Ambient internet of things device and radio node operating as a reader and methods therein

Abstract

A method performed by an Ambient Internet of Things, A-IoT, device is provided. The A-IoT device transmits (301) a number of repetitions of a signal in an adaptive way to a radio node operating as a reader, over a device to reader, D2R, link.

Description

[0001] AMBIENT INTERNET OF THINGS DEVICE AND RADIO NODE OPERATING AS A READER AND METHODS THEREIN.

[0002] TECHNICAL FIELD

[0003] Embodiments herein relate to an Ambient Internet of Things (A-IoT), a radio node operating as a reader and methods therein.

[0004] BACKGROUND

[0005] Zero-Energy loT & Ambient loT (A-IoT)

[0006] Wireless Internet of Things (loT) devices are often battery powered. Both the need to change battery and the battery lifetime may be concerns for many potential applications such as asset tracking or environmental / industrial sensors. For this reason, the wireless communications industry has been interested in so-called ambient loT (A-IoT) devices. A-loT devices refer to wireless loT devices that do not require battery replacement, and often harvest energy from the environment. In some use cases, such as monitoring the temperature of foodstuffs, the A-IoT devices may have small batteries that are disposable (e.g., organic, compostable batteries), rechargeable or have very limited capacity.

[0007] These A-IoT devices can in addition be of very small form factor and could even be printable. The devices target ultra-low power consumption to enable operation based on either energy-harvesting from an ambient sources or back-scattering communication, cf. Radio Frequency Identifier (RFID). That is, instead of relying on energy for communication being provided by a battery it is instead harvested from an ambient source, such as vibrations, solar power, Radio Frequency (RF), etc. harvesting, or a charge carrier wave is provided to the device which is modulated and reflected back to a reader, in the back-scattering communication case. This enables energy autonomous operation during the lifetime of the devices without need for either manual replacement or charging of the batteries. Compared to existing radio access technologies this puts new requirements on the radio interface and the protocols.

[0008] A-IoT devices are characterized in the study according to their energy storage capacity, and capability of generating RF signals for their transmissions.Device Types

[0009] The SID, see TR 38.848 V18.0.0, “Study on Ambient loT (Internet of Things) in RAN”, 3GPP, considers the following set of Ambient loT devices:

[0010] • i. ~1 pW peak power consumption, has energy storage, initial sampling frequency offset (SFO) up to 10X ppm, neither downlink (DL) nor uplink (UL) amplification in the device. The device’s UL transmission is backscattered on a carrier wave provided externally.

[0011] • ii. < a few hundred pW peak power consumption, has energy storage, initial SFO up to 10X ppm, both DL and / or UL amplification in the device. The device’s UL transmission may be generated internally by the device, or be backscattered on a carrier wave provided externally.

[0012] An Ambient loT device can rely on backscattering or the device internal components may be able to generate the transmission without back-scattering.

[0013] Deployment scenarios

[0014] Release-19 (Rel-19) Study Item (SI) considers two deployment scenarios:

[0015] • Deployment scenario 1 with Topology 1 (D1T1) includes: Indoor micro base stations, indoor A-IoT devices, potential carrier wave transmitters

[0016] • Deployment scenario 2 with Topology 2 (D2T2) includes: Outdoor macro base stations, indoor User Equipments (UEs) as intermediate nodes, indoor A-IoT devices, potential carrier wave transmitters

[0017] FIGURE 1 illustrates an example deployment scenario that includes the A-IoT device in communication with a Carrier Wave Transmitter (CWT) and a base station (BS).

[0018] Coverage Evaluation Results from Rel-19 SI

[0019] The coverage target for A-IoT devices was defined as the maximum distance between the device and the reader with a target range of 10-50 m for indoor use cases. For passive A-loT devices, the UL link budget evaluation also considered the link between the CWT and the device by considering the so-called balanced maximum path loss between the CWT and the device, and the device to the reader. Moreover, device type differences, such as whether the device is passive or active, its architecture, and deployment-specific features also affectedthe coverage target. For example, in D1T1, the reader is a BS with a higher transmit power and a lower receiver sensitivity compared to the reader in D2T2, which is an intermediate UE. Therefore, the coverage target range in TR 38.848V18.0.0was adjusted to match the device types and deployment scenarios. The respective coverage targets for D1T1 and D2T2 were 15 m and 10 m for Device 1, 25 m and 15 m for Device 2a, and 50 m and 40 m for Device 2b.

[0020] Repetitions for Coverage Recovery

[0021] The WID RP-243326, “New Work Item: Solutions for Ambient loT (Internet of Things) in NR”, RANI Vice-chair (Huawei), RAN 106, December 2024 considered two types of repetitions for Reader to Device (R2D) Link (i) Bit-level and (ii) Chip-level.

[0022] FIGURE 2 illustrates bit-level and chip-level repetition.

[0023] The WID RP-243326 considered three types of repetitions for Device to Reader (D2R) Link:

[0024] • Block level repetition: All bits received from higher and / or physical layer are repeated Rbiock times.

[0025] • Bit level repetition:

[0026] o Type 1: Each bit after CRC attachment, if used, is repeated Rbit times.

[0027] o Type 2: Each bit after both cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) attachment, if used and Forward Error Correction (FEC) (if used) is repeated Rbit times.

[0028] • Chip level repetition: Each chip after line coding (if used) or after square wave modulation (if used) is repeated Rchip times.

[0029] SUMMARY

[0030] There currently exist certain challenge(s), however. For example, the coverage distance targets that are defined in TR 38.848 V18.0.0 for the passive A-IoT devices might not be achieved for some deployment scenarios depending on the following parameters:

[0031] Carrier Wave to Device (CWT2D) distance / distribution

[0032] Carrier Wave (CW) to reader interference

[0033] Block Error Rate (BLER) performance requirementThe device timing and frequency errors

[0034] The gap to the target coverage distance is even more significant in some cases, for example for

[0035] Device 1 which is simplest device

[0036] the cases in them the CW is transmitted in the UL spectrum with a limited Transmitter (Tx) power such as Deployment scenario 1 with Topology 1- B (D1T1-B).

[0037] In many cases the bottleneck channel for limiting the coverage is the D2R link, and improving the coverage of this link can improve the overall coverage.

[0038] An object of embodiments herein is to lower energy consumption in A-IoT devices. According to an aspect of embodiments herein, the object is achieved by a method performed by an A-IoT device. The A-IoT device transmits a number of repetitions of a signal in an adaptive way to a radio node operating as a reader, over a D2R link.

[0039] According to another aspect of embodiments herein, the object is achieved by a method performed by a radio node operating as a reader for an A-IoT device. The radio node operating as the reader selects, a number of repetitions of a signal. The radio node operating as the reader transmits to the A-IoT device an indication of the number of repetitions of the signal.

[0040] According to another aspect of embodiments herein, the object is achieved by an A-IoT device comprising processing circuitry configured to transmit a number of repetitions of a signal in an adaptive way to a radio node operating as a reader, over a device to reader, D2R, link.

[0041] According to another aspect of embodiments herein, the object is achieved by a radio node operating as a reader comprising processing circuitry configured to select a number of repetitions of a signal and transmit to the A-IoT device an indication of the number of repetitions of the signal.

[0042] Certain aspects of the disclosure and their embodiments may provide solutions to the above or other challenges. For example, methods and systems are provided that use repetition in D2R link in an adaptive way to ensure a reasonable trade-off between energy consumption of the device, specially for the A-IoT device 120, and the coverage recovery.

[0043] Certain embodiments may provide one or more of the following technical advantage(s). For example, certain embodiments may provide a technical advantage of enabling efficientachievement of proper trade-off between energy consumption of the device and the coverage recovery.

[0044] Other advantages may be readily apparent to one having skill in the art. Certain embodiments may have none, some, or all of the recited advantages.

[0045] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0046] Examples of embodiments herein are described in more detail with reference to attached drawings in which:

[0047] Figure 1 schematically illustrates a communication system.

[0048] Figure 2 is a schematic illustration of two types of repetitions for R2D Link Figure 3A schematically illustrates embodiments of a communication system

[0049] Figure 3B is a flow chart illustrating an example embodiment of a method.

[0050] Figure 4 is a flow chart illustrating an example embodiment of a method.

[0051] Figure 5 shows an example of a communication system QQ100 in accordance with some embodiments.

[0052] Figure 6 shows an example of a communication system QQ200 in accordance with some embodiments.

[0053] Figure 7 shows a wireless device QQ300 in accordance with some embodiments.

[0054] Figure 8 shows a network node QQ400 in accordance with some embodiments.

[0055] Figure 9 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment QQ500 in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized.

[0056] DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0057] Some of the embodiments contemplated herein will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. Embodiments are provided by way of example to convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art. FIGURE 3A shows an A-loT device 120 in communication with a Carrier Wave Transmitter (CWT) and a radio node 110 operating as a reader, the radio node 110 could e.g., be a base station (BS).

