Communication method and related apparatus

Abstract

A communication method and a related apparatus. The method is applied to a first communication apparatus. The method comprises: receiving first information, the first information comprising a first identifier, and the first identifier being used for indicating a first artificial intelligence (AI) function; and sending second information, the second information comprising state information of the first AI function. A second communication apparatus receives the second information, so that the second communication apparatus can learn an AI function supported by the first communication apparatus and make a corresponding decision on the basis of the statue information of the AI function, thereby improving communication efficiency.

Description

Communication method and related apparatus

[0001] The present application claims priority from the Chinese patent application No. 202411054767.2 filed on August 01, 2024, and entitled "A communication method and related 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 in particular, to a communication method and related apparatus. BACKGROUND

[0003] With the development of communication technology, in a communication system, in addition to traditional communication services, the services performed by a communication device can also include other new services, such as artificial intelligence (AI) services. The introduction of AI technology in the field of wireless networks can greatly improve the efficiency of network planning, network configuration and resource scheduling, and realize network intelligence.

[0004] Based on an AI function / model, a user equipment (UE) or a network node can perform AI-based inference and prediction operations. How to improve the efficiency of AI functions / models in the network is a problem that needs to be solved urgently. SUMMARY

[0005] Embodiments of the present application provide a communication method and related apparatus for improving communication efficiency.

[0006] The first aspect of the present application provides a communication method, which is performed by a first communication apparatus. The first communication apparatus can be a terminal communication device, or the first communication apparatus can be a part of a communication device (for example, a circuit or a chip responsible for communication functions (such as a Modem chip (also known as a baseband chip), a system on chip (SoC) chip, such as an SoC chip containing a modem core, or a system in package (SIP) chip), etc.), or the first communication apparatus can also be a logic module or software that can realize all or part of the functions of the communication device. In the method, the first communication apparatus receives first information, and the first information includes a first identifier, which is used to indicate a first artificial intelligence (AI) function; and the first communication apparatus sends second information, and the second information includes state information of the first AI function.

[0007] In the present application, the first communication device is a terminal device, and the second communication device is a network device. The second communication device needs to know the support situation of the first communication device for AI functions and configure the first communication device to apply these AI functions in corresponding scenarios. The second communication device sends first information to the first communication device to request to collect state information of the first AI function, and indicates the first AI function through a first identifier. The first communication device determines whether the first AI function is available according to the current running status of the device and the associated information maintained by the device, and sends second information including the state information of the first AI function to the second communication device.

[0008] Based on the above scheme, the second communication device can know the AI functions supported by the first communication device and make corresponding decisions according to the state information of the AI functions. For example, in a communication scenario requiring AI assistance, the second communication device can accurately identify and call the AI functions supported by the first communication device, thereby providing more accurate and intelligent services and improving communication efficiency.

[0009] In the present application, the AI function can be replaced by other terms such as AI-enabled features or AI-enabled functions, or can also be replaced by other terms such as AI models, neural networks, neural network models, AI neural network models, machine learning models, mathematical models, or AI processing models. For ease of expression, in the present application, subsequent expressions are made by using “AI function” without special instructions. It should be understood that the technical solutions provided in the present application are also applicable to other different expressions or different types of “AI functions”.

[0010] In a possible implementation, the state information of the first AI function includes that the first communication device has not obtained the first AI function, the first communication device has obtained the first AI function and the first AI function is not available, or the first communication device has obtained the first AI function and the first AI function is available.

[0011] In the present application, the state information of the first AI function can be indicated in two ways. For example, “(not) available” and “(not) applicable” two fields are used to represent “whether the AI function has been obtained” and “whether the AI function is available”, respectively. Alternatively, “(not) applicable” one field is used to represent “whether the AI function is available”. In this way, when the state of the AI function is not applicable, it includes two cases of “not obtaining the AI function” or “obtaining the AI function but not available at present”.

[0012] For example, the first communication device may not support the use of the AI function due to its own hardware resource shortage or insufficient power, even if it has obtained the AI function.

[0013] In a possible implementation, the first AI function being unavailable includes that the first AI function is unavailable under a first condition, the first condition corresponding to a network state of the network device; and the first AI function being available includes that the first AI function is available under the first condition.

[0014] In this application, the first communication device needs to obtain the AI function through AI training by using training data, wherein the training data is collected under certain network side conditions. For example, the network side condition of certain training data can indicate the relevant condition information of at least one process in the configuration, collection, generation, or acquisition of the data, such as antenna array information, power information, and beam information of the network device when collecting the data. In order to ensure that the AI function is adapted to the actual scene during inference, the current network side condition needs to be consistent with the network side condition corresponding to the training data of the AI function during inference.

[0015] In this application, the first communication device obtains the training data required by the AI function through offline or online mode, and trains to obtain the corresponding AI function. After the training is completed, the first communication device locally saves the association relationship between the AI function and the identifier of the network side condition corresponding to the training data. Therefore, when determining whether the first AI function is available, the first communication device also needs to determine whether the network side condition is consistent with the network side condition corresponding to the training of the AI function.

[0016] In a possible implementation, the first information further includes one or more of the following:

[0017] One or more second identifiers, each second identifier being used to indicate a condition (network side condition), and the identifier of the first condition being included in the one or more second identifiers; each second identifier indicating a network side condition, and being intended to request state information of the AI function indicated by the first identifier under different network side conditions.

[0018] A third identifier indicating one or more cell information of a region where the terminal device is located; or

[0019] Second indication information, the second indication information being used to indicate a first application scenario of the first AI function.

[0020] In this application, the one or more second identifiers are the current network side condition of the second communication device or a plurality of network side conditions of interest.

[0021] For the indication of the network side condition, the cell identity can also be jointly indicated. The second communication device can also request the state information corresponding to a certain network side condition in the neighboring cell when requesting the state information of the AI function, and therefore, the first information can also include the cell identity of interest. The second indication information is used to indicate the first application scenario corresponding to the first AI function, such as a "beam management scenario" or a "positioning scenario".

[0022] In a possible implementation, before receiving the first information, the method further includes: the first communication device sending third information, the third information indicating that the first communication device supports at least one AI capability (the first communication device has the capability to perform an AI task).

[0023] In this application, before receiving the request for reporting the state information, the first communication device can send the capability information supported by the first communication device to the second communication device, indicating that at least one AI capability is supported, one AI capability corresponds to one or more AI functions, and the one or more AI functions include the first AI function.

[0024] By using the above method, the second communication device determines which AI functions are supported by the first communication device based on the capability information reported by the first communication device, and makes corresponding requests and configurations in subsequent processes.

[0025] In a possible implementation, the third information includes first indication information, the first indication information indicating the first AI function, and the first identity corresponding to the first indication information. That is, the first identity is the unique identifier (ID) of the first AI function, and the first indication information is the description of the first AI function. For example, the first identity is "001", and the first indication information can be a description text of "prediction based on 4 beams to 8 beams in the beam management scenario".

[0026] In this application, the third information (capability reporting information) includes the first indication information for indicating the first AI function, and the first identity is associated with the first AI function, so that the first communication device and the second communication device can indicate the first AI function through the first identity in subsequent processes.

[0027] In a possible implementation, the third information includes second indication information, indicating in which application scenarios the first communication device supports using AI capabilities, such as a "beam management scenario" or a "positioning scenario".

[0028] In a possible implementation, the third information further includes a scenario identity associated with the second indication information. That is, the scenario identity is the unique identifier (ID) of the first application scenario, and the second indication information is the description of the first application scenario. For example, the scenario identity is "101", and the second indication information can be a description text of "beam management scenario".

[0029] Optionally, the third information includes third indication information indicating that the first communication device supports the AI capability (for example, "AI-support").

[0030] In a possible implementation, the third information further includes a second identifier corresponding to the first AI function, and the first communication device maintains an association between the second identifier and the first AI function.

[0031] In the present application, when the first communication device reports the capability, the supported AI function and the corresponding network side condition can be reported together, and the message is based on the association between the AI function and the network side condition corresponding to the training data maintained by the first communication device in the process of training the AI function. At this time, the first identifier of the AI function, the descriptive text of the AI function (the first indication information), and the corresponding network side condition can be indicated.

[0032] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: the first communication device receives first configuration information including configuration parameters of the first AI function; and the first communication device processes the inference task according to the first configuration information and the first AI function.

[0033] In the present application, the second communication device determines the configuration of the first AI function of the first communication device according to the state information (whether available) of the first AI function in the first communication device, so as to make the first communication device apply AI to improve the operation efficiency and overall performance of the system.

[0034] In the present application, for the AI function in the available state, the second communication device can configure the corresponding configuration information for the AI function, such as necessary parameter setting, activation condition and other configuration parameters supporting the AI function to execute the inference task, and then sends the configuration information to the first communication device to activate the AI function to execute the corresponding inference task.

[0035] In a possible implementation, the first information further includes first configuration information.

[0036] Optionally, the first configuration information of the AI function can be carried in the first information sent by the second communication device. When the first communication device determines that the state information of a certain AI function is in the available state, the first communication device can report the state information of the AI function, and after confirming that the second communication device receives the second information (for example, receiving an indication message (Acknowledgment, ACK) indicating that the message transmission is successful), the first communication device applies the first configuration information to start the AI function to perform inference.

[0037] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: receiving, by the first communication device, second configuration information, the second configuration information including training data of the first AI function; and training, by the first communication device, the first AI function according to the second configuration information.

[0038] For example, the second configuration information includes configuration information for training the first AI function and training data.

[0039] Optionally, for the AI function in the unavailable state, the second communication device decides to trigger the training process.

[0040] In this application, the second communication device configures the first communication device to train based on whether the first communication device has a model, so that the first communication device can train to obtain the corresponding AI function.

[0041] In a possible implementation, the second information further includes first request information, requesting the second configuration information.

[0042] In this application, the first communication device can actively request to train the AI function, and the first request information carried in the second message is used to request the second communication device to provide the configuration information and the training data required for training.

[0043] In a possible implementation, the second configuration information includes an identifier of a second condition, the second condition corresponding to a network state when the training data is collected; and after the training of the first AI function is completed, the method further includes: sending fourth information, the fourth information indicating that the first communication device has obtained the first AI function, and the first AI function is available under the second condition.

[0044] In this application, the identifier of the network side condition corresponding to the training data, the first communication device maintains an association between the first AI function and the corresponding network side condition after the training is completed. And the fourth information is sent to report the current state, specifically, the fourth information indicates that the first communication device has obtained the first AI function, and the first AI function is available under the network side condition.

[0045] In a possible implementation, the first information further includes fourth indication information, indicating that the first communication device separately reports whether the AI function is trained (not available or available) and whether the AI function is available (not applicable or applicable) under the indicated network side condition. The second communication device first requests the first communication device to report whether the corresponding AI function is trained, and after determining that the first communication device has trained the related AI function, requests the first communication device to report the availability of the AI function.

