AIML enabled digital avatar

Abstract

Methods, apparatuses, and systems for AIML enabled digital avatars are described herein. In one aspect, a method performed by an extended reality (XR) application server can include: receiving a first request to provision an authorization and usage policy for an AIML enabled digital avatar; determining whether the requestor of the first request is authorized to provision the authorization and usage policy; assigning an identifier for the authorization and usage policy based on determining the requestor of the first request is authorized; and sending a response to the first request with a status and the assigned policy identifier.

Description

AIML ENABLED DIGITAL AVATARCROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims priority to, and the benefit of, U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 666,758 (titled “AIML Enabled Digital Avatar”), filed July 2, 2024, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety' for any and all purposes.BACKGROUND

[0002] Applications are becoming increasingly more complex and various mechanisms have been designed to assist with quicker development of the applications. One such mechanism is the introduction of different functional layers within (or adjacent to) the application layer to separate functions that may be accessed via application programming interfaces or APIs. FIG. 1 shows an example of a generalized application layer architecture that separates application development into three distinct layers: application-specific, vertical application enabler, and (common) service layers. At the bottom of the application stack is the (common) service layer, which provides common or horizontal services to all applications. The services may include location management, group management, configuration management, and security aspects for application development. Above the service layer is the vertical application enabler layer, which is a layer that manages services for a specific vertical application such as autonomous vehicles, drones, loT, gaming, etc. At the top of the application stack is the application-specific layer which serves specific applications within a vertical application. This layer contains custom or business logic for a particular application and may be provided by various service providers in a vertical application domain. One goal of this three-layered approach is to abstract common sendees for all applications to the vertical application enabler and service layers to simplify application development for faster deployments of the applications.

[0003] The architecture shown in FIG. 1 is based on a client-server communication model. One or more client applications on devices may communicate with one or more server applications on application servers. Server applications may reside in one or more application servers. The client application and server application of each layer communicate with each other between the devices and application servers. The application-specific client and server may communicate with client and server applications at any of the lower layers, respectively. For example, an application-specific client may communicate with the client application ateither the vertical application enabler or service layers. A network between the client and server applications provides the medium for communication. The network may be a cellular network such as a mobile operator network or the network may be a broadband service provider network providing access to the internet for client and server applications.

[0004] The architecture shown in FIG. 1 may also apply to publish-subscribe and subscription-notification communication models. It is also worth noting that for decentralized deployments in which devices communicate directly with other devices, server functionality may reside on a device rather than on the application servers. For this case, devices may communicate with one another such that one device may function as a client and another device may function as a server.XR and Metaverse Services

[0005] Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) technologies aim to provide immersive experiences to users in real or virtual world settings, respectively. In both AR and VR, users may for example participate in a gaming session, an educational environment, or a business meeting and feel as if they are present and participating in such activities. The user may interface to the AR / VR application through a wearable device such as glasses / goggles, headsets, tactile gloves, and other bodily sensors. Users may transfer audio, video, and haptic information to the AR / VR application and to another AR / VR user who may be participating in the same activity. Other sensors, such as cameras and motion sensors, may also transfer the user’s movement to the AR / VR application and to other users. Collectively. AR and VR may be referred to as extended Reality or XR.

[0006] An XR service provider may host an application server in cloud or edge networks for which many users gain access to the XR application regardless of their locations. Users may utilize smartphones and / or XR glasses within a static location or the user may be mobile. The mobile devices may require connectivity provided by a mobile network operator’s (MNO) cellular communication system.

[0007] XR has been described from the perspective of a single user benefiting from an immersive experience. When multiple users have the same immersive experience, a term commonly used to describe such a scenario is that the users are interacting with the metaverse. In other words, metaverse refers to the interactions of multiple XR users simultaneously while providing an immersive experience to each user as if they were all interacting at the same time and location.

[0008] Digital avatars represent users in XR sendees and offer a medium for users to interact with other XR users, whether it is in augmented or virtual reality environments. For example, an avatar of a user may appear in an augmented reality application displayed in AR glasses worn by other users or the avatar may represent the user in a virtual environment. In each case, the user’s avatar is seen by other users in the XR service while the user sees the other user’s avatars, with each user seeing the avatars of other users through the use of XR glasses. The avatars are then able to interact wi th each other as if all the users are present in the same location and / or environment.

[0009] As the name implies, digital avatars are generated digitally and require some form of medium to render the likeness of a user to other users. The medium is ty pically XR glasses but it may also be any device that is able to display the information associated with a digital avatar, such as a smartphone, a smart display, a monitor, or even a television. Being digital, an avatar may be created and / or modified to the whims of the user and / or XR service. Therefore, an avatar may represent the actual likeness or caricature of a user, be able to be dressed with digital clothing, and may also have animated capabilities to reflect a user's facial expressions and / or bodily movements. A user may even have multiple avatars with each avatar serving a different purpose, e.g. one for professional interactions, another one for personal use, and a third for online use.Metaverse Application Enablement Layer

[0010] 3GPP has started work on defining an application enablement layer in support of metaverse and XR applications. FIG. 2 shows a proposed architecture for an on- network mobile metaverse application layer functional model. Mobile metaverse enabler clients and servers provide application programming interface to VAL clients and servers to support operations on avatar related functionality. Thus far, solutions for basic avatar operations such as creation, update, retrieve, delete, and subscription of avatar profiles as well as avatar discovery and QoS control have been proposed.

[0011] The control of a user’s digital avatar is ty pically derived by actions taken by the user and detected by sensors in the proximity7of the user. For example, sensors in XR glasses, headsets, microphones, nearby cameras, and other wearable devices may collect video, audio, and haptic data about a user’s actions and transmit the data to an XR application server for rendering the corresponding actions in the user’s digital avatar during an XRsession. The control of digital avatars, therefore, is dependent on the actions of users for which the avatar is associated with.

[0012] There is a lack of support for digital avatars to operate without the presence and control of the associated owner of the avatar. Instead, users transmit multi-modal data to have the associated digital avatar mimic the user’s actions. However, the transmission of the multi-modal data may sometimes be delayed or interrupted due to network congestion and the digital avatar may not be able to be controlled appropriately. As a result, the XR session is interrupted and the immersive experience may suffer. In those scenarios, a digital avatar may be controlled by trained AIML models to represent the owner of the digital avatar when such interruptions occur. The AIML enabled digital avatar may then operate autonomously on behalf of their owners until normal multi-modal communications resumes. Mechanisms to enable such functionality are not currently available.SUMMARY

[0013] Methods and associated systems for AIML-enabled digital avatars are described herein. Immersive XR experiences within XR sessions often require multi-modal data from various sources. The latency of the multi-modal data may arrive at different times and interfere with the XR experience should data arrive outside a synchronizing window. In addition, a user controlling a digital avatar may be temporarily unavailable or interrupted, which may interfere with the rendering of the digital avatar and thus negatively impact the metaverse experience. To address communication delays, user availability, and other triggering events, mechanisms for enabling AIML enabled digital avatars are proposed for the seamless switching between user generated multi-modal data and AIML generated data to control digital avatars.

[0014] In one aspect of the present disclosure, a method for an XR application server may include: receiving a first request to provision an authorization and usage policy for an AIML enabled digital avatar. In some cases, the first request may include of a requestor identifier, an AIML enabled digital avatar profile, one or more authorization policy, and a switch control policy.

[0015] The method may further include determining whether the requestor of the first request is authorized to provision the authorization and usage policy. The method mayfurther include assigning an identifier for the policy based on determining the requestor of the first request is authorized.

[0016] The method may further include sending a response to the first request with a status and the assigned policy identifier. The method may further include receiving a second request to access the AIML enabled digital avatar. In some cases, the second request may include a requestor identifier, an authorization identifier, a digital avatar identifier and one or more of a device type, a location, a requested access time, and an indicator for whether the presence of the digital avatar owner is required to access the digital avatar.

[0017] The method may further include determining whether the authorization identifier in the second request is authorized to access the AIML enabled digital avatar identified by the digital avatar identifier.

[0018] The method may further include sending a response to the second request wi th a status. In some cases, based on determining the requestor is authorized to access the AIML enabled digital avatar, the response may also include information to access the AIML enabled digital avatar including usage information for the rendering of the AIML enabled digital avatar.

[0019] In another aspect of the present disclosure, a method of an XR application server may include: receiving a first request to provision an authorization and usage policy for an AIML enabled digital avatar. In some cases, the first request may include a requestor identifier, an AIML enabled digital avatar profile, one or more authorization and usage policy, and a switch control policy.

[0020] The method may further include determining whether the requestor of the first request is authorized to provision the authorization and usage policy for the AIML enabled digital avatar. The method may also include assigning an identifier for the policy based on determining the requestor is authorized.

[0021] The method may further include sending a response to the first request with a status and the assigned policy identifier. The method may further include receiving a second request to access the AIML enabled digital avatar. In some cases, the second request may include an authorization identifier, a digital avatar identifier and one or more of a requestor identifier, a location, a requested access time, and an indicator for whether real time multi-modal data is required to access the digital avatar.

[0022] The method may further include determining whether the authorization identifier in the second request is authorized to access the AIML enabled digital avatar identified by the digital avatar identifier.

