Communication method and apparatus

Abstract

A communication method and apparatus, which are capable of reducing power consumption of a terminal. In the described method, a coverage area of an access node currently participating in sensing comprises at least one terminal, and a first node may send, to a second node, first information determined on the basis of sensing channel quality information of the at least one terminal or location accuracy information of the at least one terminal, so that the second node determines, by means of the first information, a terminal having a better sensing effect from terminals within the coverage area of the access node currently participating in sensing. In this way, according to the present application, a wireless sensing operation may be executed by means of the determined terminal, thereby improving sensing resource usage efficiency and reducing sensing data communication overhead.

Description

Communication method and apparatus

[0001] The present application claims priority from the Chinese patent application No. 202411030347.0 filed on July 29, 2024, and entitled "Communication method and 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, in particular to a communication method and apparatus. BACKGROUND

[0003] In the field of communication technology, wireless sensing technology can realize sensing of objects or persons in a communication environment through changes in wireless signals, such as identification, positioning, or modeling of objects or persons. In one possible implementation, a sensing device transmits a sensing signal, the sensing signal is reflected by an obstacle in the current environment, and then the sensing device can simulate point cloud information of the obstacle in the environment through the reflected signal, thereby realizing wireless sensing.

[0004] However, the existing wireless sensing scheme has the problems of low sensing resource use efficiency and high communication overhead of sensing data. SUMMARY

[0005] To solve the above technical problems, the embodiments of the present application provide a communication method and apparatus, which can improve the sensing resource use efficiency and reduce the communication overhead of sensing data.

[0006] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided. The method can be performed by a first node, or by a component of the first node, such as a processor, a chip, or a chip system of the first node, or by a logic module or software that can realize all or part of the functions of the first node. Hereinafter, the method is taken as an example for description. The first node can be an access node or a core network node. The communication method comprises: sending first information to a second node, the first information being determined based on sensing channel quality information of at least one terminal or position accuracy information of the at least one terminal, the at least one terminal being a terminal in a coverage range of the access node that is currently participating in sensing, the sensing channel of the terminal being a signal transmission channel between the terminal and the access node; the first information being used to determine a terminal for wireless sensing; the terminal for wireless sensing being a terminal in the at least one terminal.

[0007] Based on the technical solution, since the terminal wireless sensing effect is related to the state of the sensing channel of the terminal and the positioning accuracy of the terminal, the first node sends the first information to the second node based on the sensing channel quality information or the position accuracy information of the terminal, so that the second node can determine the terminal with better sensing effect from the terminals in the coverage of the access node currently participating in sensing through the first information. Further, the terminal for wireless sensing determined by the embodiment of the application performs wireless sensing operation, which can improve the sensing resource use efficiency and reduce the communication overhead of sensing data.

[0008] In a possible design, the first node is a core network node, and the second node is a first access node; the access nodes participating in sensing include the first access node; the at least one terminal is a terminal in the coverage of the first access node; and the method further includes: obtaining the identity of the at least one terminal and the position accuracy information of the at least one terminal.

[0009] Based on the possible design, the first node can determine the first information according to the obtained position accuracy information of the terminal after obtaining the position accuracy information of the terminal, that is, the first information can represent the position accuracy of the terminal, so that the second node can select the terminal for wireless sensing based on the position accuracy, thereby improving the effect of wireless sensing.

[0010] In a possible design, the first information includes the identity of one or more terminals in the at least one terminal and the position accuracy information of the one or more terminals; or the first information includes the identity of one or more terminals in the at least one terminal and the sensing priority of the one or more terminals, wherein the sensing priority of the one or more terminals is determined according to the position accuracy information of the one or more terminals.

[0011] In a possible design, the terminal for wireless sensing is determined according to the first information and the sensing channel quality information of the at least one terminal.

[0012] Based on the possible design, since the first information can represent the position accuracy of the terminal, the second node can select the terminal more suitable for wireless sensing through the position accuracy and the sensing channel quality, thereby improving the sensing effect of wireless sensing.

[0013] In a possible design, the first node is a first access node, and the second node is a core network node; the access nodes participating in sensing include the first access node; the at least one terminal is a terminal in the coverage of the first access node; and the method further includes: obtaining the identity of the at least one terminal and the sensing channel quality information of the at least one terminal.

[0014] Based on the possible design, after obtaining the sensing channel quality information of the terminal, the first node can determine the first information according to the obtained sensing channel quality information of the terminal, that is, the first information can represent the sensing channel quality of the terminal, so that the second node can select the terminal for wireless sensing based on the sensing channel quality, and improve the effect of wireless sensing.

[0015] In a possible design, the first information includes the identification of one or more terminals of the at least one terminal and the sensing channel quality information of the one or more terminals; or the first information includes the identification of one or more terminals of the at least one terminal and the sensing priority of the one or more terminals, where the sensing priority of the one or more terminals is determined according to the sensing channel quality information of the one or more terminals.

[0016] In a possible design, the method further includes: receiving first indication information from the second node, where the first indication information is used to indicate the terminal for wireless sensing determined by the second node.

[0017] In a possible design, the terminal for wireless sensing is determined according to the first information and the position accuracy information of the at least one terminal.

[0018] Based on the possible design, since the first information can represent the sensing channel quality of the terminal, the second node can select a terminal more suitable for wireless sensing from two aspects of position accuracy and sensing channel quality, thereby improving the sensing effect of wireless sensing.

[0019] In a possible design, the sensing channel quality information includes the first-order non-line-of-sight (NLOS) path number information of the sensing channel and / or the first-order NLOS path energy information of the sensing channel.

[0020] In a second aspect, a communication method is provided, which can be performed by a second node, or by a component of the second node, for example, a processor, a chip, or a chip system of the second node, or by a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the function of the second node. Hereinafter, the method is taken as an example performed by the second node. The second node can be an access node or a core network node, and the communication method includes: receiving first information from a first node, where the first information is determined based on sensing channel quality information of at least one terminal or position accuracy information of the at least one terminal, and the at least one terminal is a terminal currently participating in sensing in a coverage range of the access node; the sensing channel of the terminal is a signal transmission channel between the terminal and the access node; and determining a terminal for wireless sensing according to the first information, where the terminal for wireless sensing is a terminal of the at least one terminal.

[0021] In a possible design, the first node is a core network node, and the second node is a first access node; the access nodes currently participating in the sensing include the first access node; and the at least one terminal is a terminal within a coverage of the first access node.

[0022] In a possible design, the first information includes identification of one or more terminals of the at least one terminal and location accuracy information of the one or more terminals; or the first information includes identification of one or more terminals of the at least one terminal and sensing priority of the one or more terminals, where the sensing priority of the one or more terminals is determined according to the location accuracy information of the one or more terminals.

[0023] In a possible design, the method includes determining the terminal for wireless sensing according to the first information and sensing channel quality information of the at least one terminal.

[0024] In a possible design, the first node is a first access node, and the second node is a core network node; the first information includes sensing channel quality information of the at least one terminal, and the access nodes currently participating in the sensing include the first access node; and the at least one terminal is a terminal within a coverage of the first access node.

[0025] In a possible design, the first information includes identification of one or more terminals of the at least one terminal and sensing channel quality information of the one or more terminals; or the first information includes identification of one or more terminals of the at least one terminal and sensing priority of the one or more terminals, where the sensing priority of the one or more terminals is determined according to the sensing channel quality information of the one or more terminals.

[0026] In a possible design, the method further includes sending, to the first node, first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate the terminal for wireless sensing determined by the second node.

[0027] In a possible design, the method includes determining the terminal for wireless sensing according to the first information and location accuracy information of the at least one terminal.

[0028] In a possible design, the sensing channel quality information includes first-order non-line-of-sight (NLOS) path number information and / or first-order NLOS path energy information included in the sensing channel.

[0029] The technical effects brought by any possible design of the second aspect can be referred to the technical effects brought by the corresponding or similar design of the first aspect, which will not be repeated here.

[0030] In a third aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, which can implement various methods. The communication apparatus includes modules, units, or means corresponding to the methods, and the modules, units, or means can be implemented by hardware, software, or by a combination of hardware and software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules or units corresponding to the functions.

[0031] In some possible design, the communication apparatus can include a processing module and a transceiving module. The processing module can be used to implement the processing functions in any of the above aspects and any possible implementation thereof. The transceiving module can include a receiving module and a sending module, which are used to implement the receiving function and the sending function in any of the above aspects and any possible implementation thereof.

[0032] In some possible design, the transceiving module can be composed of a transceiving circuit, a transceiver, a transceiver, or a communication interface.

[0033] In a fourth aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, which includes a processor and a memory. The memory is used to store computer instructions, which, when executed by the processor, cause the communication apparatus to perform the methods in any of the above aspects and any possible design thereof.

[0034] In a fifth aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, which includes a processor and a communication interface. The communication interface is used to communicate with modules outside the communication apparatus. The processor is used to execute computer programs or instructions, so that the communication apparatus performs the methods in any of the above aspects and any possible design thereof.

[0035] In a sixth aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, which includes at least one processor. The processor is used to execute computer programs or instructions stored in a memory, so that the communication apparatus performs the methods in any of the above aspects and any possible design thereof. The memory can be coupled with the processor, or can be independent of the processor.

[0036] In a seventh aspect, a communication apparatus (for example, the communication apparatus can be a chip or a chip system) is provided, which includes a processor used to implement the functions in any of the above aspects and any possible design thereof.

[0037] In some possible design, the communication apparatus includes a memory, which is used to save necessary program instructions and data.

[0038] In some possible design, when the apparatus is a chip system, the apparatus can be composed of a chip, or can include a chip and other discrete devices.

[0039] The communication apparatus in the third aspect to the seventh aspect can be the first node in the first aspect, or an apparatus such as a chip or a chip system included in the first node; or the communication apparatus can be the second node in the second aspect, or an apparatus such as a chip or a chip system included in the second node.

[0040] The eighth aspect provides a communication apparatus, which can be the first node, or a module or unit (for example, a chip, or a chip system, or a circuit) corresponding to the method / operation / step / action described in the first aspect executed in the first node, or a module or unit capable of being matched with the first node; or the communication apparatus can be the second node, or a module or unit (for example, a chip, or a chip system, or a circuit) corresponding to the method / operation / step / action described in the second aspect executed in the second node, or a module or unit capable of being matched with the second node.

[0041] It can be understood that when the communication apparatus in any one of the third aspect to the eighth aspect is a chip, the sending action / function of the communication apparatus can be understood as outputting information, and the receiving action / function of the communication apparatus can be understood as inputting information.

[0042] The ninth aspect provides a computer readable storage medium, which stores a computer program or instructions, and when the computer program or instructions are executed on the communication apparatus, the communication apparatus can execute the method described in any one of the aspects and any possible design thereof.

[0043] The tenth aspect provides a computer program product containing instructions, and when the computer program product is executed on the communication apparatus, the communication apparatus can execute the method described in any one of the aspects and any possible design thereof.