[0046] The second aspect of the present application provides a communication method, which is performed by a second communication device. The second communication device can be a network communication device, or the second communication device can be a part of a communication device (for example, a circuit or a chip responsible for communication functions (such as a Modem chip (also known as a baseband chip), a SoC chip, such as a SoC chip containing a modem core, or a SIP chip, etc.), or the second communication device can also be a logic module or software that can realize all or part of the functions of the communication device. In the method, the second communication device sends first information, and the first information includes a first identifier, and the first identifier is used to indicate a first artificial intelligence (AI) function; and the second communication device receives second information, and the second information includes state information of the first AI function.

[0047] In the present application, the first communication device is a terminal device, and the second communication device is a network device. The second communication device needs to know the support situation of the first communication device for the AI function, and configure the first communication device to apply the AI function in a corresponding scenario. The second communication device sends first information to the first communication device, to request to collect feedback on whether the state information of the first AI function is available. The first identifier is used to indicate the first AI function. The first communication device determines whether the first AI function is available according to the current running status of the device and the associated information maintained by the device, and sends second information to the second communication device. The second information includes the state information of the first AI function.

[0048] Based on the above scheme, the second communication device can know the AI function supported by the first communication device, and make a corresponding decision according to the state information of the AI function. For example, in a communication scenario that needs AI assistance, the second communication device can accurately identify and call the AI function supported by the first communication device, so as to provide more accurate and intelligent services and improve communication efficiency.

[0049] In a possible implementation manner, the state information of the first AI function includes that the first communication device has not obtained the first AI function, the first communication device has obtained the first AI function, and the first AI function is unavailable, or the first communication device has obtained the first AI function, and the first AI function is available.

[0050] In the present application, the state information of the first AI function can be indicated in two ways. For example, "(not) available" and "(not) applicable" are used to represent "whether the AI function has been obtained" and "whether the AI function is available", respectively. Alternatively, "(not) applicable" is used to represent "whether the AI function is available". In this way, when the state of the AI function is not applicable, it includes two cases: "the AI function has not been obtained", or "the AI function has been obtained but is currently not available".

[0051] For example, the first communication device may, due to its own hardware resource shortage or insufficient power, etc., not support the use of the AI function even if it has obtained the AI function.

[0052] In a possible implementation, the first AI function is not available, including: the first AI function is not available under a first condition, the first condition corresponding to a network state of the network device; and the first AI function is available, including: the first AI function is available under the first condition.

[0053] In the present application, the first communication device needs to obtain AI training data for AI training, wherein the training data is collected under certain network side conditions. For example, the network side conditions of certain training data can indicate the relevant condition information of at least one of the processes of configuration, collection, generation, or acquisition of the data, such as antenna array information, power information, beam information of the network device when collecting data, etc. In order to ensure that the AI function is adapted to the actual scene during inference, the current network side conditions need to be consistent with the network side conditions corresponding to the training data of the AI function during inference.

[0054] In the present application, the first communication device obtains the training data required by the AI function through offline or online methods, and trains to obtain the corresponding AI function. After training is completed, the first communication device locally saves the association relationship between the AI function and the identifier of the network side condition corresponding to the training data. Therefore, when determining whether the first AI function is available, the first communication device also needs to determine whether the network side condition is consistent with the network side condition corresponding to the AI function during training.

[0055] In a possible implementation, the first information further includes one or more of the following:

[0056] One or more second identifiers, each second identifier being used to indicate a condition, and the identifier of the first condition being included in the one or more second identifiers;

[0057] A third identifier indicating one or more cell information of a region where the terminal device is located; or

[0058] The second indication information is used for indicating a first application scenario of the first AI function.

[0059] In the present application, the one or more second identifiers are for current network side conditions or multiple network side conditions of interest of the second communication device.

[0060] For the indication of the network side conditions, the cell identifier can also be jointly indicated. The second communication device can also request the state information corresponding to a certain network side condition in a neighboring cell when requesting the state information of the AI function. Therefore, the first information can also include the cell identifier of interest. The second indication information is used for indicating a first application scenario corresponding to the first AI function, such as a “beam management scenario” or a “positioning scenario”.

[0061] In a possible implementation, before the first information is sent, the method further includes: the second communication device receiving third information, the third information indicating that the first communication device supports at least one AI capability (the first communication device has the capability to perform an AI task).

[0062] In the present application, before receiving the request for reporting the state information, the first communication device can send the capability information supported by itself to the second communication device, indicating that at least one AI capability is supported, one AI capability corresponds to one or more AI functions, and the one or more AI functions include the first AI function.

[0063] By using the above method, the second communication device determines which AI functions are specifically supported by the first communication device based on the capability information reported by the first communication device, and makes corresponding requests and configurations in subsequent processes.

[0064] In a possible implementation, the third information includes first indication information, the first indication information indicating the first AI function, and the first identifier corresponding to the first indication information. That is, the first identifier is a unique identifier (ID) of the first AI function, and the first indication information is a description of the first AI function. For example, the first identifier is “001”, and the first indication information can be a description text of “prediction based on 4 beams to 8 beams in a beam management scenario”.

[0065] In the present application, the third information (capability reporting information) includes the first indication information for indicating the first AI function, and the first identifier is associated with the first AI function, so that in subsequent processes, the first communication device and the first communication device can indicate the first AI function through the first identifier.

[0066] In a possible implementation, the third information includes second indication information, indicating in which application scenarios the first communication device supports using AI capabilities, such as a “beam management scenario” or a “positioning scenario”.

[0067] In a possible implementation, the third information further includes a scenario identifier associated with the second indication information. That is, the scenario identifier is a unique identifier (ID) of the first application scenario, and the second indication information is a description of the first application scenario. For example, the scenario identifier is "101", and the second indication information can be a description text of "beam management scenario".

[0068] Optionally, the third information includes third indication information indicating that the first communication device supports an AI capability (for example, "AI-support").

[0069] In a possible implementation, the third information further includes a second identifier corresponding to the first AI function, and the first communication device maintains an association between the second identifier and the first AI function.

[0070] In the present application, when the first communication device reports the capability, the supported AI function and the corresponding network side condition can be reported together. The message is based on the association between the AI function and the network side condition corresponding to the training data maintained by the first communication device in the process of training the AI function. At this time, the AI function can be indicated by the first identifier of the AI function, the descriptive text (the first indication information) of the AI function, and the corresponding network side condition.

[0071] In a possible implementation, when the state information of the first AI function is available, the method further includes: the second communication device sends first configuration information, and the first configuration information includes configuration parameters of the first AI function.

[0072] In the present application, the second communication device determines to configure the first AI function of the first communication device according to the state information (whether available) of the first AI function in the first communication device, so as to make the first communication device apply AI to improve the operation efficiency and overall performance of the system.

[0073] In the present application, for the AI function with the state information in the available state, the second communication device can configure the corresponding configuration information for the AI function, such as necessary parameter setting, activation condition and other configuration parameters supporting the AI function to execute the inference task, and then sends the configuration information to the first communication device to activate the AI function to execute the corresponding inference task.

[0074] In a possible implementation, the first information further includes first configuration information.

[0075] Optionally, the first information sent by the second communication device can carry first configuration information of the AI function. When the first communication device determines that the state information of a certain AI function is in the available state, the first communication device can report the state information of the AI function, and after confirming that the second communication device receives the second information (for example, after receiving an indication message (Acknowledgment, ACK) indicating that the message transmission is successful), the first communication device applies the first configuration information and starts the AI function to perform reasoning.

[0076] In a possible implementation, when the state information of the first AI function is available, the method further includes: the second communication device obtaining second configuration information, the second configuration information including training data of the first AI function; and sending the second configuration information.

[0077] For example, the second configuration information includes configuration information for training the first AI function and training data.

[0078] Optionally, for the AI function whose state information is in the unavailable state, the second communication device can decide to trigger a training process.

[0079] In this application, the second communication device configures the first communication device to perform training based on whether the first communication device has a model, so that the first communication device can train to obtain a corresponding AI function.

[0080] In a possible implementation, the second information further includes first request information, requesting the second configuration information.

[0081] In this application, the first communication device can actively request to train the AI function, and the first request information carried in the second message is used to request the second communication device to provide configuration information and training data required for training.

[0082] In a possible implementation, the second configuration information includes an identifier of a second condition, the second condition corresponding to a network state when the training data is collected; and after the training of the first AI function is completed, the method further includes: the second communication device receiving fourth information, the fourth information indicating that the first communication device has obtained the first AI function, and the first AI function is available under the second condition.

[0083] In this application, the identifier of the network side condition corresponding to the training data, after the first communication device completes the training, locally maintains the association between the first AI function and the corresponding network side condition. And send the fourth information to report the current state, specifically, the fourth information indicates that the first communication device has obtained the first AI function, and the first AI function is available under the network side condition.

[0084] In a possible implementation, the first information further includes fourth indication information, which indicates that the first communication device separately reports "whether the AI function is trained (not available or available)" and "whether the AI function is available (not applicable or applicable) under the indicated network side condition". The second communication device first requests the first communication device to report whether the corresponding AI function is trained, and after determining that the first communication device has trained the related AI function, requests the first communication device to report the availability of the AI function.

[0085] The third aspect of the present application provides a communication device, which is a first communication device, and the device includes a transceiver and a processing unit. The transceiver is configured to receive first information, and the first information includes a first identifier, which is used to indicate a first artificial intelligence (AI) function. The processing unit is configured to determine second information, and the transceiver is further configured to send the second information, and the second information includes state information of the first AI function.

[0086] In the third aspect of the present application, the constituent modules of the communication device can also be configured to perform the steps performed in the possible implementation manners of the first aspect, and achieve the corresponding technical effects. For details, refer to the first aspect, which will not be described here again.

[0087] The fourth aspect of the present application provides a communication device, which is a second communication device, and the device includes a transceiver and a processing unit. The processing unit is configured to determine first information, and the transceiver is configured to send the first information. The first information includes a first identifier, which is used to indicate a first artificial intelligence (AI) function. The transceiver is further configured to receive second information, and the second information includes state information of the first AI function.

[0088] In the fourth aspect of the present application, the constituent modules of the communication device can also be configured to perform the steps performed in the possible implementation manners of the second aspect, and achieve the corresponding technical effects. For details, refer to the second aspect, which will not be described here again.

[0089] The fifth aspect of the present application provides a communication device, which includes at least one processor and a memory. The memory is configured to store programs or instructions. The at least one processor is configured to execute the programs or instructions, so that the device implements the method in any one of the possible implementation manners of any one of the first aspect to the second aspect. Optionally, the communication device can include the memory.

[0090] The sixth aspect of the present application provides a communication device, which includes at least one logic circuit and an input and output interface. The logic circuit is configured to execute the method in any one of the possible implementation manners of any one of the first aspect to the second aspect.

[0091] The seventh aspect of the present application provides a communication system, comprising the first communication device and a second communication device.

[0092] The eighth aspect of the present application provides a computer readable storage medium, which is used to store one or more computer execution instructions, when the computer execution instructions are executed by a processor, the processor executes the method in any possible implementation manner of any one of the first aspect to the second aspect.

[0093] The ninth aspect of the present application provides a computer program product (or computer program), when the computer program in the computer program product is executed by the processor, the processor executes the method in any possible implementation manner of any one of the first aspect to the second aspect.

