Method and apparatus for positioning ambient internet of things device, and device

Abstract

Provided in the present disclosure are a method and apparatus for positioning an ambient Internet of things device, and a device. The method comprises: sending a first message to an ambient Internet of things device, wherein the first message carries an identifier of the ambient Internet of things device; receiving a second message sent by the ambient Internet of things device, and obtaining positioning-related information; and on the basis of the positioning-related information, generating a third message, wherein the third message carries location information of the ambient Internet of things device, or the third message carries the positioning-related information. In this way, a reading device obtains positioning-related information on the basis of a received second message sent by an ambient Internet of things device, and generates a third message on the basis of the positioning-related information, which third message includes the location of the ambient Internet of things device determined by the reading device or information related to the location.

Description

Positioning method, apparatus and device of ambient internet of things device

[0001] The present disclosure claims priority to the Chinese patent application No. 202411551554.0 entitled "Positioning method, apparatus and device of ambient internet of things device" filed on November 01, 2024 with the China Patent Office, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The present disclosure relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a positioning method, apparatus and device of ambient internet of things device. BACKGROUND

[0003] In addition to the evolution in the direction of large bandwidth and low latency, the 5th Generation Mobile Communication Technology (5G) technology also actively explores in the field of ultra-low cost and ultra-low power Internet of Things in order to support the Internet of Everything. Ambient Internet of Things (Ambient IoT) emerges as the times require. The main feature of this system is that the ambient internet of things device has no energy reserve or ultra-low energy reserve, cannot actively initiate services, needs network signals as incentives (energy supply), and performs simple processing and uplink transmission, such as signal reflection, while carrying a little information.

[0004] In the application scenario of ambient internet of things device, the server / network may need to obtain the location information of the ambient internet of things device. In the existing positioning methods in the related art, such as various uplink (UL) and downlink (DL) positioning methods, the participation of the terminal device is required. Among them, the UL positioning technology requires the terminal to send uplink positioning signals as required, and the base station / transmission reference point (TRP) measures the uplink signals sent by the terminal and reports the results to the location management function (LMF), and the LMF calculates the user equipment (UE) position. The DL positioning technology requires the terminal to perform measurement and report the measurement results or the calculated terminal position to the LMF. However, due to the cost and complexity of the ambient internet of things device, the positioning method relying on the global navigation satellite system (GNSS) or the existing various UL and DL positioning methods are not applicable. SUMMARY

[0005] The present disclosure aims to provide a positioning method, device and equipment for environmental Internet of Things devices, and solves the positioning problem of environmental Internet of Things devices.

[0006] Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a positioning method for environmental Internet of Things devices, applied to a reading device, comprising:

[0007] The reading device sends a first message to the environmental Internet of Things device, and the first message carries an identifier of the environmental Internet of Things device.

[0008] The second message sent by the environmental Internet of Things device is received, and positioning-related information is obtained.

[0009] A third message is generated according to the positioning-related information, and the third message carries position information of the environmental Internet of Things device, or the third message carries the positioning-related information.

[0010] In some embodiments, the positioning-related information comprises at least one of:

[0011] A transmission reception point (TRP) that receives the second message;

[0012] A reading device that receives the second message;

[0013] An absolute signal strength of the second message;

[0014] A signal angle of arrival (AoA) of the second message;

[0015] A round trip time (RTT) between sending the first message and receiving the second message.

[0016] In some embodiments, before sending the first message to the environmental Internet of Things device, the method further comprises:

[0017] Receiving a fourth message sent by a core network device, wherein the fourth message is used to indicate positioning of the environmental Internet of Things device;

[0018] The fourth message comprises at least one of:

[0019] An identifier of the environmental Internet of Things device;

[0020] A requested positioning information type;

[0021] Positioning area information;

[0022] Expected positioning accuracy information.

[0023] In some embodiments, the sending of the first message to the environmental Internet of Things device comprises:

[0024] If the fourth message comprises positioning area information, the first message is sent to the environmental IoT device in an area indicated by the positioning area information.

[0025] In some embodiments, the requested positioning information type comprises at least one of:

[0026] a location of the environmental IoT device;

[0027] an accuracy of the location of the environmental IoT device;

[0028] TRP information corresponding to the environmental IoT device;

[0029] reader device information corresponding to the environmental IoT device;

[0030] a signal strength of the first message sent by the reader device to the environmental IoT device;

[0031] a signal strength measured by the reader device based on the second message returned by the environmental IoT device;

[0032] a signal angle of arrival measured by the reader device based on the second message returned by the environmental IoT device;

[0033] an RTT between sending the first message by the reader device to the environmental IoT device and receiving the second message returned by the environmental IoT device.

[0034] In some embodiments, the positioning area information comprises at least one of:

[0035] area information described by a global navigation satellite system (GNSS);

[0036] a pre-configured area identifier;

[0037] a TRP identifier;

[0038] an identifier of the reader device;

[0039] a cell identifier.

[0040] In some embodiments, before receiving the fourth message sent by the core network device, the method further comprises:

[0041] sending capability information to the core network device, the capability information being used to indicate a positioning capability of the reader device for the environmental IoT device;

[0042] wherein the capability information comprises at least one of:

[0043] a supported positioning mode;

[0044] a positioning accuracy of autonomous positioning;

[0045] Measurement quantity supported by the assistance positioning support;

[0046] Information whether periodic positioning measurement is supported;

[0047] Positioning period supported in case of supporting periodic positioning measurement.

[0048] In some embodiments, the method further comprises:

[0049] sending the third message to the core network device.

[0050] In some embodiments, the reading device comprises at least one of:

[0051] a base station;

[0052] an intermediate node between the environmental IoT device and the base station.

[0053] Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a positioning method of an environmental IoT device, applied to a core network device, comprising:

[0054] sending a fourth message to a reading device, the fourth message being used to instruct to position the environmental IoT device;

[0055] receiving a third message sent by the reading device;

[0056] determining location information of the environmental IoT device according to the third message, wherein the third message carries the location information of the environmental IoT device, or the third message carries the positioning related information.

[0057] In some embodiments, the fourth message comprises at least one of:

[0058] an identifier of the environmental IoT device;

[0059] a requested positioning information type;

[0060] positioning area information;

[0061] expected positioning accuracy information.

[0062] In some embodiments, the requested positioning information type comprises at least one of:

[0063] a location of the environmental IoT device;

[0064] an accuracy of the location of the environmental IoT device;

[0065] TRP information corresponding to the environmental IoT device;

[0066] reading device information corresponding to the environmental IoT device;

[0067] The reading device sends the intensity of the first message to the environmental IoT device;

[0068] The reading device measures the signal strength based on the second message returned by the environmental IoT device;

[0069] The reading device measures the angle of arrival of the signal based on the second message returned by the environmental IoT device;

[0070] The RTT between the reading device sending the first message to the environmental IoT device and the reading device receiving the second message returned by the environmental IoT device.

[0071] In some embodiments, the positioning area information includes at least one of:

[0072] Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) described area information;

[0073] Preconfigured area identifier;

[0074] TRP identifier;

[0075] Identifier of the reading device;

[0076] Cell identifier.

[0077] In some embodiments, the method further includes:

[0078] Receiving capability information sent by the reading device, the capability information indicating the positioning capability of the reading device to the environmental IoT device;

[0079] The capability information includes at least one of:

[0080] Supported positioning mode;

[0081] Positioning accuracy of autonomous positioning;

[0082] Measurement quantity supported by assisted positioning;

[0083] Information on whether periodic positioning measurement is supported;

[0084] In the case of supporting periodic positioning measurement, the supported positioning period.

[0085] Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a positioning method of an environmental IoT device, applied to an environmental IoT device, comprising:

[0086] Receiving a first message sent by a reading device, the first message carrying an identifier of the environmental IoT device;

[0087] Matching the identifier of the environmental IoT device;

[0088] In a case where the identification of the environmental Internet of Things device is matched successfully, a second message is sent to the reading device, and the second message is used to determine positioning-related information.

[0089] Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a reading device, comprising: a memory, a transceiver, a processor:

[0090] The memory is configured to store a computer program; the transceiver is configured to receive and send data under the control of the processor; and the processor is configured to read the computer program in the memory and perform the following operations:

[0091] The reading device sends a first message to the environmental Internet of Things device, and the first message carries an identification of the environmental Internet of Things device.

[0092] The second message sent by the environmental Internet of Things device is received, and positioning-related information is obtained.

[0093] A third message is generated according to the positioning-related information, and the third message carries position information of the environmental Internet of Things device, or the third message carries the positioning-related information.

[0094] In some embodiments, the positioning-related information comprises at least one of the following:

[0095] A transmission reception point (TRP) that receives the second message;

[0096] A reading device that receives the second message;

[0097] An absolute signal strength of the second message;

[0098] A signal angle of arrival of the second message;

[0099] A round trip time (RTT) between sending the first message and receiving the second message.

[0100] In some embodiments, the processor is configured to read the computer program in the memory and perform the following operations:

[0101] A fourth message is received, and the fourth message is sent by a core network device and is used to instruct to position the environmental Internet of Things device.

[0102] The fourth message comprises at least one of the following:

[0103] An identification of the environmental Internet of Things device;

[0104] A requested positioning information type;

[0105] Positioning area information;

[0106] Expected positioning accuracy information.

[0107] In some embodiments, the processor is configured to read a computer program in the memory and perform the following operations:

[0108] If the fourth message includes positioning area information, sending the first message to the environmental IoT device in an area indicated by the positioning area information.

[0109] In some embodiments, the requested positioning information type includes at least one of:

[0110] The location of the environmental IoT device;

[0111] The accuracy of the location of the environmental IoT device;

[0112] The TRP information corresponding to the environmental IoT device;

[0113] The reading device information corresponding to the environmental IoT device;

[0114] The signal strength of the reading device sending the first message to the environmental IoT device;

[0115] The signal strength measured by the reading device based on the second message returned by the environmental IoT device;

[0116] The angle of arrival of the signal measured by the reading device based on the second message returned by the environmental IoT device;

[0117] The RTT between the reading device sending the first message to the environmental IoT device and receiving the second message returned by the environmental IoT device.

[0118] In some embodiments, the positioning area information includes at least one of:

[0119] The area information described by a global navigation satellite system (GNSS);

[0120] A preconfigured area identifier;

[0121] A TRP identifier;

[0122] An identifier of the reading device;

[0123] A cell identifier.

[0124] In some embodiments, the processor is configured to read a computer program in the memory and perform the following operations:

[0125] Sending capability information to the core network device, the capability information being used to indicate the positioning capability of the reading device to the environmental IoT device;

[0126] The capability information includes at least one of:

[0127] Supported location modes;

[0128] The positioning accuracy of autonomous positioning;

[0129] Measurements supported by assisted positioning;

[0130] Information on whether periodic positioning measurements are supported;

[0131] Supported positioning cycles when periodic positioning measurements are supported.

[0132] In some embodiments, the processor is configured to read a computer program from the memory and perform the following operations:

[0133] The third message is sent to the core network equipment.

[0134] In some embodiments, the reading device includes at least one of the following:

[0135] Base station;

[0136] An intermediate node between environmental IoT devices and base stations.

[0137] Embodiments of this disclosure provide a network-side device, including: a memory, a transceiver, and a processor.