[0044] The technical effects brought by any one of the third aspect to the tenth aspect can refer to the technical effects brought by different design manners in the first aspect or the second aspect, which will not be repeated here. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0045] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a point cloud image of a sensing area provided by the present application;

[0046] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a model of a sensing area provided by the present application;

[0047] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a wireless sensing scenario provided by the present application;

[0048] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication system provided by the present application;

[0049] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of the structure of another communication system provided by the present application;

[0050] FIG. 6 is a structural diagram of an O-RAN system provided by the present application;

[0051] FIG. 7 is a flow diagram of a communication method provided by the present application;

[0052] FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a wireless signal receiving scenario provided by the present application;

[0053] FIGS. 9-12 are flow diagrams of communication methods provided by the present application;

[0054] FIGS. 13-15 are structural diagrams of communication apparatuses provided by the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0055] In the description of the present application, unless otherwise specified, “ / ” represents an “or” relationship between the objects associated in front and back, for example, A / B can represent A or B; “and / or” in the present application is only a description of the association between the associated objects, which means that there can be three relationships, for example, A and / or B, which can represent: A alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B alone, where A and B can be singular or plural.

[0056] In the description of the present application, unless otherwise specified, “multiple” means two or more than two. “At least one of the following” or the like means any combination of the items, including any combination of single or multiple items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c can represent: a, b, c, a-b, a-c, b-c, or a-b-c, where a, b, and c can be single or multiple.

[0057] In addition, in order to facilitate the clear description of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, in the embodiments of the present application, the same items or similar items with basically the same function and role are distinguished by using “first”, “second”, etc. The skilled in the art can understand that “first”, “second”, etc. do not limit the quantity and execution order, and “first”, “second”, etc. also do not necessarily mean different.

[0058] In the embodiments of the present application, the words “exemplary” or “for example” are used to mean serving as an example, instance, or illustration. Any embodiment or design presented as “exemplary” or “for example” in the embodiments of the present application should not be interpreted as being more preferred or advantageous than other embodiments or design solutions. Rather, the use of “exemplary” or “for example” is intended to present relevant concepts in a specific manner, facilitating understanding.

[0059] It can be understood that the "embodiments" mentioned throughout the specification mean that the specific features, structures or characteristics related to the embodiments are included in at least one embodiment of the present application. Therefore, the various embodiments throughout the specification do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. In addition, these specific features, structures or characteristics can be combined in one or more embodiments in any suitable manner. It can be understood that in various embodiments of the present application, the size of the sequence number of each process does not mean the order of execution, and the execution order of each process should be determined according to its function and inherent logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application.

[0060] It can be understood that in the present application, "…", "if" and "when" all refer to the corresponding processing under certain objective conditions, not limited by time, and do not require judgment actions when implemented, nor does it mean that there are other limitations.

[0061] It can be understood that some optional features in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented independently in some scenarios without relying on other features, such as the scheme currently based on, to solve the corresponding technical problems and achieve the corresponding effects. In some scenarios, it can also be combined with other features according to demand. Correspondingly, the devices given in the embodiments of the present application can also realize these features or functions, which will not be described here.

[0062] In the present application, except for special description, the same or similar parts of each embodiment can be mutually referred. In various embodiments of the present application, if there is no special description and no logical conflict, the terms and / or descriptions of different embodiments are consistent and can be mutually referred, and the technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationship. The implementation modes of the present application described below do not constitute a limitation on the protection scope of the present application.

[0063] In order to facilitate the understanding of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, first, a brief introduction of the related technologies of the present application is given as follows.

[0064] Wireless sensing is usually an important technology realized by various specific sensing devices (such as ordinary radar, laser radar, computer tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, etc.). The principle of wireless sensing is to identify the object information in the environment according to the changes of electromagnetic waves in the transmission process affected by objects, so that the wireless communication system can also realize the function of wireless sensing.

[0065] In the field of communication technology, wireless sensing technology can realize sensing of objects or personnel in a communication environment through changes in wireless signals, such as identification, positioning, or modeling of objects or personnel. In one possible implementation, a sensing device transmits a sensing signal, the sensing signal is reflected by an obstacle in the current environment, and then the sensing device can determine the point coordinates of the reflection point of the reflected signal on the surface of the obstacle based on the reflected signal, thereby determining the point cloud information of the obstacle in the current environment. For example, FIG. 1 is a point cloud image of a sensing area generated based on point cloud information. An access node or a core network node can perform clustering, smoothing, and other operations on the point cloud information obtained by multiple sensing devices, perform three-dimensional modeling, and obtain a model diagram of the sensing area as shown in FIG. 2.

[0066] The sensing device can be an access node (for example, a base station transmits and receives a sensing signal), a terminal (for example, a terminal transmits and receives a sensing signal), or both an access node and a terminal (for example, a base station transmits a sensing signal, and a terminal receives the sensing signal, or a terminal transmits a sensing signal, and a base station receives the sensing signal).

[0067] Taking the case where a terminal transmits a sensing signal and a base station receives the sensing signal as an example, as shown in FIG. 3, the current environment includes at least one terminal 301 and a base station 302, and the at least one terminal 301 is located at different positions in the current environment and is configured to transmit a sensing signal. The sensing signal is reflected, scattered, and diffracted by objects in the environment and reaches the base station 302. Scattering refers to the phenomenon that electromagnetic waves carrying signals are reflected or propagated in different directions when they encounter an obstacle whose surface is approximately equal to or smaller than the wavelength of the electromagnetic waves, such as when electromagnetic waves encounter a rough medium surface. Diffraction, also known as diffraction, is a physical phenomenon in which electromagnetic waves deviate from their original straight propagation when they encounter an obstacle. Reflection refers to the phenomenon that electromagnetic waves are reflected when they reach the interface of a medium.

[0068] The base station 302 determines the sensing parameters of the received sensing signal in each channel by measurement, such as the time delay, Doppler shift, and angle of the propagation path, and the like. Then, the base station 302 calculates the point cloud information of the surface of the object in the current environment based on the sensing parameters and the position information of the terminal 301, and reports the point cloud information to a location management network element (LMF) 303 of the core network. The sensing function (SF) 304 obtains the point cloud information from the LMF 303 for fusion, thereby obtaining a 3D modeling map of the object in the current environment, or the base station directly reports the sensing point cloud to the sensing function, and the sensing function fuses based on the point cloud information, thereby obtaining a 3D modeling map of the object in the current environment.

[0069] However, the existing wireless sensing scheme usually performs wireless sensing operation based on all terminals in the current environment, wherein the sensing signals sent by the terminals with poor sensing effect occupy a large amount of sensing communication resources, and the point cloud information generated by the base station through the sensing signals sent by these terminals not only affects the final sensing effect, but also occupies additional data backhaul overhead, thus there are problems of low sensing resource use efficiency and high sensing data communication overhead.

[0070] Based on this, the present application provides a communication method, since the effect of wireless sensing of a terminal is related to the state of the sensing channel of the terminal and the positioning accuracy of the terminal, the first node sends first information to the second node based on the sensing channel quality information or the position accuracy information of the terminal, which can enable the second node to determine the terminal with better sensing effect from the terminals in the coverage range of the access node currently participating in sensing through the first information. Further, the terminal determined by the embodiment of the present application for wireless sensing performs wireless sensing operation, which can improve the sensing resource use efficiency and reduce the communication overhead of sensing data.

[0071] The technical scheme of the embodiment of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, which can be a third generation partnership project (3GPP) communication system, for example, a long term evolution (LTE) system, a fourth generation (4G) system, a new radio (NR) system, a fifth generation (5G) system, a system of mixed networking of LTE and 5G, a communication and sensing integrated system, a non-terrestrial network (NTN), a device-to-device (D2D) communication system, a vehicle to everything (V2X) communication system, a machine-type communication (MTC) system, an internet of things (IoT) system, or other future communication systems. The communication system can also be a non-3GPP communication system, which is not limited.

[0072] Among them, the above-mentioned communication system applicable to the present application is only an example, and the communication system applicable to the present application is not limited thereto, and the communication system provided by the present application does not cause any limitation to the scheme of the present application. Here, it is uniformly stated that the following will not be described in detail.

[0073] FIG. 4 shows a possible, non-limiting system diagram. As shown in FIG. 4, a communication system 40 includes a radio access network (RAN) 400 and a core network (CN) 500. The RAN 400 includes at least one RAN node (e.g., 410a and 410b, collectively 410) and at least one terminal (e.g., 420a-420j, collectively 420). Other RAN nodes, such as wireless relay devices and / or wireless backhaul devices (not shown in FIG. 4), can also be included in the RAN 400. The terminals 420 are wirelessly connected to the RAN nodes 410. The RAN nodes 410 are connected to the core network 500 by wire or wirelessly. The core network nodes in the core network 500 and the RAN nodes 410 in the RAN 400 can be different physical devices or can be the same physical device that integrates the core network logical functions and the radio access network logical functions.

[0074] In a possible implementation, the core network node can refer to a device in the core network 500 that provides service support for the terminal 420. In embodiments of the present application, the core network node in the core network 500 includes an SF network element, which is mainly used to implement sensing functions, such as sensing control functions and / or sensing calculation functions. Further, the SF network element can also support sensing billing functions when the terminal 420 and / or the RAN node 410 perform sensing. The SF network element can also be referred to as a sensing management network element (SMF).

[0075] For example, the sensing control function can include determining sensing devices, sensing nodes, etc. The sensing device can be understood as a device that transmits and / or receives sensing signals, and further performs corresponding signal processing on the received echo signals to obtain sensing measurement data. For example, the sensing device can be the RAN node 410 or the terminal 420, etc. The sensing node can refer to a network node that participates in the sensing service process in the wireless network. The sensing calculation function can include performing corresponding signal processing on the echo signals received by the sensing device to obtain sensing measurement data, and further processing the sensing measurement data and application information to obtain sensing results, etc.

[0076] For example, the SF network element can also be referred to as a communication device, such as a communication device with core network sensing functions. In addition, the SF network element can also be referred to as a sensing server, etc., without limitation.

[0077] In a possible scenario, the functions of the SF network element can be implemented by a network data analytics function (NWDAF) network element, or the SF network element and the NWDAF network element can be combined.

[0078] Optionally, in addition to the SF network element, the core network nodes in the core network 500 can further include at least one of the following: an access and mobility management function (AMF) network element, a session management function (SMF) network element, a user plane function (UPF) network element, a policy control function (PCF) network element, a unified data management (UDM) network element, an application function (AF) network element, a network exposure function (NEF) network element, a location management function (LMF) network element, and the like. Of course, the core network 500 can further include other core network nodes, which are not limited.

