Ambient internet of things (a-IOT) access occasion management

Abstract

Example embodiments of the present disclosure relate to Ambient Internet of Things (A-IoT) access occasion management. According to example embodiments, a system may include an A-IoT reader, and the A-IoT reader may be configured to determine an access occasion in which an A-IoT device can transmit a random access preamble (Msg1). Accordingly, the A-IoT device may provide, to the A-IoT device, at least one of: a paging message that includes information associated with the access occasion or a Reader-to-Device (R2D) message that includes information associated with the determined access occasion. Subsequently, the A-IoT device may receive, from the A-IoT device, the random access preamble (Msg1) during the access occasion.

Description

AMBIENT INTERNET OF THINGS (A-IOT) ACCESS OCCASION MANAGEMENTCROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] This application claims priority to U.S. provisional application No. 63 / 703068, filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on October 3, 2024, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The present disclosure relates to Ambient Internet of Things (A-IoT) access occasion management.BACKGROUND

[0003] The information disclosed in this background section is only for the enhancement of understanding of the general background of the disclosure and should not be taken as an acknowledgment or any form of suggestion that this information forms the prior art already known to a person skilled in the art.

[0004] Ambient Internet of Things (A-IoT) refer to technology in which devices may harvest energy from the ambient environment (e g., radio waves, light, heat, etc.), thereby enabling said devices to operate with low-power consumption without having a dedicated power source and reducing the complexity and form factor of said devices. As further described below, various types of devices, such as A-IoT readers and A-IoT devices, may be involved in an A-IoT-based network.

[0005] On the other hand, in telecommunications, an access occasion is a network resource (e g., defined in time and / or frequency) reserved for the transmissions of random accesspreamble when a device attempts to access the network. For instance, an access occasion in slottedALOHA may refer to a slot in which a device may transmit an associated random access preamble (Msgl) to the network at the beginning of the slot.SUMMARY

[0006] Example embodiments of the present disclosure provide systems, methods, and the like, that effectively and efficiently implement A-IoT access occasion management.

[0007] According to example embodiments, a system may include an A-IoT reader, and the A-IoT reader may be configured to determine an access occasion in which an A-IoT device can transmit a random access preamble (Msgl). Accordingly, the A-IoT device may provide, to the A-IoT device, at least one of: a paging message that includes information associated with the access occasion or a Reader-to-D evice (R2D) message that includes information associated with the determined access occasion. Subsequently, the A-IoT device may receive, from the A-IoT device, the random access preamble (Msgl) during the access occasion.

[0008] According to example embodiments, a method may be performable by an A-IoT reader and may include determining an access occasion in which an A-IoT device can transmit a random access preamble (Msgl). Further, the method may include providing, to the A-IoT device, at least one of: a paging message that includes information associated with the access occasion or an R2D message that includes information associated with the determined access occasion. Furthermore, the method may include receiving, from the A-IoT device, the random access preamble (Msgl) during the access occasion.

[0009] According to example embodiments, a non-transitory computer-readable recording medium may have recorded thereon instructions executable by an A-IoT reader to cause the A-loT reader to perform a method including determining an access occasion in which an A-IoT device can transmit a random access preamble (Msgl). Further, the method may include providing, to the A-IoT device, at least one of: a paging message that includes information associated with the access occasion or an R2D message that includes information associated with the determined access occasion. Furthermore, the method may include receiving, from the A-IoT device, the random access preamble (Msgl) during the access occasion.

[0010] Additional aspects will be set forth in part in the description that follows and, in part, will be apparent from the description, or may be realized by practice of the presented embodiments of the disclosure.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011] Features, aspects, and advantages of embodiments of the disclosure will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals denote like elements, and wherein:

[0012] FIG. 1 illustrates a generic system configuration, according to one or more example embodiments;

[0013] FIG. 2A to FIG. 2D each illustrates an example connectivity topology, according to one or more example embodiments;

[0014] FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 illustrate various example methods and operations, according to one or more example embodiments;

[0015] FIG. 5 illustrates an example device / apparatus that may implement one or more example embodiments; and

[0016] FIG. 6 illustrates an example environment in which systems, devices, and / or methods, according to one or more example embodiments, may be implemented.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0017] The following detailed description of example embodiments refers to the accompanying drawings. The foregoing disclosure provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the implementations to the precise forms disclosed. Modifications and variations are possible in light of the above disclosure or may be acquired from practice of the implementations. Further, one or more features or components of one embodiment may be incorporated into or combined with another embodiment (or one or more features of another embodiment). Additionally, the flowchart and description of operations provided below relate to one of the various embodiments. It should be noted that it is possible to make other embodiments that do not exactly match the flowchart and its description. It is understood that in other embodiments one or more operations may be omitted, one or more operations may be added, one or more operations may be performed simultaneously (at least in part).

[0018] It will be apparent that systems and / or methods, described herein, may be implemented in different forms of hardware, firmware, or a combination of hardware and software. The actual specialized control hardware or software code used to implement these systems and / or methods is not limited to the described implementations. Thus, the operation and behavior of the systems and / or methods are described herein without reference to specific software code. It is understood that software and hardware may be designed to implement the systems and / or methods based on the description herein.

[0019] Even though particular combinations of features are disclosed in the claims and / or in the specification, these combinations are not intended to limit the disclosure of implementations. In fact, many of these features may be combined in ways not specifically recited in the claims and / or disclosed in the specification. Although each dependent claim listed below may directly depend on only one claim, the disclosure of implementations includes each dependent claim in combination with every other claim in the claim set.

[0020] No element, act, or instruction used herein should be construed as critical or essential unless explicitly described as such. Also, as used herein, the articles “a” and “an” are intended to include one or more items, and may be used interchangeably with “one or more.” Also, as used herein, the terms “has,” “have,” “having,” “include,” “including,” or the like are intended to be open-ended terms. Further, the phrase “based on” is intended to mean “based, at least in part, on” unless explicitly stated otherwise. Furthermore, expressions such as “at least one of [A] and [B]”, “[A] and / or [B]”, or “at least one of [A] or [B]”, are to be understood as including only A, only B, or both A and B.

[0021] Expressions such as “at least one processor,” where configured to implement a plurality of operations, execute a plurality of instructions, etc., are to be understood as a single processor implementing the plurality of operations, etc., or each of plural processors implementing at least some (but not necessarily all) of the plurality of operations, etc.

[0022] Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment,” “embodiment,” “non-limiting exemplary embodiment,” “example embodiment,” or similar language means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the indicated embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present solution. Thus, the phrases “in one embodiment”, “in an embodiment,” “in one non-limiting exemplary embodiment,” and similarlanguage throughout this specification may, but do not necessarily, all refer to the same embodiment.

[0023] Further, the described features, advantages, and characteristics of the present disclosure may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more example embodiments. One skilled in the relevant art will recognize, in light of the description herein, that the present disclosure can be practiced without one or more of the specific features or advantages of a particular embodiment. In other instances, additional features and advantages may be recognized in certain embodiments that may not be present in all embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0024] It shall be noted that, descriptions of example embodiments of the present disclosure may include terms and names defined in one or more standard organizations, such as the Open Radio Access Network (0-RAN) Alliance, the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) standard organization, the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) standard organization, and the like. For instance, the terms “A-IoT,” “A-IoT reader,” “A-IoT device,” “access occasion,” “random access procedure,” “random access preamble,” “Msgl,” “paging message,” “R2D message,” “slotted ALOHA,” and the like, as well as the associated features, operations, interfaces, and messages involved therein, are to be interpreted as consistent with those specified in one or more technical specifications, unless being described otherwise.

[0025] Generally, Ambient Internet of Things (A-IoT) may involve at least two types of devices, i.e., A-IoT devices and A-IoT readers. An A-IoT device may refer to a device that may harvest energy from the ambient environment (e.g., radio waves, light, heat, etc.), thereby operating with low-power consumption without having a dedicated power source and reducing the complexity and form factor thereof. On the other hand, an A-IoT reader may refer to a device thatmay interact with the A-IoT devices, receive data from the A-IoT devices, and allocate resources for uplink Device-to-Reader (D2R) and downlink Reader-to-Device (R2D) transmissions.

