EP4662876A1 - Sensing framework for hazard situation - Google Patents

Abstract

Methods and devices to activate sensors of a wireless network for an event or hazard are disclosed. Logical entities including an integrated sensing assistance network function (ISANF) and a sensing operation management function (SOMF) are created to enable an application function (AF) to identify relevant radio access network (RAN) nodes in a focus area to activate sensors to collect sensor measurements used to determine sensing results for the hazard or event. A method for a WTRU may include sending network access stratum (NAS) signaling to a network entity to indicate it supports sensing, receiving hazard service information from the network via one of NAS signaling, a system information block (SIB) or a PC5 message; and activating one or more sensors to measure characteristics relating to the received hazard service information.

Description

SENSING FRAMEWORK FOR HAZARD SITUATION

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/444,465, filed February 9, 2023, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

[0002] Natural hazards such as flooding due to heavy rain fall, land-slides, and urban structural damage due to earthquakes and tsunamis are occurring more frequently than before due to climate changes. There are systems deployed to predict or identify places where these hazards may, or may have, occurred in real time. However, there remains more to do in terms of estimation of impact of these hazards and situational awareness afterwards, to enable rescue and/or prevention measures.

[0003] One use case may be to provide sensing service under natural hazards by making use of deployed sensors and their measurements data to understand the impact of these hazards and take appropriate actions. Sensors with varying capability can be used for different sensing services. For example, new radio (NR) sensors may be utilized for rain, flood, and water-level sensing. Cameras and light detection and ranging (LIDAR) may be utilized to visually understand the impact of floods, earthquakes and/or volcanos. Internet of things (loT) and other smart devices, which may or may not be a cellular communication device, could also be used to enhance sensing functionality.

[0004] In one example scenario, several sensors of various types, supporting many different sensing services may be in an idle or connected state. A third party application function, which may be managed by given authority, e.g., a state department or municipality, may desire access to some or all of the sensors in an area while under hazard. The sensors available in the area of interest may be in active or in an idle state. These or other proximate sensors may have lost connection because their home public land mobile network (HPLMN) is not functional due to a hazard, or due to flooding and storms there are coverage issues. This scenario raises issues: (1) whether a fifth generation core network (5GC) could activate all the available sensors to start reporting under hazard situation; and/or (2) whether to enable sensors to report the measurements to the sensing network function (NF) in the 5GC when HPLMN is not accessible. Other scenarios and related concerns should also be addressed.

SUMMARY

[0005] Under a hazard situation, such as flooding, earthquakes etc., there may be a need to access measurements from all available sensors in the hazard affected area to understand the situation and for rescue services. Aspects of embodiments disclose solutions on how the 5GC may activate the available sensors so they start reporting under hazard situation, and/or to enable sensors to report the measurements to the sensing NF in the VPLMN when HPLMN is not accessible.

[0006] Various aspects of this disclosure may address one or more related sensing issues by providing methods and apparatuses for integrated sensing, periodic sensing, network-initiated sensing procedures and sensing under hazard condition according to various embodiments. Methods and devices to activate sensors of a wireless network for an event or hazard may include logical entities such as an integrated sensing assistance network function (ISANF) and a sending operation management function (SOMF) are created to enable an application function (AF) to identify relevant radio access network (RAN) nodes, including gNBs and wireless transmit receive units (WTRUs) to use in providing sensor measurements for a focus area. The logical entities provide hazard service information to activate sensors of RAN nodes to collect sensor measurements. Sensor measurements are used to determine sensing results for the hazard or event.

[0007] According to one aspect, a method for a WTRU may include sending non-access stratum (NAS) signaling to a network entity to indicate it supports sensing, receiving hazard service information from the network entity via one of NAS signaling, a system information block (SIB) or a PC5 message; activating one or more sensors to measure characteristics relating to the received hazard service information and providing sensing measurements to determine a sensing result. For example, according to one aspect, a sensing network function (NF), such as the ISANF, constructs a hazard_service_info container (e.g., including sensing service ID, data type, periodicity, equivalent public land mobile network identifier (PLMN ID) and priority level) and sends to access control and mobility management function (AMF)/gNBs located in the hazard area. In one aspect, the AMF sends a request to a gNB and the gNB would use the SIB to broadcasts hazard_service_info, which may enable WTRUs, even the idle mode (having sensing capability), to measure and report. In one aspect, an AMF may send the hazard_service_info in a downlink non-access stratum (DL NAS) transport message in the sensing_service container to a WTRU that has provided indication of sensing capability when registering.

[0008] In further aspects, a WTRU, if capable to act as a Relay, may further broadcast hazard_service_info to a remote WTRU, e.g., in a PC5 broadcast message. In the case a WTRU, that is out of coverage, or may not be able to reach its PLMN due to hazard, upon reception of hazard_service_info by any means (e.g., via Relay or via non-3GPP Interworking Function (N3IWF)) may look up a vPLMN to report sensing measurement data under hazard. Other embodiments are disclosed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] A more detailed understanding may be had from the following description, given by way of example in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals in the figures indicate like elements, and wherein: [0010] FIG. 1A is a system diagram illustrating an example communications system in which one or more disclosed embodiments may be implemented;

[0011] FIG. 1 B is a system diagram illustrating an example wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU) that may be used within the communications system illustrated in FIG. 1A according to an embodiment;

[0012] FIG. 1C is a system diagram illustrating an example radio access network (RAN) and an example core network (CN) that may be used within the communications system illustrated in FIG. 1A according to an embodiment;

[0013] FIG. 1 D is a system diagram illustrating a further example RAN and a further example CN that may be used within the communications system illustrated in FIG. 1A according to an embodiment;

[0014] FIG. 2 shows a network diagram of a reference model of 5G/next generation network;

[0015] FIG. 3 shows an example environment of sensing for pedestrian/animal intrusion detection;

[0016] FIG. 4 is an example environment for intruder detection in surroundings of smart home;

[0017] FIG. 5 illustrates an example embodiment of messaging in a method for activation of sensors via a NAS message;

[0018] FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating a method for a WTRU performing hazard sensing according to an embodiment;

[0019] FIG. 7 shows a message sequence for activation of sensors via a NAS message of one example embodiment;

[0020] FIG. 8 is a message sequence diagram showing activation of sensors via a PC5 message of one embodiment; and

[0021] FIG. 9 is a message sequence diagram showing sensor activation and reporting via a visiting public land mobile network (vPLMN) when a HPLMN is down or out of coverage (OoC), according to one example embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0022] FIG. 1A is a diagram illustrating an example communications system 100 in which one or more disclosed embodiments may be implemented. The communications system 100 may be a multiple access system that provides content, such as voice, data, video, messaging, broadcast, etc., to multiple wireless users. The communications system 100 may enable multiple wireless users to access such content through the sharing of system resources, including wireless bandwidth. For example, the communications systems 100 may employ one or more channel access methods, such as code division multiple access (CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA), singlecarrier FDMA (SC-FDMA), zero-tail unique-word discrete Fourier transform Spread OFDM (ZT-UW-DFT-S- OFDM), unique word OFDM (UW-OFDM), resource block-filtered OFDM, filter bank multicarrier (FBMC), and the like.

[0023] As shown in FIG. 1 A, the communications system 100 may include wireless transmit/receive units (WTRUs) 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d, a radio access network (RAN) 104, a core network (CN) 106, a public switched telephone network (PSTN) 108, the Internet 110, and other networks 112, though it will be appreciated that the disclosed embodiments contemplate any number of WTRUs, base stations, networks, and/or network elements. Each of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d may be any type of device configured to operate and/or communicate in a wireless environment. By way of example, the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d, any of which may be referred to as a station (STA), may be configured to transmit and/or receive wireless signals and may include a user equipment (UE), a mobile station, a fixed or mobile subscriber unit, a subscription-based unit, a pager, a cellular telephone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a smartphone, a laptop, a netbook, a personal computer, a wireless sensor, a hotspot or Mi-Fi device, an Internet of Things (loT) device, a watch or other wearable, a head-mounted display (HMD), a vehicle, a drone, a medical device and applications (e.g., remote surgery), an industrial device and applications (e.g., a robot and/or other wireless devices operating in an industrial and/or an automated processing chain contexts), a consumer electronics device, a device operating on commercial and/or industrial wireless networks, and the like. Any of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and 102d may be interchangeably referred to as a UE.

