have a constant / persistent or intermittent connection to the network node 1510b. The hub 1514 may also allow for a different communication scheme and / or schedule between the hub 1514 and UEs (e.g., UE 1512c and / or 1512d), and between the hub 1514 and the core network 1506. In other examples, the hub 1514 is connected to the core network 1506 and / or one or more UEs via a wired connection. Moreover, the hub 1514 may be configured to connect to an M2M service provider over the access network 1504 and / or to another UE over a direct connection. In some scenarios, UEs may establish a wireless connection with the network nodes 1510 while still connected via the hub 1514 via a wired or wireless connection. In some embodiments, the hub 1514 may be a dedicated hub - that is, a hub whose primary function is to route communications to / from the UEs from / to the network node 1510b. In other embodiments, the hub 1514 may be a non-dedicated hub - that is, a device which is capable of operating to route communications between the UEs and network node 1510b, but which is additionally capable of operating as a communication start and / or end point for certain data channels.

[0183] Fig. 16 shows a UE 1600 in accordance with some embodiments. The UE 1600 presents additional details of some embodiments of the UE 1512 of fig. 15. As used herein, a UE refers to a device capable, configured, arranged and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with network nodes and / or other UEs. Examples of a UE include, but are not limited to, a smart phone, mobile phone, cell phone, voice over IP (VoIP) phone, wireless local loop phone, desktop computer, personal digital assistant (PDA), wireless cameras, gaming console ordevice, music storage / playback device, wearable terminal device, wireless endpoint, mobile station, tablet, laptop, laptop-embedded equipment (LEE), laptop-mounted equipment (LME), an Augmented Reality (AR) or Virtual Reality (VR) device, wireless customer-premise equipment (CPE), vehicle, vehicle-mounted or vehicle embedded / integrated wireless device, etc. Other examples include any UE identified by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), including a narrow band internet of things (NB-IoT) UE, a machine type communication (MTC) UE, and / or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE.

[0184] A UE may support device-to-device (D2D) communication, for example by implementing a 3 GPP standard for sidelink communication, Dedicated Short-Range Communication (DSRC), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), or vehicle- to-everything (V2X). In other examples, a UE may not necessarily have a user in the sense of a human user who owns and / or operates the relevant device. Instead, a UE may represent a device that is intended for sale to, or operation by, a human user but which may not, or which may not initially, be associated with a specific human user (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller). Alternatively, a UE may represent a device that is not intended for sale to, or operation by, an end user but which may be associated with or operated for the benefit of a user (e.g., a smart power meter).

[0185] The UE 1600 includes processing circuitry 1602 that is operatively coupled via a bus 1604 to an input / output interface 1606, a power source 1608, a memory 1610, a communication interface 1612, and / or any other component, or any combination thereof. Certain UEs may utilize all or a subset of the components shown in fig. 16. The level of integration between the components may vary from one UE to another UE. Further, certain UEs may contain multiple instances of a component, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.

[0186] The processing circuitry 1602 is configured to process instructions and data and may be configured to implement any sequential state machine operative to execute instructions stored as machine-readable computer programs in the memory 1610. The processing circuitry 1602 may be implemented as one or more hardware-implemented state machines (e.g., in discrete logic, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), etc.); programmable logic together with appropriate firmware; one or more stored computer programs, general -purpose processors, such as a microprocessor or digital signal processor (DSP), together with appropriate software; or any combination of the above. For example, the processing circuitry 1602 may include multiple central processing units (CPUs).

[0187] In the example, the input / output interface 1606 may be configured to provide an interface or interfaces to an input device, output device, or one or more input and / or output devices. Examples of an output device include a speaker, a sound card, a video card, a display, a monitor, a printer, an actuator, an emitter, a smartcard, another output device, or any combination thereof. An input device may allow a user to capture data into the UE 1600. Examples of an input device include a touch-sensitive or presence-sensitive display, a camera (e.g., a digital camera, a digital video camera, a web camera, etc.), a microphone, a sensor, a mouse, a trackball, a directional pad, a trackpad, a scroll wheel, a smartcard, and the like. The presence-sensitive display may include a capacitive or resistive touch sensor to sense input from a user. A sensor may be, for instance, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a tilt sensor, a force sensor, a magnetometer, an optical sensor, a proximity sensor, a biometric sensor, etc., or any combination thereof. An output device may use the same type of interface port as an input device. For example, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port may be used to provide an input device and an output device.

