Communication method and communication apparatus

Abstract

Provided in the present application are a communication method and a communication apparatus. In the present application, a first apparatus may send first indication information to a second apparatus, the first indication information being used for indicating storage of a channel measurement result corresponding to a first CSI report, thus helping the first apparatus and the second apparatus to align channel measurement results stored in the first apparatus with a CSI report to which the results specifically correspond, and further helping the first apparatus to perform model monitoring. For example, when determining that the first apparatus stores the channel measurement result corresponding to the first CSI report, the second apparatus may send to the first apparatus first reconstructed CSI determined on the basis of the first CSI report, such that the first apparatus implements model monitoring by comparing the channel measurement results corresponding to the first reconstructed CSI and the first CSI report.

Description

Communication method and communication apparatus

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese Patent Application No. 202410993794.X, filed on July 23, 2024, and entitled "Communication method and communication apparatus", the content of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The present application relates to the field of communication, and more particularly, to a communication method and a communication apparatus. BACKGROUND

[0003] When artificial intelligence (AI) is applied to a communication link, the performance of the communication link is closely related to the performance of the AI model. Before the model is monitored and run, the performance of the AI model is judged by observing its performance on a pre-provided (i.e., not collected in a real environment) data set. After completing the training based on the static data set (i.e., training data), the AI model is put into a constantly changing real scene to perform an inference task. This difference between the static data set in the training process and the dynamically changing data in actual use causes the performance of the AI model to possibly decrease over time, which requires model monitoring work to be carried out on the running AI model. SUMMARY

[0004] The present application provides a communication method and a communication apparatus, which are beneficial to implement model monitoring.

[0005] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided. The method comprises: receiving first indication information, the first indication information being used to indicate storage of channel measurement results corresponding to a first channel state information (CSI) report, the channel measurement results corresponding to the first CSI report being used for model monitoring.

[0006] The method can be performed by a first device, which can be a device on a first AI model side or a chip or circuit of the device on the first AI model side. The device on the first AI model side can be replaced by a device on a terminal device side or a device on a network device side. The terminal device side can include at least one of a terminal device or an AI entity on the terminal device side. The AI entity on the terminal device side can be the terminal device itself or an AI entity serving the terminal device, for example, a server such as an over the top (OTT) server or a cloud server. The network device side can include at least one of a network device or an AI entity on the network device side. The AI entity on the network device side can be the network device itself or an AI entity serving the network device, for example, a radio access network (RAN) intelligent controller (RIC), an operation administration and maintenance (OAM), or a server such as an OTT server or a cloud server.

[0007] The first AI model is a self-encoding model. The self-encoding model can further include a second AI model.

[0008] The first AI model, such as an AI model on a terminal device side, can be used for generation of a CSI report.

[0009] The first CSI report can be replaced by a first channel report, or first CSI feedback information, or first CSI compression information, etc.

[0010] It should be understood that after the first device receives the first indication information, the first device can determine, according to the first indication information, a storage state of a channel measurement result corresponding to the first CSI report, or determine, according to the first indication information, a to-be-stored state of the channel measurement result corresponding to the first CSI report, or determine, according to the first indication information, that the channel measurement result corresponding to the first CSI report is to be stored, or determine, according to the first indication information, that the channel measurement result corresponding to the first CSI report is to be stored.

[0011] Based on the above technical solution, the second device can send the first indication information to the first device to instruct the first device to store the channel measurement result corresponding to the first CSI report, so that the first device and the second device can align the specific CSI report to which the channel measurement result stored by the first device corresponds.

[0012] The first device and the second device can align the case that the channel measurement result stored by the first device corresponds to which CSI report, and facilitate the first device to perform model monitoring. For example, the second device determines that the first device stores the channel measurement result corresponding to the first CSI report, and can send the first reconstructed CSI determined according to the first CSI report to the first device, so that the first device realizes model monitoring by comparing the first reconstructed CSI and the channel measurement result corresponding to the first CSI report. For another example, the first device determines that the first device stores the channel measurement result corresponding to the first CSI report according to the first indication information, and can determine that the received first reconstructed CSI is determined by the second device according to the first CSI report, so that the first device can determine to compare the first reconstructed CSI with the channel measurement result corresponding to the first CSI report to achieve the purpose of model monitoring.

[0013] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the first indication information includes a first identifier, and the first identifier is used to identify the first CSI report.

[0014] For example, the first identifier includes one or more of the following: an identity (ID) of the first CSI report, an ID of a CSI report configuration used to configure the first CSI report, an ID of a resource used to transmit the first CSI report, an ID of a resource set in which the resource used to transmit the first CSI report is located, an ID of a resource used to transmit a first reference signal, or an ID of a resource set in which the resource used to transmit the first reference signal is located. The first reference signal is used to determine the channel measurement result corresponding to the first CSI report.

[0015] Based on the above technical solution, the first device can determine that the first indication information is used to indicate to store the channel measurement result corresponding to the first CSI report according to the first identifier.

[0016] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the method further includes: sending the first CSI report, the first CSI report being determined according to the channel measurement result corresponding to the first CSI report; storing the channel measurement result corresponding to the first CSI report; receiving a first reconstructed CSI, the first reconstructed CSI being related to the first CSI report; and performing model monitoring according to the first reconstructed CSI and the channel measurement result corresponding to the first CSI report.

[0017] Based on the above technical solution, the first CSI report is obtained by compressing the channel measurement result corresponding to the first CSI report, and the first reconstructed CSI is obtained by decompressing the first CSI report. If the first reconstructed CSI is closer to the channel measurement result corresponding to the first CSI report, it indicates that the performance of the model used for compression and / or decompression is better. If the difference between the first reconstructed CSI and the channel measurement result corresponding to the first CSI report is larger, it indicates that the performance of the model used for compression and / or decompression is worse. Therefore, the first device can perform model monitoring by comparing the first reconstructed CSI and the channel measurement result corresponding to the first CSI report.

[0018] In a possible implementation, the first reconstructed CSI is received, including: receiving the first reconstructed CSI and the first identifier.

[0019] Based on the above technical solution, if the first device stores multiple channel measurement results, the first device can determine that the first reconstructed CSI is associated with the first CSI report represented by the first identifier according to the first identifier, and then the first device can determine to perform model monitoring by comparing the first reconstructed CSI and the channel measurement result corresponding to the first CSI report.

[0020] In a possible implementation, the first reconstructed CSI is received, including: receiving multiple reconstructed CSIs, the multiple reconstructed CSIs including the first reconstructed CSI, the stored multiple channel measurement results including the channel measurement result corresponding to the first CSI report, and the arrangement order or the receiving order of the first reconstructed CSI in the multiple reconstructed CSIs being the same as the acquisition order of the channel measurement result corresponding to the first CSI report in the stored multiple channel measurement results. For example, if the first reconstructed CSI is arranged first in the multiple reconstructed CSIs, the channel measurement result corresponding to the first CSI report is the first acquired channel measurement result in the stored multiple channel measurement results. Alternatively, if the first reconstructed CSI is received second in the multiple reconstructed CSIs, the channel measurement result corresponding to the first CSI report is the second acquired channel measurement result in the stored multiple channel measurement results.

[0021] Based on the above technical solution, if the first device stores multiple channel measurement results, the first device can determine to perform model monitoring by comparing the first reconstructed CSI and the channel measurement result corresponding to the first CSI report according to the arrangement order or the receiving order of the first reconstructed CSI, and according to the acquisition order of the stored multiple channel measurement results.

[0022] In some implementations of the first aspect, the method further includes: if all contents of the first CSI report are not transmitted, not storing the channel measurement result corresponding to the first CSI report, the first CSI report being determined according to the channel measurement result corresponding to the first CSI report. Alternatively, if all contents of the first CSI report are not transmitted, determining not to store the channel measurement result corresponding to the first CSI report, the first CSI report being determined according to the channel measurement result corresponding to the first CSI report.

[0023] For example, if one or more of the following conditions are met, the channel measurement result corresponding to the first CSI report is not stored: the resource for transmitting the first CSI report overlaps with the resource for transmitting the HARQ report in the time domain; the resource for transmitting the first CSI report overlaps with the resource for transmitting the scheduling request report in the time domain; the priority of the first channel is lower than the priority of the second channel, the second channel overlaps with the first channel in the time domain, the first channel is used to carry the first CSI report, and the second channel is used to carry the uplink information; the channel for carrying the first CSI report conflicts with the downlink symbol or the flexible symbol configured or indicated by the network device; the processing resource available for calculation is insufficient to generate all contents of the first CSI report; the time unit for reporting the first CSI report configured or indicated by the network device does not meet the time requirement for calculating all contents of the first CSI report; the time unit corresponding to the uplink data channel for carrying the first CSI report configured or indicated by the network device does not meet the time requirement for calculating all contents of the first CSI report; or the transmission resource for carrying the first CSI report configured or indicated by the network device is insufficient to carry all contents of the first CSI report.

[0024] Based on the above technical solution, if the first device determines that it cannot transmit all contents of the first CSI report, the first device does not store the channel measurement result corresponding to the first CSI report, thereby avoiding the first device comparing other reconstructed CSI different from the first reconstructed CSI with the channel measurement result corresponding to the first CSI report during the model monitoring process, or the first device determining which channel measurement result among the received reconstructed CSI and the stored channel measurement result to compare.

[0025] In addition, in the case where all contents of the first CSI report are not transmitted, since the first device will no longer use the channel measurement result corresponding to the first CSI report for model monitoring, the first device timely clears the channel measurement result corresponding to the first CSI report, which can avoid useless channel measurement results occupying the memory.

[0026] In some implementations of the first aspect, the method further includes: sending the first CSI report, the first CSI report being determined according to a channel measurement result corresponding to the first CSI report; storing the channel measurement result corresponding to the first CSI report; and receiving second indication information, the second indication information being used to indicate to clear the channel measurement result corresponding to the first CSI report.

[0027] In a possible implementation, the second indication information includes a first identifier.

[0028] Based on the above technical solution, if the second device determines that the first CSI report is lost, the second device can instruct the first device to clear the channel measurement result corresponding to the first CSI report, thereby avoiding the first device comparing other reconstructed CSI different from the first reconstructed CSI with the channel measurement result corresponding to the first CSI report in the process of model monitoring, or the first device not determining which channel measurement result in the stored channel measurement results to compare with the received reconstructed CSI.

[0029] In addition, in the case of the first CSI report being lost, since the first device will no longer use the channel measurement result corresponding to the first CSI report for model monitoring, the second device instructing the first device to clear the channel measurement result corresponding to the first CSI report in time can avoid useless channel measurement results occupying the memory.

[0030] In some implementations of the first aspect, the method further includes: if the number of the stored channel measurement results is equal to M, clearing at least one channel measurement result stored first among the M stored channel measurement results, M being a maximum number of stored channel measurement results supported, M being a positive integer; or a storage time of the at least one stored channel measurement result being equal to a maximum storage time, clearing the at least one channel measurement result.

[0031] Based on the above technical solution, if the number of the stored channel measurement results reaches the maximum number, and / or the storage time reaches the maximum storage time, the first device can clear one or more stored channel measurement results in a predefined or preconfigured manner, thereby aligning the first device and the second device on which specific channel measurement results are stored by the first device.

[0032] In some implementations of the first aspect, the method further includes: receiving third indication information, the third indication information being used to indicate to clear at least one channel measurement result among the stored channel measurement results.

[0033] In a possible implementation, the third indication information can include an identifier used to identify a CSI report corresponding to the at least one channel measurement result indicated to be cleared.

[0034] Based on the above technical solution, if the number of stored channel measurement results reaches the maximum number, and / or the storage time reaches the maximum storage time, the second device can instruct the first device to clear one or more stored channel measurement results, thereby aligning the first device and the second device on which specific channel measurement results are stored by the first device.

[0035] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the method further includes: sending capability information, the capability information being used to indicate the maximum storage time and / or the maximum storage space, and the capability information being used for determination of the maximum number of stored channel measurement results.

[0036] Based on the above technical solution, the second device can determine the maximum number of stored channel measurement results supported by the first device according to the capability information.

[0037] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the method further includes: receiving fourth indication information, the fourth indication information being used to indicate the maximum number of stored channel measurement results.

[0038] Based on the above technical solution, after the second device determines the maximum number of stored channel measurement results supported by the first device according to the capability information, the second device can indicate the maximum number of stored channel measurement results to the first device through the fourth indication information, thereby aligning the first device and the second device on the maximum number of stored channel measurement results supported by the first device.

[0039] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the method further includes: sending fifth indication information, the fifth indication information being used to indicate the maximum number of stored channel measurement results.

[0040] Based on the above technical solution, after the first device determines the maximum number of stored channel measurement results supported by the first device according to the capability information, the first device can indicate the maximum number of stored channel measurement results supported by the first device to the second device through the fifth indication information, thereby aligning the first device and the second device on the maximum number of stored channel measurement results supported by the first device.

[0041] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the first indication information is carried in downlink control information (DCI) and / or high-layer signaling, and the high-layer signaling includes radio resource control signaling or medium access control control element signaling.

[0042] Exemplarily, the DCI is any one of the following: the DCI is further used to trigger the first CSI report, the first CSI report belongs to an aperiodic CSI report or a semi-static CSI report; the DCI is used to schedule or configure an uplink shared channel, the uplink shared channel is not used to transmit a CSI report; the DCI is further used to trigger a first reference signal, the first reference signal is used for determination of a channel measurement result corresponding to the first CSI report, the first reference signal is an aperiodic reference signal or a semi-static reference signal; or the DCI is further used to carry first indication information of another terminal device.

[0043] Exemplarily, the high-layer signaling is any one of the following: the high-layer signaling is further used to trigger a first reference signal, the first reference signal is used for determination of a channel measurement result corresponding to the first CSI report, the first reference signal is an aperiodic reference signal or a semi-static reference signal; or the high-layer signaling is further used to carry first indication information of another terminal device.

[0044] In a second aspect, a communication method is provided, including: sending first indication information, the first indication information being used to indicate storage of a channel measurement result corresponding to a first CSI report, the channel measurement result corresponding to the first CSI report being used for model monitoring.

[0045] The method can be performed by a second device, which can be a device on a second AI model side, or a chip or circuit for a device on the second AI model side. The device on the second AI model side can be replaced by a device on a terminal device side or a device on a network device side. The description of the device on the terminal device side or the device on the network device side can be referred to the foregoing description of the device on the first AI model side, and will not be repeated here.

[0046] The second AI model is a self-encoding model. The self-encoding model can further include the first AI model.

[0047] The second AI model is an AI model matched with the first AI model, which can be an AI model on a network device side and can be used for recovery of channel information corresponding to a channel report.

[0048] The beneficial effects of the second aspect can be referred to the foregoing description of the first aspect.

[0049] With reference to the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the first indication information includes a first identifier, the first identifier being used to identify the first CSI report.

