Positioning method and apparatus, and computer-readable storage medium

Abstract

Provided in the present application are a positioning method and apparatus, and a computer-readable storage medium. The method comprises: acquiring first positioning information of a terminal device; sending a first request to a sensing function network element, wherein the first request is used for requesting sensing information corresponding to a first sensing area, and the first sensing area is associated with the terminal device; receiving the sensing information which corresponds to the first sensing area and is from the sensing function network element; and determining second positioning information of the terminal device on the basis of the sensing information corresponding to the first sensing area and the first positioning information. In the embodiments of the present application, during positioning, interaction between a positioning function network element and a sensing function network element is added, such that relevant sensing information can be used for determining the position of a terminal device, thereby improving the positioning accuracy of the terminal device.

Description

Positioning method, apparatus and computer readable storage medium

[0001] The present application claims priority from the Chinese patent application No. 202411132498.7 filed on August 16, 2024, and entitled "Positioning method, apparatus and computer readable storage medium", the content of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The present application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a positioning method, apparatus and computer readable storage medium. BACKGROUND

[0003] With the continuous development of communication technology, the demand for positioning of terminal devices is also increasing, and higher requirements are put forward for the positioning accuracy of terminal devices. For example, unmanned aerial vehicles, intelligent driving, industrial automated guided vehicles (AGV), intelligent manufacturing and other fields all require high-precision positioning.

[0004] At the same time, how to improve the positioning accuracy of terminal devices by communication network is a problem concerned by the industry. SUMMARY

[0005] Embodiments of the present application disclose a positioning method, apparatus and computer readable storage medium, which can improve the positioning accuracy of terminal devices.

[0006] The first aspect discloses a positioning method, which can be applied to a positioning function network element, a module (for example, a processor) in the positioning function network element, or a logical module or software capable of realizing all or part of the functions of the positioning function network element. The following describes the positioning method applied to the positioning function network element, which can include: obtaining first positioning information of a terminal device; sending a first request to a perception function network element, the first request being used to request perception information corresponding to a first perception area, the first perception area being associated with the terminal device; receiving the perception information corresponding to the first perception area from the perception function network element; and determining second positioning information of the terminal device based on the perception information corresponding to the first perception area and the first positioning information.

[0007] In the embodiments of the present application, in the positioning process, the positioning function network element can interact with the perception function network element, obtain the perception information corresponding to the first perception area associated with the terminal device, and then determine the position (second positioning information) of the terminal device based on the perception information corresponding to the first perception area and the first positioning information of the terminal device. Since the perception information corresponding to the first perception area includes electromagnetic information related to the propagation environment, such as non-line-of-sight (NLoS) path and line-of-sight (LoS) path information, the deviation of the position of the terminal device determined based on the perception information corresponding to the first perception area and the first positioning information from the real position of the terminal device can be smaller, and the positioning accuracy of the terminal device can be improved.

[0008] For example, the first perception area associated with the terminal device can be a perception area in a certain range near the terminal device (such as a perception area determined based on the first positioning information of the terminal device), or a serving cell of the terminal device, and the like.

[0009] In combination with the first aspect, in a possible implementation, the first request includes the first positioning information or the first perception area.

[0010] In the embodiments of the present application, the positioning function network element can directly indicate the first perception area to the perception function network element, or can indicate the first positioning information to the perception function network element, so that the perception function network element itself determines the first perception area based on the first positioning information, and the flexibility is higher.

[0011] In combination with the first aspect, in a possible implementation, the method further includes: determining the first perception area based on the first positioning information.

[0012] In the embodiments of the present application, determining the perception area based on the first positioning information can make the determined perception area more accurate, so as to ensure that the perception information corresponding to the first perception area obtained from the perception function network element is more accurate, such as ensuring that the perception information corresponding to the first perception area includes electromagnetic information of the propagation environment of the positioning signal used for positioning the terminal device, and then the terminal device can be positioned with higher accuracy.

[0013] In combination with the first aspect, in a possible implementation, in the case where the first request includes the first perception area, the first request further includes first indication information, and the first indication information is used to indicate that the perception function network element returns the perception information corresponding to the first perception area.

[0014] In the embodiments of the present application, the positioning function network element can trigger the perception function network element to obtain the perception information corresponding to the first perception area and return the perception information corresponding to the first perception area to the positioning function network element by carrying the first indication information and the first perception area in the first request, so as to improve the positioning accuracy of the terminal device based on the perception information corresponding to the first perception area.

[0015] In combination with the first aspect, in a possible implementation, when the first request includes the first positioning information, the first request further includes second indication information, the second indication information being used to instruct the perception function network element to return the perception information corresponding to the first perception area based on the first positioning information.

[0016] In the embodiments of the present application, the positioning function network element can trigger the SF to determine the first perception area based on the first positioning information carried in the first request, then obtain the perception information corresponding to the first perception area based on the first perception area, and return the perception information corresponding to the first perception area to the positioning function network element by carrying the second indication information in the first request, so as to improve the positioning accuracy of the terminal device based on the perception information corresponding to the first perception area.

[0017] In combination with the first aspect, in a possible implementation, the method further includes: receiving a positioning service request from an access and mobility management network element, the positioning service request being used to request the positioning information of the terminal device; the positioning service request including third indication information, the third indication information being used to instruct to assist positioning by using perception information; and the sending of the first request to the perception function network element includes: sending the first request to the perception function network element based on the third indication information.

[0018] In the embodiments of the present application, the positioning function network element can send the first request to the perception function network element again to obtain the related perception information when the received positioning service request from the access and mobility management network element includes the third indication information, and the positioning function network element can not send the first request to the perception function network element when the received positioning service request from the access and mobility management network element does not include the third indication information, so as to save perception resources, transmission resources, processing resources, etc.

[0019] In combination with the first aspect, in a possible implementation, the positioning service request further includes quality of service information, and the first request further includes the quality of service information.

[0020] In the embodiments of the present application, the positioning service request received by the positioning function network element can include service quality information, and the first request can also include the service quality information, so that the perception function network element determines the first perception area and / or the perception requirement (such as perception accuracy and perception resolution) based on the service quality information. The first perception area and the perception requirement determined based on the service quality information are more accurate / suitable, which can save perception resources, transmission resources, processing resources, and the like while ensuring positioning accuracy.

[0021] In combination with the first aspect, in a possible implementation, the positioning service request further includes service quality information, and the method further includes: determining a perception requirement based on the service quality information, and the first request further includes the perception requirement, and the perception requirement is used to acquire the perception information corresponding to the first perception area.

[0022] In the embodiments of the present application, the positioning service request received by the positioning function network element can include service quality information, and the positioning function network element can determine the perception requirement based on the service quality information. Moreover, determining the perception requirement based on the service quality information can make the perception requirement more accurate / suitable, which can save perception resources, transmission resources, processing resources, and the like while ensuring positioning accuracy.

[0023] In combination with the first aspect, in a possible implementation, the determining the first perception area based on the first positioning information includes: determining the first perception area based on the first positioning information and the service quality information.

[0024] In the embodiments of the present application, different service quality requirements can correspond to different perception area sizes. For example, the higher the service quality requirement is, the larger the corresponding perception area can be. Therefore, determining the perception area based on the first positioning information and the service quality information can make the determined perception area more accurate / suitable, which can save perception resources, transmission resources, processing resources, and the like while ensuring positioning accuracy.

[0025] In combination with the first aspect, in a possible implementation, the first request further includes first identification information, the first identification information is used to identify the first perception area or the terminal device; and the receiving the perception information corresponding to the first perception area from the perception function network element includes: receiving a response of the first request from the perception function network element, and the response of the first request includes the perception information corresponding to the first perception area and the first identification information.

[0026] In the embodiments of the present application, the first request can also include first identification information. In this way, after the positioning function network element receives the first identification information and the perception information from the perception function network element, it can determine that the perception information is the perception information corresponding to the first perception area, the first request, or the terminal device.

[0027] The second aspect discloses a positioning method, which can be applied to a perception function network element, can be applied to a module (for example, a processor) in the perception function network element, and can be applied to a logic module or software capable of realizing all or part of the function of the perception function network element. The positioning method is described below by taking application to the perception function network element as an example. The positioning method can include: receiving a first request from a positioning function network element, the first request being used to request perception information corresponding to a first perception area, the first perception area being associated with a terminal device; and sending the perception information corresponding to the first perception area to the positioning function network element, the perception information corresponding to the first perception area being used to determine second positioning information of the terminal device in combination with first positioning information of the terminal device.

[0028] With reference to the second aspect, in a possible implementation, the first request includes the first positioning information or the first perception area; and in a case where the first request includes the first positioning information, the method further includes: determining the first perception area based on the first positioning information.

[0029] With reference to the second aspect, in a possible implementation, in a case where the first request includes the first perception area, the first request further includes first indication information, the first indication information being used to indicate that the perception function network element returns the perception information corresponding to the first perception area; and the sending of the perception information corresponding to the first perception area to the positioning function network element includes: sending the perception information corresponding to the first perception area to the positioning function network element based on the first indication information.

[0030] With reference to the second aspect, in a possible implementation, in a case where the first request includes the first positioning information, the first request further includes second indication information, the second indication information being used to indicate that the perception function network element returns the perception information corresponding to the first perception area based on the first positioning information; the determining of the first perception area based on the first positioning information includes: determining the first perception area based on the second indication information and the first positioning information; and the sending of the perception information corresponding to the first perception area to the positioning function network element includes: sending the perception information corresponding to the first perception area to the positioning function network element based on the second indication information.

[0031] With reference to the second aspect, in a possible implementation, the first request further includes quality of service information; and the determining of the first perception area based on the first positioning information includes: determining the first perception area based on the first positioning information and the quality of service information.

[0032] With reference to the second aspect, in a possible implementation, the first request further includes quality of service information; and the method further includes: determining a perception requirement based on the quality of service information; and obtaining the perception information corresponding to the first perception area based on the perception requirement. With reference to the second aspect, in a possible implementation, the first request further includes quality of service information; and the determining of the first perception area based on the first positioning information includes: determining the first perception area based on the first positioning information and the quality of service information.

[0032] With reference to the second aspect, in a possible implementation, the first request further includes quality of service information; and the method further includes: determining a perception requirement based on the quality of service information; and obtaining the perception information corresponding to the first perception area based on the perception requirement. With reference to the second aspect, in a possible implementation, the first request further includes quality of service information; and the determining of the first perception area based on the first positioning information includes: determining the first perception area based on the first positioning information and the quality of service information.

[0033] With reference to the second aspect, in a possible implementation, the first request further comprises a perception requirement, and the method further comprises: obtaining the perception information corresponding to the first perception area based on the perception requirement.

[0034] With reference to the second aspect, in a possible implementation, the first request further comprises first identification information, the first identification information being used to identify the first request or the terminal device; and the sending of the perception information corresponding to the first perception area to the positioning function network element comprises: sending a response to the first request to the positioning function network element, the response to the first request comprising the perception information corresponding to the first perception area and the first identification information.

[0035] It should be noted that the technical solutions of the second aspect of the present application can correspond to the solutions of the first aspect, and the related beneficial effects can be referred to the beneficial effects of the first aspect.

[0036] The third aspect discloses a positioning method, which can be applied to a positioning function network element, a module (for example, a processor) in the positioning function network element, or a logic module or software capable of realizing all or part of the functions of the positioning function network element. The positioning method can comprise: obtaining first positioning information of a terminal device; sending a positioning information request to a perception function network element, the positioning information request being used to request second positioning information of the terminal device, the positioning information request comprising the first positioning information of the terminal device; the second positioning information of the terminal device being determined based on perception information corresponding to a first perception area and the first positioning information, the first perception area being associated with the terminal device; and receiving the second positioning information of the terminal device from the perception function network element.

[0037] In the embodiments of the present application, in a positioning process, the positioning function network element can interact with the perception function network element, request the perception function network element to obtain perception information corresponding to a first perception area associated with a terminal device, and then determine the position (second positioning information) of the terminal device based on the perception information corresponding to the first perception area and the first positioning information of the terminal device, and return the determined position of the terminal device. Since the perception information corresponding to the first perception area comprises electromagnetic information related to a propagation environment, such as non-line-of-sight (NLoS) path information and line-of-sight (LoS) path information, the deviation between the position of the terminal device determined based on the perception information corresponding to the first perception area and the real position of the terminal device can be smaller, and the positioning accuracy of the terminal device can be improved.

[0038] With reference to the third aspect, in a possible implementation, the positioning information request further comprises the first perception area.

[0039] With reference to the third aspect, in a possible implementation, the method further includes: determining the first awareness area based on the first positioning information.

[0040] With reference to the third aspect, in a possible implementation, the positioning information request further includes fourth indication information, the fourth indication information being used to instruct the awareness function network element to return second positioning information of the terminal device based on the first positioning information.

[0041] In the embodiments of the present application, the positioning function network element can trigger the SF to determine the first awareness area based on the first positioning information carried in the first request, to obtain the awareness information corresponding to the first awareness area based on the first awareness area, to determine the second positioning information of the terminal device based on the awareness information corresponding to the first awareness area and the first positioning information, and to return the second positioning information to the positioning function network element, by carrying the fourth indication information in the first request.

[0042] With reference to the third aspect, in a possible implementation, the positioning information request further includes fifth indication information, the fifth indication information being used to instruct the awareness function network element to return second positioning information of the terminal device based on the first awareness area.

[0043] In the embodiments of the present application, the positioning function network element can trigger the SF to obtain the awareness information corresponding to the first awareness area based on the first awareness area carried in the first request, to determine the second positioning information of the terminal device based on the awareness information corresponding to the first awareness area and the first positioning information, and to return the second positioning information to the positioning function network element, by carrying the fifth indication information in the first request.

[0044] With reference to the third aspect, in a possible implementation, the method further includes: receiving a positioning service request from an access and mobility management network element, the positioning service request being used to request positioning information of the terminal device; the positioning service request including third indication information, the third indication information being used to instruct to use awareness information to assist positioning; and the sending of the positioning information request to the awareness function network element includes: sending the positioning information request to the awareness function network element based on the third indication information.