[0079] The AMF network element is a network element deployed in the core network 500, which provides mobility management and connection management for the network, such as user location update, user registration network, user handover, and the like. The AMF network element can serve as an intermediate route of the LMF, the SMF, and the RAN 400. The SMF network element is mainly responsible for session management in the mobile network, such as session establishment, modification, release, and the like. The UPF network element is a functional network element of the user plane, which is mainly responsible for connecting external networks and processing user packets, such as forwarding, charging, and the like. The PCF network element is mainly responsible for providing policies to the AMF and the SMF, such as quality of service (QoS) policies, slice selection policies, and the like. The UDM network element is used to store user data, such as subscription information, authentication / authorization information, and the like. The AF network element is responsible for providing services to the 3GPP network. The NEF network element is mainly used to open the capabilities of various network functions and is responsible for converting internal and external information. The LMF network element is a device or component deployed in the core network 500, which provides positioning functions for the terminal 420, for example, the LMF network element can initiate a positioning process and perform positioning on a specific terminal.

[0080] It should be noted that the network element in the present application can also be referred to as an entity or a functional entity, for example, the SF network element can also be referred to as an SF entity or an SF functional entity. In addition, the above-mentioned AMF network element, SMF network element, UPF network element, PCF network element, UDM network element, AF network element, NEF network element, LMF network element can also have other names in future communication systems, which are not limited in the present application.

[0081] In a possible implementation, the RAN 400 can be a 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) related cellular system, for example, a 4G, 5G mobile communication system, or a future-oriented evolution system. The RAN 400 can also be an open RAN (O-RAN or ORAN), a cloud radio access network (CRAN), an NTN network (such as an NTN supporting a transparent mode and / or a regenerative mode, or an NTN supporting a gaze mode (earth fixed cell) and / or a non-gaze mode (earth moving cell)), or a wireless fidelity (WiFi) system. The RAN 400 can also be a communication system in which two or more of the above systems are fused.

[0082] The RAN node 410, which can also be referred to as an access network device, a RAN entity or an access node, etc., constitutes part of the communication system to help terminals to implement wireless access. The plurality of RAN nodes 410 in the RAN 400 can be nodes of the same type or nodes of different types. In some scenarios, the roles of the RAN nodes 410 and the terminals 420 are relative, for example, the network element 420i in FIG. 4 can be a helicopter or a drone, which can be configured as a mobile base station. For those terminals 420j accessing the RAN 400 through the network element 420i, the network element 420i is a base station; but for the base station 410a, the network element 420i is a terminal. The RAN nodes 410 and the terminals 420 are sometimes referred to as communication apparatuses, for example, the network elements 410a and 410b in FIG. 4 can be understood as communication apparatuses with base station functions, and the network elements 420a-420j can be understood as communication apparatuses with terminal functions.

[0083] For the RAN node 410, in one possible scenario, the RAN node 410 can be a base station, an evolved Node B (eNodeB, eNB), an access point (AP), a transmission reception point (TRP), a next generation NodeB (gNB), a next generation base station in a future mobile communication system, or an access node in a WiFi system, etc. The RAN node 410 can be a macro base station (e.g., 410a in Figure 4), a micro base station or an indoor station (e.g., 410b in Figure 4), a relay node or a donor node, or a wireless controller in a CRAN scenario. Optionally, the RAN node 410 can also be a server, a wearable device, a vehicle or a vehicle-mounted device, etc. For example, an access network device in a vehicle to everything (V2X) technology can be a road side unit (RSU). The RAN node 410 is also referred to as a next generation-RAN (NG-RAN) node.

[0084] In another possible scenario, a terminal is assisted by multiple RAN nodes 410 to implement wireless access, and different RAN nodes 410 implement part of the functions of a base station respectively. For example, the RAN node 410 can be a central unit (CU, also referred to as a center unit), a distributed unit (DU, also referred to as a distribution unit), 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 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), or a remote radio head (RRH).

[0085] The CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU or RU can also have different names in different systems, but those skilled in the art can understand their meanings. For example, in an 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.

[0086] For the terminal 420, in a possible scenario, the terminal 420 can be a device for implementing a wireless communication function, for example, a terminal or a chip used in a terminal, etc. Among them, the terminal 420 can be a user equipment (UE) in a 5G network or a future evolved public land mobile network (PLMN), an access terminal, a terminal unit, a terminal station, a mobile station (MS), a mobile station, a remote station, a remote terminal, a mobile device, a wireless communication device, a terminal agent or a terminal device, a subscriber unit, a smart phone, a wireless data card, a tablet computer, a wireless modem, a laptop computer, a machine type communication (MTC) terminal, a tag, etc. The access terminal can be a cellular phone, a cordless phone, a session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a handset with a wireless communication function, a computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, a vehicle-mounted device or a wearable device, a virtual reality (VR) terminal, an augmented reality (AR) terminal, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in self driving, a wireless terminal in remote medical treatment, a wireless terminal in a smart grid, a wireless terminal in transportation safety, a wireless terminal in a smart city, a wireless terminal in a smart home, etc. In a possible implementation, the terminal 420 can be mobile or fixed.

[0087] In a possible implementation, the network device (for example, an access node or a core network node) in the embodiments of the present application and the terminal 420 can also be referred to as a communication apparatus, which can be a general-purpose device or a special-purpose device, and the embodiments of the present application do not make specific limitations on this.

[0088] In a possible implementation, the related functions of the terminal 420 or the network device in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented by one device, or can be implemented by multiple devices together, or can be implemented by one or more function modules in one device, and the embodiments of the present application do not make a specific limitation in this regard. It can be understood that the above functions can be a network element in a hardware device, or a software function running on a special hardware, or a combination of hardware and software, or a virtualized function instantiated on a platform (for example, a cloud platform).

[0089] For example, as shown in FIG. 5, it is an exemplary implementation of the system shown in FIG. 4. In this example, there is a Uu interface between the UE and the NG-RAN, for example, the NG-RAN includes ng-eNB nodes and gNB nodes, the UE communicates with the ng-eNB node through the LTE-Uu interface, and the UE communicates with the gNB node through the NR-Uu interface. There is an NG-C interface between the NG-RAN and the AMF, an NL1 interface between the AMF and the LMF, and an NLs interface between the SF / SMF (sensing management network element) and the AMF. It can be understood that the SF can also have an interface with other network elements, and the present application does not make a specific limitation in this regard.

[0090] Under this architecture, the SF / SMF as the network element responsible for sensing management can perform sensing-related measurement request, measurement reporting and other related signaling with the UE / NG-RAN. The LMF as the positioning management network element can perform positioning-related measurement request, measurement reporting and other related signaling with the UE / NG-RAN. The AMF can act as a router for communication between the access network side device and the core network side device.

[0091] It should be noted that the RAN node can be a device or a component in the device in the above NG-RAN, for example, it can be a ng-eNB node, a gNB node, or a transmission point (TP) in the ng-eNB node and the gNB node, a transmission and reception point (TRP), or a central unit (CU) integrated on the NG-RAN. The RAN node can also be a network element with transmission function, such as a transmission measurement function (TMF) network element. In some embodiments, the RAN node can also be an access node in the O-RAN system. The RAN is usually composed of a series of modules, such as antennas, RRUs, and BBUs, and the traditional RAN architecture defines the reception and output of the RAN node as a whole, without limiting the transmission and contact between internal modules. The O-RAN architecture defines the architectural contact and standardized interface between each module in the RAN, so that the RAN can be decoupled into multiple standard modules, thereby realizing the combination and replacement of modules.

[0092] For example, as shown in FIG. 6, it is a possible, non-limiting structure diagram of an O-RAN system. Among them, the service management and orchestration framework (SMO) is used as a network management device in the O-RAN, which is used to manage the devices in the O-RAN. The non-real time RAN intelligent controller (Non-RT RIC) is located in the SMO module, which is used to realize the non-real time intelligent management of the RAN function, for example, it can realize the artificial intelligence (AI) / machine learning (ML) workflow including model training and model updating, and guide the application / function in the Near-RT RIC based on the policy. The near-real time RAN intelligent controller (Near-RT RIC) is used to realize the near-real time intelligent management of the RAN. Through data collection and related operations on the E2 interface, the near-real time control and optimization of the modules and resources of the O-RAN are realized.

[0093] An O-RAN central unit (O-CU) includes an O-RAN central unit control plane (O-CU-CP) and an O-RAN central unit user plane (O-CU-UP). The O-CU is configured to implement a radio resource control (RRC) layer, a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, and a service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer and other control functions. The O-CU-CP is configured to implement functions of the RRC layer and control plane functions of the PDCP layer. The O-CU-UP is configured to implement functions of the SDAP layer and user plane functions of the PDCP layer.

[0094] An O-RAN distributed unit (O-DU) is configured to implement a radio link control (RLC) layer, a media access control (MAC) layer, and a higher physical layer (Higher PHY). The Higher PHY functions include one or more of forward error correction (FEC) encoding / decoding, scrambling / descrambling, or modulation / demodulation.

[0095] An O-RAN radio unit (O-RU) is configured to implement lower physical layer (Lower PHY) functions and radio frequency functions. The Lower PHY functions include one or more of fast Fourier transform (FFT) transform / inverse fast Fourier transformation (iFFT) transform, digital beamforming, or extraction and filtering of a physical random access channel (PRACH). That is, the O-RU has functions of a radio frequency device such as a TRP or a RRH and Lower PHY processing functions. In addition, the O-RU, the O-CU, and the O-DU can be collectively configured as an O-eNB / gNB to implement the above functions.

[0096] As a cloud computing platform, the O-RAN cloud (O-Cloud) includes physical infrastructure nodes for hosting O-RAN functions such as RIC, O-DU, etc. The O-Cloud supports software components (such as operating systems, virtual machine monitors, container runtimes), management and orchestration functions.

[0097] In a possible scenario, a sensing unit (SU) is further included in the O-RAN system. The SU is mainly used to implement sensing-related functions, such as transmitting a sensing signal and / or receiving an echo signal of the sensing signal, performing corresponding signal processing on the received echo signal to obtain sensing measurement data, and performing sensing-related processing.

[0098] As a possible implementation, the RAN node can include at least one of a CU, a DU, a SU, and a RU. There is a communication interface between the CU and the SU. There can or can not be a communication interface between the SU and the DU. In the case where there is no communication interface between the SU and the DU, the SU and the DU can communicate through the CU.

[0099] Under the O-RAN architecture, the module for receiving the difference report between the twin channel and the measurement channel can be a CU, a RT RIC, a Non-RT RIC, etc. The DU is responsible for receiving signals, signal processing, multipath measurement, and channel difference calculation.

[0100] For example, the O-RAN system includes communication interfaces between newly added internal components and other communication interfaces. For example, the A1 interface is an interface between the Non-RT RIC and the Near-RT RIC, which is used for intelligent and dynamic control of O-RAN internal wireless resources. The Non-RT RIC can provide policies, rich information, and ML model updates to the Near-RT RIC through the A1 interface, and the Near-RT RIC can provide policy feedback to the Non-RT RIC through the A1 interface.