[0050] With reference to the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the method further includes: receiving the first CSI report, the first CSI report being determined according to a channel measurement result corresponding to the first CSI report; and transmitting first reconstructed CSI, the first reconstructed CSI being determined according to the first CSI report, the first reconstructed CSI being used for model monitoring.

[0051] In a possible implementation, the transmitting the first reconstructed CSI includes: transmitting the first reconstructed CSI and the first identifier.

[0052] With reference to the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the method further includes: not receiving the first CSI report, and transmitting second indication information, the second indication information being used for indicating to clear the channel measurement result corresponding to the first CSI report.

[0053] In a possible implementation, the second indication information includes the first identifier.

[0054] With reference to the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the method further includes: transmitting third indication information, the third indication information being used for indicating to clear at least one channel measurement result from the stored channel measurement results.

[0055] In a possible implementation, the third indication information can include an identifier used for identifying a CSI report corresponding to the at least one channel measurement result indicated to be cleared.

[0056] With reference to the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the method further includes: transmitting fourth indication information, the fourth indication information being used for indicating a maximum number of the stored channel measurement results.

[0057] With reference to the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the method further includes: receiving capability information, the capability information being used for indicating a maximum storage time and / or a maximum storage space, the capability information being used for determining the maximum number of the stored channel measurement results.

[0058] With reference to the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the method further includes: receiving fifth indication information, the fifth indication information being used for indicating the maximum number of the stored channel measurement results.

[0059] With reference to the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the first indication information is carried in DCI and / or high-layer signaling, the high-layer signaling including radio resource control signaling or medium access control control element signaling.

[0060] Exemplarily, the DCI is any of the following: the DCI is further used to trigger the first CSI report, the first CSI report being aperiodic CSI report or semi-static CSI report; the DCI is used to schedule or configure an uplink shared channel, the uplink shared channel not being used to transmit the CSI report; the DCI is further used to trigger a first reference signal, the first reference signal being used for determination of a channel measurement result corresponding to the first CSI report, the first reference signal being aperiodic reference signal or semi-static reference signal; or the DCI is further used to carry first indication information of other terminal devices.

[0061] Exemplarily, the high-layer signaling is any of the following: the high-layer signaling is further used to trigger a first reference signal, the first reference signal being used for determination of a channel measurement result corresponding to the first CSI report, the first reference signal being aperiodic reference signal or semi-static reference signal; or the high-layer signaling is further used to carry first indication information of other terminal devices.

[0062] In a third aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, which can be the first apparatus, or a device or module for performing functions of the first apparatus.

[0063] In a possible implementation, the communication apparatus can include modules or units corresponding to the methods / operations / steps / actions described in the first aspect, which can be hardware circuits, software, or a combination of hardware circuits and software.

[0064] The first apparatus described above can be a terminal device or a terminal device-side AI entity, or a network device or a network device-side AI entity, which is not limited.

[0065] In a fourth aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, which can be the second apparatus, or a device or module for performing functions of the second apparatus.

[0066] In a possible implementation, the communication apparatus can include modules or units corresponding to the methods / operations / steps / actions described in the second aspect, which can be hardware circuits, software, or a combination of hardware circuits and software.

[0067] The second apparatus described above can be a network device or a network device-side AI entity, or a terminal device or a terminal device-side AI entity.

[0068] In a fifth aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, which comprises at least one processor configured to execute computer programs or instructions to perform the method in the first aspect and any possible implementation of the first aspect, or to perform the method in the second aspect and any possible implementation of the second aspect. Optionally, the apparatus further comprises a memory configured to store the computer programs or instructions. Optionally, the apparatus further comprises a communication interface through which the processor reads the computer programs or instructions.

[0069] In an implementation form, the apparatus is a communication device, such as a terminal device or a network device.

[0070] In another implementation form, the apparatus is a chip, chip system or circuit for a communication device, such as a terminal device or a network device.

[0071] In a sixth aspect, a processor is provided, which is configured to perform the method in the first aspect, or to perform the method in the second aspect.

[0072] For the sending and obtaining / receiving operations involved in the processor, if no special description is made, or if it is not contrary to the actual role or inherent logic in the related description, it can be understood as the processor output and receive, input operations, and can also be understood as the sending and receiving operations performed by the radio frequency circuit and the antenna, and the present application does not limit this.

[0073] Optionally, the apparatus further comprises a memory configured to store programs; and the at least one processor is configured to execute the computer programs or instructions in the memory.

[0074] Optionally, the apparatus further comprises a communication interface. The communication interface is coupled with the processor, and can be used to input information to the processor, or output information in the processor.

[0075] In a seventh aspect, a computer readable storage medium is provided, which stores program codes for an apparatus to execute, and the program codes comprise codes for performing the method in the first aspect and any possible implementation of the first aspect, or the program codes comprise codes for performing the method in the second aspect and any possible implementation of the second aspect.

[0076] In an eighth aspect, a computer program product is provided, which comprises instructions, and when the computer program product runs on a computer, causes the computer to perform the method in the first aspect and any possible implementation of the first aspect, or causes the computer to perform the method in the second aspect and any possible implementation of the second aspect.

[0077] In a ninth aspect, a chip is provided, which includes a processing circuit and a communication interface, the processing circuit reads instructions on a memory through the communication interface, and executes the method provided in the first aspect and any implementation manner of the first aspect, or executes the method provided in the second aspect and any implementation manner of the second aspect.

[0078] Optionally, the processing circuit is one or more processors, or all or part of a circuit for control or processing included in the one or more processors.

[0079] Optionally, as an implementation manner, the chip further includes a memory, the memory stores a computer program or instructions, and the processor is configured to execute the computer program or instructions on the memory, and when the computer program or instructions are executed, the processor is configured to execute the method provided in the first aspect and any implementation manner of the first aspect, or execute the method provided in the second aspect and any implementation manner of the second aspect.

[0080] In a tenth aspect, a communication system is provided, which includes a first device and / or a second device, the first device is configured to implement the method provided in the first aspect and any possible implementation manner of the first aspect, and the second device is configured to implement the method provided in the second aspect and any possible implementation manner of the second aspect.

[0081] It should be understood that the beneficial effects of the second aspect to the tenth aspect and any implementation manner thereof can refer to the first aspect and any implementation manner thereof. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0082] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a possible application framework in a communication system.

[0083] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a possible application framework in a communication system.

[0084] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a communication system suitable for the communication method of the embodiments of the present application.

[0085] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a communication system suitable for the communication method of the embodiments of the present application.

[0086] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a neuron structure.

[0087] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of the relationship 600 between an encoder and a decoder.

[0088] FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a configuration type 700 of the embodiments of the present application.

[0089] FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a communication method 800 provided by the embodiments of the present application.

[0090] FIG. 9 shows a format of DCI and high layer signaling according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0091] FIG. 10 shows a schematic diagram of a method of model monitoring.

[0092] FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of a communication method 1100 according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0093] FIG. 12 shows a timeline schematic diagram of the communication method 1100.

[0094] FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of a communication method 1300 according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0095] FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram of a communication apparatus 2000 according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0096] FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram of another communication apparatus 3000 according to an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0097] The technical solutions in the present application will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[0098] The technical solutions provided in the present application can be applied to various communication systems, such as a 5th generation (5G) or new radio (NR) system, a long term evolution (LTE) system, an LTE frequency division duplex (FDD) system, an LTE time division duplex (TDD) system, a wireless local area network (WLAN) system, a satellite communication system, a future communication system, or a fusion system of multiple systems, etc. The technical solutions provided in the present application can also be applied to device to device (D2D) communication, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, machine to machine (M2M) communication, machine type communication (MTC), and internet of things (IoT) communication system or other communication systems.

[0099] A device in a communication system can send or receive signals to or from another device. The signals can comprise information, signaling or data, etc. The device can also be replaced by an entity, network entity, communication device, mobile device, network element, communication module, node, communication node, communication apparatus, etc. The device is taken as an example for description in the disclosure. For example, the communication system can comprise at least one terminal device and at least one network device. The network device can send downlink signals to the terminal device, and / or the terminal device can send uplink signals to the network device.

[0100] In the embodiments of the present application, the terminal device can also be referred to as a user equipment (UE), an access terminal, a user unit, a user station, a mobile station, a mobile station, a remote station, a remote terminal, a mobile device, a user terminal, a terminal, a wireless communication device, a user agent or a user apparatus.

[0101] The terminal device can be a device providing voice / data, such as a handheld device with wireless connection function, a vehicle-mounted device, etc. At present, some examples of the terminal are: a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a notebook computer, a palm computer, a mobile internet device (MID), a wearable device, a virtual reality (VR) device, an augmented reality (AR) device, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in self driving, a wireless terminal in remote medical surgery, a wireless terminal in smart grid, a wireless terminal in transportation safety, a wireless terminal in smart city, a wireless terminal in smart home, a cellular phone, a cordless phone, a session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a handheld device with wireless communication function, a computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, a wearable device, a terminal device in a 5G network, or a terminal device in a future evolved public land mobile network (PLMN), etc. The embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto.

[0102] By way of example and not limitation, in embodiments of the present application, the terminal device can also be a wearable device. The wearable device can also be referred to as a wearable smart device, which is a general term for devices that are designed and developed by applying wearable technology to daily wear, such as glasses, gloves, watches, clothing, and shoes. The wearable device is a portable device that is directly worn on the body or integrated into the clothes or accessories of the user. The wearable device is not only a hardware device, but also has strong functions through software support and data interaction and cloud interaction. The general wearable smart device includes a full function, a large size, and can realize complete or partial functions without relying on a smart phone, such as a smart watch or smart glasses, and focuses on a certain application function and needs to be used in cooperation with other devices, such as a smart phone, such as various smart wristbands and smart jewelry for monitoring vital signs.

[0103] In embodiments of the present application, the device for implementing the function of the terminal device can be a terminal device, or a device capable of supporting the terminal device to implement the function, such as a chip system, which can be installed in the terminal device or used in matching with the terminal device. In embodiments of the present application, the chip system can be composed of a chip, or can include a chip and other discrete devices. In embodiments of the present application, only the device for implementing the function of the terminal device is taken as an example for description, and the present application is not limited to the scheme.

[0104] The network device in the embodiments of the present application can include a device for communicating with a terminal device. For example, the network device can include an access network device or a radio access network device, such as a base station (BS). The radio access network device in the embodiments of the present application can refer to a radio access network (RAN) node (or device) that accesses a terminal device to a wireless network. The base station can broadly cover various names in the following or be replaced by the following names, such as: Node B (NodeB), evolved Node B (eNB), next generation Node B (gNB), relay station, access point, transmitting and receiving point (TRP), transmitting point (TP), primary station, secondary station, motor slide retainer (MSR) node, home base station, network controller, access node, wireless node, access point (AP), transmission node, transceiver node, baseband unit (BBU), remote radio unit (RRU), active antenna unit (AAU), remote radio head (RRH), central unit (CU), distributed unit (DU), radio unit (RU), positioning node, etc. The base station can be a macro base station, a micro base station, a relay node, a donor node, or the like, or a combination thereof. The base station can also refer to a communication module, modem, or chip used in the aforementioned device or apparatus. The base station can also be a mobile switching center and a device that performs a base station function in D2D, V2X, M2M communication, a device that performs a base station function in a future communication system, etc. The base station can support networks of the same or different access technologies. Alternatively, the RAN node can also be a server, a wearable device, a vehicle or a vehicle-mounted device, etc. For example, the access network device in the vehicle to everything (V2X) technology can be a road side unit (RSU). The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form of the network device.

[0105] A base station can be fixed, or mobile. For example, a helicopter or unmanned aerial vehicle can be configured to function as a mobile base station, one or more cells can move according to the location of the mobile base station. In other examples, a helicopter or unmanned aerial vehicle can be configured to function as a device that communicates with another base station.

[0106] In some deployments, the network device mentioned in the embodiments of the present application can be a device including a CU, or a DU, or a device including a CU and a DU, or a control plane CU node (central unit-control plane (CU-CP)) and a user plane CU node (central unit-user plane (CU-UP)) and a DU node. For example, the network device can include a gNB-CU-CP, a gNB-CU-UP and a gNB-DU.

[0107] In some deployments, a plurality of RAN nodes cooperate to assist a terminal to implement wireless access, and different RAN nodes respectively implement part of the functions of a base station. For example, the RAN node can be a CU, a DU, a CU-CP, a CU-UP, or an RU, etc. The CU and the DU can be separately arranged, or can also be included in the same network element, for example, in a BBU. The RU can be included in a radio frequency device or a radio frequency unit, for example, included in an RRU, an AAU or an RRH.

[0108] The RAN node can support one or more types of fronthaul interfaces, different fronthaul interfaces respectively corresponding to DUs and RUs having different functions. If the fronthaul interface between the DU and the RU is a common public radio interface (CPRI), the DU is configured to implement one or more of baseband functions, and the RU is configured to implement one or more of radio frequency functions. If the fronthaul interface between the DU and the RU is another interface, which, relative to the CPRI, moves one or more of partial baseband functions of the downlink and / or uplink, such as, for the downlink, one or more of precoding, digital beamforming (BF), or inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) / add cyclic prefix (CP), from the DU to the RU for implementation, and for the uplink, one or more of digital beamforming (BF), or fast Fourier transform (FFT) / remove cyclic prefix (CP), from the DU to the RU for implementation. In a possible implementation, the interface can be an enhanced common public radio interface (eCPRI). Under the eCPRI architecture, the splitting manner between the DU and the RU is different, corresponding to different categories (Cat) of eCPRI, such as eCPRI Cat A, B, C, D, E, and F.

[0109] Taking eCPRI Cat A as an example, for downlink transmission, with layer mapping as the cut, the DU is configured to implement layer mapping and one or more functions (i.e., one or more of encoding, rate matching, scrambling, modulation, layer mapping) before layer mapping, while other functions (e.g., one or more of RE mapping, digital beamforming (BF), or inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) / addition of cyclic prefix (CP)) after layer mapping are implemented in the RU. For uplink transmission, with de-RE mapping as the cut, the DU is configured to implement de-mapping and one or more functions (i.e., one or more of decoding, de-rate matching, de-scrambling, de-modulation, inverse discrete Fourier transform (IDFT), channel equalization, de-RE mapping) before de-mapping, while other functions (e.g., one or more of digital BF or fast Fourier transform (FFT) / CP removal) after de-mapping are implemented in the RU. It can be understood that the function description of the DU and the RU corresponding to various types of eCPRI can refer to the eCPRI protocol, which is not described here.

[0110] In a possible design, the processing unit in the BBU for implementing baseband functions is referred to as a base band high (BBH) unit, and the processing unit in the RRU / AAU / RRH for implementing baseband functions is referred to as a base band low (BBL) unit.

[0111] In different systems, the CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU or RU can also have different names, but those skilled in the art can understand their meanings. For example, in an open RAN (ORAN) system, the CU can also be referred to as an O-CU (open CU), the DU can also be referred to as an O-DU, the CU-CP can also be referred to as an O-CU-CP, the CU-UP can also be referred to as an O-CU-UP, and the RU can also be referred to as an O-RU. Any of the CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU and RU in this application can be implemented by a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module.