[0045] With reference to the third aspect, in a possible implementation, the positioning service request further includes quality of service information, and the positioning information request further includes the quality of service information.

[0046] With reference to the third aspect, in a possible implementation, the positioning service request further includes quality of service information, and the method further includes: determining awareness requirements based on the quality of service information, the positioning information request further including the awareness requirements, the awareness requirements being used to obtain the awareness information corresponding to the first awareness area.

[0047] With reference to the third aspect, in a possible implementation, the determining the first awareness area based on the first positioning information comprises: determining the first awareness area based on the first positioning information and the quality of service information.

[0048] With reference to the third aspect, in a possible implementation, the positioning information request further comprises second identification information, the second identification information being used for identifying the first positioning information request or the terminal device; and the receiving the second positioning information of the terminal device from the awareness function network element comprises: receiving a response to the positioning information request from the awareness function network element, the response to the positioning information request comprising the second positioning information of the terminal device and the second identification information.

[0049] It should be noted that the beneficial effects related to the third aspect are similar to those of the first aspect, and the beneficial effects of the first aspect can be referred to.

[0050] The fourth aspect discloses a positioning method, which can be applied to an awareness function network element, a module (for example, a processor) in the awareness function network element, or a logic module or software capable of realizing all or part of the functions of the awareness function network element. The following takes the awareness function network element as an example for description. The positioning method can comprise: receiving a positioning information request from a positioning function network element, the positioning information request being used for requesting second positioning information of a terminal device, the positioning information request comprising first positioning information of the terminal device; determining the second positioning information of the terminal device based on awareness information corresponding to a first awareness area and the first positioning information, the first awareness area being associated with the terminal device; and sending the second positioning information of the terminal device to the positioning function network element.

[0051] With reference to the fourth aspect, in a possible implementation, the method further comprises: determining the first awareness area based on the first positioning information.

[0052] With reference to the fourth aspect, in a possible implementation, the positioning information request further comprises fourth indication information, the fourth indication information being used for instructing the awareness function network element to return the second positioning information of the terminal device based on the first positioning information; the determining the first awareness area based on the first positioning information comprises: determining the first awareness area based on the fourth indication information and the first positioning information; and the sending the second positioning information of the terminal device to the positioning function network element comprises: sending the second positioning information of the terminal device to the positioning function network element based on the fourth indication information.

[0053] With reference to the fourth aspect, in a possible implementation, the positioning information request further comprises the first awareness area.

[0054] In a possible implementation of the fourth aspect, the positioning information request further comprises fifth indication information, the fifth indication information being used to instruct the perception function network element to return second positioning information of the terminal device based on the first perception area; and the sending of the second positioning information of the terminal device to the positioning function network element comprises sending the second positioning information of the terminal device to the positioning function network element based on the fifth indication information.

[0055] In a possible implementation of the fourth aspect, the positioning information request further comprises quality of service information, and the determining of the first perception area based on the first positioning information comprises determining the first perception area based on the first positioning information and the quality of service information.

[0056] In a possible implementation of the fourth aspect, the positioning information request further comprises quality of service information, and the method further comprises: determining a perception requirement based on the quality of service information; and obtaining perception information corresponding to the first perception area based on the perception requirement.

[0057] In a possible implementation of the fourth aspect, the positioning information request further comprises a perception requirement, and the method further comprises: obtaining perception information corresponding to the first perception area based on the perception requirement.

[0058] In a possible implementation of the fourth aspect, the positioning information request further comprises second identification information, the second identification information being used to identify the first positioning information or the terminal device; and the sending of the second positioning information of the terminal device to the positioning function network element comprises sending a response of the positioning information request to the positioning function network element, the response of the positioning information request comprising the second positioning information of the terminal device and the second identification information.

[0059] It should be noted that the beneficial effects of the fourth aspect are similar to those of the first aspect, and the beneficial effects of the first aspect can be referred to.

[0060] The fifth aspect discloses a communication device / positioning device, which has the functions of the first aspect, for example, the communication device / positioning device comprises a module or unit for executing the method of the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect, which can be implemented by software, or by hardware, or by a combination of software and hardware.

[0061] For example, the communication device / positioning device can be a positioning function network element, or a component (for example, a processor, a chip, a chip system, a circuit or a functional module) in the positioning function network element.

[0062] The sixth aspect discloses a communication device / positioning device, which has the function of implementing the second aspect, for example, the communication device / positioning device includes a module or unit for executing the method in the second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect, which can be implemented by software, or by hardware, or by software and hardware.

[0063] For example, the communication device / positioning device can be a sensing function network element, or a component (for example, a processor, a chip, a chip system, a circuit, or a functional module) in the sensing function network element.

[0064] The seventh aspect discloses a communication device / positioning device, which has the function of implementing the third aspect, for example, the communication device / positioning device includes a module or unit for executing the method in the third aspect or any possible implementation of the third aspect, which can be implemented by software, or by hardware, or by software and hardware.

[0065] For example, the communication device / positioning device can be a positioning function network element, or a component (for example, a processor, a chip, a chip system, a circuit, or a functional module) in the positioning function network element.

[0066] The eighth aspect discloses a communication device / positioning device, which has the function of implementing the fourth aspect, for example, the communication device / positioning device includes a module or unit for executing the method in the fourth aspect or any possible implementation of the fourth aspect, which can be implemented by software, or by hardware, or by software and hardware.

[0067] For example, the communication device / positioning device can be a sensing function network element, or a component (for example, a processor, a chip, a chip system, a circuit, or a functional module) in the sensing function network element.

[0068] The ninth aspect discloses a communication system, which includes a positioning function network element and a sensing function network element, the positioning function network element is used to implement the method provided in the first aspect and any possible implementation of the first aspect; the sensing function network element is used to implement the method provided in the second aspect and any possible implementation of the second aspect.

[0069] The tenth aspect discloses a communication system, comprising a positioning function network element and a perception function network element, the positioning function network element is used to implement the method provided in the third aspect and any possible implementation manner of the third aspect; the perception function network element is used to implement the method provided in the fourth aspect and any possible implementation manner of the fourth aspect.

[0070] The eleventh aspect discloses a communication apparatus, comprising a processor and a communication interface; the communication interface is used to receive and / or send data; the processor invokes the computer program or computer instruction stored in the memory to implement the method provided in the first aspect and any possible implementation manner of the first aspect, or implement the method provided in the second aspect and any possible implementation manner of the second aspect, or implement the method provided in the third aspect and any possible implementation manner of the third aspect, or implement the method provided in the fourth aspect and any possible implementation manner of the fourth aspect.

[0071] As a possible implementation manner, the processor comprised in the communication apparatus disclosed in the eleventh aspect can be one or more.

[0072] Optionally, the communication apparatus disclosed in the eleventh aspect further comprises one or more memories.

[0073] The twelfth aspect discloses a computer readable storage medium, the computer readable storage medium stores computer program or computer instruction, when the computer program or computer instruction is run, the method provided in the first aspect and any possible implementation manner of the first aspect is implemented, or the method provided in the second aspect and any possible implementation manner of the second aspect is implemented, or the method provided in the third aspect and any possible implementation manner of the third aspect is implemented, or the method provided in the fourth aspect and any possible implementation manner of the fourth aspect is implemented.

[0074] The thirteenth aspect discloses a chip, comprising a processor, used to execute the program stored in the memory, when the program is executed, the chip executes the method provided in the first aspect and any possible implementation manner of the first aspect, or executes the method provided in the second aspect and any possible implementation manner of the second aspect, or executes the method provided in the third aspect and any possible implementation manner of the third aspect, or executes the method provided in the fourth aspect and any possible implementation manner of the fourth aspect.

[0075] As a possible implementation manner, the memory is located outside the chip.

[0076] A fourteenth aspect discloses a computer program product comprising computer program code which, when the computer program code is run, causes the method provided by the first aspect and any possible implementation of the first aspect to be performed, or causes the method provided by the second aspect and any possible implementation of the second aspect to be performed, or causes the method provided by the third aspect and any possible implementation of the third aspect to be performed, or causes the method provided by the fourth aspect and any possible implementation of the fourth aspect to be performed.

[0077] It should be understood that the implementation and beneficial effects of the above aspects or any possible implementation of the present application can be mutually referred to. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0078] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, the drawings needed in the embodiment description will be briefly introduced. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present application, and other drawings can be obtained by those skilled in the art without creative labor.

[0079] Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a service-oriented architecture of a network disclosed by an embodiment of the present application;

[0080] Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of a reference point architecture of a network disclosed by an embodiment of the present application;

[0081] Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of a positioning method disclosed by an embodiment of the present application;

[0082] Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of another positioning method disclosed by an embodiment of the present application;

[0083] Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device disclosed by an embodiment of the present application;

[0084] Fig. 6 is a schematic diagram of the hardware structure of a communication device disclosed by an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0085] The embodiments of the present application disclose a positioning method, device and computer readable storage medium, which can improve the positioning accuracy of a terminal device. The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described clearly and completely in combination with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application.

[0086] In order to better understand the embodiments of the present application, the related content, terms or names related to the present application will be briefly introduced.

[0087] I. Perception

[0088] The perception is mainly achieved by utilizing the transmission of electromagnetic waves, and can achieve the perception of the electromagnetic wave propagation environment, such as detecting, positioning, identifying, imaging, and the like of a target object in the electromagnetic wave propagation environment. For example, the perception signal transmitter can send electromagnetic waves, the reflection signals of the electromagnetic waves reflected by the target object can be received by the perception signal receiver, and then the reflection signals and related data (such as the reception time of the reflection signals) of the reflection signals can be extracted by the processing device, and data analysis and the like are performed to obtain the perception result, which can reflect the size profile and the like of the target object. The reflection signal can also be referred to as a return signal.

[0089] With the development of communication technology, the frequency band used by the base station is also higher and higher, such as the millimeter wave frequency band. The higher the frequency band, the higher the perception resolution (such as spatial resolution) and the stronger the anti-interference ability. Therefore, when the base station has the perception ability brought by the millimeter wave frequency band, the wireless communication system / network can distinguish the perception of a specific area, object or event, and solve the perception demand in many scenarios (such as automatic driving, unmanned aerial vehicle monitoring). Based on this, the perception ability will become an important ability and characteristic of the future communication network, and the integration or fusion of communication and perception (referred to as the integration of communication and perception) is also the development direction of the future communication network.

[0090] For example, the perception ability of the wireless communication network can be applied in automatic / assisted driving, vehicle networking, intelligent transportation, 3D map reconstruction, intelligent industry, unmanned aerial vehicle monitoring and management, intelligent interaction, environment monitoring, posture detection and identification, and the like. For example, a high-precision dynamic map can be generated based on the perception to assist the unmanned aerial vehicle / intelligent vehicle to automatically drive. For another example, during the driving of the intelligent vehicle / unmanned aerial vehicle, a dangerous event (such as a dangerous event of a person or object suddenly appearing) can be distinguished based on the perception, and the intelligent vehicle / unmanned aerial vehicle is notified to perform an emergency operation. For another example, a rule violation can be distinguished based on the perception, such as a vehicle occupying an emergency lane, an unmanned aerial vehicle driving off the air route, an unmanned aerial vehicle entering a no-fly zone (for example, an airport), and the like. For another example, an abnormal posture can be distinguished based on the perception and an alarm is given, such as a person falling down. For another example, weather monitoring, pollution monitoring, pest and disease monitoring, and the like can be performed based on the perception. For another example, an electromagnetic map can be generated based on the perception to assist the communication between the terminal device and the access network device.

[0091] II. Perception performance indicators and perception modes

[0092] Common performance indicators of perception include perception accuracy, perception resolution, coverage, false alarm probability, etc. Perception accuracy generally represents the deviation between the perception result and the actual result, which can include distance accuracy, speed accuracy, angle accuracy, etc. Perception resolution can be the ability to distinguish different perception targets, which can include distance resolution, speed resolution, angle resolution, etc. Among them, distance resolution is the ability to distinguish adjacent targets in distance, which is usually measured by the minimum distinguishable distance interval. Speed resolution is the ability to distinguish targets in radial speed, which is usually measured by the minimum distinguishable speed. Angle resolution / angle measurement accuracy is the ability to distinguish adjacent targets in angle, which is usually measured by the minimum distinguishable angle. Coverage generally refers to the range of distance and field of view that can be detected, such as field of view (FOV), etc. Horizontal FOV refers to the range that can be covered by the perception device, which can also be understood as the perception angle in the horizontal direction (such as 120°). False alarm probability generally refers to the probability of being detected when the target does not exist.

[0093] It should be understood that for an access network device or a terminal device, it can act as a perception signal transmitter or a perception signal receiver. Therefore, there are various combinations of the transmitter and the receiver of the perception signal, and according to the combination of the transmitter and the receiver of the perception signal, the perception mode (perception mode) can be divided into the following six types: access network device self-transmission and self-reception (access network device self-transmission of perception signal and self-reception of reflection signal), terminal device self-transmission and self-reception (terminal device self-transmission of perception signal and self-reception of reflection signal), inter-access network device cooperation (one access network device transmits a perception signal and another access network device receives a reflection signal), access network device transmission and terminal device reception (access network device transmits a perception signal and a terminal device receives a reflection signal), terminal device transmission and access network device reception (terminal device transmits a perception signal and an access network device receives a reflection signal), and inter-terminal device cooperation (one terminal device transmits a perception signal and another terminal device receives a reflection signal).

[0094] In order to better understand the embodiments of the present application, the system architecture of the embodiments of the present application will be described first.

[0095] Part of the scenarios in the embodiments of the present application are described by taking the scenario of the fifth generation (5th generation, 5G) communication network as an example, but it should be understood that the schemes in the embodiments of the present application can also be applied to other communication networks, such as future communication networks, and the corresponding device / network element names can also be replaced by the names of the corresponding functions / devices in other communication networks.

