Method for limiting positioning measurements for energy efficiency

Abstract

An apparatus configured to: receive at least one mapping between one or more quality requirements for positioning estimation, and one or more measurement requirements for the positioning estimation; receive a request to perform positioning measurements, wherein the request comprises at least one of: at least one measurement requirement of the one or more measurement requirements, or at least one quality requirement of the one or more quality requirements; and determine whether to perform at least one positioning measurement based, at least partially, on the received mapping, the received request, and at least one energy requirement of the apparatus.

Description

METHOD FOR LIMITING POSITIONING MEASUREMENTS FOR ENERGYEFFICIENCYTECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The example and non-limiting embodiments relate generally to user equipment positioning and, more particularly, to consideration of power requirements in performing measurements for the positioning.BACKGROUND

[0002] It is known, in positioning methods, for a target user equipment to provide measurements to the network and for the network to determine the position of the target user equipment based on the measurements.SUMMARY

[0003] The following summary is merely intended to be illustrative. The summary is not intended to limit the scope of the claims .

[0004] In accordance with one aspect, an apparatus comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to: receive at least one mapping between one or more quality requirements for positioning estimation, and one or more measurement requirements for the positioning estimation; receive a request to perform positioning measurements, wherein the request comprises at least one of: at least one measurement requirement of the one or more measurement requirements, or at least one quality requirement of the one ormore quality requirements; and determine whether to perform at least one positioning measurement based, at least partially, on the received mapping, the received request, and at least one energy requirement of the apparatus.

[0005] In accordance with one aspect, a method comprising: receiving, with a user equipment, at least one mapping between one or more quality requirements for positioning estimation, and one or more measurement requirements for the positioning estimation; receiving a request to perform positioning measurements, wherein the request comprises at least one of: at least one measurement requirement of the one or more measurement requirements, or at least one quality requirement of the one or more quality requirements; and determining whether to perform at least one positioning measurement based, at least partially, on the received mapping, the received request, and at least one energy requirement of the user equipment .

[0006] In accordance with one aspect, an apparatus comprising means for: receiving at least one mapping between one or more quality requirements for positioning estimation, and one or more measurement requirements for the positioning estimation; receiving a request to perform positioning measurements, wherein the request comprises at least one of: at least one measurement requirement of the one or more measurement requirements, or at least one quality requirement of the one or more quality requirements; and determining whether to perform at least one positioning measurement based, at least partially, on the received mapping, the received request, and at least one energy requirement of the apparatus .

[0007] In accordance with one aspect, a computer-readable medium comprising program instructions stored thereon for performing at least the following: causing receiving, with a user equipment, of at least one mapping between one or more quality requirements for positioning estimation, and one or more measurement requirements for the positioning estimation; causing receiving of a request to perform positioning measurements, wherein the request comprises at least one of : at least one measurement requirement of the one or more measurement requirements, or at least one quality requirement of the one or more quality requirements; and determining whether to perform at least one positioning measurement based, at least partially, on the received mapping, the received request, and at least one energy requirement of the user equipment.

[0008] In accordance with one aspect, an apparatus comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to: determine at least one mapping between one or more quality requirements for positioning estimation, and one or more measurement requirements for the positioning estimation; transmit, to at least one user equipment, the at least one mapping; transmit, to the at least one user equipment, a request to perform positioning measurements, wherein the request comprises at least one of: at least one measurement requirement of the one or more measurement requirements, or at least one quality requirement of the one or more quality requirements; and estimate at least one position for the at least one user equipment based, at least partially, on at least one indication received from the at least one user equipment.

[0009] In accordance with one aspect, a method comprising: determining, with a network node, at least one mapping between one or more quality requirements for positioning estimation, and one or more measurement requirements for the positioning estimation; transmitting, to at least one user equipment, the at least one mapping; transmitting, to the at least one user equipment, a request to perform positioning measurements, wherein the request comprises at least one of: at least one measurement requirement of the one or more measurement requirements, or at least one quality requirement of the one or more quality requirements; and estimating at least one position for the at least one user equipment based, at least partially, on at least one indication received from the at least one user equipment.

[0010] In accordance with one aspect, an apparatus comprising means for: determining at least one mapping between one or more quality requirements for positioning estimation, and one or more measurement requirements for the positioning estimation; transmitting, to at least one user equipment, the at least one mapping; transmitting, to the at least one user equipment, a request to perform positioning measurements, wherein the request comprises at least one of: at least one measurement requirement of the one or more measurement requirements, or at least one quality requirement of the one or more quality requirements; and estimating at least one position for the at least one user equipment based, at least partially, on at least one indication received from the at least one user equipment.

[0011] In accordance with one aspect, a computer-readable medium comprising program instructions stored thereon for performing at least the following: determining, with a network node, at leastone mapping between one or more quality requirements for positioning estimation, and one or more measurement requirements for the positioning estimation; causing transmitting, to at least one user equipment, of the at least one mapping; causing transmitting, to the at least one user equipment, of a request to perform positioning measurements, wherein the request comprises at least one of : at least one measurement requirement of the one or more measurement requirements, or at least one quality requirement of the one or more quality requirements; and stimating at least one position for the at least one user equipment based, at least partially, on at least one indication received from the at least one user equipment .

[0012] According to some aspects, there is provided the subject matter of the independent claims. Some further aspects are defined in the dependent claims.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] The foregoing aspects and other features are explained in the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

[0014] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of one possible and nonlimiting example system in which the example embodiments may be practiced;

[0015] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating features as described herein ;

[0016] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating features as described herein; and

[0017] F IG 4 i s a f lowchart i l lustrat ing steps as described herein .DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBOD IMENTS

[0018] The fol lowing abbreviat ions that may be found in the speci f icat ion and / or the drawing f igures are def ined as fol lows :3GPP third generation partnership project5G fifth generation5GC 5G core networkA-IoT ambient Internet of ThingsAMF access and mobility management functionAoA angle of arrivalAoD angle of departure cRAN cloud radio access networkCU central unitDL downlinkDU distributed unit eNB (or eNodeB) evolved Node B (e.g., an LTE base station)EN-DC E-UTRA-NR dual connectivity en-gNB or En-gNB node providing NR user plane and control plane protocol terminations towards the UE, and acting as secondary node in EN- DCE-UTRA evolved universal terrestrial radio access, i.e., the LTE radio access technology gNB (or gNodeB) base station for 5G / NR, i.e., a node providing NR user plane and control plane protocol terminations towards the UE, and connected via the NG interface to the 5GCPF interfaceloT Internet of ThingsLI layer 1LMF location management functionLoS line of sightLPWA low power wide areaLTE long term evolutionMAC medium access controlMME mobility management entity ng or NG new generation ng-eNB or NG-eNB new generation eNBNR new radioN / W or NW networkO-RAN open radio access networkPDCP packet data convergence protocolPHY physical layerPRS positioning reference signalQoS quality of serviceRAN radio access networkRF radio frequencyRLC radio link controlRRC radio resource controlRRH remote radio headRS reference signalRSRP reference signal received powerRSTD reference signal time differenceRSU road side unitRTT round trip timeRU radio unitRx receiverSDAP service data adaptation protocolSGW serving gatewaySIB system information blockSINR signal to interference plus noise ratioSL sidelinkSMF session management functionSNR signal to noise ratioSRS sounding reference signalTDOA time difference of arrivalTRP transmission and / or reception pointTx transmitterUE user equipment (e.g., a wireless, typically mobile device)UL uplinkUPF user plane functionVNR virtualized network function

[0019] Turning to FIG. 1, this figure shows a block diagram of one possible and non-limiting example in which the examples may be practiced. A user equipment (UE) 110, radio access network (RAN) node 170, and network element (s) 190 are illustrated. In the example of FIG. 1, the user equipment (UE) 110 is in wireless communication with a wireless network 100. A UE is a wireless device that can access the wireless network 100. The UE 110 includes one or more processors 120, one or more memories 125, and one or more transceivers 130 interconnected through one or more buses 127. Each of the one or more transceivers 130 includes a receiver, Rx, 132 and a transmitter, Tx, 133. The one or more buses 127 may be address, data, or control buses, and may include any interconnection mechanism, such as a series of lines on a motherboard or integrated circuit, fiber optics or other opticalcommunication equipment, and the like. A "circuit" may include dedicated hardware or hardware in association with software executable thereon. The one or more transceivers 130 are connected to one or more antennas 128. The one or more memories 125 include computer program code 123. The UE 110 includes a module 140, comprising one of or both parts 140-1 and / or 140-2, which may be implemented in a number of ways. The module 140 may be implemented in hardware as module 140-1, such as being implemented as part of the one or more processors 120. The module 140-1 may be implemented also as an integrated circuit or through other hardware such as a programmable gate array. In another example, the module 140 may be implemented as module 140-2, which is implemented as computer program code 123 and is executed by the one or more processors 120. For instance, the one or more memories 125 and the computer program code 123 may be configured to, with the one or more processors 120, cause the user equipment 110 to perform one or more of the operations as described herein. The UE 110 communicates with RAN node 170 via a wireless link 111.

[0020] The RAN node 170 in this example is a base station that provides access by wireless devices such as the UE 110 to the wireless network 100. The RAN node 170 may be, for example, a base station for 5G, also called New Radio (NR) . In 5G, the RAN node 170 may be a NG-RAN node, which is defined as either a gNB or a ng-eNB . A gNB is a node providing NR user plane and control plane protocol terminations towards the UE, and connected via the NG interface to a 5GC (such as, for example, the network element (s) 190) . The ng-eNB is a node providing E-UTRA user plane and control plane protocol terminations towards the UE, and connected via the NG interface to the 5GC. The NG-RAN node may include multiple gNBs, which may also include a central unit (CU) (gNB-CU) 196 anddistributed unit (s) (DUs) (gNB-DUs) , of which DU 195 is shown. Note that the DU may include or be coupled to and control a radio unit (RU) . The gNB-CU is a logical node hosting RRC, SDAP and PDCP protocols of the gNB or RRC and PDCP protocols of the en-gNB that controls the operation of one or more gNB-DUs. The gNB-CU terminates the Fl interface connected with the gNB-DU. The Fl interface is illustrated as reference 198, although reference 198 also illustrates a link between remote elements of the RAN node 170 and centralized elements of the RAN node 170, such as between the gNB-CU 196 and the gNB-DU 195. The gNB-DU is a logical node hosting RLC, MAC and PHY layers of the gNB or en-gNB, and its operation is partly controlled by gNB-CU. One gNB-CU supports one or multiple cells. One cell is supported by only one gNB-DU. The gNB-DU terminates the Fl interface 198 connected with the gNB-CU. Note that the DU 195 is considered to include the transceiver 160, e.g. , as part of a RU, but some examples of this may have the transceiver 160 as part of a separate RU, e.g. , under control of and connected to the DU 195. The RAN node 170 may also be an eNB (evolved NodeB) base station, for LTE (long term evolution) , or any other suitable base station, access point, access node, or node .