[0026] In an A-IoT-based network, the scale of deployed A-IoT devices may result in a high device density scenario, where the number of A-IoT devices that are simultaneously attempting random access (or attempting random access within a predefined time window) to the network (e.g., via the A-IoT reader) may be significantly larger than in a non-A-IoT-based network. Thus, the management of access occasions, in which the A-IoT devices can transmit a random access preamble (Msgl) during attempting random access, is critical for enabling effective and efficient network operations. Nevertheless, as described below, the specific mechanisms for managing the access occasion for A-IoT devices remain unspecified and non-standardized in the related art, leading to various problems in the operations of the A-IoT-based network.

[0027] To begin with, in the A-IoT-based network, the number of A-IoT devices attempting random access may be highly dynamic and easily varying due to various factors (e.g., one type of environmental changes may differently affect the energy-harvesting capability / pattem of different A-IoT devices, different types of A-IoT devices may be triggered / activated by different events, etc.). The high-density, high-dynamic deployments of A-IoT devices may lead to at least two main challenges: (1) how to dynamically scale access occasions based on requirements (e.g., device density, network load, etc.), and (2) how to efficiently schedule resources for random access preamble (Msgl) transmission under the scenario of multiple A-IoT devices attempting access. Nevertheless, the mechanisms and approaches for dynamically scaling the access occasions (e.g., in response to changes in device density, network load, etc.) and efficiently scheduling resources remain unspecified and non-standardized in the related art, i.e., the solutions for addressing the aforesaid challenges are not available in the related art. Without addressing the aforesaidchallenges, the A-IoT-based network may suffer from excessive contention during an random access procedure (particularly during random access preamble (Msgl) transmissions), leading to the increasing in collisions and reducing the overall efficiency of the A-IoT-based network.

[0028] Example embodiments of the present disclosure, as described in the following, provide devices, systems, methods, and the like, that effectively and efficiently provide A-IoT access occasion management. Specifically, example embodiments implement an A-IoT reader that may be configured to automatically and dynamically determine an access occasion and then appropriately provide the determined access occasion to an A-IoT device via various approaches.

[0029] For instance, the A-IoT reader may provide, to the A-IoT device, a paging message that includes information associated with the access occasion, thereby providing simplicity for triggering and managing the random access procedure and the transmission of the random access preamble (Msgl). Further, the A-IoT reader may provide one or more Reader-to-Device (R2D) messages that include information associated with the access occasion to the A-IoT device after the triggering of the random access procedure, thereby enabling dynamic / real-time adjustments to the access occasion(s) throughout the random access procedure.

[0030] Furthermore, the A-IoT reader may implement a hybrid access occasion management approach, i.e., determining at least two access occasions (e.g., a first access occasion and a second access occasion), providing the paging message that include the first access occasion to the A-IoT device to trigger the random access procedure, and providing the R2D message to theA-IoT device after triggering the random access procedure. Accordingly, the A-IoT reader may use the paging message for the initial access occasion announcement and the R2D message for dynamically updating the subsequent access occasion(s), thereby enabling an efficient andeffective mechanism for managing A-IoT access occasion, which combines simplicity and flexibility.

[0031] Advantageously, the example embodiments may dynamically scale access occasions based on one or more network conditions (e.g., device density, network load, etc.) and efficiently schedule resources for random access preamble (Msgl) transmissions when dealing with multiple devices attempting access in high-density deployments.

[0032] It is contemplated that features, advantages, and significances of example embodiments described hereinabove are merely a portion of the present disclosure, and are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Further descriptions of the features, components, configuration, operations, and implementations of the example embodiments of the present disclosure are provided in the following.Example System Architecture and Configurations

[0033] FIG. 1 illustrates a generic system configuration 100, according to one or more example embodiments. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the system configuration 100 includes an Ambient Internet of Things (A-IoT) reader 110 and an A-IoT device 120. The A-IoT reader 110 and the A- loT device 120 may communicatively couple to each other. It is contemplated that the configuration in FIG. 1 is merely an example provided for descriptive purposes, and the scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto. For instance, in some example implementations, the A-IoT reader 110 may communicatively couple to multiple A-IoT devices, an A-IoT device 120 may communicatively couple to multiple A-IoT readers, and the like, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0034] The A-IoT reader 110 may refer to any suitable devices that may detect the A-IoT device 120, provide the carrier waves (e.g., for backscatter, etc.) to the A-IoT device 120, allocateuplink and / or downlink resources to the A-IoT device 120, and manage the transmissions and communications (e.g., Device-to-Reader (D2R) transmissions, Reader-to-Device (R2D) transmissions, etc.) with the A-IoT device 120. According to example embodiments, the A-IoT reader 110 may include at least one of: a base station (e.g., eNodeB, gNodeB, etc.), an intermediate or assisting node (e.g., a relay, an Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB) node, a repeater, etc.), or a User Equipment (UE) (e.g., a mobile phone, a computing device, etc. that uses the full transceiver and protocol stacks to communicate with an A-IoT device, etc.).

[0035] The A-IoT device 120 may refer to a low-power, low-complexity device that may harvest energy from the ambient environment, eliminating the need for a dedicated power source or battery replacement. For instance, the A-IoT device 120 may utilize ambient energy sources like radio waves, light, heat, or motion to power the associated operations. The A-IoT device 120 may implement low-end loT applications (e.g., inventory management, simple command, etc.) that may be implemented with an ultra-low complexity device with ultra-low power consumption and / or a small form factor. According to example embodiments, the A-IoT device may include at least one of: a Radio Frequency (RF) tag (e.g., a Near Field Communication (NFC) tag, an RF Identification (RFID) tag, a backscatter tag, etc.), a sensor (e.g., motion sensor, light sensor, environmental sensor, etc.), or a UE (e.g., a wearable device, a healthcare tracker, etc., that operates in low power mode).

[0036] According to example embodiments, the A-IoT device 120 may be configured to continuously (or periodically) harvest energy from the ambient environment / energy sources. Upon harvesting sufficient energy, the A-IoT device 120 may wake and monitor for a scheduling trigger (e.g., a broadcast trigger, etc.) from the A-IoT reader 110, and then attempt access to the A-IoT reader 110 when applicable. On the other hand, upon broadcasting a trigger, the A-IoT reader 110may determine one or more access occasions in which the A-IoT device 120 can transmit a random access preamble (Msgl) during a random access procedure.

[0037] In this regard, the “random access procedure” described herein may refer to a contention-based random access process that enables the A-IoT reader 110 to interoperate with the A-IoT device 120 to establish uplink synchronization. The random access procedure may be similar to the random access channel (RACH) procedure as defined in one or more 3GPP technical specifications of 3GPP, i.e., in the first step, the A-IoT device 120 may transmit a random-access preamble (i.e., a first message in the random access procedure and thus may be referred to as “Msgl”) to the A-IoT reader 110, the A-IoT reader 110 may reply with a random access response (i.e., a second message in the random access procedure and thus may be referred to as “Msg2”) that contains the granted resources (e.g., timing advance, uplink grant, etc.), the A-IoT device 120 may then send a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message (e.g., RRC connection request, etc.) (i.e., a third message in the random access procedure and thus may be referred to as “Msg3”) to the A- loT reader 110 based on the granted resources, and the A-IoT reader 110 may send another RRC message (e.g., RRC connection setup, etc.) (i.e., a fourth message in the random access procedure and thus may be referred to as “Msg4”) to the A-IoT device 120.