[0112] In the embodiments of the present application, the apparatus for implementing the function of the network device can be a network device, or an apparatus capable of supporting the network device to implement the function, such as a chip system, a hardware circuit, a software module, or a hardware circuit plus a software module. The apparatus can be installed in the network device or used in combination with the network device. In the embodiments of the present application, only the apparatus for implementing the function of the network device is taken as an example for illustration, and the scheme of the embodiments of the present application is not limited in this way.

[0113] The network device and / or the terminal device can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; can also be deployed on water; and can also be deployed on airplanes, balloons and satellites in the air. The scenarios in which the network device and the terminal device are located are not limited in the embodiments of the present application. In addition, the terminal device and the network device can be hardware devices, or software functions running on special hardware, software functions running on general hardware, such as virtualized functions instantiated on a platform (for example, a cloud platform), or entities including special or general hardware devices and software functions. The specific forms of the terminal device and the network device are not limited in the present application.

[0114] In a wireless communication network, for example, in a mobile communication network, the services supported by the network are increasingly diverse, and therefore the needs to be met are increasingly diverse. For example, the network needs to be able to support ultra-high rates, ultra-low latencies, and / or ultra-large connections. This feature makes network planning, network configuration, and / or resource scheduling increasingly complex. In addition, as the functions of the network become increasingly powerful, for example, supporting increasingly high frequency spectrums, supporting high-order multiple input multiple output (MIMO) technology, supporting beamforming, and / or supporting new technologies such as beam management, network energy saving has become a hot research topic. These new needs, new scenarios and new features bring unprecedented challenges to network planning, operation and efficient operation. In order to meet this challenge, artificial intelligence technology can be introduced into the wireless communication network, thereby realizing network intelligentization.

[0115] In order to support artificial intelligence (AI) technology in the wireless network, an AI node can also be introduced into the network.

[0116] Optionally, the AI node can be deployed in one or more of the following positions in the communication system: an access network device, a terminal device, or a core network device, etc., or the AI node can also be deployed separately, for example, deployed in a position other than any of the above devices, such as a host or a cloud server of an over the top (OTT) system. The AI node can communicate with other devices in the communication system, which can be one or more of the following: a wireless access network device, a terminal device, or a network element of a core network, etc.

[0117] It can be understood that the present application does not limit the number of AI nodes. For example, when there are multiple AI nodes, the multiple AI nodes can be divided based on functions, such as different AI nodes being responsible for different functions.

[0118] It can also be understood that the AI node can be a separate device, can be integrated into the same device to implement different functions, or can be a network element in a hardware device, or a software function running on a dedicated hardware, or a virtualized function instantiated on a platform (e.g., a cloud platform), and the present application does not limit the specific form of the AI node.

[0119] The AI node can be an AI network element or an AI module.

[0120] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a possible application framework in a communication system. As shown in FIG. 1, the network elements in the communication system are connected through interfaces (such as next generation (NG) interfaces, Xn interfaces), or air interfaces. One or more AI modules (only one is shown in FIG. 1 for clarity) are provided in one or more of the following network element nodes: a core network device, an access network node or device (RAN node or device), a terminal, or one or more devices in operation administration and maintenance (OAM). The access network node can be a separate RAN node, or can include multiple RAN nodes, for example, including a CU and a DU. The CU and / or DU can also be provided with one or more AI modules. Optionally, the CU can also be split into a CU-CP and a CU-UP. One or more AI models are provided in the CU-CP and / or the CU-UP.

[0121] The AI module is used to implement a corresponding AI function. The AI modules deployed in different network elements can be the same or different. The AI module can implement different functions according to different parameter configurations of the model of the AI module. The model of the AI module can be configured based on one or more of the following parameters: a structure parameter (for example, at least one of a number of neural network layers, a width of a neural network, a connection relationship between layers, a weight of a neuron, an activation function of a neuron, or a bias in the activation function), an input parameter (for example, a type of input parameter and / or a dimension of the input parameter), or an output parameter (for example, a type of output parameter and / or a dimension of the output parameter). The bias in the activation function can also be referred to as a bias of the neural network.

[0122] One AI module can have one or more models. One model can infer an output including one parameter or multiple parameters. The learning process, the training process, or the inference process of different models can be deployed in different nodes or devices, or can be deployed in the same node or device.

[0123] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a possible application framework in a communication system. As shown in FIG. 2, the communication system includes a RAN intelligent controller (RIC). For example, the RIC can be the AI module shown in FIG. 1, which is used to implement AI-related functions. The RIC includes a near-real time RIC (near-RT RIC) and a non-real time RIC (Non-RT RIC). The non-real time RIC mainly processes non-real-time information, such as data that is not sensitive to latency, which can be on the order of seconds. The real-time RIC mainly processes near-real-time information, such as data that is relatively sensitive to latency, which is on the order of tens of milliseconds.

[0124] The near-real-time RIC is used for model training and inference. For example, for training an AI model, inference is performed using the AI model. The near-real-time RIC can obtain network-side and / or terminal-side information from RAN nodes (such as CUs, CU-CPs, CU-UPs, DUs, and / or RUs) and / or terminals. This information can be used as training data or inference data. Optionally, the near-real-time RIC can submit inference results to RAN nodes and / or terminals. Optionally, the inference results can be exchanged between CUs and DUs, and / or between DUs and RUs. For example, the near-real-time RIC submits the inference results to the DU, and the DU sends the inference results to the RU.

[0125] The non-real-time RIC is also used for model training and inference. For example, the non-real-time RIC is used for training an AI model, and inference is performed using the model. The non-real-time RIC can obtain network-side and / or terminal-side information from a RAN node (e.g., a CU, a CU-CP, a CU-UP, a DU, and / or a RU) and / or a terminal. The information can be used as training data or inference data, and the inference result can be delivered to the RAN node and / or the terminal. Alternatively, the inference result can be exchanged between a CU and a DU, and / or between a DU and a RU, for example, the non-real-time RIC delivers the inference result to the DU, and the inference result is further delivered to the RU by the DU.

[0126] The near-real-time RIC and the non-real-time RIC can be respectively configured as a network element alone. Alternatively, the near-real-time RIC and the non-real-time RIC can be part of other devices, for example, the near-real-time RIC is configured in a RAN node (e.g., a CU, a DU), and the non-real-time RIC is configured in an OAM, a cloud server, a core network device, or other network devices.

[0127] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a communication system suitable for the communication method according to the embodiments of the present application. As shown in FIG. 3, the communication system 100 can include at least one network device, for example, the network device 110 shown in FIG. 3, and the communication system 100 can also include at least one terminal device, for example, the terminal device 120 and the terminal device 130 shown in FIG. 3. The network device 110 and the terminal devices (e.g., the terminal device 120 and the terminal device 130) can communicate with each other through wireless links. The communication devices in the communication system, for example, the network device 110 and the terminal device 120, can communicate with each other through multi-antenna technology.

[0128] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a communication system suitable for the communication method according to the embodiments of the present application. Compared with the communication system 100 shown in FIG. 3, the communication system 200 shown in FIG. 4 further includes an AI network element 140. The AI network element 140 is used to perform AI-related operations, for example, constructing a training data set or training an AI model.

[0129] In a possible implementation, the network device 110 can send data related to the training of the AI model to the AI network element 140, the AI network element 140 constructs a training data set and trains the AI model. For example, the data related to the training of the AI model can include data reported by the terminal device. The AI network element 140 can send the result of the AI model related operation to the network device 110 and forward it to the terminal device through the network device 110. For example, the result of the AI model related operation can include at least one of the following: a trained AI model, an evaluation result or a test result of the model, and the like. For example, part of the trained AI model can be deployed on the network device 110, and the other part can be deployed on the terminal device. Alternatively, the trained AI model can be deployed on the network device 110. Alternatively, the trained AI model can be deployed on the terminal device.

[0130] It should be understood that FIG. 4 is only used as an example to illustrate that the AI network element 140 is directly connected to the network device 110, and in other scenarios, the AI network element 140 can also be connected to the terminal device. Alternatively, the AI network element 140 can be connected to both the network device 110 and the terminal device. Alternatively, the AI network element 140 can also be connected to the network device 110 through a third-party network element. The connection relationship between the AI network element and other network elements is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0131] The AI network element 140 can also be set as a module in the network device and / or the terminal device, for example, in the network device 110 or the terminal device shown in FIG. 3.

[0132] It should be noted that FIGS. 3 and 4 are only simplified schematic diagrams for understanding, for example, the communication system can also include other devices, such as wireless relay devices and / or wireless backhaul devices, which are not shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. In actual application, the communication system can include multiple network devices and multiple terminal devices. The number of network devices and terminal devices included in the communication system is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0133] In order to facilitate understanding of the scheme of the embodiments of the present application, the terms that can be involved in the embodiments of the present application are explained as follows.

[0134] (1) Artificial intelligence: It is to make the machine have learning ability and can accumulate experience to solve the problems that can be solved by human experience, such as natural language understanding, image recognition and chess playing. Artificial intelligence can be understood as the intelligence shown by the machine made by human. Artificial intelligence usually refers to the technology of presenting human intelligence through computer program. The goal of artificial intelligence includes understanding intelligence by constructing symbolic reasoning or reasoning computer program.

[0135] (2) Machine Learning (ML): is a way of implementing artificial intelligence. Machine learning is a method that can give a machine the ability to learn and complete functions that cannot be completed by direct programming. In a practical sense, machine learning is a method of training a model by using data and then using the model for prediction. There are many methods of machine learning, such as neural networks (NN), decision trees, support vector machines, etc. Machine learning theory is mainly about designing and analyzing algorithms that allow computers to automatically learn. Machine learning algorithms are a class of algorithms that automatically analyze rules from data and use the rules to predict unknown data.

[0136] (3) Neural Network: Neural network is a specific embodiment of machine learning method. Neural network is a mathematical model that simulates the behavior characteristics of animal neural network for information processing. As shown in FIG. 5, neural network is a network that can be composed of three types of calculation layers, input layer, hidden layer and output layer. Each layer has one or more logical judgment units, which are called neurons. Common neural network structures include feedforward neural network (FNN), convolutional neural network (CNN) and recurrent neural network (RNN), etc., which are all based on neurons. Among them, each neuron can perform weighted summation operation on its input value, and the result of the weighted summation operation is output through a nonlinear function. The weights of the neurons in the neural network and the nonlinear function can be referred to as the parameters of the neural network, the connection relationship between the neurons in the neural network can be referred to as the structure of the neural network, and all the parameters of the neurons in the neural network constitute the parameters of the neural network.

[0137] (4) Deep Neural Network: Neural network with multiple hidden layers.

[0138] (5) Deep Learning: Machine learning using deep neural networks.

[0139] (6) AI Model: is an algorithm or computer program that can realize AI function. The AI model represents the mapping relationship between the input and output of the model, or in other words, the AI model is a function model that maps a certain dimension of input to a certain dimension of output. The parameters of the function model can be obtained by machine learning training. For example, f(x) = ax 2+b is a quadratic function model, which can be regarded as an AI model, a and b are parameters of the AI model, and a and b can be obtained by machine learning training. Exemplarily, the AI model mentioned in the embodiments below is not limited to a neural network, a linear regression model, a decision tree model, a support vector machine (SVM), a Bayesian network, a Q-learning model, or other machine learning (ML) models.

[0140] The implementation of the AI model can be hardware circuit, software, or a combination of software and hardware, without limitation. Non-limiting examples of software include program code, programs, subprograms, instructions, instruction sets, codes, code segments, software modules, applications, or software applications, etc.

[0141] (7) Two-side model:

[0142] The two-side model can also be referred to as a bilateral model, a collaborative model, a dual model, or a two-side model, etc. The two-side model refers to a model composed of multiple sub-models. The multiple sub-models constituting the model need to match each other. The multiple sub-models can be deployed in different nodes.

[0143] The embodiments of the present application relate to an encoder for compressing CSI and a decoder for restoring CSI. The encoder and the decoder are matched for use, and it can be understood that the encoder and the decoder are matched AI models. One encoder can include one or more AI models, and the decoder matched with the encoder also includes one or more AI models. The AI models included in the matched encoder and decoder are the same in number and one-to-one correspondence. Among them, the encoder can also include a quantization module, which can be used for quantization processing of the output of the AI model in the encoder. The decoder can include a dequantization module, which can be used for dequantization processing of the received feedback information of the channel information, to obtain the input of the AI model in the decoder. Dequantization can also be replaced by dequantization.

[0144] In one possible design, a pair of matching encoder and decoder can be two parts of the same auto-encoder (AE). The AE model with the encoder and the decoder deployed at different nodes is a typical bilateral model. The encoder and the decoder of the AE model are usually jointly trained and matched for use. The auto-encoder is a kind of unsupervised learning neural network, which is characterized by taking the input data as the label data, and thus can also be understood as a self-supervised learning neural network. The auto-encoder can be used for data compression and recovery. For example, the encoder in the auto-encoder can compress (encode) the data A to obtain the data B, and the decoder in the auto-encoder can decompress (decode) the data B to recover the data A. Alternatively, it can be understood that the decoder is the inverse operation of the encoder. For a description of the encoder and the decoder, refer to FIG. 6.

[0145] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of the relationship 600 between the encoder and the decoder. As shown in FIG. 6, the encoder processes the input V to obtain the processed result z, and the decoder can decode the output z of the encoder to the expected output V’.

[0146] The AI model in the embodiments of this application can include an encoder deployed at a terminal device and a decoder deployed at a network device, or an encoder deployed at a terminal device and a decoder deployed at another terminal device, or an encoder deployed at a network device and a decoder deployed at another network device.

[0147] (8) Channel information:

[0148] In a communication system, the network device determines one or more of the following configurations of the downlink data channel of the terminal device based on the channel information: the resource, the modulation and coding scheme (MCS), and the precoding. It can be understood that the channel information can also be referred to as CSI or channel environment information, which is an information that can reflect the channel characteristics and the channel quality.

[0149] CSI measurement refers to that a receiving end solves channel information according to a reference signal sent by a sending end, that is, estimates channel information by using a channel estimation method. Exemplarily, the reference signal can include one or more of a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), a synchronizing signal / physical broadcast channel block (SSB), a sounding reference signal (SRS), a demodulation reference signal (DMRS), or the like. One or more of the CSI-RS, the SSB, and the DMRS, or the like can be used to measure downlink channel information. The SRS and the DMRS, or the like can be used to measure uplink channel information.

[0150] Taking an FDD communication scenario as an example, since the uplink and downlink channels do not have reciprocity or the reciprocity of the uplink and downlink channels cannot be guaranteed, a network device needs to obtain downlink CSI by means of uplink feedback of a terminal device. The network device usually sends a downlink reference signal to the terminal device, and the terminal device receives the downlink reference signal. Since the terminal device knows the sending information of the downlink reference signal, the terminal device can estimate (measure) a downlink channel experienced by the downlink reference signal according to the received downlink reference signal. The terminal device generates downlink CSI based on the measured downlink channel matrix. The terminal device generates a CSI report according to a protocol predefinition or a network device configuration, and feeds back the CSI report to the network device, so that the network device obtains the downlink CSI.

