Communication method and related apparatus

Abstract

The present application relates to the technical field of communications, and provides a communication method and a related apparatus. The method comprises: a terminal device acquiring second information, and sending the second information; a network device receiving the second information, the second information being used for determining a sensing node; and the network device determining N sensing nodes on the basis of the second information, and N being an integer greater than or equal to 1. In the embodiments of the present application, a network device can select an appropriate sensing node on the basis of second information reported by a terminal device, thereby improving sensing efficiency.

Description

Communication methods and related devices

[0001] This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202510128247.X, filed on January 27, 2025, entitled "Communication Method and Related Apparatus", the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0002] This application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to communication methods and related devices. Background Technology

[0003] With the evolution of mobile communication technology, sensing capabilities will become an important capability and characteristic of future communication networks, and integrated sensing and communication (ISAC) is also the development direction of future communication networks. The sensing capabilities of communication networks can be applied to scenarios such as autonomous driving, assisted driving, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, intelligent transportation, 3D map reconstruction, smart industry, drone monitoring and management, intelligent interaction, and posture detection and recognition.

[0004] Among them, how to improve perception efficiency in the face of perception needs in various scenarios is a concern of the industry. Summary of the Invention

[0005] This application discloses a communication method and related apparatus, which can be used to select suitable sensing nodes, thereby improving sensing efficiency.

[0006] The first aspect discloses a communication method that can be applied to a terminal device, a module (e.g., a processor or chip) within the terminal device, or a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the terminal device's functions. The following description, using an application to a terminal device as an example, shows that the communication method can include: acquiring second information used to determine a sensing node; and sending the second information.

[0007] In this embodiment, the terminal device can acquire second information, which can be used to help / assist the network device in selecting suitable sensing nodes. This allows the network device to select sensing nodes more effectively, avoiding the selection of meaningless or insignificant sensing nodes (such as sensing nodes that cannot measure the sensing target or do not provide sensing services). This enables subsequent sensing based on the selected sensing nodes using the second information to perform effective sensing, minimizing / reducing meaningless sensing and thus improving sensing efficiency. Furthermore, since sensing involves sensing measurement and sensing reporting, avoiding the selection of meaningless or insignificant sensing nodes can also save air interface resources and reduce the overall power consumption of the terminal device.

[0008] In conjunction with the first aspect, in one possible implementation, before acquiring the second information, the method further includes: receiving first information, the first information being used to determine to send the second information; acquiring the second information includes: acquiring the second information based on the first information.

[0009] In this embodiment of the application, after receiving the first information from the network device, the terminal device can send the second information to the network device based on the first information to assist the network device in selecting the sensing node.

[0010] In conjunction with the first aspect, in one possible implementation, the first information includes first resource configuration information, which is used to indicate the resource configuration of the first sensing measurement signal; obtaining the second information based on the first information includes: performing sensing measurement based on the resource configuration of the first sensing measurement signal to obtain the second information.

[0011] In this embodiment of the application, the first information may include first resource configuration information, and the terminal device may perform sensing measurement based on the resource configuration of the first sensing measurement signal to obtain the second information.

[0012] For example, the first resource configuration information can be resource configuration information used to obtain the second information. The terminal device can determine that it needs to report the second information based on the first resource configuration information. This method does not require an additional instruction (an instruction specifically for instructing the reporting of the second information) to trigger the terminal device to report the second information, which can reduce resource overhead.

[0013] For example, a configuration information, specifically resource configuration information used to obtain the second information, can be added to the cell broadcast message. If the terminal device detects this information from the broadcast message, it can perform measurements based on this information and report the second information. If the terminal device does not detect this information from the broadcast message, it does not need to report the second information.

[0014] In conjunction with the first aspect, in one possible implementation, the first information includes first reporting configuration information, which is used to configure the sending of the second information; obtaining the second information based on the first information includes obtaining the second information based on the first reporting configuration information.

[0015] In this embodiment, the first information may include first reporting configuration information. This first reporting configuration information can directly configure the terminal device to send the second information. In this case, the terminal device simply obtains and sends the second information based on the first reporting configuration information. This approach eliminates the need for additional instructions to trigger the terminal device to report the second information, reducing resource overhead. Furthermore, the terminal device does not need to pre-configure the content of the second information.

[0016] In conjunction with the first aspect, in one possible implementation, the method further includes: sending third information, the third information being used to indicate whether the terminal device has sensing capabilities.

[0017] In this embodiment, the terminal device can send third information to the network device so that the network device can send first information in a targeted manner based on the terminal device's sensing capabilities, thereby saving transmission resources.

[0018] In conjunction with the first aspect, in one possible implementation, the second information includes first indication information, which indicates whether the terminal device has measured the sensing target.

[0019] In this embodiment, if the terminal device measures the target, such as by measuring the target based on the resource configuration of the first sensing measurement signal, it can be assumed that the terminal device will likely continue to measure the target (e.g., by measuring the target based on the resource configuration of the second sensing measurement signal). Conversely, if the terminal device does not measure the target, it can be assumed that the terminal device will likely not be able to measure the target. Therefore, the second information, including the first indication information, helps the network device select the terminal device that measures the target based on the resource configuration of the first sensing measurement signal, thereby enabling effective sensing measurement when the selected terminal device is used for subsequent sensing.

[0020] In conjunction with the first aspect, in one possible implementation, the second information includes second indication information, which is used to indicate whether the terminal device provides sensing services.

[0021] In this embodiment, the terminal device may be unable to provide sensing services due to various reasons (such as its current busy workload). Therefore, the second information, including the second indication information, can help the network device select a terminal device that can provide sensing services. This ensures that the selected terminal device can perform sensing measurements in subsequent processes, thereby improving overall sensing efficiency. Furthermore, by avoiding the selection of terminal devices that cannot provide sensing services, air interface resources can be saved.

[0022] In conjunction with the first aspect, in one possible implementation, the second information includes third indication information, which is used to indicate whether the terminal device has measured the sensing target in the corresponding sensing mode.

[0023] In this embodiment of the application, the second information, including the third indication information, can help the network device to select sensing nodes more effectively. For example, for certain specific scenarios, the terminal device that measures the sensing target under a certain sensing mode can be selected.

[0024] In conjunction with the first aspect, in one possible implementation, the method further includes: receiving at least one piece of information from the group information of the first sensing group, wherein the terminal device belongs to the first sensing group; the group information includes one or more of the following: group identifier, group size, group master node identifier, cell identifier, access network device identifier, sensing node identifier within the group, and location information of sensing nodes within the group.

[0025] In this embodiment of the application, the selected terminal device may belong to one or more sensing groups. One or more terminal devices in each sensing group may receive information from the network device for the corresponding sensing group, so that the terminal device can subsequently report sensing data, etc.

[0026] In conjunction with the first aspect, in one possible implementation, the method further includes: receiving second resource configuration information, the second resource configuration information being used to indicate the resource configuration of the second sensing measurement signal; and performing sensing measurement based on the resource configuration of the second sensing measurement signal.

[0027] In this embodiment, after the terminal device joins the first sensing group, it can receive second resource configuration information and perform sensing measurements based on the second resource configuration information. For example, more refined sensing measurements of the sensing target can be performed based on the second resource configuration information.

[0028] In conjunction with the first aspect, in one possible implementation, the beam space of the beam in the resource configuration of the second sensing measurement signal is a subset of the beam space of the beam in the resource configuration of the first sensing measurement signal, and the beam space corresponds to the spatial region covered by the beam.

[0029] In this embodiment, the beamspace of the beam in the resource configuration of the second sensing measurement signal can be a subset of the beamspace of the beam in the resource configuration of the first sensing measurement signal. This ensures that subsequent sensing measurements based on the resource configuration of the second sensing measurement signal are likely to detect the target, thus improving the efficiency of the sensing measurement. Furthermore, a narrower beam can be used to achieve more refined measurements.

[0030] In conjunction with the first aspect, in one possible implementation, the second information includes fourth indication information, which indicates that the terminal device has measured K beams of the sensing target. The K beams are beams in the resource configuration of the first sensing measurement signal, and K is an integer greater than or equal to 1. The beam space of the beams in the resource configuration of the second sensing measurement signal is a subset of the beam space of the beams indicated by the fourth indication information, and the beam space corresponds to the spatial area covered by the beams.

[0031] In this embodiment of the application, the terminal device can also report the beam of the perceived target that has been measured. In this case, the beam space of the beam in the resource configuration of the second perception measurement signal can be a subset of the beam space of the beam indicated by the fourth indication information. In this way, it can be ensured that when the perception measurement is performed based on the resource configuration of the second perception measurement signal, the perceived target is more likely to be measured, which can further improve the efficiency of perception measurement.

[0032] In conjunction with the first aspect, in one possible implementation, one or more sensing nodes in the first sensing group have the same time-domain measurement period, and in each time-domain measurement period, the maximum interval between the time-domain measurement resources of one or more sensing nodes in the first sensing group is less than or equal to a first threshold.

[0033] In this embodiment of the application, since the sensing target may be mobile, or the environment around the sensing node may change over time, in order to ensure that the sensing nodes in a sensing group measure the state of the sensing target at the same time, the time domain measurement period of one or more sensing nodes in the first sensing group can be made the same, and the maximum interval between time domain measurement resources in each time domain measurement period is less than or equal to a first threshold. In this way, the sensing results obtained by processing the sensing data obtained by multiple sensing nodes can be smoother and more robust.

[0034] In conjunction with the first aspect, in one possible implementation, the method further includes: receiving second reporting configuration information, the second reporting configuration information being used to configure reporting resources, the reporting resources being used to report sensing data; one or more sensing nodes in the first sensing group having the same time-domain reporting period, and in each time-domain reporting period, the maximum interval between the time-domain reporting resources of one or more sensing nodes in the first sensing group being less than or equal to a second threshold.

[0035] In this embodiment of the application, one or more sensing nodes in the first sensing group have the same time-domain reporting period, and the maximum interval between time-domain reporting resources in each time-domain reporting period is less than or equal to the second threshold. In this way, the time-domain reporting of one or more sensing nodes in the first sensing group can be synchronized, which facilitates the processing by network devices.

[0036] The second aspect discloses a communication method that can be applied to a network device, a module within the network device (e.g., a processor or chip), or a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the network device. The following description uses an application to a network device as an example. The communication method may include: receiving second information used to determine sensing nodes; and determining N sensing nodes based on the second information, where N is an integer greater than or equal to 1.

[0037] In this embodiment, the network device can receive second information from the terminal device. Then, based on this second information, the network device can more effectively select sensing nodes, avoiding the selection of meaningless or insignificant sensing nodes (such as sensing nodes that cannot measure the sensing target or do not provide sensing services). This allows the subsequent selection of N sensing nodes based on the second information to perform effective sensing (such as collaborative sensing), minimizing or eliminating meaningless sensing and thus improving sensing efficiency. Furthermore, since sensing involves sensing measurement and sensing reporting, avoiding the selection of meaningless or insignificant sensing nodes also saves air interface resources and reduces the overall power consumption of the terminal device.

[0038] In conjunction with the second aspect, in one possible implementation, before receiving the second information, the method further includes: sending first information, the first information being used to determine to send the second information.

[0039] In this embodiment, when a network device needs to determine a sensing node based on second information, it can trigger the terminal device to send the second information by sending the first information to the terminal device. This approach improves the flexibility and efficiency of the network device in acquiring the second information.

[0040] In conjunction with the second aspect, in one possible implementation, the first information includes first resource configuration information, which is used to indicate the resource configuration of the first sensing measurement signal; the resource configuration of the first sensing measurement signal is used to acquire the second information.

[0041] In this embodiment, the network device can send resource configuration information (first resource configuration information) to the terminal device for obtaining second information. This triggers the terminal device to perform sensing measurements based on the resource configuration of the first sensing measurement signal, obtain the second information, and then send the second information to the network device. This method eliminates the need for additional instructions to trigger the terminal device to send the second information, thus reducing resource overhead.

[0042] In conjunction with the second aspect, in one possible implementation, the first information includes first reporting configuration information, which is used to configure the sending of the second information.

[0043] In conjunction with the second aspect, in one possible implementation, the method further includes: receiving third information, the third information being used to indicate whether the terminal device has sensing capabilities; the sending of the first information includes: if the third information indicates that the terminal device has sensing capabilities, sending the first information.

[0044] In this embodiment, the network device can selectively send first information based on the terminal device's sensing capabilities. For terminal devices lacking sensing capabilities, the network device may not send the first information. For terminal devices with sensing capabilities, the network device can send the first information to trigger the terminal device to report second information. Therefore, this method avoids sending meaningless first information and saves transmission resources.

[0045] In conjunction with the second aspect, in one possible implementation, the second information includes first indication information, which is used to indicate whether the terminal device has measured the sensing target based on the resource configuration of the first sensing measurement signal; the N sensing nodes are sensing nodes that have measured the sensing target based on the resource configuration of the first sensing measurement signal.

[0046] In conjunction with the second aspect, in one possible implementation, the second information includes second indication information, which is used to indicate whether the terminal device provides sensing services; the N sensing nodes are sensing nodes that provide sensing services.

[0047] In conjunction with the second aspect, in one possible implementation, the second information includes third indication information, which is used to indicate whether the terminal device measures the sensing target in the corresponding sensing mode.

[0048] In conjunction with the second aspect, in one possible implementation, the N sensing nodes belong to M sensing groups, and each of the M sensing groups includes at least one of the N sensing nodes; M is an integer greater than or equal to 1; the method further includes: storing group information for each of the M sensing groups; the group information includes one or more of the following: group identifier, group size, group master node identifier, cell identifier, access network device identifier, sensing node identifier within the group, and location information of sensing nodes within the group.

[0049] In this embodiment of the application, for the selected M sensing nodes, the M sensing nodes may belong to M sensing groups. The sensing nodes in each sensing group may be used to cooperate to complete the sensing measurement in a specific sensing scenario, or to cooperate to complete the sensing measurement of a specific sensing target, or to cooperate to complete the sensing measurement of a specific type of sensing target.

[0050] In conjunction with the second aspect, in one possible implementation, the method further includes: determining the group master node of the first sensing group based on the capability information of one or more sensing nodes in the first sensing group, wherein the first sensing group is any one of the M sensing groups.

[0051] In this embodiment of the application, the master node of a sensing group can be determined based on the capabilities of one or more sensing nodes in a sensing group, so as to ensure that the master node can perform the corresponding storage, forwarding, processing and other functions.

[0052] In conjunction with the second aspect, in one possible implementation, the method further includes: sending at least one piece of information from the group information of the first sensing group to one or more sensing nodes in the first sensing group, wherein the first sensing group is any one of the M sensing groups.

[0053] In conjunction with the second aspect, in one possible implementation, the method further includes: sending second resource configuration information to one or more sensing nodes in a first sensing group, the second resource configuration information being used to indicate the resource configuration of a second sensing measurement signal, the first sensing group being any one of the M sensing groups.

