Communication method and apparatus, storage medium, and program product

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a communication method and apparatus, a storage medium, and a program product. The method comprises: a radio access network first unit receives sensing configuration information from a radio access network second unit, wherein the sensing configuration information comprises information required by the radio access network first unit to execute a sensing task.

Description

Communication method, apparatus, storage medium and program product

[0001] The present disclosure claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202411135651.1, filed on August 16, 2024, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The present disclosure relates to the technical field of communication, and in particular to a communication method, apparatus, storage medium and program product. BACKGROUND

[0003] Integrated communication and sensing (ISAC) can fuse wireless communication technology and radar / sensing technology, aiming to realize efficient data communication and accurate perception of the surrounding environment on the same physical platform by sharing spectrum resources, hardware platforms and signal processing algorithms. Using this technology can better meet the transmission scenario needs of ultra-high-speed applications such as intelligent interaction, autonomous driving, perception interconnection and holographic communication, and provide users with diversified intelligent services. In order to better realize the wide application of the integrated sensing system, how to realize the deployment of the sensing function in the base station has become a technical problem to be solved in the related technical field. SUMMARY

[0004] The present disclosure provides a communication method, apparatus, storage medium and program product.

[0005] The present disclosure adopts the following technical solutions:

[0006] In a first aspect, the present disclosure provides a communication method. The method is applied to a first unit of a radio access network, and the method comprises:

[0007] receiving sensing configuration information from a second unit of the radio access network, the sensing configuration information comprising information required by the first unit of the radio access network to perform a sensing task.

[0008] In a second aspect, the present disclosure also provides a communication method. The method is applied to a second unit of a radio access network, and the method comprises:

[0009] sending sensing configuration information to a first unit of the radio access network, the sensing configuration information comprising information required by the first unit of the radio access network to perform a sensing task.

[0010] In a third aspect, the present disclosure also provides a communication apparatus. The apparatus comprises a receiving module.

[0011] The receiving module is configured to receive sensing configuration information from a second unit of the radio access network, the sensing configuration information comprising information required by the first unit of the radio access network to perform a sensing task.

[0012] In a fourth aspect, the present disclosure provides a communication apparatus. The apparatus comprises a sending module.

[0013] The sending module is configured to send, to a first element of a radio access network, awareness configuration information, the awareness configuration information comprising information required by the first element of the radio access network to perform an awareness task.

[0014] In a fifth aspect, a communication apparatus is provided. The apparatus comprises a processor and a memory. The memory stores instructions executable by the processor. The processor is configured to execute the instructions to cause the communication apparatus to implement the method according to any one of the first aspect and the second aspect.

[0015] In a sixth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided. The computer-readable storage medium stores computer instructions, which, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method according to any one of the first aspect and the second aspect.

[0016] In a seventh aspect, a computer program product comprising computer instructions is provided. The computer instructions, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method according to any one of the first aspect and the second aspect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0017] The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the technical solutions of the present disclosure, and constitute a part of the specification, and are used to explain the technical solutions of the present disclosure together with the embodiments of the present disclosure, and do not constitute a limitation to the technical solutions of the present disclosure.

[0018] FIG. 1 is a structural schematic diagram of a sensing-integrated system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0019] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a multi-station sensing scenario according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0020] FIG. 3 is a flow schematic diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0021] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of an awareness data stream according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0022] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of resource elements corresponding to an antenna according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0023] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of another awareness data stream according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0024] FIG. 7A is a schematic diagram of another multi-station sensing scenario according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0025] FIG. 7B is a schematic diagram of an awareness data stream of multi-station sensing according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0026] FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of another perception data flow according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0027] FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of another perception data flow according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0028] FIG. 10A is a schematic diagram of perception capability information reporting according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0029] FIG. 10B is a schematic diagram of another perception capability information reporting according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0030] FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of a perception process according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0031] FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of another communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0032] FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0033] FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram of another communication device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0034] FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0035] So that those skilled in the art can better understand the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present disclosure, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present disclosure will be described clearly and completely below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present disclosure. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present disclosure, rather than all the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present disclosure, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative work shall fall within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0036] Unless otherwise required by context, as used herein the terms "comprise", "comprises" and "comprising" are to be construed as open, inclusive, meaning that "comprising" means "including, but not limited to".

[0037] The terms "first", "second", and the like, are used only to describe the names of the features and do not indicate or imply relative importance or a number of the indicated features. Thus, a feature with the "first", "second", and the like, can explicitly or implicitly include one or more of the features. In the description of the present disclosure, the meaning of "a plurality" is two or more, unless otherwise specified.

[0038] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the expressions such as "exemplarily" or "for example" are used to represent as an example, illustration or description. Any embodiment or design scheme described as "exemplary" or "for example" in the embodiments of the present disclosure should not be interpreted as more preferred or more advantageous than other embodiments or design schemes. Rather, the expressions such as "exemplarily" or "for example" are intended to present the relevant concept in an exemplary manner.

[0039] In addition, the use of "based on" means open and inclusive, because the process, step, calculation or other action "based on" one or more stated conditions or values can be based on additional conditions or beyond the stated values in practice.

[0040] At present, the discussion of the related technology for the integration of sensing and communication mainly focuses on the air interface, and less involves the signaling interaction inside the base station. There is no unified solution for how to realize the deployment of the sensing function inside the base station.

[0041] Therefore, the present disclosure provides a communication method based on which a first radio access network unit can receive sensing configuration information from a second radio access network unit, the sensing configuration information including information required for the first radio access network unit to perform a sensing task. In this way, in the case that the corresponding sensing function is deployed inside a network device, signaling interaction between various radio access network units in the sensing process can be achieved, i.e., various signaling interactions inside the network device. In this way, the application and development of the sensing-communication integrated technology in the network device are facilitated.

[0042] FIG. 1 shows a structural schematic diagram of a sensing-communication integrated system according to the present disclosure. The system integrates communication functions and sensing functions. As shown in FIG. 1, the system includes a network device and at least one terminal device. In some embodiments, the system can further include a sensing target.

[0043] In some embodiments, the sensing-communication integrated system shown in FIG. 1 can be a 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) communication system, for example, a 4th generation (4G) long term evolution (LTE) system, a 5th generation (5G) new radio (NR) system, a vehicle to everything (V2X) system, a system with mixed networking of LTE and NR, or a device-to-device (D2D) system, a machine to machine (M2M) communication system, an Internet of Things (IoT), and other next-generation communication systems, etc.

[0044] Among them, the network device can be a network-side device with wireless transceiving function. For example, the network device can be a sensing-communication base station, which can also be referred to as a base station. For example, it can be a base station (base station), an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), a next-generation base station (gNB) in a 5G mobile communication system, a transmission reception point (TRP), a base station in a subsequent evolution of 3GPP, an access node in a WiFi system, a wireless relay node, a wireless backhaul node, etc. In addition, the sensing mode of the base station in the present disclosure can be a self-sensing and self-receiving mode or a cooperative sensing mode. In the technical solutions provided by the present disclosure, the network device can also be referred to as a first node.

[0045] In some embodiments, the internal logical architecture of the network device can at least include an open radio access network radio unit (O-RU) (may also be referred to as a first radio access network unit), an open radio access network distributed unit (O-DU) (may also be referred to as a second radio access network unit), an open radio access network centralized unit (O-CU) (may also be referred to as a third radio access network unit), an open base station unit (O-eNB), and a cloud component (O-Cloud), etc. Among them, the O-RU and the O-DU can be the main logical units related to the physical layer.

[0046] The O-RU mainly involves low physical layer functions, such as analog beamforming, analog-to-digital conversion, Fourier / inverse Fourier transform (FFT / IFFT), and add / drop cyclic prefix (CP), etc. The O-DU mainly involves high physical layer functions, such as resource element mapping / demapping (RE mapping / demapping), scrambling / descrambling, and channel estimation and equalization, etc. In some embodiments, the O-DU and the O-RU are connected by a front interface. The wired connection can be divided into a control plane, a user plane, a synchronization plane, and a management plane. Among them, the control plane is mainly responsible for transmitting semi-static control information, the user plane is mainly responsible for transmitting compressed frequency domain channel IQ sample data (IQ sample), the synchronization plane is mainly responsible for transmitting synchronization information between the O-DU and the O-RU, and the management plane is mainly responsible for transmitting static control information.

[0047] The sensing target can be various tangible objects capable of reflecting electromagnetic waves, such as landforms, forests, or buildings, and can also include movable objects such as vehicles, unmanned aerial vehicles, pedestrians, and terminal devices. Among them, the sensing target can also be referred to as a detected target, a sensed object, a detected object, or a sensed device, etc., which are not specifically limited in the present disclosure. In the technical solutions provided in the present disclosure, the sensing target can also be referred to as a second node.