[0058] As used herein, radio node 110 may be a network node or a UE. Examples of network nodes are NodeB, base station (BS), multi-standard radio (MSR) radio node such as MSR BS, eNodeB (eNB), gNodeB (gNB), Master eNB (MeNB), Secondary eNB (SeNB), integratedaccess backhaul (IAB) node, network controller, radio network controller (RNC), base station controller (BSC), relay, donor node controlling relay, base transceiver station (BTS), Central Unit (e.g. in a gNB), Distributed Unit (e.g. in a gNB), Baseband Unit, Centralized Baseband, C-RAN, access point (AP), transmission points, transmission nodes, Remote Radio Unit (RRU), Remote Radio Head (RRH), nodes in distributed antenna system (DAS), core network node (e.g. Mobile Switching Center (MSC), Mobility Management Entity (MME), etc.), Operations & Maintenance (O&M), Operations Support System (OSS), Self Organizing Network (SON), positioning node (e.g. E-SMLC), etc. The terms network node and radio network node are used interchangeably herein.

[0059] Another example of an A-IoT device 120 is a user equipment (UE), which is a nonlimiting term and refers to any type of wireless device communicating with a network node and / or with another UE in a cellular or mobile communication system. Examples of UE are target device, device to device (D2D) UE, vehicular to vehicular (V2V), machine type UE, MTC UE or UE capable of machine to machine (M2M) communication, Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), Tablet, mobile terminals, smartphone, laptop embedded equipment (LEE), laptop mounted equipment (LME), Unified Serial Bus (USB) dongles, etc.

[0060] The term radio access technology (RAT), may refer to any RAT such as, for example, Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRA), Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRA), narrow band internet of things (NB-IoT), WiFi, Bluetooth, next generation RAT, NR, 4G, 5G, etc. Any of the equipment denoted by the terms node, network node or radio network node may be capable of supporting a single or multiple RATs.

[0061] The term signal or radio signal used herein can be any physical signal or physical channel. Examples of downlink (DL) physical signals are reference signal (RS) such as Primary Synchronization Signal (PSS), Secondary Synchronization Signal (SSS), Channel State Information-Reference Signal (CSLRS), Demodulation Reference Signal (DMRS) signals in SS / PBCH block (SSB), discovery reference signal (DRS), Cell Specific Reference Signal (CRS), Positioning Reference Signal (PRS), etc. RS may be periodic. For example, RS occasions carrying one or more RSs may occur with certain periodicity (e.g., 20 ms, 40 ms, etc.). The RS may also be aperiodic.

[0062] Each SSB carries New Radio-Primary Synchronization Signal (NR-PSS), New RadioSecondary Synchronization Signal (NR-SSS) and New Radio-Physical Broadcast Channel (NR-PBCH) in four successive symbols. One or multiple Synchronization Signal Blocks(SSBs) are transmitted in one SSB burst which is repeated with certain periodicity such as, for example, 5 ms, 10 ms, 20 ms, 40 ms, 80 ms, and 160 ms. The UE is configured with information about SSB on cells of certain carrier frequency by one or more SS / PBCH block measurement timing configuration (SMTC) configurations. The SMTC configuration comprising parameters such as SMTC periodicity, SMTC occasion length in time or duration, SMTC time offset with regard to reference time (e.g., serving cell’s SFN) etc. Therefore, SMTC occasion may also occur with certain periodicity (e.g., 5 ms, 10 ms, 20 ms, 40 ms, 80 ms, and 160 ms). Examples of uplink (UL) physical signals are reference signals such as Sounding Reference Signals (SRS), Demodulation Reference Signals (DMRS), etc. The term physical channel refers to any channel carrying higher layer information e.g. data, control etc. Examples of physical channels are Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH), Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH), Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH), Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH), Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH), Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH), Short PUSCH (sPUCCH), Short PDSCH (sPDSCH), Short PUCCH (sPUCCH), Short PUSCH (sPUSCH), MTC PDCCH (MPDCCH), Narrowband PBCH (NPBCH), Narrowband PDCCH (NPDCCH), Narrowband PDSCH (NPDSCH), Narrowband PUSCH (NPUSCH), Enhanced PDCCH (E-PDCCH), etc.

[0063] The term time resource used herein may correspond to any type of physical resource or radio resource expressed in terms of length of time. Examples of time resources are symbol, time slot, subframe, radio frame, transmission time interval (TTI), interleaving time, slot, subslot, mini-slot, system frame number (SFN) cycle, hyper-SFN (H-SFN) cycle, etc.

[0064] Repetition can be used in order to extend the coverage and improve the reliability, but the cost of the repetition can be significant for A-IoT devices 120 with a very low power consumption. Therefore, it is critical to find a reasonable tradeoff between the coverage enhancement and the number repetitions for these devices. According to certain embodiments disclosed herein, methods and systems are provided that use repetition in D2R link in an adaptive way to ensure a reasonable trade-off between energy consumption of the device, specially for device 1, and the coverage recovery. For example, in particular embodiments, the number of repetitions is selected based on the signal quality measurements including the CW signal and network configurations.

[0065] As an example, for the passive devices, the quality of the backscattered signal received at the reader side is directly impacted by the distance of the CW node to the device. Thereforethe quality of the received CW signal at the device side, which is directly depend on the CW2D distance, can be used as indicator for selecting the number of repetitions.

[0066] FIGURE 3B shows exemplary embodiments of a method 300 performed by the A-IoT device 120. The method comprises the following actions, which actions may be taken in any suitable order. Optional actions are marked with dashed lines.

[0067] Action 301

[0068] In some embodiments, the A-IoT device 120 stores a table and / or a predefined set and wherein the number of repetitions is selected from the table. The table may be based on signal quality measurements such as at least one of:

[0069] • CW reference signal received power (RSRP)

[0070] • Last R2D-RSRP

[0071] • Combination of the above

[0072] Action 302

[0073] In some embodiments, the A-IoT device 120 receives, from the radio node 110 operating as the reader, an indication of the number of repetitions.

[0074] Action 303

[0075] In some embodiments, the A-IoT device 120 receives a request from the radio node 110 indicating to transmit the number of repetitions.

[0076] Action 304

[0077] The A-IoT device 120 transmits, a number of repetitions of a signal in an adaptive way to the radio node 110 operating as a reader, over a device to reader, D2R, link

[0078] In some embodiments, the number of repetitions is based on at least one signal quality measurement, such as e.g. at least one of:

[0079] • Based on the RSRP of the last D2R transmission

[0080] • The interference that the reader receives from the CW or the CW-RSRP received at the reader side

[0081] • Based on the specific requirements, e.g. X number of Rep for all the R2D transmissions for 1% BLER, and Y number of Rep for all the R2D transmissions for 1% BLER

[0082] • Combination of the aboveIn some embodiments, the number of repetitions comprises at least a first repetition and a second repetition.

[0083] In some embodiments, the number of repetitions is selected randomly.

[0084] In some embodiments, the number of repetitions is selected based on at least one of: at least one signal quality measurement associated with at least one Carrier Wave (CW) received by the A-IoT from a Carrier Wave Transmitter (CWT);

[0085] at least one Reference Signal Received Power measurement associated with at least one CW received by the A-IoT from a CWT;

[0086] a last R2D-RSRP.

[0087] In some embodiments, the number of repetitions is selected based on at least one of: a Transport Block Size (TBS); and

[0088] a type and / or priority of a message.

[0089] In some embodiments, the number of repetitions is selected based on at least one of: a signal quality measurement of at least one transmission by the A-IoT device to the radio node operating as the reader;

[0090] an RSRP of a last transmission by the A-IoT device to the radio node operating as the reader;

[0091] an interference level received from a CW;

[0092] In some embodiments, the number of repetitions is selected based on at least one of: a D2R RSRP, and a number of packets received by the radio node 110 operating as the reader.

[0093] In some embodiments, the request is received in response to an unsuccessful transmission of at least one message to the radio node 110. The unsuccessful transmission may be due to interference or weak signals.

[0094] In some embodiments, the at least one message comprises a msgO, requested by the reader 110 if it detects errors in the received tag response, e.g., a failed Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC). It then requests retransmission through msg 0. This retransmission serves a similar function as that of adaptive repetition in ensuring successful communication.

[0095] FIGURE 4 shows exemplary embodiments of a method 400 performed by a radio node 110 operating as a reader. The method comprises the following actions, which actions may be taken in any suitable order. Optional actions are marked with dashed lines.

[0096] Action 401The radio node 110 operating as the reader selects a number of repetitions of a signal, Action 402

[0097] The radio node 110 transmits, to the A-IoT device 120, an indication of the number of repetitions of the signal.

[0098] Action 403

[0099] In some embodiments, the radio node 110 stores a table and / or a predefined set and wherein the number of repetitions is selected from the table. The table may be based on the signal quality measurements such as at least one of:

[0100] • Based on the RSRP of the last D2R transmission

[0101] • The interference that the radio node 110 receives from the CW or the CW-RSRP received at the radio node 110 side

[0102] • Based on the specific requirements, e.g. X number of Rep for all the R2D transmissions for 1% BLER, and Y number of Rep for all the R2D transmissions for 1% BLER

[0103] • Combination of the above

[0104] In a related embodiment, the radio node 110 may have a predefined table, to map the above transmission characteristics.

[0105] Action 404

[0106] In some embodiments, the radio node 110 transmits a request to the A-IoT device to transmit the number of repetitions.