[0101] The E2 interface is an open interface between two endpoints, used to connect the Near-RT RIC and the RAN node, which includes the CU, the DU in 5G, the O-RAN compatible eNB in 4G, the O-CU (O-CU-CP and / or O-CU-UP) and / or the O-DU in O-RAN, etc. The Near-RT RIC can obtain RAN node data collection and feedback through the E2 node, and the RAN node can obtain control feedback of the Near-RT RIC through the E2 node.

[0102] The O1 interface is an interface between a management entity in the SMO and an O-RAN module, used for operation management, through which network management (for example, fault management, configuration management, billing management, performance management, security management, also known as FCAPS management), software management, and file management are implemented. The O2 interface is an interface between the SMO and an infrastructure management framework supporting O-RAN virtual network functions.

[0103] The open front-haul (FH) CUS-Plane interface includes a control plane C-Plane, a user plane U-Plane, and a synchronization plane S-Plane interface. The control plane is used for real-time control between the O-DU and the O-RU, for example, for the O-DU to transmit the weight value for beamforming to the O-RU, or for the O-DU to perform power control on the O-RU, etc. The user plane is used to transmit communication data between the access network device and the terminal between the DU and the RU. The synchronization plane is used for the O-DU to provide clock synchronization to the O-RU. The Open FH M-Plane interface is a management plane interface, used for connection between the O-RU and the O-DU and the SMO, and can implement management, monitoring, and configuration functions, etc.

[0104] In addition, the NG interface is an interface between a RAN node (for example, a base station, a CU, a CU-CP, and a CU-UP) and a core network, NG-u is a user plane NG interface, and NG-c is a control plane NG interface. The Xn interface is an interface between NR RAN nodes, Xn-u is a user plane Xn interface, and Xn-c is a control plane Xn interface. The X2 interface is an interface between LTE RAN nodes, X2-u is a user plane X2 interface, and X2-c is a control plane X2 interface. In the NR system, the X2 interface is mainly used in the E-UTRA-NR dual connectivity (EN-DC) scenario, in which the master base station is an LTE RAN node, and the master base station is connected to the LTE core network through the X2 interface. The E1 interface is an interface between the CU-CP and the CU-UP, the F1-C interface is an interface between the CU-CP and the DU, and the F1-U interface is an interface between the CU-UP and the DU.

[0105] It should be noted that the system described in the embodiments of the present application is used to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, and does not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application. Those skilled in the art can know that, with the evolution of network architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0106] The communication method provided by the embodiments of the present application is described below by taking the interaction between the communication devices in the communication system shown in FIG. 4 as an example. It should be noted that the names of the messages between the communication devices, the names of the parameters, or the names of the information in the embodiments described below are only examples, and other names can also be used in other embodiments, and the method provided by the present application does not make specific limitations on this.

[0107] It can be understood that in the embodiments of the present application, each communication device can perform part or all of the steps in the embodiments of the present application, and these steps or operations are only examples, and the embodiments of the present application can also perform other operations or variations of various operations. In addition, each step can be performed in a different order as presented in the embodiments of the present application, and it is possible that not all operations in the embodiments of the present application are performed.

[0108] It can be understood that the communication device is taken as an example of the execution subject of the interaction in the present application, but the present application does not limit the execution subject of the interaction. For example, the method performed by the communication device in the present application can also be performed by a module (such as a chip, a chip system, or a processor) applied to the communication device, and can also be realized by a logic node, a logic module, or software that can realize all or part of the functions of the communication device.

[0109] The communication method provided by the embodiments of the present application is described below. As shown in FIG. 7, the communication method can include the following steps:

[0110] Step 701, the first node sends first information to the second node, and correspondingly, the second node receives the first information from the first node.

[0111] The first information is determined based on the sensing channel quality information of at least one terminal or the position accuracy information of at least one terminal, the at least one terminal is a terminal in the coverage of the access node currently participating in sensing, the sensing channel of the terminal is the signal transmission channel between the terminal and the access node, the first information is used to determine the terminal for wireless sensing, and the terminal for wireless sensing is a terminal in the at least one terminal.

[0112] For example, the first node is an access node, and the second node is a core network node, or the first node is a core network node, and the second node is an access node, or the first node and the second node are both access nodes, or the first node and the second node are both core network nodes.

[0113] Exemplarily, the access node in the present application can be an access network device (e.g., a base station); or the access node can be a DU, a CU, a RIC, or a SU, etc. device or module in the access network device. The core network node can be an SF, or an SMF, etc. network element.

[0114] In the embodiments of the present application, the coverage of the access node currently participating in sensing can be the coverage that can be covered by the transceiver unit of the access node. For example, when the access node is a CU, a RIC, or a SU, the coverage of the CU, the RIC, or the SU can be the coverage of the DU connected to the CU, the RIC, or the SU. Here, it is uniformly described below and will not be repeated.

[0115] In some embodiments, the sensing channel quality information includes the number of first-order non line of sight (NLOS) paths included in the sensing channel and / or the energy of the first-order NLOS paths included in the sensing channel. The sensing channel quality information can be determined by the access node according to the reference signal (RS) sent by the terminal.

[0116] In the embodiments of the present application, the sensing channel quality information can be related information characterizing the signal transmission quality of the terminal sensing channel, to evaluate the wireless sensing effect of the terminal. For example, the sensing channel quality information can be the number of first-order NLOS paths, the energy of first-order NLOS paths, or the channel signal-to-noise ratio, etc. As shown in FIG. 8, the transmitter sends a sensing signal to the receiver, and the sensing signal propagates to the receiver through path 1, path 2, and path 3, respectively. Among them, path 1 is a line of sight (LOS) path, which means that path 1 is transmitted on a straight transmission line without any obstacles. Path 2 and path 3 are NLOS paths, which means that the signal is reflected during transmission, such as ground reflection, object surface reflection, etc. The NLOS path is equivalent to the LOS path between the virtual base station (VBS) of the transmitter after the mirror symmetry of the signal reflection surface and the receiver. Taking path 2 as an example, after receiving the sensing signal sent by the transmitter, the receiver can determine the position point when the sensing signal is reflected based on the sensing signal and the position information of the receiver, thereby generating the point cloud information of the object surface in the propagation path.

[0117] The order of the propagation path (the order of multipath) refers to the number of times the electromagnetic wave encounters an obstacle or the number of times the direction of propagation changes from the transmitting point to the receiving point. For example, path 1 is a 0-order path, i.e., a direct path. Path 2 is a 1-order path, i.e., a path in which the direction of propagation changes once. Path 3 is a 2-order path, i.e., a path in which the direction of propagation changes twice. Wireless sensing is usually performed through signals of NLOS paths. For a sensing calculation through a first-order NLOS path, the number of first-order NLOS paths and the energy of the first-order NLOS paths can be used as sensing channel quality information to represent the sensing channel quality of the terminal. For a sensing calculation through a second-order NLOS path, the number of second-order NLOS paths and the energy of the second-order NLOS paths can be used as sensing channel quality information to represent the sensing channel quality of the terminal. The sensing channel quality information in this application is the quality information of the sensing channel involved in the wireless sensing operation.

[0118] In some embodiments, the position accuracy information of the terminal includes positioning precision of the terminal and / or positioning reliability of the terminal. The positioning precision is used to represent the closeness of the measured value to the actual value, and the positioning precision corresponds to the positioning error. The higher the positioning precision is, the smaller the corresponding positioning error is. For example, the positioning precision can be represented by the percentage of the maximum error to the actual value, can be represented by the upper and lower limits of the error, or can be represented by the probability distribution of the error. The positioning reliability is used to represent the reliability and accuracy of the measured value. For example, the positioning reliability can be represented by percentage. The position accuracy information of the terminal can be determined by the LMF through positioning measurement.

[0119] In some examples, the position accuracy information of the terminal can be represented as {UE1, positioning precision 0.1m, 99.9%}, {UE2, positioning precision 1m, 95%}. Wherein, the positioning error of UE1 is less than or equal to 0.1m with a probability of 99.9%, and the positioning error of UE2 is less than or equal to 1m with a probability of 95%.

[0120] In some examples, the position accuracy information of the terminal can be represented as {UE1, 99%}, {UE2, 90%}. Wherein, there is a 99% probability of accurately positioning UE1, and there is a 90% probability of accurately positioning UE2.

[0121] Step 702, the second node determines a terminal for wireless sensing according to the first information.

[0122] Wherein, the terminal for wireless sensing is the terminal in the at least one terminal in the above step S701.

[0123] For example, the second node can analyze, through the first information, at least one of a situation related to a sensing channel quality of the terminal or a situation related to a positioning accuracy of the terminal, and select a terminal with a better wireless sensing effect from the at least one terminal according to the sensing channel quality or the positioning accuracy, so as to realize wireless sensing of the terminal.

[0124] Based on the above technical solution, since the effect of wireless sensing of the terminal is related to the state of the sensing channel of the terminal and the positioning accuracy of the terminal, the first node sends the first information to the second node based on the sensing channel quality information or the position accuracy information of the terminal, so that the second node can determine a terminal with a better sensing effect from the terminals in the coverage range of the access node participating in sensing through the first information. Further, the terminal determined by the embodiment of the present application to perform wireless sensing operation can improve the use efficiency of sensing resources and reduce the communication overhead of sensing data.

[0125] The overall flow of the communication method provided by the present application is described above, and the specific implementation of the communication method will be described below in the case of taking the first node as a core network node and the second node as a first access node, and taking the first node as a first access node and the second node as a core network node.

[0126] As shown in FIG. 9, taking the first node as a core network node and the second node as a first access node as an example, the communication method includes the following steps:

[0127] Step 901: The core network node obtains the identity of at least one terminal and the position accuracy information of at least one terminal.

[0128] In this scenario, the first node is a core network node, the second node is a first access node, and the access nodes participating in sensing include the first access node, and the at least one terminal is a terminal in the coverage range of the first access node.

[0129] It should be noted that the access nodes participating in sensing can include one or more access nodes, and when multiple access nodes are included, the communication method provided by the present application can be performed for each access node, and the present application only takes the first access node in the access nodes participating in sensing as an example for description.

[0130] In some embodiments, the core network node can be an SF. In addition, the functions implemented by the core network node provided in the present application can also be implemented by a device or component with sensing function in the access network, for example, the functions implemented by the core network node described above can be deployed on the SU in the access network device.

[0131] In some embodiments, the first access node comprises an access network device or a DU in the access network device or a CU in the access network device or a RIC in the access network device or a SU in the access network device.

[0132] At step 902, the core network node sends first information to the first access node, and the first access node receives the first information from the core network node.

[0133] In a possible implementation, the core network node can determine the first information based on the identity of the at least one terminal and the location accuracy information of the at least one terminal.

[0134] In some embodiments, the first information comprises the identity of one or more terminals of the at least one terminal and the location accuracy information of the one or more terminals; or,

[0135] The first information comprises the identity of one or more terminals of the at least one terminal and the perception priority of the one or more terminals, wherein the perception priority of the one or more terminals is determined according to the location accuracy information of the one or more terminals.