[0188] In some embodiments, the power source 1608 is structured as a battery or battery pack. Other types of power sources, such as an external power source (e.g., an electricity outlet), photovoltaic device, or power cell, may be used. The power source 1608 may further include power circuitry for delivering power from the power source 1608 itself, and / or an external power source, to the various parts of the UE 1600 via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Delivering power may be, for example, for charging of the power source 1608. Power circuitry may perform any formatting, converting, or other modification to the power from the power source 1608 to make the power suitable for the respective components of the UE 1600 to which power is supplied.

[0189] The memory 1610 may be or be configured to include memory such as random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), magnetic disks, optical disks, hard disks, removable cartridges, flash drives, and so forth. In one example, the memory 1610 includes one or more application programs 1614, such as an operating system, web browser application, a widget, gadget engine, or other application, and corresponding data 1616. The memory 1610 may store, for use by the UE 1600, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems.

[0190] The memory 1610 may be configured to include a number of physical drive units, such as redundant array of independent disks (RAID), flash memory, USB flash drive, externalhard disk drive, thumb drive, pen drive, key drive, high-density digital versatile disc (HD- DVD) optical disc drive, internal hard disk drive, Blu-Ray optical disc drive, holographic digital data storage (HDDS) optical disc drive, external mini-dual in-line memory module (DIMM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), external micro-DIMM SDRAM, smartcard memory such as tamper resistant module in the form of a universal integrated circuit card (UICC) including one or more subscriber identity modules (SIMs), such as a USIM and / or ISIM, other memory, or any combination thereof. The UICC may for example be an embedded UICC (eUICC), integrated UICC (iUICC) or a removable UICC commonly known as ‘SIM card.’ The memory 1610 may allow the UE 1600 to access instructions, application programs and the like, stored on transitory or non-transitory memory media, to off-load data, or to upload data. An article of manufacture, such as one utilizing a communication system may be tangibly embodied as or in the memory 1610, which may be or comprise a device-readable storage medium.

[0191] The processing circuitry 1602 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network using the communication interface 1612. The communication interface 1612 may comprise one or more communication subsystems and may include or be communicatively coupled to an antenna 1622. The communication interface 1612 may include one or more transceivers used to communicate, such as by communicating with one or more remote transceivers of another device capable of wireless communication (e.g., another UE or a network node in an access network). Each transceiver may include a transmitter 1618 and / or a receiver 1620 appropriate to provide network communications (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocations, and so forth). Moreover, the transmitter 1618 and receiver 1620 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., antenna 1622) and may share circuit components, software or firmware, or alternatively be implemented separately.

[0192] In the illustrated embodiment, communication functions of the communication interface 1612 may include cellular communication, Wi-Fi communication, LPWAN communication, data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short-range communications such as Bluetooth, near-field communication, location-based communication such as the use of the global positioning system (GPS) to determine a location, another like communication function, or any combination thereof. Communications may be implemented in according to one or more communication protocols and / or standards, such as IEEE 802.11, Code Division Multiplexing Access (CDMA), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), GSM, LTE, New Radio (NR), UMTS, WiMax, Ethernet, transmission control protocol / intemet protocol (TCP / IP), synchronous optical networking(SONET), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), QUIC, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), and so forth.

[0193] Regardless of the type of sensor, a UE may provide an output of data captured by its sensors, through its communication interface 1612, via a wireless connection to a network node. Data captured by sensors of a UE can be communicated through a wireless connection to a network node via another UE. The output may be periodic (e.g., once every 15 minutes if it reports the sensed temperature), random (e.g., to even out the load from reporting from several sensors), in response to a triggering event (e.g., when moisture is detected an alert is sent), in response to a request (e.g., a user initiated request), or a continuous stream (e.g., a live video feed of a patient).