[0023] The method may further include sending a response to the second request with a status. In some cases, based on the determining the requestor is authorized, the response may include information to access the AIML enabled digital avatar and an expiration for the access.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0024] FIG. 1 depicts an application layer architecture model;

[0025] FIG. 2 depicts an on-network mobile metaverse application layer function model;

[0026] FIG. 3 depicts a workflow for digital avatar authorization and usage policy provisioning;

[0027] FIG. 4 depicts a workflow for dynamic control switch of AIML enabled digital avatars;

[0028] FIG. 5 depicts a GUI for requesting access to AIML enabled digital avatars;

[0029] Figure 6A depicts an example communications system in which the methods and apparatuses described and claimed herein may be an aspect of;

[0030] Figure 6B depicts a block diagram of an example apparatus or device configured for wireless communications;

[0031] Figure 6C depicts a system diagram of an example radio access netw ork (RAN) and core network;

[0032] Figure 6D depicts a system diagram of another example RAN and core network;

[0033] Figure 6E depicts a system diagram of another example RAN and core network;

[0034] Figure 6F depicts a block diagram of an example computing system; and

[0035] Figure 6G depicts a block diagram of another example communications system.DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS

[0036] Example use cases are provided herein that describe how AIML enabled digital avatars may be utilized to provide seamless control of digital avatars due to communication disturbances, user availability, or other trigger events. Note that the term control refers to both the data source, whether from user generated data or AIML (model) generated data, that are used to render a digital avatar and the resulting switch (of data source) that may occur due to communication disturbances, user availability7, or other trigger events. As XR experiences rely on real-time interactive control of digital avatars, it is critical that the control of digital avatars is switched seamlessly between data sources, whether controlled by real-time multi-modal data (e.g. provided by the owner of the digital avatar) or by AIML model outputs. An XR application server may provide the seamless control in switching between owner multi-modal data and AIML model outputs and vice versa. The AIML enabled digital avatar may also be used to autonomously represent the owner of the digital avatar for cases when the owner is absent from the XR session.

[0037] As an example, an owner, e.g. a celebrity or online influencer, may create a digital avatar of their likeness as part of a sponsorship agreement with corporate sponsors. The owner may train AIML models to represent and predict the owner's facial expressions and gestures, speech, bodily movements, or other actions in various environments or context that can be attributed to the owner and represented by the digital avatar. The AIML enabled digital avatar may then be deployed in XR sessions as part of corporate sponsorship promotions. The owner of the digital avatar may be absent from the XR sessions and provision the AIML enabled digital avatar to represent the owner in the XR session.

[0038] Another example may include an owner training AIML models to prepare a digital avatar for participation in a metaverse sporting event such as a soccer match. The digital avatar may be trained to execute certain actions required for the sporting event, such as running, kicking, dribblingjumping, etc. The AIML enabled digital avatar may be used in conjunction with the actions of the owner during an XR session of the sporting event to provide seamless control of the digital avatar. For situations in which the data from the owner is not able to arrive at the XR application server in the required time (e.g. due to netw ork congestion), the AIML controlled digital avatar may be seamlessly switched to provide data for the required action based on the context of the sporting event. Control of the digital avatar may revert back to the owner once data from the owner is reliably available within the required time. The XR application server may manage the dynamic switching between realtime multi-modal data from the owner and AIML model generated data for controlling the digital avatar.

[0039] A third example may be a use case in which an AIML model is trained to learn the owner’s mannerisms and gestures to participate in a virtual online seminar. The owner may configure the AIML enabled digital avatar to serve as a backup for the owner’s participation in the seminar. Initially, the owner may attend the seminar and at a later time, the owner may need to temporarily leave the seminar and request the control of the digital avatar be switched to the AIML model. For example, the owner may need to catch a train and request the AIML enabled digital avatar to attend the seminar on behalf of the owner. The AIML enabled digital avatar may be able to perform activities as the owner w ould, such as joining conversations, asking questions, and interacting with other digital avatars while the owner is away. Once the owner is able to resume attendance, the owner may request from the XR application server to switch control of the digital avatar back to the owner.

[0040] In the aforementioned use cases, control of digital avatars may be made by XR application servers in response to various trigger events or by explicit requests from the owner of the digital avatar. In the use case of the celebrity or online influencer, control is provided by AIML model generated data without the presence of the owner in the XR session. For the sporting event use case, control is provided by both the owner of the digital avatar and by AIML models trained to perform the desired actions. The switching of data sources may be performed autonomously by XR application servers based on configured events such as those of network congestion, analytics outputs, or other triggers. In the use case of the online seminar, control is again provided by both the owner of the digital avatar and by AIML model generated data but this time, the owner sends explicit requests to switch control of the digital avatar in real time.

[0041] Control of digital avatars may be made by an XR application server interacting with a third-party service provider. The XR application server may be configured with AIML models for controlling the digital avatar when owner data is not available or congestions in the netw ork prevents the timely arrival of the ow ner data. For netw ork congestion issues and other triggers, the XR application server may be provisioned with event definitions that autonomously trigger control of digital avatars to AIML model generated data. The owner may also be able to make explicit requests to the XR application server to relinquish or resume control of the digital avatar with owner generated data. The XRapplication server may be provisioned to allow AIML models to control the digital avatar even when the owner is not present, e.g. as part of sponsorship agreements with an authorized third party.

[0042] FIG. 3 shows an example procedure for the provisioning of a digital avatar authorization and usage policy to enable AIML controlled digital avatar. The procedure may be triggered by an agreement between the owner of the digital avatar and a corporate sponsor similar to the celebrity or online influencer use case previously described. The owner of the digital avatar may provision an XR application server with the authorization and usage policy and the corporate sponsor may access the AIML controlled digital avatar via a VAL sen- er. The VAL client depicted in the figure is the digital avatar owner and the VAL server is a representative for the corporate sponsor.

[0043] Step 1: A VAL client (e.g., the owner of the digital avatar) may complete an offline agreement with a corporate sponsor, which is represented as the VAL server. The agreement may specify the level of access, the duration of the agreement, and other requirements for the usage of the digital avatar. For example, the AIML trained digital avatar may be required to model a product such as clothing in which the owner may pose to display the product.

[0044] Step 2: The VAL client may train AIML models to fulfill the requirements of the sponsorship agreement. The VAL client may utilize transfer learning to minimize the need to generate a large amount of data to train the AIML model. The VAL client may also offload the training of the AIML model completely to a service in the network. Training data may comprise of facial expressions, gestures, speech, bodily movements, and other actions to fulfill the sponsorship requirements. The VAL client may model clothing and display other products as part of the agreement. In some cases the VAL client in steps 1 and 2 may represent the owner of the digital avatar. In some cases, steps 1 and 2 may be performed offline.

[0045] Step 3: The VAL client may initiate a request to provision a digital avatar authorization and usage policy to an XR application client. The request may include the trained model (and associated model parameters) for inclusion in the digital avatar authorization and usage policy and other authorization and usage information, e.g. the number of instances the corporate sponsor is allowed to use the AIML enabled digital avatar, an expiration time for the policy, etc.

[0046] Step 4: The XR application client may send a digital avatar authorization and usage policy request to an XR application server with the trained AIML model and model parameters. The request may also include authorization and usage information for the AIML enabled digital avatar as shown in Table 1.

[0047] Table 1 - Digital avatar authorization and usage policy provisioning

[0048] An AIML enabled digital avatar profile may be provided to describe trained AIML models available for use. One or more AIML models may be provided for different usage of the AIML enabled digital avatar. Examples of usage scenarios may include appearances in a meeting or seminar, a sporting event, a modeling shoot, or a concert. The Avatar display, Avatar quality, Rendering quality, and Maximum exposure time may also be provided to specify usage levels for the digital avatar. The usage levels may be utilized to adjust the rendering of the digital avatar and the maximum exposure time at any one instance.

[0049] One or more authorization policies may be included in the request to specify users who are able to access the AIML enabled digital avatar. Criteria for the usage of the avatar may be included to constrain the times and locations for which the AIML enabled digital avatar is available. Allowed usage levels may specify the quality of rendering of the digital avatar by the AIML model and the Owner presence indicator may specify whether the digital avatar may be used without the presence of the owner. A Maximum allow able time may specify the aggregate time that the AIML enabled digital avatar may be exposed to the authorized user and an Expiration may be specified for the expiration of the authorization and usage policy. One or more AIML trigger events may be specified to describe conditions for which an XR application server may switch control of an AIML enabled digital avatar between owner generated data and AIML model generated outputs. Finally, a Switch control policy may specify conditions for which a switch in control may be made.

[0050] Note that the Maximum exposure time, Maximum allowable time, and Expiration may be used in conjunction with one another to limit the exposure of the AIMLenabled digital avatar. These IES may be specified in units of time and / or instances. For example, the Maximum allowable time may be specified for 100 instances for which the AIML enabled digital avatar may be used, each with a maximum exposure time of 30 seconds. An expiration for the authorization and usage policy may be specified as the absolute expiration of the policy irrespective of the Maximum allowable time. If the Maximum allowable time is specified in time units, then the XR application server may utilize a timer / counter to track the usage of the AIML enabled digital.

[0051] Step 5: The XR application server may determine (e.g., check) that the XR application client is authorized to provision the digital avatar authorization and usage policy. If authorized, a response may be sent to the XR application client with a status to the request and a policy ID. The policy ID may be used by the XR application client to update information in the authorization and usage policy at a future time, e.g. to add / update / remove additional authorized third-party users. Note that the XR application server may save the information received in the request as local context to assist with managing the authorization and usage of the AIML enabled digital avatar.

[0052] Step 6: A VAL server may send a digital avatar access request to the XR application server. The request may include a requestor identifier, an authorization identifier, a digital avatar identifier, a device type, a location, a requested access time for the digital avatar, and whether the presence of the digital avatar owner is required to access the digital avatar. In some cases the authorization identifier may be a VAL server identifier and include an associated digital avatar identifier of the third-party user. The device type may indicate the capability of the device to rendering the digital avatar.

[0053] Step 7: The XR application server may determine whether the requestor is authorized to make the request to access the AIML enabled digital avatar. If authorized, the XR application server may determine if the authorization identifier (and / or the digital avatar identifier of the third-party user) is listed as an authorized user. In some cases, the XR application server may make this determination based on the local context associated with the digital avatar identifier (e.g. that w as saved in step 5). If the authorization identifier is listed as an authorized user, the XR application server may evaluate other requirements for the usage of the digital avatar, such as spatial and temporal conditions and owner presence indicator. If a location w as not provided in the request, the XR application server may check the location of the requestor from the netw ork or a location management service. The devicetype may be used to determine the usage levels of the digital avatar, such as the avatar size, the avatar view, the resolution, the frame rate, rendering dimensions, etc.

[0054] Step 8: A response may be returned to the VAL server with the appropriate status. If the evaluation of step 7 was successful, the XR application server may return information about the AIML enabled digital avatar, such as the digital avatar identifier, the AIML model identifier, the AIML model and model parameters, and parameters for an executable environment. Additionally and / or alternatively, a URL may be returned to specify where the AIML enabled digital avatar may be accessed and used. The information may be returned in an encrypted and / or encoded form for the secure transmission and usage of the AIML enabled digital avatar.