[0038] According to example embodiments, the A-IoT reader 110 may be configured to determine the access occasion(s) based on the real-time (or near-real-time) network requirements. For instance, the A-IoT reader 110 may be configured to determine the access occasion(s) based on one or more of: a device density or a network load. The device density may be determined by the A-IoT reader 110 based on, for example, the count of random access preambles (Msgls) received within the predefined time window (e.g., 1000 Msgls per 1ms, etc.), a number of A-IoT devices that are attempting random access within a predefined time window (e.g., 1000 A-IoTdevices within the 100ms time window, etc.), a number of A-IoT devices per cell area (e.g., 1000 devices per km2, etc.), and any other suitable parameters. On the other hand, the network load may be determined by the A-IoT reader 110 based on, for example, a ratio of allocated Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) resources to the total configured PRACH occasions (e.g., 80% utilization rate defines that the available PRACH resources available for allocating is 20%, etc.), a usage of uplink resource block (RB), a collision rate (e.g., a probability / percentage of Msgl transmission that has failed due to conflicts, etc.), and any other suitable parameters.

[0039] According to example embodiments, the A-IoT reader 110 may provide a paging message that includes information associated with the access occasion to the A-IoT device 120. In this regard, the transmission of the paging message may signal or announce the access occasion to the A-IoT device 120 before the A-IoT device 120 triggers the random access procedure, thus the access occasion defined in the paging message may also be referred to as the “initial access occasion”. In some example embodiments, the transmission of the paging message may trigger the random access procedure, in which the A-IoT device 120 may transmit the random access preamble (Msgl) during the access occasion defined in the paging message.

[0040] According to example embodiments where a plurality of A-IoT devices is involved, the A-IoT reader 110 may determine one or more access occasions for each of the A-IoT devices, and then broadcast or announce the paging message to the plurality of A-IoT devices that are grouped into the same subset. In some embodiments, one or more A-IoT devices in the same subset may share or be assigned the same access occasion(s). In this way, the A-IoT reader 110 may concurrently provide the information of access occasion(s) to multiple A-IoT devices.

[0041] According to example embodiments, the paging message may include one or moreInformation Elements (IES) that define one or more of: a number of access occasions available tothe A-IoT device 120 (e.g., one or more values that define the minimum and / or maximum thresholds of access occasions available to the A-IoT device 120), a time-frequency resource block (RB) for the transmission of the random access preamble (e.g., the exact radio resource which the A-IoT device 120 may utilize to transmit the random access preamble / Msgl, etc.), and a device grouping information associated with the A-IoT device 120 (e.g., which device subset the A-IoT device 120 is grouped to, etc.). In some example embodiments, the paging message may optionally include one or more IES that define priority information that allows prioritization based on the type or status of the A-IoT device 120 (e.g., prioritizing the A-IoT device 120 based on the energy consumption, operational mode, task type, etc.).

[0042] In view of the above, by implementing the example embodiments, the A-IoT reader 110 may dynamically provide (based on one or more network conditions) a paging message that may include resource scheduling information for random access preamble (Msgl) transmission, in addition to the usual role of a paging message to trigger a device for random access. Advantageously, this extension in the contents of the paging message enables the A-IoT reader 110 to utilize the paging message to allocate specific time frequency resources for random access preamble (Msgl) transmission based on one or more network conditions (e.g., device density, network load, etc.). Specifically, by implementing the example embodiments, the A-IoT reader 110 may provide a paging message that includes IE(s) that defines the resource information (e.g., available access occasion(s), time-frequency slot(s), etc.) for random access preamble (Msgl) transmission, which provide a clear schedule for the A-IoT device 120 to reduce contention during the random access procedure. Further, by including the device grouping information in the paging message, the A-IoT devices may be grouped into subsets, each may be assigned specific access occasion(s) communicated within the same paging message. Accordingly, the need for additionalR2D transmissions during the random access procedure may be effectively reduced / minimized by ensuring that the A-IoT devices may autonomously schedule the transmission of the random access preamble (Msgl) when the random access procedure is first triggered (e.g., once the A-IoT device 120 receives the paging message, it can automatically determine the resources and timing for transmitting the random access preamble and adjust the transmission configurations according, without requiring additional R2D transmissions during the random access procedure). Furthermore, the paging message may also be utilized to prioritize certain types / statuses of A-IoT devices (e.g., based on energy levels, task priority, etc ), thereby optimizing the resource utilization.

[0043] According to example embodiments, the A-IoT reader 110 may provide one or more Reader-to-Device (R2D) messages that include information associated with the access occasion to the A-IoT device 120. The transmission of the R2D message(s) may be performed after A-IoT reader 110 has provided or broadcast the paging message (which may or may not include the information of the access occasion) and the random access procedure is triggered. In some example embodiments, the R2D message may include a Query / Report (QueryRep)-like message (“QueryRep-like R2D message” herein) that may be similar to the “Query / Report” signaling approaches / features defined and implemented in, for example, a 3 GPP -based network. Specifically, the A-IoT reader 110 may provide the QueryRep-like R2D message that includes IE(s) that define the changes of the access occasion (e.g., add slot X, remove slot Y, etc.) in a manner similar to how a Radio Access Network (RAN) and a device communicate via querying and reporting.

[0044] According to example embodiments, the R2D message (e.g., QueryRep-like R2D message, etc.) may include one or more IES that define one or more of: a time-frequency RB for the transmission of the random access preamble (Msgl), a device grouping information (e.g.,which enables the A-IoT reader 110 to allocate resources to specific subsets of devices, etc.), and a re-access opportunity (e.g., re-access slot when a random access attempt / random access preamble transmission with the access occasion has failed, etc.). In some example embodiments, the paging message may optionally include one or more IES that define priority information that allows prioritization based on the type or status of the A-IoT device 120 (e.g., energy consumption, operational mode, task type, etc.).

[0045] According to example embodiments, the A-IoT reader 110 may be configured to dynamically determine the access occasion based on real-time (or near-real-time) conditions / requirements, and then provide the information of the access occasion to the A-IoT device 120. For instance, the A-IoT reader 110 may continuously (or periodically) determine the access occasion (based on the device density, network load, etc.) and continuously (or periodically) broadcast or announce the access occasion via the paging message until the A-IoT device 120 has harvested sufficient energy to receive the paging message and trigger the random access procedure in response thereto. Additionally or alternatively, the A-IoT reader 110 may provide the access occasion to the A-IoT device 120 via an R2D message after the random access procedure is triggered, and the A-IoT reader 110 may continuously determine and provide one or more subsequent access occasion(s) via one or more subsequent R2D messages until a condition is satisfied (e.g., until the A-IoT reader 110 receives the random access preamble (Msgl) from the A-IoT device 120, until after a predefined number of R2D messages have been provided to the A- loT device 120, until the communication / session with the A-IoT device 120 is terminated, etc.).

[0046] According to example embodiments where a plurality of A-IoT devices is involved, the A-IoT reader 110 may determine one or more access occasions for each of the A-IoT devices, and then provide one or more R2D messages to the plurality of A-IoT devices that are groupedinto the same subset. In some embodiments, one or more A-IoT devices in the same subset may share or be assigned the same access occasion(s). In this way, the A-IoT reader 110 may concurrently provide the information of access occasion(s) to multiple A-IoT devices.

[0047] In view of the above, by implementing the example embodiments, the A-IoT reader 110 may dynamically provide (based on one or more network conditions) one or more R2D messages that may include resource scheduling information for random access preamble (Ms l) transmission, after the initial paging message is provided to the A-IoT device 120 (e.g., after the random access procedure is triggered). Advantageously, the R2D message(s) may be provided during the random access procedure, thereby providing real-time (or near-real-time) updates on the access occasion for random access preamble (Msgl) transmission based on one or more network conditions (e g., device density, network load, etc.). In some example implementations, the A-IoT reader 110 may provide multiple R2D messages, each specifying different timefrequency resources based on the network conditions, thereby enabling real-time (or near-realtime) adjustments to the resources for random access preamble (Msgl) transmission. Further, the A-IoT reader 110 may provide an R2D message to allocate resources to specific subset(s) of A- loT devices, thereby spreading the access attempts across different time-frequency slots (e.g., across different access occasions) and reducing contention during the random access procedure. Furthermore, the R2D message(s) may also be utilized to prioritize certain types / statuses of A-IoT devices (e.g., based on energy levels, task priority, etc.), thereby optimizing the resource utilization.