[0194] As another example, a UE comprises an actuator, a motor, or a switch, related to a communication interface configured to receive wireless input from a network node via a wireless connection. In response to the received wireless input the states of the actuator, the motor, or the switch may change. For example, the UE may comprise a motor that adjusts the control surfaces or rotors of a drone in flight according to the received input or to a robotic arm performing a medical procedure according to the received input.

[0195] A UE, when in the form of an Internet of Things (loT) device, may be a device for use in one or more application domains, these domains comprising, but not limited to, city wearable technology, extended industrial application and healthcare. Non-limiting examples of such an loT device are a device which is or which is embedded in: a connected refrigerator or freezer, a TV, a connected lighting device, an electricity meter, a robot vacuum cleaner, a voice controlled smart speaker, a home security camera, a motion detector, a thermostat, a smoke detector, a door / window sensor, a flood / moisture sensor, an electrical door lock, a connected doorbell, an air conditioning system like a heat pump, an autonomous vehicle, a surveillance system, a weather monitoring device, a vehicle parking monitoring device, an electric vehicle charging station, a smart watch, a fitness tracker, a wearable for tactile augmentation or sensory enhancement, a water sprinkler, an animal- or item-tracking device, a sensor for monitoring a plant or animal, an industrial robot, an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), and any kind of medical device, like a heart rate monitor or a remote controlled surgical robot. A UE in the form of an loT device comprises circuitry and / or software in dependence of the intended application of the loT device in addition to other components as described in relation to the UE 1600 shown in fig. 16.

[0196] As yet another specific example, in an loT scenario, a UE may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and / or measurements, and transmits the results ofsuch monitoring and / or measurements to another UE and / or a network node. The UE may in this case be an M2M device, which may in a 3GPP context be referred to as an MTC device. As one particular example, the UE may implement the 3GPP NB-IoT standard. In other scenarios, a UE may represent a vehicle, such as a car, a bus, a truck, a ship and an airplane, or other equipment that is capable of monitoring and / or reporting on its operational status or other functions associated with its operation.

[0197] In practice, any number of UEs may be used together with respect to a single use case. For example, a first UE might be or be integrated in a drone and provide the drone’s speed data (obtained through a speed sensor) to a second UE that is a remote controller operating the drone. When the user makes changes from the remote controller, the first UE may adjust the throttle on the drone (e.g. by controlling an actuator) to increase or decrease the drone’s speed. The first and / or the second UE can also include more than one of the functionalities described above. For example, a UE might comprise the sensor and the actuator, and handle communication of data for both the speed sensor and the actuators.

[0198] Fig. 17 shows a network node 1700 in accordance with some embodiments. As used herein, network node refers to equipment capable, configured, arranged and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a UE and / or with other network nodes or equipment, in a telecommunication network. Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, access points (APs) (e.g., radio access points), base stations (BSs) (e.g., radio base stations, Node Bs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs) and NR NodeBs (gNBs)), O-RAN nodes or components of an O-RAN node (e g., O-RU, O-DU, O-CU).

[0199] Base stations may be categorized based on the amount of coverage they provide (or, stated differently, their transmit power level) and so, depending on the provided amount of coverage, may be referred to as femto base stations, pico base stations, micro base stations, or macro base stations. A base station may be a relay node or a relay donor node controlling a relay. A network node may also include one or more (or all) parts of a distributed radio base station such as centralized digital units, distributed units (e.g., in an O-RAN access node) and / or remote radio units (RRUs), sometimes referred to as Remote Radio Heads (RRHs). Such remote radio units may or may not be integrated with an antenna as an antenna integrated radio. Parts of a distributed radio base station may also be referred to as nodes in a distributed antenna system (DAS).