[0054] In conjunction with the second aspect, in one possible implementation, the beam space of the beam in the resource configuration of the second sensing measurement signal is a subset of the beam space of the beam in the resource configuration of the first sensing measurement signal, and the beam space corresponds to the spatial region covered by the beam.

[0055] In conjunction with the second aspect, in one possible implementation, the second information includes fourth indication information, which is used to indicate that the terminal device measures K beams of the sensing target, the K beams being beams in the resource configuration of the first sensing measurement signal, where K is an integer greater than or equal to 1; the beam space of the beams in the resource configuration of the second sensing measurement signal is a subset of the beam space of the beams indicated by the fourth indication information, and the beam space corresponds to the spatial region covered by the beams.

[0056] In conjunction with the second aspect, in one possible implementation, one or more sensing nodes in the first sensing group have the same time-domain measurement period, and in each time-domain measurement period, the maximum interval between the time-domain measurement resources of one or more sensing nodes in the first sensing group is less than or equal to a first threshold.

[0057] In conjunction with the second aspect, in one possible implementation, the method further includes: sending second reporting configuration information to one or more sensing nodes in a first sensing group, the second reporting configuration information being used to configure reporting resources, the reporting resources being used to report sensing data; the one or more sensing nodes in the first sensing group having the same time-domain reporting period, and in each time-domain reporting period, the maximum interval between the time-domain reporting resources of the one or more sensing nodes in the first sensing group being less than or equal to a second threshold; the first sensing group being any one of the M sensing groups.

[0058] It should be noted that the technical solutions of the first aspect and the second aspect of this application correspond to each other, and the relevant beneficial effects can be referred to each other.

[0059] The third aspect discloses a communication device that has the functions of the first aspect described above. For example, the communication device includes a module or unit that performs the methods of the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect. The module or unit can be implemented by software, hardware, or a combination of software and hardware.

[0060] For example, the communication device disclosed in the third aspect above may be a terminal device or a chip in a terminal device.

[0061] The fourth aspect discloses a communication device that has the functions of the second aspect described above. For example, the communication device includes a module or unit that performs the methods of the second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect. The module or unit can be implemented by software, hardware, or a combination of software and hardware.

[0062] For example, the communication device disclosed in the fourth aspect above may be a network device or a chip in a network device.

[0063] The fifth aspect discloses a communication system comprising a terminal device and a network device, the terminal device being configured to implement the methods provided in the first aspect and any possible embodiments thereof, and the network device being configured to implement the methods provided in the second aspect and any possible embodiments thereof.

[0064] The sixth aspect discloses a communication device, including a processor and a communication interface; the communication interface is used to receive and / or transmit data; the processor invokes computer programs or computer instructions stored in a memory to implement the methods provided in the first aspect and any possible embodiments thereof, or to implement the methods provided in the second aspect and any possible embodiments thereof.

[0065] As one possible implementation, the communication device disclosed in the sixth aspect above may include one or more processors.

[0066] Optionally, the communication device disclosed in the sixth aspect above further includes one or more memories.

[0067] The seventh aspect discloses a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program or computer instructions that, when executed, implement the methods provided in the first aspect and any possible embodiments thereof, or implement the methods provided in the second aspect and any possible embodiments thereof.

[0068] The eighth aspect discloses a chip including a processor for executing a program stored in a memory, which, when executed, causes the chip to perform the methods provided in the first aspect and any possible embodiments thereof, or to perform the methods provided in the second aspect and any possible embodiments thereof.

[0069] As one possible implementation, the memory is located outside the chip.

[0070] The ninth aspect discloses a computer program product comprising computer program code that, when executed, causes the methods provided in the first aspect and any possible implementation thereof to be performed, or causes the methods provided in the second aspect and any possible implementation thereof to be performed.

[0071] It should be understood that the implementation and beneficial effects of the above-mentioned aspects or any possible implementation methods of this application can be referred to each other. Attached Figure Description

[0072] The accompanying drawings are provided to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application. The drawings used in the following description of the embodiments will be briefly introduced. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of this application. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0073] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system disclosed in an embodiment of this application;

[0074] Figure 2 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method disclosed in an embodiment of this application;

[0075] Figure 3A is a schematic diagram of beam space association disclosed in an embodiment of this application;

[0076] Figure 3B is another schematic diagram of beam space association disclosed in the embodiments of this application;

[0077] Figure 4 is a flowchart illustrating another communication method disclosed in an embodiment of this application;

[0078] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of a perception data report when CSG_Leader is a network device, as disclosed in an embodiment of this application.

[0079] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of a perception data report when CSG_Leader is a terminal device, as disclosed in an embodiment of this application.

[0080] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating the association between CSG-RS resources and Sensing-RS resources disclosed in an embodiment of this application;

[0081] Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of a scenario for establishing a perception group disclosed in an embodiment of this application;

[0082] Figure 9 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device disclosed in an embodiment of this application;

[0083] Figure 10 is a schematic diagram of the hardware structure of a communication device disclosed in an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0084] This application discloses a communication method and related apparatus, which can be used to select suitable sensing nodes and improve sensing efficiency. The technical solutions in the embodiments of this application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0085] To better understand the embodiments of this application, the relevant content, terms or nouns involved in this application will be briefly introduced below.

[0086] I. Perception

[0087] With the rapid development of wireless communication technology, the functions and application scenarios of access network devices and terminal devices are constantly expanding. For example, in addition to traditional communication capabilities, access network devices and terminal devices in a network can also possess sensing capabilities. When access network devices and terminal devices have sensing capabilities, they can perceive the surrounding environment and targets (or sensing targets) by sending sensing signals and receiving echo signals. For example, they can obtain information such as the position and speed of targets in the surrounding environment. The echo signal can be the signal reflected by the sensing signal from the target in the environment.

[0088] It is hereby clarified that, in the embodiments of this application, "sensing" can also be referred to as "sensing measurement." The sensing signal can also be referred to as "sensing measurement signal," "sensing measurement pilot," "sensing reference signal," "sensing measurement reference signal," "sensing pilot signal," etc. The sensing signal can be an existing reference signal, such as a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), a positioning reference signal (PRS), a demodulation reference signal (DMRS), a phase tracking reference signal (PTRS), etc., or it can be a sensing-specific reference signal. The embodiments of this application do not limit this.

[0089] For example, the perception capabilities of communication networks can be applied to scenarios such as target detection, autonomous driving, driver assistance, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, intelligent transportation, map building, smart industry, monitoring and management of drones and vehicles, intelligent interaction, and posture detection and recognition. For instance, high-precision dynamic maps can be generated based on perception to assist drones / smart cars in autonomous driving.

[0090] II. Perceptual Modes (or Perceptual Approaches, Perceptual Types, etc.)

[0091] It should be understood that an access network device or terminal device can act as both a sensing signal transmitting node and a sensing signal receiving node. Therefore, there are multiple combinations of sensing signal transmitters and receivers. Based on these different combinations, sensing methods (sensing modes) can be categorized into the following six types:

[0092] Access network devices can transmit and receive signals independently. For example, a sensing signal is sent by an access network device, reflected by a target in the environment, and then received by the same access network device.

[0093] Cooperation between access network devices (or access network device A transmits and access network device B receives), such as a sensing signal being sent by access network device A, reflected by a target in the environment, and then received by access network device B;

[0094] Access network equipment sends signals to terminal equipment. For example, a sensing signal is sent by the access network equipment, reflected by a target in the environment, and then received by the terminal equipment.

[0095] The terminal device sends signals, and the access network device receives them. For example, if the sensing signal is sent by the terminal device, it will be reflected by the target in the environment and then received by the access network device.

[0096] The terminal device can transmit and receive signals on its own. For example, the sensing signal is sent by the terminal device, reflected by the target in the environment, and then received by the terminal device.

[0097] Collaboration between terminal devices (or terminal device A sending and terminal device B receiving) means that a sensing signal is sent by terminal device A, reflected by a target in the environment, and then received by terminal device B.

[0098] It should be noted that the two sensing methods of self-transmission and self-reception by access network equipment and self-transmission and self-reception by terminal equipment can be referred to as single-site sensing / mono-static sensing, while the other four sensing methods can be referred to as dual-site sensing / bi-static sensing. In single-site sensing, the sensing signal transmitting node and the sensing signal receiving node are the same device, while in dual-site sensing, the sensing signal transmitting node and the sensing signal receiving node are two different devices.

[0099] In this embodiment, the sensing signal receiving node and the sensing signal transmitting node can be collectively referred to as sensing nodes. It should be understood that the sensing signal transmitting node can transmit sensing signals, and the sensing signals can reach the sensing signal receiving node after passing through the sensing target (such as after reflection from the sensing target). The sensing signal receiving node can measure the received sensing signals.

[0100] III. Collaborative Perception

[0101] In this embodiment, collaborative sensing can be understood as multiple pairs of sensing node groups cooperating to perform sensing and jointly complete the sensing task, such as obtaining a sensing result by integrating the sensing data obtained from multiple pairs of sensing node groups. Each pair of sensing node groups may include a sensing signal transmitting node and a sensing signal receiving node, and the sensing mode used by each pair of sensing node groups can be one of the six types mentioned above. It is understood that sensing the same target based on multiple pairs of sensing node groups, and then integrating the sensing data obtained from these multiple pairs of sensing node groups to obtain the sensing result, can improve the accuracy of the sensing result. In this embodiment, sensing data can also be referred to as sensing measurement data, sensing measurement quantity, measurement quantity, etc. Furthermore, sensing data can be the received raw sensing signal or the channel information of the raw sensing signal, or it can be Doppler information, angle information, signal strength, velocity, etc., obtained through further processing, or it can be the distance, velocity, orientation, acceleration, position, trajectory, point cloud information, etc., of the sensing target obtained through further processing. This embodiment does not limit the specific data in this regard.

[0102] Understandably, when sensing is required (such as collaborative sensing), a crucial issue is how to select the sensing nodes to perform the sensing, that is, the sensing nodes that provide sensing services. The selection of sensing nodes may affect the efficiency of sensing, the accuracy of sensing results, the allocation of sensing resources, and so on.

[0103] In this embodiment of the application, in order to improve the sensing efficiency, a scheme for selecting relevant sensing nodes and a scheme for establishing sensing groups are proposed, and the format and content of sensing group information are designed. For specific schemes, please refer to the description in the following method embodiments.

[0104] To better understand the embodiments of this application, the system architecture of the embodiments of this application will be described below.

[0105] Please refer to Figure 1, which is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system disclosed in an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 1, the communication system may include multiple terminal devices (such as terminal device 1 to terminal device 4) and one or more network devices (one is shown in Figure 1). The terminal devices and network devices can communicate with each other. The terminal devices and network devices will be described below.

[0106] Terminal equipment, also known as user equipment, terminal, mobile station (MS), mobile terminal (MT), customer premise equipment (CPE), etc., is a device with wireless communication / wireless transceiver functions that can provide users with voice and / or data connectivity services. Terminal devices can include handheld terminals, laptops, roadside units (RSUs), subscriber units, cellular phones, smartphones, wireless data cards, personal digital assistant (PDA) computers, tablet computers, tags, wireless modems, other processing devices connected to wireless modems, handheld devices, laptop computers, cordless phones or wireless local loop (WLL) stations, machine-type communication (MTC) terminals, wearable devices (such as smartwatches, smart bracelets, pedometers, etc.), in-vehicle equipment (such as cars, bicycles, electric vehicles, airplanes, ships, trains, high-speed trains, etc.), virtual reality (VR) devices, augmented reality (AR) devices, wireless terminals in industrial control, smart home devices (such as refrigerators, televisions, air conditioners, electricity meters, etc.), intelligent robots, workshop equipment, wireless terminals in self-driving vehicles, and remote medical devices. Wireless terminals in various applications, including those related to surgery, smart grids, transportation safety, smart cities, smart homes, flying devices (such as intelligent robots, hot air balloons, drones, and airplanes), and other network-connected devices, are not limited in their physical form in this application. Terminal devices can be fixed or mobile, deployed on land (indoors or outdoors, handheld, wearable, or vehicle-mounted), on water (such as ships), or in the air (e.g., on airplanes, balloons, and satellites).For example, terminal device 1 can be an RSU, and terminal devices 2-3 can be smartphones, etc. RSUs can be divided into RSUs with UE functions and RSUs with base station functions, and terminal device 1 can be an RSU with UE functions.

[0107] In this embodiment, the UE may have sensing capabilities, acting as a sensing signal transmitting node to transmit sensing signals and as a sensing signal receiving node to receive sensing signals. In other words, the UE may transmit and / or receive sensing signals to obtain relevant sensing data.

[0108] The network devices involved in this application include access network devices. Access network devices are devices deployed in an access network capable of wireless communication with terminal devices, helping terminal devices achieve wireless access. Access network devices may include radio access network (RAN) devices, which may include various forms of base stations, such as macro base stations, micro base stations (also known as small stations), relay stations, access points, and balloon stations. In systems employing different wireless access technologies, the names of the radio access network devices may differ. For example, in Long Term Evolution (LTE), there is the evolved NodeB (eNB or eNodeB), and in 5th generation (5G) mobile communication systems, there is the next-generation NodeB (gNB) and ng-eNB (4G base stations accessing the 5G core network). Wireless access network equipment can also be wireless controllers in cloud radio access network (CRAN) scenarios, base station equipment in future networks, wireless access network equipment in future evolved public land mobile network (PLMN) networks, wearable devices, vehicle-mounted equipment, transmission and reception points (TRPs), radio network controllers (RNCs), home base stations (e.g., home evolved NodeB, or home Node B, HNB), base band units (BBUs), access points (APs) in wireless fidelity (WiFi) systems, etc.

[0109] In this embodiment, the network device may have sensing capabilities, acting as a sensing signal transmitting node to send sensing signals and as a sensing signal receiving node to receive sensing signals. In other words, the network device can send and / or receive sensing signals to obtain relevant sensing data.

[0110] In some deployments, such as open RAN (O-RAN) or ORAN systems, access network equipment (e.g., gNB) may include centralized units (CUs) and distributed units (DUs). Access network equipment may also include radio units (RUs). Access network equipment can communicate with the core network (CN) via a backhaul link and with the user equipment (UE) via an air interface (e.g., Uu interface). For example, the baseband unit (BBU) in the access network equipment can communicate with the core network via a backhaul link, and the radio unit can communicate with the UE via an air interface. Furthermore, the BBU can communicate with the RU via a fronthaul link; the BBU and RU may or may not be co-located. The BBU may include at least one centralized unit (CU) and at least one distributed unit (DU), and the CU and DU can communicate via a midhaul link. The CU can implement some of the functions of the access network equipment, the DU can implement some of the functions of the access network equipment, and the CU can be used to control the operation of one or more DUs. For example, the CU can implement the functions of the radio resource control (RRC) and packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layers, as well as the service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer. The DU can implement the functions of the radio link control (RLC) and media access control (MAC) layers, and can also implement some physical (PHY) layer functions (such as the higher physical layer) or all physical layer functions. The RU can be used to implement some physical layer functions (such as the lower physical layer) and radio frequency functions. For detailed descriptions of the above protocol layers, please refer to the relevant technical specifications of the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP).