[0048] According to example embodiments, the A-IoT reader 110 may implement a hybrid approach that utilizes a paging message for the initial access occasion announcement and an R2D message(s) for dynamically updating the access occasion. For instance, the A-IoT reader 110 may determine a plurality of access occasions, and sequentially provide the plurality of accessoccasions to the A-IoT device 120 via one or more paging messages and one or more R2D messages. For instance, the A-IoT reader 110 may determine a first access occasion based on one or more network conditions (e.g., device density, network load, etc.) prior to the triggering of the random access procedure, and then provide the paging message that includes information associated with the first access occasion to the A-IoT device 120 to trigger the random access procedure. Subsequently, the A-IoT reader 110 may determine a second access occasion based on one or more network conditions after the triggering of the random access procedure, and then provide the R2D message that includes information associated with the second access occasion to the A-IoT device 120. It is contemplated that the A-IoT reader 110 may determine one or more subsequent access occasions and provide one or more subsequent R2D messages associated therewith when required, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0049] Further, example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by the A-IoT reader 110 and / or the A-IoT device 120 in various scenarios. For example, the A-IoT reader 110 and / or the A-IoT device 120 may implement the example embodiments within a slotted ALOHA random-access framework, thereby dynamically scaling the number of access occasion in response to changes in one or more network conditions (e.g., device density, network load, etc.) and efficiently communicating the information of available access occasions for random access preamble (Msgl) transmission. Advantageously, by implementing example embodiments, an effective slotted ALOHA random-access framework may be provided to A-IoT-based networks.

[0050] In addition, the A-IoT reader 110 and / or the A-IoT device 120 may be deployed in various locations, such as indoors, outdoors, or a combination thereof. Further, the A-IoT reader 110 and / or the A-IoT device 120 may be deployed on the same sites as an existing 3GPP deployment (e.g., macro-cell-based deployment, micro-cell-based deployment, pico-cell-baseddeployment, etc.). Furthermore, the A-IoT reader 110 and / or the A-IoT device 120 may be deployed according to various connectivity topologies. Descriptions of several examples of connectivity topologies are provided below with reference to FIG. 2A to FIG. 2D.

[0051] FIG. 2A illustrates a first example connectivity topology 210, according to one or more example embodiments. In this example connectivity topology, a UE 211 is utilized as an example of the A-IoT reader 110. As illustrated in FIG. 2A, the A-IoT device 212 may communicate bidirectionally with the UE 211. The communication between the UE 211 and the A-IoT device 212 may include the transmission of user-plane A-IoT data and / or control -plane signaling

[0052] FIG. 2B illustrates a second example connectivity topology 220, according to one or more example embodiments. In this example connectivity topology, a base station 221 is utilized as an example of the A-IoT reader 110. As illustrated in FIG. 2B, the A-IoT device 222 may communicate directly and bidirectionally with the base station 221. The communication between the base station 221 and the A-IoT device 222 may include the transmission of user-plane A-IoT data and / or control-plane signaling. Further, this example connectivity topology may include a scenario in which the base station 221 is different from a base station that is receiving data from the A-IoT device 222.

[0053] FIG. 2C illustrates a third example connectivity topology 230, according to one or more example embodiments. In this example connectivity topology, a base station 231 and an intermediate network node 233 are utilized as an example of the A-IoT reader 110. As illustrated in FIG. 2C, the A-IoT device 232 may communicate bidirectionally with the intermediate network node 233 (e.g., a relay, an IAB node, a UE, a repeater, etc.) that may transfer user-plane A-IoT data and / or control-plane signaling between the base station 231 and the A-IoT device 232.

[0054] FIG. 2D illustrates a fourth example connectivity topology 240, according to one or more example embodiments. In this example connectivity topology, a base station 241 and an assisting network node 243 are utilized as an example of the A-IoT reader 110. As illustrated in FIG. 2D, the A-IoT device 242 may transmit data / signaling to the base station 241, and may receive data / signaling from the assisting network node 243. Additionally or alternatively, the A- loT device 242 may receive data / signaling from the base station 241, and may transmit data / signaling to the assisting network node 243. The assisting network node 243 may include a realy, an IAB node, a UE, a repeater, and the like, which is capable of receiving data from the A- loT device 242 and transmitting the data to the base station 241, and / or receiving data from the base station 241 and transmitting the data to the A-IoT device 242.

[0055] It is contemplated that any of the A-IoT readers (e.g., UE 211, base stations 221- 241, intermediate network node 233, assisting network node 243, etc.) in FIG. 2A to FIG. 2D may be configured to manage the scheduling ID (e.g., determine a requirement to perform a scheduling for establishing a communication with the respective A-IoT device, and provide a scheduling ID to the A-IoT device based on the determined requirement) in a similar manner as described above with reference to FIG. 1. Further, it can be understood that the connectivity topologies in FIG. 2A to FIG. 2D are merely examples, and the scope of the present disclosure should not be limited thereto.

[0056] In view of the above, example embodiments of the present disclosure clarify and exemplify various system configurations and topologies for implementing A-IoT access occasion management. Specifically, example embodiments implement a system that includes an A-IoT reader that may be configured and implemented according to various system configurations and connectivity topologies, as exemplified in FIG. 1 to FIG. 2D. The A-IoT reader may be configuredto automatically and dynamically determine one or more access occasions for one or more A-IoT devices, and then appropriately provide the determined access occasion(s) to the A-IoT device(s) via various approaches.

[0057] For instance, the A-IoT reader may provide, to the A-IoT device, a paging message that includes information associated with the access occasion, thereby providing simplicity for triggering and managing the random access procedure and the transmission of the random access preamble (Msgl). Further, the A-IoT reader may provide one or more Reader-to-Device (R2D) messages that include information associated with the access occasion to the A-IoT device after the triggering of the random access procedure, thereby enabling dynamic and real-time (or near- real-time) adjustments to the access occasion(s) throughout the random access procedure. Furthermore, the A-IoT reader may implement a hybrid access occasion management approach, i.e., determining at least two access occasions (e.g., a first access occasion and a second access occasion), providing the paging message that include the first access occasion to the A-IoT device to trigger the random access procedure, and providing the R2D message to the A-IoT device after triggering the random access procedure. Accordingly, the A-IoT reader may use the paging message for the initial access occasion announcement and the R2D message for dynamically updating the subsequent access occasion(s), thereby enabling an efficient and effective mechanism for managing A-IoT access occasion, which offers simplicity and flexibility.

[0058] Advantageously, the example embodiments clarify and exemplify system configurations that may dynamically scale access occasions based on one or more network conditions (e g., device density, network load, etc.) and efficiently schedule resources for random access preamble (Msgl) transmissions when dealing with multiple devices attempting access in high-density deployments

[0059] Further descriptions of example methods and operations of example embodiments are provided below with reference to FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, and the descriptions of an example device and an example environment for implementing one or more example embodiments are provided below with reference to FIG. 5 to FIG. 6, respectively.Example Methods and Operations

[0060] As described above with reference to FIG. 1 to FIG. 2D, the A-IoT reader may perform one or more methods and operations to appropriately manage the access occasion. Several example methods and operations are described below with reference to FIG. 3 to FIG. 4. One or more features, parameters, and operations associated with FIG. 3 to FIG. 4 may be similar to those described above with reference to FIG. 1 and may be implemented via one or more connectivity topologies in FIG. 2A to FIG. 2D, thus redundant descriptions associated therewith may be omitted below for conciseness.

