Spatial map participation and generation

Abstract

Example embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to methods, devices, apparatuses and computer readable storage medium for spatial map participation and generation In a method, an apparatus receives, from a first device, a request for participating in generation of a spatial map. The apparatus determines, based on the request, that location information of the first device is qualified to be used in generation of the spatial map.

Description

SPATIAL MAP PARTICIPATION AND GENERATIONFIELD

[0001] Various example embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to the field of telecommunication and in particular, to methods, devices, apparatuses and computer readable storage medium for discovery and selection of appropriate vertical application layer (VAL) user equipment (UE) in spatial map creation.BACKGROUND

[0002] A communication network may serve as a facility that enables communications between two or more communication devices or provides communication devices access to a data network. A mobile or wireless communication network is one example of a communication network. A communication device may be provided with a service by an application server.

[0003] The communication network may operate in accordance with standards such as those provided by Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) or European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI). Examples of standards provided by 3GPP are the so-called 3GPP standards for cellular technology generations, such as 3GPP standards for 4G technology, 5G technology, 6G technology etc.SUMMARY

[0004] Some example embodiments of this disclosure will be described with respect to certain aspects. These aspects are not intended to indicate key or essential features of the various example embodiments of this disclosure. Nor are they intended to be used to limit the scope thereof. Other related features, aspects, and elements will be apparent to a person skilled in the art in view of this disclosure. For example, it should be appreciated that further aspects may be provided by the combination of any two or more of the various aspects described below.

[0005] In a first aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an apparatus. The apparatus comprises at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to: receive, from a first device, a request for participating in generation of a spatial map; and determine, based on the request, that location information of the first device is qualified to be used in generation of the spatial map.

[0006] In some example embodiments, the apparatus may be caused to: obtain, from the request, information which comprises at least one of: location information of the first device, willingness information of the first device to participate the spatial map generation, capability information of the first device, or participation information of the first device; and, store the obtained information.

[0007] In some example embodiments, the capability information may comprise at least one of: energy capacity information, computation capacity information, memory capability information, geofencing information, availability or time of availability information, or position support information of the first device.

[0008] In some example embodiments, the apparatus may be caused to: receive, from the first device, update information of spatial map participation capability, wherein the update information comprises at least one of: updated location information of the first device, updated willingness information of the first device to participate the spatial map generation, updated capability information of the first device, or updated participation information of the first device; and update at least one of the stored information or the generated spatial map based on the update information.

[0009] In some example embodiments, the apparatus may be caused to: transmit, to a second device, at least one of the updated spatial map or an update indication indicating the update of the spatial map.

[0010] In some example embodiments, the apparatus may be caused to: transmit, to the first device, a response to the request, the response indicating an acknowledgement to the first device.

[0011] In some example embodiments, the apparatus may be caused to: in response to receiving, from a second device, a request for spatial map generation, generate the spatial map at least based on the location information of the first device; and transmit, to the second device, a response to the request for the spatial map generation, the response indicating at least one of the generated spatial map or a success of generation of the spatial map.

[0012] In some example embodiments, the apparatus may be caused to: transmit, to the second device, an indication indicating spatial map ready.

[0013] In some example embodiments, the second device may comprise a vertical application layer (VAL) server, or a service enabler architecture layer (SEAL) spatial mapping client.

[0014] In some example embodiments, the apparatus may comprise a SEAL spatial mapping server, and the first device may comprise a VAL terminal device or a SEAL spatial mapping client.

[0015] In a second aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an apparatus. The apparatus comprises at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to: transmit, to a device, a request for participating in generation of a spatial map; and receive, from the device, a response to the request for participating in generation of a spatial map, the response indicating an acknowledgement to the apparatus.

[0016] In some example embodiments, the request may comprise at least one of: location information of the apparatus, willingness information of the apparatus to participate the spatial map generation, capability information of the apparatus, or participation information of the apparatus.

[0017] In some example embodiments, the capability information may comprise at least one of:energy capacity information, computation capacity information, memory capability information, geofencing information, availability or time of availability information, or position support information of the apparatus.

[0018] In some example embodiments, the apparatus may be caused to: transmit, to the device, update information of spatial map participation capability, wherein the update information comprises at least one of: updated location information of the apparatus, updated willingness information of the apparatus to participate the spatial map generation, updated capability information of the apparatus, or updated participation information of the apparatus.

[0019] In some example embodiments, the device may comprise a service enabler architecture layer (SEAL) spatial mapping server, and the apparatus may comprise a vertical application layer (VAL) terminal device or a SEAL spatial mapping client.

[0020] In a third aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an apparatus. The apparatus comprises at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to: transmit, to a device, a request for a spatial map generation; and receive, from the device, a response to the request for the spatial map generation, the response indicating at least one of the generated spatial map or a success of generation of the spatial map.

[0021] In some example embodiments, the apparatus may be caused to: receive, from the device, at least one of an updated spatial map or an update indication indicating an update of the spatial map.

[0022] In some example embodiments, the apparatus may be caused to: receive, from the device, an indication indicating spatial map ready.

[0023] In some example embodiments, the device may comprise a service enabler architecture layer (SEAL) spatial mapping server, and the apparatus may comprise a VAL server, or a SEAL spatial mapping client.

[0024] In a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method. The method comprises: receiving, from a first device, a request for participating in generation of a spatial map; and determining, based on the request, that location information of the first device is qualified to be used in generation of the spatial map.

[0025] In a fifth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method. The method comprises: transmitting, to a device, a request for participating in generation of a spatial map; and receiving, from the device, a response to the request for participating in generation of a spatial map, the response indicating an acknowledgement to the apparatus.

[0026] In a sixth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method. The method comprises: transmitting, to a device, a request for a spatial map generation; and receiving, from the device, a response to the request for the spatial map generation, the response indicating at least one of thegenerated spatial map or a success of generation of the spatial map.

[0027] In a seventh aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an apparatus. The apparatus comprises means for receiving, from a first device, a request for participating in generation of a spatial map; and means for determining, based on the request, that location information of the first device is qualified to be used in generation of the spatial map.

[0028] In an eighth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an apparatus. The apparatus comprises means for transmitting, to a device, a request for participating in generation of a spatial map; and means for receiving, from the device, a response to the request for participating in generation of a spatial map, the response indicating an acknowledgement to the apparatus.

[0029] In a ninth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an apparatus. The apparatus comprises means for transmitting, to a device, a request for a spatial map generation; and means for receiving, from the device, a response to the request for the spatial map generation, the response indicating at least one of the generated spatial map or a success of generation of the spatial map.

[0030] In a tenth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a computer readable medium. The computer readable medium comprises instructions stored thereon for causing an apparatus to perform at least the following: receiving, from a first device, a request for participating in generation of a spatial map; and determining, based on the request, that location information of the first device is qualified to be used in generation of the spatial map.

[0031] In an eleventh aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a computer readable medium. The computer readable medium comprises instructions stored thereon for causing an apparatus to perform at least the following: transmitting, to a device, a request for participating in generation of a spatial map; and receiving, from the device, a response to the request for participating in generation of a spatial map, the response indicating an acknowledgement to the apparatus.

[0032] In a twelfth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a computer readable medium. The computer readable medium comprises instructions stored thereon for causing an apparatus to perform at least the following: transmitting, to a device, a request for a spatial map generation; and receiving, from the device, a response to the request for the spatial map generation, the response indicating at least one of the generated spatial map or a success of generation of the spatial map.

[0033] It is to be understood that the Summary section is not intended to identify key or essential features of embodiments of the present disclosure, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Other features of the present disclosure will become easily comprehensible through the following description.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0034] Some example embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanyingdrawings, where:

[0035] FIG. 1 illustrates an example communication environment in which example embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented;

[0036] FIG. 2 illustrates a signaling flow of the procedure for creating a spatial map;

[0037] FIG. 3 illustrates a signaling flow of the procedure for obtaining UE information at a location;

[0038] FIG. 4 illustrates an example signaling flow of communication between the first apparatus, the second apparatus and the third apparatus for spatial map generation according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0039] FIG. 5 illustrates another example signaling flow of communication between the first apparatus, the second apparatus and the third apparatus for spatial map generation according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0040] FIG. 6 illustrates an example signaling flow of negotiation with VAL UEs for spatial map participation during spatial map creation according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0041] FIG. 7 illustrates an example signaling flow of proactive information gathering of VAL UEs for spatial map participation according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0042] FIG. 8 illustrates an example signaling flow of update of proactive information gathering of VAL UEs for spatial map participation according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0043] FIG. 9 illustrates a flowchart of a method implemented at an apparatus in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0044] FIG. 10 illustrates a flowchart of a method implemented at an apparatus in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0045] FIG. 11 illustrates a flowchart of a method implemented at an apparatus in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0046] FIG. 12 illustrates a flowchart of a method implemented at an apparatus in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0047] FIG. 13 illustrates a flowchart of a method implemented at an apparatus in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0048] FIG. 14 illustrates a flowchart of a method implemented at an apparatus in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0049] FIG. 15 illustrates a simplified block diagram of a device that is suitable for implementing example embodiments of the present disclosure; and

[0050] FIG. 16 illustrates a block diagram of an example computer readable medium in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0051] Throughout the drawings, the same or similar reference numerals represent the same or similar element.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0052] Principle of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to some example embodiments. It is to be understood that these embodiments are described only for the purpose of illustration and help those skilled in the art to understand and implement the present disclosure, without suggesting any limitation as to the scope of the disclosure. Embodiments described herein can be implemented in various manners other than the ones described below.

[0053] In the following description and claims, unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skills in the art to which this disclosure belongs.

