Communication method, communication apparatus and system

Abstract

Disclosed in the present application are a communication method, a communication apparatus and a system. The method comprises: a first communication apparatus receiving first information and a first reference signal, wherein the first information is configured to indicate that the first reference signal is used for sensing; performing sensing on the basis of the first information and the first reference signal to obtain a first sensing result; and sending second information, wherein the second information is configured to indicate the first sensing result. On the basis of the first information, the method can implement sensing by means of a reference signal.

Description

Communication methods, communication devices and systems

[0001] This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202510388437.5, filed on March 27, 2025, with the Chinese National Intellectual Property Administration, entitled “Communication Method, Communication Device and System”, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

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

[0003] Wireless sensing technology analyzes changes in wireless signals during propagation to obtain the characteristics of the signal propagation space (channel), thereby enabling scene perception. The scene here includes both human factors (the presence, location, posture, and actions of people) and other external factors (such as buildings and moving vehicles). Radar is a classic wireless sensing method, widely used in military, agriculture, and meteorology. Its basic principle is that a transmitter emits a specific waveform signal, which travels through a wireless channel to a receiver. By combining the transmitted and received signals, signal processing is performed to extract targets of interest within the wireless channel.

[0004] The primary function of a wireless communication system is to facilitate information exchange between transceivers (i.e., transmitters and receivers). Its basic principle involves the transmitter emitting a specific waveform signal, which is then received by the receiver via a wireless channel and demodulated after signal processing. From the perspective of the entire physical process of transmission, reception, and transmission, radar and wireless communication are remarkably similar. Therefore, how to integrate wireless communication with sensing technologies (represented by radar) to simultaneously achieve communication and environmental awareness is a current research hotspot.

[0005] In future communication systems, how to achieve sensing through reference signals (RS) is a pressing issue that the industry needs to address. Reference signals are used for channel estimation and signal synchronization in communication systems, and their characteristics reflect the channel state. By analyzing the changes in the reference signal during propagation, characteristic information of the channel can be extracted, thereby enabling the perception of the surrounding environment. This method can not only be used for communication but also achieve sensing functions without increasing additional hardware costs. Therefore, researching how to integrate communication and sensing using reference signals has significant theoretical and practical implications. Summary of the Invention

[0006] This application discloses a communication method, communication device, and system that can achieve sensing through a reference signal.

[0007] The present application is described below from different aspects. It should be understood that the different implementation methods and beneficial effects described below can be referenced from each other.

[0008] Firstly, this application provides a communication method, which can be executed by a first communication device. The first communication device can be a terminal or a terminal's chip, chip system, module, or control unit; specific details are not limited in this application. It should be noted that, in this application, the term "terminal" can refer to the terminal itself, or to the chip, functional module, or integrated circuit that performs the method provided in this application; specific details are not limited in this application. For example, the chip in this application includes, but is not limited to, a modem chip, also known as a baseband chip, or a system-on-a-chip (SoC) chip containing a modem core, or a system-in-package (SIP) chip, which will not be elaborated further below.

[0009] Alternatively, the first communication device may be a network device or a chip, chip system, module, or control unit of a network device, such as a server on the network side or a component (e.g., circuit, chip, or chip system) within the server; this application does not impose any specific limitations. It should be noted that, in this application, the term "network device" may refer to either the network device itself or the chip, functional module, or integrated circuit that performs the method provided in this application; this application does not impose any specific limitations.

[0010] Taking the method as an example of being executed by a first communication device, the method may include: the first communication device receiving first information and a first reference signal, wherein the first information is used to indicate that the first reference signal is used for sensing; performing sensing based on the first information and the first reference signal to obtain a first sensing result; and sending second information, wherein the second information is used to indicate the first sensing result.

[0011] In this embodiment, the first communication device can determine that the purpose of the first reference signal is sensing based on the first information. Then, the first communication device can perform sensing based on the first reference signal, obtain a first sensing result, and feed back the first sensing result through second information. This method can achieve sensing based on the first information and the reference signal.

[0012] In conjunction with the first aspect, in one possible implementation, the first information is also used to indicate that the first reference signal is also used to indicate at least one of the following: channel estimation, tracking, mobility, scanning, handover, or positioning.

[0013] In this embodiment, the first reference signal can be used for sensing and other communication functions, such as at least one of channel estimation, tracking, movement, scanning, switching, or positioning. This method uses the reference signal to achieve the integration of communication and sensing, which can realize the dual functions of communication and sensing and improve the efficiency and performance of the system.

[0014] In conjunction with the first aspect, in one possible implementation, the first information is further used to indicate the information type, and the type of the first sensing result is associated with the information type; the information type includes at least one of the following: multi-path component (MPC) or point cloud, wherein the multi-path component includes at least one of time delay, distance, Doppler, velocity, angle, phase, or timestamp, and the point cloud includes one or more of a reference coordinate system, coordinate values, point cloud type, acquisition time, or coverage area; or, the information type includes at least one of the following: time delay, distance, Doppler, velocity, angle, phase, timestamp, reference coordinate system, coordinate values, point cloud type, acquisition time, or coverage area. In embodiments of this application, the first communication device can also determine the type of the first sensing result based on the information type indicated by the first information.

[0015] This method improves the process of sensing based on reference signals and can meet the needs of obtaining specific types of sensing results.

[0016] Optionally, the information type refers to the type of the sensing result. The aforementioned first information is also used to indicate the information type, which may mean that the first information is also used to indicate the type of the feedback sensing result (such as the aforementioned first sensing result), or that the first information is also used to indicate the type of the sensing result (such as the aforementioned first sensing result) fed back by the first communication device based on the first reference signal. In other words, some or all of the sensing results in the first sensing result reported by the first communication device belong to the aforementioned information type.

[0017] Optionally, the first information may also be used to indicate the information type, or it may refer to: the first information may also be used to indicate the perception result fed back through the codebook, wherein the type of some or all of the perception results indicated by the codebook is the aforementioned information type. For example, if the second information includes at least one index, and the at least one index is used to indicate the first perception result, then the second information may include at least one index, and the type of the first perception result belongs to the type of some or all of the perception results in the codebook.

[0018] In conjunction with the first aspect, in one possible implementation, the first reference signal includes multiple reference signals. Sensing is performed based on the first information and the first reference signal to obtain a first sensing result. This includes: bundling multiple reference signals for sensing (or reference signal bundling, RS bundling) to obtain the first sensing result. This method improves sensing performance by combining multiple reference signals for sensing.

[0019] In this application, the term "bundling" is also referred to as "combination" or "aggregation," and its specific name is not limited in this application.

[0020] For example, the aforementioned multiple reference signals may include at least one of the following: a synchronization signal and a physical broadcast channel (PBCH) block (SSB), a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), a demodulation reference signal (DMRS), a phase tracking reference signal (PTRS), a positioning reference signal (PRS), or a sensing reference signal. For example, RS bundling can refer to the combined use of multiple reference signals of different or the same type in a wireless communication system to enhance wireless sensing performance. Under the RS bundling mechanism, multiple reference signals can be used in conjunction with each other in time and / or frequency to improve the system's sensing capability.

[0021] In this application, RS Bundling can include time-domain RS Bundling (or time-based RS Bundling, or RS bundling in time) and / or frequency-domain RS Bundling. Time-domain RS Bundling refers to the combined use of multiple reference signals in time, while frequency-domain RS Bundling refers to the combined use of multiple reference signals in frequency domains. It should be understood that the multiple reference signals here can be multiple reference signals of the same type or multiple reference signals of different types.

[0022] Optionally, the first sensing result can be obtained by sensing based on the reference signal binding.

[0023] In this embodiment of the application, the above-mentioned bundling of multiple reference signals for sensing can mean that the reference signal resources corresponding to the multiple reference signals are configured in a bundled manner.

[0024] In conjunction with the first aspect, in one possible implementation, the first information is also used to instruct the multiple reference signals to be bundled for sensing. In conjunction with the first aspect, in one possible implementation, the method further includes: sending third information, the third information being used to instruct that the first sensing result was obtained based on the sensing of multiple reference signals bundled together.

[0025] In this embodiment, if the first communication device determines to bundle multiple reference signals for sensing, it can also report third information. This is beneficial for the second communication device (such as a network device) to interpret or process the first sensing result (such as accuracy assessment, channel estimation, beam management decision, or location calculation), reducing erroneous judgments or processing. For example, if the first communication device does not instruct the second communication device that the first sensing result is based on multiple RS Bundling, the network device may incorrectly assume that the result comes from only a single RS, leading to incorrect channel estimation, beam management decision, or location calculation.

[0026] In conjunction with the first aspect, in one possible implementation, the first sensing result includes multiple second sensing results, each of which corresponds one-to-one with a multiple reference signal; the first sensing result indicated by the second information is obtained by merging the multiple second sensing results; or, the second information is used to indicate the multiple second sensing results.

[0027] In this embodiment of the application, the first communication device can feed back multiple second sensing results separately, which can reduce the computational load of the first communication device; or, the first communication device can also feed back the result obtained by merging multiple second sensing results (i.e., the first sensing result). The first communication device can choose to feed back separately or merge the feedback based on its own capabilities and other reasons, which can improve the flexibility of feedback.

[0028] In conjunction with the first aspect, in one possible implementation, the first sensing result includes multipath component information and / or point cloud information; wherein the multipath component information is used to indicate at least one of the following: time delay corresponding to each path, distance corresponding to each path, Doppler difference corresponding to each path, velocity corresponding to each path, angle corresponding to each path, phase corresponding to each path, time delay difference between at least two paths, distance difference between at least two paths, Doppler difference between at least two paths, velocity difference between at least two paths, angle difference between at least two paths, phase difference between at least two paths, or timestamp; the point cloud information is used to indicate at least one of the following: reference coordinate system, coordinate values, point cloud type, acquisition time, or coverage area.

[0029] In conjunction with the first aspect, in one possible implementation, the first information is also used to indicate the type of the first reference signal, the type of which includes at least one of the following: SSB, CSI-RS, DMRS, PTRS, PRS, or a sensing reference signal.

[0030] The sensing reference signal (or simply sensing signal) can refer to: a reference signal that can be used for wireless sensing tasks, such as target detection, target tracking, environmental perception, localization, and integrated sensing and communication (ISAC); or, a signal transmitted on a wireless interface for sensing, such as a signal transmitted on a 3GPP wireless interface for sensing. For example, the sensing reference signal can include: a reference signal that can be used for sensing, or a reference signal dedicated to sensing, or a reference signal primarily used for sensing. In this method, the first reference signal can be an existing reference signal or a dedicated sensing reference signal; this application does not limit this.

[0031] This method can fully utilize existing communication reference signals (such as any one of SSB, CSI-RS, DMRS, or PTRS) and / or positioning reference signals (such as PRS) for sensing, reducing additional overhead; or, sensing through reference signals can improve sensing performance. Since different RSs may have different sensing characteristics in a wireless environment—for example, SSB has a large coverage area but low accuracy; CSI-RS can provide high-precision measurements but has a small coverage area; and PRS is specifically designed for high-precision positioning—this method allows the first communication device (such as a terminal) to combine multiple reference signals (i.e., the aforementioned first reference signal) for measurement. Therefore, the final sensing result (i.e., the first sensing result) is more accurate or more stable than the sensing result obtained from a single reference signal measurement.

[0032] In this embodiment, RS bundling can be used to improve the reliability of channel estimation. Taking DMRS bundling as an example, DMRS bundling is mainly used to improve the reliability of channel estimation, especially in transmission scenarios with hybrid automatic repeat request repeats (HARQ retransmissions) or multiple transmission time intervals (TTIs). DMRS bundling allows the receiver to combine DMRS information from multiple transmissions, thereby enhancing signal demodulation capabilities, especially in low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) or high mobility scenarios.

[0033] For example, DMRS bundling can be used to enhance demodulation performance, such as improving the accuracy of channel estimation by merging multiple DMRSs; improving HARQ retransmission efficiency: in HARQ transmissions, multiple transmission units can share DMRSs, enabling receivers (such as a second communication device) to perform joint channel estimation across multiple transmissions; and it is suitable for noncoherent combining, such as when HARQ retransmission uses noncoherent combining (e.g., non-codebook adaptive retransmission), DMRS bundling provides a method for receivers to utilize reference signals from previous and subsequent transmissions for better demodulation. In HARQ retransmission scenarios, DMRS bundling allows DMRSs across different transmissions to have the same DMRS sequence, DMRS pattern, and DMRS scrambling ID. This allows receivers to jointly utilize DMRSs for channel estimation across multiple HARQ transmissions without having to estimate the channel state for each transmission individually.

[0034] In conjunction with the first aspect, in one possible implementation, the method further includes: sending fourth information, the fourth information being used to instruct the first communication device to support sensing based on the first reference signal.

[0035] In this method, the first communication device has the ability to interact with the other end (such as the second communication device), such as sending fourth information, so that the other end can send the first reference signal and the first information to the first communication device when needed, so as to avoid wasting communication overhead by sending the first reference signal and the first information when the first communication device does not have the sensing capability.

[0036] In conjunction with the first aspect, in one possible implementation, the second information includes at least one index indicating the first sensing result; or, the second information includes the first sensing result.

[0037] In this method, the first sensing result can be indicated by an index, which can reduce communication overhead.

[0038] In conjunction with the first aspect, in one possible implementation, at least one index includes a first index and a second index, the first sensing result includes the second sensing result, the first index is used to indicate the first table to which the second sensing result belongs, and the second index is used to indicate the position of the second sensing result in the first table.

[0039] In conjunction with the first aspect, in one possible implementation, the first information is further used to indicate at least one of the time-frequency resources, transmission mode, or period of the first reference signal; and / or, the transmission mode of the second information is one of periodic, semi-persistent, or aperiodic.

[0040] Secondly, this application provides a communication method that can be executed by a second communication device. This second communication device can be a network device or a chip, chip system, module, or control unit of the network device, such as a server on the network side or components within the server (e.g., circuits, chips, or chip systems). This application does not specifically limit the scope of the method. It should be noted that, in this application, the term "network device" can refer to either the network device itself or the chip, functional module, or integrated circuit that performs the method provided in this application. This application does not specifically limit the scope of the method.

[0041] Taking the method as an example of being executed by a second communication device, the method may include: the second communication device sending first information and a first reference signal, the first information being used to indicate that the first reference signal is used for sensing; receiving second information, the second information being used to indicate a first sensing result, the first sensing result being obtained based on the first reference signal and the first information.

[0042] In conjunction with the second aspect, in one possible implementation, the first reference signal includes multiple reference signals, and the first sensing result is obtained by sensing multiple reference signals bundled together.

[0043] In conjunction with the second aspect, in one possible implementation, the first information is also used to instruct the bundling of multiple reference signals for sensing.

[0044] In conjunction with the second aspect, in one possible implementation, the method further includes: receiving third information, the third information being used to indicate that the first sensing result was obtained based on the sensing of multiple reference signals bundled together.