[0061] For descriptive purposes, the methods and operations may be mainly described herein as being performed by one or more specific network entities, although it can be understood that, in actual implementations, another related network entity(s) may perform similar / related operations, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. For instance, an operation of an A-IoT reader providing a data / message to an A-IoT device may suggest or indicate an operation of the A-IoT device receiving the data / message from the A-IoT reader, and the like.

[0062] According to example embodiments, one or more operations of an A-IoT reader may be implemented in one or more apparatuses or hardware components. For instance, the A-IoT reader may be implemented in an apparatus / device that includes a processor and a memory storage (or any other suitable storage mediums), wherein the memory storage may include computer-executable instructions which, when being executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform one or more operations of the A-IoT reader.

[0063] FIG. 3 illustrates a first example method 300, according to one or more example embodiments. One or more operations in method 300 may be performed by at least one A-IoT reader (e.g., A-IoT reader 110, UE 211, at least one of base stations 221-241, intermediate network node 233, assisting network node 243, etc.).

[0064] As illustrated in FIG. 3, at operation S310, the A-IoT reader may be configured to determine at least one access occasion in which an A-IoT device (e.g., A-IoT device 120, A-IoT device 212, A-IoT device 222, A-IoT device 232, A-IoT device 242, etc.) can transmit a random access preamble (Msgl). As described above with reference to FIG. 1, the A-IoT reader may include at least one of: a network node or a first UE (e.g., a UE that implements a power source, etc.), while the A-IoT device may include at least one of: an RF tag, a sensor, or a second UE that is different from the first UE (e.g., a UE that does not implement a power source, etc.).

[0065] According to example embodiments, the A-IoT reader may be configured to determine the access occasion based on at least one of: a device density or a network load. Example operations on how the A-IoT reader obtains the device density and network load, and then utilizes the same to determine the access occasion, have been provided above with reference to FIG. 1. Thus, redundant descriptions associated therewith may be omitted for conciseness.

[0066] At operation S320, the A-IoT reader may be configured to provide, to the A-IoT device, at least one of: a paging message that includes information associated with the access occasion or an R2D message that includes information associated with the determined access occasion. According to example embodiments, the A-IoT reader may provide the paging message to the A-IoT device to trigger a random access procedure. For instance, the A-IoT reader maybroadcast or announce the paging message to the A-IoT device to provide the access occasion to the A-IoT device, thereby initiating the random access procedure. On the other hand, the A-IoT reader may provide the R2D message to the A-IoT device after triggering the random access procedure. For instance, the A-IoT reader may provide the R2D message to the A-IoT device during one or more R2D transmissions in the random access procedure.

[0067] According to example embodiments, the paging message may include at least one IE that defines at least one of: a number of access occasions available to the A-IoT device, a timefrequency RB for the transmission of the random access preamble (Msgl), or a device grouping information associated with the A-IoT device. On the other hand, the R2D message may include at least one IE that defines at least one of: a time-frequency RB for the transmission of the random access preamble (Msgl), a devise grouping information associated with the A-IoT device, or a reaccess slot (for failed attempts). In some example embodiments, the paging message and the R2D message may optionally include one or more ZEs that define priority information that allows prioritization based on the type or status of the A-IoT device 120 (e.g., energy consumption, operational mode, task type, etc.).

[0068] Referring still to FIG. 3, at operation S330, the A-IoT reader may be configured to receive, from the A-IoT device, the random access preamble (Msgl) during the access occasion. For instance, upon receiving the information associated with the access occasion, the A-IoT device may determine the associated scheduling resources based thereon and adjust the transmission configurations (e.g., transmission timings, etc.) accordingly, and then provide the random access preamble (Msgl) to the A-IoT device accordingly (e.g., transmit the random access preamble at the start of the access occasion, etc.). Subsequently, during each access occasion, the A-IoT readermay allocate a specific time-frequency resource (e.g., slotted ALOHA slot, PRACH, etc.) to monitor for incoming random access preamble (Msgl) from the A-IoT device.

[0069] FIG. 4 illustrates a second example method 400, according to one or more example embodiments. Similar to example method 300, one or more operations in method 400 may be performed by at least one A-IoT reader to interoperate with at least one A-IoT device.

[0070] Generally, example method 400 may leverage a hybrid access occasion management approach, in which the A-IoT reader may determine a plurality of access occasions (based on different network conditions) and sequentially provide the plurality of access occasions to the A-IoT device via both the paging message(s) and the R2D message(s).

[0071] Referring to FIG. 4, at operation S410, the A-IoT reader may be configured to determine a first access occasion based on one or more network conditions (e g., device density, network load, etc.) prior to the triggering of the random access procedure. Accordingly, at operation S420, the A-IoT reader may provide, to the A-IoT device, a paging message that includes information associated with the first access occasion to trigger the random access procedure.

[0072] Subsequently, at operation S430, the A-IoT device may determine a second access occasion based on one or more network conditions (e.g., device density, network load, etc.) after the triggering of the random access procedure. Accordingly, at operation S440, the A-IoT reader may provide, to the A-IoT device, an R2D message that includes information associated with the second access occasion. It can be understood that the A-IoT device may repeatedly perform operations S430 and S440 to continuously determine and provide one or more subsequent access occasion(s) via one or more subsequent R2D messages until a condition is satisfied (e.g., until the A-IoT reader receives the random access preamble (Msgl) from the A-IoT device, until after apredefined number of R2D messages have been provided to the A-IoT device, until the communication / session with the A-IoT device 120 is terminated, etc.).

[0073] In view of the above, example embodiments provide methods and operations that effectively and efficiently provide A-IoT access occasion management. Specifically, method and operations in FIG. 3 may be automatically implemented by an A-IoT reader to efficiently and effectively determine one or more access occasions and provide information associated thereof to one or more A-IoT devices under various scenarios and requirements. For instance, in the scenario where the announcement of initial access occasion(s) is needed, the A-IoT reader may implement the method and operations in FIG. 3 to determine the access occasion(s) prior to the triggering of the random access procedure and provide one or more paging messages to the A-IoT device(s) to trigger the random access procedure. On the other hand, in the scenario where the random access procedure is triggered and the real-time (or near-real-time) adjustments / updates on the access occasion(s) are needed, the A-IoT reader may implement the method and operations in FIG. 3 to dynamically determine the access occasion(s) based on the real-time (or near-real-time) network conditions, and then provide one or more R2D messages to the A-IoT device(s), thereby dynamically updating the access occasion(s). Further, method and operations in FIG. 4 may be automatically implemented by an A-IoT reader to leverage a hybrid access occasion management approach, thereby managing the access occasion(s) with high flexibility.

[0074] Advantageously, by implementing the example embodiments, the A-IoT reader may dynamically scale access occasions based on one or more network conditions (e.g., device density, network load, etc.) and efficiently schedule resources for random access preamble (Msgl) transmissions when dealing with multiple devices attempting access in high-density deployments.

[0075] It is contemplated that, the methods, operations, advantages, and significances described above with reference to FIG. 3 to FIG. 4 are merely examples and the scope of the present disclosure should not be limited thereto. Specifically, one or more operations in FIG. 3 to FIG. 4 may be performed differently, less or additional operations may be involved, the messages or commands involved therein may include less or additional parameters, additional advantages may be achieved, and the like, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Further, it can be understood that the example embodiments of FIG. 3 to FIG. 4 may achieve similar technical advantages and significance described above with reference to FIG. 1 to FIG. 2D, since the methods and operations in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 may be implemented in the system configuration, device, and topology in FIG. 1 to FIG. 2D.Examples of Device

[0076] One or more components of the example embodiments (e.g., A-IoT reader, A-IoT device, etc.), as well as the operations associated therewith, may be implemented in one or more devices or hardware components. For instance, one or more components / operations of the network entity may be implemented in one or more devices like a server(s), and the like.

[0077] In the following, descriptions of a device in which the example embodiments may be implemented are provided. It is contemplated that one or more features, operations, and methods described above may be performed by the device. For instance, the one or more operations or methods associated with an A-IoT reader may be performed by at least one processor of the device upon executing machine-readable instructions or computer-readable instructions stored in a memory or a storage component of the device.

