WO2020155046A1

WO2020155046A1 - Methods, devices and computer readable medium for distance report

Info

Publication number: WO2020155046A1
Application number: PCT/CN2019/074256
Authority: WO
Inventors: Dawei Wu; Beibei ZENG; Lei SU; Shi Jin; Kejia JI; Yizhou YUE
Original assignee: Nokia Shanghai Bell Co Ltd; Nokia Solutions and Networks Oy; Nokia Technologies Oy
Current assignee: Nokia Shanghai Bell Co Ltd; Nokia Solutions and Networks Oy; Nokia Technologies Oy
Priority date: 2019-01-31
Filing date: 2019-01-31
Publication date: 2020-08-06
Anticipated expiration: 2021-07-31
Also published as: CN113383247A; CN113383247B

Abstract

Embodiments of the disclosure provide a method, device and computer readable medium for distance report. According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the terminal device reports its capability of measuring distance between the terminal device and the object. The network device transmits a request to the terminal device to report its distance to the object. In this way, the network device is able to locate the object device accurately.

Description

METHODS, DEVICES AND COMPUTER READABLE MEDIUM FOR DISTANCE REPORT

FIELD

Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to communication techniques, and more particularly, to methods, devices and computer readable medium for distance report.

BACKGROUND

In current communication systems, positions of terminal devices can be located. In some scenarios, locating the terminal devices accurately may be very critical. For example, in current world, there are a lot of disasters happened no matter the disaster is caused by natural or manmade, for example, earthquake, tsunami, landslide, flood, snow disaster, volcano eruption, and the like. The rescue is always needed to search and save the victims and the stranded people. And the most important factor in the rescue is how to locate these victims and the stranded people. The best way is the rescuers can communicate directly with the people who need help. At the same time, the terminal device is used everywhere to connect with the network and people. Thus, the terminal devices play an important role to recover the communication during the rescue.

SUMMARY

In general, embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a method for distance report and the corresponding network device and terminal device.

In a first aspect, embodiments of the disclosure provide a terminal device. The terminal device comprises: at least one processor; and at least one memory including computer program codes. The at least one memory and the computer codes are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the terminal device to: in response to detecting a network device at the terminal device, transmit to the network device an indication of capability of measuring a distance between an object and the terminal device. The terminal device is further caused to receive, from the network device, a request to measure the distance between the object and the terminal device. The terminal device is also caused to obtain a measurement of the distance between the object and the terminal device. The terminal device is yet caused to transmit the measurement of the distance to the network device.

In a second aspect, embodiments of the disclosure provide a network device. The network device comprises: at least one processor; and at least one memory including computer program codes. The at least one memory and the computer program codes are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the network device to receive, at the network device and from one or more terminal devices, an indication of capability of measuring a distance between an object and the one or more terminal devices. The network device is further caused to transmit, to at least one terminal device of the one or more terminal devices, a request to measure a distance between the object and the at least one terminal device. The network device is also caused to receive a measurement of the distance from the at least one terminal device.

In a third aspect, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method. The method comprises: in response to detecting a network device at a terminal device, transmitting to the network device an indication of capability of measuring a distance between an object and the terminal device. The method also comprises receiving, from the network device, a request to measure the distance between the object and the terminal device. The method further comprises obtaining a measurement of the distance between the object and the terminal device. The method yet comprises transmitting the measurement of the distance to the network device.

In a fourth aspect, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method. The method comprises: receiving, at a network device and from one or more terminal devices, an indication of capability of measuring a distance between an object and the one or more terminal devices. The method further comprises transmitting, to at least one terminal device of the one or more terminal devices, a request to measure a distance between the object and the at least one terminal device. The method also comprises receiving a measurement of the distance from the at least one terminal device.

In a fifth aspect, embodiments of the disclosure provide a computer readable medium. The computer readable medium stores instructions thereon, the instructions, when executed by at least one processing unit of a machine, causing the machine to implement the method according to the third aspect of the present disclosure.