[0094] The tenth aspect of the present application provides a chip or chip system, comprising at least one processor, used to support the communication device to implement the method in any possible implementation manner of any one of the first aspect to the second aspect. For example, the chip can be a baseband chip, a modem chip, an SoC chip (such as an SoC chip containing a modem core), a SIP chip, or a communication module, etc.

[0095] In a possible design, the chip or chip system can further comprise a memory, used to save necessary program instructions and data of the communication device. The chip system can be composed of a chip, or can contain a chip and other discrete devices. Optionally, the chip system further comprises an interface circuit, which provides program instructions and / or data for the at least one processor.

[0096] The technical effects brought by any one of the third aspect to the tenth aspect can be referred to the technical effects brought by different design manners of the first aspect to the second aspect, which will not be repeated here. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0097] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application, the drawings needed in the embodiment description will be briefly introduced. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present application, and other drawings can be obtained by those skilled in the art without creative labor.

[0098] FIGS. 1a to 1c are schematic diagrams of a communication system provided by the present application;

[0099] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an AI-based beam management process;

[0100] FIG. 3 is an interaction diagram of a communication method provided by the present application;

[0101] FIG. 4 is another interaction diagram of a communication method provided by the present application;

[0102] FIG. 5 is another interaction diagram of a communication method provided by the present application;

[0103] FIG. 6 is another interaction diagram of a communication method provided by the present application;

[0104] FIG. 7 to FIG. 11 are schematic diagrams of communication apparatuses provided by the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0105] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present application, rather than all the embodiments of the present application. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative work fall within the scope of protection of the present application.

[0106] First, some terms in the embodiments of the present application are explained to facilitate understanding by those skilled in the art.

[0107] (1) Terminal device: can be a wireless terminal device capable of receiving network device scheduling and indication information, the wireless terminal device can be a device providing voice and / or data connectivity to a user, or a handheld device with wireless connection function, or other processing devices connected to a wireless modem.

[0108] A terminal device can communicate with one or more core networks or the Internet via a radio access network (RAN), and the terminal device can be a mobile terminal device, such as a mobile phone (or called "cellular" phone, mobile phone), a computer, and a data card, for example, which can be a portable, pocket, hand-held, computer- built-in, or vehicle-mounted mobile device that exchanges voice and / or data with a radio access network. For example, a personal communication service (PCS) phone, a cordless phone, a session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a tablet, a computer with wireless transceiver function, and the like. The wireless terminal device can also be referred to as a system, a subscriber unit, a subscriber station, a mobile station (MS), a remote station, an access point (AP), a remote terminal, an access terminal, a user terminal, a user agent, a subscriber station (SS), customer premises equipment (CPE), a terminal, user equipment (UE), a mobile terminal (MT), and the like.

[0109] 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 smart wearable device or a smart wearable device, etc. It is a general term for devices that apply wearable technology to the intelligent design and development of daily wear, such as glasses, gloves, watches, clothing, and shoes, etc. The wearable device is a portable device that can be directly worn on the body or integrated into the user's clothes or accessories. The wearable device is not just a hardware device, but also a powerful function through software support and data interaction, cloud interaction. The general wearable smart device includes full function, large size, and can realize complete or partial functions without relying on a smart phone, such as smart watches or smart glasses, etc. and focuses only on a certain application function, and needs to cooperate with other devices such as a smart phone, such as various smart wristbands, smart helmets, smart jewelry, etc.

[0110] The terminal device can also be a drone, a robot, a terminal device in device-to-device (D2D) communication, a terminal device in vehicle to everything (V2X), a virtual reality (VR) terminal device, an augmented reality (AR) terminal device, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in self driving, a wireless terminal in telemedicine or telehealth services, a wireless terminal in smart grid, a wireless terminal in transportation safety, a wireless terminal in smart city, a wireless terminal in smart home, etc.

[0111] In addition, the terminal device can also be a terminal device of a communication system evolved after the 5th generation (5G) communication system, such as a terminal device of 5G Advanced or a future communication system, etc. For example, the morphology and function of the communication terminal can be further expanded, including but not limited to vehicles, cellular network terminals (integrating satellite terminal functions), drones, internet of things (IoT) devices.

[0112] In embodiments of the present application, the terminal device described above can also obtain artificial intelligence (AI) services provided by a network device. Optionally, the terminal device can also have AI processing capability.

[0113] (2) Network device: can be a device in a wireless network, for example, the network device can be a RAN node (or device) for accessing a terminal device to a wireless network, which can also be referred to as a base station. Currently, some examples of RAN devices are: base station (base station), evolved NodeB (eNodeB), base station gNB (gNodeB) in a 5G communication system, transmission reception point (TRP), evolved Node B (eNB), radio network controller (RNC), Node B (Node B, NB), home base station (for example, home evolved Node B, or home Node B, HNB), baseband unit (BBU), or wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) access point (AP), etc. In addition, in one network structure, the network device can include a central unit (CU) node, or a distributed unit (DU) node, or a RAN device including a CU node and a DU node.

[0114] Optionally, the RAN node can also be a macro base station, a micro base station or an indoor station, a relay node or a donor node, or a wireless controller in a cloud radio access network (CRAN) scenario. 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 vehicle external connection (V2X) technology can be a road side unit (RSU).

[0115] In another possible scenario, multiple 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-control plane (CP), a CU-user plane (UP), or a radio unit (RU), etc. The CU and the DU can be separately arranged, or can also be included in the same network element, such as a baseband unit (BBU). The RU can be included in a radio frequency device or a radio frequency unit, such as a radio frequency remote unit (RRU), an active antenna processing unit (AAU), a radio head (RH), or a remote radio head (RRH).

[0116] 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 (O-RAN or 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. For the convenience of description, the CU, CU-CP, CU-UP, DU and RU are taken as examples for description in this application. Any one 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.

[0117] The communication between the network device and the terminal device follows a certain protocol layer structure. The protocol layer can include a control plane protocol layer and a user plane protocol layer. The control plane protocol layer can include at least one of the following: a radio resource control (RRC) layer, a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, a radio link control (RLC) layer, a media access control (MAC) layer, or a physical (PHY) layer, etc. The user plane protocol layer can include at least one of the following: a service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer, a PDCP layer, an RLC layer, a MAC layer, or a physical layer, etc.

[0118] The network device can be another device that provides a wireless communication function for the terminal device. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form adopted by the network device. For the convenience of description, the embodiments of the present application do not limit.

[0119] The network device can also include a core network device, for example, including a mobility management entity (MME) in a fourth generation (4G) network, a home subscriber server (HSS), a serving gateway (S-GW), a policy and charging rules function (PCRF), a public data network gateway (PDN gateway or P-GW), a network element such as an access and mobility management function (AMF), a user plane function (UPF), or a session management function (SMF) in a 5G network. In addition, the core network device can also include other core network devices in a 5G network and a next-generation network of the 5G network.

[0120] In the embodiments of the present application, the network device mentioned above can also be an AI-capable network node, which can provide AI services for terminals or other network devices. For example, it can be an AI node, a computing power node, an AI-capable RAN node, an AI-capable core network element, etc. on the network side (access network or core network).

[0121] In the embodiments of the present application, the device for implementing the function of the network device can be a network device or a device capable of supporting the network device to implement the function, such as a chip system, which can be arranged in the network device. In the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application, the device for implementing the function of the network device is taken as an example to describe the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application.

[0122] (3) Configuration and pre-configuration: In the present application, configuration and pre-configuration will be used simultaneously. Configuration refers to that the network device / server sends some parameter configuration information or parameter values to the terminal through messages or signaling, so that the terminal determines the communication parameters or transmission resources according to the values or information. Pre-configuration is similar to configuration, which can be parameter information or parameter values agreed by the network device / server and the terminal device in advance, or parameter information or parameter values adopted by the base station / network device or the terminal device according to the standard protocol, or parameter information or parameter values pre-stored in the base station / server or the terminal device. The present application does not limit this.

[0123] Further, these values and parameters can be changed or updated.

[0124] (4) The terms "system" and "network" in the embodiments of the present application can be used interchangeably. "Multiple" means two or more. "And / or" describes the association relationship of associated objects, which means that there can be three relationships, for example, A and / or B can represent the cases of A alone, A and B together, and B alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally represents an "or" relationship between the associated objects before and after it. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions means any combination of these items, including any combination of single item or multiple items. For example, "at least one of A, B and C" includes A, B, C, AB, AC, BC or ABC. In addition, unless otherwise specified, the ordinal numbers "first", "second", etc. mentioned in the embodiments of the present application are used to distinguish multiple objects, and are not used to limit the order, time sequence, priority or importance of the multiple objects.

[0125] (5) In the embodiments of 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, or 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, or indirect receiving from YY through the air interface by other units or modules. "Sending" can also be understood as "output" of chip interface, and "receiving" can also be understood as "input" of chip interface.

[0126] In other words, sending and receiving can be between devices, such as between network devices and terminal devices, or within devices, such as between components, modules, chips, software modules or hardware modules within devices through buses, wires or interfaces.

[0127] It can be understood that the information may be processed as necessary between the source and the destination of the information transmission, such as encoding and modulation, but the destination can understand the valid information from the source. Similar expressions in the present application can be similarly understood, and will not be repeated here.

[0128] (6) In embodiments of the present application, “indication” can include direct indication and indirect indication, and can also include explicit indication and implicit indication. The information indicated by certain information (indication information described below) is referred to as to-be-indicated information. In the 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 of the to-be-indicated information, 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 be achieved by means of the arrangement order of each information agreed in advance (for example, protocol predefined), thereby reducing the indication overhead to a certain extent. The specific manner of indication is not limited in the present application. It can be understood that the indication information can be used to indicate the to-be-indicated information for the sender of the indication information, and the indication information can be used to determine the to-be-indicated information for the receiver of the indication information.

[0129] In the present application, the same or similar parts between different embodiments can be mutually referred to, unless otherwise specified. In the various embodiments of the present application, and the various methods / designs / implementation manners in the embodiments, the terms and / or descriptions between different embodiments, and between the various methods / designs / implementation manners in the embodiments are consistent and can be mutually referred to, unless otherwise specified and logically conflicted. The technical features in different embodiments, and in the various methods / designs / implementation manners in the embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments, methods, or implementation manners according to their inherent logical relationship. The implementation manners of the present application described below do not constitute a limitation on the protection scope of the present application.

[0130] The present application can be applied to a long term evolution (LTE) system, a new radio (NR) system, or a future communication system after 5G. The communication system includes at least one network device and / or at least one terminal device.

[0131] Please refer to FIG. 1a, which is a schematic diagram of a communication system in the present application. In FIG. 1a, one network device and six terminal devices are exemplarily shown, and the six terminal devices are terminal device 1, terminal device 2, terminal device 3, terminal device 4, terminal device 5, and terminal device 6, etc. In the example shown in FIG. 1a, the terminal device 1 is taken as a smart tea cup, the terminal device 2 is taken as a smart air conditioner, the terminal device 3 is taken as a smart fuel dispenser, the terminal device 4 is taken as a vehicle, the terminal device 5 is taken as a mobile phone, and the terminal device 6 is taken as a printer.