[0111] In some examples, the CU can be split into the CU-control plane (CU-CP) and the CU-user plane (CU-UP). It should be understood that the above configuration of CU and DU is merely an example, and the functions of CU and DU can be configured as needed. This application embodiment does not limit this.

[0112] In some possible implementations, the O-RAN system may also include a RAN intelligent controller (RIC). RICs can be divided into near-real-time RICs (near-RT RICs / nRT RICs) and non-real-time RICs (non-RT RICs / NRT RICs). Near-real-time RICs refer to the near-real-time portion, primarily used for near-real-time intelligent management of the RAN. Near-real-time RICs can achieve near-real-time control and optimization of O-RAN modules and resources through data collection and related operations. Non-real-time RICs refer to the non-real-time portion, primarily used for non-real-time intelligent management of RAN functions. Non-real-time RICs can implement AI / machine learning (ML) workflows, including model training and model updates. More detailed information about open radio access networks (such as interfaces) can be found in the relevant standards and will not be elaborated upon here.

[0113] It is understood that in some possible implementations, the access network device may be a CU, DU, CU-CP, CU-UP, RU, etc., or may be a device including at least one of CU, DU, CU-CP, CU-UP, RU, etc.

[0114] It should be understood that in the embodiments of this application, multiple sensing nodes can perform collaborative sensing measurements and transmissions, such as sensing the environment around the nodes and target objects (or sensing targets), and can transmit sensing service-related measurement signals and sensing data (such as sensing results). For example, network devices can be responsible for the centralized storage, management, distribution, and calculation of sensing data (such as sensing results), and terminal devices can be responsible for assisting base stations in providing sensing services and undertaking some sensing calculation and storage work.

[0115] In this embodiment of the application, the architecture shown in Figure 1 above may further include a sensing management function (SeMF) network element. The SeMF network element can be a high-level network element responsible for high-level management functions related to sensing services, such as providing sensing services, sensing authorization, sensing control, sensing data processing, and sharing sensing results with third parties. The SeMF network element can also be called a sensing function (SF) network element. For example, the SeMF network element can receive sensing requests / sensing information requests from within the network (e.g., UE, NF) or from outside the network (e.g., external servers), and based on the sensing request / sensing information request, the sensing node performs sensing, obtains the sensing results, and then returns the sensing results to the requester.

[0116] It should be noted that the form of a SeMF network element can be varied. For example, a SeMF network element can be a high-level network element on the core network side, a network element mounted on the RAN side (such as one co-located with access network equipment), or a sensing-specific function management module with a physical entity. For instance, when the SeMF network element is a network element in the core network, it can be a dedicated network element, or it can be co-located with other core network elements (such as location management function (LMF)).

[0117] It should be understood that the architecture shown in Figure 1 is merely an illustrative example, and other devices / network elements may also be included in the architecture shown in Figure 1. This application embodiment does not limit this.

[0118] It is understood that the aforementioned network devices, terminal devices, SeMF network elements, etc., can be implemented in the form of hardware, computer software, or a combination of hardware and computer software. For example, the aforementioned network devices, terminal devices, SeMF network elements, etc., can be implemented by a single device, or by multiple devices working together, or by a functional module within a single device. This application embodiment does not specifically limit this.

[0119] It should be understood that the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of this application can be applied to various communication systems, such as 5th generation (5G) communication systems, networks integrating multiple systems, multi-band communication systems, future communication systems, frequency division duplex (FDD) systems, time division duplex (TDD) systems, etc.

[0120] In the embodiments of this application, the term "wireless communication" can also be abbreviated as "communication", and the term "communication" can also be described as "data transmission", "information transmission" or "transmission".

[0121] It should be noted that the system architecture, network architecture, and business scenarios (or application scenarios) described in the embodiments of this application are for the purpose of more clearly illustrating the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of this application. As those skilled in the art will know, with the evolution of communication network architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of this application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0122] To better understand the embodiments of this application, the scheme for selecting sensing nodes provided in the embodiments of this application will be briefly described below.

[0123] In this embodiment of the application, in order to select a suitable sensing node and improve sensing efficiency, the overall process can be divided into two stages.

[0124] In the first stage, at least one sensing node can send second information to the network device. This second information can be used to determine (or assist in) the selection of sensing nodes. For example, at least one sensing node can perform sensing measurements and obtain the second information or a portion of the second information based on the measured sensing data. Optionally, the at least one sensing node can receive first information from the network device. This first information can be used to determine whether to send and report the second information, which can be obtained based on the first information. In the second stage, the network device selects one or more target sensing nodes based on the second information reported by multiple sensing nodes, and then performs subsequent sensing measurements through these target sensing nodes. Since the network device references the second information reported by multiple sensing nodes when selecting target sensing nodes, the selected target sensing nodes are more suitable, thereby improving sensing efficiency.

[0125] It is understood that the above content is only intended to make the embodiments of this application easier to understand and should not be construed as limiting the embodiments of this application.

[0126] The overall scheme of the embodiments of this application will be described below.

[0127] Please refer to Figure 2, which is a flowchart illustrating a communication method disclosed in an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 2, the method may include, but is not limited to, the following steps:

[0128] 201. The network device sends first information to the terminal device, and the first information is used to determine the sending of second information.

[0129] Accordingly, the terminal device can receive first information from the network device. For example, the network device sending the first information to the terminal device can specifically involve the network device sending the first information to multiple terminal devices, and correspondingly, the multiple terminal devices can receive the first information from the network device. In this embodiment, the terminal device can also be referred to as a sensing node. The multiple terminal devices to which the network device has sent the first information can also be referred to as multiple candidate terminal devices (or multiple candidate sensing nodes). Subsequently, the network device can determine one or more target terminal devices (or target sensing nodes) based on the second information reported by the multiple candidate terminal devices. The second information is used to determine the sensing node.

[0130] In some possible implementations, "the first information is used by (the terminal device) to determine to send (or report) the second information" can also be understood as the first information is used by (the terminal device) to determine to obtain the second information, or it can be understood as the first information is used to request (the terminal device) to send the second information.

[0131] The network device can send the first information to multiple terminal devices in various ways, including broadcast, unicast, or a combination of both. In broadcast mode, the network device can send the first information using only a corresponding resource, and multiple terminal devices can all receive the first information using that resource. In this mode, the resource used by the network device to send the first information can be predefined by the protocol (such as a predefined broadcast resource), or the network device can instruct multiple terminal devices on the resource to send the first information. In unicast mode, the network device can send the first information to multiple terminal devices using different resources.

[0132] In this application embodiment, the first information can be implemented in various ways, and several examples are described below.

[0133] In the first scenario, the first information includes first resource configuration information. This first resource configuration information indicates the resource configuration of the first sensing measurement signal, and the resource configuration of the first sensing measurement signal can be used to acquire second information. In this case, the first resource configuration information is equivalent to determining whether to send the second information, that is, to send the second information to the network device. Specifically, since the resource configuration of the first sensing measurement signal indicated by the first resource configuration information is used to acquire the second information, the terminal device, after receiving the first resource configuration information, can determine whether to send the second information based on the first resource configuration information.

[0134] The resource configuration of the first sensing measurement signal can be used to configure the resources of the first sensing measurement signal, including at least one of the following: time-domain resources, frequency-domain resources, spatial-domain resources (such as beam resources), and resource type. As one possible implementation, the first resource configuration information can be carried in a broadcast message (such as in a master information block (MIB)). For example, a field value or information element (IE) in the broadcast message can be used as the first resource configuration information. For instance, this field or information element (IE) can be predefined (e.g., protocol predefined) to carry the resource configuration information. The resource configuration information indicates the resource configuration of the sensing measurement signal used to obtain the second information. This information element can be called a cooperative sensing group reference single IE (CSG-RS IE). Accordingly, upon receiving the first resource configuration information, the terminal device can send the second information based on this resource configuration information. As another possible implementation, the resource configuration of the first sensing measurement signal indicated by the first resource configuration information includes the type of the first sensing measurement signal (or resource type). The type of the first sensing measurement signal is a dedicated signal type for obtaining the second information (such as CSG-RS type). Accordingly, the terminal device can determine to send the second information based on the type of the first sensing measurement signal.

[0135] The second approach involves the first information including first reporting configuration information, which is used to configure the sending of second information. In this case, the first reporting configuration information can be used to determine the sending of second information. Specifically, the network device can send the first reporting configuration information (such as a report configuration element ReportConfig) to the terminal device. This first reporting configuration information can configure the information that the terminal device needs to report; for example, the ReportQuantity field of the ReportConfig element can be configured to report second information. As a possible implementation, the network device can send the first measurement configuration information (such as a measurement object (MO)) to the terminal device. This first measurement configuration information can include first resource configuration information. Furthermore, the network device can also send the first reporting configuration information to the terminal device, which can be associated with the first measurement configuration information. In this case, the terminal device can perform sensing measurements based on the first measurement configuration information to obtain the second information and can then send the second information to the network device based on the first reporting configuration information.

[0136] The third approach involves the first information being a dedicated instruction that instructs the transmission of the second information. In this case, the dedicated instruction is equivalent to determining whether to transmit the second information. Specifically, the network device can send this dedicated instruction to the terminal device, and upon receiving it, the terminal device can determine whether to report the second information. As a possible implementation, the dedicated instruction can be carried in a broadcast message (e.g., in a MIB). For example, a field value in the broadcast message could be the dedicated instruction. In this case, the field (e.g., the CSG_Enable field) can be predefined (e.g., protocol-predefined) to indicate whether to report the second information (e.g., a value of 0 indicates reporting the second information, and a value of 1 indicates not reporting the second information). Accordingly, upon receiving the instruction to report the second information, the terminal device can determine that it needs to report the second information. Furthermore, the dedicated instruction can also be associated with the resource configuration of the first sensing measurement signal. This association can be predefined by the protocol or configured by the network device. For example, a broadcast message may include a CSG_Enable field and a CSG-RS information element. The CSG_Enable field and the CSG-RS information element can be associated. When the CSG_Enable field value indicates that second information should be reported, the terminal device can obtain the second information based on the resource configuration information carried by the CSG-RS information element indicating the resource configuration of the sensing measurement signal (the resource configuration of the first sensing measurement signal), and then report the second information to the terminal device. As another example, this dedicated indication information can be associated with CSI-RS. After receiving this dedicated indication information, the terminal device can perform sensing measurements through CSI-RS (the first sensing measurement signal) to obtain the second information, and then report the second information to the terminal device. As yet another example, this dedicated indication information can be associated with PRS. After receiving this dedicated indication information, the terminal device can perform sensing measurements through PRS (the first sensing measurement signal) to obtain the second information, and then report the second information to the terminal device.

[0137] In some possible implementations, the network device can first receive third information from S terminal devices. This third information can be used to indicate whether the corresponding terminal device has sensing capabilities. Based on this, the network device can send first information to T terminal devices with sensing capabilities based on the third information reported by the S terminal devices. The terminal devices with sensing capabilities can be candidate terminal devices. It is understood that S and T are both positive integers greater than or equal to 1, and T is less than or equal to S. This method avoids sending first information to terminal devices without sensing capabilities, thereby saving transmission resources.

[0138] It should be noted that, in the embodiments of this application, the method of sensing and measuring any of the multiple candidate terminal devices is not limited, and may include at least one of the following: the terminal device transmitting and receiving signals independently, or the access network device (network device) transmitting and receiving signals from the terminal device. In some possible implementations, the network device may configure resources (hereinafter referred to as sensing resources) for sensing and measuring signals in the terminal device's self-transmitting and self-receiving sensing mode for each candidate terminal device, and / or sensing resources in the network device's transmitting and receiving sensing mode. For example, sensing resources in the terminal device's self-transmitting and self-receiving sensing mode and / or sensing resources in the network device's transmitting and receiving sensing mode can be configured through first resource configuration information.

[0139] In some possible implementations, for the sensing mode where the network device transmits and the terminal device receives, multiple candidate terminal devices can perform sensing measurements based on the same sensing resources (such as a common downlink reference signal), while for the terminal device transmitting and receiving on its own, multiple candidate terminal devices can perform sensing measurements based on different sensing resources.

[0140] It should be understood that any two of the three methods for implementing the first information described above can be combined. For example, taking the combination of the first and second implementation methods as an example, the network device can configure sensing resources (such as sensing resources sent by the network device and received by the terminal devices) that multiple candidate terminal devices need to perform sensing measurements in the CSG-RS IE of the broadcast message to obtain the second information. Furthermore, for all or some of the candidate terminal devices, the network device can also configure sensing resources that need to perform sensing measurements (such as sensing resources sent and received by the terminal devices themselves) separately for these terminal devices, and configure the sending of the second information through the corresponding reporting configuration information to obtain the second information.

[0141] Optionally, the aforementioned first information or the first resource configuration information or dedicated indication information included in the first information may be a dedicated information element, field, flag bit, or information, and this application embodiment does not limit this.

[0142] Step 201 is optional.

[0143] 202, The terminal device obtains the second information.

[0144] There are several scenarios in which a terminal device acquires the second information. For example, the terminal device may actively acquire the second information. For instance, the terminal device may include configured events / conditions (such as network device configuration) to trigger the acquisition of the second information. When the configured event / condition is met, the terminal device can acquire the second information. The pre-configured event / condition could be that the terminal device enters a specific area. It is understood that in this case, step 201 may not be executed.

[0145] As another example, when a terminal device receives first information from a network device, the terminal device can obtain second information based on the first information.

[0146] Wherein, when the first information includes the first resource configuration information, the terminal device obtains the second information based on the first information, which includes: the terminal device performs sensing measurement based on the resource configuration of the first sensing measurement signal to obtain the second information.

[0147] When the first information includes first reported configuration information, the terminal device obtaining the second information based on the first information includes: the terminal device obtaining the second information based on the first reported configuration information. For example, the terminal device can determine that it needs to report the second information to the network device based on the first reported configuration information; therefore, the terminal device can obtain the second information first.

[0148] For example, the terminal device acquiring the second information can specifically involve multiple candidate terminal devices acquiring the second information respectively. As one possible implementation, the terminal device can perform sensing measurements based on the resource configuration of the first sensing measurement signal to acquire the second information, or acquire a portion of the second information. In this embodiment, the second information includes information that can be used to assist / help the network device in selecting the target sensing node, and its specific content is not limited. For example, the second information may include one or more of first indication information, second indication information, third indication information, and fourth indication information. The first indication information, second indication information, third indication information, and fourth indication information are described exemplarily below.

[0149] The first indication information can be used to indicate whether the terminal device has measured the target, such as indicating whether the terminal device has measured the target based on the resource configuration of the first sensing measurement signal. For example, as a possible implementation, the first indication information can be 1 bit. If the 1 bit is a first value, it can indicate that the terminal device has measured the target; if the 1 bit is a second value, it can indicate that the terminal device has not measured the target. The first value can be 0, and the second value can be 1, or the first value can be 1 and the second value can be 0; this is not limited, and other first and second values ​​in the embodiments of this application can be understood similarly.

