Combinatorial Beam Index Reporting for Lower 5G NR Signaling Overhead
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current beam management operations in 5G NR, such as CSI reporting, face challenges with high signaling overhead when selecting and reporting a large number of beams, which is inefficient and resource-intensive.
Innovation Solution
The use of combinatorial indices and bitmaps to signal and identify sets of beams for measurement and reporting, based on a known or configured ordering of candidate beams, reduces the overhead by efficiently conveying beam information.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If traditional beam identification methods are used to report multiple beams, then complete beam information can be provided, but signaling overhead increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a combinatorial index as a compact representation (copy) of the beam set information. Instead of transmitting the actual beam identifiers directly, the system transmits an index that points to a pre-defined combinatorial set of beams, significantly reducing the number of bits required while preserving complete beam identification capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transforms the beam identification problem from a one-dimensional list of beam IDs to a two-dimensional structure using combinatorial mathematics. By representing beam sets as combinations of beam indices, the system achieves more efficient encoding where the same information can be conveyed with fewer bits through mathematical compression.
2Quantity of substance
If combinatorial indices are used to signal beam sets, then signaling overhead is reduced, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-configuring combinatorial beam sets and their corresponding indices before actual beam reporting occurs. The network and UE both have pre-stored mappings between combinatorial indices and actual beam combinations, eliminating the need for complex real-time calculations during beam reporting and reducing processing complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The combinatorial index acts as an intermediary between the beam selection process and the actual beam identification. This intermediate representation layer simplifies the signaling by decoupling the beam selection logic from the beam identification process, making the system easier to manage despite the mathematical complexity of combinatorial representations.
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus configured to transmit a first indication of an index associated with a first set of spatial-domain resources in a plurality of spatial-domain resources and transmit or receive channel state information indicative of at least one characteristic of each spatial-domain resource in the first set of spatial-domain resources. In some aspects, an apparatus configured to receive a first indication of an index associated with a first set of spatial-domain resources in a plurality of spatial-domain resources and receive or transmit channel state information indicative of at least one characteristic of each spatial-domain resource in the first set of spatial-domain resources.