[0132] As shown in FIG. 1a, the sending entity of the AI configuration information can be a network device. The receiving entity of the AI configuration information can be terminal device 1-terminal device 6. In this case, the network device and the terminal device 1-terminal device 6 form a communication system in which the terminal device 1-terminal device 6 can send data to the network device, and the network device receives the data sent by the terminal device 1-terminal device 6. The network device can send configuration information to the terminal device 1-terminal device 6.

[0133] For example, in FIG. 1a, the terminal device 4-terminal device 6 can also form a communication system. Among them, the terminal device 5 acts as a network device, i.e., the sending entity of the AI configuration information; the terminal device 4 and the terminal device 6 act as terminal devices, i.e., the receiving entity of the AI configuration information. For example, in a vehicle-to-everything system, the terminal device 5 sends AI configuration information to the terminal device 4 and the terminal device 6, and receives data sent by the terminal device 4 and the terminal device 6; correspondingly, the terminal device 4 and the terminal device 6 receive the AI configuration information sent by the terminal device 5, and send data to the terminal device 5.

[0134] For example, in the communication system shown in FIG. 1a, different devices (including network devices, network devices and terminal devices, and / or terminal devices and terminal devices) can perform AI-related services in addition to performing communication-related services.

[0135] As shown in FIG. 1b, taking a network device as a base station as an example, the base station can perform communication-related services and AI-related services with one or more terminal devices, and different terminal devices can also perform communication-related services and AI-related services.

[0136] As shown in FIG. 1c, taking a terminal device including a television and a mobile phone as an example, the television and the mobile phone can also perform communication-related services and AI-related services.

[0137] The technical solutions provided in the present application can be applied to a wireless communication system (for example, the system shown in FIG. 1a, FIG. 1b or FIG. 1c), for example, an AI network element can be introduced in the communication system provided in the present application to implement part or all of the AI-related operations. The AI network element can also be referred to as an AI node, an AI device, an AI entity, an AI module, an AI model, or an AI unit, etc. The AI network element can be built-in in a network element of the communication system. For example, the AI network element can be an AI module built-in in: an access network device, a core network device, a cloud server, or an operation, administration and maintenance (OAM), to implement AI-related functions. The OAM can be a network management of the core network device and / or a network management of the access network device. Alternatively, the AI network element can also be a network element independently arranged in the communication system. Optionally, an AI entity can also be included in a terminal or a chip built-in in the terminal, to implement AI-related functions.

[0138] Optionally, in the communication system, the AI application cases can include but are not limited to: channel state information (CSI) feedback enhancement, beam management enhancement, positioning accuracy enhancement, network energy saving, load balancing, and mobility optimization. The following will be described respectively.

[0139] 1. Beam management enhancement

[0140] The beam management enhancement is mainly to find the strongest transmit / receive beam pair. Based on AI-based sparse beam prediction, the accuracy can be improved. According to AI training and inference, the AI-based sparse beam prediction can include network-side AI-based sparse beam prediction and terminal device-side AI-based sparse beam prediction. Taking the terminal device-side AI-based sparse beam prediction as an example, the pre-trained AI model of the terminal device side can be delivered by the network side or pre-stored by the terminal device side. In the training stage, the network device scans all possible beams, and then the network reports the transmit beam pattern to the terminal device. When the model training is completed, the network device only needs to scan a small part of the beam, and then the terminal device feeds back the inference result to the network device. Based on AI-based beam management, beam prediction in the time and / or spatial domain can be implemented to reduce the overhead and delay and improve the beam selection accuracy.

[0141] Beam management enhancement can include at least one sub-function, such as beam sweep matrix prediction and optimal beam prediction, respectively.

[0142] Referring to FIG. 2, FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of AI-based beam management. Based on AI prediction, the measurement results of beams in SetB can be used to predict the beams in SetA. SetB can be a relatively sparse set of beams, as shown by the dark square in the upper left corner of FIG. 2, and SetA can be a set of beams that includes SetB or a different set of beams from SetB. After obtaining the measurement results of SetB (as shown by the dark square in the upper right corner of FIG. 2, which can include beam signal strength, signal-to-noise ratio, angle of arrival (AOA), and other parameters), the measurement results of SetB are used to predict the set of beams in SetA,

[0143] The result of the prediction is the Top-K beams in the set of SetA beams, i.e., the K beams with the best performance in the set. For example, the beams can be ranked based on signal quality (such as L1-RSRP, i.e., first layer reference signal received power).

[0144] The result of the prediction can be the Top-K beams in the set of SetA beams, i.e., the K beams with the best performance in the set A, and the specific result can be the signal quality L1-RSRP of the Top-K beams.

[0145] Beam management enhancement can predict the optimal beam set in a larger beam set from limited measurement data, thereby improving the performance and efficiency of the related system.

[0146] 2. Positioning accuracy enhancement

[0147] In line of sight (LOS) or non-line of sight (NLOS) scenarios, AI-based positioning can improve positioning accuracy with a smaller number of TRP antennas. Positioning enhancement can include at least one sub-function, such as access network device-based positioning enhancement, positioning management function network element-based positioning enhancement, and terminal device-based positioning enhancement.

[0148] 3. CSI feedback enhancement

[0149] CSI is the channel property of the communication link, and is the channel quality information reported by the terminal device to the network device. The terminal device reports the channel quality information to the network device, so as to select a suitable modulation and coding scheme (MCS) for the terminal device, so that the wireless channel can be adapted to the change. For example, the terminal device performs channel estimation according to the received channel state information-reference signal (CSI-RS), and then feeds back the channel quality information to the network device. The information is used as the input of the model of the network device, so that the network device can realize AI model training. By applying AI to CSI feedback enhancement, the overhead can be reduced, the accuracy can be improved, and prediction can be realized.

[0150] CSI-RS feedback enhancement can include at least one sub-function, such as CSI compression, CSI prediction, and CSI-RS configuration signaling reduction, respectively. Among them, CSI compression can include CSI compression in at least one of the spatial domain, the time domain, and the frequency domain.

[0151] 4. Mobility management

[0152] Mobility management is a scheme for ensuring service continuity during terminal device movement by minimizing dropped calls, radio link failure (RLF), unnecessary handover, and ping-pong effect. Based on AI, mobility management can be enhanced, such as reducing the probability of unexpected events, predicting terminal device location / mobility / performance, and traffic steering.

[0153] 5. Network energy saving

[0154] Network energy saving can be achieved through cell activation / deactivation, load reduction, improved coverage, or other RAN setting adjustment. AI technology can be used to optimize energy saving decisions by utilizing data collected in the RAN network. AI algorithms can predict the energy efficiency and load status of the next period, which can be used to assist in decision-making for cell activation / deactivation to save energy. Based on the predicted load, the system can dynamically configure energy saving strategies to maintain a balance between system performance and energy efficiency, and reduce energy consumption.

[0155] 6. Load balancing

[0156] Load balancing can make the load evenly distributed among cells and among areas within a cell, or divert part of the traffic from congested cells, or split users among cells, carriers or access technologies to improve network performance. Improving the performance of load balancing based on AI models, such as inputting various measurements and feedbacks of terminal devices and network nodes, historical data, etc. into AI models to improve the performance of load balancing, can provide higher quality user experience and improve system capacity.

[0157] It should be understood that the definitions of the above various technical terms are only examples. For example, as technology continues to evolve, the scope of the above definitions can also change, and the embodiments of the present application are not limited.

[0158] For example, an AI function can include multiple AI sub-functions.

[0159] Optionally, the AI application case is also referred to as an AI application scenario or an AI function.

[0160] As can be seen from the above description of the AI application case, AI can be widely used in CSI feedback enhancement, beam management, positioning accuracy enhancement, energy saving, mobility enhancement, and load balancing to improve network performance. AI models can usually be deployed on the network side and / or the terminal device side, and the training of AI models depends on the collection of training data, which can come from the measurement and feedback of terminal devices.

[0161] In the present application, AI function can be replaced by other terms, such as AI-enabled features or AI-enabled functions, or can also be replaced by other terms, such as AI models, neural networks, neural network models, AI neural network models, machine learning models, mathematical models, or AI processing models. For ease of expression, in the present application, subsequent expressions will be made without special instructions. It should be understood that the technical solutions provided in the present application are also applicable to other different expressions or different types of "AI functions".

[0162] In some AI application scenarios, the terminal device needs to ensure that the AI function is applicable to the current network side condition when performing the inference task of the AI function. As an example, the training data applied by the terminal device to train the AI function is collected under certain network side conditions. For example, the network side condition of a certain training data can indicate the relevant condition information of at least one of the processes of configuration, collection, generation, or acquisition of the data, such as antenna array information, power information, beam information of the network device when collecting the data, etc.

[0163] For example, the network device provides training data for the terminal device. The network device can indicate one or more training data and an associated ID of a network side condition corresponding to each training data to the terminal device. The terminal device can perform model training based on the received one or more training data to obtain a plurality of AI functions. To ensure that the AI function adapts to the actual scenario during inference, an effective means is that the current network side condition needs to be consistent with the network side condition corresponding to the training data of the AI function during inference of the AI function, so as to improve the inference performance of the AI function.

[0164] To solve the above problems, the present application provides a communication method and related devices, which will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0165] Please refer to FIG. 3, which is an implementation schematic diagram of the communication method provided by the present application. The method includes the following steps.

[0166] It should be noted that in the following, the first communication device and other communication devices (for example, the second communication device) in FIG. 3 are taken as an example to illustrate the execution subject of the interaction, but the present application does not limit the execution subject of the interaction. For example, the communication device can be a communication device (such as a terminal device or a network device), or a chip, a baseband chip, a modem chip, a SoC chip (such as a SoC chip containing a modem core), a SIP chip, a communication module, a chip system, a processor, a logic module or software in the communication device, etc.

[0167] As an example, the first communication device can be a terminal device and the second communication device can be a network device.

[0168] S301. The second communication device sends first information to the first communication device, and correspondingly, the first communication device receives the first information.

[0169] After learning that the first communication device supports AI capability (has the ability to perform AI tasks), the second communication device sends the first information to the first communication device to request state information of one or more AI functions. The supported AI capability includes various application scenarios, such as a “beam management scenario”, a “positioning scenario”, a “CSI feedback enhancement scenario” and a “mobility management scenario”, etc. Each application scenario includes one or more specific sub-scenarios, and each sub-scenario corresponds to an AI function. For example, the first AI function corresponds to a specific sub-scenario of “beam management scenario, prediction based on 4 beams to 8 beams”.

[0170] As an example, one or more AI functions indicated in the first message are AI functions that the second communication device is interested in or that are required for its business.

[0171] Specifically, a first identifier is used to specify a specific AI function. That is, when the first information indicates N AI functions, the first information includes N first identifiers.

[0172] The first information includes a first identifier for the first AI function and a request for the first communication device to report the status information of the first AI function.

[0173] In one possible implementation, the first information also includes first indication information associated with the first identifier, indicating the specific use scenario (or sub-scenario) corresponding to the first AI function, and the first AI function being the AI ​​function that implements the sub-scenario. That is, the first identifier is the unique identifier (ID) of the first AI function, while the first indication information is a description of the first AI function. For example, if the first identifier is "001", the first indication information could be a descriptive text such as "Prediction of 8 beams based on 4 beams in a beam management scenario".