[0045] In conjunction with the second aspect, in one possible implementation, the method further includes: sending first configuration information, which is used to bundle multiple reference signals for sensing.

[0046] In conjunction with the second aspect, in one possible implementation, the first sensing result includes multiple second sensing results, each of which corresponds one-to-one with a multiple reference signal; the first sensing result indicated by the first information is obtained by merging multiple second sensing results; or, the first information is used to indicate multiple second sensing results.

[0047] In conjunction with the second aspect, in one possible implementation, the first information is used to indicate multiple second perception results, and the method further includes merging the multiple second perception results to obtain the first perception result.

[0048] In conjunction with the second aspect, in one possible implementation, the method further includes: acquiring fourth information, the fourth information being used to indicate that the first communication device supports sensing based on the first reference signal.

[0049] In conjunction with the second aspect, in one possible implementation, the first information is also used to indicate that the first reference signal is also used for at least one of the following: channel estimation, tracking, movement, scanning, switching, or positioning.

[0050] In conjunction with the second aspect, in one possible implementation, the first information is also used to indicate the information type, and the type of the first sensing result is associated with the information type; the information type includes at least one of the following: multipath components or point cloud, wherein the multipath components include at least one of time delay, distance, Doppler, velocity, angle, phase, or timestamp, and the point cloud includes one or more of reference coordinate system, coordinate values, point cloud type, acquisition time, or coverage area; or, the information type includes at least one of the following: time delay, distance, Doppler, velocity, angle, phase, timestamp, reference coordinate system, coordinate values, point cloud type, acquisition time, or coverage area.

[0051] In conjunction with the second aspect, in one possible implementation, the first sensing result includes multipath component information and / or point cloud information; wherein the multipath component information is used to indicate at least one of the following: time delay corresponding to each path, distance corresponding to each path, Doppler difference corresponding to each path, velocity corresponding to each path, angle corresponding to each path, phase corresponding to each path, time delay difference between at least two paths, distance difference between at least two paths, Doppler difference between at least two paths, velocity difference between at least two paths, angle difference between at least two paths, phase difference between at least two paths, or timestamp; the point cloud information is used to indicate at least one of the following: reference coordinate system, coordinate values, point cloud type, acquisition time, or coverage area.

[0052] In conjunction with the second aspect, in one possible implementation, the first information is also used to indicate the type of the first reference signal, which includes at least one of the following: SSB, CSI-RS, DMRS, PTRS, PRS, or a sensing reference signal.

[0053] In conjunction with the second aspect, in one possible implementation, the second information includes at least one index indicating the first perception result; or, the second information includes the first perception result.

[0054] In conjunction with the second aspect, in one possible implementation, at least one index includes a first index and a second index, the first sensing result includes the second sensing result, the first index is used to indicate the first table to which the second sensing result belongs, and the second index is used to indicate the position of the second sensing result in the first table.

[0055] In conjunction with the second aspect, in one possible implementation, the first information is further used to indicate at least one of the time-frequency resources, transmission mode, or period of the first reference signal; and / or, the transmission mode of the second information is one of periodic, semi-persistent, or aperiodic.

[0056] Thirdly, this application provides a communication device, which may be a first communication device or a chip / circuit of a first communication device. The communication device is used to execute the methods in the first aspect or any possible implementation thereof. The communication device includes units, modules, or means for executing the methods in the first aspect or any possible implementation thereof. These functions, units, or means may be implemented in software, or in hardware, or hardware may execute corresponding software implementations.

[0057] Fourthly, this application provides a communication device, which may be a second communication device or a chip / circuit within a second communication device. The communication device is used to execute the method in the second aspect or any possible implementation thereof. The communication device includes units, modules, or means having the ability to execute the method in the second aspect or any possible implementation thereof. These functions, units, or means may be implemented in software, or in hardware, or hardware may execute corresponding software implementations.

[0058] In the third or fourth aspect, the aforementioned communication device may include a transceiver unit and a processing unit. Further details regarding the transceiver unit and processing unit can be found in the device embodiments shown below. The beneficial effects of the third to fourth aspects can be referenced in the relevant descriptions of the first to second aspects, and will not be repeated here.

[0059] Fifthly, this application provides a communication device, which includes a processor for executing the method described in the first aspect, or the second aspect, or any possible implementation thereof.

[0060] In a sixth aspect, this application provides a communication device including a processor coupled to a memory storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the communication device to perform the method described in any possible implementation of the first aspect, the second aspect, or any of the aspects described above.

[0061] In one possible implementation, the communication device further includes a memory. Optionally, the processor and memory are integrated (i.e., the memory is built-in memory). Optionally, the memory and processor are independently configured (i.e., the memory is external memory).

[0062] In a seventh aspect, this application provides a communication device that may include a processor and an interface circuit connected together. The interface circuit is used for exchanging (or sending / receiving or inputting / outputting) information or data, and the processor is used to execute program instructions that cause the communication device to perform the methods described in any possible implementation of the first aspect, the second aspect, or any of the aspects above. The interface circuit may be a communication interface or a transceiver. The transceiver may be a radio frequency module in the communication device, or a combination of a radio frequency module and an antenna, or an input / output interface of a chip or circuit.

[0063] Eighthly, this application provides a computer-readable storage medium storing program instructions that, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method described in any possible implementation of the first aspect, the second aspect, or any of the aspects described above.

[0064] Ninthly, this application provides a computer program product containing program instructions that, when executed, causes the method described in any possible implementation of the first aspect, or the second aspect, or any of the aspects above to be performed.

[0065] Tenthly, this application provides an apparatus, which can be implemented as a chip or as a device, including a processor. The processor is used to read and execute a program stored in a memory to execute one or more of the first aspect, or the second aspect, or one or more of any possible implementations of any aspect, providing an information interaction method. Optionally, the apparatus further includes a memory connected to the processor via a circuit. Further optionally, the apparatus includes a communication interface to which the processor is connected. The communication interface is used to receive information to be processed, the processor obtains the information from the communication interface, processes the information, and outputs the processing result through the communication interface. The communication interface can be an input / output interface.

[0066] It is understood that when the communication device provided by any of the third to seventh aspects is a chip, the aforementioned sending action / function can be understood as an output, and the aforementioned receiving action / function can be understood as an input.

[0067] In one possible implementation, the processor and memory can be physically independent units, or the memory can be integrated with the processor.

[0068] Eleventhly, this application provides a communication system, which includes a first communication device and a second communication device; wherein the first communication device is used to perform the method described in the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect, and the second communication device is used to perform the method described in the second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect.

[0069] The technical effects achieved in the above aspects can be referred to each other or to the beneficial effects in the method embodiments shown below, which will not be repeated here. Attached Figure Description

[0070] Figure 1A is a schematic diagram of the architecture of the communication system used in the embodiments of this application;

[0071] Figure 1B is a schematic diagram of the architecture of the O-RAN system provided in this application;

[0072] Figure 1C is a schematic diagram of the network element function division and protocol layer structure of an O-RAN device provided in this application;

[0073] Figures 1D to 1G are schematic diagrams of some communication systems provided by example in this application;

[0074] Figures 2A to 2G are schematic diagrams of some sensing modes provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0075] Figure 3A is a schematic diagram of the measurement quantities corresponding to some reference signals provided in this application;

[0076] Figure 3B is a schematic diagram of some UE receiving behaviors provided in this application;

[0077] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the measurement reporting process provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0078] Figure 5A is a flowchart illustrating a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0079] Figure 5B is a schematic diagram of a sensing measurement process provided by an exemplary embodiment of this application;

[0080] Figure 5C is a schematic diagram illustrating some receiving behaviors exemplarily provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0081] Figure 5D illustrates a schematic diagram of some sensed measurements;

[0082] Figure 5E is a schematic diagram of another communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0083] Figures 6 to 12 are schematic flowcharts of some communication methods provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0084] Figure 13 is a structural schematic diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0085] Figure 14 is another structural schematic diagram of the communication device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0086] Figure 15 is another structural schematic diagram of the communication device provided in the embodiments of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0087] The technical solutions in the embodiments of this application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0088] In the description of this application, the terms "first," "second," etc., are used only to distinguish different objects and do not limit the quantity or order of execution, nor do they imply that they are necessarily different. Furthermore, the terms "comprising" and "having," and any variations thereof, are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a process, method, system, product, or device that includes a series of steps or units is not limited to the listed steps or units, but may optionally include steps or units not listed, or may optionally include other steps or units inherent to these processes, methods, products, or devices.

[0089] In the description of this application, unless otherwise stated, " / " means "or". For example, A / B can mean A or B. "And / or" in this document is merely a description of the relationship between related objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: A alone, A and B simultaneously, and B alone. Furthermore, "at least one item", "one or more of the following", or similar expressions refer to any combination of these items, including any combination of single or multiple items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c can represent: a, b, c; a and b; a and c; b and c; or a and b and c. Here, a, b, and c can be single or multiple.

[0090] In the description of this application, the words "exemplary" or "for example" are used to indicate that something is an example, illustration, or illustration. Any embodiment or design that is described as "exemplary," "for example," or "for example" in this application should not be construed as being more preferred or advantageous than other embodiments or designs. Rather, the use of the words "exemplary," "for example," or "for example" is intended to present the relevant concepts in a specific manner.

[0091] It is understood that in the description of this application, "when," "if," and "if" all refer to the device performing a corresponding action under certain objective circumstances, and are not time-limited, nor do they require the device to perform a judgment action when it is implemented, nor do they imply any other limitations. The device performing a corresponding action under certain objective circumstances includes: satisfying the objective circumstances, i.e., being able to perform the corresponding action; or satisfying both the objective circumstances and other circumstances, in order to perform the corresponding action.

[0092] In this application, the use of singular designations for elements is intended to represent "one or more" rather than "one and only one," unless otherwise specified.

[0093] In addition, the terms “system” and “network” are often used interchangeably in this article.

[0094] It is understood that in the various embodiments of this application, expressions such as "A corresponds to B", "A and B correspond", "A corresponds to B" or similar expressions indicate that B is associated with A, and B can be determined based on A. Determining B based on A does not mean that B is determined solely based on A; B can also be determined based on A and / or other information.

[0095] Please refer to Figure 1A, which is a schematic diagram of the architecture of the communication system applied in the embodiments of this application. It should be noted that Figure 1A is a possible, non-limiting system schematic diagram. As shown in Figure 1A, the communication system 10 includes a radio access network (RAN) 100 and a core network (CN) 200. Optionally, the communication system 10 may also include the Internet 300. RAN 100 includes at least one RAN node (110a and 110b in Figure 1A, collectively referred to as 110) and at least one terminal (120a-120j in Figure 1A, collectively referred to as 120). RAN 100 may also include other RAN nodes, such as wireless relay devices and / or wireless backhaul devices (not shown in Figure 1A). Terminal 120 is wirelessly connected to RAN node 110. RAN node 110 is connected to core network 200 wirelessly or via a wired connection. The core network elements in core network 200 and RAN nodes 110 in RAN 100 can be different physical devices, or they can be the same physical device integrating core network logical functions and radio access network logical functions, or a single physical device integrating some core network element functions and some RAN node 110 functions. Terminals can be interconnected with each other, and RAN nodes 110 can be interconnected with each other via wired or wireless means. Figure 1A is only a schematic diagram; this communication system may also include other network devices, such as wireless relay devices and wireless backhaul devices. Each device may also include different functional units, which are not shown in Figure 1A.

[0096] In this embodiment of the application, the first communication device can be the terminal 120 in FIG1A, the second communication device can be the RAN node 110 in FIG1A, or both the first communication device and the second communication device belong to the RAN node 110 in FIG1A, such as the first communication device being 110a and the second communication device being 110b.

[0097] In this application, RAN node 110 can also be referred to as a network device.

[0098] RAN 100 can be a 3GPP-related cellular system, such as a 4G, 5G mobile communication system, or a future-oriented evolution system. RAN 100 can also be an open access network (O-RAN or ORAN), a cloud radio access network (CRAN), or a wireless fidelity (WiFi) system. RAN 100 can also be a communication system that integrates two or more of the above systems.

[0099] RAN node 110 can be a device or module that accesses the aforementioned communication system and has corresponding communication and / or sensing functions. Alternatively, RAN node 110 can be a device with communication and / or sensing function modules. RAN node 110 typically contains communication modules, circuits, or chips that perform corresponding communication and / or sensing functions, and it is also configured with program instructions for performing these functions. RAN node 110, sometimes referred to as a radio access network device, access network apparatus, access network equipment, RAN entity, or access node, constitutes part of the communication system and assists terminals in achieving wireless access. Multiple RAN nodes 110 in communication system 10 can be of the same type or different types. In some scenarios, the roles of RAN node 110 and terminal 120 are relative. For example, in Figure 1A, network element 120i can be a helicopter or drone, which can be configured as a mobile base station. For terminals 120j that access RAN 100 through network element 120i, network element 120i is a base station; but for base station 110a, network element 120i is a terminal. RAN node 110 and terminal 120 are sometimes referred to as communication devices. For example, in Figure 1A, network elements 110a and 110b can be understood as communication devices with base station functions, and network elements 120a-120j can be understood as communication devices with terminal functions.

[0100] In one possible scenario, RAN node 110 can be a base station, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), an access point (AP), a transmission reception point (TRP), a next-generation NodeB (gNB), a base station in a future mobile communication system, or an access node in a WiFi system. RAN node 110 can be a macro base station (as shown in Figure 1A, 110a), a micro base station or indoor station (as shown in Figure 1A, 110b), a relay node or donor node, or a radio controller in a CRAN scenario. Optionally, RAN node 110 can also be a server, a wearable device, a vehicle, or in-vehicle equipment. For example, the access network device in vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technology can be a roadside unit (RSU). All or part of the functions of RAN node 110 in this application can also be implemented through software functions running on hardware, or through virtualization functions instantiated on a platform (e.g., a cloud platform). In this application, RAN node 110 can also be a logical node, logical module, or software that can implement all or part of the functions of RAN node 110.

[0101] In another possible scenario, multiple RAN nodes 110 collaborate to assist the terminal in achieving wireless access, with each RAN node 110 implementing a portion of the base station's functions. For example, a RAN node 110 can be a centralized unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a CU-control plane (CP), a CU-user plane (UP), or a radio unit (RU), etc. CUs and DUs can be set up separately or included in the same network element, such as a baseband unit (BBU). RUs can be included in radio equipment or radio units, such as remote radio units (RRUs), active antenna units (AAUs), or remote radio heads (RRHs).

[0102] In different systems, CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU, or RU may have different names, but those skilled in the art will understand their meaning. For example, in an ORAN system, CU can also be called O-CU (open CU), DU can also be called O-DU, CU-CP can also be called O-CU-CP, CU-UP can also be called O-CU-UP, and RU can also be called O-RU. For ease of description, this application uses CU, CU-CP, CU-UP, DU, and RU as examples. Any of the units among CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU, and RU in this application can be implemented through software modules, hardware modules, or a combination of software and hardware modules.