[0024] The communications systems 100 may also include a base station 114a and/or a base station 114b. Each of the base stations 114a, 114b may be any type of device configured to wirelessly interface with at least one of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d to facilitate access to one or more communication networks, such as the CN 106, the Internet 110, and/or the other networks 112. By way of example, the base stations 114a, 114b may be a base transceiver station (BTS), a NodeB, an eNode B (eNB), a Home Node B, a Home eNode B, a next generation NodeB, such as a gNode B (gNB), a new radio (NR) NodeB, a site controller, an access point (AP), a wireless router, and the like. While the base stations 114a, 114b are each depicted as a single element, it will be appreciated that the base stations 114a, 114b may include any number of interconnected base stations and/or network elements.

[0025] The base station 114a may be part of the RAN 104, which may also include other base stations and/or network elements (not shown), such as a base station controller (BSC), a radio network controller (RNC), relay nodes, and the like. The base station 114a and/or the base station 114b may be configured to transmit and/or receive wireless signals on one or more carrier frequencies, which may be referred to as a cell (not shown). These frequencies may be in licensed spectrum, unlicensed spectrum, or a combination of licensed and unlicensed spectrum. A cell may provide coverage for a wireless service to a specific geographical area that may be relatively fixed or that may change over time. The cell may further be divided into cell sectors. For example, the cell associated with the base station 114a may be divided into three sectors. Thus, in one embodiment, the base station 114a may include three transceivers, i.e., one for each sector of the cell. In an embodiment, the base station 114a may employ multiple-input multiple output (MIMO) technology and may utilize multiple transceivers for each sector of the cell. For example, beamforming may be used to transmit and/or receive signals in desired spatial directions.

[0026] The base stations 114a, 114b may communicate with one or more of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d over an air interface 116, which may be any suitable wireless communication link (e.g., radio frequency (RF), microwave, centimeter wave, micrometer wave, infrared (IR), ultraviolet (UV), visible light, etc.). The air interface 116 may be established using any suitable radio access technology (RAT).

[0027] More specifically, as noted above, the communications system 100 may be a multiple access system and may employ one or more channel access schemes, such as CDMA, TDMA, FDMA, OFDMA, SC-FDMA, and the like. For example, the base station 114a in the RAN 104 and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement a radio technology such as Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), which may establish the air interface 116 using wideband CDMA (WCDMA). WCDMA may include communication protocols such as High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA) and/or Evolved HSPA (HSPA+). HSPA may include High-Speed Downlink (DL) Packet Access (HSDPA) and/or High-Speed Uplink (UL) Packet Access (HSUPA).

[0028] In an embodiment, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement a radio technology such as Evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA), which may establish the air interface 116 using Long Term Evolution (LTE) and/or LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) and/or LTE-Advanced Pro (LTE-A Pro).

[0029] In an embodiment, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement a radio technology such as NR Radio Access , which may establish the air interface 116 using NR.

[0030] In an embodiment, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement multiple radio access technologies. For example, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement LTE radio access and NR radio access together, for instance using dual connectivity (DC) principles. Thus, the air interface utilized by WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may be characterized by multiple types of radio access technologies and/or transmissions sent to/from multiple types of base stations (e.g., an eNB and a gNB).

[0031] In other embodiments, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement radio technologies such as IEEE 802.11 (i.e., Wireless Fidelity (WiFi), IEEE 802.16 (i.e., Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX)), CDMA2000, CDMA2000 1X, CDMA2000 EV-DO, Interim Standard 2000 (IS-2000), Interim Standard 95 (IS-95), Interim Standard 856 (IS-856), Global System for Mobile communications (GSM), Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE), GSM EDGE (GERAN), and the like. [0032] The base station 114b in FIG. 1A may be a wireless router, Home Node B, Home eNode B, or access point, for example, and may utilize any suitable RAT for facilitating wireless connectivity in a localized area, such as a place of business, a home, a vehicle, a campus, an industrial facility, an air corridor (e.g., for use by drones), a roadway, and the like. In one embodiment, the base station 114b and the WTRUs 102c, 102d may implement a radio technology such as IEEE 802.11 to establish a wireless local area network (WLAN). In an embodiment, the base station 114b and the WTRUs 102c, 102d may implement a radio technology such as IEEE 802.15 to establish a wireless personal area network (WPAN). In yet another embodiment, the base station 114b and the WTRUs 102c, 102d may utilize a cellular-based RAT (e.g., WCDMA, CDMA2000, GSM, LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, NR etc.) to establish a picocell or femtocell. As shown in FIG. 1A, the base station 114b may have a direct connection to the Internet 110. Thus, the base station 114b may not be required to access the Internet 110 via the CN 106.

[0033] The RAN 104 may be in communication with the CN 106, which may be any type of network configured to provide voice, data, applications, and/or voice over internet protocol (VoIP) services to one or more of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d. The data may have varying quality of service (QoS) requirements, such as differing throughput requirements, latency requirements, error tolerance requirements, reliability requirements, data throughput requirements, mobility requirements, and the like. The CN 106 may provide call control, billing services, mobile location-based services, pre-paid calling, Internet connectivity, video distribution, etc., and/or perform high-level security functions, such as user authentication. Although not shown in FIG. 1A, it will be appreciated that the RAN 104 and/or the CN 106 may be in direct or indirect communication with other RANs that employ the same RAT as the RAN 104 or a different RAT. For example, in addition to being connected to the RAN 104, which may be utilizing a NR radio technology, the CN 106 may also be in communication with another RAN (not shown) employing a GSM, UMTS, CDMA 2000, WiMAX, E-UTRA, or WiFi radio technology.

[0034] The CN 106 may also serve as a gateway for the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d to access the PSTN 108, the Internet 110, and/or the other networks 112. The PSTN 108 may include circuit-switched telephone networks that provide plain old telephone service (POTS). The Internet 110 may include a global system of interconnected computer networks and devices that use common communication protocols, such as the transmission control protocol (TCP), user datagram protocol (UDP) and/or the internet protocol (IP) in the TCP/IP internet protocol suite. The networks 112 may include wired and/or wireless communications networks owned and/or operated by other service providers. For example, the networks 112 may include another CN connected to one or more RANs, which may employ the same RAT as the RAN 104 or a different RAT.

[0035] Some or all of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d in the communications system 100 may include multi-mode capabilities (e.g., the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d may include multiple transceivers for communicating with different wireless networks over different wireless links). For example, the WTRU 102c shown in FIG. 1A may be configured to communicate with the base station 114a, which may employ a cellularbased radio technology, and with the base station 114b, which may employ an IEEE 802 radio technology.

[0036] FIG. 1B is a system diagram illustrating an example WTRU 102. As shown in FIG. 1 B, the WTRU 102 may include a processor 118, a transceiver 120, a transmit/receive element 122, a speaker/microphone 124, a keypad 126, a display/touchpad 128, non-removable memory 130, removable memory 132, a power source 134, a global positioning system (GPS) chipset 136, and/or other peripherals 138, among others. It will be appreciated that the WTRU 102 may include any sub-combination of the foregoing elements while remaining consistent with an embodiment.

[0037] The processor 118 may be a general purpose processor, a special purpose processor, a conventional processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in association with a DSP core, a controller, a microcontroller, Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), any other type of integrated circuit (IC), a state machine, and the like. The processor 118 may perform signal coding, data processing, power control, input/output processing, and/or any other functionality that enables the WTRU 102 to operate in a wireless environment. The processor 118 may be coupled to the transceiver 120, which may be coupled to the transmit/receive element 122. While FIG. 1B depicts the processor 118 and the transceiver 120 as separate components, it will be appreciated that the processor 118 and the transceiver 120 may be integrated together in an electronic package or chip.

[0038] The transmit/receive element 122 may be configured to transmit signals to, or receive signals from, a base station (e.g., the base station 114a) over the air interface 116. For example, in one embodiment, the transmit/receive element 122 may be an antenna configured to transmit and/or receive RF signals. In an embodiment, the transmit/receive element 122 may be an emitter/detector configured to transmit and/or receive IR, UV, or visible light signals, for example. In yet another embodiment, the transmit/receive element 122 may be configured to transmit and/or receive both RF and light signals. It will be appreciated that the transmit/receive element 122 may be configured to transmit and/or receive any combination of wireless signals.

[0039] Although the transmit/receive element 122 is depicted in FIG. 1B as a single element, the WTRU 102 may include any number of transmit/receive elements 122. More specifically, the WTRU 102 may employ MIMO technology. Thus, in one embodiment, the WTRU 102 may include two or more transmit/receive elements 122 (e.g., multiple antennas) for transmitting and receiving wireless signals over the air interface 116. [0040] The transceiver 120 may be configured to modulate the signals that are to be transmitted by the transmit/receive element 122 and to demodulate the signals that are received by the transmit/receive element 122. As noted above, the WTRU 102 may have multi-mode capabilities. Thus, the transceiver 120 may include multiple transceivers for enabling the WTRU 102 to communicate via multiple RATs, such as NR and IEEE 802.11 , for example.