[0150] In this embodiment, the "perceived target" in "whether the terminal device measures the perceived target" can be one or more specific perceived targets configured, such as vehicles with license plate numbers 1 and 2. In this case, the network device can indicate the one or more specific perceived targets to the terminal device, and "measured the perceived target" can mean measuring any one of the one or more specific perceived targets, or measuring all of the one or more specific perceived targets. The "perceived target" can also be one or more specific perceived target types configured, such as car type and drone type. In this case, the network device can indicate the one or more specific perceived target types to the terminal device, and "measured the perceived target" can mean measuring any one of the one or more specific perceived target types, or measuring all of the perceived target types. The "perceived target" can also be any perceived target. In this case, the network device can indicate to the terminal device that the "perceived target" is any perceived target, or it can default to any perceived target if not indicated. The "perceived target" can also be a combination of the above, such as "perceived target" including one or more specific perceived targets and one or more specific perceived target types.

[0151] In some possible implementations, after receiving the first information, the terminal device (in response to the first information) can perform sensing measurements based on the resource configuration of the first sensing measurement signal. For example, it can receive the sensing signal based on the resource configuration of the first sensing measurement signal and perform channel estimation. Then, it can extract multipath information of the channel from the channel estimation result. The multipath information can include the following information for each transmission path in the channel: line-of-sight (LOS) / non-line-of-sight (NLOS) determination, path power information, path delay information, path angle of arrival information, etc. The terminal device can determine whether the resource configuration based on the first sensing measurement signal has measured the sensing target by whether an NLOS path exists in the multipath. Specifically, if an NLOS path exists in the multipath, it can be considered that the sensing signal has passed through the sensing target, that is, the resource configuration based on the first sensing measurement signal has measured the sensing target. Conversely, if no NLOS path exists in the multipath, it can be considered that the sensing signal has not passed through the sensing target, that is, the resource configuration based on the first sensing measurement signal has not measured the sensing target. This method can be an implementation where the "sensing target" is arbitrary.

[0152] In cases where the "sensing target" is one or more specific sensing targets, or one or more specific sensing target types, in some possible implementations, the terminal device can perform sensing measurements based on the resource configuration of the first sensing measurement signal to obtain sensing data, and then determine whether a sensing target has been measured based on the sensing data. For example, the terminal device can determine the outline of the sensing target based on the sensing data, thereby determining the type of the sensing target based on the outline, and further determining whether the sensing target of that one or more specific sensing target types has been measured. The specific implementation of determining whether a sensing target has been measured based on sensing data is not limited in this application embodiment; existing related technologies, such as radar scanning technologies, can be referenced.

[0153] The second indication information can be used to instruct the terminal device whether to provide sensing services. For example, as one possible implementation, the second indication information can be 1 bit. If the 1 bit is a first value, it can instruct the terminal device to provide sensing services; if the 1 bit is a second value, it can instruct the terminal device not to provide sensing services. In some possible implementations, the terminal device can decide whether to provide sensing services based on the current situation. For example, if a terminal device is currently experiencing heavy traffic or insufficient processing power, it can use the second indication information to indicate that it will not provide sensing services.

[0154] Furthermore, in some possible implementations, when the second indication information instructs the terminal device to provide sensing services, the terminal device can also specifically indicate (e.g., through additional information or through the second indication information) which types of sensing services it provides, such as sensing services that are self-transmitted and self-received by the terminal device, or sensing services that are transmitted from the network device and received by the terminal device. For example, the second indication information can be used to indicate whether the terminal device provides sensing services, and which types of sensing services it provides. Taking the sensing service types including self-transmitted and self-received by the terminal device and transmission from the network device and reception by the terminal device as an example, the second indication information can include 2 bits. If the 2 bits are a first value, it can instruct the terminal device to provide sensing services of both self-transmitted and self-received types and transmission from the network device and reception by the terminal device. If the 2 bits are a second value, it can instruct the terminal device to provide self-transmitted and self-received sensing services. If the 2 bits are a third value, it can instruct the terminal device to provide sensing services of transmission from the network device and reception by the terminal device. If the 2 bits are a fourth value, it can instruct the terminal device not to provide sensing services. The first, second, third, and fourth values ​​can correspond to 00, 01, 10, and 11, but the specific correspondence is not limited in this application embodiment. Furthermore, other first, second, third, and fourth values ​​in this application embodiment can be understood similarly.

[0155] The third indication information is used to indicate whether the terminal device has measured the sensing target in the corresponding sensing mode, such as whether the terminal device has measured the sensing target in the corresponding sensing mode based on the resource configuration of the first sensing measurement signal. "Indicating whether the terminal device has measured the sensing target in the corresponding sensing mode" means indicating whether the terminal device has measured the sensing target in each of the X sensing modes. The X sensing modes include network device transmit / receive and terminal device self-transmit / receive. For example, the third indication information may include 2 bits. If the 2 bits are a first value, it can indicate that the terminal device has measured the sensing target in both the self-transmit / receive and network device transmit / receive modes. If the 2 bits are a second value, it can indicate that the terminal device has measured the sensing target in the self-transmit / receive mode. If the 2 bits are a third value, it can indicate that the terminal device has measured the sensing target in the network device transmit / receive mode. If the 2 bits are a fourth value, it can indicate that the terminal device has not measured the sensing target in either the self-transmit / receive or network device transmit / receive modes.

[0156] It should be understood that the third indication information can be combined with the first indication information. If the first indication information indicates that the terminal device has measured the target, then the third indication information can further indicate that the target has been measured in the corresponding sensing mode. If the first indication information indicates that the terminal device has not measured the target, then the third indication information can indicate that the target has not been measured in any of the corresponding sensing modes.

[0157] It is understood that the above description uses two sensing modes: network device sending and terminal device receiving, and terminal device self-sending and self-receiving. However, the embodiments of this application do not limit the specific sensing mode. For example, there may also be sensing modes such as terminal device A sending and terminal device B receiving.

[0158] The fourth indication information can be used to indicate K beams of the sensed target measured by the terminal device. These K beams can be beams in the resource configuration of the first sensed measurement signal, where K is an integer greater than or equal to 1. For example, these K beams are the transmission beams on the network device side. It should be understood that the embodiments of this application do not limit the method of indicating the K beams of the sensed target measured; it can be an index of the K beams or an index of the precoding matrix corresponding to the K beams.

[0159] Furthermore, as a possible implementation, the K beams can be all the beams from which the terminal device measures the target, or they can be a subset of the beams from which the terminal device measures the target. For example, assuming the terminal device measures the target from Q beams, the K beams can belong to those Q beams, where Q is an integer greater than or equal to K. K can be a predefined value (e.g., protocol-predefined) or configured by the network device, or K can be determined based on protocol-predefined conditions or network device-configured conditions. In this case, the terminal device can report only K beams out of the Q beams. For example, the K strongest beams can be predefined or configured to be reported, or the beams with a reference signal received power (RSRP) greater than a certain threshold can be predefined or configured to be reported.

[0160] The second information may also include one or more of the following: the measured location of the sensed target, the speed of the sensed target, and the number of sensed targets.

[0161] As one possible implementation, the aforementioned first, second, third, and fourth indication information can be combined / merged. For example, taking the combination of the first and second indication information as an example, the first indication information being a first value can instruct the terminal device to measure the sensing target and provide sensing services. The first indication information being a second value can instruct three other situations: that the terminal device measures the sensing target but does not provide sensing services; that the terminal device does not measure the sensing target but provides sensing services; or that the terminal device does not measure the sensing target and does not provide sensing services. For example, taking the combination of the first and third indication information as an example, the first indication information being a first value can instruct the terminal device to measure the sensing target, and the sensing mode of measuring the sensing target includes network device transmission and terminal device reception and terminal device self-transmission and self-reception. The first indication information being a second value can instruct the terminal device to measure the sensing target, and the sensing mode of measuring the sensing target includes network device transmission and terminal device reception. The first indication information being a third value can instruct the terminal device to measure the sensing target, and the sensing mode of measuring the sensing target includes terminal device self-transmission and self-reception. The first indication information being the fourth value can indicate that the terminal device has not measured the sensing target. For example, taking the first, second, and third indication information combined as an example, the first indication information being the first value can indicate that the terminal device has measured the sensing target, and the sensing mode of measuring the sensing target includes network device sending and terminal device receiving, and the terminal device automatically sending and receiving, and providing sensing services. The first indication information being the second value can indicate that the terminal device has measured the sensing target, and the sensing mode of measuring the sensing target includes network device sending and terminal device receiving, and providing sensing services. The first indication information being the third value can indicate that the terminal device has measured the sensing target, and the sensing mode of measuring the sensing target includes the terminal device automatically sending and receiving, and providing sensing services. The first indication information being the fourth value can indicate several other situations, namely, indicating that the terminal device has measured the sensing target, and the sensing mode of measuring the sensing target includes network device sending and terminal device receiving, and the terminal device automatically sending and receiving, but does not provide sensing services; or indicating that the terminal device has measured the sensing target, and the sensing mode of measuring the sensing target includes network device sending and terminal device receiving, but does not provide sensing services, etc., which will not be listed here. It is evident that by combining multiple methods such as first indication information, second indication information, and third indication information, the number of bits that need to be transmitted can be reduced, thus saving transmission resources.

[0162] The above description of the second information is merely illustrative and does not constitute a limitation. In other possible embodiments of this application, the second information may include more or less information.

[0163] 203, The terminal device sends the second information to the network device.

[0164] Accordingly, network devices can receive second information from terminal devices.

[0165] For example, the terminal device sending the second information to the network device can specifically be as follows: multiple candidate terminal devices send the second information to the network device respectively, and the network device can receive the second information from the multiple candidate terminal devices respectively.

[0166] In some possible implementations, after receiving first information from a network device, a terminal device can determine whether to send second information to the network device based on the actual situation to save transmission resources. For example, if a terminal device cannot obtain the first indication information (e.g., due to a lack of sensing capabilities), it may not need to report the second information. As another example, if a terminal device performs sensing measurements (e.g., sensing measurements based on resource configuration of the first sensing measurement signal) and fails to detect the sensing target, it may also not need to report the second information. Furthermore, if a terminal device does not provide (or is unwilling to provide) sensing services, it may not need to report the second information, and correspondingly, it may not need to perform sensing measurements, thus reducing overall power consumption.

[0167] In other possible implementations, after receiving the first information from the network device, a terminal device can directly report the second information based on the actual situation to improve reporting efficiency and save related resources (such as processing resources). For example, if a terminal device cannot obtain the first indication information (e.g., due to a lack of sensing capabilities), the terminal device can directly report the second information. The first indication information in the second information can be a second value, indicating that the terminal device has not measured the sensing target. If there is also a second indication information, the second indication information in the second information can be a second value, indicating that the terminal device does not provide sensing services. If there is also a third indication information, the third indication information in the second information can be a fourth value, indicating that the terminal device has not measured the sensing target under both the terminal device self-transmitting and receiving type and the network device transmitting and receiving type. For example, if a terminal device does not provide sensing services, it can directly report the second information. The first indication information in the second information can be the second value, indicating that the terminal device has not measured the sensing target. If there is also a second indication information, the second indication information in the second information can be the second value, indicating that the terminal device does not provide sensing services. If there is also a third indication information, the third indication information in the second information can be the fourth value, indicating that the terminal device has not measured the sensing target under both the terminal device self-transmitting and self-receiving type and the network device transmitting and receiving type. In this case, the terminal device can also perform sensing measurements without relying on the resource configuration of the first sensing measurement signal indicated by the first resource configuration information, which can also reduce the overall power consumption of the terminal device.

[0168] It is understood that a network device can configure resources for reporting second information for one or more candidate terminal devices. For example, in the second implementation of the first information described above, the first reporting configuration information can also be used to configure reporting resources (such as the first reporting resource), which is used to send the second information. Accordingly, one or more candidate terminal devices can send the second information to the network device based on the reporting resources configured by the first reporting configuration information.

[0169] Optionally, the aforementioned second information, or the first indication information, second indication information, third indication information, etc. in the second information, can be a special information element, field, flag bit, or information. This application embodiment does not limit this.

[0170] 204. The network device determines N sensing nodes based on the second information.

[0171] For example, the network device determines (or selects, filters, etc.) N sensing nodes based on the second information. Specifically, the network device determines N sensing nodes based on the second information reported by multiple candidate terminal devices. These determined N sensing nodes can also be called N target sensing nodes or N target terminal devices. N is an integer greater than or equal to 1.

[0172] The following is an example illustrating how a network device determines N sensing nodes based on the second information.

[0173] For example, when the second information includes the first indication information, the network device can determine N target terminal devices based on the first indication information. For instance, the network device can determine the N target terminal devices as those that have measured the sensing target from among multiple candidate terminal devices. This approach avoids selecting terminal devices that have not measured the sensing target, ensuring that subsequent sensing measurements based on these N target terminal devices will guarantee that all N target terminal devices have measured the sensing target, thereby saving sensing and reporting resources.

[0174] It is understandable that the number W of terminal devices that measure the target from among the multiple candidate terminal devices can be greater than or equal to N, where W is an integer greater than or equal to N. The method for determining N target terminal devices from these W candidate terminal devices is not limited. These N target terminal devices can be any N from the W candidate terminal devices, or they can be selected based on relevant conditions, such as third-party indication information, the location of the terminal device, the number of beams measured by the terminal device to detect the target, and the beam direction.

[0175] When the second information includes the second indication information, the network device can determine N target terminal devices based on the second indication information. For example, the network device can determine the terminal devices providing sensing services as the N target terminal devices. This approach avoids selecting terminal devices that do not provide sensing services, thereby ensuring the effective execution of subsequent sensing measurements.

[0176] When the second information includes the third indication information, the network device can determine N target terminal devices based on the third indication information. For example, the network device can determine N target terminal devices from among the terminal devices that measure the sensing target under a specific sensing mode. For instance, the network device can select N target terminal devices from multiple candidate terminal devices that measure the sensing target under both the terminal device self-transmit / receive type and the network device transmit / receive type. As another example, the network device can select N target terminal devices from multiple candidate terminal devices that measure the sensing target under the terminal device self-transmit / receive type. As yet another example, the network device can select N target terminal devices from multiple candidate terminal devices that measure the sensing target under the network device transmit / receive type.

[0177] When the second information includes the fourth indication information, the network device can determine N target terminal devices based on the fourth indication information. For example, the network device can determine N target terminal devices as terminal devices that measure the perceived target under certain specific beams.

[0178] When the second information includes the location of the perceived target, the network device can determine N target terminal devices based on the location of the perceived target. For example, the network device can determine N target terminal devices as those whose measured locations are in certain specific areas.

[0179] When the second information includes the number of sensed targets, the network device can determine N target terminal devices based on the number of sensed targets. For example, the network device can determine N target terminal devices as those whose number of sensed targets is greater than a certain threshold (such as 1, 2, etc.).