[0151] In the embodiments of the present application, the CSI has a broader meaning than that in the traditional scheme, and is not limited to channel quality indication (CQI), precoding matrix indicator (PMI), rank indicator (RI), or CSI-RS resource indicator (CRI), but can also be one or more of channel response information (such as a channel response matrix), a channel matrix, a channel feature matrix, a precoding matrix, reference signal receiving power (RSRP), signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR), the identity (ID) of an optimal beam, or the ID of the top K beams, etc. The signal to interference plus noise ratio can also be referred to as the signal to interference and noise ratio. The optimal beam refers to a beam that maximizes the reception or transmission energy. For example, the receiving end uses different receiving beams to receive signals, and the optimal beam includes a beam whose RSRP of the received signal is the largest among multiple different receiving beams. For another example, the transmitting end uses different transmitting beams to transmit signals, and the optimal beam can include a beam whose RSRP of the received signal is the largest among multiple transmitting beams as measured by the receiving end. Similarly, the top K beams refer to the top K beams that maximize the reception or transmission energy.

[0152] wherein the RI is used to indicate the number of layers suggested by the terminal device for downlink transmission, the CQI is used to indicate the modulation and coding scheme supported by the terminal device under the current channel condition, and the PMI is used to indicate the precoding suggested by the receiving end of the reference signal, such as the terminal device. The number of layers of the precoding indicated by the PMI corresponds to the RI. The channel response and the channel matrix represent the channel itself, and the channel feature matrix and the precoding matrix are matrices composed of features extracted from the channel.

[0153] (9) Channel report

[0154] The channel report can be used to reflect the channel measurement information or channel information corresponding to the reference signal (which can be used for channel measurement or channel estimation), or in other words, the channel report is information generated based on the information obtained by measuring the reference signal, which can reflect channel environment information, etc.

[0155] The channel report can also be replaced by a channel measurement report, or a measurement report, or a CSI report, or CSI feedback information, or CSI compression information, etc., without limitation on other possible terms.

[0156] (10) Configuration type:

[0157] In the embodiments of the present application, the configuration type includes: periodic configuration, semi-static configuration, and aperiodic configuration. Please refer to FIG. 7.

[0158] FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of configuration type 700 according to an embodiment of the present application. Exemplary:

[0159] For the periodic configuration, as shown in (a) of FIG. 7, the network device configures the transmission period (for example, every 2 slots, the transmission period is equal to 2 slots) and the offset (the slot offset within the period, for example, the offset is equal to 0) of the reference signal, and transmits the reference signal according to the transmission period and the offset of the reference signal. Wherein, the transmission period of the reference signal can be understood as the offset of adjacent reference signal resources, which can be simply referred to as the offset of adjacent resources.

[0160] For the semi-static configuration, as shown in (b) of FIG. 7, the network device configures the transmission period and the offset of the reference signal. Wherein, the network device can activate or deactivate the transmission of the reference signal through the configuration information such as medium access control-control element (MAC-CE). For example, the transmission of the reference signal on the first slot (from left to right) is activated through the MAC-CE (the network device transmits the reference signal on the first slot and the third slot), the transmission of the reference signal on the fifth slot is deactivated through the MAC-CE (indicated by the black box) (the network device does not transmit the reference signal on the fifth slot), and the transmission of the reference signal on the seventh slot is activated through the MAC-CE (the network device can transmit the reference signal on the seventh slot and the ninth slot). That is, the configuration information of the semi-static configuration can include the transmission period of the reference signal, the number of transmissions, one or more activation information, and one or more deactivation information, etc. Wherein, the activation information or the deactivation information can be triggered by explicit signaling, such as the aforementioned MAC-CE signaling, or by a timer. Wherein, the duration of the counter can be predefined, or configured.

[0161] For aperiodic configuration, as shown in (c) of FIG. 7, the network device signals the resource for transmitting the reference signal through downlink control information (DCI). Among them, the network device can also configure multiple resource positions through the parameter [m, K], m is the transmission period of the reference signal (for example, every 1 slot, the transmission period is equal to 1 slot), and K is the number of resources (also can be understood as the number of times of transmitting the reference signal) (such as K = 4). Among them, the transmission period of the reference signal can be understood as the offset of adjacent reference signal resources, and the number of times of transmitting the reference signal resource can be understood as the number of reference signal resources, which will not be described below.

[0162] (9) Model monitoring: Model monitoring refers to monitoring the performance of the AI model to determine whether the AI model is working normally. If the performance of the AI model is poor, it needs to switch to a non-AI model, or replace the AI model, or update the AI model, etc. Model monitoring can be performed by monitoring the accuracy of the AI model output (also referred to as intermediate key performance indicator (KPI)), or by monitoring the system performance (also referred to as monitoring the eventual KPI). Monitoring the accuracy of the AI model output is to compare the difference between the output of the AI model and the corresponding label or ground-truth to determine whether the performance of the AI model meets the requirements. Monitoring the system performance is to monitor whether the performance of the communication system after using the AI model meets the requirements. The intermediate KPI usually includes generalized cosine similarity (GCS), square generalized cosine similarity (SGCS), normalized mean square error (NMSE), etc. The eventual KPI usually includes throughput, spectral efficiency, transmission rate, block error rate (BLER), hypothetical BLER, hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback, etc. Model monitoring can be performed by the base station or by the UE.

[0163] The present application provides a communication method, which is beneficial to realize model monitoring.

[0164] Before introducing the scheme of the present application, the following points are explained.

[0165] (1) In the present application, "indication" can include direct indication, indirect indication, display indication, and implicit indication. When describing that certain indication information is used to indicate A, it can be understood that the indication information carries A, directly indicates A, or indirectly indicates A.

[0166] In the present application, the information indicated by the indication information is referred to as to-be-indicated information. In the specific implementation process, there are many ways to indicate the to-be-indicated information, for example, but not limited to, the to-be-indicated information can be directly indicated, such as the to-be-indicated information itself or the index of the to-be-indicated information. The to-be-indicated information can also be indirectly indicated by indicating other information, where the other information and the to-be-indicated information have an association relationship. The to-be-indicated information can also be indicated only by a part, and the other part of the to-be-indicated information is known or agreed in advance. For example, the indication of a specific information can also be achieved by means of the arrangement order of each information agreed in advance (for example, the protocol stipulates), thereby reducing the indication overhead to a certain extent. In addition, the to-be-indicated information can be sent as a whole, or can be sent separately into multiple sub-information, and the sending period and / or sending time of these sub-information can be the same or different.

[0167] (2) In the present application, "sending" and "receiving" represent the direction of signal transmission. For example, "sending information to XX" can be understood as that the destination of the information is XX, which can include direct sending through the air interface, and also includes indirect sending through the air interface by other units or modules. "Receiving information from YY" can be understood as that the source of the information is YY, which can include direct receiving from YY through the air interface, and also includes indirect receiving from YY through the air interface from other units or modules. "Sending" can also be understood as the "output" of the chip interface, and "receiving" can also be understood as the "input" of the chip interface. In other words, sending and receiving can be carried out between devices, for example, between network devices and terminal devices, or can be carried out within a device, for example, between components, modules, chips, software modules or hardware modules within a device through a bus, wire or interface.

[0168] (3) In various embodiments of the present application, the terms and / or descriptions of different embodiments have consistency and can be mutually referenced if there is no special description and logical conflict. The technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationship.

[0169] (4) In the present application, "first", "second", and "#1", "#2", etc. are only for convenience of description and are used to distinguish objects, and are not used to limit the scope of the embodiments of the present application. They are not used to describe the order or sequence of features. It should be understood that the objects thus described can be interchanged under appropriate circumstances, so as to be able to describe schemes other than the embodiments of the present application.

[0170] (5) In this application, “predefined” can mean a standard protocol predefined, or can also mean pre-agreed or pre-negotiated between devices.

[0171] (6) In this application, the words “exemplarily”, “such as” and the like are used to represent examples, illustrations or descriptions. Any embodiment or design scheme described as “exemplary” in this application should not be interpreted as more preferred or more advantageous than other embodiments or design schemes. Rather, the word “exemplary” is intended to present the concept in a specific manner. In this application embodiment, “of”, “corresponding” and “corresponding” can be used interchangeably at times, and it should be pointed out that when the distinction is not emphasized, the meanings expressed are consistent. In addition, “corresponding to” in this application can also be replaced by “for” or replaced by “determined according to xx” or replaced by “for determining”, for example, “corresponding to” in the following embodiment “the first storage resource information corresponds to the number of storage resources available for executing tasks” can be replaced by “for determining”, and for another example, “corresponding to” in the following embodiment “the storage resources available for executing tasks correspond to the storage resources available for running AI models / functional execution tasks” can be replaced by “for”.

[0172] (7) “At least one” in this paper means one or more. “Multiple” means two or more. “And / or” describes the association between the associated objects, which means that there can be three relationships, for example, A and / or B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist together, and B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. In the textual description of this application, the character “ / ” generally represents that the associated objects before and after are in an “or” relationship; in the formula of this application, the character “ / ” represents that the associated objects before and after are in a “division” relationship. “Including at least one of A, B and C” can mean: including A; including B; including C; including A and B; including A and C; including B and C; including A, B and C.

[0173] (8) The arrows or blocks shown by dashed lines in the schematic diagrams in the drawing part of the specification of this application represent optional steps or optional modules.

[0174] The communication method provided by the embodiments of this application will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The embodiments provided by this application can be applied to the communication system shown in FIG. 3 or FIG. 4, without limitation.

[0175] For ease of understanding, the communication method provided by the embodiments of this application will be described below by taking the interaction between the first device and the second device as an example.

[0176] The first device can be a device on the first AI model side, or a chip or circuit for the device on the first AI model side. The device on the first AI model side can be replaced by a device on a terminal device side or a device on a network device side. The terminal device side can include at least one of a terminal device or an AI entity on the terminal device side. The AI entity on the terminal device side can be the terminal device itself, or an AI entity serving the terminal device, such as a server, for example, an OTT server or a cloud server. The network device side can include at least one of a network device or an AI entity on the network device side. The AI entity on the network device side can be the network device itself, or an AI entity serving the network device, such as a RIC, an OAM, or a server, for example, an OTT server or a cloud server.

[0177] The second device can be a device on the second AI model side, or a chip or circuit for the device on the second AI model side. The device on the second AI model side can be replaced by a device on a terminal device side or a device on a network device side. The terminal device side can include at least one of a terminal device or an AI entity on the terminal device side. The AI entity on the terminal device side can be the terminal device itself, or an AI entity serving the terminal device, such as a server, for example, an OTT server or a cloud server. The network device side can include at least one of a network device or an AI entity on the network device side. The AI entity on the network device side can be the network device itself, or an AI entity serving the network device, such as a RIC, an OAM, or a server, for example, an OTT server or a cloud server.

[0178] It should be further noted that the first device and the second device in the following embodiments are different, for example, the first device is a terminal device, and the second device is a network device.

[0179] The channel measurement result in the following embodiments can be obtained by the first device by measuring a reference signal. For example, the channel measurement result can include one or more of the following: CQI, PMI, RI, CRI, channel response information, channel matrix, channel feature matrix, precoding matrix, RSRP, SINR, ID of the optimal beam, or ID of the optimal first K beams. The channel measurement result can be replaced by channel information, channel state information, etc.

[0180] The CSI report in the following embodiments is determined by the first device according to the channel measurement result. For example, the first device compresses all or part of the channel measurement result by the first AI model to obtain the CSI report. For example, the channel measurement result includes one or more of a channel matrix, a channel feature matrix, or a precoding matrix, and the first device compresses all of the channel measurement result by the first AI model to obtain the CSI report. For another example, the channel measurement result includes a channel matrix and a CQI, and the first device compresses the channel matrix by the first AI model to obtain part of the CSI report, that is, the CSI report includes the CQI and the compressed channel matrix. For another example, the channel measurement result includes a precoding matrix, an RI, and a CQI, and the first device compresses the precoding matrix by the first AI model to obtain part of the CSI report, that is, the CSI report includes the RI, the CQI, and the compressed precoding matrix. For another example, the channel measurement result includes a channel matrix, an RI, and a CQI, and the first device compresses the channel matrix by the first AI model to obtain part of the CSI report, that is, the CSI report includes the RI, the CQI, and the compressed channel matrix.

[0181] FIG. 8 shows a schematic flowchart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 8, the method 800 can include the following steps.

[0182] S810, the first device sends the capability information.

[0183] Correspondingly, the second device receives the capability information.

[0184] The capability information includes the maximum storage time and / or the maximum storage space of the first device.

[0185] For example, the maximum storage time is the maximum storage time of the channel measurement result corresponding to the CSI report stored by the first device. In the process of timing the storage time of the channel measurement result corresponding to the CSI report, the first device can individually time the channel measurement result corresponding to each CSI report, or time the channel measurement result corresponding to the first stored CSI report.

[0186] For example, it is assumed that the first device stores two CSI report corresponding channel measurement results, denoted as CSI report #1 corresponding channel measurement result and CSI report #2 corresponding channel measurement result, wherein the first device stores the CSI report #1 corresponding channel measurement result first. If the first device separately counts the time for each CSI report corresponding channel measurement result, the first device determines that the CSI report #1 corresponding channel measurement result reaches the maximum storage time, and clears the CSI report #1 corresponding channel measurement result, and if the CSI report #2 corresponding channel measurement result does not reach the maximum storage time, the first device does not clear the CSI report #2 corresponding channel measurement result. If the first device counts the time for the first stored CSI report corresponding channel measurement result, the first device determines that the CSI report #1 corresponding channel measurement result reaches the maximum storage time, and clears the CSI report #1 corresponding channel measurement result and the CSI report #2 corresponding channel measurement result.

[0187] The clearing of the CSI report corresponding channel measurement result can be replaced by deleting or discarding the CSI report corresponding channel measurement result. The clearing of the CSI report corresponding channel measurement result can be understood as no longer storing the CSI report corresponding channel measurement result.

[0188] The time unit of the maximum storage time can be a slot, a subframe, a frame, a symbol, a second, a millisecond, etc.

[0189] For example, the maximum storage space can be the maximum number of CSI report corresponding channel measurement results that the first device supports to store, or the maximum storage space is the maximum number of bits or the maximum number of bytes of CSI report corresponding channel measurement results that the first device supports to store, etc.

[0190] It should be noted that S810 is an optional step. For example, the capability information of the first device is pre-configured or pre-defined, or the first device has sent the capability information before the method 800 is executed, or the maximum number of CSI report corresponding channel measurement results that the first device supports to store is pre-configured or pre-defined, or the method 800 performs S830, and the method 800 can not perform S810.