[0136] The one or more terminals can be all terminals of the at least one terminal or part of the terminals of the at least one terminal. In the case of the one or more terminals being part of the at least one terminal, the one or more terminals can be selected from the at least one terminal according to the location accuracy information of the at least one terminal. For example, the one or more terminals can be terminals of the at least one terminal whose location accuracy is greater than a preset accuracy threshold. Alternatively, the at least one terminal can be sorted in descending order of location accuracy, and the one or more terminals can be the first n terminals. Alternatively, the at least one terminal can be sorted in ascending order of location accuracy, and the one or more terminals can be the last n terminals. Similarly, the perception priority of the one or more terminals can be determined according to the sorting result, for example, the perception priority can be sorted in order or can be determined according to multiple intervals divided based on the location accuracy. Wherein n is a positive integer, and the preset accuracy threshold and n can be set according to actual conditions and are not limited.

[0137] For example, the first information can be represented as {UE ID, location accuracy information}, for example, the location accuracy information comprises positioning accuracy and / or positioning reliability, which can be referred to the above description and will not be repeated. Alternatively, for example, the first information can also be represented as {UE ID, perception priority}, for example, {UE1, priority 1}, {UE2, priority 1}, {UE3, priority 2}, wherein UE1 and UE2 are terminals of a first priority, and UE3 is a terminal of a second priority.

[0138] In some embodiments, the first information comprises an identity of one or more terminals among the at least one terminal, the one or more terminals being selected from the at least one terminal according to the location accuracy information of the at least one terminal.

[0139] It should be noted that the order of the identity of the one or more terminals among the at least one terminal comprised in the first information can also represent the sensing priority or the location accuracy of the terminal, i.e., the order of the identity of the terminal in the first information is related to the sensing priority or the location accuracy of the terminal. For example, the first information {UE1, UE2, UE3} can represent that the sensing priority or the location accuracy of UE1 to UE3 decreases in turn, or increases in turn. In this way, the sensing priority or the location accuracy information can be omitted in the first information by means of the terminal identity ordering, thereby reducing the signaling overhead.

[0140] In step 903, the first access node determines the terminal for wireless sensing according to the first information and the sensing channel quality information of the at least one terminal. That is, the terminal for wireless sensing is determined according to the first information and the sensing channel quality information of the at least one terminal.

[0141] In some embodiments, the first access node can obtain the sensing channel quality information of the at least one terminal, and thereby determine the terminal for wireless sensing according to the first information and the sensing channel quality information of the at least one terminal. For example, the first access node can perform a weighted calculation based on the location accuracy of the terminal and the sensing channel quality, and determine the terminal for wireless sensing from the at least one terminal according to the weighted result.

[0142] It can be understood that the sensing effect of wireless sensing is related to the location accuracy of the terminal and the sensing signal sent by the terminal. On the one hand, the positioning measurement of the terminal is usually performed by the related network element of the core network side, and it is difficult for the first access node to directly identify which terminals in the current coverage range can be accurately positioned. On the other hand, the sensing signal sent by the terminal is affected by the sensing channel of the signal in the current environment, such as the number of objects in the signal propagation range of the terminal, the number of first-order NLOS paths of the terminal-object-access node, the signal energy loss, etc. The channel quality measurement of the terminal is usually performed by the related device of the access network side. Therefore, based on the above two aspects, the core network node in the present application can send the first information to the first access node according to the positioning accuracy information of the terminal, and the first access node can determine the terminal for wireless sensing from the at least one terminal by means of the first information and the sensing channel quality information of the terminal. That is, the present application can select the terminal more suitable for wireless sensing based on the terminal positioning and the sensing channel quality of the terminal, thereby improving the sensing effect of wireless sensing.

[0143] The communication method provided in the application is applicable to various communication systems. The following will take the CU as an example to illustrate the communication method provided in the application.

[0144] As shown in FIG. 10, taking the core network node as the SF and the first access node as the CU as an example, the communication method comprises the following steps:

[0145] In step 1001, the SF obtains the identity of at least one terminal and the location accuracy information of the at least one terminal.

[0146] Optionally, the SF can also be replaced by the SU in the O-RAN, that is, the core network node related sensing function in the application is deployed in the node with sensing capability in the O-RAN. The CU can also be replaced by the access network device, or the DU, RIC, and SU in the O-RAN, which will not be described herein.

[0147] In one possible implementation, the SF can obtain the identity of at least one terminal through steps 10011-10012, and obtain the location accuracy information of the at least one terminal through steps 10013-10015.

[0148] In step 10011, the SF determines the access node currently participating in sensing.

[0149] In some embodiments, the SF can determine the access node currently participating in sensing according to the area information to be sensed. The area information can be a geographical area, or a logical area. For example, the geographical area can refer to a three-dimensional space area, which can also be referred to as a space area, a three-dimensional area, a three-dimensional grid (3D grid), or a grid, etc. The name of the geographical area is not limited in the application. Alternatively, for example, the geographical area can also be a planar area, which is not limited in the application. For example, the logical area can be an area defined in a communication network, such as an area identified by a cell identifier, a base station identifier, a tracking area (TA) identifier, and the like.

[0150] It should be noted that the access node participating in sensing can include one or more access nodes. When including multiple access nodes, the communication method provided in the application can be performed for each access node. The application will only take the first access node (i.e., the CU) in the access node participating in sensing as an example for illustration.

[0151] In step 10012, the SF obtains the identity of the terminal within the coverage of the CU.

[0152] In some embodiments, the SF can obtain the identity of the terminal within the coverage of the CU by the following steps 10012a-10012b, or by the following steps 10012c-10012d, i.e., the step 10012 can include the following steps 10012a-10012b, or can include the following steps 10012c-10012d.

[0153] In the steps 10012a-10012b, the SF can obtain the identity of the terminal within the coverage of the CU from the CU.

[0154] In the step 10012a, the SF sends a first request message to the CU, and correspondingly, the CU receives the first request message from the SF.

[0155] The first request message is used to request terminal information. For example, the terminal information can be the identity of the terminal within the coverage of the CU or terminal context information. The terminal within the coverage of the CU refers to the terminal within the coverage of the DU connected by the CU.

[0156] For example, the SF can directly send the first request message to the CU, or send the first request message to the CU through other nodes as intermediate nodes, for example, the SF can send the first request message to the SU in the O-RAN, and the SU forwards the first request message to the CU.

[0157] In the step 10012b, the CU sends a first response message to the SF, and correspondingly, the SF receives the first response message from the CU.

[0158] The first response message includes the identity of the terminal within the coverage of the CU or the terminal context information. In this way, the SF can directly obtain the identity of the terminal within the coverage of the CU; or obtain the identity of the terminal within the coverage of the CU based on the terminal context information.

[0159] In the steps 10012c-10012d, the SF can obtain the identity of the terminal within the coverage of the CU from the AMF.

[0160] In the step 10012c, the SF sends a second request message to the AMF, and correspondingly, the AMF receives the second request message from the SF.

[0161] The second request message is used to request terminal information. For example, the terminal information can be the identity of the terminal within the coverage of the CU or terminal context information. The terminal within the coverage of the CU refers to the terminal within the coverage of the DU connected by the CU. For example, the second request message can include the identity information of the CU, so that the AMF can query the terminal information within the coverage of the CU based on the identity information of the CU.

[0162] For example, the SF can send the second request message to the AMF directly, or send the second request message to the AMF through other nodes as intermediate nodes.

[0163] At step 10012d, the AMF sends a second response message to the SF, and correspondingly, the SF receives the second response message from the AMF.

[0164] The second response message includes the identifier of the terminal in the CU coverage range or the terminal context information. In this way, the SF can directly obtain the identifier of the terminal in the CU coverage range, or obtain the identifier of the terminal in the AMF coverage range based on the identifier of the terminal or the terminal context information.

[0165] At step 10013, the SF sends a positioning request message to the LMF, and correspondingly, the LMF receives the positioning request message from the SF.

[0166] The positioning request message is used to request the position accuracy information of the terminal. The identifier of the terminal in the CU coverage range can be included in the positioning request message.

[0167] At step 10014, the LMF performs positioning measurement in response to the positioning request message.

[0168] For example, the LMF can initiate positioning measurement to the corresponding terminal according to the identifier of the terminal in the positioning request message, and obtain the position accuracy information of the terminal in the CU coverage range through positioning calculation.

[0169] At step 10015, the LMF sends a positioning response message to the SF, and correspondingly, the SF receives the positioning response message from the SF.

[0170] The positioning response message includes the position accuracy information of the terminal in the CU coverage range.

[0171] At step 1002, the SF sends first information to the CU, and correspondingly, the CU receives the first information from the SF.

[0172] The first information can refer to the related description in the above step 902, and will not be described here.

[0173] In some embodiments, the SF can actively send the first information to the CU, or the SF can send the first information to the CU in response to the request message of the CU. For example, the CU sends awareness terminal selection information or awareness terminal selection indication information to the SF, and the SF sends the first information to the CU in response to the awareness terminal selection information or the awareness terminal selection indication information.

[0174] Step 1003, the CU determines a terminal for wireless sensing according to the first information and the sensing channel quality information of the at least one terminal.

[0175] In a possible implementation, the CU can determine the sensing channel quality information of the terminal according to a reference signal sent by the terminal. For example, the CU receives the reference signal from the terminal through the DU, and determines the sensing channel quality information of the terminal based on the reference signal.

[0176] Step 1004, the CU instructs the terminal to perform a wireless sensing operation to generate point cloud information.

[0177] In a possible implementation, the CU can generate the point cloud information through the following steps 10041-10043.

[0178] Step 10041, the CU sends sensing measurement resources to the terminal through the DU. Correspondingly, the terminal receives the sensing measurement resources from the CU.

[0179] Step 10042, the terminal sends a sensing signal to the DU based on the configured sensing measurement resources. The DU receives the sensing signal from the terminal and forwards the sensing signal to the CU.

[0180] For example, the sensing signal can be a sounding reference signal (SRS).

[0181] Step 10043, the CU measures the sensing signal to generate the point cloud information.

[0182] Step 1005, the CU sends the point cloud information to the SF. Correspondingly, the SF receives the point cloud information from the CU.

[0183] Based on the above technical solution, the SF can send first information to the CU according to the positioning accuracy information of the terminal, and the CU can determine a terminal for wireless sensing from the at least one terminal according to the first information and the sensing channel quality information of the terminal, so as to instruct the determined terminal to perform a wireless sensing operation to generate point cloud information. That is, the present application can select a terminal more suitable for wireless sensing based on the terminal positioning and the sensing channel quality of the terminal, thereby improving the sensing effect of wireless sensing.

[0184] As shown in FIG. 11, taking a first node as a first access node and a second node as a core network node as an example, the communication method includes the following steps:

[0185] Step 1101, the first access node obtains the identification of at least one terminal and the sensing channel quality information of the at least one terminal.

