Electronic device and method for realizing sensing function, and computer program product

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to an electronic device and a method for realizing a sensing function, and a computer program product. Various embodiments for realizing a sensing function in direct-link communications are described. In one embodiment, a first electronic device is configured to: establish a radio resource control (RRC) connection with a second electronic device by means of a direct link; in a first time slot, send a sensing signal to the electronic device by means of a control channel, the sensing signal comprising a first value of a first field, wherein the first value of the first field instructs the second electronic device to execute a sensing task on the basis of the sensing signal; and receive a sensing feedback signal from the second electronic device by means of a data channel, wherein the sensing feedback signal comprises the result of the sensing task.

Description

Electronic devices, methods, and computer program products for implementing sensing functions TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present disclosure generally relates to Integrated Sensing and Communication (ISAC), including techniques for implementing sensing functions through sidelink communication. BACKGROUND

[0002] Integrated Sensing and Communication is a technology that integrates data sensing and communication functions into the same architecture, aiming to enhance the efficiency and functionality of systems that need both sensing and communication capabilities. The integration of sensing and communication operations enables devices to perform both operations simultaneously, potentially optimizing the use of resources. In an Integrated Sensing and Communication scenario, the sensing target can be a connected or unconnected object. By receiving radio waves reflected by the sensing target, the shape, position, speed of the sensing target can be analyzed, and the sensing target can be tracked.

[0003] Sidelink communication is a wireless communication technology primarily used in mobile communication networks. Sidelink allows terminal devices to communicate directly in a point-to-point or multipoint manner without going through a core network or base station. This communication mode can improve the flexibility and efficiency of data transmission, especially in temporary networks, edge computing, and V2X (Vehicle-to-Everything) applications. SUMMARY

[0004] A first aspect of the present disclosure relates to a first electronic device, comprising at least one processor; and at least one memory storing program instructions. The program instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the first electronic device to: establish, with a second electronic device, a radio resource control (RRC) connection through a sidelink; transmit, to the second electronic device, a sensing signal in a first time slot through a control channel, the sensing signal comprising a first value of a first field, wherein the first value of the first field indicates the second electronic device to perform a sensing task based on the sensing signal; and receive, from the second electronic device, a sensing feedback signal through a data channel, wherein the sensing feedback signal comprises a result of the sensing task. The first aspect of the present disclosure also relates to a method performed by the first electronic device.

[0005] A second aspect of the present disclosure relates to a second electronic device, comprising at least one processor; and at least one memory storing program instructions. The program instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the second electronic device to: establish, with a first electronic device, a radio resource control (RRC) connection over a sidelink; receive, from the first electronic device, a sensing signal transmitted in a first time slot over a control channel, the sensing signal comprising a first value of a first field, wherein the first value of the first field indicates that the second electronic device performs a sensing task based on the sensing signal; and transmit, to the first electronic device, a sensing feedback signal over a data channel, wherein the sensing feedback signal comprises a result of the sensing task. The second aspect of the present disclosure also relates to a method performed by the second electronic device.

[0006] A third aspect of the present disclosure relates to a first electronic device, comprising at least one processor; and at least one memory storing program instructions. The program instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the first electronic device to: establish, with a second electronic device, a radio resource control (RRC) connection over a sidelink; transmit, to the second electronic device, a first-stage sidelink control information (SCI) in a first time slot over a control channel, the first-stage SCI comprising a first value of a first field, wherein the first value of the first field indicates that the second electronic device performs a sensing task based on the first-stage SCI; and receive, from the second electronic device, a sensing feedback signal, wherein the sensing feedback signal comprises a result of the sensing task. The third aspect of the present disclosure also relates to a method performed by the first electronic device.

[0007] A fourth aspect of the present disclosure relates to a second electronic device, comprising at least one processor; and at least one memory storing program instructions. The program instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the second electronic device to: establish, with a first electronic device, a radio resource control (RRC) connection over a sidelink; receive, from the first electronic device, a first-stage sidelink control information (SCI) transmitted in a first time slot over a control channel, the first-stage SCI comprising a first value of a first field, wherein the first value of the first field indicates that the second electronic device performs a sensing task based on the first-stage SCI; and transmit, to the first electronic device, a sensing feedback signal, wherein the sensing feedback signal comprises a result of the sensing task. The fourth aspect of the present disclosure also relates to a method performed by the second electronic device.

[0008] A fifth aspect of the present disclosure relates to a computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon executable instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, implement the operations of methods according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0009] A sixth aspect of the present disclosure relates to a computer program product comprising instructions which, when executed by a computer, cause implementation of a method according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0010] The foregoing summary is provided to summarize some example embodiments and to provide an initial understanding of aspects of the subject matter described herein. Accordingly, the foregoing summary merely provides an overview of aspects of the subject matter described herein and does not identify key BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0011] A better understanding of the present disclosure can be obtained from the following detailed description in conjunction with the following drawings, in which:

[0012] FIG. 1 illustrates an example block diagram of a wireless communication system according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0013] FIG. 2 illustrates an example scenario of implementing sensing function through sidelink communication according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0014] FIG. 3A illustrates an example first electronic device that can implement a sensing initiator according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0015] FIG. 3B illustrates an example second electronic device that can implement a sensing performer according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0016] FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a sensing resource pool over a sidelink according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0017] FIG. 5 illustrates an example operation of exchanging sensing resource pool information over a sidelink by a sensing initiator and a sensing performer according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0018] FIGS. 6-7B illustrate example operations of implementing sensing function through sidelink communication according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0019] FIG. 8A illustrates a first example of a resource pool for sensing feedback signals according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0020] FIG. 8B illustrates a second example of a resource pool for sensing feedback signals according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0021] FIG. 9 illustrates an example operation for transmitting sensing feedback signals according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0022] Figure 10 illustrates an example operation for receiving a sensing feedback signal according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0023] Figures 11A to 12B illustrate example methods for implementing sensing functions via direct link communication according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0024] Figure 13 shows an example block diagram of a computer that can be implemented as a terminal device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0025] Figure 14 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a schematic configuration of a smartphone to which the techniques of this disclosure can be applied.

[0026] Figure 15 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a schematic configuration of a car navigation device to which the technology of this disclosure can be applied.

[0027] While the embodiments described in this disclosure may be readily modified and alternatively implemented, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the accompanying drawings and are described in detail herein. However, it should be understood that the drawings and the detailed description thereof are not intended to limit the embodiments to the specific forms disclosed, but rather are intended to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives that fall within the spirit and scope of the claims. Detailed Implementation

[0028] The following description illustrates representative applications of the devices and methods described herein. These examples are provided merely to provide context and aid in understanding the described embodiments. Therefore, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the embodiments described below can be practiced without some or all of the specific details provided. In other instances, well-known process steps are not described in detail to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the described embodiments. Other applications are also possible, and the scope of this disclosure is not limited to these examples.

[0029] Generally, all terms used herein will be interpreted according to their ordinary meaning in the relevant art, unless a different meaning is clearly given and / or implied in the context of use. Unless expressly stated otherwise, references to elements, devices, components, units, and operations are intended to be interpreted openly as at least one instance of an element, device, component, unit, and operation. Operations of any method disclosed herein need not be performed in the exact order disclosed unless the operations are explicitly or implicitly described as occurring after or before another operation. Any feature of any embodiment disclosed herein may be applied to any suitable other embodiment. Similarly, any advantage of any embodiment may be applied to any other embodiment, and vice versa. Other objects, features, and advantages of the embodiments will become apparent from the following description.

[0030] Example wireless communication system

[0031] FIG. 1 illustrates an example block diagram of a wireless communication system according to embodiments of the present disclosure. Note that FIG. 1 illustrates only one of numerous types and possible arrangements of a wireless communication system; features of the present disclosure can be implemented in any of various systems as desired.

[0032] As shown in FIG. 1, the communication system 100 includes base stations 120A, 120B and terminal devices 110A, 110B, …, 110M, 110N. The base stations and terminal devices can be configured to communicate over uplink and downlink channels. The terminal devices can be configured to communicate over a sidelink. The base stations 120A, 120B can be configured to communicate with a network 130 (e.g., a core network of a cellular service provider, a telecommunication network such as a public switched telephone network (PSTN), and / or the Internet). Thus, the base stations 120A, 120B can facilitate communication between and among the terminal devices 110A-110N and / or between and among the terminal devices 110A-110N and the network 130.