[0096] Please refer to FIG. 1, which is a schematic diagram of a service-based architecture of a network disclosed by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 1, the service-based architecture can include a user equipment and various network entities, and can further include Nnssf, Nausf, Nnef, Namf, Npcf, Nsmf, Nudm, Naf, and the like service-based architecture (SBA) interfaces.

[0097] For example, Namf can be a service-based interface provided by an access and mobility management function (AMF), and Nsmf can be a service-based interface provided by a session management function (SMF).

[0098] It should be understood that various functional entities in the core network can interact with each other through SBA interfaces. For example, an application function (AF) can interact with a network exposure function (NEF) through an Nnef interface to use services provided by the NEF. For another example, the NEF can interact with a unified data management (UDM) through an Nudm interface to use services provided by the UDM.

[0099] The user equipment and various network entities are described below.

[0100] A user equipment (UE), which can also be referred to as a terminal device, a terminal, a mobile station (MS), a mobile terminal (MT), a customer premise equipment (CPE), etc., is a device with wireless communication function, which can provide voice and / or data connectivity for a user. A terminal device can be a handheld device having wireless communication function, a notebook computer with wireless communication function, an RSU (road side unit), a subscriber unit, a cellular phone, a smart phone, a wireless data card, a personal digital assistant (PDA) computer, a tablet computer, a tag, a wireless modem, another processing device connected to a wireless modem, a handheld device, a laptop computer, a cordless phone, or a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a machine type communication (MTC) terminal, a wearable device (such as a smart watch, a smart bracelet, a pedometer, etc.), a vehicle-mounted device (such as a car, a bicycle, an electric vehicle, an airplane, a ship, a train, a high-speed rail, etc.), a virtual reality (VR) device, an augmented reality (AR) device, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a smart home device (such as a refrigerator, a television, an air conditioner, an electricity meter, etc.), a smart robot, a plant device, a wireless terminal in self driving, a wireless terminal in remote medical surgery, a wireless terminal in smart grid, a wireless terminal in transportation safety, a wireless terminal in smart city, or a wireless terminal in smart home, a flight device (such as a smart robot, a hot air balloon, a drone, an airplane, etc.) or other devices that can access a network. A terminal device can be fixed or mobile, and can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld, wearable or vehicle-mounted; can also be deployed on water (such as a ship, etc.); and can also be deployed in the air (such as an airplane, a balloon and a satellite, etc.). In the embodiments of the present application, a UE can send a sensing signal, and can also receive a sensing signal.For example, the UE can receive a sensing request from a sensing function network element, and then send and / or receive sensing signals based on the sensing request to obtain relevant sensing data.

[0101] The (wireless) access network (R)AN can be a network composed of multiple RAN nodes for implementing radio physical layer functions, resource scheduling and radio resource management, radio access control, and mobility management functions, etc. The (R)AN can be connected to a user plane function (UPF) through a user plane interface N3 for transmitting data of a terminal device. The (R)AN can also establish a control plane signaling connection with an access and AMF through a control plane interface N2 for implementing radio access bearer control, etc. It should be understood that the RAN node is also an access network device, which mainly provides access for the terminal device. The access network device can include a radio access network (RAN) device and an access node (AN) device. The RAN device is mainly a radio network device in the 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) network, and the AN device can be an access network device not defined by 3GPP. The RAN device can include various forms of base stations, such as macro base stations, micro base stations (also referred to as small stations), relay stations, access points, balloon stations, etc. For example, the RAN device can be a next generation NodeB (gNB) in a 5th generation (5G) mobile communication system, an ng-eNB (a 4G base station accessing a 5G core network). The radio access network device can also be a radio controller in a cloud radio access network (CRAN) scenario, a base station device in a future network (such as 6G, 7G, etc.), a radio access network device in a future evolved public land mobile network (PLMN) network, a wearable device, a vehicle-mounted device, a transmission and reception point (TRP), a radio network controller (RNC), a home base station (for example, a home evolved NodeB, or a home NodeB, HNB), a baseband unit (BBU), an access node (AP) in a wireless fidelity (WiFi) system, etc. In the embodiments of the present application, the access network device can transmit a sensing signal and can also receive a sensing signal. For example, the access network device can receive a sensing request from a sensing function network element, and then transmit a sensing signal and / or receive a sensing signal based on the sensing request to obtain relevant sensing data.

[0102] The AMF is mainly responsible for access and mobility management of the UE, for example, authentication and authorization of the UE, management of the UE mobility state, allocation of a user temporary identity, and the like.

[0103] The SMF is mainly responsible for session management of the UE, including selection of a user plane function (UPF), allocation of an internet protocol (IP) address, quality of service (QoS) management of a session, obtaining of a policy and charging control (PCC) policy, establishment, modification, and release of a bearer, and the like.

[0104] The UPF is mainly responsible for transmission of data of the user equipment, and supports all or part of the following functions: interconnection of a PDU session and a data network, packet routing and forwarding (for example, supporting uplink classification and forwarding of traffic to a data network), packet detection, packet filtering, rate control, and generation of charging information.

[0105] The unified data management (UDM) network element is mainly used for management and control of user data, for example, management of subscription information, including obtaining of subscription information from a unified data repository (UDR) and providing the subscription information to other network elements (such as an AMF); generation of 3GPP authentication credentials for the UE; and registration and maintenance of network elements currently serving the UE, for example, an AMF currently serving the UE, that is, a serving AMF. The UDR is also one of the network elements in the core network, and is mainly used for storage of user data, including subscription data called by the UDM, policy information called by a policy control function (PCF), structured data used for capability exposure, application data called by a NEF, and the like.

[0106] The AF is mainly used to provide various service services, such as a positioning service. The AF can interact with core network elements, for example, can interact with core network elements through a NEF. The AF can also interact with a policy management framework for policy management. For example, the AF can interact with a policy and control function (PCF) to perform service policy control, interact with a NEF to obtain some network capability information or provide some application information to the network, and provide some data network access point information to the PCF to generate corresponding routing information of a data service.

[0107] An authentication server function (AUSF) is configured to perform security authentication or authentication for a UE when the UE accesses a network.

[0108] A network slice selection function (NSSF) is configured to select a set of slice instances for a UE, determine a set of AMFs, allowed NSSAI, and the like for the UE.

[0109] A PCF is mainly responsible for performing policy control. For example, the PCF provides configuration policy information for a UE, and provides policy information for controlling the UE for a control plane network element (e.g., an AMF, an SMF) of a network.

[0110] A data network (DN) network element is configured to provide a network for transmitting data.

[0111] A network exposure function (NEF) network element is mainly configured to provide a framework, authentication, and interface related to network capability exposure. The NEF can be used for interaction between other internal network elements of a core network and an application server (e.g., an AF) outside the core network, to provide network capability information to the external application server, or to provide information of the external application server to the core network element.

[0112] A location management function (LMF) is mainly configured to provide a positioning service, including positioning of a UE and providing assistance data to the UE. The LMF can be used for overall coordination and resource scheduling of terminal positioning, and can be used for calculating the position of a terminal and estimating the positioning accuracy. For example, the LMF can receive a location request of a target UE from an AMF using an Nlmf interface, and can interact with a RAN, the AMF, or the UE to obtain location information of the target UE. In embodiments of the present application, a positioning function network element can be an LMF.

[0113] A gateway mobile location centre (GMLC) is a gateway node of an external location services (LCS) client, that is, a first node accessed by an external LCS client in a public land mobile network (PLMN). An AF and a network function (NF) can also directly or through an NEF access the GMLC.

[0114] In some possible implementation, the above-mentioned AMF, SMF, UPF, UDM, AF, AUSF, NSSF, PCF, NEF, LMF, GMLC, etc. can be collectively referred to as core network elements. The core network can include a user plane (UP) and a control plane (CP). The user plane can include a UPF, and the control plane can include an AMF, an SMF, a PCF, a UDM, a NEF, an AF, etc. The user plane is mainly responsible for forwarding of packet data, QoS control, charging information statistics, etc. The control plane is mainly responsible for service process interaction, issuing of packet forwarding policies and QoS control policies to the user plane, etc.

[0115] The above-mentioned FIG. 1 briefly introduces a network architecture based on a service interface. Please refer to FIG. 2 again, which is a reference point architecture diagram of a network disclosed in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 2, the reference point between a UE and an AMF is N1, the reference point between a (R)AN and an AMF is N2, the reference point between a (R)AN and a UPF is N3, the reference point between an SMF and a UPF is N4, the reference point between a UDM and an AUSF is N13, etc. The reference points between other network elements are not described here again, and can be referred to FIG. 2. For specific description of these reference points, please refer to the related definitions in the 5G standard.

[0116] In the network architecture shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, a sensing function (SF) network element can also be included in the embodiment of the present application. The SF network element is mainly responsible for related processing of sensing services, such as providing sensing services, performing calculation based on sensing data, and opening sensing results to third parties, etc. The SF network element can also be referred to as an SF function unit / SF function entity. For example, the SF network element can receive a sensing request / sensing information request from inside the network (such as a UE or an NF) or outside the network (such as an external server), perform sensing based on the RAN network element of the sensing request / sensing information request, obtain a sensing result, and then return the sensing result to the requester.

[0117] It should be noted that the SF network element can be one of the network elements in the core network, or a non-core network element, which is not particularly limited in the present application. When the SF network element is one of the network elements in the core network, the SF network element can be connected to other network elements in the core network through an SBA interface, that is, can communicate with other network elements in the core network through the SBA interface. When the SF network element is a non-core network element, the SF network element can need to interact with the core network elements through the NEF. Alternatively, the SF network element can be implemented by other network elements in the core network.

[0118] It should be understood that FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 are only schematic diagrams, other devices or other NFs can also be included in the architecture shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, such as a network storage function (NRF), a network data analytics function (NWDAF), etc., the NRF can be responsible for the registration and discovery functions of network elements, and maintain the information of network elements (such as network element type, IP address, network element capability, supported services, etc.), and the NWDAF can provide data analysis functions for other network elements in the core network, for specific details, please refer to the related content in the 5G standard.

[0119] It should also be understood that the above-mentioned network elements or functions can be realized in the form of hardware, computer software or a combination of hardware and computer software. For example, the above-mentioned network elements or functions can be realized by one device, or can be realized by multiple devices together, or can be realized by a functional module in one device, and the embodiments of the present application do not make specific limitations.

[0120] In addition, the above-mentioned "network element" can also be referred to as an entity, a device or a module, etc., and the present application does not make limitations. In addition, in order to facilitate the description, the description of "network element" is omitted in part of the following description, for example, the NEF network element is simply referred to as NEF, in this case, "NEF" should be understood as the NEF network element or the NEF entity, and similar understanding should be made for other network elements or functions. That is, the function, the functional network element and the functional entity can be equivalent, such as the UDM, the UDM network element and the UDM entity can be equivalent.

[0121] It should be understood that the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various radio access technology (RAT) communication systems, such as: a fifth generation (5th generation, 5G) communication system, a transition system between a 5G communication system and a 6G communication system (the transition system can also be referred to as a 5.5G communication system), a network of multiple system fusion, etc.; of course, it can also be a future communication system, such as a sixth generation (6th generation, 6G) or even a seventh generation (7th generation, 7G) communication system, etc.

[0122] It should be noted that the system architecture, network architecture and business scenario (or application scenario) described in the embodiments of the present application are used to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application. Those skilled in the art can know that with the evolution of the communication network architecture and the appearance of new business scenarios, the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0123] In order to better understand the embodiments of the present application, the overall concept of the embodiments of the present application is first described by way of example.

[0124] In the embodiments of the present application, in order to improve the positioning accuracy of the terminal device, the function of the SF network element is considered, that is, the endogenous sensing capability of the future network is considered. When the future network has endogenous sensing capability, the existing LMF positioning can be enhanced, and the interaction with the SF network element is increased, so that the network can combine the sensing information (such as the electromagnetic map) of the area where the terminal device to be positioned is located to determine the position of the terminal device to be positioned. Since the sensing information of the area where the terminal device to be positioned is located includes electromagnetic information related to the propagation environment, such as non-line-of-sight (NLoS) path and line-of-sight (LoS) path information, combining the sensing information of the area where the terminal device to be positioned is located can enable the network to position the terminal device with higher accuracy. In the embodiments of the present application, the above-mentioned positioning of the terminal device in combination with the sensing information can be referred to as sensing-assisted positioning.

[0125] In order to facilitate understanding of the embodiments of the present application, the related content of the embodiments of the present application is first introduced. In the embodiments of the present application, in order to realize sensing-assisted positioning, the sensing area associated with the terminal device can be determined first, then the sensing information corresponding to the sensing area associated with the terminal device can be obtained, and finally the positioning result of the terminal device can be obtained in combination with the sensing information corresponding to the sensing area associated with the terminal device and the positioning information of the terminal device. As for "determining the sensing area associated with the terminal device", it can be performed by the LMF or the SF. As for "obtaining the positioning result of the terminal device based on the sensing information corresponding to the sensing area associated with the terminal device and the positioning information of the terminal device", it can also be performed by the LMF or the SF.

[0126] Further, the execution condition of the perception-assisted positioning can also include various cases, some of which are exemplified as follows. Case 1: the indication of the perception-assisted positioning is carried in the positioning service request sent to the LMF, in which case, the LMF interacts with the SF to enable a more accurate positioning result in combination with the relevant perception information only when the indication of the perception-assisted positioning is carried in the positioning service request received by the LMF, and the LMF does not interact with the SF if the indication of the perception-assisted positioning is not carried in the positioning service request received by the LMF. Case 2: the perception-assisted positioning is performed by default for the positioning service request, in which case, the LMF interacts with the SF to enable a more accurate positioning result in combination with the relevant perception information for each positioning service request. Here, two cases are simply exemplified, but it should be understood that other possible cases also exist, for example, the perception-assisted positioning can also be subjected to authorization check (e.g., authorization check by the UDM and the LMF), in which case, the SF can be interacted with to enable a more accurate positioning result in combination with the relevant perception information if the perception-assisted positioning is authorized, and otherwise, the SF is not interacted with if the perception-assisted positioning is not authorized, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0127] It should be understood that the various cases (the case of determining the perception area + the case of determining the positioning result based on the perception information and the positioning information) exist in different combinations, and the overall flow of the perception-assisted positioning can be different under different combinations. Therefore, in order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions provided by the present application, the combinations of the various cases can be divided into two kinds, one of which is that the LMF requests the SF for the perception information associated with the terminal device, and then the LMF determines the positioning result based on the perception information associated with the terminal device and the positioning information of the terminal device, which is the technical solution corresponding to FIG. 3, and the other is that the LMF directly requests the SF to determine the positioning result based on the perception information associated with the terminal device and the positioning information of the terminal device, and returns the positioning result to the LMF, which is the technical solution corresponding to FIG. 4.