[0054] A core network function as described herein may be implemented as a core network entity that includes a combination of hardware processing circuit and software and / or firmware comprising machine-readable instructions, or software comprising machine-readable instructions that are executable by at least one processor of hardware processing circuit of an apparatus. A hardware processing circuit includes at least one processor and at least one memory storing machine-readable instructions that are executable by the at least one processor of the hardware processing circuit. A processor includes any or some combination of an accelerator, a microprocessor, a core of a multicore microprocessor, a microcontroller, a programmable integrated circuit, a programmable gate array, a digital signal processor, a central processing unit, a graphic processing unit, a tensor processing unit. Memory includes any or some combination of volatile or non-volatile memory (e.g., a flash memory, cache, a random-access memory (RAM), and / or a read-only memory (ROM)). The memory stores the machine-readable instructions of the software and / or firmware for execution by the at least one processor of the hardware processing circuit. The machine-readable instructions are executable by the at least one processor of the hardware processing circuit cause the hardware processing circuit to perform the actions or operations of the methods described herein. For example, the session management function described herein may be implemented as a session management entity and the session management policy control function described herein may be implemented as a session management policy control entity, respectively.

[0055] References in the present disclosure to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” “an example embodiment,” and the like indicate that the embodiment described may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but it is not necessary that every embodiment includes the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Further, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connectionwith an embodiment, it is submitted that it is within the knowledge of one skilled in the art to affect such feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with other embodiments whether or not explicitly described.

[0056] It shall be understood that although the terms “first,” “second,”..., etc. in front of noun(s) and the like may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another and they do not limit the order of the noun(s). For example, a first element could be termed a second element, and similarly, a second element could be termed a first element, without departing from the scope of example embodiments. As used herein, the term “and / or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the listed terms.

[0057] As used herein, “at least one of the following: ” and “at least one of ” and similar wording, where the list of two or more elements are joined by “and” or “or”, mean at least any one of the elements, or at least any two or more of the elements, or at least all the elements.

[0058] As used herein, unless stated explicitly, performing a step “in response to A” does not indicate that the step is performed immediately after “A” occurs and one or more intervening steps may be included.

[0059] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of example embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises”, “comprising”, “has”, “having”, “includes” and / or “including”, when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, elements, and / or components etc., but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components and / or combinations thereof.

[0060] As used in this application, the term “circuitry” may refer to one or more or all of the following:(a) hardware-only circuit implementations (such as implementations in only analog and / or digital circuitry) and(b) combinations of hardware circuits and software, such as (as applicable):(i) a combination of analog and / or digital hardware circuit(s) with software / firmware and(ii) any portions of hardware processor(s) with software (including digital signal processor(s)), software, and memory(ies) that work together to cause an apparatus, such as a mobile phone or server, to perform various functions) and (c) hardware circuit(s) and or processor(s), such as a microprocessor(s) or a portion of a microprocessor(s), that requires software (e.g., firmware) for operation, but the softwaremay not be present when it is not needed for operation.

[0061] This definition of circuitry applies to all uses of this term in this application, including in any claims. As a further example, as used in this application, the term circuitry also covers an implementation of merely a hardware circuit or processor (or multiple processors) or portion of a hardware circuit or processor and its (or their) accompanying software and / or firmware. The term circuitry also covers, for example and if applicable to the particular claim element, a baseband integrated circuit or processor integrated circuit for a mobile device or a similar integrated circuit in server, a cellular network device, or other computing or network device.

[0062] As used herein, the term “communication network” refers to a network following any suitable communication standards, such as New Radio (NR), Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA), Narrow Band Internet of Things (NB-loT) and so on. Furthermore, the communications between a terminal device and a network device in the communication network may be performed according to any suitable generation communication protocols, including, but not limited to, the first generation (1G), the second generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.75G, the third generation (3G), the fourth generation (4G), 4.5G, the fifth generation (5G), 5.5G, the sixth generation (6G) communication protocols, and / or any other protocols either currently known or to be developed in the future. Embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied in various communication systems. Given the rapid development in communications, there will of course also be future type communication technologies and systems with which the present disclosure may be embodied. It should not be seen as limiting the scope of the present disclosure to only the aforementioned system.

[0063] As used herein, the term “network device” refers to a node in a communication network via which a terminal device accesses the network and receives services therefrom. The network device may refer to a base station (BS) or an access point (AP), for example, a node B (NodeB or NB), an evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB), an NR NB (also referred to as a gNB), a Remote Radio Unit (RRU), a radio header (RH), a remote radio head (RRH), a relay, an Integrated Access and Backhaul (I AB) node, a low power node such as a femto, a pico, a non-terrestrial network (NTN) or non-ground network device such as a satellite network device, a low earth orbit (LEO) satellite and a geosynchronous earth orbit (GEO) satellite, an aircraft network device, and so forth, depending on the applied terminology and technology. In some example embodiments, radio access network (RAN) split architecture comprises a Centralized Unit (CU) and a Distributed Unit (DU) at an IAB donor node. An IAB node comprises a Mobile Terminal (IAB-MT) part that behaves like a UE toward the parent node, and a DU part of an IAB node behaves like a base station toward the next-hop IAB node.

[0064] The term “terminal device” refers to any end device that may be capable of wireless communication. By way of example rather than limitation, a terminal device may also be referred toas a communication device, user equipment (UE), a Subscriber Station (SS), a Portable Subscriber Station, a Mobile Station (MS), or an Access Terminal (AT). The terminal device may include, but not limited to, a mobile phone, a cellular phone, a smart phone, voice over IP (VoIP) phones, wireless local loop phones, a tablet, a wearable terminal device, a personal digital assistant (PDA), portable computers, desktop computer, image capture terminal devices such as digital cameras, gaming terminal devices, music storage and playback appliances, vehicle-mounted wireless terminal devices, wireless endpoints, mobile stations, laptop-embedded equipment (LEE), laptop-mounted equipment (LME), USB dongles, smart devices, wireless customer-premises equipment (CPE), an Internet of Things (loT) device, a watch or other wearable, a head-mounted display (HMD), a vehicle, a drone, a medical device and applications (e.g., remote surgery), an industrial device and applications (e.g., a robot and / or other wireless devices operating in an industrial and / or an automated processing chain contexts), a consumer electronics device, a device operating on commercial and / or industrial wireless networks, and the like. The terminal device may also correspond to a Mobile Termination (MT) part of an IAB node (e.g., a relay node). In the following description, the terms “terminal device”, “communication device”, “terminal”, “user equipment” and “UE” may be used interchangeably.

[0065] As used herein, the term “resource,” “transmission resource,” “resource block,” “physical resource block” (PRB), “uplink resource,” or “downlink resource” may refer to any resource for performing a communication, for example, a communication between a terminal device and a network device, such as a resource in time domain, a resource in frequency domain, a resource in space domain, a resource in code domain, or any other combination of the time, frequency, space and / or code domain resource enabling a communication, and the like. In the following, unless explicitly stated, a resource in both frequency domain and time domain will be used as an example of a transmission resource for describing some example embodiments of the present disclosure. It is noted that example embodiments of the present disclosure are equally applicable to other resources in other domains.

[0066] As used herein, the term “vertical application layer (VAL)” may refer to a layer in telecommunication networks that supports communication and integration of applications specific to various industries. It provides interfaces and functionalities that enable these applications to interact with the network effectively, ensuring tailored support for diverse vertical use cases.

[0067] As used herein, the term “service enabler architecture layer (SEAL)” may refer to a network layer that provides a unified framework to support diverse vertical applications and services in a consistent manner. SEAL facilitates interoperability between the application layer and the underlying network infrastructure by offering common enablers, such as service discovery, communication management, and data analytics.

[0068] As used herein, the term “spatial mapping (SM)” may refer to the process of determining the spatial characteristics or structure of an environment, typically using techniques such as signalprocessing, sensor fusion, or data analysis. Spatial Mapping is important in applications like augmented reality, autonomous systems, and advanced wireless communications, where understanding the physical space is necessary for accurate positioning, navigation, and interaction with objects.

[0069] FIG. 1 illustrates an example communication environment 100 in which example embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented. In the specific example of FIG. 1, communication environment 100 comprises a plurality of communication network devices, including a first apparatus 110, a second apparatus 120 and a third apparatus 130. The first apparatus 110, the second apparatus 120 and the third apparatus 130 may communicate with each other.

[0070] In the following, for the purpose of illustration, some example embodiments are described with a SEAL SM server as an example of the first apparatus 110, a VAL UE as an example of the second apparatus 120, and a VAL server as an example of the third apparatus 130. In some example embodiments, the second apparatus may comprise a SEAL SM client. In some other example embodiments, the third apparatus may comprises a SEAL SM client.

[0071] It is to be understood that the number of network devices and their connections shown in FIG. 1 are only for the purpose of illustration without suggesting any limitation. In the other example embodiments, the communication environment 100 may include any suitable number of devices configured to implement example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0072] Communications in the communication environment 100 may be implemented according to any proper communication protocol(s), comprising, but not limited to, cellular communication protocols, wireless local network communication protocols such as Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 and the like, and / or any other protocols currently known or to be developed in the future. Moreover, the communication may utilize any proper wireless communication technology, comprising but not limited to: Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Frequency Division Duplex (FDD), Time Division Duplex (TDD), Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple (OFDM), Discrete Fourier Transform spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM) and / or any other technologies currently known or to be developed in the future.

[0073] Currently, application enablement architecture for mobile metaverse services is being studied, and the mobile metaverse services include the following aspects: an enabler support for managing spatial anchors, an exposure of user sensitive information, a digital avatars support, spatial mapping, a support for avatar discovery and quality of service (QoS) control, a support device discovery to offload task for metaverse services, a support for metaverse services requiring multiple devices, and an enabler support for spatial anchors based services.

[0074] Furthermore, users’ localization is important in order to discover spatial anchors. The 5Gsystem offers a spatial localization service to determine this information. In addition, subject to operator policy, regulatory requirements and user consent, the 5G system may provide a means for a UE to provide sensor data, such as from UE sensors, cameras, etc., to the network in order to derive localization information, for example, to produce or modify a spatial map or discover or find spatial anchors. The 5G system may enable an authorized third party to obtain all the spatial anchors in a given three dimensional area.