[0033] In FIG. 1, the coverage areas of the base stations 120A, 120B can be referred to as cells. The base stations 120A, 120B can operate according to one or more radio access network technologies, thereby providing continuous or approximately continuous communication signal coverage to the terminal devices 110A-110N over a wide geographic area. The terminal devices communicating over a sidelink can be within coverage of a base station (e.g., terminal devices 110A, 110B, 110M) or outside coverage of a base station (e.g., terminal device 110N).

[0034] As shown in FIG. 1, the communication system 100 includes a cloud 150 and a Mobile Edge Computing (MEC) 140. The cloud 150 can provide services to terminal devices through a connection with the network 130, such as IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS. In the cloud 150 and the MEC 140, computing resources can be deployed, thereby providing support for meeting computing demands of communication services (e.g., communication computing convergence services).

[0035] In the present disclosure, a base station can be a 5G NR base station or a 5G LTE-A base station, such as a gNB and an ng-eNB. The gNB can provide NR user plane and control plane protocol termination for a terminal device; the ng-eNB is defined for compatibility with the 4G LTE communication system, which can be an upgrade of the LTE radio access network's evolved Node B (eNB), providing Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA) user plane and control plane protocol termination for a UE. In addition, examples of a base station can include, but are not limited to, at least one of a base transceiver station (BTS) and a base station controller (BSC) in a GSM system; at least one of a radio network controller (RNC) and a Node B in a WCDMA system; an access point (AP) in a WLAN, WiMAX system; and a corresponding network node in a communication system to be or being developed. Part of the functions of the base station herein can also be implemented as an entity having a control function for communication in a D2D, M2M, and V2X scenario, or as an entity playing a role of spectrum coordination in a cognitive radio communication scenario.

[0036] In the present disclosure, a terminal device can have all the breadth of its ordinary meaning, for example, a terminal device can be a mobile station (MS), a user equipment (UE), etc. A terminal device can be implemented as, for example, a mobile phone, a handheld device, a media player, a computer, a laptop, a tablet, an on board unit (OBU) or a vehicle, a road side unit RSU, a wearable device, an Internet of Things (IoT) device, or almost any type of wireless device. In some cases, a terminal device can communicate using multiple wireless communication technologies. For example, a terminal device can be configured to communicate using one or more of GSM, UMTS, CDMA2000, WiMAX, LTE, LTE-A, WLAN, NR, Bluetooth, etc.

[0037] Example scenarios for implementing sensing functions through sidelink communication

[0038] In the present disclosure, various embodiments for implementing sensing functions through sidelink communication are described. Specifically, a sensing initiator can send a sensing signal to a sensing performer through a sidelink, and indicate the sensing performer to perform a sensing task based on the sensing signal through a specific signal field. It should be understood that a sensing task is a process in which a terminal device with sensing capability implements sensing of objects in the surrounding environment based on the reception of a sensing signal. The sensing capability can depend on the processing capability or hardware configuration such as an antenna of the terminal device. For example, in the case of carrying a sensing signal through a waveform, the sensing performer can be required to have detection capability and configuration of the corresponding waveform.

[0039] FIG. 2 illustrates an example scenario of implementing sensing function through sidelink communication according to embodiments of the present disclosure. In the example of FIG. 2, the terminal device 110A implements sensing of surrounding objects (e.g., 202) through sidelink communication with the terminal device 110B and the terminal device 110C. Specifically, as a sensing initiator, the terminal device 110A transmits sensing signals through sidelink to the terminal devices 110B and 110C as sensing executors, respectively. The corresponding sensing signals are reflected by the surrounding object 202 and reach the terminal devices 110B and 110C. The terminal devices 110B and 110C obtain the results of the sensing task based on receiving and processing the sensing signals, respectively, and feed back the results of the sensing task to the terminal device 110A through sidelink. For example, the results of the sensing task can include information such as the angle of incidence, time delay, and signal strength of the received signal. Then, the terminal device 110A compares the sensing signals and the fed back results, thereby implementing detection and positioning of the surrounding object.

[0040] It is noted that the two parties of the sensing signal transmission and reception should be configured with corresponding or matched sensing resource transmission pool and reception pool. In the example of FIG. 2, the terminal device 110A and the terminal device 110B are within the coverage of the base station 120A, and the base station 120A can configure the sensing resource transmission pool and reception pool for both through system information or RRC reconfiguration message. The terminal device 110C is out of the coverage of the base station 120A, and the sensing resource transmission pool and reception pool of the terminal device 110C can be configured through pre-configuration information.

[0041] Example electronic device

[0042] FIG. 3A illustrates an example first electronic device that can implement a sensing initiator (e.g., the terminal device 110A) according to embodiments of the present disclosure. The first electronic device 300A can include various means for implementing each of the embodiments of the present disclosure for implementing sensing function through sidelink communication. In the example of FIG. 3A, the first electronic device 300A includes a transceiver unit 302A and a processing unit 304A. The various operations described below with regard to a first electronic device or a sensing initiator can be implemented by a means for performing each of the operations, such as the units 302A-304A of the first electronic device 300A, or other possible means.

[0043] In one embodiment, the transceiver 302A can be configured to establish a radio resource control (RRC) connection with a sensing performer (e.g., the second electronic device) over the sidelink. The transceiver 302A can also be configured to transmit a sensing signal to the second electronic device in a first time slot over a control channel, the sensing signal including a first value of a first field. The processing circuit 304 can be configured to set the first field to the first value to instruct the second electronic device to perform a sensing task based on the sensing signal. The transceiver 302A can also be configured to receive a sensing feedback signal from the second electronic device (e.g., over a data channel), where the sensing feedback signal includes a result of the sensing task.

[0044] In another embodiment, the sensing signal can multiplex a first-stage sidelink control information (SCI). Accordingly, the transceiver 302A can be configured to establish a radio resource control (RRC) connection with a sensing performer (e.g., the second electronic device) over the sidelink. The transceiver 302A can also be configured to transmit a first-stage SCI to the second electronic device in a first time slot over a control channel, the first-stage SCI including a first value of a first field. The processing circuit 304 can be configured to set the first field to the first value to instruct the second electronic device to perform a sensing task based on the first-stage SCI. The transceiver 302A can also be configured to receive a sensing feedback signal from the second electronic device (e.g., over a data channel or a sensing feedback channel), where the sensing feedback signal includes a result of the sensing task.

[0045] In an embodiment, the first electronic device 300A can be implemented in a chip level, or can also be implemented in a device level by including other external components (e.g., a radio frequency chain, an antenna, etc.). The first electronic device 300A can work as a communication device as a whole.

[0046] FIG. 3B shows an example second electronic device that can implement a sensing performer (e.g., the terminal device 110B or 110C) according to embodiments of the present disclosure. The second electronic device 300B can include various units to facilitate implementing embodiments of the present disclosure for implementing a sensing function over a sidelink communication. In the example of FIG. 3B, the second electronic device 300B includes a transceiver 302B and a sensing unit 304B. The various operations described below in connection with the second electronic device or the sensing performer can be implemented by the units 302B-304B of the electronic device 300B or other possible units.

[0047] In one embodiment, the transceiver 302B can be configured to establish a radio resource control (RRC) connection with a sensing initiator (e.g., the first electronic device) over the sidelink. The transceiver 302B can also be configured to receive, from the first electronic device over the control channel, a sensing signal transmitted in a first time slot, the sensing signal including a first value of a first field, where the first value of the first field indicates that the second electronic device is to perform a sensing task based on the sensing signal. The sensing unit 304B is configured to perform the sensing task based on the sensing signal in response to the first value of the first field. The transceiver 302B can also be configured to transmit, to the first electronic device, a sensing feedback signal (e.g., over the data channel), where the sensing feedback signal includes a result of the sensing task.

[0048] In another embodiment, the sensing signal can be multiplexed with the first-stage SCI. Accordingly, the transceiver 302B can be configured to establish a radio resource control (RRC) connection with a sensing initiator (e.g., the first electronic device) over the sidelink. The transceiver 302B can also be configured to receive, from the first electronic device over the control channel, the first-stage SCI transmitted in a first time slot, the first-stage SCI including a first value of a first field, where the first value of the first field indicates that the second electronic device is to perform a sensing task based on the first-stage SCI. The sensing unit 304B is configured to perform the sensing task based on the first-stage SCI in response to the first value of the first field. The transceiver 302B can also be configured to transmit, to the first electronic device, a sensing feedback signal, where the sensing feedback signal includes a result of the sensing task.