[0174] In one possible implementation, the first information also includes one or more second identifiers associated with the first identifier, each second identifier indicating a network-side condition designed to request state information of the AI ​​function indicated by the first identifier under different network-side conditions. In this embodiment, the network-side condition is indicated by "associated ID". In practical applications, other identifiers may be used to indicate the network-side condition, and no specific limitation is made here.

[0175] When there are multiple network-side conditions, in addition to indicating the current network-side conditions, it also indicates other network-side conditions supported by the network device.

[0176] In this application, there may be several different implementations of how to indicate a network-side condition using an associated ID, which are described below:

[0177] Method 1: Associated IDs are uniquely assigned within a cell.

[0178] Specifically, it uses a combination of cell ID and associated ID for indication.

[0179] Method 2: Associated IDs are uniquely assigned within a cell group.

[0180] Specifically, the indication is made in combination with a cell group ID and an associated ID.

[0181] The cells in a cell group are in the same base station. How to determine which specific cells can be implemented internally in the base station. For example, the base station decides to take the three cells with cell IDs 1-3 as a cell group, and the cell group ID is 1. Then the terminal device can be indicated the cell identification information in the cell group, and the association relationship between the current data and the associated ID.

[0182] In the first and second manners, the first communication device can know the cell identification of the area where the device itself is located, and in combination with the second identification, a specific network side condition can be determined.

[0183] In the third manner, the associated ID is a globally unique identification.

[0184] In a possible implementation manner, the first information further includes a scenario identification associated with the first identification, indicating a first application scenario of the first AI capability, and the first application scenario includes a plurality of specific sub-scenarios, each sub-scenario corresponding to an AI function, wherein the first AI capability is included.

[0185] In a possible implementation manner, the first information further includes second indication information associated with the scenario identification, indicating the specific content of the first application scenario. That is, the scenario identification is a unique identifier (ID) of the first application scenario, and the second indication information is a description of the first application scenario. For example, the scenario identification is “101”, and the second indication information can be a description text of the “beam management scenario”.

[0186] In a possible implementation manner, the first information further includes a third identification indicating cell information or cell group information, and the cell information or cell group information is the adjacent cell information of the cell where the first communication device is located. The purpose is to obtain the state information of the AI function in the adjacent cell under the network side condition indicated by the third identification.

[0187] In a possible implementation manner, before step S301, the first communication device obtains the training data required by the AI function through offline or online manner, and trains to obtain one or more AI functions. After the training is completed, the first communication device locally saves the association relationship between the AI function and the identification (associated ID) of the network side condition corresponding to the training data.

[0188] Taking the first manner of the above-mentioned associated ID allocation as an example, for the locally saved association relationship between the AI function and the associated ID, refer to Table 1 as follows.

[0189] Table 1

[0190] For example, the first communication device trains four AI functions, which are respectively identified as "AI function 001", "AI function 002", "AI function 003" and "AI function 004". Taking "AI function 001" as an example, one specific use case of "AI function 001" is "beam management scenario based on 4-beam-8-beam prediction (BM 4beams-8beams)", which can also be referred to as the sub-scene description corresponding to the AI function. "AI function 001" can normally perform an inference task only under the condition of the network side corresponding to "associated ID 1" and "CGI 001" as the cell ID.

[0191] In a possible implementation, the beam management scenario can also be divided into "beam spatial domain management (BM-spatial)" and "beam temporal domain management (BM-temporal)".

[0192] S302. The first communication device sends second information to the second communication device, and correspondingly, the second communication device receives the second information.

[0193] After receiving the first information, the first communication device compares and matches the locally saved association relationship to determine whether the AI function mentioned in the first information is available. Then the matching result is reported to the second communication device through the second information, and the second information includes the state information of each AI function.

[0194] In a possible implementation, the first communication device can also determine whether the mentioned AI function is available in combination with the current running status (hardware resources or current power) of the device itself.

[0195] For example, the second information includes the state information of the first AI function. For the state information, there can be the following two indication forms.

[0196] Optionally, the following three states can be indicated:

[0197] (1) not available: indicating that the first communication device does not obtain (has not trained) the first AI function, i.e., the first AI function is not available.

[0198] (2) available+not applicable: indicating that the first communication device has obtained (has trained) the AI function, but the AI function is currently not available, for example, under specific network side conditions, i.e., the first AI function is not available.

[0199] (3) applicable: indicates that the first communication device has obtained (trained) the AI function, and the AI function is available, for example, available under the indicated network side condition, i.e., the first AI function is available.

[0200] Optionally, the following two states can be indicated:

[0201] (1) not applicable: indicates that the first AI function is not available. This state includes two possibilities, respectively, that the first communication device has not obtained (not trained) the AI function, or has obtained (trained) the AI function, which is not available under the associated network side condition.

[0202] (2) applicable: indicates that the first AI function is available, which means that the first communication device has obtained (trained) the AI function, and the AI function is available under the associated network side condition.

[0203] Optionally, the second information can carry the first identifier of each AI function, the second identifier (associated ID) and the corresponding state information. Alternatively, the corresponding state information can be indicated in an implicit manner, i.e., by reporting the state information under the corresponding AI function and the corresponding associated ID in the order of the first information.

[0204] In a possible implementation, the contents carried in steps S301 and S302 can refer to Table 2 as follows.

[0205] Table 2

[0206] In a possible implementation, in the first information, the first identifier, the first indication information and the second identifier correspond one by one, and in step S302, the first communication device indicates the corresponding AI function and the associated network side condition only through the first identifier. The contents carried in steps S301 and S302 can refer to Table 3 as follows.

[0207] Table 3

[0208] After receiving the first information, the first communication device determines which AI functions the second communication device needs to report and indicates the first identifier of each AI function, and when sending the second information, the corresponding AI function can be indicated through the first identifier (such as the way 1 of step S302 in Table 3).

[0209] In a possible implementation, the AI function and the corresponding state information can be indicated in an implicit indication manner. The second communication device does not assign an indication identifier to the description text of the AI function (in the manner 2 of step S301 in Table 3). That is, in step S301, the first information does not carry the first identifier, but only carries the first indication information (the specific use scenario of the AI function). In step S302, the corresponding four state information is reported one by one in the order indicated in step S301. In addition, the index value of the first indication information (or the specific order in the sequence) can be used as the first identifier, and the reporting is performed in the manner 1 of step S302 in Table 3.

[0210] Optionally, as shown in FIG. 3, the communication method of the embodiment of the application further includes:

[0211] S303. The first communication device sends third information to the second communication device, and correspondingly, the second communication device receives the third information.

[0212] Step S303 is before step S301, and the third information can be understood as capability reporting information, indicating the supported capability of the first communication device.

[0213] For example, the third information can indicate that the first communication device supports the AI capability (for example, “AI-support”); or indicate that the AI capability supported by the first communication device plays a role in which specific application scenarios, for example, “beam management scenario”, “positioning scenario”, “CSI feedback enhancement scenario”, and “mobility management scenario”; or indicate that the AI capability supported by the first communication device can be further refined to a specific sub-scenario in an application scenario, for example, “in the beam management scenario, prediction based on 4 beams to 8 beams”, that is, to a specific AI function.

[0214] The content of the third information in step S303 can have multiple different implementations, and next, in combination with step S301 and step S302, different cases and corresponding examples are described in detail.

[0215] In a possible implementation, the second communication device carries the network side condition (the second identifier) interested in / required by the second communication device when sending the first information.

[0216] In a possible implementation, the third information includes third indication information, indicating that the first communication device supports the AI capability (for example, “AI-support”), and in step S303, the specific content of the AI function and the corresponding first identifier are not explicitly indicated between the first communication device and the second communication device. Therefore, the content carried in step S301 and step S302 can refer to Table 2 described above.

[0217] In a possible implementation, the third information includes the first identifier and the first indication information. The first communication device can tell the second communication device which specific sub-scenarios (AI functions) of the supported AI capabilities when reporting the capability, and assign the first identifier to each AI function.

[0218] In step S303, step S301 and step S302, the contents carried can refer to Table 4 as follows.

[0219] Table 4

[0220] In this embodiment, the first communication device assigns the first identifier of the sub-scenario (AI function), and the second communication device, after receiving the third information, knows the AI functions supported by the first communication device and the first identifier indicating each AI function, and when sending the first information, can indicate the corresponding AI function through the first identifier.

[0221] In a possible implementation, the third information only includes the first indication information, and the second communication device can take the order index value of the first indication information as the first identifier.

[0222] In a possible implementation, the third information includes second indication information, which is used to indicate which application scenarios the first communication device supports to use AI capabilities, and one AI capability corresponds to one or more AI functions (which can also be understood as one or more sub-scenarios in the application scenario). In step S303, step S301 and step S302, the contents carried can refer to Table 5 as follows.

[0223] Table 5

[0224] In this embodiment, the reporting granularity of the state information (second information) is finer than that of the capability information (third information). The former is the sub-scenario of the latter. In step S303, the first communication device can indicate the application scenarios of the AI capabilities, such as “beam management scenario”, “positioning scenario” and the like. In step S301, the second communication device can indicate the specific sub-scenarios (AI functions) to the UE. In the first information, the third identifier in step S303, the first identifier assigned to the AI function and the first indication information of the AI function are included.

[0225] In a possible implementation, the second indication information in the first information can be a scenario identifier. For example, “scenario 1: beam management” is indicated by the scenario identifier “101”, and “scenario 2: positioning management” is indicated by the scenario identifier “101”.

[0226] In a possible implementation, in step S302, the first communication device can further report the associated ID and status information of the AI function indicated by the first identification in the neighboring cell. In this case, the second information includes the first identification + the second identification (associated ID) + the third identification (indicating the neighboring cell or the cell group) + the status information.

[0227] Optionally, the third identification can be carried in the first information and indicates the neighboring cell of interest of the second communication device.

[0228] Optionally, the third identification can also be analyzed by the first communication device according to the locally saved association relationship (the aforementioned table 1) and the status information of the neighboring cell is actively reported.

[0229] Taking the third identification (indicating the cell ID) included in the first information as an example, the content carried in steps S303, S301 and S302 can refer to the following table 6.

[0230] Table 6

[0231] In this embodiment, through step S303, the indication meaning of the first identification is determined by both sides. The first communication device can report the status information of the AI function in the corresponding associated ID indicated network side condition in the neighboring cell. Specifically, according to the locally saved association relationship (table 1), the status information of the AI function in the neighboring cell is determined. The second message can specifically include the first identification, the second identification, the third identification and the status information. In a possible implementation, in step S302, the first communication device indicates the AI function corresponding to each status information by an implicit indication manner. The specific implicit indication is similar to the foregoing embodiment and will not be described here.

[0232] In a possible implementation, before step S303, the first communication device and the second communication device have determined the first identification of the AI function and the specific meaning of the first identification by transmitting other messages. For example, before step S303, the second communication device sends a message to the first communication device to request the capability report, and the message includes the description information of the AI function and the corresponding first identification. Therefore, the AI function is indicated by the first identification and the specific indication information (the aforementioned first indication information and the second indication information) is not carried.