[0075] In some solutions, during create or update of the spatial map, based on request from the VAL server, the spatial map is enhanced with information related to the VAL UEs that are available in the area related to the spatial map and are related to the VAL services of the VAL server. The produced spatial map will include VAL UEs information association with VAL services, such as position(s) in the spatial map.

[0076] In some solutions, after receiving a spatial map creation request from a subscriber, such as a VAL server or a SEAL client, the SEAL SM server selects available VAL UEs to participate and create the spatial map which is provided to the subscriber. FIG. 2 illustrates a signaling flow 200 of the procedure for creating a spatial map. As shown in FIG. 2, a VAL server 210 (or the SEAL SM client) transmits (2010) a request for spatial map creation to a SEAL SM server 220. As a spatial map consumer, the SEAL SM server 220 creates (2020) a spatial map. The spatial map may be structured in layers where each layer signifies a specific aspect of the spatial information, for example, three dimensional space of area of interest, objects. In addition, the SEAL SM server 220 transmits (2030) a response to the request for spatial map creation to the VAL server 210. Further, the SEAL SM server 220 transmits (2040) a spatial map ready notification to the VAL server 210.

[0077] In some solutions, the SEAL SM server selects available VAL UEs in an area of interest. In some example embodiments, the SEAL SM server may take use a location management (LM) server 320 or a LM service. FIG. 3 illustrates a signaling flow 300 of the procedure for obtaining UE information at a location. As shown in FIG. 3, a VAL server 310 transmits (3010) a request for getting UE information to the LM server 320. After receiving the request, the LM server 320 determines (3020) UE information at the location. In addition, the LM server 320 transmits (3030) the response to the request for getting UE information to the VAL server 310. In this case, the VAL server 310 has a jurisdiction over a geographical area for which the location management server is configured to operate. In addition, a UE in the geographical area provides its location information to the location management server 320. Further, the location management server 320 may obtain the requested UE location information either from core network or the target location management client or the VAL UE.

[0078] In some solutions, the management of spatial map with VAL UEs information related to the VAL server and the VAL server’s VAL services is supported. During create or update of the spatial map, based on request from the VAL server, this solution enhances spatial map with informationrelated to the VAL UEs that are available in the area related to the spatial map and are related to the VAL services of the VAL server. The produced spatial map may include VAL UEs information association with VAL services, such as position in spatial map.

[0079] In some solutions, the augmented layer information usage may refer to the followings. The requestor such as a VAL server or a SEAL SM client sends a request message to the SEAL SM server to create a spatial map. The request includes at least one of: requestor ID, security credentials, three-dimensional area of interest, information to be included in the spatial map such as access control rules defining which entities are permitted to discover and access the spatial map, spatial map layering information parameters, or augmented layer information that may be requested with the spatial map. It is noted that the SEAL SM server may obtain augmented layer information and may provide the obtained augmented layer information to the requestor in the response message. Moreover, the SEAL SM server authorizes the requestor, and validates the request. The SEAL SM server produces a requested spatial map using layering information and processed sensor data. If the augmented layer information indicates to include VAL UE information, the SEAL SM server fetches the list of VAL UEs in the area of interest from LM server and / or from network exposure function (NEF). If the augmented layer information indicates to include spatial anchors information within area of interest, the SEAL SM server fetches the list of spatial anchors in the area of interest.

[0080] For augmented layer information indication to include VAL UE information, it is proposed that the network (SEAL server) discovers in an area of interest one or more VAL UEs that may participate and create spatial map which is requested by the SEAL client to the SEAL server. However, it may happen that the selected VAL UEs are not willing to participate to or may be willing to participate but do not have enough resources to support in the creation of the spatial map due to various reasons such as not enough energy or battery capacity, computation capacity, potential expected mobility or location change, not ideal for the specific spatial map creation, and so on. In addition, the spatial map update in the augmented layer information for all the discovered UEs has to be notified with only VAL UE information as the entire spatial map is large volume of data to be exchanged for the continuous update from VAL UE.

[0081] In accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure, there is provided a solution for discovery and selection of appropriate VAL UE in spatial map creation. Specifically, the present disclosure comprises the way to discover appropriate UEs for the creation of a spatial map, the way to select appropriate UEs to create the spatial map, and the way to accommodate spatial map update with VAL UE information only. In operation, the SEAL SM server transmits a request for a spatial map participation, and the VAL UE transmits a response to the request for the spatial map participation. Alternatively, the VAL UE transmits a request for participating in generation of a spatial map, and the SEAL SM server determines that location information is qualified to be used in generationof the spatial map. In this way, the spatial map creation can be improved, which optimizes UE battery and optimization of VAL UE or SEAL SM client when updating or negotiating with the server about its participation in spatial map creation. In addition, required message exchanges, processing, and storage can be optimized.

[0082] Example embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. It is noted that the following accompanying drawings may be implemented separately or in any suitable combination, which is not limited in the present disclosure.

[0083] FIG. 4 illustrates an example signaling flow 400 of communication between the first apparatus 110, the second apparatus 120 and the third apparatus 130 for a spatial map generation according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the signaling flow 400 will be described with reference to FIG. 1 , for example, by using the first apparatus 110, the second apparatus 120, and the third apparatus 130. In some example embodiments, the first apparatus 110 may be a SEAL spatial mapping server. In some example embodiments, the second apparatus 120 may be a VAL terminal device, such as a VAL UE. Alternatively, the second apparatus 120 may be a SEAL spatial mapping client. In some example embodiments, the third apparatus 130 may be a VAL server. In some other example embodiments, the third apparatus 130 may be a SEAL spatial mapping client. For example, the third apparatus 130 may be a SEAL spatial mapping client different from the second apparatus 120. Alternatively, the third apparatus 130 may be a SEAL spatial mapping client same as the second apparatus 120.

[0084] The third apparatus 130 transmits (4010) a request for a spatial map generation to the first apparatus 110. The first apparatus 110 transmits (4020) a request for a spatial map participation. It is noted that the request for the spatial map may be transmitted before receiving the request for the spatial map generation from the third apparatus 130, or the request for the spatial map may be transmitted after receiving the request for the spatial map generation from the third apparatus 130, which is not limited herein. In this way, the spatial map generation can be improved.

[0085] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus 110 may broadcast the request for the spatial map participation. The request for the spatial map participation includes a participation criterion. The participation criterion is associated with a general participation criterion to participate in generation of a spatial map, and / or a specific participation criterion supporting the generation of the spatial map. In some example embodiments, the participation criterion may be predefined. Alternatively, the participation criterion may be pre-configured by another apparatus. In this way, the required message exchanges, processing, and storage can be optimized.

[0086] In some example embodiments, the general participation criterion may include a willingness to participate in spatial map creation. In some example embodiments, the specific participationcriterion may be spatial mapping specific participation criterion, such as energy or battery capacity required, computation capacity required, geofencing information, availability required, positioning service support required, and so on. In some examples, the spatial mapping specific participation criterion parameter may be a threshold value for each parameter. For example, the minimum energy required threshold may equal to a first value, the availability threshold may be from a first time point to a second time point, or the like. Alternatively, the spatial mapping specific participation criterion parameter may be mapped indices with a predetermined range. For example, the minimum energy required may be 4 which is on a range of 1 to 10, and the computation capacity required may be 6 which is on a range of 1 to 10, or the like.

[0087] In some example embodiments, the request for the spatial map participation may further include an identity of the first apparatus 110 and / or information of the spatial map. For example, the request may include spatial mapping server ID, or a spatial map description.

[0088] In response to receiving the request for the spatial map participation from the first apparatus 110, the second apparatus 120 performs (4030) a criterion check based on the participation criterion included in the request. In some example embodiments, for the general participation criterion, the second apparatus 120 may obtain run-time permission by presenting the information related to spatial map. For example, the SEAL spatial mapping client may interact with the user of the VAL UE to obtain run-time permission. Alternatively, the second apparatus 120 may check the information preconfigured about permission to participate in spatial map. In this case, based on the permission information, the second apparatus 120 may generate general participation information which includes the permission to participate in the spatial map to be created or already created, such as willingness information of the second apparatus 120 for participating the generation of the spatial map. In this way, the spatial map generation can be improved.

[0089] In some other example embodiments, for the spatial mapping specific participation criterion, the second apparatus 120 may perform the check for each criterion. In some example embodiments, for the energy capacity required, the second apparatus 120 may check whether the battery or energy capacity of the second apparatus 120 is available, satisfiable, or above a required threshold. In some other example embodiments, for the computation capacity required, the second apparatus 120 may check whether the computation capacity of the second apparatus 120 is available, satisfiable, or above a required threshold. In some example embodiments, for the geofencing required, the second apparatus 120 may check whether the second apparatus 120 is in a predetermined geofence currently. In some other example embodiments, for the availability required, the second apparatus 120 may check whether the second apparatus 120 may support the spatial map specific position reporting. In some example embodiments, after the check for the criterion is performed, the second apparatus 120 may generates spatial mapping specific participation information support information, such ascapability information of the second apparatus 120 for supporting the generation of the spatial map. In some example embodiments, the spatial mapping specific participation information support information may include the values for each support. In this way, the required message exchanges and storage can be optimized.

[0090] In some example embodiments, if the second apparatus 120 satisfies the participation criterion based on a result of the criterion check, the second apparatus 120 may generate a response to the request for the spatial map participation including a first indication. Alternatively, if the second apparatus 120 does not satisfy the participation criterion based on a result of the criterion check, the second apparatus 120 may generate a response to the request for the spatial map participation including a second indication. In this case, the first indication is different from the second indication. For example, the first indication may be a success indication, and the second indication may be a failure indication. In some example embodiments, the first indication may be predefined or predetermined, and the second indication may be predefined or predetermined. In this way, the spatial map creation can be improved by optimizing required message exchanges.