[0048] In the system, the network device can send a downlink communication signal to the terminal device, and the terminal device can also send an uplink communication signal to the network device. In addition, the network device can also send a sensing signal, and receive a backwave signal of the sensing signal reflected by the sensed target to estimate the speed, distance, angle, motion trajectory, shape and size of the sensed target. In some embodiments, the sensing process of the sensing target can be single-station sensing or multi-station sensing. As shown in FIG. 2, similar to the multi-station cooperation in radar, multiple network devices can cooperate to achieve the sensing process of the sensing target.

[0049] The terminal device can refer to a user-side device with wireless transceiving function. For example, the terminal is a handheld device (such as a mobile phone or a tablet computer, etc.) with wireless communication function, a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, a terminal or a computing device in an internet of things (IoT) system, etc. The terminal can also be referred to as a terminal device or a user equipment (UE), and the present disclosure does not limit this.

[0050] In some embodiments, the network device can also be connected with a core network device through wireless or wired mode. The core network device and the network device can be independent and different physical devices; or the functions of the core network device and the logical functions of the network device are integrated on the same physical device; or part of the functions of the core network device and part of the functions of the network device are integrated on the same physical device. In the technical solutions provided by the present disclosure, the core network device can also be referred to as a third node.

[0051] It should be understood that FIG. 1 is only an exemplary architecture diagram, and the number of devices or nodes shown in FIG. 1 is not limited. In addition to the devices or nodes shown in FIG. 1, other devices or nodes can also be included, and the present disclosure does not limit this.

[0052] The embodiments provided by the present disclosure will be specifically introduced below in combination with the accompanying drawings of the specification.

[0053] FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 3, the method is applied to a first unit of a radio access network, and includes:

[0054] S101, receiving sensing configuration information from a second unit of a radio access network.

[0055] The sensing configuration information includes information required by the first unit of the radio access network to perform a sensing task.

[0056] The first unit of the radio access network can be an O-RU or a logical unit with similar functions, and the second unit of the radio access network can be an O-DU or a logical unit with similar functions.

[0057] Implementation 1, sensing mode based on DU (Sensing Estimation based on DU) for realizing sensing function through the second unit of the radio access network.

[0058] Exemplarily, the sensing module physical layer function can be split and deployed on the radio access network second unit and the radio access network first unit. Among them, the low physical layer function of the sensing module is deployed on the radio access network first unit, and the high physical layer function of the sensing module is deployed on the radio access network second unit. In this implementation mode, the sensing result is generated on the radio access network second unit, so this implementation mode can also be called sensing estimation based on DU.

[0059] For example, as shown in FIG. 4, the radio access network second unit can perform sensing reference signal generation, modulation, resource element mapping, in-phase and quadrature compression, etc. in the sensing downlink data stream. The radio access network second unit can perform IQ decompression, resource element demapping, channel estimation, and detection, etc. in the sensing uplink data stream.

[0060] As shown in FIG. 4, the radio access network first unit can perform IQ decompression, inverse fast Fourier transform and CP addition, digital-analog conversion, and selectively perform analog beamforming, etc. in the sensing downlink data stream. The radio access network first unit can perform IQ compression, fast Fourier transform and CP removal, analog-digital conversion, and selectively perform analog beamforming, etc. in the sensing uplink data stream.

[0061] In some embodiments, the radio access network second unit can send the sensing configuration information to the radio access network first unit. That is, the radio access network first unit can receive the sensing configuration information from the radio access network second unit.

[0062] In an example, in the downlink process of the sensing task, the sensing configuration information includes at least one of the following:

[0063] Fast Fourier transform parameters of the sensing reference signal;

[0064] Subcarrier spacing of the sensing reference signal;

[0065] resource information of the sensing reference signal;

[0066] symbol indication information of the sensing reference signal;

[0067] resource set information of the sensing reference signal;

[0068] sequence information of the sensing reference signal;

[0069] compression parameter of the sensing reference signal;

[0070] type of cyclic prefix of the sensing reference signal;

[0071] transmission power range of the sensing reference signal;

[0072] transmission period of the sensing reference signal;

[0073] indication information of whether to use multi-station cooperative sensing mode.

[0074] The fast Fourier transform parameter is a commonly used technique in processing digital signals, which is used to convert the signal from time domain to frequency domain. The fast Fourier transform parameter of the sensing reference signal can define the number of points or size used when performing fast Fourier transform operation, which can further affect the resolution of the signal in the frequency domain.

[0075] The subcarrier spacing of the sensing reference signal is used to determine the granularity of the signal in the frequency domain. Smaller subcarrier spacing corresponds to lower bandwidth efficiency and higher spectral efficiency, that is, larger subcarrier spacing can be suitable for application scenarios that require fast response.

[0076] The resource information of the sensing reference signal is used to indicate the specific location of the sensing reference signal in the time-frequency resource, such as the symbol position in time and the subcarrier position in frequency, and can also be an identification (ID) and the like.

[0077] The symbol indication information of the sensing reference signal is used to identify the specific symbol position of the sensing reference signal in the wireless frame or subframe, thereby helping the receiving end to correctly identify and receive the sensing reference signal.

[0078] The resource set information of the sensing reference signal can include resource (Resource), resource set identification (Resource set ID), resource set periodicity (Resource Set Periodicity), and resource set offset (Resource Set offset) and other information that may be related to the resource set.

[0079] The sequence information of the sensing reference signal is used to indicate the specific sequence used by the sensing reference signal, which can also be an identification (ID). These sequences usually have good autocorrelation and cross-correlation characteristics, so as to perform accurate channel estimation and interference measurement at the receiving end.

[0080] The compression parameter of the sensing reference signal can include the selection of the compression algorithm, the compression ratio, etc. The sensing reference signal can be compressed before transmission to reduce bandwidth occupation and transmission delay.

[0081] The type of CP of the sensing reference signal can include normal CP (NCP) and extended CP (ECP). The length of the CP of different sensing reference signals is also different, and the selection of the CP type can affect the system performance, such as the coverage range and transmission efficiency of the signal, etc.

[0082] The transmission power range of the sensing reference signal is used to indicate the upper and lower limits of the transmission power of the sensing reference signal.

[0083] The transmission period of the sensing reference signal, i.e. the transmission frequency of the sensing reference signal, i.e. how long the sensing reference signal is transmitted every time. The transmission period of the sensing reference signal can be determined according to the requirements of the sensing task, such as the speed of channel change and the accuracy requirement of measurement, etc.

[0084] The indication information of whether to use the multi-station cooperative sensing mode is used to indicate whether to use multiple base stations or access points to cooperatively transmit or receive the sensing reference signal. It should be understood that the multi-station cooperative sensing mode can overcome the blind area problem and interference problem of single station sensing, thereby improving the accuracy and reliability of sensing.

[0085] In an example, the radio access network second unit can indicate the start of the sensing task to the radio access network first unit through a control plane message (C-plane Message), and send the sensing configuration information to the radio access network first unit through a C-plane Message / management plane message (M-Plane Message).

[0086] Exemplarily, an example C / M-Plane Message can include the following contents:

[0087] That is, the C / M-Plane Message includes a field for identifying or carrying information related to the compression of the sensing reference signal, fast Fourier transform parameters, an identification of a resource of the sensing reference signal, an identification of a resource set of the sensing reference signal, a sequence identification of the sensing reference signal, compression parameters of the sensing reference signal, a type of CP of the sensing reference signal, a minimum transmission power of the sensing reference signal, a maximum transmission power of the sensing reference signal, and a transmission period of the sensing reference signal.

[0088] In some embodiments, the first radio access network unit can also receive IQ sample data from the second radio access network unit, and decompress the IQ sample data to obtain the sensing reference signal.

[0089] Further, the first radio access network unit can also transmit the sensing reference signal to the second node according to the sensing configuration information. It should be understood that the first radio access network unit is on the first node.

[0090] For example, in this embodiment, the second radio access network unit can also transmit compressed IQ sample data containing the sensing reference signal (Sensing RS) to the first radio access network unit through a user plane message (U-plane Message). Further, the first radio access network unit can receive the IQ sample data from the second radio access network unit, and decompress the IQ sample data through an IQ decompression function, and then transmit the sensing reference signal to the radio frequency link and to the air interface through an inverse Fourier transform, a CP addition function, and a digital-to-analog conversion function.

[0091] In another example, in the uplink process of the sensing task and in the sensing mode in which the sensing function is implemented by the second radio access network unit, the sensing configuration information includes at least one of the following:

[0092] Indication information of whether the current symbol is a sensing symbol;

[0093] The number of antennas used to perform the sensing task;

[0094] Identification information of the reference antenna or port;

[0095] Compression parameters and compression methods of the in-phase and quadrature IQ sample data corresponding to the reference antenna or port;

[0096] Compression parameters and compression methods of the IQ sample data corresponding to the non-reference antenna or port.

