Dynamic Beam Width Adaptation for Millimeter-Wave Tracking
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Solution Overview
Problem
In millimeter-wave communication environments, narrower beams provide higher beamforming gains but are difficult to track during user equipment (UE) mobility and changing scattering environments, leading to challenges in beam direction identification and tracking.
Innovation Solution
The user equipment (UE) is configured to identify and track beams of certain widths, selecting between narrower and wider beams based on mobility and scattering environment conditions, and switch to spatially adjacent or encompassing beams to maintain communication when tracking failures occur.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If narrower beams are used to achieve higher beamforming gains, then communication signal strength is improved, but beam tracking difficulty increases during UE mobility and environmental changes
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts beam width based on UE mobility conditions. When UE mobility is detected, the system switches to wider beams that are easier to track, and when mobility is low, it uses narrower beams for higher gain. This dynamic adaptation resolves the contradiction by making beam width a variable parameter rather than a fixed property.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the beam width parameter according to environmental conditions and mobility status. By modifying this critical parameter, the system achieves both high beamforming gain when conditions permit and easier tracking when mobility or environmental changes occur, thus resolving the technical contradiction.
2Reliability
If narrower beams are selected for higher beamforming gains, then communication quality improves, but beam direction tracking becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements dynamic beam width selection where the beam parameters are continuously adjusted based on real-time UE mobility detection and environmental conditions. This allows the system to switch between narrow high-gain beams and wide easy-to-track beams, making the tracking operation easier while maintaining communication quality.
3Ease of operation
If wider beams are used to facilitate tracking during mobility, then beam tracking ease improves, but beamforming gain decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adapts beam width based on UE mobility status. During high mobility conditions, wider beams are used for easier tracking, while during low mobility or stationary conditions, narrower beams provide higher beamforming gain. This dynamic behavior resolves the contradiction by optimizing beam parameters to current operational conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent modifies the beam width parameter in response to changing operational conditions, specifically UE mobility and scattering environment. This parameter change allows the system to achieve both easier tracking when needed and higher gain when conditions permit, resolving the technical contradiction between tracking ease and beamforming gain.
4Device complexity
If a fixed beam width is configured for beamforming, then system simplicity is maintained, but adaptability to different mobility and environmental conditions deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system transitions from fixed beam configuration to dynamic beam configuration where beam width automatically adjusts based on UE mobility detection and environmental conditions. This dynamic approach maintains relative system simplicity while dramatically improving adaptability to different operational scenarios.
Solution Approach 2:
The beam management system performs self-adjustment based on detected UE mobility and environmental conditions without requiring complex external control. The system automatically selects appropriate beam widths, providing adaptability while maintaining operational simplicity through self-service mechanisms.
Data Source
AI summary
A UE may be configured to select narrower or wider beams that may be suitable for use with a current UE mobility, scattering environment, etc. The UE may track changes to an identified beam of a certain width, and so may recover from tracking or other radio link failures by switching to a beam that is spatially adjacent or to a beam of a different width. The UE may identify a first beam associated with a first beam width based on at least one reference signal received by the UE. The UE may further determine a set of beams based on the first beam width that is associated with the identified first beam, and the determined set of beams may include at least one beam corresponding to the first beam width. The UE may further measure respective channel qualities associated with each beam of the determined set of beams.