[0103] For example, please refer to Figure 1B, which is a schematic diagram of the architecture of the O-RAN system provided in this application. Figure 1B is only a schematic diagram, and the O-RAN system may also include other components besides those shown in Figure 1B. As shown in Figure 1B, the access network device (e.g., it may be an eNB, gNB, or next-generation access network device) communicates with the core network elements in the CN through a backhaul link and communicates with the terminal through the air interface.

[0104] Specifically, the BBU in the access network device communicates with the core network elements in the CN via a backhaul link, and the RU in the access network device communicates with at least one terminal via an air interface. The BBU communicates with at least one RU via a fronthaul link. The BBU and RU may or may not be co-located. The BBU includes at least one CU and at least one DU, which can communicate via at least one midhaul link.

[0105] Figure 1C illustrates a schematic diagram of the network element function division and protocol layer structure of an O-RAN device. In some examples, the CU is a logical node carrying the radio resource control (RRC) layer, service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer, packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, and other control functions of the access network device. The CU connects to network nodes such as the core network through interfaces, which can be interfaces such as E2 interfaces. Optionally, the CU may have some of the functions of the core network. The CU (e.g., the PDCP layer and higher layers) connects to the DU (e.g., the radio link control (RLC) layer and lower layers) through interfaces, which can be interfaces such as F1 interfaces. In some examples, these interfaces (e.g., the F1 interface) can provide control plane (C-Plane) and user plane (U-Plane) functions (e.g., interface management, system information management, UE context management, RRC message transmission, etc.). The F1 application (AP) protocol is the application protocol of the F1 interface, and in some examples, it defines the signaling procedures of F1. The F1 interface supports the control plane F1-C and the user plane F1-U.

[0106] In some examples, the CU can be split into CU-CP (control unit-control plane) and CU-UP (control unit-user plane). CU-CP is a logical node carrying the RRC layer and PDCP-C (control plane part of PDCP) layer, used to implement the CU's control plane functions. CU-CP can interact with network elements in the core network used to implement control plane functions. These network elements in the core network can be access and mobility function (AMF) network elements, such as the access and mobility management function (AMF) in a 5G system. The AMF network element is responsible for mobility management in the mobile network, such as terminal location updates, terminal registration with the network, and terminal handover. CU-UP is a logical node carrying the SDAP layer and PDCP-U (user plane part of PDCP) layer, used to implement the CU's user plane functions. CU-UP can interact with network elements in the core network used to implement user plane functions. These network elements in the core network, such as the user plane function (UPF) in a 5G system, are responsible for data forwarding and receiving in the terminal. The above CU and DU configurations are merely examples; the functions of the CU and DU can be configured as needed. For instance, the CU or DU can be configured to have more protocol layer functions, or only some protocol layer processing functions. For example, some RLC layer functions and protocol layer functions above the RLC layer can be placed in the CU, while the remaining RLC layer functions and protocol layer functions below the RLC layer can be placed in the DU. Furthermore, the functions of the CU or DU can be divided according to service type or other system requirements, such as by latency. Functions that require low latency can be placed in the DU, while functions that do not require low latency can be placed in the CU.

[0107] In some examples, a DU is a logical node that carries the radio link control (RLC) layer, medium access control (MAC) layer, higher physical layer (Higher PHY) layer, and other functions. In some examples, a DU can control at least one RU. The DU connects to the RU through interfaces, which can be fronthaul interfaces. In some examples, the Higher PHY layer includes the PHY layer processing, such as forward error correction (FEC) encoding and decoding, scrambling, modulation, and demodulation.

[0108] In some examples, the RU is a logical node that carries both lower physical layer (PHY) and radio frequency (RF) processing. In some examples, the RU can be a 3GPP TRP, a remote radio head (RRH), or other similar entity. In some examples, the Low-PHY includes PHY processing functions such as Fast Fourier Transform (FFT), Inverse Fast Fourier Transform (IFFT), digital beamforming, and filtering. The RU communicates with one or more terminals via a wireless link.

[0109] The DU and RU can be co-located or not. The DU and RU exchange control plane and user plane information via a fronthaul link through the Lower-Layer Split CUS-Plane (LLS-CUS) interface. LLS-CUS may include LLS-C and LLS-U interfaces providing the control plane (C-Plane) and user plane (U-Plane), respectively. In some examples, the control plane (C-Plane) refers to real-time control between the DU and RU. The DU and RU exchange management information via an LLS-M interface on the fronthaul link; the management plane (M-Plane) refers to non-real-time management operations between the DU and RU.

[0110] DU and RU can cooperate to implement the functions of the PHY layer. A DU can be connected to one or more RUs. The functions of DU and RU can be configured in various ways depending on the design. For example, a DU can be configured to implement baseband functions, and an RU can be configured to implement mid-RF functions. Another example is that a DU can be configured to implement higher-level functions in the PHY layer, and an RU can be configured to implement lower-level functions in the PHY layer, or to implement both lower-level and RF functions. Higher-level functions in the physical layer can include a portion of the physical layer's functions that are closer to the MAC layer, while lower-level functions in the physical layer can include another portion of the physical layer's functions that are closer to the mid-RF side.

[0111] A terminal can be a device or module that accesses the aforementioned communication system and possesses corresponding communication and / or sensing functions. Alternatively, a terminal can be a device with communication and / or sensing function modules. A terminal typically contains communication modules, circuits, or chips that perform the corresponding communication and / or sensing functions, and it also contains program instructions for performing these functions. A terminal can also be referred to as terminal equipment, user equipment (UE), user device, access terminal, user unit, user station, mobile station, mobile station (MS), remote station, remote terminal, mobile terminal, mobile device, user terminal, terminal unit, terminal station, terminal device, wireless communication equipment, user agent, or user device, etc. A terminal typically contains communication modules, circuits, or chips that perform the corresponding communication functions. It also contains program instructions for performing these functions. Terminals can be widely used in various scenarios, such as device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), Internet of Things (IoT), virtual reality, augmented reality, industrial control, autonomous driving, telemedicine, smart grids, smart furniture, smart offices, smart wearables, smart transportation, and smart cities. Terminals can be mobile phones, tablets, computers with wireless transceiver capabilities, wearable devices, vehicles, drones, helicopters, airplanes, ships, robots, robotic arms, smart home devices, transportation vehicles with wireless communication capabilities, communication modules, and roadside units (RSUs) with terminal functions. The embodiments of this application do not limit the device form of the terminal.

[0112] For ease of description, the following description uses a base station as an example of RAN node 110. Base stations and terminals can be fixed or mobile. Base stations and terminals can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; they can also be deployed on water; and they can be deployed on aircraft, balloons, and satellites. The embodiments of this application do not limit the application scenarios of the base stations and terminals.

[0113] The roles of base stations and terminals can be relative. For example, the helicopter or drone 120i in Figure 1A can be configured as a mobile base station. For terminals 120j that access the wireless access network 100 through 120i, terminal 120i is a base station; however, for base station 110a, 120i is a terminal, meaning that 110a and 120i communicate via a wireless air interface protocol. Of course, 110a and 120i can also communicate via a base station-to-base station interface protocol. In this case, relative to 110a, 120i is also a base station. Therefore, both base stations and terminals can be collectively referred to as communication devices. 110a and 110b in Figure 1A can be called communication devices with base station functions, and 120a-120j in Figure 1A can be called communication devices with terminal functions.

[0114] Communication between base stations and terminals, between base stations, and between terminals can be conducted using licensed spectrum, unlicensed spectrum, or both simultaneously. Communication can be conducted using spectrum below 6 GHz, spectrum above 6 GHz, or both simultaneously. The embodiments of this application do not limit the spectrum resources used for wireless communication.

[0115] In the embodiments of this application, the functions of the base station can be executed by modules (such as chips) within the base station, or by a control subsystem that includes base station functions. This control subsystem, including base station functions, can be a control center in the aforementioned application scenarios such as smart grids, industrial control, intelligent transportation, and smart cities. Similarly, the functions of the terminal can be executed by modules (such as chips or modems) within the terminal, or by a device that includes terminal functions.

[0116] In this application, the base station sends downlink signals or downlink information to the terminal, with the downlink information carried on the downlink channel; the terminal sends uplink signals or uplink information to the base station, with the uplink information carried on the uplink channel. To communicate with the base station, the terminal needs to establish a radio connection on a cell controlled by the base station. The cell with which the terminal has established a radio connection is called the terminal's serving cell. When the terminal communicates with this serving cell, it is also susceptible to interference from signals from neighboring cells.

[0117] The embodiments of this application can also be applied to other communication systems, which are described below by way of example.

[0118] For example, the communication system to which the embodiments of this application are applicable may include a first communication device, a second communication device, and a first node.

[0119] For example, the first communication device can be a terminal (such as the terminal 120 mentioned above or the terminal device 201 mentioned below), the second communication device can be a network device (such as the RAN node 110 mentioned above or the gNB 202 mentioned below), and the first node can be a sensing function (SF) entity (or simply sensing entity or simply SF). The SF can be deployed in the core network or in the access network, and this application does not limit it in this regard.

[0120] For example, the first communication device and the second communication device can be two network devices, and the first node can be an SF.

[0121] For example, the first node can be a sensing function network element or a sensing unit; wherein, the sensing function unit is a module responsible for sensing functions in the CN, and the sensing unit is a module responsible for sensing functions in the RAN. Optionally, in actual implementation, the sensing function network element / sensing unit can be integrated with existing network equipment or can be independent. Optionally, the sensing function network element or sensing unit is deployed on the aforementioned second communication device.

[0122] Figures 1D to 1F are schematic diagrams of some communication systems provided by example in this application.

[0123] Please refer to Figure 1D. The communication system includes terminal equipment 201, gNB 202, next generation evolved node B (ng-eNB) 203, access and mobility management function (AMF) 204, user plane function (UPF) 205, and sensing management function (SF) 206.

[0124] Figure 1D shows SF206, which uses a user plane and control plane separation implementation as an example to illustrate the technical solution of this application. In practical applications, the user plane and control plane of SF206 can also be integrated, and this application does not impose any restrictions on this.

[0125] It should be noted that the aforementioned access and mobility management function 204 and user plane function 205 are optional, and gNB202 and ng-eNB203 can connect to SF206.

[0126] Terminal device 201 communicates with access network devices (gNB202 or ng-eNB203 in Figure 1D) via the Uu interface. ng-eNB203 is an access network device in the Long Term Evolution (LTE) communication system, and gNB202 is an access network device in the New Radio (NR) communication system. In the communication system, access network devices communicate with each other via the Xn interface, and access network devices communicate with AMF204 via the NG-C interface. Access network devices communicate with UPF205 via the NG-U interface. UPF205 is connected to the user plane of SF206, and AMF204 is connected to the control plane of SF206. Optionally, access network devices communicate with SF-U via UPF205 and with SF-C via AMF204.

[0127] Access network equipment (such as gNB202 or ng-eNB203 in Figure 1D) is deployed in the radio access network to provide wireless communication and / or sensing functions for terminals. AMF204 is responsible for mobility management in the mobile network, such as terminal location updates, terminal registration with the network, and terminal handover. UPF205 is responsible for data forwarding and receiving in the terminal. SF206 provides sensing-related functions, such as the management of sensing nodes, coordination of sensing resources, processing of sensing measurements, and sharing of sensing measurement results.

[0128] It should be noted that in the communication system shown in Figure 1D above, the access network equipment can also be directly connected to the SF206, meaning that communication with the SF206 does not require the use of UPF205 and AMF204. Optionally, the SF206 belongs to the core network.

[0129] Optionally, the communication system also includes a location management function (LMF), which is a network element, module, or component in the NR core network that provides location management for terminals. Optionally, the SF206 can be integrated with the location management function or deployed separately; this application does not impose any specific limitations on this.

[0130] It should be noted that the name AMF204 in the communication system shown in Figure 1D above is merely an example. The name AMF204 may change as the communication system evolves. Any network element with a similar function to AMF204 can be understood as AMF204 in this application. For example, AMF204 can also be called a mobility management network element or mobility management function, etc., and this application does not limit its specific application. The name UPF205 may change as the communication system evolves. Any network element with a similar function to UPF205 can be understood as UPF205 in this application. For example, UPF205 can also be called a user plane network element or user plane management network element, etc., and this application does not limit its specific application.

[0131] Figure 1D above only shows an example of a communication system including two access network devices: a gNB and an ng-eNB. In practical applications, the communication system may include at least one access network device, and this application does not limit the specific device.

[0132] Figure 1E is another schematic diagram of the communication system according to an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 1E, the communication system includes a terminal device 301, an access network device 302, an access network device 303, and an SF 304. Access network device 302 and access network device 303 communicate via an Xn interface. SF 304 is connected to both access network device 302 and access network device 303 via interfaces. Access network device 302 and access network device 303 can also be connected to different SFs.

[0133] The SF304 shown in Figure 1E can have a user plane and a control plane that are separated, or they can be combined. This application does not limit the specific configuration.

[0134] Figure 1F is another schematic diagram of the communication system according to an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 1F, the communication system includes a terminal device 401, an access network device 402, an access network device 403, a UPF 404, and an AMF 405. Access network device 402 and access network device 403 communicate via an Xn interface. The SF is deployed or integrated on access network device 402. Access network device 402 is connected to UPF 404 via an NG-U interface and to AMF 405 via an NG-C interface. Access network device 403 is connected to UPF 404 via an NG-U interface and to AMF 405 via an NG-C interface.

[0135] It should be noted that when the access network device 402 adopts a separate architecture of CU and DU, SF can be deployed or integrated on CU or DU, and this application does not limit the specifics.

[0136] It should be noted that the names of the SFs in Figures 1D to 1F may change as the communication system evolves. Any functional network element with a name that has a similar function to the SF can be understood as the SF of this application. For example, the SF can also be called a sensing node, a sensing management node, or a sensing management function, etc., and this application does not limit the specific name.

[0137] Figure 1G is another schematic diagram of the communication system according to an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 1G, network elements in the communication system are connected via interfaces (e.g., NG interfaces or Xn interfaces) or air interfaces. These network element nodes, such as core network equipment, access network equipment, terminals, or one or more devices in operation administration and maintenance (OAM), are equipped with one or more sensing modules (only one is shown in Figure 1G for clarity). Access network equipment can be a single access network node or can include multiple access network nodes. For example, access network equipment includes CU and DU. One or more sensing modules can also be provided in the CU and the DU, respectively.

[0138] Optionally, the access network device can be a single access network node or can include multiple access network nodes. For example, it can include CU and DU. One or more sensing modules can be configured in each of the CU and / or DU. Optionally, the CU can also be divided into CU-CP and CU-UP. One or more sensing modules can be configured in each of the CU-CP and / or CU-UP. The sensing modules are used to implement corresponding sensing functions. The sensing modules deployed in different network elements can be the same or different.

[0139] In this application, "sending information" can be understood as one device sending information to another device, or it can also be understood as one logical module within a device sending information to another logical module. For example, "base station sending information" can be understood as the base station sending information to another device (such as a terminal), or it can be understood as logical module 1 in the base station sending information to logical module 2 in the base station.