[0097] For example, an example C / M-plane message can include the following contents:

[0098] SensingSymbolidentifier is a 1-bit message used to indicate whether the current symbol is a sensing symbol, i.e., the indication information of whether the current symbol is a sensing symbol.

[0099] Numofantenna is used to indicate the number of antennas used for sensing, i.e., the number of antennas used for performing the sensing task.

[0100] referenceantennaID is used to indicate the ID corresponding to the reference antenna, i.e., the identification information of the reference antenna or port.

[0101] numofbitsforreferenceantenna is used to indicate the number of bits of the IQ sample after compression of the reference antenna, for example, the number of bits of the IQ sample after compression of the reference antenna is 8 bits; numofbitsfornonreferenceantenna is used to indicate the number of bits of the IQ sample after compression of the non-reference antenna, for example, the number of bits of the IQ sample after compression of the non-reference antenna is 4 bits; referenceantennaCompHdr and nonreferenceantennaCompHdr represent the compression mode, for example, amplitude difference, phase difference, or amplitude and phase difference; referenceantennaCompParam and nonreferenceantennaCompParam represent the parameters used for compression, i.e., the compression parameters and compression mode of the in-phase and quadrature IQ sample data corresponding to the reference antenna or port and the compression parameters and compression mode of the IQ sample data corresponding to the non-reference antenna or port.

[0102] Exemplarily, the resource elements (REs) corresponding to the reference antenna and the REs corresponding to the non-reference antenna are shown in FIG. 5, and the antenna dimension compression can be as shown in Table 1. Wherein, iSample (1st RE in the PRB 1 Antenna 1) can indicate the sampling operation on the signal on the first resource element (1st RE) on the first physical resource block (PRB 1) and the first antenna (Antenna 1).

[0103] Table 1

[0104] In some embodiments, the wireless access network first unit can also send spatial domain related identification information corresponding to the sensing data to the wireless access network second unit.

[0105] Exemplarily, after receiving the C / M-plane message, the radio access network first unit can report a U-plane message to the radio access network second unit, and the reported U-plane message needs to include an antenna identifier (Antenna ID) corresponding to the IQ sample (spatial domain related identifier information corresponding to the sensing data). That is, the antenna ID information needs to be added in the header field of the U-plane message. For example, the U-plane message can include:

[0106] Implementation 2: Sensing mode for implementing sensing functions by the radio access network first unit.

[0107] Exemplarily, the sensing module physical layer function can be all deployed on the radio access network first unit.

[0108] It should be noted that there is a time delay error between the radio access network first unit and the radio access network second unit, which can affect the accuracy of the final sensing result, and therefore the sensing module physical layer function can be all deployed on the radio access network first unit to reduce the impact.

[0109] For example, as shown in FIG. 6, the radio access network second unit can perform sensing reference signal generation, modulation, resource element mapping, in-phase and quadrature compression, and the like in the sensing downlink data stream. The radio access network first unit can perform IQ decompression, inverse Fourier transform and CP addition, digital-to-analog conversion, and selectively perform analog beamforming, and the like in the sensing downlink data stream.

[0110] In the sensing uplink data stream, the physical layer functions related to sensing, such as resource element demapping, channel estimation, detection, and the like, are all located in the radio access network first unit. Moreover, the original IQ compression and IQ decompression between the radio access network first unit and the radio access network second unit are retained, that is, the original fronthaul user plane (FH-U) interface is retained.

[0111] In some embodiments, the radio access network second unit can send sensing configuration information to the radio access network first unit. That is, the radio access network first unit can receive the sensing configuration information from the radio access network second unit.

[0112] In one example, in the downlink process of the sensing task, the sensing configuration information includes at least one of the following:

[0113] Fast Fourier transform parameters of the sensing reference signal;

[0114] Subcarrier spacing of the sensing reference signal;

[0115] resource information of the sensing reference signal;

[0116] symbol indication information of the sensing reference signal;

[0117] resource set information of the sensing reference signal;

[0118] sequence information of the sensing reference signal;

[0119] compression parameter of the sensing reference signal;

[0120] type of cyclic prefix of the sensing reference signal;

[0121] transmission power range of the sensing reference signal;

[0122] transmission period of the sensing reference signal;

[0123] indication information of whether to use multi-station cooperative sensing mode.

[0124] In an example, the radio access network second unit can indicate the start of the sensing task to the radio access network first unit through a control plane message (C-plane Message), and send the sensing configuration information to the radio access network first unit through a C-plane Message / management plane message (M-plane Message).

[0125] In another example, in the uplink process of the sensing task, and in the sensing mode in which the radio access network first unit implements the sensing function, the sensing configuration information further includes at least one of the following:

[0126] transmission direction of the sensing data generated by the radio access network first unit;

[0127] number of symbols that need to be buffered by the radio access network first unit to perform the sensing task;

[0128] location information of the sensing symbol in the time domain;

[0129] fast Fourier transform parameter used when performing Doppler shift estimation;

[0130] comb information of the sensing reference signal in the time-frequency domain;

[0131] resource set information of the sensing reference signal.

[0132] Exemplarily, the transmission direction of the sensing data generated by the radio access network first unit is ORU data direction (the data direction for O-RU to transmit U-plane message).

[0133] In this implementation, an NG-U interface is also added on the O-RU, at this time the O-RU can directly interact with the user plane (U-plane) of the core network through the NG-U interface. Among them, the radio access network second unit can send a 1bit C / M-plane message to the radio access network first unit, which indicates that the radio access network first unit can send the sensing estimation result (such as time of arrival (TOA), angle of arrival (AOA), and Doppler shift parameters) to the radio access network second unit through the interface FH-U. Further, the radio access network second unit sends the sensing estimation result to the core network through the radio access network third unit (such as the radio access network central unit (O-CU)), or the radio access network second unit directly sends the sensing estimation result to the core network through the interface NG-U.

[0134] After that, the radio access network second unit can send the start of the sensing service and the position of the sensing symbol in each time slot, the number of symbols that the radio access network first unit needs to buffer, the fast Fourier transform parameters used when performing Doppler shift estimation (such as receiving 100 sensing symbols (sensing symbol) may need to do 128-point FFT), the comb information of the sensing reference signal in the time-frequency domain (such as the comb size (CombSize)), and the resource set information of the sensing reference signal (such as including the resource (Resource), resource set identifier (Resource set ID), resource set periodicity (Resource Set Periodicity), and resource set offset (Resource Set offset) and other information that may be related to the resource set) to the radio access network first unit through the C-plane message.

[0135] Exemplarily, an example C-Plane Message can include the following contents:

[0136] Among them, symbolIdforsensing is used to indicate the position of the sensing symbol in each time slot.

[0137] numofSymbolstoBuffer is used to indicate the number of symbols that need to be buffered for sensing.

[0138] Comb size is used to indicate the perceived Comb size, for example, 000 corresponds to Comb1, 001 corresponds to Comb2, 010 corresponds to Comb4, 011 corresponds to Comb6 (for example, in the case of sending at the terminal side, receiving at the network device side, the terminal side sends uplink sounding reference signal (UL-SRS) as Sensing RS), 100 corresponds to Comb8, and 101 corresponds to Comb12.

[0139] FFT size for Doppler is used to indicate the fast Fourier transform parameter size of the buffered sensing symbol in the Doppler frequency.

[0140] resource ID represents the sensing RS resource ID.

[0141] resource set ID represents the sensing RS resource set ID.

[0142] resource set periodicity represents the sensing RS resource set periodicity.

[0143] resource slot offset represents the sensing RS resource offset in the time slot.

[0144] resource symbol offset represents the sensing RS resource offset in the symbol.

[0145] Exemplarily, after receiving the C / M-plane message issued by the radio access network second unit, the radio access network first unit can also obtain the estimation results of the target distance (TOA), angle (AOA) and speed (Doppler shift) by sequentially passing the received echo through the “Analog-Digital”, “FFT and CP removal”, “RE mapping”, “Channel Estimation” and “Detection” functions.

[0146] Further, the radio access network first unit can send the estimation results to the radio access network second unit or directly to the core network through the FH-U interface or the NG-U interface according to the C / M-plane message issued by the radio access network second unit.

[0147] In the case that the first radio access network unit sends the estimation result to the second radio access network unit through FH-U, i.e. reports the sensing estimation result from the physical layer IQ sample to the second radio access network unit, at this time the second radio access network unit first needs to indicate the compression mode and the compression bit number of the sensing result through C / M-plane message, for example, the sensing result can be compressed to 12 bits, wherein 0-3 bits represent AOA, 4-7 bits represent TOA, and 8-11 bits represent Doppler shift. Exemplarily, the C / M-plane message can include the following contents:

[0148] Implementation 3, multi-station cooperative sensing mode.

[0149] Exemplarily, the sensing function can be located in the first radio access network unit, the second radio access network unit and the third radio access network unit.