[0180] When the second information includes the speed of the perceived target, the network device can determine N target terminal devices based on the speed of the perceived target. For example, the network device can determine N target terminal devices as those whose measured speeds of the perceived target fall within a certain range.

[0181] The above example illustrates how to determine N target terminal devices using one of the following: first indication information, second indication information, third indication information, fourth indication information, the location of the perceived target, the speed of the perceived target, or the number of perceived targets. However, it should be understood that the network device can also determine N target terminal devices based on multiple of the following: first indication information, second indication information, third indication information, fourth indication information, the location of the perceived target, the speed of the perceived target, or the number of perceived targets. For example, when the second information includes both the first and second indication information, the network device can determine N target terminal devices based on both. For instance, the network device can determine N target terminal devices as terminal devices that measure the perceived target and provide sensing services. As another example, when the second information includes both the first and third indication information, the network device can determine N target terminal devices based on both. For instance, the network device can determine N target terminal devices as terminal devices that measure the perceived target under certain characteristic sensing modes. As yet another example, when the second information includes both the location and the number of perceived targets, the network device can determine N target terminal devices based on both. For example, a network device can identify N target terminal devices if the location of the sensed target is located in certain specific areas and the number of sensed targets detected is greater than a certain threshold. The above examples illustrate how a network device can identify N target terminal devices in three combined scenarios. For specific implementations of other combined scenarios, please refer to [reference needed], which will not be elaborated here.

[0182] It should be noted that in some cases, the second information, or part of the second information, may have other uses, and some information may not even be used to identify the N target terminal devices. For example, the third indication information can also be used by the network device to determine the sensing mode adopted by the terminal device in subsequent sensing processes. As another example, the fourth indication information can also be used by the network device to determine the beam used in subsequent sensing processes. Please refer to the relevant descriptions below for details.

[0183] As one possible implementation, the network device can also determine / establish M sensing groups (such as CSGs) based on the N target terminal devices. Alternatively, the above "network device determines N sensing nodes" is equivalent to "network device determines / establishes M sensing groups". In this case, the N sensing nodes (target terminal devices) belong to M sensing groups, and each of the M sensing groups can include at least one of the N sensing nodes, where M is an integer greater than or equal to 1. For example, sensing nodes in a sensing group can be used to sense the same sensing target / sensing target of the same sensing type, or they can cooperate to complete a certain sensing task, or they can perform collaborative sensing.

[0184] For M sensing groups, the network device can store group information for each of the M sensing groups. Group information may include one or more of the following: group identifier, group size, group master node identifier, cell identifier, access network device identifier (network device identifier), sensing node identifiers within the group, and location information of sensing nodes within the group. For example, the group identifiers for the M sensing groups can be uniformly assigned by the network device. The group size of a sensing group can be the number of sensing nodes included in the sensing group. The group master node identifier of a sensing group is also the identifier of the master node in that sensing group. The master node of each sensing group can be the data operation center of that sensing group, responsible for collecting, storing (e.g., temporarily storing), processing, and forwarding sensing data (e.g., sensing data obtained from sensing measurements, or sensing results obtained based on sensing data). The cell identifier corresponding to a sensing group can be the cell to which the sensing group belongs, or the cell to which (or accessed) a sensing node in the sensing group belongs. The access network device identifier (network device identifier) ​​corresponding to a sensing group can be the access network device to which (or accessed) a sensing node in the sensing group belongs. The identifier of a sensing node within a sensing group can be the identifier of all sensing nodes included in that group. The location information of a sensing node within a sensing group can also be the location information of all sensing nodes included in that group.

[0185] The following is an example illustrating how network devices determine sense groups.

[0186] In some possible implementations, the network device can establish M sensing groups. For example, the network device can establish M sensing groups based on the locations of N target terminal devices. For instance, the network device can divide its coverage area into four regions and establish a sensing group for the target terminal devices in each region, thus establishing four sensing groups. As another example, the network device can establish M sensing groups based on second information from the N target terminal devices. For example, the network device can establish a sensing group for target terminal devices that measure the sensing target in a self-transmitting / receiving mode and another sensing group for target terminal devices that measure the sensing target in a transmitting / receiving mode, thus establishing two sensing groups. As yet another example, the network device can establish a sensing group for target terminal devices that measure the sensing target in beam 1, beam 2, and beam 3, respectively, based on fourth indication information, thus establishing three sensing groups. As yet another example, the network device can establish M sensing groups based on both the third and fourth indication information. As another example, the network device can establish M sensing groups based on the coverage area division and the second information. It should be understood that the above-described methods for determining sensing groups are merely illustrative, and the embodiments of this application do not limit the method by which the network device determines sensing groups.

[0187] The following is an exemplary description of how network devices determine the leader of a sensing group. For ease of understanding, the following description mainly uses the first sensing group as an example. The first sensing group can be any one of the M sensing groups.

[0188] For example, a network device can determine the group master node of a first sensing group based on the capability information of one or more sensing nodes in the first sensing group. The capability information of the sensing nodes may include processing power, storage space, communication capabilities, etc. The network device can select a sensing node with stronger capabilities in the first sensing group as the master node. As another example, the network device can determine the group master node of the first sensing group based on the sensing pattern of the sensing target measured by one or more sensing nodes in the first sensing group. For example, if one or more sensing nodes in the first sensing group measure the sensing pattern of the sensing target as "network device transmits, terminal device receives," the network device can determine the network device as the group master node. As yet another example, if one or more sensing nodes in the first sensing group measure the sensing pattern of the sensing target as "terminal device transmits and receives," in this case, since the measurement of the sensing target is completed by the terminal device through single-base sensing, the network device can determine a certain sensing node in the first sensing group as the group master node. As yet another example, the network device can determine the group master node of the first sensing group based on the location of one or more sensing nodes in the first sensing group. For example, based on the location distribution of one or more sensing nodes in the first sensing group, the sensing node located at the distribution center can be determined as the group master node. As another example, a dedicated group master node can be set up. This group master node may not participate in sensing and may only be used for the collection, storage (such as temporary storage), and processing of sensing data. As another example, other terminal devices outside the first sensing group can be designated as the group master node of the first sensing group. This group master node may not participate in sensing and may only be used for the collection, storage (such as temporary storage), and processing of sensing data.

[0189] The following is an example illustrating how network devices send awareness group information.

[0190] After determining M sensing groups, the network device can send at least one item of the group information of the corresponding sensing group to the corresponding target terminal device.

[0191] For example, a network device may send group information of a first sensing group to one or more sensing nodes in the first sensing group. Alternatively, to reduce resource overhead, the network device may send partial group information of the first sensing group to one or more sensing nodes in the first sensing group, such as only sending the group identifier and the group master node identifier of the first sensing group. Accordingly, one or more sensing nodes in the first sensing group may receive the group information or partial group information of the first sensing group from the network device.

[0192] The following provides an exemplary description of how to configure a sensing group for network devices to use resources for sensing.

[0193] After identifying M sensing groups, the network device can perform sensing based on these M sensing groups and allocate sensing resources to each of the M sensing groups.

[0194] For example, a network device may send second resource configuration information to one or more sensing nodes in a first sensing group. This second resource configuration information can be used to indicate the resource configuration of a second sensing measurement signal. Accordingly, one or more sensing nodes in the first sensing group may receive the second resource configuration information from the network device and then perform sensing measurements based on the resource configuration of the second sensing measurement signal indicated by the second resource configuration information. The resource configuration of the second sensing measurement signal can be used to configure the resources of the second sensing measurement signal, including at least one of time-domain resources, frequency-domain resources, spatial-domain resources, and resource types.

[0195] In this embodiment, after establishing a sensing group, the sensing measurement performed based on the resource configuration of the second sensing measurement signal indicated by the second resource configuration information can also be referred to as group sensing measurement. It should be understood that after one or more sensing nodes in the first sensing group perform sensing measurements based on the resource configuration of the second sensing measurement signal, they can obtain sensing data, which can then be sent to the master node of the first sensing group. In some possible implementations, one or more sensing nodes in the first sensing group can send the sensing data to network devices and / or SeMF network elements, or the master node of the first sensing group can send corresponding sensing data to network devices and SeMF network elements, such as sensing data reported by one or more sensing nodes in the first sensing group, or sensing data (such as sensing results) processed by the master node based on the sensing data reported by one or more sensing nodes in the first sensing group. It should also be understood that during group sensing measurement, the terminal device does not need to send the second information to the network device; it can directly send the sensing data obtained from the sensing measurement to the corresponding group master node, and / or network device, and / or SeMF network element. Regarding the method by which the network device sends the second resource configuration information to one or more sensing nodes in the first sensing group, this application embodiment does not limit this, and the method of sending the first resource configuration information described above can be referred to. The second resource configuration information corresponding to each sensing node in the first sensing group can be used to configure sensing resources in the self-transmitting and self-receiving sensing mode of the terminal device, and / or sensing resources in the transmitting and receiving sensing mode of the network device and the terminal device. Among them, for the sensing mode of transmitting and receiving by the network device and the terminal device, multiple sensing nodes in the first sensing group can perform sensing measurements based on the same sensing resources to save resource overhead, while for the self-transmitting and self-receiving sensing mode of the terminal device, multiple sensing nodes in the first sensing group can perform sensing measurements based on different sensing resources to avoid interference between terminal devices.

[0196] It should be noted that group perception can also be called precise perception, fine perception, collaborative perception or other names, and this application does not limit it to any particular name.

[0197] In some possible implementations, the beams in the second resource configuration information can be associated with the beams in the first resource configuration information; that is, the beams in the resource configuration of the second sensing measurement signal can be associated with the beams in the resource configuration of the first sensing measurement signal. For example, this association could be: the beam space of the beam in the resource configuration of the second sensing measurement signal (referred to as the second beam) is a subset of the beam space of the beam in the resource configuration of the first sensing measurement signal (referred to as the first beam), and the beam space corresponds to the spatial region covered by the beam. Assuming the beam space (or spatial resource set) of the first beam is U, and the beam space of the second beam is V, then the following inclusion relationship holds: Please refer to Figure 3A for details. For example, the above situation mainly applies when the beamwidth of the second beam is less than or equal to the beamwidth of the first beam. If the beamwidth of the second beam is greater than the beamwidth of the first beam, then the second beam can have the same beam direction as the first beam. It is understood that the first and second beams can each include one or more beams.

[0198] In some other possible implementations, the second beam can be associated with the beam indicated by a fourth indication message sent by one or more sensing nodes in the first sensing group to the network device (referred to as the third beam). For example, this association could be that the beamspace of the second beam is a subset of the beamspace of the third beam. Assuming the beamspace of the second beam is V and the beamspace of the third beam is P, the following inclusion relationship holds: Please refer to Figure 3B for details. For example, the above situation mainly applies when the beamwidth of the second beam is less than or equal to the beamwidth of the third beam. If the beamwidth of the second beam is greater than the beamwidth of the third beam, in this case, the second beam can be in the same direction as the third beam. It is understood that the third beam may include one or more beams.

[0199] It should be understood that when the beamwidth of the second beam is greater than that of the first beam, it is equivalent to quickly and roughly sensing the information using coarse-grained resources first, and then allocating fine-grained resources to the N target sensing nodes for group sensing to obtain more accurate sensing results.

[0200] Furthermore, as a possible implementation, the time-domain measurement period (or sensing period) of one or more sensing nodes in the first sensing group can be the same. That is, the time-domain measurement period in the resource configuration of the second sensing measurement signal corresponding to one or more sensing nodes in the first sensing group can be the same. Moreover, in each time-domain measurement period, the maximum interval between the time-domain measurement resources of one or more sensing nodes in the first sensing group is less than or equal to a first threshold (e.g., 10ms), meaning that the time-domain measurements of one or more sensing nodes in the first sensing group are synchronized. This avoids the situation where, due to the movement of the sensing target, one or more sensing nodes in the first sensing group measure sensing data from different states of the sensing target during collaborative sensing, potentially leading to significant errors in the final sensing result. For example, suppose the first sensing group includes sensing nodes 1 to 3, and sensing nodes 1 to 3 have the same time-domain measurement period. The sensed target is in motion throughout a certain time-domain measurement period (e.g., time 1 to time 3), with its velocity and position changing. If sensing node 1 performs a measurement at time 1 and measures the target's velocity as v1, sensing node 2 performs a measurement at time 2 and measures the target's velocity as v2, and sensing node 3 performs a measurement at time 3 and measures the target's velocity as v3, then if a velocity is obtained by combining v1, v2, and v3 as the final result (e.g., taking the average), the error may be large. However, if v1, v2, and v3 are measured by sensing nodes 1 to 3 at almost the same time (e.g., the interval between any two times 1, 2, or 3 is less than or equal to a first threshold), then using v1, v2, and v3 can make the measured target velocity smoother and more robust.

[0201] Furthermore, as a possible implementation, the network device can also send second reporting configuration information to one or more sensing nodes in the first sensing group. This second reporting configuration information is used to configure reporting resources for reporting sensing data. Correspondingly, one or more sensing nodes in the first sensing group can receive the second reporting configuration information from the network device. Specifically, the one or more sensing nodes in the first sensing group have the same time-domain reporting period, and within each time-domain reporting period, the maximum interval between the time-domain reporting resources of one or more sensing nodes in the first sensing group is less than or equal to a second threshold (e.g., 10ms), meaning that the time-domain reporting of one or more sensing nodes in the first sensing group is synchronized. This allows the network device / the group master node of the first sensing group to synchronously process the sensing data reported by one or more sensing nodes in the first sensing group, avoiding the use of sensing data measured by different sensing nodes in different sensing periods for processing, thereby improving the accuracy of the sensing results. For example, suppose the first sensing group includes sensing nodes 1 to 3, the time-domain measurement periods of sensing nodes 1 to 3 are the same, and in each time-domain measurement period, the maximum interval between the time-domain measurement resources of sensing nodes 1 to 3 is less than or equal to a first threshold. The sensing target is in motion in some time-domain measurement periods (such as time-domain measurement period 1 to time-domain measurement period 3), and its speed and position are changing. Sensing nodes 1 to 3 all perform sensing measurements in time-domain measurement period 1 to time-domain measurement period 3. If sensing node 1 performs sensing measurements in time-domain measurement period 1, the speed of the sensing target measured is v1. If sensing node 2 performs sensing measurements in time-domain measurement period 2, the speed of the sensing target measured is v2. If sensing node 3 performs sensing measurements in time-domain measurement period 3, the speed of the sensing target measured is v3. Because the time-domain reporting periods of sensing nodes 1 through 3 are different, when sensing node 1 reports v1 to the network device, sensing node 2 reports v2, and sensing node 3 reports v3. If the network device ultimately obtains a speed based on a combination of v1, v2, and v3 (e.g., by taking an average), the error may be significant. However, if the time-domain reporting periods of sensing nodes 1 through 3 are the same, and the maximum interval between the time-domain reported resources of sensing nodes 1 through 3 in each time-domain reporting period is less than or equal to a second threshold, then the network device can obtain the speed of the sensed target measured by sensing nodes 1 through 3 at almost the same time in each time-domain reporting period. By comprehensively processing the speeds of the sensed target measured by sensing nodes 1 through 3 at almost the same time, the final obtained speed of the sensed target can be smoother and more robust.