[0055] The response may also include usage information for the rendering of the AIML enabled digital avatar. Avatar display information such as the size and view of the digital avatar may be provided. Avatar quality may also be provided to specify the quality of rendering of the digital avatar. Rendering quality may also be provided to determine how the digital avatar may be rendered. For example, the digital avatar may be display as a static image, in a 2D or 3D format, and / or with a dynamic animation.

[0056] A Maximum exposure time may also be included in the response to notify the VAL server of the available exposure time for the AIML enabled digital avatar, after which any information related to the digital avatar should be removed. The Maximum exposure time may be provided to prevent prolonged exposure of the digital avatar and its usage and may be included to prevent unauthorized access and misuse. The Maximum exposure time may limit the exposure of the AIML enabled digital avatar for any one usage instance.

[0057] For the scenario where the presence of the owner of the digital avatar is required, AIML trigger events and a switch control policy may also be included in the response where the VAL server is managing the control switch. The events may be used when transmission of the owner's multi-modal data to control the avatar is interrupted such that the rendering of the digital avatar would be impacted. For example, the network may be congested and multi-modal data from the owner do not arrive on time to render the digital avatar’s action to reflect the movement of the owner. Another example is the arrival of multimodal data associated with the digital avatar is outside a synchronization window from theindividual multi-modal data sources. The switch control policy may be used to determine the appropriate time to perform a switch from one data source to another data source.

[0058] Step 9: The VAL server may access the AIML enabled digital avatar after receiving the appropriate information about the usage of the digital avatar. If AIML trigger events w ere provided, the VAL server may enable timers, measurements and / or analytics to monitor traffic from the owner of the digital avatar. Alternatively, the XR application server may monitor the trigger events and provide indications for activating the AIML enabled digital avatar. If a Maximum exposure time was also included in the response in step 8, the VAL server may remove all information about the usage of the AIML enabled digital avatar after the elapse time.

[0059] The control switch, or the switching between owner generated data and AIML model generated data, may be performed by an XR application server, a VAL server, or an external application server w hich is hosting the AIML model of the digital avatar. The XR application server may need to provision appropriate AIML trigger event definitions and a Switch control policy if the control switch is performed external to the XR application server.

[0060] The procedure described by FIG. 3 mainly focuses on using an AIML enabled digital avatar in a static manner w here the owner of the digital avatar authorizes the exposure of the AIML enabled digital avatar to a third-party user. The owner may not be directly involved in the control of the digital avatar and no switching of control occurs. The VAL server may be provisioned with information about the usage of an AIML enabled digital avatar without the participation of the owner of the digital avatar. When the owner of the digital avatar is present and participating (e.g. providing multi-modal data to control the digital avatar), communication of user data from the owner of the digital avatar may be more important and disruptions in the communications link may dramatically impact the metaverse experience.

[0061] For more dynamic handling of AIML enabled digital avatars, FIG. 4 shows an example procedure in which an XR application server may be configured by an owner of the digital avatar (e.g. via VAL and / or XR application clients) to seamlessly switch between using owner generated multi-modal data and AIML model generated outputs to control digital avatars. The procedure provides both implicit control based on configured events and explicit control based on owner requests to enable the XR application server to perform thecontrol switch. For implicit control, the control of AIML enabled digital avatar may be triggered autonomously based on AIML trigger events. For explicit control, the control of AIML enabled digital avatar may be triggered manually by owner requests. The XR application server may interface to a VAL server that is providing the metaverse experience. A cellular network may provide information about network congestion, location changes, or other disturbances that may be used to assist with making control switch determinations. Similarly, analytics servers may provide statistics and predictions of network and / or application performance to assist with making control switch determinations. The owner may provide multi-modal data to control the digital avatar via VAL and XR application clients.

[0062] Step 1 : A VAL client (e.g., under the control of the owner of a digital avatar) may train an AIML model to provide predictive capabilities to the owner’s digital avatar. The VAL client may train the AIML model with real time data provided by one or more devices such as the case with using multi-modal data for XR applications. For example, the owner may use cameras, XR glasses, phones, sensors, and other w earable devices to collect data for training the AIML model. The AIML model may be trained to leam facial expressions of the owner for various scenarios such as during conversations, in a meeting, while watching a sporting event or news, etc.

[0063] The VAL client may use transfer learning to train the AIML model. With transfer learning, the VAL client may select a pretrained model that has learned certain capabilities for a desirable AIML application. For example, the pretrained model may have been trained to detect a soccer player’s movements such as running, dribbling, kicking, defending, jumping, heading (the ball), etc. The VAL client may select a model that was trained with physical characteristics similar to the ow ner, e.g. similar height, body composition, leg and arm length, and stride length. Using the pretrained model, the VAL client may further train the model with data collected for the owner but with a smaller sample size. The owner of the digital avatar may have created multiple AIML models each trained for various applications, e.g. for conversational interactions in a meeting or seminar, for a sporting event, or for promotional purposes.

[0064] Step 2: The VAL client may establish a session to participate in a metaverse event such as a virtual soccer match or a seminar conference. The VAL client may establish an XR session with a VAL server in step 2a and / or through an XR application client in step 2b. The VAL client may indicate a trained AIML model exists for usage in the XR sessionand include a URL, an identifier for the AIML model, the actual ML model and model parameters (e.g. in executable form), or other mechanisms to access the AIML model. The URL may point to an operating environment (e.g. on a cloud server) or to a service provider platform where the ML model may be accessed. The VAL client may provide other configurations such as those shown in Table 1 for establishing the XR session.

[0065] Step 3: The VAL server and / or an XR application client may request in step 3a and step 3b, respectively, to establish a connection with an XR application server. If the request was sent by the VAL server, the request may include an authorization identifier, a digital avatar identifier, connection endpoint information such as IP address and port number, a device type, a location, a requested access time for the digital avatar, and an indicator for whether the presence of the digital avatar owner is required to access the digital avatar. In response, the XR application server may retrieve information saved in local context that is associated with the authorization identifier. The local context may have been created from a digital avatar authorization and usage policy where AIML trigger events w ere provided for the XR application server to manage autonomous control switches. If the request w as sent by the XR application client, the request may include a digital avatar authorization and usage policy ID, connection endpoint information for a VAL server, a device type, a location, a requested access time for the digital avatar, and an indicator for whether the presence of the digital avatar owner is required. If a digital avatar authorization and usage policy w as not previously provisioned, then the XR application client may provide information as listed in Table 1 to provision a policy for the XR session. Connection endpoints, a location, a requested access time for the digital avatar, and an indicator for whether the presence of the digital avatar owner is required may be provided with the digital avatar authorization and usage policy. Note that the availability of a policy ID may indicate the VAL client had previously provisioned a digital avatar authorization and usage policy to the XR application server and is making an update to the policy.

[0066] Step 4: The XR application server may determine if the requestor is authorized to make the request. If authorized, the XR application server may establish and assign an identifier for the XR session and store the information about the AIML enabled digital avatar in a local context for use in the XR session. The XR application server may return a response with a status for the request, the assigned XR session identifier, AIMLmodel and usage information, and a maximum exposure time for the usage of the AIML enabled digital avatar in either steps 4a or 4b.

[0067] Step 5: The request from step 3 may have referred to a digital avatar authorization and usage policy that AIML trigger events for the XR session. As a result, the XR application server may subscribe to network performance measurements from the cellular network and statistics and predictions from analytics functions in the network or application servers. Other subscriptions may also be made with the network such as to receive notifications of the owner’s location or changes in location. The XR application server may also subscribe to receive notifications from other XR application serv ers. The subscriptions may be for information that may impact the XR session, such as the state of devices, server loading, latency measurements, QoS metrics, etc. and may be used for performing autonomous control switches.

[0068] Step 6: The XR session may be established and the owner of the digital avatar may participate in and control the digital avatar during the XR session. Multi-modal data may be sent by the VAL client to the VAL server to control the digital avatar. The XR application server may monitor netw ork performance measurements as well as analytics outputs (e.g. statistics and / or predictions) to ensure the best experience for the VAL user. The XR application server may also monitor for changes in the owner’s location to determine control switch for the AIML enabled digital avatar.

[0069] Step 7: During the XR session, the XR application server may receive notifications from the cellular network and / or analytics functions / servers. The XR application server may evaluate the performance measurements against thresholds specified for AIML control trigger events, receive analytics prediction, or detect a change in the owner's location. Additionally and / or alternatively, the VAL user may send a request to the XR application server via the XR application client to relinquish control of the digital avatar. For example, the VAL user may need to temporarily leave a metaverse meeting and allow the AIML enabled digital avatar to continue participating in the meeting. The AIML enabled digital avatar may ask questions during the meeting and even converse with other attendees.

[0070] Step 8: Based on the evaluations performed in step 7, the XR application server may determine to switch control of the digital avatar to the trained AIML model. The XR application server may make this determination based on a performance measurement exceeding a configured threshold, based on a prediction from an analytics function / server thatnetwork latency may increase in the near future, or based on the ow ner of the digital avatar changing location. The XR application server may also make the determination based on a VAL client request, e.g. as shown by step 7b.

[0071] Step 9: If or when netw ork congestion or performance measurements resume to normal levels such that the XR session may receive VAL client multi-modal data to meet the requirements of the XR application, the XR application server may switch control of the digital avatar from the AIML model to the VAL client. Additionally and / or alternatively, the VAL client may signal to the XR application server to resume owner control through an explicit request.

[0072] FIG. 4 show s an example of dynamic control switch within an XR session. Initially, the owner (i.e. the VAL client) may be controlling the digital avatar as described in step 6. The XR application server may decide to switch control of the digital avatar from the owner to a trained AIML model in step 8 for various triggers: network performance related, analytics outputs, location changes, user requests, etc. If the AIML trigger event that triggered the switch of control in step 7 alleviates, then the XR application server may switch the control of the digital avatar back to the VAL client in step 9. The XR application server may continuously monitor the AIML trigger events for the duration of the XR session to ensure the best possible experience for the XR users.