[0150] As shown in FIG. 7A, the network devices BSB, BSCand BSAcan exchange information through a wired Xn interface to complete the sensing task of the sensing target. Since each BS can obtain the sensing measurement and the estimation result (such as TOA / AOA / Doppler shift) of the target, the sensing measurement and the estimation result of multiple base stations need to be combined and deduplicated. Exemplarily, a multi-station sensing result processing function (such as a sensing result deduplication function) can be added in the sensing module, and the multi-station sensing result processing function is deployed on the third radio access network unit.

[0151] As shown in FIG. 7B, in the sensing process, the network devices BSBand BSCmay transmit the sensing result (such as TOA / AOA / Doppler shift) to BSAthrough the Xn interface. Among them, the network device BSAacts as a serving BS, and the third radio access network unit of the network device BSAis deployed with a combine and filtering function for processing the sensing result of multiple stations, which can be responsible for filtering and deduplicating the sensing result of multiple stations.

[0152] Exemplarily, similar to the above-mentioned implementation manner 1, the wireless access network second unit sequentially issues the C / M-plane message and the compressed IQ sample containing the sensing reference signal to the wireless access network first unit in the sensing downlink data stream. The wireless access network first unit can process the received compressed IQ sample containing the sensing reference signal through the functions of "IQ Decompression", "IFFT and CP Addition", "Digital-Analog", and send it to the air interface through the radio frequency link.

[0153] In the sensing uplink process, since the sensing module function can be located on the wireless access network first unit and the wireless access network second unit respectively (as shown in the implementation manner 1) or all located on the O-RU (as shown in the implementation manner 2), the wireless access network second unit can first issue the 1-bit sensing function logic unit selection information (Sensing Estimation mode (sensing mode)) to all wireless access network first units participating in sensing through the C / M-plane message. For example, it can be the sensing mode "Sensing Estimation based on O-DU" realized by the wireless access network second unit, or it can be the sensing mode "Sensing Estimation based on O-RU" realized by the wireless access network first unit.

[0154] Further, the wireless access network second unit can issue corresponding C / M-plane messages to the wireless access network first unit according to the different configurations of the sensing module function of the wireless access network first unit.

[0155] For example, the wireless access network first unit is configured as "Sensing Estimation based on DU", that is, corresponding to the above-mentioned implementation manner 1. At this time, the wireless access network first unit can refer to the above-mentioned implementation manner 1 to send the received echo signal to the wireless access network second unit through the FH-U interface.

[0156] It should be understood that the sensing configuration information received by the wireless access network first unit at this time can also refer to the above-mentioned implementation manner 1, which will not be described here.

[0157] For example, the first radio access network unit is configured as "Sensing Estimation based on RU", i.e. corresponding to the above-mentioned implementation mode 2. At this time, the first radio access network unit can refer to the above-mentioned implementation mode 2 to obtain the sensing target estimation result by "Analog-Digital", "FFT and CP removal", "RE DeMapping", "Channel Estimation" and "Detection" functions on the received echo signal, and compress the sensing estimation result by "IQ Compression" and send it to the second radio access network unit. Wherein, the "ORUdata direction" issued by the second radio access network unit is the FH-U interface.

[0158] It should be understood that at this time the sensing configuration information received by the first radio access network unit can also refer to the above-mentioned implementation mode 2, which will not be described here.

[0159] In some embodiments, the first radio access network unit can also send indication information to the second radio access network unit to indicate the type of information of the sensing data. Wherein, the type of sensing data can include sensing result or target reflected echo frequency domain data.

[0160] For example, since the U-plane message can contain sensing target echo or sensing target estimation result, the first radio access network unit can add 1bit indication information in the header of the U-plane message, which is used to indicate the type of content contained in the U-plane message. For example, "0" represents target reflected echo or channel information frequency domain data IQ sample, and "1" represents sensing estimation result IQ sample.

[0161] In some embodiments, the first radio access network unit is on the first node, and the first radio access network unit can send the sensing result information to the third radio access network unit through the second radio access network unit.

[0162] Exemplarily, the wireless access network first unit receives the U-plane message, and for the IQ sample of the target echo or channel information frequency domain data, the sensing result information can be generated by the functions of “IQ Decompression”, “RE Demapping”, “Channel Estimation” and “Detection” in sequence based on the indication of the wireless access network second unit. Further, the wireless access network first unit can send the sensing result information to the wireless access network third unit through the F1-U interface. For the IQ sample of the sensing result, the sensing result can be sent to the wireless access network third unit through the F1-U interface directly after the “IQ Decompression” function based on the indication of the wireless access network second unit.

[0163] Further, the wireless access network third unit corresponding to the network devices BSBand BSCmay obtain the sensing estimation result information (for example, TOA / AOA / Doppler shift) and send it to the wireless access network third unit corresponding to BSAthrough the Xn interface. The wireless access network third unit corresponding to BSAcan report the sensing result to the core network (the third node) after deduplication and filtering of all sensing results by the “Combine and Filtering” function.

[0164] Implementation manner 4: Multi-station cooperative sensing manner, and the wireless access network second unit cooperates multiple wireless access network first units to perform multi-station sensing.

[0165] The wireless access network second unit cooperates multiple wireless access network first units to perform multi-station sensing at least can include two possible modes of a front haul multiplexer (FHM) mode and a cascade mode.

[0166] Mode 1: FHM mode.

[0167] The FHM can be referred to as a wireless access network fourth unit. The FHM is equivalent to a radio unit (RU) without radio frequency capability, and has the capability of downlink message copy and uplink message combination.

[0168] As shown in FIG. 8, the wireless access network second unit can interact with multiple wireless access network first units through the wireless access network fourth unit FHM respectively.

[0169] In the downlink process of the sensing task, the wireless access network second unit can first send a message to the N wireless access network first units respectively through the FHM, N is a positive integer. Exemplarily, the message can be a plane message, and the message can include sensing configuration information, which can include any of the following:

[0170] identification information of the wireless access network first units participating in the multi-station cooperative sensing, for example, an identification list;

[0171] beam identification information corresponding to each wireless access network first unit, for example, an identification, and the beam directions of different wireless access network first units can be different;

[0172] effective sensing area information of each wireless access network first unit, for example, the radius and angle of the sensing sector of each wireless access network first unit, the cell ID or sector ID, the sensing area latitude and longitude coordinates, etc.;

[0173] the transmission power range of each wireless access network first unit;

[0174] resource set information corresponding to each wireless access network first unit, for example, the Resource set ID and Resource ID corresponding to each wireless access network first unit;

[0175] sequence information of the sensing reference signal corresponding to each wireless access network first unit, for example, a Sequence ID list.

[0176] Exemplarily, the plane message can include the following contents:

[0177] Thus, for any wireless access network first unit, in the downlink process of the sensing task, the received sensing configuration information from the wireless access network second unit can include the identification information of the wireless access network first units participating in the multi-station cooperative sensing, the identification information of the beam corresponding to the wireless access network first unit, the effective sensing area information of the wireless access network first unit, the transmission power range of the wireless access network first unit, the resource set information corresponding to the wireless access network first unit, and the sequence information of the sensing reference signal corresponding to the wireless access network first unit.

[0178] Further, the radio access network second unit can also send (through the radio access network fourth unit) a U-plane message containing the Sensing RS to each radio access network first unit. The IQ sample containing the Sensing RS received by each O-RU can be decompressed through "IQ Decompression" and sent to the air interface by the radio frequency link, so as to receive the target echo.

[0179] Exemplarily, the radio access network first unit on the first node can also send the sensing reference signal to the second node according to the sensing configuration information.

[0180] In the uplink process of the sensing task, the radio access network second unit can first send the sensing function logic unit list information (Sensing Estimation mode List (sensing modes of all O-RUs)) to each radio access network first unit through the M-plane message, for example, it can be O-RU#1, that is, the sensing mode Sensing Estimation based on O-DU implemented by the radio access network second unit, or it can be O-RU#N, that is, the sensing mode Sensing Estimation based on O-RU implemented by the Nth radio access network first unit. In some embodiments, the M-plane message can be sent through the FHM, or the M-plane message can be directly sent without the FHM.

[0181] In some embodiments, the radio access network second unit can also send (through the FHM) a C-plane message to each radio access network first unit, which can include sensing configuration information or other possible information. The specific description of the C-plane message can refer to the above-mentioned implementation mode 1 (corresponding to Sensing Estimation based on O-DU) or implementation mode 2 (corresponding to Sensing Estimation based on O-RU), which will not be repeated here.

[0182] Further, each radio access network first unit can process the received echo according to the M-plane message and the C-plane message sent by the radio access network second unit.

