Communication apparatuses, communication servers, and communication methods

Abstract

A communication method performed by a communication apparatus is described. The communication method may comprise receiving a reference signal from another communication apparatus; generating a channel measurement comprising a plurality of first samples; selecting, from among the first samples, a plurality of second samples corresponding to samples having highest power(s); and sending the channel measurement represented by a bitmap; wherein each bit of the bitmap corresponds to a respective one of the first samples, a bit set to a value of 1 indicates that its corresponding sample is included in the second samples.

Description

[DESCRIPTION][Title of Invention]COMMUNICATION APPARATUSES, COMMUNICATION SERVERS, AND COMMUNICATION METHODS [Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a communication apparatus, a communication server and a communication method.[Background Art]

[0002] At present, as a radio access system and a radio network technology aimed for the fifth-generation (5G) cellular system and the sixth-generation (6G) cellular system, technical investigation and standard development are being conducted, as extended standards of Long Term Evolution (LTE), on LTE- Advanced Pro (LTE- A Pro) and New Radio technology (NR) in The Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP).

[0003] In the fifth-generation cellular system, three services of enhanced Mobile BroadBand (eMBB) to achieve high-speed and large-volume transmission, Ultra- Reliable and Low Latency Communication (URLLC) to achieve low-latency and high- reliability communication, and massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC) to allow connection of a large number of machine type devices such as Internet of Things (loT) have been demanded as assumed scenarios.

[0004] Additionally, 3GPP has been actively engaging in Artificial Intelligence (AI) / Machine Learning (ML) initiatives. The integration of AI / ML into 3GPP’s development of 5G and 6G wireless communication standards is to facilitate the application of AI / ML technologies in commercial cellular system. However, how to enable supporting of AI / ML in 5G and 6G wireless communication standards has not been well discussed, with offering limited flexibility and the efficiency for the whole wireless communication system. As illustrated by this discussion, systems and methods according to the present invention, effectively enabling the support of AI / ML functionality, may improve the communication flexibility and efficiency and may be beneficial.

[0005] 3GPP specified location technologies over the NR. This can be referred to as NR positioning. The NR positioning is aimed at indoor and outdoor use cases (e.g. emergency case and commercial case). In the NR positioning, timing-based and angle- based positioning method is supported. Such methods may suffer from poor accuracyin Non Line Of Sight (NLOS) environments comparing in Line Of Sight (LOS) environments.[Brief Description of the Drawings]

[0006] Figure 1 is a block diagram illustrating one configuration of one or more base stations and one or more user equipments (UEs) in which systems and methods may be implemented;

[0007] Figure 2 is a diagram illustrating one example 200 of a resource grid;

[0008] Figure 3 is a diagram illustrating one example 300 of common resource block grid, carrier configuration and BWP configuration by a UE 102 and a base station 160;

[0009] Figure 4 is a diagram illustrating one 400 example of functional framework for AI / ML for NR air interface by a UE 102 and a base station 160;

[0010] Figure 5 is a conceptual diagram of a wireless communication system for the present disclosure.

[0011] Figure 6 is an example of a diagram of bitmap format representing timing information in a channel measurement report for model input.

[0012] Figure 7 is an example of a diagram of integer format representing timing information in a channel measurement report for model input.

[0013] Figure 8 is a comparison table of the bit size of the bitmap format and integer format.

[0014] Figure 9 illustrates various components that may be utilized in a UE;

[0015] Figure 10 illustrates various components that may be utilized in a base station;[Description of Embodiments]

[0016] A communication apparatus is described. The communication apparatus may comprise reception circuitry configured to receive a reference signal from another communication apparatus; processing circuitry configured to generate a channel measurement comprising a plurality of first samples, and to select, from among the first samples, a plurality of second samples corresponding to samples having highest power(s); and transmission circuitry configured to send the channel measurement represented by a bitmap, wherein each bit of the bitmap corresponds to a respective one of the first samples, and a bit set to a value of 1 indicates that its corresponding sample is included in the second samples .

[0017] The communication apparatus according to the claim 1 , wherein the channel measurement further includes a timing-related parameter that indicates a timing of an earliest sample within the first samples.

[0018] The communication apparatus according to the claim 1, wherein a number of the first samples and a number of the second samples are each indicated by respective parameters.

[0019] A communication server is described. The communication server may comprise reception circuitry configured to receive a channel measurement; wherein the channel measurement comprises a plurality of first samples and is represented by a bitmap, each bit of the bitmap corresponds to a respective one of the first samples, a bit set to a value of 1 indicates that its corresponding sample is included in a plurality of second samples, and the second samples correspond to samples having highest power(s) among the first samples.

[0020] The communication server according to the claim 4, wherein the channel measurement further includes a timing-related parameter that indicates a timing of an earliest sample within the first samples.

[0021] The communication server according to the claim 4, wherein a number of the first samples and a number of the second samples are each indicated by respective parameters.

[0022] A communication method performed by a communication apparatus is described. The communication method may comprise receiving a reference signal from another communication apparatus; generating a channel measurement comprising a plurality of first samples; selecting, from among the first samples, a plurality of second samples corresponding to samples having highest power(s); and sending the channel measurement represented by a bitmap; wherein each bit of the bitmap corresponds to a respective one of the first samples, a bit set to a value of 1 indicates that its corresponding sample is included in the second samples .

[0023] 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) is the name given to a project to improve the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) mobile phone or device standard to cope with future requirements. In one aspect, UMTS has been modified to provide support and specification for the Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA) and Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN). 3GPP NR (New Radio) is the name given to a project to improve the LTE mobile phoneor device standard to cope with future requirements. In one aspect, LTE has been modified to provide support and specification (TS 38.331, 38.321, 38.300, 37.340, 38.211, 38.212, 38.213, 38.214, 38.215, 37.355, 38.305, 38.455 etc.) for the New Radio Access (NR) and Next generation - Radio Access Network (NG-RAN).

[0024] At least some aspects of the systems and methods disclosed herein may be described in relation to the 3 GPP LTE, LTE- Advanced (LTE- A), LTE- Advanced Pro, New Radio Access (NR), and other 3G / 4G / 5G standards (e.g., 3GPP Releases 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, and / or 19 and / or Narrow Band-Internet of Things (NB- IoT)). However, the scope of the present disclosure should not be limited in this regard. At least some aspects of the systems and methods disclosed herein may be utilized in other types of wireless communication systems.

[0025] A wireless communication device may be an electronic device used to communicate voice and / or data to a base station, which in turn may communicate with a network of devices (e.g., public switched telephone network (PSTN), the Internet, etc.). In describing systems and methods herein, a wireless communication device may alternatively be referred to as a mobile station, a UE (User Equipment), an access terminal, a subscriber station, a mobile terminal, a remote station, a user terminal, a terminal, a subscriber unit, a mobile device, a relay node, etc. Examples of wireless communication devices include cellular phones, smart phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), laptop computers, netbooks, e-readers, wireless modems, industrial wireless sensors, video surveillance, wearables, vehicles, roadside units, infrastructure devices, etc. In 3 GPP specifications, a wireless communication device is typically referred to as a UE. However, as the scope of the present disclosure should not be limited to the 3 GPP standards, the terms “UE” and “wireless communication device” may be used interchangeably herein to mean the more general term “wireless communication device”.

[0026] In 3 GPP specifications, a base station is typically referred to as a gNB, a Node B, an eNB, a home enhanced or evolved Node B (HeNB) or some other similar terminology. As the scope of the disclosure should not be limited to 3 GPP standards, the terms “base station,”, “gNB”, “Node B,” “eNB,” and “HeNB” may be used interchangeably herein to mean the more general term “base station.” Furthermore, one example of a “base station” is an access point. An access point may be an electronic device that provides access to a network (e.g., Local Area Network (LAN), the Internet,etc.) for wireless communication devices. The term “communication device” may be used to denote both a wireless communication device and / or a base station.

[0027] It should be noted that as used herein, a “cell” may be any communication channel that is specified by standardization or regulatory bodies to be used for International Mobile Telecommunications-Advanced (IMT-Advanced), IMT-2020 (5G) and all of it or a subset of it may be adopted by 3GPP as licensed bands (e.g., frequency bands) to be used for communication between a base station and a UE. It should also be noted that in NR, NG-RAN, E-UTRA and E-UTRAN overall description, as used herein, a “cell” may be defined as “combination of downlink and optionally uplink resources.” The linking between the carrier frequency of the downlink resources and the carrier frequency of the uplink resources may be indicated in the system information transmitted on the downlink resources.

[0028] “Configured cells” are those cells of which the UE is aware and is allowed by a base station to transmit or receive information. “Configured cell(s)” may be serving cell(s). The UE may receive system information and perform the required measurements on configured cells. “Configured cell(s)” for a radio connection may consist of a primary cell and / or no, one, or more secondary cell(s). “Activated cells” are those configured cells on which the UE is transmitting and receiving. That is, activated cells are those cells for which the UE monitors the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) and in the case of a downlink transmission, those cells for which the UE decodes a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH). “Deactivated cells” are those configured cells that the UE is not monitoring the transmission PDCCH. It should be noted that a “cell” may be described in terms of differing dimensions. For example, a “cell” may have temporal, spatial (e.g., geographical) and frequency characteristics.

[0029] The base stations may be connected by the NG interface to the 5G - core network (5G-CN). 5G-CN may be called as to NextGen core (NGC), or 5G core (5GC). The base stations may also be connected by the SI interface to the evolved packet core (EPC). For instance, the base stations may be connected to a NextGen (NG) mobility management function by the NG-2 interface and to the NG core User Plane (UP) functions by the NG-3 interface. The NG interface supports a many-to-many relation between NG mobility management functions, NG core UP functions and the base stations. The NG-2 interface is the NG interface for the control plane and the NG-3 interface is the NG interface for the user plane. For instance, for EPC connection, thebase stations may be connected to a mobility management entity (MME) by the SI - MME interface and to the serving gateway (S-GW) by the Sl-U interface. The SI interface supports a many-to-many relation between MMEs, serving gateways and the base stations. The SI -MME interface is the SI interface for the control plane and the S I -U interface is the S 1 interface for the user plane . The Uu interface is a radio interface between the UE and the base station for the radio protocol.

[0030] The UE may make measurements of downlink signals from NG-RAN, sidelink signals from other UEs, and other sources such as E-UTRAN, different GNSS and TBS systems, WLAN access points, Bluetooth beacons, UE barometric pressure and motion sensors. The measurements to be made may be determined by the chosen positioning method. The UE may also contain LCS applications, or access an LCS application either through communication with a network accessed by the UE or through another application residing in the UE. This LCS application may include the needed measurement and calculation functions to determine the UE's position with or without network assistance. The UE may also, for example, contain an independent positioning function (e.g., GPS) and thus be able to report its position, independent of the NG-RAN transmissions. The UE with an independent positioning function may also make use of assistance information obtained from the network.

[0031] Figure 5 is a conceptual diagram of a wireless communication system for the present disclosure.

[0032] The base station 502 (e.g. gNB) may be a network element of NG-RAN that may provide measurement information for a target UE and may communicate this information to an LMF 503. To support NR RAT-Dependent positioning, the gNB 502 may make measurements of radio signals for a target UE 501a, and provide measurement results for position estimation. A gNB 502 may serve several Transmission and Reception Points (TRPs), including for example remote radio heads, and UL-SRS only Reception Points (RPs) and DL-PRS-only Transmission Points (TPs). For NTN, a TRP may be located on board the satellite. A gNB 502 may broadcast assistance data information, received from an LMF 503, in positioning System Information messages.

[0033] The ng-eNB 502 may be a network element of NG-RAN that may provide measurement results for position estimation and makes measurements of radio signals for a target UE 501a and communicates these measurements to an LMF 503. The ng-eNB 502 may make its measurements in response to requests from the LMF 503 (on demand or periodically). An ng-eNB 502 may serve several TPs, including for example remote radio heads and PRS-only TPs for PRS-based TBS positioning for E-UTRA. An ng-eNB 502 may broadcast assistance data information, received from an LMF 503, in positioning System Information messages.

[0034] The gNB and ng-eNB can be referred to as NG-RAN node 502. The NG- RAN node 502 is name of a base station. The NG-RAN may equip Transmission and Reception Point (TRP), Reception Point (RP) or Transmission Point (TP).