[0041] The processor 118 of the WTRU 102 may be coupled to, and may receive user input data from, the speaker/microphone 124, the keypad 126, and/or the display/touchpad 128 (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD) display unit or organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display unit). The processor 118 may also output user data to the speaker/microphone 124, the keypad 126, and/or the display/touchpad 128. In addition, the processor 118 may access information from, and store data in, any type of suitable memory, such as the non-removable memory 130 and/or the removable memory 132. The non-removable memory 130 may include random-access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), a hard disk, or any other type of memory storage device. The removable memory 132 may include a subscriber identity module (SIM) card, a memory stick, a secure digital (SD) memory card, and the like. In other embodiments, the processor 118 may access information from, and store data in, memory that is not physically located on the WTRU 102, such as on a server or a home computer (not shown).

[0042] The processor 118 may receive power from the power source 134, and may be configured to distribute and/or control the power to the other components in the WTRU 102. The power source 134 may be any suitable device for powering the WTRU 102. For example, the power source 134 may include one or more dry cell batteries (e.g., nickel-cadmium (NiCd), nickel-zinc (NiZn), nickel metal hydride (NiMH), lithium-ion (Li- ion), etc.), solar cells, fuel cells, and the like.

[0043] The processor 118 may also be coupled to the GPS chipset 136, which may be configured to provide location information (e.g., longitude and latitude) regarding the current location of the WTRU 102. In addition to, or in lieu of, the information from the GPS chipset 136, the WTRU 102 may receive location information over the air interface 116 from a base station (e.g., base stations 114a, 114b) and/or determine its location based on the timing of the signals being received from two or more nearby base stations. It will be appreciated that the WTRU 102 may acquire location information by way of any suitable location-determination method while remaining consistent with an embodiment.

[0044] The processor 118 may further be coupled to other peripherals 138, which may include one or more software and/or hardware modules that provide additional features, functionality and/or wired or wireless connectivity. For example, the peripherals 138 may include an accelerometer, an e-compass, a satellite transceiver, a digital camera (for photographs and/or video), a universal serial bus (USB) port, a vibration device, a television transceiver, a hands free headset, a Bluetooth® module, a frequency modulated (FM) radio unit, a digital music player, a media player, a video game player module, an Internet browser, a Virtual Reality and/or Augmented Reality (VR/AR) device, an activity tracker, and the like. The peripherals 138 may include one or more sensors. The sensors may be one or more of a gyroscope, an accelerometer, a hall effect sensor, a magnetometer, an orientation sensor, a proximity sensor, a temperature sensor, a time sensor; a geolocation sensor, an altimeter, a light sensor, a touch sensor, a magnetometer, a barometer, a gesture sensor, a biometric sensor, a humidity sensor and the like.

[0045] The WTRU 102 may include a full duplex radio for which transmission and reception of some or all of the signals (e.g., associated with particular subframes for both the UL (e.g., for transmission) and DL (e.g., for reception) may be concurrent and/or simultaneous. The full duplex radio may include an interference management unit to reduce and or substantially eliminate self-interference via either hardware (e.g., a choke) or signal processing via a processor (e.g., a separate processor (not shown) or via processor 118). In an embodiment, the WTRU 102 may include a half-duplex radio for which transmission and reception of some or all of the signals (e.g., associated with particular subframes for either the UL (e.g., for transmission) or the DL (e.g., for reception)). [0046] FIG. 1C is a system diagram illustrating the RAN 104 and the CN 106 according to an embodiment. As noted above, the RAN 104 may employ an E-UTRA radio technology to communicate with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c over the air interface 116. The RAN 104 may also be in communication with the CN 106.

[0047] The RAN 104 may include eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c, though it will be appreciated that the RAN 104 may include any number of eNode-Bs while remaining consistent with an embodiment. The eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c may each include one or more transceivers for communicating with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c over the air interface 116. In one embodiment, the eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c may implement MIMO technology. Thus, the eNode-B 160a, for example, may use multiple antennas to transmit wireless signals to, and/or receive wireless signals from, the WTRU 102a.

[0048] Each of the eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c may be associated with a particular cell (not shown) and may be configured to handle radio resource management decisions, handover decisions, scheduling of users in the UL and/or DL, and the like. As shown in FIG. 10, the eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c may communicate with one another over an X2 interface.

[0049] The CN 106 shown in FIG. 1C may include a mobility management entity (MME) 162, a serving gateway (SGW) 164, and a packet data network (PDN) gateway (PGW) 166. While the foregoing elements are depicted as part of the CN 106, it will be appreciated that any of these elements may be owned and/or operated by an entity other than the CN operator.

[0050] The MME 162 may be connected to each of the eNode-Bs 162a, 162b, 162c in the RAN 104 via an S1 interface and may serve as a control node. For example, the MME 162 may be responsible for authenticating users of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, bearer activation/deactivation, selecting a particular serving gateway during an initial attach of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, and the like. The MME 162 may provide a control plane function for switching between the RAN 104 and other RANs (not shown) that employ other radio technologies, such as GSM and/or WCDMA.

[0051] The SGW 164 may be connected to each of the eNode Bs 160a, 160b, 160c in the RAN 104 via the S1 interface. The SGW 164 may generally route and forward user data packets to/from the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c. The SGW 164 may perform other functions, such as anchoring user planes during inter-eNode B handovers, triggering paging when DL data is available for the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, managing and storing contexts of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, and the like.

[0052] The SGW 164 may be connected to the PGW 166, which may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to packet-switched networks, such as the Internet 110, to facilitate communications between the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and IP-enabled devices.

[0053] The CN 106 may facilitate communications with other networks. For example, the CN 106 may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to circuit-switched networks, such as the PSTN 108, to facilitate communications between the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and traditional land-line communications devices. For example, the CN 106 may include, or may communicate with, an IP gateway (e.g., an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) server) that serves as an interface between the CN 106 and the PSTN 108. In addition, the CN 106 may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to the other networks 112, which may include other wired and/or wireless networks that are owned and/or operated by other service providers. [0054] Although the WTRU is described in FIGS. 1A-1 D as a wireless terminal, it is contemplated that in certain representative embodiments that such a terminal may use (e.g., temporarily or permanently) wired communication interfaces with the communication network.

[0055] In representative embodiments, the other network 112 may be a WLAN.

[0056] A WLAN in Infrastructure Basic Service Set (BSS) mode may have an Access Point (AP) for the BSS and one or more stations (STAs) associated with the AP. The AP may have access or an interface to a Distribution System (DS) or another type of wired/wireless network that carries traffic in to and/or out of the BSS. Traffic to STAs that originates from outside the BSS may arrive through the AP and may be delivered to the STAs. Traffic originating from STAs to destinations outside the BSS may be sent to the AP to be delivered to respective destinations. Traffic between STAs within the BSS may be sent through the AP, for example, where the source STA may send traffic to the AP and the AP may deliver the traffic to the destination STA. The traffic between STAs within a BSS may be considered and/or referred to as peer-to-peer traffic. The peer-to- peer traffic may be sent between (e.g., directly between) the source and destination STAs with a direct link setup (DLS). In certain representative embodiments, the DLS may use an 802.11e DLS or an 802.11z tunneled DLS (TDLS). A WLAN using an Independent BSS (IBSS) mode may not have an AP, and the STAs (e.g., all of the STAs) within or using the IBSS may communicate directly with each other. The IBSS mode of communication may sometimes be referred to herein as an “ad-hoc” mode of communication.

[0057] When using the 802.11ac infrastructure mode of operation or a similar mode of operations, the AP may transmit a beacon on a fixed channel, such as a primary channel. The primary channel may be a fixed width (e.g., 20 MHz wide bandwidth) or a dynamically set width. The primary channel may be the operating channel of the BSS and may be used by the STAs to establish a connection with the AP. In certain representative embodiments, Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Avoidance (CSMA/CA) may be implemented, for example in 802.11 systems. For CSMA/CA, the STAs (e.g., every STA), including the AP, may sense the primary channel. If the primary channel is sensed/detected and/or determined to be busy by a particular STA, the particular STA may back off. One STA (e.g., only one station) may transmit at any given time in a given BSS.