[0183] Exemplarily, in the case of being configured as "Sensing Estimation based on O-RU", the first radio access network unit can generate sensing result information of the sensing target, such as the estimation result of TOA / AOA / Doppler shift. Or, in the case of being configured as "Sensing Estimation based on O-DU", the first radio access network unit can generate target echo or channel information frequency domain data. The first radio access network unit can compress the generated data (such as sensing result or target echo frequency domain data) through the "IQ Compression" function and report to the FHM. In some embodiments, the first radio access network unit can also add the ID information of the first radio access network unit in the header of the U-plane message. In some examples, the O-RU identity and the sensing mode identity can also be included in the header of the U-plane message. For example:

[0184] That is, the first radio access network unit can also send the identity of the first radio access network unit (ID information) and the sensing mode identity to the second radio access network unit through the FHM, such as the identity information of "Sensing Estimation based on O-DU". Wherein, the first radio access network unit sends the identity and the sensing mode identity to the FHM, and then the FHM sends the identity and the sensing mode identity of the first radio access network unit to the second radio access network unit.

[0185] In some embodiments, the FHM can merge the U-plane messages of different first radio access network units and generate a new U-plane message header, at this time the generated header can contain the list of first radio access network units corresponding to different types of U-plane messages. For example:

[0186] Wherein, ORUIDlistforsensingtype0 corresponds to the first radio access network unit that only performs sensing related low physical layer processing, such as the first radio access network unit #1 and the first radio access network unit #2 in FIG. 8, and ORUIDlistforsensingtype1 corresponds to the first radio access network unit that performs sensing related high physical layer processing, such as O-RU#N.

[0187] In some embodiments, after receiving the IQ samples of different O-RUs reported by the FHM, the radio access network second unit can first decompress through "IQ Decompression", and then sequentially pass the IQ samples corresponding to the ORU ID list for sensing type 0 through "RE Demapping", "Channel Estimation", "Detection" functions to obtain sensing estimation results, such as TOA / AOA / ZOA / Doppler shift. Further, the sensing estimation results can also be processed through the "Combine and Filtering" function with the sensing estimation results of the remaining radio access network first units (such as O-RU#N) to obtain multi-station cooperative sensing estimation results.

[0188] Mode 2, cascaded mode.

[0189] As shown in FIG. 9, the cascaded mode can utilize the cascading between multiple radio access network first units to realize the signaling interaction between the radio access network second unit and the multiple radio access network first units. Among them, the radio access network first unit can receive the downlink information from the upper level (north node) radio access network first unit and forward it to the lower level (south node) radio access network first unit.

[0190] In the downlink process of the sensing task, each radio access network first unit can directly issue the information from the upper level to the lower level radio access network unit without any modification. In this way, the downlink process is similar to the downlink process in the FHM mode described above, and the relevant description of the downlink process of the sensing task in the FHM mode described above can be referred to, which will not be repeated here.

[0191] In the uplink process of the sensing task, each radio access network first unit can also receive the sensing target echo from the air interface and generate corresponding IQ samples when receiving the uplink data of the next level. In this way, the amount of data transmitted between the cascaded links will increase rapidly as the uplink process continues. Therefore, based on the radio access network first unit and at least one other radio access network first unit forming a cascaded link, the radio access network first unit can send at least one of the following to the upper level radio access network first unit on the cascaded link: the position information of the radio access network first unit on the cascaded link, the remaining space information in the stack, and the indication information of the adjusted sensing mode.

[0192] Exemplarily, the data amount of the sensing mode "Sensing Estimation based on DU" is much larger than that of the sensing mode "Sensing Estimation based on RU", the radio access network first unit can send the position information of the radio access network first unit on the cascade link and / or the remaining space information in the stack to the upper radio access network first unit on the cascade link, so that the upper radio access network first unit can determine whether the sensing mode or the sensing estimation mode configured by the radio access network second unit needs to be adjusted according to the position information and / or the remaining space information in the stack.

[0193] In the uplink process of the sensing task, the radio access network second unit can first send a C-plane message to all radio access network first units in the link, the C-plane message can include sensing configuration information or other possible information, the specific description of the C-plane message can refer to the description of the C-plane message in the uplink process of the FHM mode described above, which will not be repeated here. Thus, each radio access network first unit successively receives the C-plane message sent by the upper radio access network first unit.

[0194] Further, the radio access network second unit can successively send the U-plane message containing the sensing reference signal to the radio access network first unit, and then each radio access network first unit can send the sensing reference signal to the air interface through its own radio frequency link.

[0195] In some embodiments, in the uplink process of the sensing task, the radio access network second unit can first send a M-plane message to all radio access network first units in the link, the M-plane message is used to configure the sensing estimation mode (Sensing Estimation mode) of each radio access network first unit. Further, the lowest level radio access network first unit of the link can start receiving the echo signal of the sensing target, and generate the corresponding M-plane message and U-plane message according to the configured sensing estimation mode. Among them, the M-plane message can contain the position information of the radio access network first unit on the cascade link and / or the remaining space information in the stack. For example, the M-plane message can contain the following contents:

[0196] Existing ID in shared chain: (the existing ID of O-RUs in the shared chain) field: 8 bits

[0197] Remaining space in stack: (the remaining space in the stack) field: 16 bits

[0198] In the above, the Existing ID in shared chain is used to indicate the position of the current wireless access network first unit in the entire cascaded link (for example, the ID of the bottommost O-RU is 0, and so on). The Remaining space in stack is used to indicate the size of the remaining space in the protocol stack.

[0199] For the wireless access network first unit on the link, after receiving the M-plane message of the next level wireless access network first unit, the wireless access network first unit can adjust its “Sensing Estimation mode” according to the wireless access network first unit identifier that has appeared and the remaining stack space. Exemplarily, when the stack space is insufficient, the wireless access network first unit can adjust its “Sensing Estimation mode” from “Estimation on DU” to “Estimation on RU”, and update the identifier list “ID list for type 0” of type 0 and the identifier list “ID list for type 1” of type 1 in the M-plane message after the adjustment.

[0200] In some embodiments, the wireless access network first unit can also merge the U-plane message, and the merging manner can be specifically referred to the above-mentioned merging manner in the FHM mode. For example, the wireless access network first unit can merge all the IQ samples of “ORU ID list for sensing type 0” and all the IQ samples of “ORU ID list for sensing type 1”.

[0201] Further, the wireless access network first unit can send the updated C-plane message and the merged U-plane message to the next level wireless access network first unit on the link, and so on, until the wireless access network first unit at the topmost layer transmits to the wireless access network first unit.

[0202] Based on the technical solutions provided in the disclosure, in the case that the corresponding sensing function is deployed inside the network device, signaling interaction between each wireless access network unit in the sensing process can be realized, that is, various signaling interactions inside the network device. In this way, the application and development of the sensing-integrated technology in the network device are facilitated.

[0203] In some embodiments, on the basis of the above-mentioned various implementations, the wireless access network first unit can further send its sensing capability information to the wireless access network second unit.

[0204] In an example, as shown in FIG. 10A, the wireless access network first unit can directly send its sensing capability information to the wireless access network second unit. The wireless access network first unit can send its sensing capability information to the wireless access network second unit through an M-plane message.

[0205] In another example, as shown in FIG. 10B, the wireless access network first unit receives sensing capability reporting request information from the wireless access network second unit. In response to the sensing capability reporting request information, the wireless access network first unit sends its sensing capability information to the wireless access network second unit.

[0206] The sensing capability reporting request information can be carried in a C-plane message or an M-plane message. In addition, the wireless access network first unit can also send its sensing capability information to the wireless access network second unit through an M-plane message.

[0207] In the downlink process of the sensing task, the sensing capability information includes at least one of the following:

[0208] Fast Fourier transform parameters supported by the wireless access network first unit;

[0209] Antenna power dynamic range;

[0210] Isolation degree between a transmitting antenna and a receiving antenna;

[0211] Duration of a transmission window in the downlink;

[0212] Indication information of whether the wireless access network first unit has a clock;

[0213] Number of antennas available for transmitting a sensing reference signal;

[0214] Beam broadening of the wireless access network first unit;

[0215] Indication information of whether the wireless access network first unit supports cooperative sensing controlled by the wireless access network second unit.

[0216] In the uplink process of the sensing task, the sensing capability information comprises at least one of:

[0217] a sensing mode supported by the first radio access network unit;

[0218] whether the first radio access network unit supports direct connection with the third node user plane interface;

[0219] whether the first radio access network unit supports compression processing of signals in the spatial domain;

[0220] a compression parameter supported by the first radio access network unit for compression of signals in the spatial domain;

[0221] a maximum number of sensing symbols that can be buffered by the first radio access network unit;

[0222] whether the first radio access network unit supports sharing of indication information of the second radio access network unit;

[0223] beam broadening of the first radio access network unit;

[0224] a maximum transmission bandwidth supported by the first radio access network unit;

[0225] a receiving power range supported by the first radio access network unit.