[0049] In embodiments, the second electronic device 300B can be implemented in a chip level, or can also be implemented in a device level by including other external components (e.g., radio frequency chains, antennas, etc.). The second electronic device 300B can work as a communication device as a whole.

[0050] It should be understood that each unit described above is only a logical division according to the specific function implemented by it, and is not intended to limit the specific implementation manner, for example, it can be implemented in software, hardware or a combination of software and hardware. In actual implementation, each unit described above can be implemented as an independent physical entity, or can also be implemented by a single entity (e.g., a processor (CPU or DSP, etc.), an integrated circuit, etc.). The processing circuitry can refer to various implementations of digital circuitry, analog circuitry or mixed signal (combination of analog and digital) circuitry that performs functions in a computing system. The processing circuitry can include, for example, circuits such as integrated circuits (ICs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), portions or circuits of individual processor cores, entire processor cores, individual processors, programmable hardware devices such as field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), and / or systems on chips that include multiple processors.

[0051] Sensing resource pool configuration on sidelink

[0052] FIG. 4 shows an example configuration of sensing resource pool on sidelink according to embodiments of the present disclosure. In the example of FIG. 4, the horizontal axis represents time and the vertical axis represents frequency. As shown in FIG. 4, the time-frequency resources on sidelink can be divided into at least three parts 402, 404 and 406 for sidelink control channel, sidelink data channel and sidelink feedback channel respectively. It should be understood that examples of these channels can include physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH), physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) and physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH) respectively.

[0053] In embodiments of the present disclosure, sensing signal can be carried through sidelink control channel. For example, sensing signal can be carried through first-stage SCI or any information existing or newly added. In embodiments of the present disclosure, sensing feedback signal can be carried through sidelink data channel. For example, sensing feedback signal can be sent as data through sidelink data channel. Alternatively or additionally, sensing feedback signal can be carried through predefined sensing feedback channel. For example, the predefined sensing feedback channel can include a certain number of symbols before sidelink feedback channel (e.g. PSFCH), as shown in 408 in FIG. 4 (the dashed box represents optional).

[0054] In embodiments of the present disclosure, predefined fields (e.g. first field, second field herein) can also be carried through sidelink control channel or sidelink data channel in order to control or assist sensing process based on sidelink communication. In some embodiments, first field can be carried through first-stage SCI and second field can be carried through second-stage SCI. For example, first value (e.g. 1) of first field can represent that sensing task needs to be performed, and second value (e.g. 0 or default) of first field can represent that sensing task does not need to be performed. For example, first value (e.g. time slot indication of sensing signal) of second field can represent time slot of sensing signal to which sensing feedback signal is directed, and second value (e.g. 0 or default) of second field can represent that corresponding data channel is irrelevant to sensing task.

[0055] In the case of carrying sensing signal or corresponding predefined field through SCI, sensing resource can be considered to reuse SCI communication resource.

[0056] FIG. 5 shows an example operation 500 of sensing initiator and sensing performer exchanging sensing resource pool information on sidelink according to embodiments of the present disclosure. Sensing initiator is for example terminal device 110A, and sensing performer is for example terminal device 110B or 110C.

[0057] As shown in FIG. 5, at 502, the perception initiating direction perception performer sends an RRCReconfigurationSidelink message to notify the perception resource sending pool and receiving pool configured by the perception initiating party. At 504, in a case where the perception receiving party determines that it has perception resources matching or corresponding to the perception resource sending pool and receiving pool configured by the perception initiating party, the perception receiving party sends an RRCReconfigurationSidelinkComplete message to the perception performer. Upon receiving the RRCReconfigurationSidelinkComplete message, the perception initiating party can initiate a perception task to the perception performer using the matching or corresponding perception resources.

[0058] In embodiments of the present disclosure, in a case where the perception initiating party is within the coverage of a base station (e.g., 120A), the perception resource sending pool and receiving pool can be configured in system information (e.g., SIB12) or RRCReconfiguration. For example, SIB12 can configure the perception resources by adding sl-BWP-SensingPoolConfigCommon-rXX in SL-BWP-ConfigCommon in SL-FreqConfigCommon-r16. RRCReconfiguration can configure the perception resources by adding sl-SensingConfig-rXX in sl-ConfigDedicatedNR. In a case where the perception initiating party is outside the coverage of the base station (e.g., 120A), the perception resource sending pool and receiving pool can be preconfigured in pre-configuration information (e.g., SL-PreconfigurationNR).

[0059] It should be understood that in a case where the perception resources are multiplexed with the communication resources (e.g., the sending pool and receiving pool of SCI), the perception initiating party and the perception performer can be determined to have matching or corresponding communication resources through similar information interaction as operation 500, so as to initiate and perform the perception task.

[0060] FIG. 6 shows a first example operation of implementing a perception function through sidelink communication according to embodiments of the present disclosure. The first example operation is performed between a perception initiating party and a perception performer, both of which establish a radio resource control (RRC) connection through a sidelink. The perception initiating party is, for example, a terminal device 110A, and the perception performer is, for example, a terminal device 110B or 110C. In operation 600, the perception function can be implemented through separate perception resources.

[0061] As shown in FIG. 6, at 602, the sensing initiator sends a sensing signal to the sensing performer in a first time slot through a sidelink control channel. The sensing signal includes a first value of a first field, which indicates the sensing performer to perform a sensing task based on the sensing signal. In an embodiment, the sensing signal includes the first field can mean that the sensing signal carries the first field or is associated with the first field. For example, the first field can be an existing field in the sensing signal or a newly added field outside the existing field.

[0062] At 604, the sensing performer sends a second value of the first field to the sensing initiator through the sidelink control channel. The second value indicates the sensing initiator to receive a sensing feedback signal through a sidelink data channel corresponding to the control channel used by the sensing performer to send the first field.

[0063] At 606, the sensing performer sends an indication of the time slot of the sensing signal to which the sensing feedback signal is directed (i.e., the first time slot), for example, through a second field in the sidelink data channel, to the sensing initiator.

[0064] At 608, the sensing performer sends the sensing feedback signal to the sensing initiator through the sidelink data channel.

[0065] FIG. 7A shows a second example operation of implementing a sensing function through sidelink communication according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The second example operation is performed between a sensing initiator and a sensing performer, which establish a radio resource control (RRC) connection through a sidelink. The sensing initiator is, for example, the terminal device 110A, and the sensing performer is, for example, the terminal device 110B or 110C. In operation 700, a sensing function can be implemented through multiplexing SCI and its communication resources.

[0066] As shown in FIG. 7A, at 702, the sensing initiator sends a first-stage SCI to the sensing performer in a first time slot through a sidelink control channel. The first-stage SCI includes a first value of a first field, which indicates the sensing performer to perform a sensing task based on the first-stage SCI. In an embodiment, the first-stage SCI includes the first field can mean that the first-stage SCI carries the first field or is associated with the first field. For example, the first field can be an existing field in the first-stage SCI or a newly added field outside the existing field.

[0067] At 704, the sensing performer sends the first-stage SCI to the sensing initiator through the sidelink control channel, which includes a second value of the first field. The second value indicates the sensing initiator to receive a sensing feedback signal through a sidelink data channel corresponding to the control channel used by the sensing performer to send the first-stage SCI.

[0068] At 706, the perception performing direction perception initiator transmits an indication of a time slot of the first stage SCI of the perception initiator to which the perception feedback signal is directed (i.e., the first time slot), e.g., through the second stage SCI. Note that the operation at 706 is performed in the case that the perception performing direction is not the destination of the data channel corresponding to the first stage SCI of the perception initiator.

[0069] At 708, the perception performing direction perception initiator transmits the perception feedback signal over the sidelink data channel.

[0070] FIG. 7B illustrates a third example operation of implementing the perception function through the sidelink communication according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The third example operation is performed between a perception initiator and a perception performing direction, which establish a radio resource control (RRC) connection through the sidelink. The perception initiator is, for example, the terminal device 110A, and the perception performing direction is, for example, the terminal device 110B or 110C. In operation 750, the perception function can be implemented through multiplexing the SCI and the communication resource thereof.

[0071] As shown in FIG. 7B, at 752, the perception initiator transmits the first stage SCI in the first time slot to the perception performing direction through the sidelink control channel. The first stage SCI includes a first value of a first field, which indicates that the perception performing direction performs the perception task based on the first stage SCI. In an embodiment, the first stage SCI includes the first field can mean that the first stage SCI carries the first field or is associated with the first field. For example, the first field can be an existing field in the first stage SCI or a newly added field outside the existing field.