[0202] It should be noted that, in this embodiment of the application, the sensing mode adopted by one or more sensing nodes in the first sensing group during the group sensing process based on the second resource configuration information is not limited. For example, it may include terminal device self-transmission and self-reception, terminal device A transmitting and terminal device B receiving, network device transmitting and terminal device receiving, etc. As a possible implementation, for a sensing node in the first sensing group, if the sensing node previously reported that it had measured the sensing target through terminal device self-transmission and self-reception via the third indication information, then it can be considered that in the subsequent group sensing process, the sensing node is more likely to measure the sensing target through terminal device self-transmission and self-reception, and less likely to measure the sensing target through network device transmitting and terminal device receiving. Similarly, if the sensing node previously reported that it had measured the sensing target through network device transmitting and terminal device receiving via the third indication information, then it can be considered that in the subsequent group sensing process, the sensing node is more likely to measure the sensing target through network device transmitting and terminal device receiving, and less likely to measure the sensing target through terminal device self-transmission and self-reception. Based on this, network devices can configure the sensing mode in the group sensing process based on the third indication information corresponding to a sensing node. That is, the sensing mode used in the group sensing process is the sensing mode that measures the sensing target as indicated by the third indication information corresponding to the sensing node, or a part of the sensing mode that measures the sensing target as indicated by the third indication information.

[0203] Optionally, the information transmission between the aforementioned terminal devices and network devices can be carried at the physical layer, and N target terminal devices or M sensing groups can be determined based on physical layer-related implementations.

[0204] In the above processing flow, the second information of candidate terminal devices can be obtained through the first stage of perception. Then, the network device can determine N target terminal devices (perception group) based on the second information sent by the candidate terminal devices. These N target terminal devices can then perform the second stage of perception. Establishing perception groups facilitates the management of perception nodes and lays the groundwork for subsequent inter-node collaboration, perception measurement, and perception result reporting. Furthermore, by selecting target perception nodes based on the second information, the network device can eliminate nodes that are unlikely to measure the target or those that do not meet the requirements, thereby improving perception efficiency, using fewer perception nodes to complete collaborative perception tasks, and saving related resources.

[0205] Figure 4 shows a possible implementation example of the method shown in Figure 2. The steps in Figure 4 correspond to those in Figure 2, and can be found in the descriptions in Figure 2. Figure 4 primarily illustrates the establishment of a sensing group (such as a CSG). As shown in Figure 4, the method flow may include, but is not limited to, the following steps:

[0206] 401, The terminal device reports its sensing capabilities.

[0207] For example, terminal devices within the coverage area of ​​a network device can report their capabilities to the network device after accessing the network device, that is, send their own capability information to the network device. Capability information may include an indication of whether it has sensing capabilities, supported sensing modes, etc., which are not limited in this embodiment. The indication of whether it has sensing capabilities can be 1 bit; a first value for this 1 bit indicates that it has sensing capabilities, and a second value indicates that it does not have sensing capabilities.

[0208] Step 401 is optional.

[0209] 402 indicates that the network device sends the first message, namely, CSG group creation information.

[0210] To establish a sensing group, network devices can send CSG group establishment information to terminal devices to trigger the terminal devices to perform the first phase of sensing measurements and send the CSG-RS measurement results to the network devices. The CSG group establishment information may include information on sensing resources (which may be referred to as CSG-RS resources) used to indicate to the terminal devices that they need to perform (the first phase) sensing measurements, and may also include the reporting resource configuration for the terminal devices to send the CSG-RS measurement results to the network devices.

[0211] CSG group establishment information can also indicate whether there is a need to establish a sensing group in the current cell or network device. After receiving the CSG group establishment information, the terminal device can know that there is a need to establish a sensing group in the current cell or network device, and then perform the first stage of sensing measurement, and report the CSG-RS measurement results based on the sensing data obtained from the measurement.

[0212] For example, network devices can broadcast CSG grouping information (or CSG grouping information), that is, CSG grouping information can be carried in broadcast messages (such as MIBs or system information blocks (SIBs)). CSG grouping information corresponds to the first information, and the form and content of CSG grouping information can be found in the description of the first information mentioned above.

[0213] As one possible implementation, the CSG group formation information sent by the network device may include the following two items:

[0214] 1. An indication / signaling / field for whether to establish a sensing group, which can be called CSG-Enable. For example, CSG-Enable can occupy 1 bit and has two selectable values: {enable(0), disable(1)}. If the terminal device receives CSG-Enable as 'enable', it can determine that there is a need to establish a sensing group in the current cell. If the terminal device receives CSG-Enable as 'disable', it can determine that there is no need to establish a sensing group in the current cell. For example, CSG-Enable can refer to the relevant description of the third implementation method (dedicated indication information) of the first information above.

[0215] 2. The signaling / field / element indicating the CSG-RS resources used for establishing the sensing group can be referred to as the CSG-RS resource configuration information (CSG-RS-Config). CSG-RS-Config can be used to indicate the resource configuration information of the CSG-RS, such as time-domain location, time-domain period, frequency-domain location, antenna port, etc. The terminal device can obtain the CSG-RS measurement result by measuring the sensing signal corresponding to this CSG-RS resource. For example, CSG-RS-Config can refer to the relevant description of the first implementation method (first resource configuration information) of the first information mentioned above.

[0216] It should be understood that, to conserve information bits in broadcast messages, in this embodiment of the application, when CSG-RS-Config is carried on a broadcast channel, the complete resource configuration of CSG-RS can be carried out directly through CSG-RS-Config, instead of directly carrying it. Instead, CSG-RS-Config indicates the location of the complete resource configuration of CSG-RS, such as the time-frequency domain resource location. For example, the complete resource configuration of CSG-RS can be transmitted through channels such as the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) and the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH). The terminal device can receive the complete resource configuration of CSG-RS-Config from channels such as PDCCH and PDSCH through the indication of CSG-RS-Config. In this way, CSG-RS-Config only needs to occupy a small number of bits in the broadcast resources, such as 8 bits.

[0217] It should be understood that the aforementioned CSG-Enable is optional. If the broadcast message includes CSG-RS-Config, it can be assumed that the current network device has a need to establish a sensing group. However, in some cases, CSG-Enable can help terminal devices save resources. For example, the terminal device can first parse the value of CSG-Enable in the broadcast message. If the value of CSG-Enable indicates that the current network device has a need to establish a sensing group, the terminal device can then receive CSG-RS-Config from the resource location corresponding to CSG-RS-Config. If the value of CSG-Enable indicates that the current network device does not have a need to establish a sensing group, the terminal device does not need to receive CSG-RS-Config from the resource location corresponding to CSG-RS-Config, thus saving the overall power consumption of the terminal device.

[0218] In this embodiment, if the terminal device reports its sensing capabilities (step 401 exists), the network device can send CSG grouping information specifically based on the sensing capabilities reported by the terminal device, such as sending CSG grouping information only to terminal devices with sensing capabilities. If the terminal device does not report its sensing capabilities (step 401 does not exist), the network device can send CSG grouping information to all connected terminal devices or terminal devices connected to a specific cell by default.

[0219] It should be understood that CSG-RS resources can include downlink sensing resources, that is, sensing resources in the network device sending and terminal device receiving sensing mode, and CSG-RS resources can also include sensing resources in the terminal device self-sending and self-receiving sensing mode. For sensing resources in the terminal device self-sending and self-receiving sensing mode, the network device can configure them separately for the corresponding terminal device, without needing to carry them through broadcast messages.

[0220] 403. The terminal device performs sensing measurements based on the first information to obtain the second information, namely the CSG-RS measurement result.

[0221] The terminal device performs sensing measurements based on the CSG-RS resources indicated by the first information, which constitutes the first stage of sensing measurements. The CSG-RS measurement results correspond to the second information; the form and content of the CSG-RS measurement results can be found in the relevant description of the second information.

[0222] In some possible implementations, when the terminal device learns that the value corresponding to CSG-Enable is 0, the terminal device can trigger a measurement to establish a sensing group, that is, to perform sensing measurement based on CSG-RS resources.

[0223] For example, the terminal device can determine the time-frequency location of the CSG-RS based on the resource configuration indicated by CSG-RS-Config, and measure the corresponding signal. This measurement can be sent by the network device to the terminal device for sensing measurement. If the terminal device is also configured with a self-transmitting and self-receiving CSG-RS, the terminal device can also perform self-transmitting and self-receiving sensing measurement based on the corresponding CSG-RS.

[0224] After the terminal device completes the measurement and obtains the sensing data, it can process the sensing data using relevant algorithms, and then send at least one of the following measurement quantities (CSG-RS measurement results) to the network device:

[0225] 1. The first indication information, namely the Target Existence Indicator (TEI), occupies 1 bit and has two selectable values: 0 or 1, as shown in Table 1 below. The perceived target can be a specific object. The perceived target can also be referred to as the object to be perceived, the target object, etc.

[0226] Table 1 (Explanation of TEI)

[0227] 2. The second indication information, namely the allowedSensingService indication, can be 1 bit and has two selectable values: 0 or 1, as shown in Table 2 below. The allowedSensingService indication is used to indicate / report whether the corresponding terminal device is willing to provide sensing services or participate in the establishment of a sensing group. For example, if the current terminal device is busy, even if the terminal device has sensing capabilities, it can set this flag to 0 to not join the sensing service or participate in the establishment of a sensing group.

[0228] Table 2 (Description of allowedSensingService)

[0229] 3. The third indication information, namely the perception mode type of the target (TEI_Type), can be 2 bits and has four selectable values, the meanings of which are shown in Table 3 below.

[0230] Table 3 (Explanation of TEI_Type)

[0231] 4. The fourth indication information is the beam index indication of the CSG-RS beam where a target is present. For example, the CSG-RS index reported by the terminal device can be the index of the beam that measures the target, such as the index of the K strongest beams that measure the target. As another example, the CSG-RS index reported by the terminal device can be the index of the precoding matrix corresponding to the beam that measures the target, such as the index of the precoding matrix corresponding to the K strongest beams that measure the target. This method is equivalent to indirectly indicating the corresponding beam through the index of the precoding matrix.

[0232] 5. Target Information Indication (targetInfo). targetInfo may include one or more of the following: the location of the sensed target, the speed of the sensed target, and the number of sensed targets.

[0233] It should be understood that if both TEI and TEI_Type are included in the CSG-RS measurement results, there is a constraint relationship between TEI and TEI_Type. When a terminal device reports TEI=0, the corresponding TEI_Type can be one of {0,1,2}. When a terminal device reports TEI=1, then TEI_Type can only be 3.

[0234] It should be understood that the descriptions of TEI, allowedSensingService, TEI_Type, and CSG-RS index can also be found in the descriptions of the first, second, third, and fourth indication information mentioned above.

[0235] It should also be understood that not all terminal devices need to receive CSG-related information. For example, if a terminal device lacks sensing capabilities or does not intend to provide sensing services, it may not need to receive CSG-Enable and CSG-RS-Config at the corresponding time-frequency resource location in the broadcast message to save power. Similarly, not all terminal devices need to perform the first-stage sensing measurement. For example, if a terminal device does not intend to provide sensing services, it may not need to perform the first-stage sensing measurement to save power.

[0236] 404, the terminal device reports the CSG-RS measurement results to the network device.

[0237] For example, after obtaining the CSG-RS measurement results, the terminal device can report the CSG-RS measurement results to the network device, that is, report at least one of the measurement quantities such as TEI, allowedSensingService, TEI_Type, CSG-RS index, and targetInfo.

[0238] 405. The network device establishes M CSG groups based on the CSG-RS measurement results reported by the terminal device.

[0239] In some possible implementations, the network device can construct a sensing group based on all terminal devices that report TEI indicating that a sensing target has been measured (e.g., TEI=0). If the reported quantity includes allowedSensingService, the network device can construct a sensing group based on all terminal devices that report TEI indicating that a sensing target has been measured (e.g., TEI=0) and allowedSensingService indicating that sensing services are permitted. For a detailed explanation of how the network device establishes M sensing groups based on the CSG-RS measurement results reported by the terminal devices, please refer to the relevant description in step 203 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0240] For example, a network device can establish M CSG groups within the network device using relevant processing algorithms. The group information (CSG_INFO) of each CSG group may include one or more of the following: CSG identifier (CSG_ID), CSG size (the number of terminal devices contained in the group, referred to as CSG_Size), CSG group leader node identifier (CSG_Leader), cell identifier (Cell_ID), network device identifier (BS_ID), identifiers of all terminal devices in the group (CSG_Node_Info), and location information of all terminal devices in the group (CSG_Node_Info). The data format of the CSG group information is shown in Table 4 below:

[0241] Table 4 (Data Format of CSG_INFO)

[0242] In this embodiment of the application, for each CSG group, a master node is selected as the group leader, namely CSG_Leader. The CSG_Leader is the data operation center in the sensing group, and is usually responsible for collecting, storing, temporarily storing, processing, and forwarding sensing data. The CSG_Leader can be a network device or a UE in the group.

[0243] It should be understood that network devices can store group information for M established sensing groups.

[0244] For example, Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of a perception data report when the CSG_Leader is a network device, as disclosed in an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 5, when the CSG_Leader is a network device, in the subsequent perception reporting process within the group (such as step 407), after each terminal device (such as terminal device 1-terminal device 4) in the group measures the perception data, it can directly report the perception data to the network device, which will then uniformly store, process, and provide perception services to the user. As a possible scenario, when most UEs in the group (such as more than 1 / 2 or 2 / 3) upload TEI_Type=0 or 1, that is, when the perception target is measured in the perception mode where the network device transmits and the terminal device receives, the network device can be identified as the CSG_Leader.

[0245] For example, Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of a perception data report when CSG_Leader is a terminal device, as disclosed in an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 6, when CSG_Leader is a terminal device, in the subsequent perception reporting process within the group (such as step 407), after each terminal device (such as terminal device 1, terminal device 3, and terminal device 4) in the group measures and obtains perception data, it can send the perception data to CSG_Leader (terminal device 2). Terminal device 2 then performs unified storage, processing, and provides perception services to the user. Furthermore, after terminal device 2 summarizes the perception data of the group, it can send the summarized perception data to the network device, or the terminal device can send the perception result obtained from processing the summarized perception data to the network device. As one possible scenario, if most UEs in the group (e.g., more than 1 / 2 or 2 / 3) upload TEI_Type=2, meaning the target is measured in the self-transmitting and self-receiving sensing mode of the terminal device, then the bi-base sensing measurement capability between the network device and the terminal device can be considered weak. In other words, the sensing measurement capability is weak in the sensing mode where the network device transmits and the terminal device receives, and the terminal device can be designated as the CSG_Leader. As another possible scenario, if one or more terminal devices in the group have an "RSU" or "integrated access and backhaul node-mobile termination (IAB-node-MT)," then due to the strong processing capabilities of these nodes, the "RSU" or "IAB-node-MT" can be designated as the group's master node.