[0226] In some embodiments, in the uplink process of the sensing task, in the case where the first radio access network unit supports sharing of indication information of the second radio access network unit, the mode of the shared second radio access network unit (Shared Cell) supported by the first radio access network unit can also be included.

[0227] In one possible example, as shown in FIG. 11, the sensing process can include steps S1 to S10.

[0228] S1, the second radio access network unit sends downlink sensing capability reporting request information to the first radio access network unit.

[0229] In the above, step S1 is optional.

[0230] S2, the first radio access network unit sends downlink sensing capability information to the second radio access network unit.

[0231] That is, in the above downlink process of the sensing task, the sensing capability information sent by the first radio access network unit.

[0232] S3, the second radio access network unit sends downlink sensing configuration information to the first radio access network unit.

[0233] S4, the second radio access network unit sends a sensing reference signal to the first radio access network unit.

[0234] S5, the first unit of the radio access network sends a sensing reference signal to the sensing target and the environment.

[0235] S6, the first unit of the radio access network receives the reflected signal of the sensing reference signal sent by the target and the environment.

[0236] S7, the second unit of the radio access network sends the uplink sensing capability reporting request information to the first unit of the radio access network.

[0237] Optionally, step S7 is provided.

[0238] S8, the first unit of the radio access network sends the uplink sensing capability information to the second unit of the radio access network.

[0239] That is, in the uplink process of the sensing task, the sensing capability information sent by the first unit of the radio access network.

[0240] S9, the second unit of the radio access network sends the uplink sensing configuration information to the first unit of the radio access network.

[0241] S10, the first unit of the radio access network sends the uplink echo signal or the sensing result to the second unit of the radio access network.

[0242] In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 12, the present disclosure further provides another communication method, which is applied to the second unit of the radio access network, and the method comprises:

[0243] S201, receiving the sensing configuration information sent to the first unit of the radio access network, and the sensing configuration information comprises information required by the first unit of the radio access network to perform the sensing task.

[0244] In the downlink process of the sensing task, the sensing configuration information comprises at least one of the following:

[0245] Fast Fourier transform parameters of the sensing reference signal;

[0246] Subcarrier spacing of the sensing reference signal;

[0247] Resource information of the sensing reference signal;

[0248] Symbol indication information of the sensing reference signal;

[0249] Resource set information of the sensing reference signal;

[0250] Sequence information of the sensing reference signal;

[0251] Compression parameters of the sensing reference signal;

[0252] Type of the cyclic prefix of the sensing reference signal;

[0253] a transmission power range of the sensing reference signal;

[0254] a transmission period of the sensing reference signal;

[0255] indication information of whether to use a multi-station cooperative sensing mode.

[0256] In some embodiments, in the case of using a multi-station cooperative sensing mode, the sensing configuration information further comprises at least one of the following:

[0257] identification information of a first wireless access network unit participating in multi-station cooperative sensing;

[0258] beam identification information corresponding to each first wireless access network unit;

[0259] effective sensing area information of each first wireless access network unit;

[0260] a transmission power range of each first wireless access network unit;

[0261] resource set information corresponding to each first wireless access network unit;

[0262] sequence information of the sensing reference signal corresponding to each first wireless access network unit.

[0263] In the uplink process of the sensing task, the sensing configuration information comprises a sensing mode.

[0264] In the sensing mode in which the sensing function is implemented through the second wireless access network unit, the sensing configuration information further comprises at least one of the following:

[0265] indication information of whether the current symbol is a sensing symbol;

[0266] a number of antennas used to perform the sensing task;

[0267] identification information of a reference antenna or port;

[0268] compression parameters and compression modes of in-phase and quadrature (IQ) sampling data corresponding to the reference antenna or port;

[0269] compression parameters and compression modes of IQ sampling data corresponding to a non-reference antenna or port.

[0270] In the sensing mode in which the sensing function is implemented through the first wireless access network unit, the sensing configuration information further comprises at least one of the following:

[0271] a transmission direction of sensing data generated by the first wireless access network unit;

[0272] a number of symbols that need to be buffered by the first wireless access network unit to perform the sensing task;

[0273] position information of the sensing symbol in time domain;

[0274] fast Fourier transform parameter used in Doppler shift estimation;

[0275] comb information of the sensing reference signal in time-frequency domain;

[0276] resource set information of the sensing reference signal.

[0277] In some embodiments, in the multi-station cooperative sensing manner of the FHM mode, the wireless access network second unit can send the sensing configuration information to each wireless access network second unit through the wireless access network fourth unit (FHM).

[0278] In some embodiments, the wireless access network second unit can also receive the sensing capability information from the wireless access network first unit.

[0279] In some embodiments, the wireless access network second unit can also send the sensing capability reporting request information to the wireless network first unit.

[0280] In the downlink process of the sensing task, the sensing capability information includes at least one of the following:

[0281] fast Fourier transform parameter supported by the wireless access network first unit;

[0282] antenna power dynamic range;

[0283] isolation degree between the transmitting antenna and the receiving antenna;

[0284] duration of the transmission window in the downlink;

[0285] indication information of whether the wireless access network first unit has a clock itself;

[0286] number of antennas available for transmitting the sensing reference signal;

[0287] transmission beam broadening of the wireless access network first unit;

[0288] indication information of whether the wireless access network first unit supports cooperative sensing controlled by the wireless access network second unit.

[0289] In the uplink process of the sensing task, the sensing capability information includes at least one of the following:

[0290] sensing mode supported by the wireless access network first unit;

[0291] whether the wireless access network first unit supports direct connection with the third node user plane interface;

[0292] whether the first radio access network unit supports spatial compression of signals;

[0293] a compression parameter supported by the first radio access network unit for spatial compression of signals;

[0294] a maximum number of sensing symbols that the first radio access network unit is capable of buffering;

[0295] whether the first radio access network unit supports sharing of indication information of the second radio access network unit;

[0296] a transmit beam broadening of the first radio access network unit;

[0297] a maximum transmission bandwidth supported by the first radio access network unit;

[0298] a receive power range supported by the first radio access network unit.

[0299] In some embodiments, the second radio access network unit can further send IQ sample data to the first radio access network unit, the IQ sample data containing the sensing reference signal.

[0300] In some embodiments, the second radio access network unit can further receive sensing data from the first radio access network unit. Exemplarily, the sensing configuration information includes a compression parameter for compressing the sensing data.

[0301] In some embodiments, the second radio access network unit can further receive indication information from the first radio access network unit for indicating a type of information of the sensing data. The type of information of the sensing data can include sensing result information or sensing process data.

[0302] In some embodiments, the second radio access network unit can further receive spatial correlation related identification information corresponding to the sensing data from the first radio access network unit.

[0303] In some embodiments, in a case where a multi-station cooperative sensing mode is adopted, the second radio access network unit can further receive an identity of each first radio access network unit and a sensing mode identity from each first radio access network unit.

[0304] In some embodiments, in a case where a multi-station cooperative sensing mode is adopted and the first radio access network unit and at least one other first radio access network unit form a cascaded link, the second radio access network unit receives at least one of position information of each first radio access network unit on the cascaded link, remaining space information within the stack, and indication information of an adjusted sensing mode, sent by a highest-level first radio access network unit on the cascaded link.

[0305] In some embodiments, the first radio access network unit is on a first node, the method further comprises:

[0306] sending the sensing data to the third node.

[0307] In some embodiments, in the case that the sensing mode is multi-station cooperation and the sensing result processing function is implemented by the third radio access network unit, the second radio access network unit can receive the sensing data and send the sensing data to the third radio access network unit.

[0308] In addition, the detailed description of step S201 can also refer to the description of step S101 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0309] In this way, the signaling interaction between the various radio access network units in the sensing process, i.e., the various signaling interactions within the network device, can be realized. In this way, the application and development of the sensing-integrated technology in the network device are facilitated.

[0310] The above mainly introduces the scheme provided by the present disclosure from the perspective of the interaction between the various communication nodes. It can be understood that, in order to realize the above functions, each communication node includes the corresponding hardware structure and / or software module for executing each function. Those skilled in the art should easily realize that, in combination with the algorithm steps of each example described in the embodiments disclosed in the present disclosure, the present disclosure 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. The skilled person 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 disclosure.

[0311] FIG. 13 shows a composition schematic diagram of a communication apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 13, the communication apparatus 1300 is applied to the first radio access network unit, and the communication apparatus 1300 includes a receiving module 1301. In some embodiments, the communication apparatus 1300 can further include a sending module 1302.

[0312] The receiving module 1301 is configured to receive the sensing configuration information from the second radio access network unit. The sensing configuration information includes the information required by the first radio access network unit to perform the sensing task.

[0313] In some embodiments, the receiving module 1301 is configured to receive the sensing configuration information from the second radio access network unit through the fourth radio access network unit.

[0314] In some embodiments, the sending module 1302 is configured to send the sensing capability information of the first radio access network unit to the second radio access network unit.