[0073] The use case depicted by FIG. 4 may be realized by several different deployment options of where the AIML enabled digital avatar is operating. The AIML enabled digital avatar may consist of two components: the rendering of the digital avatar and the control of the digital avatar by an AIML model or the owner. A digital avatar may be rendered within a VAL server while the AIML model may be managed by the XR application serv er. The XR application server may also host both the rendering of the digital avatar and the execution of the AIML model. Similarly, the VAL server may be able to render the digital avatar as well as execute the AIML model.

[0074] An important consideration for switching control of the digital avatar may be specified by a switching policy which governs the conditions for making a switch. In order for a switch to be seamless, data used to control the digital avatar may be stable and account for the context of the XR session. The switch policy may account for the startup time required for an AIML model to generate outputs and for the fact that multi-modal data are synchronized. Other requirements may be that netw ork conditions are stabilizing afterexperiencing network congestion, an analytics output is above a certain confidence level, or location changes are within or outside a configured geo-fence area. The switch control policy may specify a minimum time that the data source(s) controlling the digital avatar is stable before a switch in control could be made, e.g. from owner generated data to AIML model generated outputs or vice versa.

[0075] It is worth noting that the entities and procedures proposed in this disclosure may be implemented within a mobile metaverse application enablement layer. The XR application clients and servers may be realized as mobile metaverse enabler clients and servers, respectively. The procedures proposed for the AIML enabled digital avatars may be new procedures defined for the metaverse application enablement layer. User Interface

[0076] FIG. 5 provides an example graphical user interface (GUI) that may be available for a V AL server to request access to an AIML enabled digital avatar. The GUI may represent the parameters that are sent by a VAL server as described in step 6 of FIG. 3. The VAL server may be making a static request to access an AIML enabled digital avatar as part of a sponsorship agreement with the owner of the digital avatar. Communications System

[0077] The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) develops technical standards for cellular telecommunications network technologies, including radio access, the core transport network, and service capabilities - including work on codecs, security, and quality of service. Recent radio access technology (RAT) standards comprise WCDMA (commonly referred as 3G), LTE (commonly referred as 4G), LTE-Advanced standards, and New Radio (NR), which is also referred to as “5G”. 3GPP NR standards development is expected to continue and comprise the definition of next generation radio access technology' (new' RAT), which is expected to comprise the provision of new flexible radio access below 7 GHz, and the provision of new ultra-mobile broadband radio access above 7 GHz. The flexible radio access is expected to consist of a new, non-backwards compatible radio access in new spectrum below' 7 GHz, and it is expected to comprise different operating modes that may be multiplexed together in the same spectrum to address a broad set of 3GPP NR use cases with diverging requirements. The ultra-mobile broadband is expected to comprise cmWave and mmWave spectrum that may provide the opportunity for ultra-mobile broadband access for, e.g., indoor applications and hotspots. In particular, the ultra-mobile broadband is expected toshare a common design framework with the flexible radio access below 7 GHz, with cmWave and mmWave specific design optimizations.

[0078] 3GPP has identified a variety of use cases that NR is expected to support, resulting in a wide variety of user experience requirements for data rate, latency, and mobility. The use cases comprise the following general categories: enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) ultra-reliable low-latency Communication (URLLC), massive machine type communications (mMTC), network operation (e.g., network slicing, routing, migration and interworking, energy savings), and enhanced vehicle-to-everything (eV2X) communications, which may comprise any of Vehicle-to-Vehicle Communication (V2V), Vehicle-to-Infrastructure Communication (V2I), Vehicle-to-Network Communication (V2N), Vehicle-to-Pedestrian Communication (V2P), and vehicle communications with other entities. Specific service and applications in these categories comprise, e.g., monitoring and sensor networks, device remote controlling, bi-directional remote controlling, personal cloud computing, video streaming, wireless cloud-based office, first responder connectivity, automotive ecall, disaster alerts, real-time gaming, multi-person video calls, autonomous driving, augmented reality, tactile internet, virtual reality, home automation, robotics, and aerial drones to name a few. All of these use cases and others are contemplated herein.

[0079] FIG. 6A illustrates an example communications system 100 in which the systems, methods, and apparatuses described and claimed herein may be used. The communications system 100 may comprise wireless transmit / receive units (WTRUs) 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d, 102e, 102f, and / or 102g, which generally or collectively may be referred to as WTRU 102 or WTRUs 102. The communications system 100 may comprise, a radio access network (RAN) 103 / 104 / 105 / 103b / l 04b / l 05b, a core network 106 / 107 / 109, a public switched telephone network (PSTN) 108, the Internet 110, other networks 112, and Network Services 113. 113. Network Services 113 may comprise, for example, a V2X server, V2X functions, a ProSe server, ProSe functions, loT services, video streaming, federated learning (FL) services, and / or edge computing, etc.

[0080] It may be appreciated that the concepts disclosed herein may be used with any number of WTRUs, base stations, networks, and / or network elements. Each of the WTRUs 102 may be any type of apparatus or device configured to operate and / or communicate in a wireless environment. In the example of FIG. 6 A, each of the WTRUs 102a-d is depicted in FIGs. 6A-6E as a hand-held wireless communications apparatus. It isunderstood that with the wide variety of use cases contemplated for wireless communications, each WTRU may comprise or be comprised in any type of apparatus or device configured to transmit and / or receive wireless signals, including, by way of example only, user equipment (UE), a mobile station, a fixed or mobile subscriber unit, a pager, a cellular telephone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a smartphone, a laptop, a tablet, a netbook, a notebook computer, a personal computer, a wireless sensor, consumer electronics, a wearable device such as a smart watch or smart clothing, a medical or eHealth device, a robot, industrial equipment, a drone, a vehicle such as a car, bus or truck, a train, or an airplane, and the like.

[0081] The communications system 100 may also comprise a base station 114a and a base station 114b. In the example of FIG. 6A, each base stations 114a and 114b is depicted as a single element. In practice, the base stations 114a and 114b may comprise any number of interconnected base stations and / or network elements. Base stations 114a may be any type of device configured to wirelessly interface with at least one of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, and 102c to facilitate access to one or more communication networks, such as the core network 106 / 107 / 109. the Internet 110, Network Services 113. and / or the other networks 112. Similarly, base station 114b may be any type of device configured to wiredly and / or wirelessly interface with at least one of the Remote Radio Heads (RRHs) 118a, 118b, Transmission and Reception Points (TRPs) 119a, 119b, and / or Roadside Units (RSUs) 120a and 120b to facilitate access to one or more communication networks, such as the core network 106 / 107 / 109, the Internet 110, other networks 112. and / or Network Services 113. RRHs 118a, 118b may be any type of device configured to wirelessly interface with at least one of the WTRUs 102, e.g., WTRU 102c, to facilitate access to one or more communication networks, such as the core network 106 / 107 / 109, the Internet 110, Network Services 113, and / or other networks 112.

[0082] TRPs 119a, 119b may be any type of device configured to wirelessly interface with at least one of the WTRU 102d, to facilitate access to one or more communication networks, such as the core network 106 / 107 / 109, the Internet 110, Network Services 113, and / or other networks 112. RSUs 120a and 120b may be any type of device configured to wirelessly interface with at least one of the WTRU 102e or 102f. to facilitate access to one or more communication networks, such as the core network 106 / 107 / 109, the Internet 110, other networks 112, and / or Network Sendees 113. By way of example, the basestations 114a, 114b may be a Base Transceiver Station (BTS), a Node-B, an eNode B, a Home Node B, a Home eNode B, a Next Generation Node-B (gNode B), a satellite, a site controller, an access point (AP), a wireless router, and the like.

[0083] The base station 114a may be part of the RAN 103 / 104 / 105, which may also comprise other base stations and / or network elements (not shown), such as a Base Station Controller (BSC), a Radio Network Controller (RNC), relay nodes, etc. Similarly, the base station 114b may be part of the RAN 103b / 104b / 105b, which may also comprise other base stations and / or network elements (not shown), such as a BSC, a RNC, relay nodes, etc. The base station 114a may be configured to transmit and / or receive wireless signals within a particular geographic region, which may be referred to as a cell (not shown). Similarly, the base station 114b may be configured to transmit and / or receive wired and / or wireless signals within a particular geographic region, which may be referred to as a cell (not shown). The cell may further be divided into cell sectors. For example, the cell associated with the base station 114a may be divided into three sectors. Thus, for example, the base station 114a may comprise three transceivers, e.g., one for each sector of the cell. The base station 114a may employ Multiple-Input Multiple Output (MIMO) technology and. therefore, may utilize multiple transceivers for each sector of the cell, for instance.

[0084] The base station 114a may communicate with one or more of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, and 102g over an air interface 115 / 116 / 117, which may be any suitable wireless communication link (e.g.. Radio Frequency (RF), microwave, infrared (IR), ultraviolet (UV). visible light, cmWave. mmWave, etc.). The air interface 115 / 116 / 117 may be established using any suitable Radio Access Technology (RAT).

[0085] The base station 114b may communicate with one or more of the RRHs 118a and 118b, TRPs 119a and 119b, and / or RSUs 120a and 120b, over a wired or air interface 115b / 116b / 117b. which may be any suitable wired (e.g., cable, optical fiber, etc.) or wireless communication link (e.g., RF, microwave, IR, UV, visible light, cmWave, mmWave, etc.). The air interface 115b / l 16b / l 17b may be established using any suitable RAT.

[0086] The RRHs 118a, 11 b, TRPs 119a, 119b and / or RSUs 120a, 120b, may communicate with one or more of the WTRUs 102c, 102d, 102e, 102f over an air interface 115c / l 16c / l 17c. which may be any suitable wireless communication link (e.g.. RF, microwave, IR, ultraviolet UV, visible light, cmWave, mmWave, etc.) The air interface 115c / l 16c / l 17c may be established using any suitable RAT.