[0107] In some embodiments, the radio node 110 operating as a reader receives a number of repetitions of a signal from the A-IoT device 120 , wherein the number of repetitions is based on at least one signal quality measurement, such as e.g. at least one of:

[0108] • Based on the RSRP of the last D2R transmission

[0109] • The interference that the reader receives from the CW or the CW-RSRP received at the reader side

[0110] • Based on the specific requirements, e.g. X number of Rep for all the R2D transmissions for 1% BLER, and Y number of Rep for all the R2D transmissions for 1% BLER

[0111] • Combination of the aboveIn some embodiments, the number of repetitions comprises at least a first repetition and a second repetition.

[0112] In some embodiments, the number of repetitions is based on at least one signal quality measurement.

[0113] In some embodiments, the number of repetitions is selected based on at least one of: a Transport Block Size (TBS); and

[0114] a type and / or priority of a message.

[0115] In some embodiments, the number of repetitions is selected based on at least one of: a signal quality measurement of at least one transmission by the A-IoT device 120 to the radio node 110 operating as the reader;

[0116] an RSRP of a last transmission by the A-IoT device 120 to the radio node 110 operating as the reader;

[0117] an interference level received from a CW;

[0118] an CW-RSRP received at the radio node 110; and

[0119] at least one requirement.

[0120] In some embodiments, the number of repetitions is selected randomly.

[0121] In some embodiments, the number of repetitions is selected based on at least one of: a D2R RSRP, and a number of packets received by the radio node 110 operating as the reader.

[0122] In some embodiments, the request is transmitted in response to unsuccessfully receiving at least one message from the A-IoT device 120.

[0123] In some embodiments, the reader requests retransmission through msg-0 if it detects errors in the received tag response, such as a failed Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC).

[0124] In some embodiments, the message from the A-IoT device 120 comprises a msgO. In some embodiments, the radio node 110 comprises a User Equipment (UE) or a Base Station (BS).

[0125] In various particular embodiments, the UE, i.e. the A-IoT device 120, may perform any of the operations and steps or include any of the features described with respect to the Group A and C Example Embodiments below or any other embodiments described herein.

[0126] In various particular embodiments, the network node, i.e. the base station 110 working as a reader, may perform any of the operations and steps or include any of the features described with respect to the Group B and C, Example Embodiments below or any other embodiments described herein.Device Decides on Number of Repetitions

[0127] According to certain embodiments, the A-IoT device 120 selects the number of the repetitions from a predefined set / table based on the signal quality measurements such as at least one of:

[0128] • CW RSRP

[0129] • Last R2D-RSRP

[0130] • Combination of the above

[0131] In a particular embodiment, the A-IoT device 120 can have a predefined table, similar to Table 1 below, to map the above measurements to the needed number of repetitions.

[0132] TABLE 1

[0133]

[0134] In another particular embodiment — specially for the cases that A-IoT device 120 base station 110 operating as a reader and CWT nodes are fixed in the locations such as D1T1 scenarios — the A-IoT device 120 doesn’t need to perform frequent measurements. Rather the A-IoT device 120 obtains the CW RSRP from a few number of the measurements.

[0135] In a particular embodiment, the A-IoT device 120 selects the number of repetitions based on the transmission characteristics, such as at least one of:

[0136] • Transport Block Size (TBS): e.g, # of msg3 repetitions can be larger than that of the msgl

[0137] • Type of the message: more repetitions can be considered for more important messages, e.g., for example more repetitions can be considered for Random Access Channel (RACH) messages (msgs).

[0138] In a particular embodiment, the A-IoT device 120 can have a predefined table, similar to Table 2, to map the above transmission characteristics.

[0139] TABLE 2

[0140] <

[0141] > <

[0142] > <

[0143]

[0144] >

[0145] In another particular embodiment, different groups of A-IoT devices 120 have different levels of repetitions. For example, tags connected to more valuable packets, may have higher priority in inventory, and these tags can have higher number of repetitions.

[0146] Reader Indicates the Number of Repetitions

[0147] According to certain embodiments, the radio node 110 operating as a reader indicates the number of the needed repetition number repetitions from a predefined set / table based on the signal quality measurements such as at least one of:

[0148] • Based on the RSRP of the last D2R transmission

[0149] • The interference that the base station 110 operating as a reader receives from the CW or the CW-RSRP received at the reader side

[0150] • Based on the specific requirements, .g. X number of Rep for all the R2D transmissions for 1% BLER, and Y number of Rep for all the R2D transmissions for 1% BLER.

[0151] • Combination of the above

[0152] In a related embodiment, the base station 110 operating as a reader can have a predefined table, similar to the Table 3, to map the above transmission characteristics.

[0153] TABLE 3

[0154] <

[0155] <

[0156] <

[0157]

[0158] >

[0159] Base station 110 operating as a Reader Controls the Number of Repetitions

[0160] According to certain embodiments, the number of repetitions is selected by the A-IoT device 120 either randomly or based on the embodiments described herein, e.g., for msgl, thenthe base station 110 operating as a reader can indicate the adaptation of the repetition, e.g., the base station 110 operating as a reader in msg2 can indicate the adoption of the repetitions for msg 3, based on at least one of the following:

[0161] • D2R RSRP

[0162] • The number of received packets

[0163] Upon Reader Request Retransmission / Repetition

[0164] According to certain embodiments, if a base station 110 operating as a reader does not successfully receive a device's response due to interference or weak signals, the base station 110 operating as a reader prompts the tag to retransmit and / or repeat. For example, if error correction, e.g., cyclic redundancy check - CRC, fails, the base station 110 operating as a reader may discard the response and reinitiate communication with the tag. To initiate retransmission or repetition, (possibly with higher number of repetitions)

[0165] • If the base station 110 operating as a reader detects errors in the received tag response, e.g., a failed Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC), it requests retransmission through msg-0

[0166] • The A-IoT device 120 re-transmits its response upon msg-0 - retransmit its response

[0167] • This process continues until the base station 110 operating as a reader successfully decodes the response or reaches a predefined limit on the number of retries.

[0168] This retransmission serves a similar function as that of adaptive repetition in ensuring successful communication.

[0169] FIGURE 5 shows an example of a communication system QQ104 in accordance with some embodiments.

[0170] In the example, the communication system QQ100 includes a telecommunications network QQ102 that includes an access network QQ104, such as a radio access network (RAN), and a core network QQ106, which includes one or more core network nodes QQ108. The access network QQ104 includes one or more access network nodes or base stations of various types, access network nodes QQ110A and QQ110B are depicted (which may be collectively referred to as network nodes QQ110), or any other similar 3rdGenerationPartnership Project (3 GPP) access nodes or non-3GPP access points (APs). Some embodiments of the access network QQ104 may include more than one access network technology. The network nodes QQ110 of access network QQ104 facilitate direct or indirect connection of wireless devices, also referred to as user equipments (UEs), such as by connecting UEs QQ112A, QQ112B, QQ112C, and QQ112D (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UEs QQ112) to the core network QQ106 over one or more wireless connections.

[0171] Moreover, a network node is not necessarily limited to an implementation in which a radio portion and a baseband portion are supplied and integrated by a single vendor. Thus, it will be understood that network nodes include disaggregated implementations or portions thereof. For example, in some embodiments, the telecommunications network QQ102 includes one or more Open-RAN (ORAN) network nodes. An ORAN network node is a network node in the telecommunications network QQ102 that supports an ORAN specification (e.g., a specification published by the O-RAN Alliance, or any similar organization) and may operate alone or together with other network nodes to implement one or more functionalities of any network node in the telecommunications network QQ102, including one or more access network nodes QQ110 and / or core network nodes QQ108.

[0172] Examples of an ORAN network node include an open radio unit (O-RU), an open distributed unit (O-DU), an open central unit (O-CU), including an O-CU control plane (O-CU-CP) or an O-CU user plane (O-CU-UP), a RAN intelligent controller (near-real time or non-real time) hosting software or software plug-ins, such as a near-real time control application (e.g., xApp) or a non-real time control application (e.g., rApp), or any combination thereof (the adjective “open” designating support of an ORAN specification). An ORAN network node may support a specification by, for example, supporting an interface defined by the ORAN specification, such as an Al, Fl, Wl, El, E2, X2, Xn interface, an open fronthaul user plane interface, or an open fronthaul management plane interface. Moreover, an ORAN network node may be a logical node in a physical node. Furthermore, an ORAN network node may be implemented in a virtualization environment (described further below) in which one or more network functions are virtualized. For example, the virtualization environment may include an O-Cloud computing platform orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an 0-2 interface defined by the O-RAN Alliance or comparable technologies.The network nodes QQ110 facilitate direct or indirect connection of one or more UEs QQ112 to the core network QQ106 over one or more wireless connections. Example wireless communications over a wireless connection include transmitting and / or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and / or other types of signals suitable for conveying information without the use of wires, cables, or other material conductors. Moreover, in different embodiments, the communication system QQ100 may include any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, UEs, and / or any other components or systems that may facilitate or participate in the communication of data and / or signals whether via wired or wireless connections. The communication system QQ100 may include and / or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and / or other similar type of system.