[0021] The RAN node 170 includes one or more processors 152, one or more memories 155, one or more network interfaces (N / W I / F (s) ) 161, and one or more transceivers 160 interconnected through one or more buses 157. Each of the one or more transceivers 160 includes a receiver, Rx, 162 and a transmitter, Tx, 163. The one or more transceivers 160 are connected to one or more antennas 158. The one or more memories 155 include computer program code 153. The CU 196 may include the processor(s) 152, memories 155, and network interfaces 161. Note that the DU 195 may also containits own memory / memories and processor ( s ) , and / or other hardware, but these are not shown.

[0022] The RAN node 170 includes a module 150, comprising one of or both parts 150-1 and / or 150-2, which may be implemented in a number of ways. The module 150 may be implemented in hardware as module 150-1, such as being implemented as part of the one or more processors 152. The module 150-1 may be implemented also as an integrated circuit or through other hardware such as a programmable gate array. In another example, the module 150 may be implemented as module 150-2, which is implemented as computer program code 153 and is executed by the one or more processors 152. For instance, the one or more memories 155 and the computer program code 153 are configured to, with the one or more processors 152, cause the RAN node 170 to perform one or more of the operations as described herein. Note that the functionality of the module 150 may be distributed, such as being distributed between the DU 195 and the CU 196, or be implemented solely in the DU 195.

[0023] The one or more network interfaces 161 communicate over a network such as via the links 176 and 131. Two or more gNBs 170 may communicate using, e.g. , link 176. The link 176 may be wired or wireless or both and may implement, for example, an Xn interface for 5G, an X2 interface for LTE, or other suitable interface for other standards .

[0024] The one or more buses 157 may be address, data, or control buses, and may include any interconnection mechanism, such as a series of lines on a motherboard or integrated circuit, fiber optics or other optical communication equipment, wireless channels, and the like. For example, the one or more transceivers160 may be implemented as a remote radio head (RRH) 195 for LTE or a distributed unit (DU) 195 for gNB implementation for 5G, with the other elements of the RAN node 170 possibly being physically in a different location from the RRH / DU, and the one or more buses 157 could be implemented in part as, for example, fiber optic cable or other suitable network connection to connect the other elements (e.g. , a central unit (CU) , gNB-CU) of the RAN node 170 to the RRH / DU 195. Reference 198 also indicates those suitable network link ( s ) .

[0025] It is noted that description herein indicates that "cells" perform functions, but it should be clear that equipment which forms the cell will perform the functions. The cell makes up part of a base station. That is, there can be multiple cells per base station. For example, there could be three cells for a single carrier frequency and associated bandwidth, each cell covering one-third of a 360 degree area so that the single base station' s coverage area covers an approximate oval or circle. Furthermore, each cell can correspond to a single carrier and a base station may use multiple carriers. So if there are three 120 degree cells per carrier and two carriers, then the base station has a total of 6 cells.

[0026] The wireless network 100 may include a network element or elements 190 that may include core network functionality, and which provides connectivity via a link or links 181 with a further network, such as a telephone network and / or a data communications network (e.g. , the Internet) . Such core network functionality for 5G may include access and mobility management function (s) (AMF (s) ) and / or user plane functions (UPF (s) ) and / or session management function (s) (SMF (s) ) . Such core network functionality for LTE mayinclude MME (Mobility Management Entity) / SGW (Serving Gateway) functionality. These are merely illustrative functions that may be supported by the network element (s) 190, and note that both 5G and LTE functions might be supported. The RAN node 170 is coupled via a link 131 to a network element 190. The link 131 may be implemented as, e.g. , an NG interface for 5G, or an SI interface for LTE, or other suitable interface for other standards. The network element 190 includes one or more processors 175, one or more memories 171, and one or more network interfaces (N / W I / F (s) ) 180, interconnected through one or more buses 185. The one or more memories 171 include computer program code 173. The one or more memories 171 and the computer program code 173 are configured to, with the one or more processors 175, cause the network element 190 to perform one or more operations.

[0027] The wireless network 100 may implement network virtualization, which is the process of combining hardware and software network resources and network functionality into a single, software-based administrative entity, a virtual network. Network virtualization involves platform virtualization, often combined with resource virtualization. Network virtualization is categorized as either external, combining many networks, or parts of networks, into a virtual unit, or internal, providing networklike functionality to software containers on a single system. For example, a network may be deployed in a tele cloud, with virtualized network functions (VNF) running on, for example, data center servers. For example, network core functions and / or radio access network (s) (e.g. CloudRAN, O-RAN, edge cloud) may be virtualized. Note that the virtualized entities that result from the network virtualization are still implemented, at some level,using hardware such as processors 152 or 175 and memories 155 and 171, and also such virtualized entities create technical effects.

[0028] It may also be noted that operations of example embodiments of the present disclosure may be carried out by a plurality of cooperating devices (e.g. cRAN) .

[0029] The computer readable memories 125, 155, and 171 may be of any type suitable to the local technical environment and may be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, such as semiconductor based memory devices, flash memory, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, fixed memory and removable memory. The computer readable memories 125, 155, and 171 may be means for performing storage functions. The processors 120, 152, and 175 may be of any type suitable to the local technical environment, and may include one or more of general purpose computers, special purpose computers, microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs) and processors based on a multicore processor architecture, as non-limiting examples. The processors 120, 152, and 175 may be means for performing functions, such as controlling the UE 110, RAN node 170, and other functions as described herein.

[0030] In general, the various example embodiments of the user equipment 110 can include, but are not limited to, cellular telephones such as smart phones, tablets, personal digital assistants (PDAs) having wireless communication capabilities, portable computers having wireless communication capabilities, image capture devices such as digital cameras having wireless communication capabilities, gaming devices having wireless communication capabilities, music storage and playback applianceshaving wireless communication capabilities, Internet appliances permitting wireless Internet access and browsing, tablets with wireless communication capabilities, as well as portable units or terminals that incorporate combinations of such functions.

[0031] Having thus introduced one suitable but non-limiting technical context for the practice of the example embodiments of the present disclosure, example embodiments will now be described with greater specificity.

[0032] Features as described herein may generally relate to enhancements to the positioning service in 3GPP networks, targeting energy savings at the device, for example for Low Power Wide Area (LPWA) type of Internet of Things (loT) devices, which is highly relevant for 6G use cases.

[0033] LPWA loT is a promising technology for enabling widespread loT deployment. The operation of LPWA requires low power consumption and wide coverage areas, where devices may transmit small amounts of data over long distances.

[0034] LPWA is expected to be part of the 6G framework, aiming to provide ubiquitous connectivity in both rural and remote areas. Particularly for remote areas LPWA technologies are ideally suited, offering coverage in areas where traditional cellular connectivity might not be available. Furthermore, LPWA technologies have an inherent design towards energy efficiency, enabling devices to operate without battery replacement for many years, thus supporting sustainable and green 6G communication solutions. Moreover, LPWA technologies are designed to facilitate massive device deployments, accommodating a vast number of devices to scale loT effectively.

[0035] LPWA also aids in integrating communication applications with sensors, thereby ranging from environmental monitoring to smart agriculture. Particularly for the latter type of applications, sensor measurements and low-rate data transmission are crucial .

[0036] Cost-effectiveness, in terms of both device hardware and operational costs, is another advantage of LPWA technologies, which is in line with the vision of 6G to make connectivity affordable for a broader range of applications.

[0037] LPWA devices may be similar to passive or ambient Internet of Things (A-IoT) devices in terms of their energy storage and / or usage capabilities.

[0038] Furthermore, LPWA devices may or may not be capable of energy harvesting. Energy harvesting devices may harvest the energy of radio waves, light, motion, heat, or any other power source that could be seen as suitable.

[0039] The (legacy) positioning service in 5G NR makes use of various positioning methods such as downlink time difference of arrival (DL-TDOA) , uplink angle of arrival (UL-AoA) , multiple round trip time (Multi-RTT) , which utilize various types of measurements (e.g. , power-, time-, angle-, phase-based) over the reference signals transmitted on DL and / or UL, named DL positioning reference signal (PRS) and UL sounding reference signal (SRS) , respectively, depending on the utilized method (see, e.g. , TS 38.305) . A UE may be positioned, for example, in terms of latitude, longitude, and / or altitude, or in terms of units of distance from one or more other entities, or in terms of one or more angles with respect to one or more other entities.

[0040] The positioning methods may be supported in UE-based, UE- assisted / locat ion management function (LMF) -based, and NG-RAN node assisted versions. In UE-based positioning, the UE computes its own position using the measurements it has performed, and thus is applicable to DL-based methods. In UE-assisted / LMF-based positioning, the UE provides the measurements to the LMF to be used in the computation of the position estimate. Similarly, in NG-RAN node assisted positioning, the gNB provides measurements it performed using UL SRS transmitted by the UE to the LMF for location estimation.

[0041] For the UE to perform measurements, for example for DL- based methods, the network provides the necessary assistance data to the target UE, which mainly consists of DL PRS configurations of different transmission and / or reception points (TRPs) . The network then requests necessary measurements for the position estimate in the case of UE-assisted positioning. In turn, the UE conducts and provides the measurements to the network, or returns an error indication together with a reason, for example "unable to measure any TRP".

[0042] According to RAN4 specifications, the UE must report TRP measurements if the measured signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR) is above a certain threshold. Specifically, TS38.133 specifies that for the reference cell the threshold for reporting PRS is -6dB, whereas for all neighboring cells the threshold is - 13dB (see Section 9.4.4 therein) .

[0043] It may be noted that measurements from at least three TRP may be needed to position a target UE, unless additional information is present at the entity performing the positionestimation. Positioning may be performed, for example, when TRP are in a formation about a target UE (e.g. a star formation) .

[0044] In an example embodiment, UE-assisted DL positioning methods may be used for positioning of LPWA devices. In UL-based methods, the UE needs to transmit UL SRS, which needs to be high- power in order to be received not only by the serving gNB but also the neighboring gNBs that need to conduct the positioning measurements. Such high-power transmissions would be costly in terms of energy consumption by the UE, and DL-only techniques could be preferable instead. With UE-assisted positioning, the UE doesn't need to support capability of calculating the location estimate, which would otherwise bring additional complexity and cost, and therefore contradict the design requirements of LPWA devices. For UE-based positioning, the network needs to share additional information including the location of TRPs to the UE . This is usually not preferred by network operators due to security concerns. LPWA devices are not considered to support such high security requirements.

[0045] In the case of DL-based UE-assisted positioning, the UE is expected to report positioning measurements to the network, for which it measured the associated TRPs' received power, or power- to-noise / interference-ratio, over a hard-coded threshold as per UE requirement, as per the legacy approach.

[0046] However, the UE' s energy level at a given time, for example during the positioning session, may not be sufficient to perform the necessary measurements for calculating the location estimate with desired accuracy, even if the received power meets the requirements.