[0140] In this application, "receiving information" can be understood as one device receiving information from another device, or it can also be understood as a logical module within a device receiving information from another logical module. For example, "base station receiving information" can be understood as the base station receiving information from another device (such as a terminal), or it can be understood as logical module 1 in the base station receiving information from logical module 2 in the base station.

[0141] The communication between different devices involved in this application can refer to direct communication between different devices (i.e., without the need for relaying or forwarding by other devices), or communication between different devices through other devices (i.e., requiring relaying or forwarding by other devices), or communication between a functional unit within a device and other devices through another functional unit. In other words, "sending information to… (e.g., a terminal)" or the relevant illustrations in the accompanying drawings can be understood as the destination of the information being the terminal. This can include sending information directly or indirectly to the terminal. "Receiving information from… (e.g., a terminal)" or "receiving information from… (e.g., a terminal)" or "receiving information sent (e.g., by a terminal)" or the relevant illustrations in the accompanying drawings can be understood as the source of the information being the terminal. This can include receiving information directly or indirectly from the terminal. Information may undergo necessary processing between the source and destination, such as format changes, analog-to-digital conversion, amplification, filtering, etc., but the destination can understand the valid information from the source. Similar expressions in this application can be understood in a similar way, and will not be elaborated further here.

[0142] The technical terms and related technologies involved in this application are described below.

[0143] I. Perception

[0144] 1. Wireless sensing (or perception)

[0145] Wireless sensing uses wireless signals (or radio frequency signals) for perception. Sensing is the process of collecting, processing, and generating sensing results from data. For example, data can be collected to obtain information about the environment or objects within it (e.g., distance, shape, type, size, speed, position, or relative motion between objects). Another example is using data to determine the breathing rate and heart rate of a monitored object. The collected data can be obtained through sensors or through wireless signals.

[0146] 2. Perception Mode

[0147] Figures 2A to 2G are schematic diagrams of some sensing modes provided in embodiments of this application. In these sensing modes, the access network device is taken as a base station (BS) and the terminal as a user end (UE) for illustration.

[0148] Figure 2A illustrates Mode 1, in which the base station acts as the transmitter and receiver. The signal transmitted by the base station is reflected by a car (or other targets such as pedestrians, bicycles, drones, etc.) and received by the UE. After receiving the signal, the UE performs signal processing at the processing node to obtain the perception result, which includes information such as distance, speed, angle, and intensity.

[0149] Figure 2B illustrates mode two, in which base station 1 acts as the transmitter and base station 2 acts as the receiver. The signal transmitted by base station 1 is reflected by a car (or other targets such as pedestrians, bicycles, drones, etc.) and received by base station 2. After receiving the signal, base station 2 performs signal processing at the processing node to obtain the perception result, which includes information such as distance, speed, angle, and intensity.

[0150] Figure 2C illustrates mode 3, in which UE1 acts as the transmitter and UE2 acts as the receiver. The signal transmitted by UE1 is reflected by a car (or other targets such as pedestrians, bicycles, drones, etc.) and received by UE2. After receiving the signal, UE2 performs signal processing at the processing node to obtain the perception result, which includes information such as distance, speed, angle, and intensity.

[0151] Figure 2D illustrates mode four, in which base station 1 acts as the transmitter, base station 2 acts as the receiver, and base station 3 initiates the sensing of people. The signal transmitted by base station 1 is reflected by a car (or other targets such as pedestrians, bicycles, drones, etc.) and received by base station 2. After receiving the signal, base station 2 performs signal processing at the processing node to obtain the sensing result, which includes information such as distance, speed, angle, and intensity.

[0152] Figure 2E illustrates mode five, in which the base station acts as both the transmitter and receiver. The base station transmits signals that are reflected by a car (or other targets such as pedestrians, bicycles, or drones) and then received by the base station. After receiving the signals, the base station processes the signals at the processing node to obtain the perception results, which include information such as distance, speed, angle, and intensity.

[0153] Figure 2F illustrates mode six, in which the UE acts as both the transmitter and receiver. The UE transmits a signal that is reflected by a car (or other targets such as pedestrians, bicycles, or drones) and then received by the UE. After receiving the signal, the UE processes the signal at the processing node to obtain the perception result, which includes information such as distance, speed, angle, and intensity.

[0154] Figure 2G exemplarily illustrates mode seven, in which the UE acts as the transmitter and the base station acts as the receiver. The signal transmitted by the UE is reflected by a car (or other targets such as pedestrians, bicycles, drones, etc.) and received by the base station. After receiving the signal, the base station performs signal processing at the processing node to obtain the perception results, which include information such as distance, speed, angle, and intensity.

[0155] It should be noted that the perception mode can also be called the perception scene or other names. For example, "perception mode" can also be replaced with "perception scene". This application does not limit this.

[0156] II. Measured quantity corresponding to the reference signal

[0157] As shown in Figure 3A, the reference signals currently used for measurement feedback mainly include SSB, CSI-RS, and PRS, etc. Measured quantities typically include reference signal received power (RSRP) and reference signal received quality (RSRQ), as shown below:

[0158] (1) SSB is a reference signal used for cell search, synchronization, and measurement in 5G NR. The main measurement quantities include:

[0159] SS-reference signal received power (SS-RSRP) represents the received power of the SSB and is a core indicator for evaluating signal strength, used in cell selection and handover decisions. The reference point is the UE's antenna connector (FR1 band) or the synthesized signal of the receive branch (FR2 band). SS-reference signal received quality (SS-RSRQ) is defined as N×SS-RSRP / NR carrier received signal strength indicator (RSSI), where N is the number of resource blocks within the measurement bandwidth. The NR carrier RSSI in the denominator contains a linear average of the total received power, including co-channel / adjacent-channel interference and thermal noise. The measurement time is limited by the SSB measurement timing configuration (SMTC) window. SS-signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SS-SINR) assesses signal quality by the ratio of SS-RSRP to interference and noise, and is typically used for channel quality feedback.

[0160] (2) Measurements based on CSI-RS (Channel State Information Reference Signal), including:

[0161] CSI-RS is mainly used for channel state feedback, beam management, and fine-grained measurement; CSI-RSRP reflects the received power of CSI-RS and is used for beam management and multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) configuration; CSI-RSRQ (CSI Reference Signal Received Quality) is similar to SS-RSRQ, but is calculated based on CSI-RS and is suitable for higher-precision channel quality assessment; CSI-SINR (CSI Signal to Interference Plus Noise Ratio) combines CSI-RSRP and interference noise and is used for link adaptation and scheduling optimization.

[0162] (3) PRS is dedicated to location-based services (LBS), and the measurements include:

[0163] PRS-RSRP (PRS reference signal received power) measures the received power of the PRS signal for signal strength estimation. PRS-RSRPP (PRS reference signal received path power) measures the received power of each path of the PRS signal. PRS-RSTD (PRS reference signal time difference) measures the time difference of arrival (OTDOA) of PRS signals from different base stations, used for OTDOA positioning. UE Rx-Tx time difference (UE Rx-Tx time difference) is used to calculate propagation delay. PRS-RSCP (PRS reference signal carrier phase) is the channel response calculated based on the PRS signal, where the first path corresponds to the phase of the channel response. PRS-RSCPD (PRS reference signal carrier phase difference) defines the downlink reference signal carrier phase difference (RSCPD) as the distance from the transmission point TPj to the reference point TPi at the downlink positioning frequency layer. The difference between downlink RSCP and downlink PRS measurements transmitted in the PFL layer.

[0164] III. UE Reception Behavior for Different Reference Signals

[0165] As shown in Figure 3B, the UE's corresponding reception behavior is defined for different reference signals. For example, CSI-RS has multiple uses, including tracking, L1-RSRP calculation, L1-SINR calculation, and mobility monitoring. Different uses define the relevant UE reception behaviors.

[0166] IV. Measurement Configuration and Reporting Parameters of Reference Signal

[0167] As shown in Figure 4, the terminal (such as the UE) can send a measurement report to the network.

[0168] Table 1 shows the UE feedback quantities, descriptions, and application scenarios.

[0169] V. RS Bundling

[0170] The following example illustrates how RS Bundling can enhance wireless sensing performance.

[0171] Optionally, time-domain RS Bundling is used to enhance velocity measurement capabilities. Velocity measurement is based on the Doppler effect, where the relative motion of the target causes a frequency shift in the returned signal. The ability to measure the velocity of a target can be further divided into velocity resolution and unambiguous velocity range.

[0172] In this application, the design of reference signals in wireless communication (such as CSI-RS, SSB, DMRS) can utilize a time-based bundling mechanism to improve both the velocity measurement resolution and the unambiguous range of velocity measurement.

[0173] (1) Velocity measurement resolution, defined as the minimum velocity interval that can distinguish between two targets with different velocities. Higher resolution results in more accurate velocity measurements. Its enhancement method (time-domain RS bundling) can be achieved by using longer observation times to improve the resolution of Doppler shifts. (where T is the observation time and λ is the signal wavelength).

[0174] This application's embodiments can improve Doppler estimation accuracy by jointly processing multiple time-domain reference signals. For example, PDSCH bundling can be used to combine time-domain DMRS during hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) retransmissions to improve channel estimation stability; RS bundling in time: multiple RS resources (such as CSI-RS and SSB bound on different slots) are used to measure Doppler spread.

[0175] (2) The unambiguous range of velocity measurement is defined as the maximum velocity range within which the target velocity can be uniquely determined. If the target velocity exceeds this range, velocity aliasing will occur. Its enhancement method (time-domain RS bundling) can be: shortening the reference signal transmission interval; at higher reference signal transmission frequencies, the Doppler ambiguity range will increase, i.e. (where fc is the carrier frequency and Ts is the minimum time-domain interval of RS).

[0176] This application embodiment can use CSI-RS and DMRS with different periods for joint measurement, which can eliminate Doppler ambiguity. For example, the CSI-RS / PRS resource configuration can adjust the CSI-RS and PRS transmission interval, affecting the rate measurement range; the millimeter-wave high Doppler adaptability design includes: in millimeter-wave systems, using different RS configurations to adapt to targets with different speed ranges.

[0177] Optionally, frequency-domain RS bundling is used to enhance distance measurement capabilities. Distance measurement is based on time-of-arrival (TOA) or frequency modulation of frequency-modulated continuous wave (FMCW). Wireless communication can be performed using frequency-domain RS bundling to improve range resolution and unambiguous range.

[0178] (3) The definition of distance measurement resolution can be: distance resolution refers to the minimum distance interval that can distinguish two adjacent targets, which is usually determined by the bandwidth of the signal. Its improvement method (frequency domain RS bundling) can be: increasing the frequency bandwidth of the reference signal, according to the ranging principle, (Where B is the signal bandwidth and c is the speed of light), the larger the bandwidth, the higher the distance resolution.

[0179] This application embodiment can enhance distance measurement capabilities by combining multiple reference signals of different frequencies and allocating multi-frequency CSI-RS or PRS resources. For example, in this application embodiment, CSI-RS frequency domain allocation may include: stitching multiple reference signals into a signal with a larger bandwidth to improve ranging accuracy.

[0180] (4) The unambiguous range of distance measurement can be defined as the maximum range within which the target distance can be uniquely determined, usually determined by the PRS transmission cycle. Its enhancement method (frequency domain RS bundling) can be a combination of CSI-RS and PRS, such as multiple RSs interleaved in the frequency domain, which can expand the unambiguous range of the measurement. For example, joint configuration of PRS and CSI-RS resources can support joint configuration of multiple RS resources, ensuring frequency resource interleaving and increasing the measurement range.

[0181] The inventors of this application have discovered that existing reference signal-based measurements are used to support communication and positioning-related measurements, but cannot be used to support perception-related applications; existing UE RS reception procedures lack support for perception; and existing RS measurement configurations and reporting parameters lack perception-related quantities.

[0182] In view of this, embodiments of this application propose a communication method and apparatus, wherein a first communication device can calculate perception-related parameters (such as a first perception result) based on a reference signal (such as a first reference signal); define UE RS receiving behavior (such as perception) to support perception applications; and define perception-related configurations (such as first information) and reporting quantities (such as second information). Examples are shown below (1) to (3).

[0183] (1) For the reference signal shared by communication, positioning and sensing, define sensing measurement quantities to support sensing applications.

[0184] For example, defining sensing measurements based on existing reference signals can be used to expand the definition of measurements, including at least one of the following: SS-SensingMeasurement, DMRS-SensingMeasurement, CSI-SensingMeasurement, PTRS-SensingMeasurement, or PRS-SensingMeasurement. See Figure 5D for details, which will not be elaborated here.

[0185] In this embodiment of the application, the first perception result can be any of the above-mentioned perception measurement quantities.

[0186] (2) For the reference signal shared by communication-positioning-sensing, the first communication device (such as the UE side) defines a new receiving procedure in order to support sensing applications.

[0187] For example, defining new processing behaviors based on existing reference signals can be used to expand UE RS receiving behavior, including: determining the purpose of the RS through higher-layer parameters, with the purpose adding sensing functions, where higher-layer parameters refer to RRC configuration or layer configuration above RRC; and / or determining information such as RS time-frequency resource location and period, including three possibilities: 1) the reference signal configuration is completely consistent with communication / positioning; 2) to configure a dedicated sensing RS to obtain better sensing effects; 3) performing RS bundling, bundling multiple RS together for sensing; and / or extracting reference signals for sensing; and / or, after extracting the reference signals, calculating corresponding parameters such as time delay, Doppler, angle, etc., according to the purpose of the reference signals.

[0188] (3) For the reference signal shared by communication, positioning and sensing, define a new RS reporting configuration and reporting quantity to support sensing applications.

[0189] An exemplary measurement configuration and reporting process includes at least one of the following supplements:

[0190] Configure any one of SSB, CSI-RS, DMRS, PTRS, or PRS as a sensed measurement quantity for measuring the sensed quantity, which includes information such as delay, distance, Doppler, velocity, angle, or phase; or, the network device (such as BS) instructs the RS bundling configuration, and the terminal (such as UE) performs the corresponding RS bundling operation according to the configuration; or, if the UE decides to perform RS bundling, it indicates which RS bundling the measurement result is based on; or, the reported quantity includes information such as delay, distance, Doppler, velocity, angle, or phase.

[0191] Optionally, embodiments of this application also define perception-related capabilities, which may include at least one of the following: whether it supports sensing using communication reference signals (such as any one of SSB, CSI-RS, DMRS, or PTRS) and / or positioning reference signals (such as PRS); whether it supports configuring additional communication reference signals for sensing; and whether it supports RS bundling of communication reference signals and / or positioning reference signals.

[0192] Based on the above system architecture, a communication method provided by an embodiment of this application will be described below.

[0193] Figure 5A is a flowchart illustrating a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0194] In this application embodiment, the steps performed by the first communication device can also be performed by a module of the first communication device (e.g., a chip, chip system, integrated circuit, or control unit); in this application embodiment, the steps performed by the second communication device can also be performed by a module of the second communication device (e.g., a chip, chip system, integrated circuit, or control unit).

