Platooning UE Connectivity Control Under Radio Congestion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing network nodes manage UE connectivity on a per-UE basis without considering group affiliations, leading to operational instability and negative effects such as communication interruptions or UE removals within groups like vehicle platoons.
Innovation Solution
Implement methods for network nodes and application servers to identify and manage UE groups based on their functional operations, controlling connectivity decisions considering characteristics of other UEs in the group to maintain stability and efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the network node manages UE connectivity on a per-UE basis, then the network node can independently control each UE connection, but the network node cannot consider group affiliations leading to operational instability and communication interruptions within groups
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges per-UE connectivity management with group affiliation awareness by having the network node consider both individual UE characteristics and group characteristics when making connectivity decisions. This combination allows the network to maintain independent control over each UE while simultaneously ensuring group communication stability, resolving the contradiction between ease of operation and reliability.
2Device complexity
If the network node makes connectivity decisions for one UE without considering other UEs in the group, then the decision-making process is simpler, but the probability of communication interruptions and UE loss within groups increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by having the network node identify and store group affiliations and characteristics of UEs before making connectivity decisions. This advance preparation allows the network to quickly consider group implications during connectivity decisions without significantly increasing decision complexity, thereby maintaining group communication continuity while keeping the process manageable.
3Ease of manufacture
If the network node manages each UE connection separately, then resource allocation is straightforward, but the network node cannot optimize resource distribution across grouped UEs during radio congestion
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces dynamics by enabling the network node to adaptively switch between per-UE management and group-aware management modes based on network conditions. During normal operation, the system maintains simple per-UE management, but during radio congestion, it dynamically activates group-aware optimization to improve resource utilization efficiency while maintaining operational simplicity.
Data Source
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AI summary
A method by a network node controls connectivity of UEs by identifying a group of UEs for communication with an application controlling parameters used by the UEs for operation in a vehicle platoon. The method controls connectivity for a UE in the group with a RAN node responsive to characteristics of the other UEs in the group. For each of the UEs the characteristic relates to functional operation of the UE with the application. Another method by an application server identifies the group of UEs, and identifies a characteristic of each of the UEs with the application. A message identifying the group of UEs and their characteristics is communicated to a network node for controlling connectivity for individual UEs in the group with a RAN node responsive to the characteristics of the other UEs in the group.