[0173] The UEs QQ112 may be any of a wide variety of communication devices, including wireless devices arranged, configured, and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with the network nodes QQ110 and other communication devices. Similarly, the network nodes QQ108, QQ110 are arranged, capable, configured, and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly (e.g., via other devices of telecommunications network QQ102) with the UEs QQ112 and / or with other network nodes or equipment in the telecommunications network QQ102 to enable and / or provide network access, such as wireless network access, and / or to perform other functions, such as administration in the telecommunications network QQ102. More specifically, UEs QQ112 may send messages, data, and / or other signals to network nodes QQ108, QQ110 or other elements of the telecommunications network QQ102 by transmitting such signals to the relevant device directly without the signals passing through any intervening devices or by transmitting such signals to the relevant device indirectly through an intervening device (or multiple intervening devices) that then transmit the signal to the relevant device. Similarly, network nodes QQ108, QQ110 may send messages, data, and other signals to UEs QQ1122, other network nodes QQ108, QQ110, and other devices in telecommunications network QQ102 directly or indirectly. As one specific example, a core network node 108 may transmit a particular message to a UE QQ112 by transmitting the message to an access network node QQ110 that will then transmit the message to the intended UE QQ112. Similarly, a core network node 108 may receive a particular message from a UE QQ112 by receiving the message from an access network node QQ110 that itself received the message from the UE QQ112.In the depicted example, the core network QQ106 connects elements of the access network QQ104 (e.g., one or more of the network nodes QQ110) to one or more host computing systems, such as host QQ116. These connections may be direct or indirect via one or more intermediary networks or devices. In other examples, network nodes may be directly coupled to hosts. The core network QQ106 includes one or more core network nodes (e.g., core network node QQ108) of various types, one or more of which may be generally referred to as network nodes QQ108. Network nodes QQ108 are structured with hardware and software components. Features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the UEs, access network nodes, and / or hosts, such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of the core network node QQ108. Example core network nodes provide functions of one or more of a Mobile Switching Center (MSC), Mobility Management Entity (MME), Home Subscriber Server (HSS), Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), Session Management Function (SMF), Authentication Server Function (AUSF), Subscription Identifier De-concealing function (SIDF), Unified Data Management (UDM), Security Edge Protection Proxy (SEPP), Network Exposure Function (NEF), and / or a User Plane Function (UPF).

[0174] The host QQ116 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider other than an operator or provider of the access network QQ104 and / or the telecommunications network QQ102. The host QQ116 may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider. The host QQ116 may host a variety of applications to provide one or more service. Examples of such applications include live and pre-recorded audio / video content, data collection services such as retrieving and compiling data on various ambient conditions detected by a plurality of UEs, analytics functionality, social media, functions for controlling or otherwise interacting with remote devices, functions for an alarm and surveillance center, or any other such function performed by a server.

[0175] As a whole, the communication system QQ100 of FIGURE 5 enables connectivity between the UEs, network nodes, and hosts. In that sense, the communication system QQ100 may be configured to operate according to predefined rules or procedures, such as specific standards that include, but are not limited to: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM); Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); Long Term Evolution (LTE), and / or other suitable 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G standards, or any applicable future generation standard (e.g., 6G); wireless local area network (WLAN) standards, such as the Institute of Electricaland Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standards (Wi-Fi); and / or any other appropriate wireless communication standard, such as the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (Wi-Max), Bluetooth, Z-Wave, Near Field Communication (NFC) ZigBee, Li-Fi, and / or any low-power wide-area network (LPWAN) standards such as LoRa and Sigfox. Moreover, the communication system QQ100 may be configured to support multiple different standards, protocols, or other rule sets, with individual components supporting all of the relevant rule sets or with different components or sub-systems within the communication system QQ100 supporting different standards, protocols, or rule sets.

[0176] As one example, in certain embodiments, access network QQ104 may contain some access network nodes QQ110 that support 3 GPP radio access technologies (RAT), such as LTE or NR, while other access network nodes QQ110 support (or the same access network nodes QQ110 additionally support) non-3GPP RATs, such as Wi-Fi or a proprietary RAT. As another example, telecommunications network QQ102 may support multiple generations of related communication standards (e.g., 4G and 5G 3GPP communication standards) and, as a result, may include an access network 104 and / or a core network QQ106 that supports multiple different standard generations or may include multiple access networks QQ104 and / or multiple core networks 106 with individual networks QQ104, QQ106 supporting different standard generations.

[0177] Telecommunications network QQ102 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices that are connected to the telecommunications network QQ102. For example, the telecommunications network QQ102 may provide Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC) services to some UEs, while providing Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) services to other UEs, and / or Massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC) / Massive loT services to yet further UEs.

[0178] In some examples, one or more of the UEs QQ112 are configured to transmit and / or receive information without direct human interaction. For instance, a UE may be designed to transmit information to the access network QQ104 on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the access network QQ104. Additionally, a UE may be configured for operating in single- or multi -RAT or multistandard mode. For example, a UE may operate with any one or combination of Wi-Fi, NR (New Radio) and LTE, i.e. being configured for multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC), suchas E-UTRAN (Evolved-UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network) New Radio - Dual Connectivity (EN-DC).

[0179] In the example, the hub QQ114 communicates with the access network QQ104 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UE QQ112C and / or QQ112D) and network nodes (e.g., network node QQ110B). In some examples, the hub QQ114 may be a controller, router, content source and analytics, or any of the other communication devices described herein regarding UEs. For example, the hub QQ114 may be a broadband router enabling access to the core network QQ106 for the UEs. As another example, the hub QQ114 may be a controller that sends commands or instructions to one or more actuators in the UEs. Commands or instructions may be received from the UEs, network nodes QQ110, or by executable code, script, process, or other instructions in the hub QQ114.

[0180] As another example, the hub QQ114 may be a data collector that acts as temporary storage for UE data and, in some embodiments, may perform analysis or other processing of the data. As another example, the hub QQ114 may be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a VR headset, display, loudspeaker or other media delivery device, the hub QQ114 may retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via a network node, which the hub QQ114 then provides to the UE either directly, after performing local processing, and / or after adding additional local content. In still another example, the hub QQ114 acts as a proxy server or orchestrator for the UEs, in particular if one or more of the UEs are low energy loT devices.

[0181] The hub QQ114 may have a constant / persistent or intermittent connection to the network node QQ110B. The hub QQ114 may also allow for a different communication scheme and / or schedule between the hub QQ114 and UEs (e.g., UE QQ112C and / or QQ112D), and between the hub QQ114 and the core network QQ106. In other examples, the hub QQ114 is connected to the core network QQ106 and / or one or more UEs via a wired connection. Moreover, the hub QQ114 may be configured to connect to an M2M service provider over the access network QQ104 and / or to another UE over a direct connection. In some scenarios, UEs may establish a wireless connection with the network nodes QQ110 while still connected via the hub QQ114 via a wired or wireless connection. In some embodiments, the hub QQ114 may be a dedicated hub - that is, a hub whose primary function is to route communications to / from the UEs from / to the network node QQ110B. In other embodiments, the hub QQ114 may be a non-dedicated hub - that is, a device which is capable of operating to route communicationsbetween the UEs and network node QQ110B, but which is additionally capable of operating as a communication start and / or end point for certain data channels.

[0182] FIGURE 6 is another example of a communication system QQ200 according to some embodiments. As used herein, the communication system QQ200 includes multiple access points (APs) QQ210 (with four exemplary APs QQ210A, QQ210B, QQ210C, and QQ210D being depicted) and multiple wireless devices, referred to in the context of communication system QQ200 as stations (STAs) QQ212 (referred to individually as STA QQ212A, STA QQ212B, STA QQ212C, STA QQ212D, and STA QQ212E). STA QQ212A is served by AP QQ210A in a first basic service set (BSS) QQ220A. STA QQ210B and STA QQ210C are served by AP QQ210B in a second BSS, BSS QQ220B. STA QQ212D is served by AP QQ210C in a third BSS, BSS QQ220C. STA QQ212E is served by AP QQ210D in a fourth BSS, BSS QQ220D. Stations QQ212 may be non-AP STAs and correspond to various kinds of wireless devices, for example, user terminals, such as mobile or stationary computing devices like smartphones, laptop computers, desktop computers, tablet computers, gaming devices, head-mounted displays (HMDs) for Augmented Reality (AR) or Virtual Reality (VR), or the like. Further, stations QQ212 could, for example, correspond to other kinds of equipment like smart home devices, printers, multimedia devices, data storage devices, or the like.

[0183] Each of STAs QQ212 may connect through a radio link to one of APs QQ210. For example, depending on location or channel conditions experienced by a given STA QQ212, the STA may select an appropriate AP and BSS for establishing the radio link. The radio link may be based on one or more orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) carriers from a frequency spectrum that is shared on the basis of a contention-based mechanism, e.g., an unlicensed or license exempt band like 2.4 GHz Industrial, Scientific, and Medical (ISM) band, the 5 GHz band, the 6 GHz band, or the 60 GHz band.