[0058] High Throughput (HT) STAs may use a 40 MHz wide channel for communication, for example, via a combination of the primary 20 MHz channel with an adjacent or nonadjacent 20 MHz channel to form a 40 MHz wide channel.

[0059] Very High Throughput (VHT) STAs may support 20MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, and/or 160 MHz wide channels. The 40 MHz, and/or 80 MHz, channels may be formed by combining contiguous 20 MHz channels. A 160 MHz channel may be formed by combining 8 contiguous 20 MHz channels, or by combining two non- contiguous 80 MHz channels, which may be referred to as an 80+80 configuration. For the 80+80 configuration, the data, after channel encoding, may be passed through a segment parser that may divide the data into two streams. Inverse Fast Fourier Transform (IFFT) processing, and time domain processing, may be done on each stream separately. The streams may be mapped on to the two 80 MHz channels, and the data may be transmitted by a transmitting STA. At the receiver of the receiving STA, the above described operation for the 80+80 configuration may be reversed, and the combined data may be sent to the Medium Access Control (MAC).

[0060] Sub 1 GHz modes of operation are supported by 802.11 af and 802.11ah. The channel operating bandwidths, and carriers, are reduced in 802.11af and 802.11ah relative to those used in 802.11n, and 802.11ac. 802.11af supports 5 MHz, 10 MHz, and 20 MHz bandwidths in the TV White Space (TVWS) spectrum, and 802.11ah supports 1 MHz, 2 MHz, 4 MHz, 8 MHz, and 16 MHz bandwidths using non-TVWS spectrum. According to a representative embodiment, 802.11ah may support Meter Type Control/Machine- Type Communications (MTC), such as MTC devices in a macro coverage area. MTC devices may have certain capabilities, for example, limited capabilities including support for (e.g., only support for) certain and/or limited bandwidths. The MTC devices may include a battery with a battery life above a threshold (e.g., to maintain a very long battery life).

[0061] WLAN systems, which may support multiple channels, and channel bandwidths, such as 802.11 n, 802.11ac, 802.11af, and 802.11ah, include a channel which may be designated as the primary channel. The primary channel may have a bandwidth equal to the largest common operating bandwidth supported by all ST As in the BSS. The bandwidth of the primary channel may be set and/or limited by a STA, from among all STAs in operating in a BSS, which supports the smallest bandwidth operating mode. In the example of 802.11ah, the primary channel may be 1 MHz wide for STAs (e.g., MTC type devices) that support (e.g., only support) a 1 MHz mode, even if the AP, and other STAs in the BSS support 2 MHz, 4 MHz, 8 MHz, 16 MHz, and/or other channel bandwidth operating modes. Carrier sensing and/or Network Allocation Vector (NAV) settings may depend on the status of the primary channel. If the primary channel is busy, for example, due to a STA (which supports only a 1 MHz operating mode) transmitting to the AP, all available frequency bands may be considered busy even though a majority of the available frequency bands remains idle.

[0062] In the United States, the available frequency bands, which may be used by 802.11 ah, are from 902 MHz to 928 MHz. In Korea, the available frequency bands are from 917.5 MHz to 923.5 MHz. In Japan, the available frequency bands are from 916.5 MHz to 927.5 MHz. The total bandwidth available for 802.11 ah is 6 MHz to 26 MHz depending on the country code.

[0063] FIG. 1D is a system diagram illustrating the RAN 104 and the CN 106 according to an embodiment. As noted above, the RAN 104 may employ an NR radio technology to communicate with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c over the air interface 116. The RAN 104 may also be in communication with the CN 106. [0064] The RAN 104 may include gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c, though it will be appreciated that the RAN 104 may include any number of gNBs while remaining consistent with an embodiment. The gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may each include one or more transceivers for communicating with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c over the air interface 116. In one embodiment, the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may implement MIMO technology. For example, gNBs 180a, 108b may utilize beamforming to transmit signals to and/or receive signals from the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c. Thus, the gNB 180a, for example, may use multiple antennas to transmit wireless signals to, and/or receive wireless signals from, the WTRU 102a. In an embodiment, the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may implement carrier aggregation technology. For example, the gNB 180a may transmit multiple component carriers to the WTRU 102a (not shown). A subset of these component carriers may be on unlicensed spectrum while the remaining component carriers may be on licensed spectrum. In an embodiment, the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may implement Coordinated Multi-Point (CoMP) technology. For example, WTRU 102a may receive coordinated transmissions from gNB 180a and gNB 180b (and/or gNB 180c).

[0065] The WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c using transmissions associated with a scalable numerology. For example, the OFDM symbol spacing and/or OFDM subcarrier spacing may vary for different transmissions, different cells, and/or different portions of the wireless transmission spectrum. The WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c using subframe or transmission time intervals (TTIs) of various or scalable lengths (e.g., containing a varying number of OFDM symbols and/or lasting varying lengths of absolute time).

[0066] The gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may be configured to communicate with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c in a standalone configuration and/or a non-standalone configuration. In the standalone configuration, WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c without also accessing other RANs (e.g., such as eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c). In the standalone configuration, WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may utilize one or more of gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c as a mobility anchor point. In the standalone configuration, WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c using signals in an unlicensed band. In a non-standalone configuration WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with/connect to gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c while also communicating with/connecting to another RAN such as eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c. For example, WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement DC principles to communicate with one or more gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c and one or more eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c substantially simultaneously. In the non- standalone configuration, eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c may serve as a mobility anchor for WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may provide additional coverage and/or throughput for servicing WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c.

[0067] Each of the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may be associated with a particular cell (not shown) and may be configured to handle radio resource management decisions, handover decisions, scheduling of users in the UL and/or DL, support of network slicing, DC, interworking between NR and E-UTRA, routing of user plane data towards User Plane Function (UPF) 184a, 184b, routing of control plane information towards Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 182a, 182b and the like. As shown in FIG. 1 D, the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may communicate with one another over an Xn interface.

[0068] The CN 106 shown in FIG. 1 D may include at least one AMF 182a, 182b, at least one UPF 184a, 184b, at least one Session Management Function (SMF) 183a, 183b, and possibly a Data Network (DN) 185a, 185b. While the foregoing elements are depicted as part of the CN 106, it will be appreciated that any of these elements may be owned and/or operated by an entity other than the CN operator.

[0069] The AMF 182a, 182b may be connected to one or more of the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c in the RAN 104 via an N2 interface and may serve as a control node. For example, the AMF 182a, 182b may be responsible for authenticating users of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, support for network slicing (e.g., handling of different protocol data unit (PDU) sessions with different requirements), selecting a particular SMF 183a, 183b, management of the registration area, termination of non-access stratum (NAS) signaling, mobility management, and the like. Network slicing may be used by the AMF 182a, 182b in order to customize CN support for WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c based on the types of services being utilized WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c. For example, different network slices may be established for different use cases such as services relying on ultra-reliable low latency (URLLC) access, services relying on enhanced massive mobile broadband (eMBB) access, services for MTC access, and the like. The AMF 182a, 182b may provide a control plane function for switching between the RAN 104 and other RANs (not shown) that employ other radio technologies, such as LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, and/or non-3GPP access technologies such as WiFi.

[0070] The SMF 183a, 183b may be connected to an AMF 182a, 182b in the CN 106 via an N11 interface. The SMF 183a, 183b may also be connected to a UPF 184a, 184b in the CN 106 via an N4 interface. The SMF 183a, 183b may select and control the UPF 184a, 184b and configure the routing of traffic through the UPF 184a, 184b. The SMF 183a, 183b may perform other functions, such as managing and allocating UE IP address, managing PDU sessions, controlling policy enforcement and QoS, providing DL data notifications, and the like. A PDU session type may be IP-based, non-IP based, Ethernet-based, and the like.

[0071] The UPF 184a, 184b may be connected to one or more of the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c in the RAN 104 via an N3 interface, which may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to packet-switched networks, such as the Internet 110, to facilitate communications between the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and IP-enabled devices. The UPF 184, 184b may perform other functions, such as routing and forwarding packets, enforcing user plane policies, supporting multi-homed PDU sessions, handling user plane QoS, buffering DL packets, providing mobility anchoring, and the like.

[0072] The CN 106 may facilitate communications with other networks. For example, the CN 106 may include, or may communicate with, an IP gateway (e.g., an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) server) that serves as an interface between the CN 106 and the PSTN 108. In addition, the CN 106 may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to the other networks 112, which may include other wired and/or wireless networks that are owned and/or operated by other service providers. In one embodiment, the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may be connected to a local DN 185a, 185b through the UPF 184a, 184b via the N3 interface to the UPF 184a, 184b and an N6 interface between the UPF 184a, 184b and the DN 185a, 185b.