[0072] At 754, the perception performing direction transmits the first stage SCI to the perception initiator through the sidelink control channel, which includes a second value of the first field. The second value indicates that the perception initiator receives the perception feedback signal through the sidelink data channel corresponding to the control channel used by the perception performing direction to transmit the first stage SCI.

[0073] At 758, the perception performing direction transmits the perception feedback signal to the perception initiator through the predefined first perception feedback channel. In an embodiment, the predefined plurality of perception feedback channels are located in a perception feedback resource pool of a plurality of symbols before the physical sidelink feedback channel. The first perception feedback channel corresponds to the time slot of the perception signal (i.e., the first time slot) in terms of time-frequency location in the perception feedback resource pool. Note that the operation at 758 is performed in the case that the perception performing direction is the destination of the data channel corresponding to the first stage SCI of the perception initiator.

[0074] FIG. 8A shows a first example of resource pool for sensing feedback signal according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 8A shows four time slots, time slot N to time slot N+3. In each time slot, a physical sidelink feedback channel (shown as F) is configured. Every four time slots (corresponding to a sensing feedback period of four time slots), for example in time slot N+3, a predefined sensing feedback channel (shown as SF) is configured. The sensing feedback channel SF includes multiple symbols before the physical sidelink feedback channel. Accordingly, corresponding frequency resources SF1 to SF4 can be configured in the frequency domain for the four sensing feedback channels SF to one-to-one correspond to the sensing signals transmitted or received in different time slots. In this way, the sensing performer can include the sensing feedback signal in the corresponding sensing feedback channel based on the time slot in which the sensing signal is received, and the sensing initiator can determine the time slot in which the corresponding sensing signal is transmitted based on the sensing feedback channel in which the sensing feedback signal is received, thereby determining the corresponding sensing signal. Then, by comparing the sensing signal and the feedback result, detection and positioning of surrounding objects can be achieved. It should be understood that in the example of FIG. 8A, the sensing signal to which the sensing feedback signal is directed can be distinguished by different resources in the frequency domain.

[0075] FIG. 8B shows a second example of resource pool for sensing feedback signal according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In the example of FIG. 8B, the sensing signal to which the sensing feedback signal is directed can be distinguished by different resources in the time domain. Again, FIG. 8B shows four time slots, time slot N to time slot N+3. In each time slot, a physical sidelink feedback channel (shown as F) is configured. Every four time slots (corresponding to a sensing feedback period of four time slots), for example in time slot N+3, a predefined sensing feedback channel (shown as SF1 to SF4) is configured. The sensing feedback channels SF1 to SF4 include multiple symbols before the physical sidelink feedback channel. Frequency resources (shown as SF) can be configured in the frequency domain for the four sensing feedback channels. In this example, the sensing performer can include the sensing feedback signal in the corresponding sensing feedback channel based on the time slot in which the sensing signal is received, and the sensing initiator can determine the time slot in which the corresponding sensing signal is transmitted based on the sensing feedback channel in which the sensing feedback signal is received, thereby determining the corresponding sensing signal. Then, by comparing the sensing signal and the feedback result, detection and positioning of surrounding objects can be achieved.

[0076] It should be understood that the sensing feedback period can be configured by the network or preconfigured. The sensing initiator and performer can determine the sensing feedback period to be used through negotiation. In addition, the sensing signal to which the sensing feedback signal is directed can be distinguished by different resources in combination of time and frequency domains.

[0077] In the case of sensing signal multiplexing SCI, the way in which the sensing performer transmits the sensing feedback signal can be different depending on whether the sensing performer is the destination of the physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) corresponding to the SCI. This is explained below in connection with FIG. 9.

[0078] FIG. 9 shows an example operation for transmitting a sensing feedback signal according to embodiments of the present disclosure. Operation 900 can be performed by a sensing performer (e.g., terminal device 100B, 100C). As shown in FIG. 9, at 902, the sensing performer receives a first-stage SCI transmitted by a sensing initiator. The first-stage SCI includes a first value of a first field, the first value of the first field indicating that a second electronic device performs a sensing task based on the first-stage SCI. At 904, the sensing performer receives a corresponding second-stage SCI transmitted by the sensing initiator and identifies a destination of a data channel corresponding to the first-stage SCI from the second-stage SCI. At 906, the sensing performer determines whether it is the destination of the corresponding data channel based on the identified destination. In response to determining that it is not the destination of the corresponding data channel, at 908, the sensing task performer transmits a sensing feedback through the data channel. Alternatively, in response to determining that it is the destination of the corresponding data channel, at 910, the sensing task performer transmits a sensing feedback through a corresponding sensing feedback channel in a predefined resource pool.

[0079] FIG. 10 shows an example operation for receiving a sensing feedback signal according to embodiments of the present disclosure. Operation 1000 can be performed by a sensing initiator (e.g., terminal device 100A). As shown in FIG. 10, at 1002, the sensing task initiator receives a sensing feedback from a sensing performer. It should be understood that the sensing feedback can be transmitted by the sensing task performer through a data channel or by the sensing task performer through a corresponding sensing feedback channel in a predefined resource pool. At 1004, the sensing task initiator determines a time slot corresponding to a sensing signal to which the sensing feedback from the sensing task performer is directed. For example, the corresponding time slot can be determined based on a second-stage SCI from the sensing performer or a sensing feedback channel used to transmit the sensing feedback. Then, at 1006, the sensing task initiator can determine the sensing signal to which the sensing feedback is directed based on the time slot, the sensing signal being transmitted in the time slot.

[0080] FIG. 11A illustrates a first example method for implementing a sensing function through sidelink communication according to embodiments of the present disclosure. The method can be performed by a sensing task initiator (e.g., terminal device 110A) or electronic device 300A. As shown in FIG. 11A, the method 1100A includes establishing a radio resource control (RRC) connection with a second electronic device through a sidelink (block 1102). The method further includes transmitting a sensing signal to the second electronic device in a first time slot through a control channel (block 1104). The sensing signal includes a first value of a first field, the first value of the first field indicating that the second electronic device performs a sensing task based on the sensing signal. The method further includes receiving a sensing feedback signal from the second electronic device through a data channel, the sensing feedback signal including a result of the sensing task (block 1106).

[0081] In one embodiment, the method includes receiving a second value of the first field from the second electronic device through the control channel. The second value of the first field indicates that the first electronic device receives the sensing feedback signal from the second electronic device through the data channel, the data channel corresponding to the first field from the second electronic device.

[0082] In one embodiment, the method includes receiving a second field from the second electronic device, the second field including an indication of the first time slot. The method further includes corresponding the sensing feedback signal to the sensing signal based on the indication of the first time slot.

[0083] In one embodiment, the sensing resource transmission pool and the sensing resource reception pool for the sensing signal are configured through at least one of: system information; an RRC reconfiguration message; or pre-configuration information.

[0084] FIG. 11B illustrates a second example method for implementing a sensing function through sidelink communication according to embodiments of the present disclosure. The method can be performed by a sensing task performer (e.g., terminal device 110B, 110C) or electronic device 300B. As shown in FIG. 11B, the method 1100B includes establishing a radio resource control (RRC) connection with a first electronic device through a sidelink (block 1152). The method further includes receiving a sensing signal transmitted in a first time slot from the first electronic device through a control channel (block 1154). The sensing signal includes a first value of a first field, the first value of the first field indicating that the second electronic device performs a sensing task based on the sensing signal. The method further includes transmitting a sensing feedback signal to the first electronic device through a data channel, the sensing feedback signal including a result of the sensing task (block 1156).

[0085] In one embodiment, the method further includes transmitting a second value of the first field to the first electronic device through the control channel. The second value of the first field indicates that the first electronic device receives the sensing feedback signal through the data channel, the data channel corresponding to the first field transmitted by the second electronic device.

[0086] In one embodiment, the method further includes sending, to the first electronic device, a second field, wherein the second field comprises an indication of the first time slot.

[0087] In one embodiment, the sensing resource transmission pool and the reception pool for the sensing signal are configured by at least one of: system information; a RRC reconfiguration message; or pre-configuration information.