[0184] Each AP QQ210 may provide data connectivity to STAs QQ212 connected to a particular AP QQ210. As illustrated, APs QQ210 may be connected to a data network QQ230. In this way, APs QQ210 may also provide data connectivity between STAs QQ212 and other entities, e.g., to one or more servers, service providers, data sources, data sinks, user terminals, or the like. Accordingly, the radio link established between a given STA QQ212 and its serving AP QQ210 may be used for providing various kinds of services to STA QQ212, e.g., a voice service, a multimedia service, or other data service. Such services may be based on applications that are executed on STA QQ212 and / or on a device linked to STA QQ212. By way of example,FIGURE 6 illustrates an application service platform QQ232 provided in data network QQ230. The application(s) executed on STA QQ212 and / or on one or more other devices linked to STA QQ212 may use the radio link for data communication with one or more other STA QQ212 and / or the application service platform QQ232, thereby enabling utilization of the corresponding service(s) at STA QQ212.

[0185] FIGURE 7 shows a UE QQ300, which may be an embodiment of the UE QQ112 of FIGURE 5, in accordance with some embodiments. The UEQQ300 may be the A-IoT device 120. The A-IoT device 120 may be configured to transmit, the number of repetitions of the signal in an adaptive way to the radio node operating as the reader 110, over the D2R link.

[0186] The A-IoT device 120 may be configured to store the table and / or the predefined set and wherein the number of repetitions is selected from the table.

[0187] The A-IoT device 120 may be configured to receive, from the radio node operating as the reader, the indication of the number of repetitions.

[0188] The A-IoT device may be configured to receive the request from the radio node 110 indicating to transmit the number of repetitions.

[0189] In some embodiments, the number of repetitions is based on at least one signal quality measurement.

[0190] In some embodiments, the number of repetitions comprises at least the first repetition and the second repetition.

[0191] In some embodiments, the number of repetitions is selected randomly.

[0192] In some embodiments, the number of repetitions is selected based on at least one of:

[0193] at least one signal quality measurement associated with at least one CW received by the A-IoT from a CWT;

[0194] at least one RSRP measurement associated with at least one CW received by the A-IoT from the CWT; and

[0195] the last R2D-RSRP.

[0196] In some embodiments, the number of repetitions is selected based on at least one of:

[0197] the TBS; andthe type and / or priority of a message.

[0198] In some embodiments, the number of repetitions is selected based on at least one of:

[0199] the signal quality measurement of at least one transmission by the A-IoT device 120 to the radio node operating as the reader 110;

[0200] the RSRP of the last transmission by the A-IoT device 120 to the radio node 110 operating as the reader;

[0201] an interference level received from the CW;

[0202] In some embodiments, the number of repetitions is selected based on at least one of: a D2R RSRP, and a number of packets received by the radio node operating as the reader.

[0203] In some embodiments, the request is received in response to an unsuccessful transmission of at least one message to the radio node.

[0204] In some embodiments, the at least one message comprises a msgO.

[0205] As used herein, a UE refers to a device capable, configured, arranged and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with network nodes and / or other UEs. Examples of a UE include, but are not limited to, a smart phone, mobile phone, cell phone, voice over IP (VoIP) phone, wireless local loop phone, desktop computer, personal digital assistant (PDA), wireless cameras, gaming console or device, music storage device, playback appliance, wearable terminal device, wireless endpoint, mobile station, tablet, laptop, laptop-embedded equipment (LEE), laptop-mounted equipment (LME), smart device, wireless customer-premise equipment (CPE), vehicle-mounted or vehicle embedded / integrated wireless device, etc. Other examples include any UE identified by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), including a narrow band internet of things (NB-IoT) UE, a machine type communication (MTC) UE, and / or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE.

[0206] A UE may support device-to-device (D2D) communication, for example by implementing a 3 GPP standard for sidelink communication, Dedicated Short-Range Communication (DSRC), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), orvehicle-to-everything (V2X). In other examples, a UE may not necessarily have a user in the sense of a human user who owns and / or operates the relevant device. Instead, a UE may represent a device that is intended for sale to, or operation by, a human user but which may not, or which may not initially, be associated with a specific human user (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller).Alternatively, a UE may represent a device that is not intended for sale to, or operation by, an end user but which may be associated with or operated for the benefit of a user (e.g., a smart power meter).

[0207] The UE QQ300 includes processing circuitry QQ302 that is operatively coupled via a bus QQ304 to an input / output interface QQ306, a power source QQ308, a memory QQ310, a communication interface QQ312, and / or any other component, or any combination thereof. Certain UEs may utilize all or a subset of the components shown in FIGURE 7. The level of integration between the components may vary from one UE to another UE. Further, certain UEs may contain multiple instances of a component, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.

[0208] The processing circuitry QQ302 is configured to process instructions and data and may be configured to implement any sequential state machine operative to execute instructions stored as machine-readable computer programs in the memory QQ310. The processing circuitry QQ302 may be implemented as one or more hardware-implemented state machines (e.g., in discrete logic, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), etc.); programmable logic together with appropriate firmware; one or more stored computer programs, general-purpose processors, such as a microprocessor or digital signal processor (DSP), together with appropriate software; or any combination of the above. For example, the processing circuitry QQ302 may include multiple central processing units (CPUs).

[0209] In the example, the input / output interface QQ306 may be configured to provide an interface or interfaces to an input device, output device, or one or more input and / or output devices. Examples of an output device include a speaker, a sound card, a video card, a display, a monitor, a printer, an actuator, an emitter, a smartcard, another output device, or any combination thereof. An input device may allow a user to capture information into the UE QQ300. Examples of an input device include a touch-sensitive or presence-sensitive display, a camera (e.g., a digital camera, a digital video camera, a web camera, etc.), a microphone, a sensor, a mouse, a trackball, a directional pad, a trackpad, a scroll wheel, a smartcard, and the like. The presence-sensitive display may include a capacitive or resistive touch sensor to sense input from a user. A sensor may be, for instance, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a tilt sensor, a force sensor, a magnetometer, an optical sensor, a proximity sensor, a biometric sensor, etc., or any combination thereof. An output device may use the same type of interface port as aninput device. For example, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port may be used to provide an input device and an output device.

[0210] In some embodiments, the power source QQ308 is structured as a battery or battery pack. Other types of power sources, such as an external power source (e.g., an electricity outlet), photovoltaic device, or power cell, may be used. The power source QQ308 may further include power circuitry for delivering power from the power source QQ308 itself, and / or an external power source, to the various parts of the UE QQ300 via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Delivering power may be, for example, for charging of the power source QQ308. Power circuitry may perform any formatting, converting, or other modification to the power from the power source QQ308 to make the power suitable for the respective components of the UE QQ300 to which power is supplied.

[0211] The memory QQ310 may be or be configured to include memory such as random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), magnetic disks, optical disks, hard disks, removable cartridges, flash drives, and so forth. In one example, the memory QQ310 includes one or more application programs QQ314, such as an operating system, web browser application, a widget, gadget engine, or other application, and corresponding data QQ316. The memory QQ310 may store, for use by the UE QQ300, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems.

[0212] The memory QQ310 may be configured to include a number of physical drive units, such as redundant array of independent disks (RAID), flash memory, USB flash drive, external hard disk drive, thumb drive, pen drive, key drive, high-density digital versatile disc (HD-DVD) optical disc drive, internal hard disk drive, Blu-Ray optical disc drive, holographic digital data storage (HDDS) optical disc drive, external mini-dual in-line memory module (DIMM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), external micro-DIMM SDRAM, smartcard memory such as tamper resistant module in the form of a universal integrated circuit card (UICC) including one or more subscriber identity modules (SIMs), such as a USIM and / or ISIM, other memory, or any combination thereof. The UICC may for example be an embedded UICC (eUICC), integrated UICC (iUICC) or a removable UICC commonly known as ‘SIM card.’ The memory QQ310 may allow the UE QQ300 to access instructions, application programs and the like, stored on transitory or non-transitory memorymedia, to off-load data, or to upload data. An article of manufacture, such as one utilizing a communication system may be tangibly embodied as or in the memory QQ310, which may be or comprise a device-readable storage medium.

[0213] The processing circuitry QQ302 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network using the communication interface QQ312. The communication interface QQ312 may comprise one or more communication subsystems and may include or be communicatively coupled to an antenna QQ322. The communication interface QQ312 may include one or more transceivers used to communicate, such as by communicating with one or more remote transceivers of another device capable of wireless communication (e.g., another UE or a network node in an access network). Each transceiver may include a transmitter QQ318 and / or a receiver QQ320 appropriate to provide network communications (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocations, and so forth). Moreover, the transmitter QQ318 and receiver QQ320 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., antenna QQ322) and may share circuit components, software or firmware, or alternatively be implemented separately.

[0214] In the illustrated embodiment, communication functions of the communication interface QQ312 may include cellular communication, Wi-Fi communication, LPWAN communication, data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short-range communications such as Bluetooth, near-field communication, location-based communication such as the use of the global positioning system (GPS) to determine a location, another like communication function, or any combination thereof. Communications may be implemented in according to one or more communication protocols and / or standards, such as IEEE 802.11, Code Division Multiplexing Access (CDMA), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), GSM, LTE, New Radio (NR), UMTS, WiMax, Ethernet, transmission control protocol / internet protocol (TCP / IP), synchronous optical networking (SONET), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), QUIC, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), and so forth.