In a sixth aspect, embodiments of the disclosure provide a further computer readable medium. The further computer readable medium stores instructions thereon, the instructions, when executed by at least one processing unit of a machine, causing the machine to implement the method according the fourth aspect of the present disclosure.

In a seventh aspect, embodiments of the disclosure provide an apparatus for communication. The apparatus comprises means for in response to detecting a network device at a terminal device, transmitting to the network device an indication of capability of measuring a distance between an object and the terminal device. The apparatus also comprises means for receiving, from the network device, a request to measure the distance between the object and the terminal device. The apparatus also comprises means for obtaining a measurement of the distance between the object and the terminal device. The apparatus yet comprises means for transmitting the measurement of the distance to the network device.

In an eight aspect, embodiments of the disclosure provide a further apparatus for communication. The apparatus comprises means for receiving, at a network device and from one or more terminal devices, an indication of capability of measuring a distance between an object and the one or more terminal devices. The apparatus also comprises means for transmitting, to at least one terminal device of the one or more terminal devices, a request to measure a distance between the object and the at least one terminal device. The apparatus further comprises means for receiving a measurement of the distance from the at least one terminal device.

Other features and advantages of the embodiments of the present disclosure will also be apparent from the following description of specific embodiments when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of embodiments of the disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Some example embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, where

FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of a communication system according to embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating interactions between a terminal device and a network device according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 illustrates a flowchart of a method implemented at a terminal device for communication according to embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 illustrates a flowchart of a method implemented at a network device for communication according to embodiments of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 5 illustrates a schematic diagram of a device according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

Throughout the figures, same or similar reference numbers indicate same or similar elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The subject matter described herein will now be discussed with reference to several example embodiments. It should be understood these embodiments are discussed only for the purpose of enabling those skilled persons in the art to better understand and thus implement the subject matter described herein, rather than suggesting any limitations on the scope of the subject matter.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of example embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms “a, ” “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises, ” “comprising, ” “includes” and/or “including, ” when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components and/or groups thereof.

It should also be noted that in some alternative implementations, the functions/acts noted may occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, two functions or acts shown in succession may in fact be executed concurrently or may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality/acts involved.

As used herein, the term “communication network” refers to a network following any suitable communication standards, such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) , LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) , Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) , High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA) , Narrow Band Internet of Things (NB-IoT) and so on. Furthermore, the communications between a terminal device and a network device in the communication network may be performed according to any suitable generation communication protocols, including, but not limited to, the first generation (1G) , the second generation (2G) , 2.5G, 2.75G, the third generation (3G) , the fourth generation (4G) , 4.5G, the future fifth generation (5G) communication protocols, and/or any other protocols either currently known or to be developed in the future.

Embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied in various communication systems. Given the rapid development in communications, there will of course also be future type communication technologies and systems with which the present disclosure may be embodied. It should not be seen as limiting the scope of the present disclosure to only the aforementioned system.

The term “network device” includes, but not limited to, a base station (BS) , a gateway, a management entity, and other suitable device in a communication system. The term “base station” or “BS” represents a node B (NodeB or NB) , an evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB) , a Remote Radio Unit (RRU) , a radio header (RH) , a remote radio head (RRH) , a relay, a low power node such as a femto, a pico, a relay node (for example, Unmanned Aerial Vehicle/Drones (UAV) ) and so forth.

The term “terminal device” includes, but not limited to, “user equipment (UE) ” and other suitable end device capable of communicating with the network device. By way of example, the “terminal device” may refer to a terminal, a Mobile Terminal (MT) , a Subscriber Station (SS) , a Portable Subscriber Station, a Mobile Station (MS) , or an Access Terminal (AT) .