[0233] In a possible implementation, the second communication device does not carry the network side condition (the second identification) when sending the first information.

[0234] In a possible implementation, in step S301, the second communication device only indicates the AI function of interest, and the first communication device can report all associated IDs related to the AI function mentioned in the first information through the association relationship (the aforementioned Table 1) included locally. Specifically, the contents carried in steps S303, S301 and S302 can refer to Table 7 as follows.

[0235] Table 7

[0236] In this embodiment, through step S303, the indication meaning of the first identifier is determined by both parties. In step S301, the second communication device only sends one or more first identifiers to indicate the AI function of interest or required. The first communication device reports all associated IDs associated with the AI function saved locally and the corresponding state information. Specifically, the second information includes the first identifier, the second identifier (associated ID) and the corresponding state information of each AI function.

[0237] In a possible implementation, when judging whether the state information is available, the table 1 can also be matched according to the cell identifier of the area where the first communication device is located, in combination with the associated ID. For example, the cell identifier of the area where the first communication device is located is “CGI 001”, which can successfully match the table 1 in combination with (001, associated ID 1), and the state information is “applicable”, while the combination (002, associated ID 1) fails to match, and the state information is “not applicable”.

[0238] In a possible implementation, the first communication device reports the supported AI function saved locally and the associated ID (second identifier) of each AI function in step S303. Specifically, the contents carried in steps S303, S301 and S302 can refer to Table 8 as follows.

[0239] Table 8

[0240] In this embodiment, through step S303, the indication meaning of the first identifier is determined by both parties. The second information can carry the first identifier of each AI function and the corresponding state information.

[0241] In a possible implementation, in step S302, the first communication device indicates the AI function corresponding to each state information through an implicit indication manner. The specific implicit indication is similar to that in the foregoing embodiments, and details are not described herein.

[0242] Based on the scheme shown in FIG. 3, the second communication device can learn the AI function supported by the first communication device and make corresponding decisions according to the state information of the AI function. For example, in a communication scenario requiring AI assistance, the second communication device can accurately identify and invoke the AI function supported by the first communication device, thereby providing more accurate and intelligent services and improving communication efficiency.

[0243] As an example, when the state information of the first AI function indicated in the second information is in the applicable state (applicable), as shown in FIG. 4, the communication method of the embodiment of the application further includes:

[0244] S304a. The second communication device decides to activate the first AI function.

[0245] After receiving the second information, the second communication device can select and decide to activate the AI function whose state information is in the applicable state.

[0246] For example, the state information of the first AI function is applicable, and the second communication device selects to activate the first AI function.

[0247] In a possible implementation, the second communication device can select a suitable AI function to activate according to the needs of the first communication device. This process may need to consider various factors, such as network load, resource allocation, user priority, etc.

[0248] Optionally, the method further includes:

[0249] S305a. The second communication device sends the first configuration information to the first communication device, and correspondingly, the first communication device receives the first configuration information.

[0250] After deciding to activate the first AI function, the second communication device needs to configure the first communication device accordingly, and the first configuration information includes the configuration parameters of the first AI function.

[0251] In a possible implementation, taking beam management as an example, the second communication device will configure a specific set of measurement configuration (set B) and beam indication (set A) for the first communication device according to the position, moving speed and channel conditions of the first communication device. This set of configurations aims to help the first communication device better understand and adapt to the current channel environment, so as to select the optimal beam for communication. At the same time, the second communication device will also instruct the second communication device to predict the beams in set A based on the measurement results of set B, in order to further improve the stability and efficiency of communication.

[0252] In a possible implementation, in step S302, the first information sent by the second communication device further carries first configuration information of the AI function, for example, necessary parameter settings, activation conditions, and other configuration parameters supporting the AI function to perform the inference task. If the first communication device determines that the state information of a certain AI function is in the available state, the first communication device can report the state information of the AI function in step S302, and after confirming that the second communication device receives the second information (for example, after receiving an indication message (Acknowledgment, ACK) indicating that the message transmission is successful), the first communication device applies the first configuration information and starts the AI function to perform inference. In the current process, steps S304a and S305a will no longer be executed.

[0253] Optionally, the method further includes:

[0254] S306a. The second communication device sends monitoring information to the first communication device, and correspondingly, the first communication device receives the monitoring information.

[0255] In addition to customizing the configuration of the first communication device, the second communication device also needs to provide a complete monitoring and feedback mechanism for the first communication device. The first communication device will perform necessary measurements and monitoring according to the monitoring configuration provided by the second communication device. These measurements can include signal quality, data transmission rate, device temperature, and other indicators. The first communication device will report the measurement results to the second communication device for analysis and evaluation.

[0256] For example, if the first communication device performs abnormally when performing the inference task by using the first AI function, the second communication device will immediately start the corresponding processing flow. For example, including adjusting the configuration information of the first communication device, optimizing the network parameters, or notifying the user to perform necessary operations, etc., the problem can be found and solved in time.

[0257] As another example, when the state information of the first AI function in the second information is not applicable, as shown in FIG. 5, the communication method of the embodiment of the application further includes:

[0258] S304b. The second communication device decides to train the first AI function.

[0259] The second communication device can decide to trigger the training process for the AI function whose state information is not applicable.

[0260] In a possible implementation, as the interaction scheme corresponding to the aforementioned Table 3, Table 4 or Table 5, the first information carries one or more network side conditions (second identifiers) in step S301, and the first communication apparatus reports, in the second information, that the state information of the AI function corresponding to the second identifiers is not applicable. Based on the second information, the second communication apparatus can determine to trigger the training process.

[0261] In a possible implementation, as the interaction scheme corresponding to the aforementioned Table 6 or Table 7, the first information does not carry the network side condition (second identifier) in step S301, and the first communication apparatus reports, in the second information, all associated IDs associated with the AI function of interest of the second communication apparatus and the corresponding state information. The second communication apparatus determines, from the second information, that there is no network side condition that meets the current network side condition, and determines to trigger the training process.

[0262] In a possible implementation, the first communication apparatus can actively request to train the AI function. Specifically, in step S302, the second message sent by the first communication apparatus further includes first request information for requesting the second communication apparatus to provide configuration information and training data required for training.

[0263] S305b. The second communication apparatus sends second configuration information to the first communication apparatus, and correspondingly, the first communication apparatus receives the second configuration information.

[0264] In a possible implementation, the second configuration information is a configuration parameter for training the first AI function. For example, the second configuration information includes configuration information and training data for training the first AI function, so that the first communication apparatus starts the training process of the AI function.

[0265] In a possible implementation, the second configuration information further includes an identifier (associated ID) of a network side condition corresponding to the training data, so that the first communication apparatus locally maintains the association between the first AI function and the associated ID (as shown in Table 1) after the training is completed.

[0266] S306b. The first communication apparatus sends fourth information to the second communication apparatus, and correspondingly, the second communication apparatus receives the fourth information.

[0267] The first communication apparatus trains to obtain the first AI function corresponding to the associated ID, and reports, to the second communication apparatus, updated state information of the AI function. Specifically, the fourth information includes the first identifier, the second identifier and the state information, and the state information is an applicable state.

[0268] In a possible implementation, after learning that the first communication apparatus has completed training, the method further includes activating a process using the AI function, which is similar to steps S304a-S306a in FIG. 4, and details are not repeated here.

[0269] In a possible implementation, in step S301, the first information further includes fourth indication information, which indicates the first communication apparatus to separately report "whether the AI function is trained (not available or available)" and "whether the AI function is available under the indicated network side condition (not applicable or applicable)". The second communication apparatus first requests the first communication apparatus to report whether the corresponding AI function is trained, and then requests the first communication apparatus to report the availability of the AI function after determining that the first communication apparatus has trained the related AI function. Because the update time of the AI function is different from the update frequency of the network side condition, the update cycle of the former is usually longer, and therefore different signaling can be applied for indication.

[0270] In addition, the embodiments of the present application also provide a corresponding communication method for the O-RAN system architecture. The core idea is similar to the foregoing embodiments. As an example, the first communication apparatus can be a terminal device, and the second communication apparatus can be a network device. For example, in FIG. 4, step S302 is to generate reporting information for the terminal device and report the network device, step S304a is for the network device to make a decision based on the information reported by the terminal device, and step S305a is for the network device to generate a configuration and send it to the terminal device. In the foregoing process, the network device decision and configuration generation can be performed at different network elements. Under the CU-DU architecture, there are the following possible cases:

[0271] 1. The DU makes a decision, and the CU generates a configuration

[0272] 2. The CU makes a decision, and the CU generates a configuration

[0273] 3. The DU makes a decision, and the DU generates a configuration

[0274] 4. The CU makes a decision, and the DU generates a configuration

[0275] Taking the first case as an example, as shown in FIG. 6, the communication method includes:

[0276] S601. The UE sends third information to the CU, and correspondingly, the CU receives the third information.

[0277] S602. The CU sends first information to the UE, and correspondingly, the UE receives the first information.

[0278] S603. The UE sends second information to the CU, and correspondingly, the CU receives the second information.

[0279] The specific content of the information transmitted in steps S601 to S603 can be understood by referring to the description of steps S303, S301 and S302 in FIG. 3, which will not be repeated here.

[0280] S604. The CU sends state information to the DU, and the DU receives the state information accordingly.

[0281] The CU pre-processes the second information reported by the UE to obtain the state information after receiving the second information. The state information is sent to the DU for decision-making by the DU.

[0282] The state information includes the content of the second information (such as the first identifier, the second identifier, and the corresponding (AI function) state information described above), and can also include auxiliary information for decision-making by the DU, such as performance requirements (such as beam management performance requirements).

[0283] S605. The DU makes a decision.

[0284] S606. The DU sends decision information to the CU, and the CU receives the decision information accordingly.

[0285] The DU sends the decision result to the CU (for example, configuring the first AI function to perform AI / ML inference).

[0286] S607. The CU generates a configuration.

[0287] S608. The CU sends configuration information to the UE, and the UE receives the configuration information accordingly.

[0288] The CU generates corresponding configuration information according to the decision and sends it to the UE. The specific content of the information transmitted in steps S605 to S608 can be understood by referring to the description of steps S304a and S305a in FIG. 4, which will not be repeated here.

[0289] For example, in the second case, the CU receives the state information reported by the UE (such as step S302 in FIG. 3). The decision activates the corresponding AI function and determines to generate the related configuration and send it to the UE (such as steps S304a and S305a in FIG. 4). Alternatively, the decision trains the corresponding AI function and determines to generate the related configuration and send it to the UE (such as steps S304b and S305b in FIG. 5). The process does not involve interaction between the CU and the DU.

[0290] Exemplarily, in the third case, the CU accepts the state information reported by the UE, and sends the UE reported information to the DU, the DU decides to activate / train the AI function and determines the configuration, and sends the configuration to the CU, and the CU sends the related configuration to the UE.