[0091] The second apparatus 120 transmits (4040) a response to the request for the spatial map participation, and the response indicates whether the second apparatus 120 satisfies the participation criterion. In some example embodiments, the response to the request for the spatial map participation may indicate whether the second apparatus 120 agrees to the participation criterion. In some example embodiments, if the response includes the first indication, the first apparatus 110 may determine (4050) that the second apparatus 120 satisfies the participation criterion. In some example embodiments, if the response includes the first indication, the response may further include details of the participation information. Alternatively, if the response includes the second indication, the first apparatus 110 may determine (4050) that the second apparatus 120 does not satisfy the participation criterion. In this way, the spatial map creation can be improved.

[0092] In some example embodiments, the response to the request for the spatial map participation may include, for example, but not limited to, the willingness information of the second apparatus 120 for participating the generation of the spatial map, the capability information of the second apparatus 120 for supporting the generation of the spatial map, and / or the like. The capability information may include various information, for example, energy capacity information, computation capacity information, memory capacity information, geofencing information, availability or time of availability information, and / or position support information of the second apparatus 120. It is to be understood that the above examples of the capability information are just discussed for illustration, rather than suggesting any limitations. The capability information may include other appropriate information in other example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0093] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus 110 may generate the spatial map basedon a response indicating the second apparatus 120 satisfies the participation criterion. In some example embodiments, the first apparatus 110 may generate the spatial map in response to receiving the request for a spatial map generation from the third apparatus 130. In this way, the spatial map creation can be improved.

[0094] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus 110 may receive, from at least one further apparatus, at least one response to the request for the spatial map participation for determining whether the at least one further apparatus satisfies the participation criterion. Moreover, the first apparatus 110 may determine the number of apparatuses satisfying the participation criterion from the second apparatus 110 and at least one further apparatus. If the number of apparatuses satisfying the participation criterion is less than or equals to a predetermined value, the first apparatus 110 may transmit (4060) a response to the request for the spatial map generation to the third apparatus 130, and the response may indicate a failure of the generation of the spatial map. For example, if the number of apparatuses equals to zero, that is, the first apparatus 110 may not be able to find a suitable or supporting apparatus to generate the spatial map, the first apparatus 110 may transmit (4060) a response indicating a failure of the generation of the spatial map, such as failure response or service reject message. Alternatively, if the number of apparatuses satisfying the participation criterion is greater than a predetermined value, the first apparatus 110 may transmit (4060) a response to the request for the spatial map generation to the third apparatus 130, and the response may indicate the generated spatial map and / or a success of generation of the spatial map. For example, if the number of apparatuses is greater than the required number of devices to generate the spatial map, the first apparatus 110 may transmit (4060) a response indicating a success of the generation of the spatial map, or the generated spatial map. In this way, the message exchanges, processing, and storage can be optimized.

[0095] In some example embodiments, if the response to the request for the spatial map generation indicates a failure of the generation of the spatial map, the response may include a time point after which the generation of a spatial map is allowed to be reinitiated, for example, the time point may depend on the time after which the second apparatus 120 in the area of interest may be available to participate in spatial map creation. Alternatively, the response may include a time value for a timer associated with reinitiation of the generation of the spatial map. In some example embodiments, after receiving the response including the time value, the third apparatus 130 may start the timer with the time value. In addition, if the timer expires, the third apparatus 130 may determine that the generation of a spatial map is allowed to be reinitiated, and the third apparatus 130 may transmit a further spatial map generation request to the first apparatus 110.

[0096] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus 120 may transmit (4070) update information of spatial map participation capability to the first apparatus 110. For example, in order tokeep the updated augmented layer information indication to include information of the second apparatus 120, the first apparatus 110 may subscribe to the second apparatus 120 to know the updated participation details. In this case, the update information may include, for example, updated location information of the second apparatus 120, updated willingness information of the second apparatus 120 to participate the spatial map generation, updated capability information of the second apparatus 120, and / or updated participation information of the second apparatus 120. In some example embodiments, the first apparatus 110 may update (4080) the spatial map based on the update information. In some example embodiments, the first apparatus 110 may transmit (4090) the updated spatial map and / or an update indication indicating the update of the spatial map to the third apparatus 130. For example, the first apparatus 110 may notify the third apparatus 130 about information of one or more already participating apparatuses. In some example embodiments, the first apparatus 110 may consolidate update based on the timer in the range of seconds to notify in the periodic fashion, which can reduce the number of notification update per apparatus in the continuous fashion. Thereby, the spatial map creation can be improved by optimizing required message exchanges.

[0097] In this way, the spatial map creation can be improved. For example, by updating or negotiating with the server about its participation in spatial map creation, the required message exchanges, processing, and storage can be optimized.

[0098] FIG. 5 illustrates an example signaling flow 500 of communication between the first apparatus 110, the second apparatus 120 and the third apparatus 130 for a spatial map generation according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the signaling flow 400 will be described with reference to FIG. 1 , for example, by using the first apparatus 110, the second apparatus 120, and the third apparatus 130. In some example embodiments, the first apparatus 110 may be a SEAL spatial mapping server. In some example embodiments, the second apparatus 120 may be a VAL terminal device, such as a VAL UE. Alternatively, the second apparatus 120 may be a SEAL spatial mapping client. In some example embodiments, the third apparatus 130 may be a VAL server. In some other example embodiments, the third apparatus 130 may be a SEAL spatial mapping client. For example, the third apparatus 130 may be a SEAL spatial mapping client different from the second apparatus 120. Alternatively, the third apparatus 130 may be a SEAL spatial mapping client same as the second apparatus 120.

[0099] In operation, the second apparatus 120 transmits (5005) a request for participating in generation of a spatial map to the first apparatus 110. Based on the request, the first apparatus 110 determines (5010) that location information of the second device 120 is qualified to be used in generation of the spatial map. For example, the second apparatus 120 registers or notifies to the first apparatus 110 about participation request of the second apparatus 120 upfront, along with location ofthe second apparatus 120, willingness to participate of the second apparatus 120, participation information of the second apparatus 120, and so on. In this way, the spatial map creation can be improved by optimizing required message exchanges, processing, and storage.

[0100] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus 110 may obtain information from the request, and the information may include location information of the second apparatus 120, willingness information of the second apparatus 120 to participate the spatial map generation, capability information of the second apparatus 120, and / or participation information of the second apparatus 120. In addition, the first apparatus 110 may store (5015) the obtained information. For example, the first apparatus 110 may maintain a list of apparatuses as per their location, including the second apparatus 120, and the first apparatus 110 may update or include the information about supporting apparatus or non-supporting apparatus in an apparatus participation data repository. In some example embodiments, the capability information may include energy capacity information, computation capacity information, memory capability information, geofencing information, availability or time of availability information, and / or position support information of the second apparatus 120. In this way, the message storage can be optimized.

[0101] The first apparatus 110 transmits (5020) a response to the request for participating in generation of the spatial map, and the response indicates an acknowledgement to the second apparatus 120. For example, the first apparatus 110 sends acknowledgement and soft-acceptance to the second apparatus 120 to consider for spatial map creation if it needs. In other words, it is a standby notification to the second apparatus 120. In this way, the required message exchanges can be optimized.

[0102] The third apparatus 130 transmits (5025) a request for spatial map generation to the second apparatus 120. In some example embodiments, in response to receiving the request for spatial map generation, the first apparatus may generate (5030) the spatial map at least based on the location information of the second apparatus 120. The first apparatus 110 transmits (5045) a response to the request for the spatial map generation to the third apparatus 130, and the response may indicate the generated spatial map and / or a success of generation of the spatial map. In some example embodiments, the first apparatus 110 may transmit (5050) an indication indicating spatial map ready to the third apparatus 130. In this way, the spatial map creation can be improved by optimizing required message exchanges.

[0103] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus 120 may transmit (5055) update information of spatial map participation capability to the first apparatus 110. For example, the update information may include updated location information of the second apparatus 120, updated willingness information of the second apparatus 120 to participate the spatial map generation, updated capability information of the second apparatus 120, and / or updated participation information of thesecond apparatus 120. In some example embodiments, the first apparatus 110 may update (5060) the spatial map based on the update information. In some example embodiments, the first apparatus 110 may transmit (5065) the updated spatial map and / or an update indication indicating the update of the spatial map to the third apparatus 130. In some example embodiments, the first apparatus 110 may consolidate update based on the timer in the range of seconds to notify in the periodic fashion. In this way, the number of notification update can be reduced. Therefore, the required message exchanges can be optimized.

[0104] In this way, the spatial map generation can be improved, the battery usage can be optimized, and the efficiency can be enhanced. Specifically, the required message exchanges, processing demands, and storage requirements can be reduced.

[0105] FIG. 6 illustrates an example signaling flow 600 of negotiation with VAL UEs for spatial map participation during spatial map creation according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. The example signaling flow 600 is an implementation of the example signaling flow 400 of FIG. 4. In particular, in the example embodiments discussed with respect to FIG. 6, the SEAL spatial mapping server 620 is an example of the first apparatus 110 shown in FIG. 4, the VAL UE 630 (or a SEAL spatial mapping client) is an example of the second apparatus 120 shown in FIG. 4, and the VAL server 610 is an example of the third apparatus 130 shown in FIG. 4.

[0106] As shown in FIG. 6, the VAL server 610 (or a SEAL spatial mapping client) transmits (6010) a create spatial map request to a SEAL spatial mapping server 620. In response to receiving the request from the VAL server 610, the SEAL spatial mapping server 620 creates (6020) the spatial map.