The term “circuitry” used herein may refer to one or more or all of the following:

(a) hardware-only circuit implementations (such as implementations in only analog and/or digital circuitry) and

(b) combinations of hardware circuits and software, such as (as applicable) :

(i) a combination of analog and/or digital hardware circuit (s) with

software/firmware and

(ii) any portions of hardware processor (s) with software (including digital signal processor (s) ) , software, and memory (ies) that work together to cause an apparatus, such as a mobile phone or server, to perform various functions) and

(c) hardware circuit (s) and or processor (s) , such as a microprocessor (s) or a portion of a microprocessor (s) , that requires software (e.g., firmware) for operation, but the software may not be present when it is not needed for operation. ”

This definition of circuitry applies to all uses of this term in this application, including in any claims. As a further example, as used in this application, the term circuitry also covers an implementation of merely a hardware circuit or processor (or multiple processors) or portion of a hardware circuit or processor and its (or their) accompanying software and/or firmware. The term circuitry also covers, for example and if applicable to the particular claim element, a baseband integrated circuit or processor integrated circuit for a mobile device or a similar integrated circuit in server, a cellular network device, or other computing or network device.

As mentioned above, the terminal devices play an important role to recover the communication during the rescue. The operators understand this very much. The first thing for operators after disaster is to recover the telecom network as quick as possible. Recently, the drones are going to be used to hover over a disaster area to provide instant mobile network coverage for the UE. There are different types of terminal devices in the world currently and will be much more in the future, for example, the smart phone, tablet, smart watch, smart bracelet, implanted chip in human body and all kinds of machine typed terminal device.

In most cases, after the disaster, the victim or stranded person usually doesn’t know the exact location of himself/herself. In this case, the network can use positioning technique to locate the terminal device in order to locate the person if the person has a terminal device with her/him.

However, the first reaction of the human being is to run or hide somewhere immediately when the disaster happened. There is usually no time to take the terminal device with him/her at such emergency time. It’s very probably the terminal device is not with the person as the result. This means the location of the terminal device doesn’t mean the same location of the human being. The situation becomes worse when more and more machine typed terminal devices are being deployed. Locating terminal devices doesn’t mean locating the people normally.

Basically, there are two ways to retrieve the terminal device’s location by the network. One is the terminal device reporting its location. However, it needs a human being to trigger the terminal device to report its location. But when disaster happened, it’s very likely the terminal device is not in hand or the terminal device may be in hand but the human being lost consciousness. Then the person can’t trigger the terminal device to report. The other is the network actively locating the UE. However, the network can’t make sure whether the terminal device is with the person or not.

In order to at least in part solve above and other potential problems, embodiments of the present disclosure provide solutions for distance report. Now some example embodiments of the present disclosure are described below with reference to the figures. However, those skilled in the art would readily appreciate that the detailed description given herein with respect to these figures is for explanatory purpose as the present disclosure extends beyond theses limited embodiments.

FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of a communication system in which embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented. The communication system 100, which is a part of a communication network, comprises a network device 120 and terminal devices 110-1, 110-2, ..., and 110-N, which can be collectively referred to as “terminal device (s) ” 110. It is to be understood that the number of network devices and terminal devices shown in FIG. 1 is given for the purpose of illustration without suggesting any limitations. The communication system 100 may comprise any suitable number of network devices and terminal devices. It should be noted that the communication system 100 may also comprise other elements which are omitted for the purpose of clarity. The network device 120 may communicate with the terminal devices 110.

Communications in the communication system 100 may be implemented according to any proper communication protocol (s) , comprising, but not limited to, cellular communication protocols of the first generation (1G) , the second generation (2G) , the third generation (3G) , the fourth generation (4G) and the fifth generation (5G) and on the like, wireless local network communication protocols such as Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 and the like, and/or any other protocols currently known or to be developed in the future. Moreover, the communication may utilize any proper wireless communication technology, comprising but not limited to: Code Divided Multiple Address (CDMA) , Frequency Divided Multiple Address (FDMA) , Time Divided Multiple Address (TDMA) , Frequency Divided Duplexer (FDD) , Time Divided Duplexer (TDD) , Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) , Orthogonal Frequency Divided Multiple Access (OFDMA) and/or any other technologies currently known or to be developed in the future.