[0138] A memory for storing computer programs; a transceiver for receiving and sending data under the control of the processor; and a processor for reading the computer programs from the memory and performing the following operations:

[0139] A fourth message is sent to the reading device, the fourth message being used to instruct the location of the environmental IoT device;

[0140] Receive the third message sent by the reading device;

[0141] The location information of the environmental IoT device is determined according to the third message, wherein the third message carries the location information of the environmental IoT device, or the third message carries the location-related information.

[0142] In some embodiments, the fourth message includes at least one of the following:

[0143] Identification of environmental IoT devices;

[0144] The type of location information requested;

[0145] Location area information;

[0146] Desired positioning accuracy information.

[0147] In some embodiments, the requested location information type includes at least one of the following:

[0148] Location of environmental IoT devices;

[0149] The accuracy of the location of environmental IoT devices;

[0150] TRP information corresponding to environmental IoT devices;

[0151] Read device information corresponding to environmental IoT devices;

[0152] The strength of the first message sent by the reading device to the environmental IoT device;

[0153] The reading device measures the signal strength based on a second message returned by an environmental IoT device.

[0154] The reading device measures the angle of arrival of the signal based on a second message returned by an environmental IoT device.

[0155] The RTT between the reading device sending a first message to the environmental IoT device and receiving a second message returned by the environmental IoT device.

[0156] In some embodiments, the location area information includes at least one of the following:

[0157] Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) describes the area information;

[0158] Pre-configured area identifiers;

[0159] TRP identifier;

[0160] Read the device identifier;

[0161] Community signage.

[0162] In some embodiments, the processor is configured to read a computer program from the memory and perform the following operations:

[0163] The system receives capability information sent by the reading device, the capability information being used to indicate the reading device's ability to locate environmental IoT devices.

[0164] The capability information includes at least one of the following:

[0165] Supported location modes;

[0166] The positioning accuracy of autonomous positioning;

[0167] Measurements supported by assisted positioning;

[0168] Information on whether periodic positioning measurements are supported;

[0169] Supported positioning cycles when periodic positioning measurements are supported.

[0170] Embodiments of this disclosure provide a network-side device, including: a memory, a transceiver, and a processor.

[0171] A memory for storing computer programs; a transceiver for receiving and sending data under the control of the processor; and a processor for reading the computer programs from the memory and performing the following operations:

[0172] Receive a first message sent by the reading device, the first message carrying the identifier of the environmental IoT device;

[0173] The identifiers of the environmental IoT devices are matched;

[0174] If the identifier of the IoT device in the environment is successfully matched, a second message is sent to the reading device. The second message is used to determine location-related information.

[0175] Embodiments of this disclosure provide a positioning device for an environmental Internet of Things (IoT) device, applied to a reading device, comprising:

[0176] The first sending unit is used to read the first message sent by the device to the environmental IoT device, wherein the first message carries the identifier of the environmental IoT device.

[0177] The first receiving unit is used to receive the second message sent by the environmental IoT device and obtain location-related information;

[0178] An information generation unit is configured to generate a third message based on the location-related information, wherein the third message carries the location information of the environmental IoT device, or the third message carries the location-related information.

[0179] Embodiments of this disclosure provide a positioning device for an environmental Internet of Things (IoT) device, applied to a core network device, comprising:

[0180] The second sending unit is used to send a fourth message to the reading device, the fourth message being used to instruct the location of the environmental IoT device;

[0181] The second receiving unit is used to receive the third message sent by the reading device;

[0182] The first determining unit is configured to determine the location information of an environmental IoT device based on the third message, wherein the third message carries the location information of the environmental IoT device, or the third message carries the location-related information.

[0183] Embodiments of this disclosure provide a positioning device for an environmental IoT device, applied to an environmental IoT device, comprising:

[0184] The third receiving unit is used to receive a first message sent by the reading device, wherein the first message carries the identifier of the environmental IoT device;

[0185] The first processing unit is used to match the identifiers of the environmental IoT devices;

[0186] The third sending unit is used to send a second message to the reading device when the identifier of the IoT device in the environment is successfully matched. The second message is used to determine location-related information.

[0187] Embodiments of this disclosure provide a processor-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, which, when executed by a processor, implements the steps of the above-described location method for an environmental Internet of Things (IoT) device.

[0188] The beneficial effects of the above-mentioned technical solution disclosed herein are:

[0189] In embodiments of this disclosure, the reading device sends a first message to the environmental IoT device to be located, carrying the identifier of the environmental IoT device; obtains location-related information based on a second message received from the environmental IoT device; and generates a third message based on the location-related information, the third message containing the location of the environmental IoT device determined by the reading device and / or location-related information. This positioning method does not require the environmental IoT device to perform measurements; it only needs to receive and respond to information. The reading device can obtain location-related information based on the messages fed back by the environmental IoT device, thereby reducing the complexity of the environmental IoT device and the positioning cost. Attached Figure Description

[0190] Figure 1 shows one of the topology diagrams of the Internet of Things in the environment;

[0191] Figure 2 shows the second schematic diagram of the topology of the environmental Internet of Things;

[0192] Figure 3 shows one of the flowcharts illustrating the positioning method of a terminal device according to an embodiment of this disclosure;

[0193] Figure 4 is a second schematic flowchart of the positioning method of the terminal device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0194] Figure 5 shows a third schematic flowchart of the positioning method for a terminal device according to an embodiment of this disclosure;

[0195] Figure 6 is a fourth schematic flowchart of the positioning method for a terminal device according to an embodiment of this disclosure;

[0196] Figure 7 is a fifth schematic flowchart illustrating the positioning method of a terminal device according to an embodiment of this disclosure;

[0197] Figure 8 shows one of the structural schematic diagrams of the positioning device of the terminal device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0198] Figure 9 shows a second structural schematic diagram of the positioning device of the terminal equipment according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0199] Figure 10 shows a third structural schematic diagram of the positioning device of the terminal equipment according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0200] Figure 11 shows a schematic diagram of the structure of the reading device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0201] Figure 12 shows a schematic diagram of the structure of the network-side device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Detailed Implementation

[0202] To make the technical problems, solutions, and advantages of this disclosure clearer, a detailed description will be provided below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments. In the following description, specific details such as particular configurations and components are provided merely to aid in a comprehensive understanding of the embodiments of this disclosure. Therefore, those skilled in the art should understand that various changes and modifications can be made to the embodiments described herein without departing from the scope and spirit of this disclosure. Furthermore, for clarity and brevity, descriptions of known functions and structures have been omitted.

[0203] It should be understood that the phrase "an embodiment" or "one embodiment" throughout the specification means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic relating to an embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of this disclosure. Therefore, "in one embodiment" or "one embodiment" appearing throughout the specification does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. Furthermore, these particular features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments.

[0204] In the various embodiments of this disclosure, it should be understood that the sequence number of each process described below does not imply the order of execution. The execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of this disclosure.

[0205] In this disclosure, the term "and / or" describes the relationship between related objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: A existing alone, A and B existing simultaneously, or B existing alone. The character " / " generally indicates that the preceding and following related objects have an "or" relationship. In this disclosure, the term "multiple" refers to two or more objects, and other quantifiers are similar.

[0206] The technical solutions of the embodiments of this disclosure will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of this disclosure, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of this disclosure, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of this disclosure.

[0207] In describing the embodiments of this disclosure, some concepts used in the following description will first be explained.

[0208] I. In terms of network architecture, the Internet of Things in the environment has two topologies, as shown in Figure 1 and Figure 2.

[0209] In Topology 1 (as shown in Figure 1), the Ambient IoT device communicates directly with the base station bidirectionally. The communication between the base station and the Ambient IoT device includes Ambient IoT data and / or signals.

[0210] In Topology 2 (as shown in Figure 2), environmental IoT devices communicate bidirectionally with intermediate nodes between the devices and the base station. In this topology, intermediate nodes can be relays, IAB nodes, UEs, repeaters, etc., enabling environmental IoT. The intermediate nodes transmit data and / or signaling from the environmental IoT devices between the base station and the environmental IoT devices.

[0211] Embodiments of this disclosure provide a method, apparatus, and device for locating environmental IoT devices, thereby solving the location problem of environmental IoT devices.

[0212] The method and apparatus are based on the same concept of the application. Since the methods and apparatus solve problems in similar ways, the implementation of the apparatus and methods can refer to each other, and the repeated parts will not be described again.

[0213] As shown in Figure 3, an embodiment of this disclosure provides a positioning method for an environmental IoT device, applied to a reading device, specifically including the following steps:

[0214] Step 301: The reading device sends a first message to the environmental IoT device, the first message carrying the identifier of the environmental IoT device;

[0215] In this step, the reading device sends a first message to one or more environmental IoT devices (the sending method can be broadcast, point-to-multipoint transmission, etc.). The first message includes the identifiers of the one or more environmental IoT devices that need to be located. The first message can be a paging message or a newly defined message (e.g., a discovery message, a command message, or a message to perform a certain operation). The identifiers of the environmental IoT devices carried in the first message can be used for device matching within the environmental IoT devices.

[0216] Step 302: Receive the second message sent by the environmental IoT device and obtain location-related information;

[0217] After receiving the first message, the environmental IoT device matches the identifier of the environmental IoT device carried therein. If the match is successful, it sends a second message to the reading device, and the second message carries the identifier of the environmental IoT device. The second message may be a response message to the first message.

[0218] In some embodiments, the reading device measures a second message sent by an environmental IoT device, and through the measurement process, location-related information can be obtained.

[0219] Step 303: Generate a third message based on the location-related information, wherein the third message carries the location information of the environmental IoT device, or the third message carries the location-related information.

[0220] In this embodiment, the reading device receives a second message sent by an environmental IoT device. It can obtain location-related information based on the relevant information in the received second message. For example, the reading device can measure the second message to obtain the location-related information. The reading device generates a third message based on the aforementioned location-related information. The third message may include the location of the environmental IoT device, or it may include relevant information for determining the location of the environmental IoT device.

[0221] The reading device can calculate the location of the environmental IoT device based on the relevant information received from the second message and generate a third message; alternatively, it can directly include the determined location-related information in the third message.

[0222] In embodiments of this disclosure, the reading device sends a first message to the environmental IoT device to be located, carrying the identifier of the environmental IoT device; obtains location-related information based on a second message received from the environmental IoT device; and generates a third message based on the location-related information, the third message containing the location of the environmental IoT device determined by the reading device and / or location-related information. This positioning method does not require the environmental IoT device to perform measurements; it only needs to receive and respond to information. The reading device can obtain location-related information based on the messages fed back by the environmental IoT device, thereby reducing terminal complexity and positioning costs.

[0223] It should be noted that the device to be located in the embodiments of this disclosure can be not only an environmental IoT device, but also other terminal devices, such as a regular IAB UE.

[0224] In some embodiments, the reading device includes at least one of the following:

[0225] Base station;

[0226] An intermediate node between environmental IoT devices and base stations.

[0227] It should be noted that the reading device in this embodiment can be a base station as shown in Figure 1, or an intermediate node as shown in Figure 2. The intermediate node is, for example, a UE reader.

[0228] In this disclosure, the reading device for terminal positioning can be a base station. For example, in the topology shown in Figure 1, the environmental IoT device directly communicates bidirectionally with the base station, and the base station can act as a reading device to locate the environmental IoT device. Alternatively, the reading device can also be an intermediate node. For example, in the topology shown in Figure 2, the environmental IoT device communicates with the base station through an intermediate node between the base station and the intermediate node, which can locate the environmental IoT device. In some embodiments, the intermediate node may be, for example, a UE reader, an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, a UE, etc.