[0191] S820, the second device sends fourth indication information.

[0192] Correspondingly, the first device receives the fourth indication information.

[0193] The fourth indication information is used for indicating the maximum number of channel measurement results corresponding to the stored CSI reports. For example, the fourth indication information includes the maximum number of channel measurement results corresponding to the stored CSI reports, or includes an index of the maximum number of channel measurement results corresponding to the stored CSI reports.

[0194] When the second device receives the capability information from the first device, the second device can determine the maximum number of channel measurement results corresponding to the stored CSI reports according to the capability information. In other words, the capability information can be used to determine the maximum number of channel measurement results corresponding to the stored CSI reports supported by the first device.

[0195] The following describes a manner in which the second device determines the maximum number of channel measurement results corresponding to the stored CSI reports according to the capability information. It is assumed that the maximum number of channel measurement results corresponding to the stored CSI reports is M, where M is a positive integer.

[0196] In a possible implementation, if the capability information includes the maximum storage space of the first device, the second device can determine M according to the data amount of the channel measurement results corresponding to the CSI reports. For example, in the process of determining M, the second device ensures that the sum of the data amounts of the channel measurement results corresponding to M CSI reports does not exceed the maximum storage space of the first device.

[0197] In a possible implementation, if the capability information includes the maximum storage time of the first device, the second device can determine M according to the period of the CSI reports. For example, in the process of determining M, the second device ensures that the time required for the first device to feed back M CSI reports does not exceed the maximum storage time.

[0198] In a possible implementation, if the capability information includes the maximum storage space and the maximum storage time of the first device, the second device can determine M according to the data amount of the channel measurement results corresponding to the CSI reports and / or the period of the CSI reports. For example, in the process of determining M, the second device ensures that the sum of the data amounts of the channel measurement results corresponding to M CSI reports does not exceed the maximum storage space of the first device, and / or ensures that the time required for the first device to feed back M CSI reports does not exceed the maximum storage time.

[0199] It should be noted that S820 is an optional step. For example, the maximum number of channel measurement results corresponding to the stored CSI reports supported by the first device is preconfigured or predefined, or the method 800 performs S830, or the maximum number of channel measurement results corresponding to the stored CSI reports is defaulted or agreed upon by the first device and the second device in advance to be the maximum number that does not exceed the capability (including the maximum storage space and / or the maximum storage time) of the first device, and thus the method 800 can not perform S820.

[0200] S830, the first device sends fifth indication information.

[0201] Correspondingly, the second device receives the fifth indication information.

[0202] The fifth indication information is used to indicate the maximum number of channel measurement results corresponding to the stored CSI report. Illustratively, the fifth indication information includes the maximum number of channel measurement results corresponding to the stored CSI report, or includes an index of the maximum number of channel measurement results corresponding to the stored CSI report.

[0203] The first device can determine the maximum number of channel measurement results of the stored CSI report according to the capability information, and send the fifth indication information to the second device.

[0204] The first device determines the maximum number of channel measurement results of the stored CSI report according to the capability information, which can refer to the way the second device determines the maximum number of channel measurement results of the stored CSI report according to the capability information described in S820. For brevity, it will not be described here.

[0205] It should be noted that S830 is an optional step. For example, the first device supports that the maximum number of channel measurement results corresponding to the stored CSI report is pre-configured or pre-defined, or the method 800 has executed S810, or the method 800 has executed S810 and S820, then the method 800 can not execute S830.

[0206] S840, the second device sends first indication information.

[0207] Correspondingly, the first device receives the first indication information.

[0208] The first indication information is used to indicate the storage of the channel measurement results corresponding to the first CSI report, or in other words, the first indication information is used to indicate the continuation of the storage of the channel measurement results corresponding to the first CSI report after the sending of the first CSI report.

[0209] It should be understood that after the first device receives the first indication information, it can determine the storage state of the channel measurement results corresponding to the first CSI report according to the first indication information, or determine the to-be-stored state of the channel measurement results corresponding to the first CSI report according to the first indication information, or determine that the channel measurement results corresponding to the first CSI report are to be stored according to the first indication information, or determine that the channel measurement results corresponding to the first CSI report are to be stored according to the first indication information.

[0210] The storage state of the channel measurement result corresponding to the first CSI report can be a storage state of the channel measurement result corresponding to the first CSI report after the first device transmits the first CSI report. The storage state can include storage and non-storage.

[0211] The to-be-stored state of the channel measurement result corresponding to the first CSI report, or the channel measurement result corresponding to the first CSI report to be stored can be understood as that, after the first device transmits the first CSI report, the first device still stores the channel measurement result corresponding to the first CSI report. Referring to the method 1300 below, if the first device cannot transmit all contents of the first CSI report, the first device does not store the channel measurement result corresponding to the first CSI report.

[0212] Optionally, referring to the description in S850 to S880 below, the first device can perform model monitoring according to the channel measurement result corresponding to the first CSI report, and therefore, the first indication information indicating storage of the channel measurement result corresponding to the first CSI report can be understood as the first indication information being used to trigger model monitoring. In the case that the first indication information is used to trigger model monitoring, the first device can determine, according to the first indication information, to perform model monitoring based on the channel measurement result corresponding to the first CSI report, and the precondition for the first device to perform model monitoring according to the channel measurement result corresponding to the first CSI report is that the first device stores the channel measurement result corresponding to the first CSI report, and therefore, the first indication information being used to trigger model monitoring is equivalent to being used to indicate storage of the channel measurement result corresponding to the first CSI report.

[0213] More possible forms and / or contents of the first indication information are described below.

[0214] In a possible implementation, the first indication information includes a first identifier, and the first identifier is used to identify the first CSI report. Correspondingly, the first device can determine, according to the first identifier included in the first indication information, that the first indication information is used to indicate storage of the channel measurement result corresponding to the first CSI report.

[0215] Exemplarily, the first indication information can include one or more of the following: an ID of the first CSI report, an ID of a CSI report configuration used for configuring the first CSI report, an ID of a resource used for transmitting the first CSI report, an ID of a resource set in which the resource used for transmitting the first CSI report is located, an ID of a resource used for transmitting a first reference signal, or an ID of a resource set in which the resource used for transmitting the first reference signal is located. The first reference signal is used for determining a channel measurement result corresponding to the first CSI report, and the first reference signal is an aperiodic reference signal or a semi-static parameter signal. For example, the first reference signal is an aperiodic CSI-RS (A-CSI RS) or a semi-persistent CSI-RS (SP-CSI RS).

[0216] In a possible implementation, the first indication information can be carried in DCI and / or high-layer signaling. The high-layer signaling can include one or more of radio resource control (RRC) signaling or medium access control control element (MAC-CE) signaling. The high-layer signaling can also be referred to as high-layer configuration signaling.

[0217] Optionally, the DCI is also used for triggering the first CSI report, and the first CSI report belongs to an aperiodic CSI report or a semi-static CSI report. It should be noted that, in the case where the DCI is also used for triggering the first CSI report, the indication information for triggering the first CSI report in the DCI can be the same indication information as the first indication information, or different indication information, which is not limited in the present application. It can be understood that, if the indication information for triggering the first CSI report in the DCI is the same indication information as the first indication information, it is equivalent that the first indication information is also used for triggering the first CSI report.

[0218] As shown in (a) of FIG. 9, the DCI can adopt a DCI format A, in which the first indication information can be carried in DCI used for triggering an aperiodic CSI report (A-CSI report). The A-CSI report includes the first CSI report.

[0219] Optionally, the DCI is also used for scheduling or configuring an uplink shared channel (UL-SCH) that is not used for transmitting the CSI report. In other words, the DCI is not used for triggering an aperiodic CSI (A-CSI) report or a semi-persistent CSI (SP-CSI) report. For example, the DCI can be a UL grant used for scheduling or configuring the UL-SCH without indicating the A-CSI (UL-SCH without indicating A-CSI).

[0220] For example, as shown in (b) of FIG. 9, the DCI can adopt a DCI format B in which the first indication information is carried in the DCI used for scheduling or configuring the UL-SCH. The UL-SCH is not used for transmitting the CSI report.

[0221] Optionally, the DCI is also used for carrying the first indication information of another terminal device. That is, the DCI can carry the first indication information of multiple terminal devices including the first device.

[0222] For example, as shown in (b) of FIG. 9, the DCI can adopt a DCI format B in which the first indication information is carried in the DCI used for scheduling or configuring the UL-SCH. The UL-SCH is not used for transmitting the CSI report.

[0223] For example, as shown in (c) of FIG. 9, the DCI can adopt a DCI format C in which the first indication information is carried in the DCI that is not used for scheduling or configuring the UL-SCH and is not used for triggering the A-CSI report or the SP-CSI report.

[0224] Optionally, the DCI is also used for triggering the first reference signal. It should be noted that, in the case that the DCI is also used for triggering the first reference signal, the indication information for triggering the first reference signal in the DCI and the first indication information can be the same indication information or different indication information, which is not limited in the present application. It can be understood that, if the indication information for triggering the first reference signal in the DCI and the first indication information are the same indication information, it is equivalent that the first indication information is also used for triggering the first reference signal.

[0225] As shown in (d) of FIG. 9, the DCI can adopt a DCI format D, in which the first indication information can be carried in the DCI for triggering the A-CSI RS. The A-CSI RS is used for determining the channel measurement result corresponding to the first CSI report.

[0226] Optionally, the higher-layer signaling is further used for triggering the first reference signal. It should be noted that, in the case that the higher-layer signaling is further used for triggering the first reference signal, the indication information in the higher-layer signaling for triggering the first reference signal can be the same indication information as the first indication information, or different indication information, which is not limited in the present application. It can be understood that, if the indication information in the higher-layer signaling for triggering the first reference signal is the same indication information as the first indication information, it is equivalent that the first indication information is further used for triggering the first reference signal.

[0227] As shown in (e) of FIG. 9, the higher-layer signaling can adopt a higher-layer signaling format A, in which the first indication information can be carried in the higher-layer signaling for triggering the A-CSI RS. The A-CSI RS is used for determining the channel measurement result corresponding to the first CSI report.

[0228] Optionally, the higher-layer signaling is further used for carrying the first indication information of other terminal devices. That is, the higher-layer signaling can carry the first indication information of multiple terminal devices including the first device.

[0229] Exemplarily, the higher-layer signaling can not be used for triggering the A-CSI RS or the SP-CSI RS, and the higher-layer signaling can be used only for carrying the first indication information of one or more terminal devices (including the first device).

[0230] For example, as shown in (f) of FIG. 9, the higher-layer signaling can adopt a higher-layer signaling format B, in which the first indication information can be carried in the higher-layer signaling, which is not used for triggering the A-CSI RS or the SP-CSI RS.

[0231] In a possible implementation, the first indication information is further used for indicating that the channel measurement result corresponding to the second CSI report is stored, or in other words, the first indication information is further used for indicating that the channel measurement result corresponding to the second CSI report is continuously stored after the second CSI report is sent. The channel measurement result corresponding to the second CSI report is a channel measurement result obtained after the channel measurement result corresponding to the first CSI report.

[0232] For example, if the first indication information further includes a second identifier used for identifying the second CSI report, the first indication information is further used for indicating that the channel measurement result corresponding to the second CSI report is stored. More description of the second identifier can be referred to the description of the first identifier above.

[0233] For example, if the first device supports storing channel measurement results corresponding to multiple CSI reports, and the first device and the second device default to or pre-agree to store channel measurement results corresponding to multiple CSI reports according to the maximum capacity of the first device, then after receiving the first indication information, the first device can store the channel measurement results corresponding to multiple CSI reports (including the channel measurement results corresponding to the first CSI report and the channel measurement results corresponding to the second CSI report). This is equivalent to the first indication information also being used to indicate the storage of the channel measurement results corresponding to the second CSI report.

[0234] For example, the first indication information is also used to trigger the SP-CSI report. The SP-CSI report includes multiple CSI reports that are semi-statically reported. This is equivalent to the first indication information being used to indicate the channel measurement reports corresponding to the multiple CSI reports that are semi-statically reported, which include the first CSI report and the second CSI report.

[0235] For example, the first indication information is also used to trigger SP-CSI RS, which includes multiple CSI-RS transmitted in a semi-static manner. This is equivalent to the first indication information being used to indicate the storage of channel measurement results determined by the multiple CSI-RS transmitted in a semi-static manner. The channel measurement results determined by the multiple CSI-RS include the channel measurement results corresponding to the first CSI report and the channel measurement results corresponding to the second CSI report.

[0236] In this embodiment, the second device can send a first instruction to the first device to instruct the first device to store the channel measurement results corresponding to the first CSI report. This facilitates the alignment between the first and second devices to determine which CSI report the channel measurement results stored by the first device correspond to. When the first and second devices can align to determine which CSI report the channel measurement results stored by the first device correspond to, it is beneficial for the first device to perform model monitoring.

[0237] For example, one way the first device performs model monitoring includes the following steps.

[0238] Step 1: Measurement of reference signal and CSI compression. The first device first measures the downlink reference signal (e.g., CSI-RS) from the second device to obtain the channel measurement result H1; the UE calculates the CSI report corresponding to H1 through the AI ​​encoder and feeds it back to the base station.

[0239] Step 2, CSI Reconstruction. The second device obtains reconstructed CSI information based on the CSI report fed back by the first device and the AI ​​decoder.

[0240] Step 3, Model Monitoring. The second device sends the reconstructed CSI information to the first device. The first device performs recovery performance calculations based on the original channel measurement result H1 and the reconstructed CSI, thereby achieving model monitoring.

[0241] The prerequisite for the first device to perform model monitoring based on the above steps is that the first device and the second device can align the channel measurement results stored by the first device with specific CSI reports. If the first device and the second device cannot align the channel measurement results stored by the first device with specific CSI reports, then if the second device receives multiple CSI reports, it is uncertain which CSI report the reconstructed CSI obtained from will be sent to the first device; or, if the first device stores channel measurement results corresponding to multiple CSI reports, it is uncertain which channel measurement result the received reconstructed CSI will be compared with.

[0242] As shown in Figure 10, if the UE (an example of the first device) calculates the compressed CSI information c1 corresponding to H1 through the AI ​​encoder at the first moment and feeds c1 back to the base station (an example of the second device), the UE receives the reconstructed CSI (denoted as c1) from the base station at the second moment. ), The reconstructed CSI is determined based on compressed CSI information c1. Between the first and second time points, the UE obtains channel measurement results H2 and H3 after H1, and compresses and feeds back these results respectively. Therefore, the UE cannot determine whether the received reconstructed CSI is determined by the base station based on compressed CSI information c1, or based on compressed CSI information c2 or c3. In other words, the UE cannot determine whether it is determined by comparing H1 with... Perform model monitoring, or compare H2 with Perform model monitoring, or compare H3 with Model monitoring is performed. If the UE and the base station have aligned the channel measurement result H1 stored by the UE, then the UE can determine that the received reconstructed CSI was determined by the base station based on the compressed CSI information c1. Furthermore, the UE can determine the accuracy of the reconstructed CSI by comparing H1 with... Perform model monitoring, rather than comparing H2 or H3 with Perform model monitoring.