According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the terminal device reports its capability of measuring distance to the network device. The network device transmits a request to the terminal device to report its distance to the object. In this way, the object is able to be located by the network device accurately.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating interactions among the terminal device and network devices. Only for the purpose of illustrations, the interactions are described to be implemented at the terminal device 110-1 and the network device 120. It should be noted that the interactions may be implemented at any suitable terminal devices.

The terminal device 110-1 detects 205 a network device 120. In some embodiments, the terminal device 110-1 may search the network device 120. The terminal device 110-1 transmits 215 the indication of its capability of measuring the distance between the object 130 and the terminal devices 110. The indication may indicate whether the terminal devices 110 support to detect the distance between the terminal devices 110 and the object 130. In some embodiments, the distance may be a kind of fuzzy distance.

The indication may be transmitted via a network layer signaling. Only as an example, the network layer signaling may be Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling. It should be noted that the network layer signaling may be any suitable network layer signaling. Table 1 below shows an example of pseudo codes of the capability.

Table 1

In some embodiments, the network device 120 may transmit 210 the request to report the capability and the terminal device 110-1 may transmit 215 the indication as the response to the request. Alternatively, the terminal device 110-1 may spontaneously transmit the indication after detecting the network device 120. The network device 120 may broadcast the request to the terminal devices 110 in its coverage. Alternatively, the network device 120 may transmit the request to the specific terminal device 110-1. The request may be transmitted via a Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling.

In some embodiments, the object 130 may be human beings. Alternatively, the object 130 may be a pet. In some embodiments, the terminal device 110-1 may transmit an indication to the network device 120 to indicate the species of the object, for example, an human being, a dog and the like. The above indication may be transmitted with the indication of its capability of measuring the distance. Alternatively, the above indication may be transmitted in a separate signaling.

In an example embodiment, the network device 120 may transmit 220 the indication to a location server 320 in a core network. The indication may be transmitted to the location server 320 via a position service signaling. Only as an example, the position service signaling may be a Long Term Evolution (LTE) position protocol (LPP) signaling. It should be noted that the position service signaling may be any suitable position service signaling. Table 2 below shows an example of pseudo codes of the LPP capability.

Table 2

In some embodiments, the location server 320 may determine 225 at least one terminal device which has the capability to measure the distance between the object 130 and the terminal device. The location server 320 may transmit 330 a further indication comprising an identity of the at least one terminal device. Table 3 below shows an example of RequestLocationInformation in LPP message.

Table 3

Table 4 below shows an example of ProvideLocationInformation in LPP message.

Table 4

In other embodiments, the network device 120 may determine 335 the at least one terminal device by itself. The network device 120 transmits 240 the request to measure the distance to the at least one terminal device (for example, the terminal device 110-1) . The request may be transmitted via a RRC signaling. In this way, it avoids wasting physical resources. Table 5 below shows an example of LocationInfo in RRC message.

Table 5

In some embodiments, the terminal device 110-1 may determine 245 the capability of measuring the distance based on the type of the terminal device. In some embodiments, the terminal device 110-1 may detect 250 the distance between the object 130 and the terminal device 110-1 based on the type of the terminal device 110-1. The terminal device 110-1 obtains 255 the measurement of the distance. The terminal device 110-1 transmits 260 the measurement of the distance to the network device 120.

In some embodiments, the terminal device 110-1 may obtain the fuzzy distance. Table 6 below shows examples of the fuzzy distance. It should be noted that the numbers shown in Table 6 are only examples. Table 6 may be pre-configured to the terminal devices 110 and the network device 120.