[0088] FIG. 12A illustrates a third example method of implementing a sensing function through a sidelink communication according to embodiments of the present disclosure. The method can be performed by a sensing task initiator (e.g., the terminal device 110A) or the electronic device 300A. As shown in FIG. 12A, the method 1200A includes establishing, with a second electronic device, a radio resource control (RRC) connection through a sidelink (block 1202). The method further includes sending, to the second electronic device, first stage sidelink control information (SCI) in a first time slot through a control channel (block 1204). The first stage SCI comprises a first value of a first field, the first value of the first field indicating the second electronic device to perform a sensing task based on the first stage SCI. The method further includes receiving, from the second electronic device, a sensing feedback signal, the sensing feedback signal comprising a result of the sensing task (block 1206).

[0089] In one embodiment, the method further includes receiving, from the second electronic device, the first stage SCI through the control channel. The first stage SCI comprises a second value of the first field, the second value of the first field indicating the first electronic device to receive the sensing feedback signal from the second electronic device through a corresponding data channel.

[0090] In one embodiment, the method further includes receiving, from the second electronic device, a second stage SCI through the data channel, the second stage SCI comprising an indication of the first time slot. The method further includes receiving, from the second electronic device, the sensing feedback signal through the data channel, and corresponding the sensing feedback signal with the sensing signal based on the indication of the first time slot.

[0091] In one embodiment, the second electronic device is a destination of the data channel corresponding to the first stage SCI, the method further includes receiving, from the second electronic device, a first sensing feedback signal through a predefined first sensing feedback channel, the first sensing feedback channel being located in a resource pool before a physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH).

[0092] In one embodiment, the first sensing feedback channel corresponds to the first stage SCI of the first electronic device, the method further includes corresponding the sensing feedback signal with the sensing signal based on the first sensing feedback channel.

[0093] FIG. 12B shows a fourth example method for implementing a sensing function through a sidelink communication according to embodiments of the present disclosure. The method can be performed by a sensing task performer (e.g., terminal device 110B, 110C) or electronic device 300B. As shown in FIG. 12B, the method 1200B includes establishing a radio resource control (RRC) connection with a first electronic device through a sidelink (block 1252). The method also includes receiving, from the first electronic device, first-stage sidelink control information (SCI) transmitted in a first time slot through a control channel (block 1254). The first-stage SCI includes a first value of a first field, the first value of the first field indicating that a second electronic device performs a sensing task based on the first-stage SCI. The method also includes transmitting, to the first electronic device, a sensing feedback signal including a result of the sensing task (block 1256).

[0094] In one embodiment, the method further includes determining, based on the second-stage SCI from the first electronic device, that the second electronic device is not a destination of a data channel corresponding to the first-stage SCI from the first electronic device; transmitting, to the first electronic device through the control channel, the first-stage SCI including a second value of the first field, the second value of the first field indicating that the sensing feedback signal is to be transmitted through the data channel corresponding to the first-stage SCI of the second electronic device.

[0095] In one embodiment, the method further includes including an indication of the first time slot in the second-stage SCI of the second electronic device; and transmitting, to the first electronic device, the second-stage SCI.

[0096] In one embodiment, the method further includes determining, based on the second-stage SCI from the first electronic device, that the second electronic device is a destination of a data channel corresponding to the first-stage SCI from the first electronic device; and transmitting, to the first electronic device through a predefined first sensing feedback channel, the sensing feedback signal, wherein the first sensing feedback channel is located in a resource pool before a physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH).

[0097] In one embodiment, the first sensing feedback channel corresponds to the first time slot in which the first-stage SCI is transmitted by the first electronic device.

[0098] The above respectively describes various example electronic devices and methods according to embodiments of the present disclosure. It should be understood that the operations or functions of these electronic devices can be combined with each other, thereby achieving more or less operations or functions than described. The operation steps of various methods can also be combined with each other in any appropriate order, thereby similarly achieving more or less operations than described.

[0099] It should be appreciated that the machine executable instructions in the machine readable storage medium or program product according to embodiments of the present disclosure can be configured to perform operations corresponding to the above-mentioned device and method embodiments. The embodiments of the machine readable storage medium or program product are clear to those skilled in the art when referring to the above-mentioned device and method embodiments, and thus are not repeatedly described. The machine readable storage medium and program product for carrying or including the above-mentioned machine executable instructions also fall within the scope of the present disclosure. Such storage media can include, but are not limited to, floppy disks, optical disks, magneto-optical disks, memory cards, memory sticks, and the like. In addition, it should be appreciated that the above-mentioned series of processes and devices can also be implemented by software and / or firmware.

[0100] In addition, it should be appreciated that the above-mentioned series of processes and devices can also be implemented by software and / or firmware. In the case of implementation by software and / or firmware, a program constituting the software is installed from a storage medium or a network to a computer having a dedicated hardware structure, such as the general-purpose computer 1300 shown in FIG. 13, which is capable of performing various functions and the like when various programs are installed. FIG. 13 shows an example block diagram of a computer that can be implemented as a terminal device according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0101] In FIG. 13, a central processing unit (CPU) 1301 performs various processes according to a program stored in a read only memory (ROM) 1302 or a program loaded from a storage section 1308 to a random access memory (RAM) 1303. In the RAM 1303, data required when the CPU 1301 performs various processes and the like is also stored as necessary.

[0102] The CPU 1301, the ROM 1302, and the RAM 1303 are connected to each other via a bus 1304. An input / output interface 1305 is also connected to the bus 1304.

[0103] The following components are connected to the input / output interface 1305: an input section 1306 including a keyboard, a mouse, and the like; an output section 1307 including a display such as a cathode ray tube (CRT), a liquid crystal display (LCD), and the like, and a speaker and the like; a storage section 1308 including a hard disk and the like; and a communication section 1309 including a network interface card such as a LAN card, a modem, and the like. The communication section 1309 performs communication processing via a network such as the Internet.

[0104] A drive 1310 is also connected to the input / output interface 1305 as necessary. A removable medium 1311 such as a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a semiconductor memory, and the like is mounted on the drive 1310 as necessary, so that a computer program read therefrom is installed in the storage section 1308 as necessary.

[0105] In a case where the above-described series of processes are realized by software, a program constituting the software is installed from a network such as the Internet or a storage medium such as the detachable medium 1311.

[0106] It is to be understood by those skilled in the art that such a storage medium is not limited to the detachable medium 1311 in which the program is stored, which is separate from the device and distributed to the user to provide the program. Examples of the detachable medium 1311 include a magnetic disk (including a floppy® disk), a magneto-optical disk (including a mini disk (MD)®), and a semiconductor memory. Alternatively, the storage medium can be the ROM 1302, a hard disk contained in the storage section 1308, or the like, in which the program is stored and which is distributed to the user together with the device that contains them.

[0107] An application example according to the present disclosure will be described below with reference to FIGS. 14 to 15.

[0108] First Application Example

[0109] FIG. 14 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a schematic configuration of a smartphone 1600 to which the technology according to the present disclosure can be applied. The smartphone 1600 includes a processor 1601, a memory 1602, a storage 1603, an external connection interface 1604, a camera 1606, a sensor 1607, a microphone 1608, an input device 1609, a display device 1610, a speaker 1611, a wireless communication interface 1612, one or more antenna switches 1615, one or more antennas 1616, a bus 1617, a battery 1618, and an auxiliary controller 1619. In one implementation, the smartphone 1600 (or the processor 1601) here can correspond to the electronic device 300B described above.

[0110] The processor 1601 can be, for example, a CPU or a system on a chip (SoC), and controls functions of the application layer and the other layers of the smartphone 1600. The memory 1602 includes a RAM and a ROM, and stores a data and a program executed by the processor 1601. The storage 1603 can include a storage medium such as a semiconductor memory and a hard disk. The external connection interface 1604 is an interface for connecting an external device such as a memory card and a universal serial bus (USB) device to the smartphone 1600.

[0111] The camera 1606 includes an image sensor such as a charge coupled device (CCD) and a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS), and generates a captured image. The sensor 1607 can include a set of sensors such as a measurement sensor, a gyro sensor, a geomagnetic sensor, and an acceleration sensor. The microphone 1608 converts a sound input to the smartphone 1600 into an audio signal. The input device 1609 includes, for example, a touch sensor configured to detect a touch on a screen of the display device 1610, a keypad, a keyboard, a button, or a switch, and receives an operation or information input from a user. The display device 1610 includes a screen such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) and an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display, and displays an output image of the smartphone 1600. The speaker 1611 converts an audio signal output from the smartphone 1600 into a sound.