[0215] Regardless of the type of sensor, a UE may provide an output of data captured by its sensors, through its communication interface QQ312, via a wireless connection to a network node. Data captured by sensors of a UE can be communicated through a wireless connection to a network node via another UE. The output may be periodic (e.g., once every 15 minutes if it reports the sensed temperature), random (e.g., to even out the load from reporting from several sensors), in response to a triggering event (e.g., when moisture is detected an alert issent), in response to a request (e.g., a user initiated request), or a continuous stream (e.g., a live video feed of a patient).

[0216] As another example, a UE comprises an actuator, a motor, or a switch, related to a communication interface configured to receive wireless input from a network node via a wireless connection. In response to the received wireless input the states of the actuator, the motor, or the switch may change. For example, the UE may comprise a motor that adjusts the control surfaces or rotors of a drone in flight according to the received input or to a robotic arm performing a medical procedure according to the received input.

[0217] A UE, when in the form of an Internet of Things (loT) device, may be a device for use in one or more application domains, these domains comprising, but not limited to, city wearable technology, extended industrial application and healthcare. Non-limiting examples of such an loT device are a device which is or which is embedded in: a connected refrigerator or freezer, a TV, a connected lighting device, an electricity meter, a robot vacuum cleaner, a voice controlled smart speaker, a home security camera, a motion detector, a thermostat, a smoke detector, a door / window sensor, a flood / moisture sensor, an electrical door lock, a connected doorbell, an air conditioning system like a heat pump, an autonomous vehicle, a surveillance system, a weather monitoring device, a vehicle parking monitoring device, an electric vehicle charging station, a smart watch, a fitness tracker, a head-mounted display for Augmented Reality (AR) or Virtual Reality (VR), a wearable for tactile augmentation or sensory enhancement, a water sprinkler, an animal- or item-tracking device, a sensor for monitoring a plant or animal, an industrial robot, an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), and any kind of medical device, like a heart rate monitor or a remote controlled surgical robot. A UE in the form of an loT device comprises circuitry and / or software in dependence of the intended application of the loT device in addition to other components as described in relation to the UE QQ300 shown in FIGURE 7.

[0218] As yet another specific example, in an loT scenario, a UE may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and / or measurements, and transmits the results of such monitoring and / or measurements to another UE and / or a network node. The UE may in this case be an M2M device, which may in a 3 GPP context be referred to as an MTC device. As one particular example, the UE may implement the 3 GPP NB-IoT standard. In other scenarios, a UE may represent a vehicle, such as a car, a bus, a truck, a ship and an airplane, or otherequipment that is capable of monitoring and / or reporting on its operational status or other functions associated with its operation.

[0219] In practice, any number of UEs may be used together with respect to a single use case. For example, a first UE might be or be integrated in a drone and provide the drone’s speed information (obtained through a speed sensor) to a second UE that is a remote controller operating the drone. When the user makes changes from the remote controller, the first UE may adjust the throttle on the drone (e.g. by controlling an actuator) to increase or decrease the drone’s speed. The first and / or the second UE can also include more than one of the functionalities described above. For example, a UE might comprise the sensor and the actuator, and handle communication of data for both the speed sensor and the actuators.

[0220] FIGURE 8 shows a network node QQ400, which may be an embodiment of the network node QQ110 of FIGURE 5, in accordance with some embodiments. The network node QQ400 may be the radio node operating as the reader 110. The radio node 110 operating as a reader is configured to select the number of repetitions of a signal. The radio node 110 operating as a reader is configured to transmit, to the A-IoT device 120, the indication of the number of repetitions of the signal.

[0221] The radio node 110 may be configured to store the table and / or the predefined set and wherein the number of repetitions is selected from the table.

[0222] The radio node 110 may be configured to transmit the request to the A-IoT device to transmit the number of repetitions.

[0223] In some embodiments, the number of repetitions comprises at least the first repetition and the second repetition.

[0224] In some embodiments, the number of repetitions is based on at least one signal quality measurement.

[0225] In some embodiments, the number of repetitions is selected based on at least one of: the TBS; and

[0226] the type and / or priority of a message.

[0227] In some embodiments, the number of repetitions is selected based on at least one of: the signal quality measurement of at least one transmission by the A-IoT device to the radio node operating as the reader;

[0228] the RSRP of a last transmission by the A-IoT device to the radio node operating as the reader;the interference level received from the CW;

[0229] the CW-RSRP received at the radio node; and

[0230] the at least one requirement.

[0231] In some embodiments, the number of repetitions is selected randomly.

[0232] In some embodiments, the number of repetitions is selected based on at least one of: a D2R RSRP, and the number of packets received by the radio node operating as the reader.

[0233] In some embodiments, the request is transmitted in response to unsuccessfully receiving at least one message from the A-IoT device.

[0234] In some embodiments, the reader requests retransmission through msg-0 if it detects errors in the received tag response, such as a failed Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC)).

[0235] In some embodiments, the message from the A-IoT device comprises a msgO.

[0236] In some embodiments, the radio node comprises a UE or a BS.

[0237] As used herein, network node refers to equipment capable, configured, arranged and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a UE and / or with other network nodes or equipment, in a telecommunications network. In accordance with respective embodiments, network node QQ400 may be configured to operate in communication system QQ100 of FIGURE 5, like network nodes QQ108 or QQ110, or in communication system QQ200 of FIGURE 6, like an AP QQ210 or a station QQ212. Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, access points (APs) (e.g., radio access points), base stations (BSs) (e.g., radio base stations, Node Bs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs) and NRNodeBs (gNBs)), O-RAN nodes or components of an O-RAN node (e g., O-RU, O-DU, O-CU).

[0238] Network nodes QQ400 may be categorized based on the amount of coverage they provide (or, stated differently, their transmit power level) and so, depending on the provided amount of coverage, may be referred to as femto base stations, pico base stations, micro base stations, or macro base stations. Network node QQ400 may be a relay node or a relay donor node controlling a relay. Network nodes QQ400 may also include one or more (or all) parts of a distributed radio base station such as centralized digital units, distributed units (e.g., in an O-RAN access node) and / or remote radio units (RRUs), sometimes referred to as Remote Radio Heads (RRHs). Such remote radio units may or may not be integrated with an antenna as an antenna integrated radio. Parts of a distributed radio base station may also be referred to as nodes in a distributed antenna system (DAS).Other examples of network nodes QQ400 include multiple transmission point (multi-TRP) 5G access nodes, multi-standard radio (MSR) equipment such as MSR BSs, network controllers such as radio network controllers (RNCs) or base station controllers (BSCs), base transceiver stations (BTSs), transmission points, transmission nodes, multi-cell / multicast coordination entities (MCEs), Operation and Maintenance (O&M) nodes, Operations Support System (OSS) nodes, Self-Organizing Network (SON) nodes, positioning nodes (e.g., Evolved Serving Mobile Location Centers (E-SMLCs)), and / or Minimization of Drive Tests (MDTs).

[0239] In particular embodiments, network node QQ400 includes a processing circuitry QQ402, a memory QQ404, a communication interface QQ406, and a power source QQ408. In general, in a particular embodiment of network node QQ400, processing circuitry QQ402, memory QQ404, communication interface QQ406, and power source QQ408 may, in whole or in part, represent or include physical components common to or shared by one or more of the other elements of network node QQ400.

[0240] The network node QQ400 may be composed of multiple distinct network entities (e.g., a NodeB entity and a RNC entity, or a BTS entity and a BSC entity, etc.), which may each have or utilize their own respective physical components. In certain scenarios in which the network node QQ400 comprises multiple such entities (e.g., BTS and BSC), one or more of the separate entities may be shared among several network nodes. For example, a single RNC may control multiple NodeBs. In such a scenario, each unique NodeB and RNC pair, may in some instances be considered a single separate network node. In some embodiments, the network node QQ400 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate memories QQ404 or portions of memory QQ404 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., a same antenna QQ410 may be shared by different RATs). The network node QQ400 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node QQ400, for example GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, Wi-Fi (e.g., according to an IEEE 802.11 family standard), Zigbee, Z-wave, LoRaWAN, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) or Bluetooth wireless technologies. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chip or set of chips and other components within network node QQ400.

[0241] The processing circuitry QQ402 may comprise a combination of one or more of a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, central processing unit, digital signal processor,application-specific integrated circuit, field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software and / or encoded logic operable to provide, either alone or in conjunction with other components, such as the memory QQ404, to provide network node QQ400 functionality.

[0242] In some embodiments, the processing circuitry QQ402 includes a system on a chip (SOC). In some embodiments, the processing circuitry QQ402 includes one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry QQ412 and baseband processing circuitry QQ414. In some embodiments, the RF transceiver circuitry QQ412 and the baseband processing circuitry QQ414 may be on separate chips (or sets of chips), boards, or units, such as radio units and digital units. In alternative embodiments, part or all of RF transceiver circuitry QQ412 and baseband processing circuitry QQ414 may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units.

[0243] The memory QQ404 may comprise any form of volatile or non-volatile computer-readable memory including, without limitation, persistent storage, solid-state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), mass storage media (for example, a hard disk), removable storage media (for example, a flash drive, a Compact Disk (CD) or a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), and / or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device-readable and / or computerexecutable memory devices that store information, data, and / or instructions that may be used by the processing circuitry QQ402. The memory QQ404 may store any suitable instructions, data, or information, including a computer program, software, an application including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, and / or other instructions capable of being executed by the processing circuitry QQ402 and utilized by the network node QQ400. The memory QQ404 may be used to store any calculations made by the processing circuitry QQ402 and / or any data received via the communication interface QQ406. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry QQ402 and memory QQ404 is integrated.