Table 6

For example, if the terminal device is an implanted chip (for example, the terminal device 110-3) in the object 130, the terminal device 110-3 may obtain the measurement and transmit the response indicating “0. ” In some embodiments, if the terminal device is a smart bracelet or watch (for example, the terminal device 110-2) on the object 130’s wrist, the terminal device 110-2 may obtain the measurement and transmit the response indicating “1. ” . If the terminal device is held in hand, the terminal device may obtain the measurement and transmit the response indicating “1. ”

In some embodiments, the terminal devices have the ability to detect whether it’s in pocket mode, they transmit the response indicating “1” if it’s in the pocket. Alternatively, the terminal devices have the ability to detect object 130’s blood pressure, heart rate, temperature, they transmit the response indicating “1” if detected human’s vital signs.

In some embodiments, the terminal device 110-1 may have distance sensor which can detect the distance with the object 130 in a short range, if it is close to a human the terminal device 110-1 may obtain the measurement to be 2m and transmit the response indicating “2. ”

In some embodiments, the terminal device may have TOF technology that they can measure the distance with object 130 accurately, they may transmit the response indicating “3. ” Alternatively, the terminal devices’cameras and microphones can be used to catch the object 130’s image or voice and then they may transmit the response indicating ‘4’ or ‘5. ’

In some embodiments, the network device 120 may determine the position of the object based on the measurement of the distance. In some embodiments, the network device 120 may receive measurements from more than one terminal devices. For examples, the network device 120 may receive the measurement indicating “2” from the terminal device 110-1 and the measurement indicating “5” from the terminal device 110-4. The network device 120 may move to the terminal device 110-1 which is close to the object 130. The network device 120 may do further positions for the terminal device 110-1. In an example embodiment, the network device 120 may transmit the measurement of the distance to a third part (for example, the rescue team) and guide the third part to approach the object 130.

FIG. 3 illustrates a flowchart of a method 300 according to embodiment of the present disclosure. Only for the purpose of illustrations, the method 300 may be described to be implemented at the terminal device 110-1.

At block 310, the terminal device 110-1 transmits an indication of capability of measuring the distance between the object 130 and the terminal device 110-1 if the terminal device 110-1 detects the network device 120. In some embodiments, the terminal device 110-1 may search the network device 120. The indication may indicate whether the terminal devices 110 support to detect fuzzy distance between the terminal devices 110 and the object 130. The indication may be transmitted via a Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling.

In some embodiments, the terminal device 110-1 may receive the request to report the capability from the network device 120 and transmit the indication as the response to the request. Alternatively, the terminal device 110-1 may spontaneously transmit the indication after detecting the network device 120. The request may be transmitted via a Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling.

At block 320, the terminal device 110-1 receives a request to measure the distance between the object 130 and the terminal device 110-1 from the network device 120. The request may be transmitted via a RRC signaling. In some embodiments, the terminal device 110-1 may determine the capability of measuring the distance based on the type of the terminal device.

At block 330, the terminal device 110-1 obtains the measurement of the distance between the object 130 and the terminal device 110-1. In some embodiments, the terminal device 110-1 may detect the distance between the object 130 and the terminal device 110-1 based on the type of the terminal device 110-1.

In some embodiments, the terminal device may have TOF technology that they can measure the distance with object 130 accurately. In some embodiments, the terminal device 110-1 may have distance sensor which can detect the distance with the object 130 in a short range. Alternatively, the terminal devices’cameras and microphones can be used to catch the object 130’s image or voice.

At block 340, the terminal device 110-1 transmits the measurement of the distance to the network device 120. The terminal device 110-1 may transmit the measurement of the distance via a network layer signaling.

In some embodiments, an apparatus for performing the method 300 (for example, the terminal device 110-1) may comprise respective means for performing the corresponding steps in the method 300. These means may be implemented in any suitable manners. For example, it can be implemented by circuitry or software modules.

In some embodiments, the apparatus comprises: means for in response to detecting a network device at a terminal device, transmitting to the network device an indication of capability of measuring a distance between an object and the terminal device; means for receiving, from the network device, a request to measure the distance between the object and the terminal device; means for obtaining a measurement of the distance between the object and the terminal device; and means for transmitting the measurement of the distance to the network device.

In some embodiments, the indication of the capability is transmitted in response to a request to report the capability from the network device.