[0047] Further, even if the UE performs the measurements, the number of measurements beyond a certain value may not be necessary after achieving a required quality of service (QoS) , or brings only diminishing performance gain in terms of positioning accuracy while consuming additional power at the UE .

[0048] Thus, considering the UE energy saving requirements that needs to be satisfied for LPWA type of devices, mechanisms for enabling a UE to determine whether to conduct a positioning measurement, while not prohibiting the location service, may be needed .

[0049] In an example embodiment, a UE may be enabled to determine whether to conduct or not conduct a measurement required for positioning, for example in order to satisfy its energy saving requirements. Example embodiments of the present disclosure may target energy-critical use cases such as LPWA loT devices in 6G. However, this is not limiting; example embodiments of the present disclosure may be additionally or alternatively be applicable to reduced capability devices (RedCap) , ambient loT (A-IoT) devices, passive loT devices, devices capable of communicating via sidelink (SL) , devices capable of performing energy harvesting, etc.

[0050] In an example embodiment, upon receiving a positioning measurement request, a UE may assess / evaluate / classify the "value" of (performing) a positioning measurement, for example considering its energy requirements (e.g. , past / current / expected energy level) , to determine whether to conduct (and report) the measurement or not .

[0051] In an example embodiment, the UE may determine whether to conduct a measurement or not based, at least partially, on one ofthe following factors, in combination with its energy requirements .

[0052] In an example embodiment, the UE may determine whether to conduct a measurement depending on previous measurements. For example, if the UE has detected low S (I)NR or received power from the same TRP recently (i.e. S (I)NR or received power below a threshold) , it may be likely that PRS measurements will not be accurate, and thus may not contribute to the accuracy of the final position estimate. In other words, there may be a negatively assessed tradeoff between energy spent for measurements and created value, rendering such measurements redundant. Similarly, if the UE has identified high variance of the measurements (e.g. unstable measurements) , it may back off from conducting the measurements at least for a determined time window, which may depend on the UE' s radio and / or mobility conditions.

[0053] In an example embodiment, the UE may determine whether to conduct a measurement depending on a quality requirement for the positioning request (e.g. QoS requirement, measurement accuracy requirement, estimation accuracy requirement, measurement latency requirement, etc. ) . A quality requirement may indicate a quality of the measurements required from the UE, and therefore the quality required from the position estimate determined based on the measurements provided by the UE . A quality of a position estimate may indicate, for example, an accuracy of the position estimate. Additionally or alternatively, a quality of a position estimate may indicate, for example, a precision of the position estimate (e.g. latitude and longitude, vs. latitude, longitude, and altitude) .

[0054] For example, if an accuracy requirement (e.g. requested accuracy) is low / not high, the UE may refrain from performing a large number of measurements (e.g. for a large number of TRPs, or a large number measurement samples) , and decide instead to limit its measurements to only a selected group of TRPs. A large number of measurements may enable the network to determine a position estimate with a high level of accuracy, while a smaller number of measurements may enable the network to determine a position estimate with a lower level of accuracy.

[0055] In an example embodiment, the network may dynamically provide the UE with a mapping between a positioning quality requirement, and a required (min. and max. ) number of TRPs and / or measurement samples. The mapping may comprise, for example, a table. Additionally or alternatively, the network may explicitly request the UE to perform certain (min. and max. ) number of measurements .

[0056] In an example embodiment, if the UE is not able to perform the measurements requested by the network due to its energy requirement ( s ) , the UE may indicate a positioning error message to the NW with the reason, for example "measurements not conducted due to low power" or "measurement procedure consume more energy than threshold / des ired" or similar.

[0057] Referring now to FIG. 2, illustrated is a flow chart describing a positioning method according to example embodiments of the present disclosure. In the example of FIG. 2, the (target) UE may be a LPWA device. The NW may be a base station, a gNB, a LMF, a network node, a network entity, etc.

[0058] At 205, the NW may determine a mapping between different quality requirements (for example positioning accuracy (e.g. accuracy of positioning estimation) , latency, or QoS requirements) , and the required positioning-related measurements to be performed by the UE . In an example embodiment, the required measurements may include one or more of: (minimum and / or maximum) number of TRPs, types of measurements (e.g. , power- / ! ime- / angle- / phase-based) , (minimum and / or maximum) number of measurements per TRP (e.g. , for different beams) , specific beam IDs to be measured per TRP, and / or (minimum and / or maximum) periodicity of measurement / measurement report. In an example embodiment, quality requirements may be quantized into levels (e.g. high, medium, low) that may be mapped to ranges of required measurements, for example a minimum and a maximum number of measurements / beams / TRPs / etc . to be measured.

[0059] In an example embodiment, the providing of the mapping to the UE (205) may be optional, or not performed.

[0060] TABLE 1 provides and example of a mapping between positioning accuracy requirements, and measurement requirements. The required measurements may be considered necessary to achieve a given quality, here positioning estimation accuracy. The example of TABLE 1 is not limiting; other quality requirements may be mapped to measurement requirements, for example latency requirements, etc.TABLE 1

[0061] In the example of TABLE 1, for a quality requirement of "high", measurements may be required for a minimum number of TRPs, a number of DL AoD measurements may be required per TRP, a number of samples may be required per measurement, measurements may be required from beams having indicated IDs, and measurements may be required with a certain periodicity.

[0062] The examples of TABLE 1 are not limiting; a different number of levels of quality requirements may be mapped, a different number of measurement requirements may be mapped to a given quality requirement, the measurement requirements mapped to each quality requirement may be different, etc.

[0063] In an example embodiment, the required measurements may indicate a minimum and / or maximum requirement, e.g. , "min. of 3 TRPs, max. of 10 TRPs". Here, the min. requirement may relate to a positioning QoS, below which the measurements are not expected to satisfy the quality requirement in the positioning request, whereas the max. requirement may have the technical effect of avoiding unnecessary energy consumption at the UE . For example, while 18 TRPs might be configured by NW to transmit DL PRS (this configuration may be indicated to UE via assistance data) , the UE may be allowed to report measurements from at most 10 TRPs so that it can save energy.

[0064] The configuration or mapping may relate to a single UE, e.g. , the target UE to be positioned, which may be sent via dedicated signaling to that UE . Alternatively, the configuration or mapping may target multiple UEs, e.g. , all UEs in a cell or (a group of) LPWA devices. In this case, the configuration may be signaled via broadcast / groupcast / multicast message, e.g. , as in a system information block (SIB) in 5G NR.

[0065] In an example embodiment, the network may provide, to the one or more UE, a recommended prioritization of TRPs to be measured, from the most to the least significant ones. The network may compile this list based on previous measurements and their contribut ion / value to position estimation, as well as the expected energy consumption at the UE for measuring the TRPs. For example, if the reference signal transmitted by a less significant TRP and the reference signal of a more significant TRP are comb-based multiplexed in the same bandwidth, then the less significant TRP may also have a high measurement priority, for example due to the low / zero additional energy consumption for measuring it in addition to more significant TRP. In other words, while reference signals from a low priority TRP may not otherwise be measured by the UE, in the context of comb-multiplexing of the reference signals from the low priority TRP with reference signals from a high priority TRP, the UE may measure the reference signals from the low priority TRP based, at least partially, on the low cost of doing so.

[0066] In the present disclosure, the "contribution" of the TRP refers to the positioning accuracy gain when the measurements associated with the TRP is used in the positioning estimation.The higher the positioning accuracy gain, the higher the contribution, and therefore the higher the priority for the TRP .

[0067] In an example embodiment, the NW may determine the mapping based on the following information that might be available (or collected beforehand) at the NW: known locations of TRPs, coarse location of target UE, UE direction and / or speed, physical properties of the served area (e.g. , static blocking objects) , channel characteristics / statistics, configurations of reference signals (e.g. , PRS) , accuracy of past positioning estimates, etc. , together with the information on UE capability or UE type (e.g. based on number of received antennas, UE bandwidth, etc. ) .

[0068] At 210, the NW may provide the determined mapping to targeted UE (s) . At 215, any other positioning-related procedures may take place. For example, the NW may configure reference signals for positioning and / or provide assistance data containing configuration information.

[0069] At 220, the NW may explicitly request positioning measurements from one or more target UE . In an example embodiment, the NW may indicate a required (max / min) number of TRPs, a measurement type, measurement samples, etc. as in the right-hand column of TABLE 1, for example if the NW has not provided any mapping (between quality requirements and required measurements) beforehand (e.g. 205 and 210 not performed) .

[0070] Additionally or alternatively, the NW may indicate the required quality for the position estimate, e.g. , in terms of QoS, accuracy and / or latency for the UE to perform necessary measurements depending on the mapping provided in Step 2 (205) . In this case, the request may include limited information, as themapping has been previously provided including more detail about the measurements required to achieve a given positioning quality (e.g. accuracy, temporal relevance, etc. ) .

[0071] An example of a required latency for the measurements for positioning may comprise that the positioning is required to be performed within a certain time period.

[0072] At 225, the UE may evaluate whether to perform each requested measurement or not based on one or more of the following factors. In other words, the UE may select what measurements to perform in view of the NW request, the energy requirements of the UE, and other information. The UE selection may consider the contribution, preference, value, or quality of a given measurement with respect to the positioning of the UE . In an example embodiment, the UE may perform this check per TRP, or per beam / measurement period / measurement sample per TRP. For example, the UE may select TRP that contribute most to performance gain; this may vary based on factors such as geographic location.

[0073] In an example embodiment, the UE may evaluate whether to perform each requested measurement based on a UE energy requirement, for example a current energy level, expected energy consumption, etc.

[0074] In an example embodiment, the UE may evaluate whether to perform each requested measurement based on positioning quality (e.g. QoS requirement) as indicated by the NW in Step 4 (220) or by the UE' s own application internally, for example if the location request originated from the device itself and the UE knows / is aware of a quality for the positioning required by the application. Inother words, the UE itself may be the consumer of the positioning information .

[0075] In an example embodiment, the UE may evaluate whether to perform each requested measurement based on previous measurements. For example, the UE may consider whether it could receive high S (I)NR or reference signal received power (RSRP) from a TRP . If a high S (I)NR or low RSRP is expected, the UE may determine to not perform the measurement. If a low S (I)NR or high RSRP is expected, the UE may determine to perform the measurement. Additionally or alternatively, the UE may consider high variance of past measurements (e.g. , unstable measurements) . If previous measurements are determined to be unstable, the UE may determine to not perform the measurement. If previous measurements are determined to be stable, the UE may determine to perform the measurement .

[0076] In an example embodiment, the UE may evaluate whether to perform each requested measurement based on partial measurements. For example, the UE may first perform a positioning measurement over a part of the bandwidth of DL PRS that is originally configured, rather than the whole bandwidth.

[0077] In an example embodiment, the UE may evaluate whether to perform each requested measurement based on a priority of performing positioning measurement over other radio measurements or service requirements. For example, if the UE is also performing measurements for another purpose besides positioning, and the other purpose is considered to be more important than positioning, the UE may determine whether to use its energy to perform themeasurements for the other purpose instead of the positioning measurements .