[0035] The LMF 503 may manage the support of different location services for target UEs, including positioning of UEs and delivery of assistance data to UEs. The LMF 503 can be referred to as location server or positioning server. The LMF 503 may interact with the serving gNB or serving ng-eNB for a target UE in order to obtain position measurements for the UE, including uplink measurements made by an NG- RAN and downlink measurements made by the UE that were provided to an NG-RAN as part of other functions such as for support of handover. The LMF 503 may interact with a target UE in order to deliver assistance data if requested for a particular location service, or to obtain a location estimate if that was requested. The LMF 503 may interact with multiple NG-RAN nodes 502 to provide assistance data information for broadcasting. The assistance data information for broadcast may optionally be segmented and / or ciphered by the LMF 503. The LMF 503 may also interact with AMFs to provide ciphering key data information to the AMF. For positioning of a target UE, the LMF 503 may decide on the position methods to be used, based on factors that may include the LCS Client type, the required QoS, UE positioning capabilities, gNB positioning capabilities and ng-eNB positioning capabilities. The LMF 503 then may invoke these positioning methods in the UE, serving gNB and / or serving ng eNB. The positioning methods may yield a location estimate for UE-based position methods and / or positioning measurements for UE-assisted and network-based position methods. The LMF 503 may combine all the received results and determine a single location estimate for the target UE (hybrid positioning). Additional information like accuracy of the location estimate and velocity may also be determined. The LMF 503 may interact with the AMF to provide (updated) UE Positioning Capability to AMF and to receive stored UE Positioning Capability from AMF.

[0036] The Location Management Function (LMF) 503 is the network entity in the 5G Core Network (5GC) in charge of at least the following functionality: Supports location determination for a UE.- Obtains downlink location measurements or a location estimate from the UE.Obtains uplink location measurements from the NG RAN.- Obtains non-UE associated assistance data from the NG RAN.

[0037] A Positioning Reference Unit (PRU) 50 lb at a known location may perform positioning measurements (e.g., RSTD, RSRP, UE Rx-Tx Time Difference measurements, DL-RSCPD, DL-RSCP, etc.) and report these measurements to a LMF. In addition, the PRU 501b may transmit SRS to enable TRPs to measure and report UL positioning measurements (e.g., RTOA, UL-AoA, gNB Rx-Tx Time Difference, UL- RSCP, etc.) from PRU 501b at a known location. The PRU measurements may be compared by a LMF 503 with the measurements expected at the known PRU location to determine correction terms for other nearby target devices. The DL- and / or UL location measurements for other target devices can then be corrected based on the previously determined correction terms. PRU 501b measurements may also be provided to the target device in the assistance data. From a location server perspective, the PRU functionality is realized by a UE with known location. Hereinafter, the UE 501a may refer to the PRU 501b.

[0038] The LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP) 504 may be terminated between a target device (the terminal device 501a and 501b in the control-plane case) and a positioning server (the LMF 503 in the control-plane case). It may use either the control- or user-plane protocols as underlying transport.

[0039] A procedure consists of a single operation of one of the following types: Exchange of positioning capabilities;Transfer of assistance data;Transfer of location information (positioning measurements and / or position estimate);Error handling; Abort.

[0040] Parallel transactions are permitted (i.e. a new LPP 504 transaction may be initiated, while another one is outstanding). The protocol may operate between a"target" and a "server". In the control-plane context, these entities may be the UE and LMF respectively. A procedure may be initiated by either the target or the server.

[0041] The NR Positioning Protocol A (NRPPa) 505 may carry information between the NG-BLAN Node (e.g. gNB) 502 and the LMF503. It may be used to support the following positioning functions:E-CID for E-UTRA where measurements are transferred from the ng-eNB to the LMF.Data collection from ng-eNB's and gNB's for support of OTDOA positioning for E-UTRA.Cell-ID and Cell Portion ID retrieval from gNB's for support of NR Cell ID positioning method.Exchange of information between LMF and NG-RAN node for the purpose of assistance data broadcasting.NR E-CID where measurements are transferred from the gNB to the LMF. NR Multi-RTT where measurements are transferred from the gNB to theLMF.NR UL- Ao A where measurements are transferred from the gNB to the LMF. NR UL-TDOA where measurements are transferred from the gNB to theLMF.Data collection from gNBs for support of DL-TDOA, DL-AoD, Multi-RTT, UL-TDOA, UL-AoA.Measurement Preconfiguration Information Transfer which allows the LMF 503 to request the NG-RAN node 502 to pre-configure and activate / deactivate measurement gap and / or PRS processing window. The NRPPa protocol 505 may be transparent to the AMF. The AMF may route the NRPPa PDUs transparently based on a Routing ID corresponding to the involved LMF over NG-C interface without knowledge of the involved NRPPa transaction. It may carry the NRPPa PDUs over NG- C interface either in UE associated mode or non-UE associated mode. In case of a split gNB architecture, the NRPPa protocol 505 is terminated at the gNB-CU.

[0042] Positioning and data acquisition transactions between a LMF 503 and NG- RAN node 502 may be modelled by using procedures of the NRPPa protocol 505. There may be two types of NRPPa procedures:UE associated procedure, i.e. transfer of information for a particular UE,including the procedures supporting the Positioning Information Transfer, E-CID Location Information Transfer and Measurement Pre-configuration Information Transfer functions;Non UE associated procedure, i.e. transfer of information applicable to the NG-RAN node and associated TRP, including the procedures supporting the OTDOA Information Transfer, Assistance Information Transfer, TRP Information Transfer, Measurement Information Transfer and PRS Information Transfer functions.

[0043] Parallel transactions between the same LMF 503 and NG-RAN node 502 may be supported; i.e. a pair of LMF 503 and NG-RAN node 502 may have more than one instance of an NRPPa procedure 505 in execution at the same time. For possible extensibility, the protocol is considered to operate between a generic "access node" (e.g. gNB 502, ng-eNB 502) and a "server" (e.g. LMF 503). An NRPPa transaction is only initiated by the server.

[0044] Capabilities in an LPP context may refer to the ability of a target or server to support different position methods defined for LPP, different aspects of a particular position method (e.g. different types of assistance data for A-GNSS) and common features not specific to only one position method (e.g. ability to handle multiple LPP transactions). These capabilities may be defined within the LPP protocol and transferred between the target and the server using LPP transport. The exchange of capabilities between a target and a server may be initiated by a request or sent as "unsolicited" information. If a request is used, the server may send an LPP Request Capabilities message to the target device with a request for capability information. The target may send an LPP Provide Capabilities message. The following is the example procedure of the capability transfer. Firstly, the server may send a request for the LPP related capabilities of the target. Secondary, the target may transfer its LPP-related capabilities to the server. The capabilities may refer to particular position methods or may be common to multiple position methods. LPP Capability Indication procedure is used for unsolicited capability transfer.

[0045] Assistance data may be transferred either by request or unsolicited. The following is the example procedure of the capability transfer. Firstly, the target may send a request to the server for assistance data and may indicate the particular assistance data needed. Secondary, the server may transfer assistance data to the target. The transferred assistance data should match any assistance data requested in the first step.Thirdly, optionally, the server may transfer additional assistance data to the target in one or more additional LPP messages. LPP Assistance Data Delivery procedure may be used for unilateral assistance data transfer.

[0046] For LPP, the term "location information" may apply both to an actual position estimate and to values used in computing position (e.g., radio measurements or positioning measurements). It may be delivered either in response to a request or unsolicited. Firstly, the server may send a request for location information to the target, and may indicate the type of location information needed and associated QoS. In response to the first step, the target transfers location information to the server. The location information transferred should match the location information requested in the first step. Thirdly, optionally (e.g., if requested in the first step), the target in the second step may transfer additional location information to the server in one or more additional LPP messages. LPP Location Information Delivery procedure may be used for unilateral location information transfer.

[0047] Despite the flexibility allowed by LPP, it is expected that procedures will normally occur in the following order: Capability Transfer in first; Assistance Data Transfer in second; Location Information Transfer (measurements and / or location estimate) in third.

[0048] For NRPPa, the term "location information" refers to the information used in, or used for assisting in, computing position (e.g., cell information, SRS configurations, radio measurements or positioning measurements). The location information may include assistance information that assists the positioning procedure. It may be delivered in response to a request. The following is the example procedure of the location information transfer. Firstly, the server may send a request for location related information to the NG-RAN node, and may indicate the type of location information needed. The request may refer to a particular UE. Secondary, in response to the first step, the NG-RAN Node may transfer location related information to the server. The location related information transferred may match the location related information requested in the first step. If requested in the first step, the NG-RAN node may transfer additional location related information to the server in one or more additional NRPPa messages.

[0049] The radio protocol architecture may include the user plane and the control plane. The user plane protocol stack may include packet data convergence protocol(PDCP), radio link control (RLC), medium access control (MAC) and physical (PHY) layers. A DRB (Data Radio Bearer) is a radio bearer that carries user data (as opposed to control plane signaling). For example, a DRB may be mapped to the user plane protocol stack. The PDCP, RLC, MAC and PHY sublayers (terminated at the base station 460a on the network) may perform functions (e.g., header compression, ciphering, scheduling, ARQ and HARQ) for the user plane. PDCP entities are located in the PDCP sublayer. RLC entities may be located in the RLC sublayer. MAC entities may be located in the MAC sublayer. The PHY entities may be located in the PHY sublayer.

[0050] The control plane may include a control plane protocol stack. The PDCP sublayer (terminated in base station on the network side) may perform functions (e.g., ciphering and integrity protection) for the control plane. The RLC and MAC sublayers (terminated in base station on the network side) may perform the same functions as for the user plane. The Radio Resource Control (RRC) (terminated in base station on the network side) may perform the following functions. The RRC may perform broadcast functions, paging, RRC connection management, radio bearer (RB) control, mobility functions, UE measurement reporting and control. The Non-Access Stratum (NAS) control protocol (terminated in MME on the network side) may perform, among other things, evolved packet system (EPS) bearer management, authentication, evolved packet system connection management (ECM)-IDLE mobility handling, paging origination in ECM-IDLE and security control.

[0051] Signaling Radio Bearers (SRBs) are Radio Bearers (RB) that may be used only for the transmission of RRC and NAS messages. Three SRBs may be defined. SRB0 may be used for RRC messages using the common control channel (CCCH) logical channel. SRB1 may be used for RRC messages (which may include a piggybacked NAS message) as well as for NAS messages prior to the establishment of SRB2, all using the dedicated control channel (DCCH) logical channel. SRB2 may be used for RRC messages which include logged measurement information as well as for NAS messages, all using the DCCH logical channel. SRB2 has a lower priority than SRB1 and may be configured by a network (e.g., base station) after security activation. A broadcast control channel (BCCH) logical channel may be used for broadcasting system information. Some of BCCH logical channel may convey system information which may be sent from the network to the UE via BCH (Broadcast Channel) transportchannel. BCH may be sent on a physical broadcast channel (PBCH). Some of BCCH logical channel may convey system information which may be sent from the network to the UE via DL-SCH (Downlink Shared Channel) transport channel. Paging may be provided by using paging control channel (PCCH) logical channel.

[0052] System information may be divided into the MasterlnformationBlock (MIB) and a number of SystemlnformationBlocks (STBs).

[0053] A higher-layer parameter is a parameter included in an RRC message, LPP message, NRPPa message or a MAC CE (Medium Access Control Control Element). The higher-layer parameter is a generic name of information included in a MIB, system information, a message which corresponds to CCCH, a message which corresponds to DCCH, and a MAC CE. A higher-layer parameter may be referred to as an RRC parameter or an RRC configuration if the higher-layer parameter is the parameter included in the RRC message. A higher-layer parameter may be referred to as an LPP parameter or an LPP configuration if the higher-layer parameter is the parameter included in the LPP message. A higher-layer parameter may be referred to as an NRPPa parameter or an NRPPa configuration if the higher-layer parameter is the parameter included in the NRPPa message. RRC parameter, LPP parameter and NRPPa parameter consists of Information Element (IE).

[0054] The UE may receive one or more RRC messages from the base station to obtain RRC configurations or parameters. The RRC layer of the UE may configure RRC layer and / or lower layers (e.g., PHY layer, MAC layer, RLC layer, PDCP layer) of the UE according to the RRC configurations or parameters which may be configured by the RRC messages, broadcasted system information, and so on. The base station may transmit one or more RRC messages to the UE to cause the UE to configure RRC layer and / or lower layers of the UE according to the RRC configurations or parameters which may be configured by the RRC messages, broadcasted system information, and so on.