[0128] In FIG. 3, the LMF requests the SF for perception information corresponding to the first perception area associated with the terminal device, and then determines the positioning result based on the perception information corresponding to the first perception area associated with the terminal device and the positioning information of the terminal device. In FIG. 3, after receiving the positioning service request (such as the positioning service request from the AMF), if it is determined to use the perception-assisted positioning manner, the LMF can request the SF for the perception information corresponding to the first perception area associated with the terminal device, and then can determine the positioning result of the terminal device based on the perception information corresponding to the first perception area associated with the terminal device and the positioning information of the terminal device. In a specific implementation, it can be further divided into determining the first perception area associated with the terminal device by the LMF or determining the first perception area associated with the terminal device by the SF. Specifically, refer to FIG. 3, which is a flowchart of a positioning method disclosed in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 3, the method can include but is not limited to the following steps:

[0129] 301. The positioning request sends a positioning service request to the GMLC.

[0130] For example, when the positioning requester obtains the location information of the terminal device, it can send a positioning service request to the GMLC, and the positioning service request can be used to request the location information of a specific terminal device. Correspondingly, the GMLC can receive the positioning service request from the positioning requester. The target terminal device (target UE) identifier can be carried in the positioning service request, that is, the identifier of the terminal device whose location information is requested, such as the generic public subscription identifier (GPSI) and / or the subscription permanent identifier (SUPI) of the target terminal device. In the embodiment of the present application, the positioning service can also be referred to as the location service, and the positioning information can also be referred to as the location information.

[0131] Optionally, the positioning service request can also include quality of service information and / or perception-assisted positioning indication, etc. The quality of service information can include one or more of the location services QoS class (LCS QoS Class), positioning accuracy, response time, etc. The positioning accuracy can include horizontal accuracy and / or vertical accuracy. For more detailed description of the quality of service information, please refer to the content in the 3GPP related standard, which will not be described in detail here. It should be understood that the quality of service information in the embodiment of the present application can also be referred to as the positioning quality of service information.

[0132] The perception-assisted positioning indication is used to indicate that the positioning is assisted by perception information, or to indicate a positioning method of the perception-assisted positioning, or to indicate a method of obtaining the positioning information of the terminal device by using the perception-assisted positioning. That is, the positioning requester can trigger the method of obtaining the positioning information of the terminal device by using the perception-assisted positioning in the subsequent positioning process by carrying the perception-assisted positioning indication in the positioning service request.

[0133] In some possible implementation manners, the perception-assisted positioning indication can be quality of service information, in which case, the quality of service information can implicitly indicate that the positioning is assisted by perception information. For example, in one possible implementation manner, the positioning accuracy in the quality of service information can indicate whether the positioning is assisted by perception information. For example, the positioning accuracy can support 20 centimeters (cm), 30 cm, 50 cm, 1 meter (m), 2 m, 5 m, 10 m, and the like, in which case, the positioning is assisted by perception information for the three cases of 20 cm, 30 cm and 50 cm, and the positioning is not assisted by perception information for the cases of 1 m, 2 m, 5 m and 10 m. For another example, a threshold (such as threshold 1) for the positioning assisted by perception information can be configured, and in a case where the positioning accuracy required in the positioning service request is less than or equal to the threshold 1, the positioning is assisted by perception information, and in a case where the positioning accuracy required in the positioning service request is greater than the threshold 1, the positioning is not assisted by perception information. It should be understood that the positioning accuracy that can be achieved by the method of not being assisted by perception information can be greater than the threshold 1, that is, when the positioning accuracy is less than or equal to the threshold 1, the method of being assisted by perception information can meet the requirement of the positioning accuracy. For another example, in another possible implementation manner, the quality of service information can include a quality of service level or a quality of service class, and the quality of service level or the quality of service class can indicate whether the positioning is assisted by perception information. For example, the quality of service level can include five levels of level 1 to level 5, in which case, the levels of level 1 and level 2 have higher requirements for the positioning accuracy, and the positioning is assisted by perception information, and the levels of level 3, level 4 and level 5 have relatively lower requirements for the positioning accuracy, and the positioning is not assisted by perception information.

[0134] In the embodiments of the present application, the positioning requester can be an AF, a location service client (LCSClient), an NF (such as an NWDAF or an NEF), and the like. The LCSClient can be located in a terminal device. It should be understood that in a case where the positioning requester is an AF, in some possible implementation manners, the AF can send a positioning service request to a GMLC through an NEF.

[0135] It should be noted that the positioning service request sent by the positioning request direction GMLC can also include other contents, such as LCS Client identity or AF ID, etc., and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0136] 302. The GMLC obtains the address of the AMF.

[0137] After the GMLC receives the positioning service request from the positioning request party, the address of the serving AMF of the terminal device can be obtained based on the identity of the terminal device carried in the positioning service request. For example, the GMLC can interact with the UDM based on the identity of the terminal device (such as GPSI, SUPI, etc.) carried in the positioning service request, and obtain the address of the serving AMF of the terminal device from the UDM.

[0138] 303. The GMLC sends a positioning service request to the AMF.

[0139] After the GMLC obtains the address of the serving AMF of the terminal device, the GMLC can send a positioning service request to the serving AMF based on the address, and the positioning service request can be used to request the positioning information of the terminal device. Correspondingly, the AMF can receive the positioning service request from the GMLC.

[0140] In the positioning service request sent by the GMLC to the AMF, one or more of the relevant information in the positioning service request received by the GMLC from the positioning request party can be included, such as the identity of the terminal device (such as SUPI), quality of service information, and indication of perception assisted positioning. For example, the client type can also be included in the positioning service request sent by the GMLC to the AMF, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0141] 304. The AMF performs LMF selection.

[0142] After the AMF receives the positioning service request from the GMLC, the AMF can perform LMF selection. For example, when performing LMF selection, one or more of the following factors can be considered: LCS client type, requested quality of service information (such as positioning accuracy, response time, etc.), RAN configuration information, LMF capabilities, LMF load, LMF location, whether to use perception assisted positioning, etc.

[0143] For example, assuming that the LMF capability includes whether the LMF supports the manner of perception-assisted positioning, in this case, if the AMF receives a positioning service request from the GMLC carrying a perception-assisted positioning indication, the AMF can select an LMF supporting perception-assisted positioning when selecting the LMF. Further, in some possible implementation, in the LMF supporting perception-assisted positioning, the AMF can select an LMF with a lighter load to achieve load balancing.

[0144] 305. The AMF sends a positioning service request to the LMF.

[0145] After the AMF selects the LMF, the AMF can send a positioning service request to the selected LMF, and the positioning service request can be used to request the positioning information of the terminal device. Accordingly, the LMF can receive the positioning service request from the AMF.

[0146] The positioning service request sent by the AMF to the LMF can include a positioning service correlation identifier, and can also include relevant information in the positioning service request received by the AMF from the GMLC, such as quality of service information, a perception-assisted positioning indication, and the like. For example, the positioning service request sent by the AMF to the LMF can also include a client type, a UE positioning capability, and the like, which are not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0147] It can be understood that the positioning service correlation identifier can be used to identify the terminal device, or to identify the positioning service request sent by the AMF to the LMF.

[0148] In some possible implementation, when determining to use the manner of perception-assisted positioning, the AMF can include third indication information in the positioning service request sent to the LMF, and the third indication information can be used to indicate that the perception information is used to assist positioning. For example, the third indication information can be a perception-assisted positioning indication, or can be quality of service information or a certain item in the quality of service information (such as positioning accuracy or quality of service level).

[0149] It should be understood that steps 301-305 are optional, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit the process of triggering the LMF to use perception-assisted positioning.

[0150] 306. The LMF triggers positioning of the terminal device to obtain first positioning information of the terminal device.

[0151] After receiving the positioning service request from the AMF, the LMF can trigger positioning of the terminal device based on the positioning service request to obtain first positioning information of the terminal device. For example, the LMF can interact with one or more of the AMF, the RAN, and the terminal device to obtain the first positioning information of the terminal device. The specific interaction process is not limited in the embodiments of the present application, and can be referred to the description in the 3GPP standards.

[0152] The first positioning information can be a first position of the terminal device. The first position of the terminal device can be an absolute position (such as latitude and longitude information) or a relative position (such as a position relative to a base station). In some possible implementation, the first positioning information can also be information used to determine the first position of the terminal device, such as a terminal device related positioning measurement. It should be understood that the first position is calculated based on the terminal device related positioning measurement, and can deviate from the actual position or real position of the terminal device. For more detailed description of the first positioning information, reference can be made to the description in the 3GPP standards.

[0153] 307. The LMF sends a first request to the SF, the first request being used to request perception information corresponding to a first perception area, the first perception area being associated with the terminal device.

[0154] In the case of needing perception information assisted positioning, the LMF can send a first request to the SF. Correspondingly, the SF can receive the first request from the LMF. In the embodiments of the present application, the first request can also be referred to as a perception information request, a perception information acquisition request, or a perception request.

[0155] It can be understood that there are two possible ways to trigger perception assisted positioning in the embodiments of the present application, that is, there are two ways to trigger the LMF and the SF to interact to obtain perception information, the first way is triggered by the third indication information, and the second way is triggered without related indication information, and the LMF defaults to the perception assisted positioning mode for the positioning service request.

[0156] For the first triggering mode, the LMF can determine whether to use the perception-aided positioning mode based on the related information in the received positioning service request. When it is determined to use the perception-aided positioning mode, the LMF can send a first request to the SF. When it is determined not to use the perception-aided positioning mode, the LMF can not send the first request to the SF, and can directly return a positioning service response to the AMF, which can include the first position of the terminal device obtained through step 306, such as the first positioning information. In a possible implementation, the LMF can receive third indication information in the positioning service request, and can send the first request to the perception function network element based on the third indication information. For example, the third indication information can be a perception-aided positioning indication. In this case, the LMF can determine to use the perception-aided positioning mode based on the perception-aided positioning indication, and can send the first request to the SF to obtain related perception information. For another example, the third indication information can be quality of service information or a certain item in the quality of service information (such as positioning accuracy or quality of service level). In this case, the LMF can determine whether to use the perception-aided positioning mode based on the quality of service information or the certain item in the quality of service information. When it is determined to use the perception-aided positioning mode based on the quality of service information or the certain item in the quality of service information, the LMF can send the first request to the SF to obtain related perception information. Otherwise, the LMF can not send the first request to the SF, and can directly return the positioning service response to the AMF. For example, the LMF can determine whether the positioning accuracy required in the positioning service request is less than or equal to a threshold 1 (such as 50 cm). When it is determined that the positioning accuracy required in the positioning service request is less than or equal to the threshold 1, the LMF can use the perception-aided positioning mode, and can send the first request to the SF to obtain related perception information. When it is determined that the positioning accuracy required in the positioning service request is greater than the threshold 1, the LMF can not use the perception-aided positioning mode, and can not send the first request to the SF, and can directly return the positioning service response to the AMF. It should be understood that the positioning accuracy that can be achieved by the first position of the terminal device is greater than the threshold 1, that is, when the positioning accuracy is less than or equal to the threshold 1, the perception-aided positioning mode can meet the requirement of the positioning accuracy. The threshold 1 can be preconfigured, or can be obtained from the AMF, the RAN, or the UE. For example, assuming that the positioning accuracy included in the quality of service information in the positioning service request received by the LMF is 20 cm, the LMF can determine that the positioning accuracy is less than the threshold 1, and thus can use the perception-aided positioning mode, and can send the first request to the SF to obtain related perception information.

[0157] The first request can comprise the first positioning information or the first awareness area. In the case that the first awareness area is comprised in the first request, in one possible implementation, the LMF can determine the first awareness area based on the first positioning information. For example, assuming that the first positioning information is a first position of the terminal device, the LMF can determine a region around the first position as the first awareness area with the first position as the center. The first awareness area can be a rectangular region, a circular region, a hexagonal region, an elliptical region, or other graphical regions. It should be understood that the first awareness area in the first request can be information for indicating the first awareness area. For example, assuming that the first awareness area is a rectangular region around the first position, in this case, the first awareness area in the first request can comprise the position information (such as latitude and longitude) of the four vertices of the rectangular region. In some possible implementations, the first awareness area can also be a tracking area (TA) or a cell, such as a serving cell of the terminal device, or other areas related to the positioning of the terminal device. It should be understood that in the case that the first positioning information is comprised in the first request, the first positioning information can be used by the SF to determine the first awareness area.

[0158] Further, in the case that the quality of service information is comprised in the positioning service request received by the LMF from the AMF, the LMF can also determine the first awareness area in combination with the quality of service information. That is, the LMF can determine the first awareness area based on the first positioning information and the quality of service information. For example, the higher the positioning accuracy requirement, the more comprehensive the awareness information required for positioning assistance (such as including all multipath information of the terminal device), that is, the larger the awareness area corresponding to the awareness information required for positioning assistance. In contrast, if the positioning accuracy requirement is relatively small, then a more comprehensive awareness information for positioning assistance (such as including part of the multipath information of the terminal device) is sufficient, that is, a smaller awareness area corresponding to the awareness information for positioning assistance is sufficient. For example, in the case that the positioning accuracy is 20 cm, a region with the first position as the center and a radius of r1 can be determined as the first awareness area. In the case that the positioning accuracy is 30 cm, a region with the first position as the center and a radius of r2 can be determined as the first awareness area. In the case that the positioning accuracy is 50 cm, a region with the first position as the center and a radius of r3 can be determined as the first awareness area. Wherein, r1>r2>r3. In some possible implementations, the LMF can also determine the first awareness area based on the quality of service information, for example, the LMF can determine the first awareness area in combination with the position of the serving base station of the terminal device and the quality of service information, or in combination with the range of the serving cell of the terminal device and the quality of service information. It should be understood that determining the awareness area based on the first positioning information and the quality of service information can make the awareness area more accurate / suitable, and at the same time, can save awareness resources, transmission resources, processing resources, and the like while ensuring the positioning accuracy.