[0315] In some embodiments, the receiving module 1301 is further configured to receive the sensing capability reporting request information from the second radio access network unit.

[0316] In some embodiments, the first radio access network unit is located at a first node, and the sending module 1302 is further configured to send, to a second node, the sensing reference signal according to the sensing configuration information.

[0317] In some embodiments, the receiving module 1301 is further configured to receive the IQ sample data from the second radio access network unit, and the sending module 1302 is further configured to perform decompression processing on the IQ sample data to obtain the sensing reference signal.

[0318] In some embodiments, the sending module 1302 is further configured to send the sensing data to the second radio access network unit.

[0319] In some embodiments, the sending module 1302 is further configured to send, to the second radio access network unit, indication information indicating the information type of the sensing data.

[0320] In some embodiments, the sending module 1302 is further configured to send, to the second radio access network unit, identification information corresponding to the spatial correlation of the sensing data.

[0321] In some embodiments, in the case of using a multi-station cooperative sensing mode, the sending module 1302 is further configured to send, to the second radio access network unit through a fourth radio access network unit, the identity of the first radio access network unit and the sensing mode identification.

[0322] In some embodiments, in the case of using a multi-station cooperative sensing mode and the first radio access network unit and at least one other first radio access network unit forming a cascaded link, the sending module 1302 is further configured to send, to the upper-level first radio access network unit on the cascaded link, at least one of the following: the position information of the sending module in the cascaded link, the remaining space information in the stack, and the indication information of the adjusted sensing mode.

[0323] In some embodiments, the first radio access network unit is located at a first node, and the sending module 1302 is further configured to send, to a third node, the sensing data.

[0324] In some embodiments, in the case of using a multi-station cooperative sensing mode and implementing a sensing result processing function through a third radio access network unit, the sending module 1302 is further configured to send, to the third radio access network unit through the second radio access network unit, the sensing data.

[0325] For more details of the receiving module 1301 and the sending module 1302, more details of the technical features, and descriptions of the benefits, refer to the corresponding method embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

[0326] FIG. 14 shows a schematic diagram of a communication apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 14, the communication apparatus 1400 is applied to a radio access network second unit, and the communication apparatus 1400 includes a sending module 1401 and a receiving module 1402.

[0327] The sending module 1401 is configured to send sensing configuration information to a radio access network first unit, where the sensing configuration information includes information required by the radio access network first unit to perform a sensing task.

[0328] In some embodiments, the receiving module 1402 is configured to receive sensing capability information from the radio access network first unit.

[0329] In some embodiments, the sending module 1401 is further configured to send sensing capability reporting request information to the radio access network first unit.

[0330] In some embodiments, the receiving module 1402 is further configured to receive sensing data from the radio access network first unit.

[0331] In some embodiments, in a case where a multi-station cooperative sensing mode is adopted, the receiving module 1402 is further configured to receive, through a radio access network fourth unit, identity information and sensing mode information of each radio access network first unit.

[0332] In some embodiments, in a case where the multi-station cooperative sensing mode is adopted, and a radio access network first unit and at least one other radio access network first unit form a cascade link, the receiving module 1402 is further configured to receive at least one of the following information sent by a highest-level radio access network first unit on the cascade link: position information of each radio access network first unit on the cascade link, remaining space information in the stack, and indication information of an adjusted sensing mode.

[0333] In some embodiments, in a case where the multi-station cooperative sensing mode is adopted, and a radio access network third unit implements a sensing result processing function, the receiving module 1402 is further configured to receive sensing data from the radio access network first unit; and the sending module 1401 is further configured to send the sensing data to the radio access network third unit.

[0334] For more details of the sending module 1401 and the receiving module 1402, more details of the technical features, and descriptions of the benefits, refer to the corresponding method embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

[0335] It should be noted that the modules in FIG. 13 or FIG. 14 can also be referred to as units, for example, the sending module can be referred to as a sending unit. In addition, in the embodiments shown in FIG. 13 or FIG. 14, the names of the various modules can also not be the names shown in the figure, for example, the sending module can also be referred to as a communication module, and the receiving module can also be referred to as a communication module.

[0336] Each unit or module in FIG. 13 or FIG. 14, if implemented in the form of a software functional module and sold or used as an independent product, can be stored in a computer readable storage medium. Based on such understanding, the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present disclosure essentially or substantially, or all or part of the technical solutions, can be embodied in the form of a software product. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium, and includes a number of instructions for causing a computer device (which can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) or a processor to perform all or part of the steps of the methods in the embodiments of the present disclosure. The storage medium storing the computer software product includes: a U disk, a mobile hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk or an optical disk, and various media capable of storing program codes.

[0337] In the case of implementing the functions of the above-mentioned integrated modules in the form of hardware, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a structural diagram of a communication device, which can be the communication device 1300 or the communication device 1400. As shown in FIG. 15, the communication device 1500 includes a processor 1502, a communication interface 1503, and a bus 1504. In some embodiments, the communication device 1500 can also include a memory 1501.

[0338] The processor 1502 can implement or execute the logic blocks, modules and circuits of various examples described in connection with the content of the present disclosure. The processor 1502 can be a central processor, a general processor, a digital signal processor, an application specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array or other programmable logic device, a transistor logic device, a hardware component or any combination thereof. The processor 1502 can implement or execute the logic blocks, modules and circuits of various examples described in connection with the content of the present disclosure. The processor 1502 can also be a combination that implements a computing function, such as a combination of one or more microprocessors, a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, etc.

[0339] The communication interface 1503 is used to connect with other devices through a communication network. The communication network can be an Ethernet, a wireless access network, a wireless local area network (WLAN), etc.

[0340] The memory 1501 can be a read-only memory (ROM) or other type of static storage device that can store static information and instructions, can be a random access memory (RAM) or other type of dynamic storage device that can store information and instructions, can be an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a magnetic disk storage medium or other magnetic storage device, or any other medium capable of carrying or storing desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer, but is not limited thereto.

[0341] As an implementation manner, the memory 1501 can exist independently of the processor 1502, and the memory 1501 can be connected to the processor 1502 through the bus 1504 for storing instructions or program codes. The processor 1502 can implement the method provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure when calling and executing the instructions or program codes stored in the memory 1501.

[0342] In another implementation manner, the memory 1501 can also be integrated with the processor 1502.

[0343] The bus 1504 can be an extended industry standard architecture (EISA) bus or the like. The bus 1504 can be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, and the like. For the convenience of representation, only one thick line is used to represent the bus in FIG. 15, but it does not mean that there is only one bus or only one type of bus.

[0344] Through the description of the above embodiments, those skilled in the art can clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, only the above division of functional modules is taken as an example, but in actual application, the above functions can be completed by different functional modules according to needs, that is, the internal structure of the device or apparatus is divided into different functional modules to complete all or part of the above described functions.

[0345] The embodiments of the present disclosure further provide a computer readable storage medium. All or part of the flow of the method embodiments can be directed to the relevant hardware by computer instructions, which can be stored in the computer readable storage medium. When the computer instructions are executed, the flow of each method embodiment described above can be implemented. The computer readable storage medium can be the memory of any of the preceding embodiments. The computer readable storage medium described above can also be an external storage device of the device or apparatus, such as a plug-in hard disk, a smart media card (SMC), a secure digital (SD) card, a flash card, etc. equipped on the device or apparatus. Further, the computer readable storage medium described above can include both the internal storage unit of the device or apparatus and the external storage device. The computer readable storage medium described above is used to store the computer program described above and other programs and data required by the device or apparatus. The computer readable storage medium described above can also be used to temporarily store data that has been output or will be output.

[0346] The embodiments of the present disclosure further provide a computer program product, which contains a computer program, and when the computer program product runs on a computer, it makes the computer execute any method provided in the embodiments described above.

[0347] Although the present disclosure is described herein in conjunction with various embodiments, it is understood that other variations of the disclosed embodiments can be understood and effected by those skilled in the art in practicing the claimed disclosure, from an inspection of the drawings, the disclosure, and the appended claims. In the claims, the word "comprising" does not exclude other components or steps, and the indefinite articles "a" or "an" do not exclude a plurality. A single processor or other unit can fulfill 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 an advantage.

[0348] Although the present disclosure is described herein in conjunction with specific features and embodiments thereof, it is understood that various modifications and combinations can be made to the specific features and embodiments thereof, without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure. Accordingly, the description and drawings are to be regarded simply as illustrative of the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims, and are to be construed that any and all modifications, variations, combinations or equivalents that are within the scope of the present disclosure are to be embraced by the present disclosure. Obviously, various modifications and changes can be made to the present disclosure by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Thus, it is intended that the present disclosure cover the modifications and changes as they come within the scope of the claims and their equivalents.