[0055] The UE may receive one or more LPP messages from the LMF to obtain LPP configurations or parameters. The LPP layer of the UE may configure LPP layer and / or lower layers (e.g., PHY layer, MAC layer, RLC layer, PDCP layer, RRC layer) of the UE according to the LPP configurations or parameters which may be configured by the LPP messages, broadcasted system information (e.g. posSIB), and so on. The LMF may transmit one or more LPP messages to the UE to cause the UE to configureLPP layer and / or lower layers of the UE according to the LPP configurations or parameters which may be configured by the LPP messages, broadcasted system information (e.g. posSIB), and so on.

[0056] The NR-RAN node (e.g. gNB) may receive one or more NRPPa messages from the LMF to obtain NRPPa configurations or parameters. The NRPPa layer of the NG-RAN node may configure NRPPa layer and / or lower layers (e.g., PHY layer, MAC layer, RLC layer, PDCP layer, RRC layer) of the NG-RAN node according to the NRPPa configurations or parameters which may be configured by the NRPPa messages. The LMF may transmit one or more NRPPa messages to the NG-RAN node to cause the NG-RAN node to configure NRPPa layer and / or lower layers of the NG-RAN node according to the NRPPa configurations or parameters which may be configured by the NRPPa messages.

[0057] The size of various fields in the time domain is expressed in time units Tc=1 / (ΔfmaxxNf) where Δfma=x480x103Hz and ^=4096. The constant K = Ts / Tc= 64 where Ts= 1 / (Δfref. Nf,ref), Δfref= 15 - 103and Δfref= 2048.

[0058] Multiple OFDM numerologies are supported as given by Table 4.2-1 of [TS 38.211] where p and the cyclic prefix for a bandwidth part are obtained from the higher- layer parameter subcarrierSpacing and cyclicPrefix, respectively.

[0059] The size of various fields in the time domain may be expressed as a number of time units Te=l / (15000x2048) seconds. Downlink and uplink transmissions are organized into frames with Tf= (ΔfmaxNf / 100') ' Tc= 10ms duration, each consisting of ten subframes of Tsf= (ΔfmaxNf / 1000) • Tc= 1ms duration. The number of consecutive OFDM symbols per subframe is Each frame is divided into two equally-sized half-frames of five subframes each with half-frame 0 consisting of subframes 0 -4 and half- frame 1 consisting of subframes 5 - 9.

[0060] For subcarrier spacing (SCS) configuration μ, slots are numberedin increasing order within a subframe andin increasing order within a frame. js the number ofslots per subframe for subcarrier spacing configuration p. There are consecutiveOFDM symbols in a slot where depends on the cyclic prefix as given by Tables4.3.2- 1 and 4.3.2-2 of [TS 38.211], The start of slot in a subframe is aligned in time with the start of OFDM symbol in the same subframe. Subcarrier spacingrefers to a spacing (or frequency bandwidth) between two consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain. For example, the subcarrier spacing can be set to 15kHz (i.e.,μ=0), 30kHz (i.e. μ =1), 60kHz (i.e. μ=2), 120kHz (i.e. μ =3), or 240kHz (i.e. μ=4). A resource block is defined as a number of consecutive subcarriers (e.g., 12) in the frequency domain. For a carrier with different frequency, the applicable subcarrier may be different. For example, for a carrier in a frequency rang 1, a subcarrier spacing only among a set of {15kHz, 30kHz, 60kHz} is applicable. For a carrier in a frequency rang 2, a subcarrier spacing only among a set of {60kHz, 120kHz, 240kHz} is applicable. The base station may not configure an inapplicable subcarrier spacing for a carrier.

[0061] OFDM symbols in a slot can be classified as 'downlink', 'flexible', or 'uplink'.Signaling of slot formats is described in subclause 11.1 of [TS 38.213].

[0062] In a slot in a downlink frame, the UE may assume that downlink transmissions only occur in 'downlink' or 'flexible' symbols. In a slot in an uplink frame, the UE may only transmit in 'uplink' or 'flexible' symbols.

[0063] Various examples of the systems and methods disclosed herein are now described with reference to the Figures, where like reference numbers may indicate functionally similar elements. The systems and methods as generally described and illustrated in the Figures herein could be arranged and designed in a wide variety of different implementations. Thus, the following more detailed description of several implementations, as represented in the Figures, is not intended to limit scope, as claimed, but is merely representative of the systems and methods.

[0064] Figure 1 is a block diagram illustrating one configuration of one or more base stations 160 (e.g., eNB, gNB) and one or more user equipments (UEs) 102 in which systems and methods for reporting measurement results may be implemented. The one or more UEs 102 may communicate with one or more base stations 160 using one or more antennas 122a-n. For example, a UE 102 transmits electromagnetic signals to the base station 160 and receives electromagnetic signals from the base station 160 using the one or more antennas 122a-n. The base station 160 communicates with the UE 102 using one or more antennas 180a-n.

[0065] It should be noted that in some configurations, one or more of the UEs 102 described herein may be implemented in a single device. For example, multiple UEs 102 may be combined into a single device in some implementations. Additionally or alternatively, in some configurations, one or more of the base stations 160 described herein may be implemented in a single device. For example, multiple base stations 160 may be combined into a single device in some implementations. In the context of Figure 1, for instance, a single device may include one or more UEs 102 in accordance with the systems and methods described herein. Additionally or alteratively, one or more base stations 160 in accordance with the systems and methods described herein may be implemented as a single device or multiple devices.

[0066] The UE 102 and the base station 160 may use one or more channels 119, 121 to communicate with each other. For example, a UE 102 may transmit information or data to the base station 160 using one or more uplink (UL) channels 121 and signals. Examples of uplink channels 121 include a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) and a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), etc. Examples of uplink signals include a demodulation reference signal (DMRS), a sounding reference signal (SRS) and a sounding reference signal for positioning (SRS for Positioning), etc. The one or more base stations 160 may also transmit information or data to the one or more UEs 102 using one or more downlink (DL) channels 119 and signals, for instance. Examples of downlink channels 119 include a PDCCH, a PDSCH, etc. A PDCCH can be used to schedule DL transmissions on PDSCH and UL transmissions on PUSCH, where the Downlink Control Information (DCI) on PDCCH includes downlink assignment and uplink scheduling grants. The PDCCH is used for transmitting Downlink Control Information (DCI) in a case of downlink radio communication (radio communication from the base station to the UE). Here, one or more DCIs (may be referred to as DCI formats) are defined for transmission of downlink control information. Information bits are mapped to one or more fields defined in a DCI format. Examples of downlink signals include a primary synchronization signal (PSS), a secondary synchronization signal (SSS), a cell-specific reference signal (CRS), a non-zero power channel state information reference signal (NZP CSI-RS), a zero-power channel state information reference signal (ZP CSI-RS), and a downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) etc. Other kinds of channels or signals may be used.

[0067] Each of the one or more UEs 102 may include one or more transceivers 118, one or more demodulators 114, one or more decoders 108, one or more encoders 150, one or more modulators 154, one or more data buffers 104 and one or more UE operations modules 124. For example, one or more reception and / or transmission paths may be implemented in the UE 102. For convenience, only a single transceiver 118, decoder 108, demodulator 114, encoder 150 and modulator 154 are illustrated in the UE 102, though multiple parallel elements (e.g., transceivers 118, decoders 108, demodulators 114, encoders 150 and modulators 154) may be implemented.

[0068] The transceiver 118 may include one or more receivers (reception units) 120 and one or more transmitters (transmission units) 158. The one or more receivers 120 may receive signals (e.g., downlink channels, downlink signals, sidelink channels, sidelink signals) from the base station 160 or from another UE 102 using one or more antennas 122a-n. For example, the receiver 120 may receive and downconvert signals to produce one or more received signals 116. The one or more received signals 116 may be provided to a demodulator 114. The one or more transmitters 158 may transmit signals (e.g., uplink channels, uplink signals, sidelink channels, sidelink signals) to the base station 160 or to another UE 102 using one or more antennas 122a-n. For example, the one or more transmitters 158 may upconvert and transmit one or more modulated signals 156.

[0069] The demodulator 114 may demodulate the one or more received signals 116 to produce one or more demodulated signals 112. The one or more demodulated signals 112 may be provided to the decoder 108. The UE 102 may use the decoder 108 to decode signals. The decoder 108 may produce one or more decoded signals 106, 110. For example, a first UE-decoded signal 106 may comprise received payload data, which may be stored in a data buffer 104. A second UE-decoded signal 110 may comprise overhead data and / or control data. For example, the second UE-decoded signal 110 may provide data that may be used by the UE operations module 124 to perform one or more operations.

[0070] As used herein, the term “module” may mean that a particular element or component may be implemented in hardware, software or a combination of hardware and software. However, it should be noted that any element denoted as a “module” herein may alternatively be implemented in hardware. For example, the UE operations module 124 may be implemented in hardware, software or a combination of both.

[0071] In general, the UE operations module 124 may enable the UE 102 to communicate with the one or more base stations 160. The UE operations module 124 may include a UE RRC information configuration module 126. The UE operations module 124 may include a UE control module 128. In some implementations, the UE operations module 124 may include physical (PHY) entities, Medium Access Control (MAC) entities, Radio Link Control (RLC) entities, packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) entities, and a Radio Resource Control (RRC) entity. For example, the UE RRC information configuration module 126 may process RRC parameters for random access configurations, initial UL BWP configuration, CSI report configuration(s), and so on.

[0072] For a UE which is capable of implementing operations of AVML models and / or AI / ML functionalities, the UE operations module 124 may implement functions of Data Collection, Model Training, Management, Inference, and / or model storage.

[0073] The UE operations module 124 may provide information 148 to the one or more receivers 120. For example, the UE operations module 124 may inform the receivers) 120 when or when not to receive transmissions based on the Radio Resource Control (RRC) message (e.g., broadcasted system information, RRC reconfiguration message), MAC control element, SCI (Sidelink Control Information) and / or the DCI (Downlink Control Information). The UE operations module 124 may provide information 148, including the PDCCH monitoring occasions, DCI format size, PSCCH monitoring occasions and SCI format size, to the one or more receivers 120. The UE operation module 124 may inform the receivers) 120 when or where to receive / monitor the PDCCH candidate for DCI formats and / or the PSCCH candidate for SCI formats.

[0074] The UE operations module 124 may provide information 138 to the demodulator 114. For example, the UE operations module 124 may inform the demodulator 114 of a modulation pattern anticipated for transmissions from the base station 160.

[0075] The UE operations module 124 may provide information 136 to the decoder 108. For example, the UE operations module 124 may inform the decoder 108 of an anticipated encoding for transmissions from the base station 160. For example, the UE operations module 124 may inform the decoder 108 of an anticipated PDCCH candidate encoding with which DCI size for transmissions from the base station 160.

[0076] The UE operations module 124 may provide information 142 to the encoder 150. The information 142 may include data to be encoded and / or instructions for encoding. For example, the UE operations module 124 may instruct the encoder 150 to encode transmission data 146 and / or other information 142.

[0077] The encoder 150 may encode transmission data 146 and / or other information 142 provided by the UE operations module 124. For example, encoding the data 146 and / or other information 142 may involve error detection and / or correction coding, mapping data to space, time and / or frequency resources for transmission, multiplexing, etc. The encoder 150 may provide encoded data 152 to the modulator 154.

[0078] The UE operations module 124 may provide information 144 to the modulator 154. For example, the UE operations module 124 may inform the modulator 154 of a modulation type (e.g., constellation mapping) to be used for transmissions to the base station 160. The modulator 154 may modulate the encoded data 152 to provide one or more modulated signals 156 to the one or more transmitters 158.

[0079] The UE operations module 124 may provide information 140 to the one or more transmitters 158. This information 140 may include instructions for the one or more transmitters 158. For example, the UE operations module 124 may instruct the one or more transmitters 158 when to transmit a signal to the base station 160. The one or more transmitters 158 may upconvert and transmit the modulated signals) 156 to one or more base stations 160.