[0246] 406. The network device sends at least one of the group information of the first sensing group and the second resource configuration information, namely Sensing-RS resource configuration information, to one or more terminal devices in the first sensing group.

[0247] After establishing M sensing groups, the network device can send corresponding sensing group information to one or more terminal devices within each sensing group to indicate which sensing group the corresponding terminal device belongs to, facilitating subsequent collaborative sensing within the groups and receiving relevant group information. The second resource configuration information can be used to indicate the resource configuration of the second sensing measurement signal, where the first sensing group is any one of the M sensing groups.

[0248] For example, for one or more terminal devices in the first sensing group, the network device may send all group information (CSG_INFO) or part of the group information (such as CSG_ID and CSG_Leader) of the first sensing group to one or more terminal devices in the first sensing group.

[0249] The network device can also send the corresponding sensing measurement signal resource configuration (SensingRSResourceConfig) to one or more terminal devices within each sensing group. SensingRSResourceConfig can be used to configure the sensing resources that one or more terminal devices within the group need to measure during subsequent group sensing service phases (or the subsequent group sensing process). That is, it's the sensing resources that one or more terminal devices within the group need to measure during the second phase of sensing measurement. For example, the time-domain measurement period (MeasurementPeriod) of one or more terminal devices within the group can be the same, and within each time-domain measurement period, the time-domain measurement time (MeasurementTime) of one or more terminal devices within the group can be the same, meaning that the time-domain measurement period and time-domain measurement time of one or more terminal devices within the group are synchronized.

[0250] The network device can also send the corresponding sensing measurement signal reporting configuration (SensingRSReportConfig) to one or more terminal devices within each sensing group. SensingRSReportConfig can be used to configure the reporting resources of one or more terminal devices within the group in subsequent group sensing service steps. For example, the time domain reporting period (ReportPeriod) of one or more terminal devices within the group can be the same, and the time domain reporting time (ReportTime) of one or more terminal devices within the group can be the same in each time domain reporting period, that is, the time domain reporting period and time domain reporting time of one or more terminal devices within the group are synchronized.

[0251] It should be understood that, for one or more terminal devices in a sensing group, the network device can also configure sensing resources for the terminal device in the self-sensing and self-receiving sensing mode. The corresponding resource configuration information can be called SensingRSConfig-ueSpecific.

[0252] In this embodiment, the CSG-RS resource and the Sensing-RS resource may be associated. The CSG-RS resource may correspond to the resource configuration of the first resource configuration information or the first sensing measurement signal, and the Sensing-RS resource may correspond to the resource configuration of the second resource configuration information or the second sensing measurement signal. Therefore, the association between the CSG-RS resource and the Sensing-RS resource can be referenced to the association between the resource configuration of the first sensing measurement signal and the resource configuration of the second sensing measurement signal, as shown in Figures 3A and 3B.

[0253] For example, please refer to Figure 7, which is a schematic diagram of the association between CSG-RS resources and Sensing-RS resources disclosed in an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 7, the beam of the CSG-RS resource can be a wide beam, while the beam of the Sensing-RS resource can be a narrow beam. The coverage area of ​​the CSG-RS resource beam includes the coverage area of ​​the Sensing-RS resource beam, and the beam space of the Sensing-RS resource beam is a subset of the beam space of the CSG-RS resource beam. As can be seen from Figure 7, terminal device 1 and terminal device 2 can respectively measure the sensing target through two wide beams. Subsequently, in the group sensing process, the network device can allocate narrow beams to terminal device 1 and terminal device 2 to facilitate more refined sensing of the sensing target and obtain more accurate sensing results.

[0254] 407. One or more terminal devices in the first sensing group perform sensing measurements based on Sensing-RS resource configuration information, obtain sensing data, and send the sensing data to the master node of the first sensing group, i.e., perform sensing data reporting.

[0255] For example, one or more terminal devices in each group can perform sensing measurements based on the corresponding Sensing-RS resource configuration information and report the sensing data, such as sending the sensing data obtained from the sensing measurements to the corresponding group master node. The Sensing-RS resource configuration information may include SensingRSResourceConfig and SensingRSConfig-ueSpecific.

[0256] For example, as shown in Figure 8, suppose the network device sends CSG grouping information (CSG-RS resources) to terminal devices 1-5. Terminal devices 1-5 can perform sensing measurements based on the CSG-RS resources indicated by the CSG grouping information to obtain CSG-RS measurement results. Then, terminal devices 1-5 can send the CSG-RS measurement results back to the network device. Subsequently, the network device can establish a sensing group based on the CSG-RS measurement results reported by terminal devices 1-5. For instance, suppose only terminal devices 1 and 2 measure the sensing target, while terminal devices 3-5 do not. In this case, the network device can establish a sensing group based on terminal devices 1 and 2. Then, the network device can configure Sensing-RS resources for terminal devices 1 and 2 to perform group sensing measurements to obtain accurate measurement results of the sensing target.

[0257] It is understood that the technical solutions provided in this application can be used in the architecture of open access networks. The operations performed by the aforementioned network devices can be executed by one or more nodes such as CU, DU, CU-CP, CU-UP, and RIC (e.g., near-RT RIC, Non-RT RIC). Information sent by the terminal device to the network device can be sent to nodes such as CU, DU, CU-CP, CU-UP, or RIC (e.g., near-RT RIC, Non-RT RIC), and this application does not limit this. For example, the network device can send relevant information, such as the aforementioned first information, to the terminal device through CU, DU, CU-CP, CU-UP, or RIC.

[0258] It should be noted that the relevant information and descriptions in the different embodiments described above can be referenced interchangeably. For example, the explanations or adaptations in the method embodiments shown in Figures 2 and 4 can be referenced interchangeably. Furthermore, the technical features in different method embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments based on their inherent logical relationships. In addition, different implementations or examples within the same method embodiment can also be referenced or referenced interchangeably.

[0259] It should be understood that Figures 2 and 4 above primarily illustrate the above processing flow using terminal devices and network devices as the execution entities for the interactive illustration. However, this application does not limit the execution entities of this interactive illustration. For example, the terminal device in Figures 2 and 4 could also be a chip, chip system, or processor that supports the implementation of this method on the terminal device, or it could be a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the terminal device's functions. Similarly, the network device in Figures 2 and 4 could also be a chip, chip system, or processor that supports the implementation of this method on the network device, or it could be a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the network device's functions.

[0260] The foregoing mainly describes the communication methods provided in the embodiments of this application. It is understood that, in order to achieve the corresponding functions, the aforementioned terminal devices and network devices may include hardware structures and / or software modules corresponding to the execution of each function. Based on the units and steps of the various examples described in the embodiments disclosed herein, this application can be implemented in hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is executed by hardware or by computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of the embodiments of this application.

[0261] This application embodiment can divide terminal devices and network devices into functional modules according to the above method examples. For example, each function can be divided into its own functional module, or two or more functions can be integrated into one module. The integrated module can be implemented in hardware or as a software functional module. It should be noted that the module division in this application embodiment is illustrative and only represents one logical functional division; other division methods may be used in actual implementation.

[0262] Figure 9 shows a possible structural diagram of a communication device 900, where each functional module is divided according to its corresponding function. The communication device 900 includes a communication unit 901. The communication device 900 may also include a processing unit 902. Optionally, the communication unit 901 may also be referred to as a transceiver unit, an output unit, or an interface unit, etc. In one possible implementation, the communication unit 901 includes at least one of a transmitting unit or a receiving unit. The transmitting unit and the receiving unit may be integrated together, or they may be two independent units, etc. In one possible design, the communication device 900 may be the aforementioned terminal device, or it may be a component within the terminal device (e.g., a processor, chip, chip system, circuit, or functional module), or it may be a processing system within the terminal device, etc.

[0263] Optionally, the communication device 900 may further include a storage unit that stores information such as programs, instructions, or data. The processing unit 902 and / or the communication unit 901 can read information from the storage unit, enabling the communication device 900 to perform the functions of the terminal device or network device in the method embodiments shown in FIG2 or FIG4.

[0264] For example, the processing unit 902 involved in the communication device 900 can be implemented by a processor or processor-related circuit components, and can be a processor or processing module; the communication unit 901 can be implemented by a transceiver or transceiver-related circuit components or a communication interface.

[0265] When the communication device 900 is used for the functions of the terminal device in the embodiments shown in FIG2 or FIG4 above, for example:

[0266] Processing unit 902 is used to acquire second information, which is used to determine the sensing node;

[0267] The communication unit 901 is used to send the second information.

[0268] For example, the processing unit 902 may acquire the second information by obtaining it through the communication unit 901. For instance, the processing unit 902 may acquire the second information based on a sensing signal received by the communication unit 901.

[0269] In one possible implementation, before the processing unit 902 acquires the second information, the communication unit 901 is further configured to receive first information, which is used to determine to send the second information; the processing unit 902 acquires the second information by: acquiring the second information based on the first information.

[0270] In one possible implementation, the first information includes first resource configuration information, which is used to indicate the resource configuration of the first sensing measurement signal; the processing unit 902 obtains the second information based on the first information by performing sensing measurement according to the resource configuration of the first sensing measurement signal and obtaining the second information.

[0271] In one possible implementation, the first information includes first reporting configuration information, which is used to configure the sending of the second information; the processing unit 902 obtains the second information based on the first information by: obtaining the second information based on the first reporting configuration information.

[0272] In one possible implementation, the communication unit 901 is also used to send third information, which is used to indicate whether the terminal device has sensing capabilities.

[0273] In one possible implementation, the second information includes first indication information, which is used to indicate whether the terminal device has measured the perceived target.

[0274] In one possible implementation, the second information includes second indication information, which is used to indicate whether the terminal device provides sensing services.

[0275] In one possible implementation, the second information includes third indication information, which is used to indicate whether the terminal device has measured the sensing target in the corresponding sensing mode.

[0276] In one possible implementation, the communication unit 901 is further configured to receive at least one piece of information from the group information of the first sensing group, wherein the terminal device belongs to the first sensing group; the group information includes one or more of the following: group identifier, group size, group master node identifier, cell identifier, access network device identifier, sensing node identifier within the group, and location information of sensing nodes within the group.

[0277] In one possible implementation, the communication unit 901 is further configured to receive second resource configuration information, which is used to indicate the resource configuration of the second sensing measurement signal; and the processing unit 902 is configured to perform sensing measurement based on the resource configuration of the second sensing measurement signal.

[0278] For example, the processing unit 902 may perform sensing measurement based on the resource configuration of the second sensing measurement signal by means of the communication unit 901.

[0279] In one possible implementation, the beamspace of the beam in the resource configuration of the second sensing measurement signal is a subset of the beamspace of the beam in the resource configuration of the first sensing measurement signal, and the beamspace corresponds to the spatial region covered by the beam.

[0280] In one possible implementation, the second information includes fourth indication information, which indicates that the terminal device has measured K beams of the sensing target. The K beams are beams in the resource configuration of the first sensing measurement signal, and K is an integer greater than or equal to 1. The beam space of the beams in the resource configuration of the second sensing measurement signal is a subset of the beam space of the beams indicated by the fourth indication information, and the beam space corresponds to the spatial area covered by the beams.

[0281] In one possible implementation, one or more sensing nodes in the first sensing group have the same time-domain measurement period, and in each time-domain measurement period, the maximum interval between the time-domain measurement resources of one or more sensing nodes in the first sensing group is less than or equal to a first threshold.

[0282] In one possible implementation, the communication unit 901 is further configured to receive second reporting configuration information, which is used to configure reporting resources for reporting sensing data; one or more sensing nodes in the first sensing group have the same time-domain reporting period, and in each time-domain reporting period, the maximum interval between the time-domain reporting resources of one or more sensing nodes in the first sensing group is less than or equal to a second threshold.

[0283] The specific operation of each unit in the above-mentioned communication device 900 can be found in the description of the terminal device in the embodiment shown in Figure 2 or Figure 4 above, and will not be repeated here.

[0284] In another possible design, the communication device 900 may be the aforementioned network device, or a component of the network device (e.g., a processor, chip, chip system, circuit, or functional module), or a processing system of the network device, etc.

[0285] When the communication device 900 is used for the functions of the network device in the embodiments shown in FIG2 or FIG4 above, for example:

[0286] The communication unit 901 is used to receive the second information, which is used to determine the sensing node;

[0287] The processing unit 902 is used to determine N sensing nodes based on the second information, where N is an integer greater than or equal to 1.

[0288] In one possible implementation, before the communication unit 901 receives the second information, the communication unit 901 is also used to send first information, which is used to determine to send the second information.

[0289] In one possible implementation, the first information includes first resource configuration information, which is used to indicate the resource configuration of the first sensing measurement signal; the resource configuration of the first sensing measurement signal is used to acquire the second information.

[0290] In one possible implementation, the first information includes first reporting configuration information, which is used to configure the sending of the second information.

[0291] In one possible implementation, the communication unit 901 is further configured to receive third information, which is used to indicate whether the terminal device has sensing capability; the communication unit 901 is further configured to send first information if the third information indicates that the terminal device has sensing capability.

[0292] In one possible implementation, the second information includes first indication information, which is used to indicate whether the terminal device has measured the target; the N sensing nodes are sensing nodes that have measured the target.

[0293] In one possible implementation, the second information includes second indication information, which is used to indicate whether the terminal device provides sensing services; the N sensing nodes are sensing nodes that provide sensing services.

[0294] In one possible implementation, the second information includes third indication information, which is used to indicate whether the terminal device has measured the sensing target in the corresponding sensing mode.

[0295] In one possible implementation, the N sensing nodes belong to M sensing groups, and each of the M sensing groups includes at least one of the N sensing nodes; M is an integer greater than or equal to 1; the communication device 900 further includes a storage unit for storing group information of each of the M sensing groups; the group information includes one or more of the following: group identifier, group size, group master node identifier, cell identifier, access network device identifier, sensing node identifier within the group, and location information of sensing nodes within the group.

[0296] In one possible implementation, the processing unit 902 is further configured to determine the group master node of the first sensing group based on the capability information of one or more sensing nodes in the first sensing group, wherein the first sensing group is any one of the M sensing groups.

[0297] In one possible implementation, the communication unit 901 is further configured to send at least one piece of information from the group information of the first sensing group to one or more sensing nodes in the first sensing group, wherein the first sensing group is any one of the M sensing groups.

[0298] In one possible implementation, the communication unit 901 is further configured to send second resource configuration information to one or more sensing nodes in the first sensing group, the second resource configuration information being used to indicate the resource configuration of the second sensing measurement signal, the first sensing group being any one of the M sensing groups.

[0299] In one possible implementation, the beamspace of the beam in the resource configuration of the second sensing measurement signal is a subset of the beamspace of the beam in the resource configuration of the first sensing measurement signal, and the beamspace corresponds to the spatial region covered by the beam.