[0078] FIG. 5 illustrates an embodiment of a device 500. As shown in FIG. 5, the device500 may include a processor 510, a memory 520, a storage component 530, an input component540, an output component 550, a communication interface 560, and a bus 570.

[0079] The processor 510, as used herein, means any type of computational circuit that may comprise hardware elements and software elements. The processor 510 may be embodied as a multi-core processor, a single core processor, or a combination of one or more multi-core processors and / or one or more single core processors, a distributed processing system, or the like. The processor 510 may be a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), an accelerated processing unit (APU), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or another type of processing component.

[0080] Memory 520 includes a non-transitory computer readable medium. Memory 520 includes a random-access memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM), and / or another type of dynamic or static storage device (e.g., a flash memory, a magnetic memory, and / or an optical memory) that stores information and / or instructions for use by processor 510. The memory 520 comprises machine-readable instructions which are executable by the processor 510. These machine-readable instructions when executed by the processor 510 cause the processor 510 to perform one or more method steps of an embodiment described above.

[0081] Storage component 530 stores information and / or software related to the operation and use of the device 500. For example, storage component 530 may include a hard disk (e.g., a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optic disk, and / or a solid-state disk), a compact disc (CD), a digital versatile disc (DVD), a floppy disk, a cartridge, a magnetic tape, and / or another type of non-transitory computer-readable medium, along with a corresponding drive.

[0082] Input component 540 is configured to receive information, such as user input. For example, the input component 540 may include, but not be limited to, a touch screen display, a keyboard, a keypad, a mouse, a button, a switch, and / or a microphone. Additionally, or alternatively, the input component 540 may include a sensor for sensing information (e.g., a global positioning system (GPS), an accelerometer, a gyroscope, and / or an actuator).

[0083] Output component 550 is configured to provide output information from the device 500. For example, the output component 550 may be, but not limited to, a display, a speaker, instructions to an external device, and / or one or more light-emitting diodes (LEDs).

[0084] Communication interface 560 is an interface that provides a communication connection to other devices, such as external devices and internal devices. The connection by the communication interface 560 can be a wired connection, a wireless connection, or a combination of wired and wireless connections, and can be a direct connection or an indirect connection via a communication network that exists between the device 500 and other devices. In other words, the standard of the communication interface 560 is not limited.

[0085] The bus 570 acts as an interconnect between the processor 510, the memory 520, the storage component 530, the input component 540, the output component 550, and the communication interface 560 of the device 500. The bus 570 may include a wired interconnection or a wireless interconnection.

[0086] The number and arrangement of components shown in FIG. 5 are provided as an example. In practice, device 500 may include additional components, fewer components, different components, or differently arranged components than those shown in FIG. 5. Additionally, or alternatively, a set of components (e.g., one or more components) of device 500 may perform one or more functions described as being performed by another set of components of device 500.Further, one or more method steps described in any of the embodiments may be performed utilizing a plurality of devices 500 in communication with one another.Example Implementation Environment

[0087] Example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in any suitable type of environment. In the following, an example environment (in which the example embodiments may be implemented) is described.

[0088] FIG. 6 illustrates a diagram of an example environment 600 in which systems and / or methods, described herein, may be implemented. The implementation environment 600 includes a UE (User equipment) 610, a service environment 620, and a network 630. The service environment 620 includes one or more sub-environments 621. To illustrate this, FIG. 6 shows, for convenience, examples of a 1st sub-environment 621-1, a 2nd sub -environment 621-2, and an N- th sub-environment 621-N (where N is any natural number).

[0089] The UE 610 is connected to the network 630, and the network 630 is connected to the service environment 620. The connections may be wired, wireless, or a combination of both wired and wireless. The UE 610 and the service environment 620 are connected via the network 630.

[0090] The UE 610 is a device that communicates with the service environment 620. The UE 610 receives information from the service environment 620 and / or sends information to the service environment 620. Also, the UE 610 may generate and / or store information to be transmitted, as necessary. Also, the UE 610 may store and / or process information that is received, as necessary.

[0091] The example FIG. 6 refers to the “UE”. However, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that general terms such as “user device,” “terminal,” “terminal device,”“communication device,” and “communication terminal” can be used interchangeably with the term “UE ”

[0092] For example, the UE 610 may include a computing device (e.g., a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a tablet computer, a handheld computer, a smart speaker, a server, etc.), a mobile phone (e.g., a smart phone, a radiotelephone, etc.), a wearable device (e.g., a pair of smart glasses or a smart watch), or a similar device.

[0093] The service environment 620 is an environment that communicates with the UE 610 to provide one or more services. The service environment 620 receives information from the UE 610 and / or sends information to the UE 610. Also, the service environment 620 may generate and / or store information to be transmitted, as necessary. Also, the service environment 620 may store and / or process information that is received, as necessary. For example, the service environment 620 may provide computing resources as one of the services. It should be noted that the service is not limited to being provided to the UE; it may also be provided to devices other than the UE. For example, based on communication from the UE, the service may perform processes such as anomaly detection or traffic analysis and notify the results to a predetermined destination.

[0094] The example FIG. 6 refers to the “service environment”. The term "service environment" is used to refer to the broader context within which services operate. For example, cloud environments, platforms, computing systems, network systems, and cloud systems generally represent the environments in which services are conducted, and these are included within the "service environment." However, the "service environment" is not limited to these examples. Additionally, the specific types of environments within the "service environment" are not restricted.For instance, cloud environments and cloud systems can be categorized as private cloud, public cloud, hybrid cloud, or multi-cloud, all of which are included within the "service environment."

[0095] The one or more services provided by the service environment 620 is not specifically limited and can be adjusted according to the embodiments. For example, the services may include a service that provides information to the UE 610, a service that stores information from the UE 610, or a service that performs processing based on information from the UE 610 and returns the results of the processing.

[0096] In an embodiment, the Service Environments 620 may also provide computing resources as the service. The computing resources can be hardware resources and / or software resources. For example, applications, processors, memory, and storage can be included in the provided computing resources. Each computing resource can communicate with other computing resources via wired connections, wireless connections, or a combination of wired and wireless connections.

[0097] The provided computing resources can be actual resources (also referred to as physical resources) and / or virtual resources. Furthermore, means of virtualization for virtual resources can be selected as appropriate. That is, in this disclosure, the use of adjectives such as "Virtual" or "Virtualized" to describe names does not imply that they are virtualized by a specific means of virtualization. For example, “virtual machine” refers to software that operates like an actual computer, realized through means of virtualization, and it is not intended to exclude those realized by specific means of virtualization such as Hypervisors or Containers. Conversely, when means of virtualization such as Hypervisors or containers are mentioned in this disclosure, it is merely cited as a general method of implementation. It should also be interpreted that embodimentsimplemented with other virtualization means are also disclosed. Also, the services may also be provided using resources virtualized by different means.

[0098] The service environment 620 includes one or more devices, such as servers and network devices, which provide services or perform processes. The placement of these devices within the service environment 620 can be determined as appropriate. Additionally, if the service environment 620 includes one or more sub-environments 621, the placement of devices can be determined based on predetermined policies for each sub-environment 621. For example, devices related to the first service may be placed in the 1st sub-environment 621-1, and devices related to the second service may be placed in the 2nd sub -environment 621-2. In another example, devices expected to have a higher load than a predetermined threshold may be placed in the 1st subenvironment 621-1, while devices expected to have a lower load than the predetermined threshold may be placed in the 2nd sub-environment 621-2. In this way, specific devices can be placed in specific sub -environments 621. Conversely, each sub-environment 621 can be specialized for a particular purpose.

[0099] In an embodiment, all processes executed in a single service may run within a single service environment, or in multiple service environments. Multiple processes executed in a single service could be provided by different service environments.