[0080] The base station 160 may include one or more transceivers 176, one or more demodulators 172, one or more decoders 166, one or more encoders 109, one or more modulators 113, one or more data buffers 162 and one or more base station operations modules 182. For example, one or more reception and / or transmission paths may be implemented in a base station 160. For convenience, only a single transceiver 176, decoder 166, demodulator 172, encoder 109 and modulator 113 are illustrated in the base station 160, though multiple parallel elements (e.g., transceivers 176, decoders 166, demodulators 172, encoders 109 and modulators 113) may be implemented.

[0081] The transceiver 176 may include one or more receivers (reception units) 178 and one or more transmitters (transmission units) 117. The one or more receivers 178 may receive signals (e.g., uplink channels, uplink signals) from the UE 102 using one or more antennas 180ar-n. For example, the receiver 178 may receive and downconvert signals to produce one or more received signals 174. The one or more received signals174 may be provided to a demodulator 172. The one or more transmitters 117 may transmit signals (e.g., downlink channels, downlink signals) to the UE 102 using one or more antennas 180a-n. For example, the one or more transmitters 117 may upconvert and transmit one or more modulated signals 115.

[0082] The demodulator 172 may demodulate the one or more received signals 174 to produce one or more demodulated signals 170. The one or more demodulated signals 170 may be provided to the decoder 166. The base station 160 may use the decoder 166 to decode signals. The decoder 166 may produce one or more decoded signals 164, 168. For example, a first base station-decoded signal 164 may comprise received payload data, which may be stored in a data buffer 162. A second base station-decoded signal 168 may comprise overhead data and / or control data. For example, the second base station-decoded signal 168 may provide data (e.g., PUSCH transmission data) that may be used by the base station operations module 182 to perform one or more operations.

[0083] In general, the base station operations module 182 may enable the base station 160 to communicate with the one or more UEs 102. The base station operations module 182 may include a base station RRC information configuration module 194. The base station operations module 182 may include a base station control module 196 (or a base station processing module 196). The base station operations module 182 may include PHY entities, MAC entities, RLC entities, PDCP entities, and an RRC entity.

[0084] For a base station which is capable of implementing operations of AI / ML models and / or Al / ML functionalities, the base station operation 182 may implement functions of Data Collection, Model Training, Management, Inference, and / or model storage.

[0085] The base station operations module 182 may provide the benefit of performing PDCCH candidate search and monitoring efficiently. The base station operations module 182 may provide information 190 to the one or more receivers 178. For example, the base station operations module 182 may inform the receivers) 178 when or when not to receive transmissions based on the RRC message (e.g., broadcasted system information, RRC reconfiguration message), MAC control element, and / or the DCI (Downlink Control Information).

[0086] The base station operations module 182 may provide information 188 to the demodulator 172. For example, the base station operations module 182 may inform thedemodulator 172 of a modulation pattern anticipated for transmissions from the UE(s) 102,

[0087] The base station operations module 182 may provide information 186 to the decoder 166. For example, the base station operations module 182 may inform the decoder 166 of an anticipated encoding for transmissions from the UE(s) 102.

[0088] The base station operations module 182 may provide information 101 to the encoder 109. The information 101 may include data to be encoded and / or instructions for encoding. For example, the base station operations module 182 may instruct the encoder 109 to encode transmission data 105 and / or other information 101.

[0089] In general, the base station operations module 182 may enable the base station 160 to communicate with one or more network nodes (e.g., a NG mobility management function, a NG core UP functions, a mobility management entity (MME), serving gateway (S-GW), gNBs). The base station operations module 182 may also generate a RRC reconfiguration message to be signaled to the UE 102.

[0090] The encoder 109 may encode transmission data 105 and / or other information 101 provided by the base station operations module 182. For example, encoding the data 105 and / or other information 101 may involve error detection and / or correction coding, mapping data to space, time and / or frequency resources for transmission, multiplexing, etc. The encoder 109 may provide encoded data 111 to the modulator 113. The transmission data 105 may include network data to be relayed to the UE 102.

[0091] The base station operations module 182 may provide information 103 to the modulator 113. This information 103 may include instructions for the modulator 113. For example, the base station operations module 182 may inform the modulator 113 of a modulation type (e.g., constellation mapping) to be used for transmissions to the UE(s) 102. The modulator 113 may modulate the encoded data 111 to provide one or more modulated signals 115 to the one or more transmitters 117.

[0092] The base station operations module 182 may provide information 192 to the one or more transmitters 117. This information 192 may include instructions for the one or more transmitters 117. For example, the base station operations module 182 may instruct the one or more transmitters 117 when to (or when not to) transmit a signal to the UE(s) 102. The base station operations module 182 may provide information 192, including the PDCCH monitoring occasions and DOI format size, to the one or moretransmitters 117. The base station operation module 182 may inform the transmitter(s) 117 when or where to transmit the PDCCH candidate for DCI formats with which DCI size. The one or more transmitters 117 may upconvert and transmit the modulated signal(s) 115 to one or more UEs 102.

[0093] It should be noted that one or more of the elements or parts thereof included in the base station(s) 160 and UE(s) 102 may be implemented in hardware. For example, one or more of these elements or parts thereof may be implemented as a chip, circuitry or hardware components, etc. It should also be noted that one or more of the functions or methods described herein may be implemented in and / or performed using hardware. For example, one or more of the methods described herein may be implemented in and / or realized using a chipset, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a large-scale integrated circuit (LSI) or integrated circuit, etc.

[0094] A base station may generate a RRC message including the one or more RRC parameters and may transmit the RRC message to a UE. A UE may receive, from a base station, a RRC message including one or more RRC parameters. In the present disclosure, the terms ‘RRC parameter (s)’, ‘RRC information element(s)’, ‘higher layer parameters)’ can be used interchangeably. In the present disclosure, higher layer may refer to a layer upper than the physical layer (i.e., Layer 1), for example, MAC layer, RLC layer, PDCP layer, SDAP layer, RRC layer, and / or application layer.

[0095] A higher-layer parameter is a parameter included in an RRC message, LPP message, NRPPa message or a MAC CE (Medium Access Control Control Element). The higher-layer parameter is a generic name of information included in a MIB, system information, a message which corresponds to CCCH, a message which corresponds to DCCH, and a MAC CE. A higher-layer parameter may be referred to as an RRC parameter or an RRC configuration if the higher-layer parameter is the parameter included in the RRC message. A higher-layer parameter may be referred to as an LPP parameter or an LPP configuration if the higher-layer parameter is the parameter included in the LPP message. A higher-layer parameter may be referred to as an NRPPa parameter or an NRPPa configuration if the higher-layer parameter is the parameter included in the NRPPa message.

[0096] A RRC parameter may further include one or more RRC parameters). In the present disclosure, a RRC message may include system information. A RRC message may include one or more RRC parameters. A RRC message may be sent on abroadcast control channel (BCCH) logical channel, a common control channel (CCCH) logical channel or a dedicated control channel (DCCH) logical channel.

[0097] A LPP parameter may further include one or more LPP parameter(s). In the present disclosure, a LPP message may include system information. A LPP message may include one or more LPP parameters. A LPP message may be sent on a broadcast control channel (BCCH) logical channel, a common control channel (CCCH) logical channel or a dedicated control channel (DCCH) logical channel.

[0098] A NRPPa parameter may further include one or more NRPPa parameters). In the present disclosure, a NRPPa message may include system information. A NRPPa message may include one or more NRPPa parameters. A NRPPa message may be sent on a broadcast control channel (BCCH) logical channel, a common control channel (CCCH) logical channel or a dedicated control channel (DCCH) logical channel.

[0099] In the present disclosure, a description “a UE is configured with or is provided a parameter” also implies the description “the UE may receive, from the base station, an RRC or NRPPa message (or information) which includes the parameter”. Likewise, the description “a base station configures the UE with or provides the UE the parameter” also implies the description “the base station may transmit, to the UE, an RRC or LPP message (or information) which includes the parameter”.

[0100] Figure 2 is a diagram illustrating one example of a resource grid 200.

[0101] For each numerology (i.e., for each SCS u) and carrier, a resource grid of Ngrid,xsize,μNscRBsubcarriers and Nsymbsvbframe,μOFDM symbols is defined, starting at common resource block Ngridstart,μindicated by higher layer signaling. There is one set of resource grids per transmission direction (uplink or downlink) with the subscript x set to DL and UL for downlink and uplink, respectively. There is one resource grid for a given antenna port p, subcarrier spacing configuration p, and the transmission direction (downlink or uplink). When there is no risk for confusion, the subscript x may be dropped.

[0102] In the Figure 2, the resource gird 200 includes the Ngrid,xsize,μNscRB(202) subcarriers in the frequency domain and includes Nsymbsvbframe,μ(204) symbols in the time domain. In the Figure 2, as an example for illustration, the subcarrier spacing configuration p is set to 0. That is, in the Figure 2, the number of consecutive OFDM symbolsNsymbsvbframe,μ(204) per subframe is equal to 14.

[0103] The carrier bandwidth Ngridsize,μ( Ngridsize,μ) for subcarrier spacing configuration μ is given by the higher-layer (RRC) parameter carrierBandwidth in the SCS-SpecificCarrier IE. The starting position Ngridstart,μfor subcarrier spacing configuration μ is given by the higher-layer parameter offsetToCarrier in the SCS- SpecificCarrier IE. The frequency location of a subcarrier refers to the center frequency of that subcarrier.

[0104] In the Figure 2, for example, a value of offset is provided by the higher-layer parameter offsetToCarrier. That is, k= 12 X offset is the lowest usable subcarrier on this carrier.

[0105] Each element in the resource grid for antenna port p and subcarrier spacing configuration μ is called a resource element and is uniquely identified by (k, l)p,μwhere k is the index in the frequency domain and Z refers to the symbols position in the time domain relative to same reference point. The resource element consists of one subcarrier during one OFDM symbol.

[0106] A resource block is defined as NscRB=12 consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain. As shown in the Figure 2, a resource block 206 includes 12 consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain. Resource block can be classified as common resource block (CRB) and physical resource block (PRB).

[0107] Common resource blocks are numbered from 0 and upwards in the frequency domain for subcarrier spacing configuration p. The center of subcarrier 0 of common resource block with index 0 (i.e. CRB0) for subcarrier spacing configuration μ coincides with point A. The relation between the common resource block number in the frequency domain and resource element (k, l) for subcarrier spacing configuration μ is given by Formula (1) where k is defined relativeto the point A such that k=0 corresponds to the subcarrier centered around the point A. The function floor(A) hereinafter is floor operation to output a maximum integer not larger than the A.

[0108] Point A refers to as a common reference point. Point A coincides with subcarrier 0 (i.e., k=0) of a CRB 0 for all subcarrier spacing. Point A can be obtained from a RRC parameter offsetToPointA or a RRC parameter absoluteFrequencyPointA. The RRC parameter offsetToPointA is used for a PCell downlink and represents the frequency offset between point A and the lowest subcarrier of the lowest resource block,which has the subcarrier spacing provided by a higher-layer parameter subCarrierSpacingCommon and overlaps with the SS / PBCH block used by the UE for initial cell selection, expressed in units of resource blocks assuming 15 kHz subcarrier spacing for frequency range (FR) 1 and 60 kHz subcarrier spacing for frequency range (FR2). FR1 corresponds to a frequency range between 410MHz and 7125MHz. FR2 corresponds to a frequency range between 24250MHz and 52600MHz. The RRC parameter dbsoluteFrequencyPointA is used for all cased other than the PCell case and represents the frequency-location of point A expressed as in ARFCN. The frequency location of point A can be the lowest subcarrier of the carrier bandwidth ( or the actual carrier). Additionally, point A may be located outside the carrier bandwidth ( or the actual carrier).

[0109] As above mentioned, the information element (IE) SCS-SpecificCarrier provides parameters determining the location and width of the carrier bandwidth or the actual carrier. That is, a carrier (or a carrier bandwidth, or an actual carrier) is determined (identified, or defined) at least by a RRC parameter offsetToCarrier, a RRC parameter subcarrierSpacing, and a RRC parameter carrierBandwidth in the SCS- SpecificCarrier IE.