[0087] The WTRUs 102 may communicate with one another over a direct air interface 115d / l 16d / l 17d, such as Sidelink communication which may be any suitable wireless communication link (e.g.. RF, microwave, IR, ultraviolet UV, visible light, cmWave, mmWave, etc.) The air interface 115d / l 16d / l 17d may be established using any suitable RAT.

[0088] The communications system 100 may be a multiple access system and may employ one or more channel access schemes, such as CDMA, TDMA, FDMA. OFDMA, SC- FDMA, and the like. For example, the base station 114a in the RAN 103 / 104 / 105 and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, or RRHs 1 18a, 118b,TRPs 119a, 119b and / or RSUs 120a and 120b in the RAN 103b / 104b / 105b and the WTRUs 102c, 102d, 102e, and 102f, may implement a radio technology such as Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), which may establish the air interface 115 / 116 / 117 and / or 115c / l 16c / l 17c respectively using Wideband CDMA (WCDMA). WCDMA may comprise communication protocols such as High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA) and / or Evolved HSPA (HSPA+). HSPA may comprise High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) and / or High-Speed Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA).

[0089] The base station 114a in the RAN 103 / 104 / 105 and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, and 102g, or RRHs 118a and 118b, TRPs 119a and 119b, and / or RSUs 120a and 120b in the RAN 103b / 104b / 105b and the WTRUs 102c, 102d, may implement a radio technology7such as Evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA), which may establish the air interface 115 / 1 16 / 117 or 115c / l 16c / l 17c respectively using Long Term Evolution (LTE) and / or LTE- Advanced (LTE- A), for example. The air interface 115 / 116 / 117 or 115c / l 16c / l 17c may implement 3GPP NR technology7. The LTE and LTE-A technology’ may comprise LTE D2D and / or V2X technologies and interfaces (such as Sidelink communications, etc.) Similarly, the 3GPP NR technology may comprise NR V2X technologies and interfaces (such as Sidelink communications, etc.)

[0090] The base station 114a in the RAN 103 / 104 / 105 and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, and 102g or RRHs 118a and 118b, TRPs 119a and 119b, and / or RSUs 120a and 120b in the RAN 103b / 104b / 105b and the WTRUs 102c, 102d. 102e, and 102f may implement radio technologies such as IEEE 802.16 (e.g.. Worldwide Interoperability7for Microwave Access (WiMAX)), CDMA2000, CDMA2000 IX, CDMA2000 EV-DO, Interim Standard 2000 (IS-2000), Interim Standard 95 (IS-95), Interim Standard 856 (IS-856), Global Systemfor Mobile communications (GSM), Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE), GSM EDGE (GERAN), and the like.

[0091] The base station 114c in FIG. 6A may be a wireless router, Home Node B, Home eNode B, or access point, for example, and may utilize any suitable RAT for facilitating wireless connectivity in a localized area, such as a place of business, a home, a vehicle, a train, an aerial, a satellite, a manufactory, a campus, and the like. The base station 114c and the WTRUs 102. e.g., WTRU 102e, may implement a radio technology such as IEEE 802. 11 to establish a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN). Similarly, the base station 114c and the WTRUs 102, e.g., WTRU 102d, may implement a radio technology such as IEEE 802.15 to establish a wireless personal area network (WPAN). The base station 114c and the WTRUs 102, e.g., WRTU 102e, may utilize a cellular-based RAT (e.g., WCDMA. CDMA2000. GSM, LTE, LTE-A, NR, etc.) to establish a picocell or femtocell. As shown in FIG. 6A, the base station 114c may have a direct connection to the Internet 110. Thus, the base station 114c may not be required to access the Internet 110 via the core network 106 / 107 / 109.

[0092] The RAN 103 / 104 / 105 and / or RAN 103b / l 04b / l 05b may be in communication with the core network 106 / 107 / 109, which may be any type of network configured to provide voice, data, messaging, authorization and authentication, applications, and / or Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services to one or more of the WTRUs 102. For example, the core network 106 / 107 / 109 may provide call control, billing services, mobile location-based sendees, pre-paid calling, Internet connectivity, packet data network connectivity, Ethernet connectivity, video distribution, etc., and / or perform high-level security functions, such as user authentication.

[0093] Although not shown in FIG. 6A, it may be appreciated that the RAN 103 / 104 / 105 and / or RAN 103b / l 04b / l 05b and / or the core network 106 / 107 / 109 may be in direct or indirect communication with other RANs that employ the same RAT as the RAN 103 / 104 / 105 and / or RAN 103b / 104b / 105b or a different RAT. For example, in addition to being connected to the RAN 103 / 104 / 105 and / or RAN 103b / 104b / 105b, which may be utilizing an E-UTRA radio technology, the core network 106 / 107 / 109 may also be in communication with another RAN (not shown) employing a GSM or NR radio technology.

[0094] The core network 106 / 107 / 109 may also serve as a gateway for the WTRUs 102 to access the PSTN 108, the Internet 110, and / or other networks 112. The PSTN 108 maycomprise circuit-switched telephone networks that provide Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS). The Internet 110 may comprise a global system of interconnected computer networks and devices that use common communication protocols, such as the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), User Datagram Protocol (UDP), and the internet protocol (IP) in the TCP / IP internet protocol suite. The other networks 112 may comprise wired or wireless communications networks owned and / or operated by other service providers. For example, the networks 112 may comprise any type of packet data network (e g., an IEEE 802.3 Ethernet network) or another core network connected to one or more RANs, which may employ the same RAT as the RAN 103 / 104 / 105 and / or RAN 103b / 104b / l 05b or a different RAT.

[0095] Some or all of the WTRUs 102a, 102b. 102c, 102d, 102e, and 102f in the communications system 100 may comprise multi-mode capabilities, e.g.. the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d, 102e, and 102f may comprise multiple transceivers for communicating with different wireless networks over different wireless links. For example, the WTRU 102g shown in FIG. 6A may be configured to communicate with the base station 114a, which may employ a cellular-based radio technology, and with the base station 114c, which may employ an IEEE 802 radio technology.

[0096] Although not shown in FIG. 6A, it may be appreciated that a User Equipment may make a wired connection to a gatew ay. The gateway maybe a Residential Gateway (RG). The RG may provide connectivity to a Core Netw ork 106 / 107 / 109. It may be appreciated that many of the ideas contained herein may equally apply to UEs that are WTRUs and UEs that use a wired connection to connect to a network. For example, the ideas that apply to the wireless interfaces 115, 116, 117 and 115c / l 16c / l 17c may equally apply to a wired connection.

[0097] FIG. 6B is a system diagram of an example RAN 103 and core network 106. As noted above, the RAN 103 may employ a UTRA radio technology to communicate with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, and 102c over the air interface 115. The RAN 103 may also be in communication with the core network 106. As shown in FIG. 6B, the RAN 103 may comprise Node-Bs 140a. 140b, and 140c, which may each comprise one or more transceivers for communicating with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, and 102c over the air interface 115. The Node-Bs 140a, 140b, and 140c may each be associated with a particular cell (not shown) within the RAN 103. The RAN 103 may also comprise RNCs 142a, 142b. It may beappreciated that the RAN 103 may comprise any number of Node-Bs and Radio Network Controllers (RNCs.)

[0098] As shown in FIG. 6B, the Node-Bs 140a, 140b may be in communication wi th the RNC 142a. Additionally, the Node-B 140c may be in communication with the RNC 142b. The Node-Bs 140a, 140b, and 140c may communicate with the respective RNCs 142a and 142b via an lub interface. The RNCs 142a and 142b may be in communication with one another via an lur interface. Each of the RNCs 142aand 142b may be configured to control the respective Node-Bs 140a, 140b, and 140c to which it is connected. In addition, each of the RNCs 142aand 142b may be configured to carry out or support other functionality, such as outer loop power control, load control, admission control, packet scheduling, handover control, macro-diversity, security functions, data encryption, and the like.

[0099] The core network 106 shown in FIG. 6B may comprise a media gateway (MGW) 144, a Mobile Switching Center (MSC) 146, a Serving GPRS Support Node (SGSN) 148, and / or a Gateway GPRS Support Node (GGSN) 150. While each of the foregoing elements are depicted as part of the core network 106. it may be appreciated that any one of these elements may be owned and / or operated by an entity other than the core network operator.

[0100] The RNC 142a in the RAN 103 may be connected to the MSC 146 in the core network 106 via an luCS interface. The MSC 146 may be connected to the MGW 144. The MSC 146 and the MGW 144 may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, and 102c with access to circuit-switched networks, such as the PSTN 108, to facilitate communications between the WTRUs 102a, 102b, and 102c, and traditional land-line communications devices.

[0101] The RNC 142a in the RAN 103 may also be connected to the SGSN 148 in the core network 106 via an luPS interface. The SGSN 148 may be connected to the GGSN 150. The SGSN 148 and the GGSN 150 may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, and 102c with access to packet-switched networks, such as the Internet 110, to facilitate communications between and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, and 102c, and IP-enabled devices.

[0102] The core network 106 may also be connected to the other networks 112, which may comprise other wired or wireless networks that are ow ned and / or operated by other service providers.

[0103] FIG. 6C is a system diagram of an example RAN 104 and core network 107. As noted above, the RAN 104 may employ an E-UTRA radio technology tocommunicate with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, and 102c over the air interface 116. The RAN 104 may also be in communication with the core network 107.

[0104] The RAN 104 may comprise eNode-Bs 160a. 160b, and 160c, though it may be appreciated that the RAN 104 may comprise any number of eNode-Bs. The eNode- Bs 160a, 160b, and 160c may each comprise one or more transceivers for communicating with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, and 102c over the air interface 116. For example, the eNode-Bs 160a. 160b, and 160c may implement MIMO technology. Thus, the eNode-B 160a, for example, may use multiple antennas to transmit wireless signals to. and receive wireless signals from, the WTRU 102a.

[0105] Each of the eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, and 160c may be associated with a particular cell (not shown) and may be configured to handle radio resource management decisions, handover decisions, scheduling of users in the uplink and / or downlink, and the like. As shown in FIG. 6C, the eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, and 160c may communicate with one another over an X2 interface.