[0100] The network 630 is a network that exchanges information between the UE 610 and the service environment 620. The network 630 includes one or more wired and / or wireless networks.

[0101] For example, the network 630 may include a cellular network (e.g., a fifth generation (5G) network, a long-term evolution (LTE) network, a third generation (3G) network, a code division multiple access (CDMA) network, etc.), a public land mobile network (PLMN), alocal area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), a telephone network (e.g., the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN)), a private network, an ad hoc network, an intranet, the Internet, a fiber optic-based network, or the like, a non-terrestrial network (NTN), and / or a combination of these or other types of networks.

[0102] The network 630 can be a part of a network. For example, in a 5G network that includes a RAN, a transport network, and a core network, the network 630 can be at least one of the RAN, the transport network, or the core network. For example, the service environment 620 could be in the core network, in which case the network 630 could correspond to a network that is a combination of a RAN and a transport network and is part of the 5G network.

[0103] The number and arrangement of devices and networks shown in FIG. 6 are provided as an example. It should be understood that any changes that may be implemented by those skilled in the art, such as the addition or rearrangement of well-known devices or networks at the time of implementation, are included in this disclosure.Various Aspects of Embodiments

[0104] Example embodiments introduces new mechanisms and features that supplement and enhance the disclosures of one or more standard specifications. As a non-limiting example, example embodiments supplement and enhance at least one technical specification associated with 3GPP (e.g., 3GPP TSG-RAN WG2, etc.), as detailed blow .

[0105] In view of the above, example embodiments introduce specified and standardized approaches for implementing the A-IoT access occasion management. Specifically, example embodiments clarify the problems of access occasion management in A-IoT and provide various proposals for addressing the problems. Accordingly, example embodiments may be implemented in the 3GPP -based networks in a clear and standardized manner to effective and efficiently manage the access occasion in A-IoT.

[0106] It is contemplated that features, advantages, and significances of example embodiments described hereinabove are merely examples of the present disclosure, and are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the scope of the present disclosure.

[0107] Specifically, the foregoing disclosure provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the implementations to the precise form disclosed.Modifications and variations are possible in light of the above disclosure or may be acquired from practice of the implementations.

[0108] Some embodiments may relate to a device, a system, a method, and / or a computer- readable medium at any possible technical detail level of integration. Further, one or more of the above components described above may be implemented as instructions stored on a computer- readable medium and executable by at least one processor (and / or may include at least one processor). The computer-readable medium may include a computer-readable non-transitory storage medium (or media) having computer-readable program instructions thereon for causing a processor to carry out operations.

[0109] The computer-readable storage medium can be a tangible device that can retain and store instructions for use by an instruction execution device. The computer-readable storage medium may be, for example, but is not limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device, an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, a semiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of the computer-readable storage medium includes the following: a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD), a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such as punch-cards or raised structures in a groove having instructions recorded thereon, and any suitable combination of the foregoing. A computer-readable storage medium, as used herein, is not to be construed as being transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freely propagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagating through a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g., light pulses passing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical signals transmitted through a wire.

[0110] Computer-readable program instructions described herein can be downloaded to respective computing / processing devices from a computer-readable storage medium or to an external computer or external storage device via a network, for example, the Internet, a local area network, a wide area network and / or a wireless network. The network may comprise copper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wireless transmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers, and / or edge servers. A network adapter card or network interface in each computing / processing device receives computer-readable program instructions from the network and forwards the computer-readable program instructions for storage in a computer-readable storage medium within the respective computing / processing device.

[0111] Computer-readable program code / instructions for carrying out operations may be assembler instructions, instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions, machine-dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions, state-setting data, configuration data for integrated circuitry, or either source code or object code written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including an object-oriented programming language such as Smalltalk, C++, or the like, and procedural programming languages, such as the "C" programming language or similar programming languages.

[0112] The computer-readable program instructions may execute entirely on the user's computer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet ServiceProvider). In some embodiments, electronic circuitry including, for example, programmable logiccircuitry, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), or programmable logic arrays (PLA) may execute the computer-readable program instructions by utilizing state information of the computer- readable program instructions to personalize the electronic circuitry, in order to perform aspects or operations.

[0113] These computer-readable program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, special-purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions / acts specified in the flowchart and / or block diagram block or blocks. These computer- readable program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable storage medium that can direct a computer, a programmable data processing apparatus, and / or other devices to function in a particular manner, such that the computer-readable storage medium having instructions stored therein comprises an article of manufacture including instructions which implement aspects of the function / act specified in the flowchart and / or block diagram block or blocks.

[0114] The computer-readable program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other devices to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer, other programmable apparatus or other devices to produce a computer-implemented process, such that the instructions which execute on the computer, other programmable apparatus, or other device implement the functions / acts specified in the flowchart and / or block diagram block or blocks.

[0115] The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate the architecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementations of systems, methods, and computer- readable media according to various embodiments. In this regard, each block in the flowchart orblock diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portion of instructions, which comprises one or more executable instructions for implementing the specified logical function(s). The method, computer system, and computer-readable medium may include additional blocks, fewer blocks, different blocks, or differently arranged blocks than those depicted in the Figures. In some alternative implementations, the functions noted in the blocks may occur out of the order noted in the Figures. For example, two blocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed concurrently or substantially concurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of the block diagrams and / or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and / or flowchart illustration, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specified functions or acts or carry out combinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions.

[0116] It will be apparent that systems and / or methods, described herein, may be implemented in different forms of hardware, firmware, or a combination of hardware and software. The actual specialized control hardware or software code used to implement these systems and / or methods is not limited to the implementations. Thus, the operation and behavior of the systems and / or methods were described herein without reference to specific software code — it is understood that software and hardware may be designed to implement the systems and / or methods based on the description herein.

[0117] In view of the above, various further respective aspects and features of embodiments of the present disclosure may be defined by the following items:Item [1]: A system comprising: an Ambient Internet of Things (A-IoT) reader configured to: determine an access occasion in which an A-IoT device can transmit arandom access preamble (Msgl); provide, to the A-IoT device, at least one of: a paging message that includes information associated with the access occasion or a Reader-to- Device (R2D) message that includes information associated with the determined access occasion; and receive, from the A-IoT device, the random access preamble (Msgl) during the access occasion.Item [2]: The system according to item [1], wherein the A-IoT reader is configured to: provide the paging message to the A-IoT device to trigger a random access procedure.Item [3]: The system according to item [1], wherein the A-IoT reader is configured to: provide the R2D message to the A-IoT device after triggering the random access procedure.Item [4]: The system according to item [1], wherein the access occasion comprises a first access occasion and a second access occasion, and wherein the A-IoT reader is configured to: provide, to the A-IoT device, the paging message that includes information associated with the first access occasion to trigger the random access procedure; and provide, to the A-IoT device and after the triggering of the random access procedure, the R2D message that includes information associated with the second access occasion.Item [5]: The system according to item [4], wherein the A-IoT reader is configured to: determine the first access occasion based on one or more network conditions prior to the triggering of the random access procedure; and determine the second access occasion based on one or more network conditions after the triggering of the random access procedure.Item [6]: The system according to one or more of items

[0001] -[5], wherein the A-IoT reader is configured to determine the access occasion based on at least one of: a device density or a network load.Item [7]: The system according to one or more of items

[0001] -[6], wherein the paging message comprises at least one Information Element (IE) that defines at least one of: a number of access occasions available to the A-IoT device, a time-frequency resource block (RB) for the transmission of the random access preamble (Msgl), or a device grouping information associated with the A-IoT device.Item [8]: The system according to one or more of items [l]-[6], wherein the R2D message comprises at least one Information Element(IE) that defines at least one of: a timefrequency resource block (RB) for the transmission of the random access preamble (Msgl), a device grouping information associated with the A-IoT device, or a re-access slot.Item [9]: The system according to one or more of items [l]-[8], wherein the A-IoT reader comprises at least one of: a network node or a first user equipment (UE); and wherein the A-IoT device comprises at least one of: a Radio Frequency (RF) tag, a sensor, or a second UE different from the first UE.Item