[0110] The subcarrierSpacing indicates (or defines) a subcarrier spacing of the carrier. The offsetToCarrier indicates an offset in frequency domain between point A and a lowest usable subcarrier on this carrier in number of resource blocks (e.g. CRBs) using the subcarrier spacing defined for the carrier. The carrierBandwidth indicates width of this carrier in number of resource blocks (e.g., CRBs or PRBs) using the subcarrier spacing defined for the carrier. A carrier includes at most 275 resource blocks.

[0111] Physical resource blocks for subcarrier spacing configuration p are defined within a bandwidth part and numbered form 0 to NBWP,isize,μwhere z is the number of the bandwidth part. The relation between the physical resource block nPRBμin bandwidth part (BWP) z and the common resource block nCRBμ is given by Formula (2) nCRBμ = nPRBμ+ NBWP,istart,μwhere NBWP,istart,μis the common resource block where bandwidth part z starts relative to common resource block 0 (CRB0). When there is no risk for confusion the index p may be dropped.

[0112] A BWP is a subset of contiguous common resource block for a given subcarrier spacing configuration p on a given carrier. To be specific, a BWP can be identified (or defined) at least by a subcarrier spacing p indicated by the RRC parametersubcarrierSpacing, a cyclic prefix determined by the RRC parameter cyclicPrefix, a frequency domain location, a bandwidth, an BWP index indicated by bwp-Id and so on. The locationAndBandwidth can be used to indicate the frequency domain location and bandwidth of a BWP. The value indicated by the locationAndBandwidth is interpreted as resource indicator value (RIV) corresponding to an offset (a starting resource block)RBstartand a length LRB in terms of contiguously resource blocks. The offset RBstartis a number of CRBs between the lowest CRB of the carrier and the lowest CRB of the BWP. The NBWP,istart,μis given as Formula (3) NBWP,istart,μ= Ocarrier+RBstart. The value of Ocarrieris provided by offsetTocarrier for the corresponding subcarrier spacing configuration μ.

[0113] AUE 102 configured to operate in BWPs of a serving cell, is configured by higher layers for the serving cell a set of at most four BWPs in the downlink for reception. At a given time, a single downlink BWP is active. The bases station 160 may not transmit, to the UE 102, PDSCH and / or PDCCH outside the active downlink BWP. A UE 102 configured to operate in BWPs of a serving cell, is configured by higher layers for the serving cell a set of at most four BWPs for transmission. At a given time, a single uplink BWP is active. The UE 102 may not transmit to the base station 160, PUSCH or PUCCH outside the active BWP. The specific signaling (higher layers signaling) for BWP configurations are described later.

[0114] Figure 3 is a diagram illustrating one example 300 of common resource block grid, carrier configuration and BWP configuration by a UE 102 and a base station 160.

[0115] Point A 301 is the lowest subcarrier of a CRB0 for all subcarrier spacing configurations. The CRB grid 302 and the CRB grid 312 are corresponding to two different subcarrier spacing configurations. The CRB grid 302 is for subcarrier spacing configuration μ =0 (i.e., the subcarrier spacing with 15kHz). The CRB grid 312 is for subcarrier spacing configuration μ =1 (i.e., the subcarrier spacing with 30kHz).

[0116] One or more carriers are determined by respective SCS-SpecificCarrier IBs, respectively. In the Figure 3, the carrier 304 uses the subcarrier spacing configuration μ =0. And the carrier 314 uses the subcarrier spacing configuration μ=1. The starting position Ngridstart,μof the carrier 304 is given based on the value of an offset 303 (i.e. Ocarrier) indicated by an offsetToCarrier in an SCS-SpecificCarrier IE. As shown in the Figure 3, for example, the offsetToCarrier indicates the value of the offset 303 as Ocarrier=3. That is, the starting position of the carrier 304 corresponds to the CRB3 of the CRB grid 302 for subcarrier spacing configuration μ =0. In the meantime, the starting position Ngridstart,μof the carrier 314 is given based on the value of an offset 313 (i.e. Ocarrier) indicated by an offsetToCarrier in another SCS-SpecificCarrier IE. For example, the offsetToCarrier indicates the value of the offset 313 as Ocarrier=1. That is, the starting position of the carrier 314 corresponds to the CRB1 of the CRB grid 312 for subcarrier spacing configuration μ =1. A carrier using different subcarrier spacing configurations can occupy different frequency ranges.

[0117] As above-mentioned, a BWP is for a given subcarrier spacing configuration μ . One or more BWPs can be configured for a same subcarrier spacing configuration μ . For example, in the Figure 3, the BWP 306 is identified at least by the μ =0, a frequency domain location, a bandwidth (ZRB), and an BWP index (index A). The first PRB (i.e. PRBO) of a BWP is determined at least by the subcarrier spacing of the BWP, an offset derived by the locationAndBandwidth and an offset indicated by the offsetToCarrier corresponding to the subcarrier spacing of the BWP. An offset 305 (RBstart) is derived as 1 by the locationAndBandwidth. According to the Formulas (2) and (3), the PRBO of BWP 306 corresponds to CRB 4 of the CRB grid 302, and the PRB1 of BWP 306 corresponds to CRB 5 of the CRB grid 302, and so on.

[0118] Additionally, in the Figure 3, the BWP 308 is identified at least by the μ=0, a frequency domain location, a bandwidth (LRB), and an BWP index (index B). For example, an offset 307 (RBstart) is derived as 6 by the locationAndBandwidth. According to the Formulas (2) and (3), the PRBO of BWP 308 corresponds to CRB 9 of the CRB grid 302, and the PRB1 of BWP 308 corresponds to CRB 10 of the CRB grid 302, and so on.

[0119] Additionally, in the Figure 3, the BWP 316 is identified at least by the μ=1, a frequency domain location, a bandwidth (ZRB), and an BWP index (index C). For example, an offset 315 (RBstart) is derived as 1 by the locationAndBandwidth. According to the Formulas (2) and (3), the PRBO of BWP 316 corresponds to CRB 2 of the CRB grid 312, and the PRB1 of BWP 316 corresponds to CRB 3 of the CRB grid 312, and so on.

[0120] In the present disclosure, a BWP illustrated in the Figure 3 may refer to a DL BWP, a UL BWP, or a sidelink BWP.

[0121] As shown in the Figure 3, a carrier with the defined subcarrier spacing locate in a corresponding CRB grid with the same subcarrier spacing. ABWP with the defined subcarrier spacing locate in a corresponding CRB grid with the same subcarrier spacing as well.

[0122] A base station may transmit a RRC message including one or more RRC parameters related to BWP configuration to a UE. A UE may receive the RRC message including one or more RRC parameters related to BWP configuration from a base station. For each cell, the base station may configure at least an initial DL BWP, one initial uplink bandwidth parts (initial UL BWP) and one sidelink BWP to the UE. Furthermore, the base station may configure additional UL and DL BWPs to the UE for a cell.

[0123] SIB1, which is a cell-specific system information block (SystemlnformationBlock, SIB), may contain information relevant when evaluating if a UE is allowed to access a cell and define the scheduling of other system information. SIB1 may also contain radio resource configuration information that is common for all UEs, and barring information applied to the unified access control. The RRC parameter ServingCellConfigCommon is used to configure cell specific parameters of a UE's serving cell. The RRC parameter ServingCellConfig is used to configure (add or modify) the UE with a serving cell, which may be the SpCell or an SCell of an MCG or SCG. The RRC parameter ServingCellConfig herein are mostly UE specific but partly also cell specific.

[0124] The base station may configure the UE with a RRC parameter BWP- Downlink and a RRC parameter BWP-Uplink. The RRC parameter BWP-Downlink can be used to configure an additional DL BWP. The RRC parameter BWP-Uplink can be used to configure an additional UL BWP. The base station may transmit the BWP- Downlink and the BWP -Uplink which may be included in RRC parameter ServingCellConfig to the UE.

[0125] The UE may be configured by the based station, at least one initial BWP and up to 4 additional BWP(s). One of the initial BWP and the configured additional BWP(s) may be activated as an active BWP. The UE may monitor DCI format, and / or receive PDSCH in the active DL BWP. The UE may not monitor DCI format, and / or receive PDSCH in a DL BWP other than the active DL BWP. The UE may transmitPUSCH and / or PUCCH in the active UL BWP. The UE may not transmit PUSCH and / or PUCCH in a BWP other than the active UL BWP.

[0126] As above-mentioned, a UE may monitor DCI format in the active DL BWP. To be more specific, a UE may monitor a set of PDCCH candidates in one or more CORESETs on the active DL BWP on each activated serving cell configured with PDCCH monitoring according to corresponding search space set where monitoring implies decoding each PDCCH candidate according to the monitored DCI formats.

[0127] A set of PDCCH candidates for a UE to monitor is defined in terms of PDCCH search space sets. A search space set can be a CSS set or a USS set. A UE may monitor a set of PDCCH candidates in one or more of the search space sets.

[0128] Hereinafter, NR positioning methods, DL-TDOA, UL-TDOA, Multi-RTT, DL-AoD and UL-AoA, are described. NR positioning methods are not limited to those described in this embodiment.

[0129] In the DL-Time Difference Of Arrival (DL-TDOA) positioning method, the UE position may be estimated based on DL RSTD (and optionally DL-PRS-RSRP and / or DL-PRS-RSRPP and / or DL-RSCPD) measurements taken at the UE of downlink radio signals from multiple NR TRPs, along with knowledge of the geographical coordinates of the TRPs and their relative downlink timing. The UE while connected to a gNB may require measurement gaps to perform the DL-TDOA measurements from NR TRPs. The UE may request measurement gaps from a gNB. The UE may also request to activate pre-configured measurement gaps.

[0130] In the UL-Time Difference Of Arrival (UL-TDOA) positioning method, the UE position may be estimated based on UL-RTOA (and optionally UL-SRS-RSRP and / or UL-SRS-RSRPP and / or UL-RSCP) measurements taken at different TRPs of uplink radio signals from UE, along with other configuration information. In order to obtain uplink measurements, the TRPs may need to know the characteristics of the SRS signal transmitted by the UE for the time period required to perform uplink measurement. These characteristics may be static over the periodic transmission of SRS during the uplink measurements. Hence, the LMF may indicate to the serving gNB the need to direct the UE to transmit SRS signals for uplink positioning. It may be up to the serving gNB to make the final decision on resources to be assigned and to communicate this SRS configuration information back to the LMF so that LMF can forward the SRS configuration to the TRPs. The gNB may decide (e.g., in case no resources areavailable) to configure no resources for the UE and may report the empty resource configuration to the LMF.

[0131] In the Multi-Round Trip Time (Multi-RTT) positioning method, the UE position may be estimated based on measurements performed at both, UE and TRPs. The measurements may be performed at the UE and TRPs are UE / gNB Rx-Tx time difference measurements (and optionally DL-PRS-RSRP, DL-PRS-RSRPP, UL-SRS- RSRP, UL-SRS-RSRPP, and / or DL-RSCP / UL-RSCP) of DL-PRS and UL-SRS, which may be used by an LMF to determine the RTTs. The additional measurements performed at UE may be the UE Rx - Tx time difference subframe offset in unit of subframe and the DL timing drift due to Doppler in service link between UE and satellite. The UE may require measurement gaps to perform the Multi-RTT measurements from NR TRPs. The UE may request measurement gaps from a gNB. The UE may also request to activate pre-configured measurement gaps.

[0132] In the DL-Angle of Departure (AoD) positioning method, the UE position may be estimated based on DL-PRS-RSRP and / or DL-PRS-RSRPP measurements taken at the UE of downlink radio signals from multiple NR TRPs, along with knowledge of the spatial information of the downlink radio signals and geographical coordinates of the TRPs. The UE while connected to a gNB may require measurement gaps to perform the DL-AoD measurements from NR TRPs. The UE may request measurement gaps from a gNB. The UE may also request to activate pre-configured measurement gaps.

[0133] In the UL-Angle of Arrival (AoA) positioning method, the UE position may be estimated based on UL-AoA (and optionally UL-SRS-RSRP and / or UL-SRS- RSRPP) of uplink radio signals taken at different TRPs, along with other configuration information. In order to obtain uplink measurements, the TRPs may need to know the characteristics of the SRS signal transmitted by the UE for the time period required to calculate uplink measurement. These characteristics may be static over the periodic transmission of SRS during the uplink measurements. Hence, the LMF may indicate to the serving gNB the need to direct the UE to transmit SRS signals for uplink positioning. It may be up to the gNB to make the final decision on resources to be assigned and to communicate this configuration information back to the LMF so that LMF can configure the TRPs. The gNB may decide (e.g., in case no resources are available) to configure no resources for the UE and fail the corresponding NRPPa procedure.