[0107] The SEAL spatial mapping server 620 transmits (6030) a spatial map participation request. For example, the SEAL spatial mapping server 620 may broadcast the spatial map participation request. The spatial map participation request may include general criteria and / or spatial mapping specific criteria, which is similar to the request for the spatial map participation described above. In response to receiving the spatial map participation request, the VAL UE 630 (or a SEAL spatial mapping client) transmits (6040) a spatial map participation response to the SEAL spatial mapping server 620. In this case, the spatial map participation response may include general participation information and / or spatial mapping specific participation information, which is similar to the response to the request for the spatial map participation described above, and the details are not described here again.

[0108] The SEAL spatial mapping server 620 transmits (6050) a create spatial map response to the VAL server 610 (or a SEAL spatial mapping client). For example, the response may indicate the generated spatial map and / or a success of generation of the spatial map. Alternatively, the SEAL spatial mapping server 620 transmits (6050) a response indicating a failure of the generation of thespatial map, such as a failure response message. In addition, the SEAL spatial mapping server 620 may transmit (6060) a spatial map ready notification to the VAL server 610 (or a SEAL spatial mapping client).

[0109] In this way, the spatial map creation can be improved. Specifically, by negotiating with the server about its participation in spatial map creation, the required message exchanges, processing, and storage can be optimized.

[0110] FIG. 7 illustrates an example signaling flow 700 of proactive information gathering of VAL UEs 630 for spatial map participation according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. The example signaling flow 700 is an implementation of the example signaling flow 500 of FIG. 5. In particular, in the example embodiments discussed with respect to FIG. 7, the SEAL spatial mapping server 620 is an example of the first apparatus 110 shown in FIG. 5, the VAL UE 630 (or a SEAL spatial mapping client) is an example of the second apparatus 120 shown in FIG. 5, and the VAL server 610 is an example of the third apparatus 130 shown in FIG. 5.

[0111] As shown in FIG. 7, the VAL UE 630 (or a SEAL spatial mapping client) transmits (7010) a spatial map participation request to the SEAL spatial mapping server 620. In this case, the spatial map participation request may include location information of the VAL UE 630 and other parameters, such as willingness information of the VAL UE 630 to participate the spatial map generation, capability information of the VAL UE 630, or participation information of the VAL UE 630.

[0112] The SEAL spatial mapping server 620 stores (7020) the VAL UE participation data. For example, the SEAL spatial mapping server 620 may maintain a list of VAL UE clients as per their location. The SEAL spatial mapping server 620 may update or include the information about supporting or non-supporting VAL UEs in a VAL UE participation data repository. In addition, the SEAL spatial mapping server 620 transmits (7030) a spatial map participation response to the VAL UE 630 (or a SEAL spatial mapping client). For example, the SEAL spatial mapping server 620 sends acknowledgement and soft-acceptance to the VAL UE 6300 to consider for spatial map creation if it needs. In other words, it is a stand-by notification to the VAL UE 630.

[0113] The VAL server 610 (or a SEAL spatial mapping client) transmits (7040) a create spatial map request to a SEAL spatial mapping server 620. In response to receiving the request from the VAL server 610, the SEAL spatial mapping server 620 creates (7050) the spatial map. It is noted that the SEAL spatial mapping server 620 may receive (7040) the create spatial map request before receiving (7010) the spatial map participation request from the VAL UE 630, or the SEAL spatial mapping server 620 may receive (7040) the create spatial map request between receiving (7010) the spatial map participation request from the VAL UE 630 and transmitting (7030) spatial map participation response to the VAL UE 630, which is not limited herein. The SEAL spatial mapping server 620 transmits (7060) a create spatial map response to the VAL server 610. For example, the response may indicate thegenerated spatial map and / or a success of generation of the spatial map. In addition, the SEAL spatial mapping server 620 may transmit (7070) a spatial map ready notification to the VAL server 610 (or a SEAL spatial mapping client). In this way, the spatial map creation can be improved, which optimizes UE battery and optimization of VAL UE or SEAL SM client.

[0114] FIG. 8 illustrates an example signaling flow 800 of update of proactive information gathering of VAL UEs 630 for spatial map participation according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. The example signaling flow 800 is an implementation of the example signaling flow 500 of FIG. 5. In particular, in the example embodiments discussed with respect to FIG. 8, the SEAL spatial mapping server 620 is an example of the first apparatus 110 shown in FIG. 5, the VAL UE 630 (or a SEAL spatial mapping client) is an example of the second apparatus 120 shown in FIG. 5, and the VAL server 610 is an example of the third apparatus 130 shown in FIG. 5.

[0115] As shown in FIG. 8, the VAL server 610 (or a SEAL spatial mapping client) transmits (8010) a request for creating spatial map to a SEAL spatial mapping server 620. In response to receiving the request from the VAL server 610, the SEAL spatial mapping server 620 creates (8020) the spatial map. The SEAL spatial mapping server 620 transmits (8030) a response to the request for creating spatial map. In addition, the SEAL spatial mapping server 620 may transmit (8040) a spatial map ready notification to the VAL server 610 (or a SEAL spatial mapping client).

[0116] During the spatial map creation ongoing, a VAL UE 630 may update its participation willingness and / or the participation information. In this case, the VAL UE 630 (or a SEAL spatial mapping client) transmit (8055) information of update of map participation capability to the SEAL spatial mapping server 620. In this case, the information may include information such as updated location information of the VAL UE 630, updated willingness information of the VAL UE 630 to participate the spatial map generation, updated capability information of the VAL UE 630, or updated participation information of the VAL UE 630. In some examples, the SEAL spatial mapping server 620 may update the spatial map based on the information. The SEAL spatial mapping server 620 transmits (8060) spatial map VAL UE update notification to the VAL server 610 (or a SEAL spatial mapping client), for example, including the updated spatial map and / or an update indication indicating the update of the spatial map. In some example embodiments, the SEAL spatial mapping server 620 may consolidate update based on the timer in the range of seconds to notify in the periodic fashion. In this way, the number of notification update can be reduced. In addition, the VAL server 610 transmit (8070) a notify spatial map response to the SEAL spatial mapping server 620.

[0117] In this way, the spatial map creation can be improved. Specifically, by updating with the server about its participation in spatial map creation, the required message exchanges, processing, and storage can be optimized.

[0118] FIG. 9 shows a flowchart of an example method 900 implemented at an apparatus inaccordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the method 900 will be described from the perspective of an apparatus, such as the first apparatus 110 in FIG. 1.

[0119] At block 910, the apparatus transmits a request for a spatial map participation which comprises a participation criterion associated with at least one of: a general participation criterion to participate in generation of a spatial map, or a specific participation criterion supporting the generation of the spatial map.

[0120] At block 920, the apparatus receives, from a first device, a response to the request for the spatial map participation, the response indicating whether the first device satisfies the participation criterion.

[0121] In some example embodiments, the participation criterion may be predefined or preconfigured.

[0122] In some example embodiments, the method 900 may further comprise: based on a determination that the response comprises a first indication, determining that the first device satisfies the participation criterion; and based on a determination that the response comprises a second indication, determining that the first device does not satisfy the participation criterion, wherein the first indication is different from the second indication.

[0123] In some example embodiments, the first indication may be predefined or predetermined, and the second indication may be predefined or predetermined.

[0124] In some example embodiments, the response may comprise at least one of: willingness information of the first device for participating the generation of the spatial map, or capability information of the first device for supporting the generation of the spatial map.

[0125] In some example embodiments, the capability information may comprise at least one of: energy capacity information, computation capacity information, memory capacity information, geofencing information, availability or time of availability information, or position support information of the first device.

[0126] In some example embodiments, the method 900 may further comprise: generating the spatial map based on a response indicating the first device satisfies the participation criterion.

[0127] In some example embodiments, the method 900 may further comprise: receiving, from the first device, update information of spatial map participation capability, wherein the update information comprises at least one of: updated location information of the first device, updated willingness information of the first device to participate the spatial map generation, updated capability information of the first device, or updated participation information ofthe first device; and updating the spatial map based on the update information.

[0128] In some example embodiments, the method 900 may further comprise: transmitting, to asecond device, at least one of the updated spatial map or an update indication indicating the update of the spatial map.

[0129] In some example embodiments, the method 900 may further comprise: in response to receiving, from a second device, a request for a spatial map generation, generating the spatial map.

[0130] In some example embodiments, the method 900 may further comprise: receiving, from at least one further device, at least one response to the request for the spatial map participation for determining whether the at least one further device satisfies the participation criterion; determining, from the first device and the at least one further device, the number of devices satisfying the participation criterion; and based on a determination that the determined number of devices is less than or equals to a predetermined value, transmitting to the second device, a response to the request for the spatial map generation indicating a failure of the generation of the spatial map.

[0131] In some example embodiments, the response to the request for the spatial map generation may comprise at least one of: a time point after which the generation of a spatial map is allowed to be reinitiated, or a time value for a timer associated with reinitiation of the generation of the spatial map.

[0132] In some example embodiments, the method 900 may further comprise: receiving, from at least one further device, at least one response to the request for the spatial map participation for determining whether the at least one further device satisfies the participation criterion; determining, from the at least one further device and the first device, the number of devices satisfying the participation criterion; and based on a determination that the determined number of devices is greater than a predetermined value, transmitting to the second device, a response to the request for the spatial map generation indicating at least one of the generated spatial map or a success of generation of the spatial map.

[0133] In some example embodiments, the second device may comprise a vertical application layer (VAL) server, or a service enabler architecture layer (SEAL) spatial mapping client.

[0134] In some example embodiments, the request for the spatial map participation may further comprise at least one of: an identity of the apparatus, or information of the spatial map.

[0135] In some example embodiments, the apparatus may comprise a SEAL spatial mapping server, and the first device may comprise a VAL terminal device or a SEAL spatial mapping client.