[0106] The core network 107 shown in FIG. 6C may comprise a Mobility Management Gateway (MME) 162, a serving gateway 164, and a Packet Data Network (PDN) gateway 166. While each of the foregoing elements are depicted as part of the core network 107, it may be appreciated that any one of these elements may be owned and / or operated by an entity other than the core network operator.

[0107] The MME 162 may be connected to each of the eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, and 160c in the RAN 104 via an SI interface and may serve as a control node. For example, the MME 162 may be responsible for authenticating users of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, and 102c, bearer activation / deactivation, selecting a particular serving gateway during an initial attach of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, and 102c, and the like. The MME 162 may also provide a control plane function for switching between the RAN 104 and other RANs (not shown) that employ- other radio technologies, such as GSM or WCDMA.

[0108] The serving gatew ay 164 may be connected to each of the eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, and 160c in the RAN 104 via the SI interface. The serving gateway 164 may generally route and forward user data packets to / from the WTRUs 102a, 102b, and 102c. The serving gateway 164 may also perform other functions, such as anchoring user planes dunng inter- eNode B handovers, triggering paging when downlink data is available for the WTRUs 102a,102b, and 102c, managing and storing contexts of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, and 102c, and the like.

[0109] The serving gateway 164 may also be connected to the PDN gateway 166, which may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, and 102c with access to packet-switched networks, such as the Internet 110, to facilitate communications between the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, and IP-enabled devices.

[0110] The core network 107 may facilitate communications with other networks. For example, the core network 107 may provide the WTRUs 102a. 102b. and 102c with access to circuit-switched networks, such as the PSTN 108, to facilitate communications between the WTRUs 102a, 102b, and 102c and traditional land-line communications devices. For example, the core network 107 may comprise, or may communicate with, an IP gateway (e.g., an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) server) that serves as an interface between the core network 107 and the PSTN 108. In addition, the core network 107 may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, and 102c with access to the networks 112, which may comprise other wired or wireless netw orks that are owned and / or operated by other service providers.

[0111] FIG. 6D is a system diagram of an example RAN 105 and core network 109. The RAN 105 may employ an NR radio technology to communicate with the WTRUs 102a and 102b over the air interface 1 17. The RAN 105 may also be in communication with the core netw ork 109. ANon-3GPP Interw orking Function (N3IWF) 199 may employ a non- 3GPP radio technology to communicate with the WTRU 102c over the air interface 198. The N3IWF 199 may also be in communication with the core network 109.

[0112] The RAN 105 may comprise gNode-Bs 180a and 180b. It may be appreciated that the RAN 105 may comprise any number of gNode-Bs. The gNode-Bs 180a and 180b may each comprise one or more transceivers for communicating with the WTRUs 102a and 102b over the air interface 117. When integrated access and backhaul connection are used, the same air interface may be used between the WTRUs and gNode-Bs, which may be the core network 109 via one or multiple gNBs. The gNode-Bs 180a and 180b may implement MIMO, MU-MIMO, and / or digital beamforming technology'. Thus, the gNode-B 180a. for example, may use multiple antennas to transmit wireless signals to, and receive wireless signals from, the WTRU 102a. It should be appreciated that the RAN 105 may employ of other types of base stations such as an eNode-B. It may also be appreciated theRAN 105 may employ more than one type of base station. For example, the RAN may employ eNode-Bs and gNode-Bs.

[0113] The N3IWF 199 may comprise a non-3GPP Access Point 180c. It may be appreciated that the N3IWF 199 may comprise any number of non-3GPP Access Points. The non-3GPP Access Point 180c may comprise one or more transceivers for communicating with the WTRUs 102c over the air interface 198. The non-3GPP Access Point 180c may use the 802. 11 protocol to communicate with the WTRU 102c over the air interface 198.

[0114] Each of the gNode-Bs 180a and 180b may be associated with a particular cell (not shown) and may be configured to handle radio resource management decisions, handover decisions, scheduling of users in the uplink and / or dow nlink, and the like. As shown in FIG. 6D, the gNode-Bs 180a and 180b may communicate with one another over an Xn interface, for example.

[0115] The core network 109 shown in FIG. 6D may be a 5G core network (5GC). The core network 109 may offer numerous communication services to customers who are interconnected by the radio access network. The core network 109 comprises a number of entities that perform the functionality of the core network. As used herein, the term “core network entity” or “network function” refers to any entity that performs one or more functionalities of a core network. It is understood that such core netw ork entities may be logical entities that are implemented in the form of computer-executable instructions (software) stored in a memory of, and executing on a processor of, an apparatus configured for wireless and / or network communications or a computer system, such as system 90 illustrated in FIG. 6G.

[0116] In the example of FIG. 6D, the 5G Core Network 109 may comprise an access and mobility' management function (AMF) 172, a Session Management Function (SMF) 174, User Plane Functions (UPFs) 176a and 176b. a User Data Management Function (UDM) 197, an Authentication Server Function (AUSF) 190, a Network Exposure Function (NEF) 196, a Policy Control Function (PCF) 184, a Non-3GPP Interworking Function (N3IWF) 199, a User Data Repository (UDR) 178. While each of the foregoing elements are depicted as part of the 5G core network 109, it may be appreciated that any one of these elements may be owned and / or operated by an entity other than the core network operator. It may also be appreciated that a 5G core netw ork may not consist of all of these elements, may consist of additional elements, and may consist of multiple instances of each of theseelements. FIG. 6D shows that network functions directly connect to one another, however, it should be appreciated that they may communicate via routing agents such as a diameter routing agent or message buses.

[0117] In the example of FIG. 6D, connectivity between network functions is achieved via a set of interfaces, or reference points. It may be appreciated that network functions may be modeled, described, or implemented as a set of services that are invoked, or called, by other network functions or services. Invocation of a Network Function service may be achieved via a direct connection between network functions, an exchange of messaging on a message bus, calling a software function, etc.

[0118] The AMF 172 may be connected to the RAN 105 via an N2 interface and may serve as a control node. For example, the AMF 172 may be responsible for registration management, connection management, reachability management, access authentication, access authorization. The AMF may be responsible forwarding user plane tunnel configuration information to the RAN 105 via the N2 interface. The AMF 172 may receive the user plane tunnel configuration information from the SMF via an N11 interface. The AMF 172 may generally route and forward NAS packets to / from the WTRUs 102a, 102b, and 102c via an N1 interface. The N1 interface is not shown in FIG. 6D.

[0119] The SMF 174 may be connected to the AMF 172 via an N11 interface. Similarly the SMF may be connected to the PCF 184 via an N7 interface, and to the UPFs 176a and 176b via an N4 interface. The SMF 174 may serve as a control node. For example, the SMF 174 may be responsible for Session Management, IP address allocation for the WTRUs 102a, 102b, and 102c, management and configuration of traffic steering rules in the UPF 176a and UPF 176b, and generation of downlink data notifications to the AMF 172.

[0120] The UPF 176a and UPF 176b may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, and 102c with access to a Packet Data Network (PDN), such as the Internet 110, to facilitate communications between the WTRUs 102a, 102b, and 102c and other devices. The UPF 176a and UPF 176b may also provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, and 102c with access to other ty pes of packet data netw orks. For example, Other Netw orks 112 may be Ethernet Networks or any type of netw ork that exchanges packets of data. The UPF 176a and UPF 176b may receive traffic steering rules from the SMF 174 via the N4 interface. The UPF 176a and UPF 176b may provide access to a packet data network by connecting a packet data network with an N6 interface or by connecting to each other and to other UPFs via an N9 interface. Inaddition to providing access to packet data networks, the UPF 176 may be responsible packet routing and forwarding, policy rule enforcement, quality of sendee handling for user plane traffic, downlink packet buffering.

[0121] The AMF 172 may also be connected to the N3IWF 199, for example, via an N2 interface. The N3IWF facilitates a connection between the WTRU 102c and the 5G core network 170, for example, via radio interface technologies that are not defined by 3GPP. The AMF may interact with the N3IWF 199 in the same, or similar, manner that it interacts with the RAN 105.

[0122] The PCF 184 may be connected to the SMF 174 via an N7 interface, connected to the AMF 172 via an N15 interface, and to an Application Function (AF) 188 via an N5 interface. The N15 and N5 interfaces are not shown in FIG. 6D. The PCF 184 may provide policy rules to control plane nodes such as the AMF 172 and SMF 174, allowing the control plane nodes to enforce these rules. The PCF 184, may send policies to the AMF 172 for the WTRUs 102a, 102b, and 102c so that the AMF may deliver the policies to the WTRUs 102a, 102b, and 102c via an N1 interface. Policies may then be enforced, or applied, at the WTRUs 102a, 102b. and 102c.

[0123] The UDR 178 may act as a repository for authentication credentials and subscription information. The UDR may connect to network functions, so that network function may add to, read from, and modify the data that is in the repository7. For example, the UDR 178 may connect to the PCF 184 via an N36 interface. Similarly, the UDR 178 may connect to the NEF 196 via an N37 interface, and the UDR 178 may connect to the UDM 197 via an N35 interface.

[0124] The UDM 197 may serve as an interface between the UDR 178 and other network functions. The UDM 197 may authorize netw ork functions to access of the UDR 178. For example, the UDM 197 may connect to the AMF 172 via an N8 interface, the UDM 197 may connect to the SMF 174 via an N10 interface. Similarly, the UDM 197 may connect to the AUSF 190 via an N13 interface. The UDR 178 and UDM 197 may be tightly integrated.

[0125] The AUSF 190 performs authentication related operations and connects to the UDM 178 via an N13 interface and to the AMF 172 via an N12 interface.

[0126] The NEF 196 exposes capabilities and services in the 5G core network 109 to Application Functions (AF) 188. Exposure may occur on the N33 API interface. The NEFmay connect to an AF 188 via an N33 interface and it may connect to other network functions in order to expose the capabilities and services of the 5G core network 109.

[0127] Application Functions 188 may interact with network functions in the 5G Core Network 109. Interaction between the Application Functions 188 and network functions may be via a direct interface or may occur via the NEF 196. The Application Functions 188 may be considered part of the 5G Core Network 109 or may be external to the 5G Core Network 109 and deployed by enterprises that have a business relationship with the mobile network operator.