[0229] As an optional embodiment, the location-related information includes at least one of the following:

[0230] The Transmission Receiver Point (TRP) receives the second message;

[0231] The reading device that receives the second message; this reading device may be the same as or different from the reading device used for positioning. For example, the reading device used for positioning is a base station, and the reading device that receives the second message is the UE Reader; another example is that the reading device used for positioning is a base station, and the reading device that receives the second message is an intermediate node such as an IAB node.

[0232] The absolute signal strength received from the second message;

[0233] Angle of arrival of the signal receiving the second message;

[0234] Round-trip time (RTT) between sending the first message and receiving the second message.

[0235] In this embodiment, the reading device receives a second message sent by an environmental IoT device (if the first message identifies multiple environmental IoT devices, then there are multiple second messages). By measuring the received second message, location-related information can be obtained, such as one or more of the following: TRP / reader information, absolute signal strength, angle of arrival, and RTT (Round-Trip Time). The reading device can then generate a third message based on the location-related information.

[0236] As an optional embodiment, before sending the first message to the environmental IoT device, the method further includes:

[0237] The system receives a fourth message from the core network device, which is used to instruct the location of the environmental IoT device.

[0238] The fourth message includes at least one of the following:

[0239] (1) Identification of environmental IoT devices; core network devices may request to locate one or more environmental IoT devices. The identification information of the environmental IoT devices is used to identify at least one environmental IoT device that is requesting location.

[0240] (2) The type of location information requested; it can also be understood as the type of information reported by the core network device that it requests to read.

[0241] (3) Location area information; can also be understood as the location area information that the core network device requests to read to locate the IoT device in the environment.

[0242] (4) The expected positioning accuracy information can also be understood as the positioning accuracy that the core network equipment expects the reading device to achieve when locating the environmental IoT device. This expected positioning accuracy information is used to indicate the position accuracy of the environmental IoT device that the core network expects to obtain. The reading device can make a simple judgment on the signal feedback of the environmental IoT device or perform more multi-dimensional sampling and calculation based on this requirement. For example, if the positioning accuracy requirement of the core network equipment is relatively high (e.g., <3m), the positioning can be obtained by combining the collection and comprehensive calculation of various information such as the absolute signal strength of the feedback signal of the environmental IoT device, the RTT of the transmitted and received signals, and the angle of arrival of the feedback signal to the receiving antenna, and then feeding back the position of the environmental IoT device and the accuracy of the calculation results of the reading device to the core network equipment.

[0243] In this embodiment, the fourth message may be a location request message, used to request the location of an environmental IoT device. The fourth message may request the location of one or more environmental IoT devices. The fourth message may also be other messages, using a location request indication carried in other messages to request the location of the environmental IoT device. Here, the message type of the fourth message is not specifically limited.

[0244] For example, if a core network device requests a reading device to locate environmental IoT device 1 and environmental IoT device 2, the reading device will send a second message to both environmental IoT device 1 and environmental IoT device 2. The first message sent to environmental IoT device 1 will carry identifier 1, and the first message sent to environmental IoT device 2 will carry identifier 2.

[0245] In some embodiments, the method further includes sending the third message to the core network device.

[0246] After generating the third message, the reading device sends the third message to the core network device. Upon receiving the third message, the core network device can directly obtain the location of the environmental IoT device, or calculate the location of the environmental IoT device based on the content carried in the third message.

[0247] The core network equipment may be an LMF, an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), or a core network or other core network equipment dedicated to environmental IoT devices. This disclosure does not limit the scope of the core network equipment.

[0248] As an optional embodiment, sending the first message to the environmental IoT device includes:

[0249] If the fourth message includes location area information, then the first message is sent to the environmental IoT device within the area indicated by the location area information.

[0250] In this embodiment, if the fourth message sent by the core network device contains location area information, the reading device can send the first message to the environmental IoT device within the area indicated by the fourth message to locate the environmental IoT device within the location area.

[0251] In some embodiments, if the fourth message does not contain location area information, the reading device may determine the location area and network resources on its own.

[0252] In this embodiment, if the location request message sent by the core network device contains the identifier of the environmental IoT device to be located and includes location area information, then the reading device sends the first message to the environmental IoT device within the indicated area. The first message contains the identifier information of the environmental IoT device, used to identify at least one environmental IoT device.

[0253] If the location request message sent by the core network device does not contain location area information, the reading device can determine the location area or network resources for environmental IoT device location itself. For example, it can select one or more TRPs / readers for air interface location of environmental IoT devices. In this case, the reading device should typically select all location-related radio frequency devices, such as TRPs / readers, or initiate the location process in all its cells.

[0254] An environmental IoT device receives the first message and matches its own ID with the identification information of the environmental IoT device in the message. If a match is found, the environmental IoT device sends back a second message, which contains the identification of that environmental IoT device. A reading device receives the second message sent by the environmental IoT device. If the first message contains the identifications of multiple environmental IoT devices, the reading device receives multiple second messages.

[0255] As an optional embodiment, the requested location information type includes at least one of the following:

[0256] 1) The location of the environmental IoT device; for example, the device's coordinates (x, y, z).

[0257] 2) The accuracy of the location of environmental IoT devices; for example, horizontal m meters, vertical n meters.

[0258] 3) TRP information corresponding to the environmental IoT device; for example, the TRP of the response message received from the environmental IoT device. The TRP information includes at least one of the following: TRP identifier (e.g., TRP ID), TRP location information.

[0259] 4) Information on the reading device corresponding to the environmental IoT device; the reading device may be the same as or different from the reading device used for positioning. For example, the reading device used for positioning is a base station, while the reading device corresponding to the environmental IoT device described here may be a UE Reader. The reading device may be a reading device that receives a response message from the environmental IoT device. The information of the reading device includes at least one of the following: the identifier of the reading device, and the location information of the reading device.

[0260] 5) Read the signal strength of the first message sent by the device to the environmental IoT device;

[0261] 6) Read the signal strength obtained by measuring the second message returned by the IoT device in the environment; this can be the absolute signal strength.

[0262] 7) The reading device measures the angle of arrival of the signal based on the second message returned by the environmental IoT device; this angle of arrival is the angle of arrival of the second message to the reading device.

[0263] 8) Read the RTT between the device sending the first message to the environmental IoT device and receiving the second message returned by the environmental IoT device.

[0264] In this embodiment, the reading device can report relevant information to the core network device based on the type of location information requested by the core network device.

[0265] In some embodiments, the location area information includes at least one of the following:

[0266] Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) describes regional information; for example, geographical location information represented by one or more circles or polygons.

[0267] Pre-configured area identifiers; used to identify location areas, such as production line A, production line B, office X, office Y, which can be defined by the operator.

[0268] TRP identifier; can identify one or more TRPs, such as TRP ID.

[0269] The identifier of the reading device; used to identify one or more reading devices. The reading device may be the same as or different from the reading device used for positioning. For example, the reading device used for positioning is a base station, while the reading device described here is the reading device that receives the response message from the IoT device in the environment, such as a UE Reader, relay, IAB node, or UE.

[0270] Community identifiers are used to identify one or more communities.

[0271] It should be noted that, for the fourth message mentioned above, the content of the requested location information type may differ when the reading device is a base station or an intermediate node.

[0272] For example, if the reading device is a base station, then the requested location information type includes at least one of the following:

[0273] Location of environmental IoT devices;

[0274] The accuracy of the location of environmental IoT devices;

[0275] TRP information corresponding to environmental IoT devices;

[0276] Read device information corresponding to environmental IoT devices;

[0277] The strength of the first message sent by the reading device to the environmental IoT device;

[0278] The reading device measures the signal strength based on a second message returned by an environmental IoT device.

[0279] The reading device measures the angle of arrival of the signal based on a second message returned by an environmental IoT device.

[0280] The RTT between the reading device sending a first message to the environmental IoT device and receiving a second message returned by the environmental IoT device.

[0281] For example, when the reading device is an intermediate node, the requested location information type includes at least one of the following:

[0282] Location of environmental IoT devices;

[0283] The accuracy of the location of environmental IoT devices;

[0284] The strength of the first message sent by the reading device to the environmental IoT device;

[0285] The reading device measures the signal strength based on a second message returned by an environmental IoT device.

[0286] The reading device measures the angle of arrival of the signal based on a second message returned by an environmental IoT device.

[0287] The RTT between the reading device sending a first message to the environmental IoT device and receiving a second message returned by the environmental IoT device.

[0288] As an optional embodiment, a third message is generated based on location-related information, including:

[0289] If the fourth message includes a requested location information type, and the requested location information type includes the location of the environmental IoT device and / or the accuracy of the location of the environmental IoT device, then the location of the environmental IoT device is calculated based on the location-related information and a third message is generated, the third message including the location of the environmental IoT device.

[0290] or,

[0291] If the fourth message includes a requested location information type, and the requested location information type does not include the location of the environmental IoT device or the accuracy of the location of the environmental IoT device, then a third message is generated based on the location-related information. The third message does not include the location of the environmental IoT device or the accuracy of the location of the environmental IoT device.

[0292] In this embodiment, if the location information requested by the core network device in the fourth message includes the location and location accuracy of the environmental IoT device, the reading device performs a comprehensive calculation based on one or more of the information received in the second message, such as TRP, absolute signal strength, angle of arrival, and RTT, to determine the location of the environmental IoT device and the accuracy of the calculation result.

[0293] If the location information requested by the core network in the fourth message includes one or more of the following: TRP information of the environmental IoT device, reader information, absolute signal strength, angle of arrival, and RTT, the reading device directly includes the relevant information obtained in the third message and feeds it back to the core network device as needed.

[0294] In some embodiments, the third message includes at least one of the following:

[0295] (1) Identification of environmental IoT devices;

[0296] (2) Location-related information of environmental IoT devices.

[0297] In this embodiment, the third message includes the identification information of the environmental IoT device and the corresponding location-related information of the environmental IoT device, the location-related information of the environmental IoT device and the location information requested by the core network (corresponding to the type of location information requested in the fourth message).

[0298] In some embodiments, the location-related information of the environmental IoT device includes at least one of the following:

[0299] The location of the environmental IoT device; it can be the coordinates (x, y, z) of the environmental IoT device.

[0300] The accuracy of the location of environmental IoT devices; for example, horizontal m meters, vertical n meters.

[0301] The TRP information corresponding to the environmental IoT device; it can be the TRP information that received the response message from the environmental IoT device, including at least one of the following: TRP identifier (e.g., TRP ID) and TRP location information.

[0302] The information to be read by the environmental IoT device may include at least one of the following: the identifier of the device and the location information of the device.

[0303] Read the signal strength of the first message sent by the device to the environmental IoT device;

[0304] The reading device measures the signal strength based on a second message returned by an environmental IoT device.

[0305] The reading device measures the angle of arrival of the signal based on a second message returned by an environmental IoT device.

[0306] The round-trip time (RTT) between the reading device sending a first message to the environmental IoT device and receiving a second message from the environmental IoT device.

[0307] It should be noted that the location-related information of the environmental IoT device may differ when the reading device is a base station or an intermediate node. For example, when the reading device is a base station, the location-related information of the environmental IoT device acquired by the base station and sent to the core network device includes one or more of the above-mentioned items. When the reading device is an intermediate node, and the intermediate node is a UE, the location-related information of the environmental IoT device acquired by the UE and sent to the core network device includes one or more of the following:

[0308] The GNSS location of the UE; it can be coordinates (x, y, z);

[0309] The accuracy of the UE's GNSS position; for example, m meters horizontally and n meters vertically.