[0200] Other examples of network nodes include multiple transmission point (multi-TRP) 5G access nodes, multi -standard radio (MSR) equipment such as MSR BSs, networkcontrollers such as radio network controllers (RNCs) or base station controllers (BSCs), base transceiver stations (BTSs), transmission points, transmission nodes, multi-cell / multicast coordination entities (MCEs), Operation and Maintenance (O&M) nodes, Operations Support System (OSS) nodes, Self-Organizing Network (SON) nodes, positioning nodes (e.g., Evolved Serving Mobile Location Centers (E-SMLCs)), and / or Minimization of Drive Tests (MDTs).

[0201] The network node 1700 includes a processing circuitry 1702, a memory 1704, a communication interface 1706, and a power source 1708. The network node 1700 may be composed of multiple physically separate components (e.g., a NodeB component and a RNC component, or a BTS component and a BSC component, etc.), which may each have their own respective components. In certain scenarios in which the network node 1700 comprises multiple separate components (e.g., BTS and BSC components), one or more of the separate components may be shared among several network nodes. For example, a single RNC may control multiple NodeBs. In such a scenario, each unique NodeB and RNC pair, may in some instances be considered a single separate network node. In some embodiments, the network node 1700 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate memory 1704 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., a same antenna 1710 may be shared by different RATs). The network node 1700 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node 1700, for example GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, Zigbee, Z-wave, LoRaWAN, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) or Bluetooth wireless technologies. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chip or set of chips and other components within network node 1700.

[0202] The processing circuitry 1702 may comprise a combination of one or more of a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, central processing unit, digital signal processor, application-specific integrated circuit, field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software and / or encoded logic operable to provide, either alone or in conjunction with other network node 1700 components, such as the memory 1704, to provide network node 1700 functionality.

[0203] In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 1702 includes a system on a chip (SOC). In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 1702 includes one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 1712 and baseband processing circuitry 1714. In some embodiments, the radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 1712 and the baseband processing circuitry 1714 may be on separate chips (or sets of chips), boards, or units, such as radio unitsand digital units. In alternative embodiments, part or all of RF transceiver circuitry 1712 and baseband processing circuitry 1714 may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units.

[0204] The memory 1704 may comprise any form of volatile or non-volatile computer- readable memory including, without limitation, persistent storage, solid-state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), mass storage media (for example, a hard disk), removable storage media (for example, a flash drive, a Compact Disk (CD) or a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), and / or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device-readable and / or computerexecutable memory devices that store information, data, and / or instructions that may be used by the processing circuitry 1702. The memory 1704 may store any suitable instructions, data, or information, including a computer program, software, an application including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, and / or other instructions capable of being executed by the processing circuitry 1702 and utilized by the network node 1700. The memory 1704 may be used to store any calculations made by the processing circuitry 1702 and / or any data received via the communication interface 1706. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 1702 and memory 1704 is integrated.

[0205] The communication interface 1706 is used in wired or wireless communication of signaling and / or data between a network node, access network, and / or UE. As illustrated, the communication interface 1706 comprises port(s) / terminal(s) 1716 to send and receive data, for example to and from a network over a wired connection. The communication interface 1706 also includes radio front-end circuitry 1718 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, the antenna 1710. Radio front-end circuitry 1718 comprises filters 1720 and amplifiers 1722. The radio front-end circuitry 1718 may be connected to an antenna 1710 and processing circuitry 1702. The radio front-end circuitry may be configured to condition signals communicated between antenna 1710 and processing circuitry 1702. The radio front-end circuitry 1718 may receive digital data that is to be sent out to other network nodes or UEs via a wireless connection. The radio front-end circuitry 1718 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 1720 and / or amplifiers 1722. The radio signal may then be transmitted via the antenna 1710. Similarly, when receiving data, the antenna 1710 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by the radio front-end circuitry 1718. The digital data may be passed to the processing circuitry 1702. In other embodiments, the communication interface may comprise different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0206] In certain alternative embodiments, the network node 1700 does not include separate radio front-end circuitry 1718, instead, the processing circuitry 1702 includes radio front-end circuitry and is connected to the antenna 1710. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuitry 1712 is part of the communication interface 1706. In still other embodiments, the communication interface 1706 includes one or more ports or terminals 1716, the radio front-end circuitry 1718, and the RF transceiver circuitry 1712, as part of a radio unit (not shown), and the communication interface 1706 communicates with the baseband processing circuitry 1714, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).