In some embodiments, the request is received via a network layer signaling.

In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises: means for determining the capability of measuring the distance based on a type of the terminal device.

In some embodiments, the means for obtaining a measurement of the distance comprises: means for detecting a distance between the object and the terminal device based on the type of the terminal device; and means for obtaining the measurement based on the detected distance.

In some embodiments, the measurement of the distance is transmitted via a network layer signaling.

FIG. 4 illustrates a flowchart of a method 400 according to embodiment of the present disclosure. Only for the purpose of illustrations, the method 400 may be described to be implemented at the network device 120.

At block 410, the network device 120 receives an indication of capability of measuring the distance between the object 130 and the one or more terminal devices 110. The indication may indicate whether the terminal devices 110 support to detect fuzzy distance between the terminal devices 110 and the object 130. The indication may be transmitted via a network layer signaling.

In some embodiments, the network device 120 may transmit 210 the request to report the capability. The network device 120 may broadcast the request to the terminal devices 110 in its coverage. Alternatively, the network device 120 may transmit the request to the specific terminal device 110-1. The request may be transmitted via a network layer signaling.

In an example embodiment, the network device 120 may transmit the indication to a location server 320 in a core network. The indication may be transmitted to the location server 320 via a Long Term Evolution (LTE) position protocol (LPP) signaling.

In some embodiments, the location server 320 may determine at least one terminal device which has the capability to measure the distance between the object 130 and the terminal device. The location server 320 may transmit a further indication comprising an identity of the at least one terminal device. In other embodiments, the network device 120 may determine the at least one terminal device by itself.

At block 420, the network device 120 transmits the request to measure the distance between the object 130 and the at least one terminal device 110-1. The request may be transmitted via a RRC signaling. In this way, it avoids wasting physical resources.

At block 430, the network device 120 receives a measurement of the distance from the at least one terminal device 110-1. In some embodiments, the network device 120 may determine the position of the object based on the measurement of the distance. In some embodiments, the network device 120 may receive measurements from multiple terminal devices. For examples, the network device 120 may receive the measurement indicating “2” from the terminal device 110-1 and the measurement indicating “5” from the terminal device 110-4. The network device 120 may move to the terminal device 110-1 which is close to the object 130. The network device 120 may do further positions for the terminal device 110-1. It should be noted that the network device 120 may receive the measurement of the distance from any suitable number of terminal devices.

In an example embodiment, the network device 120 may transmit the measurement of the distance to a third part (for example, the rescue team) and guide the third part to approach the object 130.

In some embodiments, an apparatus for performing the method 400 (for example, the network device 120) may comprise respective means for performing the corresponding steps in the method 400. These means may be implemented in any suitable manners. For example, it can be implemented by circuitry or software modules.

In some embodiments, the apparatus comprises: means for receiving, at a network device and from one or more terminal devices, an indication of capability of measuring a distance between an object and the one or more terminal devices; means for transmitting, to at least one terminal device of the one or more terminal devices, a request to measure a distance between the object and the at least one terminal device; and means for receiving a measurement of the distance from the at least one terminal device.

In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for transmitting a further request to report the capability to the one or more terminal devices.

In some embodiments, the means for transmitting the request comprises: means for determining the at least one terminal device based on the indication; and means for transmitting the request to the at least one terminal device.

In some embodiments, the means for transmitting the request comprises: means for transmitting the indication to a further network device via a Long Term Evolution (LTE) position protocol signaling; means for receiving, from the further network device, further indication comprising the at least one terminal device; and means for transmitting the request to the at least one terminal device.

In some embodiments, the request is transmitted via a network layer signaling.

In some embodiments, the measurement of the distance is received via a network layer signaling.

FIG. 5 is a simplified block diagram of a device 500 that is suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure. The device 500 may be implemented at the network device 120. The device 500 may also be implemented at the terminal device 110-1. As shown, the device 500 comprises one or more processors 510, one or more memories 520 coupled to the processor (s) 510, one or more transmitters and/or receivers (TX/RX) 540 coupled to the processor 510.