[0291] Exemplarily, in the fourth case, the CU accepts the state information reported by the UE, and decides to activate / train the AI function. The CU sends the decision information to the DU, the DU determines the configuration, and sends the configuration to the CU, and the CU sends the related configuration to the UE.

[0292] Referring to FIG. 7, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication apparatus 700, which can realize the functions of the first communication apparatus (or the second communication apparatus) in the above-mentioned method embodiment, and thus can also realize the beneficial effects possessed by the above-mentioned method embodiment. In the embodiment of the present application, the communication apparatus 700 can be the first communication apparatus (or the second communication apparatus), or an integrated circuit or element etc. inside the first communication apparatus (or the second communication apparatus), such as a chip, a baseband chip, a modem chip, an SoC chip (such as an SoC chip containing a modem core), a SIP chip, a communication module, a chip system, a processor, etc.

[0293] It should be noted that the transceiver unit 702 can include a sending unit and a receiving unit, which are respectively used for performing sending and receiving.

[0294] In a possible implementation, when the apparatus 700 is used for performing the method performed by the first communication apparatus in FIG. 3 and related embodiments, the apparatus 700 includes a processing unit 701 and a transceiver unit 702; the transceiver unit 702 is configured to receive first information, the first information including a first identifier, the first identifier being used for indicating a first artificial intelligence AI function; the processing unit 701 is configured to determine second information, and the transceiver unit 702 is further configured to send the second information, the second information including state information of the first AI function.

[0295] In a possible implementation, when the apparatus 700 is used for performing the method performed by the second communication apparatus in FIG. 3 and related embodiments, the apparatus 700 includes a processing unit 701 and a transceiver unit 702; the processing unit 701 is configured to determine first information, and the transceiver unit 702 is configured to send the first information, the first information including a first identifier, the first identifier being used for indicating a first artificial intelligence AI function; and the transceiver unit 702 is further configured to receive second information, the second information including state information of the first AI function.

[0296] In a possible design, when the communication apparatus 700 is a communication module in a terminal device or terminal, the function of the processing unit 701 can be implemented by one or more processors. Specifically, the processor can include a modem chip, a SoC chip (such as a SoC chip including a modem core), or a SIP chip. The function of the transceiver unit 702 can be implemented by a transceiver circuit.

[0297] In a possible design, when the communication apparatus 700 is a circuit or chip responsible for communication functions in a terminal, such as a modem chip or a SoC chip or a SoC chip including a modem core or a SIP chip, the function of the processing unit 701 can be implemented by circuitry including one or more processors or processor cores in the chip. The function of the transceiver unit 702 can be implemented by an interface circuit or data transceiver circuit on the chip.

[0298] It should be noted that the information execution process and the like of the units of the communication apparatus 700 described above can be specifically refer to the descriptions in the method embodiments described above, and will not be described here.

[0299] Please refer to FIG. 8, which is another schematic structural diagram of a communication apparatus 800 provided in the present application. The communication apparatus 800 includes a logic circuit 801 and an input-output interface 802. The communication apparatus 800 can be a chip or an integrated circuit.

[0300] The transceiver unit 702 shown in FIG. 7 can be a communication interface, which can be the input-output interface 802 in FIG. 8. The input-output interface 802 can include an input interface and an output interface. Alternatively, the communication interface can be a transceiver circuit, which can include an input interface circuit and an output interface circuit.

[0301] In a possible implementation, when the apparatus 800 is configured to perform the method performed by the first communication apparatus in FIG. 3 and related embodiments, the input-output interface 802 is configured to receive first information. The first information includes a first identifier, and the first identifier is used to indicate a first artificial intelligence (AI) function. The input-output interface 802 is further configured to send second information. The second information includes state information of the first AI function.

[0302] In a possible implementation, when the apparatus 800 is configured to perform the method performed by the second communication apparatus in FIG. 3 and related embodiments, the input-output interface 802 is configured to send first information. The first information includes a first identifier, and the first identifier is used to indicate a first artificial intelligence (AI) function. The input-output interface 802 is further configured to receive second information. The second information includes state information of the first AI function.

[0303] The logic circuit 801 and the input / output interface 802 can also perform other steps and achieve corresponding beneficial effects performed by the first communication device or the second communication device in any of the embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

[0304] In a possible implementation, the processing unit 701 shown in FIG. 7 can be the logic circuit 801 in FIG. 8.

[0305] Optionally, the logic circuit 801 can be a processing device, and the functions of the processing device can be partially or entirely implemented by software.

[0306] Optionally, the processing device can include a memory and a processor, where the memory is configured to store a computer program, and the processor is configured to read and execute the computer program stored in the memory to perform the corresponding processing and / or steps in any of the method embodiments.

[0307] Optionally, the processing device can only include the processor. The memory for storing the computer program is located outside the processing device, and the processor is connected with the memory through a circuit / wire to read and execute the computer program stored in the memory. The memory and the processor can be integrated together or can be physically independent of each other.

[0308] Optionally, the processing device can be one or more chips or one or more integrated circuits. For example, the processing device can be one or more field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), application specific integrated circuits (ASIC), system on chips (SoC), central processing units (CPU), network processors (NP), digital signal processors (DSP), micro controller units (MCU), programmable logic controllers (PLD) or other integrated chips, or any combination of the above chips or processors, etc.

[0309] Referring to FIG. 9, the communication device 900 involved in the above embodiments is provided by an embodiment of the present application, and the communication device 900 can be specifically a communication device as a terminal device in the above embodiments. The example shown in FIG. 9 is implemented by a terminal device (or a component in the terminal device).

[0310] Wherein, a possible logical structure diagram of the communication device 900 is shown, the communication device 900 can include but not limited to at least one processor 901 and a communication port 902.

[0311] Wherein, the transceiver unit 702 shown in Fig. 7 can be a communication interface, which can be the communication port 902 in Fig. 9, the communication port 902 can include an input interface and an output interface. Alternatively, the communication port 902 can also be a transceiver circuit, which can include an input interface circuit and an output interface circuit.

[0312] Further optionally, the device can further include at least one of a memory 903, a bus 904, in the embodiments of the present application, the at least one processor 901 is used to control and process the actions of the communication device 900.

[0313] In addition, the processor 901 can be a central processing unit, a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor, an application specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array or other programmable logic device, a transistor logic device, a hardware component or any combination thereof. It can implement or execute various exemplary logical blocks, modules and circuits described in combination with the disclosure. The processor can also be a combination of computing functions, such as one or more microprocessor combinations, digital signal processor and microprocessor combinations, etc. Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working process of the above described system, device and unit can refer to the corresponding process in the foregoing method embodiments, which will not be described here.

[0314] It should be noted that the communication device 900 shown in Fig. 9 can be used to realize the steps implemented by the terminal device in the foregoing method embodiments, and achieve the corresponding technical effects of the terminal device. The specific implementation mode of the communication device shown in Fig. 9 can refer to the description in the foregoing method embodiments, which will not be described one by one here.

[0315] Please refer to Fig. 10, which is a structure diagram of the communication device 1000 involved in the above embodiments provided by the embodiments of the present application. The communication device 1000 can be specifically the communication device as the network device in the above embodiments, and the example shown in Fig. 10 is that the network device is implemented by the network device (or components in the network device), wherein the structure of the communication device can refer to the structure shown in Fig. 10.

[0316] The communication device 1000 comprises at least one processor 1011 and at least one network interface 1014. Further optionally, the communication device further comprises at least one memory 1012, at least one transceiver 1013 and one or more antennas 1015. The processor 1011, the memory 1012, the transceiver 1013 and the network interface 1014 are connected, for example, through a bus, which may, in embodiments of the present application, comprise various types of interfaces, transmission lines or buses, etc., and the present embodiments do not limit the same. The antenna 1015 is connected to the transceiver 1013. The network interface 1014 is configured to enable the communication device to communicate with other communication devices through a communication link. For example, the network interface 1014 can comprise a network interface between the communication device and a core network device, for example, an S1 interface, and the network interface can comprise a network interface between the communication device and other communication devices (for example, other network devices or core network devices), for example, an X2 or Xn interface.

[0317] The transceiver unit 702 shown in FIG. 7 can be a communication interface, which can be the network interface 1014 in FIG. 10, and the network interface 1014 can comprise an input interface and an output interface. Alternatively, the network interface 1014 can also be a transceiver circuit, which can comprise an input interface circuit and an output interface circuit.

[0318] The processor 1011 is mainly configured to process communication protocols and communication data, and control the whole communication device, execute software programs, process data of the software programs, for example, to support the communication device to perform the actions described in the embodiments. The communication device can comprise a baseband processor and a central processor, the baseband processor is mainly configured to process communication protocols and communication data, and the central processor is mainly configured to control the whole terminal device, execute software programs, and process data of the software programs. The processor 1011 in FIG. 10 can integrate the functions of the baseband processor and the central processor, and those skilled in the art can understand that the baseband processor and the central processor can also be independent processors interconnected through a bus. Those skilled in the art can understand that the terminal device can comprise a plurality of baseband processors to adapt to different network modes, and the terminal device can comprise a plurality of central processors to enhance the processing capability, and various components of the terminal device can be connected through various buses. The baseband processor can also be referred to as a baseband processing circuit or a baseband processing chip. The central processor can also be referred to as a central processing circuit or a central processing chip. The function of processing communication protocols and communication data can be built in the processor, or stored in the memory in the form of software programs, and the processor executes the software programs to realize the baseband processing function.

[0319] The memory is mainly used for storing software programs and data. The memory 1012 can exist independently and be connected to the processor 1011. Alternatively, the memory 1012 can be integrated with the processor 1011, for example, integrated in a chip. The memory 1012 can store program codes for implementing the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application and be controlled to execute by the processor 1011. Various computer programs executed can also be regarded as a driver of the processor 1011.

[0320] FIG. 10 only shows one memory and one processor. In actual terminal devices, there can be multiple processors and multiple memories. The memory can also be referred to as a storage medium or a storage device, etc. The memory can be a storage element on the same chip as the processor, i.e., an on-chip storage element, or an independent storage element, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0321] The transceiver 1013 can be used to support the reception or transmission of radio frequency signals between the communication device and the terminal. The transceiver 1013 can be connected to the antenna 1015. The transceiver 1013 includes a transmitter Tx and a receiver Rx. Specifically, one or more antennas 1015 can receive radio frequency signals, the receiver Rx of the transceiver 1013 is used to receive the radio frequency signals from the antenna and convert the radio frequency signals into digital baseband signals or digital intermediate frequency signals, and provide the digital baseband signals or digital intermediate frequency signals to the processor 1011 for further processing of the digital baseband signals or digital intermediate frequency signals by the processor 1011, such as demodulation processing and decoding processing. In addition, the transmitter Tx in the transceiver 1013 is also used to receive modulated digital baseband signals or digital intermediate frequency signals from the processor 1011, and convert the modulated digital baseband signals or digital intermediate frequency signals into radio frequency signals, and transmit the radio frequency signals through one or more antennas 1015. Specifically, the receiver Rx can selectively perform one or more levels of down-mixing and analog-to-digital conversion to obtain digital baseband signals or digital intermediate frequency signals, and the order of the down-mixing and analog-to-digital conversion can be adjustable. The transmitter Tx can selectively perform one or more levels of up-mixing and digital-to-analog conversion on the modulated digital baseband signals or digital intermediate frequency signals to obtain radio frequency signals, and the order of the up-mixing and digital-to-analog conversion can be adjustable. The digital baseband signals and the digital intermediate frequency signals can be collectively referred to as digital signals.