[0207] The antenna 1710 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and / or receive wireless signals. The antenna 1710 may be coupled to the radio frontend circuitry 1718 and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and / or signals wirelessly. In certain embodiments, the antenna 1710 is separate from the network node 1700 and connectable to the network node 1700 through an interface or port.

[0208] The antenna 1710, communication interface 1706, and / or the processing circuitry 1702 may be configured to perform any receiving operations and / or certain obtaining operations described herein as being performed by the network node. Any information, data and / or signals may be received from a UE, another network node and / or any other network equipment. Similarly, the antenna 1710, the communication interface 1706, and / or the processing circuitry 1702 may be configured to perform any transmitting operations described herein as being performed by the network node. Any information, data and / or signals may be transmitted to a UE, another network node and / or any other network equipment.

[0209] The power source 1708 provides power to the various components of network node 1700 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component). The power source 1708 may further comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry to supply the components of the network node 1700 with power for performing the functionality described herein. For example, the network node 1700 may be connectable to an external power source (e.g., the power grid, an electricity outlet) via an input circuitry or interface such as an electrical cable, whereby the external power source supplies power to power circuitry of the power source 1708. As a further example, the power source 1708 may comprise a source of power in the form of a battery or battery pack which is connected to, or integrated in, power circuitry. The battery may provide backup power should the external power source fail.

[0210] Embodiments of the network node 1700 may include additional components beyond those shown in fig. 17 for providing certain aspects of the network node’s functionality,including any of the functionality described herein and / or any functionality necessary to support the subject matter described herein. For example, the network node 1700 may include user interface equipment to allow input of information into the network node 1700 and to allow output of information from the network node 1700. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for the network node 1700. In some embodiments providing a core network node, such as core network node 108 of FIG. 15, some components, such as the radio front-end circuitry 1718 and the RF transceiver circuitry 1712 may be omitted.

[0211] Fig. 18 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 1800 in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized. In the present context, virtualizing means creating virtual versions of apparatuses or devices which may include virtualizing hardware platforms, storage devices and networking resources. As used herein, virtualization can be applied to any device described herein, or components thereof, and relates to an implementation in which at least a portion of the functionality is implemented as one or more virtual components. Some or all of the functions described herein may be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines (VMs) implemented in one or more virtual environments 1800 hosted by one or more of hardware nodes, such as a hardware computing device that operates as a network node, UE, core network node, or host. Further, in embodiments in which the virtual node does not require radio connectivity (e.g., a core network node or host), then the node may be entirely virtualized. In some embodiments, the virtualization environment 1800 includes components defined by the O-RAN Alliance, such as an O-Cloud environment orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an O-2 interface. Virtualization may facilitate distributed implementations of a network node, UE, core network node, or host.

[0212] Applications 1802 (which may alternatively be called software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.) are run in the virtualization environment Q400 to implement some of the features, functions, and / or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein.

[0213] Hardware 1804 includes processing circuitry, memory that stores software and / or instructions executable by hardware processing circuitry, and / or other hardware devices as described herein, such as a network interface, input / output interface, and so forth. Software may be executed by the processing circuitry to instantiate one or more virtualization layers 1806 (also referred to as hypervisors or virtual machine monitors (VMMs)), provide VMs1808a and 1808b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as VMs 1808), and / or perform any of the functions, features and / or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein. The virtualization layer 1806 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to the VMs 1808.

[0214] The VMs 1808 comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 1806. Different embodiments of the instance of a virtual appliance 1802 may be implemented on one or more of VMs 1808, and the implementations may be made in different ways. Virtualization of the hardware is in some contexts referred to as network function virtualization (NFV). NFV may be used to consolidate many network equipment types onto industry standard high volume server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage, which can be located in data centers, and customer premise equipment.