[0112] The wireless communication interface 1612 supports any cellular communication scheme such as LTE and LTE-Advanced, and performs wireless communication. The wireless communication interface 1612 can include, for example, a BB processor 1613 and an RF circuit 1614, in general. The BB processor 1613 can perform, for example, encoding / decoding, modulation / demodulation, and multiplexing / demultiplexing, and perform various types of signal processing for wireless communication. Meanwhile, the RF circuit 1614 can include, for example, a mixer, a filter, and an amplifier, and transmit and receive a wireless signal via an antenna 1616. The wireless communication interface 1612 can be one chip module in which the BB processor 1613 and the RF circuit 1614 are integrated. As illustrated in FIG. 14, the wireless communication interface 1612 can include a plurality of BB processors 1613 and a plurality of RF circuits 1614. Although FIG. 14 illustrates an example in which the wireless communication interface 1612 includes a plurality of BB processors 1613 and a plurality of RF circuits 1614, the wireless communication interface 1612 can include a single BB processor 1613 or a single RF circuit 1614.

[0113] In addition, the wireless communication interface 1612 can support another type of wireless communication scheme in addition to the cellular communication scheme, such as a short-range wireless communication scheme, a near field communication scheme, and a wireless local area network (LAN) scheme. In this case, the wireless communication interface 1612 can include a BB processor 1613 and an RF circuit 1614 for each wireless communication scheme.

[0114] Each of the antenna switches 1615 switches a connection destination of the antenna 1616 between a plurality of circuits included in the wireless communication interface 1612, for example, circuits for different wireless communication schemes.

[0115] Each of the antennas 1616 includes a single or multiple antenna elements (such as a plurality of antenna elements included in a MIMO antenna), and is used for the wireless communication interface 1612 to transmit and receive wireless signals. As illustrated in FIG. 14, the smartphone 1600 can include a plurality of antennas 1616. Although FIG. 14 illustrates an example in which the smartphone 1600 includes a plurality of antennas 1616, the smartphone 1600 can also include a single antenna 1616.

[0116] Furthermore, the smartphone 1600 can include an antenna 1616 for each wireless communication scheme. In this case, the antenna switch 1615 can be omitted from the configuration of the smartphone 1600.

[0117] The bus 1617 connects the processor 1601, the memory 1602, the storage 1603, the external connection interface 1604, the camera 1606, the sensor 1607, the microphone 1608, the input device 1609, the display device 1610, the speaker 1611, the wireless communication interface 1612, and the auxiliary controller 1619 to one another. The battery 1618 supplies power to the respective blocks of the smartphone 1600 illustrated in FIG. 14 via feed lines, which are partially illustrated as dotted lines in the figure. The auxiliary controller 1619 operates the minimum necessary functions of the smartphone 1600, for example, in a sleep mode.

[0118] Second Application Example

[0119] FIG. 15 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a schematic configuration of a car navigation device 1720 to which the technology of the present disclosure can be applied. The car navigation device 1720 includes a processor 1721, a memory 1722, a global positioning system (GPS) module 1724, a sensor 1725, a data interface 1726, a content player 1727, a storage medium interface 1728, an input device 1729, a display device 1730, a speaker 1731, a wireless communication interface 1733, one or more antenna switches 1736, one or more antennas 1737, and a battery 1738. In one implementation, the car navigation device 1720 (or the processor 1721) here can correspond to the electronic device 300B described above.

[0120] The processor 1721 can be, for example, a CPU or a SoC, and controls a navigation function and another function of the car navigation device 1720. The memory 1722 includes a RAM and a ROM, and stores data and programs executed by the processor 1721.

[0121] The GPS module 1724 measures a position (such as latitude, longitude and altitude) of the car navigation device 1720 using GPS signals received from GPS satellites. The sensor 1725 can include a set of sensors such as a gyro sensor, a geomagnetic sensor and an air pressure sensor. The data interface 1726 is connected to, for example, an in-vehicle network 1741 via a terminal not shown, and acquires data generated by the vehicle such as vehicle speed data.

[0122] The content player 1727 reproduces content stored in a storage medium such as a CD and a DVD, which is inserted into the storage medium interface 1728. The input device 1729 includes, for example, a touch sensor configured to detect a touch on a screen of the display device 1730, a button or a switch, and receives an operation or information input from a user. The display device 1730 includes a screen such as an LCD or an OLED display, and displays an image of a navigation function or reproduced content. The speaker 1731 outputs a sound of a navigation function or reproduced content.

[0123] The wireless communication interface 1733 supports any cellular communication scheme such as LTE and LTE-Advanced, and performs wireless communication. The wireless communication interface 1733 can generally include, for example, a BB processor 1734 and an RF circuit 1735. The BB processor 1734 can perform, for example, encoding / decoding, modulation / demodulation and multiplexing / demultiplexing, and perform various types of signal processing for wireless communication. Meanwhile, the RF circuit 1735 can include, for example, a mixer, a filter and an amplifier, and transmit and receive wireless signals via an antenna 1737. The wireless communication interface 1733 can also be one chip module in which the BB processor 1734 and the RF circuit 1735 are integrated thereon. As shown in FIG. 15, the wireless communication interface 1733 can include a plurality of BB processors 1734 and a plurality of RF circuits 1735. Although FIG. 15 shows an example in which the wireless communication interface 1733 includes a plurality of BB processors 1734 and a plurality of RF circuits 1735, the wireless communication interface 1733 can also include a single BB processor 1734 or a single RF circuit 1735.

[0124] In addition, the wireless communication interface 1733 can support another type of wireless communication scheme in addition to the cellular communication scheme, such as a short-range wireless communication scheme, a near field communication scheme and a wireless LAN scheme. In this case, the wireless communication interface 1733 can include a BB processor 1734 and an RF circuit 1735 for each wireless communication scheme.

[0125] Each of the antenna switches 1736 switches a connection destination of the antenna 1737 between a plurality of circuits included in the wireless communication interface 1733, such as circuits for different wireless communication schemes.

[0126] Each of the antennas 1737 includes a single or multiple antenna elements (such as multiple antenna elements included in a MIMO antenna), and is used for the wireless communication interface 1733 to transmit and receive wireless signals. As illustrated in FIG. 15, the car navigation device 1720 can include multiple antennas 1737. While FIG. 15 illustrates an example in which the car navigation device 1720 includes multiple antennas 1737, the car navigation device 1720 can also include a single antenna 1737.

[0127] In addition, the car navigation device 1720 can include an antenna 1737 for each wireless communication scheme. In this case, the antenna switch 1736 can be omitted from the configuration of the car navigation device 1720.

[0128] The battery 1738 supplies power to the various blocks of the car navigation device 1720 illustrated in FIG. 15 via feed lines, which are partially illustrated as dotted lines in the figure. The battery 1738 accumulates power supplied from the vehicle.

[0129] The technology of the present disclosure can also be implemented as an in-vehicle system (or vehicle) 1740 including the car navigation device 1720, an in-vehicle network 1741, and one or more blocks of a vehicle module 1742. The vehicle module 1742 generates vehicle data such as vehicle speed, engine speed, and fault information, and outputs the generated data to the in-vehicle network 1741.

[0130] It should be understood that the technical solutions of the present disclosure can be implemented by the following example embodiments.

[0131] 1. A first electronic device, comprising:

[0132] at least one processor; and

[0133] at least one memory storing program instructions, wherein the program instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the first electronic device to:

[0134] establish a radio resource control (RRC) connection with a second electronic device over a sidelink;

[0135] transmit, to the second electronic device, a sensing signal in a first time slot over a control channel, the sensing signal including a first value of a first field, wherein the first value of the first field indicates that the second electronic device is to perform a sensing task based on the sensing signal; and

[0136] receive, from the second electronic device, a sensing feedback signal over a data channel, wherein the sensing feedback signal includes a result of the sensing task.

[0137] 2. The first electronic device of clause 1, wherein the program instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the first electronic device to:

[0138] receive, from the second electronic device over a control channel, a second value of the first field, wherein the second value of the first field indicates that the first electronic device is to receive the perception feedback signal from the second electronic device over a data channel corresponding to the first field from the second electronic device.

[0139] 3. The first electronic device of clause 2, wherein the program instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the first electronic device to:

[0140] receive, from the second electronic device, a second field, wherein the second field comprises an indication of the first time slot; and

[0141] correspond the perception feedback signal to the perception signal based on the indication of the first time slot.