[0195] As shown in Figure 5A, the communication method may include some or all of the following steps:

[0196] Step S501: The second communication device sends first information and a first reference signal to the first communication device. The first information is used to instruct the first reference signal to be used for sensing.

[0197] Accordingly, the first communication device receives the first information and the first reference signal sent from the first communication device.

[0198] Optionally, the first information and the first reference signal can be sent simultaneously or sequentially. This application does not limit the sending order of the first information and the first reference signal.

[0199] This application does not limit the signaling carrying the first information. Exemplarily, the first information may be carried by downlink control information (DCI), medium access control-control element (MAC CE) messages, or RRC messages.

[0200] It should be noted that this application does not limit the transmission method of the first information and the first reference signal. For example, the first information may be measurement configuration information sent from the second communication device to the first communication device. As another example, the second communication device may also implicitly indicate the first information to the first communication device. For instance, if the measurement configuration of the first reference signal indicated by the second communication device to the first communication device is related to sensing, then the first reference signal is used for sensing. This could be because the measurement configuration includes the type of the first reference signal, which is a sensing reference signal; or the measurement configuration includes a measurement reporting quantity, and the measurement reporting quantity includes a sensing measurement quantity.

[0201] Optionally, the first information is also used to indicate that the first reference signal is also used for at least one of the following: channel estimation, tracking, movement, scanning, switching, or positioning.

[0202] Optionally, the aforementioned first information used to indicate that the first reference signal is used for sensing may mean that: the first information is used to indicate the purpose of the first reference signal, and the purpose of the first reference signal includes sensing. For example, the purpose of the first reference signal is sensing, or the purpose of the first reference signal includes sensing and at least one of the following: channel estimation, tracking, movement, scanning, handover, or positioning.

[0203] In one possible implementation, the first information is further used to indicate the information type, and the type of the first sensing result is associated with the information type; the information type includes at least one of the following: multipath components or point cloud, wherein the multipath components include at least one of time delay, distance, Doppler, velocity, angle, phase, or timestamp, and the point cloud includes one or more of reference coordinate system, coordinate values, point cloud type, acquisition time, or coverage area; or, the information type includes at least one of the following: time delay, distance, Doppler, velocity, angle, phase, timestamp, reference coordinate system, coordinate values, point cloud type, acquisition time, or coverage area.

[0204] Optionally, the information type refers to the type of the sensing result. The first information mentioned above is also used to indicate the information type, which may mean that the first information is also used to indicate the type of the feedback sensing result (such as the first sensing result mentioned above), or that the first information is also used to indicate the type of the sensing result (such as the first sensing result mentioned above) fed back by the first communication device based on the first reference signal.

[0205] Optionally, the association between the type of the first sensing result and the information type may mean that: the first communication device determines the type of the first sensing result based on the information type; and / or, the information type and the type of the first sensing result have an overlap, such as the information type including part or all of the type of the first sensing result, or the type of the first sensing result including part or all of the information type.

[0206] Optionally, the first information includes first indication information and second indication information. The first indication information is used to indicate the purpose of the first reference signal, which includes sensing. The second indication information is used to indicate the type of information. The first and second indication information can be sent to the first communication device via the same message or via different methods (such as different messages), and this application does not limit this.

[0207] In one possible implementation, the first information is also used to indicate the type of the first reference signal, which includes at least one of the following: SSB, CSI-RS, DMRS, PTRS, PRS, or a sensing reference signal.

[0208] Optionally, the first information includes the aforementioned first indication information, and the first information further includes the aforementioned second indication information and / or third indication information, wherein the third indication information is used to indicate the type of the first reference signal. Any two of the first, second, or third indication information may be sent via the same message or via different methods (such as different messages) to the first communication device; this application does not limit this.

[0209] In one possible implementation, the first information is further used to indicate at least one of the time-frequency resources, transmission mode, or period of the first reference signal. For example, the transmission mode may include one of periodicity, semi-persistence, or aperiodicity; and / or, the transmission mode of the second information is one of periodicity, semi-persistence, or aperiodicity.

[0210] For example, periodic (or periodic transmission) means: repeating once every certain number of time slots, such as repeating transmission once every certain number of time slots; semi-persistent (or semi-persistent transmission) means: continuously transmitting in a periodic manner under specific conditions, such as determining a specific time period based on specific conditions and transmitting periodically within that time period; non-periodic (or non-periodic transmission) means: transmitting irregularly, such as triggering transmission when needed.

[0211] Optionally, the first information includes the aforementioned first indication information, and further includes at least one of the aforementioned second indication information, third indication information, or fourth information. The fourth indication information is used to indicate at least one of the time-frequency resources, transmission mode, or period of the first reference signal. Any two of the first, second, third, or fourth indication information can be sent via the same message or via different methods (such as different messages) to the first communication device; this application does not limit this.

[0212] Step S502: The first communication device performs sensing based on the first information and the first reference signal to obtain the first sensing result.

[0213] For example, if the first communication device determines that the purpose of the first reference signal is sensing based on the first information, then the first communication device performs sensing measurement and obtains the first sensing result.

[0214] In one possible implementation, the first reference signal includes multiple reference signals, and the first communication device can bundle the multiple reference signals for sensing to obtain a first sensing result.

[0215] Optionally, the first communication device may perform bundled sensing of reference signals based on instructions from other communication devices (such as the second communication device), or it may determine to perform bundled sensing of reference signals on its own. This application does not limit this.

[0216] For example, the first information is also used to instruct the bundling of multiple reference signals for sensing.

[0217] Optionally, if the second communication device does not instruct the first communication device to bundle the aforementioned multiple reference signals for sensing, the first communication device may send third information to the second communication device, the third information being used to indicate that the first sensing result is obtained based on the bundling of multiple reference signals for sensing.

[0218] In one possible implementation, the first sensing result includes multipath component information and / or point cloud information; wherein the multipath component information is used to indicate at least one of the following: time delay corresponding to each path, distance corresponding to each path, Doppler difference corresponding to each path, velocity corresponding to each path, angle corresponding to each path, phase corresponding to each path, time delay difference between at least two paths, distance difference between at least two paths, Doppler difference between at least two paths, velocity difference between at least two paths, angle difference between at least two paths, phase difference between at least two paths, or timestamp; the point cloud information is used to indicate at least one of the following: reference coordinate system, coordinate values, point cloud type, acquisition time, or coverage area.

[0219] Optionally, the first perception result is associated with an information type. For example, if the information type includes multipath components, the first perception result may include multipath component information; if the information type includes point clouds, the first perception result may include the aforementioned point cloud information; if the information type includes both multipath components and point clouds, the first perception result may include both the aforementioned multipath component information and the aforementioned point cloud information.

[0220] For example, Figure 5B is a schematic diagram of a sensing measurement process provided by an embodiment of this application. The process includes steps S11 to S14, wherein: Step S11: The first communication device can determine the purpose of the first reference signal based on the first information. For example, the first information may belong to higher-level parameters, and the higher-level parameters may also include RS bundling information, which may include information about the reference signal for RS bundling; Step S12: Determine the configuration information such as the time-frequency resource location and period of the first reference signal. For example, the configuration information may be consistent with the configuration of the communication reference signal or the positioning reference signal, or the configuration information may be used to configure a dedicated sensing reference signal, or the configuration information may be used to indicate RS bundling, that is, to bundle multiple reference signals together for sensing; Step S13: Extract the first reference signal based on the above configuration information, such as extracting the first reference signal from the received signal based on the above configuration information; Step S14: Calculate the sensing result, for example, after extracting the first reference signal, calculate the corresponding parameters, such as time delay, Doppler, or angle, according to the purpose of the first reference signal.

[0221] In this application, the first reference signal can be any one of SSB, CSI-RS, DMRS, PTRS, PRS, or a sensing reference signal.

[0222] In this embodiment of the application, the UE RS receiving behavior can be as shown in Figure 5C. Compared with Figure 3B, a perception-related UE RS receiving behavior has been added (i.e., the bolded part in Figure 5C).

[0223] Step S503: The first communication device sends second information to the second communication device, the second information being used to indicate the first sensing result.

[0224] In one possible implementation, the first sensing result includes multiple second sensing results, each of which corresponds one-to-one with a multiple reference signal; the first sensing result indicated by the second information is obtained by merging the multiple second sensing results; or, the second information is used to indicate the multiple second sensing results.

[0225] In one possible implementation, the second information includes at least one index indicating the first sensing result; or, the second information includes the first sensing result.

[0226] For example, the at least one index mentioned above includes a first index and a second index, the first perception result includes a second perception result, the first index is used to indicate the first table to which the second perception result belongs, and the second index is used to indicate the position of the second perception result in the first table. The first perception result can be the second perception result, or the first perception result includes multiple perception results, and the second perception result is any one of the first perception results.

[0227] In some embodiments of this application, multiple possible sensing results can be predefined through a codebook. The sending and receiving parties (such as the first communication device and the second communication device mentioned above) agree on a codebook table (such as Table 1), and the sensing result can be indicated by instructing the codebook. For example, the codebook instruction can be divided into two layers: the first layer indicates which table to use (such as the first index mentioned above), and the second layer indicates which index in the specific table to use (such as the second index mentioned above). It should be noted that using only one layer of instruction is also feasible, that is, the table is fixed, and only the specific index in the table needs to be indicated.

[0228] For example, if the first communication device and the second communication device determine a codebook through a protocol or negotiation, and the codebook includes multiple tables, including the aforementioned first table, then the first communication device can indicate the sensing results corresponding to the first index and the second index to the second communication device.

[0229] In this application embodiment, the sensing result and / or the above index may also be referred to as sensing measurement or sensing information, and this application does not limit this. For example, sensing measurement may include sensing measurement corresponding to different reference signals, such as SS-sensing measurement, DMRS-sensing measurement, CSI-sensing measurement, PTRS-sensing measurement, and PRS-sensing measurement.

[0230] For example, Figure 5D illustrates a schematic diagram of some sensing measurements. The sensing measurements (or feedback forms of sensing results) corresponding to each reference signal can include at least one of the above-mentioned multipath component information, point cloud information, or codebook. For example, multipath component information includes at least one of the following: delay / range perpath, doppler / velocity perpath, angle perpath, phase perpath, delay difference perpath, range difference perpath, doppler difference perpath, velocity difference perpath, angle difference perpath, phase difference perpath, or timestamp; point cloud includes at least one of the following: reference coordinate system, coordinate values, point cloud type (classification), acquisition time, or coverage area. For example, the coordinate system can be Cartesian or polar coordinates; the point cloud type can include classification information such as vegetation, ground, and vehicles; and the bounding box (or bounding box). The box can include information such as collection time and geographical coverage; the codebook can include table index and codebook index, such as the first index being a table index and the second index being a codebook index.

[0231] In one possible implementation, the first and second communication devices are capable of interaction. For example, the first communication device can send a fourth message to the second communication device, the fourth message indicating that the first communication device supports sensing based on a first reference signal. As another example, the second communication device can send a fifth message to the first communication device, the fifth message indicating that the second communication device supports sensing based on the first reference signal.

[0232] For example, before step S501, the first communication device and the second communication device interact. If the first communication device supports sensing based on the first reference signal, then the second communication device executes step S501. For example, the capability information may include at least one of the following: whether it supports sensing using communication reference signals and / or positioning reference signals; or whether it supports configuring additional communication reference signals for sensing; or whether it supports RS bundling of communication reference signals and / or positioning reference signals.

[0233] The method embodiment shown in Figure 5A above includes many possible implementation schemes. Some of these implementation schemes will be illustrated below with reference to Figures 5E to 12. It should be noted that related concepts, operations or logical relationships not explained in Figures 5E to 12 can be referred to the corresponding descriptions in the embodiment shown in Figure 5A.

[0234] In this application, the embodiments shown in Figures 5E to 12 can be used as a single embodiment, and the embodiments shown in Figures 5E to 12 can all be independent of the technical solution in Figure 5A; some steps in the embodiments shown in Figures 5E to 12 can also be used as a single embodiment.

[0235] For example, the first information mentioned above can be the measurement configuration in the embodiments of this application, the second information (or the first sensing result) mentioned above can be the measurement result or sensing measurement result in the embodiments of this application, the information type mentioned above can be the report information in the embodiments of this application, and the first configuration information mentioned above can be the RS bundling configuration information in the embodiments of this application.

[0236] Figure 5E is a schematic diagram of another communication method provided in an embodiment of this application. The method includes some or all of steps S21 to S26:

[0237] S21: The first communication device and the second communication device exchange capability information.

[0238] For example, capability information may include at least one of the following: whether sensing using communication reference signals and / or positioning reference signals is supported; or whether additional communication reference signals can be configured for sensing; or whether RS ​​bundling of communication reference signals and / or positioning reference signals is supported.

[0239] For example, the fourth information mentioned above can be the capability information mentioned above, such as the fourth information used to indicate whether the first communication device supports sensing using communication reference signals and / or positioning reference signals; and / or whether the first communication device supports additional configuration of more communication reference signals for sensing; and / or whether the first communication device supports RS bundling of communication reference signals and / or positioning reference signals.

[0240] S22: The second communication device sets the measurement configuration according to the measurement task.

[0241] For example, the measurement configuration may include at least one of the following: (1) report information (Report_format), i.e., the structure of the report, such as time delay / distance, Doppler / velocity, angle, or phase, see information type for details; or, (2) reference signal type (RS_type), such as the reference signal used for measurement may include SSB, CSI-RS, DMRS, PTRS, PRS, or Bundled RS (such as SSB and CSI-RS bundled, or SSB and PRS bundled); or, (3) reference signal usage, such as tracking, movement, handover, positioning, or sensing; or, (4) RS bundling configuration information, such as the second communication device (e.g., BS) instructing RS bundling, including whether RS ​​bundling is performed, which RS bundlings are performed together, and whether the subject performing RS bundling is the first communication device (e.g., UE) or the second communication device (e.g., BS).

[0242] Optionally, the measurement configuration may also include any one of the time-frequency resources, transmission mode, or period of the reference signal corresponding to the above-mentioned reference signal type.

[0243] It should be noted that the reference signal used in step S24 may be determined based on the above-mentioned measurement configuration, such as the configuration information of RS bundling; or, the first communication device may also determine on its own whether to execute steps S24 and S26 according to the above-mentioned measurement configuration, that is, the first communication device (such as UE) may also execute the following steps without relying on the measurement configuration of the second communication device (such as BS).

[0244] Optionally, the measurement configuration may also include at least one of the following: (1) measurement object (MO), such as measurement target identifier (Meas_object_id), target cell frequency, or other information; or (2) reporting configuration (RC), such as reporting configuration identifier (report_config_id), event ID, or other information; or (3) measurement identities, such as a list of [MO+RC]; or (4) quantity configuration; or measurement gaps.