[0136] FIG. 10 shows a flowchart of an example method 1000 implemented at an apparatus in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the method 1000 will be described from the perspective of an apparatus, such as the second apparatus 120 in FIG. 1.

[0137] At block 1010, the apparatus receives, from a device, a request for a spatial map participation which comprises a participation criterion associated with at least one of: a general participation criterion to participate in generation of a spatial map, or a specific participation criterion supportingthe generation of the spatial map.

[0138] At block 1020, the apparatus transmits, to the device, a response to the request for the spatial map participation, the response indicating whether the apparatus satisfies the participation criterion.

[0139] In some example embodiments, the method 1000 may further comprise: performing a criterion check based on the participation criterion; based on a determination that the apparatus satisfies the participation criterion based on a result of the criterion check, generating the response comprising a first indication; and based on a determination that the apparatus does not satisfy the participation criterion based on the result of the criterion check, generating the response comprising a second indication. In this case, the first indication is different from the second indication.

[0140] In some example embodiments, the first indication may be predefined or predetermined, and the second indication may be predefined or predetermined.

[0141] In some example embodiments, the response may comprise at least one of: willingness information of the apparatus for participating the generation of the spatial map, or capability information of the apparatus for supporting the generation of the spatial map.

[0142] In some example embodiments, the capability information may comprise at least one of: energy capacity information, computation capacity information, memory capacity information, geofencing information, availability or time of availability information, or position support information of the apparatus.

[0143] In some example embodiments, the method 1000 may further comprise: transmitting, to the device, update information of spatial map participation capability, wherein the update information comprises at least one of: updated location information of the apparatus, updated willingness information of the apparatus to participate the spatial map generation, updated capability information of the apparatus, or updated participation information of the apparatus.

[0144] In some example embodiments, the request for the spatial map participation may further comprise at least one of: an identity of the device, or information of the spatial map.

[0145] In some example embodiments, the device may comprise a service enabler architecture layer (SEAL) spatial mapping server, and the apparatus may comprise a vertical application layer (VAL) terminal device or a SEAL spatial mapping client.

[0146] FIG. 11 shows a flowchart of an example method 1100 implemented at an apparatus in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the method 1100 will be described from the perspective of an apparatus, such as the third apparatus 130 in FIG. 1.

[0147] At block 1110, the apparatus transmits, to a device, a request for a spatial map generation.

[0148] At block 1120, the apparatus receives, from the device, a response to the request for the spatial map generation, the response indicating at least one of: a failure of generation of spatial map,a generated spatial map, or a success of generation of spatial map.

[0149] In some example embodiments, the method 1100 may further comprise: receiving, from the device, at least one of an updated spatial map or an update indication indicating an update of the spatial map.

[0150] In some example embodiments, the response may comprise at least one of: a time point after which the generation of a spatial map is allowed to be reinitiated, or a time value for a timer associated with reinitiation of the generation of the spatial map.

[0151] In some example embodiments, the method 1100 may further comprise: starting the timer with the time value; based on a determination that the timer expires, determining that the generation of a spatial map is allowed to be reinitiated; and transmitting, to the device, a further spatial map generation request.

[0152] In some example embodiments, the device may comprise a service enabler architecture layer (SEAL) spatial mapping server, and the apparatus may comprise a VAL server, or a SEAL spatial mapping client.

[0153] FIG. 12 shows a flowchart of an example method 1200 implemented at an apparatus in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the method 1200 will be described from the perspective of an apparatus, such as the first apparatus 110 in FIG. 1.

[0154] At block 1210, the apparatus receives, from a first device, a request for participating in generation of a spatial map.

[0155] At block 1220, the apparatus determines, based on the request, that location information of the first device is qualified to be used in generation of the spatial map.

[0156] In some example embodiments, the method 1200 may further comprise: obtaining, from the request, information which comprises at least one of: location information of the first device, willingness information of the first device to participate the spatial map generation, capability information of the first device, or participation information of the first device; and, storing the obtained information.

[0157] In some example embodiments, the capability information may comprise at least one of: energy capacity information, computation capacity information, memory capability information, geofencing information, availability or time of availability information, or position support information of the first device.

[0158] In some example embodiments, the method 1200 may further comprise: receiving, from the first device, update information of spatial map participation capability, wherein the update information comprises at least one of: updated location information of the first device, updated willingness information of the first device to participate the spatial map generation, updated capability informationof the first device, or updated participation information of the first device; and updating at least one of the stored information or the generated spatial map based on the update information.

[0159] In some example embodiments, the method 1200 may further comprise: transmitting, to a second device, at least one of the updated spatial map or an update indication indicating the update of the spatial map.

[0160] In some example embodiments, the method 1200 may further comprise: transmitting, to the first device, a response to the request, the response indicating an acknowledgement to the first device.

[0161] In some example embodiments, the method 1200 may further comprise: in response to receiving, from a second device, a request for spatial map generation, generating the spatial map at least based on the location information of the first device; and transmitting, to the second device, a response to the request for the spatial map generation, the response indicating at least one of the generated spatial map or a success of generation of the spatial map.

[0162] In some example embodiments, the method 1200 may further comprise: transmitting, to the second device, an indication indicating spatial map ready.

[0163] In some example embodiments, the second device may comprise a vertical application layer (VAL) server, or a service enabler architecture layer (SEAL) spatial mapping client.

[0164] In some example embodiments, the apparatus may comprise a SEAL spatial mapping server, and the first device may comprise a VAL terminal device or a SEAL spatial mapping client.

[0165] FIG. 13 shows a flowchart of an example method 1300 implemented at an apparatus in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the method 1300 will be described from the perspective of an apparatus, such as the second apparatus 120 in FIG. 1.

[0166] At block 1310, the apparatus transmits, to a device, a request for participating in generation of a spatial map.

[0167] At block 1320, the apparatus receives, from the device, a response to the request for participating in generation of a spatial map, the response indicating an acknowledgement to the apparatus.

[0168] In some example embodiments, the request may comprise at least one of: location information of the apparatus, willingness information of the apparatus to participate the spatial map generation, capability information of the apparatus, or participation information of the apparatus.

[0169] In some example embodiments, the capability information may comprise at least one of: energy capacity information, computation capacity information, memory capability information, geofencing information, availability or time of availability information, or position support information of the apparatus.

[0170] In some example embodiments, the method 1300 may further comprise: transmitting, to thedevice, update information of spatial map participation capability. In this case, the update information comprises at least one of: updated location information of the apparatus, updated willingness information of the apparatus to participate the spatial map generation, updated capability information of the apparatus, or updated participation information of the apparatus.

[0171] In some example embodiments, the device may comprise a service enabler architecture layer (SEAL) spatial mapping server, and the apparatus may comprise a vertical application layer (VAL) terminal device or a SEAL spatial mapping client.

[0172] FIG. 14 shows a flowchart of an example method 1400 implemented at an apparatus in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the method 1400 will be described from the perspective of an apparatus, such as the third apparatus 130 in FIG. 1.

[0173] At block 1410, the apparatus transmits, to a device, a request for a spatial map generation.

[0174] At block 1420, the apparatus receives, from the device, a response to the request for the spatial map generation, the response indicating at least one of the generated spatial map or a success of generation of the spatial map.

[0175] In some example embodiments, the method 1400 may further comprise: receiving, from the device, at least one of an updated spatial map or an update indication indicating an update of the spatial map.

[0176] In some example embodiments, the method 1400 may further comprise: receiving, from the device, an indication indicating spatial map ready.

[0177] In some example embodiments, the device may comprise a service enabler architecture layer (SEAL) spatial mapping server, and the apparatus may comprise a VAL server, or a SEAL spatial mapping client.

[0178] In some example embodiments, an apparatus capable of performing any of the method 900 (for example, the apparatus 110 in FIG. 1) may comprise means for performing the respective operations of the method 900. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuitry or software module. The apparatus may be implemented as or included in the first apparatus 110 in FIG. 1.

[0179] In some example embodiments, the apparatus may comprise means for transmitting a request for a spatial map participation which comprises a participation criterion associated with at least one of: a general participation criterion to participate in generation of a spatial map, or a specific participation criterion supporting the generation of the spatial map; and means for receiving, from a first device, a response to the request for the spatial map participation, the response indicating whether the first device satisfies the participation criterion.

[0180] In some example embodiments, the participation criterion may be predefined or pre-configured.

[0181] In some example embodiments, the apparatus may further comprise: means for based on a determination that the response comprises a first indication, determining that the first device satisfies the participation criterion; and means for based on a determination that the response comprises a second indication, determining that the first device does not satisfy the participation criterion. In this case, the first indication is different from the second indication.

[0182] In some example embodiments, the first indication may be predefined or predetermined, and the second indication may be predefined or predetermined.

[0183] In some example embodiments, the response may comprise at least one of: willingness information of the first device for participating the generation of the spatial map, or capability information of the first device for supporting the generation of the spatial map.

[0184] In some example embodiments, the capability information may comprise at least one of: energy capacity information, computation capacity information, memory capacity information, geofencing information, availability or time of availability information, or position support information of the first device.

[0185] In some example embodiments, the apparatus may further comprise: means for generating the spatial map based on a response indicating the first device satisfies the participation criterion.

[0186] In some example embodiments, the apparatus may further comprise: means for receiving, from the first device, update information of spatial map participation capability, wherein the update information comprises at least one of: updated location information of the first device, updated willingness information of the first device to participate the spatial map generation, updated capability information of the first device, or updated participation information of the first device; and means for updating the spatial map based on the update information.

[0187] In some example embodiments, the apparatus may further comprise: means for transmitting, to a second device, at least one of the updated spatial map or an update indication indicating the update of the spatial map.

[0188] In some example embodiments, the apparatus may further comprise: means for in response to receiving, from a second device, a request for a spatial map generation, generating the spatial map.