[0073] In view of FIGs. 1A-1 D, and the corresponding description of FIGs. 1A-1 D, one or more, or all, of the functions described herein with regard to one or more of: WTRU 102a-d, Base Station 114a-b, eNode-B 160a-c, MME 162, SGW 164, PGW 166, gNB 180a-c, AMF 182a-b, UPF 184a-b, SMF 183a-b, DN 185a-b, and/or any other device(s) described herein, may be performed by one or more emulation devices (not shown). The emulation devices may be one or more devices configured to emulate one or more, or all, of the functions described herein. For example, the emulation devices may be used to test other devices and/or to simulate network and/or WTRU functions.

[0074] The emulation devices may be designed to implement one or more tests of other devices in a lab environment and/or in an operator network environment. For example, the one or more emulation devices may perform the one or more, or all, functions while being fully or partially implemented and/or deployed as part of a wired and/or wireless communication network in order to test other devices within the communication network. The one or more emulation devices may perform the one or more, or all, functions while being temporarily implemented/deployed as part of a wired and/or wireless communication network. The emulation device may be directly coupled to another device for purposes of testing and/or performing testing using over-the-air wireless communications.

[0075] The one or more emulation devices may perform the one or more, including all, functions while not being implemented/deployed as part of a wired and/or wireless communication network. For example, the emulation devices may be utilized in a testing scenario in a testing laboratory and/or a non-deployed (e.g., testing) wired and/or wireless communication network in order to implement testing of one or more components. The one or more emulation devices may be test equipment. Direct RF coupling and/or wireless communications via RF circuitry (e.g., which may include one or more antennas) may be used by the emulation devices to transmit and/or receive data.

[0076] Embodiments for activation/triggering of WTRU sensors under a hazard condition. In one embodiment, a WTRU may indicate to a network the ability to activate or trigger sensors under hazard by sending an sensing indication in a network access stratum (NAS) message, e.g. initial registration message, mobility registration message, service request message, UL NAS transport message, etc. The WTRU may provide its sensing support indication, which indicates that the sensing is supported in general by the WTRU. There may also be an associated sensing capability, which includes what sensing service types are supported and how many sensors are available, as multiple sensors may be linked to a single WTRU.

[0077] According to this embodiment, a network access station, e.g., a gNB, that receives the hazard sensing capability indication from a WTRU, may determine that the WTRU is located in an area affected by the hazard, and hence the network should initiate activation of sensing by the WTRU. In one example, the gNB sends either an entire hazard_service_info, or parts of the information, in a hazardjndication, e.g., information including sensing service ID, priority level etc., in a system information block (SIB).

[0078] One reason the gNB may not send the whole hazard_service_info may be that the size of the container could be large. To avoid that issue the gNB may select parts of information from the hazard_service_info deemed relevant to operation. One reason of sending this hazard indication in a SIB is to notify and activate as many of the sensing capable WTRUs as possible, especially those which are in a radio resource control (RRC) idle state.

[0079] In one example embodiment, an access and mobility management function (AMF) of a network may send in a NAS signaling message, e.g., DL NAS transport message, mobility registration update message, etc., a sensing_request container to the WTRU. The NAS container may carry a hazard_service_info information element (IE) to the WTRUs in proximity to the hazard focus area. As detailed further below, the AMF may also include a target sensing operation management function (SOMF) ID that a WTRU knows where to report the sensing measurement data.

[0080] By way of one example, there can be multiple AMFs serving the focus area. If a WTRU is a Relay WTRU, each AMF, after receiving the hazard sensing service request message, may notify the WTRU(s) of a hazard sensing service by sending, for example, a hazard_service_info IE or hazard_service indication, via NAS signaling or via SIB.

[0081] In one example, a WTRU is a Relay WTRU that supports sensing services. As used herein, a Relay WTRU is a WTRU that has relay capability and supports both WTRU-to-WTRU and WTRU-to-Network relay services. In some embodiments, the WTRU also supports PC5 communication for direct communication between the WTRUs. When a Relay WTRU receives a hazard_service_info IE in the sensing_request container from the AMF, for example, over the NAS signaling message or in a SIB from the gNB, the Relay WTRU may start to broadcast, or unicast, hazard_service_info in a PC5 message, which may be a discovery message, direct communication request or response message, or one of the link management messages.

[0082] In various embodiments, if a WTRU that supports sensing capabilities, receives a hazard_service_info or a hazardjndication in a SIB, NAS message or PC5 message, the WTRU activates its relevant sensors and initiates sensing measurements. In some embodiments, the WTRU may alternatively reject or deny a request to provide hazard service sensing information.

[0083] Embodiments reporting sensing measurements when a home public land mobile network (HPLMN) is down or the WTRU is out-of-coverage (OoC). In certain embodiments, the hazard_servicejnfo is conveyed to a Relay WTRU or a gNB by a visiting public land mobile network (vPLMN) AMF. In these embodiments, hazard service information may be broadcast as hazard_servicejnfo in a PC5 message or in a SIB.

[0084] When OoC or unable to reach its HPLMN, a WTRU that receives hazard_servicejnfo, for example, by means of SIB, PC5 message or any other service, e.g. a non-3GPP Interworking Function (N3IWF) messaging, the WTRU is triggered for sensing measurements, assuming that sensing is supported. [0085] If the WTRU receives hazard_service_info via a relay, the WTRU may establish a WTRU-to-Network relay connection for communication with the AMF and respective sensing operation management function (SOMF) via the relay connection. It is possible that a remote WTRU and Relay WTRU belong to different PLMNs.

[0086] In an alternative embodiment, when a WTRU receives hazard_service_info, the WTRU may look up available PLMNs. The WTRU may then send a registration request to a vPLMN that includes sensing support indication and/or sensing service ID, to let an associated AMF know that the WTRU is capable, or intends, to report sensing measurements under a hazard.

[0087] Referring to FIG. 2, an example reference model of a potential architecture 200 of 5G or next generation (NextGen) network is shown. As shown, a radio access network (RAN) in this example architecture, is based on the 5G radio access technology (RAT) or Evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA) that connects to the NextGen core network. In this example architecture, the Access Control and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 205 may include functionalities such as, registration management, connection management, reachability management, mobility management, etc. The Session Management Function (SMF) 210 may include functionalities such as, session management (including session establishment, modify and release), WTRU IP address allocation, selection and control of user plane (UP) function, etc. The User Plane Function (UPF) 215 may include functionalities such as, packet routing and forwarding, packet inspection, traffic usage reporting, etc.

[0088] Currently, there are ongoing efforts to define integrated sensing on use cases and their potential requirements for enhancement of 5G systems to provide sensing services addressing different target verticals and applications, e.g., autonomous/assisted driving, vehide-to-everything (V2X), unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), 3D map reconstruction, smart city, smart home, factories, healthcare, maritime sector and the like.

[0089] For integrated sensing, one example process relates to collection of sensing measurement data regarding the radio/wireless signals that are impacted (e.g. reflected, refracted, diffracted) by an object or environment of interest. Sensing results may be derived from processing sensing measurement data. An area defined for sensing is referred to as a service area location, for which, with or without obstacles, the 5G system can provide sensing service with certain quality.

[0090] N3GPP entities have been considered and sensing measurement data is considered as transparent to a 5G system (5GS) such that N3GPP data is communicated using a standard protocol to an interface defined by the 5GS. Use cases presented in this disclosure are for purposes of example only, and include: (1) a use case on rainfall monitoring; and (2) a use case for object detection. However, embodiments disclosed herein are not limited to any specific use case(s) and the term “hazard,” as used herein, is not intended to be limiting. [0091] Rainfall monitoring is a topic of importance for several application contexts including, hydraulic structure design, agriculture, weather forecasting, climate modelling, etc. At present, the most widely used measurement method is a conventional rain gauge. However, radio signals, as they propagate through the atmosphere, are reduced in intensity by constituents of the atmosphere. Oxygen and water vapor are the two major components which are responsible for radio signal absorption. For example, if it is a rainy day, an additional attenuation caused by rain further increases the propagation path loss of radio waves. This rain attenuation varies depending on the size, quantity and distribution of the water droplets, and hence, by quantifying and modelling the signal measurements, e.g., proximate a base station, characteristics of weather, such as rate of rain downfall, may be derived.