[0243] The following section will continue to explain the method of model monitoring of the first device in conjunction with steps S850 to S880.

[0244] S850, the first device sends the first CSI report.

[0245] Correspondingly, the second device receives the first CSI report.

[0246] The first CSI report is determined based on the channel measurement results corresponding to the first CSI report. For example, the first device compresses all or part of the channel measurement results corresponding to the first CSI report using a first AI model to obtain the first CSI report.

[0247] The channel measurement result corresponding to the first CSI report is determined based on the first reference signal. In other words, the first device obtains the channel measurement result corresponding to the first CSI report by measuring the first reference signal.

[0248] It should be noted that in S850, the first CSI report sent by the first device includes the entire contents of the first CSI report.

[0249] It should also be noted that if the second device receives the entire contents of the first CSI report, it can be determined that the first device has stored the channel measurement results corresponding to the first CSI report.

[0250] Optionally, after sending the first CSI report, the first device may also send the entire contents of the second CSI report.

[0251] S860, the first device stores the channel measurement results corresponding to the first CSI report.

[0252] Specifically, after the first device sends the first CSI report, the channel measurement results corresponding to the first CSI report remain in a stored state. The first device may start storing the channel measurement results corresponding to the first CSI report before sending the first CSI report, or it may start storing the channel measurement results corresponding to the first CSI report after sending the first CSI report; this application does not limit this.

[0253] Optionally, if the first indication information is also used to indicate the storage of the channel measurement results corresponding to the second CSI report, then after the first device sends the entire contents of the second CSI report, the second device also stores the channel measurement results corresponding to the second CSI report.

[0254] It should be understood that the storage space of the first device for storing channel measurement results is not infinitely large. Therefore, during the process of storing channel measurement results, the first device can clear at least one stored channel measurement result based on the number of stored channel measurement results and / or the storage time of the stored channel measurement results, or according to the instructions of the second device.

[0255] The following describes how the first device clears the stored channel measurement results.

[0256] In one possible implementation, if the number of channel measurement results stored by the first device is equal to M, then the first device clears at least one of the earliest stored channel measurement results from the M stored channel measurement results, where M is the maximum number of channel measurement results that the first device can store.

[0257] For example, after storing each channel measurement result, or before storing each channel measurement result, the first device may determine whether the number of stored channel measurement results has reached M. If the number of stored channel measurement results has reached M, then the first device clears at least one of the earliest stored channel measurement results among the M stored channel measurement results. For instance, before storing the channel measurement result corresponding to the first CSI report, or after storing the channel measurement result corresponding to the first CSI report, if the number of channel measurement results stored by the first device is equal to M, then the first device clears at least one of the earliest stored channel measurement results among the M stored channel measurement results.

[0258] In one possible implementation, if the storage time of at least one channel measurement result stored by the first device is equal to the maximum storage time, then the first device clears the stored at least one channel measurement result.

[0259] The storage time of at least one stored channel measurement result being equal to the maximum storage time can include the following scenarios: Scenario 1: The storage time of each channel measurement result in the at least one channel measurement result is equal to the maximum storage time. Scenario 2: The storage time of the first channel measurement result stored in the at least one channel measurement result is equal to the maximum storage time.

[0260] In one possible implementation, the first device clears at least one stored channel measurement result based on third indication information from the second device. In this implementation, method 800 further includes: the second device sending the third indication information. Correspondingly, the first device receives the third indication information. The third indication information is used to instruct the clearing of at least one of the stored channel measurement results.

[0261] For example, if the second device determines that the number of channel measurement results stored by the first device is equal to M based on the number of CSI reports received, then the second device can send a third indication message to the first device.

[0262] For example, if the second device determines, based on the time interval between the first and last CSI reports received, that the storage time of at least one channel measurement result stored by the first device is equal to the maximum storage time, then the second device can send a third indication message to the first device.

[0263] It is understood that after receiving the third indication information, the first device can clear at least one stored channel measurement result based on the third indication information. For example, the first device can clear the earliest stored at least one channel measurement result. Alternatively, the third indication information may include a third identifier used to identify a third CSI report; the first device can then determine to clear the channel measurement result corresponding to the stored third CSI report based on the third identifier. A description of the third identifier can be found in the description of the first identifier in S840 above.

[0264] S870, the second device sends the first reconfiguration CSI.

[0265] Correspondingly, the second device receives the first reconstructed CSI.

[0266] The first reconstructed CSI is determined based on the first CSI report. For example, the second device obtains the first reconstructed CSI by decompressing the first CSI report using a second AI model.

[0267] In one possible implementation, in S870, the second device sends the first reconstructed CSI and sends the first identifier.

[0268] In one possible implementation, in S870, the second device also sends a second reconfiguration CSI, which is determined based on the second CSI report.

[0269] Optionally, if the second device sends the second reconstructed CSI, the second device also sends the second identifier.

[0270] S880, the first device performs model monitoring.

[0271] After receiving the first reconstructed CSI, the first device can perform model monitoring by comparing the channel measurement results corresponding to the first reconstructed CSI and the first CSI report.

[0272] For example, the first device can calculate the similarity between the channel measurement results corresponding to the first reconstructed CSI and the first CSI report, and then compare the calculated similarity with a similarity threshold to determine whether the performance of the model (e.g., including a first AI model and a second AI model) meets the performance requirements. For example, if the similarity between the first reconstructed CSI and the channel measurement results corresponding to the first CSI report is greater than or equal to the similarity threshold, the first device can determine that the model's performance meets the performance requirements. If the similarity between the first reconstructed CSI and the channel measurement results corresponding to the first CSI report is less than or equal to the similarity threshold, the first device can determine that the model's performance does not meet the performance requirements.

[0273] The similarity between the channel measurement results corresponding to the first reconstructed CSI and the first CSI report can be measured by GCS, SGCS or NMSE.

[0274] The following describes how, when the first device stores multiple channel measurement results, model monitoring is performed by comparing the channel measurement results corresponding to the first reconstructed CSI with those in the first CSI report.

[0275] In one possible implementation, if the first device stores multiple channel measurement results and the second device sends a first reconstructed CSI and a first identifier, the first device can determine, based on the first identifier, to perform model monitoring by comparing the channel measurement results corresponding to the first reconstructed CSI and the first CSI report.

[0276] In one possible implementation, if the first device stores multiple channel measurement results, it can determine whether to perform model monitoring by comparing the channel measurement results corresponding to the first reconstructed CSI and the first CSI report, based on the order in which the reconstructed CSI is received and the order in which the channel measurement results are obtained. Correspondingly, the second device sends the reconstructed CSI in the order in which the CSI reports are received. Specifically, the order in which the second device receives the CSI reports is the same as the order in which the first device sends the CSI reports, and the order in which the first device sends the CSI reports is the same as the order in which the channel measurement results corresponding to the CSI reports are obtained.

[0277] For example, the first device stores the channel measurement results corresponding to the first CSI report and the channel measurement results corresponding to the second CSI report. The first device first obtains the channel measurement results corresponding to the first CSI report, then sends the first CSI report, and then sends the second CSI report. Correspondingly, the second device first receives the first CSI report, then receives the second CSI report, and then sends the first reconstructed CSI, and then sends the second reconstructed CSI. Accordingly, the first device compares the first received reconstructed CSI (i.e., the first reconstructed CSI) with the channel measurement results corresponding to the first CSI report to achieve model monitoring, and then compares the second received reconstructed CSI (i.e., the second reconstructed CSI) with the channel measurement results corresponding to the second CSI report to achieve model monitoring.

[0278] In one possible implementation, if the first device stores multiple channel measurement results and simultaneously receives multiple reconstructed CSIs, the first device can determine whether to perform model monitoring by comparing the channel measurement results corresponding to the first reconstructed CSI and the first CSI report, based on the order in which the multiple reconstructed CSIs are arranged and the order in which the channel measurement results are obtained. Correspondingly, the second device arranges the multiple reconstructed CSIs according to the order in which the CSI reports are received. Specifically, the order in which the second device receives the CSI reports is the same as the order in which the first device sends the CSI reports, and the order in which the first device sends the CSI reports is the same as the order in which the channel measurement results corresponding to the CSI reports are obtained.

[0279] For example, the first device stores the channel measurement results corresponding to the first CSI report and the channel measurement results corresponding to the second CSI report. The first device first obtains the channel measurement results corresponding to the first CSI report, then sends the first CSI report first, and then sends the second CSI report. Correspondingly, the second device first receives the first CSI report, then receives the second CSI report. Then, among the multiple reconstructed CSIs sent by the second device, the first reconstructed CSI is ordered before the second reconstructed CSI. Correspondingly, if the first device receives both the first and second reconstructed CSIs, and the first reconstructed CSI is ordered before the second reconstructed CSI, then the first device can determine whether to compare the reconstructed CSI that appears earlier in the order (i.e., the first reconstructed CSI) with the channel measurement results corresponding to the first CSI report to achieve model monitoring, and whether to compare the reconstructed CSI that appears later in the order (i.e., the second reconstructed CSI) with the channel measurement results corresponding to the second CSI report to achieve model monitoring.

[0280] In this embodiment of the application, when the second device determines that the first device has stored the channel measurement results corresponding to the first CSI report, it can send the first reconstructed CSI to the first device, so that the first device can perform model monitoring by comparing the first reconstructed CSI with the channel measurement results corresponding to the first CSI report.

[0281] Figure 11 shows a schematic flowchart of the communication method provided in an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 11, method 1100 may include the following steps.

[0282] S1110, the first device transmits capability information.

[0283] Correspondingly, the second device receives capability information.

[0284] S1110 can be referred to as S810 in Method 800 above, and will not be repeated here for the sake of brevity.

[0285] S1120, the second device sends the fourth instruction information.

[0286] Correspondingly, the first device receives the fourth instruction information.

[0287] S1120 can be referred to as S820 in Method 800 above, and will not be repeated here for the sake of brevity.

[0288] S1130, the first device sends the fifth instruction information.

[0289] Correspondingly, the second device receives the fifth instruction information.

[0290] S1130 can be referred to as S830 in Method 800 above, and will not be repeated here for the sake of brevity.

[0291] S1140, the second device sends the first instruction information.

[0292] Accordingly, the first device receives the first instruction information.

[0293] S1140 can be referred to as S840 in Method 800 above, and will not be repeated here for the sake of brevity.

[0294] S1150, the first device sends the first CSI report.

[0295] In S1150, due to packet loss, the second device did not receive the first CSI report from the first device.

[0296] S1160, the first device stores the channel measurement results corresponding to the first CSI report.

[0297] S1160 can be referred to as S860 in Method 800 above, and will not be repeated here for the sake of brevity.

[0298] S1170, the second device sends the second instruction information.

[0299] Correspondingly, the first device receives the second instruction information.

[0300] The second indication information is used to indicate the clearing of the channel measurement results corresponding to the first CSI report.

[0301] Optionally, the second indication information includes the first identifier. Accordingly, the first device determines the second indication information based on the first identifier to indicate the clearing of the channel measurement results corresponding to the first CSI report.

[0302] It should be understood that if the first device only stores the channel measurement results corresponding to the first CSI report, the second indication information may not include the first identifier.

[0303] Optionally, the second indication information is used to instruct the clearing of all stored channel measurement results.

[0304] It should be understood that if the second device determines that the first CSI report has been lost, it will send a second instruction message to the first device.

[0305] The following describes how the second device determines the packet loss of the first CSI report.

[0306] In one possible implementation, if the second device has not received the first CSI report at the time when it should have received it, the second device determines that the first CSI report has been lost and sends a second indication message to the first device.

[0307] For example, as shown in Figure 12, the base station (an example of the second device) sends a first indication message to the UE (an example of the first device) at time T0, instructing the UE to store the channel measurement results corresponding to the first CSI report. The UE then acquires and stores the channel measurement results corresponding to the first CSI report. The UE then determines the first CSI report based on the channel measurement results corresponding to the first CSI report and sends the first CSI report back to the base station. If the second device has not received the first CSI report at the time it should have received it, i.e., time T1 as shown in Figure 12, the base station determines that the first CSI report has been lost, and then sends a second indication message to the UE, instructing the UE to clear the channel measurement results corresponding to the first CSI report.

[0308] In one possible implementation, if the second device does not receive the first CSI report on the resource where it should receive the first CSI report, the second device determines that the first CSI report has been lost and sends a second indication message to the first device.

[0309] S1180, the first device clears the channel measurement results corresponding to the first CSI report. In other words, the first device determines not to store the channel measurement results corresponding to the first CSI report.

[0310] In one possible implementation, if the first device only stores the channel measurement results corresponding to the first CSI report, the first device clears the channel measurement results corresponding to the first CSI report according to the second instruction information.

[0311] In one possible implementation, if the second indication information includes a first identifier, the first device determines the second indication information based on the first identifier to indicate the clearing of the channel measurement results corresponding to the first CSI report, and then the first device clears the channel measurement results corresponding to the first CSI report.

[0312] In one possible implementation, if the second indication information indicates that all stored channel measurement results should be cleared, then the first device clears all stored channel measurement results, including the channel measurement results corresponding to the first CSI report.

[0313] The option to clear the channel measurement results corresponding to the CSI report can be replaced by deleting or discarding the channel measurement results corresponding to the CSI report. Clearing the channel measurement results corresponding to the CSI report can be understood as no longer storing the channel measurement results corresponding to the CSI report.

[0314] In this embodiment of the application, if the second device determines that the first CSI report is lost, the second device can instruct the first device to clear the channel measurement results corresponding to the first CSI report, thereby avoiding the first device from comparing other reconstructed CSIs different from the first reconstructed CSI with the channel measurement results corresponding to the first CSI report during the pattern monitoring process, or the first device is unsure which channel measurement result in the stored channel measurement results to compare with the received reconstructed CSI.

[0315] For example, if the first device stores the channel measurement results corresponding to the first CSI report and the channel measurement results corresponding to the second CSI report, and the first device acquires the channel measurement results corresponding to the first CSI report first, then in the event of packet loss of the first CSI report, the second device cannot send the first reconstructed CSI to the first device. Furthermore, if the second device sends the second reconstructed CSI, then according to the order in which the reconstructed CSIs are received and the order in which the channel measurement results are acquired, the first device will perform model monitoring by comparing the second reconstructed CSI with the channel measurement results corresponding to the first CSI report. However, this comparison behavior is actually unreasonable.

[0316] Furthermore, in the event of packet loss in the first CSI report, since the first device will no longer use the channel measurement results corresponding to the first CSI report for model monitoring, the second device instructs the first device to promptly clear the channel measurement results corresponding to the first CSI report to avoid useless channel measurement results occupying memory.

[0317] Figure 13 shows a schematic flowchart of the communication method provided in an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 13, method 1300 may include the following steps.