[0245] S23: The second communication device sends a reference signal according to the measurement configuration.

[0246] S24: The first communication device performs a measurement operation according to the measurement configuration and obtains the measurement result.

[0247] For example, the measurement operation may include at least one of the following: sensing using a communication reference signal or a positioning reference signal; or sensing using a dedicated RS (such as the sensing reference signal described above); or sensing using a bundled RS.

[0248] S25: The first communication device determines whether the reporting trigger condition is met based on the measurement results.

[0249] Optionally, whether the sensing measurement results need to be reported can depend on the event triggering conditions and the preset reporting strategy.

[0250] For example, the above strategy can be implemented through event-based reporting and periodic reporting. Periodic reporting means reporting measurement results at fixed time intervals; event-based reporting means reporting only when a specific event occurs.

[0251] For example, the reporting of perception measurements may include the following steps: a first communication device (such as a UE / sensing device) performs perception measurements (such as point cloud detection, CSI-RS change, Doppler detection, etc.); compares the measurement results with preset trigger conditions (such as signal change, target appearance, threshold exceeding limit, etc.); if the trigger conditions are met, the perception results are reported; the gNB / server receives the reported data and makes corresponding decisions (such as adjusting the beam, optimizing scheduling, and issuing V2X warnings, etc.).

[0252] For example, event triggering can include the following types of triggering conditions:

[0253] (1) Signal change event (Event A). The triggering condition can be: if a reference signal (such as CSI-RS, SSB, PRS) changes significantly, then a report is triggered.

[0254] For example, application scenarios could include: beam management scenarios, such as changes in CSI-RS signal quality affecting UE beam selection; or target detection scenarios, such as wireless sensing detecting a new target or a target disappearing, triggering a report.

[0255] For example, when a UE monitors the CSI-RS signal strength (such as changes in RSRP / SNR), if the CSI-RS quality drops below a threshold (such as 3dB), event A is triggered. The UE reports this to the gNB, which may then readjust the beam or scheduling strategy.

[0256] (2) Target detection event (Event B). The triggering conditions can be: a new target enters the perception range, or an existing target disappears.

[0257] Examples of application scenarios could include: vehicle detection (V2X) scenarios, such as detecting a new vehicle entering an intersection and triggering an alert; or security monitoring scenarios, such as detecting unauthorized personnel entering a warehouse.

[0258] For example, the first communication device scans the sensing range (such as point cloud, millimeter-wave radar); if a new target is detected, event B is triggered, and the first communication device reports the target information (position, speed, category, etc.) to the server / gNB.

[0259] (3) Speed / trajectory change event (Event C). The triggering condition can be: a significant change in the target speed or trajectory.

[0260] For example, application scenarios could include: traffic monitoring scenarios, such as detecting a vehicle braking suddenly or changing lanes, triggering a V2X report; or drone monitoring scenarios, such as a drone deviating from its set trajectory, triggering an alarm.

[0261] For example, the first communication device detects the target's motion trajectory (e.g., through CSI-RS Doppler analysis). If the speed change exceeds a set threshold (e.g., acceleration > 5 m / s²), event C is triggered, and the first communication device reports the speed change. The server may adjust the path or issue a warning.

[0262] (4) Signal obstruction event (Event D). The triggering conditions can be: communication link is blocked, signal quality degrades.

[0263] For example, application scenarios may include: 5G beam tracking scenarios, such as when a UE detects that a millimeter wave (mmWave) signal is blocked and triggers a report; and IoT monitoring scenarios, such as in an industrial environment where the signal is obstructed due to changes in obstacles.

[0264] For example, if the UE detects a decrease in CSI-RS signal strength and the signal attenuation exceeds a preset threshold (e.g., RSRP decreases by 6dB), event D is triggered. The UE reports to the gNB, which can then adjust the beam direction or switch to the Sub-6 GHz band.

[0265] (5) Error accumulation exceeding the limit event (Event E). The triggering condition can be: the accumulated error of the perceived data exceeds the acceptable range.

[0266] For example, application scenarios may include: 5G-Advanced precision positioning scenarios, such as triggering a report when the PRS estimation error exceeds the standard; and robot SLAM scenarios, such as reporting to the server for correction when the ranging error exceeds a set threshold.

[0267] For example, the first communication device monitors the TOA error calculated by PRS. If the error continues to exceed the set value (e.g., >10cm), event E is triggered, and the first communication device reports the error information. The server can then trigger additional measurements or map corrections.

[0268] It should be noted that the above event triggering conditions can all be used in perception mode.

[0269] The following is an example of vehicle detection (V2X perception) reporting. Vehicle perception events are Event B and Event C. The triggering conditions are Event B (new target enters the perception range), such as detecting a new vehicle entering an intersection through point cloud, and Event C (abnormal change in target speed), such as detecting a sudden acceleration of a vehicle (e.g., acceleration > 5 m / s²) through Doppler shift calculated by CSI-RS.

[0270] For example, the perception reporting process may include: a first communication device (e.g., vehicle A) monitors CSI-RS, detects vehicle B entering the perception range, and detects a sudden change in vehicle B's speed. Vehicle A determines that the reporting conditions are met (i.e., a new target enters the perception range and the target's speed changes abnormally), triggering Event B or Event C. Vehicle A reports information to the base station / server, such as target ID, location, speed, and direction. The server processes the reported information and notifies other V2X devices to take appropriate measures (e.g., braking warning, path planning).

[0271] S26: When the reporting trigger condition is met, the first communication device reports the measurement result.

[0272] Optionally, if the first communication device decides whether to perform RS bundling, the first communication device may also report which RS bundling results were obtained based on.

[0273] For example, the specific content of the measurement results includes distance, speed, angle, intensity, etc. For examples, please refer to the relevant content of the first perception results above, which will not be repeated here.

[0274] For example, the first communication device may also report communication measurement results.

[0275] Optionally, the first communication device (such as the UE) may send the measurement results to the second communication device (such as the BS) and / or the first node (such as the SF).

[0276] In some embodiments of this application, the above measurement configuration can also be configured by the first node and sent to the first communication device. That is to say, the execution subject of the above step S22 can be the first node.

[0277] It should be noted that Figures 6 to 12 below illustrate the measurement configuration set by the second communication device as an example; in some embodiments of this application, the measurement configuration may also be set by the first node and / or sent by the first node to the first communication device; furthermore, the first communication device may report the measurement results to the first node.

[0278] Figure 6 is a flowchart illustrating another communication method provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0279] As shown in Figure 6, the method may include some or all of the following steps:

[0280] S601: The first communication device and the second communication device exchange capability information.

[0281] For example, the specific content of the capability information can be found in step S21, and will not be repeated here.

[0282] S602: The second communication device sets the measurement configuration according to the measurement task.

[0283] For example, the measurement configuration may include at least one of the following: (1) reporting information, such as time delay / distance, Doppler / velocity, angle, or phase, as detailed in the information type; or (2) a reference signal type, such as that used for measurement.

[0284] Optionally, the measurement configuration of the second communication device may also include MO and RO, as detailed in the relevant description of step S22 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0285] S603: The second communication device sends an SSB according to the measurement configuration.

[0286] S604: The first communication device performs a measurement operation according to the measurement configuration and obtains the measurement result.

[0287] For example, the first communication device may perform beam scanning using SSB, and / or perform sensing using SSB, depending on the measurement configuration.

[0288] S605: The first communication device determines whether the reporting trigger condition is met based on the measurement results.

[0289] For example, the implementation of step S605 can be found in step S25, which will not be repeated here.

[0290] S606: When the reporting trigger condition is met, the first communication device reports the measurement result.

[0291] Optionally, the measurement results may include sensing measurement results and / or communication measurement results.

[0292] For example, the first communication device can report the sensing measurement results, such as distance, speed, angle, intensity, and point cloud, when it determines that the measurement results meet the reporting trigger conditions. Optionally, the sensing measurement results can be the aforementioned first sensing results or second information. For examples, please refer to the relevant descriptions of the first sensing results and second information above, as well as the relevant content in Figure 5D.

[0293] Optionally, the first communication device may also report communication measurement results, which may include RSRP, RSRQ, SINR, etc., for example.

[0294] Figure 7 is a flowchart illustrating another communication method provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0295] As shown in Figure 7, the method may include some or all of the following steps:

[0296] S701: The first communication device and the second communication device exchange capability information.

[0297] For example, the specific content of the capability information can be found in step S21, and will not be repeated here.

[0298] S702: The second communication device sets the measurement configuration according to the measurement task.

[0299] For example, the measurement configuration may include at least one of the following: (1) reporting information, such as time delay / distance, Doppler / velocity, angle, or phase, as detailed in the information type; or, (2) a reference signal type, such as a CSI-RS reference signal used for measurement; or, (3) a reference signal used for beam tracking and / or sensing.

[0300] Optionally, the measurement configuration of the second communication device may also include MO and RO, as detailed in the relevant description of step S22 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0301] S703: The second communication device sends CSI-RS according to the measurement configuration.

[0302] S704: The first communication device performs a measurement operation according to the measurement configuration and obtains the measurement result.

[0303] For example, the first communication device may perform beam tracking using CSI-RS, and / or perform sensing using CSI-RS, depending on the measurement configuration.

[0304] S705: The first communication device determines whether the reporting trigger condition is met based on the measurement results.

[0305] For example, the implementation of step S705 can be found in step S25, which will not be repeated here.

[0306] S706: When the reporting trigger condition is met, the first communication device reports the measurement result.

[0307] For example, the first communication device can report the sensing measurement results, such as distance, speed, angle, intensity, and point cloud, when it determines that the measurement results meet the reporting trigger conditions. Optionally, the sensing measurement results can be the aforementioned first sensing results or second information. For examples, please refer to the relevant descriptions of the first sensing results and second information above, as well as the relevant content in Figure 5D.

[0308] Optionally, the first communication device may also report communication measurement results, which may include RSRP, RSRQ, SINR, etc., for example.

[0309] Figure 8 is a flowchart illustrating another communication method provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0310] As shown in Figure 8, the method may include some or all of the following steps:

[0311] S801: The first communication device and the second communication device exchange capability information.

[0312] For example, the specific content of the capability information can be found in step S21, and will not be repeated here.

[0313] S802: The second communication device sets the measurement configuration according to the measurement task.

[0314] For example, the measurement configuration may include at least one of the following: (1) reporting information, such as time delay / distance, Doppler / velocity, angle, or phase, as detailed in the information type; or, (2) a reference signal type, such as a PRS for the reference signal used in the measurement; or, (3) a reference signal used for positioning and / or sensing.

[0315] Optionally, the measurement configuration of the second communication device may also include MO and RO, as detailed in the relevant description of step S22 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0316] S803: The second communication device sends PRS according to the measurement configuration.

[0317] S804: The first communication device performs a measurement operation according to the measurement configuration and obtains the measurement result.

[0318] For example, the first communication device may perform beam tracking using PRS, and / or perform sensing using PRS, depending on the measurement configuration.

[0319] S805: The first communication device determines whether the reporting trigger condition is met based on the measurement results.

[0320] For example, the implementation of step S805 can be found in step S25, which will not be repeated here.

[0321] S806: When the reporting trigger condition is met, the first communication device reports the measurement result.

[0322] For example, the first communication device can report the sensing measurement results, such as distance, speed, angle, intensity, and point cloud, when it determines that the measurement results meet the reporting trigger conditions. Optionally, the sensing measurement results can be the aforementioned first sensing results or second information. For examples, please refer to the relevant descriptions of the first sensing results and second information above, as well as the relevant content in Figure 5D.

[0323] Optionally, the first communication device may also report communication measurement results, which may include RSRP, RSRQ, SINR, etc., for example.

[0324] Figure 9 is a flowchart illustrating another communication method provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0325] As shown in Figure 9, the method may include some or all of the following steps:

[0326] S901: The first communication device and the second communication device exchange capability information.

[0327] For example, the specific content of the capability information can be found in step S21, and will not be repeated here.

[0328] S902: The second communication device sets the measurement configuration according to the measurement task.

[0329] For example, the measurement configuration may include at least one of the following: (1) reporting information, such as time delay / distance, Doppler / velocity, angle, or phase, as detailed in the information type; or, (2) a reference signal type, such as a PTRS reference signal used for measurement; or, (3) a reference signal used for phase tracking and / or sensing.

[0330] Optionally, the measurement configuration of the second communication device may also include MO and RO, as detailed in the relevant description of step S22 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0331] S903: The second communication device sends PTRS according to the measurement configuration.

[0332] S904: The first communication device performs a measurement operation according to the measurement configuration and obtains the measurement result.

[0333] For example, the first communication device may, depending on the measurement configuration, use PTRS for phase tracking; and / or, use PTRS for sensing.

[0334] S905: The first communication device determines whether the reporting trigger condition is met based on the measurement results.

[0335] For example, the implementation of step S905 can be found in step S25, which will not be repeated here.

[0336] S906: When the reporting trigger condition is met, the first communication device reports the measurement result.

[0337] For example, the first communication device can report the sensing measurement results, such as distance, speed, angle, intensity, and point cloud, when it determines that the measurement results meet the reporting trigger conditions. Optionally, the sensing measurement results can be the aforementioned first sensing results or second information. For examples, please refer to the relevant descriptions of the first sensing results and second information above, as well as the relevant content in Figure 5D.

[0338] Figure 10 is a flowchart illustrating another communication method provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0339] As shown in Figure 10, the method may include some or all of the following steps:

[0340] S1001: The first communication device and the second communication device exchange capability information.

[0341] For example, the specific content of the capability information can be found in step S21, and will not be repeated here.

[0342] S1002: The second communication device sets the measurement configuration according to the measurement task.

[0343] For example, the measurement configuration may include at least one of the following: (1) reporting information, such as time delay / distance, Doppler / velocity, angle, or phase, as detailed in the information type; or (2) a reference signal type, such as a DMRS for the measurement; or (3) a reference signal used for data demodulation and / or sensing.

[0344] Optionally, the measurement configuration of the second communication device may also include MO and RO, as detailed in the relevant description of step S22 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0345] S1003: The second communication device sends DMRS according to the measurement configuration.

[0346] S1004: The first communication device performs a measurement operation according to the measurement configuration and obtains the measurement result.

[0347] For example, the first communication device may, depending on the measurement configuration, use DMRS for data demodulation; and / or, use DMRS for sensing.

[0348] S1005: The first communication device determines whether the reporting trigger condition is met based on the measurement results.

[0349] For example, the implementation of step S1005 can be found in step S25, which will not be repeated here.

[0350] S1006: When the reporting trigger condition is met, the first communication device reports the measurement result.

[0351] For example, the first communication device can report the sensing measurement results, such as distance, speed, angle, intensity, and point cloud, when it determines that the measurement results meet the reporting trigger conditions. Optionally, the sensing measurement results can be the aforementioned first sensing results or second information. For examples, please refer to the relevant descriptions of the first sensing results and second information above, as well as the relevant content in Figure 5D.