[0310] The signal strength of the UE sending the first message to the environmental IoT device;

[0311] The signal strength measured by the UE based on the second message returned by the environmental IoT device;

[0312] The UE measures the angle of arrival of the signal based on the second message returned by the environmental IoT device;

[0313] Round-trip time (RTT) between the UE sending the first message to the environmental IoT device and receiving the second message returned by the environmental IoT device.

[0314] As an optional embodiment, before receiving the fourth message sent by the core network device, the method further includes:

[0315] Send capability information to the core network device, the capability information being used to indicate the reading device's ability to locate environmental IoT devices;

[0316] The capability information includes at least one of the following:

[0317] Supported location modes;

[0318] The positioning accuracy of autonomous positioning;

[0319] Measurements supported by assisted positioning;

[0320] Information on whether periodic positioning measurements are supported;

[0321] Supported positioning cycles when periodic positioning measurements are supported.

[0322] In this embodiment, the reading device can report positioning capability-related capability information to the core network device. For example, if the reading device is an intermediate node and the intermediate node is a read / write device, then the read / write device can report to the core network device, such as: supporting UE autonomous positioning with an accuracy of 3 meters horizontally and 2 meters vertically; supporting UE assisted positioning; supporting the reporting of absolute signal strength RSSI; supporting the reporting of RTT; and reporting of terminal signal arrival phase, etc.

[0323] The following example illustrates the implementation process of the positioning method disclosed herein.

[0324] Example 1: Taking a base station as an example where the reading device is a base station, as shown in Figure 4, the positioning method implemented by the base station includes:

[0325] Step 41: The core network selects one or more base stations to send a fourth message. The fourth message may be a location request message, which is used to request the location of environmental IoT devices. The message contains identification information for identifying environmental IoT devices, the type of location information requested, location area information, and location accuracy requirements.

[0326] The identification information of the environmental IoT device is used to identify at least one environmental IoT device. The requested location information type includes, but is not limited to, at least one of the following:

[0327] The location of environmental IoT devices, such as (x, y, z);

[0328] The accuracy of the location of environmental IoT devices (e.g., horizontal m meters, vertical n meters);

[0329] The TRP information corresponding to the environmental IoT device (i.e., the TRP that received the response message from the environmental IoT device), such as at least one of the following: TRP identifier (e.g., TRP ID); TRP location information;

[0330] The information of the reading device (Reader, the Reader that receives the terminal response message) corresponding to the environmental IoT device may include at least one of the following: the identifier of the reading device; the location information of the reading device;

[0331] The signal strength of the base station transmitting the first message to environmental IoT devices;

[0332] The absolute signal strength measured by the base station based on the second message returned by the IoT device in the receiving environment;

[0333] The base station measures the angle of arrival of the signal to the base station based on the second message returned by the IoT device in the receiving environment;

[0334] Round-trip time (RTT) for base station to transmit and receive signals (send the first message and receive the second message);

[0335] The location area information is used to instruct the base station to locate the environmental IoT device within the indicated area. The location area information includes at least one of the following:

[0336] GNSS-represented area information, such as geographical location information expressed by one or more circles or polygons;

[0337] Pre-configured region ID (used to identify the location region, such as production line A, production line B, office X, office Y, defined by the operator);

[0338] TRP identifier, which identifies one or more TRPs (such as TRP ID);

[0339] Reader identifier, identifying one or more read devices;

[0340] Community identifier, indicating one or more communities.

[0341] The positioning accuracy requirement indicates the desired location accuracy of the environmental IoT devices by the core network. The base station may make a simple judgment on the messages fed back by the environmental IoT devices based on this requirement, or it may sample and calculate in more dimensions. For example, if the positioning accuracy requirement of the core network is relatively high (e.g., <3m), the base station may combine the collection and comprehensive calculation of various information such as the absolute signal strength of the second message fed back by the environmental IoT devices, the RTT of the transmitted and received signals, and the angle of arrival of the feedback signal to the receiving antenna to obtain the location of the environmental IoT terminal, and feed back the location of the environmental IoT terminal and the accuracy of the base station's calculation results to the core network.

[0342] Step 42: Based on the fourth message, the base station sends a first message to the environmental IoT device within the designated area (location area information) of the core network. The first message may be a paging message, and it contains the identification information of the environmental IoT device to identify at least one environmental IoT device. (The first message may be a paging message or a newly defined message).

[0343] If the aforementioned location area information is not included in the fourth message, the base station will automatically determine network resources for terminal device location and select one or more TRP / reading devices for air interface location of the terminal device. In this case, the base station should typically select all location-related radio frequency devices, such as TRP / readers, or initiate the location process across all its cells.

[0344] Step 43: The environmental IoT terminal device receives the first message, matches its own ID with the identification information of the environmental IoT device in the message, and the environmental IoT device that successfully matches sends back a second message, which contains the identification information of the environmental IoT device.

[0345] Step 44: The base station receives the second message from the environmental IoT device (if the first message identifies multiple environmental IoT devices, there are multiple second messages), measures the second message to obtain location-related information, such as one or more of the following: TRP / reader, absolute signal strength, signal angle of arrival, signal transmit / receive RTT, etc., and combines it with the requested location information type in the fourth message to generate a location response message (i.e., the third message) and send it to the core network.

[0346] If the location information requested in the fourth message includes the location and location accuracy of an environmental IoT device, the base station performs a comprehensive calculation based on one or more of the information received from the second message, such as TRP, absolute signal strength, angle of arrival, and RTT, to determine the location of the environmental IoT device and the accuracy of the calculation result. The location of the environmental IoT device and the accuracy of the calculation result are then included in the third message and sent to the core network.

[0347] If the requested location information type includes one or more of the following: TRP information of the terminal device, reader information, absolute signal strength, angle of arrival, and RTT, but does not include the accuracy of the calculation result, the base station will directly include the relevant information in the third message and feed it back to the core network as needed.

[0348] The third message includes the identification information of the environmental IoT device and the corresponding location-related information of the environmental IoT device. The location information of the environmental IoT device and the location information requested by the core network (corresponding to the type of location information requested in the fourth message) include, but are not limited to, at least one of the following:

[0349] Location (x, y, z) of environmental IoT terminal devices;

[0350] The accuracy of the location of environmental IoT terminal devices (e.g., horizontal m meters, vertical n meters);

[0351] The TRP information corresponding to the environmental IoT terminal device (the TRP that received the terminal response message), such as at least one of the following: TRP identifier (such as TRP ID); TRP location information;

[0352] Reader information, specifically including at least one of the following: reader identifier; reader location information;

[0353] The signal strength of the base station transmitting the first message to environmental IoT devices;

[0354] The absolute signal strength of the second message fed back by the environmental IoT device, as measured by the base station;

[0355] The base station measures the angle of arrival of the signal based on the second message fed back by the environmental IoT device;

[0356] Round-trip time (RTT) for a base station to send and receive signals (send the first message and receive the second message) to and from an environmental IoT device.

[0357] In this embodiment, the core network device can determine the location of the environmental IoT device based on the received third message.

[0358] It should be noted that in the method for base station positioning shown in Figure 4, the location calculation process can be performed by the base station or by the core network, which will be explained separately below.

[0359] (1) For example: The core network requests the base station to locate one or more IoT devices in the environment and report their location information. The location calculation is performed by the base station. The base station performs paging according to the positioning requirements of the core network, measures and calculates the paging response to obtain the terminal location information and reports it to the core network.

[0360] 11) The core network requests the base station to locate one or more environmental IoT devices. The request message includes the identification information of these environmental IoT devices to be located. The information type requested by the base station includes the GNSS location (and / or the location accuracy) of the terminal device. The message may optionally carry area information to specify the area where the core network wants to find the terminal device (which can reduce the resource overhead of the RAN). The message may optionally carry the positioning accuracy requirement (e.g., <3m, <10m, etc.).

[0361] 12) The base station determines the location area according to the request of the core network and initiates an air interface paging message, which carries the identification information of the environmental IoT device.

[0362] 13) After receiving a paging message, the environmental IoT device matches its own ID with the environmental IoT device identifier in the paging message. If they match, it sends a paging response message containing the identification information of the environmental IoT device. The paging response message reaches the base station through normal signal reflection. If there are multiple terminals, each performs the same operation.

[0363] 14) The base station receives the paging response message and measures the signal strength, direction, or angle of arrival (AoA) of the received signal to the receiving antenna, and time difference (RTT) between transmission and reception, etc., and then calculates the location information of the environmental IoT device. The base station then feeds back the device's identifier and positioning results (the device's GNSS location and / or positioning accuracy) to the core network in a positioning response message. Positioning responses can be sent independently by each device or combined into a single message reporting the location information of multiple environmental IoT devices.

[0364] The core network directly uses the reported information to meet the location service requirements, such as sending the location result to the service subscribers.

[0365] (2) For example: The core network requests the base station to locate one or more environmental IoT devices and report the location information of the environmental IoT devices. The location calculation is performed by the core network. The base station paging according to the positioning requirements of the core network, measures the paging response, and reports the measurement results to the core network. The core network calculates the location of the environmental IoT devices based on the measurement results of the base station.

[0366] Similar to the aforementioned embodiment where the base station performs location calculations, the difference lies in that the request message sent by the core network equipment does not require the base station to provide GNSS location and GNSS location accuracy, and the location-related information of the environmental IoT devices reported by the base station to the core network does not need to include the location and positioning accuracy of the environmental IoT devices. The core network equipment can request the base station to provide one or more of the following information: TRP / Reader information of the received UE signal, absolute signal strength, angle of arrival (AOA) of the received signal to the TRP / Reader, and RTT of the base station's signal transmission and reception.

[0367] Based on the core network's requirements, the base station measures the paging response messages of environmental IoT devices and feeds back the relevant results to the core network in a third message as requested. The core network then performs comprehensive calculations based on the various base station measurement results in the location response message (i.e., the third message) to obtain the location information of the environmental IoT devices.

[0368] It should be noted that the core network may request multiple base stations to perform positioning-related measurements simultaneously or sequentially, and then comprehensively calculate the location information of IoT devices in the environment based on the results.

[0369] Example 2: Taking the reading device as an intermediate node, and the intermediate node being a UE Reader or UE, as shown in Figure 5, the positioning method implemented by the intermediate node includes:

[0370] Step 50: Reporting the location-related capabilities of the reading device (intermediate node, such as UE Reader). Considering that different intermediate nodes may have different capabilities, it is necessary to obtain the location-related capabilities of the reading device before the core network initiates the location request process. This location capability reporting refers to the reading device's ability to locate IoT devices in the environment. The location capabilities may specifically include, but are not limited to, at least one of the following:

[0371] Supported positioning modes include autonomous positioning (reading the device to calculate and report the location of IoT devices in the environment) and assisted positioning (reading the device to report relevant measurements, such as terminal device signal strength, phase angle, RTT, etc.).

[0372] The positioning accuracy achievable through autonomous positioning;

[0373] Measurements supported by assisted positioning;

[0374] Support for periodic positioning measurements, and the supported periodicity information.

[0375] It should be noted that the steps for reporting positioning capabilities can also be applied to the base station positioning process, i.e., when the reading device is a base station. If the reading device is a base station, the relevant positioning capabilities can be communicated to the core network via a network interface (such as NG), or pre-configured or configured to relevant core network elements via OAM. If the reading device is a UE, the relevant capabilities can be reported to the core network through the UE registration process and the UE capability reporting process.