[0159] Optionally, the first request can also include quality of service information and / or perception requirement. Specifically, in a case that the quality of service information is included in the positioning service request received by the LMF from the AMF, the first request can include the quality of service information. Further, in a case that the first request includes the perception requirement, in one possible implementation, the LMF can determine the perception requirement based on the quality of service information, which can be used to obtain the perception information corresponding to the first perception area. For example, the higher the positioning accuracy requirement is, the higher the quality requirement of the perception information can be, and accordingly, the higher the perception requirement can be (e.g., the higher the requirement of the perception accuracy and the perception resolution can be). In contrast, if the positioning accuracy requirement is relatively low, the quality requirement of the perception information can also be relatively low, and accordingly, the perception requirement can also be relatively low. That is, the perception requirement can affect the quality of the obtained perception information (e.g., the quality of the obtained electromagnetic map), and thus can affect the positioning accuracy. For example, in a case that the positioning accuracy is 20 cm, the perception accuracy can be a1, and the perception resolution can be d1. In a case that the positioning accuracy is 30 cm, the perception accuracy can be a2, and the perception resolution can be d2. In a case that the positioning accuracy is 50 cm, the perception accuracy can be a3, and the perception resolution can be d3. Wherein, a1 < a2 < a3, for example, in terms of distance accuracy, a1 can be 5 cm, a2 can be 10 cm, and a3 can be 20 cm. d1 < d2 < d3, for example, in terms of distance resolution, d1 can be 10 cm, d2 can be 20 cm, and d3 can be 30 cm. It should be understood that determining the perception requirement based on the quality of service information can make the perception requirement more accurate / suitable, which can save perception resources, transmission resources, processing resources, and the like while ensuring the positioning accuracy. It should be understood that when the first perception area is not included in the first request, the quality of service information in the first request can be used by the SF to determine the first perception area. Similarly, when the perception requirement is not included in the first request, the quality of service information in the first request can also be used by the SF to determine the perception requirement. It should be understood that the perception requirement can include one or more of perception accuracy, perception resolution, coverage, and the like. The perception accuracy can include one or more of distance accuracy, speed accuracy, angle accuracy, and the like, and the perception resolution can include one or more of distance resolution, speed resolution, angle resolution, and the like.

[0160] In some possible implementation, the perception requirement can also be indicated by the positioning requester, for example, the perception requirement can be included in the positioning service request sent by the positioning requester to the GMLC, and then the perception requirement can be carried in the positioning service request sent to the AMF, and the AMF can carry the perception requirement in the positioning service request sent to the LMF. It can be understood that the first request can also include other related information in the positioning service request received by the LMF from the AMF, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0161] Optionally, the first request can also include first identification information, which can be used to identify the first perception area or the terminal device, or the first identification information can be used to identify the first request. The first identification information can be a positioning service association identifier received by the LMF from the AMF, or can be newly defined identification information, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0162] It can be understood that the operations performed by the SF can be different for the two cases that the first request includes the first perception area or the first request includes the first positioning information. Therefore, for the two cases, the relevant indication information can be carried in the first request to distinguish the two cases. For example, in the case that the first request includes the first perception area, the first request can also include first indication information, which can be used to indicate the perception function network element to return the perception information corresponding to the first perception area. In this case, it is equivalent to that the LMF determines the perception area and directly requests the SF to return the perception information corresponding to the perception area. In the case that the first request includes the first positioning information, the first request can also include second indication information, which can be used to indicate the perception function network element to return the perception information corresponding to the first perception area based on the first positioning information. In this case, it is equivalent to that the LMF indicates the SF to determine the perception area and return the perception information corresponding to the perception area.

[0163] 308. The SF sends the perception information corresponding to the first perception area to the LMF.

[0164] After the SF receives the first request from the LMF, the SF can obtain the perception information corresponding to the first perception area based on the first request, and then send the perception information corresponding to the first perception area to the LMF. Correspondingly, the LMF can receive the perception information corresponding to the first perception area from the SF. The perception information corresponding to the first perception area can be used to determine the second positioning information of the terminal device in combination with the first positioning information of the terminal device.

[0165] It should be understood that in the case that the information included in the first request is different, the specific process of the SF obtaining the perception information corresponding to the first perception area based on the first request can be different, which will be described below.

[0166] In the case that the first request comprises the first awareness area, the SF can obtain the awareness information corresponding to the first awareness area based on the first awareness area. In the case that the first request comprises the first positioning information, the SF can first determine the first awareness area based on the first positioning information, and then can obtain the awareness information corresponding to the first awareness area based on the first awareness area. Further, in the case that the first request further comprises the quality of service information, the SF can further determine the first awareness area in combination with the quality of service information. That is, the SF can determine the first awareness area based on the first positioning information and the quality of service information. For details, reference can be made to the related description in the above step 307, which will not be described here again.

[0167] In the case that the first request comprises the awareness requirement, the SF can obtain the awareness information corresponding to the first awareness area based on the awareness requirement. In some possible implementation, in the case that the first request does not comprise the awareness requirement but comprises the quality of service information, the SF can determine the awareness requirement based on the quality of service information, and then can obtain the awareness information corresponding to the first awareness area based on the awareness requirement.

[0168] It can be understood that the operations performed by the SF can be different for the two cases that the first request comprises the first awareness area or the first request comprises the first positioning information, and the first request can carry relevant indication information to distinguish the two cases. For example, in the case that the first request comprises the first awareness area, the first request can further comprise first indication information, in which case the SF can determine based on the first indication information that it should return the awareness information corresponding to the first awareness area to the LMF based on the first awareness area carried in the first request, can obtain the awareness information corresponding to the first awareness area based on the first indication information, and then can send the awareness information corresponding to the first awareness area to the LMF based on the first indication information. That is, after the SF determines that the first request comprises the first indication information, it can trigger the obtaining of the awareness information corresponding to the first awareness area and the returning of the awareness information corresponding to the first awareness area to the LMF. In the case that the first request comprises the first positioning information, the first request can further comprise second indication information, in which case the SF can determine based on the second indication information that it should return the awareness information corresponding to the first awareness area to the LMF based on the first positioning information carried in the first request, can determine the first awareness area based on the second indication information and the first positioning information, can obtain the awareness information corresponding to the first awareness area based on the second indication information, and finally can send the awareness information corresponding to the first awareness area to the LMF based on the second indication information. That is, after the SF determines that the first request comprises the second indication information, it can trigger the determining of the first awareness area based on the first positioning information, the obtaining of the awareness information corresponding to the first awareness area, and the returning of the awareness information corresponding to the first awareness area to the LMF.

[0169] In a case that the first request comprises the first identification information, when the SF sends the perception information corresponding to the first perception area to the LMF, the first identification information can be carried, so that the LMF determines, based on the first identification information, that the perception information is the perception information corresponding to the first perception area associated with the terminal device. For example, when the SF returns the perception information corresponding to the first perception area to the LMF, the SF can send a response of the first request to the LMF, and the response of the first request can comprise the perception information corresponding to the first perception area and the first identification information. Accordingly, the LMF can receive the response of the first request from the SF, and determine, based on the first identification information in the response, that the perception information in the response is the perception information corresponding to the first perception area associated with the terminal device. In an embodiment of the present application, the response of the first request can also be referred to as a perception information request response, a perception information acquisition request response, or a perception request response, etc.

[0170] It should be noted that the present application does not limit the manner in which the SF obtains the perception information corresponding to the first perception area. For example, in one case, the SF can locally store the perception information corresponding to the first perception area, and the SF can directly obtain the perception information corresponding to the first perception area. For example, the perception device related to the first perception area can periodically perform a perception task to obtain perception data, and can periodically report the perception data corresponding to the first perception area to the SF, wherein the perception data corresponding to the first perception area can be the perception information corresponding to the first perception area, or the SF can process the perception data corresponding to the first perception area to obtain the perception information corresponding to the first perception area. For another example, the SF can issue a perception task to the perception device related to the first perception area based on the first request after receiving the first request, and the perception device related to the first perception area can report the perception data corresponding to the first perception area to the SF after performing the perception task to obtain the perception data corresponding to the first perception area. It should be understood that the SF can also indicate the related perception requirements when issuing the perception task.

[0171] In the embodiments of the present application, the sensing information corresponding to the first sensing area can include an electromagnetic map corresponding to the first sensing area. The electromagnetic map corresponding to the first sensing area can include electromagnetic information in the first sensing area, such as reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), spatial eigenvalue, channel matrix, large-scale fading information, small-scale fading information, multipath information (such as NLoS, LoS path information), first-order scattering path information, second-order scattering path information, interference information, other electromagnetic information related to the propagation environment, etc. The electromagnetic map corresponding to the first sensing area can be used to understand the signal propagation environment of the first sensing area. Further, the electromagnetic map corresponding to the first sensing area can be an electromagnetic map associated with the target terminal device. In some possible cases, the electromagnetic map can also be referred to as a radio frequency map (RF map). It should be understood that the sensing area can be a piece of geographical area. Optionally, the sensing information corresponding to the first sensing area can also include speed information of the terminal device.

[0172] 309. The LMF determines the second positioning information of the terminal device based on the sensing information corresponding to the first sensing area and the first positioning information.

[0173] After the LMF receives the sensing information corresponding to the first sensing area from the SF, the LMF can determine the second positioning information of the terminal device based on the sensing information corresponding to the first sensing area and the first positioning information. The second positioning information can be the second position of the terminal device, that is, the positioning result of the terminal device. The second position of the terminal device can be an absolute position (such as latitude and longitude information) or a relative position (such as a position relative to a base station). It should be understood that the positioning error of the second position of the terminal device compared with the first position of the terminal device is smaller.

[0174] For example, assuming that the first positioning information is a first position of the terminal device, the LMF can correct the first position based on the perception information corresponding to the first perception area to obtain a more accurate second position. For example, the perception information corresponding to the first perception area can include an electromagnetic map of the first perception area, and the electromagnetic map can include NLoS and / or LoS path-related information of the terminal device. The LMF can correct the first position based on the NLoS and / or LoS path-related information of the terminal device to obtain the second position. For another example, assuming that the first positioning information is information used to determine the first position of the terminal device, such as a terminal device-related positioning measurement quantity, in this case, the LMF can determine the second position based on the perception information corresponding to the first perception area and the terminal device-related positioning measurement quantity. For example, the perception information corresponding to the first perception area can include an electromagnetic map of the first perception area, and the electromagnetic map can include NLoS and LoS path-related information of the terminal device. Assuming that the terminal device-related positioning measurement quantity is obtained based on the NLoS path of the terminal device, and the positioning algorithm requires by default that the terminal device-related positioning measurement quantity is obtained based on the LoS path of the terminal device, in this case, the LMF can correct the related positioning measurement quantity based on the NLoS and LoS path-related information of the terminal device, so that the corrected positioning measurement quantity meets the requirements of the positioning algorithm, thereby the position of the terminal device can be calculated more accurately.

[0175] 310. The LMF sends a positioning service response to the AMF, the positioning service response including the second positioning information of the terminal device.

[0176] After determining the second positioning information of the terminal device, the LMF can send a positioning service response to the AMF, the positioning service response including the second positioning information of the terminal device. For example, the positioning service response can further include a positioning service-associated identifier.

[0177] 311. The AMF sends a positioning service response to the GMLC, the positioning service response including the second positioning information of the terminal device.

[0178] After receiving the positioning service response from the LMF, the AMF can send a positioning service response to the GMLC, the positioning service response including the second positioning information of the terminal device.

[0179] 312. The GMLC sends a positioning service response to the location requester, the positioning service response including the second positioning information of the terminal device.

[0180] After receiving the positioning service response from the AMF, the GMLC can send a positioning service response to the location requester, the positioning service response including the second positioning information of the terminal device. In some possible implementations, the GMLC can send the positioning service response to the location requester through the NEF.

[0181] It should be understood that steps 310-312 are optional, and embodiments of the present application do not limit the process of returning the second positioning information to the positioning requester after the LMF obtains the second positioning information of the terminal device.

[0182] In the above processing flow, in the network positioning process, the LMF can request the SF for the perception information corresponding to the first perception area associated with the terminal device, and then determine the position of the terminal device in combination with the perception information corresponding to the first perception area associated with the terminal device. Wherein, based on the perception information corresponding to the first perception area associated with the terminal device, the signal propagation environment of the first perception area can be known, and thus the propagation situation of the related positioning signal, such as LoS path situation, NLoS path situation, interference situation, etc., can be known, and then the positioning accuracy of the terminal device can be improved.

[0183] In FIG. 4, the related processing flow that the LMF requests the SF to determine the positioning result based on the perception information corresponding to the first perception area associated with the terminal device and the positioning information of the terminal device, and returns the positioning result. In FIG. 4, after the LMF receives the positioning service request (such as the positioning service request from the AMF), if it is determined to use the perception assisted positioning manner, the LMF can request the SF to determine the positioning result of the terminal device based on the perception information corresponding to the first perception area associated with the terminal device and the positioning information of the terminal device. In specific implementation, it can be further divided into determining the first perception area associated with the terminal device by the LMF, or determining the first perception area associated with the terminal device by the SF. Specifically, please refer to FIG. 4, which is a flowchart of another positioning method disclosed by embodiments of the present application. As shown in FIG. 4, the method can include but not limited to the following steps:

[0184] 401. The positioning requester sends a positioning service request to the GMLC.

[0185] 402. The GMLC obtains the address of the AMF.