[0078] In an example embodiment, the UE may evaluate whether to perform each requested measurement based on an estimated level of line of sight (LoS) . The UE may determine whether or not to measure a TRP based on the estimated LoS probability with respect to that TRP. In an example embodiment, the UE may use an iterative method to determine whether an estimated LoS probability for a given TRP is acceptable for the TRP to be included in the list of TRPs to be measured. The iterative method may or may not be performed using artificial intelligence, machine learning, and / or neural network layers .

[0079] An example of the UE-based iterative method for estimating whether the LoS probability for a TRP is sufficient to justify measuring the TRP is as follows. The UE may use an initial LoS probability threshold value (e.g. 80% LoS probability) . In an example embodiment, for those TRPs configured by the NW to be measured at the UE, only those who exhibit LoS probability >80% (i.e. exceed the LoS probability threshold value) may indeed be measured. Once the UE applies this rule, it may record the number of TRPs that do not satisfy the threshold. The UE may then receive a further configuration by the NW on the max / min number of TRPs to be measured (e.g. , in the next positioning occasion) . The UE may monitor the new configuration and compare it with the previous configuration received from the NW. If there is an upward change on the maximum number of TRPs (e.g. , the NW initially configured maximum number of TRPs = 7, and then maximum number of TRPs = 10) , and the UE recorded at least one TRP not satisfying the LoS probability rule, the UE may relax the LoS probability thresholdvalue (e.g. from 80% to 75%) . Equivalently, if there was a downward change on the maximum number of TRPs (e.g. , from 10 TRPs to 7 TRPs) , the UE may consider applying a stricter LoS probability threshold rule (e.g. from 80% to 85%) . This process may be applied until convergence is observed with respect to the configuration received by the NW (e.g. the configured maximum number of TRPs matches the number of TRPs meeting the LoS probability threshold rule) .

[0080] In short, the less TRPs the NW requires, the more the UE may restrict the LOS requirement on them internally, and vice versa. The NW may not know how many TRPs are needed for a decent positioning accuracy in advance, that is before processing the measurements, and neither does the UE . Hence, the UE may start with a "rule of thumb" on how many TRPs to include initially, and may update that number "as we go", based upon feedback from the NW.

[0081] It may be noted that if several TRP are near each other or in a line (i.e. collinearity) , it may not be useful to the positioning process for the UE to provide measurements for those TRP; measurements with respect to one of those TRP may be used for the positioning, while measurements with respect to the other TRPs may be duplicative or provide little information for the positioning. In other words, providing measurements with respect to all TRP in a cluster of TRP may result in diminishing returns. Based on a determination that several TRP are clustered, the UE may determine to not perform measurements with respect to all the clustered TRP because, in a cost-benefit analysis, the cost in energy may outweigh the benefit of the additional measurements.

[0082] At 230, the UE may perform the measurements it determined to perform in the previous step (225) . At 235, the UE may report the performed measurements to the NW.

[0083] Optionally, at 240, if the UE can not perform the required measurements, for example the measurements explicitly requested by the NW in Step 4 (220) or as indicated via the mapping, the UE may return an error to the network indicating a reason related to energy savings, such as "low energy", "no power", "recharging", etc. Such an indication may let the NW know about the UE situation. In an example embodiment, the NW may later refrain from sending measurement requests that the UE may not be expected to conduct due to its energy status as indicated in the error message. In an example embodiment, the UE may predict, for example, the battery re-charging time and inform the network when it can provide measurements with the required accuracy (and for how long) .

[0084] Optionally, at 245, if the UE has performed the necessary measurements, the UE may further indicate to the NW regarding its availability to perform and report the same measurements again in the future, for example by providing an expected time frame for performing the measurements (e.g. depending on UE' s internal conditions on battery level) and / or an expected uplink quality with which the measurements may be provided. This information may provide the NW with more detailed information to assist the NW' s further actions at the cost of additional signaling.

[0085] It may be noted that high power may be needed for the UE to transmit measurements to the network in the case of poor link quality. Accordingly, the UE may indicate to the network that it is capable of reporting measurements in the future if the UEanticipates that it will have sufficient power to do so based, at least partially, on the link quality.

[0086] At 250, the NW may utilize the reported measurements for calculating the location estimate of the target UE (s) .

[0087] In an example embodiment, the NW entity performing one or more of the steps illustrated in FIG. 2 may be one or more of : a RAN node, a serving base station (e.g. , gNB in 5G NR) , a core network node, a location server (e.g. , LMF in 5G) , etc.

[0088] In an example embodiment, instead of or in addition to DL measurements, the UE (s) may also utilize sidelink (SL) measurements from other UEs, for example measurements of sidelink positioning reference signals transmitted by other UE . In this case, the TRPs may be replaced by SL UEs, such as road side units (RSU) .

[0089] A technical effect of example embodiments of the present disclosure may be to improve energy efficiency at the target UE and / or the network.

[0090] FIG. 3 illustrates the potential steps of an example method 300. The example method 300 may include: receiving at least one mapping between one or more quality requirements for positioning estimation, and one or more measurement requirements for the positioning estimation, 310; receiving a request to perform positioning measurements, wherein the request comprises at least one of: at least one measurement requirement of the one or more measurement requirements, or at least one quality requirement of the one or more quality requirements, 320; and determining whether to perform at least one positioning measurement based, at leastpartially, on the received mapping, the received request, and at least one energy requirement of a user equipment, 330. The example method 300 may be performed, for example, with a UE, a LPWA device, etc.

[0091] FIG. 4 illustrates the potential steps of an example method 400. The example method 400 may include: determining at least one mapping between one or more quality requirements for positioning estimation, and one or more measurement requirements for the positioning estimation, 410; transmitting, to at least one user equipment, the at least one mapping, 420; transmitting, to the at least one user equipment, a request to perform positioning measurements, wherein the request comprises at least one of: at least one measurement requirement of the one or more measurement requirements, or at least one quality requirement of the one or more quality requirements, 430; and estimating at least one position for the at least one user equipment based, at least partially, on at least one indication received from the at least one user equipment, 440. The example method 400 may be performed, for example, with a network node, a base station, a LMF, a network entity, a gNB, etc.

[0092] In accordance with one example embodiment, an apparatus may comprise: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to: receive at least one mapping between one or more quality requirements for positioning estimation, and one or more measurement requirements for the positioning estimation; receive a request to perform positioning measurements, wherein the request may comprise at least one of: at least one measurement requirement of the one or more measurementrequirements, or at least one quality requirement of the one or more quality requirements; and determine whether to perform at least one positioning measurement based, at least partially, on the received mapping, the received request, and at least one energy requirement of the apparatus.

[0093] Determining whether to perform the at least one positioning measurement may comprise the example apparatus being further configured to: determine at least one positioning measurement requested via the received request is not to be performed .

[0094] The one or more measurement requirements may comprise at least one of: a type of measurement, an identifier of a beam to be measured, a minimum number of transmission or reception points to be used for measurement, a maximum number of transmission or reception points to be used for measurement, a minimum number of positioning measurements to be made for a transmission or reception point, a maximum number of positioning measurements to be made for the transmission or reception point, a minimum periodicity for reporting the at least one performed positioning measurement, a maximum periodicity for reporting the at least one performed positioning measurement, or a priority associated with at least one transmission or reception point.

[0095] The one or more quality requirements may comprise at least one of : a quality of service requirement, a quantized quality of service requirement, an accuracy requirement for the positioning measurements, a quantized accuracy requirement for the positioning measurements, a latency requirement for the positioningmeasurements, or a quantized latency requirement for the positioning measurements.

[0096] The received request may comprise the example apparatus being further configured to: determine the at least one measurement requirement based, at least partially, on the at least one quality requirement and the at least one mapping.

[0097] Whether to perform the at least one positioning measurement may be further determined based on at least one of: a configured accuracy requirement for the at least one positioning measurement, a previously performed positioning measurement, a variance between a plurality of previously performed positioning measurements, a partially performed positioning measurement, a priority associated with performing the positioning measurements, or an estimated level of line of sight with respect to at least one transmission or reception point.

[0098] The at least one energy requirement of the apparatus may comprise at least one of : a past energy level of the apparatus, a current energy level of the apparatus, an estimated future energy level of the apparatus, an energy saving requirement, an estimated future energy consumption of the apparatus, or a threshold value for power consumption for performing the positioning measurements.

[0099] The example apparatus may be further configured to: in response to a determination to perform the at least one positioning measurement, perform the at least one positioning measurement; and transmit a report of the at least one performed positioning measurement .

[0100] The example apparatus may be further configured to: transmit at least one of : an indication of a cause for not performing at least one positioning measurement requested via the received request, or an indication of a capability of the apparatus to perform further positioning measurements.

[0101] The cause for not performing the at least one positioning measurement requested via the received request may comprise at least one of: low power of the apparatus, a power level at the apparatus, a charging status of the apparatus, an amount of time required to perform the at least one positioning measurement, or a power required to perform the at least one positioning measurement requested via the received request exceeds a threshold .

[0102] The at least one performed positioning measurement may comprise at least one of : a partial positioning measurement, a received power from a transmission or reception point, a signal to interference plus noise ratio, a signal to noise ratio, a power to noise ratio, or a power to interference ratio.

[0103] The capability of the apparatus to perform further positioning measurements may comprise at least one of : a time frame for performing the further positioning measurements, or an uplink quality for reporting the further positioning measurements.

[0104] The example apparatus may comprise at least one of: a sidelink apparatus, an ambient Internet of Things apparatus, or a low power wide area apparatus .

[0105] In accordance with one aspect, an example method may be provided comprising: receiving, with a user equipment, at leastone mapping between one or more quality requirements for positioning estimation, and one or more measurement requirements for the positioning estimation; receiving a request to perform positioning measurements, wherein the request may comprise at least one of : at least one measurement requirement of the one or more measurement requirements, or at least one quality requirement of the one or more quality requirements; and determining whether to perform at least one positioning measurement based, at least partially, on the received mapping, the received request, and at least one energy requirement of the user equipment.

[0106] The determining of whether to perform the at least one positioning measurement may comprise: determining at least one positioning measurement requested via the received request is not to be performed.

[0107] The one or more measurement requirements may comprise at least one of: a type of measurement, an identifier of a beam to be measured, a minimum number of transmission or reception points to be used for measurement, a maximum number of transmission or reception points to be used for measurement, a minimum number of positioning measurements to be made for a transmission or reception point, a maximum number of positioning measurements to be made for the transmission or reception point, a minimum periodicity for reporting the at least one performed positioning measurement, a maximum periodicity for reporting the at least one performed positioning measurement, or a priority associated with at least one transmission or reception point.

[0108] The one or more quality requirements may comprise at least one of : a quality of service requirement, a quantized quality ofservice requirement, an accuracy requirement for the positioning measurements, a quantized accuracy requirement for the positioning measurements, a latency requirement for the positioning measurements, or a quantized latency requirement for the positioning measurements.