[0376] Step 51: The core network selects one or more intermediate nodes to send a fourth message. The fourth message may be a location request message, which is used to request the location of the environmental IoT device. The message contains identification information for identifying the environmental IoT device, the type of location information requested, the location area information, and the location accuracy requirements.

[0377] The identification information of the environmental IoT device is used to identify at least one environmental IoT device. The requested location information type includes, but is not limited to, at least one of the following:

[0378] The location of environmental IoT devices, such as (x, y, z);

[0379] The accuracy of the location of environmental IoT devices (e.g., horizontal m meters, vertical n meters);

[0380] The signal strength of the signal transmitted by the intermediate node to the environmental IoT device (the first message);

[0381] The intermediate node measures the absolute signal strength based on the signal returned by the IoT device in the receiving environment (the second message);

[0382] The intermediate node measures the angle of arrival of the signal to the base station based on the return signal (the second message) from the IoT device in the receiving environment;

[0383] Round-trip time (RTT) for intermediate nodes to transmit and receive signals;

[0384] The location area information is used to instruct intermediate nodes to locate / position the terminal device within the indicated area. The location area information includes at least one of the following:

[0385] GNSS-represented area information, such as geographical location information expressed by one or more circles or polygons;

[0386] Pre-configured region ID (used to identify the location region, such as production line A, production line B, office X, office Y, defined by the operator).

[0387] The location information of the environmental IoT device includes at least one of the following:

[0388] The GNSS position (x, y, z) of the terminal device;

[0389] The accuracy of the GNSS position of the terminal equipment (e.g., horizontal m meters, vertical n meters);

[0390] Read the signal strength of the signal transmitted by the device to the environmental IoT device (the first message);

[0391] The absolute signal strength measured by the reading device based on the response message (the second message) from the environmental IoT device;

[0392] The reading device measures the angle of arrival of the signal based on the response message (the second message) from the environmental IoT device;

[0393] Read the round-trip time (RTT) of the device sending and receiving signals (sending the first message and receiving the second message) to and from the environmental IoT terminal.

[0394] Step 52: Based on the fourth message, the intermediate node sends a first message to the environmental IoT device within the designated area (location area information) of the core network. The second message may be a paging message, and the first message contains the identification information of the environmental IoT device to identify at least one environmental IoT device. (The first message may be a paging message or a newly defined message).

[0395] Step 53: The environmental IoT terminal device receives the first message, matches its own ID with the identification information of the environmental IoT device in the message, and the environmental IoT device that successfully matches sends back a second message, which contains the identification information of the environmental IoT device.

[0396] Step 54: The intermediate node receives the second message from the IoT devices in the environment (if the first message identifies multiple terminal devices, the second message will be multiple messages). Based on the second message, it determines one or more of the following location-related information: TRP / reader, absolute signal strength, angle of arrival, and RTT. Combined with the requested location information type in the fourth message, it generates a location response message (i.e., the third message) and sends it to the core network.

[0397] If the location information requested in the fourth message includes the location and location accuracy of an environmental IoT device, the intermediate node performs a comprehensive calculation based on one or more of the following information received from the second message: TRP, absolute signal strength, angle of arrival, and RTT (Round-Trip Time). This calculation yields the location of the environmental IoT device and the accuracy of the result. The location of the environmental IoT device and the accuracy of the calculation result are then included in the third message and sent to the core network.

[0398] If the requested location information type includes one or more of the following: TRP information of the environmental IoT device, reader information, absolute signal strength, angle of arrival, and RTT (Round-Trip Time), but does not include the accuracy of the calculation results, then the intermediate node directly includes the relevant information in the third message and feeds it back to the core network as needed. The content of the third message will not be elaborated here.

[0399] It should be noted that in the method for completing the positioning by the intermediate node shown in Figure 5, the location calculation can be performed by the intermediate node or by the core network. The location calculation process performed by the intermediate node is similar to that performed by the base station in Example 1 above, except that in step 50, the UE reader reports positioning-related capabilities, such as: supporting UE autonomous positioning with an accuracy of 3 meters horizontally and 2 meters vertically; supporting UE assisted positioning; supporting the reporting of absolute signal strength (RSSI); supporting the reporting of RTT; and reporting of terminal signal arrival phase, etc.

[0400] The core network requests intermediate nodes to locate one or more environmental IoT devices. The intermediate steps are basically the same as in Example 1 above. Finally, the intermediate nodes calculate the location of each environmental IoT device based on the signal feedback from the terminal devices and feed back the location information of the environmental IoT devices and / or the corresponding positioning accuracy of this positioning process to the core network.

[0401] The environmental IoT device positioning method disclosed herein does not rely on the device's GNSS capabilities and differs from RAT-based positioning methods. Environmental IoT devices only need to perform normal paging reception and response, minimizing terminal complexity and cost. It effectively supports meter-level to ten-meter-level positioning of terminals in environmental IoT technologies, supporting application scenarios requiring terminal location accuracy. This method is not limited to environmental IoT but can also be applied to ordinary UEs.

[0402] In embodiments of this disclosure, the reading device sends a first message to the environmental IoT device to be located, carrying the identifier of the environmental IoT device; obtains location-related information based on a second message received from the environmental IoT device; and generates a third message based on the location-related information, the third message containing the location of the environmental IoT device determined by the reading device and / or location-related information. This positioning method does not require the environmental IoT device to perform measurements; it only needs to receive and respond to information. The reading device can obtain location-related information based on the messages fed back by the environmental IoT device, thereby reducing terminal complexity and positioning costs.

[0403] As shown in Figure 6, this disclosure also provides a positioning method for environmental IoT devices, applied to core network devices, including:

[0404] Step 601: Send a fourth message to the reading device, the fourth message being used to instruct the location of the environmental IoT device;

[0405] In this embodiment, the fourth message may be a location request message, used to request the location of environmental IoT devices. The fourth message may request the location of one or more environmental IoT devices.

[0406] Step 602: Receive the third message sent by the reading device;

[0407] After receiving the fourth message, the reading device sends a first message to one or more environmental IoT devices requesting location, based on the content of the fourth message. The first message includes the identifiers of the one or more environmental IoT devices requesting location. The first message can be a paging message or a newly defined message. After receiving the first message, the environmental IoT device matches its identifier within the message. If a match is successful, the device sends a second message to the reading device, carrying its identifier in the second message.

[0408] The reading device receives a second message sent by an environmental IoT device, determines location-related information based on the second message, and generates a third message to be fed back to the core network device based on the request of the fourth message.

[0409] Step 603: Determine the location information of the environmental IoT device based on the third message, wherein the third message includes the location information of the environmental IoT device, or the third message carries the location-related information.

[0410] In this embodiment, the reading device can determine the location-related information based on the second message, and then calculate the location of the environmental IoT device and generate a third message; alternatively, the location-related information can be directly included in the third message and sent to the core network device, which will then determine the location of the environmental IoT device.

[0411] In embodiments of this disclosure, the core network device sends a request message to the reading device to request location of an environmental IoT device. The reading device sends a first message to the environmental IoT device to be located, carrying the device's identifier; the reading device obtains location-related information based on a second message sent by the environmental IoT device and generates a third message containing the location of the environmental IoT device determined by the reading device and / or location-related information; the core network device obtains the location information of the environmental IoT device based on the third message. This location method eliminates the need for the environmental IoT device to perform measurements; the device only needs to perform paging reception and response, reducing device complexity and location costs.

[0412] As an optional embodiment, the fourth message includes at least one of the following:

[0413] (1) Identification of environmental IoT devices; core network devices may request to locate one or more environmental IoT devices. The identification information of the environmental IoT devices is used to identify at least one environmental IoT device requesting location.

[0414] (2) The type of location information requested;

[0415] In some embodiments, the requested location information type includes at least one of the following:

[0416] 21) The location of environmental IoT devices; for example, the device's coordinates (x, y, z).

[0417] 22) The accuracy of the location of environmental IoT devices; for example, horizontal m meters, vertical n meters.

[0418] 23) TRP information corresponding to the environmental IoT device; for example, the TRP of the response message received from the environmental IoT device. The TRP information includes at least one of the following: TRP identifier (e.g., TRP ID), TRP location information.

[0419] 24) Reader information corresponding to the environmental IoT device; the reader may be a reader that receives a response message from the environmental IoT device. The information of the reader includes at least one of the following: the identifier of the reader and the location information of the reader.

[0420] 25) Read the strength of the first message sent by the device to the environmental IoT device;

[0421] 26) Read the signal strength obtained by the device based on the second message returned by the environmental IoT device; it can be the absolute signal strength.

[0422] 27) The reading device measures the angle of arrival of the signal based on the second message returned by the environmental IoT device; the angle of arrival of the signal is the angle of arrival of the signal to the reading device.

[0423] 28) Read the RTT between the device sending the first message to the environmental IoT device and receiving the second message returned by the environmental IoT device.

[0424] (3) Location area information; used to instruct the reading device to locate the environmental IoT device within the indicated area.

[0425] In some embodiments, the location area information includes at least one of the following:

[0426] Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) describes regional information; for example, geographical location information represented by one or more circles or polygons.

[0427] Pre-configured area identifiers; used to identify location areas, such as production line A, production line B, office X, office Y, which can be defined by the operator.

[0428] TRP identifier; can identify one or more TRPs, such as TRP ID.

[0429] The identifier of the reading device; used to identify one or more reading devices.

[0430] Community identifiers are used to identify one or more communities.

[0431] (4) Expected positioning accuracy information is used to indicate the desired location accuracy of the environmental IoT devices in the core network. The reading device can make a simple judgment on the signal feedback of the environmental IoT devices or perform more multi-dimensional sampling and calculation based on this requirement. For example, if the positioning accuracy requirement of the core network devices is relatively high (e.g., <3m), the positioning can be obtained by combining the collection and comprehensive calculation of various information such as the absolute signal strength of the feedback signal of the environmental IoT devices, the RTT of the transmitted and received signals, and the angle of arrival of the feedback signal to the receiving antenna. The location of the environmental IoT devices and the accuracy of the calculation results of the reading device are fed back to the core network devices.

[0432] In some embodiments, the third message includes at least one of the following:

[0433] (1) Identification of environmental IoT devices;

[0434] (2) Location-related information of environmental IoT devices, including the location-related information.

[0435] In this embodiment, the third message includes the identification information of the environmental IoT device and the corresponding location-related information of the environmental IoT device, the location-related information of the environmental IoT device and the location information requested by the core network (corresponding to the type of location information requested in the fourth message).

[0436] In some embodiments, the location-related information of the environmental IoT device includes at least one of the following:

[0437] The location of the environmental IoT device; this can be the device's coordinates (x, y, z).

[0438] The accuracy of the location of environmental IoT devices; for example, horizontal m meters, vertical n meters.

[0439] The TRP information corresponding to the environmental IoT device; it can be the TRP information that received the response message from the environmental IoT device, including at least one of the following: TRP identifier (e.g., TRP ID) and TRP location information.

[0440] The information to be read by the environmental IoT device may include at least one of the following: the identifier of the device and the location information of the device.

[0441] The strength of the first message sent by the reading device to the environmental IoT device;

[0442] The reading device measures the signal strength based on a second message returned by an environmental IoT device.

[0443] The reading device measures the angle of arrival of the signal based on a third message returned by the environmental IoT device.