[0186] 403. The GMLC sends a positioning service request to the AMF.

[0187] 404. The AMF performs LMF selection.

[0188] 405. The AMF sends a positioning service request to the LMF.

[0189] It should be understood that steps 401-405 are optional, and embodiments of the present application do not limit the process of triggering the LMF to use the perception assisted positioning.

[0190] 406. The LMF triggers positioning of the terminal device, and obtains the first positioning information of the terminal device.

[0191] Steps 401-406 are similar to steps 301-306 described above, and the relevant description in steps 301-306 can be referred to, and will not be described in detail here.

[0192] 407. The LMF sends a positioning information request to the SF, the positioning information request being used to request second positioning information of the terminal device, the positioning information request comprising first positioning information of the terminal device, the second positioning information of the terminal device being determined based on the perception information corresponding to the first perception area and the first positioning information, the first perception area being associated with the terminal device.

[0193] In the case of requiring perception information assisted positioning, the LMF can send a positioning information request to the SF. Correspondingly, the SF can receive the positioning information request from the LMF. In the embodiments of the present application, the positioning information request can also be referred to as a positioning correction request, a positioning information correction request, etc.

[0194] It can be understood that there are two possible ways to trigger perception assisted positioning in the embodiments of the present application, that is, there are two ways to trigger the LMF and the SF to interact to obtain the second positioning information of the terminal device. The first way is triggered by the third indication information, and the second way is triggered without related indication information, and the LMF defaults to the perception assisted positioning mode for the positioning service request.

[0195] For the first triggering mode, the LMF can determine whether to use the perception-aided positioning mode based on the related information in the received positioning service request. When it is determined to use the perception-aided positioning mode, the LMF can send a positioning information request to the SF. When it is determined not to use the perception-aided positioning mode, the LMF can not send the positioning information request to the SF, and can directly return a positioning service response to the AMF, which can include the first position of the terminal device obtained through step 406, such as the first positioning information. In a possible implementation, the LMF can receive third indication information in the positioning service request, and can send the positioning information request to the perception function network element based on the third indication information. For example, the third indication information can be a perception-aided positioning indication. In this case, the LMF can determine to use the perception-aided positioning mode based on the perception-aided positioning indication, and can send the positioning information request to the SF to obtain the second positioning information of the terminal device. For another example, the third indication information can be quality of service information or a certain item in the quality of service information (such as positioning accuracy or quality of service level). In this case, the LMF can determine whether to use the perception-aided positioning mode based on the quality of service information or the certain item in the quality of service information. When it is determined to use the perception-aided positioning mode based on the quality of service information or the certain item in the quality of service information, the LMF can send the positioning information request to the SF to obtain the second positioning information of the terminal device. Otherwise, the LMF can not send the positioning information request to the SF, and can directly return the positioning service response to the AMF. For example, the LMF can determine whether the required positioning accuracy in the positioning service request is less than or equal to a threshold 1 (such as 50 cm). When it is determined that the required positioning accuracy in the positioning service request is less than or equal to the threshold 1, the LMF can use the perception-aided positioning mode, and can send a first request to the SF to obtain related perception information. When it is determined that the required positioning accuracy in the positioning service request is greater than the threshold 1, the LMF can not use the perception-aided positioning mode, and can not send the first request to the SF, and can directly return the positioning service response to the AMF. It should be understood that the positioning accuracy that can be achieved by the first position of the terminal device is greater than the threshold 1, that is, when the positioning accuracy is less than or equal to the threshold 1, the perception-aided positioning mode can meet the requirement of the positioning accuracy. The threshold 1 can be preconfigured, or can be obtained from the AMF, the RAN, or the UE. For example, assuming that the positioning accuracy included in the quality of service information in the positioning service request received by the LMF is 20 cm. In this case, the LMF can determine that the positioning accuracy is less than the threshold 1, and thus can use the perception-aided positioning mode, and can send the positioning information request to the SF to obtain the second positioning information of the terminal device.

[0196] The positioning information request can further include a first awareness area. In a possible implementation, the LMF can determine the first awareness area based on the first positioning information. For example, assuming that the first positioning information is a first position of the terminal device, the LMF can determine a region around the first position as the first awareness area, with the first awareness area being a rectangular region, a circular region, a hexagonal region, an elliptical region, or another graphical region. It should be understood that the first awareness area in the positioning information request can be information indicating the first awareness area. For example, assuming that the first awareness area is a rectangular region around the first position, the first awareness area in the positioning information request can include position information (such as latitude and longitude) of the four vertices of the rectangular region. In some possible implementations, the first awareness area can also be a tracking area or a cell, such as a serving cell of the terminal device, or another area related to the positioning of the terminal device. It should be understood that when the first positioning information is included in the positioning information request and the first awareness area is not included, the first positioning information can be used by the SF to determine the first awareness area.

[0197] Further, when the LMF receives the positioning service request including the quality of service information from the AMF, the LMF can further determine the first awareness area in combination with the quality of service information. That is, the LMF can determine the first awareness area based on the first positioning information and the quality of service information. For a more detailed description of determining the first awareness area based on the first positioning information and the quality of service information, reference can be made to the related description in step 307 described above, which will not be repeated here.

[0198] Optionally, the positioning information request can also include quality of service information and / or awareness requirements. Specifically, when the LMF receives the positioning service request including the quality of service information from the AMF, the positioning information request can include the quality of service information. Further, in a possible implementation, the LMF can determine the awareness requirements based on the quality of service information, which can be used to obtain awareness information corresponding to the first awareness area. For a more detailed description of determining the awareness requirements based on the quality of service information, reference can be made to the related description in step 307 described above, which will not be repeated here. It should be understood that when the first awareness area is not included in the positioning information request, the quality of service information in the positioning information request can be used by the SF to determine the first awareness area. Similarly, when the awareness requirements are not included in the positioning information request, the quality of service information in the positioning information request can also be used by the SF to determine the awareness requirements. It should be understood that the awareness requirements can include one or more of awareness accuracy, awareness resolution, coverage, and the like. The awareness accuracy can include one or more of distance accuracy, speed accuracy, angle accuracy, and the like, and the awareness resolution can include one or more of distance resolution, speed resolution, angle resolution, and the like.

[0199] In some possible implementation, the perception requirement can also be indicated by the positioning requester, for example, the perception requirement can be included in the positioning service request sent by the positioning requester to the GMLC, and then the perception requirement can be carried in the positioning service request sent to the AMF, and the AMF can carry the perception requirement in the positioning service request sent to the LMF. It can be understood that the positioning information request can also include other related information in the positioning service request received by the LMF from the AMF, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0200] Optionally, the positioning information request can also include second identification information, the second identification information can be used to identify the terminal device, or the second identification information can be used to identify the positioning information request, or the second identification information can be used to identify the first positioning information. The second identification information can be a positioning service association identifier received by the LMF from the AMF, or can be newly defined identification information, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0201] It can be understood that the operations performed by the SF can be different for the two cases that the positioning information request includes the first positioning information and the first perception area, or the positioning information request includes the first positioning information and does not include the first perception area. Therefore, for the two cases, relevant indication information can be carried in the positioning information request to distinguish the two cases. For example, in the case that the positioning information request includes the first positioning information and does not include the first perception area, the positioning information request can also include fourth indication information, the fourth indication information can be used to indicate that the SF returns the second positioning information of the terminal device based on the first positioning information. In this case, it is equivalent to that the LMF instructs the SF to determine the perception area, and determines the second positioning information of the terminal device based on the perception information corresponding to the perception area and the first positioning information, and then returns the second positioning information. In the case that the positioning information request includes the first positioning information and the first perception area, the positioning information request can also include fifth indication information, the fifth indication information can be used to indicate that the SF returns the second positioning information of the terminal device based on the first perception area. In this case, it is equivalent to that the LMF determines the perception area, and directly requests the SF to determine the second positioning information of the terminal device based on the perception information corresponding to the perception area and the first positioning information, and returns the second positioning information.

[0202] 408. The SF determines the second positioning information of the terminal device based on the perception information corresponding to the first perception area and the first positioning information, and the first perception area is associated with the terminal device.

[0203] After receiving the positioning information request from the LMF, the SF can obtain the perception information corresponding to the first perception area based on the positioning information request, and then determine the second positioning information of the terminal device based on the perception information corresponding to the first perception area and the first positioning information, and then send the second positioning information of the terminal device to the LMF. Correspondingly, the LMF can receive the second positioning information of the terminal device from the SF.

[0204] It should be understood that in the case that the information included in the positioning information request is different, the specific process of the SF obtaining the perception information corresponding to the first perception area based on the positioning information request can be different, which will be described separately below.

[0205] Among them, in the case that the positioning information request includes the first perception area, the SF can directly obtain the perception information corresponding to the first perception area based on the first perception area. In the case that the positioning information request does not include the first perception area, the SF can determine the first perception area based on the first positioning information, and then obtain the perception information corresponding to the first perception area based on the first perception area. Further, in the case that the positioning information request further includes quality of service information, the SF can also determine the first perception area in combination with the quality of service information. That is, the SF can determine the first perception area based on the first positioning information and the quality of service information. For details, please refer to the related description in the above step 307, which will not be repeated here.

[0206] In the case that the positioning information request includes the perception requirement, the SF can obtain the perception information corresponding to the first perception area based on the perception requirement. In some possible implementation manners, in the case that the positioning information request does not include the perception requirement but includes the quality of service information, the SF can determine the perception requirement based on the quality of service information, and then obtain the perception information corresponding to the first perception area based on the perception requirement.

[0207] It can be understood that the operations performed by the SF can be different for the two cases that the positioning information request includes the first positioning information and the first awareness area, or the positioning information request includes the first positioning information and does not include the first awareness area, and the relevant indication information can be carried in the positioning information request to distinguish the two cases. For example, in the case that the positioning information request includes the first positioning information and does not include the first awareness area, the positioning information request can further include fourth indication information. In this case, the SF can determine, based on the fourth indication information, that it should return the second positioning information of the terminal device to the LMF based on the first positioning information carried in the positioning information request. The SF can determine the first awareness area based on the fourth indication information and the first positioning information, then obtain the awareness information corresponding to the first awareness area based on the fourth indication information, then determine the second positioning information of the terminal device based on the awareness information corresponding to the first awareness area and the first positioning information, and finally send the second positioning information of the terminal device to the LMF based on the fourth indication information. That is, after the SF determines that the fourth indication information is included in the positioning information request, it can trigger the determination of the first awareness area based on the first positioning information, the obtaining of the awareness information corresponding to the first awareness area, the determination of the second positioning information of the terminal device based on the awareness information corresponding to the first awareness area and the first positioning information, and the return of the second positioning information of the terminal device to the LMF. In the case that the positioning information request includes the first positioning information and the first awareness area, the positioning information request can further include fifth indication information. In this case, the SF can determine, based on the fifth indication information, that it should return the second positioning information of the terminal device to the LMF based on the first awareness area carried in the positioning information request. The SF can obtain the awareness information corresponding to the first awareness area based on the fifth indication information and the first awareness area, then determine the second positioning information of the terminal device based on the awareness information corresponding to the first awareness area and the first positioning information, and finally send the second positioning information of the terminal device to the LMF based on the fifth indication information. That is, after the SF determines that the fifth indication information is included in the positioning information request, it can trigger the obtaining of the awareness information corresponding to the first awareness area, the determination of the second positioning information of the terminal device based on the awareness information corresponding to the first awareness area and the first positioning information, and the return of the second positioning information of the terminal device to the LMF.

[0208] It should be noted that the embodiments of the present application do not limit the way in which the SF obtains the perception information corresponding to the first perception area. For example, in one case, the SF can directly obtain the perception information corresponding to the first perception area, because the SF can locally store the perception information corresponding to the first perception area. For example, the perception device related to the first perception area can periodically perform a perception task to obtain perception data, and can periodically report the perception data corresponding to the first perception area to the SF. The perception data corresponding to the first perception area can be the perception information corresponding to the first perception area, or the SF can process the perception data corresponding to the first perception area to obtain the perception information corresponding to the first perception area. For another example, the SF can issue a perception task to the perception device related to the first perception area based on the positioning information request after receiving the positioning information request. After the perception device related to the first perception area performs the related perception task to obtain the perception data corresponding to the first perception area, the perception device related to the first perception area can report the perception data corresponding to the first perception area to the SF. It should be understood that the SF can also indicate the related perception requirements when issuing the perception task.

[0209] In the embodiments of the present application, the perception information corresponding to the first perception area can include an electromagnetic map corresponding to the first perception area. The electromagnetic map corresponding to the first perception area can include electromagnetic information in the first perception area, such as reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), spatial characteristic value, channel matrix, large-scale fading information, small-scale fading information, multipath information, interference information, other electromagnetic information related to the propagation environment, etc. The electromagnetic map corresponding to the first perception area can be used to understand the signal propagation environment of the first perception area. The electromagnetic map can also be referred to as a radio frequency map (RF map). It should be understood that the perception area can be a geographical area.

[0210] It can be understood that after the SF obtains the perception information corresponding to the first perception area, the SF can determine the second positioning information of the terminal device based on the perception information corresponding to the first perception area and the first positioning information. The second positioning information can be a second position of the terminal device, that is, a positioning result of the terminal device. The second position of the terminal device can be an absolute position (such as latitude and longitude information) or a relative position (such as a position relative to a base station). It should be understood that the positioning error of the second position of the terminal device is smaller than that of the first position of the terminal device.

[0211] For example, assuming that the first positioning information is the first position of the terminal device, the LMF can correct the first position based on the perception information corresponding to the first perception area to obtain a more accurate second position.

[0212] 409. The SF sends the second positioning information of the terminal device to the LMF.

[0213] After determining the second positioning information of the terminal device based on the perception information corresponding to the first perception area and the first positioning information, the SF can send the second positioning information of the terminal device to the LMF. Correspondingly, the LMF can receive the second positioning information of the terminal device from the SF.