[0092] Object detection is another use case for integrated sensing. As shown in the example of FIG. 3, an environment 300 is shown in which sensing applications may, for example, include pedestrian 305 and/or animal 310 intrusion detection on a highway 315. In the example of FIG. 4, an environment 400 is shown in which sensing is used to detect intruder 405 in surroundings of a smart home, e.g., by WTRU 407 sending sensing signal 410 and detecting reflections 412 of sensing signal 410.

[0093] In these example scenarios, a base station or WTRU can detect the intrusion objects on the sensing area of a base station itself or by collaboration between WTRU and base station. In certain embodiments, the sensing measurements may be transferred to the network and further processed into one or more sensing results.

[0094] As mentioned previously, natural hazards such as flooding due to heavy rain fall, land-slides, and urban structural damages due to an earthquake and tsunami may occur more frequently due to climate change. There are systems in place to predict or localize areas where these hazards could or may have occurred in real-time. However, there remains work for effective solutions, such as estimation of impact of these hazards and situational awareness for rescue and/or loss prevention measures.

[0095] One example use case of sensing may be to provide sensing service under natural hazards by making use of the deployed sensors and their measurement data to understand the impact of these hazards and/or to take appropriate actions. Sensors with certain capability may be used for different sensing services. Example sensing capabilities may include: New Radio (NR) radio wave characteristics utilized for rain, flood, and water-level sensing; cameras and/or LIDAR utilized to visually understand the impact of hazards such as floods and earthquakes; and/or other smart devices, which may or may not be a cellular WTRU device, may also be used to enrich sensing functionality.

[0096] A number of sensors may be deployed in an area of interest, or focus area, where a hazard may have occurred. Sensors may be of various types and supporting many different sensing services or applications, for devices in idle or connected state. In one example, a third-party application function (AF), possibly managed by an authority, e.g., a state department or municipality, may provide access to some or all of the sensors relevant to a hazard or potential hazard.

[0097] In one example, sensors available in the area of interest may be in active or in an idle state. In some cases, sensors may have lost connection because their HPLMN is not functional due to a hazard such as flooding and rain, or there are coverage issues. In this circumstance, embodiments disclosed herein may relate to methods and conditions in which a 5G core network (5GC) may activate available sensors to start reporting under a hazard situation. Further, example embodiments relate to methods and conditions to enable sensors to report the measurements to a sensing network function (NF) in the 5GC when a WTRU’s HPLMN is not accessible.

[0098] As detailed further, embodiments of this disclosure may include a sensing network function (NF), for example an integrated sensing assistance network function (ISANF), which constructs a hazard_service_info container (e.g., including a sensing service ID, data type, periodicity, equivalent PLMN ID, priority level) for sending to an AMF/gNBs located in, or proximate to, the hazard area.

[0099] In some embodiments, the AMF sends a request to the gNB and the gNB may use the SIB to broadcast the hazard_service_info, which enables WTRUs (having sensing capability), even in the idle mode, to report sensing measurements or sensing data.

[0100] In some embodiments, the AMF may send the hazard_service_info in a DL NAS T ransport message in the sensing_service container to an end WTRU, given the WTRU has provided sensing capability when registering.

[0101] For embodiments where a WTRU is capable to act as a relay, the Relay WTRU may further broadcast the hazard_service_info in a PC5 broadcast message.

[0102] In a case that a WTRU, that is out of coverage or may not be able to reach its PLMN due to hazard, upon reception of hazard_service_info by any means (e.g., via relay or via a non-3GPP Internetworking Function (N3IWF)) the WTRU may look up a vPLMN to report sensing measurement data under hazard.

[0103] To enable integrated sensing, one or more new network functions may be defined such as an Integrated Sensing Assistance NF (ISANF) and/or a Sensing Operation Management Function (SOMF), although other terms may be used to describe related logical functions or they may be integrated with other NFs. In the embodiments herein, the ISANF and SOMF are logical entities, and may be collocated with other entities, e.g., the ISANF maybe collocated with a network exposure function (NEF), the ISANF and SOMF are both are collocated with the NEF, the SOMF may be collocated with an AMF, or the SOMF may be collocated with a RAN node such a gNB. Various other split architectures and/or combinations are also contemplated.

[0104] Integrated Sensing Assistance NF (ISANF) - This network function serves to oversee interaction with an Application Function (AF) for a sensing service. In various embodiments, the ISANF understands a service request from the Application Function (AF) and can derive corresponding requested sensing mechanisms. Based on the determined sensing mechanism(s), the ISANF forwards the AF request to the relevant NFs within the 5GC that serve the region of interest or requested entities such as WTRUs. When an Application Function is a 3rd party application, which is not a trusted entity of the 5GS, the Application Function and ISANF may communicate through a NEF (Network Exposure Function).

[0105] Sensing Operation Management Function (SOMF) - This management function serves to handle coordination of sensing operation among BSs and WTRUs. Based on information received from the AMF, for example relating to a requested sensing region, a list of BSs and WTRUs, and requested sensing mechanism(s), potentially with a QoS requirement, may be determined. The SOMF may derive coordination information for sensing operation. For example, the SOMF may decide the roles of a sensing operation such as sender(s) of sensing signal(s), receiver(s) of sensing signal(s), entity or entities to collect the sensing measurement data, entity to calculate a sensing result, etc. In one example, a SOMF may decide a sensing period, the waveform of sensing signal and/or request BS(s) or sender(s) for resource assignment(s) for sending sensing signal(s) during the sensing period. In some embodiments, the ISANF and the SOMF may be combined into a single sensing network function and referred to as either ISANF or SOMF, or by another designation, and the embodiments are not limited in this respect.

[0106] FIG. 5 shows an example embodiment of a method 500 for activation of sensors using control plane signalling. In this example, activation of sensors is performed via a system information block (SIB) and may include the following steps:

[0107] Initially, a WTRU sends 502 in a NAS message to the AMF, e.g. initial registration message, mobility registration message, etc., including a sensing support indication, which indicates that sensing is supported in general by the WTRU. There may also be an associated sensing capability, which includes what sensing service types are supported, what type of sensors the WTRU has and/or how many sensors are available, as there may be multiple sensors linked to a single WTRU.

[0108] When a natural hazard occurs 504 (e.g., flooding due to heavy rain fall, land-slides, urban structural damages due to an earthquake or a tsunami), then authorities such as one of the state departments or a rescue service operation team, which are authorized to issue an alert, may use an AF to trigger a hazard sensing service request. Note that the trigger from the AF may be controlled or verified by a trusted 3^rd party AF or potentially triggered by a non-3GPP AF such as an interworking NF.

[0109] Once triggered, the AF sends 506 a hazard sensing service request, which in one example, includes a focus area, a type of hazard, at least one sensing service type, a sensing service ID (e.g., based on service such as flood or earthquake, etc.) and one or more data types (e.g., RF measurements, processed info, videos), periodicity and priority. In certain embodiments, the hazard sensing service request is received by the ISANF. [0110] In general, when a service request for sensing comes from the AF, it may include a specific type of sensing request e.g. intrusion detection, rain detection, drone detection, etc., and region information in which the sensing should be performed. In an example embodiment for the case of hazard, the hazard sensing service request may have a larger focus area and different priority levels and may include one or more condition parameters, e.g., indicating the severity of the event that triggers the requested hazard sensing service. For example, a rain monitoring sensing event may be requested as an early warning with low priority level, whereas for a flooding and structural damaged evaluation, a high priority level is included. The priority level may then be used by the sensing WTRU to prioritize sensing measurements and reporting periodicity. [0111] In some embodiments, a data type is included as part of a hazard sensing service request to specify the type of measurement to be collected by available sensors, e.g., RF measurements, videos, images or any other service specific sensing data. The service request may include specific QoS requirements on the sensing service, e.g. sensing accuracy, latency, sensing frequency, resolution, etc. In some embodiments, a periodicity parameter may also be included by the AF in the request, specifying a desired frequency of sensing measurements and reporting. Various alternatives and combinations may be used.

[0112] Next, the sensing NF, i.e., ISANF, may then translate the received hazard sensing service request and determine 508 various sensing mechanism(s) which should be performed in a 5GS, e.g. BS-only based sensing, BS and WTRU collaboration-based sensing, WTRU-only based sensing, etc., and derive requested event services for the condition parameter for the requested sensing service. The ISANF may interact with different functions within the 5GS such as the AMF and policy control function (PCF) to determine 508 parameters that are required to construct a hazard_service_info container. The ISANF based on this coordination, determines relevant parameters for sensing, for example, PLMN ID (e.g., equivalent PLMN), a list of AMFs, list of timing advance (TA), list of cell IDs, list of gNBs, etc.