[0109] The received request may comprise the at least one quality requirement, and the example method may further comprise: determining the at least one measurement requirement based, at least partially, on the at least one quality requirement and the at least one mapping.

[0110] Whether to perform the at least one positioning measurement may be further determined based on at least one of: a configured accuracy requirement for the at least one positioning measurement, a previously performed positioning measurement, a variance between a plurality of previously performed positioning measurements, a partially performed positioning measurement, a priority associated with performing the positioning measurements, or an estimated level of line of sight with respect to at least one transmission or reception point.

[0111] The at least one energy requirement of the user equipment may comprise at least one of: a past energy level of the user equipment, a current energy level of the user equipment, an estimated future energy level of the user equipment, an energy saving requirement, an estimated future energy consumption of the user equipment, or a threshold value for power consumption for performing the positioning measurements.

[0112] The example method may further comprise: in response to a determination to perform the at least one positioning measurement,performing the at least one positioning measurement; and transmitting a report of the at least one performed positioning measurement .

[0113] The example method may further comprise: transmitting at least one of: an indication of a cause for not performing at least one positioning measurement requested via the received request, or an indication of a capability of the user equipment to perform further positioning measurements.

[0114] The cause for not performing the at least one positioning measurement requested via the received request may comprise at least one of: low power of the user equipment, a power level at the user equipment, a charging status of the user equipment, an amount of time required to perform the at least one positioning measurement, or a power required to perform the at least one positioning measurement requested via the received request exceeds a threshold.

[0115] The at least one performed positioning measurement may comprise at least one of : a partial positioning measurement, a received power from a transmission or reception point, a signal to interference plus noise ratio, a signal to noise ratio, a power to noise ratio, or a power to interference ratio.

[0116] The capability of the user equipment to perform further positioning measurements may comprise at least one of : a time frame for performing the further positioning measurements, or an uplink quality for reporting the further positioning measurements.

[0117] The user equipment may comprise at least one of: a sidelink user equipment, an ambient Internet of Things user equipment, or a low power wide area user equipment.

[0118] In accordance with one example embodiment, an apparatus may comprise: circuitry configured to perform: receiving, with a user equipment, at least one mapping between one or more quality requirements for positioning estimation, and one or more measurement requirements for the positioning estimation; circuitry configured to perform: receiving a request to perform positioning measurements, wherein the request may comprise at least one of: at least one measurement requirement of the one or more measurement requirements, or at least one quality requirement of the one or more quality requirements; and circuitry configured to perform: determining whether to perform at least one positioning measurement based, at least partially, on the received mapping, the received request, and at least one energy requirement of the user equipment .

[0119] In accordance with one example embodiment, an apparatus may comprise: processing circuitry; memory circuitry including computer program code, the memory circuitry and the computer program code configured to, with the processing circuitry, enable the apparatus to: receive at least one mapping between one or more quality requirements for positioning estimation, and one or more measurement requirements for the positioning estimation; receive a request to perform positioning measurements, wherein the request may comprise at least one of: at least one measurement requirement of the one or more measurement requirements, or at least one quality requirement of the one or more quality requirements; and determine whether to perform at least one positioning measurementbased, at least partially, on the received mapping, the received request, and at least one energy requirement of the apparatus.

[0120] As used in this application, the term "circuitry" or "means" may refer to one or more or all of the following: (a) hardware-only circuit implementations (such as implementations in only analog and / or digital circuitry) and (b) combinations of hardware circuits and software, such as (as applicable) : (i) a combination of analog and / or digital hardware circuit (s) with software / f irmware and (ii) any portions of hardware processor (s) with software (including digital signal proces sor ( s ) ) , software, and memory (ies) that work together to cause an apparatus, such as a mobile phone or server, to perform various functions) and (c) hardware circuit (s) and or processor ( s ) , such as a microprocessor ( s ) or a portion of a microprocessor ( s ) , that requires software (e.g. , firmware) for operation, but the software may not be present when it is not needed for operation." This definition of circuitry applies to all uses of this term in this application, including in any claims. As a further example, as used in this application, the term circuitry also covers an implementation of merely a hardware circuit or processor (or multiple processors) or portion of a hardware circuit or processor and its (or their) accompanying software and / or firmware. The term circuitry also covers, for example and if applicable to the particular claim element, a baseband integrated circuit or processor integrated circuit for a mobile device or a similar integrated circuit in server, a cellular network device, or other computing or network device.

[0121] In accordance with one example embodiment, an apparatus may comprise means for: receiving at least one mapping between oneor more quality requirements for positioning estimation, and one or more measurement requirements for the positioning estimation; receiving a request to perform positioning measurements, wherein the request may comprise at least one of: at least one measurement requirement of the one or more measurement requirements, or at least one quality requirement of the one or more quality requirements; and determining whether to perform at least one positioning measurement based, at least partially, on the received mapping, the received request, and at least one energy requirement of the apparatus .

[0122] The means configured for determining whether to perform the at least one positioning measurement may comprise means configured for: determining at least one positioning measurement requested via the received request is not to be performed.

[0123] The one or more measurement requirements may comprise at least one of: a type of measurement, an identifier of a beam to be measured, a minimum number of transmission or reception points to be used for measurement, a maximum number of transmission or reception points to be used for measurement, a minimum number of positioning measurements to be made for a transmission or reception point, a maximum number of positioning measurements to be made for the transmission or reception point, a minimum periodicity for reporting the at least one performed positioning measurement, a maximum periodicity for reporting the at least one performed positioning measurement, or a priority associated with at least one transmission or reception point.

[0124] The one or more quality requirements may comprise at least one of : a quality of service requirement, a quantized quality ofservice requirement, an accuracy requirement for the positioning measurements, a quantized accuracy requirement for the positioning measurements, a latency requirement for the positioning measurements, or a quantized latency requirement for the positioning measurements.

[0125] The received request may comprise the at least one quality requirement, wherein the means may be further configured for: determining the at least one measurement requirement based, at least partially, on the at least one quality requirement and the at least one mapping.

[0126] Whether to perform the at least one positioning measurement may be further determined based on at least one of: a configured accuracy requirement for the at least one positioning measurement, a previously performed positioning measurement, a variance between a plurality of previously performed positioning measurements, a partially performed positioning measurement, a priority associated with performing the positioning measurements, or an estimated level of line of sight with respect to at least one transmission or reception point.

[0127] The at least one energy requirement of the apparatus may comprise at least one of : a past energy level of the apparatus, a current energy level of the apparatus, an estimated future energy level of the apparatus, an energy saving requirement, an estimated future energy consumption of the apparatus, or a threshold value for power consumption for performing the positioning measurements.

[0128] The means may be further configured for: in response to a determination to perform the at least one positioning measurement, performing the at least one positioning measurement; andtransmitting a report of the at least one performed positioning measurement .

[0129] The means may be further configured for: transmitting at least one of: an indication of a cause for not performing at least one positioning measurement requested via the received request, or an indication of a capability of the apparatus to perform further positioning measurements.

[0130] The cause for not performing the at least one positioning measurement requested via the received request may comprise at least one of: low power of the apparatus, a power level at the apparatus, a charging status of the apparatus, an amount of time required to perform the at least one positioning measurement, or a power required to perform the at least one positioning measurement requested via the received request exceeds a threshold .

[0131] The at least one performed positioning measurement may comprise at least one of : a partial positioning measurement, a received power from a transmission or reception point, a signal to interference plus noise ratio, a signal to noise ratio, a power to noise ratio, or a power to interference ratio.

[0132] The capability of the apparatus to perform further positioning measurements may comprise at least one of : a time frame for performing the further positioning measurements, or an uplink quality for reporting the further positioning measurements.

[0133] The example apparatus may comprise at least one of: a sidelink apparatus, an ambient Internet of Things apparatus, or a low power wide area apparatus .

[0134] A processor, memory, and / or example algorithms (which may be encoded as instructions, program, or code) may be provided as example means for providing or causing performance of operation.

[0135] In accordance with one example embodiment, a (non- transitory) computer-readable medium comprising instructions stored thereon which, when executed with at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to: cause receiving, with a user equipment, of at least one mapping between one or more quality requirements for positioning estimation, and one or more measurement requirements for the positioning estimation; cause receiving of a request to perform positioning measurements, wherein the request may comprise at least one of: at least one measurement requirement of the one or more measurement requirements, or at least one quality requirement of the one or more quality requirements; and determine whether to perform at least one positioning measurement based, at least partially, on the received mapping, the received request, and at least one energy requirement of the user equipment.

[0136] In accordance with one example embodiment, a (non- transitory) computer-readable medium comprising program instructions stored thereon for performing at least the following: causing receiving, with a user equipment, of at least one mapping between one or more quality requirements for positioning estimation, and one or more measurement requirements for the positioning estimation; causing receiving of a request to perform positioning measurements, wherein the request may comprise at least one of : at least one measurement requirement of the one or more measurement requirements, or at least one quality requirement of the one or more quality requirements; and determining whetherto perform at least one positioning measurement based, at least partially, on the received mapping, the received request, and at least one energy requirement of the user equipment.

[0137] The program instructions for performing determining whether to perform the at least one positioning measurement may comprise program instructions for performing: determining at least one positioning measurement requested via the received request is not to be performed.

[0138] The one or more measurement requirements may comprise at least one of: a type of measurement, an identifier of a beam to be measured, a minimum number of transmission or reception points to be used for measurement, a maximum number of transmission or reception points to be used for measurement, a minimum number of positioning measurements to be made for a transmission or reception point, a maximum number of positioning measurements to be made for the transmission or reception point, a minimum periodicity for reporting the at least one performed positioning measurement, a maximum periodicity for reporting the at least one performed positioning measurement, or a priority associated with at least one transmission or reception point.

[0139] The one or more quality requirements may comprise at least one of : a quality of service requirement, a quantized quality of service requirement, an accuracy requirement for the positioning measurements, a quantized accuracy requirement for the positioning measurements, a latency requirement for the positioning measurements, or a quantized latency requirement for the positioning measurements.

[0140] The received request may comprise the at least one quality requirement, and the example computer-readable medium may further comprise program instructions stored thereon for performing: determining the at least one measurement requirement based, at least partially, on the at least one quality requirement and the at least one mapping.

[0141] Whether to perform the at least one positioning measurement may be further determined based on at least one of: a configured accuracy requirement for the at least one positioning measurement, a previously performed positioning measurement, a variance between a plurality of previously performed positioning measurements, a partially performed positioning measurement, a priority associated with performing the positioning measurements, or an estimated level of line of sight with respect to at least one transmission or reception point.

[0142] The at least one energy requirement of the user equipment may comprise at least one of: a past energy level of the user equipment, a current energy level of the user equipment, an estimated future energy level of the user equipment, an energy saving requirement, an estimated future energy consumption of the user equipment, or a threshold value for power consumption for performing the positioning measurements.