[0214] In a case where the positioning information request comprises the second identification information, when the SF sends the second positioning information of the terminal device to the LMF, the second identification information can be carried, so that the LMF can determine that the positioning information is the positioning information of the target terminal device based on the second identification information, or determine that the positioning information is the positioning information requested by the positioning information request in step 407. Illustratively, when the SF sends the second positioning information of the terminal device to the LMF, the SF can send a response of the positioning information request to the LMF, and the response of the positioning information request can comprise the second positioning information of the terminal device and the second identification information. Correspondingly, the LMF can receive the response of the positioning information request from the SF, and can determine that the positioning information in the response is the positioning information of the target terminal device or the positioning information requested by the positioning information request in step 407 based on the second identification information in the response. In the embodiments of the present application, the response of the positioning information request can also be referred to as a positioning correction request response, a positioning information correction request response, etc.

[0215] 410. The LMF sends a positioning service response comprising the second positioning information of the terminal device to the AMF.

[0216] After receiving the second positioning information of the terminal device from the SF, the LMF can send a positioning service response comprising the second positioning information of the terminal device to the AMF. Illustratively, the positioning service response can further comprise a positioning service association identifier.

[0217] 411. The AMF sends a positioning service response comprising the second positioning information of the terminal device to the GMLC.

[0218] After receiving the positioning service response from the LMF, the AMF can send a positioning service response comprising the second positioning information of the terminal device to the GMLC.

[0219] 412. The GMLC sends a positioning service response comprising the second positioning information of the terminal device to the location requester.

[0220] After the GMLC receives the positioning service response from the AMF, the GMLC can send the positioning service response to the location requester, the positioning service response including the second positioning information of the terminal device. In some possible implementation manners, the GMLC can send the positioning service response to the location requester through the NEF.

[0221] It should be understood that steps 410-412 are optional, and embodiments of the present application do not limit the process in which the LMF returns the second positioning information to the location requester after obtaining the second positioning information of the terminal device.

[0222] In the above processing flow, in the network positioning process, the LMF can request the SF to determine the position of the terminal device based on the perception information corresponding to the first perception area associated with the terminal device and the first positioning information of the terminal device, and return the determined position of the terminal device. Wherein, based on the perception information corresponding to the first perception area associated with the terminal device, the signal propagation environment of the first perception area can be known, and thus the propagation situation of the relevant positioning signal, such as LoS path situation, NLoS path situation, interference situation, etc., can be known, and then the positioning accuracy of the terminal device can be improved.

[0223] It should be noted that the related information (i.e. the same information or similar information) and the related description in the above different embodiments can be mutually referred.

[0224] It can be understood that based on the embodiments shown in FIG. 3 and the embodiments shown in FIG. 4, other embodiments can also be obtained, and these embodiments should also be included in the protection scope of the present application. For example, the embodiments shown in FIG. 3 and the embodiments shown in FIG. 4 can be combined, and can be split.

[0225] The above mainly introduces the positioning method provided by the embodiments of the present application. It can be understood that in order to realize the above corresponding functions, the LMF and the SF can include the corresponding hardware structure and / or software module for executing each function. The units and steps of each example described in combination with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a certain function is implemented in hardware or computer software driven hardware depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional technicians can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of the embodiments of the present application.

[0226] The embodiments of the present application can divide the functional modules of the LMF and the SF and the like according to the above method examples. For example, each functional module can be divided according to each function, or two or more functions can be integrated in one module. The integrated module can be realized in the form of hardware or in the form of a software functional module. It should be noted that the division of the modules in the embodiments of the present application is illustrative, and is only a logical functional division. Actual implementation can have another division manner.

[0227] In the case of dividing each functional module according to each function, FIG. 5 shows a possible structural schematic diagram of a communication apparatus 500. The communication apparatus 500 includes a processing unit 501 and a communication unit 502. Optionally, the communication unit 502 can also be referred to as a transceiver unit, an output unit, or an interface unit, and the like. In a possible implementation manner, the communication unit 502 includes at least one of a sending unit or a receiving unit. The sending unit and the receiving unit can be integrated together, or be two independent units, and the like. In a possible design, the communication apparatus 500 can be the LMF, or can be a component (for example, a processor, a chip, a chip system, a circuit or a functional module) in the LMF, or can be a processing system in the LMF, and the like.

[0228] When the communication apparatus 500 is used for the function of the LMF in the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, specifically:

[0229] The processing unit 501 is configured to acquire first positioning information of a terminal device.

[0230] The communication unit 502 is configured to send a first request to a perception function network element, where the first request is used to request perception information corresponding to a first perception area, and the first perception area is associated with the terminal device.

[0231] The communication unit 502 is configured to receive the perception information corresponding to the first perception area from the perception function network element.

[0232] The processing unit 501 is further configured to determine second positioning information of the terminal device based on the perception information corresponding to the first perception area and the first positioning information.

[0233] For example, the processing unit 501 acquires the first positioning information of the terminal device by the communication unit 502, or by the communication unit 502 and the communication unit 502.

[0234] In a possible implementation, the first request includes the first positioning information or the first perception area.

[0235] In a possible implementation, the processing unit 501 is further configured to determine the first awareness area based on the first positioning information.

[0236] In a possible implementation, when the first request comprises the first positioning information, the first request further comprises first indication information, where the first indication information is used to instruct the awareness function network element to return awareness information corresponding to the first awareness area.

[0237] In a possible implementation, when the first request comprises the first positioning information, the first request further comprises second indication information, where the second indication information is used to instruct the awareness function network element to return awareness information corresponding to the first awareness area based on the first positioning information.

[0238] In a possible implementation, the communication unit 502 is further configured to receive a positioning service request from an access and mobility management network element, where the positioning service request is used to request positioning information of the terminal device; the positioning service request comprises third indication information, where the third indication information is used to instruct to use awareness information to assist positioning; and the communication unit 502 is specifically configured to send a first request to an awareness function network element based on the third indication information.

[0239] In a possible implementation, the positioning service request further comprises quality of service information, and the first request further comprises the quality of service information.

[0240] In a possible implementation, the positioning service request further comprises quality of service information, and the processing unit 501 is further configured to determine awareness requirements based on the quality of service information, and the first request further comprises the awareness requirements, where the awareness requirements are used to acquire awareness information corresponding to the first awareness area.

[0241] In a possible implementation, the processing unit 501 determines the first awareness area based on the first positioning information comprises: determining the first awareness area based on the first positioning information and the quality of service information.

[0242] In a possible implementation, the first request further comprises first identification information, where the first identification information is used to identify the first awareness area or the terminal device; and the communication unit 502 receives awareness information corresponding to the first awareness area from the awareness function network element comprises: receiving a response to the first request from the awareness function network element, where the response to the first request comprises the awareness information corresponding to the first awareness area and the first identification information.

[0243] The specific operations of each unit in the communication apparatus 500 can refer to the corresponding description of the LMF in the above-described embodiment shown in FIG. 3, which will not be described here again.

[0244] When the communication apparatus 500 is used for the function of the LMF in the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, specifically:

[0245] The processing unit 501 is configured to acquire first positioning information of a terminal device.

[0246] The communication unit 502 is configured to send a positioning information request to a perception function network element, the positioning information request being used to request second positioning information of the terminal device, and the positioning information request comprising the first positioning information of the terminal device; the second positioning information of the terminal device is determined based on perception information corresponding to a first perception area and the first positioning information, and the first perception area is associated with the terminal device.

[0247] The communication unit 502 is configured to receive the second positioning information of the terminal device from the perception function network element.

[0248] In a possible implementation, the positioning information request further comprises the first perception area.

[0249] In a possible implementation, the processing unit 501 is further configured to determine the first perception area based on the first positioning information.

[0250] In a possible implementation, the positioning information request further comprises fourth indication information, and the fourth indication information is used to instruct the perception function network element to return the second positioning information of the terminal device based on the first positioning information.

[0251] In a possible implementation, the positioning information request further comprises fifth indication information, and the fifth indication information is used to instruct the perception function network element to return the second positioning information of the terminal device based on the first perception area.

[0252] In a possible implementation, the communication unit 502 is further configured to receive a positioning service request from an access and mobility management network element, the positioning service request being used to request positioning information of the terminal device; the positioning service request comprises third indication information, and the third indication information is used to instruct to use perception information to assist positioning; and the communication unit 502 is specifically configured to send the positioning information request to the perception function network element based on the third indication information.

[0253] In a possible implementation, the positioning service request further comprises quality of service information, and the positioning information request further comprises the quality of service information.

[0254] In a possible implementation, the positioning service request further comprises quality of service information, and the processing unit 501 is further configured to determine a perception requirement based on the quality of service information, the positioning information request further comprises the perception requirement, and the perception requirement is used to acquire the perception information corresponding to the first perception area.

[0255] In a possible implementation, the processing unit 501 determines the first awareness area based on the first positioning information includes: determining the first awareness area based on the first positioning information and the quality of service information.

[0256] In a possible implementation, the positioning information request further includes second identification information, the second identification information being used to identify the first positioning information request or the terminal device; the communication unit 502 receives the second positioning information of the terminal device from the awareness function network element includes: receiving a response to the positioning information request from the awareness function network element, the response to the positioning information request including the second positioning information of the terminal device and the second identification information.

[0257] The specific operations of each unit in the communication apparatus 500 described above can refer to the corresponding description of the LMF in the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, which will not be repeated here.

[0258] In a possible design, the communication apparatus 500 can be the SF described above, or can be a component (for example, a processor, a chip, a chip system, a circuit, or a functional module) in the SF, or can be a processing system in the SF, and the like.

[0259] When the communication apparatus 500 is used for the function of the SF in the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, specifically:

[0260] The communication unit 502 is configured to receive a first request from a positioning function network element, the first request being used to request awareness information corresponding to a first awareness area, the first awareness area being associated with a terminal device.

[0261] The communication unit 502 is configured to send, to the positioning function network element, awareness information corresponding to the first awareness area, the awareness information corresponding to the first awareness area being used to determine second positioning information of the terminal device in combination with first positioning information of the terminal device.

[0262] In a possible implementation, the communication apparatus 500 can further include a processing unit 501, the first request includes the first positioning information or the first awareness area; in the case where the first request includes the first positioning information, the processing unit 501 is configured to determine the first awareness area based on the first positioning information.

[0263] In a possible implementation, in the case where the first request includes the first awareness area, the first request further includes first indication information, the first indication information being used to instruct the awareness function network element to return awareness information corresponding to the first awareness area; the communication unit 502 is specifically configured to send, to the positioning function network element, the awareness information corresponding to the first awareness area based on the first indication information.

[0264] In a possible implementation, when the first request includes the first positioning information, the first request further includes second indication information, the second indication information being used to indicate that the awareness function network element returns the awareness information corresponding to the first awareness area based on the first positioning information; the processing unit 501 determines the first awareness area based on the first positioning information includes: determining the first awareness area based on the second indication information and the first positioning information; and the communication unit 502 sends the awareness information corresponding to the first awareness area to the positioning function network element includes: sending the awareness information corresponding to the first awareness area to the positioning function network element based on the second indication information.

[0265] In a possible implementation, the first request further includes quality of service information, and the processing unit 501 determines the first awareness area based on the first positioning information includes: determining the first awareness area based on the first positioning information and the quality of service information.

[0266] In a possible implementation, the first request further includes quality of service information, and the processing unit 501 is further configured to determine an awareness requirement based on the quality of service information; and the processing unit 501 is further configured to acquire the awareness information corresponding to the first awareness area based on the awareness requirement.

[0267] In a possible implementation, the first request further includes an awareness requirement, and the processing unit 501 is further configured to acquire the awareness information corresponding to the first awareness area based on the awareness requirement.

[0268] In a possible implementation, the first request further includes first identification information, the first identification information being used to identify the first request or the terminal device; and the communication unit 502 sends the awareness information corresponding to the first awareness area to the positioning function network element includes: sending a response of the first request to the positioning function network element, the response of the first request including the awareness information corresponding to the first awareness area and the first identification information.

[0269] The specific operations of each unit in the communication apparatus 500 can refer to the descriptions of the SF in the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, which will not be repeated here.

[0270] When the communication apparatus 500 is used for the function of the SF in the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, specifically:

[0271] The communication unit 502 is configured to receive a positioning information request from a positioning function network element, the positioning information request being used to request second positioning information of a terminal device, the positioning information request including first positioning information of the terminal device;

[0272] The processing unit 501 is configured to determine the second positioning information of the terminal device based on awareness information corresponding to a first awareness area and the first positioning information, the first awareness area being associated with the terminal device.

[0273] The communication unit 502 is configured to send the second positioning information of the terminal device to the positioning function network element.

[0274] In a possible implementation, the processing unit 501 is further configured to determine the first awareness area based on the first positioning information.

[0275] In a possible implementation, the positioning information request further comprises fourth indication information, the fourth indication information being used to indicate that the awareness function network element returns the second positioning information of the terminal device based on the first positioning information; the processing unit 501 determines the first awareness area based on the first positioning information comprises: determining the first awareness area based on the fourth indication information and the first positioning information; and the communication unit 502 sends the second positioning information of the terminal device to the positioning function network element comprises: sending the second positioning information of the terminal device to the positioning function network element based on the fourth indication information.

[0276] In a possible implementation, the positioning information request further comprises the first awareness area.

[0277] In a possible implementation, the positioning information request further comprises fifth indication information, the fifth indication information being used to indicate that the awareness function network element returns the second positioning information of the terminal device based on the first awareness area; and the communication unit 502 sends the second positioning information of the terminal device to the positioning function network element comprises: sending the second positioning information of the terminal device to the positioning function network element based on the fifth indication information.

[0278] In a possible implementation, the positioning information request further comprises quality of service information, and the processing unit 501 determines the first awareness area based on the first positioning information comprises: determining the first awareness area based on the first positioning information and the quality of service information.

[0279] In a possible implementation, the positioning information request further comprises quality of service information, the processing unit 501 is further configured to determine an awareness requirement based on the quality of service information; and the processing unit 501 is further configured to acquire awareness information corresponding to the first awareness area based on the awareness requirement.