[0142] 4. The first electronic device of clause 1, wherein the perception resource transmission pool and the reception pool for the perception signal are configured by at least one of:

[0143] system information;

[0144] an RRC reconfiguration message; or

[0145] pre-configuration information.

[0146] 5. A second electronic device comprising:

[0147] at least one processor; and

[0148] at least one memory storing program instructions, wherein the program instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the second electronic device to:

[0149] establish, with a first electronic device over a sidelink, a radio resource control (RRC) connection;

[0150] receive, from the first electronic device over a control channel, a perception signal transmitted in a first time slot, the perception signal comprising a first value of a first field, wherein the first value of the first field indicates that the second electronic device is to perform a perception task based on the perception signal; and

[0151] transmit, to the first electronic device over a data channel, a perception feedback signal, wherein the perception feedback signal comprises a result of the perception task.

[0152] 6. The second electronic device of clause 5, wherein the program instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the first electronic device to:

[0153] transmit, to the first electronic device, a second value of the first field via a control channel, wherein the second value of the first field indicates that the first electronic device is to receive the sensing feedback signal via a data channel corresponding to the first field transmitted by the second electronic device.

[0154] 7. The second electronic device of clause 6, wherein the program instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the second electronic device to:

[0155] transmit, to the first electronic device, a second field, wherein the second field comprises an indication of the first time slot.

[0156] 8. The second electronic device of clause 5, wherein the sensing resource transmission pool and the sensing resource reception pool for the sensing signal are configured by at least one of:

[0157] system information;

[0158] an RRC reconfiguration message; or

[0159] preconfigured information.

[0160] 9. A first electronic device comprising:

[0161] at least one processor; and

[0162] at least one memory storing program instructions, wherein the program instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the first electronic device to:

[0163] establish, with a second electronic device, a radio resource control (RRC) connection via a sidelink;

[0164] transmit, to the second electronic device, a first-stage sidelink control information (SCI) in a first time slot via a control channel, the first-stage SCI comprising a first value of a first field, wherein the first value of the first field indicates that the second electronic device is to perform a sensing task based on the first-stage SCI; and

[0165] receive, from the second electronic device, a sensing feedback signal, wherein the sensing feedback signal comprises a result of the sensing task.

[0166] 10. The first electronic device of clause 9, wherein the second electronic device is not a destination of a data channel corresponding to the first-stage SCI, the program instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the first electronic device to:

[0167] receive, from the second electronic device, a first-stage SCI over a control channel, the first-stage SCI including a second value of the first field, wherein the second value of the first field indicates that the first electronic device is to receive the perception feedback signal from the second electronic device over a corresponding data channel.

[0168] 11. The first electronic device of clause 10, wherein the program instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the first electronic device to:

[0169] receive, from the second electronic device, a second-stage SCI over a data channel, wherein the second-stage SCI includes an indication of the first time slot;

[0170] receive, from the second electronic device, the perception feedback signal over the data channel; and

[0171] correspond the perception feedback signal to the perception signal based on the indication of the first time slot.

[0172] 12. The first electronic device of clause 9, wherein the second electronic device is a destination of the data channel corresponding to the first-stage SCI, the program instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the first electronic device to:

[0173] receive, from the second electronic device, a first perception feedback signal over a predefined first perception feedback channel, wherein the first perception feedback channel is in a resource pool preceding a physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH).

[0174] 13. The first electronic device of clause 12, wherein the first perception feedback channel corresponds to the first-stage SCI of the first electronic device, the program instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the first electronic device to:

[0175] correspond the perception feedback signal to the perception signal based on the first perception feedback channel.

[0176] 14. A second electronic device comprising:

[0177] at least one processor; and

[0178] at least one memory storing program instructions, wherein the program instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the second electronic device to:

[0179] establish, with a first electronic device, a radio resource control (RRC) connection over a sidelink;

[0180] receiving, from the first electronic device over a control channel, first stage sidelink control information (SCI) transmitted in a first time slot, the first stage SCI including a first value for a first field, wherein the first value for the first field indicates that the second electronic device is to perform a sensing task based on the first stage SCI; and

[0181] sending, to the first electronic device, a sensing feedback signal, wherein the sensing feedback signal includes a result of the sensing task.

[0182] 15. The second electronic device of clause 14, wherein the program instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the second electronic device to:

[0183] determining, based on the second stage SCI from the first electronic device, that the second electronic device is not a destination of a data channel corresponding to the first stage SCI from the first electronic device;

[0184] sending, to the first electronic device over a control channel, the first stage SCI including a second value for the first field, wherein the second value for the first field indicates that the sensing feedback signal is to be transmitted over a data channel corresponding to the first stage SCI of the second electronic device.

[0185] 16. The second electronic device of clause 15, wherein the program instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the second electronic device to:

[0186] including, in the second stage SCI of the second electronic device, an indication of the first time slot; and

[0187] sending, to the first electronic device, the second stage SCI.

[0188] 17. The second electronic device of clause 14, wherein the program instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the second electronic device to:

[0189] determining, based on the second stage SCI from the first electronic device, that the second electronic device is a destination of a data channel corresponding to the first stage SCI from the first electronic device;

[0190] sending, to the first electronic device over a predefined first sensing feedback channel, the sensing feedback signal, wherein the first sensing feedback channel is in a resource pool preceding a physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH).

[0191] 18. The second electronic device of clause 17, wherein the first sensing feedback channel corresponds to the first time slot in which the first stage SCI is transmitted by the first electronic device.

[0192] 19. A method for sensing, comprising:

[0193] by the first electronic device:

[0194] establishing, with the second electronic device over the sidelink, a radio resource control (RRC) connection;

[0195] sending, to the second electronic device over the control channel in the first time slot, a sensing signal including a first value of a first field, wherein the first value of the first field indicates the second electronic device to perform a sensing task based on the sensing signal; and

[0196] receiving, from the second electronic device over the data channel, a sensing feedback signal including a result of the sensing task.

[0197] 20. A method for sensing, comprising:

[0198] by the second electronic device:

[0199] establishing, with the first electronic device over the sidelink, a radio resource control (RRC) connection;

[0200] receiving, from the first electronic device over the control channel, a sensing signal sent in a first time slot, the sensing signal including a first value of a first field, wherein the first value of the first field indicates the second electronic device to perform a sensing task based on the sensing signal; and

[0201] sending, to the first electronic device over the data channel, a sensing feedback signal including a result of the sensing task.

[0202] 21. A method for sensing, comprising:

[0203] by the first electronic device:

[0204] establishing, with the second electronic device over the sidelink, a radio resource control (RRC) connection;

[0205] sending, to the second electronic device over the control channel in a first time slot, a first-stage sidelink control information (SCI), the first-stage SCI including a first value of a first field, wherein the first value of the first field indicates the second electronic device to perform a sensing task based on the first-stage SCI; and

[0206] receiving, from the second electronic device, a sensing feedback signal including a result of the sensing task.

[0207] 22. A method for sensing, comprising:

[0208] by the second electronic device:

[0209] establish a radio resource control (RRC) connection with the first electronic device over the sidelink;

[0210] receive, from the first electronic device over the control channel, first stage sidelink control information (SCI) transmitted in the first time slot, the first stage SCI including a first value of a first field, wherein the first value of the first field indicates that the second electronic device is to perform a sensing task based on the first stage SCI; and

[0211] transmit, to the first electronic device, a sensing feedback signal, wherein the sensing feedback signal includes a result of the sensing task.

[0212] 23. A computer program product comprising instructions which, when executed by a computer, cause the implementation of the method according to any one of clauses 19 to 22.

[0213] The exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure are described above with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the present disclosure is of course not limited to the above examples. Various changes and modifications can be made by those skilled in the art within the scope of the appended claims, and it should be understood that such changes and modifications naturally fall within the technical scope of the present disclosure.

[0214] For example, a plurality of functions included in one unit in the above-described embodiments can be implemented by separate apparatuses. Alternatively, a plurality of functions implemented by a plurality of units in the above-described embodiments can be implemented by one unit. In addition, one of the above-described functions can be implemented by a plurality of units. Needless to say, such a configuration is included in the technical scope of the present disclosure.

[0215] In this specification, the steps described in the flowcharts described in the flowcharts include not only processes performed in time series according to the order described in the flowcharts, but also processes performed in parallel or individually rather than in time series. Furthermore, even in the steps that are processed in time series, the order of processing is not especially limited and can be appropriately changed.