[0215] In the context of NFV, a VM 1808 may be a software implementation of a physical machine that runs programs as if they were executing on a physical, non-virtualized machine. Each of the VMs 1808, and that part of hardware 1804 that executes that VM, be it hardware dedicated to that VM and / or hardware shared by that VM with others of the VMs, forms separate virtual network elements. Still in the context of NFV, a virtual network function is responsible for handling specific network functions that run in one or more VMs 1808 on top of the hardware 1804 and corresponds to the application 1802.

[0216] Hardware 1804 may be implemented in a standalone network node with generic or specific components. Hardware 1804 may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, hardware 1804 may be part of a larger cluster of hardware (e.g. such as in a data center or CPE) where many hardware nodes work together and are managed via management and orchestration 1810, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of applications 1802. In some embodiments, hardware 1804 is coupled to one or more radio units that each include one or more transmitters and one or more receivers that may be coupled to one or more antennas. Radio units may communicate directly with other hardware nodes via one or more appropriate network interfaces and may be used in combination with the virtual components to provide a virtual node with radio capabilities, such as a radio access node or a base station. In some embodiments, some signaling can be provided with the use of a control system 1812 which may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.

[0217] Although the computing devices described herein (e.g., UEs, network nodes) may include the illustrated combination of hardware components, other embodiments may comprise computing devices with different combinations of components. It is to be understood that thesecomputing devices may comprise any suitable combination of hardware and / or software needed to perform the tasks, features, functions and methods disclosed herein. Determining, calculating, obtaining or similar operations described herein may be performed by processing circuitry, which may process information by, for example, converting the obtained information into other information, comparing the obtained information or converted information to information stored in the network node, and / or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or converted information, and as a result of said processing making a determination. Moreover, while components are depicted as single boxes located within a larger box, or nested within multiple boxes, in practice, computing devices may comprise multiple different physical components that make up a single illustrated component, and functionality may be partitioned between separate components. For example, a communication interface may be configured to include any of the components described herein, and / or the functionality of the components may be partitioned between the processing circuitry and the communication interface. In another example, non-computationally intensive functions of any of such components may be implemented in software or firmware and computationally intensive functions may be implemented in hardware.

[0218] In certain embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein may be provided by processing circuitry executing instructions stored on in memory, which in certain embodiments may be a computer program product in the form of a non-transitory computer- readable storage medium. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality may be provided by the processing circuitry without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device-readable storage medium, such as in a hard-wired manner. In any of those particular embodiments, whether executing instructions stored on a non-transitory computer- readable storage medium or not, the processing circuitry can be configured to perform the described functionality. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to the processing circuitry alone or to other components of the computing device, but are enjoyed by the computing device as a whole, and / or by end users and a wireless network generally.APPENDIXThe below changes are suggested from TS 24.5018.2.6 Registration request8.2.6.1 Message definitionThe REGISTRATION REQUEST message is sent by the UE to the AMF. See table 8.2.6.1.1.Message type: REGISTRATION REQUESTSignificance: dualDirection: UE to networkTable 8.2.6.1.1 : REGISTRATION REQUEST message content9.11.3.X Object TypeThe UE shall include this IE if the UE supports sensing feature. The UE informs the NW which kind of connected object it is. It can be represented by octet string or visible string / character of certain length; example “car”, “UAV”, “handheld device” and the dimension (length, breadth, height).8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 octet 1 octet 2 octet 3 octet 4 octet nNote: the above information may also be stored in UDM as part of UE subscription information and NW node such as AMF / SeMF / SPF / LMF may obtain via UDM as well if not received by UE in registration procedure.AMF to SeMF SignalingThe AMF to SeMF may be implemented in new specification or integrated with specification such as TS 29.572 which is between AMF and LMF. An example signaling between AMF and SeMF / SPF is provided below:Message type: Provide Environmental InformationDirection: AMF to SeMF / SPFTable X: Provide Environmental InformationAMF may provide the object type and area where the object was detected to SeMF / SPF for further processing.The below changes are suggested to new sensing spec between sensing network nodes (e.g., between SeMF and BS, or between BS and BS):We also add case of failure messageEnvironmental Object Information REQUESTThis message is sent by the first node to request the second node to start or stop reporting of environmental object sensing information.Direction: First node -> Second nodeEnvironmental Object Information RESPONSEThis message is sent by the second node to confirm the request to start or stop reporting of environmental object sensing information.Direction: Second nodeFirst nodeEnvironmental Object Information FAILUREThis message is sent by the second node to indicate that reporting of sensing environmental object sensing information cannot be initiated. Direction: Second node -> First node