The processor 510 may be of any type suitable to the local technical network, and may comprise one or more of general purpose computers, special purpose computers, microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs) and processors based on multicore processor architecture, as non-limiting examples. The device 500 may have multiple processors, such as an application specific integrated circuit chip that is slaved in time to a clock which synchronizes the main processor.

The memory 520 may be of any type suitable to the local technical network and may be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, such as a non-transitory computer readable storage medium, semiconductor based memory devices, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, fixed memory and removable memory, as non-limiting examples.

The memory 520 stores at least a part of a program 530. The TX/RX 540 is for bidirectional communications. The TX/RX 540 has at least one antenna to facilitate communication, though in practice an Access Node mentioned in this application may have several ones. The communication interface may represent any interface that is necessary for communication with other network elements.

The program 530 is assumed to comprise program instructions that, when executed by the associated processor 510, enable the device 500 to operate in accordance with the embodiments of the present disclosure, as discussed herein with reference to Figs. 2 to 4. That is, embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented by computer software executable by the processor 510 of the device 500, or by hardware, or by a combination of software and hardware.

In the context of the present disclosure, the computer program code or related data may be carried by any suitable carrier to enable the device, apparatus, or processor to perform the various processes and operations described above. Examples of carriers include signals, computer readable media and the like.

While this specification contains many specific implementation details, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of any disclosure or of what may be claimed, but rather as descriptions of features that may be specific to particular embodiments of particular disclosures. Certain features that are described in this specification in the context of separate embodiments can also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment can also be implemented in multiple embodiments separately or in any suitable sub-combination. Moreover, although features may be described above as acting in certain combinations and even initially claimed as such, one or more features from a claimed combination can in some cases be excised from the combination, and the claimed combination may be directed to a sub-combination or variation of a sub-combination.

Similarly, while operations are depicted in the drawings in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring that such operations be performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, or that all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirable results. In certain circumstances, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Moreover, the separation of various system components in the embodiments described above should not be understood as requiring such separation in all embodiments, and it should be understood that the described program components and systems can generally be integrated together in a single software product or packaged into multiple software products.

Various modifications, adaptations to the foregoing exemplary embodiments of this disclosure may become apparent to those skilled in the relevant arts in view of the foregoing description, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Any and all modifications will still fall within the scope of the non-limiting and exemplary embodiments of this disclosure. Furthermore, other embodiments of the disclosures set forth herein will come to mind to one skilled in the art to which these embodiments of the disclosure pertain having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings.

Therefore, it is to be understood that the embodiments of the disclosure are not to be limited to the specific embodiments disclosed and that modifications and other embodiments are intended to be comprised within the scope of the appended claims. Although specific terms are used herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purpose of limitation.

Claims

A terminal device, comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory including computer program codes;

the at least one memory and the computer program codes configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the terminal device to:

in response to detecting a network device at the terminal device, transmit to the network device an indication of capability of measuring a distance between an object and the terminal device;

receive, from the network device, a request to measure the distance between the object and the terminal device;

obtain a measurement of the distance between the object and the terminal device; and

transmit the measurement of the distance to the network device.
The terminal device of claim 1, wherein the indication of the capability is transmitted in response to a request to report the capability from the network device.
The terminal device of claim 1, wherein the request is received via a network layer signaling.
The terminal device of claim 1, wherein the terminal device is further caused to:

determine the capability of measuring the distance based on a type of the terminal device.
The terminal device of claim 4, wherein the terminal device is caused to obtain a measurement of the distance by:

detecting a distance between the object and the terminal device based on the type of the terminal device; and

obtaining the measurement based on the detected distance.
The terminal device of claim 1, wherein the measurement of the distance is transmitted via a network layer signaling.
The terminal device of claim 1, wherein the terminal device is further cased to:

transmit another indication of a species of the object to the network device.
A network device, comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory including computer program codes;

the at least one memory and the computer program codes configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the network device to:

receive, at the network device and from one or more terminal devices, an indication of capability of measuring a distance between an object and the one or more terminal devices;

transmit, to at least one terminal device of the one or more terminal devices, a request to measure a distance between the object and the at least one terminal device; and

receive a measurement of the distance from the at least one terminal device.
The network device of claim 8, wherein the network device is further caused to:

transmit a further request to report the capability to the one or more terminal devices.
The network device of claim 8, wherein the network device is caused to transmit the request by:

determining the at least one terminal device based on the indication; and

transmitting the request to the at least one terminal device.
The network device of claim 8, wherein the network device is caused to transmit the request by:

transmitting the indication to a further network device via a position service signaling;

receiving, from the further network device, further indication comprising the at least one terminal device; and

transmitting the request to the at least one terminal device.
The network device of claim 8, wherein the request is transmitted via a network layer signaling.
The network device of claim 8, wherein the measurement of the distance is received via a network layer signaling.
The network device of claim 8, wherein the network device is further caused to:

receive another indication of a species of the object from the terminal device.
A method, comprising:

in response to detecting a network device at a terminal device, transmitting to the network device an indication of capability of measuring a distance between an object and the terminal device;

receiving, from the network device, a request to measure the distance between the object and the terminal device;

obtaining a measurement of the distance between the object and the terminal device; and

transmitting the measurement of the distance to the network device.
The method of claim 15, wherein the indication of the capability is transmitted in response to a request to report the capability from the network device.
The method of claim 15, wherein the request is received via a network layer signaling.
The method of claim 15, further comprising:

determining the capability of measuring the distance based on a type of the terminal device.
The method of claim 18, wherein obtaining a measurement of the distance comprises:

detecting a distance between the object and the terminal device based on the type of the terminal device; and

obtaining the measurement based on the detected distance.
The method of claim 15, wherein the measurement of the distance is transmitted via a network layer signaling.
The method of claim 15, further comprising:

transmitting another indication of a species of the object to the network device.
A method, comprising:

receiving, at a network device and from one or more terminal devices, an indication of capability of measuring a distance between an object and the one or more terminal devices;

transmitting, to at least one terminal device of the one or more terminal devices, a request to measure a distance between the object and the at least one terminal device; and

receiving a measurement of the distance from the at least one terminal device.
The method of claim 22, further comprising:

transmitting a further request to report the capability to the one or more terminal devices.
The method of claim 22, wherein transmitting the request comprises:

determining the at least one terminal device based on the indication; and

transmitting the request to the at least one terminal device.
The method of claim 22, wherein transmitting the request comprises:

transmitting the indication to a further network device via a position service signaling;

receiving, from the further network device, further indication comprising the at least one terminal device; and

transmitting the request to the at least one terminal device.
The method of claim 22, wherein the request is transmitted via a network layer signaling.
The method of claim 22, wherein the measurement of the distance is received via a network layer signaling.
The method of claim 22, further comprising:

receiving another indication of a species of the object from the terminal device.
A computer readable medium storing instructions thereon, the instructions, when executed by at least one processing unit of a machine, causing the machine to perform the method according to any one of claims 15-21.
A computer readable medium storing instructions thereon, the instructions, when executed by at least one processing unit of a machine, causing the machine to perform the method according to any one of claims 22-28.
An apparatus, comprising:

means for in response to detecting a network device at a terminal device, transmitting to the network device an indication of capability of measuring a distance between an object and the terminal device;

means for receiving, from the network device, a request to measure the distance between the object and the terminal device;

means for obtaining a measurement of the distance between the object and the terminal device; and

means for transmitting the measurement of the distance to the network device.
An apparatus, comprising:

means for receiving, at a network device and from one or more terminal devices, an indication of capability of measuring a distance between an object and the one or more terminal devices;

means for transmitting, to at least one terminal device of the one or more terminal devices, a request to measure a distance between the object and the at least one terminal device; and

means for receiving a measurement of the distance from the at least one terminal device.