[0349] The above merely provides a specific implementation of the present disclosure, but the protection scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and any change or replacement within the technical scope disclosed by the present disclosure should be covered within the protection scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the protection scope of the present disclosure should be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

A communication method in which, The method is applied to a first unit of a radio access network, and the method comprises: receiving sensing configuration information from a second unit of the radio access network, the sensing configuration information comprising information required by the first unit of the radio access network to perform a sensing task. The method of claim 1, wherein, In a downlink process of the sensing task, the sensing configuration information comprises at least one of: a fast Fourier transform parameter of a sensing reference signal; a subcarrier spacing of the sensing reference signal; resource information of the sensing reference signal; symbol indication information of the sensing reference signal; resource set information of the sensing reference signal; sequence information of the sensing reference signal; compression parameters of the sensing reference signal; a type of a cyclic prefix of the sensing reference signal; a transmission power range of the sensing reference signal; a transmission period of the sensing reference signal; indication information of whether to adopt a multi-station cooperative sensing mode. The method of claim 2, wherein, In the case of adopting the multi-station cooperative sensing mode, the sensing configuration information further comprises at least one of: identification information of the first unit of the radio access network participating in the multi-station cooperative sensing; identification information of a beam corresponding to the first unit of the radio access network; effective sensing area information of the first unit of the radio access network; a transmission power range of the first unit of the radio access network. The method of claim 1, wherein, In an uplink process of the sensing task, the sensing configuration information comprises a sensing mode; in the sensing mode of realizing a sensing function through the second unit of the radio access network, the sensing configuration information further comprises at least one of: indication information of whether a current symbol is a sensing symbol; a number of antennas adopted to perform the sensing task; identification information of a reference antenna or port; compression parameters and compression modes of in-phase and quadrature (IQ) sampling data corresponding to the reference antenna or port; compression parameters and compression modes of IQ sampling data corresponding to a non-reference antenna or port; in the sensing mode of realizing a sensing function through the first unit of the radio access network, the sensing configuration information further comprises at least one of: a transmission direction of sensing data generated by the first unit of the radio access network; a number of symbols required to be buffered by the first unit of the radio access network to perform the sensing task; location information of a sensing symbol in a time domain; a fast Fourier transform parameter adopted to perform Doppler shift estimation; comb information of a sensing reference signal in a time-frequency domain; resource set information of the sensing reference signal. The method of claim 4, wherein, The receiving of the sensing configuration information from the second unit of the radio access network comprises: receiving, by a fourth unit of the radio access network, the sensing configuration information from the second unit of the radio access network. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: sending, to the second unit of the radio access network, sensing capability information of the first unit of the radio access network itself. The method according to claim 6, further comprising: receiving sensing capability reporting request information from the second unit of the radio access network. The method of claim 6, wherein, In the downlink process of the sensing task, the sensing capability information comprises at least one of: a fast Fourier transform parameter supported by the first unit of the radio access network; an antenna power dynamic range; an isolation degree between a transmitting antenna and a receiving antenna; A duration of a transmission window in a downlink; Indication information of whether the first radio access network unit itself has a clock; A number of antennas that can be used to transmit a sensing reference signal; Beam broadening of the first radio access network unit; Indication information of whether the first radio access network unit supports cooperative sensing controlled by the second radio access network unit. The method of claim 6, wherein, In an uplink process of the sensing task, the sensing capability information includes at least one of: A sensing mode supported by the first radio access network unit; Whether the first radio access network unit supports a direct connection with a third node user plane interface; Whether the first radio access network unit supports compressing a signal in a space domain; A compression parameter supported by the first radio access network unit for compressing a signal in a space domain; A maximum number of sensing symbols that can be buffered by the first radio access network unit; Indication information of whether the first radio access network unit supports sharing the second radio access network unit; Beam broadening of the first radio access network unit; A maximum transmission bandwidth supported by the first radio access network unit; A receiving power range supported by the first radio access network unit. The method of claim 1, wherein, The first radio access network unit is on a first node, and the method further includes: According to the sensing configuration information, sending a sensing reference signal to a second node. The method of claim 1, further comprising: Receiving IQ sample data from the second radio access network unit; Decompressing the IQ sample data to obtain a sensing reference signal. The method of claim 1, further comprising: Sending sensing data to the second radio access network unit. The method of claim 12, wherein, The sensing configuration information includes a compression parameter for compressing the sensing data. The method of claim 12, further comprising: Sending indication information to the second radio access network unit indicating the information type of the sensing data. The method of claim 1, further comprising: Sending spatial domain related identification information corresponding to the sensing data to the second radio access network unit. The method of claim 1, wherein, In the case of a multi-station cooperative sensing mode, the method further includes: Sending the identity of the first radio access network unit and the sensing mode identification to the second radio access network unit through a fourth radio access network unit. The method of claim 1, wherein, In the case of a multi-station cooperative sensing mode and the first radio access network unit and at least one other first radio access network unit forming a cascaded link, the method further includes: Sending at least one of the following to the previous first radio access network unit in the cascaded link: position information of the first radio access network unit in the cascaded link, remaining space information in the stack, and indication information of the adjusted sensing mode. The method of claim 1, wherein, The first radio access network unit is on a first node, and the method further includes: Sending sensing data to a third node. The method of claim 1, wherein, In the case of a multi-station cooperative sensing mode and implementing a sensing result processing function through a third radio access network unit, the method further includes: Sending sensing data to the third radio access network unit through the second radio access network unit. A communication method, wherein, The method is applied to a radio access network second unit, and the method comprises: sending sensing configuration information to a radio access network first unit, wherein the sensing configuration information comprises information required by the radio access network first unit to perform a sensing task. The method of claim 20, wherein, In a downlink process of the sensing task, the sensing configuration information comprises at least one of: a fast Fourier transform parameter of a sensing reference signal; a subcarrier spacing of the sensing reference signal; resource information of the sensing reference signal; symbol indication information of the sensing reference signal; resource set information of the sensing reference signal; sequence information of the sensing reference signal; compression parameters of the sensing reference signal; a type of a cyclic prefix of the sensing reference signal; a transmission power range of the sensing reference signal; a transmission period of the sensing reference signal; indication information of whether to adopt a multi-station cooperative sensing mode. The method of claim 21, wherein, In the case of adopting the multi-station cooperative sensing mode, the sensing configuration information further comprises at least one of: identification information of the radio access network first unit participating in the multi-station cooperative sensing; identification information of a beam corresponding to the radio access network first unit; effective sensing area information of the radio access network first unit; a transmission power range of the radio access network first unit. The method of claim 20, wherein, In an uplink process of the sensing task, the sensing configuration information comprises a sensing mode; in the sensing mode of realizing a sensing function through the radio access network second unit, the sensing configuration information further comprises at least one of: indication information of whether a current symbol is a sensing symbol; a number of antennas adopted for performing the sensing task; identification information of a reference antenna or port; compression parameters and compression modes of in-phase and quadrature (IQ) sampling data corresponding to the reference antenna or port; compression parameters and compression modes of IQ sampling data corresponding to a non-reference antenna or port; in the sensing mode of realizing a sensing function through the radio access network first unit, the sensing configuration information further comprises at least one of: a transmission direction of sensing data generated by the radio access network first unit; a number of symbols required by the radio access network first unit to buffer for performing the sensing task; position information of a sensing symbol in a time domain; a fast Fourier transform parameter adopted for Doppler shift estimation; comb information of a sensing reference signal in a time-frequency domain; resource set information of the sensing reference signal. The method according to claim 20, further comprising: receiving sensing capability information from the radio access network first unit. The method according to claim 24, further comprising: sending sensing capability reporting request information to the radio access network first unit. The method according to claim 20, further comprising: receiving sensing data from the radio access network first unit. The method of claim 20, wherein, In the case of adopting the multi-station cooperative sensing mode, the method further comprises: receiving, by a radio access network fourth unit, identity identification and sensing mode identification of each radio access network first unit. The method of claim 20, wherein, In the case of adopting the multi-station cooperative sensing mode and the radio access network first unit and at least one other radio access network first unit forming a cascaded link, the method further comprises: receive at least one of the following from each radio access network first unit on the cascade link: location information of each radio access network first unit on the cascade link, remaining space information in the stack, and indication information of the adjusted sensing mode. The method of claim 20, wherein, In the case of employing the multi-station cooperative sensing mode and realizing the sensing result processing function through the radio access network third unit, the method further comprises: receiving sensing data from the radio access network first unit; sending the sensing data to the radio access network third unit. A communication device comprising: a memory and a processor; the memory and the processor are coupled; the memory is configured to store instructions executable by the processor; the processor executes the instructions to perform the method according to any one of claims 1-29. A computer-readable storage medium, wherein, The computer readable storage medium stores computer instructions, and when the computer instructions run on the processor, the processor executes the method according to any one of claims 1-29. A computer program product, wherein, The computer program product contains a computer program, and when the computer program runs on the computer, the computer executes the method according to any one of claims 1-29.

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