[0189] In some example embodiments, the apparatus may further comprise: means for receiving, from at least one further device, at least one response to the request for the spatial map participation for determining whether the at least one further device satisfies the participation criterion; means for determining, from the first device and the at least one further device, the number of devices satisfying the participation criterion; and means for based on a determination that the determined number of devices is less than or equals to a predetermined value, transmitting to the second device, a response to the request for the spatial map generation indicating a failure of the generation of the spatial map.

[0190] In some example embodiments, the response to the request for the spatial map generation may comprise at least one of: a time point after which the generation of a spatial map is allowed to be reinitiated, or a time value for a timer associated with reinitiation of the generation of the spatial map.

[0191] In some example embodiments, the apparatus may further comprise: means for receiving, from at least one further device, at least one response to the request for the spatial map participation for determining whether the at least one further device satisfies the participation criterion; means for determining, from the at least one further device and the first device, the number of devices satisfying the participation criterion; and means for based on a determination that the determined number of devices is greater than a predetermined value, transmitting to the second device, a response to the request for the spatial map generation indicating at least one of the generated spatial map or a success of generation of the spatial map.

[0192] In some example embodiments, the second device may comprise a vertical application layer (VAL) server, or a service enabler architecture layer (SEAL) spatial mapping client.

[0193] In some example embodiments, the request for the spatial map participation may further comprise at least one of: an identity of the apparatus, or information of the spatial map.

[0194] In some example embodiments, the apparatus may comprise a SEAL spatial mapping server, and the first device may comprise a VAL terminal device or a SEAL spatial mapping client.

[0195] In some example embodiments, an apparatus capable of performing any of the method 1000 (for example, the second apparatus 120 in FIG. 1 ) may comprise means for performing the respective operations of the method 1000. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuitry or software module. The apparatus may be implemented as or included in the second apparatus 120 in FIG. 1.

[0196] In some example embodiments, the apparatus may comprise means for receiving, from a device, a request for a spatial map participation which comprises a participation criterion associated with at least one of: a general participation criterion to participate in generation of a spatial map, or a specific participation criterion supporting the generation of the spatial map; and means for transmitting, to the device, a response to the request for the spatial map participation, the response indicating whether the apparatus satisfies the participation criterion.

[0197] In some example embodiments, the apparatus may further comprise: means for performing a criterion check based on the participation criterion; means for based on a determination that the apparatus satisfies the participation criterion based on a result of the criterion check, generating the response comprising a first indication; and means for based on a determination that the apparatus does not satisfy the participation criterion based on the result of the criterion check, generating the response comprising a second indication. In this case, the first indication is different from the second indication.

[0198] In some example embodiments, the first indication may be predefined or predetermined, and the second indication may be predefined or predetermined.

[0199] In some example embodiments, the response may comprise at least one of: willingness information of the apparatus for participating the generation of the spatial map, or capability information of the apparatus for supporting the generation of the spatial map.

[0200] In some example embodiments, the capability information may comprise at least one of: energy capacity information, computation capacity information, memory capacity information, geofencing information, availability or time of availability information, or position support information of the apparatus.

[0201] In some example embodiments, the apparatus may further comprise: means for transmitting, to the device, update information of spatial map participation capability, wherein the update information comprises at least one of: updated location information of the apparatus, updated willingness information of the apparatus to participate the spatial map generation, updated capability information of the apparatus, or updated participation information of the apparatus.

[0202] In some example embodiments, the request for the spatial map participation may further comprise at least one of: an identity of the device, or information of the spatial map.

[0203] In some example embodiments, the device may comprise a service enabler architecture layer (SEAL) spatial mapping server, and the apparatus may comprise a vertical application layer (VAL) terminal device or a SEAL spatial mapping client.

[0204] In some example embodiments, an apparatus capable of performing any of the method 1100 (for example, the third apparatus 130 in FIG. 1) may comprise means for performing the respective operations of the method 1100. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuitry or software module. The apparatus may be implemented as or included in the third apparatus 130 in FIG. 1.

[0205] In some example embodiments, the apparatus may comprise means for transmitting, to a device, a request for a spatial map generation; and means for receiving, from the device, a response to the request for the spatial map generation, the response indicating at least one of: a failure of generation of spatial map, a generated spatial map, or a success of generation of spatial map.

[0206] In some example embodiments, the apparatus may further comprise: means for receiving, from the device, at least one of an updated spatial map or an update indication indicating an update of the spatial map.

[0207] In some example embodiments, the response may comprise at least one of: a time point after which the generation of a spatial map is allowed to be reinitiated, or a time value for a timer associated with reinitiation of the generation of the spatial map.

[0208] In some example embodiments, the apparatus may further comprise: means for starting thetimer with the time value; means for based on a determination that the timer expires, determining that the generation of a spatial map is allowed to be reinitiated; and means for transmitting, to the device, a further spatial map generation request.

[0209] In some example embodiments, the device may comprise a service enabler architecture layer (SEAL) spatial mapping server, and the apparatus may comprise a VAL server, or a SEAL spatial mapping client.

[0210] In some example embodiments, an apparatus capable of performing any of the method 1200 (for example, the first apparatus 110 in FIG. 1) may comprise means for performing the respective operations of the method 1200. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuitry or software module. The apparatus may be implemented as or included in the first apparatus 110 in FIG. 1.

[0211] In some example embodiments, the apparatus may comprise means for receiving, from a first device, a request for participating in generation of a spatial map; and means for determining, based on the request, that location information of the first device is qualified to be used in generation of the spatial map.

[0212] In some example embodiments, the apparatus may further comprise: means for obtaining, from the request, information which comprises at least one of: location information of the first device, willingness information of the first device to participate the spatial map generation, capability information of the first device, or participation information of the first device; and means for storing the obtained information.

[0213] In some example embodiments, the capability information may comprise at least one of: energy capacity information, computation capacity information, memory capability information, geofencing information, availability or time of availability information, or position support information of the first device.

[0214] In some example embodiments, the apparatus may further comprise: means for receiving, from the first device, update information of spatial map participation capability, wherein the update information comprises at least one of: updated location information of the first device, updated willingness information of the first device to participate the spatial map generation, updated capability information of the first device, or updated participation information of the first device; and means for updating at least one of the stored information or the generated spatial map based on the update information.

[0215] In some example embodiments, the apparatus may further comprise: means for transmitting, to a second device, at least one of the updated spatial map or an update indication indicating the update of the spatial map.

[0216] In some example embodiments, the apparatus may further comprise: means for transmitting,to the first device, a response to the request, the response indicating an acknowledgement to the first device.

[0217] In some example embodiments, the apparatus may further comprise: means for in response to receiving, from a second device, a request for spatial map generation, generating the spatial map at least based on the location information of the first device; and means for transmitting, to the second device, a response to the request for the spatial map generation, the response indicating at least one of the generated spatial map or a success of generation of the spatial map.

[0218] In some example embodiments, the apparatus may further comprise: means for transmitting, to the second device, an indication indicating spatial map ready.

[0219] In some example embodiments, the second device may comprise a vertical application layer (VAL) server, or a service enabler architecture layer (SEAL) spatial mapping client.

[0220] In some example embodiments, the apparatus may comprise a SEAL spatial mapping server, and the first device may comprise a VAL terminal device or a SEAL spatial mapping client.

[0221] In some example embodiments, an apparatus capable of performing any of the method 1300 (for example, the second apparatus 120 in FIG. 1 ) may comprise means for performing the respective operations of the method 1300. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuitry or software module. The apparatus may be implemented as or included in the second apparatus 120 in FIG. 1.

[0222] In some example embodiments, the apparatus may comprise means for transmitting, to a device, a request for participating in generation of a spatial map; and means for receiving, from the device, a response to the request for participating in generation of a spatial map, the response indicating an acknowledgement to the apparatus.

[0223] In some example embodiments, the request may comprise at least one of: location information of the apparatus, willingness information of the apparatus to participate the spatial map generation, capability information of the apparatus, or participation information of the apparatus.

[0224] In some example embodiments, the capability information may comprise at least one of: energy capacity information, computation capacity information, memory capability information, geofencing information, availability or time of availability information, or position support information of the apparatus.

[0225] In some example embodiments, the apparatus may further comprise: means for transmitting, to the device, update information of spatial map participation capability, wherein the update information comprises at least one of: updated location information of the apparatus, updated willingness information of the apparatus to participate the spatial map generation, updated capability information of the apparatus, or updated participation information of the apparatus.

[0226] In some example embodiments, the device may comprise a service enabler architecture layer(SEAL) spatial mapping server, and the apparatus may comprise a vertical application layer (VAL) terminal device or a SEAL spatial mapping client.

[0227] In some example embodiments, an apparatus capable of performing any of the method 1400 (for example, the third apparatus 130 in FIG. 1) may comprise means for performing the respective operations of the method 1400. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuitry or software module. The apparatus may be implemented as or included in the third apparatus 130 in FIG. 1.

[0228] In some example embodiments, the apparatus may comprise means for transmitting, to a device, a request for a spatial map generation; and means for receiving, from the device, a response to the request for the spatial map generation, the response indicating at least one of the generated spatial map or a success of generation of the spatial map.

[0229] In some example embodiments, the apparatus may further comprise: means for receiving, from the device, at least one of an updated spatial map or an update indication indicating an update of the spatial map.

[0230] In some example embodiments, the apparatus may further comprise: means for receiving, from the device, an indication indicating spatial map ready.

[0231] In some example embodiments, the device may comprise a service enabler architecture layer (SEAL) spatial mapping server, and the apparatus may comprise a VAL server, or a SEAL spatial mapping client.

[0232] FIG. 15 is a simplified block diagram of a device 1500 that is suitable for implementing example embodiments of the present disclosure. The device 1500 may be provided to implement a communication device, for example, the first apparatus 110, the second apparatus 120, or the third apparatus 130 as shown in FIG. 1. As shown, the device 1500 includes one or more processors 1510, one or more memories 1520 coupled to the processor 1510, and one or more communication modules 1540 coupled to the processor 1510.

