Beam Fingerprinting Database for Low-Latency NR Beam Selection

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing NR beam-management procedures in wireless networks incur high latency and overhead, especially in dynamic and high-frequency scenarios due to the need for constant exchange of reference signals and measurement reporting, and lack mechanisms for beam acquisition based on UE location.

Innovation Solution

Implement a beam fingerprinting database that maps beam signal characteristics to UE location information, enabling location-aware beam selection by associating optimal transmit and receive beams with UE positions, and updating the database based on predetermined criteria using RF fingerprinting techniques.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If constant/periodic exchange of reference signals and measurement reporting is used for beam management, then beam alignment accuracy is maintained, but signaling overhead and latency increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvebeam alignment accuracyVSAvoidbeam management latency

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system pre-establishes a beam fingerprinting database that maps UE location information to optimal beam configurations before actual beam management is needed. This preliminary action allows the network to quickly retrieve and apply pre-determined beam settings based on UE location, avoiding the need for extensive real-time reference signal exchange and measurement reporting, thus reducing latency while maintaining beam alignment accuracy

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The patent creates a simplified representation (copy) of the beam environment through fingerprinting - storing characteristic beam patterns associated with different UE locations in a database. Instead of performing complete beam management procedures each time, the system uses these pre-captured beam fingerprints to quickly identify and select appropriate beams, significantly reducing signaling overhead and latency while preserving alignment accuracy

Inventive Principle:

Principle #26Copying

2Loss of time

If beam fingerprinting database is implemented with location-aware beam selection, then signaling overhead and latency are reduced, but system complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvebeam management latencyVSAvoidbeam management system complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Loss of timeVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces a beam fingerprinting database as an intermediary component that sits between the UE location information and the beam selection process. This database pre-processes and stores the complex relationships between location and optimal beam configurations, allowing the actual beam management system to simply query and retrieve pre-determined settings. This intermediary approach reduces the complexity of real-time beam management while achieving low latency through efficient database lookups based on UE location

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Data Source

PatentUS12574094B2Beam selection using a beam fingerprinting database

Publication Date: 2026.03.10 LENOVO (SINGAPORE) PTE LTD

AI summary

Apparatuses, methods, and systems are disclosed for location-aware beam selection. One method a communication device (i.e., a UE and/or gNB) includes mapping a set of beam signal characteristics to UE location information and storing said mapping to a Beam Fingerprint (“BFP”) database. The method includes identifying a UE location and selecting an optimal beam based using the UE location and the BFP database, said optimal beam being one of: a transmit beam and a receive beam.