[0134] Hereinafter, measurements for NR positioning are described. Measurements for NR positioning are not limited to those described in this embodiment.

[0135] DL reference signal time difference (DL RSTD) may be the DL relative timing difference between the TYansmission Point (TP) j and the reference TP i, defined as T SubjrameRxj - T SubjrameRxi, where: T_SubjrameRxj may be the time when the UE receives the start of one subframe from TP j. T SubjrameRxi may be the time when the UE receives the corresponding start of one subframe from TP i that is closest in time to the subframe received from TP j. Multiple DL PRS resources may be used to determine the start of one subframe from a TP.

[0136] The UL Relative Time of Arrival (UL-RTOA or TUL-RTOA) may be the beginning of subframe i containing SRS received in Reception Point (RP) j, relative to the UL RTOA Reference Time. The UL RTOA Reference Time is defined as T_0+t_SRS, where T O may be the nominal beginning time of SFN 0 provided by SFN Initialization Time, and t_SRS=(10n _f+_sf )x10^(-3), where n_sf and n_sf be the system frame number and the subframe number of the SRS, respectively. Multiple SRS resources may be used to determine the beginning of one subframe containing SRS received at a RP.

[0137] The DL Relative Time of Arrival (DL-RTOA) may be the beginning of subframe i containing PRS received in UE, relative to the DL RTOA Reference Time. The DL RTOA Reference Time is defined as T_0+t_SRS, where T_0 may be the nominal beginning time of SFN 0 provided by SFN Initialization Time, and t_PRS=(10n _ f+ n_sf)x10^(-3), where n_sf and n_sf may be the system frame number and the subframe number of the PRS, respectively. Multiple PRS resources may be used to determine the beginning of one subframe containing PRS received at a UE.

[0138] The gNB Rx-Tx time difference is defined as T_(gNB-RX) - T_(gNB-TX), where: T_(gNB-RX) may be the Transmission and Reception Point (TRP) received timing of uplink subframe #i containing SRS associated with UE, defined by the first detected path in time. T (gNB-TX) may be the TRP transmit timing of downlink subframe #j that is closest in time to the subframe #i received from the UE. Multiple SRS resources may be used to determine the start of one subframe containing SRS.

[0139] UE Rx-Tx time difference subframe offset is the index difference which represents the number of subframes between the uplink subframe #j and the uplink subframe #i, where uplink subframe #j is the closest in time to the DL subframe #ireceived from a transmission point (TP) and i is the index of the DL subframe used for the UE Rx - Tx time difference measurement.

[0140] For downlink measurements, the UE may be requested, subject to UE capability, to report LoS / NLoS indicator(s) via higher layer parameter nr-los-nlos- Indicator Request. The UE may report LoS / NLoS indicator(s) via higher layer parameter nr-los-nlos-Indicator associated with each DL RSTD, DL PRS-RSRP, DL PRS-RSRPP, and UE Rx-Tx time difference measurements. The UE may report LoS / NLoS indicators) via higher layer parameter nr-los-nlos-Indicator associated with each dl-PRS-ID in a measurement report. For the LoS / NLoS indicator(s) associated with DL RSTD, the UE may report one indicator associated with the dl-PRS-ID indicated by higher layer parameter dl-PRS-Referencelnfo and one indicator associated with the dl-PRS-ID of the DL RSTD measurement. A UE may be provided with LoS / NLoS indicator(s) via higher layer parameter nr-los-nlos-Indicator, and it may be associated with each DL PRS resource of each configured dl-PRS-ID or may be associated with each configured dl-PRS-ID. The values of the higher layer parameter LOS-NLOS-Indicator may be soft values (0, 0.1, ..., 0.9, 1) or hard values (0, 1) with the values corresponding to the likelihood of LoS, with a value of 1 corresponding to LoS and a value of 0 corresponding to NLoS.

[0141] For uplink measurements, the gNB may be requested, subject to gNB capability, to report LoS / NLoS indicator(s) via higher layer parameter LoS / NLoS Information. The gNB may report LoS / NLoS indicator(s) via higher layer parameter LoS / NLoS Information associated with each UL RTOA, UL SRS-RSRP, UL SRS- RSRPP, and gNB Rx-Tx time difference measurements. The values of the higher layer parameter LOS-NLOS-Indicator contained in LoS / NLoS Information may be soft values (0, 0.1, .... 0.9, 1) or hard values (0, 1) with the values corresponding to the likelihood of LoS, with a value of 1 corresponding to LoS and a value of 0 corresponding to NLoS.

[0142] The UE may be configured to measure and report via higher layer parameter additionalPaths or additionalPathsExt, subject to UE capability, the timing and the quality metrics of up to 8 additional detected paths, that are associated with each DL RSTD or UE Rx - Tx time difference. The timing of each additional path may be reported relative to the path timing used for determining nr-RSTD or nr-UE-RxTxTimeDiff. For UE positioning measurement reporting in higher layer parameters NR-DL-TDOA-SignalMeasurementlnformation or NR-Multi-RTT-SignalMeasurementlnformation, the UE may be configured to measure and report, subject to UE capability, the DL PRS-RSRPP of the first path and the up to 8 additional paths that are associated with each RSTD or UE Rx - Tx time difference. For the purpose of AI / ML based positioning, the number of maximum additional paths may be larger than 8.

[0143] In present disclosure, above positioning measurements) (i.e. LOS / NLOS indicator, DL-RTOA, UL-RTOA, DL-RSTD, UL-RSTD, gNB Rx-Tx time difference, UE Rx-Tx time difference, DL-AoD and UL-AoA) which is not generated by AI / ML can be referred to as legacy positioning measurement(s).

[0144] Hereinafter, reference signals for NR positioning are described. Measurements for NR positioning are not limited to those described in this embodiment.

[0145] The DL Positioning Reference Singal (DL PRS) may be defined to facilitate support of different positioning methods such as DL-TDOA, DL-AoD, multi-RTT through the following set of UE measurements DL RSTD, DL PRS-RSRP, and UE Rx- Tx time difference respectively. Besides DL PRS signals, UE may be use SSB and CSI- RS for RRM (RSRP and RSRQ) measurement for E-CID type of positioning.

[0146] A positioning frequency layer consists of one or more downlink PRS resource sets, each of which consists of one or more downlink PRS resources.

[0147] The UE may expect that it will be configured with dl-PRS-ID each of which is defined such that it is associated with multiple DL PRS resource sets. The UE may expect that one of these dl-PRS-ID along with a ID of DL PRS resource set (nr-DL- PRS -Res ourc eSet ID} and a ID of DL PRS resource (nr-DL-PRS-ResourceID-rl6) can be used to uniquely identify a DL PRS resource.

[0148] The UE may be configured by the network with nr-PhysCelllD, nr- CellGloballD, and nr-ARFCN associated with a dl-PRS-ID.If nr-PhysCelllD or nr-CellGloballD is provided, and if nr-PhysCelllD, nr- CellGloballD and nr-ARFCN associated with the dl-PRS-ID, if provided, are the same as the corresponding information of a serving cell, the UE may assume that the DL PRS is transmitted from the serving cell;Otherwise, the UE may assume that the DL PRS is not transmitted from a serving cell.

[0149] The periodic, semipersistent and aperiodic transmission SRS may be defined for gNB UL RTOA, UL SRS-RSRP, UL-AoA measurements to facilitate support of UL TDOA and UL AoA positioning methods.

[0150] The periodic, semipersistent and aperiodic transmission of SRS for positioning may be defined for gNB UL RTOA, UL SRS-RSRP, UL-AoA, gNB Rx-Tx time difference measurements to facilitate support of UL TDOA, UL AoA and multi- RTT positioning methods.

[0151] Area ID may identify the UE location of a measurement that sent with it For example, the Area ID may be provided by the IE ArealD-CellList. The IE ArealD- CellList provides the NR Cell-IDs of the TRPs belonging to a particular network area where the associated assistance data are valid. Each cell is included in only one area. The IE ArealD-CellList may consist of one or more of IE NR-Cell-IDs. The NR-CeU- IDs may include nr-CellGloballD, nr-PhysCelllD and nr-ARFCN. The nr- CellGlobcdlD may specify the NR Cell Global ID of the TRP belonging to a particular network area where the associated assistance data are applicable. The nr-PhysCelllD may specify the physical cell identity of the TRP belonging to a particular network area where the associated assistance data are applicable. The nr-ARFCN specify the NR- ARFCN of the TRP's CD-SSB corresponding to nr-PhysCelUD.

[0152] Quality indicator may indicate the quality of a measurement that sent with it. For example, the Quality indicator may be provided by the IE NR-TimingQuality. The IE NR-TimingQuality may define the quality of a timing value (e.g., of a Time Of Arrival (TOA) measurement). The IE NR-TimingQuality may include timingQualityValue and timingQualityResolution. The timingQualityValue may provide an estimate of uncertainty of the timing value for which the IE NR-TimingQuality is provided in units of metres. The timingQualityResolution may provide the resolution used in the timingQualityValue field. Enumerated values mdotl, ml, mlO, m30 correspond to 0.1, 1, 10, 30 metres, respectively.

[0153] Time stamp may indicate the timing of a measurement that sent with it. For example, the Time stamp may be provided by the IE NR-TtmeStamp. The IE NR- TimeStamp may define the UE measurement associated time stamp. The NR-HmeStamp may include dl-PRS-ID, nr-PhysCelllD, nr-CellGloballD, nr-ARFCN, nr-SFN, nr-Slot and nr-Symbol. The nr-SFN may specify the NR system frame number for the time stamp. The nr-Slot may specify the NR slot number within the NR system framenumber indicated by nr-SFN for the time stamp. The nr-Symbol may specify the NR symbol index within the NR slot number indicated by nr-Slot for the time stamp.

[0154] LOS indicator may indicate the associated measurement is measured in LOS environment.

[0155] Hereinafter, method of positioning using AI / ML is described. The method of positioning using AI / ML can be referred to as AI / ML based positioning, AI / ML positioning.

[0156] Figure 4 is a diagram illustrating one 400 example of functional framework for AI / ML for NR air interface by a UE 102 and a base station 160.

[0157] As illustrated in the Figure 4, the AI / ML functional framework for the NR air interface includes a set of core functions, including Data Collection 401, Model Training 402, Management 403, Inference 404, and model storage 405.

[0158] The Data Collection 401 is a function that provides input data to the Model Training, Management, and Inference functions. Specifically, the Data Collection 401 function may provide training data to the Model Training function. That is, the training data refers to data needed as input for the AI / ML Model Training function. The Data Collection 401 function may provide monitoring data to the Management function. That is, the monitoring data refers to data needed as input for the Management of AI / ML Models or AI / ML functionalities. The Data Collection 401 function may provide inference data to the Inference function. That is, the inference data refers to data needed as input for the AI / ML Inference function.

[0159] The Model Training function 402 is a function that performs AI / ML model training, validation, and testing which may generate model performance metrics which can be used as part of the model testing procedure. The Model Training function is also responsible for data preparation based on training data delivered by the Data Collection function. In case of having a Model Storage function 405, the trained, validated, and tested AI / ML models may be delivered to the Model Storage function. Additionally, an updated version of a model may be also delivered to the Model Storage function.

[0160] The Management function 403 is a function that oversees the operation (e.g., selection / (de)activation / switching / fallback) and monitoring (e.g., performance) of AI / ML models or AI / ML functionalities. This function is also responsible for making decisions to ensure the proper inference operation based on data received from the Data Collection function and the Inference function.

[0161] The Inference function 404 is a function that provides outputs from the process of applying AI / ML models or AI / ML functionalities, using the data that is provided by the Data Collection function (i.e., Inference Data) as an input. The Inference function is also responsible for data preparation (e.g., data pre-processing and cleaning, formatting, and transformation) based on Inference Data delivered by a Data Collection function, if required.

[0162] The Model Storage 405 is a function responsible for storing trained / updated models that can be used to perform the Inference function.

[0163] In the present disclosure, the functional framework illustrated in the Figure 4 provides a general functional architecture that can be applied to both AI / ML model and AI / ML functionalities.

