Segmented PRS for Accurate Narrowband UE Positioning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing UE positioning techniques require wideband devices for accurate positioning, leading to increased complexity, power consumption, and cost, which is not feasible for low-complexity UE devices with narrowband operation.
Innovation Solution
A PRS configuration is proposed, where the PRS is divided into portions sent in different time intervals over partially overlapping frequency ranges, allowing for low-complexity UE devices to perform accurate positioning with reduced bandwidth and power consumption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If wideband PRS is used for accurate positioning, then positioning accuracy is improved, but device complexity and power consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The PRS configuration is segmented into multiple portions, where each portion occupies a different frequency range. This allows the UE to process narrowband signals sequentially rather than requiring simultaneous wideband processing, thereby reducing device complexity while maintaining overall positioning accuracy through the combined information from all portions.
2Measurement precision
If wideband PRS is used for accurate positioning, then positioning accuracy is improved, but power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
By dividing the PRS into multiple frequency portions transmitted at different times, the UE can use lower power narrowband receivers for each individual portion rather than maintaining high power wideband operation continuously, thus reducing overall power consumption while still achieving accurate positioning through integration of all portions.
Solution Approach 2:
The PRS portions are transmitted periodically in different time intervals across different frequency ranges. This periodic structure allows the UE to activate its receiver only during specific time intervals for each frequency portion, enabling duty-cycled operation that significantly reduces average power consumption compared to continuous wideband monitoring.
3Device complexity
If narrowband operation is used for low complexity devices, then device complexity and power consumption are reduced, but positioning accuracy deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from a single-dimension wideband approach to a multi-dimensional approach by distributing PRS portions across multiple frequency dimensions and time dimensions. This allows narrowband devices to achieve wideband-equivalent positioning accuracy by processing multiple narrowband portions sequentially in different frequency-time dimensions and combining the results.
4Ease of operation
If PRS portions are sent over non-overlapping frequency ranges, then frequency resource allocation is simplified, but measurement and compensation for phase shifts becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs homogeneous reference signal structures across all PRS portions, using the same signal sequence and format in each frequency portion. This homogeneity enables the UE to use consistent measurement procedures and correlation techniques across all portions, simplifying the detection and compensation of phase shifts caused by LO tuning while maintaining ease of frequency resource allocation.
Data Source
AI summary
Examples of the present disclosure relate to User Equipment positioning. Certain examples provide an apparatus (10), for example such as a RAN node (120) or a Location server (140), configured to: determine Position Reference Signal, PRS, configuration information (605, 705) comprising information for enabling a network element, for example such as a UE (110) or a RAN node (120), of a RAN (100) to: send a PRS (200), wherein the PRS comprises: a first portion (201) of the PRS configured to be sent in a first time interval (T1) over a first frequency range (fr1); a second portion (202) of the PRS configured to be sent in a second time interval (T2), different to the first time interval, over a second frequency range (fr2), wherein the second frequency range partially overlaps the first frequency range thereby defining an overlapping frequency range (ofr); and wherein a subrange of frequencies (ufr) of the second frequency range is not used to send the second portion of the PRS; and send, the PRS configuration information to the network element of the RAN.