[0186] The at least one terminal is a terminal currently participating in sensing in a coverage range of the access node. In this scenario, the first node is a first access node, the second node is a core network node, the access node participating in sensing includes the first access node, and the at least one terminal is a terminal in a coverage range of the first access node.

[0187] It should be noted that the access node participating in sensing can include one or more access nodes. When multiple access nodes are included, the communication method provided in the present application can be performed for each access node. The present application only takes the first access node in the access node participating in sensing as an example for description.

[0188] In some embodiments, the core network node can be an SF. In addition, the functions implemented by the core network node provided in the present application can also be implemented by a device or component with sensing function in the access network, for example, the functions implemented by the core network node described above can be deployed on an SU in an access network device.

[0189] In some embodiments, the first access node includes an access network device or a DU in the access network device or a CU in the access network device or a RIC in the access network device or an SU in the access network device.

[0190] Step 1102, the first access node sends first information to the core network node. Correspondingly, the core network node receives the first information from the first access node.

[0191] In a possible implementation, the first access node can determine the first information through the identification of the at least one terminal and the sensing channel quality information of the at least one terminal.

[0192] In some embodiments, the first information includes the identification of one or more terminals in the at least one terminal and the sensing channel quality information of the one or more terminals; or,

[0193] The first information includes the identification of one or more terminals in the at least one terminal and the sensing priority of the one or more terminals, wherein the sensing priority of the one or more terminals is determined according to the sensing channel quality information of the one or more terminals.

[0194] The one or more terminals can be all terminals in the at least one terminal, or can be part of the at least one terminal. In the case of the one or more terminals being part of the at least one terminal, the one or more terminals can be selected from the at least one terminal according to the perceived channel quality information of the at least one terminal. For example, the one or more terminals can be terminals in the at least one terminal whose perceived channel quality is greater than a preset quality threshold. Alternatively, the at least one terminal can be ranked from high to low according to the perceived channel quality, and the one or more terminals can be the first m terminals. Alternatively, the at least one terminal can be ranked from low to high according to the perceived channel quality, and the one or more terminals can be the last m terminals. Similarly, the perceived priority of the one or more terminals can be determined according to the ranking result, for example, the perceived priority can be ranked in order, or can be determined according to multiple intervals divided based on the perceived channel quality. The preset accuracy threshold and m can be set according to actual conditions, and are not limited.

[0195] For example, the first information can be represented as {UE ID, perceived channel quality information}, and the perceived channel quality information includes first-order NLOS path number information and / or first-order NLOS path energy information contained in the perceived channel. For example, the first information can be represented as {UE1, 5, -85dBm}, {UE2, 8, -80dBm}. Wherein, 5 first-order NLOS paths of UE1 can be measured, and the average path energy of the first-order NLOS path is -85dBm. 8 first-order NLOS paths of UE2 can be measured, and the average path energy of the first-order NLOS path is -80dBm. Alternatively, for example, the first information can also be represented as {UE ID, perceived priority}, for example, {UE1, priority 1}, {UE2, priority 1}, {UE3, priority 2}, wherein, UE1 and UE2 are terminals of the first priority, and UE3 is a terminal of the second priority.

[0196] In some embodiments, the first information includes the identification of one or more terminals in the at least one terminal, and the one or more terminals are selected from the at least one terminal according to the perceived channel quality information of the at least one terminal.

[0197] It should be noted that the order of the identification of the one or more terminals in the at least one terminal included in the first information can also represent the perceived priority or the perceived channel quality of the terminal, that is, the order of the identification of the terminal in the first information is related to the perceived priority or the perceived channel quality of the terminal. For example, the first information {UE1, UE2, UE3} can represent that the perceived priority or the perceived channel quality of UE1 to UE3 decreases in turn, or increases in turn. In this way, the perceived priority or the perceived channel quality information can be omitted by the terminal identification ordering in the first information, thereby reducing the signaling overhead.

[0198] At step 1103, the core network node determines the terminal for wireless sensing according to the first information and the position accuracy information of the at least one terminal. That is, the terminal for wireless sensing is determined according to the first information and the position accuracy information of the at least one terminal.

[0199] In some embodiments, the core network node can obtain the position accuracy information of the at least one terminal, and thus determine the terminal for wireless sensing according to the first information and the position accuracy information of the at least one terminal. For example, the core network node can perform a weighted calculation based on the position accuracy of the terminal and the sensing channel quality, and determine the terminal for wireless sensing from the at least one terminal according to the weighted result.

[0200] At step 1104, the core network node sends the first indication information to the first access node, and correspondingly, the first access node receives the first indication information from the core network node.

[0201] The first indication information is used to indicate the terminal for wireless sensing determined by the core network node.

[0202] It can be understood that the sensing effect of wireless sensing is related to the position accuracy of the terminal and the sensing signal sent by the terminal. On the one hand, the positioning measurement of the terminal is usually performed by the related network element of the core network side, and it is difficult for the first access node to directly identify which terminal in the current coverage range can be accurately positioned. On the other hand, the sensing signal sent by the terminal is affected by the sensing channel of the signal in the current environment, such as the number of objects in the signal propagation range of the terminal, the number of first-order NLOS paths of the terminal-object-access node, the signal energy loss, etc. The channel quality measurement of the terminal is usually performed by the related device of the access network side, and it is difficult for the core network node to directly measure the sensing channel quality of the terminal in the current coverage range. Therefore, based on the above two aspects, the first access node can send the first information to the core network node according to the sensing channel quality information of the terminal in the present application, and the core network node can determine the terminal for wireless sensing from the at least one terminal according to the first information and the position accuracy information of the terminal. That is, the present application can select the terminal more suitable for wireless sensing based on the terminal positioning and the terminal sensing channel quality, so as to improve the sensing effect of wireless sensing.

[0203] The communication method provided by the present application is suitable for various communication systems. In the following, the communication method is described by taking the first access node as an access network device in a traditional RAN system as an example.

[0204] As shown in FIG. 12, taking the core network node as SF and the first access node as an access network device as an example, the communication method includes the following steps:

[0205] Step 1201, the access network device acquires the identity of at least one terminal and the sensing channel quality information of at least one terminal.

[0206] Optionally, the SF described above can also be replaced by an SU in O-RAN, i.e., the core network node related sensing function in this application is deployed in a node with sensing capability in O-RAN. The access network device described above can also be replaced by a CU, a DU, a RIC, and an SU in O-RAN, which will not be described here.

[0207] In a possible implementation manner, the access network device can acquire the identity of the terminal within the coverage range according to the context information of the terminal, and determine the sensing channel quality information of the terminal according to the reference signal sent by the terminal.

[0208] Step 1202, the access network device sends first information to the SF, and correspondingly, the SF receives the first information from the access network device.

[0209] The first information can refer to the related description in step 1102 described above, and will not be described here.

[0210] In some embodiments, the access network device can actively send the first information to the SF, or the access network device can send the first information to the SF in response to the request message of the SF. For example, the SF sends sensing terminal selection information or sensing terminal selection indication information to the access network device, and the access network device sends the first information to the SF in response to the sensing terminal selection information or the sensing terminal selection indication information.

[0211] Step 1203, the SF acquires the position accuracy information of at least one terminal.

[0212] In a possible implementation manner, the SF can acquire the position accuracy information of at least one terminal through the following steps 12031-12033.

[0213] Step 12031, the SF sends a positioning request message to the LMF. Correspondingly, the LMF receives the positioning request message from the SF.

[0214] The positioning request message is used to request the position accuracy information of the terminal. The identity of the terminal within the coverage range of the access network device can be included in the positioning request message.

[0215] Step 12032, the LMF performs positioning measurement in response to the positioning request message.

[0216] For example, the LMF can initiate positioning measurement to the corresponding terminal according to the identity of the terminal in the positioning request message, and acquire the position accuracy information of the terminal within the coverage range of the access network device through positioning calculation.

[0217] Step 12033, the LMF sends a positioning response message to the SF. Correspondingly, the SF receives the positioning response message from the SF.

[0218] The positioning response message includes the position accuracy information of the terminal in the coverage of the access network device.

[0219] In a possible implementation, the identity of the terminal in the coverage of the access network device in the steps 12031-12033 can be acquired in the manner of the steps 10011-10012. In this case, there is no strict sequence between the steps 1203 and the steps 1201-1202. The steps 1201-1202 can be performed first and then the step 1203, or the step 1203 can be performed first and then the steps 1201-1202, or the steps 1201-1202 and the step 1203 can be performed simultaneously. The present application does not make a specific limitation in this regard.

[0220] In another possible implementation, the identity of the terminal in the coverage of the access network device in the steps 12031-12033 can also be acquired from the first information in the step 1202. In this case, the steps 1201-1202 can be performed first and then the step 1203.

[0221] Step 1204, the SF determines the terminal for wireless sensing according to the first information and the position accuracy information of the at least one terminal.

[0222] The related description of the step S1204 can be referred to the description of the step S1103, and will not be repeated here.

[0223] Step 1205, the SF sends first indication information to the access network device. Correspondingly, the access network device receives the first indication information from the SF.

[0224] The first indication information is used to indicate the terminal for wireless sensing determined by the core network node.

[0225] Step 1206, the access network device instructs the terminal to perform a wireless sensing operation to generate point cloud information.

[0226] In a possible implementation, the access network device can generate the point cloud information through the steps 12061-12063.

[0227] Step 12061, the access network device sends sensing measurement resources to the terminal. Correspondingly, the terminal receives the sensing measurement resources from the access network device.

[0228] Step 12062, the terminal sends the sensing signal to the access network device based on the configured sensing measurement resource. The access network device receives the sensing signal from the terminal. Exemplarily, the sensing signal can be SRS.

[0229] Step 12063, the access network device measures the sensing signal and generates point cloud information.

[0230] Step 1207, the access network device sends the point cloud information to the SF, and correspondingly, the SF receives the point cloud information from the access network device.

[0231] Based on the above technical solution, the access network device can send the first information to the SF according to the sensing channel quality information of the terminal, the SF can determine the terminal for wireless sensing from at least one terminal through the first information and the location accuracy information of the terminal, so as to indicate the determined terminal to the access network device, and the access network device indicates the determined terminal to perform the wireless sensing operation and generates the point cloud information. That is, the present application can select the terminal more suitable for wireless sensing based on the terminal positioning and the terminal sensing channel quality, so as to improve the sensing effect of wireless sensing.

[0232] The above describes the method provided by the present application, in addition, the present application also provides a communication device for realizing the functions described in the above method embodiments.

[0233] It can be understood that, in order to realize the above functions, the communication device contains the hardware structure and / or software module corresponding to the execution of each function. Those skilled in the art should easily realize that, in combination with the units and algorithm steps of the examples described in the embodiments disclosed in the present application, the present application can be realized in the form of hardware or the combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a certain function is realized in the form of hardware or computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional technicians can use different methods to realize the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of the present application.

[0234] The embodiments of the present application can divide the function modules of the communication device according to the above method embodiments, for example, each function module can be divided according to each function, or two or more functions can be integrated in one processing module. The integrated module can be realized in the form of hardware or software function module. It should be noted that the division of modules in the embodiments of the present application is illustrative, and is only a logical function division. When actually implemented, there can be another division manner.