[0164] An AI / ML model or an AI / ML functionality needs to be developed, deployed, and managed during the entire lifecycle, i.e., AI / ML model-based life cycle management (LCM) or AI / ML functionality-based LCM.

[0165] An AI / ML model may be identified by a model ID. A model ID is a distinctive identifier for an AI / ML model. The model ID may be a logical ID. A logical AI / ML model refers to a model that is identified and assigned a model ID. The logical AI / ML model can be mapped to a physical AI / ML model by implementation. That is, a physical AI / ML model refers to an actual implementation of a logical AI / ML model.

[0166] In AI / ML model-based LCM, models are identified at the network, and the network and / or the UE may activate, deactivate, select, or switch individual AI / ML models via model ID. In the present disclosure, the AI / ML model-based LCM can be referred to as model-ID-based LCM.

[0167] An AI / ML functionality is a functionality defined within an AI / ML-enabled feature whereby AI / ML-enabled feature refers to a feature where AI / ML may be used. A UE, gNB or LMF may have one AI / ML model for one functionality or may have multiple AI / ML models for one functionality.

[0168] In AI / ML functionality-based LCM, the UE may indicate its supported functionalities by using UE capability signaling to network. Additionally, the UE may also indicate its applicable functionalities that the UE is ready to apply for model inference. Upon reception of UE capability signaling, the network may indicate activation, deactivation, fallback, and / or switching of an AI / ML functionality throughsignaling such as RRC signaling, MAC CE, DCI. The exact AI / ML model that underpin a given functionality might not be identified at the network.

[0169] In the present disclosure, the UE 102 and / or the base station 160 may apply the AI / ML model and / or the AI / ML functionalities for positioning accuracy enhancement

[0170] The AI / ML based positioning may be classified into two. One is direct AI / ML positioning (also can be referred to as AI / ML direct positioning), the other one is AI / ML assisted positioning (also can be referred to as Assisted AI / ML positioning).

[0171] In case of the direct AI / ML positioning and AI / ML assisted positioning, the input of the AI / ML model may be channel measurement. The channel measurement may be classified three types of measurement: time-domain channel impulse response (CIR), power delay profile (PDF) and delay profile (DP). The UE 501a and the UE 501b may generate CIR, PDF or DP by measuring DL-PRS, CSI-RS or SSB. The NG- RAN node 502 may generate CIR, PDP or DP by measuring UL-SRS for positioning or UL-SRS. The UE or NG-RAN node to send the channel measurement to the LMF can be referred to as channel measurement report

[0172] The CIR may have the largest measurement size, where CIR is composed of a list of measurements where each measurement contains the information of delay, power and phase. The PDP may have smaller measurement size than CIR, where PDP is composed of a list of measurements where each measurement contains the information of delay and power. The DP may have the smallest measurement size, where DP is composed of a list of measurements where each measurement contains the information of delay.

[0173] For the model input used for AI / ML based positioning, if CIR or PDP is used as model input, the input dimension may be N_TRP * N_port * N_t, where N_TRP is the number of TRPs, N_port (can be referred to as Nport or Nport) is the number of transmit / receive antenna port pairs, N_t (can be referred to as Nt or Nt) is the number of consecutive time domain samples. If subsampling is applied for the model input, N’_t (N’_t < N_t) (can be referred to assamples with the strongest power within the N_t samples may be selected as model input, with remaining (N_t - N’_t) time domain samples may set to zero. It may be also assumed that timing info forthe N’_t samples need to be provided as model input. By applying subsampling of the measurement, the overhead of the measurement report may be reduced.

[0174] For example, when time domain samples are used as model input and sub- sampling is applied, the selection of N'_t measurements may be based on the strongest power, unless explicitly stated otherwise. When sub-sampling is applied the N'_t measurement may be not necessarily consecutive in time.

[0175] Dataset may consist of one or more data, where the data may include either measurements or label, or both. Training dataset may refer the dataset for the Model Training function. Test dataset may refer the dataset for the test of the model. Inference dataset may refer the dataset for the Inference function. Monitoring dataset may refer the dataset for the Management function.

[0176] Training dataset, test dataset, inference dataset and monitoring dataset may use the same measurement selection method (e.g., strongest power).

[0177] For AI / ML based positioning, when timing information is included in model input (e.g., in CIR / PDP / DP), training dataset, test dataset, inference dataset and monitoring dataset may use the same timing format (i.e., both are absolute time, or both are relative time).

[0178] If the model input is the CIR, then each input value of the CIR may be a complex number, i.e., it may contain two real values, either {real, imaginary} or {magnitude, phase}. If the model input is the PDP, then each input value of the PDP may be a real value.

[0179] For each model input type (CIR, PDP, DP), the measurement size may increase approximately linearly as N' TRP increases, where N'_TRP is the number of active TRPs that provide measurements for the positioning. The measurement size may increase approximately linearly as N_port increases, where N_port is the number of transmit / receive antenna port pairs that provide measurements for the positioning. If N'_t (N'_t < N_t) measurements are selected as model input, measurement size for model input may increase approximately linearly with N'_t. For model input type CIR and PDP, if the full set of N_t measurements in time domain is used as model input, measurement size for model input may increase approximately linearly with N_t. If DP is used as model input, DP may not use full set of N_t measurements in time domain (i.e., N'_t < N_t always). The model input dataset for training, inference or performance monitoring may be provided in the dataset message.

[0180] A communication apparatus is described. The communication apparatus may be UE 501a, PRU 501b or NG-RAN node 502. The communication apparatus may comprise reception circuitry configured to receive a reference signal from another communication apparatus, a first parameter and a second parameter from a communication server, processing circuitry configured to generate first samples within a time window based on a channel measurement where each the first sample is equally spaced in time domain, and select second samples among the first samples based on a certain rule determined from the first parameter, and transmission circuitry configured to send timing information of the channel measurement; wherein the timing information is represented in a bitmap, each of bits of the bitmap corresponds to each first samples within a time window, the time window is configured based on the second parameter, the bits corresponding to the second samples is set to 1, and the other bits of the bitmap are set to 0. If the communication apparatus is UE 501a or PRU 501b, the another communication apparatus may be the NG-RAN node 502, the reference signal may be DL PRS, and the first parameter and the second parameter may be sent via LPP 504 as the assistance data. If the communication apparatus is NG-RAN node 502, the another communication apparatus may be the UE 501a or PRU 501b, the reference signal may be UL SRS or UL SRS for positioning, and the first parameter and the second parameter may be sent via NRPPa 505 as the location information. The communication server may be the location server (LMF) 503.

[0181] A communication server is described. The communication server may be the location server (LMF) 503. The communication server may comprise sending circuitry configured to send a reference signal from another communication apparatus, a first parameter and a second parameter from a communication server, reception circuitry configured to receive timing information of the channel measurement; wherein the first samples are generated within the time window based on a channel measurement where each the first sample is equally spaced in time domain, and second samples are selected among the first samples based on a certain rule determined from the first parameter, the timing information is represented in a bitmap, each of bits of the bitmap corresponds to each first samples within a time window, the time window is configured based on the second parameter, the bits corresponding to the second samples is set to 1, and the other bits of the bitmap are set to 0. The communication server may be the location server (LMF) 503. The communication apparatus may be UE 501a, PRU 501b or NG-RANnode 502. If the communication apparatus is UE 501a orPRU 501b, the first parameter and the second parameter may be sent via LPP 504 as the assistance data. If the communication apparatus is NG-RAN node 502, the first parameter and the second parameter may be sent via NRPPa 505 as the location information or the assistance data.

[0182] The timing information also includes a timing related parameter which indicates the timing of the earliest sample within the first samples.

[0183] If the first parameter and the second parameter satisfy a certain equation, the timing information does not include the bitmap.

[0184] A communication method performed by a communication apparatus is described. The communication method may comprise receiving a reference signal from another communication apparatus, a first parameter and a second parameter from a communication server, generating first samples within a time window based on a channel measurement where each the first sample is equally spaced in time domain, selecting second samples among the first samples based on a certain rule determined from the first parameter, and sending timing information of the channel measurement; wherein the timing information is represented in a bitmap, each of bits of the bitmap corresponds to each first samples within a time window, the time window is configured based on the second parameter, the bits corresponding to the second samples is set to 1, and the other bits of the bitmap are set to 0. If the communication apparatus is UE 501a or PRU 501b, the another communication apparatus may be the NG-RAN node 502, the reference signal may be DL PRS, and the first parameter and the second parameter may be sent via LPP 504. If the communication apparatus is NG-RAN node 502, the another communication apparatus may be the UE 501a or PRU 501b, the reference signal may be UL SRS or UL SRS for positioning, and the first parameter and the second parameter may be sent via NRPPa 505. The communication server may be the location server (LMF) 503.

[0185] Each model input type (CIR, PDP, DP) may consist of timing information (for CIR, PDP and DP), power information (for CIR and DP) and phase information (for CIR).

[0186] For the case 1, 2a, 2b, 3a and 3b, the model input may be channel measurement generated by receiving the DL PRS, UL SRS or UL SRS for positioning. Alternatively, the channel measurement may be synthetic data which may be generated by using computer simulation. The channel measurement may consist of timinginformation, power information and / or phase information. The power information and / or phase information may be optionally absent. The channel measurement may be reported via LPP or NRPPa.

[0187] If the timing information of the channel measurement report includes bitmap, the timing information may be represented as using bitmap format. The example figure of bitmap format is shown in figure 6 when UE or NG-RAN node measures DL-PRS, UL-SRS or UL-SRS for positioning with the channel 601 in case of Nt= 32 and = 16. The bitmap format is a format which distinguishes selected samples 602 and unselected samples 603 with 1 and 0 within measured samples. The number of the measured samples maybe Nt. Therefore, the measured samples can be referred to as Ntsamples. The bitmap of the bitmap format may include multiple bits. Each bit of the bitmap 604 may correspond to a measured sample within a time window 608. The time window can be referred to as a channel measurement time window.

[0188] Duration of the time window may be Nt- Tc- 2kin time domain, where the Tcis above-mentioned time unit, and Ntand k may be configured based on higher layer parameter. Two samples that are adjacent to each other are spaced by Tc- 2kin time domain (indicated in 607). Length of the bitmap (i.e. the number of the bits within the bitmap) 611 may be Nt. The sampling period of the timing information may be Tc• 2k. Within the time window, there may be Ntsamples. Not all of these samples within the time window may be included in the measurement report. Based on a certain rule, one, more or all of the samples may be selected for inclusion in the channel measurement report to be used as model input.

[0189] The certain rule may be a rule based on strongest samples selection where the strongest samples are samples which have strongest N[ power among the Ntsamples in the time window. Additionally or alternatively, the certain rule may be a rule based on a power threshold. One or more samples are selected from the Ntsamples if their respective power exceed the power threshold. Additionally or alternatively, the certain rule may be a rule based on UE or gNB’s random selection. The UE or gNB may randomly select one or more samples from the Ntsamples for channel measurement report that are about to be used as model input. The number of the selected samples are N(. Therefore, the selected samples can be also referred to as samples. Additionally or alternatively, the certain rule may be a rule based on extremum valueselection. For example, the sample may be selected if the power of the sample to be selected is greater than the power of the samples one earlier and one later.

[0190] The bit length of the bitmap may be Nt. Each bit in the bitmap corresponds to each sample among the Ntsamples. The bitmap is a bit sequence bNt_1, bNt_2bi, b0where bNt_1is the most significant bit (MSB) and b0is the least significant bit (LSB). b0is the bit of the bitmap with the lowest index. bNt_1is the bit of the bitmap with the highest index. For example, the order of the bitmap may be such that the Ntsamples are mapped from MSB to LSB of the bitmap according to timing ordering within the time window. The first bit (MSB) of the bitmap may correspond to the first (earliest) sample 605, second bit of the bitmap may correspond to the second earliest sample, and so on. Consequently, the last bit (LSB) of the bitmap may correspond to the last sample 606 within the time window 608. Alternatively, the order of the bitmap may be such that the Ntsamples are mapped from LSB to MSB of the bitmap according to timing ordering within the time window. Then the first (MSB) and last (LSB) bit of the bitmap may correspond to the last sample 606 and first sample 605 within the time window 608, respectively. The Ntsamples may be equally spaced on the time window.