[0352] Figure 11 is a flowchart illustrating another communication method provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0353] As shown in Figure 11, the method may include some or all of the following steps:

[0354] S1101: The first communication device and the second communication device exchange capability information.

[0355] For example, the specific content of the capability information can be found in step S21, and will not be repeated here.

[0356] S1102: The second communication device sets the measurement configuration according to the measurement task.

[0357] For example, the measurement configuration may include at least one of the following: (1) reporting information, such as time delay / distance, Doppler / velocity, angle, or phase, see Information Type; or, (2) reference signal type, such as a dedicated sensing RS (or simply sensing reference signal) used for measurement; or, (3) the reference signal is used for sensing.

[0358] Optionally, the measurement configuration of the second communication device may also include MO and RO, as detailed in the relevant description of step S22 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0359] S1103: The second communication device sends a sensing reference signal according to the measurement configuration.

[0360] S1104: The first communication device performs a measurement operation according to the measurement configuration and obtains the measurement result.

[0361] For example, the first communication device can perform sensing using a sensing reference signal, depending on the measurement configuration.

[0362] S1105: The first communication device determines whether the reporting trigger condition is met based on the measurement results.

[0363] For example, the implementation of step S1105 can be found in step S25, which will not be repeated here.

[0364] S1106: When the reporting trigger condition is met, the first communication device reports the measurement result.

[0365] For example, the first communication device can report the sensing measurement results, such as distance, speed, angle, intensity, and point cloud, when it determines that the measurement results meet the reporting trigger conditions. Optionally, the sensing measurement results can be the aforementioned first sensing results or second information. For examples, please refer to the relevant descriptions of the first sensing results and second information above, as well as the relevant content in Figure 5D.

[0366] Figure 12 is a flowchart illustrating another communication method provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0367] As shown in Figure 12, the method may include some or all of the following steps:

[0368] S1201: The first communication device and the second communication device exchange capability information.

[0369] For example, the specific content of the capability information can be found in step S21, and will not be repeated here.

[0370] S1202: The second communication device sets the measurement configuration according to the measurement task.

[0371] For example, the measurement configuration may include at least one of the following: (1) reporting information, such as time delay / distance, Doppler / velocity, angle, or phase, as detailed in the information type; or (2) a reference signal type, such as reference signal 1 and reference signal 2 used for the measurement; or (3) the reference signal is used for beam measurement and / or sensing. For example, reference signal 1 and reference signal 2 are at least two of SSB, CSI-RS, DMRS, PTRS, PRS, or sensing reference signals, such as reference signal 1 and reference signal 2 being SSB and CSI-RS, respectively.

[0372] Optionally, the measurement configuration may also include: a second communication device (such as a BS) instructing RS bundling, and the subject performing RS bundling is the UE.

[0373] Optionally, the measurement configuration of the second communication device may also include MO and RO, as detailed in the relevant description of step S22 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0374] S1203: The second communication device sends multiple reference signals according to the measurement configuration.

[0375] For example, multiple reference signals include the aforementioned reference signal 1 and reference signal 2, such as SSB and CSI-RS.

[0376] S1204: The first communication device performs a measurement operation according to the measurement configuration and obtains the measurement result.

[0377] For example, if reference signal 1 and reference signal 2 are SSB and CSI-RS respectively, then the first communication device can use SSB and CSI-RS for sensing according to the measurement configuration.

[0378] Optionally, the first communication device may use SSB for beam scanning; or use CSI-RS for beam tracking; or use SSB for sensing.

[0379] S1205: The first communication device determines whether the reporting trigger condition is met based on the measurement results.

[0380] For example, the implementation of step S1205 can be found in step S25, which will not be repeated here.

[0381] S1206: When the reporting trigger condition is met, the first communication device reports the measurement result.

[0382] In one implementation, the above measurement configuration does not include a second communication device (such as a BS) instructing RS bundling. If the second communication device (such as a UE) decides on whether to perform RS bundling, it needs to report which RS bundling the measurement results are based on.

[0383] In one implementation, the second communication device (such as the UE) feeds back the measurement results of the bundled RSs separately, and the second communication device (such as the BS) merges them and feeds back the sensing measurement results corresponding to multiple RSs separately.

[0384] In another implementation, the first communication device can report the sensing measurement results obtained by merging multiple RSs. For example, if the second communication device (such as the UE) has stronger capabilities, it can directly merge the results of multiple RSs and feed back the merged result. For example, the sensing measurement result is obtained by merging SSB and CSI-RS.

[0385] For example, the first communication device can report the sensing measurement results, such as distance, speed, angle, intensity, and point cloud, when it determines that the measurement results meet the reporting trigger conditions. Optionally, the sensing measurement results can be the aforementioned first sensing results or second information. For examples, please refer to the relevant descriptions of the first sensing results and second information above, as well as the relevant content in Figure 5D.

[0386] The foregoing details the method provided in this application. To facilitate the implementation of the above-described solutions in the embodiments of this application, corresponding apparatus or devices are also provided in the embodiments of this application.

[0387] This application divides the first and second communication devices into functional modules according to the above method embodiments. For example, each function can be divided into its own functional modules, or two or more functions can be integrated into one processing module. The integrated modules can be implemented in hardware or as software functional modules. It should be noted that the module division in this application is illustrative and only represents one logical functional division; other division methods may be used in actual implementation. The communication devices of the embodiments of this application will be described in detail below with reference to Figures 13 to 15.

[0388] Referring to Figure 13, which is a schematic diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application, the communication device may include a transceiver unit 1301 and a processing unit 1302.

[0389] In some embodiments of this application, the communication device may be the first communication device shown above or a chip or circuit disposed in the first communication device. That is, the communication device may be used to perform the steps or functions performed by the first communication device in the method embodiments described above.

[0390] In one design, transceiver unit 1301 is configured to: receive first information and a first reference signal, wherein the first information is used to indicate that the first reference signal is used for sensing; processing unit 1302 is configured to: perform sensing based on the first information and the first reference signal to obtain a first sensing result; and transceiver unit 1301 is configured to: send second information, wherein the second information is used to indicate the first sensing result.

[0391] In one possible implementation, the first information is also used to indicate that the first reference signal is also used for at least one of the following: channel estimation, tracking, movement, scanning, switching, or positioning.

[0392] In one possible implementation, the first information is further used to indicate the information type, and the type of the first sensing result is associated with the information type; the information type includes at least one of the following: multipath components or point cloud, wherein the multipath components include at least one of time delay, distance, Doppler, velocity, angle, phase, or timestamp, and the point cloud includes one or more of reference coordinate system, coordinate values, point cloud type, acquisition time, or coverage area; or, the information type includes at least one of the following: time delay, distance, Doppler, velocity, angle, phase, timestamp, reference coordinate system, coordinate values, point cloud type, acquisition time, or coverage area.

[0393] In one possible implementation, the first reference signal includes multiple reference signals, and the processing unit 1302 is specifically used to: bundle the multiple reference signals for sensing to obtain a first sensing result.

[0394] In one possible implementation, the first information is also used to instruct the bundling of multiple reference signals for sensing.

[0395] In one possible implementation, the transceiver unit 1301 is used to: send third information, the third information being used to indicate that the first sensing result was obtained based on the binding of multiple reference signals.

[0396] In one possible implementation, the first sensing result includes multiple second sensing results, each of which corresponds one-to-one with a multiple reference signal; the first sensing result indicated by the second information is obtained by merging the multiple second sensing results; or, the second information is used to indicate the multiple second sensing results.

[0397] In one possible implementation, the first sensing result includes multipath component information and / or point cloud information; wherein the multipath component information is used to indicate at least one of the following: time delay corresponding to each path, distance corresponding to each path, Doppler difference corresponding to each path, velocity corresponding to each path, angle corresponding to each path, phase corresponding to each path, time delay difference between at least two paths, distance difference between at least two paths, Doppler difference between at least two paths, velocity difference between at least two paths, angle difference between at least two paths, phase difference between at least two paths, or timestamp; the point cloud information is used to indicate at least one of the following: reference coordinate system, coordinate values, point cloud type, acquisition time, or coverage area.

[0398] In one possible implementation, the first information is also used to indicate the type of the first reference signal, which includes at least one of the following: SSB, CSI-RS, DMRS, PTRS, PRS, or a sensing reference signal.

[0399] In one possible implementation, the transceiver unit 1301 is configured to: transmit fourth information, the fourth information being used to instruct the first communication device to support sensing based on the first reference signal.

[0400] In one possible implementation, the second information includes at least one index indicating the first sensing result; or, the second information includes the first sensing result.

[0401] In one possible implementation, at least one index includes a first index and a second index, the first sensing result includes the second sensing result, the first index is used to indicate the first table to which the second sensing result belongs, and the second index is used to indicate the position of the second sensing result in the first table.

[0402] In one possible implementation, the first information is further used to indicate at least one of the time-frequency resources, transmission mode, or period of the first reference signal; and / or, the transmission mode of the second information is one of periodic, semi-persistent, or aperiodic.

[0403] Specific details in the embodiments of this application can be exemplarily referred to in the method embodiments shown in Figures 5A to 12 above, and will not be described in detail here.

[0404] It is understood that the specific descriptions of the transceiver unit 1301 and processing unit 1302 shown in the embodiments of this application are merely examples. For the specific functions or execution steps of the transceiver unit 1301 and processing unit 1302, please refer to the method embodiments shown in Figures 5A to 12 above, which will not be described in detail here. In addition, the technical effects of the embodiments of this application are the same as those in the method embodiments shown in Figures 5A to 12 above, and will not be repeated here for the sake of brevity.

[0405] Reusing Figure 13, in some embodiments of this application, the communication device may be the second communication device shown above, or a chip or circuit disposed in the second communication device. That is, the communication device may be used to perform the steps or functions performed by the second communication device in the method embodiments above.

[0406] In one design, the transceiver unit 1301 is used to: transmit first information and a first reference signal, the first information being used to indicate that the first reference signal is used for sensing; and receive second information, the second information being used to indicate a first sensing result, the first sensing result being obtained based on the first reference signal and the first information.

[0407] In one possible implementation, the first reference signal includes multiple reference signals, and the first sensing result is obtained by sensing multiple reference signals bundled together.

[0408] In one possible implementation, the first information is also used to instruct the bundling of multiple reference signals for sensing.

[0409] In one possible implementation, the transceiver unit 1301 is further configured to: receive third information, the third information being used to indicate that the first sensing result was obtained based on the binding of multiple reference signals.

[0410] In one possible implementation, the transceiver unit 1301 is further configured to: send first configuration information, the first configuration information being used to bundle multiple reference signals for sensing.

[0411] In one possible implementation, the first sensing result includes multiple second sensing results, each of which corresponds one-to-one with a multiple reference signal; the first sensing result indicated by the first information is obtained by merging multiple second sensing results; or, the first information is used to indicate multiple second sensing results.

[0412] In one possible implementation, the first information is used to indicate multiple second perception results, and the processing unit 1302 is further used to: merge the multiple second perception results to obtain the first perception result.

[0413] In one possible implementation, the transceiver unit 1301 is further configured to: acquire fourth information, the fourth information being used to indicate that the first communication device supports sensing based on the first reference signal.

[0414] In one possible implementation, the first information is also used to indicate that the first reference signal is also used for at least one of the following: channel estimation, tracking, movement, scanning, switching, or positioning.

[0415] In one possible implementation, the first information is further used to indicate the information type, and the type of the first sensing result is associated with the information type; the information type includes at least one of the following: multipath components or point cloud, wherein the multipath components include at least one of time delay, distance, Doppler, velocity, angle, phase, or timestamp, and the point cloud includes one or more of reference coordinate system, coordinate values, point cloud type, acquisition time, or coverage area; or, the information type includes at least one of the following: time delay, distance, Doppler, velocity, angle, phase, timestamp, reference coordinate system, coordinate values, point cloud type, acquisition time, or coverage area.

[0416] In one possible implementation, the first sensing result includes multipath component information and / or point cloud information; wherein the multipath component information is used to indicate at least one of the following: time delay corresponding to each path, distance corresponding to each path, Doppler difference corresponding to each path, velocity corresponding to each path, angle corresponding to each path, phase corresponding to each path, time delay difference between at least two paths, distance difference between at least two paths, Doppler difference between at least two paths, velocity difference between at least two paths, angle difference between at least two paths, phase difference between at least two paths, or timestamp; the point cloud information is used to indicate at least one of the following: reference coordinate system, coordinate values, point cloud type, acquisition time, or coverage area.

[0417] In one possible implementation, the first information is also used to indicate the type of the first reference signal, which includes at least one of the following: SSB, CSI-RS, DMRS, PTRS, PRS, or a sensing reference signal.

[0418] In one possible implementation, the second information includes at least one index indicating the first sensing result; or, the second information includes the first sensing result.

[0419] In one possible implementation, at least one index includes a first index and a second index, the first sensing result includes the second sensing result, the first index is used to indicate the first table to which the second sensing result belongs, and the second index is used to indicate the position of the second sensing result in the first table.

[0420] In one possible implementation, the first information is further used to indicate at least one of the time-frequency resources, transmission mode, or period of the first reference signal; and / or, the transmission mode of the second information is one of periodic, semi-persistent, or aperiodic.

[0421] Specific details in the embodiments of this application can be exemplarily referred to in the method embodiments shown in Figures 5A to 12 above, and will not be described in detail here.

[0422] It is understood that the specific descriptions of the transceiver unit 1301 and processing unit 1302 shown in the embodiments of this application are merely examples. For the specific functions or execution steps of the transceiver unit 1301 and processing unit 1302, please refer to the method embodiment shown in FIG13 above, which will not be described in detail here. In addition, the technical effects of the embodiments of this application are the same as those in the method embodiment shown in FIG13 above, which will not be repeated here for the sake of brevity.

[0423] In another possible implementation, in the communication device shown in FIG13, the processing unit 1302 can be one or more logic circuits, and the transceiver unit 1301 can be an input / output interface, or a communication interface, or an interface circuit, or an interface, etc. Alternatively, the transceiver unit 1301 can also be a transmitting unit and a receiving unit, where the transmitting unit can be an output interface and the receiving unit can be an input interface, and the transmitting unit and the receiving unit are integrated into one unit, such as an input / output interface.

[0424] The first and second communication devices according to embodiments of this application have been described above. The following describes possible product forms of the first and second communication devices. It should be understood that any product possessing the functions of the second or first communication device described in FIG. 13 falls within the protection scope of the embodiments of this application. It should also be understood that the following description is merely illustrative and does not limit the product forms of the communication devices according to the embodiments of this application to these examples.