Claims

CLAIMS1. A method performed by a sensing management entity (601, 603) for enabling sensing in a communication system (100), the method comprising: obtaining (701, 1302) data associated with a non-target object (610) which acts as an interference and / or clutter source in a sensing activity performed by a sensing unit (605), wherein the sensing activity comprises sensing of a target object (613); and applying (702, 1303) the obtained data in a sensing task design.

2. The method of claim 1, comprising: identifying (1300) the non-target object (610) based on the obtained data or based on identity data from another entity.

3. The method of any of the preceding claims, comprising: providing (1301) a request for the data associated with non-target object (610), and wherein the data associated with the non-target object (610) is obtained in a response to the request.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the request for data is provided to at least one of: the non- target object (610) and the target object (613).

5. The method of any of the preceding claims, comprising: determining (802, 1304) an expected interference and / or clutter around the target object (613).

6. The method of any of the preceding claims, wherein the non-target object (610) is arranged to at least one of: transmitting and receiving of communication and sensing radio signals from a sensing unit (605).

7. The method of any of the preceding claims, wherein the obtained data associated with the non-target object (610) comprises at least one of: location data, velocity, communication configurations, sensing configurations, other characteristics obtained from non-Radio Access Technology, RAT, sources.

8. The method of any of the preceding claims, wherein the obtained data associated with the non-target object (610) is obtained from at least one of:- a radio network node,- a core network node (608),- the non-target objects (610) directly,- a database,- the sensing node (605), and- a connected object equipped with a network node.

9. The method of any of the preceding claims, wherein the sensing task design comprises at least one of: processing of measurements, clutter reduction, mitigation of detection interference and for storage in a database for further use in relation to other sensing service requests or other sensing targets.

10. The method of any of the preceding claims, wherein the non-target obj ect (610) is at least one of or is comprised in at least one of:- Radio network node- Base Station / Transmission Reception Point / Transmission Point / Reception Point BS / TRP / TP / RP- User Equipment, UE,- Environmental object, EO,- EO being a target object in another sensing activity.

11. The method of any of the preceding claims, wherein the Sensing Management Entity (601, 603) is at least one of or is comprised in at least one of:- Sensing Management Function, SeMF,- Sensing Function, SF,- Sensing Control Function, SCF,- Sensing Processing Function, SPF.

12. The method of any of the preceding claims, wherein the target object (613) is at least one of or comprised in at least one of:- Radio network node- Base Station / Transmission Reception Point / Transmission Point / ReceptionPoint, BS / TRP / TP / RP- User Equipment, UE,- Environmental object, EO,- EO being a target object in another sensing activity.

13. A sensing management entity (601, 603) for enabling sensing in a communication system (100), the sensing management entity (601, 603) comprising: processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of claims 1-12; power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.

14. A sensing management entity (601 , 603) for enabling sensing in a communication system (100), the Sensing management entity (601, 603) comprising: an antenna configured to send and receive wireless signals; radio front-end circuitry connected to the antenna and to processing circuitry, and configured to condition signals communicated between the antenna and the processing circuitry; the processing circuitry being configured to perform any of the steps of any of claims M2; an input interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to allow input of data into the sensing management entity (601, 603) to be processed by the processing circuitry; an output interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to output data from the sensing management entity (601, 603) that has been processed by the processing circuitry; and a battery connected to the processing circuitry and configured to supply power to the sensing management entity (601, 603).

15. A computer program product comprising program code for performing, when executed by the processing circuitry, any of the steps of any of claims 1-12.

16. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions, which when executed by the processing circuitry, cause the processing circuitry to perform any of the steps of any of claims 1-12.

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