[0113] The ISANF constructs a hazard_service_info (e.g., including sensing service ID, data type, periodicity, equivalent PLMN ID, priority level) and the sends 510 an ISANF hazard sensing service request message to the AMF serving the focus area. The message may include the hazard_service_info, list of AMFs, list of TAs, list of gNBs, requested sensing mechanism(s) and may include QoS requirements if applicable. When an AMF cannot serve the requested focus area, multiple AMFs may be selected to serve the target WTRU(s) or the requested regions, and the ISANF may send an ISANF hazard sensing service request message to each selected AMF, as determined in the list of AMFs. Alternatively, when the ISANF knows the sensing operation management function (SOMF) service area, the ISANF may also include a list of target SOMF IDs in the message that are serving in the focus area.

[0114] At this point, each AMF, as there may be multiple AMFs serving the focus area, after receiving the ISANF hazard sensing service request message, determines 512 the relevant TAs, cell IDs and/or gNBs from the received list of TAs, list of cell IDs and list of gNBs that are serving the overall focus area. In one embodiment, the AMF may also determine target SOMF IDs, based on the list of SOMF IDs, so that the sensing operation may be managed by the SOMF once the sensing WTRUs have activated to respond to hazard sensing measurement operations.

[0115] The AMF then sends 514 a sensing request message or hazard notification indication to the relevant gNB(s), including a hazard_service_info IE to indicate a hazard has occurred. In some embodiments, the AMF may also include sensing mechanism info to notify the gNB whether BS-only based sensing, BS and WTRU collaboration-based sensing, or WTRU only based sensing is required. Additionally, the sensing request message/hazard sensing notification may include a target SOMF ID in case the gNB is required to collect and report sensing measurements to the SOMF. [0116] The gNB, upon receiving the hazard notification, understands that it is located in an affected area/area of interest, and hence should initiate activation of sensing WTRU(s). The gNB may send 516 either the whole hazard_service_info or parts of the information in the hazard notification received from the AMF, e.g. sensing service ID, priority level etc., as a hazard J ndication to the WTRU in a SIB. As mentioned previously, one reason the gNB may not send the whole hazard_service_info in a SIB is a large size of the container. To avoid that issue, the gNB may select parts of information from the hazard_service_info needed to activate each WTRU(s) sensing. An important factor in sending this in a SIB is to notify and activate all the sensing capable WTRUs, especially those which are in RRCJdle state. In some embodiments or scenarios, the gNB may itself support sensing measurements, and depending on the sensing mechanism info, the gNB may also start to collect the sensing measurement data, which is sent to the SOMF via AMF or directly to SOMF, depending on the deployment architecture of the SOMF.

[0117] For a WTRU(s) that supports sensing, when a WTRU finds hazard_service_info or a hazardjndication in a SIB, the WTRU may activate 518 its sensors and initiate sensing measurements. For the case, when WTRU has not received enough information, i.e. only hazardjndication and not the complete hazard_servicejnfo IE, then the WTRU upon reception of the hazardjndication may initiate connection establishment with the 5GC (SOMF) identify the sensing service ID, and receive communications from the SOMF, which may provide additional details of the hazard service request to the sensing WTRU.

[0118] The sensing measurement data collected by the WTRU may be sent 520 to the SOMF. When sending collected sensing measurement data, the data may be collocated at a WTRU ora BS initially, and then may be sent to the SOMF. Which entity will collect the sensing data may be indicated in coordination information, for example, the WTRU is coordinating between the gNB, the AMF, and the SOMF after activation. The SOMF may calculate one or more sensing results using sensing measurement data received from the WTRU(s)/gNB(s).

[0119] In some embodiments, the SOMF may send sensing results to the AMF via an AMF Sensing Response (not shown). Alternatively, other entities, for example one of the BS or the WTRU in the list, or other dedicated network function, may calculate sensing the result(s). For example, if a BS calculates a sensing result, the collected sensing measurement data may be sent to the BS initially, and a calculation result is sent to the SOMF by the BS. After receiving a sensing result, the AMF may report the sensing result to the ISANF via an isanf_hazard_sensing_service_response (not separately shown in FIG. 5) and the ISANF reports the sensing result to the AF via a hazard_sensing_service response. When multiple AMFs are involved for the sensing service, the collected sensing result from the AMFs involved may be included at the sensing response to the AF.

[0120] Referring to FIG. 6, a method 600 for activating sensors in a WTRU having sensing capabilities is shown. As before, the WTRU sends 605 an indication to the network that the WTRU may support network sensing operations. When the WTRU receives 610 hazard service information (HSI) from the network, the WTRU may determine whether the received HSI includes an indication that the WTRU should activate 620 sensor measurements and/or collection of sensing data. It is possible that a hazard indication could be received as a warning of the potential hazard and/or a preliminary indication to potentially perform sensor measurements, but not actually perform sensing initially. In other embodiments, the WTRU may return to RRC connected state and contact the SOMF with a provided sensing ID for determining sensing operations. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, when the HIS includes indication for the WTRU to activate sensing, the WTRU activates 620 its sensor operations, measures/records related sensor information and sends 625 measured or recorded sensor information to the network until all of the requested sensing operations are completed, e.g., a duration or periodicity has expired or volume of solicited sensor measurements has been completed.

[0121] Referring to FIG. 7, an example embodiment for a method 700 of activating sensors when receiving hazard notification in DL NAS Transport message is shown. In this embodiment, activation of sensors via NAS messaging may be the same as described in reference to FIG. 5 previously, and only differences are described below.

[0122] In method 700, each AMF, as there can be multiple AMFs serving the focus area, after receiving the isanfjiazard sensing service request message, determines 712 the relevant TAs, cell IDs and gNBs from the received list of TAs, list of cell IDs and list of gNBs that are serving the overall focus area. The AMF may also determine 712 target SOMF IDs based from the list of SOMF ID so that the sensing operation could be managed by the SOFM once the sensing WTRUs have activated to respond the hazard sensing measurements.

[0123] The AMF may also determine 712 a list of WTRUs as well, based on the sensing support indication and sensing capability received from the WTRUs initially, which indicates that the sensing is supported in general by the WTRU and what sensing services are supported. Given the WTRU belongs to one of the TA, cell ID and gNB associated to hazard focus area, the AMF may determine 712 which WTRUs should receive the hazard_service_info. In one embodiment, the AMF may also coordinate with a NF, such as PCF and/or unified data management (UDM), to request policy and subscription information of the WTRU.

[0124] Next, the AMF sends 714 in a NAS signaling message, e.g., DL NAS transport message, mobility registration update message, etc., a sensing_request container to the WTRU. The NAS container carries a hazard_service_info IE to all the WTRUs that belong to the hazard focus area. The AMF may also include a target SOMF ID in the hazard_service_info IE so that WTRU knows where to report the sensing measurement data.

[0125] For a WTRU that supports sensing, when it receives a hazard_service_info IE in the sensing_request container from the AMF over the NAS signaling message, the WTRU activates 718 sensors and initiates sensing measurements.

[0126] The sensing measurement data collected by the WTRU are sent 720 to the SOMF. When sending collected sensing measurement data, it may be collocated at a WTRU or a BS initially, and then may be sent to the SOMF. Which entity will collect the sensing data may be indicated in coordination information, when WTRU is coordinating between the gNB, AMF, and SOMF after activation. The SOMF may calculate the sensing result using collected sensing measurement data received.

[0127] The SOMF may send the sensing result to the AMF via an amf_sensing response. Alternatively, other entities, for example one of the BS(s) or WTRU(s) in the list, or other dedicated network function, may calculate the sensing result. For example, if a BS calculates the sensing result, the collected sensing measurement data may be sent to the BS initially, and the calculation result is sent to the SOMF by the BS. After receiving a sensing result, the AMF may report the sensing result to the ISANF via an isanf_hazard_sensing_service_response and the ISANF reports the sensing result to the AF via a hazard_sensing_service response. When multiple AMFs are involved for the sensing service, the collected sensing result from AMFs involved may be included at the sensing response to the AF.

[0128] Referring to FIG. 8, an example method 800 for activation of sensors when receiving a hazard notification via a Relay WTRU is shown. In this example embodiment, activation of sensors of a Remote WTRU may be performed via the Relay WTRU sending 816 a PC5 message and previous steps shown are similar to those described previously in reference to FIG. 5, with the exception that the Relay WTRU provides sensing support indication initially, rather than the sensing WTRU/Remote WTRU. In this effort, although not shown, the Remote WTRU may provide its sensing capability indication to the Relay WTRU, e.g., by a PC5 message (not shown).