[0235] FIG. 13 shows a structural diagram of a communication apparatus 130. The communication apparatus 130 includes a processing module 1301 and a transceiver module 1302. The communication apparatus 130 can be used to implement the functions of the first node or the second node described above.

[0236] In some embodiments, the communication apparatus 130 can further include a storage module (not shown in FIG. 13) for storing program instructions and data.

[0237] In some embodiments, the transceiver module 1302, which can also be referred to as a transceiver unit, is configured to implement the transmitting and / or receiving functions. The transceiver module 1302 can be constituted by a transceiver circuit, a transceiver, a transceiver, or a communication interface.

[0238] In some embodiments, the transceiver module 1302 can include a receiving module and a transmitting module, which are respectively configured to perform the receiving and transmitting steps of the first node or the second node in the method embodiments described above, and / or other processes for supporting the techniques described herein; and the processing module 1301 can be configured to perform the processing steps of the first node or the second node in the method embodiments described above, and / or other processes for supporting the techniques described herein.

[0239] When the communication apparatus 130 is used to implement the functions of the first node:

[0240] The processing module 1301 is configured to send first information to the second node, the first information being determined based on the perceived channel quality information of at least one terminal or the location accuracy information of the at least one terminal, the at least one terminal being a terminal within the coverage of the access node currently participating in perception, the perceived channel of the terminal being a signal transmission channel between the terminal and the access node; the first information being used to determine a terminal for wireless perception; and the terminal for wireless perception being a terminal of the at least one terminal.

[0241] Optionally, the first node is a core network node, and the second node is a first access node; the access node participating in perception includes the first access node; the at least one terminal is a terminal within the coverage of the first access node; and the processing module 1301 is configured to acquire, by the transceiver module 1302, the identity of the at least one terminal and the location accuracy information of the at least one terminal.

[0242] Optionally, the first information includes the identity of one or more terminals of the at least one terminal and the location accuracy information of the one or more terminals; or the first information includes the identity of one or more terminals of the at least one terminal and the perception priority of the one or more terminals, wherein the perception priority of the one or more terminals is determined according to the location accuracy information of the one or more terminals.

[0243] Optionally, the terminal for wireless sensing is determined according to the first information and sensing channel quality information of the at least one terminal.

[0244] Optionally, the first node is a first access node, and the second node is a core network node; the access nodes participating in sensing include the first access node; the at least one terminal is a terminal within a coverage range of the first access node; and the processing module 1301 is configured to acquire, by the transceiver module 1302, the identity of the at least one terminal and the sensing channel quality information of the at least one terminal.

[0245] Optionally, the first information includes the identity of one or more terminals of the at least one terminal and the sensing channel quality information of the one or more terminals; or the first information includes the identity of one or more terminals of the at least one terminal and a sensing priority of the one or more terminals, wherein the sensing priority of the one or more terminals is determined according to the sensing channel quality information of the one or more terminals.

[0246] Optionally, the transceiver module 1302 is configured to receive first indication information from the second node, the first indication information being used to indicate the terminal for wireless sensing determined by the second node.

[0247] Optionally, the terminal for wireless sensing is determined according to the first information and position accuracy information of the at least one terminal.

[0248] Optionally, the sensing channel quality information includes first-order NLOS path number information and / or first-order NLOS path energy information contained in the sensing channel.

[0249] When the communication device 130 is used to implement the function of the second node:

[0250] The transceiver module 1302 is configured to receive first information from the first node; wherein the first information is determined based on sensing channel quality information of the at least one terminal or position accuracy information of the at least one terminal, the at least one terminal being a terminal within a coverage range of an access node currently participating in sensing; the sensing channel of the terminal is a signal transmission channel between the terminal and the access node; and the processing module 1301 is configured to determine, according to the first information, a terminal for wireless sensing, wherein the terminal for wireless sensing is a terminal of the at least one terminal.

[0251] Optionally, the first node is a core network node, and the second node is a first access node; the access nodes currently participating in sensing include the first access node; and the at least one terminal is a terminal within a coverage range of the first access node.

[0252] Optionally, the first information comprises the identity of one or more terminals of the at least one terminal and the location accuracy information of the one or more terminals; or the first information comprises the identity of one or more terminals of the at least one terminal and the sensing priority of the one or more terminals, wherein the sensing priority of the one or more terminals is determined according to the location accuracy information of the one or more terminals.

[0253] Optionally, the processing module 1301 is configured to determine the terminal for wireless sensing according to the first information and the sensing channel quality information of the at least one terminal.

[0254] Optionally, the first node is a first access node, and the second node is a core network node; the first information comprises the sensing channel quality information of the at least one terminal, and the access node currently participating in sensing comprises the first access node; and the at least one terminal is a terminal in a coverage range of the first access node.

[0255] Optionally, the first information comprises the identity of one or more terminals of the at least one terminal and the sensing channel quality information of the one or more terminals; or the first information comprises the identity of one or more terminals of the at least one terminal and the sensing priority of the one or more terminals, wherein the sensing priority of the one or more terminals is determined according to the sensing channel quality information of the one or more terminals.

[0256] Optionally, the transceiver module 1302 is configured to send first indication information to the first node, wherein the first indication information is used to indicate the terminal for wireless sensing determined by the second node.

[0257] Optionally, the processing module 1301 is configured to determine the terminal for wireless sensing according to the first information and the location accuracy information of the at least one terminal.

[0258] Optionally, the sensing channel quality information comprises the first-order NLOS path number information and / or the first-order NLOS path energy information contained in the sensing channel.

[0259] Wherein, all the related content of each step involved in the above method embodiments can be cited to the function description of the corresponding function module, which will not be repeated here.

[0260] In the present application, the communication device 130 can be in the form of an integrated manner to present each function module. Here, the "module" can refer to a specific application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a circuit, a processor and a memory executing one or more software or firmware programs, an integrated logic circuit, and / or other devices that can provide the above functions.

[0261] In some embodiments, when the communication apparatus 130 in FIG. 13 is a chip or a chip system, the functions / implementation procedures of the transceiver module 1302 can be implemented through an input / output interface (or a communication interface) of the chip or the chip system, and the functions / implementation procedures of the processing module 1301 can be implemented through a processor (or a processing circuit) of the chip or the chip system.

[0262] Since the communication apparatus 130 provided by the embodiment can execute the above method, the technical effects that can be achieved by the communication apparatus 130 can refer to the above method embodiments, which will not be described here again.

[0263] As a possible product form, the first node or the second node described in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented using one or more field programmable gate arrays (FPGA), programmable logic devices (PLD), controllers, state machines, gate logic, discrete hardware components, any other suitable circuit, or any combination of circuits capable of performing the various functions described throughout this application.

[0264] As another possible product form, the first node or the second node described in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented by a general bus architecture. For ease of illustration, refer to FIG. 14, which is a structural schematic diagram of a communication apparatus 1400 provided by an embodiment of the present application, the communication apparatus 1400 including a processor 1401 and a transceiver 1402. The communication apparatus 1400 can be a first node, or a chip or a chip system therein; or the communication apparatus 1400 can be a second node, or a chip or a module therein. FIG. 14 only shows the main components of the communication apparatus 1400. In addition to the processor 1401 and the transceiver 1402, the communication apparatus can further include a memory 1403, and an input / output device (not shown in the figure).

[0265] Optionally, the processor 1401 is mainly used for processing communication protocols and communication data, and controlling the whole communication apparatus, executing software programs, processing data of the software programs, so as to implement the method provided in the above method embodiments. The memory 1403 is mainly used for storing software programs and data. The transceiver 1402 can include a radio frequency circuit and an antenna, the radio frequency circuit is mainly used for conversion between a baseband signal and a radio frequency signal, and processing of the radio frequency signal. The antenna is mainly used for transceiving radio frequency signals in the form of electromagnetic waves. The input / output device, such as a touch screen, a display screen, a keyboard, etc., is mainly used for receiving data input by a user and outputting data to the user.

[0266] Optionally, the processor 1401, the transceiver 1402, and the memory 1403 can be connected through a communication bus.

[0267] When the communication device is powered on, the processor 1401 can read the software program in the memory 1403, execute the instructions of the software program, and process the data of the software program. When data needs to be transmitted wirelessly, the processor 1401 performs baseband processing on the data to be transmitted, and outputs the baseband signal to the radio frequency circuit. The radio frequency circuit performs radio frequency processing on the baseband signal, and transmits the radio frequency signal in the form of electromagnetic wave through the antenna. When data is transmitted to the communication device, the radio frequency circuit receives the radio frequency signal through the antenna, converts the radio frequency signal into a baseband signal, and outputs the baseband signal to the processor 1401. The processor 1401 converts the baseband signal into data and processes the data.

[0268] In another implementation, the radio frequency circuit and the antenna can be arranged independently of the processor that performs baseband processing, for example, in a distributed scenario, the radio frequency circuit and the antenna can be arranged remotely from the communication device.

[0269] In some embodiments, in a hardware implementation, those skilled in the art can conceive that the above-mentioned communication device 130 can adopt the form of the communication device 1400 shown in FIG. 14.

[0270] As an example, the functions / implementation processes of the processing module 1301 in FIG. 13 can be realized by the processor 1401 in the communication device 1400 shown in FIG. 14 invoking the computer execution instructions stored in the memory 1403. The functions / implementation processes of the transceiver module 1302 in FIG. 13 can be realized by the transceiver 1402 in the communication device 1400 shown in FIG. 14.

[0271] As another possible product form, the first node or the second node in the present application can adopt the constituent structure shown in FIG. 15, or include the components shown in FIG. 15. FIG. 15 is a constituent diagram of a communication device 1500 provided by the present application. The communication device 1500 can be the first node or a chip or system on chip in the first node; or can be the second node or a chip or system on chip in the second node.

[0272] As shown in FIG. 15, the communication device 1500 includes at least one processor 1501, and at least one communication interface (only one communication interface 1504 is shown in FIG. 15 as an example, and the processor 1501 is taken as an example for description). Optionally, the communication device 1500 can further include a communication bus 1502 and a memory 1503.

[0273] The processor 1501 can be a general purpose central processing unit (CPU), a general purpose processor, a network processing unit (NP), a digital signal processing (DSP), a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a PLD, or any combination thereof. The processor 1501 can also be other apparatuses with processing capabilities, such as a circuit, a device, or a software module, without limitation.

[0274] The communication bus 1502 is used to connect different components in the communication apparatus 1500, so that different components can communicate. The communication bus 1502 can be a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) bus or an extended industry standard architecture (EISA) bus, etc. The bus can be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For ease of representation, only one thick line is shown in FIG. 15, but it does not mean that there is only one bus or only one type of bus.