[0300] In one possible implementation, the second information includes fourth indication information, which is used to indicate that the terminal device measures K beams of the sensing target. The K beams are beams in the resource configuration of the first sensing measurement signal, and K is an integer greater than or equal to 1. The beam space of the beams in the resource configuration of the second sensing measurement signal is a subset of the beam space of the beams indicated by the fourth indication information, and the beam space corresponds to the spatial area covered by the beams.

[0301] In one possible implementation, one or more sensing nodes in the first sensing group have the same time-domain measurement period, and in each time-domain measurement period, the maximum interval between the time-domain measurement resources of one or more sensing nodes in the first sensing group is less than or equal to a first threshold.

[0302] In one possible implementation, the communication unit 901 is further configured to send second reporting configuration information to one or more sensing nodes in the first sensing group. The second reporting configuration information is used to configure reporting resources, which are used to report sensing data. The one or more sensing nodes in the first sensing group have the same time-domain reporting period, and in each time-domain reporting period, the maximum interval between the time-domain reporting resources of the one or more sensing nodes in the first sensing group is less than or equal to a second threshold. The first sensing group is any one of the M sensing groups.

[0303] The specific operation of each unit in the above-mentioned communication device 900 can be found in the description of the network device in the embodiment shown in Figure 2 or Figure 4 above, and will not be repeated here.

[0304] It should be noted that the communication device 900 shown in Figure 9 is only one implementation of the embodiment of this application. In actual applications, the communication device 900 may include more or fewer units / modules, and the connection method between the various units / modules is not limited, nor is it restricted here.

[0305] Figure 10 shows a possible hardware structure diagram of the communication device 1000 provided in an embodiment of this application. The communication device 1000 may include a communication interface 1004 and at least one processor 1002. Optionally, it may also include a bus 1003. Further optionally, it may also include at least one memory 1001, wherein the memory 1001, the processor 1002 and the communication interface 1004 can be connected through the bus 1003.

[0306] The memory 1001 provides storage space, which can store data such as the operating system and computer programs. The memory 1001 can be one or a combination of several of the following: random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), or compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM).

[0307] Processor 1002 is a module that performs arithmetic and / or logical operations. Specifically, it can be one or a combination of processing modules such as a central processing unit (CPU), graphics processing unit (GPU), microprocessor unit (MPU), application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), field-programmable gate array (FPGA), complex programmable logic device (CPLD), coprocessor (assisting the CPU in completing corresponding processing and applications), and microcontroller unit (MCU). For example, processor 1002 can be used to process communication protocols and communication data.

[0308] The communication interface 1004 is used to receive and / or transmit data to external sources. Optionally, the communication interface 1004 may also include a transmitter (such as an RF transmitter, antenna, etc.) and / or a receiver coupled to the interface. For example, the communication interface 1004 may include a control circuit and an antenna. The control circuit is mainly used for converting baseband signals to RF signals and processing RF signals. The antenna is mainly used for transmitting and receiving RF signals in the form of electromagnetic waves. When data needs to be transmitted wirelessly, the processor 1002 performs baseband processing on the data to be transmitted and outputs a baseband signal to the control circuit. The control circuit then performs RF processing on the baseband signal and transmits the RF signal outward in the form of electromagnetic waves through the antenna. When data is sent to the communication device, the control circuit receives the RF signal through the antenna, converts the RF signal into a baseband signal, and outputs the baseband signal to the processor 1002. The processor 1002 converts the baseband signal back into data and processes the data.

[0309] In one possible implementation, the control circuitry and antenna can be set up independently of the processor performing baseband processing. For example, in a distributed scenario, the control circuitry and antenna can be arranged in a remote manner, independent of the communication device.

[0310] In one design, the communication device 1000 can be used to perform the functions of the terminal device in the embodiments shown in Figures 2 and 4. For details, please refer to the relevant descriptions of the terminal devices in Figures 2 and 4 above; further details will not be repeated here.

[0311] In another design, the communication device 1000 can be used to perform the functions of the network device in the embodiments shown in Figures 2 and 4. For details, please refer to the relevant descriptions of the network devices in Figures 2 and 4 above; further details will not be repeated here.

[0312] In one possible design, the memory 1001 may store instructions, which may be computer programs that run on the processor 1002 and cause the communication device 1000 to perform operations performed by the terminal device or the network device in any of the above method embodiments. For details, please refer to the relevant descriptions in Figures 2 and 4 above, which will not be elaborated here.

[0313] It should be noted that the communication device 1000 shown in Figure 10 is only one implementation of the embodiment of this application. In actual applications, the communication device 1000 may include more or fewer components, which is not limited here.

[0314] It should be understood that the transmission in the embodiments of this application can be direct or indirect. Direct transmission means that one device or module directly sends information / data to the corresponding device or module, while indirect transmission means that one device or module sends information / data to the corresponding device or module through other devices or modules.

[0315] In this application, the words "exemplary," "for example," etc., are used to indicate that something is an example, illustration, or description. Any embodiment or design described as an "example" in this application should not be construed as being better or more advantageous than other embodiments or designs. Specifically, the use of the word "example" is intended to present the concept in a concrete manner.

[0316] In this embodiment, "instruction" can include direct and indirect instructions, as well as explicit and implicit instructions. The information indicated by a certain piece of information is called the information to be instructed. In specific implementation, there are many ways to instruct the information to be instructed, such as, but not limited to, directly instructing the information to be instructed, such as the information to be instructed itself or its index. It can also indirectly instruct the information to be instructed by instructing other information, where there is a relationship between the other information and the information to be instructed. It can also instruct only a part of the information to be instructed, while the other parts are known or pre-agreed upon. For example, the instruction of specific information can be achieved by using a pre-agreed (e.g., protocol-defined) arrangement of various pieces of information, thereby reducing instruction overhead to some extent. Simultaneously, common parts of various pieces of information can be identified and uniformly indicated to reduce the instruction overhead caused by individually indicating the same information. Furthermore, the specific instruction method can also be various combinations of the above-mentioned instruction methods.

[0317] In the embodiments of this application, descriptions such as "when," "under the circumstances," "if," and "if" can refer to the fact that the device (e.g., a terminal device) will make corresponding processing under certain objective circumstances. They are not time limits, nor do they require the device (e.g., a terminal device) to have a judgment action when implementing it, nor do they mean that there are other limitations.

[0318] To facilitate a clear description of the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application, the terms "first" and "second" are used in the embodiments of this application to distinguish identical or similar items with essentially the same function and effect. Those skilled in the art will understand that the terms "first" and "second" do not limit the quantity or execution order, and the terms "first" and "second" are not necessarily different.

[0319] Unless otherwise specified or there is a logical conflict, the terms and / or descriptions in different embodiments of this application are consistent and can be referenced and combined with each other. The technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationship.

[0320] Obviously, the embodiments described above are only some embodiments of this application, and not all embodiments. The term "embodiment" as used herein means that a specific feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with an embodiment can be included in at least one embodiment of this application. The appearance of this phrase in various places in the specification does not necessarily indicate the same embodiment, nor is it an independent or alternative embodiment mutually exclusive with other embodiments. Those skilled in the art will understand, explicitly and implicitly, that the embodiments described herein can be combined with other embodiments. Based on the embodiments of this application, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without inventive effort are within the scope of protection of this application. The terms "first," "second," "third," etc., in the specification, claims, and accompanying drawings of this application are used to distinguish different objects and are not used to describe a specific order. Furthermore, the terms "comprising" and "having," and any variations thereof, are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion. For example, it may include a series of steps or units, or optionally, steps or units not listed, or optionally other steps or units inherent to these processes, methods, products, or devices. It is also understandable that, for an architecture with multiple devices or modules, if one device or module generates a piece of information and another device or module uses that information, there are multiple ways for the other device to obtain that information. For example, the device or module that generated the information may send the information directly to the device or module that used the information (equivalent to direct sending), or the device or module that generated the information may send the information to the device or module that used the information through other devices or modules (equivalent to indirect sending).

[0321] It is understood that the accompanying drawings show only the parts relevant to this application and not all of them. It should be understood that some exemplary embodiments are described as processes or methods depicted as flowcharts. Although the flowcharts describe operations (or steps) as sequential processes, many of these operations can be performed in parallel, concurrently, or simultaneously. Furthermore, the order of the operations can be rearranged. The process can be terminated when its operation is completed, but may also have additional steps not included in the drawings. The process can correspond to a method, function, procedure, subroutine, subroutine, etc.

[0322] The terms “component,” “module,” “system,” “unit,” etc., used in this specification are used to refer to computer-related entities, hardware, firmware, combinations of hardware and software, software, or software in execution. For example, a unit can be, but is not limited to, a process running on a processor, a processor, an object, an executable file, a thread of execution, a program, and / or distributed between two or more computers. Furthermore, these units can be executed from various computer-readable media on which various data structures are stored. For example, a unit can communicate via local and / or remote processes based on signals having one or more data packets (e.g., data from a second unit interacting with another unit between a local system, a distributed system, and / or a network; for example, the Internet interacting with other systems via signals).

[0323] The specific embodiments described above further illustrate the purpose, technical solution, and beneficial effects of this application. It should be understood that the above description is only a specific embodiment of this application and is not intended to limit the scope of protection of this application. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made on the basis of the technical solution of this application should be included within the scope of protection of this application.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, The method includes: (The method is applied to a terminal device or a chip in a terminal device.) Obtain second information, which is used to determine the sensing node; Send the second message.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, Before obtaining the second information, the method further includes: Receive first information, the first information being used to determine to send the second information; The acquisition of the second information includes: acquiring the second information based on the first information.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that, The first information includes first resource configuration information, which is used to indicate the resource configuration of the first sensing measurement signal; The step of obtaining the second information based on the first information includes: Based on the resource configuration of the first sensing measurement signal, a sensing measurement is performed to obtain the second information.

4. The method according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that, The first information includes first reporting configuration information, which is used to configure the sending of the second information; The step of obtaining the second information based on the first information includes: The second information is obtained based on the first reported configuration information.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1-4, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send a third message, which is used to indicate whether the terminal device has sensing capabilities.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1-5, characterized in that, The second information includes first indication information, which is used to indicate whether the terminal device has measured the target.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1-6, characterized in that, The second information includes second indication information, which is used to indicate whether the terminal device provides sensing services.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1-7, characterized in that, The second information includes third indication information, which is used to indicate whether the terminal device measures the sensing target in the corresponding sensing mode.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1-8, characterized in that, The method further includes: The terminal device receives at least one piece of information from the group information of the first sensing group, wherein the terminal device belongs to the first sensing group; The group information includes one or more of the following: Group identifier, group size, group master node identifier, cell identifier, access network device identifier, sensor node identifier within the group, and location information of sensor nodes within the group.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receive second resource configuration information, which is used to indicate the resource configuration of the second sensing measurement signal; Sensing measurements are performed based on resource allocation using the second sensing measurement signal.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that, The beam space of the beam in the resource configuration of the second sensing measurement signal is a subset of the beam space of the beam in the resource configuration of the first sensing measurement signal, and the beam space corresponds to the spatial region covered by the beam.

12. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that, The second information includes fourth indication information, which is used to indicate that the terminal device has measured K beams of the sensing target. The K beams are the beams in the resource configuration of the first sensing measurement signal, and K is an integer greater than or equal to 1. The beam space of the beams in the resource configuration of the second sensing measurement signal is a subset of the beam space of the beams indicated by the fourth indication information, and the beam space corresponds to the spatial area covered by the beams.

13. The method according to any one of claims 9-12, characterized in that, One or more sensing nodes in the first sensing group have the same time-domain measurement period, and in each time-domain measurement period, the maximum interval between the time-domain measurement resources of one or more sensing nodes in the first sensing group is less than or equal to a first threshold.

14. A communication method, characterized in that, A chip applied to or in a network device, the method comprising: Receive second information, which is used to determine the sensing node; Based on the second information, N sensing nodes are determined, where N is an integer greater than or equal to 1.

15. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that, Before receiving the second information, the method further includes: Send a first message, which is used to determine whether to send the second message.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that, The first information includes first resource configuration information, which is used to indicate the resource configuration of the first sensing measurement signal; the resource configuration of the first sensing measurement signal is used to acquire the second information.

17. The method according to claim 15 or 16, characterized in that, The first information includes first reporting configuration information, which is used to configure the sending of the second information.

18. The method according to any one of claims 15-17, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receive third information, the third information being used to indicate whether the terminal device has sensing capabilities; The sending of the first information includes: If the third information indicates that the terminal device has sensing capabilities, the first information is sent.

19. The method according to any one of claims 14-18, characterized in that, The second information includes first indication information, which is used to indicate whether the terminal device has measured the target; the N sensing nodes are sensing nodes that have measured the target.

20. The method according to claims 14-19, characterized in that, The second information includes second indication information, which is used to indicate whether the terminal device provides sensing services; the N sensing nodes are sensing nodes that provide sensing services.

21. The method according to claims 14-20, characterized in that, The second information includes third indication information, which is used to indicate whether the terminal device measures the sensing target in the corresponding sensing mode.

22. The method according to any one of claims 14-21, characterized in that, The N sensing nodes belong to M sensing groups, and each of the M sensing groups includes at least one of the N sensing nodes; M is an integer greater than or equal to 1; The method further includes: Save the group information of each of the M sensing groups; The group information includes one or more of the following: Group identifier, group size, group master node identifier, cell identifier, access network device identifier, sensor node identifier within the group, and location information of sensor nodes within the group.

23. The method according to claim 22, characterized in that, The method further includes: The group master node of the first sensing group is determined based on the capability information of one or more sensing nodes in the first sensing group, where the first sensing group is any one of the M sensing groups.

24. The method according to claim 22 or 23, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send at least one piece of information from the group information of the first sensing group to one or more sensing nodes in the first sensing group, wherein the first sensing group is any one of the M sensing groups.

25. The method according to any one of claims 22-24, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send second resource configuration information to one or more sensing nodes in the first sensing group. The second resource configuration information is used to indicate the resource configuration of the second sensing measurement signal. The first sensing group is any one of the M sensing groups.

26. The method according to claim 25, characterized in that, The beam space of the beam in the resource configuration of the second sensing measurement signal is a subset of the beam space of the beam in the resource configuration of the first sensing measurement signal, and the beam space corresponds to the spatial region covered by the beam.

27. The method according to claim 25, characterized in that, The second information includes fourth indication information, which is used to indicate that the terminal device measures K beams of the sensing target. The K beams are the beams in the resource configuration of the first sensing measurement signal, and K is an integer greater than or equal to 1. The beam space of the beams in the resource configuration of the second sensing measurement signal is a subset of the beam space of the beams indicated by the fourth indication information, and the beam space corresponds to the spatial area covered by the beams.

28. A communication device, characterized in that, Includes modules for implementing the method as described in any one of claims 1-27.

29. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program or computer instructions that are executed by a processor to implement the method as described in any one of claims 1-27.

30. A computer program product, characterized in that, The computer program product includes computer program code or computer instructions, which, when executed, implement the method described in any one of claims 1-27.

Images