[0143] The example computer-readable medium may further comprise program instructions stored thereon for performing: in response to a determination to perform the at least one positioning measurement, causing performing of the at least one positioning measurement; and causing transmitting of a report of the at least one performed positioning measurement.

[0144] The example computer-readable medium may further comprise program instructions stored thereon for performing: causing transmitting of at least one of: an indication of a cause for not performing at least one positioning measurement requested via the received request, or an indication of a capability of the user equipment to perform further positioning measurements.

[0145] The cause for not performing the at least one positioning measurement requested via the received request may comprise at least one of: low power of the user equipment, a power level at the user equipment, a charging status of the user equipment, an amount of time required to perform the at least one positioning measurement, or a power required to perform the at least one positioning measurement requested via the received request exceeds a threshold.

[0146] The at least one performed positioning measurement may comprise at least one of : a partial positioning measurement, a received power from a transmission or reception point, a signal to interference plus noise ratio, a signal to noise ratio, a power to noise ratio, or a power to interference ratio.

[0147] The capability of the user equipment to perform further positioning measurements may comprise at least one of: a time frame for performing the further positioning measurements, or an uplink quality for reporting the further positioning measurements.

[0148] The user equipment may comprise at least one of: a sidelink user equipment, an ambient Internet of Things user equipment, or a low power wide area user equipment.

[0149] In accordance with another example embodiment, a (non- transitory) program storage device readable by a machine may be provided, tangibly embodying instructions executable by the machine for performing operations, the operations comprising: causing receiving, with a user equipment, of at least one mapping between one or more quality requirements for positioning estimation, and one or more measurement requirements for the positioning estimation; causing receiving of a request to perform positioning measurements, wherein the request may comprise at least one of : at least one measurement requirement of the one or more measurement requirements, or at least one quality requirement of the one or more quality requirements; and determining whether to perform at least one positioning measurement based, at least partially, on the received mapping, the received request, and at least one energy requirement of the user equipment.

[0150] In accordance with another example embodiment, a (non- transitory) computer-readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform at least the following: causing receiving, with a user equipment, of at least one mapping between one or more quality requirements for positioning estimation, and one or more measurement requirements for the positioning estimation; causing receiving of a request to perform positioning measurements, wherein the request may comprise at least one of: at least one measurement requirement of the one or more measurement requirements, or at least one quality requirement of the one or more quality requirements; and determining whether to perform at least one positioning measurement based, at least partially, on the received mapping, the received request, and at least one energy requirement of the user equipment .

[0151] A computer implemented system comprising: at least one processor and at least one (non-transitory) memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the system at least to perform: causing receiving, with a user equipment, of at least one mapping between one or more quality requirements for positioning estimation, and one or more measurement requirements for the positioning estimation; causing receiving of a request to perform positioning measurements, wherein the request may comprise at least one of: at least one measurement requirement of the one or more measurement requirements, or at least one quality requirement of the one or more quality requirements; and determining whether to perform at least one positioning measurement based, at least partially, on the received mapping, the received request, and at least one energy requirement of the user equipment.

[0152] A computer implemented system comprising: means for causing receiving, with a user equipment, of at least one mapping between one or more quality requirements for positioning estimation, and one or more measurement requirements for the positioning estimation; means for causing receiving of a request to perform positioning measurements, wherein the request may comprise at least one of : at least one measurement requirement of the one or more measurement requirements, or at least one quality requirement of the one or more quality requirements; and means for determining whether to perform at least one positioning measurement based, at least partially, on the received mapping, the received request, and at least one energy requirement of the user equipment .

[0153] In accordance with one example embodiment, an apparatus may comprise: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to: determine at least one mapping between one or more quality requirements for positioning estimation, and one or more measurement requirements for the positioning estimation; transmit, to at least one user equipment, the at least one mapping; transmit, to the at least one user equipment, a request to perform positioning measurements, wherein the request may comprise at least one of: at least one measurement requirement of the one or more measurement requirements, or at least one quality requirement of the one or more quality requirements; and estimate at least one position for the at least one user equipment based, at least partially, on at least one indication received from the at least one user equipment.

[0154] The at least one mapping may be determined based, at least partially, on at least one of : one or more previous positioning measurements, a gain in accuracy of a previous positioning estimation associated with the one or more previous positioning measurements, an estimated amount of energy required for the at least one user equipment to perform at least one positioning measurement requested via the request, one or more locations of one or more transmission or reception points, an estimated location of the at least one user equipment, a direction of the at least one user equipment, a speed of the at least one user equipment, at least one physical property of an area served with the apparatus, one or more channel characteristics, one or more channel statistics, a configuration of a reference signal used for positioning measurement, an accuracy of at least one pastpositioning measurement, a capability of the at least one user equipment, or a type of the at least one user equipment.

[0155] The one or more measurement requirements may comprise at least one of: a type of measurement, an identifier of a beam to be measured, a minimum number of transmission or reception points to be used for measurement, a maximum number of transmission or reception points to be used for measurement, a minimum number of positioning measurements to be made for a transmission or reception point, a maximum number of positioning measurements to be made for the transmission or reception point, a minimum periodicity for reporting the at least one performed positioning measurement, a maximum periodicity for reporting the at least one performed positioning measurement, or a priority associated with at least one transmission or reception point.

[0156] The one or more quality requirements may comprise at least one of : a quality of service requirement, a quantized quality of service requirement, an accuracy requirement for the positioning measurements, a quantized accuracy requirement for the positioning measurements, a latency requirement for the positioning measurements, or a quantized latency requirement for the positioning measurements.

[0157] The at least one mapping may be transmitted via at least one of: dedicated signaling, a broadcast message, a groupcast message, or a multicast message.

[0158] The example apparatus may be further configured to: receive, from the at least one user equipment, at least one of: a report of at least one performed positioning measurement, an indication of a cause for not performing at least one positioningmeasurement requested via the request, or an indication of a capability of the at least one user equipment to perform further positioning measurements.

[0159] At least one positioning measurement requested via the request may not be included in the report of at least one performed positioning measurement.

[0160] The cause for not performing the at least one positioning measurement requested via the received request may comprise at least one of: low power of the at least one user equipment, a power level at the at least one user equipment, a charging status of the at least one user equipment, an amount of time required to perform the at least one positioning measurement, or a power required to perform the at least one positioning measurement requested via the received request exceeds a threshold.

[0161] The at least one performed positioning measurement may comprise at least one of : a partial positioning measurement, a power received from a transmission or reception point, a signal to interference plus noise ratio, a signal to noise ratio, a power to noise ratio, or a power to interference ratio.

[0162] The capability of the at least one user equipment to perform further positioning measurements may comprise at least one of: a time frame for performing the further positioning measurements, or an uplink quality for reporting the further positioning measurements.

[0163] The example apparatus may be further configured to: in response to at least one of: the indication of the cause for not performing the at least one positioning measurement requested viathe request, or the indication of the capability of the at least one user equipment to perform further positioning measurements, determine whether to transmit a further request to perform positioning measurement.

[0164] The example apparatus may comprise at least one of: a base station, a network entity, or a location management function.

[0165] In accordance with one aspect, an example method may be provided comprising: determining, with a network node, at least one mapping between one or more quality requirements for positioning estimation, and one or more measurement requirements for the positioning estimation; transmitting, to at least one user equipment, the at least one mapping; transmitting, to the at least one user equipment, a request to perform positioning measurements, wherein the request may comprise at least one of: at least one measurement requirement of the one or more measurement requirements, or at least one quality requirement of the one or more quality requirements; and estimating at least one position for the at least one user equipment based, at least partially, on at least one indication received from the at least one user equipment .

[0166] The at least one mapping may be determined based, at least partially, on at least one of : one or more previous positioning measurements, a gain in accuracy of a previous positioning estimation associated with the one or more previous positioning measurements, an estimated amount of energy required for the at least one user equipment to perform at least one positioning measurement requested via the request, one or more locations of one or more transmission or reception points, an estimated locationof the at least one user equipment, a direction of the at least one user equipment, a speed of the at least one user equipment, at least one physical property of an area served with the network node, one or more channel characteristics, one or more channel statistics, a configuration of a reference signal used for positioning measurement, an accuracy of at least one past positioning measurement, a capability of the at least one user equipment, or a type of the at least one user equipment.

[0167] The one or more measurement requirements may comprise at least one of: a type of measurement, an identifier of a beam to be measured, a minimum number of transmission or reception points to be used for measurement, a maximum number of transmission or reception points to be used for measurement, a minimum number of positioning measurements to be made for a transmission or reception point, a maximum number of positioning measurements to be made for the transmission or reception point, a minimum periodicity for reporting the at least one performed positioning measurement, a maximum periodicity for reporting the at least one performed positioning measurement, or a priority associated with at least one transmission or reception point.

[0168] The one or more quality requirements may comprise at least one of : a quality of service requirement, a quantized quality of service requirement, an accuracy requirement for the positioning measurements, a quantized accuracy requirement for the positioning measurements, a latency requirement for the positioning measurements, or a quantized latency requirement for the positioning measurements.

[0169] The at least one mapping may be transmitted via at least one of: dedicated signaling, a broadcast message, a groupcast message, or a multicast message.

[0170] The example method may further comprise: receiving, from the at least one user equipment, at least one of: a report of at least one performed positioning measurement, an indication of a cause for not performing at least one positioning measurement requested via the request, or an indication of a capability of the at least one user equipment to perform further positioning measurements .

[0171] At least one positioning measurement requested via the request may not be included in the report of at least one performed positioning measurement.

[0172] The cause for not performing the at least one positioning measurement requested via the received request may comprise at least one of: low power of the at least one user equipment, a power level at the at least one user equipment, a charging status of the at least one user equipment, an amount of time required to perform the at least one positioning measurement, or a power required to perform the at least one positioning measurement requested via the received request exceeds a threshold.

[0173] The at least one performed positioning measurement may comprise at least one of : a partial positioning measurement, a power received from a transmission or reception point, a signal to interference plus noise ratio, a signal to noise ratio, a power to noise ratio, or a power to interference ratio.

[0174] The capability of the at least one user equipment to perform further positioning measurements may comprise at least one of: a time frame for performing the further positioning measurements, or an uplink quality for reporting the further positioning measurements.

[0175] The example method may further comprise: in response to at least one of: the indication of the cause for not performing the at least one positioning measurement requested via the request, or the indication of the capability of the at least one user equipment to perform further positioning measurements, determining whether to transmit a further request to perform positioning measurement .

[0176] The network node may comprise at least one of: a base station, a network entity, or a location management function.

[0177] In accordance with one example embodiment, an apparatus may comprise: circuitry configured to perform: determining, with a network node, at least one mapping between one or more quality requirements for positioning estimation, and one or more measurement requirements for the positioning estimation; circuitry configured to perform: transmitting, to at least one user equipment, the at least one mapping; circuitry configured to perform: transmitting, to the at least one user equipment, a request to perform positioning measurements, wherein the request may comprise at least one of: at least one measurement requirement of the one or more measurement requirements, or at least one quality requirement of the one or more quality requirements; and circuitry configured to perform: estimating at least one position for the at least one user equipment based, at least partially, onat least one indication received from the at least one user equipment .