[0128] Network Slicing is a mechanism that may be used by mobile network operators to support one or more ‘virtual’ core networks behind the operator’s air interface. This involves ‘slicing’ the core network into one or more virtual networks to support different RANs or different service types running across a single RAN. Network slicing enables the operator to create netw orks customized to provide optimized solutions for different market scenarios which demands diverse requirements, e.g., in the areas of functionality, performance and isolation.

[0129] 3GPP has designed the 5G core network to support Network Slicing. Network Slicing is a good tool that network operators may use to support the diverse set of 5G use cases (e.g., massive loT, critical communications, V2X, and enhanced mobile broadband) which demand very diverse and sometimes extreme requirements. Without the use of netw ork slicing techniques, it is likely that the netw ork architecture would not be flexible and scalable enough to efficiently support a wider range of use cases need when each use case has its ow n specific set of performance, scalability, and availability requirements. Furthermore, introduction of new network services should be made more efficient.

[0130] Referring again to FIG. 6D, in a network slicing scenario, a WTRU 102a, 102b, or 102c may connect to an AMF 172, via an N1 interface. The AMF may be logically part of one or more slices. The AMF may coordinate the connection or communication of WTRU 102a, 102b, or 102c with one or more UPF 176a and 176b, SMF 174, and other network functions. Each of the UPFs 176a and 176b, SMF 174, and other network functions may be part of the same slice or different slices. When they are part of different slices, they may be isolated from each other in the sense that they may utilize different computing resources, security credentials, etc.

[0131] The core network 109 may facilitate communications with other networks. For example, the core network 109 may comprise, or may communicate with, an IP gateway, such as an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) server, that sen es as an interface between the 5G core network 109 and a PSTN 108. For example, the core network 109 may comprise, or communicate with a short message service (SMS) service center that facilities communication via the short message service. For example, the 5G core network 109 may facilitate the exchange of non-IP data packets between the WTRUs 102a. 102b, and 102c and servers or applications functions 188. In addition, the core network 170 may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, and 102c with access to the networks 112, which may comprise other wired or wireless networks that are owned and / or operated by other service providers.

[0132] The core network entities described herein and illustrated in FIGs. 6A, 6C. 6D, and 6E are identified by the names given to those entities in certain existing 3GPP specifications, but it is understood that in the future those entities and functionalities may be identified by other names and certain entities or functions may be combined in future specifications published by 3GPP, including future 3GPP NR specifications. Thus, the particular network entities and functionalities described and illustrated in FIGs. 6A, 6B, 6C, 6D, and 6E are provided by way of example only, and it is understood that the subject matter disclosed and claimed herein may be embodied or implemented in any similar communication system, whether presently defined or defined in the future.

[0133] FIG. 6E illustrates an example communications system 111 in which the systems, methods, apparatuses described herein may be used. Communications system 111 may comprise Wireless Transmit / Receive Units (WTRUs) A, B, C, D, E, F, a base station gNB 121, a V2X server 124, and Road Side Units (RSUs) 123a and 123b. In practice, the concepts presented herein may be applied to any number of WTRUs, base station gNBs, V2X networks, and / or other network elements. One or several or all WTRUs A, B, C, D, E, and F may be out of range of the access network coverage 131. WTRUs A, B, and C form a V2X group, among which WTRU A is the group lead and WTRUs B and C are group members.

[0134] WTRUs A, B, C, D, E, and F may communicate with each other over a Uu interface 129 via the gNB 121 if they are within the access network coverage 131. In the example of FIG. 6E. WTRUs B and F are shown within access network coverage 131. WTRUs A, B, C, D, E, and F may communicate with each other directly via a Sidelink interface (e.g., PC5 or NR PC5) such as interface 125a, 125b, or 128, whether they are underthe access network coverage 131 or out of the access network coverage 131. For instance, in the example of FIG. 6E, WRTU D, which is outside of the access network coverage 131, communicates with WTRU F, which is inside the coverage 131.

[0135] WTRUs A, B, C, D, E, and F may communicate with RSU 123a or 123b via a Vehicle-to-Network (V2N) 133 or Sidelink interface 125b. WTRUs A, B, C, D, E, and F may communicate to a V2X Server 124 via a Vehicle-to-Infrastructure (V2I) interface 127. WTRUs A. B, C, D, E, and F may communicate to another UE via a Vehicle-to-Person (V2P) interface 128.

[0136] FIG. 6F is a block diagram of an example apparatus or device WTRU 102 that may be configured for wireless communications and operations in accordance with the systems, methods, and apparatuses described herein, such as a WTRU 102 of FIG. 6A, 6B, 6C. 6D, or 6E. As shown in FIG. 6F, the example WTRU 102 may comprise a processor 118, a transceiver 120, a transmit / receive element 122, a speaker / microphone 124, a keypad 126, a display / touchpad / indicators 128, non-removable memory 130, removable memory 132, a power source 134, a global positioning system (GPS) chipset 136, and other peripherals 138. It may be appreciated that the WTRU 102 may comprise any sub-combination of the foregoing elements. Also, the base stations 114a and 114b, and / or the nodes that base stations 114a and 114b may represent, such as but not limited to transceiver station (BTS), a Node-B, a site controller, an access point (AP), a home node-B, an evolved home node-B (eNodeB), a home evolved node-B (HeNB), a home evolved node-B gateway, a next generation node-B (gNode-B), and proxy nodes, among others, may comprise some or all of the elements depicted in FIG. 6F and described herein.

[0137] The processor 118 may be a general purpose processor, a special purpose processor, a conventional processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in association with a DSP core, a controller, a microcontroller. Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGAs) circuits, any other type of integrated circuit (IC), a state machine, and the like. The processor 118 may perform signal coding, data processing, power control, input / output processing, and / or any other functionality’ that enables the WTRU 102 to operate in a wireless environment. The processor 118 may be coupled to the transceiver 120. which may be coupled to the transmi t / receive element 122. While FIG. 6F depicts the processor 118and the transceiver 120 as separate components, it may be appreciated that the processor 118 and the transceiver 120 may be integrated together in an electronic package or chip.

[0138] The transmit / receive element 122 of a UE may be configured to transmit signals to, or receive signals from, a base station (e.g., the base station 114a of FIG. 6A) over the air interface 115 / 116 / 117 or another UE over the air interface 11 d / l 16d / l 17d. For example, the transmit / receive element 122 may be an antenna configured to transmit and / or receive RF signals. The transmit / receive element 122 may be an emitter / detector configured to transmit and / or receive IR, UV. or visible light signals, for example. The transmit / receive element 122 may be configured to transmit and receive both RF and light signals. It may be appreciated that the transmit / receive element 122 may be configured to transmit and / or receive any combination of wireless or wired signals.

[0139] In addition, although the transmit / receive element 122 is depicted in FIG. 6F as a single element, the WTRU 102 may comprise any number of transmit / receive elements 122. More specifically, the WTRU 102 may employ MIMO technology7. Thus, the WTRU 102 may comprise two or more transmit / receive elements 122 (e.g., multiple antennas) for transmitting and receiving wireless signals over the air interface 115 / 116 / 117.

[0140] The transceiver 120 may be configured to modulate the signals that are to be transmitted by the transmit / receive element 122 and to demodulate the signals that are received by the transmit / receive element 122. As noted above, the WTRU 102 may have multi-mode capabilities. Thus, the transceiver 120 may comprise multiple transceivers for enabling the WTRU 102 to communicate via multiple RATs, for example NR and IEEE 802. 11 or NR and E-UTRA, or to communicate with the same RAT via multiple beams to different RRHs, TRPs, RSUs, or nodes.

[0141] The processor 118 of the WTRU 102 may be coupled to, and may receive user input data from, the speaker / microphone 124, the keypad 126, and / or the display / touchpad / indicators 128 (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD) display unit or organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display unit. The processor 118 may also output user data to the speaker / microphone 124, the keypad 126, and / or the display / touchpad / indicators 128. In addition, the processor 118 may access information from, and store data in. any type of suitable memory, such as the non-removable memory 130 and / or the removable memory 132. The non-removable memory 130 may comprise random-access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), a hard disk, or any other type of memory storage device. The removablememory 132 may comprise a subscriber identity module (SIM) card, a memory' stick, a secure digital (SD) memory card, and the like. The processor 118 may access information from, and store data in, memory that is not physically located on the WTRU 102. such as on a server that is hosted in the cloud or in an edge computing platform or in a home computer (not shown).

[0142] The processor 118 may receive power from the pow er source 134, and may be configured to distribute and / or control the power to the other components in the WTRU 102. The power source 134 may be any suitable device for powering the WTRU 102. For example, the power source 134 may comprise one or more dry cell batteries, solar cells, fuel cells, and the like.

[0143] The processor 118 may also be coupled to the GPS chipset 136, which may be configured to provide location information (e.g., longitude and latitude) regarding the current location of the WTRU 102. In addition to, or in lieu of, the information from the GPS chipset 136, the WTRU 102 may receive location information over the air interface 115 / 116 / 117 from a base station (e.g., base stations 114a, 114b) and / or determine its location based on the timing of the signals being received from two or more nearby base stations. It may be appreciated that the WTRU 102 may acquire location information by way of any suitable location-determination method.

[0144] The processor 118 may further be coupled to other peripherals 138, which may comprise one or more softw are and / or hardware modules that provide additional features, functionality, and / or wired or wireless connectivity. For example, the peripherals 138 may comprise various sensors such as an accelerometer, biometrics (e.g., finger print) sensors, an e-compass, a satellite transceiver, a digital camera (for photographs or video), a universal serial bus (USB) port or other interconnect interfaces, a vibration device, a television transceiver, a hands free headset, a Bluetooth® module, a frequency modulated (FM) radio unit, a digital music player, a media player, a video game player module, an Internet browser, and the like.

[0145] The WTRU 102 may be comprised in other apparatuses or devices, such as a sensor, consumer electronics, a wearable device such as a smart watch or smart clothing, a medical or eHealth device, a robot, industrial equipment, a drone, a vehicle such as a car, truck, train, or an airplane. The WTRU 102 may connect to other components, modules, orsystems of such apparatuses or devices via one or more interconnect interfaces, such as an interconnect interface that may comprise one of the peripherals 138.

