Sensor-Aided Beam Selection to Reduce Millimeter-Wave Sweeping

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing wireless communications systems face inefficiencies in beam management due to exhaustive search-based beam sweeping procedures, which incur high overhead and prolonged times for initial beam establishment and tracking, particularly in millimeter wave communications, especially in environments with autonomous vehicles equipped with sensors.

Innovation Solution

Utilizing situational information collected by sensors such as satellite navigation, radars, and cameras to aid in beam-based communications, enabling efficient beam selection and management through beam selection procedures and reports.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If exhaustive search-based beam sweeping procedures are used for beam management, then reliable beam identification is achieved, but overhead and time consumption increase significantly

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvebeam identification reliabilityVSAvoidbeam establishment time

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary actions by having the UE collect situational information about the environment (objects, surfaces, reflectors) before the beam management procedure. This pre-collected information is used to predict favorable beam directions, allowing the network entity to skip exhaustive searching in unlikely directions and focus only on promising beam candidates, thus reducing time while maintaining reliability

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

Situational information acts as an intermediary between the UE and network entity, enabling them to make informed decisions about beam selection without exhaustive searching. The UE shares environmental context (locations of reflectors, surfaces, objects) with the network entity, which uses this information to determine favorable beam directions, reducing the need for time-consuming exhaustive beam sweeps

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Reliability

If exhaustive search-based beam sweeping procedures are used for beam management, then complete beam coverage is ensured, but system overhead increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvebeam coverage completenessVSAvoidbeam management overhead

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary environmental assessment by collecting situational information about objects, surfaces, and reflectors in the UE's vicinity before beam management. This pre-processing allows the network entity to identify favorable beam directions based on predicted signal propagation paths, reducing the number of beams that need to be swept while ensuring complete coverage of promising directions

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

Situational information serves as an intermediary that reduces beam management overhead by enabling intelligent beam selection. The UE provides environmental context to the network entity, which uses this information to determine favorable beam directions, avoiding unnecessary beam sweeps in directions blocked by objects or unlikely to provide good signal quality

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

3Productivity

If traditional beam management without situational information is used, then system complexity is low, but beam alignment efficiency is poor

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvebeam alignment efficiencyVSAvoidsystem complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary environmental assessment by collecting situational information (locations of objects, surfaces, reflectors) before beam alignment. This pre-collected data enables the network entity to predict favorable beam directions and prioritize beam sweeping in promising directions, significantly improving beam alignment efficiency while adding manageable complexity through sensor-based environmental perception

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

Situational information acts as an intermediary that improves beam alignment efficiency by providing environmental context. The UE collects data about its surroundings using sensors and shares this information with the network entity, which uses it to determine favorable beam directions, achieving faster and more accurate beam alignment without excessive system complexity

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Data Source

PatentUS12375963B2Perception-aided beam-based communications

Publication Date: 2025.07.29 QUALCOMM INC

AI summary

Methods, systems, and devices for wireless communications are described. The described techniques provide for using situational information to aid in beam-based communications between a first user equipment (UE) and a network entity. The first UE may collect data at one or more sensors and may generate the situational information using the collected data. The first UE may then use the situational information in a beam selection procedure to identify suitable candidate beams for communicating with the network entity. The first UE may also transmit the situational information to the network entity in a beam management report, and the network entity may use the situational information to identify suitable candidate beams for communicating with the first UE. In some cases, the network entity may also use the situational information to identify suitable candidate beams for communicating with a second UE associated with the first UE.