[0178] In accordance with one example embodiment, an apparatus may comprise: processing circuitry; memory circuitry including computer program code, the memory circuitry and the computer program code configured to, with the processing circuitry, enable the apparatus to: determine at least one mapping between one or more quality requirements for positioning estimation, and one or more measurement requirements for the positioning estimation; transmit, to at least one user equipment, the at least one mapping; transmit, to the at least one user equipment, a request to perform positioning measurements, wherein the request may comprise at least one of : at least one measurement requirement of the one or more measurement requirements, or at least one quality requirement of the one or more quality requirements; and estimate at least one position for the at least one user equipment based, at least partially, on at least one indication received from the at least one user equipment .

[0179] In accordance with one example embodiment, an apparatus may comprise means for: determining at least one mapping between one or more quality requirements for positioning estimation, and one or more measurement requirements for the positioning estimation; transmitting, to at least one user equipment, the at least one mapping; transmitting, to the at least one user equipment, a request to perform positioning measurements, wherein the request may comprise at least one of: at least one measurement requirement of the one or more measurement requirements, or at least one quality requirement of the one or more quality requirements; and estimating at least one position for the at leastone user equipment based, at least partially, on at least one indication received from the at least one user equipment .

[0180] The at least one mapping may be determined based, at least partially, on at least one of : one or more previous positioning measurements, a gain in accuracy of a previous positioning estimation associated with the one or more previous positioning measurements, an estimated amount of energy required for the at least one user equipment to perform at least one positioning measurement requested via the request, one or more locations of one or more transmission or reception points, an estimated location of the at least one user equipment, a direction of the at least one user equipment, a speed of the at least one user equipment, at least one physical property of an area served with the apparatus, one or more channel characteristics, one or more channel statistics, a configuration of a reference signal used for positioning measurement, an accuracy of at least one past positioning measurement, a capability of the at least one user equipment, or a type of the at least one user equipment.

[0181] The one or more measurement requirements may comprise at least one of: a type of measurement, an identifier of a beam to be measured, a minimum number of transmission or reception points to be used for measurement, a maximum number of transmission or reception points to be used for measurement, a minimum number of positioning measurements to be made for a transmission or reception point, a maximum number of positioning measurements to be made for the transmission or reception point, a minimum periodicity for reporting the at least one performed positioning measurement, a maximum periodicity for reporting the at least one performedpositioning measurement, or a priority associated with at least one transmission or reception point.

[0182] The one or more quality requirements may comprise at least one of : a quality of service requirement, a quantized quality of service requirement, an accuracy requirement for the positioning measurements, a quantized accuracy requirement for the positioning measurements, a latency requirement for the positioning measurements, or a quantized latency requirement for the positioning measurements.

[0183] The at least one mapping may be transmitted via at least one of: dedicated signaling, a broadcast message, a groupcast message, or a multicast message.

[0184] The means may be further configured for: receiving, from the at least one user equipment, at least one of: a report of at least one performed positioning measurement, an indication of a cause for not performing at least one positioning measurement requested via the request, or an indication of a capability of the at least one user equipment to perform further positioning measurements .

[0185] At least one positioning measurement requested via the request may not be included in the report of at least one performed positioning measurement.

[0186] The cause for not performing the at least one positioning measurement requested via the received request may comprise at least one of: low power of the at least one user equipment, a power level at the at least one user equipment, a charging status of the at least one user equipment, an amount of time required to performthe at least one positioning measurement, or a power required to perform the at least one positioning measurement requested via the received request exceeds a threshold.

[0187] The at least one performed positioning measurement may comprise at least one of : a partial positioning measurement, a power received from a transmission or reception point, a signal to interference plus noise ratio, a signal to noise ratio, a power to noise ratio, or a power to interference ratio.

[0188] The capability of the at least one user equipment to perform further positioning measurements may comprise at least one of: a time frame for performing the further positioning measurements, or an uplink quality for reporting the further positioning measurements.

[0189] The means may be further configured for: in response to at least one of: the indication of the cause for not performing the at least one positioning measurement requested via the request, or the indication of the capability of the at least one user equipment to perform further positioning measurements, determining whether to transmit a further request to perform positioning measurement .

[0190] The example apparatus may comprise at least one of: a base station, a network entity, or a location management function.

[0191] In accordance with one example embodiment, a (non- transitory) computer-readable medium comprising instructions stored thereon which, when executed with at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to: determine, with a network node, at least one mapping between one or more quality requirementsfor positioning estimation, and one or more measurement requirements for the positioning estimation; cause transmitting, to at least one user equipment, of the at least one mapping; cause transmitting, to the at least one user equipment, of a request to perform positioning measurements, wherein the request may comprise at least one of: at least one measurement requirement of the one or more measurement requirements, or at least one quality requirement of the one or more quality requirements; and estimate at least one position for the at least one user equipment based, at least partially, on at least one indication received from the at least one user equipment.

[0192] In accordance with one example embodiment, a (non- transitory) computer-readable medium comprising program instructions stored thereon for performing at least the following: determining, with a network node, at least one mapping between one or more quality requirements for positioning estimation, and one or more measurement requirements for the positioning estimation; causing transmitting, to at least one user equipment, of the at least one mapping; causing transmitting, to the at least one user equipment, of a request to perform positioning measurements, wherein the request may comprise at least one of: at least one measurement requirement of the one or more measurement requirements, or at least one quality requirement of the one or more quality requirements; and estimating at least one position for the at least one user equipment based, at least partially, on at least one indication received from the at least one user equipment .

[0193] The at least one mapping may be determined based, at least partially, on at least one of : one or more previous positioningmeasurements, a gain in accuracy of a previous positioning estimation associated with the one or more previous positioning measurements, an estimated amount of energy required for the at least one user equipment to perform at least one positioning measurement requested via the request, one or more locations of one or more transmission or reception points, an estimated location of the at least one user equipment, a direction of the at least one user equipment, a speed of the at least one user equipment, at least one physical property of an area served with the network node, one or more channel characteristics, one or more channel statistics, a configuration of a reference signal used for positioning measurement, an accuracy of at least one past positioning measurement, a capability of the at least one user equipment, or a type of the at least one user equipment.

[0194] The one or more measurement requirements may comprise at least one of: a type of measurement, an identifier of a beam to be measured, a minimum number of transmission or reception points to be used for measurement, a maximum number of transmission or reception points to be used for measurement, a minimum number of positioning measurements to be made for a transmission or reception point, a maximum number of positioning measurements to be made for the transmission or reception point, a minimum periodicity for reporting the at least one performed positioning measurement, a maximum periodicity for reporting the at least one performed positioning measurement, or a priority associated with at least one transmission or reception point.

[0195] The one or more quality requirements may comprise at least one of : a quality of service requirement, a quantized quality of service requirement, an accuracy requirement for the positioningmeasurements, a quantized accuracy requirement for the positioning measurements, a latency requirement for the positioning measurements, or a quantized latency requirement for the positioning measurements.

[0196] The at least one mapping may be transmitted via at least one of: dedicated signaling, a broadcast message, a groupcast message, or a multicast message.

[0197] The example computer-readable medium may further comprise program instructions stored thereon for performing: causing receiving, from the at least one user equipment, of at least one of: a report of at least one performed positioning measurement, an indication of a cause for not performing at least one positioning measurement requested via the request, or an indication of a capability of the at least one user equipment to perform further positioning measurements.

[0198] At least one positioning measurement requested via the request may not be included in the report of at least one performed positioning measurement.

[0199] The cause for not performing the at least one positioning measurement requested via the received request may comprise at least one of: low power of the at least one user equipment, a power level at the at least one user equipment, a charging status of the at least one user equipment, an amount of time required to perform the at least one positioning measurement, or a power required to perform the at least one positioning measurement requested via the received request exceeds a threshold.

[0200] The at least one performed positioning measurement may comprise at least one of : a partial positioning measurement, a power received from a transmission or reception point, a signal to interference plus noise ratio, a signal to noise ratio, a power to noise ratio, or a power to interference ratio.

[0201] The capability of the at least one user equipment to perform further positioning measurements may comprise at least one of: a time frame for performing the further positioning measurements, or an uplink quality for reporting the further positioning measurements.

[0202] The example computer-readable medium may further comprise program instructions stored thereon for performing: in response to at least one of: the indication of the cause for not performing the at least one positioning measurement requested via the request, or the indication of the capability of the at least one user equipment to perform further positioning measurements, determining whether to transmit a further request to perform positioning measurement .

[0203] The network node may comprise at least one of: a base station, a network entity, or a location management function.

[0204] In accordance with another example embodiment, a (non- transitory) program storage device readable by a machine may be provided, tangibly embodying instructions executable by the machine for performing operations, the operations comprising: determining, with a network node, at least one mapping between one or more quality requirements for positioning estimation, and one or more measurement requirements for the positioning estimation; causing transmitting, to at least one user equipment, of the atleast one mapping; causing transmitting, to the at least one user equipment, of a request to perform positioning measurements, wherein the request may comprise at least one of: at least one measurement requirement of the one or more measurement requirements, or at least one quality requirement of the one or more quality requirements; and estimating at least one position for the at least one user equipment based, at least partially, on at least one indication received from the at least one user equipment .

[0205] In accordance with another example embodiment, a (non- transitory) computer-readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform at least the following: determining, with a network node, at least one mapping between one or more quality requirements for positioning estimation, and one or more measurement requirements for the positioning estimation; causing transmitting, to at least one user equipment, of the at least one mapping; causing transmitting, to the at least one user equipment, of a request to perform positioning measurements, wherein the request may comprise at least one of: at least one measurement requirement of the one or more measurement requirements, or at least one quality requirement of the one or more quality requirements; and estimating at least one position for the at least one user equipment based, at least partially, on at least one indication received from the at least one user equipment.

[0206] A computer implemented system comprising: at least one processor and at least one (non-transitory) memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the system at least to perform: determining, with a networknode, at least one mapping between one or more quality requirements for positioning estimation, and one or more measurement requirements for the positioning estimation; causing transmitting, to at least one user equipment, of the at least one mapping; causing transmitting, to the at least one user equipment, of a request to perform positioning measurements, wherein the request may comprise at least one of: at least one measurement requirement of the one or more measurement requirements, or at least one quality requirement of the one or more quality requirements; and estimating at least one position for the at least one user equipment based, at least partially, on at least one indication received from the at least one user equipment.

[0207] A computer implemented system comprising: means for determining, with a network node, at least one mapping between one or more quality requirements for positioning estimation, and one or more measurement requirements for the positioning estimation; means for causing transmitting, to at least one user equipment, of the at least one mapping; means for causing transmitting, to the at least one user equipment, of a request to perform positioning measurements, wherein the request may comprise at least one of: at least one measurement requirement of the one or more measurement requirements, or at least one quality requirement of the one or more quality requirements; and means for estimating at least one position for the at least one user equipment based, at least partially, on at least one indication received from the at least one user equipment .