[0318] S1310, the first device transmits capability information.

[0319] Correspondingly, the second device receives capability information.

[0320] S1310 can be referred to as S810 in Method 800 above, and will not be repeated here for the sake of brevity.

[0321] S1320, the second device sends the fourth instruction information.

[0322] Correspondingly, the first device receives the fourth instruction information.

[0323] S1320 can be referred to as S820 in Method 800 above, and will not be repeated here for the sake of brevity.

[0324] S1330, the first device sends the fifth instruction information.

[0325] Correspondingly, the second device receives the fifth instruction information.

[0326] S1330 can be referred to as S830 in Method 800 above, and will not be repeated here for the sake of simplicity.

[0327] S1340, the second device sends the first instruction information.

[0328] Accordingly, the first device receives the first instruction information.

[0329] S1340 can be referred to as S840 in Method 800 above, and will not be repeated here for the sake of brevity.

[0330] S1350, the first device either does not send the first CSI report or sends only part of the first CSI report.

[0331] In one possible implementation, if the first device determines that it cannot send the first CSI report, it will not send the first CSI report.

[0332] The following describes how the first device determines that it cannot send the first CSI report.

[0333] Method #a:

[0334] The first device can determine whether or not a first CSI report can be sent based on conflicts between resources.

[0335] For example, the first device can determine whether it is impossible to send the first CSI report based on the conflict between the resources used to transmit the first CSI report and the resources used to transmit other reports (such as hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) reports or scheduling request (SR) reports). In other words, the first device can determine whether it is impossible to send the first CSI report based on the conflict between the resources used to transmit the first CSI report and the resources used to transmit other reports.

[0336] Scene #a1:

[0337] The resources used to transmit the first CSI report overlap with the resources used to transmit the HARQ report in the time domain.

[0338] For example, the resources used to transmit the first CSI report include a first time-domain resource, and the resources used to transmit the HARQ report include a second time-domain resource. The first and second time-domain resources overlap in the time domain, or in other words, there are common time-domain resources between the first and second time-domain resources.

[0339] Alternatively, the first device may not support simultaneous transmission of the first CSI report and the HARQ report. Since the HARQ report has a higher priority than the first CSI report, the first device may discard the first CSI report, or in other words, not send the first CSI report.

[0340] The aforementioned overlap can also be understood as conflict, collision, collision, etc.

[0341] Scene #a2:

[0342] The resources used to transmit the first CSI report overlap in the time domain with the resources used to transmit the SR report.

[0343] For example, the resources used to transmit the first CSI report include a first time-domain resource, and the resources used to transmit the SR report include a third time-domain resource. The first time-domain resource and the third time-domain resource overlap in the time domain, or in other words, there are common time-domain resources between the first time-domain resource and the third time-domain resource.

[0344] Alternatively, the first device may not support simultaneous transmission of the first CSI report and the SR report. Since the SR report has a higher priority than the first channel report, the first device may discard the first CSI report, or in other words, not send the first CSI report.

[0345] Scene #a3:

[0346] The first channel has a lower priority than the second channel. The second channel overlaps with the first channel in the time domain. The first channel is used to carry the first CSI report, and the second channel is used to carry uplink information.

[0347] For example, the resources used to transmit the first CSI report include a first channel, and the channel used to carry uplink information is a second channel. The first channel and the second channel overlap in the time domain, or in other words, there are shared time domain resources between the first channel and the second channel.

[0348] After receiving the first CSI report, the first device determines a first channel for carrying the first CSI report and a second channel for carrying uplink information. When the first channel and the second channel overlap in the time domain, the first channel has a lower priority than the second channel, and the first device discards the first CSI report, or in other words, the first device ignores or skips the transmission of the first CSI report.

[0349] When Ultra-Reliable Low-Latency Communication (URLLC) and Enhanced Mobile Broadband (EMBB) services coexist, URLLC services may have a higher priority than EMBB services. To differentiate between these two services, network devices assign different priorities to the Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) and Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH), which is reflected in priority indices. When a high-priority channel (e.g., with a smaller priority index) and a low-priority channel (e.g., with a larger priority index) overlap in the time domain, the first device will discard the transmission of the low-priority channel. If the first CSI report was originally intended to be carried on the low-priority channel, the first CSI report will fail to be transmitted due to the discarding of the low-priority channel.

[0350] Scene #a4:

[0351] The channel used to carry the first CSI report conflicts with downlink symbols or flexible symbols configured or indicated by the network device.

[0352] For example, the PUCCH / PUSCH channel carrying the first CSI report may conflict with downlink symbols or flexible symbols configured or indicated by the network device (this can also be understood as overlap, temporal overlap, or temporal collision, etc.). To avoid the occurrence of the conflict, the first device may discard the PUCCH / PUSCH channel carrying the first CSI report, causing the first CSI report to fail to be sent.

[0353] In one example, the PUCCH / PUSCH channel carrying the first CSI report is a semi-statically configured channel that conflicts with the downlink symbols or flexible symbols configured by the network device, for example, by the configuration of the downlink symbols or flexible symbols (such as tdd-UL-DL-ConfigurationCommon or tdd-UL-DL-ConfigDedicated), the downlink symbols or flexible symbols corresponding to the channel or information (SS / PBCH block by ssb-PositionsInBurst, or belonging to a CORESET associated with a Type0-PDCCH CSS set).

[0354] Another example is that the PUCCH / PUSCH channel carrying the first CSI report is a semi-statically configured channel that conflicts with the downlink symbols or flexible symbols indicated by the network device. For example, the network device indicates one or more symbols as downlink symbols or flexible symbols through downlink control information (DCI) for the transmission of downlink information.

[0355] In summary, the first device can determine whether to send the first CSI report based on whether there is a transmission request for a higher-priority report. When the first device determines that there is a transmission request for a higher-priority report, the first device can discard the first CSI report, or in other words, not send the first CSI report.

[0356] In one possible implementation, if the first device determines that it is impossible to send the entire contents of the first CSI report, it sends a portion of the contents of the first CSI report.

[0357] The following describes how the first device determines that it is unable to send the full contents of the first CSI report.

[0358] Method #b:

[0359] The first device can determine, based on the resources used to generate or transmit the first CSI report, that the entire contents of the first CSI report cannot be sent.

[0360] For example, the first device may determine that the entire contents of the first CSI report cannot be sent based on the resources used to transmit the first CSI report and the network device configuration or indication of the resources used to transmit the first CSI report; or, the first device may determine whether the entire contents of the first CSI report cannot be sent based on the number of resources used to generate the first CSI report.

[0361] Scene #b1:

[0362] The available processing resources are insufficient to generate the full content of the first CSI report. This first CSI report, including all content, can also be replaced by the expected first CSI report or the target channel report, etc. In other words, the second device expects a first CSI report including all content, or the second device expects to receive a target CSI report including all content.

[0363] For example, the processing resources available for computation in the first device (such as one or more of a central processing unit (CPU), graphics processing unit (GPU), and network processing unit (NPU)) are insufficient to generate the full content of the first CSI report.

[0364] For example, taking the CPU as the processing resource available for computation, the unused CPU resources in the first device are N. CPU -L items, N CPU L represents the total amount of CPU resources possessed by the first device, and L represents the amount of CPU resources already used by the first device. The first CSI report includes N sub-CSI reports, and the CPU resources required for each sub-channel report are respectively... Let n be the index of the sub-CSI report in the first CSI report, and N be the number of sub-CSI reports in the first CSI report. The CPU resources required to calculate all the sub-CSI reports in the first CSI report are... The first CSI report generated by the first device must meet the following requirements. When it cannot be satisfied This will prevent the complete first CSI report from being generated and thus sent.

[0365] Scene #b2:

[0366] The network device configuration or the time unit for instructing the first CSI report to be reported does not meet the time requirements for calculating the full content of the first CSI report.

[0367] For example, the time unit configured by the network device or instructing the first device to report the first CSI report does not meet the time requirements for calculating the entire content of the first CSI report. Consequently, the first device discards part or all of the bits (or part of the content or part of the sub-CSI report) of the entire content of the first CSI report and does not send it to the base station, thus resulting in the inability to actually send the entire content of the first CSI report.

[0368] For example, when the network device configures or instructs the first device to report a first CSI report, the transmission of the first CSI report is triggered by a first CSI report request. The first device's calculation time requirement for the first CSI report corresponds to a first time unit (Z). ref ) and the second time unit Z ref'(n), the first time unit is composed of the transmission time of the first CSI report request (e.g., the last symbol of the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) carrying the first CSI report request) and the first time threshold T. proc,csi Determined; the second time unit is determined by the reference signal resource (e.g., the last symbol of that reference signal resource) corresponding to the first CSI report and the second time threshold T′. proc,csi Confirmed. If the network device is configured or instructs the first device to report the first CSI report at a time unit earlier than the first time unit and / or earlier than the second time unit, the first device discards some or all of the bits in the first CSI report.

[0369] Scene #b3:

[0370] The network device configuration or indication indicates that the time unit corresponding to the uplink data channel carrying the first CSI report does not meet the time requirements for calculating the full content of the first CSI report.

[0371] For example, the network device is configured or indicates that the time unit corresponding to the PUSCH channel carrying the first CSI report does not meet the time requirements for calculating the full content of the first CSI report, resulting in the inability to actually send the full content of the first CSI report.

[0372] Scene #b4:

[0373] The network equipment is configured or indicates that the transmission resources carrying the first CSI report are insufficient to carry the full content of the first CSI report.

[0374] For example, if the network device is configured or indicates that the transmission resources used to carry uplink control information (UCI) (used to carry the first CSI report) are insufficient to carry the entire contents of the first CSI report, the first device may discard the first CSI report or the lower priority portion of the first CSI report.

[0375] In one example, the first device discards the first CSI report because the resources carrying the UCI are insufficient to carry any information in the first CSI report.

[0376] In another example, because the resources carrying the UCI are insufficient to carry all the information in the first CSI report, the first device discards the lower priority information in the first CSI report and retains the higher priority information for transmission, thus making it impossible to send the entire content of the first CSI report.

[0377] It should be noted that if the second device receives only a portion of the first CSI report, it can still determine a portion of the first reconstructed CSI based on that portion. However, since the second device cannot determine the complete first reconstructed CSI from that portion, even if it does, it will not send that portion to the first device. Consequently, the first device will not perform pattern monitoring based on that portion and the channel measurement results corresponding to the first CSI report.

[0378] S1360, the first device does not store the channel measurement results corresponding to the first CSI report. In other words, the first device determines not to store the channel measurement results corresponding to the first CSI report.

[0379] Specifically, if the first device determines that it is unable to send the entire contents of the first CSI report, it discards or clears the channel measurement results corresponding to the first CSI report, so that the channel measurement results corresponding to the first CSI report are not stored.

[0380] In this embodiment of the application, if the first device determines that it cannot send the entire contents of the first CSI report, the first device does not store the channel measurement results corresponding to the first CSI report, thereby avoiding the first device comparing other reconstructed CSIs different from the first reconstructed CSI with the channel measurement results corresponding to the first CSI report during the pattern monitoring process, or the first device is unsure which channel measurement result among the stored channel measurement results to compare with the received reconstructed CSI.

[0381] For example, if the first device stores the channel measurement results corresponding to the first CSI report and the channel measurement results corresponding to the second CSI report, and the first device acquires the channel measurement results corresponding to the first CSI report first, the second device cannot send the first reconstructed CSI to the first device if the first device has not sent the full content of the first CSI report. Furthermore, if the second device sends the second reconstructed CSI, the first device will perform model monitoring by comparing the channel measurement results corresponding to the second reconstructed CSI and the first CSI report, according to the order in which the reconstructed CSIs were received and the channel measurement results were acquired. However, this comparison behavior is actually unreasonable.

[0382] Furthermore, if the entire contents of the first CSI report are not sent, the first device will no longer use the channel measurement results corresponding to the first CSI report for model monitoring. Therefore, the first device can avoid useless channel measurement results occupying memory by clearing the channel measurement results corresponding to the first CSI report in a timely manner.

[0383] In the above embodiments, the deployment of the first AI model on the first device side can be implemented on a chip inside the first device, or it can be located outside the first device, such as in the host of an OTT system or a cloud server.

[0384] If the first AI model is deployed at a location other than the first device, one or more of the following steps in the above embodiments can be performed by the device or equipment that deploys the first AI model: obtaining the measurement results corresponding to the CSI report, storing the measurement results corresponding to the CSI report, determining the CSI report, or performing model monitoring based on the channel measurement results corresponding to the reconstructed CSI and the stored CSI report.

[0385] The deployment of the second AI model on the second device side can be implemented on a chip inside the first device, or it can be located outside the second device, such as near real-time RIC (near real-time RIC is set in RAN node, for example, in CU / DU), etc., collectively referred to as AI model deployment equipment of intelligent network elements.

[0386] If the second AI model is deployed in a location other than the second device, the following steps in the above embodiments are performed by the device or equipment that deploys the second AI model: determining the reconfiguration of CSI based on the CSI report.

[0387] Taking the UE as an example, the deployment of the first AI model on the UE side can be implemented on the chip inside the UE, or it can be located outside the UE, such as in the host of the OTT system or the cloud server.

[0388] Taking the second device as a BS as an example, the deployment of the second AI model on the BS side can be implemented on the chip inside the BS, or it can be located outside the BS, such as near real-time RIC (near real-time RIC is set in the RAN node, for example, in CU / DU), etc., which are collectively referred to as the network-side AI model deployment equipment of intelligent network elements.

[0389] If the first AI model on the UE side is deployed on the host or cloud server of the OTT system, and the second AI model on the BS side is deployed on the intelligent network element, then in method 800 shown in Figure 8, the OTT acquires and stores the channel measurement results corresponding to the first CSI report, and determines the first CSI report based on the channel measurement results corresponding to the first CSI report, and sends the first CSI report to the UE. The UE then sends the first CSI report to the BS. Correspondingly, after receiving the first CSI report, the BS sends the first CSI report to the intelligent network element, which determines the first reconstructed CSI based on the first CSI report, and then sends the first reconstructed CSI to the BS, which then sends the first reconstructed CSI to the UE. After receiving the first reconstructed CSI, the UE sends the first reconstructed CSI to the OTT, which performs model monitoring based on the first reconstructed CSI and the channel measurement results corresponding to the stored first CSI report.

[0390] If the first AI model on the UE side is deployed on the host or cloud server of the OTT system, and the second AI model on the BS side is deployed on the intelligent network element, then in method 1100 shown in Figure 11, the OTT acquires and stores the channel measurement results corresponding to the first CSI report, and the OTT determines the first CSI report based on the channel measurement results corresponding to the first CSI report, and sends the first CSI report to the UE. The UE then sends the first CSI report to the BS. Correspondingly, after the BS detects packet loss in the first CSI report, it sends a second indication message to the UE. After receiving the second indication message, the UE sends the second indication message to the OTT, and the OTT clears the channel measurement results corresponding to the first CSI report based on the second indication message.