[0010] : A method comprising: determining, by Ambient Internet of Things (A- loT) reader, an access occasion in which an A-IoT device can transmit a random access preamble (Msgl); providing, by the A-IoT reader and to the A-IoT device, at least one of: a paging message that includes information associated with the access occasion or a Reader-to-Device (R2D) message that includes information associated with the determined access occasion; and receive, by the A-IoT reader and from the A-IoT device, the random access preamble (Msgl) during the access occasion.Item

[0011] : The method according to item

[0010] , further comprising: providing the paging message to the A-IoT device to trigger a random access procedure.Item

[0012] : The method according to item

[0010] , further comprising: providing the R2D message to the A-IoT device after triggering the random access procedure.Item

[0013] : The method according to item

[0010] , wherein the access occasion comprises a first access occasion and a second access occasion, and wherein the method comprises: providing, to the A-IoT device, the paging message that includes information associated with the first access occasion to trigger the random access procedure; and providing, to the A-IoT device and after the triggering of the random access procedure, the R2D message that includes information associated with the second access occasion.Item

[0014] : The method according to item

[0013] , further comprising: determining the first access occasion based on one or more network conditions prior to the triggering of the random access procedure; and determining the second access occasion based on one or more network conditions after the triggering of the random access procedure.Item

[0015] : The method according to one or more of items

[0010] -

[0014] , wherein the determining the access occasion comprises: determining the access occasion based on at least one of: a device density or a network load.Item

[0016] : The method according to one or more of items

[0010] -[l 5], wherein the paging message comprises at least one Information Element (IE) that defines at least one of: a number of access occasions available to the A-IoT device, a time-frequency resource block (RB) for the transmission of the random access preamble (Msgl), or a device grouping information associated with the A-IoT device.Item

[0017] : The method according to one or more of items

[0010] -

[0015] , wherein the R2D message comprises at least one Information Element(IE) that defines at least one of: a time-frequency resource block (RB) for the transmission of the random access preamble (Msgl), a device grouping information associated with the A-IoT device, or a re-access slot.Item

[0018] : The method according to one or more of items

[0010] -

[0017] , wherein the A- loT reader comprises at least one of: a network node or a first user equipment (UE); and wherein the A-IoT device comprises at least one of: a Radio Frequency (RF) tag, a sensor, or a second UE different from the first UE.Item

[0019] : A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon instructions executable by an Ambient Internet of Things (A-IoT) reader to cause the A-IoT reader to perform a method comprising: determining an access occasion in which an A-IoT device can transmit a random access preamble (Msgl); providing, to the A-IoT device, at least one of: a paging message that includes information associated with the access occasion or a Read er-to-D evice (R2D) message that includes information associated with the determined access occasion; and receive, from the A-IoT device, the random access preamble (Msgl) during the access occasion.Item

[0020] : The non-transitory computer-readable recording medium according to item

[0019] , further comprising: providing the paging message to the A-IoT device to trigger a random access procedure.

[0118] It can be understood that numerous modifications and variations of the present disclosure are possible in light of the above teachings. It will be apparent that within the scope ofthe appended clauses, the present disclosures may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A system comprising: an Ambient Internet of Things (A-IoT) reader configured to: determine an access occasion in which an A-IoT device can transmit a random access preamble (Msgl); provide, to the A-IoT device, at least one of: a paging message that includes information associated with the access occasion or a Reader-to-Device (R2D) message that includes information associated with the determined access occasion; and receive, from the A-IoT device, the random access preamble (Msgl) during the access occasion.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the A-IoT reader is configured to: provide the paging message to the A-IoT device to trigger a random access procedure.

3. The system according to claim 1, wherein the A-IoT reader is configured to: provide the R2D message to the A-IoT device after triggering the random access procedure.

4. The system according to claim 1, wherein the access occasion comprises a first access occasion and a second access occasion, and wherein the A-IoT reader is configured to: provide, to the A-IoT device, the paging message that includes information associated with the first access occasion to trigger the random access procedure; andprovide, to the A-IoT device and after the triggering of the random access procedure, the R2D message that includes information associated with the second access occasion.

5. The system according to claim 4, wherein the A-IoT reader is configured to: determine the first access occasion based on one or more network conditions prior to the triggering of the random access procedure; and determine the second access occasion based on one or more network conditions after the triggering of the random access procedure.

6. The system according to claim 1, wherein the A-IoT reader is configured to determine the access occasion based on at least one of: a device density or a network load.

7. The system according to claim 1, wherein the paging message comprises at least one Information Element (IE) that defines at least one of: a number of access occasions available to the A-IoT device, a time-frequency resource block (RB) for the transmission of the random access preamble (Msgl), or a device grouping information associated with the A-IoT device.

8. The system according to claim 1, wherein the R2D message comprises at least one Information Element(IE) that defines at least one of: a time-frequency resource block (RB) for the transmission of the random access preamble (Msgl), a device grouping information associated with the A-IoT device, or a re-access slot.

9. The system according to claim 1,wherein the A-IoT reader comprises at least one of: a network node or a first user equipment (UE); and wherein the A-IoT device comprises at least one of: a Radio Frequency (RF) tag, a sensor, or a second UE different from the first UE.

10. A method comprising: determining, by Ambient Internet of Things (A-IoT) reader, an access occasion in which an A-IoT device can transmit a random access preamble (Msgl); providing, by the A-IoT reader and to the A-IoT device, at least one of: a paging message that includes information associated with the access occasion or a Reader-to-Device (R2D) message that includes information associated with the determined access occasion; and receive, by the A-IoT reader and from the A-IoT device, the random access preamble (Msgl) during the access occasion.

11. The method according to claim 10, further comprising: providing the paging message to the A-IoT device to trigger a random access procedure.

12. The method according to claim 10, further comprising: providing the R2D message to the A-IoT device after triggering the random access procedure.

13. The method according to claim 10, wherein the access occasion comprises a first access occasion and a second access occasion, and wherein the method comprises:providing, to the A-IoT device, the paging message that includes information associated with the first access occasion to trigger the random access procedure; and providing, to the A-IoT device and after the triggering of the random access procedure, the R2D message that includes information associated with the second access occasion.

14. The method according to claim 13, further comprising: determining the first access occasion based on one or more network conditions prior to the triggering of the random access procedure; and determining the second access occasion based on one or more network conditions after the triggering of the random access procedure.

15. The method according to claim 10, wherein the determining the access occasion comprises: determining the access occasion based on at least one of: a device density or a network load.

16. The method according to claim 10, wherein the paging message comprises at least one Information Element (IE) that defines at least one of: a number of access occasions available to the A-IoT device, a time-frequency resource block (RB) for the transmission of the random access preamble (Msgl), or a device grouping information associated with the A-IoT device.

17. The method according to claim 10, wherein the R2D message comprises at least one Information Element(IE) that defines at least one of: a time-frequency resource block (RB) for thetransmission of the random access preamble (Msgl), a device grouping information associated with the A-IoT device, or a re-access slot.

18. The method according to claim 10, wherein the A-IoT reader comprises at least one of: a network node or a first user equipment (UE); and wherein the A-IoT device comprises at least one of: a Radio Frequency (RF) tag, a sensor, or a second UE different from the first UE.

19. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon instructions executable by an Ambient Internet of Things (A-IoT) reader to cause the A-IoT reader to perform a method comprising: determining an access occasion in which an A-IoT device can transmit a random access preamble (Msgl); providing, to the A-IoT device, at least one of: a paging message that includes information associated with the access occasion or a Reader-to-Device (R2D) message that includes information associated with the determined access occasion; and receive, from the A-IoT device, the random access preamble (Msgl) during the access occasion.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable recording medium according to claim 19, further comprising: providing the paging message to the A-IoT device to trigger a random access procedure.

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