[0208] The term "non-transitory, " as used herein, is a limitation of the medium itself (i.e. tangible, not a signal) as opposed to a limitation on data storage persistency (e.g. , RAM vs. ROM) .

[0209] It should be understood that the foregoing description is only illustrative. Various alternatives and modifications can be devised by those skilled in the art. For example, features recited in the various dependent claims could be combined with each other in any suitable combination ( s ) . In addition, features from different embodiments described above could be selectively combined into a new embodiment. Accordingly, the description is intended to embrace all such alternatives, modification and variances which fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

CLAIMSWhat is claimed is:

1. An apparatus comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to: receive at least one mapping between one or more quality requirements for positioning estimation, and one or more measurement requirements for the positioning estimation; receive a request to perform positioning measurements, wherein the request comprises at least one of: at least one measurement requirement of the one or more measurement requirements, or at least one quality requirement of the one or more quality requirements; and determine whether to perform at least one positioning measurement based, at least partially, on the received mapping, the received request, and at least one energy requirement of the apparatus.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein determining whether to perform the at least one positioning measurement comprises the instructions, when executed with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to:determine at least one positioning measurement requested via the received request is not to be performed.

3. The apparatus of 1 or 2, wherein the one or more measurement requirements comprise at least one of : a type of measurement, an identifier of a beam to be measured, a minimum number of transmission or reception points to be used for measurement, a maximum number of transmission or reception points to be used for measurement, a minimum number of positioning measurements to be made for a transmission or reception point, a maximum number of positioning measurements to be made for the transmission or reception point, a minimum periodicity for reporting the at least one performed positioning measurement, a maximum periodicity for reporting the at least one performed positioning measurement, or a priority associated with at least one transmission or reception point.

4. The apparatus of any one of claims 1 through 3, wherein the one or more quality requirements comprise at least one of :a quality of service requirement, a quantized quality of service requirement, an accuracy requirement for the positioning measurements , a quantized accuracy requirement for the positioning measurements , a latency requirement for the positioning measurements, or a quantized latency requirement for the positioning measurements .

5. The apparatus of any one of claims 1 through 4, wherein the received request comprises the at least one quality requirement, wherein the instructions, when executed with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to: determine the at least one measurement requirement based, at least partially, on the at least one quality requirement and the at least one mapping.

6. The apparatus of any one of claims 1 through 5, wherein whether to perform the at least one positioning measurement is further determined based on at least one of: a configured accuracy requirement for the at least one positioning measurement, a previously performed positioning measurement,a variance between a plurality of previously performed positioning measurements, a partially performed positioning measurement, a priority associated with performing the positioning measurements, or an estimated level of line of sight with respect to at least one transmission or reception point.

7. The apparatus of any one of claims 1 through 6, wherein the at least one energy requirement of the apparatus comprises at least one of : a past energy level of the apparatus, a current energy level of the apparatus, an estimated future energy level of the apparatus, an energy saving requirement, an estimated future energy consumption of the apparatus, or a threshold value for power consumption for performing the positioning measurements.

8. The apparatus of any one of claims 1 through 7, wherein the instructions, when executed with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to:in response to a determination to perform the at least one positioning measurement, perform the at least one positioning measurement; and transmit a report of the at least one performed positioning measurement.

9. The apparatus of any one of claims 1 through 8, wherein the instructions, when executed with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to: transmit at least one of: an indication of a cause for not performing at least one positioning measurement requested via the received request, or an indication of a capability of the apparatus to perform further positioning measurements.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the cause for not performing the at least one positioning measurement requested via the received request comprises at least one of: low power of the apparatus, a power level at the apparatus, a charging status of the apparatus, an amount of time required to perform the at least one positioning measurement, ora power required to perform the at least one positioning measurement requested via the received request exceeds a threshold.

11. The apparatus of any one of claims 8 through 10, wherein the at least one performed positioning measurement comprises at least one of : a partial positioning measurement, a received power from a transmission or reception point, a signal to interference plus noise ratio, a signal to noise ratio, a power to noise ratio, or a power to interference ratio.

12. The apparatus of any one of claims 8 through 11, wherein the capability of the apparatus to perform further positioning measurements comprises at least one of: a time frame for performing the further positioning measurements, or an uplink quality for reporting the further positioning measurements .

13. The apparatus of any one of claims 1 through 12, wherein the apparatus comprises at least one of: a sidelink apparatus, an ambient Internet of Things apparatus, ora low power wide area apparatus .

14. A method comprising: receiving, with a user equipment, at least one mapping between one or more quality requirements for positioning estimation, and one or more measurement requirements for the positioning estimation; receiving a request to perform positioning measurements, wherein the request comprises at least one of: at least one measurement requirement of the one or more measurement requirements, or at least one quality requirement of the one or more quality requirements; and determining whether to perform at least one positioning measurement based, at least partially, on the received mapping, the received request, and at least one energy requirement of the user equipment.

15. An apparatus comprising means for: receiving at least one mapping between one or more quality requirements for positioning estimation, and one or more measurement requirements for the positioning estimation; receiving a request to perform positioning measurements, wherein the request comprises at least one of: at least one measurement requirement of the one or more measurement requirements, or at least one quality requirement of the one or more quality requirements; anddetermining whether to perform at least one positioning measurement based, at least partially, on the received mapping, the received request, and at least one energy requirement of the apparatus.

16. A computer-readable medium comprising program instructions stored thereon for performing at least the following : causing receiving, with a user equipment, of at least one mapping between one or more quality requirements for positioning estimation, and one or more measurement requirements for the positioning estimation; causing receiving of a request to perform positioning measurements, wherein the request comprises at least one of : at least one measurement requirement of the one or more measurement requirements, or at least one quality requirement of the one or more quality requirements; and determining whether to perform at least one positioning measurement based, at least partially, on the received mapping, the received request, and at least one energy requirement of the user equipment.

17. An apparatus comprising: at least one processor; andat least one memory storing instructions that, when executed with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to: determine at least one mapping between one or more quality requirements for positioning estimation, and one or more measurement requirements for the positioning estimation; transmit, to at least one user equipment, the at least one mapping; transmit, to the at least one user equipment, a request to perform positioning measurements, wherein the request comprises at least one of: at least one measurement requirement of the one or more measurement requirements, or at least one quality requirement of the one or more quality requirements; and estimate at least one position for the at least one user equipment based, at least partially, on at least one indication received from the at least one user equipment .

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the at least one mapping is determined based, at least partially, on at least one of : one or more previous positioning measurements,a gain in accuracy of a previous positioning estimation associated with the one or more previous positioning measurements, an estimated amount of energy required for the at least one user equipment to perform at least one positioning measurement requested via the request, one or more locations of one or more transmission or reception points, an estimated location of the at least one user equipment, a direction of the at least one user equipment, a speed of the at least one user equipment, at least one physical property of an area served with the apparatus, one or more channel characteristics, one or more channel statistics, a configuration of a reference signal used for positioning measurement, an accuracy of at least one past positioning measurement , a capability of the at least one user equipment, or a type of the at least one user equipment.

19. The apparatus of claim 17 or 18, wherein the one or more measurement requirements comprise at least one of :a type of measurement, an identifier of a beam to be measured, a minimum number of transmission or reception points to be used for measurement, a maximum number of transmission or reception points to be used for measurement, a minimum number of positioning measurements to be made for a transmission or reception point, a maximum number of positioning measurements to be made for the transmission or reception point, a minimum periodicity for reporting the at least one performed positioning measurement, a maximum periodicity for reporting the at least one performed positioning measurement, or a priority associated with at least one transmission or reception point.

20. The apparatus of any one of claims 17 through 19, wherein the one or more quality requirements comprise at least one of : a quality of service requirement, a quantized quality of service requirement, an accuracy requirement for the positioning measurements ,a quantized accuracy requirement for the positioning measurements, a latency requirement for the positioning measurements, or a quantized latency requirement for the positioning measurements .

21. The apparatus of any one of claims 17 through 20, wherein the at least one mapping is transmitted via at least one of: dedicated signaling, a broadcast message, a groupcast message, or a multicast message.

22. The apparatus of any one of claims 17 through 21, wherein the instructions, when executed with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to: receive, from the at least one user equipment, at least one of : a report of at least one performed positioning measurement , an indication of a cause for not performing at least one positioning measurement requested via the request, oran indication of a capability of the at least one user equipment to perform further positioning measurements .

23. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein at least one positioning measurement requested via the request is not included in the report of at least one performed positioning measurement .

24. The apparatus of claim 22 or 23, wherein the cause for not performing the at least one positioning measurement requested via the received request comprises at least one of: low power of the at least one user equipment, a power level at the at least one user equipment, a charging status of the at least one user equipment, an amount of time required to perform the at least one positioning measurement, or a power required to perform the at least one positioning measurement requested via the received request exceeds a threshold.

25. The apparatus of any one of claims 22 through 24, wherein the at least one performed positioning measurement comprises at least one of : a partial positioning measurement, a power received from a transmission or reception point, a signal to interference plus noise ratio,a signal to noise ratio, a power to noise ratio, or a power to interference ratio.

26. The apparatus of any one of claims 22 through 25, wherein the capability of the at least one user equipment to perform further positioning measurements comprises at least one of: a time frame for performing the further positioning measurements, or an uplink quality for reporting the further positioning measurements .

27. The apparatus of any one of claims 22 through 26, wherein the instructions, when executed with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to: in response to at least one of: the indication of the cause for not performing the at least one positioning measurement requested via the request, or the indication of the capability of the at least one user equipment to perform further positioning measurements, determine whether to transmit a further request to perform positioning measurement.

28. The apparatus of any one of claims 17 through 27, wherein the apparatus comprises at least one of: a base station, a network entity, ora location management function.

29. A method comprising: determining, with a network node, at least one mapping between one or more quality requirements for positioning estimation, and one or more measurement requirements for the positioning estimation; transmitting, to at least one user equipment, the at least one mapping; transmitting, to the at least one user equipment, a request to perform positioning measurements, wherein the request comprises at least one of : at least one measurement requirement of the one or more measurement requirements, or at least one quality requirement of the one or more quality requirements; and estimating at least one position for the at least one user equipment based, at least partially, on at least one indication received from the at least one user equipment .

30. An apparatus comprising means for: determining at least one mapping between one or more quality requirements for positioning estimation, and one or more measurement requirements for the positioning estimation; transmitting, to at least one user equipment, the at least one mapping;transmitting, to the at least one user equipment, a request to perform positioning measurements, wherein the request comprises at least one of : at least one measurement requirement of the one or more measurement requirements, or at least one quality requirement of the one or more quality requirements; and estimating at least one position for the at least one user equipment based, at least partially, on at least one indication received from the at least one user equipment .

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