[0425] In one possible implementation, in the communication device shown in FIG13, the processing unit 1302 can be a processing circuit, and the transceiver unit 1301 can be a communication circuit. The processing circuit can be one or more processors, or all or part of the control or processing circuitry within one or more processors. When the communication device is a second or first communication device, the communication circuit can be a transceiver circuit, which can be a transceiver. When the communication device is a chip or chip system, the communication circuit can be an interface circuit. When the communication device is a server, the communication circuit can be an interface circuit or a transceiver circuit. The transceiver unit 1301 can also be a sending unit and / or a receiving unit. The sending unit can be a sending circuit, and the receiving unit can be a receiving circuit, integrated into a single device. In this embodiment, the processing circuit and the communication circuit can be coupled, etc., and the connection method between the processing circuit and the communication circuit is not limited in this embodiment. During the execution of the above method, the process of sending information in the above method can be understood as the process of the processing circuit outputting the above information. When outputting the above information, the processing circuit outputs the above information to the communication circuit for transmission by the communication circuit. After the aforementioned information is output by the processing circuit, it may require further processing before reaching the communication circuit. Similarly, the process of receiving information in the above method can be understood as the process by which the processing circuit receives the input information. When the processing circuit receives the input information, the communication circuit receives the information and inputs it into the processing circuit. Furthermore, after the communication circuit receives the aforementioned information, it may require further processing before being input into the processing circuit. In one possible implementation, in the communication device shown in FIG13, the processing unit 1302 may be one or more processors, and the transceiver unit 1301 may be a transceiver, or the transceiver unit 1301 may also be a transmitting unit and / or a receiving unit. The transmitting unit may be a transmitter, and the receiving unit may be a receiver, which are integrated into one device, such as a transceiver. In the embodiments of this application, the processor and the transceiver may be coupled, etc., and the connection method of the processor and the transceiver is not limited in the embodiments of this application. During the execution of the above method, the process of sending information in the above method can be understood as the process by which the processor outputs the aforementioned information. When outputting the aforementioned information, the processor sends it to the transceiver for transmission. After being output by the processor, the information may undergo further processing before reaching the transceiver. Similarly, the process of receiving information in the above method can be understood as the processor receiving the input information. When the processor receives input information, the transceiver receives the information and inputs it to the processor. Furthermore, after the transceiver receives the information, it may undergo further processing before being input to the processor.

[0426] Referring to Figure 14, which is another structural schematic diagram of the communication device provided in an embodiment of this application, the communication device provided in this application can be used to implement the methods described in the above method embodiments, as can be seen from the description in the above method embodiments. The communication device can be a second communication device, a first communication device, or a chip. Exemplarily, the communication device includes one or more processors 1401. The communication device may further include a memory 1403. Optionally, the communication device may further include a transceiver 1402. In one implementation, the communication device also includes an input / output device (not shown in Figure 14).

[0427] The processor 1401 is mainly used to process communication protocols and communication data, control the entire communication device, execute software programs, and process the data of the software programs. The memory 1403 is mainly used to store software programs and data. The transceiver 1402 may include control circuitry and an antenna. The control circuitry is mainly used for converting baseband signals to radio frequency signals and processing radio frequency signals. The antenna is mainly used for transmitting and receiving radio frequency signals in the form of electromagnetic waves. Input / output devices, such as touchscreens, displays, and keyboards, are mainly used to receive user input data and output data to the user.

[0428] When the communication device is powered on, the processor 1401 can read the software program in the memory 1403, interpret and execute the instructions of the software program, and process the data of the software program. When data needs to be transmitted wirelessly, the processor 1401 performs baseband processing on the data to be transmitted and outputs the baseband signal to the radio frequency (RF) circuit. The RF circuit processes the baseband signal and transmits the RF signal outward in the form of electromagnetic waves through the antenna. When data is sent to the communication device, the RF circuit receives the RF signal through the antenna, converts the RF signal into a baseband signal, and outputs the baseband signal to the processor 1401. The processor 1401 converts the baseband signal into data and processes the data.

[0429] In another implementation, the radio frequency circuitry and antenna can be set up independently of the processor performing baseband processing. For example, in a distributed scenario, the radio frequency circuitry and antenna can be arranged remotely, independent of the communication device.

[0430] The processor 1401, transceiver 1402, and memory 1403 can be connected via a communication bus.

[0431] For example, when the communication device is used to perform the steps, methods or functions performed by the first communication device in the embodiment shown in FIG5A, the transceiver 1402 can be used to perform steps S501 and S503 in FIG5A, and the processor 1401 can be used to perform step S502.

[0432] For example, when the communication device is used to perform the steps, methods or functions performed by the second communication device in the embodiment shown in FIG5A, the transceiver 1402 can be used to perform steps S501 and S503 in FIG5A, and the processor 1401 can be used to perform the process of the technology described herein.

[0433] In any of the above implementations, the processor 1401 may include a transceiver for implementing receiving and transmitting functions. For example, the transceiver may be a transceiver circuit, an interface, or an interface circuit. The transceiver circuit, interface, or interface circuit for implementing receiving and transmitting functions may be separate or integrated. The aforementioned transceiver circuit, interface, or interface circuit may be used for reading and writing code / data, or it may be used for transmitting or relaying signals.

[0434] In any of the above implementations, the processor 1401 may store instructions, which may be computer programs. These computer programs, running on the processor 1401, cause the communication device to execute the methods described in the above method embodiments. The computer program may be embedded in the processor 1401; in this case, the processor 1401 may be implemented in hardware.

[0435] In one implementation, the communication device may include circuitry capable of performing the functions of transmitting, receiving, or communicating as described in the foregoing method embodiments. The processor and transceiver described in this application can be implemented on integrated circuits (ICs), analog ICs, radio frequency integrated circuits (RFICs), mixed-signal ICs, application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), printed circuit boards (PCBs), electronic devices, etc. The processor and transceiver can also be manufactured using various IC process technologies, such as complementary metal oxide semiconductors (CMOS), n-metal-oxide-semiconductor (NMOS), positive channel metal oxide semiconductors (PMOS), bipolar junction transistors (BJTs), bipolar CMOS (BiCMOS), silicon germanium (SiGe), gallium arsenide (GaAs), etc.

[0436] It is understood that the communication device shown in the embodiments of this application may have more components than those in Figure 14, and the embodiments of this application do not limit this. The methods executed by the processor and transceiver shown above are merely examples, and the specific steps executed by the processor and transceiver can be referred to the description of the method embodiments above.

[0437] In another possible implementation, the communication device provided in this application embodiment may include one or more processors and a memory. The processor executes a program stored in the memory, and when the program is executed, the method embodiment described above is performed. Exemplarily, the processor and memory may also be integrated into a single device, i.e., the processor and memory may be integrated together. For further details regarding the processor and memory, please refer to the relevant content of processor 1401 and memory 1403 in Figure 14.

[0438] Referring to Figure 15, which is another structural schematic diagram of the communication device provided in an embodiment of this application, the communication device shown in Figure 15 includes a logic circuit 1501 and an interface 1502. That is, the processing unit described above can be implemented using the logic circuit 1501, and the transceiver unit 1301 can be implemented using the interface 1502. The logic circuit 1501 can be a chip, processing circuit, integrated circuit, or system-on-chip (SoC) chip, etc., and the interface 1502 can be a communication interface, input / output interface, pins, etc. For example, Figure 15 illustrates the communication device as a chip, which includes the logic circuit 1501 and the interface 1502.

[0439] In this embodiment, the logic circuit and the interface can also be coupled to each other. The specific connection method between the logic circuit and the interface is not limited in this embodiment.

[0440] For example, when the communication device is used to perform the steps, methods, or functions performed by the second communication device in the method embodiment shown in FIG5A above, the interface 1502 is used to transmit first information, second information, and a first reference signal.

[0441] For example, when the communication device is used to perform the steps, methods, or functions performed by the first communication device in the method embodiment shown in FIG5A above, the interface 1502 is used to transmit first information, second information, and a first reference signal.

[0442] In this embodiment, the descriptions of the first information, the second information, and the first reference signal, etc., can be found in the description of the method embodiment shown in Figure 5A above, and will not be detailed here. It is understood that specific descriptions of the logic circuit 1501 and the interface 1502 can also be found in the descriptions of the processing unit and transceiver unit shown in Figure 13, and will not be repeated here.

[0443] It is understood that the communication device shown in the embodiments of this application can implement the method provided in the embodiments of this application in hardware form or in software form, etc., and the embodiments of this application do not limit it in this way.

[0444] For specific implementation methods of the various embodiments shown in Figure 15, please refer to the above embodiments, which will not be described in detail here.

[0445] This application also provides a communication system, which includes a first communication device and a second communication device. The first communication device and the second communication device can be used to execute the methods in any of the foregoing method embodiments (Figures 5A to 12).

[0446] In addition, this application also provides a computer program for implementing the operations and / or processes performed by a communication device (such as the first and second communication devices described above) in the method provided in this application.

[0447] This application also provides a computer-readable storage medium storing computer code that, when executed on a computer, causes the computer to perform the operations and / or processes performed by communication devices (such as the first and second communication devices described above) in the method provided in this application.

[0448] This application also provides a computer program product, which includes computer code or a computer program that, when run on a computer, causes the operations and / or processes performed by communication devices (such as the first and second communication devices described above) in the method provided in this application to be executed.

[0449] In the embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, apparatuses, and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the apparatus embodiments described above are merely illustrative. For instance, the division of units is only a logical functional division, and in actual implementation, there may be other division methods. For example, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored or not executed. In addition, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed may be an indirect coupling or communication connection through some interfaces, devices, or units, or it may be an electrical, mechanical, or other form of connection.

[0450] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate. The components shown as units may or may not be physical units; that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of the units can be selected according to actual needs to achieve the technical effects of the solutions provided in the embodiments of this application.

[0451] Furthermore, the functional units in the various embodiments of this application can be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit can exist physically separately, or two or more units can be integrated into one unit. The integrated unit can be implemented in hardware or as a software functional unit.

[0452] If the integrated unit is implemented as a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of this application, in essence, or the part that contributes to the prior art, or all or part of the technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. This computer software product is stored in a computer-readable storage medium and includes several instructions to cause a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, or a first communication device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in the various embodiments of this application. The aforementioned computer-readable storage medium includes various media capable of storing program code, such as USB flash drives, portable hard drives, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic disks, or optical disks.

[0453] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of this application, but the scope of protection of this application is not limited thereto. Any variations or substitutions that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the scope of the technology disclosed in this application should be included within the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application should be determined by the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, The method is applied to a first communication device, and the method includes: Receive first information and a first reference signal, wherein the first information is used to instruct the first reference signal to be used for sensing; Based on the first information and the first reference signal, a first perception result is obtained; Send a second message, which is used to indicate the first sensing result.

2. The method as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The first information is also used to indicate that the first reference signal is also used for at least one of the following: channel estimation, tracking, movement, scanning, switching, or positioning.

3. The method as described in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The first information is also used to indicate the information type, and the type of the first perception result is associated with the information type; The information type includes at least one of the following: multipath component or point cloud, wherein the multipath component includes at least one of time delay, distance, Doppler, velocity, angle, phase, or timestamp, and the point cloud includes one or more of the following: reference coordinate system, coordinate values, point cloud type, acquisition time, or coverage area. Alternatively, the information type may include at least one of the following: time delay, distance, Doppler, velocity, angle, phase, timestamp, reference coordinate system, coordinate value, point cloud type, acquisition time, or coverage area.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that, The first reference signal includes multiple reference signals, and the step of sensing based on the first information and the first reference signal to obtain a first sensing result includes: The multiple reference signals are bundled together for sensing to obtain the first sensing result.

5. The method as described in claim 4, characterized in that, The first information is also used to instruct the multiple reference signals to be bundled for sensing.

6. The method as described in claim 4, characterized in that, The method further includes: A third message is sent, which indicates that the first perception result was obtained based on the binding of the plurality of reference signals.

7. The method according to any one of claims 4-6, characterized in that, The first perception result includes multiple second perception results, and the multiple second perception results correspond one-to-one with the multiple reference signals; The first perception result indicated by the second information is obtained by merging the plurality of second perception results; or, the second information is used to indicate the plurality of second perception results.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1-7, characterized in that, The first sensing result includes multipath component information and / or point cloud information; The multipath component information is used to indicate at least one of the following: time delay corresponding to each path, distance corresponding to each path, Doppler effect corresponding to each path, velocity corresponding to each path, angle corresponding to each path, phase corresponding to each path, time delay difference between at least two paths, distance difference between at least two paths, Doppler difference between at least two paths, velocity difference between at least two paths, angle difference between at least two paths, phase difference between at least two paths, or timestamp; the point cloud information is used to indicate at least one of the following: reference coordinate system, coordinate value, point cloud type, acquisition time, or coverage area.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1-8, characterized in that, The first information is also used to indicate the type of the first reference signal, which includes at least one of the following: synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel block, channel state information reference signal, demodulation reference signal, phase tracking reference signal, positioning reference signal, or sensing reference signal.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1-9, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send a fourth message, which indicates that the first communication device supports sensing based on the first reference signal.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1-10, characterized in that, The second information includes at least one index, which is used to indicate the first perception result; or, the second information includes the first perception result.

12. The method as described in claim 11, characterized in that, The at least one index includes a first index and a second index, the first perception result includes a second perception result, the first index is used to indicate the first table to which the second perception result belongs, and the second index is used to indicate the position of the second perception result in the first table.

13. The method according to any one of claims 1-12, characterized in that, The first information is further used to indicate at least one of the time-frequency resources, transmission mode, or period of the first reference signal; and / or, the transmission mode of the second information is one of periodic, semi-persistent, or aperiodic.

14. A communication method, characterized in that, The method is applied to a second communication device, and the method includes: Send a first message and a first reference signal, wherein the first message is used to instruct the first reference signal to be used for sensing; Receive second information, which is used to indicate a first perception result, which is obtained based on the first reference signal and the first information.

15. The method as described in claim 14, characterized in that, The first reference signal includes multiple reference signals, and the first sensing result is obtained by sensing the multiple reference signals together.

16. The method as described in claim 15, characterized in that, The first information is also used to instruct the multiple reference signals to be bundled for sensing.

17. The method as described in claim 15, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receive third information, which indicates that the first perception result was obtained based on the binding of the plurality of reference signals.

18. The method as described in claim 16, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send first configuration information, which is used to bundle the plurality of reference signals for sensing.

19. The method according to any one of claims 15 to 18, characterized in that, The first perception result includes multiple second perception results, and the multiple second perception results correspond one-to-one with the multiple reference signals; The first information indicates that the first perception result is obtained by combining the plurality of second perception results; or, the first information is used to indicate the plurality of second perception results.

20. The method as described in claim 19, characterized in that, The first information is used to indicate multiple second perception results, and the method further includes: The multiple second perception results are combined to obtain the first perception result.

21. The method according to any one of claims 14-20, characterized in that, The method further includes: Obtain fourth information, which is used to indicate that the first communication device supports sensing based on the first reference signal.

22. A communication device, characterized in that, Includes units or modules for performing the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 21.

23. A communication device, characterized in that, The communication device includes at least one processor; the at least one processor is configured to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 21.

24. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer-readable storage medium includes a program that, when run on the device, causes the device to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 21.

25. A computer program product, characterized in that, The computer program product includes a program or instructions that, when executed by a device, cause the device to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 21.

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