[0322] The transceiver 1013 can also be referred to as a transceiving unit, a transceiver, a transceiving device, etc. Optionally, a device in the transceiving unit for implementing a receiving function can be regarded as a receiving unit, and a device in the transceiving unit for implementing a sending function can be regarded as a sending unit, i.e., the transceiving unit includes the receiving unit and the sending unit, the receiving unit can also be referred to as a receiver, an input port, a receiving circuit, etc., and the sending unit can be referred to as a transmitter, a transmitter, or a transmitting circuit, etc.

[0323] It should be noted that the communication apparatus 1000 shown in FIG. 10 can be specifically used to implement the steps implemented by the network device in the foregoing method embodiments, and achieve the corresponding technical effects of the network device. The specific implementation of the communication apparatus 1000 shown in FIG. 10 can be referred to the description in the foregoing method embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

[0324] Please refer to FIG. 11, which is a structural schematic diagram of a communication apparatus involved in the foregoing embodiments provided by the embodiments of the present application.

[0325] It can be understood that the communication apparatus 1100 includes, for example, modules, units, elements, circuits, or interfaces, etc., which are properly configured together to execute the technical solutions provided by the present application. The communication apparatus 1100 can be a terminal device or a network device as described above, or a component (such as a chip) of these devices, to implement the methods described in the following method embodiments. The communication apparatus 1100 includes one or more processors 1101. The processor 1101 can be a general-purpose processor or a special-purpose processor, etc. For example, it can be a baseband processor or a central processing unit. The baseband processor can be used to process communication protocols and communication data, and the central processing unit can be used to control the communication apparatus (such as a RAN node, a terminal, or a chip, etc.), execute software programs, and process data of software programs.

[0326] Optionally, in one design, the processor 1101 can include a program 1103 (which can also be referred to as code or instructions at times), which can be run on the processor 1101, so that the communication apparatus 1100 executes the methods described in the following embodiments. In another possible design, the communication apparatus 1100 includes a circuit (not shown in FIG. 11).

[0327] Optionally, the communication apparatus 1100 can include one or more memories 1102, which have a program 1104 (which can also be referred to as code or instructions at times) stored thereon, and the program 1104 can be run on the processor 1101, so that the communication apparatus 1100 executes the methods described in the foregoing method embodiments.

[0328] Optionally, the processor 1101 and / or the memory 1102 can include an AI module 1107, 1108, which is configured to implement AI-related functions. The AI module can be implemented in software, hardware, or a combination of software and hardware. For example, the AI module can include a radio intelligence control (RIC) module. For example, the AI module can be a near-real-time RIC or a non-real-time RIC.

[0329] Optionally, the processor 1101 and / or the memory 1102 can also store data. The processor and the memory can be separately arranged or integrated together.

[0330] Optionally, the communication device 1100 can also include a transceiver 1105 and / or an antenna 1106. The processor 1101 can also be referred to as a processing unit, which controls the communication device (e.g., a RAN node or a terminal). The transceiver 1105 can also be referred to as a transceiving unit, a transceiver, a transceiving circuit, or a transceiver, which is configured to implement the transceiving function of the communication device through the antenna 1106.

[0331] In the figure, the processing unit 701 can be the processor 1101. The transceiving unit 702 can be a communication interface, which can be the transceiver 1105 in the figure 11. The transceiver 1105 can include an input interface and an output interface. Alternatively, the transceiver 1105 can be a transceiving circuit, which can include an input interface circuit and an output interface circuit.

[0332] The embodiments of the present application also provide a computer readable storage medium for storing one or more computer-executable instructions, which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform the method described in the possible implementation manners of the first communication device or the second communication device.

[0333] The embodiments of the present application also provide a computer program product (or computer program), which, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to perform the method described in the possible implementation manners of the first communication device or the second communication device.

[0334] The embodiments of the present application further provide a chip system, which comprises at least one processor for supporting the communication device to implement the functions involved in the possible implementation manners of the communication device. Optionally, the chip system further comprises an interface circuit for providing program instructions and / or data for the at least one processor. In a possible design, the chip system can further comprise a memory for storing the necessary program instructions and data of the communication device. The chip system can be composed of a chip, or can comprise a chip and other discrete components, and the communication device can be the first communication device or the second communication device in the foregoing method embodiments.

[0335] The embodiments of the present application further provide a communication system, which comprises the first communication device in any of the foregoing embodiments.

[0336] Optionally, the communication system further comprises the second communication device.

[0337] In several embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed system, device and method can be implemented in other manners. For example, the described device embodiments are merely schematic, and the division of the units is merely a logical function division, and there can be another division manner in actual implementation, for example, multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. In addition, the displayed or discussed mutual couplings or direct couplings or communication connections between different units, can be indirect couplings or communication connections through some interfaces, devices or units, and can be electrical, mechanical or in other forms. The actual implementation manner of a certain function can be implemented in hardware or software, depending on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art can implement the described functions in different manners for each specific application, and such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of the present application.

[0338] The units described as separated components can or can not be physically separated, and the components displayed as units can or can not be physical units, i.e., can be located in one place, or can be distributed on a plurality of network units. Part or all of the units can be selected according to actual needs to implement the purposes of the embodiments of the present application.

[0339] In addition, each of the functional units in the various embodiments of the present application can be integrated in one processing unit, or each unit can exist physically independently, or two or more units can be integrated in one unit. The integrated unit can be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of a software functional unit. When the integrated unit is implemented in the form of a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a computer readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solutions of the present application, essentially or in the form of a contribution, or all or part of the technical solutions can be embodied in the form of a software product. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium, and includes several instructions for causing a computer device (which can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in the various embodiments of the present application. The foregoing storage medium includes: a U disk, a mobile hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk or an optical disk, and various media that can store program codes.

Claims

1. A communication method characterized by comprising: The method is applied to a first communication device, and the method comprises: receiving first information, the first information comprising a first identifier, the first identifier being used to indicate a first artificial intelligence (AI) function; sending second information, the second information comprising state information of the first AI function.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, The state information of the first AI function comprises: the first communication device has not obtained the first AI function; the first communication device has obtained the first AI function, and the first AI function is unavailable; or the first communication device has obtained the first AI function, and the first AI function is available.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein, The first AI function being unavailable comprises: the first AI function is unavailable under a first condition, the first condition corresponding to a network state; The first AI function being available comprises: the first AI function is available under the first condition.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein, The first information further comprises one or more of the following: one or more second identifiers, each of the second identifiers being used to indicate a condition, the identifier of the first condition being included in the one or more second identifiers; a third identifier indicating one or more cell information of an area where the terminal device is located; or second indication information, the second indication information being used to indicate a first application scenario of the first AI function. Before the receiving of the first information, the method further comprises:

5. The method of claim 4, wherein, sending third information, the third information indicating that the first communication device supports at least one AI capability, one AI capability corresponding to one or more AI functions, the one or more AI functions comprising the first AI function. The third information comprises first indication information, the first indication information indicating the first AI function, the first identifier corresponding to the first indication information.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein, The third information comprises the second indication information.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein, The third information further comprises the second identifier, the second identifier corresponding to the first AI function, and the first communication device maintaining an association relationship between the second identifier and the first AI function.

8. The method according to any one of claims 5-7, characterized in that, The method further comprises:

9. The method according to any one of claims 1-8, characterized in that, receiving first configuration information, the first configuration information comprising a configuration parameter of the first AI function; processing an inference task according to the first configuration information and the first AI function. The first information further comprises the first configuration information.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein, The method further comprises:

11. The method according to any one of claims 1-8, characterized in that, receiving second configuration information, the second configuration information comprising training data of the first AI function; training the first AI function according to the second configuration information. The second information further comprises first request information, requesting the second configuration information.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein, The second configuration information comprises an identifier of a second condition, the second condition corresponding to a network state when the training data is collected; 13. The method according to claim 11 or 12, characterized in that, When the training of the first AI function is completed, the method further comprises: sending fourth information, the fourth information indicating that the first communication device has obtained the first AI function, and the first AI function is available under the second condition. The method is applied to a second communication device, and the method comprises:

14. A communication method, comprising: ​ sending first information, the first information comprising a first identifier, the first identifier being used to indicate a first artificial intelligence (AI) function; receiving second information, the second information comprising state information of the first AI function.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein, The state information of the first AI function comprises: the first communication device has not obtained the first AI function; the first communication device has obtained the first AI function, and the first AI function is unavailable; or the first communication device has obtained the first AI function, and the first AI function is available.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein, The first AI function being unavailable comprises: the first AI function is unavailable under a first condition, the first condition corresponding to one network state; The first AI function being available comprises: the first AI function is available under the first condition.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein, The first information further comprises one or more of the following: one or more second identifiers, each of the second identifiers being used to indicate a condition, the identifier of the first condition being included in the one or more second identifiers; a third identifier indicating one or more cell information of an area where the terminal device is located; or second indication information, the second indication information being used to indicate a first application scenario of the first AI function. Before the first information is sent, the method further comprises:

18. The method of claim 17, wherein, receiving third information, the third information indicating that the first communication device supports at least one AI capability, one AI capability corresponding to one or more AI functions, the one or more AI functions comprising the first AI function. The third information comprises first indication information, the first indication information indicating the first AI function, the first identifier corresponding to the first indication information.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein, The third information comprises the second indication information.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein, The third information further comprises the second identifier, the second identifier corresponding to the first AI function, and the first communication device maintaining an association relationship between the second identifier and the first AI function.

21. The method of any one of claims 18-20, wherein, When the state information of the first AI function is available, the method further comprises:

22. The method of any one of claims 14-21, wherein, sending first configuration information, the first configuration information comprising configuration parameters of the first AI function. The first information further comprises the first configuration information.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein, When the state information of the first AI function is available, the method further comprises:

24. The method of any one of claims 14-21, wherein, obtaining second configuration information, the second configuration information comprising training data of the first AI function; sending the second configuration information. The second information further comprises first request information, the first request information requesting the second configuration information.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein, The second configuration information comprises an identifier of a second condition, the second condition corresponding to one network state when the training data is collected.

26. The method of claim 24 or 25, wherein, After the second configuration information is sent, the method further comprises: receiving fourth information, the fourth information indicating that the first communication device has obtained the first AI function, and the first AI function is available under the second condition. A module for performing the method of any one of claims 1 to 13, or a module for performing the method of any one of claims 14 to 26.

27. A communications device, characterized by ​ 28. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer readable storage medium stores a computer program or instructions which, when executed by the communication device, implement the method of any one of claims 1 to 13, or implement the method of any one of claims 14 to 26.

29. A computer program product, characterised in that, The computer readable storage medium stores a computer program or instructions which, when executed by the communication device, implement the method of any one of claims 1 to 13, or implement the method of any one of claims 14 to 26.

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