[0280] In a possible implementation, the positioning information request further comprises an awareness requirement, and the processing unit 501 is further configured to acquire awareness information corresponding to the first awareness area based on the awareness requirement.

[0281] In a possible implementation, the positioning information request further comprises second identification information, the second identification information being used for identifying the first positioning information or the terminal device; and the sending, by the communication unit 502, of the second positioning information of the terminal device to the positioning function network element comprises: sending, to the positioning function network element, a response to the positioning information request, the response to the positioning information request comprising the second positioning information of the terminal device and the second identification information.

[0282] The specific operations of each unit in the communication apparatus 500 described above can refer to the corresponding description of the SF in the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, which will not be repeated here.

[0283] In a possible implementation, in the communication apparatus shown in FIG. 5, the processing unit can be one or more processors / logic circuits, the communication unit can be a transceiver, or the communication unit can also be a sending unit and a receiving unit, the sending unit can be a transmitter, and the receiving unit can be a receiver, and the sending unit and the receiving unit are integrated in one device, for example, a transceiver. In the embodiment of the present application, the processor and the transceiver can be coupled, and the connection mode of the processor and the transceiver is not limited in the embodiment of the present application. In the process of executing the above method, the process of sending information (such as sending the first request) in the above method can be understood as the process of outputting the above information by the processor. When the above information is output, the processor outputs the above information to the transceiver so as to be transmitted by the transceiver. After the above information is output by the processor, it can also need to be processed further and then reach the transceiver. Similarly, the process of receiving information (such as receiving the first request) in the above method can be understood as the process of receiving the input above information by the processor. When the processor receives the input information, the transceiver receives the above information and inputs it to the processor. Further, after the transceiver receives the above information, the above information can need to be processed further and then input to the processor.

[0284] In another possible implementation, in the communication apparatus shown in FIG. 5, the processing unit can be one or more processors / logic circuits. The communication unit can be an input / output interface, or the communication unit can also be an input interface and an output interface. The input / output interface can also be referred to as a communication interface, or an interface circuit, or an interface, etc.

[0285] FIG. 6 shows a possible hardware structure of the communication apparatus 600 provided by the embodiment of the present application. The communication apparatus 600 can comprise a communication interface 604 and at least one processor 602. Optionally, a bus 603 can be further included. Further optionally, at least one memory 601 can be further included, wherein the memory 601, the processor 602 and the communication interface 604 can be connected through the bus 603.

[0286] The memory 601 is configured to store data such as an operating system and a computer program. The memory 601 can be one or a combination of a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), and the like.

[0287] The processor 602 is configured to perform arithmetic operations and / or logical operations. The processor 602 can be one or a combination of a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), a microprocessor unit (MPU), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a complex programmable logic device (CPLD), a co-processor (assisting the CPU to complete corresponding processing and application), a microcontroller unit (MCU), and the like.

[0288] The communication interface 604 is configured to receive data sent by an external device and / or send data to the external device. The communication interface 604 can include a wired link interface such as an Ethernet cable, and can also include a wireless link (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, universal wireless transmission, and the like) interface. Optionally, the communication interface 604 can further include a transmitter (such as a radio frequency transmitter, an antenna, and the like) coupled to the interface, or a receiver, and the like.

[0289] In one design, the communication apparatus 600 can be configured to perform the functions of the LMF in the embodiment of FIG. 3. For details, refer to the related description of the LMF in FIG. 3, which will not be repeated here.

[0290] In another design, the communication apparatus 600 can be configured to perform the functions of the SF in the embodiment of FIG. 3. For details, refer to the related description of the SF in FIG. 3, which will not be repeated here.

[0291] In yet another design, the communication apparatus 600 can be configured to perform the functions of the LMF in the embodiment of FIG. 4. For details, refer to the description of the LMF in FIG. 4.

[0292] In yet another design, the communication apparatus 600 can be configured to perform the functions of the SF in the embodiment of FIG. 4. For details, refer to the description of the SF in FIG. 4.

[0293] In one possible design, the memory 601 can store instructions, which can be a computer program, to cause the communication apparatus 600 to perform the operations of the LMF or the SF in any of the method embodiments described above, for details, refer to the description of FIG. 3 or FIG. 4.

[0294] It is noted that the communication apparatus 600 shown in FIG. 6 is merely an implementation manner of the embodiments of the present application, and in actual applications, the communication apparatus 600 can further include more or fewer components, which is not limited herein.

[0295] The embodiments of the present application further disclose a communication system, which can include a positioning function network element and a perception function network element. The perception function network element can be configured to perform the operations of the positioning function network element in the embodiment of FIG. 3, and the second communication apparatus can be configured to perform the operations of the perception function network element in the embodiment of FIG. 3.

[0296] The embodiments of the present application further disclose a communication system, which can include a positioning function network element and a perception function network element. The perception function network element can be configured to perform the operations of the positioning function network element in the embodiment of FIG. 4, and the second communication apparatus can be configured to perform the operations of the perception function network element in the embodiment of FIG. 4.

[0297] The embodiments of the present application further disclose a chip, which includes a processor, wherein the processor is configured to execute computer programs or computer instructions stored in a memory, so that the chip performs the operations of the positioning function network element or the perception function network element in the embodiment of FIG. 3, or so that the chip performs the operations of the positioning function network element or the perception function network element in the embodiment of FIG. 4.

[0298] As a possible implementation, the memory is located outside the chip.

[0299] The embodiment of the present application further discloses a computer readable storage medium, which stores instructions, and the instructions are executed to perform the operation of the positioning function network element in the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, or the operation of the sensing function network element in the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, or the operation of the positioning function network element in the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, or the operation of the sensing function network element in the embodiment shown in FIG. 4.

[0300] The embodiment of the present application further discloses a computer program product including instructions, and the instructions are executed to perform the operation of the positioning function network element in the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, or the operation of the sensing function network element in the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, or the operation of the positioning function network element in the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, or the operation of the sensing function network element in the embodiment shown in FIG. 4.

[0301] It should be understood that the sending in the embodiment of the present application can be direct sending or indirect sending. The direct sending means that one device or module directly sends information / data to a corresponding device or module, and the indirect sending means that one device or module sends information / data to a corresponding device or module through other devices or modules.

[0302] It is apparent that the above-described embodiments are merely some, but not all, of the embodiments of the present application. In this document, the term "embodiment" refers to a specific configuration of features, structures, or characteristics described in connection with an embodiment. The occurrence of the phrase "in one embodiment" in various places in the specification is not necessarily referring to the same embodiment, nor is it necessarily referring to a separate or alternative embodiment, unless explicitly so identified. It is understood that one or more embodiments described herein can be combined with one or more other embodiments described herein. All other embodiments, which fall within the scope of the present application, are the result of normal design efforts taken by those of ordinary skill in the art, given the benefit of the information disclosed herein. The terms "first", "second", "third", etc. are used herein to distinguish between different objects, and are not necessarily used to describe a particular sequential order. Also, the terms "comprises", "comprising", "includes", "including", and the like, are inclusive only - they do not exclude the presence of other elements or steps. For example, a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of steps or elements is not necessarily limited to those steps or elements, but can include additional steps or elements, not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. It is understood that the condition judgment of the above-mentioned equal sign can be greater than one end or less than one end, for example, the condition judgment of greater than, less than or equal to the threshold value can be changed to greater than or equal to, less than the threshold value, which is not limited herein. It can also be understood that for an architecture with multiple devices or modules, if one device or module generates an information and another device or module utilizes the information, there can be multiple ways for the other device to obtain the information, for example, the device or module that generates the information can send the information directly to the device or module that utilizes the information (equivalent to direct sending), or the device or module that generates the information can send the information to the device or module that utilizes the information through other devices or modules (equivalent to indirect sending).

[0303] It is understood that some of the example embodiments are described as processes or methods depicted as flow diagrams. Although the processes are described in a particular sequential order, many of the processes can be performed concurrently, in parallel, or simultaneously. In addition, the order of the processes can be re-arranged. The processes can terminate when their functions are completed, but can also terminate in response to other events. The processes can correspond to methods, functions, procedures, subroutines, subprograms, etc.

[0304] The terms "component," "module," "system," "unit," and the like used in the present specification are used to represent a computer-related entity, hardware, a combination of hardware and software, software, or software in execution. For example, a unit can be, but is not limited to, a process running on a processor, a processor, an object, an executable, a thread of execution, a program, and / or a distributed system between two or more computers. In addition, these units can be executed from various computer-readable media having various data structures stored thereon. For example, a unit can communicate through local and / or remote processes according to signals having one or more data packets (e.g., from a second unit of a local system, a distributed system, and / or a network between another unit of interaction with a local system, a distributed system, and / or a network. For example, the Internet, by signals with other systems).

[0305] The above detailed description has been made for the purpose of explaining the purpose, technical solutions, and beneficial effects of the present application. It should be understood that the above description is only a specific implementation of the present application and is not intended to limit the protection scope of the present application. Any modification, equivalent replacement, improvement, etc. made on the basis of the technical solutions of the present application shall be included in the protection scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A positioning method, characterized by, The method applied to a positioning function network element comprises: obtaining first positioning information of a terminal device; sending a first request to a perception function network element, the first request being used for requesting perception information corresponding to a first perception area, the first perception area being associated with the terminal device; receiving the perception information corresponding to the first perception area from the perception function network element; determining second positioning information of the terminal device based on the perception information corresponding to the first perception area and the first positioning information.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, The first request comprises the first positioning information or the first perception area.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein, The method further comprises: determining the first perception area based on the first positioning information.

4. The method according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that, In the case that the first request comprises the first perception area, the first request further comprises first indication information, the first indication information being used for instructing the perception function network element to return the perception information corresponding to the first perception area.

5. The method according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that, In the case that the first request comprises the first positioning information, the first request further comprises second indication information, the second indication information being used for instructing the perception function network element to return the perception information corresponding to the first perception area based on the first positioning information.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that, The method further comprises: receiving a positioning service request from an access and mobility management network element, the positioning service request being used for requesting positioning information of the terminal device; the positioning service request comprising third indication information, the third indication information being used for instructing to adopt perception information assisted positioning; The sending of the first request to the perception function network element comprises: sending the first request to the perception function network element based on the third indication information.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein, The positioning service request further comprises quality of service information, and the first request further comprises the quality of service information.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein, The positioning service request further comprises quality of service information, and the method further comprises: determining perception requirements based on the quality of service information, the first request further comprising the perception requirements, the perception requirements being used for obtaining the perception information corresponding to the first perception area.

9. The method according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that, The determining of the first perception area based on the first positioning information comprises: determining the first perception area based on the first positioning information and the quality of service information.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that, The first request further comprises first identification information, the first identification information being used for identifying the first perception area or the terminal device; The receiving of the perception information corresponding to the first perception area from the perception function network element comprises: receiving a response to the first request from the perception function network element, the response to the first request comprising the perception information corresponding to the first perception area and the first identification information.

11. A positioning method characterized by, The method applied to a perception function network element comprises: receiving a first request from a positioning function network element, the first request being used for requesting perception information corresponding to a first perception area, the first perception area being associated with a terminal device; sending the perception information corresponding to the first perception area to the positioning function network element, the perception information corresponding to the first perception area being used for determining second positioning information of the terminal device in combination with first positioning information of the terminal device.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein, The first request comprises the first positioning information or the first awareness area; in the case that the first request comprises the first positioning information, the method further comprises: determining the first awareness area based on the first positioning information.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein, In the case that the first request comprises the first awareness area, the first request further comprises first indication information, the first indication information being used for indicating the awareness function network element to return awareness information corresponding to the first awareness area; The sending of the awareness information corresponding to the first awareness area to the positioning function network element comprises: sending the awareness information corresponding to the first awareness area to the positioning function network element based on the first indication information.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein, In the case that the first request comprises the first positioning information, the first request further comprises second indication information, the second indication information being used for indicating the awareness function network element to return awareness information corresponding to the first awareness area based on the first positioning information; The determination of the first awareness area based on the first positioning information comprises: determining the first awareness area based on the second indication information and the first positioning information; The sending of the awareness information corresponding to the first awareness area to the positioning function network element comprises: sending the awareness information corresponding to the first awareness area to the positioning function network element based on the second indication information.

15. The method according to any one of claims 12-14, characterized in that, The first request further comprises quality of service information, and the determination of the first awareness area based on the first positioning information comprises: determining the first awareness area based on the first positioning information and the quality of service information.

16. The method according to any one of claims 11-14, characterized in that, The first request further comprises quality of service information, and the method further comprises: determining awareness requirement based on the quality of service information; obtaining awareness information corresponding to the first awareness area based on the awareness requirement.

17. The method according to any one of claims 11-15, characterized in that, The first request further comprises awareness requirement, and the method further comprises: obtaining awareness information corresponding to the first awareness area based on the awareness requirement.

18. The method according to any one of claims 11-17, characterized in that, The first request further comprises first identification information, the first identification information being used for identifying the first request or the terminal device; and the sending of the awareness information corresponding to the first awareness area to the positioning function network element comprises: sending a response of the first request to the positioning function network element, the response of the first request comprising the awareness information corresponding to the first awareness area and the first identification information.

19. A communication system, characterized by comprise a positioning function network element and an awareness function network element, the positioning function network element being used for implementing the method of any one of claims 1-10, and the awareness function network element being used for implementing the method of any one of claims 11-18.

20. A communications device, characterized by comprise a processor and a communication interface; the communication interface is used for receiving and / or sending data; the processor invokes a computer program or computer instruction stored in a memory to implement the method of any one of claims 1-10 or the method of any one of claims 11-18.

21. A communications device, characterized by comprise one or more functional modules, the one or more functional modules being used for implementing the method of any one of claims 1-10 or the method of any one of claims 11-18.

22. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer readable storage medium stores computer programs or computer instructions which are executed by a processor to implement the method of any one of claims 1-10, or to implement the method of any one of claims 11-18.

23. A computer program product, characterised in that, The computer program product comprises computer program code or computer instructions which, when executed, implement the method of any one of claims 1-10, or implement the method of any one of claims 11-18.

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