[0444] The round-trip time (RTT) between the reading device sending a first message to the environmental IoT device and receiving a second message from the environmental IoT device.

[0445] It should be noted that when the reading device is a base station or an intermediate node, the location-related information of the environmental IoT device may be different.

[0446] In this embodiment, after receiving the third message, if the core network device contains the location of the environmental IoT device, it can directly obtain the requested location information of the environmental IoT device without recalculation; if the third message does not contain the location of the environmental IoT device, the location information of the environmental IoT device is calculated based on the content of the third message.

[0447] As an optional embodiment, the method further includes:

[0448] The system receives capability information sent by the reading device, the capability information being used to indicate the reading device's ability to locate environmental IoT devices.

[0449] The capability information includes at least one of the following:

[0450] Supported location modes;

[0451] The positioning accuracy of autonomous positioning;

[0452] Measurements supported by assisted positioning;

[0453] Information on whether periodic positioning measurements are supported;

[0454] Supported positioning cycles when periodic positioning measurements are supported.

[0455] In this embodiment, the reading device can report positioning capability-related capability information to the core network device. For example, if the reading device is an intermediate node and the intermediate node is a read / write device, then the read / write device can report to the core network device, such as: supporting UE autonomous positioning with an accuracy of 3 meters horizontally and 2 meters vertically; supporting UE assisted positioning; supporting the reporting of absolute signal strength RSSI; supporting the reporting of RTT; and reporting of terminal signal arrival phase, etc.

[0456] The environmental IoT device positioning method disclosed herein does not rely on the device's GNSS capabilities and differs from RAT-based positioning methods. Environmental IoT devices only need to perform normal paging reception and response, minimizing device complexity and cost. It effectively supports meter-level to ten-meter-level positioning of terminals in environmental IoT technologies, supporting application scenarios where terminal location is critical. This method is not limited to environmental IoT but can also be applied to ordinary UEs.

[0457] As shown in Figure 7, this disclosure also provides a positioning method for an environmental IoT device, applied to an environmental IoT device, including:

[0458] Step 701: Receive a first message sent by the reading device, wherein the first message carries the identifier of the environmental IoT device;

[0459] Step 702: Match the identifiers of the environmental IoT devices;

[0460] Step 703: If the identifier of the environmental IoT device is successfully matched, a second message is sent to the reading device. The second message is used to determine location-related information.

[0461] In this embodiment, the reading device sends a first message to one or more environmental IoT devices that need to be located. The first message includes the identifiers of the one or more environmental IoT devices that need to be located. The first message can be a paging message or a newly defined message. The identifiers of the environmental IoT devices carried in the first message can be used for device matching within the environmental IoT devices.

[0462] After receiving the first message, the environmental IoT device matches the identifier of the environmental IoT device carried therein. If the match is successful, it sends a second message to the reading device, and the second message carries the identifier of the environmental IoT device. The second message may be a response message to the first message.

[0463] The reading device receives a second message sent by an environmental IoT device and can obtain location-related information based on the relevant information in the received second message. For example, the reading device can measure the second message to obtain the location-related information. The reading device generates a third message based on the aforementioned location-related information. The third message may include the location of the environmental IoT device, or the third message may include relevant information for determining the location of the environmental IoT device.

[0464] In embodiments of this disclosure, an environmental IoT device receives a first message sent by a reading device, which carries the identifier of the environmental IoT device. The environmental IoT device matches the identifier carried in the first message, and if a match is successful, sends a second message to the reading device. The reading device obtains location-related information based on the second message and generates a third message based on the location-related information. The third message contains the location of the environmental IoT device determined by the reading device and / or location-related information. This positioning method eliminates the need for the environmental IoT device to perform measurements; it only requires receiving and responding to information. The reading device can obtain location-related information based on the messages fed back by the environmental IoT device, thereby reducing terminal complexity and positioning costs.

[0465] The above embodiments describe the positioning method of the environmental Internet of Things (IoT) device of this disclosure. The following embodiments will further describe the corresponding devices in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0466] Specifically, as shown in FIG8, this embodiment of the present disclosure provides a positioning device 800 for an environmental Internet of Things (IoT) device, applied to a reading device, including:

[0467] The first sending unit 810 is used to read the first message sent by the device to the environmental IoT device, wherein the first message carries the identifier of the environmental IoT device.

[0468] The first receiving unit 820 is used to receive the second message sent by the environmental IoT device and obtain location-related information;

[0469] The information generation unit 830 is used to generate a third message based on the location-related information, wherein the third message carries the location information of the environmental IoT device, or the third message carries the location-related information.

[0470] In some embodiments, the location-related information includes at least one of the following:

[0471] The Transmission Receiver Point (TRP) receives the second message;

[0472] The reading device that receives the second message;

[0473] The absolute signal strength received from the second message;

[0474] Angle of arrival of the signal receiving the second message;

[0475] Round-trip time (RTT) between sending the first message and receiving the second message.

[0476] In some embodiments, the apparatus further includes:

[0477] The fourth receiving unit is used to receive a fourth message sent by the core network device, the fourth message being used to instruct the location of the environmental IoT device;

[0478] The fourth message includes at least one of the following:

[0479] Identification of environmental IoT devices;

[0480] The type of location information requested;

[0481] Location area information;

[0482] Desired positioning accuracy information.

[0483] In some embodiments, the first transmitting unit is specifically used for:

[0484] If the fourth message includes location area information, then the first message is sent to the environmental IoT device within the area indicated by the location area information.

[0485] In some embodiments, the requested location information type includes at least one of the following:

[0486] Location of environmental IoT devices;

[0487] The accuracy of the location of environmental IoT devices;

[0488] TRP information corresponding to environmental IoT devices;

[0489] Read device information corresponding to environmental IoT devices;

[0490] Read the signal strength of the first message sent by the device to the environmental IoT device;

[0491] The reading device measures the signal strength based on a second message returned by an environmental IoT device.

[0492] The reading device measures the angle of arrival of the signal based on a second message returned by an environmental IoT device.

[0493] The RTT between the reading device sending a first message to the environmental IoT device and receiving a second message returned by the environmental IoT device.

[0494] In some embodiments, the location area information includes at least one of the following:

[0495] Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) describes the area information;

[0496] Pre-configured area identifiers;

[0497] TRP identifier;

[0498] Read the device identifier;

[0499] Community signage.

[0500] In some embodiments, the apparatus further includes:

[0501] The fourth sending unit is used to send capability information to the core network device, the capability information being used to indicate the reading device's ability to locate environmental IoT devices;

[0502] The capability information includes at least one of the following:

[0503] Supported location modes;

[0504] The positioning accuracy of autonomous positioning;

[0505] Measurements supported by assisted positioning;

[0506] Information on whether periodic positioning measurements are supported;

[0507] Supported positioning cycles when periodic positioning measurements are supported.

[0508] In some embodiments, the apparatus further includes:

[0509] The fifth sending unit is used to send the third message to the core network equipment.

[0510] In some embodiments, the reading device includes at least one of the following:

[0511] Base station;

[0512] An intermediate node between environmental IoT devices and base stations.

[0513] It should be noted that the apparatus provided in this embodiment can implement all the method steps implemented in the method embodiment applied to the reading device, and can achieve the same technical effect. Therefore, the parts and beneficial effects that are the same as those in the method embodiment will not be described in detail here.

[0514] Specifically, as shown in Figure 9, this embodiment of the disclosure provides a positioning device 900 for an environmental Internet of Things (IoT) device, applied to a core network device, including:

[0515] The second sending unit 910 is used to send a fourth message to the reading device, the fourth message being used to instruct the location of the environmental Internet of Things device;

[0516] The second receiving unit 920 is used to receive the third message sent by the reading device;

[0517] The first determining unit 930 is configured to determine the location information of an environmental IoT device based on the third message, wherein the third message carries the location information of the environmental IoT device, or the third message carries the location-related information.

[0518] In some embodiments, the fourth message includes at least one of the following:

[0519] Identification of environmental IoT devices;

[0520] The type of location information requested;

[0521] Location area information;

[0522] Desired positioning accuracy information.

[0523] In some embodiments, the requested location information type includes at least one of the following:

[0524] Location of environmental IoT devices;

[0525] The accuracy of the location of environmental IoT devices;

[0526] TRP information corresponding to environmental IoT devices;

[0527] Read device information corresponding to environmental IoT devices;

[0528] The strength of the first message sent by the reading device to the environmental IoT device;

[0529] The reading device measures the signal strength based on a second message returned by an environmental IoT device.

[0530] The reading device measures the angle of arrival of the signal based on a second message returned by an environmental IoT device.

[0531] The RTT between the reading device sending a first message to the environmental IoT device and receiving a second message returned by the environmental IoT device.

[0532] In some embodiments, the location area information includes at least one of the following:

[0533] Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) describes the area information;

[0534] Pre-configured region identifiers;

[0535] TRP identifier;

[0536] Read the device identifier;

[0537] Community signage.

[0538] In some embodiments, the apparatus further includes:

[0539] The fourth receiving unit is used to receive capability information sent by the reading device, the capability information being used to indicate the reading device's ability to locate environmental IoT devices;

[0540] The capability information includes at least one of the following:

[0541] Supported location modes;

[0542] The positioning accuracy of autonomous positioning;

[0543] Measurements supported by assisted positioning;

[0544] Information on whether periodic positioning measurements are supported;

[0545] Supported positioning cycles when periodic positioning measurements are supported.

[0546] It should be noted that the apparatus provided in this embodiment can implement all the method steps implemented in the method embodiment applied to the core network equipment, and can achieve the same technical effect. Therefore, the parts and beneficial effects that are the same as those in the method embodiment will not be described in detail here.

[0547] Specifically, as shown in FIG10, this embodiment of the present disclosure provides a positioning device 1000 for an environmental Internet of Things (IoT) device, applied to an environmental IoT device, comprising:

[0548] The third receiving unit 1010 is used to receive a first message sent by the reading device, the first message carrying the identifier of the environmental IoT device;

[0549] The first processing unit 1020 is used to match the identifiers of the environmental IoT devices;

[0550] The third sending unit 1030 is used to send a second message to the reading device when the identifier of the environmental IoT device is successfully matched. The second message is used to determine location-related information.

[0551] It should be noted that the apparatus provided in this disclosure can implement all the method steps implemented in the method embodiment applied to environmental Internet of Things devices, and can achieve the same technical effect. Therefore, the parts and beneficial effects that are the same as those in the method embodiment will not be described in detail here.

[0552] It should be noted that the division of units in the embodiments of this disclosure is illustrative and only represents one logical functional division. In actual implementation, other division methods may be used. Furthermore, the functional units in the various embodiments of this disclosure can be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit can exist physically separately, or two or more units can be integrated into one unit. The integrated units described above can be implemented in hardware or as software functional units.

[0553] If the integrated unit is implemented as a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a processor-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of this disclosure, in essence, or the part that contributes to related technologies, or all or part of the technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. This computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions to cause a computer device (which may be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) or processor to execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in the various embodiments of this disclosure. The aforementioned storage medium includes various media capable of storing program code, such as USB flash drives, portable hard drives, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic disks, or optical disks.

