Proactive Handover Triggering in Non-Terrestrial Networks
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Solution Overview
Problem
In non-terrestrial wireless communication networks, such as those using high altitude platforms and satellites, long propagation delays and extreme path loss lead to increased handover failure risks due to rapidly deteriorating signaling conditions, and existing handover solutions from terrestrial networks are inefficient in addressing these issues.
Innovation Solution
A method for proactive handover triggering in wireless communication networks, where user equipment estimates the rate of change of reference signal measurements and compares them with mapping information to determine timeToPreTrigger values, initiating timers and generating measurement reports to facilitate early handovers to neighboring cells before signal degradation occurs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional handover solutions from terrestrial networks are used in non-terrestrial networks, then the handover procedure is simple, but handover failure risk increases due to long propagation delays and extreme path loss
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by introducing a proactive handover triggering mechanism that estimates future signal conditions based on current rate of change measurements. Instead of waiting for signal degradation to occur before initiating handover, the system predicts deterioration trends and triggers handover preparation in advance, thereby improving handover success rate while accounting for the time required in non-terrestrial networks.
2Reliability
If handover triggering is delayed until signal degradation occurs, then handover decisions are based on accurate current conditions, but handover failure risk increases due to rapidly deteriorating signaling conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary estimation of future signal conditions by calculating rate of change of reference signal measurements. This allows the network to predict when signal degradation will occur and trigger handover preparation accordingly, balancing the need for accurate measurement-based decisions with the need to act before conditions deteriorate further.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies preliminary anti-action by counteracting the adverse effect of signal degradation through predictive measurement. By estimating the rate of change and projecting future signal levels, the system takes preemptive measures to initiate handover before the predicted degradation point, thereby preventing handover failures that would result from waiting for actual signal threshold violations.
3Reliability
If proactive handover triggering based on rate of change estimation is implemented, then handover failure risk decreases, but device complexity increases due to additional measurement and calculation requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies self-service by enabling the user equipment to autonomously perform rate of change estimation and proactive handover triggering based on locally available reference signal measurements. The UE calculates its own measurement trends and generates appropriate indications to the network, reducing the need for complex network-side processing while improving handover reliability through distributed intelligence.
Data Source
AI summary
A method, apparatus, and a computer-readable storage medium are provided for proactive triggering of handovers in wireless communication networks. In one example implementation, the method may include receiving, by a user equipment (UE), handover configuration information from a first network node of a plurality of network nodes, estimating rate of change values of reference signal (RS) difference measurements, a reference signal (RS) difference measurement being a difference in reference signal (RS) measurements between the first network node and a second network node of one or more second network nodes, comparing the rate of change values with the mapping information received from the first network node, determining one or more timeToPreTrigger values based on the comparison, initiating one or more timeToPreTrigger timers based on the corresponding one or more timeToPreTrigger values, the one or more timeToPreTrigger timers corresponding to different second network nodes, generating one or more measurement reports upon expiration of the one or more timeToPreTrigger timers, and transmitting the one or more measurement reports to the first network node. In an another example implementation, the method may include transmitting, by a first network node of a plurality of network nodes, handover configuration information to a user equipment (UE), receiving a measurement report from the user equipment (UE), the measurement report corresponding to at least one second network node of the one or more second network nodes, selecting, based on the measurement report, a second network node of the one or more second network nodes for performing a handover, and transmitting an indication to the user equipment (UE) about performing the handover to the selected second network node based on the indication.