[0275] The communication interface 1504 is used to communicate with other devices or communication networks. For example, the communication interface 1504 can be a module, a circuit, a transceiver, or any device capable of communication. Alternatively, the communication interface 1504 can also be an input / output interface in the processor 1501, used to realize the signal input and signal output of the processor.

[0276] The memory 1503 can be a device with storage function, used to store instructions and / or data. The instructions can be a computer program.

[0277] For example, the memory 1503 can be a read-only memory (ROM) or other type of static storage device that can store static information and / or instructions, or a random access memory (RAM) or other type of dynamic storage device that can store information and / or instructions, or an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), or other optical disk storage, optical disk storage (including compact disks, laser disks, optical disks, digital versatile disks, Blu-ray disks, etc.), magnetic disk storage medium, or other magnetic storage device, etc., without limitation.

[0278] It should be noted that the memory 1503 can exist independently of the processor 1501, or the memory 1503 can be integrated with the processor 1501. The memory 1503 can be located in the communication device 1500, or can be located outside the communication device 1500, without limitation. The processor 1501 can be used to execute instructions stored in the memory 1503 to implement the methods provided by the embodiments described below.

[0279] Optionally, the processor 1501 and / or the memory 1503 can include an artificial intelligence (AI) module, and the AI module is used 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 network intelligent controller (RIC) module. For example, the AI module can be a near-real-time RIC or a non-real-time RIC.

[0280] As an optional implementation manner, the communication device 1500 can further include an output device 1505 and an input device 1506. The output device 1505 communicates with the processor 1501 and can display information in various ways. For example, the output device 1505 can be a liquid crystal display (LCD), a light emitting diode (LED) display device, a cathode ray tube (CRT) display device, or a projector, etc. The input device 1506 communicates with the processor 1501 and can receive user input in various ways. For example, the input device 1506 can be a mouse, a keyboard, a touch screen device, a sensor device, etc.

[0281] In some embodiments, in a hardware implementation, those skilled in the art can conceive that the communication device 130 shown in FIG. 13 can adopt the form of the communication device 1500 shown in FIG. 15.

[0282] As an example, the functions / implementation processes of the processing module 1301 in FIG. 13 can be implemented by the processor 1501 in the communication device 1500 in FIG. 15 invoking computer execution instructions stored in the memory 1503. The functions / implementation processes of the transceiver module 1302 in FIG. 13 can be implemented by the communication interface 1504 in the communication device 1500 in FIG. 15.

[0283] It should be noted that the structure shown in FIG. 15 does not constitute a specific limitation on the first node or the second node. For example, in some embodiments of the present application, the first node or the second node can include more or fewer components than shown, or combine certain components, or split certain components, or different arrangement of components. The components shown can be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of software and hardware.

[0284] In some embodiments, the present application also provides a communication apparatus, which includes a processor for implementing the method in any of the above method embodiments.

[0285] As a possible implementation, the communication apparatus further includes a memory. The memory is used to store necessary computer programs and data. The computer programs can include instructions, and the processor can invoke the instructions in the computer programs stored in the memory to instruct the communication apparatus to perform the method in any of the above method embodiments. Of course, the memory can also not be in the communication apparatus.

[0286] As another possible implementation, the communication apparatus further includes an interface circuit, which is a code / data read-write interface circuit, and is used to receive computer execution instructions (the computer execution instructions are stored in the memory, and can be directly read from the memory or can pass through other devices) and transmit to the processor.

[0287] As yet another possible implementation, the communication apparatus further includes a communication interface, which is used to communicate with modules outside the communication apparatus.

[0288] It can be understood that the communication apparatus can be a chip or a chip system. When the communication apparatus is a chip system, it can be composed of a chip or can include a chip and other discrete devices, and the embodiments of the present application do not make specific limitations.

[0289] The present application also provides a computer readable storage medium, which stores computer programs or instructions, and the computer programs or instructions are executed by a computer to realize the functions of any of the above method embodiments.

[0290] The present application also provides a computer program product, which is executed by a computer to realize the functions of any of the above method embodiments.

[0291] Those skilled in the art can understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the above-described system, apparatus and unit can refer to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments, which will not be described here.

[0292] It can be understood that the system, apparatus and method described in the present application can also be implemented in other manners. For example, the apparatus embodiment described above is merely illustrative. For example, the division of the units is only a logical function division. There can be another division manner for the actual implementation. For example, a plurality of 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 can be indirect couplings or communication connections through some interfaces, devices or units, and can be electrical, mechanical or in other forms.

[0293] The units described as separate components can or can not be physically separate, i.e., can be located in one place, or can be distributed on a plurality of network units. The components shown as units can or can not be physical units. Part or all of the units can be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the embodiment.

[0294] In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application can be integrated into a processing unit, or each unit can be physically present separately, or two or more units can be integrated into one unit.

[0295] In the above embodiments, all or part of the embodiments can be implemented by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented by software, all or part of the embodiments can be implemented in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions described in the embodiments are generated. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network or other programmable devices. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer readable storage medium or transferred from one computer readable storage medium to another computer readable storage medium, for example, the computer instructions can be transferred from one website, computer, server or data center to another website, computer, server or data center through wired (such as coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (such as infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) mode. The computer readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or data storage device including one or more servers, data centers, etc. The available medium can be a magnetic medium (such as a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (such as a DVD), or a semiconductor medium (such as a solid state drive (SSD)), etc. In the embodiments of the present application, the computer can include the apparatus described above.

[0296] Although the application has been described in connection with various embodiments thereof, it will be understood that other modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art in view of the foregoing disclosure. It is therefore contemplated that the application will encompass all such modifications and variations as fall within the scope of the claimed application. It is intended that the expression "comprising" shall not exclude any comprising element or step illustrated or partly described in the claims. It is further intended that the expression "one" or "the" shall not exclude the presence of plural referents, unless expressly stated otherwise. A single processor or other unit can fulfil the functions of several items recited in the claims. The mere fact that certain measures are recited in mutually different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be used to advantage.

[0297] Although the application has been described in connection with specific features thereof, it will be evident to those skilled in the art that various modifications and changes can be made to the application without departing from the scope thereof. Accordingly, it is intended that all such modifications and changes be considered as within the scope of the application as claimed. It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made therein without departing from the scope of the application. It is therefore intended that the application cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the scope of the claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A communication method characterized by comprising: The method applied to a first node comprises: sending first information to a second node, the first information being determined based on sensing channel quality information of at least one terminal or position accuracy information of the at least one terminal, the at least one terminal being a terminal in a coverage range of an access node currently participating in sensing, a sensing channel of the terminal being a signal transmission channel between the terminal and the access node; the first information being used to determine a terminal for wireless sensing; the terminal for wireless sensing being a terminal in the at least one terminal.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, The first node is a core network node, and the second node is a first access node. The access node participating in sensing includes the first access node. The at least one terminal is a terminal in a coverage range of the first access node. The method further comprises: obtaining an identifier of the at least one terminal and position accuracy information of the at least one terminal.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein, The first information comprises an identifier of one or more terminals in the at least one terminal and position accuracy information of the one or more terminals; or The first information comprises an identifier of one or more terminals in the at least one terminal and a sensing priority of the one or more terminals, wherein the sensing priority of the one or more terminals is determined according to the position accuracy information of the one or more terminals.

4. The method according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that, The terminal for wireless sensing is determined according to the first information and sensing channel quality information of the at least one terminal.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein, The first node is a first access node, and the second node is a core network node. The access node participating in sensing includes the first access node. The at least one terminal is a terminal in a coverage range of the first access node. The method further comprises: obtaining an identifier of the at least one terminal and sensing channel quality information of the at least one terminal.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein, The first information comprises an identifier of one or more terminals in the at least one terminal and sensing channel quality information of the one or more terminals; or The first information comprises an identifier of one or more terminals in the at least one terminal and a sensing priority of the one or more terminals, wherein the sensing priority of the one or more terminals is determined according to the sensing channel quality information of the one or more terminals.

7. The method according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that, The method further comprises: receiving first indication information from the second node, the first indication information being used to indicate the terminal for wireless sensing determined by the second node.

8. The method according to any one of claims 5-7, characterized in that, The terminal for wireless sensing is determined according to the first information and position accuracy information of the at least one terminal.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that, The sensing channel quality information comprises first non-line-of-sight (NLOS) path number information and / or first NLOS path energy information contained in the sensing channel.

10. A communication method characterized by comprising: The method applied to a second node comprises: receiving first information from a first node, wherein the first information is determined based on sensing channel quality information of at least one terminal or position accuracy information of the at least one terminal, the at least one terminal being a terminal in coverage of an access node currently participating in sensing, the sensing channel of the terminal being a signal transmission channel between the terminal and the access node; determining a terminal for wireless sensing according to the first information, wherein the terminal for wireless sensing is a terminal of the at least one terminal.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein, The first node is a core network node, and the second node is a first access node; the access node currently participating in sensing includes the first access node; and the at least one terminal is a terminal in coverage of the first access node.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein, The first information includes identification of one or more terminals of the at least one terminal and position accuracy information of the one or more terminals; or The first information includes identification of one or more terminals of the at least one terminal and sensing priority of the one or more terminals, wherein the sensing priority of the one or more terminals is determined according to position accuracy information of the one or more terminals.

13. The method according to claim 11 or 12, characterized in that, The determining the terminal for wireless sensing according to the first information includes: determining the terminal for wireless sensing according to the first information and sensing channel quality information of the at least one terminal.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein, The first node is a first access node, and the second node is a core network node; the first information includes sensing channel quality information of the at least one terminal, the access node currently participating in sensing includes the first access node, and the at least one terminal is a terminal in coverage of the first access node.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein, The first information includes identification of one or more terminals of the at least one terminal and sensing channel quality information of the one or more terminals; or The first information includes identification of one or more terminals of the at least one terminal and sensing priority of the one or more terminals, wherein the sensing priority of the one or more terminals is determined according to sensing channel quality information of the one or more terminals.

16. The method according to claim 14 or 15, characterized in that The method further includes: sending first indication information to the first node, the first indication information being used to indicate the terminal for wireless sensing determined by the second node.

17. The method according to any one of claims 14-16, characterized by, The determining the terminal for wireless sensing according to the first information includes: determining the terminal for wireless sensing according to the first information and position accuracy information of the at least one terminal.

18. The method according to any one of claims 10-17, characterized in that, The sensing channel quality information includes first-order non-line-of-sight (NLOS) path number information and / or first-order NLOS path energy information contained in the sensing channel.

19. A communications device, characterized by The communication device includes a processor; the processor is configured to run a computer program or instructions to enable the communication device to perform the method of any one of claims 1-9 or perform the method of any one of claims 10-18.

20. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, A computer readable storage medium stores computer instructions or programs which, when run on a computer, cause the method of any of claims 1-9 or the method of any of claims 10-18 to be performed.

21. A computer program product, characterised in that, The computer program product comprises computer instructions; when part or all of the computer instructions are run on a computer, cause the method of any of claims 1-9 or the method of any of claims 10-18 to be performed.

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