[0554] Embodiments of this disclosure also provide a reading device. Taking a terminal as an example, as shown in FIG11, the reading device includes: a memory 1120, a transceiver 1100, and a processor 1110; wherein, the memory 1120 is used to store computer programs; the transceiver 1100 is used to receive and send data under the control of the processor 1110; and the processor 1110 is used to read the computer program in the memory and perform the following operations:

[0555] Send a first message to the environmental IoT device, the first message carrying the identifier of the environmental IoT device;

[0556] Receive the second message sent by the environmental IoT device and obtain location-related information;

[0557] A third message is generated based on the location-related information, the third message carrying the location information of the environmental IoT device, or the third message carrying the location-related information.

[0558] In some embodiments, the location-related information includes at least one of the following:

[0559] The Transmission Receiver Point (TRP) receives the second message;

[0560] The reading device that receives the second message;

[0561] The absolute signal strength received from the second message;

[0562] Angle of arrival of the signal receiving the second message;

[0563] Round-trip time (RTT) between sending the first message and receiving the second message.

[0564] In some embodiments, the processor is configured to read a computer program from the memory and perform the following operations:

[0565] Receive a fourth message sent by the core network device, the fourth message being used to instruct the location of the environmental IoT device;

[0566] The fourth message includes at least one of the following:

[0567] Identification of environmental IoT devices;

[0568] The type of location information requested;

[0569] Location area information;

[0570] Desired positioning accuracy information.

[0571] In some embodiments, the processor is configured to read a computer program from the memory and perform the following operations:

[0572] If the fourth message includes location area information, then the first message is sent to the environmental IoT device within the area indicated by the location area information.

[0573] In some embodiments, the requested location information type includes at least one of the following:

[0574] Location of environmental IoT devices;

[0575] The accuracy of the location of environmental IoT devices;

[0576] TRP information corresponding to environmental IoT devices;

[0577] Read device information corresponding to environmental IoT devices;

[0578] Read the signal strength of the first message sent by the device to the environmental IoT device;

[0579] The reading device measures the signal strength based on a second message returned by an environmental IoT device.

[0580] The reading device measures the angle of arrival of the signal based on a second message returned by an environmental IoT device.

[0581] The RTT between the reading device sending a first message to the environmental IoT device and receiving a second message returned by the environmental IoT device.

[0582] In some embodiments, the location area information includes at least one of the following:

[0583] Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) describes the area information;

[0584] Pre-configured area identifiers;

[0585] TRP identifier;

[0586] Read the device identifier;

[0587] Community signage.

[0588] In some embodiments, the processor is configured to read a computer program from the memory and perform the following operations:

[0589] Send capability information to the core network device, the capability information being used to indicate the reading device's ability to locate environmental IoT devices;

[0590] The capability information includes at least one of the following:

[0591] Supported location modes;

[0592] The positioning accuracy of autonomous positioning;

[0593] Measurements supported by assisted positioning;

[0594] Information on whether periodic positioning measurements are supported;

[0595] Supported positioning cycles when periodic positioning measurements are supported.

[0596] In some embodiments, the processor is configured to read a computer program from the memory and perform the following operations:

[0597] The third message is sent to the core network equipment.

[0598] In some embodiments, the reading device includes at least one of the following:

[0599] Base station;

[0600] An intermediate node between environmental IoT devices and base stations.

[0601] It should be noted that the device provided in this embodiment can implement all the method steps implemented in the method embodiment applied to the reading device, and can achieve the same technical effect. Therefore, the parts and beneficial effects that are the same as those in the method embodiment will not be described in detail here.

[0602] As shown in Figure 12, an embodiment of this disclosure also provides a network-side device, including: a memory 1220, a transceiver 1200, and a processor 1210; wherein, the memory 1220 is used to store computer programs; the transceiver 1200 is used to receive and send data under the control of the processor 1210; and the processor 1210 is used to read the computer program in the memory and perform the following operations:

[0603] A fourth message is sent to the reading device, the fourth message being used to instruct the location of the environmental IoT device;

[0604] Receive the third message sent by the reading device;

[0605] The location information of the environmental IoT device is determined according to the third message, wherein the third message carries the location information of the environmental IoT device, or the third message carries the location-related information.

[0606] In some embodiments, the fourth message includes at least one of the following:

[0607] Identification of environmental IoT devices;

[0608] The type of location information requested;

[0609] Location area information;

[0610] Desired positioning accuracy information.

[0611] In some embodiments, the requested location information type includes at least one of the following:

[0612] Location of environmental IoT devices;

[0613] The accuracy of the location of environmental IoT devices;

[0614] TRP information corresponding to environmental IoT devices;

[0615] Read device information corresponding to environmental IoT devices;

[0616] The strength of the first message sent by the reading device to the environmental IoT device;

[0617] The reading device measures the signal strength based on a second message returned by an environmental IoT device.

[0618] The reading device measures the angle of arrival of the signal based on a second message returned by an environmental IoT device.

[0619] The RTT between the reading device sending a first message to the environmental IoT device and receiving a second message returned by the environmental IoT device.

[0620] In some embodiments, the location area information includes at least one of the following:

[0621] Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) describes the area information;

[0622] Pre-configured area identifiers;

[0623] TRP identifier;

[0624] Read the device identifier;

[0625] Community signage.

[0626] In some embodiments, the processor is configured to read a computer program from the memory and perform the following operations:

[0627] The system receives capability information sent by the reading device, the capability information being used to indicate the reading device's ability to locate environmental IoT devices.

[0628] The capability information includes at least one of the following:

[0629] Supported location modes;

[0630] The positioning accuracy of autonomous positioning;

[0631] Measurements supported by assisted positioning;

[0632] Information on whether periodic positioning measurements are supported;

[0633] Supported positioning cycles when periodic positioning measurements are supported.

[0634] It should be noted that the device provided in this embodiment can implement all the method steps implemented in the method embodiment applied to the core network device, and can achieve the same technical effect. Therefore, the parts and beneficial effects that are the same as those in the method embodiment will not be described in detail here.

[0635] Embodiments of this disclosure also provide an environmental Internet of Things (IoT) device, including: a memory, a transceiver, and a processor; wherein, the memory is used to store a computer program; the transceiver is used to receive and transmit data under the control of the processor; and the processor is used to read the computer program in the memory and perform the following operations:

[0636] Receive a first message sent by the reading device, the first message carrying the identifier of the environmental IoT device;

[0637] The identifiers of the environmental IoT devices are matched;

[0638] If the identifier of the IoT device in the environment is successfully matched, a second message is sent to the reading device. The second message is used to determine location-related information.

[0639] It should be noted that in Figures 11 and 12, the bus architecture can include any number of interconnected buses and bridges, specifically linking various circuits of one or more processors (represented by processors) and memories (represented by memory). The bus architecture can also link various other circuits such as peripheral devices, voltage regulators, and power management circuits, which are well known in the art and therefore will not be described further herein. The bus interface provides the interface. The transceiver can be multiple components, including transmitters and transceivers, providing a unit for communicating with various other devices over transmission media, including wireless channels, wired channels, optical fibers, etc. The processor is responsible for managing the bus architecture and general processing, and the memory can store data used by the processor during operation.

[0640] The processor can be a central processing unit (CPU), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), or a complex programmable logic device (CPLD). The processor can also adopt a multi-core architecture.

[0641] It should be noted that the device provided in this embodiment can implement all the method steps implemented in the method embodiment applied to environmental Internet of Things devices, and can achieve the same technical effect. Therefore, the parts and beneficial effects that are the same as those in the method embodiment will not be described in detail here.

[0642] In addition, specific embodiments of this disclosure also provide a processor-readable storage medium storing a computer program thereon, wherein when the program is executed by a processor, it implements the steps of the positioning method for IoT devices in the above-described environment and achieves the same technical effect. To avoid repetition, it will not be described again here. The readable storage medium can be any available medium or data storage device that the processor can access, including but not limited to magnetic memory (e.g., floppy disk, hard disk, magnetic tape, magneto-optical disk (MO)), optical memory (e.g., compact disc (CD), digital video disc (DVD), Blu-ray disc (BD), high-definition versatile disc (HVD)), and semiconductor memory (e.g., ROM, erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), non-volatile memory (NAND (Non-volatile Memory Device) FLASH), solid state hard disk (SSD)).

[0643] It should be noted that the technical solutions provided in this disclosure are applicable to a variety of systems. For example, applicable systems may include Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, LTE Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) systems, LTE Time Division Duplex (TDD) systems, Long Term Evolution Advanced (LTE-A) systems, Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) systems, 5G New Radio (NR) systems and their evolved communication systems, and 6G (sixth generation mobile communication technology) systems. These systems may include terminal equipment and network equipment. The systems may also include a core network component, such as the Evolved Packet Core (EPC) and the 5G Core Network (5GC).

[0644] The terminal devices involved in the embodiments of this disclosure can be devices that provide voice and / or data connectivity to users, handheld devices with wireless connectivity, or other processing devices connected to a wireless modem. The names of the terminal devices may differ in different systems; for example, in 5G or 6G systems, the terminal device may be called User Equipment (UE). Wireless terminal devices can be USB storage devices, other personal computer memory devices, and dongles. They can also communicate with one or more core networks (CNs) via a Radio Access Network (RAN). Wireless terminal devices can be mobile terminal devices, such as mobile phones (or "cellular" phones) and computers with mobile terminal devices. For example, they can be portable, pocket-sized, handheld, computer-embedded, or vehicle-mounted mobile devices that exchange voice and / or data with the radio access network. Examples of such devices include Personal Communication Service (PCS) telephones, cordless phones, Session Initiated Protocol (SIP) phones, Wireless Local Loop (WLL) stations, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), personal computers, tablets, and Machine-type Communication (MTC) terminal devices. Wireless terminal devices can also be referred to as systems, subscriber units, subscriber stations, mobile stations, mobile devices, remote stations, access points, remote terminals, access terminals, user terminals, user agents, user devices, and wireless access devices and routers / modems that meet the limitations of this definition, but are not limited to these in the embodiments of this disclosure.

[0645] The network-side equipment involved in this disclosure can be a base station, which may include multiple cells providing services to terminals. Depending on the specific application, the base station may also be called an access point, or a device in the access network that communicates with the wireless terminal device through one or more sectors on the air interface, or other names. The network-side equipment can be used to exchange received air frames with Internet Protocol (IP) packets, acting as a router between the wireless terminal device and the rest of the access network, where the rest of the access network may include an Internet Protocol (IP) communication network. The network-side equipment can also coordinate the attribute management of the air interface. For example, the network-side equipment involved in this disclosure can be an evolved Node B (eNB or e-NodeB) in a long term evolution (LTE) system, a 5G base station (gNB) in a next generation system, or a Home evolved Node B (HeNB), relay node, femto, pico, network testing equipment, etc., and is not limited in this disclosure. In some network architectures, network-side devices may include centralized unit (CU) nodes and distributed unit (DU) nodes, which may also be geographically separated.

[0646] Network devices and terminal devices can each use one or more antennas to perform Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) transmission. MIMO transmission can be single-user MIMO or multi-user MIMO. Depending on the shape and number of antenna combinations, MIMO transmission can be two-dimensional MIMO (2D-MIMO), three-dimensional MIMO (3D-MIMO), full-dimensional MIMO (FD-MIMO), or massive-scale MIMO (MMIMO), or it can be diversity transmission, pre-coded transmission, or beamforming transmission, etc.

[0647] Those skilled in the art will understand that embodiments of this disclosure can be provided as methods, systems, or computer program products. Therefore, this disclosure can take the form of a completely hardware embodiment, a completely software embodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Furthermore, this disclosure can take the form of a computer program product embodied on one or more computer-usable storage media (including, but not limited to, disk storage and optical storage) containing computer-usable program code.