[0216] While the present disclosure and its advantages have been disclosed in detail, it should be understood that various changes, substitutions and alterations can be made herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure as defined by the appended claims. Moreover, the scope of the present disclosure is not intended to be limited to the particular embodiments of the process, machine, manufacture, composition of matter, means, methods and steps described in the specification. Accordingly, the disclosure of this patent application is intended to be illustrative, but not limiting, of the scope of the present disclosure, which is set forth in the following claims.

Claims

1. A first electronic device, comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing program instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the first electronic device to: establish, with a second electronic device, a radio resource control (RRC) connection over a sidelink; transmit, to the second electronic device, a sensing signal in a first time slot over a control channel, the sensing signal comprising a first value of a first field, wherein the first value of the first field indicates the second electronic device to perform a sensing task based on the sensing signal; and receive, from the second electronic device, a sensing feedback signal over a data channel, wherein the sensing feedback signal comprises a result of the sensing task. 2.The first electronic device of claim 1, wherein the program instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the first electronic device to: receive, from the second electronic device, a second value of the first field over the control channel, wherein the second value of the first field indicates the first electronic device to receive the sensing feedback signal from the second electronic device over the data channel corresponding to the first field from the second electronic device. 3.The first electronic device of claim 2, wherein the program instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the first electronic device to: receive, from the second electronic device, a second field, wherein the second field comprises an indication of the first time slot; and correspond the sensing feedback signal to the sensing signal based on the indication of the first time slot. 4.The first electronic device of claim 1, wherein a sensing resource transmission pool and a reception pool for the sensing signal are configured by at least one of: system information; an RRC reconfiguration message; or pre-configuration information. 5.A second electronic device, comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing program instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the second electronic device to: establish, with a first electronic device, a radio resource control (RRC) connection over a sidelink; receive, from the first electronic device, a sensing signal transmitted in a first time slot over a control channel, the sensing signal comprising a first value of a first field, wherein the first value of the first field indicates the second electronic device to perform a sensing task based on the sensing signal; and transmit, to the first electronic device, a sensing feedback signal over a data channel, wherein the sensing feedback signal comprises a result of the sensing task. 6.The second electronic device of claim 5, wherein the program instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the first electronic device to: transmit, to the first electronic device, a second value of the first field over the control channel, wherein the second value of the first field indicates the first electronic device to receive the sensing feedback signal over the data channel corresponding to the first field transmitted by the second electronic device. 7.The second electronic device of claim 6, wherein the program instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the second electronic device to: ​ ​ ​ ​ transmitting, to the first electronic device, a second field, wherein the second field comprises an indication of the first time slot.

8. The second electronic device of claim 5, wherein the sensing resource transmission pool and the reception pool for the sensing signal are configured by at least one of: system information; an RRC reconfiguration message; or pre-configuration information.

9. A first electronic device, comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing program instructions, wherein the program instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the first electronic device to: establish, with a second electronic device, a radio resource control (RRC) connection over a sidelink; transmit, to the second electronic device, a first-stage sidelink control information (SCI) in a first time slot over a control channel, the first-stage SCI comprising a first value of a first field, wherein the first value of the first field indicates the second electronic device to perform a sensing task based on the first-stage SCI; and receive, from the second electronic device, a sensing feedback signal, wherein the sensing feedback signal comprises a result of the sensing task. 10.The first electronic device of claim 9, wherein, the second electronic device not being a destination of a data channel corresponding to the first-stage SCI, the program instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the first electronic device to: receive, from the second electronic device, the first-stage SCI over the control channel, the first-stage SCI comprising a second value of the first field, wherein the second value of the first field indicates the first electronic device to receive the sensing feedback signal from the second electronic device over a corresponding data channel.

11. The first electronic device of claim 10, wherein the program instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the first electronic device to: receive, from the second electronic device, a second-stage SCI over the data channel, wherein the second-stage SCI comprises an indication of the first time slot; receive, from the second electronic device, the sensing feedback signal over the data channel; and correspond the sensing feedback signal to the sensing signal based on the indication of the first time slot. the second electronic device being a destination of the data channel corresponding to the first-stage SCI, the program instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the first electronic device to:

12. The first electronic device of claim 9, wherein, receive, from the second electronic device, a first sensing feedback signal over a predefined first sensing feedback channel, wherein the first sensing feedback channel is located in a resource pool before a physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH). the first sensing feedback channel corresponding to the first-stage SCI of the first electronic device, the program instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the first electronic device to:

13. The first electronic device of claim 12, wherein, correspond the sensing feedback signal to the sensing signal based on the first sensing feedback channel.

14. A second electronic device, comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing program instructions, wherein the program instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the second electronic device to: establish, with a first electronic device, a radio resource control (RRC) connection over a sidelink; ​ receiving, from the first electronic device, a first-stage sidelink control information (SCI) transmitted in a first time slot over a control channel, the first-stage SCI including a first value of a first field, wherein the first value of the first field indicates that the second electronic device is to perform a sensing task based on the first-stage SCI; and transmitting, to the first electronic device, a sensing feedback signal, wherein the sensing feedback signal includes a result of the sensing task.

15. The second electronic device of claim 14, wherein the program instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the second electronic device to: determine, based on the second-stage SCI from the first electronic device, that the second electronic device is not a destination of a data channel corresponding to the first-stage SCI from the first electronic device; transmit, to the first electronic device over a control channel, a first-stage SCI including a second value of the first field, wherein the second value of the first field indicates that the sensing feedback signal is to be transmitted over the data channel corresponding to the first-stage SCI of the second electronic device.

16. The second electronic device of claim 15, wherein the program instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the second electronic device to: include, in the second-stage SCI of the second electronic device, an indication of the first time slot; and transmit, to the first electronic device, the second-stage SCI.

17. The second electronic device of claim 14, wherein the program instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the second electronic device to: determine, based on the second-stage SCI from the first electronic device, that the second electronic device is a destination of a data channel corresponding to the first-stage SCI from the first electronic device; transmit, to the first electronic device over a predefined first sensing feedback channel, the sensing feedback signal, wherein the first sensing feedback channel is located in a resource pool before a physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH).

18. The second electronic device of claim 17, wherein, The first sensing feedback channel corresponds to the first time slot in which the first-stage SCI is transmitted by the first electronic device.

19. A method for sensing, comprising: by a first electronic device: establishing, with a second electronic device, a radio resource control (RRC) connection over a sidelink; transmitting, to the second electronic device over a control channel, a sensing signal in a first time slot, the sensing signal including a first value of a first field, wherein the first value of the first field indicates that the second electronic device is to perform a sensing task based on the sensing signal; and receiving, from the second electronic device over a data channel, a sensing feedback signal, wherein the sensing feedback signal includes a result of the sensing task.

20. A method for sensing, comprising: by a second electronic device: establishing, with a first electronic device, a radio resource control (RRC) connection over a sidelink; receiving, from the first electronic device over a control channel, a sensing signal transmitted in a first time slot, the sensing signal including a first value of a first field, wherein the first value of the first field indicates that the second electronic device is to perform a sensing task based on the sensing signal; and ​ ​ transmit, to the first electronic device, a sensing feedback signal over a data channel, wherein the sensing feedback signal comprises a result of the sensing task.

21. A method for sensing, comprising: by the first electronic device: establishing, with a second electronic device, a radio resource control (RRC) connection over a sidelink; transmitting, to the second electronic device, a first-stage sidelink control information (SCI) in a first time slot over a control channel, the first-stage SCI comprising a first value of a first field, wherein the first value of the first field indicates the second electronic device to perform a sensing task based on the first-stage SCI; and receiving, from the second electronic device, a sensing feedback signal, wherein the sensing feedback signal comprises a result of the sensing task.

22. A method for sensing, comprising: by the second electronic device: establishing, with a first electronic device, a radio resource control (RRC) connection over a sidelink; receiving, from the first electronic device, a first-stage sidelink control information (SCI) transmitted in a first time slot over a control channel, the first-stage SCI comprising a first value of a first field, wherein the first value of the first field indicates the second electronic device to perform a sensing task based on the first-stage SCI; and transmitting, to the first electronic device, a sensing feedback signal, wherein the sensing feedback signal comprises a result of the sensing task.

23. A computer program product comprising instructions which, when executed by a computer, cause the implementation of the method of any one of claims 19 to 22.

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