[0233] The communication module 1540 is for bidirectional communications. The communication module 1540 has one or more communication interfaces to facilitate communication with one or more other modules or devices. The communication interfaces may represent any interface that is necessary for communication with other network elements. In some example embodiments, the communication module 1540 may include at least one antenna.

[0234] The processor 1510 may be of any type suitable to the local technical network and may include one or more of the following: general purpose computers, special purpose computers, microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs) and processors based on multicore processor architecture, as non-limiting examples. The device 1500 may have multiple processors, such as an application specific integrated circuit chip that is slaved in time to a clock which synchronizes the mainprocessor.

[0235] The memory 1520 may include one or more non-volatile memories and one or more volatile memories. Examples of the non-volatile memories include, but are not limited to, a Read Only Memory (ROM) 1524, an electrically programmable read only memory (EPROM), a flash memory, a hard disk, a compact disc (CD), a digital video disk (DVD), an optical disk, a laser disk, and other magnetic storage and / or optical storage. Examples of the volatile memories include, but are not limited to, a random-access memory (RAM) 1522 and other volatile memories that will not last in the power-down duration.

[0236] A computer program 1530 includes computer executable instructions that are executed by the associated processor 1510. The instructions of the program 1530 may include instructions for performing operations / acts of some example embodiments of the present disclosure. The program 1530 may be stored in the memory, e.g., the ROM 1524. The processor 1510 may perform any suitable actions and processing by loading the program 1530 into the RAM 1522.

[0237] The example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by means of the program 1530 so that the device 1500 may perform any process of the disclosure as discussed with reference to FIG. 4 to FIG. 14. The example embodiments of the present disclosure may also be implemented by hardware or by a combination of software and hardware.

[0238] In some example embodiments, the program 1530 may be tangibly contained in a computer readable medium which may be included in the device 1500 (such as in the memory 1520) or other storage devices that are accessible by the device 1500. The device 1500 may load the program 1530 from the computer readable medium to the RAM 1522 for execution. In some example embodiments, the computer readable medium may include any types of non-transitory storage medium, such as ROM, EPROM, a flash memory, a hard disk, CD, DVD, and the like. The term “non-transitory,” as used herein, is a limitation of the medium itself (i.e. , tangible, not a signal) as opposed to a limitation on data storage persistency (e.g., RAM vs. ROM).

[0239] FIG. 16 shows an example of the computer readable medium 1600 which may be in form of CD, DVD or other optical storage disk. The computer readable medium 1600 has the program 1530 stored thereon.

[0240] Generally, various embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in hardware or special purpose circuits, software, logic or any combination thereof. Some aspects may be implemented in hardware, and other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software which may be executed by a controller, microprocessor or other computing device. Although various aspects of embodiments of the present disclosure are illustrated and described as block diagrams, flowcharts, or using some other pictorial representations, it is to be understood that the block, apparatus, system, technique or method described herein may be implemented in, as non-limiting examples, hardware,software, firmware, special purpose circuits or logic, general purpose hardware or controller or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

[0241] Some example embodiments of the present disclosure also provide at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a computer readable medium, such as a non-transitory computer readable medium. The computer program product includes computer-executable instructions, such as those included in program modules, being executed in a device on a target physical or virtual processor, to carry out any of the methods as described above. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, or the like that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. The functionality of the program modules may be combined or split between program modules as desired in various embodiments. Machineexecutable instructions for program modules may be executed within a local or distributed device. In a distributed device, program modules may be located in both local and remote storage media.

[0242] Program code for carrying out methods of the present disclosure may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. The program code may be provided to a processor or controller of a general-purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus, such that the program code, when executed by the processor or controller, cause the functions / operations specified in the flowcharts and / or block diagrams to be implemented. The program code may execute entirely on a machine, partly on the machine, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the machine and partly on a remote machine or entirely on the remote machine or server.

[0243] In the context of the present disclosure, the computer program code or related data may be carried by any suitable carrier to enable the device, apparatus or processor to perform various processes and operations as described above. Examples of the carrier include a signal, computer readable medium, and the like.

[0244] The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signal medium or a computer readable storage medium. A computer readable medium may include but not limited to an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples of the computer readable storage medium would include an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random-access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

[0245] Further, although operations are depicted in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring that such operations be performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, orthat all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirable results. In certain circumstances, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Likewise, although several specific implementation details are contained in the above discussions, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the present disclosure, but rather as descriptions of features that may be specific to particular embodiments. Unless explicitly stated, certain features that are described in the context of separate embodiments may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, unless explicitly stated, various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented in a plurality of embodiments separately or in any suitable subcombination.

[0246] Although the present disclosure has been described in languages specific to structural features and / or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the present disclosure defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. An apparatus comprising:at least one processor; andat least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to:receive, from a first device, a request for participating in generation of a spatial map; and determine, based on the request, that location information of the first device is qualified to be used in generation of the spatial map.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus is caused to:obtain, from the request, information which comprises at least one of: location information of the first device, willingness information of the first device to participate the spatial map generation, capability information of the first device, or participation information of the first device; andstore the obtained information.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the capability information comprises at least one of: energy capacity information, computation capacity information, memory capability information, geofencing information, availability or time of availability information, or position support information of the first device.

4. The apparatus of claim 2 or 3, wherein the apparatus is caused to:receive, from the first device, update information of spatial map participation capability, wherein the update information comprises at least one of: updated location information of the first device, updated willingness information of the first device to participate the spatial map generation, updated capability information of the first device, or updated participation information of the first device; andupdate at least one of the stored information or the generated spatial map based on the update information.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the apparatus is caused to:transmit, to a second device, at least one of the updated spatial map or an update indication indicating the update of the spatial map.

6. The apparatus of any claims 1 to 5, wherein the apparatus is caused to:transmit, to the first device, a response to the request, the response indicating an acknowledgement to the device.

7. The apparatus of any claims 1 to 6, wherein the apparatus is caused to:in response to receiving, from a second device, a request for spatial map generation, generate the spatial map at least based on the location information of the first device; andtransmit, to the second device, a response to the request for the spatial map generation, the response indicating at least one of the generated spatial map or a success of generation of the spatial map.

8. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the apparatus is caused to:transmit, to the second device, an indication indicating spatial map ready.

9. The apparatus of any of claims 5 to 8, wherein the second device comprises a vertical application layer (VAL) server, or a service enabler architecture layer (SEAL) spatial mapping client.

10. The apparatus of any of claims 1 to 9, wherein the apparatus comprises a SEAL spatial mapping server, andthe first device comprises a VAL terminal device or a SEAL spatial mapping client.

11. An apparatus comprising:at least one processor; andat least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to:transmit, to a device, a request for participating in generation of a spatial map; and receive, from the device, a response to the request for participating in generation of a spatial map, the response indicating an acknowledgement to the apparatus.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the request comprises at least one of: location information of the apparatus, willingness information of the apparatus to participate the spatial map generation, capability information of the apparatus, or participation information of the apparatus.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the capability information comprises at least one of: energy capacity information, computation capacity information, memory capability information, geofencing information, availability or time of availability information, or position support informationof the apparatus.

14. The apparatus of claim 12 or 13, wherein the apparatus is caused to:transmit, to the device, update information of spatial map participation capability, wherein the update information comprises at least one of: updated location information of the apparatus, updated willingness information of the apparatus to participate the spatial map generation, updated capability information of the apparatus, or updated participation information of the apparatus.

15. The apparatus of any of claims 11 to 14, wherein the device comprises a service enabler architecture layer (SEAL) spatial mapping server, andthe apparatus comprises a vertical application layer (VAL) terminal device or a SEAL spatial mapping client.

16. An apparatus comprising:at least one processor; andat least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to:transmit, to a device, a request for a spatial map generation; andreceive, from the device, a response to the request for the spatial map generation, the response indicating at least one of the generated spatial map or a success of generation of the spatial map.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the apparatus is caused to:receive, from the device, at least one of an updated spatial map or an update indication indicating an update of the spatial map.

18. The apparatus of claim 16 or 17, wherein the apparatus is caused to:receive, from the device, an indication indicating spatial map ready.

19. The apparatus of any of claims 16 to 18, wherein the device comprises a service enabler architecture layer (SEAL) spatial mapping server, andthe apparatus comprises a VAL server, or a SEAL spatial mapping client.

20. A method comprising:receiving, at an apparatus and from a first device, a request for participating in generation ofa spatial map; anddetermining, based on the request, that location information of the first device is qualified to be used in generation of the spatial map.

21. A method comprising:transmitting, at an apparatus and to a device, a request for participating in generation of a spatial map; andreceiving, from the device, a response to the request for participating in generation of a spatial map, the response indicating an acknowledgement to the apparatus.

22. A method comprising:transmitting, at an apparatus and to a device, a request for a spatial map generation; and receiving, from the device, a response to the request for the spatial map generation, the response indicating at least one of the generated spatial map or a success of generation of the spatial map.

23. An apparatus comprising:means for receiving, from a first device, a request for participating in generation of a spatial map; andmeans for determining, based on the request, that location information of the first device is qualified to be used in generation of the spatial map.

24. An apparatus comprising:means for transmitting, to a device, a request for participating in generation of a spatial map; andmeans for receiving, from the device, a response to the request for participating in generation of a spatial map, the response indicating an acknowledgement to the apparatus.

25. An apparatus comprising:means for transmitting, to a device, a request for a spatial map generation; andmeans for receiving, from the device, a response to the request for the spatial map generation, the response indicating at least one of the generated spatial map or a success of generation of the spatial map.

26. A computer readable medium comprising instructions stored thereon for causing anapparatus at least to perform the method of claim 20, the method of claim 21 , or the method of claim 22.

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