[0648] This disclosure is described with reference to flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of this disclosure. It will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer-executable instructions. These computer-executable instructions can be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, special-purpose computer, embedded processor, 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 specified in one or more blocks of the flowchart illustrations and / or one or more blocks of the block diagrams.

[0649] These processor-executable instructions may also be stored in a processor-readable memory that can instruct a computer or other programmable data processing device to operate in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the processor-readable memory produce an article of manufacture including instruction means that implement the functions specified in one or more flowcharts and / or one or more blocks of a block diagram.

[0650] These processor-executable instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer-implemented process, such that the instructions, which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus, provide steps for implementing the functions specified in one or more flowcharts and / or one or more blocks of a block diagram.

[0651] Furthermore, it should be noted that in the apparatus and method of this disclosure, it is obvious that the components or steps can be decomposed and / or recombined. These decompositions and / or recombinations should be considered equivalent solutions of this disclosure. Moreover, the steps performing the above series of processes can naturally be executed in the order described, but are not necessarily required to be executed in chronological order; some steps can be executed in parallel or independently of each other. Those skilled in the art will understand that all or any step or component of the method and apparatus of this disclosure can be implemented in any computing device (including processors, storage media, etc.) or network of computing devices, in hardware, firmware, software, or a combination thereof, which can be achieved by those skilled in the art using their basic programming skills after reading the description of this disclosure.

[0652] It should be noted that the above division of modules is merely a logical functional division. In actual implementation, they can be fully or partially integrated into a single physical entity, or they can be physically separated. Furthermore, these modules can be implemented entirely in software via processing element calls; they can be fully implemented in hardware; or some modules can be implemented by processing element calls to software, while others are implemented in hardware. For example, a module can be a separate processing element, or it can be integrated into a chip in the aforementioned device. Alternatively, it can be stored as program code in the memory of the aforementioned device, and its function can be called and executed by a processing element of the device. The implementation of other modules is similar. Moreover, these modules can be fully or partially integrated together, or they can be implemented independently. The processing element mentioned here can be an integrated circuit with signal processing capabilities. In the implementation process, each step of the above method or each of the above modules can be completed through integrated logic circuits in the hardware of the processor element or through software instructions.

[0653] For example, each module, unit, subunit, or submodule can be one or more integrated circuits configured to implement the above methods, such as one or more application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), one or more digital signal processors (DSPs), or one or more field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs). As another example, when a module is implemented using processing element scheduler code, the processing element can be a general-purpose processor, such as a central processing unit (CPU) or other processor capable of calling program code. Furthermore, these modules can be integrated together to implement a system-on-a-chip (SOC).

[0654] The terms “first,” “second,” etc., used in this disclosure and claims are used to distinguish similar objects and are not necessarily used to describe a specific order or sequence. It should be understood that such data can be interchanged where appropriate so that embodiments of this disclosure described herein may be implemented in orders other than those illustrated or described herein. Furthermore, the terms “comprising” and “having,” and any variations thereof, are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion; for example, a process, method, system, product, or apparatus that comprises a series of steps or units is not necessarily limited to those steps or units explicitly listed, but may include other steps or units not explicitly listed or inherent to such processes, methods, products, or apparatus. Similarly, the use of “at least one of A and B” in this specification and claims should be understood as “A alone, B alone, or both A and B present.”

[0655] Obviously, those skilled in the art can make various modifications and variations to this disclosure without departing from its spirit and scope. Therefore, if such modifications and variations fall within the scope of the claims of this disclosure and their equivalents, this disclosure is also intended to include such modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A positioning method for an environmental Internet of Things (IoT) device, applied to a reading device, the method comprising: The reading device sends a first message to the environmental IoT device, the first message carrying the identifier of the environmental IoT device; Receive the second message sent by the environmental IoT device and obtain location-related information; A third message is generated based on the location-related information, the third message carrying the location information of the environmental IoT device, or the third message carrying the location-related information.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein, The location-related information includes at least one of the following: The Transmission Receiver Point (TRP) receives the second message; The reading device that receives the second message; The absolute signal strength received from the second message; Angle of arrival of the signal receiving the second message; Round-trip time (RTT) between sending the first message and receiving the second message.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein, Before sending the first message to the environmental IoT device, the method further includes: Receive the fourth message sent by the core network equipment; The fourth message includes at least one of the following: Identification of environmental IoT devices; The type of location information requested; Location area information; Desired positioning accuracy information.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein, Sending the first message to the environmental IoT device includes: If the fourth message includes location area information, then the first message is sent to the environmental IoT device within the area indicated by the location area information.

5. The method according to claim 3, wherein, The requested location information type includes at least one of the following: Location of environmental IoT devices; The accuracy of the location of environmental IoT devices; TRP information corresponding to environmental IoT devices; Read device information corresponding to environmental IoT devices; Read the signal strength of the first message sent by the device to the environmental IoT device; The reading device measures the signal strength based on a second message returned by an environmental IoT device. The reading device measures the angle of arrival of the signal based on a second message returned by an environmental IoT device. The RTT between the reading device sending a first message to the environmental IoT device and receiving a second message returned by the environmental IoT device.

6. The method according to claim 3, wherein, The location area information includes at least one of the following: Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) describes the area information; Pre-configured region identifiers; TRP identifier; Read the device identifier; Community signage.

7. The method according to claim 3, wherein, Before receiving the fourth message sent by the core network device, the method further includes: Send capability information to the core network device, the capability information being used to indicate the reading device's ability to locate environmental IoT devices; The capability information includes at least one of the following: Supported location modes; The positioning accuracy of autonomous positioning; Measurements supported by assisted positioning; Information on whether periodic positioning measurements are supported; Supported positioning cycles when periodic positioning measurements are supported.

8. The method according to claim 1 or 3, further comprising: Send the third message to the core network equipment.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein, The reading device includes at least one of the following: Base station; An intermediate node between environmental IoT devices and base stations.

10. A method for locating environmental IoT devices, applied to core network equipment, the method comprising: A fourth message is sent to the reading device, the fourth message being used to instruct the location of the environmental IoT device; Receive the third message sent by the reading device; The location information of the environmental IoT device is determined according to the third message, wherein the third message carries the location information of the environmental IoT device, or the third message carries location-related information.

11. The method according to claim 10, further comprising: The system receives capability information sent by the reading device, the capability information being used to indicate the reading device's ability to locate environmental IoT devices. The capability information includes at least one of the following: Supported location modes; The positioning accuracy of autonomous positioning; Measurements supported by assisted positioning; Information on whether periodic positioning measurements are supported; Supported positioning cycles when periodic positioning measurements are supported.

12. A positioning method for an environmental IoT device, applied to an environmental IoT device, the method comprising: Receive a first message sent by the reading device, the first message carrying the identifier of the environmental IoT device; The identifiers of the environmental IoT devices are matched; If the identifier of the IoT device in the environment is successfully matched, a second message is sent to the reading device. The second message is used to determine location-related information.

13. A reading device, comprising: Memory, transceiver, processor: Memory, used to store computer programs; A transceiver, used to receive and send data under the control of the processor; Processor, configured to read the computer program in the memory and perform the following operations: Send a first message to the environmental IoT device, the first message carrying the identifier of the environmental IoT device; Receive the second message sent by the environmental IoT device and obtain location-related information; A third message is generated based on the location-related information, the third message carrying the location information of the environmental IoT device, or the third message carrying the location-related information.

14. The device according to claim 13, wherein, The location-related information includes at least one of the following: The Transmission Receiver Point (TRP) receives the second message; The reading device that receives the second message; The absolute signal strength received from the second message; Angle of arrival of the signal receiving the second message; Round-trip time (RTT) between sending the first message and receiving the second message.

15. The device according to claim 13, wherein, The processor is used to read the computer program in the memory and perform the following operations: Receive a fourth message sent by the core network device, the fourth message being used to instruct the location of the environmental IoT device; The fourth message includes at least one of the following: Identification of environmental IoT devices; The type of location information requested; Location area information; Desired positioning accuracy information.

16. The device according to claim 15, wherein, The processor is used to read the computer program in the memory and perform the following operations: If the fourth message includes location area information, then the first message is sent to the environmental IoT device within the area indicated by the location area information.

17. The device according to claim 15, wherein, The processor is used to read the computer program in the memory and perform the following operations: Send capability information to the core network device, the capability information being used to indicate the reading device's ability to locate environmental IoT devices; The capability information includes at least one of the following: Supported location modes; The positioning accuracy of autonomous positioning; Measurements supported by assisted positioning; Information on whether periodic positioning measurements are supported; Supported positioning cycles when periodic positioning measurements are supported.

18. The device according to claim 13 or 15, wherein, The processor is used to read the computer program in the memory and perform the following operations: Send the third message to the core network equipment.

19. A network-side device, comprising: Memory, transceiver, processor: Memory, used to store computer programs; A transceiver, used to receive and send data under the control of the processor; Processor, configured to read the computer program in the memory and perform the following operations: A fourth message is sent to the reading device, the fourth message being used to instruct the location of the environmental IoT device; Receive the third message sent by the reading device; The location information of the environmental IoT device is determined according to the third message, wherein the third message carries the location information of the environmental IoT device, or the third message carries location-related information.

20. The device according to claim 19, wherein, The processor is used to read the computer program in the memory and perform the following operations: The system receives capability information sent by the reading device, the capability information being used to indicate the reading device's ability to locate environmental IoT devices. The capability information includes at least one of the following: Supported location modes; The positioning accuracy of autonomous positioning; Measurements supported by assisted positioning; Information on whether periodic positioning measurements are supported; Supported positioning cycles when periodic positioning measurements are supported.

21. An environmental Internet of Things (IoT) device, comprising: Memory, transceiver, processor: Memory, used to store computer programs; A transceiver, used to receive and send data under the control of the processor; Processor, configured to read the computer program in the memory and perform the following operations: Receive a first message sent by the reading device, the first message carrying the identifier of the environmental IoT device; The identifiers of the environmental IoT devices are matched; If the identifier of the IoT device in the environment is successfully matched, a second message is sent to the reading device. The second message is used to determine location-related information.

22. A positioning device for an environmental Internet of Things (IoT) device, comprising: The first sending unit is used to read the first message sent by the device to the environmental IoT device, wherein the first message carries the identifier of the environmental IoT device. The first receiving unit is used to receive the second message sent by the environmental IoT device and obtain location-related information; An information generation unit is configured to generate a third message based on the location-related information, wherein the third message carries the location information of the environmental IoT device, or the third message carries the location-related information.

23. A positioning device for an environmental Internet of Things (IoT) device, comprising: The second sending unit is used to send a fourth message to the reading device, the fourth message being used to instruct the location of the environmental IoT device; The second receiving unit is used to receive the third message sent by the reading device; The first determining unit is configured to determine the location information of an environmental IoT device based on the third message, wherein the third message carries the location information of the environmental IoT device, or the third message carries location-related information.

24. A positioning device for an environmental Internet of Things (IoT) device, comprising: The third receiving unit is used to receive a first message sent by the reading device, wherein the first message carries the identifier of the environmental IoT device; The first processing unit is used to match the identifiers of the environmental IoT devices; The third sending unit is used to send a second message to the reading device when the identifier of the IoT device in the environment is successfully matched. The second message is used to determine location-related information.

25. A processor-readable storage medium storing a program for causing the processor to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 9, or the method of any one of claims 10 to 11, or the method of claim 12.

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