[0129] As with other embodiments, each AMF, as there can be multiple AMFs serving the focus area, after receiving 810 the isanfjiazard sensing service request message from the ISANF, the AMF may notify relevant WTRUs, the including the Relay WTRU, of hazard sensing service by sending a hazard_service_info IE or hazard_service indication, via NAS signaling or via a SIB.

[0130] In example method 800, the WTRU supports sensing services may also be a Relay WTRU. A Relay WTRU is a WTRU that has relay capability and supports both WTRU-to-WTRU and WTRU-to-Network relay services. In this example, the Relay WTRU also supports PC5 communication for direct communication between WTRUs. When such a Relay WTRU receives a hazard_service_info IE in the sensing_request container from the AMF over the NAS signaling message or in a SIB from gNB, the Relay WTRU may send 816, e.g., by broadcast or unicast, the hazard_service_info in a PC5 message, which can be a discovery message, direct communication request or response message, or one of the link management messages, to other Remote WTRUs.

[0131] A WTRU that supports sensing and also supports PC5 communication may be looking for a discovery message for direct WTRU-to-WTRU communication, or it is out of coverage and looking for a WTRU- to-Network relay, or may already be in a session with a WTRU-to-Network Relay. In this case, in one of the PC5 messages the Remote WTRU finds a hazard_service_info or a hazardjndication. Upon reception of a hazard_service_info the Remote WTRU activates 818 sensors and initiates sensing measurements. This WTRU may also be referred to as a Remote sensing WTRU.

[0132] In this case the Remote sensing WTRU may send 820 its sensing measurements to the AMF/SOMF via the Relay WTRU or directly if it has an adequate network connection. The collected sensing measurement data is sent 820 to the SOMF. The collected sensing measurement data may be collocated at a WTRU or a BS initially, and then may be sent to the SOMF. The entity that will collect the sensing data may be indicated in coordination information, for example, when a WTRU is coordinating between a gNB, an AMF, and/or a SOMF after activation. As before, the SOMF may calculate a sensing result using collected sensing measurement data received, or another entity designated for providing sensing results.

[0133] The SOMF may send the sensing result to the AMF via an amf_sensing response. Alternatively, another entity, for example one of the BSs or WTRUs in the list, or other dedicated network function, may calculate a sensing result. In one example, a BS calculates the sensing result, and the collected sensing measurement data may be sent to the BS initially. The BS may then send the calculation result to the SOMF. After receiving the sensing result, the AMF reports the sensing result to the ISANF via an isanf_hazard_sensing_service_response and the ISANF reports the sensing result to the AF via a hazard_sensing_service response. When multiple AMFs are involved for the sensing service, the collected sensing result from the AMFs involved may be included at the sensing response 820 to the AF.

[0134] Referring to FIG. 9, an example method 900 for sensor activation and measurement reporting for a Sensing WTRU when a HPLMN is down or a WTRU is out-of-coverage, is shown. In this example, at step 905, it is assumed that a Remote WTRU is OoC and may only access the network via a relay, or that due to a hazard, the HPLMN of the WTRU is down and the Remote WTRU will trigger network selection. In this example, at step 910, the AMF has received a hazard service request and the Remote WTRU will be monitoring the SIBs in a procedure similar to those described previously.

[0135] The hazard_service_info conveyed to a Relay or a gNB by vPLMN/AMF at step 910, may be transmitted 915 to the sensing WTRU as a hazard_service_info in a PC5 message or in a SIB. In the case that the Sensing WTRU, when it is OoC or cannot reach a HPLMN, receives hazard_service_info by means of SIB, PC5 message (or any other service, e.g. N3IWF), sensing measurements are triggered at step 920, if the sensing is supported. If the Sensing WTRU receives hazard_service_info via a relay, then it may establish a WTRU-to-Network relay connection for communication with the AMF and respective SOMF via the relay. It is possible that the Remote WTRU and Relay WTRU belong to different PLMNs. When the Sensing/Remote WTRU receives hazard_service_info the Sensing/Remote WTRU may start to look up an available PLMN. In this case, the Sensing WTRU may send 925 a registration request to vPLMN and include a sensing support capability indication and optionally, a sensing service ID, to let the AMF/vPLMN know that the Sensing WTRU intends to report sending measurements under hazard. Sensing measurements and results may be determined and communicated as with previous embodiments at step 930. [0136] Although features and elements are described above in particular combinations, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that each feature or element can be used alone or in any combination with the other features and elements. In addition, the methods described herein may be implemented in a computer program, software, or firmware incorporated in a computer-readable medium for execution by a computer or processor. Examples of computer-readable media include electronic signals (transmitted over wired or wireless connections) and computer-readable storage media. Examples of computer-readable storage media include, but are not limited to, a read only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a register, cache memory, semiconductor memory devices, magnetic media such as internal hard disks and removable disks, magnetooptical media, and optical media such as CD-ROM disks, and digital versatile disks (DVDs). A processor in association with software may be used to implement a radio frequency transceiver for use in a WTRU, UE, terminal, base station, RNC, or any host computer.

Claims

CLAIMS What is Claimed:

1. A method for a wireless transmit receive unit (WTRU), the method comprising: sending non-access access stratum (NAS) signaling to an entity in a network, the NAS signaling including a sensing support indication; receiving hazard service information from the network; and activating one or more sensors to measure characteristics relating to the received hazard service information.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the hazard service information is received from the network in one of a downlink (DL) NAS signaling message, a system information block (SIB) or a PC5 message.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the hazard service information is received from a Relay WTRU in the PC5 message.

4. The method of claim 2, further comprising: sending, to the network, a sensing response including one or more of the measured characteristics.

5. The method of any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the entity in the network comprises an access and mobility management function (AMF) and wherein the sensing support indication includes an indication of WTRU sensing capabilities that are supported and a number of WTRU sensors that are available for sensing.

6. The method of any of claims 1 to 4, wherein the received hazard service information includes at least one or more of a sensing service ID, a data type to report, a periodicity of reporting, an equivalent public land mobile network (PLMN) ID or a priority level.

7. The method of any of claims 1 to 4, wherein the hazard service information relates to sensing one of intruder detection or rainfall monitoring.

8. A wireless transmit receive unit (WTRU) comprising: one or more sensors, a transceiver and a processor communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the one or more sensors, the transceiver and processor configured to: send non-access access stratum (NAS) signaling to an entity in a network, the NAS signaling including a sensing support indication; receive hazard service information from the network; and activate the one or more sensors to measure characteristics relating to the received hazard service information.

9. The WTRU of claim 8, wherein the hazard service information is received from the network in one of a downlink (DL) NAS signaling message, a system information block (SIB) or a PC5 message.

10. The WTRU of claim 9, wherein the hazard service information is received from a Relay WTRU in the PC5 message.

11. The WTRU of claim 9, wherein the processor and the transceiver are further configured to: send, to the network, a sensing response including one or more of the measured characteristics.

12. The WTRU of claim 8, wherein the entity in the network comprises an access and mobility management function (AMF) and wherein the sensing support indication includes an indication of WTRU sensing capabilities that are supported and a number of WTRU sensors that are available for sensing.

13. The WTRU of claim 8, wherein the received hazard service information includes at least one or more of a sensing service ID, a data type to report, a periodicity of reporting, an equivalent public land mobile network (PLMN) ID or a priority level.

14. The WTRU of claim 8, wherein the hazard service information relates to sensing one of intruder detection or rainfall monitoring.

15. A method for a network node including an access and mobility management function (AMF), the method comprising: receiving non-access access stratum (NAS) signaling from a wireless transmit receive unit (WTRU), the NAS signaling including a sensing support indication; receiving hazard service information from a network function; sending at least part of the received hazard service information to the WTRU; and receiving, from the WTRU, a sensing response including one or more measured characteristics relating to the sent hazard service information.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the at least part of the received hazard service information is sent to the WTRU in a downlink (DL) NAS signaling message.

17. The method of claim 15 or 16, wherein the received sensing support indication includes an indication of WTRU sensing capabilities that are supported and a number of WTRU sensors that are available for sensing.

18. The method of any of claims 15 to 16, wherein the received hazard service information includes at least one or more of a sensing service ID, a data type to report, a periodicity of reporting, an equivalent public land mobile network (PLMN) ID or a priority level.

19. The method of any of claims 15 to 16, wherein the network function comprises at least one of an integrated sensing assistance network function (ISANF) or a sensing operation management function (SOMF) and wherein the hazard service information is received from the ISANF or the SOMF based on a hazard sensing service request of an application function (AF).