[0146] FIG. 6G is a block diagram of an exemplary’ computing system 90 in which one or more apparatuses of the communications networks illustrated in FIGs. 6A, 6C, 6D and 6E may be embodied, such as certain nodes or functional entities in the RAN 103 / 104 / 105, Core Network 106 / 107 / 109, PSTN 108, Internet 110, Other Networks 112, or Network Services 113. Computing system 90 may comprise a computer or server and may be controlled primarily by computer readable instructions, which may be in the form of software, wherever, or by whatever means such software is stored or accessed. Such computer readable instructions may be executed within a processor 91, to cause computing system 90 to do work. The processor 91 may be a general purpose processor, a special purpose processor, a conventional processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in association with a DSP core, a controller, a microcontroller, Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGAs) circuits, any other type of integrated circuit (IC), a state machine, and the like. The processor 91 may perform signal coding, data processing, power control, input / output processing, and / or any other functionality that enables the computing system 90 to operate in a communications network. Coprocessor 81 is an optional processor, distinct from main processor 91, that may perform additional functions or assist processor 91. Processor 91 and / or coprocessor 81 may receive, generate, and process data related to the methods and apparatuses disclosed herein.

[0147] In operation, processor 91 fetches, decodes, and executes instructions, and transfers information to and from other resources via the computing system’s main data- transfer path, system bus 80. Such a system bus connects the components in computing system 90 and defines the medium for data exchange. System bus 80 typically comprises data lines for sending data, address lines for sending addresses, and control lines for sending interrupts and for operating the system bus. An example of such a system bus 80 is the PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) bus.

[0148] Memories coupled to system bus 80 comprise random access memory (RAM) 82 and read only memory (ROM) 93. Such memories comprise circuitry that allows information to be stored and retrieved. ROMs 93 generally contain stored data that may not easily be modified. Data stored in RAM 82 may be read or changed by processor 91 or otherhardware devices. Access to RAM 82 and / or ROM 93 may be controlled by memory' controller 92. Memory controller 92 may provide an address translation function that translates virtual addresses into physical addresses as instructions are executed. Memory controller 92 may also provide a memory protection function that isolates processes within the system and isolates system processes from user processes. Thus, a program running in a first mode may access only memory mapped by its own process virtual address space; it may not access memory within another process’s virtual address space unless memory’ sharing between the processes has been set up.

[0149] In addition, computing system 90 may contain peripherals controller 83 responsible for communicating instructions from processor 91 to peripherals, such as printer 94, keyboard 84, mouse 95, and disk drive 85.

[0150] Display 86, which is controlled by display controller 96, is used to display visual output generated by computing system 90. Such visual output may comprise text, graphics, animated graphics, and video. The visual output may be provided in the form of a graphical user interface (GUI). Display 86 may be implemented with a CRT-based video display, an LCD-based flat-panel display, gas plasma-based flat-panel display, or a touchpanel. Display controller 96 comprises electronic components required to generate a video signal that is sent to display 86.

[0151] Further, computing system 90 may contain communication circuitry’, such as for example a wireless or wired network adapter 97, that may be used to connect computing system 90 to an external communications network or devices, such as the RAN 103 / 104 / 105, Core Network 106 / 107 / 109, PSTN 108, Internet 110, WTRUs 102, or Other Networks 112 of FIGs. 6A, 6B, 6C, 6D, and 6E, to enable the computing system 90 to communicate w ith other nodes or functional entities of those netw orks. The communication circuitry, alone or in combination with the processor 91, may be used to perform the transmitting and receiving steps of certain apparatuses, nodes, or functional entities described herein.

[0152] It is understood that any or all of the apparatuses, systems, methods and processes described herein may be embodied in the form of computer executable instructions (e.g.. program code) stored on a computer-readable storage medium which instructions, when executed by one or more processors, such as processors 1 18 or 91, cause the one or more processors to perform and / or implement the systems, methods and processes describedherein. Specifically, any of the steps, operations, or functions described herein may be implemented in the form of such computer executable instructions, executing on the processor(s) of an apparatus or computing system configured for wireless and / or wired network communications. Computer readable storage media comprises volatile and nonvolatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any non-transitory (e.g., tangible or physical) method or technology for storage of information, but such computer readable storage media do not comprise signals. Computer readable storage media comprise, but are not limited to, RAM. ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD) or other optical disk storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other tangible or physical medium which may be used to store the desired information and which may be accessed by a computing system.Definitions

[0153] Provided below are definitions for abbreviations found within the body of the disclosure.

Claims

What is claimed:

1. A method performed by an extended reality (XR) application server, comprising: receiving, from an XR application client, a request for a digital avatar usage policy; sending, to the XR application client, a response to the request comprising at least a policy identifier; receiving, from a vertical application layer (VAL) server, a digital avatar access request; and sending, to the VAL server, a response to the digital avatar access request comprising information corresponding to a requested digital avatar.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising: monitoring one or more activation events corresponding to the requested digital avatar; and sending one or more indications to the VAL server for activating the requested digital avatar.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising: determining, based on the request for the digital avatar usage policy, the XR application client is authorized to provide the digital avatar usage policy, wherein the sending the response to the request is based on the determining.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the request for the digital avatar usage policy comprises a requester identifier and a digital avatar profile comprising a digital avatar identifier, an artificial intelligence / machine learning (AIML) model identifier. AIML model and model parameters, digital avatar download location information, parameters for an AIML model executable environment, digital avatar usage levels, an access usage time, authorization and usage policies, a connection endpoint, an owner presence indicator, one or more spatial conditions, a permitted usage level, one or more temporal conditions, an expiration time, one or more AIML activation events, one or more time-based events, one or more conditions-based events, a synchronization policy, or a combination thereof.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the digital avatar access request comprises a requestor identifier, an authorization identifier, a digital avatar identifier, a device type, a location, a requested access time for the requested digital avatar, a multi-modal data use indicator, or a combination thereof.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the device ty pe indicates a capability of a corresponding device to render the digital avatar.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the information corresponding to the requested digital avatar comprises a digital avatar identifier, an artificial intelligence / machine learning (AIML) model identifier, an AIML model and model parameters, parameters for an executable environment, a uniform resource locator (URL) of the digital avatar, or a combination thereof.

8. An extended reality' (XR) server, comprising: one or more processors; memory; and a set of computer-executable instructions stored in the memory that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause: receiving, from an XR application client, a request for a digital avatar usage policy; sending, to the XR application client, a response to the request comprising at least a policy identifier; receiving, from a vertical application layer (VAL) server, a digital avatar access request; and sending, to the VAL server, a response to the digital avatar access request comprising information corresponding to a requested digital avatar.

9. The XR server of claim 8, wherein the set of computer-executable instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause: monitoring one or more activation events corresponding to the requested digital avatar; andsending one or more indications to the VAL server for activating the requested digital avatar.

10. The XR server of claim 8, wherein the set of computer-executable instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause:: determining, based on the request for the digital avatar usage policy, the XR application client is authorized to provide the digital avatar usage policy, wherein the sending the response to the request is based on the determining.

11. The XR server of claim 8, wherein the request for the digital avatar usage policy comprises a requester identifier and a digital avatar profile comprising a digital avatar identifier, an artificial intelligence / machine learning (AIML) model identifier. AIML model and model parameters, digital avatar download location information, parameters for an AIML model executable environment, digital avatar usage levels, an access usage time, authorization and usage policies, a connection endpoint, an owner presence indicator, one or more spatial conditions, a permitted usage level, one or more temporal conditions, an expiration time, one or more AIML activation events, one or more time-based events, one or more conditions-based events, a synchronization policy, or a combination thereof.

12. The XR server of claim 8, wherein the digital avatar access request comprises a requestor identifier, an authorization identifier, a digital avatar identifier, a device type, a location, a requested access time for the requested digital avatar, a multi-modal data use indicator, or a combination thereof.

13. The XR server of claim 12, wherein the device type indicates a capability of a corresponding device to render the digital avatar.

14. The XR server of claim 8, wherein the information corresponding to the requested digital avatar comprises a digital avatar identifier, an artificial intelligence / machine learning (AIML) model identifier, an AIML model and model parameters, parameters for an executable environment, a uniform resource locator (URL) of the digital avatar, or a combination thereof.

15. A non-transitory, computer-readable medium comprising a set of computerexecutable instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause: receiving, from an extended reality (XR) application client, a request for a digital avatar usage policy; sending, to the XR application client, a response to the request comprising at least a policy identifier; receiving, from a vertical application layer (VAL) server, a digital avatar access request; and sending, to the VAL server, a response to the digital avatar access request comprising information corresponding to a requested digital avatar.

16. The non-transitory, computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the set of computer-executable instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause: monitoring one or more activation events corresponding to the requested digital avatar; and sending one or more indications to the VAL server for activating the requested digital avatar.

17. The non-transitory. computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the set of computer-executable instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause:: determining, based on the request for the digital avatar usage policy, the XR application client is authorized to provide the digital avatar usage policy, wherein the sending the response to the request is based on the determining.

18. The non-transitory, computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the request for the digital avatar usage policy comprises a requester identifier and a digital avatar profile comprising a digital avatar identifier, an artificial intelligence / machine learning (AIML) model identifier, AIML model and model parameters, digital avatar download location information, parameters for an AIML model executable environment, digital avatar usagelevels, an access usage time, authorization and usage policies, a connection endpoint, an owner presence indicator, one or more spatial conditions, a permitted usage level, one or more temporal conditions, an expiration time, one or more AIML activation events, one or more time-based events, one or more conditions-based events, a synchronization policy, or a combination thereof.

19. The non-transitory. computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the digital avatar access request comprises a requestor identifier, an authorization identifier, a digital avatar identifier, a device type, a location, a requested access time for the requested digital avatar, a multi-modal data use indicator, or a combination thereof.

20. The non-transitory. computer-readable medium of claim 19, wherein the device type indicates a capability of a corresponding device to render the digital avatar.

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