[0244] The communication interface QQ406 is used in wired or wireless communication of signaling and / or data with UEs, other network nodes, and / or any other network equipment. In the illustrated embodiment, communication interface QQ406 comprises port(s) / terminal(s) QQ416 to send and receive data, for example to and from a network over a wired connection. In particular embodiments, network node QQ300 may be capable of wireless communication and communication interface QQ406 may also include radio front-end circuitry QQ418 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, an antenna QQ410. Particularembodiments of radio front-end circuitry QQ418 include filter(s) QQ420 and amplifier(s) QQ422. The radio front-end circuitry QQ418 may be connected to an antenna QQ410 and processing circuitry QQ402. The radio front-end circuitry may be configured to condition signals communicated between antenna QQ410 and processing circuitry QQ402. The radio front-end circuitry QQ418 may receive digital data that is to be sent out to other network nodes or UEs via a wireless connection. The radio front-end circuitry QQ418 may convert the digital data into a radio signal(s) having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters QQ420 and / or amplifiers QQ422. The radio signal(s) may then be transmitted via the antenna QQ410. Similarly, when receiving data, the antenna QQ410 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by the radio front-end circuitry QQ418. The digital data may be passed to the processing circuitry QQ402. In other embodiments, the communication interface may comprise different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0245] In certain alternative embodiments, network node QQ400 may be capable of wireless communication but does not include separate radio front-end circuitry QQ418, instead, the processing circuitry QQ402 includes radio front-end circuitry and is connected to the antenna QQ410. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuitry QQ412 is part of the communication interface QQ406. In still other embodiments, the communication interface QQ406 includes one or more ports or terminals QQ416, the radio front-end circuitry QQ418, and the RF transceiver circuitry QQ412, as part of a radio unit (not shown), and the communication interface QQ406 communicates with the baseband processing circuitry QQ414, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).

[0246] The antenna QQ410 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and / or receive wireless signals. The antenna QQ410 may be coupled to the radio frontend circuitry QQ418 and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and / or signals wirelessly. In certain embodiments, the antenna QQ410 is separate from the network node QQ400 and connectable to the network node QQ400 through one or more interfaces or ports.

[0247] The antenna QQ410, communication interface QQ406, and / or the processing circuitry QQ402 may be configured to perform some or all of the receiving operations and / or obtaining operations described herein as being performed by the network node QQ400. Any information, data and / or signals may be received from a UE, another network node and / or any other networkequipment. Similarly, the antenna QQ410, the communication interface QQ406, and / or the processing circuitry QQ402 may be configured to perform some or all of the transmitting or sending operations described herein as being performed by the network node QQ400. Any information, data and / or signals may be transmitted to a UE, another network node and / or any other network equipment.

[0248] The power source QQ408 provides power to the various components of network node QQ400 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component). The power source QQ408 may further comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry to supply the components of the network node QQ400 with power for performing the functionality described herein. For example, the network node QQ400 may be connectable to an external power source (e.g., the power grid, an electricity outlet) via an input circuitry or interface such as an electrical cable, whereby the external power source supplies power to power circuitry of the power source QQ408. As a further example, the power source QQ408 may comprise a source of power in the form of a battery or battery pack which is connected to, or integrated in, power circuitry. The battery may provide backup power should the external power source fail.

[0249] Embodiments of the network node QQ400 may include additional components beyond those shown in FIGURE 8 for providing certain aspects of the network node’s functionality, including any of the functionality described herein and / or any functionality necessary to support the subject matter described herein. For example, the network node QQ400 may include user interface equipment to allow input of information into the network node QQ400 and to allow output of information from the network node QQ400. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for the network node QQ400.

[0250] FIGURE 9 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment QQ500 in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized. In the present context, virtualizing means creating virtual versions of apparatuses or devices which may include virtualizing hardware platforms, storage devices and networking resources. As used herein, virtualization can be applied to any device described herein, or components thereof, and relates to an implementation in which at least a portion of the functionality is implemented as one or more virtual components. Some or all of the functions described herein may be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines (VMs) implemented in one ormore virtual environments QQ500 hosted by one or more of hardware nodes, such as a hardware computing device that operates as an access network node, UE, core network node, or host. Further, in embodiments in which a virtual node does not require radio connectivity (e.g., a core network node or host), then the node may be entirely virtualized. In some embodiments, the virtualization environment QQ500 includes components defined by the O-RAN Alliance, such as an O-Cloud environment orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an 0-2 interface.

[0251] Applications QQ502 (which may alternatively be called software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.) are run in the virtualization environment Q400 to implement some of the features, functions, and / or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein.

[0252] Hardware QQ504 includes processing circuitry, memory that stores software and / or instructions executable by hardware processing circuitry, and / or other hardware devices as described herein, such as a network interface, input / output interface, and so forth. Software may be executed by the processing circuitry to instantiate one or more virtualization layers QQ506 (also referred to as hypervisors or virtual machine monitors (VMMs)), provide VM QQ508A and VM QQ508B (which may be collectively referred to as VMs QQ508), and / or perform any of the functions, features and / or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein. The virtualization layer QQ506 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to one or more of the VMs QQ508.

[0253] The VMs QQ508 comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by virtualization layer QQ506. Different embodiments of the instance of a virtual appliance QQ502 may be implemented on one or more of VMs QQ508, and the implementations may be made in different ways. Virtualization of the hardware is in some contexts referred to as network function virtualization (NFV). NFV may be used to consolidate many network equipment types onto industry standard high volume server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage, which can be located in data centers, and customer premise equipment.

[0254] In the context of NFV, each of the VMs QQ508 may be a software implementation of a physical machine that runs programs as if they were executing on a physical, non-virtualized machine. Each of the VMs QQ508, and that part of hardware QQ504 that executes that VM, be it hardware dedicated to that VM and / or hardware shared by that VM with others of theVMs, forms separate virtual network elements. Still in the context of NFV, a virtual network function is responsible for handling specific network functions that run in one or more of the VMs QQ508 on top of the hardware QQ504 and corresponds to an application QQ502.

[0255] Hardware QQ504 may be implemented in a standalone network node with generic or specific components. Hardware QQ504 may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, hardware QQ504 may be part of a larger cluster of hardware (e.g. such as in a data center or CPE) where many hardware nodes work together and are managed via management and orchestration QQ510, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of applications QQ502. In some embodiments, hardware QQ504 is coupled to one or more radio units that each include one or more transmitters and one or more receivers that may be coupled to one or more antennas. Radio units may communicate directly with other hardware nodes via one or more appropriate network interfaces and may be used in combination with the virtual components to provide a virtual node with radio capabilities, such as a radio access node or a base station. In some embodiments, some signaling can be provided with the use of a control system QQ512 which may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.

[0256] Although the computing devices described herein (e.g., UEs, network nodes, hosts) may include the illustrated combination of hardware components, other embodiments may comprise computing devices with different combinations of components. It is to be understood that these computing devices may comprise any suitable combination of hardware and / or software needed to perform the tasks, features, functions and methods disclosed herein. Determining, calculating, obtaining or similar operations described herein may be performed by processing circuitry, which may process information by, for example, converting the obtained information into other information, comparing the obtained information or converted information to information stored in the network node, and / or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or converted information, and as a result of said processing making a determination. Moreover, while components are depicted as single boxes located within a larger box, or nested within multiple boxes, in practice, computing devices may comprise multiple different physical components that make up a single illustrated component, and functionality may be partitioned between separate components. For example, a communication interface may be configured to include any of the components described herein, and / or the functionality of the components may be partitioned between the processingcircuitry and the communication interface. In another example, non-computationally intensive functions of any of such components may be implemented in software or firmware and computationally intensive functions may be implemented in hardware.

[0257] In certain embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein may be provided by processing circuitry executing instructions stored on in memory, which in certain embodiments may be a computer program product in the form of a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality may be provided by the processing circuitry without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device-readable storage medium, such as in a hard-wired manner. In any of those particular embodiments, whether executing instructions stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium or not, the processing circuitry can be configured to perform the described functionality. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to the processing circuitry alone or to other components of the computing device, but are enjoyed by the computing device as a whole, and / or by end users and a wireless network generally.

[0258] EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS

[0259] Group A Example Embodiments

[0260] 1. A method performed by a radio node operating as a reader for an A-IoT device, the method comprising:

[0261] receiving a number of repetitions of a signal from an A-IoT device, and

[0262] wherein the number of repetitions is based on at least one signal quality measurement.

[0263] 2. The method of Example Embodiment 1, wherein the number of repetitions comprises at least a first repetition and a second repetition.

[0264] 3. The method of any one of Example Embodiments 1 to 2, wherein the A-IoT device is configured to select the number of the repetitions.