[0391] If the first AI model on the UE side is deployed on the host or cloud server of the OTT system, and the second AI model on the BS side is deployed on the intelligent network element, then in method 1300 shown in Figure 13, the OTT obtains the channel measurement results corresponding to the first CSI report, and the OTT determines the first CSI report based on the channel measurement results corresponding to the first CSI report. If the UE determines that the OTT cannot generate the entire content of the first CSI report, or if the UE determines that it cannot send the entire content of the first CSI report, it instructs the OTT to clear the channel measurement results corresponding to the first CSI report.

[0392] It should be understood that the sequence number of each process does not imply the order of execution. The execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of this application.

[0393] It should also be understood that, in the various embodiments of this application, unless otherwise specified or in case of logical conflict, the terms and / or descriptions between different embodiments are consistent and can be referenced by each other, and the technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationships.

[0394] It is understood that, in the above-described method embodiments, the methods and operations implemented by the apparatus (such as the first apparatus or the second apparatus) can also be implemented by components of the apparatus (such as chips or circuits).

[0395] The communication method provided in the embodiments of this application has been described in detail above with reference to Figures 8 to 13. The above communication method is mainly described from the perspective of the interaction between the first device and the second device. It is understood that, in order to achieve the above functions, the first device and the second device include hardware structures and / or software modules corresponding to the execution of each function.

[0396] It is understood that, in order to achieve the functions in the above embodiments, the first device and the second device include hardware structures and / or software modules corresponding to the execution of each function. Those skilled in the art should readily recognize that, based on the units and method steps of the various examples described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed in this application, this application can be implemented in hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is executed by hardware or by computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application scenario and design constraints of the technical solution.

[0397] Figures 14 and 15 are schematic block diagrams of communication devices provided in embodiments of this application. These communication devices can be used to implement the functions of the first or second device in the above method embodiments, and thus can also achieve the beneficial effects of the above method embodiments.

[0398] Figure 14 is a schematic block diagram of a communication device 2000 provided in an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 14, the communication device 2000 includes a transceiver unit (or communication unit) 2020. Optionally, the communication device 2000 also includes a processing unit 2010. The communication device 2000 is used to implement the functions of the first or second device in the method embodiments shown in Figures 8, 11, or 13 above.

[0399] When the communication device 2000 is used to implement the function of the first device in the method embodiment shown in FIG8, FIG11 or FIG13: the transceiver unit 2020 is used to receive first indication information, the first indication information is used to indicate the channel measurement result corresponding to the storage of the first CSI report, and the channel measurement result corresponding to the first CSI report is used for model monitoring.

[0400] When the communication device 2000 is used to implement the function of the second device in the method embodiment shown in FIG8, FIG11 or FIG13: the transceiver unit 2020 is used to send first indication information, which is used to indicate the channel measurement result corresponding to the storage of the first CSI report, and the channel measurement result corresponding to the first CSI report is used for model monitoring.

[0401] For a more detailed description of the processing unit 2010 and the transceiver unit 2020, please refer to the relevant descriptions in the method embodiments shown in Figures 8, 11, or 13.

[0402] The apparatus 2000 of each of the above-described schemes has the function of implementing the corresponding steps performed by the first apparatus in the above-described method, or the apparatus 2000 of each of the above-described schemes has the function of implementing the corresponding steps performed by the second apparatus in the above-described method. The function can be implemented by hardware or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above functions; for example, the transceiver unit can be replaced by a transceiver (e.g., the transmitting unit in the transceiver unit can be replaced by a transmitter, and the receiving unit in the transceiver unit can be replaced by a receiver), and other units, such as processing units, can be replaced by processors, respectively executing the transceiver operations and related processing operations in each method embodiment.

[0403] Furthermore, the aforementioned transceiver unit can also be a transceiver circuit (e.g., it may include a receiving circuit and a transmitting circuit), and the processing unit can be a processing circuit. The processing circuit can be one or more processors, or all or part of the circuitry within one or more processors used for control or processing functions. In embodiments of this application, the device in FIG14 can be the first or second device in the foregoing embodiments, or it can be a chip or a chip system, such as a system-on-a-chip (SoC). The transceiver unit can be an input / output circuit or a communication interface; the processing unit is a processor, microprocessor, or integrated circuit integrated on the chip. No limitations are imposed here.

[0404] Figure 15 is a schematic block diagram of a communication device 3000 provided in an embodiment of this application. The device 3000 includes a processing circuit. The device may also include a communication circuit. The processing circuit and the communication circuit communicate with each other via an internal connection path. The processing circuit executes instructions to control the communication circuit to send and / or receive signals.

[0405] Taking a processing circuit including one or more processors and a communication circuit including a transceiver as an example, as shown in Figure 15, the communication device 3000 includes a processor 3010 and a transceiver 3020. The processor 3010 and the transceiver 3020 are coupled to each other. It is understood that the transceiver 3020 can be a transceiver or an input / output interface. Optionally, the communication device 3000 may also include a memory 3030 for storing instructions executed by the processor 3010, or storing input data required for the processor 3010 to execute instructions, or storing data generated after the processor 3010 executes instructions. Sometimes, the transceiver 3020 can also be understood as part of the processor 3010, in which case the communication device 3000 includes the processor 3010.

[0406] In one possible implementation, the apparatus 3000 is used to implement the various processes and steps corresponding to the first apparatus in the above method embodiments. In another possible implementation, the apparatus 3000 is used to implement the various processes and steps corresponding to the second apparatus in the above method embodiments.

[0407] It is understood that device 3000 can specifically be the first device or the second device in the above embodiments, or it can be a chip or a chip system. Correspondingly, the communication circuit can be the interface circuit of the chip, or an input / output circuit, which is not limited here. Specifically, device 3000 can be used to execute the various steps and / or processes corresponding to the first device or the second device in the above method embodiments.

[0408] When the communication device 3000 is used to implement the method shown in FIG8, FIG11 or FIG13, the processor 3010 is used to implement the function of the processing unit 2010, and the transceiver 3020 is used to implement the function of the transceiver unit 2020.

[0409] When the aforementioned communication device is a chip or OTT device applied to the first device, the chip or OTT device of the first device implements the functions of the first device in the above method embodiments, for example, implementing the processing functions of the first device. The chip or OTT device of the first device receiving information from the second device can be understood as the information being first received by other modules (such as radio frequency modules or antennas) in the first device, and then sent by these modules to the chip or OTT device of the first device. The chip or OTT device of the first device sending information to the second device can be understood as the information being first sent by the chip or OTT device of the first device to other modules (such as radio frequency modules or antennas) in the first device, and then sent by these modules to the second device.

[0410] When the aforementioned communication device is a chip or OTT device applied to the second device, the chip or OTT device of the second device implements the functions of the second device in the above method embodiments, for example, implementing the processing functions of the second device. The chip or OTT device of the second device receiving information from the first device can be understood as the information being first received by other modules (such as radio frequency modules or antennas) in the second device, and then sent by these modules to the chip or OTT device of the second device. The chip or OTT device of the second device sending information to the first device can be understood as the information being first sent by the chip or OTT device of the second device to other modules (such as radio frequency modules or antennas) in the second device, and then sent by these modules to the first device.

[0411] It is understood that, in order to achieve the functions in the above embodiments, the first device and the second device include hardware structures and / or software modules corresponding to the execution of each function. Those skilled in the art should readily recognize that, based on the units and method steps of the various examples described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed in this application, this application can be implemented in hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is executed by hardware or by computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application scenario and design constraints of the technical solution.

[0412] It is understood that the processor in the embodiments of this application can be a central processing unit (CPU), or other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), image processors, artificial intelligence processors, or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components, or any combination thereof. A general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0413] The method steps in the embodiments of this application can be implemented in hardware or in software instructions executable by a processor. The software instructions can consist of corresponding software modules, which can be stored in random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, erasable programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable read-only memory, registers, hard disks, portable hard disks, CD-ROMs, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to a processor, enabling the processor to read information from and write information to the storage medium. The storage medium can also be a component of the processor. The processor and the storage medium can reside in an ASIC. Alternatively, the ASIC can reside in a first device or a second device. The processor and the storage medium can also exist as discrete components in the first device or the second device.

[0414] In the above embodiments, implementation can be achieved entirely or partially through software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, it can be implemented entirely or partially in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer programs or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the processes or functions described in the embodiments of this application are performed entirely or partially. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, a network device, a user equipment, or other programmable device. The computer program or instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transferred from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer program or instructions can be transferred from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via wired or wireless means. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that a computer can access or a data storage device such as a server or data center that integrates one or more available media. The available medium can be a magnetic medium, such as a floppy disk, hard disk, or magnetic tape; it can also be an optical medium, such as a digital video optical disc; or it can be a semiconductor medium, such as a solid-state drive. The computer-readable storage medium may be a volatile or non-volatile storage medium, or may include both types of storage media.

[0415] In the above embodiments, unless otherwise specified or there is a logical conflict, the terms and / or descriptions between different embodiments are consistent and can be referenced by each other. The technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationships.

[0416] Those skilled in the art will recognize that the units and algorithm steps of the various examples described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are implemented in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of this application.

[0417] Those skilled in the art will understand that, for the sake of convenience and brevity, the specific working processes of the systems, devices, and units described above can be referred to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0418] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, apparatuses, and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the apparatus embodiments described above are merely illustrative; for instance, the division of units is only a logical functional division, and in actual implementation, there may be other division methods. For example, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored or not executed. Furthermore, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed may be through some interfaces; the indirect coupling or communication connection between apparatuses or units may be electrical, mechanical, or other forms.

[0419] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate. The components shown as units may or may not be physical units; that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of the units can be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0420] In addition, the functional units in the various embodiments of this application can be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit can exist physically separately, or two or more units can be integrated into one unit.

[0421] If the aforementioned functions are implemented as software functional units and sold or used as independent products, they can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of this application, in essence, or the part that contributes to the prior art, or a portion of the technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. This computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions to cause a computer device (which may be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in the various embodiments of this application. The aforementioned storage medium includes various media capable of storing program code, such as USB flash drives, portable hard drives, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic disks, or optical disks.

[0422] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of this application, but the scope of protection of this application is not limited thereto. Any variations or substitutions that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the scope of the technology disclosed in this application should be included within the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application should be determined by the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A communication method characterized by comprising: The method comprises: receiving first indication information, the first indication information being used for indicating storage of channel measurement results corresponding to a first channel state information (CSI) report, the channel measurement results corresponding to the first CSI report being used for model monitoring.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, The first indication information comprises a first identifier, the first identifier being used for identifying the first CSI report.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The method further comprises: sending the first CSI report, the first CSI report being determined according to the channel measurement results corresponding to the first CSI report; storing the channel measurement results corresponding to the first CSI report; receiving first reconstructed CSI, the first reconstructed CSI being related to the first CSI report; performing model monitoring according to the first reconstructed CSI and the channel measurement results corresponding to the first CSI report.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein, The receiving of the first reconstructed CSI comprises: receiving the first reconstructed CSI and a first identifier, the first identifier being used for identifying the first CSI report.

5. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The method further comprises: if all contents of the first CSI report are not sent, not storing the channel measurement results corresponding to the first CSI report, the first CSI report being determined according to the channel measurement results corresponding to the first CSI report.

6. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein, The method further comprises: sending the first CSI report, the first CSI report being determined according to the channel measurement results corresponding to the first CSI report; storing the channel measurement results corresponding to the first CSI report; receiving second indication information, the second indication information being used for indicating clearing of the channel measurement results corresponding to the first CSI report.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein, The second indication information comprises a first identifier, the first identifier being used for identifying the first CSI report.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that, The method further comprises: if a number of stored channel measurement results is equal to M, clearing at least one channel measurement result stored first among the M stored channel measurement results, M being a maximum number of stored channel measurement results supported, M being a positive integer; or, a storage time of at least one stored channel measurement result being equal to a maximum storage time, the at least one channel measurement result being cleared.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that, The method further comprises: receiving third indication information, the third indication information being used for indicating clearing of at least one stored channel measurement result.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that, The method further comprises: sending capability information, the capability information being used for indicating a maximum storage time and / or a maximum storage space, the capability information being used for determination of a maximum number of stored channel measurement results.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein, The method further comprises: receiving fourth indication information, the fourth indication information being used for indicating a maximum number of stored channel measurement results.

12. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that, The method further comprises: sending fifth indication information, the fifth indication information being used for indicating a maximum number of stored channel measurement results.

13. A method of communication, comprising: The method comprises: sending first indication information, the first indication information being used for indicating storage of channel measurement results corresponding to a first channel state information (CSI) report, the channel measurement results corresponding to the first CSI report being used for model monitoring.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein, The first indication information comprises a first identifier, the first identifier being used for identifying the first CSI report.

15. The method according to claim 13 or 14, characterized in that, The method further comprises: receiving the first CSI report, the first CSI report being determined according to a channel measurement result corresponding to the first CSI report; sending a first reconstructed CSI, the first reconstructed CSI being determined according to the first CSI report, the first reconstructed CSI being used for model monitoring.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein, The sending of the first reconstructed CSI comprises: sending the first reconstructed CSI and a first identifier, the first identifier being used for identifying the first CSI report.

17. The method of claim 13 or 14, wherein, The method further comprises: in a case where the first CSI report is not received, sending second indication information, the second indication information being used for indicating to clear the channel measurement result corresponding to the first CSI report.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein, The second indication information comprises a first identifier, the first identifier being used for identifying the first CSI report.

19. The method according to any one of claims 13 to 18, characterized in that, The method further comprises: sending third indication information, the third indication information being used for indicating to clear at least one of the stored channel measurement results.

20. The method of any one of claims 13-19, wherein, The method further comprises: receiving capability information, the capability information being used for indicating a maximum storage time and / or a maximum storage space, the capability information being used for determining a maximum number of stored channel measurement results.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein, The method further comprises: sending fourth indication information, the fourth indication information being used for indicating a maximum number of stored channel measurement results.

22. The method of any one of claims 13-21, wherein, The method further comprises: receiving fifth indication information, the fifth indication information being used for indicating a maximum number of stored channel measurement results.

23. A communications device, characterized by The apparatus comprises means or units for performing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 12, or the apparatus comprises means or units for performing the method according to any one of claims 13 to 22.

24. A communications device, characterized by The apparatus comprises a processor configured to execute computer programs or instructions to cause the method according to any one of claims 1 to 22 to be performed.

25. The communication apparatus according to claim 24, wherein, The apparatus further comprises a memory.

26. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer readable storage medium stores program codes for the apparatus to execute, the program codes being used for performing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 22.

27. A computer program product, characterised in that, The computer program product comprises instructions which, when the computer program product is run on a computer, cause the computer to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 22.

28. A chip, characterized by The apparatus comprises a processor and a communication interface, the processor reading instructions on the memory through the communication interface to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 22.

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