NTN UE Scanning Control for Obstruction-Aware Power Saving
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing systems for user equipment (UE) in non-terrestrial networks (NTNs) consume excessive power when attempting to establish connections without a clear line-of-sight due to continuous scanning for NTN services, leading to rapid battery drain and increased greenhouse gas emissions.
Innovation Solution
The system evaluates the UE's environment to predict obstructions and pauses NTN scanning when a clear line-of-sight is obstructed, switching to alternative networks and resuming scanning only when conditions improve, thereby conserving power and reducing emissions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If continuous scanning for NTN services is performed, then connectivity reliability is improved, but battery consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements periodic scanning instead of continuous scanning by introducing a discontinuous reception (DRX) mechanism. The UE alternates between active scanning periods and sleep periods, where scanning is performed only during wake-up intervals. This periodic action maintains connectivity reliability by regularly checking for NTN services while significantly reducing battery consumption during sleep intervals.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent dynamically adjusts the scanning behavior based on environmental conditions. When obstructions are detected that block line-of-sight to NTN satellites, the system dynamically switches from continuous scanning to periodic scanning or suspends scanning temporarily. This dynamic adaptation maintains reliability when needed while conserving energy when NTN connection is unlikely.
2Use of energy by moving object
If environment evaluation and prediction features are added, then power efficiency is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an environment evaluation module that acts as an intermediary between the NTN scanning function and the UE's sensors/geolocation data. This module evaluates environmental conditions (buildings, terrain, obstructions) and provides predictions about NTN visibility to the scanning controller. By using this intermediary layer, the system achieves intelligent power management without significantly increasing overall device complexity, as the evaluation logic is centralized and reusable.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods are described herein for configuring a wireless device to conserve energy when scanning to connect to a non-terrestrial network (NTN). In some aspects, the system comprises instructions to activate an NTN mode that configures the wireless device to periodically scan for an NTN, estimate a geolocation of the wireless device based on Global Positioning System (GPS) coordinate data received by the wireless device, determine a physical obstruction to line-of-sight (LOS) from the wireless device to the NTN based on the geolocation of the wireless device and the map data, temporarily pause the wireless device from periodically scanning for the NTN in response to the determination of the physical obstruction to LOS from the wireless device to the NTN, and cause the wireless device to scan for an alternative network other than an NTN or cellular network while the wireless device is temporarily paused from periodically scanning for the NTN.