[0191] The bits corresponding to selected samples 609 may be set to 1 and the other bits 610 may be set to 0. Alternatively, the bit corresponding to selected samples may be set to 0 and the other bits may be set to 1.

[0192] The starting time 605 of the timing window 608 may be represented as the reference time. For example, the reference time may be represented as T_SubframeRxj, T SubframeRxi, T_(gNB-RX), T_(gNB-TX), TJUE-RX), T_(UE-TX), DL RTOA reference time or UL RTOA reference time. That is, the time information of the first sample (i.e. the earliest sample) of the Ntsamples within the time window may be represented as the reference time. The reference time may be reported along with the bitmap . Alternatively, the starting time 605 of the timing window 608 may be the timing of the first detected path from the reference time. The timing of the first detected path may be reported along with the bitmap. The timing of the first detected path may be represented as DL-RSTD, UL-RTOA, gNB Rx-Tx time difference or UE Rx-Tx time difference.

[0193] For the bitmap format, timing of the sample represented by the Xth bit within the bitmap may be derived with: Tref+ X • Tc• 2kwhere the Trefis the above-mentioned reference time . Alternatively, timing of the sample represented by the Xth bit within the bitmap may be derived with: Tref+ Tpath+ X • Tc- 2kwhere the Tpathis the timing of the first detected path above-mentioned from the reference time.

[0194] If the timing information of the channel measurement report does not include bitmap, the timing information may be represented by integer format instead of the bitmap format. The example figure of integer format is shown in figure 7 when UE or NG-RAN node measures DL-PRS, UL-SRS or UL-SRS for positioning with the channel 701 in case of Nt= 32 andFor the integer format, integer value 704 may indicate the timing of the selected samples 702 within the time window 708. The integer format may represent the timing information using UL-RTOA, gNB Rx-Tx time difference, DL-RSTD, UE Rs-Tx time difference or DL RTOA. The value range of the integer value may be from 0 to Nt- 1. The value 0 may correspond to the first sample (time instance) 705, the value 1 may correspond to the second sample, and so on. The value Nt- 1 may correspond to the last sample (time instance) 706. Alternatively, the value 0 may correspond to the last time instance and the value Nt- 1 may correspond to the first time instance. The time window may be - Tc- 2k, where the Tcis above- mentioned time unit and Ntand k may be configured based on higher layer parameter. Two time instances that are adjacent to each other are spaced in time domain(indicated in 707). The bit length of the value of single timing information may be [log2Nt] and bit length for all of timing information may be • [log2Nt].

[0195] The figure 8 shows the comparison of the required bit length to represent the timing information. The required bit length for bitmap 804 and integer format 803 are different, which is depending on the value of802 and the value of Nt801.

[0196] The decision as to whether to use bitmap format or integer format may be made based on the value ofand the value of Nt. For example, ifsmaller than Nt(or equal to Nt)satisfied), then the UE or NG-RAN node may send the channel measurement report using integer format. Ifis not smaller than Nt(or equal to Nt) (i.e. • is satisfied), then the UE or NG-RAN node maysend the channel measurement report using bitmap format.

[0197] Alternatively, whether to use bitmap or integer format may be indicated explicitly via higher layer message. For example, the higher layer message may indicateenumerated value including “bitmap” and “integer”, and if the LMF indicates “bitmap” to UE or NG-RAN node via the higher layer message for channel measurement report, then the UE or NG-RAN node may send the channel measurement report using bitmap format. If the LMF indicate “integer” to UE or NG-RAN node via the higher layer message for channel measurement report, then the UE or NG-RAN node may send the channel measurement report using integer format.

[0198] The power information and / or phase information may be reported along with the timing information in same IE in case of reporting PDF or CIR. The power information may be the DL PRS-RSRPP or UL SRS-RSRPP.

[0199] For both the direct AI / ML positioning and AI / ML assisted positioning, there may be the trade-off among model performance, model complexity and computational complexity.

[0200] For the direct AI / ML positioning, the AI / ML model may output the UE location coordination. The UE location coordination can be reported to the LMF using LPP protocol.

[0201] For the AI / ML assisted positioning, the output of the AI / ML model may be the intermediate positioning measurement. The intermediate positioning measurement may include one or more of LOS / NLOS indicator, DL-RTOA, UL-RTOA, DL-RSTD, UL-RSTD, gNB Rx-Tx time difference, UE Rx-Tx time difference, DL-AoD, UL-AoA or other timing based or angle based measurement. The intermediate positioning measurements may have same or different meaning as the corresponding legacy positioning measurements as described above (i.e. legacy positioning measurements).

[0202] F or the AI / ML based positioning, the measurement of the dataset may be the CIR, PDP or DP. The label of the dataset may be the UE location for the direct AI / ML positioning, or intermediate positioning measurement for the AI / ML assisted positioning.

[0203] In AI / ML based positioning, AI / ML model is located at UE (UE side model), gNB (gNB side model) or LMF (LMF side model).

[0204] The following use cases may be available for AI / ML based positioning:- Case 1 : UE-based positioning with UE-side model, direct AI / ML or AI / ML assisted positioning- Case 2a: UE-assisted / LMF-based positioning with UE-side model, AI / ML assisted positioning- Case 2b: UE-assisted / LMF-based positioning with LMF-side model, directAI / ML positioning- Case 3a: NG-RAN node assisted positioning with gNB-side model, AI / ML assisted positioning- Case 3b: NG-RAN node assisted positioning with LMF-side model, direct AI / ML positioning

[0205] For AI / ML based positioning, for model training, training data may be generated by UE 501a, PRU 501b, NG-RAN node 502 and / or LMF 503.

[0206] For AI / ML based positioning, for LMF-side model inference (Case 2b, Case 3b), input data may be generated by UE / gNB and terminated at LMF. For gNB-side model inference (Case 3 a), input data may be internally available at gNB. For UE-side model inference (Case 1, Case 2a), input data may be internally available at UE.

[0207] For AI / ML based positioning, for performance monitoring at the LMF side, calculated performance metrics (if needed) or data needed for performance metric calculation (if needed) may be generated by UE / gNB and terminated at LMF. For AI / ML based positioning, for performance monitoring at the gNB side, calculated performance metrics (if needed) or data needed for performance metric calculation (if needed) may be generated by at least gNB.

[0208] Figure 9 illustrates various components that may be utilized in a UE 902. The UE 902 (UE 102) described in connection with Figure 9 may be implemented in accordance with the UE 102 described in connection with Figure 1. The UE 902 includes a processor 981 that controls operation of the UE 902. The processor 981 may also be referred to as a central processing unit (CPU). Memory 987, which may include read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), a combination of the two or any type of device that may store information, provides instructions 983a and data 985a to the processor 981. A portion of the memory 987 may also include non-volatile random access memory (NVRAM). Instructions 983b and data 985b may also reside in the processor 981. Instructions 983b and / or data 985b loaded into the processor 981 may also include instructions 983a and / or data 985a from memory 987 that were loaded for execution or processing by the processor 981. The instructions 983b may be executed by the processor 981 to implement one or more of the methods described above.

[0209] The UE 902 may also include a housing that contains one or more transmitters 958 and one or more receivers 920 to allow transmission and reception of data. The transmitter(s) 958 and receiver(s) 920 may be combined into one or more transceivers 918. One or more antennas 922a— n are attached to the housing and electrically coupled to the transceiver 918.

[0210] The various components of the UE 902 are coupled together by a bus system 989, which may include a power bus, a control signal bus and a status signal bus, in addition to a data bus. However, for the sake of clarity, the various buses are illustrated in Figure 9 as the bus system 989. The UE 902 may also include a digital signal processor (DSP) 991 for use in processing signals. The UE 902 may also include a communications interface 993 that provides user access to the fimctions of the UE 902. The UE 902 illustrated in Figure 9 is a functional block diagram rather than a listing of specific components.

[0211] Figure 10 illustrates various components that may be utilized in a base station 1060. The base station 1060 described in connection with Figure 10 may be implemented in accordance with the base station 160 described in connection with F igure 1. The base station 1060 includes a processor 1081 that controls operation of the base station 1060. The processor 1081 may also be referred to as a central processing unit (CPU). Memory 1087, which may include read-only memory "(ROM), random access memory (RAM), a combination of the two or any type of device that may store information, provides instructions 1083a and data 1085a to the processor 1081. A portion of the memory 1087 may also include non-volatile random access memory (NVRAM). Instructions 1083b and data 1085b may also reside in the processor 1081. Instructions 1083b and / or data 1085b loaded into the processor 1081 may also include instructions 1083a and / or data 1085a from memory 1087 that were loaded for execution or processing by the processor 1081. The instructions 1083b may be executed by the processor 1081 to implement one or more of the methods 300 described above.

[0212] The base station 1060 may also include a housing that contains one or more transmitters 1017 and one or more receivers 1078 to allow transmission and reception of data. The transmitters) 1017 and receiver(s) 1078 may be combined into one or more transceivers 1076. One or more antennas 1080a-n are attached to the housing and electrically coupled to the transceiver 1076.

[0213] The various components of the base station 1060 are coupled together by a bus system 1089, which may include a power bus, a control signal bus and a status signal bus, in addition to a data bus. However, for the sake of clarity, the various buses are illustrated in Figure 10 as the bus system 1089. The base station 1060 may also include a digital signal processor (DSP) 1091 for use in processing signals. The base station 1060 may also include a communications interface 1093 that provides user access to the functions of the base station 1060. The base station 1060 illustrated in Figure 10 is a functional block diagram rather than a listing of specific components.

[0214] The term “computer-readable medium" refers to any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a processor. The term “computer-readable medium," as used herein, may denote a computer- and / or processor-readable medium that is non- transitory and tangible. By way of example, and not limitation, a computer-readable or processor-readable medium may comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer or processor. Disk and disc, as used herein, includes compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk and Blu-ray® disc where disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers.

[0215] It should be noted that one or more of the methods described herein may be implemented in and / or performed using hardware. For example, one or more of the methods described herein may be implemented in and / or realized using circuitry, a chipset, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a large-scale integrated circuit (LSI) or integrated circuit, etc.

[0216] Each of the methods disclosed herein comprises one or more steps or actions for achieving the described method. The method steps and / or actions may be interchanged with one another and / or combined into a single step without departing from the scope of the claims. In other words, unless a specific order of steps or actions is required for proper operation of the method that is being described, the order and / or use of specific steps and / or actions may be modified without departing from the scope of the claims.

[0217] It is to be understood that the claims are not limited to the precise configuration and components illustrated above. Various modifications, changes andvariations may be made in the arrangement, operation and details of the systems, methods and apparatus described herein without departing from the scope of the claims.

Claims

[CLAIMS]1. A communication apparatus, comprising: reception circuitry configured to receive a reference signal from another communication apparatus; processing circuitry configured to generate a channel measurement comprising a plurality of first samples, and to select, from among the first samples, a plurality of second samples corresponding to samples having highest power(s); and transmission circuitry configured to send the channel measurement represented by a bitmap, wherein each bit of the bitmap corresponds to a respective one of the first samples, and a bit set to a value of 1 indicates that its corresponding sample is included in the second samples.

2. The communication apparatus according to the claim 1, wherein the channel measurement further includes a timing-related parameter that indicates a timing of an earliest sample within the first samples.

3. The communication apparatus according to the claim 1, wherein a number of the first samples and a number of the second samples are each indicated by respective parameters.

4. A communication server, comprising: reception circuitry configured to receive a channel measurement; wherein the channel measurement comprises a plurality of first samples and is represented by a bitmap, each bit of the bitmap corresponds to a respective one of the first samples, a bit set to a value of 1 indicates that its corresponding sample is included in a plurality of second samples, and the second samples correspond to samples having highest power(s) among the first samples.

5. The communication server according to the claim 4, wherein the channel measurement further includes a timing-related parameter that indicates a timing of an earliest sample within the first samples.

6. The communication server according to the claim 4, wherein a number of the first samples and a number of the second samples are each indicated by respective parameters.

7. A communication method performed by a communication apparatus, comprising: receiving a reference signal from another communication apparatus; generating a channel measurement comprising a plurality of first samples; selecting, from among the first samples, a plurality of second samples corresponding to samples having highest poWet(s); and sending the channel measurement represented by a bitmap; wherein each bit of the bitmap corresponds to a respective one of the first samples, a bit set to a value of 1 indicates that its corresponding sample is included in the second samples.

Images