[0265] 4. The method of Example Embodiment 3, wherein the A-IoT device is configured to select the number of repetitions based on at least one of:

[0266] at least one signal quality measurement associated with at least one Carrier Wave (CW) received by the A-IoT from a Carrier Wave Transmitter (CWT);at least one Reference Signal Received Power measurement associated with at least one CW received by the A-IoT from a CWT;

[0267] a last R2D-RSRP.

[0268] 5. The method of anyone of Example Embodiments 3 to 4, wherein the number of repetitions is selected based on at least one of:

[0269] a Transport Block Size (TBS); and

[0270] a type and / or priority of a message.

[0271] 6. The method of any one of Example Embodiments 1 to 2, comprising:

[0272] selecting, by the radio node operating as the reader, the number of repetitions; and transmitting, to the A-IoT device, an indication of the number of repetitions.

[0273] 7. The method of Example Embodiment 6, comprising storing a table and / or a predefined set and wherein the number of repetitions is selected from the table.

[0274] 8. The method of any one of Example Embodiments 6 to 7, wherein the number of repetitions is selected based on at least one of:

[0275] a signal quality measurement of at least one transmission by the A-IoT device to the radio node operating as the reader;

[0276] an RSRP of a last transmission by the A-IoT device to the radio node operating as the reader;

[0277] an interference level received from a CW;

[0278] an CW-RSRP received at the radio node; and

[0279] at least one requirement.

[0280] 9. The method of any one of Example Embodiments 6 to 7, wherein the number of repetitions is selected randomly.

[0281] 10. The method of any one of Example Embodiments 6 to 7, wherein the number of repetitions is selected based on at least one of: a D2R RSRP, and a number of packets received by the radio node operating as the reader.

[0282] 11. The method any one of Example Embodiments 1 to 10, comprising transmitting a request to the A-IoT device to transmit the number of repetitions.

[0283] 12. The method of Example Embodiment 11, wherein the request is transmitted in response to unsuccessfully receiving at least one message from the A-IoT device.13. The method of any one of Example Embodiments 11 to 12, wherein the message from the A-IoT device comprises a msgO.

[0284] 14. The method of any one of Example Embodiments 1 to 13, wherein the radio node comprises a UE or a BS.

[0285] Group B Example Embodiments

[0286] 15. A method performed by an A-IoT device, the method comprising:

[0287] transmitting, to a radio node operating as a reader, a number of repetitions of a signal from an A-IoT device, and

[0288] wherein the number of repetitions is based on at least one signal quality measurement.

[0289] 16. The method of Example Embodiment 15, wherein the number of repetitions comprises at least a first repetition and a second repetition.

[0290] 17. The method of any one of Example Embodiments 15 to 16, comprising selecting the number of the repetitions.

[0291] 18. The method of Example Embodiment 17, wherein the number of repetitions is selected randomly.

[0292] 19. The method of Example Embodiment 17, comprising storing a table and / or a predefined set and wherein the number of repetitions is selected from the table.

[0293] 20. The method of any one of Example Embodiments 17 to 18, wherein the number of repetitions is selected based on at least one of:

[0294] at least one signal quality measurement associated with at least one Carrier Wave (CW) received by the A-IoT from a Carrier Wave Transmitter (CWT);

[0295] at least one Reference Signal Received Power measurement associated with at least one CW received by the A-IoT from a CWT;

[0296] a last R2D-RSRP.

[0297] 21. The method of anyone of Example Embodiments 17 to 20, wherein the number of repetitions is selected based on at least one of:

[0298] a Transport Block Size (TBS); and

[0299] a type and / or priority of a message.22. The method of any one of Example Embodiments 15 to 16, comprising: receiving, from the radio node operating as the reader, an indication of the number of repetitions.

[0300] 23. The method of Example Embodiment 22, wherein the number of repetitions is selected based on at least one of:

[0301] a signal quality measurement of at least one transmission by the A-IoT device to the radio node operating as the reader;

[0302] an RSRP of a last transmission by the A-IoT device to the radio node operating as the reader;

[0303] an interference level received from a CW;

[0304] an CW-RSRP received at the radio node; and

[0305] at least one requirement.

[0306] 24. The method of any one of Example Embodiments 22 to 23, wherein the number of repetitions is selected based on at least one of: a D2R RSRP, and a number of packets received by the radio node operating as the reader.

[0307] 25. The method any one of Example Embodiments 15 to 24, comprising receiving a request from the radio node indicating to transmit the number of repetitions.

[0308] 26. The method of Example Embodiment 25 wherein the request is received in response to an unsuccessful transmission of at least one message to the radio node.

[0309] 27. The method of any one of Example Embodiments 25 to 26, wherein the at least one message comprises a msgO.

[0310] Group C Example Embodiments

[0311] 28. A radio node comprising processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A Example Embodiments.

[0312] 29. An A-IoT configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group B Example Embodiments.

[0313] 30. A computer program comprising instructions which when executed on a computer perform any of the steps of any of the Group A and B Example Embodiments.31. A computer program product comprising computer program, the computer program comprising instructions which when executed on a computer perform any of the steps of any of the Group A and B Example Embodiments.

[0314] 32. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions which when executed by a computer perform any of the steps of any of the Group A and B Example Embodiments.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A method performed by an Ambient Internet of Things, A-IoT, device (120) the method comprising:transmitting (301) a number of repetitions of a signal in an adaptive way to a radio node (110) operating as a reader, over a device to reader, D2R, link.

2. The method of claim 1,wherein the number of repetitions is based on at least one signal quality measurement.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the number of repetitions comprises at least a first repetition and a second repetition.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the number of repetitions is selected randomly.

5. The method of claim 1, comprising storing (302) a table and / or a predefined set and wherein the number of repetitions is selected from the table.

6. The method of any one of claims 1 to 5 wherein the number of repetitions is selected based on at least one of:at least one signal quality measurement associated with at least one Carrier Wave, CW, received by the A-IoT from a Carrier Wave Transmitter, CWT;at least one Reference Signal Received Power. RSRP, measurement associated with at least one CW received by the A-IoT from a CWT;a last receiver to device, R2D, -RSRP.

7. The method of anyone of claims 1 to 6, wherein the number of repetitions is selected based on at least one of:a Transport Block Size, TBS; anda type and / or priority of a message.

8. The method of any one of claims 1 to 7 comprising:Receiving (303), from the radio node (110) operating as the reader, an indication of the number of repetitions.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the number of repetitions is selected based on at least one of:a signal quality measurement of at least one transmission by the A-IoT device (120) to the radio node (110) operating as the reader;an RSRP of a last transmission by the A-IoT device (120) to the radio node (110) operating as the reader;an interference level received from a CW;an CW-RSRP received at the radio node (110); andat least one requirement.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the number of repetitions is selected based on at least one of: a D2R RSRP, and a number of packets received by the radio node (110) operating as the reader.

11. The method any one of claims 1 to 10, comprising receiving (304) a request from the radio node (110) indicating to transmit the number of repetitions.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the request is received in response to an unsuccessful transmission of at least one message to the radio node (110).

13. The method of any one of claims 11 to 12 wherein the at least one message comprises a msgO.

14. A method performed by a radio node (110) operating as a reader for an A-IoT device (120), the method comprising:Selecting (401), by a radio node (110) operating as a reader, a number of repetitions of a signal; andTransmitting (402), to the A-IoT device (120), an indication of the number of repetitions of the signal.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein the number of repetitions comprises at least a first repetition and a second repetition.

16. The method of any one of claims 14 to 15, wherein the number of repetitions is based on at least one signal quality measurement.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein the number of repetitions is selected based on at least one of:a Transport Block Size (TBS); anda type and / or priority of a message.

18. The method of claim 14, comprising storing (403) a table and / or a predefined set and wherein the number of repetitions is selected from the table.

19. The method of claim 14, wherein the number of repetitions is selected based on at least one of:a signal quality measurement of at least one transmission by the A-IoT device (120) to the radio node (110) operating as the reader;an RSRP of a last transmission by the A-IoT device (120) to the radio node (110) operating as the reader;an interference level received from a CW;an CW-RSRP received at the radio node (110); andat least one requirement.

20. The method of claim 14, wherein the number of repetitions is selected randomly.

21. The method of claim 14, wherein the number of repetitions is selected based on at least one of: a D2R RSRP, and a number of packets received by the radio node (110) operating as the reader.

22. The method of anyone of claims 14 to 21, comprising transmitting (404) a request to the A-IoT device (120) to transmit the number of repetitions.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the request is transmitted in response to unsuccessfully receiving at least one message from the A-IoT device (120).

24. The method according to any of claims 14-23, where the reader requests retransmission through msg-0 if it detects errors in the received tag response, such as a failed Cyclic Redundancy Check, CRC.

25. The method of claim 23, wherein the message from the A-IoT device (120) comprises a msgO.

26. The method of any one of claimsl4 to 25, wherein the radio node (110) comprises a User equipment, UE, or a Base Station, BS.

27. A radio node (110) comprising processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of the claims 14-2628. An A-IoT configured to perform any of the steps of any of the claims 1-13.

29. A computer program comprising instructions which when executed on a computer perform any of the steps of any of the claims 1-26.

30. A computer program product comprising computer program, the computer program comprising instructions which when executed on a computer perform any of the steps of any of the claims 1-26.

31. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions which when executed by a computer perform any of the steps of any of the claims 1-26.

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