User Equipment Positioning Using Staggered PRS for Narrowband Accuracy
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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 suitable for low-complexity, narrowband devices used in low-cost asset tracking.
Innovation Solution
A new PRS configuration with staggered portions distributed over multiple time intervals and partial frequency overlap, allowing phase measurement and compensation for oscillator tuning, reducing instantaneous bandwidth requirements while maintaining high positioning accuracy.
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 wideband PRS is segmented into multiple narrowband components transmitted in different time intervals. Each narrowband component can be processed by low-complexity narrowband devices, while collectively providing wideband positioning accuracy through phase measurement and compensation across the segmented signals.
Solution Approach 2:
The PRS is transmitted periodically in multiple time intervals with different frequency ranges. This periodic transmission allows narrowband devices to process each interval separately while maintaining accurate positioning through phase compensation between intervals.
2Measurement precision
If wideband PRS is used for accurate positioning, then positioning accuracy is improved, but power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the wideband PRS into narrowband components, the power consumption is reduced as narrowband devices require less processing power and energy for signal reception and measurement, while still achieving accurate positioning through the segmented approach.
Solution Approach 2:
The phase information from overlapping frequency ranges is recovered and used for compensation, allowing the system to discard redundant wideband processing while recovering the essential positioning accuracy through selective phase measurement and compensation.
3Adaptability or versatility
If LO tuning is performed between different frequency ranges, then frequency adaptability is improved, but phase measurement accuracy deteriorates due to phase shifts
Solution Approach 1:
Phase measurement feedback is obtained in overlapping frequency ranges before and after LO tuning. This feedback is used to calculate and compensate for phase shifts, allowing the system to maintain phase measurement accuracy while adapting to different frequency ranges through LO tuning.
Solution Approach 2:
Phase measurement is performed preliminarily in overlapping frequency ranges before LO tuning occurs. This preliminary phase information is stored and used for compensation after tuning, enabling the system to anticipate and correct phase shifts before they affect positioning accuracy.
Data Source
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Figure 2A~2B
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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.